Leaders of the Draft Ron Dellums movement said they believe that the former Congressmember did not make a decision to run for mayor of Oakland in next year’s election until minutes before he mounted the stage at Laney College Friday to make his announcement. 

In a dramatic moment, Dellums told a standing-room-only crowd of supporters in the Laney College Auditorium, as well as a battery of television cameras, “If Ron Dellums running for mayor gives you hope, then let’s get on with it.” 

The audience leaped to its feet, and the roar of approval was deafening. 

But leaders of the three-month-long campaign that collected 8,000 signatures on petitions asking Dellums to run say an even more dramatic moment came a half-hour before in a Laney conference room when organizers made a final pitch to convince the retired Oakland-Berkeley congressman to enter the race to become Oakland’s next mayor. 

“We had about 30 people up there, and it was very emotional,” said Oakland educator Kitty Kelly Epstein, one of the draft Dellums leaders. “One by one, people got up and made their case for why Ron should run. People talked about the future of Oakland. There were tears in people’s eyes, including Ron’s.” 

Epstein said that while Dellums told supporters he appreciated their support, he gave no indication of what his response to the petition campaign would be. 

Both Epstein and Oakland Black Caucus Chair Geoffrey Pete, another petition campaign leader, said they had talked before the meeting with several people close to Dellums and realized that none of them was sure of Dellums’ intentions. 

After the presentations, Dellums said he needed to speak with his wife, Cynthia, and the room in the administration building was cleared to allow the two of them to talk in private. From there, the two walked the short distance across the Laney campus to the auditorium, where hundreds of Oakland activists as well as a throng of local political leaders had gathered to hear his announcement, greeting the former congressman with chants of “Run, Ron, run!” and “Si, se puedes!” 

Even then, at first, Dellums did not reveal his plans. 

“I’m mounting this podium like a jazz musician,” he said. “I don’t know how this song will end until I get to the last note.” 

Pete said he suspected that Dellums had actually prepared two separate speeches for the Laney event, one of which announced his running, but the other that explained a decision not to run. 

When Dellums said, at the beginning of the speech, that “When people approached me about running, I took it very seriously,” Pete said that his heart sank. “It sounded like he was preparing to say ‘I appreciate the effort, but I can’t,’ It was an emotional rollercoaster.” 

The coaster took a sharp turn moments later, when Dellums began a riff in the speech that stopped talking about whether he would run and began speculating about “what a Dellums for mayor campaign would be like.” 

In the front row of the audience another pensive draft Dellums organizer, veteran Oakland political activist Gene Hazzard, flashed a grin that grew wider and wider and never left his face until the end of the speech. The raucous response from the audience became more like a tent revival than a political meeting or a press conference, with people beginning to shout “Yes!” and “Hallelujah!” 

At one point, when Dellums said that he would not have run without the approval of his wife, someone shouted out, “Thank you, Cynthia!” 

Shortly after the end of his speech, while followers and politicians milled around the stage, Dellums’ cell phone rang, and he held a brief conversation under the glare of the television camera lights. He explained that it had been a call from Rep. Barbara Lee, who had been his aide while he was in Congress. Lee replaced him in office in 1998. 

In throwing his hat in the ring to replace outgoing, term-limited Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, Dellums tried to downplay expectations. 

“Only in the comic books does someone go into a telephone booth and change their clothes and come out as Superman,” he said. “No one individual can make the kinds of changes in this community you are looking for. It can only be done as a community.” 

He said that his goal as mayor would be to use Oakland as an example of the way local citizens can work to solve regional and national problems, leaving no one behind. 

“Wouldn’t it be magnificent if the gateway to this community read ‘Welcome To Oakland, The Model City’?” he asked. “A city where we came together to grapple with every issue that exists that affects the human condition. We could start a dialogue about universal health care in this incredible community and work to put together a system that guarantees health care for every citizen. Win or lose, wouldn’t that be a magnificent journey?” 

Taking a dig at Oakland’s developer-oriented government, he also downplayed the charges that this would be a solely African-American campaign to return a black mayor to office in Oakland. 

“The strength of Oakland is in its diversity,” he said. “Development is wonderful. Development is necessary. But when the dust settles and the smoke clears, we must embrace the principle that all of Oakland’s diverse community must move forward together. That’s the principle we must embrace. No portion of this community should be standing in line saying ‘I’m waiting for my turn.’ This will be a multi-cultural and multi-racial campaign and administration.” 

Even before his announcement, prospects of a Dellums campaign was already shaking up the 2006 Oakland mayor’s race. 

Oakland School Advisory Board member Greg Hodge, an announced mayoral candidate, had earlier indicated that he would consider dropping out of the mayoral race if Dellums entered. Shortly after the Dellums speech he deferred an announcement, saying that “Out of respect, I need to meet, first, with the people who have been supporting my campaign.” 

He also said he wanted to speak with Dellums first, if possible, before making a decision. 

“It’s my personal feeling to defer to Dellums because of his stature, and because I wouldn’t want to divide the African-American community or the progressive vote in Oakland,” Hodge said. “My preference would be to work with him in areas that I am familiar with, particularly education issues.” 

A second candidate, Oakland School Advisory Board member Dan Siegel, was also leaning toward dropping out in favor of Dellums. 

“He will be a strong, progressive candidate,” Siegel said by telephone on Monday. “I’m inclined to think that I should support him, but before I do so, I need to talk both with him and with my supporters.” 

A third candidate, Alameda County Treasurer Don White, had said when Dellums’ name first surfaced as a possible mayoral candidate that he would consider dropping out if Dellums ran. Neither White nor another candidate, Oakland City Councilmember Nancy Nadel, was available for comment. 

On Monday morning, a calendar on Nadel’s website listed a series of campaign community meetings through October, and sources who had talked with her last week said that she had indicated no plans to leave the campaign. 

One candidate who will almost certainly not drop out is Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente. In a television interview shortly after the Dellums announcement on Friday, De La Fuente said that he was looking forward to the upcoming campaign. 

“Is he the front-runner?” De La Fuente asked. “Absolutely, and that’s fine. I’ve always been the underdog and I’ve always managed to show people I can get things done.” 

The first round of the Oakland mayor’s election will be held in June. If no one receives more than half the vote, the two top candidates will compete in a runoff in November. 

8

According to Luis Damerell, until last year living near the corner of Allston Way and Ninth Street seemed like a nightmare. 

“The streets were filled with drug dealers and thugs,” he said. “People were afraid to go outside. It was like being in a lockdown situation.” 

These days, Damerell said, the situation has improved. 

The change, he said, wouldn’t have happened if not for Neighborhood Solutions, a three-year-old Oakland nonprofit that helps neighbors fight nuisance properties by filing small claims court lawsuits against the property owners. 

In Damerell’s neighborhood, 23 people sued James Ross, who they said allowed dealers to sell drugs and hold rowdy parties at his home on the corner of Ninth and Allston. They won a ruling for $115,000, and although they haven’t collected a cent, they succeeded in pressuring Ross to sell his home. 

The case was the first victory in Berkeley for Neighborhood Solutions, and it further established the organization as a major player in the East Bay’s fight against problem properties, so much so that Oakland officials now refer residents to the organization. 

Since the ruling against Ross, Neighborhood Solutions has forced UC Berkeley Co-op Le Chateau to pay neighbors $32,500 for years of unruly behavior and made the owner of a burnt-out building on Spaulding Street clean up the property, which neighbors said was home to drug addicts. It now has six pending nuisance cases in Berkeley. 

The most celebrated one is a group of neighbors suing Lenora Moore, a 75-year-old Berkeley woman whose family members have been repeatedly arrested for selling drugs near her home and on other charges. 

With a court date scheduled for Thursday, Moore’s allies have emerged as the organization’s sharpest critics. 

“They’re going against the spirit of what small claims court is supposed to do,” said Osha Neumann, an attorney who is advising Moore. “I don’t think we’re getting a neighborhood solution out of Neighborhood Solutions.” 

Humble beginnings 

Neighborhood Solutions is the creation of Grace Neufeld, a life-long Oakland resident, who lives in the Maxwell Park area. In 1994, as the neighborhood block captain, Neufeld participated in a successful smalls claims court suit against the owner of a neighboring house, where the tenants kept pit bulls that Neufeld said terrorized the neighborhood. 

The case was organized by Safe Streets Now, which lost city funding in Oakland shortly afterwards when one of its members was charged with cocaine trafficking.  

Having learned the ropes of preparing small claims court cases, Neufeld, a graphic designer and publisher by trade, led neighbors in a suit against the owner of the local liquor store she said was a center for drug dealing. 

The neighbors prevailed and after the store closed down, Neufeld said she started getting inquiries from other neighborhood leaders to help them initiate lawsuits.  

In 2002, two years after she stopped publishing her monthly newspaper, The Pet Companion, she formed Neighborhood Solutions. As executive director, she helps clients document neighborhood nuisances and leads them through the process of filing a small claims case. In most of her cases, several plaintiffs seek the maximum of $5,000 to pressure the property owner to end the nuisance. 

The nonprofit has not been a money-maker for Neufeld, who relies on her husband’s business reselling unwanted storage items for her income. She asks clients for donations, but only receives compensation when her clients collect on their court victories, a rarity in small claims cases. 

To date Neufeld, whose fee is 30 percent of the settlement award, said she has collected about $25,000 from two cases.  

“I’m not doing this for the money,” said Neufeld, who keeps the organization’s telephone number unlisted. “A lot of the people I work with can’t afford upfront fees. I don’t think they should be prevented from having this option available to them.” 

The fee structure, which Neufeld sees as egalitarian, Neumann said gives her an incentive to push neighbors into court. 

“She has a financial interest in pursuing that solution,” he said. 

Neufeld said that only about one-third of her cases ever goes to court, and that in most circumstances a demand letter from neighbors or mediation solves the dispute. 

Opponents 

For cases that do go to court, Neumann said Neighborhood Solutions is exploiting the small claims process. 

“In the case of Lenora Moore, they’re using small claims court to make a family sell its house. That’s not the mission of the court,” he said. Neumann said a court case won’t help Moore’s neighbors, because even if Moore loses she won’t sell her home. 

Neumann added that the neighbors, with the backing of Neufeld and her nonprofit’s advisory board, had an unfair advantage over the defendants in preparing their cases. 

“The neighbors are much better positioned than Lenora is,” he said. “There is some kind of fundamental unfairness there that doesn’t seem right.” 

Neighborhood Solutions has won about 90 percent of cases that have gone to trial, according to Neufeld.  

Neumann blamed city and county officials for not doing more to solve the issues surrounding Moore, who recently sought and received stay-away orders against six of her family members who have drug arrests. 

“Why hadn’t the DA issued stay-away orders before?” he said. “People were being busted there repeatedly.” 

Officials say the group serves a niche 

Some of Neighborhood Solutions’ staunchest supporters are city workers who handle problem properties.  

“I think they’ve been pretty effective,” said Michael Caplan, who coordinated the city’s response to the Ross house at Ninth and Allston. “We’re having movement on nuisance properties that have been problems for years.” 

Sandra Sanders-West, West Oakland’s neighborhood services coordinator, said she refers residents to Neighborhood Solutions. 

“This is a huge city with a lot of issues,” she said. “There isn’t enough manpower to hold people’s hands through every nuisance problem.” 

Caplan said he doesn’t refer residents to Neighborhood Solutions, but if, after exhausting other avenues, they ask for the group’s phone number, he’ll supply it. 

When it comes to dealing with nuisance properties, Caplan said Neighborhood Solutions’ reliance on civil law is often more effective than the city’s tools for criminal enforcement. 

“It’s fundamentally challenging to enforce against minor quality of life crimes by using the police,” he said.  

Caplan said by the time police respond to a call for service there are often no grounds to make an arrest. In the case of the Ross house, he said, the city in one week spent over $30,000 on police surveillance. The operation led to arrests and cut back on the nuisance, but within weeks, he said, the problem had returned. 

Neighborhood Solutions instructs clients to document what they call quality of life violations, such as harassment, loitering and late-night noise, in preparation for a small claims court trial. Neufeld said cities are often less effective at solving major nuisance cases because they fear being sued and they can’t be seen to favor one side or the other. 

Last year, Oakland passed a law giving the city new authority to fine the owners of problem properties. Sanders-West said that despite the new law, residents still prefer civil action. “The municipal process takes a lot of time,” she said. “People want a way to move forward with their concerns.” 

Sanders-West said Neighborhood Solutions has helped residents who are at their wits’ end over a nuisance, but said the small claims court route hasn’t been a cure-all. 

Since it is difficult for plaintiffs to receive the damage awards won in court—often victorious plaintiffs must file liens and wait until the property is sold—a court victory doesn’t always end the nuisance, she said. 

“For a few months there’s a change,” she said, “but when people realize they can’t go after them for damages, they go back to their old habits.” 

Gentrification 

Several of those helping Lenora Moore, who is African-American, question whether the action by her neighbors, some of whom are themselves African-American, is a tool of gentrification. 

“This is a case of long-term homeowners being ganged up on by people with much more resources that are trying to change the make-up of the neighborhood,” said Leo Stegman, a paralegal with the East Bay Community Law Center, who is serving Moore outside his role with the law center.  

“These are Berkeley people,” said Andrea Pritchard of Copwatch, noting that Moore has owned the house since 1963, and it has been in her family since 1916. “It’s our responsibility to lift them up, not kick them out.” 

Neufeld said her work was not about gentrification. 

“It’s more about people defending the right to have people in their own house,” she said. 

She said several of her current cases involve mostly African American plaintiffs, including a case on Fifth Street in West Berkeley where she is helping a group of African American residents organize against a white property owner she says has allowed tenants to create a neighborhood nuisance. 

The Clients 

Shomari Mustafa and Rashida Mustafa Mohamed of Chester Street in West Oakland worked with Neufeld on a suit against their next-door neighbor. They said the neighbor sold drugs, defaced their car and threatened to assault them. After winning $7,000 in damages, they are now in mediation with the family. 

“Grace has been a Godsend to us,” said Mustafa, adding that he believed he would have ended up trading blows with his neighbors if Neufeld had not gotten involved. 

“She said, ‘Sister Rashida, shoot them with the camera.’ Mustafa Mohamed said. “It worked,” she added. “Without her we wouldn’t have had time to fill out the paper work for court and without the ruling we wouldn’t be having serious mediation discussions.” 

The couple said they would recommend Neighborhood Solutions to neighbors, but Neufeld said for now she wasn’t doing much work in Oakland. 

“Berkeley’s keeping me really busy,” she said. 

Youth Radio, Berkeley’s award-winning media outlet for East Bay high school-aged students, is planning to move to Oakland. 

The youth-run organization that won a Peabody Award three years ago is planning to purchase a three-story building at 1701 Broadway in Oakland, according to a staff member who asked to remain anonymous. Sid Ewing, of real estate brokerage firm C B Richard Ellis, said the property is in escrow but would not say who the buyer is. 

Neither party would name the purchase price or predict Youth Radio’s planned move-in date. 

Youth Radio has been looking to buy a building for the past three years, said Patrick Kennedy, who owns the group’s current headquarters at 1809 University Ave. 

The new location in Oakland would give Youth Radio five times more space than its current home. 

“We’ve been bursting at the seams for the past few years,” a Youth Radio executive told the Daily Planet. Currently Youth Radio has only one recording studio, forcing students to wait in line to produce segments. 

About 40 to 45 percent of Youth Radio participants hail from Oakland, more than from any other city. 

Youth Radio had tried to buy a larger space in Berkeley near a BART stop. According to Kennedy, Youth Radio nearly closed a deal to buy a building on Shattuck Avenue near the corner of Cedar Street. Kennedy added that Youth Radio’s lease ran through 2007, but contains a provision allowing the organization to leave earlier. 

Berkeley High teacher Rick Ayers, who has worked with Youth Radio to train students and install Berkeley High’s sound studio, said he didn’t think the move to Oakland would affect Berkeley High students. 

“It makes it a little less convenient to go there, but I think it will be fine for us,” he said. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington said Youth Radio officials had already alerted him of the impending move. 

“We’re glad that they found a place to enable them to expand,” he said. “I’m sure Berkeley people will still be involved.” 

Youth Radio received more than $2.5 million in contributions in 2003, according to tax statements and ended the year with more than $1.6 million in net assets. 

The 20,235-square-foot building at 1701 Broadway was listed for $3.1 million, said Barbara Kami of Ellwood Patrick Ellwood Commercial Real Estate. 

Youth Radio got its start in Berkeley 13 years ago with a handful of high school students. Now, with funding from major Bay Area foundations, the station teaches radio journalism to about 200 East Bay youth from Union City to Richmond. 

Besides being an Internet radio outlet, Youth Radio produces segments for local stations including KQED and KPFA. 

In 2002 Youth Radio won the Peabody Award for “enabling thousands of teenagers to express their views, to experience civic engagement and to develop critical thinking skills, teamwork and self-esteem.” 

The next year, the National Association of Black Journalists awarded Youth Radio its “Salute to Excellence” honors for a radio documentary examining Oakland’s soaring murder rate through the eyes of a teenager. 

When Khawaja Ashraf of Berkeley learned Saturday that a major earthquake had devastated his native Pakistan, he immediately telephoned relatives still living in the country. 

“My cousins live in the same area as the apartment buildings that collapsed in Islamabad, but they are OK,” said Ashraf, president of the Pakistani-American Conference and a native of Lower Punjab, which sustained relatively few casualties from the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that has claimed an estimated 20,000 lives throughout the area as a whole. 

Though Ashraf had no difficulty telephoning relatives, all of whom were unhurt, he said acquaintances reported being unable to contact family members who lived closer to the earthquake’s epicenter, Muzaffarabad, the capitol of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir—about 60 miles northeast of Islamabad, the nation’s capitol. 

“One person had to call someone from a nearby town and ask him to go on foot to see if his relatives had survived,” he said.  

Ashraf said the Pakistani-American Conference, which comprises over 400 organizations, held a conference call yesterday to coordinate aid shipments.  

“From what we have been told, people are out in the cold with no food, warm clothes, blankets, medicine, nothing at all,” he said. 

Mohammed Sherali, an 18-year-old employee at the Naan ‘N Curry on College Avenue, said he made sure his family in Lahore was safe, but otherwise has been too busy working to follow news of the earthquake. 

“I went to mosque Friday right before it happened, so I have not had a chance to discuss it very much,” he said. 

Both Ashraf and Sherali praised other countries for sending relief missions, including Pakistan’s rival, India, which has pledged 25 tons of needed supplies. 

“It’s nice of them,” Sherali said. “We need the help.” 

Ashraf said the international relief was critical because Pakistan was ill-equipped to deal with a major earthquake. “There was no equipment to pull people out of rubble,” he said. 

UC Berkeley students are collecting donations for earthquake victims, said Sunaena Chhatry, president of the Association of South Asian Political Activists, which is working with UC Berkeley’s Pakistani Student Association and INDUS, a South Asian cultural group. 

Ashraf, who also publishes the Berkeley-based online newspaper, PakistanWeekly.com, said an East Bay fundraiser was being scheduled for Sunday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Chandani Restaurant, 5748 Mowry School Road in Balentine Plaza, Newark. 

For those who can’t attend the fundraiser, Ashraf recommended that donations be mailed to: Embassy of Pakistan, 3517 International Court, NW, Washington, D.C.. 20008. 

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake—not strong enough to do damage but enough to awaken a Daily Planet reporter—rumbled through the Berkeley hills early Sunday morning. 

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Menlo Park, the epicenter of the quake, which struck at 2:01 a.m., was 3.8 miles beneath the intersection of The Uplands and Hillcrest just inside the city’s southernmost border with Oakland. 

The USGS received 858 reports from people who felt the quake, the largest numbers from Berkeley and North Oakland, and including 1 from Palo Alto, 49 miles away from the epicenter. 

For amateur seismologists, the easiest way to check for Bay Area shakers is at the USGS map site, found at http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Maps/122-38.html. 

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Photo by Jakob Schiller: Hayward resident Ronnie Yellowhair, a Navajo and a member of the Traditional Men’s Dance Group, performs an inter-tribal dance at the Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration at Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Saturday..

Citizens concerned about the impacts of a proposed 173-unit condominium project planned for 700 University Ave. will have a chance to raise their questions Thursday afternoon. 

That’s when the city of Berkeley’s Planning Department will hold a 4 to 6 p.m. scoping session in their second floor conference room at 2118 Milvia St. to help prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) on the project. 

Urban Housing Group (UHG), a San Mateo firm which specializes in development of mixed-use residential and commercial projects at urban transit hubs, wants to tear down the buildings housing Brennan’s Restaurant and Celia’s Mexican Restaurant to make way for two four- and five-story buildings featuring housing built atop ground floor commercial spaces. 

The project site includes the block bounded by Fourth Street on the east and the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks on the west between Addison Street and University Avenue. 

If all goes as planned, Brennan’s would move into the landmarked railroad station at the northwest corner of the lot—although a notice recently on display inside the pub said that “Brennan’s has not had any negotiations with UHG to decide the future of our building and our business.” 

While Brennan’s has several years remaining on its lease, Celia’s is renting on a month-by-month basis, said manager Carlos Robles, who has been with the restaurant since it first opened in West Berkeley in 1977. 

While Celia’s has opened a new restaurant in Hayward, Robles said the owner is looking for a new location in Berkeley. In the interim, the Mexican eatery continues serve its loyal customers at their present location at 2040 Fourth St. 

UHG is a subsidiary of Marcus and Millichap Co., a leading national real estate investment brokerage. Chair George M. Marcus is a member of the University of California Board of Regents and an advisor to the Haas Real Estate Group of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. 

The project generated opposition from Berkeley preservationists, leading to applications by Gale Garcia to give landmark protections to both restaurant buildings. Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) awarded structure of merit status to the Celia’s building, a decision later overturned by the City Council. 

But a pair of recent California appellate court decisions have held that recognition of a building’s historical merit by an expert body like the LPC, even though later overturned by a higher, non-expert body like the City Council, is sufficient to require a full environmental impact report when a project calls for demolition of the building. 

Another set of objections which had focused on the possibility that archaeological remains from the leveled West Berkeley shellmound might be present on the site were dismissed after soil core samples showed no evidence of artifacts or human remains. 

As currently planned, the project will consist of two buildings, a smaller one on the north end of the property running between Fourth Street and a parking lot for the railroad station and a larger structure at the southern end running the full width of the property between Fourth Street and the tracks. 

The smaller building would contain 60 residential units over ground floor commercial and parking, while the larger building would house 113 residential units with no retail. The project calls for 31 of the units to be marketed at so-called affordable rates. 

In addition, plans call for 214 parking spaces for cars and 24 spaces for bicycles. 

Thursday’s scoping session will gather public comments to be used in determining the full scope of the EIR. 

For those unable to attend the meeting, the city will also take written comments through next Monday. They should be addressed to City of Berkeley, Current Planning, Attention: Greg Powell, 2118 Milvia St., Berkeley 94704. 

The city’s initial study on the project can be found on the Internet at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning. 

That document identified seven different areas where the project could have significant impacts, including aesthetics, air quality, cultural resources, geology and soils, hazards and hazardous material, hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, noise and transportation/traffic.?

The closing credits scene in the hour-long documentary Soul of Justice: Thelton Henderson’s American Journey could take its title from the Lonne Elder play: Ceremonies in Dark Old Men. 

Three white-haired, white-bearded black men—old friends—gather in a kitchen, singing the old doo-wop standard “Speedo.” The song title is an ironic twist, since the three men represent not speed, but the long, patient, often dignified, and sometimes majestic struggle of African-Americans to enter the mainstream of California and American life. One of the men, Troy Duster, is a sociology professor at the University of California at Berkeley. The second is Russ Ellis, a former UCB Vice Chancellor. The third, Berkeley resident Thelton Henderson, is a United States District Judge, and despite his low-key demeanor, one of the most powerful men in the state. 

Produced and directed by local filmmaker Abby Ginzberg, a lawyer who once taught at the UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall Law School herself, Soul of Justice documents just how remarkable Henderson’s journey has been through a blend of television file footage and shooting that includes interviews with the judge and his long list of associates and admirers. The film made its debut at the Mill Valley Film Festival last weekend. 

It starts in depression-era Los Angeles, where Henderson’s mother moved from her native Louisiana looking for a better life . Athletics took Henderson to the University of California in the early 1950s, the pre-affirmative action days when he was one of only 17 African-Americans in a class of 1,500. After an injury ended his college football career, his attention to studies gained him entry to Boalt Hall. At that time, says Boalt classmate Henry Ramsey (a former California Superior Court judge himself), Boalt admitted only one African-American a year. “Whenever there were two admitted in a given year,” Ramsey continues, “one was being flunked out.” 

Before he graduated from Boalt, Henderson was recruited as the only African-American attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Kennedy Justice Department, and in that capacity the film follows him as he was both an eyewitness and a participant in the most dangerous and tumultuous period of the southern civil rights era, running from admission of the first black—James Meredith—to the University of Mississippi, through the assassination of Medgar Evers, the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, and the beginnings of the struggles in Selma that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. 

“Walking around in that suit and tie, he was in some danger,” civil rights veteran Andrew Young says in one of the film’s interviews. “He was just another nigger, to put it bluntly, although I don’t think he realized that.”  

Picked by Jimmy Carter to be one of the first black federal judges in modern times, Henderson’s judicial career runs through the center of many of the most pressing and divisive issues of our time: the 1970s black prison movement led by Soledad Brother George Jackson, the protest against the slaughter of dolphins by tuna fisheries, the affirmative action battles culminating in Henderson’s unconstitutionality ruling on Ward Connerly’s Proposition 209, and returning to the prison struggles to issue rulings against prison guard brutality. 

Many of his decisions are considered landmarks of progressive law, including forcing both the tuna industry and the federal government to protect the dolphins, as well as, most recently, putting prisoner health care in California under federal control after prison officials admitted they couldn’t do the job themselves.  

Along the way, the film shows how Henderson has gained the enmity of some of the more influential political figures of our time, including Connerly and Republican congressional leader Tom Delay, who is famously shown in the documentary accusing Henderson of being a judge “drunk with power” and calling for his impeachment.  

Filmmaker Abby Ginzberg says that her hope for the project is that “it will serve as a provocative introduction to some of the most troubling social issues of the day—the role of the federal courts, the future of affirmative action, the need for and the difficulty of prison reform, the challenge of being a black man in authority in America, and the need to protect the constitutional rights of the dispossessed.” She said she picked Henderson as her subject because “his was a compelling and important American story, and if I did not tell it, it would not get told.” 

Soul of Justice shows a man behind all of this action hardly susceptible to any kind of intoxication, with power or anything else. It is the portrait of a quiet, thoughtful man, appearing shy and reserved in his conversations, but with a steely moral core that comes out stated in even tones, rather than shouted. 

Speaking of his time as a federal monitor during the civil rights period, Henderson talks of the quiet agony he felt trying to reconcile his roles as a black man and a government official. “I kept asking myself, was I going to be Joe Friday and just get the facts, ma’am, or was I going to hurl myself into the face of injustice and fight it,” he says. “I’ve never resolved that.” 

If Thelton Henderson hasn’t resolved that contradiction, Soul of Justice shows that in our lifetime, he did a better job at it than most. 

?

After Hurricane Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast, the nation’s ethnic media tracked the grassroots efforts of ethnic communities to find and shelter their own. Now, ethnic media editors and activists report, those community networks are strained to the breaking point.  

Giao Pham, associate managing editor for Nguoi-Viet Daily News, traveled to the Gulf region shortly after the storm. Pham reported for the Westminster (Calif.)-based paper on a Vietnamese mall in Houston that became a meeting place for storm survivors. From there, many Vietnamese sought shelter in area churches and convents.  

Today, “Vietnamese are still living in churches and temples in Houston and Baton Rouge” and resources are stretched thin, Pham said in an interview. Pham says he spoke recently with Father Hung of St. Le Van Phung Catholic Church in Baton Rouge. “He told me that since the hurricane, the church has spent about $20,000 extra in utility bills and other expenses” to house about 300 Vietnamese evacuees.  

Temple and church leaders, Pham stresses, remain firm in their commitment to provide shelter. “They know these Vietnamese families can’t stay forever, but they are waiting for a sufficient policy from the federal government” before sending any families onward. Church and temple leaders “all say that,” Pham says.  

Minh Thu Lynagh of Greensboro, N.C., calls herself a “professional volunteer” who went to Biloxi, Miss., and other Gulf cities about a week after Katrina. Lynagh, who helped Vietnamese boat people resettle in Washington, D.C., in the 1970s as a public health worker, confirms Pham’s view of growing pressures at the grassroots level.  

“I’ve talked to some people in churches and nonprofits and they’re totally exhausted,” she says. “Their staffs are small.”  

Syndicated black media commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson points to the irony that millions of dollars in disaster-relief donations and taxes for homeland defense have not reached effective, frontline relief efforts.  

“You hear stories about the southern part of Louisiana—the Creole, Cajun, Native American communities and small towns—getting no help from the Red Cross and FEMA,” Hutchinson said in an interview. Still, some black churches and citizen volunteers have done a “marvelous job” even without “a nickel” from federal agencies, Hutchinson says.  

The Vietnamese fisherman community on the Gulf Coast, activist Lynagh says, “has very low education, even in Vietnamese. They didn’t even know the difference between the Red Cross and FEMA.” Many, she says, have no bank accounts.  

Lynagh says she and other Vietnamese activists have workable plans to link Vietnamese communities across the country to help with mid-term relocation and long-term employment of storm survivors. But “with no money, you can’t get any money and can’t achieve those goals.”  

In a letter to the editor of the Washington Afro-American titled “Help Me!,” Toni Gaines and Warren Newton pled for funds for their former pastor, the Rev. Lowell Case of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Baton Rouge, La., whose church is aiding evacuees.  

Twenty to 25 evacuees are staying at parishioners’ homes, Case said in an interview. “In my house I have a family of one of my priests staying with me. Five, six people, it changes every day.” The church’s school is now completely full with new students displaced by the storm.  

“We’re at the max in class size,” Case says. “We ran out of book bags, and then received a donation of 150 book bags.  

“We have enough to make payroll this month and the next,” Case says. “I don’t know what the long view is. We’re just doing it day by day.”  

African American media have tracked the important role of the black church in hurricane relief efforts. But mainstream media are focusing not on the distribution of aid and federal funds, but on sensationalized stories of “wild gangs” and the “urban menace,” writes Dwight Cunningham in a report for the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a federation of more than 200 African-American newspapers. Meanwhile, “black households across the nation are dusting off spare rooms and sending Moneygrams to displaced family members,” Cunningham writes. “No doubt, people will need to be buried, yet there will be no money to bury them.”  

For evacuee Tang Hui-Wen, who worked in the kitchen of a casino in New Orleans and has temporarily relocated to San Francisco, local community organizations have been more helpful than the federal government so far. According to the Singtao Daily, a Hong Kong-based Chinese-language newspaper that followed Tang’s story, after negotiating a maze of aid and vocational agencies Tang has found hotel housing through the Red Cross for only 14 days. He’s scrambling to find a job in that time.  

“Some help is better than nothing,” Tang told the paper.  

Hispanic media are also watching the ripple effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Rumbo, a Spanish-language newspaper chain based in San Antonio, Texas, reports that one Texas school district gained 110 students in a single day. “It remains unclear who will cover costs for the students,” the paper writes. “Local officials say they are not taking costs into account for the time being.”  

Despite the stresses on aid providers and storm evacuees, both helpers and survivors are persevering, ethnic media reports. Vietnamese activist Lynagh, who says she was inspired by the dedication of Red Cross workers, says, “The Vietnamese people are so resilient. We were in a war. We were refugees before. We will rise again.” For the Rev. Lowell Case in Baton Rouge, it’s simple. “I know that Providence will provide,” he says.  

Berkeley officials opted Friday not to close Iceland and instead ordered the 65-year-old rink to hire an acoustical engineer to quiet its yet-to-be installed temporary refrigeration system. 

The city is scheduled to meet with Iceland and the engineer on Thursday to determine whether the rink, at Milvia and Ward streets, can quiet the system enough to install it in a residential neighborhood. 

In July, Berkeley officials demanded that Iceland install the temporary system because the permanent refrigeration system lacks key safety devices and holds too much ammonia for firefighters to control in the event of a major leak. 

Iceland’s deadline to install the temporary system expired Friday, but Assistant Fire Chief Gil Dong said Berkeley would not close the rink at least until after Iceland’s acoustical engineer issues a report scheduled for release on Wednesday. 

Dong said the city rejected Iceland’s proposal to build a custom-made sound barrier for the system that would take four months to complete. 

“They need to find something quicker to make sound reduction work,” he said.  

Iceland General Manager Jay Wescott said the rink didn’t know of any quieter temporary cooling machines on the market. 

“We’re trying to see how quickly we can come up with a remedy,” he added. “We just don’t want to put it out here and keep our neighbors awake at night.” 

The temporary refrigeration system is planned for the rink’s parking lot, across from a condominium complex on Ward Street. 

Berkeley’s noise ordinance prohibits ambient noise above 45 decibels in residential neighborhoods. Dong said that the latest tests showed the temporary system would produce 70 decibels of noise at property line for the condominium owners. 

Dong added that if Iceland fails to quiet the temporary system, the City Council could choose to issue the rink a variance to operate above the statutory noise limit. 

M

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.

INTELLIGENCE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It’s time now to oppose the global warming theory with the “intelligent weather” theory. This is the notion that the recent weather disturbances can only be caused and explained by the intervention of a higher, all-knowing power. The idea that WE could cause global warming is absurd. Something of this magnitude can only be the work of an higher intelligence.  

Robert Blau 

• 

HARRIET MIERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Harriet Miers nomination is an out-and-out sham. I urge all members of the Judiciary Committee and the Senate to reject this obvious handmaid for George Bush. 

Joan Levinson 

• 

THE NOMINEE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I remember when Roman Hruska defended Richard Nixon’s Supreme Court nominee, Harold Carswell, by saying: “Even if he is mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren’t they?” 

Carswell and Hruska were laughed off the stage.  

Will modern Democrats gather the nerve to reject this new, farcical nomination, or will mediocre cronies finally become the majority on the Supreme Court? 

Dale Sophiea 

• 

TRUTH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Though not yet at the Bush-lie-and-thousands-die level, you have to admit Berkeley is pretty looth with the truth these days. 

Did it all start with “Not a Through Street” signs on streets that do go through? The barricade-produced dogleg, Parker-Piedmont-Derby route, between Warring and College, has long been so signed. 

Then, this January, el Gran Alcalde de Berkeley signed a resolution saying, “Whereas, Marin Avenue is a residential street on which 85 percent of vehicles currently travel more than 10 mph over the posted speed limit of 25 mph;...,” a document still online at: www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/resos/2005/62796.pdf . This clause appears carefully transported, by Berkeley’s Office of Transportation, from Korve Engineering’s “Traffic Plan for the City of Albany” (2000), wherein this mind-warp derived from data claiming only that the 85th percentile speed on Marin was around 36 mph (only 15 percent over 25 mph). 

And then we question just what “daily” means in the masthead of the Berkeley-based medium by which this message of enlightenment has reached you ... a paper observed in mint condition only on Tuesdays and Fridays. We all now know that a couple of exosolar planets have recently been found which rotate so slowly and orbit their star so quickly that they experience less than four days in their years. Certainly the Daily Planet would find any residents of these (very hot) worlds to be very lucrative game. 

Raymond A. Chamberlin 

• 

BEER AND HONDAS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was surprised to learn that at a recent UC Berkeley tailgate party, the university allowed various vendors to give out free alcoholic beverages to all those who attended, both young and old. I was particularly troubled that an automobile dealership, Berkeley Honda, seized the opportunity and was giving out drinks to young people without asking for proof of age. As an automobile dealer, Berkeley Honda must certainly be aware that driving under the influence of alcohol is dangerous, and a leading cause of death among young people. 

Clearly, Berkeley Hon-da’s management had only one interest, to create community goodwill and thereby enhance its business. Berkeley Honda certainly has a right to market its product. But there are many positive ways of accomplishing that without jeopardizing people’s safety. 

Karen Weinstein  

• 

MOTHER EARTH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Look at this time of planetary disturbances and natural disasters as a way earth is cleaning herself of excesses and diseases. Bird flu, tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, are Mother Nature’s way of telling inhabitants to clean up their act—clean up the mess they’ve created over time. 

We’ve all seen of earth from space and know the planet is very much alive, in motion and vibrant. Mother Earth has ways of cleansing herself of pollution and overuse. Humans have their ways of shaking off colds, diseases and excesses. As above, so below. 

Ron Lowe 

Nevada City 

• 

GARDENS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was very happy to see the article about my very own University Village community garden in the Daily Planet. My husband and I live in the old Section A housing, and have two plots in the garden. So far we have grown heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sun flowers, mint, oregano, basil, taro, peas, beans, sweet potatoes, zucchini, squash, strawberries, lavender, cilantro, cosmos, bell peppers, habeneros, corn, arugula, lettuce, beets, spinach, green onions, columbine, tea trees and snapdragons. And our small plots are relatively unproductive. Over our growing seasons here, we have produced maybe a modest 50 pounds of tasty organic fruits and veggies. Our neighboring gardeners, however, have produced hundreds and hundreds of pounds in their more diligently kept garden plots. One point that I think the article did not emphasize enough was the fact that these plots are a necessary source of food for many of the gardeners. And that losing access to these plots for a few years, or forever, if they are simply paved over, will rob these gardeners of a valuable asset, and cost them hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, in additional food costs. The 32 foot encroachment for head-in parking is ridiculous. No car is 32 feet long. This paved swatch over the best, oldest, and most beautiful plots (including a pond, arbors, and fruit trees) is symbolic of the disdain the UC Regents have for UCB families. In Berkeley, if anywhere, the garden community should be protected and upheld as an example to other universities. The garden symbolizes the growth and success of a racially, nationally, and economically diverse community, in a creative, productive and organic environment. If the garden is paved, it will symbolize the homogenizing of UC Berkeley. Faceless, yardless, expensive high density housing on the train tracks will replace the open spaces and human creativity now so evident. 

Rebecca Davis Stevenson 

• 

BLAMING THE VICTIM 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

P. M. Price’s column regarding Meleia Willis-Starbuck may be sincerely heartfelt, but it completely misfires with statements like “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.” Price couldn’t be more wrong. 

What I will remember more than anything about Ms. Willis-Starbuck is that she chose to engage in a verbal altercation on the street when she could have gotten into a car with friends and driven away; that she chose to call another friend to bring a gun into the situation, an action so irresponsible as to defy belief when coming from an Ivy League student; and that her friend fired recklessly into a crowd of people, killing Meleia. I will remember that this girl’s stupidity, bad judgment and lousy choice of friends caused her own death. All the Dartmouths and Berkeley-chic trips to Cuba in the world cannot erase that tragic fact. 

Michael Stephens 

Chicago 

• 

TREES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was delighted to read the article titled “UC: Trees Cause Homelessness” in the Oct 4-6 edition of the Pepper Spray Times because I just encountered a similar case of twisted tree thinking last week. When City of Berkeley employees showed up to work on a tree on my block, I asked why they were trimming it. They explained that drivers were not stopping at the stop sign. To connect the drivers’ actions to the tree seemed odd because the foliage didn’t actually obscure the stop sign. In addition, now that the tree has been trimmed into a silly-looking pompom, the drivers still just roll on through. Seems like no matter what the problem is, both the University and the City think the proper response is to reduce the plant life. I guess it makes them feel like they are doing something positive. But, in fact, all they are doing is reducing the livability of this urban environment.  

Sally Levinson 

• 

DISATER PLANNING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Ms. O’Malley’s editorial on disaster planning raises interesting questions on the relative roles of the federal government and of voluntary associations in disaster situations. It’s curious that she chooses Cuba as the shining example of how to do it right. 

I’m a Red Cross disaster volunteer who was traveling in China when Katrina struck and who happened to see a TV interview with a representative of the Chinese Red Cross. He expressed great dissatisfaction with the apparent lack of effective response in the U.S., and said that “in China it’s a lot easier: when we have a big flood we just call the People’s Liberation Army, and they send 100,000 troops right away.” People are, however, not “moved out of harm’s way” in China, because a flood on the Yellow River strikes specific areas without sufficient predictability—it’s a levee issue there as well. Instead Chinese flood victims are evacuated after the fact with no provision for saving their belongings, housed temporarily en masse, and then generally left to return and rebuild on their own. 

A tiny country like Cuba, whose natural disasters come with days of warning to predictable locales, may be able to work proactively. But China—equally endowed with a dominant federal “regime”—is almost never able to do anything but react. The scale of natural events can always easily overwhelm the scale of government preparation and response, no matter how centrally planned for and no matter how many troops are on call. 

I join Ms. O’Malley in not blindly accepting as an excuse the claim that “the Bush regime just doesn’t like the federal government,” even though that’s conservative dogma. An adventurous and ideological administration without apparent regard for fiscal responsibility is perfectly capable of using the federal government for big local interventions, not all of which would be welcome. 

Our own “patchwork of voluntary organizations” such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army may not have the organizational simplicity of the People’s Liberation Army. The Red Cross has so far sent “only” 25,000 volunteers to the recent hurricane zones, and that has taken weeks to arrange. But such “people’s liberation organizations,” to coin a phrase, don’t create the dangerous precedent of massive federal-troop intervention in our daily life. With precedents in place via disaster response, how big a step would it be to find an “emergency needing federal troops” in the next large and unruly national political demonstration? Remember that the Chinese government also called in the PLA to “assist” with that unplanned 1989 political “disaster” in Tienanmen Square. We’re a long way from that here, thankfully, but let’s think long and hard before we open such a door even for compelling disaster needs. 

Voluntary disaster responders don’t pack any political agenda and bring no ideological goals to a disaster zone. Why do we need to go any farther than making sure their organizations are well supported for the tasks they take on so fearlessly and collectively perform so well? 

Alan Tobey 

• 

WILLIAM BENNETT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Mr. Allen-Taylor makes an argument that I don’t find persuasive against the notion that the subject remarks were racist. I indeed believe them to be, and also believe a more compelling argument can be made that they are than that they are not. That said, however, should it be desirable to seek alternative labels to the racist one, perhaps we should consider eugenicist. Eugenics, the closeted pseudo-science, more fashionable in the period 1925-1980 than today, would embrace heartily Mr. Bennett’s notion of a crime-rate improvement to be achieved through black abortion, or sterilization for that matter. Eugenicists had and have as a stated aim the denial of progeny to those deemed undesirable, and clearly the implication is that this race prone to crime and violence beyond their numerical share would qualify as such. 

As one of their number, having experienced rather than having perpetrated crime, I take issue with his conclusion. Back in 1969, when then not yet President George Herbert Walker Bush hosted a discussion on what to do about the increased birth rate of black babies, and introduced two leading eugenicists to opine on the matter, hardly a brow was raised in surprise. Certainly there was no drumbeat of outrage. Surely we cannot be taken aback that his former drug czar would share concerns about black babies. To the credit of both, the birth rate is no longer a runaway problem. Whether openly or covertly, the relative population of African descent has been and is being managed downward. 

If Mr. Allen-Taylor sees this in a non-racist context, I won’t chose to argue the semantics. It is noteworthy, however, to observe and understand the larger issue; thus eugenics is much more meaningfully explored than racism in this instance. 

Tony Jennings  

• 

CONFUSED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

An important fact is missing in J. Douglas Allen-Taylor’s excellent thesis on Bill Bennett and racism. If every American of any color or culture was offered free education beyond high school; if offered the ability to pursue any desired vocation or knowledge, we would not only reduce crime, and the wasting of vital funds on punishment, we would certainly reduce the number of confused citizens like Bill Bennett. 

Gerta Farber 

• 

MORE ON BENNETT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I must take issue with J. Douglas Allen-Taylor’s reflections on William Bennett on two grounds: 

First, Mr. Allen-Taylor defames our language by saying we lack appropriate words to describe Bennett’s comments. Yet he contradicts himself in the same article by finding perfectly fine words: “stupid”, “self-righteous” and “wrong” are excellent choices. Drawing from Allen-Taylor’s response, we could add “irresponsible” and “inciting.” There’s no need to tar the English language, Mr. Allen-Taylor. 

Second, Mr. Allen-Taylor doesn’t fight back hard enough against the unquestioned premise that blacks commit a disproportionate number of crimes. Yes, it sure at least looks like law enforcement is applied unevenly and so we SHOULD, as Allen-Taylor suggests, wonder what the actual rates of crime COMMISSION are. And, yes, we ought to have an economic suspicion that if any group is removed from the scene, the economic niche for crimes associated with that group may very well be filled by other groups—an entire mode of essentialist political theory (that some groups have, in their essence or even culture, a unique propensity to generate a particular class of social phenomenon (good or ill, criminal or civil)) was forcibly put down in World War II and has been philosophically and scientifically torn to shreds by thinkers from Socrates onward. But in this particular case, the crime rate in America and its racial correlations, one can go much further: 

My understanding is that there is plenty of research which claims to show that once one compares apples to apples, controlling for factors such as economic status and location, a great deal of the correlations between race and crime rate disappear. Whether that research is ultimately correct or not, it points up that glib assertions about race and crime-rate correlation are less right or wrong so much as they are MEANINGLESS in any scientific sense. That such glib assertions are (all too) MEANINGFUL in shaping public opinion makes their uncritical repetition by public figures like Bennett outright immoral. 

So, Mr. Allen-Taylor, there is one more word for your list to describe the author of The Book of Virtues on the occasion of this latest gaffe: “hypocrite.” 

Thomas Lord 

• 

NO ACCIDENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I wish I could totally agree with J. Douglas Allen-Taylor’s assessment of Bill Bennett. While it is impossible to prove he is a racist, I am afraid we cannot dismiss him as stupid either. The words I would use to describe Bill Bennett are shrewd, cynical, and desperate.  

It is no accident Bennett used blacks in his abortion example. He could have said aborting all Italian-American fetuses would reduce crime because there would be no one to join the Mafia. He could have said that aborting the fetuses of those in the lowest economic classes would reduce crime. He could then go on to say how ridiculous and morally offensive it is to argue those positions. He could have used those examples to make his point, but he didn’t. He knew that the resulting publicity would bring curious listeners to his show. It didn’t matter to him if what he was saying was factually wrong. All he had to do was word his statement in a way that he could later deny any racist intent.  

With the current glut of conservative talk shows, latecomers to the game are having trouble getting an audience. Bennett’s show is one that is struggling. He is syndicated on 115 stations according to Salem Radio’s web site. In comparison, Michael Medved, another host syndicated by Salem, is heard on 180. Michael Reagan, syndicated by Radio America, is heard on over 200 stations. Rush Limbaugh’s show on Premiere Radio Networks has 650.  

Making a racially charged comment on the air may get Bennett the listeners he desperately seeks. Then again, it may give Salem an excuse to pull the plug on an underperforming show. If he loses his show now, he will blame the Left for silencing him. Any campaign to cancel him would give Bennett exactly want he wants. Without that campaign, his show would soon die from a lack of audience, leaving him with no one to blame but himself.  

Tom Yamaguchi  

• 

JIMI HENDRIX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I agree with Winston Burton that erecting a Jimi Hendrix statue would be an excellent idea, but please place the statue on a busy corner so that we can all admire it daily, instead of needing to veer off to a side street. 

No doubt a local Jimi Hendrix museum would go over well too. It would draw tourists, and probably just needs to permission of his estate to be opened. Giving the profits to local school music programs is a great idea. 

I became a Hendrix fan at age 11, my parents would not allow me to see him at the Hollywood Bowl (where he opened for the Monkees), and he died when I was 14. My friends know that I want Voodoo Chile (slight return) played at my funeral, and I had it played by the band at my wedding. 

I’ll start the offer with $200 towards building a Jimi Hendrix statue here in Berkeley. 

Will the city help by finding and donating a nice place? 

Robert Berend 

Kensington 

• 

FOLLOW THE MONEY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As I read the story of Berkeley’s newest hero/future obstetrician, I couldn’t help but hear Deep Throat’s cryptic words somewhere in my head, “follow the money.” Three children in intensive care until December? At public expense? For a mother who doesn’t have custody of her other three children? Who does have a social worker? I’m confused. To compound my confusion, I didn’t see any mention of the new father in the report. Couldn’t these hundreds of thousands of public dollars been spent to benefit more of our precious children? 

Neal Rockett 

P.S. Before anyone screams about cultural insensitivity, I have sent this letter independent of the creed, color, sexual preference, race or ethnicity of all participants.  

• 

THANKS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Mr. Biko Eisen-Martin, this is Linda Smith. I don’t know you, but I want to say thank you for helping a new mother in need. You are obviously a Human Angel-On-Call. (According to this book on Angels, an “Angel-On-Call” is any human being who shows up “by chance” to be of service to someone else in need. I know that there are special Coincidence Arranging Angels who arrange for people to run into each other “by chance” and then one ends up aiding the other. These are the same Angels who arrange for future lovers or very good friends to meet, or for people who long to see each other again but who don’t have a phone number, email, or contact information to help arrange that. And then one day, boom! You run into the person whom you ached to meet again, but thought you never would. This has happened to me a lot in recent times). 

I’m amazed that more people didn’t stop to notice: “Hey, there’s a woman bleeding on the steps of BART, in a very crowded area of Downtown Berkeley! Hello?!?! Somebody help her!” Thank God for Biko, who did. 

Why don’t Americans notice people and things more? What is it about a car-and work-and home/family centered society, that makes us frequently not notice things like buckeye butterflies or people on the streets or a beautiful display of fresh-cut flowers? I pray and hope that everyone begins to pray and meditate more. Part of prayer is taking appropriate action as you are led by your indwelling God or Wisdom. Another form of prayer or spiritual work, is noticing what needs to be done to make the world a better place, and then doing something, big or small, to help that. 

We all have talents, passions, strengths, things we love to do for fun or work. Fun and work and world service should be synonymous, don’t you think? 

Noticing people or things, taking time to slow down, is a choice. And, a good one! 

Linda M. Smith 

P.S. Somebody finally noticed me the other day enjoying all the trees and butterflies and such. I took time to just “magickally listen” to him. Now I’ve made a new friend. I’ve bumped into him twice, “by chance.” A “coincidence” is just a polite term for “a miracle.” Miracles are all around us. We can choose to notice them. It may or may not be anything spectacular, like mental telepathy or instant healing of cancer or a broken limb. Miracles come in all sizes. That black mother had three miracles the other day. Thanks also to the people who transported her to the hospital, and the ones who helped birth and care for her three kids. Thanks to the person who loaned Biko a cell phone to call the ambulance. 

• 

UNEXPECTED DELIVERY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your reporter, perhaps blinded by the need for political correctness, has missed a number of critical points in his coverage of the birth of triplets 

to a woman at the Berkeley BART station. 

Unanswered questions include: Where is the father of the children? Why are her other three children not in her custody? Why is this woman, who is apparently homeless, jobless and on welfare, having more children? 

Perhaps you don’t want to invade the women’s privacy by asking any hard questions, but don’t you think that the public, who are now, in ‘loco parentis,’ picking up the bill to house and feed these children, deserve some answers? 

R. Eisenman 

• 

A FEW THOUGHTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Berkeley City government by its policies expresses its view that my life is a thing of no value and entirely dispensable as collateral damage, not in a war on foreign soil, against which its members would hypocritically protest, but in the class war between landlords and landowners versus tenants. The government expresses the view that property owners must have carte blanche to do as they please on private property, especially with respect to renovation and development, regardless of the damage to the comfort, health, and life of “lesser” members of the community, such as myself. The Berkeley Municipal Code does not support the government in its view. To maintain its inhumane and fascistic view, the government must substitute its own supposedly arcane and ostensibly nonsensical interpretation of the intent of local law for the plain word meaning of the ordinances. It claims that the courts have ruled in its favor, but it will not make those rulings available to the public. They are not otherwise accessible, since they were only trial court rulings, at best, and never reached the appellate level where they would become published opinions that would truly set precedent. They force citizens to challenge them in the courts and are confident of getting bad rulings from the court to bolster their nonsensical and fascistic interpretations of local ordinances. They are swaggering bullies, who have no compunction about bullying citizens such as myself to death. If they insist, I will challenge them in the courts, even though the odds are stacked against me and even though I am trying against all odds to recover from almost certainly terminal cancer. I hope I will at least demonstrate to all good citizens left in the City of Berkeley what they must do to overthrow the monster that has overtaken our City—we must fight against all odds and never say die—we must love not our own lives unto death—we must die for the cause of liberty and justice if need be. This is the Way of Christ, the way that so-called “progressives” who have now flip-flopped over into fascists will never know. 

Peter Mutnick 

• 

OAKLAND SCHOOL  

FOR THE ARTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am a parent of a child who is in his second year of Oakland School for the Arts. I was quite appalled by the unbalanced article written by J. Doulas Allen Taylor in the Sept. 2-5 Daily Planet entitled “Turmoil in Oakland School for the Arts, Parents Say.” The vast majority of your full-page article was focused on the experience of one disgruntled child who was at OSA less than a semester.  

I want to say that my son Daniel has had a vastly different experience of OSA, and many other students there have had a very positive experience. Your article stated “the humanities classes were “so disorganized that differnet classes were taught during the year by a French teacher, a Spanish teacher, an English teacher and a Visual Arts Teacher.” In my child’s case, his humanities course was taught by Dr. Zachary Polsky, a teacher with a BA from Grinnel College and a PhD from the University of California at Davis. Dr. Polsky was certainly more than capable of teaching both French and Humanities. His Humanities course was delightful. My son was reading Plato’s “allegory of the Cave” from the “Republic,” excerpts from the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” the poetry of Lesbos. He read the play “Lysistrata,” and wrote a report comparing the ecstatic sculpture and art of ancient Indian Civilizations to the religious art of the mideaval European period. His teachers were excellent, stimulating, and had fine academic preparation. In addition to Dr. Polsky, his science teacher Adelaid Cheng hails from UC Berkeley; his music teacher Mr. Aton, trained at Chicago State University and New England Conservatory of Music; his English teacher Mr. Przyborowski was from San Francisco State University; his Math Teacher Mr. Taylor, trained at Swartmore College and the London School of Economics. Other outstanding faculty my son associated with were Mr. Keyes, the head of the Visual Arts Department who has a BFA from the Chicago Art Institute and an MFA from Yale University; Reginald Savage who is the artistic director for Savage Jazz Dance Company; Penelope Thomas with a BA from Rice University and an MA from the University of California at Santa Cruz; Josy Miller from Barnard College of Columbia University; Andrey Tarnarutskiy from Moscow Polytechnical Univeristy, Shchukin Theatre College in Moscow and an MA from New York Univerity; and Cava Menzies from the Berklee School of Music. All of these teachers have returned this year; and have been supplemented by some fine new teachers. My son has found his guitar teacher Omid Zoufonoun (University of Southern California, who was also classically trained in music in Vienna) to be absolutely outstanding. He considers Osceola Free, an English teacher from Southern University”totally inspirational,” and Hani Aldhafari, his math teacher from the University of California at Berkeley smart and “cool.” 

I have been impressed by the small class sizes (he has no more than 18-20 students in each of his academic classes); the individualized attention he receives from both teachers and administrative staff; and the cultural diversity of the faculty. My son’s artistic emphasis is instrumental music. He gets 5 hours a day of varied musical instruction 4 days a week, and 3 hours of instruction in music related activities on Wednesdays. He is learning the technical aspects of performing and recording music through faculty from Expressions College in Emeryville. I could never afford to pay for this high level of musical training in the community. 

As a new school, OSA has not been without its growing pains and there was indeed been some teacher turnover last year. However, the overwhelming majority of my son’s teachers have returned. While your reporter Mr. Allen-Taylor dedicated 4 columns of his article to Lydia Kosmos and her mother’s complaints about OSA; he relegated his single positive comment about the school to a single line buried at the end of paragraph 5 when he wrote “OSA is ranked in the top 10 percentile in the Academic Performance Index, California’s official scorecard for rating its grade schools.” Last year OSA scored 9 of 10 on the Statewide Academic Performance Index. The next closest Oakland High School, Skyline High, scored 3 of 10 and all of the other Oakland High Schools scored 1 of 10. When the API scores for OSA were adjusted for socio-economic status , the school scored 10 of 10. This outstanding academic achievement was well documented by both the San Francisco Chronicle and the Oakland Tribune. I would hope that Mr. Allen-Taylor would spend some time investigating and writing a balanced report on OSA. Why not spend some time interviewing the kids who love the school? To do otherwise causes me to assume that your reporter has a biased agenda. 

Dr. Jane Haggstrom 

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“No more compromises,” vowed Mayor Bates during a break in the council’s Sept. 27 deliberations. The mayor had just joined councilmembers Capitelli, Maio, Moore, Olds and Wozniak in a 6-3 vote approving a “public participation program” for the Downtown Area Plan (DAP). 

The plan (but not the program) was mandated by the council’s secret settlement of its lawsuit against UC last May. In response to concerns about community representation, the mayor’s ostensible compromise was to add three planning commissioners, to be chosen by the Planning Commission, to an 18-member citizens advisory group to be chosen by the mayor and the council (two appointees apiece).  

Some compromise. The only way to ensure adequate representation of the many constituencies with a direct interest in downtown—residents, businesspeople, arts groups, environmentalists, preservationists, students, transportation activists, among others—would have been to create an advisory group composed of those constituencies’ representatives. Instead, the council approved a task force consisting entirely of council appointees.  

Council appointees, who include all non-elected city commissioners, reflect the interests of the mayor and individual councilmembers who appoint them, not stakeholder constituencies. Of course, some councilmembers are likely to choose representatives of stakeholder groups. But the ad hoc appointment procedure already underway, in which each councilmember independently chooses her or his two appointees, makes it unlikely that all deserving groups will be represented.  

The snubbing of the community was no oversight. The council rejected a proposal from the Transportation Commission to set up a DAP advisory group modeled on the admirable 2004 UC Hotel/Conference Center Task Force, which included representatives of all major downtown stakeholder groups. The members of that task force were chosen by a subcommittee of the planning commission, which also oversaw the task force’s work. This format, dubbed the stakeholder model, was also endorsed in letters from the Sierra Club, the Le Conte Neighborhood Association and MAAGNA (McKinleyAddisonAllstonGrant Neighborhood Association) and in public comments made at the meeting by Jesse Arreguin, director of city affairs for the Associated Students of the University of California and by others, including myself.  

The stakeholder model didn’t go down without a fight. Councilmember Spring made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Anderson, to refer the stakeholder model back to the planning commission and to seek the commission’s recommendation on a format for the DAP citizens advisory group. The council, said Anderson, should honor “the statutory role of the planning commission” and the historically “unique … level of citizen participation” in Berkeley municipal affairs. Right on.  

The arguments marshaled against Spring’s motion and the stakeholder model were disingenuous. Councilmember Maio said that, given its heavy workload, the Planning Commission wouldn’t have time to oversee the DAP process. In reply, Councilmember Worthington stated, all too accurately, that a list of the Planning Commission’s upcoming projects was as relevant to the issue at hand as a list of what he’d eaten that day. The Planning Commission, he observed, wasn’t being ask to run the DAP advisory group but rather to choose its format at the commission’s meeting the very next evening. (He might have added the matter was already listed on the commission’s Sept. 28 agenda.) Worthington was ignored by the council majority.  

From the staff side, Planning Director Dan Marks contended that an advisory group larger than 20 (15 was his ideal) would be unmanageable. What he meant, I surmise, is that staff would be unable to control such a group, which instead would be run by its citizen personnel. In an inexcusable omission, Marks failed to remind the council that every previous area plan—West Berkeley, South Berkeley, Southside (currently in draft), and Downtown—was put together by a stakeholder group consisting of 27 or more members.  

Mayor Bates’ major contribution to the spinfest took the form of an op-ed that appeared in the Daily Planet the morning of the meeting. Under the title “Getting to Work on Our Downtown Plan,” the mayor wrote: “[W]e will start by creating a community-led task force.” Less than 24 hours after his essay hit the streets, the council, acting at the mayor’s behest, created the mayor-and-council-led task force described above.  

On second thought, make that the mayor-led task force. The Downtown Area Plan is Tom Bates’ baby; the idea for it came from him, not the university. Another notable feature of the DAP task force, left unmentioned in both the mayor’s op-ed and the council’s discussion, is that the DAP advisory group’s chair is to be chosen by Mayor Bates.  

That provision appears to violate city protocol and law. The resolution prepared by staff and approved by the council on Sept. 27 states that the DAP advisory group is to be “a temporary City of Berkeley commission.” It also states that “the DPAC [Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee] shall operate under the rules set forth in the City Council's resolutions for Commissions and the City Commissioner's Handbook.” 

According to the City of Berkeley Commissioner’s Manual, each city commission is to elect its own chair and vice chair, “unless otherwise provided by ordinance.” The council’s Sept. 27 resolution was not an ordinance. So what law or even mere precedent authorizes the mayoral selection of this (temporary) commission’s chair? Apparently nothing. But what else is new in the Bates mayoralty?  

As the saying goes: you can put earrings on a pig, but it’s still a pig. For all the blather about community, the fact is that the DAP resolution approved by the council majority broke the public trust. But it’s only part of the larger betrayal that the council perpetrated when it dropped the city’s lawsuit over the UC administration’s Long Range Development Plan, which projects over 1.2 million square feet of off-campus development and at least 1,000 new off-campus parking spaces.  

The “lack of community control over university growth,” wrote Mayor Bates in his op-ed, “was the single most important reason we filed a lawsuit to stop implementation of their LRDP [Long Range Development Plan].” He got that one right. But if the mayor and his allies were really committed to community control, they would have pressed the city’s suit all the way to court.  

Most of the debate about the city’s settlement with the UC administration has concerned university development off the campus proper, and in downtown in particular. What the settlement agreement doesn’t say but what has become apparent is that one purpose of the DAP is to accommodate private development in downtown that would be illegal under the city’s existing Downtown Plan and zoning law.  

Consider the telling slip in Mayor Bates’ op-ed: “[S]ome community members,” wrote the mayor, “have wondered what is wrong with the city’s existing downtown plan. The current downtown will be used as a starting point for the new plan. However, it was developed over 15 years ago and is, in many cases, out of date.” Clearly, Mr. Bates meant to say that the current downtown plan will be used as the starting point for the new plan. The text he sent to the Daily Planet belies his true intentions, which are to legitimate the outsized, illegal developments that have already been approved by the council and expedited by city staff. 

Once the new height and density standards are in place, citizens appealing the successors to the Gaia Building and the Seagate project will no longer have a legal leg to stand on. City staff are already citing the Gaia and Seagate structures as benchmarks for pending development (see pages 17 and 18 of the July 25 staff report to the council on the Brower Center/Oxford Plaza).  

Meanwhile the DAP is being rolled out under the guise of a triumphant town and gown détente achieved through the wondrous ministrations of Mayor Bates.  

Sorry, but it’s still a pig.8

I forgot my homework, but it wasn’t my fault. Getting ready to go to an MFA workshop at San Francisco State last week, I got distracted and left my assignment in the house. It wasn’t my fault because there was a lot going on at the very moment I needed to leave. I had to run in order to catch the #15 bus. I had to sprint up the MacArthur Station stairs to meet the Daly City-bound train. It was not until I’d caught my breath, somewhere between the 12th Street and West Oakland stations, that I realized my mistake. 

I forgot my homework because Teddy and Eric were replacing the wheelchair ramp on the side of our house and just before departing for school I’d become totally engrossed in the merits of two-inch, $54-a-sheet, pressure-treated plywood. 

“We need four more sheets,” Teddy had said, “so give me another $200.” 

“I’m late for school,” I’d answered. “I’ll go to the ATM on campus and bring it home with me tonight.” 

I forgot my homework because in addition to Teddy and Eric distracting me with thoughts of plywood and money, my neighbor Che was upstairs in my bedroom trying to fix my computer. 

“I think the problem is with your software,” he’d said as I was rummaging through my papers, gathering up pens and notebooks. “It’s not the hardware. I’ve checked the connections, looked at the modem and the hubs, replaced some memory, and talked with several people in India.” 

“Just keep working on it,” I’d said. “You don’t need to tell me what’s wrong because I don’t understand a thing about it and, frankly, I don’t want to. I’ve got to leave for school now. We’ll settle up when I get home.” 

I went downstairs, but before I could escape, Andrea requested a quick loan, and Ralph asked me to move his arms and legs one more time. I pulled down the blankets covering him, rearranged his limbs, kissed him good-by, and fled. 

After the initial shock of discovering I’d forgotten my homework, I needed to come up with a plan. What was I going to tell my professor, that I didn’t bring it because of Teddy, Eric, Che, Andrea, and Ralph? Because of 2-inch pressure-treated plywood, bad software, small loans, and arms and legs that needed rearranging? 

I remembered there was a young man in my class who lived in the East Bay and sometimes gave me lifts home from school. If I could get in touch with him, maybe he could help with this homework crisis. I didn’t have his phone number, but I knew where he worked, and that his girlfriend worked there, too. I didn’t know her name, but, hell, I was desperate. I dialed information just before the train hurtled under the bay. I wasn’t able to reconnect until we came up for air after the Balboa Park stop. David wasn’t at work so I spoke with his girlfriend. I told her about my missing homework and asked for David’s cell phone number. She gave it to me, and then had second thoughts. 

“Who are you again?” she asked. I re-explained, hung up, and called David. Could he bring me my homework if I had it delivered to him before he left for school? Yes, he said. He’d be at Café Rouge on 4th Street for the next half hour. 

By now the train was at the Daly City station. I called my house as I ran down the steps and sprinted into the street to catch the shuttle bus. I asked Che to look for the forgotten assignment. Was it on my desk? Of course not. Downstairs on the dining room table? No. Had I left it outside while talking with Teddy and Eric? No. Was it mixed-up in the sheets and blankets on Ralph’s bed? Negative. In the bathroom, on the attic steps, in a trashcan? 

Finally, Che found it underneath a library book. He promised to deliver my homework to David. I hung up the phone just as the bus reached campus. 

As I got off the shuttle, several fellow commuters wished me luck with my assignment. I was no longer just another anonymous shuttle bus-riding co-ed. I was the old lady who had forgotten her homework.

I never intended to be a soccer mom. I am no sports fan, so my husband Mike and I agreed that he would be the athletic director for the kids. When our first son joined a team at age 6, I attended a token game or two. The division of labor fell apart as soon as our younger boy, Chris, started playing. 

The two games were inevitably scheduled at the same time in different suburbs. As physicians, Mike and I had weekend call. Even with carpools we sometimes had to interrupt hospital rounds to run one child home or to the game. We planned Saturdays like a military campaign. 

Chris’s first game was at 7:30 am. Fog-chilled and sleepy, I stood on a windy hill, grateful that my map reading skills had allowed me to find the obscure field. The boys warmed up and the dads (mostly dads came to the earliest games) debated the teams’ prospects. Somehow they knew the relative standings of these two groups of first and second graders. 

I felt left out, as though there were a sports manual for parents that had circulated behind my back. I didn’t know the rules of the game and except for my boy, the only African-American on the team, I had a hard time distinguishing the towheaded boys milling about on the field. 

When a dad spoke to me, I mentioned that it was tough to mobilize this early. He looked at me funny, and said that he thought of it as giving back to his children what his parents had done for him. I come from a family of girls, none of whom played team sports outside of school. My mother attended school programs and dance or piano recitals, indoors. I don’t remember my father at any event, school or extracurricular. By the time I had made it through one soccer season, I had paid back any parental debt. 

That first year, I resented the obligations of soccer, especially since the boys preferred to have their dad on the sidelines. But after the tournament weekend (two games on Saturday, and at least one on Sunday, maybe two if they won) I resigned myself to my fate. Soccer was my life, love it or leave it. I stopped inviting people to dinner during the season because I was too tired. We rented videos to avoid getting in the car again Saturday night.  

More important, I started to get to know the other parents. One mom was an infectious disease specialist, one a nationally known journalist. There were authors and computer experts and teachers. Every team had several lawyer dads, who provided acid commentary on the referee’s decisions. There was a hulking guy who could not tolerate any judgment that went against his kid. When he started to swear at the referee, the other dads would close around him softly, the way a sea anemone eats. 

The mothers became my girlfriends. We slipped out to malls to shop between games. We traded gardening tips and discussed novels, before book groups became a fad. We took power walks while the kids were warming up. We faced puberty together. By high school, I knew these parents better than any others, and I was sorry when some of the kids (like our older boy) dropped out to pursue other sports. Chris went out for his high school soccer team, adding a winter season to his fall play.  

I can pinpoint the moment that I knew I was a soccer mom. Chris was a teenager, and we parents were watching an under eight game while we waited for our field to open up. Someone asked why the referee didn’t call “offsides” on the last play. A voice emerged from me and said, “They don’t call offsides in under eights.” I felt like a ventriloquist. Where did that knowledge, that voice come from? I wanted to look in the mirror, to make sure that I was still me. 

At the high school, there were games during the week, too. I can’t say that we attended every one. We had to work, after all. But it gradually dawned on me that my son was a star. Not as much of a star as the kid on his team who played for the national team. But enough to be voted all-county defender in his senior year. He received the varsity Most Inspirational and Scholar-Athlete awards at school. The coach remembered him studying AP chemistry on the bus. 

Some parents sustain themselves over the years by hoping that soccer will ease their child’s way into college, or pay for his education. When Chris applied, he listed soccer among his accomplishments, but he wouldn’t let us lobby the coach, standard operating procedure in today’s college admission frenzy. He wanted the option not to play. He was admitted to his first choice of college, so I believe now that he made a mature decision. At the time I wasn’t so sure. 

Twelve years and hundreds of games later, my days on the sidelines are over. There was no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and Chris’s 15 minutes of soccer fame are past. All I can say is that it was a privilege to be there.?

LOS ANGELES—Since the day my kids were born, my mantra has been, “Go to college.” But next week marks not only my daughter’s graduation from boot camp, but the Oct. 15 deadline for my son to opt out of the military recruitment directory at his school. 

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) makes school administrators responsible for delivering the personal information of high school students to the military for their recruitment efforts. While NCLB provides an “opt-out” alternative, it places the responsibility for opting out on students and parents. But many do not even know about the NCLB. In other cases, students who have opted-out have mistakenly had their information removed from honor roll and college recruiters lists. 

For my mixed Mexican-American/African-American family, military service is the GED of career plans. The military is Plan B, when you haven’t had enough success in high school to go directly to a four-year college. It is not that I do not believe in patriotic duty. Latinos in particular have a proven history of military service, with more Congressional Medals of Honor winners than any other minority. I teach my kids we all have a responsibility to serve the common good. But I also tell them that there are many ways to participate in public service. 

When my daughter entered high school four years ago, the military option was toward the bottom of the list. She has always been a bright kid with decent grades. She demonstrated natural leadership skills in her business club, but was often recognized more for her good looks, which seemed to embarrass this shy girl. She chose to live with her father, who worked an afternoon shift, leaving her to an empty house after school and little motivation to get on the college track. She became a prime target for military recruiters, who offered her some sense of family and praised her leadership ability instead of her beauty. 

As Harvard, Princeton and Yale slipped away and UCLA and USC became a pipe dream, I tried to steer her toward the Cal State system and community colleges. When my daughter showed little interest in any college, I pointed her toward community service, like the Peace Corps. But I was no match for military recruiters. They were calling three times a week, taking her to lunch, promising her independence and a way out of her small desert town, as well as a way to help her “poverty-ridden” single mother in East L.A., who still had two other kids to raise. They even gave her “scholarship” money, complete with a giant check presented at a luncheon as if she had won the lotto (to be cashed when she completed boot camp.) 

When she finally surprised me by signing her paperwork to join the Army (her Mother’s Day “gift” to me), I almost wished instead that she had come to tell me she was pregnant. She tried to console me by showing me her GI Bill benefits, which will give her money for college after she completes her five years of service. But I know of Veterans Administration statistics that show only 5 percent of military personnel receive the maximum education benefit.  

I will continue to support my daughter, but I felt her intelligence, grace and compassion were better suited outside the military. Plan B is not something any mother wants for her child. 

I hope the two boys I still have at home will choose a different path. But statistics show that because my high-school son goes to a predominately minority school, he is four times more likely to enroll in a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) class than if he attended a predominately white school. And because his school is considered low-income, he is four times more likely to be offered a JRTOC class in the first place. JROTC classes are a powerful recruitment tool for the military. 

According to the American Friends Service Committee, the JROTC has approximately 310,000 students enrolled in programs in 2,200 schools across the nation. Many schools are offering JROTC as an alternative to overcrowded PE classes that often enroll more than 70 students. Many schools have standards so low they look upon the military as the best a poor kid of color can do to get out of the hood. Often, they steer students toward the military instead of enrolling them in a college prep class—playing God with our children’s futures. 

My daughter graduates boot camp next week, while my son will be opting out of giving his information to the military. He has already decided he is going to apply to the University of Maryland and UCLA. His English teacher (an attorney for 20 years before he became a teacher) has told him he would make a good lawyer. I think he would make an even better senator. 

My daughter is headed to six months of training in Arizona after she graduates boot camp. Just a month after her 19th birthday, the Army can do with her what they please, including sending her to Iraq. In the meantime, what is a mother to do but worry and pray and for the future of her children? 

Christine Senteno is a single mother from East Los Angeles who works full-time and attends East Los Angeles College part-time. She wrote this article for YO! Youth Outlook Multimedia, a journal of young life in the Bay Area. ?

Energized by Camp Casey and the creativity of Cindy Sheehan, a change is taking place in the peace movement.  

Two events took pace in Oakland recently, reflecting a shift in focus from electoral pressure politics to direct mass action. On Sept. 23, hundreds of demonstrators, organized by Courage To Resist, Not In Our Name and other organizations, shut down the Oakland Military Recruiting Center. Graffiti across the front of the building said: “A better world is possible.” The activists took over a Chevron Station in downtown Oakland, and students from Skyline High, Oakland Tech, and McClymonds High chanted “The power of the people is now.” One demonstrator said that creative tactics and improvisation, a people power strategy, can halt the occupation of Iraq. “ We don’t need to rely on intermediaries to make change. We ourselves are the agents of peace and democracy.” 

On Oct. 6, Cindy Sheehan returned home to the Bay Area. The Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland overflowed with cheering supporters. Introduced by Medea Benjamin of Global Exchange and Code Pink, Cindy described the growing power of the democratic peace movement. “America is coming out,” she said. “We the people have the power. Camp Casey was a place of love, of hope and acceptance. Every need was fulfilled. Everyone did a job joyfully. Two couples were inspired to get married at Camp Casey.” While the Camp Casey story ran in the media, its profound significance has yet to be understood. Camp Casey represents the power of direct democracy—where strangers become friends, where everyone extends a helping hand in the euphoria of real human community. “A while back,” said Ms. Sheehan, “it did not seem like anything was working. The peace movement was there, but we did not know what to do. Now Americans are ready.” 

Cindy Sheehan recently met with the unresponsive, pro-war Senator John McCain in Phoenix, Arizona. In her return to Oakland, she expressed contempt for the dereliction and cowardice of Congress (“always excepting Lee and Conyers and a few others”). “But we must face it,” she said. “We cannot walk slow so that they can catch up. How many parents will get a knock on the door while Congress is farting around? We have no opposition party. We, the people, are now the Opposition Party.” 

Oakland resident Paul Rockwell is a columnist for In Motion Magazine and Common Dreams. 

Photo by Photos by Paul Rockwell: 

Recent protests in Oakland reflect a shift in focus from electoral pressure politics to direct mass action..

Gamelan, featuring the intricate orchestral ambiance of bronze gongs, drums and other instruments, performed with dance, song, and shadow and rod puppetry, will take center stage for “A Gathering of Gamelans” at Cowell Theater in San Francisco’s Fort Mas on Center this weekend. 

The four-day event will bring together eight separate traditions from Indonesia, Southeast Asia and the Philippines from Thursday to Sunday. 

Produced by San Francisco’s ShadowLight Productions, “A Gathering of Gamelans,” will fea ture Bay Area-based metal orchestras (three of them from the Berkeley area), but also bring music, dance and spectacle from Bali, Sunda (West Java), Central Java, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines. 

The following weekend, Oct. 20-23, ShadowLight will team up with El Cerrito’s renowned gamelan Sekar Jaya to perform the world premiere of A (Balinese) Tempest, ShadowLight founder Larry Reed’s innovative adaptation of Shakespeare’s final, island-based play of magic and redemption, entwined with Balinese mythic lore and Reed’s own style of shadowplay on an enormous screen, also at Cowell. 

The opening two nights of the festival will feature the 10th-century Hindu tale, “The Arjuna-Wiwaha Trilogy” from The Mahabharata, performed in three different regional Indonesian styles. The trilogy tells the story of a warrior, undergoing trials and tempted by nymphs, who must help the gods save the world from demons. 

On Thursday, ShadowLight will play “Arjuna’s Meditation,” with guest Balinese dalang, or puppetmaster, I Nyoman Sumandhi manipulating and giving voice (in English and Balinese) to a score of carved leather puppets casting shadows, while conducting the small gamelan ensemble behind the screen. 

The second episode of the trilogy will follow, performed by rod puppet dalang Kathy Foley (in English) and the University of California-Santa Cruz Wayang Ensemble with Sundanese gamelan led by master drummer Undang Sumarna.  

The trilogy will be concluded in Central Javanese style on Friday night by gamelan Sari R aras (from Berkeley) accompanying shadow puppet dalang Midiyanto’s two- to three-hour English condensation of the usually all-night “Arjuna’s Wedding.” 

Former Royal Cambodian Dancer Charya Burt (of Santa Rosa) will present her choreographed tribute to Kh mer dance, “Forever My Ancestors,” accompanied by drummer Ho Chan and his classical ensemble of five players from Long Beach on Saturday. That will be followed by Pusaka Sunda, a West Javanese orchestra based in San Jose, led by virtuoso bamboo flautist B urhan Sukarma and featuring drummer Undang Sumarna, as well as a traditional masked dance. 

“A Gathering of Gamelans” concludes with a Sunday matinee. The Thai Cultural Center of the Bay Area (based in Berkeley) will present two gamelans of wind and percu ssion instruments with dances ranging from folk to classical, from Laos through Thailand into Malaysia, and dating to the Kingdom of Siam in the mid-seventh century. Sekar Jaya will present a concert on giant bamboo marimbas (gamelan jegog) from West Bali, led by North Balinese composer I Made Terip. The Palabuniyan Kulintang Ensemble (based in San Francisco), led by Danongan Kalanduyan, originally of Mindanao in the Philippines, will feature traditional dances to an orchestra centered around the kulintan g instrument of eight tuned, suspended bronze gongs. 

Gamelan orchestras and music flourished in their diverse forms after the Javanese Kingdom of Majapahit defeated a Mongol invasion during the 13th century, becoming an empire that influenced other cultu res throughout Southeast Asia with the courtly traditions that favored gamelan. The mythic stories enacted by shadow and rod puppets and masked dancers are originally older by at least a millennium. 

The influence of gamelan on modern music traces back to Debussy. 

“He heard gamelan at the 1900 International Exposition in Paris. It’s easy to see how he incorporated the sense of its impact, especially transparent in ‘Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,’” said Paul Humphreys, head of the music department at Loyola Marymount University. “And Debussy is the most influential modern composer in that more lines come from him.” 

Humphreys said that Henry Cowell, a San Francisco native, was influenced by gamelan, as were his students, Lou Harrison and John Cage. 

“Cage’s prepared piano is, in a way, an attempt to imitate gamelan on one instrument,” he said. “And the minimalists, from Terry Riley and Steve Reich, were profoundly influenced, as New Zealand composer Jack Body, who has done field work in Indonesia, ha s been.” 

The tide has now reversed, Humphreys said, with composers in Bali incorporating other music, especially with African musical ideas, into their gamelan compositions.  

Humphreys said, “It’s like what Lou Harrison said, and Lou was one of the most important champions of gamelan innovation outside Indonesia, ‘don’t knock the hybrids; that’s all there are.'" 

Contributed photo: The Berkeley-based Thai Cultural Center of the Bay Area will present two gamelans at the festival.. 

Shadowlight Productions presents “A Gathering of Gamelans” and A (Balinese) Tempest, Oct. 13–23 at the Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. For tickets call (415) 345-7575. $75; seniors, $20; students, $15. For more information see www.shadowlight.org or call (415) 648-4461.

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 

Calligraphy Lecture and Exhibit with Venerable MAster Hsing Yun at noon at IEAS Conference Room, 6th Flr., 2223 Fulton St. http://ieas.berkeley.edu 

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. and Debralee Pagan 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 Vietnamese 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 

FRIDAY, OCT. 14 

THEATER 

BareStage Productions “The House of Bernard Alba” at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 p.m., Sun. at 7 p.m. at 20 Cesar Chavez Student Center, UC Campus. Tickets are $6-$8. www.tickets.berkeley.edu 

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

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 

“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. 

FILM 

Doctor Atomic Goes Nuclear “Bell of Nagasaki” at 7 p.m., “I Live in Fear” at 8:50 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Berkeley Arts Fewstival “Words and Music” Richard Brenneman will read from George Stewart’s “Earth Abides” at 7 :30 p.m. follwoed by Carol Denney’s “Failure to Disperse Acoustic Revolt and Road Show’s Open Mike Review” at 8:30 p.m. at The Berkeley Arts Festival Gallery, 2324 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10.  

Victoria Vinton decribes the life of a young Rudyard Kipling in her novel “The Jungle Law” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Kirov Ballet “The Sleeping Beauty” at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus, through Oct. 16. Tickets are $48-$110. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Yuri Yunakov Ensemble featuring clarinetist Ivo Papasov, Bulgairan bebop, at 8 p.m. at Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. Tickets are $32. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

The Dunes, with DJ Cheb i Sabbah at 9 p.m. at Lucre Lounge, 2086 Allston Way, in the Shattuck Hotel. Cost is $5. www.lucrelounge.com 

Jaranon y Bochinche, Afro-Peruvian music at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Pamela Rose & Danny Caron Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Jump/Cut at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Jennifer Lee Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums, with Ms. Carmen Getit at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Sarah Manning, alto saxophonist, at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Perfect Strangers, bluegrass, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

The People at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

M.D.C., Blown to Bits, Instant Asshole at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

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 

SATURDAY, OCT. 15 

CHILDREN 

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Juanita Ulloa & Ginny Morgan, songs of Mexico, at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Works by Elke Behrens” Reception at 7 p.m. at Fourth Street Studio, 1717D Fourth St. 527-0600. www.fourthstreetstudio.com 

FILM 

Farewell: A Tribute to Elem Klimov and Larissa Shepitko “Agonia—Rasputin” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Sayre Van Young offers a photo tour of Berkeley during WWII at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, Community Room, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6100.  

David Margolick describes “Beyond Glory: Joe Lewis vs Max Schmeling and a World on the Brink” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Tim Wohlforth will be the California Writer’s Club Berkeley Branch guest speaker at 10:30 a.m., at Barnes and Noble in Jack London Square, Oakland. 

“Peminist Critical Theory” Authors panel on the Filipina/American experience at 2 p.m. in Heller Lounge, MLK Student Union, UC Campus. 548-2350. www.ewbb.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Arts Festival: “The Jazz House Revisited” with the Howard Wiley Trio at 8 p.m. at 2324 Shattuck Ave. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Hurricane Relief Jazz Benefit Concert with Plays Monk, Yancy Taylor Quartet, Anton Schwartz Quartet and more from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Donation $20-$50, benefits the Vanguard Foundation. 701-1787. 

Katrina Benefit with The Cajun All Stars, The Spirit of ‘29 Dixieland Jazz Band, Anne Galjour, Will Durst, Jeff Raz in a benefit for the Southern Arts Federation Hurricane Katrina Emergency Fund at 7 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $25-$100+ available from 925-798-1300. 

Night of Spoken Word and Song with Doug Von Koss, Judith Goldhaber, Maya Specter, and others at 8 p.m. at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. Donation $10. Fundraiser for Chaplaincy Institute. 682-5452. 

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra “Musica de la Noche” at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant. Tickets are $28-$62. 415-392-4400. www.philharmonia.org 

Christopher Maltman, baritone, at 3 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $42. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

St. Ann Consort “Masterpieces of Monastic Chant” at 8 p.m. at St. Mary Magdalen, 2005 Berryman St. Free. 717-9422. 

Robin Gregory & Bill Bell at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Odori Simcha with Neal Cronin, Toku Wu, Joyce Wermont, and Betsy Morris,at 7 p.m. at A Cuppa Tea, 3200 College Ave. Free, donations accepted. 654-1904. 

Eric Swinderman Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Brazuca Brown at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Dan Pratt Organ Quartet and Dan Ferber Nonet at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373.  

Craig Horton, Chicago blues style guitar and vocals, at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Rachel Garlin at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Francisco Aguabella y Su Grupo Ara Oko, Afro-Cuban folkloric music and dance at 8 and 10 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $20. 849-2568.  

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

The Ravines, alt rock, at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Roberta Chevrette and Joanna Barbaera at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

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

Last Target, Human Host, Free Radical at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 16 

CHILDREN  

The Sippy Cups “Groovy Ghoulies“ at 4 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $10 sdults, $5 children. 925-798-1300.  

EXHIBITIONS 

Berkeley Arts Festival: “The Soldier’s Dream” Photographs by Deborah O’Grady. Reception at 5 p.m. at The Berkeley Arts Festival Gallery, 2324 Shattuck Ave. RSVP to 665-9496. 

“Taisho Chic: Japanese Modernity, Nostalgia and Deco”guided tour at 2 p.m., and kimono demonstration at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. 642-0808. 

THEATER 

Berkeley Arts Festival “Dick ‘n Dubya” Republican outreach cabaret at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Arts Festival Gallery, 2324 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 841-1898. 

FILM 

Dutch Voices: Jos de Putter and Peter Delpeut “The Damned and the Sacred” at 4 p.m., “The Forbidden Quest” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Stop the Wars Tour with Normon Solomon at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $10-$15, benefits the National Radio Project. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

“Divinely Inspired: Arts of the Yoruba People” with Prof. Henry J. Drewal, Univ. of Wisc. at 2 p.m. at Phoebe Hearst Museum, Bancroft at College. 642-3682. 

Poetry Flash with Norman Fischer and Hank Lazer at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Organ Recital with Oscar Burdick, in a celebration of his 50 years at PSR, at 7:30 p.m. at 1798 Scenic Ave. Free. 849-8271. 

Organ Recital with Davitt Moroney at 4 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 845-8630. 

Angela Killilea, Dan Damon, Joel Weir, Kurt Ribak and Sheilani Alix, acoustic folk rock at 5 p.m. at Point Richmond First United Methodist Church, 201 Martina St., Point Richmond. www.pointrichmond. 

com/methodist/ 

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra “Musica de la Noche” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant. Tickets are $28-$62. 415-392-4400. www.philharmonia.org 

Christopher Maltman, baritone, at 3 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $42. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Elijah Henry at 4 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Oh, Mr. Sousa! at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Carlos Oliveira Trio with Harvey Wainapel at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Wallace Roney at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $20. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Hal “Eddie” Dinsratz at 10 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Americana Unplugged: The Earl Brothers at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

MONDAY, OCT. 17 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Myla Golberg introduces her new novel, “Wickett’s Remedy” on the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918, at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Pam Chun, stories from the Hawaiian tradition, at 7 p.m. at Barnes and Noble, Jack London Square, Oakland. 527-1141. 

Poetry Express with Terry McCarty and Adam David Miller at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

Monday Night PlayGround Six 10-minute plays on the topic “In Media Res” at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Rep. Tickets are $16. 415-704-3177. www.PlayGround-sf.org  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

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

r

There are a couple of catalpa trees a few blocks from where I live, crowded into a narrow curb strip so tightly they’ve started bulging over the sidewalk. I’d wondered about them for years, and figured they were something planted by a homeowner years ago, for whatever reason. I got a partial explanation from a friend of ours who grew up on that block and still lives there–that rare bird, a Berkeley native of about my advanced age. He said that that part of Grant Street used to be lined with magnolias; the catalpas, another emblem of the Southeast, therefore fit right in. And yes, they were evidently planted by the person who owned the house they’re in front of. 

Catalpas are handsome trees that get big—50 to 90 feet—and look splendid in a meadow, in their native home. There are a couple of species back east, Catalpa speciosa, called “northern” or “western” catalpa, and the “southern,” C. bignoniodes. They’re quite similar, with leaf size and flower color being the visible differences and with considerable overlap in those. Some catalpas’ blossoms look pale lavender overall, though classically they’re white with purple freckles in their long throats. The southern tree’s flowers are supposed to be generally more purple than the northern’s. Some of these have a lilac hue that’s fairly startling and can be seen from quite a distance, almost glowing. 

The flowers appear in upright triangular panicles, and the trees’ branches aren’t crowded or dense, so a catalpa in bloom looks like an elaborate candelabrum. With their big, soft, heart-shaped leaves fluttering languidly, they have a luxuriant, silken-baroque grace.  

Sometimes that grace conceals little surprises. Catalpas are the host of the catalpa worm or catawba worm, a striking black-and white caterpillar that can be a hefty four inches long, with a spiked tail. It’s a favorite fish bait in its home range. Supposedly, users turn the caterpillar inside-out before putting it on a hook, all of which is too disgusting to think about any longer, so you have my permission to close your eyes and think of happy furry puppies. If unmolested by fisherfolks, parasitic wasp larvae, or other micro- or macro-predators, the spectacular caterpillar metamorphoses into a rather more subdued-looking sphinx moth.  

Catalpa fruit is rather odd and long too. It’s a sort of enormous dangling green bean, and gives the tree its other common name, “Indian cigar tree.” Back east, where the trees are usually more productive of flowers and fruit than our lonesome pair on Grant Street, the skinny cigars hang on like bamboo windchimes after the leaves fall, and if there are enough of them, they even rattle a little in the breeze. 

“Indian?” I don’t know why, except that it’s a native American, and maybe people were thinking of wooden tobacco-store icons. Or maybe it’s one of those inventions that seem to cross the Big Rock Candy Mountain, with its cigarette trees and soda-water fountain, and the notion that before the Europeans arrived, everything on the continent was uncultivated. If a cigar-store Indian had cigars, they must have grown on trees, right?  

I’m told that kids actually smoke the beans back East when they’re dried out: break off both ends, light one and suck the other. Or they did before tobacco smoking got to be something people of all ages are supposed to purse their lips and get all scoldy about. (I’m not a smoker; never have been. But I think I’m allergic to that cat-butt face.) Kids used to smoke cornsilk, too, wrapped in a handy bit of cornshuck. I’m trying to remember what, if anything, we used to try smoking in my suburban neighborhood fifty years ago. (That, if you need to be told, was before banana skins.) Maybe we made do with those weird white candy cigarettes … uh-oh. Evil white sugar!! 

The best way to tell northern from southern catalpa is to crush a leaf and smell it. Northern has no scent, other than that moist green leaf scent; southern has one, described as “faintly rank.” The pair on Grant Street still have leaves but have dropped a lot, so now’s the time to smell it for yourself. They’re senior trees, and I suspect they’ll be with us for only a few years more, if that. Check them out and remember to look for flowers next spring.  

[Editor’s note: In Missouri 50 years ago they were called “lady’s cigars.”] 

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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. 

“Conduct of US Foreign Policy in a Global World” with Lawrence Gumbiner, US Dept. of State at 7:30 p.m. in the Home Room, International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Cost is $5. 642-9460. 

“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 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 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. 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. 

“Role of the Humanitarian Sector in a Changing World” with Dr. Anysia Thomas of the Fritz Institute at 7:30 p.m. at International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Cost is $5. 642-9460. 

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. 

FRIDAY, OCT. 14 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Cihan Tugal, Prof. Sociology, on “Transformation of Religious Politics in Turkey.” 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. 

Veterans of the George Jackson Brigade at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. Donation $5. 208-1700. 

BOSS Graduation and Gratitude Gala honoring men and women who have overcome homelessness, disabilities, addiction, and other challenges to turn their lives around at 5:30 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St., Oakland. Tickets $50. 649-1930. 

“Cleaning Up Diesel: Fuels and Technologies” a workshop in downtown Oakland sponsored by the Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative from 1 to 5 p.m. RSPVP to 302-3316. joel@rampasthma.org 

Hills Emergency Forum for residents of Berkeley, El Cerrito and Oakland to reduce the risk of wildland fire, at 10 a.m. at the El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane. www.lbl.gov/ehs/hef/ 

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

By the Light of the Moon Open mic and salon for women at 7:30 p.m. at Changemakers, 6536 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. 655-2405. 

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. 15 

Toddler Nature Walk We’ll look for spiders, insects and other fascinating creatures from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Fall Fruit Tasting and cooking demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, Center St. at MLK, Jr. Way. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

Berkeley Garden Club Plant Sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 313 Victoria, off Fairmont in El Cerrito, near the Plaza Bart Station. 528-4940. 

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour of the West Berkeley working class neighborhoods from 10 a.m. to noon. Cost is $8-$10. For information call 848-0181. www.cityofberkeley.info/histsoc 

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

Richmond Shoreline Festival, a community celebration from noon to 4 p.m. at Point Pinole Park, Richmond. Music, free BBQ, nature walks, fishing, kids’ activities, and updates on the shoreline’s hotly contested future. 452-9261, ext. 118. 

Emeryville Harvest Festival Live music, children’s activities, pumpkin patch and more from noon to 4 p.m. at Bay Street. www.baystreetemeryville.com 

“Designed for Space Travel” An exhibition of space artifacts, from spacesuits to space food at the Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. 336-7300. www.chabotspace.org 

Free Emergency Preparedness Class on Light Search and Rescue from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 997 Cedar St., between 8th and 9th. To sign up call 981-5605. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

fire/oes.html 

“The Kindness of Strangers: A Benefit for Rebuilding the Spirit of Community in the Gulf States” with The Cajun All Stars, The Spirit of '29 Dixieland Jazz Band and many others at 7 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $25-$100, available from 925-798-1300. 

Fundraiser for Homeless Action Center with wine tasting, food and music, from noon to 4 p.m. at 544 Wildcat Canyon Rd. Donation $75. Please RSVP to 540-0878. 

AARP Grandparents as Guardians Conference Learn how you can receive financial and legal help, find support groups in your area, and cope with the added responsibilities of raising grandchildren. Free conference includes continental breakfast, lunch, and daycare. from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church, 1188 12th St., Oakland. To register, call the toll-free conference hotline 1-877-926-8300. 

National Fair Trade Month and Coffee Sampling from 3 to 5 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Independent School Fair with A Better Chance Schools Program from 3 to 6 p.mm. at the North Oakland Senior Center, 5714 MArtin Luther King Jr. Way at 58th St. 763-0333.  

Womensong Circle, participatory singing for women at 7:15 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Donation $10-$15. 525-7082. 

Oakland Outdoor Cinema “Waiting for Guffman” at 8 p.m. on Washington St. between 9th and 10th Sts. Limited seating, bring chairs and blankets. 238-4734. www.filmoakland.com 

Ancient African Queenship Celebration at 5 p.m. at 5272 Foothill Blvd., Oakland. Sponsored by the Ausar Auset Society. 562-4926. 

“Pinay Power” Panel discussion theorizing the Filipina/ 

American experience at 2 p.m. in Heller Lounge, MLK Student Union, UC Campus. 548-2350. 

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

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 

“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. 

“Who’s Winning the Evolution Wars?” with Glenn Branch, National Ctr for Science Education, at 10 a.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. Sponsored by Secular Humanists of the East Bay. 848-6137. 

“Kids in Creeks” A class for edcators of K-12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Prospect Sierra School, 2060 Tapscott Ave., El Cerrito. Cost is $25. Sponsored by the Watershed Project. 665-3539. 

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. 

Loose Leash Dog Walking, a class with animal behaviorist Sasha Futran at 2 p.m. at RabbitEars, 303 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Cost is $40. 525-6155. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 16 

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. 

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

Bike Tour of Oakland A leisurely-paced tour covering the history of Oakland. Meet at 10 a.m. at the 10th St. entrance of the Oakland Museum of California. Registration required, 238-3514. 

Montclair Village Jazz and Wine Festival from noon to 6 p.m. at the corner of LaSalle Ave. and Moraga Ave. 339-1000. www.montclairvillage.com 

Dick ‘N Dubya Republican Outreach Cabaret at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Arts Festival Gallery 2324 Shattuck Ave. Cost $10. Free for card-carrying Republicans wrapped in the American flag. 841-1898.  

Berkeley Public Library Teen Amnesty Week through Sat. Oct. 22. Teens, bring your high school ID, and the Berkeley Public Library will work with you to clear your library record. 981-6135, 548-1240 (TTY). 

Bay Area Youth with LGBT Parents Film “In My Shoes: Stories of Youth With LGBT Parents” followed by discussion at 3 p.m. at Parkway Theater, 1834 Park Blvd., Oakland. Cost is $5. 415-861-5437. 

Martial Arts Expo and Yongmudo Championship Competition begins at 8 a.m., expo from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Recreational Sports Facility, 2301 Bancroft Way, UC Campus. Cost is $3-$5. www.yongmudo.org 

El Cerrito Historical Society features a presentation on two unique residential facilities that supported Chinese orphan children in the Bay Area, at 2 p.m. at the El Cerrito Senior Center, behind the El Cerrito Library, at 6510 Stockton Ave. 525-1730.  

Hands-on Bike Maintenance Learn how to do a bicycle safety inspection at 10 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Bring your bike and tools. 527-4140. 

Introduction to Rhythmic Improvisation A workshop with Danny Bittker and Jeremy Steinkoler from 2 to 4 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $20-$50 sliding scale. 525-5054.  

“What Are You Feeding Your Skin?” workshop at 10:30 a.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 

Annual Pasta Dinner with Friends of Albany Seniors at 4 p.m. at Albany Senior Center. Tickets are $8. For reservations call 559-7225. 

Pizza Fundraiser for Community Childcare Coordinating Council of Alameda County from 6 to 8 p.m. at Pizzaiolo, 5008 Telegraph Ave. Cost is $50. For reservations call 690-2150. lizr@4c-alameda.org 

Mathematical Writers from “The Simpsons” and “Futurama” at 2 p.m. at the Valley Life Sciences Building Auditorium, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Archimedes Society. 642-0143. www.msri.org 

Spanish Book Club meets to discuss “War By Candlelight” by Daniel Alacón at 4 p.m. at Cody’s on Teegraph Ave. 845-7852. 

Jewish Genealogical Society with Paul Hamburg, curator of Judaica at UC Berkeley at 1 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. 525-4052. 

Chinchilla 101 Learn the basics of care with California Chinchilla Rescue at 1 p.m. at RabbitEars, 303 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 525-6155. 

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 

“Judaism Without God? Understanding Humanistic Judaism” with Marcia Grossman, President of Kol Hadash at 9:45 a.m. at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. Donation $5. programs@kolhadash.org 

MONDAY, OCT. 17 

Homeless Youth in Berkeley Community Forum at 7 p.m. at Lutheran Church of the Cross, 1744 University Ave. yeahvolunteers@yahoo.com 

“All About Adoption” with Julie Randolf on chosing an agency, sibling relationships, transitioning and other issues at 7 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave. Registration required. 658-7353. www.bananasinc.org 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. J548-0425. 

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.  

CITY MEETINGS 

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?

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.

›

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. 

›

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. 

›

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. 

›

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›

There is so much appalling news from the world this week that it seems like a good time to launch a new department of this paper. Since we are now all present at all major disasters by virtue of high-speed media, it can seem churlish to complain about petty annoyances of everyday life. And yet, if we don’t allow ourselves to complain about such things occasionally, our coping mechanisms will soon get overloaded.  

It’s possible to convert small irritations into global analysis, though it might be better to keep them at the trivial level. Here’s an example: 

Last Thursday we rushed from deadline at the Daily Planet office to a 7 p.m. concert on the University of California campus. Because we had so little time, and hoped to grab a sandwich on our way in, we drove, and resigned ourselves to paying UC’s hefty parking fees in the underground garage next to Zellerbach. Big mistake.  

In its infinite wisdom, the UC parking office seems to have fired all of the personable humans that used to collect money from patrons rushing in to concerts. Since we can walk to campus from our house, we hadn’t tried to park in a garage there for a long time, so this innovation might have been in place for a while, but we didn’t know about it. Neither did anyone else in the long line of desperate concertgoers (probably at least 50) who were trying to pay their dues at the underground parking machine when we arrived at 6:25. We barely made it to our seats at 7, minus the sandwiches. 

Said machine makes Diebold’s voting machines look slick and professional. (Perhaps they are a Diebold design?) Dollar bills (no credit cards of course) have to be inserted one by one, with many rejected because they’re too old, too new, too crumpled or…? You have to predict how long you’re going to be away from your car, so there was much angst among patrons trying to decide how many encores Cecelia was going to offer, and what the penalty for a wrong guess would be. Many people were unable to understand the poorly written instructions on the machine—we entertained ourselves in the line totting up the number of advanced degrees in the crowd of people who couldn’t cope. Several who had come long distances to attend said they’d never come back to a UC event. To complete the payment, you had to press a button labelled “receipt,” instead of something more straightforward like “get ticket.” Figuring this out added three or four minutes to each transaction.  

What’s the Global Analysis? 

All too frequently, a technological solution like this one is implemented for what’s not a problem. All of those cheery young folks who used to sell tickets are now out of work, and why? There should be the equivalent of the Oscars or the Ig Nobel Prizes for this kind of abuse of technology. It needs a catchy acronym, something like TABU (for Technology Abuse BUmmer).  

A different Global Analysis could be that UC isn’t exactly telling us the truth when it says that we need thousands more parking spaces downtown. The university commands a huge number of parking spaces which are typically empty at night because they’re too hard for the public to use. When the dust settled, it looked to us like it was a sold-out concert with many spaces still empty in the parking garage. Clearly patrons who have had the Zellerbach garage parking experience on previous occasions are now avoiding it, and some others on Thursday seemed to be leaving in frustration when they couldn’t figure out what they were supposed to do.  

Now, annoyances like this one could also have been described in two or three cogent sentences without the global analyses, which might have been better. In any event, we’re now offering our readers a new opportunity to gripe briefly in print about similar frustrating experiences. We’ll have a column occasionally somewhere on the opinion pages headed “Gripes,” printed when critical mass accumulates. One paragraph per complaint, no more. It should be fun, or at least therapeutic. 

And just to be fair and balanced, we’ll also run “Bouquets,” single paragraphs about something that’s going right for a change. We don’t expect as many of those, knowing our readers as we do, but we might be pleasantly surprised. 

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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.