A South Berkeley birthday party for a 15-year-old turned lethal Saturday night after the host tried to relieve a heavily tattooed man of a black pistol. 

Aderian “Dre” Gaines, 36, died from a gunshot at his home in the 1500 block of Prince Street. A friend of the dead man’s, a 35-year-old identified only as “Nat,” was shot in the arm. 

Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Ed Galvan said reports of gunshots began flooding the city’s emergency dispatch center at 9:37 p.m. Arriving officers said between 75 and 100 youths were leaving the scene as they arrived. 

“Dre was struck twice in the chest,” said Natasha Jackson, a neighbor and family friend who was helping to host the party. “The paramedics said one of the bullets grazed his heart.” 

“He was a hero,” said Afeni Gaines, the slain man’s spouse. “He died protecting the children.” 

It was the city’s third murder of the year, and the second stemming from a teenage party. Juan Ramos, an 18-year-old from El Cerrito, died in a Feb. 10 stabbing at an unsupervised party in the 700 block of Contra Costa Avenue, and Keith Stephens, 24, was fatally shot on Feb. 19 in the 1200 block of Carrison Street. 

Police have arrested no suspects in any of the slayings. 

Strangers arrive 

Jackson said the incident began when the gunman arrived at the party with a group of 11 or 12 younger men. 

“He said if we didn’t let him in, he would kick down the door. I went and got Dre. He said he wouldn’t let them in for free. After he searched them, he took their money and let them in. He has a good heart,” Jackson said. “I didn’t have a good feeling, so I followed them into the back.” 

During the search, Jackson saw a collection of designs inked on the older man’s body. 

“He had a West Oakland tattoo on his forearm, he also had a tattoo of a pistol and some dragons, and there was a basketball on his side. They were all high off of something, walking through and mugging everybody. I had a funny feeling, so I followed them,” she said. 

Jackson said she followed the older man, who had identified himself as a 29-year-old North Oakland resident, into the kitchen, and as he was dancing with his arms raised, she saw a pistol tucked into his waistband. 

“It was an all-black nine,” she said, referring to a nine-millimeter semi-automatic, a popular handgun caliber. 

“I went and got Dre and he followed me back into the kitchen. I turned on the light and Dre grabbed him. I lifted up his shirt and Dre took the gun and walked him toward the door. Then this young fellow grabbed the pistol and ran out, and Dre followed him. Then I heard a shot, and Feni (Afeni’s nickname) calling, ‘My husband’s been shot. My husband’s been shot.” 

The gunman had come back into the house and confronted Gaines in the bedroom at the front of the house. 

Afeni Gaines, who witnessed the shooting, said she begged the gunman not to kill her husband. “Then the guy said, ‘Bitch, you better shut up before I smoke you.’”  

“Nat” was shot seconds later, and fell down the stairs at the rear of the house, where paramedics later found him. He was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, said Berkeley Fire Department Deputy Chief David Orth. 

Endless minutes 

Jackson and Afeni Gaines said police arrived within moments of the shooting, but an ambulance didn’t arrived for what Jackson estimated as 20 to 30 minutes. 

“I kept telling them to call an ambulance,” Jackson said. 

“I’m yelling at the children, ‘Call the ambulance! Call the ambulance,’” said Afeni Gaines. 

But Orth said paramedics were on the scene in less than 10 minutes. While one team attended to Gaines, a second attended to the injured man, who was in the back yard, Orth said. 

“I can understand why it seemed longer,” Orth said. 

Police and Fire Department logs show that paramedics were dispatched at 9:40 and arrived on the scene at 9:45.  

After determining that Gaines was dead—a finding paramedics can make under county law—the coroner assumed jurisdiction. 

Gaines’s body remained in the bedroom where he was killed until 6 a.m. Sunday. 

For 13-year-old Wilesha Jones, Saturday night’s tragedy was the second time she’d lost a father to a gunman. Her birth father, Willie Jones, had been slain in Oakland’s Bushrod Park when she was a year old. 

“He had seen a shooting and he was going to testify,” said Afeni Gaines. “They knew it, and they killed him. It’s still unsolved.”  

Fourth party 

Jackson, a close family friend and Prince Street neighbor, said Saturday’s party was the fourth such event held at the Gaines’s home. 

“We wanted something safe for kids to do,” she said. 

“We charge $2 to get in, 50 cents for sodas and 75 cents for hot dogs, or a dollar if they want some chili on it,” Jackson said. 

Attendees had to sign in, and strict quotas were set for different communities because of rivalries that could turn violent. “We have them sign in by which set they’re from—North Oakland, West Oakland, Berkeley, and so on,” said Jackson. “We had them all.” 

Police have taken possession of the records. 

Galvan said anyone who gives a party for a large number of teens should follow some basic rules. 

“If you’re hosting a party, you shouldn’t let anyone in you don’t know,” he said. “You also shouldn’t let in anyone who seems to be intoxicated. You need to limit the size of the party and you need to have a guest list. And you shouldn’t promote the party by text messaging or by emails.” 

Galvan said announcements of Saturday night’s party spread by text messages. 

Charging admission for parties without a business license is also a violation of city code, he said. “As soon as you start charging, you need a business license, although as I understand it, they were only charging $2 to cover costs.” 

Balance skewed 

Jackson said quotas were set to keep the numbers in balance and prevent any one group from dominating. 

But the arrival of the tattooed man and his group of a dozen or so companions threw off the balance. 

“That’s why my dad was killed,” said Wilesha Gaines. “There were too many West Oakland people.” 

“The guys who came were new,” said Afeni Gaines. “We thought we’d give them a chance.” 

All guests were searched before they could enter the house, a modest two-story Victorian a half-block east of Sacramento Street. 

While most of the guest were teens, the gunman said he was 29, and claimed he had arrived to look after his sons, said Jackson. 

“I don’t know where the gun came from,” she said. “I don’t know how they got it in.” 

“My dad’s a hero,” said Wilesha. “If he didn’t take the gun, something worse would’ve happened. He was just here and now he’s gone. He was a good dad.” 

Afeni Gaines said she would be moving from the Prince Street home. “We moved in last February. We’re moving from this house. God knows we can’t stay here. But we love Berkeley, and we’ll continue to live in Berkeley.” 

Galvan said investigators are currently contacting people who attended the party, and he asked anyone who attended and those with possible information about the shootings to contact homicide investigators at 510- 981-5900.

A Berkeley cinema staple for 35 years has closed.  

Act 1&2 Theatre at 2128 Center St., showed final screenings of C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America and Summer Storm to sparse audiences Sunday before closing down for good. 

The lease for the two-screen cinema, owned by Landmark Theatres, had run out, said Vice President of Marketing Ray Price.  

He refused to comment on specific reasons for the closure, but said, “In general, one of the problems with theater properties is the retail value of the square footage is higher than the value of the theater. Other retail venues can better afford to pay that.” 

“It’s not uncommon,” he said. 

Landmark operates 57 theaters nationwide and specializes in art-house first-run independents, foreign film classics and other nontraditional cinema. In the East Bay, the company owns the California Theatre, Shattuck Cinemas, Piedmont Theatre and the Albany Twin. It acquired Act 1&2 in 1994. 

Employees who chose to stay with the company were given the option to transfer to other theaters, said Act 1&2 Manager Chris Hatfield. 

Last week, a theater employee told the Daily Californian on condition of anonymity that the theater was closing because low customer turnout was exacting a toll on financial solvency. Price would not confirm that. 

“No one will comment on the financials of theaters,” he said. 

But it’s not a mystery why small cinemas are struggling, said Grand Lake Theater owner Allen Michaan. 

“It’s just getting harder and harder for people to survive,” he said, pointing to a wave of small theater closures in San Francisco in recent years, including the St. Francis, the Alexandria and the Coronet, which shut down last March. 

In Berkeley, eight theaters compete for moviegoer dollars. Additional competition comes from surrounding megaplexes including the 16-screen AMC multiplex in Emeryville, built in 2002.  

Moreover, the film industry itself is in a slump. In 2005, box office admissions were down 8.7 percent in the United States, from 1.54 billion to 1.4 billion, and down 7.9 percent worldwide, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. 

Industry watchers quibble over whether the drop results from the wide availability of DVDs—some released simultaneously when films are screened—increased ticket prices or a slew of underwhelming movies. 

Landmark as a whole, however, appears unfazed by the downturn. The company added 11 screens in 2003 when Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner of 2929 Entertainment took ownership from Dallas-based Silver Cinemas. 

The company constructed a new theater in Washington, D.C., in 2004, a cinema lounge in Indianapolis in December, and is in the process of implementing a DVD retail division. 

The building housing Act 1&2 was built more than 70 years ago, and had been a furniture store, a shoe store and a children’s clothing boutique before it was reinvented as a cinema in 1971..

The state chancellor of the California Community College system has asked the Peralta Colleges to become the administrative agent for Compton Community College in an effort to keep the troubled, 6,600-student Southern California school from being disbanded on June 30 because of loss of accreditation. 

Peralta Chancellor Elihu Harris, who has been working on the takeover deal for several weeks, has recommended approval to the Peralta Board of Trustees. 

But details of the proposed administrative takeover are so sketchy that even trustee supporters of the proposal said they would not commit until they see more information, and the Peralta Federation of Teachers is requesting that the proposal include language that protects Compton’s employees and existing union contracts. 

Peralta was apparently not the first choice of state Community College Chancellor Mark Drummond to take over the Compton District. Peralta Trustee Cy Gulassa said it was his understanding that “six or seven districts within driving distance of Compton were approached, but none of those wanted to intervene.” 

Enabling legislation for the takeover of the Compton district by another community college district was drafted by California State Senator Mervyn Dymally (D-Los Angeles) a year ago and is presently sitting in limbo in the Senate Education Committee. However, sources at Peralta say that the legislation is being written in key parts to reflect concerns by Peralta representatives. 

The Peralta Board of Trustees is scheduled to formally review the Compton proposal for the first time tonight (Tuesday), first in closed session and then in public session at the board’s regular meeting to begin at 7 p.m. at the Peralta Administration offices, 333 East 8th St. in Oakland. 

“Compton is the only historically-black community college we have in California, and I’m in favor in principle of doing what we can to save it,” Peralta Trustee Alona Clifton said on Friday. “But the devil is in the details, and I haven’t seen the details yet.” 

“I’m glad that the state chancellor’s office has asked us to intervene,” Peralta Board President Linda Handy said in a telephone interview early this week. “At least it shows that they are working on the problem and not just walking away and allowing the dismantling of Compton.” 

But Handy added that “my first responsibility is as a Peralta trustee, and I have to make sure that this is something which Peralta can do. The full proposal has not yet been worked out, so I don’t know what position I will take.” 

But Trustee Gulassa says that the lack of information on the proposal prior to its appearance on Tuesday’s board agenda “irritates the hell out of me. There’s been a total lack of information. There has been no briefing of trustees. I’ve not heard anything but second or third hand gossip.” 

Gulassa said that when he attempted to ask questions of Peralta administrators after the administrators came back from trips to Compton “the only thing I got back was one word answers. I’ve talked with faculty senate representatives, and they say they are only getting second hand information. It appears that they are out of the loop as well. I am distressed that this issue may have tremendous value, but the way it is being presented to the Peralta constituents devalues it.” 

With the information that he has so far, Gulassa said “it just does not make any sense for Peralta to take this on. Elihu has described this as ‘missionary work,’ and It is a noble idea for one institution to keep another one from going under, but if your own church is burning, you don’t run off trying to help someone else. Saving Compton is a worthwhile mission, but we’re probably not the ones to do it. I’m categorically opposed unless somebody comes up with more detail.” 

The background report in the agenda packet for Tuesday’s trustee meeting does not provide any details on the proposal, but includes only a proposed resolution for trustees. The resolution would authorize the Peralta Chancellor’s office to “enter into any necessary agreements” with the Compton Community College District and the State Chancellor’s office to facilitate the administrative takeover.  

While the resolution would authorize Harris to work with the state chancellor and state officials “to obtain the financial resources” to facilitate Peralta’s administrative takeover, the proposed amount of financial resources to be provided for Peralta is one of the details that was not available to trustees or the public prior to the meeting. 

While the resolution gives no timeline as to how long the Peralta-Compton arrangement would be in effect, the resolution calls on state officials to “developing a recovery plan aimed at restoring accreditation to Compton College.” 

Meanwhile, the Peralta Federation of Teachers union, has expressed skepticism over the deal. 

Saying that “the PFT cannot allow the [Peralta] District to be a party to ‘union busting,’ union officials say that under the original state legislation authorizing an administrative takeover of Compton “the unions and their contract were to be dissolved and the 109 faculty and 200 staff were to be laid off and stripped of their seniority, rehire and bump rights.” 

A message to Peralta teachers on the PFT website said that this legislative language was “not an accurate reflection of the strong statements uttered by the State Chancellor” in support of union rights, and is urging that the authorizing state legislation include language that “would honor Compton’s existing unions, their bargaining agreements and their rehire rights.” 

In addition to its concerns over union rights issues, the PFT report said that the organization has raised questions with Chancellor Harris over whether the Compton proposal might have an adverse effect on passage of the district’s upcoming $390 million construction bond measure, whether the responsibilities might place an “administrative burden” because of the 400 mile distance between the East Bay and Compton, and whether Peralta has a “readiness for another battle with WASC after spending countless person hours to remove our four colleges from WASC’s Warning List.” 

The Peralta Colleges have just come out from under an accreditation battle of its own. At its January meeting, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges’ (WASC) Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges announced that based upon its most recent progress reports and visits, it was removing Merritt, Laney, Berkeley City College (formerly Vista College), and the College of Alameda from “warning” status. 

While accreditation had never been removed from the four Peralta Colleges, the “warning” status puts colleges on notice that their accreditation could be removed if WASC’s required improvements were not made.  

Compton Community College, which was founded in 1927 as part of the Compton Union High School District and was later split off as a separate college district in 1950, became an overwhelmingly African-American college in the 1960s. Since the mid-1990s the college has seen an influx of Latino students, and the student population is presently 54 percent African-American and 40 percent Latino. 

WASC announced it was pulling its accreditation of Compton last summer and called for intervention by State Chancellor Mark Drummond because of findings of fiscal and educational mismanagement by the college administration and board.  

According to a notice on Drummond’s workshop, WASC “concluded that Compton College could not manage its own recovery.” 

Since that time, Drummond has taken over management of the college, appointing a special trustee, and at the same time looking for another California community college district to take over administrative responsibilities. 

If trustees approve the Compton administrative takeover, it will be the Peralta district’s second experience in long-distance operations. 

From 1968 to 1988, Peralta was the administrative agent for Feather River College in Plumas County, a relationship that the online Feather River history calls “a unique and innovative educational experiment” between two districts geographically separated by more than 250 miles.” 

The history goes on to say that “in 1988, it was determined that the future of Feather River College and the needs of the citizens of Plumas County would be best served if the college became and independent, locally controlled community college district.” 

The Feather River Community College district was formed in 1988, a Board of Trustees was elected, and the online history concludes that “the District entered a new era that one faculty member described as its ‘declaration of independence.’””

Richmond’s getting ready to take the Plunge. 

The venerable structure in the heart of Point Richmond has been closed for five years, victim of an earthquake, a fire and years of neglect. 

But thanks to strong support from the community and a combination of state grants, the Richmond Municipal Natatorium may once again become the Bay Area’s premier swimming hole—hopefully “within a couple of years,” said Ellie Strauss, who has been working hard to make it happen. 

The venerable structure was built in an era when America was obsessed with swimming and housed pools in majestic buildings, said Strauss, a long-time member and officer of Richmond Friends of Recreation and a leader of the restoration effort. 

Another obsession located the plunge at its prominent location in Point Richmond. 

Convinced by a confidence man that oil lay beneath the city, promoter John Nicholl literally sunk his fortune into the ground, drilling through the bedrock until he found not oil but water—an artesian well that poured out a thousand gallons a minute. 

A disillusioned Nicholl finally gave the site to the city in 1924, which built the plunge at the site, opening it a year later as the Municipal Natatorium, when a throng of swim fans eagerly waited to try the waters. 

Swimmers from around the Bay Area swarmed to the pool, said Strauss. 

“For years and years it was the centerpiece of West [Contra Costa] County,” she said. “It was used during the summer by people from Marin and San Francisco.” 

Today, the Plunge is one of the few remaining grand pools left in the country. 

“There’s one in San Diego, which was renovated with funds from a developer,” she said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a developer up here willing to do that.” 

The building has been a challenge. After years of neglect and little maintenance, the building was in sad shape even before the Loma Prieta Earthquake of Oct. 17, 1989. 

Cracks from the quake are visible in the stucco-covered brick walls and, as an unreinforced masonry building, it is considered unsafe. Richmond voters rejected a bond measure to fund restoration in 1997, though the city allowed the Plunge to remain open on a “swim-at-your-own-risk basis through August, 2001. 

By that time, the building’s antiquated plumbing, electrical, mechanical and other systems were failing, and the city couldn’t afford the repairs. 

A small fire last October and periodic incursions by the homeless in search of shelter have inflicted further indignities on the venerable landmark. 

So Strauss and a cadre of recreation activists and north Richmond residents decided to do something about it. 

As president of Richmond Friends of Recreation, Strauss had ready allies at hand, who took on the task of raising the funds themselves, forming the Save the Plunge Trust so they could receive tax-deductible contributions for the project. 

“There’s a hard-core group of about 40 or 50 people, which includes members of the Friends of Recreation and several people who swam at the Plunge in the old days, and the events we’ve been holding have been well-attended,” Strauss said. 

The project received a major boost when filmmakers Nick and Sari Arrington produced a documentary about the site, The Plunge—Time Laps , which aired on KQED. 

One viewer inspired by the film was Berkeley architect Todd Jeremy, and after a call to the city and another exchange of phone calls and meetings, he has become the architect for the restoration. 

“The city had looked at several plans, but because the costs were between $8 million and $11 million, no one could see a way to do it. Then Todd Jeremy came along and found a way to do it for a lot less, about $4 million,” Strauss said. 

The trust has been busily holding benefits, concerts and dinners to raise the money, as well as filing applications for other funds. With about half the money in hand or committed—including grants under three different state programs—the project is almost ready to begin. 

“We’re going to do it in stages,” she said. “The first thing is to get the building safe.” 

A so-called Belvedere monitor—a second roof above the main roof with celestory windows to improve air circulation in the building—which was removed in the 1970s will be restored, and the interior walls will be opened up and the pool itself will be retiled. 

Because the building is a landmarked structure in the Point Richmond Historic District—which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places—all renovations must be approved by the state Office of Historic Preservation, a process now almost complete, Strauss said. 

The city’s Design Review Board has already approved the plans, she said. 

“If all goes well, we could be open again in a couple of years,” she said. “It will be restored to its old, beautiful self.” 

Strauss’s commitment to the Plunge has outlasted her residence in Point Richmond. Though she’s been living in Cloverdale the last two years, she remains very committed to the plunge and to RFOR. 

More dinners and other fund-raisers will be in the offing, until the last dollar is raised. 

For more information about the Plunge and the restoration campaign, the Trust’s web site at www.richmondplunge.org..

The ongoing saga of the Gaia Building took a new turn Thursday night when members of the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) voted to reopen the thorny issue of culture. 

The board will look at just what the city intended when it let developer Patrick Kennedy construct a bigger building in return for adding two floors that were supposedly devoted to use for cultural activities. 

“That’s not a good outcome,” Kennedy told Deputy Planning Director Wendy Cosin after the vote. 

“The fact that they’ve agreed to hold a public hearing is great,” said Jos Sances, chair of the city’s Civic Arts Commission (CAC). 

“I’m very pleased,” said Anna de Leon, who has emerged as the principal antagonist of Kennedy, her landlord. De Leon owns Anna’s Jazz Island on the ground floor of the Gaia Building, 2116 Allston Way. 

Kennedy was allowed to add two extra floors of apartments to the building in exchange for building the two floors under the city’s ill-defined “cultural bonus,” which awards greater building size in return for creating space for culture in downtown Berkeley. 

One issue before ZAB is just what qualifies as cultural use? 

The second issue is the so-called 30 percent “performance standard,” a nebulous term spelled out in a June 6, 2003, letter endorsed by Carol Barrett during the time she served as the city’s Planning Director. 

According to the interpretation now used by the city, the figure means that if the cultural bonus space is used for performances 30 percent of the time, then it may be used for other kinds of events for the remainder of the time. 

At present, the two cultural floors have two tenants. 

De Leon’s Anna’s Jazz Island occupies part of the ground floor; the rest of the floor and the mezzanine above are leased to Gaia Arts Management, a firm created by Gloria and Tom Atherstone, who own Glass Onion Catering in West Berkeley. 

That company has been leasing out space to The Marsh Berkeley, a local extension of a San Francisco theatrical company, and for a variety of public and private events including parties, meetings and rock concerts. 

By the time Thursday night’s meeting had ended, the board had voted 6-2-1 to limit the use of the mezzanine floor to uses that have already been approved by ZAB under the existing use permit. Members Bob Allen and Raudell Wilson voted against the measure, and Carrie Sprague abstained. 

The board passed 8-0-1 (Sprague abstaining) two other motions, one that would allow the use of the second or mezzanine floor—which had been halted because no certificate of occupancy had been issued—and the other to hold a hearing on the much-debated performance standard. 

“This is a very serious issue that goes right to the heart of the [use] permit,” said ZAB Secretary and Principal Planner Debra Sanderson before the vote. 

The use permit mandates that half of the mezzanine floor be reserved for non-profit cultural groups and requires that uses be consistent with ZAB’s intent and subject to possible review by the board and the CAC. 

“I don’t think that would allow catering to continue, but it is not covered by the existing use permit anyway,” said board member Rick Judd in making the motion to enforce the existing permit. “I have no problem considering a use permit modification, but the public has never had the opportunity to bring its position before us.” 

Allen and Wilson said they were happy with the way the building is now being used. 

“I personally enjoy having something at the Gaia Building,” Wilson said. 

Allen said the current uses are much better than the floors’ originally intended use as a home for the Gaia Bookstore, a new age venue that closed before the building was ready. 

“Let’s not manage them down to the last degree,” Allen said. 

By restricting the floors to a narrow range of uses, Allen said the board could be setting itself up for repeated hearings. 

“I don’t feel the owner has to proceed if he deviates from ZAB,” said Judd. “This whole project has a way of shape-shifting, it appears . . . given how many generations of small changes” the proposed uses have gone through. 

One voice that wasn’t heard during the meeting was that of Allen Matkins, Kennedy’s San Francisco attorney. 

Matkins rose to speak during the discussion but was silenced by Chair Chris Tiedemann, who noted that the session was not a public hearing, and that Matkins had failed to address the board during the public comment period at the start of the meeting. 

The decision to reexamine the cultural bonus came as good news to Sances and the other CAC members who attended Thursday’s meeting. 

The commission has been critical of Kennedy and the way the city has permitted the building to be used for uses other than those defined in the permits. 

“The fact that there will be a public hearing is great,” Sances said. “It will give the public a chance to weigh in. He [Patrick Kennedy] got two extra floors of apartments out of it, and it would be great to have the space for cultural events.” 

De Leon, whose letters of protest were written after she said rock concerts and a loud party disrupted performances at her cafe, said she was pleased with the outcome. 

“All I asked was that they live up to their commitments,” she said. 

Kennedy was clearly angry. 

“So do I blow up the building? It sat empty for four years, and I moved heaven and earth to find tenants,” he said. “The Marsh theater has held more performances in the last four months than the Berkeley Rep and the Aurora Theater—and maybe more than both combined. I’ve brought a jazz club downtown, and I’ve added life to a downtown that needs it—all with the blessings of the planning department and staff who said I was in compliance. To continue in pursuing this and closing down The Marsh is a counterproductive move.”

The Zoning Adjustments Board voted to declare Black & White Liquors a public nuisance Thursday after attempts at a compromise were torpedoed by state law and city code. 

The liquor store at 3027 Adeline St. had been the source of numerous complaints from neighbors, who complained that alcoholic customers were committing abusive behavior, sometimes at their homes. 

Attempts to solve the problem by less punitive measures foundered after the board was informed that state law and city codes precluded some of the solutions the board had seemed willing to make. 

Efforts to regulate the size of liquor bottles sold were precluded by state law, said ZAB chair Chris Tiedemann, as was an attempt to impose regulations by a zoning certificate. 

In the end, the board was left only with the option of voting a public nuisance finding, something Black & White owner Sucha Singh Banger had told the board he hoped to avoid. 

Among the conditions imposed by the board in the finding were: 

• Mandatory alcohol crime prevention classes for all store employees and the owner, to be completed within three months. 

• New hours of operation, running from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday. 

• Requiring all liquor sold to be packaged in clear plastic bags bearing the store’s name. 

• Installation of new exterior lighting along Adeline and Emerson streets. 

• Installation of video surveillance cameras covering the store’s exterior and retention of the resulting recordings for 90 days. 

• A requirement that Banger meet with neighbors in a three-block radius from the store to form a neighborhood watch group, and to meet with neighbors on a bi-monthly basis to discuss the store’s impact on the neighborhood. 

• A ban on sales to obnoxious customers, including those who loiter or drink in public or on neighbors’ properties, and those who are noisy, aggressively panhandle, litter, defecate or urinate on public or private property or commit other disturbances. 

In other action, the board also voted to deny approval to a bell tower added to the Jesuit School of Theology at 1725-35 Le Roy Ave. 

The tower had been constructed without a city permit, and board members and neighbors were critical of the design. 

The board voted to give the seminary until May 25 to come up with a better design.

Berkeley’s public schools are ranking higher than ever in the Academic Performance Index when compared with similar schools, according to data released Wednesday.  

The state Department of Education issued annual school rankings that determine how K-12 institutions are faring compared with similar schools and schools statewide. Rankings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest).  

All Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) schools ranked in the top three deciles when compared with similar schools. Berkeley High School and each of the three middle schools earned the highest ranking. 

The most impressive gains came from Rosa Parks Elementary School, which jumped from a 1 in 2004 to an 8 in 2005. 

BUSD spokesman Mark Coplan attributes the success to a culmination of measures aimed at pulling Rosa Parks out of Program Improvement, a No Child Left Behind initiative that monitors and disciplines low-performing schools. 

Since being placed on Program Improvement five years ago, Rosa Parks has received a new parent resource center, more funding earmarked for staff development and 60 additional tutors. These efforts are paying off, Coplan said. 

Washington and Whittier also showed significant improvement on similar schools rankings, each moving from a 4 to a 9. Le Conte trailed just behind. In 2004, it received a ranking of 4, in 2005 it received an 8.  

“The message that comes across is when looking at schools with similar problems, Berkeley Unified School District is doing pretty well,” said Neil Smith, Director of Educational Services.  

The ratings are based on comparisons to 100 schools with similar demographics, such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, number of English language learners and average class size. 

This year, the State Board of Education adopted six additional characteristics to improve reporting accuracy. They are: grade span enrollments, students enrolled in gifted and talented programs, students with disabilities, students re-designated fluent in English, migrant students and students in small classes. 

The other rankings, which offer a comparison to schools statewide, shows some BUSD sites losing ground. Five elementary schools and two middle schools, Longfellow and Willard, each dropped a single rank. 

However, four elementary schools, including Rosa Parks, moved up a rank, and Oxford moved up two ranks to the ninth decile. 

Berkeley High and King Middle School both earned rankings of 7, as they did in 2004.  

Educators often consider statewide standing a misleading measure of performance because it fails to account for schools’ individual characteristics. 

All rankings derive from the Academic Performance Index (API), a statewide testing model that attributes a numerical value between 200 and 1,000 to academic performance. Schools strive to achieve 800.  

Wednesday’s data also included API scores, but they are old news to educators who first got a glimpse of the numbers—and publicized them—last fall. A new set of API scores is due this fall.  

The API, instituted under the California Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999, is based on STAR tests for grades two through 11, and the high school exit exam for grades 10 and 11. This year is the first year all high school seniors must pass the exit exam to graduate.  

The Alternative High School received the lowest ranking possible when compared to schools statewide, though it is held to a different standard because too few students took the exit exam to yield statistically accurate results. 

Overall, Smith said he is pleased with the district’s results but does not want to overemphasize data when BUSD looks at how to improve its programs. 

“I don’t want to invest everything in the California standard tests,” he said. “They’re important, but they remain just one measure of what we do.””

Calling for peace in Iraq and denouncing federal legislation that would criminalize undocumented U.S. residents, the 27-day Latino March for Peace from Tijuana to San Francisco took a detour through Oakland Monday morning. 

Some 200 marchers were cheered by hundreds of students at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic High School in the heavily Latino Fruitvale district, before marching some 40 blocks to a rally and rest stop at Laney College.  

Before noon, the marchers took BART across the Bay to a series of rallies in San Francisco that would end the month-long protest.  

War resister Camilo Mejia, who spent nine months in jail for refusing to return to fight in Iraq, was among the core group that had walked most of the 241 miles. 

After the Laney College rally, he told reporters that he could see irony in the current situation: “You have Latinos here who are being heavily recruited [to fight], while you have their parents and relatives being treated as criminals.”  

The federal legislation that passed the House and is before the Senate is HR 4437 that would criminalize undocumented immigrants and increase the potential for employer discrimination and abuse of workers.  

Mariposa Burciaga of MEChA, an acronym that translates as Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan, was among the Laney students who organized to bring the protest to the college. 

“A lot of students aren’t aware of what’s going on,” she said. “It’s important to know what’s going on in the world, especially the effects on people of color. [The legislation] is unfair and inhuman.”  

Latinos are just beginning to understand their power, she said: “We are like the sleeping giant.”  

Stephen Allen, an 11th grader at the Life Academy, one of Oakland’s small high schools, spoke to the crowd. He said he’d had to decide whether to stay in class, “but I thought it was more important to be here, fighting for the rights—not just of Latinos—but everyone.”  

Denise Morales, 15, had a personal reason for walking out of her Life Academy classes. Morales said her parents came from Mexico to work. “They shouldn’t call us animals because we want a better life,” she said.  

Oakland’s Street Academy, the Latino Peace Alliance, Labor Against the War and UC Berkeley’s Peace and Conflict Studies were also represented at the Laney rally.  

A Peralta Federation of teachers delegate to the state California Federation of Teachers Convention this past weekend, Susan Schacher said she was at the Laney College rally protesting the war and celebrating the union’s non-endorsement of Sen. Dianne Feinstein “because of her stand in support of the war and the war budgets.”  

At the heart of planning the march was Fernando Suarez Del Solar, whose son was killed March 27, 2003, seven days into the war.  

Addressing the high school students at the early morning rally at Saint Elizabeth’s, he said: “Three years ago my son died in Iraq. Three years ago I lost my son, who, like you, had dreams. I never want to see your faces on the propaganda for war.”  

He called on the students to act: “You all collectively have to change what is wrong.””

Candida Martinez, booking agent for the Shattuck Down Low, stood in the drizzle Friday evening watching the picketers in downtown Berkeley and remarked on the irony that women opposing sexual slavery would demonstrate against Girl Fest, another organization fighting sexual exploitation of women. 

But Marcia Poole, of Women Against Sexual Slavery, saw some irony of her own. 

“The building [where Girl Fest was having a party] is owned by the biggest sex slaver in Berkeley,” she said in a phone interview Friday afternoon, referring to Lakireddy Bali Reddy, whose family business owns the building at 2284 Shattuck Ave., where the Down Low is located. 

In 2001, Reddy, a wealthy Berkeley landowner, was sentenced to eight years in prison, convicted, among other charges, of transporting minors to the U.S. for illegal sex and work. 

“Shame on Girl Fest for Supporting Sexual Slavery,” read the sign carried by protester Diana Russell, an emeritus professor at Mills College who has written extensively on women and child abuse. 

Joel Mark’s sign said: “This building owned by sex-slaver Reddy; boycott Girl Fest concert.”  

The evening event at Down Low was the kick-off party for a weekend Girl Fest conference, mostly held at UC Berkeley. There would be panels, film, music, art, spoken word and dance aiming to educate people on preventing violence against women. Girl Fest is produced under the auspices of the nonprofit The Safe Zone Foundation, based in Hawaii where the organization has put on annual Girl Fest conferences since 2003. 

“They’re going to be in the building where the girls worked as indentured servants,” Poole said, underscoring that the Down Low business owner would give rent money to the Reddys that he took from bar receipts that night. 

Kathryn Xian, who calls herself Girl Fest’s “Non-Executive” director, said she’d heard about the Reddys’ ownership and history some three weeks earlier, but she had a different view of holding the event at that particular nightspot. 

“They own the land, not the club,” she said by phone. “The land existed before the Reddy family. We’ll send a message to all sex traffickers. We’re going in there to reclaim the land that has been taken away from all women.” 

And, she added, “The Down Low owner (Daniel Cukierman) wants to do it here—to be loud and proud about it.”  

That evening, as Poole and the others picketed, Cukierman stood beside Martinez at the door of his club watching them: “The Girl Fest is a good organization; they do good work. We’re honored to have them here,” he said. 

At the last minute, Councilmember Kriss Worthington offered to help Girl Fest find another venue, but says he was not taken up on the offer. While he was not at the picket, Worthington said he supported it. 

“The City Council supported the boycott of [Reddy-owned restaurant] Pasands,” he said. “We expressed strong opposition to the horrible abuse of immigrant women and girls.” 

Poole said it was important to remember what the Reddy family had done. In addition to the conviction of Lakireddy Reddy, his sons Vijay and Prasad Lakireddy were convicted of similar but lesser charges. Vijay served two years in prison and Prasad got probation. Lakireddy’s uncle, Jayprakash Lakireddy and his aunt, Annapuma Lakireddy, pled guilty to immigration fraud and did not receive jail time.  

The immigration fraud and sexual abuse came to light after 17-year-old Chanti Prattpati died in 1999 of carbon monoxide poisoning in a Berkeley apartment owned by the Reddys. The Reddys were not held responsible. 

Prattpati’s 15-year-old sister survived the gas poisoning, caused by a blocked heating vent, and eventually told authorities that she and her sister were brought to the United States and forced to have sex with Reddy and other family members..

Depending on your political leanings, you may be exceedingly glad—or plumb horrified—to learn your child is maladjusted.  

Or so a study conducted by UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus Jack Block and his wife Jeanne Block, now deceased, might indicate.  

Beginning in 1969, the Blocks assessed personality traits in more than 100 Bay Area children. Twenty years later, subjects were tested for political persuasion. Those who had exhibited hypersensitive, insecure tendencies grew up to be conservatives, while those who were confident and resourceful grew up to be liberal.  

The report was published online in the Journal of Research in Personality in October.  

Children were independently observed by three nursery school teachers at age 3 and again, by a different set of teachers, at age 4. Those subsequently deemed conservative were often described as “feeling easily victimized, easily offended, indecisive, fearful, rigid, inhibited and relatively over-controlled and vulnerable.” 

Kids who later identified as liberals, on the other hand, were seen as self-reliant, energetic, somewhat dominating, relatively under-controlled and resilient. 

Block concludes, “It would appear that early identifiable personality characteristics, stemming from constitutional origins always interweaving with the cultural surround, seem to influence an approach to the world and a reaction to the world that tends, over the years, to evolve into a worldview, a weltanschauung, on a wide variety of issues, many of them political.” 

Jeff Greenberg, head of the social psychology program at the University of Arizona, said that doesn’t necessarily follow. 

“While the research is impressive,” he said, “I did find the descriptions of the findings in the journal article biased, and that the article overlooks a number of alternative explanations for what was actually found.”  

Greenberg points out that a 1960s–1970s Berkeley nursery school setting was likely more comfortable for children from liberal families and was therefore biased against children from conservative backgrounds. Alternatively, he said, since maladjusted children tend to reject the values of their surroundings, it could be argued that the fearful, insecure children would dismiss Bay Area liberalism, and turn to conservative ideology. In short, personality as an antecedent to political persuasion doesn’t necessarily bear out. 

“Now if the Blocks are right, they would find the same thing if they had assessed children from an Ames, Iowa, nursery school during the Reagan era,” Greenberg said. “The well-adjusted Iowan kids would grow up to become liberal and the kids not well-adjusted in that nursery school setting would grow up to be conservatives.” 

Block concedes the study’s limited subject pool—just 95 children living in Berkeley or Oakland during an ultraliberal era—narrows the scope. 

Nonetheless, he stands by his conclusions. In declining a request for an interview, he said, “The study speaks for itself.” 

Some campus conservatives think not. They’re calling his work a “wasteful masquerade,” and have accused the study of passing off “allegedly biased political assertions as scientific study.” 

The California Patriot, UC Berkeley’s undergraduate conservative publication, issued an online statement March 22 demanding accountability: 

“Berkeley must explain to its affiliates, students and admirers why university time and money has been wasted on such a poorly veiled political attack. In a time of rising housing costs and bloated tuitions, for Berkeley to be supporting and funding studies such as these is simply inexcusable.” 

The study was funded through a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.  

In 2003, two UC Berkeley professors contributed to research linking conservatism to resistance to change and tolerance for inequality. The study earned a frosty reception from conservatives on and off campus. One of the major points of contention was the article’s assertion that Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussoli and Ronald Reagan shared the same conservative qualities.  

Which could make you wonder: What were they like as little kids, anyway??

Hispanic media report that hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters are marching in cities across the country on behalf of immigrant rights. 

In the last few weeks, more than 50 demonstrations—described by some cities as the largest in their history—have occurred in Milwaukee, Providence, Trenton, Minneapolis, Knoxville, Seattle, St. Louis, Staten Island, Chicago, Washington, Portland, Grand Rapids, Tucson, Phoenix, Atlanta and Los Angeles. 

Los Angeles 

Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the streets of Los Angeles March 25 to legalize the millions of undocumented immigrants in the country, reports Jazmín Ortega in Spanish-language daily La Opinión. An estimated 500,000 demonstrators flooded the streets in protest of the Sensenbrenner bill (HR4437), which analysts predict will turn undocumented immigrants into criminals, along with those who help them, such as doctors, priests and teachers. 

The massive protest for immigrant rights had its first “pop quiz” March 24 when about two thousand students in the Los Angeles area left their classes and took to the streets, reports Jorge Morales Almada in La Opinión. 

At 8:10 a.m. on that Friday, about 500 students walked out of their classes. Half of them headed for South Gate High School and the other half walked to Bell High School, where hundreds of students were gathered. Guarded by police, they continued marching to Jordan and Southeast high schools, crossing through streets in the predominantly Latino cities of Huntington Park, South Gate and Bell. 

The protest was organized days before through emails and flyers, reports La Opinión.  

Police reported no arrests or major difficulties, except for traffic problems in the area. 

“I think this is racial,” Bianca Gudiel, a 16-year-old student who participated in Friday’s walkout, told La Opinión. 

“Lots of Blacks, Asians and Europeans have come to this country. My mom is an immigrant too and she came here to get ahead. Everyone came here for freedom, to have a good life, so we can have a good education,” she said. “Even the governor is an immigrant.” 

José Artemio Arreola, one of the central organizers of the March 10 protest in Chicago, joined organizers in Los Angeles on Saturday, reports Andrea Alegría in the Spanish-language newspaper Hoy. 

“They are working in a very similar way to what we did in Chicago,” Arreola told Hoy, adding that, unlike the Chicago protest, the Los Angeles march had the support of unions. 

“The most important thing is to try to send a message of unity,” he said, “and not to forget that the eyes of the world are on Los Angeles this weekend.” 

Chicago 

The Chicago protest drew more than 300,000 demonstrators, according to Spanish-language newspaper La Raza.  

Led by pro-immigrant organizations like Centro Sin Fronteras (Center Without Borders) and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant Rights, it included protesters from a variety of backgrounds. Although the majority of protestors were Mexican, other groups also participated in the march, including Irish, Salvadoran, Chinese, Vietnamese and Polish immigrants. 

Meanwhile, thousands of immigrants protested March 24 in Atlanta, Phoenix and Tucson. 

Phoenix 

With approximately 30,000 protesters, the march in Phoenix was the largest in the city’s history, reports La Opinión.  

“A human river flooded the streets” of the city, the newspaper reports, as men, women and children marched toward the office of Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Arizona with signs that read “I’m not a criminal, I’m a worker” and “If my job is permanent my residency should be too.” 

Mexican immigrant Irma López told La Opinión that she did not support “these kinds of racist laws.”  

“What we want,” she said, “is for them to give us the opportunity to work honestly, and for them to respect our rights as human beings.” 

Tucson 

In Tucson, another 1,500 people participated in a similar protest. 

Atlanta 

And in Atlanta, Latino workers and consumers made their absence felt in a citywide boycott, reports La Opinión. 

According to organizer Teodoro Maus, an estimated 80,000 Latinos did not show up for work on Friday. 

About 200 demonstrators gathered in front of the Georgia Capitol in a separate protest. Some demonstrators were wrapped in the Mexican flag and carried signs that said, “Don’t be scared, we’re Hispanics” and “We have a dream too,” referencing the famous civil rights speech by Martin Luther King Jr. 

The Atlanta boycott was organized by the March 17 Alliance, a coalition of radio broadcasters, religious and community leaders who called for the protest one day after the Georgia House of Representatives approved bill SB529, introduced by Republican Sen. Chip Rogers. 

The bill will return to the state senate for a vote with new amendments, including one that would force undocumented immigrants to pay an additional five percent charge when they send remittances electronically. 

More protests were slated for Monday, when faith leaders from across the country will hold a demonstration in Washington, D.C. And in Boston, more than 500 protesters are expected to march to Tremont Temple for a religious celebration in support of immigration reform. 

The Berkeley Police Department addressed growing concerns related to teen parties in Berkeley at the Northbrae Church Community Center last Thursday, two days before a teenage party in the city ended in the death of one of the parents. 

In February, a teenager was also killed at a Berkeley house party. 

The forum “How Many Parties Are Too Many?” was well attended by parents of Berkeley teenagers concerned about the sudden rise in violence and vandalism at house parties in the city. About 50 people filled the meeting room at the center. 

The majority of teen parties in the city take place in the south campus area, followed by the north campus area, according to the police. The West Berkeley area has had the least number of parties recently.  

The importance of having a chaperone present at teen parties could not be stressed enough, police said. The problem of underage drinking was also discussed at great length. 

The police also shared the results of a study conducted by the Alameda County Behavioral & Healthcare Services which found that 58 percent of Berkeley High School students said they had consumed alcohol in the last three days compared to zero percent of Berkeley Alternative High School students. In contrast, 17 to 35 percent of students in Alameda County admitted to consuming alcohol over the same period. However, 6 percent of Berkeley High students had said that it was easy to get alcohol in Berkeley compared to 23 percent at the alternative high school. 

BDP Area Coordinator Officer Dave Nutterfield outlined social factors such as peer pressure and technology that lead to out-of-control teen parties. 

“Because of technology such as cell phones and myspace.com, parties attract up to 250 kids instead of the 20 or 30 that were originally invited,” he said. “In order to control those 250 to 300 rowdy kids, 75 percent of the Berkeley police force is taken up on certain days.”  

Four to six officers from Berkeley police’s “Party Control Unit” patrol the neighborhoods every weekend. Nutterfield said. 

He also described ways in which peers could control parties that went out of control. 

“Always have a designated person on the spot to call 911,” he said. “It’s also a good idea to turn off lights, music and ask people to leave immediately.” 

Nutterfield added that most teenagers were afraid to contact the police for help because alcohol or drugs could be found on the party premises. He said, “Don’t be afraid to call us because of the presence of alcohol or drugs. We just want to make sure that you get home safe.” 

In case the parents are out of town and the party goes out of bounds, neighbors have a very important role to play in notifying the police. 

“Parents should also let neighbors know from before that they are leaving town and need them to keep a close eye on their children in case parties are thrown,” Nutterfield said. 

Officer Jessica Nabozney told the group about the dangers of teenagers chatting online with strangers. 

“There’s a whole lot of sick people out there waiting to take advantage of your child,” she said. “It is important to keep an eye on Internet activities.””

San Francisco was the site of a “reverse rebellion” last weekend. 

BattleCry, an initiative of Texas-based Teen Mania—one of the world’s largest Chirstian youth organizations—brought its message to the Bay Area, drawing hundreds of supporters to a rain soaked rally. The group preaches against elements of popular culture which they say are contributing to the spread of STDs, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, and suicide among teenagers. 

Teenagers gathered on San Francisco City Hall steps last Friday to declare the “BattleCry Bill of Rights,” which seeks to allow children to grow up without being exploited for financial gain. 

As the words “We will pursue purity throughout our lives ... We will not be seduced by a fabricated idea of sex and love ... We will save our bodies and hearts for our future spouse, and once married, we commit to pursue faithful and enduring relationships,” grew louder at the rally, there were sporadic bursts of chants such as “The Christian right is wrong,” and “Go home” from anti-BattleCry groups who had gathered to oppose the rally. 

Sister Mary Timothy, from the satiric gay group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, told The Planet that this was a cry to battle. “We are in the order of men and women who promote joy,” she said. “These kids are being brainwashed to start hating everyone who is different from them. We want to stop that from happening.” 

Elisa Welch, a member of Code Pink and Women for Peace, had just one message for BattleCry: “Shut up and go home. We don’t need more people like you taking over our children’s lives.” 

Natasha, a teenage spokesperson for BattleCry, took the criticism in good spirit. 

“We know that there are some people here who don’t support us and that’s okay,” she told the Planet. “The Lord has told us to love all. We are not here to condemn anyone or hate anyone. We are against media which glamorizes sex, drugs, and alcohol and we want to live a life of truth instead of temptation.” 

Echoing Natasha’s words were teenagers Aubri, Suzie and Jayme who had come down from Portland, Ore., to participate in BattleCry. 

“Praise the Lord,” they chanted unanimously. They said the protest had been spiritually exhausting. They said they joined the rally to help bring a stop to all the aspects of modern culture that take people away from God. 

Aubri, Suzie, and Jayme were not alone. More than 25,000 supporters of BattleCry gathered in the AT&T Stadium in San Francisco that evening and on Saturday to address topics of alcohol, sex, culture, and faith through empowering messages, high-voltage music and interactive drama. 

Concord native Ron Luce, 44, who created Teen Mania in 1986 to help teenagers caught in a “life of hopelessness and despair,” spoke at the event. He was joined by artists and bands including Delirious, TobyMac, and KJ-52. 

Teen Mania has worked to make sure teenagers and parents hear statistics such as “MTV airs (on average) 9 sexual scenes per hour and more than 8 un-bleeped profanities per hour,” or that “thousands of young people between the ages of 15-24 will commit suicide this year” and “approximately four million teens will contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD) this year.” 

Luce’s speech decried how sex and violence have been glamorized, “It’s ‘virtue terrorism’ and teens have had enough,” he said. “The media and retailers who peddle this garbage for the sake of cash and controversy are doing so at the expense of our children.” 

The Saturday event also marked the unveiling of www.mybattleplan.com which was described as the Christian alternative to myspace.com and would cater to the interests of Christian youths. 

BattleCry will be repeated in Detroit April 7 to 8 and Philadelphia May 13  

to 14..

A group of voting rights activists—including nationally known labor leader Dolores Huerta—filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in San Francisco this week, seeking to halt the use of the Diebold paper trail electronic voting machines in California, but it is uncertain what affect it will have on electronic voting in Alameda County in the November elections and beyond.  

The group’s 24 named plaintiffs are being represented by Berkeley attorney Lowell Finley and the San Francisco litigation law firm of Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Candady, Falk & Rabin. The lawsuit names California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson as one of the defendants, along with Acting Alameda County Registrar of Voters Elaine Ginnold and election officials in other California counties contemplating the use of the new Diebold machine. 

Finley is a member of Voter Action, a not-for-profit organization that the group says “provides legal, research and organizing support to ensure election integrity in the United States.” 

The litigation does not ask for monetary damages, but seeks only to block implementation of the newly-certified Diebold TSx electronic voting machine for the November election. It does not address the use of other similar machines, and would not prevent the use of the new Diebold paper-trail machine in the June primary.  

Explaining her role as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, Huerta—who helped found the United Farmworkers of America with Caesar Chavez—said that “voting is sacred,” adding that “we can’t fight for voting rights in other parts of the world if we don’t have it here. One of our biggest national security concerns should be the security of our vote.” 

Speaking at a San Francisco news conference this week, Finley said that while the group “has no intention of walking away from the problems with other electronic voting systems like Sequoia,” the litigation focused on Diebold “because the evidence is so powerful that their machine does not follow California law, and therefore gives us the best opportunity to win an immediate injunction against the use of the machines.” Finley called the Diebold machines “unsafe, unsure, and easily hacked,” and said that the interpretive code used by the machines—the translating code that allows one part of the hardware to communicate with the other—is “particularly vulnerable to hacking. This code can be changed on the fly, after the machines have been certified and tested by the state and the local county agencies. We can’t have trustworthy elections using the Diebold electronic voting machines. And without trustworthy elections, we don’t have a democracy.” 

Last week, after listening to hours of testimony from voting activists seeking an end to electronic voting in the county, a sharply-divided Alameda County Council narrowly approved going forward with negotiations with Diebold and Oakland-based Sequoia Systems for the purchase of electronic voting machines for the November elections. But even supervisors who voted to go forward with the negotiations cautioned that they had reservations about the use of the machines, and said the vote did not necessarily mean that the machines will actually be purchased. 

Supervisors said they would consider other voting system options while the negotiations were taking place. 

Alameda County Council and the Alameda County registrar of voters office had earlier determined that the time was too short to move forward with purchase of new electronic voting machines for the June primary. That election will be conducted on paper ballots that will be scanned by electronic machines at a central location in Oakland on election night. The county has already arranged a loan from San Diego County for electronic voting machines to be located at each precinct for the use of disabled voters and any other voter who asks to use them. 

If use of the Diebold electronic voting machines were to be nullified for the November election by the Superior Court, Alameda County would have the option of negotiating purchase of electronic voting machines from Sequoia and two other voting machine vendors who put up bids. 

California counties faced a twin election crunch this year when new state law went into effect in January, mandating that an auditable paper trail be available for counties using touchscreen electronic voting machines. In the past, touchscreen electronic voting machines—such as the Diebold machines used in recent Alameda County elections—counted the votes internally, and provided no method to manually check if the count went wrong. There have been widespread allegations of fraud in the use of such machines around the country in recent years, most notably in the 2004 Presidential election in Ohio. 

In addition, the 2002 Help America Vote Act (nicknamed “HAVA”) requires that every polling place be provided with a system that allows all disabled persons to vote independently, without the assistance of precinct workers. Some election officials have interpreted this to mean that each polling place must be provided with some form of a touchscreen electronic voting machine, but some voting rights and disabled activists have argued that there are other systems available that would meet federal law and the rights of disabled voters. 

At the San Francisco press conference, co-counsel Finley said that the Diebold machines do not meet the HAVA requirements. “By certifying those machines, the secretary of state threw the responsibility to the counties and to Diebold to make certain that the HAVA mandates are followed,” he said. “We think it’s the responsibility of the secretary of state to make sure those standards are met.” 

Finley also said that the paper audit trail provided by the Diebold machines is not what the new California law requires. Instead of an individual ballot printed for each ballot cast, the Diebold machines print the results on a continuous roll. Finley called that a “toilet paper system” that can “break down under heat because the paper is thermal,” and said that the continuous roll nature of the audit paper makes audits or recounting “extremely difficult and time consuming.”›

When Mayor Tom Bates ran for office against former mayor Shirley Dean four years ago, then-Planning Commission Chair Zelda Bronstein stood among his supporters.  

“What we got was not what we expected,” said Bronstein, affirming her intention to challeng e Bates for the office. 

In a Wednesday phone interview, Bronstein said she would submit organizational papers to the city clerk Thursday, allowing her to raise campaign funds. In addition to Bates, she’ll run against community activist Zachary RunningWol f. 

And she could face former mayor Shirley Dean. “All my options are open,” Dean told the Daily Planet on Wednesday. “I’m really concerned about what’s happening in the city.” 

Bronstein, who will formally announce her candidacy at a 4 p.m. Sunday gather ing at the Berkeley Alternative High School, said she had known Bates to be a progressive assemblymember with many years of experience, but he had disappointed her.  

She criticizes Bates for what she calls the “secret vote” to settle a lawsuit between th e city and UC Berkeley over university expansion. Bronstein argues that the public was shut out of the deal and that the city settled for less money than it should have. 

A retired English professor, having taught at UC Santa Barbara, Hayward State, UC Berkeley and San Francisco State, Bronstein served on the Planning Commission from 1997 to 2004 and was chair for her final two years on the commission. She has taken a leave from writing a regular column on local issues for the Daily Planet. She says her campaign theme will be, “It’s our city,” with priorities being “fair and open government, development that benefits the community and the highest quality city services.”  

Active with the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association and the Progressive Alliance, Bronstein said it is too early to publicize the names of her supporters.  

In a phone interview, Dean said Berkeley needs different leadership—herself or someone else. “I want to see what Zelda is all about,” she said. 

Having just watched the re-run of Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting on TV, Dean said she was particularly upset by the city having taken action on an important development issue—$1.5 million funding for the Oxford Plaza project—at a 5:30 p.m. Redevelopment Agency meeting, too early for many members of the public to attend. “That discourages me,” she said. 

Citing the UC–city settlement agreement and a proposed Ashby BART development project, Dean said she had concerns about “the lack of discussion about development.”  

And “I’m very upset about the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance,” she said. 

Candidates can formally file for the November races in mid-July and must have papers in by mid-August, according to City Clerk Sara Cox. Whoever is elected to the mayor’s seat in November will serve only two years because Berkeley voted in 2004 to change its mayoral elections to coincide with presidential elections beginning in 2008. 

Also in November, citizens will cast votes for four City Council seats: District 1, currently represented by Linda Maio; District 4, represented by Dona Spring; District 7, represented by Kriss Worthington; and District 8, represented by Gordon Wozniak. l

Wednesday BART services were disrupted for the second time around in two weeks when a bomb threat on a San Francisco-bound train at the 12th Street Oakland station resulted in services to all East Bay stations being cancelled for over an hour. 

According to Lt. William Schultz, in charge of the Patrol Bureau for Zones 1 and 3, which includes all the Berkeley BART stations, one of the BART patrons overheard two men on a San Francisco-bound train talking about a bomb on the train at the 12th Street station in Oakland around 8 a.m.  

The first suspect was later identified as a 35-year-old Hispanic male weighing 155 pounds with slicked back hair, wearing a navy blue parka and carrying a backpack, while the second suspect was identified as a 35-year-old black male, weighing 160 pounds with short black hair and wearing a putty green parka.  

The patron was said to have followed the two suspects up to the street level after which he reported the incident to the BART agent at the station booth. Although people were taken into custody after the report was filed, the patron was unable to identify anyone at a suspect line-up. 

William (Travis) Gibson, BART patrol commander, told the Planet yesterday that the investigation is ongoing and the police are continuing to look into the video tapes from the incident. 

Lt. William Schultz told the Planet that right after the incident was reported, bomb dogs were brought inside the train but no explosives were found. He added that the SWAT team had not been brought in as they were usually in charge of hostage situations and not experts at bomb deactivation. Had explosives been found hidden on the train or strapped on a person, the bomb squad from UC Berkeley or Alameda County Sheriff’s Department would have been brought in to deactivate it. 

Lt. Schultz also commented that the incident was different from other threats, which usually involved suspicious packages or phone calls. “It is important to realize the seriousness of this particular incident. It’s not a bunch of intoxicated college kids joking about a bomb on the train; it’s two normal people who are completely in their senses. Situations like this need to be controlled immediately,” he said.  

Wednesday’s service disruption however caused a lot of problems for early morning commuters on their way to work or school. Casey and Adam, who were visiting the Bay Area from Manhattan, were stuck at the Trans Bay Terminal in San Francisco for almost half an hour waiting for the F Bus to take them to Berkeley. “I am attending a conference at UC Berkeley today and I’ll probably miss the first half hour,” Adam told the Planet.  

The couple however acknowledged the fact that the alternate transportation being provided to commuters by BART was a big plus. “Had a situation like this occurred on the MTA subway system in New York, we would have had to fend for ourselves,” the couple added.  

However, they also said that it would have been more helpful if the Embarcadero station agents had been more specific about information on the location of the Trans Bay Terminal: “They were very vague and only said it was a couple of blocks down.” 

“As usual I was disappointed,” said Kathleen Meazed, an employee in UC Berkeley’s Sproul Hall. “BART didn’t make clear announcements about what was going on. Passengers need clear timely information about what is happening. I have started to carry a flashlight and water as last time the trains stopped working, the lights went out,” she said.  

Jim Allison, BART Public Information Officer told the Planet that “in the case of an emergency, the number one priority is the safety of our passengers. When we hear that there are explosives on a train, we don’t know how long the delay is going to be. In a perfect world, we could have predicted the future and told our passengers that the trains would start working in an hour again. But it doesn’t work that way.” 

Allison also said that the delays that occurred while arranging alternate transportation for BART’s passengers resulted from having to contact the bus services in San Francisco to provide shuttle services. “BART doesn’t have its own shuttle service. We have to depend on external sources.” 

Emily, an architect who works on Dwight St. in Berkeley, said that “it was good that BART refunded our fares from this morning; however, they could have had put up signs directing people to the refunds booth. Most were clueless about it.” she said.

The Willard Park tot lot will be officially reopening today (Friday) after remaining closed for two weeks in order to take care of rat infestation.  

“We have been successful in trapping 13 juvenile rats. Most of them were caught in the first few days and we’ve noticed the numbers going down gradually,” Jim Hynes, assistant to the Berkeley city manager, told the Daily Planet.  

Hynes added that it was safe to assume that the problem was taken care of. The team in charge of controlling the infestation had discovered burrows between the two tennis courts in Willard Park. The dense vegetation around the Willard Pool, as well as around private property near the park, had also been trimmed to control rat harborage.  

“We were specifically on the lookout for sources for the breeders and we were successful in finding them,” he said.  

No poisons or pesticides had been used to get rid of the rats. It was done entirely by trapping. The wooden deck in the tot lot has been taken off and resurfaced with plywood. The city is also looking at gathering funds for permanently resurfacing the deck with a stronger synthetic material which would be slip-proof. The new painted grit surface could be put into place as soon as funds are available at the beginning of the next fiscal year.  

Hynes also acknowedged the fact that the city was looking to hold talks with the Willard Neighborhood Association about introducing owls in Willard Park after a Berkeley resident had suggested the same in a letter to the Planet. “I think it’s a great idea and I will be discussing it this week,” he said. 

“I would also like to remind the public to be careful with food and not to discard leftovers in the park. Although the Parks Department picks up food from the tot lot everyday, the people visiting it should also act responsibly,” he said. 

Manuel Ramirez, manager of environmental health at the city’s Department of Health and Human Services that provided the city with consultation on controling the rat problem, told the Planet that the city had put a lot of effort into getting rid of the rats and cleaning up the tot lot. “In the end it’s always a community effort. Visitors need to remember to put their leftovers from lunch into the trash cans and not the sidewalk,” he said. 

Heather Saloff, a Berkeley resident who lives near the park told the Planet that she was definitely going to go back to the tot lot with her son. “We have observed the work being done from a distance and it’s good to know they have found a source for the problem and fixed it,” she said.

Oakland teachers are one step closer to going on strike. 

Members of the Oakland Education Association (OEA) voted 1,054 to 330 to authorize a strike Wednesday. The vote does not mean teachers will walk out right away, it merely enables union representatives to call a strike or sit-in with 48 hours notice. 

OEA President Ben Visnick anticipates a strike will take place only if contract negotiations fail to move forward.  

The 3,100-member union has been negotiating with the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) over teacher contracts for two years. Talks stalled earlier this year but resumed last week, and both sides agree significant progress has been made. 

The sides are close to consensus over salary, long a bone of contention in a school district where the average teacher pay is $53,000 a year. The district is offering a 5.5 percent raise over three years; the union wants 6.5 percent. 

“But the main issues remain unresolved,” Visnick said Wednesday, namely healthcare and preparation periods.  

The union is demanding that employees pay no more than a half a percent for healthcare premiums. It also wants the district to offer more time for teachers to prepare for classes. 

The district’s latest proposal, officially submitted Tuesday, offers a shared-cost healthcare plan that would require employees to split half the cost of future premium increases. Earlier this month, the district was proposing a cap on healthcare. 

As for their other main concern, OUSD spokesperson Alex Katz said the district doesn’t want to ban prep periods, it just wants to leave them up to school sites.  

At press time, talks were ongoing. 

In the event of a strike, the district plans to keep schools open, Katz said.  

“A strike is the last thing anyone wants, but this is an educational institution so our legal and moral responsibility is to educate our students in the event of a strike,” he said. 

Between 800 and 1,000 substitute teachers have submitted applications to replace potential strikers, he said. They would earn $300 a day. Substitutes typically earn $110 a day. 

Oakland’s classified employees are also battling the district over salary and healthcare. Representatives staged a rally in front of district offices Wednesday to demand fair contracts.

On the agenda at Tuesday’s City Council meeting was a motion to ask the Berkeley School Board to add partial funding for a new warm pool at Berkeley High to the list of projects to be supported by the voters in a November parcel tax ballot measure. At the meeting, however, councilmembers argued that the addition could endanger the passage of the tax. 

The warm pool is used by frail elderly and disabled persons. Funding was authorized under Measure R in 2000 to rehabilitate the pool and the structure that houses it. However, the School Board subsequently decided not to rehabilitate the pool but to move it to the east side of Milvia Street, where tennis courts were once housed. That would cost at least $2 million, more than funds provided by the city and the bond measure. 

Councilmembers decided by a unanimous vote that, instead of asking the School Board to add the funding to the parcel tax, they would ask the city manager to write to the school superintendent, asking if other sources of revenue are available and to discuss the issue further in the “two-by-two” committee, comprised of school board and council members. 

Without it, “people who depend on the pool will be left high and dry,” quipped Councilmember Dona Spring, who has been driving the effort to make sure the new warm pool gets funded. 

Wind turbine 

The proposed installation of a small, experimental electricity-generating wind turbine at the Shorebird Park education center at the Marina drew fire from Councilmember Betty Olds who questioned whether the 40-foot structure would endanger birds, which has been the case at the much-larger, much-higher Altamont Pass wind farm.  

“We’re setting an example,” Olds said. “Maybe people will have them in their yards.” 

The council decided to pass the measure (with Councilmember Gordon Wozniak abstaining and Councilmember Kriss Worthington absent), accepting the installation of the turbine, with the caveat that the Golden Gate Audubon Society would have to give its approval. If the GGAS does not, the issue will be back on the council agenda.  

Funding for the project will come from the developer, but the city is responsible for $12,000 in installation costs. 

And, the council unanimously passed: 

• Funding for the youth shelter through May. 

• The phasing out of tritium exit signs. 

• Changing the name of the Sather Gate Garage to the Telegraph/Channing Garage to give shoppers a better idea of where to find parking. 

While it was not on the council agenda, Berkeley High’s baseball team showed up en masse at the public comment period to ask the council to consider allowing the school to site a regulation-size baseball field on the parcel at Derby Street and Martin Luther King Way. The school board recently approved play fields at the site, but a regulation-size field would entail closing a section of Derby Street, which many neighbors and the Tuesday farmers market vendors oppose..

The group chosen by the city to oversee development at the Ashby BART parking lot wants recruits for a task force panel to recommend projects to the city council. 

Just how many people will serve on the panel remains an open question, said Ed Church, who is project director for the South Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation (SBNDC),the non-profit organization picked by the city to oversee development at the site. 

“We have more qualitative than quantitative guidelines,” he said. “We’re more concerned with representation and inclusion.” 

The SBNDC has taken to calling the surrounding neighborhood SoBa, for South Berkeley area. 

While the announcement said the task force was mandated by the city council resolution that approved the grant application, it is nowhere mentioned in that document—a point raised at neighborhood activist Robert Lauriston’s Neighbors of Ashby BART website (nabart.com). 

“It was mentioned in the discussion with the city council” during the December meeting, said Church. 

Call for task force members 

In a notice issued to seek members, the non-profit listed three basic assignments for the panel: 

• Define the basic elements of the project, which is expected to include housing built over ground-floor retail space, as well as the qualifications of a project developer. 

• Formulate a written proposal the city council can use to issue a Request for  

Qualifications for selection of a project developer. 

• Assist the council in selecting the developer. 

The project, strongly pushed by City Councilmember Max Anderson and Mayor Tom Bates, ran into strong initial opposition from neighbors alarmed at the announcement that the BART station’s western lot will house a major development with at least 300 units of housing. 

Church, who included the figure in a grant application to seek state funds for the planning process, later said the figure was a mistake, based on a misinterpretation of the site’s area. 

Task Force members are expected to serve and attend night and weekend meetings for the three to six months expected to complete the process. 

The written guidelines said applicants must live or own a business in Berkeley and be familiar with housing, economic, environmental or general issues in South Berkeley. 

But Church said Thursday that one would-be applicant had asked for inclusion of members from north Oakland who live within a half-mile of the site. 

“If sounds like a good idea, so I am forwarding his name to the board” of the nonprofit, Church said. 

The eight-member board is chaired by Jesse Anthony, a teacher who also serves on the city’s Zoning Adjustments Board. 

AC Transit Deputy General Manager Jim Gleich serves as vice-chair. 

Nominations can be sent to Church by email at SoBa@southberkeley.org or by snail mail care of the SBNDC, 1767 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley 94703. 

Grant alive 

Meanwhile, a City Council-sponsored application for a $120,000 grant to assist in planning the project is still moving forward. 

Laura Wonder, regional public affairs chief for Caltrans, said word on the final status of the request the SBNDC filed in October and the city council endorsed two months later could come as early as mid-April. 

Word is certain by the end of the month, she said. 

If approved, the grant would also require a city contribution of $30,000. 

Announcement that the application had been sought prior to the council’s approval triggered a firestorm of protest from area neighbors, who feared that the resulting project could result in eminent domain property seizures in the surrounding area. 

Anderson and Bates have since promised that the project would not use eminent domain within the project area or seek to classify the project as a transit village under legislation Bates authored during his years in the state Assembly. 

That legislation would have mandated greater density standards in the area..

A $61 million project that will combine housing for the most disadvantaged, an environmental center, retail and underground parking got a set of approvals Tuesday, bringing the Oxford Plaza and David Brower Center proposed for Oxford Street and Allston Way closer to reality. The project was before both the Berkeley Redevelopment Agency and the Berkeley City Council, two bodies composed of the same elected councilmembers.  

Strong objections came not from opponents of the project, but from members of the public, who lambasted city officials for shutting them out of the process, though Councilmember Betty Olds opposed its funding and development in parallel 8-1 Redevelopment Agency and City Council votes.  

At issue at the 5:30 p.m. Redevelopment Agency meeting was adding $1.5 million of funds which the agency administers to the $32 million housing component of the Brower project. When they met later in the evening as the City Council, the body was asked to approve the next step in negotiations with the project developers.  

“Last week was Sunshine Week, but we didn’t have a ray,” said Berkeley resident Merilee Mitchell, speaking during the Redevelopment Agency public comment period. Mitchell was referencing the week of March 13, where open government was honored nationwide.  

Mitchell was decrying the public’s lack of access to the staff report explaining the project’s use of the redevelopment funds, which was posted on the city website only late Monday morning. Councilmembers got copies of the report at about 5 p.m. Friday evening. Other reports to be discussed at the Tuesday evening meeting were distributed to the council and public last Thursday.  

“I believe it should not be slipped through the cracks. It’s a very important issue and needs discussion,” Mitchell said. 

“It’s outrageous not to be able to look at the report more carefully,” added resident Doug Buckwald, also speaking during the comment period.  

The housing funds would come from the West Berkeley Redevelopment Project, which is why the issue had to come first to the Redevelopment Agency. The question before the body was whether funds for the Oxford Plaza housing should come from the WBRP’s housing funds, which by law can be used to pay for low-income housing anywhere in the city. 

The West Berkeley Redevelopment Area is monitored by a committee, whose members said they had been left out of the process. “It should come before the PAC [Project Area Committee] first,” said Susan Libby, a member of the committee, speaking at the public comment portion of the Redevelopment Agency meeting. “It’s a matter of sunshine. People should be informed.” 

Olds agreed: “They say it’s beneficial to the project area. Don’t they have a right to say yea or nay?”  

Housing Director Stephen Barton explained, however, that the project area committee oversees only projects in West Berkeley. 

In a phone interview Thursday, Libby said, speaking for herself, she understood that the city legally is not required to ask the opinion of the West Berkeley Project Area Committee when it spends redevelopment funds for housing. Nevertheless, she said, it would have been good for the city to ask the committee. “We are the arm that gets public input,” she said, noting that she would have preferred that the housing funds be spent closer to the project area. 

Discussing the substance of the project, Mayor Tom Bates complimented Barton on putting together “one of the most incredibly complicated projects” he’d seen. The Oxford Plaza will combine 96 units of extremely low to very low income housing with retail, including a restaurant, meeting space and the David Brower Center, a facility, according to the David Brower Center web site, “designated to inspire and nurture current generations of activists and to build a foundation for future generations.”  

While Councilmember Gordon Wozniak voted in favor of the project, he said he feared that it was so complex, with a  

variety of funders and owners, that it could fall apart or that the price could increase before construction is complete. “Is this too big?” he asked. “It’s like the dinosaur dying on your front lawn. We may have to haul it away.”  

Voting against the project, Olds said she did not want to run the financial risk of such a complex project. “We’re putting too many eggs in one basket,” she said, adding that the housing project, which provides units with one, two and three bedrooms, would not be good for people with children: “They don’t have a good place for kids to play. There’s no shopping,” she said, noting that using the housing funds for this project means that they cannot be used elsewhere.  

Top state, county and city emergency services officials from the State of California and Alameda County met with senior officials from UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Vista College, the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) and Bayer Health care yesterday to discuss emergency preparedness coordination and communication plans in the event of a major disaster in Berkeley. 

Participants included Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, Bekeley Unified School District (BUSD) Superintendent Michelle Lawrence, State Emergency Services Coastal District Administrator Rich Eisner, Berkeley City Manager Phil Kamlarz, Berkeley Police Chief Doug Hambleton and UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau. 

Mayor Tom Bates described the session as an “unique opportunity to get an understanding of how the city would operate during a disaster—especially the first four to five days.”  

Speaking to members of the media after the briefing session, the mayor said that in the event of a major disaster the City of Berkeley’s Public Safety Building at 2100 Martin Luther KIng, Jr. Way would be converted into a command center.  

He added that federal and state agencies would be carrying out emergency services throughout Berkeley and jointly making decisions on healthcare and evacuation services. In the event that cell phone services were disrupted, bicycle dispatchers would be sent out to act as messengers between city officials. There is also talk of using ham radios. 

Plans to involve community organizations such as churches and libraries in disaster preparedness methods are also being made by the city. 

A Bay Area earthquake is one of the three major disasters that have been predicted by FEMA—the other two being the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the twin hurricanes in Lousiana, which have already taken place. 

It was estimated from the briefing session that in the event of a major earthquake up to 500 people could be killed in Berkeley and the number could increase if the quake occurred during the day. The mayor, however, acknowledged that the Alameda County coroner’s office could only accommodate 40 bodies and that the possibility of refrigerated trucks to store the deceased had been discussed at the meeting.  

He added that the UC Berkeley gyms and recreation centers, the Lawrence Labs, and BUSD’s earthquake resistant buildings could also be used as shelters. It was estimated that up to 500 fires could also occur in the city during such a disaster.  

Superintendent Michelle Lawrence expressed concern at the fact that although schools in Berkeley were in good shape during the day, there was hardly anyone around in the evening to handle emergency situations. 

The city is also scheduled to carry out an earthquake drill on April 18 to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.  

The mayor also said that “Berkeley had always been a leader in emergency services and that it would continue to be so.” He added that it was extremely important for citizens to prepare for a sudden disaster in the best possible way.  

“Hurricane Katrina was a wake-up call for us. Everyone should start off by storing water and food for at least a couple of weeks since water is clearly going to be one of the major problems. Families should also have a plan of where to gather after a quake. They need to retrofit their homes in case that has not already been done,” he said. 

Currently 65 percent of houses in Berkeley are retrofitted, as well as all the schools. 

The mayor also stressed the importance of having an out-of-state phone number of a friend or a relative at all times, because of the high possibility of local lines going out of service during a quake. 

Speaking to the Daily Planet, state Emergency Services Coastal District Administrator Rich Eisner said that the event had been a “unique effort to bring the local community and the county together and prepare for one of the worst possible disasters ever.” 

“We were able to bring our ideas to the table not only at the city level but also at the state level. I want everyone to understand that we are all part of this effort. CItizens need to understand that it is up to them to change the outcome of the [potential] disaster. Everyone should be prepared with food and water for at least 72 hours if they don’t want to end up as victims of the earthquake,” he said.  

Berkeley Police Chief Doug Hambleton said that the main focus was on “preservation of life.”  

He added that “communication would definitely pose a problem” and said that although the communication systems between the city’s fire and police departments were not yet integrated, there were plans to do so in the near future.  

He added that although officers in Berkeley could not communicate with their counterparts in Oakland through radio systems, it was very much on the agenda. The infrastructure to set up something like that would cost the city $60 million. 

Mayor Tom Bates also said that there were plans to address pandemics like the avian flu at a meeting in October but stressed the fact that handling emergency preparedness during a natural disaster was the top priority at the moment. 

When it comes to regulating local quarries, the city of Richmond is between a rock and a hard place.  

Unstable slopes and extended fissures at two derelict quarries, both inactive mines, pose a threat to public safety, said the State Board of Mining and Geology (SMGB), but unless Richmond renews its mining ordinance, not much can be done about it. 

According to state board Executive Officer Stephen Testa, the city’s current mining ordinance expired in 1998, leaving most regulatory power to the SMGB, a department of the California Department of Conservation.  

So last month, Richmond City Councilmember Tom Butt drafted an ordinance in an effort to reclaim the city’s authority.  

His motivation? 

“Like most land uses in the city, it’s nice to have local control over these things,” he said. “You never know when state agencies are going to act on these things.” 

The ordinance earned Testa’s stamp of approval. Getting it past Richmond brass, however, has proved more trying. 

At a council meeting in February, City Attorney John Eastman summarily rejected the proposed ordinance on grounds that drafting responsibilities fall exclusively on the city attorney, Butt wrote on his website tombutt.com. According to the website, Eastman further argued that the ordinance must undergo review per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)—which requires decision makers to examine environmental impacts prior to undertaking a project—before council can vote on it.  

Testa said the city attorney is incorrect. 

“I do not perceive it as an issue with CEQA” Testa said. “All the city has to do is approve the ordinance, send it to our office, then the board certifies that ordinance and at that point, the city becomes the lead agency.” 

“[Butt’s] draft ordinance is fine with us,” he said. 

Eastman did not return calls for comment. Earlier this month, he was quoted in the Contra Costa Times saying it was “a complicated legal issue” and that he hadn’t yet “made a determination.” 

In December, the state board issued notices of violation to the Richmond [Chevron] Quarry, located east of the San Rafael Bridge, and the Point Richmond [Canal] Quarry on Canal Boulevard at Seacliff Drive.  

The Richmond Quarry, owned by Chevron and operated predominantly as an asphalt facility by Dutra Materials, was cited for shouldering an unstable cut-slope that could topple down into a tank of neighboring petrol tanks and threaten public safety. The Point Richmond Quarry operator was cited for unstable slopes and fissures extending onto East Bay Regional Park property where people frequently hike. A landscape company uses the site for materials recycling. 

Additionally, both quarries were deemed guilty of breaching revegetation and reclamation mandates under the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMRA) of 1975, policies aimed at minimizing the toll mining exacts on the environment. 

The state board gave the sites 60 days from March 9 to comply with its requests. If they fail to do so, the state board could charge owners up to $5,000 a day in fines, retroactively effective Dec. 22, 2005, Testa said.  

“We expect to comply,” said Doug Straus, an attorney for the Bottoms Family Trust, which owns the Point Richmond Quarry. “We’re doing everything we can.” 

A representative from the Richmond (Chevron) Quarry did not return a call for comment. 

Meanwhile, the city can only exercise its power over zoning and perceived nuisances at the quarries, Butt said. For instance, Richmond could penalize the Point Richmond Quarry for operating a recycling facility without proper permitting.  

At a meeting Tuesday, Butt said the city attorney was instructed to take action against the quarries. 

But “so far, the city hasn’t done anything,” he said. 

As for the mining ordinance, Butt fears it’s dead in the water. 

“The City Council has no interest in moving forward with it, and the city has no interest in moving forward with it,” he said, convinced petty council politics were overshadowing the larger issue. 

Butt said, “This is an example of why Richmond has been so dysfunctional for so long.” 

City Councilmembers had not returned calls by press time.

Faiza Al-Araji, a middle-class Iraqi woman, was able to pay her innocent son’s way out of jail last summer. That’s when she understood that she had to leave. With her husband and three sons, she went to Jordan, leaving behind the chaos and misery of the country of her birth.  

“I was lucky. I had money to pay for the release of my son,” Al-Araji said, speaking to a small home gathering in Berkeley on Wednesday evening. Al-Araji’s talk was part of a tour by six Iraqi women organized by San Francisco-based Global Exchange to promote a better understanding of the effects of war on the Iraqi people. It took place in a house owned by Becky and Mike O’Malley, also owners of the Daily Planet. She will speak at three large public events in Oakland, Palo Alto and Santa Cruz this weekend. 

“I have come here to talk about the truth. It’s been three years of pain and suffering,” Al-Araji said. “I hope we can open people’s eyes.”  

An engineer since 1976—taught in part by women professors, she said proudly—the family’s exit follows on the heels of countless Iraqi professionals who have fled. Al-Araji and her husband, who still own a water treatment company in Iraq, have the means to live in Jordan, where life is very expensive.  

But what of the others? “The majority of the people in Iraq now, who are suffering from the horrible conditions and have no way to get out of Iraq, are poor people. They will be the victims of the killings and the chaos,” she said.  

Or, without other means of survival, they will become perpetrators of crime or join the occupation’s police force or army, which causes them to become targets themselves. “This creates a horrible environment,” she said. “That’s why people attack the police.”  

Iraq’s oil wealth is nowhere to be seen, as people line up, sometimes overnight, for gasoline. “Where is the oil of the Iraqi people?” Al-Araji asked.  

Al-Araji does not mince words. She says the chaos in her country is no accident. “It’s to [the occupation’s] benefit to create conflict to stay forever in Iraq, so that the Iraqis will be confused about who is the real enemy. But the real enemy is the occupation.”  

The U.S. began to destabilize the country with the dismissal of the army, and the firing of all government officials and university professors who were members of the Ba’ath Party, Saddam Hussein’s political party, Al-Araji said. “Not all Ba’ath are bad,” she said, explaining that if people wanted to work in the government, teach in a university, or practice medicine in a government hospital under Hussein, they had to join the Ba’ath Party.  

Life is worse today in Iraq than under Hussein, she said: “Nobody would steal a car or kidnap someone. There would be severe punishment.”  

“This is the environment America needs to stay in Iraq forever,” she said.  

Americans have a false picture of Iraq, Al Araji said, hoping to paint a truer picture. “I feel sad for the American people who are looking at TV and believing. The American people believe Iraq is a noble mission.”  

Only in America, and somewhat in England, do people talk about Shi’ia and Sunni Muslims, said Al Araji, who is Shi’ia; her husband is Sunni. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “There’s no faith conflict—we are Muslim.”  

The United States is trying to market the conflict by going to the majority Shi’ias and saying: “’You have been oppressed by Saddam and his group of Sunnis,’” she said, arguing that’s not true: Saddam oppressed both Sunnis and Shi’ias.  

The occupation has “planted the culture of revenge, the culture of hatred. They have torn the tissue of our society,” she said.  

Another media myth is that the United States liberated Iraqi women, Al-Araji said. But under Hussein women worked, drove cars, chose their husbands, kept their names, became judges, lawyers and  

doctors, Al-Araji said. The reality is that, with the new Iraqi leadership “now the position of the Iraqi women is very bad.”  

When someone in the audience asked Al-Araji if U.S. troops should pull out all at once, she said they should. It’s up to Iraqis to find their own way, she said. “Leave Iraq for the Iraqis. This is what we want.”  

Faiza Al-Araji will be joined by Scott Ritter and Ray McGovern, 7 p.m. March 24, First Unitarian Church, 685 14th St., Oakland. $15 in advance, $20 at the door. On Saturday Al Araji will speak in Palo Alto and Santa Cruz. For details, see www.globalexchange.org..

Though “balance” was the buzzword at Wednesday’s joint meeting between the Creeks Task Force and the Planning Commission, creeks faction wars were as heated as ever. 

The object of the division: Berkeley’s Creeks Ordinance, a 1989 policy, amended in 2002, that forbids additions and rebuilding on property within 30 feet of a creek, whether open or interred. Exceptions are made for structures destroyed by disaster. 

Many homeowners want fewer restrictions on development near creeks, while environmentalists want more stringent policies. 

Charged with drafting suggested amendments to the ordinance, the 15-member Creeks Task Force released preliminary recommendations Wednesday, under the premise of “trying to strike a balance between the needs of property owners and the environment,” said task force member Phil Price. 

The task force is comprised of community members and city council and city commission appointees.  

Recommendations include the following:  

Vertical property expansion within 30 feet of a creek is allowed on a case-by-case basis; expanding up to five feet into the 30-foot setback is permitted with an administrative use permit; more than five feet into the setback and homeowners must seek a variance; rebuilding after loss is allowed and property owners can build new structures within 30 feet of an open creek but only with a variance. 

Further details were spelled out at a task force meeting Monday, such as regulations on non-roofed structures—decks, patios and bridges, for instance—and terms of general watershed management. 

A majority of the task force agreed to the recommendations, which garnered significant, but not unqualified, support from creeks advocates. 

“What I have read sounds pretty good,” said Igor Skaredoff, a Martinez resident and member of the Urban Creeks Council. “. . . You are indeed getting pretty close to that balance.” 

Many homeowners were less enthusiastic. 

“Property owners feel we’ve been tacitly acknowledged and substantively ignored,” said a representative of Neighbors on Urban Creeks, a community group that champions homeowners’ rights.  

A central element of their discontent is perceived limitations on rebuilding existing structures. 

Under the proposed ordinance, homeowners are allowed to repair and renovate their homes in the existing footprint per standard zoning regulations. This includes seeking an administrative use permit if more than half a building is destroyed. 

Many worry that the bureaucratic rigmarole involved in obtaining a use permit will thwart rebuilding efforts all together. However, the same zoning rules apply to all buildings, not just those adjacent to creeks. 

Homeowners expressed concern, nonetheless.  

“The power to grant use permits is the power to deny one,” said former Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean. 

Environmentalists countered that a buffer zone is necessary to protect the city’s natural waterways. 

“I value the creeks of Berkeley exceedingly highly. Private property rights do not trump the creeks,” said Chris Kroll, a Berkeley resident. “Creeks are natural processes which need to be respected. You need to keep development back.” 

But the most hotly contested issue of the evening—still unresolved on the task force—was whether to include creek culverts in the ordinance. 

Berkeley is home to a byzantine system of underground waterways that has been cause for much concern among homeowners, many who aren’t sure whether they live on or near a creek culvert. Others who are aware they live near culverts claim they weren’t enlightened to that fact until after they purchased their homes. They fear that strict regulations dictated by the ordinance diminish their property values.  

“I urge you to exclude culverts from the ordinance,” said Berkeley resident Scott Rosenberg. “It makes no sense, there’s no logic to it, there’s no fairness to it.” 

To Elyce Judith, it’s entirely logical. A creek culvert is eroding her neighbor’s house, she said, and including creek culverts in the ordinance ensures proper watershed management.  

Judith was one of few creekside property owners who expressed support for a strong Creeks Ordinance Wednesday. By and large, homeowners at the public hearing supported a less rigorous ordinance—or no ordinance at all.  

Michael Tripp advocated abolishing the ordinance. “No compromises, no responses, no ordinance,” he said. 

The Creeks Task Force will shore up its recommendations April 3 then pass them off to the Planning Commission. Commissioners will consider ordinance modifications until April 26 to meet a May 1 City Council-imposed deadline. The City Council has final say over amendments..

The latest local public agency to be hit by the automated payroll blues is the Alameda County Medical Center. 

Nurses representing Service Employees International Union Local 616 blasted ACMC’s Kronos automated time reporting system at the last meeting of the medical center’s board of trustees, saying that union officials had received more than 40 recent complaints, and that “some people are missing hours and some people are missing whole pay periods.” The representatives said that the automated system had messed up some workers’ hours so much that “some people have been dropped into part-time status, causing them to lose access to participation in the center’s health care plan.” 

Kronos is a Massachussetts-based workforce management company that was hired to take over operation of the medical center’s payroll system during the administration of since-departed Cambio Health Care Solutions. 

One nurse representative called the payroll problems “criminal” and a “violation of state labor laws.” Using the slang name for a beat-up automobile, the representative asked, “Did we buy a Cadillac system (from Kronos), or did we buy a hooptie?” 

Labor representatives told trustees that workers had been barred from making complaints about payroll problems directly to the center’s finance department.” They said that the problem was centered mainly among nurses working in the center’s John George Psychiatric Pavilion in San Leandro. 

ACMC Chief Financial Officer Geoff Dottery admitted “some glitches in implementing” the new payroll system and said that his office was working on the problem, but medical center trustees appeared unimpressed. 

“We’ve heard this report too many times,” Trustee Board President J. Bennett Tate told Dottery and ACMC CEO Wright Lassiter. “This cannot go on. The trustee board cannot be involved with the everyday operations of the medical center, but we can let you know that we find something unacceptable. If it happened to me, I’d be angry, too.” 

Center administrators are expected to report back on efforts to solve the payroll problem at the next trustee meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, March 28. 

A posting on the SEIU Local 616 website in early February headlined “Kronos payroll problems worse than expected” said that “although [human resources] management promised to fix problems plaguing the Kronos payroll systems, problems have gotten worse, not better. . . . SEIU stewards have identified 130 errors at Highland [Hospital] alone.” The SEIU report also noted that “while SEIU stewards were gathering information on payroll errors, HR paced a Local 616 steward on administrative leave for doing her job representing our members. SEIU representatives walked out of a meeting with HR when ACMC refused to reinstate the steward.” 

Vice President of Human Resources Bill Mattox was placed on administrative leave himself by the center on March 3. Mattox was not available for comment, and personnel privacy laws did not permit center officials to comment on whether the action was related to the payroll problems. 

In a prepared statement released this week, CFO Dottery said that the center has “significantly improved our service to employees, expanding walk-in service hours in the payroll department, and making a pledge that any paycheck discrepancies for the current pay period will be rectified within three hours. For previous pay periods, discrepancies will be fixed within three days.” 

In a letter to SEIU representatives earlier this month, Dottery said that he was “now very aware of the technical and service issues that need to be addressed immediately. . . . I am recommending that we continue with the Kronos implementation. However, in order to do this successfully, we will implement several changes . . . to give you confidence that employees will be paid correctly and on time.” 

Among those listed changes was one to create a reception desk in the payroll department for workers to resolve complaints, and to assign payroll clerks to work directly with unit managers to “help resolve Kronos operational issues.” 

But Dottery did not say whether any progress had been made in stopping the payroll glitches themselves. He said he could not comment on specifics of the Kronos payroll implementation because of pending litigation against the medical center by a former employee. That litigation, filed earlier this month in Superior Court in Oakland and not yet answered by the center, involves in part complaints concerning the automated payroll system. 

A spokesperson for Local 616, Director of Communications Brad Cleveland, said that while Cambio originally brought in Kronos, it was the center’s present director, Wright Lassiter, who escalated the problem. 

“The center never had timeclocks before; they always used paper timekeeping,” Cleveland said. “Then they made a decision to move to electronic timekeeping. Last year, we reached an agreement with the medical center to move forward with implementation of the Kronos system that would have used the electronic payroll system and a paper system operating simultaneously,” Cleveland said. “That would allow us to immediately identify any problems in workers’ paychecks.” But Cleveland said that after Lassiter was hired, “he made the unilateral decision to go completely electronic.” Cleveland said that was symptomatic of the medical center “trying to do things on the cheap.” He also blamed the Kronos implementation team, which he said “wasn’t paying attention to problems. Instead, they were just barreling forward with putting the new payroll system into place, figuring that they’d just fix the problems as they came up. Implementation has been a disaster. It’s just a mess.” 

Cleveland said the union is urging the center to return to the original agreed-upon paper trail system. 

He also said that CEO Lassiter is quickly learning about his mistake. 

“Lassiter came to a caucus meeting of the nurses earlier this month to talk about the payroll problems,” Cleveland said. “He got an earful.”

It’s a familiar story in Richmond. A developer wants to build expensive condos on what looks like a prime shoreline spot but there’s one catch. 

There’s nasty stuff in the soil. 

Unlike Campus Bay to the southeast—the site of a stalled 1,331-unit condo and apartment project—the earth on the western side of Marina Bay hasn’t been polluted by a century or more of chemical manufacturing. 

The culprit at the proposed Westshore Marina Project was a Ford Motor Co. plant that turned out cars and trucks before and after World War II and 60,000 tanks and other military vehicles during the war itself. 

If Toll Brothers has their way, the firm will build 269 condos on a unique waterfront site with choice views of San Francisco Bay, a complement to their other developments in Richmond—including Point Richmond Shores, another controversial project at Brickyard Cove. 

While both developments feature condos in mid-rise residential buildings, the builder also creates single-family home subdivisions, such as the Seacliff near Brickyard Cove—where houses are selling in the $800,000-$900,000 range—and the more upscale Norris Canyon Estate in San Ramon, with models priced between $1.8 million and $2.5 million. 

The firm is a powerful enough force in the national economy that a Dec. 8 Toll Brother’s announcement of record profits triggered a decline in the stock market because it was tempered by a statement that said 2006 earnings could be affected by an increasingly soft housing market. 

Westshore 

Opponents have organized against both Westshore and Point Richmond Shores projects, and the city council delayed approval of the Westshore Environmental Impact Report (EIR) after a heated hearing on March 8. 

At that meeting, critics charged that the EIR failed to adequately address a massive amount of contaminated soil found at the project site. 

The state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) detected antimony, a toxic metal, in recent tests at the site. The site was originally cleaned up under DTSC supervision under a plan approved in 1993 and revised in 1997, which allowed for the soil to be treated by bioremediation—microbes—to eliminate petroleum-derived compounds and left on site. 

“We don’t know where the antimony came from,” said Barbara J. Cook, the DTSC’s chief of Northern California coastal cleanup, during a March 9 meeting of the Community Advisory Group, which is working with her agency on contaminated sites in the city. Antimony is used in alloys to harden metals, Cook said, and may have resulted from work at the Ford plant. 

Hot spots contaminated with lead were removed. Separate tests for antimony were not conducted at the time because the two metals are generally found together. At high levels antimony can be lethal, and at lower levels it can result in coughing, abdominal pain and dizziness. 

Cook said high levels were found in only one of the soil samples collected at the site and may have resulted from something as simple as a chip of paint. The DTSC is currently awaiting results on tests conducted after the initial discovery. 

DTSC is in the final stages of approving a cleanup plan, which will include the removal of the contaminated soil to an approved disposal site, Cook said Wednesday. 

The developer may remove additional soil as well to level the site for building, she said.  

The contaminated soil is not located in the area where the condos will be constructed, she said, but in a roadway area. The condo site remediation has been completed and the area has been certified safe for residential development. 

Sherry Padgett, a member of DTSC’s Richmond CAG, said she was concerned by the discovery of the metal, and cited other concerns raised by environmental scientist Matt Hagemann. 

A former Marina Bay resident, Hagemann noted that the project EIR failed to list the antimony findings as well as other samples that including findings of lead. He also noted that while one state document indicated that three underground oil storage tanks buried at the site had reportedly been removed, Contra Costa County records revealed no evidence that the tanks had been removed. 

Cook told the CAG she is checking into that as well. 

Point Richmond Shores 

Toll Brothers plans for Point Richmond Shores—known as Terminal 1 to the regulators at the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board—generated strong opposition and resulted in the creation of the Point Richmond/Brickyard Cove Coalition of Concerned Citizens. 

Started in 1915, Terminal One—immediately adjacent to the tip of Ferry Point at the southwestern end of the point Richmond shoreline—served ships until its closure at the end of the 1980s. 

A tank farm was also located at the site, and the combination of petrochemicals and other activity at the site left a toxic legacy of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and lead. Among the hazardous VOCs found at elevated levels in the soil were PCE, TCE, vinyl chloride, cis-1,2 DCE, petroleum hydrocarbons and benzo(a)pyrene (CQ). 

Stephen Hill, an administrative officer with the water board, said remedial work last year was conducted to remove the VOCs from the soil, though the agency hasn’t received a final report on the efforts. That cleanup involved heating the soil to drive off the vapors, which were captured by filtering devices.  

The site still contains quantities of PNAs—polynuclear aromatic chemicals—which are typically removed by excavation, he said. 

Coalition members have been engaged in a running battle with both the city and the developer, who wants to build a project more than twice the height permitted under current zoning and the general plan, said Beverly Galloway, who helped organize the group. 

Galloway’s group has just recruited a new ally in retired California Assemblymember John Knox (D-Richmond). 

Knox told coalition members that the Toll Brothers project was precisely the sort of development the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) was created to avoid. Knox was a strong supporter of the 1965 law that created commission. 

Toll Brothers wants to build an 85-foot-high project with 325 units. Current zoning would allow a maximum height of 35 feet and a maximum density of 289 units. 

The city’s Design Review Board approved a modified version of the builder’s plans in February, and the proposal will go to the planning commission in April. In the interim, Galloway and her coalition members continue to organize. 

Concerned Citizens submitted an alternative plan, which neither the developer nor the city said the were willing to consider, Galloway said. 

The coalition maintains a web site at www.cccpointrichmond.com. 

Calls to Toll Brothers were not returned.

At the school board meeting on Wednesday, Paul Goodwin from Goodwin Simon Strategic Research presented board members and the public with the findings of the voter survey conducted to assess community support for reauthorizing the BSEP and Measure B of 2004 Special taxes which expire at the end of the 2006-07 school year. 

Director Nancy Riddle commended the fact that the ratings for Berkeley schools had gone up in this year’s report and added that this was a very positive sign for teachers in Berkeley. 

Goodwin added that Berkeley residents have been very supportive of these measures in earlier years and are very enthusiastic about them when they hear what these measures are going to be used for.  

Also on the agenda was Planning Assumptions for a Special Tax Measure under consideration to reauthorize Measure B of 1994 (BSEP) and Measure B of 2004. The board has asked for suggestions from the general public on how funds from these taxes can be used towards improvement of the Berkeley schools before they take any further decisions in June. “We are asking input from the public about how the money could be spent,’ said President Terry S. Doran. 

Vice President Joaquin Rivera said that he would like to see a funding model which would clearly state how much money was required for the projects that could not be funded under the current measures. The current increases in the parcel tax would result in a total increase of $19-20 million every year. 

Public Hearing 

Michele Rabken spoke on behalf of promoting arts education in Berkeley schools. “Arts education should be moved from the margin to the core. It is also important to provide development for teachers in the arts,” she said. Radkin also stressed that music programs need to be given wider support and that funding should be provided for full time visual arts programs. She also suggested an increase in the length of middle school days in order to accomodate arts courses. Among the other propositions Radkin spoke about were professional development of teachers, renovation of arts specific access areas, and collection of data on equibility of the arts program and how it can be improved.  

Luarie Polster stressed on the importance of providing quality arts education to every child in Alameda County and pointed out that there was a dire lack of arts education in elementary schools in Berkeley. “It’s amazing to see how a 4th grader’s attention span improves when he is involved in a drawing assignment. It’s rather unfortunate that the current survey does not support anything that would bring in funds to support the arts. We need to get some funding through the Parcel Tax that would boost arts education in schools,” she said. 

Barry Fike, President of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers called for better transparency in the allocation of funds recieved through Parcel Tax measures. “BUSD needs to be more transparent about what the funds are being used for -- be it the arts, libraries, or class sizes,” he said. Fike added that BFT has supported previous Parcel Tax measures and that they were ready to work together with BUSD to discuss new ideas on how to improve Parcel Tax measures. 

›

Commuters driving by Martin Luther KIng, Jr. Way and Oregon on Wednesday morning had a chance to smile and wave again, this time not at one pair of hands but thirty. 

At exactly 7:45 a.m. members of Berkeley’s NAACP Youth & College Division and other residents celebrated the late Joseph M. Charles’ 96th birthday by donning bright yellow handgloves and carrying signs saying “have a nice day” and “keep smiling.” 

“A lot of drivers even stopped and shared Mr. Charles stories with us. Those who realized what we were up to broke into big smiles or honked back. It felt wonderful bringing back the cheer and goodwill into that little corner after almost 20 years, “ said Denisha DeLane, advisor to the youth division of NAACP and one of the event organizers. “I am overjoyed at the success of the event. Smiling is such a simple thing to do but so infectious. The moment people started rolling down their windows and saying ‘thank you’ I decided that I would have to do this every year.” 

DeLane added, however, that she did not want this to turn into a political event or to become a symbol for advocating political issues. “This is being done to build a happier neighborhood and to bring joy to the lives of people. He did it for us and we are doing it for him,” she said. 

Sara Bruckmeier, the Berkeley artist who painted Mr. Charles’ mural as part of the South Berkeley Shine mural project said that the event had helped put a lot of positive energy into the locale.  

Pamela Webster, who lives on Blake Street and was one of the first ones to join in the waving, said that a few ladies from the neighborhood were thinking of getting together and doing it on a regular basis. “I think it’s a great way to build neighborhood solidarity. It adds to the color of the place,” she said. l

The Albany City Council declined to tackle the White House Monday. 

Councilmember Robert Lieber introduced a motion calling on his colleagues to direct the city’s Social and Economic Justice Commission to “prepare a resolution calling for the full investigation, impeachment, or resignation of President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney.” 

But when Lieber moved for adoption, he was unable to get a second. 

“I am very, very disappointed,” Lieber said Thursday. 

Of the ten members of the public who spoke on the issue, five favored the resolution and five opposed. 

“Three council people spoke against it. They said they were for it in principle but felt this wasn’t the proper forum,” Lieber said. “But all politics is local, and if it doesn’t start here, where does it start?” 

Now that the council has voted against asking the commission to prepare a resolution, Lieber said he may draft up one on his own to introduced at a future meeting. 

“It’s very important,” he said. “They are going after our basic freedom, and they’re saying that human and animal rights activists are the most dangerous people in the U.S. It’s ridiculous.”

Cycling bandit 

A pistol-packing bicyclist confronted a 41-year-old pedestrian who was walking along the 3100 block of Woolsey Street about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, pointed his pistol and started demanding things. 

After scooping up his victim’s cash and cell phone, the bandit pedaled away on his green 10-speed. 

Hot prowlers 

Two occupants of a black Mercedes followed a 52-year-old resident of the 2600 Shasta Road into her home Wednesday afternoon, and while one distracted her with conversation, the other darted upstairs, rifled through her belongings and collected some cash, reports Berkeley police spokesperson Officer Steve Rego. 

The loss was estimated at $300. 

UC car clouts 

UC Berkeley police have issued a car clout alert. 

Car clouters—burglars who rob cars—have been busily at work on campus over the past month, reports campus Police Chief Victoria Harrison. 

Between Feb. 21 and March 21, police recorded 13 car clouts on university property, most of them in the southern and eastern parts of the campus. 

Harrison urged drivers to take their valuables with them and to carry extra copies of their insurance forms and registration to show officers investigating the crimes.”

It’s been three years since the United States invaded Iraq, so the press this month has been full of reminiscences tempered by a pinch of self-doubt. Some of the many high-visibility commentators, both press and politicians, who were dead wrong about what was going on have acknowledged that they were duped by the official story, but many have not. The Daily Planet was in the process of re-inventing itself that same month three years ago, and we’re proud to say we’ve been aware of how bogus this invasion was from our first day, and have told our readers about it (not that many of them were fooled anyhow.)  

Another journalist who was right from Day 1, Henry Norr, was fired for being right in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was the technology columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, and he was ostensibly fired for participating in an anti-war demonstration, though some suspect that his previous activities on behalf of Palestinians might have played a part too. We had his personal story in our first issue, and in today’s paper you can find his review of new books about torture, as practiced in this war and elsewhere.  

The most chilling assessment of where this country is going with its war against Iraq seems to be emanating from ex-Republican Kevin Phillips. His new book, American Theocracy, contains his latest analysis of the motivation for the war, which is—surprise!—the vast pool of oil on which Iraq sits. His picture of the future seems to be the establishment and maintenance of a few permanent American military bases in Iraq to stand guard over the oil, with perpetual chaos among the locals “off-base” not a problem as long as the walls around the bases are high enough.  

“Of course,” say those familiar with recent history: the French plan for holding on to Vietnam in the early ‘60s. It didn’t work then, but it might work in Iraq for 10 or 20 years, until the multinational oil conglomerates can suck up all the oil and attendant profits. Hearts and Minds have nothing to do with it, not those of the Iraqi people nor of American voters. Phillips also believes that the American political system is under attack at its core from the new Christian right, working towards the establishment of a theocracy based on the principles of evangelical Christianity, and that this struggle is distracting voters from what the oilmen are up to in Iraq.  

Against this background of continuous international turmoil, it’s sometimes hard to concentrate on much else. But daily life goes on, and responsible citizens should continue to be aware of what’s being done by government at all levels in their names. We believe that it’s important to hear from participants as well as observers. For that reason, the Daily Planet has been featuring two regular columnists who are personally engaged in political activity, a conscious departure from the journalistic convention of giving column space only to the uninvolved.  

Bob Burnett will continue to report on national and international politics for our “Public Eye” column, but we’re losing Zelda Bronstein for the time being. She’s taken a leave of absence from her own Public Eye column on local issues to run for mayor of Berkeley. (We do plan to repeat our successful election forum feature of 2004, where candidates are given a substantial amount of space on a regular basis to present their views, so we hope to see Ms. Bronstein again in that capacity along with her competitors.)  

In her place, we’re asking other people who are involved in local politics in the East Bay to try their hand at writing Public Eye columns. Anyone who is both a good writer and a participant in the action is welcome to try out for this slot. We don’t have to agree with your opinions, and in fact we hope to get a revolving roster presenting a variety of sometimes opposing points of view. The main criterion is quality: the ability to put together 800 or so lively and literate words from time to time on the state of the East Bay as you see it. Send your efforts to public.eye@berkeleydailyplanet.com.  

—

One of the few jokes I can remember is the one about the drunk who staggers from the bar to his car, only to realize that he’s dropped his keys somewhere. A friend comes across him two hours later, on his hands and knees under the lamppost on the corner. “Why are you still looking here?” the friend asks. “You must have dropped them nearer to the car.” The drunk responds that it’s too dark to see the keys on the ground near the car, which is why he’s still looking under the lamppost, where it’s easier to see. 

I thought of this joke on Monday night, when we came back to our car from an evening enjoying the sensational Sista Kee, aka Kito Gamble, at Yoshi’s.  

Talk about stupid. We’d arrived just before 8, late and in a hurry, too much of a hurry to negotiate the parking structure when there were plenty of places on the street.  

Why were we late? I’d just finished signing off on the Daily Planet for Tuesday, the one which led with Jesse Taylor’s story about how the “increased police presence on Oakland streets” will be less than meets the eye. We knew from reading his previous stories that at present, when it’s near time for police shifts to change at midnight, crime in Oakland goes up because police street presence is down. But we parked on the street anyhow, because we were in a hurry. Big mistake. 

We got back at midnight to find that some jerk had smashed the window of our car and tried to steal the radio. He couldn’t pry it out, though he did destroy it. In the process of trying he managed to rip out most of the stuff in the dashboard, including the heater controls, to the tune of (as we later learned) about 800 bucks. No police anywhere in sight, and we didn’t bother to call them, because why? They wouldn’t do anything.  

Another story in Tuesday’s Planet was the big pot bust in Berkeley. Five months, 21 officers, 5,000 marijuana plants, 100 pounds of dried weed and some arrests. Was it worth it? And the federal raid on marijuana candy sellers in Oakland last week? Are we safer yet? 

Who’s the drunk searching under the lamppost in these incidents?  

You might think we were, foolishly choosing the easy on-street parking place when there was a patrolled garage available, and you’d be right. But how about our law enforcement officials, spending a whole lot of time and money keeping the world safe from marijuana vendors since they’re pretty easy to find, while neglecting much more serious crimes like thefts and murders? These events took place in different jurisdictions, it’s true, but the bottom line is, it’s our tax dollars at work where it’s convenient, and not at work where we need them to be.  

In Oakland, the police chief had proposed a plan for re-structuring shifts for officers which made a lot of sense. It’s too bad the Oakland City Council dropped their big stick and gave their blessing instead to what amounts to expensive cosmetic changes in assignments instead of more officers on call when they are needed. All the taxpayer-funded incentives which have gone into making Jack London Square, where Yoshi’s is located, more attractive for visitors and new residents will be wasted if there aren’t enough police around the area (just a couple of blocks from a police station) to make sure that locked cars are relatively safe on the street most of the time (not to mention pedestrians.) 

And what of the hapless thug who couldn’t even steal our radio successfully? Even if there were more police officers on the street, and even if they arrested more would-be thieves like him, what then? Prison, perhaps?  

A somber New York Times story on Monday detailed the trajectory of a substantial percentage of young black men, like many in Oakland, who haven’t got much going for them as they become adults, and who turn to crime because they have no education and no alternative vision of how to make a living. The story notes that “among black dropouts in their late 20’s, more are in prison on a given day—34 percent—than are working—30 percent—according to an analysis of 2000 census data by Steven Raphael of the University of California, Berkeley.” And incarceration in California does nothing to improve the young men who experience it, except perhaps sharpen their criminal skills, so that when they come out they know better ways to steal car radios, and can go back to prison quickly. Not all thieves are men, and not all are black, but if you’re a young black man you start out with the odds stacked against you, and they don’t get better.  

Someone once chided a Frenchman in my hearing about the high rate of unemployment in the French welfare state. “Ah,” he said, “you have unemployment that’s just as bad as ours. You call it ‘prison’, that’s all.” 

And for that matter, what will become of the young white men who were busted for marijuana cultivation in Berkeley, Brentwood, Castro Valley and other suburban enclaves last week? The kind of sophisticated factories that they were operating cost a pretty penny to set up and produce substantial revenue for investors. Seized cash alone came to $120,000. Typically what happens in situations like this is that well-connected white pot growers manage to avoid doing much time, unlike the black street kids picked up for simpler crimes who don’t have the same economic base and access to lawyers.  

The enormous investment of time and money which it takes to arrest marijuana producers nets little benefit for our society as a whole. The whole equation is skewed. Both the “victim” and the perpetrator of interpersonal crimes like breaking into my car turn out to be victims at the end of the day. If we’d use the vast sums of money spent on prisons and the war on drugs for trying to change the lives of those young men who have been left behind in today’s world, we’d all be safer.  

When it comes to dealing with crime’s causes, effects and cures, our society looks a lot like the drunk searching for his keys under the lamppost, doing what’s easy and not tackling the more important but harder tasks.  

P.S. There were Thursday morning news reports that the Santa Cruz police have been reprimanded by an outside auditor for dressing up like surfers and infiltrating meetings of an artists’ group planning a New Years Eve parade. There’s plenty of crime in Santa Cruz, too, while their police are playing dress-up.  

i

MONSTROSITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

What genius do we have to thank for that monstrous upchuck of steel and concrete filling the sky the entire block between Kittredge and Bancroft between Milvia and Harold Way? 

And who gets the booby prize for authorizing this and other recent affronts to what we used to believe was the architecture of the Western World? 

Who has the authority to make such decisions without a vote by the citizenry? 

And where do we go to say what we think before the monstrosity is plopped down to rise up before us, with no backhoe big enough to haul it away to the dump? 

Dorothy V. Benson 

• 

YOU’RE KIDDING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Zelda for mayor? You’re kidding right? Zelda you are right. It is “our” town. But who is “our”? 

Is it the minority political class of NIMBYs who find time to permanently sit on city commissions advising, obstructing and slowing down the running of the city? 

Is it the neighborhoods that see the city purely from the perspective of their street and have no vision for the greater city? 

Or is it the overwhelming majority of citizens who go about there business every day trying to make a living? Who, if they had the time to ponder the question, would probably choose a strong mayor model unhindered by 30 commissions. After all, an ineffective mayor can be removed from office every election. 

However you are a good writer and probably a good teacher. But mayor? As a small business person I find this quite scary. You have never had to make a payroll. Never had to hire or fire another human being. You have never built a business or building that houses people or businesses. 

You know how to complain and naysay—we see this in your writing. But you have no vision or experience that would provide solutions to your complaints. 

Peter Levitt 

Proprietor of Saul’s Delicatessen 

• 

SEA SCOUTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I appreciated your coverage of the City of Berkeley’s victory against the Sea Scouts. Your readers deserve to know that Diane Woolley, former waterfront commissioner and city council representative, was the person whose initial objection started the city’s examination of the use of the waterfront by discriminatory groups. 

Diane Woolley was personally targeted by the Sea Scout lawsuit, and never wavered through years of hostile personal attacks. The entire town, and those who care about justice, owe her our deepest gratitude. 

Carol Denney 

• 

OUT-OF-TOWNERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In the March 24 Daily Planet article headline “Many Homeowners Pan Creeks Ordinance Recommendations,” Suzanne La Barre quotes Igor Skaredoff who attended a recent joint meeting between the Creeks Task Force and the Planning Commission. She notes that Mr. Skaredoff is, in fact, a Martinez resident. 

A Martinez resident?! Why should a Martinez resident participate in a Berkeley meeting on a topic that primarily impacts Berkeley homeowners? Why should the opinion of any non-resident be part of the city’s decision-making process? It is utterly preposterous that a non-resident should have a voice in this contentious issue. While the Urban Creeks Council, of which Mr. Skaredoff is a member, may have legitimate environmental concerns, the Berkeley creek/culverts issue is one that must be solved only by those who own affected property in the City of Berkeley. This is not an issue for outside interests with no financial liabilities or stakes in the outcome. Nor is it an issue for renters. Neither outsiders nor renters would be affected in the same potentially devastatingly financial way as Berkeley property homeowners. 

To her credit Ms. La Barre noted Mr. Skaredoff’s out-of-town residency. In future reports on this and other city issues, it would shed much needed light and perspective if reporters included the terms, “Berkeley homeowner” or “Berkeley renter” with each name and quote. And continue to identify outsiders as such. In whatever form this ordinance reaches the City Council, the council must understand the source of opinions and make its decision in favor of homeowners. It would be sheer folly to hold affected homeowners liable for past permitting policies and locations of historic city culverts.  

By definition, Berkeley homeowners are environmentally aware, environmentally involved, environmentally advanced. Most homeowners probably would agree that any creek ordinance/revision should address future development on undeveloped parcels but should not in any way restrict or jeopardize property rights of Berkeley property owners beyond zoning and building ordinances that rightly and fairly affect all property development. 

Barbara Witte 

• 

CREEKS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am a 23-year resident of Berkeley living on Codornices Creek at Beverly Place. I have also been a civil engineer for the Santa Clara Valley Water District for 15 years, currently working in watershed operations, stream stewardship, and flood protection, and formerly in the district’s permitting unit. 

I appreciate and support the work of the Creeks Task Force (CTF) in the difficult balance among creek stewardship, public safety, and the use of property. I believe that the CTF Recommended Revisions to the Creeks Ordinance presented in the March 22 staff report maintains this balance very well and should be adopted without modification. The recommendations governing construction near streams are fair and implementable. 

I am particularly interested in culverts since I have one on my property, in addition to having Codornices Creek in an open channel. Culverts conveying creeks are inherently different from storm drains in that the flows through them are part of the stream system itself, rather than feeders to a stream, and this should be acknowledged. However, for the purposes of the ordinance revision, Recommendation 5 is appropriate in treating setbacks and access issues from culverts as storm drains in order to allow them to be addressed from a public safety standpoint. 

Appropriate maintenance of storm water conveyances—the creeks, which includes preserving the stability of streambanks by not allowing construction close to the stream, is a crucial part of flood protection and public safety. 

I also stress that a creek is an amenity for the individual property owner. Beyond the esthetic value of the connection with the natural watershed, numerous studies have shown substantial increases of value of properties which have well-maintained creeks adjacent. For this reason, it benefits us all to protect our streams. I, therefore, suggest rewording Statement of Agreement 1 to “Creeks are a community and individual asset that should be protected and enhanced.” 

William C. Springer 

• 

AN AMAZING EVENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Why did not the national media, or our local media, report on this amazing event? 

Two and a half days ago a 400-foot ship, the Queen of the North, struck a sea-mount in the inland passage of British Columbia and sank in 1,300 feet of water. All the passengers and crew were rescued in the dead of night in the teeth of a raging storm. 

The mayday of the Queen of the North was heard by what the Canadians call a “local band of aborigines” at Hartley Bay. Apparently, all that live in this vast watery wilderness go to bed with their radios tuned to the Coast Guard hailing frequency. Upon notice of the wreck and in the dead of night and under the direction of the elders: the men ran to the beach and took to their boats; the women went straight to the kitchens; the children stripped bedclothes from their beds and assembled dry clothing. At dawn the rescued passengers and crew reached shore and were taken to the band’s long house to be supplied with fresh cakes, muffins, breads, hot drinks, dry cloths, bedding and to receive first aid. 

The Queen was stuck fast to the rock for half an hour before the Captain gave the order to abandon ship. The evacuation was carried out in a seaman-like manner, the storm not withstanding. The passengers and crew were in the life-rafts for only about twenty minutes when they observed the Queen slide off the rock and sink in the blink of an eye. 

It appears all but two of the passengers are accounted for. 

There is a boat-load of irony to go along with this story. Examples: the chief naval officer of the BC Ferry fleet was on board to show the boat to prospective buyers; the Queen was a sister ship to the “Estonia,” which sank in the North Sea with a huge loss of life about 15 years ago; two of the passengers were seen ashore after the rescue but can no longer be found; the ship was equipped with the full compliment of modern navigational equipment but was drastically off—course in a very wide channel—the same channel that the same crew and Captain had traversed countless times before in equal, or worse conditions. 

Two and a half days and not a peep from any U.S. media. Though there was plenty of reporting on a cruise ship fire that injured no one (a heart attack not withstanding) and did not impede the seaworthiness of the ship and no rescue was required, this story of brave men, women of fiber, sinking ship, raging storm and all the rest went unnoticed. Do you not think the band at Hartley Bay deserves a larger place in history? 

Tom Farrell 

Richmond 

• 

YOUTH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As a parent of three children who were raised in Berkeley, and a grandparent of three others, I applaud the efforts of your paper in providing in-depth coverage of the issues involving our youth. (Even the spate of recent homicides). Additionally, at a recent Berkeley city and schools’ 2x2 meeting, I was pleased to hear both Superintendent Michelle Lawrence and Mayor Tom Bates agree to develop plans for increased interaction between them in the hopes of integrating even more efforts. As a former aide to Councilmember Margaret Breland I was fortunate in attending many meetings where youth issues were addressed. We are fortunate to be living in an area where a community like ours has dedicated much funding and efforts to support our young people. 

As the fall election looms, this seems like a good time to make sure broad youth issues are addressed, especially ones that benefit large numbers of our youth. At Berkeley High many of the students leave at lunch and don’t return to school. Why couldn’t we have many intramural sport options at that time? Couldn’t this be written into the proposed measure? High school-age youth tend to get into the most trouble between the hours when school closes and dinnertime. After school youth intramural choices, including additional support classes would go a long way in addressing these problems. This too could be added to the bond measure. Also I agree with Councilmembers Anderson and Moore that youth centers are a priority. Evening entertainment, sport, and academic programs throughout the city would provide a benefit to all of Berkeley’s citizens. Part of a down payment for such a center might even come from the proposed environmental study for Derby Street, that is $100,000 each from the school district and the city. There are a lot of youth issues that proponents of measures as well as candidates can begin addressing. Perhaps your paper could sponsor a forum on various topics. I suggest that youth be at the top of the list. 

Mel Martynn 

• 

DERBY STREET IRONY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I’m a late-comer to the Derby Street controversy, but I can’t help but notice an irony in the position of the Ecology Center and others. Whereas 35 years ago environmentalists would have been singing that they “paved paradise and put up a parking lot,” now the cry is to save a street from being ‘unpaved,’ as if they are in short supply! Can’t another suitable street be found? 

C. Gilbert 

• 

DERBY STREET 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I take exception to the letter written by Phyllis Orrick, in the last edition of this paper, commending Terry Doran for his comments regarding the Derby Street sports field. Mr. Doran’s comment, “the School Board should not be in the business of using resources intended for students to satisfy general community needs,” reflects the narrow, selfish view of someone who does not understand or value the School Board’s role as leaders of our community. Some of the very students Mr. Doran is referring to do actually live in the Derby Street area and will be impacted by the board’s decision. Also, his statement implies that the school district exists in and of itself outside of neighborhoods and community’s. I would hope, if nothing else, the board would strive, to be good neighbors and take into consideration what a closed Derby Street would do to that South Berkeley Community. I would like to see open green space and playing fields without closing the street. 

Though I don’t expect much from Mr. Doran (his motives, are suspect) I hope others in our community recognize the inherent inequity in a School Board decision that would spend millions of dollars and take who knows how long, to close a street just to create a “regulation-size baseball field” which would serve a few families a year with kids who play baseball. I think there has been a lot of wasted time an energy on the closed street proposal—time which could have been spent assisting the almost 50 percent of African American and Latino Berkeley High School seniors who have not passed the exit exams. I wish Mr. Doran would use his time, energy and skill to solve that problem instead of creating one for the people who live on and around the Derby Street property. I think an open street multi-use ball field makes the best use of school district resources while creating a space that benefits the entire community including students. 

P. Smith 

• 

VICTIMLESS CRIME 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Perhaps your “police message/major pot bust” article on Tuesday could have offered another slant to the story besides the opinions of Officer Galvan. What particularly irked me was the proof “that marijuana is not a victimless crime” coming from the 2003 unsolved murder in my neighborhood. Why this crime is so often cited as “marijuana related” is a further mystery to me. Also, unless I’m mistaken, suspects must be tried and found guilty before “all will spend time in jail.” Lastly, how “huge” is a pot bust in Berkeley where for decades enforcing marijuana laws has been lowest priority.  

As a Berkeley homeowner, disabled medical cannabis patient and patient activist, I have a different perspective on marijuana cultivation. When individual patients and patients’ collectives are hindered from growing their own medicine by unrealistic plant quotas, large scale and for-profit cultivation operations are bound to occur more frequently. If patients were freer to grow their own medicine, prices would be lower, at least somewhat discouraging large commercial operations, which your article described.  

Charles Pappas 

• 

MAKING AMERICA SAFER  

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The conflict in Iraq is a Bush and Republican war and not an American war. World War II was an American war. The conflagration in Iraq is a war of ideology. The war was sold to the American people under false pretenses. 

All the dead, wounded and maimed soldiers are visible signs of a war gone bad. Society’s domestic services and infrastructure are being gutted to pay for the war. 

President Bush is still claiming that war in Iraq has made Americans safer at home from terrorist attacks. What does the one have to do with the other? 

Midterm elections are fast approaching and Bush, Cheney and Republicans have the market on fear cornered. 

Ron Lowe 

Grass Valley 

Who could oppose something as apple pie as a baseball facility? Anybody, as long as the impacts and costs are too severe.  

The letter by baseball parent Ed Mahley (March 17) promoting a regulation baseball facility for the Derby Field contains many false facts. Moreover, his letter demonstrates why folks are so polarized about this last shred of open space in our part of town. It is disappointing to see how little the baseball proponents care about other kids’ sports teams, costs, and those people who will be seriously affected by the huge facility they are trying to jam into our crowded neighborhood. The proposed regulation facility would cost unknown millions of dollars that we don’t have and most likely will be used primarily by this one small sports group. Mr. Mahley claims that Berkeley High’s baseball teams can only use Derby Field if Derby Street is closed and a regulation-size baseball facility is installed. This is not true as the field with Derby Street left open is still a huge area and would serve well as a practice field and still guarantee usage by other school sports teams. The Derby-Open plan would also guarantee access to the public when not in use by school athletes and preserve the popular Farmers’ Market as is. The 10 regulation games could still occur at the San Pablo Field which is regulation size.  

Who’s going to pay the undetermined millions for their new baseball facility? I believe the City of Berkeley’s general fund is the only source available right now. The school district is already requesting the city to pay $100,000 towards the impact study to close Derby Street. The school district does have the $800,000 needed to construct the multi-use plan which includes the baseball practice field and leaves Derby Street open. This plan is the product of a long public process involving hired architects and serves everybody, guaranteed, including the Farmer’s Market and the public. The ballpark proponents claim that mysterious outside donors will foot the bill for the regulation size ballfield, but many years have passed and these have so far failed to appear. The expensive artificial turf at Berkeley High School’s football field is in bad shape and needs replacement and no outside support has materialized here either. Warning to reader: The baseball ballpark proponents have recently added “multi-use” to their title, borrowing from their opposition the original “multi-use field” group. There is no guarantee that any other Berkeley High sports team would be able to use the ballfield facility. There is no credible guarantee that the public won’t be locked out to prevent damage to the expensive baseball diamond, as some other school departments do. There is a possibility that the proposed baseball facility would be rented out to other baseball groups. Although they deny it and it may not happen immediately, the baseballers are thinking night games with night lights and a sound system. This is one reason why many of the locals are so bitter about this issue. Any Berkeley citizen should ask themselves how they would feel about paying for a bright noisy sports facility in front of their house on the only open space around that they probably would be locked out of between games? 

Especially frustrating is the fact that the Berkeley Unified School District is currently partners with the school departments of Richmond and Albany in a multiple field sports complex near Gilman Street and is sharing costs on a variety of fields for different sports except baseball. The other cities’ school departments have been forced to proceed without Berkeley regarding their regulation baseball field and are scrambling to replace the $2 million dollars that would have been Berkeley’s share. Berkeley’s school district is not participating because of their plan to build their own baseball facility at Derby Street, regardless of how much more expensive it is and who it impacts. They claim it is better for the baseball players to have the closer location. Why is it all right for all the other sports teams to use the Gilman street site but not the baseball players?  

When the School Board first tried to take possession of Derby Street seven years ago, they told the Farmers’ Market they had to leave. Fortunately, public support for the market and the inability to find another location halted the city from surrendering the land to the school district . Now the baseballers are back and say that the market can move around the corner onto a basketball court that will be built. Readers should understand the hostility this school board holds for the Market and to move it off city controlled land onto school district controlled land does not bode well for it’s future . This was demonstrated last week at the School Board meeting when public pressure finally forced the board to move ahead with opening the field which has been in limbo all these years hostage to the baseball facility plan. Assuming that Berkeley’s student athletes would be using the field and needing bathrooms, a request was made to open those at the adjacent Alternative School. Just the possibility that a Berkeley citizen attending the market might use the bathrooms caused the board to issue a resounding no. We need an affordable multi-use field that serves everybody for Derby Field. The City Council should not cooperate with any effort to close Derby Street, a vital emergency route, for just one small vocal sports group.  

Mark McDonald is a Berkeley resident. 

›

The approval of the West Berkeley Bowl has turned into an absurd saga, strung out over two years by a hand full of people with the money and time to use the system for their own personal agendas completely ignoring the needs of the local community. It’s the power of the moneyed few over the working families of West Berkeley. 

The real question—is this an autocracy funded by wealthy political ideologues who want to shape Berkeley in their eyes to meet their needs? I thought that era ended with the kings and queens of Europe in the 18th century and, oh wasn’t that the reason the United States was founded—for the people by people—to escape the tyranny of the few? 

There are two big issues with the Berkeley Bowl Project. Traffic and land use. The traffic studies required by the Environmental Impact Report have shown the project to cause additional traffic congestion not mitigated by project alternatives. Yes, there’s no question that the Berkeley Bowl will generate additional traffic and may cause some additional congestion at peak hours on Ashby Avenue. I say so be it! That is a small price to pay for a much overdue grocery store to serve South West Berkeley and West Oakland neighborhoods. 

This community includes a wide-ranging population of younger new homeowners, lower income working families and older retired folks—many without transportation who often use the local liquor stores as their main source of food. In addition, this area of Berkeley has the highest number of children per household, again, with no convenient option for groceries and fresh produce. And let’s not forget the dramatic development changes coming. There are numerous new housing projects already approved or under construction right on San Pablo, within blocks of the site and one right next to the proposed project–hundreds of new households all with the common need of accessible fresh groceries. 

The other issue is land use and the loss of industrial land. What does this really mean? It means that disused, undeveloped property that has been vacant for over 50 years cannot be used to serve the community. The loss of old manufacturing and industry in West Berkeley is a regional trend that has been going on for 40 years. The best use is for zoning that supports community needs. Not the perceived needs of a small cadre of political ideologues who do not care about the working families of this neighborhood. 

Community needs, desires and issues come first. We should thank the owners of the Berkeley Bowl for proposing such a great project that any nearby city would want. One that includes meeting space for the neighborhood, an eating court, an outdoor pedestrian area and provides not only good food but great affordable organic produce for the local community of West Berkeley. 

Lastly, let’s take a closer look at the opposition to this project. It’s primarily funded and supported by someone not living in the neighborhood, living in the Berkeley Hills, who can afford her own traffic engineer, her own lawyers and to put other individuals on her payroll to stop what she personally considers against her desires for the City of Berkeley. Is this democracy? The power of the few over the needs of the many? 

You decide. Come to the next public meeting and get this project approved. 

Steven Donaldson is president of Brand Guidance Design Intelligence.

The prospect of rebuilding the gutted neighborhood at the Ashby BART station brings fresh awareness of older problems in our area. For the new life to take root and grow we have to dig out the gravel in the garden that is stunting the existing growth. Every gardener knows this is where the real work is. It is an essential effort that will enable the whole place to thrive. 

Let us consider Adeline Street in Berkeley, between Shattuck Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. For many drivers it is a wide and welcome relief from the more constricted streets that feed this stretch of Adeline from both ends. However, the real character of Adeline is best experienced at night time. This is the same landscape that edges our interstate freeways: an unfriendly concrete desert. But our well-lit wasteland does not serve something wider, faster and darker; it divides quiet residential neighborhoods. 

Years of walking kids to school in the mornings have given me plenty of first-hand experience trying to get across this barrier. It is done daily, but long experience has only reinforced the sense of danger I feel heading out into traffic at those crosswalks. Traffic reluctant to stop, eager to get to smooth wide space just ahead. 

What were they thinking? Adeline reflects the intentions of the traffic engineers very well: streamlined frictionless flow, to bring traffic through this area as quickly as possible. Why would anyone want to stop here? At least they were consistent. It is the same pat from the back of the shovel they gave our neighborhood when they dug up the three blocks of homes for BART’s Ashby parking lot.  

Frictionless flow has its place in the river of life, but life is nurtured and experienced best in eddies and quiet backwaters. The vast streams of traffic going through the Adeline/Ashby intersection do not leave much room for peace and quiet at the edges, and that underlies many problems well known to people who live around, or try to cross over, or hope to run a business near that intersection. An illustration of the problems of being so near the fast lanes is found in the beautiful center divider area with its forty-year old trees and well-kept lawns. It is a fine park, almost entirely not used at all. It is not connected to anything else, and Adeline’s traffic makes it extremely dangerous all along its edges. One step over the six-inch curb and you are history.  

There is a spot along Adeline with a quiet edge, where a little eddy was designed in, and the contrast is amazing in its clarity. The line of parking spots and the wide sidewalk on Adeline just north of Ashby have supported the whole curved corner’s worth of commerce while also being about the only pleasant spot around to stop and rest.  

When we do not have quiet edges we make them ourselves, for survival! There is not much here to work with except space, and we back away, putting a little more distance between ourselves and danger, and so we have a wide wasteland, with traffic. To help get a handle on just how wide I measured the marked crossings at the Ashby/Adeline intersection. I had to walk 200 feet curb-to-curb to cross Adeline, or, 150 feet from the Safety Island‚ to the other side. For some perspective I measured San Pablo Avenue at Dwight Way. That curb-to-curb distance is 76 feet. San Pablo also has a line of cars parked along its curbs there, and this acts as a buffer zone for the first few steps away from the curb—the distance of actual roadway a pedestrian has to cross is about 60 feet. Getting across Adeline is something like crossing San Pablo three times!  

Does Adeline need to be so wide to handle a high volume of traffic? The City of Berkeley says that 18,100 cars go by on Adeline in a day versus 29,500 cars for San Pablo at Dwight Way. I think the answer is no.  

So how did this come about? One possible clue is that the Adeline right-of-way is 100 feet wide. As a former engineering student I can imagine the thrill felt by the designing engineer when it became apparent that Adeline was going to be built using this cool round number. San Pablo Avenue at Dwight Way is home to a growing little commercial district. This group of businesses has managed to thrive alongside San Pablo, a California State Highway with high traffic counts, because San Pablo Avenue is the size it needs to be rather than a designer’s fantasy, and it has been detailed to serve pedestrians and shops as well as cars, trucks and busses.  

The area alongside our stretch of Adeline has also grown since it was designed. Grown in spite of the engineers and designers‚ attitudes and intentions, in spite of the difficulty the rush of traffic on our frictionless street imposes on natural growth taking root. The inhibiting influence of the street itself is well documented, and the attitudes that underlie its design are also still with us. Attitudes displayed in Safeway’s pullout because they thought the area just would not support a real supermarket. Attitudes we spent millions of dollars entrenching with reinforced concrete and are now an expensive problem to remove. But think of the Cypress Freeway, think of the Embarcadero in San Francisco. There is real human cost to supporting and continuing these deeply flawed installations, and real value in fixing them. When we remove them we are not just taking out concrete and steel, we are digging out an entire value system that looked at our part of town and saw—not much. 

Adeline is not as bad as the Cypress or Embarcadero freeways, and to help it we won’t need something that registers on the Richter Scale. The fix is not nearly that dramatic or expensive. A fairly simple adjustment will do. The main problems are too much space and the lack of a quiet edge. We just need less road and more places to stop. 

For starters why don’t we just close half of it? A few cones and flashing lights and we could try it out for free, just to see. We could close the western half, and steer all the traffic into the other side. Just half of Adeline is still a full size street! For the first time since the trains came out it would be an appropriate size! The street would belong to all the people, not just the motorists. We would be happy to share, we would never let go back to how it was! 

South Berkeley is our home. Our streets are our lifelines and our connection to the city we share and love. Adeline must support all of us as we live and thrive. Like the sign says at the edge of town, we are HERE already. Let us feel something of Berkeley’s true character as we travel on and live alongside this important thoroughfare.  

David Soffa is a Berkeley resident.›

When Bush Jr. first launched the Iraq war three years ago, I published an article titled “War Programming,” which took him to task for the timing of it.” I argued: 

“The timing of this war is all wrong. By programming the war against the NCAA basketball tournament, Bush, Jr. really cut into the war ratings . . . You think people will be paying full attention to the war when they’ve got their attention focused on Pittsburgh and Wagner?” 

Three years later, Pittsburgh got eliminated in the second round and Wagner didn’t even make the big dance. But we’ve still got the same war. 

I thought Bush Jr. was really stupid for programming the war against NCAA basketball. But now I get it. Who’s going to go to an anti-war rally when they can stay home and watch the University of Memphis State and Oral Roberts?  

For a lot of folks, it was a tough choice: enjoy the exciting new war programming live all the way from On-The-Road-To-Baghdad, or zone out to the annual March ritual of college hoops. They’re both games, but one is for the glory of March Madness, prestige, recruiting and corporate lucre, and the other is for keeps. 

Pat Tillman was a great recruiting chit for the war: a star football player who gave it all up to serve in Bush Jr.’s vanity war. He was a perfect poster boy for the political right: rugged, handsome, heroic and willing to follow Bush Jr.’s lead. When poor Pat died by “friendly fire,” Bush Jr. made him out to be a martyr. That was the cover for having made Pat into a stooge, and a dead one at that. Since then, Bush Jr. has managed to make Pat’s poor mother into a stooge, because she has the audacity to inquire into the details of her son’s tragic death 

At the time, I wondered why Pat didn’t just stay in Tempe or San Jose, enjoy the hoops tournament and get ready for football camp. What happened was this: 

Pat bought into the programming and the program. Bush Jr. said that our country was under attack and Pat bought it. Bush Jr. said that we needed real live American heroes to go over there and stand up to Saddam, so Pat volunteered.  

In hindsight, I can understand why Pat got swept up in the wrong kind of March Madness. How could a fine, upstanding American guy not resist the siren call to fight, when all the early reporting on the war seemed so glamorous and seductive. 

Let’s review those halcyon days of three years ago: 

Fox News, CNBC, CNN and the major networks kept us super-informed and super-patriotic that week. CNN had their screen split into four segments, replete with banners, graphics and a news blurb streamer. Fox News kept us primed with a big “WAR ALERT” bordered in orange, along with a ticker at the bottom with the latest sound bites in type. Fox also had a constant reminder that the “Terror Alert” was “High,” along with the ongoing “WAR ALERT.” Do you think they were trying to scare us, or just recruit brave guys like Pat Tillman? 

We had live cameras on the battlefields with announcers talking about what the troops were doing, saying, and thinking. Like the basketball announcers, they filled the airwaves with a lot of speculative prattle. I quickly found that following that new kind of war was exhausting, so I channel-surfed back to Pittsburgh and Wagner. 

I never did figure out what defined a WAR ALERT, and why Fox was able to scoop all the other networks on it. I guess Fox had the scoop thanks to their White House connections. 

Wall Street got in on the action too and gave Bush Jr. props for igniting the whole, delicious thing. On Day 2, Wall Street announced that this new war was great for business and trading. They were some of the cheerleaders saying, “Go Pat Go.” Other cheerleaders egging Pat on took the form of “embedded reporters” right in our living rooms. They didn’t just report the war—they sold it!  

I wondered if there was a conflict between their “embedded interests” and honest reporting, but I was repeatedly assured that this was just another liberal myth. We got live action of buildings blowing up and explosions in the background, with the added attraction of announcers commenting on “the awesome display of military power.” And they said it with a real sense of awe and deference in their voices. How could a red-blooded boy like Pat Tillman, and others like him, not swoon over that stuff? 

However, on the third day of the new war, I got a little worried when Fox reported that the troops had not yet reached Baghdad, but they were already tired. They were also concerned about having enough fuel left to fight the battle once they got to Baghdad, and sleep deprivation among the troops. A shocking thought occurred to me: what if Rummy had accidentally underestimated a thing or two. It made me wonder if they were going to schedule a “rest day” before the invasion of Baghdad. I got worried that someone might try to sneak up on us on rest day. That wouldn’t be fair, but nothing is in love and war. I began to worry, “I hope these young troops realize that they’re stuck with the army they have and not the one they want.” Then that crook Rummy stole my material without attribution. 

I don’t understand why nobody else calls him Bush Jr.? It seems to be a perfectly good way to distinguish him from Bush Sr. Now we know why Bush Sr. chose Dan Quayle as his vice president? Because he’s so much like Jr. 

What Bush Jr., Cheney and Rummy gave us three years ago was the ultimate boy movie that just won’t end. We had at least five networks of “All War, All The Time,” complete with split screens and live-action cheerleaders. All those news anchorwomen were really pretty, more so than usual during the original War Week, and they made great cheerleaders for that real life boy movie. Television news is all about packaging. Content is a throw-in once in a while. 

At first I thought that Bush Jr. was really stupid for underestimating the popularity of basketball. But this year, when I didn’t make the annual demonstration so I could watch Memphis and Oral Roberts, I realized I’d been snookered. Now I understand the strategy all along was to program the war anniversary against the NCAA basketball tournament, in order to keep the crowds down at the demonstrations. All of this illustrates that there is a huge silent majority who would rather watch basketball than demonstrate against anything—even a war. 

I have sacrificed important basketball-viewing time in order to offer these observations. So like the troops, I too have made a sacrifice for the war effort. Or maybe it’s because of the war effort. In any case, there are other things I’d rather be doing than writing about a war. Heck, three years ago, I missed almost all of the Pitt-Wagner game, and the word “heck” wasn’t even in my vocabulary. That Bush Jr., he’s one smart cracker—don’t let the Gentlemen’s C fool you. 

H. Scott Prosterman holds an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan. He frequently publishes humor and political commentary in a variety of publications and websites. 

URBAN LEGEND 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regarding the “urban legend” that an underground stream exists near MLK and Ward, one need look no further than the 1878 Alameda County Atlas or the 1884 Oakland/Berkeley map by King/Dingee (real estate of course). 

In 1878 the area was undeveloped, owned probably by F.K. Shattuck.  

In the 1884 map, two streams meet at Shattuck between Derby and Ward. The combined stream runs southwest and crosses Ward between South Milvia (now Milvia) and Dover (now MLK). It runs down Stuart for two blocks past Ralston and Dwynell (now Grant and McGee). 

The 1899 USGS Topo suggests the creek is slightly to the south. The 15 minute USGS Topos from the 1940s show two streams meeting around Ward and Milvia and running to Grove park (where presumably it was culverted). The 7.5 maps from 1949 on don’t show any stream at all so it is possible they were culverted in the late ‘40s. The contours are much smoother than on the early maps, so I’d guess that there was a lot of infill. 

But don’t believe me, go look for yourself: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/histopo. 

John Vinopal 

• 

THE COST OF DAYLIGHT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

To daylight the culverted creek that runs underneath my house the city would have to the daylight the curve in Euclid Avenue after Eunice Street and put in a bridge. The city would have to tear down my neighbor’s house, my house, and the next three of my neighbors’ houses. Then they would have to dig up and remove the newly renovated playground and basketball court in Cordornices Park. The city would then need to remove the 60-foot man made embankment that supports Euclid Avenue and separates Cordornices Park from the Rose Garden. The city would then need to build a bridge over Euclid Avenue. Then the city would then need to tear down the Rose Garden and daylight the creek that is culverted beneath it. 

I’ll stop there, but you can imagine the path of destruction and reconstruction that would be needed to get this culverted creek daylighted all the way to the Bay where the state or federal government would need to also daylight Interstate 880. 

It’s time to get real and repeal this ridiculous creek ordinance. 

Scott Alexander 

• 

BOONDOGGLE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The city’s Creek Ordinance would affect more than 2,400 homes adjacent to open creeks or located on top of or adjacent to culverted creeks in the city. The Creeks Task Force seems like it will recommend that these homeowners be subject to a series of highly restrictive measures—such as observing 30-foot setbacks on either side of a creek if any work is to be done on the property. This is a huge problem for homeowners, as many lots are completely encompassed in a 30-foot setback, making it close to impossible to get a permit for necessary repairs like replacing a rotten deck or a fallen-in garage.  

There are other serious problems with the ordinance. The city has drawn a map and list of the properties affected by this ordinance based on surveys of where creeks historically existed—many properties on the map and list are not adjacent to a creek while some properties with creeks are not on the list. The city is considering requiring that the property owners pay out of pocket themselves for a costly survey to determine the location of a culverted creek on their property in order for them to be removed from the city’s list. Shouldn’t this be the responsibility of the city, since many families are being notified for the first time that their property is located on top of decades-old culverts. 

The most stunning issue in the ordinance is that the city wants to make property owners financially responsible for repairing creek culverts, even though the open creeks and culverts function as the city’s storm drain system. This is prohibitively expensive—already one Berkeley homeowner has been forced to live in her car because a sinkhole from a collapsed culvert (partially on her property, partially in the street) will cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair. 

Why should this ordinance be thrown out? Because it’s bad public policy—it’s poorly conceived and unfair. It creates two classes of property owners in Berkeley: those without creeks, who can alter, add and repair their properties without the additional expense and time of prohibitive reviews. And those people currently on the creek list—families who lose out. The city will potentially prevent them from repairing a deck, adding a garage or rebuilding their house in case of an earthquake or fire all in the name of zealous environmentalism. The creek ordinance punishes young families and elderly homeowners whose home is their only asset, and it is misguided and divisive. Let’s clean up and attend to the health of our public creeks and leave those who have been good stewards of the environment all these years, and their properties, alone. 

Eric Armstrong 

• 

GAIA BUILDING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Gloria Atherstone of the “Gaia Arts Center” accusing Anna De Leon of being manipulative is comic. Every use of the perhaps well-intended “cultural bonus” has depended on some naïve group being at least temporarily roped into the mix to provide cultural cover for pure greed. 

The “cultural bonus” has created so little honest art opportunity for the public, and so much graft, that there is no sensible way to fix it. The “cultural space” in a building ought to be dedicated to public arts amenities, as they were intended, not private groups who bicker over hours and square footage. 

And please, quit calling it the “Gaia Building” now that the bookstore which oiled the monstrosity’s creation is long gone. I suggest the “Gotcha Building,” or perhaps, “Patrick Kennedy’s Keelhaul.” 

Carol Denney 

• 

THE STENCH OF POLITICS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I urge you come November to vote out the incompetence. Linda Maio, Zelda Bronstein, and those on the Zoning Adjustments Board who are pushing the current West Berkeley plan of “saving the last of the industrial jobs.” The City of Berkeley does have the power to make Pacific Steel clean up its act once and for all. Stop trying to pass on the responsibility on to The Bay Area Air Quality Management District. It is called rezoning and shutting Pacific Steel down! Six hundred jobs lost to the thousands of us who also live and work in this neighborhood who breathe in their toxic second hand smoke on a daily basis. We pay taxes as well!  

Pacific Steel will never clean up its act. It is a dinosaur facility that no longer belongs in an urban densely populated environment. Pacific Steel will just drag things along for as long as possible in the name of self preservation. The owners of Pacific Steel are more then likely just laughing at us and thinking to themselves, “We made it through this before, let them throw law suites at us. We can pay a small fine or two, how about another air quality study that will keep them quiet for a little while. Besides we have Ignacio De La Fuente representing us. He will take care the heat and do some good PR work.” According to Ignacio De La Fuente, “That plant has been there 70 years and that plant has done everything to reduce emissions. This is a responsible company that has put in numerous resources to improve the quality of life for workers and for people who live in the community.” What BS! Enough with the Berkeley hypocrisy!  

How can our mayor call it a “green city” when we get smoked out of our backyards on a daily basis?  

Patrick Traynor 

• 

THINK AGAIN ABOUT UC 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Think you live far enough away from UC in your quiet neighborhood that the university’s activities don’t have an impact on your daily life? Think again. Have you noticed the growing number of potholes, block-long fractures, and areas of crumbling pavement on many of our main streets? Some people seem to think this is normal wear and tear. Hardly. 

UC Berkeley’s virtually endless construction projects—beginning in the northeast part of campus, followed by the massive Underhill residence halls, and leading up to the latest behemoths of Stanley Hall and the huge Underhill parking structure—have all required significant excavation. Tons and tons of dirt and concrete debris have been hauled away in trailer trucks through our city streets, pounding and pounding our roadways, and severely damaging this important public resource. Other developments have played a small part, too, but UC is by far the biggest cause of this deterioration.  

It might be reasonable to expect UC to pay the cost of repairing some of this damage, or even be responsible for repaving the main arteries that its trucks travel on every day. Reasonable, yes—but not reality. UC uses public resources the old fashioned way: it just takes them. 

Holes in our streets mean holes in our city budget. Berkeley taxpayers pay for street repairs much sooner than would have been required because of UC’s overuse of our roadways. And this means that other important programs don’t get funded. It’s time UC was required to follow the lesson we all learned in kindergarten: clean up after yourself. Regardless of the cultural benefits that UC brings to our city, the university should be required to minimize, repair, or mitigate all of the damage it causes to the Berkeley community. 

Doug Buckwald  

• 

ZERO WASTE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Last Saturday night, the folks at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, with the help of their friends, put on their monthly feed for 130 hungry people. Following the dictates of the City of Berkeley’s recently announced policy of “zero waste,” the staff sorted all materials into categories used at the Second and Gilman Street drop-off yard (e.g., aluminum foil, tin cans, bottles, cardboard/brown paper, etc.).  

By following the Oakland practice of mixing dirty paper products (napkins, drinking cups, etc.) with food stuffs, the staff was able to feed all these people with less than one pound of “garbage” which in this case consisted mostly of various types of plastics found in food packaging, cutlery, single serving Tobasco packets, bulk cookie trays, mylar cookie wraps, blister packaging plus some adhesives like name badge labels, and composites like a fiber tube of Parmesan coated with aluminum foil on the inside.  

Almost zero waste isn’t hard; you just have to pay attention.  

Arthur R. Boone 

• 

CALL FOR HELP 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

This Saturday morning when I went out to my car with my family there was a note on my windshield that said:  

“You let Juan Ramos bleed to death outside your home. 

Question: What kind of doctors would let a teenager die without offering to help? 

Answer: Your kind.” 

I live next door to the home where a young man was stabbed to death at a party that got out of control. I don’t know who wrote this letter. I don’t think they want me to know, because there was no name on it. I assume they meant it to upset me, and my family, and it did. 

The night this young man died I had no idea he was hurt, so I couldn’t help. It was upsetting to have this happen so close to my home. I admit, I assigned some blame at first, too. I was angry that no one who saw the stabbing yelled out for help or called 911. I’ve realized now that those kids who knew what had happened were probably too scared to think. I wish they had called out for help though. 

That night around 11 p.m. we realized there was a party next door. We were watching a movie on the other side of the house before and didn’t even know there was a party. We weren’t sure what you are supposed to do when your neighbor has a loud party. It seemed rude to call the police or go bang on their door. At 11:30 it got louder and I went outside to ask the kids to quiet down and go home. I was reassured by several kids on the sidewalk that everything was OK. They said the party was over and they were all going home. How could I imagine that somebody had been stabbed and nobody was yelling out for help. I still don’t know if they were trying to cover up what happened or just didn’t know themselves. I went back in my home.  

Now I know that a bleeding young man was probably being dragged down the street in the other direction at that time. The next several days I thought a lot about how someone can get stabbed right next door and we didn’t even know. Maybe even if they had yelled out help, maybe even if my husband and I and all the doctors and nurses on my street had been there to help, maybe we couldn’t have saved him. I’m not a surgeon. Even if I had been, I wouldn’t have been able to operate in the middle of the street. I would have called 911. The paramedics would have gotten him to the hospital faster. But I didn’t even know he was hurt. 

Aside from feeling threatened and hurt by the note on my windshield, it makes me worry that one of the lessons that needs to be learned from this hasn’t been realized: If you don’t call out for help, nobody can help you. I hope teenagers do realize that they are part of a community that wants to help them when they are in need. There is a street full of people who wish we had known what was going on, so we could have tried to help. There are paramedics who stay awake all night long hoping to help others. There are surgeons who spend years training so they can try to save people who have been stabbed. But none of us can know that someone is hurt if no one calls out for help. 

Name withheld 

• 

RATS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am a native who has lived in the Bay Area most of my life. As such, I know something about the critters that inhabit this area, including rats. I don’t particularly like them but over time I respectfully have learned something about them.  

During this time of year, there is a rat problem everywhere, even in foothills of Berkeley. It happens whenever there is a lot of rain. This year there has been a lot of rain. So, these critters are coming up from the storm drains, and from the swollen creeks. Just like a bilge of a ship that is taking too much water, they are seeking higher and drier land. Contrarily, it’s their nature to stay in the bilge unless they are threatened by drowning.  

Before we spend a lot of money on exterminators, who may or may not pass on this information, look at what else helps to control the rat population. Cats, dogs, snakes, hawks and skunks are their natural enemies. Some of these other critters actually depend on the rats at this time of year to feed their young. And they have to live, too. Without enough of these critters eating rats, there is probably going to be more rats, at least until it stops raining. Remember, most of these creatures were here first, even before our ancestors arrived.  

Maybe we should stop and consider this. Has anyone seen any skunks lately? As I recall, this is the time of the year the skunks search around our garbage. And as soon they are able, they will bring their little broods with them for something to eat. And isn’t that where rats hang out? Sneaking though the ivy and agapanthus to get there, to surreptitiously get their needed staples, our leftovers in the garbage cans?  

Consider this that maybe the rats don’t like us either. Rather than put up with us, they are eating out in dangerous places, than go into extinction without a fight. Thus I think these are smart rats.  

Dea Robertson-Gutierrez 

• 

BAY BRIDGE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Now that the bids for the final section of the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge are being considered, perhaps we should start a campaign to preserve the existing eastern span, for logistic as well as historical reasons. It would be a backup bridge in the event the new one is a failure and it would be a nice place to walk or ride bicycles and picnic. Saving the old bridge would be a nice homage to the builders of the 1930s and a prudent effort perhaps, considering the problems we’ve had building a new one. 

Hank Chapot 

Oakland 

• 

ILLEGAL POT BUST 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The recent pot bust in Berkeley was not merely a massive waste of police resources—it violated city law. It is against the Berkeley Municipal Code for Berkeley police to make arrests for violations of marijuana laws or to spend money for marijuana-law enforcement (BMC, Sections 12.24.040 and 12.24.050). The marijuana laws are required to be the city’s lowest law-enforcement priority (BMC 12.24.030). It is up to the City Council to ensure that the police follow these laws (BMC, Section 12.24). The council failed to do that in this case.  

Berkeley has real crime problems, from murder to rape to robbery. To these we now must add two others: a police department that disregards the law on marijuana arrests, and a City Council that fails to police the police. 

Martin Putnam  

• 

CREEKS ORDIANCE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I urge the City Council to strengthen the Berkeley Creek Ordinance. 

Hardscape surfaces built close to creeks accelerate bank erosion, permanently steepening adjacent slopes. By preventing rainfall from soaking into soils for gradual release, they also exacerbate flooding and bank erosion in downstream neighborhoods. New roofed construction should not be permitted within 30 feet of an open creek and a creekside vegetated buffer should be required so other construction such as parking lots are set back from creek banks. 

The city should develop incentives for property owners to daylight culverted creeks and better manage those that are open. It’s clear that armoring creek banks with concrete is damaging over the long term and should be prohibited. 

Please base your ordinance on good science, so that downstream property is protected and wildlife needs are accommodated. 

Mark Liolios 

• 

AIN’T NO SUNSHINE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Mayor Bates and his City Council buddies don’t have time for sunshine in government. They want to move their agenda with minimum public-right-to know and be off on vacation. 

At the March 21 City Council meeting a number of expedient maneuvers were in place to oil the tracks for the controversial $60 million Oxford Housing/ Brower project, and send it off without credible public process. So the Oxford Housing was first on a special 5:30 p.m. redevelopment meeting, at a special time. Next it appeared as two separate items on the consent calendar of the regular City Council meeting starting at 7:00 p.m. 

You should know the consent calendar allows no discussion. All items (22 this time!) are passed in one motion unless pulled by a councilmember and moved to the action calendar. 

Furthermore, controversial items, especially from Mr. Barton of the Housing Department, are often listed as “to be delivered” (TBD). This means they are not available in time for review and scrutiny, but are generally approved nonetheless. In this case the Oxford Housing item at the 5:30 special (redevelopment) meeting was TBD as was its City Council item number 17 on the consent calendar. Follow that? 

Councilmember Maio had recommended at the March 13 Agenda Committee that the Oxford Housing be put on consent and not on the action calendar (where discussion occurs). Maio has special interests in this issue because the developer, RCD (Resources for Community Development), is an organization she started. This project is considered pork barrel for the City Council majority of seven councilmembers endorsed by the left ideological slate BCA. 

Merrilie Mitchell 

• 

RAISING TAXES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It’s obvious that the City Council will only do what is politically advantageous to them. Property owners in the City of Berkeley haven’t figured out that they live in a Communist city (from each according to his ability, to each according to his need...). Why is it that every time the city needs money, the only thing that they can think of is to stick it to the property owner in terms of increased parcel taxes? What has the city been doing with the storm drain taxes which property owners have been paying for years? Wasting it on “nice to do” but totally non necessary items like building roundabouts along AllstonWay, setting out holiday decorations, and planting in the median strip along University Avenue? That’s so much easier to do than tacking the aging storm drains.  

I think even the city, once they get their heads out of the dark spot the heads are in, have to admit that the sewer system/storm drain system benefits everyone, not just property owners. So why are only property owners asked to pay for it? Because we’re deep pockets, that’s why. The appropriate way to finance this is by a sales tax, that way every one gets to participate in the cost. It’s my guess that the tree-huggers of the creeks group wouldn’t be nearly so anxious to daylight creeks if they also had to help pay for it.  

Since the city can’t seem to figure out how to get the money, here are some suggestions. Stop spending money on non-essentials as noted above. Get rid of the Berkeley Visitor’s Center, the Berkeley Historical Society, and close the city’s Health Department. The County of Alameda has a perfectly good Health Department which serves the rest of Alameda County. Anyone who reads the San Francisco Chronicle’s “Chronicle Watch” about what is broken in various neighborhoods has to have noticed that a lot of what’s wrong in Berkeley involves Public Works and Claudette Ford. Does everyone know Ford was fired by the City of Oakland?? So of course, the City of Berkeley hires her, right? Ford should be fired for her inability to run Public Works properly.  

All of the above should bring in a few million dollars and the city can use that money for sewers and storm drains. Heck, the city could even use the money they collect from property owners as storm drain money for storm drains—what a novel idea. Even the City of Oakland can do a better job than Berkeley is doing. It appears that Berkeley is the only city which demands that property owners repair any storm drains under their property. If there is another city in the Bay Area which makes this requirement of property owners, it certainly isn’t common knowledge.  

I think the Creeks Ordinance should be totally abolished and property owners should be able to do what they want with the properties they have worked so hard to purchase.  

D. Day 

• 

ENCOURAGE READING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

During my long career as teacher I have noticed that encouragement at the first sign of interest in reading goes a long way. Parents and teachers should be willing to bend rules and change routines so that a child absorbed in words is not disturbed. 

At university in Punjab I was free for five periods a day between the first and seventh periods of literature and philosophy classes. I would go to my nook in our seven-story university library, pull out a pile of books and settle in for reading. I would get so engrossed I would miss my seventh-period class. My department chair learned of my absences. He wrote a note to the librarian permitting me to check out 50 or 60 books if I wanted. I had expected a reprimand; instead I received the strongest encouragement. 

Romila Khanna 

• 

NO REDRESS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Tenants suffering even the most obvious but unscrupulous scams at the hands of shyster landlords in Contra Costa County are tragically on their own and can expect no redress or remedies whatever from their local corrupt and self-pardoning officialdom. 

Case-in-point: 

At Civic Plaza Apartments in El Cerrito we exposed the fact that a clause of its rental agreement provides for a monthly flat-rate billing for the “shared allotment” of trash while the property’s billing company, National Water & Power, bills tenants for trash at not only a monthly variable but invariably increasing rate. 

Adding insult to injury the billing company (NW&P) based in southern California fraudulently masquerades as an actual utility company protected by state laws governing utility companies whenever confronted with tenant complaints concerning its supposed prerogative to charge additional punitive fees; to perpetuate its fraudulent prerogatives this billing company invariably resorts to quoting rules and regulations established by the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC), which has absolutely no jurisdiction whatever over this billing company but which has also proved strangely indifferent to the fact that NW&P fraudulently claims CPUC protection as if it were an actual public utility entity (which it’s not). 

Clearly the case calls for civil class action litigation filed on behalf of all adversely affected tenants. 

Most recently though the matter was brought to the attention of James L. Sepulveda, senior deputy district attorney, Special Operations Division for Contra Costa Country. 

Unsurprisingly, Sepulveda disclaimed any jurisdiction over the matter and explained away his disclaiming apology with a long-winded rationalization, equivocating that NW&P misrepresenting itself as a public utility company violates no “criminal” law and that “fraud” in the state of California is not a crime per se but rather just a “civil theory” which he refers to as being “meaningless”—setting off the word “fraud” in quotes for added emphasis not once but three separate times. So Sepulveda asks rhetorically: “Why would we investigate?”   

Oh, silly me! As Sepulveda’s office resides in the fraud unit of the Contra Costa district attorney’s office within the Consumer Protection (civil—not criminal) department, why would he investigate indeed—especially after being duly informed with easily documented evidence that the parent apartment company (also in southern California) in cahoots with the utility billing company execute contradictory contracts (the apartment company’s contract with the utility billing company versus the apartment rental contracts) deliberately designed to bilk tenants of incalculable amounts of money by means of a single hidden fine-print rental contract clause: flat-rate versus variable-rate trash billing! And that said fraud and mis-representation are blatantly occurring in the county whose public interest he’s entrusted to protect. 

So why would he investigate indeed? Apologizing as a public official mooching off the public dole, Sepulveda would impress me even more with his indifferent whitewash of the matter if he could rationalize with equal fervor action over inaction. 

Joseph Covino, Jr. 

El Cerrito 

• 

SEVEN BLOCKS, GREEN MULE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Lately I’ve been working the phones and crashing cafes seeking wisdom from people in all corners of Berkeley politics. Connecting the dots. Cleanaircoalition.net is waiting for Pacific Steel Casting (PSC) to respond by the end of the month to our counter demand letter that requires the ancient foundry to devise toxic chemical and community health testing programs ignored by the infamous December 2005 back-room settlement with play pal BAAQMD.  

Now Linda Maio wants to talk with me? 

We need to keep our citizen band antennas on PSC. PSC’s carbon bed absorption technology for Plant No. 3 has been placed on a “fast track” hearing schedule by the Planning Department. The public has been by-passed before in this arena and needs to know much more before a permit is considered. What emission sources are abated at PSC and which ones are not? What about particulates? Bay Area Air Quality Management District records show that the carbon bed technology currently utilized in Plant #2 has not limited the complaints to that part of PSC’s operations. Those who attended the 1999-2000 Odor Abatement Hearing remember Round One all to well. Let’s get it right this time! Track this process and come ready to ask Planning Dept. staff tough questions. Find a wealth of PSC information at westberkeleyalliance.org.  

There are many other issues in District 1—from our stalled AMTRAK station rehab to toxic playing fields and polluting incinerators; sidewalks filled with day laborerss and term limits; an in-fill and Rapid Bus Transit plan waiting to cruise into San Pablo Avenue. Not to mention Tom Bates’ interest in bringing auto dealers to our choking highway edge and the insidious challenge to overturn current manufacturing zoning areas in the West Berkeley Plan (WBP). One politico just whispered to me that the old WBP will be put out of its misery and re-crafted soon. But to who’s benefit? 

Everybody is bitching and moaning at me about how ungreen Berkeley is—especially as the toxic grunge and back door deals fly through our burnt-pot-handled atmosphere in District 1. “Green Berkeley,” they ask? Yah, I don’t see it either! But through my work with small towns and neighborhoods over the years, I would define green planning and design as an integrated, holistic, participatory process that champions public noticing, long-range schedules, periodic evaluation and rigorous debate from start to finish. Built for the people, by the people; sustainable. Let’s see what “fast track” really means down at the city Planning Department in the days ahead. 

Lots of coffee and egos still to go. 

Willi Paul 

• 

SPECIAL PROSECUTOR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Voters should contact their political party leaders and members of Congress and urge them to support the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and the other senior members of the Bush administration for impeachable high crimes. The president and his cabinet members have launched an illegal and bloody invasion and occupation of Iraq based on reasons that were mistaken at best and lies at worst. They have been criminally negligent in their response (or lack thereof) to Hurricane Katrina and the plight of Katrina survivors. They have conducted illegal domestic spying. They have ordered individuals to be kidnapped, imprisoned, and tortured at secret prisons. Finally, they have imprisoned people indefinitely without charge, trial, or conviction, in harsh and inhumane conditions. 

Administration officials have demonstrated utter contempt for checks and balances, public disclosure, human rights, and international law. This is not democracy; it is an imperial administration that uses fear, secrecy, and deception to hide and justify its crimes and erode our freedom, all the while insisting that it seeks to protect us. This will continue until we, the people, demand that this administration be held accountable through impeachment proceedings. 

David Mitchell™

In recent years, academics and consultants have emphasized the critical importance of leadership to the success of government and business enterprises. Leadership conveys an image of military daring, while management has come to be viewed as a technical subject, of interest only to those who have not yet reached positions of leadership. This attitude fits well with the interests of politicians, who are unlikely to have management experience, but may feel well qualified to offer leadership. Moreover, attacks on the failings of government bureaucracy—real or imagined—resonate with voters. 

However, the common wisdom regarding the insignificance of management ignores the reality that government entities at every level are very large enterprises that must be well managed in order to accomplish the goals for which they were established, for which taxpayers spend a great deal of money, and on which everyone depends for critical services. After they are elected, politicians and their appointees sometimes forget that they are responsible for managing the government bureaucracy. Our recent national experience with disaster relief during and after Hurricane Katrina exemplifies the problem with substituting leadership for management. 

During a crisis, leadership is critical. Good leadership motivates people to improve their performance, gives them a sense of purpose, and assures them of moral support. Management is what happens before there is a crisis. Management is the routine, day-to-day organization and development of an enterprise’s capabilities, such as operations, distribution and communications. Without effective management, leadership, however good, is unlikely to be successful. 

The transcript of the Aug. 29 video teleconference organized by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) on the day Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast demonstrates a high level of leadership. The teleconference brought senior government officials, including the president of the United States and the secretary for the Department Homeland Security (DHS), into direct contact with state and national officials. 

In the teleconference, the president expressed sympathy for those affected and appreciation for those working on disaster relief. He assured everyone of the federal government’s full support. The secretary of DHS promised his department’s full support and made himself personally available should there be anything they needed from DHS “that you’re not getting.” The head of FEMA expressed his confidence in the “great team around here that know what they’re doing.” He told the participants that if they felt something needed to be done, just to “go ahead and do it. I’ll figure out some way to justify it.” 

Unfortunately, the transcript also demonstrates a very inadequate level of management. It is filled with comments from participants at all levels suggesting that little of the necessary support was already in place. A senior staffer in Louisiana reported that “we’re spending a lot of time right now making sure that we marry the appropriate state assets and the federal assets.” The director of FEMA said that “at some point we may want to reach out to the broader DHS and ask for . . . putting some men and women down there.” 

Finally, the Secretary of DHS wanted to know whether there were any Department of Defense “assets that might be available.” He asked whether DHS had “made any kind of arrangement in case we need additional help from them.” Given the timing of the teleconference, and the traditional reluctance of the federal government to insert the military into domestic roles, the response by FEMA’s director was not reassuring: “We are having those discussions with them now.” And the meeting was over. 

It is clear from this transcript that several critical elements of good management were lacking. First, no arrangements were in place for coordination among the multiple departments and agencies of the federal and state governments responsible for disaster relief. This was the original mandate of the Department of Homeland Security, and the reason it was created in the first place. 

Second, the federal bureaucracy was viewed as a barrier instead of a resource. This was highlighted when the director of FEMA told everyone, “I don’t want any of these processes in our way.” In essence, he was admitting that leaders at the highest levels of government had not established effective processes for accomplishing their mission. It was as if the CEO of a computer company had admitted to shareholders that the company’s manufacturing processes might get in the way of making computers! 

Third, although much of the meeting was devoted to reports from the field, the concerns identified were not addressed. The leaders in attendance expressed their support and concern, but their words were not operationally connected to an effective organizational response. Lacking an understanding of their role as managers, they did not understand that they were being asked to take action and to solve problems. The meeting ended without an action plan. There was no discussion of critical tasks to be accomplished, with defined deliverables, individuals assigned to accomplish the tasks, and times specified for completion. 

The notion of leadership derives much of its popularity from military mythology, from stories of heroic battles against overwhelming opposition. In this context, it is instructive that many military historians consider Napoleon to have been a better leader than Wellington, and Lee to have been a better leader than Grant. Good leadership, without good management, rarely determines successful outcomes in warfare, or in other large scale organizational endeavors. All organizations, including government agencies, must be well run in order to be well led.  

El Cerrito resident Ken Stanton works in Berkeley as a registered nurse. 

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I have traveled to far-off places just to visit quaint waterfronts where industrial detritus is turned into quirky outdoor art and the artists live in cohesive communities that also welcome strangers and wayfarers. In these funky enclaves, artisans, bohemians, working-class artists, students, and professionals live comfortably on the leftovers of former times-where recycle and reuse come naturally and beautifully. How does this sort of “organic” development grow and can you still find it in Oakland? You’d better look quickly before it is gentrified, calcified, and homogenized away leaving no open spaces, no gathering places, no real studios or workshops-only darkened patches of private yards. 

Have you ever seen those cartoon maps of San Francisco or Manhattan in which outsized buildings are squeezed together onto an small piece of land and loom grotesquely over their surroundings? This, my friends, is what the City Council of Oakland in conjunction with the Oakland School District, aka Randy Ward, are planning for the area from Lake Merritt to the estuary. Is this what Oakland voters demanded when they supported Measure DD to improve the lake ? Did they mean to clean up the estuary by destroying a unique artisan community on the waterfront? Did they want to take an old Oakland building, the Ninth Avenue Terminal, where one can picnic in the sun next to the calm water of the estuary (a scene similar to that at San Francisco’s Ferry Building) and destroy it? 

Whether that was the aim of the measure or not, what happened was that the public investment of monies from DD and rapid gentrification coupled with corruption in City Hall, will result in a completely different city being built. When Oaklanders voted for Jerry Brown and his “elegant density” downtown, did they expect that the waterfront, the lakefront, and the estuary would all succumb to skyscrapers? Did they want to abandon the taxpayer, city and voter-approved study painstakingly put together by a community process called the Estuary Policy Plan? Are we acquiescing because we don’t understand the enormity of the changes planned for our city, because we’ve given up expecting our leaders to listen to us, or because none of our current leaders is capable of articulating a vision for an inclusive Oakland? 

It should also go without saying that we receive public benefits for public land! What a joke local democracy has become when we have to remind our leaders of their basic contract with us. Beyond the necessity of affordable housing and jobs for the surrounding neighborhoods which will be impacted by this bedroom community of garish skyscrapers; who will “preserve” (much less “expand”) the “neighborhood of artists and artisan studios, small businesses, and water dependent activities” (as stated in Item 4.1 of the Estuary Policy Plan) while protecting the remaining industrial spaces in which our entrepreneurial and creative elements not only survive but thrive. Oakland is special because it is a city of neighborhoods, each with its own architecture, celebrations, and dedicated small businesses. 

The Oak to Ninth proposal, along with Randy Ward’s plans for our public school lands, will change our city in ways we have not envisioned nor, I think, in ways we as a city might have chosen if anyone were listening to us. Contact your council members and then work for change! 

Pamela A. Drake is an Oakland resident.

If you’re a fan of Bob Dylan, you’ll remember his anti-boxing song, “Who Killed Davey Moore?” This song ponders the death of world featherweight champion Moore, who died of head injuries incurred in a bout on March 21, 1963. 

Dylan repeatedly asks, “Who killed Davey Moore? Why an’ what’s the reason for?” 

He repeats the haunting refrain as he considers the perspectives of the participants: referee, crowd, managers, gamblers, reporters, and the other boxer. 

I remembered this song, because I’ve been thinking about Tom Fox. 

Who killed Tom Fox? Why and what’s the reason for? 

Tom Fox was a 54-year-old Virginia Quaker whose body was found in Iraq on Friday, March 10. Tom died from gunshot wounds to his head and chest. His hands had been tied and there were cuts on his body and bruises on his head. 

Tom Fox had been in Iraq since October 2004 as a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams. He’d worked on three projects: helping families of incarcerated Iraqis, escorting shipments of medicine to clinics and hospitals, and helping form Islamic Peacemaker Teams. Tom was kidnapped, along with three other Christian Peacemaker workers, on Nov. 26. 

Who killed Tom Fox? Why and what’s the reason for? 

As a Quaker, I take Tom Fox’s death personally. Even though I didn’t know Tom, I have friends who did. Quakers are a relatively small group in the US, roughly 100,000, and there are few degrees of separation between us. 

When I first heard that he had been captured, I was surprised that he was in Iraq at all. Before and during the invasion, Quakers had an active presence in Iraq-providing humanitarian assistance through the American Friends Service Committee, but one by one all those folks left as the situation became increasingly dangerous. I figured that Tom had a calling and felt he had to honor it by joining the Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq, regardless of the danger. 

Who killed Tom Fox? Why and what’s the reason for? 

For those of you who are not Quakers this may seem like craziness. But, within the history of the Society of Friends-the formal name for Quakers-it’s totally consistent. 

Since our beginning, in 1651, Quakers have had two characteristics that frequently get us in trouble: we believe that if you call yourself a Christian you should follow the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. And, we believe that God speaks directly to believers. 

Quakers note that Jesus was a pacifist. So we all try, in our own way, to be pacifists. Actually, all Christians used to be pacifists, but this changed in 313 A.D. when the bureaucracy of the Christian church reached an accommodation with the Roman Emperor Constantine: only priests had to be pacifists and only Christians could be in the Roman army. 

Quakers also believe that Jesus taught that God speaks directly to individuals, sometimes calls them to take individual action. That’s what Tom Fox believed; that’s why he was in Iraq. 

Who killed Tom Fox? Why and what’s the reason for? 

Tom’s Iraq blog is his sad and informative legacy. His last entry was written the day before he was abducted, Why are we here? “If I understand the message of God, his response to that question is that we are to take part in the creation of the Peaceable Realm of God … As I survey the landscape here in Iraq, dehumanization seems to be the operative means of relating to each other … We are here to root out all aspects of dehumanization that exists within us. We are here to stand with those being dehumanized by oppressors and stand firm against that dehumanization. We are here to stop people, including ourselves, from dehumanizing any of God’s children, no matter how much they dehumanize their own souls.” 

Tom told his friends that if he was captured or killed they should not take revenge on those responsible. 

Who killed Tom Fox? Why and what’s the reason for? 

Out here on the radical fringe of Christianity, there are those of us who believe that there are worse things than being killed standing up for what you believe in. We feel that it’s better to honor our personal integrity, our relationship with the divine, than to play it safe. 

Out here on the edge, there are those of us who believe that Jesus didn’t suffer just one time all those years ago up on a lonely cross. We feel that Jesus dies in every generation, whenever good folks stand up for righteousness. This Jesus perished in the Holocaust and in the collapse of the Twin Towers. This Jesus expired when Tom Fox was tortured and shot. This Jesus dies over and over until human kind gets that we have to learn to live together in peace and justice. 

That’s why Tom Fox died. That’s the reason for. 

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

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I told my parents not to see the movie Brokeback Mountain. “You won’t like it,” I said. 

“Why not?” asked my mother. 

“Because...” 

“Because it’s about gay cowboys?” 

“Let me put it this way,” I said. “You should see Brokeback Mountain. It would be good for you, but there’s some stuff in there that might make you uncomfortable. Maybe you could close your eyes and put your fingers in your ears.” 

“What kind of stuff?” asked Mom. 

“I don’t want to get into too much detail with you, but there’s sex in the film. Sex between men. Someday you and I can watch it together on DVD, but not with Dad. It might upset him.” 

“I think your father and I should see it,” said Mom. “Broaden our horizons. Find out what all the fuss is about.” 

“Okay,” I said. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

I thought my concerns were well-founded. I’ve only watched a few movies with my parents because we have different tastes and perspectives. I’ve felt embarrassed in their presence when anyone on the big screen kisses for more than a few seconds. If the embrace progresses past first base my parents giggle like preteens. At third base my father tends to swear under his breath and if the actors reach home plate, Edna and Dewey squirm in their seats. The last movie I watched with them was Best in Show. Even that was problematic, and it was, for the most part, about dogs. 

Sometime within the last five or six years our child-parent roles have reversed. I want to protect Edna and Dewey from subject matter that I imagine will disturb them. Just as they once shielded me from ideas and issues they thought I was too young to understand, I want to keep them away from stuff I deem heart attack-inducing to 80-year-old Republicans. 

Last week my mother called and told me she and my father had gone to see Brokeback against my advice. “Oh boy,” I said. “How’d you make out?” 

“Well,” explained mom. “We went to the mall for the Early Bird Dinner Special and it was very good. Then we said what the hell, we might as well find out what we’re missing. So we got two senior citizen tickets and went to see it. 

“And?” 

“I loved it!” 

“You loved it?” 

“Yes, it was beautiful. The scenery was magnificent, the acting wonderful. And the story—well it explained a lot of things for me. Those men were in love, no question about it.” 

“And Dad?” 

“Your father loved it too! Let me put him on. He can tell you himself.” 

My dad got on the line. 

“I’ll make this quick,” he said, “because it’s long distance. We shouldn’t be talking on the phone on a Tuesday. Your mother gets everything screwed up. It’s the weekends when it’s free, not weekdays.”  

“Tell me what you thought of the movie, Dad.” 

“You know, it’s hard for me to understand how two guys could turn out that way. Genes or something, I suppose. I didn’t like watching some of it, but they really did care for one another, and that’s what’s important. It was about love and they couldn’t express it, and it made their lives hell.” 

“Yes,” I said. 

“And another thing...” 

“What?” 

“You underestimate your mother and me.” 

“How’s that?” I said. 

“Don’t tell us what movies we can and can’t go to. We’re old enough to see any damn flick we want.” 

“Okay,” I said. “What’re you seeing next?” 

“Hustle and Flow. But we’ll discuss it with you on the weekend when we won’t get charged for the call. 

I’ve never heard anyone call Jews lovable. The Irish are lovable, and the Italians. The French are admired for their savoir faire, the English for their gentility—still, “some of my best friends are Jews.”  

I like Jews for their robust righteousness, their survivor strength, their combativeness, their intellectual curiosity—they dig for ultimate causes. In my experience, Jews are caring and generally abhor violence. They don’t rejoice in the misfortunes of others, even their adversaries. They don’t proselytize or poach on other faiths. They prize scholarship and family. They appreciate humor, even at their own expense. From civil rights to social justice, Jews are in the forefront. 

I didn’t start out liking Jews. I grew up in a non-Jewish neighborhood, on the outskirts of a small town founded by the Romans in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. Czernowitz, which had a significant Jewish population, had changed hands often (Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Romania, Moldova, the Soviet Union) and is now in Ukraine. 

I first saw the cost of being Jewish as a 4-year-old, after viewing a military parade. The parade was quite marvelous, with all the pomp that a Romanian Royal garrison with an Austrian Imperial tradition could provide--flamboyant uniforms, flashing sabers, and priests carrying icons and incense. Walking home, my neighbor asked, “What will you be when you grow up?” Still under the spell of the colorful procession, I said, “I will be a captain in the king’s army.” She gently squeezed my hand and said, “You can’t. To become an officer you have to venerate the Holy Mother of God.” I was devastated. Years later, as I received my commission as an officer in the U.S. Army combat infantry, I flashed on this incident. 

Along with the neighborhood kids, I absorbed the local prejudices. My parents never corrected this perception, even though they certainly didn’t share it. It was like sex—one simply didn’t talk about it. I was not pleased with being Jewish, which only seemed to close doors.  

In 1940 the Germans came. The stakes were suddenly much higher. Good relations with our non-Jewish neighbors were critical. I vividly remember an incident with my goat who, fond of flowers and weeds, grazed outside. Some folks started throwing stones at her and calling her a Jewish goat. We had to bring her inside. Being Jewish was perilous. Jews took extraordinary risks to survive. 

By the time of my Bar Mitzvah, I had come to see Jews as bright and energetic people who repeatedly demonstrate resilience and accomplishment after centuries of oppression and subjugation. I developed an appreciation for my “comrades,” who have had a positive impact in so many areas. And other people were not excluded from having those universal qualities that I appreciate in Jews. 

I’m bothered by the bigoted hostility toward Jews. Even Jews themselves can buy into negative stereotyping about Jews and sometimes engage in perplexing, seemingly anti-Semitic behavior. In a sense, prejudice against Jews is an indicator of a general malaise in the world—akin to the proverbial canary in a coal mine.  

Especially troublesome is a pervasive double standard when it comes to Jews. People are quick to rise to the defense of others when they perceive even a slight injustice, but are strangely quiet when a negative or hostile remark is made about Jews. Joseph Conrad wondered, why one man can steal a horse while another must not even look at a halter?  

There is a twinge of pride when a Jew is elevated to the Supreme Court, wins a Nobel Prize, or receives some other distinction. It’s not a celebration—just a little bit of satisfaction that such a miniscule minority can excel in an enormous range of human endeavors. 

These thoughts were triggered sitting around the dinner table with very good friends, people I care much about—one Lutheran, two Jews, three Catholics. My liking Jews does not prevent me from liking other people just as much. Without my noticing it, perhaps they have all become Jewish..

On Tuesday afternoon coming back to the East Bay from San Francisco, the BART train stopped on the tracks just before the West Oakland station, and the driver got on the intercom to let us know that we were being delayed because of an earthquake. 

Not a good feeling, friends, especially since I’d been there before. 

The last time that happened, I had ducked out early from work because the Giants and the A’s were playing in the World Series at Candlestick, my bosses had tickets, and why should I stick around at the office when everyone else was gone? I caught what turned to be the last East Bay train out of the Embarcadero station in San Francisco. When we came out of the tunnel from under the bay—without feeling any more than what everybody thought was the usual bumps and minor jostling—the train stopped just about where it did on Tuesday. Back in ’89, though, we stayed there a while longer—10 minutes, maybe, if I remember—until we finally pulled into the station. The train doors opened and we just sat there, dead in the water, until the operator finally came on the intercom and said something like, “Folks, I know that most of you are used to delays on the system, but this is different. I can’t get anyone on the radio or the telephone.” The operator then told us that he could not move the train until he could contact someone at BART central headquarters to see what was up, and invited us to hang out on the station platform until then. 

After we had been on the platform for a few minutes, wandering around in the unseasonably warm weather and looking at an unusual industrial smoke cloud rising up over West Oakland (it later turned out to be the fire from a truck that had been smashed on the Cypress Expressway, but none of us knew that at the time), someone began saying that they’d just heard on a portable radio that there had been a major earthquake in the Bay Area, one of the freeways had collapsed, and a portion of the Bay Bridge had fallen into the bay. Since you could see the Bay Bridge from the West Oakland BART platform, and it didn’t look like it had fallen anywhere, I remember thinking, “Right, and Godzilla came out of the ocean and ate the Ferry Building.” Nobody else seemed to pay the news much attention at first, although the longer we stayed up there with the train standing open and unmoving, the more uneasy people became. 

We might have been on the platform 20 minutes or so when a BART employee came rushing up the steps saying something like, “There’s been a major earthquake! Everybody needs to evacuate this platform immediately. Please walk down the stairs to the sidewalk. Now!” 

There wasn’t any panic, but people got to the stairs pretty quick, as you can imagine. Like the captain in Jaws, that’s when I got the most frightened, as I stood in the suddenly-long line jamming the stairwell, thinking that I could have easily walked down those stairs anytime I wanted to in the past half hour, but now that I was up there waiting, an aftershock was going to come and topple the platform, and that’s how I was going to die. 

Down on the sidewalk, which was crowded with BART passengers milling around, all order seemed to have vanished. It would have been helpful for BART to assemble all of the passengers together to make some sort of announcement, but if it happened, I must have been one of the many who missed it. Instead, most of us were left out there on our own, with no more information than that a major earthquake had hit the Bay Area. 

Once on the ground, most of my anxiety had vanished, but I noticed that wasn’t the case for some of my white and Asian brothers and sisters. From what I imagine, most of them had never seen West Oakland from anywhere but 880 or the BART tracks rolling by, and weren’t especially interested in a more intimate experience. A couple of busses came by on Seventh Street, but those got filled with so many people so quickly, some hanging out the doors, it wasn’t worth the effort to try to get on. You could begin to feel the sense of panic rising. A group of passengers began to move en masse up Seventh Street towards downtown. When they got to the old 880 onramp just east of the BART station (the onramp has since demolished), some of them blocked off the freeway entrance and began to beg rides south. If BART ever made another announcement or helped get the passengers to their destinations, I had already walked downtown, and missed it. 

Tuesday’s brief delay wasn’t as bad as Loma Prieta, of course—neither was the earthquake—but it seems that BART has learned little in the intervening 16 years about how to get information out to people in an emergency situation. 

I happened to be sitting in the first car on Tuesday, not far from the driver’s compartment, and I could hear the radio messages being relayed to the driver from BART central. The dispatcher told the driver immediately that there had been an earthquake in the East Bay and that all of the BART trains had been put on hold while they did a systemwide track check to make sure there had been no problems. Though it wasn’t very pleasant sitting at a standstill several feet above the ground, I got the impression from the dispatch reports that this was not an emergency, there were no reported problems on the BART system, and the train hold and track check were routine, safety measures. 

But that’s not the impression other passengers must have gotten from the announcement made over the intercom by the driver. 

The first announcement—made after the driver had learned that there had been an earthquake and all BART trains had been halted for a check—was merely something like “we’ll be sitting here for a minute, folks,” maybe an apology for the delay, and nothing else. Some minutes later, after more information came from the dispatcher, the driver got back on the intercom and said something like, “There’s been an earthquake, and we’ll be delayed for a few minutes.” No announcement that there had been no reports of damage, and that the train delay appeared to be nothing more than routine. 

I don’t want to fault the driver in this. The most important job for drivers is to get instructions from BART central, and to operate the train in a safe manner in order to make sure the passengers aren’t put in jeopardy. The driver did that on Tuesday; nothing he did or said appeared to be dangerous to the operation of the train. 

But BART trains—like other public transportation—are not just gears and grease and wheels, they are also the people who ride them. And—like the paleontologists getting out of the car in the middle of the ride in Jurassic Park—people’s unpredictable actions in what they perceive is a crisis can sometimes create a crisis where none previously existed, or make an existing crisis worse. 

That seems to have been the case a couple of weeks ago when a small tunnel fire halted a BART train a few feet from a station in San Francisco. While the driver was walking through the train so that she (or he) could return the train to the previous station, smoke began coming into the cars. The passengers apparently had not been informed what was being done by BART to rectify the problem, and so they panicked, forcing open some of the doors, evacuating the train and getting themselves into the darkened, smoky tunnel on foot, and turning a minor problem into an hours long semi-disaster. 

But given the situation, and the little information they had at the time, you can hardly blame those jittery passengers. 

Operating the BART trains safely to get the passengers out of possible danger is the system’s most important job, but not its only job. Letting the public know the nature of a possible emergency, and what is being done to rectify it, ought to be second on the list. Something for BART to work on. 

?

When you’re alone and life is making you lonely you can always go—downtown.  

In the 1960s Petula Clark sang of the attractions of a downtown neighborhood—neon signs, traffic music, the rhythm of the bossa nova. Times have changed but Berkeley’s Downtown has on offer an eclectic selection of venues to draw your interest. 

Combining the seat of city government with a commercial center, Berkeley has imprinted its distinctive personality on the area surrounding Shattuck Avenue. A vibrant arts and entertainment industry intermixed with over one hundred eateries representing the cuisine of fifteen countries mirrors this ethnically mixed community. Almost 50 percent of Berkeley’s population resides within a one-mile radius of downtown. This population swells with the daily influx of workers and the students at Berkeley High and the university, resulting in high density with divergent needs. 

The downtown area developed with thanks to Francis Shattuck and the railroad. In 1876 Shattuck convinced Central Pacific Railroad to run a spur line through his property and build a station at the intersection of University and Shattuck. Businesses grew, booming in 1903 when Key System electric trains offered additional transport and again, after the 1906 earthquake. 

Today’s skyline reflects the push for additional housing units and modern commercial space, but Berkeley’s past remains. An architectural walk highlights several historic buildings. The Berkeley Historical Society, housed in the Veteran’s Memorial Building, is a good starting point. Their goal is preserving Berkeley’s past and making it available to the public. A museum, library and organized walks don’t let us forget the events and people who forged this city. My recent visit coincided with the exhibit Fermenting Berkeley, using photographs and newspapers articles to contrast Wets vs. Drys, when early liquor laws divided the city. 

Berkeley’s former City Hall, a handsome Beaux-Arts building in columned gray with teal cupola, the Main Post Office, fronted with columns and classic arches, and the Shattuck Plaza Hotel, in multi-colored Mediterranean Renaissance Revival, reflect the styles of the early 1900s. The public library’s Art Deco architecture of the 1930s fronts recent innovations inside. Electric classrooms, the children’s library with crayon carpet and giant stuffed frog and gorilla, the huge windows, high ceilings and well-lit tables explain why lines form outside everyday eagerly awaiting open doors. Art Deco is seen again at the Berkeley Community Theatre, within Berkeley High’s campus. Here and on school buildings white wall-size figured reliefs herald the arts.  

Quieter today than during the turbulent 1960s is downtown’s central MLK Memorial Park, site of many anti-war protests. Expansive lawn, small playground and Peace Wall of over one hundred hand-painted tiles seem strangely empty except during Berkeley High’s open campus lunch break. Twice weekly the park forms the boundary of Berkeley’s Farmers’ Market, a peaceful carnival-like event. Performers here are food artisans offering organic produce, grass-fed meat, cheese, baked goods, and flowers; musicians serenading; and shoppers with wicker baskets and child-laden wagons to carry home their purchases. 

Artisans in entertainment and the arts have carved their own niche in Berkeley’s downtown. Along the length of Addison Street thrive theater, music and poetry. Take your time and keep your eyes on the sidewalk at the curb’s edge. One hundred twenty-eight iron and ceramic panels are engraved with poems selected by Robert Hass to reflect Berkeley’s history. From the Ohlone song, “Hey, fog, go home,” Ishmael Reed’s “Going East,” Margaret Schevill’s Desert Center, to Alfred Arteaga’s “Corrido Blanco”—each echo Berkeley’s voices. 

Theater lovers have two choices merely steps apart. The Berkeley Repertory Theater has metastasized since its origin in a tiny theater on College Avenue. Today patrons from throughout Northern California enjoy productions like the upcoming The Glass Menagerie featuring Rita Moreno. Next door, the Aurora Theater offers a more intimate experience in its theater in the round. 

Jazz in all its forms is performed and taught at the Jazzschool, housed in the historic Kress building since 1997. Heralded as one of the best, this innovative school broadly targets all levels and ages. Downstairs practice rooms share space with the Jazzcafe, a book and record shop and art gallery. You can enjoy the syncopated beat of practice drums along with fresh sandwiches, a golden beet salad with goat cheese or a cappuccino. Seating on warm-colored wood chairs amid walls of rich terra cotta listening to cool jazz among music lovers easily sets the mood for the wealth of classes and concerts on offer. 

From the cool of jazz to the heat of tropical Brazil. Bright, richly painted walls festooned with plants, murals of city and beach scenes, tile roofs, adults and children playing and working beach-side—all set the scene at the Capoeira Arts Cafe. With café in front and classroom at the rear, listening to the rhythmic beat of the berimbau, Afro-Brazilian martial arts is taught and practiced. Involving chanting, kicks, sweeps and handstands, these deceptive dance-like movements tell the story of survival in an unfamiliar land.  

Providing city services amid varied commercial enterprises leaves little room for charm. Those in the know select spaces away from the bustle to relax. Trumpetvine Court with walls formed of brick and covered with—Trumpet vine—is a perfect escape. Cooled by umbrellas in summer, warmed by heaters in winter, yellow picnic tables provide ample seating. For a European flavor, one can enjoy freshly assembled ingredients from The Panini Café. Sandwiches of fresh salmon or vegetarian mushroom, mixed baby greens or pasta salad, hearty homemade soup, all make you want to linger past your lunch hour. 

At La Note Restaurant you’ll feel you’ve finally made it to France. Cool green walls atop darker green wainscoting, Provencal accoutrements like straw hats and ceramic bowls, travel posters and huge white hydrangeas in French metal flower buckets provide ambience. Partake of sandwiches, (baguette a la merquez or thon grille) salades (nicoise or paysanne) and plats de jour (ratatouille). A busy outdoor patio, a lively dining space inside and weekend lines signal this is no well-kept secret. 

On Center Street’s Restaurant Row any group of hungry diners can make individual selections. Good all-American fare shares outdoor tables amid potted greenery with international cuisine. Top Dog, Bongo Burger and Pie In The Sky fill traditional stomachs while Laregal, Raphael, Ajiya and Alborz bring the flavors of Vietnam, Italy, Japan and Persia to adventurous palettes. 

Downtown Berkeley forges the pressures of government services for a diverse community with artistic release and the comfort of good food.  

So maybe I’ll see you there. We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares. Downtown –everything’s waiting for you.  

Berkeley Historical Society: 1931 Center St., 848-0181, www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc. 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre: 2025 Addison St., 647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org. 

Aurora Theatre: 2081 Addison St., 843-4822, www.auroratheatre.org. 

Jazzschool: 2087 Addison St., 845-5373, www.jazzschool.com. 

Capoeira Arts Café: 2026 Addison St., 666-1255, www.capoeiraarts.com. 

Café Panini: 2115 Allston Way, 849-0405. 

La Note Restaurant: 2377 Shattuck Ave., 843-1535.›

What are those curiously attractive houses whose second floor, contained within a steeply pitched main gable roof, is far larger than the first floor? Why do we see them standing in clusters of two or three in Berkeley and Oakland but rarely elsewhere? 

This unusual style is one of the variants of Colonial Revival and appears to have emerged from the union of Queen Anne and Eastern Shingle Style. In the mid-1890s, this picturesque hybrid evolved in the San Francisco Bay Area into a local Colonial Revival sub-genre that is particularly evident in the East Bay. A middle-class building style, it is typically expressed in a simplified, rectangular mass under a single gable roof with laterally projecting dormers. 

Many high-peaked Colonial Revival houses feature small corner porticos, often supported by a Neoclassical column. The gable frequently boasts a Palladian or a prow window, which is sometimes balustraded. The exterior walls are clad with narrow clapboards or shingles, with a typical arrangement being shingling on the second floor and clapboarding below. 

The earliest known high-peaked Colonial Revival house in the East Bay may be a residence designed by Edgar A. Mathews at 1535 Saint Charles St. in Alameda, which Alameda Museum Curator George Gunn dates from 1894. The earliest known house documented in Edwards’ Trancripts of Records is the H.F. Munson residence designed by Hugo W. Storch (1873–1917) and built in 1895 at 2354 East 23rd St. in Oakland’s Fruitvale District. 

If Hugo Storch was the first to build in this style, the one who popularized it was the prolific Oakland architect Alfred William Smith (1864–1933). Smith’s success with high-peaked Colonial Revival was documented in an Oakland Enquirer article published in June 1899: “One of the mos t distinctive features of recent local building operations is the wonderful popularity suddenly achieved by the style of house known as the Dutch Colonial, whose principal characteristic is a high-peaked roof. The idea in this city originated with J. H. S impson, who since he first began building such structures, has put up 10. However, the style has been adapted and enlarged upon by architect A. W. Smith who since the 10th of January of last year [1898] has put up no less than 27 houses, all on this pecul iar line of architecture. [...] Mr. Smith ascribes the popularity to the growth of the artistic in the building public, which has caused a departure from the strict rules of architecture and given rise to the development of the picturesque style.” 

The st yle became so popular that many builders began imitating it. Between 1900 and 1905, high-peaked Colonial Revival was all the rage. Even “name” architects such as Julia Morgan, Albert Dodge Coplin, and Thomas D. Newsom were commissioned to design residence s in this style. When the houses were constructed on a speculative basis, the builder would typically put up two or three in a row, making sure to give each house distinct detailing to differentiate it from its brethren. Good examples of such clusters may be seen on the 2000 block of Woolsey Street; the 3000 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way; the 2300 block of Webster Street; and the 2100 block of Haste Street. Sometimes identical designs may be found on adjacent streets or even a good distance apart. The trio on MLK Jr. Way exhibits the same design found in a pair on the 2800 block of San Pablo Avenue, which was built by A.W. Smith. Curiously, descendants of the builder Carl Ericsson believe that it was he and not Smith who built the MLK threesome. 

A lthough high-peaked Colonial Revival houses may be seen in various California towns such a Napa and Redding, they usually stand there as lone examples. San Francisco evolved its own variant of high-peaked Colonial Revival row house, with additional floors and a gable that is not fully contained within the roof. 

Berkeley and Oakland are unique in possessing large numbers of these houses. By my estimate, Berkeley alone has close to 200 specimens, which constitute an open-air museum that should be cherished and preserved.e

I was visiting with a client today and got into one of those if/and/or discussions that soon feels like your brain is stuck in either molasses or honey (depending on whether the job will actually pay anything). One possible course of action involved changing a faucet, which would have eliminated a broken component and almost certainly have solved a problem involving the reluctant flow of hot water. The other solution would make someone happy but seemed for all the world like the wrong thing to do.  

The woman’s husband wanted a new sink. Have you ever seen Jim Jarmusch’s extraordinarily inelegant, odd and fall-down-between-the-seats funny film Stranger Than Paradise? One of the main characters is given a dress. She tries wearing it but there’s just something wrong with it. At one point she changes into pants, leaves her building and stuffs the dress in a garbage can stating “This dress bugs me!” There was no need for further explanation.  

The sink bugs this guy. It was a perfectly good sink. It will cost a whole bunch of money to replace it, along with the faucet, drain fittings and maybe a disposer (although retaining it and keeping it from leaking in its new setting will be no small feat in any event). 

See, he just wants a new sink. But nothing’s ever simple and there are always attendant troubles to all these seemingly small changes. The change of sink isn’t a bad idea in and of itself. But the couple is planning on remodeling the kitchen pretty soon, and doing this whole body of work twice is going to cost a lot of extra money and, of course, impact their lives in a very Stranger Than Paradise sort of way. Doing the same job twice is a bit like déjà vu with extra nausea. 

It’s as though there were teams of small demons that come with various home repairs. Some are just annoying, but some will drive you seriously crazy. 

To minimize these visitations, I suggest an overriding strategy. Do things in groups and consider the overall value/desire/need of the entire body of work prior to entering into the venture. Make sure the mayhem is worthwhile. 

The first corollary to this is never fix one part of anything. The second is never fix anything twice when you can fix it once. 

This means that you need a long-range strategy. The idea is to stop responding to any one problem in an immediate or panic-struck fashion.  

The couple with the sink is a good example so let’s work with that. They had an additional problem beyond the fellow’s general disdain for this particular sink. The sink was leaking down below. The trap (that’s the U-shaped drain pipe below the sink) had developed a hole and was leaking pretty badly. Additionally, the faucet was not providing any significant amount of hot water. These are very real problems, especially when two little girls need to have their breakfast dishes washed. 

Here’s how I see the situation: 

The drain needs to be fixed but not in a manner any more complex than is needed to prevent damage to the cabinet over the next few months. The faucet also needs to be made workable so that dishes can be washed. Simple repairs are preferred in this situation and the highest-quality materials and methods are not required. Also, if a new faucet is obtained, they should probably consider re-installing it in the new sink as the kitchen is remodeled. This might make the most sense. It turned out, happily, that the faucet only needed to be meddled with and that it will likely function for a few more months. A new trap didn’t cost much and was installed imperfectly but in a fashion which should serve for a similar duration. 

The rest of the job should be looked at in a similar way. All the things that comprise a new kitchen should be on the counter (as it were) at the same time. This is the time to do everything.  

If one portion is left out, it may be very costly and troublesome to add later on. A good example is a dishwasher. Putting in a dishwasher once the cabinetry is all in place, whether in a old kitchen or a newer one, is a real bear and often results in an obvious butchering of the cabinetry and a misfitting of the appliance. It’s the sort of thing that can leave you kicking yourself. I’m not saying that one needs to possess a dishwasher, a disposer or a trash compactor (I will not be buying the latter item any time soon). I am saying that if you think you might want one of these at any point in the next 10 years, it should be made part of the plan before a drawing is made or bids are obtained. 

Good planning is cheap. Aesthetics are also cheap. In general, design is a bargain. The best designs I see tend to involve inexpensive material and simple methods. The trick is to think it all through before you buy anything. In the case of a kitchen, this might involve deciding to move (or remove) a wall. This can make a world of difference when you finally get done. Another thing I see a lot is an extraneous and outdated stove flue that eats up space between two rooms. If you explore fully before you settle on a plan, the flue might come out and give you a few extra square feet of counter space that turns a so-so kitchen into a great kitchen. 

Advice from designers and contractors is worth gold when it comes to making such plans. These people go through these trials on a daily basis and usually know lots of good tricks. 

If you’ve planned well and drawn (perhaps several times) your kitchen (or bath or deck or master suite), you have the basic resource with which to obtain a satisfactory and economical result. The person who does a job twice, even a rather modest one, could probably have bought themselves a five-star project for the same cost in addition to saving themselves the self-inflicted bruises. 

Take your time, plan one project, save your money, get lots of advice, shop, shop, shop and then have a ball watching it all come together.  

There are, in my personal estimate, few experiences in life more satisfying than a nice little remodeling project. So enjoy. 

We just returned from an excursion to a friend’s new townhouse in Vacaville. I won’t riff on her lament that she can’t find bulk olives or a decent farmers’ market or bookstore there, but I will say that the landscaping scares me a bit. Scared her, too, and then some: The week before closing on the new place, Alamo Creek and its local tributaries flooded her first floor and most of her neighbors’. She got off lightly though and the seller replaced the carpet with the tile she prefers. The block still rings with repair and construction noises, and piles of ruined wallboard and household stuff persist.  

There’s a shallow lawn-covered drainage swale running through the complex, but it didn’t do the job. Most of the creeks up there, as far as I could see, are channelized even if the banks are still green. And there’s more and more paving—streets, parking lots—replacing more absorbent soil and plants upstream and such mass-produced plants as are allowed in the new housing sprawls clearly are maintained by the mow-n-blow guys with motorized clippers. Everything that’s not a rectangle is a ball.  

It’s part of the weird lockstep that I’ll call Generic Gardening. Tidy it up; cut it off at waist height regardless of where its main branches run or how dead-brown the result is; when in doubt, pave it. It’s not even as amusing as topiary. And all this tidiness, straightening, covering-up, and general ignorance in action leave people puzzled when the worst storm in 10 years sends water over the ditch-creek’s banks: What? There’s lots of nature here! Look at all the greenery! Nature’s a bitch, that’s all; we need more paving and control! 

Here in Berkeley some of us are paying for the sins of our forebears, as the culverts they ran creeks through to get them out of the way collapse under our houses and gardens. No matter how much we love creeks, fish, birds, nature, we can’t afford to throw away our lives’ savings or the huge investment that any land, let alone building, here represents.  

And what about property rights? Can a city regulate what we do on our own land? There’s the rub: When it concerns creeks, rivers, water in general, nothing we do on our own land stays there. Building close to a creek’s banks is just asking for subsidence; paving more ground, adding roof area all increase runoff, especially in big storms, and make big trouble for anyone—plant, bird, fish, or human—living downstream. Dirt, plants, and meanders all help blunt the force of floods, and that’s what we remove when we build. 

The Creeks Task Force is, as I write this, wrangling and setting public hearings, trying to make sense and even justice out of this mess we’ve been handed. You might know about buildings—after all, we all live in them—but most of us know little about creeks and water’s behavior. There are local groups working to make creeks work better for us as well as wildlife, removing invasives that choke the channels and turn floating debris into dams, cleaning out that trash, planting natives that function with the land, getting muddy and educated at the same time. Check some out. 

Friends of Five Creeks 

www.fivecreeks.org 

848-9358 

Urban Creeks Council 

www.urbancreeks.org 

1250 Addison Street, # 107C,  

Berkeley, 94702 

540-6669

TUESDAY, MARCH 28 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Tell it on Tuesday” Story- 

telling with Lauren Crux, Kate Frankle, and others at 7:30 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $8-$12 sliding scale. www.juliamorgan.org 

Rosalind Wiseman gives parenting advice in “Queen Bee Moms & Kingpin Dads” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Sw amp Coolers at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Ellen Hoffman Trio and Singers’ Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Wa y. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Randy Craig Trio at 7:30 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazzschool at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 84 8-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 

EXHIBITIONS 

Alex Rosmarin “Small Scale Compositions” Reception at 7 p.m. at Artbeat Salon and Gallery, 1887 Solano Ave. 527-3100. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Debra Dean introduces her new novel “The Madonnas of Leningrad” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Music for the Spirit with Ron McKean on harpsichord at 12:15 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555. 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra with Garrick Ohlsson, piano, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $10-$54. 841-2800. www.berkeleysymphony.org 

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

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

Blue Roots at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054.  

Five & Dime Jazz, The Great Auk at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 644-2204.  

Orquestra Bakan at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa dance lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

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

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

THURSDAY, MARCH 30 

FILM 

The Enchanting World of Jacques Demy “Lola” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berk eley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Tom Tomorrow introduces his first compilation of cartoons “Hell in a Handbasket: Dispatches From the Country Formerly Known as America” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

Betty Lucas, life coach, in troduces “Many Roads to Love” at 7 p.m. at A Great Good Place for Books, 6120 La Salle Ave., Oakland, 339-8210.  

Word Beat Reading Series with Phillip Deitch and Susan Birkeland at 7 p.m. at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

MUSIC AND DAN CE 

Children’s Choral Festival at 12:30 p.m. at Regents’ Theater, Holy Names University. Free. 436-1234. 

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, music of Zulu mine and factory workers, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$46. 642-9988.  

Ellis Paul a t 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Adam Blankman and his Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Travis Jones & Friends at 7 p.m. at Caf fe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Michael Bluestein Duo at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Selector with Black Edgars Musicbox at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

FRIDAY, MARCH 31 

THEATER 

Berkeley Rep “Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell” at 8 p.m. in the Roda Theater. Tickets are $45-$59. Runs through April 16. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Masquers Playhouse “Relative Values” by Noel Coward. Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, through May 6. Tickets are $15. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Shotgun Players “Bright Ideas” Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. to April 23. Tickets are $15-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

FILM 

The Enchanting World of Jacques Demy “Bay of Angels” at 7 p.m. and “Model Shop” at 8:35 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Mark Klett and Rebecca Solnit describe “After the Ruins, 1906 and 2006: Rephotographing the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire” at 7:30 p.m. a t Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Duamuxa, worker’s songs from the countryside to the factory, in celebration of Cesar Chavez’ birthday at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $8-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Jazz From Fi nland with drummer Andre Sumelius in trio with Jussi Kannaste, saxophone, and John Shifflet, bass, at 8 p.m. at Da Silva Ukulele Co., 2547 Eighth St. Donation $10. Sponsored by The Jazz House, 415-846-9432. 

Karen Wells, Madeline Prager, and John Burke per form Mozart, Brahms and Shostakovish at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Cost is $12. 848-1228. 

“Dangerous Beauty” Hip-hop, modern, African and jazz dance, with spoken word and rap performed by Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company at 7:30 p.m. at Malonga Casquelourde Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. Tickets are $6-$20. 597-1619. 

ACL/Nac1, underground hip hop, at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 644-2204.  

Hurricane Sam & The Hotshots at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Slammin’ with Keith Terry at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Shana Morrison at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Scott Amendola’s “Monk Trio” at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

The Ni Project at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcaf e.net 

Godstomper, Crime Desire, Bafabegiya 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. 

The Regiment at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

SATURDAY, APRIL 1 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Inside Out” Detail i n Dress from 1850 to the Jazz Age opens at Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, 2982 Adeline St. Open Mon.-Sat. noon to 6 p.m. 843-7178. 

“Cultural Encounters” travel photographs of Canada, China and Turkey by members of the Berkeley Camera Club. Reception at 1 p.m. at the San Pablo Arts Gallery, 13831 San Pablo Ave., San Pablo. 215-3204. 

“Aftershock! Voices from the 1906 Earthquake and Fire” with artifacts and photographs, opens at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak St. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. 

Pastels by Leslie Firestone at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave., through April 30. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

“Modulations of Light” color photographs by Sidney J.P. Hollister. Reception at 6 p.m. at Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. 644-1400. www.photolabo ratory.com  

FILM 

The Enchanting World of Jacques Demy “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” at 6:30 p.m., “Jacquot” at 8:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Creating an Illustrated Field Guid e for the Sierra Nevada” with John (Jack) Muir Laws at 10:30 a.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak St. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. 

Sarah Waters introduces her novel “The Night Watch” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

The Novello Quartet celebrates Mozart’s 250th birthday at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St., between Durant and Bancroft. T ickets are $8-$12. 549-3864. 

Pacific Boychoir sings Bach at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Oakland. Tickets are $15-$20. 452-4722. www.pacificboychoir.org 

“Dangerous Beauty” Hip-hop, modern, African and jazz dance, with spoken word and rap performed by Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company at 7:30 p.m. at Malonga Casquelourde Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. Tickets are $6-$20. 597-1619. 

New Praise Choir performs at the 97th Anniversary of the Pholip Temple CME Church at 5 p.m. at 3233 Adeline St. 655-6527. 

Duct Tape Mafia in a benefit for the Africa Educational Trust at 6:30 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $10. For all ages. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Berkeley Broadway Singers “April in Paris” at 8 p.m. at St. Ambrose Church, 1145 Gilman St. at Cornell. Free, donations appreciated. 604-5732. 

The Mixers, classic rock, ska/reggae, blues, at 10 p.m. at The Ivy Room, 858 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $7. 524-9220. www.ivyroom.com 

Eddie Palmieri and His Septet at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall , UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$42. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

The Venezuelan Music Project at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Tickets are $12-$14. 849-2568. www.lapena.org  

Mad and Eddie Duran Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

The Edlos. a capella, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Grapefruit Ed with Pickin Trix at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

The D Sides and Cowpokes for Peace at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

The People, Blue Bone Express at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Jewdriver, Until the Fall, The Shemps at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Mel Sharpe’s Big Money in Gumbo Band at 8 p.m. at An na’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

SUNDAY, APRIL 2 

CHILDREN  

“Eggstravaganza” Celebrate spring with an egg decorating contest, egg games and activities from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10 th and Oak St. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. 

EXHIBITIONS 

Jeanne Dunning “Study After Untitled” Guided tour at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 642-0808. 

FILM 

The Enchanting World of Jacques Demy “the Young Girls of Rochefort” at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archiv e. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Houses and Housings: Portability in Jewish Faith and Culture” with Henry Shreibman in conjunction with the current exhibit at the Magnes Museum, at 2 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

“Tails of Devotion: A Look at the Bond Between People and Their Pets” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

BUSD Performing Arts Showcase from 1 to 4 p.m. at Berkeley Community Theater, Allston Way between MLK an d Milvia. 644-8772. 

Golden Gate Boys Choir and Bellringers at 4 p.m. at St. Ambrose Church, 1145 Gilman St. at Cornell. Tickets are $5-$10. 887-4311. www.ggbc.org 

San Francisco City Chorus performs Handel’s “Israel in Egypt” at 3 p.m. at First COngregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $13-$20. 415-701-7664. www.sfcitychorus.org 

Sor Ensemble performs chamber music by Shostakovich at 4 p.m. at the Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St. at Sacramento. Tickets are $12, free for children. www.crowden.org 

San Francisco Choral Artists “Wisdom of the Ages: Sages and Seers” at 4 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $18-$25. 415-979-5779. www.sfca.org 

Berkeley Broadway Singers “April in Paris” at 4 p.m. at St. Augustine’s Church, 400 Alcatraz Ave. between College and Telegraph. Free, donations appreciated. 604-5732. 

Leslie Hassberg sings Women Singer-Songwriters of the 60s and 70s, at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Cost is $12-$15.  

“Dangerous Beauty” Hip-hop, modern, African and jazz dance, with spoken word and rap performed by Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company at 3 p.m. at Malonga Casquelourde Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. Tickets a re $6-$20. 597-1619. 

Brentano String Quartet, with Hsin-Yun Huang, viola, at 3 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Pre-concert talk with Mark Steinberg at 2 p.m. Tickets are $42, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Twang Cafe, americana, at 7:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 644-2204.  

Bandworks from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. with 17 youth bands at 6 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Houston Jones at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nom adcafe.net 

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

Pierre Bensuan, French-Algerian guitar, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $21.50-$22.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Va riety Show with Raum, Ula, a shadow puppet show and short films at 3 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $4. 525-9926. 

MONDAY, APRIL 3 

THEATER 

Shotgun Theater Lab: muwumpin presents “Frankie & J ohnny” Mon. and Tues. to April 18 at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. Tickets are $10. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

FILM 

United Nations Association Film Festival “Statement of Hope and Courage” at Pacific Film Archive, UC Campus. Tickets are $8-$10. 849-1752. 

“Stupid Cupid” at 9:30 p.m. at the Parkway Theater in Oakland. Director Chris Housh and several cast members will be present. Cost is $5. 593-9069. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Actors Reading Writers, short stories by Penelope Lively and W. So merset Maugham at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Free. 

Poetry Express with KC Frogge and guest Frank Anthony at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Contemporary Ch amber Players at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $3-$7. 642-4864. 

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

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

,›

“We’re free and clear, Willy. Did you hear me? Free and clear!” 

“The problem with most productions of Death of a Salesman,” opined a theater-savvy friend, “is that it’s become an instant American classic—just add water and stir! With all those expectations of immediate gratification, there’s not much room to maneuver.” 

On my way into the Altarena Playhouse’s intimate theater, I saw the setup was for in-the-round . . . a tough way to present a show that’s all over the map, in a different sense. Another challenge to maneuvering: half the audience always at your back. 

If there’s something that typifies most productions of Arthur Miller’s most famous play, it’s either slippage—a lack of focus—or too much focus, exclusively on the lead role, or on some social or psychological conception of What It All Means, leaving out the rest of this problematic text that’s at once intimate and sprawling. 

“Miller almost titled this enduring play—In His Head—and that is where I hope to take you this evening,” writes director Sue Trigg in her program notes, “into the inner workings . . . of his lost hopes, his delusions and a family that has to lie to live up to both . . . to avoid being labeled by society as failures.” 

Most productions are thick with an emotional haze emanating from brooding characters: an off-balance suicidal Willy, unwittingly playing the sycophant, the martinet, the fool, and Biff, his Golden Boy gone bad, simmmering with resentment, on the verge of his next explosion.  

Perhaps because of her background of training at LAMDA, one of Britain’s finest theater schools, director Trigg dwells less on the psycho-sociological backstory than on the very rapid changes the script demands of an ensemble working closely together, in tight, almost musical timing. 

Willy’s constant reveries are immediately juxtaposed with the rather banal events that lead up to the climax of his tragedy—of obsolescence and self-deception, of wanting to be loved, for any reason or none at all. It was Miller’s innovation, a dramatic movement that is less cinematic than an adaptation of the techniques of storytelling he mastered as a scriptwriter for radio. 

The Altarena players perfectly articulate these often lightning-fast changes of mood and tone, and even, seemingly, narrative direction, and the rest falls into place. It’s the most coherent production of Death of a Salesman I can remember seeing—and one of the few that leaves room for the contrapuntal humor and irony necessary to make the play qualify for what it is always claimed to be: a tragic play. 

There’s a great deal that’s problematic, as well as brilliant, about Miller’s masterpiece: the utter banality of the lives portrayed and the manner in which Miller often portrays them, which seems at times to contradict the lofty claims made for it as a stage complement of that elusive creature, the Great American Novel. 

There’s also a good deal of explaining that salts the raw tableaux of personal, professional and familial dysfunctionality. Orson Welles once complained that Miller wrote like a moralizing professor. Indeed, many productions telegraph a certain fussiness of mounting, or a sense of grim solemnity, of admiration of a verdigris-stained monument that stands for self-evident truths.  

The Altarena production is both refreshing and thought-provoking. Images and perceptions loom out of the web of complicated interchanges as if they’re new and previously unperceived. It’s the true representation of a complex set of relationships—that of a man who’s failing, of a family fallen apart—and of a society pushing on, while pushing off its stragglers. 

The cast of 13 acquits itself very well, especially its principals. Chris Chapman is a Willy whose moods have come loose and can turn on a dime to show his wandering mind. Chris Ratti’s Biff is more hang-dog, self-deprecating and even whimsical than resentful, making his explosiveness more telling. 

David Koppel is a sanguine Happy, the “philandering bum” of a brother, always supportive and in denial. Koppel, the sole Equity actor in the cast, provides solid support in a crucial role. The brothers must play themselves as teenagers in Willy’s wayward recollections, and do so very well. Elinor Bell is admirable as Linda, the wife and mother of the Loman clan, a role that’s difficult, demanding great discretion. 

Stephen Steiner gives Willy’s neighbor, foil, and benefactor Charlie a light touch. Charlie and his son, Bernard (hazed by the Loman boys; well-portrayed by Eric O’Kelly), are the only two characters who are both successful and decent, as well as sympathetic and insightful.  

And Jonathan Ferro does justice to Willy’s boss, scion of the company’s founder, Howard Wagner, often portrayed as a nouveau-riche buffoon but here more as thoughtless, self-absorbed, and unable to handle Willy’s troubles and capriciousness. As Willy’s fabled brother and “super-ego” Ben, Steve Schwartz is ideal, an insouciant and prepossessingly self-dramatizing apparition. 

Willy’s constant clutching at Ben, begging him to stay and talk of their father, whom Willy barely recalls, only results in the “news” that he played flute, which Yahui Cathy Yang performs as well, linking and shading the tumbling vignettes in this rapidly shifting tragedy of the disparity between what’s outside and within. Death of a Salesman is playing its final two weekends on High Street, on the island of Alameda—a fine tribute to Arthur Miller, following his death last year. 

For more information, see www.altarena.org or call 523-1553.

The Bush-Cheney regime may represent a radical break with this nation’s traditions in many areas, but in making torture a central weapon in its “war on terror,” the current administration is simply building on a body of theory and practice that goes back more than half a century. 

That, at least, is the conclusion suggested by two new books on the modern history of American torture. 

A Question of Torture, by historian Alfred W. McCoy, traces the influence of “mind control” research conducted by and for the CIA in the 1950s in shaping the interrogation techniques used by American agents and allies ever since. 

Truth, Torture, and the American Way, by lawyer and human-rights advocate Jennifer K. Harbury, highlights parallels in the practices of U.S. government operatives and their local “assets” in the current conflict and in the civil wars that wracked Central America in the 1980s and early 1990s. 

While both books summarize the Bush administration’s record of brutality toward detainees, neither author offers new revelations in this area. As McCoy puts it, “There is no longer any need, well into the war on terror, to ask whether the United States has engaged in the systematic torture of suspected terrorists.” 

(If you are not already acquainted with the evidence, the best source remains Mark Danner’s 2004 compendium, Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib, and the War on Terror, supplemented by the new evidence that appear regularly on the Web sites of such organizations as Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, Amnesty International, and the American Civil Liberties Union.) 

The heart of McCoy’s book is his account of what he calls “a veritable Manhattan Project of the mind” coordinated by the CIA and carried out by behavioral scientists at leading universities and hospitals in the years 1950-1962. Some of the most lurid aspects of this research—such as the government’s experiments with LSD as a truth serum—have been reported before. 

But previous accounts have paid little attention to the real fruits of the program: the CIA and its academic front men made two discoveries that soon became the basis of the U.S. approach to the handling of enemy captives. The first was the devastating effect on the human personality of sensory disorientation, implemented through simple tools such as hoods, bright lights, and loud music. 

The second was the power of pain caused simply by forcing prisoners into unnatural positions for long periods of time. (McCoy and his sources call this “self-inflicted pain,” though I find that term misleading.) 

Together, the author argues, these discoveries amounted to “a major scientific turning point … the first real revolution in the cruel science of pain in more than three centuries.” 

Practically, they provided the conceptual foundation for a new approach he sums up as “psychological torture”—a way of delivering “a hammer-blow to the fundamentals of personal identity,” as he puts it, without breaking bones or spilling blood. 

CIA operatives translated these scientific insights into a set of procedures elaborated in a 1963 CIA manual, which in turn served as the basis for textbooks used later in CIA and U.S. military programs—including the infamous School of the Americas—where friendly locals from around the world were taught the techniques of counterinsurgency. 

In one of the most interesting sections of the book, McCoy shows that even as the U.S. government adopted a series of treaties and laws ostensibly outlawing torture, presidents from Reagan to Clinton insisted on language and “reservations” designed to provide subtle legal cover for the CIA-discovered approach. And as even a casual glance at accounts emerging from Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo suggests, these techniques have emerged in the 21st century as essential components in the George W. Bush administration’s handling of detainees. 

At times McCoy leans so heavily on his thesis that he seems to imply that “no-touch” torture has completely replaced physical pain in the American interrogators’ arsenal. He admits, however—and supplies plenty of confirming evidence from Vietnam, the Philippines, Latin America, and now Afghanistan and Iraq—that “under actual field conditions, the CIA’s psychological paradigm … was often supplemented by conventional physical tactics,” such as beating, burning, and electric shock. 

“With the physical thus compounding the psychological,” he writes in a passage that perhaps undermines his argument but matches the facts at hand, “medieval and modern methods sometimes seemed indistinguishable.” 

That’s an analysis I’m sure Harbury would accept. Compared to McCoy’s, her book is based less on documentary sources and more on the testimony of victims, and in the picture that emerges, there’s no doubt that old-fashioned physical torture plays a central role. 

Perhaps that’s because most of her examples come from Central America’s “dirty wars,” which make the current conflict look like a Sunday-school picnic. (Some 200,000 people were murdered or forcibly “disappeared” in Guatemala alone.) 

There’s plenty of evidence, though, that physical abuse has also been a common feature in the war on terror, even though the documented beatings and killings seem to have had less impact on American public opinion than the sexual humiliation practiced by Lynndie England and her friends. 

(Neither Harbury nor McCoy has much to say about the sexual dynamics that figure so centrally in the modern history of torture, nor about the ways the CIA—with help from Israel—has tried to “refine” its techniques to take advantage of specifically Muslim cultural sensitivities.) 

Many of the stories Harbury tells—including those of her late husband Everardo, a Guatemalan resistance leader kidnapped, tortured, and finally murdered by a team whose leader was on the CIA payroll, and of Sister Dianna Ortiz, a United States-born nun gang-raped and burned in 111 places—have been told before, including in Harbury’s previous books. But these horrifying reports—and the dozen other individual stories told in less detail here—bear retelling for the light they shed on the current situation, especially because nearly all the victims have testified that North Americans were directly involved in their ordeals. 

A Harvard-trained lawyer, Harbury also includes a useful summary of U.S. and international law on torture. On the one hand, she demonstrates the breadth and depth of legal strictures against the practice; on the other hand, she outlines the loopholes that have long ensured the CIA “de facto impunity for crimes against humanity.” 

Both Harbury and McCoy end their books with chapters making the case, in effect, that torture “doesn’t pay.” For one thing, they argue, history shows that it rarely produces useful information. Both authors devote special attention to demolishing the “ticking bomb” argument—the contention, regularly advanced by torture proponents (from Harvard’s Alan Dershowitz to Fox’s “24”) that it’s an effective and even necessary answer to terrorism. 

Both authors also remind us of torture’s many costs: its lasting physical and psychological effects on victims and their families, its corrupting influence on the men and women who carry it out, and the corrosive cultural effects it tends to have on the societies that experience it. On this score evidence McCoy presents from the Philippines is every bit as wrenching as Harbury’s from Central America. 

Neither author offers any advice on building a movement to force our government to abandon torture. All they do is give us a better appreciation of what we’re up against. The rest is up to us. 

Henry Norr was arrested in San Francisco on March 20 for taking part in civil disobedience, organized by a new Bay Area group called Act Against Torture (www.actagainsttorture.org), to protest torture, indefinite detention, and the war in Iraq. 

A QUESTION OF TORTURE: CIA Interrogation from the Cold War to the War on Terror 

By Alfred W. McCoy 

Metropolitan Books, 292 pages, $25 

TRUTH, TORTURE, AND THE AMERICAN WAY: The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture 

By Jennifer K. Harbury 

Beacon Press, 227 pages, $14

Frederick Crews’ latest book, Follies of the Wise: Dissenting Essays, will be published next week by Shoemaker & Hoard. 

Crews joined the UC Berkeley English Department in 1958 and retired as its chair in 1994. In the mid-’60s he shared the widespread ass umption that Freudian psychoanalytic theory was a valid account of human motivation, and he was one of the first academics to apply that theory systematically to the study of literature. 

But he soon developed misgivings, and he gradually came to regard F reudianism as a seductive pseudoscience that manufactures the “evidence” it purports to explain.  

Crews has continued to advance that point of view for several decades now, but it was his 1993 essay “The Unknown Freud,” triggering the most intense and voluminous controversy ever seen in the New York Review of Books, that made his name a household word. But he was already briefly famous in 1963 for his bestselling satire The Pooh Perplex, and a generation of students in the ‘70s and ‘80s, including many at Berkeley, knew him from his witty composition text The Random House Handbook. 

Crews’ change of heart about psychoanalysis convinced him that his loyalty shouldn’t belong to any theory but rather to empirical standards and the skeptical point of view. In the past dozen years he has brought that attitude to the study of various public enthusiasms, from the recovered memory craze, Rorschach tests, and belief in alien abductions to theosophy and “intelligent design” creationism. These, along with psychoan alysis in its latest guises, are among the Follies of the Wise skewered in his new collection of essays. 

Crews is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In Berkeley, he won a Distinguished Teaching Award and was named a Faculty Research L ecturer. On retiring, he was given the Berkeley Citation, and just recently he has been honored as a Berkeley Fellow. He lives in Berkeley with his wife of 46 years, Elizabeth Crews, a photographer who was born and raised here. They have two daughters and four grandchildren—some as close as El Cerrito, others as distant as Mexico. 

Crews is an avid skier, hiker, swimmer, motorcyclist, and runner who continues to compete in road races at age 73. 

Jake Fuchs: The essays collected in your new book discuss a wide assortment of “follies.” You bring to all these a skepticism that those who enjoy your work consider both acute and fair. Your detractors might prefer the adjectives “grouchy” and “obsessed.” There some particular urgency about these various topics, some of which seem pretty silly, that makes them worth your trouble and the attention of your readers? 

Frederick Crews: I don’t have any agenda when it comes to topics. Some get suggested by editors, others by people who send me books that might appeal t o my disposition. When I do lock onto a theme, I usually find that, however strange the beliefs in question may be, there are sophisticated academics who “fellow travel” with them for turf-conscious reasons of their own. That’s what really engages me: the abdication of common sense by people who have been given every opportunity to educate themselves in rational principles, but who consider rationality itself to be old hat. 

JF: One conclusion that can be drawn from your book is that it’s hard to keep a w ise folly down. Freud, for example, still matters to millions, despite decades of sharp criticism. And creationism, you suggest in one essay, is thriving after receiving the cosmetic treatment known as intelligent design. Do you think any real progress ha s been made in helping people to ... well, think? 

FC: Many of my fellow skeptics are utopians who look forward to a heaven-on-earth from which all illusions have been banished. My hunch, on the contrary, is that we’re heading into a world of economic and demographic dislocations, strife over dwindling natural resources, increased superstition and sectarian conflict, and vulnerability to horrendous catastrophes, some of which will be our own fault. I’m embarrassed for my species, which has made a great me ss but can’t seem to take responsibility for the enormous destruction that’s already well under way. But while I’m still here, I’d like to continue to speak up for values that I regard as universally human and “planetary.” 

JF: Let’s go into your past a b it and perhaps relate it to the present. In Follies of the Wise, you describe yourself as having been an “antiwar spokesman” during the Vietnam era. Were you a radical? Any misgivings about your activities then? Do you think they may have had a part in le ading your university or the academy in general down unfortunate paths? 

FC: Circa 1968, I was co-chair of Berkeley’s Faculty Peace Committee, and my advocacy of draft resistance made me susceptible to the same prosecution that was brought against Dr. Spo ck. We were both on the masthead of a militant organization called “Resist.” But I was a minor figure, nationally, and was accordingly left to speechify without hindrance.  

Yes, I thought of myself as a radical in the ‘60s, but when even moderate Republicans joined the antiwar cause around 1970, I felt that my activism wasn’t needed anymore. Since then I’ve been a garden-variety liberal, with no advice to offer except, of course, the obvious suggestion that “wars of choice” are stupid and profoundly un-American.  

I did worry, in the ‘60s, about advocating draft resistance when I myself was beyond draft age—but 55,000 Americans and about a million Vietnamese were being slaughtered for no reason, so some scruples had to be overridden. As for the universi ties and UCB in particular, I always opposed academic disruption and violence. In fact, that’s exactly where I parted company with the New Left. 

JF: More recently, I’ve heard you characterized in academic circles as a right-winger. Any comment? 

FC: That perception is a by-product of the “theory wars” that brought us deconstruction, poststructuralism, and the newer forms of psychoanalysis. By warning, right away, that those movements were anti-empirical, I marked myself in some circles as an opponent of the political causes that the gurus of “theory” imagined they were serving. Only now are some of their successors beginning to realize that when you disrespect evidence and reason, you render yourself politically irrelevant–indeed, ridiculous. And you also become incapable of responding to those who disagree with you except by name calling. 

JF: You began your career as a literary scholar; then, as a writer, if not as a teacher, you moved into other fields. However, the two most recent essays in Follies of the Wise are about Kafka and Melville and the criticism concerning them. Does this mark a return to your primal academic scene?  

FC: Both of those literary subjects were proposed by the New York Review. By now I do feel more comfortable analyzing trends and movements than trying to say something new about classic authors. The amount of reading that needs to be done for each new project is daunting. But I don’t agree that my “other fields” stand altogether apart from literary criticism. The so-called interdisciplinarity of academic criticism from the seventies until now has been shallow and vapid. Thus, when I continue to write about the circular nature of, say, Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, I’m not turning my back on the literature departments but trying to show them how they’ve strayed from the ground rules of sincere investigation. Literary study is in broad disrepute now, and I’m trying to put my finger on the reason. 

JF: Let’s talk about your athletic endeavors. You’ve had 25 first-place finis hes in races since turning 70. How do you account for that? 

FC: It’s longevity, not talent. The other mobile septuagenarians tend not to show up, and when they do, some of them wander off the course. 

JF: And the motorcycle? Isn’t it getting to be time to dismount for good? 

FC: I ride for one reason only, to find parking spaces in Berkeley. But it’s also a source of amusement, because, with my helmet on, I’m completely invisible to my academic colleagues. There is something very satisfying about that.  

FOLLIES OF THE WISE:  

DISSENTING ESSAYS 

By Frederick Crews 

Shoemaker & Hoard, 416 pages, $26 

n

In the 1950s, Albert Camus famously wrote, “There is but one truly philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.”  

The answer to this question, he admitted, changes constantly throughout life, depending on what is happening to a person. Such as? Even traumatic suffering —physical (pain of terminal illness), psychological (discrimination and persecution), or economic (hunger and homelessness)—doesn’t necessarily lead to suicide. Nevertheless, fiction tends to stick to these immediate triggers rather than to tackle any broad philosophical speculation.  

Suicide to end physical suffering or to achieve what we now call “death with dignity” seldom occurs in fiction. The only example I can think of is the syphilitic son in Ibsen’s Ghosts, who demands that his mother help him die before he sinks into dementia. The more frequent cause is psychic shock, as when Ophelia’s lover rejects her, then kills her father. 

Classic literature and drama, fantasizing historical figures, emphasized suicide for honor. The great general fell on his sword, cheating his victorious enemy of the opportunity to torture and dismember him, then festoon the town gates with his body parts. Slightly lesser people might also choose a suicide of honor, like the wife in Shakespeare’s poem “The Rape of Lucretia,” whose suicide regains both her and her husband’s honor.  

The suicide of remorse seems more human, though sometimes it is corrupted by petty emotions like plain old jealousy. Shakespeare’s Othello, declaiming “Say that I loved, not wisely, but too well,” sounds like the despairing drunk on the late-night news who shoots his ex-wife, his children, and himself “because I love her.” Contrast that with the pitiable suicide of Lady Macbeth, tortured by her role in turning her husband into a killing machine. 

Arthur Miller’s All My Sons gave us an even broader example of suicidal remorse, in the factory owner who faces up to the fact that his profiteering on making faulty parts caused the death of untold numbers of soldiers, and, indirectly, that of his own son. One suicide in modern fiction takes the remorse of an innocent ordinary person to a level worthy of the great Greek tragedies. 

In William Styron’s Sophie’s Choice, Sophie accompanies her mad lover into suicide as the only way to atone for the sin she committed—against her will—in the Nazi death camp. 

Fictional suicide also recognizes the more common tribulations of ordinary, middle-class people. Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, Flaubert’s Emma Bovary, and Kate Chopin’s Edna Pontellier (The Awakening) were three well-married women, who, having won the best place open to them, struggled to get out of it. Yet, each stepped off the narrow path of conformity only to find herself on the edge of an abyss she could not bridge. Ditto for Edith Wharton’s Lily Bart (House of Mirth), who defeats her own best efforts even to achieve a rich, unhappy marriage. Their solutions?—a speeding train, arsenic, a late-night swim seaward, an overdose. 

When I first read these four novels, I was impatient with these women. I wanted them to live up to their aspirations, shape up, hang in there, march “to the beat of a different drummer” on “the road less taken.” And so on. In other words—I was young. 

Some 20th century fiction gives us the suicide of honor as understood (and misunderstood) by more humble characters. One of these is the suicide of Little Jude Fawley, the son of Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure. Jude, the father, doesn’t even know of his son’s existence until Jude Jr. lands (from Australia) on Jude and Susan’s doorstep. After Little Jude’s arrival, Susan gives birth to two more children, while the family sinks deeper and deeper into poverty, to the very edge of homelessness. 

When Jude learns that Susan is pregnant yet again, he is astonished at these hapless adults, who don’t seem to know any more than he does about how or why they keep acquiring more mouths to feed. But he loves them, and wants them to survive, so he “solves” their problem by killing the two infants and himself, because, as his suicide note says, “we were too many.” 

When I first read Jude the Obscure I experienced a shock of recognition. All his life, my father (who never read novels) told, over and over again, the story of his arrival with his mother from Italy to join the father he hardly remembered, in a rocky mountain mining town that was worse than what they had left. Less than a year after his arrival, he came home from school one day to find his mother lying in bed with a new-born infant. 

My father burst into tears of outrage and despair: “We don’t even have enough to eat, and you go out and buy a baby!” In all the critical and psychological writings on the “pathology” of “strange” Little Jude, I have never read anything about the trauma suffered‚ throughout history, world-wide—by countless impoverished children, battered by irrational forces of nature and socio/economic abuses that no one can or will explain to them. 

Another obscure immigrant is the middle-aged father of Willa Cather’s My Antonia. In Bohemia, Mr. Shimerda had been a respected artisan, a reader, a musician, an honorable, amiable man who not only married the coarse, mean servant girl he had impregnated (instead of just paying her off, as she and everyone else would have preferred) but allowed her to nag him into going to America where their children (three or four of them by then) might have better chances. In a sod hut on the bleak plains of Nebraska, Mr. Shimerda’s violin sits mute in its case. 

No one has any use for his music or his craftsman skills or his love of poetry, and he has neither the skills nor the capital for farming. He has nothing but his beloved daughter. Antonía combines the physical endurance of her mother with the sensitivity of her father; she might just make it in this raw, unforgiving country—if no useless burden weighs her down. As the second ruthless Nebraska winter closes in on them, he cleans and dresses himself for burial, then quietly goes out to the barn and shoots himself. 

Mr. Shimerda’s death punctures the myth of the hardy pioneer, heroically taming the land, while incidentally driving out or killing indigenous people. His is the bitter reality for many in the masses of poor castoffs who made up the second wave (1840-1920) from Europe, the simultaneous waves from Asia—and far too many in the repeated waves that continue to cross and recross our southern border.  

Unlike the death of Little Jude, Mr. Shimerda’s suicide succeeds as a heroic sacrifice. In later years, as Antonía endures and prospers, she feels “closer to him, all the time” inspired by the spirit of her father—not hindered by the burden of this loving but depressed, displaced parent. But, if Shimerda’s suicide is Antonía’s gain, Cather seems to say, his death is our incalculable loss—how to measure the cost to a country that, until very recently had little use for a poor immigrant who played the violin but couldn’t last three hours behind a horse-driven plow? (My grandfather, I was told, had a fine singing voice and played many instruments, but I never heard them; by the time I was born, all music in him had been suffocated by silicosis.) 

I searched my memory in vain for a “suicide bomber” in fiction, a character who chooses death as part of what s/he believes is a purposeful social, political, or religious act of violence—an “honorable” murder/suicide. Even the martyrs in our religious myths are non-violent. (Samson? By the time he pulled down the Philistine temple, he didn’t have much of a life to throw away.) 

Maybe I was being too literal about protest suicide? An act of violence committed by a character who has about a 2 percent chance of escaping alive is actually a protest suicide. Richard Wright’s Bigger Thomas (Native Son) may not know consciously that his murder of a white woman is a murder/suicide protest against racism, but Wright made sure that we readers know it. 

Russell Banks’ fictionalized John Brown (Cloudsplitter) challenges the standard image of Brown as a madman and forces us to ask ourselves, who is mad, the people who find slave-owning tolerable, or the man driven to become a violent, live-or-die instrument of God’s judgment on this horror? 

Getting back to Camus, his play The Just Assassins gives us a young ill-suited would-be assassin of the Russian Tsar. He and his idealistic allies know that none of them are unlikely to survive this “just” and “necessary” act. And, speaking of pre-revolutionary Russia, the novels of Turgenev (Fathers and Sons, Rudin, On the Eve, Virgin Soil) give us portraits of suicide-bombers-in-the-making, who come close to a profile of present-day suicide bombers. 

According to non-fiction being written about these people, they are young, highly educated, accomplished members of the privileged classes; the women among them often have been gang-raped by foreign occupiers. Some are Arabs born in Europe, who feel segregated, shut out of positions equal to their training. The word “honor” occurs frequently in their suicide notes to family (as it did in notes by Japanese Kamikaze pilots during World War II).  

In other words, they resemble the ancient literary tradition of suicide by members of the leadership class, to retain or regain honor against a foreign enemy—like the defeated general or the violated Lucretia. They are educated and idealistic like Camus’ home-grown Just Assassins and our own American Weathermen of the 1960-70s. However, unlike those privileged white Americans (whose idealism held a component of deluded arrogance), these mostly non-western terrorists feel humiliated, dominated, and despised by an alien people, as Wright’s Bigger Thomas did. 

Somewhere, some fiction writer is probing the souls of these current suicidal warriors, stripping away layers of stereotype to show us a deeper reality than we can get in the horrors of the daily news. Maybe someone like Camus, who, while he completely rejected revolutionary violence (incurring the wrath of Sartre and the intellectual French Left) managed to portray the complete humanity and self-sacrificial “honor” of his “Just Assassins.” 

s

When Europeans came to the Berkeley area in 1772 they encountered the Native Americans known today as the Ohlones. Anthropologists speculate that several waves of immigration preceded them, and linguistic evidence suggests that they arrived here around 500 A.D. 

The 18th-century Spanish explorers and missionaries estimated that approximately 2,500 Ohlones lived along the edge of the bay between north Oakland and Martinez. In the 1960s UC Professor Sherburne Cook placed their number at between 3,000 and 4,500. From time to time archaeologists discover new evidence or reinterpret old evidence, and estimates of the Native American population and their length of residence change.  

However, new information doesn’t seem to alter our basic understanding of the Ohlones. Like many Native American Californians, they were hunter-gatherers. Acorns, berries, fish and game supplied them with food. Reeds supplied the material for their huts and canoes and for the skillfully woven baskets they used for storage. They were not agricultural people, and their needs did not require writing. Their way of life appears to have been unchanged for over a millennium.  

Some people today admire the Ohlones as proto-environmentalists who lived in harmony with nature, not harming the land, or killing off other species, or fighting destructive wars. They are not the first to have been charmed by the Ohlone way of life. It even cast a spell on that ruthless old pirate, Sir Francis Drake. 

John Collier summarized Drake’s description of the coastal tribes of Northern California as follows: “Arcadian people . . . whose natures could hardly be told save through the language of music; peoples joyously hospitable who seemed as free as birds, whose speech and colors were like the warbling and plumage of birds.” 

In 1772, when Fr. Juan Crespi saw the East Bay’s Native Americans for the first time, he wrote, “We found a village of heathen, very fair and bearded, who did not know what to do they were so happy to see us.” 

Fifty years later Spanish soldiers cleared them out of the East Bay, moving them to Mission Dolores in San Francisco. There the law of unintended consequences began to operate and the Ohlones were stricken by epidemics: measles in 1827, small pox in 1833, and cholera in 1834. 

After Mexico secularized the missions, many of the surviving Ohlones drifted south to Monterey, and a few returned to the East Bay. They did not fare well under American rule. Their numbers continued to decline, and eventually the Bureau of Indian Affairs declared the Ohlone tribe to be extinct because it had ceased to function as a genuine tribal organization. 

People of Ohlone descent in Northern California have petitioned for reversal of this decision, negotiated with museums for reburial of ancestral bones and artifacts, and taken sides—for and against—the beatification of Father Serra. 

Signs of Ancient Days 

In the greater Berkeley area there were once a number of Ohlone villages—at the intersection of Hearst and Fourth Street in Berkeley, at Claremont and Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, and at Shellmound Street and Ohlone Way in Emeryville. There may also have been a village on the University campus, near the faculty club, and another at Mortar Rock Park in North Berkeley.  

Actual signs of the ancient Ohlones can still be seen in three places. First, at Indian Rock Park visitors can find (in Trish Hawthorne’s words) “smooth cylindrical holes ... made by generations of Indian women as they ground the acorns which were the basis of their diet.” 

Next, in Emeryville near the multiplex movie theater, a mini-park has been created around the little hillock which is all that remains of an old shellmound. (Shell mounds are important signs of long-term residence. In Richmond there was one which is said to have been 30 feet high, 460 feet long, and 250 feet wide.) Finally, at Oakland’s California Museum there is a permanent display of Ohlone artifacts.  

Songs and Stories, Hopes and Dreams 

Although Native Americans in California tended to live in isolated groups, they did have a recognizably consistent culture, and what they had in common seems more important in defining it than incidental differences from place to place. As Robert Pearsall wrote, “It was chiefly in the works of the imagination that they came together, for magic and literature skipped easily across all their painstaking boundaries.” The same may be said of their music. 

Some early Native American songs were recorded on wax cylinders by anthropologists at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1997 the Franciscan Order released “Mission Music: A 200-Year Anthology,” a CD that includes two of these cylinders; both recordings have a strange, spectral sound, as though ghosts are singing somewhere down the street, just out of view. Some contemporary choral groups, such as the Choir of Angels, include ancient Native American songs in their repertoires (along with the beautiful baroque masses written by Franciscan composers and performed so famously by mission choirs). Though not specifically Ohlone, these do evoke the sounds of Native American culture. 

When Theodore Kroeber went to Monterey in 1901 to interview Ohlones, Maria Viviana Soto (1823-1916) sang an old tribal song for him. Its words, a spectacular image, are now one of the best known of the surviving Ohlone poems:  

See! I am dancing! 

On the rim of the world I am dancing! 

Kroeber heard several versions of their creation myth. One of the richest (reprinted in Theodora Kroeber’s Almost Ancestors) begins, “In the beginning there was no land, no light, only darkness and the vast waters of Outer Ocean where Earth-Maker and Great-Grandfather were afloat in their canoe.” 

It proceeds, as does Genesis, to the creation of day and night, land and water, and all living things, including people: “Earth-Maker took soft clay and formed the figure of a man and of a woman, then many men and women, which he dried in the sun and into which he breathed life: they were the First People.” 

“The Beginning of the World,” the version of the creation myth given him by Maria Viviana Soto, appears to be incomplete or mis-remembered. It substitutes Coyote, Eagle and Hummingbird for the Earth Maker and Great-Grandfather, and sounds more like the story of Noah than the creation of Adam and Eve. It begins: 

“When this world was finished, the Eagle, the Hummingbird, and Coyote were standing on the top of Pico Blanco [north of Big Sur]. When the water rose to their feet, the Eagle, carrying the Hummingbird and Coyote, flew to the Sierra de Gabilan [near Fremont]. There they stood until the water went down. Then the Eagle sent Coyote down the mountain to see if the world was dry. Coyote came back and said, ‘The whole world is dry.’ The Eagle said to him, ‘Go and look in the river. See what there is there.’ Coyote came back and said, ‘There is a beautiful girl.’ The Eagle said, ‘She will be your wife in order that people may be raised again.’” 

Then the story loses coherence, becoming briefly a naughty tale about Coyote’s ignorance of how to beget children, and ending with a trick played on him by his pregnant wife: 

“So she ran to the ocean. Coyote was close to her. Just as he was going to take hold of her, she threw herself into the water and the waves came up between them as she turned into a shrimp. Coyote, diving after her, struck only the sand. He said, ‘I wanted to clasp my wife but took hold of the sand. My wife is gone.’”  

The Native Americans created stories to explain the geography of the world around them. Charles Marinovich, a knowledgeable local historian and skillful researcher, found one about the bay’s origin in a rare book, Dr. Platon Vallejo’s Memoirs of the Vallejos (1915). Vallejo attributed it to Suisun Indians. 

They believed, he said, that long ago “the Central Valley was an immense deep freshwater sea that was divided from the ocean by a narrow barrier of hills and mountains. The sun stole an Indian princess and “as he rose in the sky, he stumbled and his arm pushed through the barrier and created the Straits of Yulupa, which we call the Golden Gate.” He dropped the girl, and “she rests where she fell, the legendary sleeping princess of Mount Tamalpais.” 

The myths of each tribe of Native Americans assured them that they lived at the center of the universe and that their gods meant well by them in this life and beyond. Many of the Native Americans—and the Ohlones may have shared some form of this—believed that after death their spirits were called to walk along a trail to the island of the dead, somewhere inland, in the middle of a river. A bridge reached from the land of the living to the shore of the island, and once the spirit crossed the bridge, it would be reunited with its dead friends and relatives. 

In Earth Abides, the novel in which George Stewart imagined the collapse of our civilization after a devastating plague, a small band of survivors here in Berkeley are the hope of mankind’s future. At the novel’s end, Stewart left them living the way the Ohlones did before the Spanish came. Maybe, while he was writing it, Stewart heard Coyote laughing in the hills.,

TUESDAY, MARCH 28 

“Circling the Globe—More Than a Dream,” with Bryan and Audrey Gillette at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

National Nutrition Month Cooking Demonstration with Michael Bauce on sautéeing greens, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Farmers’ Market, Derby St. at MLK. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

Berkeley High School Site Council meets at 4:30 p.m. in the Conference Room. 525-0124. 

Teen Babysitting Class at 4 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave. To register call 658-7853. www.bananasinc.org  

Raging Grannies of the East Bay invites new folks to come join us the 2nd and 4th Tues, of each month, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. to sing (any voice will do), help plan our next gig, or write outrageously political lyrics to old familiar tunes, and have fun at Berkeley Gray Panthers office, 1403 Addison St., in Andronico’s mall. 548-9696. 

Berkeley PC Users Group meets at 7 p.m. at 1145 Walnut St. near Eunice. 

Stress Less Seminar at 6:30 p.m. at New Moon Opportunities, 378 Jayne Ave., Oakland Free, but registration required. 465-2524. 

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

Tuesday Tilden Walkers Join a few slowpoke seniors at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the Little Farm for an hour or two walk. In case of questionable weather, call around 8 a.m. 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. 

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

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

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

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29  

Great Decisions Foreign Policy Association Lecture “Human Rights in an Age of Terrorism” with Allan Solomonow, Director, American Friends Service Committee, at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Cost is $40 for the eight lecture series. 526-2925. 

Total Solar Eclipse A live webcast from Turkey from 1:15 to 3:15 a.m. at Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd. Tickets are $5-$8. 336-7373.  

Oakland Unified’s Annual Science Fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd. Cost is $9-$13. 336-7300.  

Warriors Basketball Benefit for Habitat for Humanity at 7:30 p.m. at Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way. Discounted tickets available for $25 or $30, with $5 going to support the Habitat affiliate of your choice. 1-800-980-5434. www.bayareahabitat.org 

Early Childhood Education Workshop at 6:30 p.m. at the California Ballroom, 1736 Franklin St., Oakland. Sponsored by the Alameda County Office of Education. Free, but registration requested. 670-3175. 

“Empowering Yourself, Empowering Your Parents” with Donna Robbins at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 848-1960, ext. 246. 

Bayswater Book Club meets to discuss “The New Media Monopoly” by Ben H. Bagdikian, at 6:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble Coffee Shop, El Cerrito Plaza. 433-2911. 

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

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

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

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

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

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

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

vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, MARCH 30 

Artists With Heart Fundraiser for the homeless children at the Children’s Learning Center at Ursula Sherman Village. Reception with KQED’s Josh Kornbluth, live music and food donations from the East Bay’s top restaurants and art sale at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $100. 235-6502. 

“Harvest of Shame” Edward R. Murrow’s 1960 documentary on farmerworkers, will be shown in honor of Cesar Chavez Day at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Bring seat cushions and snacks. 548-2220. 

The Berkeley Retired Teachers Association, (CRTA Div. 49), holds its annual general meeting at 1 p.m. at the Northbrae Community Church, 841 The Alameda. The featured speaker will be Peggy Plett, Deputy CEO of the California State Teachers Retirement System, Benefits and Services. 

“9/11 The Myth and The Reality” A talk by David Ray Griffin at 7 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $10. 496-2700. www.pdeastbay.org/ 

f911MythReality 

Living with Threes and Fours at 7 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave. To register call 658-7853. www.bananasinc.org  

Oakland Unified’s Annual Science Fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd. Cost is $9-$13. 336-7300.  

Berkeley Public Library’s Teen Readers meets to discuss Douglas Adam’s “The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” at 4 p.m. at the Claremont Branch Library, 2940 Benvenue Ave. at Ashby. 

“Understanding Senior Care Options” Learn about residential care facilities and how to find the right one, residents rights when living in a residential care home, and other services, from noon to 2 p.m. at East Oakland Senior Center, 9255 Edes Ave. at 98th St., Oakland. 638-6878, ext. 103. 

Ask a Union Mechanic every Thursday, 4:30 tp 6 p.m. at Parker and Shattuck, until the strike is settled. They will offer advice on all makes of car. 

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, MARCH 31 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Sally Baker, producer of “Wee Poets” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $13.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. 526-2925.  

“Preparing Our Communities for the End of Cheap Oil” A presentation by the Post Carbon Institute at 7:30 p.m. at Laney College Forum, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Cost is $10. Day-long conference on Sat. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St. http://bayarea.relocalize.net, www.postcarbo.org 

Arts and Crafts Cooperative of Berkeley Gallery Spring Seconds Sale from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1652 Shattuck Ave. 843-2527. 

Historical & Current Times Book Group meets on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1249 Marin Ave. 548-4517. 

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. 

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

SATURDAY, APRIL 1 

Free Compost at the Farmers’ Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Center St. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Bring your own container, two buckets are suggested or large garbage bags. Backyard amateur gardeners only. Sponsored by the Ecology Center. 548-3333. 

Container Gardening and Design with Gail Yelland at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Landscape Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

Mt. Wanda Wildflower Walk in the hills where John Muir took his daughters. Meet at 9 a.m. in the Park and Ride lot at the corner of Alhambra Ave. and Franklin Canyon Rd., Martinez. Wear walking shoes and bring water. 925-228-8860. 

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.  

“And Still I Rise ...” A soul gathering and benefit for the people of New Orleans with music, poetry, dancing and film at 6 p.m. at Berkeley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Donations $15 and up. 415-864-2321. 

Progressive Democrats of the East Bay meets to discuss clean money and electoral reform at 12:30 p.m. at Temescal Library, 5205 Telegraph. 636-4149. www.pdeastbay.org 

Arts and Crafts Cooperative Gallery Spring Seconds Sale from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sat. and Sun. at 1652 Shattuck Ave. 843-2527. 

East Bay Atheists Berkeley meets at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge, 3rd floor meeting room. We will watch a video of Sam Harris speaking on his book, “The End of Faith.” 222-7580. 

Kids Day at Studio Rasa from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with movement, yoga and dance classes, at 933 Parker St. Cost is $10. 843-2787. www.studiorasa.org 

Free Craniosacral Self Care Techniques with Dr. Raleigh Duncan from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave.  

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. www.nativeplants.org 

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. 

SUNDAY, APRIL 2 

El Cerrito Historical Society with guest speaker Richard Schwartz on his new book “Earthquake Exodus, 1906” at 2 p.m. at the El Cerrito Senior Center, 6510 Stockton Ave., just behind the El Cerrito Library. www.elcerritowire.com/history 

97th Anniversary of Philip Temple CME Church, with a talk by Rev. Charles Haynes at 3 p.m. at 3233 Adeline St. 655-6527. 

Hands-On Bicycle Clinic on bicycle safety inspections from 10 to 11 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Free. 527-4140. 

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

“Are You Good Enough to be Published?” a workshop with Alan Rinzler at 3 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Telegraph Ave. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

Tibetan Buddhism with Bob Byrne on “Deepening Meditation” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com  

Ancient Tools for Successful Living at 10:30 a.m., and the following three Sun. in April at 5272 Foothill Blvd. at Fairfax, Oakland. Cost is $8-$20. 533-5306. 

MONDAY, APRIL 3 

United Nations Association Film Festival “Statement of Hope and Courage” at Pacific Film Archive, UC Campus. Tickets are $8-$10. 849-1752. unaeastbay@sbcglobal.net 

Green Business Discussion with green business leaders at 7 p.m. at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. Free. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

“Connect” To help connect transitional age youth to services and other experiential activities from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Lutheran Church of the Cross, 1744 University Ave., at McGee.  

“Healing from Sexual Abuse” with author Carolyn Lehman at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Book. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

“How to Expand Your Mind- Body Connection” at 5:30 pm. in the Rose Room at Mercy Retirement Center, 3431 Foothill Blvd., Oakland. Cost is $30 or $120 for the entire series. 534-8547, ext. 666. 

Introduction to Meditation at 6:45 p.m. at the Bay Zen Center, 315 Alcatraz near College Ave. Cost is $10. 596-3087. www.bayzen.org 

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. 

McGee Avenue Toastmasters meets on the first and third Mondays of the month at 7:30 p.m. at McGee Ave Baptist Church, 1640 Stuart St. 501-7005. 

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

ONGOING 

Free Tax Help—United Way’s Earn it! Keep It! Save It! program provides free filing assistance to households that earned less than $38,000 in 2005. To find a free tax site near you, call 800-358-8832 or visit www.EarnitKeepitSaveit.org 

Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour is seeking volunteers who will spend a morning or afternoon greeting tour participants and answering questions at the free native plant garden tour, featuring sixty-four gardens located throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties on Sunday, May 7, 2006. Volunteers can select the garden they would like to spend time at by visiting the “Preview the 2006 Gardens” section at www.BringingBackTheNatives.net 

Public Art Opportunities Request for Entries The City of Berkeley is looking for artists for the 2006 Civic Center Art Competition and Exhibition. Entries are due April 18. For details contact the Civic Arts Program, 981-7533. 

Artwork for the Corporation Yard Gates Request for Proposals Applications are due April 3. For details call the Civic Arts Program at 981-7533. 

Proposal for a Mural in Tribute to Maudelle Shirek in Old City Hall. Artists are requested to submit proposals by March 31. For details contact the Civic Arts Program, 981-7533. 

Albany Library Free Drop-in Homework Help for students in third through fifth grades, Mon. - Thurs. from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Emphasis is placed on math and writing skills. No registration is required. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

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

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

CITY MEETINGS 

Creeks Task Force meets Mon. April 3, at 7 p.m. 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., April 3, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Manuel Hector, 981-5510. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/peaceandjustice 

Commission on the Status of Women meets Wed., April 5, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Tasha Tervelon, 981-5190. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/women 

Planning Commission meets Wed., April 5, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Janet Homrighausen, 981-7484. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/planning 

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs., April 6, at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5400. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/housing 

Landmarks Preservation Commission meets Thurs. April 6, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Gisele Sorensen, 981-7419. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/landmarks 

Public Works Commission meets Thurs., April 6, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jeff Egeberg, 981-6406. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/publicworks 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., April 6, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/zoning   

A couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail message from Susan Schwartz, president of Friends of Five Creeks, about a recent sighting: two pairs of steelhead that had followed Codornices Creek in from the Bay, as far upstream as Masonic Avenue, where they appeared to be attempting to spawn. 

They were good-sized fish, 24 inches long, with the classic silvery coloration of this ocean-going variety of rainbow trout. The females were trying to dig redds—depressions in the streambed—for their eggs. Unfortunately, concrete rubble, which is all the steelhead had to work with, is not the best substrate for spawning. But you have to give them credit for making the effort. 

Emma Gutzler, Restoration Coordinator for the Urban Creeks Council, was there with her videocamera, and you can see a short clip of the event on UCC’s web site (www.urbancreeks.org/steelheadCodornicesMar06.mpg), or on Friends of Five Creeks’ site (www.fivecreeks.org). 

Gutzler says this was the first documented sighting of spawning steelhead this far up Codornices. “Everybody knew we had resident rainbow trout there,” she says. 

But the largest trout recorded in a fish survey last fall were only nine inches long; the two-footers were definitely not there before the winter rains. They hung around for at least three days, after which a new bout of rain increased the turbidity of the creek and discouraged fishwatchers.  

What’s the difference between a steelhead and a regular rainbow? 

They belong to the same species, Oncorhynchus mykiss, but the taxonomy below the species level is fiendishly complicated. The basic distinction, though, is that steelhead, like their salmon relatives, spawn in freshwater and mature at sea. Fish that divide their time between fresh and salt water are called diadromous. Steelhead and 13 other California species, including sturgeon, striped bass, and some lampreys, are anadromous. 

Catadromous fish, like the eels of eastern North America and Europe, mature in streams and rivers and breed at sea—in the Sargasso Sea, in the case of the eels. California, as luck would have it, has none of these interesting and tasty fish. 

But we do have a half-dozen discrete populations of steelhead that are classified as evolutionarily significant units (ESUs, in conservation parlance). They’re all in the subspecies O. m. irideus, but each group is genetically distinctive enough to be treated separately for management purposes, although there’s apparently some gene flow among them. 

From north to south, steelhead ESUs have been described for the Klamath Mountains, the North Coast, the Central Valley, the Central Coast, the South/Central Coast, and the South Coast. Some of these populations are further divided into winter and summer runs, based on the timing of spawning. The steelhead in Codornices likely belonged to the Central Coast stock, all winter-spawners with an historic range from the Russian River to Aptos Creek in Santa Cruz County.  

Unlike Pacific salmon, steelhead may spawn more than once in their lives—up to four times if their luck holds. The mature males that accompany the females upstream meet competition from smaller precocial males called jacks that have spend only a few months at sea, and even smaller parr males that have never left their natal stream. 

The little guys, collectively known as sneakers, will try to fertilize the female’s eggs while the mature male guarding her is distracted. Schwartz and Gutzman said the steelhead in Codornices attracted smaller trout; they may have been sneakers, or they may have been looking for a snack. One fish’s progeny can be another’s protein. 

The whole steelhead-rainbow business is fraught with irony. Thanks to introductions, non-migratory rainbows are now found in previously troutless streams and lakes all over California, and on every continent except Antarctica. You can fish for rainbows in Hawaii, in Tasmania, on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion. But habitat loss—from urbanization, dams, diversions, flood control projects, agriculture—has brought the anadromous steelhead to the brink of extinction. 

The Central Coast population declined by 85 percent between 1960 and 1997, when it was finally listed as threatened by the National Marine Fisheries Service, and UC Davis biologist Peter Moyle says there must have been significant losses even before 1960 due to all the “insults to watersheds” over the previous 150 years. 

Creek activists have done heroic work in Codornices Creek and elsewhere to help the steelhead recover. As Schwartz says: “Nature will come back if we just open the door.”  

Volunteers have been restoring habitat along the creek for 15 years, and CALFED and the State Water Resources Control Board have funded a Codornices Creek Watershed Restoration Action Plan with steelhead in mind.  

It was something of a shock, then, when NMFS deleted Codornices and most of the Bay’s other tributaries from the critical habitat designated for the Central Coast steelhead last September. Only Alameda Creek made the final cut. 

UCC Executive Director Steve Donnelly responded to the proposed changes in March: “The conservation biology logic of wiping dozens of watersheds, including those which we have labored to revitalize over the past 20 years, from the scheme for recovering Central California Coast steelhead escapes us completely. When did ‘putting all your eggs in one basket’ make conservation biology sense?” 

The agency was unswayed. Its final rule described Codornices as having “low habitat quantity and quality, low restoration potential, no unique attributes, and small [steelhead] population size.” 

That also went for other East Bay streams, from Pinole to Suisun Bay, and for Sonoma and Marin watersheds. 

Critical habitat may be a moot issue if Richard Pombo’s hatchet job on the Endangered Species Act makes it through the Senate, of course. But it’s played a vital part in constraining destructive development on federal land, or where federal funding or permitting is involved.  

In any case, those steelhead didn’t know or care that the feds had written off their creek. It still smelled right to them. The door had been opened, and they came on in.  

›

FRIDAY, MARCH 24 

THEATER 

Berkeley Rep “Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell” at 8 p.m. in the Roda Theater. Tickets are $45-$59. Runs through April 16. 647-2949.  

Black Repertory Group Theater “Judgement Day” Where Are You Gonna Run? at 6 p.m. Fri. and Sat. at 3201 Adeline. Tickets are $20-$25. 916-613-6165. 

Central Works “Shadow Crossing” Thurs. - Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through March 26. Tickets are $9-$25. 558-1381. www.centralworks.org 

“(The 99 Cent) Miss Saigon” at 7:30 p.m. at Willard Middle School Metalshop Theater, 2425 Stuart St. through Mar. 25. Tickets are $5-$15. 547-8932. 

Opera Piccola’s Reality Tour at 9:30 a.m. at Paul Robeson Visual and Performing Arts High School, on the Fremont Federation Campus, 4610 Foothill Blvd., Oakland. 658-0967. www.opera-piccola.org 

Shotgun Players “Bright Ideas” Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. to April 23. Tickets are $15-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

FILM 

Heroic Grace: The Chinese Martial Arts Film at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Sharon Smith and Phil Gasper discuss “Subterranean Fire: A History of Working-Class Radicalism in the U.S.” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

Ada Limón and Kaya Oakes, poets, at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Mary Elizabeth Berry introduces “Japan in Print: Information and Nation in the Early Modern Period” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Zorro Remixed Dance and theater in conjunction with the Berkeley Youth Arts Festival at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. 644-6893. www.berkeleysrtcenter.org 

All Ages Hip Hop Concert with Crank Jai, Blayze McKee, Influence and others at 9 p.m. in the East Pauley Ballroom, UC Campus. Benefit for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Tickets are $10 and available only in advance at http://umca.berkeley.edu/calbattles.html 

Oakland East Bay Symphony performs Elgar, Beethovan and Mozart at 8 p.m. at Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. Pre-concert lecture at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are $15-$60. 652-8497. www.oebs.org 

What’s Up!? Aerial Dance Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 3 p.m. at Studio 12, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $10-$15. 587-0770. www.movingout.org  

Son con Trova: A Celebration of Contemporary Latino Songwriters and Music, with Trova sin Traba at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12-$14. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

James Gilman, tenor, and Cara Bradbury, piano, perform Schubert’s “Winterreise” at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Cost is $12. 848-1228. 

Cesaria Evora, Cape Verdean morna, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$48. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Ajamu Akinyele with Gemini Soul at 4:30 p.m. at Borders Books, 5800 Shellmound St., Emeryville, and at 6:30 p.m. at Starbucks,1600 Shattuck Ave. 848-7155. 

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

Stompy Jones at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Deborah Levoy, singer/songwriter, at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Angie Stevens, indie alt country, at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 644-2204.  

Caren Armstrong at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Matt Renzi Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

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

Akimbo, An Albatross, Last Clear Chance at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Girl Fest Bay Area with Ali Wong, Velocity Circus, La Paz and others at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 548-1159.  

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

Guru Garage at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

SATURDAY, MARCH 25 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Lydia Mills, songs, games and puppets in Spanish, at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

East Bay Children’s Theater, “Cinderella’s Glass Slipper” at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m at James Moore Theatre, Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St. Tickets are $7. 655-7285. 

EXHIBITIONS 

Berkeley Celebrates “Si Se Puede” in Homage to César Chávez Poster exhibit at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. Through March 30. 981-6107. 

“Still Present Pasts” A collaborative exhibition on Korean Americans and the “Forgotten War” Intergenerational discussion at 1 p.m. at Pro Arts, 550 Second St., Oakland. 763-4361. 

FILM 

Asian American Film Festival “Café Lumiere” at 4:45 p.m. and Chinese Martial Arts Films at 7 and 9:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Brian Fies provides honesty, emotion and humor in his book of cartoons “Mom’s Cancer” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Rhythm & Muse Open Mic at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893. 

Justus Ballard, Henry Baum, Laurence Dumortier, Mary Rechner and Carol Treadwell read from their fiction at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Cello Recital in conjunction with the Berkeley Youth Arts Festival at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. 644-6893. www.berkeleysrtcenter.org 

Helda Wilking, contemporary recorder music at noon at A Cheerfull Noyse, 1228 Solano Ave., Albany. 524-0411. 

Healing Muses “A Celebration of Robert Burns,“ at 8 p.m. at Parish Hall, St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany. Venue not wheelchair accessible. Tickets are $15-$18. 524-5661. www.healingmuses.org  

Pacific Mozart Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. Free. 981-6100. 

“Dangerous Beauty” Hip-hop, modern, African and jazz dance, with spoken word and rap performed by Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company at 7:30 p.m. at Malonga Casquelourde Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. Tickets are $6-$20. 597-1619. 

Cesaria Evora, Cape Verdean morna, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$48. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Seething Brunswicks at 8 p.m. at the Lucre Lounge, 2086 Allston Way. Cost is $8. Benefit for Berkeley Community Media. 

Anything Goes Chorus 25th Anniversary Concert with jazz, pop, Broadway and world music at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison at 27th St., Oakland. Tickets are $15, children 12 and under $10, at the door.  

What’s Up!? Aerial dance performance at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 3 p.m. at Studio 12, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $10-$15, and must be purchased in advance. 587-0770.  

“The Waters of March” folk, jazz and a capella harmonies with Mary Ford and friends at 7:30 p.m. at Pacific School of Religion Chapel, 1798 Scenic Ave. Suggested donation $10-$25. 704-7729.  

Son con Trova: A Celebration of Contemporary Latino Songwriters and Music, with Son Sabrosón at 9 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $12-$14. 849-2568.  

Jamie Davis & Mark Little Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

West African Highlife Band at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 9 p.m. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054.  

Girl Fest Bay Area with X-Factor, Rachel Kann, Jennifer Johns and others at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

Christina Kowalchuck, Judea Eden and others, indie folk, poprock, at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 644-2204.  

Joshua Eden and The Blank Tapes at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Matt Morrish Quartet at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Barbara Higbie at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Unjust, Omissa, Nuclear at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0886.  

Rhoda Benin at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

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

Alan Smithline, country blues at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

All Shall Perish, Suffocate, The Assailant at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, MARCH 26 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Now-Time Venezuela: Worker Controlled Factories” A multi-screen projection by Dario Azzellini and Oliver Ressler, opens at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Discussion with the artists at 2 p.m. 642-0808. 

“Dance Anywhere” Photographs and video from 2005 at 2 p.m. at 8th Street Studio, 2525 Eighth St.  

FILM 

The Wide Angle Cinema of Michael Brault “The Times That Are” at 3 p.m. “The River Schooners” at 5:20 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Son con Trova: A Celebration of Contemporary Latino Songwriters Songwriting Workshop hosted by Lichi Fuentes at 12:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. 849-2568.  

Poetry Flash with Sandra Stone and Barbara Tomash at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

What’s Up!? Aerial Dance at 3 p.m. at Studio 12, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $10-$15. 587-0770. www.movingout.org  

Prometheus Symphony Orchestra, with young cellist Paul Hyun, winner of the Khuner Competition, at 3 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave., Oakland. Admission is free, donations requested. 

Marcelle Dronkers, soprano, Larry London, clarinet at 4 p.m. at All Souls Episcopal Church, 2220 Cedar St. A benefit concert for Children’s Hospital. Donation $7-$25. 527-6202. 

Pacific Collegium, works of twentieth-century a cappella choral literature at 3 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Tickets are $8-$18. 459-2341.  

Chamber Music Sundaes with San Francisco Symphony Principal Cellist Michael Grebanier at 3:15 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $9-$21. 415-584-5946.  

“Dangerous Beauty” Hip-hop, modern, African and jazz dance, with spoken word and rap performed by Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company at 3 p.m. at Malonga Casquelourde Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. Tickets are $6-$20. 597-1619. 

Steve Seskin, Brian Joseph, Kenny Edwards at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Vadim Repin, violin, and Nikolai Lugansky, piano, at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $34-$58. 642-9988.  

Jewish Music Festival Comunity Music Day with Josh Kornbluth and Ira Levin from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the BRJCC. Tickets are $7-$24. 415-276-1511. 

Mario Correa’s Brazilian Soul Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Celia Malheiros, Brazilian vocalist, at 4:30 at the Jazz 

school. Cost is $15. 845-5373.  

Head-Royce School Jazz Combo and Jazz Choir at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Myra Chaney and Kristan Willits at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Funeral Diner, Racebannon, Gospel at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

MONDAY, MARCH 27 

EXHIBITIONS 

Hideo Hagiwara “Mount Fuji Woodblock Prints” opens at the IEAS Lobby, 2223 Fulton St., 6th Floor, and runs through May 19. Sponsored by the Institute of East Asian Studies. http://ieas.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Carol Jameson will read from “Trollope in Divine Valley” a contemporary Victorian soap opera, at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Meet the Kellermans: The First Family of Crime Fiction with authors Jonathan Kellerman, Faye Kellerman and first-time author Jesse Kellerman at 6:30 p.m. at Ristorante Raphael, 2132 Center St. Dinner is $75. Benefit for the American Friends of the Israeli Red Cross. 644-9500.  

Poetry Express theme night: Poems About Women, with guest Selah Geissler at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Diana Rowan, 3 harps, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Zilber-Muscarella Quartet and Invitational at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. 

TUESDAY, MARCH 28 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Tell it on Tuesday” Story- 

telling with Lauren Crux, Kate Frankle, and others at 7:30 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $8-$12 sliding scale. www.juliamorgan.org 

Rosalind Wiseman gives parenting advice in “Queen Bee Moms & Kingpin Dads” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Swamp Coolers at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Ellen Hoffman Trio and Singers’ Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Randy Craig Trio at 7:30 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazzschool at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Debra Dean introduces her new novel “The Madonnas of Leningrad” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Music for the Spirit with Ron McKean on harpsichord at 12:15 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555. 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra with Garrick Ohlsson, piano, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $10-$54. 841-2800. www.berkeleysymphony.org 

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

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

Blue Roots at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054.  

Five & Dime Jazz, The Great Auk at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 644-2204.  

Orquestra Bakan at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa dance lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

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

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

THURSDAY, MARCH 30 

FILM 

The Enchanting World of Jacques Demy “Lola” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Tom Tomorrow introduces his first compilation of cartoons “Hell in a Handbasket: Dispatches From the Country Formerly Known as America” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

Betty Lucas, life coach, introduces “Many Roads to Love” at 7 p.m. at A Great Good Place for Books, 6120 La Salle Ave., Oakland, 339-8210.  

Word Beat Reading Series with Phillip Deitch and Susan Birkeland at 7 p.m. at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Children’s Choral Festival at 12:30 p.m. at Regents’ Theater, Holy Names University. Free. 436-1234. 

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, music of Zulu mine and factory workers, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$46. 642-9988.  

Ellis Paul at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Adam Blankman and his Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Travis Jones & Friends at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Michael Bluestein Duo at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Selector with Black Edgars Musicbox at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277.

Berkeley husband-and-wife filmmaking team Cliff Orloff and Olga Shalygin have taken several trips to Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, and their most recent visit has resulted in a poignant film about the lives of Afghan women. Cut From Different Cloth: Burqas and Beliefs, a one-hour documentary, will air on PBS at 5 p.m. Sunday and again at 8 p.m. Thursday. 

The filmmakers focus their attention on Hasina, a 27-year-old woman who is, as the film states early on, Afghanistan’s equivalent of a radical feminist. 

The film features interviews with Afghan men and women and government officials, but it is at its best when it centers on Hasina. She is a remarkable woman, walking a delicate line between defiance and devotion. She is intelligent, sensitive, articulate, charming and strong. There is no ill will in her stance toward her culture’s restrictive mores; there is only the desire to be true to herself, to be true to womanhood and women’s rights, to do right by her family even when they think it’s wrong. Hasina is too humble to speak of herself as setting an example, as blazing a path, but that is essentially her role; she and other Afghan women like her are sacrificing a great deal to chip away at the barriers that their culture places before them. 

The filmmakers employ an interesting device: Orloff and Shalygin took their 27-year-old daughter Serena with them, to see the country and its women through her eyes as she lived with Hasina for two months. The approach has its rewards—a genuine friendship seems to take shape, and Serena’s presence does provide a vantage point the average American viewer can probably relate to—but it is hardly necessary. There is no need to set up an east-west conflict, for there is more than enough conflict in Hasina’s heart to carry this film. In a series of painful and poignant moments, Hasina’s brothers and sisters discuss their relationship with her and the ramifications of her lifestyle, revealing the unresolved conflicts between family and society.  

The film portrays much of modern-day Afghanistan’s repressive climate as the result of 25 years of warfare, combined with a backlash against the permissiveness of the country’s mid-century Communist era. In a society of great internal strife, women have essentially become the battleground. It’s as if the country’s men have for so long felt so beset upon by outsiders that they have compensated by exerting control over their women. 

The situation poses a difficult and potentially dangerous dilemma: Women must consent to oppression out of compassion for the oppressors. They do not necessarily walk in fear of outsiders or of the Taliban; they walk in fear of the shame they bring to their fathers and brothers should they step out of line. They obey out of love for the men who control them. Defiance is not a stick in the eye of Islam or the Taliban—it is a swipe at the very family that clothes, houses and feeds them. It takes a strong woman to walk that line, to retain the love of and for her family while setting her own path. And though governments may set more enlightened policies and police may enforce them, it is these acts of defiance and devotion that gradually win hearts and minds.  

What is especially maddening is watching a country in such need of strong, talented people as it ignores, stifles and condemns such a wide swath of its population—among them many of the country’s most potentially valuable leaders. It is painful to see Hasina, a woman of such depth, of such charm, of such intelligence, competence and ambition, go unappreciated by her family, by her culture, by her country. What a waste of potential, what a crime to condemn a person of such talent and grace.  

Cut From Different Cloth paints a picture of an Afghanistan that is regressing, that has been torn asunder and is slipping backward in a retreat from modernity. This a hardly a blueprint for rebuilding the country or healing its wounds, and it leaves the viewer with the impression that it is a nation that has little chance of making itself whole again if it cannot bear to embrace its better half. 

Cut From Different Cloth 

Produced and directed by Olga Shalygin and Cliff Orloff. 

Airs on PBS at 5 p.m. March 26 and at 8 p.m. March 30.?

Brian Jones seems all but forgotten these days, at least outside his native England. He founded the Rolling Stones, but they passed him by, leaving him to gather moss, or at least ingest a great deal of grass.  

Jones essentially created white-boy blues, using his band to bring the sounds of American blues to a British audience at a time when American blues artists were obscure, even in their own country. Stoned, opening today (Friday) at Shattuck Cinemas, depicts Jones’ rise and fall, from his childhood in upper-class Cheltenham to the dizzying heights of rock ‘n’ roll success to his ignominious death at the bottom of his swimming pool.  

The opening credits show the Stones performing at a small club, and the staging of the scene is indicative of Jones’ role in the band: The rest of the Stones are in dark clothes and standing in the shadows while Jones wears a white shirt and is illuminated by the spotlight. This is an exaggerated depiction for the sake of dramatization, but check out virtually any of the band’s Jones-era record covers and you’ll see precisely this sort of composition. Jones is almost always dressed differently and standing apart from or in front of the other band members. He was their leader, their founder, the heart and soul of the group. But not for long.  

Jones was basically a blues purist; if it had been up to him, the Stones might never have done anything other than cover blues and rock ‘n’ roll classics. His decline as leader of the band began once their producer, Andrew Loog Oldham, convinced the band that they must start writing original material if they wanted to have a future.  

The problem for Jones was that he couldn’t write. He was a remarkable musician; he could seemingly pick up any instrument and learn to play it within an hour or two. Anything out of the ordinary on those early Stones albums is more than likely Brian’s doing: marimba, sitar, dulcimer. His talent lay in transforming the raw materials of his bandmates’ work into something quite unique. He was not a songwriter, but an interpreter.  

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards took on the songwriting duties and excelled, turning out a string of blues-based rock and pop classics and catapulting the band to the top of the charts, positioning them as the Beatles’ primary rivals. Stoned hints at this but doesn’t overtly express it, and this is perhaps the film’s most significant flaw: It speaks to the initiated, to those who already know the tale. Those who don’t may find the film’s plot points and timeline confusing and the characters’ motivations a bit vague. 

Along with the creative responsibilities, Jagger and Richards began assuming leadership roles within the band, further alienating Jones. The band was maturing, developing its talents and range, while Jones himself was essentially stagnating, content to wallow in success and excess. His powerful ego, combined with his fragility and insecurity and growing dependence on drugs, quickly made him a liability as his total immersion in the benefits of fame led to increasingly erratic behavior. And it certainly didn’t help matters when Jones’ longtime girlfriend Anita Pallenberg left him for Keith Richards.  

The movie is flawed from the start in that it takes one possible scenario for Jones’ death and plays it through, the scenario being that Jones was murdered. An apparently unsubstantiated 1993 deathbed confession by Jones’ building contractor provides the rough outline of the musician’s demise. A more interesting film could have been made without taking a position on Jones’ death, instead depicting the mystery and intrigue that surrounded the tragedy, and the circumstances that launched a troubled rock star into martyrdom. Biopics often make this mistake, replacing the messiness and ambiguity of life with simple plot resolutions and facile explanations of character and motivation.  

First-time director Woolley makes a few unfortunate rookie mistakes. For whatever reason, there are no Stones songs on the soundtrack, nothing to denote Jones’ actual contribution to the music of the era. Instead we hear plenty of his influences—Robert Jones, Muddy Waters, etc.— and that’s appropriate. But we also hear several current artists performing very modern versions of blues classics, and the juxtaposition can be jarring. It is likely meant to demonstrate Jones’ influence on the blues-based artists who followed him, but it doesn’t quite work. 

There is also a completely moronic sequence, shot like a music video, in which Gregory lip-synchs his way through “Not Fade Away” during a montage sequence of significant moments in the life of Brian. The scene threatens to sink the film with camp and cheek and should have been left on the cutting room floor. 

But for what it is, the movie is quite good. The direction is for the most part effective and the performances are solid. Luke de Woolfson as Jagger, though it’s only a small part, nails the singer’s mannerisms, off stage and on. And Leo Gregory brings out the fierceness and fragility of a man who acquired all the fame and fortune he could have wanted, yet immersed himself in it to the point of drowning.  

Stoned 

Director: Stephen Woolley  

Cast: Leo Gregory, Paddy Considine, David Morrissey, Tuva Novotny, Amelia Warner, Ben Whishaw, Monet Mazur, Luke De Woolfson, James D. White 

Playing: Shattuck Cinemas

In front of an enormous projection of the Bear Flag, alternately in full color and eerie x-ray blue, morphing into the view through the windshield of a fast superhighway, there’s a masked man seated onstage at “The Berkeley Rep of Alta California”—but he bears no resemblance to the masked man of the title, a kind of processed Latino Lone Ranger. This one’s not caped in black with black silk mask and mounted on a saddle. This figure’s in restraints, effaced (while a bitchy burlesque nurse tries to force m eds on him, then goes for the suppositories) mumbling “I’m the Wal-Mart price slasher! ... one man can start a revolution or recall a standing governor ...” And when a couple of Homeland Security-type spooks put him through whatever degree, demanding “Why did you threaten the governor? Who are you really?”, the man in a bind replies, “I’m bi-cultural, bi-curious and bipolar ... My California is now an endless series of strip malls ... I am Zorro! I must be Zorro! A muhajadeen Zorro! I have my own guitar flourish! There was a time when I was a normal Chicano ...” 

So, starting out from the aftermath in a kind of upside-down One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, we enter backwards into an odyssey of high stakes and cultural kitsch, of identities shifting faster than Christopher Acebo’s ultra-mobile sets and Alexander V. Nichols’ dynamic lights and cinema-surround effects, as a Latino writer engaged to write a play about Zorro checks into the El Camino Real, the oldest motel in the world, encountering a phantasm agoria of Old California icons. Routines play out and one-liners fly in Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell.  

It’s post-agit-prop spectacle, as deliberately 2-D as a comic strip, and very amusing in its ricocheting quips that cover the statewide scene and wha t’s thought and said about it, pilloried with the same poses struck by commentators and spectators alike. Richard Montoya of Culture Clash, playing the halfhearted scribbler (“Just because you got no talent don’t mean you can’t write”) is coached and prov oked by the Calamity Jane-like 200 Year Old Woman (a juicily comic Sharon Lockwood) who’s seen (and done) them all, as well as Don Ringo (canny Herbert Siguenza of the Clash), constantly striking a skewed pose and reiterating his battlecry: “I am the firs t Chicano!” There’s also a grisly Bear-a-pist (Clasher Ric Salinas), a kind of Jungian-of-Nature, who advises the bewildered playwright (who has said, “God is dead—I know, because I Googled God!”) that even the Zorro romance, from a cheap 1920s novel, has its place in the scheme of things. “When do myths become real? When people believe in them,” he says. Coming from a bear—the one they named the Bear Republic after?—it’s hard to quibble with.  

Vignettes fly by as the set shifts in and out of clever li ve-action parodies of the big-Z films, bathed in cinematic flicker. One, a silent with swordplay and supertitled intertitles, is somehow reminiscent of Will Rogers’ camera-tricky spoof of yet another Fairbanks Senior swashbuckler, Robin Hood. Another, a talkie, plays off George Hamilton’s Zorro—The Gay Blade, with effeminate Don Diego (Joseph Kamal) and a masher as his beloved old friar. In a post-intermission face-off between a youthful Davey Crockett and a puerile Zorro, a handgun accident delivers the baby Zorro into the arms of a bright white Guy Williams, the Disney Mr. Z, on whose pinions the slain youth will rise to heaven, not California (”that’s hell!”). In another sketch-within-the-program, Joaquin Murrieta is discovered within a private shrine—and later, his severed head mugs in a jar of whiskey, whence it was displayed at fairs. 

The evening is less a play than a program of skits, though it all adds up in its blitzkrieg of images (Siguenza as an Erich Von Stroheim Prussian gubernator, or alte rnately in a Schwarzenegger mask running a mini-Hummer up against Zorro’s defensive rapier) and self-conscious quips (”Now I understand; I’m caught in an SF Mime Troupe play!”)—into a princely sum of its parts, but not much more. It would be interesting t o see how the Mime Troupe, or say the Dell’Arte Players would do with the elaborate and expensive tech set-up and fine artistic support Culture Clash has from The Rep. This production is what it was intended to be: a brisk (and briskly directed by The Re p’s artistic director, Tony Taccone) and gleefully rude political entertainment, not The Marx Bros. but vaudeville with a barcode, so the check-out is faster. 

The litany (or catechism) of California dreams and atrocities rolls along with the outrageous q uips (“I’m dreaming of a White Kwanza” or “My god! I have nothing to wear to the quail hunt!”). But the disheartened Zorro who found himself in the wrong movie discovers his inner action hero in the end, as the Bear Flag goes into hibernation, and the las t villains fade away, one strangely muttering a critic’s begrudging regret: “I hate to waste a single bullet on a playwright!” 

Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell 

plays through April 16 at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater. $45-$59.647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org›e

When you’re alone and life is making you lonely you can always go—downtown.  

In the 1960s Petula Clark sang of the attractions of a downtown neighborhood—neon signs, traffic music, the rhythm of the bossa nova. Times have changed but Berkeley’s Downtown has on offer an eclectic selection of venues to draw your interest. 

Combining the seat of city government with a commercial center, Berkeley has imprinted its distinctive personality on the area surrounding Shattuck Avenue. A vibrant arts and entertainment industry intermixed with over one hundred eateries representing the cuisine of fifteen countries mirrors this ethnically mixed community. Almost 50 percent of Berkeley’s population resides within a one-mile radius of downtown. This population swells with the daily influx of workers and the students at Berkeley High and the university, resulting in high density with divergent needs. 

The downtown area developed with thanks to Francis Shattuck and the railroad. In 1876 Shattuck convinced Central Pacific Railroad to run a spur line through his property and build a station at the intersection of University and Shattuck. Businesses grew, booming in 1903 when Key System electric trains offered additional transport and again, after the 1906 earthquake. 

Today’s skyline reflects the push for additional housing units and modern commercial space, but Berkeley’s past remains. An architectural walk highlights several historic buildings. The Berkeley Historical Society, housed in the Veteran’s Memorial Building, is a good starting point. Their goal is preserving Berkeley’s past and making it available to the public. A museum, library and organized walks don’t let us forget the events and people who forged this city. My recent visit coincided with the exhibit Fermenting Berkeley, using photographs and newspapers articles to contrast Wets vs. Drys, when early liquor laws divided the city. 

Berkeley’s former City Hall, a handsome Beaux-Arts building in columned gray with teal cupola, the Main Post Office, fronted with columns and classic arches, and the Shattuck Plaza Hotel, in multi-colored Mediterranean Renaissance Revival, reflect the styles of the early 1900s. The public library’s Art Deco architecture of the 1930s fronts recent innovations inside. Electric classrooms, the children’s library with crayon carpet and giant stuffed frog and gorilla, the huge windows, high ceilings and well-lit tables explain why lines form outside everyday eagerly awaiting open doors. Art Deco is seen again at the Berkeley Community Theatre, within Berkeley High’s campus. Here and on school buildings white wall-size figured reliefs herald the arts.  

Quieter today than during the turbulent 1960s is downtown’s central MLK Memorial Park, site of many anti-war protests. Expansive lawn, small playground and Peace Wall of over one hundred hand-painted tiles seem strangely empty except during Berkeley High’s open campus lunch break. Twice weekly the park forms the boundary of Berkeley’s Farmers’ Market, a peaceful carnival-like event. Performers here are food artisans offering organic produce, grass-fed meat, cheese, baked goods, and flowers; musicians serenading; and shoppers with wicker baskets and child-laden wagons to carry home their purchases. 

Artisans in entertainment and the arts have carved their own niche in Berkeley’s downtown. Along the length of Addison Street thrive theater, music and poetry. Take your time and keep your eyes on the sidewalk at the curb’s edge. One hundred twenty-eight iron and ceramic panels are engraved with poems selected by Robert Hass to reflect Berkeley’s history. From the Ohlone song, “Hey, fog, go home,” Ishmael Reed’s “Going East,” Margaret Schevill’s Desert Center, to Alfred Arteaga’s “Corrido Blanco”—each echo Berkeley’s voices. 

Theater lovers have two choices merely steps apart. The Berkeley Repertory Theater has metastasized since its origin in a tiny theater on College Avenue. Today patrons from throughout Northern California enjoy productions like the upcoming The Glass Menagerie featuring Rita Moreno. Next door, the Aurora Theater offers a more intimate experience in its theater in the round. 

Jazz in all its forms is performed and taught at the Jazzschool, housed in the historic Kress building since 1997. Heralded as one of the best, this innovative school broadly targets all levels and ages. Downstairs practice rooms share space with the Jazzcafe, a book and record shop and art gallery. You can enjoy the syncopated beat of practice drums along with fresh sandwiches, a golden beet salad with goat cheese or a cappuccino. Seating on warm-colored wood chairs amid walls of rich terra cotta listening to cool jazz among music lovers easily sets the mood for the wealth of classes and concerts on offer. 

From the cool of jazz to the heat of tropical Brazil. Bright, richly painted walls festooned with plants, murals of city and beach scenes, tile roofs, adults and children playing and working beach-side—all set the scene at the Capoeira Arts Cafe. With café in front and classroom at the rear, listening to the rhythmic beat of the berimbau, Afro-Brazilian martial arts is taught and practiced. Involving chanting, kicks, sweeps and handstands, these deceptive dance-like movements tell the story of survival in an unfamiliar land.  

Providing city services amid varied commercial enterprises leaves little room for charm. Those in the know select spaces away from the bustle to relax. Trumpetvine Court with walls formed of brick and covered with—Trumpet vine—is a perfect escape. Cooled by umbrellas in summer, warmed by heaters in winter, yellow picnic tables provide ample seating. For a European flavor, one can enjoy freshly assembled ingredients from The Panini Café. Sandwiches of fresh salmon or vegetarian mushroom, mixed baby greens or pasta salad, hearty homemade soup, all make you want to linger past your lunch hour. 

At La Note Restaurant you’ll feel you’ve finally made it to France. Cool green walls atop darker green wainscoting, Provencal accoutrements like straw hats and ceramic bowls, travel posters and huge white hydrangeas in French metal flower buckets provide ambience. Partake of sandwiches, (baguette a la merquez or thon grille) salades (nicoise or paysanne) and plats de jour (ratatouille). A busy outdoor patio, a lively dining space inside and weekend lines signal this is no well-kept secret. 

On Center Street’s Restaurant Row any group of hungry diners can make individual selections. Good all-American fare shares outdoor tables amid potted greenery with international cuisine. Top Dog, Bongo Burger and Pie In The Sky fill traditional stomachs while Laregal, Raphael, Ajiya and Alborz bring the flavors of Vietnam, Italy, Japan and Persia to adventurous palettes. 

Downtown Berkeley forges the pressures of government services for a diverse community with artistic release and the comfort of good food.  

So maybe I’ll see you there. We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares. Downtown –everything’s waiting for you.  

Berkeley Historical Society: 1931 Center St., 848-0181, www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc. 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre: 2025 Addison St., 647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org. 

Aurora Theatre: 2081 Addison St., 843-4822, www.auroratheatre.org. 

Jazzschool: 2087 Addison St., 845-5373, www.jazzschool.com. 

Capoeira Arts Café: 2026 Addison St., 666-1255, www.capoeiraarts.com. 

Café Panini: 2115 Allston Way, 849-0405. 

La Note Restaurant: 2377 Shattuck Ave., 843-1535.›

What are those curiously attractive houses whose second floor, contained within a steeply pitched main gable roof, is far larger than the first floor? Why do we see them standing in clusters of two or three in Berkeley and Oakland but rarely elsewhere? 

This unusual style is one of the variants of Colonial Revival and appears to have emerged from the union of Queen Anne and Eastern Shingle Style. In the mid-1890s, this picturesque hybrid evolved in the San Francisco Bay Area into a local Colonial Revival sub-genre that is particularly evident in the East Bay. A middle-class building style, it is typically expressed in a simplified, rectangular mass under a single gable roof with laterally projecting dormers. 

Many high-peaked Colonial Revival houses feature small corner porticos, often supported by a Neoclassical column. The gable frequently boasts a Palladian or a prow window, which is sometimes balustraded. The exterior walls are clad with narrow clapboards or shingles, with a typical arrangement being shingling on the second floor and clapboarding below. 

The earliest known high-peaked Colonial Revival house in the East Bay may be a residence designed by Edgar A. Mathews at 1535 Saint Charles St. in Alameda, which Alameda Museum Curator George Gunn dates from 1894. The earliest known house documented in Edwards’ Trancripts of Records is the H.F. Munson residence designed by Hugo W. Storch (1873–1917) and built in 1895 at 2354 East 23rd St. in Oakland’s Fruitvale District. 

If Hugo Storch was the first to build in this style, the one who popularized it was the prolific Oakland architect Alfred William Smith (1864–1933). Smith’s success with high-peaked Colonial Revival was documented in an Oakland Enquirer article published in June 1899: “One of the mos t distinctive features of recent local building operations is the wonderful popularity suddenly achieved by the style of house known as the Dutch Colonial, whose principal characteristic is a high-peaked roof. The idea in this city originated with J. H. S impson, who since he first began building such structures, has put up 10. However, the style has been adapted and enlarged upon by architect A. W. Smith who since the 10th of January of last year [1898] has put up no less than 27 houses, all on this pecul iar line of architecture. [...] Mr. Smith ascribes the popularity to the growth of the artistic in the building public, which has caused a departure from the strict rules of architecture and given rise to the development of the picturesque style.” 

The st yle became so popular that many builders began imitating it. Between 1900 and 1905, high-peaked Colonial Revival was all the rage. Even “name” architects such as Julia Morgan, Albert Dodge Coplin, and Thomas D. Newsom were commissioned to design residence s in this style. When the houses were constructed on a speculative basis, the builder would typically put up two or three in a row, making sure to give each house distinct detailing to differentiate it from its brethren. Good examples of such clusters may be seen on the 2000 block of Woolsey Street; the 3000 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way; the 2300 block of Webster Street; and the 2100 block of Haste Street. Sometimes identical designs may be found on adjacent streets or even a good distance apart. The trio on MLK Jr. Way exhibits the same design found in a pair on the 2800 block of San Pablo Avenue, which was built by A.W. Smith. Curiously, descendants of the builder Carl Ericsson believe that it was he and not Smith who built the MLK threesome. 

A lthough high-peaked Colonial Revival houses may be seen in various California towns such a Napa and Redding, they usually stand there as lone examples. San Francisco evolved its own variant of high-peaked Colonial Revival row house, with additional floors and a gable that is not fully contained within the roof. 

Berkeley and Oakland are unique in possessing large numbers of these houses. By my estimate, Berkeley alone has close to 200 specimens, which constitute an open-air museum that should be cherished and preserved.e

I was visiting with a client today and got into one of those if/and/or discussions that soon feels like your brain is stuck in either molasses or honey (depending on whether the job will actually pay anything). One possible course of action involved changing a faucet, which would have eliminated a broken component and almost certainly have solved a problem involving the reluctant flow of hot water. The other solution would make someone happy but seemed for all the world like the wrong thing to do.  

The woman’s husband wanted a new sink. Have you ever seen Jim Jarmusch’s extraordinarily inelegant, odd and fall-down-between-the-seats funny film Stranger Than Paradise? One of the main characters is given a dress. She tries wearing it but there’s just something wrong with it. At one point she changes into pants, leaves her building and stuffs the dress in a garbage can stating “This dress bugs me!” There was no need for further explanation.  

The sink bugs this guy. It was a perfectly good sink. It will cost a whole bunch of money to replace it, along with the faucet, drain fittings and maybe a disposer (although retaining it and keeping it from leaking in its new setting will be no small feat in any event). 

See, he just wants a new sink. But nothing’s ever simple and there are always attendant troubles to all these seemingly small changes. The change of sink isn’t a bad idea in and of itself. But the couple is planning on remodeling the kitchen pretty soon, and doing this whole body of work twice is going to cost a lot of extra money and, of course, impact their lives in a very Stranger Than Paradise sort of way. Doing the same job twice is a bit like déjà vu with extra nausea. 

It’s as though there were teams of small demons that come with various home repairs. Some are just annoying, but some will drive you seriously crazy. 

To minimize these visitations, I suggest an overriding strategy. Do things in groups and consider the overall value/desire/need of the entire body of work prior to entering into the venture. Make sure the mayhem is worthwhile. 

The first corollary to this is never fix one part of anything. The second is never fix anything twice when you can fix it once. 

This means that you need a long-range strategy. The idea is to stop responding to any one problem in an immediate or panic-struck fashion.  

The couple with the sink is a good example so let’s work with that. They had an additional problem beyond the fellow’s general disdain for this particular sink. The sink was leaking down below. The trap (that’s the U-shaped drain pipe below the sink) had developed a hole and was leaking pretty badly. Additionally, the faucet was not providing any significant amount of hot water. These are very real problems, especially when two little girls need to have their breakfast dishes washed. 

Here’s how I see the situation: 

The drain needs to be fixed but not in a manner any more complex than is needed to prevent damage to the cabinet over the next few months. The faucet also needs to be made workable so that dishes can be washed. Simple repairs are preferred in this situation and the highest-quality materials and methods are not required. Also, if a new faucet is obtained, they should probably consider re-installing it in the new sink as the kitchen is remodeled. This might make the most sense. It turned out, happily, that the faucet only needed to be meddled with and that it will likely function for a few more months. A new trap didn’t cost much and was installed imperfectly but in a fashion which should serve for a similar duration. 

The rest of the job should be looked at in a similar way. All the things that comprise a new kitchen should be on the counter (as it were) at the same time. This is the time to do everything.  

If one portion is left out, it may be very costly and troublesome to add later on. A good example is a dishwasher. Putting in a dishwasher once the cabinetry is all in place, whether in a old kitchen or a newer one, is a real bear and often results in an obvious butchering of the cabinetry and a misfitting of the appliance. It’s the sort of thing that can leave you kicking yourself. I’m not saying that one needs to possess a dishwasher, a disposer or a trash compactor (I will not be buying the latter item any time soon). I am saying that if you think you might want one of these at any point in the next 10 years, it should be made part of the plan before a drawing is made or bids are obtained. 

Good planning is cheap. Aesthetics are also cheap. In general, design is a bargain. The best designs I see tend to involve inexpensive material and simple methods. The trick is to think it all through before you buy anything. In the case of a kitchen, this might involve deciding to move (or remove) a wall. This can make a world of difference when you finally get done. Another thing I see a lot is an extraneous and outdated stove flue that eats up space between two rooms. If you explore fully before you settle on a plan, the flue might come out and give you a few extra square feet of counter space that turns a so-so kitchen into a great kitchen. 

Advice from designers and contractors is worth gold when it comes to making such plans. These people go through these trials on a daily basis and usually know lots of good tricks. 

If you’ve planned well and drawn (perhaps several times) your kitchen (or bath or deck or master suite), you have the basic resource with which to obtain a satisfactory and economical result. The person who does a job twice, even a rather modest one, could probably have bought themselves a five-star project for the same cost in addition to saving themselves the self-inflicted bruises. 

Take your time, plan one project, save your money, get lots of advice, shop, shop, shop and then have a ball watching it all come together.  

There are, in my personal estimate, few experiences in life more satisfying than a nice little remodeling project. So enjoy. 

We just returned from an excursion to a friend’s new townhouse in Vacaville. I won’t riff on her lament that she can’t find bulk olives or a decent farmers’ market or bookstore there, but I will say that the landscaping scares me a bit. Scared her, too, and then some: The week before closing on the new place, Alamo Creek and its local tributaries flooded her first floor and most of her neighbors’. She got off lightly though and the seller replaced the carpet with the tile she prefers. The block still rings with repair and construction noises, and piles of ruined wallboard and household stuff persist.  

There’s a shallow lawn-covered drainage swale running through the complex, but it didn’t do the job. Most of the creeks up there, as far as I could see, are channelized even if the banks are still green. And there’s more and more paving—streets, parking lots—replacing more absorbent soil and plants upstream and such mass-produced plants as are allowed in the new housing sprawls clearly are maintained by the mow-n-blow guys with motorized clippers. Everything that’s not a rectangle is a ball.  

It’s part of the weird lockstep that I’ll call Generic Gardening. Tidy it up; cut it off at waist height regardless of where its main branches run or how dead-brown the result is; when in doubt, pave it. It’s not even as amusing as topiary. And all this tidiness, straightening, covering-up, and general ignorance in action leave people puzzled when the worst storm in 10 years sends water over the ditch-creek’s banks: What? There’s lots of nature here! Look at all the greenery! Nature’s a bitch, that’s all; we need more paving and control! 

Here in Berkeley some of us are paying for the sins of our forebears, as the culverts they ran creeks through to get them out of the way collapse under our houses and gardens. No matter how much we love creeks, fish, birds, nature, we can’t afford to throw away our lives’ savings or the huge investment that any land, let alone building, here represents.  

And what about property rights? Can a city regulate what we do on our own land? There’s the rub: When it concerns creeks, rivers, water in general, nothing we do on our own land stays there. Building close to a creek’s banks is just asking for subsidence; paving more ground, adding roof area all increase runoff, especially in big storms, and make big trouble for anyone—plant, bird, fish, or human—living downstream. Dirt, plants, and meanders all help blunt the force of floods, and that’s what we remove when we build. 

The Creeks Task Force is, as I write this, wrangling and setting public hearings, trying to make sense and even justice out of this mess we’ve been handed. You might know about buildings—after all, we all live in them—but most of us know little about creeks and water’s behavior. There are local groups working to make creeks work better for us as well as wildlife, removing invasives that choke the channels and turn floating debris into dams, cleaning out that trash, planting natives that function with the land, getting muddy and educated at the same time. Check some out. 

Friends of Five Creeks 

www.fivecreeks.org 

848-9358 

Urban Creeks Council 

www.urbancreeks.org 

1250 Addison Street, # 107C,  

Berkeley, 94702 

540-6669

FRIDAY, MARCH 24 

Reduced City Services Today Call ahead to ensure programs or services you desire will be available. 981-CITY. www.cityofberkeley.info 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Marian Diamond on “The Everlasting Gain in Biology” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $13.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020.  

“The Real Truth About Iraq” with former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter, Iraqi citizen Faiza Al-Araji, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and Medea Benjamin at 7 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. Tickets are $15-$20. 415-255-7296, ext. 200. www.globalexchange.org 

Activist Series: Faiza Al-Araji, Iraqi Shia woman married to a Sunni will speak at 7 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. Note that this is a change in location. 526-2900. 

Candlelight Vigil to Remember Archbishop Oscar Romero, martyred in El Salvador on March 24, 1980, at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker, 1640 Addison. 482-1062. 

American Red Cross Blood Drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kaiser Permanente, Dining Conference Room, 1950 Franklin St., Oakland. To schedule an appointment call 1-800-GIVELIFE. www.BeADonor.com 

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. 

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

“Does the Torah Teach Us to Live In Post Modern Society?” at Kol Hadash Humanistic Judaism Shabbat, at 7:30 p.m. at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. Please bring finger dessert to share, and non-perishable food for the needy. Free and open to all. 

SATURDAY, MARCH 25 

Make Your Own Rope We will learn about the history of rope-making and make rope from various natural fibrous materials, from 2 to 3:30 p.m at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $3, registration required. 636-1684. 

Creating a Meditation Garden with Peter Bowyer at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Landscape Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

Mt. Wanda Wildflower Walk in the hills where John Muir took his daughters, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Meet Ranger Tad Shay at the “Park and Ride” lot at the corner of Alhambra Ave. and Franklin Canyon Rd., Martinez. 925-228-8860. 

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. 

SUNDAY, MARCH 26 

Early Bloomers Find the earliest spring flowers on an easy hike through the canyon. Meet at 1 p.m at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

“The Challenge of Global Climate Change” with Suzanne Jones Ph.D and sponsored by Richmond Environmental Fund at 4 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, Martina and W. Richmond Sts., Point Richmond. 234-4669. 

“The Scream Inside: California Women in Prison” A Women’s History Month lecture on the realities of women incarcerated in California at 2 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

“Venezuela: Worker-Controlled Factories” A multi-screen video installation and talk at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Music for Babies at 9 a.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave. Donation of $4 suggested. To register call 658-7853. www.bananasinc.org  

Parent First Aid & Emergency Care for Babies at 4 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave. Cost is $30, $50 for couples. To register call 658-7853. www.bananasinc.org  

Berkeley City Club free tour from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tours are sponsored by the Berkeley City Club and the Landmark Heritage Foundation. Donations welcome. The Berkeley City Club is located at 2315 Durant Ave. For group reservations or more information, call 848-7800 or 883-9710. 

Punk Rock Flea Market from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at at 924 Gilman St. 525-9926. 

Yoga and Meditation from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with Sylvia Gretchen on “Awareness, Dream and Self-Image” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com  

MONDAY, MARCH 27 

Community Meeting on a Sunshine Ordinance for Berkeley at 7 p.m. at 2180 Milvia St., 6th floor. 981-7170. 

Fruit Tree Tour encouraging the planting of urban orchards, a caravan of hand-painted veggie oil-powered busses, and African drumming and eco hip-hop program at 10 a.m. at Peralta Elementary, 460 63rd Ave. Oakland. www.CommonVision.org 

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

Free Business Loan and Business Plan Writing Boot Camp Mon. and Fri. from 9 a.m. to noon at 519 17th St., 2nd Floor, Ste. 200, Oakland, through March 31. 395-6003. 

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

Sing-A-Long from10 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. 

TUESDAY, MARCH 28 

“Circling the Globe-More Than a Dream,” with Bryan and Audrey Gillette at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

National Nutrition Month Cooking Demonstration with Michael Bauce on sautéeing greens, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Farmers’ Market, Derby St. at MLK. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

Berkeley High School Site Council meets at 4:30 p.m. in the Conference Room. 525-0124. 

Teen Babysitting Class at 4 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave. To register call 658-7853. www.bananasinc.org  

Raging Grannies of the East Bay invites new folks to come join us the 2nd and 4th Tues, of each month, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. to sing (any voice will do), help plan our next gig, or write outrageously political lyrics to old familiar tunes, and have fun at Berkeley Gray Panthers office, 1403 Addison St., in Andronico’s mall. 548-9696. 

Berkeley PC Users Group meets at 7 p.m. at 1145 Walnut St. near Eunice. 

Stress Less Seminar at 6:30 p.m. at New Moon Opportunities, 378 Jayne Ave., Oakland Free, but registration required. 465-2524. 

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

Tuesday Tilden Walkers Join a few slowpoke seniors at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the Little Farm for an hour or two walk. In case of questionable weather, call around 8 a.m. 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. 

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

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

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

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29  

Great Decisions Foreign Policy Association Lecture “Human Rights in an Age of Terrorism” with Allan Solomonow, Director, American Friends Service Committee, at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Cost is $40 for the eight lecture series. 526-2925. 

Total Solar Eclipse A live webcast from Turkey from 1:15 to 3:15 a.m. at Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd. Tickets are $5-$8. 336-7373.  

Oakland Unified’s Annual Science Fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd. Cost is $9-$13. 336-7300.  

Warriors Basketball Benefit for Habitat for Humanity at 7:30 p.m. at Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way. Discounted tickets available for $25 or $30, with $5 going to support the Habitat affiliate of your choice. 1-800-980-5434. www.bayareahabitat.org 

Early Childhood Education Workshop at 6:30 p.m. at the California Ballroom, 1736 Franklin St., Oakland. Sponsored by the Alameda County Office of Education. Free, but registration requested. 670-3175. 

“Empowering Yourself, Empowering Your Parents” with Donna Robbins at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 848-1960, ext. 246. 

Bayswater Book Club meets to discuss “The New Media Monopoly” by Ben H. Bagdikian, at 6:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble Coffee Shop, El Cerrito Plaza. 433-2911. 

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

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

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

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

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

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

Meditation and Discussion at 7 p.m. near the El Cerrito Plaza BART station. No commitment to a particular religious or philosophical viewpoint is required. Free. www.heartawake.com 

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

vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, MARCH 30 

Artists With Heart Fundraiser for the homeless children at the Children’s Learning Center at Ursula Sherman Village. Reception with KQED’s Josh Kornbluth, live music and food donations from the East Bay’s top restaurants and art sale at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $100. 235-6502. 

“Harvest of Shame” Edward R. Murrow’s 1960 documentary on farmerworkers, will be shown in honor of Cesar Chavez Day at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Bring seat cushions and snacks. 548-2220. 

“9/11 The Myth and The Reality” A talk by David Ray Griffin at 7 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $10. 496-2700. www.pdeastbay.org/ 

f911MythReality 

The Berkeley Retired Teachers Association, (CRTA Div. 49), holds its annual general meeting at 1 p.m. at the Northbrae Community Church, 841 The Alameda. The featured speaker will be Ms. Peggy Plett, Deputy CEO of the California State Teachers Retirement System, Benefits and Services. 

Living with Threes and Fours at 7 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave. To register call 658-7853. www.bananasinc.org  

Oakland Unified’s Annual Science Fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd. Cost is $9-$13. 336-7300.  

Berkeley Public Library’s Teen Readers meets to discuss Douglas Adam’s “The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” at 4 p.m. at the Claremont Branch Library, 2940 Benvenue (at Ashby). 

“Understanding Senior Care Options” Learn about residential care facilities and how to find the right one, residents rights when living in a residential care home, and other services, from noon to 2 p.m. at East Oakland Senior Center, 9255 Edes Ave. at 98th St., Oakland. 638-6878, ext. 103. 

Ask a Union Mechanic every Thursday, 4:30 tp 6 p.m. at Parker and Shattuck, until the strike is settled. They will offer advice on all makes of car. 

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, MARCH 31 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Sally Baker, producer of “Wee Poets” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $13.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. 526-2925.  

“Preparing Our Communities for the End of Cheap Oil” A presentation by the Post Carbon Institute at 7:30 p.m. at Laney College Forum, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Cost is $10. Day-long conference on Sat. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St. http://bayarea.relocalize.net, www.postcarbo.org 

Arts and Crafts Cooperative of Berkeley Gallery Spring Seconds Sale from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1652 Shattuck Ave. 843-2527. 

Historical & Current Times Book Group meets on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1249 Marin Ave. 548-4517. 

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. 

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

ONGOING 

Free Tax Help—United Way’s Earn it! Keep It! Save It! program provides free filing assistance to households that earned less than $38,000 in 2005. To find a free tax site near you, call 800-358-8832 or visit www.EarnitKeepitSaveit.org 

Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour is seeking volunteers who will spend a morning or afternoon greeting tour participants and answering questions at the free native plant garden tour, featuring sixty-four gardens located throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties on Sunday, May 7, 2006. Volunteers can select the garden they would like to spend time at by visiting the “Preview the 2006 Gardens” section at www.BringingBackTheNatives.net 

Public Art Opportunities Request for Entries The City of Berkeley is looking for artists for the 2006 Civic Center Art Competition and Exhibition. Entries are due April 18. For details contact the Civic Arts Program, 981-7533. 

Artwork for the Corporation Yard Gates Request for Proposals Applications are due April 3. For details call the Civic Arts Program at 981-7533. 

Proposal for a Mural in Tribute to Maudelle Shirek in Old City Hall. Artists are requested to submit proposals by March 31. For details contact the Civic Arts Program, 981-7533. 

Albany Library Free Drop-in Homework Help for students in third through fifth grades, Mon. - Thurs. from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Emphasis is placed on math and writing skills. No registration is required. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

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

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

CITY MEETINGS 

Parks and Recreation Commission meets Mon., Mar. 27, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Virginia Aiello, 981-5158. ww.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/parksandrecreation 

Solid Waste Management Commission Mon., Mar. 27, at 7 p.m., at 1201 Second St. Tania Levy, 981-6368. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/solidwaste 

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