When Biko Eisen-Martin spotted a woman giving birth to the first of triplets in the middle of downtown Berkeley, he didn’t hesitate to give her the shirt off his back. 

Eisen-Martin, a 23-year-old poet and first-year history teacher at Berkeley High School, said he left campus for a walk and some fresh air around 1:45 p.m. Monday and saw Lanitta Lewis of Oakland standing five steps down the stairwell to the BART station at Center Street and Shattuck Avenue, hunched over the banister, alone and bleeding. 

“I asked if she was OK and she told me to get her some napkins,” he said. “I came down to give them to her and I see the head coming out.” 

Eisen-Martin used his cell phone to call for an ambulance. Seconds later, with the baby almost completely out, he ripped off his shirt and handed it to Lewis, who wrapped the newborn in it. 

“You’re my hero,” Lewis told Eisen-Martin when he visited her and her three newborn girls Wednesday at Alta Bates’ Newborn Intensive Care Center. “No one else took notice of me. I would have been all alone at BART with a baby in my hands.” 

Paramedics rushed the first baby to Children’s Hospital, and later transferred her to Alta Bates to be with her mother and sisters. Doctors at Alta Bates delivered the other two babies by cesarean section since the babies, born 12 weeks premature, were positioned to leave the womb feet first. 

“They’re doing so well for 28 weeks,” said Peggy Lindslev, manager of the Newborn Intensive Care Center. 

The triplets, which are on feeding tubes, will remain in the hospital for eight to nine weeks before going home, Lindslev said. The first baby born weighed three pounds, the second was three pounds and five ounces, and the third was two pounds and 10 ounces. 

Lewis said the triplets were due on Dec. 23, and she had no inkling that she would give birth Monday when she boarded an AC Transit bus to meet with her social worker at the Multi-Agency Service Center on Center Street. 

“As I got off the bus, I realized I had to use the bathroom,” she said. “I thought BART would let a pregnant woman use the bathroom, but I couldn’t make it all the way down so I was right there on the steps.” 

That’s when Eisen-Martin spotted her. 

“My first thought was that this was like a scene out of Hurricane Katrina,” he said. “No one was helping her, no one seemed to care.” 

At Lewis’ request, he got her napkins from nearby Cafe Firenze. When he returned and saw the baby’s head pop out, he raced back to the cafe and begged for a clean towel to wrap the baby. With none available, he pulled off his T-shirt and slipped it into Lewis’ hands as she grabbed hold of her newborn. 

“I told him I had two more to go and he couldn’t believe it,” Lewis said on Wednesday. “He was in shock.” 

Eisen-Martin said he told Lewis that she and the baby were beautiful right after she delivered. 

“Just to see life like that so vividly,” he said. “I’ll never forget that.” 

Ana Rosa Torres, an Oakland waitress, who was drinking coffee at Cafe Firenze, followed Eisen-Martin to help Lewis. She further wrapped the baby girl in her blouse, and with one hand cradling the baby and the other hand behind Lewis, she helped the new mother up the BART stairs as paramedics arrived. 

“I was trying to make sure they were both breathing,” Torres said Tuesday. “The mom looked like she was about to pass out.” 

Lewis carried Torres’ blouse on her wheelchair when Eisen-Martin visited Wednesday. 

Besides the triplets, Lewis said she has three other children, though none are in her custody. She said her social worker was arranging for her and the triplets to move into a new apartment in Oakland. 

Although many patrons of the Multi-Agency Service Center are homeless, Director Robert Long said Lewis would have shelter and services for the triplets. 

Lewis said she hadn’t yet decided on names for the triplets, but said she had an idea for the first born which would honor the man who helped bring the girl into the world. 

Explaining that everyone in her family has a name starting with “L,” Lewis said, “Labiko, that wouldn’t be bad?” 

Any donations should be sent to Lewis’s social worker, Edwina Bradley at Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency, 1931 Center St., Berkeley, CA 94704 

A recent California Appellate Court decision involving a City of Malibu zoning dispute could have a legal impact on litigation filed against Berkeley’s recent negotiated settlement with the University of California over the university’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). 

In the case Trancas Property Owners Association v. City of Malibu, the three-judge appellate panel reversed a Los Angeles County trial court’s ruling in favor of an agreement between Malibu and a private developer. The appellate judges said the agreement was invalid “because it impermissibly attempted to abrogate the city’s zoning authority and provisions.” 

Last month, four Berkeley citizens filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Alameda County seeking to overturn the City of Berkeley-UC Berkeley LRDP negotiated settlement on similar grounds. The lawsuit was filed by Berkeley activists Carl Friberg, Anne Wagley, Jim Sharp, and Dean Metzger. 

The similarities between the Malibu and the Berkeley-UC Berkeley LRDP lawsuits are striking. Besides the fact that both involve allegations that the respective cities improperly gave away zoning authority to outside parties, both the cases also involve the settlement of lawsuits (in Malibu, the developer was suing the city while in Berkeley, the city was suing the university) in which the city councils made their decisions in closed session. 

In the Malibu case, the appellate judges ruled that “adoption of the agreement in a closed session council session violated the Ralph M. Brown [Open Government] Act ... even though the agreement included a settlement of litigation.” 

The Superior Court in the Berkeley citizen lawsuit would be required to follow the Malibu precedent unless there is a contradictory ruling from another appellate court in California or unless the California State Supreme Court rules otherwise. 

The roots of the Berkeley citizen lawsuit go back to last February, when Berkeley filed its own lawsuit against the university in state court, charging that the university’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) violated state law and would sanction a university building boom inside of Berkeley. 

Last May, after a series of private negotiations between city and university representatives over the university’s LRDP, the Berkeley City Council voted in closed session to approve an agreement with the university that called for, in part, the city’s dropping of its lawsuit. 

The terms of the settlement agreement were not released to the public before City Council’s vote and were only released after the university approved the agreement several days following the City Council vote. 

See Antonio Rossman’s analysis of the connection between the Malibu decision and Berkeley’s settlement with UC regarding the university’s Long Range Development Plan, Page Seven.

Christopher Hollis, 22, fired the shot that killed his friend and former Berkeley High School classmate Meleia Willis-Starbuck, his attorney acknowledged Wednesday. 

Oakland Attorney John Burris insisted the shooting did not constitute murder because Willis-Starbuck called Hollis several times “in a frantic manner” ordering him to the scene and giving the impression that she was in grave danger. 

“She was saying to him ‘if you’re my brother you will come here now,’” Burris told reporters. “She certainly said, ‘Bring the heat.’”  

In separate hearings Wednesday, co-defendents Hollis and Christopher Wilson, accused of driving Hollis to the scene of the shooting, pleaded not guilty to murdering Willis-Starbuck. 

Both men are due to return to court Oct. 14 to set dates for preliminary hearings. Wilson, 20, is free on bail. Hollis, who was arrested last month by Fresno police after more than two months on the run, is being held in Santa Rita prison. 

According to Burris, Willis-Starbuck, who would have been a junior at Dartmouth College this year, called Hollis on his cell phone to come to her defense the night of July 17 after she and a group of female friends got into an argument with a group that included Cal football players outside her apartment on College Avenue. 

Hollis arrived and fired several shots into the crowd, striking Willis-Starbuck and grazing the wrist of Cal Safety Gary Doxy, Burris said. Hollis, who, at the corner of College Avenue and Dwight Way, was half a block away from the crowd, intended to shoot high in the air to scare off the football players, Burris said. 

“He was not trying to hit anyone,” he said. 

Burris wants to proceed quickly with the case and go to trial by early spring. He is seeking a bail bond for Hollis. 

Based on his review of police records, Burris said the football players initially asked the girls to go to a dorm party across the street. The argument escalated, he added, when Cal wide receiver David Gray compared one of Willis-Starbuck’s friends to Chewbacca, a big, hairy Star Wars character. 

“From there it gets kind of nasty,” Burris said. “One person in particular was using profanity and the b-word. It became pretty intense.” 

Elizabeth Grossman, attorney for Wilson, accused the Cal football team and athletic department of not cooperating with investigators in order to protect the image of the program. 

“They’ve kept quiet about facts they know,” she said. “It’s my belief that everyone over there at Cal—meaning the coaches, the press people and people on the football team— certainly know who was present and I think they should come forward and express what they know.” 

Grossman said that Wilson did not know that Hollis was carrying a gun. 

Burris, who said he had listened to witness statements from five players, said the testimony hadn’t fully shed light on why Willis-Starbuck believed she was in physical danger, but he questioned whether members of the athletic department could help. 

“I don’t know if the coaches could make them less cagey and more forthcoming,” he said. 

a

Gardeners at the UC Berkeley’s University Village in Albany are finding themselves with more on their minds than what to plant for the approaching winter season.  

That’s because a 32-foot-wide swath along the oldest and most productive edge of their decades-old community garden may soon be turned into a parking lot as part of the next phase of an ongoing $95.3 million redevelopment project, which is slated to last from September 2006 until August 2008. 

Adding to gardeners’ concerns, another component of the project threatens to limit their access to the remaining plots during construction. 

The site’s developer, Citrus Heights-based contractor J.R. Roberts Corp., has proposed using the northern half of the garden as a staging area during a later stage in the project. According to that plan, workers would need to uproot many additional garden plots, as well as demolish nearby Dowling Park, a grassy field and play space used by resident children. 

As news of the impending changes filters to the Village’s 80 or so gardeners, many here have begun to express their opposition and are vowing to take action. 

“It’s horrible that the university is doing this,” said Rebecca Stevenson, a folklore major at UC Berkeley who has worked a plot in the community garden for the past year and a half. “It shows that families aren’t valued by the UC Regents. Our sense of community isn’t valued.”  

The potential encroachment on the garden comes as the university moves forward with plans to redevelop older portions of its 58-acre University Village. First acquired in the 1950s and further developed in the 1960s, the Village was meant to provide affordable housing for UC families. But a number of Village apartments have been found to contain lead paint, asbestos and mold, and are set to be replaced with 582 units that will be more modern, but also more expensive to rent.  

University officials said they are aware of the gardeners’ concerns. In response they have held several working meetings with garden manager Walter Baum, and have offered to consider options that would keep the garden open during construction, albeit on a limited scale.  

According to a letter obtained by the Berkeley Daily Planet from UV Project Coordinator Tom Nowak to garden leaders, those options include building a new entrance gate to circumvent the construction site. The new gate would allow access to the remaining portions of the garden for the duration of the project, though liability concerns have thus far prevented the university from offering a guarantee that gardeners would have any access during the two years of construction. 

In fact, garden advocates say they’ve been offered soil improvements and other concessions if they agree to allow the university to keep the entire garden closed during construction. 

The Nowak letter also mentions a proposal by garden advocates to spare the 190-foot long space being considered for staging at the garden’s northern end. They instead advocate the use of less desirable land along a 20-foot-wide fire road on the garden’s western perimeter. 

When questioned about the proposals, however, UC spokesperson Christine Schaff declined to comment further, saying only that “nothing has been decided” and that the university was “still looking at options.” 

Garden advocates say an increase in the Village’s planned density is to blame for the decision to claim such a large portion of their garden for parking. They say they have proposed alternate parking arrangements with Nowak (including parallel parking instead of head-in), but for now no compromise has been offered. 

“High-density housing makes sense in a lot of environmental ways, but you have to make sure to leave room for a little humanity. It takes good planning,” said gardener Damon Cianci. 

At a meeting held on Oct. 1, garden advocates shared information and circulated a petition that they plan to send to individual members of the UC Regents. Others promised to go door-to-door at the Village to call attention to their situation. It was also an occasion for many to reflect on the importance of having a community garden. 

“Here kids are free to wander around, explore, pick berries … it offers them experiences that urban youth are lacking these days,” Cianci said, adding, “when we looked around for an apartment this was one of the draws for us.” 

Others spoke of their strong personal attachment to the garden.  

“Coming out to the garden is as important to me as doing yoga each day. It’s a spiritual exercise,” said Sean DeHaast, who moved to the Village last May and says he spends time in the garden each day. 

DeHaast points out that the community garden also helps families of foreign students supplement their income while giving visiting parents and grandparents an opportunity to contribute expert gardening skills acquired in their native countries. 

“A lot of gardeners have extended families who are feeding their families with the plots,” said DeHaast. “For some of us it’s recreational, but for others it’s economically important.”

The creators of one of Berkeley’s most venerable institutions will have their day Monday, thanks to a City Council resolution. 

City Councilmember Kriss Worthington, sponsor of the “Mario and Rosalinda Tejada Day” resolution, has both personal and gustatory reasons for honoring the couple, whose popular Mario’s La Fiesta restaurant at the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street has been beloved of Berkeleyans since 1959. 

“When I first came to Berkeley after hitchhiking across the country at age 15, I met up with two women who were friends that I knew from the East Coast,” Worthington said. “Guess where we met up?” 

It was, of course, the charming Mexican restaurant just a half block from the then-newly born People’s Park. 

Thirty-five years later, the councilmember remains a loyal customer. Otherwise a vegetarian, Worthington allows himself the opportunity to indulge in their signature dish, carne asada, when the fancy strikes him. 

“The portions are more generous, and while I’ve eaten carne asada at many restaurants, theirs is the best,” he said. 

But the couple’s long-standing commitment to public service is the reason for the official recognition. 

“They’ve given so much to the community,” said Worthington, “and their generosity and support for the community has been a very big thing for the neighborhood and for the city. Lots of businesses talk about giving back to the community, but they don’t do nearly as much as Mario and Rosalinda.” 

Louis Cuneo, a street artist who sells his photos on Telegraph, led the campaign for the city recognition, said Worthington. 

“I’ve known them for about 20 years,” said Cuneo. “I first met them when I was helping to run the Christmas Fair. I was watching their corner, and got to know Mario then. 

“They are very gentle, loving people, and they’re genuinely interested in helping people. That’s why their prices are so modest. They’ve really been out there, doing what they can to help people,” he said. 

Marcia Poole first got to know the Tejadas when she was serving on the board of the Telegraph Avenue Association. 

“There were lots of problems on Telegraph at the time, especially with street kids going into restaurants and grabbing food off the tables and throwing it around and going into stores and causing problems,” she said. 

Poole, a member of the Regent Street Neighborhood Association, remembered dozens of community meetings in their banquet room, bringing together the police department, the mayor, members of the city council and different interest groups. 

“Mario is always being the mediator, bringing people together to talk and eat,” she said. “We got things done we otherwise couldn’t have accomplished through phone calls. It’s a great way of resolving issues.” 

Cuneo and Poole also cited the Tejadas’ compassion, especially for those less fortunate. 

“They’ve feed people for weeks on end,” said Cuneo, “and they really helped out the community during the People’s Park riots.” 

Worthington said that when first told of the city honor, “both of them asked, ‘Why should we be honored? That’s something for famous and important people. We just live our lives.’ 

“But it’s really important to be recognizing people who have done so much for the community,” he said. 

Worthington said Cuneo and Poole were the people who did so much to bring about the long-overdue recognition. 

“They’re important people, and Mario’s La Fiesta is an important institution right in the heart of the densest census tract in Northern California,” thanks largely to the presence of thousands of students from the University of California, many of whom have sample the fare at the modest Telegraph Avenue cafe. 

“They’ve been doing so much for so long,” he said. 

An open house celebration will be held at the restaurant, at 2444 Telegraph Ave., from 2 to 5 p.m. Monday featuring an exhibit of Cuneo’s photographs of the UC Berkeley campus. 

Mario and Rosalinda Tejada were out of town and could not be interviewed for this article, but are scheduled to be back for Monday’s event. 

“It’s an opportunity for the community to thank them in person,” Cuneo said.

The Berkeley High School baseball team’s long desired South Berkeley field of dreams came one step closer to reality Wednesday when the School Board voted in favor of closing a block of Derby Street. 

By a 4-1 vote (Selawsky, no) School Board directors gave the City Council until April 15 to decide whether to close Derby Street between Milvia Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way while the district tries to raise an additional $1.4 million needed to build a regulation baseball diamond and overlapping multi-purpose field at the school district’s East Campus site. 

If the council declines to close Derby Street, the district will then move forward with building just the smaller multi-purpose field at the site with the street remaining open. 

“You can’t raise money until the street is closed,” said Berkeley High Baseball Coach Tim Moellering. “Nobody wants to fund a field that might not get built.” 

The proposed field has previously housed portable classrooms that served as storage space and classrooms for Berkeley Alternative High School. 

If sod is planted over Derby Street, which divides the East Campus site, the field would be large enough to serve as the new home field of the high school baseball team, which now practices and plays home games in San Pablo Park. 

Doug Fielding, head of the Sports Fields Users Association, said that a baseball diamond at East Campus would open up field space at San Pablo Park for other high school teams like girls rugby and girls and boys lacrosse, which are often relegated to practicing early in the morning or on weekends because of a lack of available fields in the city.  

But the many residents around East Campus, which stretches from Carleton Street to Ward Street, oppose closing the street. 

“We’d like to keep Derby Street open and keep the Farmers’ Market where it is and not disrupt the neighborhood,” said Liz White of the East Campus Neighborhood Association. 

The Ecology Center, which operates a Tuesday Farmers’ Market on Derby, opposes the plan, which would move the market to a larger space along Martin Luther King Jr. Way. 

“I don’t think they have money for the amenities to make it a workable market,” said Pam Webster, who sits on the Ecology Center Board of Directors and is married to School Board Director John Selawsky. They live near East Campus. 

The City Council now must decide if it will close Derby Street and help the school district reduce the cost of the project. The school district has set aside $1.3 million, enough to build the smaller field without closing Derby. It would take roughly $2.7 million to close Derby and build the baseball diamond, according to Lew Jones, the district’s facilities director. 

Some of the expenses associated with closing Derby Street include an estimated $287,000 to move the Farmers’ Market, $482,000 to upgrade the sewers under Derby and $417,000 to put in a new traffic light at Carleton Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way as requested by the Berkeley Fire Department, which has a nearby station at Derby and Shattuck Avenue.  

Fielding said the City Council needed to reconsider those requirements associated with closing Derby. “I think they’re going to come to an agreement [over money] by deciding we don’t need to do this stuff,” he said. 

Moellering told the School Board Wednesday that the baseball diamond project would be eligible for grants from the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council, which has set aside $30 million to provide outdoor activities for disadvantaged youth in urban areas in Northern California. 

The School Board chose not to allocate additional funds to close Derby from its $116 million voter approved bond fund. All of the money from Measure AA has been allocated for other projects, Jones said. 

This is the second time the school district has asked the council to close Derby Street to build a baseball diamond. In 2000, the council denied the district’s request after the Farmers’ Market and Councilmember Maudelle Shirek, who represented the East Campus neighbors, opposed the project. 

Her successor, Max Anderson, told the Daily Planet Thursday he needed more information before forming an opinion on closing Derby. 

Had the School Board voted Wednesday to proceed with the smaller field, it would have been ready by spring 2007, Jones said. Closing Derby Street would add an extra two years to the project, he added. Besides the six-month wait to see if the council will approve closing Derby, Jones said the city would need to commission a revised environmental impact report.  

An EIR performed on the earlier proposal, but never certified, would need new traffic surveys and have to be reopened for public comment, Jones said. 

“I’m really worried about spending a lot of money for a smaller space that fewer of our kids will be able to use,” said School Board President Nancy Riddle, explaining her vote to support the closure of Derby. “That doesn’t seem like a good long term investment.” 

In opposition, School Board Director Selawsky warned the board about getting embroiled in a heated land use issue just one year before it plans to return to voters with a tax hike proposal.  

“I don’t think we can afford to alienate neighbors and communities right now,” he said. ›

In the wake of a recommendation by the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), the California superintendent agreed this week to turn over what he is calling a “limited” measure of local control to the Board of Directors of the Oakland Unified School District. 

The limited power transfer would be in the area of what FCMAT calls “community relations and governance” in its five areas of school district evaluations. 

However, no details have been released about what that limited local control will actually mean. The office of the state superintendent referred reporters to the office of the state-appointed Oakland school administrator, Randolph Ward, for details, and Ward was not available for comment. 

Gary Yee, president of the Oakland school board, said he has not heard anything official on the transfer back of power, and criticized the return to local control if all it amounted to was “doing such public relations things as presenting the district position to the press and at community meetings.” 

In a statement released this week, State Superintendent Jack O’Connell said the state’s aim was to improve student achievement, return the district to sound financial health, and return the district to local control as soon as possible. 

“While the district still faces many challenges, I am happy to see that the Oakland Unified School District is making progress in improving communication with parents and community leaders in Oakland,” O’Connell said. “Community involvement and support for the tough decisions required for fiscal recovery and improved student achievement are key to the district’s ultimate transition back to local control.” 

The State of California took control of the Oakland district in 2003 after district officials reported a possible impending bankruptcy, indicating that the district might not be able to meet the upcoming payroll because officials had miscalculated the total amount of a teacher pay raise. 

Payroll was met when the state advanced a $100 million line of credit, and since that time the district has been run by Ward. The elected school board has remained in place, but only as a powerless advisory body. 

In addition, the state legislation which authorized the state takeover of Oakland Unified was vague on what steps needed to be taken for the district to resume local control. 

FCMAT is a Legislature-created organization set up to intervene in school districts that the state considers to be troubled, almost always in the area of fiscal management. The organization sometimes functions in an advisory capacity—as it did until this spring in the Berkeley Unified School District—but at other times is mandated by the legislature to formally take over as a school district’s fiscal agent. 

Whatever the manner in which FCMAT enters a California school district, however, it always provides consultant work and progress reports in five identical areas of operation—community relations and governance, personnel management, pupil achievement, financial management and facilities management—whether or not those areas had anything to do with state intervention in the district’s problems. 

Berkeley school officials said that they found the FCMAT evaluations “useful,” and plan to use the five FCMAT criteria as a guideline for the district self-evaluation now that FCMAT’s role in Berkeley Unified has ended. 

FCMAT’s evaluation role in Oakland ended with a September report recommending the limited return to local control, but a notation in the report said that “it is anticipated that FCMAT will continue to monitor the district’s progress for the district’s return to local governance ... At the time of this report ... there is neither legislation nor funds identified to continue the assessment and monitoring process for the 2005-06 school year. Steps are currently underway to address this issue.” 

In its September report, FCMAT gave OUSD a 6.42 rating in the area of community relations and governance on a 10-point scale, up from a 5.73 rating a year ago, and a 3.92 rating in the first report following the state takeover. 

FCMAT ratings of OUSD were significantly lower in other areas, with a 4.56 in personnel management, 4.57 in pupil achievement, 3.10 in financial management, and a 4.52 in facilities management. 

The problem with using these assessments to determine a return to local control, Yee said, is that after two years and four months of state control, FCMAT is only evaluating how the state is operating the Oakland Unified School District, not how local control is working. 

Yee said that because the term “governance” is so vague, there are two widely different interpretations of what a return to local school board governance would mean. 

“What ‘governance’ means to a school board normally is selecting and evaluating the superintendent, passing the budget, and setting the school curriculum,” he said. “But I don’t think this is what O’Connell has in mind in returning that area of concern back to the control of the local board.” 

Yee also said that if return to local governance meant “operating in an inspector general capacity” in which the school board was given monitoring powers over the state-appointed administrator, “we would embrace it.” 

But Yee said it is more likely that “community relations will be the only role” given the board. 

Yee was elected to the Oakland Unified School Board following the events that led to the state takeover. Earlier this year he refused a request by O’Connell to sit on the stage at Oakland Tech High School with O’Connell, Ward, and state officials when O’Connell held his first and only public meeting in Oakland on the school takeover. Yee said at the time that he did not want to give the false impression that the board was invested with any decision-making power.

City officials are trying to figure out a way to keep Berkeley Iceland open past today (Friday) when the rink’s latest extension to install a temporary ice cooling system expires. 

Iceland has brought in a portable system, but city officials say it is too noisy to install at the rink, which is in a residential South Berkeley neighborhood. 

Under an agreement with the city, Iceland was supposed to operate the temporary cooling system until April, when it would be required to complete upgrades to its permanent system. 

Both sides are meeting Friday morning in an effort to find a compromise that will keep the rink open. 

In July the city ordered Iceland to shut down its permanent cooling system and pump out the 4,200 pounds of ammonia. The Fire Department said the system lacked key safety features and contained too much ammonia for firefighters to control in the event of a major leak. 

Iceland’s temporary system has the required safety devices and holds a mere 750 pounds of ammonia, but it produces 83 decibels of ambient noise, the equivalent of sitting inside an insulated tractor cab, said Assistant Fire Chief Gil Dong. 

The city’s ambient noise ordinance prohibits consistent noise in residential neighborhoods above 45 decibels, the sound of rustling leaves, according to Dong. 

Iceland, which has been a fixture at Milvia and Ward streets since 1940, produces 67 decibels of ambient noise from its permanent cooling system. Since Iceland preceded the noise ordinance, it has been exempt from the law, said Manuel Ramirez, Berkeley’s manager of environmental health. 

Ramirez said that if the temporary cooling system produced ambient noise no higher than 67 decibels, the city would have allowed it. But since it is louder, Ramirez said the City Council would likely have to approve a variance for Iceland to operate the temporary cooling system. 

Dong said the Fire Department was willing to give Iceland another couple of weeks to operate its permanent cooling system, if it appears that the temporary unit will meet city codes.  

Already the fire department has granted Iceland two extensions to install the temporary system, which was supposed to be in place by Aug. 22. 

Iceland General Manager Jay Wescott was not available for comment Thursday. He told the Daily Planet recently that Iceland had sound engineers trying to dampen the noise of the temporary system. 

Inspired by today’s (Friday) National Diversity Day, three Berkeley city councilmembers are doing a typical Berkeley thing next week: taking an introspective look. 

On Tuesday, councilmembers Kriss Worthington, Darryl Moore, and Max Anderson plan to release reports on how the City Council is faring on bringing African-American, Latino, and Asian citizens into Berkeley city government and projects. 

The reports will be issued in the City Council chambers at the Old City Hall at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way at 7 p.m. The regular council meeting has been canceled for Tuesday night. 

Moore will report on diversity in city hiring, while Worthington will report on city councilmember appointments to the city’s various boards and commissions. Anderson is looking into how Alameda County and other cities within the county are handling the expansion of minority contracting, and whether these government agencies have adopted practices which can be carried over to the City of Berkeley. 

The boards and commission studies grew out of a 2000 resolution by the Berkeley City Council to look into its own records of appointments. Studies were done in 2000 and again in 2002. But unlike those past studies of minority participation on the city’s boards and commissions, which only looked at the city as a whole, Tuesday’s report is expected to break down the ethnic composition of appointees by each Councilmember.  

“In 2000, all we did was urge ourselves to please take a look at minority representation,” Worthington said. “In 2002 we added a report on the overall number of ethnic groups that were underrepresented, and asked councilmembers to do better. Now we are moving a step farther to see how each councilmember is stacking up.” 

Worthington said that the presence of a diverse representation of Berkeley citizens is especially important on boards and commissions 

“That’s the entry-level position both to jobs in the City of Berkeley and to elective office,” he said. “Eight of the nine present councilmembers originally served on a city board or commission. It’s a place to get name recognition, and where citizens can begin to see prospective political candidates in leadership positions.” 

The councilmember said he is not satisfied with what he has seen as foot-dragging by some fellow councilmembers in appointing minorities. 

“Despite the fact that 40 percent of the city is made up of Asians, Latinos, and African-Americans, we have virtually no Asians and Latinos on our commissions, and African-Americans are underrepresented,” Worthington said. “Whenever I bring this issue up, I’m told by some of my colleagues that they can’t find minorities for these positions, or else the people they find aren’t interested. I find these to be poor excuses.” 

Some city commissions, he added, are composed entirely of whites. 

Worthington said that after a 2002 study showed a low total of minority representation, “some councilmembers appointed one black and one Latino and one Asian, and left it at that, as if we were back in the 1950s. That amounts to institutionalized tokenism.”

Opponents of the Alameda Theater Cineplex filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court this week seeking to force the City of Alameda to conduct a review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) before moving forward with the movie theater project. 

The Citizens for a Megaplex-Free Alameda (CMFA), an ad hoc citizen group formed to fight the project, are being represented by environmental and historic preservation attorney Susan Brandt-Hawley of Sonoma County. 

In a prepared statement, Phyllis Greenwood of the CMFA said that a CEQA environmental impact review “is required by law if the record shows any ‘fair argument’ that the project may have a significant environmental impact. We believe that the court will order the city to provide the level of environmental review promised by state law to protect our beautiful downtown.” 

A spokesperson in the office of Alameda City Attorney Carol Kurade said that Alameda city officials have not yet been served with the complaint. 

The downtown area Alameda Theater has not operated as a movie venue since 1979. City officials plan to reopen it by restoring the original theater and building an adjacent seven-screen cineplex. The project also includes construction of a nearby six-story parking garage. 

Last August, a divided Alameda City Council turned down a citizen’s appeal of a decision by the Alameda Planning Board to move forward with the project. Late last month, the Planning Board approved use permits requested by Santa Rosa developer Kyle Conner, who was hired by the city for the theater portion of the project. 

Alameda Development Manager Jennifer Ott said that Conner must next submit detailed construction drawings to the Planning Department to receive building permits to begin construction. 

The headline “Pacific Steel Reevaluates Response Policy After Gunpoint Robbery” in the Oct. 4-6 edition was incorrect. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, not Pacific Steel, reevaluated its policy. Also the Berkeley Police Department asked to clarify that the air district and not BPD spokesperson Joe Okies disclosed the name of the robbery victim.

In ruling for Malibu citizens against their city council last week, the Los Angeles-based Court of Appeal set aside a secretly-negotiated and secretly-voted-on CEQA and land use settlement on two grounds: the Malibu City Council unlawfully contracted away its future police power over a specific project, and the council unlawfully committed to future governmental action that independently requires a public hearing. (Trancas Property Owners Assn. v. City of Malibu, No. B174674, Sept. 26, 2005.) 

In the court’s words, “It therefore appears compelling that the statutory allowance for settlements in closed session not override extrinsic requirements for public proceedings.”  

In lay terms and common sense: more important than settling city litigation is the right of citizens to learn in advance and influence the settlement terms. 

If anything the case against the secretly-negotiated deal between UC and the City of Berkeley is stronger on the Malibu Court’s first ground, in that Berkeley categorically surrendered its independent authority to control land use throughout the downtown area. But more fundamentally, Berkeley erred by committing to these future actions while depriving its public of an opportunity to learn of and comment on them before the city acted. 

Berkeley should now suspend all action to implement the settlement with UC pending finality of the Malibu case. Finality would come after the opportunity for Supreme Court review has come and gone with no review granted (minimum of 60 days), or after Supreme Court review (if granted), which could extend another year. 

Even without finality of this decision, the city could elect now to abide by its sensible reasoning and withdraw from the settlement, setting it for public hearing and review if the council wished to reconsider it. 

The city’s and UC’s counsel had one set of instincts about their course of conduct; Berkeley neighbors had another. Let’s be grateful that the Court of Appeal has vindicated ours, which should restore the public’s right to review and comment on the UC-city deal before it becomes legal and final. 

Antonio Rossmann is a local resident who practices law in San Francisco and teaches land use at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law.u

To view Justin DeFreitas’ latest editorial cartoon, please visit www.jfdefreitas.com To search for previous cartoons by date of publication, click on the Daily Planet Archive.

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THE HORROR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Oh, the horror, the horror! Republicans, in a direct display of political conviction, do not want to name a post office after Berkeley’s leftist icon Maudelle Shirek. All of the local handwringing does not obliterate the fact that no such postal monument would be needed if Ms. Shirek had not been dirty-tricked out of her City Council seat by a campaign filing “mistake” made by one of her staffers. Every single political insider in Berkeley knows that the likelihood of this being a mistake was about the same as Shirek’s lucky council replacement, Max Anderson, voting for George Bush. 

On another equally-off note, Berkeley’s left political establishment will not be happy until every school, public building, street, park and possibly tree, is renamed in homage to themselves.  

Barbara Gilbert 

• 

ABSENTEE LEE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Like Brent Plater (Oct. 4) I was appalled that our Congresswoman Barbara Lee failed to show up and vote against Republican cowboy-developer Richard Pombo’s bill derailing the Endangered Species Act. Short of an urgent medical emergency (e.g. heart attack) there is absolutely no excuse for the representative of the most progressive congressional district in the country not to find a few minutes in her work schedule to vote to uphold the strongest environmental law in our nation’s history.  

Pombo’s bill squeaked through the House of Representatives in an extremely close vote last week. Had Barbara Lee and a number of other truant Democrats bothered to vote the bill would have been defeated and our nation’s imperiled wildlife and plants would have a more secure future.  

Pombo’s bill was one of the most high profile and controversial pieces of legislation before Congress this year.  

Every major environmental organization in the country—including the Center for Biological Diversity of which Mr. Plater is a staff attorney—sent out action alerts urging people to contact their Congress members immediately and tell them to vote against Pombo’s bill. I almost didn’t bother contacting Barbara Lee’s office assuming that her vote against Pombo’s bill was a given.  

Her predecessor Ron Dellums had a stellar record as an environmental advocate. Dellums could always be counted on to champion strong environmental protections. 

As Barbara Lee’s constituent I feel horribly betrayed. Sadly, I can no longer say “Barbara Lee speaks for me.” 

Chris Keyser 

• 

BERKELEY COMMUNISM? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Concerning Michael Hardesty’s letter of Oct. 4, I would like to add my two cents. As a red diaper baby, I came to despise the old left. I embraced Christianity and for many years preferred Republicanism to the hypocrisy of the left. What brought me back to Communism was taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ seriously. I have come to realize that the left is right for the wrong reason. I now consider myself a Christ Communist, and I believe that Christ Communism is the wave of the future, whether the rabid fascist pigs (like Hardesty) like it or not. I actually agree with him, however, about the hypocrisy and uselessness of Berkeley “Communists.” One on the Rent Board once told me, after making a bad ruling in my case, that I should fight for revolution because until then he would have to go on making bad rulings, lest he be voted out of office. Such hypocrisy and spinelessness is worse, much worse, than Bushism, in my opinion. With friends like that who needs enemies? 

Peter J. Mutnick 

• 

RACE BAITING, CLASS GLOATING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It’s contortion time again as the race-baiting troglodytes are once again confounded by the real class issues trumping their race-laced concoctions. As Berkeley streets are littered with the broken dreams of homeless people, the newspaper is filled with stories of housing being handed to hurricane victims who can stay in Section 8 housing “as long as they want” with subsidized sub-market rents.  

Local business swells, taking credit for their generosity point to such acts as evidence of their commitment to a better world. Where were these models of civic virtue before the storm, and why wasn’t this assistance offered to those who need it now and needed it yesterday and last month and last year?  

A victim is given a home except in his own home town. Now that’s a concept that Becky O’Malley can get her head around. Let’s return to relevancy and let the holy land boil to death in its religious oil. We have important work to do, let’s begin.  

Ben Reitman 

• 

HENDRIX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Congratulations for the Jimi Hendrix article by Winston Burton.  

I just would like you to give to Winston the exact dates where he attended the concert: not 1967 but Feb. 21 or 22, 1968. Support bands were Woody’s Truck Stop (21st) and Soft Machine (22nd), both shows presented by Larry Magid and the Spivak Brothers, with 2000 people in attendance. 

Yazid Manou  

France 

• 

BERKELEY HONDA  

REVISITED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Berkeley Honda’s full-page advertisement in the Sept. 30 edition of the Daily Planet, in which they make themselves out to be benefactors of humanity, hardly absolves them of their unethical business practices.  

The ad says that “sales and service increased 27 percent over last year and that provides a huge and direct contribution to our city’s revenue.” Since—to our knowledge—their service is down by about two-thirds compared to last year at this time, and sales are at best about the same, their claimed increase is not entirely credible. But even if we give them that, let’s ask: At what human cost is this revenue obtained? Slave plantations in this country contributed revenues to their local communities, I suppose. Does such a contribution warrant slavery? Berkeley Honda’s business practices are not as manifest or terrible as slavery, but they’re pretty onerous, aiming to debilitate if not destroy the union, since the current owners took over this auto dealership on June 1.  

The exploitation of the Katrina disaster in the ad, by showcasing their new employee, a hurricane survivor, is unconscionable as well. And management lauds themselves for the money they’ve raised for hurricane victims. Are we to think these gestures make up for what they’ve done to the local victims of their own business?  

In the ad, management refers to their business as “our Berkeley Honda family.” Well, they WERE somewhat like a family, before the current owners took over. Most of the workers had been there for years. Today these men are grieving not just the loss of their jobs, but the support and companionship of longtime associates.  

If parents cast out their children and replace them with new ones, restoring their family to “harmony,” are we to give them pats on the back? The kind of “family” that Berkeley Honda has become is hardly a humane one.  

Berkeley Honda is a happy family and a contributor to the Berkeley community. Yeah, right. If we in the East Bay wish to advance humanitarian values, let’s make that community an authentic one and give the fired workers our support.  

Raymond Barglow  

Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club  

• 

FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I agree with J. Douglas Allen-Taylor that it is bad public policy for Oakland police and the CHP to harass drivers in east Oakland just because the sideshow thing is out of hand, but how far does his freedom of assembly argument go? 

On Saturday night, Oct. 1, we had a little activity of the unneighborly kind on my block of 58th Street near Shattuck, that spoke volumes about the lack of space for Oakland’s teenagers to hang out and to the inability or unwillingness of the Oakland Housing Authority to supervise its property, which happens to be across the street from my (rented) house. Perhaps I am being overly sensitive, but this is the site of two border dispute murders within five weeks in the summer of 2003. 

There were no deaths this time but lots of broken bottles, a few car windows smashed and a lot of police time wasted because a 13-year-old’s birthday party, perhaps turned into a flash crowd by the ubiquitous cell phone, spread out into the OHA parking lot, then the street with cars blocking the street, fighting, drinking, loud music and waves of youths running away from the eventual swarm of Oakland police. 

Adding insult to injury, my call to the housing authority police dispatcher was answered by, “we only have one officer tonight, and he’s busy.” (This on a warm Saturday night for an organization with more than a thousand units). I waited on hold for 10 minutes, hung up and called back, very angry this time, and finally got her supervisor, a corporal named Jerry Williams. He said “I only have one officer and what am I supposed to do about it?” Continuing, he said, “What can one guy do against a crowd?” 

While many homeowners on this block want the place shut down, even considering a nuisance lawsuit against the housing authority in the wake of the murders, I am one of the few who’ve supported keeping the place open because people need housing. But now I have realized that the OHA can’t control its own property and can’t keep the peace on 58th Street. 

How would J. Douglas Allen-Taylor answer this freedom of assembly issue? 

Hank Chapot  

• 

FATHERS AND SONS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In response to David Nebenzabahl’s criticisms of my letter to the editor: Yes, I know that a person is “innocent until proven guilty,” and no I was not there at the time of Ignacio De La Fuente Jr.’s alleged rape (but thanks for the keen and original insights). Like I said at the beginning of my letter, the alleged “rape and beating” was the charge that De La Fuente’s was “arrested” for (not convicted). And I assume that anybody but a nit-picker such as yourself would have no problem understanding what I was referring to. If I was a professional journalist—as opposed to a guy dashing off a half-assed letter to the editor—I would have couched my comments with an “allegedly” or two, and other forms of legalese ass-covering, to satisfy inquiring minds such as yours. (Perhaps you show a “breathtaking ignorance” of basic common sense, dude.) As for your second alleged point: I never said “De La Fuente Sr. shouldn’t run (for mayor) because his son was arrested for rape.” What I took issue with was Allen-Taylor’s assertion that this shouldn’t be an issue with voters. It certainly doesn’t have to be an issue with him. But it is certainly an issue to ME. And I alleged that it was an issue with many other voters, too. This is the only point I was attempting to make, Mr. Nebenzahl, and you’re welcome to dispute that (as opposed to the imaginary issues you seem bent on projecting on me).  

And speaking of projections, why in the world you would assume I’m a “progressive” and believe Mumia Abu Jamal “to be innocent” is beyond me (everything I’ve read of the case makes me inclined to believe he’s guilty; though I could see, considering he has dreadlocks and is African-American and shot a cop, that he would make a convenient symbol for people like you who seem to operate more on a symbolic, as opposed to actual, level of reality). And by the way, I’ve never considered myself to be a particularly “incisive political cartoonist” (but thanks for the compliment), but at the least you don’t seem to have been a particularly incisive reader of those cartoons.  

Ace Backwords 

P.S. Like I said, Mr. Nebenzahl makes a keen observation when he points out that I wasn’t there at the time of Ignacio De La Fuentes Jr.’s alleged kidnapping, rape and beating of the 15-year-old girl. Nor was I there in regards to the second assault charge that was filed against Junior involving a 21-year-old woman. According to alleged San Francisco Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson (May 6), that charge was “based on a DNA ‘cold hit’ match.” And, needless to say, one’s DNA should be considered innocent until proven guilty.  

• 

SUCCESS IN IRAQ 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In two weeks, we will be hearing the Bush regime and folks such as Rice and Rumsfeld declaring success in Iraq once the new constitution is approved by the majority of Iraqis. This approval is being engineered by the US. First, the Iraq parliament is reviewing the referendum rules and plans to change them so that the constitution will be passed with no opposition. Also, the U.S. forces have been targeting most Sunni cities and towns since a few weeks ago and will continue doing so till mid October. These attacks force people out of their towns to refugee camps. When the U.S. forces enter these cities, they destroy whatever infrastructure there is so that residents will be unable to come back. Therefore, there will be almost no Sunni to register to vote and cast vote. Naturally, there will be no opposition to the constitution by Sunnis. I can already hear the success stories being trumpeted by Bush, Rice, and others. In reality, nothing will change though. Iraq will be a mess and killings and abuses will continue. 

Mina Davenport 

• 

FREE BEER 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Ms. Zelda Bronstein does an excellent job in making her case (Oct. 4), but like many who are advocates for one way of thinking, she fails to offer her opponent the same rights she demands. 

Bronstein is right in many ways: The Honda dealership should not be giving out free alcohol on campus, they should be a little more compassionate in how they treat their employees, and people should be able to pass out flyers at the game explaining why they are boycotting this Honda site. However, Ms. Bronstein’s closing point in her column calls for the same repression of free speech that she claims is such an unfair activity when used against her and her cause. Bronstein questions whether UC Berkeley should allow Berkeley Honda to donate to UCB sports and gain the label of a “Golden Bear partner” as would any entity that donated a large amount of money to support athletics. Bronstein implies that UCB has poor values and is teaching its students a bad lesson by allowing Berkeley Honda the right to donate. 

That donation, of course, is a free speech issue. Berkeley Honda should be denied the opportunity to donate money and support the university because people do not agree with its actions? That would be a blatant denial of free speech to make such a move, and after writing a column full of demands that her own free speech must be respected, it’s rather hypocritical of Bronstein to easily deny free speech rights to Berkeley Honda just because she doesn’t like them or their tactics. 

Berkeley Honda has not broken any laws. I may disagree with their actions, but my response is to not take away their rights. My response is to not give them my business. My response can even be to suggest to others that they don’t give Berkeley Honda any business. But asking the university to refuse to accept their kind donation and refuse to give them the opportunity of being known for that kindness is just repression and denial of rights and someone who screams to protect her own rights should know better. 

Free speech is not just for the people you agree with. If you truly honor free speech then yes, the Nazis get to march in Skokie, Fred Phelps gets to taunt gays, people get to say they like country music, and yes—Berkeley Honda gets to donate to UC Berkeley and assume the title of Golden Bear Partner. Ms. Bronstein should know that. 

Sherman Boyson 

• 

ICELAND 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I have followed with interest the problems of Berkeley Iceland in providing a cooling system consistent with current safety standards. 

Here are my thoughts: the rink was built in 1942. The child care facility, senior citizen facility which I believe is near and the school were all built within a 10-year period. Why was the area deemed safe from ammonia leaks at that time? What has changed to cause the current sudden crisis? 

A temporary cooling system was proposed until upgrades in April, 2006. Neighbors complained of potential noise from the temporary system. In this case the needs of the many certainly outweigh the inconvenience of the few for only six months. This facility has provided wholesome entertainment for countless thousands of children and families for 64 years. The neighborhood is transitional, and not always a savory one after dark. The presence of Iceland brings in a much needed demographic that continues to anchor the neighborhood in a way that is safe and desirable for the entire city. The neighbors should be begging the city to put up that temporary cooling system! 

This building belongs on the National Historic Register. The city should take immediate steps to see that this happens, and assist in any possible way, including financially, in preserving a slice of Berkeley history. The short sighted handling of these problems is truly a case of “take Paradise and put up a parking lot.” 

Susan Groszkiewicz 

• 

MORE FREE BEER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Kudos to Zelda Bronstein for her thoughtful “first person” account in Tuesday’s Daily Planet about events at Memorial Stadium last Saturday. 

I wonder just what “particular circumstances” the university and its police might use to justify muzzling the Berkeley Honda Labor and Community Coalition while sanctioning and protecting Berkeley Honda as they gave away free beer with their propaganda and sales pitches at a jolly “tailgate party” that day? 

Perhaps the sanctity of football itself? (The incident is a little reminiscent of how the Academy Awards accused Michael Moore of betraying the purity of the film extravaganza by daring to speak of real life matters while accepting the award for best documentary.) 

Perhaps a few major contributions or an endowment or two funded by people associated with Berkeley Honda? We certainly know how George Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger accommodate major donors and fund-raisers when it comes time to push or veto bills, or enter into lucrative government contracts. Could Berkeley Honda be getting favored treatment for comparable reasons? 

Either way, let’s remember that there are substantial, real-life issues behind the university’s prohibition on giving away free alcohol at school-related events. It isn’t a picky-picky matter: many college age kids abusing alcohol wreak havoc on their own lives and on the neighborhoods where they live and spend time. Some even die of alcohol poisoning. Giving it out like candy samples only makes it seem benign and harmless. I believe Berkeley Honda was even giving it away without checking id’s, and if so, this only added insult to injury. 

Either way, too, this was a thinly veiled assault on the freedom of speech many of us thought had been won after a hard struggle 40 years ago on this campus. All people were trying to do was distribute informational flyers, not block anyone’s path. 

Berkeley Honda sent out its own promotional flyers recently. The one I received promised a free “backpack cooler” if I spent $50 in October at their service department—the one where they ditched the older and union-active workers when they bought the dealership in June. The one where many of the current work force are fresh trainees earning $12 an hour, but I would pay the usual rates. I guess they want me to act as if that was fine, and then fill the cooler up with their free beer too, contributing to the festive mood at other games? 

If you are offended by any or all of this, I urge you to write a letter to Tim Beinke, the owner of Berkeley Honda, 2600 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley 94704, and/or to Chancellor Robert Birgenau of UC Berkeley. He made a dandy, sentimental speech honoring Mario Savio last year when Molly Ivins spoke at the FSM commemoration. 

Donna Mickleson 

• 

SHIREK POST OFFICE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Like some no good, two-bit, meddling carpetbagger from the early days of his Republican Party, Iowan Congressman Steve King has successfully conspired to abrogate our lawful states’ rights to name a local institution like the Berkeley post office as we damn well please without any corn belt interference! What federal presumption, what shameless arrogance inspired Mr. King’s bald usurpation of local Berkeley, California jurisdiction is beyond the bounds of conception. 

After all, do the world-renowned social activists of Berkeley or their elected representatives ever attempt to dictate or influence the symbols and cultural values of other regions of our great nation? Do we take an interest in the Confederate flags flying over other state capitals? Do we give the slightest hoot about a Ten Commandments monument in some rural courthouse? Do we ever attempt to extirpate the faintest echo of prayer from a one room schoolhouse in the most godforsaken backwaters of the United States? Do Berkeley activists care if your farm town wants a creche scene this Christmas? Do we want to aggressively invade your local jurisdictions to invalidate your age old sodomy laws or ram our vision of gay marriage down your gagging throats? Of course, not!  

Last, but no least, could anyone who has read the classic book about civil rights crusaders, “Praying for Sheetrock,” imagine that a renowned civil rights advocate like Maudelle Shirek would countenance this sort of outside meddling in our local affairs? No, Congressman King, we here in Berkeley value old-time Federalism and we respectfully suggest that it’s none of your cotton picking business if we want to name our central post office after one of our most venerable “good ole’ boys,” 94-year-old Maudelle Shirek! 

Edna Spector 

• 

SOLAR SONGS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Somehow or another (maybe I didn’t read that issue of the paper) I just became aware of a few responses to a letter I wrote talking about cars as the mode of transport we are assigned to kill each other with; and burning petroleum as the way to do it. 

Let me just say that I raised two children in Berkeley, starting in 1967 when my daughter was 7 years old. If not for having all of the many, many old and troublesome yet extremely necessary cars I have owned over all of those years, I don’t know what I would have done—getting to various schools with the children, stores, places of entertainment. Traveling across the country with them several times would also not have been possible.  

So, I have seen relatively pleasant roads and highways become massive and overpowering freeway systems—and too many cars on the road and on the streets become huge huge and even more huge. 

I know very well that our infrastructure nationally is built to almost wholly guarantee that cars will be the most depended upon mode of transportation. I’m glad there are hybrid cars now—it’s good.  

I have very little other to say about this entire situation than this: The sun, my loves, can do everything. We have been brainwashed. Bleeding the earth dry never was what we, as living beings, needed to do or should have done. The sun is for us to channel for our needs. It can do all that we need here on this earth. Please don’t try to explain why what I am saying is impractical and look into your souls. I am not suggesting tearing down the infrastructure. I am suggesting providing an equal alternative to it based on our wonderful, magnificent sun and understanding all of the wonders of its powers. Commerce itself could be based on the sun and only the sun for energy and gee maybe we would not need all of the plastics which have invaded our lives, including our minds—and the vitality of our imaginations. “In your wild imagination, for each other let soar. We are here for each other...that’s all. That’s all. That’s all. That’s all there is. We are here for each other...and that’s all.” That’s a line or two from a song I wrote. If you want me to sing it for you (and others I am writing and trying to write), you can e-mail me: irisc@neteze.com. 

Iris Crider 

• 

BEVATRON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission at their September meeting passed a resolution advising the Berkeley City Council to request that Lawrence Berkeley National Lab cancel their plans to demolish the Bevatron, a defunct nuclear accelerator, or atom smasher from the 1950s, and preserve it as a historic museum and education facility. Famous for the four Nobel prizes awarded for research conducted there, the Bevatron is a winding maze of overhead circular metal pipes and machinery contained in a unique circular building with a conical roof. This would be a wonderful opportunity for historians, students and the general public to experience one of the more interesting landmarks of atomic research in a nearby accessible setting. LBNL did apply for and was granted eligibility status for the Bevatron in the National Registry of Historic Places.  

Another reason for not demolishing the Bevatron is that by leaving it intact, the significant quantities of toxic and radioactive substances locked up deeply in the walls and shielding blocks would be able to remain safely sealed with some able to decay in place, which is what is recommended by leading environmental organizations. Like the lead paint on many of the older houses in our community, it’s better to leave non-spreading toxic substances contained and undisturbed at their site instead of spreading them around through a dusty demolition and transport process only to contaminate some other community. The toxics in their present state represent no significant danger to guests or workers.  

The proposed demolition will require more than a thousand trips on canvas-covered flatbed trucks through Berkeley onto the freeway and on to waste dumps as far as Nevada where the radioactive waste will be dumped. The environment impact analysis is tiered, or extended off a 1986 study that does not adequately evaluate the effects from all the truck trips on Berkeley’s air, creeks, streets or citizens. The potential damage from this huge demolition project on the complex interwoven creek and spring system at LBNL has not included updated research and thus represents a threat to Berkeley’s creeks and emergency water sources. The $85 million allocated for the demolition could be saved and directed toward other toxic clean up projects at LBNL still waiting for funding.  

LBNL has conceded that they have no plans for the demolished site so with all the potential benefits and savings to the various communities it is hoped that the Berkeley Council will agree when the resolution comes before them at their Oct. 25 council meeting. Concerned citizens can attend at 7 p.m. and sign up and if picked, can speak for up to three minutes to the council. Hopefully they will agree to petition the lab and the Department of Energy to spare this interesting landmark from the wrecking ball. Anyone who wants to help can also do so by calling or writing your councilmember.  

Mark McDonald  

• 

DERBY STREET FIELD 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

If the Berkeley Adult School—with its 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. hours and its hundreds of students, many of whom drive—could be plopped into the middle of our neighborhood, surely the Derby Street neighbors can shoulder their share of the general burden in the form of a high school baseball field. 

The City Council would be well-advised to keep this basic fairness in mind as it considers whether to close Derby Street.  

Moreover, the population in this city has changed since the council last crept past this issue. These days, people want to see their politicians produce creative solutions to problems, not relive the fights of yore. Voters are impatient with sacred cows and slogans; many new voters don’t even understand the references.  

Politicians who understand the hunger people have for a fresh language, a new approach, will be rewarded. 

James Day 

• 

REDUCING RACISM 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

If you wanted to reduce racism, you could—if that were your sole purpose—abort every white baby in this country, and racism would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but racism would go down.  

Peter Rasmussen  

• 

SMOKERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I don’t know why smokers are excused by the city or state when they smoke in the public places like bus stops or near rehab centers where smoking is prohibited. They should bear the cost of problems that the commuters and others face by inhaling secondhand smoke. The state or city should do whatever they can do to stop this nuisance. Smokers are doing such harm to the public and themselves if they come and smoke, for example, on the benches at a bus stop where signs say, “No Smoking within 20 feet of Bus Stop.” Every day at the Russell and Shattuck bus stop I see people sit and smoke all kinds of cigarettes or other things; as a result I miss the bus. I am not used to inhaling such smoke. I think these addicted people should be treated and given help to quit smoking. If not, they should be required to pay fines to the city to deter them from smoking in such public places. 

Romila Khanna 

Albany 

• 

TALKIN’ TREES 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Trees are, frankly, quite nice. They are often tall and green, offering shade and beauty and a sense of serenity. Some even sacrifice a part of themselves to other organisms for sustenance, shelter or warmth. How thoughtful. When gathered together in groups, they refer to themselves as forests; well, not always. If their clump is not too big, sometimes they refer to themselves as a copse, or simply a wood. The latter is a bit unusual linguistically—to call a group of oneselves by ones essence. We humans, when there are lots of us, call ourselves a team, a crowd, an army, a city—we don’t usually refer to a group of us as a flesh, or a meat, or a protoplasm. Do other organisms refer to themselves as a group by their essential elements?  

A month or so ago, we passed a week—our twelfth year—at the UC Berkeley family camp in the Sierras. The camp is nestled among second growth pines and cedars, mostly pines. Some of them reach way up. Because the camp was an old logging camp site, the trees had been thinned—probably even more since the camp started in ‘48, no doubt to make room for the pool, lodge, and tennis courts. But generally, the surrounding forest is pretty great, and reasonably dense—kind of “natural.” Typical of the region, there are plenty of squirrels of various stripes, perpetually squawking jays, and a very occasional bear—though by our week, the local bears have usually traveled to lower elevations to forage. The deer are in hiding—it’s hunting season the week of camp. Big men with camouflage clothing and unbelievably frightening modern bows are out in the wilderness—I always have a twinge when hiking there—”hey, see those Berkeley hikers—let’s bag one of them.”  

Across Highway 108—the road to Sonora Pass (which is a stunning drive if you haven’t done it)—at the entrance to the camp, stands a large grove (ah-ha—more tree-group nomenclature) of pines and their cousins. Again, all second growth—the 19th century loggers had had first dibs on these forests once upon a time. But, the second growth looked beautiful, healthy, and reasonably dense.  

Do you remember the fires in San Diego county a couple of years ago? They were pretty disastrous for many folks (sympathies to all who lost in those conflagrations). But, as always, out of misery arose opportunity—for both capitalizing on the misery and making horrendous and stupid and selfish governmental policy. In order to protect homes—mind you, ones consciously constructed in forests subject to forest fires—and to protect the forest from itself (really)—the Bush administration established a plan called—more or less—the Fuel Reduction and Forest Health plan (I kid you not). There was much disagreement about the effectiveness and/or necessity and science of such a plan, but it was an interesting way for the timber industry to make a huge profit from public lands, previously not open to logging. The Bush Administration orchestrated and whole-heartedly supported the plan. More profits for its contributors.  

The plan was activated and I got to see the results across the road from camp. A beautiful section of national forest had been reduced to a scattered collection of amputees. It was just short of clear-cutting. For every remaining tree there were a dozen stumps. Oddly, the quantity of debris from this slaughter laying about among the stumps looked like a perfect medium for the next major fire. It was a very disturbing site/sight. Reminded me of the “we have to destroy your village to save it.”  

Meanwhile, back at Katrina, just watch how the rebuilding will be in the pockets of the cozy pals of the Bush administration, environmental laws will be conveniently waived, and wages will be lowered to the minimum, and the black residents will be left out in the cold. Oops—it's already happening. National disasters are scoundrel times. Watch out. 

Jeffrey Carters

As the summer ended, the “tipping point” was reached on Iraq. Most Americans now believe that the war is unwinnable, that our troops should be brought home and the funds reallocated to pay for the recent hurricane damage and to bolster homeland security. The problem is that George W. Bush doesn’t agree; despite the change in public sentiment, and the fact that his approval ratings have plummeted, the president continues to insist we’re making progress and, therefore, the occupation should endure. It’s unlikely that Bush will change his mind. George’s carefully crafted image as America’s “CEO President” ignores the reality that he was a failure as an executive. He made dreadful mistakes, but never learned from them; now they have come back to haunt America, as the Iraq situation deteriorates. 

As an oilman, baseball executive, and governor, George Bush was typically a figurehead executive, the public face of an enterprise where the real power lay somewhere else. His oil businesses were notable disasters, although he never suffered financially, as friends of the Bush family bailed him out. Because George W was buffered from reality throughout his adult life, he never had to come to grips with his failures. The lessons he didn’t learn are painfully evident in the occupation of Iraq, where Bush has committed each of the classic CEO mistakes and, not surprisingly, hasn’t recognized any of them. 

George’s first failure was invading Iraq without a plan for the occupation. Many critics have noted this error; nonetheless, Bush has never developed a detailed Iraqi scenario. He continues to insist, “America will stay the course” when it is apparent to everyone, outside the administration, that there is no “course.”  

It’s impossible to prepare a plan for Iraq without being clear about the objectives of the occupation. George Bush has continually shifted our goals and, in the process, obfuscated the intent of the occupation. Originally, the objective of the invasion was to get Iraq’s WMDs. We never found these, but we did capture Saddam Hussein. Many would argue that having fulfilled our initial objectives, we should have withdrawn immediately. However, the administration changed our goals, which became a mishmash of building a stable Iraqi democracy, providing internal security, and defeating the insurgency. Whereas the original objectives were achievable, the substitutes are not: Whether or not a new constitution is adopted, Iraq will not become a stable democracy in the near future. Many experts believe that internal security is not achievable so long as the U.S. occupies Iraq. And, the Bush administration, itself, concedes that it will not be possible to defeat the insurgency before our troops withdraw. 

Since the occupation began to fail, George Bush has argued that America must fight terrorists in Iraq, so that we don’t have to fight them in the United States. This assertion has become his signature rationale—we’re in Iraq in order to fortify homeland security. Yet, many critics feel that this objective is disastrously wrong-headed; that the Bush policy has fueled the insurgency and made America less safe. UC professor, Mark Danner, provides a chilling critique of this strategy, “Taking stock of the forever war,” in the Sept. 11, 2005, New York Times Magazine. Danner concludes, “In launching a war on Iraq that we have been unable to win, [President Bush] has done the one thing a leader is supposed never to do: issue a command that is not followed.” 

Management 101 teaches that it is impossible for a CEO to have a realistic plan without taking into account time and budget constraints. Failed CEO Bush never absorbed this lesson and the Iraqi occupation has no limits. The current costs of the war exceed $200 billion and estimates of the final cost top $700 billion. President Bush has resisted providing an exit strategy, “We will set no timetable for withdrawal. A timetable will help the terrorists.” 

When corporate projects go disastrously off-course, CEOs are ultimately held accountable. Usually it’s difficult for them to admit that a program is failing and to pull the plug; they typically plead for more time, and insist that they see the light at the end of the tunnel. President Bush follows this pattern with his Iraq “project;” he claims, “The progress in the past year has been significant—and we have a clear path forward.” Beleaguered CEOs often argue that to even talk of shutting down an off-track project demoralizes those working on it. President Bush similarly maintains, “It would send the wrong message to our troops—who need to know that we are serious about completing the mission they are risking their lives to achieve.” George W adds an emotional element to this claim, arguing that to leave Iraq without finishing the job would be an insult to those who have died in Iraq, “the best way to honor the lives that have been given in this struggle is to complete the mission.” Apparently, only the president understands what this mission is. 

Before he became president, George W. Bush made many mistakes as a CEO; unfortunately, he never recognized them. As a result, in his handling of his pet project—the Iraqi occupation—he is repeating the classic executive blunders that students are warned about in business school.  

President Bush isn’t going to change his mind about Iraq; he’s a failed CEO incapable of learning from his mistakes. The only way for the American people to alter the course of the Iraqi occupation is to bypass Bush and convince Congress to represent the will of the electorate. 

Before becoming a writer, Bob Burnett was a Silicon Valley executive. He can be reached at bobburnett@comcast.net. This article also appeared in the Huffington Post. 

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One of the problems about having an adult discussion about Bill Bennett’s recent race remarks is that we simply don’t have the words with which to conduct it. 

And so, when former Reagan administration secretary of education and current self-appointed morals master of America Bill Bennett said on his recent radio broadcast that “if you wanted to reduce crime, you could … abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down,” many critics threw the terms “racist” and “racism” at him, having no better ammunition in their arsenal. 

Bruce S. Gordon, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, issued a statement saying that “Bennett should apologize for racist comments made yesterday on his call-in radio show.” And in a letter to the president of the Salem Radio Network of Irving, Texas which carries the Bennett radio program, Michigan Congressmember John Conyers wrote that “we simply cannot countenance statements and shows that are replete with racism, stereotyping, and profiling.” 

Mr. Gordon and Mr. Conyers made some of the more polite entries in the dialogue that followed Mr. Bennett’s remarks. Underneath that, in blog exchanges and newspaper columns and radio commentaries, the two sides of the country’s major right-left political split went at it, each side accusing the other of being the most “racist.” Some conservatives, for example, accused the white liberal-left of “racism” for supporting abortion of African-American babies, a practice these critics suggested amounted to black genocide. 

The confusion comes in part from the fact that both “racist” and “racism” are terribly flawed terms, so flawed, in fact, that we ought to simply throw them out and start all over again with new ones. 

A first major problem is that for many people, the meaning of “racist” and “racism” were forever frozen on that summer Sunday morning at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in September of 1963 when members of a Ku Klux Klan splinter group placed a box of dynamite underneath the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, causing the horrific explosion that killed four black girls—Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, and Addie Mae Collins—and wounded 23 other African-American worshippers. 

And so, in the mid-’60s, the term “racists” largely became used to describe white people who so hated black people that they would do murder even to innocent young children, just to get rid of us. This set the bar for who was a white “racist” so high that it now becomes almost impossible to fit anyone into it, including, for example, the president, who engineered the suppression of the African-American vote in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004, but who clearly does not “hate” African-Americans, since he keeps so many around him. 

By the time “racist” and “racism” began breaking out of that exclusive “hate black people” box, we discovered that it had been so broadened that it had now come to be applied by many people to anyone who sought to advocate for their own race to the exclusion of advocating for any other races. That led to the curious phenomenon—unintentionally? intentionally?—that under this new, expanded definition, many more African-Americans are now publicly called “racist” these days than are white people. 

I do not know what is in Mr. Bennett’s heart, but there does not appear to be evidence either through word or deed that he hates black people and wishes us dead. In addition, there does not appear to be anything in his record as either a public servant or a private morals advocate suggesting that he seeks to uplift the white race while seeking to hold down all the other races. In addition, it is clear from even the most critical reading of his entire remarks that he never advocated that black children should be aborted (Mr. Bennett, as everyone knows, is adamantly against abortion in all forms, and among any people). He was actually having a conversation with an anti-abortion caller about the various social effects of abortion, and used the “black abortions would lower the crime rate” example to counter the caller’s assertion that abortions over the past several years have removed many potential able-bodied persons from America’s workforce, thus lowering the country’s wealth. To show that he did not advocate the “abort every black person” position, Mr. Bennett went on to say that such mass black abortions “would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do.” 

And so, applying the terms “racist” or “racism” to his stated example would seem to be out of place, at least in either of the two ways that most people in this country have come to understand the words. 

“Stupid” seems a better term to apply to Mr. Bennett, in not realizing how his words might be interpreted, or misinterpreted. “Self-righteous” might be another, as applied to those people who think they are so morally superior that they are above being accused of baser motives. 

One could also call him “wrong.” 

Many of Mr. Bennett’s supporters have made the argument that while Bennett never argued for eliminating African-Americans, his assertion that less blacks would mean less crime was essentially correct. “Some identifiable groups, considered as a group, commit crime at a rate that is higher than the national rate,” former federal prosecutor and present columnist Andrew McCarthy wrote in the National Review online. “Blacks are such a group. That is simply a fact. … The rate being high, it is an unavoidable mathematical reality that if the number of blacks, or of any group whose rate outstripped the national rate, were reduced or eliminated from the national computation, the national rate would go down.” 

But the truth of that conclusion is dependent on Mr. McCarthy’s original premise that “some groups commit crime” at a higher rate, and that “blacks are such a group.” That is not a necessarily provable fact. What we do know is that some groups are caught and prosecuted for crime at a higher rate, and that African-Americans are certainly such a group. But to believe that the actual commission of crime in America would go down with the elimination of African-Americans is to believe, for example, that the drug cartels, seeing the elimination of their black b-boy dealers on America’s inner city street corners, would turn in their six-guns to the bartender and start hoeing spuds, as the cattleman Rufus Ryker once facetiously suggested to the gunfighter Shane. More likely, they would simply find other methods of dealership. 

But Mr. Bennett’s statement was wrong in another sense; wrong in the sense that it should not have been said, because it allows the subject of black genocide as a way to solve America’s problems to be raised as a topic of discussion. That Mr. Bennett does not believe in such a practice, or that he said immediately afterwards that such a program of black genocide would be “impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible” is not nearly enough. Some things have no business being said by people considered to be “responsible.” 

For African-Americans, this is not an issue of being offended; this is an issue of physical survival. In my lifetime, men representing significant and responsible sections of some American communities felt it acceptable to plant bombs in African-American houses of worship, and worse. In another context, African-Americans used to sing a song called “Gone Are The Days.” Gone, yes, but not long enough to feel comfortable about that they might not quickly come back. 

Thursday’s New York Times, for example, reports the social aftermath of a fire set last December by young Ku Klux Klan members that destroyed 10 houses and heavily damaged 16 others, most of which were owned by black families in a largely white Charles County, Maryland, D.C. suburban community. 

To these like these young Klansmen, the term “racist” properly applies. But for people like Mr. Bennett? As I said, we need to come up with another term. 

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Gang of three 

Three young men confronted an 18-year-old man in the 2100 block of Essex Street about 1 a.m. Sunday and relieved him of his cell phone and wallet, said Berkeley police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

Women robbers 

An hour later, two women approached an 18-year-old woman walking in the 2400 block of Telegraph Avenue and robbed her of her purse and its contents. 

Strongarm heister 

A tall, heavyset fellow braced a 34-year-old man as he was walking in the 1900 block of Sacramento Street about 10 p.m. Sunday and forced him to relinquish his cell phone and wallet. 

Hot wheels 

Police and firefighters rushed to the 1900 block of Curtis Street just before 6 a.m. Tuesday to find a car afire. The cause: arson. Investigators are seeking to learn the identity of the torch involved in the fiery caper. 

Wallet robbed 

A 22-year-old strolling along the 2000 block of Dwight Way a few minutes before 6 p.m. Tuesday found himself face to face with a 20-something robber who physically coerced him into forking over his wallet before the bandit beat feet eastbound on Blake Street. 

Middle school bandit 

Berkeley police responded to a call Tuesday evening from the parent of a Willard Middle School student, who told investigators their child had been the victim of a strong-arm robbery by another student both that day and the day before. Police know who the suspect is and are investigating, said Officer Okies. 

Pipe attack 

Police are seeking the man who struck a 46-year-old man on the head with a section of metal pipe about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. 

Juvie pickpocket 

Officers conducting a security check near Berkeley High School about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday discovered that one student—apparently a pickpocket in the making—had managed to lift the wallet of another juvenile. 

Chevron heist 

A gunman clad in a Yankees jacket walked into the Chevron station at University Avenue and Sacramento Street just after 5 p.m. Wednesday, pulled a pistol and demanded cash. The clerk complied. 

‘

Six months have passed since we started working with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to finalize any remaining cleanup at Campus Bay. We have some good news to share, with more updates expected in the coming months. 

Everyone expects the cleanup process to take some time, and the important thing is that we’re making important progress toward ensuring that Campus Bay is clean and safe. 

You may remember that Zeneca’s demolition of the industrial buildings and cleanup of the property from 1999 to 2002 generated a great deal of controversy. Neighbors from nearby businesses complained of heavy dust carried by the wind while old industrial buildings were being demolished and contaminated soil excavated. Sherry Padgett and others in the community worked hard to raise awareness regarding this issue. 

The initial environmental cleanup activities on the part of the property known as the Upland area were performed by Zeneca before Cherokee Simeon purchased the property. Since we didn’t own the property at that point, we don’t have all the details—but we inherited a situation where some people are upset.  

That’s why this recent good news is so important. It would be easy for the property’s future to be held hostage to the events of the past, and we don’t want that to happen. We can’t change anything about Zeneca’s activities, but we want to make sure cleanup gets finished, the property is safe, and we can move on with redevelopment.  

The first piece of good news is clean dirt. Beginning a few days ago, DTSC allowed us to start bringing new, clean soil onto the property to replace contaminated soil we removed from the marsh area. As part of our commitment to protecting human health and the environment, we are in the final stages of completing work that will result in the restoration of 22 acres of wetlands and wildlife habitat area, including the creation of almost four acres of new marsh and wildlife habitat. 

The other piece of good news is trees. You may have read a recent article that focused on the condition of the trees on the property, many of which were planted in the last two or three years. Sherry and others have alleged that the trees were being damaged by some unknown substances in the ground water or the soil. To be safe, we brought DTSC and multiple tree experts to the property—and they found that there was nothing wrong with the trees that couldn’t be explained by wind, lack of proper water drainage, and other natural factors that affect trees. We are going to take a closer look at one of the trees, but that’s a far cry from the broad claims being made a few weeks ago. 

The tree issue was the subject of a very long article in the Daily Planet, but we haven’t seen similar coverage now that toxins have been ruled out. This knee-jerk reaction highlights a big problem—the harsh judgments of a few people are issued before all the facts are available. We agree with a cautious approach, but jumping the gun without all the facts scares people and it just isn’t necessary. The property is going to be safe before we start redevelopment—we’re committed to it, and DTSC will hold us accountable. 

The facts are clear—the property must be made safe for redevelopment. Once the property is safe, the future redevelopment we bring to Campus Bay will create huge benefits—a great mix of jobs and housing, including affordable housing for people in the community. The future redevelopment will add hundreds of jobs and millions in local tax dollars and fees to the city that can be used to increase Richmond’s budget for services such as police and fire protection. 

Those benefits will only become a reality if we take advantage of the once-in-a-century opportunity to make this property safe. We need to put Campus Bay to productive use, creating jobs, bringing in tax dollars for schools, and helping the entire Richmond community. Richmond needs a clean and safe Campus Bay, and that’s Cherokee’s commitment. We hope you will join us. 

Dwight Stenseth is the managing director and Doug Mosteller is the engineering projcect manager for Cherokee Investment Partners, LLC. 

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If you read the headline in the Daily Planet (“West Berkeley Forum Challenges the Rezoning of Major Thoroughfares,” by Richard Brenneman), you’d think there was nothing but unanimous support for this completely orchestrated meeting against the rezoning of Ashby Avenue and Gilman Streets. That’s far from the truth. My comments were the first ones made after the presentation of the “so-called panel of experts” and Mr. Brenneman conveniently ignored them in the highly biased tradition of this glorious free speech publication. 

The “panel” as it was called, was a complete set up by the WeBAIC group—Allance of West Berkeley Artisans and industrial Companies. This self-appointed group of West Berkeley protectors DOES NOT represent all or even a majority of those residing, working and shopping in West Berkeley. It represents a very narrow group of ideologues many of which do not live in West Berkeley or don’t work there. These folks claim that “the working class and artists” are united against the gentrification of West Berkeley—and changing the zoning. 

Come on folks! This is 2005, not 1965. The world has changed. The economics of industry and manufacturing have changed and most major industries do not want to be located in highly urbanized areas like Berkeley. The “thriving” industrial sector of Berkeley claimed by Neil Mayor used completely bogus statistics. He ignored the closing of MacCauly Foundry, the closing of Andros Analyzers, Flint Ink shutting down and Peerless Lighting which will move it’s manufacturing to Mexico in 2006. That represents over 1 million square feet of industrial and warehouse uses in West Berkeley and more than 100 jobs lost leaving the area. This clearly reflects a declining and changing industrial sector similar to that of every major city in the United States. And in reality, many of these uses are leaving behind toxic clean up issues that will not be taken on by other new industrial users given the enormous clean up costs.  

As for the implied traffic congestion that will take place, why does no one mention the 197,000 square-foot Target store in Albany that is along a two-lane street that has no traffic problems as indicated by the planners in Albany? The proposed Berkeley Bowl is half the size of this store with much better street access to major thoroughfares. 

No one in West Berkeley is favoring a Target Store or a Wallmart or throwing out artists or manufacturers. But the residents here and those working here favor a vibrant, intelligent and creative mix of residential, commercial and manufacturing uses that represents change and reality. Rezoning Ashby and Gilman does not mean allowing in big box stores. It means looking at what kinds of businesses, commercial, residential and manufacturing can coexist and support the revenue needs of the City and service and shopping needs of those in West Berkeley alike. 

Forty-thousand square-foot warehouse uses, old heavy industrial sites and large vacant parcels such as the one ones proposed for the West Berkeley Bowl are all out of step with the realities of current economics and the needs of Berkeley citizens. The real problem is the handful of folks who claim to represent the “working man” or artisans are preaching to themselves and don’t see what a creative and vibrant area for more than their own little “view” of the world. 

The real irony is that Berkeley with all it’s supposed brains and creative juices is stifled by these narrow interest groups. A handful of ideologues and trust-fund folks want no change and so organize “forums” to preach their religion. 

Let’s use some brains, creativity and innovative new zoning and get on with it folks! 

Steven Donaldson lives and works in Berkeley.›

I returned from a wonderful trip to the Peruvian Amazon and the Camino Inca to hear of a commentary in the Daily Planet (Sept. 13) seriously disparaging my assessment of the KPFA situation. It was signed by the four union reps of the core paid staff at KPFA. They write with great authority, accusing me of “abandoning reason” and being “singularly misinformed about the facts.” But I infer that in aiming to make me look biased and uninformed they are targeting the views of hundreds if not thousands of actual listeners that are being also disparaged. If I read it well, the article by Ballard, Lilly, Mericle, and Maldari seems to imply that I am either a lone wolf crying in the night, a spokesperson for a small group of misguided disaffected listeners, and/or a shill for KPFA Station Manager Roy Campanella. Thoughtful reflection should lead to a different conclusion.  

Though it ought not matter, I want to say that I have significant differences in political viewpoint and managerial style with Campanella. I am not his personal representative. Moreover, as I have written, I do not know if, or to what extent, Roy transgressed upon women’s rights at the station. But a vote of 15-5 by the Station Board satisfied me that whatever his behavior it probably was not as egregious as some people are claiming. This is all recapitulation. Certainly my conclusion about the sexual harassment charge could yet turn out to be erroneous. But I shall provide information that led me to not trust the conclusions of those who attack Roy and have now attacked me as well. For example, their article claims repeatedly and carte blanche that various people and groups (the Station Board, the Pacifica Board, investigators who looked into the charges) are ignorant of or failed to grasp the facts of the situation. Yet, there are no quotes from those directly affected. Can they actually convince a Berkeley readership that simply asserting that only Campanella’s personal version of the facts stands against their version? Perhaps they can, but I think their version requires deeper scrutiny.  

They write of the Local Station Board as if controlled by a group of fringe listener reps elected by only 400 people. This is a clever over-reaching of the facts, particularly since each listener rep had to be elected by a different 400 listeners. However, the paid staff union representatives also know that I myself have been critical of the election mechanism. When I ran in the first election I publicly wrote that I would not take a seat if elected unless I received at least 2,000 votes. I have continued to argue that the procedures should be reformed. Indeed, after a discussion with Sasha Lilly this summer I proposed to work with her to put together a non-partisan group of listeners and staff to try and come up with a proposal to reformulate the election mechanism so that listener representation would be less fragmented (more unified in support of station reforms and governance).  

Sasha declined the invitation, having “union work” to attend to, and she offered no one in her stead. Yet her group continues to harp on the election procedure issue as if it were a central problem for staff. The fact that the Board is fragmented and factionalized, bad as that may be, is not an argument against their decision on Campanella. The surprising level of unity (15 votes out of 20 among people many of whom often disagree with each other on governance and how to improve the station) revealed that some of the listener reps who usually side with paid-staff representatives felt undue pressure to dump Campanella prematurely by a paid staff core that is trying to flex its muscle in governance. Even stronger evidence of core staff state of mind and intent came to light this week in the form of an intercepted e-mail from a core staff representative on the Station Board, Brian Edwards-Tiekert. He recently wrote to others in their leadership group requesting a strategy meeting. In his memo which is posted at www.indybay.org/news/2005/09/1771704.php Brian suggests some discussion to decide whether to try to disband the Station Board altogether or only to try and purge listener representatives perceived of as enemies hostile to the paid staff core. A cavalier attitude toward possibly dumping (not reforming) democratic processes that were gained only after an extremely bitter battle that nearly destroyed the Pacifica Network and KPFA is, in my view, the central problem today. I remind Berkeley citizens of what happened when we members put our faith in our Berkeley Co-op managers in the 1980s and they simply sold out the Co-op from under the membership. We had no say. That kind of disempowerment of the listeners appears to be the intent of many in the core staff. 

My own personal support for Campanella has been largely based upon the need for some managerial stability at the station. The resignation of Gus Newport a year ago, coming on top of five years of total instability, made it imperative that we—the listeners, the community, and the staff—not allow power plays to further destabilize the station. I will even go so far as to say that not all of the power plays have come from the core paid staff. Gus resigned in part because he felt he was not being allowed to take charge by some whose political intents he approved of. But today it is not some left wingers—inside or outside the station—who are attacking stability or trying to take over under the guise of union-worker political unity. It is rather a core of people who think very much in undemocratic elitist terms. Edwards-Tiekert’s e-mail, like an earlier intercept from Weyland Southon suggesting that Dennis Bernstein and his Flashpoints group will be “toast” as soon as core staff gets rid of Campanella, require no further comment. They are revelatory in and of themselves.  

Maldari, Mericle, Lilly et al have argued that the appearance of young people, women, and people of color in their ranks disproves the assertion of an undemocratic “takeover plot” (plot being their word not mine). But that is ridiculous. Many of the 60 or so staff people who support the core group are people who were trained by and have worked under or with core staff for some years. Fear of the unruly inexpert rabble of outside activists (the article aimed at me is but a recent example) has been cultivated by those who do not want their prerogatives limited in a difficult work environment. This is natural. We all want to maximize our autonomy. But young people, women, and minority staff are not less subject to misleadership, are not less malleable than older folks. We all learn from experience and we all make plenty of mistakes in judgment—more in our younger years, I might venture.  

I am not surprised that my writing became a lighting rod for the paid staff group’s counterattack. I had pointed out that Maldari, to my face, accused me of defending a “sexual predator” (not a sexual harasser). This direct quote reveals again the tendency to distort and vilify. However, the irony is that I remain an unabashed advocate for mediation and negotiation between listener groups, the Station Board, the Management and the Staff to work out processes and plans for the station. When others have argued over the years that resistant staff people such as Maldari and Mericle should just be fired, I have usually counseled that putchism and confrontation of that type is not the way to work out the contradictions within a movement that needs to continue its growth into a major political forum and force for change. I still believe this, even as the 4 union reps aim to strip my credibility. But their group has, so far, shown no inclination toward mediating with the Local Station Board or the Manager over their issues, preferring to continue to raise the specter of further disempowering KPFA’s 30,000 listener sponsors. Let us recognize that the station belongs to the progressive community, but that it also needs its professional staff. And that the staff has to learn how to allow that community to have more influence, rather than resisting the process, if KPFA is to survive in a fascist environment. 

Marc Sapir is the executive director of Retro Poll.

The UC Berkeley Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies will present Marc Blitzstein’s celebrated musical about the labor movement, The Cradle Will Rock, originally staged by Orson Welles for the WPA’s Federal Theatre Project in 1937, openi ng tonight (Friday) at 8 p.m. with five more performances through Oct. 16. 

Blitzstein’s 10-scene radical musical became notorious by the manner it first came to the stage. Set in “Steeltown, U.S.A.” during a strike, Cradle was scheduled to open for previ ews, when WPA guards locked the company out of the Maxine Elliot Theatre in New York. Quickly switching the show to the Venice Theatre 21 blocks away, remounting it without sets or costumes and inviting the preview audience to walk to the new location, We lles and Blitzstein overcame a union prohibition of the cast appearing onstage by putting Blitzstein at an upright piano, reciting stage directions while playing the score, as the cast members delivered their lines and sang from the audience, lit by spotl ight. 

The musical was a huge success and had its opening and a brief run at the Venice, followed by a performance in a Bethlehem, Pa., amusement park and tour of the steel districts of Pennsylvania and Ohio. 

Welles and Blitzstein continued to collaborat e on stage and radio, Welles even presenting Count Basie playing Blitzstein numbers at a concert, and The Cradle Will Rock saw further production by Welles’ Mercury Theatre in an oratorio version on Sunday nights when Welles’ successful anti-fascist stagi ng of Julius Caesar (with music by Blitzstein) wasn’t being performed. A recorded version, narrated by Blitzstein, became the first full-length Broadway show on disc. 

The Cradle Will Rock, and association with Blitzstein, is often credited with Welles’ p oliticization, spurring in his staging Caesar (perhaps the first fully modernized and politicized production of Shakespeare). Welles later campaigned for Franklin Roosevelt and considered a run for the Senate against Joseph McCarthy, earning a 1940 memora ndum from J. Edgar Hoover concerning his leftist and anti-racist affiliations. Welles’ Hollywood career was further pushed to the brink of ruin when he accepted a request to make a never-completed omnibus film in Latin America for the Office of Inter-Amer ican Affairs. Blitzstein, who began his career as an apolitical modernist aesthete, later would say: “Music in the theater is a powerful weapon.” 

A few months before his death on Oct. 10, 1984, Welles rewrote a screenplay about the original production of The Cradle Will Rock, and prepared to film it, but financing fell through three weeks before shooting was scheduled to start. Welles’ script was published in 1993. In 1999, Tim Robbins’ film on the play was released, a fictionalized account representing Welles as somewhat supercilious. 

Last year marked Blitzstein’s centennial, which was celebrated by San Francisco’s Other Minds Festival and other events around the country. Blitzstein achieved recognition through Welles’ production of The Cradle Will Rock. The memory of that event, and current revivals—like UC Berkeley’s this week—have sparked an interest in the various works of this activist composer. 

UC Berkeley Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies presents The Cradle Will Rock Oct. 7-16 at the Zellerbach Playhouse. $14; $10 for UC faculty and staff; $8 for students and senior.. Director Lura Dolas will join a panel discussion following the show Saturday, Oct. 8. For more information, call 642-9925 or see http://theater.berkeley.edu. 

A related panel discussion, “Cradling the New Deal,” will take place on Oct. 12 at 5 p.m., looking at the history of labor organizing during the Great Depression and today to provide context to some of the themes in The Cradle Will Rock. The panel, mod erated by Shannon Steen, will include Fred Glass, Peter Glazer and Kathleen Moran.›

Dona Rosa, a blind fado singer from Portugal, and Azerbaijani Ashuq vocalists Gulare Azafli and Zulfiyye Ibadova will bring the San Francisco World Music Festival to Berkeley’s Ashkenaz, as part of Ashkenaz’s “Taproots & New Growth” series, Sunday at 8:15 p.m. 

Preceding the show, at 7 p.m., Anna Oldfield Senarslan, a scholar of Azerbaijan culture, will give a lecture on Ashuq style music. 

A street singer who sings her own version of the plaintive Portuguese national song, fado, Rosa has sung in the subway and in pedestrian tunnels in Lisbon, where she was homeless, for years. Her blindness was the result of a childhood illness which her family couldn’t afford medicine to treat. 

A British producer heard her a few years ago, and she has since recorded several times. 

“I saw her featured at a conference on world music in Berlin in 2000, and have wanted to bring her here ever since,” said Michael Santoro, festival cofounder and coproducer (with KPFA world music presenter Kutay Derin Kugay). “She has her own special musical sense, the soul of the streets of Lisbon.”  

Female Ashuq singers like Gulare Asafli and Zulfiyye Ibadova are unusual in Azerbaijan, where the male singers in this venerable, virtuoso troubadour tradition are highly honored. 

“Gulare Asafli’s father was a famous Ashuq singer and forbade his daughter to sing it,” Santoro said. “She learned by listening to him with his students and practicing by herself until she learned the repertoire. She’s become the matriarch of the woman Ashuqs, helping many younger ones, taking them under her wing. Zulfiyye Ibadova sings and is famed for her saz playing.” 

The saz is a stringed instrument the singers play to accompany themselves.  

Anna Oldfield Senarslan, who will give the talk on Ashuq style before the show, arranged a house concert in Baku, Azerbaijan, when Kugay and she was doing field work in Turkey, Persia and Azerbaijan. Little known in the west, this style originated with itinerant bards singing oral histories. 

“There were six or seven singers, so powerful, and unexpected,” Senarslan said. “They were very different from the male singers. We were blown away, and knew we had to bring at least two to the festival, the two best known.” 

Celebrating its sixth anniversary, the San Francisco World Music Festival was founded by Santoro and Kugay. They met when Kugay began playing artists on his Monday KPFA program that Santoro featured at his live music series in the basement of the Clarion Music Center in San Francisco Chinatown from 1995. 

“We’re now beginning to get the funding to do field work, so we travel more and more,” Santoro said. “I specialize mostly in East and Southeast Asian music, Kutay, of course, in Middle Eastern. It’s a complicated balance, sometimes. There’re so many cultures that don’t get along with each other. We have to break through a lot of boundaries.” 

The festival continues through Oct. 16 at a variety of San Francisco venues, except for Berkeley’s Ashkenaz in San Francisco. The festival includes performers, film and video from cultures including Armenian, Assyrian, Chilean, Kurdish, Persian, Taiwanese, Turkish and Ukrainian, as well as lectures and talks on music and culture. 

Dona Rosa, Gulare Azafli and Zulfiyye Ibadova will perform at Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center, 1317 San Pablo Ave., Sun. Oct. 9 at 8:15 p.m. with a lecture at 7 p.m. $15-18. For more information, see www.sfworldmusicfest.org or call (415) 561-6571.

FRIDAY, OCT. 7 

THEATER 

Aurora Theatre “The Price” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m., through Oct. 9, at 2081 Addison St. Tickets are $38. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

California Shakespeare Theater, “The Tempest” at 8 p.m. at Bruns Amphitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., between Berkeley and Orinda, through Oct. 23. Tickets are $10-$55. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theater, “You Can’t Take it With You” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Pomona Ave. at Moeser Lane, El Cerrito, through Oct. 22. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

Lunatique Fantastique “Executive Order 9066” Thurs. -Sat. at 7 p.m., through Oct. 21 at 2120 Allston Way. Tickets are $15-$22. 415-826-5750. www.themarsh.org 

Rough and Tumble “Candide,” A version with live radio, music, puppets and assorted bizarre props, Fri. and Sat. at 7:30 p.m. at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St. Free, donations accepted. 601-1444. 

Shotgun Players, “Owners” at 8 p.m., Thurs.-Sun. through Oct. 16 at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. Reservations suggested. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

“Spanglish Lab” Comedy with Bill Santiago at 8 p.m. at at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

“The Cradle Will Rock” by UC Dept. of Theater Dance and Performance Studies, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. through Oct. 16, at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus. Tickets are $8-$14. 642-9925. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Romanian Lace Costume and Sentimental Embroideries” Reception at 6 p.m. Exhibition runs to Feb. 4 at Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, 2982 Adeline St. 843-7178. lacismuseum.org 

“Single Moms: Invisible Lives” Photographs by Katherine Bettis through Oct. 31 at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. 981-6100. www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org 

“Greetings From Oakland: The Immortalization Project” Photographs and videos of people and their nostalgic possessions by Lisa Walsh. Reception at 7 pm. at 21 Grand Gallery, 416 25th St., Oakland.  

FILM 

Dr. Atomic Goes Nuclear “Seven Days to Noon” at 7 p.m., “Hell and High Water” at 9 p.m., at Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Best New American Voices including Andrew Altschul, Kaui Hart Hemmings, Jamie Keene Albert Martinez at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Last Word Poetry Series with Bert Glick and Philip Hackett at 7 p.m. at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Arts Festival: John Schott, solo guitar and voice at 8 p.m. at Larry Ochs on saxophones with Swedish percussionist Kjell Nordeson at 9 p.m. at 2324 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 665-9496. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com  

University Symphony at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-9988.  

Hyim and the Fat Foakland Orchestra at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054.  

Ellen Robinson & Ben Flint Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ.  

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

Leftover Dreams, music from the Great American Songbook, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

20 Minute Loop, Six Eye Columbia, Brian Kenney Fresno at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082.  

Betty Fu Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Jared Karol and Lemon Juju at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Dick Hindman Trio at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373.  

Raw Deluxe, album release party, at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5. 548-1159.  

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

U.K. Subs, The Sick, Arno Corps at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

George Brooks’ Summit at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $22. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, OCT. 8 

CHILDREN 

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

EXHIBITIONS 

“Counterintuitive” Prints by Jay Chadwick Johnson. Reception at 6 p.m. at The Gallery of Urban Art, 1266 66th St., Emeryville. 596-0020, ext. 192. www.thegalleryofurbanart.com 

Emeryville Art Exhibition Works by over 90 artists at 1650 65th St. Open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Oct. 30. 652-6122. www.EmeryArts.org 

FILM 

Documentaries from the Grad. School of Journalism at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2621 Durant Ave. www.realdramadocs.com 

Farewell: A Tribute to Elem Klimov and Larissa Shepitko “Heat” at 5 p.m., “Wings” at 7 p.m. and “You and I” at 8:50 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Berkeley Arts Festival: “Two Dialogues from the Classics” by Dorothy Bryant based on “The Decay of Lying” by Oscar Wilde and “The Plague” by Albert Camus, read by Clive Chafer and Terry Lamb at 3 p.m. at 2324 Shattuck Ave. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Elizabeth Partridge reads from her biography of John Lennon, “All I Want Is the Truth” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Rhythm & Muse with Alice Templeton at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. Free. 527-9753. 

MUSIC AND DANCE  

The Sierra Ensemble Heather Haughn, violin, Janis Lieberman, horn, Marc Steiner, piano at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

J.Y. Song, pianist, at 7:30 p.m. at the Calvin Simmons Theater, 10 Tenth St., Oakland. Tickets are $25-$40. 601-7919.  

University Symphony at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-9988.  

Thomas Barquee Sanskrit chanting at 7 p.m. at Sacred Space, 816 Bancroft Way . Cost is $12-$15. 496-6047. 

West African Highlife Band at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. African dance lesson at 9 p.m. Cost is $13. 525-5054.  

Shanna Carlson & Her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ.  

In Harmony’s Way, a capella folk ensemble, at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Ben Adams Trio at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473.  

Brindl and Joshua Lennon Pierce at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

J-Soul at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Eric Thompson’s Kleptograss at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Bebop & Beyond at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com  

“For tha Love of Radio Unplug Clear Channel” at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $8, includes CD. 849-2568.  

Ray Cepeda & Friends, latin rock, at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Luca, Red Thread, Julia Mack at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082.  

Rhonda Benin & Soulful Strut at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Teenage Harlots, Secretions, Mouth Offs at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 9 

CHILDREN 

Family Square Dance with Evie Laden at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054.  

Norma Mayer, soprano and Richard Mayer, flute at 4 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $5 children $10 adults. 925-798-1300.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Nature Sculptures” Photographs by Zach Pine Reception at 4 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

“Taisho Chic: Japanese Modernity, Nostalgia and Deco”guided tour at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. 642-0808. 

FILM 

Documentaries from the Grad. School of Journalism at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2621 Durant Ave. www.realdramadocs.com 

Dutch Voices: Jos de Puter and Peter Delpeut “Go West, Young Man!” at 4 p.m. and “Monte Walsh” at 5:40 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Joel Ben Izzy discovers the wisdom of ancient stories in “The Beggar King and The Secret of Happiness” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

“Yosemite in Time” Panel discussion with exhibition photographers Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

Poetry Flash with Martha Evans, Katherine Hastings, Mary Hower and Hannah Stein at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Arts Festival: Barely Human Dance Theatre “From Here We Watch The World Go By” at 5 p.m. at the Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza. 883-0302. 

The Prometheus Symphony Orchestra at 3 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 116 Montecito St., Oakland. Admission is free, donations requested. 

Daniel Pearl Music Day with mezzo-soprano Sylvie Braitman at 4 p.m. at BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $12. 848-0237. 

Jenna Mammina Benefit for “Scat for Cats” to bring music into the schools at 2 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ.  

E. W. Wainwright’s African Roots of Jazz, celebrating Oscar Brown Jr.’s Birthday, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Americana Unplugged: Stay Tuned Bluegrass Band at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 655-5715. 

Jon Fromer and The Cheats, parodies, ballads and barbs, at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $7-$12. 849-2568.  

Mardi Gras 2010 A Gulf Coast Survivor Relief Benefit where 100% of the proceeds are going to the survivors of hurricane Katrina from 2 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at White Horse Inn, 6551 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. Cost is $10. 652-3820 www.whitehorsebar.com 

Samora Pinderhughes at 4:30 at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373.  

Bob Marley Student Ensemble at 7:30 at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373.  

Ferron, folk music poet, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Tap Roots and New Growth Dona Rosa, Gulare Azafli and Zulfiyye Ibadova. Lecture at 7 p.m., performance at 8:15 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15-$18. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Philips Marine Duo, jazz, at 10 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

This Bike is A Pipe Bomb, Defiance, Ohio, The Bananas at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

MONDAY, OCT. 10 

THEATER 

Anne Galjour’s “Hurricane” Benefit for Habitat for Humanity at 7:30 p.m. at Aurora Theater, 2081 Addison St. Tickets are $50-$100. 843-4822.  

EXHIBITIONS 

Louis Cuneo, “Photographs of UC Berkeley” at 2 p.m. at Mario’s “La Fiesta” Restaurant, 2444 Telegraph Ave. 708-4653. 

FILM 

International Latino Film Festival: “Yo Puta/Whore” at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7. 849-2568.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Music You Can Sing” with Prof. Tom Acord, at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

Actors Reading Writers: “Possessed” stories by Algernon Blackwood, Shirley Jackson & William Trevor at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. 

“Putting Your Passion in to Print” with Arielle Eckstut and David Sterry at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Michael Goldfarb reads from his novel set during the Iraq War “Ahmad’s War, Ahmad’s Peace” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Montclair Woman’s Big Band at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, OCT. 11 

THEATER 

Berkeley Rep “Finn in the Underworld” opens at 8 p.m. at the Thrust Stage and runs to Nov. 6. Tickets are $43-$59. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

FILM 

Derek Jarman’s Home Movies “Studios, Gardens and Portraits” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Steve Mumford discusses his “Baghdad Journal” and shows slides of his watercolors and drawings of Iraq at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Whole Note Poetry with William Stanley, Jr. at 7 p.m. at The Beanery, 2925 College Ave., near Ashby. 549-9093. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Turlu, Symrna Time Machine at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

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

Wendy DeWitt, boogie woogie piano, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Ellen Hoffman Trio and singer’s open mic at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ.  

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

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

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12 

EXHIBITIONS 

“CaliVera: Days of the Dead Altars Remixed” Exhibition opens at the Oakland Museum of California, Tenth and Oak St. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

FILM 

Doctor Atomic Goes Nuclear “The Day After Trinity: J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“A Rare Glimpse into Wyntoon: Through the Eyes of Bernard Maybeck, Julia Morgan and Today” with Lynn Forney McMurray, Julia Morgan’s goddaughter at 4 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $15. 848-7800. 

Eliot Weinberger and Michale Palmer discuss “What Happened Here: The Bush Chronicles” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik 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 

Wednesday Noon Concert, with Kate van Orden, baroque bassoon, Elizabeth Reed, baroque cello, at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864.  

Music for the Spirit with Ron McKean, harpsichord, at noon at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555.  

Kirov Ballet “The Sleeping Beauty” at 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus, through Oct. 16. Tickets are $48-$110. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

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

La Verdad, salsa music, at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Dan Pratt Quartet at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

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

David Jeffrey Jazz Function at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473.  

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

THURSDAY, OCT. 13 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Taisho Chic: Japanese Modernity, Nostalgia and Deco” guided tour at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. 642-0808. 

FILM 

MadCat Woman’s International Film Festival: Documentation at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Andrew Lam explores his struggle for identity as a Vietnmese living abroad in “Perfume Dreams” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Nomad Spoken Word Night at 7 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

“In Conversation with Susan Danis” in conjunction with the exhibition “Pleasure” at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893.  

Word Beat with Gene Sharee and Margaret Irvin at 7 p.m. at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Dick Conte Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is. $5. 841-JAZZ.  

Damond Moodie, Pebble Theory at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082  

Pete Madsen at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Curtis Woodman and Peter Barshay, piano and bass, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Ray Brown Birthday Tribute with Christian McBride, John Clayton, Russell Malone, Greg Hutchinson and Benny Green at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com´

Once a year the coastal town of Half Moon Bay shines in an orange-tinged light, the site of the famous Art and Pumpkin Festival. Fun-filled delights for all ages await those able to negotiate roads that resemble clogged arteries, allowing individual cars, like blood cells, access to town. 

Visit during quieter times for a taste of a historic town, a long stretch of white-sand beach and a secret redwood grove. Visit once and you’ll want to keep it on your list for seasonal getaways just to watch nature’s yearly cycle of life. 

Half Moon Bay is the oldest town in San Mateo County, founded in 1840. Sited between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Cruz Mountains, amid plentiful open space, it offers two distinctive landscapes, just a few miles apart. On a warm fall day I sampled these landscapes before ending my day on Main Street.  

I never cease to be amazed at the wealth of natural resources at our fingertips, some known to all and others, like a secret treasure, waiting to be discovered. Purisima Creek Redwoods is one of those treasures. Situated on the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains, this preserve of 3,120 acres contains a variety of plant and animal communities connected by twenty-one miles of trails. 

Purisima Creek Trail put me right where I wanted to be, in a deep canyon shaded by towering coast redwoods listening to the sounds of the year-round creek at my side. The parking area is small so I began my hike early, first picking up a brochure of the preserve at the trailhead. 

The air was crisp and fresh and my surroundings were a feast of green. Wood, sword and five-finger ferns clung to the banks among madrone, tanoak and Douglas fir; carpets of sorrel created a cushion below redwoods that reached toward the sky; big leaf maples began their herald of fall, the dappled sunlight glinting on their golden leaves. Above, a canopy, below, a wide gentle trail softened by leaf litter. Creek water murmuring as it flowed over stones and into pools. A few migrants from UC Santa Cruz, bright yellow banana slugs, highlighted spots of color. Large redwood stumps with diameters between ten and twenty feet gave evidence of thousand-year-old trees logged during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today’s trees are second-growth, youngsters, a mere 100 years old. 

I followed the trail one mile to an intersection with trails climbing out of the canyon or continuing along the creek. With a busy agenda, I opted to head back the way I had come, happy to revisit ethereal scenery that had rejuvenated my spirit. 

From the mountains to the sea. At Half Moon Bay State Beach you get four beaches for the price of one. Roosevelt, Dunes, Venice and Francis Beaches are connected by the three-mile Coastside Trail that follows the curve of broad, white sands and continues north to Pillar Point Harbor. Francis Beach is the most developed with headland camping and picnic facilities as well as a small but comprehensive visitor center. 

Wanting to familiarize myself with both the cultural and natural history of the area, the visitor center was my first stop. Excellent interactive exhibits immediately involved me by posing questions and offering buttons to push. Matching organisms with their seasons and birds with their footprints made me feel like a biology detective. A favorite exhibit was a series of 20 poster boards, each containing a photo, drawing and characteristics of coastal flora. Another display identified commonly seen plants, like field mustard and lizard tail, as natives or non-natives. A surprising amount of first-rate information was attractively packed into a small space, giving me a good idea of what to expect, biologically speaking, outside. 

The paved, broad Coastal Trail is designed for both feet and wheels. Alas, this late in the season, I could only try to guess which of the sere plants trailside were the lovely spring-blooming orange poppies, bright yellow beach primroses, lavender wild radish or pale yellow bush lupine. Luckily, the beautiful Pacific was a far-reaching expanse of brilliant blue, decorated with bobbing sea birds and surfers. It’s not uncommon to spy brown pelicans, sanderlings, terns and sooty shearwaters off this coast and the sturdy benches along the bluffs provide comfortable strategic viewing spots. 

An equestrian trail, separated by a weathered wood rail fence, was busy with a steady stream of enthusiastic riders enjoying the same views that held my gaze. Along this developed path I wasn’t able to completely lose myself to nature but I appreciated this conduit between beaches that suited a variety of pursuits.  

If shopping or just browsing through quality merchandise is your favored pursuit, Main Street Half Moon Bay awaits. Not the sleepy historic town of old, the word is out that this picturesque spot, only one hour from home, is well worth the price of the trip. 

With its tree-lined sidewalks, flower filled ceramic planters, deep shade-providing awnings and wide benches, Main Street lures you. The vast selection of goods seems to outweigh the size of the town: home and garden furnishings, apparel boutiques, fine crafts, art and jewelry, books and paper goods, and, of course, antiques and collectibles. Eateries aren’t far behind in variety, from fine restaurants through cafes and outdoor delis. 

Combining historic buildings and shopping seemed a good use of my time, so I began my promenade at the north end of Main Street. Pilarcitos Creek Bridge, built in 1900, was the first steel-reinforced bridge in San Mateo County; a good thing considering the traffic it now supports. The oldest building in town is the sky blue with white trim Zaballa House, now a B&B. Just a few doors down stands the imposing dark cinnamon brown Feed and Fuel. A huge barn-like structure with requisite white rafters, it carries everything an animal or its owner might need, including a Cockadoo Traders Australian waxed cotton full-length coat, critical for those wet days and nights on the range. 

Inside Fengari Fiber Arts I was treated to a fantastic explosion of color. Yarns of all textures covered display tables and crammed wall cabinets and boxes. How could anyone ever choose among the greens, russets, reds and golds that forecast days to come?  

When does a City Hall look like a bank? When it began life as the Bank of Half Moon Bay. Now a stately gray adorned with brightly painted murals depicting local scenery, this is a city building that can’t easily be overlooked. Next door is the tiny jail, built in 1911, an “antique” of long-gone peaceful times. 

The most fun I had was in the garden courtyard of Half To Have It, the designated “Glass Gone Wild” of the coast. Sunlight shimmered through glass containers and the bits of broken glass mixed with pottery shards that made up the “gravel” below my feet. Planters, floats and containers share space with a crazy, eclectic, fun collection of rusted metal arched frameworks and leftover artifacts of previous lives. An archeologist’s dream site. 

If pumpkin extravaganzas loom large in your future, don’t miss Half Moon Bay’s Festival. If a quiet redwood canyon, crashing waves and gourmet chocolate call, visit Half Moon Bay when the crowds have gone and discover a warm coastal community with a lot to offer. 

Getting there: Take Hwy. 880 to Hwy. 92 across the San Mateo Bridge to Half Moon Bay. 53 miles. 

Purisima Creek Redwoods: Take Hwy. 1 south of Half Moon Bay for one mile. Turn left on Higgins Purisima Road, continue for 4.4 miles. Call (650) 691-1200, or see www.openspace.org. Open dawn to a half hour after sunset. No dogs allowed. Carry water. No fees. 

Half Moon Bay State Beach: Francis Beach is half a mile west of Hwy. 1 on Kelly Ave. Call (650) 726-8819, or see www.parks.ca.gov. Fees: $6 per car. Dogs on leash on trail only; no dogs allowed on beach. 

Fengari Fiber Arts: 415 Main St., (650) 726-2550, www.fengari.net. 

Half Moon Bay Feed & Fuel:  

331 Main St., (650) 726-4814, www.halfmoonbayfeedandfuel.com. 

Half To Have It: 601 Main St., (650) 712-5995, www.halftohaveit.com. 

f

FRIDAY, OCT. 7 

Berkeley Unicycle and Juggling Festival from 5 to 9:30 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 10 a.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. www.ocf.berkeley.edu/ 

~juggle/festival 

“Rachel Corrie: An American Conscience” a documentary at 7 p.m. at Unitarian Universalists Fellowship Hall, Bonita at Cedar.  

“Trafficking of Women and Children” at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church 1640 Addison St. 655-5659, 581-7963. 

“Sisters Break the Silence” Uniting to Heal from Domestic Violence. Panel discussions and workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Health Education Center, Alta Bates Summit, 400 Hawthorne Ave. Oakland. Cost is $40. To register call 869-6210. 

“A Tribute to the Negro Leagues” at 7 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, Tenth and Oak St., in conjunction with the exhibition “Baseball As America.” 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Fair Trade Rice Farming with guest farmers from Thailand at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Rice-tasing and potluck, please bring something to share. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Friends of the Oakland Library Book Sale from 10:30 to 5:30 p.m. at 721 Washington St., through Oct. 8. 444-0473. 

UC Press SIdewalk Sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 2120 Berkeley Way. All books $5-$10. www.ucpress.edu 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Carolyn Merchant, Prof. of Environmental History on “Partnership Ethics.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $13.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020. 

Solo Sierrans: Walk and Wine Tasting in North Berkeley Meet at 4 p.m. at Starbucks at corner of Cedar and Shattuck. RSVP to 841-5493, 724-3005.  

Depression Screening Learn how to manage stress and to recognize depression symptoms. Free and anonymous. Appointments available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Alta Bates Herrick Campus, 2001 Dwight Way. to register call 204-4580.  

Hillegass-Parker Co-op Open House at 5 p.m. at 2545 Hillegass Ave. 848-1936, ext. 316. 

Three Beats for Nothing sings early music for fun and practice at 10 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 655-8863. 

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

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

SATURDAY, OCT. 8 

Berkeley Indigenous Peoples Day Pow Wow & Indian Market Enjoy Native American foods, traditional dancing, and arts and crafts, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Grand Entry at noon. 595-5520. www.red-coral.net/Pow.html  

Planting Under Oaks with Judy Thomas, Merritt College Hort. Dept., at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

Mini-Farmers in Tilden A farm exploration program, from 10 to 11 a.m. for ages 4-6 years, accompanied by an adult. We will explore the Little Farm, care for animals, do crafts and farm chores. Wear boots and dress to get dirty! Fee is $6-$8. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Take Flight with Aquatic Park EGRET Enjoy seasonal treats from 4 to 6 p.m. in the historic Cabin at the southeast corner of Aquatic Park’s Main Lagoon and watch egrets gather for the night. Donation of $15 supports EGRET's bayshore habitat and trail maintenance work. 549-0818. www.egretpark.org 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland uptown to the Lake to discover Art Deco landmarks. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of the Paramount Theater at 2025 Broadway. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

Vegetarian Cooking Class “Comfort Foods Galore” at 10 a.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $40. To register visit www.compassionatecooks.com 

“What is the Human Capacity for Peace?” An examination from several religious traditions from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bade Museum, GTU, 1798 Scenic Ave. 848-9788.  

Free Emergency Preparedness Class on Disaster Mental Health from 9 a.m. to noon at 997 Cedar St., between 8th and 9th. To sign up call 981-5605. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

fire/oes.html 

Berkeley Unicycle and Juggling Variety Show at 7:30 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Cost is $12. www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~juggle/festival 

Fundraiser for Animal Victims of Katrina from 5 to 10 p.m. at Pyramid Brewery, 901 Gilman St. Cost is $10. Proceeds go to the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society to rescue pets as part of the relief efforts in the Gulf. www.pyramidbrew.com 

Italian Chalk Art Festival Sat. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bay Street, Emeryville. Activities for children and awards for chalk art. www.baystreetemeryville.com 

Behind the Scenes at Pixar Benefit for the Emery Ed Fund, at 11 a.m. at Pixar Studios. Cost is $100. For tickets see www.emeryed.org 

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

“Foods of the Americas” A market of native corn, tomatoes, peppers, chocolate, quinoa and more, through Oct. 26 at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. 

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

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

Spirit Walking Aqua Chi (TM) A gentle water exercise class at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley High Warm Pool. Cost is $3.50 per session. 526-0312. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 9 

Morning Bird Walk to welcome back the Northern Flicker, Kinglets and others, at 9:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Fall Bird Walk with birder Dennis Wolff at 9 a.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $8-$12. 643-2755. 

Halloween Animals Learn the facts and myths about cats and rats from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 525-2233. 

Blessing of the Animals at 10 a.m. at Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. Pets in carriers or on leashes requested. 524-2921. 

Green Sunday: “The War at Home” the corporate offensive from Reagan to Bush with Jack Rasmus, author, at 5 p.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. 

People’s Park Beautification Work Party from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the SW corner of the park. 658-9178. 

Breakfast Aboard the Red Oak Victory Ship from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1337 Canal Blvd, Berth #6, Richmond. Cost is $6, children under 5 free. Includes tour of the ship. 237-2933. 

“Savor the Season” from 1 to 4 p.m. at Alameda County Community Food Bank, with Food Network’s Iron Chef America Cat Cora, live and silent auctions. Tickets are $50 and include lunch and wine. This fundraiser provides low-income children and families with nutritional help during the holiday season and year round. 635-3663, ext. 328. www.accfb.org 

Shawl-Anderson Dance Center Open Studio and scholarship fundraiser from 2 to 5 p.m. at 2704 Alcatraz Ave., with performances, refreshments and raffle. 654-5921 www.shawl-anderson.org 

Spenger’s Fifth Annual Crabby Chef Competition at 2 p.m. in the parking lot at 1919 Fourth Street. Enjoy live music and seafood delights while watching top East Bay chefs compete to create the best crab dish. Cooking booths open from 11 a.m. to 4:30 pm. 845-7771. 

“The Culture of Chocolate” presentations, discussions and tastings from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Phoebe Hearst Museum. Cost is $15-$15. Reservations required. 643-7649. 

“The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” family film series at 11 a.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Cost is $5. www.juliamorgan.org 

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

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, OCT. 10 

Freedom From Tobacco Class Mon. Oct. 10 and 24 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Free acupuncture option. 981-5330. 

“Popular Mobilization and the State in Bolivia Today” with Prof. Herbert S. Klein, Columbia Univ. at noon in the CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-2088. 

Building Strategic Alliances that Work! at 4 p.m. at Trader Vic’s, 9 Anchor Drive at Powell, Emeryville. Cost is $30-$50. Sponsored by the Institute of Management Consultants 800-462-8910. www.imcnorcal.org 

“Music You Can Sing” with Prof. Tom Acord, at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043.  

Critical Viewing An ongoing group to examine the art/craft(iness) of short films and television productions and its effects on our daily lives, at 1 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Free. 848-0237. georgeporter@earthlink.net 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

TUESDAY, OCT. 11 

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. 

Fall Fruit Tasting from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, Derby at MLK, Jr. Way. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

Everest: Friendship Beyond Borders with Tom McMillan and Nawang Sherpa who climbed Everest with a prosthetic leg at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Diversity Day Community Discussion about ageism, racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, anti-GLBT and anti-immigrant issues in Berkeley, at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. 981-7170. 

“U.S. Foreign Policy and Social Welfare” with Father Roy Bourgeois, founder of School of the Americas Watch, at 4 p.m. at the YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Ave. 

“Inevitable Surprises” with futurist and business strategist Peter Schwartz at 7:30 p.m. at College Prep School, Buttner Auditorium, 6100 Broadway, Oakland. Cost is $5-$10. 339-7726. www.collegeprep.org/ 

livetalk 

Sing-A-Long from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. 524-9122. 

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

“Weekend Adventures In San Francisco & Northern California” a slide show with Carole Terwilliger Meyers at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library Community Room, 2090 Kittredge. 981-6100. www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org 

League of Women Voters Membership Meeting with a Panel on the November 8 ballot propositions at 5:30 p.m. at the Northbrae Community Church. Buffet dinner is $15. Please RSVP to 843-8824. 

“A Global Perspective on Investments in Municipal Water Infrastructure” with Dale Whittington, Prof. Environmental Sciences & Engineering, Univ. of North Carolina at 5:30 p.m. at Goldman School of Public Policy, Room 150, Hearst and LeRoy. 642-2666. www.lib. 

berkeley.edu/WRCA/ccow.html 

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

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

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

Healthy Eating Habits Seminar at 6:30 p.m. in Oakland. Free, registration required. 465-2524. 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12 

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

walkingtours 

“CaliVera: Days of the Dead Altars Remixed” Exhibition opens at the Oakland Museum of California, Tenth and Oak St. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Poetry Writing Workshop with Linda Elkin at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marina Ave., Albany. 526-3720, ext. 16. 

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

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

The 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. 

Prose Writer’s Workshop An ongoing group made up of friendly writers who are serious about our craft. All levels welcome. At 7 p.m. at BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. georgeporter@earthlink.net 

Astral Travel and Dreams A free 9-week course begins at 7:30 p.m. at 2510 Channing Way. 652-1583, bayarea@gnosticweb.com 

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

vigil4peace/vigil 

Kol Hadash Humanistic Yom Kippur Observance at 7:30 p.m. at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. Please bring non-perishable food for the needy. To RSVP email Lmgutner@aol.com 

THURSDAY, OCT. 13 

Father Roy Bourgeois on Against Torture, School of the Americas and a video “Crossing the Line, a Journey to Awareness” at 7 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 545 Ashbury Ave., El Cerrito. 535 6285. irenendavid@yahoo.com 

Spoonbill Migration A display of sculptures and information on how to save the endangered bird from noon to 5 p.m. on the lawn in front of Wurster Hall, UC Campus. cdbydesign@earthlink.net  

Grizzly Peak Flyfishers monthly meeting at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Community Center, 59 Arlington Ave. Bob Madgic will speak on fly fishing in the Eastern Sierra. 547-8629. 

East Bay Mac User Group with Stuart Gripman on FileMaker Pro 8 at 6 p.m. at Free Expression College for Digital Arts, 6601 Shellmound, Emeryville. http://ebmug.org 

“Asthema, Allergies and Adrenal Burnout” Learn about holistic remedies and eating right at 5:30 p.m. at Pharmaca, 1744 Soano Ave. 527-8929. 

World Affairs/Politics Group for people 60 years and older meets at 3:30 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Cost is $2.50, includes refreshments. 524-9122. 

Communication for Caregivers An ongoing free Berkeley Adult School class meets Thurs. at 1 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5170. 

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

ONGOING 

Election Officers Need for Nov. 8th. Must be registered to vote in Alameda County and have basic clerical skills. Training provided. For information call 272-6971.  

Find a Loving Animal Companion at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society Adoption Center (open from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday). 2700 Ninth St. 845-7735. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

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

CITY MEETINGS 

Youth Commission meets Mon., Oct. 10, at 6:30 p.m., at 1730 Oregon St. Philip Harper-Cotton, 981-6670. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/youth   

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

citycouncil/agenda-committee 

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Oct. 12, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/homeless 

Library Board of Trustees meets Wed. Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. at South Berkeley Senior Center., Jackie Y. Griffin, 981-6195. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/library 

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Oct. 12, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. Cliff Marchetti, 981-6740. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/waterfront 

Community Health Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 13, at 6:45 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Kristin Tehrani, 981-5356. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/health 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Oct. 13, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/zoning›

The Caltrans sign at the end of the back road out of the Best Buy electronics store parking lot in Emeryville gives an odd command: Left Turn Only. The odd part is that the sign sits in front of a two-way street, Hollis Street, where a right turn appears permissible. 

To the left of the Caltrans “Left Turn Only” sign is the East Bay Bridge Shopping Center and the gleaming condominiums and auto-packed streets that mark the entrance to Emeryville. To the right of the “Left Turn Only” sign is Oakland. 

The Oakland side is a community so much in transition it cannot be easily characterized. 

The neighborhood is evenly divided between small, well-painted, older Victorian houses where old black women still put out neat flower gardens—blocks that once housed Oakland’s thriving middle class African-American community—and gritty, dirty industrial buildings. A demolition contractor’s headquarters sits on one corner. A recycling center—featuring cash for aluminum cans—sits on another. 

Two churches—one a solid-built Baptist, the other a ramshackle put-up—sit a couple of doors down from the combination liquor store and check-cashing establishment. In front of the store, two black men sit on a concrete wall, drinking beer from cans barely hidden inside paper bags. Around the corner are two tiny, triangle-shaped parks where the homeless sleep and addicts come at night to shoot or snort their dope. 

Intermixed with all of this is the sign of the North Oakland-West Oakland coming gentrification: condominiums, newly painted, with “For Sale” signs on their fences. One of the rows of two-story condominiums shows the schizophrenia of the area: they are made of corrugated tin, purposely constructed to look like the side of an industrial building. 

This is Bordertown, the center of all the conflicting social and economic and racial trends blowing across the northwest section of Oakland where it intersects with Emeryville. In the middle, in the shadows under that part of the freeway where I80 splits east and west, Sacramento and San Francisco, sits the Bordertown skatepark. 

Earlier this year, Bordertown was a rogue squatters development on vacant Caltrans land where local skateboarders had built themselves an acre-wide skate park, complete with concrete ramps and metal framework. Last July, Caltrans officials discovered the illegal park while preparing plans for construction of a new freeway on-ramp, fenced off the property, and announced they were demolishing the park. But Bordertown quickly became a political issue after the skateboarders took their story to the local media, and Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente—both with tough election campaigns next year—jumped in to save it. Also intervening in negotiations with Caltrans were U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, State Senator Don Perata (D-Oakland), and State Assemblymembers Wilma Chan (D-Oakland) and Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley). 

Two signs posted on the locked gate entering the property late in the summer tell the end of the story. One, posted by Caltrans, reads: “State Property. No dumping. No parking. No trespassing.” Next to that is a second sign, signed by the “Bordertown Lifers,” which reads: “Attention: Keep out. Steps are being taken to legitimize Bordertown. If you want to help, be patient. Do not climb over the fence. The city is on our side and with your cooperation things will move faster. Trespassers are jeopardizing the life of Bordertown. So don’t blow it, go to Berkeley Skatepark.” 

Last week, both the patience and the political work paid off when Caltrans and the City of Oakland signed a lease agreement allowing Bordertown Skate Park to remain. 

Under the agreement, Oakland gets the use of several acres of land under the MacArthur Maze freeway for $100 for a period of two and a half years, with an option to renew for another two and a half. Oakland in turn will sublease the property to the Bordertown Skate Park nonprofit and will cover some of the use of the park with the city’s own liability insurance. For its part, the Bordertown nonprofit will have to purchase additional liability insurance, and will be able to expand the skate park’s area to 10,000 square feet. 

The sublease is expected to be finalized by Nov. 1, with the skateboard park reopening to skaters shortly after that. 

“I’m proud to be a part of this historic agreement,” Bordertown co-founder Tony Miorana told Bay City News. “It’s refreshing to see the City of Oakland help its community when we really need it. A skateboard park in Oakland has long been overdue.” 

Councilmember De La Fuente said, “it’s gratifying to see that the state and city could both compromise to reach a workable solution for the benefit of all parties. Oakland is a great city, with great people, and we’re proud to have been able to capture the creative energy of our local youth, and save something they took the initiative to create.” 

Caltrans District 4 Director Bijan Sartipi, in a statement, said, “although Caltrans does not condone illegal encroachment on state property, this is an example of our commitment to this partnership: working hard with our local agencies to find an innovative solution to a difficult problem.” 

›

What’s to be gained from converting the Ashby Avenue and Gilman Street corridors in West Berkeley from manufacturing and light industrial zones to commercial? 

If Mayor Tom Bates is right, a lot of new sales tax dollars for a cash-strapped city. 

But if the three knowledgeable critics who addressed a community meeting last Thursday are right, the move would also lead to: 

• Traffic congestion. 

• The elimination of well-paying blue collar jobs. 

• Higher rents for artists. 

• The loss of a vital mainstay of the city’s economy. 

More than 100 West Berkeley residents, city officials, two city councilmembers and an assortment of city commissioners thronged the West Berkeley Senior Center to attend a public forum presented by WeBAIC, the alliance of West Berkeley Artisans and Industrial Companies. 

The focus of the meeting was the three-member panel consisting of Neil Mayer, founder and former director of the city’s Department of Economic Development, Nathan Landau, a former Berkeley city planner and the lead author of the West Berkeley Plan, and Eugenie P. Thompson, a civil and traffic engineer. 

After a brief introduction by Mary Lou Van Deventer, Thompson led off with a presentation on the traffic impacts. 

With three decades of transportation planning experience—including Oakland International Airport and the Caldecott Tunnel—Thompson said commercialization of the two West Berkeley corridors would carry significant potential costs. 

She questioned city studies showing no significant impacts from the first major commercial development in the area, the Berkeley Bowl proposed for the corner of Ninth Street and Heinz Avenue near the intersection of Ashby and San Pablo avenues. 

Noting that a supermarket can be expected to generate 14 times more traffic than a light industrial use, Thompson noted that “city studies show no impacts from a 10,000-square-foot store. How is that possible?” 

Noting that San Pablo Avenue carries more traffic near the Ashby Avenue intersection than in Emeryvillle, she asked, “How can we put more traffic in Berkeley?” 

Expanding already crowded thoroughfares and building out freeway interchanges to handle extra traffic could pose formidable costs as well, she said. 

Mayer, who now runs his own consulting firm, said the 200 manufacturing, wholesale and warehouse operations in West Berkeley—along with a sizable number of artists and craftspeople—constitute a major source of economic diversity for the city. 

At just over one percent, Berkeley has the lowest industrial vacancy rate in the East Bay, and no lack of customers for existing vacancies, he said. 

“The West Berkeley Plan has been critical in maintaining a healthy industrial sector. From 1981 to 1991, when the city enacted zoning changes to protect existing industrial uses, West Berkeley lost 2,800 of 7,800 manufacturing jobs. From 1991 to 2001, jobs were stable,” he said. 

Some losses followed in the wake of the post-9/11 recession, almost all from the loss of one dotcom company, he said. 

Manufacturing also provides good jobs for blue-collar workers, paying double the wages of the retail sector. “Recent studies show that the best way for low-income workers to earn more is to change from commercial to manufacturing,” Mayer said. 

He also cautioned that “there is a question if there is a real demand for additional retail in West Berkeley. It could steal business from downtown and elsewhere in the community.”  

Mayer also warned that even the discussion of zoning changes has an impact on property values and rents. “It makes owners think they can change to higher rents, and it makes them look for such tenants.” 

Finally, he said, the existing West Berkeley Plan was created by a “very painstaking process, often on a parcel by parcel basis, balancing different kinds of uses . . . it was supported by all major sets of participants and approved unanimously by an otherwise very divided City Council.” 

Landau, who served as project manager of the West Berkeley Plan from 1989 to 1996 and now serves as a planner for AC Transit and is on the Berkeley Transportation Commission, warned that while “no plan should be sacred, they should be changed slowly, carefully and comprehensively. 

“I see no evidence of that now.” 

Observing that the plan was written to maintain a mixture of uses, “not a monoculture where higher-paying uses mow down the lower-paying,” he said the plan was specifically written to protect manufacturing from uses that command higher land prices. 

“We didn’t want more commercial districts to compete with downtown and San Pablo Avenue,” he said. “On San Pablo we were very concerned about traffic, especially around Gilman and Ashby, which were already congested 15 years ago. Emeryville wasn’t the model.” 

Landau said that to change the plan responsibly, the city “must understand why the plan did what it did and not simply wash it away. They must get deep into the data and not just rely on anecdotal evidence. 

“Get the data and not decide on the basis of prejudice” he said. “After that they can look at the goals and tradeoffs.” 

He also cautioned the city to “avoid trendiness in plans, noting that during the preparation of the current plan, the New York Times headlined an article, “In the Time of a Gold Rush, Berkeley Seeks Lead.” 

“Wouldn’t it have been a disaster if we’d followed the dotcom gold rush? I fear we’re in danger again of looking for a trendy land use.” 

Following the presentations, the meeting was thrown open for questions. 

After one neighbor of Pacific Steel complained of the odors, WeBAIC stalwart and woodworker John Curl said “The future of West Berkeley is intimately tied to the greening of the industry that’s already here. The more polluting industries need to leave. There are problems with Pacific Steel and probably elsewhere, and we need to lobby them to become cleaner.” 

“The number one polluter in West Berkeley is the freeway,” added Landau. 

Calvin Fong, aide to Mayor Bates, said his office was working on a health risk assessment of Pacific Steel. 

Asked by audience members to explain the origin of the proposed changes, Fong said the city council voted to add the item to the city budget plan with a request that the Planning Department incorporate it into their work plan. 

“The Planning Commission will take it up. There’s no set schedule yet when it will occur, and the staff may not begin to look into it until January or February,” he said. 

“The mayor has asked them to push it down lower on their list of priorities because there’s so much other work that needs to be done now. It will begin at the staff level, and recommendations will be made to the Planning Commission,” Fong said. 

After public hearings, the decision to adopt the changes will go to other commissions and ultimately to the city council,” he said. “There is no fixed time line.” 

Of the two West Berkeley councilmembers, only Darryl Moore—who sided with Bates on the council vote—was represented by aide Ryan Lau. Linda Maio, who voted against the mayor, was not represented. 

Councilmember (and acting mayor) Kriss Worthington, another no vote, was present and addressed the meeting. 

Noting that “every plan is violated in the City of Berkeley on a regular basis,” he asked whether opponents of the mayor’s proposal should be concentrating on the plan or on the zoning ordinance itself, the only legally binding power on the city’s actions. 

“Should we be fighting over the plan or focus on actually changing the ordinance? Or should we create a pressure group to put pressure on the mayor and city council to enforce the plans and laws we’ve already created? Or do we need to do all three, or something else altogether?” he asked. 

“The language of the plan is less important than the ordinance,” Mayer responded. “We have been using the language of the plan because, at least in theory, zoning should reflect the spirit of the plan.” He also said that “West Berkeley is one of the areas where a lot of the activity doesn’t follow the zoning already in place.” 

Landau said one of the reasons for the divergence between plan and zoning is the fact that Berkeley is a charter city and therefore granted more flexibility by law. A second reason, he said, is that the city devotes less staff and attention to zoning enforcement than it once did. 

Corliss Lesser, a West Berkeley painter, asked Worthington “how can we best lobby the city to protect the plan and still ensure revenues for the city?” 

“The answer is the ballot box,” said Worthington. “The vote that occurred to initiate a move to undermine the West Berkeley Plan was decided by one vote. Others felt that other priorities needed the city’s time and money. 

“In this process there are many different steps, and at each step of the way there is an opportunity to be heard. You can hold a press conference. You can organize a racially diverse group of West Berkeley people and call on the city to implement the West Berkeley Plan.” 

Then, with a smile, he added. “That’s just an idea.” 

Among the other city officials at the meeting were Planning Commissioner Helen Burke, Civic Arts Commission Vice-Chair and Design Review Committee member David Snippen, Civic Arts Chair Jos Sances, and Landmarks Preservation Commissioner Fran Packard. 

?

The eight remaining tenants of an illegal West Berkeley live-work warehouse have agreed to vacate their homes by the end of the month in return for approximately $10,000 and six months free rent dating back to April. 

The deal reached last week between the tenants and property owner Lawrence White ends a seven-month standoff at the East Bay Drayage. 

White said by telephone Monday that he still had a deal to sell the property for $2.7 million to a developer who will replace the warehouse on the corner of Addison and Third streets with housing and possibly ground floor retail. White said the buyer has requested his identity be kept secret until the title changes hands in December. 

Last March, after White’s deal to sell the property to developer Ali Kashani for $2.05 million fell through, a fire inspection at the Drayage uncovered more than 200 health and safety code violations. 

When the city ordered White to evacuate the building in April, many of the two dozen residents, most of whom were artisans, refused to leave. The standoff drew attention to the dwindling amount of artist space available in West Berkeley as rents and land values continue to rise. 

White also said Monday that he planned to contest the nearly $400,000 in fines the city has levied on him since April 15 for failing to evacuate the building.  

Deputy Fire Chief David Orth said Berkeley would decide this week whether to seek payment of the fines in light of the settlement. He added that the city might also chose to keep fining White $2,500 a day until the building is evacuated on Oct. 31. 

Commenting on the agreement with tenants, White said, “I’m delighted that it’s finally over and everybody’s happy with it.” 

The eight remaining tenants voted to accept the deal last week after an all-day negotiating session. Had no deal been reached, White could have filed eviction notices on Oct. 8. The tenants had planned to contest the evictions and legal proceedings were expected to last into 2006 with city fines continuing to accumulate. 

The $10,000 settlement applies only to the eight remaining tenants at the Drayage. Tenants who left earlier made separate deals with White. Settlements varied with one short-term tenant accepting $6,000 and another settling for $800, according to Maresa Danielsen, a tenant.  

Jeffrey Ruiz, who lived and built furniture at the Drayage for 11 years, said that a $10,000 pay out coupled with not having to pay rent from last April through October was enough for him to stop fighting to save the Drayage as space for artisans. 

During the early months of the standoff, tenants worked with the Northern California Land Trust on its announced intention to buy the property and build affordable live-work units for the tenants to purchase, which didn’t happen. 

“Once the land trust deal fell though I didn’t feel like I had it in me to fight for this place,” said Danielsen, who has lived at the Drayage for eight years. 

“I’m still super-pissed at the city for giving us no support,” she added. “What the city wants to do is rezone West Berkeley and have as much yuppie housing as possible.” 

Danielsen said city officials didn’t do enough to pressure White into accepting a deal with the land trust. Land Trust Executive Director Ian Winters said the non-profit development group offered White $2.5 million for the property, while White countered that he never received any official offer from the land trust. 

Berkeley Community Services Liaison Michael Caplan said the city had few options other than fines to pressure White. “Private property transfers are really beyond the purview of the city,” he said, adding that the episode has forced Berkeley to explore policies to keep artists in West Berkeley. 

“We need to get our heads together on policies that will protect live-work spaces for our artists and craftsmen,” said Councilmember Darryl Moore, who represents the West Berkeley district that includes the Drayage. Moore said he might propose establishing enterprise zones in West Berkeley giving developers incentives like tax breaks to build affordable live-work spaces. 

White bought the warehouse for $1.8 million in 1997. Despite his pending deal to sell it for $2.7 million, he said that the cost of this year’s battle with the city and tenants means that he will lose money on the property. 

In the years since White bought the Drayage, West Berkeley has been home to several new housing developments. Opponents of the developments fear that more housing and retail will drive up land costs and force out industrial and artisan jobs that have been centered in West Berkeley. One block east of the Drayage, a new condominium and retail development is planned for the site where Celia’s Mexican Restaurant and Brennan’s have long stood. 

Danielsen said that while she has found a new home in West Berkeley, many other Drayage tenants have moved to Oakland. Ruiz is moving his furniture making business 84 miles north to Clearlake, Danielsen said. 

“The saddest thing is that after all this, West Berkeley has lost one of its coolest things,” she added. “It sucks all around.”›

Former Congressmember Ron Dellums has extended for a week his deadline for announcing whether he will run for the office of mayor of Oakland in 2006. 

Oakland educator Kitty Kelly Epstein, one of the leaders of a petition campaign to convince Dellums to run, said this week that Dellums will be in Oakland on Friday to hold what he is calling a “discussion” with the press and the public on his mayoral plans. 

Several candidates have announced their intention to run to succeed Mayor Jerry Brown, who cannot run for re-election because of term limits. Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, Oakland City Councilmember Nancy Nadel, Alameda County Treasurer Don White, and Oakland Unified School District Advisory Board members Dan Siegel and Greg Hodge have all said they will run for mayor. Hodge has indicated that he would drop out in favor of Dellums if Dellums decides to run. 

Regardless of who runs—or wins—the challenges facing the next Oakland mayor will be formidable after eight years of Jerry Brown. Below are listed three of the most prominent. 

Strong Mayor 

In the 1998 vote that first elected Brown, Oakland voters also passed Measure X, which granted Brown so-called “strong mayor” powers. Before Brown, Oakland’s mayor was little more than the most prominent member of the City Council, serving as the council president, with no powers of hiring and firing. This is the same form of government presently in place in Berkeley. 

Oakland Measure X—slightly modified by Oakland voters under Measure P in March of 2004—took away the Mayor’s City Council responsibilities except to vote in case of a tie. It also gave the Oakland mayor veto power over council legislation, the power to hire and fire the city manager, and ultimate supervisorial powers over city employees. 

But critics of Brown say that although the mayor fought hard to gain the “strong mayor” powers, he has left them largely unused during his time in office. His most prominent actions were the firing of City Manager Robert Bobb in 2003, and the hiring of the new Oakland chief of police earlier this year. They have also charged that Brown has paid less attention to his Oakland duties now that he is running for the 2006 Democratic Party nomination for California attorney general. 

The first task of the new mayor, therefore, will be to fully assume the “strong mayor” powers that most Oakland residents have not seen applied in their lifetimes. 

Police Issues 

Oakland’s new mayor will have to struggle to build a consensus over the city’s beleaguered police department. 

Violent crime is still an enormous problem in the city, with homicides projected to be in the 80s for the second year in a row (after several years of more than 100 murders), muggings and armed robberies holding naggingly steady, and many open air drug markets operating seemingly with impunity. 

But while many Oakland residents welcome the police and want more of them on the streets enforcing the law, large numbers of Oakland citizens consider the police department to be in serious need of reform. That contradiction may have reached its peak in 2002, when Oakland voters approved Mayor Brown’s plan to hire 100 more police, but then defeated companion proposals to pay for them. Last year, Oakland voters approved a compromise plan to both hire extra police officers but to fund violence prevention programs as well. 

Brown will hand over a plateful of legal problems related to the police when he vacates his office within a year. The city is still operating under a federal court consent decree after a 2003 police misconduct settlement—the so-called “Riders civil case.” 

That consent decree resulted from charges by more than 100 Oakland residents that Oakland police conducted a campaign of kidnapping and beating citizens, planting false evidence, and lying on police reports and on the witness stand. Monitors appointed by the federal court continue to report back to the court on Oakland’s progress in eliminating those problems. 

In one of their reports, the federal monitors criticized Oakland police for conducting strip searches of subjects on city streets, exposing suspects’ genitals and buttocks in the public while searching for possible hidden drugs. Late last month, three Oakland residents filed a class action suit in federal court, saying that Oakland police had conducted such a public strip search on them. 

In addition, the Oakland Police Department is facing an investigation by the Alameda County Grand Jury of allegations of abuses of overtime. 

The new mayor’s challenge will be to rebuild full public confidence in the police department through reforms. To accomplish those reforms, the new mayor must either come to an accommodation with the powerful Oakland Police Officers Association union—or else break it. 

Downtown Development 

For years this has been the Holy Grail of Oakland mayors, the rebuilding of the once-vibrant downtown that went downhill during the era of mall-building in the communities surrounding Oakland. 

When he first ran for mayor in 1998, Jerry Brown promised a downtown retail revival by building scores of new residential neighborhoods in the downtown area, filled with mostly upscale-income citizens. This was the so-called 10K Plan, and earlier this year, Brown announced on his blog that it was “85 percent complete.” 

But while many new residents have moved into the downtown area, the promised retail component has not surfaced. And so instead of retail following automatically behind residents, as Brown implied, the city is once more trying to coax retail into the downtown area. 

That old policy was reiterated by City Council President De La Fuente recently when he said that “Mayor Brown has done a very good job of nearly fulfilling the goal of 10,000 (residents) downtown, so our next challenge should be to bring retail back downtown.” 

Brown tried to meet that challenge through the heavily subsidized Forest City development in the Telegraph Avenue-San Pablo Avenue area near the Fox Oakland and Paramount theaters. One of the challenges facing the new mayor will be to decide if the Forest City development is important enough that the subsidies should continue, or if a new retail downtown development plan should be built from scratch.

Berkeley physician and inventor Kenneth Matsumura wants to terminate the Terminator, and if preliminary results are any indicator, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may face a recall vote in next June’s general election. 

“This man has to be stopped. He’s using California as a movie set, rampaging around and tearing things up,” said the physician. 

Matsumura, whose inventions include the first-ever artificial liver, says he’s received an overwhelmingly positive response to his recall proposal. 

“It seemed a daunting task, but then I realized we could do it if 35,000 volunteers gathered 40 signatures apiece. We have thousands of volunteers already, and we haven’t even put together a staff yet,” he said. “People are pouring in donations, and there’s lots of camaraderie.” 

Matsumura said the idea for a recall has been in the air for some time, but it was talks with some of his poorer patients that inspired him to transform thought into action. 

“Hospitals and healthcare facilities that care for the poor are on the verge of closing because the governor refuses to raise taxes,” he said. “When it comes to health care for the poor, every time we take one step forward, we have to watch Schwarzenegger take four steps backward.” 

Similarly, he cited Schwarzenegger’s broken electoral promise to preserve the state education budget. 

To take his dream to the ballot box, Matsumura said he’ll need to gather 1,040,00 signatures—15 percent of the turnout in the last general election. 

“Living and working in Berkeley and Oakland, you often hear people talking about the problems the governor is causing and you hear people asking why doesn’t someone start a recall. I said and thought the same things. But it was talking to my patients who are poor that got me to think, maybe this is a better use of my time.” 

A product of the 60s, Matsumura said he had been inspired by the rise of the student movement in Berkeley, and by President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural call to “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” 

“I see that same idealism and enthusiasm in the people who have been contacting me,” he said. 

Matsumura’s campaign has drawn international attention, landed him on the front pages and given him considerable exposure on the electronic media. 

Last week he was hustled for a Los Angeles radio appearance on what he later discovered was an archconservative’s radio talk show. To his great delight, the show produced a mass of hits on his web site, www.recall2006.com (also found at www.savecalnow.com). 

To land the measure on the ballot, Matsumura first needs 100 signatures on a preliminary petition verifiable by the Secretary of State—who must also approve the language that will appear on the larger petition drive and on the June ballot. 

If all goes as planned, Schwarzenegger would be recalled in June, giving the legislature time to pass measures previously vetoed by the governor before a new legislature is elected in the fall. Matsumura said he’s shooting for the general election, rather than a costly special election. 

“I don’t think we’ll have trouble getting the signatures,” he said. “I would think we’d get most of them in San Francisco and the East Bay. But we’ve already got volunteers in places like Los Angeles, Stockton and San Diego. I even got a donation from Dallas!” 

Today (Tuesday) he’ll be a guest on Air America, the liberal radio talk network, and more interviews are on the way. 

The momentum seems to be on Matsumura’s side. 

“It’s been an incredible week,” he said, “and I’m glad we’re doing it.”

A former UC Berkeley employee has sued the university charging, that she was laid off for criticizing her department head for awarding fellowships based on political favoritism rather than merit. 

In a complaint filed Sept. 15 in Alameda County Superior Court, Karen Schermerhorn, a former student affairs officer in the Department of Material Science and Engineering, alleged that department Chair Fiona Doyle restricted access to fellowships and “manipulated the [fellowship] competition to the benefit of her own research group.”  

Schermerhorn, who started working for UC Berkeley in 1975 and had served for more than three years as the department’s student affairs officer, was laid off in May 2004 as what she said her supervisors represented as a cost-saving measure. 

She is seeking more than $200,000 in damages. 

“She feels like it was completely retaliatory for her complaints over the fellowships,” said Schermerhorn’s attorney Shelley Buchanan of San Francisco. Schermerhorn has been working “a low-level retail job” since being laid off, Buchanan added. 

Besides UC Berkeley, the complaint also lists the UC Board of Regents and university employees Wanda Capece, Janice Zeppa, Rosemary Leb and Doyle as defendants. 

Doyle, who has since been promoted to executive associate dean for academic affairs at UC Berkeley, did not return phone calls for this story. 

Campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore said UC officials had investigated Schermerhorn’s claims about the fellowships and her layoff and “found no indication of wrongdoing in either matter.” 

In the complaint, Schermerhorn alleges that she repeatedly complained about Doyle’s handling of the Jane Lewis Fellowship Fund and the Dimitri Vedensky Fund. 

Schermerhorn alleges that in the 2003-04 academic year, Doyle failed to advertise the competition for the Jane Lewis Fellowship. Instead, according to the complaint, Doyle used her position as chair of the fellowship committee to give fellowships only to students she invited to apply. 

Schermerhorn charges that Doyle allowed a professor to select students from his nanotechnology project to apply for the fellowship, while no other students working in the same field were given an opportunity to compete. 

“This rendered the ‘competition’ a non-competition in reality,” according to the complaint. 

Schermerhorn also alleges that Doyle manipulated the competition that year so that two of the four fellowships awarded to graduate students in the department were members of Doyle’s own research group. 

One of the students, according to the complaint, was Hongyuan Duan, who was awarded a fellowship without transcripts or letters of recommendation. 

Graduate students were awarded $415,000 from the Jane Lewis Fellowship Fund in 2004-05, according to Buchanan. 

Schermerhorn also alleges in the complaint that Doyle unilaterally changed requirements for the Vedensky Fund to help junior faculty at the expense of graduate students. 

On May 27, 2004, Doyle alerted Schermerhorn that she had been laid off “due to budget cuts and demanded that she leave the premises immediately.” 

Along with the complaint, Schermerhorn has forwarded to the court over 30 letters of support from graduate students and department faculty. 

Professor Anderas Glaeser e-mailed the department, calling the execution of the layoff “a disgrace” and added that the layoff would negatively impact “graduate student recruiting, graduate admissions, graduate student morale and retention and future support for the department from our current and former graduate students.” 

As student services officer, Schermerhorn processed applications and administered fellowships for the department’s graduate students. 

Gilmore said the university review found that the department had a legitimate basis for cutting Schemerhorn’s position to deal with funding cuts.

A Bay Area Air Quality Management District monitor, responding to four complaints of bad air wafting from Pacific Steel Castings, was robbed at gunpoint outside the plant’s West Berkeley headquarters at 1 a.m. Friday. 

Following the mugging, the air district’s Director of Enforcement Kelly Wee alerted city officials by e-mail that it would no longer respond to air pollution complaints at Pacific Steel Castings “until we can re-evaluate the safety for our staff at night.” 

West Berkeley residents had been pressuring the air district to send monitors late at night to Pacific Steel Castings, which it blames for producing a burnt rubber smell in the neighborhood that is often most pungent at night. 

Since March the air district has issued the company three notices of violations for producing foul-smelling air. Later this year, Berkeley and Pacific Steel are scheduled to begin studies to locate the exact source of the odor emanating from the plant at 1333 Second St. 

Councilmember Linda Maio, who represents the neighborhood, said she was working to provide a police escort for air monitors responding to late night complaints around Pacific Steel. 

“We need to make sure that the air district can come when the smell is evident,” she said. 

According to Wee, Supervising Inspector Ron Pilkington parked his car on the side of Gilman Street and Sixth Street early Friday morning when a man smashed his car window and pressed a gun in his face.  

“The robbers were armed and instructed him to turn over his money and keys or they would ‘shoot you in the face,’” Wee wrote.  

Pilkington complied and after walking away from the car found someone with a cell phone who called the police, according to Wee.  

Police spokesperson, Officer Joe Okies said police are searching for two men in connection with the robbery. He added that the information at his disposal did not indicate that the robbers made off with Pilkington’s car. 

t

An article in the Sept. 30 issue on the 35th anniversary of The Monthly mistakenly reported that Fred Cody wrote exposés on milk, meat and sugar diets. Tom Klaber was the author of those articles on the meat, dairy, sugar and cancer industries in The Monthly throughout the ‘70s. 

The Sept. 16 review of Aurora Theatre Company’s production of The Price gave an incorrect name for the actor who plays the character of Walter. The role is played by Michael Santo.e

To view Justin DeFreitas’ latest editorial cartoon, please visit www.jfdefreitas.com To search for previous cartoons by date of publication, click on the Daily Planet Archive.

LORIN DISTRICT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As homeowners nearby on Woolsey Street for the past seven years, my family has seen the Lorin District neighborhood go through some changes, mostly for the better. We’ve heard many stories from our older neighbors about what this area used to be like in years long past (before BART), when many small local businesses made for a thriving and vibrant neighborhood, and we’ve been happy to see that some brave souls have come in to help bring that back. 

We’ve been especially heartened by the additions of the fabulous Ashby Stage and Sweet Adeline’s Bakeshop—and kudos to Spud’s Pizza for bringing live music to the neighborhood—and we would love to see even more neighborhood friendly businesses come in. 

It seems that the closure of yet another corner liquor store could be an opportunity for just such a business. Our neighborhood still doesn’t have a real coffee house, and some neighbors have suggested an ice cream parlor, as well. We’ve seen what Caffé Trieste has done for the corner of San Pablo and Dwight—why not something like it on the corner of MLK and Ashby? The location seems to have plenty going for it, with the BART station and Ashby Stage right across the way. It seems obvious that this would be a good thing for the neighborhood. Clearly the last thing we need is another liquor store. 

I don’t know how much revenue a funky corner liquor store generates, but it seems to me that a good café would cater to far more people, both local and visiting from other neighborhoods, not to mention the fact that it would mean one less place selling malt liquor and cigarettes. 

Suzanne Drexhage 

• 

ELMWOOD SOCIALISM 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I generally don’t like labels, but what do you call the Elmwood business quotas, if not socialist? Anyone proposing such restrictions in 21st Century Hungary, Poland or the Czech Republic would be laughed out of town. 

Tom Case 

• 

EQUALITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I find myself thinking that for 2005, we as a country, and we a state (albeit a “blue” one), are surprisingly backwards. 

Where shall I begin? I could start with George Bush’s attack on education with No Child Left Behind. I could continue by discussing our lack of commitment to something as basic as health care, so basic that every other industrialized nation insures its citizens, all of them, while we settle for leaving 45 million uninsured (Malcolm Gladwell tackled this subject in the Aug. 29 New Yorker). And I could end with the most recent affront to my sensibilities, Gov. Schwarzenegger’s veto of AB849, the gay marriage bill. 

Compared to education and health care, perhaps this bill appears insignificant, paltry. Compared to 45 million uninsured Americans, and 70.3 million American students, 4.3 million gay, lesbian, or bisexual Americans (according to 2000 U.S. Census data) may seem like a small number. 

Yet this is where I become upset. Irate. So many have fought so hard for equal rights: to abolish slavery, to give women the right to vote. In 1868 U.S. citizens decided that it would be unlawful to take rights away from other citizens. (Amendment XIV, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution reads, “… No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges … of citizens of the United States.”). 1868. On Sept. 29, Gov. Schwarzenegger did just that. 

I have just two more questions, When did we stop believing in equality? When did we stop fighting? 

Nedra Rauschenberg 

• 

BERKELEY HONDA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In reply to Barry Strock’s Sept. 30 letter to the editor, the union is paying people to stand outside of Berkeley Honda because they are on strike, for heaven’s sake. That’s what union dues are for, to fund strikes. So yes, people are being paid to maintain the strike.  

And yes, the union doesn’t want anyone to patronize that dealership while the new owners bust the union! Is that shocking? 

Not to me, but here’s what I do find shocking: that Berkeley Honda refuses to see that it’s not just the union they are fighting, but the whole community. Berkeley citizens don’t like union busting and they are backing the strikers. I don’t think management factored that little problem into their business model. 

Judy Shelton 

• 

HONKING DRIVERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am so sick of listening to horns being honked by drivers who sympathize with the strikers. It is really annoying to have to listen to it for hours. I live over three blocks away—it must be even worse for people who live or work closer. If these strikers had any consideration for anyone other than themselves, they would stop urging drivers to honk all day long. 

Mary Kazmer 

• 

SHIREK POST OFFICE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thank you, Rep. King, for vetoing a stupid bill to honor an old CPUSA fellow traveler hack. They are a dime a dozen around here, and have not a new thought in 50 years. They apologized for every Communist regime and excused the hundreds of millions of Communist caused deaths. They are an aging pack of old farts who speak to an ever-dwindling audience. Except for the workplace drug testing, all the items listed on your agenda sound good to me. 

Joseph McCarthy was far more right than wrong as Arthur Herman’s book proved in copious detail. You will receive nasty letters inspired by Becky O’Malley, another aging Berzerkeley hack. Put them in the circular file. Contrary to the dead wrong conventional unwisdom, these desiccated lefty fossils do not speak for everyone in Berkeley and Oakland.  

My Aunt Eileen lives in Missouri Valley and I will tell her to support you if she doesn’t already. Keep up your great work ! 

Michael Hardesty 

Oakland 

• 

ENDANGERED SPECIES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was shocked to read that the House of Representatives voted to gut the Endangered Species Act, our nation’s safety net for fish, wildlife, and plants. But I was outraged when I found out that, on this very close vote, Rep. Barbara Lee didn’t even show up, even though she was actively participating on votes early in the week on renaming a Berkeley post office.  

This was probably the most important vote on environmental issues thus far in Rep. Lee’s congressional career, and if congressional representatives from the Bay Area cannot be counted on to show up, advocate, and vote on our behalf it’s no wonder developers and the politicians and they give money to are able to rewrite our basic environmental safeguards.  

Brent Plater 

Oakland 

• 

FLYING COTTAGE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The comment in your story on 3045 Shattuck (“Flying Cottage Wins Permit from ZAB,” Sept. 27) that ZAB’s decision “essentially gives Sun the go-ahead to complete the building” is somewhat misleading. 

Sun’s original goal was to maximize her rental income as cheaply as possible. The plans mistakenly approved by staff in 2002 were for a hideous three-story plywood box with the remains of a bungalow in one corner and bizarrely placed windows and doors. In that scheme, the top two floors were to be a 10-bedroom rooming house designed for easy, illegal conversion into two flats. 

What ZAB approved is a much more expensive, much better looking building. The approved design has a normal shape, with some of the bulk cut away at the corners and a porch similar to those of adjacent houses. The quality of the materials is higher, with wooden rather than metal doors and windows, and wood siding rather than cement shingles. The rooming house has been split into two three-bedroom, two-bath flats, each with private washer-dryer and a parking space. 

On the downside, the building still looms over its immediate neighbors. The permit was also issued illegally, since the van-accessible handicapped parking space required for the commercial space has not been provided, the off-street parking spaces for the apartments have been located in the required rear yard without the required use permits, and the required public hearing on these matters was never held, violating neighbors’ due-process right to a meaningful opportunity to be heard. Unfortunately, if we appealed on those grounds and won, ZAB could simply waive one or both parking spaces for the apartments to make room for the handicapped space. 

So we neighbors won only a partial victory in our fight with one developer over one building. On the bright side, we won the fight with planning staff over design review standards. The Design Review Committee and ZAB made it abundantly clear that if a building will be significantly higher than its neighbors, it also has to be attractive and high-quality. 

It looks like we will also win at the Planning Commission. To resolve some conflicts in the zoning code that came to light as a result of the fight over 3045 Shattuck, staff asked the PC to amend the code to allow parking in required yards by right. That would mean all Berkeley property owners would be free to pave their rear-yard open space and park there, no public hearing required, nothing neighbors could do to stop them, no right of appeal. From what I heard at last Wednesday’s hearing, none of the commissioners liked the idea. It looks like instead they will allow parking in required yards only with an administrative use permit, which means notice to neighbors and the ability to appeal to the ZAB. 

The one remaining task is to amend the zoning code to close the various loopholes that allowed 3045 Shattuck to be approved with the above-noted shortcomings and without a public hearing. I will soon send a list of proposed changes to the City Council and Planning Commission, and hope they will act on them promptly. 

Robert Lauriston 

• 

FATHERS AND SONS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A recent letter from “Ace Backwords,” taking issue with Mr. Allen-Taylor’s dismissal of the importance Ignacio De La Fuente’s son’s arrest, was quite distressing. There are two major things wrong with his rebuttal. (By the way, I must say up front that if you are the same Ace Backwords I’m thinking of, up to now I counted myself as a fan of your incisive political cartooning. Now I’m not so sure.) 

The first is a breathtaking ignorance of basic legal principle: Backwords thinks De La Fuente shouldn’t run because his son was arrested for rape. He goes on to say that he (De La Fuente Jr.) “kidnapped a teenaged girl right off the street, raped her and beat her ...” 

How does he know this? Was he there? Hello! Does the phrase “innocent until proven guilty” ring a bell somewhere in there? Remember, he’s been charged with these crimes, not convicted of them. 

Secondly, this diatribe is illustrative of an unfortunately common practice among lefties and so-called “progressives” toward those they do not like: pick up the nearest brush and tar them with it. I’m pretty sure that Ace Backwords counts himself among those who support Mumia Abu Jamal and believe him to be innocent, even though he’s been convicted of (not merely charged with) a major crime. How does this square with the local situation, where the man’s son has only been charged? (By the way, I consider myself agnostic on the subject of Mumia’s guilt or innocence, since I’m not privy to any of the court proceedings, but do believe that he should get a new, fair trial.) 

By Backwords’ reasoning, Ron Dellums should immediately tell his supporters that he won’t run for mayor. After all, his case trumps De La Fuente’s: his son was convicted of murder and is serving time for it. (Don’t worry, though: Dellum’s opponents are sure to wave this large stinking red-colored fish during the campaign should he run.) 

I should say that I don’t like De La Fuente and see him as a dangerous demagogue, probably worse than our present mayor. (Witness his participation in the mob that would have practically lynched the released sex offender had they been allowed.) But opposing him the way you do is unprincipled and simply invites similar attacks on candidates you might like to support, like, say, Ron Dellums. As I said, this practice is far too often seen on the left, and shows a glaring double standard: one rule for candidates you like, another for those you don’t. This is the very definition of unprincipled. Aren’t you a vehement advocate of presumed innocence, say for the thousands of Near Easterners swept up by the “War on Terror”? (I am.) Remember what they say about sauce, geese and ganders. 

If you don’t like Ignacio De La Fuente, as I don’t, then why don’t you just say so? Oppose him on relevant issues, of which there are plenty. Children, after all, are free agents, not robots programmed by their parents (well, usually), so blaming the father for the sins of the son is unfair. 

David Nebenzahl 

North Oakland 

• 

SKATE PARK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am a 20-year-old bike rider who works in Berkeley and lives in Albany. Berkeley’s skate park is about 10 minutes from my house, which is awesome. The weather is great right now and it’s been nice getting some sessions in before the rain hits and the city closes down the park for the winter. I ride the park about two or three times a week, or whenever I get the chance, all while avoiding cops and the ill-mannered security guards that patrol the park on a daily basis.  

My bicycle makes me a criminal in that park. Skater kids are taught to hate biker kids and this is all created and supported by the City of Berkeley! Bikes are not allowed in this park. There are no reasons for this, just lazy uneducated politics. This park is a gift from a city that preaches tolerance, equality, compassion. A city that destroys the spirit of young children who simply want to enjoy the park like any other person on boards and blades. A city that is segregating black from white!  

I will continue to ride this park for as long as I live in the area. Nothing will change that—not cops, not tickets, not jail, not an ass-beating—nothing. I ride for the love of my sport, just like skaters. The city uses us as a way to get more money and that’s not fair. Ticket the rich for being rich in a poor area but leave the skaters and bikers alone! 

Chris San Agustin 

• 

HOLLIS ARREST 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is extremely gratifying that the Fresno police arrested Christopher Lester Hollis. I had been checking in Bay Area newspapers weekly since the July 17 shooting death of Meleia Willis-Starbuck, hoping to read that Hollis, a close friend of the slain woman, was in custody.  

Willis-Starbuck, 19, graduated from Berkeley High School in 2003, and was about to return to Dartmouth College for her junior year when she was killed late at night outside her summer residence near the corner of Dwight Way and College Avenue in Berkeley.  

Lt. Randy Dobbins of the Fresno Police Department said the arrest came 12 hours after Hollis, the close friend of the slain Berkeley High School graduate, was first detained following a traffic stop. On the morning of the arrest, investigators discovered that Hollis’ companion in the car during the traffic stop, a woman on probation for a felony, had just made a call from the telephone in her apartment. An inquiry matched the number to an address in a nearby apartment complex. Officers went there and arrested Hollis.  

Immediately following Hollis’ arrest, I discussed the case at length with the students in my writing class here at Kyung Hee University in South Korea. 

Richard Thompson 

Visiting Professor, Kyung Hee University 

• 

LA FARINE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

So ... Zelda Bronstein is one of the culprits who was holding up the La Farine opening for so long (“Support Locally Owned Berkeley Retail (While You Can),” Sept. 27)! Or so it seems from her column. With her description of the City Council “cavalierly” dismissing “three Thousand Oaks residents’ appeal of La Farine’s restaurant use permit,” you would think that this was a case of David losing out to Goliath. In truth, the petitions in favor of La Farine’s new location on Solano, which could be found at another locally owned business, Pegasus, filled quickly with signatures in favor of the only bakery now on Solano. In fact, if eight of the 20 food establishments on Solano in Berkeley that Ms. Bronstein asserts are illegal were to be forced out, you would have more than petitions at play.  

While we are all in favor of local businesses (Cody’s, Pegasus, Black Oak, etc. not Amazon) let’s pick our fights wisely. I, for one, would vote for a good liquor store on Solano. They all seem to have migrated to the south side of town!  

Chris Gilbert 

• 

SWIM PROGRAM 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The children and parents at King Middle School are very disappointed that the fall swim program has been canceled. We hope the city and BUSD will consider extending the time for fall swim to accommodate the three-week lag in hiring lifeguards to staff the program, and that they will ensure nine weeks of swimming in the spring to serve the other two grades.  

Otherwise, this eighth grade class will be the first class to graduate from King without ever having used the pool. It is a shame to lose a long-standing, successful, and well-loved program that is of great benefit to all the children. Swimming is one of the few forms of exercise that can be pursued throughout adulthood and senior years. It is fun at any level, repairs stressed joints and muscles, mental distress, and enhances learning. 

We are equally concerned that the swim program recommence at Willard School. 

Gael Alcock,  

writing on behalf of 23 King Middle School parents 

• 

DON’T BLAME THE BOX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It amazes me that some people will allow the University of California to destroy perfectly good, clean, useable clothing and allow landmarked People’s Park to be robbed of an historic tradition on the grounds that somebody might run off with some clothing and try to sell it, or that an argument might take place over who should have it.  

The months the park has been without a freebox prove that its absence has not stopped arguments between people, or drug dealing, or entrepreneurial capitalism, for that matter. I was there last week watching people attempting to drop off clothing get threatened with tickets, while drug dealing went on three feet from where I was locking my bicycle with no interference at all from the police or the park staff. 

If the university really wanted to address these issues it has plenty of opportunities to do so instead of arresting people like me for singing songs. But don’t blame the freebox or the simple tradition of free exchange for the behavior of a few. The freebox tradition is not just for the poor, it is for all of us who enjoy a different color sweater now and then or have something taking up closet space that doesn’t fit.  

The destruction of useable clothing is an outrage. I’m a UC alumna, but will refuse to contribute a dime until I see some sensible manifestation of this supposed “era of cooperation.” 

Carol Denney 

• 

WILDLIFE HABITAT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Humans own the entire Earth, right? So what could possibly be wrong with flooding yet more of our scanty remaining wildlife habitat with more humans? What could be wrong is that we are 100 percent dependent on the existence of other species. They clean our air, clean our water, “fix” nitrogen (make it available to living things), and provide food, medicines, pleasure, and countless other free services. That implies that we must allow them to have a place to live, where they can survive in perpetuity—habitat that is acceptable to them. That is habitat that is off-limits to humans. Most species don’t like having us around, and, considering our track record, with good reason! We have plenty of places to experience the pleasures of being in nature, without opening up our protected watersheds to more human access. 

Mike Vandeman, Ph.D. 

Hayward 

• 

RESPONSE TO 

JOHN GERTZ 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Mr. Gertz, former president of the Jewish community center, has spent much invective and slander in his latest stew of misinformation and babble published last issue. He has painted critics of the actions of Israel as lacking intelligence and reasoned principles. He has also simplified a wide variety of opinions to two or three bad ideas. So in the interest of showing one of the many ways a Jew may look at the Israel/Palestine conflict without falling into the categories defined by Gertz I offer the following:  

I believe: That there could be a Palestine and an Israel or a single country with both peoples at peace. That peace is the only option if humans are to survive into the future. That justice is a necessity if humans are to thrive into the future. 

I don’t believe: That Israel can or should be defended at all cost, though I would like it to continue to exist. That the Palestinian people are being treated with anything like justice. That Jews cannot be fascists. That a theocracy can be a democracy. 

Harry Wiener 

?

There’s a strike at Berkeley Honda. The owners of the business have raised big bucks for Cal. Is UC siding with the dealership to the extent of bending or breaking campus rules about free speech and free alcohol? Based on what I observed on campus last Saturday afternoon, the answer appears to be yes.  

Along with other members of the Berkeley Honda Labor and Community Coalition, I’d gone up to Kleeberger Field, just north of Memorial Stadium, where the Cal football team would shortly kick off its game with the University of Arizona. The Berkeley Honda website said that the business would be hosting “a free tailgate party in the North end zone.” It seemed like a good opportunity to educate the public about the strike.  

We wanted to let people know that when the Doten family sold the Honda dealership on Shattuck to Danville businessmen last June, the new owners immediately required all employees, most of whom were union members, to reapply for their jobs. In the service and repair department, the new owners declined to rehire many experienced and unionized older workers, who averaged 20 years of tenure. They replaced these veteran employees with recent technical school students and graduates. As our flier put it: “Lower Wages But Not Lower Prices.” 

The new owners have also degraded pension benefits and unilaterally changed the health insurance plan. Instead of bargaining in good faith with the unions, East Bay Automotive Machinists Lodge Local 1546 and Teamsters Local 78, management is continually delaying negotiations. Former Berkeley Honda employees are picketing on Shattuck Avenue outside the dealership, often accompanied by community supporters and a 12-foot-high inflatable rat.  

Mindful of the parking jam on game days, we decided to shuttle people up the hill. After dropping off a carload, I (miraculously) found a parking space on Regent Street just south of Dwight Way and then walked back to Kleeberger Field.  

When I arrived at the Berkeley Honda booth, the dealership manager, Tim Lubeck, was offering free hot dogs, chips, beer and wine to everyone who walked by. A few feet away, four of my colleagues were in dialogue with four campus police officers. I later learned from another member of the Labor and Community Coalition, Mary Courtney, that Lubeck, told her that he had called the police. Dolores Helman, also in the coalition, told me why.  

Beinke, she said, had come out in front of the booth and accused her of lying about the strike. “Get out of my face,” he said and grabbed the fliers she was holding. “You give me back those fliers, and I’ll get out of your face,” she replied. “Those are mine. We paid for them.”  

According to Helman, Beinke refused to return the fliers. So Helman and Coalition member Judy Shelton went down to Gayley Road and told a campus policeman there what had happened. “He did that?!” said the officer, seemingly surprised. Thinking that the officer had called other police to help them, Helman and Shelton returned to the tailgate party. When they got there, more campus police had indeed arrived—but to aid Berkeley Honda, not them.  

At first, the police said that coalition members had to leave because the dealership had a permit, and they didn’t. About then, I came onto the scene. Campus Police Lieutenant Ferrandini was ruling that we could stay after all, under certain conditions. “You can’t cause a disruption,” she said. “You have to step off to the side. Don’t bother [Berkeley Honda].” And, “you can’t distribute the fliers.”  

“We can’t distribute our fliers?” I said. “Isn’t that what the Free Speech Movement was all about?” John Lame, a passerby who said he was a UC employee and a member of AFSCME, joined the protest. But the lieutenant was adamant. I asked: “Is this part of the university’s time, place and manner [of assembly] rules?” She said it was and told me to check out UC’s website.  

I went home and Googled up three items. They all left me wondering where the university draws the line between itself and private business, especially when it comes to free speech.  

The UC Berkeley Police Department’s page on “Free Speech and Public Assembly” states:  

“UC Berkeley has a tradition of being an open forum for the expression of political and social ideas. While the university and its Police Department recognize the rights of individuals to engage in constitutionally protected free speech and public assembly, this activity must be conducted in a reasonable and responsible manner. 

“People who choose to exercise their freedom of speech or right to public assembly should understand that such rights are not unlimited. When the activity infringes on the rights of others or interferes with university business, it loses constitutional protection and may become a violation of law or university rules and regulations.”  

I wondered: Could leafletting the Berkeley Honda tailgate party be considered “interfering with university business”?  

The “Policy on Speech and Advocacy” states:  

“The time, place and manner of exercising constitutionally protected rights of free expression, speech, assembly, and worship are subject to campus regulations that shall provide for non-interference with university functions and reasonable protection to persons against practices that would make them involuntary audiences or place them in reasonable fear, as determined by the university, for their personal safety.”  

As far as I knew, nobody from the Labor and Community Coalition had made anyone an “involuntary audience” or placed anyone “in reasonable fear.” But again, I wondered whether distributing our leaflets near the Berkeley Honda booth could be deemed interference with a “university function.”  

Regulation 363 under “Berkeley Campus Regulations Implementing University Policies” says:  

“Anyone may personally distribute non-commercial announcements, statements, or materials in any outdoor area of the campus consistent with the orderly conduct of university affairs, the maintenance of university property, and the free flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Efforts must be made to avoid litter. Particular circumstances at particular times may require some limitations.”  

The first sentence here seemed to support our right to give out our flyers. But once more, the UC regulation raised questions. Did the Berkeley Honda tailgate party count as one of the “particular circumstances” that “at particular times” required “some limitations” on free speech? Would the university rule that our “materials” were commercial and therefore undeserving of protection? What about Berkeley Honda, then? Wasn’t their presence blatantly commercial? Did their right to expression deserve more protection than ours?  

And the episode raised a host of other, equally troubling issues. “Berkeley Campus Policies Governing the Promotion of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Products on the Campus and at Campus-Sponsored Events” include a prohibition on “offering free drinks.” Tim Lubeck had been loudly hawking free beer (and what’s more, apparently not bothering to card any of the young people who took up his offer). Why didn’t the campus police stop him?  

Taped prominently onto the table of the Berkeley Honda booth was an ad that ran in the Sept. 30-Oct. 3 issue of the Daily Planet. There, Beinke and his Berkeley Honda partner, Steve Haworth, claimed to have raised over $600,000 for Cal athletic programs and the Haas School of Business in the past seven years. Did that buy them the right to dispense free booze on campus?  

UC’s website says that any exception to its alcohol promotion regulations “requires the express approval of the dean of student life (or, in his or her absence, the provost for undergraduate affairs), who will determine whether the promised promotional activity’s benefit to the campus community significantly outweighs the detriment it poses.” Did the dean or provost decide that Berkeley Honda’s benefits to the campus community outweighed the detriment posed by its free dispensation of beer and wine? It seems unlikely, but the question remains.  

The Cal website also says that violation of the school’s alcohol promotion policy “is grounds for canceling or suspending the activity or event and imposing sanctions against the sponsoring unit, group or organization, at the discretion of the dean of student life.” 

Berkeley Honda has sent out a letter to its customers advertising its October tailgate parties at Cal. The Cal football team has two more home games this month. Is the university administration going to allow Berkeley Honda to continue offering free liquor on campus before games? Is it going to cancel the company’s tailgate parties or impose other sanctions?  

The Official Athletic Site of the University of California Golden Bears, run by Cal Sports Properties, a division of ISP Sports, Inc., currently welcomes Berkeley Honda as one of “our newest Golden Bear partners.” Does the Cal Athletic Department really want to partner with a business like Berkeley Honda? If so, what does that willingness say about the department’s values and its lessons for the students at what is, as its website reminds prospective Golden Bear partners, “the premier public university in the nation”?  

Zelda Bronstein, B.A. 1970, is a lifetime member of the California Alumni Association.  

?

Should we erect a statue of Jimi Hendrix in Berkeley? Whaddaya think? 

In September 1967 I started my freshman year at Philadelphia Community College where I proceeded to major in “Jimi Hendrix.” Together with a group of friends, I spent that first semester getting high, cutting classes and listening to music. In those days there was an active military draft and I didn’t realize until later that if you flunked out of school and lost your college deferment, more than likely you were headed for Vietnam. 

When my friends and I first heard Hendrix it was all over! We had grown up with the Stylistics, Delfonics, and Temptations. We were now listening to Bob Dylan, and even Frank Zappa, but we had never heard any thing like Jimi before. Jazz was the teacher, funk is the preacher, and Jimi combined it all with his psychedelic guitar licks, and took us to another world.  

For me, 1967 to 1968 was a period of music, indulgence, and promiscuity. A slice of time, after birth control pills and before AIDS. It was a time of free-speech, free-love and free-fall. People called us Hippies. We liked our hair long, our music loud, our clothes louder, drank Red Mountain wine, and gave a two-finger salute. Jimi was our high priest.  

Jimi was a virtuoso on his instrument, and is still without peer. A poet who wrote his own lyrics and the greatest showman on stage I ever saw. He played guitar behind his back, between his legs, with his teeth and even burned the damn thing on stage. Imagine all that, and remember Jimi was only on the scene for four years. He started playing when he was 15, and played guitar for only 12 years before he died at 27.  

There was a rumor at school that Jimi Hendrix was coming to town to play at the Electric Factory. It turned out to be true. The Electric Factory used to be an actual factory in downtown Philadelphia. It was a large but intimate open space with a single stage. There were no chairs, tables or kitchen, and they didn’t sell alcohol. You stood, sat or lay on the concrete floor. We went there for one reason—to hear music loud, and in your face. Instead of security guards there were about 15 huge guys dressed in karate uniforms. They were all bald-headed and walked around in bare feet.  

The night of the show, I had a blind date with a girl named Georgette. When I met Georgette I was pleasantly surprised. She was cute, shapely, and plus she had her own car. We headed off to the show, making a momentary stop at a friends house on the way to get nice. 

The atmosphere inside the Electric Factory that night was truly electric. With the flashing strobe lights, day glow paint and huge speakers blaring, it was like an indoor thunderstorm, without the rain. And then Jimi appeared. I don’t remember the time, who or how many opening acts there were, and only vaguely what Jimi was wearing. Those who remember everything that happened in the sixties weren’t really there! I do remember that he had silk scarves tied around everywhere—his head, his neck, his waist, his arms, even his legs. When he finally started tuning up on stage the Factory got even more electric. Jimi tuning up was as good as some bands whole show. The crowd started going wild! People were screaming out different songs they wanted to hear. Jimi stepped to the microphone and said, “I know what I’m gonna play,” and launched right into “Purple Haze”! 

When Jimi first came on stage, Georgette and I were sitting in front. As he started to play we stood up to avoid being stomped. In that first song Jimi pulled out all the stops. He was playing behind his back, between his legs, with his teeth, and it looked like sparks were leaping off of his guitar strings. With those huge Marshall speakers staring straight at us it sounded as if there were 10 people on stage rather than three (Mitch Mitchell was on drums and Noel Redding on bass).  

The next thing I knew someone was kicking me in the side with a bare foot. I looked up to see a huge guy, with a bald head and karate suit on. I said, “Man are you crazy, I’m trying to dig the show.” He said, “The show’s been over for an hour—you got to go.” I looked around and there were about 10 people still there, lying on the floor next to me, where hundreds had been earlier. Georgette was nowhere to be found. Don’t ask me what happened! A lifetime’s worth of anticipation over in 10 minutes. Maybe I kissed the sky! But I never saw Jimi Hendrix live or Georgette again.  

Months later, back in my old neighborhood in West Philadelphia, the brothers that weren’t being sent to Vietnam were “turning on, tuning in and dropping out,” and I was becoming more politically aware. So with my grades falling, and the draft board in full pursuit, I loaded up my Chevy van, complete with milk crate shelves, and 8 track tape player and headed for California. I packed my fringe jacket, moccasins, flowered shirts, jeans, bell bottoms and LP’s. After two weeks of driving, nothing on the radio, and 3,000 miles, I was standing on the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets in San Francisco. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were still going strong. Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jimi were still alive, and I was standing in the middle of the summer of love! 

Thirty-seven years later, my freak flag long retired, I was lounging on a leather couch in my house in Berkeley listening (rocking) to Jimi Hendrix. It was the first day of a well deserved three-week vacation and I’m wondering what I should do. My wife walks in and says, “Could you turn that down?” “It’s already turned down,” I respond. A fan of Hendrix herself, she asked, “Do you still get off on it like you used to, now that you don’t get high anymore?” 

“After the first time, you’re always high, you’re changed, you’re never the same. At least now I understand the lyrics,” I told her. “I know what we should do on vacation—let’s find Jimi Hendrix.” She asked, “What does that mean?” I answered, “I don’t know.”  

A week later, in my Volvo station wagon, we were headed for Seattle where Jimi was born. After two days of driving, nothing on the radio, and 900 miles we arrived at the Experience Music Project (EMP), next door to the Space Needle. On the first floor there was a small theater that played a loop of Hendrix live concerts every hour. One of the concerts featured Jimi playing in Berkeley. 

We went looking for other signs of Jimi in the city. We came upon the only statue of Jimi Hendrix in Seattle. It was small, about five feet high and depicted Jimi playing guitar on his knees. It was near the local community college and seemed out of place. 

The next day we drove to Renton, just outside of Seattle, to the cemetery where Jimi is buried. It was the only cemetery my kids have ever been to. There is a McDonald’s restaurant in the front. Inside the cemetery, on a manicured open field, is an above ground tomb and the remains of James Marshall Hendrix. People had left flowers, messages, and someone had even left a half-smoked marijuana cigarette on top of Jimi’s tomb. My journey was over, and as we headed home to Berkeley I realized that my search for Jimi Hendrix ended by reminding me of my own mortality … my past, who I am and maybe where I’m going. 

Should we erect a statue of Jimi Hendrix in Berkeley?  

Jimi was only on the music scene for about four years, and one of his most famous, and best known shows was recorded live at the Community Theater in downtown Berkeley. We should erect a statue of Jimi in front of the theater and put a kiosk next to it. People will visit from all over the world! We could sell tie-dye shirts, silk scarves, posters, and Jimi Hendrix CD’s, donating the money to the music programs at the local public schools.  

What do you think? 

Sept. 18th was the 35th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s death. 

Photo courtesy of Rockmine, the Internet's largest rock music resource.t

There are words for certain people who have lost loved ones; a widow, a widower, an orphan. But what do you call a parent who has lost a child? I pondered this question with Kimberly Willis-Starbuck, mother of Meleia, lost to us all in a tragic shooting in Berkeley on July 17. 

With the recent arrest of Christopher Hollis, the young man accused of murdering the Berkeley High grad and Dartmouth freshman, there is new speculation about exactly what happened and why. The Starbucks have been asked by the local police to refrain from public comment about the case until the investigation has run its course. 

Meanwhile, Kimberly adds to the shrine she began creating the night her daughter died. That night, Kimberly lit 11 candles and had them burning on the dining room table. The shrine now holds photographs of Meleia as a baby and with her little brother, Zach; Meleia with her high school class in Cuba. There are colorful handmade books she made at Park Day School and there’s an amusing photo of a Louis Vuitton purse Meleia bought in Paris and had to return the next day. “She didn’t have enough money to eat and buy the purse,” Kimberly laughs. The shrine extends up two adjoining walls displaying her admission letter to Dartmouth, a soccer trophy, a beautiful doll she made when she was ten, her yearbook, a Good Citizenship Award she received from the City of Berkeley and more. 

“On one wall,” Kimberly says, “I have things connected to her death and the beautiful memorial her friends and my friends put on for her. There is Rafael Casal poem that he read, a letter from one of the deans at Dartmouth, letters from Barbara Lee and Barbara Boxer citing what an incredible young woman Meleia was and how she gave back to the community. There’s also a letter from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors stating that they adjourned their regular meeting on July 18 out of respect to Meleia’s memory.” 

And more, Kimberly says, “There’s so much more.” 

At the time of the shooting it was widely reported that Meleia called Christopher Hollis for assistance after having been confronted by a group of young men, including several Cal football players, who referred to Meleia and her friends as “bitches” after the girls refused their advances. It was while Meleia was standing on the sidewalk as her girlfriends waited for her in their car, patiently explaining to the young men why it was disrespectful to call them “bitches” that Christopher Hollis arrived on the scene and allegedly shot at the group from a block and a half away, fatally wounding his good friend, Meleia. 

Who are these Cal football players and exactly what was their involvement? Which one called Meleia a “bitch”? Were any threats of physical violence made? We, the public, along with Meleia’s family and friends, have a right to know. I called Cal Football Coach Jeff Tedford’s office and was referred to Kevin Klintworth, Associate Athletic Director for Communications. I wanted to know what these young men are taught, if anything, about social issues and interacting with women. Klintworth said that he thought there was some sort of class or orientation, but he wasn’t sure what it was. 

At press time, he had not gotten back to me with the details. 

The San Francisco Chronicle on Oct. 2 reported that, according to George Strait, UC Berkeley’s vice chancellor for public affairs, Cal football player Gary Doxy, although wounded at the scene, did not realize his flesh wound was related to the gunshots, therefore did not reveal his injury to the police until a month later. Rumors of a cover-up are beginning to emerge, not uncommon when it comes to protecting potentially big money-making athletes. 

Christopher Hollis is being represented by renowned Oakland attorney John Burris. Burris was quoted in this newspaper describing Hollis as “funny, intelligent and dependable—maybe too dependable.” I certainly hope that this seemingly innocuous comment isn’t an indicator of an attempt to mitigate the severity of Hollis’ alleged crime by trying to lay a foundation upon which to later blame the victim. 

Meleia deserves better. 

I hope that the politicians, community activists, university officials and other dignitaries, who praised Meleia so ardently for her short life’s full work, do not allow her memory to be tarnished for any reason. No reason would be good enough. 

Back in Georgia, where Kimberly and John Starbuck had initially moved to be closer to Meleia, they are planning a trip to Dartmouth next week to attend a memorial in celebration of what would have been Meleia’s 20th birthday on Oct. 10. Towards the end of our conversation, Kimberly tells me that they have kept Meleia’s phone answering message just so that they can hear her voice. Sometimes the phone rings in the middle of the night and they know not to answer it. It is one of Meleia’s many devoted friends calling so that they, too, can hear her voice one more time. 

I asked for the number but I haven’t yet been able to call it. It hit me while talking to Kimberly that it was Sept. 30, my own daughter’s birthday. Arianne would have turned 18. She died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (crib death) at 3 months of age. Even during those short three months, Arianne made a powerful impact upon everyone she met with her wide, intelligent eyes and her intense gaze. She seemed an old soul. Who knows what she would have accomplished in 19 years or 90? I’ve given birth to two other wonderful children since her death and I still miss her terribly. 

“Meleia is still here,” her little brother Zack insists. “She’s just on a different plane,” he explains. “She sees us. She hears us. She’s in my heart and she’ll always be there.” 

I know exactly how he feels.›

Several weeks ago a woman came to our front door and introduced herself as Grandmaw. 

“I like your columns in the Berkeley Daily Planet,” she said. “But I saw some of those negative letters to the editor about you and I thought you might need a hug.” 

Although I’m not in the habit of embracing every stranger who rings our doorbell, she was correct in her assumption, so I let her hug me. I invited her inside and introduced her to Ralph, Andrea, and Willie. We talked for a while and I wondered, momentarily, if she might be a serial killer, and if welcoming her into our home was a mistake. 

She was dressed simply in slacks, sneakers and a well-worn parka. She carried a handmade pocketbook that was actually a pair of cut-off blue jeans sewed together at the bottom and attached to a long strap. Inside the shoulder bag she carried newspaper clippings and some plastic containers. She explained she used the containers to save lunch leftovers for her neighbors at the nearby senior housing complex. 

She said she was on her way to visit acquaintances at St. Vincent de Paul down on San Pablo Avenue. I offered to give her a lift but she said no, she enjoyed riding the bus. She showed me her AC transit pass. It was encased in plastic. She kept it on a string hung around her neck.  

I asked her if she would like some of the greens Andrea had just cooked and she said she’d stop back after lunch and pick them up.  

I walked her to the southbound bus stop at 51st Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. As we strolled along the sidewalk, we chatted about the weather, her children, the places one could go for a free meal, and the best way to cook collard greens. 

She told me she was 83 years old, a vegetarian, an avid reader, and that she walked and rode busses everywhere. As soon as we arrived at the bus stop the No. 15 appeared. Before getting on she gave me another hug. This embrace was more intimate and I could feel her ribcage through the thick layers of clothes she wore. She disappeared up the steps, into the bus. It pulled away from the corner, spewed exhaust, and rocked southward on MLK.  

Several hours passed by before she returned. “Lunch was good,” she informed us. “You never know who you’re going to run into down there. I have the most fascinating conversations with the people I meet.” 

We filled her plastic containers with well-cooked greens, and I joined her on the short trek to the northbound bus stop at 53rd and MLK. Once again the bus appeared just as we reached the corner. She gave me another hug. She promised she’d come back and see us again soon.  

I walked home, surprised and delighted by the surreal visit, by the three unexpected hugs, and by the magical way in which the two buses materialized the moment Grandmaw and I had arrived at each corner. But I have not seen or heard from her since, and now I wonder if she is a figment of my imagination. I go over the details of the encounter. It all seems real enough to me, except for the part about the buses miraculously arriving just as she needed them. Could she hold some supernatural power over the public transportation system, and if so, could she share a bit of that mojo with me?  

But, more importantly, where is she now? If anyone out there knows Grandmaw, please tell her Suzy Parker could use another one of her hugs.n

Home invaders 

A gang of three men, one in his 50s and the others in their 20s, invaded the home of a Berkeley woman in the 1600 block of Alcatraz Avenue on Sept. 24, robbing their terrified victim of a computer, a television set and a DVD player before fleeing in a battered 1980s vintage red American car, said Berkeley Police Department spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

The woman wasn’t injured in the attack. 

Berkeley Bowl attack 

A younger man slashed the face of a man in his 40s in an attack in the Berkeley Bowl parking lot shortly before 3 p.m. on Sept. 24. The victim was treated at a local hospital. 

Road rage bust 

Following an outburst of road rage about 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 25 in the 2600 block of College Avenue, one of the two women involved tailed the other, prompting the pursued to call police, who stopped the pursuer, a 21-year-old woman and her 45-year-old male companion.  

A search of their car turned up a knife, a pistol and stolen property, earning the arrestees a variety of charges, the least of which was driving on a suspended license. 

Bike brigands 

A pair of would-be teenage felons mounted on BMX-style bicycles produced a pistol and robbed a pedestrian of his cell phone and wallet near the corner of Dana Street and Dwight Way about 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 25. 

Mop attack 

A 21-year-old woman attacked a 32-year-old woman with a mop at 9:30 a.m. last Monday in the 1400 block of Harmon Street. 

Gambling bust 

Police arrested five suspects on gambling charges after neighbors called officers to report their gaming activity near one of the volleyball courts in Strawberry Creek Park shortly before 7 p.m. last Tuesday. 

Home invasion II 

A couple sleeping in their home near the corner of Ashby Avenue and Wheeler Street Tuesday night was awakened by the sound of a masked burglar crawling in through their bedroom window. 

After they confronted the bandit—a man in his 20s—the burglar produced a pistol and proceeded to rob them. 

Bank heist 

A man in his 30s walked into the Citibank branch at 2000 Shattuck Ave. shortly after 12:30 p.m. Thursday and presented the teller with a demand note. As they are taught to do, the teller handed over the cash and the man fled on foot. He was last seen headed toward University Avenue, said Officer Okies. 

Berkeley Bowl attack II 

A 42-year-old man was attacked by a uniquely clad man armed with a screwdriver in the Berkeley Bowl parking lot about 7:20 p.m. Thursday. 

The suspect is described as a clean-shaven African American man about 25 years old who stands about 5’9” and weighs about 170 pounds. 

He was dressed in a camel-colored snap-brim hat, a blue puffy jacket, and white and blue vertically stripped shirt, black pants and golf shoes. He fled the scene on foot. 

Robbery 

A man in his early 20s strong-armed the purse away from a 42-year-old woman in the 3000 block of San Pablo Avenue about 10 p.m. Thursday. 

Middle school knife flasher 

Police arrested a 13-year-old at Willard Middle School just after 3 p.m. Friday after the youth allegedly threatened another student with a knife. 

Orange dred heister 

A tall man with shoulder-length orange dreadlocks robbed a 14-year-old girl of her cell phone and keys in the 2100 block of Shattuck Avenue shortly before 4 p.m. last Friday, said Officer Okies. 

Armed youths 

Berkeley Police officers conducting a security check in the 2300 block of Tenth Street shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday found a group of 15 people, most of them juveniles. Three were found to be in possession of firearms, including one adult. The pistol-packers were arrested and hauled off to the pokey. 

Armed driver 

When police stopped a 20-year-old driver in the 1800 block of Ashby Avenue late Friday night, they turned up a bonanza. Not only was the motorist driving on a suspended license, but he was also packing a firearm—a double felony, considering he’s also an ex-felon.›

“They went, they sat, they came back,” said Deputy Fire Chief David Orth Monday. 

He was referring to the Alameda County Search and Rescue team sent to Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita. 

One of the members was Berkeley Lt. Darren Bobrosky, who was back in time to attend last Friday’s badge pinning ceremonies for recently promoted Berkeley firefighters. 

It had been Bobrosky second September trip to the South. He had been dispatched to Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to help in body recovery. 

Kitchen fire 

Firefighters responded to a home at 260 Alvarado Road Friday night, where they found a small kitchen fire had already been extinguished by the dwelling’s occupant. 

The blaze did an estimated $1,000 in damage to the home and $1,200 in damage to contents, mostly an oven and a microwave, said Orth.

If John Gertz actually wants to understand what he calls “anti-Israelism,” I suggest he take a break from name-calling and use the time to learn a bit about what’s happening on the ground in occupied Palestine.  

My report from a hamlet in the south Hebron hills section of the West Bank (Daily Planet, Aug. 30) has now earned me two denunciations from Gertz, plus a letter from his comrade in arms, Dan Spitzer, comparing me to Goebbels. But neither of them disputes what I wrote: Israeli settlers in the area (most of them living in outposts that are illegal even under Israeli law, yet continue to enjoy government assistance and army protection) routinely resort to harassment and violence in hopes of driving Palestinian villagers out of their ancestral homes. 

If Gertz, Spitzer, and anyone else choose not to believe what I wrote because of my association with the International Solidarity Movement, so be it—there are plenty of other sources that document this ongoing attempt at ethnic cleansing. For starters, I’d suggest the regular reports from the Christian Peacemaker Teams, who for years have maintained a presence in At-Tuwani, a village just a few miles from the one I stayed in this summer. Among other things, these reports cover the settlers’ repeated attempts to poison that village’s wells and flocks, as well as an attack a year ago that seriously injured two CPT members, including San Francisco resident Chris Brown, as they escorted Palestinian children to school. 

If Gertz et al. won’t trust the CPT—they’re goyim, after all—maybe they would believe Israeli sources. In June of this year, Ha’aretz, one of Israel’s largest newspapers, reported that “The settlers’ attacks on the Palestinians in this region are a daily occurrence. The most extreme zealots keep coming up with ever-more malicious and destructive ideas—arson, plowing cultivated fields, bringing herds to seeded fields, poisoning sheep, poisoning water wells and more.”  

Finally, B’Tselem, the widely respected Israeli human rights group, has issued a series of exhaustively documented reports on the situation in the Hebron hills. Some highlights from the latest, published just two months ago: 

• “B’Tselem’s survey found that, over the past three years, eighty-eight percent of the residents have been victims of settler violence, or witnessed such violence toward a first-degree relative. No village has managed to escape settler abuse.” 

• “Settler violence against Palestinians is common all over the West Bank. However, throughout the history of the occupation, efforts to enforce the law against settlers have been limited and ineffective.” 

• “…in most cases, not only do soldiers turn a blind eye to settler attacks on Palestinians, they aid the attackers.” 

All of this concerns just one small section of the West Bank. When you consider all the other outrages associated with the occupation—the killing and maiming of children and other innocent civilians, the home demolitions, the “administrative detentions” (imprisonment without trial), the curfews and “closures” and checkpoints that make normal life impossible, and now the monstrous Wall—is it any wonder that “anti-Israelism” is increasing, not just in Berkeley but wherever people value justice? 

For the record, let me add that almost everything Gertz wrote about me personally was incorrect. Becky O’Malley didn’t “appoint [me] as her Middle East reporter”—she simply accepted an article I submitted on a freelance basis. I was not “in the Middle East as a member of the ISM” —I was taking part in the “Palestine Summer Encounter,” a annual program sponsored by the Holy Land Trust and the Middle East Fellowship (and one I highly recommend to anyone who wants to see first-hand what’s really happening on the West Bank).  

Last but not least, neither I nor the ISM “praises and supports Palestinian terror.” 

Henry Norr is a Berkeley resident and former technology reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle.

I’m only a part-time reader of the Daily Planet, and the San Francisco Chronicle doesn’t often cover the Berkeley ferry issue, so I may be a little out of date. I wonder if ferry planners have even considered what might be a huge boon to hundreds, if not thousands, of West Berkeley residents, and that is putting the ferry terminal closer to the shoreline rather than at the tip of the marina? 

There are many good points to ferries on the bay, not the least of which is the reduction of car traffic. Putting the terminal in the basin closest to the freeway will allow many people to be within walking distance of the ferry, further reducing car traffic and the need for parking. The pedestrian bridge over the Eastshore Freeway provides the access, alleviating the need for that much more parking space. Yes, some people will try to drive and park close to the pedestrian bridge, then walk over. Good luck with that. There is already relatively little parking in the area. 

There are also many objections to ferries on the bay, one of which is the need for dredging and potential loss of bird habitat. There are many mitigating reasons for going forward with dredging. One is the above reason, allowing more people to walk from their homes to the ferry terminal. Remember, people from other areas of Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, and Richmond, will be driving to the ferry regardless of where it is. People in West Berkeley would be added to that total if they also had to walk to end of University Avenue, then hike another quarter mile to the terminal. 

Dredging the bay is always an issue. Where will the mud go? How much of the disturbed area, already polluted, will spread its pollution, how far and to what already fragile areas? How much bird habitat will be upset? There is a simple, almost simplistic, answer: since non-native species—that would be us—arrived in this part of the world, the bay has been a work in progress, mostly destructive. The entire marina area, from the Spengers parking lot and Aquatic Park out to the two restaurants, is landfill. Various sources say that the bay itself has been reduced by at least half to even two-thirds of its original size, mostly by filling in wetlands and tidal marshes. 

Saving the bay is also a huge priority, one that will take many resources, lots of money and—last but not least—political will. I imagine that somewhere some mad scientist is already working on a system to cleanse dredged up matter from polluted bays and rivers. I’m not a scientist, mad or otherwise, so I have no way to answer the objection of what to do with polluted material dredged up from the bay (send it to Texas?). But in order to achieve the goal of having a ferry terminal that people can walk to, I would have us make the sacrifice of dredging, rather than increasing the amount of traffic and parking at the other end of the marina. 

The matter of birds is another issue. If we leave areas like the Albany Bulb undeveloped, bird habitat and sanctuary will be increased. If we upgrade the water in Aquatic Park, bird habitat and sanctuary will be increased. (Bringing in a steady supply of treated water from the EBMUD plant could do this). 

We have created a huge dog park at the north end of the marina. All of this space is landfill. Allowing dogs to run free has been a great boon to dog lovers and people who like to see dogs on leashes on city streets. All of that land could equally be used as bird habitat as well—not that I’m suggesting we do any such thing! I can hear the howls of protest already. But we have created this park to achieve a balance between our needs and our pets’ needs. We can do equally well by creating a ferry terminal that mitigates more car traffic and provides a vast area of the city with walk-to rather than a drive-to form of public transit. 

Finally, we need to keep in mind what CHP spokesperson Wayne Ziese said not too long ago: “We have a very precarious transportation system. Shut down a major artery, and commutes are impacted within a heartbeat” (San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 16). Precarious transportation, precarious ecology. We need to achieve a balance between the two while we still have both time and an unfinished masterpiece, which is what the Bay Area could become, at least in terms of transportation. Look at the map and you will see that our also precarious public transportation system has only four points of simple correspondence between systems: Amtrak/BART in Richmond; Amtrak/ACE/BART in Fremont; Amtrak/ACE in San Jose, and BART/SFO in Millbrae. In almost every other place, there is a substantial gap between systems; one example, of course, is BART and the Oakland Airport. While many people use the shuttle from BART to the airport, many more don’t.  

A typical case (mine) runs something like this: A walk of one mile to North Berkeley BART, BART to Coliseum/Airport, shuttle to airport. Cost for two people: cheap at about $10 each way, but carrying luggage, including food for nice, cheap Southwest Airlines flights is a major hassle in time and effort. Or drive to the airport, pay for parking, walk to the terminal, usually in less than one half hour, which is what it takes to walk to BART. I suspect that most people do what I do, if traffic to the airport is any indication. 

It’s time to make a concerted effort to make simple transportation connections the norm rather than the exception. Both nice new Amtrak terminals in Emeryville and Oakland are not near enough to BART or even, in Oakland, to the ferry terminal, to make using the system to get anywhere at all very convenient. The fact that not all BART trains go to the airport, adding a step for most, makes the journey longer, less convenient and therefore less palatable for many people. Having a ferry terminal in Berkeley that is close to Amtrak (but not close enough) and close enough for many people to walk to is not only a good idea, but a step in a new direction—the direction of getting our transportation system to conform to the needs of the people rather than trying to get a very recalcitrant population to conform to the varying needs of a patchwork transportation system. 

Jack Jackson is a special education instructor in San Francisco and writes on social issues for various publications.

I am impressed that Ms. Mickleson (Letters Sept. 16) chose the words “ignorant hedonist” to describe how I painted her, and while I will not quibble with her interpretation, I will advise that she be mindful of her own brush strokes. Having carefully followed this developing story I think Ms. Mickleson would be well served to check her own bucket of paint. 

As a business person in this community, there is one aspect of this issue that continues to bother me. Ms. Mickleson referenced the “fact” that everything would be fine if “Tim Beinke had not fired nearly half the work force.” This is the mantra repeated by the protesters on the street and in these pages. To anyone who has carefully followed this story, or to anyone with an ounce of business knowledge, it is clear that this is not in fact the case. Mr. Beinke fired no one; Jim Doten Honda did. The same Jim Doten Honda who profited from the many years of service from their employees. This is the same Jim Doten Honda who presumably profited from the sale of the franchise rights to Mr. Beinke. If there were any obligation, legal or moral, to ensure that these workers were taken care of, it clearly would have been the obligation of Jim Doten Honda. There are many ways this could have been accomplished, yet no one wants to address that. The fact is that Tim Beinke fired no one. No one was laid off by Tim Beinke. No one was “kicked to the curb” by Tim Beinke. If in fact anyone was kicked, it was with a boot whose sole print clearly was that of Doten. Yet, based on the signs and comments of the protesters, Berkeley Honda should be shut down for trying to hire the best people for the job. Damn the facts, it wouldn’t serve the “cause.” 

The new owners presumably bought the franchise rights to sell Hondas in Berkeley—no more, no less. As such, Jim Doten Honda ceased to exist. They therefore fired, let go, kicked to the curb all of their employees. The new owners have stated that the store was under-performing and falling well short of Honda’s expectations. Given that Honda franchises are rarely available, this would seem to be logical. The new owner’s obligation was to build a team that they knew could ensure the long-term success of their business. In that vain, they interviewed all former Doten employees who wished to work for the new company, and according to the NLRB made their hiring decisions without prejudice or discrimination. Call me silly, but could it be that those who were not offered positions might not have been top performers or as efficient as they would like us all to believe? Again, the facts would not serve the cause. 

I know, you’re going to say that this is just a clever business cover-up, meant to disguise the true nefarious nature of the devious plot hatched by the new owners. But the facts are unavoidable. The new owners had no obligation, legal or moral, to hire any of Doten’s employees. If their true purpose was to “bust the union,” why would they hire a majority of union labor? Again you will say that this was just a clever ruse. If the facts don’t fit, misdirect. 

There is one other issue that disturbs me. You refer to the good corporate citizenship of Doten Honda (although you cited it third-hand) and in the same breath you questioned Beinke’s commitment to the community. You are unwilling however to give Beinke the opportunity to show it. If you do any research on the Beinke’s business dealings, you would find that they are outstanding corporate citizens in every community in which they do business. This is above and beyond the many philanthropic endeavors that they have created and supported. Yet any mention of their commitment to Berkeley will be met with the refrain, “They just want to buy their way into the community!”  

Everyone seems so ready to accept the suppositions that the union has carefully planted about what the intentions of this new ownership group are. “If the union says it, it must be true.” Why else would I keep reading such derisive comments referring to the 401k offered by management? I don’t know about you, but given the opportunity to have money put into a 401k that I have total control over, or the same amount of money put into an under-funded pension plan over which I have no control, the decision is easy. But then again, you probably believe that Social Security is in fine shape. “Damn the facts. Shut them down!” 

What amazes me is how much energy and vitriol is being aimed at this situation, especially in light of so many more important issues faced by this community. It would seem to better serve the community to allow the new owners the opportunity to make the business decisions that are their right to make and judge them on what they do, not what we think they are going to do. Maybe they are ruthless business people presumably willing to invest millions of dollars so they could hire unskilled labor to work on sophisticated cars, hoping that an unsophisticated public would continue to bring their cars to be poorly serviced for exorbitant rates. Or maybe they are smart business people, willing to invest millions of dollars in an under performing business, with the goal of improving the operation so it can grow, employing many more people than ever before and becoming not only one of the top revenue generators for the City of Berkeley but also a leading corporate citizen. You are free to choose which you believe. The union and its supporters would have you believe the former. Common sense, logic and oh yes, the facts would suggest the latter. 

Chris Regalia is a Berkeley resident. 

›

A rice bowl, a pair of chopsticks and a brightly colored cloth, when put together, cause a samurai to materialize, leaping, fencing, then, quickly changing into a junklike boat on cloth waves, the same simple objects manifesting the transoceanic voyage of Japanese to America. 

This is just a moment at the start of a puppet show fable of a difficult chapter in our 20th century history, Lunatique Fantastique’s Executive Order #9066, now at the new Marsh Berkeley in the Gaia Building. 

The Oakland-based Lunatique Fantastique, a kind of Dickensian orphanage for found objects that multitask as all manner of puppets, props and scenery, is the brainchild of Liebe Wetzel, who directed her puppeteer collaborators with Christine Young in what’s just the first of a work-in-progress “War Trilogy,” including pieces on the carving up of the Middle East and Einstein and the development of the bomb.  

Lunatique’s previous shows have usually been more whimsical, but Wetzel’s humor has bite, and pathos. Executive Order #9066 is a simply told story that relies on a dazzling sleight of puppeteers’ hands. 

The puppeteers themselves are attired in Bunraku-like black robes with veiled hoods. They’re visible onstage all the while, and provide the spare soundtrack to the story, with unintelligible chatter and giggling, as well as sound effects performed solely by lips and tongue—and the sounds of the objects they manipulate into form.  

A Japanese tea setting becomes a Japanese American family, inverted pot for mother’s head (spout for eloquent nose) and teacups for her mischievous sons, always cutting up or playing baseball with the Anglo neighbor boy, a white sugarbowl (handles for big adolescent ears), whose mother is a white English-style teapot, upsidedown.  

Things seem cozy in the neighborhood, until, in the first tour-de-force of their artistry, Pearl Harbor is attacked, the whole scene played out with paper, its crumpling the sickening sound of flames, a harbinger for worse nearer the end of the show. 

The two previously friendly housewives read it in their newspapers, teapot spots “pouring” intently over the tragedy that silences their curbside morning chats. Suspicion and shame replace friendship. (Always remarkable how well-handled puppets can bring out the subtlest of emotions, even these momentary collections of odds-and-ends, their “unselfconsciousness,” as playwright Heinrich von Kleist put it almost 200 years ago, enabling them to move and to express things in a way that humans would stumble over themselves, just trying.) 

In another scene, which is part fable and part political cartoon, an upside-down coffee urn becomes a military head; a hat, glasses and a cigarette holder materialize FDR in a wheelchair of kitchenware. The President and the general play poker with pricetags, strings dangling. When FDR loses, he signs Executive Order #9066 with his cigarette holder. It is the command that sent 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans into internment camps in February 1942. Lunatique, with the help of survivors of that time and the projects which memorialize it, researched and developed this piece for The Marsh. 

The price tags become tags for the auctioning of the detainee’s belongings. Pennies are scattered on the stage. An old, tattered suitcase becomes a bus on rollers with tin can headlights. The family is deposited at the camp, laid out on a field of brown wrapping paper covered in sand, which gets into everything. A new, hard life begins for the family. 

Nonetheless, there’s humor and a little lightheartedness and a lot of baseball and playing in confinement. One son decides to enlist, followed by scenes of combat. The tags are later put into service as dogtags, telegrams, tombstones and Japanese shrines in the sand, and a memorial scroll hanging on the tree (a twig in a tin can) grown on the campgrounds, which finally flowers. 

The dropping of the A-Bomb looks back to the troupe’s enactment of Pearl Harbor, and ahead to Wonder, the story of Einstein and atomic power, the projected third part of the trilogy. It’s enacted in awful simplicity for this current run, which began at The Marsh in San Francisco on the 60th anniversary of the destruction of Hiroshima. 

As story-telling, as performance and as a chronicle of human endurance while lost in upheaval, Lunatique Fantastique’s Executive Order #9066 is remarkable and unique. As puppeteering, the show is a successful extension of their own style into a more complicated mode and historical material that’s difficult to represent, as many of the 50th and 60th tributes to World War II survivors have demonstrated. 

No wonder these artists-in-residence at The Marsh have been recognized by the Jim Henson Foundation (named after the Muppets’ creator) as bringing a new and versatile style to the craft. 

Lunatique Fantastique’s Executive Order #9066 plays at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, the Gaia Building, through Oct. 21. For more information call 800-838-3006 or see www.themarsh.org.›

TUESDAY, OCT. 4 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Modern Visions from Mongolia” opens at the Worth Ryder Gallery, 116 Kroeber Hall, UC Campus.  

FILM 

Derek Jarman’s Home Movies: “Imagining October” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Salman Rushdie reads from his new novel “Shalimar the Clown” at 6:15 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $40, $50 per couple and includes a copy of the book. Sponsored by Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Poetry Diversified with Jan Steckel and Hew Wolff a 7:30 p.m. at World Ground Café, 3726 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. 482-2933. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Prezident Brown backed by the Solid Foundation Band, reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15. 525-5054.  

The Tannahill Weavers, traditional Scottish music, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50- $20.50. 548-1761.  

Singer’s Open Mic with Ellen Hoffman at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ.  

Eric Shifrin, solo jazz piano and vocals, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

John Santos & Machete Ensemble at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200.  

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

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 5 

FILM 

Doctor Atomic Goes Nuclear “The Beginning or the End” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Andrew Lam reads from his new book, “Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora” at 4 p.m. at the Institute of East Asian Studies, 6th Flr., 2223 Fulton St. 642-3609. 

Tom Panas introduces the “Images of America” book on El Cerrito at 7:30 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 16. 

Book Signing with Mary Lee Bendolph of the Gees Bend Quilters at 5 p.m. at Paulson Press Gallery, 1318 Tenth St. 559-2088. www.paulsonpress.com  

Louise Erdrich reads from her new novel “The Painted Drum” at 6:15 p.m. at The Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., Tickets are $40, $50 per couple and includes a copy of the book. 845-7852.  

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert with Anna Carol Dudley, voice, at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864.  

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

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

La Peña Latin Jazz Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568.  

Saddle Cats at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Western Swing dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Pepe Y Su Orchestra at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5. 548-1159.  

The Cottars, youthful Celtic roots, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50- $18.50. 548-1761.  

Calvin Keys Trio Invitational Jam at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ.  

Scott Amendola Band at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, OCT. 6 

EXHIBITIONS 

The Baum Award for Emerging Photographers exhibition opens at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Dialogue with the artists, Lisa Kereszi, Jeanne Finely and Terri Cohn at 6:15 p.m. 642-0808.  

“Bijoux” An exhibition in conjunction with the Northern California Bead Society,. Reception at 6 p.m. at NIAD Art Center, 551 23rd St., Richmond, Exhibition runs to Nov. 18. 620-0290. www.niadart.org 

“Taisho Chic: Japanese Modernity, Nostalgia and Deco” guided tour at 12:15 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. 642-0808. 

California Landscapes pastel paintings by Amy Gitelman at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., through Oct. 31. 524-3043. 

FILM 

MadCat Woman’s International Film Festival: Animated Documentaries at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Egyptian Expeditions to the Sinai Peninisula” The AIA La Follette Lecture by Dr. Thomas Hikade, Univ. of British Columbia, at 7:30 p.m. at 370 Dwinelle Hall, UC Campus. 415-338-1537. 

Nomad Spoken Word Night at 7 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Ana Maria Spagna reads from “Now Go Home: Wilderness, Belonging and the Crosscut Saw” at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Nuala O’Faolain on her biography “The Story of Chicago May” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Ron Powers reads from his biography “Mark Twain: A Life” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

Word Beat Reading Series with Dale Jensen and Judy Wells at 7 p.m. at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Cecelia Bartoli with the Zurich Orchestra at 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $50-$250. 642-9988.  

Global Fusion: Emam & Friends at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054.  

Tessa Loehwing & Adam Blankman at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ.  

Ray Cepeda at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

David Jacobs-Strain, blues, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Nine Pound Show, Powder Wheel at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082  

Dave Bernstein and John Wiitala, guitar and bass, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

The Dead Kenny G’s, Brian Haas, Skerik, Mike Dillon at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200.  

FRIDAY, OCT. 7 

THEATER 

Aurora Theatre “The Price” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m., through Oct. 9, at 2081 Addison St. Tickets are $38. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

California Shakespeare Theater, “The Tempest” at 8 p.m. at Bruns Amphitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., between Berkeley and Orinda, through Oct. 23. Tickets are $10-$55. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theater, “You Can’t Take it With You” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Pomona Ave. at Moeser Lane, El Cerrito, through Oct. 22. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

Lunatique Fantastique “Executive Order 9066” Thurs. -Sat. at 7 p.m., through Oct. 21 at 2120 Allston Way. Tickets are $15-$22. 415-826-5750. www.themarsh.org 

Rough and Tumble “Candide,” A version with live radio, music, puppets and assorted bizarre props, Fri. and Sat. at 7:30 p.m. at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St. Free, donations accepted. 601-1444. 

Shotgun Players, “Owners” at 8 p.m., Thurs.-Sun. through Oct. 16 at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. Reservations suggested. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

“Spanglish Lab” Comedy with Bill Santiago at 8 p.m. at at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

“The Cradle Will Rock” by UC Dept. of Theater Dance and Performance Studies, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. through Oct. 16, at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus. Tickets are $8-$14. 642-9925. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Romanian Lace Costume and Sentimental Embroideries” Reception at 6 p.m. Exhibition runs to Feb. 4 at Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, 2982 Adeline St. 843-7178. lacismuseum.org 

“Single Moms: Invisible Lives” Photographs by Katherine Bettis through Oct. 31 at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. 981-6100. www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org 

“Greetings From Oakland: The Immortalization Project” Photograhs and videos of people and their nostalgic possessions by Lisa Walsh. Reception at 7 pm. at 21 Grand Gallery, 416 25th St., Oakland.  

FILM 

Dr. Atomic Goes Nuclear “Seven Days to Noon” at 7 p.m., “Hell and High Water” at 9 p.m., at Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Best New American Voices including Andrew Altschul, Kaui Hart Hemmings, Jamie Keene Albert Martinez at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Last Word Poetry Series with Bert Glick and Philip Hackett at 7 p.m. at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

University Symphony at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-9988.  

Hyim and the Fat Foakland Orchestra at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054.  

Ellen Robinson & Ben Flint Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ.  

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

Leftover Dreams, music from the Great American Songbook, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

20 Minute Loop, Six Eye Columbia, Brian Kenney Fresno at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082.  

Betty Fu Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Jared Karol and Lemon Juju at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Dick Hindman Trio at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373.  

Raw Deluxe, album release party, at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5. 548-1159.  

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

U.K. Subs, The Sick, Arno Corps 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. 

George Brooks’ Summit at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $22. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, OCT. 8 

CHILDREN 

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

EXHIBITIONS 

“Counterintuitive” Prints by Jay Chadwick Johnson. Reception at 6 p.m. at The Gallery of Urban Art, 1266 66th St., Emeryville. 596-0020, ext. 192. www.thegalleryofurbanart.com 

FILM 

Documentaries from the Grad. School of Journalism at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2621 Durant Ave. www.realdramadocs.com 

Farewell: A Tribute to Elem Klimov and Larissa Shepitko “Heat” at 5 p.m., “Wings” at 7 p.m. and “You and I” at 8:50 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Berkeley Arts Festival: “Two Dialogues from the Classics” by Dorothy Bryant based on “The Decay of Lying” by Oscar Wilde and “The Plague” by Albert Camus, red by Clive Chafer and Terry Lamb at 3 p.m. at 2324 Shattuck Ave. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Elizabeth Partridge reads from her biography of John Lennon, “All I Want Is the Truth” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

MUSIC AND DANCE  

The Sierra Ensemble Heather Haughn, violin, Janis Lieberman, horn, Marc Steiner, piano at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

J.Y. Song, pianist, at 7:30 p.m. at the Calvin Simmons Theater, 10 Tenth St., Oakland. Tickets are $25-$40. 601-7919.  

University Symphony at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-9988.  

Thomas Barquee Sanskrit chanting at 7 p.m. at Sacred Space, 816 Bancroft Way . Cost is $12-$15. 496-6047. 

West African Highlife Band at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. African dance lesson at 9 p.m. Cost is $13. 525-5054.  

Shanna Carlson & Her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ.  

In Harmony’s Way, a capella folk ensemble, at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

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

Brindl and Joshua Lennon Pierce at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

J-Soul at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Eric Thompson’s Kleptograss at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Bebop & Beyond at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com  

“For tha Love of Radio Unplug Clear Channel” at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $8, includes CD. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Ray Cepeda & Friends, latin rock, at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Luca, Red Thread, Julia Mack at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082.  

Rhonda Benin & Soulful Strut at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Teenage Harlots, Secretions, Mouth Offs at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 9 

CHILDREN 

Family Square Dance with Evie Laden at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054.  

Norma Mayer, soprano and Richard Mayer, flute at 4 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $5 children $10 adults. 925-798-1300.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Nature Sculptures” Photographs by Zach Pine Reception at 4 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

“Taisho Chic: Japanese Modernity, Nostalgia and Deco”guided tour at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. 642-0808. 

FILM 

Documentaries from the Grad. School of Journalism at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2621 Durant Ave. www.realdramadocs.com 

Dutch Voices: Jos de Puter and Peter Delpeut “Go West, Young Man!” at 4 p.m. and “Monte Walsh” at 5:40 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Joel Ben Izzy discovers the wisdom of ancient stories in “The Beggar King and The Secret of Happiness” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

“Yosemite in Time” Panel discussion with exhibition photographers Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

Poetry Flash with Martha Evans, Katherine Hastings, Mary Hower and Hannah Stein at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Arts Festival: Barely Human Dance Theatre “From Here We Watch The World Go By” at 5 p.m. at the Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza. 883-0302. 

The Prometheus Symphony Orchestra at 3 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 116 Montecito St., Oakland. Admission is free, donations requested. 

Daniel Pearl Music Day with mezzo-soprano Sylvie Braitman at 4 p.m. at BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $12. 848-0237. 

Jenna Mammina Benefit for “Scat for Cats” to bring music into the schools at 2 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ.  

E. W. Wainwright’s African Roots of Jazz, celebrating Oscar Brown Jr.’s Birthday, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Americana Unplugged: Stay Tuned Bluegrass Band at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 655-5715. 

Jon Fromer and The Cheats, parodies, ballads and barbs, at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$12, sliding scale. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Mardi Gras 2010 A Gulf Coast Survivor Relief Benefit where 100% of the proceeds are going to the survivors of hurricane Katrina from 2 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at White Horse Inn, 6551 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. Cost is $10. 652-3820 www.whitehorsebar.com 

Samora Pinderhughes at 4:30 at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373.  

Bob Marley Student Ensemble at 7:30 at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373.  

Ferron, folk music poet, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Tap Roots and New Growth Dona Rosa, Gulare Azafli and Zulfiyye Ibadova Lecture at 7 p.m., performance at 8:15 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15-$18. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Philips Marine Duo, jazz, at 10 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

This Bike is A Pipe Bomb, Defiance, Ohio, The Bananas at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926.›

Microcina leei may very well be the most obscure creature I’ve ever written about. It stumped Google Image; the accompanying photograph is of a very distant relative. It’s only a millimeter long and spends its entire life hiding under rocks. 

Why is it worth the column inches, then? Well, for openers, it’s a Berkeley near-endemic, found only at one site in the hills above campus and another just beyond the Oakland border. Few other creatures, if any, can claim that distinction. It’s also a presumptively endangered species that’s been left out in the cold by the machinery of protection. And it and its relatives pose an intriguing puzzle for students of biogeography, the science that tries to determine why living things are where they are.  

M. leei and its six fellow members of the genus Microcina are known as microblind harvestmen, a construction that bothers me a little. Why not “blind microharvestmen?” They are in fact eyeless, and they’re definitely micro. And they’re members of the arachnid order Opiliones, whose 5,000 species you probably know as daddy-longlegs. “Harvestman” is a British name, inspired by their tendency to show up in numbers during harvest season. The Brits also call them shepherd spiders; in parts of Mexico they’re pinacates; in Japan, mekuragumo. 

Although they have eight legs, harvestmen are not spiders. (It doesn’t help that some true spiders with attenuated legs are called daddy-longlegs spiders.) Spiders have waists, dividing head-and-thorax from abdomen; harvestmen have a one-piece ovoid body.  

Harvestmen don’t produce silk or spin webs. Spiders are predators; harvestmen eat plant matter and carrion as well as living prey. And male harvestmen (harvestpersons?) have a penis, whereas spiders do not. Male spiders do have a complicated work-around, involving portable webs and pedipalps, but let’s leave well enough alone here. 

Rick Vetter, an arachnologist at UC Riverside and a gold mine of spider lore, says there’s a widespread belief that harvestmen are deadly poisonous but can’t inflict lethal damage because their fangs are too short. This is a complete canard. They have no fangs or venom glands. Vetter also says the daddy-longlegs spiders, more properly known as pholcids, are not known to be biters and the venom they use on their prey has never been tested for toxicity to humans. 

The only way a harvestman could do you any damage is if taken internally. They repel predators by secreting unpleasant chemicals: Thomas Eisner, the pioneering chemical ecologist, found one in west Texas that produces benzoquinones in crystalline form. When provoked, it dilutes the crystals with saliva and uses the tips of its forelegs to brush the fluid on its attackers. This seems to discourage ants, at least.  

If microblind harvestmen have similar defenses, no one has reported it. We know very little about the lives of these creatures, in fact. They need microhabitats that provide high humidity, total darkness, and warmth; this usually means the underside of rocks. They prey on springtails, which are either primitive insects or not-quite-insects depending on which entomologist you listen to. They are not highly social, occurring mostly one to a rock, although groups of 10 or more have been observed. They show up when the rainy season begins and disappear when the ground beneath their rocks dries out.  

That’s pretty much their whole story. 

Blind harvestmen as a group are, one species excepted, found only in California. And the genus Microcina, the microblinds, occur only in the Bay Area, with a scattered distribution: one species near Mount Burdell in Marin County, one on the Tiburon Peninsula, two in the East Bay, one in Edgewood Park south of San Francisco, two in Santa Clara County. Each has been found in only a small patch of habitat at its respective site. Six of the seven species are limited to serpentine grassland, perhaps because serpentine-derived soil holds moisture like a sponge. 

Serpentine is weird stuff: our official state rock, formed on ancient seafloors and scraped onto continental margins when plates collide or microplates dock. Serpentine soil is chock full of magnesium, chromium, and nickel, lacking in nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Most plants can’t tolerate the stuff. Some, though, grow there and nowhere else, like the bizarre Tiburon mariposa lily that blooms on Ring Mountain in late spring. There are outcrops of gray-green serpentine in most Bay Area counties; but only a few such locales have resident microblind harvestmen. 

How do these reclusive blind crawlers get around? If the seven species have a common ancestor, how did one set of descendants wind up on Mount Burdell and another in Edgewood Park? Are these the last survivors of a formerly more widespread population that lived in whatever a harvestman would consider flush times? The entomologists who named the genus, Thomas Briggs and Darrell Ubick of the California Academy of Sciences, were reasonably certain that each little enclave had a distinct species. It’s the penises. Each species has a uniquely-shaped organ, some tending toward the baroque; in one group, it folds and telescopes. If a Mount Burdell male were ever to meet an Edgewood female, their options would be limited. 

Six of the seven microblind harvestmen have a measure of federal protection: they’re covered in an omnibus Recovery Plan for Serpentine Soil Species, along with a couple dozen plants, a checkerspot butterfly, and a longhorn moth. The odd harvestman out is Berkeley’s own Microcina leei. Vincent Lee discovered it on the north side of Woolsey Canyon next to the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory parking lot, beneath chunks of sandstone. No serpentine, so no Recovery Plan. A second population is or was found on Claremont Avenue northeast of its intersection with Ashby. No serpentine there either. 

It strikes me as grossly unfair that Lee’s microblind harvestman should be deprived of its Endangered Species Act rights because of a simple twist of geologic fate. If it’s even still there—I don’t know if anyone has gone back to look for it. Anyway, if anyone is searching for a cause to espouse, let me suggest Microcina leei. And what if it’s not a whale or a condor or a redwood? Nobody’s perfect.  

Which reminds me: thanks to Jim Buskirk for pointing out that the turtle whose photograph accompanied the March 1 article on the western pond turtle is actually a red-eared slider—a melanistic male. 

Photograph: Dr. Hays Cummins, Miami University  

Microblind harvestmen are members of the arachnid order Opiliones, whose 5,000 species you probably know as daddy-longlegs.?

TUESDAY, OCT. 4 

People’s Park Beautification Planning Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the SW corner of the park. 658-9178. 

Sing-A-Long from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. 524-9122. 

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

Healthy Eating Habits Seminar at 6:30 p.m. in Oakland. Free, registration required. 465-2524. 

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. 524-9992. 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 5 

Cindy Sheehan speaks at 7 p.m. at the Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. Donation of $20 benefits Global Exchange, CodePink, and Gold Star Families for Peace. 415-255-7296, ext. 253. 

Walking Tour of Oakland City Center Meet at 10 a.m. in front Oakland City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

Albany Waterfront Development meeting at 1 p.m. at Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic. Matt Middlebrook from Caruso Affiliated will speak, discussion follows. All welcome. 524-9122. 

Sustainable Farming on the Gill Tract, 1050 San Pablo Ave., Albany, at 3:30 p.m. www.agroeco.org 

American 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. 

Living Mercury Free How mercury affects your health and what you can do about it at 7 p.m. at the Teleosis Institute, 1512B Fifth St. Free, but please RSVP to 558-7285. 

Book Signing with Mary Lee Bendolph of the Gees Bend Quilters at 5 p.m. at Paulson Press Gallery, 1318 Tenth St. 559-2088. www.paulsonpress.com  

Friends of the Oakland Library Book Sale from 10:30 to 5:30 p.m. at 721 Washington St., through Oct. 8. 444-0473. 

Lab Live Hip Hop Ensemble Workshop for musicians, emcees, spoken word artists and singers at 4:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Free. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation 30th Anniversary Celebration from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St. 287-5353, ext. 344. 

Legacy And Practice Of Democratic Psychiatry at 4 p.m. at the Men’s Faculty Club, UC Campus. Conference continues on Thurs. from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. For conference agenda and information see http://trieste-in-california.berkeley.edu/ 

Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College Open House at 6 p.m. at 2550 Shattuck Ave. Tours of classrooms and clinics and information for prospective students. To RSVP call 666-8248, ext. 106.  

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

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.  

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

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. 

Prose Writer’s Workshop An ongoing group made up of friendly writers who are serious about our craft. All levels welcome. At 7 p.m. at BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. georgeporter@earthlink.net 

“A History of God” by Karen Armstrong discussion group at 6:30 p.m. at Bookmark Bookstore, 721 Washington St., Oakland. 

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. 

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

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

vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, OCT. 6 

Oakland Bird Club with Hans and Pam Peeters, authors and illustrators of “Raptors of California” at 7:30 p.m. at the Oakland Public Library, Rockridge Branch, Upstairs Meeting Room, 5366 College Ave. 444-0355.  

Songs and Stories for Working with Children in the Garden with songwriter, storyteller Nancy Schimmel at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

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. 

Café Philo, French discussion group, at 7 p.m. at The Alliance Française, 2004 Woolsey St. Cost is $5. 548-7481.  

“Beyond Chutzpah” On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and Abuse of History with Norman Finkelstein at 7:30 p.m. at St. Jopseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. 548-0542. 

Design/Build Workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. at Pella Showroom, 1717 B Fourth St. Cost is $20 in advance, $25 at the door. To register call 559-1333. www.mcbuild.com 

World Affairs/Politics Group for people 60 years and older meets at 3:30 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Cost is $2.50, includes refreshments. 524-9122. 

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

FRIDAY, OCT. 7 

Berkeley Unicycle and Juggling Festival from 5 to 9:30 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 10 a.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. www.ocf.berkeley.edu/ 

~juggle/festival 

“Trafficking of Women and Children” at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church 1640 Addison St. 655-5659, 510-581-7963. 

“Rachel Corrie: An American Conscience” a documentary at 7 p.m. at Unitarian Universalists Fellowship Hall, Bonita at Cedar.  

“Trafficking of Women and Children” at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church 1640 Addison St. 655-5659, 510-581-7963. 

“Sisters Break the Silence” Uniting to Heal from Domestic Violence. Panel discussions and workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Health Education Center, Alta Bates Summit, 400 Hawthorne Ave. Oakland. Cost is $40. To register call 869-6210. 

“A Tribute to the Negro Leagues” at 7 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, Tenth and Oak St., in conjunction with the exhibition “Baseball As America.” 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Fair Trade Rice Farming with guest farmers from Thailand at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Rice-tasing and potluck, please bring something to share. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Friends of the Oakland Library Book Sale from 10:30 to 5:30 p.m. at 721 Washington St., through Oct. 8. 444-0473. 

UC Press SIdewalk Sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 2120 Berkeley Way. All books $5-$10. www.ucpress.edu 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Carolyn Merchant, Prof. of Environmental History on “Partnership Ethics.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $13.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020. 

Solo Sierrans: Walk and Wine Tasting in North Berkeley Meet at 4 p.m. at Starbucks at corner of Cedar and Shattuck. RSVP to 841-5493, 724-3005.  

Depression Screening Learn how to manage stress and to recognize depression symptoms. Free and anonymous. Appointments available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Alta Bates Herrick Campus, 2001 Dwight Way. to register call 204-4580.  

Hillegass-Parker Co-op Open House at 5 p.m. at 2545 Hillegass Ave. 848-1936, ext. 316. 

Three Beats for Nothing sings early music for fun and practice at 10 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 655-8863. 

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

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

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

SATURDAY, OCT. 8 

Berkeley Indigenous Peoples Day Pow Wow & Indian Market Enjoy Native American foods, traditional dancing, and arts and crafts, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Grand Entry at noon. 595-5520. www.red-coral.net/Pow.html  

Mini-Farmers in Tilden A farm exploration program, from 10 to 11 a.m. for ages 4-6 years, accompanied by an adult. We will explore the Little Farm, care for animals, do crafts and farm chores. Wear boots and dress to get dirty! Fee is $6-$8. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Take Flight with Aquatic Park EGRET Enjoy seasonal treats from 4 to 6 p.m. in the historic Cabin at the southeast corner of Aquatic Park’s Main Lagoon and watch egrets gather for the night. Donation of $15 supports EGRET's bayshore habitat and trail maintenance work. 549-0818. www.egretpark.org 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland uptown to the Lake to discover Art Deco landmarks. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of the Paramount Theater at 2025 Broadway. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

Vegetarian Cooking Class “Comfort Foods Galore” at 10 a.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $40. To register visit www.compassionatecooks.com 

“What is the Human Capacity for Peace?” An examination from several religious traditions from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bade Museum, GTU, 1798 Scenic Ave. 848-9788.  

Free Emergency Preparedness Class on Disaster Mental Health from 9 a.m. to noon at 997 Cedar St., between 8th and 9th. To sign up call 981-5605. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

fire/oes.html 

Berkeley Unicycle and Juggling Variety Show at 7:30 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Cost is $12. www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~juggle/festival 

Italian Chalk Art Festival Sat. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bay Street, Emeryville. Activities for children and awards for chalk art. www.baystreetemeryville.com 

Behind the Scenes at Pixar Benefit for the Emery Ed Fund, at 11 a.m. at Pixar Studios. Cost is $100. For tickets see www.emeryed.org 

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

Planting Under Oaks with Judy Thomas, Merritt College Hort. Dept., at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

“Foods of the Americas” A market of native corn, tomatoes, peppers, chocolate, quinoa and more, through Oct. 26 at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. 

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

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

Spirit Walking Aqua Chi (TM) A gentle water exercise class at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley High Warm Pool. Cost is $3.50 per session. 526-0312. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 9 

Morning Bird Walk to welcome back the Northern Flicker, Kinglets and others, at 9:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Fall Bird Walk with birder Dennis Wolff at 9 a.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $8-$12. 643-2755. 

Halloween Animals Learn the facts and myths about cats and rats from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 525-2233. 

Blessing of the Animals at 10 a.m. at Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. Pets in carriers or on leashes requested. 524-2921. 

Green Sunday: “The War at Home” the corporate offensive from Reagan to Bush with Jack Rasmus, author, at 5 p.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. 

People’s Park Beautification Work Party from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the SW corner of the park. 658-9178. 

Breakfast Aboard the Red Oak Victory Ship from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1337 Canal Blvd, Berth #6, Richmond. Cost is $6, children under 5 free. Includes tour of the ship. 237-2933. 

“Savor the Season” from 1 to 4 p.m. at Alameda County Community Food Bank, with Food Network’s Iron Chef America Cat Cora, live and silent auctions. Tickets are $50 and include lunch and wine. This fundraiser provides low-income children and families with nutritional help during the holiday season and year round. 635-3663, ext. 328. www.accfb.org 

Shawl-Anderson Dance Center Open Studio and scholarship fundraiser from 2 to 5 p.m. at 2704 Alcatraz Ave., with performances, refreshments and raffle. 654-5921 www.shawl-anderson.org 

Spenger's Fifth Annual Crabby Chef Competition at 2 p.m. in the parking lot at 1919 Fourth Street. Enjoy live music and seafood delights while watching top East Bay chefs compete to create the best crab dish. Cooking booths open from 11 a.m. to 4:30 pm. 845-7771. 

“The Culture of Chocolate” presentations, discussions and tastings from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Phoebe Hearst Museum. Cost is $15-$15. Reservations required. 643-7649. 

“The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” family film series at 11 a.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Cost is $5. www.juliamorgan.org 

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

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, OCT. 10 

Freedom From Tobacco Class Mon. Oct. 10 and 24 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Free acupuncture option. 981-5330. 

“Popular Mobilization and the State in Bolivia Today” with Prof. Herbert S. Klein, Columbia Univ. at noon in the CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-2088. 

Building Strategic Alliances that Work! at 4 p.m. at Trader Vic’s, 9 Anchor Drive at Powell, Emeryville. Cost is $30-$50. Sponsored by the Institute of Management Consultants 800-462-8910. www.imcnorcal.org 

“Music You Can Sing” with Prof. Tom Acord, at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043.  

Critical Viewing An ongoing group to examine the art/craft(iness) of short films and television productions and its effects on our daily lives, at 1 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Free. 848-0237. georgeporter@earthlink.net 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

ONGOING 

Election Officers Need for Nov. 8th. Must be registered to vote in Alameda County and have basic clerical skills. Training provided. For information call 272-6971.  

Find a Loving Animal Companion at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society Adoption Center (open from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday). 2700 Ninth St. 845-7735. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

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

CITY MEETINGS 

Community Environmental Advisory Commission meets Tues. Oct. 4, at 7 p.m., at 2118 Milvia St. Nabil Al-Hadithy, 981-7461. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/environmentaladvisory 

Fire Safety Commission meets Wed., Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at 997 Cedar St. David Orth, 981-5502. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/firesafety 

Commission on the Status of Women meets Wed., Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Tasha Tervelon, 981-5190. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/commissions/women 

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 6, at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5400. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/housing 

Public Works Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 6, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jeff Egeberg, 981-6406. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/publicworks 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Oct. 6, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/zoning   

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

citycouncil/agenda-committee 

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Oct. 12, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/homeless 

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Anyone who’s lived in Northern California for a few years is bound to have mixed feelings about October. It is arguably our most beautiful month: warm sunny days, crisp fog-free nights, clear enough to see the moon and all the stars even in the city. But October’s gorgeous weather stirs memories in many of us of two October events in the last twenty years that reminded us of our mortality, and of the fragile grip we have on our lotus-eater lives even in this perfect-seeming region.  

The Loma Prieta earthquake on Oct. 17, 1989, was a stunning surprise to most people here who had never lived through a real earthquake with extensive damage and loss of life. The most shocking aspect of this earthquake was the failure of public infrastructure: the Cypress section of the freeway in Oakland and the Bay Bridge. Most people at the time believed in the basic competence of the civil authorities: that “they know what they’re doing.” It turned out that “they” had made a number of miscalculations about the public works which were under their care, and people suffered the consequences. 

Not long afterwards, in 1991, we had the Oakland hills firestorm. Every lovely warm October day I’m reminded of how I was sitting drinking coffee with a neighbor on the deck at my house, which has a panoramic view of Ashby Avenue traffic, when what seemed like twenty fire engines roared past at top speed with sirens blaring. “Something’s really wrong,” she said, and she was right. This turned out to be another case where “they” didn’t get the planning quite right: the lack of interoperability between Oakland and other fire departments had major bad consequences, though the firefighters themselves did a heroic job of saving many houses, including mine. 

Is the lesson here that we shouldn’t rely on “them” to take care of us? Well, it’s certainly a good idea to have the right kind of supplies stashed away in your backyard, assuming of course that you have a backyard to stash them in. But that doesn’t do much for the Bay Area’s many citizens who live in places too small to store two weeks worth of emergency rations. Or for those who are away from home when the crisis hits, perhaps riding a bicycle in an unfamiliar neighborhood, or on Bart. During the earthquake, we were in our unreinforced masonry office on Telegraph, on the very shaky second floor of the building which now houses Rasputin’s (and was retrofitted by the current owner). Just a few more Richter notches, and bottled water wouldn’t have done us much good.  

At the time of the big fire, my husband was in Tahoe at a conference, and my visiting elderly aunt was on a bus tour of the Napa Valley. I was home alone, but kept my cool. I packed up the car with all the “important” stuff, ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice—and then locked my keys inside. I hitched a ride in my neighbor’s pickup truck, taking only a portrait of my daughter painted by a dead friend. So much for planning ahead…  

Reports coming out of New Orleans this week are emphasizing the folly of relying on a patchwork of voluntary organizations or on individual initiatives to pick up the pieces after a disaster strikes. And relief organizations can’t do much to prevent problems beforehand.  

Many press commentators, especially those in other countries, have contrasted the U.S. damage caused by Katrina with the Cuban government’s smooth handling of hurricanes just as severe, most recently Ivan in 2004. Here’s what the Associated Press report in September of 2004 said about Cuba’s program: “Evacuations here are widespread and mandatory. Civil defense plans are highly developed, with preparedness education programs for the entire population.” People are quickly moved out of harm’s way, and they’re back home soon, because property damage is quickly repaired by government workers after the hurricane passes. 

“The Cuban way could easily be applied to other countries with similar economic conditions, and even in countries with greater resources that do not manage to protect their population as well as Cuba does,” Salvano Briceno, director of the U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, told the AP last year. In a country with the enormous resources that we have in the United States, there’s no excuse for not having well-organized government-executed plans on the national level to deal with predictable disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and fires. And no, we won’t accept the excuse that the Bush regime just doesn’t like the federal government. Even Republicans know that’s lame. 

As Berkeley prepares to remake its downtown once again at the behest of the University of California, we had the pleasure of spending Friday night in downtown Santa Cruz, which remade its downtown at the behest of the Loma Prieta fault. After the 1989 earthquake, the city hastily demolished many of the buildings on Pacific Avenue, and has been rebuilding the streetscape there ever since, with the aid of a redevelopment authority to coerce reluctant property owners into going with the flow. Berkeley won’t have the Draconian power that the earthquake gave Santa Cruz (G_d forbid we should have such an earthquake here!) But it’s useful to take a look at what works and what doesn’t, in a situation where almost everything’s possible.  

First, they didn’t ban cars on Pacific, though many trendies argued for this. What they did do is make it much harder for cars to use it, with one-way sections, traffic barriers diverting drivers to parallel streets, and very short-term and expensive parking meters that operate until 8 at night seven days a week. So you can still pick up your to-go pizza at Pizza My Heart, but if you want to stay longer you have to park at one of the big garages on the side streets or walk downtown as we did. This is much more sensible than Berkeley’s approach, where surface parking is cheaper than most off-street garages and free after six and on Sundays. Buses use parallel streets, not Pacific, making walking and bicycling in the street and on the sidewalk there much more pleasant than it is in Berkeley. Someone here seems to have decided that diesel fumes will add to the outdoor dining experience on our main streets.  

Pacific, always narrow, has been made even narrower, with the expanded sidewalks a good venue for street life of all kinds. We had dinner at a perfectly acceptable Mexican restaurant which had been allowed to set up tables on the wide sidewalk. Purists in our group thought that the owners should have been made to pay the city for the privilege, but we all enjoyed being able to eat outside, especially because the 4-year-old, up past her bedtime, was making a lot of noise from time to time.  

She was pleasantly diverted by the appearance of the Umbrella Man, dressed all in pink and carrying a pink parasol. He insists on walking slowly straight down the middle of the sidewalk—if anyone blocks his way, he just stands absolutely still until the person moves on. Because the woman in his way was engaged in an energetic conversation and didn’t notice him, he stood next to our dinner table for more than 10 minutes. The 4-year-old finally went over and asked him why he would only walk in a straight line. “Because I want to,” he said. Of course. 

There’s an ongoing battle between those who think that straightforward old-fashioned panhandling ought to be allowed on Pacific and those who think that only entertainers should be able to accept donations there. This currently seems to have resulted in a few distinctly untalented souls trying to make music on the street, but they’re joined by many real musicians and other entertainers. We encountered, among others, a terrific nine-member mariachi, a group that was doing excellent taiko-style drumming with home-made instruments, a classical cellist and a small R&B band set up in a dead end where dancing was permitted.  

The Santa Cruz city attorney made the same foolish mistake that the Berkeley city attorney once made, advising their council that the U.S. Constitution permitted regulation of what panhandlers said, so the city could ban asking for spare change. Homeless advocate Robert Nichol is $2,500 richer for that mistake, after he settled his lawsuit against the city of Santa Cruz for that price and the council’s agreement to change the law to comply with the Constitution.  

The street was crowded with people of all ages, clearly in a holiday mood. Many of them seemed to be weekend tourists, judging by what was printed on their T-shirts. All of the stores were open—many of them tschotchke shops, but quite attractive for the casual shopper. Some necessities of life were on sale: upscale organic groceries, books, clothing, fancy cookware … though at prices higher than mall or Internet competition. There’s a big multi-plex theater at one end of the mall, and two blocks down the historic Del Mar Theater has been restored for art films. 

UC Santa Cruz has managed to squeeze a big ugly building or two onto the street, with dead-at-night offices on the first floor and students upstairs. The students seem to be enjoying getting away from their idyllic ranch campus, but they are an uneasy mix with the senior housing that is on the upper floors of other buildings. Our hosts told us that downtown noise complaints are an on-going problem: what’s just good fun for some is a nuisance for others. 

All in all, there’s a faint Disneyesque aura over the whole scene. As in Disneyland, most of the buildings are new but not contemporary in style, though they’re not exactly historic either. A lot of America these days seems to be morphing into Disneyland, but then of course a lot of Americans love Disneyland. 

Matt Taecker, a UC Planning School graduate and professional planner, has been hired by the city of Berkeley’s planning department to run the Downtown Area Plan process. He’s a former Peter Calthorpe Associates principal who seems from the website of his current firm, Catalyst of San Francisco, to be a disciple of the New Urbanist school of city planning. The New Urbanists gave Florida the tightly controlled Disney housing development town of Celebration, regarded as lovely by many and deeply scary by others. New Urbanism has proposed many good ideas, but has also been criticized for promoting a kind of faux skin-deep charm that misses the excitingly gritty atmosphere of real historic cities like San Francisco. We’ll have to wait and see whether the new downtown that he and the University of California are going to create in Berkeley will be more like San Francisco or more like Santa Cruz. It should be interesting.