CHALMETTE, La. — Huey Borne walked across his dirt-covered driveway in Chalmette, La., a curious round-shaped box in his arms. He held out the container to his wife, Margarite, who wrinkled her nose in disgust.  

“I think I can save this,” he said, showing her a handsome gray fedora peeking out of the fragile tissue, half-covered in a chalky green substance. 

“Oh, it’ll still smell,” Margarite said, unconvinced. “Just pitch it.”  

Undeterred, Huey added the moldy hatbox to the small pile of belongings the older couple was storing in the back of their pick-up truck. This collection of their 50 years together was pitiful compared to the towering mountain of trash that sat just a few yards away in the front lawn—all the belongings they couldn’t save.  

“We come every two or three weeks to clean it out,” Margarite said. “I don’t want to come too often.” 

The good china and crystal were salvageable, but the salty, oil-filled water that sat in their house for almost three weeks ate through everything, including the knife blades on their sterling silverware. 

Huey misses everything they’ve lost, Margarite jokes, but the smell is what bothers her the most. “That smell just gets to me,” she said. “Everything just smells awful.” 

The Bornes almost didn’t leave St. Bernard Parish that late August weekend when Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast, leaving thousands of people homeless and hundreds trapped by rising floodwaters. Huey was recovering from surgery and besides, the last time a big storm came through—Hurricane Betsy in 1965—the Bornes didn’t even get wet. It was only after Huey heard the storm had reached category 5 that they decided it might be best to wait out Katrina with their son, John, and his wife in Baton Rouge. 

“We got out just in time,” Margarite said. “I’m not sure we would be here if we had stayed.” 

The Bornes have lived in Chalmette, a suburb of New Orleans, for 49 years, moving in soon after they were married in 1955. They raised their children in this house and many of their friends, new and old, lived near them. But now no one is here. Save for Huey and Margarite cleaning out their mold-covered ranch house, where the water reached five-and-a-half feet, the streets are empty, with heavy marsh grasses still strewn across most people’s front yards and dried, cracked mud covering what used to be lush green grass. The effect is much like a cross between a ghost town and a desert. 

“I’d just like to know where a lot of people are,” Margarite said, pointing out the houses where she hasn’t heard from residents, most of them neighbors for the last 40-odd years. 

As Huey and John shut down the house for the night, lowering the garage door and tugging the side door shut through the goopy mud still inside the house, Margarite spoke of one more decision she and Huey have made. They’re buying a house across the lake in Hammond and hope to move in soon. For the Bornes, restoring their home would be far too much work and most of the memories they left in it, like their wedding album, were ruined by the floodwaters.  

“It would be years before you could get it really where you could live in it,” Margarite said. “There’s nothing here [in Chalmette]. It looks like a bomb hit it and it’s just not livable.” 

Huey, tightening the ropes on the back of the pickup truck a few yards away, talked about his plans for the house. “I’ll clean it up, dry it out, stabilize it and when the market comes back I’ll sell it,” he said. “But I’m not going to give it away.” 

And no one knows how long that will take. 

“You can’t just hang around here for two years,” Huey added. 

“Life goes on. We’ll survive,” Margarite said. “What are you going to do? We have so far. I guess we will survive some more.”e

Budget Changes, Insurance Hikes Also OK’d  

City councilmembers tweaked the budget Tuesday, approved a grant application to plan a transit village at the Ashby BART station and handed off a controversial issue to the planning commission. 

Councilmember Dona Spring abstained when her colleagues voted to endorse a grant application to plan a “transit village” for the site of the western parking lot of the Ashby BART Station. 

Project Director Ed Church partially allayed some concerns of neighbors who worried because the grant application and accompanying paperwork specified a project with a minimum of 300 dwelling units. 

“We learned the development area is much smaller that we thought,” he said, “which means that the number will be reduced. Three hundred is probably more the maximum than the minimum.” 

Church said that the planning process grant would fund the proposal which developers would bid on. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington said that while he strongly supported new housing, the proposal raised some red flags. 

“If it’s done in the wrong way, it could be a disaster,” he said. With as many as 1,000 occupants, the project would also bring many more cars into the neighborhood, he said. 

Spring said she withheld her vote because she believed that instead of genuinely affordable workforce housing, the eventual building that would be constructed at the site will belong to a for-profit developer interested in charging market-rate rents—a concern shared by Worthington. 

Spring praised her council colleague Max Anderson, who is sponsoring the project, and added that the council has a five-vote majority that she believes will vote for any major for-profit development that adds new housing to the city. 

The item was originally included in the consent calendar but was pulled by Councilmember Laurie Capitelli, a move Anderson endorsed because the proposal “deserves some clarification because of erroneous statements” made during the public comment period.  

Anderson said that the project area map—mandated by transit village planning statues and encompassing a large area within a quarter-mile and more radius of the parking lot—does not mean that the city has jurisdiction over the included privately owned land, nor that the city could use eminent domain powers within the area. 

The council also approved a grant application for a second project at Ashby BART, the Ed Roberts Campus which is to be built on part of the station’s eastern lot. That grant application seeks $3 million from the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency Transportation for Livable Communities Capital Program. 

Budget changes 

The council approved $878,564 in new expenditures from the $1.08 million in additional revenues the city expects to receive, mostly from property-based taxes and fees. 

Spring proposed that instead of funding four new employees for the city’s Permit Services Center with surplus funds generated by that office, the city should divert half of the estimated $500,000 to fund social service programs which were cut or sharply reduced when the current budget was passed. 

“I could do that, but I might go to jail tomorrow,” said City Manager Phil Kamlarz, who said that extra revenues generated by fee-for-service programs were legally obligated to fund the programs that generated them. 

Spring said she wanted to give additional money to a variety of programs, including Habitot, the children’s museum which may be forced to leave the city because of a lack of funds, and an acupuncture program for rehabilitation clinic clients and the homeless. 

Mayor Tom Bates said that Tuesday’s action was an initial step. “We will be better able to determine” the ability to fund other programs in February, he said. 

Anderson said he supported Spring in principle, and asked that the council receive a report before the February meeting outlining the programs which had been cut so that funding could be reconsidered. 

Councilmember Laurie Capitelli said that funding the Permit Service Center was critical, in part because it assists homeowners and small business people. But he also said shortened approval processes that would result from more staffing could generate still more revenue. 

“Sometimes I think we want to pick our developers, but if someone wants to build a $5 million building and we can shorten (the process) by a year, that means an additional $200,000 in property taxes, much of it for the city,” he said. 

Worthington agreed that the Permit Service Center fees belonged there because delays and problems with the permit process is a major source of community complaints. 

When it came time to vote on the proposed budget changes, the measure carried 6-1-1-1, with Spring voting no, Anderson abstaining and colleague Betty Olds temporarily absent. 

By-right additions  

Though a majority of councilmembers seemed ready to vote for an urgency ordinance that would end by-right additions above the ground floor, councilmembers instead decided Tuesday to hand the matter off to the Planning Commission. 

Currently, a homeowner can add a one-time addition to a home consisting of up to 500 square feet without needing a use permit from city government. 

Recent complaints to councilmembers about view- and sunlight-blocking second floor additions led the council to consider a measure that would end the by-right additions for second floors and higher and require an administrative use permit, which would notify neighbors in advance and allow appeals of staff-approved additions. 

An urgency ordinance, however, required eight council votes—which Planning Director Dan Marks said didn’t seem likely—so the council referred the issue to the Planning Commission with instructions to come back with an acceptable ordinance. 

Other items 

In other action, the council: 

• Approved a $2 increase in fees for birth and death certificates to raised an estimated $38,886 a year for the Domestic Violence Prevention fund. 

• Barred flower stands from setting up sidewalk vending carts within 300 feet of existing indoor flower shops. 

• Approved a 14.63 percent rate increase for the city’s Kaiser Foundation HMO health plan and a 12.9 percent rate increase for Health Net HMO. 

• Approved condominium tract maps for a 32-unit residential and commercial project at 1809 Shattuck Ave. and a similar 67-unit project at 1797 Shattuck. 

• Adopted on first reading an ordinance by the Citizens Humane Commission for the care of dogs kept outdoors.  

• Tabled without discussion a resolution by Spring that would have the council direct the city manager to advertise city events in locally produced newspapers.›

If UC Berkeley was looking for city residents and officials to praise their massive development plans for the Memorial Stadium area, then they might be disappointed by the response. 

Most residents had little good to say about the massive expansion plans around the stadium during a scoping session last week. 

With the help of his staff and of other city officials, Berkeley Planning Director Dan Marks prepared a scathing 19-page letter this week accusing university officials of serving up an ethically challenged subterfuge that offers vague, questionable and unenlightening generalities as self-evident truths. 

His letter, with the approval of the Berkeley City Council Tuesday night and under the signature of City Manager Phil Kamlarz, was dispatched the following morning to Jennifer Lawrence, UCB principal planner for capital projects/facilities services. 

The project, dubbed the Southeast Campus Integrated Projects (SCIP), includes the construction of three major buildings, significant alterations to a fourth, the demolition of two landmarked buildings, and the significant alteration of a third. 

At Memorial Stadium—the renovated structure—the project plans call for a seismic upgrade and alterations to seating, as well as creation of two new levels above the existing stadium rim to house a press box and luxury skyboxes. 

The three new structures are: 

• A 132,500-square-foot Student Athlete High Performance Center building at the base of the stadium’s western wall. 

• A $60 million underground parking lot north of the stadium. 

• A 180,000-square-foot Law and Business Connection building across Piedmont Avenue east of the stadium that unites Boalt Hall and Haas School of Business teaching functions in a common structure which incorporates a sizable indoor/outdoor meeting facility. 

But Marks said the EIR should also address yet another major landmark immediately north of the project area, Bowles Hall, a massive gothic-style residential hall which is one of two sites the university is considering converting into the home of a Haas School of Business non-degree program for working corporate executives. 

His comments were drawn from the 52-page notice of preparation (NOP) the university issued on Nov. 14 announcing their intent to create an environment impact report (EIR) on the project. 

Where are the facts? 

“[T]he NOP offers vague descriptions of the projects the EIR will evaluate and their potential environmental impacts, raising serious questions about the adequacy of the assessment to follow,” Marks wrote. 

“The NOP fails to include even conceptual plans for the proposed projects, is unclear about the nature of several key aspects of the projects, and provides little or no detail as to the specific scope of the development ... and fails to present the detail that is typically provided in the project-level NOP that it purports to be,” making it “extremely difficult to make any specific comments on the scope of the analysis of potential impacts in the EIR for this project.” 

Yet, noting the NOP’s detailed parallel construction timelines for all the included projects, Marks said he found it “difficult to believe the university does not have more specific information about at least some of the projects.” 

Marks also raised the specter of legal action, noting that the “most ethical and legally defensible approach” would be for the school to prepare an EIR that evaluated the high performance center and the law and business school projects in detail and to formulate a set of policies on future developments in the area while postponing the remaining projects until they’re more fully developed. 

“Regretfully,” he wrote, “based on past experience the City of Berkeley expects that the university will proceed with this ill-defined project description.” 

Without specific plans and numbers, Mark wrote, there is virtually no way the city can estimate the project’s demands for city services, impacts on surrounding neighborhoods or potential costs to city taxpayers. 

The city isn’t without some power, he noted, because the threat of legal action remains a weapon in the city’s arsenal. Though the controversial settlement agreement ending the city’s suit against the university’s 2020 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) barred litigation over most university development, the agreement specially excludes the Memorial Stadium precincts. 

Specific critiques 

Among the concerns Marks raised: 

• The NOP contained no conceptual site plans showing the footprints of the proposed new buildings, even though the university showed drawings at a press conference and in the hallways on the day of the scoping session, held as the public comment period was coming to an end. 

• Impacts on city services can’t be assessed without specific information on the nature and intensity of uses at each site, including Memorial Stadium, where the university plans, thanks to new permanent lighting, to go “beyond football” to offer “major public-interest events.” 

“What is the average number of persons who can be expected for how many hours on how many days each year?” asked Marks. Does it mean that the stadium’s 62,000 seats “will be filled 10 times a year or 40 times a year?” A Draft EIR without that kind of data “will not be legally adequate,” he wrote. 

• While the university intends to rely on the 2020 LRDP traffic analysis for much of its projections, Marks says the new parking structure and changes to pedestrian access, changes from other, unspecified transportation improvements and changes at Memorial Stadium will have site-specific impacts that could require another look at the LRDP EIR assumptions and those in the city’s own Southside Plan EIR scheduled for next year and the EIRs of AC Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit plans for the city. 

• Other transportation issues which have likewise been left undescribed include vehicle access to the new facilities and mentioned but undetailed new shuttle bus service. 

• Marks also questioned the proposed demolition of two landmarked houses to make way for the law/business building and the overall project impacts on Piedmont Avenue, a landmarked streetscape, and on Memorial Stadium, for which a federal landmark nomination is pending. 

• The planning director also spotted some language on the athletic center, which the NOP notes is “currently proposed as a two-story landform building.” (Marks’ emphasis). In whatever form the university finally chooses, what will be the impacts on the stadium and the landmarked streetscape, he asked. 

• Marks noted that the vague details concerning the controversial addition of permanent night lighting for the stadium, a multi-level press box and luxury skybox additions above the west stadium rim made specific comment “very difficult.” 

• Marks also criticized information about the $60 million underground parking, which he noted would have tremendous impact on city-owned streets, “with very poor access that is virtually on top of the Hayward Fault.” 

• The most complex analytical issues involve the stadium, which “is located literally over a major high-risk fault and is in a relatively isolated location in terms of vehicle access, yet is clearly destined in the NOP for intensified use.” 

For those and other reasons, Marks wrote, “We assume the university will indicate what other options it considered besides retaining the stadium in its current location,” close to the Hayward Fault, where it could “expose even more students and other persons to very real seismic hazards.” 

• Likewise, “the city fails to understand why the university would insist on replacing existing parking and increasing the parking supply in one of the least accessible places in the City of Berkeley” at a site that abuts the Hayward fault. 

• Without specific information such as building sizes and heights, the number of night-lighted events at the stadium and other buildings and plazas in the complex, details of above-the-rim stadium additions and other facts, any assessment of aesthetic and visual impacts is impossible, he said. 

• He also takes issue with the university’s claim that the LRDP analysis is sufficient for issues of hydrology and water quality impacts. An increase in the number of major events at the stadium could significantly impact the city’s wastewater system, and the projects themselves could alter existing drainage patterns. Similarly, more events means more demands on the city’s sewer system. 

• Marks argued for expansion of the project’s traffic study area. He also asked for specific studies of peak morning and after hours as well a separate analysis of a Saturday home football game. 

Meetings, delay sought 

While the city has requested that university officials present their plan to the city Landmarks Preservation, Planning and Transportation commissions and the Zoning Adjustments Board’s Design Review Committee as soon as possible, Marks said the university should issue a new notice of preparation taking into account the concerns he raised. 

“[T]he city urges the university to better define its projects, provide a clear project description and then issue an appropriate NOP before proceeding with this EIR,” Marks concluded in his the letter. “This would allow the public and the city as a responsible agency sufficient opportunity to provide comment. As the project is currently described, the city does not believe it can make adequate comment.” ?

The Berkeley Youth Commission is gung-ho on civic involvement, and wants to involve all fellow students at Berkeley High. 

On Tuesday, the commission held a fifth-period forum and debate at the Little Theatre on the Berkeley High School campus, on the merits of giving 17-year-olds the vote in Berkeley School Board elections.  

The Youth Commission, jointly sponsored by the City of Berkeley and the Berkeley Unified School District, was able to enlist the aid and participation of Councilmembers Max Anderson and Gordon Wozniak and Mayor Tom Bates. No one from the School Board or BUSD administration was present although Superintendent Lawrence was listed on the program. 

Four classes of students listened as Councilmember Anderson spoke in favor of 17-year-olds voting in School Board elections, arguing that America’s history of excluding African-Americans and women from the vote, compelled allowing 17-year-olds to vote especially since they are old enough to have a driver’s license and enlist in the military.  

Councilmember Wozniak spoke against the proposal saying he had not heard a convincing reason for the change. 

“Why 17 and not 16?” he asked. Wozniak cited statistics that said out of 106 countries surveyed, 86 of them set the voting age at 18, indicating a consensus among the majority of countries for 18 to be the appropriate voting age. Mayor Bates was enthusiastic about this civic debate and encouraged all students to be involved. 

Students also debated the pros and cons. The pro side, represented by students belonging to the National Youth Rights Association, argued for allowing 17-year-olds to vote for School Board for two reasons. The first was that it would be a good lesson in civics, and the second was that “students are way more interested in and affected by schools than the School Board,” argued Pamela Tatz. 

She cited torn apart bathrooms, graffiti and lack of desks as problems facing students and concluded by saying, “Nobody would not benefit from 17-year-olds voting for School Board.” 

The con side, presented by students from Junior Statesmen of America, argued that simply being affected is no justification for changing the voting age. 

“It [school board actions] affects kindergarteners too. And kids in private schools who are not affected will be able to vote,” said Noah Mogey. 

Mogey’s debate partner, Daniel Gleich argued that a mere change to allow for school board elections was ”unfair and unconstitutional” and said that the appropriate change would be to lower the age of all laws to 17 from 18. 

In rebuttal, Zach Hobesh of the National Youth Rights Association, stated that voting for School Board is a start. “You can’t start in Washington,” he said. 

Teal Miller, the non-voting student representative on the School Board, echoed the refrain that giving 17-year-olds the vote would “get our attention” and encourage involvement. 

Commission Chair Rio Bauce ended the forum by asking all students to sign the petition. Next week the petitions will be circulated during class. While most of the students in the audience briskly filed out, a small group continued the debate. 

Bauce said that a teacher had suggested the alternative of giving the elected student member on the School Board a vote. 

“That is definitely a possibility, if not a compromise,” Bauce said, and promised to bring this before the Youth Commission at its January meeting. 

Asked whether a voting student representative on the board would solve the problem, Miller answered that a voting member would “make sure that student needs are taken care of.” When asked to identify these student needs are, she said, “I need to learn more about issues like the health center, and get student input.” 

Miller also said that during her tenure on the School Board, there hasn’t been an issue in which the board did not take her comments into consideration. 

?

At the Dec. 14 meeting, the Berkeley School Board approved the contract for the environmental impact report for Berkeley High School south campus construction that includes the warm water pool.  

The board vote authorizing the $135,000 contract for Turnstone Consulting was unanimous and passed as part of the consent agenda, which means there was no discussion on the matter at the meeting.  

No comments 

Based upon summary information, the board approved, without comment or review, November payments of $22 million for outside contracts and a payroll of $5.5 million. The board also approved the landscape work completed at Washington Elementary, Arts Magnet Elementary, Thousand Oaks Elementary, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School and Berkeley Alternative High School. No dollar figures were listed for this work. 

BHS students baggin’ it? 

School Boardmember Shirley Issel reported that the high school is making substantial progress in reducing absenteeism and is moving on to address the number of students with D and F grades. Issel said that alcohol and drugs are the red flags most regularly raised in meetings on student behavior and attendance, indicating “the need for counseling in this area.” 

She said there are 206 students currently who have received at least one D or one F grade out of the approximately 2,500 students at the school. 

Money shuffle 

The district is required by the state to file a first interim budget report. The report showed that BUSD is able to pay its bills. BUSD’s general fund would be $837,359 short, but this shortfall was plugged by transfers from the parcel taxes. One contributing factor was the $702,000 general fund money used to cover deficits from food services. 

Also, the interim budget report managed to be in the black by excluding over $2.65 million of obligations, including $175,000 in costs shifted from the general fund to the maintenance fund for security, more than $328,000 that the audit found were “discrepancies in … payroll clearing account,” projected future workers compensation and liability of $1.17 million, and over $981,000 owed to the city for sewer service, maintenance and the BHS health clinic. 

a

Overriding the recommendation of Planning Director Dan Marks and his staff, Berkeley planning commissioners Wednesday voted to crack down on parking in rear and side yards. 

Commissioner Gene Poschman, a strong proponent of the change, said the revision—if adopted by the City Council—would give nearby residents a chance to weigh in before a property owner paves over a backyard to stow an RV or “a couple of junkers.” 

In zoning language, a yard is defined as the area between a property line and whatever setback distance is required to maintain a space between adjacent structures—although “yards” can also be on rooftops and in courtyards in larger buildings. 

Yard parking became an issue in the case of the “Flying Cottage” at 3045 Shattuck Ave. when city staff reviewed the legal history of barring parking spaces in required yard spaces. 

Though 1999 revisions of city zoning ordinances had banned parking in legally mandated yards, city staff continued to allow such parking because other sections of the code referred to yard parking. ZAB had originally intended to require parking at another site in the case of 3045 Shattuck Ave., but it relented after a planning staff report.  

The city currently requires an administrative use permit (AUP) before allowing parking in a front yard. An AUP is a document issued by city staff and requires that neighbors be notified of all proposed changes. 

Debra Sanderson, the planning staffer assigned to serve as secretary to the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB), also noted that no use permits of any kind were required to build or demolish a garage or carport in the setback areas. 

“ZAB also noted that (the revision) creates an incentive to build more visible structures” than allowing continued by-right paving in the yards, Sanderson said. “They’re also concerned about keeping back yards open.” 

Enforcement, too, could be an issue, she said. 

Marks said requiring a permit would also place more demands on staff at the Permit Center. 

Robert Lauriston, who lives near the Flying Cottage and is a fixture at ZAB debates about the building, said he disagreed with many of the city staff’s contentions. 

“We don’t see any discussion of what’s the best policy in the staff report. By-right is not the best policy,” he said. 

The debate touched on a number of issues, including parking requirement for so-called accessory dwelling units permitted under state law. 

At one point, Commissioner David Stoloff suggested holding off on the issue for several months so the commission could handle other issues on an overcrowded schedule recently expanded by the City Council. 

But the issue was scheduled as a hearing and a vote was required. 

Stoloff moved to accept the staff recommendation to leave parking in side and rear yards on a by-right basis, and was joined by Samuels, Chair Harry Pollack and Larry Gurley, the newest commissioner. Helen Burke, Sara Shumer and Poschman voted no, with Susan Wengraf and Mike Sheen abstaining. 

The numbers for the vote on the administrative use permit requirement were exactly the same, with Poschman, Burke, Shumer and Sheen voting yes, Pollack, Stoloff and Samuels voting no and Wengraf and Gurley abstaining. 

It was then that Wengraf changed her vote to the yes column—“in the interest of not having another meeting on this”—and the change passed. 

“Staff may have an alternative recommendation to the council,” said Marks, to which Poschman replied, “As George Bush says, ‘Bring it on!’” 

Gorman Furniture Building 

In a much less controversial case with virtually no discussion before a unanimous vote, commissioners approved conversion of the Gorman Furniture Building at 2259 Telegraph Ave. into condos. 

Owner David Clahan restored the venerable landmarked building, constructed in two phases in 1877 and 1906, and reconfigured the interior. 

The building consists of six condominium units—two dwelling units on each of the two upper floors, with two ground-level commercial spaces.

Without discussion, the Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board has approved plans to open a jazz club inside the UC Theatre building. 

Gloria Mendoza and Michael Govan were granted permission to transform the spacious interior into a dinner theater and jazz club with combined seating for 600. 

The landmarked building at 2036 University Ave. is Berkeley’s oldest surviving motion picture showcase, built in 1917 and designed by noted Berkeley architect James W. Plachek. 

The plans call for no changes to the structure’s exterior, which is the only portion of the building governed by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. 

Landmark houses 

Two other landmarks were also discussed at last week’s meetings, the Ellen Blood and John Woolley houses, which developer John Gordon places to relocate on a lot he owns at the southwest corner of Regent Street and Dwight Way. 

The Ellen Blood House, listed as a city structure of merit, is a Queen Anne Victorian built in 1891 at 2526 Durant Ave., where a developer wants to build a five-story mixed-use project with ground floor commercial and four floors housing 44 apartments. 

The John Woolley House, built in 1876, sits on UC Berkeley-owned land at 2509 Haste St., one of five parcels near the northeast corner of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street where Rasputin Music owner Ken Sarachan plans to build another mixed used residential-over-commercial project. 

Gordon stepped up with an offer to move both structures to his lot, and he says final plans may be ready for ZAB action within 60 days. 

“We like old buildings,” Gordon explained in a telephone interview. “The Blood House is in good condition, and we’ll be restoring the original wood exterior,” which is now buried beneath a layer of stucco. 

Preservation architect and former Landmarks Preservation Commissioner Burton Edwards is working on the plans, he said. 

Herbivore moving to Fine Arts Building 

ZAB members also approved a liquor license for a new restaurant, Herbivore, which will be opening in the Fine Arts Building at 2451 Shattuck Ave.  

Proprietor Adham Nasser said that after operating his business for nine years in San Francisco it was time to move to Berkeley, “which I always thought was a good fit.” 

Nasser said he expects to open his vegetarian restaurant in nine to 12 months.  

Pauline Bartolone contributed to this report.›

An article in the Dec. 13 issue gave the wrong name for Andrea Faber, owner of Hula in Montclair Village and former owner of a clothing store in Berkeley’s Elmwood District.

First, the Police Blotter offers a tip of the hat to now-Sgt. Joe Okies, who was awarded his stripes Thursday when graduated from his role as the Berkeley Police Department’s public information officer to a sergeant of the night patrol. Felons beware! 

Bottle and punch 

Police are looking for the tall, thin fellow who stormed into L K Liquor Store at 2495 Sacramento St. last Thursday night, threatened the clerk with a bottle, then landed a punch instead. He’s now wanted for assault and brandishing a deadly weapon, said the former Officer Okies. 

Ho ho humbugs 

Two young men wearing dark hoodies tried to swipe the packages that a 30-year-old woman was carrying outside the Claremont Library early last Thursday evening. When she refused to relinquish her belongings, the thieves were left in search of another way to acquire their holiday presents. 

Ups ante on a deuce 

When Berkeley officers made a deuce (drunk driving) stop in the 900 block of Adeline Street at 11:34 p.m. Friday, they also discovered the intoxicated 39-year-old driving was also driving with a license that had been suspended or revoked for reckless or negligent driving—all violations of the state vehicle code.  

If that weren’t bad enough, the outraged inebriate then said some something to officers that led them to charge him with violation of section 422 of the California Penal Code—threatening to “commit a crime which will result in death or great bodily injury to another person.” 

“It’s not surprising that someone who has been arrested for driving under the influence might be unhappy about it,” observed Okies. 

Second attack 

Wheelchairs of Berkeley, the victim of a window-smashing attack by a brick-and-cane-wielding bandit on Nov. 23, was targeted again Saturday—this time by an arsonist. 

Police and firefighters rushed to the 2911 Shattuck Ave. facility after a 911 call reporting fire. 

Emergency workers arrived in time to extinguish a blaze set on the outside of a garage at the business and to apprehend a 33-year-old man police booked on suspicion of setting the blaze. 

Okies said there appears to be no connection between the two crimes. 

Hospital heist 

The 28-year-old man arrested on suspicion of robbing a purse at the Berkeley Dog and Cat Hospital at 2126 Haste St. early Saturday afternoon also faces charges of domestic abuse stemming from the same crime, as well as one count of probation violation. 

The purse and its contents were recovered and returned to their rightful owner. 

211 Trio 

Police are seeking three young men who robbed a fellow shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday in the 1300 block of Sixth Street. 

Wrong move 

After police were called to a residence in the 1200 block of Berkeley Way just before 11 p.m. Sunday, they found a very angry and disturbed 18-year-old fellow who expressed his displeasure by punching his fist through a wall and then pulling a knife as officers moved to arrest him, a significant felony to lay atop a count of vandalism from the fist-in-the-wall thing. 

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.

ALKO RESPONSE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I just have to answer Stuart Davis’s letter that was in the Dec. 9 edition of the Daily Planet. 

Yes, UC needs to cut costs by cutting waste, but not at the cost of necessary good service, local or not. 

My company, ALKO office supply, is local and does have special low prices for UC that I guarantee are not at “very high margins” as Davis says. Office Max’s current prices to the university are competition busters and cannot be permanent; their stockholders will not allow it. 

You think Zelda Bronstein should compare? Fine then, let’s compare, first, we do hire local people; in fact we have a decade’s long mentorship program with Berkeley High School students and are very proud of some of the results. Secondly I will gladly compare my employee’s salaries with Office Max’s and I will win again. Thirdly, my employees enjoy child care right here in the store and every one of them has full medical coverage with Mr. Davis’ employer, Kaiser Permanente, that I pay for 100 percent. I have no idea what Office Max offers, but I bet you that I win again! 

As for lining my pockets, the downturn in retail in downtown Berkeley has caused my business five consecutive years of losses, and I am quite sure that the salary that I take is far less than what Kaiser Permanente pays Mr. Davis. 

Finally, I don’t necessarily agree with Zelda Bronstein’s comparison of UC as Wal-Mart either, but I do think that Office Max is mimicking some of the infamous retailer’s unfair tactics. 

Gary Shows 

ALKO office supply 

• 

CENSURED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I just learned that last Tuesday the City Council voted to censure the mayor for secret back-room dealing. Well, it’s about time the council stood up and did something about that terrible agreement which Mayor Bates negotiated in secret with UC which will allow massive university expansion and destroy our quality of life. And not only that, the vote was unanimous—all 10 councilmembers voted for censure! Wait a minute, we don’t have 10 councilmembers. Oh, that was San Jose City Council! I forgot that in Berkeley we promote secret back-room dealing. Darn! 

Doug Buckwald 

• 

UC BEHAVIOR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In her Dec. 9 letter to the Daily Planet, Cyndi Johnson expresses her inability to understand why the University of California is “run so immorally” and then describes a number of its plans inimical to most people in Berkeley or in California. 

The underlying cause of UC’s behavior is quite simple. 

For decades, governors have appointed regents on the basis of one over-riding criterion: that they serve corporate interests whenever these are in conflict with those of the students, teachers, or the rest of us. 

The regents in turn chose the UC president in precisely the same way and pay him handsomely for doing as expected. 

This is further compounded by legislatures that, instead of taxing corporations and providing the university an adequate budget, do the opposite. Thus the university has an excuse to accept money with many strings attached from the practically untaxed, corporate owners and CEOs. 

The University of California is perhaps still a “noble institution,” and certainly many marvels come from it, but too often corporate interests take preference over the benefits it could provide for all. 

Richard Wiebe 

• 

ASHBY TRANSIT VILLAGE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Some questions about the Ashby BART “Transit Village”: 

Why would people in the local workforce (teachers, nurses, and firefighters) want to live at a “transit” hub, when they aren’t going anywhere? A transit hub residence makes sense for people who transit somewhere else to work during the day, and just come back to Berkeley to sleep. 

If we want to provide lower-cast housing for the local workforce, why are only one fifth of the units going to be “affordable”?  

The grant for $120,000 is only a drop in the bucket for something that will cost upwards of $100 million. 

Do people realize what a building with 300 units will look like? It will dwarf the giant Gaia building, which only has 90 units.  

Finally, what is more important, meeting an Oct. 14 deadline for a grant application, or involving the community at the outset in helping to decide the future of their neighborhood? 

Anne Wagley  

• 

NO CONSULTATION? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I’m troubled by the proposal to put a “transit village” on the Ashby Avenue BART station. It’s not the fact of a transit village that troubles me, but the size of the project: 300 units. I thought that such projected villages were more in the range of 50 to 100 units. 

None of my friends in Mr. Anderson’s district (including my daughter) has received any mailing or other communication from his office about the project. With such a huge project it seems odd that the Daily Planet article was the first any of them heard about it. Is this, I hate to suggest, another move to place a large project in South Berkeley without consulting the people who live in the area? 

It has a direct impact on all homeowners and renters in the district. The designation of the transit village somehow automatically changes the zoning within a quarter-mile radius around the village to allow high density building. This, once again, brings the prospect of changing a largely single-family home area into a crowded enclave. Would such a project have reached this stage without neighborhood knowledge around North Berkeley BART station? Once again, South Berkeley is being treated as a sub-marginal area not worthy of being informed or consulted.  

I’m also puzzled by reference to the SBND Commission. I thought it was disbanded some time ago. Is it in existence again? Are its meetings public? 

This may be an excellent project, but the development of the plans seems to have gone on without the kind of consultation and transparency we expect from our elected officials and appointed boards. 

Phyllis Brooks Schafer 

• 

MASSIVE PROJECT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A project of over 300 units at Ashby BART’s West lot is not major but massive! 

Many neighbors would welcome a 10- to 30-unit housing development above commercial space at the West Ashby BART lot. Many are avid supporters and users of public transit. But 300-plus units seems extreme. Do we have to ask if anyone would have the audacity to push a project of this magnitude through in North Berkeley or Central Berkeley? Building the Ed Roberts campus on the other side of Bart at the same time will lead to major changes, likely congestion and traffic problems during the construction process as it is.  

I am disappointed that our council member and mayor have missed opportunities to inform local neighborhood groups or newspapers about this project prior, seemingly trying to purposely push it through quickly without informing the neighborhoods. Councilmember Max Anderson, I am glad you are a member of our Lorin District neighborhood list serve who spoke at our last three meetings. I hope you will be a representative of the constituents you serve. I am disappointed that you did not share this plan when you spoke at our last three neighborhood meetings. I spoke to several active members of the community who had no inkling of this plan before the Daily Planet article.  

Mayor Bates, we know you have been in favor of transit villages since 1994 and that your wife, Assemblymember Hancock, just drafted legislation to allow a city to use an existing specific development as a plan for a transit village. Couldn’t you and Loni have taken time to let us know of your plans for our neighborhood.? 

Project director Mr. Church applied for the grant funds on behalf of the South Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation on Oct. 14. Seems like the SBNDC, and sponsor Councilmember Anderson have big plans for our neighborhood. Few know anything about the SBNDC or their plans for our neighborhood. Mr. Church says that, “the neighborhood can only be a neighborhood again when there is a great infill housing project in there.” Funny, it has always felt like a neighborhood to me. If I had wanted to live among massive condo projects with no heart and soul, I would have moved to Emeryville.  

Robin Wright 

• 

TELL ME IT’S NOT SO! 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was shocked and horrified to hear that our (alleged) representative in city government, Max Anderson, had moved a personal proposal for a massive-scale housing development to a stage where its grant application is to be voted on, without a single word to the entire community. Unless the article reported in the Daily Planet was some kind of bad joke or an attempt at fictionalized news (think the radio broadcast of some generations earlier, purporting to announce the invasion of aliens on Planet Earth), Max Anderson and all of the Berkeley City Council are due for a major reality check. No thank you very much, we do not want an enormously over-scaled housing development in the midst of an established community, whether to house rich, poor or a band of displaced Bantu Pygmies. Max Anderson has conspicuously, a-hem, overlooked the necessity to speak with the people who already live here, in this brazen assumption that our opinions, needs, and even survival can be discounted as unimportant to the decision-making process. He is badly mistaken. 

For the years I have lived in South Berkeley, I innocuously assumed that elected officials from the COB would never broach decisions of such import to the community without some form of prior accord with the residents they were elected to serve. Clearly, that assumption was tragically naive. We are left with few opportunities to redress a situation badly out of sync with the surrounding community. All they had to do was ask, and they would have learned that few, if any residents of South Berkeley are interested in building a leviathan of a structure in our midst. It is amazing to think that the reasons why not to do so need to be spelled out. 

No, it is the effrontery with which some take our passive compliance for granted that is infuriating. Rather than waste breath and ink explaining the obvious reasons, let me cut to the chase. I, for one (but one among thousands, I’ll wager) are sick to death of the paternalistic, presumptuous, policy-making that substitutes for true representation in the City of Berkeley. I am tired of being treated like a doormat, and this will not be allowed to pass into being without a serious challenge. Should the City Council adopt this ill-conceived plan, I intend to mount a class action suit against the city, and any and all employees party to the proposal. With a required minimum number of 50 signatories with similar claims, I could easily sign up that many from one or two blocks. I have already spoken with a couple of attorneys willing to represent us in Superior Court for such an eventuality. I will insist that the Department of Justice investigate such a usurpation of our rights. I will make certain there is news coverage that is heard nationwide. And—trust me—the cost to the city will be exponentially higher than building the development itself. This is not a threat; it is a promise. Those who have worked with me before know I mean what I say. 

Sam Herbert 

• 

ATTEMPT AT HUMOR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As a long-time Berkeley resident, I’m hoping that the front page story on Dec. 13, “Downtown Retail Taxes Down by 10 Percent,” was an attempt at humor. No one could really be surpassed that retail taxes are down because consumers don’t need the hassle of shopping in downtown Berkeley. If Internet sales are to blame as was suggested, then presumably the retail sales of all other jurisdictions such as Emeryville and San Francisco should be down by a like amount. I doubt that they are! Then to suggest that the cause may be too long blocks, turning cars, too many property owners, and lack of inviting public spaces suggests the city might want to look for help in solving their problem elsewhere. 

I don’t shop anymore in downtown Berkeley, or go to restaurants there, or go to movies there, because it is faster, cheaper, easier to drive to north Berkeley, Emeryville, El Cerrito, or even to a BART station to go to San Francisco, than to hassle with going to downtown Berkeley. The city has made it clear that they don’t want shoppers to drive downtown. Finding a parking spot takes too much time, and the garages cost way too much. The city put the cart before the horse—discouraging cars before they provided mass transportation. If a city has mass transportation, like New York City, Paris, or London, it makes sense to discourage cars and to not provide parking and access to the downtown. But if it doesn’t, then be prepared for a drop in customers and a very unamazing, though alarming, drop in retail sales tax. A no-brainer! 

David Weitzman 

• 

DOWNTOWN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I got a chuckle when I read that the Saturday Farmer’s Market was “partly conceived as a way to attract customers to downtown (but) has only succeeded in attracting customers to the Farmers’ Market” and attributes the failure somehow to lack of trees. It seems to me, as someone who shops the Saturday market and makes occasional forays on foot to Shattuck, that there has been little or no thought ever given to enticing the market’s customers into the downtown. Center Street, the most obvious route from the market to Shattuck, has never been a pleasant street known for its verdant greenery. Now, for many months in the past and evidently many more months in the future, the sidewalk on the south side is blocked by construction on the new Vista building—from all appearances a to-the-curb, looming structure that is already blocking the sun. On the north side of the street, rather than interesting shops that might lure the shopper along, there are empty and underutilized storefronts, waiting, I take it, for the next phase of high-rise development.  

Planning in Berkeley? Get real. There are more cows. 

Joanne Kowalski 

• 

FARMERS’ MARKET 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A message for the Berkeley Unified School District and the City of Berkeley: 

We are writing regarding the proposed move of the south Berkeley Farmers’ Market. We know that you are weighing various options that would accommodate a baseball field and the needs of other sports as well as the market. We are hopeful that a proposal can be found that will accommodate the needs of all, but we are concerned that the Farmers’ Market may get overlooked in the shuffle of available funds, space and expediency.  

Full Belly Farm has been attending the South Berkeley Farmers Market year round since 1989. We also deliver our organic produce to several restaurants and stores in the east bay including Monterey Market, Market Hall Produce, Star Grocery, Oliveto, Chez Panisse, Venus, Lalimes and many others. Our farm membership of 550 families in the east bay also receives a weekly box of produce. It is the combination of all of these venues that make it possible for us to attend the Berkeley Farmers Market. In order to make an economically viable run, we combine the deliveries to individuals, restaurants and stores with a day at the Berkeley farmers’ market. If one element of the strategy falls away, the future of all these elements is jeopardized. 

The presence near Berkeley of a farm belt of growers who live within driving distance means that the city is blessed by a local food economy in which many of the profits are staying local rather than being sucked into the faraway pockets of international food distributions and marketing businesses. Local farms also bring educational opportunities. Several annual events at Full Belly draw large numbers of people from the east bay: Our Hoes Down Harvest Festival in October 2005 drew 4,000, the majority of whom were from the east bay and a huge number of whom were families with young children. In addition we offer various classes, kids-camps and on-farm activities that are in high demand. We believe that the steady, year-round presence of mid-scale farms like Full Belly at the market provide a stabilizing anchor. We offer a diverse array of fruits, nuts, vegetables and flowers picked the day before the market. This is an important part of what makes the market work for the customers.  

A partnership must exist between the market and the city in order for the market to work. A market can be a wonderful addition to the quality of life in a city, building civic capital and pride of place. Or it can be a statement about the lack of those things. A market without parking, without bathrooms, without lights and with only a few token farmers reflects poorly on a city. 

The Ecology Center has provided an excellent list of major needs of the South Berkeley Farmers’ Market. These include: parking for customers, the handicapped and overflow farmers; visibility and accessibility; restrooms with running water; and lighting. We hope that these needs can be accommodated in the plans for expansion of the school district sports program. 

We would be happy to discuss these issues further. 

Judith Redmond on behalf  

of Full Belly Farm 

• 

COSTLY, INEFFICIENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Music is my daily pleasure at home. Since the main public library has a great collection of DVDs—everything from Bach to pop—my CD changer is always full of silver discs. No problems. But since the RFID magnetic strips have been added to every disc there are now frequent glitches in the sound. In the last two borrowings three discs have had defective strips—or strips that became defective from being played. The music will stop at a certain point and may pick up 30 seconds later—or not. When I check there are missing chunks of strip that appear to be causing the silence. 

Was this technological innovation necessary? I also noted that the casings for the dvds have been simplified and no longer require the hand motion to unlock that had supposedly caused repetitive stress injury for library workers. So what is the point of all this technology if the net result is technical trouble. 

At a recent library trustees meeting a representative of the RFID manufacturer was asked about the advantage of the tags over the simple strips. His reply: “It’s faster.” If this is the main criterion of the possibly $2 million plus that has been spent so far for this system I would say this money has been totally wasted. As a tax payer and a strong supporter of everything else the library does, I protest the colossal waste of our money on expensive—and unnecessary—tech toys. 

I do not want to live in a world of machines. I like talking for 30 seconds to the people at the circulation desk. They are often interested in the books and music I borrow, have read the book or not and want to know what it’s about. Such a pleasant and human exchange. 

If this inane tech trend continues it may very well end up with robot readers who won’t complain about other machines checking them out, and since there won’t be any privacy issues to deal with and no health hazards, they will live in the perfect world that the next tech thing is always promising. 

Joan Levinson 

• 

CAMPAIGN FINANCE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Keith Winnard’s highly critical letter of Assemblymember Loni Hancock’s proposed legislation to adopt public financing of campaigns on a state-wide basis (Letters, Dec. 9) is excellent in that it voices the fears many voters have of their tax money going to political candidates to run their campaigns. These fears are, however, based upon misconceptions. The public financing concept does not enable candidates to spend more money. If they qualify for public financing by obtaining a set number of small contributions, candidates can spend only the money they receive from the state and each candidate gets the same amount. This puts all candidates on an even playing field, and enables people who ordinarily would never consider running for office qualify and run. True, thanks to a Supreme Court finding that “money is free speech,” a candidate with lots of personal or special interest cash can chose to run without public funds, but, as Mr. Winnard points out, the amount of money spent does not necessarily determine the winner —and in states that have adopted public financing (Maine, Arizona and, a few weeks ago, Connecticut) politicians who chose to run with their own money have not done well. 

As for the cost to the taxpayer per election, it’s about the price of a movie ticket. This cost can soon become a savings when legislatures are controlled by politicians who owe their allegiance to the voter and not to special interests. California prison guards, for instance, invested approximately $1 million in political contributions and reaped over $500 million in benefits—no wonder Warren Buffet says he has never found a financial investment which will produce a return as high as a political contribution. Public financing “goes for the jugular” of a political system that operates under the myth that political contributions do not influence politicians. 

Another benefit is time. California state legislators spend as much as 70 percent of their time raising money after they are elected. Politicians elected through public financing spend a minimal amount of time raising money and must devote their time instead to serving the voters if they wish to be re-elected. 

But don’t take my word. See what voters and politicians—both Republics and Democrats—have to say in states that have tried public financing. Information can be found at publicampaign.org and takebackca.org. 

Tom Miller 

Advisory Board Member, TakebackCa.org 

• 

WEST BERKELEY BOWL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

My family and I will live closer to the West Berkeley Bowl than almost anyone. I have also been included in meetings about the Bowl, with the architect (who is a friend and former neighbor), the Yasuda family and neighbors from the beginning, many years ago. All of these years, and all of these many, many meetings later, the immediate neighbors have asked for one thing: a neighborhood-friendly store. That’s all. 

From the start, we worried about parking and traffic and our safety on our streets. We have asked to retain the quality of our little neighborhood, Potter Creek. And, everyone agreed that this was a good thing. We have provided maps and diagrams and traffic solutions and suggested buffers and barriers from our Eighth and Ninth and Tenth streets. But instead of including any of these solutions into the current plan, we have been asked to accept a much larger store than originally was proposed, and been told that one traffic signal will be the solution to all of our traffic worries. This is crazy. 

I understand that residents who are a little further off, and would be driving to the store, are very excited about the prospects of a new Bowl. I would be too. I drive to the original Bowl. But, for those of us who will see this complex of buildings from our front porches, our concerns are large and our lives (and that of our children) will change because of it.  

Could we please construct a neighborhood-friendly store? 

M. Sarah Klise  

• 

BARBARIC 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Gov. Schwarzenegger has allowed his life to imitate his art, if his former acting career could be so called. With the execution of Stanley Tookie 

Williams, he has misused his power to kill in real life, instead of just in the movies. 

In the 1600s we Americans burned witches at the stake in public. In the 1800s audiences watched hangings while munching on popcorn. Today, we are no different, only the technology has changed. When will we as a society advance? When will we elect a true leader who is brave enough to lead us in a discourse about the morality of murder by the state? 

For now we remain stuck with “Conan the Barbarian.” 

Heather Merriam 

• 

CAMPUS BAY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The corporate owners of the huge toxic dump site in Richmond, in a recent letter to the editor, wrote “It is not true... that a residential development is currently planned for Campus Bay. Cherokee Simeon Ventures, LLC has withdrawn our development application as we continue to work with DTSC.” Nevertheless, Cherokee Simeon continues to send out slick full-color, multi-part mailings about how wonderful their housing development will be (warm, fuzzy photos of school buses, happy children, lush trees). Communities in Richmond are targeted with this sophisticated advertising, which includes a postage-paid card asking anyone who might support the development project to get in touch with the developer. 

Thank you, Daily Planet, for your lifeline of information about what is really going on in Richmond. We count on you. 

Soula Culver 

Richmond 

• 

RELIGIOUS HYPOCRISY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your thoughtful Dec. 13 editorial about religious hypocrisy revealed an interesting irony: Have evangelical conservatives gotten so busy suing and boycotting inclusive, secular institutions that they have no time left to actually practice religion? 

As your editorial (and the San Francisco Chronicle) reported, some evangelical high schools are suing the University of California for rejecting the skewed, academically deficient content of some of their courses.  

Meanwhile, other evangelical lawyers are suing UC for creating an online teaching guide about evolution. Their jaw-dropping complaint is that UC is unconstitutionally promoting the “religion” of Darwinism. 

Yet as you also pointed out, much of the evangelicals’ actual clerical wing—“megachurches” that each give thousands of members marching orders before elections —is declining to hold Christmas services this year. That’s even though Christmas Day falls on a Sunday.  

For shame! Shouldn’t someone sue to revoke the religious exemptions enjoyed by these “churches,” on the grounds that they’re failing to practice religion?  

Religious institutions are not only tax-exempt, but are now shielded from many local land-use laws. If these huge “churches” are really just secular political lobbies, shouldn’t they be subject to the same laws that Tom DeLay’s other lobbyist benefactors were supposed to observe? 

Conservative evangelicals’ aggressive adoption of litigation and boycotts is clearly payback for the decades they spent playing defense. Secular mainstream groups like the ACLU have successfully relied on the Constitution to protect minority faiths, unbelievers, and even mainline Protestants and Catholics from evangelicals’ real goal of establishing a conservative Protestant state religion. 

That’s why today, many of the evangelicals’ legal claims sound like parodies of the arguments they’ve lost. But progressives should take their efforts seriously, and should sue them right back with just as much imagination and whimsy.  

Spiritual freedom is indivisible. It’s preserved only when everyone is free to seek knowledge and to worship (or not) according to their own calling, without government coercion or endorsement. Keeping government out of religion (and vice versa) is exactly what has helped religion flourish here like in no other industrialized country. 

Oh, and Happy Kwanzaa to all. 

Marcia Lau 

• 

ANTI-ZIONIST 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Assuming this letter is published, given Editor O’Malley’s persistent and virulent anti-Zionist views, i.e. denial of the right of the existence of a national Jewish homeland, I respond to Conn Hallinan’s Dec. 9 column pointing to the plight of Palestinian Arab residents of the Gaza strip after the Israeli withdrawal. 

Hallinan repeats the familiar Arab concept that whatever misfortune befalls Arabs is not of their own making but of the nefarious actions of others, usually Jews. He does not examine the reasons for the success of Jews from Europe, the Middle East and Africa in constructing a modern, vibrant and democratic society, whatever its shortcomings. This is so, even though the vast majority of those immigrants came from impoverished backgrounds. The contrast with Palestinian, by and large, living in squalid refugee camps for more than half a century, despite generous world-wide financial assistance, is inexplicable. 

In any event, the Gaza “problem” is easily solvable. Adjacent to Gaza is the Sinai peninsula, a tiny outpost of the Egyptian land mass. When Israel occupied this land between 1967 and the Israeli-Egyptian peace accords in the 1970s, thriving Israeli settlements were built in this previously undeveloped area, e.g. Yamit on the Mediterranean and the resort developments on the Gulf of Aqaba coast. These settlements were ceded by Israel after Egyptian President Sadat (who was murdered by his fellow Arabs for his efforts) negotiated a peace agreement with Israel. 

Why not open Sinai to a similar development by Gazan and other Palestinian Arabs? Surely Egypt would welcome these Arab brethren to its underutilized frontier lands. Most assuredly Arab OPEC members would provide financial assistance on behalf of the unified “Arab Street.” Thus the settlers of this land could develop a modern, economically thriving political democracy to be emulated by all Arab states in the region. 

Milton Gordon 

• 

JUSTICE FOR PALESTINE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Professor White brought up many issues in his commentary on the Justice for Palestine art exhibit at the Berkeley Art Center. Professor White is a strong advocate for the policies of Israel. He doesn’t like certain customs of Arab cultures; he doesn’t like the Middle East Children’s Alliance; he doesn’t think Arab countries do enough to resettle Palestinian refugees; he reminds us of the needs of Jewish refugees from the Holocaust.  

I’ve read other letters where many of these points are brought up, when Palestine is discussed. 

But, we are talking about an art exhibit, not those other things. The art exhibit centers on the feelings of the artists on the subject of occupation and the colonization of the West Bank and Gaza, by a foreign nation, Israel. 

When you throw up all these other side issues, you obscure the big problem. You make it seem so complicated that most people feel they could never figure it out, so why try. 

In a conversation with a friend, I realized that she thought the West Bank was in Israel, rather than an area that was part of the land designated for Arabs, who were displaced buy the foundation of Israel, in 1948. It’s not that complicated. There are many sources of information. 

I like the web site of “If Americans Knew.” This is a pro-Palestinian site. Another good one that puts out the Zionist position, is the Young Zionists of America website.  

Many people feel that this occupation is part of the answer to the question asked after 9/11: “Why do they hate us?” Whether it is or not, it’s big and it’s going on right now, and all of us have the ability to be part of the solution, but we have to educate ourselves, and we have to be able to talk about it. 

Barbara Henninger 

• 

WEST BERKELEY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Gale Garcia’s article about “new developments in West Berkeley” was most interesting, particularly about the marshlands filled in that area. 

About 25 years ago, my brother was working on a construction project in the filled area west of the freeway in Emeryville in those apartment complexes. Part of this project was to re-pave the parking spaces under the apartments. The foreman of the paving crew told him that this was the “umpteenth” time they had paved these parking spaces, and that the asphalt was now about 15 feet deep. Maybe the mud fill depth was the case at that one location, but then again... 

Gordon Cavana 

?

Imagine if Massachusetts’ residents weren’t paying attention when Paul Revere made his famous ride that chilly evening in 1775. Consider where we would be if citizens decided that his cry, “The British are coming! The British are coming!” wasn’t worth bothering about. Revere’s warning is comparable to that issued last week by the 9/11 Commission. They’re bellowing, “The terrorists are coming!” and most Americans could care less. 

On Dec. 5, the “9/11 Public Discourse Project” issued a report on the efforts of the Bush administration and Congress to prevent another attack on the homeland. The original 9/11 commission, five Republicans and five Democrats, went out of business last year, after it delivered its final report. In an unusual move, they garnered private funding and reconstituted themselves as the Public Discourse Project, so they could track progress enacting their recommendations. 

The project concluded, “We are not as safe as we need to be … there is so much more to be done. ... Many obvious steps that the American people assume have been completed, have not been… Some of these failures are shocking.” 

The group’s Republican chair, Thomas Kean, observed, “We believe that the terrorists will strike again. So does every responsible expert that we have talked to … If they do, and these reforms that might have prevented such an attack have not been implemented, what will our excuses be?” 

Of the 41 grades given, there were 17 D’s or F’s. The government’s overall grade was a C-. There were two particularly disturbing findings: One was the “administration’s woeful record in strengthening global counterproliferation efforts to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists.” The other was the failure to adequately fund first responders. Particularly those police, fire, and public health departments in high-risk locales. 

The 9/11 Project observed that the response to Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that the first-responders were not ready for another attack. There has been no progress providing a system “that allows emergency response personnel to communicate reliably and effectively in a crisis.” Similarly there has been inadequate progress establishing a “unified incident command center.” Amazingly the first-responder funding has become a mechanism for dispensing pork to small states. Rather than allocate funds based upon potential risk, Congress has relied on a formula that does not send money where it’s needed. Thus, Wyoming receives $27.80 per resident in homeland security funds, while California receives $8.05 per resident. 

A glaring example is Washington D.C. According to Washington Post columnist Steve Pearlstein, the region has no credible plan “to respond to an attack or a natural disaster, or even an agreement of who will be in charge.”  

Four years after terrorists attacked America, we have not learned our lesson. Despite claims that we have the strongest defense in the world, we remain startlingly vulnerable. Whose fault is this? 

Many blame the Bush administration. The 9/11 Project observed, “Our leadership is distracted.” The administration decided that an invasion of Iraq was the answer to the threat of a domestic terrorist attack. Despite bipartisan warnings that this is disastrously wrong-headed, that remains their focus. 

Congress must also take responsibility. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs sets the formula for allocation of first-responder money to the states. The committee—headed by Maine Republican Susan Collins and Connecticut “Democrat” Joe Lieberman—has been satisfied with a formula based on pork rather than risk. Further, the Senate has buckled to the chemical industry and refused to pass reasonable standards that would help secure chemical plants from attack. 

Finally, the media must take responsibility. The day after the 9/11 Project issued their alarming report, most American newspapers and TV news programs buried this item. Writing in Editor and Publisher, Greg Mitchell characterized the media response as “underwhelming.” 

Only six of the 40 major U.S. newspapers carried the 9/11 report on their front pages. The Houston Chronicle led with, “Concerns Over Face Transplant Grows.” 

Thomas Jefferson famously cautioned Americans, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” Recently, Jimmy Carter warned about the devastating impact of fundamentalist Christianity on our society. This has impacted preparation for a terrorist attack. Many fundamentalists—about 36 per cent of Americans according to Bill Moyers—believe that America’s problems, such as terrorism, are irrelevant, as we are in the final stages of the “end times.” 

President Bush is a fundamentalist Christian. Perhaps this explains why his administration isn’t protecting America. It’s not the terrorists but the end times that are coming. 

Whatever Bush’s reasoning, the majority of Americans aren’t in the grip of systemic myopia. We still have the time to exercise “eternal vigilance.” If George won’t respond to the 9/11 report, then it’s up to us to demand that Congress take action. Before it is too late. 

Bob Burnett is a Berkeley writer and activist. He can be reached at bobburnett@comcast.net.  

Among all Europeans, the French have the most positive view of immigration and minorities. Huge majorities of Germans and Italians would give immigrants, legal and illegal, free access to their health care systems. Americans are the most trusted foreigners in Europe.  

These startling findings emerged in a study done by a prestigious Italian university just months before riots in France’s suburbs left officials pondering what to do with the country’s restive non-white minorities and immigrants.  

The Fifth Report on Immigration and Citizenship in Europe was prepared between June and September by the University of Urbino, one of Europe’s oldest higher education institutions, and by Fondazione Nord Est, an Italian foundation focusing on social policy, economics and immigration.  

“The research results seem to contradict the current debate on immigration in Europe, particularly after the recent events in France,” says Ilvo Diamanti, lead investigator for the University of Urbino. “It’s even more surprising considering that the lowest degree of anti-immigrant alarm was found in the metropolitan area of Paris.”  

According to the poll, 71.7 percent of French citizens perceive immigration as a positive social and economic phenomenon. Furthermore, 82.1 percent believe that immigrants who pay taxes should be allowed to vote in local elections, while 67.1 percent would let them vote also in national elections.  

Contrary to the widely held belief that Old Europe is unflinchingly xenophobic, the study found that countries like Germany and Italy are, in fact, coming to terms with their need for immigrants and with the idea that immigrants should enjoy the same rights and legal protections enjoyed by their own citizens.  

In Italy’s urban centers with more than 500,000 residents, less than 30 percent of the population view immigration negatively. In Germany the percentage rises to 32 percent while in France it drops below 13 percent. In general, Western Europeans affirmed that immigrants are assets to the economy, contribute to the cultural diversification of their countries and widen Europe’s cultural horizon.  

While 75 percent of Germans would give health coverage to legal and illegal immigrants and their families, 97.1 percent of Italians favor extending free access to their national health care system.  

Diamanti believes the French riots resulted more from France’s economic problems and social disparities than directly from anti-immigration sentiments. He believes that economic pressures on the standard of living continent-wide, caused by the introduction of the euro, has fueled fears of invasions by legions Southern and Eastern migrants in search of work, housing and social service.  

But Jean Baptiste Su, a correspondent for La Tribune, France’s largest financial daily, takes a dim view of the research, especially in light of the recent riots.  

“The revolts have marked a real fracture in race relations across France and strengthened the repressive hand of the government,” Su says. “People are really scared. They have seen cars, schools and houses going up in flames and they don’t like it. And unfortunately, true or not, Muslims have been scapegoated for the chaos that ensued.”  

Su believes that although across Europe the riots may lead to the adoption of more tolerant policies toward immigrants, in France “they will be used—for the moment—to curb immigration and stiffen naturalizations laws.”  

Jochen Siegle-Kling, a German free-lance journalist and frequent contributor to Der Spiegel, is heartened by the research.  

“The study confirms that Europeans have finally awakened to the fact that they need immigrants, both socially and economically, more than immigrants need them,” Siegle-Kling says. “It appears also that they are trying to cope with the necessity to integrate them, expressing good will on a series of fronts ranging form heath coverage to political rights.”  

But Siegle-Kling also says the banlieue riots should serve as an “alarm signal.”  

“Time is ticking away. Great Britain and Italy should pay particular attention because they’re next in line for a revolt,” he says.  

Indeed, in Rome 30,000 people—immigrants and natives—marched in freezing rain to the Parliament to ask for the passage of laws granting equal rights and work permits to immigrants and their families.  

“After the French riots Italians are no longer arrogant. They have stopped acting like immigration isn’t their problem,” declared Andres, an illegal immigrant from North Africa who gave journalists only his first name.  

The study also disproves the notion that “New Europe” tends to be more modern than the Old one: Significantly more Central Europeans than Western Europeans view immigration as a threat. In the Czech Republic, 61.1 percent see immigrants as a threat to their national security.  

In Hungary, 72.3 percent believe immigrants destabilize the labor market, lower the wages and compete for the same jobs sought by the native population. In Poland, only 12 percent view immigrants as an asset to the national economy. Germany emerges as the most trusting of immigrants; Hungary is the least trusting.  

The trust question netted another of the most surprising findings. The study appears to dispel the perception that anti-Americanism fueled by anger at U.S. foreign policy has seized Europe. The findings show that U.S. citizens are the most trusted foreigners throughout the continent, with Germany giving them top marks (74.5 percent) and Hungarians (46.9 percent) the lowest. Immigrants from Arab countries are the least trusted—51.1 percent trust them in Germany and only 8.4 percent in the Czech Republic.  

Paolo Pontoniere is a correspondent for Focus, Italy’s leading monthly magazine. ›

Monday, Nov. 28, was supposed to be the last day that the story of 1610 Oregon St. unfolded in small claims court. I’ve heard every word spoken in all three of the court sessions held regarding this sad story, read all of the thousands of words written in newspapers, letters and reports, and served as mayor during the time the city made an effort to solve the problem through a coordinated multi-service approach. I think this qualifies me to write this. 

Too many people make the mistake of thinking this is a story of a problem in some neighborhood that is far removed from their own lives. The truth is that this kind of muddled thinking couldn’t be further from the truth. This story touches every one of us because it reflects the very values on which any community is built.  

Berkeley takes pride in our diversity and sometimes downright quirkiness. However we look at our community there should be no question that we share the value that the rights of any individual must not impinge on the equal rights of another. So how does a City tolerate the situation at 1610 Oregon Street for so many long years? Why is it that 15 courageous neighbors have to put aside their fears for their personal safety and bear the hurt of public criticism to solve the problem by using in their desperation the only tool available to them, the small claims court?  

These questions deserve real answers. Over two years ago, in October 2003, I asked on the pages of the Daily Planet where was the City Council on the issue of crime in South Berkeley. The only response I received was from a School Board member who said how beneficial it was to raise children to be “street smart.” Then the council discussed crime in Berkeley recently and spent a whole lot of time celebrating that violent crime is down and discussing ways to re-assure residents that our high crime rate is only due to Part II—or so-called “quality of life” crimes like burglaries, vandalism, drugs and auto thefts. Well, we all should and do greatly appreciate the fact that our murder rate is not high, but frankly the rest of it is pretty worrisome. Let’s understand that “quality of life” crimes (but not forgetting the shootings and killings that have occurred there) are what we are talking about for the most part impacting the Oregon, Russell, California corner. My experience is that these kinds of crimes set the stage for, then define “blighted” neighborhoods, and eventually greater violence.  

The 1610 Oregon St. neighborhood is a model of diversity—racial, age, backgrounds and interests. People live here in neat, modest single-family homes. Most work, pay their taxes and mortgages, and send their children to Berkeley’s public schools. Neighborhoods like this one are the backbone of any community. What residents in this neighborhood want, exactly like all of us, are things like being able to enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep, to sit comfortably on their porches, to work or play safely in their yards, to interact peaceably with their neighbors, to sit by their windows in the security of their homes, and to walk unafraid to the store, school or park. For more than 20 years the fulfillment of these basics of every day life have been denied to them with many of the problems having a direct connection with one property in the 1600 block of Oregon.  

At various times, some have claimed that: 1) this problem should be settled by everyone sitting down and having a friendly chat; 2) the elderly woman who owns the house either doesn’t know what is going on there or is so busy caring for her frail husband and big family, working at a part-time job, and doing good works that she can’t control what is happening; 3) the owner is doing everything she can to cure the problems but she is neither responsible for problems in and around her home nor for what occurs in the neighborhood; 4) the real purpose of the neighbors is they just won’t accept that diversity means different cultures doing different things; or 5) the small claims court process violates the owner’s constitutional rights. Probably the most outrageous of all is that statement that complaining neighbors should simply move if they don’t like what is happening! 

It’s true that everything that goes on in the area can’t be attributed to that one address, but look at just some of what is documented by the city and courts as being connected. Multiple police calls, raids, and arrests at that address for drug related activities over many years right up to even just few weeks ago. A Berkeley police officer stated in recent sworn testimony that drug activity in the area was operated and controlled from this address. A court ruling in 1992 awarded some 30 neighbors $155,000 in compensation for the “nuisance” caused by drug dealing at the address, a judgment that was appealed and upheld by a higher court. Payment was avoided by transferring title of the house and declaring bankruptcy. The home of the lead plaintiff in that case was later firebombed by unknown persons. A resident of the house was shot and killed around the corner of the home. Surrounding properties have used condoms, bullets and needles thrown into their yards by persons who are coming and going from the house. Neighbors are disturbed late at night even when windows are tightly closed, by noise that comes from the house. Five years ago there was so much of a problem with visible deterioration of the home and so many cars, machinery, and trash on the property that the city did an inspection and found 22 code violations that were so serious that not only were repairs ordered but the building had to be vacated while they were made. The repairs were made but not without incident in which the contractor had his jaw broken in an altercation at the site. Charges were not pressed when the contractor did not identify his assailant.  

A pattern was established of things getting better for a while, but then reverting back to the same old, same old. The length of time this problem has persisted, flying bullets and shouted threats ought to be enough proof that this is not just an annoying neighborhood spat. To put it mildly, the claim that the owners of the property in question were unaware of the problems is simply unbelievable what with shootings, police raids, the various legal actions and paying for the attorneys to represent them in court and undertaking various property transactions.  

The claim that the small claims court process is some violation of constitutional rights stretches the imagination. It’s been on the books for many years and has been used many times in Berkeley mostly by renters against landlords who refuse to deal with noisy, drug dealing tenants. Throughout the years, I’ve never heard a single word from any civil rights advocate, community activist or newspaper about the process being in violation of anyone’s constitutional rights. It most recently was used by neighbors fed up with the activities at the student co-op, Chateau.  

Even the claim that filing restraining orders against the owner’s own family is proof that the owner is doing everything possible to correct the situation is misleading because those restraining orders were not filed until after the current small claims action was filed. When one of the people who was under such an order was found to be in violation, the police officer noted in his written report that he was told by the owner that she didn’t want the order enforced! There is no question that the owner, for whatever reason, cannot deal with the problem.  

Neighbors have three choices: they can move away, sit back and try and ignore it or come together to reclaim their neighborhood. These neighbors, none of whom are new to the area, of different ages and backgrounds, chose the brave course of trying to reclaim their neighborhood and “brave” is what they have had to be. They’ve been called names, photographed when leaving the courthouse after testifying in court, endured glares, comments, threats and people sitting on their front stairs. One even had his employer asked to review his activity as a plaintiff in the case!  

My heart went out to them as I sat in court and heard their statements given under oath about what they had endured. Powerful statements were made by parents who told of how the innocence of their young children had been stolen by what was happening on their street. One asked in anguished tones what kind of father am I that I can’t protect my child in her own yard. An older woman told of how her once peaceful and pleasant neighborhood had been shattered by the drug trade. A mother who had helped her daughter buy her house told how she now feared just sitting at a table near a window that looked out on the street. People told about how they cannot even walk down the sidewalk or how they could not even invite people to their homes. 

Well, we didn’t get the court’s answer on Nov. 28, so that won’t be the end of the story. The question remains for the rest of us: If we want Berkeley to remain a city of diversity, how can we ensure that every neighborhood is one where people can live in comfort and safety? The question is as simple as that. We read about stronger answers coming from other cities, but hear only silence from ours. It is time that we asked our city to step up to dealing with these problems and to do it now. When one neighborhood goes down, we all lose something because our City is no stronger than all of its neighborhood parts. We once maintained that Berkeley was a city of neighborhoods, yet everyday we hear of those neighborhoods being under attack. It is time to put our money and our policies into preserving and protecting our valuable and basic assets, our neighborhoods.  

Shirley Dean is the former mayor of Berkeley. 

We wait, packed up against the gate to San Quentin Prison. We are a diverse crowd of many colors and many ages, standing bundled up against the cold, holding our candles and our signs. Off to one side are two counter demonstrators. One holds a large sign that says “Thou shalt not kill applies to Tookie Williams.” The other holds a smaller sign that says “For details read the Bible.” 

The black cables laid down by the media to feed electricity to their equipment are strung along the pavement beneath our feet. In the middle of the crowd, a little space has been carved out by a TV crew. A cameraman holding a camera on his shoulder points it at a reporter doing a stand up. The reporter has short cropped white hair. He’s wearing a white shirt and a tie with a leather jacket. He looks like he’s made of wax. His makeup gives his face an unnatural blush. His expression is blank and unreadable as he waits patiently for the signal to begin his 15 second sound bite.  

To the left of us is the bay, a dark body of water, with the miniature lights of the San Francisco and the Bay Bridge at its outer edge. To the right, two-story frame houses sit on a hillside. They have steps climbing towards porches. One has Christmas lights wrapped around the railing. We are in what the road sign calls “San Quentin Village.” 

Time passes. A woman with a baby sits against a concrete retaining wall. Protesters climb onto the roof of a garage to get a better view of the stage. A man comes out of the adjoining house and announces somewhat half-heartedly “This is private property, you know.” Then he goes back inside. One of the people on the garage roof throws a cigarette butt into a clump of ivy, where it continues to smoke. The smell drifts towards a woman standing next to me. She’s worried it will start a fire. Two men try to allay her fear. They forage for burning butt without success. The smell goes away. 

We had been told the execution would begin at a minute past midnight. Midnight arrives. On the stage, a woman is drumming and singing a Native American chant. The crowd joins in. Then a man leads us in “We Shall Overcome.” 

More minutes pass. Children from Richmond read sections of Tookie Williams’ children’s book A woman assures us that as soon as the organizers know anything they will tell us. The children keep reading. No one leaves. And then finally—finally?—the announcement from the stage: a San Quentin spokesman says that Tookie Williams has been executed. I hold my friend Brian’s hand. He has been a good friend for many years. Two woman next to us embrace and begin to cry quietly. At the edge of the crowd an angry chant begins: “They say death row, we say hell no!” It is not picked up. The crowd does not seem to be in a shouting mood. Slowly we begin to leave. 

At what moment did he die? What precisely were we doing? As my legs got stiff I looked at my watch to see how much longer I needed to be out here. I quickly reproached myself: “Am I anxious for the moment of his death to come? Because my legs are little stiff? 

We say: “I can’t wait till the day will come.” And yet we must wait. We say: “I dread the day that’s coming.” And yet it comes. Time marches on. It’s like an army, trampling through the fields, flattening the grass. Nothing can stand in its way. It is disciplined. It looks neither right nor left. It cares not a whit for the wishes of those who would halt its progress or speed it along. We say it marches because it is relentlessness. It permits no deviation, no side trips into the past, no scouting expeditions into the future. And while we stood, that march goose stepped past Tookie Williams, and we, whether we would or not, joined the parade. And we left his lifeless body behind as we headed for our cars. 

We did not know the moment that he died or even that he was dead until we were told. There was no shift in the light, no change in atmospheric pressure. No tremor passed through the earth. His death did not register on any Richter scale. One life gone, and the universe weighs the same as it did before its passing. It does not seem right that such a monumental event should leave so little mark.  

I had brought along in my satchel a copy of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s statement denying clemency. It took just six pages to print it out from the governor’s website. Unlike most of my friends I thought in the end he would grant clemency. I thought that anyone who has in his hands the life of another human being, would feel the weight of that life. Even a politician as crass and artificial as Arnold. I thought he would know that when all the hoopla had died down, and he was left alone with his memories his decision would be there with him, leaving its mark on his soul. But reading that statement I knew that Arnold never imagined such a moment. For him the hoopla would always be there. Those thin six pages that threw away Tookie’s life read as if written not by a human being but by a clever machine that collated soundbites, bits of boilerplate, and talking points. The words had been chosen, not for their relation to reality, but for their effect. I realized Schwarzenegger lives in an eternal present. He can’t imagine an end to the party. Or the power. But time will eat Schwarzenegger as it has eaten Tookie. And while Tookie’s life will feed other lives, all that will remain of Schwarzenegger will be a bitter memory.  

Osha Neumann is an attorney and activist.

I was sitting alone in downtown Berkeley, lost in thought, when my friend Martin the mailman approached.  

“Hey Winston what are you doing?” he asked.  

“I’m sitting here under this shady tree watching the kids playing in the fountain in front of the hotel and convention center,” I responded.  

“I don’t see any tree. What hotel, what fountain?” he replied.  

“Over there (pointing), next to the new university art museum and film center. Since they daylighted Strawberry Creek, and all of those new sidewalk cafés have sprung up, downtown has become a real jewel. I especially like the foot bridges that span Oxford Street, connecting the university with the city. It makes me feel as if we’re all one community. See the lighted dome, hanging vines and flowers at the BART Plaza? It’s a wonderful place to read while you’re waiting for friends. Now that they closed Addison Street to vehicles the arts district has truly come to life. There’s live outdoor music almost every night, sidewalk art shows and free workshops for children every weekend. You can enjoy yourself without spending any money, except for food. Smell that? (Sniffing) Ummm, barbecue. There’s finally a rib joint downtown!”  

Martin looked at me like I had lost my mind.  

“Winston you’re sitting on a Berkeley Farms milk crate, in an empty parking lot by yourself. What are you talking about?”  

“The future! The future of downtown Berkeley,” I explained. “Before you can enjoy some things you have to imagine them. Next comes planning, construction, permits, City Council meetings, environmental impact reports, commissions, public hearings and so on. I often like to eat dessert first because I’m impatient! Sometimes imagining things is as far as I get—so I’m enjoying it now.”  

“By the way”, said Martin. “Why is this parking lot almost empty on a Saturday afternoon when people always complain about not enough parking downtown?”  

“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask someone else. That’s too much in the now for me,” I answered impatiently. My imagining interrupted, I started walking away.  

“”Where are you going now?” Martin asked.  

“I’m walking over to the gift shop in the Berkeley Community Theater to buy some tie-dye shirts and scarves,” I replied.  

“Where’s that?” he asked.  

I told him, “Next to the statue of Jimi Hendrix, where else?!” 

Winston Burton is a member of the Downtown Area Planning Advisory Committee. 



FRIDAY, DEC. 16 

THEATER 

Aurora Theatre “Marius” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through Dec. 18. Tickets are $28-$45. 843-4822.  

Berkeley Rep “Brundibár” A musical fable at the Roda Theater through Dec. 28. Tickets are $15-$64. 647-2949.  

Masquers Playhouse “Dear World” Jerry Herman’s musical, Fri. and Sat at 8 p.m. through Dec. 17 at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets are $15. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Shotgun Players “Cabaret” Thurs. - Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. Through Jan. 29. 841-6500.  

EXHIBITIONS 

Luthier’s An exhibtion of tradition guitar and ukulele making at the Addison Street Windows Gallery, 2018 Addison St., through Jan. 15. 981-7533. 

“Italian Landscapes” paintings by Anthony Holdsworth. Reception at 5:30 p.m. at Caffe 817, 817 Washinton St., Oakland.  

Turn of the Century Fine Arts Winter Salon at 5 p.m. at 2510 San Pablo Ave. 849-0950. 

FILM 

The Battles of Sam Peckinpah “Cross of Iron” at 7 p.m. and “The Osterman Weekend” at 9:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“The Nutcracker” by Berkeley Ballet Theater at 7 p.m. at The Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $20. 843-4689. www.berkeleyballet.org 

Woman’s Antique Vocal Ensemble ”What Sweeter Music” English and Spanish Christmas music at 8 p.m. at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Ave. Tickets are $5-$15. www.wavewomen.org 

The Christmas Revels at 7:30 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 1 and 5 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Drive, Oakland. Tickets are $15-$42. 415-773-1181. www.calrevels.org 

Cowpokes for Peace at 7 p.m. at A Cuppa Tea, 3202 College Ave. at Alcatraz. Free, all ages welcome. 420-0196. 

North Indian Classical Music Benefit for Himalayan Earthquake Survivors at 7:30 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington.  

Michael Jones, violin and John Burke, piano, at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Cost is $12. 848-1228.  

Tito y Su Son, traditional Cuban dance music, at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568.  

Robin Gregory & Max Perkoff Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ.  

Jai Uttal & The Pagan Love Orchestra at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15-$18. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Beth Waters with Adrianne at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Al Stewart at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $24.50-$25.50. 548-1761.  

Danny Caron Duo at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

David Gans, Mario DeSio and Jeff Pehrson at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Scott Amendola Band with guest Jeff Cauthier at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

Abi Yo Yos, Inpect Her Gadget, Set Off at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Blow Fly at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Cost is $5-$8. 548-1159.  

Wayward Monks at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 644-2204. 

Loosewig Jazz Trio, contemporary jazz, at 8 p.m. at Ristorante Raphael, 2132 Center St. 644-9500. 

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

Charlie Hunter Trio, featuring John Ellis & Derrek Phillips at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$22. 238-9200.  

SATURDAY, DEC. 17 

CHILDREN 

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

FILM 

Marcel Pagnol’s Provence “Marius” at 6 p.m. and “Fanny” at 8:20 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Fragments of Time” Paintings by Ireneusz Ciesiolkiewicz from 1 to 4 p.m. Sat. and Sun. at 6525 Shattuck Ave. Oakland. 415-756-0951. 

Silver Jewelry Show from noon to 6 p.,m. at Elixir Salon, 1599 Hopkins Ave. 

THEATER 

“Dick ‘N Dubya Show: A Republican Cabaret” Sat. and Sun. at 7 p.m. at The Marsh Berkeley, 2118 Allston Way, through Dec. 18. Tickets are $10-$22. 800-838-3006.  

Moshe Cohen and Unique Derique “Cirque Do Somethin’” Sat. and Sun. at 1 p.m. at the Marsh, 2120 Allston Way. Tickets are $10-$15. 800-838-3006. www.themarsh.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rhythm & Muse Young Performer’s Night with Lily Stoner, John Farley, Afi Adjene Nkhume, Mehrnush Golriz and others at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 527-9753. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“The Nutcracker” by Berkeley Ballet Theater at 2 and 7 p.m. at The Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $20. 843-4689. www.berkeleyballet.org 

Brazilian Jazz and Capoeira Dance at 8 p.m. 2026 Addison St. A benefit for King Middle School delegation to Washington D.C. Cost is $5-$20. 666-1349. 

Kali’s Angels and New Spirit Voices, original songs, ecstatic chants and holiday music at 7:30 p.m. at Pacific School of Religion Chapel, 1798 Scenic Ave. Suggested donation $10-$20. 704-7729. 

Berkeley Music Co. Players at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Cost is $12-$15. 848-1228.  

Navidad Flamenca at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $18-$20. 849-2568.  

Quanti Bomani, saxophonist, at 8 p.m. at Linen Life, 1375 Park Ave., Emeryville. Tickets are $20. 1-866-468-3399. 

Fred Randolph Jazz Group at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Moot Davis and the Cool Deal at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

Oak, Ash & Thorn at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Carribean Allstars at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

David K. Matthews Duo at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

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

Moment’s Notice A salon for improvised music, dance and theater at 8 p.m. at Western Sky Studio, 2525 Eighth St. Cost is $8-$10. 415-831-5592. 

Girl Talk Band, bluesy jazz, at 8 p.m. at Ristorante Raphael, 2132 Center St. 644-9500. 

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

Iron Lung, Unpersons, Laudanum at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

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

Julia Lau & Anna Laube at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. www.epicarts.org 

SUNDAY, DEC. 18 

EXHIBITIONS 

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

FILM 

Marcel Pagnol’s Provence “Fanny” at 3 p.m. and “César” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“The Nutcracker” by Berkeley Ballet Theater at 2 p.m. at The Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $20. 843-4689. www.berkeleyballet.org 

Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, “Gloria” by Poulenc at 4:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Admission is free, donations welcome. www.bcco.org 

Christmas Concert and Carols at 2:30 p.m. at First Church of Christ, scientist, 1701 Franklin St. 832-2364. 

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at 4:30 p.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way at Ellsworth. Donations accepted. 845-0888. 

A Medieval Christmas with the San Francisco Choral Artists performing Britten’s Ceremony of Carols at 4 p.m. at St. Pauls’ Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave. Tickets are $18-$25. 415-979-5779. www.sfca.org 

Carolyn Plummer CD Release Party at 4 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ.  

Carlos Oliveira & Brazillian Origins, featuring Harvey Wainapel at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Cascada de Flores, music of Mexico and Cuba at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568.  

Holly Near at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $24.50-$25.50. 548-1761.  

Soj’s Upward Spiral Kiirtan Benefit Concert for recent natural disasters at 7 p.m. at Yoga Mandala, 2807 Telegraph Ave. www.yogamandalastudio.com 

Ross Hammond at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Monte Hatch and Floating World at 7:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. www.epicarts.org 

MONDAY, DEC. 19 

THEATER 

PlayGround “Resolutions” Six emerging playwrights debut new works at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St. Pre-show panel discussion at 7 p.m. Tickets are $16. 415-704-3177.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

West Coast Songwriters Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $5.50. 548-1761. 

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

Frank Jackson 80th Birthday Party at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $6-$10. 238-9200.  

TUESDAY, DEC. 20 

FILM 

“The Drivetime” a cyber-fi film by Antero Alli at 7 p.m. at Blake’s, 2367 Telegraph. 464-4640. www.verticalpool.com  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Tell on on Tuesdays Storytelling at 7:30 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Cost is $8-$12 sliding scale. www.juiamorgan.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Sauce Piquante at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Mike Stern with Dennis Chambers, Victor Wooten & Bob Francescini at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Fri. Cost is $22-$26. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

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

Eric Shifrin, jazz piano, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 21 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik and Three Blind Mice, at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

“From the Darkness, Solace” A Winter Solstice event with musicians and video artists at 7 pm. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. Donation $10-$20. 228-3207. 

“A Little Cole in Your Stocking” with Meg Mackay and Billy Philadelphia at 8 p.m. at Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison St. 

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

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

Whiskey Brothers, old time and bluegrass, at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473.  

Balkan Folkdance at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Lessons at 7 p.m. Cost is $7. 525-5054.  

Orquestra La Verdad at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Dance lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Sonny Heinila Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Freight Holiday Revue & Fundraiser at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $16.50-$17.50. 548-1761. 

THURSDAY, DEC. 22 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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

Word Beat Reading Series with Carol Hochberg and Jonathan Callard at 7 p.m. at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Si Perkoff & Max Perkoff at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ.  

Famous Last Words, The Bottomdwellers at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. 

Duncan James, solo jazz guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Otit.org at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277.X

The Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra will present a free concert featuring François Poulenc’s “Gloria” this Sunday at St. Joseph The Worker Church. 

The program also includes J. Mueller’s “23.5 Degrees” and Ernst Bacon’s “Hymn to the United Nations” under the direction of Arlene Sagan. Sunday’s 4:30 p.m. show is the finale of a three-performance series at the church at 1640 Addison St. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. 

The selection of Poulenc’s “Gloria” (1959) for the concert is a tribute to Arlene Sagan for her 16 years of leadership of the Community Chorus and Orchestra. The piece is a late composition by the composer, who lived from 1899 to 1965, which consolidates a lifetime of musical influences and explorations. 

“Gloria” is “remarkable not only for its wide range of emotions, from teasing impudence to pensive reverence, but for the sheer amount of material it packs into its 25 minutes,” according to critic Peter Gutmann. “Of grand scope and intensely human focus,” Poulenc’s masterpiece “reaches back at the very beginning to the past with a majestic and exciting fanfare, which immediately recedes into a warmer, richly harmonized register ... probing chords add a sense of quest ... as the chorus builds a rising affirmative figure over swirling strings.” 

Poulenc debuted as one of “Les Six,” the group of French composers sponsored by Erik Satie, which also included Darius Milhaud, later resident at Mills College. Considered unusually melodic for an avant-gardist, Poulenc returned to Roman Catholicism in the 1930s, and commenced a new career as composer of sacred works from 1936, a surprise to those who considered him essentially a “boulevardier.” 

Other choral and operatic works include “La Figure Humaine” (1943), concerning the French Resistance; “Les Mamelles de Tiresias” (1944), from the play by Guillaume Apollinaire; “La Voix Humaine,” from the play by Jean Cocteau, and “Dialogues des Carmelites” (1955). Cocteau hailed Poulenc as a composer who set poetry perfectly to music for singing—he set pieces by Cocteau himself, Apollinaire, Paul Eluard and Federico García Lorca. 

Ernst Bacon, American composer (1898-1990), composed “Hymn to the United Nations” in 1951. Jerry Mueller, composer of “23.5 Degrees,” teaches music theory at San Francisco City College, where he founded the electronic music studio, an early music group and a composers’ collective. Besides choral works, Mueller has composed for piano and organ, sound tracks for short films and the incidental music for nine theater productions. 

Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra presents Francois Poulenc’s “Gloria,” J. Mueller’s “23.5º,” Ernst Bacon’s “Hymn to The United Nations,” and other music highlights Sun., Dec. 18, 4:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Admission is free; donations accepted. www.bcco.org.›

Free time in December is as rare as unsold chocolate hazelnut scones from Cheese Board. Time disappears with scheduled activities and holiday responsibilities. But wait, a dim light glows ahead—one open day. 

Fancy a walk? Or several? Away from muddy trails and dripping leaves. A change of scenery, interesting architecture, handsome Victorians, a soothing river and a plethora of unique shops. One destination, all within easy walking distance. 

Downtown Petaluma retains its 19th century heritage amid present day small town charm. Spared from damage from the 1906 earthquake, both commercial businesses and homes seem timeless. 

Include the Petaluma River and enticing rural backroads and you’ll find a single visit not long enough. 

It’s obvious that Petaluma is proud to share its attractions. Excellent visitor services make excursions a breeze. Well-described self-guided walking tours, information kiosks and directional signs are plentiful. So leave your tasks behind for a day and join me as I explore historic Petaluma. 

Commerce beckoned so I headed to Putnam Plaza Park, the site of Petaluma’s birth and the first stop on the Historic Downtown Walking Tour. With bubbling brick fountain, arched entry and shaded benches this pleasant spot is a natural meeting place. As I followed Petaluma Boulevard the brochure described unique architectural features. The American Trust Building’s stone-like façade is actually terra cotta. Atop the Masonic Building pops Petaluma’s landmark clock, easily visible above the skyline. The massive McNear Building complex is eye-catching with its street-side Saloon and Dining House occupying the former Mystic Theater. From the attractive tricolor scheme of deep maroon, tan and gold to an outdoor patio and full wood interior, McNear's seemed the place to be. Too difficult was the choice between a Linguisa Scramble and a BBQ Beef Sandwich with Fries. 

At B Street the route led to the Petaluma River where new construction harmonizes with the old. Arched detailing, brick walls and interesting rooflines all blend to one attractive statement. The imposing Great Petaluma Mill’s grain shoots overlook the river; inside is a complex of shops and eateries. The Apple Box proved to be the first of many browse-worthy distractions. Country-style crafts vied with appealing pastries, hand-brewed coffee and lunch specials for my attention. Brightly painted ceramics, linens and aprons would brighten any winter day. Cozy seating inside and riverside tables on the deck above gliding kayakers complete the picture of an interesting stop. 

The windows at Moreda’s outdoor lifestyle store again drew my eyes away from architectural details. Attractive displays and warm staff were spot-on to what a country shop should be like. Printed flannel shirts for him, souvenir chicken sweatshirts for her, dog and horse goodies for your best pals, fishing and hunting supplies for granddad—something for everyone!  

Another tribute to Petaluma’s “Egg Basket of the World” fame beckoned from Chelsea Market. Wonderful welded metal sculptures of chickens and their young’uns, some over three-feet tall, were painted in bold yellows, blues and reds. I wanted to adopt the entire flock. 

Returning to the guided walk I learned that Kentucky Street also owes its existence to the booming poultry industry. Small shops, narrow tree-lined street, metal awnings, benches and flowered planters create a relaxed charm. In Copperfield Books’ children’s area dads sat atop big floor pillows, kids and books in their laps, seeming in no hurry to leave.  

The buildings on Western Avenue, known as “Iron Front Row,” handsomely display their cast iron fronts, believed to serve as fireproofing in the 1880s. At walk’s end was Petaluma’s Historical Library and Museum, where it was difficult to determine what was more impressive—the exhibits or the building itself. Constructed in 1903 with donations from Andrew Carnegie, the stately exterior combines sandstone and white pressed brick, classic columns and arched windows. Center stage inside on the vaulted ceiling is an exquisite sunburst leaded glass dome in reds, gold and blue. Beautifully maintained wood paneling and shiny brass railings on the mezzanine level signal the care afforded this treasure.  

Exhibits reflect Petaluma’s past lives. Poultry memorabilia occupy a good portion of floor space. I was intrigued with the Whirlway egg cleaner. With two long rollers on a wood frame farmers could wash and dry 2500 eggs per hour, important to accumulating the 600 million eggs sold every year. Alongside this stood the egg carton presser, vital to the safe transport of Petaluma’s “gold” crop. Ingenuity reigned upstairs in the floorless chicken coop. Hitched to a horse, farmers would simply move it to a new location when conditions inside warranted. 

The Kickerbocker Number Five pumper, room-size looks into early kitchens, schoolrooms and sitting rooms lead me back to simpler days. Exhibits on the river’s role in Petaluma’s origin and growth and contributions by early Chinese immigrants peaked my interest and lengthened my stay. 

Entering Petaluma I had enviously marveled at the wealth of showcase Victorian homes. Another self-guided walk brochure highlights a six-block area around A Street, pointing out the variety of architectural styles present in this neighborhood. From the Greek and Gothic Revivals of the 1860s through the Colonial, Georgian and Queen Anne homes of the early 1900s, there are enough columns, towers, balustrades, porticos and gables to thrill any home buff. Actually, any wander around Petaluma’s historic neighborhoods will find you admiring lovely period homes and their well-tended gardens. 

At this point I knew another visit was somewhere in my future, hopefully next spring when costumed docents lead all the walks. Additional walks would await my return. The River Walk highlights the docks on the east side of the river and includes a stroll through Cavanagh Park. Four separate tours are needed to view the diversity of Petaluma’s trees, over 50-species. This alone warrants a springtime return. 

Before I left Petaluma, nature’s calls and chirps directed me to Shollenberger Park. This restored wetlands along the Petaluma River attracts over 160 bird species yearly. Believe it or not, yet another self-guided tour with fifteen nature stations forms a two-mile loop. A pleasant asphalted path skirts the perimeter of dredge spoil ponds teeming with mallard, coot killdeer, sandpiper and curlew. Newly planted trees, native cattails and bulrushes, tree swallow birdhouses and benches line the shoreline and marsh habitats. While some visitors studied the trail brochure, a mini-course in wetland ecology, others came to briskly walk or jog the scenic trail. If your feet are still tapping after two miles, the Alman Marsh Trail connects to Petaluma’s attractive marina, an additional two-mile round trip.  

Petaluma’s warm cheer followed me home. The feeling persisted that people enjoy residing there. Outdoor café seats and benches; attractively landscaped streets and homes; friendly voices and helpful clerks signal a pride and contentment that make Petaluma more that the sum of its parts. Walk your way around Petaluma; discover it for yourself. 

Getting there: Take Hwy. 101 north and exit at Petaluma Blvd. South. Follow signs for Historic Downtown. Distance about 40 miles. 

Petaluma Visitors Center: 210 Lakeville St., (877) 273-8258, www.visitpetaluma.com 

Historical Library and Museum: 20 Fourth St., (707) 778-4398, www.petalumamuseum.com. Open Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun. noon-3 p.m.  

Shollenberger Park: Take Lakeville Hwy (116) north. Turn right on McDowell Blvd. South and right on Cader Lane. 

Open dawn to dusk, admission free, (707) 763-3577. www.petalumawetlandpark.com.?

FRIDAY, DEC. 16 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Phillip Elwood “All About Jazz - Part 2.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $13.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. 526-2925. 

The WAL-MART Film: Destroying Locals, One Main Street at a Time at 7 p.m. at BFUU’s R.E. Bldg. upstairs, 1606 Bonita at Cedar St. Donations accepted. 410-0638. 

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. 

Celebrate Humanistic Shabbat and (early) Chanukah with Kol Hadash at 7 p.m. at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. Potluck dinner. For food assignment email info@kolhadash.org  

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

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

SATURDAY, DEC. 17 

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

Women on Common Ground Holiday Decorations Help make decorations for the Women’s Drop-In Shelter of Berkeley, and for yourself also, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Bring a pair of small hand-clippers and a bag lunch. Followed by a hike to Wildcat Peak. Cost is $15-$17. Registration required. 636-1684. 

Lorin District Neighborhood Cleanup Meet at 9 a.m. at South Berkeley Community Church, corner of Fairview and Ellis. Refreshments provided. 287-5874. 

Kid’s Garden Club for ages 7-12 to explore the world of gardening, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 636-1684. 

Candle-Lit Rally at Berkeley Honda at 4:30 p.m. at Shattuck and Parker, in support of the striking workers. Bring a large paper decoration for the rat.  

Habitat Planting Party Help restore the West Stege Marsh in southern Richmond from 9 a.m. to noon. For directions call 665-3689. Bayshorestewards@thewatershedproject.org 

“Playing With Fire” Berkeley Potters Guild Holiday Sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 731 Jones St. at Fourth St. www.berkeleypotters.com 

Fine Silver Jewelry Show and Sale with works by Austene Hall, Marlene Friedman Walters, Diana Divecha and Phyllis Dolhinow from noon to 6 p.m. at Elixir Salon, 1599 Hopkins Ave. 

BHS Communication Arts and Sciences Calendar Sale Wall, desk and enagement calendars on a variety of topics for only $5, from noon to 2 p.m., also on Sun. at 2310 Valley St., 3 blocks west of Sacramento St., off Channing Way. 843-2780. 

Holiday Bake Sale from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Interactive Resources, 117 Park Place, Point Richmond. 236-0527. 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market Holiday Crafts Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Center St. at MLK Jr. Way. 548-3333. 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios Sat. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For a map of locations see www.berkeleyartisans.com 

Telegraph Avenue Holiday Street Fair between Dwight and Bancroft, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sat. and Sun. 

“What Do Zoo Animals Eat?” a workshop for ages 6-8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Oakland Zoo. Cost is $40-$50. For reservations call 632-9525, ext. 205. 

“Iraq? Liberated?” with Prof. As’ad Abu Khalil, at 7 p.m. at the Home of Truth Center, 1300 Grand Ave. Alameda. Sponsored by The Alameda Forum www.alamedaforum.org 

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

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

SUNDAY, DEC. 18 

Free Video Emails for Families Displaced by Hurricane Katrina and military families to send to their loved ones, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1910 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. 523-0659.  

Discover Jewel Lake Learn the history of the area and watch the water fall. Meet at 12:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Gingerbread House Building and Cookie Decorating from 4 to 6 p.m. at Arizmendi Bakery, 4301 San Pablo Ave., Emeryville. Also on Mon. from 3 to 5 p.m. Small charge. 

Break the Silence Mural Project Report Back from Gaza and the West Bank at 6 p.m. at Berkeley Arts Center, 1275 Walnut St. 

Tibetan Meditation Book Launch of new works by Tarthang Tulku at 3 p.m. at Dharma House, 2910 San Pablo Ave. at Ashby. 548-0270. 

Hanukkah Family Program with music and activities for children from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. 549-6950, ext. 332. 

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 

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

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712.  

MONDAY, DEC. 19 

Free Small Business Counselling with SCORE, Service Core of Retired Executives at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. To make an appointment call 981-6244. 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. 548-0425. 

TUESDAY, DEC. 20 

Birdwalk on the MLK Shoreline from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. to see the shorebirds here for the winter. Beginnners welcome, binoculars available for loan. 525-2233. 

Berkeley Salon Discussion Group meets to discuss “Are Religious Holidays Obsolete?” from 7 to 9 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. 527-1022. 

American Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Claremont Ave., Oakland office. 594-5165.  

Stress Less Seminar at 7 p.m. at New Moon Opportunities, 378 Jayne Ave., Oakland Free, but registration required. 465-2524. 

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

Free Handbuilding Ceramics Class 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s Senior Center, 2727 College Ave. Materials and firing charges not included. 525-5497. 

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

Introduction to Buddhist Meditation at 7 p.m. at the Dzalandhara Buddhist Center in Berkeley. Cost is $7-$10. Call for directions. 559-8183.  

“Ask the Social Worker” free consultations for older adults and their families from 10 a.m. to noon at BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. To schedule an appointment call 558-7800, ext. 716. 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 21 

Mid-Day Meander in Tilden Celebrate the shortest day with great views. Meet at Inspiration Point in Tilden Park at 2:30 p.m. 525-2233. 

Gingerbread House Party from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Habitot, 2065 Kittredge St. Please bring a bag of candies for the decorations. 647-1111, ext. 14. 

Winter Solstice Gathering at 4 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Park, at the Interinm Solar Calendar. Dress warmly. www.solarcalendar.org 

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

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

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

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. Sponsored by the Ecology Center’s Farm Fresh Choice. 848-1704.  

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. 

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

THURSDAY, DEC. 22 

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 

Sleep Soundly Seminar at 7 p.m. at New Moon Opportunities, 378 Jayne Ave., Oakland Free, but registration required. 465-2524. 

ONGOING 

Toy Drive Sponsored by University Veterinary Hospital Bring new, unopened toys for all ages to 810 University Ave., between 5th and 6th Sts, between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. until Dec. 24. 841-4412. 

Warm Coat Drive Donate a coat for distribution in the community, at Bay St., Emeryville. Sponsored by the Girl Scouts. www.onewarmcoat.org 

Magnes Museum Docent Training begins Jan. 8. Open to all who are interested in Jewish art and history. For information contact Faith Powell at 549-6950, ext. 333. 

Albany Berkeley Girls Softball League is looking for girls in grades 1-9 to play softball. Season runs March 4-June 3. To register, email registrar@abgsl.org or call 869-4277. www.abgsl.org 

CITY MEETINGS 

Commission on Aging meets Wed. Dec. 21, at 1:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. William Rogers, 981-5344. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/aging 

Library Board of Trustees meets Wed. Dec. 21 at the South Berkeley Senior Center, Jackie Y. Griffin, 981-6195. Closed session at 4 p.m., public comment at 5:30 p.m. This meeting is rescheduled from Dec. 14. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/library

One of my favorite comments to share with clients is that water isn’t all that damaging to wood. After all, they build boats out of it, don’t they? “Hmmm,” my client will say and make that light-bulb look. It’s so contrary to our typical thinking, but it’s true. Water facilitates wood damage but isn’t actually the perpetrator.  

I remember watching one of these marvelous TV science specials recently in which they had discovered the remains of a Viking ship. Somehow they managed to bring the thing up off the ocean floor where it had lain for the least 1,000 years and, lo and behold, it was in pretty good shape (at least the framework). 

There isn’t all that much oxygen in the water (OK, there’s some or fish couldn’t breath) so oxidation is fairly limited (oxidation is responsible for a lot of the destruction of material on the earth’s surface and our homes are no exception). Ultraviolet radiation, which facilitates oxidation by providing an energy source, also does plenty of damage by cooking materials apart. This, too, is very limited at the bottom of the ocean. 

If a Viking ship can remain under water and remain largely intact for a thousand years then water might not be the problem, at least not all by itself. The thing that water does, though, is provide an essential nutrient for organisms that do destroy wood. In fact, they eat it. And, as with us and our morning cereal, the right amount of milk helps wash it down. Just like funguses, we’re not going to make too much headway if we’re swimming in milk. We just need a little to make our cereal soft, and so it is with funguses and wood. They don’t do so well when they’re inundated with water, but if the moisture level in the food is about right, they do very nicely and proceed to eat your house a little at a time. 

This means that we have to be on the lookout for places where moderate dampness is generated and maintained. If water is getting into the wall behind the stucco and the wall is nicely sealed, this creates a persistently clammy environment and funguses have a field day. 

If water pours over the same wood lying in the sun, it dries fairly quickly when the rain stops and the growth is minimal. 

This is why lumber yards can leave lumber stacked outside for weeks on end with little or no damage. When wood comes home from the lumber yard you may notice greenish or blackish funguses on the surface but these do not grow if wood is kept at a low moisture level (less than 18-20 percent) and so remain as nothing more than discoloration. If you look in your attic or under your house, you’ll be able to see some of this even if many years have passed.  

This also illustrates how funguses get growing in the walls of homes when moisture becomes available. The dead spores of various funguses, which are essentially seeds, are present on most of the wood in our homes, and once wetted, they begin to grow and propagate. One of the reasons that I find mold issues so exasperating is that most people just don’t understand that mold is everywhere and that mold problems have to do with massive propagations or extreme sensitivities. 

The point of all this is not that you don’t have to be concerned about water, just that the time and conditions needed to damage significant amounts of a wooden structure are such that I don’t see as much of it as you might think. Also, when I do, it has to do more with the type of system that holds the water than the actual volume of water. To be sure, leaks damage plaster and sheetrock and make wooden floors warp, but much of the worry that people have about structural damage caused by leaks is unwarranted.  

All that said, keeping the water out of a house is a darned good idea, and if we were all just a little more attentive to this we might have houses that lasted for 300 years or more instead of the common longevity of 100 years or less. 

It might sound simplistic, but if the average house got a roof and a paint job when each was needed, this average house might well survive several centuries. The houses that I see that are beyond repair are mostly ones that didn’t get either roofing or paint when it was time. 

Once a roof or a paint job has failed and water begins to get inside, things start to warp, nails corrode, plaster, wires and interior details get damaged, and floor-boards discolor and shrink. If we can keep these things from occurring in the first place, a house can be kept looking youthful and fresh for a very long time. Every once in a while I get to inspect a house that has been adequately attended to over the long haul and there are no signs of leaks or superficial damage caused by paint failures. It makes me want to rent a film crew and use the place as a 1940s movie set. We actually have quite a few of them around here and many of them happen to have been owned by one family for most or all of its life.  

No matter what the tenant history may be, these houses share the lucky historical attribute of having been owned by people who always replaced the roof when it was time and had regular repainting (with lots of prep) as often as was needed. 

Paint jobs also need some amount of maintenance in the form of caulking and better paint jobs. Better, longer-lasting paint jobs lead to fewer failures simply because the periods of the house’s vulnerability are fewer. Therefore, if one is interested in the long-term value of a house, it is absolutely the best policy to hire really good painters and roofers and to replace these two shields as often as is advised by prudent experts. 

So, I guess you could say: Painting and roofing, like sunscreen and hats, help our abodes to defy all the stats.

Dear Matt: 

I have an inside chimney that acts as a vent for my old O’Keefe Merritt kitchen stove (the kind with the trashburner that I do not use), my hot water heater, and also probably the floor register in my dining room. You can tell I live in a house built in 1910. 

Can I—should I—have someone put in a liner of some sort? If so what sort of cost am I facing? I have been in this house for 42 years but that doesn’t protect me from the next earthquake! 

Thanks for your attention. Your column is always of interest. 

Pat Cody 

Dear Pat: 

A liner isn’t really going to do much for you when the earthquake hits. What I hope you’ll consider is having the current gas appliances, including the stove (please God, don’t use the kindler to burn trash—or anything else) vented with modern double-walled steel vents, which are cheap and lightweight and removal of the inside chimney.  

When we do get hit by a local earthquake of real size (which hasn’t happened in the life of your house) it will almost certainly be a real mess and might really hurt someone. 

Best of luck, 

Matt Cantor  

›

Gardeners are the easiest people to buy gifts for because you don’t have to buy gifts for us. Creative scrounging can produce treasures with the fine patina of age: mossy brick, artfully limed pots, pre-lichened rocks, rusted machine parts: the sort of ornament a respectable garden demands as old money demands old family silver, even if it’s someone else’s family.  

A gift of service always fits; every gardener has chores she puts off too long. No gardener is good at everything; chances are you can build a better trellis, prune a more difficult tree, reach or climb higher than some gardener on your list. You might pledge some hours on your food dehydrator when your friend’s tomatoes all ripen at once, or canning lessons and help. Child care while your friend works on something blissful or dangerous might be welcome.  

Gardeners always have something to give each other. The economy of gardens is one of plenty. If you have rosemary or oregano, you probably have more than you can use, and someone could use some in the garden or kitchen. If you have something rare, you might be able to give away cuttings and starts. You might have a family heirloom to pass on and spread around: one of my personal favorites is the walking onion our friend Robbie’s Aunt Evelyn brought me all the way from Ohio some years back. (Oh, dear, was that legal? Auntie Ev was the soul of gentle propriety and it never occurred to me to quiz her about it.) She’d got it from her mother, who’d got it from her mother, etc.  

If you give someone an unusual plant, give him enough information to do right by it. A note on culture and the plant’s origins and history, printed out handsomely, makes the offering ceremonious. 

A stack of plant catalogues and a gift certificate is a good combination; in the middle of winter, it’s immediately gratifying as garden porn. A membership to a local arboretum or botanical garden is redeemable whenever the weather’s decent. Plant societies exist for iris lovers and rose partisans, fuchsia or orchid growers, bonsai addicts, and native plant advocates in many states.  

A box of worms, a composter with a difference, is gratifying in a more concrete way. This is a gift that a minimally-skilled giver doesn’t have to buy; your own already-thriving colony will supply the worms, and a box can be built or improvised. To be thorough, throw in a book on the subject and a bag of finished worm castings. The truly inspired will present these in a Godiva chocolates box.  

I suppose most of my friends and family will have read this column before the holidays. I can’t wait to see what I’ll get. (Come to think of it, I can’t wait to see what I’ll give.) Whatever it is, I suppose it’ll serve me right. 

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A proposed major new development with at least 300 units of housing built over ground floor commercial space at the site of the Ashby BART Station’s western parking lot could spell major changes in South Berkeley. 

The City Council will be asked Tuesday night to endorse a $120,000 grant application to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for the project, which would occupy the five-acre parking lot now used by the Berkeley Flea Market on weekends. 

City Councilmember Max Anderson, the proposal’s sponsor, said that the council several years ago called for workforce housing on the site to enable nurses, firefighters and others to have an opportunity to live in the city. 

If approved, he said, the resolution would recommit the city to that goal in the context of a “transit village,” while ensuring an open process that would allow the community to determine that the nature of the project fit in with their vision for the neighborhood. 

“It would bring South Berkeley into the modern era in terms of economic viability and as a further development of the Ashby Arts District,” Anderson said. 

If approved by Caltrans, the grant would require an additional $30,000 from the city, either in funds or in staff time.  

The proposal, developed by Anderson and the South Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation (SBNDC), designates Ed Church as the project director. A veteran of Berkeley politics, Church founded the Nine Trees Group last year, a firm specializing in transit-oriented development. 

Transit villages—developments at transit hubs—are the creation of Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, created in Assembly Bill 3152, drafted during his 1994 term in the state Legislature. 

Under that legislation, creation of a transit village project also upzones the surrounding area, extending no less that a quarter-mile from the project’s boundary, allowing for greater density for low- and moderate-income housing projects. 

New legislation by his spouse, Assemblymember Loni Hancock, which takes effect Jan. 1, will allow a city or county to use an existing specific development plan to serve as a plan for a transit village—in the case of the proposed development at the Ashby BART Station, the existing South Shattuck plan may qualify. 

The housing would be the second major project slated for Ashby BART, the first being the new Ed Roberts Campus that would occupy much of the eastern parking lot. That project aroused considerable concern in the surrounding neighborhood because it eliminates parking spots. 

The city controls above-ground development rights on both parcels, which are owned by BART. 

The project places two major issues on the table, according to Planning Director Dan Marks’ report to the city council: first, the relocation of the Berkeley Flea Market that now occupies the western lot on weekends, and the other is replacement of at least some of the existing parking spaces, writes Planning Director Dan Marks in a report to the city council. 

The project worries neighborhood activists Jackie DeBose and Robert Lauriston. 

DeBose said she was unhappy that the community wasn’t allowed to comment before the grant application was submitted. 

“When you apply for a grant, you have to assume that the goal is to build the project. I’m also concerned about what will happen when construction starts, especially if they’re building the Ed Roberts Center at the same time,” DeBose said. 

“You have to wonder what the effects will be on small business while all that construction is going on, too,” she said. 

Robert Lauriston, a Woolsey Street resident, said he hoped that any development at the site would fit the scale of the neighborhood. 

“If they try to put in a big, Stalinist block, and minimize parking, that will cause all the neighborhood associations to freak out,” he said. 

Another major concern would be the underground creek that runs through the area, at times loud enough for nearby residents to hear and with enough force to pop out manhole covers. 

Development of housing at the site had strong support from former Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek, who sponsored a successful city council resolution in 2001 calling for development of housing on the site, “to the greatest extent possible...affordable and available to public sector workers.” 

As currently envisioned, one fifth of the units would be so-called inclusionary apartments or condominiums, which would be rented or sold to low- and lower-income tenants. 

Though the grant proposal is first appearing before the council tonight, Church said he applied for the funds on behalf of the SBNDC on Oct. 14 because he had learned of the grant opportunity only two weeks before the application deadline. 

Church said his job is to get the community involved in the planning process to formulate the elements to be included when the SBNDC issues a request for qualifications (RFQ) from developers interested in building the project. 

“It’s time for the public to get involved, to decide what they want on the land and issues they want addressed in the RFQ,” he said. Church said his Nine Trees Group was not involved in the project. 

“It’s important to have development there because creation of the BART station left a big hole in the community and the neighborhood can only be a neighborhood again when there is a great infill housing project in there,” he said. 

The South Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation was created out of the planning process that created the South Berkeley Plan, and also the 35-unit Rosewood Manor apartments at 1615-1617 Russell St. 

Church said he hopes the developer is approved before the grant is awarded—which could come in July—so that the developer could work with the community throughout the development process. 

The proposal has attracted significant endorsements, including those of Rev. Allen L. Williams of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church at 2024 Ashby Ave., Adeline/Ashby Merchants Association President Sam Dyke, Epic Arts Executive Director Ashley Berkowitz and Ted Droettboom, regional planning program director for the Joint Policy Committee of the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. 

Steve Wollmer of PlanBerkeley.org said he has several concerns about the project.  

“I haven’t seen the proposal, but a transit village development can blow away existing zoning within that area, leading to even greater density. I also find it interesting that Loni carried a bill on transit villages, and a few months after its passage, we have this,” Wollmer said.›

At a heated Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) meeting, residents of the Ashby neighborhood packed the second floor of Old City Hall chambers Thursday night with tales of their local liquor store.  

“No liquor, littering, loitering, public urination,” read makeshift signs in the hands of over a dozen who were at the public hearing to urge ZAB to declare Black & White Liquor at 3027 Adeline St. a public nuisance.  

During the first half of the meeting to decide the fate of Sucha Singh Banger’s business, neighbors told harrowing tales about vomit and other bodily fluids left behind on their properties by those whom they claimed to be patrons of the store.  

“On at least 10 occasions I have splashed bleach onto my front door and literally gagged as I watched bodily fluids wash down the street,” said Susan Bell, addressing the board. She said disturbances, as well as “frequent and obscene” assaults affiliated with the store ultimately caused her to move from her nearby apartment.  

Laura Boles, who lives around the corner from Black & White, says she finds homeless people sleeping on her front steps and back yard, with containers of alcoholic beverages in their hand. She says she calls the police twice a week because of loud fights near the liquor store.  

“We don’t consider this store to be a good neighbor,” said Dawn Rubin, who added that Banger’s place is a magnet for crime in the area. She wishes he would take more responsibility for the conduct of his patrons, including drug deals she has witnessed in front of Black & White. 

“It is his responsibility to be aware,” she said, “not ours to complain to him.”  

Gregory Daniel, code enforcement supervisor for ZAB, urged the board to declare Black & White a nuisance. He said the excessive police calls for service to 3027 Adeline St. have pulled officers away from other areas in Berkeley, endangering the overall safety of residents.  

“We’re not just talking about the quality of life near Black & White,” he said. “[This is] creating problems as far north as campus.” 

The public hearing was called after the Zoning Adjustments Board received dozens of complaints from neighbors about lewd conduct around the store. Many of the reports say those incidents disappeared when the store was closed for renovation after an arson fire ripped through the building.  

But a diverse crowd of Banger’s supporters came out in numbers to refute their neighbors’ complaints.  

Martin Vargas, a postal worker who serves the South Berkeley area, led the speakers against declaring the liquor store a nuisance.  

“Welcome to South Berkeley,” said Vargas in response to Banger’s opponents, saying the problems of homelessness and alcohol use are inherent in the area. He called on the city to provide public restrooms around the BART station to avoid public urination and defecation. As for the excessive trash reported around the site, Vargas attributes it to the 30,000 vehicles which pass by on Adeline Street every day. 

Marian Jones, owner of an antique store on Adeline Street, blamed the nuisances on the mentally ill and on foot traffic from BART, not on the liquor store’s patrons. She praised Banger’s business, saying, “I feel safer that [Banger] is there, and I wish he would stay.” 

After hours of public testimony and debate among the board, Banger’s opponents nearly got their wish. Members of ZAB were on the verge of voting to declare the store a public nuisance, with suggested remedies allowing for continued operation. But the remarks of Banger’s attorney, Jerome Marks, convinced the board to put off the vote until the next ZAB meeting in order to give Banger sufficient time to investigate the feasibility of the proposed remedies.  

Among the board’s proposals was a year-long probationary period, in which store hours would be limited to 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Banger would be required to stop selling single-shot containers of liquor, single beers, as well as all fortified beer and wine.  

In addition, the board wanted Banger to set up outdoor lighting fixtures and video cameras (which he says he has already done), use Black & White-branded paper bags, and hire a security guard to help monitor the area.  

The board asked that Banger train new employees to control lewd conduct at the store, and that he himself mind the store until closing at least two nights a week. During the probation, there would be a six- and 12-month evaluation, and Banger would meet with neighbors every two months to discuss concerns. 

The long list of conditions that would allow Black & White to stay in business seemed to dizzy Banger after the meeting. 

“It’s going to be tough on me,” he said, outside the chambers.  

ZAB members said they expected to vote to declare the liquor store a nuisance, with the proposed remedies, without much deliberation at their next meeting on Jan. 12, 2006.  

Sales taxes paid by downtown Berkeley retail stores fell 10 percent between June 2004 and June 2005, according to city figures. 

“A full 10 percent is amazing. No, it’s alarming,” said Wells Lawson of Strategic Economics, recently hired by the city as a consultant to downtown development. 

Downtown taxes lost to the city came to about $100,000 this year. City-wide, retail sales taxes fell in every business district except Solano Avenue. Even Fourth Street, regarded as Berkeley’s best-designed and best-run business district, showed a small fall-off. 

Dave Fogarty, city coordinator of community development, and others blamed Internet sales.  

“This is significant in Berkeley, because almost everyone in Berkeley now has access to the Internet,” Fogarty said. 

Supporting this view are figures showing that, while downtown retail sales taxes plunged, taxes from downtown restaurants continue to slowly increase.  

Downtown has other problems though, according to a presentation Dec. 1 attended by about 50 developers, planners, and business owners. Dena Belzer of Strategic Economics, which has also been hired by the city to redesign downtown’s BART plaza, listed the most prominent problems with downtown: 

• Blocks that are too long. “Sometimes when I go there, it takes me a while to figure out where I am,” said Belzer, who lives in Berkeley. 

• Cars using Shattuck Avenue as a thoroughfare and making alarming “turning movements.” 

• Too many property owners—250 in downtown—who tend to interact as adversaries rather than cooperatively creating a sense of coherence. 

• Lack of inviting public spaces. 

Confronted with this, past planners haven’t always done well. An early and controversial idea was to cut down trees along Shattuck Avenue so merchants’ signs would be visible. This idea failed to take into account that Berkeley residents tend to like trees better than advertising. 

A similar oversight occurred in the case of the Farmers’ Market, open every Saturday on Center Street next to Martin Luther King Jr. Park. Partly conceived as a way to attract customers to downtown, it has only succeeded in attracting customers to the Farmers’ Market. 

“People who go there just stay there. They want to be near green,” said Assistant City Manager Michael Kaplan.  

Lawson of Strategic Economics said the planning firm intends to be circumspect concerning the BART plaza.  

“There’s a whole theory of design that says, ‘Don’t lay anything down officially until you see how people will really use the space,’” he said. 

Landscape architects have a term for this: “desire paths.” Architects discovered that after they had designed and built a park and laid in their carefully planned pathways, people didn’t use them but wore into the grass their own “desire paths.”f

Was UC Berkeley’s Thursday night public “scoping session” to help prepare an environmental review of its massive development plans at and around Memorial Stadium a meaningless gesture? 

Maybe so, judging from comments by Berkeley Planning Director Dan Marks and others at a Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) meeting four days earlier. 

During the Monday meeting, Marks told commissioners that for scoping comments to have any impact at all, they needed to come at the conceptual design phase, before the project entered the schematic design phase, which means that the building specifications have been decided. 

“By the time it’s in schematics, it’s done,” said Marks. 

Marks was one of about 50 who showed up for the Thursday night scoping session, during which Robert DeLiso, vice president of URS Corporation and project manager for the expansion, announced that the two most significant projects had gone into schematic design that day. 

Those projects are the $125 million seismic retrofit and addition of a 132,500-square-foot Student Athlete High Performance Center to Memorial Stadium and a $140 million to $160 million academic commons building for the university’s Boalt Hall law school and the Haas School of Business. 

The third major project in the package is a $60 million underground parking lot to be built at the site of Maxwell Family Field northwest of the stadium, bringing the total costs to over a third of a billion dollars—all of which is to come from private donors. 

“It is not appropriate to go to schematics before the university has shared its intentions with the community,” Marks said Monday. “The designs we’ve seen to date are far from adequate. To hear that they’re moving to schematic designs is distressing.” 

Marks said he would present a report on the scoping session and its implications at tonight’s (Tuesday’s) City Council meeting. 

Landmarks Preservation Commissioner Lesley Emmington made a motion at Monday’s LPC meeting to ask the university to submit conceptual designs to the commission, which is concerned about historic structures scheduled for demolition in the project. 

On learning that plans were already moving into schematics, Emmington said, “That’s unfortunate. We’re kind of scrambling at square one when they’re already on square ten.” 

Thursday’s scoping session answered another question about renovation plans for Memorial Stadium itself. 

During a Nov. 10 press conference by UCB Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and other university officials unveiling the project plans, university officials said they weren’t sure when asked if the three-story, above-the-rim addition to Memorial Stadium shown in plans would include a layer to so-called luxury sky boxes. 

There was no such ambiguity Thursday night, when DeLiso confirmed that one level will include enclosed “premium” seating—that is, sky boxes. 

The deluxe amenities, which often include bar fixtures, restrooms, luxury seats and other amenities, are considered major revenue generators and are often booked by corporations and business people seeking to impress clients. 

Executive education 

Not included in the EIR project area was another business school project, the development of an executive education facility designed to offer non-degree programs for business executives. 

According to a call for a project executive architect posted on the university’s website, the school is looking at two sites—one of them Bowles Hall, which is located just across Stadium Rim Way from the Maxwell Family Field, site of the planned underground parking garage. 

Bowles was the first residence hall on campus and opened in 1929. If chosen, the structure would be renovated and might include new construction on the adjacent parking lot. 

Designed by architect George W. Kelham, the structure is both a City of Berkeley landmark and a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  

The second site under consideration is the Anna Head Complex (the former Anna Head School) and next-door parking lot, located in the city on university-owned land three blocks south of the campus between Durant Avenue on the north and Channing Way on the south and between Telegraph Avenue and Bowditch Street. 

If selected, new construction would be built on the large parking lot, and the project could also include conversion and renovation of some or all of the existing buildings on the site. 

John Edginton, a Berkeley resident who lived in Bowles Hall for four years before he graduated in 1957, and later went on to graduate from Boalt Hall, said he’d like to see the hall restored to its original purpose as a four-year residential facility for undergraduates. 

“I found it a wonderfully rewarding experience, with lots of camaraderie,” he said. Edginton acknowledged that there have been disciplinary problems in later years. 

The university restricted the hall to freshman-year residents only for the current academic year, but Edginton and other former Bowles residents have created an alumni association, which they hope will help mentor residents and minimize the problems. 

Ideally, he said, he would like to see the landmark structure restored to its original purpose, as a four-year residence hall where beginning students could learn from upper-class folk in a self-governing and congenial atmosphere.

On Saturday evening, former councilmember/peace activist Maudelle Shirek was given a standing ovation for all the work she has done in her life. To a cheering, ecstatic crowd of more than a couple hundred Berkeley residents, Shirek introduced herself with a famous Mark Twain quote. 

“Thank you for coming,” said a vigorous Shirek. “First let me say that reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I’m still here and I’m still involved.” 

Many local leaders, like Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, Mayor Tom Bates, Assemblymember Loni Hancock, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and Councilmember Max Anderson, talked about how Shirek never compromised her values and always spoke about what was on her mind. 

They described her as a leader in fighting for just causes on many current issues. Shirek proved what they said by expressing her views about current controversial issues in Berkeley, including affordable housing and the closure of Derby Street. 

“Like Santa Claus,” said Shirek in a booming voice, “I’ll be watching you to see if you’re good, like supporting affordable housing, or bad, like trying to close Derby Street.” 

Last week the City Council voted unanimously to name Old City Hall for Shirek. Dec. 10 was also declared Maudelle Shirek Day by the council. The mayor served with Shirek for only wo years, but he said that even within that time, she made an important impact on him. 

“She spoke with such passion,” said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates. “She spoke from the heart. It makes a big difference. I wish that I had been able to work with her longer.” 

“I know the word ‘hero’ is a bit overused,” added Councilmember Max Anderson, who holds Shirek’s former seat on the City Council. “In Maudelle, we see an activist of the greatest integrity. We are here today to celebrate her heroism.” 

Assemblymember Hancock, a former Berkeley mayor, talked about her personal experiences with Shirek. 

“Once, I was eating lunch with Maudelle,” Hancock said. “I reached for the salt shaker and Maudelle said, “Don’t use that!’ And still to this day, I remember her words of wisdom.” 

Rep. Barbara Lee has tried for more than two years to name the main Berkeley post office on Allston Way after Shirek, honoring her for her activism in the community. However, an effort by House Republicans, led by Iowa Rep. Steve King, blocked the measure in September. Naming post offices and federal courthouses are so commonplace that generally a voice vote is used (which signals solid, unanimous approval). 

Robert Chambers, a candidate for King’s seat in the House, said at Saturday’s event that he isn’t proud of King’s behavior. 

“This isn’t the first time that Iowans had to apologize for Mr. King’s actions,” Chambers said about King’s efforts to block honoring Shirek. “We are deeply and profoundly embarrassed. What he did was insensitive and inaccurate. One of the reasons that I came to this event was to send an apology to Berkeley, to Barbara Lee, to Maudelle Shirek, and to many others.” 

Donations to the Maudelle Shirek Scholarship Fund, which will be used to benefit underprivileged children, can be sent to: Maudelle Shirek Scholarship Fund/Vanguard Foundation, c/o Max Anderson, 2180 Milvia St., Fifth Floor, Berkeley, CA 94704. 

Photograph by Rio Bauce  

Former City Councilmember Maudelle Shirek is given warm congratulations by admirers for her long career in Berkeley politics.

Barbara Shearer, one of the Bay Area’s best-loved concert pianists and music teachers, died on Dec. 6 of natural causes, in Oakland.  

Born on Sept. 16, 1936, in Ottawa, Illinois, Shearer spent her childhood in the rural Midwest. She attended Carthage College for two years, then Wittenberg University in Ohio, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music. On the advice of her teachers she went to New York in 1958 to study piano with Leonard Shure, whom she later followed to Zurich and Munich. A later influence was Karl Ulrich Schnabel, from whom she received valuable coaching and with whom she taught as a colleague.  

In 1963 Shearer was about to take a teaching job in New York, but literally changed directions when one of her teachers in Ohio dissuaded her, offering to buy her a bus ticket to San Francisco instead. She did graduate work at UC Berkeley, and in 1964 married singer and composer Allen Shearer, who survives her.  

Barbara Shearer performed solo, with chamber ensembles, and in song recitals with her husband and many other singers throughout Northern California and on the East Coast, and in Mexico and Italy. She lived for two years in Salzburg, Austria, and one year at the American Academy in Rome, during which time she gave a solo recital at the Vienna Konzerthaus.  

Other memorable performances include Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto and Arnold Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto with the UC Symphony, Brahms’s Concerto in D minor with the San Francisco Community Orchestra as well as the Mendocino Festival Orchestra, and Allen Shearer’s Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra with the Orchestra Sinfonica della RAI (Rome).  

Shearer taught in the Young Musicians Program at Berkeley in its formative years, and joined the university’s piano faculty in 1978, where she taught for nearly 25 years. Legions of musicians remember her as a mentor—a powerful, inspiring artist who always sought to bring out the best in her students. Added to her musical and intellectual gifts was the gift of enthusiasm.  

An immensely popular performer, Shearer’s Bay Area concerts regularly attracted overflow audiences. She recorded music of Schumann and Chopin on the Alba Artists label. Although music was the predominant force in her life, Shearer also pursued other interests with passion. She was an avid reader and an expert knitter, and delighted in knowing about people—composers, performers, authors, artists, cultural leaders, and everyday folk. She loved retreating into rustic settings on the Northern California coast and treasured her garden at home with its ferns, fruit trees, and the towering redwood she planted as a sapling.  

The historic North Oakland house where Barbara Shearer taught and lived is a landmark, not only as an architectural treasure but also as a place where, for the past four decades, generations of music students gathered to learn more about music-making—and life—from a true Bay Area original.  

A memorial concert is being planned for January.e

Debi Echlin, founder and owner of A Great Good Place for Books, died suddenly on Nov. 25. She was 52 years old.  

This is not going to be an obituary. It is the story of a place, a community and the vision and energy of the unique woman who created it. Her inspiration was a quote from Ray Oldenburg, a sociologist who writes about communities: “Great civilizations, like great cities, share a common feature. Evolving within them and crucial to their growth and refinement are distinctive informal gathering places. In cities blessed with their own characteristic form of these Great Good Places, the stranger feels at home—nay, is at home.”  

In founding the store eight years ago, Echlin created a community of people who love books, who read books, who talk about books and about the issues that concern them. In her bookstore on LaSalle Avenue in Montclair people do more than buy books, they feel at home. They gather and form friendships, and they became her friends. In the memorial book placed near the front desk people are writing tributes to her, recalling her warmth and her smile and her humor and above all the love she gave so freely.  

Hut Landon, staff person at the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA), reflected that what was unique “about Debi and her store was that she had managed to make her store a community gathering place that was really unlike any bookstore that I had been in.” 

He described how “she connected with her customers. I hear from people they’ve really lost a friend, not just a retail person who everybody likes in the community, this is much deeper than that.” 

Echlin had been a member of the NCIBA Board of Directors for the last two years and there too, Landon affirmed, she will be sorely missed. 

Kathleen Caldwell, Echlin’s close friend and associate, has taken over the store. She affirms her continuing dedication to the community of book lovers. Talking about Echlin she said, “She believed that this was a community, she made it her community and she really instilled that in all of us.... She treated the customers as if they were our best friends”  

And she regarded the staff not as employees but as members of a team. Caldwell reiterated, “We are a team with a single purpose, we were meant to be a community.”  

Like many bookstores, there is a book club that meets monthly at the store. Echlin also supported other book clubs by stocking their selections and providing them to the members at discount prices. One of the display tables in the store is piled with stacks of book selections for more than a dozen book clubs, each topped by a clever little card holder identifying the club. Echlin’s community encompassed all people in all the clubs. In the back of the store there is a children’s book section where kids can curl up in a beanbag or on the floor and read or be read to.  

Ron Berrol and his wife are frequent visitors. She belongs to the book club there. He told me that what he appreciates about the store “is that they always have books about local history.... Oakland neighborhood books—kind of a little specialty niche that’s nice.”  

People in the neighborhood and other business owners on the street were shocked to hear that Echlin was gone. I talked with Joseph Sullivan who has owned The Book Tree directly across the street for twenty years. His is a small store that carries different genres of books from A Great Good Place so he and Debi have coexisted amicably all these years. Further up the street is a clothing store called Hula owned by Andrea Lockyer and her daughter Naomi. 

“My mom had a really close friendship with Debi and I loved her,” Naomi said. “She just had this amazing personality, that anyone who met her felt touched by her sincerity, her genuineness. She added so much to the village.... She was just one of those special people.”  

As Naomi was telling me this, Alice Butler, a customer in her store chimed in with a touching story about Echlin. 

“I walked in very timidly one day because I had been writing to my nephew who is in a detention center in another state and I wanted to do something more than just write to him, wanted to start sending him books to read and magazines,” she said. 

Butler had tried sending him books but they were returned because convicts are not allowed to receive packages from private persons. Echlin reassured her, saying, “We have plenty of customers who have family members who are convicts and we have a program,” Butler said. “So she just took that over for me.”  

Together they selected a book each month and Echlin would send it enclosing “a nice letter saying ‘Here is another book from your aunt. Hope you enjoy it,’” Butler said. 

Everyone who knew her agrees that in the eight years since Echlin started A Great Good Place for Books she created something that reached far beyond the four walls of the store. Caldwell and her team are determined to carry on her legacy. 

“We are all committed to keeping this store alive,” she said. “We are a family.”  

Photograph by Lydia Gans 

A Great Good Place For Books staff members Marianne Sheehan and Kathleen Caldwell stand next to a poster of store founder Debi Echlin. 

Berkeley city councilmembers will get a firsthand look at City Manager Phil Kamlarz’s proposal for the additional $1.08 million the city expects to receive in the current fiscal year’s budget. 

With the additional funds, most of which are expected to come from property-based taxes and fees, Kamlarz said the city can continue to fund a series of programs previously slated to be cut. 

“Yes, we can keep them going, but we should hold off on funding anything else, at least until February, when we will have six months of data to look at,” he said. 

Of the $878,564 in recommended expenditures, the largest single item is $250,000 for fuel costs above those included in the original FY 2006-07 budget, followed by $247,000 in back payments to Pacific Gas & Electric to cover costs of street lighting, for which the utility had failed to bill the city earlier. 

The next largest cost, $112,000, would cover unbudgeted costs for agencies in the Veterans Memorial Building. 

Another $100,000 would cover unreimbursed costs for emergency aid during Hurricane Katrina, including costs for housing and providing services for evacuees. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimburses local government for only 75 percent of their costs, Kamlarz said. 

Also included in the funding recommendations are $40,000 for a police crime analyst, $31,000 for BOSS, $24,165 for the civic arts coordinator and additional funding for the Berkeley Boosters BART escorts, Pedal Express, Japanese American Services for the East Bay, the Berkeley Day Time Drop-In Center and the Berkeley NewsScan. 

Kamlarz said the city is concerned that sales tax revenues have remained flat, “and we have to look at innovative ways to retain business in Berkeley,” including possible tax incentives. 

As an example he point to a proposal by Mayor Tom Bates to keep automobile dealers in the city by changing zoning in West Berkeley. 

Kamlarz said automobile manufacturers are pushing for sales locations concentrated together near freeways, and the city may have to chose between accommodating or losing the dealerships. 

Another worry is the possible loss of telecommunications and cable franchise revenues due to strong federal lobbying by telecom companies to exempt their services from local taxation, Kamlarz said. 

Such fees and taxes now make up five percent of the city’s general fund revenues. 

Other items on the council’s agenda include: 

• A new ordinance mandating standards of care for dogs kept outdoors. 

• A $2 increase for fees for birth and death certificates. 

• Consideration of alternatives for amending the city’s by-right home addition ordinance. 

• Conflicting proposals from the city manager and the Parks and Recreation Commission on the enforcement of rules at the Berkeley Skate Park. 

• A proposal from the city auditor for the council to ask the city manager to take measures to address causes and effects of delays in implementing audit recommendations. 

• An update from City Manager Phil Kamlarz on the current fiscal year budget. 

• A new parcel tax to raise $3 million for the warm water pool rennovation and move.l

I own New York Market in Oakland. My brother Tony was kidnapped and my store got burned down. The day before those incidents happened, my store was vandalized.  

I don’t know why my store was targeted—it was definitely a slow day, the day before Thanksgiving. A lot of stores were closed early that day. We were still open. Were we just a convenient target? I don’t know.  

Ironically, my father was murdered in a liquor store before I was born. He owned a small market in Brooklyn, New York. While working late hours, he was confronted with a robbery. According to my second cousin (who was 12 at the time and with my father in the store) my father tried to disarm the robber and was shot.  

Father was murdered during the holiday season, very similar to this time. According to my clerk at New York Market, his family was in the back room of the store as it was being ransacked. The similarities between what happened at my store and what happened to my father are eerie.  

I did not open a store because I had no other options. I genuinely love people and the business I am in. Many of these small mom-and-pop stores are making a living because of the long hours they work. If they calculated their time, some might find they make less than minimum wage.  

Why are there so many liquor stores on almost every block in Oakland? You really have to look back. There were a lot of opportunities many years ago, 20, 30 years back for these convenience stores because we couldn’t get those large retailers in the city. Oakland still has great difficulty getting an Albertson’s or a Food 4 Less. We just recently got a Wal-Mart.  

There were a lot of opportunities for people to open up these convenience stores to serve these neighborhoods where there are no other stores. The City of Oakland does not allow new liquor stores. The stores that are there have been there for 20, 30, 40 years and more.  

My store had been in business for over 60 years. The closest grocery store to my market is in Emeryville, three or four miles away.  

Yes, we sold alcoholic beverages but we did not have hard liquor, just beer and wine. Out of the 16 cooler doors that we had in the store, I believe that four or five were used for alcoholic beverages—so you couldn’t say we were just another liquor store. We had a meat department a full line of groceries and a small produce section. It was a market. It was definitely not a liquor store.  

When a customer would come into my store, we’d treat them like family. We felt like they were like family. We were a part of that community. We were providing a service to them, and the money that they spent in our store fed my family.  

It really hurts me to hear black people saying, “Go back to your own country.” We’re Americans and it seems everywhere we go we have to deal with racism and discrimination.  

Despite what the news media has been reporting, I’m not from Yemen. I’m Palestinian. I was born in the United States; I’m a U.S. citizen. My parents came from Palestine, where Judaism, Christianity and Islam are practiced. In the city where my family is from it is not common to have liquor stores, though it is not taboo. So for those who say, “Sell the store and go back to your country,” it wouldn’t be in violation of the law there.  

I believe in God. I was born Muslim. Can I say I’m the perfect Muslim who prays five times a day? No. But man cannot judge me, only God can judge me. No one else can judge me.  

Everything happens for a reason, but I’m upset. I’m 30 years old—it’s not like I’m a young man or an old man, but I’m an individual who worked hard. Nobody put a silver spoon in my mouth.  

Sometimes the bad opens the door to a lot of good. This won’t hold us down—there’s a lot of work that needs to be in Oakland and this is our opportunity to address a lot of concerns people are voicing about liquor stores in the community. We should take these concerns seriously and sit down with everybody and talk about how we can address that issue.  

Where do I go from here? I don’t know. Right now it’s sit and wait. Put yourself in the position I’m in—you’ve lost everything you’ve worked so hard to get, and now you have to start all over.  

Moe Saleh, the owner of one of the markets, has refused to speak with mainstream media. This essay was transcribed from a radio interview on KMEL Street Soldiers Program. Joe Marshall is the co-founder and executive director of the Omega Boys Club.

School BB-gun attack 

Police arrested a Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School pupil on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon on Dec. 1 after he shot another student with a BB-gun on school grounds, said Berkeley police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

Bottle attack 

A 62-year-old man attacked a 21-year-old man with a bottle during a Dec. 4 altercation at Blake’s on Telegraph Avenue. 

Teens on teen 

A group of three juveniles attacked a 13-year-old boy in the 1900 block of Francisco Street at 1:45 a.m. on Dec. 4, relieving him of his cash and cell phone, said Officer Okies. 

Mail arson 

Person or persons unknown tossed a lighted cigarette into a mailbox outside the main post office at 2000 Allston Way sometime before 2:30 p.m. Dec. 5, igniting the mail inside before firefighters arrived and extinguished the flames. 

Purse robbery 

A heavyset young man robbed a 68-year-old woman of her purse as she walked along the 2800 block of Grant Street on Dec. 5, said Officer Okies. 

Bank heist botched 

A 45-year-old man walked into the Wells Fargo Branch at 2900 College Ave. just before 5 p.m. Tuesday and presented a demand note asking for cash—only to find himself taken into custody by bank security, who held him until police arrived. 

Juvenile stick-up artists 

Three juveniles were arrested moments after they robbed a man of his wallet near the corner of College Avenue and Parker Street shortly before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. 

Andronico’s heist 

Police are seeking an armed robber who stuck up the Andronico’s Market in the 1800 block of Solano Avenue shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday. 

Caned 

Police arrested a 43-year-old man who threatened, then struck with his cane a woman who was watching over her children as they played in the Ohlone Park tot lot Wednesday morning. 

He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. 

Strongarm heist 

A bandit robbed a pedestrian of his wallet and cash just before 2:30 p.m. Wednesday as he walked along Shattuck Avenue near the intersection with Prince Street, said Officer Okies.

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.

?

LOW BLOW 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

The few (?) accusing Cindy Sheehan of “exploiting” the loss of her son in Iraq (and of being a traitor) was as low as perceiving John Walsh, Mark Klas and Maureen Kanka as parents with the same agenda. 

They haven’t exploited their losses, but utilized them, and have gotten a lot accomplished. 

That comment about Ms. Sheehan was downright despicable. 

O.V. Michaelsen 

Richmond 

• 

SHERMAN BOYSON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is very difficult for us to recognize the Sherman Boyson being portrayed by Erika Williams and BAMN in the story in your paper. We are Sherman’s students in social welfare and other departments who work with him and we know nothing of this man accused of racism and sexism and assault. Instead we know a man who has been a champion for social justice and worked hard for each of his students. 

We know a man who has been so helpful to students of color that our department is now considered the most diverse on campus. We know a man who helps empower women, and advises the department with more women than any other on campus. 

We know a man who asked his supervisors to allow him to increase his already overloaded workload by allowing extra students into his capped major when 24 transfers arrived in fall 2005 instead of the expected 10 because he did not want any of those students, almost all of whom were women, to be turned away. 

We know a man who reminds us in his email newsletters that this country denies health coverage to too many poor and disadvantaged people. We know a man whose graduation rate of his students, including underrepresented minorities, exceeds the campus average due to his assistance in making sure all his students do well at Cal by helping them organize study groups.  

We know a man whose door is open during lunch and who stays late for us if we need him at the end of the day. 

We know a man who coordinated a volunteer program with incarcerated youths in Alameda County—99 percent of whom were youths of color. 

We know a kind and peaceful man who is not aggressive, but is patient and caring and gives great bear hugs. 

We know a man who helped an African-American student who was graduation speaker last year. The student wanted a strong political speech and Sherman helped him write about the shameful admission rates for African-Americans at Cal. 

We know a man who took an African-American teenager into his home when the boy had nowhere else to go and who still houses and supports that youth today. 

We know a man who empowers athletes of color and makes sure they realize they deserve to be on this campus and expects them to be as strong in the classroom as on the playing field.  

We understand that Sherman made a terrible error in a moment of anger. We understand that he has apologized. What we don’t understand is why anyone wants to fire our advisor that we want to stay working with us. 

This letter is signed by social welfare students and other students in support of Sherman Boyson:  

Tami Rollins, Richard Midgley, Adrienne Bradford, Calen Carr, Mike Oseguera,  

Krystle Henriquez, Jessica Ramirez, Sandy Yang, Arianna Vaeworn, Silvia Salinas, Sam Vizznini Jr., Christine Pao, Celia Myers, Sarah Bacon  

and Cindy Sung. 

• 

JUSTICE MATTERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

We appreciated Peter Selz’s rational Dec. 2 review of the exhibition, “Justice Matters: Artists Consider Palestine.” Contrary to the assertions by Dr. White in his Dec. 9 commentary, Dr. Selz is uniquely qualified to write about the exhibition. His forthcoming book, due out next month, is Art of Engagement: Visual Politics in California and Beyond. It is a 100-year survey of the subject and demonstrates his expertise and his long study of political art.  

Two factual clarifications in Selz’s review should be made. Jackie Salloum’s “Caterrorpillar” describes 13,000 Palestinian homes destroyed, not 1,300. Second, while the complaints about the show have been strident, and have run the gamut from intolerant to threatening, there have been only a few, not “many” of them.  

Like these few, Dr. White finds in the exhibition what he brings to it. The exhibition is not a justification of violence, as his penultimate paragraph preposterously asserts. Almost all of the works present the anguish, despair and hopelessness of people caught in a conflict over which they have no control. Perhaps that is why those who may feel responsible for this suffering find the work disturbing.  

It’s an art show, for crying out loud. Art is not only content, but a combination of content and aesthetic expression. The meaning of the work derives from the relationship of the two. To ignore one or the other distorts the work.  

The Daily Planet is to be applauded for encouraging discussion of this courageous show.  

Tim Drescher  

President, BAC Board of Directors  

• 

PETER SELZ 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In his rebuttal to Peter Selz’s nuanced review of the “Justice Matters” exhibition at the Berkeley Art Center, physician and bioethecist Lawrence White implies that Dr. Selz—though an “expert in German expressionism as well as many other areas”—is unqualified to critique the show. White comments that Selz has made “the cardinal error of assuming positions that are conventional wisdom among the anti-Israel crowd” before proceeding to his own angry and entirely one-sided position that is conventional wisdom among the anti-Palestinian crowd. White concludes that the show at the Berkeley Art Center “is about propaganda, not art,” and should, apparently, be taken down for inciting anger and violence.  

Peter Selz cannot be so easily dismissed. The lengthy bibliography of his books and articles demonstrates the vast range and depth of interests that has made Selz an internationally recognized authority on the ethical content of contemporary art. Berkeley is fortunate to have him as a resident and the Daily Planet as an occasional reviewer. Selz writes and speaks with a long and profound personal knowledge of fascism in its many guises, as well as of the danger of artistic censorship and of the value of the First Amendment. He has just published a groundbreaking study of political art in the 20th century.  

Lawrence’s letter made me turn to Bram Dijkstra’s book American Expressionism: Art and Social Change 1920-1950 which documents the largely Jewish contributions to unpopular causes. Artists such as Hugo Gellert, Ben Shahn, Peter Blume, and Philip Guston spoke visually for those who had had everything taken from them—including their dignity. Dijkstra contends that it was precisely their concern for justice—along with anti-Judaism—that drove their powerful figurative art underground during the McCarthy era.  

I am afraid that Dr. White’s op-ed adds nothing new to the debate around the long-festering wound in the Middle East that is taking us all down with it. The exhibition at the Berkeley Art Center does: I commend the Center for its courage and hope that it will resist the forces of attempted censorship and intimidation.  

Gray Brechin  

• 

PEACE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Everyone wants world peace. And to have world peace we need to each practice it, every minute, every day, in all interactions. I am dismayed by the incredible rancor and hostility which is regularly displayed in much of our civic discussion. The latest issue being the Derby Street matter. We as a community need to develop a process, early in every issue, where all involved can sit together to develop a solution that works, through a practice that honors peace. 

I am dismayed that an elected official has used a public forum to stoke divisiveness. I am dismayed at the near hysteria and fear based arguments in some of the letters. I am dismayed that a ballfield for kids could possibly be called anti-community. (Inappropriate, not preferred yes, but anti-community?) Is it really vegetables versus kids? I am dismayed that the school district and city council has not worked to mediate what should be a resolvable issue. How will we humans resolve Darfur, the Middle East, or even urban gang violence, if we cannot sit down and resolve a ballfield dispute? 

I ask the city and school district to immediately implement a process for mediation on Derby Street. I ask that the city and school district develop a process which should be used in all future issues that gets everyone into the same room, early on. I also ask this newspaper not to highlight obviously inflammatory rhetorical letters. Art Buchwald’s solution to the Vietnam War was the Finnish model. Strip everyone naked and stick them in a sauna until they work out a compromise! 

Soon it will be a new year. I wish everyone a happy new year, and ask that we all “Give Peace a Chance.”  

Sandra Horne 

• 

DEVELOPMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

My growing discomfort with the deluge of new multi-story buildings in Berkeley sharpened recently when an architect told me that California state law lets developers off the hook for paying taxes! 

Is this “upper-class cookie jar” the reason Tom Bates and his closed-door cohorts have given Patrick Kennedy and Panoramic Interests the keys to the city? 

Glen Kohler 

• 

FREEBOX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Early in the morning of Nov. 16, UC police removed the all-steel free clothing box which had been installed the previous weekend by volunteers during a free concert in People’s Park. The absurdity of this action merely illustrates the greater problem that faces the park: being owned and operated by the University of California, its traditional nemesis. There’s no denying that the park has problems, but the freebox is not one of them. The problem that surrounds the park is the University of California. 

The last freebox burned to the ground at the beginning of April, but now the winter rains are upon us and a 24-hour source of dry clothing will help homeless people to survive the misery of being marginalized. The university refuses to recognize the long-standing tradition of free exchange in People’s Park, and has forgotten the compromise agreement made with free box advocates in 1998 when the university itself moved the activist-built freebox to its most recent location. 

Why is the university dictating policy in People’s Park? The problems that confront the park in its relationship with the university are similar to the problems that the university presents to our community. Issues such as blatant administrative corruption make the freebox seem a rather small issue, but appearances are deceptive, especially in the case of the park. The park’s value to this community is symbolic as much as it is physical, and as we all know, you cannot place value upon a symbol. They are precious, especially a symbol born of the peace movement. 

The Regents of the University of California are not the appropriate deed holders for this piece of land; the citizens of Berkeley appropriated this property long ago in reparations for another illegal and immoral war. Until the conditions that lead to the fragmentation of healthy social relationships within our community are recognized and repaired, the park will continue to be the clearest model that we have to understand the mechanisms of cultural evolution and oppression. 

The platform that David Nadel was working upon at the time of his death was the campaign to democratize the Regents of the University of California. 

We want to know why there are some people in our community who are capitalising upon another illegal war, and who seem to be intent upon unravelling the very fabric of nature itself (nanotechnology, nuclear power, large-scale military contracts, genetic engineering and the Novartis/Chiron merger...) 

Perhaps when we become strong enough to wrest our public universities out of the hands of vested corporate interests, People’s Park will stop being an issue of controversy, and can truly become a community peace garden for the world. How do we make this happen? By participating in its processes. It requires patience to deal with poverty. 

Arthur Fonseca 

›

So I took a little break. I needed not to read anymore about the war in Iraq, global warming, white collar, blue collar or government fraud, spousal murders, kidnappings or everyday racism, sexism, ageism and any other isms you want to throw in there.  

I needed not to hear it on the radio or to write about it. To complain about ongoing negativity had simply become too negative. Like I said, I needed a break. 

After I decided that it was time to resume writing, the question then became; what about? When I realized that my next column would be published on Dec. 13, it hit me: that’s the day that Stanley Tookie Williams is scheduled to die. By the time you read this, Williams may have breathed his last breath.  

Perhaps he cried anguished tears full of regret and pain. Or perhaps they were tears of joy and relief.  

Perhaps there were no tears at all. 

Those who want him dead and those who want him to live have expressed their opposing views loudly—a man’s life is at stake, after all. But to many, there’s more at stake than an individual life. Williams has become a symbol of this country’s ongoing argument regarding punishment vs. forgiveness; retribution vs. redemption and of our country’s unwillingness to acknowledge systemic racism.  

Some discount Williams’ life as so much payment for four murders he insists he did not commit. 

They believe the evidence justifies his conviction and subsequent denials of appeals. Others believe the evidence was not convincing, the attorneys were incompetent, the jury and judges were biased and that our legal system is so inherently racist that every conviction of a black male is suspect.  

What we do know are the things Stanley Williams has admitted to: that he grew up in South Central Los Angeles in an area known for its poverty, unemployment, broken families, failing schools and general neglect. That he first fought against local gangs and then fought to create one of the most notorious gangs of them all—the Crips—at the age of 17. 

Williams ruled his environment in the ways many poor urban communities continue to be ruled; by might, by intimidation, by violence. No doubt he is guilty of many violent crimes. But, did he kill Albert Owens, Yen-I Yang, Tsai-Shai Yang and Yee-Chin Lin? There is no OJ/DNA and the witnesses at the scene were themselves criminals—one of them has since recanted his testimony, claiming that he was beaten and threatened by police. The others were granted leniency in their own sentencing for various crimes and one of those is in jail for having committed a subsequent murder. Would it be too much of a stretch to wonder whether a few police officers may have been so anxious to “get Tookie” that they tampered with what evidence there was?  

Surely, Williams knows that he would have a better chance at clemency if he were to admit to the killings and express his profound remorse. Although he apologizes profusely for all the past wrongdoings he committed as a gangbanger, Williams steadfastedly refuses to apologize for crimes he insists he did not commit. He has to live (and die) within the confines of his own sense of self, truth and conscience. 

“I’m at peace,” Williams says softly, during an interview recently broadcast on radio station KPFA from San Quentin. “I do not fear death ... not because of a cavalier attitude or some machismo ... I could have died many times by police or rival gangs ... I’m not saying I want to die. ... I have a joie de vivre now ... but I will not get rattled over this...”  

And what is this—this killing business? The death penalty is no longer viewed as a deterrent in most democracies and, according to Religious Tolerance, based in Ontario, Canada, the homicide rates in American states with the death penalty is almost twice the rate in states without the death penalty. While Amnesty International records that over 40 countries throughout Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe have abolished the death penalty since 1990, the United States chooses to align itself with Japan and South Korea as the only democratic countries still imposing the death penalty. They are joined by countries like Iran, China, Vietnam, Pakistan, the Phillipines, Somalia, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, some of which employ beheading, shooting and stoning to carry out their death sentences.  

The strongest argument against the application of the death penalty in the United States can be drawn from the numbers of innocent people who have been convicted and executed for crimes they did not commit. Since 1973, 122 death row “convicts” have been found to be innocent. Luckily, their mistakes were discovered before they were executed but not before most of them had wasted many years of their lives on death row. There were 6 such cases in 2004, and three so far this year.  

When you add the factor of disproportionate application of the death penalty to the poor and to African Americans, the situation cries out for breath ... for a moment of silence while we collectively reconsider what we are doing and to whom. Is Stanley Tookie Williams the perfect candidate upon which to pause in reflection? Need he be? Those who believe he committed the murders and believe in capital punishment say “Hell no! Let him burn!” Those who believe in forgiveness and redemption (and how many of you White Male Republican Jesus-loving Christians are among this group?) say that Williams is worth more alive than dead. As a respected voice of experience, wisdom and authority, Williams has steered hundreds of youth away from criminal gang activity and he pledges the remainder of his life to continue to work for peace and hope among the most troubled members of our society. 

And as for punishment, not all of the murder victims’ families want to see Williams die. Albert Owens’ brother, Wayne Owens said that he would support clemency if he could be assured that Williams would never be released and that executing Williams would be a “no-win situation ... it will make victims of all of us.” Owens’ widow, Linda Owens released a letter on Dec. 8 stating that she now wants to join with Williams working for peace. What better way to pay tribute to these grieving families than to sentence Stanley Williams to a life of service?  

So, what will “The Terminator” do? Can Gov. Schwarzenegger withstand the political heat, the slurs and demeaning accusations (possible headline: “Arnold Schwarzenegger: The Biggest Girlie Man Of Them All”). If you think politics has nothing to do with this, you are only fooling yourself. I say Schwarzenegger is more of a “girlie man” if he succumbs to political pressure, ignoring the necessity at least for a moratorium to reflect upon the core of the death penalty issue and what the United States’ role as a world leader should be. 

At the close of the radio interview, Williams imagines himself being free “in my dreams ... floating away” from troubles in his mind. As I listen to this surprisingly soft-spoken man, I hear sincerity. I hear a man who has faced his demons and come through to the other side, a man whose life has become an example to those like him who did not see any other way to live but to follow in their absent father’s footsteps.  

The last words Williams spoke before he was cut off were these: “As long as I have breath, I will continue to do what I can to help. I want to be part of the solu— .” 

›

All the lights are green for me when, in 1952, I am born. My daddy is short and he isn’t super rich, but my mom is smart and good lookin’. 

All the lights remain green in 1954 when my first sibling arrives—a boy. I am still the princess. 

The lights stay green in ‘56 with the arrival of another brother. 

Years go by, all green, green, green. I am forced into taking dance, piano, ice skating, tennis and, later, golf lessons, but this isn’t so bad. 

In 1965 the lights flicker a few times as I learn to navigate the hallways of junior high, replacing my virginal white anklet socks with bad black ones. My skirt hems creep skyward above my knees, but girls are still not permitted to wear pants to school. I have braces but no real sign of acne. 

In 1966 the braces come off. I straighten my hair bi-monthly with a product requiring the use of thick rubber gloves. At night I cover my head in gigantic pink plastic rollers, and sleep uncomfortably, or not at all, for the next three and a half years. Other girls wrap their hair around jumbo-size juice cans, but my mother won’t allow it. 

Things go horribly wrong in 1968 when Debi Garrity wants to beat me up for talking behind her back about her boyfriend. A few months later Debi drops out of tenth grade, enormous with child. She becomes, temporarily, Mrs. Mark McMullin. I’m sure she forgets about me, but I remember her. 

Other things go amiss: The only boy who asks me out is Jimmy Murphy, a big, soft kid who wears a leather jacket and surrounds himself with smart ass, cigarette smoking, gin-swilling friends. I don’t like him or his friends, but I suffer through the embarrassing association due to low self-esteem and a lack of more pleasing options. One evening I refuse, as usual, to kiss him and, because of unbearable sexual frustration, he rams his father’s car into a tree in my parent’s driveway. The tree has to be cut down before the car can be extracted and towed away. 

1970: I depart for a small, expensive, private college located just west of Philadelphia. I am miserable. This misery is manifested in my refusal to wear a bra or shave my armpit hair. I slouch dejectedly around in dirty denim overalls, baggy tie-dyed t-shirts, and moccasins. I gain 15 pounds, stop straightening my hair, take birth control pills for no apparent reason, skip classes, flunk French. 

Lights turn green again in ‘71 when I acquire a dope smoking, motorcycle riding, anarchist/vegetarian boyfriend with long stringy hair and a bad attitude. My parents hate him but I’m in love, love, love! 

Bad news in ‘72: Boyfriend dumps me, causing an impressive case of hives and self-loathing. I drop out of school and become a professional waitress for about 15 minutes. I take out a loan, enroll in a crowded state university, hitchhike to and from classes, get a job at a fast food joint, stop speaking (for two years) to my parents, who I righteously recognize as misguided, rightwing idiots. 

I graduate from college in 1974 and get a teaching job far from my childhood home. Things are only pale green because, despite finally having a reliable income, ($12,000 per year plus benefits), teaching anything to public school-enrolled seventh graders is impossible. I feel sorry for myself, and I am lonely. 

1975: New boyfriend. Things are looking up! 

1977: Another new boyfriend! He’s studying to be a lawyer! Lights are green for two years, then everything turns red when he flunks the bar (several times) and decides to live off a very small trust fund instead of getting a job. Hives re-ignite across my face, breasts, and buttocks. 

1983: I move, by myself, to San Francisco. Hives gone. Lights are green again! 

1984: New boyfriend! 

1992: We buy a house together. We legalize our relationship. We make plans to someday move to Colorado where we’ll ski in winter and bike in summer. It‘s all green for us, for him, for me, for everyone we know. 

April 27, 1994: Red.

Welcome to my neighborhood. We live in the block just east of San Pablo Avenue. We describe each other’s houses based on their “S.P. Factor”—N. and her husband and 2-year-old, they’re as close as you can be to San Pablo, so they have the highest S.P. factor. They mostly deal with the hookers. L. and her husband and 2-year-old live up the block, where the issue is more the drug dealers and the midnight “donuts.” Me, I live in the middle of the block with my husband and 5-year-old; I call about domestic violence and gunshots. The east side of San Pablo is the “tony” side; one block to the west is where things really get exciting. 

My neighborhood is the place where the businesses that people want (but not in their neighborhoods) wash up: auto shops, salvage yards, an impound lot, housing projects, a medical marijuana dispensary. And chemicals; I don’t know how many Berkeley residents have the “When you hear the safety sirens” instructions magnet from Bayer labs up on their refrigerator, but we all do. There’s a place around the corner called “Ali Baba Beef Kebab,” which was closed because of toxic ground contaminants. I hear from my neighbor Ted that the food there was great; now it’s a parking lot for the neighboring auto repair shop. And we have liquor stores—boy, do we have liquor stores. It’s really weird how some areas of the neighborhood, totally residential areas, have one on every other corner. (Typically, the “other” corner is a church.) And of course, there’s prostitution and drug dealing. The one thing we don’t have is a full-service grocery store. 

How much actual benefit do the residents of South and West Berkeley derive from the businesses we host? I’m not saying that these businesses have no merit; hey, you’ve got to get your car repaired somewhere, and, yeah, rescuing stuff from the landfill is a good thing. But do these things directly benefit my neighbors?  

There’s this concept called “environmental justice.” Basically, it means that all of the freeways and toxic waste sites somehow manage to land in the poorest parts of town. Well, that’s us. Hey, we didn’t ask to be the auto-repair and used-toilet capitol of Berkeley, but here we are. Poor people tend to be an accommodating group. See, one of the problems is, poor people don’t necessarily write letters to the editor or attend Planning Commission meetings. Heck, some of them can’t read or speak English. So nobody spoke up when those businesses moved into the neighborhood. And now, not very many of them are showing up at the planning meetings about the proposed West Berkeley Bowl either, so they aren’t there to say, “Well of course we’d like a grocery store!” 

According to the most recent City of Berkeley Health Status Report, “Health data shows that African Americans in Berkeley have significantly higher premature death rates for preventable or manageable diseases such as hypertension, stroke and diabetes” than whites and Asians. The report also shows that premature deaths in South and West Berkeley occur at close to four times the rate of the more affluent parts of the city, and that hospitalization for diabetes occurs at rates ten times higher for African Americans and three times higher for Latinos than for the white and Asian populations. Have you noticed who lives in my neighborhood? Am I getting my point across? 

Our neighborhood, unfortunately, tends to sit there and take it. Well, for the first time in my memory, a business that would directly benefit the residents of that neighborhood in a very real, tangible way wants to move in. A business that would benefit more people than any other business, any other land use that I can think of.  

I have heard most of the arguments against the West Berkeley Bowl, and I couldn’t help but notice that most of them are from people who don’t actually live in the neighborhood; they’re mostly people whose businesses are in the neighborhood or who frequent the neighborhood. They have a right to their opinions, but why are their opinions heard so much louder and more often than everyone else’s, with lawyers along for counterpoint? It’s the same stuff over and over. I’d like to point out: We didn’t complain when they moved their businesses to our neighborhood; now we’d like them to return the favor.  

The citizens of West Berkeley deserve to have access to healthy, affordable food. They should not be treated as second-class citizens, worthy only of the dumping grounds of the wealthier neighborhoods. The question is, will the disenfranchised, silent majority most in need of this project wind up with a grocery store, or will the vocal, powerful minority drown them out? 

Christine Staples is a West Berkeley resident and a stay-at-home mom. 

Mina Davenport asks: “How can UC libraries send letters to the public and alumni to ask for contributions? I used to pay the libraries at least $200 a year; however, I will not do so any more. It is simple: no services, no contributions. Perhaps the UC executives can contribute to the libraries out of that $871 million they paid themselves as bonuses. UC libraries should let the alumni and holders of library cards have access to the Internet via the library computers.” I think her request is reasonable. 

Judith Segard Hunt, who gave $100 to Cal in each of three years over a span some 15 years ago, advocates “ultra high taxes on the rich” in the same letters column. I would be satisfied with the reinstatement of the estate tax.  

I fall into the same category as Davenport and Hunt with regard to giving to UC: a total of $0 since Robert Dynes took over. Yet I did contribute $110 to the victims of the massive Oct. 8 earthquake in Pakistan. 

The July 2003 issue of Scientific American had a full-page ad: “Novartis And Rabbi Sklarz Drove His Cancer Into Remission In Just 56 Days! ‘When I was struck with cancer, I needed lots of help: Thanks to Novartis, I got it.’”  

A side panel intones that this experience has given the rabbi “even greater compassion and purpose.” One problem here is blasphemy. UC Berkeley had a partnership with Novartis. Dick Carter of the California Alumni Association (CAA) talked with the Cal library business managers and about the possibilities of changing their current policies. While CAA members can use libraries on all UC campuses, online use is restricted. By “online access” I am referring to the licensed databases and not to the library’s own online catalog and digital resources which are now available to California Alumni Association members. The reasons that the licensed databases are not available is that publishers absolutely: (1) require a finite set of on-campus IP addresses, and (2) limit access to university faculty, students and staff. Making online resources available beyond the boundaries of the campus is not part of the agreements between the University and the vendors. No publisher would sign a license allowing remote access by the nearly 100,000 additional CAA members. 

The library business managers to whom Carter talked could not imagine the price to permit alumni to use these databases, but that it would be far beyond what the university could afford. The campus libraries already pay some publishers several million dollars a year for access to their journals. Although alumni are a valued and important constituency, the library has no way now or in the foreseeable future of providing remote electronic access to journals to which they subscribe. Alumni have access via the Internet to all the UC-generated digital content that is on its servers. However, commercial journals are not likely to go public. Unlike the United States, most countries refuse patents that are published before an application is filed. Corporate sponsors may want research results withheld from the public indefinitely. So university researchers are under pressure to hold up publication of research results. UC Davis geneticists Royce Bringhurst and Victor Voth discovered a variety of strawberries that permitted year-round harvests. Each received $512,276 in 1995 alone. Are their signatures affixed to the petition demanding legislative review of the “overpaid” administrators? 

The College Blue Book, 29th edition (2002) has a volume of 1,000-plus pages devoted to distance learning. An article in the Wall Street Journal (June 24, 2003) quotes Cal computer-science professor David Culler on the merits of “overlay” networks in minimizing data congestion. Culler was on leave at that time to work at Intel, which donated 100 computers to Planet Lab, a consortium of more than 60 universities. California has a high stake in the global information society. Accordingly, California must retain its positioning of IT in the context of the state’s economic diplomacy.  

Therefore, Boalt Law School must participate positively in a number of international frameworks, including the wide range of approaches being taken through the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in such fields as taxation, electronic signatures, and cryptography.  

CAA members and others should persistently request the librarians to earnestly address the issue. 

While California’s unprecedented prosperity in the post-World War II years was the direct result of the diligent efforts of Californians, much was undoubtedly owed to the existence of an international order grounded in an open politico-economic system comprising respect for basic human rights, democracy, the market economy, and free trade. Access to electronic publications is necessary to tackle global issues. For example, the food problem is complexly intertwined with related factors such as conflicts, natural disasters, decertification, and population problems; and resolving food issues demands a comprehensive approach, including agricultural development, international trade, food aid, education, and technology transfers. In addition to the problems posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, with the frequent outbreak of regional conflicts and localized wars since the end of the Cold War, there has been an accumulation of small arms and light weapons, anti-personnel land mines, and other conventional weapons, which are being used in such hostilities and are claiming over a half million deaths per year. Stemming illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, infectious diseases, population and environmental problems, organized crime counter-measures, and also counter-measures against high-tech crime all require access to databases.  

Chinese nationals make up the majority of students at some graduate departments at Cal. Not much has been done to protect their rights to intellectual property, in part because it may be based on previous research and/or jointly developed. America’s “You’re either with us or against us” foreign policy has robust connotations. Intellectual property is subject to expropriation and may be whisked out of the laboratory or continent. Indian and Chinese firms could instead join up to provide state-of-the-art solutions at cost-effective prices, thereby also cutting out the middlemen. Call centers, medical transcription, data digitization, legal databases and animation are areas in which India already has an advantage.  

Richard Thompson is a visiting professor at Kyung Hee University in South Korea.›

“Watching Shotgun’s Cabaret is like spying through the keyhole into the delirious and extravagant world of the Weimar Republic.” 

And, rather deliriously, the Shotgun Players have gone to pains to give the spectators of their version of this popular musical the sense of a voyeuristic thrill, whether it’s Weimar Berlin that’s being gawked at and laughed at, or just the ingenuity of the Players going about foisting their titilations and double-entendres on each other, across the floor of the Kit Kat Klub (née Ashby Stage) and up into the audience itself. 

Part of the trick to making Cabaret work is to realize the spectacular—and lewd—sense of the floor show of the Klub in counterpoint with the domestic intimacy of Sally and Cliff’s wee menage in Fraulein Schneider’s rooming house. Shotgun makes it a tour de force by running the scenes together briskly, the narrative of a novelist-manqué’s adventures with a down-and-out showgirl in the wilds of Berlin, so that their homelife appears on display on the moving ramp of the Klub, with all its denizens watching, even participating. 

All the walls, not just the fourth, seem to fall. That’s appropriate to a post-Berlin Wall production of a musical show that fused an impression of entre-les-deux-guerres with the catastrophes and wild reveling of the ‘60s—implicitly criticizing reveling amid catastrophe, though the movie was later embraced by the revelers as part of the so-called “Woodstock Generation” went glitter and faux-cynique. 

Many productions of Cabaret aim at something like this, but Shotgun’s version is distinguished by being carnivalesque, a constant sideshow even, with accordion-playing chorus girls singing “Mack the Knife” accosting patrons as soon as their tickets are torn, and peep shows just inside the door. 

To bring it off, the “show people” in the Klub are crucial, as important as the principals in the story. Clive Worsley, no stranger to Shotgun audiences, presides as the emcee, strutting, posing straddling the appropriately keyhole-shaped proscenium of Heather Basarab’s excellent set—or skulking around as number one voyeur himself, bald head and wide eyes surfacing like a frog’s from behind a chair at Cliff and Sally’s, then sprawled front row at the Klub all alone, tossing back a drink, stamped with Weltschmertz. The chorus line (Davina Cohen, Nicole Julien, Maggie Keeley, Jessica Kitchens, Rami Margron, Rebecca Noon) is tart and constantly in motion, all shapes and styles of a lowdown, high-stepping ensemble. 

They’re at their best, flat on their backs, with strangely spiked heels waving in the air, as Sally (Kimberly Dooley) stalks through hunters’ nets and down the ramp over their supine, wriggling forms in the best production number of Andrea Weber’s choreography, saying goodbye to “Mein Herr.” A quick and breezy Sally, she first comes to Cliff’s attention as a smiling blonde madcap playing a naughty little schoolgirl—though her entrance had her swinging high above the crowd in fishnet, turban and lace (Valera Coble’s costumery). 

Her opposite number, Cliff, is just that, and Cassidy Brown, another Shotgun standby, gets across the nice, normal Yank (whatever he might have done with Bobby the club boy in London’s Savoy) falling for the Limey femme fatale who moves in on him. Who knows? Maybe a book will come of it? 

Cliff’s landlady (Mary Gibboney) and her fruit vendor tenant and beau, Herr Schultz (Joe Roebuck), strike the right note, too, in a sentimental number, a pineapple hovering in mid-air between the unlikely inamorati. Danny Weber, as Ernst, the Nazi party boy who leads Cliff to Fraulein Schneider’s—and helps break the Fraulein’s bond with the Jewish fruitseller—is so much the college type that the exposure of his swastika armband at the engagement party seems ruder. Meanwhile Fraulein Kost (Judy Phillips), the patriotic hooker of countless sailors, croons “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” to Ernst, and the ensemble, galvanized, exhorts the audience to join in a community sing-along of Ernst’s Party’s song.  

And the party goes on, as the cast dances with audience members at intermission (Shotgun’s New Year’s Eve show promises to be a bash), up through Cliff’s bittersweet departure with the material for his book, while Sally bursts into “Life Is a Cabaret,” her song of triumph and denial .  

Catching overtones of Marlene Dietrich, of Brecht and Weill, of the wild festivities of yore—and aiming to make Cabaret more louche, more licentious than the original Broadway production or the movie (which director Russell Blackwood, of San Francisco’s Hypnodrome, recalls seeing in a drive-in outside Kansas City as a kid)—even this smart Shotgun version, aimed at today’s tastes, surprises a little by how—clean—it is.  

Based loosely on Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin stories, Cabaret’s only real subversiveness is as a failed cautionary tale. All the energy comes from the act of catching itself looking through the keyhole at what’s disreputable. Its morality is completely reputable. The fun’s in the play-acting, pretending to be in Weimar Berlin, or merely pretending to have a good time. 

But, for the voyeur of an evening, it’s a real good time, just some clean, good old dirty fun. 

TUESDAY, DEC. 13 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“From Chaucer to Pynchon in 90 Minutes” By students in the English Dept of Vista Community College at 6 p.m. in Room 120, Vista Annex Bldg, 2075 Allston Way. 306-0206. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Holiday Music with the First Presbyterian Church’s High School Choir at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

Tom Rigney & Flambeau at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054.  

Ellen Hoffman and Singers’ Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ.  

Christmas Jug Band at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Debra Poyres & Friends at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Charlie Hunter Trio, featuring John Ellis & Derrek Phillips at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$22. 238-9200.  

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

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

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14 

FILM 

The Battles of Sam Peckinpah “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jesse Goldhammer talks about “The Headless Republic: Sacrificial Violence in Modern French Thought” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. 

Café Poetry hosted by Kira Allen at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Donation $2. 849-2568.  

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik and Three Blind Mice, at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Music for the Spirit with Lenny Ott, trumpet and Ron McKean, organ, at noon at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555. 

Berkeley High School Jazz Combos at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ.  

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

La Peña Workshop Recitals with the Afro Cuban Youth Ensemble, The Lab Live Hip Hop Ensemble and the La Peña Latin Jazz Ensemble at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$7. 849-2568.  

Bernard Anderson & The Old School Band at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054.  

Candela at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Home at Last at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

THURSDAY, DEC. 15 

FILM 

Marcel Pagnol’s Provence “Letters from My Windmill” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Justice Matters: Artists Consider Palestine” A exhibition of works by fourteen Palestinian and American artists. “An Evening with Judy Gussman and Joy Hilden” at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. 644-6893.  

Artists’ Annual Exhibition New work in a variety of media. Reception at 6 p.m. at Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977. www.kala.org 

“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. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

E.L Doctorow introduces his new novel “The March” at 6:15 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $40, $50 per couple and includes the book. Tickets from the Nov. 17 event will be honored. 845-7852.  

Margaretta K. Mitchell and Zack Rogow introduce “The Face of Poetry,” on the Lunch Poems Series, at 7 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloway’s 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Magnes Music Salon with Stu Brotman and Josh Horowitz on Jewish Klezmer music at 6:30 p.m. at the Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. Cost is $6-$8. 549-6950, ext. 333. 

Jim Grantham Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Friendship First, Midline Errors at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. 

Eye of the Storm Benefit for Racial Justice from Oakland to New Orleans at 6 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Donation $10. 849-2568.  

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

Dhol Patrol at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Bhangra dance lesson at 9 p.m. Cost is $8. 525-5054.  

Interactive Crew at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

FRIDAY, DEC. 16 

THEATER 

Aurora Theatre “Marius” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through Dec. 18. Tickets are $28-$45. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Rep “Brundibár” A musical fable staged by Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak at the Roda Theater through Dec. 28. Ticekts are $15-$64. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Masquers Playhouse “Dear World” Jerry Herman’s musical, Fri. and Sat at 8 p.m. through Dec. 17 at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets are $15. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Shotgun Players “Cabaret” Thurs. - Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. Through Jan. 15. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

Luthier’s An exhibtion of tradition guitar and ukulele making at the Addison Street Windows Gallery, 2018 Addison St., through Jan. 15. 981-7533. 

“Italian Landscapes” paintings by Anthony Holdsworth. Reception at 5:30 p.m. at Caffe 817, 817 Washinton St., Oakland.  

FILM 

The Battles of Sam Peckinpah “Cross of Iron” at 7 p.m. and “The Osterman Weekend” at 9:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“The Nutcracker” by Berkeley Ballet Theater at 7 p.m. at The Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $20. 843-4689. www.berkeleyballet.org 

Woman’s Antique Vocal Ensemble ”What Sweeter Music” English and Spanish Christmas music at 8 p.m. at Lake Merritt United methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Ave. Tickets are $5-$15. www.wavewomen.org 

The Christmas Revels at 7:30 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 1 and 5 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Drive, Oakland. Tickets are $15-$42. 415-773-1181. www.calrevels.org 

Cowpokes for Peace at 7 p.m. at A Cuppa Tea, 3202 College Ave. at Alcatraz. Free, all ages welcome. 420-0196. 

North Indian Classical Music Benefit for Himalayan Earthquake Survivors at 7:30 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington.  

Michael Jones, violin and John Burke, piano, at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Cost is $12. 848-1228. www.giogigallery.com 

Tito y Su Son, traditional Cuban dance music, at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

Jai Uttal & The Pagan Love Orchestra at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15-$18. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Beth Waters with Adrianne at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Al Stewart at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $24.50-$25.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Danny Caron Duo at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

David Gans, Mario DeSio and Jeff Pehrson at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Scott Amendola Band with guest Jeff Cauthier at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Abi Yo Yos, Inpect Her Gadget, Set Off at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Blow Fly at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Cost is $5-$8. 548-1159.  

Wayward Monks at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 644-2204. 

Loosewig Jazz Trio, contemporary jazz, at 8 p.m. at Ristorante Raphael, 2132 Center St. 644-9500. 

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

Charlie Hunter Trio, featuring John Ellis & Derrek Phillips at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$22. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, DEC. 17 

CHILDREN 

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

FILM 

Marcel Pagnol’s Provence “Marius” at 6 p.m. and “Fanny” at 8:20 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Fragments of Time” Paintings by Ireneusz Ciesiolkiewicz from 1 to 4 p.m. Sat. and Sun. at 6525 Shattuck Ave. Oakland. 415-756-0951. 

Silver Jewelry Show from noon to 6 p.,m. at Elixir Salon, 1599 Hopkins Ave. 

THEATER 

“Dick ‘N Dubya Show: A Republican Cabaret” Sat. and Sun. at 7 p.m. at The Marsh Berkeley, 2118 Allston Way, through Dec. 18. Tickets are $10-$22. 800-838-3006. www.themarsh.org 

Moshe Cohen and Unique Derique “Cirque Do Somethin’” Sat. and Sun. at 1 p.m. at the Marsh, 2120 Allston Way. Tickets are $10-$15. 800-838-3006. www.themarsh.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rhythm & Muse Young Performer’s Night with Lily Stoner, John Farley, Afi Adjene Nkhume, Mehrnush Golriz and others at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 527-9753. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“The Nutcracker” by Berkeley Ballet Theater at 2 and 7 p.m. at The Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $20. 843-4689. www.berkeleyballet.org 

Kali’s Angels and New Spirit Voices, original songs, ecstatic chants and holiday music at 7:30 p.m. at Pacific School of Religion Chapel, 1798 Scenic Ave. Suggested Donation $10-$20. For reservations call 704-7729. www.newspiritchurch.org 

Berkeley Music Co. Players at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Cost is $12-$15. 848-1228. www.giorgigallery.com 

Navidad Flamenca at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $18-$20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org  

Quanti Bomani, saxophonist, at 8 p.m. at Linen Life, , 1375 Park Ave., Emeryville. Tickets are $20. 1-866-468-3399. 

Fred Randolf Jazz Group at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Moot Davis and the Cool Deal at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Oak, Ash & Thorn at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Carribean Allstars at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

David K. Matthews Duo at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Sharon Knight and Megan McLaughlin at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Moment’s Notice A salon for improvised music, dance and theater at 8 p.m. at Western Sky Studio, 2525 Eighth St. Cost is $8-$10. 415-831-5592. 

Girl Talk Band, bluesy jazz, at 8 p.m. at Ristorante Raphael, 2132 Center St. 644-9500. 

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

Iron Lung, Unpersons, Laudanum at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

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

SUNDAY, DEC. 18 

EXHIBITIONS 

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

FILM 

Marcel Pagnol’s Provence “Fanny” at 3 p.m. and “César” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“The Nutcracker” by Berkeley Ballet Theater at 2 p.m. at The Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $20. 843-4689. www.berkeleyballet.org 

Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, “Gloria” by Poulenc at 4:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Admission in free, donations welcome. www.bcco.org 

Christmas Concert and Carols at 2:30 p.m. at First Church of Christ, scientist, 1701 Franklin St. 832-2364. 

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at 4:30 p.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way at Ellsworth. Donations accepted. 845-0888. 

A Medieval Christmas with the San Francisco Choral Artists performing Britten’s Ceremeony of Carols at 4 p.m. at St. Pauls’ Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave. Tickets are $18-$25. 415-979-5779. www.sfca.org 

Carolyn Plummer CD Release Party at 4 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Carlos Oliveira & Brazillian Origins, featuring Harvey Waiapel at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Cascada de Flores, music of Mexico and Cuba at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Holly Near at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $24.50-$25.50. 548-1761.  

Soja's Upward Spiral Kiirtan Benefit Concert for recent natural disasters at 7 p.m. at Yoga Mandala, 2807 Telegraph Ave. www.yogamandalastudio.com 

Ross Hammond at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

MONDAY, DEC. 19 

THEATER 

PlayGround “Resolutions” Six emerging playwrights debut new works at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St. Pre-show panel discussion at 7 p.m. Tickets are $16. 415-704-3177.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

West Coast Songwriters Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $5.50. 548-1761. 

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

Frank Jackson 80th Birthday Party at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $6-$10. 238-9200.  

TUESDAY, DEC. 20 

FILM 

“The Drivetime” a cyber-fi film by Antero Alli at 7 p.m. at Blake’s, 2367 Telegraph. 464-4640. www.verticalpool.com  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Tell on on Tuesdays Storytelling at 7:30 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Cost is $8-$12 sliding scale. www.juiamorgan.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Sauce Piquante at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Mike Stern with Dennis Chambers, Victor Wooten & Bob Francescini at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Fri. Cost is $22-$26. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazzschool at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Eric Shifrin, solo jazz piano, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 21 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik and Three Blind Mice, at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

“From the Darkness, Solace” A Winter Solstice event with musicians and video artists at 7 pm. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. Donation $10-$20. 228-3207. 

“A Little Cole in Your Stocking” with Meg Mackay and Billy Philadelphia at 8 p.m. at Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison St. 

Calvin Keys Trio and Jam at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. w 

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

Whiskey Brothers, old time and bluegrass, at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473.  

Balkan Folkdance at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Lessons at 7 p.m. Cost is $7. 525-5054.  

Orquestra La Verdad at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Dance lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Sonny Heinila Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Freight Holiday Revue & Fundraiser at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $16.50-$17.50. 548-1761.

Last week Joe and I took a detour onto Fourth Street, to cruise Cody’s and a couple of dry-goods stores. We were just going to dash into the Vivarium for turtle chow, but I found a free parking space on Fifth and felt that was occasion to celebrate, and besides, the sun was out.  

It always takes me a moment to re-focus when I exit a bookstore (and inside, too, if I need to avoid walking into a fixture) so I wasn’t sure at first that the movement I saw in the half-leafless Japanese maple outside the door was something real. But a familiar “chip!” repeated every second or so told me who was there, and I saw him then: a gimlet-eyed ping-pong ball in gray-green feathers, a ruby-crowned kinglet, working the twigs for little bugs and talking to himself as his kind does. Maybe it’s a whistle-while-you-work thing.  

Kinglets are pretty fearless when they’re concentrating on a meal and they’ll let you get close, or they’ll even approach you. I’ve been scolded at close quarters by several while I was working in trees. You won’t see that ruby crown unless your bird is male and chooses to flash you, as it’s normally hidden by the dark head feathers; if you do see it, you’ll be impressed, as it’s bright enough to leave an afterimage in your eyes.  

You rarely see one in summer here, but they’re ubiquitous in winter. They come down from the mountains and from Canada, quite a journey for a being who weighs less than an quarter of an ounce. (You think driving I-5 is bad? Imagine doing it under your own power at that size, in the air and against the prevailing winds. Imagine crossing the great migration of hawks and other predators, too, and then dodging them all winter.)  

So what are they doing here? Why, they’re eating bugs, mostly. So are the black phoebes that breed here in our own yards if we’re lucky, and then spread out to catch flies on the wing and call “Hey there, hey you, hey there, hey you”—once you know the call, you’ll notice them all over town. They’re quite dapper, with their upright posture and black-and-white suits.  

We saw a couple of black phoebes on the way back to the car, and a yellow-rumped warbler too. They eat berries more readily than most warblers do, but they’re here for our bugs in winter too, and so are other warblers like Townsend’s. Look into those sycamores along San Pablo whenever you hear an anonymous chirp, and chances are you’ll see one or two of them.  

So how do we get this privilege, handsome little birds right here all winter? Well, it helps if we’re not too fussy in summer. Lazy (or thoughtful) gardeners who leave some insect pests alive in their trees and shrubs get rewarded by winter’s birds. 

That doesn’t take effort so much as it takes care and observation. Gardening is unlike housekeeping or interior decorating in that you’re not supposed to be perfect, or completely thorough, or completely in control. This goes for how you treat your trees, too. A really well-pruned tree doesn’t look manicured; it looks natural, as if it’s doing exactly what it had in mind all along. Accomplishing this actually doesn’t take more effort than wholesale butchery, and you can do it without things that go vroom. You do have to know your tree, though. 

That same for the bugs. The best pest control is just reduction, not sterilization, partly because wiping out a whole pest population starves its predators, so the next pest generation can breed and eat in perfect safety. The vicious cycle here is well known to gardeners and pest-control folks.  

Those cheerful bundles of fluff might not look predatory to us, but they’re very good at what they do. They’re small, but high-energy, and in cold weather they need to keep their metabolisms stoked. So after all the work they put into getting here, the least we can do is make sure they have a nice bug buffet.  

Think twice before doing even “organic” dormant oil spraying on your trees. If they were OK this year, let the system—conspicuously and cheerfully, those birds—do the job. We’ll all have better holidays if we learn, live, and let live. 

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TUESDAY, DEC. 13 

Shellmound and Sacred Sites a report back on the recent peace walk at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 25430 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220. 

Berkeley High School Site Council meets at 4:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Admin. Center. On the agenda are AP and exit exam data and a review of the draft proposal for the International High School. For the full agenda, please see the BHS PTSA website. 525-0124. 

“Fish Ears and Whale Songs: How Marine Mammals Sense Their Surroundings” with Michael Stocker of SeaFlow at 6:30 p.m. at the Oakland Zoo. Cost is $12-$20. 632-9525.  

Snowshoeing Basics, a slide presentation by snowshoe guide Cathy Anderson-Meyers at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

“China and the Media” with Orville Schell and Xiao Qiang at 7:30 p.m. at College Prep School, Buttner Auditorium, 6100 Broadway, Oakland. Cost is $5-$10. 339-7726. www.college-prep.org/livetalk 

“The Frankenfood Myth” Politics and Protests of the Biotech Revolution with Henry Miller at 7 p.m. at The Independent Institute, 100 Swan Way, Oakland. Cost is $10-$15. 632-1366. 

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. 

Free Handbuilding Ceramics Class 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s Senior Center, 2727 College Ave. Also, Mon. noon to 4 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Materials and firing charges not included. 525-5497. 

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

Introduction to Buddhist Meditation at 7 p.m. at the Dzalandhara Buddhist Center in Berkeley. Cost is $7-$10. Call for directions. 559-8183.  

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 845-6830. 

“Ask the Social Worker” free consultations for older adults and their families from 10 a.m. to noon at BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. To schedule an appointment call 558-7800, ext. 716. 

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14 

Your Pet’s Health The Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society Community Lecture Series hosts Drs. Amos Deinard and Barbara Hodges talking about similarities and differences in diagnosing pets’ medical conditions from Eastern and Western medical perspectives at 7 p.m. at Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, 2700 Ninth St. Donation of $10 requested. For reservations call 845-7735 ext. 22. 

Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College Open House at 6 p.m. at 2550 Shattuck Ave. Tours of classrooms and clinics and information for prospective students. To RSVP call 666-8248, ext. 106.  

East Bay Genealogical Society meets at 10 a.m. in the Library Conference Room of the Family History Center, 4766 Lincoln Ave., Oakland. Cookie Exchange follows. 635-6692. 

Poetry Writing Workshop with Alison Seevak at 7 p.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 16. 

“Legends of Mother Mary” with Rev. Alyce Soden at 7 p.m. at Changemakers, 6536 Telegraph Ave. 655-2405. 

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

Trivia Cafe at 7 p.m. at Ristorante Raphael, 2132 Center St. Cost is $3. 644-9500. 

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 

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. 

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. Sponsored by the Ecology Center’s Farm Fresh Choice. 848-1704. www.ecologycenter.org 

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

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

vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, DEC. 15 

Save the Endangered Species Act Slide show and discussion at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Ending Violence Against Sex Workers Memorial and community discussion at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. www.swop-usa.org 

Smplicity Forum: Food and Cooking for Simple Living with Adesina Stewart at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, Claremont Branch, 2940 Benvenue Ave. 549-3509. 

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.  

FRIDAY, DEC. 16 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Phillip Elwood “All About Jazz - Part 2.” 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.  

The WAL-MART Film: Destroying Locals, One Main Street at a Time at 7 p.m. at BFUU’s R.E. Bldg. upstairs, 1606 Bonita at Cedar St. Donations accepted. 410-0638. 

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. 

Celebrate Humanistic Shabbat and (early) Chanukah with Kol Hadash at 7 p.m. at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. Potluck dinner. For food assignment email info@kolhadash.org  

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

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

SATURDAY, DEC. 17 

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

Women on Common Ground Holiday Decorations Help make decorations for the Women’s Drop-In Shelter of Berkeley, and for yourself also, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Bring a pair of small hand-clippers and a bag lunch. Followed by a hike to Wildcat Peak. Cost is $15-$17. Registration required. 636-1684. 

Lorin District Neighborhood Cleanup Meet at 9 a.m. at South Berkeley Community Church, corner of Fairview and Ellis. Refreshments provided. 287-5874. 

Kid’s Garden Club for ages 7-12 to explore the world of gardening, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 636-1684. 

Candle-Lit Rally at Berkeley Honda at 4:30 p.m. at Shattuck and Parker, in support of the striking workers. Bring a large paper decoration for the rat. beactive@sbclkobal.net 

Habitat Planting Party Help restore the West Stege Marsh in southern Richmond from 9 a.m. to noon. For directions call 665-3689. Bayshorestewards@thewatershedproject.org 

“Playing With Fire” Berkeley Potters Guild Holiday Sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 731 Jones St. at Fourth St. www.berkeleypotters.com 

Fine Silver Jewelry Show and Sale with works by Austene Hall, Marlene Friedman Walters, Diana Divecha and Phyllis Dolhinow from noon to 6 p.m. at Elixir Salon, 1599 Hopkins Ave. 

BHS Communication Arts and Sciences Calendar Sale Wall, desk and enagement calendars on a variety of topics for only $5, from noon to 2 p.m., also on Sun. at 2310 Valley St., 3 blocks west of Sacramento St., off Channing Way. 843-2780. 

Holiday Bake Sale from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Interactive Resources, 117 Park Place, Point Richmond. 236-0527. 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market Holiday Crafts Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Center St. at MLK Jr. Way. 548-3333. 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios Sat. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For a map of locations see www.berkeleyartisans.com 

Telegraph Avenue Holiday Street Fair between Dwight and Bancroft, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sat. and Sun. 

“What Do Zoo Animals Eat?” a workshop for ages 6-8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Oakland Zoo. Cost is $40-$50. For reservations call 632-9525, ext. 205. 

“Iraq? Liberated?” with Prof. As’ad Abu Khalil, at 7 p.m. at the Home of Truth Center, 1300 Grand Ave. Alameda. Sponsored by The Alameda Forum www.alamedaforum.org 

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

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

SUNDAY, DEC. 18 

Free Video Emails for Families Displaced by Hurricane Katrina and military families to send to their loved ones, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1910 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. 523-0659.  

Discover Jewel Lake Learn the history of the area and watch the water fall. Meet at 12:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Break the Silence Mural Project Report Back from Gaza and the West Bank at 6 p.m. at Berkeley Arts Center, 1275 Walnut St. 

Hanukkah Family Program with music and activities for children from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. 549-6950, ext. 332. 

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 

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

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712.  

MONDAY, DEC. 19 

Free Small Business Counselling with SCORE, Service Core of Retired Executives at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. To make an appointment call 981-6244. 

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.  

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

TUESDAY, DEC. 20 

Birdwalk on the MLK Shoreline from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. to see the shorebirds here for the winter. Beginnners welcome, binoculars available for loan. 525-2233. 

Berkeley Salon Discussion Group meets to discuss “Are Religious Holidays Obsolete?” from 7 to 9 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. 527-1022. 

American Red Cross Blood Services Vlunteer Orientation from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Claremont Ave., Oakland office. 594-5165.  

Stress Less Seminar at 7 p.m. at New Moon Opportunities, 378 Jayne Ave., Oakland Free, but registration required. 465-2524. 

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

Free Handbuilding Ceramics Class 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s Senior Center, 2727 College Ave. Also, Mon. noon to 4 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Materials and firing charges not included. 525-5497. 

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 

Introduction to Buddhist Meditation at 7 p.m. at the Dzalandhara Buddhist Center in Berkeley. Cost is $7-$10. Call for directions. 559-8183. www.kadampas.org 

“Ask the Social Worker” free consultations for older adults and their families from 10 a.m. to noon at BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. To schedule an appointment call 558-7800, ext. 716. 

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

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 21 

Mid-Day Meander in Tilden Celebrate the shortest day with great views. Meet at Inspiration Point in Tilden Park at 2:30 p.m. 525-2233. 

Winter Solstice Gathering at 4 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Park, at the Interinm Solar Calendar. Dress warmly. www.solarcalendar.org 

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

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

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

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

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. Sponsored by the Ecology Center’s Farm Fresh Choice. 848-1704. www.ecologycenter.org 

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 

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

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

vigil4peace/vigil 

ONGOING 

Toy Drive Sponsored by University Veterinary Hospital Bring new, unopened toys for all ages to 810 University Ave., between 5th and 6th Sts, between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. until Dec. 24. 841-4412. 

Warm Coat Drive Donate a coat for distribution in the community, at Bay St., Emeryville. Sponsored by the Girl Scouts. www.onewarmcoat.org 

Magnes Museum Docent Training begins Jan. 8. Open to all who are interested in Jewish art and history. For information contact Faith Powell at 549-6950, ext. 333. 

Albany Berkeley Girls Softball League is looking for girls in grades 1-9 to play softball. Season runs March 4-June 3. To register, email registrar@abgsl.org or call 869-4277. www.abgsl.org 

CITY MEETINGS 

City Council meets Tues., Dec. 13, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Commission on Disability meets Wed., Dec. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Don Brown, 981-6346. TDD: 981-6345. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/disability 

Disaster Council meets Wed., Dec. 14, at 7 p.m., at the Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. William Greulich, 981-5502. www.ci.berkeley.ca. us/commissions/disaster 

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Dec. 14, 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., Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Library, West Branch, 1125 University Ave. Jackie Y. Griffin, 981-6195. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/library 

Planning Commission meets Wed., Dec. 14, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Janet Homrighausen, 981-7484. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/planning 

Police Review Commission meets Wed., Dec. 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/policereview 

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Dec. 14, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. Cliff Marchetti, 981-6740. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/waterfront 

Design Review Committee meets Thurs., Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Anne Burns, 981-7415. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/designreview  

Transportation Commission meets Thurs., Dec. 15, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Peter Hillier, 981-7000. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/transportation 

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“The tragedy of the commons” is a metaphor made famous by a 1968 essay on overpopulation. It refers to the practice in many past and some current societies to maintain a tract of land in common where everyone in town could allow their animals to graze. The moral of the story, which has many variants, is usually taken to be that eventually the grass will be exhausted by too much grazing, and everyone will starve. 

Land use in the fully built-out cities of the Bay Area is beginning to demonstrate characteristics of this classic dilemma. In the densely settled cities around the bay there are relatively few flat open spaces left, and the competition among those who want to monopolize them for their preferred use is getting fierce. On an aerial map, classic movie theaters look like big flat building sites. Flea markets look like the parking lots they become when the market’s closed. In fact, anywhere that a number of people can now freely gather for a shared activity seems like fair game for privatization. 

We see this all over the East Bay, where would-be builders of casinos and shopping malls lust after our expanses of shoreline. Berkeley is especially squeezed, because it’s one of the oldest cities and therefore is one of the densest. For reasons getting harder to understand, promoters of all kinds think that this density makes our city a candidate for even more density. Yes, yes, we’ve all heard about “smart growth,” a mantra which was originally invented by PR types to push Al Gore’s presidential campaign, but which has taken on a malevolent life of its own. What’s smart about making our built-out cities increasingly uninhabitable by stuffing in ever more inhabitants? Did the availability of a two-bedroom fourth-floor condo in Berkeley ever prevent someone from buying a four-bedroom home on a big lot in Tracy? 

The recently revealed scheme to turn the Ashby BART parking lot into a 300-unit condominium behemoth is the worst example yet of thoughtless privatization of common space. The Berkeley Flea Market provides a cheerful site for small, mostly minority entrepreneurs to serve the needs of low-budget buyers, with everyone getting some fresh air and exercise in the transaction. And the consequences of losing the parking there in the rest of the week will be serious. Does anyone really believe that the drivers who now park there to take BART into the city won’t be tempted just to get on the bridge if there’s nowhere to park? Or that they won’t be adding to the already impossible on-street parking problems of the neighborhood residents, who now enjoy the kind of pleasant single-family bungalows with small yards which do keep people from moving to Tracy?  

Getting a substantial a-mount of low-cost housing for families might seem like an acceptable trade-off, but this project isn’t that. It’s also been hyped as “workforce housing” for “Berkeley’s teachers and police officers,” but if they have families, do they want to live above a BART station? Many of Berkeley’s police and firefighters live far away on the urban fringes out toward the Gold Country, just because they like the wide open spaces. What the 240 market-rate condos and the 60 so-called “affordable” but still expensive ones will turn out to be, yet again, is crash pads for yuppies with jobs in the city and luxury students. Those are already overbuilt in Central Berkeley—notice the number of for-rent signs there, and the declining sales tax revenues. (On the other hand, pizza sales are up.) 

And “ground floor retail”? If you don’t think more ground floor retail is a joke, call the brokers whose names and phone numbers are prominent on vacant shop windows all over town. The Fruitvale “transit village” is much more attractively designed than this monster, but many of its new storefronts are still empty.  

The area between Martin Luther King and Milvia at Derby is another case in point. This common space has been amicably shared until now by the kids at the Berkeley High alternative school, the Tuesday Farmers’ Market, and people who used the open field for all kinds of exercise at all times of day. Now there’s a push, primarily by aging jocks, to take over the largest portion of the common space, plus a now-public right of way, for a single use, a regulation baseball diamond for a limited number of high school students. Regulation baseball fields by definition are not suited for multiple uses. The farmers with their pickup trucks and canopies are not going to set up in the outfield on Tuesdays. Pickup soccer, the favored sport of most of the rest of the world, won’t be allowed on the diamond. It will be fenced and locked, and the old folks’ tai chi group won’t have a key. (And let’s not even get into the discussion of cost. No one is fooled.) 

How about the Berkeley Unified School District’s West Campus? Will most of what is now open space be consumed for offices, shops and condos? Stay tuned for this one.  

What’s needed, and soon, is for some public interest organization to do a complete inventory of the remaining common open space, both in Berkeley and in the rest of the East Bay, and then to devise a plan for conserving it. Our urban living areas will continue to decay, and residents will continue to move to the fringes, unless the small remaining amount of common ground in older cities is preserved for the common good. 

Oy vey! The winter solstice is upon us, and the Christians are at it again. A friend has e-mailed me what he calls an “outline” for an editorial—it’s a collection of unbelievable stories about silly things being done in the name of Christ as the holidays approach. Top billing this year goes to the campaign by elements of the organized Christian (self-described) right wing to ban the use of the greeting “Happy Holidays” by the president. Huh? As much as I dislike the man, surely he does retain the right to greet his friends anyway he wants at any time of the year, with the possible exception of saying “Sieg Heil,” which might be considered in bad taste.  

Women, the traditional arbiters of culture and tradition, usually try to make nice when people start squabbling. My e-mail outline included a sensible column by Ellen Goodman on the real roots of the Christmas celebration we’ve come to consider “traditional,” pointing out that all that stuff about the evergreens and the mistletoe actually goes back to the definitely not-Christian Druids. That’s why my Puritan ancestors in New England thought that Christmas-keeping needed to be banned. They also disliked the unseemly joviality that characterized the festivities of the Catholics in England, which they’d come to America to escape: all that “merry gentlemen” stuff. Goodman characterizes her own extended family as heirs to all the various cultures that have gone into our holiday celebrations. Cynthia Tucker, who writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is another sensible woman who comes from a Christian cultural tradition not too different from that of the religious right, though from the African-American branch. She reminds us that “there’s nothing in the Gospels about …knocking down other shoppers to get to discounted personal computers.” She also points out that the celebration of the birth of Jesus was moved to December in the first place in order to provide a distraction from the excesses of the Saturnalia solstice festivities of the Romans. 

But not all Christians agree, it seems. Another piece in my e-mail stocking from my correspondent was an article noting that many of the megachurches which have sprung up everywhere under quasi-Christian auspices will have no Sunday services on Dec. 25 this year, presumably to allow parishioners to give the gift-orgy their undivided attention. One can’t help cynically concluding that they’ve calculated a possible decline in the contents of the collection basket and concluded that the take is not worth the cost of the heating bill to stay open. 

Farther afield, a subset of Christians is suing the State of California because the University of California won’t give admission unit credit to courses from a Protestant Christian high school which uses textbooks reflecting, shall we say, a particular slant on science and history. The nutty attack on evolution comes from a tiny minority of Protestants—the few Catholics who thought they were on the same team had their hands discretely slapped by the Vatican in a little-publicized rebuke a couple of weeks ago. The hierarchy seems to have learned a bit from losing the fight with Galileo—you shouldn’t expect to see a Catholic school teaching that the sun revolves around the earth anytime soon.  

Not, of course, that similar silliness has not sometimes been perpetrated by non-Christians in the name of cultural homogeneity. The Christian over-reaction to inclusive holiday greetings was probably provoked in the first place by the desire of some non-Christmas-keepers to ban any mention of the religious underpinnings of Christmas from the public forum, and especially from the public schools. It’s a tricky question: It’s sad for some kids to feel left out, but it’s a shame to ban the story of a prophet and leader being born in a barn to a homeless migrant mother who “had to get married,” whether it’s true or not. And Hanukkah without the Maccabees, which is a logical extension of the sanitization of holidays, is pointless. School kids can learn about all of the stories which are told about holidays by people around them without the teacher endorsing some stories as being truer than others.  

The unintended consequence of either tactic—subtracting the religious content from holiday stories or limiting legitimacy to the beliefs of one sect of the majority religion—is the Wal-Martization of Christmas. The right wing thinks they’re on the side of good since they’ve successfully lobbied to put Christ back into Wal-Mart. My correspondent has a colorful description of what they’ve done: “They’ve mau-mau’ed Hell-Mart into retreating from their inclusive greeting ‘Happy Holidays, always lower prices on products of Chinese slave labor.’ ” They’re trying to get the Jesus Christ brand for greedy exploitation, not the first time this has been tried, and not the last, for sure.  

One might ask why my correspondent who turns such colorful phrases didn’t write his own rant on this topic. “I can’t actually write this piece up, because I’m Heathen,” he says. “Heathen” is the term used by both the Christian right and Osama to brand unbelievers. Actually, of course, he’s not Heathen, whatever that might be, but simply a not-particularly-observant modern multi-national person with Jewish roots, like many of us in Berkeley.  

Well, the custom at our house is to have an insanely large Christmas tree (free-range, organic) which traditionally requires the assistance of many participants to erect as we get too old to lift it. We’ve noticed that some of our most enthusiastic helpers over the years have been people raised in slightly Jewish homes who missed out on Christmas trees because their parents mistakenly thought they were part of the Christian religion. My correspondent would fit right in. 

On such occasions, as on other festive occasions during the dark season, we traditionally offer the greeting preferred by our ancestors: “Merry Christmas!” (that’s the Anglicans and the Catholics, not the Puritans, of course.) Some participants respond with the neutral “Happy Holidays”; others use the more committed “Happy Hanukkah.” We don’t turn anyone away, regardless of what greeting they prefer, because we really need their help in putting the damn thing up. This might be a metaphor for the America condition. Or not. 

c