Berkeley Iceland faces possible closure this month after city officials gave the rink until Aug. 22 to remove more than 4,000 pounds of potentially toxic ammonia used to cool the ice surface. 

The city contends that the 65-year-old rink’s antiquated ammonia cooling system poses a public health threat. Deputy Fire Chief David Orth said the city would only let Iceland continue operating after the deadline if the rink installed a temporary cooling system while upgrading the current ammonia system. 

Iceland General Manager Jay Wescott said installing a temporary system by the Aug. 22 deadline didn’t seem feasible and that Iceland was considering a legal challenge to keep the rink in business past the deadline. 

“We’re going to look at all of our options to stay open,” he said. “We are not a health and safety risk. There is no reason for us to close.” 

Wescott declined to speculate about the rink’s future in Berkeley if it were forced to close its doors while completing upgrades to the cooling system. 

Earlier this year it appeared Iceland had taken steps to avoid a shutdown. Under an agreement with the city, the rink was to upgrade its ammonia-based system by November. However, Orth said Iceland pushed back scheduled completion of the repair work to next April and in May the rink alerted city officials that the cooling system holds 4,283 pounds of ammonia rather than 750 pounds, as city officials said they were previously led to believe. 

“It’s not an acceptable hazard at this point,” Orth said. “We’re just afraid the ammonia will get out of the system as it has in the past and we won’t be able to keep people safe.” 

He added that Berkeley might have allowed the rink to continue operating the system if upgrades were on schedule, but the combination of construction delays and additional ammonia volume had forced the city’s hand. 

Last month Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff sent the rink a letter warning of a joint city-county enforcement action against the rink. 

“It is apparent that you knew that you had substantially more than 750 pounds well before your recent disclosure,” Orloff wrote. “We have serious concerns about the danger your business presents to your local community.” 

Orth said the presence of roughly six times more ammonia in the cooling system than previously assumed means that in the case of a major accident, the gas could travel up to a mile downwind of the South Berkeley rink, which is located at Milvia and Ward streets.  

Ammonia, a common refrigerant for skating rinks, is a toxic gas that can be lethal, and turn highly combustible when mixed with oil. Common ailments associated with ammonia exposure are nose and throat irritation, convulsive coughing, severe eye irritation and respiratory spasms. 

Iceland’s system only poses a public health risk in the event of an accidental release. There have been two leaks at the rink since 1998. The larger leak, according to Orth, required firefighters to hose down a cloud of ammonia released into the air. There were no reported injuries in either leak. 

Wescott said that the rink had not suffered any catastrophic ammonia leaks since opening in 1940 and that recent tests showed the system could withstand a major earthquake. 

He added that the city should have known two years ago that the cooling system held far more than 750 pounds of ammonia. He pointed to a 2003 incident report following an ammonia leak at the rink indicating that the system’s ammonia tanks didn’t have the capacity to hold all of the system’s ammonia. Wescott said city officials knew the tanks could hold around 2,500 pounds of ammonia. 

“I don’t think the city is being fair with us,” he said. “I really sense they want to shut us down. Why, I don’t know.” 

City Toxics Division Manager Nabil Al-Hadithy replied that it was not the city’s job to perform ammonia calculations and that Iceland has repeatedly certified having 750 pounds of ammonia on site, the most recent instance coming this past February in the rink’s Hazardous Business Materials Plan. 

Wescott said Iceland only needs about 750 pounds of ammonia to cool the rink, but that the chiller, installed in 1940, is oversized for the rink and requires additional ammonia to operate. He said system upgrades would include reducing the amount of ammonia needed to operate the system to between 500 and 750 pounds. 

Wescott said he couldn’t estimate the cost of installing a temporary cooling system that meets city specifications. 

“It’s going to be very expensive,” he said. “And I don’t see how we can get it done in three weeks.” 

Earlier this year Iceland opted to upgrade the ammonia system rather than install a more expensive Freon-based system, which it uses at its other locations in Dublin and Belmont. 

To meet city codes, the rink must install a discharge tank to neutralize escaped ammonia by dumping it into water, a water spray system to treat ammonia contaminated air and a remote control system to allow firefighters to move ammonia away from the source of a leak.  

Under the present conditions, Orth said a firefighter trying to redirect the ammonia would have to climb a ladder in the rink’s control room while wearing a moon suit.?

Now entering its seventh year, the struggle over the fate of the historic Blood House centers these days on a complex game of what might be called “musical properties.” 

When members of Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments Board got their first “preview” of the process Thursday night, the encounter left many feeling somewhat bemused. 

How, for example, is the board to go about approving permits for the five-story project that is planned for the 2526 Durant Ave. site of the Blood House when the developer won’t be able to build until the fate of the historic home is resolved? 

Consider, too, that the Blood House’s fate is linked to another nearby landmark on UC Berkeley-owned property as well as to a third location, a pair of adjacent vacant lots located in the shadows of yet more historic resources. 

“We need to see the plan for what’s going to happen to these houses; without it, we can’t move forward,” said ZAB member Dean Metzger. “There’s no way we can support it without it.” 

The first “it” in need of support is the proposal to build a five-story mixed-use project—ground floor commercial space and four floors of containing 44 apartments—on the site where the Ellen Blood House stands. 

The second “it” is the need for a vetted and endorsed plan for the site owned by John Gordon where developers hope to move both the Blood House and the landmarked 1876 John Woolley House, which stand in way of yet another development project on property further to the south.  

The second project, another stalled mixed-use proposal, is Rasputin Music owner Ken Sarachan’s plan to build on a pair of weed-and-concrete filled vacant lots at the northeast corner of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street. 

Sarachan’s plans, in turn, hinge on buying the fourth piece of property in the shuffle, a currently occupied lot to the east of the two he already owns. That property, owned by UC Berkeley, houses the Woolley House. 

The city has a half-million-dollar stake in Sarachan’s project in the form of property liens that Berkeley officials have agreed to waive if Sarachan’s project moves forward.  

City Community Development Project Coordinator Dave Fogarty told ZAB members that “it is vitally important that John Gordon go forward because there is no other site available for the house.” 

The city had filed the liens against the previous owners for failing to repair or demolish the fire-ravaged hulk of a transient hotel that once stood on the lots Sarachan already owns. The city agreed to waive the liens in exchange for a promise to build a mixed-use housing project on the site, with a strong recommendation that the UC lot be included as well. 

Sarachan filed preliminary plans on a truncated version of his project last September, the deadline imposed by the city. 

The city is eager to fill the now-vacant lot on a major corner in the heart of Telegraph Avenue business district, and Blood House project manager Brendan Heafey of Ruegg & Ellsworth, the development firm on the site, told ZAB members Sarachan and the university are close to deal. 

Gordon, Sarachan and Ruegg & Ellsworth reached a deal last month in which Gordon would buy both the Woolley House and the Blood House for a dollar apiece and then move both to a pair of neighboring lots he owns at the southwest corner of the Regent Street/Dwight Way intersection across from the southern side of People’s Park. 

The property is located immediately adjacent to a cluster of other historic structures, and the whole proposal has raised questions among members of Berkeley’s always-vocal preservationist community. 

The moves offer the potential not only of harming the two transported landmarks, but could also “adversely affect three additional historic buildings,” wrote Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association President Wendy Markel in a letter to ZAB members. 

The affected properties are the non-landmarked “Bonnet Box” that occupies a corner of one of Gordon’s lots, the King Building at 2502 Dwight Way, and the Arctic Soda Works Building at 2509 Telegraph Ave. 

Because the California Environmental Quality Act classifies moving a designated historic resource as a demolition, Markel wrote that the Blood House move would require a full environmental impact report, a process that could add yet another set of twists and turns and delays to the game of musical properties. 

The Landmarks Preservation Commission will be involved in all aspects of the three proposals. 

Landmarks Commissioner Leslie Emmington tried to speak at the meeting, but since the hearing had already closed and she hadn’t turned in a speaker’s card, acting Chair David Blake refused her request. 

ZAB member Bob Allen said he had reservations about what would happen to the two houses once installed on Gordon’s lots. He asked if both would both front on the street. It was a fair question since the dimensions of the two structures are too large to fit on the lots, according to a reporter’s measurements. 

The hearing began as it ended, with lots of questions and few, if any, decisive answers. 

In other business, ZAB members: 

• Approved demolition of a single-story home at 1638 Carleton St. and its replacement by a larger, two-story home. 

• Approved a second story addition to a home at 1323 Kains Ave. 

• Approved a permit to open a fast food eatery with outdoor seating at 81 Shattuck Square. 

• Denied an appeal by neighbors of their approval of an addition to a home at 2750 Buena Vista Way. 

• Approved a permit allowing a greenhouse supplies manufacturing company with a retail sales counter to move into a building at 801 Virginia St. 

• Authorized installation of ATMs at four locations on Durant and Euclid avenues.?

The union representing the Peralta College District’s support workers has charged that Peralta administrators are setting up a permanent category of “second class workers” throughout the four-college district. 

At issue is a long-standing dispute between the union and the Peralta Community College District over the hiring of temporary support workers, and a possible change in district policy to reduce the weekly hours temporary staff may work from 40 hours to 19 hours, below the half-time (20-hours per week) threshold to qualify for health benefits. 

Members of Service Employees International Union Local 790 protested at last week’s Peralta College Board of Trustees meeting over the district’s employment practices, with promises of more action if suggested changes are not made. 

Wearing purple SEIU T-shirts, Local 790 members packed the board meeting room to listen to union leaders blast the district’s pending change to the 19-hour limit for support workers. Afterwards, they walked out in the middle of the meeting with chants of “We’ll be back!” 

Referring to the new 19-hour worker policy, SEIU Local 790 Field Representative Ben Holgate said in a telephone interview, “We felt this is simply another way for the district to get around doing the right thing by its temporary workers.” 

The purpose of the board meeting demonstration last Tuesday, he said, “was to put pressure on Chancellor Elihu Harris to sit down with us before any of the new 19-hour-a-week positions are filled. We also want the board to ban the practice of hiring 19-hour-a-week employees.” 

The 19-hour issue was not on the board’s agenda last Tuesday night, so board members could not take any action on the union request at that meeting. 

Representatives of the Peralta District did not return telephone calls in connection with this article. 

Peralta Federation of Teachers President Michael Mills said, “While PFT is not directly involved in this dispute and we are not going to interfere, we hope that it will work its way out. It’s not in our interest to have a continual turnover in support personnel for our teachers. Because of this practice, new support workers continue to have to be retrained, and that sometimes leads to a disruption in the delivery of our program to the students.” 

According to Holgate, the California Education Code requires that all school workers hired for more than 184 days in a calendar year must be given health and dental benefits. The 184 days are not actual working days, but are calendar days from the date of hire to the date of termination, including weekends and holidays. 

Holgate said that to get around providing employee benefits, the Peralta district regularly hires large numbers of temporary workers to work 40 hour weeks but for less than the 184 day period. He says that the number of Peralta workers under such conditions “is at least 300 over the course of the year.” 

At its June 28 meeting, for example, the Peralta Board of Trustees authorized the hiring of 153 such employees through Sept. 1, with hiring periods from one week to two months. That number included 64 instructional assistants, 33 clerical assistants, and 31 interpreters. 

Two years ago, the union sued the college district in California Superior Court over the practice. 

“We found that the district was using people more than 184 days in a calendar year, but still not paying them benefits,” Holgate said. “We sued to stop them.” That lawsuit is currently in settlement talks between the union and the district. 

In the meantime, according to Holgate, the district has begun advertising for 25 positions for 19 hours a week or less. These positions would be year-round.  

“We have heard it through the grapevine that the district intends to use these positions to replace the 40-hour-a-week part-time positions,” Holgate said. “The problem is that this would replace one second-class employee status with another one.” 

Workers in the 19-hour-a-week positions would not be eligible for district health and dental benefits, he said. At 960 hours a year, they would fall 40 hours shy of the 1,000 hour cutoff to qualify for the state retirement system (CalPERS). 

Holgate said that under the state education code the district was required to meet and confer with SEIU 790 union leaders before implementing the new 19-hour system. 

“At the point they began advertising, that was implementation,” he said. “We have asked to meet and confer, but the district hasn’t yet done it.” 

Holgate said the union doesn’t know yet what the effect will be on the district. 

“It appears that it would be a cut in service, however, to replace 40-hour-a-week employees with 19-hour-a-week employees,” he said. “We’re not sure how the work would get done. But it doesn’t look like this is being driven by the education needs of the institution, but by budgetary needs.”Ñ

Casino San Pablo began its latest incarnation Monday as a gambling Mecca where bettors can try their luck against fast-playing machines. 

Though they’re not the 5,000 full-scale slot machines originally proposed in a never-ratified agreement between the Lytton Band of Pomos and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the 500 electronic bingo machines are just as noisy. 

“People are here playing, and it’s not overcrowded,” said Doug Elmets, the tribe’s Sacramento-based consultant who was on hand for the first day of machine play. 

The bingo machines that greeted gamblers Monday require no authorization, although critics claim that the relatively fast-paced play compared to conventional cross-out-the-numbers-on-a-card play make them more like standard slots. The machines are rated as Class II. 

Las Vegas style slots, including the popular poker machines, are rated as Class III gambling machines and require state authorization to install. 

On the same day the machines opened for play at the casino, Contra Costa County officials unveiled a study focusing on the potential negative impacts of a casino with 2,200 regulation slot machines in San Pablo (see related story), a move denounced by Elmets. 

“It’s ironic that they would issue it on the same day they expected us to open with 500 bingo machines,” said Elmets. 

Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D-East Bay) said Friday that the Class II and Class III machines are functionally identical. 

“The experience is the same, they look the same, they have the same lights and whistles, each pull of the handle is a gamble, and they have the same results in terms of crime, blight, traffic congestion, domestic violence and bankruptcies,” she said.  

Armando Viramontes, her casino affairs specialist, said Friday, “We understand there will be 500 machines to begin with, but it could go as high as 1,000, 2,000 or even higher.” 

The installation of 500 machines in what was once a traditional card room is perceived by some as an interim measure, pending a final decision on the tribe’s plans to install a full-scale slot machine and card game casino.  

The Lyttons, who own the East Bay’s largest gambling hall, had signed a pact with Gov. Schwarzenegger that would have given them rights to run a super-casino, offering more slots than any gambling palace on the Las Vegas Strip or Glitter Gulch in exchange for a quarter of the machines’ profits. 

Legislative opposition killed that plan, and the tribe pulled a second proposal for half that number when legislative opposition hardened. The tribe has not, however, renounced slots, and could refloat the proposal later. 

Legislation moving forward in both houses of Congress could torpedo those plans and force the removal of Lytton’s bingo slots, said Viramontes.  

A bill by Sen. Diane Feinstein now on the Senate floor to revoke a special amendment that backdated the Lyttons acquisition of the San Pablo casino stands a good chance of passing, said Viramontes. 

If signed into law, the measure would force the Lyttons to undergo a more rigorous approval process and would strip them of their right to operate gambling machines of any sort in the interim. 

Elmets said that the backdated grant to the Lyttons was an effort “to address wrongs done the tribe decades ago,” adding that passage of the bill to reverse it “would be an unjust taking of tribal rights without just compensation,” something the tribe would certainly appeal. 

Another measure introduced in the House Monday by Rep. Charlie Dent (D-PA) would restrict casinos to lands immediately adjacent to existing reservations and limit acquisition of new sites to land formally acknowledged as tribal habitat after it became part of the United States.  

The addition of machines is expected to result in increased play, and the casino has ended its policy of allowing employees of the adjacent Doctor’s Hospital to park in their lot. 

Tribal publicist Elmets acknowledged that the lot had been closed to hospital employees last week “because the casino plans to use the lot for its patrons.” 

The hospital has responded by restriping their lots, adding 40 more spaces, and by calling for workers to carpool. 

“This could just be the beginning of the negative impacts on the hospital and people who need to reach the only emergency room within 25 miles,” Hancock said.

Should Casino San Pablo eventually win approval to expand to a full-scale casino with 2,200 regulation slot machines, the result would cost Contra Costa County medical services a minimum of $3.6 million annually, according to a study released Monday. 

The report comes on the day that the casino opened for play with 500 electronic bingo game machines, an interim measure installed after the Lytton Band of Pomos shelved an application to install 2,500 regulation slot machines at the site. 

That proposals could be reactivated at any time. The county commissioned the study earlier this year when the larger casino proposal was still pending before the state legislature. 

Doug Elmets, the Sacramento-based publicist for the tribe, ridiculed the study. 

“Government, academic and industry studies have repeatedly refuted tired and inaccurate studies like this that are always trotted out when casino proposals are made,” he said. “This is just one more ‘the sky is falling’ scam. It isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. There aren’t 2,200 slots. There are 500 electronic bingo games.”  

Bad location 

“We are very concerned about the public health impacts of an urban casino,” said county Public Health Director Wendel Brunner in a prepared statement. “This is especially troublesome because the negative impacts would be concentrated in San Pablo, Richmond and North Richmond, communities that already have severe community health problems.” 

Commissioned by the Contra Costa County Health Services agency, the report was prepared by the Abaris Group, a Walnut Creek consulting firm that specializes in issues relating to the provision of emergency medical services. The 24-page document was unveiled at a Monday afternoon press conference held at Hilltop Mall. 

“The negative affects from casinos would conflict with our Environmental Justice Policy,” said County Supervisor John Gioia. “We don’t want to increase the environmental burden low-income communities already face. This would be a step in the wrong direction.” 

The report cited studies showing that so-called problem and pathological gambling rates are highest among the poorest, least-educated and among ethnic minorities, especially the African American communities who are concentrated in the county’s western edge. 

Of the county’s three current and pending casino projects, all are in economically blighted cities desperate for jobs and the promise of more money for starved city and public agency coffers: one in San Pablo, the county’s poorest community; one in the county’s second-poorest community at Point Molate in Richmond and the third, the Sugar Bowl, in unincorporated North Richmond. 

Poverty links 

According to the 2000 Census, nearly half of San Pablo residents—42.8 percent—lived in poverty, followed by Richmond with 36.3 percent, compared to a county-wide average of 18.45 percent. 

The newest county study noted that while strong correlations existed between poverty, ethnicity and gambling problems, evidence was less clear on the impact of opening a new casino—though one study noted that problem gambling rates were much higher for those living within 10 miles of a casino (7.2 percent) versus those who don’t (3.1 percent). 

As a means to minimize impacts on recipients of child welfare payments, the Abaris report recommends that the county reach an agreement with casino that cashiers will not cash welfare checks either for customers or employees. 

While noting that unemployment rates in casino cities would probably decline modestly and city tax revenues would make a similar increase, the report said they would not compensate for the variety of other negative impacts a casino brings. 

Tobacco road? 

According to a study by two economists at California State University at Sacramento, casinos account for increases in two main tax categories, tobacco taxes and room occupancy taxes. Casinos also bring increases in aggravated assaults and violent crimes and modestly increase personal bankruptcy rates. 

The issue of smoking was of special concern to the health agency because tribal lands are exempt from state anti-smoking laws. 

Workers at Casino San Pablo who have developed respiratory problems since they began working there have brought smoking-related health complaints to the county Tobacco Prevention Project, where they also reported that they fear they will be fired for taking sick days, according to the report. 

“Smoky casinos contain up to 50 times more cancer-causing airborne particles than highways and city streets clogged with diesel trucks at rush hour,” the report states. “Regular exposure at work to second-hand smoke can cause a 91 percent increase in coronary heart disease.” 

Air pollution rates in the three proposed casino communities are already ranked as significantly greater than for most cities in the county. 

Visitor impacts 

Abaris calculated that the San Pablo Casino expansion proposal, if implemented, would bring an estimated 11,000 visitors daily, accounting for four million visits annually. 

A survey of other communities with casinos and a review of published reports led the study’s authors to conclude that the increased visits would lead to 3,968 new annual visits to the emergency departments and three new ambulance runs daily. 

The study also predicts one additional injury accident daily directly attributable to an expanded casino.  

Readers can find the report online at the county website, www.cchealth.org/groups/public_health/pdf/casino_ph_ems_impact_study_2005_08.pdf. 

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The UC Berkeley point man for campus development and planning projects in Berkeley will be leaving the university within a month. 

Tom Lollini, assistant vice chancellor for physical and environmental planning, has accepted the position of associate vice chancellor of design and construction at UC Merced. That college, scheduled to open its doors this fall, is the tenth and latest UC campus to open, and is expected to grow to a 25,000 student enrollment by 2030. 

Lollini was out of town and unavailable for comment Monday. 

Mayor Tom Bates was on vacation this week, but Councilmember Linda Maio said that while she did not want to comment on Lollini personally “because I really did not have that much dealing with him,” she believed that because Lollini has been so identified with the university’s development projects, his departure may prove to be a good thing. 

“There’s always so much tension inside the city about the university’s intentions,” she said. “Whoever will be replacing him will be able to start with a clean slate.” 

In recent years, Lollini has been involved in a number of controversial UC Berkeley development and planning projects in Berkeley, including the university’s 2020 Long Range Development Plan and the Memorial Stadium renovation. 

Earlier this month, when a packed house of Berkeley residents at the Berkeley Planning Commission—including members of the School Board, Zoning Adjustments Board, the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Housing Advisory Commission—sharply questioned UC Berkeley’s role in the downtown Berkeley planning process, Lollini deflected the criticism by calling himself a “collaborator; there’s clearly a spirit of cooperation [between the university and the city].” 

Lollini told the Daily Californian that the university’s development projects will not lose step because of his departure. “I have some terrific staff that’s capable of taking this process forward,” he said. 

Lollini will be replaced on an interim basis by Emily Marthinsen, associate director of physical and environmental planning.

When Berkeley arborist Joe Lamb first traveled to the South East Asian island of Borneo in 1990, his worst fears of what environmental disaster could look like were realized. 

More than a decade of indiscriminate logging had clear cut a quarter of the island’s lowland ancient rain forest. The people who depended on the forests for survival were losing their land and their way of life. 

From the air, Lamb said the island looked like a dog with mange. The rivers he navigated had taken on the color of chocolate milk from top soil run-off. 

“There were big patches of trees missing everywhere,” he said. “You’d see scarred hill sides everywhere and tug boats pulling rafts filled with logs.” 

Upon his return to Berkeley, Lamb didn’t just spread the word about what was happening in Borneo, he set out to stop it. In 1991, he founded the Borneo Project to help communities on the world’s third largest island fight logging companies for their land.  

The weapon of choice? Geographic information system (GIS) mapping equipment.  

The project sends volunteer geographers and engineers, mostly from the East Bay, to teach communities of subsistence farmers and nomadic gatherers 21st century mapping techniques. 

The strategy is to map ancestral lands to convince state courts to recognize the clans’ traditional territory and spare it from logging companies. Currently there are more than 100 indigenous communities trained by Borneo Project volunteers with land rights cases pending in the state of Sarawak, located on the northern part of the island, which is part Malaysia. 

Project in jeopardy 

After a string of legal victories, last month the project suffered a setback that could undermine the mapping enterprise. The Sarawak State Court of Appeals overturned a 2001 landmark decision that gave control of nearly four square miles of land to the Rumah Nor, a community of 200 that have traditionally raised crops and hunted and gathered in the forest. Lawyers for the Rumah Nor plan to appeal to federal court in Malaysia. 

Malaysian law recognizes native land claims if the community can document that it controlled territories prior to the formation of the country in 1959. 

In court cases, the communities submitted detailed maps, which included satellite pictures of their territorial claim. They buffered their claim with oral histories documenting a knowledge of resources, sacred sites, graveyards and geographic features of the land. 

Several communities have won compensation in court for land already clear-cut by logging interests. But the biggest victory was won by the Rumah Nor when a Sarawak judge excluded its land from the license area granted to the Borneo Pulp Plantation, a logging company.  

It was the strongest precedent for protecting communal lands from logging, Lawrence said. But in July, the state court of appeals overturned the decision, as argued for by the state. The three-judge panel ruled unanimously that the oral histories were insufficient evidence. The court determined that native land claims must be backed by government documents or aerial photography showing the communities on the disputed lands prior to 1959. 

Confronting the logging menace 

Borneo is home to rain forests and bio-diversity on par with the Amazon. In Sarawak alone, there are 20,000 flowering plant species, 200 mammal species and 100 types of fruit trees. But a June report by the World Wildlife Fund warned that if logging continued at the current rate, Borneo could lose nearly all of its lowland forests by 2020, resulting in a “major loss of species ... and subsistence for local communities.” 

The northern portion of the island is part of Malaysia, except for the tiny coastal nation of Brunei. Indonesia rules the southern portion of the island.  

Both powers have promoted logging, but the Borneo Project has focused on Malaysia because authorities there have been more hostile to outside activists. 

“There were already a lot of groups working in Indonesia, so we have tried to focus where there is a greater need,” said Jessica Lawrence, the project’s executive director and only salaried employee. She is helped by a team of about 35 volunteers and funded through grants and donations from about 800 members, most of whom live in Berkeley, Lawrence said. 

The Borneo Project is currently working with seven communities battling logging interests over territory. Lawrence said the project specifically chooses to work in communities that stand a strong legal chance of keeping their land and are open to foreign assistance. 

“We don’t want to impose our views on anyone else,” she said. “Our goal is not to convert people to any one environmental vision, it is to help communities stay on their land.”  

Communities that have lost communal lands to logging are commonly transferred to relocation camps or left to work on palm oil plantations that often replace the forests, Lawrence said. 

The rush to log Borneo’s ancient forests was spurred by a breakthrough in Japanese bulldozer technology nearly 30 years ago that allowed logging companies to build roads in Borneo’s steep terrain. Today, two-thirds of Bornean timber is sold as plywood to Japan and China, Lawrence said. 

Beginning in the late 1970s the logging companies, many of which have ties to state politicians, staked claim to hundreds of miles of virgin forest. From 1975 through 1990, logging in Sarawak expanded from 3.3 million to 23.1 million cubic yards.  

By the late 1980s several communities were blockading logging roads in an effort to gain international support and stop the destruction of their homes and way of life. 

The blockades made headlines across the globe and caught the attention of Lamb, a local environmentalist. He set off Borneo in 1990 on a mission to establish a sister city relationship between Berkeley and the Uma Bawang/Keluan, a community of 100 that lived in a single wooden longhouse along the banks of the Baram River. 

“It seemed Borneo was an empty niche in the environmental movement where people could make a difference,” said Lamb, who lived for several weeks with the Uma Bawang. His hosts, he said, subsisted on growing rice, catching river crabs and gathering wild ferns, snails, and other foods from the forest. 

In 1991 the Berkeley City Council approved sister city status for the Uma Bawang Longhouse. That victory was just the start for Lamb. He was soon introduced to local geographers and engineers, several from UC, and together they devised the mapping venture to fight logging companies from confiscating communal land. 

In 1995, the Borneo Project held its first GIS mapping project where it trained locals how to use technology to win recognition of their ancestral lands. Malaysian law prohibits maps made by foreigners from being used as evidence at trials.  

Possible focus to sustainable agriculture 

The stricter standard of evidence, as imposed in the July Rumah Nor court decision, would likely nullify the claims of the 100 other communities with pending lawsuits, Lawrence said. If the ruling holds, she said, “Many communities won’t be able to prevent themselves from being evicted.” 

Lawrence said the Borneo Project could shift its focus from the courts to sustainable agriculture and resource management as a way to help keep the communities on their land. She mentioned projects like fish ponds and clean energy projects as possibilities to obtain recognition from the Sarawak government that the communities can remain for the good of the land. 

But the mapping projects will continue no matter the Malaysian high court’s ruling. 

“We will still work with communities because it is something the Malaysian constitution says they have a right to,” she said. “We think Malaysia is still a good place to do this kind of work.”

At a time when the daily headlines are all about North Korea and Iran trying to get nuclear weapons, it is a good thing to return to Hiroshima. 

With its broad boulevards, tree-lined rivers and low-slung mountains, Hiroshima today is one of Japan’s most attractive cities, a spacious contrast to densely packed Tokyo, 400 miles to the north.  

But even these assets are a reminder of the event 60 years ago that instantly made this city known throughout the world. The wide streets are the result of firebreaks, open spaces created by city authorities in World War II to halt the spread of fires caused by B-29 bombing raids that were leveling Japan’s cities. 

Hundreds of Hiroshima residents were outside helping to demolish buildings and clear debris for the firebreaks when a single bomb exploded above the city at 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 15, 1945. Those within a half-mile of the center of the blast—the hypocenter—were killed instantly, among them uniformed girls recruited from local schools for firebreak work. 

The mountains surrounding the city acted to concentrate the shock wave, helping to instantly demolish all but the sturdiest of Hiroshima’s buildings. Fires soon raged out of control, consuming the shattered houses and many of their trapped residents who survived the bomb’s blast. 

Thousands of survivors crowded the riverbanks seeking refuge from the fires. But many of them were too weakened from radiation exposure to escape when the tide raised the water levels. Rather than providing refuge, the city’s rivers instead claimed more lives. 

Six decades have now passed since the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, making it an international symbol and rallying point for the movement to abolish nuclear weapons.  

Long since rebuilt, Hiroshima today is a bustling city of 1.4 million residents, a major manufacturing center whose factories turn out the latest models of Mazda sports cars. For the young people crowding its nightclubs and busy shopping malls, the bombing belongs to history, not a part of their daily lives.  

In the Peace Park, though, time stands still.  

Occupying a large piece of central Hiroshima, the Peace Park is lush and green, sandwiched between two rivers. Even though tour buses bring a steady stream of visitors, especially schoolchildren, there is a hush here that befits the resting place of more than 70,000 souls. An unobtrusive mound surrounded by trees holds the ashes of many of those killed by the bomb. 

In the center of the park, the Cenotaph contains the names of victims of the bomb, with new names added each year. This is where a ceremony is held each Aug. 6 to commemorate the tragedy, bringing dignitaries from around the world. Nearby are individual monuments to others killed in the atomic blast: Koreans, post office workers, middle school children.  

Almost hidden in a quiet area of the park is the Peace Memorial Hall, which contains the Hall of Remembrance. A circular room with a small fountain, its walls are made up of 140,000 tiles, one for each person believed to have died from the bombing by the end of 1945.  

In another room, names and photographs of Hiroshima’s dead are flashed on monitors. Nearby, computers can be used to search for the names of victims. In the library, visitors can read memoirs and testimonies of survivors. 

Just outside the hall, a visitor can see some of the “Phoenix Trees” that survived the bombing. Despite predictions that nothing would grow in Hiroshima for 75 years, these trees began sprouting new leaves by the end of the year. 

But it is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum that ultimately brings home the reality of the bombing. In its matter-of-fact displays and descriptions, the true horror of that day is made clear to any visitor. 

Look upon a singed wristwatch stopped at 8:15, a shredded uniform of a 12-year old girl caught outside, or a glass bottle melted into an unrecognizable shape, and atomic war suddenly is no longer an abstract concept. 

Alongside photographs of the mushroom cloud and the devastated landscape, the artifacts collected by the museum tell the story better than any words ever can. A customer sitting on steps waiting for a bank to open had his shadow permanently engraved into the concrete by the flash of the bomb. A tricycle sits in a display case, its metal scorched and peeling. A small doll stares out at a visitor, one side of its face burned. 

A wall taken from the inside of a home has long black streaks, the result of the “black rain” that fell when the mushroom cloud rose high into the sky. The radioactive rain was able to streak the inside of the house because its roof had been blown off by the initial blast.  

It was that radiation that made this weapon different from any used before. Many pregnant women exposed to the bomb later miscarried, or gave birth to severely handicapped children. For the first time in history, a generation was harmed by a weapon used before it was even born. 

For years after the bomb was dropped, the people of Hiroshima developed illnesses from radiation exposure. One of them was Sadako Sasaki, an infant on Aug. 6, 1945 who grew up normally but eventually developed radiation-related leukemia. 

The Children’s Monument in Peace Park is dedicated to all young people caught in the Hiroshima bomb. It was erected in 1958 when school children throughout Japan were inspired to raise funds to create a memorial to Sadako, who died in 1955, aged 12. 

Beside the memorial is a glass enclosure with thousands of paper cranes contributed by young people from around the world. It was inspired by the old Japanese belief that a crane can live a thousand years, and that if you fold a thousand paper cranes they will protect you from illness. Sadako spent her last days in the hospital folding paper cranes, but she died just before reaching her goal of a thousand. 

For years, the museum was criticized for not placing the atomic bombing in the context of the war, seeming to portray Hiroshima only as a victim of United States attack. 

In response, the east wing of the museum was opened in 1994. In a country still accused of failing to fully face up to its wartime aggression, the museum now frankly describes the chain of events that led up to Hiroshima, from the Japanese invasion of China to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The museum now makes clear that the atomic bomb was a weapon of war, a war Japan was responsible for starting. 

It also notes that Hiroshima was the headquarters of a major Japanese army, located a short distance from the center of the blast. The scattered remains of those headquarters can still be seen near Hiroshima Castle, which was completely rebuilt after the war. 

On the northern edge of Peace Park stands the Atomic Dome. The former Industry Promotion Hall was close to the hypocenter, but its outside walls of brick and stone managed to survive. The metal columns that once supported the roof arch over an empty, broken shell. 

For years, a debate raged about the Atomic Dome. Some in the city wanted it demolished so that Hiroshima could move away from its past, but ultimately it was decided to preserve the ruins. Today, it’s become a symbol known throughout the world, an icon for the anti-nuclear movement. 

Standing next to these ghostly remains on a warm summer’s day, a visitor can almost imagine what it was like the day the bomb dropped, when a busy, modern city was reduced to ashes in a blink of an eye. 

Three days after Hiroshima was destroyed, the second—and last—atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, ending the war. The sufferings of those two cities have helped prevent the use of nuclear weapons by any country in the last six decades. 

And yet, nuclear disarmament seems more distant than ever. If North Korea and Iran manage to enter the nuclear club, they will join Pakistan and India, those old enemies, who have both tested atomic bombs in recent years. Israel is believed to have a large arsenal of nuclear weapons. And despite the end of the Cold War, the United States and Russia still have thousands of nuclear-tipped missiles in silos and submarines, each one hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. 

There are even voices in Japan advocating that their country also develop atomic weapons, if North Korea manages to become a nuclear threat. 

For those reasons, Hiroshima today may be the most important city in the world. Its mere existence reminds us of the madness that men can do.  

Berkeley’s Peace Lantern Ceremony  

Gather to float lanterns in remembrance of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and all victims of war. Decorate lantern shades, hear Japanese flute and drum performances, on Sat., Aug. 6, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Aquatic Park, at the west end of Addison Street, two blocks west of Sixth St. and a block south of University Ave. 595-4626. Lanterns2005@progressiveportal.org. 

›

About a dozen Berkeley police officers raided a Vallejo home Saturday in search of Christopher Hollis, the man police say shot the 19-year-old Berkeley woman who was also his friend. 

The raid, executed in conjunction with Vallejo police, failed to locate Hollis, who remains at large, said Berkeley Police Public Information Officer Joe Okies. 

Okies declined to comment on leads that led police to the Vallejo residence and Vallejo police did not return phone calls Monday. 

Vallejo Police Lt. Jim O’Connell told the Vallejo Times-Herald that a car associated with Hollis was at the residence earlier on Saturday, but Hollis was not inside. 

Four people believed to be friends of Hollis were inside the residence when police arrived, O’Connell told the Times-Herald. No arrests were made. 

According to the newspaper’s account, Berkeley police contacted Vallejo police early Saturday afternoon when they learned Hollis might be associated with the Vallejo home. Police entered the house with guns drawn wearing protective helmets and shields. 

Hollis, 21 of Hayward, is wanted in the murder of Meleia Willis-Starbuck, a Berkeley High graduate shot to death last month in front of the College Avenue apartment she was subletting for the summer. 

Berkeley police have said that Hollis got out of a car and fired into a crowd of people, striking only Willis-Starbuck, who had returned to Berkeley from Dartmouth College for a summer internship. 

Okies told the Daily Planet Monday that an eyewitness at the scene said Willis-Starbuck called Hollis to the scene, telling him to “bring the heat,” after she and several friends got into an argument with a group of men. 

M

Two city panels have meetings this week to address the complexities of the city’s application of the state density bonus laws. 

A Zoning Adjustments Board panel will consider Wednesday alternative ways of calculating maximum allowable building size and increases in mass granted to developers who include reduced-rate housing rentals and condos in new multi-unit buildings. 

The city staff’s current application of the law also allows developers to count tenant-usable roof space areas as part of a project’s open space requirements under the zoning code, and to count every parking space in a garage which uses multi-level auto lifts as a full parking space. 

The ZAB panel will study possible outcomes if the roof area couldn’t be counted as open space or if only surface parking spaces were counted toward a building’s quota. 

The meeting is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the second floor conference room at the City Permit Services Center, 2120 Milvia St. 

The Planning Commission, which appointed its own task force on the issue after ZAB set the ball rolling, is playing catch-up from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday. Principal Planner Debra Sanderson will give the task force an introduction to the city’s current calculation process. 

The two subcommittees had been formed before the City Council’s July 19 vote to create an expanded panel containing members of both groups plus chair Jesse Arreguin of the Berkeley Housing Advisory Commission. 

Arreguin’s appointment was later deemed invalid because of lack of public notice, and in a controversial session last week, the council voted to go ahead without him for the moment. Another vote on his membership has been set for Sept. 13. 

Sanderson said Monday that as yet no meeting of the council-created joint panel has been scheduled.e

The story “Alleged Berkeley Gang Members Arrested in Richmond Slayings,” (July 29-Aug. 1) listed a Berkeley address for Joseph James Carroll, Jr., one of the men sought in connection with the murder, according to information provided by Richmond Police Department. Residents of that address, however, said that Carroll does not live there.

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

PEACE AND JUSTICE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I read last week’s stories about the Peace and Justice Commission with a great deal of interest, since I served for four years on the commission—until March of this year—as the appointment of the late Margaret Breland. During that time, even after a flurry of conservative appointments following our resolution on Rachel Corrie a few years ago, there was always a progressive outlook on the commission and a willingness to take on all issues of importance and relevance—local, national, and international—that were brought to us by Berkeley citizens. 

Now things have changed for the worse, in my opinion, and one of the people who have helped that along is Darryl Moore. After four years on the commission I needed to turn my attention to other obligations, and upon Mr. Moore’s election, I met with him to discuss replacing me on the commission. I suggested a couple of names; other commissioners who were aware of my intentions suggested names as well. All of them were progressive voices in the community. Much to our surprise and disappointment, Councilmember Moore chose instead to take one of the members already on the commission, Betty Olds’ appointee, and make him his own, thereby freeing up Councilmember Olds to make another even more conservative appointment. If this is indicative of how Mr. Moore intends to ally himself on Berkeley politics during his tenure on the City Council, then we progressives are in for more disappointments.  

In the meantime, we are left with a Peace and Justice Commission where more than half the appointees are unwilling to vote for peace. 

John Lavine 

• 

VIOLENT CRIME 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regarding P. Wooten’s July 29 letter: It’s possible. It is possible for 50 percent of a population to commit more than 50 percent of violent crimes. Disregard sex for a moment. I know it’s hard.  

Imagine an individual commits more than one violent crime; a repeat offender. Now imagine a different individual never commits any violent crime. 

The U.S. Department of Justice has grappled with the “impression” that men appear to be more prone to violence than women. DOJ looked at other factors as contributors. They found that men are reluctant to report women as their attackers. They also found that in many immigrant households, reporting is not done at all... women against men nor men against men. 

We are making some progress because while some men protect their egos by failing to report to police when they are attacked by women, other men find it disturbing that so many more of their kind are committing violent crimes. 

Let’s leave Impressionism to artists. 

Gabrielle Wilson 

• 

BERKELEY SKATEPARK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The basic problem with the Berkeley Skatepark is that it represents a culture and activity that is antithetical to the very nature of risk-adverse government officials.  

We can readily dispel the notion that city staff are undertaking this enforcement activity because of their concern for the safety of the skaters. First, half the lights at the skatepark are not operating despite months of complaints to get them fixed. Light levels and safety go hand in hand. Second, despite what city officials would like to have happen, the enforcement of the helmet laws is not forcing kids to wear helmets. That is self evident by the fact that the skatepark, once a place of pulsing multiethnic and multiage energy, is now often nothing more than a dimly lit abandoned urban relic. Worse, the enforcement of the helmet laws just pushes the kids onto the streets and sidewalks where not only won’t they be wearing helmets but they will be dodging cars and pedestrians.  

If you have ever been to the skatepark you would cringe at the slips and falls onto the unforgiving concrete and steel and wonder why anyone would ever be crazy enough to do what these kids do absent full body armor and a safety harness. But if you are there long enough you can see some pretty amazing stuff and you are struck by how these skaters, black, white, Asian, Latino, boys, girls, young and old (well not that old) have developed this truly admirable community where there is respect for elders, race is irrelevant, and youngsters are encouraged and taught by those who know more. We would all be served by following their example.  

No, this enforcement is all about the fear that the city will be sued by someone. And this assessment is made by the city’s attorney whose job it is to warn city officials of possible future dangers. The skatepark has moved from green to red alert. The city has decided it can reduce its potential liability by having police give $100 tickets to kids. It’s a little extreme as the same message could be accomplished for far less money. So the kids respond to this persecution, not surprisingly, with outrage and defiance which will come as no surprise to anyone who is a parent. And who would blame kids for developing a resentment of police and city government for issuing tickets that are on par with a cop pulling you over for not wearing a seatbelt and giving you a $2000 ticket.  

We all accept different levels of risk in our lives and governments are no different. However, Berkeley is one of the most risk-adverse cities in California. Vendors who have no problem doing business with other cities often find their contracts held up for months while they try and get liability insurance coverage that is acceptable to this city. With regard to skateparks in particular there have been NO lawsuits (that I have been able to find) in Northern California.  

But there is a cost when the City of Berkeley transfers their potential risk to somebody else. In the case of the skatepark it is the child who gets hit by a car while skateboarding in the street who pays the bill.  

The community would be better served and the city would have less of a liability if they pulled city staff from supervising the park and let the kids use the place the way they want (which is what they did 90 percent of the time before the city took this new course of enforcement action). The money that the city saves from not staffing the skatepark for the few hours a day that they do could be redirected toward increasing or maintaining other youth recreation services.  

Doug Fielding 

• 

LANDMARKS ORDINANCE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Steven Donaldson’s rant on the Landmarks Ordinance is correct in only one respect: He doesn’t know anything about historic preservation. He might be surprised to learn that there are at least three, count them, three landmark buildings currently under a demolition review by the city, the Blood House on Durant Avenue, the Woolley house on Haste Street and the Copra Warehouse on Heinz Avenue in West Berkeley, All three landmarked years ago and all owned by developers who want to demolish them. To be fair the two houses are being proposed for moving to another site, but still the removal of a landmark building from its original site is a demolition under the zoning code and has impacts on not only the buildings being removed but on many other landmarks in the area. The Copra Warehouse the last four story brick structure of its age and type left in all of Berkeley (maybe in the entire Bay area) is being proposed for actual demolition to make way for a speculative, for lease, biotech lab by Wareham Properties.  

It might be of interest to Mr. Donaldson to know that the LPC under the current ordinance has no power to prevent the demolition of these landmarks . Only the California Environmental Quality Act that requires a developer to do an EIR if he wants to demolish a Landmark, protects Berkeley’s Landmarks. People that snivel about our Commission and our Ordinance should get their facts straight. 

Allen Tobey’s astonishing recount of the process that the LPC went through to come up with the LPO revisions that are now before the Council makes one wonder what planet he has been on all these many months. For one thing all the important policy changes that were suggested to be part of the commission’s rewrite were proposed by the staff and the Assistant City Attorney Zack Cowen. When the LPC wanted to bring in an outside consultant paid for by the State Office of Historic Preservation the staff nixed the deal by insisting that the commission first adopt the staff changes and agree not to study any alternatives. It’s no wonder that the new commissioners on the LPC balked at this power grab by the staff. 

The truth is in fact that developers started this fight years ago when Patrick Kennedy helped form a pro growth development group called ADAPT. ADAPT’s stated goal was to reduce the LPC to an advisory role and remove the LPC from the permit process entirely. This was followed up by a non-elected task force headed by developer Laurie Capitelli who is now on the City Council and is leading the charge to plow under 30 years of effort by neighborhoods to protect important pieces of the city’s heritage.  

What we have before the City Council now is two versions of changes to an ordinance that needs no major revision, the LPC version promoted and written by the staff who couldn’t care less about historic preservation and a Planning Commission version promoted and written largely by two Planning commissioners who were annoyed that the LPC dared to express an opinion on a project that they both had more than a passing interest in. A project that incidentally demolished a landmark site. This is payback pure and simple. It is never politic to tell the ugly truth about how decisions are made in this so called progressive administration, but there it is. 

Laurie Bright 

President, Council Of Neighborhood Associations 

Former Chair, Landmarks Preservation Commission 

• 

GALLO WINE AIN’T SO FINE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Gallo Wine Ain’t So Fine  

Shame on Gallo! The United Farm Workers (UFW) recently launched a boycott against Gallo Winery. There is a mountain of evidence that Gallo has tormented, disappointed, and abused the rights of workers and forced this new boycott. For 30 years, the Gallo Wine Company has been mistreating its farmworkers. Gallo refuses to give benefits to three-fourths of their farmworkers, despite the fact that Gallo’s yearly sales average over $1.5 billion. Gallo has provided many farmworkers with little to no benefits, job protections, nor grievance rights. As a result, workers’ families have been forced to live in poor housing conditions and suffer without health coverage, paid holidays and vacations. This type of exploitation should not be tolerated. Gallo must be forced to take serious actions to treat their farm workers reasonably by giving them a fair contract.  

In 1973, when the contract expired, Gallo tried to get rid of the UFW. In the 1970s, millions of Americans nationwide supported the UFW boycotts of lettuce, grapes and Gallo wine. The people of the Bay Area gave full support to Cesar Chavez and UFW and the protest was immensely successful. In recent years, Gallo has again tried to get rid of the UFW. In early 2003, Gallo supervisors illegally circulated petitions in the workplace to oust the UFW. On Nov. 5, 2004, in a unanimous ruling the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board found that, “the company was illegally behind the effort to oust the UFW.” 

You can help! Join the unanimous vote of the Berkeley City Council, the AFL-CIO, and the United Farm Workers’ boycott and say “No Gallo!” Please sign the online petition at www.unionvoice.org/campaign/nogallo. For more information on the boycott of Gallo Wine, please visit www.gallounfair.com or www.ufw.org. The 1970s boycott succeeded at gaining union recognition and contracts. Let’s support the UFW and make the boycott succeed again!  

Kriss Worthington 

• 

RFID 

David Coolidge’s July 29 letter criticizing commentary in the July 26 Daily Planet about RFID at the Berkeley Public Library was disappointing. I kept hoping he would offer “accurate, unbiased, information” about RFID to supplement or replace the “hypothetical problems” that concern the rest of us. If he had more informed and better commentary about RFID, why didn’t he let us have it? 

Shirley Stuart 

• 

PUBLIC ART 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Robbin Henderson, in her July 29 commentary, seems to suggest that public art should be immune to criticism. She depicts those who dare challenge the aesthetics or disagree on the merits of the Brower memorial or the “Here/There” sculpture as humorless and ignorant of postmodernism.  

And then, a few paragraphs down, she cites an editorial cartoon of mine, dismissing it because...she doesn’t agree with it. Should we then assume that Ms. Henderson is humorless and ignorant of satire? Her commentary in fact only confirms the point made by the cartoon—that there is a certain patronizing tone to thin-skinned arts supporters who cannot bear the thought of anything less than unanimous praise.  

The larger point that Ms. Henderson misses is that the debate over these pieces of art is exactly what makes them valuable. Though I’m not a fan of either and believe the Brower memorial to be patently absurd and grossly at odds with its stated purpose, I’ll concede that the “Here/There” sculpture is admirably whimsical. But its condescension, directed at Berkeley’s southern neighbor, and its placement in a neighborhood—my neighborhood—where violence is all too present, where gang wars are waged across the border, and where the searchlights of police helicopters probe the streets all too often, makes the sculpture seems insensitive, naive, and oblivious. 

But works of art, whether sculptures or cartoons, are meant to be provocative. They are not submitted for approval; they are intended to provoke, to entertain and to challenge. The debate is part of the process.  

Ms. Henderson’s closing threat that public art will be forced to go elsewhere if the Daily Planet does not express greater support is likewise absurd. The fact that this community cares enough to debate these works is proof positive of the vibrancy of art in Berkeley, and the Planet provides a public service in airing that debate.  

Public art begets public criticism. And if Ms. Henderson doesn’t like it, she can go to There.  

Justin DeFreitas 

• 

MAKING SENSE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

J. Douglas Allen-Taylor’s argument in “Making Some Sense Out of East Bay Violence” (July 29) is as full of nonsensical holes as a bullet-riddled road sign! The car-full of three young African-American men, one of whom fired a gun in the street and mistakenly killed his friend Meleia while “protecting” her, are THE CAUSE of the fatal violence, and the shooter cannot be exonerated or “forgiven” because he may have been reacting to someone else’s original anger or stupid behavior. 

Anyone who makes the decision to carry a gun on the street needs their head tested and must take full individual responsibility for the repercussions of their actions should they use it. These guys, who I understand do not come from particularly underprivileged backgrounds, should have had the intelligence and sense not to be sucked into the stupidity in which they are now tragically enmeshed. They have nobody to blame but themselves. Another sad aspect of this idiotic affair is the role of the cell phone, which facilitated the quick arrival of a second group of stupid people on the scene, prepared to fire on the first group of stupid people. What idiots!! 

Come on, Allen-Taylor, Berkeley is a place where people have the chance to grow up educated, intelligent and sophisticated. But some just don’t want to learn, and you should stop making excuses for them.  

John Brocket 

El Cerrito 

• 

TERRORISM EDITORIAL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

While Becky O’Malley deserves credit for condemning the murder of terrorist victims in London, Egypt, Bosnia, Uganda and Darfur, she neglects to mention the country which has suffered most severely from homicide bombers: Israel. Projected on a U.S. population scale, Israel has lost 43,000 innocents to the savagery of suicidal Palestinian thugs. Given the Israelis’ extraordinary high lose of life to these Islamofascist barbarians (what else would you call them?), it is more than a little curious and disturbing that Ms. O’Malley should somehow omit Israel’s suffering. 

In trying to comprehend why Ms. O’Malley ignored the impact of terrorism on Israel, one rationale may lie in her contention that Palestinian “terror was used as a tactic with a political goal.” As if that would excuse it! O’Malley does mention Hamas, whose oft expressed “political goal” is the full destruction of Israel. Does that afford them justification for their acts of unconscionable brutality? 

Ms. O’Malley intimates that the recent acts of terrorism in London and Egypt are simply “killing for its own sake” and that supporters of Al Qaeda have no political rationale. She must be blind and/or deaf as Al Qaeda has regularly and emphatically stated that their goal is a worldwide realm of people living under Sharia, Islamic Law. And to this end, the killing of any infidel is sanctioned. 

While we have watched past Peace and Justice Commission resolutions brought to the City Council to condemn Israel, the commission has never condemned the wanton slaying of innocents by Palestinian terrorists. As John Gertz’s op-ed so eloquently put it, this form of discrimination has got to stop. And no future Berkeley mayoral candidate who aids and abets this bias will garner the political support of the Jewish community and other fair-minded members of Berkeley citizenry. As e.e. cummings said: “There is some shit/we will not eat.” 

Finally, to return to Ms. O’Malley’s omission, I say: “Becky, here’s your opportunity to condemn Palestinian acts of terrorism. Would you kindly do so, albeit without qualification? Show us where you really stand on the issue of terrorism.” 

Dan Spitzer 

Kensington 

• 

DISHONEST 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

At last Zorro has been unmasked! He is really Don Diego Von Gertz of the Berkeley Democratic Party. 

Funniest looking yarmulke I ever saw.  

I have never seen anything quite as thoroughly dishonest as Gertz’s latest. First he denies being the prime mover behind “getting” the various people who voted for Rachel Corrie, but then he brags and threatens about mobilizing the 25 percent of the Berkeley voting population that he says will approve the murder of Rachel Corrie because she burned a flag. 

Also, I see no one else writing in to justify the murder of Rachel Corrie for burning the flag. Not even Antonin Scalia.  

Then he denies lobbying the School Board, just the City Council, as if the one did not connect to the other. 

Then he denies trying to foist pro-Israel views on the School Board or council. 

Well, of course not. He is intelligent enough to know that, except for him and a few other imperialist fanatics, no one will openly support the murder of Rachel Corrie. Not even among the 25 percent he claims agree with him.  

All he can realistically aim for is to have everyone stop talking about this, and other Israeli crimes against humanity. 

He has apparently been successful in using his flashing sword to intimidate the Peace and Justice Commission into silence, with a Z soon to be carved into the flesh of Maio and perhaps the other fellow, who for some reason is left out of this recent rant.  

I wonder where the Pro-Palestinian Paladinettes of MECA are in the midst of this Zionist power play going on in their own city? Are they silent because Gertz the Fox is a fellow Democrat, or because Foxgertz is a fellow Jew, or is it both? 

Hopefully, Gertzfox will appear in his mask and cape at the next Cinco de Mayo festival to explain to the Latino community how he is using the wealth derived from exploitation of a Californio legend. 

Mark Richey 

• 

INARTICULATE GROPING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Becky O’Malley’s editorial in the July 29 edition of the Daily Planet inarticulately gropes at the root causes of global terrorism. According to O’Malley, terrorism has nothing to do with Islam, despite the fact that Islam is the only religion founded by a military general and spread by an army, and is a religion that teaches that it has superseded all others. Instead, she believes that today’s terrorists are nihilists, who have no goals. Wahabism and its leading exponent, Osama Bin Laden, does have a very clear stated goal, the establishment of a worldwide caliphate, based upon the superiority not of their race, but of their religion. O’Malley believes that not much works in stopping today’s terrorists. For example, she derides Britain’s surveillance cameras as useless, but no doubt wrote that before the would be bombers were captured last week, largely because they were caught on camera. Instead, she puts her hopes in communication between religious groups. After a long, rambling editorial on terrorism, and after giving special dispensation to Muslims, dedicated readers of the Daily Planet will have no problem in guessing at whom O’Malley points her finger: Israel. But, Mrs. O’Malley, Israel is not sending suicide bombers out into the world. O’Malley insists that the Peace and Justice Commission must not give Israel a pass. The old commission in no way fostered communication between Jews and Muslims, or Israel and the Arabs, as O’Malley wants. It would have been nice if it had. Instead, it busied itself with passing mindless anti-Israel resolutions. In doing so, it modeled itself on the U.N. General Assembly. Last year, as in previous years, with its automatic Islamic/Third World majority the U.N General Assembly passed 92 condemnatory resolutions, 88 of which were directed against Israel. Only four were reserved for any other world situation. Let’s make sure that this is not the communication skill O’Malley has in mind, and let’s make sure that it is not the type of communication skill the Peace and Justice Commission or Linda Maio’s wing of the City Council ever practices again. 

John Gertz 

• 

SUGGESTED BAN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Given your weekend cover story of the SUV smashing into Solano Avenue Berkeley Starbucks, my immediate tongue-in-cheek solution: Ban them  

both in Berkeley! 

Sylvia Scherzer 

Albany 

• 

GUN CONTROL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Whenever there is a call for gun control, it is inevitably followed by letters to the effect that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” My father always responds “That may be true. But people without guns kill a lot fewer people.”  

Eric Weaver 

• 

ANTI-SEMITISM 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Ronald Branch’s letter about pollution at the Albany bulb shows more about the writer’s anti-Semitic hatred than it does about his so-called caring about the pollution of the bay. Henry J. Kaiser was neither a Jew nor a committed Zionist. Yet Branch immediately refers to him as a zionazi, a term which is not only deeply hurtful to the millions of people who suffered at the hands of the true Nazis, but is reflective of extreme ignorance as to the meaning of Zionism—a movement to return the Jewish people to their homeland after years of persecution. Branch shows his true colors when he says about the cause of the pollution: “This is a good indicator of the character of the people who drafted over 10 million men to do their dirty work in Europe...” Well, I have news for you, Mr. Branch—the Americans and the Allies fought the Nazis not to protect Jews but to protect the integrity of their own borders and way of life. Your right to spew your anti-Semitic hatred is protected by all those men who went to war against Nazi Germany and Japan. Henry I. Kaiser’s reputation stands on its own. He built ships and industries which not only helped the Allies in World War II, but provides all of us with the modern conveniences we have come to rely on such as roads, tunnels, houses, cars, bicycles, and more. Yes, pollution should be cleaned up. I suggest that Mr. Ronald Branch begin the cleanup by his own contribution of time and effort.  

Gail Taback 

• 

BROWER CENTER COST 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

So the Brower Center is already $8.5 million over budget without even breaking ground, and they want the city to put in $2 million more. 

The city is already giving them the land, valued at $5.7 million, for one dollar. 

And without building any replacement parking (an additional $6 million), the city will lose an estimated $600,000 per year in parking revenue. 

This all seems very wasteful and excessive for something that is supposed to be “green.” 

Lucille Berg 

• 

FIELD STATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The misinformation consistently represented in Daily Planet articles about UC Berkeley’s remediation and restoration at the Richmond Field Station (RFS) is frustrating. In the paper’s July 29 edition, Richard Brenneman inaccurately reports—again—on UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station restoration project. 

Some important corrections for your readership: 

• The $20-million estimated cost to complete the project is not due to the change in agency oversight as Mr. Brenneman states. This budget is for the remaining phases of upland and marsh cleanup and restoration that need to occur regardless of which regulatory agency oversees this work. 

• University officials have never argued against Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) oversight of the RFS site. As we stated publicly to the Richmond City Council and in other meetings, the University would be happy to work with either DTSC or the Regional Water Quality Control Board, and we are now working well with DTSC. 

It would be helpful to the University and to Daily Planet readers if Mr. Brenneman gathered factual information for his articles before submission. We are always available for consultation or queries regarding this matter, and could have provided accurate information for this and other articles regarding the Richmond Field Station. 

Anyone with questions about UC Berkeley’s work at the RFS is welcome to learn more by visiting www.cp.berkeley.edu/rfs_marshrr.html, or by contacting our office at 642-3073. 

Greg Haet 

Manager, Environmental Protection 

Office of Environment, Health & Safety 

University of California, Berkeley 

This week the City Council, the Planning Commission and the Zoning Adjustments Board all go on their long summer breaks, and not a moment too soon. Legislatively and judicially speaking, the past year has been an annus horribilis. To know that these bodies will be on vacation for the next month and a half is something of a relief.  

It would be even more reassuring to know that our elected officials and their appointees intend to use some of their time off to bone up on laws and policies that will (or should) inform major decisions they’re slated to make in 2005-06. The need for edification was all too evident in their deliberations of the last twelve months. 

To be sure, their regular schedules scarcely leave enough time to deal conscientiously with immediate issues, much less to delve into the legal and policy background of each item. Witness the huge packet of documents that go out for a single council meeting. Planning Commission and ZAB agendas are less formidable but still plenty demanding.  

Here then, is a modest, late summer curriculum for independent study focused on three major issues that will be on city agendas this fall and beyond.  

1. UC Settlement and Downtown  

Without a doubt, the worst action taken by the council in the past year was the settlement with the University of California, secretly approved in May. And the worst thing about this very bad agreement is that it effectively hands control of all development in downtown Berkeley to the UC Regents.  

The settlement is a short if painful read (www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/manager/lrdp/ucblrdpagreement.pdf). Anne Wagley’s “Mayor Bates Drops the Ball” offers a comprehensive and insightful critique (Daily Planet online archives for June 24, 2005.) 

The secret vote might have gone the other way if the council had consulted the Berkeley Municipal Code, which assigns the Planning Commission (unmentioned in the settlement and bypassed in its preparation) primary authority for—what else?—the city’s land use planning (Section 3.28.100) and for amending the city’s General Plan (Section 22.04.020).  

Also instructive is the Citizen Participation Element of the General Plan itself. Whereas the settlement describes an exclusively staff-driven process, the GP calls for extensive public involvement. According to Section 22.04.010 of the Municipal Code, the General Plan sets policy for the City of Berkeley.  

The Municipal Code can be accessed at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us. The General Plan, online at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning/landuse/plans/generalplan/nitce.htm, can also be purchased from the Planning Department.  

2. Historic Preservation  

Five years ago the council directed the Landmarks Preservation Commission to bring the city’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance into line with Berkeley’s Permit Streamlining Act. Thanks to the intervention of city staff and a majority of the Planning Commission, what should have been a minor refinement has ballooned into a major assault on the legal foundations of historic preservation in Berkeley.  

Before delving into the voluminous and obfuscatory official documentation of this affair (www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning/landuse/LPO/default.htm), it pays to peruse the introduction to “CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act] and Historical Resources,” a readable guide published by the State Office of Planning and Research (www.ceres/ca.gov/ 

topic/env_law/ceqa/more/tas/page1.html#introduction). See, too, the website of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (www.berkeley.heritage.com).  

3. The Future of Berkeley Industry and Arts 

West Berkeley is the only part of town zoned for industry and working artists and artisans. Most of the area’s many manufacturers, artists and artisans are tenants. What keeps West Berkeley affordable for them is zoning that either restricts or simply forbids high-end uses (retail, offices).  

Two big upcoming projects involve the conversion of a substantial amount of industrially zoned land to retail: the 91,000-square-foot West Berkeley Bowl and the commercialization of Gilman and Ashby Avenues west of San Pablo.  

Last winter city staff were poised to fast-track the new Bowl without an Environmental Impact Report, despite the fact that the facility (25 percent larger than the existing Bowl) would generate 50,000 new vehicle trips a week in an area already choked with traffic. A coalition of nearby businesses and residents hired an independent traffic engineer who strongly critiqued the initial traffic study. 

Discerning the likelihood of a successful lawsuit, staff directed the developer to do an EIR. In September the EIR and proposed zoning and General Plan amendments will come before the Planning Commission; the project itself will be vetted by the ZAB. The planning process so far is officially documented on the city’s website (www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning/landuse/Heinz/default.htm; to access individual files, scroll all the way over to the right side of the screen).  

To date, there’s no official documentation worth consulting with respect to the proposed commercialization of west Gilman and Ashby which has yet to begin. That’s because this very ambitious project, a brainchild of Mayor Bates, was endorsed by the council last spring without the slightest preliminary market research, policy analysis or community input. Its initiation awaits the hiring of a new planner. 

Both these projects need to be evaluated by the goals and standards set forth in the West Berkeley Plan (www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning/landuse/adopted.html1#west; hard copy $10 at the Planning Department). Unanimously adopted by the council in 1993, the Plan is often misquoted to support the de-industrialization of West Berkeley. In fact it lays out the city’s official strategy for retaining its industrial base and arts sector.  

That strategy’s continuing validity and its conflicts with the proposed West Berkeley Bowl are lucidly outlined in a Feb. 7, 2005 letter to the city from Neil Mayer, the founder and former director of the city’s Office of Economic Development (available from Allan Gatzke, Agatzke@ci.berkeley.ca.us, 981-7413). John Curl’s “Drayage Artisans Were Protected Until 1998” (Daily Planet online archives for July 5, 2005) recounts the city’s surreptitious elimination of legal protection for Berkeley’s artists and artisans.  

Mayor Bates and other advocates of commercializing west Gilman and Ashby argue that more retail inevitably yields ample sales tax revenue for a city. This conventional wisdom is challenged by California Cities and the Local Sales Tax, a meticulously researched 1999 study done for the Public Policy Institute of California by Paul G. Lewis and Elisa Barbour (www.ppic.org).  

That’s enough. It’s summer, after all. When the Council, the ZAB and the Planning Commission reconvene in September, we’ll find out who’s done his or her homework. 

›

It’s hard to believe that summer is more than half way over but the signs are everywhere: winter clothes on display in department stores, back to school ads in the newspaper. I’m just getting acclimated to the warm, sunny weather here in the East Bay when it’s once again time to return for classes at chilly, fog-shrouded San Francisco State. 

But registering for courses and figuring out how to dress for the climate on campus have turned out to be the most difficult aspects of getting an M.F.A at SFSU. It’s often impossible to predict the weather conditions on the other side of the bay, or to find space in the classes one needs in order to graduate. 

I’m entering the fifth semester of a three-year program and I’m waitlisted for a required workshop. But at least I get to take another seminar with Michelle Carter, an energetic, award-winning playwright and fiction writer who knows how to teach one hell of a course. I’m enrolled in her upcoming Cross Genre class. Last spring I took her Writing in the Public Context workshop and learned a great deal about craft, but more importantly, I was encouraged to go places I hadn’t been before and to look deeply into worlds I knew nothing about. Michelle took my fellow classmates and me to the brink of truth and reality. For 15 weeks we were forced to question fact and fiction. What is real and what is not real? What is perceived and therefore real? It was stimulating, challenging, and sometimes disturbing. 

One place Michelle took us was to the California Federal Prison System. We didn’t physically go there, but a “lifer” came to our classroom in the person of Buddy Nickerson, a man exonerated in March 2003 after spending 18 years of a life-without-parole sentence for double murder. To prepare for Buddy’s visit we read several plays: The Exonerated by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker, Frozen by Bryony Lavery, and I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright. These dramas examine truth and reality, fact and fiction in unique, multi-layered ways. 

Buddy, who has a penchant for motorcycles, tattoos, and profanity, is a complex, guru-like individual with a checkered past and a hard-earned attitude. Articulate, opinionated, surly, crude, and yet likable in his honesty and bluntness, it was impossible to imagine the nightmare he endured sitting in a tiny cell day after day, year after year, serving time for crimes he didn’t commit. For almost two decades he was forced to live as someone he was not, a murderer. He told us about the trumped-up charges that convinced a jury he was guilty; about the surreal world of prison, where the rules on the inside are nothing like the rules on the outside, where reality and truth are stretched and altered, a hazy, gray existence that is, at the same time, black and white, raging with fury, frustration, and resentment. 

He told us about returning home to Foster City, where his family and friends waited for him; where, absolved from crimes he did not commit, he still can’t find a job. 

I’ve had over three months to think about Buddy’s visit and the lessons he taught us, and yet I haven’t come to terms with the magnitude of the injustice and pain he endures, or the terrible fact that innocent people wind up in places they shouldn’t be, such as inside jail cells, on hospital gurneys, within wheelchairs, war zones, and coffins. 

Maybe stories like Buddy’s aren’t meant to be digested and understood. Maybe they just need to be told over and over, to remind us that life isn’t fair, that individuals and juries can make horrible mistakes, that accidents happen, that we live in a world that is gray and cloudy, and that when the sun shines in the East Bay, it doesn’t necessarily shine elsewhere. 

?

Burglary tools 

A call for police to investigate a pair reportedly acting suspicious near a public storage facility shortly before 8 a.m. Friday led to the arrest of one of the pair for possession of burglary tools, said Berkeley police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

Botched robbery 

Police arrested a 17-year-old on suspicion of attempted robbery after a 32-year-old man reported that he’d been the would-be victim of a botched strong-arm heist near the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Oregon Street about 4 a.m. Saturday. 

Stabbing 

A knife-wielding woman stabbed a patron of the Shattuck Cinema in the facility’s bathroom about 4:45 p.m. Saturday, said Officer Okies. 

The victim, a woman in her late 20s, was rushed to the Highland Hospital emergency room and is expected to recover, Okies said. 

The attacker, who remains at large, was described as an African American woman in her late 20s, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans and had blonde extensions woven into her hair. 

Okies said investigators haven’t determined a motive for the attack. 

Deliverer robbed 

A gang of three or four youths mugged a pizza man for his cash as he was making a delivery to a residence near the corner of Haskell and Mabel streets about 12:37 a.m. Sunday. 

Odd circumstances 

Police released four suspects arrested after an alleged Sunday morning robbery near the corner of Dwight Way and Dana Street when the man who reported the crime refused to press charges. 

The purported victim called police at 8:36 a.m. Sunday to report he’d been robbed of lottery tickets by four suspects, one of whom he said he brandished a knife and another of whom had struck him. 

The man did recover his lottery tickets, Okies said. 

Switchblade bust 

Berkeley police arrested a 29-year-old man on one count of possession of a switchblade after an investigation of a suspected drug violation turned up the weapon. 

Attack 

Police are seeking the man who took a baseball bat or heavy stick to a 47-year-old pedestrian in the 2700 block of College Avenue minutes before 4 p.m. Sunday. The crime is listed as an assault with a deadly weapon. 

The victim was transported to Alta Bates Hospital for treatment of his injuries, said Office Okies. 

Thwarted heist 

A 45-year-old man walking with his children along Buena Avenue near the corner of California Street thwarted a pair of strong-arm robbers who demanded his money just after 5 p.m. Sunday. 

Instead of complying with the demands of the two teenage robbers, the father fled with his children and the bandits gave up rather than abandon their wheels and make a foot pursuit, said Officer Okies. 

Robbed at intersection 

A Berkeley woman told police that she was robbed of her purse when she stopped in her car at the Ashby Avenue-Adeline Street intersection about 6 p.m. Sunday. 

The suspects, who were apparently associated with a car that had stopped behind her at the intersection, fled after they’d acquired their loot.

Spontaneous ignition 

An alert homeowner averted a potential disaster last Tuesday when he caught a whiff of smoke and headed to his basement. 

Berkeley firefighters received the alarm at 9:83 p.m. and rushed a full assignment of firefighters and equipment to a home at 3225 Idaho St. 

By the time they arrived the homeowner had extinguished the blaze with a garden hose. 

The blaze began beneath a canvas tarp a contractor had used to cover paint, stains, varnishes and brushes, as well as a collection of paint- and stain-soaked rags wrapped in canvas, the results of a day of fence maintenance. 

The official cause of the fire is listed as spontaneous ignition of the improperly stored rags, something firefighters are constantly warning residents against. 

The fire was contained to the work supplies, causing no structural damage and only light smoke damage to the basement. 

Spoilt dinner 

Firefighters responding to a 9:33 p.m. fire in an apartment at 2441 Haste St. found that damage was limited to the dinner left cooking too long on the range.›

Sometimes when I have ranted too long about Israel/Palestine, my husband tries to shut me down by saying, “Do you know how most Americans feel about this subject? They don’t know and they don’t care!” There is a reason for this, of course, which is part of my frustration. What I have come to think of as Mordor—the eye that never sleeps—is always looking everywhere, making sure that no one ever does learn, or know, or think about this urgent issue. Three recent examples from three different locales. 

(1) Alaska. The premiere performance of a cantata in memory of Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall was canceled after both composer and soloist received threats. 

(2) Houston. The curator who assembled “Made in Palestine,” a show of pieces by contemporary artists, has so far found only two galleries in the entire U.S. willing to display it (in San Francisco and Mt. Pelier, Vermont). 

(3) Berkeley. The Peace and Justice Commission was infiltrated and neutralized by John Gertz following two resolutions on Israel proffered by the commission (Daily Planet, July 22-25). 

What do these three items have in common? One element, probably not immediately apparent, is that each of them describes the disappearance of something which no one is missing. Can there really be anyone in Alaska saying, “I’d love to hear a cantata about Rachel Corrie, why hasn’t somebody written one?” In Los Angeles or New York or Atlanta saying, “Gosh, I’d love to go to a show of Palestinian art this weekend, how come you can’t you ever find one?” Or in Berkeley saying, “Have you noticed that the Peace and Justice Commission has stopped presenting resolutions about the Israel/Palestine conflict?” 

On this last one, I can attest that I, a person who pays a great deal of attention to this very issue, was completely unaware that behind-the-scenes maneuvering had taken the Peace and Justice Commission out of the picture, nor was I thinking about the absence of any recent action on the subject. So how about that “ordinary American” who, according to my husband, “doesn’t know and doesn’t care”? How could she or he do so when any possible pathway into the issue—whether a piece of music or art, a commission resolution, or a book or a film or a conference—has been deliberately blocked and all traces of its one-time existence made to vanish? This disappearance of an urgent topic from our public discourse is what John Gertz means by “peace,” (as in “they want peace to return to Berkeley on this issue,” Daily Planet, July 29-Aug. 1), and it is his function and the function of others like him to strong-arm the composers, the curators, the commissions, the candidates, and me, and you into silence. 

It is worth asking: To what country does John Gertz owe his loyalty? Eric Alterman once addressed this issue head on in the Nation. He said that American Jews feel comfortable being loyal to both the United States and Israel because they assume that the interests of the two countries will always coincide. He pointed out that the time might come when they do not coincide and said that, for himself, if and when such a day arrives, he will side with Israel! 

I, a Jewish-American who is in no way a Limbaugh-listening flag-waver, was taken aback by this declaration. What does it mean in practice? Would he spy for Israel? (It’s been done.) Would he perjure himself for Israel? (That’s been done too.) Would he threaten a political candidate with slush funds and slur campaigns? (Threats like Mr. Gertz’s are not idle. They’ve been carried out successfully many times.) Would he protect Israel when it had deliberately killed American citizens? (Sadly, this too has been done.) Would he carry a bomb onto the New York subway or BART, if Israel deemed it necessary? How far would Eric Alterman go? How far would John Gertz go? 

There is second troubling issue raised for me as a Jew by Mr. Gertz’s diatribe. In the Aug. 1 New Yorker, Jonathan Rosen argues that the novelist Henry Roth, who felt powerless to “be a man” and experienced life-long “Jewish self-loathing,” suddenly rediscovered his Jewish faith during the Six Day War, when he “saw Jews as fighters who were as tough as the Irish kids” who had beaten him up as a child. Although Roth’s life experience was unique, his epiphany was not, for 1967 is demonstrably the year in which American Jews en masse converted to Zionism as the central tenet of their faith. And no wonder. As my sister has put it so clearly, it feels good to be the people hurting other people for a change. In letters like Mr. Gertz’s I always hear the crowing of someone who has finally made it onto the kicking side of history, safe at last to indulge his pent-up need to bully, because watching his back is our very own Jewish cossack/storm trooper, our blue-eyed IDF commando, jackbooted, Uzi-armed. 

Jews have controlled the discourse about Israel/Palestine for many decades. Any small group of people with money, influence, expertise, organizational skill, and a single-minded focus on one narrow issue could accomplish this. But imagine a Bhutanese-American (for example) announcing in the paper that henceforward any official statements made about Bhutan must meet his approval—or else. Or a Danish-American regarding Denmark, and so on. I am quite certain we, citizens and officials alike, would ignore such a declaration and go on speaking our minds. Why do we not do so, then, when the country in question is a permanent crisis zone, armed to the teeth by our tax dollars and under our protection at ever increasing danger to us, smack dab in the middle of the volatile, oil-rich Middle East, where we ourselves are now engaged in war?  

Every intimidator needs intimidatees. And they’re ever so much easier to intimidate when they’re isolated and picked off one by one (Linda Maio this time, maybe Kriss Worthington next). I hereby propose that the Berkeley City Council and the Berkeley School Board make amends for having handed the Peace and Justice Commission to persons with an agenda to dismantle it by unanimously declaring 2006 the Year of Talking about Israel and Palestine. Book groups in the libraries and book stores. Expert panels in various venues. Movies! Classes at Cal! Discussion groups in churches. A school curriculum appropriate for each grade level. (Do not think that Zionists have not been active here: The first two of the approximately eight books my son read in high school were about the Holocaust!) And at the end of the year? I don’t know, because unlike Mr. Gertz, I do not presume to control what my fellow citizens think, feel, say, or do. But at least the spell will have been broken. 

Joanna Graham is a Berkeley resident. 

›

As a member of the Peace and Justice Commission, I would like to make a few comments about Matthew Artz’s article of July 22: 

1. Three of the members of the commission—Kashner, Weddle, and Winkelman—are only very recently appointed and have attended one or two meetings at most. I think it is premature, at best, for them to be accused of being part of a “hostile takeover.” Most of their votes have been abstentions, likely due to the fact they are so newly appointed. I am pained that citizens who want to be part of their city government are welcomed with accusations. Let’s give them a chance and see how they actually vote before characterizing their positions, as “bucking the commission’s traditionally internationalist agenda” or “being interested in destroying” other commissioners, or “not believing in the mission” of the commission. 

2. The commission is appointed by elected officials of Berkeley. My sense is that the members of the commission range from Kerry Democrats to Nader Independents. I like Chairman Freedkin, and think he is doing a great job as chair, but with all due respect, this spectrum is not “to the right of mainstream Berkeley.” Though I disagree with virtually every policy of the Bush administration, it is even conceivable to me that a Berkeley Republican might in good faith value peace and justice and desire to sit on the commission. If such a person is appointed by a councilmember or School Board member, I think he or she should also be welcomed in good faith. 

3. Due to procedural rules, the commission needs a majority of all commissioners, not merely those voting or even those in attendance, to pass a resolution. Summer absences along with new members’ abstention votes have made achieving this threshold a bit difficult. I think it is important for Commissioners Cohen, Sorgen, and Sherman not to overreact to this situation. I expect that the commission will be able to regain a consensus on international peace and justice issues when it reconvenes in September. 

4. I am deeply troubled by Dona Spring’s accusation of a takeover related to commissioner stands on Israel and Palestine. What evidence does she have for this accusation? It seems to me the officials who made recent appointments say this was not a factor. Though the commission has not taken up an Israel-Palestine resolution lately, we did discuss the Feinstein resolution supporting the Geneva Accords and listened to a great deal of citizen testimony on the issue. The discussion was quite cordial, and I believe there was more or less consensus among commissioners. There was no resolution because the events of the day moved ahead of the commission, but there was no political pressure to ignore the issue. The current issues of concern to some commissioners (the controversies over establishing a Department of Peace and recalling state Guardsman from Iraq) have nothing to do with Palestine or Israel. What is Spring trying to insinuate with her reference to Israel and Palestine?  

5. I’m very fond of my friend John Gertz. He is intelligent, witty, courageous, and energetic—not unlike Zorro himself—of whom John’s company holds the trademark. However John is not a member of the Peace and Justice Commission, nor of Berkeley city government, nor does he speak for the Jewish community. He is an individual citizen. Though he is entitled to his provocative and controversial views, I wonder about their relevance to the actual situation at hand. 

6. Lastly, one of the great privileges of sitting on the Peace and Justice Commission has been working with the Berkeley students who are among its members. These young leaders are thoughtful and idealistic, and for them the Peace and Justice is a step toward a career in international relations or government. I was disappointed that neither Councilmember Worthington’s appointee, Jamie Wright, or Mayor Bate’s appointee, Leslieanne Cachola, was quoted in the article. They are both amazing young women who have contributed much to the commission. I am under the impression that having graduated, they are both leaving to pursue their careers. I wish them every success, and I will miss them very much. I have to wonder if a Daily Planet feature on them might have created a more interesting and productive picture of the work of the commission than the irresponsible and negative accusations of a takeover. 

Temple Beth El Rabbi Jane Litman is a member of the Peace and Justice Commission.  

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2 

FILM 

Eyeing Nature: “Storm and Stress” with Janis Crystal Lipzin in person at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Jewish Film Festival from 1 to 8:45 p.m. at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater. Tickets are available from 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee will read from “At Knit’s End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much” at 2 p.m. at Stash Yarns on 1820 Solano Ave. Proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. RSVP to 558- YARN. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Alice Templeton and JoAnne Henry, old favorites and originals, at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Bayennale Performance Benefit with Beth Custer, Mobius Operandi, Nguyen Dance Company, at 8 p.m. at LoBot Gallery, 1800 Campbell St., West Oakland. Cost is $5-$25. www.lobotgallery.com 

Brass Menagerie at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Balkan dance leson at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Clockwork, a cappella jazz dinner show at 6 p.m. at Downtown. Cost is $50. 649-3810. 

Tessa Loehwing, jazz, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Singers’ Open Mic, with Ellen Hoffman, piano, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Issa Bagayogo, from Mali, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3 

EXHIBTIONS 

“Tsunami Relief: The Ongoing Effort” Photographs from the tsunami disaster and NOAA models at Addison Street Windows Gallery through Sept. 18. 981-7546. 

FILM 

For Your Eyes Only: “The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Doing Time, Doing Vipassana” at 7:30 p.m. at La Pena Cultural Center. Cost is $6-$8. 849-2568. www.lapena.org  

Jewish Film Festival from noon to 9 p.m. at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater. Tickets are available from 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

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 www.starryplough.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Ned Boynton Trio with Jules Broussard on sax, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

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

I Grade St. Croix Reggae Showcase, featuring Army, Abja, Niyorah, Ancient King and Tuff Lion at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Whiskey Brothers, Old Time and Bluegrass at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

The Jenna Mammina Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4 

FILM 

Louis Malle: “And the Pursuit of Happiness” at 5:30 p.m. and “Place de la République” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808.  

“Doing Time, Doing Vipassana” at 7:30 p.m. at La Pena Cultural Center. Cost is $6-$8. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Jewish Film Festival from 12:30 to 9:45 p.m. at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater. Tickets are available from 925-275-9490.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Carol Costello introduces “The Soul of Selling” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 2352 Shattuck Ave. 644-3635. 

Elizabeth Rosner reads from her poetry at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Word Beat Reading Series with Barbara Minton and Medeline Lacques-Aranda at 7 p.m. at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Eye Sea: Passages” a performance by the students of the Ailey Camp at 3 and 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus. Admission is free. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Jon Wilcox, Larry Hanks, folk musicians, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Robbie Fulks, The Famous at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082.  

www.starryploughpub.com 

Will Bernard/Paul Mehling Duo at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quartet, Cuban pianist, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $15-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, “A Murder is Announced” by Agatha Christie at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck at Berryman. Runs Fri. and Sat. through Aug. 13. Tickets are $10. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Berkeley Rep “The Ugly American” Created and performed by Mike Daisey at Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., through Aug. 13. Tickets are $30-$35. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

California Shakespeare Theater, “Nicholas Nickleby” Parts 1 and 2 at 8 p.m. at Bruns Amphitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., between Berkeley and Orinda, through Sept. 16. Tickets are $10-$55. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “Anything Goes” Cole Porter’s musical, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. through Aug. 13 at 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

“Livin’ Fat” a comedy about an African American family struggling over a financial blessing, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 6 p.m. at Black Repertory Theater, 3201 Adeline St. Tickets are $25. 332-7125. 

Woodminster Summer Musicals “Hello Dolly!” at 8 p.m. at Woodminster Amphitheater in Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Rd., Oakland, Aug. 5-6 and 11-14. Tickets are $20-33. 531-9597. www.woodminster.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

Tanaka Ryohei, Japanese Master of Etching. Works on exhibit at Scriptum-Schurman Fine Art Gallery, 1659 San Pablo Ave. to Aug 31. Gallery hours are Wed.-Sat. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 524-0623. www.scriptum.com 

“Dream Life” Works by Alexandra Blum and Mariana Garibay R. Reception for the artists at 7 p.m. at Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 5741 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Exhibition runs to Aug. 31. 532-9696. wwww.wcrc.org/gallery.htm 

FILM 

Louis Malle: “Zazie dans le Métro” at 7:30 p.m. and “The Fire Within” at 9:30 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Doing Time, Doing Vipassana” at 7 and 9 p.m. at La Pena Cultural Center. Cost is $6-$8. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Kia Afcari and Mary Osborne on “Sister Surfer: A Woman’s Guide to Bliss and Courage” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

New Works in the ‘Nabe’ Local artists debut new material at 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Cost is $5-$10. 527-0450. www.hillsideclub.org 

Tanaora Brazil! at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ.  

Beth Custer Ensemble, Will Bernard & Motherbug, rock, jam, fusion at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$12. 525-5054.  

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

Patrick Landeza, Hawaiian slack key guitar and vocals, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

20 Minute Loop, Farma, Jeffrey Luck Lucas at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. 

Roz Corral Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

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

Shawn Baltazor and The Used Music Ensemble at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373.  

Spragga Benz and the Red Square Family, reggae, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $20. 548-1159.  

Toys That Kill, Bananas, R’N’R Adventure Kids at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quartet, Cuban pianist, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $15-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 

CHILDREN  

Origami with Margo Weckslerat 2 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

THEATER 

Shotgun Players, “Cyrano de Bergerac” at 4 p.m., Sat. and Sun. through Sept. 11, at John Hinkle Park, labor day perf. Sept. 5. Free with pass the hat donation after the show. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

Teen Playreaders “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” in commemoration of Peace Day at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library North Branch, 1170 The Alameda. 981-6250. 

FILM 

Louis Malle: “Murmer of the Heart” at 6:30 p.m. and “Lacombe, Lucien” at 8:50 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Jewish Film Festival from noon to 9 p.m. at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater. Tickets are available from 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading, 3 to 5 p.m., on the front lawn at 1527 Virginia St. Cross street is Sacramento, one block walk from North Berkeley BART. Free. 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

UC Berkeley Summer Symphony, in an all-Russian program, at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-4864. www.ucbsummersymphony.com  

Rhoda Benin & Soulful Strut at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

The Moodswing Orchestra at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance leson with Nick & Shanna at 8 p.m. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Montclair Woman’s Big Band at 8:30 p.m.at La Peña. Conversation with the artists at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $14-$16. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Braziu at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10-$12. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

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

Great Night of Rumi at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Pickpocket Ensemble at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Maya Kronfeld Trio at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

New West Guitar Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

The Junes, acoustic folk, at 7 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Odori Simcha and Neal Cronin, acoustic guitar and vocals at 8 p.m. at A Cuppa Tea, 3200 College Ave.  

Three Piece Rabbit, Nuclear Rabbit at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Introspect, Midnight Laserbeam, Loiter Cognition at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 

CHILDREN 

Asheba at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

FILM 

Harold Lloyd: “For Heaven’s Sake” at 3 p.m. and Pre-Code Hollywood: “Girls About Town” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jazz Spoken Word Sponsored by The Jazz House at 6 p.m. at Kimball’s Carnival, 522 Second St., Oakland. Cost is $5. 415-846-9432. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Lenny Williams at 3 p.m. at Music in the Park at Arroyo Viejo Park, 7701 Krause St., Oakland. Sponsored by Councilperson Desley Brooks. 

Josh Workman World Music Group at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Hal Sinsratz at 10 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

The Men of the Basement at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373.  

Chuchumbe, from Veracruz, at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

King of Kings, reggae, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$7. 548-1159.  

MONDAY, AUGUST 8 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Under the Influence” sculptures by artists with disabilities opens at NIAD Art Center, 551 23rd St. Richmond. To Sept. 16. 620-0290. www.niadart.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Express with Paula Farkas at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Trovatore, traditional Italian music, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

West Coast Songwriters Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50-$16.50. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Shelly Berg Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $7-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9 

CHILDREN 

Just Kidding performs traditional American music using song, instruments and movement, at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

The Whole Note Poetry Series with Selene Steese and Raymond Nat Turner at 7 p.m. at The Beanery, 2925 College Ave., near Ashby. 549-9093. 

FILM 

Eyeing Nature: “The Forest for the Trees: Judi Bari vs the FBI” with Bernadine Mellis in person at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

EMAM and friends, world beat, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Singers’ Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Larry Vuckovich, piano, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Bob Kenmotsu, tenor sax, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

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

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Yosemite in Time” Re-photographs of the work of landscape photographers, by Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe, opens at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. www.bampfa.edu 

FILM 

For Your Eyes Only: “Our Man in Havana” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

John Irving introduces his new novel, “Until I Find You” 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 Kira Allen at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Donation $2. 849-2568.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Gerard Landry & The Lariats at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun Dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054.  

Brown Baggin, oaktown funk, at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5. 548-1159.  

Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart, roots country originals, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50- $18.50. 548-1761. 

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

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

Now that they’re bare of fruit, it’s safe to talk about the handful of loquat trees, Eriobotrya japonica, on the streets of Berkeley. I’ll admit I’m a bit paranoid on this matter. I used to live with a pair of them, planted by the landlord in the curb strip where we rented on Derby Street for years. One of them had bad bark scarring when we moved there and subsequently died when a strong wind snapped it in two.  

The unfortunate tree had been loved, or at least lusted after, to death. Over the years it had been the habit of passing children to snatch fruit from the tree—sometimes even climbing the poor spindly thing to do so—and they weren’t particularly careful or kind when doing so. Usually they grabbed a whole cluster and ripped it off. This tore the bark off the branch the fruit hung from, and, repeated over some years, gave the tree some proportionately huge bark injuries. 

A tree wears its vital organs just under its skin. Bark injuries in a tree are not much like skin injuries in an animal; they’re more like gut wounds. They can screw up the flow of water, minerals and nutrients between roots and leaves, and admit insects and disease organisms. The tree weakens, the wood rots, and one day a random breeze finishes it off. Crash! 

That’s what happened on Derby Street. When the loquat blew over, it revealed that it had been struggling along for years on less than half of its rightful vital systems. There was nothing at all in its center, a hollow where support wood should have been (imagine living without half your bones.) There was a huge band of dead cambium around half of the trunk’s circumference. It was a mark of valor that the tree had stood for as long as it had. 

In a fit of arboristic anger and grief for the tree, whom I’d liked, I sawed off the stump to about three feet off the ground to display the results of its careless treatment. I’m sure that was a quixotic gesture, though I bored some few passers-by with explications. Eventually I took the whole thing out and planted an olive, which was still standing the last time I looked. It wasn’t authorized, but that stretch of Derby is weirdly tree-poor, and I’m not apologizing. 

The other pity about this story is that loquats are rare, not so much on the streets as in the store, at least in the United States. (I hear they’re easier to find in the Mediterranean, Central America, and of course Asia, where the tree originated.) I rarely see them, even at the Farmers’ Market or the Berkeley Bowl, and that’s too bad; they’re tasty and different.  

The fruit most resembles apricots but is less mealy, with a bit of tang and a slight flower scent. The seeds take up more space within the fruit than the average apricot’s: three to five of them, brown and tucked together like puzzle pieces. The skin is very slightly fuzzy; orange, yellow, or white, depending on the cultivar.  

One great thing about it is that it appears so early in the year—March to June, about the time when we’re thinking with longing of summer stone fruits, and well ahead of local ripe peaches, plums, and apricots. 

It doesn’t travel well, though; it bruises easily, which is why it’s so scarce commercially. But the individual trees are generous, and you can have lots of fruit with very little effort—I never did feed that tree, and what water it got was to roots it had under my garden, on the other side of the sidewalk. Otherwise, like most street trees, its roots were completely covered by pavement.  

If by good luck you have a surfeit of loquats, try poaching them lightly and putting them up in syrup or freezing them. Just plunking them in the fridge erases some of the subtle flavor notes. But I think I’d just eat them out of hand. Or trade with neighbors for some of their produce—so early in summer, you’re in little danger of being avalanched with zucchini in return.?

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2 

“National Night Out” Public safety awareness forum focusing on alcohol and drug fueled crime and violence in Berkeley from a faith-based perspective. From 6 to 9 p.m. at McGee Avenue Baptist Church, 1640 Stuart St. at McGee Ave. 658-2467. www.berkeleyboca.org 

“At Knit’s End : Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much” with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee at 2 p.m. at Stash Yarns on 1820 Solano Ave. Proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. RSVP to 558- YARN. 

Exploring Baja California Hiking, kayaking, mountain biking and more with Trudi Angell at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140.  

Family Story Time at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Branch Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Free, all ages welcome. 524-3043. 

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. 215-7672, 524-9992. 

Berkeley Salon Discussion Group meets to discuss “The Coarseness of Culture” from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Please bring snacks and soft drinks to share. No peanuts please. 601-6690.  

Healthy Eating Habits and Hypnosis A free seminar at 6:30 p.m. in Oakland. Registration required. 465-2524. 

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

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your digital images, slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

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

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3 

Berkeley Path Wanderers’ Tour of WWII Ship Building History Explore the Exhibits of the Rosie the Riveter National Historic Park on a level three-mile walk on the Bay Trail. Meet at 10 a.m. at Shimada Park, Richmond. 235-2835. For a map see www.ci.richmond.ca.us/trac/ 

“Falluja April 2004” a documentary of the invasion by Toshikuni Doi, at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Free, but $5 donations accepted. 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland around Preservation Park to see Victorian architecture. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Preservation Park at 13th St. and MLK, Jr. Way. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters welcomes curious guests & new members. Meets at 7:15 a.m. at Au Coquelet Cafe, 2000 University Ave. at Milvia. 435-5863.  

Bicycle Maintenance 101 Learn how to identify and fix your bike’s simple mechanical problems at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140.  

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

Sing your Way Home A free sing-a-long at 4:30 p.m. every Wed. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

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

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. 

Entrepreneurs Networking at 8 a.m. at A’Cuppa Tea, 3202 College Ave. at Alcatraz. Cost is $5. For more information contact JB, 562-9431. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley BART Station. www.geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4 

Baby Massage for new and expecting parents at 10 a.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. To register 658-7353. 

“Statue of Liberty: Enlightening the World” A History Channel video at 1:30 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

“Globalization, Natural Resource Protection, and the Effects of War” with Silas Siakor, recipient of the Whitley: Sting & Trudie Styler Award for Human Rights & the Environment, at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Nepalese Culture Shekwa Night at 5 p.m. at Taste of the Himalayas, 1700 Shattuck Ave., Suite # A. Free. 849-4983. www.tasteofthehimalayas.com 

Home Buyer Assistance Information Session at 6 p.m. at 1504 Franklin St., Oakland. Sponsored by the Home Buyer Assistance Center. Free, but reservations required. 832-6925, ext. 100. www.hbac.org 

World of Plants Tours Thurs.-Sun. at 1:30 p.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $1-$5. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden. 

berkeley.edu 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 

Migrant Trail Walk for Life A video and reports on the trail taken by undocumented workers crossing the border in Arizona, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. 342-2519, ext. 6215. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 2480 Bancroft Way. Sponsored by the Community of South Berkeley. to make an appointment call 1-800-448-3543. www.BeADonor.com 

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

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. 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. 655-6169. www.bpf.org 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 

Peace Lantern Ceremony August 6th is the 60th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing. Gather to float lanterns in remembrance of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and all victims of war. Decorate lantern shades, hear Japanese flute and drum performances, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Aquatic Park, at the west end of Addison Street, two blocks west of Sixth St. and a block south of University Ave. 595-4626. Lanterns2005@progressiveportal.org  

Richmond Centennial Festival from 11 a.m. at Marina Bay Park, Richmond. Vendors, live music, children’s activities and fireworks in the evening. 

Fruitvale Transit Village Family Day Celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Transit Village Plaza, with live music and performances, human scale chess game, and other activities. www.bayennale.com 

Sick Plant Clinic UC plant pathologist Dr. Robert Raabe, UC entomologist Dr. Nick Mills, and their team of experts will diagnose what ails your plants from 9 a.m. to noon at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Dr. 643-2755.  

Summer Bird Walk with Dennis Wolff and Chris Carmichael at 9 a.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Dr. Cost is $8-$12. Registration required. 643-2755. 

Kids Garden Club For children 7-12 years old to explore the world of gardening. We plant, harvest, build, make crafts, cook and get dirty! From 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $5-$7, registration required. 525-2233. 

The Bat Detective Learn about the only mammal that flies, on a hike into the evening. Meet at 7 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $5-$7, registration required. 636-1684. 

“A Traveler’s Guide to the Solar System” A lecture by William K. Hartmann, winner of the first Carl Sagan medal at 7 p.m. at Chabot Space and Science Center. Cost is $6-$7. 336-7373. www.chabotspace.org 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of Uptown Art Deco. Cost is $5-$10. For details call 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Progressive Democrats of the East Bay Potluck picnic and general meeting on the special election, at 12:30 p.m. at Cordonices Park, Euclid and Eunice across from the Rose Garden. We'll bring the drinks and charcoal. 526-4632. 

Walking Tour of Jack London Waterfront Meet at 10 a.m. at the corner of Broadway and Embarcadero. Tour lasts 90 minutes. For reservations call 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com 

Free Help with Computers at the El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave., El Cerrito. Registration required. 526-7512. 

“Spiritual Forces of the Universe” with Vovo Anomalia at 3 p.m. at Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St. at 8th. Cost is $15. 415-435-2255. 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 

Social Action Forum with Eric Mills, coordinator for Action for Animals, at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

Strawberry Creek Work Party to help weed himalayan blackberry, cape ivy and other non-natives from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Strawberry Creek Lodge, 1320 Addison St. Please RSVP to kateholum@yahoo.com  

Richmond Centennial Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Point Richmond with an old fashioned parade and picnic. Party at 5 p.m. at the Richmond Memorial Convention Center to celebrate “Richmond Through the Decades,” a media production. Party tickets are $50. For reservations call 234-3514. 

Stay Cool on the Trail enjoy a hike through a riparian canyon and learn about the lives of dragon flies, snakes and secretive packrats. Meet at 1 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Music in the Park at Arroyo Viejo Park with Lenny Williams at 3 p.m. at 7701 Krause St., Oakland. Sponsored by Councilperson Desley Brooks. 

Senior Shoreline Hike along the Martin Luther King Shoreline from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Bring a hat, jacket and binoculars. 636-1684. 

Campfire and Singalong from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. uphill from Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Bring your hot dogs, buns, marshmallows and long sticks. Dress for fog. Call for disabled assistance. 525-2233. 

Hands-on Bike Maintenance Learn how to prevent and repair flats on your bike at 10 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Bring your bike and tools. 527-4140. 

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

Chimpanzee Discovery Day at 10 a.m. at the Oakland Zoo, 9777 Golf Links Rd. 632-9525. www.oaklandzoo.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 

MONDAY, AUGUST 8 

Spanish Book Club, led by Ricardo Antonio Navarette meets at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books, Telegraph Ave. For title of book to be discussed see www.codysbooks.com 

Jewish Community Federation’s Young Leadership Division meets at 7 p.m. at Cuvae, 5299 College Ave., Oakland. Cost is $10. 839-2900 ext. 208. www.jfed.org/yld 

CITY MEETINGS 

Commission on the Status of Women meets Wed., Aug. 3, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Tasha Tervelon, 981-5190. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/women 

?

An SUV driver battered his vehicle through the doors of the Starbucks at Solano and Colusa avenues Tuesday morning, scattering a dozen or more customers who leapt out of the way and jumped through open windows as he backed up and tried it again. 

“He appeared to be aiming for the counter,” said Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

After the second try, the driver backed out and sped away northbound on Colusa Avenue, leaving parts of vehicle scattered inside and outside the coffee shop. 

Police quickly identified a suspect, in large part because the jeep’s front bumper cover was left behind in the wreckage, complete with license plate. 

Even without it, police would have quickly found the fellow because customers who had leapt out of the store managed to write down the number on the rear plate. 

“He came back and hit it twice,” said 14-year-old Lily McNeil, who was standing outside not far from the entrance when the attack occurred. “I was really surprised, it was like, ‘Oh my God!’” 

“At first I thought it was a crash, and then I thought maybe it was a robbery because people were rushing out of the windows,” said her companion, Josie Guthrie, 12. 

A store employee told acquaintances that customers had rushed outside to write down the vehicle’s license number. When approached by a reporter, she said, “I cannot talk to you. I am loyal to my company.” 

Officers and crime scene technicians were at the scene within minutes, interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence. 

Among the vehicle parts left behind were a front bumper cover, a lower front quarter panel covered in burgundy paint and the remains of a parking light. 

The floor of the shop was covered with shattered glass from the front door windows the driver broke as he made his attacks. Tables and chairs were upended, the remains of the blue doors lay across the entrance, and scattered bags of chips and boxes lay where they’d fallen. 

A support beam standing in front of the counter apparently saved those who were the targets of the driver’s wrath, and the force of the impact opened a crack in the stucco along the store’s Solano Avenue frontage. 

“It was a miracle that no one was hit,” said Okies as he surveyed the scene. “There were at least a dozen people in here when it happened.” 

Police quickly located the 40-year-old suspect and took him into custody, later releasing him to the custody of a mental health facility after it became apparent he was suffering from mental problems. 

Officer Okies said the man hadn’t been arrested, though the incident has been classified as an assault with a deadly weapon “because it seemed obvious that his action were intentional and there were at least a dozen people in line at the counter.” y

The City Council learned Monday that the greenest project ever planned for Berkeley might leave the city in the red. 

With construction still at least a year off, the David Brower Center is already $8.5 million over budget, and the developers are asking for up to $2 million in additional city subsidies. 

Negotiations on a possible bailout are scheduled to proceed throughout the summer. The project’s uncertain finances forced the council to hold off on a scheduled agreement to transfer ownership of a city owned parking lot, valued at $5.7 million, to make way for the project. The council is scheduled to revisit the development in October. 

“I love this project, but there are some warning bells,” Mayor Tom Bates said. 

Despite rising cost estimates the council continued to show support for the concept they first approved three years ago. By an 8-0-1 vote (Olds abstain) councilmembers adopted an environmental report for the project and approved amending local zoning rules to allow for its design. The vote was seen as necessary to help the developers, non-profit housing developer Resources For Community Development (RCD) and The David Brower Center, raise more money for the buildings. 

The Brower Center, along with RCD’s Oxford Plaza, an adjoining affordable housing development, have been heralded by city leaders as a salvation for the ailing downtown economy. 

The project, honoring the late David Brower, the Berkeley-born founder of the Friends of the Earth, is slated to replace the parking lot on Oxford Street between Kittredge Street and Allston Way. It would include the 96-unit, six-story affordable housing complex for low income families, at least one level of underground parking, high-end retail shops and a four-story office building and conference center for non-profit environmental groups. 

Since last May estimated project costs have jumped from $52.2 million to $63.5 million. As for many projects, rising prices for steel and other construction materials are partially to blame. However the Brower Center’s commitment to an environmentally innovative design—the office building will generate its own energy and employ a natural climate control system—means the price tag is higher than standard downtown developments.  

The city’s investment in the project was to be $2.5 million in federal affordable housing funds plus the loss of parking revenues from the Oxford lot during construction, estimated at $600,000. 

But now the project is asking for more, specifically more than $1 million to construct a 105-space underground parking garage to replace most of the parking lost at the 130-space Oxford lot. Originally the city had agreed to sell the lot to the developers for $1 in return for the construction of the underground lot, which they then lease back to the city. 

However cost estimates for the underground parking have jumped from $4.8 million last year to $6.5 million—higher than the appraised value of the land. The developers want Berkeley to make up the difference. In response, the city has commissioned a new appraisal of the property. 

Meanwhile downtown merchants have been pressing the council to build a second level of underground parking, estimated to cost an additional $6 million, to make up for the loss of other downtown lots over the past several years. Councilmembers hinted Monday that with financing for the project already tight, the merchants would have to pay part of the construction costs for additional parking. 

The financial risks to the city go beyond the parking lot shortfall. Although the David Brower Center is ultimately responsible for completion of the office building, the city would likely have to bail out the housing development if cost overruns during construction plague the project, said Housing Director Steve Barton.  

As a non-profit housing developer, RCD doesn’t have assets to offer lenders as collateral. Although Berkeley wouldn’t be legally responsible for backing the project, Barton said the city would have to help the developer raise additional funds to finish it. 

Brower Center Project Manager John Clawson told councilmembers that environmental groups have already reserved 50 percent of the planned office space and that outdoor apparel retailer Patagonia has signed a letter of intent to occupy one of the retail spaces. 

He added that that project has lined up potential funding to cover $6.5 million of the $8.5 million shortfall. 

Willard Afterschool Program 

Parents whose children attend a recently defunded city after-school program at Willard Park urged the council to find money to reopen the program in September. As a cost saving measure to balance this year’s budget, the city cut a recreation coordinator position that oversaw the program serving 24 elementary school aged children.  

Parks and Recreation Director Marc Seleznow said that restoring the program would cost the city $123,000. To control costs at city recreation programs, Seleznow has proposed operating larger after-school programs at fewer sites. The city is reserving space for the students at a similar program, the Frances Albrier Center in West Berkeley. 

Dove Scherr, the mother of a child in the Willard program, said it was unfair for the city to target Willard and that parents would not stop fighting for its reinstatement. 

“You can’t just cut a program with 24 kids and expect us to just disappear,” she said. 

The council opened the door to a possible special meeting in August if staff could come up with a way to keep the program open. 

Density Bonus 

In a further escalation of the war of words between some councilmembers and city staff, Councilmember Kriss Worthington charged that staff was trying to manipulate the council. 

At issue was a vote by the council last week establishing a joint subcommittee to look into how the city applies a state housing law. Critics of the current interpretation like Worthington say it allows developers to build bigger buildings with proportionately fewer affordable units. 

Last week the council passed a resolution adding Acting Housing Advisory Commission Chair Jesse Arreguin—a critic of current city policy—to the subcommittee made up of four Planning Commission and Zoning Adjustment Board members. 

But this week the council voted to rescind that action because of concern that it wasn’t properly noticed on the prior week’s meeting agenda and thus violated state open government laws. 

Worthington was fuming because the agenda for Monday’s meeting didn’t mention the council’s vote last week to include Arreguin. Without that recommendation on the agenda for this week, the council was unable once again to add Arreguin to the commission. 

“This item for a second week in a row is a manipulation of the City Council,” Worthington said. “It declines to list an option that the entire City Council voted for and instead gives one politically biased distorted recommendation that is grossly unfair and a manipulation of the process.” 

City Manager Phil Kamlarz shot back, “I think that’s totally unfair.” He added that the agenda was not set by staff, but by a three-person panel of the counsel.  

Most other councilmembers didn’t seem bothered by the recommendation. Councilmember Gordon Wozniak called the dispute, “a relatively minor issue,” and Councilmember Betty Olds argued that “the sneaky thing” was the council improperly adding Arreguin to the commission last week. 

The council voted 6-2-1 (Worthington, Spring no, Anderson abstain) to approve a joint subcommittee of just planning commissioners and ZAB members. By an unanimous vote the council agreed to take up adding a member of the HAC when it reconvenes Sept. 13. 

Christopher Wilson, the 20-year-old Berkeley High graduate police say drove the getaway car in the Meleia Willis-Starbuck shooting, was scheduled to be released Thursday on a $326,000 property bond in to the custody of family friends. 

The parents of Wilson’s best friend, Robin Baker and Ralph Silber, put up their Berkeley house to get Wilson out of jail. 

“He’s like my other son,” Baker said after the bail hearing. “I have every confidence in him. I know he’s not capable of hurting another person.”  

Wilson, who was a close friend of Willis-Starbuck, has been charged with murder. He is scheduled to return to court Sept. 13 to enter a plea. 

Wilson has no prior criminal record, a fact that Judge Winfred Scott said weighed heavily in her decision to grant bail. 

Scott required that Wilson adhere to a 9 p.m. curfew and surrender any cell phone or electronic communication devices. She also ordered him to stay away from a list of his friends provided by prosecutors, stay in Alameda County and to remain under the supervision of Baker and Silber. 

When asked if he understood the restrictions, Wilson, dressed in a red prison jumper replied, “Yes ma’am.” 

Baker, the director of UC Berkeley’s Labor Occupational Health Program, said her son has been friends with Wilson since elementary school. Silber is CEO of the Alameda County Health Care Network. 

Judge Scott did not explain why Wilson was released into the custody of Wilson and Baker rather than to his family. When asked about the arrangement, a spokesperson for Wilson’s attorney, Elizabeth Grossman, said Wilson had a long-standing relationship with the couple and that they were, “in essence family.” 

Prosecutor Carrie Panetta had proposed setting bail at $500,000. 

During the hearing, prosecutors acknowledged that there was a third person in the car at the time of Willis-Starbuck’s murder who had since left the country. 

Wilson’s supporters packed the 60-seat courtroom. Former classmates declined to comment on the case after the bail hearing. Inside the courtroom one friend blurted out, “It’s a start,” after Judge Scott granted bail. 

Christopher Hollis, the man police believe shot Willis-Starbuck, remains at large.  

Berkeley police said last week that Wilson drove Hollis and the other passenger to the corner of Dwight Way and College Avenue where Hollis allegedly got out of the car and fired into a crowd of people, striking only Willis-Starbuck, a 19-year-old Dartmouth College student, who had returned to Berkeley for a summer internship. 

It is believed that Willis-Starbuck called Hollis to the scene after she and several friends got into an argument with a group of men. 

The way Berkeley skateboarder Sean O’Loughlin tells it, one moment last April he was racing down the eight-foot bowl at Berkeley’s Harrison Skateboard Park, and the next, police officers had turned the fenced-in park into a holding cell. 

“All of a sudden there are four cop cars pulling up and we’re trapped in the park,” he said. 

O’Loughlin said police ordered him and other skaters to sit on a skateboard rail, while officers wrote them $100 tickets. 

Their offense? They weren’t wearing helmets and pads as required under Berkeley and state law. 

Skaters say that since Berkeley’s three-year-old skate park—rated tops in the Bay Area by skateboard bible Thrasher Magazine—reopened in March after winter rains, enforcement is up and attendance is down. 

“It makes absolutely no sense,” said Bob O’Leary, a UC Berkeley sophomore, who grew up in Berkeley. “The city spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to build the park and now no one’s using it because they’re afraid of getting a ticket.” 

Enforcement is up, acknowledged Deputy City Manager Lisa Caronna, who oversaw the construction of the $700,000 park at Harrison and Fifth streets while she was Director of Parks and Recreation. The reason, she said, is twofold: fear that skaters will injure themselves and fear that injured skaters will sue the city. 

When Berkeley opened the park in 2002, Caronna said, the city’s understanding was that to avoid liability lawsuits under state law, the city merely needed to post the law requiring skaters to wear a helmet, knee and elbow pads when using the skatepark. 

State law on the issue hasn’t changed, Caronna said, but the opinion of the city attorney’s office has. 

“When the city attorney’s office took a look at this they didn’t think it was clear cut that you could post a sign and then walk away,” she said. “They weren’t convinced that doing nothing to enforce the law would really protect us [against a lawsuit].” 

City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque, citing that her office was preparing a detailed report on the skatepark, declined to comment on the recent enforcement effort. Caronna said she didn’t know of any lawsuit against the city involving the skate park. 

Skaters interviewed said that police have been cruising past the park every day, sometimes scolding skaters and sometimes handing out tickets. “It’s become like a game,” said David Keegan. 

He said that when skaters see police or city staff they stop skating and flee the park. “Every time I go there I get chased out,” he said. “It’s really bizarre.” 

Berkeley Police spokesperson Joe Okies said statistics on tickets handed out for illegal skateboarding were not available. Unpaid tickets can lead to arrest warrants, but skaters interviewed didn’t know of anyone who ended up in jail because of unpaid tickets. 

O’Leary, who was also ticketed recently, said he and other skaters are once again skating in the street or at areas less traveled by police such as Berkeley Arts Magnet School or the Claremont Avenue DMV. 

“The situation has totally reversed,” he said. “It used to be that we needed a skatepark because we were getting hassled on the street, now we’re hassled in the skatepark so we have to go back to the streets.” 

Skaters interviewed rejected their other option—wearing a helmet and pads. 

Keenan said skateboarders “didn’t want to carry an army of pads with them were ever they went.” O’Leary said helmets and pads didn’t prevent the most prevalent injuries—broken arms and wrists. 

And Stephen Freskos said, “It’s just against my morals to wear pads.” 

The stepped up enforcement has taken its toll on skatepark attendance, O’Leary said. “Friday nights used to have 50 to 100 people, now it’s a wasteland,” he said. 

On Wednesday afternoon there were ten skaters in the park, none of who were wearing pads. 

Enforcement of other skateparks around the state varies from city to city said Kevin Convertito, art director for San Francisco-based Thrasher Magazine. 

Convertito said Southern California cities tend to enforce helmet and safety rules more stringently than Northern California towns, and that Berkeley’s park now had the most aggressive enforcement in the Bay Area. 

“It’s notoriously hot at the moment,” he said. 

Caronna said that a recent city survey showed that other cities in the state had recently stepped up enforcement. When Berkeley opened the park, Caronna said most California cities didn’t actively enforce safety rules, but now half of them do. 

“The world around us has really changed,” she said. “We think it’s important to get the message out to kids that it’s important to wear a helmet and pads and it’s important for the city to enforce any rules that it posts.” 

Caronna said the city has tried to alert skaters of the new rules and that it didn’t plan on returning to lax enforcement. “If God forbid someone got seriously hurt this wouldn’t even be a conversation,” she said. 

California has seen a boom in skateparks over the past several years, in part because of a 1997 state law that placed the sport on the “hazardous recreation list” along with football and other contact sports. The intent of the law was to relieve cities and private operators of liability for skateboard related accidents. In 2002 state lawmakers passed a bill requiring that cities with skateparks amend their laws to require that users wear a helmet, elbow pad and knee pad. 

David Amell, a Berkeley attorney and skateboarder who has written on state skateboarding law for Sports Lawyer Journal, said the law protected the city whether it chose to actively enforce the safety rules or merely post a sign. The only risk the city runs, Amell said, is to continue the current practice of stationing an employee at the park during parts of the day. 

“If you have supervision of the skatepark and someone is hurt you can make the argument that they weren’t fulfilling duty,” he said. 

According to data from the National Safety Council and the National Consumer Products Safety Commission in 1997, there were 48,186 reported skateboarding injuries out of about 16 million skaters. The rate of three injuries per thousand skaters placed the sport as safer than the four major team sports and safer than fishing. Ice hockey was ranked the most dangerous sport. ?

A Peralta College proposal for joint use with the Oakland Library of the soon-to-be-closed Oakland Kaiser Convention Center left some Peralta trustees and staff members angry and some encouraged at last Tuesday’s trustee meeting. 

The proposal was part of an interim report presented by principal Atheria Smith of Oakland-based Scala Design & Development Company, who was hired under a six-month consultant contract by the district last January to produce a district-wide land-use development report. 

Chancellor Elihu Harris had requested the interim report for the last trustee meeting before the month-long summer break so that trustees would be brought up to date on the progress of the project. 

Last month, citing budget concerns, Oakland City Council voted to close the 90-year-old city-owned convention center as of Jan. 1. The Kaiser Center, which includes a theater and an arena, is located nearly adjacent to the Laney College campus, on the Lake Merritt Channel that connects Lake Merritt with the estuary. The Lake Merritt Channel is scheduled for a makeover within the next few years with funds from Oakland’s Bond Measure DD. 

During debate over the convention center closure when it came before Oakland City Council last month, Councilmember Pat Kernighan said she would explore keeping the Kaiser Center open, but under private management. 

But Gerry Garzon, Administrative Librarian with the Oakland Public Library, told Peralta trustees Tuesday night that his agency is looking at the Kaiser Convention Center as a possible site for a new main library, and is interested in partnering with Laney College to use a portion of the space for the Laney College Library, as well as with the Oakland Museum for the use of some of the space as a cultural center. 

Garzon said that because a bond measure might have to be put on the ballot in 2006 to finance that plan, the planning process for such a proposal needed to be put through in the next six to eight months. 

Following the trustee meeting, Smith said that if such a partnership took place, it might involve the joint library use of the convention center’s arena, while retaining the theater as a performance space. 

The proposal was presented to Peralta trustees for information purposes only, and the board took no action. 

The plan drew praise from some trustees, including Marcie Hodge, who said that she was excited by the prospect of possible joint-use agreements with other government entities. Trustee Linda Handy agreed, adding that such agreements were important “because we’re all pulling from the same tax base.” 

But trustee Cy Gulassa poured cold water on the idea, at least for the time being, saying that he assumed that Smith’s proposals were “simply a dream plan,” and that district faculty and staff “want to be involved before any such plans are finalized. We should all remember that this always comes up whenever the land use issue comes before the board of trustees.” 

Gulassa added that “the presentation of a relatively finalized plan is a surprise; I thought this was just an update.” 

The proposal also was blasted by some Laney College staff. Shirley Coaston, Laney College Head Librarian, complained that she had not been invited to any of the meetings concerning the possible Kaiser joint library venture. 

Coaston said that while she wasn’t “totally against” the proposal, she said, “I don’t think that what happens at Laney College should be forced to go through a six- to eight-month process just because the Oakland library needs a partner.” 

She added that “Laney College isn’t a public library. We have a different mission and a different focus. So we would like to be part of any planning that takes place.” 

Laney College Faculty Senate President Evelyn Lord, who is also a Laney librarian, added that she had “not been consulted as to what’s going on with the library proposal.” 

Chancellor Harris said “there was no intent to exclude” anyone and that the Scala proposals were not final. 

Presentation of the proposal “was just for the purpose of initiating conversation,” he said. “We haven’t initiated plans with the City of Oakland or with anybody else. But we talk to people. That’s what we’re supposed to do. Nothing here is in concrete. Nothing here is specific. You need to put the hostility and the caution away.” 

Smith said following the meeting that she intended to hold meetings with staff throughout the district over possible land use proposals.

The Hershey Co., the nation’s largest candy maker, announced Monday that it plans to purchase Berkeley-based Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Inc. 

Scharffen Berger makes fine dark chocolate bars and baking products, and has three retail locations in Berkeley, San Francisco and New York City. 

Hershey has declined to say how much they will pay to acquire Scharffen Berger. Co-founder John Scharffenberger said that Hershey’s resources would allow the company to accelerate its growth. 

“[The Hershey Co.] saw that we were doing a great job at what we do, and we thought they were very good at what they do,” he said. “This was bound to happen sooner or later, and we feel really lucky to be associated with a company with high ethical standards.”  

Scharffenberger said the shareholders of Scharffen Berger, of which he is one, were impressed with the Hershey Co., even though he’s not “a corporation kind of guy.” 

“They do a lot of work helping underprivileged kids get educations, a lot of good things,” he said. 

Hershey spokeswoman Stephanie Moritz said of Scharffen Berger, “We thought they were a great brand … a fantastic, complementary fit to our broad chocolate portfolio.” 

Moritz said Scharffen Berger will remain with the “artisan roots that have made them a respected name in the chocolate industry.” 

“We would not have done it if they wanted us to change our product, and that was a big factor in our decision,” Scharffenberger said. “This [acquisition] will allow us to do more creative things with the company, to do more of what we’re already doing.” 

Hershey said it expects the purchase to close in the third quarter, after the customary closing conditions are met. 

Scharffen Berger Chocolate was formed in 1996, the brainchild of family physician and Harvard graduate Dr. Robert Steinberg. He proposed the idea of an American manufacturer of fine chocolate to his friend and former patient, Scharffenberger Cellars founder John Scharffenberger, who seized the opportunity. 

“Ultimately, I joined Robert in founding Scharffen Berger because of our mutual love of fine chocolate and our desire to produce a superior product in this country,” Scharffenberger said, according the Scharffen Berger website. 

Their goal was simple: “to produce chocolate of the highest quality possible from the finest cacao beans available,” according to their website. 

To that end, Steinberg took a brief internship in France under the renowned Bernachon Chocolatiers in Lyon, France. Upon his return he and Scharffenberger went to work finding and grinding the finest cacao beans in the world. In his kitchen in 1996, they used a coffee grinder, a mortar and pestle, and an electric mixer heated with a hairdryer to simulate the chocolate making process. 

The first batch of “meaningful chocolate,” produced in their original location in South San Francisco, received accolades from foodies and celebrity chefs and by 2000, the two realized they needed to expand. 

They moved into their current location, a 100-year-old, 27,000-square-foot Berkeley warehouse on Heinz Ave. in May of 2001. The San Francisco boutique opened in August of 2003 in the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero and the Manhattan location celebrated its grand opening in November of 2004. 

They say the secrets of their dark chocolate’s flavor “lies in careful attention to bean selection, blending, roasting, and conching, and the benefits of small-batch processing.” 

Scharffenberger and Steinberg will stay at the company following the acquisition. 

“We were doing a lot of business work,” Scharffenberger said, “and this will allow us to get back to what we love to do—make really good chocolate.” 

The search for a home for the Brower Ball, as some wags have dubbed “Spaceship Earth”—a massive sculptural memorial to the late Berkeley environmentalist David Brower—took another twist Monday when Ohlone Park was crossed off the list. 

While two other sites are officially on the table, only one appears to have any likelihood of acceptance, a spot near a goal on the Frisbee golf course at Aquatic Park. 

The latest decision came at a Parks and Recreation Commission hearing Monday night, when the panel voted a hearty thumbs down on the Ohlone Park pitch. 

“Neighbors and other people who use Ohlone Park are so vigilant and so protective of the park, and they made it clear that they thought [the sculpture] was way too large,” said commission Chair Yolanda Huang. 

None of the speakers who turned out for the meeting spoke in favor of the Ohlone Park location, Huang said. 

David Snippen, member of the Civic Arts Commission and chair of a three-commission panel working to find a home for the sculpture, said the group wasn’t interested in mounting the sculpture anywhere it wasn’t wanted. His subcommittee includes members from the Parks and Recreation and Waterfront commissions. 

Snippen said he expected the same sort of opposition from the second site on the subcommittee’s list, Cedar Rose Park. 

“People don’t feel they have enough green space,” Huang said. “The [Parks and Recreation] Commission voted to ask the subcommittee ... to seek another site.” 

Snippen said the Cedar Rose site was “also problematic because the BART tracks are closer” than at Ohlone Park, and the 350,000-pound mass of the orb would likely pose structural engineering problems. 

The sculpture, which has yet to be assembled, is made of wedge-shaped sections of blue Brazilian Quartzite which will be bolted together at the site. The continents and islands are crafted of bronze and will be bolted to the surface of the sphere.  

As originally designed, the sculpture was to have a life-size bronze of Brower kneeling atop the earth and reaching for the stars. The notion of a white man astride the globe and reaching for the stars evoked images of imperialism for many critics, so a subsequent version was proposed that would have had Brower sitting on a bench and admiring the globe. 

“There’s no figure now at all,” Snippen said, leaving only the massive 12-foot diameter 25-ton orb and its black granite base. “We won’t allow it.” 

Another site mentioned at Monday’s meeting isn’t even on the subcommittee’s dwindling short list—in the center of the Turtle Fountain in Civic Center Park. 

“The site has good attributes,” Huang said. “It’s already made of concrete and it’s surrounded by benches and offers a long view of the sculpture.” 

Snippen, however, scoffed at the notion. 

“Some years have been spent on the design of the park, and to try to overlay the Brower sculpture at this late date is not feasible. It’s disrespectful of the neighborhood,” he said, and “of the Native Americans the Turtle Fountain is meant to honor.” 

Typically, he said, public art is commissioned to be created for a certain space, a context: “This is a non-site-specific piece, and that makes finding a site much more difficult.” 

The sculpture was commissioned by Power Bar founders Brian and Jennifer Maxwell well before the former’s death last year. 

The Maxwells originally intended the piece to be sited in San Francisco, but the city’s Visual Arts Subcommittee had unkind things to say about it, such as: “extremely grand and flamboyant,” and lacking in “sensitivity to environmental issues.” The Maxwells withdrew the offered and turned to their friend Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, who was a friend both of the Maxwells and the late environmentalist. 

Besides Bates, whose embrace of the artwork led to the site search, Eino’s orb’s biggest fan is Waterfront Commission Chair Paul Kamen. The first sites studied and rejected by the sculpture committee focused on the Berkeley Marina, where Kamen thought the artwork was well suited. 

“Next to the mayor, I seemed to be the only one who thought it looked good there,” said Kamen, speaking from Hawaii, where he had just arrived via sailboat Tuesday. 

Bonnie Hughes, who resigned from the Civic Arts Commission earlier this year, partly in protest over the commission’s vote to accept the sculpture, said she’ll accept a site at the lagoon, “but only if they install it at low tide.” 

With the commission headed for its August recess, the homeless big blue ball will bounce back in September as the search continues.

Hazardous waste cleanup operations at UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station are expected to cost the school an additional $20 million, according to a document recently posted on the university’s website. 

The reason: a change in state oversight at the university’s waterfront research facility on the south Richmond shoreline. 

That information was contained in a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) seeking an environmental consultant to help guide the process. According to the RFQ, the handover of cleanup oversight from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board to the state Department of Toxic Substances Control is expected to result in four additional phases of cleanup. 

University officials had argued against the regulatory handover earlier this year when the Richmond City Council was debating a resolution to seek the change. 

The resolution was adopted and the transfer of oversight followed several weeks later, something sought by community activists who were unhappy with the water board’s supervision. 

University officials are currently engaged in talks that will lead to a vast new construction project at the Richmond facility that will transform the institution into an academic/corporate research park that will include 70 of the site’s 152 acres. 

The two million square feet of new office and research space projected for the future “Bayside Research Campus” is more than proposed for the entire Long Range Development Plan for the main Berkeley campus. 

Much of the contamination at the field station resulted from the site’s previous incarnation as a plant that made blasting caps from a mercury compound. Mercury compounds have been linked to a variety of ailments, ranging from fatal illnesses to severe brain damage. They are especially hazardous to unborn children. 

Other contaminants were imported into the site from the adjoining Campus Bay site, which was used for over a century for production of a wide range of chemicals, many of them dangerous, created in part from other equally hazardous substances. 

Cherokee Simeon Ventures is the owner of the Campus Bay site and has been selected by the university as the prospective developer of the Field Station. 

The firm is a joint venture of Simeon Properties, a prominent Bay Area developer, and Cherokee Investment Partners, which specializes in lending money for projects built on remediated hazardous waste sites. 

The RFQ, issued by Rob Gayle, UC’s assistant vice chancellor for capital projects, calls for prospective consultants to submit their application by Aug. 11.

Without any public fanfare, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown’s Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) has quietly moved from a charter high school to a charter middle and high school. 

State-appointed Oakland School Administrator Randolph Ward approved OSA’s charter revision early last month, adding grades six through eight of 50 students apiece to the school’s existing 9-12 grade charter. 

OSA has been operating under an Oakland Unified School District charter since September 2002. Mayor Brown is the chairperson of the board of directors of the non-profit organization that runs the school. The school currently operates out of portable buildings behind the Fox Oakland building in downtown Oakland, and is expected to move into the Fox Oakland itself when that building is renovated. 

The new grades are expected to begin operation in September, with a total student population of 550. The school has already begun sending out postcards announcing the expansion, and late last month held auditions for entering students from sixth to tenth grades. 

In their proposal, OSA officials said that its faculty will increase from 27 (20 full-time and 7 part-time) to 30 to accommodate the grade expansion. 

Because Oakland’s schools are currently being run by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, school board members have no voice in charter approval and function only as an advisory board to the school administrator. 

OSA administrators were out of town this week and unavailable for comment, but OUSD advisory board director Alice Spearman said in a telephone interview that school officials said they asked for the grade extension “because they thought it would be better to start out with younger students at the school. It was their feeling that many of the children entering their school in the ninth grade simply didn’t have the necessary arts training, because that training is lacking in many public schools.” 

In the 2004 Academic Performance Index (API), the basis on which the State of California ranks schools, the Oakland School for the Arts was ranked 9 among all California high schools (on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being the highest), and 10 among California high schools of a similar size and student population. 

The charter revision, which also extends OSA’s charter through June 2010, received mixed reviews from representatives associated with the school district. 

Board director Spearman said that the grade extension was “probably a good thing” for OSA. “The arts school has an academic piece that is far superior to most of our high schools in Oakland,” he said. 

Spearman also praised OSA’s arts curriculum, stating that “we don’t have the expertise in the other schools to bring artists up like they do. Even though we have a school of the arts run by Oakland Unified [at Skyline High School], our school doesn’t measure up [to OSA]. They are probably the only charter I would give passing grades to. I’m impressed with them.” 

But Oakland Education Association President Ben Visnick, who represents most of Oakland Unified’s teachers, opposed the charter extension when it came to the state administrator and the board in May, saying that the district was contributing to the further decline of average daily attendance money from the state if the grade extension was approved. 

Visnick said in a telephone interview that he also opposed the extension because “over half of the students at the arts school are from Oakland,” and “a lot of money is going over to the arts school that could be better spent helping Oakland schools survive.” 

In its charter amendment application, OSA said that 63 percent of the school’s student body reside in Oakland, but does not specify if any of those current Oakland residents were living in other cities before enrolling at OSA. The OSA application says that 48 percent of the student body is African-American, 22 percent white, 9 percent Latino, 8 percent Asian, and the remaining 13 percent either multi-ethnic or of unidentified ethnic background. 

In their budget plan, the school says that $700,000 of OSA’s projected $5 million in revenue in 2005-06 will come from the City of Oakland, with another $100,000 coming from a Port of Oakland/Oakland Airport contract.

A short-handed Planning Commission Wednesday endorsed the Gilman Street ballfields and set a Sept. 14 hearing on the proposed West Berkeley Bowl.  

A planned discussion of the Downtown Area Plan, mandated under the terms of the settlement of the city’s suit against UC Berkeley, wasn’t held because it hadn’t been moved the commission’s action agenda. 

The resignations of members David Tabb and Joe Fireman accounted for two empty chairs and the absence of Chair Harry Pollack was balanced by the presence of Mike Sheen, a temporary appointment for the night. 

Bowl scope 

First up on the agenda was a scoping session seeking public input on issues to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Report on the Berkeley Bowl project, planned for the southwest corner of the intersection of Ninth Street and Heinz Avenue. 

Most speakers were somewhat critical of the project, raising concerns about the way it had doubled in scale from its initial proposal. 

Many concerns had to do with traffic and parking issues, not only regarding the store itself, but in combination with other developments now being built or in planning for the West Berkeley area.  

Several speakers focused on Mayor Tom Bates’ plans for expanded commercial development along the Ashby Avenue and Gilman Street corridors, which they said would further increase traffic and parking problems on already overcrowded thoroughfares. 

“This could be a tipping point for commercial development up and down Ashby Avenue,” said Steve Wollmer of PlanBerkeley.org. “The interchange at I-80 is already at capacity, and this project would have more approval if it were situated on the frontage road between University [Avenue] and Gilman where there are fewer residences.” 

Laurie Bright, who owns a business three blocks from the Bowl site, ticked off a list of new and planned developments near the property. 

“There are big changes being planned at City Hall for West Berkeley,” he said, noting that the area is zoned for manufacturing and light industrial uses, “and we need a real analysis of that they would impact business and residences around the area if they were rezoned for commercial uses.”  

Area resident Claude Hutchinson, a regular attendee at city- and developer-sponsored meetings on the project, offered his endorsement of the project. 

“If the Bowl doesn’t go in, something else will,” he said, “and we’ve long needed a wonderful grocery store that will serve the needs of the neighborhood.” 

Michael Larrick also spoke in favor of the proposal, saying the project wouldn’t add any significant amount of new traffic or air quality problems. 

But the great majority of speakers said that they wanted the study to consider a smaller project, something architect Kava Massih has said wouldn’t be economically feasible for owner Glen Yasuda. Massih was on hand for part of the discussion but offered no comments. 

Following the scoping session, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to conduct a hearing on Sept. 28 on changes to the West Berkeley Plan and Berkeley Zoning Ordinance needed before the project can move forward. 

Gilman Ballfields 

The commission made short work of zoning and plan changes required to create a set of playing fields at the foot of Gilman Street on land owned by the East Bay Regional Parks District. 

A Joint Powers Agreements among the cities of Emeryville, Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito and Richmond and the parks district calls for creation of two rectangular playing fields, two softball diamonds and one regulation baseball diamond on land that is now used as the southern parking lot of Golden Gate Fields. 

Only Berkeley resident L.A. Woods spoke in opposition, raising his concerns about the effects that freeway exhaust might have on young players. 

The commission, however, agreed with city staff’s Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) which said air quality concerns were minimal. 

Unanimous votes approved sending the MND and the plan and zoning changes along to the city council with their recommendations for adoption. 

Only enough money has been raised for the two artificial turf rectangular fields, which can be used for soccer, rugby, lacrosse and football. If all goes as planned those fields will open for play next September. 

Condo ordinance 

The commission declined to take any action on revisions to the city’s condominium ordinance, which were mandated after a 2004 court case invalidated the city’s law restricting the right to convert larger rental properties into Tenancies-In-Common. 

When the state Supreme Court refused to overturn the verdict of the San Francisco appellate court last December, Berkeley set about revising its own ordinance—which contained the same provisions struck down in the San Francisco law. 

On May 17, the City Council passed a temporary ordinance which expires on Oct. 28, leaving time to prepare a more thorough ordinance in the interim. 

The draft presented to the commission Wednesday had been drafted by the city Housing Department and Housing Advisory Commission and was presented by Housing Director Steve Barton. 

Because the court decision makes it possible to convert multi-unit buildings from rentals to TIC—which Barton described as a problematic form of ownership—city staff decided that the best solution would be to ease up on conversions to condominium ownership. 

After a lengthy discussion, the commission decided there were too many unanswered questions and handed off the matter to the council without additional comment. 

?

Richmond police have arrested two Berkeley men and are seeking two other city residents—all described as gang members or associates—in a June 27 double slaying in Richmond. 

Two Hayward men were also arrested. 

Richmond Police Lt. Mark Gagan said the deaths of Sean McClelland and Lacorey Brooks, both of Richmond, were retaliatory killings for the June 25 murder of Jamon Monty Williams on the Oakland side of the Berkeley/Oakland border. 

Williams was gunned down in front of Express Auto at 1339 60th St. He was carrying bindles of rock cocaine in his pocket, police said. Oakland Police arrested Orlando Terrell Wiggins Jr. for the shooting. 

McClelland and Brooks were killed by shots from at least three different firearms as they were riding in a vehicle along Harbour Way near Roosevelt Avenue. 

“The subsequent criminal investigation revealed that the shooting was a retaliatory act carried out by a group of Berkeley criminals who are linked by association to” Williams, according to a July 21 Richmond police operation order authorizing search warrants at four Berkeley addresses. 

“Our investigation has identified a conspiracy involving at least six identified individuals,” according to the document. “These people are validated gang members, and/or associates—four of six are on active parole.” 

Murder charges have been filed against three of the Berkeley suspects: 

• Jason Moses “J-Boo” Parrott, 32, of 1130 Bancroft Way, Apt. C. 

• Dwayne Murphy, 24, of 3135 Sacramento St. Apt. 3. 

• Joseph James Carroll Jr., 28, of 2408 Seventh St. 

Murphy has been arrested, but Carroll and Parrott remain at large. Charges are still pending against the fourth Berkeley suspect, age 31, who has also been arrested. 

Also charged in the incident were two Hayward men, ages 27 and 30.

The Bay Area is home to several dozen worker cooperatives, or collectives, in which every member is at the same time a worker and an owner of the enterprise. Some are thriving and others are struggling, but they are all enterprises dedicated to the notion that there is a better way to do business than business as usual.  

There is no hierarchy in collectives. Every worker, as a member of the collective, has an equal voice in the decision making, generally gets the same hourly wage and shares equally in the profits of the business. While it seems like a simple concept, it can take considerable effort and commitment to make it function. 

The local co-op workplaces are organized into a Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives—that’s NoBAWC, pronounced “No Boss,” which provides a venue for sharing of information among the member co-ops and advice to groups wanting to start new cooperative enterprises. 

Dave Karoly, staff person of NoBAWC, points out that local government offices of economic development offer advice for people wanting to start up a business, but, he says, “generally they don’t understand a democratic structure.” 

Karoly said that cooperatives can be organizations such as consumer co-ops as well as institutions like the Free Clinic that incorporate volunteers into their democratically run workplace as well as worker collectives. There are a few other places in the country where there are clusters of worker collectives, notably around Portland and the Minneapolis-St.Paul area. 

“I think there’s probably a relationship between the politics of the area and the number of democratic workplaces,” Karoly says. “I think the atmosphere encourages this. [Places] where there’s progressive movement would be more receptive to democratic structures, both in terms of creating a pool of workers as well as supporting them as consumers.”  

The epicenter of all worker cooperatives is a town called Mondragon, in the Basque country of northern Spain. A young priest named Father Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta went there in the 1940s to teach in a vocational school. Besides teaching technical subjects he talked about social values which led to the concept of worker cooperatives. 

The first co-op was started in 1956 and by now Mondragon has a large network of widely diverse and hugely successful cooperative enterprises. A group of visitors from Mondragon University came to the July NoBAWC meeting and shared some of their experiences in trying to teach and maintain cooperative values in the present atmosphere of global outsourcing. 

Does the name of Father Arizmendiarrieta ring a bell? The three Arizmendi bakeries (two in the East Bay and one in San Francisco) are worker collectives which in turn were started with the help of members of the Cheese Board, Berkeley’s much-loved Gourmet Ghetto institution. The Cheese Board collective has been around for 36 years and has more than 40 members, many of whom have been there for many years. The operation is fairly typical of worker collectives. Everyone has an equal voice in all decision making, there are no managers or bosses. Everyone gets the same hourly pay, their total wages depending on the number of hours they work.  

Participating in all decision-making can be something of a burden. A democratic process takes time but as an owner, every member is responsible, in the words of Crow Bolt of the Nabolom Bakery collective, “for a lot of the nuts and bolts that keep the place together.” 

But things have taken a turn for the worse at Nabolom, which is losing money, can’t pay its bills and might go out of business at the end of August despite months of working to try to save it and staff pay cuts. Nabolom’s experience reveals some of the pitfalls of collectives, including poor organization, lack of business experience, and allowing personal relationships to compromise management concerns. 

Crow traced the problem back several years ago to an incompetent financial manger and poor communication with the rest of the members. By the time they confronted the situation the collective ended up deep in debt. The Elmwood District bakery has been threatened with a Sept. 1 eviction date unless it can catch up on more than three months of back rent. 

“Most of us are on the borderline economically and can’t afford to work without pay,” Crow said. “(Most) have put a lot of heart and effort into it—far more than they’re paid back for it.” 

Inno Nagara, a member of three-year-old Design Action Collective, said that collectives are a viable business model. 

“Co-ops are more stable in the long run, they make better decisions,” he said. “You can look at the trends around cooperatives. They do tend to last longer, they move a little bit slower but as a result make better decisions.” 

Design Action is a spinoff from Inkworks, a venerable printing company collective with a more than 30-year history. General manager Erica Braun has been with Inkworks almost since the beginning. 

“The participation of everybody is very important in terms of making good judgments about our service to the community,” which, she said, has always been the company’s mission. “It’s hard. It lengthens the process but I think in the end we make better decisions.”  

Keeeth (yes, that’s how he spells his name) at Pedal Express, a bicycle cargo delivery service cooperative, said the frustrations of cooperatives are worth it because of the satisfaction of working where “people are empowered to make good choices instead of just showing up for work, punching the clock.”  

Collective members tend to bond with each other more than they would in the traditional workplace. They share common goals, they all participate in admitting new members and they spend a lot of time together, he said. 

Arturo T., who has been a member of the Cheese Board for 21 years said, “It’s a family. You’re marrying into a family.” 

The Missing Link bicycle shop is another business that has a long history in Berkeley with members that have been part of the collective for many years. Bill Sparks, one of the old timers, has a quick answer to the question, ‘What’s so great about being in a collective?’ 

“It’s the boss thing, of course,” he said. “Because we’ve all worked for idiots. [This] affords us some freedoms that maybe you won’t get in the real world.”  

›

The Nabolom Bakery, Berkeley’s second oldest collective, will almost certainly shut its doors at the end of August, said Jim Burr, a member of the cooperative and former chief financial officer. 

Founded in 1976, the Elmwood District institution has been teetering on the brink of financial collapse for several years. Burr said Wednesday the building’s property manager, Carrie McCarthy, has had enough of unpaid rents. 

Earlier this month McCarthy notified the bakery by certified mail that she would file for eviction proceedings Sept. 1 if the bakery did not fully catch up on rent payments. Burr said that by Sept. 1 the bakery would be three-and-a-half months behind on rent. Monthly rent for the bakery is $3,886. 

Bakery finances have deteriorated to the extent that, this past week, for the first time, the cooperative doesn’t have money to pay its 14 full- and part-time workers, Burr said. Besides unpaid rent, the bakery also owes about $36,000 in unpaid payroll taxes and several thousand more to vendors. 

Burr said financial mismanagement plunged the bakery into the red about four years ago. A poorly trained former financial officer took over the operation, Burr said, and promptly incurred over $40,000 in debts from penalties on back taxes. Then the bakery lost its major wholesale account with Fellini’s, a restaurant on University Avenue. 

The bakery, located at 2708 Russell St., has scheduled a community meeting for Monday at 7 p.m. to discuss a possible bail-out. As a last ditch effort, Burr said the bakery would try to secure $50,000 from the public in pledges by Aug. 15. That would give the bakery two weeks to collect the money and pay off its debts. Customers who pledge the money would be reimbursed through food. 

“I don’t really know what kind of community support we have,” said Burr acknowledging that the plan was a longshot. “But without [the pledges] I can’t see us staying open.” 

Last year the bakery held several meetings aimed at reviving the faltering business. The bakery tried staying open later and serving pizza, but neither managed to draw more customers. 

Burr said that the cooperative was also open to selling the business to a private operator that could pay off the debts and operate the bakery.

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

GROVE MARKET 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

My name is Muhammad Elbgal and I am the son of Mr. Nasser Elbgal who owns Grove Market at 2948 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. I am writing to ask that your newspaper please make a correction in the next edition on two accounts.  

First in your article entitled “Arsenal Found in Adeline St. Apartment” you mention that the owner of Black and White Liquor store is also the owner of Grove Market. This is wrong: Mr. Banger (owner of Black and White) does not own Grove Market; he owns the building in which Grove Market is located. We at Grove Market do not deserve to be affiliated with what happened at the Black and White Liquor store, so please let your readers know that your paper has made a mistake.  

Secondly you quote former City Council candidate Laura Menard as saying that neighborhood activists have been trying to close Grove Market and that we are a problem store. This is also not the case. We have worked hard to maintain a good relationship with our community and we are not a problem store, as Ms. Menard has said.  

Also we are not located in North Berkeley; we are located in South Berkeley. So if Ms. Menard has made a mistake we ask that you inform her of this. We have had nothing but support from our neighbors and customers and it is wrong to say that we are a problem store if there is no evidence to back up that claim.  

Thank you for your time and we are hoping to see some action taken on this matter. 

Muhammad Elbgal 

• 

LEAVE GROVE OUT OF IT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I want to put in a good word for the Grove Market. I don’t think they have anything to do with what happened to the other store. And the bust of guns and drugs may not have anything to do with the store. 

Grove is two blocks away, and shouldn’t be associated with what happened in that apartment. The people who run Grove Market are just trying to make a living, and are a service to this community. I like going there more than having to hassle with Berkeley Bowl, which is expensive (I go to Canned Foods, much more economical) and is also a human beehive, though they make some good burritos. 

Seriously, I don’t think Grove Market should be threatened like that by “neighborhood activists” because of something that happened two blocks away and that had nothing to do with them.  

John Delmos 

• 

MARITAL STATUS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

My husband and I don’t always agree on political matters. 

While Ms. Taubenfeld is certainly entitled to her own opinion, I think it would have been ethical to point out when she wrote defending Albany City Councilmember Robert Lieber that she is married to him.  

She has written two recent letters. If she writes on a topic such as homeless kittens, I see no problem. 

If she writes again defending her husband’s point of view, I respectfully request that the Daily Planet mention her marital status. 

Marsha Skinner 

Albany 

• 

KPFA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As one who has been associated with KPFA since its inception in 1949 as a member, supporter, volunteer programmer and producer, and member of the unpaid staff organization, I would like to make two observations about the station’s current state. 

It is not my experience that there has “always been a running battle between (paid) staff and the general manager.” I would invite listeners and reporters to ask the three general managers preceding the current one if they had problems with paid staff. Paid staff is hungry for a sensitive general manager, as the documented complaints against the current one would indicate. 

I would like those who speak of “entrenched paid staff” to consider what they are saying. They are talking about people whose career is radio, who have jobs at the station. Isn’t it better that we have a seasoned experienced staff that establishes continuity, that understands radio and is proud when they do exceptional work in it? I’d hate to go to a restaurant where the cook was changed every two months and the waiters were learning their job. 

I have utmost respect for the current paid staff at KPFA. I see them as serious, hard working professionals of integrity who produce outstanding radio under onerous conditions. 

Adam David Miller 

GROVE MARKET 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

My name is Muhammad Elbgal and I am the son of Mr. Nasser Elbgal who owns Grove Market at 2948 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. I am writing to ask that your newspaper please make a correction in the next edition on two accounts.  

First in your article entitled “Arsenal Found in Adeline St. Apartment” you mention that the owner of Black and White Liquor store is also the owner of Grove Market. This is wrong: Mr. Banger (owner of Black and White) does not own Grove Market; he owns the building in which Grove Market is located. We at Grove Market do not deserve to be affiliated with what happened at the Black and White Liquor store, so please let your readers know that your paper has made a mistake.  

Secondly you quote former City Council candidate Laura Menard as saying that neighborhood activists have been trying to close Grove Market and that we are a problem store. This is also not the case. We have worked hard to maintain a good relationship with our community and we are not a problem store, as Ms. Menard has said.  

Also we are not located in North Berkeley; we are located in South Berkeley. So if Ms. Menard has made a mistake we ask that you inform her of this. We have had nothing but support from our neighbors and customers and it is wrong to say that we are a problem store if there is no evidence to back up that claim.  

Thank you for your time and we are hoping to see some action taken on this matter. 

Muhammad Elbgal 

• 

LEAVE GROVE OUT OF IT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I want to put in a good word for the Grove Market. I don’t think they have anything to do with what happened to the other store. And the bust of guns and drugs may not have anything to do with the store. 

Grove is two blocks away, and shouldn’t be associated with what happened in that apartment. The people who run Grove Market are just trying to make a living, and are a service to this community. I like going there more than having to hassle with Berkeley Bowl, which is expensive (I go to Canned Foods, much more economical) and is also a human beehive, though they make some good burritos. 

Seriously, I don’t think Grove Market should be threatened like that by “neighborhood activists” because of something that happened two blocks away and that had nothing to do with them.  

John Delmos 

• 

MARITAL STATUS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

My husband and I don’t always agree on political matters. 

While Ms. Taubenfeld is certainly entitled to her own opinion, I think it would have been ethical to point out when she wrote defending Albany City Councilmember Robert Lieber that she is married to him.  

She has written two recent letters. If she writes on a topic such as homeless kittens, I see no problem. 

If she writes again defending her husband’s point of view, I respectfully request that the Daily Planet mention her marital status. 

Marsha Skinner 

Albany 

• 

KPFA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As one who has been associated with KPFA since its inception in 1949 as a member, supporter, volunteer programmer and producer, and member of the unpaid staff organization, I would like to make two observations about the station’s current state. 

It is not my experience that there has “always been a running battle between (paid) staff and the general manager.” I would invite listeners and reporters to ask the three general managers preceding the current one if they had problems with paid staff. Paid staff is hungry for a sensitive general manager, as the documented complaints against the current one would indicate. 

I would like those who speak of “entrenched paid staff” to consider what they are saying. They are talking about people whose career is radio, who have jobs at the station. Isn’t it better that we have a seasoned experienced staff that establishes continuity, that understands radio and is proud when they do exceptional work in it? I’d hate to go to a restaurant where the cook was changed every two months and the waiters were learning their job. 

I have utmost respect for the current paid staff at KPFA. I see them as serious, hard working professionals of integrity who produce outstanding radio under onerous conditions. 

Adam David Miller 

• 

REALITY CHECK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I enjoyed my voyage through Tom Lord’s fantasy world (Commentary, Weekday edition, July 19-21). 

But, like many fantasists, his must also be subject to a reality check. 

So, I have a proposal for Mr. Lord: I will personally deliver to his home (or to a neutral setting), one month of the West Contra Costa Times. I recommend turning first to the editorial pages. Believe me, you will be shocked, shocked, at the viciousness of many letter writers, our very own red staters, at the name calling and blame heaped on the word “liberal.” This exercise should end once and for all the notion that progressives need apologize to anyone. 

And I will alternate for one month the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, so Mr. Lord can inform the readers of the Daily Planet where exactly these blue state papers show liberal tendencies, and encourage superiority toward red staters. 

And perhaps, after reading all of this, he might be clearer on the difference between “neocon” and “progressive.” 

Sandra Shamis 

Albany 

• 

TEEN LIBRARIANS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Many patrons and many citizens of Berkeley have been writing and speaking to the Board of Library Trustees for seven months now with no satisfactory resolution of the issue of the involuntary and inappropriate transfer of the teen librarians from their respective branches to the main library, and I feel it is important to notify more citizens in Berkeley what is going on here. 

The Berkeley Public Library director has so inappropriately wished to execute her desire to initiate a teen program at the main library, and for several reasons in the past has failed, but now wishes to wreck what has been a marvelous program at the branches where the respective teen librarians have worked diligently for the last decade. 

Why wreck a good thing at the branches to begin what has failed before at the main library—and for the same reason as before: parking, business-like environment, and not teen-friendly to their needs as compared to the branches which have these attribute built in for many many years (if not decades)? Why wreck the entire Berkeley library system by rotating the teen librarians to promote a program that in its current design is flawed and poorly planned, and also does not have the support of the staff as it is currently planned?  

This dire mistake the library director has planned to move on in the near future is a farce. I am on the side of the teens and the teen librarians on this one, and strongly oppose the director in her actions. Should this plan move toward its completion, I will turn in my library card and urge everyone I know in Berkeley to do the same. 

Mark Bayless 

• 

ALBANY BULB 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Doesn’t anybody care that arch Zionazi Henry J. Kaiser dumped his Richmond factories of death and destruction into the bay creating what is now known as the Albany Bulb? Walk along the shoreline at low tide and check out the tons and tons of heavy industrial waste that was dumped as close and as cheaply as possible. 

If you’re really adventurous visit the interior; if you see any steel pipes coming out of the ground, get close and take a whiff. There is some real nasty stuff buried under there. No wonder the fish aren’t edible. 

Henry J. Kaiser Co. is responsible and should have to pay a big fine as well as clean it up. This is a good indicator of the character of the people who drafted over 10 million men to do their dirty work in Europe and Asia. More civilian workers died—58,000-plus—in World War II than all American casualties in Vietnam. Thank you Rosie, hope you enjoyed the good times with the Big Bands and all. 

Ronald Branch 

• 

POLICE BLOTTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Allow me to weigh in on the Brenneman problem. The first time I picked up a copy of the Daily Planet, I was amused by Brenneman’s take on small-time crime in Berkeley. But the more editions of the Planet I read, the more I appreciated your paper for its intensive and lucid covering of the day’s news—certainly not just ol’ Berzerkeley. The Planet is a serious piece of journalism. And in this context, Mr. Brenneman does come off a bit facile. Maybe some other publication—not the Planet. With no disrespect to Mr. Brenneman, 

Madeline Smith Moore 

Oakland 

• 

OAKLAND MAYOR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Well, I haven’t been this jazzed in a long time. I have always known that Ignacio De La Fuente was a slime and could not even comprehend how we were going to have to suffer at least four years of him as mayor of Oakland. Yeah Ignacio, all of us homeowners still remember the Raider mess you left us saddled with, plus messing over a few unions on your way to get things done your way. 

So here comes a wonderful ethical solution, a petition to Ron Dellums to run for mayor of Oakland. An ethical honest man who I respect. Where the daylights are those petitions? I want to sign and I want it right now. A Google search was worthless on the subject so I am relying on you guys to point me in the right direction. My husband is cheering too as he gets nauseated when the subject of De La Fuente for mayor comes up. 

Carma Winfrey-Hayes 

Oakand 

• 

BROWER CENTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Ah, I was somewhat sorry to see no “parking lobby” people at the special City Council meeting Monday July 25, as the council voted the go-ahead for the David Brower Center. 

If they had been there, they could have heard what was music to my ears, and perhaps believed it, because they had heard it. 

Nevertheless, I still heard:  

The second parking level would expose the city to much greater risk, because of the water table being too high at that depth, to much greater risk than the $6 million the second level of underground parking would already cost.  

As Councilmember Spring noted, that $6 million comes from the closed after-school centers, the collapsed city budget, and could be raised well enough by a downtown Business Improvement District fee.  

What perception? What reality? 

Claire Risley 

• 

BRUCE BOLT, 1930-2005 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The July 26 San Francisco Chronicle carried an extensive obituary for Bruce Bolt, the seismic scientist, recounting the contributions he made to our community, state, and nation. An important facet of his story concerns his interest in art. In his role as president of the Faculty Club on the Berkeley campus, he was instrumental in the establishment of a collection of art of the Berkeley School on permanent display in the Faculty Club of the University of California. The collection presents works in oil, fresco, watercolor, gouache, sumi, egg tempera, and charcoal of ten artists who were active in that school from 1930 to 1950, which had a great influence on the progress of art education locally and nationally. 

The development of the collection had its beginning in early 2003 when Bruce Bolt, knowing that I was a member of the art department, asked me what I might know about the large fresco on a wall of a dining room in the Faculty Club which was not attractive because a glaze of green color had be painted over it. I told him that I had seen the fresco when a student in the late 1930s and that the original colors were brilliant. No one knew why or when the green glaze had been applied; a guess was that it presented male and female figures in the nude and this was found offensive by some club members. Bruce asked me to make tests to determine if the glaze could be removed. Tests showed the glaze to be in distempera and could be removed. I had had experience in restoration procedures and, with two assistants, I removed the glaze and restored the fresco to its original, 1930, glory. 

This led Bruce to approve my suggestion that a collection of works by artists who were confreres of the painter of the fresco, Roy Boynton, be installed in the same room. The room today houses works by Eugene Neuhaus, Worth Ryder, who joined the faculty in 1927, and was largely responsible for the appointment of the other members of the school: John Haley, Margaret Peterson, Erle Loran, Chiura Obata, James McCray, Mary Dumas, and myself. 

Karl Kasten 

Professor Emeritus 

• 

RFID 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I just finished with page nine of the July 26-28 Daily Planet, devoted to commentaries on the library’s use of RFIDs. Pretty much a complete waste of paper. How about doing an accurate, unbiased, information story on RFID? Before the Aug. 1 forum would be good. 

I think the library may have been sold a bill of goods when they got into an RFID-based system; there are some serious questions as to whether the RFID technology offers any real advantages to a public library. However, all I see about it in the Planet is the usual Berkeley-esque politico-babble about something that is, at bottom, a technical issue. And what the writers say about the technology itself seems to be ill-informed and poorly understood. 

The library went and bought a high-tech solution to a low-tech problem, and at this point should be looking for a way to cut its losses. The concerned citizens deserve some solid facts—wrangling about hypothetical problems just makes everyone involved ineffectual. So how about some real information for a change, Daily Planet? From somebody with some actual knowledge who doesn’t have to rely on “studies” (unidentified) which are “emerging” (someplace). Maybe somebody who has actually done and published a study? and/or someone who has actually implemented an RFID system and used it?  

More light, less heat. Act like a real newspaper. Are you up to it? 

David Coolidge 

• 

STORY IDEA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thanks to Matthew Artz for an excellent article. 

Well, what else is new? Zionist money subverts City Council...yawn. 

What would make a great story is how a Zionist comes to own the trademark rights to a Mexican-Californio legend, rights which make him no doubt extremely wealthy, and provide him with the base from which he can carry out successfully these threats to get people. 

How about asking John Gertz about this? 

Mark Richey 

• 

CRIME 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The point of Laura Menard’s July 26 letter, “Rose Colored Glasses,” was difficult for me to understand. She did make clear she is against, “thug life,” schools teaching about the Black Panthers and youth advocates speaking to high school students. 

She describes a youth advocate telling a “tale” of “utter nonsense,” in which black males experience discrimination and where something called three-strikes results in life imprisonment. She does not mention Proposition 21 and how that affects youth, or that black youth have a better chance of winding up in prison than in college.  

She would probably accuse me of telling nonsensical tales when I lament that as a society we continue to spend less on schools and more on prisons, almost dollar for dollar. Incredibly, those of us who see the discrimination and inherent racism still existing in our society she accuses of wearing rose colored glasses.  

The one thing she is in favor of—police dogs being used on our youth—she claims would be “moving Berkeley out of the tired 1960s rhetoric.” Some of us are aware of our history and have no desire to see attack dogs being paid for with our tax dollars. It is worth noting that despite the tragic shootings and real drug problems that exist in Berkeley, the violent crime rate is at something like a 10-year low. 

Further, programs that treat drug addiction, teach job skills to youth, and provide positive alternatives to teens, have continued to show more efficacy in reducing crime then incarceration. Is my wanting our city to treat these problems in an efficient way what she means by “the politics of blame”? I don’t know; what I do know is each time I read her statements on the problems and challenges our neighborhoods face and her proposed solutions, I am grateful she was not elected my neighborhood’s councilmember. 

Neil Doherty 

• 

CRIMINAL ACTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In response to the editor’s call for stricter gun control after the recent murder of the Dartmouth student, I urge your readers to think with their brains instead of relying on knee-jerk ideology. The young man that allegedly committed the murder already was carrying a handgun illegally. It was illegal that he fired his gun it into a group of people on a city street. He murdered a girl, which is illegal. He illegally left the scene of a crime. I doubt that his gun was legally purchased and registered. One more restrictive gun law would not have stopped him. He is not a law-abiding citizen.  

I am a law-abiding citizen. My gun is purchased legally and registered. I go to the shooting range to practice target shooting and to be familiar with my firearm. I take my daughter there so she will be skilled as well. I have lived with a gun in my home all my life. Guns do not jump up and kill people. A loaded gun could sit on my nightstand for 100 years and never commit a crime. Criminals commit crime. The real test for gun violence in the home is not whether there is a gun in the home, but whether or not there is a criminal in the home or you socialize with criminals. Enacting more restrictions (Berkeley already has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country) will not make anyone safer. Allow me, and all law abiding individuals, the freedom to own firearms to protect ourselves and truly prosecute severely those who commit crimes.  

If all homes had to place a sign in their window stating either “I am unarmed and won’t defend myself” or “I own a gun and I know how to use it,” statistically, whose house do you think will be robbed?  

Vicki Larrick 

• 

PREDATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I read with interest Joe Eaton’s well-written and informative July 26 article entitled “Inescapable Predation: Part of Life in the Food Chain.” As the founder and president of the Hudson Valley Raptor Center in Stanfordville, New York, I share with Mr. Eaton his awe of nature. But it seems to me that Mr. Eaton has failed to mention that we “ern” humans are also predators. While we, for the most part, no longer scale trees to pull baby woodpeckers from their nests, we do drive to the supermarkets to pick up our preferably fresh killed quarry to bring home to our families. It is this lack of connection to life on the food chain that I, personally, believe fosters a sense of superiority amongst us humans in relation to other animals. Might I climb out on a limb here, for just an amusing second, to suggest that if martens, great horned owls and other so-called predators had supermarkets they certainly wouldn’t be above using them. And, on a more sober note, I would venture to say that it is competition for prey and not morality that drove our ancestors (and modern man as well) to their zero-tolerance policy for predators. 

Dona Tracy 

President, Hudson Valley  

Raptor Center 

Stanfordville, NY 

• 

TAXES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In his July 26 letter, Mal Burnstein asserted, “We should be discussing which taxes do the job most fairly and successfully, not how to avoid taxes altogether as Fred seems to think we ought to do.” This was in response to my July 22 letter, in which I wrote that the concept of club dues “applies only to taxes on real estate, especially land.”  

As I wrote, land-based dues, such as the assessments paid by members of a condominium, are in direct exchange for services. For many reasons, dues based on land value are the best source of public finance. I would like Mal Burnstein to explain how my proposition—that a land tax is most like dues—logically implies his claim that I stated that we ought to “avoid taxes altogether.” 

As to the statement of Mr. Burnstein that “the poor should be protected from excessive property taxes as well,” how would a person who owns valuable real estate be poor? Moreover, a tax on land value cannot possibly be excessive, because the price of land would go down to make up for paying the tax. If all the land rent is taxed, the land value drops to zero, and what the landowner pays in taxes is offset by what he does not have to pay in mortgage interest. The net tax burden is zero. 

Fred Foldvary 

• 

STRAY BULLETS 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

It was shocking to read of the enormous number of weapons, ammunition and explosives that were found only by accident by the Fire Department near the liquor store in Berkeley. And that machine guns were a part of this cache reported by the Daily Planet in the edition of July 22-25. I found it both interesting and disturbing that in this very same issue was a follow up account of the tragic shooting of Meleia Willis-Starbuck by her friend and letters (some hysterical) from members of the National Rifle Association advocating people owning guns. Where in the world and how did such an arsenal including machine guns get into Berkeley ? If this bizarre collection of guns and ammunition was only found by accident one wonders how many other such collections exist in the Bay Area and how many will be used. 

Max Macks 

• 

SWIMMING POOLS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As a (now senior) swimmer for over 20 years at King and other Berkeley pools, I am dismayed by the threats of pool closures year after year. It appears that a significant factor in these pool closures is BUSD’s failure and refusal to contribute any funds for pool maintenance. The school district cries poor, but it is obviously maintaining a brand new pool it just built at the high school, from which we community swimmers and the students of King and Willard have been excluded. 

I am even more dismayed that BUSD feels the aquatics programs are expendable for middle school students. Swimming is an essential life skill for physical and mental health which all children should have the opportunity to learn long before they reach high school. Where do championship swim teams come from, if not from the middle schools? Not to mention swimming as a healthy alternative to video games, substance abuse and the growing incidence of tragic violence we are witnessing among young people right here in Berkeley. 

When I was a kid, neither my community nor my school district could afford to build a pool, let alone staff and maintain it. Only when the local college opened its pool in the summer did I discover that swimming cured my chronic depression. I was suddenly motivated to get to the pool by 8 a.m. and have been swimming happily ever since!  

That the Berkeley Unified School District has existing pools and thinks nothing of building a new one, but places bureaucratic wrangling over the needs of its middle school students is shameful! Although my children have long since graduated from Berkeley Schools, I still pay taxes and want them used wisely. According to the City of Berkeley Parks and Recreation Commission, the cost of a 10-week session at King Pool is $36,000. Surely the BUSD can come up with this paltry small sum to keep kids swimming for even one semester out of the year. In the process, this will serve the entire community and help keep the pools open. A pretty good bargain for the money! The city and community are eager to work with the BUSD to solve this problem. For BUSD to do otherwise is short-sighted and mean-spirited. 

Paula Wagner 

• 

IMPOSSIBLE? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

How come the Daily Planet includes gender information when describing assailants in the Police Blotter? Doing so gives readers the fanciful impression that nearly all violent crimes are committed by males—a statistical impossibility since more than half the population is female. 

P. Wooton 

• 

PARKING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Spruce Street below Rose has been designated as a residential street by the city. The Residential Traffic Calming Program developed by the Planning Department has developed a policy of directing traffic away from residential streets and onto collector and arterial streets. The Beth El Temple does not address this issue in its plan. Their traffic plan does not discourage traffic from entering our neighborhood street and, in fact, Beth El has applied for “G” parking permits (Spruce Street south of Rose) when it is located in the “H” parking area.  

It is good that Beth El has been able to secure satellite parking, but Beth El can do better. They can use on-site, frontage and assigned satellite parking as a first option. Neighborhood parking should be a last resort. The temple can also rescind its application for “G” parking permits. This more effective parking plan would add less traffic to the neighborhood.  

A more effective parking plan would provide “assigned” parking to all congregants based on where they live relative to the temple. For every event, invitations should include parking instructions with indications of assigned satellite parking. For example, if a family lives north of the temple, then it will be told to use Lot B, Lot C or Lot D, whichever is closer to its residence. If another family needs parking in closer proximity, because of disabilities, seniority or some other extenuating circumstance, then it will be assigned parking either on-site or on the frontage. Beth El’s plan calls for someone located on-site at the temple to direct parking on the day of the event. This will lead to unnecessary circling of the neighborhood streets and unwarranted traffic, as vehicles pass by for instruction. Instead of a single monitor, they should also have monitors at the satellite parking sites. Congregants should drive directly to their assigned lot, if that lot is full, then the monitors can direct them to alternative lots.  

I hope the city enforces its policy to protect residential streets and requires Beth El to provide a plan as stated above. Beth El should do this because it has built, against the neighborhood’s wishes, a huge regional temple with the possibility of drawing 800 congregants from throughout the Bay Area to our neighborhood.  

Linda Trujillo Bargmeyer 

?

CITY ADVERTISING DOLLARS 

To Mayor Tom Bates:  

I just read Marty Schiffenbauer’s letter to the Berkeley Daily Planet. 

According to him, he stated that the city of Berkeley no longer supplies the paper with city public notices or advertises in it.  

Inste ad, you place ads in the East Bay Daily News. I just picked up that paper and it’s an ordinary newspaper—really doesn’t do much local coverage in depth. 

I’ve been reading the Berkeley Daily Planet for several months now, and I find it to be the best loca l newspaper I’ve ever read. I’m not surprised they recently won publishing awards. 

I was brought up in Berkeley in the ‘50s, and we had the Berkeley Gazette, which was a typical local newspaper. Adequate, but not great. 

I have published an international trade magazine for 18 years (I sold it last year), so that helps me in recognizing excellence in publishing. 

I also know how much work and dedication to produce the type of quality and in-depth local coverage that the Daily Planet provides. 

They are a great asset to our community. Providing and inspiring democracy in action on a local scale. 

So I wanted to double check to see if the city has withdrawn its support of the Daily Planet or not, etc., and then I’ll continue with this dialogue. 

Please ackn owledge receiving this e-mail, and, if necessary, forward it to the right people, if it’s something you can’t respond to yourself. 

Richard Fabry 

Dear Mayor Bates, City Councilmembers, and City Manager Kamlarz: 

We are homeowners in Berkeley’s District 6 and previously owned a home in District 5. 

We understand that the City of Berkeley has decided to pull it’s advertising and public notices from the Berkeley Daily Planet in favor of the East Bay Daily News. 

Both of us find this decision very troubling for a couple of reasons. First, we read the Berkeley Daily Planet twice a week—as do all our neighbors. We had never heard of the East Bay Daily News until we heard of the city’s recent decision. We do not know where to get it, nor do we wish to go out of our way to find city information since we have come to rely on the Planet. The city’s decision makes it more difficult for us and everyone we know to access important information about our community. 

Second, the Berkeley is a locally owned and run busin ess, while the East Bay Daily News is owned by media giant Knight-Ridder. We are troubled that the city—to which we pay huge taxes—has decided to use our tax dollars to support a large corporation rather than a local entity. 

As Berkeley taxpayers who nee d local information, we respectfully ask you to change your decision. 

Charles Press and Debra Sabah Press 



Just before my daughter and I enter Berkeley High School’s gymnasium for Meleia’s memorial service, I see her mother, Kimberly, encircled by loving arms, red-eyed sorrow and whispered words of comfort. Our daughters, although three years apart, attended Park Day School together and my daughter looked up to Meleia like a big sister. Meleia always greeted her with hugs and praise. 

My daughter loved her. I wait and breathe, trying to keep my tears in check until I stand before Kimberly, dazed and helpless. We embrace and exchange expressions of utter sorrow. “I lost my firstborn, too,” I say. 

Kimberly looks startled. She didn’t know that. We shake our heads, acknowledging that particular kind of grief. “Just let everybody hold you up,” I advise. She nods vigorously, then laughs. “With all these people here, I had to come and be a part of this. If I hadn’t, Meleia would’ve kicked my butt!” We laugh again and she goes on to the next set of waiting arms. 

When I first heard about the shooting and saw Meleia’s soft-featured face, warm and welcoming, on the front pages of several newspapers, I said to myself; “Whose child is this? Who are her parents? I know this child.” 

I hadn’t seen Meleia in years and didn’t recognize her all grown up. My second thought was; “Oh my God. This could be my daughter. This could happen to her.” And my heart filled with sadness and fear. 

I know what it’s like to lose a child. My firstborn, Arianne, died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome when she was three months old. Just as the birth of my precious new baby taught me the full meaning of unconditional love, her unexpected death taught me the meaning of true suffering and overwhelming grief. I know of no greater loss. 

At the service, Kimberly described her reaction upon first hea ring of her “baby girl’s” death: “I ran around the house screaming ‘Oh my God! What am I going to do? How am I going to live?’” When she calmed, she knew she had to return to Berkeley (from Georgia) to be with the multitude of friends, teachers and commun ity members who had come to know and love Meleia so very much. Several of these friends spoke at the service about carrying on Meleia’s social justice work and everyone was moved by her young brother’s plea for a “gun-free future.” The mood, while painful, was decidedly upbeat, a true celebration of Meleia’s life.  

But, I have to pause. Perhaps I am not as evolved as those who are now focused solely on healing the community because underneath all of the sorrow, I am angry. 

Meleia was shot and killed whi le she was taking the time to try to explain to a group of young men—some of whom were reported to be Cal football players—why it was inappropriate and disrespectful to call her and her friends “bitches” for having refused their advances. Not one of the supposed UC Berkeley students has come forward to acknowledge his role in this tragedy or to express any regret for the verbal abuse that preceded the shooting. If in fact these were Cal students, perhaps UC’s Athletic Department can pay tribute to Meleia’s memory by sponsoring a seminar on gender issues which would include discussion on the notion of entitlement. 

I have always disliked the word “bitch” and have likened it to a racist’s use of the word “nigger.” I find it demeaning and crude. I’ve been told by some young people, my own daughter included, that these words do not carry the same weight they used to and that they have the power to redefine these words, to free them from negativity. That may be so, but I still cringe at the current casualness of their use, whether in music videos, among friends or enemies. Apparently, Meleia and her friends cringed, too. 

The behavior demonstrated by the young men who were simply looking for some females to party with is nothing new. When I was their age, thir ty years ago, my friends and I were also called bitches or at minimum labeled “stuck-up” if we failed to deliver the demanded digits, names, addresses or company. A simple “no, thank you” or “not interested” was rarely sufficient. 

It’s not news that ther e are cultures all across the globe in which men believe that they are entitled to whatever they want to take from women and that they are justified in denying women equal rights. During the few minutes it takes to read this column, thousands of women all over the world are being assaulted, raped and murdered for refusing to say yes, for trying to say no or simply for being born female and physically weaker than their attackers. At the risk of being termed a “male-basher” I must say that the numbers don’t lie—even the statistics supplied by the U.S. Department of Justice are horrifying. And far from bashing males, I am trying my best to raise a healthy one. My son is kind, courteous, empathetic and fair-minded and I hope he stays that way. 

Perhaps as a p arent who has lost a child I have yet to overcome my need to find someone, something to blame. Parents like me often ask; “What could I have done differently? If only I hadn’t let her go to that party, or that school, or get in that car. If only I had pic ked her up when she cried.” We start with ourselves, then move on.  

Doctors, hospitals, society, culture, racism, ignorance, guns, God or the perceived lack of one—the list goes on. Finally, we realize that there are some questions that have no answers a nd there are many occurrences in life we have no control over. 

Although it seems that Meleia would be the last person who would choose to resolve a conflict with violence, it tragically appears that she was killed by a close friend who mistakenly thought he was coming to her rescue, gun in hand. Nonetheless, I believe that Meleia would forgive her shooter. And her family has requested that we focus not on blame but on healing. 

Meleia Willis-Starbuck was not a color or a race, a political label or a “bit ch.” Meleia was a warm-hearted, courageous, intelligent, beautiful young woman who had touched many lives and was dedicated to improving the lives of many more. Perhaps if I can try harder to let go of my anger and my need to place blame, you can try to d o the same. For Meleia.  

›t

We may never know for certain what Meleia Willis-Starbuck said to the two Chris’s—her friends Chris Hollis and Chris Wilson—to get them to drive out to College Avenue on the tragic night that Ms. Willis-Starbuck was shot and killed. The case has already entered into the realm of our judicial system, which may be concerned with exacting justice but is not always equipped to discover truth, not feeling the one is necessarily dependent upon the other. 

But if the various media accounts are believable—and being a working journalist, I am always skeptical of media accounts, my friends—then one of the basic facts of the Willis-Starbuck tragedy is that Ms. Willis-Starbuck said something on the telephone that caused Mr. Hollis and Mr. Wilson to believe that they needed to come to her assistance against a crowd of young men, and that—at least so far as the 21-year-old Mr. Hollis was concerned—a gun was needed as well. 

In the days immediately after Ms. Willis-Starbuck’s death, the Daily Planet’s letters to the editor pages were filled with (I assume) well-intentioned citizens who had already decided how the shooting happened, and who was to blame. 

Michael Hardesty called the shooter a “punk.” Eileen M. Mello labeled it “a misogynist hate crime.” And Mr. Gerry O’Brien painted with a broader brush, writing that “I shall never stop scrutinizing young men in the College Avenue environs … until that day … when the Berkeley Police Department apprehends the shooter and brings him before the court to answer for his conduct.” Presumably the type of young men whom Ms. Willis-Starbuck was reportedly arguing with shortly before the shooting, though Mr. O’Brien was, perhaps deliberately, vague on exactly who that means he would be scrutinizing. 

All of these letters were written within a day or two of the shooting, when people believed that the shooting had been done by the men on the street with whom Ms. Willis-Starbuck was having an argument, before media revealed that one of her close friends was accused of doing the shooting, that he may have done it while coming to her defense, and that she may have placed the call to bring him to the spot. But it is often in these first moments of a tragedy, before many of the facts are determined, that we blurt out unguarded thoughts, and we get an inkling into our true thinking. 

The need in humans to assign blame to tragedy is both powerful and understandable, because it allows us to neatly pack away in a safe closet of understanding what otherwise appears unbearable. But saying something is understandable does not mean it is necessarily right. 

And what seems understanding may actually be misunderstanding, once the actual facts begin to surface. One is reminded of the story—I have told it before, in columns—of the Texas woman who expressed surprise when learning that the suspect arrested in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City turned out to be a white American Gulf War veteran Christian American patriot terrorist, and not an Arab Muslim terrorist, as had been widely expected. “Now I don’t know who to hate,” she said, one assumes quite honestly. 

And so, now that it is less easy to hate Ms. Willis-Starbuck’s shooter (hate the sin, but not the sinner, I can hear one of my old ministers saying), what you hear more than anything is people calling the shooting “senseless.” 

But that would be a mistake, too. There is little that is senseless in human society. Mostly there are things which we have not yet figured out a way to make sense of. Or, perhaps, we don’t want to make sense of, because we worry about the implications. 

But let us try to figure, while the tragedy is fresh in our minds, and we have not yet moved on to other concerns. 

What is it that would have caused Mr. Hollis to carry a gun with him on the drive out to College Avenue that night, and to allegedly discharge it—as Berkeley police now say—into a crowd standing on the street? We don’t know because we can’t read Mr. Hollis’ mind, and he has not yet surfaced to give his side of the story. 

But we have some possible clues. We do know that the East Bay is an incredibly—almost unbelievably—violent place, particularly for young African-American men, such as Mr. Hollis. For those of us who are either too old or live far removed from the epicenters, it is difficult to understand the effect this violence and threat of violence is having on the young people most at risk. We see it in statistics and television reports—eight murders in Richmond in a two week-period, 41 murders in Oakland since the beginning of the year—but rarely from the point of view of those who are most likely to have seen a shooting, or know someone who has been shot, or be shot themselves. How does it affect their thinking? How does it affect their lives? 

Last February, 49-year-old Patrick McCullough shot and wounded 16-year-old Melvin McHenry following an argument in front of Mr. McCullough’s 59th Street home. The two men give different stories about the nature of the argument, and what Mr. McHenry was doing in front of Mr. McCullough’s house before the argument began. Mr. McCullough had previously been active in trying to clean up drug trafficking on his block, and because of it, he had received threats from alleged drug dealers. And so even though the 16-year-old Mr. McHenry had not been accused of drug dealing, and was not suspected in making the threats against Mr. McCullough, both Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente and Oakland Police Lt. Lawrence Green, who oversees patrols in the North Oakland neighborhood where the shooting took place, came out in the shooter’s defense even before police completed their investigation of the case. Lt. Green, in fact, circulated a petition urging the Alameda County District Attorney not to charge Mr. McCullough in the shooting. 

“Realistically, given the threats [McCullough has] had, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for him to carry a weapon,” Lt. Green told the Daily Planet reporter. 

But if it is realistic—according to an Oakland police lieutenant—for a 49-year-old Oakland citizen to carry a weapon because he fears for his life and that of his family, why is it not equally as reasonable to expect Chris Hollis to carry a weapon as well, knowing the fear he might face as a 21-year-old African-American man simply trying to survive on the East Bay’s streets? 

Am I suggesting that either shooting-that of the 16-year-old Melvin McHenry or the 19-year-old Meleia Willis-Starbuck was acceptable, or even comparable? Absolutely not. 

But it’s a reasonable question to ask—why young African-American men feel that at times they must protect themselves and their friends with guns—because the answer might give us a clue as to how we might intervene to stop the East Bay street violence that is cycling, cycling out of control. 

›

Dirty Harry? 

In a scene that might’ve come right out of Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” flick The Dead Pool, a distraught motorist called Berkeley police just after noon Tuesday to report that he’d just been threatened by a fellow armed with a harpoon gun. 

Berkeley police spokesperson Joe Okies said the call reporting the event from a gas station in the 2700 block of Seventh Street, which apparently occurred as part of a road rage incident. 

The motorist said the harpoon-brandisher was a male about 40 years old wearing a maroon shirt, maroon shorts and driving a maroon Pathfinder. 

Extreme Heist II 

In its second robbery in two weeks, workers at Extreme Pizza, at 2352 Shattuck Ave., were threatened by a man intent on making off with the dough. 

Unlike the last incident, where a gunman tapped the till, Sunday’s bandit professed to be packing a blade and made off not with the store receipts but with the employees’ own tip jar. 

Fortunately for the workers, Berkeley police arrived moments later, in time to arrest the 51-year-old bandit with goods in hand. 

Taggers busy 

Armed with felt pens and spray paint, taggers struck at least twice around the Berkeley area Monday evening. 

The first report came in a 7:13 p.m. after someone spotted the telltale paint on a piece of city property in the 2100 block of Wheeler Street. 

The next report—of ink marker tagging at Codornices Park—followed 37 minutes later. 

Bizarre brandishing 

A father called police shortly after noon Tuesday to report a terrifying experience that had happened a few minutes earlier in the 2900 block of 7th Street as he was walking his children to school. 

The man said a fellow in a four-door beige American car stopped for no reason, pulled a knife and charged after him and his children. 

Then, for an equally mysterious reason, the knife-wielder abandoned the chase and drove away. 

Beats, robs 

A bandit slugged a 15-year-old Berkeley youth in the head in the 1600 block of Channing Way just before 11:30 p.m. Wednesday and robbed him of his cash and an MP3 player, said Officer Okies.

It’s interesting how the English language has been altered and rearranged to obscure the truth. When we don’t like the way something sounds and believe it to be too clear an expression of reality we just change the words and assume it also changes realit y. 

Take “faith based initiative” for instance. Please. 

You couldn’t very well call it “formation of state religion.” 

We are, after all, a nation settled by people who wanted to escape the religious intolerance of Europe so they could establish their ow n religious intolerance here. When it became clear that everybody imposing their own brand of intolerance within a certain area wasn’t going to make a very cohesive country, those early settlers struck upon the novel concept of keeping government separate from religion. 

Under this approach a Baptist could run for mayor in a town populated mostly by Methodists and win because (most) voters judged candidates based on their policies, not their religion. Sure, a Catholic still couldn’t get elected, but why would they be running for office outside of Boston anyhow? 

Eventually religious affiliation became virtually irrelevant to most voters and anybody (who was white) could be elected. 

As a predominantly Christian nation we rolled along for a years and mana ged to survive even after abolishing slavery. 

Then, during the middle of the last century, we watched other predominantly Christian nations give rise to one compassionate and considerate leader after another: Franco (Spain), Mussolini (Italy), Hitler (G ermany), Stalin (Russia). 

It’s taken us a bit longer, but we’re finally on the road to such bold and imaginative leadership right here. 

All that stands in the way is that last, quaint, idea of separation between religion and government. You see, you can’t have a really effective government leadership unless you’ve got a populace whose fervor is elevated to the boiling point; and there’s no better way to reach that boiling point than by infusing religion into politics. 

Whipping up public sentiment by bl aming others for every perceived wrong helps of course. A catchy phrase is handy as well. Leibenstraum has worked in the past, but most American houses already have living rooms, so that won’t do. Unions aren’t exactly catching fire right now so don’t exp ect some gibberish about ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ to work here.  

Nope, good old fashioned religious fervor is the ingredient that’s finally going to get America the kind of leadership that makes history. 

That little term, ‘faith based initiati ve’ is a subtle start.  

First we funnel tax money to religious schools. It’s worked well in Afghanistan in Syria and in Saudi Arabia and it can certainly work here. We ‘educate’ an entire generation to ignore science, ignore facts and concentrate instead on religion. The right Religion. The Religious Right. Pretty soon all that’s left is the Right. 

Stamp out alternative viewpoints. Scoff at the very concept of a free press, limit news media access to the facts, limit Congressional access to the facts, intimidate those who object. Create ‘camps’ to house enemies of the state. Devise means to detect such enemies wherever they live. Looking at library records could help. Clearly, only dangerous people read. Everything that safe people need to know will be fed to them through the anointed television network. 

Yep, we’re on the road all right. And there are only two alternatives for you: either lay down and let the machine roll over you on that road or .... Well, I’m sure there must be another alternative but I just can’t think of it right now. 

But remember, the September 11 missions were ‘faith based initiatives’ as well. So perhaps that other alternative has something to do with reigning in fanatics of every persuasion. 

Neil Cook is a Berkeley reside nt. 

r

How appropriate that Richard Brenneman’s article “Brower Sculpture Decision Could Come Monday” appeared next to the “Corrections” box! As if the innuendo and lack of objectivity of the article weren’t bad enough, the misinformation and errors delivered in faux 19th century voice are characteristic of the writer’s careless diction and inaccuracy in reporting. Unless they were promised anonymity, it would be instructive to know the sources of Brenneman’s coverage, which is an embarrassment to the Berkeley Daily Planet, and a disservice to its’ readers. 

Who is the chair of the Civic Arts Commission? It is not the individual whom the reporter named. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to accept the Brower Monument. There is no representation of David Brower associated with the sculpture, neither on it, nor adjacent to it. The name of the sculpture is not “Spaceship Earth.” The university was not asked to site the sculpture. Tilden Park and Lawrence Hall of Science were eliminated early on as possibilities, and were not on the final list of 30 potential sites. The Brower Center was not considered an appropriate site for the piece. From what sector came the “considerable opposition” to Berkeley’s accepting the Eino piece? 

The article suggests that the Civic Arts Commission has been inept and unfair in its processes. The site selection committee included, among others, members from the Waterfront Commission, the Recreation and Parks Department, the city manager’s office, and members of the Maxwell family, as well as members of the Civic Arts Commission. On what basis does the author assert that the sculpture has had “at best a lukewarm response in the community?” The purpose of the Sunday, July 22, meeting was to get community feedback on the sculpture and the potential site. If the community rejected the sculpture, two other sites were under consideration. The article neglects to mention this. 

The Brower article was mild in its obvious bias, compared to past trashing of the Civic Art Commission. Particularly lacking in objectivity has been the coverage of the “Here/There” public art sculpture. Whatever the staff of the Planet and its supporters may think of the piece, as in the case of the siting for the Brower monument, the selection process for “Here/There” was fair.  

An editorial cartoon suggested that the selection panel for “Here/There” was middle-aged, white, middle-class and not from the community. In fact, if your staff had observed the most basic rules of reporting, they would have discovered that there were three African Americans on the selection panel, two of whom are distinguished artists with international reputations and all of them residents of Berkeley. They were: Mildred Howard, Dewey Crumpler and Barbara Coleman. Ms. Howard, an artist with a prestigious record, is a life-long resident of the neighborhood where the sculpture is located and another panelist, Brenda Prager, a member of the Civic Arts Commission, died in her home two blocks from the the site of the “Here/There” installation in 2003. Both of them strongly supported accepting the piece. The Planet’s negative coverage of the “Here/There” installation was gratuitous and patronizing to the residents of South Berkeley/North Oakland, who are more sophisticated than critics of the piece. Unlike the critics, they understand post-modernism and have a sense of humor. 

Visual arts coverage in the Planet is infrequent and often inaccurate, a tradition one hopes will be corrected before Berkeley’s vibrant visual arts community dies of neglect or goes elsewhere. 

Robbin Henderson is director of the Berkeley Art Center.

I agree that the business of the Peace and Justice Commission should be to promote world peace. But this mission was sadly perverted when the commission began to pass one-side resolutions concerning the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The divestiture resolution was their first attempt. Cynically, as the Daily Planet points out, that resolution called for a boycott of both Israel and Palestine. However, on the day it came before the City Council, hundreds of pro-Palestinians turned out to urge its passage. They and everyone else involved knew that, whereas Palestine exports virtually nothing to the U.S. (except perhaps, jihad), tiny Israel has more companies listed on NASDQ than any other, except the U.S. itself. Enactment of this resolution might, for example, have led to Berkeley shutting itself down, since, most computers contain chips designed or manufactured in Israel. The old Peace and Justice Commission was quick to jump on Israel, but passed not one resolution condemning suicide bombing, Darfur, Wahhabism, Arab mistreatment of women and gays, or Palestinian cleptocracy. The old Peace and Justice Commission was setting Berkeley’s citizens against one another by condemning one side, and one side alone. I have spoken with some of the commission’s newer members, and agree that some of them are unlikely to support anti-Israel resolutions. But, very importantly, neither are they inclined to put forth pro-Israel or anti-Palestinian resolutions. I can’t speak for them, but my sense is that, consistent with the principles of the Peace and Justice Commission, they are waging a peace campaign--they want peace to return to Berkeley on this issue. 

The Daily Planet seems to imply that I am somehow pulling all the strings behind the scenes. Not so. Citizen outrage against the old Peace and Justice Commission is widespread. For example, the Daily Planet incorrectly wrote that I lobbied school board members to appoint Peace and Justice Commission members who would oppose anti-Israel resolutions. I have never communicated in any way with any member of the school board. I have lobbied three City Council members, but that’s it, and that, of course, is my right as a citizen. I am certain the anti-Israel camp in Berkeley does the same, and that is their right. The Daily Planet is also wrong when it calls me a “local player in Democratic politics.” I am not. I often speak with members of congress, but, although I am a registered Democrat, I talk with members on both sides of the aisle because the issues which concern me are bi-partisan. 

The Daily Planet quotes me as saying that were Maio to run for mayor she would “go down” to defeat. The Planet continues “[Gertz] didn’t specify how he would ensure [her] defeat. (I pointedly leave Worthington out of this, because his record is complicated.) Well, the reporter didn’t ask. I am happy to specify here by way of fair warning to the would be candidate. In my view, Maio can either pass mindless one-sided anti-Israel resolutions or be mayor of all Berkeleyans. She cannot do both. 

Maio has admitted in the pages of the Daily Planet that her vote on Corrie was a mistake. Yet she has steadfastly refused to fix that mistake, by simply reversing that bad resolution. She was the swing vote, and she could change the outcome if she chooses. Bad legislation is routinely rescinded at every level of government. Apparently, Maio wants it both ways. She wants to play the role of “useful idiot” to Berkeley’s fringe jihadists, while pandering to the rest of us. For this she is doubly damned. The political wisdom of her position escapes me. Surely, Maio must realize by now that her Corrie vote will be one of the key issues in her mayoral campaign. I predict that her anti-Israel record will bring a lot of cash and a lot of volunteers to the cause of her more moderate opponent. Can’t she imagine the literature that will surely be mailed to Berkeley voters showing her picture right next to that now famous picture of Corrie’s contorted face burning the American flag in front of Palestinian school children (printed in USA Today and Mother Jones)? Does she think that only Berkeley’s Jewish community (roughly 25 percent of voters) will care about this? Even voters with no particular opinion about the Middle East will surely think twice about electing a mayor who prefers to delve into foreign policy matters which so clearly polarize Berkeleyans, rather than one who will largely stick to city business, and delve into foreign policy only when there is a clear Berkeley consensus.  

The past few weeks have yet again shone the spotlight on President Bush’s chief political advisor, Karl Rove. It turns out that “Turd Blossom,” as the president so affectionately calls him, allegedly leaked the covert identity of an active CIA agent to strike back at her husband, Joseph Wilson, a political opponent of the administration while they were cooking intelligence to trick Americans into invading Iraq. While lawyers bandy questions back and forth over whether Rove actually broke the law, and operatives from both sides prepare to protect or decimate America’s most powerful political aide, we should remember that this isn’t the first time Rove got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. 

Rove rose through the ranks of Republican operatives showcasing his brutality and willingness to “go all the way” for a candidate, to do what others did not have the stomach to do. In 2000 during the South Carolina Republican primary, Rove orchestrated the whisper campaign against John McCain that he had an illegitimate black child and was likely insane from his time in a North Vietnamese POW camp. Also, Rove likely had a hand in the 2004 version of the whisper campaign, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Though never directly linked to the group, Texan Home Developer Bob Perry donated the initial funds to the Swiftees as well as to George Bush’s campaign for President and their first media consultant, Merrie Spaeth, is Rove’s close associate. These are the more public examples of Rove’s brutality. The lesser known examples are even more appalling.  

To really understand Rove’s willingness to go to the edge of legality, and sometimes beyond, for a candidate, look at the Texas gubernatorial election of 1986. According to analysts, the even race between former governor and oilman Bill Clements (R) and the younger incumbent Mark White (D) would have to be decided at the upcoming debate, where White was expected to dominate Clements. Just before the debate, Rove called a Press Conference to announce that a bugging device had been discovered in the campaign offices. Rove would say to reporters, “There is no doubt in my mind that the only ones who would benefit from this detailed, sensitive information would be the political opposition.” FBI memos and records from the initial police investigation pointed the finger at Rove, who had hired the same firm to plant and discover the device. The tactic worked; Rove’s accusation stayed on the front pages of the states’ dailies until a week before election day and Clements won with 56 percent of the vote. Then, incredibly, the lawsuit against the Clements campaign was round-filed in the Reagan Justice Department. Rove possesses the crucial talent of a dirty trickster; he breaks the law and gets away with it, even after the facts come out. 

In 1980, the Alabama Court were packed with entrenched Democratic judges and Rove was hired to turn the court Republican. Rove handpicked, advised and got elected an entire bench full of Republicans, all along the way brutally stamping out the political opposition. In one indicative move for a seat on the bench, Rove drove up the negatives of the well-respected sitting Democratic Judge Mark Kennedy by circulating rumors that Kennedy was a child molester. It didn’t phase Rove that Kennedy was well-known in the state for his work on behalf of abused children: Kennedy had served with the Children’s Trust Fund of Alabama, founded the Corporate Foundation for Children and at the time of the whisper campaign, he held the position of president in the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect. He convinced a number of students and professors at the University of Alabama law school that his opponent was a pedophile and these transmitters promptly relayed the message. According to a former Rove staffer, "It was our standard practice to use the university…to disseminate whisper-campaign information...The students at the law school are from all over the state, and that’s one of the ways that Karl got the information out—he knew the law students would take it back to their home towns and it would get out." Over a couple of weeks, the tactic worked; allegations of Kennedy abusing children were everywhere. Though he won the race, Kennedy refused to run for reelection to spare his family the hardship.  

In each of these scandals, Rove comes out on top. He changes the subject or the public gets bored. Now Rove is at the center of another political scandal. And he won’t go down without a fight.  

I

It has been about five years since I had my problems with Walgreens and its pharmacy in Cathedral City, Ca. I felt that was a serious matter—so serious that the California Board of Pharmacies got involved and Walgreens was fined. I’ve moved on since then and recently came up to Berkeley.  

Wondering how long could hold a grudge, I decided I would patronize Walgreens once again. 

Hearing about the Berkeley Bowl, a large food emporium, remindful of Zabar’s and Dean & DeLucca’s, I decided I would shop at both Walgreens and the Berkeley Bowl which are adjacent to each other separated by their parking lots. It is very confusing entering the parking lots trying to figure out whose is whose. The parking problem in Berkeley is about as bad as downtown New York City. After circling the block a couple of times trying to figure how to enter the parking lot, I entered Walgreens lot. Big signs blared: “WALGREENS SHOPPERS ONLY, $60 FINE IF YOU CROSS THE STREET.” 

Stupidly (remember, I spent the last 15 years in Southern California and my brain has atrophied) I figured, “No problem, since I will shop the Berkeley Bowl and then Walgreens. Big mistake. I shopped at the Berkeley Bowl and with my brown shopping bag walked back to Walgreens, and spending an equal amount of time in Walgreens. I noticed that although the parking lot was three-quarters full, Walgreens’ store was nearly empty. Walking out of Walgreens to my car holding both the Berkeley Bowl shopping bag and the Walgreens shopping bag, my car had a boot on it and a warning sign, “Do Not Move This Vehicle” scotched taped to the side window and an attendant tapping her toes awaiting my arrival. “Sixty dollars, please, and I’ll remove the boot,” said Ana, who works for American Parking and Patrol, Inc. “What? I just came from shopping in Walgreens.” “But you crossed the street. If you entered Walgreens first and then crossed the street to the Berkeley Bowl, you would not be fined,” added Ana. 

After protesting, Ana agreed to lower my fine to $40 dollars. I insisted on calling her supervisor whose toll-free 24 hour line had a machine answering it. No luck there. 

I thought to myself, “Am I in the middle of a Monopoly game? Did I pick the “Chance” card that read, “Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200?” 

Still feeling outraged, I marched back into Walgreens to speak to the manager, Ms. Fields. She reiterated that if only I walked into Walgreens first and then the Berkeley Bowl, I would have avoided being fined. But, she continued, she was willing to reduce my fine to $30 and have the boot removed from my car wheel if I paid that. She explained that the Berkeley Bowl wasn’t willing to do anything about the parking problem, so Walgreens had to take this drastic step because its patrons weren’t able to find parking. I again looked around the store and it was nearly empty. I guess most Berkeley Bowl patrons learned the rules of the game: Don’t cross the street, without going into Walgreens first. I told Ms. Fields that if this is an example of Walgreens’ great customer service, the cure they’ve chosen for their parking problem is worse than the disease and that I am one customer who shall not return. Ms. Fields then told me if that was the case and if I was intending not to return to Walgreens, she would not reduce my fine to $30 and it would remain $60. At that point I decided to pay the $30 fine and have the boot removed from my car.  

As I drove away $30 poorer, I decided not to get angry but to get even. Then I decided, no, Walgreens has good sales, it’s been around a long time, and it used to have a good reputation. It is growing by 450 stores a year. If their corporate heads are not aware of what is happening at their stores, let’s get their attention. Let’s try to keep Walgreens customer friendly. The only way I know they will listen is when their profits are affected. 

I sent an e-mail last month to Walgreens’ president, vice president and board of directors, as well as Berkeley’s city manager and councilmembers. Thus far, the only response I got was from a Walgreens secretary to a vice president saying if the e-mail I sent was spam mail, they are sorry I received the spam mail and that they were not responsible for spam and that I should contact my Internet provider. 

Alyss Dorese is a Berkeley resident. 

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year by looking back and looking ahead.  

This year’s program offers 49 films from 15 countries, including short films, classic features, contemporary dramas, comedies and documentaries.  

The festival, which opened July 21 at San Francisco’s Castro Theater, continues this Sunday at Berkeley’s Roda Theater—as well as at theaters in Mountain View and San Rafael—through Aug. 6.  

The SFJFF began in 1981, the first of its kind. Over the years, many festivals have followed suit; there are now more than 100 Jewish film festivals worldwide. 

This year’s program spotlights the work of Jewish screenwriters blacklisted during the 1950s. Peter Godfrey’s Hotel Berlin (1945) features an adapted screenplay written by Blacklist victim Alvah Bessie and features Peter Lorre, a Hungarian Jew who made his name playing a murderer in German director Fritz Lang’s 1931 anti-Nazi film M.  

Other classics include The Locket, co-written by the uncredited Norma Barzman, and Fred Zinnemann’s The Search in which Montgomery Clift plays a GI during World War II who befriends a young boy in a United Nations’ camp in occupied Germany. The screenplay was written by Blacklist victim Paul Jarrico.  

The festival will also screen Martin Ritt’s The Front (1976), a comedy starring Woody Allen as a stand-in for a Blacklisted television writer played by Zero Mostel, himself a Blacklist victim.  

Though the festival has maintained its strong focus on Israeli films this year, one of the highlights of the week comes from Germany. Go For Zucker! (2004) stars Henry Hübchen as Jaecki Zucker (formerly Zuckermann), a man who abandoned his Jewish identity decades ago but must now reconcile with his estranged Orthodox brother in order to acquire an inheritance. Zucker’s family, including his wife, played by German star Hannelore Elsner, struggle to pass as observant when the in-laws come to visit. The film has earned praise for presenting German Jews outside a Holocaust context, an unprecedented feat in post-war German cinema. 

Among the contemporary Israeli films, Campfire (2004) is another stand-out. The film, which won the Israeli Academy Award for best picture, presents a widowed mother seeking to prove herself worthy of joining a West Bank religious settlement where she hopes to start a new life for herself and her two daughters. 

One of the strengths of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is its willingness to screen unflinching documentaries examining volatile topics. Some of these films are among the most enticing in this year’s program. 

Commune (2005), Jonathan Berman’s exploration of the allure that utopian societies hold for Jews, looks at the Black Bear Ranch, a 1970s community in Northern California’s Siskiyou County, and features Black Bear members Harriet Beinfeld, Peter Coyote and Daily Planet contributor Osha Neumann. Jericho’s Echo (2005) takes a look at the Israeli punk scene. And in Keep Not Silent (2005), director Ilil Alexander offers a glimpse into the lives of three Orthodox lesbians dealing with the choices and sacrifices that result when religion and sexuality collide.  

Shiri Tsur’s On The Objection Front (2004) documents the plight of and debate over “refusniks,” Israeli soldiers who declare themselves conscientious objectors, refusing to serve in the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 

Wall, Simone Bitton’s exploration of the impact of the barrier dividing Israel from the Palestinian territories, won a Special Jury Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. And in Protocols of Zion, director Marc Levin hits the streets to show that the stereotypes and bigoted notions expressed in the long-discredited pamphlet The Protocols of the Elders of Zion are alive and well in America. 

And finally, Berkeley filmmaker Judith Montell’s Professional Revolutionary, which documents the life of Saul Wellman and his life-long dedication to socialist causes, plays at 2:20 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6. 

The festival also includes 18 short films interspersed with the feature-length films.  

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival runs July 31- Aug. 6 at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley. For a complete schedule of films, including ticket information, director biographies and film descriptions, go to www.sfjff.org/25. For ticket information, call (925) 275-9490 or write to jewishfilm@sfjff.org.  

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When Mike Daisey begins his solo piece, The Ugly American, he is sitting at a table on the Thrust Stage at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, facing the audience. He is sitting there at the conclusion, too. 

He uses gestures and expressions to illustrate his tale of studying acting in London on an overseas program of his “micro-Ivy League” college. Chalk marks for the table’s placement are visible on the boards. He shares some of the simplicity, but otherwise, none of the theatricality of his predecessors in solo performance, such as its pioneer, Emlyn Williams playing Charles Dickens. 

Mike Daisey plays himself. This, too, separates him from other solo performers who seem close to the traditions of burlesque and stand-up comedy, such as Barry Humphreys, who plays Dame Edna (among others), or Garrison Keillor (whom Daisey valorizes), slipping in and out of various roles as well as being the master of ceremonies, where stand-up began. 

Daisey, who calls himself a monologist, is also a book author, a writer for The New York Times Magazine and contributes commentaries to NPR’s “Day To Day.” His monologues are unscripted, and evolve as performed throughout his run. 

“Unlike so much theater, there is no illusion here,” he says. 

On the stage, Daisey plays the affable “hale fellow, well-met” of bar room lore, but with a more contemporary and somewhat detached attitude. Sometimes it’s as though he’s musing over what he’s saying. 

“They say that youth is wasted on the young,” he says, “they would say that, the fuckers!” Beginning with dissing Bernard Shaw’s famous line, and running the dozens on it to the tune of: “‘I had a wasted youth; I know so much more now’” and emerging with, “the essence of youth is in the misspending,” Daisey warns off would-be listeners who won’t understand, “people with TiVos ... who keep Day Planners, even in utero!” and launches his odyssey, from “a sordid love-affair with acting,” to imagining he’ll be greeted by the shades of Olivier and The Bard himself when he touches down on Old Blighty for training, “to be told I was special, and to feel something.” 

Instead, he’s sent off to see Heiner Muller’s Hamletmachine, “German Postmodern with a vengeance,” and finds himself hedging afterwards along with everybody else: “Interesting ... Challenging,” except for a jock who’s taken the program to party on continental daytrips, who shouts in a loud American voice all the way back in the tube, “Dude, it was boring!” 

From the picture of his acting coach, a “flinty, hawklike” woman, to his “audition” for an off-off fringe production in an abandoned suburban church abutted by council housing, where the director looks him over like a horse and pronounces, “You’ll do,” Daisey delineates his plunge from an aesthetic daydream into a nightmare made amusing in the retelling. 

His big scene, in the ultrafeminist restaging of a Caryl Churchill musical, leads to a torrid affair with the Welsh hooker actress who’s his scene partner. Pursuing his affair with the boozy, sexy, inscrutable Cymreis Tamsyn, he slips in his schoolwork, ending up returning to perform his “type—a fat, retarded” infantile creature in a pathetic school play project, only to be out of sync with his fellow actors’ pauses after the bad lines. 

Throughout, Daisey breaks his cool and his bemusement with raving tirades that are oddly glib and clipped, but otherwise reminiscent of a gentler Lewis Black. Yet his cool is genial, personable even, with a slight air of confiding something, obviously helped along by the deliberate spontaneity of his unscripted format. 

At times the autobiographical mode becomes banal, the raconteurishness chatty, a little like talk radio. The effect is like being told “I only read nonfiction” by a triumphant stranger at a cocktail party. Imagination can become a little clipped, too. 

There’s a great deal of sentimentalism to the anti-sentimental “plain speaking” pose this small-town Yankee takes the stage with, more false-naive than urbane in the unmounted snapshots he seems to be casually showing us. 

But his all-over good humor and self-deprecation (in the midst of potshots at various and sundry) win over the audience, some of whom are obvious repeat fans from his previous hits, 21 Dog Years and All Stories are Fiction (and his evolving new piece, Monopoly!, which will have a $5 show at the Rep on Sun. Aug. 14). Mike Daisey may be The Ugly American, but he’s a nice Ugly American. 

The Ugly American, created and performed by Mike Daisey, runs at the Berkeley Reperatory Theatre through Aug. 13. For tickets or information, call the 647-2949, or see www.berkeleyrep.org..

FRIDAY, JULY 29 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, “A Murder is Announced” by Agatha Christie at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck at Berryman. Runs Fri. and Sat. through Aug. 13. Tickets are $10. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Aurora Theatre “The Thousandth Night” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. 2 and 7 p.m., through July 31, at 2081 Addison St. Tickets are $36. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Rep, “The Ugly American” Created and performed by Mike Daisey at Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., through Aug. 13. Tickets are $30-$35. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

California Shakespeare Theater, “Nicholas Nickleby” Parts 1 and 2 at 8 p.m. at Bruns Amphitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., between Berkeley and Orinda, through Sept. 16. Tickets are $10-$55. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Central Works, “The Grand Inquisitor” by Dostoevsky. Thurs - Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at The Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through July 31. Tickets are $9-$25 sliding scale. 558-1381. www.centralworks.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “Anything Goes” Cole Porter’s musical, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. through Aug. 13 at 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

“Livin’ Fat” a comedy about an African American family struggling over a financial blessing, Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m., through July 30, at Sweets Ballroom, 1933 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $12.50-$35. 233-9222. 

The Lobster Project “Killing My Lobster and the Wonderful World of Science” Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 7:30 and 10 p.m. and Sun. at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12-$17. 415-558-7721. www.killingmylobster.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

“4 Minnesota Potters” Works by Tim Crane, Maren Kloppman, Matt Metz and Mark Pharis at Trax Gallery, 1812 Fifth St. to Sept. 9. Reception at 5 p.m. 540-8729. www.traxgallery.com 

FILM 

For Your Eyes Only “The House on 92nd Street” at 7:30 p.m. and “Pickup on South Street” at 9:15 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Youth Writing Festival with students from Mentoring for Academic Success (MAS) at 6 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

COterie DAnce, CODA, presents “Emotional Passages” at 8 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Theater. Tickets are $13-$15. 925-798-1300. 

De Rompe y Raja, Afro-Peruvian at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Ellen Hoffman, Dick Conte Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums with Ms. Carmen Getit at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson with Nick & Shanna at 8 p.m. Cost is $11-13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

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

LoCal Music Expo II at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. www.epicarts.org 

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

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

Mike Glendinning at 7 p.m. at A Cuppa Tea, 3203 College Ave. Free, all ages show. www.mikeglendinning.com  

All Ages Show with The Botticellis, Nineteen Eightyfour, Pyramus Never Dies and The Picture Theory at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Ampere, Bones Brigade, Motherspeed, Hiretsuken at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Shotgun Wedding Quintet, Felonious at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $8. 548-1159.  

LoCal Music Expo II, acoustic folk/rock, at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10.  

Zadell: Zoe & Dave Ellis at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Django Reinhardt Festival with Dorado Schmitt, Florin Niculescu and others at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, JULY 30 

THEATER 

“Hiroshima Stories” 60th Anniversary Commemoration with personal stories, drumming, and theater at 7:30 p.m. at International House Auditorium, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Tickets are $10. 642-9460. 

San Francisco Mime Troupe “Doing Good” at 2 p.m. at Mosswood Park, MacArthur and Broadway, Oakland. 415-285-1717. www.sfmt.org 

Shotgun Players, “Cyrano de Bergerac” at 4 p.m., Sat. and Sun. through Sept. 11, at John Hinkle Park, labor day perf. Sept. 5. Free with pass the hat donation after the show. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“This is Your Life! Richmond, California” A time-line exhibit in honor of Richmond’s 100th birthday. Reception at 2 p.m. at the RIchmond Museum of History, Carnegie Bldg., 400 Nevin Ave. Cost for reception is $5-$7.50. 235-7387.  

FILM 

Pre-Code Hollywood “Blonde Venus” at 7 p.m. and “Midnight Mary” at 9 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Official Pep Talks” Gallery talk on the installation and interactive project by The Susan O’Malley Research Team at 1 p.m. at ProArts Gallery, 550 Second St., Oakland. 763-4361. www.proartsgallery.org 

“No No the Saddest” A poetry and dance collaboration with Alan Bern and Lucinda Weaver at 7 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. 883-0600. www.belladonna.ws 

A Night of Voices, a nomadic variety show, at 7:30 p.m. at Comic Relief, 2026 Shattuck Ave. Free. 843-5002.  

Mark John Sternal on “Guitar: Total Techniques, Scales & Applications” at 2 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 5604 Bay Street, Emeryville. 547-0905. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Cambio X Change Join the Berkeley Plama Soriano Sister City group for Cuban music and dance, art exhibit, and information on upcoming delegations to Cuba at 6 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St.  

PortFest World Music & Jazz Festival with Hugh Masekela, Kenny Garrett Quartet, Dave Ellis Quintet, Mo’Rockin Project and others from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, at the end of 7th St., Oakland. 627-1111. www.portofoaklandpublicartprogram.com 

Mohammad Reza Lotfi, Persian classical music, at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $30-$45. 925-798-1300. www.juliamorgan.org 

Grapefruit Ed at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Hideo Date, Ed Reed & Laura Klein Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

One Block Radius, hip hop at at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7-$8. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Mac McAnally at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Maestro de Bomba en la Bahia, Afro-Puerto Rican dance and music at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Daniel Marschak & Friends at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazz- 

school.com 

Zydeco Flames at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Alan Smithline, blues, at 7 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Bud Spanger/Taylor Eigsti 4-Tet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Famous Last Words at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

“From Brooklyn with Love,” with Maya Azucena and DJ Sake-1 at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10-$12. 548-1159.  

Grapefruit Ed at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Fleas & Lice, Star Spangled Bastards, Motorama at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

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

SUNDAY, JULY 31 

CHILDREN  

Putamayo “Swing Around the World” at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

THEATER 

Shotgun Players, “Cyrano de Bergerac” at 4 p.m., Sat. and Sun. through Sept. 11, at John Hinkle Park, (labor day perf. Sept. 5). Free with pass the hat donation after the show. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

FILM 

Harold Lloyd “Welcome Danger” at 3 p.m. with Jon Mirsalis on piano, and Pre-Code Hollywood “Gold Diggers of 1933” at 5:45 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Jewish Film Festival from 11:45 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater. Tickets are available from 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Jacqueline Berger and Shelley Savren at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Pacific Collegium “Penitential Psalms” at 3 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal, 2300 Bancroft. Tickets are $8-$15, at the door. 452-0503. ww.pacificcollegium.org  

Rose Royce at 3 p.m. at Music in the Park at Arroyo Viejo Park, 7701 Krause St., Oakland. Sponsored by Councilperson Desley Brooks. 

Samora Pinderhughes Quintet at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

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

Alexandria, belly dance, flamenco, South Indian Dance at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Americana Unplugged: Tom Kingsley & The Moonbats at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Maya Azucena, at 10 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10-$12. 548-1159.  

MONDAY, AUGUST 1 

FILM 

Jewish Film Festival from 2 to 8:35 p.m. at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater. Tickets are available from 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Actors Reading Writers “Travels” stories by Lorrie Moore, Maria Thomas, and John Updike, at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Free. 845-8542, ext. 376. 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Sandy Cressman’s Homenagem Brasileira at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2 

FILM 

Eyeing Nature: “Storm and Stress” with Janis Crystal Lipzin in person at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Jewish Film Festival from 1 to 8:45 p.m. at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater. Tickets are available from 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee will read from “At Knit’s End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much” at 2 p.m. at Stash Yarns on 1820 Solano Ave. Proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. RSVP to 558- YARN. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Alice Templeton and JoAnne Henry, old favorites and originals, at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Bayennale Performance Benefit with Beth Custer, Mobius Operandi, Nguyen Dance Company, at 8 p.m. at LoBot Gallery, 1800 Campbell St., West Oakland. Cost is $5-$25. www.lobotgallery.com 

Brass Menagerie at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Balkan dance leson at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Clockwork, a cappella jazz dinner show at 6 p.m. at Downtown. Cost is $50. 649-3810. 

Singers’ Open Mic, with Ellen Hoffman, piano, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Issa Bagayogo, from Mali, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3 

FILM 

For Your Eyes Only: “The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Doing Time, Doing Vipassana” at 7:30 p.m. at La Pena Cultural Center. Cost is $6-$8. 849-2568. www.lapena.org  

Jewish Film Festival from noon to 9 p.m. at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater. Tickets are available from 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

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 www.starryplough.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Ned Boynton Trio with Jules Broussard on sax, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

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

I Grade St. Croix Reggae Showcase, featuring Army, Abja, Niyorah, Ancient King and Tuff Lion at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Fiamma Fumana at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Whiskey Brothers, Old Time and Bluegrass at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

The Jenna Mammina Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4 

FILM 

Louis Malle: “And the Pursuit of Happiness” at 5:30 p.m. and “Place de la République” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Doing Time, Doing Vipassana” at 7:30 p.m. at La Pena Cultural Center. Cost is $6-$8. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Jewish Film Festival from 12:30 to 9:45 p.m. at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater. Tickets are available from 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Carol Costello introduces “The Soul of Selling” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 2352 Shattuck Ave. 644-3635. 

Elizabeth Rosner reads from her poetry at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Word Beat Reading Series with Barbara Minton and Medeline Lacques-Aranda at 7 p.m. at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave., near Dwight Way. 526-5985. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Eye Sea: Passages” a performance by the students of the Ailey Camp at 3 and 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus. Admission is free. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Jon Wilcox, Larry Hanks, folk musicians, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Robbie Fulks, The Famous at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082.  

www.starryploughpub.com 

Will Bernard/Paul Mehling Duo at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quartet, Cuban pianist, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $15-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com?

Can a sailing school in Berkeley change the world? Anthony Sandberg, 56, the Founder and President of Olympic Circle Sailing Club, believes that the answer is an emphatic “Yes!” 

It’s a dream he shares with everyone who walks through the school’s doors where the company motto is “sail cleanly, leaving only your wake.”  

Sandberg founded the OCSC in 1979 as a one-man sailing school. He worked from a small office in the Alameda estuary using a borrowed boat and a telephone. For the first six months, he spent nights sleeping in his Dodge van. Gradually, the business grew through word-of-mouth. 

In 1981, Sandberg moved the school to the Berkeley Marina, on city-owned land that was once part of the municipal dump but which sits directly across from the Golden Gate Bridge. Today, his 10,000-square-foot-facility is the largest single-location educational sailing institution in the country.  

Sandberg’s love of sailing goes back to his early childhood in the Hawaiian Islands where he grew up sailing all types of boats. The “Aloha Spirit,” an actual statute under Hawaiian law, instilled in him the importance of sharing resources and belonging to a community. He further honed his skills sailing with his family on Lake Tahoe, and at the age of 16 he was hired to sail an 80-foot brigantine sailboat around the Pacific Ocean.  

After attending Dartmouth College, Sandberg participated in regattas around the world and skippered yachts for wealthy European boat owners. As a counterbalance, he served in the Peace Corps in Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world. 

“My experience in Nepal convinced me that you don’t need to be rich to be happy,” said Sandberg. 

At the age of 30, Sandberg founded OCSC in order to share his life’s passion with others. More important, he said, “I wanted to make sailing available and affordable. Anyone with the desire to learn should be able to participate.”  

OCSC members pay modest fees for access to a variety of classes and activities. They learn to sail with the most qualified professionals in the industry, acquiring both the confidence and the competence to navigate the challenging San Francisco Bay where winds of 25-30 knots and currents of 6-7 knots are common. 

“We’re the most rigorous school in the country because we have to be,” explained Sandberg.  

Of equal importance are the social aspects of the club.  

“It’s all about community,” emphasized Sandberg. “Sailing is about teamwork and trust, both of which are important elements of the OCSC culture.” 

Sandberg augments students’ time on the water with seminars, lectures, movies, organized outings, social barbecues and parties. The feelings of camaraderie and commitment extend beyond OCSC’s walls. The company is an ongoing sponsor of local youth sailing programs. Members regularly pitch in to clean the shorelines of Berkeley and beyond.  

“I want OCSC to be a model for the marine industry,” said Sandberg, who teaches students the importance of using on-board holding tanks for waste and how to anchor without damaging fragile reefs. “It’s not enough to say we do no harm—we also need to ask, ‘What good can we do?’”  

Sandberg formalized his commitment to the environment when he enrolled OCSC in 1 Percent for the Planet, a non-profit started by Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard. As a member of the alliance, OCSC donates 1 percent of net annual sales to groups that preserve and restore the natural environment, including Seacology, the Rainforest Action Network and The Bay Institute, which monitors and protects the waters of the San Francisco Bay.  

OCSC also donates five percent of vacation charter fees to local nonprofits in the countries it visits. “We must respect foreign cultures and their environments,” explained Sandberg. For instance, a flotilla charter to Belize raised $6,250 for TIDE, an environmental group that protects the sensitive reefs, wetlands and watershed in southern Belize. The money was used to repair hurricane damage to a ranger station in the Port Honduras Marine Reserve that guards against manatee poachers.  

Last July, 75 OCSC members sailing in Tonga donated $13,000 to preserve coral reefs near Vava’u Island. The money will pay for the construction, installation and maintenance of mooring balls that will be placed near fragile reefs. The mooring balls will offer a preferable alternative to anchoring and protect the reefs from the damage caused by anchors and chains that are now dropped annually by visiting sailors and divers. 

For Sandberg, “being green” simply makes good business sense. OCSC has grown to become the nation’s second largest sailing school in terms of revenues, a salient statistic considering that the number of sailors worldwide has dropped from eight million to three million since OCSC opened its doors 26 years ago. Reasons for the decline in sailing include the perceived expense and exclusivity of the sport, as well as people’s lack of time. 

But where others see problems, Sandberg sees opportunities. He is determined to put a new face on the sport of sailing by creating a welcoming community for anyone who wants to learn. 

“Every phenomenon has a counter-phenomenon,” mused Sandberg. “In the same way that the Slow Food Movement was born in response to fast food, I hope to remind people of the pleasure and relaxation that sailing offers in a frenzied world.” 

With 1,000 members in the club, Sandberg’s strategy seems to be working.  

Moreover, the company employs 65 people who share his passion and enthusiasm. The San Francisco Business Times ranked OCSC as one of 100 best Bay Area companies to work for in 2004 based on employee satisfaction surveys.  

Despite his success, Sandberg continues to seek personal and professional growth. Guided by the true “Aloha Spirit,” he tries to put himself in other people’s places and understand their perspectives. Every year, for example, he takes up two new activities.  

“I want to remind myself of what new sailors experience and what it is like to be outside of their comfort zones,” explained Sandberg. “This year, I’ve taken up open water swimming and acting. The latter is, by far, the most terrifying thing I’ve done!”

FRIDAY, JULY 29 

Life in Occupied Palestine: Eyewitness Stories and Photographs with Jewish-American activist Anna Pillerat 7:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. 845-4740. 

Youth Writing Festival with students from Mentoring for Academic Success (MAS) at 6 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

Skin Cancer Screening for people with limited or no insurance at Alta Bates, Markstein Campus. Free, but registration required. 869-8833. 

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

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 

Salsa Dancing at “The Beat” Dance Studio at 8:30 p.m. Lessons with Joseph Gallardo. 2560 9th St. at Parker. 472-2393 www.wildsalsanights.com 

SATURDAY, JULY 30 

Breakfast and Birding Walk with Robbie Fischer. Meet at 8 a.m. at RabbitEars, 303 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Cost is $25. Registration required. 525-6155. 

Year of the Estuary at Pt. Isabel Meet at the end of Isabel St. for a walk along the waterfront, marsh, bay and slough, to look for birds in bright plummage, down from their northern breeding grounds. 525-2233. 

Native Plant Society Star Thistle Removal from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. just below the large parking lot at 1150 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. Sponsored by the East Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society and the East Bay Regional Parks. 848-6489. 

Berkeley Kite Festival Sat. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Cesar E. Chavez Park in the Berkeley Marina. Activities, kite competitions and demonstrations. 235-5483. 

Potluck on the Picket Line of Berkeley Honda. Bring a dish to share and a picket sign at 2 p.m. at Parker and Shattuck. For information call Judy Shelton, 548-9334. 

Cambio X Change Join the Berkeley Palma Soriano Sister City group for Cuban music and dance, art exhibit, and information on upcoming delegations to Cuba at 6 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 653-1009. 

San Francisco Mime Troupe “Doing Good” at 2 p.m. at Mosswood Park, MacArthur and Broadway, Oakland. 415-285-1717. www.sfmt.org 

Hiroshima Stories, a commemorative event of performances and ritual in observance of the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at 7:30 p.m. at International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Cost is $10. 642-9460. http://ihouse.berkeley.edu  

PortFest World Music & Jazz Festival with Hugh Masekela, Kenny Garrett Quartet, Dave Ellis Quintet, Mo’Rockin Project and others from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, at the end of 7th St., Oakland. 627-1111. www.portofoaklandpublicartprogram.com 

Pancrustacea is Not a Dish: Insects and their Surprising Relatives. A realignment of animal groups has brought insects some interesting relatives and removed others from their family tree. At 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

“The Peaceable Kingdom” will be screened at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. 841-4824. 

SpiritWalking at the Berkeley Warm Pool Ability to walk on land not necessary. Sat. from 10 to 11 a.m., to Aug. 11. Cost is $3.50 seniors/disabled, $5.50 others. Bring a towel and deck shoes. 526-0312. well-being@pacbell.net 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of Kaiser Center Roof Garden and the Oakland Museum of California Garden. Cost is $5-$10. For details call 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Homeopathy for Animals: Emergency Situations Learn about local holistic vets and homeopathic remedies that can be used in emergency situations, including puncture wounds, ingesting toxins, excessive bleeding, muscle strain, bites and stings, foxtails, and fear of loud noises, at 3:30 p.m. at RabbitEars, 303 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Cost is $45. 525-6155. 

Your Backyard Pond Learn how to keep your backyard pond in balance, at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

Free Help with Computers at the El Cerrito Library to learn about email, searching the web, the library’s online databases, or basic word processing. Workshops held on Sat. a.m. at 6510 Stockton Ave., El Cerrito. Registration required. 526-7512.  

“Guitar: Total Techniques, Scales & Applications” with Mark John Sternal at 2 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 5604 Bay Street, Emeryville. 547-0905. 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland around the restored 1870s business district. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of G.B. Ratto’s at 827 Washington St. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

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

SUNDAY, JULY 31 

Bird Walk in Tilden Join Alan Kaplan on his 500th bird walk at 8 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Blessing of the Animals at 10:30 a.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. 841-4824. 

Bicycle Crash Skills Clinic Learn how to deal with curbs, gutters, wet weather, pedestrians, dogs and especially car doors, and how to repair your bike and body. From 2 to 6 p.m. at Berkeley Center for Appropriate Transport, 1336 Channing Way. For more information, email bcat_events@yahoo.com 

Music in the Park at Arroyo Viejo Park with Rose Royce at 3 p.m. at 7701 Krause St., Oakland. Sponsored by Councilperson Desley Brooks. 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of Jingletown. Cost is $5-$10. For details call 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

The New Tree of Life We’ll look for examples of new ways of looking at life in forest, meadow and pond at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. 525-2233. 

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

“U.S. Imperialism and the Counterinsurgency War” with Antonio, a former political prisoner from South America, at 1 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Free, but donation of $5 accepted. 393-5685.  

Social Action Forum with David McPhail on School of the Americas, at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

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 

MONDAY, AUGUST 1 

National Organization for Women Oakland/East Bay Chapter meets at 6 p.m. at the Oakland YWCA, 1515 Webster Street. The speaker will be Joyce Rutledge Starosciak, a member of the San Leandro City Council. Her topic will be “Sandra Day O’Connor: a Woman in the Men’s Club.” 287-8948. 

Wild vs. Hatchery Trout A lecture on the importance of saving wild trout with Mondy Lariz of California Trout’s Lake Merced Campaign at 7 p.m. at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

“RFID: What's It All About?” Berkeley Public Library is holding a Community Informational Forum on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to hear both sides of the issue at 6:30 p.m. at at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. Gordon Wozniak will speak on the safety of RFID, and representatives from the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation will talk about the privacy concerns. For accessibility questions and more information, call 981-6121. 

Berkeley High School Development Group Information Meeting Learn about community building, making grants to BHS programs, clubs and special projects at 7:15 p.m. at the BUSD Annex Building at 1835 Allston Way. shelmrich@aol.com 

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. 

Stress Less with Hypnosis A free seminar at 6:30 p.m. in Oakland. Registration required. 465-2524. 

Vacation Bible School from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Aug. 5 at The Church on the Corner, 1319 Solano Ave., Albany. 243-7410. www.albanyfirstbaptist.org 

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

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2 

“National Night Out” Public safety awareness forum focusing on alcohol and drug fueled crime and violence in Berkeley from a faith-based perspective. From 6 to 9 p.m. at McGee Avenue Baptist Church, 1640 Stuart St. at McGee Ave. 658-2467. www.berkeleyboca.org 

“At Knit’s End : Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much” with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee at 2 p.m. at Stash Yarns on 1820 Solano Ave. Proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. RSVP to 558- YARN. 

Exploring Baja California Hiking, kayaking, mountain biking and more with Trudi Angell at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140.  

Family Story Time at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Branch Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Free, all ages welcome. 524-3043. 

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. 215-7672, 524-9992. 

Berkeley Salon Discussion Group meets to discuss “The Coarseness of Culture” from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Please bring snacks and soft drinks to share. No peanuts please. 601-6690.  

Healthy Eating Habits and Hypnosis A free seminar at 6:30 p.m. in Oakland. Registration required. 465-2524. 

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

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your digital images, slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

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

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3 

Berkeley Path Wanderers’ Tour of WWII Ship Building History Explore the Exhibits of the Rosie the Riveter National Historic Park on a level three-mile walk on the Bay Trail. Meet at 10 a.m. at Shimada Park, Richmond. 235-2835. For a map see www.ci.richmond.ca.us/trac/ 

“Falluja April 2004” a documentary of the invasion by Toshikuni Doi, at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Free, but $5 donations accepted. 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland around Preservation Park to see Victorian architecture. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Preservation Park at 13th St. and MLK, Jr. Way. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters welcomes curious guests & new members. Meets at 7:15 a.m. at Au Coquelet Cafe, 2000 University Ave. at Milvia. 435-5863.  

Bicycle Maintenance 101 Learn how to identify and fix your bike’s simple mechanical problems at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140.  

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

Sing your Way Home A free sing-a-long at 4:30 p.m. every Wed. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation at 10 a.m. at 6230 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Volunteers are needed to support the more than 40 blood drives held each month all over the East Bay. Advance sign-up needed 594-5165. 

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. 

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. Sponsored by the Ecology Center’s Farm Fresh Choice. 848-1704. www.ecologycenter.org 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley BART Station. www.geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4 

Baby Massage for new and expecting parents at 10 a.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. To register 658-7353. 

“Statue of Liberty: Enlightening the World” A History Channel video at 1:30 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

“Globalization, Natural Resource Protection, and the Effects of War” with Silas Siakor, recipient of the Whitley: Sting & Trudie Styler Award for Human Rights & the Environment, at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Nepalese Culture Shekwa Night at 5 p.m. at Taste of the Himalayas, 1700 Shattuck Ave., Suite # A. Free. 849-4983. www.tasteofthehimalayas.com 

Home Buyer Assistance Information Session at 6 p.m. at 1504 Franklin St., Oakland. Sponsored by the Home Buyer Assistance Center. Free, but reservations required. 832-6925, ext. 100. www.hbac.org 

World of Plants Tours Thurs.-Sun. at 1:30 p.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $1-$5. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden. 

berkeley.edu 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 

Migrant Trail Walk for Life A video and reports on the trail taken by undocumented workers crossing the border in Arizona, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. 342-2519, ext. 6215. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 2480 Bancroft Way. Sponsored by the Community of South Berkeley. to make an appointment call 1-800-448-3543. www.BeADonor.com 

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

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. 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. 655-6169. www.bpf.org 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 

Peace Lantern Ceremony August 6th is the 60th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing. Gather to float lanterns in remembrance of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and all victims of war. Decorate lantern shades, hear Japanese flute and drum performances, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Aquatic Park, at the west end of Addison Street, two blocks west of Sixth St. and a block south of University Ave. 595-4626. Lanterns2005@progressiveportal.org  

Richmond Centennial Festival from 11 a.m. at Marina Bay Park, Richmond. Vendors, live music, children’s activities and fireworks in the evening. 

Fruitvale Transit Village Family Day Celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Transit Village Plaza, with live music and performances, human scale chess game, and other activities. www.bayennale.com 

Sick Plant Clinic UC plant pathologist Dr. Robert Raabe, UC entomologist Dr. Nick Mills, and their team of experts will diagnose what ails your plants from 9 a.m. to noon at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Dr. 643-2755.  

Summer Bird Walk with Dennis Wolff and Chris Carmichael at 9 a.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Dr. Cost is $8-$12. Registration required. 643-2755. 

Kids Garden Club For children 7-12 years old to explore the world of gardening. We plant, harvest, build, make crafts, cook and get dirty! From 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $5-$7, registration required. 525-2233. 

The Bat Detective Learn about the only mammal that flies, on a hike into the evening. Meet at 7 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $5-$7, registration required. 636-1684. 

“A Traveler’s Guide to the Solar System” A lecture by William K. Hartmann, winner of the first Carl Sagan medal at 7 p.m. at Chabot Space and Science Center. Cost is $6-$7. 336-7373. www.chabotspace.org 

Progressive Democrats of the East Bay Potluck picnic and general meeting on the special election, at 12:30 p.m. at Cordonices Park, Euclid and Eunice across from the Rose Garden. We'll bring the drinks and charcoal. 526-4632. 

Walking Tour of Jack London Waterfront Meet at 10 a.m. at the corner of Broadway and Embarcadero. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of Uptown Art Deco. Cost is $5-$10. For details call 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Free Help with Computers at the El Cerrito Library to learn about email, searching the web, the library’s online databases, or basic word processing. Workshops held on Sat. a.m. One-on-one help is also available. El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave., El Cerrito. Registration required. 526-7512. 

“Spiritual Forces of the Universe” with Vovo Anomalia on how to bring harmony into your life at 3 p.m. at Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St. at 8th. Cost is $15. 415-435-2255. 

ONGOING 

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

Free Lunches for Berkeley Children 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. ?

The air around these pages has been crackling of late with thunderbolts hurled from the Olympian heights of Berkeley’s arts community. No sooner does artist A praise, for example, the primitive power of the examples of art at the Albany Bulb than artist B ripostes with suggestions that they are untidy and barely accessible. The “Here-There” metal cutouts installed on the Berkeley-Oakland border, to the tune of $50,000, are either witty examples of post-modernism or ludicrous mis-spending of public funds. The only public sculpture, (as far as anyone can remember) which was ratified by a ballot initiative is still, many years later, the target of derision in some circles. In light of all this excitement, it’s hard not to suppress a smile at one writer’s comment that “visual arts coverage in the Planet is infrequent and often inaccurate, a tradition one hopes will be corrected before Berkeley’s vibrant visual arts community dies of neglect or goes elsewhere.”  

We’d be devastated to believe that the visual arts in Berkeley would wither and fade if not covered adequately in the Planet, but we can’t take ourselves quite that seriously. In fact, I’ve recently been having some difficulty taking any kind of art very seriously, since I’ve been reading What Good are the Arts?, a provocative book by British critic (and literature professor) John Carey. His premise, examined at great length and with many side trips into history, philosophy and science, is that the only credible answer to the question “What is a work of art?” is “Anything that anyone has ever considered a work of art, though it may be a work of art for only one person.” 

Further, Carey says, “the absence of any God-given absolutes, together with the impossibility of accessing other people’s consciousness, prevents us—or should prevent us—from pronouncing other people’s aesthetic judgments right or wrong.” So much for art reviews. His arguments in support of this conclusion are too long to reiterate here, but they persuade me, at least while I’m reading them. 

They take on particular importance when the question before the house is whether public funds should be devoted to supporting the arts. The $50,000 which was allocated to the “Here-There” sculpture is a substantial sum, generated by a “percent-for-art” allocation of funds provided for public buildings like Berkeley’s new public safety building.  

When I was in law school I interned for a semester with the Jerry Brown incarnation of the California Arts Council, which dispensed state support for the arts, at the time in generous quantity. It was a lively bunch, including people like Peter Coyote and Gary Snyder, and its most important product was spirited discussions of the role and function of public funding for the arts. I took one major conclusion away from listening to them talk: people—voters, taxpayers, spectators, whoever—absolutely detested large publicly-funded sculptures in public places, or at least the ones they’d been offered until then (the early ‘80s). I have no reason to think anything’s changed as I overhear conversations in Berkeley about recent sculpture installations downtown (slag column No No No, tuning fork Maybe). 

Back to Cary. He finds most value for the arts in participation. He looks at art programs for prisoners as being especially redemptive regardless of content, giving convicts the opportunity to do something they can be proud of for a change. He’s hard on those who support high art over mass art: “The characteristics of popular or mass art that seem most objectionable to its high-art critics—violence, sensationalism, escapism, an obsession with romantic love—minister to human needs inherited from our remote ancestors over hundreds of thousands of years. Activities such as women’s fashion, gardening and football can be shown to meet these needs in ways that high art doesn’t. Consequently when commentators such as Iris Murdoch set out to construct a philosophical proof of the superiority of high art, the result is catastrophic and self-deluding.”  

One might justifiably inquire whether fifty thousand dollars-worth of public pleasure in Berkeley might have been better generated by, for example, sculpture in a park which kids could also climb on. Or, even better, by spending the equivalent amount on protecting opportunities for citizens to create their own artworks. Arts programs in the schools are dying. Space in the East Bay to pursue art projects, especially large dirty ones, is being gobbled up by condominium construction. Free-for-all display environments like the Bulb are giving way to sanitized juried arts centers.  

Let’s give John Carey one last word: 

“If art is to be regarded as a collection of monuments it casts the majority of people in the drab and secondary role of monument-visitors, and negates the possibility of participation in art as a redemptive activity.” Rather than arguing about whether monuments like “Here-There” should be anywhere at all, the Berkeley arts community ought to focus its attention on broadening the possibility of participation in art for more Berkeley citizens. 

e

The most appalling aspect of the bombings in Spain, in England and in Egypt in the past weeks is that the choice of victims is indiscriminate. Though it appears that the bombers have some general connection to the Islamic religion, many of the victims, perhaps most of them, do too. 

The Guardian Unlimited website has a section which collects reminiscences about the London victims. One of them, Sharara Islam, was a young woman of 20 described as a devout Moslem. A school friend, Sarah Read, speaks about her:  

“I have known Shahara, or Shaz as we called her, for seven years as we attended the same school. Shahara was a very popular student with her teachers and fellow pupils and was an asset to Barking Abbey Comprehensive School. I was devastated when I heard the news of her tragic death and have thought of her every day since. Shahara was a pleasant upbeat girl who enjoyed socialising and loved her friends and family.”  

A devout, loving, pleasant girl, taken from her friends and family—why? And in Egypt, the great majority of the victims were average Egyptian working people, mostly Moslems themselves.  

What we have seen developing in the last 20 years in indiscriminate attacks like this one is not a war of one religious or ethnic group against another, though we have seen plenty of those as well. Bosnia, Uganda, Darfur—these are locations for the old sort of inter-group conflict, dreadful to be sure, but not fundamentally different from much of human history.  

The term “terrorism” once implied that terror was used as a tactic with a political goal. The expectation was that terrorists had demands, rational or not. But some recent bomb attacks are really just killing for its own sake: a war not against an enemy, but against the world itself. They are not different in kind from the Oklahoma City bombing, where the bombers were Christians instead of Moslems. Sometimes this new kind of bomber is compared to the Irish Republican Army or the Stern Gang in Israel, or even to the Palestinian Hamas, but those groups at least had an agenda for their terrorist acts. The attacks which are part of this new war demonstrate a craving for destruction for its own sake: a War on the World and all its perceived sins. 

Regarding the world and the flesh as evils to be extirpated is nothing new. Manicheanism in the early Christian era was one example, but there have been many more in religions around the world and throughout history. What’s changed is, if you will, part of the phenomenon of globalism. Aberrant offshoots of religious beliefs used to be confined to specific localities, though Manicheanism itself did eventually spread throughout Asia before it disappeared. Now fanatics can be anywhere in the world within days. Another difference is the availability of cheap technology which can easily be adapted to wholesale slaughter by a tiny cell of plotters. 

There’s no simple answer to the question of how to stop these vicious acts. The Bush administration’s nationalist wars against Iraq and Afghanistan have proved to be useless and even counter-productive, since they fuel religious hatred while stopping few of the culprits. On a local level, the British police have been firing the classic shots in the dark, but missing the real targets. They might end up killing many suspicious-looking foreigners with no effect at all on the fanatic bombers.  

Britons have gotten used to minicams everywhere, a sight still unnerving to visiting Americans. These have proven useful in identifying bombers after the fact, but don’t seem to be much of a deterrent to suicidal attackers. Airport searches are no barrier to weapons manufactured from parts available at local hardware stores.  

A modest hope for heading off these insane acts of destruction might be the usual clichéd remedy for all kinds of problems: communication. In this case, the communication needs to take place between communities—a continuous open dialogue between religious believers and those outside their own group—and especially within communities. Women of these communities, often opponents of violence, need to find ways of talking to their husbands, sons and occasionally daughters about any feelings of alienation from the world before they fester into violent acts. Religious leaders must preach the messages of peace and love for fellow humans which are central to all of the major world religions, as Islamic clergy in Britain are reported to be doing now at Friday services.  

In communities like Berkeley—or London—where inhabitants come from many parts of the world and have many different belief systems, ongoing dialogue holds out the only real promise of eventually conquering terror. Organizations like Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission will not by themselves put an end to inter-group strife, but they can function as testing grounds for openness and cooperation among participants. Councilmembers should query their appointees about their commitment to the commission’s goal of promoting peaceful resolution of conflicts among all kinds of groups. No religion, no ethnic group and no nation—even Israel—should be given a free pass out of the discussion arena. It’s too important.