Patrons Petition For Additional Postal Workers 

On the first working day that the new 39-cent first-class postage stamp went into effect, a patron walked into the Adeline Street Post Office in South Berkeley at 12:25 in the afternoon and stood in line. 

There were 12 people ahead of him. The line stretched across the entire lobby, past the door leading outside, and through the inner door into the adjoining space that houses the post office boxes. 

The Adeline Street Post Office is a block from the Ashby BART station. 

Most of the customers were not there to buy two-cent stamps—necessary to bring up to the new first-class rate any of their remaining 37-cent stamps—but to conduct the kind of mail business that can only be taken care of in person: mailing or picking up packages or purchasing postal money orders. 

The Adeline Street Post Office has two service windows, but only one window was being operated on Monday afternoon. 

“It’s always this crowded,” a man standing in line offered. “They only have one clerk.” 

Most of the patrons took the wait stoically, but one woman, after being served, stormed out saying, “This ain’t right. You know I ain’t got no patience for this.” 

During the next half-hour, the clerk answered the phone and coordinated work with post office delivery workers while serving customers in the line. 

At 10 minutes to 1 p.m., twenty-five minutes after the patron first got in line, with two people still ahead of him and seven or eight more now behind, the clerk called out to everyone in the lobby, “I’m going to have to make an announcement. I’m the only person working here. I have to close the window at 1 p.m. for lunch. I’ll be at lunch for an hour. I’ll try to get to everyone in line. I’m doing the best I can. I’m the only one here.” 

At one minute to 1 p.m., with seven people still in line, the clerk announced she would be closing in a moment. There were groans and heads thrown back in disbelief by several of the remaining patrons. One woman, who only minutes packages from her car and set them beside her on the floor, turned around to reverse the procedure, taking the packages in several trips back to her car. One man said he wished there had been a sign to alert him to the situation. 

There was. Placed at the service window, it read: “Dear Customers: Due to staffing, window services will close daily during the following hours for breaks & lunch. 1st Break 11-11:15 a.m. Lunch 1-2 p.m. 2nd Break 3-3:15 p.m.” 

Fifteen minutes after 1 p.m., the clerk had still not taken her lunch break, however. She remained at the window, patiently fielding questions from a final patron who had inadvertently had his post office box closed and was not getting his mail forwarded. 

What do customers do when the window closes? 

“Go home and come back when it opens again,” one man said. “Or go to another post office, if you can’t wait.” 

A woman wanted to emphasize that nobody was blaming the clerk. 

“She’s terrific,” the woman said. “She’s always pleasant and smiling and helpful. But she needs help herself.” 

At least one Adeline Street Post Office patron has taken it upon himself to change the situation. For several weeks, South Berkeley businessperson Jesse Palmer has been circulating a petition among the Adeline Street customers, calling for “adequate staffing levels” at the Adeline Post Office. 

Addressed simply to the Postmaster, the petition reads, “Because you have not provided adequate staffing for the post office, we often have to wait for an unreasonable period in line. In addition, the post office is closed for lunch and for breaks. We support the postal clerk at this post office and want to see her receive the support and additional staffing she needs so she can do her job.” 

So far, Palmer said he has gathered about 700 signatures. 

In a letter attached to the petitions and mailed to U.S. Postmaster General John Jack Potter and the Berkeley Postmaster at the main post office on Allston Way last month, Palmer wrote that “the Postal Service has adequately staffed the post offices in wealthier areas. For instance, there are always plenty of clerks at the Claremont Post Office on College Avenue. It certainly appears that the postal service doesn’t care about patrons in our lower-income neighborhood.” 

Palmer has yet to receive a response. 

The one-person window staffing “has been going on at Adeline Street for years,” Palmer said in an interview. “They used to have multiple staffing, but they cut it back to one person. People are hopping mad about it. It seems like a simple matter to get adequate staffing. That’s not rocket science. It’s a minor reform thing that gets on your nerves after a while. They’ve got all these posters up about customer service being their priority. That really rings hollow.” 

Palmer said that he has met with Berkeley U. S. Postal Service Customer Service Coordinator Mercer W. Jones about the Adeline Street problem, but said that Jones “wasn’t very helpful. He suggested I do things like use the computer to conduct my mail business.” 

Palmer said that his zine and book distribution business requires him to send large packages several times a week, packages which must be taken in person to a post office because of the new security regulations following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. 

Jones did not respond to telephone requests for comments concerning this story. 

The single clerk at the Adeline Street Post Office, identified only by her name tag as “Yolanda,” said that post office employee regulations did not allow her to answer any service or staffing-related questions by reporters. She referred all queries to the main post office on Adeline Street, and asked a Daily Planet reporter and photographer to leave after determining that they were in the post office only to develop a story. 

Originally a federal department, the  

U. S. Postal Office was reorganized in 1971 as a semi-independent federal agency with a Board of Governors appointed by the president and run by a Postmaster General hired by the board.»

Berkeley government agencies scored far above other government agencies in the area, according to a Berkeley Daily Planet review of online accessibility to local government meeting information. 

Of six local city and education agencies reviewed by the Planet, the Berkeley City Council had the top score of 40 points, with the Berkeley Unified School District coming in second with 35. The Board of Trustees of the Peralta Community College District came in last with minus 10 points. 

The Daily Planet assigned five points a piece for such items as having agendas and supporting documents online, giving extra points for extra amenities. The Planet also took away points for misleading or confusing online information. 

The government entities reviewed were the City of Richmond, the Peralta Community College District, the Berkeley Unified School District, the City of Oakland, the City of Berkeley, and the Oakland Unified School District. 

Sara Cox, Berkeley City Clerk, said she was not surprised by the city’s high rating. 

“We’ve worked long and hard to make information available online for our citizens,” she said. “We try to make as much available as soon as possible.” 

Mark Coplan, Public Information Officer for the Berkeley Unified School District, agreed. “That’s been a real focus of the district,” he said. “It’s something that’s demanded by our community. We’re in a community who don’t just want to know what’s on the agenda, they want to be able to see the specific documents in advance of the meeting.” 

Both the City of Berkeley and BUSD provide a calendar for meetings scheduled for the year, agendas and minutes with links to online PDF documents of the backup material for each agenda item, with online access for the information going back to the summer of 2002. 

Berkeley Unified got extra credit for having the easiest accessibility, including a link on its homepage to the “Next School Board Meeting,” including the meeting date, agenda in both Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF, and a complete backup packet. The City of Berkeley got extra credit for being one of the few city governments in the country to include online access to stored videos of past City Council meetings. 

Cox called the meeting videos “invaluable. They are worth their weight in gold for research.” 

She said the only extra work entailed in posting the videos is having a staff person to provide indexing, so that citizens can go directly to the portion of the meeting they want to view. 

Both Cox and Coplan said online production of meeting documents was saving their respective agencies money, with both the city and the school district having to print fewer documents to be made available for meetings. 

“It saves a lot of money in paper cost, as well as staff time putting together the agenda packets,” Cox said. “Eliminating the physical job of assembling the packets eliminated a good deal of drudgery.” 

Coplan estimated that online posting of documents had saved BUSD “thousands of dollars a year. We used to print a few hundred copies of backup documents for each board meeting, and we sometimes had to print up to 500 copies for items that were of particular community interest. Now we normally print less than 50.” 

And Cox added that the storage costs for the documents, even for the meeting videos, is “not that costly. The price of online storage has gone down tremendously, from year to year.” 

Cox said that Berkeley is working on establishing an online legislative history, which should be available within the next year. The legislative history provides information on when a city ordinance was introduced, the original text, any amendments, and any votes taken. The City of Oakland currently is the only local agency covered by the Daily Planet that supplies such a legislative history, but does so through an outside company called Legistar. Cox said that Berkeley considered Legistar, but eventually decided on purchasing an alternate program “which will bend more to the city’s way of doing business, and is more forgiving of the public trying to do online research.” 

Following are the scores for the six government agencies surveyed by the Daily Planet. 

City of Berkeley: 40 points 

Provides an online meeting schedule, meeting agendas, minutes, links to online meeting documents, and a meeting history going back several years (5 points apiece). Extra points for online meeting videos (10 points) as well as an online calendar that provides links to past and future meetings, agendas, meeting summaries, and videos. 

Berkeley Unified School District: 35 points 

Provides an online meeting schedule, meeting agendas, minutes, links to online meeting documents, and a meeting history going back several years (5 points apiece). Extra points given for the “Next School Board Meeting” information link on the district’s homepage and the most user-friendly list of past meetings in chronological order, including accompanying agendas, packets, and minutes links. 

City of Oakland: 25 points 

Provides an online meeting schedule, meeting agendas, minutes, links to online meeting documents, and a meeting history going back several years (5 points apiece). Using Legistar, the City of Oakland provides the basic minimum package for online government meeting access. 

Oakland Unified School District: 15 points 

Provides an online meeting schedule, meeting agendas, minutes, links to online meeting documents, and a meeting history going back several years (5 points apiece). While online meeting documents are easily accessible for 2006, past documents are stored under a format called webXtender, under which they are so difficult to access on both a PC and a Mac that some users may eventually give up. 10 points was subtracted for lack of past document accessibility. 

City of Richmond: 15 points 

Agendas, minutes, and meeting history online (5 points apiece). No online documents or meeting schedule available. 

Peralta Community College District:  

10 points 

The only agency surveyed with a negative rating. The district provides a calendar only for January 2006, with no meeting dates or other information posted. No agendas, minutes, online documents, or meeting history is available online. The district does provide online links to agendas and minutes for various board committees. However, these lists are completely useless as they are kept in no chronological order whatsoever, with minutes and agendas for the same meeting appearing at random and in separate places on the list. Five points were taken away for a complete lack of organization for the committee meeting list. No similar list for the full Board of Trustees meetings themselves was readily apparent, so another 5 points was subtracted for having links to board committee meeting information but not full board information.

Anna de Leon, owner of Anna’s Jazz Island in the Gaia Building on Allston Way, filed a complaint with the Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board Monday, charging the neighboring catering business with hosting illegal and dangerous events. 

De Leon’s complaint said that the Glass Onion Catering Company, which has leased the performance space and mezzanine in the Gaia Building next to the jazz club, is a serious detriment to her business and to the well-being of downtown Berkeley. 

Both the jazz club, at 2120 Allston Way, and Glass Onion Catering, at 2118 Allston Way, lease space from landlord Patrick Kennedy of Panoramic Interests. The businesses share a lobby and restrooms. 

On Saturday, de Leon said she was expecting a crowd that night at her club, but was surprised to find that Glass Onion was also hosting a party, which she claims was unlawful. Neither Glass Onion nor Kennedy was contacted for this story, which is based wholly on the allegations in de Leon’s complaint. 

“As per usual Glass Onion practice, I was given no notice that there would be a huge party,” de Leon wrote in her complaint, which was sent by mail to city officials Monday. “I saw the security guard and learned the nature of the event. Cesar Mejia, an employee of Panoramic Interests, told me he had rented the entire space for his daughter’s 18th birthday party.” 

De Leon said that she has written several letters to the Planning Department, Fire Department and Building Department complaining of the uses to which the neighboring address is being put, all with no use permit. She has also said the catering company has hosted many large events where they have served alcohol despite the fact that they have no license to do so, cutting into her business. 

De Leon said she believed that because of her earlier complaints, Kennedy would be required by the city to go through a public process before the ZAB to gain a use permit and that his application for an occupancy permit for 300 people on the mezzanine area had been denied last month. 

Despite this, the party was held Saturday and before long the police had to be called to contain the rowdy party guests. 

“The huge parties with teenagers and young adults have proved very detrimental to my business,” de Leon wrote. “The worst so far occurred this past Saturday.” 

She described the events at the party: 

“By 9:00 p.m., we were full and the performance space next door at 2118 was overflowing with young adults, mostly young men. The guard was keeping party- goers out of the theater. Over my objections, they were coming through my business to get to the shared bathrooms and gain entry to the party from the back door of the theater. I complained to Mr. Mejia in the lobby but he could not control the crowd. I had no access to the security guard who was blocking the theater entrance since the front lobby was packed with young people. Every time I left my front door to get help, more people came through. By 10 p.m., I had been shoved aside several times by young adult men. I called the police the first time. By then, approximately 100 young men had forcibly come through. We had become the ‘alternate entrance’ to the party.” 

De Leon said many of her customers felt intimidated by the event which had almost taken over her club space. She called the police again. 

“Just before the police arrived, a second guard physically barricaded the entrance to my business with his body. By this time, approximately 200 young adults were massed outside the main entrance on the sidewalk, approximately 40 were closed in the front lobby and locked out of the party. ... Young people were climbing either into or out of the mezzanine windows.” 

The police arrived, shut the party down and told everyone to leave. Some were so drunk that they could hardly walk out the building, she said, noting that she heard shouts and fights break out on Shattuck Avenue soon after. 

De Leon mentioned numerous times she has complained to the city about the unlawful events hosted next door. 

“I have a use permit for my premises which allows me to serve food and alcoholic beverages and present music to the public,” she wrote. “Neither the owner nor lessee of 2118 holds a use permit or ABC license for any food or beverage service. There is a requirement for cultural use, and dining hall/private party use is clearly not cultural use.” 

“Needless to say, this melee has terrible consequences for my business,” de Leon wrote in her complaint. “Many of my customers were fearful. Not a single new customer entered our doors after 9:30 p.m. The hundreds of unhappy young adults massed on the sidewalk were a considerable deterrent to new customers. ... People erroneously thought my business the source of the problem. This is bad for the image of my business (and bad for downtown).” 

›

Legal Action Begun by Environmentalists Ends With Amendment  

The City of Richmond and the developers who hope to install a Las Vegas-style casino at Point Molate have reached a tentative settlement to a suit filed by environmentalists and supported by the state. 

The Richmond City Council has scheduled a vote on the settlement during Tuesday’s council meeting, as well as a vote on a proposed amendment to the sale agreement which was challenged by the lawsuit. It would allow for development of the site to occur in stages. 

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1401 Marina Way South. 

The settlement ends a legal action begun 13 months ago when Citizens for East Shore Parks (CESP) filed suit, seeking to void an agreement between the city and Upstream Point Molate LLC that transferred the former U.S. Navy fuel depot to the developer. 

Robert Cheasty, an Albany attorney and president of CESP, said Monday that his group filed the suit because the sale violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 

“We think a massive casino project is a horrible use for Point Molate,” said Cheasty. “Whatever changes in use they propose to do, they will now have to do an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) first.” 

However, Richmond City Councilmember Tom Butt said the settlement would have little effect. 

“Our guys tell us there has been no change,” said the elected official. “The whole thing was just an exercise in futility for the plaintiffs.” 

James D. Levine, who heads the consortium that plans to build the casino, agrees. “We didn’t agree to anything we haven’t already agreed to,” he said. “The settlement says that the city can’t take a move until an EIR is completed, and that was the intent all along.” 

Not so, said Cheasty. “We said that the EIR should come first,” before the sale of development rights, he said. 

Nothing in the settlement precludes the development of the casino that lies at the heart of the deal between the city and Upstream, the limited liability corporation founded by Berkeley entrepreneur James D. Levine to develop the resort project. 

To build the casino, the land at Point Molate would first have to be declared a Native American tribal reservation, and Levine and his partners have teamed with the Guidiville Rancheria band of Pomos, which has applied for reservation status on the land. 

Approval of reservation status must come from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is now considering the Guidiville band’s application. 

But the revisions to the original agreement between the city and Upstream that are on tonight’s City Council agenda would allow for some development before the feds reach a decision on whether or not to confer reservation status, Butt said. 

“The agreement would allow for a phased take-down of the project,” said Butt, meaning that the developer could break off part of the land and use it to build housing while waiting for approval on the reservation that would house the resort. 

Rumors that Upstream is planning a luxury condominium project have been percolating through the community, and Butt said he understands that if condos are built on part of the property—a former railroad siding on the southern inland side of roadway inside the former base—they would remain as part of the city and on the tax rolls. 

Levine agreed, adding that no development whatever could occur until the EIR had been completed and the city had approved an overall plan for the site. 

Councilmember Butt sent a furious email to constituents Sunday, in which he charged city staff members with concealing the details of amendment negotiations with Upstream from the city council. 

“Some of the circumstances related to the proposed ... amendment have been the subject of rumors for months, and every time I have queried either city officials or representatives of Upstream, those rumors have been decided. Now, for the first time, I am finding out that at least certain elements of the rumors are true,” he wrote. 

That said, Butt acknowledged that he liked the phased-development approach, which he said would allow for construction of needed infrastructure and generate an early cash flow for the city. 

Levine’s partners in the casino venture include Harrah’s Entertainment—the world’s largest gambling consortium—and the Cohen Group, headed by former Secretary of Defense William Cohen. 

CESP’s lawsuit charged that Richmond’s Nov. 14, 2004, vote to sell the land—which the city had bought for a dollar under the federal Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1988—violated CEQA because the city failed to prepare an Environmental Impact Report spelling out the potential consequences of the sale. 

The East Bay Regional Parks District joined the suit, as did the California Attorney General’s office. Though filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court, jurisdiction was transferred to Marin County, where the settlement was reached. 

Under terms of the settlement, the city will retain control over the eventual use of the property, according to Cheasty and City Councilmember Tom Butt. 

Some details remain to be resolved, including the question of legal fees.  

Under the existing agreement, Upstream is scheduled to make a $2 million payment to the city this month, on top of the $20 million already paid to the city. 

Upstream and city officials have estimated the value of the casino project to the city at over $350 million, including jobs, new business, payments in lieu of taxes and other revenues. 

Levine said a consulting firm is now preparing the draft EIR on the site, which should be available for review and comment sometime this summer. No development can occur prior to approval of that document. 

In the interim, Levine said he is working closely with the Navy to accelerate the environmental cleanup of the site, which contains some contaminants remaining from decades of use as a refueling station. 

He said the amended agreement would help move development along “in the event that it turns out that the process of restoring Indian lands is a legal one.” 

The Guidivilles are claiming the land in compensation for a reservation that was taken away during the middle of the last century, when the Bureau of Indian Affairs was aggressively attempting to move Native Americans off their reservations and into urban centers. 

Tribes that lost reservations in the process are currently the only Native American groups allowed to acquire new reservation lands for development as casinos.›

Last week California Superintendent of Schools Jack O’Connell said all high school seniors must pass the California exit exam in order to receive their diplomas in June. 

Ninety-seven out of 700 Berkeley High School seniors have not passed the English portion of the exit exam, according to a district report given to the Berkeley school board last month. Nearly half of those students are African-American and almost a third of them are Hispanic.  

Of the 90 seniors who have yet to pass the math portion of the exam 52 of them are African-American and 18 are Hispanic, according to the district. 

Students must pass both sections to graduate. 

The exam is taken by students during their sophomore, junior and senior years. Of all Berkeley High School students who took the exit exam last academic year, about 96 percent of all white students passed the high school exit exam, while about half of all African-American and Hispanic students passed. 

In contrast, at Albany High School a similarly high percentage, 94 percent, of white students passed the exit exam, but the pass rate for African-Americans and Hispanic students at Albany High was also relatively high. At Albany High, almost two-thirds of African-American and Hispanic students passed the exit exam. 

Even with special education students, the contrast between Berkeley and Albany was notable. For students in special education at Albany High School, 64 percent passed the exit exam, while in Berkeley, only 23 percent of special education students passed the math and 17 percent passed the English portions of the test. 

The state is making available an extra $600 per student for intensive instruction and services to help students pass the high school exit exam. In addition, the state is working to make summer school and independent study available to students who are unable to graduate because of the exit exam.

Berkeley City Councilmember Darryl Moore and other city officials will meet with West Berkeley residents tonight (Tuesday) to discuss flooding problems resulting from the recent storms. 

Ryan Lau, aide to the councilmember, said the meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Center in San Pablo Park, 2800 Park St. The city’s Acting Public Works Director Claudette Ford and city engineers are slated to attend the meeting. 

The meeting was scheduled after some residents contacted Moore’s office with reports of flood damage to vehicles and some reported damage to their residences, Lau said. 

—

More than a year after his election, Berkeley City Councilmember Darryl Moore has named his appointment to the Planning Commission. 

Landscape architect and planner Jordan DeStaebler, a Berkeley native, replaces Sara Shumer, who had been appointed by Moore’s predecessor Margaret Breland. 

The new commissioner is a Berkeley High School graduate and a student of landscape architecture and urban planning at UC Berkeley, Moore said. 

—

Berkeley, along with other local governments such Oakland, Emeryville, San Francisco and Marin, wants to have local control over energy and how it affects our communities. 

Energy has regularly been in the headlines. And most of these headlines are generated by actors outside our community, including multi-national corporations such as ENRON, foreign countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United States government through its favoritism of energy companies, or local corporations such as PG&E. Now, local governments want to change this dynamic through a program called Community Choice Aggregation, which is being offered by the California Public Utilities Commission. 

Community Choice Aggregation allows local governments to get into the electricity business by developing their own supplies. For many local governments, it is not just the control issue, but it is also the opportunity to implement local policies of promoting renewal and alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, tidal power, or methane from solid waste. The electricity would still flow through PG&E’s transmission lines. Residents would have a choice of staying with PG&E or signing on with the city. 

By going the Community Choice Aggregation route, consultants in April estimated that once the power plant was built, there would be electricity savings of up to 6 percent over 20 years and an increase in renewable energy by 50 percent by 2017, double the renewable energy PG&E is required to develop. 

Currently, California as a state imports 20 percent of its energy from dirty, coal fired power plants in Nevada and Arizona, although PG&E says it only imports 3 percent of its electricity from coal fired power plants. Those coal fired plants do not meet California clean air standards. This is California’s “dirty little secret,” said V. John White, executive director of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies. 

The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that there are 22 new coal fired power plants being proposed for the West. California’s use of electricity from coal fired power plants produces carbon dioxide equal to 11 million cars. Locally built electrical plants using renewable resources such as solar, tidal or wind, would reduce the need for new coal fired power plants. 

The supporters of Community Choice Aggregation want local governments to build clean power plants because these new power plants would also contribute to greater electrical stability in California, where construction of new electricity power plants has stalled. Calpine, which had 26 power plants in California under construction or development in 2000, saw huge mounting losses in the last couple of years following the collapse of ENRON, and the easing of the energy crisis. 

Calpine’s power plants were designed to burn natural gas to generate electricity. But with the collapse of energy prices, Calpine has seen huge operating losses and the drop of the value of its shares of stock from a high of $85 in 2001, to 54 cents by the end of November 2005. The threat of bankruptcy faces Calpine. 

Berkeley’s feasibility study, prepared by Navigant Consulting, Inc. in April 2005, concluded that one of the advantages Berkeley would enjoy, along with all other government agencies, includes low cost financing, that will allow the city to produce energy at 40 percent below what an investor financed plant would cost. Navigant recommended that once Berkeley committed to a Community Choice Aggregation program, it could begin by purchasing power on the open market, while it proceeds to build a publicly financed, community owned power plant. 

Neal deSnoo, Berkeley’s energy officer, stated that the city is investigating a wind power plant, and that the idea at present is to work with Oakland and Emeryville to jointly finance and construct this plant. DeSnoo stated that Berkeley’s share of costs will depend upon the pro rata share of the city’s energy usage. Berkeley’s share of the construction costs is estimated to be around $130 million, with total costs at half a billion dollars. 

The City Council allocated $100,000 in this year’s budget to continue with the process of evaluating a Community Choice Aggregation Program.  

Berkeley’s Energy Commission, on Dec. 14 recommended that the City Council move onto the next step, which is the development of a business plan. Citing the benefits of an energy policy that is under local control, developed for “social good rather than the interests of corporation,” the commission is urging moving to the next step states: “… Berkeley could choose to emphasize renewable energy sources within its procurement portfolio and to purchase and ‘grow’ renewable energy sources.… that would allow Berkeley to control its energy resources and to chart a coherent and sustainable energy future.” 

Neal deSnoo stated that this action taken by the Energy Commission, may be the “most significant” action the Energy Commission has ever taken. DeSnoo also stated that Oakland Emeryville are in a parallel place in their process as well. This issue is expected to go to council this month. 

.

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.



PROFESSOR JOHN YOO 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Some so-called legal experts within the Justice Department like John Yoo have claimed the president has near imperial powers. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks Justice Department attorney John Yoo wrote that Congress could not place “limits on the president’s determinations as to any terrorist threat, the amount of military force to be used in response, or the method, timing and nature of the response.” Yoo went on to write “These decisions under our Constitution, are for the president alone to make.” Oh really? At the time Yoo was the deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department, he is now a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley. But last year Sandra Day O’Connor said “A state of war is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation’s citizens,” but John Yoo believes it is. It’s so nice to know that we have law professors like John Yoo teaching young law students at Berkeley so then they can become a “legal” experts like him.  

Thomas Husted  

• 

CARTOONS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I read the political cartoons in the last edition of the Daily Planet. And yeah, one of the main reasons that I voted for Bush is that he did promise to keep the institution of marriage between man and woman. Yes, it is that important. Bush is a liar, buffoon, and someone that has dragged this country into the pits. But at least he had the gumption to speak out about something that is wrong and immoral. And why is it wrong and immoral? Because God said so! So, have your political cartoonist do some Bible study before he starts mocking Christians and their beliefs. If his way is so much better, why is the world in such chaos now?  

Troy Smith 

• 

DEVELOPMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The intent of City Hall, led by the mayor, seems to be to change how development occurs and use the powers of eminent domain to facilitate desired projects. This type of redevelopment was pursued in Oakland with disastrous results—one business person lost his business, land and livelihood so the city could qualify for HUD monies. Berkeley is euphemistically calling this type of development “opportunity zones.” It may be an opportunity, but not for property owners who have caught the eye of economic development. 

Sucha Banger, owner of Black & White Liquors, seems to be one of these. On Nov. 2, Wendy Cosin wrote to him warning him that the city would attempt to remove his liquor license because the business was “non-conforming.” The business has been in operation since 1936, according to the Sanborn Insurance Maps. At a meeting attended by several South Berkeley merchants and facility operators, the mayor commented that if he couldn’t get Mr. Banger out through a public nuisance citation, he would use zoning and code violations and eminent domain if need be to do so. 

At the ZAB public hearing many of the opponents to the Black & White Liquor Store uttered total falsehoods to paint a lurid picture of the area. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Grove Liquor Store and the M&N have had a long history of loitering, especially the M&N, which is close by the Drop-In Center. As someone who has lived in the area for 15 years, the unsavoriness of those two stores makes going to the Vault a challenge. One opponent subsequently remarked that although Mr. Banger has his license back, there has been no increase in crime or public nuisances. 

Many of the issues raised by the city as indicative of the problems at the liquor store are actually associated with BART and city services. The city recently added a mental health center there, increasing the number of clients, rather than customers. Who wants to go shopping where there are clients loitering about, waiting for their appointment? I have been told by the Berkeley police that I can expect higher crime because someone can come to the area by BART, commit a crime and disappear by BART and not get caught or even observed. 

This is an attempt by the city to persecute a hardworking, minority businessman so an overly large building can be built at the BART station to “repair the neighborhood.” Plopping a monolithic block in the middle of a neighborhood of two- and three-story buildings does not repair it. It undermines the minority residents and moves the area towards gentrification. A good way to start is to get minorities out on trumped up charges. Another is to apply for federal grants without any public input, using a tight deadline as an excuse. Are these two events unrelated? Think again. 

Dale Smith 

• 

DERBY FIELD 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Whatever happens with the Derby Street field—and right now it looks like the home team is behind—school board member John Selawsky should recuse himself from any more votes and lobbying on the issue. 

This idea may spark a long rebuttal—actual sophist or not, Selawsky is certainly more verbose than even this correspondent.  

But if nothing else, there is an appearance of a conflict of interest, and that should be enough for him to stand down. 

Selawsky lives in the Derby Street neighborhood. He lives, as the long ball flies, about 150 to 200 feet beyond the 500-foot conflict-of-interest zone that School Board members sometimes cite when an issue hits close to home.  

But that is a narrowly legalistic argument, a distinction without meaning. (It is also, by the way, an argument that progressives would properly attack as phony if it were used by a more conservative school board or city councilmember who lived near a disputed piece of land.) 

Selawsky’s political career and personal life is tied to that neighborhood and to the Derby Street issue, which has long been a sacred rallying cry for progressives, or least for homeowners in the area who are also progressives. That’s fine.  

But he is elected by a citywide vote, and when he votes on this issue and lobbies against closing Derby Street, how is anyone to know which hat he is wearing—neighborhood activist cherry picking information or, as he portrayed himself during the Adult School fight, deliberative board member whose first job is to do what’s best for all the city’s students.  

He may also see himself as a helpful facilitator/mitigator, as indeed he has been, though only after he and the school board have tossed down some heavy-handed edict about the fate of a neighborhood.  

The Derby Street debate is already complicated and at times poisonous. There will be yet more public meetings in the next few months. We should remember that our beloved “process” can be an attempt by self-disciplined officials to gather facts and adjudicate differences or a cruel, emotionally draining sham orchestrated by politicians who have already made up their minds, as some city council members have privately or even publicly admitted. 

That we’ve failed for so long to do what most cities are perfectly capable of doing—building a ball field for kids who clearly need one, and a field of their own—is not just embarrassing. It’s meant that rumors of deals and property swaps, general mistrust, and suspicions of double standards for politically connected neighborhoods are infecting the body politic. 

There’s no reason for John Selawsky to make things worse. John, recuse thyself. 

James Day 

• 

CLEAN MONEY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Loni Hancock drew a full house on Saturday in Oakland for her public meeting about her bill AB582—the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act. 

Several people noted that a reform in election financing will be the basis for numerous other reforms in public policy, such as clean air and universal health care, which have been stalled by special interest lobbying. If there was ever a time when the stars, moon and whatever are all aligned for getting this done, that time is now, when so much corruption and anti-democratic practice are in the news. The public wants to take back democracy. Legislators want to take back their dignity, to serve the people, and not have to cater to well-funded corporate lobbyists. 

Loni Hancock has done a great job preparing this bill, and the California Clean Money Campaign has done the homework to make sure the proposed financing is practical. It looks like great law and I sure hope it passes. 

AB582 allows a candidate to accept public financing of his campaign, and not accept corporate contributions or large contributions from a wealthy individual. A candidate would qualify for public financing by collecting a sufficient number of $5 contributions to demonstrate sufficient support. 

One speaker gave us a good analogy. He noted that Rosa Parks showed that one can stand up for one’s rights by sitting down. He said that current campaign finance practice is like charging $2 extra to sit in the front of the bus. We the people need to sit up front, where we have access to the driver and can determine the direction of the bus. 

A unique feature of AB582 is the provision for additional public funding to match “independent expenditures,” by people not officially connected with an opponent’s campaign, up to a cap. This would fund a reply to a last-minute ad blitz by a supporter of one’s opponent. 

Maine and Arizona have already implemented clean money campaign rules. At the meeting, an Arizona state representative told us that she decided to run for office only because of the public financing; she was running against people who had plenty of special interest money. 

Maine has already passed a universal health care system, probably because clean money campaign rules made it difficult for the usual corporate opposition to kill the plan. Here in California, environmental bills often don’t make it to the Assembly floor because of such opposition. This situation can be changed. The time is ripe. 

Steve Geller 

• 

INSIDIOUS SUFFIX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Lawyers, politicians, and journalists are generally held in low esteem by the public at large. This may be because their sole product is words and they tend to use them more as weapons than as instruments for discourse. Whether out of malice, profit or negligence contemporary word merchants cripple communication and nothing illustrates this more cogently than the pervasive use of insidious suffixes.  

Every use of “ism” creates an abstract category that is vague, pejorative, doctrinaire and super-charged for controversy. Notice how a noun like “sex” is besmirched in the word “sexism” and consider too the explosive power you get when you join “ism” to the end of “race.” In effect, “ism” pollutes while its partner “ist” simultaneously personifies and vilifies as happens with sexist, racist, elitist, fascist, communist, extremist, terrorist and so on.  

The noun “terror” merits special consideration for when “ism” is suffixed it subtly erases clarity and jeopardizes civil disagreement. For example, every major TV news outlet has a terrorism expert. What special knowledge does this person possess and what exactly is he qualified to do? How did he achieve this status? Who supervised his research and approved his dissertation? How much do terrorism experts earn? Why don’t we have more female terrorism experts? Is Osama Bin Laden a terrorism expert? 

These sarcastic questions are intended to illustrate the confusion inherent in all occurrences of the “ism” suffix. 

Some “ism” words denote vague concepts: Creationism, Socialism, Capitalism, and Extremism.  

Others are relative and contentious; conservatism versus liberalism and secularism versus clericalism. 

Some are always bad: Fascism, Nazism, Imperialism, Totalitarianism, while nearly everyone considers Humanitarianism and Patriotism good. Finally, time and/or context can change good “ism” words like feminism and athleticism into bad ones.  

Not long ago an historian claiming that our society “…suffers from the tyranny of the present” coined the word “presentism.” More recently, in a New York Times op-ed commentary, the historical context of the Bush team’s expansion of presidential authority was referred to as persidentialism.  

Evidently “ism” can be appended indiscriminately, even to surnames. The sinister and tactical nature of the suffix is highlighted when persons accused of McCarthyism or Marxism are ipso facto condemned. A while back “Saddamism” was used for the first time in a respected newspaper, obviously assuming the reader understood its meaning.  

How long before the vocalizing classes start talking about Bushism and Chenyism? 

Marvin Chachere 

San Pablo 

?

Box cutter attack 

A 46-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly attacked an 18-year-old man with a box cutter shortly before 5 p.m. on Dec. 29. 

Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Shira Warren said the young man was taken to Highland Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Reports listed no reason for the attack. 

Cells, cash taken 

Two hours later, three armed robbers burst into the Hi-Tek Communications store at 1008 University Ave., where they stole cash and a collection of cell phones. 

Hospital fray 

One of two visitors who had dropped in to visit a patient at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley just after 8 p.m. on the 29th lost her cool and assaulted the other. She was booked on suspicion of battery. 

Restaurant heist 

A gunman burst into La Bayou Cajun, a restaurant at 3278 Adeline St., and demanded cash just after 8 p.m. on Dec. 30, then took flight after his unlawful appetite was satisfied. 

Purse snatch injury 

A 34-year-old woman was rushed to the emergency room after a purse-snatching in the 900 block of Addison Street on Dec. 30, said Officer Warren. 

Police were alerted to the crime by a caller who had heard the woman’s screams for help. 

Robbery washout 

Three suspects, at least one of them armed, entered the Bing Wong Wash Center in the 2400 block of Parker Street moments after 11 p.m. on the 30th and demanded cash—then left before accomplishing their aim.  

Another washout 

Another gang of three failed in their attempt to the rob a 25-year-old man of his valuables in the 1700 block of Channing Way shortly after 1 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. 

Knife attack 

An 18-year-old woman was injured when one of a group of four women attacked her with a knife in the 1200 block of Ashby Avenue about 12:20 a.m. on Jan. 2. 

Robbery 

A lone gunman in his mid-20s walked into Car Quest at 900 Gilman St. five hours later and demanded cash, received same, then fled. 

Arson 

Person or persons unknown rifled through the glove box of a car parked in the 3000 block of Ellis Street on the evening of Jan. 2, then set the car’s interior alight. 

Park crime 

An unknown vandal drove a vehicle through Cedar Rose Park sometime before 1 a.m. last Wednesday and left deep tracks in the turf atop the parks grassy knoll, said Officer Warren. 

Barracuda caper 

Police arrested 38-year-old man after bartenders at Thalassa, the new bar and billiards parlor at 2367 Shattuck Ave., reported he’d walked off with the joint’s prize plastic barracuda just before closing time early Saturday morning. 

The ersatz fish was recovered and restored to its former place of honor. 

Shots fired 

Responding to multiple “shots fired” calls at 12:27 p.m. Saturday, Berkeley Police arrived in the 1600 block of 62nd Street to find the apparent victim, a 19-year-old man, was unhurt in the attack. 

Hit with stick 

A 42-year-old man was struck in the head by a stick-wielding assailant in the 2300 block of Webster Street about 4:20 p.m. Saturday. 

The attacker was gone by the time officers arrived. 

Armed robbery 

Two robbers, at least one carrying a pistol, robbed a 25-year-old woman of her cash and ID as she walked along the 2000 block of Shattuck Avenue shortly after midnight Sunday. 

Witness hit 

A witness to a fight between a man and a woman in the 800 block of Spruce Street just before noon Sunday was abruptly assaulted by the male half of the battling duo, who hit him in the head with a street barricade. 

A witness called police, but the disputatious couple had fled the scene by the time they arrived.?

I make a New Year’s resolution that I will be a kinder, gentler person. I will listen more and talk less. I will be sincere and philosophical. I will be deep.  

I will read The New York Times, The Nation, salon.com, and Slate. At the dentist’s office I will read the Economist instead of People magazine. In the event that the Economist is not available, I will read Newsweek, and if Newsweek is not in the offerings I will read the Yoga Journal, and Good Housekeeping, in that order.  

I will not look at the National Enquirer, The Star, or In-Touch magazine while in the checkout line at the grocery store. I will not buy frozen pizzas, sugarcoated cereal, or Cheez-whiz-like products. I will shop more at the Berkeley Bowl and less at Safeway, even if it means sneaking into Walgreens first in order to get a parking space. 

I will see good movies and watch only good TV or no TV, if necessary. I will read all the books I’ve been intending to read of the past 37 years: Moby Dick, Anna Karenina, and Ulysses. I will learn to play bridge and chess, and dance the tango. I will go to the theater more, and, perhaps the opera.  

I will not get angry when someone cuts me off at an intersection. I will not think mean thoughts about pedestrians who throw candy wrappers in my garden. I will not assume the teenage boys lingering on the corner near my house are drug dealers.  

I will not be jealous when I learn good fortune has come to other people. I will be happy for them, and wish them well. I will not envy friends who have book contracts and movie deals, large inheritances, and normal family situations. Someday I will take a Mediterranean cruise, and if not, so be it.  

I will call my mother more often, concentrate on what she is saying, multi-task less. I will not read the newspaper while eating. I will consider each piece of food I put in my mouth and chew it slowly and thoroughly before swallowing. I will drink multiple glasses of water daily. 

I will exercise more, lose weight, forego using a cell phone while driving.  

I will compose columns that are intelligent, sophisticated, reflective, thoughtful, weighty, and witty. I will focus on worldly issues instead of my own little problems and obsessions. I will write about international hunger, world peace, global warming, AIDS, mad cow disease, and avian flu. 

I will rally the masses against injustices. I will promote goodwill and friendship. 

I will have ideas on prison reform, urban sprawl, and corporate theft. I will make predictions and forecasts; I will be visionary and prophetic. I will end each essay with an epiphany that will make readers sigh. At the very least I will say something diplomatic about the sideshows I have witnessed in my neighborhood. 

But just as I am putting the finishing touches on this very column, my housemate Andrea comes to my bedroom door.  

“Hey Suzy,” she shouts. I don’t turn around, busy as I am with being insightful.  

“Suzy,” she repeats. “I’m talkin’ to you.”  

“Yes,” I mumble, annoyed to be interrupted from thoughts of profound importance.  

“You know that big hurricane in Louisiana a couple months ago?” 

I nod my head without turning to look at her. 

“What happened to all them alligators down there, do you know?” 

I pause. 

“Did you hear me? I was just watchin’ the Weather Channel and it occurred to me that I never heard any reports about the alligators. You should do a column about that, don’t you think?”  

I turn around and look at Andrea. She is dressed, as always, in raggedy-ass pajamas and a head scarf. On her feet are my old sheep-lined slippers, and across her cheeks, nose and forehead is smeared a new face cream. 

“Hold that thought,” I say. I turn back to my computer screen.  

What happened to them alligators, I type. Andrea and I would like to know.  

I’m in with the In Crowd 

I go where the In Crowd goes 

I’m in with the In Crowd 

And I know what the In Crowd knows… 

Those of us of a certain age remember this good-natured taunt at uncool outsiders who are not “in the know.” At my school, the teenage In Crowd was innocuous and short lived; by the late ‘60s, the In Crowd was Out and the Out Crowd was In. And then we all grew up, and what was In and what was Out seemed much less important than what was Right and what was Left. Or in Berkeley, than what was Left and what was Lefter. 

Now, as adults, we find that focusing only on right and left might have been a mistake. Because there’s still an In Crowd, but it’s not so innocuous any more. The In Crowd is politicians and lobbyists, developers and corporate tycoons, meta-organizations like the University of California and ABAG, self-serving bureaucrats who control information, and similar power brokers. They may cultivate a cool demeanor, but actually they are busy fellows, singing while they work: “We make every minute count; Our share is always the biggest amount”—which, if not Miltonic, is at least honest.  

The In Crowd runs the show. Occasionally the Out Crowd attempts to get in and reduce the backroom dealing of the In Crowd, for example, by passing a Brown Act, a Public Records Act, a California Environmental Quality Act, or campaign finance reform. But the In Crowd always finds a way around them—usually by “spendin’ cash, talkin’ trash.”  

So what brings this amusing little song to mind? It is Berkeley Planning Director Dan Marks’ quixotic flailing at the university over UC’s proposed Southeast Campus Integrated Projects (SCIP) around Memorial Stadium. The SCIP was absent from the university’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) of less than a year ago, because the SCIP was supposedly so distant and hypothetical. Then, suddenly, here it is, almost ready for prime time! Talk about “talkin’ trash”! 

Director Marks is a capable, experienced planner who knows Berkeley, and he probably believes that the project and project environs would benefit from his input. In addition, Director Marks already participated in an excellent city criticism of the original LRDP, after which he (along with the rest of Berkeley) was stabbed in the back by a craven council that failed to pursue its LRDP challenge. Why did he decide to challenge UC again, without any council backup? How does Marks feel? Confused? Used? Abused? Defused? Or just happy that (unlike citizen activists) he gets paid no matter how much time he wastes on fruitless gestures? 

Marks’ attempts to protect Berkeley from UC’s exceedingly bad planning on the SCIP warms the hearts of us perpetual outsiders who live near campus, who are also routinely ignored by the university In Crowd that plans the systematic demise of our community. But my appreciation of Dan Marks would be a lot deeper if his indignation were not so hypocritical.  

Usually Marks is in the In Crowd. As the Godfather of the planning department, he routinely protects his misbehaving staff and trivializes the rights of outsiders—that is, Berkeley citizens. In addition, although now Marks expresses moral indignation at the university’s sham environmental impact reports, Godfather Marks has never been a champion of environmental review. But in light of his own recent outsider outrage, will Marks now have more respect for the input of people who know and care much more about their neighborhoods than he does, instead of helping freeze them out of the public process? I wonder. 

Will the real Dan Marks please stand up? Is it Dan Quixote or Don Marks? Do we dare to hope for Dan Quixote, who, when he finishes tilting at UC, will return home and apply similar zeal for public participation to his own domain? Not likely, I fear.  

The smart money is all on Don Marks. His outrage stems not from violation of his principles, people say, but from violation of his territory. When Marks is invited to the party, he is happy and cooperative. Isn’t he a willing party to a new downtown plan that empowers UC but tramples the rights of Berkeley citizens? they ask. Isn’t he in the back room with UC and the mayor, helping to “position” and “fast track” the downtown hotel project and sidelining Berkeley citizens? Inquiring minds want to know. 

But one thing is obvious: At the moment there is no champion of the public’s right to know in the Planning Department. Just one recent example: For 18 months, Southside has been enmeshed in an orgy of procedural impropriety carefully orchestrated by the planning staff. A proposed project at the corner of Dwight Way and Regent Street, involving removal of a parking lot and major alteration of an 1876 house, has been discussed at length, and endorsed in concept, by the Zoning Adjustments Board, without any public noticing. This is precisely what the Brown Act was written to prevent. The planning staff, ZAB, and a daisy chain of three big developers are tickled pink, but the Out Crowd remains in the dark about their plans. Dwight Way residents will be surprised when they find out how many decisions the In Crowd has made without their knowledge.  

In yet another surprise from the In Crowd, a massive housing project at the Ashby BART station has been proposed to displace BART parking and the Berkeley Flea Market. This problem began with the “smart growth” crowd in Sacramento, but the local In Crowd (council member Max Anderson, planning staff, BART, and project sponsors) has been working on this project since last summer. (The fact that the council “decision makers” found out about it months later shows that the council itself goes In and Out as it suits their puppeteers.) The In Crowd has already decided to put a transit village there, and perhaps even the project’s size and affordability. Eventually the Out Crowd will spend thousands of unpaid hours to influence the color scheme—if that. 

Residents near Ashby BART station may be outraged to find themselves so far out, but they are lucky: Most people don’t find out about the In Crowd’s plans for them nearly so early. For example, neighbors of the “Flying Cottage” at 3045 Shattuck lived in ignorant bliss until the cottage was actually taking off. Unsuspecting Berkeley drivers who use Telegraph Avenue may soon find themselves squeezed into one lane by Bus Rapid Transit, the pet project of a very formidable and smug In Crowd (UC, AC Transit, and ivory tower smart-growthers) supported by passionate local autophobes. And currently a messianic In Crowd of developers, the mayor, and some councilmembers is attempting to strip the Out Crowd of its protections under the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.  

But the mother of all surprises, of course, was the secret sellout of the city to the university last May. While Berkeley citizens dutifully waited “outside” for the city to protect them from massive university expansion, the City Hall/UC In Crowd was in the back room agreeing to deprive city residents not only of environmental protection, but of their existing legal rights. This epitomizes the arrogance of In Crowds, which often think they are smart enough to make major policy decisions without consultation with the public. They aren’t. But as the song goes: “We got our own way of walkin’; We got our own way of talkin’.” Yep, they sure do—but it seems mighty out-of-step with the rest of Berkeley. 

When you’re out, it doesn’t matter if you are out in left field or out in right field—you’re just out. The In Crowd is well aware that Berkeley citizens don’t like being outsiders in our own city. Since knocking politely at the gates of power hasn’t worked, the next step for the Out Crowd is to kick the In Crowd out of office. 

Sharon Hudson is a 35-year Berkeley  

resident and an observer of land use issues. 

He was out for some refreshment, an ice cream on a warm summer evening in Philadelphia, and on his way home. We didn’t start out looking for trouble. We were bored and had nothing to do. In some ways we were just like Fat Albert and the Cosby kids. We were all decent athletes and loved to play sports. We all wore weird hats and had different nicknames. We played football in the street, used milk crates for basketball, and broomsticks as baseball bats. Usually we were all about fun. But that night the school yard was locked, the playground was gang turf and the only fields of dreams in our neighborhood were a cemetery and a junkyard. The idle mind can be the playground for the devil! 

He was large, the starting lineman on the local high school football team, about 6’2”, 220 pounds and only in the ninth grade. Unfortunately there was one of him and eight of us. We were all about 15 years old. He didn’t have a chance. His only crime was being alone and we had nothing to do. 

Bruce stepped in front of him and said, “Man, where you going, you got any money?” He said, “All I’ve got is a quarter.” Bruce, who was barely 5’2”, said, “Man you’re lying,” and punched him in the mouth. He tried to fight back, but someone grabbed his arm. He tried to kick, but someone grabbed his leg. He fell down. He started to cry. Before they could rush in and stomp him, I intervened. Now they were all mad at me, and wanted to kick my butt. I stood my ground. We let him walk away, tears in his eyes, stripped of feeling secure about being the biggest guy in the neighborhood, and going out alone. All for 25 cents, and because we had nothing to do! 

Ten years later I joined a local health club. On my first day I went to work out, and there he was. The same guy we had jumped years before. He was huge, with a crowd around him, pumping iron that may have intimidated Arnold Schwarzenegger. I knew why! I didn’t wait to find out if he remembered that I was the one who prevented him from being hurt. I wanted to apologize, but instead I cleaned out my locker and never returned.  

In no way am I suggesting that if kids can’t play sports they’ll have an excuse to turn to violence. Some of the kids I went to school with, and never played sports, became judges, politicians, musicians and scientist. Their path may have been easier, though, if they had the advantages that not only sports but also the arts can provide. I’ve recently read of millions of dollars designated to build and support sports programs in Berkeley, but I have heard very little of similar funding supporting other endeavors. In addition to sports we need to address the lack of opportunities for young people to pursue theater, art, science, dance, music and other activities after school as well. But that’s another story! 

Derby Street—a field of dreams for some, a locked facility for others? 

I don’t live on Derby Street, but I live near James Kinney Park, and I enjoy hearing and watching kids rooting for their favorite teams and players on a cool summer evening instead of roaming the streets. However, we need to make sure that whatever is decided gives as many youths and the rest of our community somewhere to go, and something to do. Hopefully this can happen sooner rather than later. Too many young people have never heard of, and don’t care about, the baseball movie Field of Dreams, but they know about the rapper movie Get Rich or Die Trying!  

We’re running out of open space, and kids with nothing to do are running out of time!  

Winston Burton is a Berkeley resident.›

“Daddy-ooo! I know you didn’t disappear on me again ... How was that impression? You’re always movin’ and groovin’, slidin’ and glidin’ ...” 

So The Kid spins it out in W. Allen Taylor’s one-man show, Walkin’ Talkin’ Bill Hawkins ... In Seach of My Father at The Marsh in Berkeley. Just one of a gallery of real and unreal characters out of his and his absent father’s past that Taylor plays with gusto, The Kid is an alter ego (and counterpoint) for both the man looking for his father and the elusive pioneer Black D.J. who sired him, then slipped out of his life. 

Taylor puts on The Kid like a glove, the way he plays the other characters. As he reminds his own listeners while signing off during his stint on the air (in college, before discovering who and what his father was), “It’s been real ... reminding you everybody’s got a Thang—make sure you’re doing yours!” Even playing himself, he’s fueled by a mixture of long tamped-down anger and disappointment, sparked by the sardonic self-consciousness of a professional actor and director knowing he’s doing it—for real. 

The Kid, a recent addition to this slow-cooking stew, comes out with the raucous gibing of an anger that Taylor says he has always held in or soft-pedaled. In slouch hat and shades, The Kid deliberately spins wax of his own time, past Bill Hawkins’ prime, or tunes by contemporaries he didn’t dig, like Monk. And he dances outrageously to the sounds—as Taylor does playing himself—of Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Al Green, Aretha and others. It’s funny and disconcerting. 

On opening night, younger spectators in the packed audience, some of them Taylor’s students from the College of Marin, laughed uproariously at his scarecrow stance with splayed arms and legs, alternating with serpentine gyrations as if in front of a mirror. 

Taylor’s father, the Walkin’ Talkin’ of the title, was the first black disc jockey in Cleveland, clearly an influence on Alan Freed, the white Cleveland D.J. later credited with launching rock ’n’ roll’s popular reign. Playing jazz and R&B, sometimes from the front window of his record store, Hawkins was also one of the first on the air to use rhyming slang for patter, a style that influenced others like comedian Lord Buckley, and provided the bridge between the hip-talk of the streets and clubs (and its origins in toasting and other Afro-Caribbean and American vernacular forms) and the nouvelle jive of hip-hop.  

Taylor only learned who his father was upon his graduation from college—three months after Hawkins’ death. His parents had agreed that the married Hawkins would be in the shadow, and that Taylor’s mother (recently divorced from a Baptist minister at the time of his birth) would withhold knowledge of Taylor’s paternity from him until later, too late for Taylor to know his father, whom he met only once as an adult, not knowing his real identity. “I guess we thought we still had time,” he intones his own mother’s lament. 

Taylor started putting the show together in the late ’90s. There was an NPR program featuring his story in 1999. At the same time, his investigations continued and old friends of his father and new material kept popping up, including a recording, the first he’d heard, of his father on the air, which is played during the show. Offstage, Taylor says he often speculates whether he listened to his father, unaware, as a boy turning the dial to the local black station. 

The search is documented in the show, first as a boyhood search for a substitute father, then looking for Bill Hawkins himself—what could be found of him. Taylor excels at slipping in and out of the characters he’s met, such as the m.c. and singing club owner who partied with his father (“He introduced me to my first wife—I never forgave him for that!”) and who was one of his pallbearers; the old fan who tells Taylor as he D.J.s for a party that he looks like Bill Hawkins, unaware of his relationship; and the dignified older woman, who hosted gospel shows as a colleague of Hawkins, politely disapproving the R&B he played and the rhyming slang he reeled out. 

These portraits are montaged well in the second half of the performance—their words slipping in and out of each other as the shadowy figure of Hawkins emerges from them. It also gives Taylor a chance to act, less fettered with exposition. His own on-stage persona is engaging, and Gloria Weinstock’s direction cuts a clear path through the profusion of anecdote and explanation. But as a piece still-growing and not yet free of its original status as therapeutic, Walkin’ Talkin’ remains a fascinating and exhausting jumble. 

Allen Taylor’s got the material and the juice to make his piece stand out in a theatrical landscape crammed with personalized solo shows like castoff furniture crammed in a Salvation Army showroom. And when, as he’s faithfully promised, he’s honed down his abundant and personally gamey material to just the right succession of what Diderot called “pregnant moments” (like the one in which his mother cold-cocks his father with a high-heeled shoe), then the journey to that crystallization will be looked back on as part of a revelation even more interesting and enjoyable than it is right now, in its present, still-shifting form. 

›

TUESDAY, JAN. 10 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Alan Kaufman introduces “Matches” the story of an American Jew in the Israeli Army, at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Creole Belles with Andrew Carriere at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. 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.  

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

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazz- 

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

Brozman, Low & Thorne Trio, jazz, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Mike Vax Jazz Orchestra at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$12. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Debbie Poryes, jazz piano, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 11 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Café Poetry hosted by Kira Allen at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Donation $2. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Jared Diamond describes “Collapse: How Societies Chose to Fail or Succeed” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“The Seven Deadly Sins” A Fire Opera with the Crucible, artists from the San Francisco Opera and the Oakland East Bay Symphony, through Sat., at 8:30 p.m. at 1260 7th St., Oakland. Tickets are $25-$100. 444-0919. www.thecrucible.org 

Berkeley High School Jazz Combos at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

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

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

Balkan Folk Dance at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Lessons at 7 p.m. Cost is $7. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Tracy Amos, Shooters Dream Atris at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8. 848-0886.  

Evan Raymond, guitar, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

E.S.T. Esbjorn Svensson Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, JAN. 12 

FILM 

Mikio Naruse “Nightly Dreams” at 7 p.m. with Bruce Leob on piano, “Tsuruhachi and Tsuruijiro” at 9 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Black and Disabled Artists Sharing Stories at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

Kim Strongfellow describes a man-made disaster in “Greetings from the Salton Sea” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Word Beat Reading Series with Nicole Henares and Brian Morrisey at 7 p.m. at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

New Century Chamber Orchestra with Gang Situ, ‘cello, at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $28-$42. 415-392-4400.  

Fishtank Ensemble at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.com 

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

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

Wu Li Masters at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Mark Little Duo at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Nightingale with caller George Marshall, concert at 8:30 p.m., dance at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

E.S.T. Esbjorn Svensson Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

FRIDAY, JAN. 13 

THEATER 

“Walkin’ Talkin’ Bill Hawkins ... In Search of My Father” performed by W. Allen Taylor at 7 p.m. at the Marsh-Berkeley, 2118 Allston Way, through Jan. 28. Tickets are $15-$22. 800-838-3006. 

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

EXHIBITIONS 

“Off the Grid: New Paintings by Collective 9” Opening reception at 6 p.m. at ACCi Gallery. 1652 Shattuck Ave. Exhibition runs to Feb. 9. www.accigallery.com 

FILM 

“Best of Youth, Part 1” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Dance Production 2006 at 8 p.m. at Florence Schwimley Little Theater, Allston Way. Tickets are $5 students, $10 adults. 

“The Seven Deadly Sins” A Fire Opera with the Crucible, artists from the San Francisco Opera and the Oakland East Bay Symphony, through Sat., at 8:30 p.m. at 1260 7th St., Oakland. Tickets are $25-$100. 444-0919. www.thecrucible.org 

Justifi at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Juanita Ulloa’s Paz y Alegria at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $ 12-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Walter Savage Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Ras Midas & The Bridge, with Root Awakening at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Utah Phillips at 8 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Cathi Walkup Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

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

The Meat Purveyors, Loretta Lynch, Pickin’ Trix at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Hard Skin, Deadfall, Nuts & Bolts, The Vals 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. 

Wu Li Masters at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Santero, Fuga, world, fusion, dub at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5. 548-1159.  

LoCal Music Expo with Ben Strom at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10.  

Broun Fellinis at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blow Out at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $15-$30. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, JAN. 14 

CHILDREN 

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Ingrid Noyes and Paul Shelasky, interactive music, at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

J.Soul in a concert for families at 3:30 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $2-$7. 558-0881. 

THEATER 

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.or 

EXHIBITIONS 

Eric Ott and Michael Dean, video installation and paintings. Reception at 8 p.m. at the Living Room Gallery, 3230 Adeline St. Donation. 601-5774. 

FILM 

“Best of Youth, Part 2” at 3 p.m. and Mikio Naruse “Street Without End” at 7 p.m., “The Whole Family Works” at 9:15 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Toni Alexander introduces her novel “Sometimes I Forget to Breathe” at 2 p.m. at Changemakers Books, 6536 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. 655-2405. 

Mango Mic, Asian American open mic at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Dance Production 2006 at 8 p.m. at Florence Schwimley Little Theater, Allston Way. Tickets are $5 students, $10 adults. 

Celebration of Life Concert Tribute to Rosa Parks with Oleta Adams at 7 p.m. at Love Center Church, 10440 International Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $15-$30. 548-4040, ext. 357. www.embracingthedream.org 

Coro Hispano de San Francisco “Día de los Reyes” Concert at 8 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Tickets are $15-$20. 415-864-4681. www.corohispano.org 

San Francisco Early Music Society “Ciaramella” at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $10-$25. 528-1725. www.sfems.org 

Tony Malaby at 8 p.m. at The Improv Garage, 4514 West St., Oakland. Sponsored by the Jazz House. overdue. rob@thejazzhouse.com 

Curtis Lawson, R & B, soul, at 9 p.m. at Baltic Square Pub, 135 Park Pl., Pt. Richmond. Cost is $5. 527-4782. 

“Paces” Dance and Poetry with Lucinda Weaver and Alan Bern at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. 981-6150. 

Marina la Valle and Lalo Izquierdo, Peruvian music, at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $8-$10. 849-2568.  

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

Querezima Sextet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

The Secret Life of Banjos at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Steve Mann and Friends at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7-$10. 558-0881. 

Tom Rigney & Flambeau at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Kali's Angels Kirtan Ensemble at 7 p.m. at Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St. Cost is $15-$18. 843-2787. 

SoulJazz Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Jon Roniger and David Serotkin at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

John Richardson Band at 9 p.m. at Circus Pub, 389 Colusa Ave., Kensington 

Brainoil, Asunder, Embers, Lid Toker at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

André Sumelius Quartet at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

SUNDAY, JAN. 15 

FILM 

Mikio Naruse “Not Blood Relations” at 5:30 p.m. and “Traveling Actors” at 7:25 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Richard Silberg and Chad Sweeney at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Benefit for the Jazz Program Cost is $5-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

“In the Name of Love” Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir, at 7:30 p.m. at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center. Tickets are $6-$22. 800-838-3006. www.mlktribute.com 

Tony Malaby, all ages jazz workshop at 1 p.m. at The Improv Garage, 4514 West St., Oakland. Sponsored by the Jazz House. overdue. rob@thejazzhouse.com 

Organ Recital at 4 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 845-6830. 

Carlos Oliveira & Brazilia n Origins at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. 

The Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble San Francisco at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$15. 849-2568.  

Cheap Suit Serenaders at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $22.50-$23.50. 548-1761.  

Jack Irving at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

MONDAY, JAN. 16 

THEATER 

“The Meeting” A play of a fictitious meeting between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X at 7 p.m. at Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. Suggested donation $5. 238-7217. 

Subterranean Shakespeare “The Merry Wives of Windsor” Staged reading at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Unitarian Fellowship, Fireside Room, 1924 Cedar St. Donation $5. 276-3871. 

EXHIBITIONS 

Works by Bill A. Dallas and Amana Brembry Johnson opens at the Craft & Cultural Arts Gallery, State of California Office Building, 1515 Clay St., Oakland, and runs through March 3. 622-8190. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Express with an open mic for “Other People’s Poems” at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Expressing the Dream” a showcase of intergenerational arts by members of the Oakland Community at 2 p.m. at Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. Free. 238-7217. 

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

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

TUESDAY, JAN. 17 

FILM 

“Crossroads: Avant-Garde Films from Pittsburgh” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Peter Selz introduces “Art of Engagement: Visual Politics in California and Beyond” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

Melissa and Alison Houtte write about vintage clothing in “Alligators, Old Mink & New Money” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Swamp Coolers at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054.  

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

Freight and Salvage Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $5.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Howard Barkan Trio, jazz, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

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

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

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 18 

EXHIBITIONS 

Annual Members’ Showcase opens at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park.  

“Dreaming California” Photographs by Ruth-Marion Baruch, Bill Owens and Larry Sultan, opens at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808.  

“American History and Culture by Grandmothers Who Help” Photographs and exhibits with disscussion at 3 p.m. at Eastmont Branch Library, 7200 Bancroft Ave., Oakland. 615-5726. 

“The Family of Clay: CCA Ceramics” Reception for the artists at 6 p.m. at Tecoah Bruce Gallery, Oliver Art Center, California College of the Arts, 5212 Broadway. 530-304-0499. 

“Illuminated Garden” Pinhole sun prints by Susannah Hays at North Berkeley Frame and Gallery, 1744 Shattuck Ave., through March 4. 549-0428. 

FILM 

Weird America: “Derailroaded” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Introduction to Film Language” with Russell Merritt at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

Joanne Jacobs tells the story of a successful charter school in San Jose in “Our School: The Inspiring Story of Two Teachers, One Big Idea, and the School that Beat the Odds” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. 

Cafe Poetry hosted by Paradise at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Donations accepted. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

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

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

Blues & Grooves with Mike Pyle at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Lessons at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Sol Spectrum at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Country Joe McDonald, in a fundraiser for Easy Does It Disability Assistance at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

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

Absinthe Academy, Dan Tedesco at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886.  

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

?

Instead of trees this week, I’m going to talk about something bigger: mushrooms.They’re popping up all over since the major rains, and in bewildering variety. For pete’s sake, don’t be inspired to go on a mushroom-eating binge because they look so pastry-pretty. The old saw goes; “There are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters.” Think agonizing death in a pool of your own various wastes. Think liver transplant. Think never being able to have another beer if you do survive. Got that?  

But look at them! 

They’re gorgeous. I’ve seen them in classic mushroom shapes, in banded fans, in brilliant glistening globs, in wavy combs, and in the rather startling shapes that give rise, so to speak, to the species name of one, Phallus impudicans, commonly known as the stinkhorn.  

They’re colorful. They come in white and gray and various shades of brown and russet, in maroon, burgundy, scarlet, orange, yellow, even blue. They’re ubiquitous, too. There’s a lemon-yellow cluster right now in my dining room, emerging jauntily from the base of the Yule tree’s pot. (It’s a live redwood that lives in the backyard most of the year.) We’ve entertained clusters of Peziza domiciliana in the bathroom caulking; the species’ major habitat is the North American bathroom. Once, though, we had it growing in the floor carpet of our pickup truck.  

When you see them popping up on the grass, mushrooms are telling you two things: it’s wet—either poor drainage or just constant rain—and there’s decomposing plant matter there. This is a problem if it’s your oak tree and the fungus is Armilliaria, but not so much if it’s just some random instrument of composting on the wood-chip mulch. 

They’re not plants. It’s not just that they lack chlorophyll; more basically, they have cell walls like plants (rather than cell membranes like us animals) but the walls are made of chitin, like, say, shrimp shells. Fungi are their own separate “kingdom” (and there are more of those than you’d think, several all-unicellular).  

What you see above ground is just the reproductive organs, and they reproduce in dizzyingly complex fashions; four or five “genders” can be present. (Actually, I’ve seen the allegation that mushrooms have 36,000 sexes, but I’d want to see some definitions.) The spores they shed push out mycelial threads that can mate with other threads—sometimes with fertile results, sometimes not—in several ways. The spores, like our ova and sperm, have only a half set of chromosomes—they’re called “haploid.” They can join with one or more other threads in various ways, in effect giving some offspring three parents: two for the chromosomes and another for the cytoplasm, the part of each cell outside the nucleus.  

When two compatible haploid spores meet, they effectively merge into one cell that still keeps two nuclei. These can split into two cells with four nuclei, and so on. This gives the organism an advantage—it can grow faster, since instead of stretching one cell over a gap it can just multiply cells.  

So you get those fuzzy patches … Have I mentioned that the weird science experiments on the leftovers in the fridge are generally fungi too? Anyway, these patches can grow rapidly, meet other compatible fuzzy patches, grow “clamp connections” between themselves (this gets kinkier as you learn more about it) and complete mating.  

Keep the kids out of the fridge! Better be ready to have a family discussion about what’s happening on the mulch out back, too. 

There’s a great account of this on the Web at the Shroomery site—www.shroomery.org—and I take the blame for any errors here in trying to fit that into my space.  

But did I say “something bigger” at the top? Yes. Those toadstools and fairy rings are only a small part of the fungus they represent. The actual organism is below ground, spread out as a net of myceliae. There’s an Armillaria in Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon that’s three and a half miles across, covers 2,200 acres, and is at least 2,400 years old. It might be 7,200 years old. That would make it the oldest known organism on Earth, as well as the biggest. 

TUESDAY, JAN. 10 

Flooding Issue in West Berkeley Community Meeting at 7 p.m. at the Frances Albrier Center, San Pablo Park, 2800 Park St., between Russell and Ward. 981-7120. 

Celebrate the Dream Ceremony marking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 77th birthday at 11:30 a.m. at Frank Ogawa Plaza, 14th and Broadway, Oakland. 444-CITY. 

Tilden Tots Join a nature adventure program for 3 and 4 year olds, each accompanied by an adult (grandparents welcome)! We’ll learn about animal habitats, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 636-1684. 

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

Women’s Snowshoe Workshop Learn the essentials for getting started in the sport at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Oakland-East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus Auditions at 7 p.m. at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, 3534 Lakeshore Ave. 800-706-2389. 

Guitar and Music Lessons for Teachers Free ongoing classes at 7:30 p.m. at 2304 McKinley Ave. Registration required. 848-9463. www.guitarsintheclassroom.com 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping the public schools, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

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

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

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. 

Searching Within A free 9-week course, Tues. at 7:30 p.m. at 2510 Channing Way. To register call 654-1583. www.gnosticweb.com 

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

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. S548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

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

“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, JAN. 11 

Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at noon at the second floor auditorium, 300 Lakeside Drive., Oakland. Free. 464-7139. 

Poetry Writing Workshop with Alison Seevak at 7 p.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Film Series on Animal Agony, laboratories and factory farms, at 7 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Donation of $5 suggested.  

East Bay Genealogical Society with Marjorie Bell of the staff of the Family History Center on the use of newspapers in genealogical research, at 10 a.m. in the Library Conference Room of the Family History Center, 4766 Lincoln Ave., Oakland. 635-6692. 

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. 

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 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Oakland State Building, 1515 Clay St., 2nd Floor. To schedule an appointment call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. www.BeADonor.com 

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. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www.geocities. 

com/vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, JAN. 12 

Tilden Tots Join a nature adventure program for 3 and 4 year olds, each accompanied by an adult (grandparents welcome)! We’ll learn about animal habitats, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 636-1684. 

Grizzly Peak Flyfishers meets at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Community Center, 59 Arlington Ave. in Kensington. Mike Kaul, a Wyoming guide, will talk on fishing the waters of the Wind River Range. All welcome. 547-8629. 

“The World Can’t Wait” Drive Out the Bush Regime Speakers include Medea Benjamin, Mark Leno, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Sunsara Taylor and devorah major, at 7 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $10-$20. 415-864-5153. 

East Bay Mac Users Group meets to discuss Mac World Review with guest David Feng from Beijing Mac Users Group, at 6 p.m. at Expression College for Digital Arts, 6601 Shellmound St., Emeryville. http://ebmug.org 

“How to Reduce Your Taxes” with Thomas Andres, at 6 p.m., upstairs at Sabia Indian Cuisine, 1628 Webster, Oakland. Cost is $5-$10. 530-6699. 

Climate Change and Other Environmental Topics, an ongoing class, Thurs. at 1 p.m., beginning Jan. 12 at North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

American Sign Language Classes begin at Vista College, 2020 Milvia St. To register call 981-2872. www.peralta.edu 

International Business Classes for students and entrepreneurs, offered by Vista College. For information call 981-2852.  

Sleep Issues for Older Babies at 7 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Registration required, 658-7353. 

The Bipolar Advantage A lecture with Tom Wootton, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance at 7 p.m. at Alta Bates Herrick Campus, Dwight Way. For details, call 760-749-5719. 

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

FRIDAY, JAN. 13 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Denis Kuby on “Pending Death Changes in California” 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.  

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

Womansong Circle participatory singing and chants with Betsy Rose and Gael Acock at 7:15 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Donation $10-$20. 525-7082. 

Berkeley Chess School classes for students in grades 1-8 from 5 to 7 p.m. at 1581 LeRoy Ave., room 17. 843-0150. 

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

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

“Enlightened Vision: Seeing the Qualities of Buddha” a workshop from 7 to 9 p.m., and on Sat. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. Cost is $95. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

SATURDAY, JAN. 14 

Free Emergency Preparedness Class on Basic Personal Preparedness from 10 a.m. to noon and also 1:30 to 3:30 at the Fireside Room, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. To sign up call 981-5605. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

fire/oes.html 

Richmond General Plan Community Meeting on the re-write of the city’s general plan which will affect shoreline, housing, business, neighborhood character and transportation. Richmond residents encouraged to attend at 1 p.m. in the Madeline F. Whittlesey Community Room, Richmond Public Library, 325 Civic Center Plaza. 672-1897. www.richmondgeneralplan.org 

Lead-Safe Work Practices Learn how to remedy lead hazards in older homes, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Oakland. Sponsored by the Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Project. 567-8280. 

Wildcat Creek Watershed Hike Meet at 2 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Area for a 3-mile hike to learn how the creek has been protected for trout and newts. Bring a snack and water. 525-2233. 

Fossil Detectives A hands-on children’s workshop at 11 a.m. at Lawrence Hall of Science, Centennial Drive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50, plus $5 reservation fee. 642-5132. 

Down Home Martin Luther King Potluck Celebration at 6 p.m. at Inserstake Center, Mormon temple, 4780 Lincoln Blvd., Oakland. Bring your favorite dish from “back home” for four. 654-2592. 

Vegetarian Cooking Class from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at he First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. Cost is $45. Registration required. 531-COOK. www.compassionatecooks.com  

“Off Road to Athens” A documentary on the US Pro Mountain Bikers and discussion with Todd Wells at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Community Theater, 1930 Allston Way. For tickets and information call 352-6502. 

“Wal-Mart: The High Cost of a Low Price” the documentary at 9:30 a.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. Sponsored by Democratic Socialists of America. 415-789-8497. www.dsausa.org 

“Feng Shui for the Writer” from 8:30 a.m. to noon at Pyramid Alehouse, 901 Gilman St. Presented by the SF Chapter of Romance Writers of America. For reservations email dginny1942@cs.com 

By the Light of the Moon Open Mic and Salon for Women at 7:30 p.m. at Changemakers, 6536 Telegraph Ave. Donation $3-$7. To sign up call 482-1315. 

“Jewish Literature: Identity and Imagination” A reading and discussion at 2 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

Bipolar In Order Workshop with Tom Wootton, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Alta Bates Herrick Campus. Registration required. 760-749-5719. www.bipolarinorder.org  

Fasting Made Easy A workshop at 11 a.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Preschool Storytime for 3-5 year olds at 11 a.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

SUNDAY, JAN. 15 

“Safe at Home: Oaklanders Who Changed the Game of Baseball” A tribute to the late George Pawles, McClymonds High School coach at 2 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. 238-3402. www.museumca.org 

Fireside Storytelling at 2 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Family Bird Walk Discover the bird life on the trails and at the marsh at 2:30 p.m. at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Fremont. Recommended for children ages 5-10. Reservations required. 792-0222. 

Winter Flowers on the Ridge Explore the fragile ecosystem of Sobrante Ridge. Meet at 10 a.m. at the staging area at the end of Coach Drive, El Sobrante. Appropriate for age 10 and up, hike is 3 miles with some hills. 525-2233. 

Berkeley Gray Panthers MLK Jr. Birthday Celebration to honor local activists who went south to work on civil rights, at 2 p.m. at Redwood Gardens Community Room, 2951 Derby St. 548-9696. 

Berkeley CyberSalon with Jaron Lanier, who coined the word virtual reality and founded VPL Research at 5 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Donation is $10. www.hillsideclub.org 

Brainstormer Trivia Pub Quiz at 8:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

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

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

Tibetan Buddhism with Sylvia Gretchen on “Transforming the Power of Pain into Well-Being” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, JAN. 16 

“A Day On, Not Off” Volunteer at the MLK Shoreline from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Arrowhead Marsh, at Doolittle Drive and Swan Way. Registration encouraged. 562-1373. 

“Make the Dream Real” Martin Luther King Celebration at 10 a.m. at Taylor Memorial Methodist Church, 1188 12th St. at Adeline, Oakland. 652-5530. 

STD Clinic Volunteer Training for Gay/Bi Men for the Gay Men’s Health Clinic at 7:30 p.m. at 2339 Durant Ave. 548-3007, ext. 6307. 

World Affairs Discussion Group for seniors at 10:15 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center. Cost is $2.50. 

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

ONGOING 

United Way’s Earn it! Keep It! Save It! needs volunteer tax preparers and language interpreters to help low-income families in Alameda County claim tax credits. No previous tax preparation experience is necessary. Training sessions run through mid-January. For more information, call 238-2415. www.earnitkeepitsaveit.org 

CITY MEETINGS 

Berkeley Unified School District Board meets Wed. Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m., in the City Council Chambers. 644-6320. 

Planning Commission meets Wed., Jan. 11, 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., Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/policereview 

Housing Advisory Commission Special Meeting Thurs. Jan. 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5410. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/housing 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Jan. 12, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/zoning  

West Berkeley Project Area Commission Public Meeting on the Aquatic Park Streetscape Connection Project, Thurs., Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. at the West Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7402. 

A surreptitious stalker slashed the robust rodent outside Berkeley Honda at high noon Thursday, briefly deflating the colorful symbol of striking union members. 

The incident followed by one day the presentation by dealership management of what they dubbed their “last and best offer” to solve the long running labor dispute. 

Union officials scoffed at the offer. 

Members of East Bay Automotive Machinists Lodge Local 1546 have been picketing the dealership since new owners purchased the dealership on June 1 and voided the existing contract signed when the dealership was owned by Jim Doten. 

Teamster Jim O’Hara, who has been walking the picket line, said he had momentarily left the rat moments after noon Thursday to talk to colleague Dave Allen, who was picketing near the dealerships shop entrance. 

The two soon observed with alarm that the $3,000 rat had started to keel over. 

“At first, we thought maybe the generator had died,” O’Hara said. 

But the generator—which is made by Honda—was still quietly chugging away. 

On lifting up the sadly supine rodent, they discovered three long knife slashes in the critter’s belly, and O’Hara grabbed his camera to document the incident as his colleague called police. 

Mike Cook came out from union headquarters with a repair kit, and in less than three hours the rodent was inflated anew and presiding once again over the southwest corner of the intersection of Shattuck Avenue and Parker Street. 

“People have developed a lot of affection for the rat,” Parker said. “I’ve seen parents bring their children by and lift them up so they can shake his hands. There were even carolers singing around him at Christmas.” 

The rodent was still in Christmas garb Thursday, wearing a Santa hat atop his furry little head and had a string of lights around his neck. 

Pickets were out in force by Thursday evening, beseeching would-be buyers and shop customers to hear them out before patronizing the dealership. 

When the new owners, headed by Stephen Beinke, a Danville businessman, took over in June, they made all employees reapply for their jobs. Ten of the union’s repair shop workers were rehired but 12 were dismissed, triggering the walkout. 

The key sticking point is the company’s pension proposal, which rejects the union’s demand that the dealership offer workers the union’s own pension plan. 

A publicly-financed election reform concept introduced two years ago to Berkeley voters by Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates—and soundly rejected by those voters in the 2004 election—has been reintroduced in the state Legislature by Assemblymember Loni Hancock, with Hancock’s chief of staff saying that “the time is now right” for the issue. 

Hancock’s office is planning a town hall meeting on SB 583 Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Oakland City Council Chambers at Oakland City Hall. A vote on the measure is scheduled in the Assembly Elections and Reapportionment Committee on Tuesday. 

If passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, Hancock’s bill would provide public money for qualifying candidates for state office, both in primaries and in general elections, from $150,000 for assembly candidates in a party primary up to $10 million for gubernatorial candidates in a general election. 

To qualify for the public money, candidates would have to demonstrate that they are “serious” by getting a combination of petition signatures and campaign contributions in small amounts, and would have to agree not to receive any outside contributions once the public contributions kick in. 

Susan King, a spokesperson for the California Green Party, said that “clean money” laws such as that introduced by Hancock “don’t necessarily minimize corporate donations to election campaigns, but help to equalize those contributions.” 

California Green Party Press Secretary Cres Vellucci said that his organization originally opposed Hancock’s bill when it was introduced last year “because it discriminated against small parties.” 

At a Green Party conference at Laney Conference last year, participants complained that some “clean money” laws set qualifying thresholds in such a way that only major party candidates—Democrats or Republicans—could participate. But Vellucci said that it was his understanding that changes have been made to the legislation since then, “but we have not yet taken a position on the amended bill.” 

The provisions of Hancock’s bill are similar to those introduced to Berkeley voters under Measure H by Berkeley Mayor Bates in November of 2004. That measure only won the support of 41 percent of Berkeley voters. Hancock is married to Bates. 

But with concerns over what he called the “massive amounts of campaign contribution money” spent in last November’s California elections as well as the recent guilty plea of “super-lobbyist” Jack Abramoff, Hancock Chief of Staff Hans Hemann said he hopes that the political tide has turned in the state, and the Assemblymember’s bill will have a better chance of passage. 

“There are a lot of other possible election campaign finance reforms, such as mandating disclosure of campaign contributions,” Hemann said. “But the only real way to reform the electoral system is to get the special interest money out. We need to get at the root of the evil.” 

Hancock’s bill would provide a “clean money” campaign alternative in California similar to that in Arizona, where such a system has been in place since a voter initiative was passed in 1998. 

The nonprofit, nonpartisan Clean Elections Institute of Arizona reported that more than half of the candidates ran with only “clean money” in that state’s primary and general elections last year, with 68 percent of the minority candidates in the primary running a “clean money” campaign. The organization reported that results by “clean money” and traditionally-financed candidates were similar, with 76 percent of the “clean money” and 74 percent of the traditionally-financed candidates winning in the primary, and 55 percent of the “clean money” and 66 percent of the traditionally-financed candidates winning in the general election. 

“Clean money” legislative office winners have jumped significantly in the last two years in Arizona, with 47 percent of the legislators winning with “clean money” in 2004, up 11 percentage points from 2002. 

Green Party spokesperson King said that while she had not yet seen the details of Hancock’s bill, “the Green Party firmly endorses the clean money campaign. Corporate donations are one of the biggest problems with elections. We feel that the public financing mechanism is the best way to ensure that grassroots citizens can run credible campaigns.” 

But King said the Green Party did not think campaign reform should end with the institution of “clean money.” 

“It’s a good start,” she said. “In the electoral reform arena, it’s the lower-hanging fruit. It gives grassroots candidates a leg up.” 

But King said that the Green Party would eventually like to see “a wide range” of electoral reforms in the state, including statewide Instant Runoff Voting, and “setting up at-large, proportional representation legislative districts that would be more representative of citizens’ interests than the present single seat winner-take-all system.” 

King also said that “real campaign finance reform must ultimately get corporate influence completely out of the electoral arena. That’s the big issue.” 

Hancock’s Saturday town hall forum at the Oakland City Hall council chambers will include presentations by Arizona State Representative Leah Landrum Taylor and California Clean Money Campaign Executive Director Susan Lerner. 

Hancock staff member Taina Gomez, who is coordinating the town hall, said that time will be set aside for public testimony as well. 

“The town hall has a dual purpose,” she said, “both to get information from the public on their concerns about this issue, as well as to make the community aware and get them motivated. Hopefully people will contact their respective legislators, regardless of what happens with the committee vote on Tuesday.”›

January 

Mayor Tom Bates slammed UC Berkeley’s revised Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) and warned that Berkeley would likely resort to a lawsuit if the plan didn’t detail specific projects or exact locations where the university intends to build over the next 15 years. 

A six-month progress report released by the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) on the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) said that the district “continues to make good progress in five operational areas” of education management. 

While BUSD awaited a decision by the Berkeley City Council on whether or not the city will close down a block of Derby Street to build a regulation-size baseball field for the high school, a district-contracted architectural firm moved forward to develop proposals for temporary use of the district-owned property adjoining Berkeley Alternative High School. 

February 

BUSD’s superintendent and board directors blasted Gov. Arnold Schwarz- 

enegger’s education budget cuts, calling on constituents to write protest letters to the governor and legislators, and promising further action. 

The Berkeley Federation of Teachers Union announced what amounted to a work slow-down in response to the district’s latest contract proposal. 

According to a warning by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), all four colleges of the Peralta Community College District were notified that they were in danger of losing their accreditation if deficiencies were not corrected within two years. 

Berkeley filed suit against UC Berkeley, charging that the university’s LRDP violated state law. 

March 

A group of six Oakland residents were arrested in the offices of Randolph Ward, the state school administrator, after demanding a meeting with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell over plans to close adult education in the Oakland Unified School District. 

A deeply-divided BUSD Board of Directors killed a proposal to consider a baseball field for its Derby Street properties. 

BUSD was put on a list of 150 California school districts needing “program improvement.” 

Six months after a hacker broke into a UC Berkeley research computer containing the names and Social Security numbers of more than 600,000 health care workers and patients, the university reported the theft of a laptop containing personal information of nearly 100,000 graduate students. 

April 

Environmental activists and North Berkeley residents told Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory officials to leave intact the unused Bevatron building, which is full of toxic and low-level nuclear wastes, on its present four-acre site atop the Hayward Fault in the Berkeley hills. 

Berkeley teachers took their increasingly rancorous contract dispute back to the BUSD board meeting, filling the Old City Hall Council chambers with union members and supporters chanting “Fair Contract Now!” Teachers began the work slowdown. 

As if ongoing budget and contract problems and the task of hiring 60 new teachers were not enough, BUSD reported that it had to replace five of its 16 school principals and the district director of food services by the end of the summer. 

UC service workers from the system’s nine campuses, five medical facilities and the Lawrence Berkeley Labs held a one-day strike to protest what they said was UC’s disrespect for their jobs and its refusal to bargain in good faith for a new contract. 

UC and the union representing its 7,300 low-wage service workers announced that they had come to a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract after almost 10 months of negotiations. 

Vista College President Judy Walters gave Peralta Community College District Trustees a power-point view of what the college’s new Center Street campus will look like when it opens next fall. 

May 

Berkeley City Council voted to settle the city’s lawsuit against the university under a secret deal brokered between Mayor Tom Bates and UC Chancellor Robert Birgeneau. 

BUSD reached contract agreements with its teachers, bus drivers, custodians, instructional assistants and office workers. 

June 

With students leading the way, 57 percent of Berkeley Unified’s Jefferson Elementary School community voted to change the name of the school to Sequoia Elementary. Later, the BUSD board voted 3-2 to deny the name change. 

BUSD notified families that it had reached a settlement in a 2004 class action suit filed on behalf of three minority Berkeley students who claimed that their education at Berkeley High was disrupted by improper expulsions. 

July 

With UC Regents preparing to vote on proposed increases in professional degree fees, four UC professional degree students filed a class action lawsuit in San Francisco against the regents to prevent those increases. 

August 

The union representing the Peralta College District’s support workers charged that Peralta administrators were setting up a permanent category of “second-class workers” throughout the four-college district by reducing the number of hours temporary workers could work the week. 

Results of the newly released public school test reports showed that BUSD students continue to rank far above state testing scores in the California Standardized Test (STAR) in elementary school, but that advantage tended to evaporate as students entered the higher grades. 

BUSD projected that it would have $346,000 more for the school year than it anticipated when the 2005-06 budget was passed in June, but district officials cautioned that it was not quite time to open up the checkbook for more spending. 

September 

A group of Berkeley citizens filed a lawsuit against the City of Berkeley and several city officials in the California Superior Court in Oakland, asking the court to set aside the city’s settlement agreement with UC over its LRDP because it “contracted away the City Council’s right to independently exercise its police power in the future.” 

In its final six-month progress report on the Berkeley Unified School District, the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) praised the district for making what it called “good progress” in its operational areas, but said that the district “still faces significant fiscal challenges” and cautioned that BUSD “will need to remain vigilant to avoid fiscal insolvency.” 

BUSD got bad news and good news under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, with Rosa Parks Elementary entering the fifth year of low performance “program improvement” status, and John Muir Elementary winning national “Blue Ribbon” honors for program excellence. 

October 

In a sign of increased scrutiny over district operations that began last January when four new board members were elected, the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees announced the hiring of an inspector general to report directly to the board on district operations. 

November 

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, toured Berkeley’s student-run Edible Garden at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School as part of a week-long tour of the United States, in part devoted to exploring environmental issues, such as organic farming. 

Members of the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees censured fellow trustee Marcie Hodge for “behavior that is out of compliance with the established Peralta Community College District policies” of “civility and mutual respect,” and accusing Hodge of “emotionally violent behavior.” Hodge later escalated her attacks against the district’s Office of International Affairs, with her sister hiring San Francisco Freedom of Information Act attorney Karl Olson to renew a request for an investigative report on the department. 

Labor and student activists held a series of on-campus demonstrations at the UC Berkeley coinciding with the two-day meeting of the UC Regents on the Clark Kerr campus. Regents voted to increase costs by as much as 10 percent and also voted to increase salaries of hundreds of top university administrators by about 3 percent. 

December 

UC Berkeley and UCLA professors called for an investigation into newspaper allegations of hidden university employee compensation practices. The Board of Regents later announced the creation of a permanent Regents’ committee on compensation, initiating an independent audit going back 10 years and releasing the names of business, government, media, and education community members of a task force previously recommended by UC President Robert Dynes to look into the compensation issue. 

Despite neighbor misgivings, UC Berkeley moved forward with plans for a major redevelopment of its Strawberry Creek area football stadium.

Planning commissioners will take a West Berkeley tour Saturday morning, looking at sites close to the freeway that could house car dealerships. 

The tour is the first step in Mayor Tom Bates’s proposal to open up former manufacturing and industrial sites for auto sales—a major source of sales tax revenues for a cash-hungry city. 

With dealerships eager to move from downtown to sites where they can draw freeway traffic, Bates has said he wants to give them the opening. But dealerships are currently barred from most of West Berkeley by zoning ordinances and a plan that reserves much of the area for industry and manufacturing. 

To pave the way for dealerships, the Planning Commission would have to draw up and pass amendments to the West Berkeley Plan and the accompanying zoning regulations—hence the tour as the first step. 

The day is scheduled to begin at 9:45 a.m. when participants—including interested members of the public—will gather at McKevitt Volvo-Nissan at 2700 Shattuck Ave., where participants will hear a presentation by city staff, followed by a tour of the dealership. 

The first phase of the tour will cover manufacturing and light industrial-zoned sites (MU-LI) in the area from the Gilman Street corridor area to University Ave., followed by a walking tour of sites zoned solely for manufacturing. 

Then comes a driving tour of similarly zoned sites along the Interstate 80 frontage area and other sites between University and Ashby avenues and areas to the south. 

The tour will end with a brief gathering at Weatherford BMW’s Ashby Avenue facility, which will include a session for public comments. 

Planning commissioners will use the information gathered during the day to hold a public workshop on the issue during their meeting Wednesday, which begins at 7 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

Landmarks 

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) will meet Monday night at 7:30 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center, with at least one controversial item on the agenda—the proposal to landmark the Bevatron building at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. 

The lab wants to tear down the venerable but ailing structure, which has outlived its scientific usefulness. During its heyday, the now-decommissioned particle accelerator inside yielded the data that led to a hefty bounty of Nobel Prizes for physics research that reshaped the way scientists look at the universe. 

While foes of the demolition say the structure’s rubble and the dust stirred up by deconstruction work could pose significant health risks to the public, lab officials insist that proper handling of the demolition will eliminate risks. 

Also on the agenda is a hearing on contested plans to revamp the rear of the landmarked former H.J. Heinz Company Plant at 2700 San Pablo Ave. The owner wants to replace the existing corrugated metal siding with stucco, but several commissioners expressed reservations during the LPC’s December meeting. 

Commissioners will also conduct their first hearing on a new landmarks application, which proposes to designate the Oaks Theater at 1601 Solano Ave. as either a landmark or a city structure of merit. 

The Planning Commission will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

The Landmarks Preservation Commission will meet Monday night at 7: 30 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center.

The fate of a popular after-school tutoring program housed at a contaminated former chemical plant site dominated a Wednesday night meeting in Richmond. 

Making Waves, a popular and respected program for 250 youths from impoverished and largely minority backgrounds, now operates its programs for younger students in temporary quarters at Campus Bay. That site, for a century the home of plants making toxic chemicals, is now undergoing a state-mandated cleanup. 

As part of the cleanup, the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, which is overseeing the cleanups both at Campus Bay and the adjoining UC Berkeley Richmond Field Station, created a Community Advisory Group (CAG) to help the state in its efforts. 

Ronald C. Nahas, a member of the Making Waves board of directors, appeared at Wednesday’s Richmond Southeast Shoreline CAG meeting to argue that the program be allowed to stay to finish the school year, noting that the program has acquired a new site where a new facility should be completed in time for the start of the September school session. 

At their December meeting, the CAG voted to ask the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, which originally had jurisdiction over the site, to enforce a deed restriction barring hospitals, day care centers for children or seniors and any schools from operating on the site. 

In a Dec. 23 letter to water board Executive Director Bruce Wolfe, CAG Chair Whitney Dotson called on Wolfe to “immediately enforce the deed restriction that states there will be no schools” on the contaminated site. 

Enforcement issues 

The restrictions remain in force, said Wolfe in a telephone interview Thursday. 

“I have turned the matter over to our attorneys to consider the legal issues involved,” he said. “We certainly want to enforce the restriction if we need to ... I would like to get this resolved by the end of the month.” 

Deed restrictions limiting use of partially remediated hazardous waste sites are a common feature of cleanup plans, but Wolfe said this is the first time in his memory that the board has needed to enforce one. 

Property owner Cherokee Simeon is a partnership of Cherokee Investment Partners, an investment fund, with Simeon properties, a San Francisco-based developer. Their plans for building a high-density, high-rise residential complex on the site have been postponed pending the completion of current cleanup activities and further studies by the DTSC. 

Cherokee Investment Partners executives insist the site is safe for the program and cite a recent DTSC evaluation of soil vapors at the site. 

In a Dec. 15 letter to Richmond City Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin—a CAG member who voted for the letter to the water board—Cherokee Managing Director Dwight Stenseth and Campus Bay engineering project manager Doug Mosteller labeled criticisms of the after school program’s location as “alarmist comments by a few vocal people.”  

Contra Costa County Public Health Director Dr. Wendel Brunner has supported the continuation of the program at the site, telling fellow CAG members Wednesday that the harm of disrupting a valuable educational program outweighs “the minuscule risks” revealed by the study. 

A DTSC examination of soil gas vapors in the building—fumes that can penetrate into structures from the soil beneath—revealed trace levels of two hazardous compounds, benzene and toluene. Of the two, only benzene is a known carcinogen, and the risk of developing cancer from the exposure levels found in the survey was estimated at 7.6 in 100 million. 

“DTSC has concluded that the soil vapor levels around Building 240 (the home of the program) do not pose a public health threat risk to the students and staff of Making Waves,” the report concluded. 

But other CAG members remain skeptical. 

Brunner remains an ardent supporter of remediation efforts at the site, and said Wednesday that no schools or similar facilities should be built at Campus Bay without further significant remediation efforts. 

Nahas, of the school board, said the Making Waves program moved to Campus Bay only after being forced to leave previous sites. “It was the only place in Richmond that could accommodate our students,” he said Thursday. 

High school students and program staff are currently housed in a facility at 200 24th St. near the Richmond Civic Center, where he said there have been “four shootings, two of them fatal,” within the last 90 days within a block of the building. 

The new location at 860 Harbor Way South should be considerably safer for the consolidated operations, he said Thursday. 

CAG members were skeptical, noting that the program had extended its planned stay at Campus Bay by several years. Nahas said that the program has made a “huge investment” in the new property, and is determined to complete construction by the start of the new school year. 

Help sought 

The state Department of Health Services is conducting interviews and collecting statements from community members to learn their concerns about and experiences with the site. 

Health Educator Rubi Orozco cautioned that the agency’s assessment isn’t a formal scientific study, “but the results will guide us and alert us to possible exposures” from the chemical manufacturing operations. 

DHS is particularly interested in hearing from former residents of the Seaport War Apartments that once existed on the eastern edge of the site. 

She asked anyone with concerns and information to contact her by mail at the Site Assessment Section of the Environmental Health Investigations Branch of the Department of Health Services, 850 Marina Parkway, Building P, Third Floor, Richmond 94804-6403, by e-mail at ROrozco@dhs.ca.gov or by phone at 510-620-3671. 

Other news 

Excavations at the site off the Richmond Field Station, where a retired UC Berkeley worker has said drums containing suspected radioactive waste from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory were buried three decades ago, are scheduled to begin Monday.  

Barbara J. Cook, DTSC’s Berkeley-based chief of Northern California coastal cleanup, told the CAG that—barring more storms—work could be completed within a week. 

UC Berkeley officials were scheduled to hold a press briefing this Friday morning to discuss the university’s plans for the field station, where the university plans to build an additional two million square feet of facilities for a corporate/academic research park. 

CAG member Sherry Padgett and others have expressed concerns, stating that no expansion plans should be allowed until the property is thoroughly surveyed for concentrations of toxics resulting both from wastes dumped on the property from activities at the Campus Bay site and from a blasting cap factory on the field station site that used vast amounts of toxic mercury.f

Revelations that the National Security Agency (NSA) has engaged in warrantless eavesdropping in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act prompted President Bush to admit last month that in 2002 he directly authorized the activity in the wake of 9/11.  

But there are reasons to suspect that the illegal eavesdropping, and the related program of illegal detentions of U.S. citizens as well as foreign nationals, began earlier. Both may be part of what Vice President Dick Cheney has called the Bush administration’s restoration of “the legitimate authority of the presidency”—practices exercised by Nixon that were outlawed after Watergate.  

In the 1980s Richard Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld discussed just such emergency surveillance and detention powers in a super-secret program that planned for what was euphemistically called “Continuity of Government” (COG) in the event of a nuclear disaster.  

At the time, Cheney was a Wyoming congressman, while Rumsfeld, who had been defense secretary under President Ford, was a businessman and CEO of the drug company G.D. Searle. Overall responsibility for the program had been assigned to Vice President George H.W. Bush, “with Lt. Col. Oliver North ... as the National Security Council action officer,” according to James Bamford in his book A Pretext for War.  

These men planned for suspension of the Constitution, not just after nuclear attack, but for any “national security emergency,” which they defined in Executive Order 12656 of 1988 as: “Any occurrence, including natural disaster, military attack, technological or other emergency, that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national security of the United States.” Clearly 9/11 would meet this definition.  

As developed in the mid-1980s by Oliver North in the White House, the plans called for not just the surveillance but the potential detention of large numbers of American citizens. During the Iran-Contra hearings, North was asked about his work on “a contingency plan in the event of emergency, that would suspend the American constitution.” The chairman, Democratic Senator Inouye, ruled that this was a “highly sensitive and classified” matter, not to be dealt with in an open hearing.  

The supporting agency for the planning and implementation was the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA was headed for much of the 1980s by Louis Giuffrida, whose COG plans for massive detention became so extreme that even President Reagan’s then Attorney General, William French Smith, raised objections.  

Smith eventually left Washington, while COG continued to evolve. And in May 2001 Cheney and FEMA were reunited: President George W. Bush appointed Cheney to head a terrorism task force and created a new office within FEMA to assist him. In effect, Bush was authorizing a resumption of the kind of planning that Cheney and FEMA had conducted under the heading of COG.  

Press accounts at the time claimed that the Cheney terrorism task force accomplished little and that Cheney himself spent the entire month of August in a remote location in Wyoming. But this may have just been the appearance of withdrawal; as author James Mann points out in The Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush’s War Cabinet, Cheney had regularly gone off to undisclosed locations in the 1980s as part of his secret COG planning.  

As to the actual role of Bush, Cheney and FEMA on 9/11 itself, much remains unclear. But all sources agree that a central order at 10 a.m. from Bush to Cheney contained three provisions, of which the most important was, according to the 9/11 Commission Report, “the implementation of continuity of government measures.”  

The measures called for the immediate evacuation of key personnel from Washington. Both Cheney and Rumsfeld refused to leave, but Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was helicoptered to a bunker headquarters inside a mountain. Cheney also ordered key congressional personnel, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert, to be flown out of Washington, along with several cabinet members.  

During Cheney’s later disappearance from public view for a long period after the attack, he too was working from a COG base—“Site R,” the so-called “Underground Pentagon” on the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, according to Bamford.  

Many actions of the Bush presidency resemble not only what Nixon did in the 1970s, but what Cheney and Rumsfeld had planned to restore under COG in the 1980s in the case of an attack. Prominent among these have been the detention of so-called “enemy combatants,” including U.S. citizens, and placing them in special camps. Now as before, a policy of detentions outside the Constitution has been accompanied by a program of extra-constitutional surveillance to determine who will be detained.  

As Cheney told reporters on his return last month from Pakistan, “Watergate and a lot of things around Watergate and Vietnam, both during the ‘70s served, I think, to erode the authority” of the president. But he defended as necessary for national security the aggressive program he helped shape under President George W. Bush, which includes warrantless surveillance and extrajudicial imprisonment—in effect, a new Imperial Presidency.  

At least two Democrats in Congress have suggested that Bush could be impeached for his illegal surveillance activities. The chances of impeachment may depend on whether Congress can prove that planning for this, like planning for the Iraq War, began well before 9/11.  

Peter Dale Scott is author of Drugs, Oil, and War: The United States in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Indochina (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003) and is completing a book to be titled Deep Politics and the Road to 9/11. 

›

www.jfdefreitas.com?

UC PARKING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

From the Jan. 3 Daily Planet: “[I]ncluded in the [UC] plans is a $60 million, 845-space underground parking lot ... to the north of the stadium.”  

By my math, that’s roughly $70,000 a space, so given running costs, etc., the spaces would need to rent for about $600 a month, assuming every parking space was always rented. Obviously UC is planning to heavily subsidize parking near the stadium in the new facility. Is heavily subsidized parking an appropriate use of public education funds ? 

Jon Petrie 

Piedmont 

• 

BERKELEY HONDA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was glad to see Harry Brill and Raymond Barglow’s response to Chris Regalia’s commentary on the Berkeley Honda dispute. 

Just a couple of things to add:  

Regalia is outraged that the City Council has had the effrontery to support the strikers and the boycott. Yet in his San Francisco Chronicle column Monday, Chip Johnson noted that “the new owners have politely declined an offer by Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates to mediate the dispute.” (Bates in fact took that “neutral” stance Regalia favors by not joining the City Council when it voted in favor of the boycott months ago.) 

If they really wanted to settle with the union and were willing to work on a compromise, it seems to me that after seven months, these new owners would be eager for mediation. 

I think Don Crisato, representing the automotive engineers, told the real story of Beinke and Haworth’s strategy in another quote from Johnson’s column: “We’ve seen this before in other situations...You stall and delay, hire a bare majority, put in new work conditions. You meet once a month, two hours at a time, refuse to budge on any major issues, and drag it out until they vote out the union altogether.” 

In short, they don’t want a mediator because they don’t want a negotiated settlement. They want the union to fade away and leave the fate of the workers and their pay, retirement, and benefits entirely up to them (and their anti-union attack dog law firm, Littler Mendelson.) 

Small wonder there are twice weekly rallies, a giant inflatable rat on Parker and Shattuck, and both workers and community members approaching potential customers to take their business elsewhere.  

And a big shame they don’t really want to settle, because one thing we all agree on is that Berkeley certainly does need that sales tax. 

Donna Mickleson 

• 

POLICE REVIEW 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thank heavens someone is noticing the evaporation of police review in Berkeley. I recently had a complaint against a subject officer dismissed because he was terminated by the Police Department after the date of the police misconduct. The charter states clearly that the operative date is the date of the incident, but nobody seems to bother reading the charter anymore.  

Carol Denney 

• 

IMMIGRATION DEBATE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I keep reading in liberal papers like the Daily Planet about the “divisive immigration debate,” as if America is divided down the middle on this issue. Let me clear up this misconception. According to virtually every poll that I’ve read, the overwhelming majority of American citizens want nothing less than for our present laws of citizenship and immigration to be enforced, and for the people who refuse to obey these laws to get the hell out of our country and stay out. There is in fact remarkable consensus on this issue, more so than virtually any other major political issue. Even the latest poll in October by the PEW Hispanic Center says that 51 percent of Americans say that reducing illegal immigration is a “top priority.” Has a nice ring to it, don’t it? “Top priority.” In other words: the “debate” is over.  

Peter Labriola 

• 

JES’ AN OL’ COOT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Please be patient with this old coot from the hills of western Pennsylvania, who spent the first six grades of school in two rooms, being taught by two old maid Sunday School teachers. And I can never forgive the education system that had in mind the need to keep us dumb, and dependent on the steel mills and coal mines. 

Small town kids from heavy industry cultures have few options offered, or even mentioned. In the case of “Jack” Murtha’s constituents of today, we can only remember the good economic times. The steel mills and mines are closed, the school board is made-up of old maids and other assorted “left-behinds.” Most everyone who had any desire to learn left town as soon as possible. It is a great place to be from. 

However, Dear Editor, I congratulate you on being so astute in defining me, and so I must confess. I certainly am not literate as it concerns this confounding machine.  

I opined, after reading only the first paragraph about Murtha, and you answered. That tickled me. My first try at responding to computer talk and I got an answer. That’s progress. Do I now call myself a real quasi-progressive? Or jes’ an ol’ fool coot, living in a retirement home for retired Marines who has spent 20 years serving America as a “Bomb Disposal” fool, and another 20 years fighting the Amazon River Complex (the real ARC story) exploiters. 

The last time I spoke with any editor was 1985, when I was trying-out to be a stringer for the New York Times. He came to my Brazil office and asked me to guide him through the real dilemma about the cultural and environment. He left saying I was the most authoritative voice on the entire matter, and that there was only one man to his knowledge whose mind grasped a situation as quickly. Then he introduced me to Roger Rosenblatt, aka editor of U. S. News and World Report, plus other quasi-literate magazines. I’m kinda proud of the 20 years I spent “Up The Amazon” after retiring from American military service. The way I look at it is that, considering the sixth-grade education by evangelical lesbians, I’ve not done too shabby. 

My second book, is a 656-page history book, about people from my (and Murtha’s) home county, who built a railroad at the Brazil/Bolivia border, back in 1877-79, and whose exploits never before became known. It’s due out in about six weeks.  

My third, is, at this writing, only 500 double-spaced pages, needing to be scanned onto disc, and then I can start editing the 52 short stories, editorials, opinions and assorted memoir ramblings of a proud, old coot Marine.  

The next one, the third, is really intended to be a TV-sitcom, by “e” GUNN USMC-Ret. The opening story, already published, is “Eddikation Done Country Style.” The second story is “The Friendliest Native,” published in California, about a tiny parrot who taught me about love and loss thereof. 

So, my dear editor of the Daily Planet, what do you want to be when you grow up and ready to retire? By the way, what is the Daily Planet, a journalism or political science student newspaper? 

Keep faith in yourself, and have fun trying. 

W.L. “Bill” ADAMS 

• 

OBSOLESCENCE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Due to Microsoft’s intentional proclivities to corner us into relentless upgrades, I’m afraid I am about to bid farewell to my archaic Windows 98 system, bite the bullet and make Bill Gates still wealthier. For months I have struggled with this inevitability, desperately trying to stay the course with this 5-year-old dinosaur and convince myself that it meets my needs. In fact, it almost does.  

Of course, if Microsoft would actually support these prematurely fossilized operating systems with any conviction, and the geeks writing programs would still honor them as viable, I (as well as countless others) could hold onto such battle-axes and go about our business of living, loving, etc. As it is, however, these eminently functional relics‚ are being relegated to the trash heaps of planned obsolescence faster than you can say “download that upgrade.” Thus, I have ascertained it to be virtually impossible to stay concurrent with this frenzy without enjoining myself to the latest, greatest chip, while hoping that the newest “office suite” will accommodate the growing entourage of e-mail relations I have amassed over the last few years.  

So it is with great sadness, visceral outrage, and financial pain that I am about to place my order for infinite gigabits of hard drive space, mind-bending, sight-splitting speedy processors, and more memory than I ever had. The thing is, I have also determined that I will need at least 40 hours of reinstallation time just to recreate the computer services I am now privy to. More importantly, I must confess to a relatively new pathology: “techno-obsessive disorder.” Ubiquitous and virulent, it shows no signs of mitigating its chronic, demonic effects on my fragile, soon to be senior psyche as I segue into the ethers and coffers of Microsoft’s ever more voluminous presence. Perhaps you will glimpse me, roaming the streets in the middle of the night, rambling incoherently about adware, malware, corrupt codes, missing dll’s, drivers that don’t drive and illegal operations. If we meet, please be gentle with me, dear friends. For there but for the grace of God go you, too, one day! 

Marc Winokur 

Oakland 

y

At the end of each year, Dispatches gives out its annual IDBIAART (I Don’t Believe I Am Actually Reading This) Awards for special contributions to international relations during the past year.  

The Historical Amnesia Award goes to former Nixon Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird who in a recent Foreign Affairs article argued in favor of “Iraqification,” by using the Vietnam War as an example:  

“The truth about Vietnam that the revisionist historians conveniently forget,” writes Laird, “is that the United States had not lost when we withdrew in 1973. I believed then and still believe today that given enough outside resources, South Vietnam was capable of defending itself, just as I believe Iraq can do the same now.” 

It is not clear whether the American Embassy in Baghdad has a helicopter-landing pad on its roof 

The Speaking Power to Truth Award goes to David H. Wilkins, U.S. ambassador to Canada who warned Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin that if he did not stop “attacking the U.S.” Americans might decide to retaliate by cutting trade with its northern neighbor.  

Wilkins was responding to critical remarks that Martin made concerning U.S. tariff policy on Canadian lumber, smuggled American guns being used in Toronto gang wars, and the Bush administration’s opposition to the Kyoto climate accords. 

Canada took the tariff issue to court and won $5 billion, but Washington successfully appealed to the U.S.-dominated World Trade Organization and refuses to pay up. The guns that have contributed to making Toronto gangs a good deal deadlier are purchased in the U.S. because Canada has restrictive laws on handgun and assault rifle ownership. And the Administration is on record opposing Kyoto. 

Following Wilkins’ comments, Martin’s poll numbers went up. 

The Stop Wallowing In The Past Award goes to French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy who wrote in Le Journal du Dimanche that France should refrain from “an excess of repentance” over its colonial past. 

The comments were in reference to a recent uproar over a law passed last February instructing teachers to acknowledge the “positive role” of the French colonial empire, particularly in North Africa. 

The law ignited widespread outrage in the Caribbean, where protests forced Sarkozy to cancel plans to visit the French West Indies islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe.  

The Algerian government is particularly incensed. France carried out a long and bloody colonial war in Algeria that included the well-documented use of torture and the extra-judicial murders of insurgents and civilians by French police, paratroopers and the Foreign Legion. 

French colonial behavior in West Africa and Indochina was little better, and a major reason for the present impoverishment of Haiti was that France forced the tiny island to pay enormous reparations to former slave owning sugar growers who lost their plantations when native Haitians liberated their country. 

Sarkozy—presently the front runner in the 2007 French presidential elections—was recently criticized for calling young rioters in France “scum” and promising to “eradicate the gangrene” from more than 300 cities that erupted in violence two months ago. Widespread youth joblessness and racism by the police are generally accepted as the sparks that set off the conflagration. 

“France,” writes Sarkozy, “is a great country because it has a great history.” 

The Three-Card Monte in Economics Award goes to European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, who recently proposed a “concession” to developing countries on trade: the EU would drop agricultural subsidies if developing countries would open their manufacturing and service sectors to the developed world.  

But Mendelson knows that EU agricultural subsidies are not sustainable in the long run anyhow, hence he is “conceding” nothing that wouldn’t happen in the next few years in any event. And because developing countries’ service and industrial products cannot compete with the EU, the poor nations would essentially agree to deindustrialize their economies and return to their previous status as raw material baskets for their former colonial overseers. 

If the developing nations accept the idea, Mandelson will be a hero to EU exporters. If the developing nations refuse, they will be tagged as anti-global obstructionists. 

This round of world trade talks was supposed to be about “development.” Instead the big nations have turned it into a “now you see it, now you don’t” game.  

The Sowing the Wind Award goes to conservative Australian Prime John Howard, who in the aftermath of mob attacks on “Muslims” at a beach resort south of Sidney, told the media, “I don’t believe Australia is a racist country.”  

Gangs of up to 5,000 young white men, assaulted what they perceived as Lebanese men, women and children, chanting, “We grew up here, you flew here,” and wearing t-shirts proclaiming “Ethnic Cleansing Unit.” 

Up until 1970, Australia officially had a “whites only” immigration policy, and Howard has used the “threat” of Asian and Middle Eastern immigrants to pass a draconian mandatory detention policy for asylum seekers. Asylum applicants have been locked up on an island prison, where conditions are crowed and grim. A number of asylum candidates sewed their lips together to protest their inability to speak with immigration authorities. 

As part of his campaign to whip up anti-immigrant hysteria, Howard claimed that immigrant “boat people” were throwing their children into the sea. The charge was later proven false. 

Howard has also refused to apologize to Australia’s Aborigines for the way they have been treated since the British first established a penal colony on the subcontinent. More than 90 percent of the native population was wiped out, many by disease, some by design. Entire bands of Aborigines were executed for stealing sheep. Aborigines were also exposed to nuclear tests during the 1950s. They are still seeking redress from both the Australian and the British government for radiation poisoning and elevated cancer rates. 

At the time of the riots, Howard was attending a conference of Asian countries in Malaysia. He told the press, “People will not make judgments on Australia based on incidents that happen over a few days.” 

The opposition Labor Party, however, said, “The key challenge for Mr. Howard is not to pretend that this doesn’t affect the way in which the world sees Australia. It does. Images of the riots are being beamed across the world.” 

The Geographically Inappropriate Metaphor Award goes to an unnamed Special Operations officer for the U.S. military’s European Command who described the Bush administration’s $500 million program to fight “terrorism” in the Sahara Desert as “draining the swamp.” 

The Poor Babies Award goes to 62 percent of 500 U.S. families with an average of $26 million in liquid net assets who feel they are “under assault” in the media. A study by the Worth-Taylor Harrison Survey also found that 69 percent of the families felt they were portrayed badly.  

(What is this domestic item doing in Dispatches? Since most capital is international, this passes muster. But in any case, who could resist?)  

Jim Taylor, a co-director of the survey, said “They [the families] perceive the media to be dominated by images of indulgent and criminal wealth—from Donald Trump to Paris Hilton to Bernie Ebbers,” adding, “They have really strong feelings about the extent to which they are under assault.” 

Life is a vale of tears.  

›

The Oakland Tribune published an interesting story earlier this week on Oakland police foot patrols. 

Oakland used to have 26 full-time walking officers patrolling several of its commercial districts, but announced that this number has been pared down to 18, and will soon be reduced by three more. “Areas such as the Dimond, Montclair and Lakeshore lost their officers when they went on leave for medical reasons and were never replaced,” the Tribune article noted. The article also mentioned the Rockridge and Dimond areas as commercial districts which currently have walking officers. The Dimond commercial district is now scheduled to get a walking officer back, but only by sharing that officer part-time with the Laurel. 

“There isn’t a lot that everybody seems to agree on when it comes to community issues, but this is an issue that everyone seems to agree on,” the Tribune quoted a Lakeshore area community leader as saying. “Everyone agrees walking officers are incredibly effective. They really do make an impact on crime.” 

We will assume, just for the sake of this discussion, that the Lakeshore area community leader is right, and walking patrols “really do make an impact on crime.” I think it’s a fair conclusion, and have made it myself, from time to time. 

Let us now conduct a simple test. 

First, think quickly about the commercial districts of Oakland where the highest rates of crime might occur (if you’re having trouble coming up with statistics, think about the commercial areas where you, personally, wouldn’t feel safe parking your car and walking a couple of blocks at night). 

Second, review the commercial districts with police foot patrols—either now or in the past—mentioned in the Tribune article (Dimond, Montclair, Lakeshore, Rockridge, and Laurel). 

Third, see if any commercial district appears on your first list (districts with the highest crime rates) but not on the list of an Oakland police project that “everyone agrees” has an “impact on crime.” 

The Oakland Tribune article is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of the commercial areas where police foot patrols are assigned (for example, the downtown area not only has foot patrols during the day, it also has officers riding on horseback). So let me give you some help in this exercise. While I am not familiar with all of the high-crime commercial districts in the city, I do have something of a working knowledge of one of them—the International Boulevard corridor from High Street to the San Leandro border. This includes the area recently described by one local pastor as Oakland’s “killing zone,” the scene of many of Oakland’s homicides. If police foot patrols operate along this corridor, they must be doing it undercover. Under deep cover. Since 1988, when I returned to Oakland, the only time I have seen officers out of their cars along this stretch of our city—night or day—is when they are investigating a crime scene, effecting an arrest, or making a traffic stop. 

And that brings us to the subject of traffic stops. 

While the Oakland Police Department was operating foot patrols in the commercial districts of downtown, Dimond, Montclair, Lakeshore, Rockridge, and Laurel (and my friends in those districts were rightfully complaining in the instances when those foot patrols were taken away), the department was conducting a different kind of patrol along the far eastern end of International Boulevard: Operation Impact. 

In this program, the police department floods the streets not with patrols of foot officers trying to improve the safety of shoppers, but with rolling squads of cars whose sole purpose is to stop as many drivers as they can to give out tickets and find other various violations. These rolling “Operation Impact” squad patrols included Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers, and were originally instituted in East Oakland in the summer of 2003 supposedly to combat the area’s homicides and drug-related violence. The “Operation Impact” roving patrols continued into 2004, but by then their purpose had somehow changed—without a lot of explanation as to why—from stopping homicides to stopping Oakland’s sideshows. 

(Just how ineffective the “Operation Impact” traffic patrol saturation may have been on homicides and drug-related violence was illustrated in an incident near 87th Avenue and International Boulevard last July, when a running gun battle took place in the afternoon between two cars for several blocks in full view of California Highway Patrol officers who had stopped a car along International—not for serious drug violations—but to give them a traffic ticket. The gun battlers were apparently undeterred by the fact that police officers were in the area.) 

East Oakland’s “Operation Impact” was never (let us emphasize that word) designed to specifically investigate homicides, gang-related violence or, in its later form, the sideshows. No new homicide inspectors or officers with expertise in either gang violence or youth activities were either hired or trained under the program. Instead, “Operation Impact” was carried out something like a mechanic fixing a car with a hammer, its police department and Oakland City Hall advocates figuring that if enough cars were stopped for traffic violations along International Boulevard, criminals and sideshow participants in the adjoining neighborhoods would figure that “5-0” was in the area, and chill out. 

That interesting theory was spelled out in Robert Gammon’s revealing May 2005 article in the East Bay Express, when he wrote (after conducting several interviews with police officials and riding around with officers on “Operation Impact” patrol) that the joint OPD/Highway Patrol “anti-sideshow forces focus on traffic violations, reasoning that sideshows are far less likely to materialize if East Oakland motorists are constantly seeing cars being pulled over by police.” From January through May 2005, Gammon reported that during their massive weekend traffic stops, the “Operation Impact” patrols had issued 5,000 traffic citations, towed 1,700 vehicles, and made 700 arrests. These statistics, according to Gammon, were racked up by 43 OPD officers and 16 CHP officers “who cruise the major East Oakland thoroughfares on weekend nights.” 

How many of these 5,000 citations, 1,700 auto tows, and 700 arrests were justified by serious violations and how many of them were simple harassment that were done simply to justify the expenditure of police time on “Operation Impact?” It is impossible to tell by looking at the statistics. Having driven extensively in all parts of Oakland over the years, I can tell you that general traffic violations (speeding, running red lights, failure to stop for pedestrians) occur pretty much at the same rate in all parts of the city, regardless of the ethnic or income makeup of the community. But we can use our deductive reasoning to come to another conclusion. Take 60 police officers and set them to stopping cars throughout the weekend in the “walking patrol” districts of Dimond, Montclair, Lakeshore, Rockridge, and Laurel using the same criteria that they are presently using for stopping cars in Deep East Oakland. See how long it would take before drivers, tired of such tactics, would choose to do their shopping elsewhere. And that, in fact, is what it has done along the far International corridor, which is turning into a virtual ghost town on many weekend nights, depressing commercial and social activity in an area that should be figuring out a way to encourage more residents and spenders to come out. 

All of this happened under the watch of Mayor Jerry Brown, who wants to take his various law-and-order theories to test them on the entire state of California as Attorney General. With Mr. Brown on the way out, let us hope that the next mayor—Nancy Nadel, Ignacio De La Fuente, or Ronald Dellums—takes a more even-handed approach to law enforcement in Oakland. If there are police foot patrols in the Dimond and Montclair, there ought to be police foot patrols at 90th and International. If random, massive traffic stops (which target neither homicides nor sideshows) are not appropriate for the Laurel, they shouldn’t be appropriate for Deep East Oakland, either. 

›

Police Sting Captures Taggers, 

Including Alleged Ringleader 

Berkeley police cracked down on taggers Wednesday night, staging a stakeout that captured three of the graffiti artists, spray-can-handed. 

As a quick tour through the streets and along the railroad tracks of Berkeley’s industrial district quickly reveals, taggers have turned the area into their own playground, creating the distinctive works that are sometimes two and three stories high. 

In a Thursday afternoon statement, Berkeley Police Deparment Public Information Officer Shira Warren said that the sting resulted in arrests at 11 p.m. Wednesday. 

“While we are certain that these three are not the only persons responsible for graffiti in the city of Berkeley, we are certain we have caught one of the main perpetrators responsible for most of the graffiti crimes in that part of town,” Warren reported. 

City laws require that business owners clean up after the spray-painters, and Warren said costs of ongoing repairs have run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

The stakeout was the result of a coordinated investigation which included the assistance of the Public Works, Parks and Recreation and Waterfront departments headed by Sgt. Erik Upson. 

“We take graffiti crimes very seriously,” said Upson. “We use all available resources to hold [perpetrators] responsible for their crimes.”›

Many of us in the peace movement are praying for Ariel Sharon’s recovery even though we still see him as an obstacle to peace in the Middle East in the long run. While we would never wish for the death of anyone, even our enemies, we might have hoped that people like the president of Iran, or Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, or even President Bush would be peacefully removed from office quickly. Yet the developments of recent months have made many peaceniks hope that Sharon would stay in office at least through the completion of the next half-year.  

The reason is that Ariel Sharon has done what no one on the Left has been able to do: split the Right, marginalize the extremists who believe that holding on to the biblical vision of the Land of Israel is a divine mandate, and acknowledge that a smaller Israel with defensible borders is preferable to a large Israel that requires the domination of 3 million Palestinians.  

Sharon was not just a talker, he was a doer. Once he really understood that Israel could not hope to retain support of even its most enthusiastic allies if it continued the 39-year-old occupation, he dramatically withdrew several thousand settlers from Gaza and pulled back Israeli troops stationed there to 1967 borders.  

When his own political party, the Likud, repudiated his decisive actions, he quit and began to create a center-right party, Kadima, that was, according to the most recent polls, likely to win one-third of the delegates in the new Knesset, and to ally with the center-left Labor party headed by social justice crusader Amir Peretz in forming a new government.  

The potential government that might have emerged would have likely been more sensitive to the social justice needs of Israelis. It might have pushed Sharon to negotiate a settlement with the Palestinian people, rather than to continue to impose one along borders that Sharon had unilaterally decided upon (as he unilaterally decided to leave Gaza without making arrangements that could have given the Palestinian Authority the power to effectively challenge Hamas and other extremist groups that are currently wreaking havoc).  

Precisely because of his past as a ruthless militarist who cared little for the humanity of the Palestinian people, Sharon managed to bring with him, in the steps toward creating a Palestinian state, sections of the Israeli population who are not committed to holding on to the West Bank for religious reasons but who worry greatly about their own physical security from Palestinian terror. These Israelis trusted that Sharon was an expert in that sphere. It is hard to imagine anyone having the same credibility with those voters, and the same ability to gather their support for a Palestinian state. For that reason, Sharon’s absence from politics is a grave setback for those of us who hope to build peace step by step.  

Few of us in the peace movements had any illusions, though, that Sharon ever intended to negotiate a Palestinian state with borders that would have been acceptable (roughly those agreed upon between Palestinians and former Minister of Justice Yossi Beilin in the Geneva Accord). In fact, Sharon’s closest advisors tried to explain to Likud rejectionists that Sharon’s plan for unilateral withdrawals were precisely aimed at stopping the Geneva Accord and other such plans from getting majority support in Israel and among Israel’s allies abroad. It was also, they said, intended to derail the Road Map issued by President Bush.  

Sharon’s plan was to finish completion of a wall that he was building through the West Bank that incorporates the bulk of the settlers as well as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and to declare that the new boundary of Israel. Then he planned to forcibly remove the one-sixth of Israeli settlers who were not inside that wall and allow Palestinians to have approximately half of the West Bank for a Palestinian state—a state crisscrossed by Israeli roads, and a state in which the Israeli military would continue to police the Jordan Valley. The wall is nearing completion. If Sharon had the political mandate, its path would become the expanded boundary of Israel.  

Sharon has systematically ignored the humanity of the Palestinian people, violated their basic human rights, escalated torture and massive military assaults against civilian targets, escalated the use of targeted assassinations of “suspected” militants and refused to negotiate with the mild-mannered Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas. He has not been a man of peace.  

Yet the loss of Sharon will be mourned by many of us in the peace movement because his current moves, insensitive as they were to the needs of Palestinians, seemed to be the one viable way to build an Israeli majority for concessions that might eventually create the conditions for a more respectful and mutual reconciliation with the Palestinians, thereby bringing peace to Israel.  

Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun Magazine, a bimonthly Jewish critique of politics, culture and society and author of The Left Hand of God: Taking Back our Country from the Religious Right, forthcoming from HarperSanFrancisco in February. ›

Just as a stone dropped into the middle of a calm lake produces concentric waves one after the other, so press reports emanate from Katrina. They range from the mundane like the effect of dislocation on Tulane’s football season to the momentous like the tens of billions of dollars needed to remake the levee system so as to restore the wetlands. Daily news ripples of culpable neglect and blatant hypocrisy reduce me to tears.  

I moved away from New Orleans in 1945 but Mama and Daddy died there and my three brothers never left.  

Like so many Creole families, mine numbers over 50—direct descendants from my parents whose souls, except for a hand full of very young great-great grandkids, bear the New Orleans mark. Despite the fact that 90 percent of us make our homes elsewhere we all bask in and practice the Big Easy life; we visit as often as possible, display our unique amalgam of cultures, enjoy gumbo, dirty rice, crayfish and jumbalaya, engage in festive, uninhibited jubilations at Mardi Gras time regardless of where we live. We are Seattle-New Orleaneans, Berkeley-New Orleaneans, Houston-New Orleaneans, Los Angeles-New Orleaneans, etc. Along with us are thousands and thousands more similarly hyphenated New Orleaneans, a Crescent City Creole Diaspora. 

Katrina itself left us undisturbed. We were scattered as distantly before as after hurricanes Betsy (1965) and Camille (1969) and were prepared to tough it out again with Katrina, confident in our city’s survival. We did not expect to see it destroyed.  

What caused the shock waves were long standing man-made and politically driven pre-Katrina neglect followed by ineptitude, incompetence and hypocrisy. Our birth city was obliterated, our figurative umbilical cord severed.  

There are those who expect government to rebuild, to revivify America’s favorite tourist town. Evacuees complain that president Bush has so far failed on his promise, that FEMA is slow and unreliable. They say New Orleans is forgotten, Washington is deaf to its pleas, it must rebuild itself.  

Along with relatives and other members of the Creole Diaspora most with un-English family names like mine, I feel obliged to accept the destruction. My much-loved city of origin will not arise like an urban version of Lazarus 

I and others built lives in the great diversity of America even as our spirits held us close to home. There is now no home. Home has been erased. We are emigrants, homesick, filled with sorrow, saddened and very, very angry. Katrina’s ripple effect 

Marvin Chachere is a San Pablo resident.

Our planet’s climate is changing rapidly as greenhouse gas pollution accumulates in the Earth’s atmosphere. There is no longer any doubt that human activity (i.e., the production of gases from the combustion of fossil fuels, combined with an increasingly consumption-oriented human population and rampant deforestation) lies at the heart of climate change. All of us—from individuals to governments, and everyone and every institution in-between—must drastically reduce the greenhouse gases that we are responsible for producing, or we will experience increasing changes in the climate that will cause significant ecological, economic, and social upheaval. 

We can already observe the impacts of climate change in low lying island and coastal countries that are now being inundated by rising seas. In the Arctic, millennia-old cultures are threatened and may soon disappear. Sub-Saharan Africa is being devastated by drought. The increasing number and intensity of Gulf Coast hurricanes that wreaked havoc this summer are a harbinger of what lies ahead if we don’t take seriously the extreme climatic events we are experiencing. 

The world’s governments recognize the threat posed by climate change and are undertaking serious efforts to develop a global response. This response is embodied in the treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol, which obligates developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 5-7 percent below their 1990 levels by 2012. Last month, the United Nations hosted representatives from virtually every nation on Earth in Montreal. There, they agreed on a “roadmap” for emissions reductions and established a process that will enable the Kyoto signatories to negotiate additional reductions for the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment period, which begins in 2013. 

Unfortunately the United States, the world’s greatest emitter of greenhouse gases, refuses to participate in the Kyoto process. The U.S. delegation in Montreal sought to torpedo the Kyoto process by refusing even to engage in negotiations that could eventually lead to concrete emissions reductions. Instead, the U.S. touted its belief that global emissions can be reduced simply by developing new technologies. Certainly technology will play a role in reducing greenhouse gases. But even the U.S. acknowledges that these new technologies will not be available for 15—25 years—a delay that climate scientists insist we cannot afford. And although the U.S. expresses an almost religious faith in technological deliverance, it has failed to fund the necessary research and development. Instead, the U.S. provides multi-billion dollar subsidies for oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear. It has allocated only a pittance for clean, renewable energy technologies that can be put in place today. 

The U.S. also contends that the economy will suffer if we are obligated to reduce greenhouse gases. In fact, the opposite is true. Jobs are created and economies will be developed as the world transitions from economic systems that are built on fossil fuel consumption. As cleaner, renewable sources of energy replace fossil fuels, economies will flourish. More of a country’s wealth (or that of a state, county, or city) can be invested in its own development. New industries and new jobs will be created. California alone employs 170,000 people in the renewable energy sector and is likely to see the number of jobs increase as the state enacts regulations intended to put 1 million solar roofs on homes, businesses, government buildings, and schools by 2016. U.S. states, cities, and industries are awakening to the economic benefits of addressing the causes of climate change and are taking advantage of the new business opportunities.  

The U.S. also complains that fast-developing countries like China and India do not have emission reduction obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, putting developed nations like the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage. In the short term, that claim may be true. But the Montreal climate talks demonstrated a growing consensus among governments that developing countries must also incorporate greater energy efficiencies in their development activities. The Montreal meeting opened that discussion and developing countries will participate—if the U.S. will exert the type of leadership for which it was once known. 

We must act now to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions if we are to avoid irreversible climate change and the myriad effects it will bring. Local and individual actions in the U.S. are already making a difference: 195 cities representing 40 million Americans have endorsed Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels’ Climate Protection Agreement and 14 states have joined regional coalitions to consider cap and trade programs and other measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  

Contact us at kyotousa@sbcglobal.net or visit our website at www.kyotousa.org to learn about what you can do to engage your city in reducing greenhouse gases where you live. The Earth, and everything that inhabits it, is counting on you. 

Tom Kelly is the director of KyotoU.S.A, a Berkeley-based volunteer organization that encourages cities and the people who live in them to work together to end global warming. He attended the recent UNFCCC climate talks in Montreal as an official NGO observer. 

›

My friend and fellow former Berkeley City Councilmember Ira Simmons recently forwarded me the Daily Planet story from last summer on the return to the City Council Chambers of the mural by famed artist Romare Bearden. I appreciate the story in noting the genesis of the Bearden project when Ira and I challenged the council to modify its all-white picture display in the council chambers. We did this shortly after we were elected in 1971. 

Berkeley was very fortunate to have cultural visionaries like Carl Worth to direct us to Bearden and help make the project a reality. 

The Berkeley Art Commission’s support was also key in getting an otherwise contentious City Council to reach agreement on this project. 

Ira and I spent time with Bearden and his wife Nanette as they visited to get a feel for the city and its people. They were wonderful and gentle and I remained in contact with Bearden in the years following.  

When Ira, Loni Hancock and I were elected to the City Council in 1971, the conservatives and moderate Democrats vowed immediately to recall us. But by 1973 they narrowed their focus to me and recalled me in a special election in August of that year. Their strategy was that by ousting me they could torpedo the parliamentary turmoil and skillful grassroots offensive we orchestrated which was forcing open doors for blacks, and creating new respect for struggling segments of the city’s alternative communities.  

Just before the recall, the conservatives had beaten the political left in a special election to amend the city charter to require candidates to get a majority vote. With a recall election requiring me to get a majority vote they knew they could avoid the pitfall of a splintered vote with no runoff which enabled me to win in the first place. 

Shortly after the recall, Bearden agreed to do a collage “around [me]; [my] career and Berkeley.” In October, 1973, three months after the recall he wrote: 

“D’Army: I suppose you are getting things together for your collage? Mine, for Berkeley, is now started and I hope to have it out there fairly soon. Incidentally, a work of mine opens a new movie “Five on the Black Hand Side.” It is a very good movie—a comedy warm, human, and a relief from the “Shaft” shoot-um-up flicks. I was speaking to a young girl from Stanford and she knew all about you and Ira—and Berkeley politics. Please return to that battle; because you’re sure to be back on the council—and from there to jail, or the Senate. We just escaped fascism by the skin of our teeth—but those guys will keep on trying. That’s why we need you and Ira; there are hard times ahead.” 

The dynamic and colorful 20X16-inch collage Bearden created has been a source of inspiration for me for the last 30 years. Along with the collage, Bearden sent a personal check for $25 toward the expenses of fighting the recall. 

A couple of months ago I was in Berkeley, headed to Mendocino. A friend and I met for lunch in the area off University down by the bay. It was slightly saddening to see the changes in the neighborhood. Where before vibrant black life and community were in West Berkeley, they are now no more. Today the area appears largely populated by fashionable whites, chic shops and restaurants where some didn’t appear too kind to share an outdoor seat at a table. In the city that once had a 25 percent black population the number of blacks has dropped dramatically. 

As I walked back to my car from lunch I did notice a police car displayng the city’s seal with Bearden’s four faces of diversity from his collage. Perhaps the spirit of that great artist will someday fuel a resurgence of honest inclusiveness and greater civic humility. 

D’Army Bailey is a Tennessee Circuit Judge in Memphis. 

›

FRIDAY, JAN. 6 

THEATER 

“Walkin’ Talkin’ Bill Hawkins ... In Search of My Father” performed by W. Allen Taylor at 7 p.m. at the Marsh-Berkeley, 2118 Allston Way. Tickets are $15-$22. 800-838-3006. 

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

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“A Journey to Sacred Places” with photographer Jasper Johal at 6 p.m. at Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St. 843-2787. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Dance Production 2006 at 8 p.m. at Florence Schwimley Little Theater, Allston Way. Tickets are $5 students, $10 adults. 

Freddie Roulette & Friends, blues, funk, at 9 p.m. at Baltic Square Pub, 135 Park Pl., Pt. Richmond. 527-4782. 

Choz & The ChoZen Music Fam at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0886.  

Susan Muscarella Quartet at 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Tickets are $10-$15. 701-1787. 

Lua at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Steve Gannon Blue Monday Band at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ.  

Raw Deluxe, Psychokinetics, Mickey Avalon at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Cost is $5-$8. 548-1159.  

Opie Bellas Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Grapefruit Ed at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Mike Marshall & Chris Thile, mandolin at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Cost is $24.50-$25.50. 548-1761.  

Stephen Yerkey and Kurt Huget at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Dynamic, jazz-funk, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Municipal Waste, Bury the Living, Killed in Action at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Ahmad Jamal at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $18-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, JAN. 7 

CHILDREN 

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with EarthCapades, environmental vaudeville, at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“A Political Journey” Paintings by Roger Van Ouytsel opens at La Peña Cultural Center, and runs through Jan. 27. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

“Edward Weston: Masterworks from the Collection” with over fifty photographs on display through June 11, at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. 238-3402. www.museumca.org 

“New Beginnings” A group show of works by Bay Area artists in a benefit for victims of domestic violence opens at 6 p.m. at a Fusao Studios, 646 Kennedy St., Suite 108. 436-5797. www.afusaostudios.com 

“Claim the World of Art as Our Own” opens at Pro Arts, 550 Second St., Oakland. www.proartsgallery.org 

FILM 

“Shortcut to Nirvana” a documentary about the Kumbha Mela festival in India with a conversation with the director at 8 p.m. at Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St. 843-2787. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Martin Eden” A dramatic reading of Jack London’s novel in celebration of his birthday by Page to Stage Theater Company at 2 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, Jack London Square. 272-0120. 

Bay Area Poets Coalition Open Reading at 3 p.m. at Strawberry Creek Lodge, 1320 Addison St. Please park on the street. 527-9905. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Dance Production 2006 at 8 p.m. at Florence Schwimley Little Theater, Allston Way. Tickets are $5 students, $10 adults. 

The Sarabande Ensemble, early Italian music, at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864. http://trinitychamberconcerts.com 

Healing Muses “A Musical Tapestry” Traditional Renaissance music at 8 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany. Tickets are $15-$18. 524-5661.  

Yancie Taylor Quintet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Walter Savage Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Braziu with Sotaque Baiano at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10-$12. 548-1159.  

Los Boleros, traditional Cuban, at 9:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568.  

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

Breakin’ Up Xmas Square Dance with Amy & Karen and The Mercury Dimes at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $6-$12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Mr. Slapp, Unjust, Game Brothers at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886. 

Diamante Latin Jazz at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Dead Sea Scribes, Conscious Hip Hop at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7-$10. 558-0881. 

Damond Moodie and Jamie Jenkins at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Dudman, NK6, Signal Lost at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, JAN. 8 

CHILDREN  

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

EXHIBITIONS 

Paintings by Brooke Hatch Reception from 4 to 6 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with The Fresh Ink Writing Group at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Friends of Negro Spirituals “Let the Spirituals Roll On” concert and fundraiser at 3 p.m. at Beth Eden Baptist Church, 952 Magnolia St., Oakland. Tickets are $25-$30. 415-563-4316. 

Healing Muses “A Musical Tapestry” Traditional Renaissance music at 4 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany. Tickets are $15-$18. 524-5661.  

Julia Fischer, violin, at 3 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $42. 642-9988.  

Wild Bill Davison Centennial Celebration at 2 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Misturada Brazil at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ. 

Blame Sally at 5 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Ahmad Jamal at 8 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

MONDAY, JAN. 9 

EXHIBITIONS 

Watercolors by Ruth Koch at Cafe DiBartolo, 3310 Grand Ave., Oakland. Through Feb. 26. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Parlor Tango, French baroque music, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

The Moutin Reunion Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $7-$14. 238-9200. 

TUESDAY, JAN. 10 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Alan Kaufman introduces “Matches” the story of an American Jew in the Israeli Army, at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Creole Belles with Andrew Carriere at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. 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.  

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

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazz- 

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

Brozman, Low & Thorne Trio, jazz, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Mike Vax Jazz Orchestra at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$12. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Debbie Poryes, jazz piano, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 11 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Café Poetry hosted by Kira Allen at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Donation $2. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Jared Diamond describes “Collapse: How Societies Chose to Fail or Succeed” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“The Seven Deadly Sins” A Fire Opera with the Crucible, artists from the San Francisco Opera and the Oakland East Bay Symphony, through Sat., at 8:30 p.m. at 1260 7th St., Oakland. Tickets are $25-$100. 444-0919. www.thecrucible.org 

Berkeley High School Jazz Combos at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

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

Balkan Folk Dance at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Lessons at 7 p.m. Cost is $7. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Tracy Amos, Shooters Dream Atris at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8. 848-0886.  

Evan Raymond, guitar, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

E.S.T. Esbjorn Svensson Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, JAN. 12 

FILM 

Mikio Naruse “Nightly Dreams” at 7 p.m. with Bruce Leob on piano, “Tsuruhachi and Tsuruijiro” at 9 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Black and Disabled Artists Sharing Stories at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

Kim Strongfellow describes a man-made disaster in “Greetings from the Salton Sea” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Word Beat Reading Series with Nicole Henares and Brian Morrisey at 7 p.m. at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

New Century Chamber Orchestra with Gang Situ, ‘cello, at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $28-$42. 415-392-4400.  

Fishtank Ensemble at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.com 

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

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

Wu Li Masters at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Mark Little Duo at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Nightingale with caller George Marshall, concert at 8:30 p.m., dance at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

E.S.T. Esbjorn Svensson Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 



FRIDAY, JAN. 6 

“Wellstone!” a free screening of the documentary about Senator Paul Wellstone, followed by a discussion, at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Chuch Chapel, 1640 Addison St. 482-1062. 

“Facing Baseball’s Future: Issues Confronting the Game” at 7 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. 238-3402. www.museumca.org 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at MLK Student Union, UC Campus. To schedule an appointment call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. www.BeADonor.com 

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

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

“Developing an Inner Work Toolkit” at 6:15 p.m. at Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Place. 843-6812. 

SATURDAY, JAN. 7 

Frog and Toad, Are They Really Friends? Find out on a hike at 2 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

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. 

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

Help Save the Bay Plant Natives from 9 a.m. to noon at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline. 452-9261, ext. 109. www.savesfbay.org 

Botanical Wanderings Discover the diverse winter habitat from the hilltops to the marsh at 2 p.m. at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Fremont. For information and directions call 792-0222. 

Progressive Democrats of the East Bay General Meeting with Assemblymember Loni Hancock, to discuss publicly financed election systems, at 11 a.m. at Oakland City Hall Council Chambers, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, bet. 14th and 15th Sts. at Clay St. 524-4244. www.pdaeastbay.org 

East Bay Atheists will show the documentary “The God Who Wasn’t There” which examines the evidence for the historical Jesus, and concludes he was a mythical figure based on early pagan myths, at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St., 3rd floor meeting room. 222-7580. 

Open House and Dance Class with Luna Kids Dance at 9:30 a.m. at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. 644-3629. www.lunakidsdance.com 

Open House at Studio Rasa with sample classes in yoga, pilates, heartbeat dance and many others from 9 a.m. at 7:30 p.m. at 933 Parker St. 843-2787. www.studiorasa.org 

Freedom From Tobacco from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. for six Saturdays. Free hypnosis available. Free, but registration required. 981-5330. quitnow@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Protest Rally at Berkeley Honda Shattuck and Parker every Thurs. at 4:30 to 6 p.m. and Sat. from 1 to 2 p.m. until the labor dispute is settled.  

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

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

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. 

“How to Meditate” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

SUNDAY, JAN. 8 

Alvarado: River to Ridgetop Ramble Meet at 10 a.m. at the Wildcat/Alvarado staging area off Park Ave. in Richmond to explore the historic area once known as Grand Canyon Park. 525-2233. 

Discussion with Peter Camejo, sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County at 5 p.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th St. 

“Kekexili” A film about Tibetans trying to protect the Tibetan antelope from poachers, at 2 p.m. at the Parkway Theater, 1834 Park Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $6.  

Spiritual Life Skills Workshop and Tree of Life Qi Gong A series of eight classs at 10 a.m. and 11:45 a.m., through Feb. 26 at 5272 Foothill Blvd., Oakland. Cost is $12 per class. To register call 533-5306. 

MONDAY, JAN. 9 

National Organization for Women Oakland/East Bay Chapter meets at 6 p.m. at the Oakland YWCA, 1515 Webster St. Redwood Mary and Melinda Kramer, co-founders of Women’s Global Green Action Network will discuss their environmental work. 287-8948. 

“Benefits of Meditation” with Dr. Marshall Zaslove at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

BYOCraft Night at 8 p.m. at the Living Room Gallery, 3230 Adeline St. 601-5774. 

Sing-A-Long from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. 524-9122. 

Beginning Bridge Lessons at 11:10 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Cost is $1. 524-9122. 

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. 

Mentoring Excellence in Management Consultants at 4 p.m. at the Bellevue Club, 525 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Cost is $35-$50. 800-462-8910. www.imcnorcal.org 

Tango Lessons with Paulo Araujo from Rio de Janeiro at 6:45 p.m. at the Berkeley Tango Studio. Series of 5 classes costs $60. 655-3585. 

World Affairs Discussion Group for seniors at 10:15 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center. Cost is $2.50. 

TUESDAY, JAN. 10 

Celebrate the Dream Ceremony marking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 77th birthday at 11:30 a.m. at Frank Ogawa Plaza, 14th and Broadway, Oakland. 444-CITY. 

Tilden Tots Join a nature adventure program for 3 and 4 year olds, each accompanied by an adult (grandparents welcome)! We’ll learn about animal habitats, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 636-1684. 

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

Women’s Snowshoe Workshop Learn the essentials for getting started in the sport at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Guitar and Music Lessons for Teachers Free ongoing classes at 7:30 p.m. at 2304 McKinley Ave. Registration required. 848-9463. www.guitarsintheclassroom.com 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping the public schools, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

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

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

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. 

Searching Within A free 9-week course, Tues. at 7:30 p.m. at 2510 Channing Way. To register call 654-1583. www.gnosticweb.com 

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

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. S548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

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

“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, JAN. 11 

Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at noon at the second floor auditorium, 300 Lakeside Drive., Oakland. Free. 464-7139. 

Poetry Writing Workshop with Alison Seevak at 7 p.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Film Series on Animal Agony, laboratories and factory farms, at 7 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Donation of $5 suggested.  

East Bay Genealogical Society with Marjorie Bell of the staff of the Family History Center on the use of newspapers in genealogical research, at 10 a.m. in the Library Conference Room of the Family History Center, 4766 Lincoln Ave., Oakland. 635-6692. 

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. 

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 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Oakland State Building, 1515 Clay St., 2nd Floor. To schedule an appointment call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. www.BeADonor.com 

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. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www.geocities. 

com/vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, JAN. 12 

Tilden Tots Join a nature adventure program for 3 and 4 year olds, each accompanied by an adult (grandparents welcome)! We’ll learn about animal habitats, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 636-1684. 

Grizzly Peak Flyfishers meets at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Community Center, 59 Arlington Ave. in Kensington. Mike Kaul, a Wyoming guide, will talk on fishing the waters of the Wind River Range. All welcome. 547-8629. 

“The World Can’t Wait” Drive Out the Bush Regime Speakers include Medea Benjamin, Mark Leno, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Sunsara Taylor and devorah major, at 7 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $10-$20. 415-864-5153. 

East Bay Mac Users Group meets to discuss Mac World Review with guest David Feng from Beijing Mac Users Group, at 6 p.m. at Expression College for Digital Arts, 6601 Shellmound St., Emeryville. http://ebmug.org 

“How to Reduce Your Taxes” with Thomas Andres, at 6 p.m., upstairs at Sabia Indian Cuisine, 1628 Webster, Oakland. Cost is $5-$10. 530-6699. 

Climate Change and Other Environmental Topics, an ongoing class, Thurs. at 1 p.m., beginning Jan. 12 at North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

American Sign Language Classes begin at Vista College, 2020 Milvia St. To register call 981-2872. www.peralta.edu 

International Business Classes for students and entrepreneurs, offered by Vista College. For information call 981-2852.  

Sleep Issues for Older Babies at 7 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Registration required, 658-7353. 

The Bipolar Advantage A lecture with Tom Wootton, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance at 7 p.m. at Alta Bates Herrick Campus, Dwight Way. For details, call 760-749-5719. 

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

ONGOING 

United Way’s Earn it! Keep It! Save It! needs volunteer tax preparers and language interpreters to help low-income families in Alameda County claim tax credits. No previous tax preparation experience is necessary. Training sessions run through mid-January. For more information, call 238-2415. www.earnitkeepitsaveit.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 x333. 

CITY MEETINGS 

Planning Commission Special Meeting and Tour Sat., Jan. 7, at 9:45 a.m. at McKevitt Volvo-Nissan, 2700 Shattuck Ave. at Derby. Carli Paine, 981-7403. 

Creeks Task Force meets Mon. Jan. 9, at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Erin Dando, 981-7410. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning/landuse/Creeks/default.html 

Peace and Justice Commission meets Mon., Jan. 9, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Manuel Hector, 981-5510. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/peaceandjustice 

Berkeley Unified School District Board meets Wed. Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m., in the City Council Chambers. 644-6320. 

Planning Commission meets Wed., Jan. 11, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Janet Homrighausen, 981-7484. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/planning 

West Berkeley Project Area Commission Public Meeting on the Aquatic Park Streetscape Connection Project, Thurs., Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. at the West Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7402. 

When winter skies open up and drench the ground, thoughts of an outdoor weekend getaway pale. That’s the time for an indoor adventure—one that will take you places far removed from everyday life. Journey to other cultures, other times, while being awed by incredible architecture and outstanding art. In short, visit San Francisco’s de Young Museum. 

Aside from housing over 25,000 works of art, the museum complex is a work of art itself. Massive yet seemingly lightweight, it appears to have settled effortlessly, a part of the earth, with spiraled tower reaching above. Copper, wood, stone and glass combine to create outdoor canvases that will alter and patina with time, reflecting changes in the environment, as does nature. 

To reflect light filtering through trees, copper sheets have been perforated and extruded, a random series of variegated “pimples and dimples.” Windows shimmer in ribboned panels, stone anchors and wood forms a bond with the outdoor landscape. The angular 144-foot tower appears to have erupted from the ground soaring above the treescape of Golden Gate Park and the city of San Francisco, subtly reminding us of the urban environment in which the park exists.  

With nine permanent collections and several changing exhibits a wise move would be to prioritize your interests or plan to arrive at the 9:30 a.m. opening and be shoved out the door at the 5 p.m. closing. The museum fills quickly, so an early arrival time also insures a less crowded experience, especially for popular exhibits. 

I should have begun my recent visit with “Hatshepsut—From Queen To Pharaoh.” By 10:30 this exhibit was already crowded, but no less amazing. Hatshepsut seems to have begun the women’s movement, serving as king of Egypt for almost 20 years, from 1479 to 1458 B.C. On display is a collection of over 250 innovative works created during her reign. 

Dimly lit, with spotlights illuminating individual works, and walls a muted charcoal, entering the exhibit transported me back in time to pyramid passageways and chambers. Here the presentation is equal to the collection. 

Surrounded by massive sandstone heads, statues and reliefs, sharply delineated papyrus and exquisite artifacts, it’s almost impossible to accept how long they have been in existence. While today we amass throwaway goods, those of the exhibit serve to remind us of nature’s permanence. Hatshepsut ruled as king, so in most statuary she is depicted as a male. In the one exception her clothes and jewelry are understated; only her headdress and determined expression reflect her accomplishment. 

Linen-lined display cases showcase the delicate craft of Hatshepsut’s reign—cosmetic jars and cups of turquoise and gold; animal shape scarabs and rings carved in jasper; travertine ointment jars; beautiful jewelry in gold, carnelian and lapis lazuli; paper thin gold sheet sandals—artifacts worthy of any queen or king. 

Leaving the exhibit, a wall size photograph of Deir el-Bahri, Hatshepsut’s Funerary Temple, puts the size of the statuary and reliefs into perspective. Encompassing the entire side of a mountain, anything less than huge would be lost to sight. Unfortunately, lost to sight and mind was Hatshepsut’s legacy. Twenty years after her death, all traces of her reign as king were removed. 

The de Young’s permanent collections expanded my worldwide tour into the past. Dark muted walls and subdued lighting again set the scene for the Art of Oceania, a collection of over 400 artifacts of religious or magical significance. I marveled at the craftsmanship in New Guinea shields and masks, carved and painted in both scary and whimsical motifs featuring flat dish-shaped faces with saucer eyes. Wonderful wood and skin drums adorned with side carvings of lizards and other animals honored ancestors and spirits. 

The Art of Africa collection showcases both the contemporary and historical work of over 80 groups. Entering the gallery I was greeted by a wall-size textile-like sculpture by El Anatasui. Thousands of flattened aluminum bottle caps connected by copper wire are arranged in rows creating their own form, an eye-catching sharp-edged quilt. A six-foot ancestor figure from Mali, almost one thousand years old; a Nigerian Epa mask over four-feet tall, looking more like a sculpture of the Queen Mother and her encircled attendants than something to be worn on one’s head; bundled raffia and painted wood initiation masks from the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Yaka people; intricate bead work in a Zulu wedding cape and apron—every piece bringing to life the history of the peoples represented. 

Moving from ancient art to the contemporary, not only the work changes, but the setting as well. Ceilings soar and white walls reflect the light. The big names in 20th century painting are well represented. Superman by Mel Ramos, Wayne Thiebaud’s gum ball dispensers, wonderful blue, yellow and brick blotches and spatters amid white negative space by Sam Francis, wall-size canvases by Diebenkorn, Motherwell and de Kooning—all hung at eye level with expansive white walls above. 

Equal billing is given to contemporary sculpture. Viola Frey’s glazed earthenware figure of a man, looming 10 feet high; the stoneware of Peter Voulkos resembling a rustic outdoor cooking vessel; a favorite of this science nerd, 20 lab specimen jars arranged on two glass shelves, each containing one labeled apple core soaking in vodka, the piece by Nayland Blake. 

In yet another gallery, like others named for a major donor, Jasper Johns’ forty-five years of master prints line the walls. The Seasons, a group of four intaglio prints, contains the same human shape amid changing muted colors and patterns. Gray Alphabets repeat the letters of the alphabet, in subtle tones, across a huge canvas. 

When your brain can’t squeeze in one more “piece of art,” there’s still more to do—eat, shop, stroll outside—the order is optional. The de Young Café carries Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto philosophy across the bay. Featuring the freshest products from local food artisans, the tastes created are as exciting as the artwork. Berkeley’s representatives include Acme Bakery and Peet’s coffee. Original salads, hearty soups and sandwiches—making a choice may be your hardest assignment. 

Even rainy mornings become sunny afternoons. Settle al fresco on the terrace below a cantilevered copper roof overlooking the Barbro Osher sculpture garden and original palm trees. While the redwoods might not compete with those in Muir Woods, the setting is peaceful and evocative. Take time to stroll the grounds, appreciating scattered ceramic apples, a giant safety pin and the Pool of Enchantment. 

At the de Young Store you’ll find artifacts representative of the permanent collections, like African baskets and masks, as well as the work of local artisans. If, like myself, you’re enchanted with the museum’s copper façade, you can take a piece of it home. Signature frames, bookmarks, jewelry and motifed t-shirts will keep your visit’s memories alive. 

When departure time looms you’ll realize that there are several collections you haven’t seen. Save them for the next time but the tower is a must. Ascend the elevator nine stories up to 360-degree views of Golden Gate Park and San Francisco. Look through perforations in the copper overhang and marvel at the arresting roof top design—I kept waiting for cars to appear in these rows of “lanes.” 

From Egypt, New Guinea, Africa to Mexico, the West Coast and California; from the secrets of the past to the innovations of the present—let your mind stretch, your feet tire and your taste buds tingle—plan a winter getaway to the de Young Museum. 

One of the reasons our house is somewhat crowded is that we are reluctant to throw away perfectly good magazines which are just a bit old. The New Yorker in particular is a living reproach, because it comes every week and (since the departure of airhead editor Tina Brown) is again full of good stuff which we can’t necessarily consume on a timely basis. It’s instant history: a pity to waste it.  

All of this is a prelude to explain why I happened this weekend to be reading a September 2004 “Talk of the Town” piece by George Packer about what was going badly wrong in Iraq. He’d originally been a reluctant supporter of the invasion, but as the war progressed and he reported on it for the New Yorker he changed his mind. This piece was his last-minute advice to John Kerry to get tough on Bush’s war, something the candidate never managed to do. He said that “the senator has allowed the public to think that the president, against all the evidence of his record, will fight the war in Iraq and the larger war against radical Islam with more success. If Kerry loses the election, this will be the reason.” And Kerry did lose the election, and that’s why. Packer later released a book, The Assassins’ Gate, in which he detailed exactly what went wrong in Iraq. 

On Sunday I missed attending my first meeting of Grandmothers Against the War because of a previous commitment. They sent me an instant e-mail update about their plans, for some kind of direct action on Valentine’s Day at a recruiting office somewhere as yet to be decided, which I forwarded to my oldest friends, now most of them grandmothers scattered around the country. Now that the grandmothers are getting organized, there might be some hope for taking back the Congress in the 2006 election and stopping the crazy war in Iraq. 

Sometime in the last couple of years a woman with a Middle-European accent, someone we’d previously encountered as, I think, a supporter of some union organizing effort, brought the Daily Planet newsroom some banana bread because she liked an article in the paper. “I always send my grandson some banana bread when he writes a good article,” she said. “Who’s your grandson?” we asked. “Where does he write these good articles?” 

Now I remember that she said her grandson was George Packer, and that he was a staff writer for the New Yorker. At that time I hadn’t noticed his byline there, but I was impressed nevertheless. And we enjoyed the banana bread.  

I don’t know this for sure, but I just bet George Packer’s grandmother knew from the start that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake, long before he figured it out for himself. She seemed like that kind of woman. Young men, unfortunately, tend to have more optimism about the success of military ventures than do their grandmothers, who have seen wars before and know the outcome.  

The popular press, left division, is full of pieces these days on the general theme of “us good guys need to get organized for the next election,” which is now almost upon us. One smug young man who’d worked the 2004 election in Ohio for a national organization opined in The Nation that the problem was that too many amateurs tried to get into the act. He said he’d taken a call from someone who wanted his attention because she represented “GAG.” What was GAG? Grandmothers Against George—and he was supposed to waste his valuable time and money on people like that? Well, yes.  

One big problem in 2004 was too much money thrown at too many self-important semi-pros who didn’t really understand what was happening on the ground. Organizations like his relied entirely too much on bank calls from yuppies in California with cell phones and too little on savvy homefolks. 

Eve Pell, a card-carrying grandmother and seasoned political writer, told me that she showed up in Philadelphia in 2004 to help get out the vote, having been recruited by one of these national groups. She discovered that the precinct to which she’d been assigned was already under control—the African-American grandmothers who’d been working there for years had covered all the bases, and the turnout was terrific. The national guys hadn’t understood or appreciated their work. 

There are those who think that John Kerry really won Ohio, and thus the election—that the thugs stole the vote there. It’s possible that they’re right. If the smug young man in Ohio had been more respectful of the Grandmothers Against George, they might have been able to help him figure out that the local Republicans had their hands in the cookie jar.  

Now that the Grandmothers Against the War are getting their act together, they might even be able to figure out a way to bring America’s grandchildren who are in Iraq home again. In the fall of 2002 I was able to snatch a young man of my acquaintance out of the very clutches of a dishonest recruiter, who had persuaded the boy to enlist because he was out of work, restless, and didn’t follow politics enough to know that war in Iraq was looming. I was standing in then for his own grandmother, my good friend who died much too young of breast cancer, and who was a vigorous opponent of every war she ever saw. At the very least, if the Grandmothers are present at the recruiting offices, they might be able to make sure that no more young people sign up as he did without understanding the consequences.  

B

Once in a while the New Times chain allows a good article which doesn’t follow the company line of cowboy libertarianism to slip past the editors of one of its magazines. The latest East Bay Express has a piece that’s well worth a read, even though it could have benefited from the services of a fact-checker in spots. Writer Eliza Strickland has capably documented the sad fate of the much-publicized Fruitvale Transit Village, where not much in the way of retail commerce has managed to take root, despite attractive design and millions of dollars in government subsidy. It should be a lesson to everyone who has hallelujah’d for the gospel of smart growth, one of whose tenets is that we can bring back the apartments-cum-retail design that worked pretty well in the streetcar suburbs at the turn of the 20th century. 

Strickland paints a dismal picture of the fate of the pioneering Fruitvale retail merchants who were lured to the BART station site by the promise of thousands of commuters patronizing their establishments. Her feel-good finale is that perhaps when there are many more new apartments built and perhaps a few of the footpaths are changed the retail scene at the Fruitvale Transit Village will improve. But anyone who looks around Berkeley can’t help but notice that the era of ground floor retail under apartments might have come and gone. A high percentage of the obligatory new retail spaces in Berkeley’s big box soon-to-be-condo buildings have ‘for rent’ signs these days. Retail is a tough way to make a living, and it’s deeply unrealistic to expect small businesses to take unnecessary risks in new buildings tenanted mainly by groups of pizza-eating students, unless of course what you’re selling is pizza.  

The comfortable older retail zones of Elmwood, Rockridge, Solano and Piedmont Avenue in Oakland seem pretty prosperous, on the other hand, with most storefronts filled, which might have something to do with their 1920s one-, two- or three-story romantic architecture. Older architecture offers high ceilings and charming shop-windows which frame the merchandise attractively; lower buildings mean more sunlight on the sidewalk. (Let’s not even talk about the planners’ obscene practice of permitting the upper stories of tall new buildings to hang out over the sidewalk, depriving first floor shops and pedestrian shoppers of light and air.)  

Another problem with new retail spaces is that they’re customarily leased “raw,” and the first tenant has to come up with the cost of finishing them, which can be prohibitive. Anna DeLeon’s struggles to fit out her “Jazz Island” club at a reasonable cost in a reasonable time are typical.  

A veteran Berkeley commercial real estate agent, who owns a number of vintage buildings, also points out that retail tenants must be carefully selected to complement housing tenants. A dry-cleaner downstairs is not the best neighbor, while a café might be.  

The apartments have to be nice, too. Early in the 20th century, upstairs tenants were likely to be proprietors of the shops below, and the apartments were designed to be attractive homes for them. The turn-of-the-century building at the corner of Ashby and College which is being handsomely rehabbed has fine apartments upstairs which have always been full, with a succession of neighborhood-serving retail shops below.  

One claim in the Express article that’s wrong, or at least we hope it is, is the assertion that a similar transit village plan has already been approved for the Ashby BART station. As Daily Planet readers know, that plan is supposedly still in germination. Unless, of course, it has already been approved somewhere behind the scenes and the public process now being contemplated by the Berkeley City Council is a complete and total sham, but we’re not quite that cynical—yet. It’s probably a mistake by the writer or editor. 

It would be a tragic error to allow the Berkeley Flea Market, home to generations of successful minority entrepreneurs, to be displaced and perhaps destroyed, along with the night-time parking which is now allowing the Ashby Stage and other arts institutions to flourish, in order to create another unsuccessful transit village with empty storefronts in expensive buildings. As citizens, we could close our eyes and pray that some sort of Intelligent Design really exists in the planning universe and that the self-appointed developers of the Ashby BART parking lot have access to it, or we could insist that the city of Berkeley enter into an open discussion of any plans with full public disclosure and participation. The principal argument for an open public planning process (one more time) is that it’s the best way to avoid making awful mistakes.  

c