UC Berkeley Campus police detained tree-sitting former mayoral candidate Zachary Running Wolf Wednesday morning, then served him with an order barring him from campus for seven days. 

He had left the tree briefly for a meeting with Native American studies faculty when officers served him with the order. “They ordered me to stay away from campus for seven days,” he said. 

Meanwhile officers stepped up pressure at the threatened grove throughout the day, with as many as 13 police officers mustering near the grove by late afternoon.

You should always say something good about the dead. He’s dead. Good. —Moms Mabley 

Former Chilean political prisoners, torture victims, exiles and refugees—all victims of General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, gathered Sunday night at Berkeley’s La Peña Cultural Center. 

Among TV cameras and lively songs the mood was celebratory. Some said the day should be a day to remember the thousands of missing prisoners, many whose whereabouts now may never be known, as it is one of the many secrets the dictator took to his grave. 

More than just a celebration, for some of the victims of his brutal reign, Pinochet’s departure also marks a new stage of relief. For me, for many years the dictator’s face has been a symbol of death and fear. 

To see him in the newspaper or on TV was always hard. He held power by crushing and eliminating any dissent through assassination. Many of us will carry the scars for the rest of our lives. 

By eliminating the trade union organizations, his “Chicago Boys” economic politics were imposed on the Chilean people by the force of the guns. 

When I was reading the newspapers and listening to the news Monday morning, I was amazed to learn about the credit given to him by mainstream media for “improving” the economy, a “miracle” unique in Latin America. But, as writer Greg Palast recently wrote, this is just another “fairy tale.” The claim that General Pinochet begat an economic powerhouse was “one of those utterances whose truth rested entirely on its repetition.” 

Under the Allende government (1970-73) unemployment was 4.3 percent. 

In 1983, after 10 years of dictatorship and in the midst of the free-market modernization, the unemployment rate was 22 percent. 

Under the military dictatorship wages declined by 40 percent. 

By 1970, Chile had 20 percent of its population living in poverty. By 1990, the number had doubled to 40 percent. 

In fact, life was far better under Allende. There was a highly just pension system, education and health care was free and there were national programs building houses for the poor and middle class. 

Pinochet jailed or killed hundred of union leaders, eradicated the minimum wage and eliminated taxes on wealth and business profits. He privatized the pension system, schools and hundreds of state-owned industries and banks. Some of the monies from these transactions are now known to be part of Pinochetbooty found in different banks abroad. 

Because the Prussian, proud, disciplined military man was not just a butcher-- he also ended up to be one of the biggest Chilean crooks who stole millions of dollars from the Chilean state.

Critics of UC Berkeley’s massive Southeast Campus Integrated Projects (SCIP) filed the first of two expected legal challenges Monday. 

The action by the Panoramic Hills Association (PHA) will be followed by a similar challenge from the City of Berkeley, said City Manager Phil Kamlarz. 

Michael Kelly, a PHA officer, said the papers filed in Alameda County Superior Court challenge the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) approved by UC Regents last week and also allege that their action violates a state law that governs building on and adjacent to active earthquake faults. 

UC Berkeley Media Relations Executive Director Marie Felde said the UC’s General Counsel hadn’t been served yet, so she couldn’t comment on the contents. 

“But if it addresses the EIR issue, as we’ve said from the beginning, we believed we have thoroughly reviewed the issues and that the EIR meets all the requirements,” she said. 

While the city’s lawsuit hasn’t been filed yet, a spokesperson for the office of City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque said a notice will be posted on the website of City Manager Phil Kamlarz when the papers are filed. 

Meanwhile, protesters continue to hold a tree-in perched in the branches of the grove threatened by the first of the projects slated to be built under the controversial EIR—and vow to continue the protest until the trees are saved, said Doug Buckwald, a Berkeley resident coordinating ground support for the tree-sitters. 

Now in its second week, the Memorial Stadium tree-in endured a weekend of cold wind and hard rain, though the hourly intrusive nocturnal name-taking visits of campus cops had tapered off. 

Measures labeled as harassment by Buckwald tapered off after attorney Stephan Volker fired off a letter to UC President Robert Dynes, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and UCB Police Chief Victoria L. Harrison. 

Meanwhile, city officials have released letters from federal and state geologists challenging the adequacy of an earthquake fault study UC Regents used in making their decision to build a massive gym along the stadium’s western wall. 

Two protesters are now perched in a pair of Coastal Live Oaks and recent mayoral candidate Zachary Running Wolf occupies the branches of a California Redwood. 

The tree-sitters oppose the project in part because it means the loss of the last remaining stand of the threatened oaks outside the Berkeley hills. 

Across California, the native oaks have been dying off from a water mold caused ailment that produces Sudden Oak Death Syndrome. Among the arguments raised by protesters is the need to protect the genetic diversity of a threatened species. 

Some protesters also challenge the wisdom of spending hundreds of millions of dollars building massive projects above or near the Bay Area’s most-likely-to-rupture-soon earthquake fault. 

Kelly said the PHA doesn’t oppose building an athletic training center, but they do contend that the present site should be rejected. 

One reason cited in their litigation is the Alquist Priolo Act, the California statute that governs building on or adjacent to faults. 

University officials contend that the training center is exempt from the act because it wouldn’t sit on a fault, unlike the adjoining Memorial Stadium which was built directly astride the Hayward Fault. 

That’s where the two letters sent by the federal and state geologists raise key questions. 

The letters, sent by federal and state experts on Northern California seismic dangers, both charge that more tests are needed to determine whether both ends of the crescent-shaped Student Athlete High Performance Center would be on top of the active fault. 

The structure, estimated to cost between $75 million and $125 million, would provide the latest in high tech training for all student athletes at the university. 

The United State Geological Survey letter was signed by geologists David Schwartz, chief of the San Francisco Bay Area Earthquake Hazards Project, and Tom Brocher, coordinator of North California Earthquake Hazard Investigations. 

William A. Bryant, the geologist who manages the California Geological Survey’s program regarding building in fault zones, signed the state letter. 

Both charge that the study regents relied on for approving the crucial environmental impact report authorizing the Southeast Campus Integrated Projects was flawed because it failed to conduct adequate tests in two critical areas at either end of the building site. 

That study, prepared by Geomatrix Inc., a consulting firm the university has often used, cleared the site as not being on the fault—a crucial determination because the law bars new construction directly over faults.  

Specifically, the government geologists said more study was needed to determine whether an active fault lies beneath the 138,000-square-foot site of the propose Student Athlete High Performance Center, the high tech gym regents approved for construction adjacent to the stadium. 

The federal geologists pointed to anomalies in the Geomatrix findings about the presence and angle of a serpentine layer below the site, which they said could indicate the presence of a fault. 

The only way to know for sure, they concluded, was to conduct further drilling tests to collect core samples, and the state geologist concurred. 

Monday morning found a campus police officer, Sgt. David Eubanks, videotaping protesters at the tree-in while a Copwatch volunteer videotaped him—just the latest twist in the university’s confrontation with demonstrators. 

But Buckwald said police behavior had improved considerably since Volker sent his letter to university and campus police executives. 

In a sworn affidavit attached to Volker’s letter, Buckwald said campus police had been rousting the tree-sitters throughout the nights and repeatedly making sweeps of the grove to check identification documents and compare the information with that contained in voluminous files they refused to show to protesters who asked to examine them. 

Volker’s letter cited several legal precedents supporting the tree-in, including one case that addressed a nearly identical arboreal protest which was upheld as a legitimate form of constitutionally protected free speech. 

In his affidavit, Buckwald said officers came by as frequently as once an hour when tree-sitters were sleeping, flashing lights and yelling until the sitters responded. 

“These harassments pose a direct threat to the safety of our tree-sitters,” Buckwald declared. “Sleep deprivation could cause our tree sitters to accidentally stumble, tie a knot incorrectly, or fail to clip a carbiner properly to the rope for the harness. Any of these mistakes could cause a fatal fall.” 

Buckwald said that police conduct had changed markedly Monday. “They have been remarkably nice and considerate, it’s a big change,” he said. 

Community support continues to pour in, he said, and a Celebration to Save the Oaks is planned for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, featuring live music, poetry, dance and food. 

Meanwhile, the Rainforest Action Network offered sitters and volunteers a crash course in nonviolent civil disobedience, and Copwatch volunteers have been on hand to tape police conduct. 

“We have a great crew,” he said, and volunteers continue to bring food, bottled water and other supplies, including climbing and camping equipment needed by Running Wolf in his redwood and oak sitters Aaron Diek and Jess Walsh. 

“They’re doing remarkably well,” said Buckwald, “and they’re going to stay there until the trees are saved.” 

UC Berkeley spokesperson Felde said campus Police Chief Victoria Harrison hadn’t seen Volker’s letter as of late Monday afternoon, and said “police will continue to check on the welfare of the protesters and their supporters. The fact is that campus rules do not you allow to camp out on campus property, and we will continue to make sure that no one does.” 

But the concern of police remains “the welfare of the people there,” she said.

Presiding Superior Court Judge George C. Hernandez, Jr. paints a rosy picture of the planned move of Berkeley’s traffic court to the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse on Washington Street in downtown Oakland. 

It will be an opportunity for the two traffic judges, one now located in Oakland and the other in Berkeley, to share their workload more equitably:  

“They can back each other up,” Hernandez told the Daily Planet on Friday. Moreover, consolidation of services in Oakland will provide more interpreters, a self-help center and even childcare.  

Hernandez said the move will take place Dec. 26, but court workers say they have been told to be ready for a Dec. 22 move.  

“Our last day here is Dec. 21. Everything is moving to Oakland on the 22nd,” said Francisco Martinez, a legal processing assistant at the Berkeley Courthouse. “They’re advancing the date,” he told the Daily Planet on Monday, adding that supervisors “are not willing to answer questions” about the move. 

Mayor Tom Bates, who also had been told that the move was Dec. 26, isn’t buying Hernandez’s pretty picture. Bates learned about the move two days after the story first appeared in the Nov. 28 edition of the Daily Planet. 

“It’s inconvenient for people—especially low-income people—to take time off to go to Oakland to appear in court,” Bates said. 

And what’s even more serious, “It will take police out of service in Berkeley—there will be less police attention to real problems in the community,” Bates said. 

“It will cost the community a lot,” said Berkeley police spokesperson Ed Galvan. The cost will be in overtime, but more important, he said, the cost to the community is in the officers being out of town. There can be six to 10 officers waiting for their cases to come up in traffic court, but if there’s an emergency, the officers can easily leave the Berkeley court and respond, Galvin said.  

The mayor said he is also angry that no public officials were consulted—neither himself, nor the mayor of Albany nor Supervisor Keith Carson who serves Northern Alameda County. “That kind of arrogance infuriates me,” Bates said, vowing to go to the state legislature, if necessary, to find a remedy. 

But Hernandez said there would have been too many jurisdictions to meet with. Not only are Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville and Oakland impacted, but other agencies such as the Highway Patrol and BART police would be involved.  

“The court is not being cavalier about this,” he said. 

What is more surprising, Bates continued, is that the city is in the middle of negotiating a lease with the county—the Berkeley courthouse building, between Old City Hall and the police department, belongs to the county, while the city owns the land beneath it. 

Hernandez underscored that only the traffic court would be moving. Small claims and unlawful detainer courts will stay in Berkeley and other civil courts could move into the Berkeley building. 

The judge further argued that the Berkeley courts actually serve more out-of-towners: of the 29,000 tickets issued in Berkeley, 19,000 are given to persons who live outside the city, he said. Moreover, he added, “It’s only 5.3 miles from Berkeley to the Wiley Manuel Courthouse.”  

Bates is meeting today (Tuesday) with Hernandez, Carson and Albany Mayor Allan Maris to try to stop the move. 

Six months after local voters overwhelmingly approved $390 million in facilities bond money for the Peralta Community College District under Measure A, there is confusion within the district about how the money will be allocated to each college. 

Faculty members of Laney College, the district’s largest college, have expressed concern about how much Laney’s share of the bond money will be, and the president of the Laney College Faculty Senate has asked the head of Peralta’s Department of General Services to meet with her organization this week for clarification. 

General Services Director Sadiq Ikharo is also scheduled to make a presentation of the Measure A bond projects to the Peralta Board of Trustees at the trustees’ regular meeting tonight (Tuesday), which will be held at 7 p.m. at the Peralta Administrative headquarters at 333 E. 8th St. in Oakland. 

In addition, Peralta may already be out of compliance with a requirement for formation of a Citizen Oversight Committee to monitor the spending of the Measure A bond money. The Measure A ballot language called for the establishment of the oversight committee “within 60 days of the date when the results of the election appear in the minutes of the Board.”  

The results of the Measure A election were reported to the Peralta Board of Directors in late June. Although the district authorized the formation of the oversight committee within the 60-day time period, only five of seven committee members have been appointed.  

Implementation of Measure A became an issue in last month’s Peralta Trustee Area 7 race, with challenger Abel Guillen charging at one debate that Peralta “doesn’t have a plan for the spending of that bond money, just a laundry list of projects” and that the citizen oversight committee “doesn’t have the power it should have. It doesn’t set priorities.” Guillen beat incumbent trustee Alona Clifton in that race. 

The confusion over the bond project list began last Feb. 28, the night trustees approved putting the bond measure on the June ballot. A Measure A bond project list handout produced by district administration officials and included in the board packet and passed out to the public that night indicated that Laney would receive $213.2 million, or 46.3 percent, of the $460.4 million committed to Measure A facilities projects. 

The list handout indicated that the $70.4 million above the $390 million requested from the Measure A bonds would come from the state chancellor’s office and from other funds. 

Last September, three months after the passage of Measure A, the Peralta Department of General Services posted an updated version of that list, with total Measure A project expenditures now listed at $528.4 million. Of that amount, Laney was slated to receive $234.9 million, or 44.5 percent of the total bond project expenditure. 

But Peralta District Academic representative Evelyn Lord, the past president of the Laney College Academic Senate, says that district officials been giving Laney representatives conflicting figures on how much Measure A money the college may be getting, some of it almost half of what appears on the general services website. 

Saying that “I think [General Services Director] Sadiq [Ikharo] has been the source of the numbers,” Lord said that “I first heard that we were going to be getting only $120 million of the bond money. That’s when faculty members first started getting concerned.” 

Lord said that the Laney share was later put at $140 million, “and the last I heard was that it will now be somewhere over $200 million. I have no idea why the number has fluctuated so much.” Lord said that current Laney Faculty Senate President Shirley Coaston requested the meeting with Ikharo “in order to get clarification on the numbers.” 

Laney College President Frank Chong says he believes that discrepancies will be worked out. 

“We feel that Laney has been shortchanged in the past concerning facilities maintenance and construction, and we now want to ensure that we get our fair share,” Chong said by telephone last week. “I’ve had a conversation with Sadiq about this, and he says that Laney will be getting 40 to 43 percent of the Measure A money.” 

Chong said that Laney is due that large a percentage of the bond measure money because “it is in line with our percentage of FTE’s (full-time equivalent students) in the district,” as well as the fact that Laney is the district’s oldest existing campus, with buildings that are more in need of repair or reconstruction than the other colleges. 

Part of the problem with the discrepancy in the Measure A figures, Chong said, may come from the fact that the district is identifying money from other sources that will be going to Laney College projects originally listed as Measure A projects, keeping those Laney projects in the pipeline while lowering the actual Measure A dollar amount that will go to Laney. 

If that is so, part of the confusion has been generated by the considerable state of disorder concerning the genesis and status of the bond project list that is posted on the district website, as well as disarray within the list itself. 

The Daily Planet earlier reported that at least two members of the Peralta Board of Trustees have directly opposite memories of whether the board approved the budgeted bond list at the February meeting in which the bond measure was authorized. Trustee Cy Gulassa says that the budgeted list was part of the board packet, and he believes that was the list that was authorized by the board. Trustee Nicky González Yuen, who criticized the district for setting up a “slush fund” for bond projects on the night the bond measure was approved by trustees, says that the board only approved a generalized, non-budgeted list that night and not the budgeted list that now appears on the district’s website. The generalized, non-budgeted list is what appeared on the ballot last June as the list of Measure A projects. 

A Daily Planet review of the minutes and videotape of the Feb. 28 meeting could not determine which of the two lists was considered by trustees, leading to the possibility that trustees had different ideas that night of what they were approving. 

In addition, the itemized Measure A bond measure list that now appears on the district’s website has serious discrepancies and lapses in its explanation of how its final figure was developed. 

There is a $68 million difference between the $460.4 million total of projects in the February list and the $528.4 million total in the list that is currently posted on the district’s website. 

While that additional money is not explained on the current list, it appears to come from the fact that the list now includes money for projects that was originally slated to be paid from Peralta’s last bond measure, Measure E. In the February list, for example, the cost projected for modernization and facility renovation of the College of Alameda’s D Building is $13,041,852. 

The cost of that same project in the currently posted list is projected at $16,331,852, with no explanation on the list as to why the cost increased. A notation on the February list indicates that the Alameda D Building modernization is “currently scheduled as a Measure E project with a budget of $3,290,000.” 

That $3.2 million figure is the exact amount that has been added to the project on the current list, with the current list providing no information on Measure E money, and giving the impression that all of the money will be taken from Measure A. 

That omission is repeated several times in the posted list. 

A second, more serious problem is that the $528.4 million total in the posted Measure A bond project list may have come from adding up project amounts that were listed more than once. 

Among its immediate, campus-wide needs for Laney College on the posted list, which was not broken out into individual projects in February, Peralta has one item of “Chemistry and Biology Laboratory plumbing and benches” at a cost of $1.5 million. Directly following that, however, is a second item of “Labs upgrades; plumbing, benches (6 labs)” also with the same $1.5 million price tag. 

The posted project list also has one item for “IT Room Air Condition Replacements” at a cost of $87,000, with a second item below it for “Main Computer Room—Air Conditioning Replacement” at a cost of $80,000. 

And one half-million dollar project at Berkeley City College is identified simply as “Unknown—unknown.” 

Meanwhile, five of the seven member citizen oversight committee have been chosen. The bond measure language indicated that each of the members must represent one of the following interests: business, students, an organization involved in support of the community college district, a taxpayers association, a senior citizens organization, and two members of the community at-large. 

The business representative on the committee, Jose Dueñas, is the President and CEO of the Oakland-based Bay Area World Trade Center, where Peralta Chancellor Elihu Harris serves as chair of the board. 

The student representative is Scott Folosade of Laney. The representative of a community college support group is Peralta Foundation member and EBMUD Board President Bill Patterson. 

The representative of the taxpayers association is certified public accountant Hyacinth Ahuruonye, owner of the HCA financial services company of San Francisco, who once served as a campaign treasurer for former Oakland City Councilmember Moses Mayne. It is not certain what taxpayer association Ahuruonye represents, and the Peralta language concerning that taxpayer representative has seen some alteration. The bylaws for the oversight committee passed last summer by Peralta trustees says that the taxpayer representative must be a “member active in a bona-fide taxpayers association,” although what that means is not defined. In its resolution appointing Ahuruonye to the oversight committee last month, Peralta officials said that he will serve “as a citizen from a taxpayers association that supports a college or the district.” Ahuruonye did not return a telephone call asking for clarification of his taxpayer association status. 

Also chosen as one of the two at-large members of the oversight committee is League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany, and Emeryville community college chair Helene LeCar, who campaigned for the bond measure in the June election, writing a favorable article in the League’s newsletter. The second at-large position has not yet been filled, nor has the one for a representative of a senior citizens organization. 

Late last month, in a brief telephone interview, the Peralta executive director for marketing, public relations and communications said only that the oversight committee “has not yet met” and is “still being formed.” 

The long-running battle over the proposal once dubbed the Kragen project—for one of the site’s current tenants—and now the Trader Joe’s building—for a prospective future tenant—heads for a crucial decision Thursday. 

The proposed five-story residential-over-commercial project at 1885 University Ave. is only one of several controversial projects on an agenda so heavy packed that the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) is starting its meeting at 6 p.m., an hour early. 

Kragen/TJ’s 

If ZAB approves, a controversial project will soon be rising at the northwest corner of a key intersection—University Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Nearby residential neighbors have battled the scale and mass of the project, while “urban infill” advocates and Trader Joe’s advocates have trumpeted its virtues. 

The project before the board calls for demolition of the current concrete block building on a site once eulogized by Allen Ginsberg and commemorated in a noted painting—and construction of a five-story, 148-apartment building with ground floor retail and two levels of parking, one for the store and the other for tenants. 

Developers Chris Hudson and Evan McDonald bolstered support for their project when they snagged Trader Joe’s as their commercial anchor. 

Stephen Wollmer, a project neighbor and an activist in PlanBerkeley.org, sent three separate letters to ZAB challenging the project and raising the possibility of a lawsuit should ZAB approve the project as submitted. 

Early designs were rejected by ZAB and the Design Review Committee, but subsequent revisions won the committee’s approval. Neighbors have protested the mass of the project, shadowing effects and traffic impacts. 

The latest version includes a plan to block Berkeley Way immediately west of the building to reduce an expected increase of traffic on the residential street behind the project. 

Among the other projects up for action at the ZAB meeting are: 

• An appeal by neighbors of the Iceland skating rink of ZAB’s approval of a temporary cooling system outside the 2727 Milvia St. facility; 

• A decision on approval of a five-story, 24-unit condo over commercial project at 2701 Shattuck Ave.; 

• Berkeley Unified School District’s plan to build a bus depot, classrooms and offices at 1325 Sixth St.; 

• Developer John Gordon’s plans to turn his buildings at 2629-2935 Ashby Ave. into a multi-tenant collection of shops, possibly including a fitness center; 

• Freight & Salvage Coffee House’s plans to renovate the buildings at 2020-2026 Addison St. into a new home for the cherished Berkeley institution; 

• A request by Aquatic Park Enterprises to demolish a vacant warehouse at 651 Addison St.; 

• Plans to build a two-story, three-unit residential building at 2813 Martin Luther King Jr. Way; 

• A request by the Ethiopia Restaurant at 2955 Telegraph Ave. to increase their hours of liquor service now set at 8 a.m. to midnight until 2 a.m; and 

• A request by Epicurious Garden at 1513 Shattuck Ave. to add beer to their current wine-only license and to legalize outdoor service at their Gourmet Ghetto eatery. 

The meeting will be held in City Council chambers at Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, 6 p.m. 

Museum preview 

Members of the Downtown Area Plan Committee (DAPAC) will meet Dec. 19 with Toyo Ito, the avant garde Japanese architect who will design the new downtown Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) UC Berkeley plans to build on Center Street in downtown Berkeley. 

The meeting, which will be open to the public, will be held at the museum and archive’s current home at 2625 Durant Ave. from 10 a.m. until noon. 

Among the other speakers will be BAM/PFA Director Kevin Consey and Kerry O’Banion, principal planner for the university’s Capital Projects program.

After the battles of almost half a year, candidates winning the local mayoral and council races will be sworn in at tonight’s (Tuesday) City Council meeting. 

Following are final statistics certified by the county registrar of voters. 

There are 69,780 people registered to vote in Berkeley of whom 46,166, or 66.16 percent, cast ballots. 

In the mayor’s race, Tom Bates won the reelection with 25,680 votes, 62.72 percent of the total; Zelda Bronstein got 12,680 votes, or 30.92 percent; Zachary Running Wolf picked up 1,880, or 4.60 percent; and Christian Pecaut got 517 votes, or 1.26 percent. There were 185 votes for write-in candidates for mayor. 

Incumbent Linda Maio won the race for District 1, with 3,746 votes, or 76.22 percent of the total, while Merrilie Mitchell got 1,126 votes, or 22.91 percent. There are 8,580 people registered to vote in District 1 of whom 71.96 cast ballots. People voted for 43 write-in candidates. 

Incumbent Dona Spring won the race for District 4 with 3,127 votes, or 71.20 percent; Raudel Wilson got 1,228 or 27.96 percent of the vote. There are 8,492 registered voters in District 4, of whom 61.42 percent went to the polls. 

Kriss Worthington, District 7 incumbent, got 2,119 votes, or 52.86 percent of the total, and George Beier got 1,870, or 46.65 percent. There are 8,608 voters registered in District 7, of whom 54.17 percent cast ballots.  

In District 8, Gordon Wozniak got 2,730 votes, or 63.09 percent of the total, and Jason Overman got 1,581, or 36.54 percent. There are 9,463 voters registered, of whom 55.84 percent voted. 

Yes on Measure G, an advisory measure to reduce greenhouse gases in Berkeley got 33,293 votes, or 82.30 percent. 

Yes on Measure H, calling on the House of Representatives to initiate proceedings for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney won with 28,096 votes, or 69.52 percent. 

Measure I, which would have quintupled the number of allowable conversions of rental units, was defeated with 28,396 votes, or 73.87 percent of the vote. 

Measure J, which would have facilitated landmark designation, lost with 21,869, or 56.76 percent, voting to oppose the measure.  

For school director there were three winning candidates: Nancy Riddle got 22,856 voters, or 29.70 percent; Karen Hemphill got 21,777, or 28.309 percent; and Shirley Issel got 18,827 voters, or 24.46 percent. Defeated were David Baggins who got 8,444 votes, or 10.97 percent, and Norma Harrison who got 4,836 votes, or 6.28 percent. 

Four years ago, more people were registered to vote in Berkeley: 70,184, of whom 40,142, or 57 percent, voted, compared to 69,780 people registered to vote in 2006, of whom 46,166, or 66.16 percent, voted. In 2004, 78,638 Berkeleyans were registered to vote and 54.25 percent turned out to vote; in 2000, there were 72,299 people registered and 75.6 percent voted. 

In Alameda County, Phil Angelides won the governor’s race with 56.39 percent of the vote, Arnold Schwarzenegger came in second with 36.49 percent and Green Party candidate Peter Miguel Camejo came in third with 4.49 percent. The Libertarian, Peace and Freedom and American Independent candidates got less than 1 percent.  

In Berkeley, slightly more than half the voters went to the poles and slightly fewer voted absentee: 23,299 people voted at the poles and 22,867 voted absentee. 

Councilmember Dona Spring doesn’t think taxpayers should foot the bills for membership in organizations that take part in local electoral politics. A resolution on tonight’s (Tuesday) agenda targets by name both the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber’s Political Action Committee.  

“It’s important that public money not go to fund organizations that are political, electoral organizations,” Spring said in a phone interview Monday. Taxpayer money should not fund groups that “try to influence who has power in your own town,” she added. 

The council will also be looking at the intent of the city-university settlement agreement, the Solano Avenue Business Improvement District, cultural uses at the Gaia Building and more. The regular meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Way. 

City memberships questioned 

City Manager Phil Kamlarz said Monday his office is looking at the city’s organizational affiliations in addition to the Berkeley Chamber, such as the League of Women Voters and the California and National League of Cities, to determine whether they would fall under Spring’s resolution.  

For the November election, the local Chamber of Commerce endorsed incumbents Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmember Gordon Wozniak and unsuccessful challengers Raudel Wilson, who ran against Spring, and George Beier, who ran against District 7 Councilmember Kriss Worthington. The Chamber also endorsed against Measure J.  

The Chamber Political Action Committee spent about $100,000 to influence the local election: it supported the defeat of Measure J, supported Mayor Tom Bates and shored up unsuccessful attempts to unseat Spring and Worthington. Spring pointed out that while the PAC is nominally separate from the Chamber, to which the city belongs, the PAC uses the same address, the same office equipment and shares the Chamber’s mailing list for fundraising activities. 

Spring noted that the city would certainly not join organizations such as the Berkeley Democratic Club or Berkeley Citizens Action, both of which work for candidates and measures the groups endorse. 

Because the League of Women Voters sometimes does take positions on local ballot measures, membership in the organization might not be appropriate, Spring said. Berkeley, on the other hand, can influence the League of Cities with its vote. And the League of Cities does not support local candidates or issues, she said. 

On Nov. 14 the Richmond City Council voted to drop its membership in the Richmond Chamber of Commerce “to avoid potential civil or criminal penalties for using public resources to pay for memberships in organizations that participate in local political activities,” according to Richmond City Councilmember Tom Butt. 

Settling the settlement agreement 

A resolution introduced by City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque counters an interpretation of the UC Settlement Agreement—the July 2005 agreement between the city and UC Berkeley in which the city withdrew its lawsuit against the university’s Long Range Development Plan—that postulates that the city has given away its decision-making power downtown by signing on to the agreement. 

“…it has been suggested that the settlement agreement improperly delegates the city’s home rule authority to the university and grants the university a ‘veto’ over the city’s planning process with respect to the downtown,” Albuquerque writes. 

A lawsuit filed by four Berkeley residents—Carl Friberg, Jim Sharp, Dean Metzger and Anne Wagley (Daily Planet calendar editor)—contends that the city has lost control over downtown development.  

“The settlement says that the downtown area plan must be approved by both the regents and the city,” said Stephan Volker, attorney for the plaintiffs. “And the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) must be approved by both the city and the regents.” 

That means that the city will not be able to move ahead with downtown plans until the Regents approve the plans, Volker said.  

Solano Ave. BID 

By last week’s council meeting, 80 business people who pay collectively $14,305 to the Solano Avenue Business Improvement District had protested the existence of the three-year-old district. To automatically disband the district, the protesters’ assessments must reach more than 50 percent of the total $35,000 assessment.  

The council will continue a public hearing on the BID tonight. Business people in the district can submit their letters of protest or protest orally up until the closure of tonight’s public hearing. 

In other council business, the council will be asked:  

• to loan an additional $2.5 million for the Oxford Plaza project, 

• to decide what the appropriate cultural uses are for the Gaia Building on Allston Way.  

Developer Patrick Kennedy was allowed to build the project two stories higher than it could have been otherwise in exchange for a promise of cultural opportunities,  

but the council has yet to determine what the uses are and how much time they  

must be provided at the site. In closed  

session on Monday, the council was to discuss a lawsuit threatened by Kennedy. 

• to approve the second reading of the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance 

• to approve a resolution by Councilmember Laurie Capitelli asking the city manager to report on the city’s efforts to communicate its position on UC Berkeley’s planned development at and around Memorial Stadium. 

• to approve the appropriation of $100,000 per month for six months for the fire department to provide full staffing at all the firehouses at all times. 

• to hear an appeal of a zoning board decision to allow a duplex at 2224 Roosevelt Ave. to be converted to a single-family home and a new one-bedroom unit to be constructed on the property. 

• To approve a hike in parking fees at the new “pay-and-display” meters to $1 per hour effective March 5.  

Section 8 Rents May Rise  

The Berkeley Housing Authority will meet at 6:20 p.m. Tuesday, before the 7 p.m. City Council meeting. 

Among the questions the BHA will discuss is a possible rent hike for the city’s Section 8 renters—low income people whose rent is federally subsidized. They may have to pay out of pocket beginning in March if they wish to keep their units in Berkeley, according to a report written by Tia Ingram, Berkeley Housing Authority manager.  

Generally, section 8 renters pay no more than 30 percent of their income for rent and landlords get market rates for the units they rent to people in the program. But the Department of Housing and Urban Development, in establishing what they call “fair market rents” for the area, does not take Berkeley’s high rents into consideration.  

If the government allocation is not adjusted, about 750 tenants will be affected, with people living in studios paying an increase of up to $35, tenants in one-bedroom units paying $45 more, tenants in two-bedroom units paying an additional $97 and tenants in three-bedroom units paying $187 more. Many Section 8 renters are disabled or elderly and live on fixed incomes. 

The Housing Authority is working with HUD to get Berkeley’s higher rents recognized and subsidized, but to date that hasn’t happened. 

Violent crime incidents rose nearly 15 percent in the first nine months of the year, but some of the increase stemmed from paintball attacks during the spring and summer months that were recorded as aggravated assaults. 

The figures are reported in the quarterly crime report prepared by Berkeley Police Chief Douglas Hambleton for the City Council. 

Murders doubled—from two to four—but the 2006 figure was the same as 2004, while rapes increased from 15 to 17, compared to 14 in 2004. 

While aggravated assaults increased from 128 last year to 156—with 111 reported in 2004—most of the incidents accounting for this year’s rise were paintball attacks on pedestrians and motorists in which no injuries were recorded beyond bruises and welts. 

“These crimes are classified as aggravated assaults because there is a potential of more serious injury,” reported Chief Hambleton. 

The other violent crime that accounted for a large part of the increase was robbery, and here numbers rose from 256 last year to 283 this year, and 270 in 2004. 

While crimes of violence were on the rise—460 this year, compared to 401 in ‘05 and 399 in ‘04—property crimes were continuing to fall. 

While Berkeley currently records one of the highest rates of property crime in the Bay Area, this year’s total of 5,712 was down 6.7 percent from last year’s 6,125 and 15.8 percent from the 6,788 recorded in the first three quarters of 2004. 

Burglaries fell for the first three quarters of the year, dropping from 1,032 in 2004 to 945 in 2005 and 834 this year, with similar declines reported for theft (4,719 to 3,979 over the three years), auto theft (1,005 to 873) and arson (32 to 26). 

On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Inyo County Supervisor Susan Cash symbolically ended the most celebrated and notorious water war in American history. Ninety-three years after Los Angeles diverted the full flow of the Owens River into the city's aqueduct, Villaraigosa and Cash lifted a gate to reverse that complete diversion. Once again, water flows in the river channel. That act marked the consummation of the 1991 agreement between Los Angeles and Inyo County to govern the waters of the Owens Valley together.  

Today's officials celebrate the future of Inyo and Los Angeles. The veterans, on the other hand, bear witness to the decades of work required to get there. For Inyo County and its environmental allies, that meant pressing claims for honest assessment of environmental harm and securing respect from Los Angeles. For the people of Los Angeles, that meant political leadership at the highest levels recognizing Inyo County as the legitimate agent for the Owens Valley’s economy and environment, and hearing the county’s request (formulated in 1985) that environmental damage be offset by rewatering the river. For the people of Inyo County, that meant daring to put aside a near-century of distrust and taking on the risk of collaboration for the Owens River’s sake.  

In compliance with the agreement, water will once again flow freely in its riverbed for 62 miles to storage ponds near the dry Owens Lake. From there most of the water will be pumped into the Los Angeles-bound aqueduct; a small amount will moisten the dry bed of Owens Lake to help cure dust pollution. Along the river, natural habitat will be re-established and a productive fishery will contribute to the tourist economy.  

Let’s hope that the long, battle-earned lessons of Inyo and Los Angeles guide other such disagreements today. Sadly, most of the other major 20th century water projects in California continue to be governed as if the Owens Valley war and peace never happened. There is one happy exception: the Central Valley Project on the San Joaquin River, where environmentalists and project sponsors have negotiated, and are now awaiting congressional approval of, the rewatering of that once-mighty river.  

But on the Colorado River, four major water districts claiming the waters of Imperial County and the state itself refuse to recognize that county’s right to negotiate along with them in reallocating California’s share of that river. This refusal disrespects that county’s role as the legitimate representative of the Imperial Valley’s economic and environmental values.  

In the State Water Project, California itself has essentially abdicated its authority in favor of the proprietary districts that contract for state water. In challenging the deal among the Department of Water Resources and the major contractors to surrender project assets to parochial control, Plumas County (the project’s county of origin) and environmentalists secured a judicial mandate that responsible environmental assessment precede any decision. The state’s and contractors’ response: Years of still-ongoing delay, coupled with a self-righteous assertion that most of the project is immune to environmental assessment.  

That’s precisely the response that Los Angeles unsuccessfully invoked against Inyo decades ago.  

Most recently, in the proceedings to re- license one of the cornerstones of the State Water Project—the Oroville Dam—the Department of Water Resources and project contractors belittle the dam’s host county, Butte, which is attempting to secure fair compensation for the project’s impacts on the rural economy. This too is an ongoing negotiation.  

We who worked to reach the settlement over the Owens River urge California’s 21st-century water administrators not to repeat the 20th-century errors that took us so long to unknot. Inyo v. Los Angeles originated in the premise that for decades the city had been the winner, the county the loser, and that now the roles would be reversed. That dispute’s conclusion recognized that collaboration makes both Inyo and Los Angeles winners: The Owens Valley’s environment will be restored, and the city has found ways to serve a vastly expanded population on less water than used 30 years ago.  

To water managers who insist that local government and values deserve little place in water governance, and to rural communities hardened by years of distrust, let’s invoke a hopeful battle cry: Remember the Owens Valley.  

Antonio Rossmann, who teaches water law at the University of California, Berkeley, served as Inyo County’s special counsel from 1976 to 1997 in the groundwater war against Los Angeles.  

This article originally appeared in the Sacramento Bee. 

Tree-sitting protesters, impassioned comments by neighbors and environmental activists, a poem, a bit of guerilla theater and the allotted 90 seconds of reasoned argument from Berkeley’s chief planner failed to sway UC Regents Tuesday. 

After a fast-paced public session, a single unanimous and largely telephonic vote by the board’s Committee on Grounds and Buildings gave the green light to the construction of a tree-clearing high tech gym at UC Berkeley and approved a critical, state-mandated document authorizing seven major projects atop and around the fault-sitting Memorial Stadium. 

Thursday, the second working day after the vote, UC Berkeley issued a call for contractors to apply for prequalification to submit bids, with a conference of would-be bidders slated for 9 a.m. Tuesday in Conference Room 231 at 1936 University Ave. 

The largest projects include a 912-space underground parking lot, a new office and meeting complex joining the functions of the university’s law and business schools and major additions to a seismically upgraded and refurbished Memorial Stadium. 

Lawsuits are certain to follow, with lawyers already hired for just that purpose by the City of Berkeley and the Panoramic Hill Association, which represents residents of the hillside above the stadium, recently recognized as a National Historic District. 

Meanwhile, the ranks of protesters who are taking to the branches of the imperiled trees have grown, along with the ranks of their supporters. 

Julia Butterfly Hill, the inspiration for the protest, paid a quiet visit Tuesday to the grove of coastal live oaks, California redwoods and other trees largely doomed by UC Berkeley’s plans to build a 138,000-square-foot high tech gym at the site. 

Former mayor candidate Zachary Running Wolf—the first protester to take up residence in the branches—cited Hill as the inspiration for his protest. 

Running Wolf ascended a redwood at the stadium grove during the pre-dawn hours of Big Game day Saturday. He has since been joined by other protesters who have taken up residence in nearby trees. 

“The tree-sitters are 100 percent committed to staying up until the trees are safe,” said Doug Buckwald, the environmental activist who has been coordinating support for the tree-in. 

Running Wolf and fellow protester Jess Walsh, who is perched on a platform high in one of the oaks, have been maintaining their perches full time, while Aaron Diek, a student, is being spelled while he completes his final exams, Buckwald said. 

“They’re all doing great,” he added. 

Regents act 

Running Wolf was one of the project opponents who spoke to the regents Tuesday, another disembodied telephonic voice—in his case, relayed through the cell phone Doug Buckwald held up to the public microphone in the meeting room at UC San Francisco’s Mission Bay Conference Center. 

“There are options open to you in other areas,” pleaded Running Wolf, a Native American activist as well as a recently defeated candidate for Berkeley Mayor. 

While earlier reports listed the probable cost of the Student Athlete High Performance Center to be built at the grove site as $125 million, Wednesday’s announcement cited an estimated cost of $75 million, or $543 per square foot compared to the earlier $880—funds to be raised by private donors who are expected to pony up more than a third of a billion dollars for the seven projects included in the Southeast Campus Integrated Projects (SCIP) environmental impact report (EIR). 

Combined with an eighth adjacent project, an addition to Bowles Hall, the projects will create as much floor space as that enclosed by one third of the block-square, 102-story Empire State Building. 

While the tree-sitters have drawn the media’s attention to the loss of a grove which includes oaks that would be protected inside the surrounding city, Berkeley officials and neighbors are concerned about both the cumulative impact of the massive projects and the potential dangers to students and university staff they say are posed by building so much near a locked and loaded earthquake fault. 

“The city is clear. Our basic concern is safety,” said Marks. “We are the first responders.” 

One legal basis for a challenge is the Alquist Priolo Act, which governs building on or adjacent to active faults—a law that clearly applies to Memorial Stadium, which is bisected by the Hayward Fault, rated by federal geologists as the Bay Area’s most likely source of a major earthquake in the coming two decades. 

But UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor Edward J. Denton, who heads the university’s building program, told the regents the worries are groundless, and pleas to move the training center and the stadium itself were out of the question. 

The chief reason he cited was the need to preserve a stadium which played a central role in the memories of graduates who return to campus, especially for the Big Game with Stanford that is the highlight of the campus football season every other year. Left unsaid but implicit was the awareness that is those very folks the university wants to tap for money to build the projects. 

Also rejected were pleas by Don Sicular to withhold plans to build a higher bank of seating on the stadium’s eastern side—a project that would block the view of fans who flock to Tightwad Hill, a slope overlooking the stadium where fans can watch for free. 

The high tech gym is critical, Denton said, as a “daily operations hub” for campus athletic programs. 

He also rejected pleas by several critics to build the gym and a new stadium near Edwards Field, a notion he called “bad planning” because the site is also a landmark, and because a stadium there would overshadow downtown buildings immediately to the west. 

Mike Kelly said Panoramic Hills residents aren’t opposed to the training center, only its location. Like the city, the neighborhood association is alleging the university failed to follow the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in preparing the SCIP EIR. 

“We’ll pursue legal action,” he said, because the stadium is built on a fault. 

Approval of the EIR triggered a 30-day window during which opponents can file suits challenging its legal adequacy 

UC Berkeley officials, supernumeraries to the regents, a hired legal gun and the largely disembodied telephonic voices of the regents occasionally offered comments during Tuesday’s meeting, which was preceded by a closed-door conference presumably involving the threatened litigation. 

Charles Olson, an environmental and property law partner in San Francisco law firm Sanger & Olson, represents the university, while a lawyer with similar specialties, Harriet Ann Steiner of Sacramento law firm McDonough, Holland & Allen, represents the city. Alameda environmental law specialist Michael Lozeau represents the Panoramic Hill Association. 

Tight leash 

Acting Secretary Anne Shaw kept the speakers on a tight leash and shortened speaking time. Because 23 people signed up to speak during the 20 minutes allotted for public comments, she cut the standard two-minute segments to 90 seconds, with a maximum of 159 seconds if two others were willing to sacrifice their time to a third speaker. 

Running Wolf was followed by retired Berkeley schoolteacher Scott Walchenheim, an advocate of the Edwards Field site for a new stadium and training center. He said the EIR was also faulty because it failed to list destruction of the grove as a significant impact that couldn’t be mitigated. 

Jim Sharp said another EIR issue was the document’s failure to include the project to transform Bowles Hall, now a men’s residence, into a corporate executive education facility, a project that would add another 50,000 to 80,000 square feet of new construction to the mix. The site is immediately across Stadium Rim Way from the 912-space underground parking lot to be built northwest of the stadium as part of the SCIP projects. 

“Withdraw, revise and recalculate,” he urged. 

Two alumni and one student athlete spoke in favor of the athletic training center, agreeing with university officials who have described the school’s current facilities as the worst in the PAC 10 and possibly the worst of all the major NCAA schools. 

Pleas to spare the oaks came from Dr. Ellen Gunther of the Alameda County Sierra Club and Berkeley poet Bob Randolph, who read from his work, “Two Oaks.” Letters pleading for the oaks came from the California Oaks Foundation and the California Nation Plant Society. 

Berkeley environmental activist LA Wood quoted Berkeley’s most famous environmental activist, David Brower, who he said had once urged the university “not to build another monument to stupidity.” 

Buckwald, who had held up his phone for Running Wolf’s comments, performed a bit of guerilla theater, offering a spring of oak, a broken mirror and an acorn to “invisible gods” of the disembodied regents as the ancient Druids had offered up sacrifices to their own invisible pantheon of spirits. 

The oak was for the trees, the mirror so the regents could reflect on the shattered town/gown relationship and the acorn as a symbol of hope for the future, he said. 

But in the end, after a few questions to Denton and Olson, the committee voted 7-0 for approval, clearing the way for bids in January and the cutting of trees and beginning of excavation in March. 

The entire project should be complete by February 2009, Denton said. 

Meanwhile, Buckwald said, UC Berkeley Police have warned protestors that their banners are illegal and could be removed. Officers visiting the site Tuesday also took down the names of some supporters. 

Still the police presence wasn’t anything like the regents meeting, where no fewer than 10 officers, including a captain and a lieutenant were armed, ready and highly visible outside the meeting room. Three officers later sat in on the meeting itself.

The Berkeley City Council approved (6-3) Tuesday night an ordinance preservationists say will make landmarking historic sites and structures more difficult and ease the way for developers to demolish older buildings. 

Councilmembers Betty Olds, Kriss Worthington and Dona Spring voted to oppose the revised Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. 

In other council business, the Downtown Business Improvement District was renewed, but a vote on the controversial Solano Avenue BID was delayed a week. The council also approved mandatory reporting for laboratories working with nanoparticles. 

Landmarks ordinance 

About two dozen opponents of the revised landmarks ordinance attended the meeting, many of whom had fought the new law at the ballot box with Measure J, an unsuccessful attempt to extend the current Landmarks Preservation Ordinance with minor changes. 

Some said that they were infuriated when they saw that the ordinance posted on the city website on Thursday had been revised three times over the weekend in order to add a new clause saying that the ordinance is not “severable”, which means that if any part of it is struck down the whole law will be considered repealed. 

For preservation activist Laurie Bright, who says he intends to start gathering signatures for a referendum on the ordinance as soon as the second reading is approved Dec. 12, this change would likely mean that he will be forced to challenge the entire ordinance, rather than simply asking the voters to reject parts of it. 

“We’re discussing it with our lawyers,” Bright said on Thursday. 

While Mayor Tom Bates defended the addition of the non-severability clause as a minor addition, Councilmember Kriss Worthington attacked the manner in which the clause had been added, calling it “trickery” and arguing that voting on something the council and public had not seen until Monday violates council rules.  

Councilmember Betty Olds agreed, calling for the council to put off the vote until January. A vote on Olds’ motion was defeated 3-3-3, with councilmembers Laurie Capitelli, Gordon Wozniak and Mayor Tom Bates voting in opposition and councilmembers Linda Maio, Darryl Moore and Max Anderson abstaining. 

Wendy Markel, president of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, addressed the council before its vote on the ordinance: “We’re seeing [the revised ordinance] this evening—we’ve never seen it before,” she said. “The ordinance requires public review.” 

Preservationist Anne Wagley (Daily Planet calendar editor) read a letter to the council written by attorney Susan Brandt-Hawley that said, because of the impacts the ordinance could have on the environment, it should undergo formal environmental review, saying that “… the proposed LPO will reduce protections to the city’s historical resources and therefore requires study in an EIR [environmental impact report]. 

Jesse Arreguin, member of the Rent Stabilization Board, added another point of view. Making it easy to demolish old houses will impact low-income renters, he said, adding that the ordinance “undermines the existing supply of affordable housing.” 

While no members of the public spoke in favor of the revised ordinance, the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee spent about $100,000 to defeat Measure J, arguing that the old landmarks ordinance made it difficult for property owners to develop their properties. 

Solano BID 

Unhappy with the Solano Avenue Business Improvement District, 80 business owners registered protests with the city. The BID, which assesses businesses on the Berkeley part of the street, which traverses the Berkeley/Albany border, can be disbanded only by protest votes of businesses representing more that 50 percent of the assessment. 

By unanimous vote, the council decided to delay the decision until next week.  

The 80 protesting businesses represent $14,000 of the $34,000 assessment, not enough to overturn the BID, Economic Development Director Michael Caplan told the council. “It’s a serious challenge that should be taken into consideration,” he said. 

A number of business owners spoke at the public hearing to explain the nature of their protest. Several said their funds have been mismanaged and called for an audit; others complained there was too much emphasis of the Solano Avenue Stroll, which many business owners dislike.  

BID Executive Director Lisa Bullwinkel resigned from her post two weeks ago, reportedly citing personal reasons. 

“There’s been overspending by $15,000,” Greymuira Miller, owner of Feet of Dreams, told the council. “They failed to explain how this happened.”  

City Manager Phil Kamlarz said the city has the power to audit the BID.  

Councilmember Capitelli, a partner in Red Oak Realty, which has an office on Solano and pays the BID assessment, supports the BID. He told the council that one of his partners would like to raise the assessment.  

At a break in the meeting, some business owners questioned whether Capitelli has a conflict of interest and should not participate in council discussions and vote on the question, since his business is located on Solano. On Thursday, Capitelli said he was in discussions with the city attorney on the question and would recuse himself from voting on the BID if he were directed to do so. 

However, he said nothing prevents him from meeting with fellow business owners to address the question. At a meeting Wednesday night, he said the merchants talked about a number of possible solutions—approving the BID with a new work plan or even approving it with no budget, to allow time to review the effectiveness of the district. 

Nanoparticles 

The council voted unanimously to create a mandatory reporting system for businesses that work with nanoparticles in Berkeley. “It’s an important and potential problem,” said Mayor Tom Bates.  

Asked whether Lawrence Berkeley Labs would comply with the ordinance, lab spokesperson Ron Kolb sent the Daily Planet the following statement:  

“Berkeley Lab appreciates the concerns expressed by the Berkeley City Council about the possible risks and safety issues surrounding the research into, and production of, nanoparticles. At the Laboratory’s Molecular Foundry, a nanoscience facility, work on extremely small quantities of nanostructures is conducted under the strictest applicable federal and state guidelines and within the necessary constraints of our environment, health and safety protocols.  

“Berkeley Lab is not subject, as a federal institution, to the mandates of municipal government. The Laboratory has, however, voluntarily sent annual hazardous material reports to the City of Berkeley. We would expect in the future to include hazardous nanoscale materials in this report and describe the Molecular Foundry’s methods for safe handling, containing, and disposing of them.” 

University spokesperson Marie Felde was out of town and unavailable to comment Thursday on whether the university would honor the ordinance.

In a dramatic and rapid end to one of Oakland’s more swiftly rising development controversies, Oakland 6th District Council-member Desley Brooks withdrew her proposal to rewrite Oakland’s condominium conversion law shortly after midnight Wednesday morning, sending the issue to the same “blue-ribbon” citizens’ panel that has been charged with studying the city’s proposed inclusionary zoning law.  

“In closed session tonight, I learned that the changes we have made in the proposed law since it was first introduced may not have adequately addressed the concerns people have about it,” Brooks said from her Council Chamber seat in announcing the withdrawal. “While I think we are making real progress on this law, I am not prepared to move forward with condo conversion at this time.”  

Brooks’ withdrawal announcement at first stunned, and then delighted, more than a hundred community activists who had waited at City Hall for more than six hours to record their opposition to Brooks’ bill. 

The bill—which languished for two years after it was originally introduced by Brooks in 2004—picked up considerable steam this fall after Council President Ignacio De La Fuente and At Large Councilmember Henry Chang signed on as co-sponsors. The bill would have made it easier condominium conversions in the city, in part by adding a provision that would allow proposed converters to pay money into a housing assistance fund instead of forcing them to provide a new unit of rental housing for every rental unit converted to condominiums. 

Brooks said that her bill would increase the number of low-to-moderate income homeowners in Oakland, while tenant activists charged that the bill would primarily benefit developers and reduce the amount of low-to-moderate rental housing available in the city. 

The bill, in fact, was heavily supported by developers, with the Better Housing Coalition—an organization made up of developers that includes Forest City Developers and Signature Properties—sending out a full-color mass mailing late last month to houses throughout Oakland asking citizens to lobby their councilmembers for the bill.  

The blue-ribbon commission to which the condo conversion issue will now go was established in October during the council vote that postponed the Brunner-Quan inclusionary zoning ordinance. It will be made up of citizens appointed by outgoing Mayor Jerry Brown, Mayor-Elect Ron Dellums, the City Council, City Attorney John Russo, and City Administrator Deborah Edgerly. 

A top Dellums aide, Dan Lindheim, said following the council meeting that the addition of condo conversion to the commission’s charge will probably change Dellums’ selection to that group, “since the commissioners are now going to need a wider field of expertise.” 

Brook’s withdrawal announcement capped a day of furious maneuvering and speculation in which proponents and opponents plotted strategy and counted votes. Opponents had charged that Brooks, De La Fuente, and Chang were rushing through the bill so that outgoing Mayor Jerry Brown—a strong development supporter—would be able to break a possible 4-4 Council tie instead of incoming Mayor Ron Dellums, who has indicated that he wants to take a comprehensive look at all of Oakland’s development issues before moving forward with legislation. 

But on the day of the council vote, East Bay Express political reporter Will Harper reported on the newspaper’s 92510 Blog that bill opponents on the council were preparing to scuttle a possible Brown tie-breaking vote by preventing a tie. “Opponents of the proposal figure Brown will vote in favor of the ordinance, so they’ve come up with a plan to keep the mayor on the sidelines,” Harper wrote. “In the event of a tie, Councilwoman Jean Quan, who opposes the condo conversion law, says at least one of the council’s condo-critics will abstain instead of voting no. Technically, that means there would be no tie for Brown to break.” 

With Councilmember Larry Reid expected to join Brooks, De La Fuente, and Chang to vote for the bill, and Quan, Jane Brunner, and Nancy Nadel on record against it, that left Councilmember Pat Kernighan as the swing vote, with veteran Oakland political observers professing they had no idea which way she intended to go.  

Kernighan, who acknowledged that she had been “identified as the swing vote” on this issue and “lobbied heavily by both sides,” said shortly after Brooks withdrew the bill that while “I think the goal of trying to provide home ownership to moderate income people in Oakland is laudable … I would not have supported the bill as written because we did not have sufficient data available on how it would affect the rental housing market in the city.” 

Without Kernighan’s vote, the bill would have been doomed. By agreeing to the compromise, Brooks ensured that the issue will be studied, and some form of revision to Oakland’s condominium conversion ordinance is still on the table. 

Local labor leader and former Dellums For Mayor campaign manager Andre Spearman, one of the community leaders of the opposition to the condo conversion bill, praised Brooks and Councilmember Larry Reid for “showing leadership” in withdrawing the bill “rather than forcing this thing down the throats of citizens. At the end of the day, we hope a full study of all of Oakland’s housing issues will be able to come up with good public policy.” 

Spearman also said he wanted to “commend [Councilmember] Pat Kernighan for being open to delaying it.” 

Despite the fact that the condo conversion bill was no longer on the table, a number of citizens remained at the City Council meeting to record their opposition to the bill for councilmembers. 

Voters in the hills and more affluent neighborhoods of Berkeley provided the strongest opposition to Measure J, the landmarks preservation measure on November’s ballot, assuring its defeat. 

Measure J got its strongest support in neighborhoods where voters have supported progressive candidates for many years. South Berkeley and student precincts voted for the measure, though typically not by large margins.  

In areas where new development has been taking place in recent years and where neighbors have battled developers, voters were more likely to vote for the measure than were voters in areas where little change has taken place or been proposed. 

The Alameda County Registrar of Voters has now released the official “Statement of Vote” with results from November’s election. The statement, which can be viewed online at the Registrar’s Web site, includes precinct-by-precinct results.  

Turnout in this year’s election was up substantially in comparison to 2002, the last gubernatorial election. Almost 5,000 more votes were cast this year and turnout increased from 59 percent to 66 percent.  

Turnout was, however, down sharply compared to the 2004 presidential election, when turnout hit 77 percent and over 60,000 votes were cast, the highest turnout since 1984. In Berkeley, turnout has historically always been higher in presidential election years.  

A record number of absentee ballots were cast in this year’s election. Almost half the ballots were absentees compared with 37 percent in 2004. Absentee voting is much more common in the hills and in homeowner areas than in areas where tenants and students make up a majority of voters. 

Measure A 

The local issue that generated the most interest this year was Measure A, the school district parcel tax measure. More votes were cast for or against this measure than were cast for mayoral candidates or for any other local ballot measure. 

Berkeley voters continued their 20-year tradition of giving strong support for financial measures to help local schools. Measure A won easily; achieving more than the required two-thirds vote in every precinct in the city. Opposition to the measure from the North East Berkeley Association (NEBA) apparently influenced few District 6 voters.  

The fact that the measure was renewing two already existing school parcel taxes at existing rates probably contributed to the measure’s particularly large margin of victory.  

Citywide it garnered 79.7 percent of the vote. The original parcel tax measure, 1986’s Measure H, won with 76 percent of the vote. Two bond measures and two additional parcel taxes for the schools passed with percentages ranging from 72 percent to 83 percent of the vote in subsequent election years. 

Measure J 

Of all the local measures on this fall’s ballot, Measure J was the most hotly contested. Supporters gathered signatures to place it on the ballot after the City Council took steps to change the city’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. 

Most preservationists, including the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, supported the measure. The measure was strongly opposed by developers and by the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce. Business for Better Government, the Chamber’s PAC, reported spending over $60,000 to defeat the measure.  

Most City Council members came out against Measure J, but the division on the Council did not reflect the usual “progressive”-“moderate” split. Traditionally “progressives” on the Council represent and get their votes from tenants, students and from a sizeable chunk of homeowners in the area south of the UC campus and in the flatlands of Central, South and West Berkeley. More affluent homeowners in the hills and North Berkeley are the political base for “moderates.” 

Measure J was backed by progressive District 4 councilmember Dona Spring and by moderate District 6 councilmember Betty Olds. Opposing J was moderate District 5 councilmember Laurie Capitelli, but also progressives Max Anderson and Linda Maio.  

Mayor Tom Bates, elected with progressive support, opposed Measure J and has strongly backed the proposed changes to the landmarks law. Former mayor Shirley Dean, whose political base was in District 5 and in the northeast Berkeley and Claremont hills, supported the measure, signed the ballot argument in favor, and contributed financially to the campaign.  

Yet Measure J passed in Mayor Bates’ own precinct, albeit by a narrow two-vote margin, but lost in all the hills precincts that gave Shirley Dean her strongest support in her four campaigns for mayor. 

In fact, all 28 precincts (out of 100) that voted in favor of Measure J are precincts where voters favored Bates over Dean in the last mayoral election. Measure J passed in only two of eight council districts: District 3 (South Berkeley) and District 7 (the Telegraph Ave. area). Measure J was narrowly defeated in District 4, Dona Spring’s district in Central Berkeley.  

Voters in Districts 5 and 6, both moderate strongholds, rejected J by large margins (64-36 percent and 63-37 percent respectively). But progressive voters were clearly divided. While winning narrowly in Districts 3 and 7, the measure got less than 45 percent of the vote in flatlands districts 1 (Northwest Berkeley) and 2 (Southwest Berkeley) 

It will probably come as a surprise to many preservationists that students were among the strongest supporters of Measure J. Every student dorm precinct voted in favor of J, as did most of the areas with student coops and fraternities and sororities. 

In District 8 in southeast Berkeley, Measure J was defeated in the Claremont-Elmwood and Willard neighborhoods, but passed in the student areas north of Derby. In District 7, Measure J was favored in the student areas and, by a slim margin, in the LeConte neighborhood west of Telegraph, but lost in most of the residential area east of Telegraph.  

Measure J also passed in the downtown precinct where a lot of new housing, including the Gaia building, has recently been built. In fact, in areas of the city where development has been taking place or is being proposed, voters were more likely to favor J than in parts of the city that are free of development pressures.  

Attitudes toward development certainly influenced how some voters viewed Measure J. Opposition to the measure by the Chamber PAC and by developers and real estate interests who contributed to it was reported in articles in the Daily Planet on campaign contributions to local campaigns. 

One of the strongest areas of support for Measure J was in South Berkeley precincts near the Ashby BART, where a proposal to fill the BART parking lots with housing has generated a lot of community opposition. A recently formed group, Neighbors of Ashby BART, endorsed the measure.  

Measure J won in the precinct of West Berkeley where a new Berkeley Bowl has been approved. It won in the precinct that includes the Kragen Auto Parts site at Martin Luther King and University where neighbors are opposing the current design of a project that would include housing and a Trader Joe’s.  

The only District 1 precinct where Measure J got a majority is a precinct near University and San Pablo where a group of residents concerned about out-of-scale development successfully fought to downzone the 1100 block of Hearst. 

While there were substantial pockets of support for J, most residents of precincts bordering major commercial streets like University, San Pablo, Telegraph and Shattuck, where new development has been concentrated, voted against Measure J, but not by the same margins as people in the hills who live further away from areas targeted for development.  

Rob Wrenn plans to report further on how Berkeley residents voted in November's election in an upcoming issue. 

Donna Corbeil, Solano County Library deputy director, was named Berkeley’s new library director Wednesday night. 

But the announcement, coming after a 90-minute closed-session meeting of the Berkeley Board of Library Trustees, was not greeted with enthusiasm by the three dozen people in attendance. 

Before the closed-door session, staff and public participants, speaking during the public comment period, asked the board to delay the decision to name the new director in order to get broader public and union input into the job description and to recruit a larger field of candidates. 

Reached by phone on Thursday, Corbeil was upbeat. “I’m so excited,” she said. “I feel I am going to give this my best effort to move the library forward in a positive manner.” 

Asked how she would overcome the community’s initial disappointment, Corbeil said she would work through the issues with the staff and the public. “I hope people are willing to work with me,” she said. 

Corbeil will replace former Director Jackie Griffin, forced out of her position last summer under pressure from the staff, who said she retaliated against outspoken librarians and from the public, which protested Griffin’s initiation of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in books with little public input. 

Before going to work in Solano County two years ago, Corbeil, an Oakland resident, headed the San Francisco branch libraries for five years and, before that, worked at the Oakland Public Library.  

During the public comment period, Jane Welford of SuperBOLD, Berkeleyans Organizing for Library Defense, criticized the trustees for writing a job-search brochure without asking the community what they wanted in a librarian. 

And Gene Bernardi, also of SuperBOLD reminded the trustees that the community had collected 1,000 signatures in opposition to the RFID tags, but that was ignored in the search process. 

“We’re asking you to step back, open the process to other candidates,” said Roya Arasteh, a library worker speaking for herself.  

Trustee Chair Susan Kupfer made the announcement to the silent group, praising the unanimous selection. Responding to criticism about the selection process, Kupfer carefully detailed the composition of panelists—community, staff, trustees—who had interviewed and evaluated the candidates. “I’ve never seen a process this public,” she said. 

Trustee Ying Lee, called on the public for their help. “We’ve all got to support the director,” she said. “She’s got to have a long honeymoon period.” 

Blasting the trustees’ treatment of the union during the selection process as “totally disrespectful to the union,” Anes Lewis-Partridge, field director for SEIU Local 535, addressed the trustees after the selection was announced.  

The selection process had been flawed from the outset, she said, noting that the union had been excluded from participating in developing criteria for the position. The union had asked that candidates write about their experience with labor relations as part of the application process. “All we got was one line about labor relations” in the job announcement, she said. 

And, she added, the union had asked for a union panel to interview the candidates and raise specifically union issues.  

Library trustees said they were unaware of the concerns, which Lewis-Partridge said she had directed to Acting Director Roger Pearson.  

“We did not have input. This does not bode well for us,” Lewis-Partridge said. “We are not beginning on the best foot.” 

In the Thursday phone interview, Corbeil said she plans to move quickly to fill the many library vacancies, which she said must be a burden on the present staff.  

At the Nov. 18 public interview, Corbeil addressed hiring, saying her philosophy was “grow your own.” She said she hoped to move people up the ranks, promoting from within the library. She also said diversity and hiring from the community was a priority. “The library staff should reflect the community,” she said.  

Also at the Nov. 18 public question period, Corbeil responded to a question on the RFID tags, acknowledging that this could be a privacy issue. “Privacy is a very important issue for librarians,” she said at the time, noting, however, “The Board of Trustees has made a commitment to RFID.”

African-American quiltmaker Effie Mae Howard who, under the name of Rosie Lee Tompkins, produced astonishing works of patchwork art, died at the age of 70, Thursday or Friday, of unknown causes. New York Times art critic Roberta Smith wrote that Tompkins’s textile art works “demolish the category.” 

“Tompkins’s work reminds us,” Smith said, “that the truly global nature of 20th-century modernism is not yet fully known. It also confirms that the persistence of painting is but one part of a larger phenomenon: the cross-medium, transcultural ubiquity of the pictorial.” 

On a more down-to-earth note, Smith said. “These pictorial powerhouses are like multifaceted jewels spread flat before the eye yet turning in the light, their sparkling shards of color and mutating geometries full of mystery and life.”  

One of 15 children, Tompkins grew up helping her mother piece quilts in rural southeast Arkansas, where poverty constrained the family to use every available scrap of cloth. Her prodigious talents, however, were eventually widely recognized. 

“Writers have compared Tompkins,” said New Yorker reviewer Andrea Scott, “to canonical bigwigs like Mark Rothko, Joan Mitchell, and Alfred Jensen. But for all their affinities with modernist paintings, her quilts have a tactile allure and wobbly ecstasy unmatched by any canvas.” 

“I doubt that Tompkins set out to trump painting with her quilts,” said Artforum critic Meghan Dailey, “but with cloth and thread she does achieve a kind of improvisational restlessness, and ultimate coherence, that a lot of painters can only hope to approximate.” 

“Resolutely nonreferential,” said Art in America critic, Eleanor Heartney, “Tompkins’s quilts bring to mind the efforts of early American modernists to forge a language of pure abstraction. That she does so with scraps of cloth instead of paint in no way diminishes her achievement.” 

“Here is inventiveness and originality so palpable and intense,” said former Whitney curator Lawrence Rinder, “that each work seems like a new and total risk, a risk so extreme that only utter faith in the power of the creative spirit could have engendered it.” 

“These quilts are works of such distinction and devotion” Artweek critic Alison Bing said, “that they supercede established art-historical categories, forcing reviewers to retreat to that dumfounded admiration that attracted us to art in the first place.” 

Tompkins never went to high school, but she moved to Milwaukee and Chicago before going west in 1958. She took adult education classes in Berkeley, passed a test to get into college and took a few business classes at Oakland City College. Then she completed one course in nursing at the Martha Howard School of Nursing and another at Richmond High. She eventually settled in Richmond and worked as a practical nurse in rest homes, a job which she loved. Married twice, she raised five children and stepchildren. She is survived by her mother, two sons, and numerous other relatives.. 

Deeply religious, Tompkins felt that she was God’s instrument. Her patchworks were designed by Him; she was grateful to have found this uplifting way of worshiping. Following an elaborate personal code that came to her during prayer, she pieced with particular family members in mind. Empowered by a force greater than herself, she thus attended to in-family spiritual relationships in the course of fabricating her extraordinary works of art. 

Tompkins was intensely private. She only ever met four people as the artist “Rosie Lee Tompkins” (curator Lawrence Rinder, Africanist Robert Farris Thompson, historian Glenna Matthews, and myself, since I am a quilt scholar). But she heard voices, believed that her phone was tapped, and never arrived at the peace she so desired. 

“I feel like I don’t have any privacy—” she told me, “like I’m living in a glass house or something—where everybody’s always looking in or listening to what I say.” 

She covered one wall of her bedroom with patchwork crowded with appliqued crosses, hoping it would impede the intruding voices, but it failed to do so. 

Images of Tompkins’s quilts frequently illustrated magazine and newspaper coverage of exhibitions that included her work. Threads magazine featured one of her quilts on their October 1989 cover; this quilt was later purchased by the Whitney Museum. Her work was accorded a separate gallery for the High Museum’s 1996-1997 “No Two Alike: African-American Improvisational Quilts” exhibition and featured in the show’s poster. Her first one-woman exhibit (“Rosie Lee Tompkins,” Berkeley Art Museum, 1997), was hailed as a defining moment in fiber art history. 

“The critical barriers that once stood,” wrote Candace Crockett, quoting San Francisco Chronicle critic Kenneth Baker, “between art and craft, between popular and elite sensibility, between European and pan-cultural aesthetics, are down.” 

In 2002, Tompkins’s entries in the Whitney Biennial were characterized as the best “painting” in the show. Her work has graced five of of my cataloged exhibitions and is now featured on the catalog cover for “Accidentally on Purpose,” showing at the Figge Museum of Art in Davenport, Iowa until Feb. 11. The Shelburne Museum plans to do a one-woman show of her work from May to October 2007. It will be called “Something Pertaining to God.” 

Contributed photo  

Three Sixes (quiltmaker's title). Pieced by Rosie Lee Tompkins, Richmond, California, 1987. Quilted by Willia Ette Graham, Oakland, California, 1996. 77" x 98". Front: polyester doubleknit, polyester knit, broadcloth, ottoman, poplin, wool jersey. Back: muslin.

“The university has no plans to bulldoze the berms or anything else at People’s Park,” said People’s Park Advisory Committee Chair John Selawsky, reading from a UC Berkeley memo to the 35 or so park supporters crowded into the advisory committee meeting at Trinity United Methodist Church Monday evening. 

They had come to protest what they feared was the latest attempt by the university to wrest park control from the people who frequent it. 

Most of the crowd left after the 30-minute public comment, many irked that they did not have the opportunity to speak. And so they missed the substance of the meeting: a discussion of hiring a consultant who could bring significant changes to the 2.8-acre park made famous in 1969 when students and others faced off with police to demand control of the university-owned city block. 

The question of removing the berms or mounds of earth was brought to the university–appointed committee by city and university police who want to remove obstructions to give officers a clear view into the park from their patrol cars, in order to control the drug trade that most acknowledge takes place in the park. 

Reflecting the mistrust between park users and the university built up over 40 years, park supporter Robert Smith cautioned during the public comment period that if the university says it is not going to “bulldoze” the berms, it could use other means to get rid of them. “A backhoe” someone called out. 

The berms have historic significance to park regulars, volunteer gardener Terri Compost told the committee. Buried beneath them are pieces of asphalt torn out from volleyball courts installed against park activists’ will in 1991 and removed six years later.  

The berms serve another purpose, separating the garden from the street and creating a habitat for wildlife, one speaker said. 

“Change can happen in the park,” Compost said. “But it has to be done with respect; it has to involve the community.”  

Nobody argued that there is not hard drug dealing in the park or that there should not be police presence there—park users insisted, however, that the university listen to them on how to address the problem. 

“Taking out the berms will not get the dealers out,” said Michael Diehl, a mental health commissioner, active around People’s Park issues, “Taking out the free box will not get them out—talking to us will get them out.” 

“Go in with a foot patrol and get the drug dealers out,” insisted one park user.  

Neighbors from the Willard Park Neighborhood Association called for a safer park that all can use. 

While Advisory Committee Chair John Selawsky, a school board member, called for tabling the discussion on the berms because the university had said it would not bulldoze them, the committee majority wanted to discuss the question.  

Joe Halperin, an advisory board member who lives in the Willard Park area, argued for the removal of the berms so that passers by can see into the park. He argued that safety is not just an issue for people housed in the neighborhood. “The homeless are subject to crime,” he said. 

But Lydia Gans, advisory committee member representing Food not Bombs, an organization that brings free food to the park, argued: “The park provides sanctuary. It’s a place people can get a little privacy.”  

There may be some reasonable changes needed, she said, adding, “There are so many people who care so deeply, for the university to come along and say to change it, it’s arrogant and stupid.” 

Believing that the berms would not be removed, the committee took no action on the question and, with only about 10 people remaining in the audience, moved to a discussion of hiring a consultant to, perhaps, redesign the park. 

The university has put aside $100,000 for the effort. At this point, the reason for hiring the consultant is vague—the committee is in the process of choosing among applicants. The consultant would work with park “stakeholders” and complete a needs assessment by April, according to the university’s announcement for the job. “The award and scheduling of subsequent phases, including additional planning, design and construction, will be determined as funding permits,” says the announcement. 

While to some “design and construction” could foreshadow big changes in People’s Park, university spokesperson Marie Felde said that isn’t so. The consultant will be hired only to do a needs assessment. The phrase “design and construction” is standard language, used so that if there were design or construction to be done, the winning consultant would be permitted to do that, she said. 

Advisory committee member, George Beier, president of the Willard Park Neighborhood Association, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday that he envisages changes in the park that include a memorial to the free speech movement and a café. 

He added however: “People are so adverse to change. If they think you’re about to change one blade of grass to the berms, 100 people will show up.” 

Also speaking by phone on Tuesday, Mental Health Commissioner Diehl said he is open to changes that would bring in the greater community, and keep out the hard-drug dealers. But simply rounding up people committing minor infractions does not help, he said, noting that a lot of young people that cause trouble in the park and on Telegraph are coming out of the foster care system or juvenile hall. 

“Sending them to prison is not doing much good,” Diehl said, arguing that they go to Santa Rita and come back “hanging with real criminals.”  

Services including jobs and housing should be designed for them, he said. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington, whose district includes People’s Park, said Wednesday that spending $100,000 on a consultant is wasting money. Housing for the homeless and creating assisted housing for people with mental health needs should be prioritized, along with a detox center, he said. 

Funds need to be spent on community involved policing, where the same officers work the same beats and get to know the people who frequent the area. 

Police should “target people selling hard drugs,” not smoking a joint, Worthington said. “We need a surgical tool, not a sledge hammer.”  

A subcommittee of the advisory committee will evaluate finalists among the applicants for the consultant position at a meeting at 7 p.m., Jan. 8 at Trinity Church, 2362 Bancroft Way.

Berkeley Woman Stabbed While Confronting Burglar 

An angry burglar stabbed an elderly Berkeley woman in the head after she confronted him on the back steps of her home late Wednesday afternoon. 

The woman, who is in her late 70s, sustained a broken foot as well as knife wounds to her head and body during her confrontation with the burglar, said Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Ed Galvan. 

Now being treated in a local hospital, she is expected to recover, Officer Galvan said. 

The woman was working in the backyard garden of her home in the 1100 block of Parker Street when she saw a young, scruffy-looking man entering her home. When she confronted him, the burglar attacked with his knife. 

Called moments after the 5 p.m. attack, police fanned out through the area but could find no trace of the attacker, who the victim said was between 16 and 23 years old, said Officer Galvan. 

Another search that began soon after sunrise turned up a bloody knife in a nearby garbage can. 

“This is really unusual,” said one officer. “Burglars usually run, they flee. They don’t attack people.”

UC Berkeley’s latest building project isn’t a new structure but renovations to an old one—Campbell Hall, now called Durant Hall—recognized as a landmark by city and state and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The university’s Department of Facilities Services this week posted a call for an architect for the projected $7.5 million renovation of Durant Hall, the original home of Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley’s law school. 

After the law school moved to new quarters in 1951, the hall was renamed for Rev. Henry Durant, the university’s first president, and became home to the Department of East Asian (formerly Oriental) Languages and its East Asiatic Library. 

The current tenants are slated to leave in the coming year, and following the renovations, the building will be used to house offices of the university administration. 

The three-story reinforced neoclassical concrete structure was designed by John Galen Howard, creator of many landmarked buildings both on and off campus, and was completed in 1911. 

The renovations include division of the 23,737-square-foot interior into administrative rather than classroom-sized subdivisions, structural upgrades to current building and fire code standards and modifications needed to meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, nine years before it was also designated a City of Berkeley landmark. 

The deadline for architects to apply is Jan. 4 at noon.

Councilmember Laurie Capitelli said he wants to pass around Berkeley commission posts more equitably, which is why he has written an ordinance that will come before the City Council on Tuesday and that would limit a person’s service to eight years on a particular commission during any 10-year period and limit one person’s service to one commission. 

There is currently an eight-year limit, but it is circumvented, he said on Thursday. 

The new rule will limit the service of people who now serve seven-plus years, quit a commission, then begin the eight-year period anew.  

Councilmember Kriss Worthington said in an interview Wednesday that the most qualified person should serve on commissions. He said people apply to him for the posts and he chooses the best applicant. If councilmembers want to limit service on a commission, they have the right to replace their own commissioners, he said. 

With two recently reelected board members and a new one, Wednesday’s meeting of the school board was both festive and deliberative as it swore in the winners and voted unanimously to elect Joaquin Rivera as president and John Selawsky as vice president of the board.  

Reelected members Shirley Issel and Nancy Riddle were sworn in along with new member Karen Hemphill, who received applause and a standing ovation from an audience of more than 20. Before sitting down, she embraced her husband and young son. 

The board members also congratulated each other on the passing of Measure A, which insures the continuation of smaller classes and enrichment programs for students and teachers. In addition to electing its new officers, district Superintendent Michele Lawrence was named secretary. 

Much of the crowd soon exited and the board returned to business.  

Healthy food program 

Melanie Okamoto, supervisor for the California Nutrition Network, presented the annual evaluation of a program that has had 3,500 children planting, growing, harvesting and cooking their own fruits and vegetables for the last six years. She said the program was popular, but finding an effective way to evalute its success has been hard. 

“Anecdotally, we’ve heard so much from parents and teachers,” Okamoto said. “Kids are coming home and asking for more fruits and vegetables. We see this and hear this, but our challenge is really finding a good evaluation tool.” 

Funding for the program is offered to any school where more than half of students receive free or reduced cost lunches. Berkeley has 14 qualifying schools—11 pre-schools and elementary schools, Willard and Longfellow Middle Schools and Berkeley Technology Academy.  

The $1.5 million a year program is fully funded by the state. 

Though the board commended the program, they criticized the state’s methods of evaluation including the complex questions surveyors asked students about food intake.  

Board member Selawsky said he supported the program but deemed the evaluation a “futile exercise.” 

Issel snickered when she heard some of the questions and results read by Okamoto. 

“During the past seven days, how many times did you drink 100 percent fruit juices such as orange juice, apple juice, or grape juice?” Okamoto read. “Consumption of 100 percent juice decreased by 0.191 times during the past seven days; fruit decreased by 0.05; green salad increased by 0.141…” 

“I have confidence that they are being taught well and to be healthy. This survey is an obvious disconnect and is ridiculous,” Issel said. 

Okamoto she said that in the future she had proposed the state numerically tabulate how students responded to fruits and vegetables after growing them.  

“If more children are willing to consume persimmons during lunch at the end of the month after harvesting them and cooking them earlier, it would be an indication,” Okamoto said.  

This year, the district also plans to survey parents about their children’s eating habits, she added. 

The board praised the creative attempts but requested Okamoto and Ann Cooper, the district’s director of nutrition services, consider renegotiating with the state to determine a more efficient and useful method of evaluation. 

Despite their dissatisfaction with the evaluation process, the board voted to renew the CNN Evaluation Contract for the current school year.

I'm bummed. “The Sunday Morning Show” on UC Berkeley's radio station, KALX (90.7 FM), has been canceled. On Sept. 10 General Manager Sandra Wasson and management decided to pull the plug on the 20-something-year-old show for what they call a lack of direction.  

For those who care about the history, here it is: “The Sunday Morning Show” was started by the late Charles “Natty Prep” Douglass when he was an undergraduate at Berkeley in 1984. The original name of “The Sunday Morning Show” was “Music for the People” and the original intent of the show was community and educational outreach through music and programming.  

At a time when the community in the Bay Area is in desperate need of media outlets to vent their many frustrations, activists are now coming to terms with another source that has been lost. Over the years “Music for the People” and “The Sunday Morning Show” spawned a number of artists, through music and radio experience. 

One of these is Rickey Vincent, “The Uhuru Maggot,” who had a segment in the ’80s called “The History of Funk.” This popular show still airs every Friday night on KPFA. Vincent also wrote a book, The History of Funk, which has been translated into Japanese. Then there was Michael Marshall, who as a Berkeley High student in the ’80s had a show called “The Final Score,” a sports wrap-up show, and who was moonlighting as a singer. 

His song “Rumours” by the Berkeley-based group Timex Social Club was first played on KALX and then picked up steam all the way to number one on the national charts. 

I had a poetry and book review segment called “Calm Authority” on “Music for the People” when I was an undergraduate student at Cal in the ’80s as well.  

And last but not least, there was David “Davey D” Cook, a UC Berkeley graduate who, after winning a 1991 Gavin Award for Best Non-Commercial Rap Show in the country, parlayed his work on “The Sunday Morning Show” into a gig at San Francisco radio station KMEL. (I had the pleasure of working with Davey D as a volunteer on KALX and KMEL in the ’90s under the air name of The Calm Authority.) 

For over twenty years “Music for the People/The Sunday Morning Show” has tried to continue the tradition that “Natty Prep” started by passing the torch to different deejays/activists. Today, like the world, UC Berkeley has changed. Diversity and full participation, which were the rule on “Music for the People/The Sunday Morning Show”, are more of a challenge these days. And now with the removal of this show from the airwaves, it has become harder still. Proposition 209, the legislation that ended affirmative action on California college campuses, has swept away many minorities from the universities (African-Americans in particular) and now the creative outlets that encouraged, fed and entertained those communites are fading away as well. 

As an artist I found KALX to be one of my creative outlets. I have that outlet no longer and it hurts. RIP “Sunday Morning Show,” you are missed.

Tensions within the panel helping to draft the new downtown plan emerged more clearly Tuesday night during a fast-paced meeting. 

While the existing plan for Berkeley’s city center stressed historic preservation, the dominant theme emerging in the discussions of the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee can be summed up in one word: sustainability. 

“The big problem I see is that when I look at buildings downtown, and I see buildings that are designated as structures of merit, many of them are not worthy of that,” said Dorothy Walker, a retired UC Berkeley vice chancellor appointed to DAPAC by City Councilmember Betty Olds. 

Carole Kennerly and Jenny Wenk agreed. 

The same trio is among the seven committee members who made a successful proposal to create a DAPAC subcommittee to help organize city/university collaboration on the 800,000 square feet of uses the university wants to add in the city center. 

The other four are Victoria Eisen, former Councilmember Mim Hawley, Planning Commission James Samuels and Linda Schacht. 

While DAPAC members were unanimous in endorsing the committee, the one tension that emerged was over its composition. 

Samuels said the absent DAPAC Chair Will Travis had told him he planned to appoint the seven proponents, himself and UC Berkeley’s three ex officio representatives to the panel. 

“That’s exactly why we would want more,” said fellow Planning Commissioner and DAPAC member Gene Poschman. 

“I agree,” said Patti Dacey. 

The seven initial proponents had voiced the least sentiment for a strong preservation emphasis, and Hawley said the committee had no good reason even to refer to the earlier plan. 

But the vote came down for a committee that could include up to 11 DAPAC members—one short of a quorum of the full committee. 

Each of the proponents volunteered to serve with Travis—a given. Three other DAPAC members who have indicated more sympathy for preservation also volunteered—Poschman, Jesse Arreguin and Wendy Alfsen. 

Jennifer Lawrence McDougall, the UC Berkeley principal planner assigned to the downtown project, reminded the committee that the university had presented them with clear goals for downtown space in March. 

The university is bankrolling the plan, the result of a settlement agreement that ended a city lawsuit challenging the university’s long range plans through 2020. 

The university has plans for the old state Department of Health Services building site that occupies much of the extended block bounded by Berkeley Way on the south, Hearst Avenue on the North, Oxford Street on the east and Shattuck Avenue on the west. 

Some DAPAC members have suggested using the western end of the site for a major retailer or mixed use housing over retail development. 

McDougall warned that the university plans to use much of that site, with the intent of building a community health campus providing space for both classrooms and community services. 

While the university might allow some development there by the city, it wouldn’t approve any plan that didn’t allow the university its full allocation of 800,000 square feet. “We don’t want you to be surprised,” she said. 

The university is paying the salary of Matt Taecker, the planner who is drafting the plan for the city, as one of the conditions of settlement of the lawsuit. 

The university came in for heavy criticism earlier in the meeting during the public comment period when Doug Buckwald and Sharon Hudson urged the panel to adopt mechanisms that would ensure that neighbor complaints are heard during construction of university projects. 

“There’s nothing about residential livability” in the documents before DAPAC Wednesday night, said Hudson, who said the plan needed a mechanism of handling neighbor construction complaints. 

Buckwald, who came to the meeting straight from the grove outside Memorial Stadium where he is coordinating support for tree-sitting protesters challenging university plans to demolish it to make way for a high tech gym complex, said DAPAC would be accepting a major failure if it failed to develop a mechanism for resolving complaints. 

“If you want lots of construction problems downtown, let UC have complete carte blanche,” he said. 

Other tensions 

The “street behavior” conundrum was back on the table again Wednesday, with Hawley leading the charge. “I would like to put it back on the table. It’s a critical economic issue,” she said. 

“I’ll second it,” said Samuels., 

Wenk agreed, saying Center Street merchants spent considerable costly efforts cleaning up sidewalks and the street. 

“Whose behavior are we talking about? Are we talking about the homeless?” asked Winston Burton, who works to find jobs for the homeless. “It’s not an economic issue to me.” 

The lack of public restrooms was the real economic issue, said Lisa Stephens. 

Poschman said he was concerned because in the draft of themes prepared by city staff, UC was considered only under the sustainability heading. “It is nowhere else in the outline,” he said. 

Other members said the sustainability section also needed more attention to shadowing, greenhouse gases and recycling. 

“Urban infill,” said Walker. 

Environmentalist Juliet Lamont urged the addition of 10 to 15 strategies for promoting sustainability. 

“We need to do more development, because that’s the thing that will make us more sustainable,” said Walker. 

Density without more services wouldn’t help, said Arreguin. 

The debate continued, covering topics ranging from the benefits of retrofitting old buildings versus construction of new, the relative benefits of high rise versus shorter buildings, the need for more public transit pitted against the need for more public parking, and the issue of whether developers could “game” green building standards. 

“This has been an extraordinary discussion,” said city Planning and Development Director Dan Marks when the dust finally settled. “You guys have put a lot on the plate.”

16th District Assemblymember Sandré Swanson (D-Oakland) quickly delivered on a promise made several times during the months since he won the June Democratic primary, introducing a bill on his first day as a state legislator to immediately return some measure of local control to the Oakland Unified School District. 

The bill would leave fiscal control in the hands of the state. Even then, getting the legislation passed and signed into law, and actually returning power to Oakland’s elected school trustees, will be a considerably more difficult matter. 

Swanson’s simply-worded four-page AB45 would “require the [California] Superintendent [for Public Instruction] to immediately return the rights, duties, and powers regarding the operational areas of community relations and governance, facilities, management, personnel management, and pupil achievement to the governing board of the Oakland Unified School District.” 

Under Swanson’s bill, fiscal management authority over OUSD would continue to be held by the state superintendent through an appointed state administrator. The bill gave no timetable as to when local control over fiscal management would be returned. 

Swanson’s bill was also silent on the issue of the controversial proposed sale of Oakland Unified’s downtown properties. State Superintendent Jack O’Connell is currently negotiating the sale of 8.25 acres of OUSD property—including the district’s administrative headquarters and five adjacent schools and early childhood learning centers—to the east coast-based development team of TerraMark/UrbanAmerica. 

The developers want to put a high-rise luxury condominium development on the site. The Oakland school board, the Oakland Education Association, the Oakland City Council, the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees, Swanson, Oakland Mayor-elect Ron Dellums and numerous community groups have all come out in opposition to the proposed sale.  

The state seized control over all aspects of Oakland Unified in 2003 in the wake of a severe fiscal crisis in the district. Under the legislation that authorized the takeover, the state superintendent has the final authority to decide when local control can be restored. The takeover legislation also authorized a $100 million line of credit for the district from the state, all of which has now been drawn down. 

Swanson held a public meeting on Thursday night at the district’s Second Avenue administrative headquarters to solicit community input for his bill. The meeting was held after the Daily Planet’s deadline. 

In a prepared press statement, Swanson said that “Education is our greatest example of democracy. The return of local control is essential in our goal to achieve academic excellence. This legislation recognizes and implements the progress in accordance with [the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team’s] recovery plan and recommendations.” 

FCMAT, a Bakersfield-based education organization set up by state legislation, has been charged with evaluating Oakland Unified’s progress under state control. The organization’s most recent progress report on the district, issued last September, recommended that control be returned to the district in the area of community relations and governance. 

Despite that recommendation, originally made in September of last year, State Superintendent O’Connell has failed to return that area of local control to Oakland Unified. 

The Swanson local-control bill faces several formidable hurdles, even if Swanson is able to get it passed in the Assembly. The first hurdle is State Senate President Don Perata (D-Oakland), who wrote the original 2003 SB39 legislation that authorized the state takeover. 

Perata has not yet indicated a position on the Swanson bill, and without Perata’s support or—at the very least—without the powerful senator’s promise not to actively oppose, it is difficult to see how the bill would be able to get through the State Senate. 

In addition, Swanson must gain Republican support for the local control bill, either with a bloc of Republican legislators or with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Even with unanimous support from Democratic legislators, Democrats do not hold enough seats in the state assembly and senate to be able to override a gubernatorial veto.

Tarnel Abbott isn’t just a staunch defender of free speech: she’s also a dedicated practitioner. 

She can often be found addressing the Richmond City Council and walking picket lines, and she recently pounded the pavement in support of the campaign of Mayor-elect Gayle McLaughlin. She’s a leader in her union, SEIU Local 790, which represents most of the city’s workers. 

But it was her work at the Richmond Public Library that won her honors as a champion of intellectual freedom. 

Her passionate devotion to the right to express unpopular views proved inspirational to the California Library Association’s (CLA) Intellectual Freedom Committee, which recently awarded her the Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award for 2006. 

“As one of our committee said, ‘If every library had someone on staff taking these actions, imagine what a strong voice the library community would have in the fight to defend freedom of speech!’” wrote committee chair Janis O’Driscoll in the letter announcing the award. 

The honor is named for the librarian—and sometime Daily Planet contributor—who went to jail for contempt when she refused to testify against Rev. Philip Berrigan and his six co-defendants in the “Harrisburg Seven” trial in 1972. She had met them while serving as head reference librarian at the Bucknell University reference library in Lewisburg, PA. Horn is now retired and lives in Oakland. 

Among the activities cited by the CLA were Abbott’s annual displays of banned books, an annual film series co-sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union’s Berkeley-Albany-Richmond-Kensington chapter, her ongoing work with Richmond Sister City Regla, Cuba, her part in helping to found Librarians for Intellectual Freedom and her role in winning a city council resolution opposing the PATRIOT Act’s provisions that allow federal investigators to snoop on the reading habits of library patrons. 

“The Committee honors your proactive intellectual work,” O’Driscoll wrote, citing a committee member who said, “What I like about what Tarnel does is that she tackles the issues before there is a specific incident.” Said another, “Many librarians never think about ‘intellectual freedom’ until someone tries to deny its importance.” 

The vote to bestow the honor on the Richmond librarian was unanimous.  

Colorful career  

An East Bay native, Abbott wasn’t always a librarian. “I’ve done a lot of different jobs, from being a short-order cook to stringing barbed wire for East Bay MUD,” she said. 

But a love of books was always there, along with a literary heritage that goes back to her great-grandfather, radical author Jack London. 

“There are some things you can’t avoid, and this was just something I was bound to do,” said Abbott as she sat at a table in the Richmond library. 

“My grandmother was an author who became a librarian and worked for the labor federation. My great-aunt was also a librarian, and so was my former mother-in-law. 

Her first “intellectual job” was a position with the Holmes Book Co. in Oakland, once one of the city’s great bookstores. 

A single mom, Abbott enrolled at Antioch University West and went on to earn her Masters in Library and Information Science from UC Berkeley in 1986—a program no longer offered by the university. 

After jobs with the Benecia and Contra Costa County libraries, she began as a children’s librarian in Richmond in 1990, and in 2001 moved into her role as reference librarian. 

The low point in the library’s history came three years later when the city, faced with a $35 million budget shortfall, laid off two-thirds of its staff, and reduced most of those left to half-time positions. 

“That set us way back. We have increased the hours and rehired or replaced most of the staff, but sometimes it’s almost like people don’t know we’re here. Library use is way down, and we don’t know exactly what’s going on. Part of it may be fear of violence,” she said, referring to the crimes that have earned the city the dubious statistical honor of being one of the state’s three deadliest communities. 

But Abbott doesn’t get discouraged. She runs a nine-week program once a year with the Small Business Administration and the Small Business Development Center on building a business from scratch. “I’m a great advocate of small business,” she said. 

“I try to do one or two cultural programs a year, and we did a human rights video series.” 

She’s also eager to teach young people the skills of information-seeking, and in an era where students are often overly reliant on the Internet for their homework, she’ll help them learn to use the web better, along with the more traditional ink-on-paper media. 

Cuban connection 

A lifelong progressive, Abbott went to Cuba along with other city officials when Regla became Richmond’s sister city, and was very much involved when Regla officials came to Richmond in 2001 as the first-ever official delegation from that island nation to the West Coast. 

“The two cities have a lot in common. Both are communities in larger metropolitan areas, and Regla is right across the bay from Havana. It has a large Afro-Cuban population, and like Richmond it is poor and it has refineries,” she said. 

Abbott came away impressed by the dynamism she found, and with unique programs devoted to aiding at-risk young people. 

“We were gifted with prints by Antonio Canet, a world-famous artist who does linoleum block prints,” Abbott said. The 96-print series traces the history of the Cuban Revolution from Fidel Castro’s disastrous 1953 assault on the army’s Moncado Barracks through to recent times. 

What particularly impressive Abbott was a program Canet has started to take at-risk youth from the streets and teach them the art of print-making. “He’s started an alternative school, and it seems to be working,” she said. 

Another impressive Regla citizen is Dr. Raúl Gil Sánchez, director of the city’s community mental health program, Abbott said. 

“He’s very dynamic, and their whole approach to mental health is very radical and is becoming a model for Cuba and the world.,” she said. “They do an annual program with the whole community to help integrate the mentally ill into the community so they are not so isolated. 

“We have a lot to learn from them.” 

Abbott is also plays an active role in the ongoing drive to provide medical supplies to the community clinic in Regla. 

Political causes 

Abbott is a mainstay of the Richmond Progressive alliance, an ardent critic of ChevronTexaco and an outspoken critic of the city’s rush to embrace the casino economy. 

“Issues around the environment are really important to me,” she said. 

Her concern with pollution led her to join the Community Advisory Group appointed by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control to help with the cleanup of the Campus Bay housing development site, the UC Berkeley Richmond Field Station and other contaminated sites on the southern Richmond shoreline. 

“I live right across the highway” from Campus Bay, “where they buried 100 years worth of toxic waste under a thin concrete and paper cap. That’s pretty scary,” she said. 

“Chevron’s a whole issue in itself,” she said, “and I’ve marched against Chevron’s headquarters in San Ramon.”  

Her concerns with the oil giant involve not only pollution, but its secrecy in reporting on utility use and its ongoing battles to avoid taxes—including the massive funds it spent on unsuccessfully trying to defeat McLaughlin’s run for mayor and its winning drive to defeat Measure T, which would have increased the business taxes it paid to the city. 

“It’s always about the money,” she said. “Chevron throws peanuts at the city, but it’s the people who suffer from the stuff they put in the air.” 

As for the two casino proposals now awaiting approval, one in unincorporated North Richmond and one in the city limits at Point Molate, “they’ll be sending most of their money to their out-of-state backers” while increasing traffic and without any guarantee of providing good jobs for local residents. 

“Richmond never got the benefits of all the good years” when industry was booming and profits were flowing out of the city, she said. “Now we need to look at creating new ways to build a green economy.” 

But the library is the first and most important need, she stresses. “We need to educate our public, and we need the public to come in. The most important thing the public can do is to come in and use our materials. That’s the best way to support us.” 

And through it all, Abbott said, she’s been able to rely on the support of her spouse, Robert Fowler, who raises and sells palm trees. 

“He’s been wonderful,” she said, smiling. “He’s not an activist the way I am, but he’s nice, and he cooks me dinner.” 

Photograph by Richard Brenneman. Richmond Reference Librarian Tarnel Abbott’s display about Sister City Regla Cuba was just one of the examples cited by state librarians when they honored her for her ongoing defense of intellectual freedom. She is the great granddaughter of another East Bay activist, author Jack London.

You work this job too long, you find that you’re often tempted to repeat yourself. In a recent letter, a Berkeley librarian voiced a complaint on behalf of herself and presumably others: “Many readers are tired of the constant divisiveness fomented by the Daily Planet. The paper should present some news on issues and culture that build community rather than encourage bickering and false differences.” She suggested, as an alternative, another nice story on the library’s new website like the ones that had already appeared in the Daily Cal and the East Bay Daily News.  

Presumably the “divisiveness” this librarian complains about refers to our recent reports and reader commentaries about the governance of the Berkeley Public Library. Inevitably, I was reminded of an editorial that appeared in September 2003, responding to complaints by the Berkeley Unified School District about our reports of problems at Berkeley High. At the risk of boring long-time readers, I’ll just quote, once again, a sermon by the Rev. Frank Logue, a rector in a small town in Georgia. He chided his congregation for wanting only cheery sermons using this analogy:  

“Small town local newspapers are known to be like sundials, they only work in the sunny hours and so are filled with good news. But, even our local Tribune and Georgian too often have to report bad news.”  

Luckily for Berkeley readers, they have the corporate version of the small town press, the papers owned by Media News, including the EBDN, to work the sunny side of the street. But if you want all the news, the real news, sometimes you have to see into the shade as well. Another quote which appeared both in Rev. Logue’s sermon and in the previous editorial was from the Wicked Witch of the West, Evillene, the most entertaining character in The Wiz, the updated version of The Wizard of Oz. Her signature refrain, which could be that of many Berkeley folk, is: “Don’t nobody bring me no bad news!”  

There’s a certain kind of Berkeley reader who wants all local stories to end with everyone holding hands in a circle and singing “Kumbaya.” Many of us have roots in an older form of leftist ideology that believed that good people with good intentions would eventually triumph in the end, despite the bad news coming out of, for example, eastern Europe. And from what used to be called the right, we have the unbelievable example of most of the national press swallowing Bush propaganda over most of the last four years, even though the majority of Berkeleyans and some others challenged the official version of what was happening in Iraq from day one. Such publications reported “the good news” for far too long. 

Then there’s the matter of how stories, any kind of stories, get into newspapers at all. Press releases are the traditional transmission method for stories like the one about the library’s new website. All public institutions seem to have added public information officers who see their jobs as getting the good news into print and keeping the bad news out. We get hundreds of press releases every week, many of them about warm fuzzy topics like the library’s new service.  

We have four reporters who are attempting to keep up with everything our readers might want to know about from Richmond south through Oakland, and they have to decide carefully about how to spend their time. We’re happy to see such feel-good stories surface in the Daily Cal or the EBDN, but when they’ve already appeared elsewhere we’re less inclined to think we need to use them.  

Besides competing demands on our reporters’ time, our available space is limited by the number of ads our salespeople can sell. Prudent management suggests that about half of our square inches should be ads, though we sometimes run more “white space” material than this formula would permit, when you include the acres we devote to letters and commentary. But we’re reluctant to add still more unsubsidized pages just so that everyone’s press release can get into print. 

When I was running political campaigns in my youth, I learned that if I really want to get an important story out, I’d give it exclusively first to a good reporter at a serious paper, instead of sending out a press release or holding a press conference. Lesser media would then copy, and they’d get the story straight because they’d copied it from a pro. Public information officers should consider using this technique. Later on, as a reporter myself, I learned that if I did a strong story, it would soon be in many other publications and on the television news, with no credit to me, of course.  

Nevertheless, it is the holiday season, which was invented in almost all cultures as a way of cheering humans up in the dark days of winter. The holidays inevitably produce the kind of stories which can be expected to build community and make us feel good about ourselves, and we’ll have more space to run them in the Planet since the public sector is headed for its generous winter break. Less Scrooge, more Tiny Tim, that should be our motto at this time of year—not so much “Bah! Humbug,” more “God Bless Us Every One!” We’ll try to keep that in mind. 

Back in the olden days when I was a kid, we traveled a lot by streetcar, and sometimes by train. One interesting feature of rail travel is that long before you can see your streetcar or train coming, you can tell that it’s getting near by leaning over and putting your ear next to the rails (which was a lot easier when I was closer to the ground). This phenomenon came to mind last week as I heard rumbles about new moves in the City Council’s agenda committee to limit the power of citizen-based commissions. I’ll leave the exact details to the news reporters to document when they actually come into view, but the rumblings from the rails threw up two possible strategies: further term-limiting commissioners and limiting individuals to service on one commission at a time. 

Both of these must seem to the average Goo-Goo (naive believer in Good Government) to be marvelous pro-democracy innovations. What could be better that making sure that lots of different citizens get to serve on the Zoning Adjustments Board or the Public Works Commission?  

Well, the problem is that doing a good job on commissions requires the acquisition of a lot of arcane knowledge before you can even begin to contribute to intelligent decisions. Anyone who’s watched the ZAB in action knows that there are a couple of members who absolutely know the difference between a use permit and a variance, and there are other members who have the good sense to keep their mouths shut because they have no idea what’s going on. It’s the commissioners in the first category who are targeted by term limits.  

A lawyer I know always quotes the professor from the first day of her administrative law class: in any regulated industry, the regulators are eventually captured by the regulatees. Often, it’s not even corruption, it’s just that people who do business with each other repeatedly over the years tend to get friendly.  

In the real-estate development industry which is big-time in Berkeley right now, that means that staffers in the planning department are on first-name terms with Patrick and Darryl and Chris and Evan, and not with the neighbors who happen to be next door to the various target sites. (You’ll hear howls of outrage from the City of Berkeley’s Planning Department when they read that last sentence, but it’s not a criminal charge, just a fact of life in the world.) And it doesn’t help that the planning department is completely funded by development fees. 

The only chance members of the general public have to escape this rule is that there are a few citizens (probably 15, tops) who have donated enough of their personal time to commissions in the past to know what’s happening, to give the pros a run for their money. The same scenarios surface with every project, with the same claques brought in to lobby for the developers, but commissioners who haven’t seen these acts before are much more gullible.  

As I’m writing this, I hear a commotion in the cotoneaster outside my window, whistles and loud rustling of wings. I can’t actually see what’s going on without changing to my distance glasses, but because it’s the time of the year that berries are on the tree I’m pretty sure that the cedar waxwings are back. I don’t have to see their yellow bellies and their Lone Ranger masks, because I’ve seen them before and know what they sound like. That’s how the experienced commissioners identify bad deals for the public—they’ve heard the same thing before. 

It’s true that canny commissioners have been known to evade the current eight-year term limit by resigning after seven years and a few months and then getting re-appointed, but is that a bad thing? One proposal which is being talked up is an attempt to defeat this strategy by allowing service only for eight years out of 10. This is ironic in a city whose mayor took the term limits on the state Legislature to court (unsuccessfully) when he was an assemblymember. Berkeley has been pretty well served by long-term councilmembers like Betty Olds, but in any event term limits should start at the top if they’re at all desirable. The long-time commissioners bring a wealth of knowledge, which the city couldn’t possibly pay for, to bear on the problems they address, and getting rid of them makes little sense. 

The other scheme being bruited about is limiting commissioners to a single commission. It’s not as if all commissions are all full at all times—in fact some councilmembers have a very hard time filling vacancies. Reporters soon spot the commissioners who are on top of their game: who have the intelligence and the energy to know all the facts about what’s going on. Jesse Arreguin is a good example: a smart, dynamic undergraduate who’s on the Rent Board, the Housing Advisory Commission, the Zoning Board and perhaps more. If you want something complicated explained to you, he’s your guy. He’s the kind of talent Berkeley couldn’t afford if we had to pay for it, as someone undoubtedly will when he graduates and enters the job market. Such people are rare enough, and if they can make time to contribute to more than one body it’s a plus, not a minus.  

In George Bush II’s first term, he seemed to believe that he had a mandate from the people to enact his conservative agenda (even though some believed he’d lost the 2000 election.) He did what he wanted, ignoring even the Congress when it suited him by using the now-notorious signing statements to explain why he didn’t have to follow the law. As advised by Karl Rove, he gussied up his unpopular activities with populist rhetoric: The Healthy Forest Initiative was a coverup for more logging. And he made appointments to everything from the FCC to the Supreme Court to carry out his program. John Kerry wasn’t the right candidate to send Bush the message that he didn’t really have a mandate, so Bush II’s second term started out as more of the same. But a funny thing happened on the way to 2006: People finally caught on and figured out how to let him know that at the ballot box. Now it’s starting to look like the Bush dynasty might not be forever after all. 

The local dynasty (perhaps a more apropo term than “machine”) looks like it’s heading for some similar hubris, complete with Rovian double-speak (labeling the backroom deal which produced an emasculated landmark ordinance a “citizen compromise” in the pre-election propaganda) and signing statements (adding a last-minute clause to the new ordinance saying that the noxious parts couldn’t be repealed separately because of said deal.) They should keep in mind that even given the vast sums spent to defeat it Measure J got 43 percent, and by the time a referendum is voted on two years from now the voters might even have caught on.  

And that while Bush II was able to pack the Supreme Court during his first term, he won’t be able to do more damage in this term, which is why the City Council should think twice before listening to the blandishments of those who hope to weaken the city’s still vigorous and useful commissions any further.  

FOMENTING PLANET 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Why didn’t the Daily Planet report on Berkeley Public Library’s new “Berkeley History Online” service? The Daily Cal had a front page story with photos on Thursday, 12/7. The East Bay Daily News also reported on this wonderful website that offers historical images of Berkeley. (Go to www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org for the link.) 

Many readers are tired of the constant divisiveness fomented by the Daily Planet. The paper should present some news on issues and culture that build community rather than encourage bickering and false differences. 

Jane Scantlebury 

• 

A SENSE OF PLACE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

While I think the suggestion for a modern traffic signal system at the MLK/University intersection is a good one (Jerry Landis, Letters, Dec. 5), it will do little to reduce the bottleneck that will occur particularly during rush hour as shoppers idle in the street waiting to get into the lot in order to pick something up on the way home. It also fails to provide additional parking for nearby stores which will be stressed by the development. 

And it does it little to encourage foot traffic. As a car-less shopper, I know that lugging groceries home by foot or on public transit is an onerous task most shoppers are loath to try. 

Therefore, I would like to offer the following additional suggestions (to be paid for by the developer and/or store, of course): 

1) Require TJ’s or any store that locates in the commercial space to provide free, same-day delivery service to all Berkeley shoppers. 

2) Require the developer to provide for ample street level parking for bikes, particularly bikes with trailers. 

3) Turn University from MLK to Oxford into a two-lane street with angle parking along the curbs on either side. This would not only increase parking for nearby businesses, it would slow traffic into downtown (as recommended by the experts) and could provide downtown with a sense of place. 

Joanne Kowalski 

• 

GIANT RAT  

RIDES AGAIN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I noticed that the Berkeley Daily Planet ran several articles about Berkeley Honda’s labor dispute, and thought you might be interested in the sad story of our maid friends at the Woodfin Suites Hotel in Emeryville. The Berkeley Honda activists are partnering with us to protest what’s been happening at the Woodfin Suites Hotel in Emeryville. 

Our family has lived at the Woodfin for two and a half years because a condominium we bought developed mold. The developer hasn’t fixed it for more than two and a half years. About 20 other families have been displaced by the mold in our building and live at the hotel; we affectionately call ourselves “the moldies.” 

Over the time that we’ve lived at the hotel, we have made friends with the workers here. I voted for a local Emeryville law, Measure C, that gave the hotel maids a living wage. One morning I woke up to a noisy demonstration by the hotel workers because the Woodfin management not only did not pay the maids their living wage as mandated by Measure C, but also threatened them with firings in retaliation for asking about their rights under Measure C. 

My young daughter and I ran out to join the demonstration, and have since joined up with East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) to fight the firings. The maids, who are largely single moms, are being threatened again with firing, just in time for the holiday season. The “Scrooge” aspect of this situation is appalling ... it’s very sad for the maids’ children to have no Christmas. 

We are having another demonstration in front of the Woodfin on Monday, Dec. 18 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and we would be overjoyed to others from the community there. Many familiar Berkeley Honda activists, including the Giant Rat, will be present. 

Juanita Carroll Young 

• 

U.S. FOREIGN POLICY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Whoo boy! I am so passed by the Iraq Study and “our representatives” responses. Here is what I need to get of my chest. The problem is not just Iraq, it is American Foreign Policy and I mean all of it. Unless we consider U.S. foreign policy historically, in its entirety, we will not understand 9/11, Iraq, Vietnam, North Korea, Venezuela, the U.S. Congress approving torture, the loss of habeas corpus, and indefinite detention. In short, why do terrorists want to hurt us and why we have we lost our democracy? Answer: Foreign policy. 

When you hear the members of the Iraq Study Group saying things like “How we got here is no longer important. What is important is how we get out of here,” think of The Wizard of Oz when Toto has pulled back the curtain and hear “ignore the obvious, just pay attention to what we are saying.” 

An arc can be infinitely divided and each piece considered individually; so too can history. It can be said that our foreign policy has rendered successes and failures, but these are just pieces of the great arc. The trajectory of the arc of our history is obvious when viewed as a whole. As long as the foreign policy of this nation is to advantage the “homeland” at the expense of the world’s people, using any means necessary, we will eventually destroy both the world and our democracy. Iraq and the Military Commissions Act of 2006 are just the latest examples of our ultimate destiny unless we change our foreign policy. 

Harry Wiener 

• 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

This week I read Mr. Taylor’s opinion piece/article on the Jerry Brown regime. Mr. Taylor is right-on about a lot of stuff. I disagree though when he tries to blame Brown and the Oakland police for the spread of sideshows. Last time I checked, spinning donuts comes under reckless driving and is likely not an approved youth activity in cities outside of Oakland. The writer insinuated that sideshows spread because police moved the activity from Eastmont Mall. Perhaps Mr. Taylor can host a sideshow on his block. 

I hate to sound like a grumpy right-winger hills dweller, but the reason sideshows spread is because of the lawless thugs who partake in them. That old phrase “personal responsibility” applies in this case. Note to Oakland parents: Do you know where your kid is? In many cases, the answer from parent(s) is : who gives a rat’s butt? My 10K a year in property taxes is most likely being eaten up in police overtime trying to stop these activities and other lawlessness all around Oakland. 

Jerry and Oakland cops can take blame for lots of problems but they are not the ones glorifying sideshows and they certainly did not spread them. 

Michael J. Spencer 

• 

HOPE FOR PEOPLE’S PARK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I would like to congratulate the community for coming out in support of People’s Park. The University of California has stepped back from the foolish plan to bulldoze the edges of the park. Thank you everyone. The standing-room-only crowd at the advisory board meeting on Dec. 4 showed an active citizenry concerned about this special park.  

And yes, there are a variety of ideas about what is best. I believe the spirit of People’s Park is best served by promoting dialogue and finding the common ground for improving our park. I am looking for others to help organize bringing together different people in the spirit of real listening and sharing with the goal to come to common understandings and ideas. There are also at this time many positive suggestions for events at the park that could help build community. Are there any takers out there who may be interested in organizing a jazz concert? Tea party? Book swap? Movie series? Art show? Yoga? 

And lastly, I would like to invite anyone who has ideas or concerns with the community garden on the west end of the park to come join the gardeners for a tour and idea sharing for improvements. If we can change our park through collective will and effort and the joyful work of volunteers, it will strengthen not only the history and uniqueness of People’s Park, but our community as well. We want your participation. Please join us in the garden on Sunday Jan. 21 from noon-4 p.m. (Jan. 28 if it is raining). 

Terri Compost 

• 

SURPRISE, SURPRISE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The UC Regents’ Committee on Grounds and Buildings green-lights UC Berkeley’s latest mega-building manifesto (beginning with god-coach Tedford’s contentious Student Athlete Tree Removal Center).  

Berkeley’s mayor and council threaten legal retaliation (see Richard Brenneman’s “UC Regents Approve Controversial Projects” piece in the Dec. 8 Daily Planet). 

Is this déjà vu all over again, or what? 

Welcome to this town’s newest spectator sport. Any citizen can play. No binoculars or skybox required. All you have to do is anticipate what will remain after municipal resolve melts down.  

For example, back in early 2005, who would have predicted a clandestine capitulation that forged, among other things, a downtown area plan advisory committee (DAPAC) from the university’s ambitious long-range development plan (LRDP)? 

Forget holiday gift-giving lists. Here’s the start of my own post-meltdown scenario list:  

The city withdraws its threatened litigation against UC in return for: 

• Three stoplights on the congested Gayley-Piedmont corridor. 

• Fresh UC Nobel laureate banners along Telegraph and University Avenues. 

• Lawyers’ fees for the city’s hired legal beagle, Harriet Ann Steiner of the Sacramento law firm McDonough, Holland & Allen. 

• All-expenses-paid tickets for the mayor and three councilmembers (Brown Act limitations apply) for the eight-day “Walk Croatia with Sandy Barbour” excursion with Cal’s athletic director during the final week of June 2007. 

• Two part-time aides to assist Planning Director Dan Marks and staff plan city-university mixed-use, transit-friendly development around the North Berkeley and Ashby BART stations.  

• A new hook-and-ladder truck for the Berkeley Fire Department. 

• Preferred-seating Big Game tickets for the mayor and three councilmembers (Brown Act limitations apply) in 2008. 

• A Goldman School of Public Policy chair for the retired mayor, beginning January 2009. 

Feel free to supply your own scenarios. Be creative. Be imaginative. But, above all, be realistic.  

You don’t want to suggest anything that would undermine or reverse that “giant step forward toward a lasting and equal partnership,” crafted in late May 2005, “between one of the world’s great universities and one of its most livable and progressive cities.” 

Go Gown! Go Town! Go Spectators! 

Jim Sharp  

• 

GIBSON FILMS BUSH? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Far from being a super-religious person, I think Mel Gibson just loves violence in all its guises. Even if his movies are historically accurate, his preoccupation with blood and gore is gratuitous. I say this because his Passion of the Christ has always bothered me. If it was meant to bring the heathen to Christ he should have concentrated on the resurrection aspect of the story. It was the so-called resurrection that supposedly gave people hope for salvation not the crucifixion. Many, many people die from execution, not many rise again to go to heaven to be with god. His latest movie is just more of the same minute inspection of torture and death. Mel would fit in well with the current administration where torture is standard practice and seemingly just begging for a Mel film treatment. Mel Gibson and his movies should be shunned by decent people. 

Constance Wiggins 

"Kudos for Kennedy" 

Developer Patrick Kennedy always seems to get a bad rap for things like shabby construction and ambiguous agreements allowing additional floors based on proposed “cultural” spaces. 

However, now seems a good time to thank him for the transformation of the former Bekins Building into UC Storage. This four story cube now has a completely new paint job plus a three dimensional “mural” of metal seaweed, fish, turtles and even giant birds adorning the Shattuck and Ward sides plus the roof. Most dramatic of all is the projected “high tide” somewhere between the second and third floor (a “global warming warning”?) 

While the outside is indeed strikingly beautiful (except for the billboards atop the north side) there is the matter of all the electronic equipment inside, ready to power up microwave antennas focused on three sides into our LeConte district. 

Volunteers have checked for cellphone “dead spots” throughout our area and have found none. Therefore, why should these new antennas be located here instead of in the hills where they would reach a larger area while filling known dead spots? (Recently the reporting of a fire in the hills was delayed because no cellphone service was available and a home was destroyed.) 

Thus we praise Mr. Kennedy for his excellent exterior while questioning the need for the highly profitable microwave antennas focused on our residential neighborhood. 

Karl Reeh 

President,  

LeConte Neighborhood Assn. 

Condomania—the current answer to developers’ prayers for short-term gain—is sweeping the commercial corridors of MLK Jr. Way, Shattuck, Telegraph, and Broadway in North Oakland. Variances and conditional use permits are being handed out like candy by the Planning Dept. to allow condo developers to exceed height limits, eliminate or reduce setbacks from neighboring properties and residences, and provide the barest minimum of off-street parking and required open space. Inadequate noticing of projects under consideration means most neighbors are in the dark until too late to do anything. 

No smaller apartment buildings or neighborhood-serving retail in existing buildings are safe from deep-pocket developers, who count on decking out the smallest parcels with the maximum number of units. UNLESS WE DO SOMETHING, YOU WON’T RECOGNIZE YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD! 

Many individual projects—some known, some unknown—are already in the pipeline. The developers and their allies are cloaking themselves in the rhetoric of Smart Growth, Density, and In-Fill. Opponents of these out-of-scale projects are now not just vilified as “anti-development Nimbys” but as promoting Global Warming! 

Development proponents—many of whom also pay lip-service to “affordability”—ignore the tenants being forced out of rent-controlled units to make way for the upscale market-rate condos. We already have woefully inadequate infrastructure—overwhelmed police and fire, failing schools, potholes and broken sidewalks—and can’t even cope with existing conditions. 

There is no legal linkage and no guarantee that building generic condo high-rises in North Oakland preserves farmland and open space elsewhere. Nor is the city making the developers put their money where their rhetoric is. The city has not demanded mitigation of money for parks, schools, and police and very little for street and traffic improvements for our neighborhoods. 

What can you do? 

The Planning Director serves at the whim of the Mayor, and planning staff may have to rationalize these projects in order to keep their jobs. Staff are not likely to oppose politicians who receive contributions from developers, who justify their projects saying they contribute fees, taxes, and jobs. But our ELECTED officials are as responsible as WE want to make them. District 1 Councilmember Jane Brunner should be aware of our concerns. She can’t pass the buck, blame Planning, or just throw up her hands. This is HER problem, too. 

•Demand a more representative Planning Commission that’s not just a developer Rubber Stamp! Appeals to the City Council of Planning Commission “decisions” are time-consuming and expensive. Mayor Brown makes ALL of the Planning Commission (and Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board) appointments. He just recently backed down from a parting-shot pick of a Republican social conservative to the Planning Commission. His pro-variance/pro-development predisposition SHOULD have prevented him from even being considered—luckily he was also pro-gun, anti-choice, and for heterosexual-only marriage! 

Major and controversial projects should go directly to the Planning Commission and bypass the Zoning Administrator. Projects first approved at the Zoning Administrator level can ONLY be appealed to the Planning Commission. Their decision is final, leaving litigation the only other step possible. 

Two side-by-side Shattuck Avenue projects exemplify the trend to development-on-steroids. 6535 Shattuck, three stories with six residential and two retail units, is already under construction after two years in the pipeline.  

More recently, planning staff readily granted a conditional use permit for a 4-story, 12-15 unit residential/ground floor retail project directly south at 6525 Shattuck, impacting the plans of the developer of the smaller project for solar energy. The Approval (oops, Planning) Commis-sion denied the appeal of the 6535 developer when he challenged his new neighbor’s proposed height, although they did lower portions of 6525 by all of two feet and limited the number of units to twelve. 

Brown’s most recent appointee, a Clear Channel executive, helpfully suggested the miffed lower-rise developer put his solar on the looming neighbor! Instead, the 6535 developer has signaled he’ll cancel the solar instead. What’s Green about that, you City Council self-styled Progressives and your Smart Growth allies? 

Another fallout of this steriod injection is the possible loss of a unique local business and de facto public park—the Dry Garden at 6556 Shattuck. The operator is in negotiations with the owner and hoping to buy the property, but with the condos-up-the-kazoo stampede, the price of the land nearly doubled after the approval of the twelve-unit condo complex. 

•Demand variances and conditional use permits be thoughtfully granted, not routinely to powerful developers so every new building exceeds the height limits, eliminates setbacks, and crowds neighbors. Ordinary people, of course, shouldn’t count on the same ease getting variances or conditional use permits for themselves. 

•Demand developers making killer profits underwrite the additional costs of police, fire, schools and other services their pro-jects require. 

•Demand a master plan—as Jane Brunner once upon a time proposed—from Lawton Associates—single-handedly morphing Temescal into Lawtonville—before more of their projects are approved. On Dec. 5 the City Council took up the appeal by outraged Temescal community members who collected over 1,000 signatures opposing Lawton Associates’ plans for 4700 Telegraph. They intend to demolish the three existing 1903 buildings with 11 affordable/rent-controlled units of housing for a five story, 51-unit market rate condo project, garnering five variances along the way. 

•Demand consideration be given to the impacts these out-of-scale projects have on the R-40 residences on the “side streets.” Property values may rise on the transit corridors with these over-sized projects, but ours will fall as we lose on-street parking spaces, views, and sunlight. 

•Demand TRUE in-fill housing—vacant lots, truly blighted buildings, NOT removal of functional, useable buildings. 

•Demand adequate noticing, including PROMINENT, eye-catching posted no-tices and project descriptions in front of development sites. If Berkeley can do it, so can Oakland. 

•SAVE what’s left of historic, interesting buildings on our shopping streets! 

BASTA! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! 

An ad hoc, growing coalition of concerned neighborhood groups, including Neighborhood Preservation (655-3841) and North Oakland Coalition for Sustainable Community (654-2329) 

Regarding the proposed Trader Joe’s mega-project at 1885 University Avenue: 

In your last issue, Gerta Farber asked if I had considered in my previous comments the “exodus of Berkeley traffic on their way to Trader Joe’s in Emeryville or El Cerrito?” Yes, Ms. Farber, after four long years of involvement in this process, I have. I must ask you, have you carefully considered exactly what it is you are willing to give up for a developer who is shamelessly parading a non-union, German-owned grocery store chain as a means to a solely for-profit end?  

The developers’ campaign of “shock & awe,” centered on dazzling the powers that be and distracting the carbohydrate-deprived among you to the reality of this behemoth by dangling Trader Joe’s in front of you, does not fool the rest of us. Some of us see Hudson-McDonald’s ploy for exactly what it is: crude manipulation of the worst sort, designed to circumvent and explode the existing zoning laws and turn Berkeley into a densely populated, homogenized, chain-store loving mini-Manhattan. Some of us are not so blinded by the prospect of Trader Joe’s (and inflated potential revenue claims) that we are willing to allow developers any and all latitudes to get it. The point, Ms. Farber, is clearly explained by Steve Wollmer in his commentary contained in the same issue. Should Hudson-McDonald be allowed to run rough-shod over local and state laws because they have cleverly thrown a popular supermarket into the mix? As Mr. Wollmer points out, there are far more appropriate places in Berkeley for a Trader Joe’s. The site at 1885 University is not the only open space left in Berkeley, yet. Nor is it a downtown location. Andronicos on University and Berkeley Bowl are far closer to BART stations than this location, and yet, mysteriously, there are not a lot of people hauling their groceries via BART or bus all the way home. Why would this location be any different? And further, exactly what is Trader Joe’s providing that is so valuable that we are willing to sacrifice our neighborhoods and our local businesses to it? In the end, it’s all about the money.  

There are ways to lure a Trader Joe’s to Berkeley without destroying our residential neighborhoods, and without rewarding developers for doing so. Hudson-McDonald has practically given this valuable retail space away for free to a tenant who can clearly afford to pay for it. As I have said before, the residential neighborhoods have no intention of bearing the full burden of both Hudson-McDonald’s and Trader Joe’s greed. I refer you also, Ms. Farber, to the commentary by Fred Dodsworth. Be careful what you wish for and define as “success” for Berkeley. The exodus of cars to Trader Joe’s in Albany and El Cerrito you speak of will be nothing compared to the exodus of people fleeing a Berkeley they no longer recognize, care about, or care to live in. 

Regan Richardson lives in Berkeley. 

Here’s the Santa Claus plan: divide Iraq into two parts, called “naughty” and “nice.” Carve out the “nice” piece from some relatively unpopulated part of Iraq, and draw on the revenue from Iraqi oil to pay for construction of a pleasant, comfortable infrastructure—farms, homes, apartments, schools, business parks, stores and restaurants. Bring in people from Turkey to run the initial temporary administration for Nice Iraq. The Turks live in the region and already know how to run a secular state full of nominal Muslims. Invite immigration into Nice Iraq from Naughty Iraq, starting with a small group of essential workers and professional people. 

Provide initial free housing, health care and schools. Seed some business operations. It should be made clear to arriving residents of Nice Iraq that there will be no violence and no state religion. Anyone fomenting violence or preaching sectarian intolerance will be promptly deported to Naughty Iraq. 

Residents of Nice Iraq will be free to practice all varieties of Islam, including Sunni, Shia and Kurdish versions. 

As Nice Iraq becomes stable and prosperous, its residents will set their own policy for permanent residence by non-Islamic minorities. Once Nice Iraq is operational, it will begin to annex pieces of Naughty Iraq. Residents of Nice Iraq will vote on which areas to annex, and the residents of any area proposed for annexation must approve the action. There will be no mass population transfers—any annexed area will join Nice Iraq with all its residents in place. If some Shia can’t abide living with Sunnis, they are free to migrate elsewhere—to Naughty Iraq, Iran or wherever. 

A similar policy applies to any other intolerant people. Businesses operating in Nice Iraq will establish “foreign” business operations in Naughty Iraq, like Taiwan now operates businesses in mainland China. Such business activity will be at the risk of the companies involved, because Naughty Iraq will still be free to carry on with suicide bombers, roadside explosives and sectarian genocide. Visitors of all kinds will be free to enter Nice Iraq, unless they are found to have engaged in violence or have preached religious intolerance. 

Naughty Iraq will continue to be occupied, either by the US-led coalition or by a UN force. Nice Iraq will have no foreign troops, except for whatever temporary troops the Turks want to bring in, under Turkish command. 

Once Turkey has trained enough locals for police and border control, and a sufficiently long violence-free time period has passed in Nice Iraq, the locals will take over their own security. Residents of Nice Iraq will operate their own government, with initial help from the Turks, who will receive financial compensation for their efforts, from Iraqi oil revenues, via UN administration. Some neutral entity will need to keep control of the oil, so that the revenues can reliably be used for funding the infrastructure of New Iraq. 

Santa suggests one of the oil-rich Gulf States for this job. Saudi Arabia is not a suitable candidate, because so many Saudis practice an intolerant variety of Islam. 

Perhaps Dubai World Ports would take the job? 

Naughty Iraq will eventually disappear, being annexed piecemeal by Nice Iraq or perhaps absorbed by other countries in the region, such as Syria, Iran, Turkey or Saudi Arabia. Life in Nice Iraq might turn out be so good that some regions not originally part of Iraq might wish to be annexed, such as a Kurdish region in Turkey or Syria. Nice Iraq will eventually get a new name—not “Iraq,” which carries so much bad baggage. 

Santa recommends something with old historical roots, like Mesopotamia, Uruk or Babylonia. 

Steve Geller is Berkeley resident.

As an American who watched Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s violent overthrow of Salvador Allende’s government in Chile, I’m reminded of my own government’s role in the coup as I read reports of Pinochet’s death. 

In Santiago on Sept. 11, 1973, I watched as Chilean air force jets flew overhead. Moments later I heard explosions and saw fireballs of smoke fill the sky as the presidential palace went up in flames. Allende, the democratically elected socialist leader, died in the palace. 

From the moment of Allende’s election in September 1970, the Nixon administration mounted a covert campaign against him. Henry Kissinger, then Nixon’s National Security adviser, declared: “I don’t see why we need to stand idly by and watch a country go Communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people.” Weeks later the pro-constitutionalist head of the army, Gen. Rene Schneider, was assassinated in a failed attempt to stop the inauguration of Allende. 

For the next three years, CIA-backed terrorist groups bombed and destroyed state railroads, power plants and key highway arteries to create chaos and stop the country from functioning. The goal was to “make the economy scream,” as Nixon ordered. U.S. copper companies, along with communications corporations such as IT&T, also participated in the efforts to destabilize the country. 

In the midst of this struggle for control of Chile, Allende insisted, almost stubbornly, on maintaining the country’s democratic institutions. He enjoyed immense popular support from below, even in the waning days of his government when the economy was in shambles and virtually everyone believed a confrontation was imminent. I’ll never forget the last major demonstration on Sept. 4, 1973, when the Alameda, the major avenue of downtown Santiago, was packed with tens of thousands of marchers, all intent on passing by the presidential palace where Allende stood on a balcony waving to the crowd. This was no government-orchestrated demonstration in which people were trucked in from the barrios and countryside. These people came out of a deep sense of commitment, a belief that this was their government and that they would defend it to the end. 

In the aftermath of the coup, 3,000 people perished, including two American friends of mine, Charles Horman and Frank Terrugi. The United States, knowing of these atrocities, rushed to support the military regime, reopening the spigot of economic aid that had been closed under Allende. When the relatives of Horman and Terrugi made determined inquires about their disappearances and deaths, the U.S. embassy and the State Department stonewalled along with the new military junta. Four weeks after the coup, I fled across the Andes, returning to the United States to do what I could to denounce the crimes of Pinochet and my government. 

I returned to Chile for the 1988 plebiscite that finally forced Pinochet out of office after 17 long and brutal years. But for eight more years his dark hand hung over Chile as he continued in his role as the commander in chief of the army. Finally, as a result of years of hard work by the international human rights movement, Pinochet was detained in London in October 1998 for crimes against humanity. Five hundred days later he was sent back to Chile, allegedly for health reasons. There the Chilean courts lead by Judge Juan Guzman squared off with the general’s right-wing supporters and the military, stripping him of his immunity from prosecution as “Senator-for-Life,” a position he bestowed on himself when he retired from the army. 

As the proceedings against Pinochet advanced, new reports of U.S. complicity in the coup and the repression began to surface, particularly about the role of Nixon’s secretary of state, Henry Kissinger. The Chilean courts tried to compel Kissinger to testify, but they received no cooperation from the U.S. Justice Department. French courts also issued orders for the interrogation of Kissinger, making him realize that he, like Pinochet, did not enjoy international impunity from prosecution. Small wonder that Kissinger wrote an article in Foreign Affairs magazine, decrying the use of the principle of “universal jurisdiction” by courts to bring human rights violators to justice. 

In Chile, President Michele Bachelet, whose father died in prison under Pinochet, has refused to grant the ex-dictator a state funeral. Only military bands will play at his interment. Eduardo Contreras, a Chilean human rights lawyer, declared, “Pinochet should be buried as a common criminal,” adding, “The dictator died on Dec. 10, the International Day of Human Rights. It is as if humanity chose this special moment to weigh in with its final judgment, declaring ‘enough’ for the dictator.” 

The burial of Pinochet comes at a moment when the current Bush administration is being scrutinized for its atrocities and crimes against humanity that are even more appalling than those of the former Chilean dictator. It is another irony of history that Pinochet died on Donald Rumsfeld’s last full day as secretary of defense. Like Pinochet and Kissinger, Rumsfeld may very well spend the rest of his life trying to escape the grasp of domestic and international courts. Eleven Iraqi prisoners held in Abu Ghraib and a Saudi detained in Guantanamo are filing criminal charges in German courts against Rumsfeld and other U.S. civilian and military officials, including Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. And on last Friday as Rumsfeld was making a farewell speech to his cohorts at the Pentagon, attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union argued in a Washington, D.C., federal court that Rumsfeld and three senior military officials should be held responsible for the torture of Iraqi and Afghani detainees. 

The Pinochet affair has shaped a whole new generation of human rights activists and lawyers. They are determined to end the impunity of public officials, including that of the civilian and military leaders in the United States, who engage in state terrorism and human rights abuses while violating international treaties like the Geneva Conventions.  

Roger Burbach is author of The Pinochet Affair: State Terrorism and Global Justice (Zed Books, 2004).

TRAFFIC COURT MOVE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am saddened to learn about the move of the Berkeley Traffic Court to Oakland. As the Berkeley Trial Court administrator from 1997 through March of this year, I worked closely with city and county officials to develop the kind of programming most needed and desired by the community. With the help of Supervisor Keith Carson, Mayor Shirley Dean, Dion Aroner, Loni Hancock and various members of the City Council, the Superior Court entered into a negotiated agreement with the City of Berkeley and the County of Alameda that would provide for a beautifully refurbished courthouse to remain at the foot of Center Street for the next 50 years.  

The Berkeley Courthouse was specifically constructed with one large non-jury courtroom for traffic matters, and one smaller non-jury courtroom for small claims and domestic violence matters. Clerical offices were designed to provide public services in the areas of civil/small claims, traffic, and court collections. The civil office was authorized to accept any type of Superior Court filing including family law, probate, and unlimited civil litigation as a convenience to the local bar.  

The Traffic Court served a much greater role in the community than just a forum for persons accused of motor vehicle violations. It also served persons accused of violating open container laws, incidental drug use, homelessness, trespassing, and even unlawful skateboarding. It was truly the People’s Court of Berkeley. Once moved to Oakland, it will no longer have ties to the community, nor will it serve in that capacity. 

I am hopeful that this change is merely temporary, driven by a need for the Superior Court to quickly vacate a court building in Oakland recently deemed unfit, and that the Berkeley Courthouse will return to its former level of service once a new courthouse is completed in Pleasanton. 

Benjamin D. Stough 

Alameda 

• 

PUBLIC TRANSIT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Here in Berkeley we talk about getting out of our cars, but there is no plan for a practical transportation system that would really get us out of our cars. For example, in Paris as in other cities there is a Metro station every 100 yards with trains that run often and on time. In Mexico City they have one-peseta and two-peseta taxis that travel the mail drags and stop wherever hailed. Here, we have only cumbersome AC transit which runs late and infrequently. Our wonderful Arts District in downtown Berkeley is not served by AC transit after 6 p.m. 

We need to think of ways to provide good public transportation—beyond AC Transit. I would love to see a shuttle/jitney that goes from the base of Solano Avenue, down Shattuck to the Ashby BART station, another that goes down University Avenue, down Dwight Way, down Ashby, and maybe even Cedar, across Sacramento, etc. With this kind of system to give a local service for BART, being car-less would be more possible. 

The taxi scrip system for seniors and disabled people is only half-heartedly funded by the city. We have to fight for continued funding, and they constantly chip away at it—now it is only for low-income people, and the taxi drivers no longer have the convenience of cashing scrip often, so they are reluctant to honor it. Why not have taxi scrip for everyone? That would really reduce cars. 

I know about CarShare and bike routes, but that is for the able and well off. We need a transportation system that would serve working people and seniors and disabled that would feed into the business districts and the Arts district. Everyone would benefit. 

Margot Smith 

• 

THE IRAQ WAR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

We never had a true reason to invade Iraq and there are only two reasons we are there now: 

1. To secure oil for the large oil/energy moguls in the USA and possibly Saudi Arabia. 

2. Because leaders are afraid that they or the United States will appear weak. 

There is no graceful way to admit a tragic mistake of this magnitude. If we can’t be graceful, at least we can attempt to be honorable by owning up to what we’ve done and doing the right thing, which will be leaving now, wait for the dust to settle and offering aid to repair the damage we created. 

If this seems a bitter pill for us to swallow, think of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi’s who have lost their lives or had their lives shattered. Think of the Americans who have given their lives, their bodies and all to what purpose? Oil and ego? There is no real purpose and most soldiers in Iraq and most Americans will tell you that. Knowing this, how can we ask Americans to lay down their lives for one more day? 

This war must stop and apparently the only way this can happen is fro Congress to stop funding the war. 

P.S. This administration tells us that Social Security is going broke, yet they have developed billions upon billions of dollars to fight this war in Iraq? 

Lawrence Arsenault 

Alameda 

• 

TRADER JOE’S IMPACTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regan Richardson’s Dec. 5 letter asks for an explanation of the “miracle” that the Trader Joe’s project would reduce the number of daily car trips. It might be a draw, but has Richardson considered the exodus of Berkeley traffic on their way to Trader Joe’s in Emeryville or El Cerrito? 

Gerta Farber 

• 

EPITHETS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

What a relief! After reading the last bit of Glen Kohler’s letter I feel liberated from the usual PC-enforced respect. Now I can safely use the formerly derogatory insult “gypsy” to refer to anyone “not served or bound by societal conventions.” Of course Kohler should probably have made it a little more specific, saying something about thievery and hygiene, for instance. I wonder how soon the rest of us will be able to reclaim other choice “stock terms” like “nigger” and “spic” and “gook” (meaning anyone not served or bound by white conventions), “kike” (meaning anyone not served or bound by Christian conventions), “faggot” and “dyke” (meaning anyone not served or bound by heterosexual conventions). Certainly these other “stock terms” are as devoid of hatred and dehumanization as “gypsy.” So thanks Mr. Kohler, for opening the door and allowing us to use such neutral terms in public again without fear of scorn or rebuke. 

C. Boles 

• 

PEOPLE’S PARK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The recent drug war and homeless attack on People’s Park by the UC police and Berkeley police wanting more clear lines of view into the west end of the park so the cops won’t have to get out of theirs cars must be exposed as what it is—an attack on the park and an ongoing attack on all of us. 

With the prohibition of drugs comes the high price of drugs, which has made it a very profitable trade, and because there are very few good paying jobs, our homes, streets and parks have become market places. In today’s newspaper reports, there are over seven million of our sisters and brothers “in the arms of the law,” one of every 32 American adults. A third of the seven million are in prison, which is up from last year. The children and families of the drug war casualties are hurt forever. According to the Sentencing Project reports in the age group 25-29, the racial disparities are one in 13 black men incarcerated (7.7 percent) verses 2.6 percent of the Hispanic population and 1.1 percent for white men. From 1995-2003 “inmates in federal prison for drug offenses have accounted for 49 percent of total prison population growth.” This only amplifies racism, division, and hatred among us. Worse of all the drug prohibition does not solve the problem. Drug use is at the same levels. 

The attack on the homeless is for sure an attack or war on all of us. The government has taken away the housing subsidies for the people and gave it to the landlords. The Western Regional Advocacy Project really lays it out how the feds stop giving $53 billion per year over the last 25 years for housing. 

Just like the war in Iraq is to steal the wealth of the people of Iraq, the drug war and the war on the homeless is to bring in big profits for the corporations by bringing down our wages and destroying collective solutions and our unions. Everybody is afraid of going to jail or being thrown into the street.  

Michael Delacour 

• 

WILLARD NEIGHBORHOOD’S NEEDS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

People’s Park cruelly neglects the needs of the rich.  

Two representatives of the wealthy Willard Neighborhood Association came to a Dec. 4 People’s Park Community Advisory Board Meeting to insist that while they appreciated People’s Park’s greenery and gardens, they still worry that most of their neighbors don’t feel “comfortable” there.  

Let’s admit it: Long-time park activists have sorely neglected the needs of the wealthy in the user-developed design of the park. Basketball, for instance, is offered as a recreational option, while polo is nowhere to be found.  

There’s no reason that the park can’t have a free-box with warm, clean clothes for the poor, while also offering financial counseling and tips about hedge funds for the rich. Let’s work together to make sure the needs of the wealthy are given equal weight in a new, fresh design for People’s Park, so that homeless people and people with time-share condos in Cabo can all play canasta together.  

Carol Denney 

• 

COMPLAINTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was disappointed to read Christopher Cherney’s laundry list of complaints about our neighborhood. It would be far more helpful to hear about what people are doing—maybe Christopher himself is doing something—to help improve the situation. 

Michael Carreira 

• 

ELECTRIC CARS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Jerry Landis, in his Dec. 1 letter, asks, “And where does the council think that electricity [for electric cars] comes from?” In replying that it mostly comes “from coal-burning generating plants, far more polluting than cars,” Landis perpetuates the myth that electric cars are connected by long extension cords to the electrical grid while they drive, and thereby depend on coal-fired generation plants. 

Most electric cars are powered by batteries which are re-charged overnight, at a time when power companies can scarcely give electricity away. When I leased an electric car from Honda (for four years), PG&E installed a time-of-use meter in my house, charging one-third of commercial rates between midnight and 7 a.m. My total electric bill actually went down! At night, moreover, it is as likely that electricity is generated by wind or hydro as by coal. 

Of course, the more fanatic electric-car owner will install solar panels, contributing to the power grid during the day, and drawing power back from the grid at night. What could be more green? 

Alan H. Nelson 

• 

CLINTON IN 2008? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Sen. Hillary Clinton is considering a run for president in 2008. I like Hillary Clinton but she has negatives dogging her. She automatically loses tens of millions of votes from the religious and conservative right. Clinton is a divisive figure even though it’s not of her own doing.  

What about other Democratic stars who wouldn’t start the presidential campaign with a lot of baggage. Evan Bayh, Bill Bradley and John Edwards are proven winners without an entourage of negatives.  

With Hillary Clinton as presidential candidate, Democrats would be shooting themselves in the foot before the race even began. 

Ron Lowe  

Grass Valley  

• 

UC EXPANSION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The world is facing huge ecological catastrophes. Our universities should be radically re-directing our resources to studying ways to turn around the causes and find solutions to get as many species through this collapse as possible, most notably our own. 

Spending millions of dollars to build an elite training gym on a precious oak grove is complete insanity! 

UC is so manipulated by corporate financial interests that not only is its contribution to solutions of humanity’s pressing problems minimal but it is unfortunately actively plummeting us in the direction of doom. Nukes, bio tech, and nano technologies are far more likely to harm than help the delicate ecology we need for survival. And don’t be fooled by a new proposed bio-fuel research mega-project. It will be in the vein of the disastrous industrial agriculture practices that are the problem. 

Of course there are voices of reason and hope within the university: Miguel A. Altieri, Ignacio Chapela, Patrick Archie, the Agrariana student group, the organic garden, the projects for sustainable Ag at Gill Tract (and the struggle to preserve it), the Save the Oaks Student group, some elements of the College of Natural Resources etc. It is toward these efforts the University should be directing it’s resources.  

We have so much to lose if the university is allowed to aggressively head down the tracks of doom fueled by a blind corporate greed. The building plans UC has, as reported in the Dec. 5 Berkeley Daily Planet, are very alarming. Please, sane reverent people, speak up. 

Cyndi Johnson 

• 

OAKLAND PLANNING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was appalled to read that Jane Brunner had blocked an appointment to the Oakland Planning Commission because she objects to the nominee’s positions on abortion and gun control. The planning commission never makes a ruling that has any bearing on those issues. It is this sort of behavior that has created the polarization that is plaguing the nation. If you don’t like his stance on those issues, it makes sense to oppose him for positions that involve health care and police policy, but there is no good reason to keep him off the planning commission that is not directly related to urban planning. 

Marcella L. Murphy 

• 

HOUSING AND DENSITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was dismayed to read about the ABAG quota for new housing units in Berkeley. Although I agree that Berkeley needs affordable housing, we also need to remember why we love living in Berkeley. Personally, as a resident of the flats and a neighbor to Ashby BART, I enjoy walking through residential streets, admiring the gardens of neighbors, and knowing most of the other residents of my block. When huge increases in density are proposed (such as the ridiculous transit village idea) I know it will directly affect me. As usual, they are suggesting that these 2,712 units be built downtown, along major corridors, and close to public transportation (why do they never propose higher density in the more upscale neighborhoods?). In the past affordable housing was built to fit in with Berkeley. For example, Savo Island (bordered by Adeline, Stewart, Milvia, Oregon and Ward) has 57 units that were built for families, seniors and disabled people. Even at that size, it still feels somewhat densely populated as compared to the surrounding neighborhood. However high rise apartments, condos etc. will not enhance the quality of life in Berkeley. Here’s what really gets me: ABAG can dictate to member cities and counties our public policy. I thought that if policies are required which impact our daily quality of life, that we could vote to throw the suckers out! However, ABAG is not an elected board. While I appreciate a “regional approach” to transportation and air quality issues, I certainly don’t want city policy dictated by an unrepresentative board. I look forward to the Planet doing some further reporting on who and how people are appointed to ABAG, and what their agenda is. 

Nora Goodfriend-Koven 

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VISITOR’S PARKING WOES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Instead of shopping at a mega-mall, I consciously decided to patronize a locally owned merchant in downtown Berkeley on a recent visit to the area. Figuring I was safe, I parked in a spot flanked with “90 minute parking” signs. As I returned to my car well within 90 minutes, my stomach sank as I noticed the small white envelope stuffed under my windshield wiper. Thanks to the arcane City of Berkeley parking regulations, I was slapped with a $30 visitor’s tax, AKA parking ticket. Merchants take heed: your city creates an uninviting environment for visitors wishing to patronize your stores. Next time, I will spend my dollars with local merchants in my own town rather than risk another encounter with Berkeley’s guerrilla parking department.  

Lisa Hill 

Reno, Nevada

Thank you for the excellent Dec. 5 article regarding the push to increase housing in the downtown Berkeley corridor. I especially liked that you paired ABAG’s demands with UC’s building boom on the front page. 

Let me see if I’ve got this right: The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is threatening to restrict some federal funding options if Berkeley does not add approximately 387 new units of housing per year! (By the by, 387 new units a year also means nearly 1,000 new residents every year and an approximately equal number of vehicles.) 

That enormous oversized inappropriate sore thumb downtown known as the Gaia Building has only 91 apartments. ABAG is saying that we need to add the equivalent of more than four Gaia Buildings a year to our city/town, every year for the indefinite future! (Four Gaia Buildings would still be 23 units short of ABAG’s mandated annual minimum increase!) You quote Berkeley’s Planning Director Dan Marks as saying (in a slightly redacted form: “That means we would have to ... remove any policy barriers to that housing being produced.” 

Welcome to part two of the big business, big government assault on Berkeley. In addition to the on-going and current push to increase retail space throughout the city to add tax revenues to the city coffers, now our little flawed but charming town is being pimped out by a powerful regional governmental agency for every mixed-use developer’s pleasure.  

Recall that current commercial rents in Berkeley ($3 to $4 a square foot) already are too high for local non-chain store businesses. Say goodbye to neighborhood restaurants, coffee shops and bookstores. Say hello to national and international chain stores. 

Recall that current residential rent in Berkeley ($1,000-plus per month for a studio) is approximately the same amount a person working full-time at a minimum wage job makes in a month, before deductions! Say goodbye to diverse neighborhoods and low density neighborhoods. Say hello to entire families living in studio apartments and/or San 

Francisco-style professional-class neighborhoods. 

The political and financial pressures being brought to bear on our community are powerful, well-connected, well-financed, relentless, and ruthless. Additionally the university’s scheme to add several millions of square feet of commercial space, both on campus and in the downtown, will exacerbate the pressures from ABAG for more housing. On average (as I recall from my sojourn in architecture school three decades ago) every thousand square feet of commercial development adds three employees to the mix ABAG uses to set housing standards. With just two million square feet of additional development (that does not factor in the as yet unknown but substantial additional private development in the pipeline) ABAG will see 6,000 additional employees. 

Those employees are not likely to come from Berkeley’s under employed, unemployed and inadequately educated sub-classes. No, those employees will be from somewhere else and they’ll need someplace to live. Say good-bye to the little city/town of Berkeley. I, for one, don’t want any part of the city “our betters” are building for us. 

As was true in the 1970s, somewhere in Berkeley at some point in the near future, the people of this wonderful community are going to have to draw a line in the sand and insist that enough is enough, that we’re not willing to surrender the quality of life we love for some distant developer’s new second home. War has been declared on Berkeley’s quiet charm. The city/town we know and love is under attack and it will not survive in anything like it’s current form if we don’t defend it. 

Fred Dodsworth is a Berkeley journalist.

Human Rights Day comes but once a year, on Dec. 10. It’s the same date in every country around the world no matter what the local religion or culture or nationality. On that date, people around the globe—not just here in the Bay Area—commemorate the adoption by the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Back in 1948, people first got to hear this quietly revolutionary declaration by the United Nations, that had the full support of the United States. All the governments that were and are part of the UN agreed that every human being’s rights are automatically entitled to protection, thanks to the brand-new operating principle called “human rights.”  

It turns out that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the single best-known and most-utilized human rights document ever to see the light of day. Its operative terms are as powerful today as they were back then. The human right to be alive was first laid out 58 years ago, in the Universal Declaration, but human rights movers-and-doers couldn’t know as much as we know today about the scientific connection between the environment and the right to be alive. The rights first identified in the Declaration have gained strength, over these years, keeping pace with changes in the world’s technology. Only in the past decade or so, for example, have we come to understand that the air we breathe is an intrinsic part of the rights to which everyone can lay claim. 

The laws of our land have not until recently been much concerned with the right of people to grow up breathing unpolluted air. The term ‘environmental racism’ did not yet exist, for example, although the practice was widespread in industrialized societies, and is still so today. 

If, right now, we can succeed in identifying clean, breathable air as a right, our children will not have to take up that fight later on. These days for the first time, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments concerning the environment and climate change. Whatever the Court’s decision in this new field, we can be certain that the right to a healthy and sustainable environment, called for in international human rights agreements, is always going to be an intrinsic part of our community’s concern.  

What’s at stake? Nothing less than reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and associated global warming, reduction of mass extinction of biodiversity, protection of globally-endangered species, and a continued commitment to protect the ozone layer. 

Life in the Bay Area brings with it the added enrichment of knowing that here, the global actually translates into the local in productive and creative ways. For the most part, the federal government tends to respect the Universal Declaration’s protected rights, despite its refusal to sign on to the global agreement on climate change and clean air (the Kyoto Protocol). Taking the initiative locally, mayors around the Bay Area are enacting ordinances that will reduce energy usage, bring about switching to renewable sources, and revamp our communities’ environmental policies. All of us have something wonderful to look forward to: being beneficiaries of cities’ local implementation of the Kyoto principles.  

And I can look my new great-granddaughter squarely into her big dark eyes and say “It’s OK, little Rumi, we’re working on it. Breathe deep—deep—and be healthy. It’s your right.” 

Rita Maran teaches international human rights law UC Berkeley, and is vice-president of the United Nations Association-USA East Bay. Rumi Joon Maran, great-granddaughter, lives in Los Angeles and is nearly 6 months of age. 

On Thursday Dec. 14 Hudson McDonald’s Trader Joe’s project at 1885 University Ave. will come before the Zoning Adjustments Board for use permits. So far, the public controversy swirling about this project has missed the real issue: Hudson McDonald’s use of Trader Joe’s popularity as a wedge issue to extort “extra-legal” zoning concessions from our city.  

A mixed-use project with a Trader Joe’s, parking, and a cafe on the ground floor with three stories of housing (123-units) above is within city zoning and state law and requires no variances for approval. Indeed, neighbors are willing to work with the developer to configure a project of this size to minimize the traffic and parking impacts from Trader Joe’s. 

However Hudson McDonald demands that ZAB and the City Council approve a much larger building than our Zoning Ordinance permits or state law requires. According to Hudson McDonald a project with Trader Joe’s on the ground floor ‘needs’ the income from 25 additional market-rate residential units to compensate them for the fact that Trader Joe’s refuses to pay the full cost of their parking. To make up for Trader Joe’s below-cost rent, Hudson McDonald demands that ZAB issue them permits to build a five-story, 148-unit project. To build the this project requires three almost impossible to obtain variances from our zoning ordinance for a fifth story, for height greater than 50 feet and for a floor area ration (FAR) over 3.0. 

City staff and the city attorney are have been trying for months to connect the current project’s need for these variances with Hudson McDonald’s earlier affordable housing project, a project that could legitimately demand the same variances under state law to accommodate density bonus units. If ZAB approves these variances for the current project based on the earlier project’s protected status this project will be appealed to the City Council and, if necessary litigated, as this would constitute an abuse of discretion on the part of the city and be directly counter to state law’s requirement that density bonus units or incentives “shall contribute significantly to the economic feasibility of lower income housing in proposed housing developments.” (Government Code 65917) There is nothing in state density bonus law about making parking lots affordable for retail tenants and any court will look askance at the city’s use of a section of law written to produce affordable housing being hijacked to provide below-cost parking for a retail tenant.  

Granting additional market-rate residential units to a developer in order to bring a popular retail tenant to our city has no “cost” to the city. However, there would be other sorts of very real costs. The neighbors would be forced to live with a much larger project, the University/MLK intersection would descend further into gridlock, but worst of all this precedent would turn our zoning ordinance into a free-for-all of wheeling and dealing by every sharp actor in the development community. 

Contrast this “under the table” bribe to Hudson McDonald for bringing Trader Joe’s to Berkeley with the recent decision by San Jose to simply pay a rent subsidy of $2.8 million over 10 years to lure Trader Joe’s to a flagging mall (San Jose Mercury News, Aug. 18). I am not suggesting that Berkeley follow San Jose’s example, but at least their bribe was transparent and borne by the entire city, unlike Berkeley’s “creative” reading of our Zoning Ordinance and state law, which dumps all of the costs and impacts on our flatland neighborhood in perpetuity.  

If Berkeley wants a Trader Joe’s that is pedestrian- and transit-friendly, we should encourage them to consider the vacant Eddie Bauer/Gateway Computer storefronts at the corner of Allston Way and Shattuck Avenue, a space that is the same size as the MLK/University Avenue store and available today at $5,000 a month less rent. Unlike the MLK/University site, the Allston Way/Shattuck Avenue property really is downtown and between work and home for thousands of workers and students.  

By now I am sure you are wondering if a grocery store without a sea of parking surrounding it is feasible. Because of the existing transit and parking resources in downtown Berkeley I believe that Trader Joe’s could not only survive, but also thrive. There is no more “transit-centric” location in the East Bay than the two blocks along Shattuck Avenue between Allston and Addison, BART is less than 100 feet away and there are more than a dozen bus lines to every point in Berkeley within two blocks. But what about people with shopping carts filled with groceries? The 48 dedicated parking spaces at the MLK/University site can be replaced through metered street parking and/or validated parking at one of the four nearby lots; together with a dedicated pickup lane for a “valet cart” service where a Trader Joe’s attendant will take charge of your cart while you get your car and load your groceries when you return would make a dispersed parking model quite well and allow multi-stop shopping in downtown. Alternatively, Trader Joe’s offers a $4.95 delivery service for some of their urban stores, and at least for near-downtown residents this could be an attractive option. 

The creative re-use of a vacant storefront in the heart of downtown Berkeley’s transit crossroads is the environmentally preferable solution. Don’t let Hudson McDonald hold Trader Joe’s hostage. Write ZAB (zab@ci.ca.berkeley.ca) and the City Council (clerk@ci.berkeley.ca) asking them to deny Hudson McDonald’s current project, and then contact Trader Joe’s asking them to consider locating in downtown Berkeley. Call the Trader Joe’s head office at (626) 599-3700 or e-mail them through their website (www.traderjoes.com).  

Stephen Wollmer is a University Avenue neighborhood resident.

A triple dose of conflict of interest, secrecy, and outsourcing of most of the library director selection process to a private search firm, Dubberly Garcia Associates (DGA), and to an advisory committee of outside library directors, raises very serious questions. 

Whose interests are served when (1) most of the process is covered by a blanket of secrecy; (2) the responsibility for selecting four final candidates from the 13 reportedly provided by DGA, is turned over to an advisory committee of head librarians from other jurisdictions; (3) apparent conflicts of interest, suggesting cronyism, taint the whole process; and (4) profit drives the search firm and could potentially result in an expedient placement, rather than one that is best for Berkeley? 

These concerns would not exist if the Board of Library Trustees (BOLT) were to start over, managing the process itself with the help of the city’s workers and involving, throughout the process, the library’s unions, staff, and the public. 

Here are major concerns: 

Secrecy and pseudo-public process 

The process, and by whom carried out, for eliminating nine of the reported 13 candidates to the selected final four was withheld for too long from our inquiries and public knowledge. The names and written statements of the final four candidates were only released on Nov. 15, just a day before the interview panels began and three days before the poorly publicized public candidates’ forum on Nov. 18. 

Whose questions? 

BOLT planned for three interview panels to meet and interview the four finalists. But at least one panel was conducted by the search firm, and panel members were given pre-selected questions to ask, whose source we do not know. BOLT never clearly indicated how it would weigh the panels’ input, and delayed revealing names of staff and community panel members until well after the interviews took place, only after being repeatedly pressed by our questions at the library’s administrative office and by the public at the Nov. 29 special meeting. 

Finalist selection process unclear  

Who interviewed the 13 reported candidates and selected the four finalists? We understand that three members of the advisory committee of library heads interviewed them, but neither the library administration nor BOLT chair Susan Kupfer would confirm who made the selection. In addition we have received different stories as to who conducted the interviews. 

The minutes of BOLT’s Aug. 16 meeting list what is described as “the seven members of the advisory committee, besides Trustees Anderson and Kupfer.” They are: Anne Cain, county librarian, Contra Costa County Library; Linda Crowe, system director, Bay Area Library and Information System; Susan Hardie, retired (previously director of Alameda City Library); Carol Starr, director of library services, Marin County Free Library; Luis Herrera, city librarian, San Francisco Public Library; Susan Hildreth, California state librarian; and Carmen Martinez, library director, Oakland Public Library. 

A printed list from the library shows just three librarians—Hildreth, Cain and Starr—as being on the “Library Director Selection Panel”–“Advisory Committee.” Chair Susan Kupfer said at the Nov. 29 special BOLT meeting that there were three, but then gave four quite different names: Hildreth, Starr, Herrera, and Martinez . 

Conflicts of interest 

Two of the four final candidates are now working, or have worked, under members of the advisory committee of library directors chosen by BOLT to help with the selection of a new Berkeley Public Library (BPL) director. Donna Corbeil, deputy director at Solano County Library since August, 2004, worked under Susan Hildreth as Chief of Branches for five years when Hildreth headed the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) until mid-2004. Gerry Garzon, deputy director of Oakland Public Library, currently works under Carmen Martinez, who heads that system. 

We think Hildreth and Martinez , at a minimum, should have recused themselves from serving on the interview panel, and the library’s printed list suggests that Martinez may have done so. But even if both recused themselves, how free would other library heads feel about potentially rejecting a candidate so close to a fellow committee member, especially a former subordinate of the State Librarian? 

The hidden pro-RFID bias... 

Susan Hildreth has publicly advocated for radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for libraries since 2003. Gov. Schwarzenegger, who appointed her California state librarian in mid-2004, recently vetoed California state Sen. Simitian’s bill that would have restricted, because of the privacy threats, the use of RFID in certain government-issued documents, including library cards. The Simitian bill was supported by the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and many others. 

We noted in our Nov. 17 Commentary that BOLT’s seven-member librarian advisory committee includes four librarians who have advocated RFID or been associated with libraries that installed it. Could this have resulted in biasing the candidate selection process, affecting who was included—or excluded during the process? 

Search firm profit — potential conflict 

A search firm, of course, would like to make a successful placement, but for profit’s sake cannot spend too much effort. Berkeley’s contract with DGA provides a “guarantee” of another search for no fee if the new director should leave the position or be terminated “for cause” within the first year after appointment. 

Seeking profit results in another potential conflict regarding turnover. Any job change means an opportunity to fill the position just vacated. Rapid turnover, within reason, is good business for search firms, but not good for communities that want long-serving directors. 

Some bright spots 

The conflicts of interest we describe are inherent in the situation that was set up. The structure—interview panels and a public candidates’ forum—were good. Our concern is with the process as a whole and with good aspects that were vitiated by poor execution. In part, this may come from a split on BOLT. We appreciate, in particular, Trustee Ying Lee’s public service, her efforts to make herself accessible to all, and her advocacy for broad inclusion and participation. 

Conclusion 

We believe the trustees should sweep away the clouds of conflicted purposes and do what is best for Berkeley: start again and do this important job themselves, with help from the public, the library unions, and other city employees. 

Or how about hiring from within? Couldn’t Berkeley tap an excellent current or former employee for this job? Why not? 

Peter Warfield is executive director of the Library Users Association. Gene Bernardi and Warfield are members of Berkeleyans Organizing for Library Defense (SuperBOLD). 

During the past week or so, tickets were distributed to UC Berkeley’s students in order to attract Mexican-Americans to view Mel Gibson’s new film, Apocalypto. When I first heard about the film, I was struck by Gibson’s investment in a project “reviving” an ancient Mesoamerican civilization not only because as a Mexican Indian (P’urhepecha/matlatzinca), I have great respect for the Maya but also because I’ve been fortunate to visit Catemaco, the wondrous place where the film was shot and was thus interested in how the site was used to capture the plot of the film. Curiosity got the best of me although I was a bit apprehensive about Gibson’s ability to accurately portray a Native American society or to present Native people in a positive light. I was right. 

I came out of the theater with mixed feelings—mostly awe, disgust, rage and indignity. Although I admit that I was visually awe-struck by the awesome aesthetic reconstruction of Maya architecture and by sitting through a film mostly casted by Native American actors and listening to a dialogue completely in the Maya Yucatec language, there were many elements of the movie I found deeply offensive.  

The central aspect of the film was undoubtedly violence. While I understand that violence is necessary to keep the plot moving along in an action film and while I can even entertain the notion that shock value is a gripping method effective in capturing the audience’s attention, I thought the use of violence in this film was grossly sensationalized, sometimes inaccurate and often unnecessary. The scenes that most stand out in my mind were those of unjust bloody battles, outright violent murder (including of women and children) with heavy and sharp weapons, and of course, mass human sacrifice. While I can see how human sacrifice can be a good attention-grabber for an adrenaline-hungry audience, I thought Gibson made his point after we saw one head falling from the steps of the central Mayan pyramid and that it was not necessary to have to sit through several scenes of sharp obsidian blades plunging into human flesh to extract pulsating hearts followed by fierce decapitations of sacrificial victims…all while onlookers of the Mayan king’s loyal subjects cheered and demanded more. The killers were portrayed as sadistic and bloodthirsty while the victims were other frightened, naïve (and apparently weaker) Indians. This nonstop violent carnage throughout the movie combined with the highlighting of human sacrifice portrayed the Mayas as bloodthirsty savages. While the stereotype is a painfully familiar one for Native people, I find it quite ironic that Gibson thought we would be somehow flattered at his interest in reconstructing our past “reality” or that we would find it at all glorifying.  

While sacrifice was, indeed, an important part of Aztec and Maya spirituality, many of the accounts given by Spanish soldiers and priests have been widely contested because of the bias coming from the source (conquistadores and Christian converters). The depictions in Maya and Aztec codices indicate that various forms of sacrifice were practiced and that they were, indeed, violent—but archeologists have been unable to find the mass numbers Spanish accounts claimed—proving that their alleged “eyewitness reports” (like Gibson’s representation) were gross exaggerations. Furthermore, it’s widely acknowledged by scholars who study the art of warfare that Mesoamerican societies like the Mayas and the Aztecs followed a strict set of rules of war. Their warrior societies did set out to find captives, yet the honor of the warrior was experienced in confronting another warrior on an individual basis and having him submit to his strength and valor—not, as Gibson portrays, in raiding villages or burning houses and definitely not in killing/raping women or disposing of children. Such cowardly acts would bring shame and dishonor to aspiring warriors.  

The truth (one acknowledged by Gibson on his Apocalypto site) is that the Mayas were one of the greatest civilizations in the Americas. They were highly advanced in astronomy, architecture, the arts and mathematics. They gave the world the concept of zero, came up with the most advanced writing system in the Western Hemisphere and designed a calendar far more accurate than the Gregorian one we live by today. Out of all these aspects of Maya society, Gibson chose to highlight sacrifice…this is far from paying tribute to the Mayas for their contributions.  

I understand that Gibson’s intent was to make a fast-moving action film; however, if carnage was what he wanted, why not focus on the extreme performance of human violence in the mass genocide of Mayas during the Spanish Conquest? Or perhaps, the systematic contemporary genocide Mayas have continued to suffer well into the 21st Century during the Central American civil wars at the hands of various governments? It’s ironic (yet not surprising) that one of the greatest civilizations is reduced to their violent practices while they themselves have been the worse casualties of ongoing violent warfare at the hands of European colonizers, their descendants and their imposed governments. I realize, however, that no one cares about the plights of contemporary Mayas; it’s much sexier in Hollywood to continue killing the dead ones. In Gibson’s film, for example, their racialized bodies are portrayed as disposable and to make matters worse, they are blamed for their own conquest! 

The film opens with a quote by W. Durant, “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within,” somehow suggesting that the divisions and warfare a decadent Maya society was wreaking on itself were what essentially led to its downfall. This quote makes sense at the end of the film, when Jaguar Paw’s run ends at his and his persecutors’ surprise upon witnessing the arrival of European ships. The Spanish conquistadores (who were historically savagely violent in their own regard) are presented as mere bystanders to Jaguar Paw’s persecution; religious symbolisms such as crosses and bibles in the hands of friars indicate that the Spanish have arrived to Christianize the heathens in order to save them from the savagery they inflict on each other. The quote on the film’s billboards, “No one can outrun their destiny,” can thus be read as the tragic truth that Jaguar Paw’s exhaustingly heroic escape back to this home in the jungle is really in vain because he will still face destiny at the hands of the newly-arrived Spanish colonizers (and he will thus probably be killed or keep running). Such is the epic story of our tragic hero!—still destined to be extinguished by the canals of history and modernity. Not quite a flattering portrayal for Maya/Native people.  

During a time when the portrayals of Native Americans in the mainstream media are scarce, all representations of Native people make a statement. This is what’s scary about continuing to see films like Apocalypto being undertaken by directors like Gibson. Indigenous scholars like Vine Deloria and Shari Hundorf have theorized why as a population, which has been continuously preyed upon, dispossessed and colonized, Native Americans are particularly vulnerable to appropriation and commodification. Indian cultures continue being capitalized upon and Indians continue being disposable, exotic (and in this case violent) others. The only good thing Apocalypse did for Native people was leave to money in indigenous communities in Mexico, expose audiences to the Maya Yucatec language (thus enlightening them), and of course, give jobs and jumpstart careers for a few indigenous actors. Otherwise, it’s just another example of a white man’s gaze following and misrepresenting American Indians.  

Gabriela Erandi Rico is a doctoral student in comparative ethnic studies at UC Berkeley. 

With conservatives still reeling from their losses in the mid-term election, and President Bush’s approval ratings heading for record lows, for the first time in six years liberals have something to cheer about. Rather than gloat about Bush’s ineptness, or the failure of the GOP-controlled 109th Congress, liberals should focus on their opportunity to sink the conservative ideology that has dominated American politics for twenty-five years. 

There are ten pillars of conservative political wisdom that liberals should attack: 

1. Government is bad: Conservatives believe the federal government is unnecessary, except for the military. They maintain that entitlements for the disadvantaged—the poor, elderly, and disabled—are counter-productive, as they foster dependency. Most Americans believe in the necessity for the federal government and these entitlements. It’s the role of liberals to provide a new justification for government, in general. 

2. Competence is overrated: Because conservatives don’t believe in government, they feel the only salient qualification for political office—such as President and Vice President—is ideological purity. As a result, the Bush White House has proved to be the most conservative and least competent administration in modern political history. Liberals must insist that elected officials have a record of accomplishment; they should believe in working for the common good and know what they are doing. 

3. Cutting taxes fixes everything: Beginning in 2001, the conservative Bush administration reduced taxes, claiming this would reduce the size of the federal government and a “rising tide would lift all boats.” Instead, this ill-considered “panacea” created a record Federal debt and lifted only the yachts of the rich. Liberals need to roll back these tax cuts and take a stand for fiscal sanity. 

4. The market will provide: Conservatives believe that, in the absence of federal programs, the market will solve national problems. America’s healthcare crisis demonstrates that this is naïve: the market doesn’t care about problems that affect the average American. And the market doesn’t respond to disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina. Liberals should argue that only government can solve certain national problems and resurrect the notion that government provides a “the safety net.” 

5. Our best foreign policy is a strong military: Even though the United States has by far the largest Defense budget in the world, conservatives continue to lobby for billions of dollars for wasteful Pentagon projects. They argue that big is better, that America’s best defense is a strong military. They ignore the fact that our armed forces didn’t protect us on 9/11 and haven’t won the war in either Afghanistan or Iraq. Conservatives also argue that the military is our best instrument of foreign policy. It’s time for liberals to demand a complete review of our defense strategy and foreign policy. 

6. The U.S. is at war: Since 9/11, conservatives have argued we’re engaged in a “war on terror.” But we’re not. Terrorism isn’t a military campaign waged by countries that don’t like us; it’s a social disease that requires America to use a variety of means to combat extremists. Liberals need to stop calling this a war and begin lobbying for a balanced campaign that includes diplomacy and use of police and intelligence resources. 

7. Don’t ask questions: President Bush has consistently argued that it’s not necessary to understand why terrorists want to attack us, all that’s required is knowing they “hate our freedom.” However, most experts on terrorism argue that terrorists have readily understandable motives, and we can head off future attacks by understanding what these motives are, for example, they want us to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord. 

8. Trust the commander-in-chief: Since 9/11, Bush and his conservative supporters have argued that the President, as commander-in-chief, has special responsibilities that obviate the necessity for the balance-of-powers logic in the Constitution: because the US is at “war” the President is above the law. Liberals need to attack this notion and roll back legislation that restricts our civil rights. 

9. America can go it alone: A cornerstone of conservative foreign policy is the belief that our allies are stupid and, therefore, don’t care if we act like bullies most of the time. The Bush Administration philosophy assumes that since the United States has a bloated military, it doesn’t matter whether or not we use diplomacy or participate in international organizations. Conservatives believe that because America is big and powerful, we can do whatever we want in the world: go it alone. Liberals need to point out that the strategy hasn’t proven successful, that it hasn’t built the alliances required to solve problems such as terrorism, AIDS, and global warming. 

10. Winning is everything: Finally, the operating philosophy of conservatives has been that it doesn’t matter how you accomplish your objectives, just that you win: the ends justify the means. This has been the modus operandi of a conservative Bush Administration that lied to the American people. Liberals need to stand up for telling the truth, argue that Americans are governed by a morality that values the common good, and places the public interest above personal ambition. 

In short, liberals need to provide a resounding defense of democracy. 

For the first time in 12-plus years I’m allowing myself to think back to what life was like before Ralph’s accident. My musings began the day after he died when I started the process of planning Ralph’s memorial service. It has continued intermittently, everyday since.  

At first it was hard to look at old, pre-accident photographs of Ralph, when he was strong and fit, and could stand on two legs and swing a hammer with one hand while changing a light bulb with the other. I found shoeboxes full of snapshots of Ralph pursuing his favorite activities: biking, skiing, cooking, and brewing beer. I slid them into frames, tacked them onto bulletin boards, and prepared for the arrival of family and friends.  

During the service many people told stories about Ralph. Cal talked about working with him at the lab and a visit to England and Germany together during a business trip. Another co-worker recalled daily lunch-break bike rides with Ralph, over Patterson Pass and back, 35 miles without stopping—just a piece of cake.  

Colleen remembered meeting Ralph and his twin brother, Richard, in the Wine Country and being confused by who was who. Chris Giorni recollected running into Ralph at the local Safeway and Ralph chastising him for buying cheap beer.  

Sue Grieve told the sad story of borrowing Ralph’s windbreaker for our annual bike ride up Mt. Diablo. “Ralph’s coat got caught in the spokes of my rear wheel,” she said. “It ripped a hole in his expensive Patagonia jacket. When I told Ralph what had happened, he had only two words for me. ‘Replace it’ he’d said, and I did.” 

Kris Anderson recalled Ralph’s request to borrow her sewing machine. “I’m making a vest for myself out of an Oriental rug,” Ralph had told her. When Kris asked him if he knew how to sew, he’d answered, “No, but I’ll figure it out.” 

Our friend Aimee, who lived with Ralph and me years ago, was next to tell a story. “I wanted to make banana bread,” she said. “But Ralph informed me that I couldn’t make it unless I added nuts. I told him I didn’t like nuts. ‘So?’ Ralph had said.” 

“I volunteered to make two loaves, one with walnuts and one without. Ralph said no. He explained that if I made only one loaf with nuts, he’d be stuck with half a bag of walnuts and then the next time he wanted to make banana nut bread he wouldn’t have enough nuts for two loaves. Instead of baking,” Aimee said, “I went into my bedroom and had a good cry.” 

Lenore Waters spoke next. Unlike many of the others, she talked about knowing Ralph when he used a wheelchair. “I met Ralph at a party in Point Reyes,” she said. “My daughters and I were staying in a small cabin above Tomales Bay. It was a struggle to get Ralph and his big electric chair into the house, but eventually, with lots of pushing and shoving, and the help of several strong men, we were able to do so.” 

Lenore paused, and unfolded a piece of paper. “There was a player piano in the cabin,” she said. “We gathered around it and sang. Suzy wrote a story about that magical day. Here’s what she wrote.” 

I leaned in further in order to hear Lenore read.  

“Ralph harmonized with the group. He sang louder and louder and louder. I could hardly believe he was my husband, so strong was his voice, so clear his words, so joyous his tune. He belted out Rosemary Clooney, Fats Waller and anything by Rodgers and Hammerstein with an ease and spontaneity I did not know he possessed. When Arturo put in the roll from the musical Fame, Ralph let out a ritornello that stopped everyone cold. “FAME!’’ he shouted. “I’M GONNA LIVE FOREVER—I’M GONNA LEARN HOW TO FLY!’” 

There was a long silence after Lenore read. Some of us looked down at our feet, but many of us, including myself, looked up at the sky. It wasn’t scary anymore to think back and remember Ralph. It felt good.  

A tree student learns a set of categories: the 50-mph tree, the 30-mph tree, the stop-and-think tree. The distinctions here concern how fast-moving and far away you can be and still be able to identify a tree—how distinctive it is from a distance.  

A subset of 50-mph trees is the drive-by orchard. Citrus orchards are pretty obvious from miles away, if they’re in bloom and you’re downwind. Pear orchards are easy when they’re out of leaf, because their youngest twigs are so determinedly vertical.  

Walnut orchards aren’t hard if you can see the trunks. Even without their distinctive compound leaves, they’re marked by the funny-looking trunks, dark at the bottom and pale starting from a foot or three off the ground. The height of the change varies, but it’s usually uniform within each orchard, which gives it the odd effect of an orderly regiment of trees in knickers, or cavalry boots. 

What’s going on here is a marriage of convenience. The walnuts we find in the market most of the time are English (or Persian) walnuts, from trees of the species Juglans regia, with their familiar pale and relatively easy-to-open shells. That tree prospers here, but for one thing: it doesn’t like poorly drained clay soils.  

But we have our own native walnut, the California black walnut, Juglans californica. I myself like black walnuts better than English walnuts; blacks have a haunting perfume, a heady port-wine note in their flavor that I treasure. The problem with black walnuts as a commercial nut is that they’re really hard to crack. There are jokes about strewing them on the driveway and backing your car over them a few times.  

The native walnut, no surprise, likes the native soils just fine. So walnut ranchers (Don’t you love living here, where we have dairy ranches and walnut ranches and, up the hill, a Fish Ranch?) graft English walnut scions onto black walnut trunks, and everybody grows up to be a happy tree in kneesocks.  

The walnuts that Walnut Creek is named for were the native California species. Europeans found them growing around the sites of indigenous villages. Donald Culross Peattie cites “the oldest records” in limiting the oldest stands to “the valley of Walnut Creek, in Contra Costa County, the banks of the Sacramento River, particularly at Walnut Grove, and Wooden Valley east of Napa.”  

There’s a magnificent senior black walnut living next to a well-kept big Victorian in Rockridge. Walnut trees turn up in random backyards where squirrels have planted them; we have a ten-foot whip in the skinny space along our driveway, where the squirrels also bequeathed us a few native live oaks. The problem with a gift walnut is that they don’t play well with others, at least some others.  

Black walnut roots exude juglone, which inhibits growth in some plants—tomatoes (which you wouldn’t grow in a tree’s shade anyway) and their kin; azaleas and rhodedendrons; mountain laurel (and presumably its California cousin, Kalmiopsis); blackberries and blueberries.  

But hot or long composting breaks down the juglone compound into its nontoxic components, and there are so many plants that don’t mind juglone that it’s barely a limitation. Japanese maples supposedly get along just fine with black walnuts, and so do plants as diverse as daffodils, hibiscus, honeysuckle, and heuchera.  

There are lots of wild or feral black walnuts along the roads and streamways up in the Delta and north, and over the hills in Contra Costa. The only time you see bare spaces under them is when they’re along a cleared road, or when they’re rootstock that has overgrown the English walnut top—I see that often at the edge of an old orchard. Otherwise, natives and invaders elbow black walnuts like any other tree. 

Sometimes black walnuts are the roadside row of a working orchard. I’ve heard that tourists and passers-by can be obnoxious about helping themselves to orchard fruit; maybe the black walnuts are bait. (Professional nut rustlers typically strike after the nuts are picked and ready to ship.) You can tell them from the English walnuts by their bark—dark and furrowed all the way up the trunk—and their narrower and pointer leaflets.  

I’d thought that these and the black walnuts I see in the wild were insurance against the species’ extinction, but maybe not. Apparently most of the black walnuts we have are hybrids between our Californians—the two varieties, J. C. californica and J. C. hindsii used to be considered separate species—and Eastern black walnuts, brought here for more rootstock. The wild genepool is a resource against diseases like the butternut blight that’s whacking the southeastern Juglans cinerea. Hybrids are fine, if we keep them leashed.  

If you want to see orchard walnuts used as street trees, go to Vacaville, where there are memorials of the groves that were built over, not far from the Adobe exit from I-80. 

Photograph by Ron Sullivan  

Foreground, black walnut: dark bark, narrow leaflets. Behind, English walnuts grafted onto black walnut stock.  

Somewhere between 465 and 406 BC, the Greek tragic poet and playwright Euripides coined a phrase which still captures the particular toxic combination of hubris and illusion that seizes many of those in power: “Whom the Gods would destroy, they first make mad.” 

What other line best describes British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s address to his nation’s troops hunkered down at Camp Bastion, in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand Province? “Here,” Blair said. “In this extraordinary piece of desert, is where the future of world security in the early 21st century is going to be played out.” (New York Times, Nov. 21.) 

The speech would certainly have amused Percy Shelley, who would have found in it a reflection of “Ozymandias,” his poem mocking the arrogance of power that he drew from the ruins of a statue to Ramses the Great at Memnon: 

“And on the pedestal these words appear:  

“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings, / Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair! / Nothing besides remains. Round the decay / Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare / The lone and level sands stretch far away.” 

While Blair was turning Afghanistan’s arid south into the Armageddon of terrorism, the rest of the country was coming apart at the seams. Attacks by insurgents have reached 600 a month, more than double the number in March, and almost five times the number in November of last year. (Associated Press, Nov. 13.) 

“We do have a serious problem in the south,” one diplomat told Rachel Morajee of the Financial Times, “but the north is a ticking time bomb.” (Financial Times, Nov. 22.) 

Suicide bombers have struck Kunduz in the north, where former U.S. protégé Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and his Hezb-e-Islami organization are hammering away at the old Northern Alliance. The latter, frozen out of the current government following the 2001 Bonn Conference, is busy stockpiling arms and forming alliances with drug warlords. According to the Associated Press, opium poppy production is up 59 percent. 

While Blair was bucking up the troops, their officers were growing increasingly desperate. Major Jon Swift, a company commander in the Royal Fusiliers told the Guardian (9/23/06) that casualties were “very significant and showing no signs of reducing,” and Field Marshall Peter Inge, former chief of the British military, warned that the army in Afghanistan “could risk operational failure,” military-speak for “defeat.” (Observer, Oct. 22.) 

The Brits don’t have a monopoly on madness, however.  

Speaking in Riga, Latvia, on the eve of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meeting, President George Bush said, “I am not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete. We can accept nothing less than victory for our children and our grandchildren.” (Associated Press, Nov. 28.) 

In the meantime, a war that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said would cost $50 billion at the most was burning up more than twice that each year. The Pentagon just requested $160 billion in supplemental funds for the Iraq and Afghan wars for the remainder of fiscal 2007 (Forbes, Nov. 9). Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz says the final costs may exceed $2 trillion. (New York Times, Oct. 24—Krugman column) 

It is sometime hard to fathom the source of the Blair’s madness, but there is no mistaking the origins of President Bush’s brand of insanity: the American experience in Vietnam. 

During his recent trip to that country President Bush said he thought the lessons of the Vietnam War were, “We’ll succeed unless we quit.” In short, the U.S. lost the war in Vietnam because it “cut and ran,” a victim of a backstabbing press and a loss of will. 

This particular myth is at the core of the Administration’s ideology, and when things began going badly in Iraq, Vice-President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and his deputy Paul Wolfowitz immediately targeted the press. Wolfowitz mocked reporters for being afraid to go outside the Green Zone, while Cheney and Rumsfeld attacked the media for sabotaging the U.S. effort, just like it had in Vietnam. 

The mythology that we “won” the Vietnam War on the battlefield but lost it at home is at the core of Dominic Johnson and Dominic Tierney’s book, Failing to Win: Perceptions of Victory and Defeat in International Politics. Johnson is a fellow at Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton, and Tierney is a professor at Swarthmore, and both are strong advocates for not withdrawing from Iraq. 

The two men argue that the Vietnamese’s 1968 Tet offensive was a military victory for the U.S., but because the American press portrayed it as a defeat, the U.S. was eventually forced to withdraw. (New York Times, Nov. 28.) 

But Tet was less a military battle than a political counterstroke aimed at American claims that there was “light at the end of the tunnel.” Bush is indeed correct in thinking that the Vietnam War is relevant for what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan; he just hasn’t absorbed the lesson.  

That lesson was spelled out by Vo Nguyen Giap, the architect of Vietnam’s war against the French and the Americans, shortly after the Bush administration invaded Iraq: people don’t like foreign occupying armies and will fight to get them out.  

“In the long run,” says military historian Jack Radey, “there will be more natives of the country ready to die for it than foreigners,” adding, “Giap was always considerate enough to explain how this was going to work to the other guys, but they weren’t much interested in listening.” (Interview; Zhukov@worldnet.att.net). 

While armies can fight armies, they can’t fight a whole people and they fall apart when they occupy a country that doesn’t want them there. In an attempt to overcome this problem, the U.S. military recently issued a blueprint for how to conduct a “friendly” occupation. (New York Times, Oct. 5). 

But occupation, says Radey, is what creates the problem. “If you go out to make the other side love you by lowering your guard, taking off your helmets, not pointing guns at everyone and not running around in tanks, the other side gets a lot of easy shots at your guys. So you button up and shoot everything that moves, which means a lot of civilians die. Anyway you look at this you lose.” 

The inability to “win” a war in a place like Afghanistan was recently summed up by NATO General David Richards who commented, “You know at the end of 2001, the Taliban were defeated … and it all looked pretty hunky dory. We thought it was all done.” (UPI, Oct. 18.) 

To the Bush administration the solution to everything is more force, an argument that sometimes gets echoed in the ranks of those Democrats who argue that more “boots on the ground” would do the job.  

From August 1964 to January 1973, the U.S. threw 8.7 million military personnel into Vietnam, pounded the country with more bombs than were dropped on World War II Europe, and killed at least three million Southeast Asians. “Frankly, we’re going to snow the place with bombs,” Defense Secretary Robert McNamara said in 1966. “And I am doing it purposely to make them cry “stop!’” (New York Times, Nov. 18.) 

They never did, and in the end the United States had no choice but to withdraw. Eventually we will have to do so from Iraq and Afghanistan as well.  

The only question will be how many more Iraqis and Afghans we kill and maim, and how many more young Americans will we bring home in caskets or maimed in body and mind?

Folks generally think about city planning in the same way that we think about central plumbing. It’s noticed only when it fails, and even then our attention is mostly on how to clean up the resultant mess, not on fixing the internal structures that originally caused the problem. 

Over the last couple of years, therefore, most of us have been focused on the battles over such individual projects as the big downtown developments—Oak to Ninth and Forest City’s Uptown—or the proposed sale of the Oakland Unified School District Lake Merritt lands to be turned into luxury high-rises, or the numerous smaller developments springing up all over the city. Last weekend, more than a hundred North Oakland residents showed up at Councilmember Jane Brunner’s regular community advisory meeting, most of them to announce adamant opposition to one or more of the some 845 new condominium units being built in or planned for that area. 

But underlying the glare and glitter of the Oakland building boom that was the Jerry Brown years is a growing public awareness by some—and a growing willingness to talk openly about it by others—that for all of that rash of development activity during the mayor’s two terms, the most important things to secure this city’s economic future may have been left undone, to the city’s detriment. 

And this is often coming from people who are normally staunchly pro-development. 

Last month, in anticipation of the changing of Oakland’s mayoral guard from Jerry Brown to Ron Dellums, the San Francisco Business Times produced a 20-page supplement on Oakland development. Towards the end of an article on Oakland developer Hal Ellis, reporter Ryan Tate made some interesting revelations about the results of Mr. Brown’s development policies: 

“Though downtown has added 4,000 housing units in the last eight years, filled up its office towers, including seven at City Center … retail has lagged,” Mr. Tate writes. “Instead of a regional mall, City Center has 60,000 square feet of mostly fast-service restaurants and small shops … A more recent mixed-use development from Forest City … also drastically scaled back its retail ambitions. In 2000, at the height of the dot-com boom, the project was to include 100,000 square feet of retail. Plans now under way call for 9,000 square feet of retail … That sort of organic retail growth can add character and bring excitement to a neighborhood. But it does not bring the kind of sales tax revenue that big-box retail … can bring the city. Nor does it meet many of the retail needs of new and soon-to-come residents. The resulting retail vacuum is the greatest failing of the development boom under Brown, [Hal] Ellis said, a boom he otherwise praises in no uncertain terms.” 

One has to remember a little history in order to understand the implications of that little business revelation. 

During his original 1998 run for mayor of Oakland, Mr. Brown repeatedly said that a central goal for the economic revitalization of Oakland was to bring retail back to the city’s downtown core by first opening up the downtown area to residential development. Once a critical mass of residents were living downtown, Mr. Brown assured us, the retail establishments would quickly follow, without our having to do all that embarrassing begging and subsidizing that past Oakland administrations had to resort to. Oakland, he said, would be “put on the map.” 

The idea became a powerful campaign slogan when Mr. Brown announced a goal of bringing 10,000 new residents into downtown Oakland—the 10K plan—and that campaign slogan later became official city policy during the Brown Administration, complete with its own page on the city’s website. 

But somewhere along the 10K way, the goal of 10,000 new downtown residents became an end in itself for the Brown Administration, with the retail revival gradually shuffled to the back until, finally, it was forgotten, conveniently and completely, as the program’s original goal. 

This is more than a matter of minor inconvenience for the new downtown residents. California’s post-Prop 13 economy works so that cities tend to go in the red on residential neighborhoods—paying out more for services than they get back in tax revenue—but make that money back on commercial districts. Without the promised added retail, Oakland is actually in worse shape financially, budget by budget, than we were before all the new downtowners moved in. 

And even in those areas where Mr. Brown’s policies have succeeded in bringing life back to Oakland’s downtown—residential development and entertainment establishments—he has left a minefield of potential problems in his wake. Prudent planning would have set aside a specific area of downtown for entertainment only—clubs and bars—with residences far enough away that people wouldn’t be bothered in the late night hours by loud music or the general coming-and-going associated with entertainment night life. Instead, by adopting a whomsoever-shall-come-let-them-build downtown policy, putting clubs and condos together side-by-side, hip-and-thigh, Mr. Brown has ensured enduring clashes between residents and party-goers in the downtown area, with the inevitable result that either both will suffer or one or the other will eventually collapse, and leave. 

The downtown resident-nightlife problem might have been easily solved with a plan. Oakland, in fact, has a plan for such things, but under Mr. Brown, the steps necessary to carry out that plan were long delayed. 

During an Oakland City Council meeting this week, At Large Councilmember Henry Chang noted that 10 years ago, Oakland began a process of updating its General Plan, the document which lays out the guidelines for what type of development is supposed to go where in the city. According to the city’s economic development agency, the General Plan is “the long-range vision and policy framework to guide development for the next twenty years in the City of Oakland.” The two major portions of that General Plan—the Land Use and Transportation Element, and the Estuary Policy Plan—were adopted in 1998 and 1999, about the time that the Brown years were beginning. 

What was supposed to come next was the updating of the city’s zoning map to conform to the General Plan. Normally, the two documents should be in sync, with the General Plan giving an overall view of what types of development and buildings should be allowed in a particular area, and the zoning map following with the detailed specifications. But Oakland’s zoning mapping was held up during the Brown years—some observers say purposely by Mr. Brown—leading to the present situation where the zoning map says one thing is allowed, while the General Plan says something entirely different. While legally the General Plan is the controlling document, developers and builders often have to apply for zoning variances to get their projects through. And the resulting confusion means developers and neighborhood residents are often unsure what will be allowed, and what will not. That makes for bad development in some cases, and completely halts it—to the detriment of the neighborhoods—in others. 

Pointing out that the zoning conformity project should have long ago been completed, Mr. Chang noted “I always complain about that.” 

In the meantime, some neighborhood groups have charged that in projects like Oak To Ninth Mr. Brown’s Planning Department has thrown out the General Plan altogether, ignoring the Estuary portion of the plan in its approval of what Signature Properties could put along the waterfront. 

Why would Mr. Brown hold up conforming the city’s zoning map to the General Plan? In the resulting confusion, it allowed him the ability to support various developments, without regard for how they all fit and meshed together for Oakland’s future economic health. 

For the average Oakland resident, much of this talk of General Plans and such has an eyes-glazing-over quality to it, with most people wondering why it matters. It only matters when you try to go down to the neighborhood shopping center, and you can’t find any parking. Or you can’t get down to the shopping center when you need to—just after five—because the streets and freeways are hopelessly clogged, and public transit is either inconvenient or nonexistent along the line you need to travel. Or, worse yet, there is no shopping center in your neighborhood at all. Proper city planning would not ensure that those particular needs would be met, but it is almost certain that without proper planning, most of Oakland’s problems got progressively worse in the Brown years. Most of the planning Mr. Brown was doing over the past eight years, it seems, was for where his hindparts and nimble feet would next land. 

The death toll in Iraq this last month was the highest so far in a war that shows no end in sight. There is little doubt that the oil in the region has played a significant role in our willingness to participate in a “War on Terror” some sources now believe has resulted in nearly 700,000 deaths in Iraq, not to mention an outright civil war. 

To make matters worse, Americans appear to be more in love with gas guzzling mega-wagons than ever before and a trip to the Quicky-mart looks more like an overland assault than a mere shopping junket. What IS it about energy consumption that we’re so head-over-heels about and what’s so dorky and last-year about conservation? There’s nothing that gets me hot like seeing my wife shop at the Goodwill. And when we go for a walk, Oh Man, I can barely keep my hands off of her. There just something about a woman who’s into cheapness.  

Oh yea, sorry, got lost there for a minute. Oil, conservation, right. That’s where I was. Well I’m the house guy right, so what does this all have to do with houses?  

There are loads of changes one can make at home to affect global warming, international relations and sustainable human life on this planet and one of them, and it’s really good one, is to install a photovoltaic electrical generating system (solar panels, for short) on your roof. 

We have more than enough sunny days here in California to merit an investment in P.V. (photovoltaic), as it’s often called. The only downside seems to be a rather large initial investment, but if you think long-range, it’s a very good one. Currently, a typical system on a single family dwelling seems to get rung-up at about $30,000. However, current state credits will rebate about 1/3 of this and perhaps a bit more. The state claims that you can get up to half of your money back but my experience is that most folks don’t get that much of a credit. Nonetheless, 10 or 12 thousand dollars back is nothing to shake a dip-stick at. 

There are also Federal tax credits that will defray this expense even further and by the time you get done, it probably will be about 1/2 of the total up-front expense. Experts say that it can take around 10 years to repay the initial expense but after that, you can expect free, or nearly free electricity for another 30 years or so. Like I said, this requires long-range thinking so you have to be willing to pay your electric bill for the next 10 years right up front on the promise that you’ll be able to enjoy free electricity for decades to come. 

Now, all of these numbers are quite rough and it may turn out that future tax credits will further defray the expense. Additionally, energy costs may rise significantly in the coming years as we dig deeper into our limited supplies of coil, oil and natural gas. You may find yourself sitting hella’ pretty if you’ve made an investment in home electrical generation. Another possible windfall for the forward thinker may be in one change that has yet to have taken place and that’s the ability of home electrical generators to be fairly compensated for their contribution to the grid. Today, if you earn more than you use, you get no compensation. Nil, zip, nada. 

The funny and awful part of this story is that the leadership in Sacramento have told us a number of times in the last 10 years that our state’s generating capability isn’t up to the task at hand and when we’re at peak usage, we can end up browning or blacking out. At the same time they tell us that if we generate extra power, they won’t buy it. Go figure.  

I’d suggest calling your state assemblyman or writing to Aaaanold. This is just plain silly. To make matters worse (or better), PV power is at it’s peak when our use is at its peak, during those hot summer afternoons when the A/Cs are cranking away at full bore, so the state would do well to create a small army of generating citizens to meet its needs (unless the actual objective is to bilk the public through perceived shortfalls (Mr. Skilling, are you and your cellmate reading this?)) 

I’ve gotten a little bit ahead of myself in talking about PV and should really back up to explain a little bit about how it works and how it becomes a part of the grid. Most PV systems aren’t isolated. That is, they aren’t designed to provide power that’s used by you and you alone. This may sound stupid or counterintuitive but it’s actually much smarter than the way in which we usually do things in this goofy society. If you have a GRID-TIE system, which is what most people have, the panels on your roof don’t pump power directly into your house. Instead, what they do is add power to the entire local grid, off of which you draw power whenever you turn on the light. It’s is a very collective approach. When you’re not using the power, all the power from the panels flows out through the meter and turns the dials backward, lowering your bill toward $0. When you turn on the A/C during the day, a little less flows out and a little more flows in. Its as though you caught rainwater on your roof and pumped it out into the water piping system whenever you weren’t using it. 

You needn’t concern yourself with whether you’re using the power that’s coming in from the panel or whether you’re buying it from the grid. You just use power and all the excess spins the meter backward. If you’ve sized your system properly, you’ll end up with a bill of roughly zero each month. Unfortunately, if you buy a system that is too large, you’ll get nothing for your additional contribution, so for today, it’s best to size for your actual needs. One day, hopefully, you’ll be able to sell the excess power back at a profit but we’re not there yet. Currently the German government is paying owners of these systems 8 times the utility company rate on excess power that they generate. As you might imagine, panels are flying off the shelves and last year, Germans (in a country less than a third our population) bought 9 times as many panels as we did. Tell that to Mr. Schwarzenegger (who’s Austrian, not German). 

[Another very sweet part of this deal is that you get paid at a higher rate during the sunniest part of the day and then get to buy power at a cheaper rate when you’re at home in the evening.] 

So here’s what a system looks like. While the panels are brilliant physics at work and the inverter (the central component other than the panels) is state of the art electrical engineering, the systems are actually quite simple. 

PV panels are very thin and quite lightweight, being made largely of polycarbonates (plastics) for support and a very thin wafer of silicon which is “doped” with a material that facilitates the photovoltaic effect. In fact, panels are so light that the main responsibility of the support frame is to keep them from blowing off of your roof when its windy. Panels do not need to “track” or follow the sun and are efficient enough when aimed into the pathway the sun will take during the day. This means that you will need to put most of your panels on one side of the roof or support them on slanted frames so that they’ll be able to suck up those juicy little photons. 

The PV panel converts photons (or sunlight if you prefer) into DC current (that’s the same kind of electricity you’ll find in a battery but not in your electrical outlet). The panels are very efficient and will generally be capable of producing power for at least 30-40 years. The panels get wired together in a simple grid and fed down to an INVERTER located near your main electrical panel. The inverter converts this DC power into AC power. The power then flows into the main panel where it either runs to your house (if you’re toasting bread) or out to the neighborhood on the wires overhead (or underground as the case may be). It’s just a matter of demand. 

The cost of Silicon is currently quite high because demand is at a peak. That’s a good thing because it means that people are buying solar panels (and other silly things like computers) but the cost is expected to drop by ’08 bringing down the cost of panels. A new “thin film” solar technology is being developed that will eliminate the need for silicon in solar panels. You’ll even be able to print panels on cars, clothing and roofing tiles. I’ll write more on these as they begin to become available. These “printed” panels hold the promise of greatly decreased cost and could herald in an era of highly affordable solar power. 

For the present, conventional solar panels are still a great deal if you can afford them. Currently, the Energy Return On Investment, or EROI, on a PV system for your home is in the 5-15 range.  

For you non-economists, that means that over the life of the system you can expect your initial investment to give you 5-15 times your money back. Any of your stocks doing that well? 

If you go to http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov, you can find out more about the incentive packages that are available in this state (there are some Federal tax advantages as well) . These rebates aren’t guaranteed to hang around indefinitely so it might be wise to bust a move.  

We don’t need to site idly by and watch the coral reefs turn to muck or the glaciers melt into so much Evian. We CAN take action. Here’s a powerful step you can take that will produce real results as well as inducing positive political change and providing you with improved long-range financial security. Now, what’s wrong with that? 

I can’t resist Mrs. Dalloway’s—well, I can rarely resist any bookstore, though lately I know I’m guaranteed a headache when I venture into one without my reading specs. Since I rarely remember to carry those around with me and so end up craning and squinting my way through the shelves, browsing bookstores has become a bit of an S&M exercise. No matter. Mrs. D’s pulls me in just by the lovely (and amazingly persistent) vegetal scent of its woven-grass carpet. So I’m already biased in the place’s favor; let me get that disclaimer out right here at the start.  

There are always other intriguing scents in the air there. The universal bookstore scent, the one that comprises new paper and ink and binding-glue, that’s a big part of it of course, but there’s a tang of clay and potting soil, often a thread of rosemary or some other herb, sometimes a flower scent. 

Up front, where they’ll get light from the big shopwindows, there are always a small, select bunch of interestingly potted plants: maybe topiary herbs or ivy, succulents, usually some orchids, always something else wants to come home with me (like the stray kitten that recognizes a Crazy Cat Lady), all displayed like the jewels they are.  

With the live stuff is an unpredictable but always nifty scattering of vases and pots. There’s more art on the walls, and perched on seemingly random shelves with the books, like those funny corsages made of zippers—something about their topology makes me laugh. That art’s local and connected with gardens or the natural world in general. I’ve seen pieces by Keeyla Meadows there, speaking of things that make me grin, so even if you don’t have space for one of her whimsical gardens you can have a piece of her work.  

I’m a garden hound, yes, but I always get distracted by something else in Mrs. D’s too. The place has a plant slant, as is fitting, but it’s also a general-interest bookstore: fiction, poetry (I like their selection—books by people like Kay Ryan whose stuff doesn’t turn up just everywhere, and is great fun to read; Galway Kinnell’s new one, Strong Is Your Hold, Mary Oliver’s Thirst, Louise Glück’s Averno), art, travel, nonfiction including a good natural-history section.  

The stuff I like tends toward the sensual—that’s why I garden—so foodie stuff like James and Kay Salter’s Life is Meals: A Food Lover’s Book of Days gets my attention. So does Julia Child’s My Life in France. Mary Gordon’s recent story collection is in; I read her when I have the guts to pick up that Irish-childhood baggage for a few hours. She moves in different circles (and no doubt her circles move) but she Gets It about that stuff the way I experienced it.  

Don’t miss Lester Rowntree Hardy Californians, reprinted this year, or Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape, by Barry Lopez and Debra Gwartney, eds. 

Mrs. D’s will special-order pretty much anything, and get it in fast. The staffers actually know about the books they sell.  

Mrs. Dalloway’s 

2904 College Avenue, in the Elmwood 

704-8222 

Monday-Wednesday 10 a.m.-6 p.m 

Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m.-8 p.m. 

Sunday noon-5 p.m.

It’s time to submit your essays, poems, stories and photographs for the Planet’s annual holiday reader contribution issue, which will be published on Dec. 29. Send your submissions, up to 1,000 words, to holiday@berkeleydailyplanet.com. Deadline is 5 p.m. on Dec. 20.

You may have noticed that Contra Costa County has passed an ordinance requiring houses that are being sold to have an automatic gas shut-off valve. This will apply to all areas that are unincorporated, which means a lot of homes.  

I must commend the county on such a wise move, and I’ll venture to say that before long most cities and counties in the Bay area will follow suit. Why? Because it’s not just an issue of “encouraging” people to save their homes, but it has repercussions for whole neighborhoods. When a Big One hits, a house that catches fire (from a ruptured gas line igniting), increases the chance of neighboring houses catching fire.  

We’re seeing a huge increase in the number of folks interested in having a valve installed. This is going to make us all safer. 

Larry Guillot is owner of QuakePrepare, an earthquake consulting, securing, and kit supply service. Call him at 558-3299, or visit www.quakeprepare.com.

TUESDAY, DEC. 12 

CHILDREN 

Opera Piccola “The Guest” at 7 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, Rockridge Branch, 5366 College Ave. 597-5017. 

EXHIBITIONS 

The Photography of Matt Heron “Voting Rights: The Southern Struggle, 1964-1965” on display in the Catalog Lobby, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St., through Jan. 6. 981-6100. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Susan Snyder introduces “Past Tents: The Way We Camped” at 7 p.m. at Phoebe A. Hearst Museum, 102 Kroeber Hall, UC Campus. 643-7649. 

George Leonard reads from “The Silent Pulse: A Search for the Perfect Rhythm that Exists in Each of Us” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Ellen Hoffman and Singers’ Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

The Roches, with a Holiday Twist, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $21.50-$22.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Charlie Hunter Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $16-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazzschool at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13 

THEATER 

Azeem’s “Rude Boy” Wed.-Thurs. at 8 p.m. at The Marsh, 2120 Allston Way, through Dec. 14. Tickets are $15-$22. 415-826-5750. www.themarsh.org 

FILM 

Janus Films “Throne of Blood” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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

Daniel Lev and Bobby Kinkead, storytelling at 7 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Robert Marshall reads 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 www.starryploughpub.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Music for Advent with Ron McKean, organist, at noon at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555. 

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

Zaatar at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Karabali at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Brown Bums, delta blues and soul at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

31 Knots at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Greenbridge, Celtic trio, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

THURSDAY, DEC. 14 

FILM 

Jacques Rivette “Va savoir” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Robert Fisk on Iraq and Lebanon at 7 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 2619 Broadway, at 27th, Oakland Tickets are $20, no one turned away. Benefit for children in Gaza, via the Middle East Children’s Alliance. 548-0542. www.mecaforpeace.org 

Eric Kos and Dennis Evanosky talk about “East Bay Then and Now” with historic photographs of Oakland at 7:30 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Avenue. Donation $8-$10. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org  

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

Robert Hanson introduces “The Rough Guide to Climate Change” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Symphony performs Shostakovich “Leningrad” and works by Arvo Part at at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $10-$56. 841-2800. www.berkeleysymphony.org 

Patrick Ball, “Christmas Rose” music from England, Ireland and Wales, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Tommy Carns, Sean McArdle, Sweetbriar at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

Razero the Band, Unequaled Clarity and Five Characters in Search of an Exit at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$7. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Charlie Hunter Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $16-$28. 238-9200.  

The Time Flys, The Pets, The Makes Nice at 9 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100.  

FRIDAY, DEC. 15 

THEATER 

Altarena Playhouse “ The Man Who Saved Christmas” at holiday family musical Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 1409 High St., Alameda, through Dec. 17. Tickets are $15-$18. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Berkeley Rep “All Wear Bowlers” at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. through Dec. 23. Tickets are $45-$61. 647-2949. 

Masquers Playhouse “Company” by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, through Dec. 16. Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org  

Naked Masks “Far Away” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. Sun. at 7 p.m. at Berkeley City Club. Tickets are $10-$20. Runs through Dec. 17. 883-9872. www.nakedmasks.org 

Shotgun Players “The Forest War” Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Jan 14. Sliding scale $15-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Wondrous Possibilities” Abstract art by Sibylle Szaggers. Reception at 5 p.m. at Joyce Gordon Gallery, 406 14th St., Oakland. 465-8928. 

FILM 

Janus Films “Kill!” at 7 p.m. and “Sword of Doom” at 9:15 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

“El Cerco” screening and conversation with filmmaker and Argentine torture survivor, Patricia Isasa at 6:30 p.m. at The Uptown, 356 26th St., between Telegraph and Broadway. Donations accepted. 654-5355. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Before Columbus Foundation American Book Awards Celebration at 6:30 p.m. at the Afircan Museum and Library, 659 14th St., Oakland. Free. 228-6775. 

Gregory M. Franzwa with show slides and discuss the “Lincoln Highway in California” at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, Community Room 2090 Kittredge St. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Ballet Theater, “The Nutcracker” at 7 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $16-$21. 843-4689. 

California Revels “Christmas Revels” Celebrating the stories, songs, dance, and drama of 19th century Quebec, at 7:30 p.m. at Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Drive near Lake Merritt, Oakland. Tickets are $15-$42. 452-3800. www.calrevels.org 

The Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble, the Schola Cantorum of St. Albert Priory, and the instrumental ensemble Alta Sonora will perform 14th to 20th-century Christmas music from France, Italy, Spain and Germany at 8 p.m. at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $15-$5. www.wavewomen.org 

Rebecca Boblak, Ben Stolorow and Javier Trujillo perform Gershiwn and DeFalla at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. 848-1228. giorgigallery.com 

Remembering the Ancestors, Modern and Afro-Caribbean dance, at 8 p.m. at at Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5, children free. 841-5580.  

Somos at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

John Santos Quartet “Clasicos Criollos” at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

JukeJoint Sextet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $15. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Swingthing, holiday gala, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Al Stewart at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $25.50-$26.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Bill Crossman Group at 8 p.m. at 1510 8th St., Oakland. Donation $5-$15. sfjazzmusic@yahoo.com 

John Thayer and Christina Kowalchuk at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Built for the Sea, The New Centuries, Pants Pants Pants at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Born/Dead, Young Offenders, Surrender at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Bucho, soul and hip hop, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $7. 548-1159.  

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

Rimshot at 9 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $7-$10. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Charlie Hunter Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $16-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, DEC. 16 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Fran Avni and Bonnie Lockhart at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

La Familia Peña-Govea plays Mexican children’s music at 11 a.m. at Studio Grow, 1235 10th St. Cost is $6. 526-9888. 

Elmwood Theater Matinee Benefit for local schools showing “Madagascar” at 10 a.m. and noon, and noon on Sun. Cost is $2. Sponsored by Elmwood merchants. 843-3794. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Bringing the Condors Home” A look at the Ventana Wildlife Society’s 20-year effor to restore California condors to the wild opens at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. and runs through April 15. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

“Gesture and Gestalt” Paintings of Albert Hwang and glass and metal sculpture of Victoria Skirpa opens at 6 p.m. at Float Art Gallery, 1091 Calcott Place, Unit #116., Oakland. 535-1702. 

Ceramics by Lizette Sanchez and Robert Bartlett-Edney Functional and decorative raku pottery and sculpture on display from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 728 Liberty St., El Cerrito. 847-7380. 

FILM 

Jacques Rivette “Up/Down/ 

Fragile” at 5 p.m. and Janus Films “The Organizer” at 8:15 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Ballet Theater, “The Nutcracker” at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $16-$21. 843-4689. 

Carol Alban “Miracles at the Chimes” solo flute music at 3 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Free. 228-3218. 

Pacific Boychoir “Harmonies of the Season” at 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $20. 652-4722. www.pacificboychoir.org 

Voces Musicales “A Renaissance Christmas” Spanish and English music of the season at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant. Tickets are $10-$25. 528-1725. 

California Revels “Christmas Revels” Celebrating the stories, songs, dance, and drama of 19th century Quebec, Sat. and Sun. at 1 and 5 p.m. at Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Drive near Lake Merritt, Oakland. Tickets are $15-$42. 452-3800. www.calrevels.org 

Black Nativity Holiday Pagent at 2:30 p.m. at Allen Temple Baptist Church Family Life Center, 8501 International Blvd, at 85th and A, Oakland. Tickets are $7-$20. 544-8924. 

“Remembering the Ancestors, An Eclectic Mix of Modern and Afro-Caribbean Dance,” directed by Cherie Hill, 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5, children are free. 841-5580. 

Melodikibolism, new works by graduates of Mills College at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864. 

Robin Gregory & Her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Naivdad Flamenca at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $18-$20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org  

Musical Night in Africa with Kotoja, West African Highlife Band, Afro-Groove Connexion at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

“A Night in Persia” Persian dance celebration at 6 pm. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. Tickets are $20-$35. 925-462-6691. 

James Riddle and Heather Frederick at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Henry Clement & the Gumbo Band at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Fred Randolph Quintet at 8:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

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

Hammerlock, Cheap Skate, White Barrons at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $8. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Dale Miller & Powell St. John at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7-$10. 558-0881. 

Big B and His Snake Oil Saviors, Crooked Roads, Lariats of Fire at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

CV1, classic Jamaican dub grooves, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Fuga, La Plebe, Manicato, Son Del Centro at 7 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway, Oakland. Cost is $10. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Babyland, Jewdriver, Yidcore at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, DEC. 17 

FILM 

Janus Films “Yojimbo” at 4 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Dahr Jamail, Peter Phillips & Larry Everest will discuss the new book “Impeach the President: The Case Against Bush and Cheney” at 7:30 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way at Telegraph Ave. 848-1196. 

Island Literary Series with Floyd Salas reading from “Love Bites: Poetry in Celebration of Dogs and Cats” at 3 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $2. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Ballet Theater, “The Nutcracker” at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $16-$21. 843-4689. 

Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra presents Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Copland’s “American Songs” and others at 4:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Free, donations welcome. www.bcco.org 

Pacific Boychoir “Family Holiday Celebration” at 2 p.m. at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, 400 Alcatraz, Oakland. Tickets are $10, children under 10 free. 652-4722. www.pacificboychoir.org 

Kitka “Wintersongs” music from Eastern European traditions at 7 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 685 14th St., Oakland. Tickets are $20-$25. 444-0323. www.kitka.org 

Cantabile Chorale “‘Tis the Season” at 7:30 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $6-$25. 650-424-1310. www.cantabile.org 

Holiday Gospel Concert at 5 p.m. at the Linen Life Park Ave., Emeryville. 776-8222. 

Black Nativity Holiday Pagent Gala at 3:30 p.m., followed by performance, at Allen Temple Baptist Church Family Life Center, 8501 International Blvd, at 85th and A, Oakland. Tickets are $7-$20. Gala tickets are $35. 544-8924. 

Beth Custer Ensemble at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Bowman/Beuthe/Wiitala Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $9. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

John Santos and The Machete Ensemble at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $6. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

The Everyone Orchestra, psychedelic improv, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Filly Fads Harp Trio at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Radio Suicide, Heart Shed, Blue Mire at 6 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway, Oakland. Cost is $8-$10. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

MONDAY, DEC. 18 

CHILDREN 

Fratello Marionettes “Peter and the Wolf” at 7 p.m.. at Oakland Public Library, Main Library Children’s Room, 125 14th St. 238-3615. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

PlayGround Six emerging playwrights debut new works at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Repertory Theater, 2025 Addison St. Tickets are $18. 415-704-3177. www.PlayGround-sf.org 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

West Coast Songwriters Showcase at 7:30 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $5. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

E.W. Wainwright and friends in a tribute to John Coltrane, Annuel Youth Arts Benefit at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com  

RISE OF ITALY’S TRADE UNION MOVEMENT 

A screening of Mario Monicelli’s The Organizer (1963) will close out Pacific Film Archive’s six-week retrospective of films from the Janus collection at 8:15 p.m. Saturday. The film, nominated for an Academy Award for best screenplay, examines the beginnings of the trade union movement in Italy at the end of the 19th century, with Marcello Mastroianni playing a Genoa schoolteacher who finds his way to Turin to lead textile workers in a strike. $4-$8. 2575 Bancroft Way. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu. 

EAST BAY THEN AND NOW 

Eric Kos and Dennis Evanosky talk about how the book East Bay Then and Now was written and photographed on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Chapel of the Chimes. 

They will focus on historic photos of Oakland and the surrounding area including Fabiola Hospital, Harrison Street Produce Market and the bustling pier at the foot of Broadway. They will discuss their new San Francisco in Photographs, and Oakland’s surprising role in their latest project, California and the Civil War. 4499 Piedmont Ave. Donation: $8 members, $10 nonmembers. 763-9218, 

www.oaklandheritage.org.  

JAZZSCHOOL  

TUESDAYS 

A continuing weekly showcase of up-and -coming young jazz ensembles plays each Tuesday at Jupiter, 2181 Shattuck Ave, 8 p.m. 848-8277. 

Today (Tuesday) marks the return of Berkeley’s Charlie Hunter, one of the most innovative and entertaining performers in jazz, to Yoshi’s for six shows. For many years a regular on the Bay Area club scene, the guitarist, currently based in New York, will bring his trio back to the East Bay for his annual winter pilgrimage. 

Like Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock before him, Hunter never stands still long enough to be easily labeled, generating a diverse catalogue of music. 

He graduated from Berkeley High School, having played in the school’s renowned jazz band that has nurtured the talents of several other jazz greats, including saxophonists Joshua Redman and Peter Apfelbaum, and later worked as a guitar teacher for Subway Guitars on Cedar Street in Berkeley.  

After spending some time performing as a street musician in Europe, Hunter formed an acclaimed trio in 1992 with another local talent, tenor saxophonist Dave Ellis, and drummer Jay Lane, an original member of Primus. 

Hunter also records with the popular funk-infused band Garage A Trois, and while he was living in the Bay Area he was known for his performances with a guitar-based band TJ Kirk, a guitar band whose name is derived from the name of jazz multi-instrumentalist Rashaan Roland Kirk and from the first initials of Thelonious Monk and James Brown. 

Hunter plays an eight-string guitar rather than six, enabling him to play his own bass lines while soloing. This unusual style creates a sound that has been compared to a Hammond B Organ. And his repertoire is vast; throughout his career he has brought his vision to a wide array of genres, including a cover version of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” and a startling remake of Bob Marley’s album Natty Dread.  

Performing popular pieces and standards has long been a practice in jazz, but Hunter doesn’t merely adapt each piece to a jazz signature, but rather imbibes each work with the spirit of the original, in the process creating a new take on old material that can stand on its own. 

Hunter manages to perform Nirvana’s simple grunge rock hit with the sophistication and swing of jazz without losing its intensity, and pays homage to one of the most revered of reggae albums without ever using a reggae beat. 

Hunter’s collaboraters also constitute a diverse group. He has performed as a duo with avant-garde percussionist Leon Parker, recorded with reggae guitar greats Ernest Ranglin and Chinna Smith and opened for the likes of J.J. Cale and U2. And in a 2001 appearance at Yoshi’s, Hunter brought a special surprise guest, a little-known singer named Norah Jones, who was on the brink of stardom with the release of her debut album Come Away With Me. 

But despite his skills as a guitarist, it is as a composer, arranger and bandleader that Hunter excels. Whether it’s the mellow sounds of “No Woman No Cry” that opens with a quote from “Tennesee Waltz” before melting into Marley’s famous melody or whether it’s “Two for Bleu” with its conga percussion underneath Hunter’s guitar and Apfelbaum’s Parisian nightclub-sounding sax, Hunter’s music is always eclectic and imaginative. 

Hunter has been bringing his sound to Yoshi’s every December since 2000. Yoshi’s Artistic Director Peter Williams explains, “He likes it because he gets to visit with friends and family for the holidays, and we like it because he is a great artist and it is a big time of year for us.” 

Hunter will be performing this month with his new trio, consisting of piano player Erik Deutsch and drummer Simon Lott. Williams admits that he hasn’t heard Hunter’s new lineup, and in the six years that they have been booking him, Hunter has never brought a trio centered around keyboards rather than saxophone. 

“But that is the great thing about Charlie,” says Williams. “He is always looking at doing new things, and it’s always great.” 

The Charlie Hunter Trio 

performs Tuesday through Sunday at Yoshis. $10-$18. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com.  

Among the Nutcrackers and Christmas Carols, another holiday show has sprouted up, Ron Lytle’s original musical comedy, The Man Who Saved Christmas, going into its last week at Altarena Playhouse on High Street in Alameda. 

The Man Who Saved Christmas has an intriguing hook. It’s the story of “Toy Baron” A. C. Gilbert, maker of Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs (and, maybe later, the chemistry sets we thought would blow up the house), and his crusade against a nationwide ban on holiday toy sales during the First World War. 

It’s theme enough to animate a cast of 16—and of all ages—through a brisk 2 1/2 hours of song and dance, romance and general light-hearted good spirits. 

As it’s really centered around a love story, The Man Who Saved Christmas is a little bit more like The Music Man in its nostalgia than the various toy and candy fantasies the holidays usher in.  

Boston Gazette reporter Johnny Eli (a boyish David Irving) shows up at the New Haven toy factory, amid a swirling mass of happy, aproned toy makers singing and dancing out their last-minute holiday rush, as he hopes to interview notoriously press-shy A. C. Gilbert for a story. Gilbert (sanguine Scott Phillips) charges in like a Teddy Roosevelt of toys, and taking Johnny for a consultant, gives him a wind-up toy ferris wheel to fix—which he does, with a stickpin extorted from unxious factory manager Mr. Dixon (smarmy Gregory Lynch).  

Though thrown out on his ear by Gilbert (to the delight of Gilbert’s personal secretary Alice, whom Johnny’s been sweet-talking, played with pert humor by Rebecca Pingree) once the real purpose of his visit becomes plain, Johnny soon finds himself back in the factory at the magnate’s invitation, as Gilbert’s sure he’s spotted another toyman in the rough, and a partner in his crusade. They celebrate their joining forces with zest in “You and Me,” and all at once young Mr. Eli—who had confessed to Alice he wasn’t much of a reporter, or anything—finds himself writing his story, conferring with Gilbert for real (he advises that children be consulted on their preference in toys), courting the once-standoffish Alice—and the target of Dixon’s venomous enmity.  

Meanwhile, at the Gilbert home, their young niece Ellen (Jennifer Beall, a deadpan imp in a doughboy’s hat) is waiting for a reply to her letters from her father, who’s in the army Over There—and, unbeknownst to Ellen, missing in action, though she’s dreamed he’ll be home for Christmas. 

Ron Lytle’s score is quite serviceable, and his lyrics often clever. Lytle also stage- directs, keeping the show brisk and energetic. Armando Fox leads a quintet aloft (Josh Cohen, Randy Hood, Mike Wilson and Mike Wirgler) that cooks and sometimes swings along, giving the action its impetus. Though there’s the whole spectrum of musical comedy-type numbers (including a great comic buck-and-wing of self-righteous resentment by that Iago-at-the-water-cooler Dixon on exiting the factory), the most tuneful is a lullabye sung to a sleepless Ellen by her Aunt Mary (a warm, poised Jenifer Tice), “See You in the A.M.”—though the best set-up and delivery of a number is with “Daddy Has to Leave You,” Ellen upstairs remembering what her father (Lyle Nort) said (in song) to her when he shipped out for the war—joined by a chorus of other doughboys parting from their little girls. 

In Washington, Gilbert and Johnny win over the weary wartime council of Cabinet members, who play with the toys like kids—while back at home in New Haven, the kids themselves (Zoey Brandt and Maggie and Julia Franks as Ellen’s pals—as well as the newsboys yelling “Extra! Extra!” periodically, out in the audience), bored at the complications brought on by Dixon’s duplicity, straighten out the adults, first with a production number (“What’s Wrong with the Grownups?”), then with mischievous action, masterminded by Alice. 

It’s a good showcase for the Altarena’s cranked-up community theater, from musicians to set design (Frederick Chacon’s set of enormous wrapped presents that unfold into the Gilberts’ parlor), from principals to Ensemble (Lorie Franks, Amanda Gelender, Sadie Shaw, Matt Beall, Kevin Hammond, Paul J. White—as the names indicate, a few families are involved). There are particularly bright moments, and more pedestrian connectives, stock and standard fare for musicals when the moments just happen, rather than develop. Besides a few howlers—phrases that fit in more with the aftermath of the Second World War rather than the First (particularly sticky amid Kathleen Edmunds’ striving for a period feel in costumes), there are missed opportunities to cash in on the bounteous background color and flavor the theme suggests: Gilbert’s educational toys, more period Americana in story and song—not to mention the Christmas spirit itself. 

But the show springs from an opportune partnership with time to develop: Altarena plans to reprise Lytle’s first hit for them, Oh My Godmother, next year. The first edition featured Armando Fox’s musical direction, with Scott Phillips in the title role, Jenifer Tice as the Evil Stepmother, and other present cast members also embedded. His musical of Rumpelstilskin will debut with the East Bay Children’s Theatre in February.  

The Man Who Saved Christmas 

Alterena Playhouse 

1409 High St., Alameda 

Through Sunday 

Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. 

Tickets $15-18 

523-1553, www.alterena.org

A tree student learns a set of categories: the 50-mph tree, the 30-mph tree, the stop-and-think tree. The distinctions here concern how fast-moving and far away you can be and still be able to identify a tree—how distinctive it is from a distance.  

A subset of 50-mph trees is the drive-by orchard. Citrus orchards are pretty obvious from miles away, if they’re in bloom and you’re downwind. Pear orchards are easy when they’re out of leaf, because their youngest twigs are so determinedly vertical.  

Walnut orchards aren’t hard if you can see the trunks. Even without their distinctive compound leaves, they’re marked by the funny-looking trunks, dark at the bottom and pale starting from a foot or three off the ground. The height of the change varies, but it’s usually uniform within each orchard, which gives it the odd effect of an orderly regiment of trees in knickers, or cavalry boots. 

What’s going on here is a marriage of convenience. The walnuts we find in the market most of the time are English (or Persian) walnuts, from trees of the species Juglans regia, with their familiar pale and relatively easy-to-open shells. That tree prospers here, but for one thing: it doesn’t like poorly drained clay soils.  

But we have our own native walnut, the California black walnut, Juglans californica. I myself like black walnuts better than English walnuts; blacks have a haunting perfume, a heady port-wine note in their flavor that I treasure. The problem with black walnuts as a commercial nut is that they’re really hard to crack. There are jokes about strewing them on the driveway and backing your car over them a few times.  

The native walnut, no surprise, likes the native soils just fine. So walnut ranchers (Don’t you love living here, where we have dairy ranches and walnut ranches and, up the hill, a Fish Ranch?) graft English walnut scions onto black walnut trunks, and everybody grows up to be a happy tree in kneesocks.  

The walnuts that Walnut Creek is named for were the native California species. Europeans found them growing around the sites of indigenous villages. Donald Culross Peattie cites “the oldest records” in limiting the oldest stands to “the valley of Walnut Creek, in Contra Costa County, the banks of the Sacramento River, particularly at Walnut Grove, and Wooden Valley east of Napa.”  

There’s a magnificent senior black walnut living next to a well-kept big Victorian in Rockridge. Walnut trees turn up in random backyards where squirrels have planted them; we have a ten-foot whip in the skinny space along our driveway, where the squirrels also bequeathed us a few native live oaks. The problem with a gift walnut is that they don’t play well with others, at least some others.  

Black walnut roots exude juglone, which inhibits growth in some plants—tomatoes (which you wouldn’t grow in a tree’s shade anyway) and their kin; azaleas and rhodedendrons; mountain laurel (and presumably its California cousin, Kalmiopsis); blackberries and blueberries.  

But hot or long composting breaks down the juglone compound into its nontoxic components, and there are so many plants that don’t mind juglone that it’s barely a limitation. Japanese maples supposedly get along just fine with black walnuts, and so do plants as diverse as daffodils, hibiscus, honeysuckle, and heuchera.  

There are lots of wild or feral black walnuts along the roads and streamways up in the Delta and north, and over the hills in Contra Costa. The only time you see bare spaces under them is when they’re along a cleared road, or when they’re rootstock that has overgrown the English walnut top—I see that often at the edge of an old orchard. Otherwise, natives and invaders elbow black walnuts like any other tree. 

Sometimes black walnuts are the roadside row of a working orchard. I’ve heard that tourists and passers-by can be obnoxious about helping themselves to orchard fruit; maybe the black walnuts are bait. (Professional nut rustlers typically strike after the nuts are picked and ready to ship.) You can tell them from the English walnuts by their bark—dark and furrowed all the way up the trunk—and their narrower and pointer leaflets.  

I’d thought that these and the black walnuts I see in the wild were insurance against the species’ extinction, but maybe not. Apparently most of the black walnuts we have are hybrids between our Californians—the two varieties, J. C. californica and J. C. hindsii used to be considered separate species—and Eastern black walnuts, brought here for more rootstock. The wild genepool is a resource against diseases like the butternut blight that’s whacking the southeastern Juglans cinerea. Hybrids are fine, if we keep them leashed.  

If you want to see orchard walnuts used as street trees, go to Vacaville, where there are memorials of the groves that were built over, not far from the Adobe exit from I-80. 

Photograph by Ron Sullivan  

Foreground, black walnut: dark bark, narrow leaflets. Behind, English walnuts grafted onto black walnut stock.  

TUESDAY, DEC. 12 

Anti-Torture Teach-in and Vigil with Trevor Paglen member of the UC Berkeley Geography Department, investigator and author of “Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the CIA’s Rendition Flights” at 12:30 p.m. at Boalt Hall, School of Law, UC Campus. 649-0663. 

“Adventures from the Mojave to the Antarctic” with Lucy Jane Bledsoe at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Berkeley High School Governance Council meets at 8:30 p.m. in the Berkeley Community Theater Lobby. The agenda will cover the Advisory Plan. 644-4803. 

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 welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13  

Golden Gate Audubon Society Volunteer Orientation Learn about the ways you can help protect local birds and their habitats at 7 p.m. at 2530 San Pablo Ave, Suite G. RSVP to 843-7295.  

“New Treatments for Irregular Heartbeat” with Dr. Steven Kang, cardiologist at 9:30 a.m. at Alta Bates Summit, Merrit Pavillion, Cafeteria Annex B & C, 350 Hawthorne Ave., Oakland. Registration required. 869-6737. 

Poetry Writing Workshop led by Christina Hutchins at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

New to DVD “The Devil Wears Prada” at 7 p.m. at the JCCEB, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

“Natural Treatments for Low Back Pain” with Dr. Jay Sordean, LAc, OMD, at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

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, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. 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, corner of Shattuck and Center. www.geocities.com/ 

vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, DEC. 14 

“Robert Fisk on Iraq and Lebanon: Pointing the Finger of Guilt” at 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 2619 Broadway at 27th, Oakland. Donations $20, $50 for reception. 548-0542. 

“Natural Treatments for Low Back Pain” with Dr. Jay Sordean, LAc, OMD, at 1 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5174. 

Pt. Richmond Shores Design Charrette for the housing project planned at the Terminal One site, at 6 p.m. in Richmond City Council Chambers, 1401 Marina Way South St., tichmond. 307-8140. 

FRIDAY, DEC. 15 

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 Rita Maran, Peace and Conflict Studies, UCB on “United Nations in a Hostile World.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

Conversation with Patricia Isasa, filmmaker and Argentine torture survivor, and screening of “El Cerco” at 6:30 p.m. at The Uptown, 356 26th St., between Telegraph and Broadway. Donations accepted. 654-5355. 

Before Columbus Foundation American Book Awards Celebration at 6:30 p.m. at the African Museum and Library, 659 14th St., Oakland. Free. 228-6775. 

“Lincoln Highway in California” a slide show and discussion with author Gregory M. Franzwa, at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Central Library, 3rd floor Community Meeting Room, 2090 Kittredge St.  

Movies that Matter “Field of Dreams” at 6:30 p.m. at Neumayer Residence, 565 Bellevue Ave. at Perkins, Oakland. 451-3009. 

Kol Hadash Humanistic Judaism Pot Luck Chanukah Party at 6 p.m. at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. For potluck assignment and other info call 428-1492. 

SATURDAY, DEC. 16 

Celebration to Save the Oaks, with music, poetry and refreshments from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the threatened oak grove in front of Memorial Stadium. 841-3493. 

“Bringing the Condors Home” An exhibit of the Ventana Wildlife Society’s 20-year effort to restore California condors to the wild, opens at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., at 10th St., Oakland. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market Holiday Crafts Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Center St. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way with local craftspepole, live music and prepared food. Benefits the Ecology Center. 548-3333.  

Telegraph Avenue Holiday Fair with more than 200 vendors, music and food, Sat. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

The Crucible Holiday Celebration with fire dancers, stilt walkers and art, Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1260 Seventh St. 444-0919.  

Muir Family Christmas Tours of the Muir House in Martinez decorated for the holidays on Sat. and Sun. Cost is $3. For details call 925-228-8860. 

Lake Temescal Water Quality Monitoring We will be performing our monthly water chemistry test at the inlet of Lake Temescal. Meet at 10:30 a.m. at the Broadway Terrace entrance. 415-561-7762. www.ebparks.org/resources/pdf/trails/temescal_map.pdf  

Restore Arroyo Viejo Creek Have fun while helping to improve our local watershed. Sponsored by the City of Oakland Arroyo Viejo Watershed Awareness Program and the Oakland Zoo. From 10 a.m. to noon at Arroyo Viejo Recreation Center, 7701 Krause Ave., Oakland. 665-3508.  

Progressive Democrats Celebration of the work we have done this past year at 4:30 p.m. at Albatross Pub, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 636-4149. 

“Behind the Mask” A documentary about people who take direct action to save animals at 6 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Cost is $10. Benefits Animal Rescue, Media & Education and East Bay Animal Advocates.  

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

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, DEC. 17 

Christmas Caroling in Point Richmond Join us for chili at 5 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 201 Martina St., corner of Richmond Ave., Point Richmond, and then stroll with us through the town. 236-0527.  

Community Labyrinth Peace Walk at 3 p.m. at Willard Middle School on Telegraph Ave. between Derby & Stuart. Everyone welcome. Wheelchair accessible. Rain cancels. 526-7377. 

“Impeach the President” Dahr Jamail, Peter Phillips & Larry Everest will discuss the case against Bush and Cheney at 7:30 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way at Telegraph Ave. 848-1196. 

“The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: It’s the Economy” with Israeli economist Arie Arnon at 3:30 p.m. at the JCC of the East Bay. Doantion $5. sf-bayarea@ 

btvshalom.org  

Code Pink’s Glad Voter Tea Party to celebrate recent election victories from 3 to 7 p.m. at Redwood Gardens Community Room, 2951 Derby St. 524-2776. 

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

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

“The Divine Feminine in the World’s Religions: Christianity” with Anna Matt of the GTU at 9:30 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Bob Russo on “Holistic Work” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812.  

MONDAY, DEC. 18 

“Acupuncture for Parkinson’s Disease” with Jacqueline Sohn at 10 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 981-5190. 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

ONGOING 

Help with Medicare Part D Enrollment Seniors who need to enroll in the prescription drug plan, or change their plan can get help and advice at Berkeley Senior Centers. Appointments required. Call 1-800-434-0222. www.lashicap.org 

Holiday Food Drive Sponsor a Food Drive at your business, school, place of worship or community center. Help the Food Bank reach its goal of collecting food for families in need during the holiday season. 635-3663, ext. 318. www.accfb.org  

UN Association’s UNICEF & Fair Trade Gift Center Closing Sale, Tues.-Sat. noon to 5 p.m. to Dec. 16, 1403 Addison St. 849-1752. 

Magnes Museum Docent Training Open to all interested in Jewish art and history. Classes begin Jan. 18th. For information contact cultural.arts@sbcglobal.net 

CITY MEETINGS 

Youth Commission meets Mon., Dec. 11, at 6:30 p.m., at City Council Chambers, Old City Hall. 981-6670.  

City Council meets Tues., Dec. 12, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Commission on Disability meets Wed., Dec. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Don Brown, 981-6346. TDD: 981-6345.  

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Dec. 13, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426.  

Planning Commission meets Wed., Dec. 13, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7484. 

Police Review Commission meets Wed., Dec. 13, at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 981-4950.  

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Dec. 13, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. 981-6740.  

School Board meets Wed. Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m., in the City Council Chambers. Mark Coplan 644-6320. 

Community Health Commission meets Thurs., Dec. 14, at 6:45 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5356. 

Mental Health Commission meets Wed., Dec. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at 2640 MLK Jr. Way, at Derby. 981-5213.  

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Dec. 14, Special Meeting at 6 p.m., regular meeting at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410.  

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board meets Mon. Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, Pam Wyche, 644-6128 ext. 113. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/rent 

FRIDAY, DEC. 8 

THEATER 

Altarena Playhouse “ The Man Who Saved Christmas” at holiday family musical Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 1409 High St., Alameda, through Dec. 17. Tickets are $15-$18. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Aurora Theatre “Ice Glen” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through Dec. 10. Tickets are $38. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Rep “All Wear Bowlers” at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. through Dec. 23. Tickets are $45-$61. 647-2949. 

Checkov International Theatre “Twelfth Night” at 8 p.m. Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m., Sun. at 3 and 7 p.m., at Zellerbach Playouse, UC Campus. Tickets are $65. 642-9988. 

Contra Costa Civic Theater, “And Then There Were None” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. Sun. at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave., at Moeser, El Cerrito, through Dec. 9. Tickets are $11-$18. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

Impact Theater “Jukebox Stories” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave., through Dec. 10. Tickets are $10-$15. 464-4468. www.impacttheatre.com 

Masquers Playhouse “Company” by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, through Dec. 16. Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org  

Naked Masks “Far Away” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. Sun. at 7 p.m. at Berkeley City Club. Tickets are $10-$20. Runs through Dec. 17. 883-9872. www.nakedmasks.org 

Prophecy Theater, “Broken Moments: What’s Your Pleasure?” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Egypt Theater, 5306 Foothill Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $15. 1-800-838-3006. 

Shotgun Players “The Forest War” Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Jan 14. Sliding scale $15-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Sacred Flame” An exhibition of menorahs, candelabras and votives opens with a reception at 5 p.m. at ACCI Gallery, 1652 Shattuck Ave. 843-2527. 

FILM 

“Burning Man Festival” at 7:30 p.m. in the 3rd Floor Community Room, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6100. 

Janus Films: “Il Posto” at 6:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

“McSweeney’s Wholphin III: DVD Magazine of Unseen Things” Preview at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Ballet Theater, “The Nutcracker” at 7 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $16-$21. 843-4689. 

Voci Women’s Vocal Ensemble “Voices in Peace” music from the Americas at 8 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Tickets are $15-$20. 531-8714.  

Bella Musica Chorus and Orchestra Bach’s “Mass in B Minor” at 8 p.m. at Arlington Community Church, 52 Arlington Blvd., Kensington. Suggested dontation $10-$15. 525-5393. www.bellamusica.org 

University Symphony Orchestra at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $5-$15. 642-4864.  

California Revels “Christmas Revels” Celebrating the stories, songs, dance, and drama of 19th century Quebec, at 7:30 p.m. at Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Drive near Lake Merritt, Oakland. Tickets are $15-$42. 452-3800. www.calrevels.org 

La Familia Son, contemporary Cuban, at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. 

Yerbabuena Ballet Flamenco at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$48. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Sacred and Classical Turkish Music Necati Celik on oud and Arif Bicer on ney, with American Sufi musicians at 7:30 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $20-$25 at the door. 707-824-2230. 

SFJazz All-Star High School Ensemble at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12. 845-5373.  

Hanif & The Sound Voyagers at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Tito y su Son de Cuba at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Cris Williamson with Teresa Trull & Barbara Higbie at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $22.50-$23.50. 548-1761.  

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

Ragwater Revue, Vermillion Lies, Kira Lynn Cain at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Iron Age, Cold World, Never Healed at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Les Nubians, Jennifer Johns, Femi at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $20 in advance from ticketweb.com . 548-1159.  

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

Caroline Chung Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Eddie Palmieri y La Perfecta II at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $22-$26. 238-9200.  

SATURDAY, DEC. 9 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Colibri, Latin American music for the whole family, at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Gris Grimly reads from “Santa Claws” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Elmwood Theater Matinee Benefit for local schools showing “Shrek 2” at 10 a.m. and noon, and noon on Sun. Cost is $2. Sponsored by Elmwood merchants. 843-3794. 

EXHIBITIONS 

3rd Annual Albany Community Art Show & Sale from noon to 6 p.m. at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany. Features the work of many local artists. The event is free and wheelchair accessible. 524-9283. 

THEATER 

Checkov International Theatre “Twelfth Night” at 2 and 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Playouse, UC Campus. Tickets are $65. 642-9988. 

“Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” Solo performance by Kristina Wong at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Seldom Seen Acting Company of St. Vincent de Paul “Rock Bottom Hope” at 7 p.m. at Oakland Museum's James Moore Theatre, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. Tickets are $20. 812-9421. 

FILM 

“Rare Rockin’ Film Clips” with rock historian Richie Unterberger at 10 p.m. at Fellini Restaurant, 1401 University Ave. Free. 841-5200.  

Janus Films “La strada” at 5 p.m. and “Seven Samurai” at 7:10 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jeff Norman introduces “Temescal Legacies” at 2 p.m. at the Temescal Branch of the Oakland Public Library, 5205 Telegraph Ave. 597-5049. 

John Scharffenberger discusses “The Essence of Chocolate” at 2 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Ballet Theater, “The Nutcracker” at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $16-$21. 843-4689. 

Yerbabuena Ballet Flamenco at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$48. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Oakland East Bay Symphony “Messiah” Singalong at 8 p.m. at Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakand. Tickets are $15-$28. 625-8497. www.oebs.org 

Kensington Symphony performs holiday favorites by Handel, Johann Strauss, (pere and fils), Tchaikovsky, Telemann, others, at 8 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 545 Ashbury Ave., El Cerrito. Suggested donation $12-$15, children free. 524-9912. 

California Revels “Christmas Revels” Celebrating the stories, songs, dance, and drama of 19th century Quebec, Sat. and Sun. at 1 and 5 p.m. at Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Drive near Lake Merritt, Oakland. Tickets are $15-$42. 452-3800. www.calrevels.org 

Oakland-East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus “Pacem” at 8 p.m. at Lakedhore Avenue Baptist Church, 3534 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. www.oebgmc.org 

Kairos Youth Choir “Choose Something Like a Star” at 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 1325 Portland St., Albany. Tickets are $10-$12. 704-4479.  

Oakland School for the Arts Concert Ensemble performs carols and gospel music at 3 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Free, donations accepted. 228-3207. 

Rhythm & Muse Open Mic features jazz vocalist Felice York with Eliza Shefler, jazz piano, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., between Eunice & Rose Sts. 644-6893.  

University Symphony Orchestra at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $5-$15. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

La Pena Community Chorus at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Pete Excovedo & Ray Obiedo with Mambo Caribe at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $15. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Groundation, reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15-$18. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Holler Town and Ronnie Cato at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Claudia Russell, Lucy Kaplansky at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $24.50-$25.50. 548-1761.  

Danny Mertens Trio at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

The Bean Bag Apostles, folk, rock, at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7-$10. 558-0881. 

Kirtan: Jaya Lakshimi at 7:30 p.m. at Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St. Cost is $16-$18. 843-2787. 

Workingman’s Ed at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082.  

Ned Boynton’s North Beach Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Mucho Axe, South American world grooves, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

SUNDAY, DEC. 10 

CHILDREN 

Childrens’ Authors’ Party with Joyce Carol Thomas, Thatcher Hurd, Barbara Quick and others at 6 p.m. at Black Oak Books. For all ages. 486-0698. 

Samantha Tobey and the Squeegees at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054.  

THEATER 

Checkov International Theatre “Twelfth Night” at 3 and 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Playouse, UC Campus. Tickets are $65. 642-9988. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Works by Hana Waters” Opening reception at 4 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

FILM 

Jacques Rivette “Joan the Maiden, Part 1” at 1 p.m. and “Joan the Maiden, Part 2” at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Desert to Dream: A Decade of Burning Man” slide show and discussion with Barbara Traub at at 2 p.m. in the 3rd Floor Community Room, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6100. 

Robert Hartman and Mary Snowden in conversation on the exhibition “Measure of Time” at 3 p.m. in Gallery 6, Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

Ann Fagan Ginger and Abiola Afollyn introduce “Landmark Cases Left Out of Your Textbooks,” including the Angela Davis case, the Pentagon Papers case and others at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Felloship of Unitarian Universalists, Cedar and Bonita. 848-0599. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bay Area Flute Fest from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Performers include Roger Glenn, John Calloway, Amy Likar and others. Free. 333-0474. www.bayareaflutefest.com 

Berkeley Ballet Theater, “The Nutcracker” at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $16-$21. 843-4689. 

Bella Musica Chorus and Orchestra Bach’s “Mass in B Minor” at 4 p.m. at St. Mary Magdalen Church, 2005 Berryman at Milvia. Suggested dontation $10-$15. 525-5393. www.bellamusica.org 

Kairos Youth Choir “Choose Something Like a Star” at 4 p.m. at Calvary Presbyterian Church, 1940 Virginia St. Tickets are $10-$12. 704-4479.  

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra “Underconstruction” at 7 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Free. www.berkeleysymphony.org 

Arlekin Quartet, chamber music, at 4 p.m. at Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St. Tickets are $12, children under 18 free. 559-2941. www.crowden.org 

Healing Muses with Eileen Hadidian on recorder and flute and Patrice Haan on Celtic harp at 2 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Sacred and Profane “Christmas in London” at 7 p.m. at All Souls Episcopal Church, 2220 Cedar St. Tickets are $12-$18. 524-3611.  

Selections from Handel’s “Messiah” at 5 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 201 Martina St., corner of Richmond Ave., Point Richmond. Free. 236-0527.  

San Francisco Choral Artists “From Darkness to Light” at 4 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave., at Bay Place, Oakland. Tickets are $12-$25. 415-979-5779.  

Chamber Music Sundaes “Memory Beams” at 3 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $18-$22. 415-753-2792.  

Oakland-East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus “Pacem” at 5 p.m. at Lakedhore Avenue Baptist Church, 3534 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. www.oebgmc.org 

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

John Stowell/Mike Zilber Group at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Madeline Eastman & Taylor Eigsti at 4:30 at the Jazzschool. Cost is $20. 845-5373.  

Jared Karol and Jayne Pohl at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

MONDAY, DEC. 11 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“From Toothpicks to Cow Bladders: The Conservation of Modern Art” A brown-bag lunch with Michelle Barger, Conservator of Objects at the Museum of Modern Art at 12:30 p.m., Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Thomas Lynch reads Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Rabbi Edward Zerin presents “Jewish San Francisco” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

The Roches, with a Holiday Twist, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $21.50-$22.50. 548-1761.  

SoVoSo, holiday concert, at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14.. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com  

TUESDAY, DEC. 12 

CHILDREN 

Opera Piccola “The Guest” at 7 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, Rockridge Branch, 5366 College Ave. 597-5017. 

EXHIBITIONS 

The Photography of Matt Heron “Voting Rights: The Southern Struggle, 1964-1965” on display in the Catalog Lobby, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St., through Jan. 6. 981-6100. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Susan Snyder introduces “Past Tents: The Way We Camped” at 7 p.m. at Phoebe A. Hearst Museum, 102 Kroeber Hall, UC Campus. 643-7649. 

George Leonard reads from “The Silent Pulse: A Search for the Perfect Rhythm that Exists in Each of Us” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Ellen Hoffman and Singers’ Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

The Roches, with a Holiday Twist, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $21.50-$22.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Charlie Hunter Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $16-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazzschool at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13 

THEATER 

Azeem’s “Rude Boy” Wed.-Thurs. at 8 p.m. at The Marsh, 2120 Allston Way, through Dec. 14. Tickets are $15-$22. 415-826-5750. www.themarsh.org 

FILM 

Janus Films “Throne of Blood” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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

Daniel Lev and Bobby Kinkead, storytelling at 7 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Robert Marshall reads 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 www.starryploughpub.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Music for Advent with Ron McKean, organist, at noon at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555. 

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

Zaatar at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Karabali at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Brown Bums, delta blues and soul at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

31 Knots at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Greenbridge, Celtic trio, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

THURSDAY, DEC. 14 

FILM 

Jacques Rivette “Va savoir” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Robert Fisk on Iraq and Lebanon at 7 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 2619 Broadway, at 27th, Oakland Tickets are $20, no one turned away. Benefit for children in Gaza, via the Middle East Children's Alliance. 548-0542. www.mecaforpeace.org 

Eric Kos and Dennis Evanosky talk about “East Bay Then and Now” with historic photographs of Oakland at 7:30 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Avenue. Donation $8-$10. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org  

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

Robert Hanson introduces “The Rough Guide to CLimate Change” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Symphony performs Shostakovich “Leningrad” and works by Arvo Part at at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $10-$56. 841-2800. www.berkeleysymphony.org 

Patrick Ball, “Christmas Rose” music from England, Ireland and Wales, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Tommy Carns, Sean McArdle, Sweetbriar at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

Razero the Band, Unequaled Clarity and Five Characters in Search of an Exit at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$7. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Charlie Hunter Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $16-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

The Time Flys, The Pets, The Makes Nice at 9 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

BAY AREA FLUTE FEST COMES TO OAKLAND 

Roger Glenn, John Calloway and Amy Likar lead the list of performers at this year’s Bay Area Flute Fest from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland. Flutists, flute students and music lovers of all stripes are invited to attend an afternoon of music, exhibits and workshops. Admission is free. For more information, call 333-0474 or go to www.bayareaflutefest.com. 

‘BLACK NATIVITY HOLIDAY PAGEANT’ 

The Allen Temple Baptist Church Music Department will present a series of holiday performances beginning this weekend. Two shows will be presented on Saturday, the first at 2:30 p.m. and the second at 8 p.m.; Sunday’s show will be held at 6 p.m.; there will be a single matinee show at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16; and a gala will be held at 3:30 Sunday, Dec. 17, followed by the final performance of the season. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for seniors and teens, $7 for youth, and free for children under the age of 5. 8501 International Blvd., Oakland. 544-8924. 

CELLULOID FLASHBACKS IN EL CERRITO 

The Cerrito Theater will present a couple of cinematic gems from yesteryear along with its usual fare this weekend. In its  

“Cerrito Flashback” series, the newly restored Art Deco theater will screen The Princess Bride, the popular 1987 fantasy, and the “Cerrito Classics” series will feature Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly and Louis Armstrong in High Society, the 1956 musical remake of The Philadelphia Story. The Princess Bride shows at 9:45 p.m. Friday through Thursday, Dec. 14, and High Society shows 6 p.m. Saturday and at 5 p.m. Sunday. 10070 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 814-2400. www.picturepubpizza.com.

A fascinating pair of Italian films will screen this weekend at Pacific Film Archive. The first, Il Posto (1961), could be seen as a sequel to Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows, presenting another quietly observant portrait of a young man suffering through a rite of passage. It’s as though the 13-year-old Antoine Donel of the earlier film has now grown into the 18-year-old Domenico Cantoni, sent by his parents into the big city of Milan to find a job.  

Directed by Ermanno Olmi, Il Posto fits in with the Italian neo-realism school of filmmaking in its presentation of a humanistic tale of youthful dreams and ambitions sacrificed at the altar of security and conformism.  

Domenico seems to dread his entry into the working world, a world presented as one of time-worn adults marking time in soulless, dreary employment. However, a ray of light appears in the form of a young woman named Antonietta (Loredana Detto), and her sparkling presence illuminates the screen as well as the life of the hero. Together they navigate the job application process and take pleasure in each other’s company, the two bright-eyed youths constituting a slightly subversive presence in an otherwise stale maze of corridors, offices and standard-issue furniture.  

The key to the film is Sandro Panseri, a non-professional actor with soulful eyes and the gentle, timid face of a youth trying to comprehend and master the ways of a foreign territory. He’s a small, skinny waif masquerading as a grown-up in ill-fitting grown-up clothing. He hits all the right notes and Olmi captures each one, showing us in wordless close-ups the fear, uncertainty, shyness and delight that flitter across the face of the young protagonist.  

But about three-quarters into the film, Olmi suddenly abandons the main character for an extended sequence in which we learn something of the personal lives of each one of a number of accountants at the unnamed firm where Domenico has landed. It may seem like a tangent at first, but the sequence marks the opening salvo in a tour de force closing sequence that drives home the film’s major themes.  

Domenico is promoted, and in an uncharacteristic but highly effective montage, Olmi shows us why. One of the accountants we’ve encountered has passed away, possibly by suicide, and his desk is turned over to Domenico, much to the dismay of his new colleagues. One, a 20-year veteran, complains to the manager, and when Domenico agrees to move to a desk in the back of the room, a frenzied and ruthless rush ensues as the other accountants begin a mad dash to claim the desk immediately in front of their own, a desperate game of musical chairs for which they’ve apparently been waiting for decades. 

The final shot shows Domencio watching a man at the front of the room as he cranks what appears to be a mimeograph machine, feeding paper into one end and removing it from the other as a deafening mechanical whirr dominates the soundtrack. The grind has begun.  

Yet as bleak as this conclusion may seem, it is also somewhat ambiguous, for throughout the film we have seen Domenico warmly befriended by the adults in his new environment, receiving a series of reassurances that a simpler life of lower expectations is not all bad but is in fact full of small pleasures. With these gentle moments of camaraderie and kindness, Olmi provides a welcome softening of the film’s sharp edge.  

Domenico may have found himself in a dispiriting situation, but there is still energy and vivaciousness and curiosity in his face, a sign that although life is certainly capable of pummeling the spirit out of a young man, he still has a choice, plenty of choices as a matter of fact, and retains the power to shape his own destiny. And the fact that Domenico is able to so clearly see his predicament in the closing scene leaves us with hope that he has the strength and determination to overcome it, now that he finally understands it. 

Federico Fellini’s La Strada (1954) similarly focuses on a main character with enormously expressive eyes in the form of Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina), another youthful spirit facing dire circumstances. But the style and delivery of the tale could not be more different from the observational calm of Olmi’s Il Posto.  

La Strada tells the tale of a boorish brute of a traveling sideshow performer, Zampano, played by Anthony Quinn. When his wife dies, he travels back to her remote, impoverished village and essentially purchases her younger sister to take her place. Gelsomina has a clown-like countenance, and eventually she takes on the makeup of a clown, too. Her childish innocence calls to mind silent film comedian Harry Langdon, blending an adult body with an infantile purity that at times confounds us with its ambiguity.  

And despite its rather simple story, the film is full of ambiguities. Gelsominia is at once innocent and deeply aware of her place in Zampano’s life. And the Fool, a character capable of both cruelty and martyrdom, provides lessons in life and love for the main characters while treating them with a degree of contempt. 

The film itself seems to straddle two realms, leaning at times toward realism and at times toward a sort of fable-like fantasy. Beneath its circus settings, desolate stretches of beach and never-ending highways, it is a simple love story about a man who cannot admit his feelings and a child-like woman who is entirely governed by her own. 

La Strada concludes with a powerful shot of Zampano alone on the beach after learning that his dismissal of Gelsomina has led her to madness and death. As he faces the open sea, he glances upwards for a moment, as though discovering God for the first time and begging his forgiveness. And it seems like the first time that he has lifted his brooding gaze from the ground, the first time we have seen the whites of his eyes. But it is too late now, and Zampano simply crumbles to the ground as though merging with the brittle sand.  

The two films are showing as part of PFA’s tribute to Janus Films, the American distributor responsible for bringing so many foreign art house films to the United States in the 1950s and ’60s. The series concludes next week with a screening of Mario Monicelli’s The Organizer (1963). 

Both Il Posto and La Strada are available individually on DVD from the Criterion Collection or as part of Criterion’s new 50-film Janus box set, 50 Years of Essential Art House, available at www.criterionco.com. 

IL POSTO (1961) 

Directed by Ermanno Olmi. 93 minutes.  

6:30 p.m. Friday.  

LA STRADA (1956) 

Directed by Federico Fellini. 108 minutes.  

5 p.m. Saturday.  

Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way. $4-$8. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu. 

Photograph: Sandro Panseri plays a young in search of secure job in Ermanno Olmi’s Il Posto (1961).

“We wanted to do these plays in people’s homes. My mentor called theater-making in this day and age ‘cultural migrant labor’—that is, you load your stuff into your car and go to where you do it.” 

So said Maya Gurantz, founder of Ten Red Hen, this past Wednesday in welcoming everybody to Day One of Week Four of Suzan-Lori Parks’ ongoing national 365 Days/365 Plays project, in Ruth Lym’s remarkable Bernal Heights townhouse, designed by architect Glenn Robert Lym. The show was followed by house party/performances at a trapeze artist’s studio in Fruitvale on Thursday. 

It continues in San Francisco’s Mission District tonight (Friday), and concludes Saturday at a housing co-op on the Berkeley-Oakland-Emeryville border. All shows are pay-what-you-will and BYOB. Reservations and directions are available by calling 547-8932 or e-mailing 365@tenredhen.net. 

The lively scene at the Lym townhouse underlined the troupe’s self-description: “a fledgling theater company based in Oakland ... committed to creating engaging, relevant new theater that integrates both the form of live art-making and the world around us.” 

Pulitzer Prize-winning, MacArthur “Genius” grantee Parks wrote a play a day throughout 2002. Before taking on performing week four of the project, Ten Red Hen produced a few months back as maiden voyage The 99-Cent Miss Saigon in the Willard School Metal Shop on Telegraph Avenue, one of the most audaciously theatrical events in the Bay Area this past year. In a way, they’re already old hands at putting on plays in places no one else would think of as a stage. 

Indeed the scene Wednesday had the feel of a bright holiday party in a fashionable and comfortable home, though with at least one noticeable difference: Jane Chen, featured in a one night only rendition of Napoleon Or Wellington? as the Imperial Eagle himself, practiced her accent on all and sundry with Gallic party patter, handing out blue handkerchiefs to those who agreed to be her loyal partisans.  

But then the chit-chat over wine and finger food suddenly died down as a fiddle stuck up an air reminiscent of Ken Burn’s “Civil War” TV theme, and a play began to take form as a tableau around a metal utility cart in the middle of the living room. 

The cart was being pulled ineffectively by a Confederate soldier (George Chan): “I can push the cart, sir!” The officer aboard took a pipe from his mouth: “Then go!” As he pushed with little more effect, the young soldier said: “I never seen a general walk. They all rode on carts, or horses—or over the shoulders of the men. My mother told me I was a general’s son, and that generals flew!” 

The scene was casual, but had the authority and tension to generate real stage presence; a few feet away, all around, the rest of us were rapt. As the motley crew settled down to camp, on what seemed one of the last days of that first great war of attrition, movie music—from a very particular movie—sounded out, and a vignette of two women (Alexis Wong and Issabella Shields), proved to be the rear guard of the retreat: “Do I look old? ... What is 20 years between two people who know each other ... who wrote letters!” And the Southern Belle had last word on it all: “Damn this war!” — “Yes, ma’am!” So played “House of Jones.” 

And so the evening went, in and out of the party, from which the plays seem to swirl up, like the dancers on the floor, or conversations over cocktails. Sometimes the only way to tell if a piece was starting was the silence that fell over the room.  

Some of the pieces are little more than poses, crystallizing a pensive moment, or one in transition. Others are sketchy, quick, playful takes the players sometimes sing their way through, refer to other plays out of context (“Why do you always wear black?” a dancer asks his partner in “Blackbird;” “Black is Beautiful!” she replies, playing off the opening lines of The Seagull), or various pairs of actors repeat a tableau, a phrase ... These often reminded me of bits and pieces, details from sometime-Oakland playwright Ed Bullins’ wonderful plays, seldom produced now, but pervasively influential in ephemeral touches as well as ideology. 

Finally, the whole party divided in two for The History Lesson, behind Wellington waving red scarves from the floor up at the blue scarf-wavers behind Jane’s Little Corporal in newspaper hat, along the staircase—who laughed derisively as Jane exclaimed, “Are you trying to teach me something?” To which the Iron Duke drew his toy sword and the French retreated upstairs. Maybe the colors, like “Red States and Blue States” were off, as well as battlefield topography, but The History Lesson was exhilarating. 

Following the principle that the end of a party is special, Dave Malloy and Conrad enacted a little male confrontation, “Pussy” (one of the “secret,” optional pieces) when almost everyone, including some of the players, had gone: “Looks like it hurts ...”—“I ain’t no pussy!”—closing with contention, a urinary obstruction, and architectural detail. 

Gurantz exhorted all to follow the future weeks of 365 Days/365 Plays on the Z Space or Theater Bay Area website, staged by East Bay groups like Berkeley Rep, Shotgun Players, TheatreFIRST, mugwumpin, Opera Piccola and Encinal High School. 

Next up for Ten Red Hen: Scriptural slapstick as Jane Chen plays both God the father and the Son of Man, in Clown Bible, just in time for Easter, this late March.

The death toll in Iraq this last month was the highest so far in a war that shows no end in sight. There is little doubt that the oil in the region has played a significant role in our willingness to participate in a “War on Terror” some sources now believe has resulted in nearly 700,000 deaths in Iraq, not to mention an outright civil war. 

To make matters worse, Americans appear to be more in love with gas guzzling mega-wagons than ever before and a trip to the Quicky-mart looks more like an overland assault than a mere shopping junket. What IS it about energy consumption that we’re so head-over-heels about and what’s so dorky and last-year about conservation? There’s nothing that gets me hot like seeing my wife shop at the Goodwill. And when we go for a walk, Oh Man, I can barely keep my hands off of her. There just something about a woman who’s into cheapness.  

Oh yea, sorry, got lost there for a minute. Oil, conservation, right. That’s where I was. Well I’m the house guy right, so what does this all have to do with houses?  

There are loads of changes one can make at home to affect global warming, international relations and sustainable human life on this planet and one of them, and it’s really good one, is to install a photovoltaic electrical generating system (solar panels, for short) on your roof. 

We have more than enough sunny days here in California to merit an investment in P.V. (photovoltaic), as it’s often called. The only downside seems to be a rather large initial investment, but if you think long-range, it’s a very good one. Currently, a typical system on a single family dwelling seems to get rung-up at about $30,000. However, current state credits will rebate about 1/3 of this and perhaps a bit more. The state claims that you can get up to half of your money back but my experience is that most folks don’t get that much of a credit. Nonetheless, 10 or 12 thousand dollars back is nothing to shake a dip-stick at. 

There are also Federal tax credits that will defray this expense even further and by the time you get done, it probably will be about 1/2 of the total up-front expense. Experts say that it can take around 10 years to repay the initial expense but after that, you can expect free, or nearly free electricity for another 30 years or so. Like I said, this requires long-range thinking so you have to be willing to pay your electric bill for the next 10 years right up front on the promise that you’ll be able to enjoy free electricity for decades to come. 

Now, all of these numbers are quite rough and it may turn out that future tax credits will further defray the expense. Additionally, energy costs may rise significantly in the coming years as we dig deeper into our limited supplies of coil, oil and natural gas. You may find yourself sitting hella’ pretty if you’ve made an investment in home electrical generation. Another possible windfall for the forward thinker may be in one change that has yet to have taken place and that’s the ability of home electrical generators to be fairly compensated for their contribution to the grid. Today, if you earn more than you use, you get no compensation. Nil, zip, nada. 

The funny and awful part of this story is that the leadership in Sacramento have told us a number of times in the last 10 years that our state’s generating capability isn’t up to the task at hand and when we’re at peak usage, we can end up browning or blacking out. At the same time they tell us that if we generate extra power, they won’t buy it. Go figure.  

I’d suggest calling your state assemblyman or writing to Aaaanold. This is just plain silly. To make matters worse (or better), PV power is at it’s peak when our use is at its peak, during those hot summer afternoons when the A/Cs are cranking away at full bore, so the state would do well to create a small army of generating citizens to meet its needs (unless the actual objective is to bilk the public through perceived shortfalls (Mr. Skilling, are you and your cellmate reading this?)) 

I’ve gotten a little bit ahead of myself in talking about PV and should really back up to explain a little bit about how it works and how it becomes a part of the grid. Most PV systems aren’t isolated. That is, they aren’t designed to provide power that’s used by you and you alone. This may sound stupid or counterintuitive but it’s actually much smarter than the way in which we usually do things in this goofy society. If you have a GRID-TIE system, which is what most people have, the panels on your roof don’t pump power directly into your house. Instead, what they do is add power to the entire local grid, off of which you draw power whenever you turn on the light. It’s is a very collective approach. When you’re not using the power, all the power from the panels flows out through the meter and turns the dials backward, lowering your bill toward $0. When you turn on the A/C during the day, a little less flows out and a little more flows in. Its as though you caught rainwater on your roof and pumped it out into the water piping system whenever you weren’t using it. 

You needn’t concern yourself with whether you’re using the power that’s coming in from the panel or whether you’re buying it from the grid. You just use power and all the excess spins the meter backward. If you’ve sized your system properly, you’ll end up with a bill of roughly zero each month. Unfortunately, if you buy a system that is too large, you’ll get nothing for your additional contribution, so for today, it’s best to size for your actual needs. One day, hopefully, you’ll be able to sell the excess power back at a profit but we’re not there yet. Currently the German government is paying owners of these systems 8 times the utility company rate on excess power that they generate. As you might imagine, panels are flying off the shelves and last year, Germans (in a country less than a third our population) bought 9 times as many panels as we did. Tell that to Mr. Schwarzenegger (who’s Austrian, not German). 

[Another very sweet part of this deal is that you get paid at a higher rate during the sunniest part of the day and then get to buy power at a cheaper rate when you’re at home in the evening.] 

So here’s what a system looks like. While the panels are brilliant physics at work and the inverter (the central component other than the panels) is state of the art electrical engineering, the systems are actually quite simple. 

PV panels are very thin and quite lightweight, being made largely of polycarbonates (plastics) for support and a very thin wafer of silicon which is “doped” with a material that facilitates the photovoltaic effect. In fact, panels are so light that the main responsibility of the support frame is to keep them from blowing off of your roof when its windy. Panels do not need to “track” or follow the sun and are efficient enough when aimed into the pathway the sun will take during the day. This means that you will need to put most of your panels on one side of the roof or support them on slanted frames so that they’ll be able to suck up those juicy little photons. 

The PV panel converts photons (or sunlight if you prefer) into DC current (that’s the same kind of electricity you’ll find in a battery but not in your electrical outlet). The panels are very efficient and will generally be capable of producing power for at least 30-40 years. The panels get wired together in a simple grid and fed down to an INVERTER located near your main electrical panel. The inverter converts this DC power into AC power. The power then flows into the main panel where it either runs to your house (if you’re toasting bread) or out to the neighborhood on the wires overhead (or underground as the case may be). It’s just a matter of demand. 

The cost of Silicon is currently quite high because demand is at a peak. That’s a good thing because it means that people are buying solar panels (and other silly things like computers) but the cost is expected to drop by ’08 bringing down the cost of panels. A new “thin film” solar technology is being developed that will eliminate the need for silicon in solar panels. You’ll even be able to print panels on cars, clothing and roofing tiles. I’ll write more on these as they begin to become available. These “printed” panels hold the promise of greatly decreased cost and could herald in an era of highly affordable solar power. 

For the present, conventional solar panels are still a great deal if you can afford them. Currently, the Energy Return On Investment, or EROI, on a PV system for your home is in the 5-15 range.  

For you non-economists, that means that over the life of the system you can expect your initial investment to give you 5-15 times your money back. Any of your stocks doing that well? 

If you go to http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov, you can find out more about the incentive packages that are available in this state (there are some Federal tax advantages as well) . These rebates aren’t guaranteed to hang around indefinitely so it might be wise to bust a move.  

We don’t need to site idly by and watch the coral reefs turn to muck or the glaciers melt into so much Evian. We CAN take action. Here’s a powerful step you can take that will produce real results as well as inducing positive political change and providing you with improved long-range financial security. Now, what’s wrong with that? 

I can’t resist Mrs. Dalloway’s—well, I can rarely resist any bookstore, though lately I know I’m guaranteed a headache when I venture into one without my reading specs. Since I rarely remember to carry those around with me and so end up craning and squinting my way through the shelves, browsing bookstores has become a bit of an S&M exercise. No matter. Mrs. D’s pulls me in just by the lovely (and amazingly persistent) vegetal scent of its woven-grass carpet. So I’m already biased in the place’s favor; let me get that disclaimer out right here at the start.  

There are always other intriguing scents in the air there. The universal bookstore scent, the one that comprises new paper and ink and binding-glue, that’s a big part of it of course, but there’s a tang of clay and potting soil, often a thread of rosemary or some other herb, sometimes a flower scent. 

Up front, where they’ll get light from the big shopwindows, there are always a small, select bunch of interestingly potted plants: maybe topiary herbs or ivy, succulents, usually some orchids, always something else wants to come home with me (like the stray kitten that recognizes a Crazy Cat Lady), all displayed like the jewels they are.  

With the live stuff is an unpredictable but always nifty scattering of vases and pots. There’s more art on the walls, and perched on seemingly random shelves with the books, like those funny corsages made of zippers—something about their topology makes me laugh. That art’s local and connected with gardens or the natural world in general. I’ve seen pieces by Keeyla Meadows there, speaking of things that make me grin, so even if you don’t have space for one of her whimsical gardens you can have a piece of her work.  

I’m a garden hound, yes, but I always get distracted by something else in Mrs. D’s too. The place has a plant slant, as is fitting, but it’s also a general-interest bookstore: fiction, poetry (I like their selection—books by people like Kay Ryan whose stuff doesn’t turn up just everywhere, and is great fun to read; Galway Kinnell’s new one, Strong Is Your Hold, Mary Oliver’s Thirst, Louise Glück’s Averno), art, travel, nonfiction including a good natural-history section.  

The stuff I like tends toward the sensual—that’s why I garden—so foodie stuff like James and Kay Salter’s Life is Meals: A Food Lover’s Book of Days gets my attention. So does Julia Child’s My Life in France. Mary Gordon’s recent story collection is in; I read her when I have the guts to pick up that Irish-childhood baggage for a few hours. She moves in different circles (and no doubt her circles move) but she Gets It about that stuff the way I experienced it.  

Don’t miss Lester Rowntree Hardy Californians, reprinted this year, or Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape, by Barry Lopez and Debra Gwartney, eds. 

Mrs. D’s will special-order pretty much anything, and get it in fast. The staffers actually know about the books they sell.  

Mrs. Dalloway’s 

2904 College Avenue, in the Elmwood 

704-8222 

Monday-Wednesday 10 a.m.-6 p.m 

Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m.-8 p.m. 

Sunday noon-5 p.m.

It’s time to submit your essays, poems, stories and photographs for the Planet’s annual holiday reader contribution issue, which will be published on Dec. 29. Send your submissions, up to 1,000 words, to holiday@berkeleydailyplanet.com. Deadline is 5 p.m. on Dec. 20.

You may have noticed that Contra Costa County has passed an ordinance requiring houses that are being sold to have an automatic gas shut-off valve. This will apply to all areas that are unincorporated, which means a lot of homes.  

I must commend the county on such a wise move, and I’ll venture to say that before long most cities and counties in the Bay area will follow suit. Why? Because it’s not just an issue of “encouraging” people to save their homes, but it has repercussions for whole neighborhoods. When a Big One hits, a house that catches fire (from a ruptured gas line igniting), increases the chance of neighboring houses catching fire.  

We’re seeing a huge increase in the number of folks interested in having a valve installed. This is going to make us all safer. 

Larry Guillot is owner of QuakePrepare, an earthquake consulting, securing, and kit supply service. Call him at 558-3299, or visit www.quakeprepare.com.

FRIDAY, DEC. 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 Michael Sturtz on The Crucible, a non-profit educational colaboration of arts, industry at community. Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

“The Ground Truth” A documentary about soldiers returning home from Iraq at 7 p.m. at Buena Vista United Methodist Church, 2311 Buena Vista Ave., Alameda, followed by a panel discussion. Sponsored by the Lt. Ehren Watada Support Committee. Suggested donation $5. 527-1401. 

Womansong Circle with Betsy Rose “Fertile Darkness, Winter Light” at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way at Dana. Cost is $15-$20. 525-7082. 

Chai, Pie and Buy Art Party with artwork donated by local artists to benefit homeless children at the Learning Center and the Ursula Sherman Village, from 5 to 7 p.m. at 1208 Peralta at Gilman. Also Sat. and Sun. from noon to 4 p.m. 649-1930. www.self-sufficiency.org 

“The Heart of the Buddha’s Message: The Middle Way and Other Disputed Concepts in Early Buddhism” with Oliver Firberger of the Univ. of Texas, at 5 p.m. at IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th flr., 643-6536. 

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

SATURDAY, DEC. 9 

Berkeley Hills Path Walk led by Charlie Bowen, head of Berkeley Path Wanderers Assoc.’s path-improvement efforts. Meet at 10 a.m. at the toddler play area at Glendale LaLoma Park. Wear shoes with good traction and bring a walking stick. www.berkeleypaths.org 

“Holiday Sustainability Event” Make new toys out of reclaimed lumber, sew hats and stockings from salvaged fabrics and produce decorative wrapping paper, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Tinkers Workshop, 84 Bolivar Drive alongside Berkeley’s Aquatic Park. Fees for materials will be minimal or by donation. www.tinkersworkshop.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market Holiday Crafts Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Center St. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way with local craftspepole, live music and prepared food. Benefits the Ecology Center. 548-3333.  

Telegraph Avenue Holiday Fair with more than 200 vendors, music and food, Sat. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Holiday Fair at California College of the Arts, with live jazz and gifts made by students, alumni and staff, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 5212 Broadway at College Ave., Oakland. 594-3666. 

3rd Annual Albany Community Art Show from 9 a.m. to noon at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany. 524-9283. 

iPride Holiday Craft Celebration with special activities for children, from noon to 5 p.m. at 1581 LeRoy Ave. Benefits iPride’s work with multi-ethnic adopted children. 832-2375. www.ipride.org 

World of Good Development Organization Fundraiser with fair trade handcrafts from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1380 10th St., near Gilman. www.worldofgood.com 

Folk Art Nativity Exhibit with over 250 creches from 74 countries on display from 5 to 8 p.m., Sat. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sun. from noon to 4 p.m. at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, 2837 Claremeont Blvd. Donation of $15 goes to St. James Food Pantry. 843-2678. 

“Afghan Women: Victims of War” with Rahima Haya, co-founder of the Afghan Women's Association International at 2 p.m. at Berkeley City College, 2020 Center St., basement auditorium.  

“The State of Surveillance” Government Monitoring of Political Activity in Northern and Central California” with Mark Schlossberg, Police Practices Policy Director, ACLU, at 7 p.m. at Home of Truth Center, 1300 Grand St., Alameda. www.alamedaforum.org 

“Framing of an Execution” A documentary by Danny Glover on the case of Mumia Abu Jamal at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Unitarian Universalists Hall, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Suggested donation $5-$10, no one turned away. 526-4402. 

Dimond Winter Festival “An Interfaith Celebration” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Fruitvale Presbyterian Church, 2735 Mac Arthur Blvd. & Coolidge, Oakland. Donation $5. Canned goods appreciated. All ages welcome. 336-0105. 

Tree Trimming Contest from 1 to 6 p.m. at Expression Art Gallery, 2035 Ashby Ave. 644-4930. 

Vegetarian Cooking Class “A Healthful Holiday Feast” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St., at Castro, Oakland. Cost is $50. To register, please call 531-2665. www.compassionatecooks.com 

“Solar Electricity For Your Home” A seminar from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. at Building Education Center, 812 Page St. Cost is $75. 525-7610. 

Wreath Making Workshop from 7 to 9 p.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $25-$30. Registration required. 643-2755. 

“Temescal Legacies...” with Jeff Norman, Temescal resident and artist at 2 p.m. at Temescal Library, 5205 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. 597-5049. 

“Local Wildlife and Habitat” with naturalist Josiah Clarke at 10 a.m. at Stanford Ave. Natural Habitat Garden, Stanford Ave. and Vallejo St., Oakland. Free, donations accepted. 428-2082. 

Great War Society, East Bay Chapter meets to discuss “Small Arms of WWI” by Terry McGill at 10:30 a.m. at 640 Arlington Ave. 527-7118. 

Community Spelling Bee From 3 to 5 p.m. at 1481 Solano Ave., Albany. Students in all grades welcome. Call to sign up. 558-8179. 

Origami at the Albany Library Learn to make a holiday star at 2 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room, Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. For all ages. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Dramatically Speaking Holiday Storytelling Party at 9 a.m. at 1950 Franklin St., Room 2F, Oakland. Admission is free, but RSVP required. 581-8675. 

“Discover Spiritual Keys to Life’s Mysteries” from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Preservation Park in Oakland, 660 13th St. 549-2807.  

One on One Animal Communication at 5 p.m. at RabbitEars, 303 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Cost is $25. Appointments required. 525-6155. 

Produce Stand at Spiral Gardens Food Security Project from 1 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon St. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Petite Pooches Playgroup for small dogs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., one block north of Solano on Ensenada at Talbot. 524-2459. 

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, DEC. 10 

Winter Festival Hands-on activities for the whole family for Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Chai, Pie and Buy Art Party with artwork donated by local artists to benefit homeless children at the Learning Center and the Ursula Sherman Village, from noon to 4 p.m. at 1208 Peralta at Gilman. 649-1930. www.self-sufficiency.org 

Architecture Tour of the Oakland Museum of California Meet at the koi pond at 1 p.m. 10th and Oak Sts. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Telegraph Avenue Holiday Fair with more than 200 vendors, music and food, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Kensington Holiday Craft Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kensington Farmers’ Market, Arlington and Amherst. 

Folk Art Nativity Exhibit with over 250 creches from 74 countries on display from noon to 4 p.m. at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, 2837 Claremeont Blvd. Donation of $15 goes to St. James Food Pantry. 843-2678. 

Chanukah Fair in the afternoon at the JCC, 1414 Walnut St. For more information call 848-0237, ext. 127. 

Free Sailboat Rides from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Cal Sailing Club in the Berkeley Marina. Bring change of clothes, windbreaker, sneakers. For ages 5 and up. cal-sailing.org  

Holiday Appeal for Class-War Prisoners Benefit party for 16 political prisoners including Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier from 1 to 4 p.m. at the YWCA, 1515 Webster St., Oakland. Donation $5-$10. 839-0852. 

“Landmark Cases Left Out of Your Textbooks” with Ann Fagan Ginger and Abiola Afollyn on the Angela Davis case, the Pentagon Papers case and others at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, Cedar and Bonita. 848-0599. 

“The Last Abortion Clinic” a documentary at 2 p.m. at Parkway Speakeasy Theater, 1834 Park Blvd., Oakland. 415-864-1278.  

East Bay Atheists Solstice Party at 2:30 pm. at Giovanni’s Restaurant, 2420 Shattuckk Ave. 222-7580. 

“The Divine Feminine in the World’s Religions: Judaism” with Anna Matt of the GTU at 9:30 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Sylvia Gretchen on “Tools for Inner Change” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812.  

MONDAY, DEC. 11  

Red Cross Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m at the UC MLK Student Union. To schedule an appointment see www.BeADonor.com 

TUESDAY, DEC. 12 

Anti-Torture Teach-in and Vigil with Trevor Paglen member of the UC Berkeley Geography Department, investigator and author of “Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the CIA’s Rendition Flights” at 12:30 p.m. at Boalt Hall, School of Law, UC Campus. 649-0663. 

“Adventures from the Mojave to the Antarctic” with Lucy Jane Bledsoe at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

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 welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13  

Golden Gate Audubon Society Volunteer Orientation Learn about the ways you can help protect local birds and their habitats at 7 p.m. at 2530 San Pablo Ave, Suite G. RSVP to 843-7295.  

“New Treatments for Irregular Heartbeat” with Dr. Steven Kang, cardiologist at 9:30 a.m. at Alta Bates Summit, Merrit Pavillion, Cafeteria Annex B & C, 350 Hawthorne Ave., Oakland. Registration required. 869-6737. 

Poetry Writing Workshop led by Christina Hutchins at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

New to DVD “The Devil Wears Prada” at 7 p.m. at the JCCEB, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

“Natural Treatments for Low Back Pain” with Dr. Jay Sordean, LAc, OMD, at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

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, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. 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, corner of Shattuck and Center. www.geocities.com/ 

vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, DEC. 14 

“Robert Fisk on Iraq and Lebanon: Pointing the Finger of Guilt” at 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 2619 Broadway at 27th, Oakland. Donations $20, $50 for reception. 548-0542. 

“Natural Treatments for Low Back Pain” with Dr. Jay Sordean, LAc, OMD, at 1 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5174. 

ONGOING 

Help with Medicare Part D Enrollment Seniors who need to enroll in the prescription drug plan, or change their plan can get help and advice at Berkeley Senior Centers. Appointments required. Call 1-800-434-0222. www.lashicap.org 

CITY MEETINGS 

Youth Commission meets Mon., Dec. 11, at 6:30 p.m., at City Council Chambers, Old City Hall. 981-6670.  

City Council meets Tues., Dec. 12, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900.  

Commission on Disability meets Wed., Dec. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Don Brown, 981-6346. TDD: 981-6345.  

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Dec. 13, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426.  

Planning Commission meets Wed., Dec. 13, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7484. 

Police Review Commission meets Wed., Dec. 13, at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 981-4950.  

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Dec. 13, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. 981-6740.  

School Board meets Wed. Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m., in the City Council Chambers. Mark Coplan 644-6320.