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Three generations of Cody’s Books owners, Pat Cody, Andy Ross and new owner Hiroshi Kagawa, met with the press at the Cody’s on Fourth Street Thursday. Behind them sat Peter Goodman, president of Stone Bridge Press, the Berkeley-based publisher also owned by Kagawa. Photo by Judith Scherr.
Three generations of Cody’s Books owners, Pat Cody, Andy Ross and new owner Hiroshi Kagawa, met with the press at the Cody’s on Fourth Street Thursday. Behind them sat Peter Goodman, president of Stone Bridge Press, the Berkeley-based publisher also owned by Kagawa. Photo by Judith Scherr.
 

News

Japanese Buyer Vows To Strenghten Cody’s

By Judith Scherr
Friday September 08, 2006

Three generations of Cody’s Books owners—Pat Cody, Andy Ross and Hiroshi Kagawa—sat around a small table Thursday morning at the Fourth Street store. 

The three were all smiles as they chatted with reporters about the sale of the two remaining Cody’s stores to Yohan, Inc, the Tokyo-based company of which Kagawa is CEO. 

Pat Cody and her late husband Fred Cody opened their first store in 1956; Ross took it over in 1977, later adding the second store in Berkeley and a new one in San Francisco. In July he closed the flagship store on Telegraph Avenue. 

Cody’s will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yohan. Ross will remain president and his wife, Leslie Berkler, will become vice-president.  

Changes will only mean the stores get better, Ross said, adding that the new investor’s cash infusion will mean that customers will find the shelves restocked—especially with those books that don’t fly off the shelves, for which Cody’s is known. 

“Within two months this store and the San Francisco store will be bulging with books,” Ross said, cautioning, “We’re not a library. We can’t have books that don’t sell. We want to carry books that sell once or twice a year, because it makes the bookstore interesting.”  

“Like the OED,” Cody interjected, referring to the $995 Oxford English Dictionary. “Fred (Cody) said, I don’t care if it only sells once a year, it makes me feel good that we have a bookstore with the OED.” 

The authors’ events will continue. The children’s section will grow larger. And customers will begin to see some new titles, especially some arts books from Japan, Kagawa said. 

Cody’s will be able to take advantage of Yohan’s role as a book distributor—it is the largest distributor of general foreign books and magazines in Asia, according to a press statement.  

“Yohan’s is the English distributor to the Japanese market. We buy lots and lots of books from U.S. publishers. So we can be a good negotiator,” Kagawa said. 

Ross was quick to point out, however, that while Yohan is bigger than Cody’s it is much smaller than Barnes and Noble, and the real advantage will be the investment capital rather than discounted prices. Yohan is capitalized at $4.5 million, according to its website. 

They also hope to build new and stronger relationships with small presses, Berkler said. That includes Berkeley-based Stone Bridge Press, which Yohan bought last year.  

And the same sales staff—with the same union, SEIU 790—will serve the customers, with, perhaps, the addition of new staff who are experts in Japanese titles. 

And, no—the Telegraph store won’t be revived, even though it was that store that originally attracted Kagawa to Cody’s when he first saw it in 1983 when he was sent to the United States by the Japanese publisher he was working for at the time. It was losing too much money, Ross said. 

“We did have some discussion—but it really was declining in sales so much. I just don’t see it as being possible. There are too many things that have happened,” Ross said, noting that someone had called the Telegraph Avenue store’s demise, “death by 1,000 knives,” with the combination of factors that went into the business decline. 

But Kagawa said he sees the changes in Cody’s as renovations but not changes, keeping the same foundation or “gene” of the store on Telegraph he so admired. 

“That gene is really important,” he said. “If you destroy that gene, people will fight.” 

Ross joked that his new job as Cody’s president will be a big change. 

“I’ve been in business 35 years and I’ve never worked for anyone else,” he said. “But Hiroshi’s first instruction to me was: keep raising hell.” 

More seriously, Ross said he thanked the community that has stayed faithful to the store and added that the new ownership will allow Cody’s to become the store he had hoped for. 

“This is a very happy day for me,” he said.


New Food Co-op in the Works

By Melissa Mixon
Friday September 08, 2006

The city of Berkeley could have a full retail food co-op as early as next year if all goes as planned for a group of residents from Berkeley and Oakland, who are launching the prospective grocery.  

Organizers of the food co-op, the Berkeley Cooperative Grocery, say its purpose is to provide Bay Area residents with quality and sustainable products that are affordable.  

Planning for the intended food co-op is still at beginning stages. No location has been found and organizers are in the process of applying for a grant that they hope will help start up the nonprofit grocery.  

Elisa Edwards, one of the founders of the Berkeley Cooperative Grocery, said the food co-op will start out as a non-perishable food online ordering shop that will have two pickup times at a point centrally located in Berkeley. 

Most of the food will come from Northern California or other local vendors. After the first year she said members hope to convert the food co-op into a full retail grocery cooperative that will focus on selling cheap, sustainable, healthy, local and organic foods and products.  

This would not be the first time Berkeley has had a food co-op. Starting in the post World War II era, the Consumer’s Cooperative of Berkeley opened and later became one of the area’s main groceries until financial hardships forced the stores to close in the late 1980s.  

Edwards, who moved here with her family in January 2005, said she was surprised to find out Berkeley did not have a food co-op.  

She and her husband moved to Berkeley from Brooklyn, New York, where they were members of the Park Slope Food Co-op, the nation’s largest fully member owned and operated food co-op.  

After the move, Edwards said she started to notice and be bothered by how much more money and time she and her family were putting towards groceries. For months, Edwards said she and her husband would complain to friends.  

“It would come up in conversation about how much money we had just spent on groceries, and then at some point that shifted,” she said. “We decided, well, instead of complaining about it, we should do it ourselves.” 

To avoid problems of the previous Berkeley food co-op, Edwards said Berkeley Cooperative Grocery will be based on a model used at Park Slope, which allows only members of the food co-op to shop at the grocery store. More important, she said members are required to work two and a half hours each month so that the store can reduce grocery prices to 20 percent over wholesale cost, whereas at traditional grocery stores she said the markup is typically 70 percent in order to cover the expenses of paying employees.  

Joe Holtz, one of the founders and currently the general manager at Park Slope, said the model works because “people can’t feel money but they can feel work.”  

“Hopefully, through working, you can feel the ownership and you care about something more,” he said.  

Members of Berkeley Cooperative Grocery also have to pay a one-time $25 fee and make a $100 refundable investment in the co-op. A catch is that the work is applied to all adult members of a household, such as housemates, because otherwise more food will be going out and there will be fewer members to help work, said Julia Carpenter, one of the founding members of the coop.  

In the beginning, when the co-op is online only, she said it will be hard for some people because of convenience and time.  

“One thing people have less of than money is time,” she said. “That could rule out a lot of people.”  

But the reaction she and other members have received since they went public with the idea has been positive, she said. They started with four members and two weeks later they had 70 members and 200 people on their mailing list. 

Carpenter said they are aiming for 100 members by this month, in order to be eligible for a matching $10,000 grant from the Food Co-op 500 Program. The program’s mission is to support the development of food coops in the United States and to increase the number of them nationwide from 300 to 500 by 2015.  

With the cost of living in the Bay Area and the high costs of most healthy and organic foods and products, Carpenter said, “people are starving for” a food co-op with reduced prices. 

Founding member Michael Weiler said the most important part of the coop is bringing down the costs of organic, local, and healthy foods so that eating healthily is not “elitist.”  

“Healthy food should not be for profit. Period,” he said. “Everybody should have the same access.” 

The group plans to list menus of food and products on pamphlets and have members working a phone to take orders for people without Internet access, Weiler said.  

Dave Fogarty, community development project coordinator for the city of Berkeley, said it’s hard to say what kind of impact the food co-op would have on other grocery stores in the area because the city doesn’t have details on the size or location of the store.  

“In general, the situation in Berkeley is that we have a market that’s dominated by higher priced kind of gourmet grocery stores, Andronico’s and Whole Foods,” which, he said, didn’t exist when the original coop was built.  

He said unless the food co-op is a full-sized grocery, 20,000 square feet or more, “it probably won’t have much of an impact” on would-be competitors in Berkeley that mostly operate at that same size.  

Fogarty said, “There is a lot of sentiment here for a coop grocery.” 

Edwards said she knows there is some worry out there that the Berkeley Food Cooperative will become just a “fond memory” like the old food co-op, but that the changes in how the new one will be operated are positive. 

“I feel like this is a model that’s been proved successful and is one that will stay, “ she said.


OUSD Trustees Reject Property Sale

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday September 08, 2006

Oakland Unified School District trustees passed a resolution Wednesday calling for a multi-grade education center to replace the high-rise condominium tower development being considered for the district’s downtown administration building site. 

At the same time, trustees defeated a proposal by Trustee Kerry Hamill for a 60-day extension of the negotiations between state Superintendent Jack O’Connell and east coast developers Terra Mark and Urban America over sale of the property. 

Under the Letter of Intent authorizing contract negotiations between O’Connell and the Terra Mark/Urban America group, the two parties have until mid-September to sign a contract before the development group loses their exclusive negotiating rights. However, both O’Connell and representatives of the developers earlier indicated that they would be open to extending the deadline. 

Under the terms of the 2003 state takeover of OUSD, trustees have no legal authority to stop the sale, but can only advise the state superintendent. 

The OUSD votes on the proposal came at the end of the third and final hearing on the proposed sale of 8.25 acres of OUSD Lake Merritt area property, a hearing so packed that latecomers were crowded into the hallway outside the trustee boardroom, and could only hear the proceedings through the open doors. 

The votes followed an emotional speech by Trustee Noel Gallo, who sponsored the education center resolution, in which Gallo alternately disdainfully tossed papers onto the floor, called out State Superintendent O’Connell, and berated district staff members “for basically being the agents of O’Connell. They’re giving us back only what he wants us to give him.” 

Calling the Terra Mark/Urban America proposal “a bad financial deal” that he was “insulted by” from first reading it, Gallo said that “this land belongs to Oakland. We don’t need to beg. I don’t need anybody’s permission to build on it or to tell me what I build on it should look like.” 

Referring to the 2003 state legislation that authorized both the state takeover of the Oakland Unified School District and the sale of district property to help pay off money loaned to the district by the state, Gallo said that “SB39 says you may sell property to help pay off the loan. It doesn’t say that the property has to be on Second Avenue.” 

Following the meeting, Hamill said that the decision over the sale “is out of our hands. It’s now up to Jack O’Connell.” 

Hamill accused fellow board members of “not wanting to make the hard choices. There is no new money to build a new education center on the site. And if we use bond money that is earmarked for other projects, which projects are they going to bump off the list? We’re fooling ourselves.” 

Hamill said that she sent out a survey letter to constituents a year ago, asking them to rate various options to rectify OUSD’s financial problems, from closing schools to firing teachers to selling school property. 

“To a person, they all said to look to the property sale first,” Hamill said. 

Before the vote, OUSD interim state administrator Kimberly Ann Statham said that she was recommending an extension of the contract negotiations to Superintendent O’Connell. 

“The public process has resulted in substantial, productive changes in the proposal and I think further improvements can be made by further negotiations,” Statham said. 

But only trustee Greg Hodge supported Statham’s call and Hamill’s motion for a 60-day continuance. Trustees voted then voted 6-1 to reject the proposed developer contract and to support an educational/administrative center on the property, with only Hamill opposed. 

And though he supported a 60-day extension, Hodge himself took after O’Connell, stating, “I don’t think Jack O’Connell cares about the children of Oakland. He only came here one time during the three year takeover, and that was when he was forced to. That’s criminal. That’s negligent, at the very least.” 

And trustee Alice Spearman also took a swipe at operation of the Oakland schools since the state takeover, saying that “some of the things that have happened in the past two to three years have been just as egregious as what got us into state receivership in the first place.” 

Several trustees criticized the fact that even though Terra Mark and Urban America have modified their plans to include some of the schools on the property, trustees said they have seen no details of those school construction proposals. In addition, trustees said that they know of no available replacement sites within one mile of the downtown properties for any schools displaced by the proposed sale. 

A demographer hired by the district told trustees Wednesday night that she estimated that new home construction in the West Lake/Chinatown area would bring in 1,200 new students to the schools in the area to be affected by the proposed sale. 

During the hearing itself, a parade of citizens spoke against the proposed sale. 

Henry Hitz, one of the leaders of the Ad Hoc Committee seeking to restore local control to the Oakland schools, took a swipe at State Superintendent O’Connell’s reported 2010 gubernatorial ambitions, saying, “If you want to be governor, you need to listen to Oakland. We are saying no to any development of school district property without input from the citizens of Oakland. The road to the governor’s office does not lead through a rebellion in Oakland.” 

Another speaker, Oakland attorney Anne Weilles, said, “I feel like I have been colonized by the state.” 

Calling the proposed property sale “stealing,” Weilles said, “We can stop this sale by any means, including sitting in and stopping the bulldozers when they come.” 

Weilles was part of a group of citizens who were arrested during a sit-in in former state administrator Randolph Ward’s office in 2005, leading directly to O’Connell’s only public visit to Oakland during the state takeover to address citizen concerns about the schools. 

Representatives of Alameda County’s early childhood program spoke, saying that the two child care centers on the property were needed, and relocation would be devastating to the programs. 

John Rose, a 5th-grade teacher at La Escuelita Elementary, one of the schools on the downtown property, spoke in favor of Gallo’s educational center plan for the site. Citing the proximity to the main branch of the library, the Lake Merritt science center, and the museum “all within walking distance for student field trips,” Rose called the downtown site “an ideal location for education.” 

Only one speaker expressed limited support for further contract negotiations. Barry Luboviski, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alameda County Building Trades Council, said that there was “some logic to paying off the loan early.” 

But Luboviski added that “I’ve seen few public construction projects that have gone through a process that has been so stunted. 40 years ago, my predecessor in this position would have said build it at any cost. But that era is gone. Speaking for the building trades unions, there has to be a process that has the light of day, and has the support of both the board and the community. We need to hear more information from the developers.” 

The proposed sale of the property holding the OUSD administration building, three schools, and two early education centers has sparked one of the largest political controversies in recent Oakland memory. 

State Senator Don Perata (D-Oakland), the author of the legislation that authorized the property sale, said that the property sale provisions came at the request of the school board when it passed a resolution in 2003 requesting the state bailout loan. 

But during Wednesday night’s hearing, Board President David Kakashiba said, “We have to stop this myth that the board wanted to sell the property. That’s not what we asked for.” 

Kakashiba added, “If we were serious about settling the debt, we would be doing a survey of all the surplus property in the district to see what could be sold to help our financial situation. Instead, we have only been asked to considered the sale of this particular piece of property.” 

Following the meeting, trustee Dan Siegel cleared up one bit of confusion about how the property sale provisions got into the board request for the state loan in 2003. 

“I talked with [former OUSD Superintendent Dennis] Chaconas,” Siegel said, “and he said that it was put in the board resolution at his request.” 

The 2003 request called for a state trustee rather than the state administrator eventually instituted by SB39. Under a state trustee, the board would have retained much of its power, and the district superintendent would have remained in place. 

Siegel said at the time Chaconas put in the property provisions, Chaconas thought he would continue to be OUSD superintendent even after the loan, and so would have some influence over any potential property sale or lease. 

Chaconas has since said that he was opposed to the sale of the administration building property. 

 

 


Berkeley Rally Adds to Call for Immigrant Rights

By Judith Scherr
Friday September 08, 2006

“We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us,” chanted more than 150 people who rallied for immigrant and workers’ rights on Labor Day at St. Joseph the Worker Church.  

Before the marchers walked to the Downtown BART station to join the larger San Francisco march and rally, Fr. George Crespin offered a blessing and speakers called for justice for all immigrants. 

“This is a civil rights movement, a human rights movement and a labor rights movement,” said Carlos Muñoz, emeritus professor of ethnic studies at UC Berkeley, speaking from the church steps. “We march for the rights of all immigrant workers ... This is a powerful movement that we are part of today because we are America.”  

Condemning both the Republican and Democratic parties for not standing up for justice for the immigrant worker, Muñoz said: “The Democrats need to become a real party of opposition.”  

Attorney David Lunas took the opportunity to remind those in the crowd without documents not to trust people who would take their money while falsely claiming they could regularize their immigration status. 

“There is no amnesty out there,” he said 

Representing Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action, Procesa Gorrestieta said she came to the United States without papers. She talked about how hard immigrants work at their jobs and volunteer their labor in their children’s schools but still have no medical coverage for their children.  

“We suffer every day from fear that the ‘migra’ will come and take us and be deported,” she said. “I don’t know why people say we are criminals. We just come to this country to work and work really hard to take care of your children and take care of your houses. We love doing it, but we want respect and support.” 

After the speeches, marchers, some waving Mexican and American flags, moved briskly up University Avenue. Among the signs they carried in English and Spanish were those that read: “no human is illegal,” and “no more criminalization of immigrants.” 

No uniformed police accompanied the march that drew honks and cheers from passersby.


Cops: No Leads Yet in Case of Dead Man at Sorority House

By Judith Scherr
Friday September 08, 2006

Police continue to investigate the murder of Wayne Drummond, 23, who died of a gunshot wound to the torso in the early hours of Sept. 4. No suspects have been arrested. 

At around 2:30 a.m., Drummond knocked on the door of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority at 2311 Prospect St., which may have been familiar to him, because “he may have had a friend who worked there in some capacity,” said Ed Galvan, Berkeley Police Department spokesperson. 

He died shortly thereafter. 

Between 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m., a verbal argument between Drummond and another individual reportedly occurred outside of Larry Blake’s club at 2367 Telegraph Ave., according to Galvan. No shots, however, were reported to police at that time. 

It was not known at press time whether the victim walked or was driven to the sorority house. There was no indication that he bled if he walked the half-mile between where he was presumably shot and the house where he died. 

“In theory, if he ran there should be blood spots along the way,” Galvan said, noting, however, that he could have died from internal bleeding. Police have not yet seen the coroner’s report, he said. 

Asked if robbery may have been a motive, Galvan said, following a journalist’s report, the police were looking into the possibility. He said he could not, however, divulge whether the victim’s wallet had been taken, as that is part of the investigation. 

This is the fourth Berkeley murder this year. On Feb. 10, Juan Carlos Ramos, a Contra Costa College student, was stabbed to death at a teen house party on Contra Costa Avenue in the North Berkeley hills. No arrests have been made.  

Also in February, 24-year-old Keith Stephens, featured in Meredith Maran’s “Class Dismissed,” was shot and killed on Carrison Street. No arrests have been made. 

In March, Aderian “Dre” Gaines, 36, was shot and killed while hosting a teen party at his Prince Street home. Police arrested two suspects. 

Galvan called for people with any knowledge of the incident to call Berkeley Police at 981-5900, even if they think police already have the information.


Judge Rejects Challenge To Measure J Language

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday September 08, 2006

A Superior Court judge struck down the citizen challenge to Berkeley’s Measure J ballot language following an hour-long hearing on Tuesday, meaning that the legal analysis proposed by the Berkeley City Attorney’s office and approved by City Council on a divided vote will appear on the November ballot. 

Asked if the ruling by Judge Frank Roesch vindicates the city attorney’s position on the ballot statement, Deputy City Attorney Zack Cowan said “it was challenged. The court said the language was okay. That sounds like a vindication to me. We’re certainly happy. We think the ruling was correct.” 

Co-sponsored by Berkeley residents Laurie Bright and Roger Marquis, Measure J seeks to amend Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance and Demolition Permit Application for Non-Residential Buildings Ordinance. Bright and Marquis requested the Superior Court to overturn the descriptive language that will appear on the November ballot after the Berkeley City Council approved the language on a 6-3 vote at the Aug. 1 City Council meeting. 

Bright represented the appellants in the hearing while the City of Berkeley was represented by outside counsel, former Berkeley and Napa city attorney Tom Brown. The hearing was held on an expedited basis with the approval of both sides, because ballot language for the November election had to be approved by Sept. 7. 

In their appeal, Bright and Marquis charged that the ballot measure language drafted by the city attorney’s office misrepresented the measure in several instances, making it more likely that voters would cast their ballots against the measure. 

Among other things, the city attorney’s ballot language says that Measure J “would have the voters adopt, and in some cases lengthen, some City timelines to process permits that the City Attorney has advised can cause the City to violate state processing deadlines” and “would grant the Landmarks Preservation Commission authority to disapprove permits to demolish historic resources, and significantly limit the City’s ability to permit such demolitions, regardless of competing public interests.” 

Berkeley Landmarks Commissioner Lesley Emmington, who attended the hearing in support of the appeal, said that in Bright’s argument to the court, he said that analysis language “cherrypicked” certain aspects of the ordinance, “inducing the voter to reject the initiative, making it an argument against the initiative.” 

But Emmington said, “The judge ruled he could not honestly reach the point to say that the ballot language was misleading. He said that people really look at who endorses a ballot measure, rather than the ballot language itself. Some read it, but some don’t.” 

Emmington said that the judge was “deferential. He scheduled this as the last hearing of the day, so he could give it enough time.” 

She also praised Bright for “putting up a valiant effort at the appeal hearing.”


Haiti Delegation to Present Views of UN Aggression

By Judith Scherr
Friday September 08, 2006

Just returned from Haiti, participants in a conference of Haitian progressives and international supporters in Port-au-Prince will share their experiences meeting with political prisoners just released from jail and their eyewitness account of a U.N. military operation in a poor neighborhood. 

Delegates will speak on a panel Saturday that will include former political prisoner Fr. Gérard Jean-Juste and noted physician Dr. Paul Farmer. The program, called “Haiti Today—Occupation and Resistance”—is at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 7 p.m., 1640 Addison St. 

A highlight of the trip for conference participants Jacques Depelchin, visiting scholar at UC Berkeley, and Pauline Wynter, ecologist for 30 years in southern Africa, was a visit to the home of activist-folk singer So Anne. 

Depelchin and Wynter knew So Anne was a leader in Lavalas, the movement of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. They had read that U.S. Marines blasted open the front gate to her home May 10, 2004, shot her dogs, terrified her family members, including a 5-year old grandchild and then arrested the activist, who was locked up for two years. 

Neither Wynter nor Depelchin had anticipated the power of the presence of So Anne —“a large, beautiful spirit,” as Wynter called her. 

Author of Silences in African History and other works, Depelchin was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Wynter is originally from the Eastern Caribbean. They attended the conference representing the Berkeley-based Ota Benga Alliance, dedicated, according to Depelchin, “to peace, healing, and dignity in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the USA and of course everywhere.” 

Depelchin said his understanding of Haiti grew deeper while listening to the freed political prisoner. “So Anne began to talk about what jail was,” he said, quoting the former prisoner: “‘They can put the bars as high as they want, we will be like the wind, which will be so strong that we will remove the obstacles.’  

“Basically, she would never submit,” Depelchin added. 

Why why was So Anne arrested? The early accusations were bizarre—she crushed a baby to death with a mortar and pestle; she collaborated with terrorists from a local mosque; she was plotting against the U.S. Marines. In the end, no charges stuck—but it took two years of her life to get free. 

Wynter discounted the charges: “She was arrested because of her spirit and her presence in the world,” she said.  

Depelchin compared the effort to break a spirit like So Anne’s to the Haitian revolution of 1804. Like Napoleon’s armies in 1804, which were unable to vanquish the Haitian people, the jailing of political activists such as So Anne, cannot crush their spirits, he said. (Haiti’s enslaved population revolted against the French colonialists gaining independence in 1804.)  

“They had to be squashed. Two hundred years—that is what is going on,” Depelchin said, explaining the role of the United States and France in Haiti. “The system has never forgiven the slaves.” 

While many in the delegation said their visit with So Anne was the high point of their trip, the low point turned out to be a visit to the impoverished neighborhood of Simon-Pelé. Several delegates to the conference, including Wynter, labor activist Dave Welsh of Berkeley and San Francisco writer Ben Terrall visited that community to investigate reports that U.N. troops had recently attacked and killed people there. 

Today there are about 9,000 U.N. troops in Haiti. The U.N. military was deployed in June 2004 to replace U.S. Marines, who policed the country after the United States ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004. (The State Department contends Aristide asked the U.S. to fly him out of Haiti.) 

Studies such as the one written in 2004 for the University of Miami by Thomas Griffin and recent reports by Haitian and foreign observers have charged the U.N. with passively allowing police to commit violent crimes and directly committing violence themselves.  

Delegates said they came to understand that the violence of the U.N. occupation under the U.S.-backed interim government—February 2004 to April 2006—continues today despite the election of President René Préval. 

The delegation had just begun interviewing people in Simon-Pelé when they saw four UN armored personnel carriers approaching. “Two went down one street and two came down the street we were on,” Welsh said noting there were many people on the streets, including children. 

Accompanying the APCs, manned by Brazilian soldiers, was a U.N. bulldozer and a U.N. dump truck filled with dirt. The dirt was dumped in a roadway “apparently to block an escape route from the neighborhood,” Terrall said in a phone interview from Haiti. 

Then the troops started firing. “They were shooting down the street and into houses,” said Welsh, describing the shots as repeated and fired indiscriminately. Both Welsh and Terrall said they heard two pops coming from the direction of the houses, which they said could have been return fire from a small caliber weapon. 

The U.N. soldiers ignored the delegation, which filmed and photographed the incident. One of the group asked the soldiers why they were shooting; the soldiers’ response was that they were looking for a criminal. (U.N. spokesperson in Haiti David Wimhurst did not respond to phone calls or e-mailed questions about the incident.) 

The delegation left the area as soon as it was safe to do so, but Terrall returned to Simon-Pelé several days later to talk to witnesses. He interviewed the mother of Wildert Samedy, 19, who had been shot and killed by the U.N. that day while he was fixing a radio antenna on the roof of his home. 

Wynter said she saw something that she wished not to remember. “But I couldn’t help but notice it,” she said. “I don’t think I saw any U.N. troops who were not brown or black. As someone from the Caribbean, and from the African diaspora, it’s distressing that we’ve gotten to the point where the UN uses black or brown troops to put down people of color.” 

The violence of the U.N. military made a profound impression on Wynter, particularly because of the place the Haitian revolution of 1804 holds for her. 

“To have the very source of inspiration and courage on the receiving end of such military force should be of extreme importance to everyone in that diaspora,” she said.


Three Arrests in Pot Cookie Incident at Cloyne Court

Bay City News
Friday September 08, 2006

UC Berkeley police arrested three people on felony drug charges today following an incident in which about a dozen students were briefly hospitalized after consuming what are suspected to be marijuana-laced cookies. 

University officials said the suspects, two of whom are current UC Berkeley students, are believed to have been involved with the preparation and distribution of the cookies served Wednesday night at Cloyne Court, an independent student-run housing co-op at 2600 Ridge Road near the campus. 

UC police went to the co-op after receiving a call about 8 p.m. Wednesday from a student who said she was feeling ill and very anxious. 

Police said they soon learned that about 15 others at the co-op were experiencing similar symptoms, including numbness to feet and hands, shortness of breath and minor hallucinations. 

Of those 15, a dozen were sent to local hospitals, where they were treated and released by this morning. Four were treated on the scene by paramedics, according to university officials. 

Campus police said that based on interviews with the students, they executed search warrants that led to the arrest of the three individuals. 

Michael Tobias, 24, a UC Berkeley student, was arrested on suspicion of furnishing marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale. 

Carmen Anderson, 21, also a UC Berkeley student, was arrested for possession of more than an ounce of marijuana and possession of psilocybin, a hallucinogenic drug present in some mushrooms. 

Christopher Portka, 23, was arrested for possession of more than an ounce of marijuana and possession of psilocybin. 

University officials said Anderson is believed to be the only one out of the three suspects who lives in Cloyne Court. 

In addition to the criminal case, Tobias and Anderson could face code of conduct charges for violation of campus policies. 

University officials said the University Students Cooperative Association is an independent group that offers affordable student housing and oversees 20 properties around the UC-Berkeley campus.  

Cloyne Court, the largest co-op, is among four properties owned by the University of California regents and leased to the association. It has 149 residents. 

Residents living at co-ops on UC property must be enrolled at UC Berkeley. However, they may continue to live at the co-op for an additional semester after they graduate.


Hit and Run Propels Car into Royal Grounds Cafe

By Susa Lim, Special to the Planet
Friday September 08, 2006

Royal Grounds coffee house, underneath the university-owned Manville Apartments for graduate students, was the scene of a hit-and-run accident on Sunday. 

Carol Chen, 27, and Ryo Kawaoka, 25, were heading home, eastbound on Channing Way, when an unidentified driver of a white sedan heading north on Shattuck Avenue ran a red light and clipped the back of Chen’s 1995 black Nissan Sentra. 

Her vehicle crashed into the left side windows of Royal Grounds at 10:48 p.m., strewing broken glass all over the café and knocking over wooden tables and chairs. 

Cafe workers pulled both Chen, a second-year doctoral student from UCSF, and passenger Kawaoka, a Berkeley resident, out of the wreckage. They were both uninjured. The white car had fled the scene. 

“I heard Ryo say watch out and then the impact,” Chen said. “I had no time to try to watch out. I just slammed on my brakes.” 

According to witnesses, two women sitting about six feet from the site of the impact at Royal Grounds, suffered minor injuries; they received care from paramedics and were released. 

“Nobody was sitting where the car rammed into,” says Kawaoka. “I’m relieved that no one got seriously injured.” 

Police officers declined to comment because of their ongoing investigation into the accident.


DAPAC Talks Parking Issues

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday September 08, 2006

At Wednesday’s joint meeting of the Transportation Commission and the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee, board members discussed and debated downtown parking in Berkeley. 

DAPAC members also rejected a short-term plan for the Downtown Berkeley BART plaza and transit area. 

An overview of the parking situation downtown was presented by David McCrossan of the IBI Group, the consultants who were appointed in July. McCrossan presented existing conditions on parking, baseline traffic conditions and an analysis of transportation-land use options. 

Board member Rob Wrenn suggested that IBI include origin-destination studies with respect to the downtown in their report to know how people who work in Berkeley get to Berkeley. 

Other board members said the UC Berkeley parking facility between Bancroft Way and Durant Avenue should be part of any evaluation of downtown Berkeley and asked the IBI Group to include it in their report. 

 

McCrossan informed those present that a lot more data was required to fill in the gaps in the report before IBI could make a comment on the utilization of parking space in the downtown area. He said that the firm was hopeful of getting more done in the next seven or eight months.  

Betty Deakin, current director of the UC Berkeley Transportation Center and the first chair of the Transportation Commission, held a panel discussion on parking along with Donald Shoup, professor of urban planning at UCLA. 

“I am pleased with Berkeley’s innovation of managing parking,” said Deakin, adding that more active participation was required to make it even better. “We want to have a community where people come to work, shop, and recreate. We are always in Berkeley looking for balance and dynamic land use changes. We need to think more effectively of how we can make use of our parking, of how we can make it cost-effective and environment friendly.” 

Shoup compared parking conditions in and around the UCLA, but acknowledged that parking in downtown Berkeley was much worse because of fewer spaces. 

He pointed out that one factor that was common in both cities was that there was more traffic on the street when people were looking for parking space. 

“Cruising for parking interferes with pedestrian traffic and leads to congestion and excess vehicle travel, especially during competition for curb space,” he said. 

Describing the current 24-minute parking signs in Berkeley as “more Mickey Mouse than anything else,” Shoup discussed bringing about a change in the parking meters and also talked about in-vehicle parking payments, which allow vehicle users to pay for every minute used with wireless devices. Parking occupancy sensors which wirelessly communicated to City Hall about on-street parking occupancy were also discussed as a possible option.  

Shoup also talked about adapting certain ideas from the Redwood City Parking Ordinance. 

He added that having different prices for different times of the day could be useful. “Sometimes when there is a boost in traffic, tweaking up the prices helps a bit,” he said. 

Rob Wrenn brought up the topic of sprucing up the downtown parking garages so that more people would start using them. 

“Although there’s no data to back it up, there’s a common perception that a lot of women don’t feel comfortable using them at night.” he said. “We would definitely want to discuss our capacity to build new parking garages.” 

The joint committee voted to have the city staff come back with a report on the Redwood City parking principals at the next meeting on Sept. 21. 

 

BART PLAZA DESIGN 

CD+A, the consulting firm hired by the City of Berkeley to develop a concept plan for the Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza and Transit Area, presented DAPAC with a number of transportation and urban design issues, including the incorporation of dedicated bus lanes in the study area and redesign and programming of open space areas.  

DAPAC member Lisa Stephens commented that unless there was an equivalent replacement of green space in the proposed BART plaza, she would not endorse the short term plan. Board members Jesse Arreguin and Patti Dacey agreed with her.  

The board turned down the motion to endorse the short term plan with seven members voting for, seven against and Wrenn abstaining. 

 


The Best $5 Meals Around Campus

By Jacob Horn, Special to the Planet
Friday September 08, 2006

Are you a student? Do you need all those extra dimes and nickels to pay your tuition? But, you still need to eat, right? Here are a few restaurants around campus that can keep your stomach and wallet full. 

 

Cancún Taqueria 

2134 Allston Way, 549-0964 

Located in downtown Berkeley between Shattuck and Allston, Cancún is one of the better taquerias in the East Bay for a value meal that won’t hurt the wallet. When going there, be sure to order the savory Chicken Lime or Tortilla soup. Each soup comes with a basket full of freshly made tortilla chips, and there is a great salsa bar where you can choose at least 20 different kinds of salsa. The soup and chips will set you back $3.80 and should satisfy most anybody. This restaurant is a good option for health conscious eaters. 

Mon.-Thurs., 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m.-10 p.m. 

 

Fred’s Deli 

1929 University Ave. 548-2294 

Fred’s has been known for years for its delicious piroshki-style sandwiches, made with grilled meat, grilled onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and mayonnaise. Each sandwich can be made with or without cheese, but if you haven’t had one before, make sure you order it with cheese. Always go for the chicken as the flavor of beef never blends as well as its white meat counterpart. Top off this meal with an Arizona drink: it’ll cost you $5.50 and it’ll be totally worth it. 

 

Top Dog 

2160 Center St. 849-0176 

2534 Durant Ave. 843-5967 

2503 Hearst Ave. 843-1241 

A Berkeley favorite since 1966, this great hot dog stand has been serving the same famous great tasting dogs for over 40 years. If you come from New York, don’t say anything until you have tried the real thing, right here in Berkeley. For a meal without the bill, go ahead and try the Top Dog Doggie Bag, which includes the famous dog as well as chips and a drink. You get all this for a measly $4.75, and trust me, your stomach will thank you. 

Mon.-Fri. 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. 

 

Arinell’s 

2119 Shattuck Ave. 841-4035 

Welcome to another Berkeley classic. Arinell’s pizza opened in the ’70s and was one of the first places to offer pizza by the slice in Berkeley. It used to be located in a hole-in-the wall, until it moved next door. They still serve the same great New York-style pizza as they did decades ago. Don’t expect this to be a thick-crust, massive pizza. Rather, it’s a more working class thin-slice pizza that’s cooked to perfection. For $3.50, you can get a soda and a slice of this classic pizza. Hey, it may be a little more than other places, but it sure will keep you happy for the rest of the day.


Flash: Cody's Sold to Japanese Buyer

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday September 05, 2006

A Tokyo-based buyer will purchase the two remaining Cody’s Bookstores, according to Pat Cody, former owner of the original Cody’s with her late husband Fred Cody. The purchase is “a good thing,” Cody told the Daily Planet Tuesday morning. 

Current Cody’s owner Andy Ross will announce details of the sale Wednesday at a 9 a.m. press briefing at Cody’s Fourth Street store. Ross made headlines several months ago with the closing of the famed Telegraph Avenue Cody’s. 

The new owner will be either Tokyo-based businessman Hiroshi Kagawa or the company of which he is CEO and President: Yohan, Inc.  

Last year Yohan, a Japanese book distributor founded in 1953, bought Stone Bridge Press, a Berkeley-based publishing company. Yohan owns several retail bookshops in Japan, according to a press release issued at the time Yohan acquired Stone Bridge. 

Stone Bridge Press is an English-language publisher specializing in books about Japan and its pop cultures. 

Yohan, the largest distributor of general foreign books and magazines in Asia, according to a press statement, is capitalized at 525 million yen or $4.5 million, says the company’s web site. 

Kagawa, 51, who resides in Tokyo and New York “has long been active as a journalist and a specialist in international publishing,” according to the Yohan web site. 

It is not clear at this time whether the store on Telegraph Avenue—now used as a Halloween retail outlet—is part of the deal. Ross owns part of the former Cody’s on Telegraph and holds a $20,000-per-month lease on the other part of the former bookstore. 

 

 


Closing Time for Capoeira Cafe?

Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday September 05, 2006

The Capoeira Arts Cafe has been bringing South American instruments such as Berimbaus, Agogos, Caxixis and the Brazilian martial arts dance Capoeira to Berkeley for the past decade.  

The cafe’s lease is set to expire in December, which puts a question mark on its future at 2026 Addison St. The cafe staff say they are discussing the possibilities of renewing the lease with the non-profit Americana music presenter Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, which owns the property. 

“We have not yet received any communication from them about a lease renewal,” said Freight & Salvage Executive Director Steve Baker, whose performing space is now located on Addison Street near San Pablo Avenue. 

Baker said that even if the Capoeira Arts Cafe agrees to a new lease, the building that houses the cafe, as well as the building at 2020 Addison St., which Freight & Salvage also owns, will be closed for renovation for about a year beginning in the new year. 

“This would lead to the buildings closing down for at least a year. But we are happy to work with people who want to work with us,” said Baker. 

Freight & Salvage is currently waiting for a permit from the city to start renovation on the two buildings. 

Calls to the Capoeira Arts Cafe for comment were not returned by press time. 

Capoeira, which was introduced in the United States 30 years ago, is a Brazilian art form which incorporates music, dance and martial arts movements. Capoeira was originally started by the slaves in Brazil as a form of self-defense against their oppressors during colonial rule. Marked by deft movements that could reach acrobatic dimensions, this “dance-like fight” or “fight-like dance” is always accompanied by music. 

The art form is comprised of two distinct styles. Angola, which is the more traditional one, is slower, lower play. Regional is more acrobatic and involves a lot of technique and strategy. Sweeps, high kicks, headstands and headbutts also feature in both, making this a lot of fun for children. 

“Learning Capoeira at the cafe has been the most amazing and expansive experience of my life as well as my daughter Isabella’s,” said Berkeley resident Jennifer Wright who has been learning Capoeira since May. 

Six-year-old Isabella, who has been taking classes since May, even has her own Capoeira nickname—borboleta—which means “butterfly” in Portuguese. 

“What makes this so different from other dances is the way martial arts is hidden inside the dance. This was done so that the slave owners did not find out that their slaves were practicing fight forms behind their backs. It was even outlawed in Brazil at one point,” said Wright, who is completely taken up by Capoeira’s history. 

Papagio, who has been affiliated with the Capoeira Arts Cafe in various capacities for the last 16 years, spoke to the Planet about the philosophy behind this intriguing dance form: 

“In Capoeira, you don’t try to block a move, you try to get out of the way of conflict. You are constantly looking for new solutions.” 

Papagio added that although Capoeira had been in the United States for almost three decades now, a lot of people didn’t know anything about it.  

“Most people who come in have no knowledge of Portuguese, Brazil or Capoeira itself,” she said. “Take the language for instance. When you go to play Capoeira, everyone is singing something in Portuguese or a particular African dialect. And people join in and gradually pick it up. People get extremely inspired by the whole experience. Some even go on to pursue Brazilian studies at school.” 

Described as a “colorful multi-purpose global village where you can sip a cappuccino to the rhythmic beat of a berimbau,” the cafe is a project of the United Capoeira Association with the world-renowned Masters, Mestre Acordeon and Mestre Rã.  

The only one of its kind in Berkeley, it is affiliated to Capoeira schools in Sacramento, Seattle, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado and has sister schools in Los Angeles and New York.  

Maestro Acordeon, who has been teaching in the Bay Area since 1978, even has a blog dedicated to the topic at www.capoeirabymestreacordeon.blogspot.com, which includes links and information about where Capoeira is taught. 

“You can never stop learning Capoeira,” said Papagio. “There are people who have been leaning Capoeira under Maestro Acordeon since 1978 and are still here.” 

 


Court Approves Limited Measure I Corrections

Judith Scherr
Tuesday September 05, 2006

An Alameda Country judge agreed with the city and Measure I opponents, ruling Friday to allow only limited changes to the text of the city attorney’s analysis of the Condominium Conversion ballot measure that will go before voters Nov. 7. 

City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque had mistakenly based her written analysis on an early version of the ballot measure rather than a later, modified version. (Each side blamed the other for the mistake.)  

Speaking in Alameda County Superior Court Department 31 for Measure I proponents, attorney William Flynn of Neyhart, Anderson, Freitas, Flynn & Grosbol hoped to go beyond the two changes the two sides had already agreed on—the number of days for the right of first refusal and the entity that would ascertain the level of rental vacancies in the city. 

Flynn called the city attorney’s analysis “false and misleading,” and asserted: “This is the time and place to challenge” other parts of the analysis. 

But Jay Koslofsky, attorney representing Mayor Tom Bates, the lead author of arguments opposing the measure, accused Flynn of “trying to bootstrap-in their (other) arguments.” 

Apparently in agreement, Judge Winifred Smith replied, “The writ of mandate hearing doesn’t open it up for general revue.” 

Giving the attorney a short legal lesson, she continued: “A writ of mandate is an error that needs to be corrected. I don’t believe it opens up the floodgates for the review of everything you want changed.” 

Attorney Kevin Siegel of McDonough Holland & Allen speaking for the city, added, “We don’t want the courts micromanaging.”  

In granting the writ of mandate, the two points the judge approved for change are: 

• Tenants have first rights for 30 days to buy the unit they live in. (An earlier version said 14 days.) 

• The Housing Department will not be responsible for determining the vacancy rate, as the early version stated, but a third impartial party will make the determination. (Up to 500 units can be converted according to the new law—the exact number depends on the vacancy rate.) 

Flynn had hoped to make several other changes, but was unsuccessful. One was to remove the word “discount” from the city attorney analysis, which refers to a “5 percent discount in the purchase price” for tenants buying the units in which they live. Flynn argued that the tenant rather would be paid a sum equal to 5 percent of the sales price, when purchasing the property. 

“It is 5 percent off the purchase price,” Siegel countered. “It’s clearly accurate to say 5 percent discount.”  

The proposed Condominium Conversion law will replace the current Berkeley law and allow the conversion of up to 500 units of housing under certain conditions, rather than limiting the number to 100 as written in the current law.  

Named in the argument supporting Measure I are Eleanor Pepples, Dean Metzger, Jim Smith, Shirley Dean and Doris Maslach. Named in the argument opposing Measure I are Assemblymember Loni Hancock, Rent Board Chair Howard Chong, Mayor Tom Bates, Fr. George Crespin and City Councilmember Laurie Capitelli.  

 


Helen L. Seaborg, 1917-2006

David Seaborg, Special to the Planet
Tuesday September 05, 2006

Helen L. Seaborg passed away on Aug. 29 from pneumonia. Born March 2, 1917, in a Florence Crittenden home in Sioux City, Iowa, she was adopted by George and Iva Griggs. After her father’s death, she and her mother moved to the Santa Ana area of southern California. 

She worked her way through college, receiving an A.A. from Santa Ana Junior College and a B.A. in English from the University of California at Berkeley in 1939. 

She was hired as a secretary for the Nobel-prize winning physicist, Ernest O. Lawrence, who was director of what is now the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. There she met her husband of 56 years, future Nobel laureate Glenn T. Seaborg. They were married in 1942 on their way to Chicago, where they would live while he was working on the Manhattan Project, the World War II project to build the atomic bomb. Helen provided invaluable administrative assistance to the scientists at the code-named Metallurgical Laboratory. 

Throughout her husband’s renowned career, she provided behind-the-scenes help. Glenn Seaborg often remarked that he could not have managed his many accomplishments without her assistance and advice. Her role as the wife of the chancellor of UC Berkeley and chairman of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (from 1961 to 1971) required a mixture of efficiency and diplomacy that she fulfilled with exceptional grace. 

Her generous nature was reflected in many volunteer jobs. She felt particularly indebted to the YWCA for the services she had received during a childhood of poverty, and among her many positions, she served on the boards of directors of YWCAs in both Berkeley and Washington, D.C. In Washington, the city’s racially segregated past had left it with two YWCA organizations, one white and one black, with predictable friction between the two. Helen’s buoyant and unflappable nature allowed her to act as the mediator between the two organizations during the tense negotiations of their merger. 

During the 1960s in Washington, racial integration of the public schools was often accomplished through a voluntary busing program. Helen was a founder and board member of the INCAP program, a project designed to provide opportunities to elementary school classmates bused from different neighborhoods to continue activities and friendships outside the classroom and during the summer months. 

A supporter of open space and an avid hiker, she and Glenn devoted most of their weekends for a year to scouting a hiking route across the state of California. This route was used in 1980 by a project of the American Hiking Society called HikaNation, in which a group of backpackers hiked coast to coast. Helen and Glenn joined them on much of their journey across California. Much of the route later became a part of today’s coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail. 

In her later years, she made a hobby of tracing the genealogy of her biological and adoptive families. 

She was preceded in death by her husband Glenn, son Peter Seaborg; and Peter’s twin sister Paulette, who died in infancy. 

Helen is survived by daughter Lynne Cobb and her husband William Cobb of St. 

George, Utah; son David Seaborg and his wife Adele Seaborg of Walnut Creek; son Stephen Seaborg of La Mesa; son Eric Seaborg and his wife Ellen Dudley of Charlottesville, Va.; daughter Dianne Seaborg and her partner Tor Neilands of Lafayette; granddaughter Lela Cobb and her fiancé Todd Arthur of Auckland, New Zealand; and granddaughter Molly Cobb of New York City. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the YWCA at UC Berkeley, 2600 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704.


Two Downballot Offices Contested in November Election

J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday September 05, 2006

With the Labor Day holidays over and summer beginning to wane, public attention now turns to the elections scheduled for the first Tuesday in November. 

Statewide, the major publicity will be generated by the gubernatorial race and possibly by the attorney general’s campaign as well. Locally, the focus will be on the runoff for Oakland City Council District 2, the Berkeley mayoral, City Council, and School Board races, and the campaign for Peralta Community College District Seat 7. 

But the local ballot will have two other contested campaigns as well that are of interest and importance to local voters. Aside from the fact that many of the positions being contested have considerable power over policy and budgets, positions on lesser-followed boards and commissions can often be steppingstones to higher public office. West Oakland resident Nancy Nadel, for example, moved from a seat on the East Bay Municipal Utilities District Board to a longtime seat on the Oakland City Council and, most recently, a run for the mayor of Oakland. 

 

AC Transit at-large 

For a moment, it looked like this was going to be one of those powerhouse races pitting two incumbents against each other: at-large incumbent Rebecca Kaplan, a Green Party member from Oakland and activist and a labor, tenant, civil rights, and environmental attorney, against Dennis Hyashi, a public interest attorney from Castro Valley who was elected in November 2004 to serve the remainder of a four-year term for the AC Transit District Ward 4. Hyashi initially filed for the at-large seat but then ran for an Alameda County judgeship instead, coming in first in a six-candidate field and winning a spot in a November runoff against Sandra Bean. Instead of Hyashi, Kaplan will face James Muhammad of Oakland, who lost to H.E. Christian Peeples in 2004 for the other at-large AC Transit seat, winning less than 10 percent of the vote. 

 

AC Transit Ward 3 

This race does promise some excitement, with two candidates running with significant political experience or connections in a district that takes in all of the City of Alameda as well as a portion of the cities of Oakland and San Leandro. With incumbent Dolores Jaquez choosing not to run for re-election, the race pits challengers Elsa Ortiz of Oakland against Alameda County City Councilmember Tony Daysog. Ortiz currently serves as Special Counsel for Indian Affairs for State Senator Don Perata, and previously worked for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer both in the AG’s office as well as when Lockyer was State Senator. Daysog recently ran for the Democratic Party nomination for the 16th Assembly District seat, coming in fourth in the June primary with less than 10 percent of the vote, losing to Sandre Swanson. 

 

Unopposed 

For a while, it looked like there might be a spirited race for the East Bay Municipal Utilities District Ward 4 seat, with four candidates taking out initial papers. But three dropped out, leaving Berkeley resident Andy Katz unopposed. Katz, a Berkeley Zoning Commissioner, ran unsuccessfully for the District 8 Berkeley City Council seat in 2004, losing to Gordon Wozniak. Wozniak has donated to Katz’s EBMUD race, as has Berkeley City Councilmember Laurie Capitelli, and he has also received generous donations from AFSCME locals 444 and 2019. Katz has also been recommended for Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club endorsement by the club’s executive committee. 

Also unopposed in the general election is BART Ward 4 Director Carol Ward-Allen of Oakland. 


Proposition 90: A First Look at a Revolutionary Initiative

Richard Brenneman
Tuesday September 05, 2006

What Howard Jarvis started, Howard Rich aims to finish. 

Rich, an elusive New York developer, has been bankrolling initiatives aimed at stripping state and local governments of their power to limit development. 

His California measure, Proposition 90, masks that agenda. It’s portrayed as simply a ban on government eminent domain actions that take private property and hand it over to developers for private use. 

And the strategy seems to be paying off. With comparatively little media coverage to date, the measure has managed to win the support of a strong cross-section of California voters. 

The highly respected Field Poll reported early in August that the measure had attracted strong support from both parties, with favorable/unfavorable ratings of 51/28 for Republicans and 42/32 among Democrats. Surprisingly, support was even stronger among those who rated themselves as “middle of the road” rather than conservative (50/46). 

The poll was based on a survey of 762 voters conducted between July 10 and 23. 

The results should be music to the ears of Rich, a wealthy New York developer and hard core property rights libertarian, who primed the Prop. 90 pump with a $1.5 million donation from his Fund for Democracy. 

The second largest contributor is Howard Ahmanson, the fundamentalist advocate of theocracy who is also the primary bankroll for the so-called Intelligent Design campaign—a movement which seeks to replace Charles Darwin’s theory of “evolution by natural selection” with a divinely ordained process. 

 

Protecting what? 

Though it’s billed as the “Protect Our Homes Act” and fueled by the controversy over a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, the measure could equally be dubbed the “Unleash the Developers” initiative. 

While the measure does restrict the use of eminent domain, the law’s most far-reaching effects weigh heavily in favor of developers. 

Rich himself has acknowledged that his priority is not eminent domain but the elimination of what he calls “government takings,” actions that impose controls on property development. 

While the measure does limit the seizure of homes by eminent domain to a narrow range of public necessity cases, Proposition 90 would also allow developers to sue any time local governments tried to minimize the size or impact of the projects they planned. 

According to Priority Focus, the newsletter of the League of California Cities, if a voter initiative limited a developer who wanted to build a 2,000-home subdivision to only 500, the developer would be entitled to sue for the value of the 1,500 homes he could build if they were permitted under previous zoning. 

And in the case of eminent domain actions, the former owner would be entitle to payment at value of the land under the new use, even if the use were barred to private owners. 

The initiative would also annul all unpublished court decisions in eminent domain cases, which are often resolved in local Superior Courts, which do not publish decisions. 

It would limit city controls over air space as in building height.  

Under the measure, property owners could sue any time local governments tried to limit their project to anything less than the maximum extent allowed by law. 

Thus, new regulations to reduce zoning, limit height, or otherwise minimize development impacts would provide grounds for costly lawsuits. 

After a similar measure was passed in November 2004, by voters in Oregon—a state with one tenth the population of California—2000 claims seeking more than $3.8 billion were filed, according to news reports.. 

 

The Jarvis gambit? 

By playing on sympathy for the small homeowner, Rich is following the same line laid out by Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann, who used the image of fixed-income homeowners in the inflationary 1970’s to fuel Proposition 13. That measure capped annual property tax increases and barred reassessments until the next property sale. 

The campaign relied heavily on images of elderly folks forced to sell their beloved homes because of rapidly escalating property taxes. 

But the biggest beneficiaries of Proposition 13 have been corporations, who typically sell their property stores, plants, warehouses, apartment Buildings and other facilities far less frequently than individual homeowners. 

The ballot argument prepared by supporters pushes the eminent domain angle in much the same way. 

The cases cited are: 

• The owner of a Mexican restaurant who lost his business through eminent domain so a Mercedes dealer could tear it down and build a parking lot. 

• A luggage store owner whose business was taken to make way for a hotel. 

• A pastor whose church was threatened with an action so a city could sponsor a condo development. 

The arguments mention nothing about potentially litigious developers. 

 

Cash players 

The measure has drawn heavy criticism from a wide range of organizations, including the League of California Cities, the California State Association of Counties, the California Housing Coalition, the California Police Chiefs Association, the California Fire Chiefs Association, the Coalition of Mobilehome Owners-California, the Sierra Club, the California School Boards Association, the League of Conservation Voters, the Greenbelt Alliance, the American Farmland Trust and dozens of other groups. 

Lt. Gov. Tom McClintock is a major supporter of Prop. 90, announcing on his campaign website that the measure “prohibits local officials from seizing homes and businesses for the profit of politically well-connected private interests, and requires government to pay you for any damage it does to your property.” 

Another organizational supporter is Americans for Limited Government, which turns out to be one of Rich’s organizations and a supporter of school vouchers. 

Three coalitions have arisen to fund the election campaign, one on the pro side and two against. 

According to the most recent campaign filings, Rich and his allies have raised at least $2,135,000, with the largest single donation, $1.5 million, coming from Rich’s Fund for Democracy on March 10. 

Montanans in Action chipped in $600,000 on May 8. It’s a group Shane Goldmacher at Capitol Weekly News in Sacramento reports is closely allied with Rich. 

Howard Ahmanson’s Fieldstead & Company kicked in $200,000 on April 27. Ahmanson is the primary sponsor of the Discovery Institute, the institutional home base of “Intelligent Design” theory. 

Fieldstead—which is Ahmanson’s middle name—also funds many conservative religious groups. 

Another $10,000 came from the Shelbran Company, a development firm, and $5,000 came from Atel Financial Services, LLC of San Francisco. 

The coalition spent at least $651,236.50 with Arno Political Consultants for gathering the signatures to place the measure on the ballot. 

On the opposing side, a larger coalition of organizations—many from the environmental movement and others representing local governments—managed to raise $855,000. 

The actual figure is lower because some of the funds raised by one group were donated to another. 

The four main opposition coalitions are: No on 90, Conservationists for Taxpayer Protection; Californians for Neighborhood Protection; Californians Against the Taxpayer Trap; and the Coalition to Protect California. 

Donations of $5,000 or more all came from organizations, including the League of California Cities, the California Redevelopment Association, the Sierra Club of California, the National Resources Defense Council Action Fund, Environmental Defense, the Defenders of Wildlife, the Nature Conservancy and the California Conservation Campaign.


As Prop. 90 Looms, Density Bonus Subcommittee Must Act Fast

Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday September 05, 2006

Berkeley’s Density Bonus Subcommittee met with city staff last week for the first time since being informed two weeks ago that all the work it had done on development standards for a year would be useless unless put in place before the Nov. 8 elections. 

The reason for the threat was that the election includes a vote on statewide Proposition 90, which if it passes might severely restrict cities in their ability to change zoning. 

Members of the subcommittee said they were alarmed to learn that their work might be invalidated. Berkeley planning staff and subcommittee members worked out a set of compromises on the issues at Wednesday’s meeting and a new report of the subcommittee will be presented for possible adoption at a special meeting on Sept. 6.  

City staff, including Planning Director Dan Marks and Planning Manager Mark Rhoades, presented the joint subcommittee with changes to what the committee had been working on, which staff wanted to recommend to the City Council. 

The joint subcommittee, comprised of members from the Joint Planning Commission, the Zoning Adjustments Board and Housing Advisory Commission, differed with staff on many issues, including on what should be done about development along San Pablo Avenue. 

City staff agreed with standard planning guidelines, which suggest that San Pablo, being a wide street, would benefit from having high-density housing.  

The joint subcommittee argued that building high-density four-story buildings in an underdeveloped area of the city like San Pablo, which predominantly houses single-story buildings, would not be in keeping with the neighborhood’s character. Therefore, they said, they would prefer a slower, less drastic rise in density there. 

The joint subcommittee also recommended that in the San Pablo Avenue commercial district, the construction of a fourth story should require a use permit. Not all the staff members agreed that such a permit should be required.  

In the end it was decided that the issue would be presented to the City Council for a decision. 

 

 


First Person: The Woes of an Incoming Junior

Maxine Wally, Special to the Planet
Tuesday September 05, 2006

It had seemed so easy at the time; sitting in the library computer lab at Berkeley High School, clicking merrily through the many classes I could take next year as an 11th grader. AP Writing and Composition, sure, I’ll sign up for that. AP U.S. History, that’s a must. Politics and Power as my elective (the teacher, Mr. Teel, is leaving after next year, I might as well take it). 

It was so simple to sign up for the classes, and I thought I could bear the workload easily. 

However, now that summer vacation is over, junior year looms over my head like a dark cloud. The reading for my AP Writing and Composition lay untouched until now, but yesterday I decided to pick it up and flip through it. It might as well have been written in Tibetan; Aristotle’s rhetoric theory makes hardly any sense to me. 

As soon as I began to see the $10 words and complicated explanations that were sprinkled across the page, a tightness in my chest started to rise to my throat. It seemed as if junior year wasn’t going to be such a cinch. 

Besides difficult classes, SATs are making me nervous. While flying back from my short vacation on Cape Cod, I struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to me. He informed me that the college board looks at SATs first, and that it is one of the most important things in a college application. 

Thus, the deal was sealed: I had to do as close to perfect as possible on my SATs. Not just because I wanted to go to an Ivy League college, but also because of the pressure building up on me since my sister did a less than satisfactory job on her test. 

So the other day, my mother and I trekked to Barnes & Noble and I bought four books that were supposed to boost my score. An entire section was devoted to preparing for the SATs. While most of my friends were signing up for classes that cost upwards of $1,500 to get them ready for the test, I was spending $20 on books that would hopefully do the exact same thing. 

Fiction novels that use about 15 SAT vocabulary words per page have been written as a quirky alternative to flash cards, so I picked up two of those. Along with a dictionary of 1,000 words most used in the SAT and a mammoth book called, 2,400: Shooting for a Perfect Score, I was set. Purchasing those books made me feel a lot more safe, and, for lack of a more appropriate word, better. 

The cloud above my head was getting smaller, and I felt content with resolve. I could go home, read these books, and build up my test-taking skills and my vocabulary. I could understand Aristotle’s rhetoric if I really sat down and read, rather than just let the words wash over my eyes and remain meaningless as I focus only on the problems junior year will throw at me. I decided to stay positive about next year: perhaps my classes could be fun. 

Maybe. 

Checking out, the woman working at the bookstore chuckled and said, “Preparing for your junior year?” I replied, “Lady, you have no idea.”


Activities for Teenagers

Elizabeth Hopper, Special to the Planet
Tuesday September 05, 2006

Even though summer vacation is over and the school year is here, there are many opportunities for local teenagers to find jobs and volunteer activities. 

In the Bay Area, there are hundreds of organizations offering jobs, internships, volunteer opportunities, and classes, but finding one that is actually enjoyable can seem like a daunting task. However, there are many resources available to help teens find these opportunities. 

For someone who has never worked before, finding a job is made easier by a variety of programs, books, and websites that help teenagers look for jobs, create resumes, and prepare for interviews. The City of Berkeley’s YouthWorks matches Berkeley residents ages 14-20 with jobs. Teens who are interested in YouthWorks can call 981-4970 for more information. For non-Berkeley residents, East Bay Works (www.eastbayworks.org) and Teen 411 (www.teen411.info), which are available to anyone, provide information about job opportunities and job training. 

For teenagers who are nervous about starting a job search, there’s a variety of resources that can help. Websites such as Quintessential Careers (www.quintcareers.com/teen_job_strategies.html) and books such as H. Anthony Medley’s Sweaty Palms: The Neglected Art of Being Interviewed offer detailed advice to help teens overcome their nerves before a job interview. Other books, including Cindy Pervola’s How to Get a Job If You’re a Teenager and Kathryn K. Troutman’s Creating Your High School Resume help teens find jobs and create resumes. 

In addition to working, teens can also choose an organization to volunteer with. Volunteering doesn’t have to be boring—in fact, the best way for teens to find a volunteer job can be to look for organizations that match their interests. Animal lovers can care for animals at the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society, while avid readers can help younger children play summer reading games at the library. There are literally hundreds of organizations such as these, and they can be found through websites such as Volunteer Match (www.volunteermatch.org), ServeNet (www.servenet.org), and The Volunteer Center (www.helpnow.org). 

Trying to find a job, internship, or other activity can be a challenging process, but there are a wide variety of resources available for teenagers who want to take the initiative to find them. 


Police Blotter

Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday September 05, 2006

The Berkeley Police Department sent out an urgent request to the community on Friday afternoon to help identify suspects who may be responsible for a number of robberies in Berkeley and possibly other Bay Area cities. 

On Aug. 23, a lone gunman entered the USE Credit Union at around 11 a.m. and, after ordering all persons to the ground, proceeded to rob the business. The suspect is a black male adult in his 20s, 5’9”, 160 pounds with pulled-back braided hair. The suspect could also be associated with a similar credit union robbery in the South Bay, according to Berkeley police spokesperson Officer Ed Galvan. 

Investigators are also looking for a suspect in a Berkeley Wells Fargo Bank robbery at 2 p.m. Aug. 23. The suspect is a black male in his 20s, 5’ 8”, 160 pounds, wearing a black T-shirt and multi-colored baseball cap. He is also believed to be responsible for at least one other Bay Area bank robbery. 

In the third case, victims were beaten up even after they complied with their attackers. On Aug. 25, a group of young males, possibly black or Latino, aged 18 to 22, robbed and beat their victims in the 1200 block of Francisco Street. The suspects have been described as over six feet tall. Berkeley police have said that this group could be responsible for four separate pedestrian robberies in the Northwest Berkeley area. 

Anyone with information about the suspects should contact the Berkeley Police Department Robbery Unit at 981-5742.


Berkeley’s Legendary Radicalism

Ted Vincent, Special to the Planet
Tuesday September 05, 2006

Berkeley’s role in radical ideas, movements and programs is often thought to date from the 1960s—that decade of the Free Speech Movement and of assorted demonstrations that led to the town nickname, “plywood city” for the boarded-up broken windows. 

Our city was considered ground-zero in the anti-Vietnam war cause. There was, for instance, the telegram sent from peace movement leaders in Toronto, Canada, to the main Berkeley anti-war office. The Toronto activists were hosting a debate between representatives of North and South Vietnam. The North Vietnam contingent pulled out.  

The Toronto telegram, composed in frantic terse telegramese, told Berkeley to tell North Vietnam to sit down with the South at the Toronto forum. Activists in the Berkeley office were flabbergasted. “Toronto thinks we can order North Vietnam around. Where’d they get that idea?” 

One could say it came from our town’s rep as the place that supported the causes: student freedom, free love, pacifism, ecology, women’s rights, disabled rights, coop living, senior rights, marijuana rights, and, among others, dramatic support for African American struggle—notably the Black Panther Party and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. Selma Spector-Vincent recalls from her days as secretary in the office of the East Bay Friends of SNCC that national headquarters informed Berkeley that its office was accounting for one of every three dollars sent in from around the United States. 

When did the activism begin? Apparently, well before our city was officially incorporated in 1878. During the 1850s, Mexicans angry at their land being seized repeatedly burned the homes of the first Anglo settlers. The first movement for a modern cause was in the spirit of our Center for Independent Living. A group of crusaders led by Frances Augusta Clark of San Francisco pushed for the establishment in Berkeley in 1865 of the state School for the Blind and Deaf, an institution the founders emphatically declared was “a school, not an asylum.” The school predated the University of California as a state educational institution in our city.  

Intense political party fights date from the election of Berkeley’s first city council, then called Board of Trustees. The 1878 election was won by the Workingmen’s Party—the proto-socialist party that was a power in those times in many a mine and mill town back East, and in San Francisco (a city where it detoured from class struggle into anti-Asian racism). 

The Berkeley contest featured our eternal split between “flats” and “hills.” The local Advocate newspaper said the victors represented “the working class” Western neighborhoods of the city, while the rival “aristocrat” party represented “the Claremont.” 

According to the Advocate, the Workingmen overcame a late rise in support for the rival Citizen’s Party by what we call today a get-out-the-vote campaign. In this case, the Workingmen “traversed from one end (of the town) to the other with fast horses to obtain every available vote.”  

In 1883 Berkeley became nationally prominent in a move against the mighty railroad companies, then buying up whole towns in monopolistic maneuvers. Anti-corporate militants gathered at the foot of Berkeley’s wharf to break ground for the western terminus of a cross-continental “People’s Railway of America.” 

The idea originated in the Knights of Labor on the East coast. That Berkeley should jump to the then visionary idea is suggestive of our traditions. The P.R.A. died with few miles of track laid.  

Two UC professors were in the first Workingmen’s Party government in Berkeley, their presence reflecting our town’s long tradition of intellectual activism. It may be noted that the Unitarians, those thoughtful agitators, opened Starr King School for Religion in 1906, and a year later the Berkeley Unitarian Club hosted the founding meeting for the city’s government reform movement, which successfully made Berkeley one of the first cities to adopt the commission system, a form of governance which was intended to curtail the power of the “political bosses,” and which swept the nation and was part of “The Progressive Movement.” 

Under the new form of government Berkeley got an openly “socialist” mayor. Jack London wrote sarcastically of Berkeley leftists of this time. In a biographical sketch he describes going from working-class Oakland to Berkeley for the fun of spouting this and that revolutionary slogan that would make the Berkeley “socialists” squirm.  

Between 1913 and 1923 mayors and involved citizens in Berkeley were instrumental in the fight to create a municipal water system, notes William Warren Ferrier in his history of the city. 

Corporations then dreamed of running the local water system in the manner of the gas and electric company today. Strong arguments against the capitalists were needed to push through what came to be the East Bay Municipal Utility District. 

The decade of the Great Depression began with Berkeley’s “hill” crowd in political control, to the extreme that in the 1932 presidential election, while Franklin D. Roosevelt swept most of the nation, Berkeley was one of the only cities in Alameda county to vote for Herbert Hoover.  

Under F.D.R., however, Berkeley politics switched back, notably in the city endorsement of a plan Roosevelt pushed for cities to endorse W.P.A. funding for schooling. Today, Berkeley High School is the only high school in the state primarily built through the W.P.A. and its New Deal successor agencies. Being a poster child for the movement, the grounds came to include our revered Berkeley Community Theater and Florence Schwimly Little Theater. 

The post-World War II years were a boon to higher education and the University of California grew significantly. Then a dark episode interrupted the good spirits. McCarthyism swept the nation. Paranoia over “communists,” “pinkos” and “fellow travelers” infected the trade unions, city governments and the academic community. 

In 1949 UC President Robert Gordon Sproul joined the anti-red crusade. He convinced the Regents to adopt a Loyalty Oath that all UC employees had to sign. Led by brave professors at Berkeley, 31 profs of the UC system refused to sign and were fired. A number sued and ten years later retained their positions. 

Talk about the professors who stood up to the witch hunters continued on UC campuses throughout the 1950s. Distaste grew over the intimidation factor in loyalty oaths (sign and shut up or someone might finger you for that night your date took you to a Communist Party party). 

Distaste turned to revulsion as evidence mounted that the government used paid liars to claim they saw this or that person at such a party. In San Francisco in May of 1960, a meeting of the House Un-American Activities Committee was brought to a halt by a gathering of angry young people, including many from Berkeley, and some from the old brown shingle homes along Haste and Dwight that would soon be torn down to create the large vacant lot that, thanks to later struggle, became People’s Park. 

The 1960 San Francisco HUAC protest is often considered the start of our Great Radical Tradition, which we have seen, actually goes back much further. 

 

 


UC Lawsuit Seeks to Stop Santa Cruz Anti-Growth Measures

Bay City News
Tuesday September 05, 2006

The University of California has filed a lawsuit against the city of Santa Cruz in an attempt to stop two growth-restricting ballot measures from taking effect should voters approve them in November. 

In the lawsuit, which was filed in Santa Cruz County Superior Court on Wednesday, the university argues that the city failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act when it placed Measures I and J on the ballot in July. 

The measures would restrict expansion of UC Santa Cruz, which seeks to increase total enrollment by 6,000 to 21,000 students in 2020, unless the university implements and pays for mitigation of the adverse impacts of growth on such things as traffic, water supply capacity and housing costs. 

UC attorney Kelly Drumm insists that the city should have examined the measures’ environmental impact, if any, before sending them to the voters. 

“Instead, the city denied there would be any impacts whatsoever and, further, gave less than the legally required notice of its action to the university and to the general public,” Drumm wrote in a statement. “Not only is the city threatening to withhold contractually obligated water to a UC campus, the city placed the ballot measures on the ballot without a full disclosure to voters of the environmental impacts that could be created by the city’s own measures.” 

The lawsuit states that the city offered a 12-day-long public comment period in July, noticeably shorter than the requirement of no fewer than 30 days under the California Environmental Quality Act.  

The lawsuit also seeks to have Measure J, which would amend the city’s charter to prevent the City Council from expanding water and sewer services outside city limits unless authorized to do so by the people or by the state’s Local Agency Formation Commission, invalidated on federal and state constitutional grounds. 

UC attorneys maintain that the city is contractually obligated to provide water to all parts of the campus, including the North Campus where roughly 35 percent of the growth proposed in the university’s 2005 long-range development plan would take place. The North Campus is located outside city limits and would thus, if Measure J passes, not receive city water and sewer services unless the university has alleviated the impact of that growth to the satisfaction of the people of Santa Cruz. 

UC wants to expand the Santa Cruz campus to accommodate an increased demand for higher education in California over the next 15 years, but supporters of the ballot measures are wary. 

“We need to send a strong and legally enforceable message to the university administration that this community will only support growth that is sustainable,” states the argument in favor of Measure I, which is supported by Santa Cruz Vice Mayor Emily Reilly, among others. “Both the campus and the local community will benefit from requiring UCSC to only grow  

if they can and will mitigate all of the serious impacts of any future expansion.” 

Santa Cruz City Attorney John Barisone said today the lawsuit is unlikely to interfere with the election. 

“I don’t think there is a very good likelihood of the lawsuit being decided before the election,” Barisone said, because the suit was filed too late for a trial to be scheduled before Nov. 7. 

Even if voters pass the measures, the suit asks for a court order to invalidate the growth restrictions on grounds that the city violated the procedural requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act when it neglected to prepare an environmental impact report. 

Barisone said he had not read the suit carefully enough to comment on the likelihood of a court order barring the measures from taking effect retroactively.


Katrina Wounds Slow to Heal for South Asian Community

New American Media
Tuesday September 05, 2006

A day before Hurricane Katrina hit last year, New Orleans residents Quamrun Zinia, husband Riyad Ferdous and their little kid got into a car. At 11:00 a.m., they set off. They just packed stuff for their kid. Then they drove 400 miles to seek shelter with Zinia’s brother who lived in the Houston suburb of Belleville. It was a category five warning, and evacuation was mandatory. 

She returned about 90 days later, and thankfully, suffered virtually no material loss at all. 

Zinia lived in the Metairie area of New Orleans, whose high elevation kept it protected from the flood waters that devastated this Louisiana metropolis after its levees broke. Yet one year after Katrina, there is an emotional wound that is still raw. 

“After Katrina, the one thing that has not changed at all is that awful feeling of fear,” the Bangladesh-born doctoral student told India-West by phone. “We are always scared. Now that the (hurricane) season has started, there is that constant fear that I will have to evacuate again.” 

Yet, as she is the first person to acknowledge, she is among the lucky ones. “At least I have a brother to go to,” she said ruefully. “Imagine the situation of others in far more precarious situations than mine.” 

Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States, according to the information resource Wikipedia. “It was the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the third-strongest landfalling U.S. hurricane ever recorded,” according to Wikipedia. “Katrina formed in late August during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and devastated much of the north-central Gulf Coast of the United States. Most notable in media coverage were the catastrophic effects on the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, and in coastal Mississippi. Katrina’s sheer size devastated the Gulf Coast over 100 miles (160 km) away from its center.” 

South Asians also suffered considerable loss, but the nature of the loss varied. While professionals often came out unscathed in the longer term, because federal assistance was on hand after they had survived the initial onslaught, students faced greater challenges, and undocumented workers faced terrible hardships, hit as they were by the double-whammy of natural disaster and ineligibility to government assistance, activists told India-West. 

The vast majority of Indian American motel owners are still struggling to open their motels, Anil Patel, gulf director of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, told India-West from Jackson, Miss., in a phone conversation. 

He said there were 19 Indian American-owned hotels in Biloxi. Miss., and Shreveport, La. In New Orleans, Indian Americans owned 20 hotels. “Out of these only five are open, the rest are not open yet,” he said. 

Zinia said while many people she knew got assistance from the much maligned Federal Emergency Management Agency, it was heartbreaking to see the suffering of people, particularly students, who weren’t immigrants, because the federal assistance spigot completely dried up for them. 

“My daughter is an American citizen, and we got a $2,000 voucher,” she said. “Next door to me is a student family just like us, they have a 4-year-old kid, the kid was born in Bangladesh, and they didn’t get it. Some got it, but had to return it. 

“Personally I felt very bad about this. I know a student family who have a green card, their home was in knee-level water and they got $36,000 for the loss of the place, furniture. In another house, another family, I feel so terribly sorry for them, they have two kids, they lost everything too, they got nothing. FEMA rejected their application, because they weren’t immigrants.” 

Partha Banerjee, executive director of the Newark, N.J.-based Immigration Policy Network, got involved with South Asian immigrant issues immediately after Katrina. He said the post-disaster circumstances of Katrina were also a golden opportunity lost by immigrant rights activists and the South Asian community. 

“This was a great opportunity to show the media and the establishment that the traditionally underprivileged part of society, particularly African-Americans, and immigrants face the same problems and challenges. But we blew it because we immigrants don’t want to work with African-Americans.” 

He said the South Asian experience in the aftermath of Katrina depended on where they belonged in the socio-economic ladder. 

“Many South Asians are students, teachers; many were ready,” he said. “The losses were great, but they later got aid. Students were relocated. So after they had weathered the initial hit, they got back on their feet. Those who work, they moved elsewhere. Many moved to Houston. Even in New Jersey and New York I know people who moved permanently.” 

Zinia echoed Banerjee’s views. For the past six years she has been organizing a Pahela Baisakh celebration, bringing together West Bengal and Bangladeshi Bangla-speakers from three states: Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. She said she was really surprised when she went to the Durga Puja celebrations. “The event had half the number of people,” she said. 

“They have arranged for jobs and moved out of state.”  

Students faced an added layer of hassles. “Many people don’t know that foreign students can only go to the specific college referred to in their I-20 forms,” Banerjee said. “Since their academic program was suspended, they had to go through a lot of hassles.” Here again, what one faced depended upon where one was. Mainstream students or privileged students were easily relocated, Banerjee said, while poor and immigrant students did not get that assistance. “These poor students don’t have much money to begin with, some lost everything,” he rued to India-West. “They had to work overtime to take care of this extra hurdle.” 

Even for the affluent, there was no telling how one would be affected. “Some have paid off their homes and they didn’t take flood insurance,” said Zinia. “Now water entered up to roof level, and the entire house was ruined. Since they had no flood insurance, they got nothing. I know a multimillionaire who is now penniless. 

“On the other hand, I know someone who had just bought a house. He had flood insurance and now he has got so much money he is thinking about getting into the real estate business. It’s all very strange.” 

For Banerjee, though, the biggest disappointment was that even a disaster like Katrina could not bring South Asians out of their ethnic cocoons. 

“The saddest part is that local people were unable to build immigrant solidarity,” he laments. 

Zinia agrees. “They are all in their ethnic ghettoes, nothing has changed,” she said. “But maybe this is American culture. I have lived in apartment complexes where a person dies in one apartment and people next door have no idea.” 

 

Ashfaque Swapan is a reporter for India- West, a member of New American Media. 

 

 

 


Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Singing the Blues About Cal Dems

By Becky O’Malley
Friday September 08, 2006

Among the many depressing news items in a discouraging week was this one, as headlined in the San Jose Mercury News: 

“Prison guards’ endorsement could revive Angelides campaign.” 

Oh, swell. Phil Angelides, whose primary campaign was somewhat tainted by not-totally-untrue allegations that he’s always been bankrolled by a cavalier Sacramento developer, has now been endorsed, to the tune of perhaps $10 million, by the only force in California politics that’s even seamier than the big building industry. He could, of course, turn down their millions, but will he? Don’t bet on it.  

Just in case you haven’t been paying attention, it’s all too easy to find examples of how the prison guards’ union does its best to make the living hell which is the California prison system even worse. For just one example, an excellent article by Vicki Haddock in the San Francisco Chronicle described attempts to reform the treatment of mothers with small children, and noted that the guards’ union was the biggest opponent of a Schwarzenegger-backed proposal to place mothers in community-based units where they could be closer to their families.  

The state of California has the highest expenditures in the nation for prison spending, but ranks 43rd in funding for education. This is substantially the result of political efforts by the union, formally known as the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA). Its membership has grown nearly 12-fold, to more than 31,000 members, in the last 25 years or so. It spends more political dollars than any other state organization, perhaps $29 million dollars per year. The prison guards don’t just push for higher wages for themselves, although that’s certainly part of their goal. Many of their favored candidates have backed draconian counter-productive schemes like Three Strikes and You’re Out.  

Federal Judge Thelton Henderson, a Berkeley resident, has been working for years to clean up the mess that’s the California prison system. He’s appointed a  

special master, who recently asked for authority to investigate whether Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cooperation with the reform agenda has faltered since his acquisition of quasi-Democrat Susan Kennedy, former hatchetperson for the odious Gray Davis, famous for being the errand-boy of the CCPOA. 

So it’s the good news that the guards are backing Angelides? No, it’s not, for anyone who had any hopes for the Democratic Party in California. It’s a move that puts him right up there with the Gobernator, who thus doesn’t look so bad after all.  

But what’s even worse—after all, the guards do come bearing big bucks—is that Angelides has refused to endorse Sheila Kuehl’s single-payer health insurance bill, which passed both houses of the Legislature last week, even though Schwarzenegger has announced that he’ll veto it. Is there any explanation for Angelides’ wishy-washy behavior except cowardice?  

Despite the fact that this is an overwhelmingly blue state, once again it looks like we’re on the way to electing a Republican governor. If the state’s official Democrats continue to demonstrate that they have no particular principles, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see Arnold win again. Or even, really, much of a disappointment. 

We see the same kind of problems on the local level, where creative, bright officeholders like Nancy Nadel in Oakland and Kriss Worthington in Berkeley are squelched by the Perata-Bates machine in favor of hacks like Ignacio de la Fuente, who are not even liberal, let alone progressive. When the Democratic Party has become nothing more than a self-referential closed system for distributing patronage, why bother to vote? 

The excellent online alternative paper Beyond Chron this week has a scathing indictment of the Bates regime and what it represents by Berkeley resident and San Francisco affordable housing activist Randy Shaw, headlined “Berkeley Mayor’s Race Reflects a City in Twilight.” If you’re online, you can read Shaw’s piece today at www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=3649#more. 

We hope to get permission to reprint it for our print-only readers in the near future. Just one stinging quote for now: “There is no better evidence of Berkeley’s political decline than the current mayor’s race, where incumbent Tom Bates is assured of re-election despite maintaining a record that would have him on the political ropes elsewhere.” 

From here, it doesn’t look quite like Bates is a shoo-in yet. Zelda Bronstein is waging a lively underdog campaign bringing up some real issues, and the other two candidates have made some points too. But tracking the interlocking directorates of Berkeley cross-endorsements, which Shaw doesn’t discuss, is a stomach-turning experience for any progressive voter. Just one instance: Councilmember Gordon Wozniak endorsed Bates early, but is also sharing headquarters with Kriss Worthington’s challenger from the right. Will Bates now endorse Wozniak, who after all does have a progressive student opponent, Jason Overman? Stay tuned. It’s all very cozy, and, as at the state level, principles have nothing to do with it.  


Editorial: ‘Will It Have Been Worth It...?

Becky O'Malley
Tuesday September 05, 2006

Herewith follows today’s lesson: 

 

Dear Editor: 

In this era of continuing disharmony over wars, elections, free speech, and local development, I find myself longing for the type of letter that once graced the pages of the London Times. 

In that spirit, I submit the following: As summer draws to a close, my stately backyard plum tree has yielded exactly 7,363 small, sloppy, inedible plums. My grateful thanks to Diane Davenport, Eli Joyce, and Jean Haseltine for both maintaining meticulous statistics and for their season-long efforts at ground clearance. 

Your obedient servant  

(another Times memory), 

Sayre Van Young 

 

This letter, while seeming to memorialize a trivial phenomenon of everyday life, is actually a profound reflection on the meaning of existence. Today, the Tuesday after Labor Day, is the traditional first day of fall, as Labor Day is the traditional last day of summer. It used to be the day before children went back to school, though in today’s accelerated calendar they seem to be going back before Labor Day. From the children’s point of view, this is a shame, though all parents might not agree. In any event, after Labor Day we all know that summer is over.  

By this time, we know for sure that the plum blossoms on trees like Ms. Van Young’s, which seem so pinkly promising in the spring, will never bear tasty fruit. We have a fig tree that’s even more disappointing, since the figs do ripen about one year in five, though the other four years they stay hard and bitter. Disappointment is closely linked to expectation.  

For us older folks, the fall encourages us to take stock of what fruit our efforts have produced. In the words of a poet well-read by my generation of English majors, “Will it have been worth it after all?” Those of us who are lucky enough to have led a variety of lives have more than one tree in our orchard to shake looking for achievements. I’ve been a political activist, a parent, an editor, a campaign manager, a lawyer, an investigative reporter, a high-tech entrepreneur and a grandparent, not necessarily in serial order. Which of these was worth it after all?  

For deep-down satisfaction—and this won’t necessarily please all of my feminist friends—I’d have to say that family has been the most important to me, though I’ve had some success and some fun with other endeavors. A close second would be working on the Planet, trying to bring what goes on in this world out into the sunshine, even though this sometimes requires poking around in dark corners. And sometimes it isn’t much fun. Will it have been worth it after all? 

Another lesson which can be gleaned from Ms. Van Young’s letter: We get by with a little help from our friends (a quote from another favorite poet, of the generation behind mine). She’s lucky to have the aid of the three she names—otherwise she’d be knee-deep in bad plums by now, possibly not even able to get out of her back door.  

In that spirit, we’d like to thank the many old and new friends who have called and written with messages of support for us and our little paper, especially the advertising customers who have told us about the organized pressure they’ve been receiving to cancel their ads. Most advertisers—seemingly almost all of them—are offended by the campaign against the Planet, it turns out, and have no intention of canceling. One even went to the trouble of sending us a copy of the letter he received from someone in the same profession, telling him he had to pull his ad. We’re glad he had the courage to say no. 

We also appreciate the advertiser who thought our editorial decision to publish a controversial letter was dead wrong, but had the courtesy to discuss it with me in a phone call and has followed up with a letter to the editor. His letter will be published a bit later, since we’ve decided we need to have another moratorium on Middle East topics so everyone can cool off. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting to hear from the leaders and the politicians who signed complaining letters. Our offer to meet with them is still open. 

 

 


Cartoons

Clarification

Tuesday September 05, 2006

In the Aug. 22 story “Bayer Grant Gets Students Working in Biotechnology,” Deborah Bellush, executive director of Biotech Partners, should have been quoted as saying “The grant is indicative of Bayer’s continued support to fund students who are economically disadvantaged” instead of economically backward.


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Friday September 08, 2006

BERKELEY HIGH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was surprised when reading today’s Daily Planet by the lack of response to Jerry Landis’ letter in the Sept. 1 edition. He claims that it is “common anecdotal knowledge that there are certain corners and corridors at BHS that white students may not venture into without fear of physical abuse.” Landis notes that his children attended Berkeley High in the 80s, so perhaps his anecdotes are out of date.  

I am a white girl who has grown up attending Berkeley public schools. I went to Washington Elementary and to Longfellow for middle school. I have never been the victim of or witness to any racial violence. In my four years at Berkeley High, I never once felt unsafe. I have passed plenty of time in the park across the street, been into every bathroom and down every hallway, and wandered through the campus both early in the morning and into the night. My younger sister, a recent Willard graduate, has just begun her second year at BHS, and her experiences have been similar to mine. In one way, my experience has been similar to that of Landis’ son and daughter: I, too, received an excellent education at Berkeley High and am on my way to a college degree.  

Elisabeth Newton 

BHS Class of 200 

 

• 

OAKLAND CHILDREN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I would like to thank Executive Editor Becky O’Malley for her free speech policy. I’m one of to those parents that lives in Oakland and is sending the child we are raising to a Berkeley school. Everyone knows the present problems here in Oakland with the schools. A while ago he looked up at me and asks how or where will he work or live? Children of the future will not have the same future that some of us have had! Getting into and finishing a four year collage is his only chance. US imperialism is on the decline today. Our unions are not the 37% of the work force that they were. Our wages have been cut by 60-70 percent. Because of the many hurdles in our lives, we will not have any wealth to pass down to him. He will not be able to buy a home like some of my friends in the ’60s did, (with a little help from their parents) for $25,000 and sell it last year for $600,000. What would you do School Board candidate David Baggins, if you were us? You speak from your class position in our society. Mr. Baggins, I must ask you if started life from humble beginnings, if so this is the time to remember where you came from. Don’t forget the struggle your parents faced to make life better for you.  

Name withheld 

 

• 

“ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS” 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It might be useful in thinking about the recent debate on out-of-district students illegally attending Berkeley schools to draw an analogy with the U.S. immigration issue. In both cases, people seeking a better life are crossing borders illegally, either to work or attend school.  

While studies have been done on the impact to the U.S. of illegal immigration from Mexico and other countries, recent coverage of Berkeley schools’ “illegal immigration” in the San Francisco Chronicle (“Give Oakland students a real choice,” Aug. 27) and the Berkeley Daily Planet have presented little factual basis for discerning the impact of these students on Berkeley schools. While most economists believe that there is zero impact on average U.S. wages and a minor negative impact on lower-wage workers (“Cost of Illegal Immigration Meets Less than Meets the Eye,” New York Times, April 16), the coverage on the Berkeley schools issue offers only opinions which range from the negative— poorly prepared, out-of-district students will soak up scarce resources for tutoring other services and drive down school-wide test scores—to the more positive—well prepared out-of-district students from Rockridge and other areas will add to the learning environment and raise test scores. 

Some of the same solutions proposed for the U.S. immigration issue are surfacing in the discussion over Berkeley schools’ illegal immigration, including more rigorous documentation efforts and “schoolplace” (as opposed to workplace) enforcement.  

As with U.S. illegal workers, illegal students are mostly using faked documentation. While workers must purchase social security numbers, green cards and other documents in the black market, out-of-district families have an easier time with the more informal documentation required to establish district residency. For this reason it may be even harder to stop. 

Another similarity to the U.S. immigration debate is the recent proposal by a current school board candidate in a recent Daily Planet column that Berkeley teachers be recruited to turn in suspected illegal students. While this kind of law for illegal workers was passed in Arizona—social workers and others are required to turn in suspected law breakers or face prosecution—Berkeley teachers may balk at such a role. 

And here is where the two issues—illegal immigration of workers and illegal out-of-district students in Berkeley—may converge. Students suspected of illegally attending Berkeley schools may turn out to be illegal immigrants from Mexico and other countries, as well. Will Berkeley citizens be as willing to return a student to his native country as to his native district?  

While the U.S. immigration issue breaks down along party lines, with emphasis being on some form of guest-worker or other amnesty program for Democrats and strict enforcement for Republicans, the politics of illegal out-of-district students in Berkeley schools may not be so well-defined. While Berkeley citizens overwhelmingly align with Democratic positions, many may find themselves on the other side of the “illegal immigration” debate when it comes to the perceived welfare of their children in Berkeley schools. 

Chris Gilbert 

Berkeley 

 

• 

GROSSLY UNFAIR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I read with great interest and disgust about the millions of dollars UC Berkeley is spending on perks and bonuses to the wealthiest of professors and administrators. I also read about the protests on campus from employees and students who find that their parking fees have doubled or tripled recently. Now to add to the injury, the Transportation Department of UC Berkeley is imposing huge parking fees at the Strawberry Pool which is largely used by students and community which includes a great number of seniors on low income. Even though UC claims it is “ a separate department” it is still part of the UC system. It seems that the university is continuing to lavish large amounts of money to the “fat cats” at the expense of students and community. It is grossly unfair and should be stopped. 

Andree Leenaers Smith 

 

• 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Merrilie Mitchell may be “a political gadfly” but her entrance into the Berkeley City Council District 1 race against Linda Maio is welcome by those of us who are sick of Councilmember Maio’s lackluster, self-satisfied approach to her position. If Mitchell is willing to tackle the tough issues facing our community—something Maio seems incapable of doing—she could very well hand the BCA powers-that-be an upset in November. 

The ongoing struggle of the community against Pacific Steel Casting (PSC) is the perfect example of why Linda Maio needs to go. In the article on Mitchell’s candidacy, I was stunned to read that Councilmember Maio, according to her chief of staff Brad Smith, has “rejected” the position that PSC, the major public health problem in our community, might have to close if it fails to address its pollution problems. How can Maio have rejected ANY position except the unacceptable status quo in this ongoing struggle for community right to know and an end to toxic air pollution? 

This privately owned company has steadfastly stonewalled West Berkeley residents for generations, fighting any modernization of its operations and any accountability to the public. Today, the company is in violation of its agreement with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and has failed to provide basic information about the chemicals its operations send into the community every day. PSC has let a legal deadline pass without providing the information it committed to providing and it has also failed to pay the fines it incurred from its illegal pollution during July’s heatwave. Linda Maio has been missing in action—she has never spoken up publicly to demand the company be a good neighbor. She has never used her position to get the company to the table in good faith; instead, she chants the old Berkeley mantra: clean environment and industrial jobs. She cannot grasp that while Berkeley does indeed have industrial jobs, much of her district has a toxic environment that will not be cleaned up until the company deals in good faith. Something that will not happen until she and the rest of the city’s power structure stand with the community, and not with PSC. 

Only after we know what PSC is sending into the air every day and what the health effects of those potential poisons are, can the process of figuring out how the company might substitute new greener chemicals and processes for the ones it uses now begin. And if PSC’s emissions are causing health problems, then the plant must be forced to adopt new technologies and materials if it wants to stay in our community. And if it refuses to clean up, it should not stay in our community. 

Once again, Councilmember Maio has demonstrated her total lack of understanding of the seriousness of the conditions under which many of her constituents live and her lack of concern for any party in this struggle except Pacific Steel. If Merrilie Mitchell will actually work with the community to make the reality of life in Berkeley the “green” paradise Linda Maio, Mayor Bates and the rest of the city’s powers-that-be claim it is, she has my vote and the vote of thousands of other District 1 residents who are fed up. 

Catherine Lerza 

 

• 

RACE AND THE SCHOOLS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Last Friday, after a long week of professionally facilitating enrollment and inter-district transfers for a neighboring school district and personally grappling with my own support and participation in my home school district, I sat down to retreat from it all by reading the Daily Planet. Initially, I was thoroughly disheartened and dismayed by the tone, sentiments and perspectives of letters addressing the issues in our schools related to non-resident students, the tax measure, and race. Now, after extended consideration, I am buoyed by the opportunity that such debate presents for Berkeley citizens and schools. 

Race lies at the core of what defines and divides Berkeley—especially in our schools. And, in this season of political campaigning, we are finally beginning to talk openly and honestly about it! Here’s to hoping that the talk continues and that everyone from every perspective will engage and participate in the dialogue. Rather than hearing from only the far left and right fringes, let us hear and read the opinions of the full spectrum of our community—from "those Oakland kids” and their parents; from “those private school people” who don’t choose BUSD schools; from African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and others; from teachers and students; from the “hills” and the “flats”; from everyone. Truthful dialogue and well-rounded debate about our issues can lead us to authentic healing and reform of how we in Berkeley do education. 

Wanda Stewart 

 

• 

LIBELOUS LETTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A teacher I admire advised that before I write or speak about what I think, I subject the thought to three tests: Is it true? Is it necessary? Does it cause no harm? 

Steve Reichner’s libel against me in the 8/29 Planet fails on all counts. 

After naming me, he writes: “All I ever see...are...letters...attacking ruthlessly, all the while accusing the Planet of not representing {the writers’} views.” 

My letters of Aug. 5, 2005; Aug. 16, 2005; Sept. 6, 2005; Sept. 16, 2005; Nov. 22, 2005; May 30, 2006 and July 28, 2006 never asked your newspaper to “represent” me, and never “accused” you of anything. 

The characterization of my lists of historical fact as “attacking ruthlessly” communicates a lot about Mr. Reichner. 

I appreciate his inviting me to comment on Lebanon. He apparently believes that Lebanese history began 18 months ago when Israel starting planning militray action. 

Since 1968, PLO operatives in Lebanon have ignored Lebanese government directives, assassinated Lebanese leaders, and turned southern Lebanon into a boot camp for terrorists. 

After 1970s “Black September,” Lebanon was the only country where the PLO could secure a military, political, and logistical base. 

In 1975, more than 100,000 Lebanese were killed in PLO-provoked battles against the country’s Christians. 

On March 11, 1978, PLO goons intercepted two busloads of Israeli civilians, slaughtering 35 and wounding 80. 

There’s more, of course. On a daily basis, Israel has ample reason to expect that forces from Lebanon will engage in acts of war (like soldier-kidnapping) against Israel. 

Reichner seems upset that Israel was prepared. 

Again, I thank him for his invitation. 

If he shares the Jewish belief that God judges us at this time of year, I invite him to write the Planet apologizing for lying, asking my (and your readership’s) forgiveness, and promising to confine his future communications to the truth. 

David Altschul 

 

• 

TELEGRAPH AVENUE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Phil McArdle’s fine letter lamenting the loss of the Telegraph of Old reflects my own sadness for the loss of Shattuck Avenue of old. Strolling along that street yesterday I noted with regret all the empty store fronts. Then, passing the site of the old Hink’s Department Store, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia! How we all loved that store. There was such an air of graciousness and gentility the minute one walked in. I recall a saleslady with black, black air and heavy blue eye shadow at the cosmetic department, carefully sifting face powder to match the skin tone of her customer. Then there was the glove department, where one would prop their elbow up on the counter while a sales woman gently eased our fingers into the fine leather glove. Admittedly the women’s apparel department left something to be desired, but I still have the cotton duster I bought just before the store closed. The basement was a delight, too. There was a homey sewing and knitting class, fine dishes and wonderful yardage. Oh, yes, there was that great gift wrapping department for courtesy wrapping. Two or three times a year, Mr. Hink would send his charge customers lovely gifts—a box of pears from his orchard, leather address books, note paper, etc. Then, lest we forget, just across the street was that palace of sinful delights—Edy’s Candies and Ice Cream Store. How many times did friends and I settle into one of its comfortable booths, after shopping or a movie, and shamelessly consume gargantuan banana splits or hot fudge sundaes, lingering for hours! Where does one go now for such sinful pleasures? For sure, Shattuck Avenue has lost its charm of old! 

Dorothy Snodgrass 

 

• 

GREEN MACHINES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Riya Bhattacharjee’s Sept. 1 story on ‘Green Machines” to clean up Telegraph Avenue is good and upbeat, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.  

Parking meter rates were raised on Telegraph Avenue to help pay for all the new services. I suspect many other restaurants on lower Telegraph are like ours – in addition to the student population, we have an out-of-town audience that would bring money, and tax revenue, to Berkeley, if only they could find a place to park when they get here. 

Increased parking meter rates and lack of a parking garage on lower Telegraph Ave. continue to hinder the success of many small businesses and restaurants in the area. We certainly welcome and appreciate the student business, but for every “student special” or “blue and gold” discount, we need full-rate paying customers from our ethnic community to sustain ourselves.  

Will candidates for District 7 attempt to address this come November? 

David Howard 

The Caribbean Cove 

 

• 

TRASH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

First off let me start with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews.” Also, if you want to be truly informed I recommend people look at this website for some more information on the “Pro- Israel Media Bias”: www.aish.com/movies/PhotoFraud.aspl. 

Also, I read the Berkeley Daily Planet for my weekly dose of Uber-Liberal Anti-Semitism; then I put it back where it belongs—in the trash! 

Tahoe Kamman 

P.S.: I know people may dispute the validity of the Dr. King quote, I’ve seen the counter arguments myself. On white supremacist websites! 

 

• 

GUILT TRIP 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Though I live in San Francisco now, I’m a former Berkeley resident (14 years). I just read that piece by Chronicle writer Chip whatsisname. Please don’t let that get to you. I hope you will totally stand your ground about the article that you presented. The Zionist propaganda machine used to get away with guilting people into believing that criticizing Zionism is “anti-Semitic” or “anti-Jewish.” Fewer and fewer people are choosing to stay brainwashed by that guilt-trip. 

Sam Price 

San Francisco 

 

• 

DAMNED IRISH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is the Irish peoples fault that potato’s failed to grow during the great potato famine. It is also all their fault that they were enslaved to work on the railroads of the United States. Those Irish...it’s all their fault. 

Adam Ruho 

 

• 

PARSING ARIANPOUR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Kurosh Arianpour is certainly racist when he attributes to Jews some innate fault dating back thousands of years. However, it appears to me that the enormous flood of letters in the Planet against him is that he couples centuries old traditional anti-Jewish slogans with a litany of modern Israeli atrocities.  

Arianpour horrifies those who realize he is dead right when he states that millions around the world are coming to agree with him that Israel is an oppressor state, and that Israeli attacks in Lebanon were monstrous. “Have you not seen the photos of dead toddlers some with their pacifiers around their necks?” Such passion for an oppressed people easily wins coverts. And while Jewish suffering in the Holocaust and from suicide bombers on Israeli buses continues to win sympathy, the sympathy factor is tipping away from the Jewish state. The immense disparity in fire power used in the Lebanon war is a factor, and so is the cold blooded murder via airplanes that blast homes and automobiles of singled-out Palestinians in Gaza, and thereby test out U.S. neo-con plans for political control of the planet via space weapons launched to anywhere at the push of the emperor’s button. 

It is hoped that Israel stops playing the role of U.S. punk hoodlum for the Middle East. It only feeds the racist argument of Arianpour that Jews are self-centered opportunists. 

Ted Vincent 

 

• 

SHAME 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The article by the Iranian student is a disgrace to anyone who would publish it. Publishing it is a disgrace to journalism. Why don’t you keep your day job and just parade in a Nazi uniform for recreation? We Jews don’t deserve this kind of abuse, have not earned it and are offended by its dissemination, especially by a commonly read news source. 

Shame on you! 

Richard Kaplan 

 

• 

GIVE IT BACK? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

When Pancho Villa raided an American town, we sent the army to invade and pursue. .....Hezbollah and Israel. 

In the war with Mexico the United States took Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California. 

If Mexicans were Muslim, shouldn’t we give the territory back? 

Has any other country beside Israel ever given war-won areas back to the defeated? 

Harry Gans 

 

• 

OCCUPIED LAND 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Though it is not known as such, most of us here in North America go about our fanciful, fairly comfortable lives living on occupied land. Essentially, we obliterated the opposition, with force, to enable this occupation many years ago. So the next time you hear the anti-Israeli lobby screaming bloody murder, remember that our comfort and safety has been ensured and established by just such means. Actually, the Israelis have an historical connection to their contested land that goes thousands of years beyond any moral claim that the large majority of Americans have to the terra firma we now stand upon. We have been able to survive upon the blood of the Native Americans and the Mexicans. If they somehow developed an armed militia with the intent of taking it all back, firing indiscriminately at our homes, would we just give it up, and become refugees in the name of peace? I don’t think so. 

Marc Winokur 

Oakland 

 

• 

THRE REAL THREAT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Half of the people in this country think that the biggest threats here are Islamic terrorists. That is a lie. Personally, the biggest threats in this country are right-wing Christian fundamentalists forcing their own moralities onto others. I am seeing their actions exposed on TV. For example, their involvement in the Terry Salvo case and pushing the president and the Congress for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. 

People should understand that these right-wing Christian fundamentalists learned from their ancestors about controlling people in the name of Christianity. Their ancestors forced their moralities in a brutal fashion against American Indians in this country several centuries ago. 

For example, in New England in the 1600s, the Pequot people were massacred by these same Christian fundamentalists because they refuse to convert to Christianity. Back then, these Christian fundamentalists attacked the Indians’ religion by claiming it was “the duty of good Christians to exterminate them.” 

This kind of thinking is what I’m seeing today by these right-wing Christian fundamentalists. Their madness needs to stop at once. 

Billy Trice, Jr. 

Oakland 

 


Commentary: Sunshine is the Best Antidote for Bigotry

By Zoia Horn
Friday September 08, 2006

My profound respect and admiration for Executive Editor Becky O’Malley for opening wide a door for so many people to speak up, write letters, discuss important controversial subjects some of which rarely are touched upon, let alone, discussed. She has shown her commitment to the First Amendment of the Constitution and its protection of freedom of speech and the press.  

Criticism and dissent are essential elements of those freedoms. They provide opinions, facts and analyses on difficult, often, sensitive, uncomfortable subjects. In the 8/8–10/06 edition of the Planet, two letters appeared next to each other: one lambasted Editor Becky O’Malley for publishing an editorial that was critical of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, a second one, a vituperative letter against “Zionist crimes in Lebanon.” Both were angry and nasty. 

Howard Glickman vented his anger against O’Malley, accusing her of being “viciously slanted” toward “murderers and terrorists” who would “destroy a sovereign state and its inhabitants.” In his estimation she has joined the “Arab-European ‘blame Israel first’ school of journalism.”  

It is difficult to accept the boundless defense of Israel as an innocent, when that country has the fourth most powerful military in the world, is a nuclear power, and has now invaded and occupied part of Lebanon for the second time, the first time for 18 years before it “pulled out” because of a UN Resolution #1559. The comparative numbers of Israelis and Lebanese killed and wounded also show the enormous disparity of military power. But the issue the letter seems to limit itself to is O’Malley’s editorial criticizing Israel. Information, criticism and discussion/debate is essential to the maintenance of a democratic society. Although Mr. Glickman does not use the anti-Semite epithet in his letter, others have in the letters that followed thus making criticism of Israel an anti-Semitic act. No nation should have that kind of immunity. 

Mr.Kurosh Arianpour’s target for his anger is much larger in scope. He decries the meager reporting of the protests and demonstrations against the “genocide of civilians and children ... committed in Lebanon,” He believes that the U.S. has been complicit in Israel’s actions, having supplied military aid and voted “full support of the Zionist regime and killing of more Lebanese civilians” (his words). He then blames Jewish people for their history as victims of dicrimination, enslavement, genocide because of their claim to be the “Chosen people.” That for him explains the anti-Semitism that followed whether from actions or attitudes. 

Arianpour’s letter was like a dive into ice-cold water. He was baldly arguing his historical explanation and justification for anti-Semitism! I suddenly realized with shock that this was the first time I had read such a viewpoint in the press. There are many people who harbor such attitudes, but after the horrors of the Holocaust, the pogroms and other milder discriminations, the world has denounced such vicious, unreasonable behavior. But, why this hatred? Unless we understand the “why’s” of such behavior and explore its sources we will continue to walk the treadmill.  

I question and decry the rationale offered by Arianpour, but, as a librarian committed to people’s right to know, to read, to speak, to discuss and to ask “Why” as well as “What” in all subjects, I commend Editor O’Malley for providing the opportunity to read a straight “in your face” piece on a subject that is deplored, but not explored 

 

Zoia Horn is an Oakland resident.


Commentary: Hatred Begets Hatred

By Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski
Friday September 08, 2006

Catching up on my summer reading, I was shocked to read an editorial by Kurosh Arianpour titled “Commentary: Zionist Crimes in Lebanon” in the Aug. 8 edition of the Berkeley Daily Planet. While people of good will can debate vigorously over the conflicts between Israel and her neighbors, there is no place for the sickening level of anti-Semitic discourse in Mr. Arianpour’s writing. The commentary in question is a classic example of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that have left a stain on the conscience of the world and sadly continue to have life today. Mr. Arianpour seeks to pin the blame of the problems of Jewish people on the Jews themselves, calling them not the “Chosen People” but the “Chosen Murderers.” The hateful and theologically and historically mistaken depictions of the Jewish people Mr. Arianpour presents is a classic expression of the most virulent, and destructive brands of anti-Semitic ideology. His claims for a far-reaching, even global, conspiracy in service of Jewish interests are direct descendents of the blueprint for modern anti-Semitism, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Despite having been conclusively identified as a forgery, The Protocols have inspired both popular and state sanctioned violence and murder against Jews in Tsarist Russia and Nazi Germany. Sadly, the influence of The Protocols is found in anti-Semitic organizations and publications around the globe, from America to South Africa to Egypt, and apparently even to India, from where Mr. Arianpour hails. Although Mr. Arianpour has the right to express his views, I am deeply distressed that the editors of the Berkeley Daily Planet lacked the common sense to refuse to publish what was a patently anti-Semitic diatribe. I seriously question the decisionmaking skills of the editors and their priorities. 

The language Mr. Arianpour uses and the discourses he engages in only can lead to hate and violence and death. We all have had enough of the destruction of life on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and we need no more fuel added to that pyre. As a progressive Christian and a professor at a seminary in Berkeley, I cannot allow the words of Mr. Arianpour to go by without comment. I refuse to participate in the silence that has too often accompanied attacks on the Jewish people. I condemn in the strongest terms the sentiments Mr. Arianpour aimed at the Jewish people. I urge instead concerted efforts by all people and nations to work together for a just and equitable world both in the Middle East and elsewhere.  

 

Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski is assistant professor of church history at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley.


Commentary: Don’t Shoot the Messenger

By Alexander Mac Donald
Friday September 08, 2006

As I live in San Francisco, I rarely read the Daily Planet, but an article in the Chronicle last week sent me scurrying to google your web page and read in the Aug. 8 issue the simplistic idiocies of Kurosh Arianpour in his diatribe against the Jews of all times and places. I wanted to be certain that they are as ill-informed, hateful, and stupid as the critics of the Daily Planet allege—they are—but no more hateful and stupid than the demands that Ms. O’Malley apologize for having published his ignorant nonsense, even as she published theirs.  

It does seem to me that criticism should be directed against the message rather than the messenger, even in these parlous times. We know where punishing the messengers leads, but for those too young to know, Bush and Cheney and the media whores of the radical and sectarian right give instructive lessons. It is a pity that friends and partisans of Israel take the bait, fell into the trap, and attempt to intimidate a media outlet with their justly outraged fulminations. The world is full of Arianpours. They persuade only themselves, for their hatred is largely self-referential. Publishing their diatribes and slanders only exposes them. Silencing them dignifies them and may even make some of us forget that they are around and active.  

O’Malley is to be praised for holding her nose and letting us look the enemy in the face. Her critics, at least those who demand an apology for her audacity, should be ashamed, for they expose themselves as censorious authoritarians who arrogate to themselves the power to control what the rest of us may say and read, or not. It is good, then, that O’Malley published them, too.  

 

Alexander Mac Donald is a San Francisco resident.


Commentary: Panhandlers — Not Aggressive Enough

By Carol Denney
Friday September 08, 2006

The more articles I read about Cody’s bookstore on Telegraph in Berkeley closing its doors, with all the usual finger-pointing at panhandlers and street artists as the culprits responsible, the more peculiar the story seems. 

Each article briefly mentions owner Andy Ross’s having started up two new Cody’s bookstores, one in San Francisco and one on fashionable Fourth Street in Berkeley, despite supposedly losing money on the Telegraph store, without actually cracking open the financial books and explaining how such a miracle took place. 

Each article assumes it’s inevitable that the Telegraph bookstore should be the one to close, despite Ross’s admission that the Telegraph store makes more money than the others. Ross explains that the Telegraph store has more “overhead” costs, and the politicians don’t miss a beat fawning over the store closing as though somebody had died, loudly lamenting its loss, but never raising a question about what the word “overhead” in this context means. 

I’m just reading through the lines, but doesn’t it mean he took the longest-lived store, with the legendary origin but also the highest labor costs, and booted those jobs in favor of the cheaper labor in his new, legend-free enterprises across town? I could be wrong, but how do you manage to secure loans or make enough money to expand your business if it is really failing? And I haven’t seen the financial books, but who would stay in the business of bookstores, opening two additional stores, if they really had no financial faith whatsoever that they could make some money? 

The literary and free speech mantle so easily coupled with a bookstore sits uneasily on the shoulders of the man who inherited wealth enough to buy, and then eliminate, Cody’s flagship location. Andy Ross wholeheartedly supported the mean-spirited, unconstitutional efforts of Berkeley’s City Council to silence panhandling, an ordinance which was overturned by the courts, and his employees could at times be seen (and were photographed) turning hoses on anyone in a sleeping bag near his property at dawn. 

But reporters wouldn’t know these things unless they took more time with the story. Politicians wouldn’t ask these things unless they were willing to run the risk of annoying a rich and powerful man. And nobody would hear about the homeless people getting sprayed with freezing water unless it had happened to their friends or to them, and they’d had to spend a cold, foggy morning stuffing their last quarters into the dryer at a laundromat, hoping to have dry bedding by sundown. I know the local newspapers would have me see something heroic in Andy Ross for inexplicably closing his Telegraph store. But I remember the bewilderment in the eyes of the people whose precious few drawings or books were ruined by getting hosed while doing nothing more threatening than sleeping. My heroes are the patient, weary souls who gathered their soaked belongings, and simply walked away. In my eyes, they are not aggressive enough. 

Intelligent readers will note the absence of the larger story, the story of landlords’ skyrocketing rents in commercial districts so that respected businesses of decades’ duration are kicked to the curb like the panhandlers and craftspeople were near Cody’s. The fluffy stories about Andy Ross’s tear-stained lament for his own bank account do nothing to reveal greed of the property owners who impose huge burdens on small businesses, caring nothing about the careful composition of businesses it takes to keep a commercial district healthy. 

Andy Ross and his wealthy circle of mourners will continue to nod in the direction of People’s Park or nearby homeless services and homeless service users as somehow burdening businesses, because the press and the public love to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It doesn’t matter how tired the menu or how absent the foundation, blaming the poor always finds a seat at the table. 

 

Carol Denney is a local musician and activist.


Letters to the Editor

Tuesday September 05, 2006

LBNL CONTAMINATION RISKS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I love Modi Wetzler’s idea that LBNL’s contamination issues were all the unintentional result of lab employees “who were not aware” of risks that even now are “not fully understood,” followed by the suggestion that criticism by local activists erodes the “trust” between all parties. Honest scientists must be cringing. 

What little dialogue does exist between LBNL and the community, as well as a healthy public relations machine, are the result of years of pressure from the activists being scolded. It’s entertaining, however, to know that UC is still churning out graduate students who have such a Disney-esque sense of trust. 

Carol Denney 

 

• 

SAVE THE HOUSING AUTHORITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Berkeley Housing Authority is under attack and on the verge of collapse. 

Berkeley’s Housing Authority is under attack by the Bush administration and needs your help to keep hope alive for the poor, elderly and disabled in Berkeley. Known as a liberal City of America, if Berkeley loses its Public Housing and Section 8 Programs, there’s nothing to keep the rest of the nation’s housing assistance programs from following in its path. Check out www.PetitionOnline.com/SaveBHA/petition.html to unite with others to sign the petition to save Berkeley’s Housing Authority! 

For more on the BHA crisis, see “An Uncertain Future for Berkeley’s Section 8 Tenants” at www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/29/18304395.php. 

Lynda Carson 

 

• 

OLD NEWS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A BUSD board director told me the board “would like to entertain the possibility” of moving the warm pool off the BHS campus (and including demolishing it as it now is, and the gym too), so that a new classroom building could be erected there...because “students need more room.” 

What students, I didn’t ask. Berkeley students, I assumed. 

But recently the Daily Planet reported that students from Oakland attend BHS, maybe hundreds; nobody knows for sure. Yawn. This is old news after all. A BUSD director wrote (letter or article) that maybe they (or their staff) should check identification more closely. Yawn. The superintendent reportedly said about the same; we do get state money for attendance. Yawn. 

Who will pay for the proposed new classroom building at BHS? Oakland taxpayers? Somehow that seems unlikely. State taxpayers? Berkeley taxpayers? A-ha! A multiple-choice quiz! 

And who will be asked to pay for a replacement warm pool, just across the street, maybe? Oakland? California? Berkeley? The Department of Defense? BUSD? 

Terry Cochrell 

 

• 

BHS STUDENTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The assertion by David Baggins in his letter dated July 18, regarding “The unique BUSD policy of not enforcing legal residency” may appear to have merit. As a parent of a Berkeley High School student for the past four years, I was surprised by the number of students who attend Berkeley High School with false documentation to support legal residency in Berkeley. In fact, this seemingly “accepted” practice by resourceful parents who flagrantly disregard the legal residency requirements by providing BUSD with false addresses, utility bills and checking accounts would seem to be far more widespread than even BUSD is aware. 

Anne Kasdin 

 

• 

BROWN’S CHARTER SCHOOL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I read with interest the statistics quoted in the Aug. 22 article by J. Douglas Allen-Taylor concerning Jerry Brown’s charter school. I agree, the scores are disappointing considering the supposed emphasis placed on charter-type schools. I am surprised that the article, by its tone, seems to be directing the blame for the poor student test scores on Jerry Brown rather than on the teaching staff as a whole. 

Teachers seem to be always complaining about salaries, yet never take responsibility for the lack of teaching skills. The poor test scores by the students is a direct reflection of the teachers’ abilities. Teachers need to improve teaching skills. If teachers do a great job, they may warrant a pay raise. 

Ridgway B. Smith 

 

• 

NEW LIGHTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

After reading Mr. Harry Gans’ item on New Lights’ imminent demise on Sept. 1, we’re compelled to provide information on some of our efforts to keep our ship afloat.  

1. In 2005 we voted to increase our lunch from $2 to $3—after 10 years with no increase—due to inflation. 

2. A monthly raffle at the center of items donated by seniors or their families. 

3. An occasional Ashby Flea Market sale. 

4. A three-times-a-year casino trip. I know, I know, it’s called wagering! Gambling! 

5. In 2006 we added another 25 cents to make it $3.25, again due to inflation. 

What a way to go! This a request from New Light seniors to the citizens of Berkeley and Maudelle Shirek’s peers at City Hall because thousands of you have been the recipients of her generosity and devotion, as well as her tireless efforts to be at your service. 

Need I remind you that Maudelle was the first or second woman of her distinction to serve on the Berkeley City Council. The rest is history. 

Citizens of Berkeley: We need volunteers, suggestions and donations to help us move forward with our organic meals flagship program. Our ship needs an anchor! 

Idella Melton 

Chairman 

• 

WISCONSIN FACTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regarding J. Douglas Allen-Taylor’s July 28 article in the Planet. 

As one who lived and worked in Wisconsin for years, including work with all of the state’s 72 counties, I can assure you that there is no Hennepin County or country in Wisconsin. Across the river in Minnesota, however, Hennepin County takes in the city of Minneapolis, which has the only black population of any size in these parts. 

It matters, even here on the coast, what happens in this particular part of the heartland. Wisconsin, once a beacon of enlightened liberalism, and former domain of Gov. Tommy Thompson, who later became secretary of Health and Human Services in Washington, has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country. It also has one of the most racially imbalanced prison populations and is the home of an atrocious maximum-security prison and an infamous program of labor reminiscent of the southern chain gangs. 

Across the river, Minnesota, with a similar population, as a fraction of the incarceration rate and, relative to Wisconsin, and even smaller prisons budget. 

The Minnesota program described by Mr. Allen-Taylor is important and deserves, I believe, to be widely emulated. The article might have pointed out that the more enlightened policies of Minnesota are making a difference clearly visible, statistically, against the abysmal background of Wisconsin. 

Jane Eiseley 

 

• 

TO-DO LIST 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The American electorate yearns for more than mere incumbency or “name recognition” platforms to merit election to Congress.  

To improve our national life now and in the future—without the use of the constitutional amendment—aspirants to the House and Senate this November should pledge to: 

1. Speedily impeach and remove from office both Bush and Cheney. (Charges and defense are extraneous, when the votes are there!) 

2. Institute a National Universal Health Service. 

3. Join the International Court of Criminal Justice. 

4. Limit to two the Supreme Court justices any president may replace during his term(s) of office, except when disaster eliminates the court at once; then the number to allow is three. 

5. Dismantle the current U.S. wars on drugs and terrorism. The first is maintained by addiction—a medical problem—and the second is a problem best prevented, not by warfare, but by peace officers (as so admirably demonstrated recently in Britain) and by fair, peaceful eternal watch, here and abroad (if welcome). 

6. Give well-deserved punishment, and cautionary warning to all who in the future would copy their self-enriching dishonesties, by outlawing for Bush and Cheney, and if possible, Rumsfeld and other unworthies, all federal pensions, free health care in retirement, secret service protection, and U.S. passports. 

Additionally, the new Congress should give us a Constitutional amendment to institute federal initiative, referendum, and recall, so that as a nation we may have real democracy at last, and as in other countries, vote nationally on issues, not, as at present, only for suits, who often lie to us. 

Judith Segard Hunt 

 

• 

AN ALTERNATIVE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I suggest that the Golden Gate Fields would be a better place to have activities that usually take place in Memorial Stadium. After all, there is plenty of parking that doesn’t bother the neighbors. Access is much better from three directions. People could come by ferry from the west. There are many reasons why this is a better alternative. 

Charles Smith 

 

 

 

 


Commentary: High Density is Bad for Urban Fabric

Sharon Hudson
Tuesday September 05, 2006

Thank you, Steve Meyers, for your thoughtful response to my commentaries on the causes, meaning, and benefits of NIMBYism. I’m glad you found some points worth considering, even if you were put off by my “over-the-top hyperbole.” 

I stand firmly by my statement that many in Berkeley “propose an unpleasant and inhumane urban environment.…” Look around, Mr. Meyers: Is Berkeley becoming more pleasant and humane? Not in my neighborhood!  

One reason is that planners and developers who advocate higher density and less parking have managed to impose their philosophy upon us. So why has this not “improved the urban fabric” as intended? Because the dominant “smart growth” proponents focus on regional goals and not on local quality of life. And therefore no resources have been devoted to assessing or improving the human outcomes of development. And some don’t care about the damage they cause others.  

But apparently you belong to a more sympathetic group, which believes that higher density can actually improve urban life. So it might, if well designed. But the possibility and the reality are two different things. Although your voices are drowned out by the first group, the road to our increasingly unpleasant Berkeley environment is also paved with the good intentions of people like you. But why is this?  

First, because most of them apparently have not lived in high-density neighborhoods long enough to understand their problems. Simply stated, they advocate something they haven’t experienced and don’t understand. But they could fix this by simply moving to such neighborhoods and living there for several decades like me, or intensively interviewing those who live in them about their experiences. Then you could incorporate the reality into the ideal. 

Second and much more difficult, however, is the problem of what happens to our good intentions during the land use process. T.S. Eliot states it best: “Between the idea / And the reality…Between the conception / And the creation…Falls the Shadow.” In Berkeley, our Shadow is a morally bankrupt public process, which turns even good intentions into bad realities. 

You may think this is more “over-the-top hyperbole.” But often someone else’s “over-the-top hyperbole” looks more like reality once you know all the facts, or have experienced reality from their perspective. Eliminating the voices of multiple perspectives from the public process eventually leads to “the Big Lie” and bad concrete results. Listening to all the voices is most likely to lead to decisions that are constructive in the long term.  

In this regard, I note that you have also recently written (letter to the editor, Aug. 29) that a particular opinion should not have been published because it was “outside the bounds of what any given community feels is tolerable.” The common theme here is the elimination of voices, whether in geopolitics or local land use. But how can we make sure that a variety of experiences informs our public decisions? Political correctness and refusing to hear never accomplishes this—which is one reason Berkeley has been making worse and worse land use decisions.  

Your letter did make me wonder about the dividing line between your definition of what is “outside the bounds” and censor-worthy, and what is “over-the-top hyperbole” and merely annoying. But I agree with Ms. O’Malley that it is better for the community to make that decision for itself, in public, than for newspaper editors to make it for the community behind closed doors. The less she uses her truth to censor our truth, the more it leaves room for my truth—and yours. 

 

Sharon Hudson lives near the UC campus. 

 


Commentary: The Complexity of Everyday Things

Harry Weininger
Tuesday September 05, 2006

It’s a lazy summer afternoon. I am dozing in my easy chair trying to avoid being woken up by one of the myriad of gizmos in the house that beep, buzz, or chime. But I am also appreciative for the many new tools saving me and others much menial, repetitive work.  

I look at my new watch, but it’s tricky to tell what time it is. It’s not an expensive watch, but its extraordinary complexity is confusing. This little instrument on my wrist gives hours, minutes, and seconds precisely; it’s a stop watch, a calendar, a timer, and an alarm; it can tell the phases of the moon; it has its own illumination; and it’s solar-powered so its battery lasts forever. I reach for the instructions, 72 pages of them, trying to deconstruct the information on the face, just to know the time.  

I reach for instructions more and more frequently, not waiting until “all else has failed.”  

A watch used to just tell time. It had a single stem and you wound it up. If you forgot to wind it, it stopped. If you dropped it, it broke. No one thought to ask for an instruction book for a watch.  

There was a time when life was simple, or at least simpler. But in my lifetime, not very long in historical time, not only watches but every part of every component seems to have gotten more complex. Even opening a package without hurting yourself is a feat, and starting to use a new item before reading all the directions is risky.  

I look around the house, and I see just how complex things have become. At one time, I could fix a typewriter or a bicycle, or even a car. I may not have had the skill to do it, but I understood what needed to be done. The sequence of construction was apparent, and I could determine the quality of the work or repairs.  

Today one cannot do much without detailed guides. I’ve received letters that needed to be opened by tearing the edges in a given sequence. In my office, it’s expected that there are manuals for the computer, printer, and digital telephone/answering system. But now we also need manuals for ergonomically correct desks, chairs, and lamps—and those for kitchen appliances, household gizmos, and garden tools need a place all their own. And then there’s the car, for which you must study how to unlock the doors, fasten your seat belt, read dashboard gauges, open windows, release the brake, and find the defroster.  

Our shrinking globe adds yet another wrinkle. Today a product might be conceived in Paris, manufactured in Chicago, and distributed from Rio, with a user guide written in Bangalore. Such items may not be as transparent as when created by a team from your own milieu. And with instruction booklets in multiple languages—and often mystifying in your native language—assembling and using products can be tricky even if you do read instructions.  

This complexity can interfere with being a good neighbor. Fifty years ago, you could loan a friend a typewriter or a lawnmower—no explanation necessary. It was intuitive—easy to use and even to fix. Today, the sharing of equipment, even a simple tool, becomes burdensome. I can’t just drop the thing off. I’ve got to train my neighbor to use it appropriately.  

It’s chic to complain that things are too complex. But what is hard for me is easy for my daughters. A couple of centuries ago a cell phone would have been strange and magical. Most gadgets that are intuitive today were not even a gleam in Aristotle’s eye.  

Complexity and simplicity ebb and flow. Before long our computer programs will be obsolete, and new things on the horizon will be magical and strange.  

Is all this complexity necessary? It’s unavoidable—if we are to benefit from the new power generated. Each generation owns its own periods of befuddlement, and we do our best to cope without too much exasperation. If we want to retain our pleasure in the simple and the beautiful, we read the instructions, use the features, invent new ones, contemplate, compose, and play. The key is to find a balance and to go with the flow, for tomorrow’s complexities are already calling.  

 

Harry Weininger is a long-time  

community leader.


Commentary: The Policy We Dare Not Mention

Brit Harvey
Tuesday September 05, 2006

What administratively simple state or federal policy change would: 

1) Reduce or eliminate congestion on freeways and streets, 

2) Reduce smog,  

3) Eliminate the need for signing and enforcing car pool/hybrid/HOT lanes while encouraging car pooling and hybrids,  

4) Discourage suburban sprawl and big-box commercial shopping centers, while encouraging smaller, neighborhood commercial establishments,  

5) Increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety, 

6) Encourage the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles without imposing complex regulatory rules, 

7) Probably decrease Exxon Mobil’s record profits,  

8) Significantly decrease the US trade deficit,  

9) Decrease US oil imports from politically unstable regions, such as the Persian Gulf, 

10) Slow global warming, 

11) Leave net tax revenue unchanged and probably have no impact on the state or national budgets, and 

12) Economically benefit most low-income people. 

 

A hint: this policy has been implemented for decades in countries around the world.  

One more hint: it is never mentioned by either Democrats or Republicans in the United States. If it is mentioned in the U.S. media at all, it is usually qualified by the phrase “politically impossible.”  

Give up? Raise gasoline taxes and decrease other taxes an equivalent amount. At the state level, this tax shift could be accomplished by increasing the state gas tax and decreasing the state sales tax an offsetting amount. How much? Somewhere between $2 and $4 dollars a gallon would probably provide all the benefits stated above. How fast? Shifting the equivalent of one half dollar per gallon would provide time to adjust by buying more efficient cars, demanding housing closer to jobs, and getting serious about public transit.  

Would there be winners and losers? Of course, although the direct overall fiscal impact would, by definition, be neutral, and the benefits cited above would be enjoyed by everyone. Low-income people who don’t own cars or drive much would benefit from the lower sales taxes. Gasoline is a relatively small proportion of consumption for the majority of fixed-income elderly, so they would benefit economically. How about the rich? Consumption taxes are trivial for the wealthy, so they would hardly notice or care. 

Why not rely on Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations to cut oil imports and global warming exhaust? Even if they included Hummers and the MPG requirements were increased, these regulations only influence the efficiency of cars when they are sold. They do nothing to encourage efficient vehicle use after the sale.  

Why not rely on High Occupancy/Toll (HOT) lanes (as proposed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), with hybrids tossed in? These schemes are complex, require expensive enforcement, favor those rich enough to pay, and favor specific technologies. Anything this complex can’t be a solution. 

Why not look to the future and embrace the “hydrogen highway”? Fuel cell vehicles cost $250,000 and up, 30 percent of the hydrogen leaks out of current generation tanks while they are sitting in the garage, the hydrogen fueling stations don’t exist, and the best current hydrogen source is natural gas. So let’s look to the future, but in the meantime....  

Is shifting taxes from general sales to gasoline associated with a specific faction on the political spectrum? Environmental groups like the Sierra Club would presumably applaud, although you won’t find this policy mentioned on their websites. Some neocons, fearing U.S. reliance on Middle East oil and looking to decrease the flow of money to hostile regimes, are buying hybrids and advocating conservation. A tax shift would further their goals.  

A tax shift would bring enormous net benefits to society and the planet. The United States currently has the lowest gas tax rate of any major oil-importing country. Yet not only is this simple, timely policy change not being debated by our leaders, it is not even being mentioned.  

 

Brit Harvey is a Berkeley resident.


Columns

Column: The View From Here: Forget Derby Street — Do Something About MLK

By P.M. Price
Friday September 08, 2006

And what is my view from here? As I look out on my street, Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, I hear more than see it. The rumble of trucks, the screeching of bad brakes as another pedestrian barely escapes the peril of crossing MLK at Stuart Street. I smell it, too. The toxic exhaust from far too many cars streaming through this residential neighborhood, cutting it in half, covering what used to be delicious, edible frontyard blackberries and plums with scary brown dust.  

Without any consideration for what this neighborhood used to be, perhaps the most ethnically and financially diverse community in this fair town—our city managers chose to turn the southern part of MLK into a mini-highway so that those who do not live nearby can more easily race to and from the freeway. 

My children have suffered from headaches since they were toddlers. The constant outside noise makes it difficult to sleep without some sort of numbing inside noise—a fan, soft music or one of those sound machines pretending to be ocean waves or soft rain or whatever it takes to cocoon you to sleep. Open the front door and dust particles fly through the air, covering window sills, sneaking into the hallway, the dusty din drowning out whatever conversation you were trying to hold on your front porch.  

For years, I have been talking up the idea of turning MLK between Dwight and Ashby into what it used to be, a single lane each way street with a green median strip down the middle where a streetcar used to run. Traffic can be diverted onto Adeline and Shattuck—business streets—instead. My neighbors and I have requested relief in the form of additional slow streets, signage warning of children and pedestrians crossing, lighted crosswalks like they have on College and Solano and signs doubling fines for not yielding to pedestrians, like they have up on northern MLK, just before it magically turns into The Alameda.  

Hundreds of children cross MLK at Stuart every day on their way to and from Willard Middle School, Longfellow Elementary School and Berkeley High School and most drivers do not stop for them. Most drivers do not seem to care if you are elderly, pregnant, a child or an adult—they do not stop. More than one person has been struck in this intersection and barely a month goes by without a car accident. Still, there is only one poorly demarcated, unlit crosswalk at MLK and Stuart and no signage warning of pedestrians or fines at all. 

What we don’t need is additional traffic brought into our neighborhood to play and watch baseball.  

If you were to look at an aerial view of Berkeley, it would be easy to see where the abundance of trees, parks and open space lies. It ain’t around here. Before it was fenced in, the Derby Street field gave us some breathing room, a place where neighbors could meet, with and without their dogs, and play catch with their children, read a book or even fly a kite. A bench or a tree would have been nice but even without that, we enjoyed the space. It was a focal point in a community lacking open space, just as the Derby Street Farmer’s Market and the Ashby Flea Market are both focal points and are both now threatened by a city government not in touch with this community. 

Sure it would be nice if the BHS baseball team had a field nearby they could walk to—would they actually be walking or would they be driven to this field? And what about other BHS athletes without adequate playing space? Do they want to share this field as well? And what about the needs of the taxpayers who support BHS—not the parents who live elsewhere, but the parents who live right here, all set to be bombarded by the night lights, cheers, screams, cursing, traffic and garbage bound to pile up in the game’s wake. What about our families, our sensibilities, our needs?  

This community has already tolerated being turned into a highway for the convenience of others. We have plenty of liquor stores but no bookstores. We have plenty of access to unhealthy fast foods but there ain’t no “gourmet” in this ghetto. (With the notable exceptions of the Berkeley Bowl—which is always so crowded we neighbors can barely make it in the door, much less the parking lot—and the delicious new addition of Sweet Adeline, our very own community bakery.)  

The other day as I stepped into a clearly marked crosswalk (not at MLK and Stuart) a guy with thick black hair driving a fancy black car almost ran me over. I glared at him as I walked around his ride.  

“Ya wouldn’t have that problem if ya was drivin’!” he yelled at me in a thick New Jersey accent.  

I kid you not. And therein lies the problem. We don’t make things our problems until they are actually our problems. And by then, it’s usually too late. 

 

 

 


Column: Undercurrents: Using Music to Unite a Community

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday September 08, 2006

In the autumn of my 19th year, I was living with a group of friends in a row house in the northwest section of D.C. These were poverty times—on days I could put together a solid dollar bill in my pocket, I felt fabulous. I went out looking for a job each day, with no luck. Finally, embarrassed that I was the only one in the house not bringing anything home for meals, I went into a supermarket and tried to shoplift a steak. Bad idea, like our governor used to say in his movies. I made it as far as the doorway past the checkout stands—after that, it was a fairly short drive down to the D.C. Detention Center and then a visit with the night court judge for arraignment. 

This was my lucky night, however. Even before the public defender had a chance to say anything, the judge set me free on one of those famous legal technicalities—the one that says you have to actually leave the store before you can be convicted of taking something from the store. Anyway, following my release, the public defender handed me a card from some sort of special city employment program, telling me to take it down to the Employment Office and they’d take care of me. Must have been some magic runes written on that card because even though several experienced workers ahead of me were told that there was no work that day, as soon as I walked up and handed the employment clerk the card, I got a referral to a job in a department store stock room. 

I’ve continued to believe it was one of life’s odd ironies, getting a job at a department store not in spite of the fact that I’d been caught shoplifting but because of it. But there was another lesson. So long as I was just another young black man wandering the streets of a city full of young black men, who cared about me? But at the point I decided to take the radical step of stealing, they sat up and paid attention, and I got what I had been looking for all along—a job—without even having to ask for it. 

If it is only the squeaky wheels that get the grease, my guess is you will end up with more squeaking rather than less, an unintended consequence that Oakland should pay attention to in the midst of this bloody year. 

Sometimes even elaborate youth programs are not necessary. Though these are certainly helpful, it can often be enough that the adults of this city let the too-often-outcast youth know that we welcome their presence and honor their spirit, and that we will fight and take chances to make certain a place at Oakland’s table is always laid out for them. 

On Labor Day Sunday, for one example, the East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club blocked off 88th Avenue between International Boulevard and A Street in East Oakland for their annual end-of-the-summer block party. That portion of International is one of the roughest areas of the city, but the Dragons built their reputations in the rough days of the 60’s and the 70’s, and though they have mellowed out and now have grandchildren to think of—or, maybe, because they have mellowed out and now have grandchildren to think of—they get their respect, and so their gatherings tend not to get out of hand. 

I stopped by early to buy a plate of barbecue from one of the vendors, and to watch the little children’s hyphy dance competition on a flatbed truck the Dragons had set up in the street as a stage, the participants ranging from between 5 to 10 years of age, the kids getting recognition from the entire community—not just their peers—for their accomplishments. The kids, and the adults, loved it. 

Hyphy is a music/dance form that is difficult for outsiders to describe or interpret—the important thing is that it is the new wave of national hip hop, with acknowledged roots on the Oakland streets. A city more in tune with its own culture—and less automatically antagonistic to too many of its youth—might figure out a way for all of us to benefit from such things. 

Meanwhile, Oakland District Six Councilmember Desley Brooks is putting on her second year of free concerts at East Oakland’s Arroyo Viejo Park with a cautious inclusion of hyphy/hip hop that is attracting more young people to the events. A year ago, the concerts were pointedly old school, emphasizing 70’s acts like Tower Of Power and Rose Royce, with perhaps one rap group each time. While the headliner for last year’s final concert was locally-born, nationally-known hip hop performer and producer D’Wayne Wiggins, he puts out decidedly un-gangsta sounds, the emphasis being on melody, impressive harmony, and sharp and energetic guitar licks over the infectious hip hop beat. Gangsta is not hyphy, but because they both get the young folks excited, old folks like myself sometimes get them confused, even though gangsta often celebrates the thug life and violence, but hyphy is aimed more towards good time celebrating. 

Anyways, at Brooks’ Arroyo series’ first concert last month, the producers included a whole section of hyphy, with the deejay exhorting the young people to “get up and show the old people how it’s done.” Coming shortly after the OG’s (or old folks) beat down the lawn grass with the electric slide, it was a fascinating moment, the first time in many years I had seen African-American youth and elders party together at roughly the same time. Such bridging of the generational gap in social gatherings—weddings and festivals and the like where older and younger dance the same dances to the same music—is common in almost every culture around the world, but got broken down and torn apart in the American consumer culture, which needs to isolate different “markets” so that they can be sold to with greater precision. That may be good for the business of music, but it is bad for the social health of our communities, since it serves to remove young people from the presence and influence of their elders during social gatherings. 

Councilmember Brooks is taking an enormous chance here by attracting more young people to East Oakland gatherings, and she knows it. She is the Barry Bonds of Oakland politics—decidedly unloved by most of the local press—and if any problems break out at the concerts with the young participants, many reporters and columnists will almost certainly jump on her feet first. That would be a shame, because there is something special being built here in the heart of East Oakland. The Arroyo concerts are being patrolled in part by members of the Nation of Islam’s Fruit of Islam security contingent—who tend to treat African-Americans with great respect and therefore tend to get respect in return, similar to what happens with the East Bay Dragons.  

Security duty at the Arroyo concerts is also shared with Oakland police officers. But either because they picked the right officers or gave the right orders, the OPD officers at the Arroyo concerts are acting different than they do at most gatherings in Oakland’s deep hoods. At last month’s concert they mingled with the crowd, smiling and talking with people as they walked through, acting as if we were all part of the same community and were there to protect the gatherers, not to eyeball them suspiciously, looking for every minor transgression. Some of the police stood on the edge of the crowd and played catch football with a group of the youngsters, the game going on for a half hour or so. Acting this way, the police did not create tension by their presence as they too often do around young African-Americans. It was a learning experience all-around, a lesson to be remembered when one realizes that it was clashes between Oakland police and young African-Americans that ended two of Oakland’s most successful annual festivals, the Festival At The Lake and Carijama. Some people believe those clashes were inevitable. But others think they could have been avoided by a different attitude from the police. 

Meanwhile, I notice that the Berkeley Community Theatre is hosting a hip hop concert this weekend, part of something called the 2K Sports Bounce Tour and featuring a Tribe Called Quest. While Oakland actively discourages rap and hip hop concerts because of the potential for violence, Berkeley continues to quietly hold them, drawing audiences from the African-American communities of neighboring Oakland and Richmond as well, the events going on so well that no one outside the hip hop community even notices. What is Berkeley doing that Oakland is not? 

I don’t have a ready answer for that. But maybe, with so much emphasis on Oakland’s violence almost to the exclusion of everything else at times, we are missing some important things happening, and some ways to heal our community and bring it back together. 

 


Strolling Down Solano Avenue

By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet
Friday September 08, 2006

Ever dream about living in a neighborhood where spreading trees shade well-tended bungalows? Strong neighborhood school, small attractive parks and retail choices just down the street. Enough variety to satisfy every whim so a day can be enjoyed without requiring a car. Wake up on Saturday morning, feed the pets, throw on some clothes and stroll down the street for coffee and pastries or a full breakfast. 

Dreams become reality in Thousand Oaks. 

Not far removed from Main Street, U.S.A., Thousand Oaks lies along both sides of Solano Avenue from the Arlington to the Albany border. Resembling a split personality, four blocks of Solano are divided down the center, between Albany and Berkeley. Regardless of city, it’s all a charming, eclectic mixture of ethnic businesses, antiques, used books, coffeehouses and specialty shops perhaps not present on the Kansas plains. 

No one seeks to benefit from natural disasters but the fire and earthquake of 1906 resettled many San Franciscans in Berkeley’s burgeoning neighborhoods. John Hopkins Spring, vast landowner, is credited with starting the business end of Solano. Gone now, but adding spice to Thousand Oaks’ history were commuter trains that once traversed light rail through the Solano Tunnel. 

Perhaps the first Berkeley activists were the women of Thousand Oaks, armed with two shotguns and a rifle, holding off garbage trucks that rolled down Solano on the way to Albany Hill dumping grounds. 

Along with attractive neighborhood homes and varied commercial choices Thousand Oaks is home to four small public parks. Between the Arlington and the Alameda, two “stone” parks offer sweeping bay views and climbing practice. Neighbors gather at Great Stoneface Park to turf-run their dogs and children, picnic and try new handholds on the massive bolder. At Contra Costa Rock Park carved steps lead the way to impressive Bay-wide views. 

Thousand Oaks School Park is a magnet for tots and their caregivers, occupying the lush lawn and brightly colored play equipment. Toddler-size slide, swings and sandlot echo with gleeful sounds, while picnic tables under towering conifers beckon for a peaceful snack. Solano-Peralta Park could easily be missed. Resembling a mini urban plaza, the small enclosed playground and sidewalk benches are ideally placed for people watching. 

Thousand Oaks’ main artery is Solano Avenue where the shopping is varied and interesting. A pleasing harmony of historic buildings and recent additions blend easily into an enticing retail district. Offerings run the gamut from attire and gifts to delicacies. 

Women searching for fall wardrobes need look no further than Persimmon and By Hand where lovely outfits grace the front windows. Fall floral skirt, lime green corduroy vest, brick knit jacket and multi-strand beaded necklace preview the coming season. For matching shoes, Ideas 4 Elements will keep you fashionable without pinching your toes. 

A Child’s Place seems to specialize in pint-size comfort-clothes – Skivy Doodles soft P.J.’s in both truck and ballerina themes as well as fuzzy hooded terry towels and bath-time ducks and frogs. For that first haircut there’s Snippety Crickets, its wall of fame photos and toy-laden shelves rewards for not crying. 

Ready to pursue a new hobby? Stash’s wall of boldly beautiful wool yarns from Uruguay will have you imagining a warm ocher scarf or azure sweater. At New Pieces, color again greets the eye; quilting fabrics are arranged in prints, stripes, plaids and solids from yellow and orange to blue and green. A good selection of instruction books and wall-hung quilts serve as inspiration. Any trouble with a trusty sewing machine can be easily remedied at Jim’s Sewing Machine Center, the oldest Singer outlet in the United States. 

Need to stock up on gifts? Pegasus carries new and used books and CDs, across the board in terms of subjects. The Cabinet of Natural Curiosities, Hockney’s People or Forest of the Pigmies – take your pick. Soap Sisters’ scented soaps from France and Moroccan Mint body wash will vicariously send you across the seas. Silver and turquoise jewelry and pottery from Santo Domingo and Zuni Pueblos reside at Gathering Tribes, also offering intriguing Hopi Ant Pots. Fill them with honey and slowly move the ants away from your home. The Bone Room is in a class by itself stocking Nile crocodile skulls, scorpion paper weights, bug bracelets and human artifacts. Have an unoccupied corner awaiting a complete skeleton or just an empty jar for carpals, phalanges or teeth? 

Peet’s and Starbucks fill the need for java. Scharffen Berger Chocolate Mocha Freddos, Ethiopia and Las Hermanas coffee beans and Ancient Trees tea perfume the air at Peet’s. Fall offerings at Starbuck’s center around pumpkin, from spiced lattes to scones and cream cheese muffins. For exceptional bakery treats, La Farine will tingle your taste buds for hours. A morning bun, wheat levain bread for lunch and gateau au citron for afternoon coffee—these barely break the surface. 

All varieties of Solano eateries lure customers with their open-door policy, allowing delicious aromas to waft out the door. Comfort food is the ticket at Barney’s Gourmet Hamburgers, home to teriyaki and Russian burgers and spicy curly fries. Walker’s Restaurant and Pie Shop satisfies at breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as anytime you’re in the mood for fresh apple or coconut cream pie. 

When the Far East beckons, choices abound. Boran and Sweet Basil Thai Restaurants serve red, green and yellow curries, satay, Tom Yum Soup and the well-loved pad Thai. King Tsin Restaurant offers dim sum on top of twice cooked pork, lemon chicken and spicy prawns. Miyuki Japanese Restaurant does brisk business with sushi combos, udon, donburi and sashimi. 

Potato tikki, chicken briyani and lamb aloo perfume the air at Khana Peena Indian Cuisine. Humus, tabouleh, babaganoush and tahini await at Jerusalem’s Organic Kitchen. For pizza lovers Zachary’s Chicago Pizza satisfies both thin crust and stuffed aficionados; Cugini’s lures in those favoring pizza from a wood burning oven. 

You can’t go wrong with a good taqueria. Cactus is always crowded and with good reason, their complete menu makes decisions difficult. No less popular, Gordo can seldom contain its customers; the line usually snakes down the sidewalk. 

To experience Thousand Oaks at its most exuberant, join the celebration this Sunday, Sept. 10, for the 32nd Solano Stroll, the biggest block party in the Bay Area. In a few hours you can sample 50 cuisines, listen to 50 bands, watch 100 entertainers, admire juried crafts and find out what 200 community organizations are doing. Learn circus arts, envy the fun in Kid Town and cool off in the dunk tank. 

Thousand Oaks serves as a welcoming home and favored foray. Without pretense it offers a relaxed atmosphere to play, peruse and partake. Sample life in Thousand Oaks, it may figure in your dreams.  

 

 

 


East Bay Then and Now: Shipping Magnate’s Mansion Is Rare Survivor on Oxford Street

By Daniella Thompson
Friday September 08, 2006

One of the most imposing Victorian-era homes in Berkeley, the Boudrow House at Sea Captain Corner was constructed in 1889, when Berkeley, whose population then numbered about 12,000, was a favorite retirement spot for mariners. 

The house was built for Charles C. Boudrow (c. 1830–1918), a Massachusetts-born master mariner who for many years was a shipping magnate in San Francisco. On June 8, 1918, the Oakland Tribune published his obituary, stating: 

“Captain Charles Boudrow died suddenly at his home in Berkeley last night. He passed his 88th birthday a few months ago and was then well and hearty. Boudrow was connected with the firm of Migeul [correct spelling: Mighell] & Boudrow, which owned many large square-riggers out of this port, later forming the California Shipping Company and purchasing many eastern craft, which are owned by the Alaska Salmon companies. He retired from active service a few years ago, but made regular visits to the Merchants’ Exchange to talk ‘ship’ with his old-time friends. For over 60 years Boudrow had been established in the marine business in this port.” 

Among the many ships owned by Captain Boudrow or by the California Shipping Company were the Star of Italy; the cannery tender Jabez Howes; the bark May Flint; the Abner Coburn; the A.J. Fuller; the Saint Frances; and the Joseph B. Thomas. 

Captain Boudrow’s office was located near the port of San Francisco, at 38–40 Market Street. His residence was not far from there, at 1933 Stevenson Street. Living near him (but never with him) both in San Francisco and in Berkeley was his nephew Charles E. Boudrow, a ship chandler and dealer in ship material born in Massachusetts in 1858. 

The nephew’s major claim to fame was his purchase of the decommissioned sloop-of-war Marion from the U.S. Navy in July 1907. He moved to Berkeley at about the same time as his uncle and first appeared in the 1891 directory living on Spruce Street between Vine and Rose.  

Beginning with the 1893 directory, the younger Boudrow’s residence was 1432 Arch Street, where he remained for many years. In 1894 and 1895 he lived with Miss Louisa F. Boudrow. 

Captain Charles C. Boudrow outlived two wives. The second, Christina (1852–1914), was German-born and 22 years his junior. Curiously, Charles E. Boudrow also married a German woman, Katharina Diehl (1857–1941), who in the 1920 census claimed to be eleven years younger than she actually was, but as a widow in 1930 owned up to her real age. 

The Boudrow house on Oxford Street was designed in the Queen Anne-Eastlake style by the noted San Francisco architect Julius E. Krafft (1855–1937), who was responsible for many stately Pacific Heights residences. Born in Germany, Krafft immigrated to the U.S. in 1872 and came to San Francisco two years later. He worked as a draftsman for Palace Hotel architect John P. Gaynor and later for Thomas J. Welsh, designer of 16 Catholic churches in San Francisco, of which the three survivors are St. Agnes, Old St. Mary’s Cathedral, and Sacred Heart Church in the Western Addition. 

Krafft was in charge of Welsh’s drafting department for twelve years before opening his own office in 1888. One of his most celebrated buildings was the Gothic Revival St. Paulus Lutheran Church (1893), whose design was based on Cathedral of Chartres. The church was destroyed by fire in 1995. Still intact are 31–33 Liberty Street (1892) in the West Mission district and an opulent 1902 Classical Revival residence at 2601 Broadway commissioned by bank president Isaias Warren Hellman as a wedding gift for his daughter. 

Two of Krafft’s children, the twin sons Elmer Jerome (1880–1944) and Alfred Julius (1880–1950), joined their father’s business. Having begun as draftsmen, Elmer became an architect and Alfred a structural engineer. In 1933, the firm of Julius Krafft & Sons would design an Art Deco wholesale grocery warehouse for Wellman-Peck & Company in what is now the Warehouse Thematic Historic District of San Diego. This building was recently converted to an office condominium & retail complex. 

Captain Boudrow’s house was one of the early buildings in the Antisell Villa Lots, a tract comprising eight blocks bounded by Rose St. to the north, Shattuck Ave. to the west, Cedar St. to the south, and Arch St. to the east. Thomas M. Antisell was an attorney and real-estate agent with an office at 1069 Broadway in Oakland. In 1874, just after the U.C. campus moved from Oakland to Berkeley, Antisell began selling lots in the tract bearing his name. The subdivision map he issued advertised the upcoming auction sale “on liberal credit” of 260 lots, to take place on November 6, 1874. 

Thomas M. Antisell himself lived across the street from the future Boudrow property. At the time, Oxford St. was called Pine. Between 1876 and 1883, Antisell was listed in the Berkeley directory as residing variously at “Vine nr Pine,” “Pine nr Vine,” “E s Oxford bet Cedar and Vine,” and “Cedar.” He also was a piano manufacturer and dealer in San Francisco, and on November 15, 1887 received a patent for a wrest plank for his pianos, which were advertised as “the leading instrument of the world.” In numerous newspaper ads, Antisell offered his pianos on a $10 monthly installment plan and admonished readers to “buy only from the largest manufactory in the world.” 

Sometime in the 1880s, the Antisell house was purchased by Captain Boudrow’s partner, William E. Mighell, who made his first appearance in the Berkeley directory in 1889. The Berkeley Daily Advocate Holiday Number of 1892 included the house in an article on opulent residences in town: 

Captain Mighell purchased some years ago the then very handsome home of T.M. Antisell on the east side of Oxford Street, north of Vine [sic]. Since then he has spared neither time nor expense in making it one of the finest homes in town. Situated on a knoll, the views from his windows are superb. 

The same holiday issue also described the Boudrow house: 

Captain Budrow [sic] purchased a large lot on the corner of Oxford and Cedar streets, upon which he has erected one of the largest and finest dwelling houses in town. From every window the view is a panoramic scene of mountain, sea, and valley. 

The entire Boudrow house is constructed of redwood. Multiple gables and bays, floral and geometric friezes, plaster reliefs, and scalloped shingles ornament its façades. A balustraded flight of 15 steps leads up to a front porch whose gable roof is supported by turned columns linked by trelliswork arches. A round turret crowned with a witch’s hat rises four stories on the southeastern corner. The central gable features a balconette surmounted by a sunburst.  

There were seven rooms on the main floor and four rooms below. The main floor was famed for its 12-foot ceilings. The house boasted no fewer than six fireplaces. 

The Mighell and Boudrow houses were both situated on oversized lots—each the equivalent of five standard lots—and surrounded by large gardens. As Berkeley grew, the lots shrank. By 1929, the block was fully built. Further development occurred in the 1960s, when large apartment buildings were erected on this block. Many of the original houses, including the Mighell residence, are long gone. Apartment buildings are currently the predominant element along the 1500 block of Oxford Street. 

In 1922, Captain Boudrow’s heirs sold the house to mining engineer Roscoe Wheeler and his wife Erminie. According to the U.S. census, the Wheelers had previously resided in Oakland, but not always together. In 1920, Mrs. Wheeler and daughters Erminie (16) and Helen (14) were living in the home of the Misses Ellen and Cecilia Neylan on Wickson Avenue, while Mr. Wheeler was residing as a boarder on nearby Walker Avenue. 

The Wheelers are said to have had in their yard four 100-pound boulders that had served as ballast aboard the clipper ship Rattler. 

Helen Wheeler married the future colonel Robert Beard and owned the Boudrow house until 1970, when she had to let go of it. The house was in danger of being demolished until it was purchased by Dr. Paul F. Hocking and his wife Ann, who divided it into ten apartments. It was designated a City of Berkeley Landmark on June 21, 1976. 

The house changed hands again in 1994. The current owners restored it, rebuilding the front staircase and painting the exterior in more than ten colors. They received a BAHA Preservation Award in May 2006. 

 


Why I Hate Norm Abrams

By Matt Cantor
Friday September 08, 2006

I don’t actually hate Norm, I sort of like the guy. It’s nice to see someone on TV that would never have made it on his headshot and a screen-test. Those other folks on Hometime, now them I hate. They’re all cute and American looking and blond. Kachunk, Blam, Kachunk, Blam. Ah, that’s better. There’s nothing like large caliber gunfire to sooth the chakras. 

I do genuinely hate these shows. Hometime, This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop and I hate them for one simple reason. They make most people feel like idiots. 

They’re a lot of fun if you have accepted the popularly promulgated notion that you, as a homeowner or stock broker or bank clerk, know nothing about houses or furniture or nails and that you’ll never stand a chance of doing more than hanging a picture on the wall.  

Even the shows that try to show you how to build a chest of drawers do such a lousy job of preparing the average Joe or Joan for the job that they become nothing more than boutique shopping and showing off. 

Let’s take This Old House. Kuchunk, Blam. The thing I hate about TOH is that they don’t show you how bad things often get. I have yet to see an episode of this show in which you see a red faced homeowner screaming bloody murder at Steve and Norm and don’t tell me that it’s never happened. I don’t care how good a contractor is. 

When you’ve been working on someone’s house for 10 weeks, there is absolutely no way that 10 percent of the clientele aren’t going to be going into anaphylaxis. It’s well known in the industry that some people just can’t take it, even under the best of circumstances and I am certain that those videos are hiding in a vault somewhere at PBS central, waiting for the day that Steve or Norm step over the line. 

Again, the show doesn’t show the mistakes, the overages and the heartache often involved in home remodeling. They make everything look easy. You never see a subcontractor show up drunk. You never see a guy going to the emergency room because he stepped on a nail and you never see a job sitting incomplete for 18 months because the couple is getting a divorce or went into bankruptcy. 

The camera cleans up all the messes. I’m also quite sure that PBS has footed the bill more than a few times to get the job completed so that they could get everything in the can. 

On shows like this and Hometime, the jobs are made to look so darned easy. This is the problem with cooking shows as well. The kitchen is clean when they start. (How does your kitchen look? I usually can’t find a clear counter to work on.) All the materials are waiting for assembly and nothing is spoiled, the wrong type or missing. 

Dean and Robin’s air gun never misfires and the compressor never needs to be drained (yes, you have to drain compressors daily because they fill up with water and will rust out if you don’t do so). 

That’s another point. There are so many small details that fill a contractor’s day (or your day when you play contractor) and, just like the cooking show, they’re neatly edited out. Just pop the raw one in the oven and Voila, the new freshly baked one comes right out of the other oven. 

Now, how educational does this end up being? The average viewer of these shows isn’t sure which nail to use to fix the trim on the side of the house, so it’s a little high-handed to try to show, even over 3 episodes, how to rehabilitate an 1860 farm house into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom suite with an office in the basement. 

Can the viewer replicate any of these actions or is it simply a fashion show designed to make you salivate, believing falsely that you could do all this yourself if only you had just a wee bit more free time? 

Not that I don’t think that people can learn this stuff but it’s just a tad more complex and definitely more hairy than they make it look.  

I DID once see one of those extreme remodeling shows in which we got to see the workers freak out, fight and loose their cool but it’s still a little like watching brain surgery on TV. 

It’s not like you’re going to turn to your wife and say, “Hey Honey, I’ll bet I can remove that tumor for you right here on the kitchen table.” 

By the way, if you’re husband gets that Jack Nicholson/Shining look while watching the Home Neuroscience channel, best to go stay with Mom for a few days until the cable company can come downgrade you from the Gold package to regular broadcast TV. 

I have, on occasion, watched Norm do his New Yankee Workshop thing and my complaints with that show are essentially the same as the aforementioned, although I’ll add one major complaint. Actually, this complaint applies to the previous shows but it’s never so apparent to me as when I’m watching Norm build a Georgian breakfront. Norm has really, really nice tools. 

His tools are sharp and clean and new and they’re all hanging on the wall in exactly the right place courtesy of the sponsor, Stanley tools. He has attachments for routers and drill presses that I’ve never seen. I’m not saying that most of these are not to be found in the average cabinet maker’s shop but I’ll bet even they would say that the quality and completeness of his assembly of tools far exceeds theirs. 

So when Norm starts to build his breakfront and you start to build yours, (assuming you’re retired, moderately wealthy and sufficiently well-adjusted) you’re going to have a lot to emotionally contend with as nothing that you do comes out quite as well and certainly as fast as the one that Norm does on screen. You’ve been set up. 

Here’s what I’d like to see in place off all these shows (if there are any TV producers reading, I’m waiting for my close-up C.B.):  

An episode would go something like this. Mrs. Jones’s faucet is leaking (maybe we have a few other small repairs too) and she calls the handyman to come fix things. The “handyman” (me) arrives with no tools and has to rely upon what Mrs. Jones has in the tool-drawer in the kitchen. 

Then he and Mrs. Jones go to Ace Hardware, buy the tools they need, the parts they need and proceed to struggle through all the steps in fixing the leak including trying to find things at the hardware store. This will, of course, require a second, and possibly, third trip to the store and will all end with cheers of joy and turkey sandwiches eaten on the kitchen floor in sopping jeans once the drip has finally been tackled. 

Now that’s what I would call Reality TV. 


An Interesting Nursery Close to Lake Merritt

By Ron Sullivan
Friday September 08, 2006

If you find yourself over by Lake Merritt, there’s a nursery tucked into Jean Street on Grand Avenue that’s worth a visit.  

It’s getting close to the season to bird Lake Merritt. The place is great for wintering ducks and the odd vagrant waterbird, and even more odd hybrids: a hooded merganser X bufflehead drake has been showing up near the lake’s Bay outlet for the past two years. He’s a striking bird, like a black-and-white photograph of some natty figment of the imagination. 

I’ve seen tufted ducks who should’ve been in southeast Asia there, and just last year a Franklin’s gull, still in that ineffable blush of rosy breeding plumage, posed for a couple of weeks along the inland end.  

There’s Walden Pond Books in the neighborhood too, and restaurants galore. And I think I recall a sort of warehouse-club purveyor of coffins, so there’s something for everybody. What are you waiting for? 

So while you’re there, do drop in at the Ace Hardware store’s garden center, a few doors lakeward on Grand from the hardware store itself. (The intervening doors are occupied by Ace’s new “patio shop” and storage. Hardware stores have a tendency to do that, take up storefronts with backroom stuff. Odd. Kind of butch, I guess.) The parking lot is teeny, but you’re on the easier-parking end of the neighborhood anyway.  

The nursery shop has remained, since I first visited about ten years ago, focused on stuff for urban small gardens. 

This doesn’t mean teensy plants; there are things like tree ferns and magnolias that will get big, and make good focal points. Fruit trees, too, and one thing I’d never heard of, a golden-foliaged cultivar of dawn redwood.  

I find that’s the advantage of visiting small neighborhood nurseries: Because they’re local and individually run, they’re good for idiosyncratic finds. Someone gets a jones for red foliage or obscure mints, and the game is on. Ace has a better than usual set of these because it has a lot of Annie’s Annuals four-inchers, and you know how Annie’s is about weird and wonderful plants.  

Other useful stuff for small gardens here: vines and vertical plants, tall skinny cultivars, and hey, you can always espalier those fruit trees. 

There’s a good sampling of shade plants for the understory, including silvery ferns and those bright-foliaged heucheras and tiarellas that are in vogue lately. Also, there are some begonias I hadn’t met before, of all things. 

Like many of the nurseries I like, the place is full of pleasant bugs, like butterflies. 

These might have trekked in from nearby yards or even the Oakland Rose Garden at the terminus of Jean Street, but there were several species chasing each other around and the big ones, the red admiral for example, looked fresh and newly hatched. 

You don’t get butterflies (or honeybees or katydids or the dragonflies who chase them) when you douse the place in pesticides for appearances’ sake, so I take them as a good sign. 

This is a good place for Felco pruning shears—try them on; find your best model—and basic bonsai tools, too. The indoor shop has a nice collection of Japanese-style baskets. 

Bulbs are starting to show up, too; I scored some rhizomes of “Batik” iris, my favorite. 

I have mine. Go get yours.  

 

Ace Garden Center 

4001 Grand Avenue, Oakland 

652-9143 

Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–6 p.m.  

Saturday 9 a.m.–6 p.m.  

Sunday 10 a.m.–4 p.m.  

 

Ron Sullivan is a former professional gardener and arborist. Her “Garden Variety” column appears every Friday in East Bay Home & Real Estate. Her column on East Bay trees appears every other Tuesday in the Berkeley Daily Planet.


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday September 08, 2006

Gas Shut-off Valve – Is It Worth It?  

 

An automatic gas shut-off valve is a mechanism that can be installed on the house side of your gas meter. 

It is designed to cut the flow of gas to your home in the event of an earthquake. In previous quakes in California, gas lines to appliances snapped, gas built up in the house, and the resulting fire destroyed many homes.  

There are plenty of people who have decided against having one installed, thinking that, if they smell gas after a serious quake, they can just turn off the gas themselves at the main shut-off valve near their meter. 

No problem—if you can guarantee somebody will be home at the time of the quake. However, if the quake hits when everyone’s at work, or on an outing, or just gone from home, you may regret not having one.  

It’s true that a moderate-sized quake can activate the valve, but the ones I’ve used are easy to re-set, and, in my opinion, the protection is worth the potential inconvenience.  

 

 

Larry Guillot is the owner of QuakePrepare, an earthquake consulting, securing and kit supply service. Contact him at 558-3299 or see www.quakeprepare.com to receive semi-monthly e-mails and safety reports.


Column: The Public Eye: Who Are the Terrorists?

Bob Burnett
Tuesday September 05, 2006

In his recent statements, President Bush made two things clear: He’s not about to withdraw troops from Iraq. And he’s locked into a definition of “terrorist” that’s so general that it’s meaningless and, therefore, dangerous. It’s time to reconsider: Who are the terrorists: Why are we fighting them? How can we defeat them? 

Bush began his “war on terror” with a deliberately vague definition of America’s new enemy: a “terrorist” was any group the administration attached that label to. On Sept. 20, 2001, the president said, “Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.” 

Bush’s “war” initially centered on al Qaeda. The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan. In the September issue of Atlantic Monthly James Fallows persuasively argues that al Qaeda has, for the most part, been defeated. He suggests that it’s time to declare “victory” in the war on terror because the United States has diminished the effectiveness of al Qaeda: “Their command structure is gone, their Afghan sanctuary is gone, their financial and communications networks have been hit hard.” He notes there has been “a shift from a coherent al Qaeda Central to a global proliferation of ‘self-starter’ terrorist groups.” 

Rather than stay focused on al Qaeda, and their malignant offspring, Bush expanded the scope of his “war.” In the 2002 State of the Union address, he denounced Iraq and Syria as state “sponsors” of terrorism. Implied there could be terrorist states. 

Subsequently, the administration convinced Congress and much of the American public that his war on terror necessitated an invasion of Iraq. Bush conflated al Qaeda-trained Iraq-based terrorists, such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, members of Iraq’s Baath party, any Iraqi who resisted the occupation, “insurgents,” and, ultimately, Sunni Muslims. Bush confused those who fight the United States because we are occupying their country—“resistance” fighters—with those who are operatives of al Qaeda and have pledged to destroy America. In his press conference, Bush referred to them all as “terrorists who are trying to stop the advance of democracy.” Anyone who opposes the occupation is a “terrorist.” 

Fallows’ Atlantic Monthly article argues that the war in Iraq has greatly hampered Bush’s war on terror: “The war in Iraq advanced the jihadist cause because it generates a steady supply of Islamic victims or martyrs; because it seems to prove Osama bin Laden’s contention that America lusts to occupy Islam’s sacred sites, abuse Muslim people, and steal Muslim resources; and because it raises the tantalizing possibility that humble Muslim insurgents, with cheap, primitive weapons, can once more hobble and ultimately destroy a superpower....” 

Nonetheless, Bush stubbornly defends the occupation: “We leave before the mission is done, the terrorists will follow us here.” 

In his 2002 speech, Bush defined “Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Jaish-i-Mohammed” as terrorist organizations. Of these, only “Jaish-i-Mohammed” has direct links to al Qaeda. “Islamic Jihad” is an umbrella term used by groups in Egypt, Iran, and Syria among others. Hamas and Hezbollah are resistance groups in Palestine and Lebanon, respectively. Whether they deserve the label “terrorist” is debatable. 

In 1988, the United States deemed Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Nonetheless, the group has little in common with al Qaeda. Professor Stephen Zunes argues that Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shiite socio-political organization. Where al Qaeda is Sunni and stateless, Hezbollah is part of Lebanese society—holding 14 seats in Lebanon’s National Assembly. Where al Qaeda has repeatedly threatened the United States, Hezbollah has not. Where al Qaeda has a long history of terrorist attacks, Hezbollah does not—Zunes notes that the United States accuses Hezbollah of two bombings of Jewish targets in Argentina, attacks most independent experts do not attribute to Hezbollah. Nonetheless, in his news conference Bush referred to Hezbollah as “terrorists.” Blamed them for the recent war in Lebanon. 

Bush’s muddled definition of “terrorist” has had four chilling consequences: It’s shifted attention away from the eradication of al Qaeda. It’s largely ignored the threat posed by a secondary wave of “self-starter” terrorist groups, those spawned by the ideology of al Qaeda. Bush’s sloppy thinking produced the debacle in Iraq and led to a mindset where the Administration labels any Middle Eastern “resistance fighter” as a terrorist. Finally, the White House’s sweeping, ideological driven definition of terrorist led the administration to condemn Hamas and Hezbollah, lump them with al Qaeda, an action that contributed to Israel’s decision to invade Palestine and South Lebanon. 

American foreign policy needs a fresh start. Rather than continue the Bush approach—define a terrorist group as anyone we don’t like—it makes more sense to be pragmatic. Let’s begin with a more focused definition: A “terrorist” organization is al Qaeda, or any group that adopts al Qaeda’s objectives and advocates attacks on the U.S. mainland or U.S. citizens. The first step towards real security is for America to be clear about who our enemies are. 

 

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


Column: Famous People I Have Almost Met and Loved

Susan Parker
Tuesday September 05, 2006

1966: Jackie-O 

My daddy receives a $14 check from Jackie (then) Kennedy for the purchase of two white mice for Jon Jon. He cashes it. 

 

1967: Lunch with Billie Jean King 

Picked out of a crowd of teenagers at the Philadelphia Spectrum, a reporter asks me to have lunch with Billie Jean King. I’ve been volleying back an forth with Pancho Gonzales during a high school clinic sponsored by the USTA. I’m not a very good tennis player, but I am, as always, enthusiastic. 

Most likely, the reporter has noticed my V-neck white tennis sweater with the corresponding blue and red stripes, the too-short pleated white tennis skirt with matching ruffled panties underneath, and the white socks and squeaky clean sneakers. I stand out in a crowd; I glow. 

 

March 27, 1968: The Supremes at the Latin Casino, Cherry Hill New Jersey 

For my 16th birthday my parents take me to see Diana Ross and the Supremes. We sit at a small, round, stage-front table and I drink several Shirley Temples while my parents knock back martinis and chain smoke unfiltered cigarettes. The Supremes change their outfits after every song, but the hair on their heads moves not a single millimeter. 

 

Fall 1968: Iron Butterfly 

I am at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia watching Iron Butterfly perform “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” I smell marijuana for the first time. 

 

Spring 1969: Paul & Artie 

I see Simon and Garfunkel at the Philadelphia Civic Center while wearing a purple polyester miniskirt with matching purple top. I resemble a human eggplant. When the concert concludes, I storm the stage and chase Paul and Artie down a long, narrow basement hallway. Paul gets away, but I pin Artie against a wall and demand his autograph. Later, I will lose the precious signature in the orange shag carpet of my bedroom. 

 

Sunday, July 20, 1969 10:17 p.m. EST: Apollo II moon landing 

On the night Neil Armstrong sets foot on the moon, I attend a Smokey Robinson and the Miracles concert at the Seaview Hotel and Golf Resort in Absecon, New Jersey. Smokey is fab-u-lo-so. 

 

Fall 1969-Fall 1970: Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Canned Heat, Ten Years After, The Moody Blues, and Janis and Dylan 

I see them all, but remember little. 

 

Winter Break 1971 Part I: Maced for Neil Young 

I hitchhike from Fort Collins to Boulder, Colorado, to attend a Neil Young concert that I don’t have a ticket for. I sneak into the arena and get maced on the way out. 

 

Winter Break 1971 Part II:  

Seven Days After the Macing I Meet (at a commune) a member of Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band, or at least this is what he claims. I observe two men French kissing (!). I hitchhike from Santa Cruz to SFO and fly home to New Jersey. I do not return to California for a very long time. 

 

June 1972: Mick 

I stand outside Mick Jagger’s flat in London for several hours in the rain, but he does not emerge. It is quite possible he is not there, or that it is not actually his place of residence. 

 

Fall 1980: Bianca J. & Yoko O. 

I glimpse them both during a brief visit to Manhattan. After nine long years of not seeing anyone famous, I think I may have finally become a magnet to the stars, but this sensation quickly passes. 

 

1985: Jane Hanoi Fonda 

I speak to Jane, via telephone, for less than 30 seconds. 

 

1994: Reinhold 

I have dinner with Reinhold Messner, but cannot think of a single thing to say to him. However, it does not seem to matter, as Reinhold does all the talking. 

 

May 1995; November 1996: Superman 

Christopher Reeve breaks his neck and a year later his wife, Dana, publishes a book. I go to her reading hoping to introduce myself as a fellow wife-of-quadriplegic but it becomes painfully clear we have nothing else in common so I return home without buying her book. 

 

Easter 1997: Archie Bunker 

I sit next to Carroll O’Connor in a bar in Mexico. I say “Hello Archie!” He snubs me. 

 

1998: Ted and Mary 

Ten Danson and Mary Steenbergen visit the climbing gym where I work and I notice Mary has a rather large derriere for a movie star, and that Ted dyes his hair an unnatural shade of red. 

 

January 2002: Starting the New Year with Tony Goldwyn 

I have brunch with Tony Goldwyn (the smarmy white guy in Ghost, and grandson to the G in MGM). Tony says he wants to make a movie about my life. He instantly becomes my new best friend, but later he changes his mind and won’t return my e-mails. 

 

July 2004 A: Edward Abbey shakes my hand 

I shake hands with Ed. He asks me how I’m doing but does not wait for my reply. 

 

July 2004 B: Ursula 

I chat with Ursula LeGuin and tell her I don’t read fantasies or science fiction. She says she feels sorry for me. 

 

July 2004 C: Jaws/Strangers in the Night 

Rob Schneider stands next to me at an art show in the Hamptons. His suntan looks bottled and he smells like low tide and Italian leather. We do not speak, but I imagine for a moment exchanging furtive glances. 

 

July 2004 D: I come full circle in Montauk, New York 

At White’s Pharmacy in Montauk, New York, I wait in line behind Paul Simon. He is much shorter than me, much shorter than when I chased him down that Philadelphia hallway many years ago.  

I consider telling him I am the human eggplant who once stalked him, but then I think better of myself and remain silent, acting like I don’t know it’s him.  

I buy canker sore medicine for my lips which are so sunburned I can hardly think straight, and he buys earwax remover.  

After, in the public parking lot, we ignore one another. 

 

 

 


Nearly Native, Cosmopolitan and Threatened

Ron Sullivan, Special to the Planet
Tuesday September 05, 2006

All over the hills and in many yards, we see the plentiful and familiar Monterey pine. It’s one of the key tree species of our parks and urban hill forest, part of our natural surroundings. 

Except for the “natural” part. Pinus radiata is no more native right here than Eucalyptus globulus—at least in this eon. It’s a species in trouble on its home turf, a small part of the coast south of here approximately from Año Nuevo to Cambria and not very far inland, six or seven miles up the Carmen River valley. Even there, its populations aren’t contiguous, but in three disjunct areas.  

In other epochs, its range was longer though about as narrow, along the coast from the La Brea Tar Pits to Marin County and north, to judge from the locations of fossil cones. To judge by those cones’ ages, though, it seems never to have been widespread at any one time; it just grew in small but varied ranges as climates shifted between glacial periods. 

There are two natural varieties of the species on small Mexican islands: binata on Guadalupe Island, and cedrosensis on Cedros Island. The population on Guadalupe Island is in trouble because feral goats eat all the seedlings. Fewer than 100 individuals remain. 

The base stock is now also threatened by pine pitch canker, an introduced fungus.  

At the same time, it’s one of the most widely distributed and most-planted—by humans—tree species in the world. You’d think a species with such a small and precise original range would be demanding about living conditions, but Monterey pines thrive on timber plantations in Hawai’i, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Spain, the British Isles, and South Africa, and as ornamentals elsewhere.  

Including here in the San Francisco Bay Area. And therein lies the rub, genetically. 

The trees planted as ornamentals are mostly from the stock grown in New Zealand for timber. As they’re planted here, over the years closer and closer to the native foundation stock, they’ve been “cross”-breeding with the homeboys. What long-term effects this genetic sorting and re-mixing will have are a toss-up.  

The timber trees get selected over generations for qualities like fast growth and straight trunks that make easy-to-mill lumber. Whether these characteristics, if they get passed on to new generations in the wild, are good things to have if you’re a tree trying to make a living in the wild along windy coastlines and in coastal soils—good question! 

One might reasonably speculate that fast growth, which usually results in weaker wood and a tendency to drop branches, wouldn’t be so wonderful. Straight trunks, same thing, though that might be more environmentally malleable; it’s easier to be upright in a plantation full of your brethren than on a wind-sleeked shoreline.  

The ornamentals seem just as susceptible to pitch canker as the original stock, and might be a reservoir for the disease. 

In the older population of Monterey pines in our hills, we’ve already noticed their tendency (like many trees’) to self-prune. When a low branch (or even a leaf) is shaded to the point where keeping it is more expensive metabolically than giving up its “income,” a tree will drop it. (This is hardly an exact calculation, of course; it’s just that wood gets weaker when the leaves directly outward/up from it nourish it less.)  

Monterey pines make great big heavy limbs. When they fall, look out! One calm night many years ago, Joe and I noticed the lights flickering, and the power went off completely as we grabbed flashlights and went up the front path to see what was happening. Then, with a memorable and eloquent groan, a low limb bigger than the average Yule tree split off the tree and fell onto the garage.  

The valiant PG&E crew had our power back on within a couple of hours, but it took us and the landlady’s son most of the next day to excavate the undamaged but suddenly verdant garage. The tree’s still there, 20-some years later.  

If you have a Monterey pine and worry about its health, call in a pro—a real ISA-certified arborist, not some clown who advertises “topping” trees. They should be pruned only when the canker’s least virulent, a short window in midwinter, and with care and knowledge.


Arts & Events

Arts Calendar

Friday September 08, 2006

FRIDAY, SEPT. 8 

THEATER 

Altarena Playhouse “The Foreigner” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 1409 High St, Alameda, through Oct. 1. Cost is $12-$15. 523-1553.  

Aurora Theatre “Salome” at 8 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. and runs Wed. - Sun. through Oct. 1. Tickets are $38. 843-4822.  

Berkeley High “I Love You, Your’re Perfect, Now Change” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., through Sept. 16 at the Schwimley Little Theater, 1930 Allston Way. Tickets are $6-$20. 

“Color Stuck” a one-man show by Donald E. Lacy, Jr. at 8 p.m. at Laney College Theater, 900 Fallon St., Oakland, through Sun. Tickets are $5-$15. 663-5683. 

Encore Theatre Company and Shotgun Players “The Typographer’s Dream” at 8 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Sept. 17. Tickets are $15-$30. 841-6500.  

Masquers Playhouse “Diary of a Scoundrel” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond across from the Hotel Mac. Through Sept. 30. Tickets are $15. 232-4031. 

Their(R)evolution performances by Chileans Inés Villafañe-León and Julia Ahumada Grob at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Abstraction and Design” 2-D and 3-D abstract works in all media opens at 6 p.m. at ACCI Galery, 1652 Shattuck Ave., and runs through Oct. 2. 843-2527. www.accigallery.com 

FILM 

2nd Annual International Small Film Festival to Sept. 10 at Berkeley Art Center Gallery, 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. Cost is $2-$10. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Global Lens Film Festival “In the Battlefields” at 2 p.m., “The Night of Truth” at 7 p.m., “Almost Brothers” at 9:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. www.globalfilm.org 

A Theater Near You “The Fallen Idol” at 7 p.m. and “The Third Man” at 8:55 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Clifford Chase reads from his new novel, “Winkie” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books, 1491 Shattuck Ave. 486-0698. 

Tucker Malarkey reads from her new novel, “Resurrection” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Sing Against the Odds” benefit fundraiser for Breast Cancer Fund with Irina Rivkin, Marca Cassity, Emily Shore, at 8 p.m. at Rose Street House of Music, 1839 Rose St. Donation $5-$50. To RSVP call 594-4000 ext. 687. 

8 Past at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886. 

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

African Roots of Jazz with E.W. Wainwright, clebrating Elvin Jones’ Birthday, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

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

Bill Monroe Tribute with Butch Waller, Bob Waller, Keith Little, Ed Nef and many others at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Dave Rocha Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

The Nomadics, jazz, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Stiff Dead Cat, 77 El Deora, Axton Kincaid at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

Sour Mash Hug Band, The Bad Tings, Dandelion Junk Queens at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Albino, afro-beat, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Cost is $10. 548-1159.  

Dave Ellis & Guru Garage at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Oscar Peterson at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $85-$100. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, SEPT. 9 

THEATER 

Shotgun Players “Ragnarok: Doom of the Gods” Sat. and Sun. at 4 p.m. at John Hinkle Park, through Sept. 10. Free, with pass the hat donation after the show. 841-6500.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“2 the Nines” Photography by Steven Keller. Opening reception at 4 p.m. at Lavezzo Designs Studio, 5751 Horton St., Emeryville. 428-2384. 

“Through The Eye of The Artist” Group art show, mixed media. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Expressions Gallery, 2035 Ashby Ave. Runs to Sept. 30. 644-4930. 

Veiled Threat: Works by Aaron Joseph Screenprints, digital prints, fiber art and fashion show inspired by the politicsof the 1970’s at 8 p.m. at The Living Room Gallery, 3230 Adeline St. Donation $3. 601-5774. 

FILM 

Global Lens Film Festival “Global Shorts” at 2 p.m., “Thirst” at 9:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. www.globalfilm.org 

The Road to Damascus: Discovering Syrian Cinema “Stars in Broad Daylight” at 6:30 p.m and “Sacrifices” at 8:45 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rockey Jones & Friends with ToRead Ah, D’Jeli Musa, poetry, spoken word and music, at 4 p.m. at The Adeline Artist Lofts, 1132 24th St., off Adeline in West Oakland. Donation $5. 272-9349.  

Michael Gray will talk about “The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books, 1491 Shattuck Ave. 486-0698. 

Douglas Kent discusses “Firescaping” creating fire-resistant landscapes, at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Open Mic at the Marina with poetry, music and spoken word at 7:30 p.m. at Cal Adventures. Sponsored by the 886 Collective. 439-9777. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Pacific Collegium 9/11 Memorial Benefit Concert at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $10-$30. www.pacificcollegium.org 

The Temescal Trio at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickes are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

Point Richmond Music and Arts Festival with Cruchy Frog, Ron Matthews, Dve Crimmen, Andre Thierry and Lava from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Park Place and Washington Ave. 231-6909. 

Dreaming the Diaspora, with Georges Lammam and His Ensemble at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $13-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Maye Cavallero and Her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Ras Igel/Razorblade with Binghi Drummers at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Maya Dorn and Marca Cassity at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Trout Fishing in America at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Aphasia, Anaura at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886.  

Dave Bernstein Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649- 3810. 

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

The Girlfriend Experience, Wire Graffiti, Jayde Blade at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082.  

Swoop Unit at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Monster Squad, Whiskey Rebels, The Challenged at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, SEPT. 10 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Workers at Ground Zero: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes” on display in the atrium of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. Conversation with the artist at 1 p.m. 525-0302. 

Helen Krayenhoff Watercolors Opening reception at 5 p.m. at Sweet Adeline Bakeshop, 3350 Adeline St. Exhibition runs through to Oct 13. hkrayenhoff@yahoo.com 

“A Balanced Life” sculptures by Will Furth and “Ma Vie en Rose” paintings by Jennifer L. Jones. Reception at 4 p.m. at the Community Art Gallery, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, 2450 Ashby Ave. through November 10. 204-1667.  

“Edge of Desire: Recent Art in India” Guided tour at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. 

FILM 

Global Lens Film Festival “In the Battlefields” at 7 p.m., “Almost Brothers” at 2 and 9:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. www.globalfilm.org 

The Mechanical Age “Charlie Bowers: Dream Machines” at 3 p.m. and “Edward Scissorhands” at 5 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808.  

“Secret Courage: The Walter Suskind Story” followed by discussion at 2 p.m. at JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $5. 848-0237. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Quijeremá in a benefit concert for Rafael Manriquez at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12-$15. 849-2568.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Soul at the Chimes” with Ricardo Scales, Simply Toya, Traika Lewis and others at 2 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. Tickets are $35. 

“Meeting the Man of the Heart” Vocal music from the Baul tradition at 3 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808. 

The Hal Stein Quartet at 3:30 p.m. at the Montclair Jazz and Wine Festival, Montclair Village. 

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

Ayelet Cohen, opera at 7:30 p.m. at JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $$14-$18. 848-0237. 

The Medicine Ball Band at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Americana Unplugged with Joe Craven, bluegrass and oldtime showcase, at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 655-5715. 

Atsuko Hashimoto, jazz organ trio, at 4:30 at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373.  

Pressure Point, Red Tape, Giving Chase at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

MONDAY, SEPT. 11 

FILM 

Global Lens Film Festival “The Night of Truth” at noon at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. www.globalfilm.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jim Wallis on “God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It” at 6 p.m. in the Sanctuary, First Congregational Church, 2345 Dana. Suggested donation $10. 559-9500. 

Patrick Dunagan and Mark Litton read at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph. 849-2087.  

Actors Reading Writers “Locomotion” Short stories by Stephanie Allen, Richard Ford and Dorothy Parker at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave.  

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mark Atkinson Trio at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Rafael Manriquez, songs of the poems of Gabriela Mistral at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 5th floor. 981-6100. 

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

Khalil Shaheed, all ages jam, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Oliver Mtukudzi, African pop, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24, fundraiser for Zimbabwe AIDS Relief. 238-9200.  

TUESDAY, SEPT. 12 

FILM 

Global Lens Film Festival “The Night of Truth” at noon, “In the Battlefields” at 2 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland.  

Alternative Visions: “Lunch with Fela” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Myra MacPherson on her biography of I. F. Stone, “All Governments Lie,” at 5:30 p.m. at North Gate Library,Hearst at Euclid Ave., UC Campus. 643-3840. 

Michael Chorost reads from “Rebuilt: How Becomming Part Computer Made me More Human” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. 

“Writers on Reading” with Jon Carroll, Maxine Hong Kingston and April Sinclair, in celebration of Rockridge Library’s 10th Anniversary at 7 p.m. at 5366 College Ave.  

Joan Roughgarden discusses “Evolution and Christian Faith” at 7:30 p.m. in the Large Assembly Room, First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Donation $10. 559-9500. 

“True Admissions” College essays by Berkeley High Students at 2 p.m. at JCC, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Old Blind Dogs, Scottish acoustic, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Ellen Hoffman Trio and Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ.  

Oliver Mtukudzi, African pop, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24, fundraiser for Zimbabwe AIDS Relief. 238-9200.  

Debbie Poryes & Friends at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

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

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 13 

THEATER 

California Shakespeare Theater “As You Like It” at the Bruns Amphitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., Orinda. Tues.-Thurs., 7:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m. through Oct. 15. Tickets are $15 and up. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

FILM 

Global Lens Film Festival “Max and Mona” at 7 p.m., “Almost Brothers” at 9:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland.  

Pirates and Piracy “The Pirate” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Words Upon the Waters” A Poetic Response to Hurricane Katrina at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Fundraiser for Biloxi, MS. Cost is $5-$20. 849-2568. 

Michael Pollan discusses “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Lisa Jervis and Andi Zeisler celebrate “BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the pages of BITCH Magazine” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert, clarinet concertos at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864.  

Christy Dana Quintet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $6. 841-JAZZ.  

Walter Strauss, blues, folk, rock, at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054.  

Vission Latina at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Rachel Efron at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Old Blind Dogs, Scottish acoustic, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Peter Barshay Trio at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Oliver Mtukudzi, African pop, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s. Cost is $24, fundraiser for Zimbabwe AIDS Relief. 238-9200.  

THURSDAY, SEPT. 14 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Edge of Desire: Recent Art in India” Guided tour at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. 

FILM 

Global Lens Film Festival “In the Battlefields” at 2 p.m., “Stolen Life” at 7 p.m., “Almost Brothers” at 9:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. www.globalfilm.org 

Ali Kazimi: A Commitment to Justice Conversation with the filmmaker at 5:30 p.m. “Shooting Indians” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Hillside Club Arts and Crafts Lecture “Arts and Crafts Furniture Design” A lecture by Debey Zito at 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Cost is $10. www.hillsideclub.org 

“Signature Architects of the San Francisco Bay Area” with author Dave Weinstein, at 7:30 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Cost is $5-$15. 763-9218.  

Amy Goodman and David Goodman talk with Pratap Chatterjee and Michael Shenoda about “STATIC: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders and the People Who Fight Back” at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. Tickets are $10-$15 at Cody’s. 559-9500. 

Cecil Brown, musicologist and historian of African-American culture reads from “I Stagolee: A Novel” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Summer Noon Concert with Rhonda Benin and Soulful Strut at the Downtown Berkeley BART station. Free.  

Charming Hostess music salon at 6:30 p.m. at Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. Cost is $6-$8. 549-6950.  

Berkeley Old Time Music Convention with Ginny Hawker, Jody Stechner & Hank Bradley at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Joe Beck & Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ. 

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

Stigma 13, Year of the Wildcat, Charlie Roman and the Teenage Werewolves at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. 

Uncle Buzzy’s Hometown Variety Show at 8 p.m. at Spud’s Pizza, 3290 Adeline.  

Larry Harlow and the Latin Legends at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $20-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

May Pole, Dora Flood, The Waxfire, indie rock, at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100.  


Arts: Monterey Jazz Promises Ideal Excusion for Next Weekend

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Friday September 08, 2006

A couple hours south of Berkeley by car, the West Coast’s longest-running jazz festival—at 49, the longest-running in the same location in the world—is gearing up to swing the weekend of Sept. 15-17, on the Monterey County Fairgrounds. 

The county fair aspect of the Monterey Jazz Festival is often a surprise to first-time attendees, especially those used to the auditorium or coliseum setting for music festivals. It’s enhanced by the more than half dozen clubs and open-air stages outside the Arena, where the succesion of headliners are featured, as well as simulcasting of the shows from the Arena stage. 

And the Grounds Pass, for as little as $30 a day—all afternoon and evening on Saturday and Sunday—is a remarkable deal for those who’d prefer to stroll from venue to venue and dig the mix of the scene and the range of music in an atmosphere more festive than the more traditional (and expensive) Arena, and the site for appearances by names and talents as big as those headlined within. 

But the Arena shows often prove to be one time only events, like this year’s Sunday night show promises to be. Dave Brubeck, 85, who went from growing up on a Central Valley ranch to becoming one of the most popular jazz artists ever (and that due in great part to the response of university students to his hit album, Take Five), will preside at the ivories as his Quartet premieres his “Cannery Row Suite,” commissioned by the Jazz Festival. 

Besides being a role model to countless jazz pianists and composers, Brubeck’s literally a patriarch of the music: his sons frequently accompany him, and one of them—Chris Brubeck—will bring his own group, Triple Play, to the Garden Stage on the Grounds Sunday afternoon. 

Following the Dave Brubeck Quartet to wrap up the Arena program will be the great Oscar Peterson, who many consider the most accomplished jazz pianist after Art Tatum. His set will cap a weekend that will also see John Coltrane’s pianist, McCoy Tyner, lead a trio with stellar Bobby Hutcherson (a Bay Area resident) on vibes and trumpeter Roy Hargrove—a ubiquitous presence in the Arena and n the Grounds all weekend; the 40th anniversary of saxophonist Charles Lloyd’s “Forest Flower” performance (and smash hit recording) on this very stage. 

Also appearing are singer Dianne Reeves, popular scat and straight-ahead singer Kurt Elling, with a variety of orchestral complements; acclaimed choir Shout Gospel From Harlem, and smooth jazz-turned-straight-ahead star Chris Botti. Bonnie Raitt shares the stage with Keb’ Mo on Saturday afternoon.  

The stages on the grounds spill over with a wide range of talent, including Hank Jones (of the Jones brothers, Elvin and Thad), one of the greatest living jazz pianists at 86, who has played with Bird and just about everybody else, holding forth Sunday night (after Dave Brubeck’s simulcast) in Dizzy’s Den. Hubert Sumlin, the 75-year-old master Chicago Blues guitar stylist from the great Chess Howlin’ Wolf sessions playing with Duke Robillard, co-founder of Roomful of Blues, and Duke’s band, also plays, followed by a set by Shout Gospel From Harlem, the masterful drumming of Babatunde Lea and his Quartet, popular vocalist Hiromi, various appearances by Jeff Hamilton, Robben Ford and Dan Ouellette, The Open World Octet from Russia, and a Hammond B-3 blow-out, featuring Dr. Lonnie Smith. 

Peter Apfelbaum, an early alumnus of the Berkeley schools jazz programs and long a Bay Area favorite, will bring his New York edition of The Hieroglyphics to the Garden Stage Saturday night, joined by very special guest Abdoulaye Diabate from Benin. The next afternnon, Dizzy’s Den features the winning bands from the Next Generation Festival, including the Jazz School Student All-Stars and the Berkeley High School Sextet play out the shape of jazz to come. 

Just blocks from Monterey’s Fisherman’s Wharf and the historic districts of California’s original capital, not far from John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row and the famous Aquarium, and a few miles from the gorgeous sunset viewing from the beach at Asilomar, the 17-Mile Drive, Mission Carmel and the natural splendors of Point Lobos and Big Sur, where ocean, cliff, redwood forest and mountain meld together in a unique synaesthesia, the Monterey Jazz Festival is a profusion of great musical talent in a setting of great natural and man-made wonder.


Moving Pictures: Carol Reed’s ‘Fallen Idol’ Finally Comes to Berkeley

By Justin DeFreitas
Friday September 08, 2006

In May, the Daily Planet reviewed the theatrical re-release of Carol Reed’s 1948 classic The Fallen Idol, which had opened in San Francisco and was scheduled to open in Berkeley the following week. However, the day the review was published, we were informed that the East Bay engagement had been canceled due to poor attendance at the San Francisco screenings. A few readers were a bit annoyed.  

Well, if you’d like to catch it on the big screen before it heads to DVD (Criterion plans to release a two-disc edition in November), you have exactly one chance: tonight (Friday) at Pacific Film Archive. The film is showing as part of a double feature with another Reed masterpiece, The Third Man (1949) as part of PFA’s “A Theater Near You” series. 

The Fallen Idol is a noirish tale of a boy and his relationship with the family butler. The boy’s father, an ambassador, is frequently away, leaving Baines, the butler, played by Sir Ralph Richardson, to fill the void. When Baines is accused of murdering his wife, the boy, Phil, gets lost in the adult world of passion, lies, deceit, concealed motivations and situational ethics, a world he cannot even begin to understand. Various adults ask him to tell the truth, each with his own motives and notions of what the truth is, leading to series of events in which Phil alternately serves as the means of Baines’ salvation and downfall. 

The film, based on a short story by Graham Greene, demonstrates a masterful use of interiors, from the great, echoing hall and grand staircase of the ambassador’s mansion, which serve to highlight the growing distance between Baines and his wife, to the cramped basement where suppressed hostilities come to the fore, to the checkered tile floor which suggests a chessboard on which Baines and the police trade tense, strategic moves. 

The Fallen Idol will be followed by Reed’s most famous film, The Third Man, another Greene adaptation. Joseph Cotton plays Holly Martins, a naïve American in post-World War II Vienna, looking to join his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles) in business. In Vienna, Martins learns that Lime is dead, while the local police, headed up by Calloway (Trevor Howard), inform him of Lime’s criminal record.  

Though Welles is on screen for just 20 minutes or so, he became forever associated with the role of Lime, later starring in a British radio series based on the character. The theme song also stuck with Welles throughout his life. House musicians would strike the familiar chords every time Welles entered a restaurant. 

The score for the film is almost as famous as the movie itself, consisting entirely of one man playing one instrument. “Anton Karos will have you in a dither with his zither!” ran the original trailers for the film, and indeed he does, though the value of that fact depends on whether you consider a dither a positive or negative experience. Many are put off by the score, but it adds greatly to the atmosphere of the film. Karas was playing in a Vienna nightclub where Reed heard him and recruited him. The Harry Lime theme became a top ten hit in its day. 

The film builds toward a climactic chase through the sewers of Vienna, a sequence of brilliant direction, editing, sound design and photography. Taught action shots are juxtaposed with quiet shots of the tense faces of policemen in wait, of empty passageways with glistening cobblestones and dripping water, of probing flashlights piercing the underground darkness. Take any moment in the last 20 minutes of this film and freeze the frame and you’ll find a beautiful still photograph.  

The Fallen Idol shows at 7 p.m. and The Third Man shows at 8:55 p.m. at PFA’s theater at 2575 Bancroft Ave. 

 

 

Photograph: Sir Ralph Richardson stars as Baines in Carol Reed’s The Fallen Idol.


Moving Pictures: Global Lens Film Series at Grand Lake

By Justin DeFreitas
Friday September 08, 2006

The Global Lens Film Series starts today at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theater. Now in its third year, the festival’s mission is to “promote cross-cultural understanding through cinema” by screening narrative films of merit that have been overlooked by U.S. distributors. 

This year’s offerings include seven feature-length films as well as a program of short films, running through Wednesday, Sept. 20, at the Grand Lake. The films can also be seen in other Bay Area venues, including the Balboa Theater in San Francisco, Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose, the Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, and the San Francisco Art Institute. 

One of the movies showing this year is Lucia Murat’s Almost Brothers (2004), a Brazillian film written by Murat and Paulo Lins which won many awards in film festivals in Brazil, Cuba and France. The story concerns two childhood friends who later encounter each other in the 1970s in the Ilha Grande prison on an island off the coast of Brazil where political prisoners are locked away. The group organizes a collective to bargain with prison officials for better treatment and operates by a strict code of conduct. Later, non-political prisoners are brought to the island and tensions arise between the two factions, with the two friends, Miguel and Jorge, often finding themselves on opposite sides of the divide.  

Years later the two meet again, when Miguel is a prominent politician and Jorge an imprisoned gang leader running his criminal activities from jail via cell phone. Miguel seeks Jorge’s support for community projects in the neighborhoods controlled by Jorge’s gang, but the distance between the two friends only increases as they discuss the troubles of the past and the politics of the present. 

Murat and editor Mair Tavares do an excellent job of juggling the three timeframes, tracing the relationship between the two men from the innocence of childhood to the idealism of youth to the resignation and bitterness of their jaded adulthood. And the characters, played in their young adulthood by Caco Ciocler and Flavio Bauraqui and later by Wenrer Schuneman and Antonio Pompeo, never seem anything less than real. 

Early scenes of the the two boys dancing together as their fathers play samba music together establish a theme of racial divides conquered by culture, music, passion and simple naivete. Later scenes in the island prison feature a similar vibe, with the collective’s members playing music together, battling the prison administration together, and voting together on the collective’s conduct and bylaws. 

When trouble arises between the two groups of prisoners, the anger and violence of the situation is made all the more heartbreaking when juxtaposed with images of the two boys dancing together before politics and race could intervene, and the growing rift is made concrete by the construction of a wall to separate the warring factions. 

And the scenes of the two grown men, facing each other across a table in a prison visitation room later in life, each entrenched in his position and wary of the other, brings the film to a gentle and disturbing coda, with ancient rivalries dashing any hope of reconciliation.  

For a complete schedule, see www.globalfilm.org. 

 

 

Photograph: Caco Ciocler and Flavio Bauraqui play childhood friends torn apart by politics and ideology in Lucia Murat’s Almost Brothers (Brazil, 2004).


Strolling Down Solano Avenue

By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet
Friday September 08, 2006

Ever dream about living in a neighborhood where spreading trees shade well-tended bungalows? Strong neighborhood school, small attractive parks and retail choices just down the street. Enough variety to satisfy every whim so a day can be enjoyed without requiring a car. Wake up on Saturday morning, feed the pets, throw on some clothes and stroll down the street for coffee and pastries or a full breakfast. 

Dreams become reality in Thousand Oaks. 

Not far removed from Main Street, U.S.A., Thousand Oaks lies along both sides of Solano Avenue from the Arlington to the Albany border. Resembling a split personality, four blocks of Solano are divided down the center, between Albany and Berkeley. Regardless of city, it’s all a charming, eclectic mixture of ethnic businesses, antiques, used books, coffeehouses and specialty shops perhaps not present on the Kansas plains. 

No one seeks to benefit from natural disasters but the fire and earthquake of 1906 resettled many San Franciscans in Berkeley’s burgeoning neighborhoods. John Hopkins Spring, vast landowner, is credited with starting the business end of Solano. Gone now, but adding spice to Thousand Oaks’ history were commuter trains that once traversed light rail through the Solano Tunnel. 

Perhaps the first Berkeley activists were the women of Thousand Oaks, armed with two shotguns and a rifle, holding off garbage trucks that rolled down Solano on the way to Albany Hill dumping grounds. 

Along with attractive neighborhood homes and varied commercial choices Thousand Oaks is home to four small public parks. Between the Arlington and the Alameda, two “stone” parks offer sweeping bay views and climbing practice. Neighbors gather at Great Stoneface Park to turf-run their dogs and children, picnic and try new handholds on the massive bolder. At Contra Costa Rock Park carved steps lead the way to impressive Bay-wide views. 

Thousand Oaks School Park is a magnet for tots and their caregivers, occupying the lush lawn and brightly colored play equipment. Toddler-size slide, swings and sandlot echo with gleeful sounds, while picnic tables under towering conifers beckon for a peaceful snack. Solano-Peralta Park could easily be missed. Resembling a mini urban plaza, the small enclosed playground and sidewalk benches are ideally placed for people watching. 

Thousand Oaks’ main artery is Solano Avenue where the shopping is varied and interesting. A pleasing harmony of historic buildings and recent additions blend easily into an enticing retail district. Offerings run the gamut from attire and gifts to delicacies. 

Women searching for fall wardrobes need look no further than Persimmon and By Hand where lovely outfits grace the front windows. Fall floral skirt, lime green corduroy vest, brick knit jacket and multi-strand beaded necklace preview the coming season. For matching shoes, Ideas 4 Elements will keep you fashionable without pinching your toes. 

A Child’s Place seems to specialize in pint-size comfort-clothes – Skivy Doodles soft P.J.’s in both truck and ballerina themes as well as fuzzy hooded terry towels and bath-time ducks and frogs. For that first haircut there’s Snippety Crickets, its wall of fame photos and toy-laden shelves rewards for not crying. 

Ready to pursue a new hobby? Stash’s wall of boldly beautiful wool yarns from Uruguay will have you imagining a warm ocher scarf or azure sweater. At New Pieces, color again greets the eye; quilting fabrics are arranged in prints, stripes, plaids and solids from yellow and orange to blue and green. A good selection of instruction books and wall-hung quilts serve as inspiration. Any trouble with a trusty sewing machine can be easily remedied at Jim’s Sewing Machine Center, the oldest Singer outlet in the United States. 

Need to stock up on gifts? Pegasus carries new and used books and CDs, across the board in terms of subjects. The Cabinet of Natural Curiosities, Hockney’s People or Forest of the Pigmies – take your pick. Soap Sisters’ scented soaps from France and Moroccan Mint body wash will vicariously send you across the seas. Silver and turquoise jewelry and pottery from Santo Domingo and Zuni Pueblos reside at Gathering Tribes, also offering intriguing Hopi Ant Pots. Fill them with honey and slowly move the ants away from your home. The Bone Room is in a class by itself stocking Nile crocodile skulls, scorpion paper weights, bug bracelets and human artifacts. Have an unoccupied corner awaiting a complete skeleton or just an empty jar for carpals, phalanges or teeth? 

Peet’s and Starbucks fill the need for java. Scharffen Berger Chocolate Mocha Freddos, Ethiopia and Las Hermanas coffee beans and Ancient Trees tea perfume the air at Peet’s. Fall offerings at Starbuck’s center around pumpkin, from spiced lattes to scones and cream cheese muffins. For exceptional bakery treats, La Farine will tingle your taste buds for hours. A morning bun, wheat levain bread for lunch and gateau au citron for afternoon coffee—these barely break the surface. 

All varieties of Solano eateries lure customers with their open-door policy, allowing delicious aromas to waft out the door. Comfort food is the ticket at Barney’s Gourmet Hamburgers, home to teriyaki and Russian burgers and spicy curly fries. Walker’s Restaurant and Pie Shop satisfies at breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as anytime you’re in the mood for fresh apple or coconut cream pie. 

When the Far East beckons, choices abound. Boran and Sweet Basil Thai Restaurants serve red, green and yellow curries, satay, Tom Yum Soup and the well-loved pad Thai. King Tsin Restaurant offers dim sum on top of twice cooked pork, lemon chicken and spicy prawns. Miyuki Japanese Restaurant does brisk business with sushi combos, udon, donburi and sashimi. 

Potato tikki, chicken briyani and lamb aloo perfume the air at Khana Peena Indian Cuisine. Humus, tabouleh, babaganoush and tahini await at Jerusalem’s Organic Kitchen. For pizza lovers Zachary’s Chicago Pizza satisfies both thin crust and stuffed aficionados; Cugini’s lures in those favoring pizza from a wood burning oven. 

You can’t go wrong with a good taqueria. Cactus is always crowded and with good reason, their complete menu makes decisions difficult. No less popular, Gordo can seldom contain its customers; the line usually snakes down the sidewalk. 

To experience Thousand Oaks at its most exuberant, join the celebration this Sunday, Sept. 10, for the 32nd Solano Stroll, the biggest block party in the Bay Area. In a few hours you can sample 50 cuisines, listen to 50 bands, watch 100 entertainers, admire juried crafts and find out what 200 community organizations are doing. Learn circus arts, envy the fun in Kid Town and cool off in the dunk tank. 

Thousand Oaks serves as a welcoming home and favored foray. Without pretense it offers a relaxed atmosphere to play, peruse and partake. Sample life in Thousand Oaks, it may figure in your dreams.  

 

 

 


East Bay Then and Now: Shipping Magnate’s Mansion Is Rare Survivor on Oxford Street

By Daniella Thompson
Friday September 08, 2006

One of the most imposing Victorian-era homes in Berkeley, the Boudrow House at Sea Captain Corner was constructed in 1889, when Berkeley, whose population then numbered about 12,000, was a favorite retirement spot for mariners. 

The house was built for Charles C. Boudrow (c. 1830–1918), a Massachusetts-born master mariner who for many years was a shipping magnate in San Francisco. On June 8, 1918, the Oakland Tribune published his obituary, stating: 

“Captain Charles Boudrow died suddenly at his home in Berkeley last night. He passed his 88th birthday a few months ago and was then well and hearty. Boudrow was connected with the firm of Migeul [correct spelling: Mighell] & Boudrow, which owned many large square-riggers out of this port, later forming the California Shipping Company and purchasing many eastern craft, which are owned by the Alaska Salmon companies. He retired from active service a few years ago, but made regular visits to the Merchants’ Exchange to talk ‘ship’ with his old-time friends. For over 60 years Boudrow had been established in the marine business in this port.” 

Among the many ships owned by Captain Boudrow or by the California Shipping Company were the Star of Italy; the cannery tender Jabez Howes; the bark May Flint; the Abner Coburn; the A.J. Fuller; the Saint Frances; and the Joseph B. Thomas. 

Captain Boudrow’s office was located near the port of San Francisco, at 38–40 Market Street. His residence was not far from there, at 1933 Stevenson Street. Living near him (but never with him) both in San Francisco and in Berkeley was his nephew Charles E. Boudrow, a ship chandler and dealer in ship material born in Massachusetts in 1858. 

The nephew’s major claim to fame was his purchase of the decommissioned sloop-of-war Marion from the U.S. Navy in July 1907. He moved to Berkeley at about the same time as his uncle and first appeared in the 1891 directory living on Spruce Street between Vine and Rose.  

Beginning with the 1893 directory, the younger Boudrow’s residence was 1432 Arch Street, where he remained for many years. In 1894 and 1895 he lived with Miss Louisa F. Boudrow. 

Captain Charles C. Boudrow outlived two wives. The second, Christina (1852–1914), was German-born and 22 years his junior. Curiously, Charles E. Boudrow also married a German woman, Katharina Diehl (1857–1941), who in the 1920 census claimed to be eleven years younger than she actually was, but as a widow in 1930 owned up to her real age. 

The Boudrow house on Oxford Street was designed in the Queen Anne-Eastlake style by the noted San Francisco architect Julius E. Krafft (1855–1937), who was responsible for many stately Pacific Heights residences. Born in Germany, Krafft immigrated to the U.S. in 1872 and came to San Francisco two years later. He worked as a draftsman for Palace Hotel architect John P. Gaynor and later for Thomas J. Welsh, designer of 16 Catholic churches in San Francisco, of which the three survivors are St. Agnes, Old St. Mary’s Cathedral, and Sacred Heart Church in the Western Addition. 

Krafft was in charge of Welsh’s drafting department for twelve years before opening his own office in 1888. One of his most celebrated buildings was the Gothic Revival St. Paulus Lutheran Church (1893), whose design was based on Cathedral of Chartres. The church was destroyed by fire in 1995. Still intact are 31–33 Liberty Street (1892) in the West Mission district and an opulent 1902 Classical Revival residence at 2601 Broadway commissioned by bank president Isaias Warren Hellman as a wedding gift for his daughter. 

Two of Krafft’s children, the twin sons Elmer Jerome (1880–1944) and Alfred Julius (1880–1950), joined their father’s business. Having begun as draftsmen, Elmer became an architect and Alfred a structural engineer. In 1933, the firm of Julius Krafft & Sons would design an Art Deco wholesale grocery warehouse for Wellman-Peck & Company in what is now the Warehouse Thematic Historic District of San Diego. This building was recently converted to an office condominium & retail complex. 

Captain Boudrow’s house was one of the early buildings in the Antisell Villa Lots, a tract comprising eight blocks bounded by Rose St. to the north, Shattuck Ave. to the west, Cedar St. to the south, and Arch St. to the east. Thomas M. Antisell was an attorney and real-estate agent with an office at 1069 Broadway in Oakland. In 1874, just after the U.C. campus moved from Oakland to Berkeley, Antisell began selling lots in the tract bearing his name. The subdivision map he issued advertised the upcoming auction sale “on liberal credit” of 260 lots, to take place on November 6, 1874. 

Thomas M. Antisell himself lived across the street from the future Boudrow property. At the time, Oxford St. was called Pine. Between 1876 and 1883, Antisell was listed in the Berkeley directory as residing variously at “Vine nr Pine,” “Pine nr Vine,” “E s Oxford bet Cedar and Vine,” and “Cedar.” He also was a piano manufacturer and dealer in San Francisco, and on November 15, 1887 received a patent for a wrest plank for his pianos, which were advertised as “the leading instrument of the world.” In numerous newspaper ads, Antisell offered his pianos on a $10 monthly installment plan and admonished readers to “buy only from the largest manufactory in the world.” 

Sometime in the 1880s, the Antisell house was purchased by Captain Boudrow’s partner, William E. Mighell, who made his first appearance in the Berkeley directory in 1889. The Berkeley Daily Advocate Holiday Number of 1892 included the house in an article on opulent residences in town: 

Captain Mighell purchased some years ago the then very handsome home of T.M. Antisell on the east side of Oxford Street, north of Vine [sic]. Since then he has spared neither time nor expense in making it one of the finest homes in town. Situated on a knoll, the views from his windows are superb. 

The same holiday issue also described the Boudrow house: 

Captain Budrow [sic] purchased a large lot on the corner of Oxford and Cedar streets, upon which he has erected one of the largest and finest dwelling houses in town. From every window the view is a panoramic scene of mountain, sea, and valley. 

The entire Boudrow house is constructed of redwood. Multiple gables and bays, floral and geometric friezes, plaster reliefs, and scalloped shingles ornament its façades. A balustraded flight of 15 steps leads up to a front porch whose gable roof is supported by turned columns linked by trelliswork arches. A round turret crowned with a witch’s hat rises four stories on the southeastern corner. The central gable features a balconette surmounted by a sunburst.  

There were seven rooms on the main floor and four rooms below. The main floor was famed for its 12-foot ceilings. The house boasted no fewer than six fireplaces. 

The Mighell and Boudrow houses were both situated on oversized lots—each the equivalent of five standard lots—and surrounded by large gardens. As Berkeley grew, the lots shrank. By 1929, the block was fully built. Further development occurred in the 1960s, when large apartment buildings were erected on this block. Many of the original houses, including the Mighell residence, are long gone. Apartment buildings are currently the predominant element along the 1500 block of Oxford Street. 

In 1922, Captain Boudrow’s heirs sold the house to mining engineer Roscoe Wheeler and his wife Erminie. According to the U.S. census, the Wheelers had previously resided in Oakland, but not always together. In 1920, Mrs. Wheeler and daughters Erminie (16) and Helen (14) were living in the home of the Misses Ellen and Cecilia Neylan on Wickson Avenue, while Mr. Wheeler was residing as a boarder on nearby Walker Avenue. 

The Wheelers are said to have had in their yard four 100-pound boulders that had served as ballast aboard the clipper ship Rattler. 

Helen Wheeler married the future colonel Robert Beard and owned the Boudrow house until 1970, when she had to let go of it. The house was in danger of being demolished until it was purchased by Dr. Paul F. Hocking and his wife Ann, who divided it into ten apartments. It was designated a City of Berkeley Landmark on June 21, 1976. 

The house changed hands again in 1994. The current owners restored it, rebuilding the front staircase and painting the exterior in more than ten colors. They received a BAHA Preservation Award in May 2006. 

 


Why I Hate Norm Abrams

By Matt Cantor
Friday September 08, 2006

I don’t actually hate Norm, I sort of like the guy. It’s nice to see someone on TV that would never have made it on his headshot and a screen-test. Those other folks on Hometime, now them I hate. They’re all cute and American looking and blond. Kachunk, Blam, Kachunk, Blam. Ah, that’s better. There’s nothing like large caliber gunfire to sooth the chakras. 

I do genuinely hate these shows. Hometime, This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop and I hate them for one simple reason. They make most people feel like idiots. 

They’re a lot of fun if you have accepted the popularly promulgated notion that you, as a homeowner or stock broker or bank clerk, know nothing about houses or furniture or nails and that you’ll never stand a chance of doing more than hanging a picture on the wall.  

Even the shows that try to show you how to build a chest of drawers do such a lousy job of preparing the average Joe or Joan for the job that they become nothing more than boutique shopping and showing off. 

Let’s take This Old House. Kuchunk, Blam. The thing I hate about TOH is that they don’t show you how bad things often get. I have yet to see an episode of this show in which you see a red faced homeowner screaming bloody murder at Steve and Norm and don’t tell me that it’s never happened. I don’t care how good a contractor is. 

When you’ve been working on someone’s house for 10 weeks, there is absolutely no way that 10 percent of the clientele aren’t going to be going into anaphylaxis. It’s well known in the industry that some people just can’t take it, even under the best of circumstances and I am certain that those videos are hiding in a vault somewhere at PBS central, waiting for the day that Steve or Norm step over the line. 

Again, the show doesn’t show the mistakes, the overages and the heartache often involved in home remodeling. They make everything look easy. You never see a subcontractor show up drunk. You never see a guy going to the emergency room because he stepped on a nail and you never see a job sitting incomplete for 18 months because the couple is getting a divorce or went into bankruptcy. 

The camera cleans up all the messes. I’m also quite sure that PBS has footed the bill more than a few times to get the job completed so that they could get everything in the can. 

On shows like this and Hometime, the jobs are made to look so darned easy. This is the problem with cooking shows as well. The kitchen is clean when they start. (How does your kitchen look? I usually can’t find a clear counter to work on.) All the materials are waiting for assembly and nothing is spoiled, the wrong type or missing. 

Dean and Robin’s air gun never misfires and the compressor never needs to be drained (yes, you have to drain compressors daily because they fill up with water and will rust out if you don’t do so). 

That’s another point. There are so many small details that fill a contractor’s day (or your day when you play contractor) and, just like the cooking show, they’re neatly edited out. Just pop the raw one in the oven and Voila, the new freshly baked one comes right out of the other oven. 

Now, how educational does this end up being? The average viewer of these shows isn’t sure which nail to use to fix the trim on the side of the house, so it’s a little high-handed to try to show, even over 3 episodes, how to rehabilitate an 1860 farm house into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom suite with an office in the basement. 

Can the viewer replicate any of these actions or is it simply a fashion show designed to make you salivate, believing falsely that you could do all this yourself if only you had just a wee bit more free time? 

Not that I don’t think that people can learn this stuff but it’s just a tad more complex and definitely more hairy than they make it look.  

I DID once see one of those extreme remodeling shows in which we got to see the workers freak out, fight and loose their cool but it’s still a little like watching brain surgery on TV. 

It’s not like you’re going to turn to your wife and say, “Hey Honey, I’ll bet I can remove that tumor for you right here on the kitchen table.” 

By the way, if you’re husband gets that Jack Nicholson/Shining look while watching the Home Neuroscience channel, best to go stay with Mom for a few days until the cable company can come downgrade you from the Gold package to regular broadcast TV. 

I have, on occasion, watched Norm do his New Yankee Workshop thing and my complaints with that show are essentially the same as the aforementioned, although I’ll add one major complaint. Actually, this complaint applies to the previous shows but it’s never so apparent to me as when I’m watching Norm build a Georgian breakfront. Norm has really, really nice tools. 

His tools are sharp and clean and new and they’re all hanging on the wall in exactly the right place courtesy of the sponsor, Stanley tools. He has attachments for routers and drill presses that I’ve never seen. I’m not saying that most of these are not to be found in the average cabinet maker’s shop but I’ll bet even they would say that the quality and completeness of his assembly of tools far exceeds theirs. 

So when Norm starts to build his breakfront and you start to build yours, (assuming you’re retired, moderately wealthy and sufficiently well-adjusted) you’re going to have a lot to emotionally contend with as nothing that you do comes out quite as well and certainly as fast as the one that Norm does on screen. You’ve been set up. 

Here’s what I’d like to see in place off all these shows (if there are any TV producers reading, I’m waiting for my close-up C.B.):  

An episode would go something like this. Mrs. Jones’s faucet is leaking (maybe we have a few other small repairs too) and she calls the handyman to come fix things. The “handyman” (me) arrives with no tools and has to rely upon what Mrs. Jones has in the tool-drawer in the kitchen. 

Then he and Mrs. Jones go to Ace Hardware, buy the tools they need, the parts they need and proceed to struggle through all the steps in fixing the leak including trying to find things at the hardware store. This will, of course, require a second, and possibly, third trip to the store and will all end with cheers of joy and turkey sandwiches eaten on the kitchen floor in sopping jeans once the drip has finally been tackled. 

Now that’s what I would call Reality TV. 


An Interesting Nursery Close to Lake Merritt

By Ron Sullivan
Friday September 08, 2006

If you find yourself over by Lake Merritt, there’s a nursery tucked into Jean Street on Grand Avenue that’s worth a visit.  

It’s getting close to the season to bird Lake Merritt. The place is great for wintering ducks and the odd vagrant waterbird, and even more odd hybrids: a hooded merganser X bufflehead drake has been showing up near the lake’s Bay outlet for the past two years. He’s a striking bird, like a black-and-white photograph of some natty figment of the imagination. 

I’ve seen tufted ducks who should’ve been in southeast Asia there, and just last year a Franklin’s gull, still in that ineffable blush of rosy breeding plumage, posed for a couple of weeks along the inland end.  

There’s Walden Pond Books in the neighborhood too, and restaurants galore. And I think I recall a sort of warehouse-club purveyor of coffins, so there’s something for everybody. What are you waiting for? 

So while you’re there, do drop in at the Ace Hardware store’s garden center, a few doors lakeward on Grand from the hardware store itself. (The intervening doors are occupied by Ace’s new “patio shop” and storage. Hardware stores have a tendency to do that, take up storefronts with backroom stuff. Odd. Kind of butch, I guess.) The parking lot is teeny, but you’re on the easier-parking end of the neighborhood anyway.  

The nursery shop has remained, since I first visited about ten years ago, focused on stuff for urban small gardens. 

This doesn’t mean teensy plants; there are things like tree ferns and magnolias that will get big, and make good focal points. Fruit trees, too, and one thing I’d never heard of, a golden-foliaged cultivar of dawn redwood.  

I find that’s the advantage of visiting small neighborhood nurseries: Because they’re local and individually run, they’re good for idiosyncratic finds. Someone gets a jones for red foliage or obscure mints, and the game is on. Ace has a better than usual set of these because it has a lot of Annie’s Annuals four-inchers, and you know how Annie’s is about weird and wonderful plants.  

Other useful stuff for small gardens here: vines and vertical plants, tall skinny cultivars, and hey, you can always espalier those fruit trees. 

There’s a good sampling of shade plants for the understory, including silvery ferns and those bright-foliaged heucheras and tiarellas that are in vogue lately. Also, there are some begonias I hadn’t met before, of all things. 

Like many of the nurseries I like, the place is full of pleasant bugs, like butterflies. 

These might have trekked in from nearby yards or even the Oakland Rose Garden at the terminus of Jean Street, but there were several species chasing each other around and the big ones, the red admiral for example, looked fresh and newly hatched. 

You don’t get butterflies (or honeybees or katydids or the dragonflies who chase them) when you douse the place in pesticides for appearances’ sake, so I take them as a good sign. 

This is a good place for Felco pruning shears—try them on; find your best model—and basic bonsai tools, too. The indoor shop has a nice collection of Japanese-style baskets. 

Bulbs are starting to show up, too; I scored some rhizomes of “Batik” iris, my favorite. 

I have mine. Go get yours.  

 

Ace Garden Center 

4001 Grand Avenue, Oakland 

652-9143 

Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–6 p.m.  

Saturday 9 a.m.–6 p.m.  

Sunday 10 a.m.–4 p.m.  

 

Ron Sullivan is a former professional gardener and arborist. Her “Garden Variety” column appears every Friday in East Bay Home & Real Estate. Her column on East Bay trees appears every other Tuesday in the Berkeley Daily Planet.


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday September 08, 2006

Gas Shut-off Valve – Is It Worth It?  

 

An automatic gas shut-off valve is a mechanism that can be installed on the house side of your gas meter. 

It is designed to cut the flow of gas to your home in the event of an earthquake. In previous quakes in California, gas lines to appliances snapped, gas built up in the house, and the resulting fire destroyed many homes.  

There are plenty of people who have decided against having one installed, thinking that, if they smell gas after a serious quake, they can just turn off the gas themselves at the main shut-off valve near their meter. 

No problem—if you can guarantee somebody will be home at the time of the quake. However, if the quake hits when everyone’s at work, or on an outing, or just gone from home, you may regret not having one.  

It’s true that a moderate-sized quake can activate the valve, but the ones I’ve used are easy to re-set, and, in my opinion, the protection is worth the potential inconvenience.  

 

 

Larry Guillot is the owner of QuakePrepare, an earthquake consulting, securing and kit supply service. Contact him at 558-3299 or see www.quakeprepare.com to receive semi-monthly e-mails and safety reports.


Berkeley This Week

Friday September 08, 2006

FRIDAY, SEPT. 8 

Got E-Waste? Free public disposal and recycling event for electronic waster from noon to 5 p.m. and Sat. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Oakland Coliseum, Parking lot D,7000 Coliseum Way, off 66th Avenue at the North Mall Area. Please no microwave ovens or household appliances. 866-335-3373. www.noewaste.com 

Impeachment Banner Fridays at 6:45 to 8 a.m. on the Berkeley Pedestrian bridge between Seabreeze Market and the Berkeley Aquatic Park, ongoing on Fridays until impeachment is realized. www. Impeachbush-cheney.com 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Russell A. Unbraco on “Antique Glass.” 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.  

Mad Scientist Surplus Sale and preview of green technologies at 7 p.m. at The Crucible, 1260 7th St., Oakland. Cost is $10. 444-0919. http://thecrucible.org 

Thoughts of A Hangman Film Industry Mixer and Fundraiser at 8 p.m. at Spengers, 1919 Fourth St. Cost is $20.  

Circle Dancing, simple folkdancing, beginners welcome, no partners needed. From 8 to 10 p.m. at Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St. at University Ave. Donation $5. 528-4253. www.circledancing.com 

“Seeking Jewish Community and Connection” Dinner at 6:30 p.m. at JGate, 409 Liberty Ave., El Cerrito. 559-8140. 

Womensong Circle, participatory singing for women at 7:15 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Donation $15-$20 sliding scale. 525-7082.  

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

SATURDAY, SEPT. 9 

Cerrito Creek Restoration Help Friends of Five Creeks volunteers control erosion and restore habitat on Cerrito Creek at the foot of Albany Hill, from 10 a.m. to noon. Wear clothes that can get dirty and shoes with good traction. Meet at Creekside Park, south end of Santa Clara St., El Cerrito, just north of Albany Hill. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

East Bay AIDS Walk at Lakeside Park, Oakland. Registration begins at 9 a.m., near the Edoff Memorial Bandstand, across from the Lakeside Park Garden Center. The walk around Lake Merritt begins at 10 a.m. 872-0568. http://eastbayaidswalk. 

kintera.org 

Tinkers Workshop Used Bike Sale from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Drive at Berkeley Aquatic Park. Benefit programs for at-risk youth. www.tinkersworkshop.org 

Mini-Farmers in Tilden A farm exploration program, from 10 to 11 a.m. for ages 4-6 years, accompanied by an adult. We will explore the Little Farm, care for animals, do crafts and farm chores. Wear boots and dress to get dirty! Fee is $6-$8. Registration required. 636-1684. 

Plunge Into Ponds A family pond exploration to find tadpoles, dragonflies, frog and snail from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

“How Has the New Medicare Drug Plan Affected You?” A community discussion at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Co-Housing Community Room, 2220 Sacramento St. Presented by OWL, Older Women’s League, 528-3739. 

Senior Safety Forum, from 10 a.m. to noon at McGee Avenue Baptist Church, 1640 Stuart St. Sponsored by Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action. 665-5821. 

NAACP Berkeley Branch meets at 1 p.m. to discuss voter registration and education for the Nov. 7th election at Church by the Side of the Road, 2108 Russell St. 845-7416. 

“Haiti Today: Occupation and Resistance” A panel discussion with Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste, Dr. Paul Farner, and Brian Concannon at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Donation $7-$15, no one turned away. 483-7481. 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland around Preservation Park to see Victorian architecture. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Preservation Park at 13th St. and MLK, Jr. Way. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234.  

Point Richmond Music and Arts Festival with live music, orginal art and jewelry, and food from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Park Place and Washington Ave. 231-6909. 

“Living Lightly: Simpler, Slower, Smaller” A day of discussions and resources from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Cost is $15-$20. www.worldcentric.org/ 

septsimplicityconf 

Free Electronic Waste Event Recycle your electronics Sat. and Sun. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the El Cerrito Department of Motor Vehicles, 6400 Manila Ave. E-waste accepted: computer monitors, computers/computer components, televisions, VCR & DVD players, toner cartridges, printers, fax machines, copiers, telephone equipment, cell phones, MP3 players. NOT accepted are appliances, batteries, microwaves, paints, pesticides, etc. 1-888-832-9839  

Luna Kids Open House & Dance Class from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. 644-3629. 

The East Bay Baby Fair from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. www.brjcc.org  

Great War Society, East Bay Chapter meets to discuss Military Development of Weaponry in WWI at 10:30 a.m. at 640 Arlington Ave. 527-7118. 

“Ghandi in his Youth” with Mary K. Earle at Dramatically Speaking Toastmasters at 9 a.m. at 1950 Franklin St. in the Kaiser Bldg., Oakland. 581-8675. 

Produce Stand at Spiral Gardens Food Security Project from 1 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon St. 

Early Childhood Education Workshop on Nuitrition from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Oakland Asian Cultural Arts Center, 388 Ninth St., Suite 290, Oakland. To register call 639-1361. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Spiritwalking: Aqua Chi(TM) at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley High Warm Pool. Also Wed. at 3:30 p.m. Cost is $5.50, $3.50 seniors & disabled. Bring your own towels. 526-0312. 

Urban Releaf Tree Tour of Oakland and workshops in urban forestry that teach tree planting, maintenance, GIS/GPS systems, and community advocacy. For information call 601-9062. www.urbanreleaf.org 

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.  

Around the World Tour of Plants at 1:30 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755.  

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, SEPT. 10 

Solano Stroll from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A mile-long block party with a “Send in the Clowns” Parade at 11 a.m. 527-5358. 

Montclair Village Jazz and Wine Festival from noon to 7 p.m. in Montclair Village, La Salle and Moraga Ave. 339-1000. 

Mercury Thermometer Exchange & Safe Medicine Disposal from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Solano Stroll, under BART tracks at 1270 Solano Ave., Albany. Bring mercury thermometers sealed in two plastic ziplock bags and medicine in original containers with personal information marked out. www.saveSFbay.org 

Wildcat Peak Hike Enjoy a three-mile hike through diverse habitats, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Bring water, sunscreen, layered clothing and a snack. Call for meeting place. 525-2233. 

Breast Cancer Fund Bike Against the Odds from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Lakeside Park, Lake Merritt, Oakland. Cost is $50-$65. 415-346-8223.  

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

Guitar Workshop with Muriel Anderson, National Fingerpicking Guitar Champion, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Berkeley. Cost is $30 in advance, $35 at door. For reservations call 912-1260. 

Pancake Breakfast on Board The Red Oak Victory Ship from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost is $6, includes tour of ship. Ship is located at 1337 Canal Blvd., Berth #6, Richmond. 237-2933. 

Self Defense Workshop for men and women from 5 to 8:30 p.m. in Berkeley. Cost is $115, scholarships available. For details call 800-467-6997.  

Nia Jam at 2 p.m. at Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St. Cost $15. 843-2787. 

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

Kickabout at Codornices Park Soccer for all, skill and talent not required. For more information contact cambour@hotmail.com  

Balinese Dance Class with Tjokorda Istri Putra Padmini at 11 a.m. at Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 237-6849. 

Flexible Healing Class for all ages and fitness levels at 1:30 p.m. at Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church, 9th St. & University Ave. Free. 390-8644. 

Ancient Tools for Successful Living Workshops in Meditation, the I-Ching, and Qi Gong begin at 5272 Foothill Blvd. Oakland. Cost is $8 per class. 536-5934. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Santosh Philip on “Treasures of Tibetan Yoga” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812.  

MONDAY, SEPT. 11 

Candlelight Vigil for 9/11 Rememberance and Healing at 6 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

Jim Wallis on “God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It” at 6 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Donation $10. 559-9500. 

National Organization for Women Oakland/East Bay Chapter, with Deborah Berger, president of the CA Nurses Association, at 6 p.m. at the Oakland YWCA, 1515 Webster St. 287-8948. 

“Ghandi” the film starring Ben Kingsley, on the 100th anniversay of Ghandi’s non-violent movement, at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists’ Hall, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. 528-5403. 

“9/11 the Myth and the Reality” Film at 7 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. Q & A to follow with film maker, Ken Jenkins. Benefit for the Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance. Tickets are $10.  

Berkeley Community Chorus rehearsals begin at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant, and meet every Mon. night. No auditions, all are welcome. www.bcco.org 

Albany’s New Police Chief, Mike McQuiston will speak at the Brown Bag Forum at 12:30 p.m. at the Albany Library, Edith Stone Room, 1247 Marin Ave. 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people aged 60 and over meets at 9:45 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Donation $3. 524-9122. 

Nutrition for Optimal Health at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

Lead Abatement Repairs Find out about funding for lead hazard repairs for rental properties with low-income tenants, from 4 to 6 p.m. at 2000 Embarcadero, #300, Oakland. 567-8280.  

TUESDAY, SEPT. 12 

“All Governments Lie” with Myra MacPherson, journalist and author, who will discuss her new biography of I. F. Stone, at 5:30 p.m. at North Gate Library, Grad. School of Journalism, Hearst at Euclid Ave., UC Campus. 643-3840. 

Docent Training at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden Learn about native plants and then give something back to the community by leading tours. Twenty sessions on Tues. through Feb. from 9 a.m. to noon at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park. Course fee is $125. To register call 527-9802. gkeator@aol.com  

“New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina: Lessons for California’s Levees” with Ray Seed, Prof. Civil and Environmental Engineering, UCB, at 5:30 p.m. at 250 Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Campus. 642-2666. 

Discover Northern Arizona’s Redrock Country A slide presentation with geologist Jim Scheihing at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

“Elderhostel: Adventures in Lifelong Learning” a video and talk by Margaret Hankle at 7 p.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave., El Cerrito. 526-7512. 

Free Quit Smoking Classes on six Tues. evenings from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. Optional free acupuncture provided. Registration required. 981-5330. quitnow@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Torture Teach-in and Vigil every Tues. at 12:30 p.m. at the fountain on UC Campus, Bancroft at College. 

Handbuilding Ceramics Class from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s Senior Center, 2727 College Ave. Also Mon. from noon to 4 p.m. and Wed. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, Ashby at Ellis Sts. Free, except for materials and firing charges. For information call 525-5497. 

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

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

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 13  

Lorin District Traffic Calming A community meeting at 7 p.m. at Spud’s Meeting Room, 3290 Adeline. 981-7130. 

Katrina Update Fundraiser at 7 p.m. at La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Donation $5-$20, no one turned away.  

“National Security and Intellectual Freedom” Panel discussion at 6:30 p.m. at the Free Speech Movement Cafe at Moffitt Undergraduate Library, UC Campus.  

Healthy Aging Fair, with information on services and resources and health screenings, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Centennial Hall, 22292 Foothill Blvd., Hayward. Sponsored by the Alameda County Commission on Aging. 636-0347. 

“The End of Suburbia” a documetary on oil depletion and the collapse of the American Dream at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., between Broadway and Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. www.HumanistHall.net 

East Bay Genealogical Society with Nancy Simons Peterson of the California Genealogical Society discussing her book, “Raking the Ashes: Genealogical Strategies for Pre-1906 San Francisco Research” at 10 a.m. in the Library Conference Room of the Family History Center, 4766 Lincoln Ave. Oakland. Guests are always welcome. 635-6692.  

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

New to DVD: “Cache” at 7 p.m. at JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $3-$5. 848-0237. 

Current Events Discussion Group meets on Wed. at 7 p.m. at the Niebyl Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. 597-4972. 

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

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. 848-1704.  

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

THURSDAY, SEPT. 14 

Amy Goodman and David Goodman talk with Pratap Chatterjee and Michael Shenoda about “STATIC: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders and the People Who Fight Back” at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. Tickets are $10-$15 at Cody’s. Benefit for KPFA and CorpWatch. 559-9500. 

Richmond Southeast Shoreline Community Advisory Group meets at 6:30 p.m. at the Bermuda Room, Richmond Convention Center, 403 Civic Center Plaza, at Nevin and 25th Sts, Richmond. 367-5379. 

Financial Management Information for Seniors at 10:30 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst. 981-5190. 

Natural Baby Care with pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene at 7:30 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Estate Planning Seminar for You and Your Pets with attorney Timothy H. Smallsreed at 7 p.m. at Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, 2700 Ninth St. at Carleton. Free but RSVP requested, 845-7735, ext. 19. 

Poetry Workshop with Donna Davis from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Offered by the Berkeley Adult School. 644-6130. 

East Bay Macintosh Users Group, meets to discuss Concept Draw V, at 6 p.m. at Expression College for Digital Arts, 6601 Shellmound St., Emeryville. Free, all welcome. www.ebmug.org  

CITY MEETINGS 

Creeks Task Force meets Mon. Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7410.  

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon. Sept. 11, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St. 981-6900. 

Peace and Justice Commission meets Mon., Sept. 11, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Manuel Hector, 981-5510.  

Youth Commission meets Mon., Sept. 11, at 6:30 p.m., at 1730 Oregon St. 981-6670.  

Berkeley Unified School District Board meets Wed. Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m., in the City Council Chambers. Mark Coplan 644-6320. 

Commission on Disability meets Wed., Sept. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Don Brown, 981-6346. TDD: 981-6345.  

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Sept. 13, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426.  

Planning Commission meets Wed., Sept. 13, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7484.  

Police Review Commission meets Wed., Sept. 13, at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-4950.  

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Sept. 13, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. Cliff Marchetti, 981-6740.  

Commission on Early Childhood Education meets Thurs. Sept. 14, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5428.  

Community Health Commission meets Thurs., Sept. 14, at 6:45 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5356. 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Sept. 14, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410.


Arts Calendar

Tuesday September 05, 2006

TUESDAY, SEPT. 5 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Geographic Premonitions” Group show of fifteen emerging artists opens at the Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Ave., Richmond. Exhibition runs through Nov. 11. 620-6772.  

FILM 

Alternative Visions: Recent Avanat-Garde Films at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Works In Progress” Women’s open mic at 7:30 p.m. at Montclair Women's Cultural Center, 1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Donation $5.  

Susan Alcorn talks about “Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bert Lams, classical guitar and Tom Griesgraber, Chapman Stick at 7:30 p.m. at A Cheerfull Noyse, 1228 Solano Ave., Albany. Seating is limited. Please bring a folding chair. 524-0411. 

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

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

Oscar Peterson at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $85-$100. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

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

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 6 

FILM 

2nd Annual International Small Film Festival to Sept. 10 at Berkeley Art Center Gallery, 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. Cost is $2-$10. 644-6893.  

Pirates and Piracy “The Sea Hawk” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Andrew Lam will discuss ”Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora” at 6:30 p.m. at Bookmark Bookstore, 721 Washington St. Space is limited, please RSVP to 531-3420. 

Robert Fuller will discuss “All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies and the Politics of Dignity” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert, faculty recital performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864.  

Whiskey Brothers Old Time and Bluegrass at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Sean Smith, Matt Baldwin, and Adam Snider, acoustic guitars, at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $8. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Gerard Landry and the Lariats at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054.  

Danilo, Orquestra Universal 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.  

Calvin Keys Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. 841-JAZZ. 

Chirgilchin, throat singers from Tuva, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Ten Ton Chicken, groove-rock, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Lady Soul, Sonny, Mista Kista at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886.  

THURSDAY, SEPT. 7 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Chroma” works by artists of the Chroma Collective opens with a reception at 5 p.m. at the Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Exhibition runs to Oct. 1. 848-1228. 

Kala Art Institute Residency Projects Part Two Opening reception at 6 p.m. at 1060 Heinz Ave. Exhibition runs to Oct. 14. Gallery hours are Tues.-Fri. noon to 5:30 p.m., Sat. noon to 4:30 p.m. 549-2977. 

“Edge of Desire: Recent Art in India” Guided tour at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. 

Works by Erin McGuiness, ceramicist. Reception at 6 p.m. at Earthworks Clay Co-op, 2547 8th St., at Dwight. 841-9810. 

“2 the Nines” Photography by Stephen Keller. Opening reception at 4 p.m. at Lavezzo Designs Studio, 5751 Horton St., Emeryville. 428-2384. 

“Vibration” Sound photographs of Hiroshi Morimoto. Opening reception at 5 p.m. at Transmissions Gallery, 1177 San Pablo Ave. Exhibition runs to Oct. 5. www.transmissions-gallery.com 

THEATER 

“Color Stuck” a one-man show by Donald E. Lacy, Jr. at 8 p.m. at Laney College Theater, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Benefit for LoveLife Foundation. Tickets are $50. 663-5683. 

FILM 

The Mechanical Age “The Mechanical Man” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Free screening. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“The Riddle of Tabo: The Origin and Fate of a West Tibetan Manuscript Collection” A colloquium with Paul Harrison, Visiting Professor, Dept of Religious Studies, Stanford at 5 p.m. at the IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th Flr. 643-6492. 

Annual Berkeley Faculty Reading at 7:30 p.m. in the Maude Fife Room, 315 Wheeler Hall, UC Campus. 642-3467. 

Phyllis Stowell, poet at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Leonard Pitt shows slides and talks about “Walks Through Lost Paris” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

John Sumser will introduce his lastest book, “A Land Without Time: A Peace Corps Volunteer in Afghanistan,” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Blue Roots, blues, gospel, New Orleans jazz and soul at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Duamuxa & Ricardo Cuevas at 8 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

David Berkeley, alt folk country, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. 

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

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

Tom Huebner, Kitty Rose at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082.  

Buffalo Field Campaign Road Show with music by 7th Generation Rise at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220. 

Glass Candy, The Chromatics, Death of a Party, dance rock, at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $7. 451-8100.  

FRIDAY, SEPT. 8 

THEATER 

Altarena Playhouse “The Foreigner” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 1409 High St, Alameda, through Oct. 1. Cost is $12-$15. 523-1553.  

Aurora Theatre “Salome” at 8 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. and runs Wed. - Sun. through Oct. 1. Tickets are $38. 843-4822.  

Berkeley High “I Love You, Your’re Perfect, Now Change” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., through Sept. 16 at the Schwimley Little Theater, 1930 Allston Way. Tickets are $6-$20. 

“Color Stuck” a one-man show by Donald E. Lacy, Jr. at 8 p.m. at Laney College Theater, 900 Fallon St., Oakland, through Sun. Tickets are $5-$15. 663-5683. 

Encore Theatre Company and Shotgun Players “The Typographer’s Dream” at 8 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Sept. 17. Tickets are $15-$30. 841-6500.  

Masquers Playhouse “Diary of a Scoundrel” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond across from the Hotel Mac. Through Sept. 30. Tickets are $15. 232-4031. 

Their(R)evolution performances by Chileans Inés Villafañe-León and Julia Ahumada Grob at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568.  

FILM 

2nd Annual International Small Film Festival to Sept. 10 at Berkeley Art Center Gallery, 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. Cost is $2-$10. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Global Lens Film Festival “In the Battlefields” at 2 p.m., “The Night of Truth” at 7 p.m., “Almost Brothers” at 9:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. www.globalfilm.org 

A Theater Near You “The Fallen Idol” at 7 p.m. and “The Third Man” at 8:55 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Clifford Chase reads from his new novel, “Winkie” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books, 1491 Shattuck Ave. 486-0698. 

Tucker Malarkey reads from her new novel, “Resurrection” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Sing Against the Odds” benefit fundraiser for Breast Cancer Fund with Irina Rivkin, Marca Cassity, Emily Shore, at 8 p.m. at Rose Street House of Music, 1839 Rose St. Donation $5-$50. To RSVP call 594-4000 ext. 687. 

8 Past at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886. 

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

African Roots of Jazz with E.W. Wainwright, clebrating Elvin Jones’ Birthday, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

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

Bill Monroe Tribute with Butch Waller, Bob Waller, Keith Little, Ed Nef and many others at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Dave Rocha Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

The Nomadics, jazz, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Stiff Dead Cat, 77 El Deora, Axton Kincaid at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

Sour Mash Hug Band, The Bad Tings, Dandelion Junk Queens at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Albino, afro-beat, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Cost is $10. 548-1159.  

Dave Ellis & Guru Garage at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Oscar Peterson at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $85-$100. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, SEPT. 9 

THEATER 

Shotgun Players “Ragnarok: Doom of the Gods” Sat. and Sun. at 4 p.m. at John Hinkle Park, through Sept. 10. Free, with pass the hat donation after the show. 841-6500.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Through The Eye of The Artist” Group art show, mixed media. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Expressions Gallery, 2035 Ashby Ave. Runs to Sept. 30. 644-4930. 

Veiled Threat: Works by Aaron Joseph Screenprints, digital prints, fiber art and fashion show inspired by the politicsof the 1970’s at 8 p.m. at The Living Room Gallery, 3230 Adeline St. Donation $3. 601-5774. 

FILM 

Global Lens Film Festival “Global Shorts” at 2 p.m., “Thirst” at 9:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. www.globalfilm.org 

The Road to Damascus: Discovering Syrian Cinema “Stars in Broad Daylight” at 6:30 p.m and “Sacrifices” at 8:45 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rockey Jones & Friends with ToRead Ah, D’Jeli Musa, poetry, spoken word and music, at 4 p.m. at The Adeline Artist Lofts, 1132 24th St., off Adeline in West Oakland. Donation $5. 272-9349.  

Michael Gray will talk about “The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books, 1491 Shattuck Ave. 486-0698. 

Douglas Kent discusses “Firescaping” creating fire-resistant landscapes, at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

The Temescal Trio at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickes are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

Pacific Collegium 9/11 Memorial Benefit Concert at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $10-$30. www.pacificcollegium.org 

Point Richmond Music and Arts Festival with Cruchy Frog, Ron Matthews, Dve Crimmen, Andre Thierry and Lava from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Park Place and Washington Ave. 231-6909. 

Dreaming the Diaspora, with Georges Lammam and His Ensemble at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $13-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Maye Cavallero and Her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Ras Igel/Razorblade with Binghi Drummers at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Maya Dorn and Marca Cassity at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Trout Fishing in America at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Aphasia, Anaura at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886.  

Dave Bernstein Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649- 3810. 

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

The Girlfriend Experience, Wire Graffiti, Jayde Blade at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082.  

Swoop Unit at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Monster Squad, Whiskey Rebels, The Challenged at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, SEPT. 10 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Workers at Ground Zero: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes” on display in the atrium of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. Conversation with the artist at 1 p.m., on display from Sept. 10-Sept. 14. 525-0302. 

Helen Krayenhoff Watercolors Opening reception at 5 p.m. at Sweet Adeline Bakeshop, 3350 Adeline St. Exhibition runs through to Oct 13. hkrayenhoff@yahoo.com 

“A Balanced Life” sculptures by Will Furth and “Ma Vie en Rose” paintings by Jennifer L. Jones. Reception at 4 p.m. at the Community Art Gallery, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, 2450 Ashby Ave. through November 10. 204-1667.  

“Edge of Desire: Recent Art in India” Guided tour at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. 

FILM 

Global Lens Film Festival “In the Battlefields” at 7 p.m., “Almost Brothers” at 2 and 9:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. www.globalfilm.org 

The Mechanical Age “Charlie Bowers: Dream Machines” at 3 p.m. and “Edward Scissorhands” at 5 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808.  

“Secret Courage: The Walter Suskind Story” followed by discussion at 2 p.m. at JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $5. 848-0237. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Quijeremá in a benefit concert for Rafael Manriquez at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12-$15. 849-2568.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Soul at the Chimes” with Ricardo Scales, Simply Toya, Traika Lewis and others at 2 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. Benefit for Bay Area Repertory Theater. Tickets are $35. www.brownpapertickets.com 

“Meeting the Man of the Heart” Vocal music from the Baul tradition at 3 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808. 

The Hal Stein Quartet at 3:30 p.m. at the Montclair Jazz and Wine Festival, Montclair Village. 

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

Ayelet Cohen, an evening of opera at 7:30 p.m. at JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $$14-$18. 848-0237. 

The Medicine Ball Band at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Americana Unplugged with Joe Craven, bluegrass and oldtime showcase, at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 655-5715. 

Atsuko Hashimoto, jazz organ trio, at 4:30 at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Pressure Point, Red Tape, Giving Chase at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

MONDAY, SEPT. 11 

FILM 

Global Lens Film Festival “The Night of Truth” at noon at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. www.globalfilm.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jim Wallis on “God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It” at 6 p.m. in the Sanctuary, First Congregational Church, 2345 Dana. Suggested donation $10. 559-9500. 

Actors Reading Writers “Locomotion” Short Stories by Stephanie Allen, Richard Ford and Dorothy Parker at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave.  

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mark Atkinson Trio at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Rafael Manriquez, songs of the poems of Gabriela Mistral at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, Art & Music Room, 5th floor. 981-6100. 

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

Khalil Shaheed, all ages jam, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Oliver Mtukudzi, African pop, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24, fundraiser for Zimbabwe AIDS Relief. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 


Arts: The Theater: Oakland Magic Circle Pulls a Few Tricks Out of the Hat

Ken Bullock
Tuesday September 05, 2006

Conjurors, prestidigitators, sleight-of-hand mechanics and mentalists will appear tonight (Tuesday), as if by magic, on the stage of Oakland’s Bjornson Hall, home of the Sons of Norway (at MacArthur and Fruitvale), answering the call of the Oakland Magic Circle for their annual invitational magic competition and dinner, doors opening at 6:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m. 

“We invite all the magic clubs—about 15 of them—from Santa Cruz to Santa Rosa, and east to Sacramento, to send one contestant each,” said magician and Magic Circle President James Hamilton. “It’s a big, fun event, with all kinds of acts from comic to serious, slick sleight-of-hand to the bizarre. And families come to root for their local club’s favorite. There’s a spaghetti dinner included in the price of admission.” 

The event will be judged by a younger magician who has competed recently, a professional magician and longtime Circle member, and this reviewer. 

(In the interest of total disclosure, the present reviewer must confess his own debut in show business as a boy, performing a show of illusions put together by his father, himself a practitioner of stage magic and younger colleague of founding members of the Circle. This entree to the stage has led the reviewer down other arcane paths of performance as a result, including Noh and Kyogen—not to mention his present para-theatrical mode of expression.) 

The Oakland Circle is the preeminent club in the area—and the oldest west of the Mississippi. Founded in 1925, the club initiated the invitational competition over 25 years ago, at the behest of co-founder Lloyd Jones, proprietor of Oakland’s Magic Ltd., publishers and sellers of magic books. 

Hamilton recalled Jones from his first visit to the Circle over 20 years ago: “I knew Lloyd from magic conventions, and he’d reviewed me in his magazine. I came here in about 1980, but hadn’t performed much locally. A friend asked me to come to the meeting with him, and Lloyd came rushing up to me with his hand outstretched—and a membership application in it!” 

When asked what acts to expect, Hamilton shrugs. “There’s no screening. Everybody might do the same routine—who knows? One year I saw a guy all in leathers, looking like one of those Power Rangers, putting on an act. The kids got all excited.” 

Contestants are judged on appearance, technique, audience appeal and overall effectiveness of their act. 

Above all, stage magic goes over on style. Asked how he’d characterize the recent history of the art, Hamilton opined, “I think it’s come full circle. For awhile, it was out of favor. Then Doug Henning helped ignite the current interest, along with Blackstone, Jr. and Siegfried & Roy—both permanent shows in Vegas, of course. Technology helped, but the way some people modernized it, magic started to devolve into the same thing they complained about. Whether the boxes are black, or it’s chrome luggage, the props end up the same, and it can all look about as weird as the gold table they were all putting down as old-fashioned.” 

He smiled and went on: “The trend is to reach back and modernize. Magic is ancient, from the first time people asked why the leaves are shaking on the tree. It’s one of the things people are always going to want to see; they see a good magician and say, ‘Wow! What is that? That’s Cool!’ It’s the answer to the unknown.” 

 


Nearly Native, Cosmopolitan and Threatened

Ron Sullivan, Special to the Planet
Tuesday September 05, 2006

All over the hills and in many yards, we see the plentiful and familiar Monterey pine. It’s one of the key tree species of our parks and urban hill forest, part of our natural surroundings. 

Except for the “natural” part. Pinus radiata is no more native right here than Eucalyptus globulus—at least in this eon. It’s a species in trouble on its home turf, a small part of the coast south of here approximately from Año Nuevo to Cambria and not very far inland, six or seven miles up the Carmen River valley. Even there, its populations aren’t contiguous, but in three disjunct areas.  

In other epochs, its range was longer though about as narrow, along the coast from the La Brea Tar Pits to Marin County and north, to judge from the locations of fossil cones. To judge by those cones’ ages, though, it seems never to have been widespread at any one time; it just grew in small but varied ranges as climates shifted between glacial periods. 

There are two natural varieties of the species on small Mexican islands: binata on Guadalupe Island, and cedrosensis on Cedros Island. The population on Guadalupe Island is in trouble because feral goats eat all the seedlings. Fewer than 100 individuals remain. 

The base stock is now also threatened by pine pitch canker, an introduced fungus.  

At the same time, it’s one of the most widely distributed and most-planted—by humans—tree species in the world. You’d think a species with such a small and precise original range would be demanding about living conditions, but Monterey pines thrive on timber plantations in Hawai’i, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Spain, the British Isles, and South Africa, and as ornamentals elsewhere.  

Including here in the San Francisco Bay Area. And therein lies the rub, genetically. 

The trees planted as ornamentals are mostly from the stock grown in New Zealand for timber. As they’re planted here, over the years closer and closer to the native foundation stock, they’ve been “cross”-breeding with the homeboys. What long-term effects this genetic sorting and re-mixing will have are a toss-up.  

The timber trees get selected over generations for qualities like fast growth and straight trunks that make easy-to-mill lumber. Whether these characteristics, if they get passed on to new generations in the wild, are good things to have if you’re a tree trying to make a living in the wild along windy coastlines and in coastal soils—good question! 

One might reasonably speculate that fast growth, which usually results in weaker wood and a tendency to drop branches, wouldn’t be so wonderful. Straight trunks, same thing, though that might be more environmentally malleable; it’s easier to be upright in a plantation full of your brethren than on a wind-sleeked shoreline.  

The ornamentals seem just as susceptible to pitch canker as the original stock, and might be a reservoir for the disease. 

In the older population of Monterey pines in our hills, we’ve already noticed their tendency (like many trees’) to self-prune. When a low branch (or even a leaf) is shaded to the point where keeping it is more expensive metabolically than giving up its “income,” a tree will drop it. (This is hardly an exact calculation, of course; it’s just that wood gets weaker when the leaves directly outward/up from it nourish it less.)  

Monterey pines make great big heavy limbs. When they fall, look out! One calm night many years ago, Joe and I noticed the lights flickering, and the power went off completely as we grabbed flashlights and went up the front path to see what was happening. Then, with a memorable and eloquent groan, a low limb bigger than the average Yule tree split off the tree and fell onto the garage.  

The valiant PG&E crew had our power back on within a couple of hours, but it took us and the landlady’s son most of the next day to excavate the undamaged but suddenly verdant garage. The tree’s still there, 20-some years later.  

If you have a Monterey pine and worry about its health, call in a pro—a real ISA-certified arborist, not some clown who advertises “topping” trees. They should be pruned only when the canker’s least virulent, a short window in midwinter, and with care and knowledge.


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday September 05, 2006

TUESDAY, SEPT. 5 

“The Politics of Bones: Dr. Owens Wiwa and the Struggle for Nigeria’s Oil” with J. Tompthy Hunt, Michael Watts, and Anna Zalik at 4 p.m. at 150 University Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for African Studies and the Center for Human Rights. 642-0721. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping the public schools, from 3 to 4 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

“Taste of Judaism: Are you Curious?” Explore Jewish spirituality, ethics and community, open to all. Tues. evenings, Sept. 5, 12, 19, in Berkeley. Free but registration required. 839-2900 ext 347. 

Torture Teach-in and Vigil every Tues. at 12:30 p.m. at the fountain on UC Campus, Bancroft at College. 

Discussion Salon on Humor at 7 p.m. at 1414 Walnut.  

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

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

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 6  

Strawberry Creek Greenway Proposal Community discussion on daylighting the creek at the abandonned West Campus Schoolyard, at 6:30 p.m. in the Green Room, City Corporation Yard, 1326 Allston Way. For information call Carole Schemmerling 512 4005.  

Walking Tour of Oakland City Center Meet at 10 a.m. in front Oakland City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

“The Oil Factor: Behind the War on Terror” A documentary at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., between Broadway and Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 393-5685. 

Density Bonus Workshop with the Planning Commission, Housing Advisory Commission, Zoning Adjustments Board at 6 p.m. at the West Berkeley Senior Center, 1900 SIxth St. at Hearst. 981-7490. 

“Homegrown Tomatoes Are Great, Unless They Are Toxic,” with Christopher Harkness of the San Jose Redevelopment Agency at 1 p.m. in Room 315A, Wurster Hall, UC Campus.  

American Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation at 10 a.m. at the Oakland headquarters. Various East Bay opportunities available. Advanced sign-up is required please call 594-5165.  

East Bay Food Not Bombs Volunteer Meeting at 7:30 p.m. at the Long Haul Infoshop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 644-4187. 

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. 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.  

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

vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, SEPT. 7 

Buffalo Field Campaign Road Show discussion the plight of Yellowstone’s wild buffalo, with music by 7th Generation Rise at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220. 

9/11 Press for Truth A documentary and Q & A with Co-Executive Producer, Ken Ellis, at 7 and 9 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $5-$10. Proceeds benefit Cooperative Research and Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance. 

Full Moon Walk at John Muir National Historic Site See nocturnal animal and plant life and walk the same trail John Muir walked with his daughters. For reservations and details of meeting time and location, call 925-228-8860. 

Street Fair and Farmer’s Market at Fruitvale Village, Fruitvale BART, Oakland, from 5 to 8 p.m. with live music, melon and jicama tastings, and activities for children.  

Poetry Workshop with Donna Davis from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Offered by the Berkeley Adult School. 644-6130. 

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.  

Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters Club at 6:45 p.m. at Spud's Pizza, 3290 Adeline at Alcatraz. 

FRIDAY, SEPT. 8 

Impeachment Banner Fridays at 6:45 to 8 a.m. on the Berkeley Pedestrian bridge between Seabreeze Market and the Berkeley Aquatic Park, ongoing on Fridays until impeachment is realized. www. Impeachbush-cheney.com 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Russell A. Unbraco on “Antique Glass.” 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.  

Mad Scientist Surplus Sale and preview of green technologies at 7 p.m. at The Crucible, 1260 7th St., Oakland. Cost is $10. 444-0919. http://thecrucible.org 

Thoughts of A Hangman Film Industry Mixer and Fundraiser at 8 p.m. at Spengers, 1919 Fourth St. Cost is $20.  

“Seeking Jewish Community and Connection” Dinner at 6:30 p.m. at JGate, 409 Liberty Ave., El Cerrito. 559-8140. 

Womensong Circle, participatory singing for women at 7:15 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Donation $15-$20 sliding scale. 525-7082.  

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

SATURDAY, SEPT. 9 

Cerrito Creek Restoration Help Friends of Five Creeks volunteers control erosion and restore habitat on Cerrito Creek at the foot of Albany Hill, from 10 a.m. to noon. Wear clothes that can get dirty and shoes with good traction. Meet at Creekside Park, south end of Santa Clara St., El Cerrito, just north of Albany Hill. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

East Bay AIDS Walk at Lakeside Park, Oakland. Registration begins at 9 a.m., near the Edoff Memorial Bandstand, across from the Lakeside Park Garden Center. The walk around Lake Merritt begins at 10 a.m. 872-0568. http://eastbayaidswalk. 

kintera.org 

Tinkers Workshop Used Bike Sale from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Drive at Berkeley Aquatic Park. Benefit programs for at-risk youth. www.tinkersworkshop.org 

“How Has the New Medicare Drug Plan Affected You?” A community discussion at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Co-Housing Community Room, 2220 Sacramento St. Presented by OWL, Older Women’s League, 528-3739. 

Senior Safety Forum, from 10 a.m. to noon at McGee Avenue Baptist Church, 1640 Stuart St. Sponsored by Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action. 665-5821. 

NAACP Berkeley Branch meets at 1 p.m. to discuss voter registration and education for the Nov. 7th election at Church by the Side of the Road, 2108 Russell St. 845-7416. 

“Haiti Today: Occupation and Resistance” A panel discussion with Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste, Dr. Paul Farner, and Brian Concannon at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Donation $7-$15, no one turned away. 483-7481. 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland around Preservation Park to see Victorian architecture. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Preservation Park at 13th St. and MLK, Jr. Way. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234.  

Point Richmond Music and Arts Festival with live music, orginal art and jewelry, and food from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Park Place and Washington Ave. 231-6909. 

“Living Lightly: Simpler, Slower, Smaller” A day of discussions and resources from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Cost is $15-$20. www.worldcentric.org/ 

septsimplicityconf 

Free Electronic Waste Event Recycle your electronics Sat. and Sun. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the El Cerrito Department of Motor Vehicles, 6400 Manila Ave. E-waste accepted: computer monitors, computers/computer components, televisions, VCR & DVD players, toner cartridges, printers, fax machines, copiers, telephone equipment, cell phones, MP3 players. NOT accepted are appliances, batteries, microwaves, paints, pesticides, etc. 1-888-832-9839  

Luna Kids Open House & Dance Class from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. 644-3629. 

The East Bay Baby Fair from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. www.brjcc.org  

Great War Society, East Bay Chapter meets to discuss Military Development of Weaponry in WWI at 10:30 a.m. at 640 Arlington Ave. 527-7118. 

“Ghandi in his Youth” with Mary K. Earle at Dramatically Speaking Toastmasters at 9 a.m. at 1950 Franklin St. in the Kaiser Bldg., Oakland. 581-8675. 

Produce Stand at Spiral Gardens Food Security Project from 1 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon St. 

Early Childhood Education Workshop on Nuitrition from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Oakland Asian Cultural Arts Center, 388 Ninth St., Suite 290, Oakland. To register call 639-1361. 

Spiritwalking: Aqua Chi(TM) at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley High Warm Pool. Also Wed. at 3:30 p.m. Cost is $5.50, $3.50 seniors & disabled. Bring your own towels. 526-0312. 

Urban Releaf Tree Tour of Oakland and workshops in urban forestry that teach tree planting, maintenance, GIS/GPS systems, and community advocacy. For information call 601-9062. www.urbanreleaf.org 

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.  

Around the World Tour of Plants at 1:30 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755.  

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, SEPT. 10 

Solano Stroll from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A mile-long block party with a “Send in the Clowns Parade at 11 a.m. 527-5358. 

Montclair Village Jazz and Wine Festival from noon to 7 p.m. in Montclair Village, La Salle and Moraga Ave. 339-1000. 

Mercury Thermometer Exchange & Safe Medicine Disposal from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Solano Stroll, under BART tracks at 1270 Solano Ave., Albany. Bring mercury thermometers sealed in two plastic ziplock bags and medicine in original containers with personal information marked out. www.saveSFbay.org 

Breast Cancer Fund Bike Against the Odds from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Lakeside Park, Lake Merritt, Oakland. Cost is $50-$65. 415-346-8223.  

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

Pancake Breakfast on Board The Red Oak Victory Ship from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost is $6, includes tour of ship. Ship is located at 1337 Canal Blvd., Berth #6, Richmond. 237-2933. 

Self Defense Workshop for men and women from 5 to 8:30 p.m. in Berkeley. Cost is $115, scholarships available. For details call 800-467-6997.  

Nia Jam at 2 p.m. at Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St. Cost $15. 843-2787. 

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

Kickabout at Codornices Park Soccer for all, skill and talent not required. For more information contact cambour@hotmail.com  

Balinese Dance Class with Tjokorda Istri Putra Padmini at 11 a.m. at Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 237-6849. 

Flexible Healing Class for all ages and fitness levels at 1:30 p.m. at Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church, 9th St. & University Ave. Free. 390-8644. 

Ancient Tools for Successful Living Workshops in Meditation, the I-Ching, and Qi Gong begin at 5272 Foothill Blvd. Oakland. Cost is $8 per class. 536-5934. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Santosh Philip on “Treasures of Tibetan Yoga” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812.  

MONDAY, SEPT. 11 

Candlelight Vigil for 9/11 Rememberance and Healing at 6 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

Family Day at the Magnes to see the exhibition “My America” at 6:30 p.m. at Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. Cost is $6-$8. 549-6950.  

Jim Wallis on “God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It” at 6 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Suggested donation $10. 559-9500. 

National Organization for Women Oakland/East Bay Chapter, with Deborah Berger, president of the CA Nurses Association, at 6 p.m. at the Oakland YWCA, 1515 Webster St. 287-8948. 

“9/11 the Myth and the Reality” A film premier at 7 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. Q & A to follow with film maker, Ken Jenkins. Benefit for the Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance. Tickets are $10.  

Berkeley Community Chorus rehearsals begin at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant, and meet every Mon. night. No auditions, all are welcome. www.bcco.org 

Albany’s New Police Chief, Mike McQuiston will speak at the Brown Bag Forum at 12:30 p.m. at the Albany Library Edith Stone Room, 1247 Marin Ave. 

Nutrition for Optimal Health at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

Lead Abatement Repairs Find out about funding for lead hazard repairs for rental properties with low-income tenants, from 4 to 6 p.m. at 2000 Embarcadero, #300, Oakland. 567-8280.  

CITY MEETINGS 

Density Bonus Workshop with the Planning Commission, Housing Advisory Commission, Zoning Adjustments Board at 6 p.m. at the West Berkeley Senior Center, 1900 SIxth St. at Hearst. 981-7490. 

Downtown Area Plan Advisory Commission meets Wed. Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7487. 

Berkeley Unified School Board meets Wed. Sept. 6, at 7:30 p.m., in the City Council Chambers. Mark Coplan 644-6320. 

Commission on the Status of Women meets Wed., Sept. 7, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Tasha Tervelon, 981-5190.  

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Sept. 7, at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5400.  

Landmarks Preservation Commission meets Thurs. Sept. 7, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Gisele Sorensen, 981-7419.  

Mental Health Commission meets Thurs., Sept. 7, at 6:30 p.m. at 2640 MLK Jr. Way, at Derby. 981-5213.  

Public Works Commission meets Thurs., Sept. 7, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-6406.  

Creeks Task Force meets Mon. Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7410.  

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon. Sept. 11, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St. 981-6900.