It’s the school bus from Neverland. And yet it sends a message to the powers-that-be in a way that could never have been imagined. 

“Topsy,” the topsy-turvy yellow school bus that was born in an Oakland warehouse not too long ago, was launched in front of UC Berkeley’s Sproul Hall by the Priorities Campaign Wednesday. 

A project of marketing guru Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, Topsy demonstrates upside-down federal budget priorities. 

“It’s the first bus of its kind,” Cohen told the Planet while aboard Topsy at Channing Way. “It shows how the federal budget is different from what people of the country want. We want to educate people about where their tax dollars go.” 

The unveiling of the bus was scheduled to be a part of the Hip Hop Caucus National Tour to end the Iraq War and focus on upside-down budget priorities. A message from Rep. Barbara Lee’s office about the continuing labor dispute involving janitors at the UC campus led to the rally being canceled. 

“I wish it hadn’t been called off, but I support it at the same time. Our janitors need decent wages,” said UC freshman Suman Gupta who volunteers for Berkeley Stop the War Coalition. 

“I am excited to see the bus. It feels like magic,” she said, waving it down in front of Sproul Hall.  

Cohen says the project was part of the Priorities Campaign run by Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, a group of 700 business executives, retired pentagon officials, admirals and generals who want to increase federal investment in education, healthcare, energy independence, job training and deficit reduction by reducing funding for outdated Cold War-era weapons. 

Topsy—two school buses, one welded atop the other—was stopping traffic and turning heads across the Berkeley campus while it was parked there. And the curiosity wasn’t just about the incredible artwork. 

If you looked closely enough, the rear and left side of the bus had pie charts illustrating the federal budget breakdown. The Pentagon took the largest slice. 

“The United States is contributing money to the Pentagon at the same rate as when we were fighting the Soviet Union,” said Cohen.  

“That’s $60 billion being wasted. That’s enough money to rebuild all of America’s schools, provide healthcare to children and reduce our need for oil by fifty percent. We always hear that there is no money to do these things, but the reality is we do have the money. We just spend it in the wrong way.” 

Stefan Sagmeister, a famous New York graphic artist who also designs for the Priorities Campaign, drew out the idea of the bus five years ago. Cohen hired Bay Area artist Tom Kennedy—who has designed and ridden art cars such as Ripper the Friendly Shark, whales and Cheshire cats—to build the bus last fall. 

“We want to think of ourselves as fabricator elves,” said Kennedy, gesturing toward his teammates. His partner Haideen Anderson helped with putting in the nuts and bolts, as did his friends who design sets for the Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. 

“This bus is art car magic. It will act as a magnet for people. I am concerned that no political candidate is willing to talk about the federal budget. We have 12,000 nukes which is enough to blow up every major city in the world ten times. Let’s reduce that to four times.” 

As students, tourists and even faculty flocked to admire and photograph Tom’s creation, there were others, such as Bay Area musician Josh Gary who dedicated his song “Yellow Bus” to Topsy. 

“The idea is to spend the most of next year in Iowa and New Hampshire, the big presidential states,” said Kennedy. “We want to take advantage of the early voting in those two states. We will invite people to watch a 10-minute video on the Priorities Campaign and urge them to sign a petition asking presidential candidates to start a dialogue about federal spending priorities during the presidential campaign.” 

The bus, which has a complicated structure, is under the 13.6 feet height limit. 

“The thing about ice cream is that people have a lot of fun associating with it. But the national budget is something dull and boring,” said Cohen. “We have to make ways for people to pay more attention to it. This is where the bus comes in,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. 

Cohen, however, is not the only one having fun with the bus. Until late Tuesday night Kennedy and his merry crew were busy welding wheels onto the top bus. 

“It needs to have the paneling put back on the ceiling and get a sealed roof,” said Anderson, traces of yellow paint on her shirt. “Then there’s some detail painting left, which is the fun part for me.” 

Shaping the bus, Kennedy said, had been a great way to channel his anger at the current state of politics. “It’s been a great learning experience,” he said. “We still need to fix a few things on the bus. Some stuff is temporary but it’s safe. We should be ready to roll by April 17.”

In a decision that will mean public access to in excess of 15,000 pages of documents from Wal-Mart corporation, a California Appeals Court has ruled that an Alameda County Superior Court judge erred in sealing thousands of pages of documents in an employment lawsuit against the retail giant. 

But at same time, the appeals court denied attorneys’ fees to the Berkeley Daily Planet, which brought the motion to inspect the Wal-Mart documents, meaning the newspaper’s legal bill for the right to look at the papers could be substantial unless this part of the opinion is overturned on appeal. 

“It’s a great victory for the public,” Daily Planet attorney Dave Rosenfeld of the Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld firm of Alameda said. “It means that the courts can only seal documents filed in a lawsuit if they follow strict rules.” 

Berkeley Daily Planet Executive Editor Becky O’Malley said that the recent trend toward excessive and unnecessary sealing of court documents in lawsuits threatens to substantially impair the public’s right to know and understand what’s going on in government and society as a whole.  

“It’s the job of the press to make every effort to find out what corporations like Wal-Mart are doing, and to tell citizens about it,” she said. 

Included in the documents are Wal-Mart’s labor guidelines and staffing formula, pay and incentive guidelines, “STAR” reviews and documents describing the review process, internal audit procedures, the “SMART” timekeeping system, and information concerning its employees. 

Exactly what documents will be made available, and how many pages that will involve, is not known by the Daily Planet attorneys. 

“We know the amount that was filed with the Appeals Court, but there are other documents involved as well that Wal-Mart will have to produce,” Rosenfeld said. 

The dispute grew out of a 2001 California class-action lawsuit by Wal-Mart employees charging that the company had denied meal and rest breaks to thousands of employees (Andrea Savaglio, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.). As part of that lawsuit, Wal-Mart was compelled to produce company documents that were put under conditional seal by the court. Under court rules, in order to have those records permanently sealed by the court and unavailable to the public, Wal-Mart would have had to file a special motion to permanently seal the documents shortly after the documents were presented to the court. But Wal-Mart attorneys said that in 2002 it worked out an off-the-record agreement with the trial court judge that such documents would be considered permanently sealed unless one of the parties to the case filed an objection. 

The Alameda County trial court kept the Wal-Mart documents sealed, but when the Berkeley Daily Planet sought the records in 2004 they had been filed, unsealed, with the Appeals Court. Wal-Mart immediately filed a motion to permanently seal the documents. In 2005, Alameda Judge Ronald Sabraw granted Wal-Mart’s motion to seal the most sensitive of the documents, but the three-judge appeals court overruled that decision in this week’s ruling. 

“The [trial] court had no power under the Rules of Court to entertain a grossly untimely motion to seal,” the Appeals Court ruled, adding that “Wal-Mart’s conduct was so inconsistent with an intent to enforce its rights to obtain sealed records under the Rules of Court as to induce a reasonable belief that it had relinquished such right … Wal-Mart could not reasonably think that the trial court had sealed the documents submitted with the writ petitions, because Wal-Mart had not moved for an order sealing the record; had not submitted points and authorities and a declaration justifying sealing; and there was no court order granting the nonexistent motion … Nor could Wal-Mart reasonably think that it could operate under a parallel legal universe, outside [the] rules.” 

The Appeals Court continued that the California Constitution requires the courts “to broadly construe a statute or court rule ‘if it furthers the people’s right of access’ and to narrowly construe the same ‘if it limits the right of access’… The rules for sealing records are mandatory, furthering the presumption and constitutional interest in open records.” 

The Appeals Court denied the Daily Planet’s request for attorneys’ fees for bringing the motion in court on narrow procedural grounds, saying that no attorneys’ fees were due because the newspaper did not file a separate lawsuit to have the documents released, but only filed a motion within the original employees’ lawsuit. 

Rosenfeld said that the Daily Planet “could have intervened as a party to the original lawsuit, but that wouldn’t have made sense.”  

Rosenfeld said he is currently discussing the feasibility of an appeal of the attorneys’ fees ruling with the Daily Planet’s owners. He said while he has no direct knowledge of whether or not Wal-Mart will appeal the document production ruling, “being Wal-Mart, it wouldn’t surprise me if they did.” 

But for the moment, Rosenfeld called it “a fantastic victory, overall. I can’t complain.”

The Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) emerged victorious in the American Civil Rights Foundation vs. Berkeley Unified School District lawsuit when Judge Winifred Y. Smith of the Alameda County Superior Court ruled in favor of the school district Monday. 

Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) sued Berkeley Unified School District on behalf of the American Civil Rights Foundation in October, charging it with violating California’s Proposition 209 by racially discriminating among students during placements at elementary schools and in programs at Berkeley High. 

“The judge ruled that the student assignment system that we apply in our elementary schools is legal and that our integration system is fair and legal,” said school superintendent Michele Lawrence tto the Planet Tuesday. 

“I think her ruling is consistent with the earlier ruling which had also been in our favor. I hope that Pacific Legal Foundation will now leave Berkeley alone.” 

Berkeley Unified was sued in 2003 by PLF on behalf of a parent who charged the district with race-based assignment of students in a different and earlier Berkeley program.  

The case was dismissed by Judge James Richman who said that voluntary desegregation plans or ‘race-conscious’ school assignment systems were not specifically prohibited by Prop. 209. 

The assignment system in BUSD lets parents register their first, second and third school choices, and then a computer lottery gives the final placement. The lottery takes into account factors such as race, ethnicity, student background and parental income and education. 

PLF attorney Paul J. Beard said in a statement in October that concerns were the elementary student assignment plan for Berkeley Elementary Schools, the admissions policy for Berkeley High School’s small schools and academic programs, and the admissions policy for Berkeley High School’s AP Pathways Project.  

The lawsuit alleged that BUSD “uses race as a factor to determine where students are assigned to public schools and to determine whether they gain access to special educational programs.” 

“These plans and policies use student’s skin color to help determine how individual students will be treated,” said Beard in the statement. “That’s unfair and transmits a harmful message to our kids that skin color matters—and, under Proposition 209, it also happens to be illegal.” 

Proposition 209, a provision of the California Constitution, was enacted by California voters in 1996 and “prohibits discrimination or preferences based on race or sex in public education, employment, and contracting.” 

“BUSD won two of the three claims,” Beard said in a telephone interview Thursday. “We won the third claim which concerns the admissions policy for the AP Pathways Project. We will go forward with that in the Alameda County Superior Court. Once the trial court adjudicates that we can appeal on the claims we lost. We are confident we will get a victory on the appeals.” 

PLF’s complaint on the Pathways Project alleges that “only students who are African-American, Latino or from a low-income household are selected to the Academic Pathways Project, and students who are not from one of these categories are ineligible.” 

It states that the above allegations are in violation of “Section 31’s ban on discrimination or preference on account of race.” 

The attack on BUSD by PLF last year had come on the 10th Anniversary of Prop. 209.  

Speaking to the Planet in an interview in October, Lawrence said that PLF had used the Berkeley schools to make a “public splash” during the anniversary. 

“BUSD stands firmly by its elementary student assignment plan for Berkeley elementary schools,” she said. 

The school district was trying hard to pass Measure A, a school parcel tax, at that point. 

At the school board meeting Wednesday Board members congratulated each other on the victory. 

“I am pleased that the judge—who went to Berkeley High—ruled in our favor,” said director Nancy Riddle. Board Vice President John Selawsky thanked the law firm of Keker & Van Nest for their pro bono work. which he described as  

“stellar.” 

Members of the Homeless Commission slammed Mayor Tom Bates’ Public Commons for Everyone initiative as “mean spirited,” “punitive,” “vindictive,” and too vague to address effectively. 

“We’re concerned about him running our constituents out of town,” said Commissioner Kokavulu Lumukanda, speaking at the commission’s Wednesday evening meeting at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 

Bates’ proposal is strongly supported by members of the business community, who came to the March 13 City Council meeting to say its implementation would help make commercial districts more attractive to shoppers by getting people with “problematic behavior” off of the city’s commercial corridors, through a combination of laws and services. 

Some of the proposed regulations were spelled out in the mayor’s initiative and the city manager’s work plan, but most of the recommendations were stated in a general way, such as the manager’s direction to staff to “develop a proposal for new diversion services.” 

“We have so little information—we don’t understand how this will help people,” said Commissioner Betsy Strode. 

“The intent is vague—it will divide and polarize people,” added Commissioner Ken Moshesh. 

The commission agreed unanimously to ask the mayor to address a joint meeting of the Homeless, Human Welfare and Mental Health commissions to answer questions on the proposal. It also recommended that the council delay its scheduled May 8 vote on the proposal until it can be more clearly articulated and until it is clear that money for services is available. The commission also asked that it be regularly consulted. Commissioners agreed they would not support the proposal until they receive more information. 

Addressing the proposal that would presumably have police cite individuals and then get them into services, such as drug and alcohol rehabilitation, Commissioner Paula Hollowell said her concern was that under the new laws people would get fined, then not be able to pay the fine. She said she did not understand how the initiative would move an individual from the point of receiving a citation to accessing services. 

Jennifer Vasquez, secretary to the commission, defended the proposal’s inexact language. “It’s vague because the city manager’s staff did not have a lot of time,” she said, noting the proposal had come to the council March 13 and is slated to return there May 8—perhaps for action. The mayor had asked for an evaluation of the proposal from the Homeless, Mental Health and Human Welfare commissions for the May 8 meeting. 

Reached by telephone on Thursday, Assistant City Manager Jim Hynes said he understood the commission’s reaction to the vagueness of the proposal. “I don’t blame them. It is vague,” he said. “They gave us pretty vague directions about the diversion we’re talking about.”  

He added, however, that if council decides to proceed with the initiative on May 8, staff will ask in the June budget process for an employee to work on the plan. As for paying for new services, that might not happen until the mid-year or next year’s budget, he said. 

While the proposal speaks in vague terms about services, commissioners said they have very clear ideas about what services are needed: housing, drug and alcohol treatment and a drop-in center, topped their list. 

“Services need to be in place first,” Strode said. 

Attorney Osha Neumann, who often defends homeless and indigent people, was in the audience and blasted the proposal as a “thinly disguised carrot and stick” approach that was, in reality “all stick.” 

But Commissioner Joe Halperin said it is too early to dismiss the proposal. “It might provide meaningful services,” he said, advocating for housing. 

Among regulations detailed in the city manager’s report are: adoption of “a new law to allow for citations specifically for public urination and defecation,” and revision of “traffic regulations governing personal possessions in the public right of way,”  

“I can’t see punishing people for sitting on the street or for urinating where there are no public bathrooms,” said Annemarie Heineman, vice-chair of the commission. 

“I understand the concerns about loud and aggressive people on the streets,” Heineman added, “But it sounds like we have laws to penalize behavior like that.” 

The city manager’s work plan says new services will be addressed in a second phase by December as well as “changes to rules regarding sitting/lying on sidewalk[s]….” It also calls for hiring a new employee to work on the plan. 

In support of the proposal, Vasquez argued that it is “not targeting homeless people; it’s targeting problematic behavior.” 

Some commissioners and members of the public attending the meeting, however, disagreed strongly.  

“To say it’s not aimed at the homeless—that’s all it’s aimed at,” responded Dan McMullen, an advocate for the homeless and a former homeless person. 

Calls to the mayor were not returned by deadline. 

The Mental Health Commission will discuss the initiative at its all-day Saturday meeting at a 3 p.m. session, at Berkeley City College, 2050 Center St., Room 451A.

The City of Berkeley scored a first-round legal victory when a judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the City Council’s agreement with UC Berkeley that paved the way for the new downtown plan. 

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jo-Lynne Q. Lee signed her opinion April 3 and filed it two days later, but the lawyers for both sides only received notice Tuesday. 

“We’re real happy about it,” said Deputy City Attorney Zach Cowan. “It was not one of those one-liner decisions that simply says ‘we find for the defense.’ It was a very long, careful decision, and she cited everything.” 

Stephan Volker, the attorney who represented the citizens who challenged the settlement, said he will appeal as soon as a final decision is signed by the court. “We have reviewed the court’s ruling and we feel it is profoundly flawed,” he said. 

The plaintiffs—including Daily Planet Arts and Calendar Editor Anne Wagley—had challenged the legality of the agreement that ended the city’s own lawsuit challenging the legality of the university’s latest Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). That plan covers university expansion plans through 2020. 

The plaintiffs did win one element of their case when Lee rejected the city’s claim that any legal challenge to the settlement was premature prior to the adoption of the new downtown plan. 

But on the key point, the claim that the city council illegally surrendered its land-use regulatory and police powers, Judge Lee ruled that the May 25, 2005, agreement didn’t violate the city’s powers because the city has no ability to regulate development on university-owned land downtown. 

She also ruled that the university’s veto power over the revised Downtown Area Plan (DAP) now in preparation wasn’t unlawful but merely a recognition that the plan “must meet the ‘joint’ needs of the parties” and noted that the city could prepare a plan on its own if the joint plan doesn’t meet with their approval or university acceptance. 

Nothing in the agreement, she wrote, “suggests that the joint DAP will not be subject to the full panoply of public hearings and proceedings required of any land-use decision or project undertaken by the City.” 

While Wagley and co-plaintiffs Dean Metzger, Jim Sharpe and Carl Friberg charged that the city violated the Brown Act, which governs public meetings in California, Lee ruled that nothing in the negotiations and deliberations violated the law because the plan resulting from the settlement will be subjected to the full statutory range of hearings and reviews before it can be adopted. 

The judge also ruled that the settlement doesn’t violated city code governing adoption of plans, because the law allows the City Council to direct the Planning Commission to propose and prepare a plan. 

Lee also held that the plaintiffs didn’t prove their claim that the city violated the state Public Records Act by denying or unreasonably delaying their requests for documents. 

After reviewing the documents in questions, she held that all the withheld documents either fell under attorney/client privilege or had been simply overlooked and were provided later. 

The decision doesn’t become final until the city prepares a formal judgment for Lee to sign. Once she signs, Volker said, he will begin preparing the appeal. 

He cited three possible grounds for appeal “off the top of my head”: 

• The agreement violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it gives the university veto power over the environmental impact report required before a new downtown plan can be approved. 

• The settlement agreement that ended the city’s legal challenge of the LRDP violates the Berkeley City Charter and state planning law because it gives UCB veto power over the adoption of a new Downtown Area Plan. 

• The settlement agreement violates CEQA requirements for a state-owned university to pay local agencies to mitigate the costs of police, fire, traffic, parking, sewer and other public services required to serve university off-site developments. 

A recent state supreme court ruling in the case of City of Marina v. Board of Trustees of the California State University requires payments to local governments when they are the only realistic means of mitigating the impacts, Volker said.  

Cowan rejected the notion that the city had given up its sovereignty. “How could anyone think that?” he said, recalling his reaction when he first saw the suit. Lee “is a very smart judge,” he said, “and she spent a great deal of time going through the issues in great detail.” 

Simply because the city and university met civilly to resolve the issues in discussions leading up to the settlement didn’t mean the city was giving up anything, he said. “You have two grown-up agencies trying to act like grown-ups rather than fighting for the sake of fighting,” Cowan said. 

The notion that the city would capitulate needlessly is disproved by the ongoing legal battle between the city and the university over the impacts of the university’s plans for major development projects in the stadium area, he said.

The Berkeley Board of Education refrained from approving a resolution that would have allowed staff to move forward with the Solar Project at Washington Elementary School at the school board meeting Wednesday. 

The approval would have meant an opportunity for staff to apply for $750,000 in funds from the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) and ratification of an application for $305,000 in PG&E funds. 

Kyoto USA, an all-volunteer project that encourages cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), is assisting BUSD in its efforts to put together a pilot solar project at Washington. It estimates the cost of the project at $800,000.  

Staff approximates the total cost of the project to be $1,250,000, which takes into account roof replacement. Measure AA would give $195,000 in construction funds. 

“We were disappointed that the board did not give staff the OK,” said Tom Kelly, who represented Kyoto USA at the meeting, in an email to the Daily Planet. 

“We do understand their need for more information and we intend to provide it to them over the next few days. We are confident that the Board will see the incredible financial benefits to the District of this project and the long-term environmental benefits that represent our community’s contribution to creating a healthier planet.” 

Kyoto USA volunteers Greg Rosen from PowerLight and Mark Frye from Berkeley Solar Electric also showed up at the meeting to express support for the idea, which has been named the HELiOS Project (Helios Energy Lights Our Schools). 

Board members discussed and debated the benefits of photovoltaic systems at Washington for a good portion of the meeting but opinions remained divided. 

Staff advised that while it could result in operational savings for the district, payback could also be a lengthy process. 

“It’s not a project that has been done here before,” said Director of Facilities Lew Jones. “As a result it’s important to do it in a conservative way.” 

“Is this a practical purpose?” asked student director Mateo Aceves. “Are the students going to benefit and learn from it?” 

School Board director Karen Hemphill said she had received several emails from the BUSD community who expressed concern about the educational benefits of the program. 

“We are talking about facilities and energy use right now,” said School Board Vice President John Selawsky, who helped expedite the project with the district. “There is a huge potential for putting this in the curriculum, but that is in the future. If we don’t do this in the next six months, the $305,000 in funds is going to become $225,000. We are not inventing the project. It has been done before.” 

Selawsky added that the solar panels at Washington would create all the energy that Washington needed and put an end to the $25,000 annual electricity bill. 

“The assumption is that fossil fuel energy will be with us forever. But fossil fuels are going to run out soon,” he said. 

“The beauty of solar energy is that it’s self-generating. I think solar is going to pay for itself. We are not going to depend on PG&E and outside facilities.” 

Director Hemphill said there were many at Washington who had learned about the project a week ago. “I want to know whether it’s a project that the school has embraced or something that is being superimposed.” 

“It doesn’t surprise me that they don’t know about it,” said school superintendent Michele Lawrence. “When we want to put in new flooring in the schools, we don’t solicit what kind of flooring we want from people. The $25,000 electricity bill comes to the district, not to the school.” 

Director Nancy Riddle stressed that it was important to take a closer look at the payback figures and asked staff to come back with a detailed report. 

API Rankings 

The California Department of Education (CDE) recently released the statewide and similar school ranks for all schools based on the schools’ Academic Performance Index (API) scores.  

This information shows where a school ranks based on its API score on a scale of one (low) to ten (high) compared with other schools statewide, as well as compared with 100 other schools that have similar demographic characteristics. Staff notes that the rankings are primarily based on student performance on one assessment: the California Standardized Tests (STAR tests).  

Berkeley Technology Academy (B-Tech, formerly Berkeley Alternative School) received a score of 1 out of a possible 10 on the statewide ranking. Since the API score for B-Tech was based on fewer than 100 valid STAR test results, the school was not given a similar school ranking. 

Berkeley High School (BHS) did not receive an API score at all this year because of lack of student participation on the STAR tests, which are optional.  

King placed first among the three middle schools with a state rank of 7, but its similar school score was only 4, while Willard’s state score was 4 and its similar school score was 1. Longfellow’s similar school score was much higher than Willard’s at 7, though its state score was the same, 4. 

John Muir and Oxford topped the list of elementary schools with a state rank of 9 out of a possible 10. John Muir’s similar school rank was 10, while Oxford’s was 4. Two schools (Rosa Parks and Longfellow) gained one level in the state rankings, and four schools—Muir, Oxford, Washington and Willard—lost one level compared to the previous year. 

Three schools—Jefferson, Rosa Parks and Berkeley Arts Magnet—made gains in the similar school ranking while five schools (Cragmont, Emerson, Malcolm X, Oxford and Washington) dropped from the previous year. 

“The disparity between the school state rankings and the similar schools ranking is glaring,” said Selawsky. “Half the schools have low similar school rankings.” 

Hemphill said that the ranks provided only one snapshot of the big picture. “Before we start putting band-aids we need to look at each of the schools comprehensively and see what’s going on,” she said. “We need to figure out where we need to put our resources and our money.” 

Riddle pointed out that the state had reshuffled the way it did similar school rankings recently. “It’s hard to know what rates were used this time,” she said. “We need to take a careful look at this.” 

Academic Performance Index (API) School Rankings 

Rankings are based primarily on student performance on one assessment: the California Standardized Tests (STAR tests) 

Similar  

School State Rank SchoolRank 

1. Cragmont 7 3 

2. Emerson 7 6 

3. Jefferson 8 7 

4. LeConte 4 1 

5. Malcolm X 7 8 

6. John Muir 9 10 

7. Oxford 9 4 

8. Rosa Parks 4 3 

9. Thousand Oaks 6 3 

10. Washington 6 2 

11. Whittier/Arts Magnet 6 3 

12. King 7 4 

13. Longfellow 4 7 

14. Willard 4 1 

15. Berkeley High *** *** 

16. B-Tech 1 N/A

The tree sitters at the Memorial Stadium Oak Grove got a visit from the UC Berkeley Police Department once again Wednesday. 

Protestors—who were cleaning up the area when the Planet reached the grove that afternoon—said the raid had taken place around 11 a.m. 

“They came with an arborist,” said Thomas Skotarek, who helps the tree-sitters with food and lodging. “The arborist went up three of the trees which had no people in them and took down the platform from one. He took off dream catchers, hammocks, ropes, sleeping bags and buckets from the others. This is a legal protest, you know. They are infringing on civil rights.” 

Redwood Mary—a former tree-sitter who now provides support to the tree people from the ground—said that they had also taken away hearts and ribbons that she had decorated the trees with. 

“They did that on Sunday too. Took away the Easter decorations,” she said with a forlorn expression. “When I asked them why they were doing this, they said it was for evidence of a crime. Can you imgaine ribbons as being evidence for crime?” 

Mary said she cleans the trash at the site regularly along with Skotarek. 

Empty beer cans and bottles littered the place, waiting to be picked up by the two of them. “We try our best. But sometimes it gets out of hand,” said Skotarek. 

The tree people in the oaks seemed to be in their own world, some napping, others enjoying a smoke.  

“They are taking advantage of the rain,” said Burlap (tree name), who was sitting in one of the oaks smoking. “We just sit here in the trees peacefully and protest the cutting of the trees. We are going to continue doing this to save the grove permanently.” 

Wednesday marked the protest’s 132nd day.

The upbeat voice that greets callers to Longfellow Middle School belongs to Barret Donahue, school secretary with the Berkeley schools for 10 years—and with San Diego Unified for 10 years before that. 

In between phone calls, Donahue acts as assistant to the principal and vice principal, preparing the school budget and payroll, ordering supplies, coordinating field trips, keeping track of staff attendance. When she can’t complete the pile of work before her by the end of the day, she sometimes stays to complete it.  

“There’s no overtime or comp time,” she says. 

The skyrocketing cost of living has pushed school workers to demand what they say is theirs by right—a salary increase to meet the Bay Area’s exorbitant basic living costs as well as the completion of a study that places all the secretaries, clerks and instructional assistants correctly in their job classifications. 

The state gave a 5.92 percent increase in funding to the Berkeley Unified School District last year, but school secretaries and instructional assistants haven’t seen any of it—and teachers say they haven’t been given enough of it. 

Both teachers and other school workers regularly receive annual cost of living raises. “We thought we’d get it before October when the premiums went up for medical and dental,” said Tim Donnelly, president of the Berkeley Council of Classified Employees, American Federation of Teachers Local 6192, AFL-CIO. 

The teachers got a 4.8 percent cost of living adjustment (COLA) last year, but they’ve been given new information and now say they should be getting more money. 

The classified union has been in negotiations with the district over cost of living wage hikes since September of last year. In December, the union declared an impasse and a state mediator has come in to conduct negotiations in which the two sides talk to one another through a mediator. 

The classified employees have also asked for a reclassification study that is underway, according to school spokesperson Mark Coplan. This study, which hasn’t been done in a decade, determines what people do on the job and determines whether their job titles are correct.  

“Merit rules specify that all positions be reviewed every three years,” Donnelly said. “The district is way out of compliance on that.” Donnelly said he anticipates that two-thirds of the classified positions will be upgraded in the new study. 

Donahue said that part of the problem in getting the study done in a timely way is that both directors in the human resources department—one for classified (non-teaching) and one for certificated (teaching) employees—left the district at the end of the school year along with a number of employees in the department.  

Passing through the state increase to employees is not automatic, district spokesperson Mark Coplan told the Planet.  

“Everyone has rising costs; we have to meet the needs of the district and the employee needs,” Coplan said, citing, in particular, the increasing cost of fuel. “There’s not any money in the coffers,” Coplan said, noting the district has “just come out of financial straits.” 

Coplan added that while the budget is now balanced, there is no source of revenue to address the employees’ demands. There is some non-recurring money that can be used for one-time expenses, but not for ongoing salaries, he said. 

The teachers’ union, Berkeley Federation of Teachers (BFT), accepted a 4.8 percent COLA raise based on wrong information, BFT President Barry Fike told the Daily Planet. The union had believed BUSD had to take 20 percent of the state allocation increase to place in its reserve fund, but, after meeting with County Superintendent Sheila Jordan, Fike said he understood that parcel tax money can be used instead to make up the 20 percent for the reserve fund. 

“Berkeley is falling way behind,” Fike said, noting that only three districts in Alameda County have a lower salary scale than Berkeley—Hayward (currently on strike), the city of Alameda and Oakland. 

About 100 certificated and classified staff came to the school board meeting on Wednesday evening to call for adequate cost of living wage hikes. 

Donnelly addressed the board on the question of reclassification. “One Instructional Assistant has been doing attendant work since September that entitles her to a 10 percent salary differential,” he said. “We’ve been asking for that salary adjustment since November.” 

And Fike spoke on behalf of the teachers, reminding the board members that when they refused to reopen negotiations on the full COLA increase, “BFT responded by filing an unfair labor practice with PERB [Public Employment Relations Board]. And we are all here tonight as a further response to persuade, to express our anger and to respectfully request that you reconsider your position. Now.” 

“We are feeling devalued. Some BUSD employees are looking for other jobs,” Anita Johnson, a member of the classified employees union, told the board. “Some are working two jobs to support their families. I know the district has the money. But where is the money?” 

Riya Bhattacharjee contributed to this story. 

Photograph by Riya Bhattacharjee 

Berkeley school district workers demand pay raises to meet the basic cost of living in the Bay Area.

Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) meets Monday night to finish up work they weren’t able to finish by the mandatory midnight closing time last week. 

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1920 Hearst Ave. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way. 

One item not on the agenda is the LPC’s most controversial piece of unfinished business—a decision on whether or not to landmark the old Berkeley High School Gymnasium at 1920 Allston Way. 

Created by two of Berkeley’s most notable architects—Walter Ratcliff Jr. and William Hays—the gym embodies architectural elegance, said Wendy Markle, president of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association during last week’s meeting. 

The structure also houses the only warm-water therapy pool in the East Bay, which is frequently used by disabled people to practice motions and exercises that would otherwise be impossible.  

The Berkeley Unified School District hopes to demolish the building and use the site for new classrooms and athletic facilities, said Nicolie Bolster, who is a member of the school’s stakeholder and staff facilities committee and the parent of a 10th grader who attends the school. 

Bolster said the high cost of making needed repairs made demolition a more reasonable alternative, but preservationist and retired planner John English pleaded, “Please help save this important building.” 

Bolster was the only one of eight speakers to call for demolition. No one from the school district was present for the public comment on the proposal, though school board member John Selawsky had been present earlier. 

While LPC members had originally hoped to be able to reach a decision on the gym at the upcoming meeting, city ordinances require a 10-day advance notice, so their verdict will come instead at the regularly scheduled May 3 meeting. 

On the agenda for Monday night are: 

• Reviews of a building permit application for 2747 San Pablo, a former used car lot now being considered as the site for an environmentally friendly mixed-use condominium complex; the commission may also set a May hearing on an application to landmark a building on the site. 

• A look at plans for a remodeled facade for the building at 2369 Telegraph Ave., a structure on the state Historic Resources Inventory. The building had housed a grocery store, the Berkeley Market. 

• A decision on who will be the commission’s representative on the joint subcommittee working out the role of historic buildings in the new plan being drafted by the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee. 

• A look at plans to demolish a two-story gas station at 3001 Telegraph Ave.

In the wake of a multi-million dollar employment discrimination lawsuit settlement by the City of Emeryville and charges of further, widespread racial discrimination in City of Emeryville employment, the Mayor of Emeryville is defending her city’s minority hiring policies, and is rejecting a proposal that one councilmember hopes will solve employee disputes before they go to court. 

“The City of Emeryville has worked hard to put into place policies that treat all of our employees equitably and fairly,” Mayor Nora Davis said this week in a telephone interview. “But I don’t like to address the issue of race. We are all working together to restore this city from the destroyed industrial wasteland it once was. It’s unfortunate that these charges have been brought in such a way to divide people in Emeryville, black against white. It’s unfortunate that the city is being unfairly put in such a bad light.” 

Last week, after members of the Concerned Citizens for Change of Emeryville told the Emeryville City Council that African-American city workers were being discriminated against, asking for a full Council discussion of the issue, Councilmember Ken Bukowski had the matter placed on the Council’s May 1st agenda. 

One of the former employees presenting the request and discrimination information was former Emeryville City Planning Technician Leslie Pollard, who received a $3.6 million settlement from the city last month in her wrongful termination lawsuit. 

But Davis, in her telephone interview, said that the city is being unfairly charged. 

“Look at the composition of our city workforce,” she said. “Over 40 percent is African-American, even though only 18 percent of the city’s population is African-American. If people looked at the actual figures, they would see that the city is not discriminating in our hiring policies.” 

Davis said that other city actions show that Emeryville is paying attention to the needs of all races within the city. 

“Over the past several years, the City Council has been working very closely with the Emeryville Unified School District Board to improve our schools,” Davis said, citing a city land deal that helped Emery Unified pay off its debt to the state and get out-of-state receivership. “98 percent of the school district is minority, and an enormous amount of resources have come from the city to help the district out. We’re certainly not thinking about whether those students being helped are black, white, Latino, Asian, or anything else.” 

“Crying racism about Emeryville city government is not a true statement,” she said. 

Davis also threw cold water on Councilmember Bukowski’s proposal to have the City Council hear employee grievances after they have reached an impasse in the city manager’s office. Currently, such grievances go directly to arbitration, which can then lead to litigation. Bukowski said he believes the council could work out some of those differences before they got to court. 

“Mr. Bukowski does not seem to have a true appreciation of the council-manager form of government under which Emeryville operates,” Davis said. “Under our system, it’s the council’s job to set policy, and the city manager’s job to implement that policy, including personnel matters. When you begin to get politicians involved in personnel decisions, that’s where you start to get corruption. Mr. Bukowski knows my position on this. I’ve told him that, many times.”

If oil and water don’t mix, what about oil and academic freedom? 

That’s the issue confronting Berkeley’s Academic Senate next Thursday afternoon when a divided faculty will consider competing resolutions about a proposed agreement between their internationally renowned university and a transnational oil firm. 

The company is an acronym soup called BP plc, with BP being the rechristening of British Petroleum and plc standing for “public liability company,” British legalese for a publicly traded corporation. 

Behind closed doors, negotiators for the English petroleum giant and one of America’s most prestigious universities are working to hammer out details of a half-billion-dollar agreement which could become the largest single corporate funding pact in the history of the American academy. 

Beyond the lucrative cash stream and the visions of even richer patents, a more profound question may be at stake—the very definition of academic freedom itself, and whether it is an individual right backed by a passionate administrator or a commons jointly owned by all the faculty. 

Whose freedom? 

While Chancellor Robert Birgeneau portrays academic freedom as an individual right, those like Robert Post who have made a study of the issue define the concept as a collective right of faculty governance. 

Birgeneau outlined his position during a forum called by Academic Senate Chair William Drummond in March: 

“The idea that any person in our community would try to prevent Jay Keasling and his post-docs and graduate students—or Dan Kammen or Steve Wong at the University of Illinois—prevent them from doing their research because of the source of their funding, I consider that abhorrent and to represent a violation of the most basic principles of academic freedom. So this is about academic freedom ... it’s about the freedom of our faculty to pursue the research that they want to pursue.” 

As defined by UC Berkeley’s chief administrator, the unvoiced corollary to a researcher’s right to seek funds anywhere is the corporation’s freedom to seek out any academic willing to fulfill its research agenda. 

To Robert Post, a former Berkeley faculty member and now David Boies Professor of Law at Yale, the chancellor’s words ring hollow. 

One of the nation’s leading experts on academic freedom, as well as a 20-year-veteran of the Boalt Hall faculty and a former member of Berkeley’s Academic Senate Budget Committee, Post said Birgeneau’s interpretation was “unfortunate.” 

In a paper presented to the Academic Freedom Forum in 2003, Post traced the origins of the movement in the U.S. to the firing of Stanford economist Edward Ross, who was fired in 1900 by Jane Stanford, widow of the university’s founder, for his heretical views on immigrant labor and for backing a silver standard for currency. 

Shock waves from that incident continued to reverberate. The American Association of University Professors tracing its founding 15 years later to the Ross dismissal. 

From its inception, Post said, the essence of the concept of academic freedom is not an individual faculty member’s right to seek funds, but a collective right, concerned with “the faculty’s decisions about who should be tenured, and about the quality of their work.” 

And such decisions, he said, should be made either by the faculty or by the administration “only with very strong consultation” with faculty. 

The lack of consultation with faculty when Birgeneau hired two faculty members specifically to work on the EBI proposal was the principal reason Post signed the petition calling for further review by the Academic Senate. 

Hirings, review 

Post said Birgeneau’s unilateral decision to hire two new faculty members to work with the EBI proposal without consulting the senate “was contrary to the concept of shared governance.” Chris Somerville, a world-renowned plant geneticist and corporate founder, was hired from Stanford and the Carnegie Institute, along with his spouse, Shauna, to work on EBI projects. 

Somerville has appeared for campus discussions of the project. 

Post also described as unfortunate comments in February by Academic Senate Chair William Drummond, in which he stated that no further review of the BP proposal was needed by the senate beyond the previews of the proposal given to two of the Senate’s committees. 

“I doubt if we get a preview of the contract,” said Drummond on Feb. 15. “The terms will be proprietary information as far as the university and BP are concerned.” That review, he said at the time, was sufficient. 

But many faculty members have since gone on record as declaring that the senate needs to play a more active roll in supervising the proposed $500 million contract that would bind the university and one of the world’s largest oil companies over the span of a decade. 

Others who side with the chancellor’s position see their research threatened by meddling faculty members who would interfere with work funded by the fastest growing sector of financial support for research—patent-hungry corporations. 

Their competing resolutions will be presented to members of Berkeley’s Academic Senate at their special meeting next Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. in Booth Auditorium at Boalt Hall. 

Two cultures? 

Both sides are invoking the cause of academic freedom in support of their position, but lines are drawn with almost surgical precision betwen faculty most likely to win corporate funds and those who rely on the more traditional sources of government and private foundations. 

The split evokes the “Two Cultures” described by British molecular physicist, novelist and critic C.P. Snow in a memorable 1959 lecture in which he decried the split between the hard sciences and humanities. 

Molecular and cell biologists and chemists dominate the signatories of the petition calling for the BP agreement to move forward as it is, while humanists and the human sciences dominate those calling for more oversight. 

Ardent supporters of the proposed UC/BP agreement are backing a resolution proposed by Randy Schekman, a professor of molecular and cell biology who serves as chair of Birgeneau’s Advisory Committee on Biology. 

Of the 153 faculty who signed his on-line petition between Monday and Thursday morning, all but two—an economist and a political scientist—come from the hard, patent-rich biological and physical sciences. 

At least 19 signatories are specifically cited as project leaders and members in the university’s winning proposal to BP.  

Schekman’s campaign for signatures was launched with an email to all faculty senate members which began: “I would like to bring to your attention a serious threat to our academic freedom that could have adverse consequences to our reputation and operation of our campus,” he wrote in an email to fellow faculty members. 

“A few faculty have petitioned” the senate “to restrict the right of faculty to obtain research funds. This effort is shortsighted and could have disastrous consequences for Berkeley’s reputation and tradition of collegiality.” 

His resolution, posted on the Internet at epmb.berkeley.edu:8080/freedom/ vote. php, declares that “professors have the obligation to respect and defend the free inquiry of their colleagues,” and to oppose resolutions that are “seeking to deny public or private resources to individual faculty or groups of faculty.” 

Neither of the other two petitions calls for an outright rejection of the proposed half-billion-dollar pact that would fund the Energy Biosciences Institute—and some of the same signatures are affixed to both. 

They share in common a call for creation of a “blue ribbon ad hoc committee” of senate members who haven’t been involved with the BP agreement who are “free of any real or perceived conflict of interest” to review any aspects of the contract that might infringe on the senate’s prerogatives and provide ongoing oversight. 

The committee would also be charged with formulating protocols to govern any future contracts between the university and profit-making research funders. 

Rival petition 

In the 10 days between March 12 and 22, 130 professors—overwhelmingly drawn from the humanities and the human sciences—signed another petition posted on the Internet at www. 

facultysharedgovernance.org. 

Their specialties run the gamut from history to English, journalism to psychology, physics to geography, law, anthropology and mathematics. 

Michael Pollan, a best-selling author and member of the journalism faculty, said he signed “because I have a real issue with transparency, and I am in favor of anything that will increase the amount of information that is available for evaluation and for input from the faculty.” 

While he said he has concerns about whether ethanol is the appropriate solution to energy problems, “my first concern is with transparency and how a proprietary project fits into a university founded on the basis of the free exchange of information.” 

Other well-known signatories include Ignacio Chapela, who figured prominently in the Novartis controversy, anthropologist Laura Nader, linguist and “framing theory” advocate George Lakoff, art historian Timothy J. Clark, and agroecologist Miguel Altieri. 

Historian Martin Jay said he was concerned about the potential for erosion of faculty governance through the senate’s budget committee. 

“I am troubled by the procedural issues for faculty governance, which if it was not ignored, was not fully acknowledged and presented as a fait accompli.” 

Jay said he’s not opposed to the university being benefited by support from corporations, “but it needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.” Similarly, he said, research aimed at providing alternate fuels “seems laudable.” 

But Berkeley “has a strong tradition of faculty governance,” he said, sparked in part by the existence of an autocratic administration in the 1920’s, and the specter of two faculty hires made without consultation of the senate is cause for concern. 

Perhaps the most surprising signature came from Yuen-Ron Shen, a professor of condensed matter physics and particle science who holds dual appointments at the university and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where support for the proposal is the strongest, starting with lab director and Nobel Laureate Stephen Chu. 

Shen said he had signed after receiving an email from a friend while he was away from campus. 

“Apparently the budget committee and a number of other committees  

didn’t known much about it, and it was suggested that the issue should be considered more carefully by a newly established committee. I felt that was reasonable,” he said. 

Asked he if had faced any criticism from colleagues because of his signature, Yuen said “Steven Chu talked to me about it, and I talked to him, and he understands. I think everybody understood.” 

Only one of the proposed BP participants has signed the opposing petition that led to calling the upcoming meeting of the senate. 

David Winickoff, a law school graduate who serves as assistant professor of bioethics and society in the Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management of the College of Natural Resources, is listed as a collaborator of the EBI’s Social Interactions and Risks Laboratory. 

Winickoff signed the petition calling for Thursday’s Academic Senate meeting and has called for a committee to monitor the EBI grant. In an email to colleagues, he said he was disturbed by the strident tone of Schekman’s email and “its mischaracterization of the ...petition as an attack on academic freedom and an attempt to restrict the right of faculty to receive research funds.” 

Other resolutions 

At least two other petitions have circulated, one endorsed by the graduate assembly and available online at http:// ga.berkeley.edu/delegates/meetings/Apr07/Final%20BP%20Resolution.pdf. 

That resolution was adopted at the assembly meeting last Friday, and in addition to repeating the call for an oversight committee, the measure asks that two graduate students be appointed to the body. 

An online petition is also being circulated by the student group StopBP-Berkeley.org on their website. Signatories, many of them anonymous, can be viewed at www.thepetitionsite.com/ takeaction/147963846?ltl=1176402916.

Joy Holland—artist, poet, scholar, actor, fashion designer, neighborhood activist—died peacefully in her sleep April 3. She always declined to disclose her age, but she was a grandmother and great-grandmother. 

“Her spirit was so beautiful and inspirational. She was very spiritual,” her daughter Ava Coaxum said.  

Tajmal Payne, Holland’s son, said he was inspired by her artistry. “We would go driftwood hunting at the Bay or the ocean,” he said. His mother would turn the objects brought home into candleholders or frames in which she would place her drawings. 

Born and raised in Berkeley, Holland took care of her parents as they aged. She responded to the difficulty of that task through activism—she set up a support group for care-givers at the Over 60 Clinic, Coaxum said.  

“She always gave to others.” That is the thread that runs through all her varied activities, Coaxum said. 

Holland grew up in the family home where she died, across the street from the YMCA, where her parents founded the New Light Senior Center in 1968. The South Berkeley YMCA was a refuge for people of African descent in the still-segregated Berkeley of the time, said Shirley Brower, director of the South branch YMCA, noting that the Holland family brought social clubs, movies and celebrations of black history to the YMCA. 

“Joy was a beautiful community leader,” Brower said. 

Holland continued to bring her energy and artistry to the YMCA and had told Brower of her plan—the last time she saw her—to create a big Easter bunny for the holiday. 

Many people knew Holland through her B-TV show JoyTime, in which she showcased local artists, black history and more. 

Councilmember Max Anderson recalls Holland’s activism around the move of the original Berkeley Bowl to its present site. “She helped resist the McFrugal’s at the site,” he said. “She cared so much about us having a nutritional source of food.” 

Noting that Holland served on a number of city commissions including the Civic Arts Commission and the Human Welfare Commission, Councilmember Kriss Worthington said that even after talking to Holland about large problems, “when you finished talking to her, you would feel uplifted, inspired.” 

Holland included this poem—reproduced in part—in a booklet she wrote on the history of the New Light Senior Center. 

Life is a Message of Celebration  

And 

Every day is a lesson 

Satin dust and Velvet dreams 

Like the lyrics of poetry  

Surrounded by memories 

Of other folks’ Spirit 

That gently touch those left  

Behind … 

In addition to her daughter and son, Holland is survived by six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her daughter Barbara Payne and parents Lena and Kemper Holland. 

Services are at 11 a.m. at the McGee Avenue Baptist Church, 1640 Stuart St.

Contributed photo  

Accompanied by music from the Brass Liberation Orchestra, hundreds of people marched from the Emeryville City Hall to the Woodfin Suite Hotel on Tuesday to demand justice for workers embroiled in a labor dispute over Emeryville’s Measure C, a living wage ordinance for hotel workers.

The recent passing of former Berkeley City Council Member John Denton, who served on the Council from 1975 through 1986, calls for remembering his enormous contribution to civic life. John Denton was an informal leader of the many Berkeley residents who cared about preserving Berkeley’s unique character and livability, and who did not strictly identify with either the Berkeley Citizens Action—BCA/left/progressive—or Berkeley Democratic Club—BDC/moderate/conservative—political factions. John was never politically correct enough to please many on the left, while the moderate/conservative faction tended to view him as a pro-tenant radical. But to his many supporters in the community, John was the conscience of the City Council.  

I had the privilege of being a City Hall aide to John Denton in 1985–1986, and of working on issues with him from time to time before then and after. His commitment to protecting and enhancing the Berkeley community was unmatchable. He was very devoted to the Berkeley community.  

I specifically remember John’s efforts from 1980 to 1982 to keep the University of California from seizing the California School for the Blind and California School for the Deaf site in southeast Berkeley – now the Clark Kerr Campus. Originally known as the School for the Blind and Deaf, it had occupied the site since the 1870’s and was Berkeley’s oldest state institution. The University of California had coveted the site for decades. John fought an ultimately unsuccessful battle against a University bent on expansion and against a City Council majority that was prepared to let UC grab the historic site.  

From 1982 through 1986 John worked steadfastly to protect the Berkeley Waterfront from the massive development plans of the Santa Fe Railroad Corporation, the owner of the land at the time. At first John was the only City Council voice for waterfront open space preservation, with both the progressive/ left and moderate/conservative factions on the Council prepared to let the Santa Fe Corporation substantially have its way. As chairperson of the City Council’s Waterfront Committee, John worked relentlessly to preserve waterfront open space. 

As the rest of the City Council slowly began to adopt positions in favor of waterfront open space preservation, John kept pressing ahead, challenging the Council to make it as difficult as possible for Santa Fe to develop its waterfront land. John was so committed to protecting the Berkeley Waterfront that he gave priority to campaigning for a waterfront open space preservation initiative in the fall of 1986 over campaigning for his own re-election to the City Council. John’s efforts to preserve the Berkeley waterfront have generally not been recognized.  

John Denton came close to being Mayor of Berkeley. In January 1979, he and Gus Newport competed for the BCA endorsement for Mayor to run against incumbent Warren Widener. At a well attended and tense nominating convention, John led Gus Newport by an increasingly large margin after each of several rounds of voting, but failed by a few votes to get the 60% needed for nomination. Finally, the convention adjourned for one week, after which time there would be one ballot, with only a simple majority needed for the nomination. Confident of victory, John spent the week working to heal the wounds from the hard fought nomination battle. When the final vote occurred, Gus Newport won the BCA nomination by four votes (as best as I remember), and then went on to be elected mayor. A neighborhood coalition urged John to run for Mayor as an independent. He declined, and instead won re-election to the City Council on the BCA slate.  

John Denton was not easily pigeonholed. He was a relentless critic of excessive spending by City Hall, and opposed increases in City Council salaries. At the same time, he was always a strong defender of Berkeley’s Rent Control law, and a strong defender of Berkeley’s homeless and down-and-out population. If my memory is correct, John also was the first one to suggest having a public comment period at City Council meeting.  

John Denton was always generous with his time. In the fall of 1986, when he was in the midst of a tough re-election campaign, it seemed that half the students in the UC Journalism School were calling John’s office to interview him for a class assignment. Even though he should have been out campaigning to save his City Council seat, John would patiently let every student who called interview him, even though the interviews would not appear outside of a term paper. John’s City Council office was always open to anyone who had a gripe about city government or a gripe about life in general.  

It would be unfair to say that John Denton cared only about local issues. He devoted considerable efforts in 1985 and 1986 to raising funds for Mexico earthquake relief. And he did pro-bono legal work for Guatemalan refugees threatened with deportation.  

The law of unintended consequences cost John Denton a fourth term on the City Council. Public anger over positions taken by the BCA majorities on the City Council and School Board—positions which John invariably did not support—resulted in voters approving a District Elections initiative on the June 1986 ballot. As a long time resident of the Claremont neighborhood, John was forced in November 1986 to run for re-election in the new affluent and conservative District 8. Although John had spent years battling with the BCA council members over major development projects and other controversial issues, his District 8 opponent kept repeating that John Denton was BCA, and John’s defeat was thus insured. Had District Elections not taken effect, John would most likely have been elected to a fourth term on the Council.  

After leaving the City Council, John served as president of the Berkeley Council of Neighborhood Associations(CNA), and wrote a regular column for the Association’s monthly newsletter. John kept up his civic involvement into his late 80’s. 

John Denton’s focus was the City of Berkeley and its residents, not the interests of the Chamber of Commerce, not the interests of the University, and not an internationalist agenda. He cared about preserving the physical character and natural environment of Berkeley, and about improving the lives of the people who lived here. John and his late wife Ruth, a charming and outgoing woman, will be missed by many.

The digging of a vegetable bed of all gardening activities seems to elicit a passion like no other in the bosom of the horticultural writer. 

True, it is hard work, unless one is Ruth Stout, who, having put quite a few years towards her allotted span, gave up digging altogether. With considerable gusto she advocated her alternative, the piling of salt hay on to the vegetable beds to a consistently maintained height, after which she never raised a shovel again. The ground beneath the hay became over time permanently soft, friable and enriched. 

Salt hay sounds what it is, peculiar to the East Coast, along with salt box architecture, salt water taffy and so forth. I even heard an East Coaster once preach the benefits of sprinkling salt crystals directly on to the earth, but she was after all a priestess, and judging from the magnificence of her robes, groveling in dirt was not on her high-priority list. 

At the other extreme there are people like John Seymour, who recommends the wretched practice of double-digging. The very thought of this labor-intensive, literally back-breaking activity is enough to put any normal person off gardening altogether, and goodness knows we’re short enough as it is of the sane. 

Seymour, author of The Self-Sufficient Gardener, conceals the nature of this horrid chore behind such important-sounding terms as The French Intensive Method. Seymour says that Peter Chan, noted horticulturist mentioned in a previous article, even “wrote a book about it.” In this book, Better Vegetable Gardens the Chinese Way, Chan actually says, in his Introduction, quite the opposite, that “The French Intensive Method…is just too much work for the home gardener.” Which shows how desirable it is to mistrust all words, written or spoken, especially when they concern our gardens. It is so much more rewarding to get out into nature and enjoy its non-verbal communication, to try to tune into what the garden actually needs at any given moment, to become more sensitive and observant. 

This might work well with humans, too. 

Nevertheless, without recourse to books, one would miss many pleasurable by-ways. Freya Stark, noted traveler in Arab lands, describes in her 1937 Baghdad Sketches (readily available through our admirable public library Link network) the digging in Iraq of vegetable beds. It is, or was, carried out by three men, one of whom operates the spade. The other two hold a rope attached to the spade, pulling it out of the ground when the digger indicates his readiness for this. Stark says this enables them “to do the work of one man in double the time.” Perhaps she meant half the time, or twice the work, for there is no questioning her empathy for and partiality to the Arab world. Fortunately she soon goes on to tell us that her mathematical education was neglected. Not so her socio-political acumen: even at that time she had noticed that Progress, as she ironically put it, would soon walk hand in hand with Oil. 

In any event, we can no longer put off the moment for digging our pre-measured plot. So we insert a regularly shaped spade along the middle of our marked rectangles, plunge it up to the haft only, just in the way that Chan describes; we lift it, and turn the earth. Having repeated this from one end to the other, now we take a straight-edged spade and define the perimeter. The result is a raised bed. 

Chan has more to say about this single-digging method. As he lucidly points out, unless one is growing vegetables with long roots, like parsnips, salsify or in his case, certain varieties of radish, one shovel of depth is enough. Roots are perfectly capable of finding more depth for themselves, if necessary. For his long vegetables, he simply makes a localized exception, and digs deeply. 

After reading this, gardener’s guilt palpably fell from my shoulders. 

Having achieved a sufficient number of raised beds, which devoid of plant life look like so many burial plots, soon to be the scene of resurrection we hope, one can loosen and deepen the earth with a stick. It is a mystery to me why the epithet “digger” is considered pejorative. It is now deemed impolite to refer to Pinus sabiniana as the Digger Pine for fear of offending native American Indians, whose forebears had the enterprise and knowledge to eat the delicious nuts and to garden with sticks. More power to them, for surely after the hand, sublimest of tools, comes the stick. What, apart from sending the world to hell in a herring basket, have we Westerners achieved with our so-called high technology, that can compare with such simplicity and common sense? 

Whatever its name, P. sabiniana uniquely heralds the approach to the Sierra Nevada, since it is native to the foothills. Its sparse, feathery branches and stately isolation are unmistakably easy to spot and elevating to the spirit. It is comforting to know that when we have completely run out of fuel, we can still walk from the East Bay to see them as John Muir did, carrying a wool blanket and tin box of matches. Better still, these days we can bicycle there, giving us plenty of time to admire and taste the pine’s magnificence, instead of whizzing past in a polluted and polluting frenzy. Interestingly, in traffic the motorist inhales more toxins than does the cyclist beside him.  

Since Sunset’s Western Garden Book describes this pine as thriving in Seattle as well as being very drought-resistant, we could grow our own source of its fruits. The best-known use of these pine nuts is in pesto (Genoese) or pistou (Nicoise), in which they are pounded with olive oil and cheese, and sometimes basil, to enrich an otherwise bland vegetable soup. In French Provincial Cooking Elizabeth David uses them whole in a sweet omelet. Heat them first in butter, but take care, she says, because they burn in a twinkling. 

Like all nuts, pine nuts are also great for snacking, packing a nutritional wallop for their size, high in protein and healthy fats. Almost feather light, they are a practical food to take hiking, backpacking and cycling. Stopping often for brief snacks is particularly important for cyclists. Indeed, such is the body’s need to take time and energy to digest meat, it is a short step from the bicyclist to the vegetarian, and thence to the ecologist, and the digger who gardens without pesticides. Light, easily-digested fresh foods, oxygenated air, and clean mineral-rich water that burnishes our teeth as it whistles past our tonsils—well, perhaps that’s going too far. But the human engine does need those things to function optimally, things in Stark’s words that are ordinary, and indispensable. 

Let us hope it is not too late. 

Editor’s Note: In early April, a South Korean cab driver set himself on fire in protest of the new free trade agreement between the United States and South Korea. The trade agreement, opposed by most Koreans according to a recent poll, would have a negative impact on working class Americans as well argues Christine Ahn, a policy analyst with the Korea Policy Institute and the national coordinator of Korean Americans for Fair Trade. 

On April 1, as trade negotiators from the United States and South Korea were finalizing a trade agreement, 54-year-old taxicab driver Heo Seowook poured 1.5 liters of gasoline on his body and set himself on fire outside the Hyatt Hotel in Seoul. His body engulfed in flames, he screamed, “Stop the Korea-U.S. FTA negotiations!” 

Heo’s sacrifice didn’t stop negotiators from signing the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (Korus FTA). 

Although this FTA is poised to reshape the landscape of South Korea and become the United States’ second largest trade deal after NAFTA, Americans have heard virtually nothing about it. The few times it has been discussed, trade ministers have framed it as a commercial agreement that will make trade between countries easier by eliminating complicated government codes and regulations that stifle innovation and commerce. 

But this generic and abstract appeal breaks down as soon as we get into the specifics of how corporate interests will use the FTA in ways that will dramatically influence the lives of ordinary Americans and Koreans. The agreement will eliminate major industries and jobs in both countries while emboldening the rights of corporations to undermine public laws meant to protect ordinary workers, farmers and the disadvantaged. 

Take, for example, access to medicine. South Korea has a universal healthcare system that reimburses people for medicine on a “preferred drug list,” largely generics and lower priced drugs. Wendy Cutler, the chief U.S. negotiator, has argued that this system “would end up discriminating against and limiting the access of Korean patients and doctors to the most innovative drugs in the world.” 

In other words, a governmental policy that tries to manage spiraling pharmaceutical costs in order to provide access to medicine to as many people as possible is considered a barrier to trade. 

Over 40 American states use a “preferred drug list” for Medicaid purchases. If the FTA is passed and South Korea’s “preferred drug list” is abolished, the Korean government could bring a lawsuit against the federal government alleging noncompliance by U.S. states under international treaties. 

This may be exactly what the pharmaceutical industry, a supporter of the trade agreement, wants. According to Sean Flynn, professor at American University, “the pharmaceutical industry may achieve in stealthy trade negotiations what it has failed to do through millions of dollars spent opposing and challenging the country’s most effective drug spending control measures.” 

In response to an op-ed co-authored by Flynn and Maine State Legislator Sharon Treat, one American wrote, “My wife and I are both disabled, and as it is, almost one third of our SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) income goes to out-of-pocket medication expenses. This could put us on the street—for my wife especially, her medications are her life. And there are a LOT of us out here.” This American could easily be speaking for the millions of Koreans whose access to drugs will be controlled by pharmaceutical giants rather than their own government. 

The auto industry represents another example where the rhetoric of free trade founders on the shoals of the reality of people’s everyday lives. Detroit automakers have argued that South Korea’s tariffs and higher emission standards block American cars from reaching Korean consumers. 

However, the rhetoric of the free trade agreement insists that U.S. tariffs be eliminated as well. According to Inside U.S. Trade Magazine, “the FTA would phase out the U.S. tariff for certain cars immediately and the 25 percent truck tariff over 10 years.” This could be potentially devastating for the U.S. auto industry since there is already a tremendous disparity in trade. Last year South Korea sold 700,000 vehicles in the United States while the United States sold just 4,000 cars in Korea. This mounting trade deficit could force the layoff of U.S. autoworkers and pressure wages downward as U.S. auto companies try to compete. 

The United Auto Workers (UAW) predicts that “tens of thousands” of U.S. autoworkers will lose their jobs. Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow released a statement after the deal was signed, saying, "The automobile industry built the middle class in this country, and by supporting this agreement the administration has turned its back on our working families." 

The UAW has been urging Congress to reject the deal, citing the industry’s experience with NAFTA. Under that agreement, liberalized trade with Mexico, that, like Korea, had a well-developed auto production infrastructure, led to a surging U.S. auto trade deficit. 

Meanwhile, South Koreans will have a tougher time breathing while contributing to global warming. Under the FTA, South Korea has to lower its emission standards to ease the entry of U.S. autos into Korea. 

Millions of Americans feel a quiet desperation due to spiraling health costs, an-xieties over wages and job security, and other factors out of their control. South Koreans know this desperation only too well. 

Heo’s act of setting himself on fire in protest was a very real, concrete response to an abstract rhetoric that relentlessly denies his personal experience as an ordinary worker simply trying to survive and provide for his loved ones. 

In his will, Heo wrote, “Although the government is always giving lip service to participatory democracy, in fact that never happened when it unilaterally decided to expand the Pyongtaek U.S military base and to launch the Korea-U.S. FTA negotiation. Do not ridicule the dignified people anymore.” 

Just as in the rest of the world, anti-American sentiment in South Korea is growing. Recent polls by the Korean Broadcasting Service found that 70 percent of Koreans felt the FTA would be more beneficial to the United States than to South Korea. 

Just 31 percent of Korean lawmakers polled—mostly members of the conservative Grand National Party and the President’s Uri Party—supported ratification. Lawmakers, supported by farmers, comprised the 23 percent who said they would oppose the FTA. The remaining 42 percent of National Assembly lawmakers remain undecided. 

According to a 2003 Pew Global Attitudes Survey, 22 percent of South Koreans responded to the U.S.-led Iraq War by organizing the largest popular boycott of American goods outside of the Muslim world—one that is likely to grow if the FTA is passed.

The Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) emerged victorious when an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the school district Monday in a suit, American Civil Rights Foundation vs. Berkeley Unified School District, brought by Sacramento based Pacific Legal Foundation (PCL). PCL had sued BUSD in October, charging the district with violating California’s Proposition 209 by racially discriminating among students during placements at elementary schools and at programs at Berkeley High. 

“The judge ruled that the student assignment system that we apply in our elementary schools is legal and that our integration system is fair and legal,” School Superintendent Michele Lawrence told to the Planet Tuesday. 

“I am delighted that he ruled in our favor and I think that his ruling is consistent with the earlier ruling which was also in our favor. I hope that Pacific Legal Foundation will now leave Berkeley alone.” 

Berkeley Unified was sued in 2003 by PCL on behalf of a parent who charged the district with race-based assignment of students in a different and earlier Berkeley program.  

The case was dismissed by Judge James Richman who said that voluntary desegregation plans or ‘race-conscious’ school assignment systems were not specifically prohibited by Prop. 209. 

The attack on BUSD by PCL last year came on the 10th anniversary of Prop. 209.  

Speaking to the Planet in an interview in October, Lawrence said that PCL had used the Berkeley schools to make a “public splash” during the anniversary. 

“BUSD stands firmly by its elementary student assignment plan for Berkeley elementary schools,” she said. 

The school district had also been trying hard to pass Measure A -- a school parcel tax -- at that point. 

The lawsuit alleged that BUSD “uses race as a factor to determine where students are assigned to public schools and to determine whether they gain access to special educational programs.” 

PLF attorney Paul J. Beard said in a statement in October that concerns were: the elementary student assignment plan for Berkeley Elementary Schools, the admissions policy for Berkeley High School’s small schools and academic programs; and the admissions policy for Berkeley High School’s AP Pathways Project.  

“These plans and policies use students’ skin color to help determine how individual students will be treated,” said Beard. “That’s unfair and transmits a harmful message to our kids that skin color matters—and, under Proposition 209, it also happens to be illegal.” 

Beard could not be contacted before press time Tuesday. 

A provision of the California Constitution, Proposition 209 was enacted by California voters in 1996 and “prohibits discrimination or preferences based on race or sex in public education, employment, and contracting.” 

The assignment system in BUSD lets parents put in their first, second and third school choices, and then a computer runs a lottery to give the final placement. The lottery takes into account factors such as race, ethnicity, student background and parental income and education. 

Often when we’re in the locker room at the pool, my mother will say to me, ‘Do you hear the singing?’ And I’ll ask, “What singing?” “Don’t you hear the music?” she’ll say. And I’ll listen, and I’ll hear sounds bouncing off the walls and different voices, and as I focus in on them they get increasingly melodic... 

And then, when we’re leaving, and we’re often the last to leave, there is a deep quiet because the pool’s empty, everyone’s gone. You don’t hear voices, you don’t hear singing anymore. But you can hear the pool’s own rhythm, the percussive “dm...dum, dm” of the water sloshing in the drains, sounding like drums, a cool bass sound “Dum, dm...dum, dm ...dum,” like the percussion underlying the voices, the voices of all the people who had been singing that day. 

—Susana Praver-Perez and Jan Praver, Berkeley High School warm pool users, in Daniel Rudman’s compilation Soakin’ the Blues Away: Voices of the Warm Pool 

Susana Praver-Perez and Jan Praver are just two of the 170 Berkeley Warm Water Pool users who have lent their voices to a manuscript put together by playwright and pool user Daniel Rudman to garner support for the pool. 

Rudman, 62, was injured when a slab of sheet rock fell on top of him while he was building a ceiling 24 years ago. Numerous doctors, medications and treatments later, Rudman was still bedridden. That was until he discovered the Berkeley Warm Pool in 1987. 

“It represented temporary relief. Freedom. The pool didn’t cure me, but it prevented me from deteriorating any further,” his testimonial says. “It gave me needed hope. Without it, I wouldn’t be alive.” 

Supporters of the warm water pool flocked to the Landmarks Preservation Commission Thursday to speak in support of landmarking the pool. Lack of time prevented the public from speaking their mind and the issue from being discussed any further. 

“It’s the very first thing on the agenda at the next Landmarks meeting and you can be sure we will be there,” said Berkeley resident and warm water pool supporter Marie Bowman to the Planet Friday. 

Designed by renowned Bay Area architects William C. Hays and Walter H. Ratcliff Jr., the warm water pool and the gymnasium are both eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Founded in 1929, it is the only public heated pool in the East Bay. 

The South of Bancroft Master Plan—which was approved by the school board in January—proposes to demolish the old gymnasium that houses the warm water pool at the very end of the project, which the school district says will give them time to work on a plan with the city to save the pool. 

But for the Daniels, the Susanas and the Susies who have found a lifeline in the confines of the warm pool’s therapeutic waters, the battle continues daily to save the only thing that is keeping them alive every day. 

More than 400 people swim at the warm pool daily, and not all are disabled seniors. 

There’s 20-month-year-old Colin Larkin who loves to kick and paddle and blow bubbles at 88-year-old Dave Marshall. Like Colin, a host of other kids are part of the Berkeley Recreation Department’s highly regarded Special Needs Aquatic Program (SNAP) that serves disabled children. 

For many, the warm pool is like a sacred ground, a haven which helps them forget not just the pain and suffering, but also the aging process. 

As Iris Gomez (real name changed in the book), 56, says in the last line of her essay: “Despite all my difficulties, I am not willing to give up. It is not my time yet.” 

Reading the pages that Rudman has so painstakingly created is like reading the manuscript of a film—every character jumps out at you from the pages and entwines you in their world. A world that is sans the old, obese, sick and disabled, and is instead filled with love, compassion and, most importantly, hope. 

“I was coming to the pool for 20 years and I realized that I had never heard the stories that brought people here everyday,” Rudman said while exercising in the warm pool Monday.  

“I wanted to hear them and this gave me the opportunity to do so.” 

Rudman, who shows up at every hearing about the warm pool in his wheelchair, had originally wanted to create a petition to show support for the pool. When that didn’t seem strong enough to send the message across, he thought of compiling testimonies. 

“When I started, my goal was to get 50 testimonials,” he writes. The final tally was 170. Rudman encouraged everyone to write a paragraph, and for those to whom it seemed an impossible feat, he noted down thoughts and memories at the pool, in cars and even over the telephone. 

“Soakin’ the Blues Away” is in many ways a voice for the voiceless, the battered and the bruised. It’s not just a memoir of the bad times, but also the good times. 

As Rudman puts it, the manuscript “demonstrates again and again the ancient truth that we are all part of each other.” 

“Helen Gee from Hong Kong stretches next to Mariya Grinberg from Russia while Farwa Ali from India exercises near Paula Hasker from Sweden... We don’t have conflicts about sex, race, class. We argue about such burning social issues as what constitutes a comfortable water temperature or whether one window or three should stay open.” 

For 75-year-old Juanita Kerby—former model, policewoman, a tax expert for the IRS, and presently a co-chairperson of the Warm Pool Advocacy Group—every trip to the pool is like Deja Vu. Kerby is an alumni of Berkeley High. 

“We are like a family,” she says in the manuscript. “We share each other’s pain and/or grief... As co-chair of the one warm pool committee, I will go to great lengths to save this valuable resource.” 

On Monday evening, some 50 swimmers were enjoying short laps in the pool, their enthusiasm evident from the smiles and shrieks of joy. 

“They come here tired and frustrated and leave a changed person,” said one of the lifeguards. “For some, it’s the only highlight of the day.” 

“Voices of the Warm Pool” documents 51-year-old Susie Bluestone’s excitement in finding pain relief methods, job tips as well as countless friends in a place she least expected. 

It documents—through brief paragraphs and detailed essays—the faith countless families harbor in the warm pool’s parent-tot classes, fear-of-swimming classes and Spirit Walking Aqua Chi classes. 

But, most importantly, it documents the struggle to save a soon-to-be-extinct resource, that could very well be the only thing that keeps a community ticking every day. 

Former City Councilmember, attorney, neighborhood preservationist and humanitarian John Denton died peacefully in his sleep Sunday night at the age of 93.  

“If anyone could be called the conscience of this community, it was John Denton,” Denton’s friend Art Goldberg said in an e-mail to the Planet. “He valued our neighborhoods, our diversity and was committed to honesty and integrity in government, which often put him at odds with those in power.” 

Denton will be remembered on the council as “never being PC enough for BCA [Berkeley Citizens Action],” but at the same time, “To the moderates, he was BCA,” said Clifford Fred, a friend and an aide to Denton for 18 months during his eight years on the council. 

“He did not merely move to the beat of a different drummer; John Denton is the different drummer,” wrote David Mundstock in the online history, Berkeley in the ’70s. Mundstock served as staff for Denton for “a couple of months.” 

Denton’s early life may have set him on his unique path. Born in a charity ward to an Irish mother who left him in a hospital in the Bronx, he was raised in an orphanage until he was 10 or 11, according to Josh Denton, one of John Denton’s three sons.  

He was then adopted by a wealthy childless couple. His adopted mother “really looked after him,” Josh Denton said. Both adoptive parents died when Denton was in his 20s. 

Denton started his career as a lawyer in real estate, but during the Spanish Civil War he took the side of the Republicans and met the woman who would become his wife—Ruth Denton—at an event in support of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. 

“They decided to get out of the rat race and moved to a farm in New Jersey,” Josh Denton said. When they heard that an Indian tribe in Santa Fe needed help, they moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  

Some time later, they moved to Tucson, where John Denton worked at the University of Arizona. When he wasn’t at the university, he was defending people put in jail as vagrants. “He had a secret friend who was a jailer who would call dad and tell him about people put unjustly in jail.” Denton would defend them. 

Another accomplishment was helping to get a bill through Congress that would prevent prospectors from setting up camp on Indian grounds. 

In 1961, John Denton brought his family to Berkeley, where he was to teach at the university. His mother knew it was the right place to be when she heard baroque music played on KPFA, Josh Denton said. “That sold her on Berkeley.” 

After about five or six years at the university, Denton left and became an expert on the evaluation of real property. One of his passions was city planning and he helped to organize the Council of Neighborhood Associations. 

“John Denton was a great friend of neighborhood groups and sadly we have no one like him today,” said Martha Nicoloff, who was another CNA founder. 

Denton was elected to the Berkeley City Council in 1975 and served until 1986. He served with then city councilmember—now state assemblymember—Loni Hancock, who told the Daily Planet one of the most notable things Denton did on the council was working to change the redevelopment plan in West Berkeley to include affordable housing and retail.  

Hancock adjourned the Assembly on Monday in Denton’s memory. 

“John Denton brought 35 years of experience to the Berkeley City Council as an attorney, author, professor, appraiser, economist and all-around land use and housing expert,” Mundstock wrote. “He had represented Indian tribes in Arizona [to protect their mineral rights], fought to preserve Bay Area neighborhoods from freeways, and [was] executive director of Governor Pat Brown’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Fair Housing,” Mundstock wrote. 

John Denton’s wife, Ruth Denton, passed away in 2003. His son Josh came to live with him in Berkeley after that time. Denton also leaves behind sons David and Robert. 

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to Project VIDA, 1000 Camelia, Berkeley 94710. 

Iceland became an official Berkeley historical structure Thursday when a divided Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted its highest level of recognition to the threatened building. 

The commission took no action on the old Berkeley High School gymnasium, after a midnight deadline ended the meeting before members could hold a discussion and vote. Discussion and decision were postponed until the commission’s May 3 meeting.  

Thursday night’s Iceland vote followed impassioned pleas from skaters and architecture buffs as well as pleas from backers of the building’s owners, who hope to develop the property while preserving some of the building’s historic features. 

Five commissioners voted to declare the building a landmark, while four others abstained. 

David Snippen, who was filling in for an absent Miriam Ng, said he would’ve been more inclined to vote in favor on an application that would have designated the building a structure of merit rather than a landmark in order to allow the owners more freedom to develop the property. 

But Carrie Olson and others pointed out that the commission is barred from looking at any other considerations than the merits of the building itself and praised the building as one of the most architecturally pristine examples she’d seen during her long tenure on the commission. 

The rink, located at 2727 Milvia St., has been closed for a week after owners declared they were unable to afford to keep the venue in operation because of the high costs of running a rented refrigerating system. 

Testimony fell into three camps: opposition from the owners and their representatives, ardent support from skaters who want to see the building preserved as a rink, and equally fervent support from two experts on art deco. 

The rink, now closed to skaters, belongs to the Zamboni family of Southern California, manufacturers of the massive street-sweeper-like devices used to maintain the ice surface at rinks. 

While the skaters were the most numerous of the speakers, the LPC has no say over the use of buildings, nor any purview of the interiors of structures unless they are publicly owned. 

Joanne Tillerman of Saveberkeleyiceland.org, said the organization is developing a plan to save the rink and has raised $53,000 in the last two weeks “just sitting on the sidewalk out front.” The group is also approaching corporations and other potential funding sources, she said. 

“We need a chance to transfer ownership to a non-profit,” she said. “Seventy-five percent of skating rinks are owned by non-profits or cities.” 

Bob Skrak, a veteran of the Ice Capades who served as general manager at Iceland from 1958 to 1993, said the numbers just don’t work, in part because of declining interest in skating. 

“In 1994, we had 113,000 people come, but in the first ten months of last year only 33,000 came,” said the 81-year-old former skating pro. “You cannot keep a rink going with that level of business.” 

Ben Anderson, the architectural consultant hired by Iceland’s owners, portrayed the venerable structure as an undistinguished hodge-podge of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne styles, much of it with little character or articulation. 

Sady Hayashida, the Emeryville architect who had won the LPC’s praise for his design for enlarging the landmarked Howard Automotive building at 2149 Durant St., said Iceland lacked the distinction to merit LPC designation. “It’s not the first, last or only significant example of the architecture in the region,” he said, reeling off a list of descriptors from the city’s landmarks ordinance. 

But architectural historian Michael Crowe, the author of two books on Art Deco and founder of the Art Deco Society of California, disagreed, hailing the building as a “superb example” of the style, unique in its treatment of the rink—a building which he said showed a “remarkable high level of integrity.” 

Paula Trehearne, preservation director of the society Crowe founded, said Iceland is both architecturally and culturally significant, and both she and Crowe agreed the building more than fit the city’s landmark criteria. 

After 76 minutes of testimony, the commission spent another 50 minutes deciding on a course of action. 

An initial motion by Carrie Olson was withdrawn after chair Robert Johnson suggested it was too detailed in the long list of features spelled out, replaced by a more general version from Jill Korte. 

During the discussion, Snippen raised the notion to applying the Structure of Merit category to the building to make development easier. 

Olson and others reminded him that the commission’s charge was solely concerned with architectural merit and that the commission was legally barred from considering other factors. 

“It’s not really in our purview,” said Johnson. 

“The irony doesn’t escape me,” said Jill Korte, “but we always seem to be arguing about (architectural) integrity and just how much a building has, and here we’ve got a building that’s got impeccable integrity,” one of the key criteria for designation as a landmark. 

“Structures of Merit,” while typically less pristine than landmarks, nonetheless carry the same level of protections as do landmarks. 

Gary Parsons, himself an architect, said he was sure that there were more economic issues than the commission had heard, “and it’s wonderful that we don’t have to consider that.” 

Johnson noted that the commission has approved alterations to landmarks. One notable example was Hayashida’s treatment of the Howard Automotive building. 

Snippen again returned to his argument favoring the lesser designation, but when it came to a vote, he abstained, along with Fran Packard, Steve Winkel and Barry C. Gardner Jr., the commission’s newest member, recently appointed by City Councilmember Max Anderson to replace architect Burton Edwards. 

Olson, Korte, Johnson, Lesley Emmington and Gary Parsons voted for designation, and Iceland became an official City of Berkeley Landmark. 

It was Emmington’s last meeting, at least for a while. Perhaps the commission’s most ardent preservationist, she submitted her resignation Friday, three days before the formal end of her eight-year term.  

Other actions  

Commissions voted 6-1-1 to approve plans for modifications of the landmarked Southern Pacific station in West Berkeley, which will become the new home of Brennan’s Irish Pub. 

The pub and the once-landmarked building housing Celia’s Mexican Restaurant will be demolished to make way for a block-square residential-over-commercial project being developed by Urban Housing Group at 700 University Ave. 

Emmington voted against the changes, which she said would destroy the character of the pub as a Berkeley institution. Korte abstained. An LPC subcommittee will work with the developers to fine-tune the color scheme. 

Margaret Wade, one of the family who owns the pub, spoke in favor of the move. 

With Packard abstaining and Parsons absent, the commission majority voted to approve an owner-inaugurated application to landmark the residence at 2611 Ashby Ave. 

Photograph by Richard Brenneman 

Claudia Polsky wore her daughter’s ice skates around her neck when she addressed the commission to plead that Iceland be declared worthy of landmark status.

A major goof has temporarily stalled the approval process for one Richmond-area casino, while signs of movement have been detected for the second. 

The foul-up resulted from the failure to include or consider 60 pages of critical comments by Contra Costa County officials in the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Sugar Bowl Casino in unincorporated North Richmond. 

The Scotts Valley Band of Pomos had partnered with a Florida developer who specializes in packaging tribal casinos to build a $200 million, 225,000-square-foot, 1,940-slot machine Las Vegas-style gambling palace. 

The proposed location of the North Richmond casino is a 29.87-acre industrial site along Richmond Parkway on a site bounded by Goodrick Avenue on the East and Parr Boulevard to the south. 

The EIS, required under the National Environmental Protection Act, is equivalent to the environmental impact report (EIR) required of complex projects under state law. 

“We don’t know what happened,” said John Rydzik, an environmental officer with the Sacramento regional officer of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). “We’ve checked our logs, and they do show that we received it.” 

As a result, he said, the draft document, which had been circulated to other federal, state and local governmental agencies, has been withdrawn so that Analytical Environmental Services, a private consulting firm often applied by casino-seeking tribes, can redraft the EIS taking the county’s comments into account. 

A representative of the Sacramento-based firm declined to comment, other than refer press calls to the BIA. 

Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, whose district includes the site of Casino San Pablo and both of the proposed Richmond-area casinos, said preliminary results of a multi-jurisdictionally funded traffic analysis spearheaded by the county show that three casinos within a small area would lead to major traffic problems for the region. 

“When you put three Las Vegas-size casinos in a small area, you’re creating a destination that will dramatically change the character of the existing community,” he said. 

While the final draft of the traffic study is several weeks away, Gioia said the study has revealed potentially serious congestion problems if the two new resorts are added to the already-thriving gambling parlor in San Pablo. 

That study, being prepared under the aegis of the West Contra Costa County Transportation Advisory Group, is being funded by the county, several local governments, the East Bay Regional Parks District and Marin County. 

Though the land for the Sugar Bowl falls within an unincorporated section of Contra Costa County, the Richmond City Council has already approved a lucrative contract to provide police, fire and other services if and when the gambling parlor is built. 

While the Sugar Bowl is purely a gambling parlor, the second project would bring a destination resort, complete with luxury hotel, major entertainment venue, and upscale mall and a posh casino to a shoreline site at Point Molate within Richmond city limits. 

A project that unites Berkeley developer James R. Levine with the political expertise of former Defense Secretary Richard Cohen, the Point Molate resort would be a grander affair catering to high-rollers, particularly mainland Chinese. 

“That project has been dormant for a number of months,” said Rydzik, “but I just talked to the consultant, and there appears to be some new life. We are expecting something in the near future.” 

The “something” would be the circulation of the draft EIS, now being prepared by the same Analytical Environmental Services—the same firm which is drafting the Sugar Bowl EIS. 

If all goes as backers and city officials hope, the Point Molate casino would become a reservation of the Guidiville Rancheria band of Pomos. 

Gioia said Levine had told him he had been lining up new financial backers after Harrah’s Entertainment, then the world’s leading transnational gambling company, had pulled out. 

Top Harrah’s officials had testified before the Richmond City Council during sessions leading up to the vote approving the sale to Levine’s Upstream Investments. 

A divided Richmond City Council has backed both projects in hopes both of badly needed revenues for an aging infrastructure and sorely needed jobs to ameliorate the city’s high levels of unemployment, especially among young men of color. 

Gioia said he is troubled by the agreements the tribes have signed with Richmond. 

“People support the casinos because they believe they will create jobs, but while the Sugar Bowl agreement” does specify that a percentage of non-managerial jobs in the first year will come from local hires, “there are no guarantees beyond that point.” 

The supervisor contends the agreements may not be enforceable and are being gathered by the tribes to show support for their applications when they’re being considered by BIA officials. 

Neither tribe has an agreement with the county, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has insisted be endorsed after the state signs off on gambling compacts.  

The Scotts Valley band asked the county to enter into a municipal services agreement, “but we said no, it was putting the cart before the horse. The governor won’t approve compacts without prior federal approval.” 

Richmond hopes to gain millions from the sale of the Point Molate site, which was transferred to local government after the closure of the U.S. Navy refueling station that occupied the site for decades, followed by many millions more once money starts passing over the green felt of the gambling tables. 

Both tribes seeking to build casinos in Richmond have survived one major hurdle—letters of notice sent recently from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to 38 tribes deemed unlikely to win approval of their projects, said Nedra Darling, an agency official in Washington. 

Before a reservation can be created, the BIA must first take the land into trust on behalf of the tribe; those receiving the recent letters were notified that the action wasn’t likely because their claims to have a historic connection with the land were considered doubtful. 

Critics of the two casinos contend the two Pomo tribes traditionally lived well north of the Bay Area, and Gioia agrees. 

“Their natural range was farther north, in Lake County,” he said of the Scotts Valley band. 

While the two tribes have survived the initial round of letters, approval isn’t certain and depends on a BIA determination that the tribes have a legitimate claim that the sites were within the range of their traditional territory—claims that have run into considerable opposition from Ohlone and Miwok representatives. 

The governor’s office has also opposed an historic basis to their claims. 

The tribes are seeking to have the land declared as reservations under federal legislation that restores land to tribes whose reservations were illegally closed by the BIA during the middle of the last century when federal policy aimed at forcing smaller tribes “into the mainstream.” 

Even if the land is approved for reservation status, yet more determinations are required before casinos can be opened on the sites—federal approval and gambling compacts with the state, followed by the service agreements with local governments. 

Developers can buy property in West Berkeley, jack up the rents and force out long-time tenants and nobody can stop them.  

While there may be little recourse for the filmmakers who work out of the Fantasy Building—recently purchased by Wareham Development—Economic Development Director Michael Caplan says there may be a way for the city to help artists in the long-term and control development in West Berkeley.  

A tool city planners might use to bypass current area zoning requirements would be “planned district zoning,” which—if approved by the City Council—would allow the city to negotiate with developers for uses restricted under current zoning rules in return for community advantages. 

“You could have a project that reflects broad community values,” Caplan said. 

The idea could benefit artists and West Berkeley residents who want a voice in the development of the area in which they live and work, said John Curl, a woodworker who works in West Berkeley and co-chairs West Berkeley Artisans and Industrial Companies, which advocates for artists and local businesses in West Berkeley.  

But the planned district zoning also could be just another way of giving developers what they want, he said. 

As part of a $500,000 economic development package approved by the City Council in February, a six-month planner will be hired for $85,000 to write the new more flexible zoning laws that will eventually go to the council for approval. The planned district zoning described in this story is just one possible change that could be recommended by the new city employee, likely to be hired in two months or so.  

In negotiations with a developer, the city could get permanently affordable artist studios, protection of historie resources or “green” building, Caplan said.  

The question, however, is whether such negotiations will work in favor of the community as Caplan describes it—or of the developer, whose goal is profit. 

Such “horse trading” is not unknown in Berkeley. One example is its use at Berkeley’s downtown Gaia building: the developer was allowed to build two stories higher than zoning permitted in exchange for the community gaining “cultural uses.” That project, however, is heading to court due to a dispute over the extent to which the agreement requires cultural uses. 

Caplan said fears that West Berkeley’s negotiated projects would end up as the Gaia project has are unfounded. The projects proposed for overlay zoning “would have to be highly vetted,” he said. 

Curl said it is a positive thing if community needs are taken into consideration. “The goal [in the West Berkeley Plan] is to maintain a mix of uses” and maintain the diversity of the community—economically, socially, racially and ethnically, he said. The current zoning was written to prevent overdevelopment of the area.  

“The purpose of zoning is to moderate market forces so that they don’t have a destructive impact” such as gentrification, Curl said.  

One cannot judge in advance what the advantages or disadvantages of planned district zoning will be. “You have to see what the actual proposals are,” Curl said.  

The planned district zoning, however, precludes a proactive approach on the part of the community. “People can only be reactive,” Curl said. What the community would get from the developer would have to be fought for project by project.  

How this kind of zoning actually plays out is “where leadership is important,” Caplan said. And that, in part, is what Curl worries about. 

Does staff have the community or the developer at heart in negotiations? Because of their training, “staff works closely with developer,” Curl said, adding, moreover that Mayor Tom Bates has opened the door to development in West Berkeley.  

While in the 80s, developers pushed for office space, today they want to promote residential and retail, he said. Laboratory space is also in demand. Pressure to develop could lead to gentrification and a complete social and economic change that would affect the entire city, he said. 

Both Caplan and Planning Director Dan Marks pointed to the proposed Douglas Herst development at the 5.5 acre former Peerless Lighting at Allston Way and Fifth Street as the impetus for planned district zoning. In a recent commentary published by the Planet, Curl pointed to initial attempts at trade-offs with Herst’s proposed development: 

“Herst … want[s] to change the West Berkeley zoning ordinance so they can replace recently [vacated] manufacturing space with seven-story corporate and residential buildings. They want to ‘blur’ the distinctions between residential, office, commercial and industrial. As a ‘trade-off’ for changing the zoning code, Herst said, he would include 20 percent low-income artist live/work housing, along with 80 percent of the units at market rate for anybody. And here’s the kicker: The city already requires 20 percent inclusionary low-income in all housing projects, exactly what Herst is proposing.” 

New residential projects are not now permitted in much of West Berkeley. “Gentrification is the guiding development policy of this administration,” Curl wrote.  

The Emeryville City Council is scheduled to discuss explosive charges of racial discrimination and retaliation against city employees in its May 1 council meeting, but the councilmember who put the item on the agenda does not hold out much hope that the discussion will lead to changes in Emeryville city government. 

“To tell you the truth, I don’t think there’s much sentiment to make those changes,” Councilmember Ken Bukowski said by telephone this week. “I don’t think [the council] is going to listen. But it’s important to make the effort. These are serious allegations and they need to be looked into.”  

The Emeryville City Council will meet on Tuesday, May 1, 7:15 p.m., in the Council Chambers at Emeryville City Hall, 1333 Park Ave.  

At the last Emeryville City Council meeting, an Emeryville-based group called Concerned Citizens for Change presented councilmembers a letter “requesting that the issue of discrimination be placed on the City Council agenda…and that the city no longer see this as a ‘personnel’ matter that cannot be discussed publicly.… From 2004-2007 the city has settled more than four discrimination and retaliation complaints filed against city hall personnel only, which clearly suggests there is a problem. The City Council has discussed or been made aware of all of these complaints and others in ‘Closed Session.’ Yet to date, nothing has been done to correct the problem.”  

Emeryville City Manager Patrick O’Keefe said he could not discuss the group’s charges until his office had developed a formal staff report for the May 1 City Council meeting. 

“A lot of the charges involve personnel matters that we simply cannot go into in public,” O’Keefe said by telephone. He said that once his office had determined what portion of the charges could be discussed, he would speak to the press about the issue. 

Included with the Concerned Citizens for Change letter was a list of what the group called “a few examples of what type of discrimination is being practiced,” listing what the group said were instances involving differences between how white and African-American employees are treated in areas such as work assignments, extension of probation, assessments, and promotions. 

In one of the allegations, the group charged that “three African American female employees (with children) had their flex schedules abruptly eliminated around the same time, while several Caucasian employees were offered a flex schedule. These employees had their schedule for quite some time. Their attendance was then aggressively monitored for excessive or abusive leaves of absence.” In another allegation, the group said that “several African-American female employees have had their probations extended after they believed their work performance was satisfactory. To our knowledge, these employees never had any problems on any other job until coming to Emeryville. It’s suggested that African Americans are sometimes hired because of allegations of discrimination, but are terminated when the ‘dust’ settles.” 

One of the Concerned Citizens for Change making the charges was former Emeryville City Planning Technician Leslie Pollard, who received a $3.6 million settlement from the city last month in her wrongful termination lawsuit. Pollard, who had worked for the city of Emeryville for 27 years, was suspended in 2004 and fired in 2005 after she made complaints about racial comments and harassment by a co-worker, and then was later deemed unfit to perform her job by a psychiatrist contracted with the city. 

Pollard told councilmembers that the group wanted the racial discrimination issue on the council agenda “not just for city employees, but for city taxpayers as well. There is money being given out by the city in litigation settlement that could be avoided.” 

The May meeting will be the third time that Concerned Citizens for Change has come before Emeryville City Council with these charges in recent weeks. At the March 20 meeting, several citizens, organizations, and employees spoke under the council’s public comment session to discuss the Pollard settlement and allegations of racial discrimination in Emeryville city employment. 

Councilmembers, by law, could not respond during the meeting because the item had not been agendized, but following the meeting, the East Bay Daily News quoted Emeryville Mayor Nora Davis as saying, “What you did not hear last night is those many, many minority people employed by the city of Emeryville who certainly have never given any suggestion about discrimination in the city. We have tried very, very hard to be a diverse city and to be a fair city. If we have fallen down in any instance, we will correct it. I truly believe that.” 

Davis could not be reached for comment in connection with this article. 

In its letter to the council in response to Davis’ newspaper comment, Concerned Citizens for Change wrote “Was Mayor Davis suggesting that because not all employees have experienced racial discrimination/disparate treatment that it doesn’t exist? If this is Mayor Davis’ (and others’) state of mind and/or belief, then the lack of interest and action is not surprising. The City of Emeryville may be in a state of denial, and refusing to conduct a diversity assessment internally allows this mind set and practice to continue.” 

At the April meeting, Pollard told Davis that while the mayor had denied that there was discrimination in Emeryville city employment, “you are good at getting back to your constituents and talking with them. Once you hear the information we have to present, we won’t have to convince you that there’s discrimination in the City of Emeryville.” 

Councilmember Bukowski said one of his purposes for putting the issue on the Council agenda was to ask for a change in the city’s employee grievance policy. 

“Currently, if an employee grievance can’t be settled at the city manager level, the issue goes directly to arbitration rather than to the council,” Bukowski said. “I would like to change city policy so that the council gets a chance to evaluate employee grievances before they go to arbitration.” Bukowski suggested that the council might be able to settle many of the employee grievance matters before they turn into litigation. 

The controversy over what may be the largest corporate/academic research pact in the history of American universities is headed back to UC Berkeley’s Academic Senate. 

Despite an earlier statement by Senate President William Drummond that the body needed no further consultation about the proposed $500 million, 10-year pact between the university and BP (the renamed British Petroleum), the Senate will conduct a two-hour special session on the topic April 19. 

The meeting begins at 1 p.m. in Booth Auditorium at Boalt Hall. 

Meanwhile, members of the university’s Graduate Assembly voted Thursday night for their own call for a review of the proposed pact that would tie the university to the oil giant. 

The assembly voted to direct its officers to meet with Chancellor Robert Birgeneau to discuss creation of a funding pool separate from the BP-funded Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) to research the impact of biofuels on the environment, geopolitics and ethics. 

Critics like Professors Miguel Altieri and Ignacio Chapela have charged that the push to devote acreage to grow crops to create fuels for cars, trucks and buses would deprive Third World nations of land needed to feed themselves. 

The students also sought to create a committee that would include at least two graduate students to evaluate the needs of students in the project. 

The BP-UCB agreement now being negotiated would form the largest single corporate funding package in the history of American academia.  

BP and the university would be the two signatories, and the university would negotiate subcontracts with the university-affiliated Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

The EBI would feature both separate and combined research programs, with each side reaping the economic benefits from inventions and discoveries created without participation of the other side, while proceeds from patents created jointly would be shared. 

“To this day, I believe, we are here on this planet earth to live, grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom.” 

—Rosa Parks School pledge 

When Margot Pepper speaks at an event honoring the legacy of Cesar Chavez on Wednesday, her former second-grade student Gerardo Espinoza will be foremost on her mind. 

A bilingual teacher at Rosa Parks School and a prize-winning journalist, Pepper and Gerardo’s classmates said goodbye to Gerardo on Valentine’s day—just before the little boy, his brothers and parents were deported to Mexico. 

Pepper will speak at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Berkeley City College Auditorium (2050 Center St.) as part of a panel that will include Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; Hilary Abell, executive director of Women’s Action to Gain Economic Security, and Mayor Tom Bates.  

As Pepper tells it, Gerardo’s father, the hard-working Felipe Espinoza, had been in the country 20 years, since he was 14 years old, and his wife Norma Espinoza had been in the United States for 14 years. The senior Espinoza held down two jobs, working five to six days a week at a steel mill and in a restaurant to support his family. 

Felipe Espinoza’s mistake was to trust Walter Pineda, an immigration lawyer—disbarred last November—who instead of gaining the parents legal residence, caused the family’s deportation. “It’s tragic—he really botched up the Espinozas’ case,” Pepper said. 

Pepper has stayed in touch with the family, and she says their stories are heartbreaking. “They’re living in a town of 1,000 with no gas [for cooking or boiling water] and stagnant water. The three boys have been sick,” she said, adding that the community can help the family by sending donations to Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action (BOCA) at 2606 Dwight Way, Berkeley, 94704 and putting Espinoza in the memo line of the check. 

Pepper said she doesn’t know how many people in Berkeley face similar deportation. Some leave without saying a word. “The Espinozas almost didn’t tell us why they were leaving—they were so ashamed,” Pepper said.  

The cloud of deportation disrupts more than the lives of those deported, Pepper said, explaining that she has had to do a lot of therapy-like sessions for Gerardo’s frightened classmates. 

Still, while the recent sweeps that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made in the Bay Area has frightened people, it has had another consequence, Pepper said: it has intensified a determination to fight back. 

In addition to the Wednesday conference, Pepper is working on two related projects. 

One is an ordinance that will come before the City Council in May, calling on the city to become a sanctuary city. The city has already passed a sanctuary city resolution, but an ordinance will be law with more teeth, she said. At the same time she also noted that ICE “sweeps are less likely to happen in Berkeley because of the activism.” 

The other project is a “know your rights” event, which will include immigration lawyers. It will be presented in English and Spanish from 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, April 26, at Rosa Parks School, 920 Allston Way. 

See Pepper’s “Open Letter to an Immigration Judge” about the Espinoza family, first published in the Daily Planet in February, and other writings at www.margotpepper.com. 

Tree-sitter and one-time Berkeley mayoral candidate Zachary Running Wolf headed back to jail Friday, busted yet again by UC Berkeley police. 

According to the campus police Daily Activity Bulletin, the 44-year-old activist was arrested at 9:57 a.m. and jailed on three outstanding traffic warrants, two from Berkeley police and one from campus police. 

Supporters were working to win his release Monday afternoon as the Daily Planet’s deadline approached. 

Running Wolf was the second tree-sitter arrested Friday morning in the grove immediately west of Memorial Stadium. 

Athena Osborn, the 25-year-old protester known as “Tinkerbell” and “Otter,” was arrested at 1:50 a.m. when she descended from her perch in a redwood. She was charged with trespassing and resisting arrest and booked into the Berkeley city lockup. 

In a phone call to the newspaper moments before his arrest, Running Wolf said police had just arrived and started cutting down the traversing ropes linking the tree-sitting sites and set up to enable rapid movement above the ground. 

Also seized was a banner supplied by Berkeley activist L.A. Wood promoting the website where he posts videos he has shot about the ongoing protests at the grove, berkeleycitizen.org/youtube.html. 

The tree-sit, called to protest the planned destruction of the grove to make way for a $125 million gymnasium, began well before dawn on Big Game Saturday, Dec. 9., when Running Wolf ascended a redwood and took up residence high above the branches. 

He has been arrested three times at the site, twice for traffic warrants and once on charges of threatening police and resisting arrest, felony charges. 

He had attended a court hearing Thursday on the more serious charges. 

Running Wolf is being represented by noted San Francisco defense attorney Tony Serra. 

Suzanne Wilson will replace former Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) commissioner Dave Blake at the ZAB meeting Thursday. Wilson was appointed to the position by District 1 Councilmember Linda Maio.  

Wilson is a Berkeley resident and has previously worked for Mayor Tom Bates. She is currently an attorney at the law firm Stockwell, Harris, Widom, Woolverton & Muehl in San Francisco. Blake was appointed to the Rent Board in the November 2006 elections. 

AUP appeals 

The board will hear the appeal of an administrative use permit (AUP) that would allow construction at a multi-family residential building at 2008 Virginia St. 

Applicant Lorin Hill had requested a AUP to construct a 1,434-square-foot addition, raising the existing structure approximately six feet to create habitable space on the ground level, and by expanding the footprint of the building, thereby creating a two-story, west-wing appendage to the building.  

Neighbors are appealing the AUP because they are concerned that the additional height will block air and light. 

ZAB board members had also asked the applicant to put up story poles at the site of the building. Planning staff recommends continuing the item to May 24.  

Appeals of AUPs are not subject to public hearing and public testimony does not take place at this time. The board either sets the matter for public hearing or affirms the zoning officer’s decision. 

The board will also hear the appeal of an AUP to construct a second story atop an existing one-story detached garage at 933 Keeler, set back five feet from the property line abutting the street and two feet from the property line to the north, with an average height of 24 feet and a maximum height of 26 feet. 

Applicant Ken Winfield was denied the AUP after which he appealed the decision to ZAB. The issue at hand is the construction of a second story on an accesory building. 

The staff recommends denying the appeal and affirming the zoning officer’s decision. 

New hearings 

The board will hear the request for a use permit from Chris Williams of Oakland to establish a yoga studio with incidental retail sale of yoga accessories in an existing, 800-square-foot tenant space at 3320 Adeline St. Staff recommends approval of the project. 

The board will also hear the request for a use permit from Jeff Stein of Berkeley to construct a second story addition on an existing single-family dwelling unit that is non-conforming for lot coverage and west (left) side yard setback at 1625 Berkeley Way. Staff recommends approval. 

Some neighbors are concerned about the additional story, which they say will block sunlight. 

The Berkeley Board of Education will discuss sending an application to the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) for funding and approval of the Berkeley Unified School District’s (BUSD) funds to complete a solar project at Washington Elementary School. 

Kyoto USA has assisted BUSD in its efforts to put together a pilot solar project. 

According to the staff report, although a solar project could result in operational savings for the district, “solar installations generally take a long time to pay for themselves.” According to Kyoto USA’s analysis of the Washington proposal, the initial cost to purchase and install a solar system is approximately $800,000. 

BUSD applied to PG&E for partial funding of the project, which is worth $305,000. Kyoto USA’s cost estimate does not include district soft costs or an upgrade or replacement of the roof. Staff has estimated the total cost of the project to be $1,250,000. 

API rankings 

The board will also receive a informational report on the 2007 Academic Performance Index (API) rankings which was recently released by the California Department of Education (CDE). The rankings are primarily based on student performance in one assessment, the California Standardized Tests. 

John Muir and Oxford topped the list of elementary schools with a state rank of 9. King—with a state rank of 7—placed first among the three middle schools. Berkeley Technology Academy ranked first. Since the API score for B-tech was based on fewer than 100 valid STAR test results, the school was not given a similar school ranking. 

Berkeley High School (BHS) did not receive an API score this year because of a lack of student participation on the STAR tests. Two schools (Rosa Parks and Longfellow) gained one level at the state rankings, and four schools—Muir, Oxford, Washington and Willard—lost one level compared to the previous year. 

Three schools—Jefferson, Rosa Parks and Berkeley Arts Magnet) made gains in the similar school ranking while five schools (Cragmont, Emerson, Malcolm X, Oxford and Washington) dropped from the previous year. 

According to the staff report, the discrepancy between the school statewide rank and the similar school rank is a cause for concern for the site as well as the district. 

Student National Origin Report 

The board will receive the Student National Origin Report (SNOR) which is required annually by all school districts as information. The report gives a breakdown of the origins of the students enlisted in Berkeley Unified. 

It will also receive the annual language census report which shows how many languages students go home to, said BUSD spokesperson Mark Coplan. Coplan added that given the large diversity present in Berkeley, the number of languages could go over 25. 

Mandarin at Berkeley High 

The board will vote to approve new Mandarin language courses at Berkeley High. Mandarin language class was first introduced at BHS in 2006, said Coplan. 

Pre-K projects 

The board will vote to approve a project manager for the remodeling of the two Pre-K schools. The board approved the hiring of WLC Architects—one of the four firms in Berkeley Unified’s architect pool—at a cost of $500,000 for remodeling the King Child Development Center (CDC) and Franklin Parent Nursery (FPN). 

The new manager will work with WLC to manage the project for BUSD. 

Peanut policy 

The board will vote to approve the second reading on its policy regarding peanuts and other nut-derived products on school lunch menus. 

The new policy states that “there will be no nuts or nut-derivative products in any of the food items prepared or available in any form at the elementary school level. Nuts or nut-derivatives will not be used in menu items at middle or high school unless they are clearly labeled and students are informed of the ingredients in such dishes. Peanuts may be available in vending machines or sold as packaged, separate items.” 

However, at the last meeting, some board members had questions about the use of nuts in school lunches which will be addressed in the second report. 

Access to Digital Resources 

The board will also approve a resolution in support of an Assembly bill which establishes the California School Library Equitable Access to Digital Resources and Online School Database Programs.  

How I long to grow bananas. If I moved a few blocks away I could, for sheltered by fencing from our reliable afternoon wind grows a magnificent specimen bearing several hands of green fruits. Bananas are usually harvested green, so ripening will not be a problem for this lucky owner. 

Instead, the wind streams across the Pacific, through the Golden Gate and right over my exposed garden, chilling everything in its path. 

I do believe however that in the last year I have after decades solved the problem not only of predation—racoons digging around vegetables for succulent worms—but of the gardener him or her self, by which I mean, arranging the vegetable beds in such a way that the gardener actually has head and elbow room in which to work.  

First I raised the perimeter fence of one-inch chicken wire to a height of six feet, and instead of anchoring the top firmly, I left it flimsy. So far so good, a year has gone by with no apparent intrusion. 

The plot already had a three-foot wide path down the middle, with a gate at each end (also high wired) for access. Now I measured one-foot paths inside three sides of the fence, and stamped on them to discourage weeds and make them firm and level. I rejected thoughts of pebbles or fir bark in favor of simplicity and stability. More attractive though these might look, they tend to track everywhere.  

The fourth, north side was left as a foot-wide bed for peas, sweet peas, beans, cucumbers, and other seasonal climbers, that would get full sun yet not cast their shadows over anything. Now I measured what was left, staking areas for beds four feet across, each bed with one-foot paths between them. 

There is something about measuring things that makes one feel efficient, even if one measures inaccurately. 

When I had finished, I found I had four planting areas that in their forming had naturally become raised above the paths. Raised beds, according to experts like Peter Chan, are the very best for vegetables, giving good drainage and allowing close spacing because the roots in raised beds are in Chan’s words airified, and never trodden on. Furthermore, the sloping sides increase sun exposure, maximizing growth. Chan, noted horticulturist and professor of plant pathology, in the 1970s won Sunset magazine’s Best Garden award, ahead of 1,400 others. When I turned to his book Better Vegetable Gardening the Chinese Way (first published 30 years ago, lavishly photographed and charmingly written, and though not in print, still available), I saw immediately that this is how he had made his raised beds, surrounded by beaten paths. It is never too late for good information to sink in, apparently. Chan had a lot of space, yet his raised beds although much longer were no wider than mine. 

To say that I am thrilled is inaccurate. I positively gloat. Never have I seen orderly rows of vegetables in March filling each bed. Some of them are even edible. Swinging my four-year rotation plan into action, as soon as one row is harvested, I can transplant the next appropriate vegetable, if I have remembered to sow seed ahead of time, after amending the soil with a little compost from the bottom of the worm bin. 

The worms seem delighted with their bin. At first I thought it would be too spacious for them, since it is much larger than the recommended worm “ranches” sold commercially, which have little trays one has to fiddle with. My red wrigglers have multiplied profusely while turning vegetable and other plant trimmings, poultry coop litter and leaves into nutritious tilth. 

I have even started to wonder whether there is anything in the companion planting idea, that some plants, like humans, do better with compatible neighbors, because this year I flanked the fava beans with garlic and, another first, now they are crowded with flowers, sturdy and lush, with no sign of the usual black aphids. I did this for convenience rather than garden lore because they will be harvested at the same time, in May or June, to be replaced by a hot weather vegetable. 

In terms of measurement the overall plot has shrunk from its original size, thanks to the paths, and the raised beds’ growing area because of their sloping sides is narrower than four feet, so I had to plant the favas more closely than usual. Perhaps they are now close enough to benefit from each other’s nitrogen supply, visible as little pearls on their roots. I grow favas in tomato hoops for support. They will need something higher soon, encircled with string tied to rebars or bamboo, to keep them from being blown over by the wind, because they are unusually tall as well as bushy this year. 

The rest of the garden is a wilderness. Although this makes a pleasing contrast to the vegetables, it does give me a quiver of apprehension about their orderliness. Authors Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman state categorically in their book A Perfect Mess that it is more productive to be messy than neat. Still, if one waits long enough in a vegetable garden, something is sure to go wrong. 

Meanwhile, do try bananas sliced into a Thai stir-fry. Try a microwaved banana, its skin pierced with a sharp knife and zapped for two minutes, by which time it will be oozing sweetly perfumed flesh. Saute a sliced plantain, sprinkled with brown sugar and watch it change color, to a glorious orange. Ripen it first beyond a green hand, beyond even yellow. Its skin must be entirely black. A week spent wrapped in a few pages of the Daily Planet should do the trick. 

Photograph by Michael O’Malley 

The author at work in her South Berkeley garden.

So let us begin anew, remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. 

—President John F. Kennedy 

These words are from Kennedy’s first inaugural address. That speech marked a generation, my generation. Nancy Pelosi, a politically aware woman of my own age, like me a college student in 1961, cannot have escaped hearing that speech and being influenced by it all of her adult life, as we all were. The attitude it embodied ultimately resulted in the end of a repressive regime in the former Soviet Union, without the atomic war that many in 1961 thought was inevitable. Kennedy described the belief system he hoped to counter: “[B]oth sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind’s final war.” Kennedy and his successors made many mistakes along the way, but his assertion that negotiation was the only way to end the balance of terror and avoid the atomic Armageddon which threatened to destroy the planet paid off in the end. 

Pelosi, now a grandmother like me, is continuing to follow Kennedy’s advice by visiting leaders of potentially warring nations in the Mideast and urging negotiations. Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor in Congress, is going along. Her credentials as a supporter of Israel, like his, are rock-solid, but no matter, the twerps are nipping at their heels.  

Dick Cheney, briefly emerging from his undisclosed hidey-hole, led the attack, which has now trickled down to lesser-con luminaries like columnist Debra Saunders. The most foolish version of all this was Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s suggestion that Pelosi shouldn’t have worn a headscarf when she visited a mosque. “I just don’t know what got into her head, to be completely honest with you,” he said. “Her going to a state which is, without question, a sponsor of terror, and having her picture taken with Assad and being seen in a head scarf and so forth is sending the wrong signal to the people of Syria and to the people of the Middle East.” 

Perhaps Romney, who is a Mormon, doesn’t knew that when Nancy and I were growing up Catholic women were always required to cover their heads in church, and that even Protestant princesses (there were no women Speakers in those days) donned veils when calling on the Pope. As a mayor’s daughter she’s undoubtedly grown up seeing politicians of all faiths bobby-pin yarmulkes to their heads when courting Jewish voters. Wearing a scarf is no big deal. 

Lantos has even suggested that a trip to Iran should be the next item on the agenda, a proposal which Pelosi’s political staff quickly rejected, but don’t bet against it nevertheless. The time for talking to all parties is now, as sensible Israelis and Americans, even some Republicans, are starting to admit. Pelosi carried what she thought was a peace message to Syria from Israel, only to have clueless Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert deny that he’d intended any such thing, probably under pressure from the Bush White House.  

But the time has come to talk. George Soros, international financier, philanthropist and determined advocate of what he believes to be human rights imperatives, came out of the political closet with a piece in the April 12 New York Review of Books.  

He said that “The Bush administration is once again in the process of committing a major policy blunder in the Middle East, one that is liable to have disastrous consequences and is not receiving the attention it should. This time it concerns the Israeli–Palestinian relationship. The Bush administration is actively supporting the Israeli government in its refusal to recognize a Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas, which the U.S. State Department considers a terrorist organization. This precludes any progress toward a peace settlement at a time when progress on the Palestinian problem could help avert a conflagration in the greater Middle East.” His statement was dated March 15, before Pelosi’s trip, but its endorsement of the necessity of negotiation certainly applies to talking to Syria as well. 

With a great deal of trepidation, remarkable in someone with as much influence and even power as Soros has, he zeroed in on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as one of the principal obstacles to peace:  

“I am not sufficiently engaged in Jewish affairs to be involved in the reform of AIPAC; but I must speak out in favor of the critical process that is at the heart of our open society. I believe that a much-needed self-examination of American policy in the Middle East has started in this country; but it can’t make much headway as long as AIPAC retains powerful influence in both the Democratic and Republican parties. Some leaders of the Democratic Party have promised to bring about a change of direction but they cannot deliver on that promise until they are able to resist the dictates of AIPAC.” Even though Soros is himself Jewish and a strong supporter of Israel, he knows that he is exposing himself to personal attacks for taking this position. 

Pelosi, like many Democratic politicians in the Bay Area including Lantos, Assemblymember Hancock and Mayor Bates among others, has in the past been a vocal and visible supporter of AIPAC. That puts her in a good position to jump boldly into the negotiating process, just as Nixon’s history of anti-Communism put him in a good position to open negotiations with China. Even so, it has taken a considerable amount of courage for her to do so, and for Lantos and Congressman Henry Waxman to get her back as she does. It’s not too much to ask that other Democratic political leaders, especially those in safer-than-safe Northern California seats, should now demonstrate similar courage in resisting AIPAC’s undue influence on American and Israeli policy and speaking out in favor of open negotiations with all parties in the Middle East.  

It’s tax time again. The cover of the New Yorker depicts IRS forms folded into the shapes of missiles, warplanes and tanks, in case anyone has any doubts about where most of their taxes are being wasted. On the inside, another cartoon: Robin Hood sitting in the office of his accountant, who says “You have to declare what you rob from the rich, but you can deduct what you give to the poor.” 

One traditional way for members of the private sector to avoid paying taxes for things they don’t like is to give money instead to institutions which provide benefits for the general public, like art museums. The tax laws encourage this, in varying proportions at various times. Right now the Bush-era tax law changes have made it possible for the very rich, both corporations and individuals, to avoid paying any significant amount of taxes, so their incentive to donate for public purposes is much reduced. Institutions like museums which have depended on tax-deductible donations are therefore hurting, and are looking to preserve the programs they value by any means necessary. 

However … since the funds for most museums come either directly from taxes or from donations which have been made with the benefit of tax law exemptions, there’s a strong public interest in what they do with their money. That’s why the people of California should be grateful to new citizen Vladimir Raykin of San Jose, who alerted us with a letter to an imminent sale of a famous Russian painting by the former University Art Museum, now called the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM-PFA for short). It has been hanging on loan in Berkeley’s unique and well-respected Judah Magnes Museum for many years. 

Daily Planet art critic Peter Selz, the founding director of the university museum, placed the work, Solomon’s Wall (1884-85), depicting worshipers at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, by Vasilii Vereshchagin, in artistic context in our last issue. Now a Bloomberg article forwarded to us by Raykin gives more of the back story. It seems that Phoebe Hearst (mother of William Randolph Hearst) donated the painting to the museum in 1920, but current museum director Kevin Plonsey was quoted as saying “We never used it for our own exhibition programs,” at least during his tenure. When the Magnes wanted to renew the loan, BAM-PFA had it appraised for insurance purposes, and, he said, “…we were staggered.” Christie’s New York auction house is hoping it might bring as much as $5 million on their auction block on April 18. 

There’s been no particular public outcry so far about the sale of this painting. Director Plonsey told the Bloomberg reporter that his museum is now focused on modern and contemporary Western art, East Asian art and film and video. “It was a classic case of a great work which had no context within our museum collection,” he said.  

This is standard operating procedure for many museums today, choosing a limited arena in which to try to excel, but it might not be the best strategy for a museum which, despite its change of name, is still primarily a university art museum. One valuable function of a university art museum should be to give art history students, and students in general, the opportunity for first-hand looks at all kinds of great art, not just at what is stylish or appeals to the institution’s management at a given point in time. The small college I attended my freshman year had a couple of genuine Corots in its modest collection which were not particularly stylish then or now, but I spent hours looking at them up close and personal, as one can seldom do with paintings in a crowded metropolitan museum.  

One can’t help wondering what other masterpieces which don’t fit the dominant paradigm might be hiding in collections where the current management doesn’t appreciate them. At least this particular painting was loaned out to another museum where it was both appreciated and displayed, but many works of art are languishing in storage. The Oakland Art Museum’s glorious recent exhibition of the work of Arthur and Lucia Matthews included pieces from the museum’s own collection which hadn’t been shown to the public since their last Matthews show more than 20 years ago. 

BAM-PFA has announced plans for a fancy new building downtown and is now trying to come up with the money to pay for it. There’s no doubt that $5 million, if it comes to that, would be put to good use. Consey did tell Bloomberg that the proceeds of selling the Vereshchagin would be put in an endowment for acquisition of future works of Western and Asian art, but that would also free up funds from other sources which could be used for construction costs if desired. He said that “in a perfect world [the painting] will be purchased by a collector and given to an institution in Russia.”  

Mr. Raykin told us in his letter that he’s concerned that “the great painting, our California treasure, will be purchased by a rich Russian oligarch and will leave California and the U.S.A. soon.” He said that “for me, as a Russian-Jewish immigrant and Jewish community member, the Jerusalem Western Wall is a very important religious symbol,” and that he believes “we should recognize that Vereshchagin’s masterpiece … belongs to the people of California and plays an important role for us Americans…. I think the decision [by] UC Berkeley to auction it off at Christie's on April 18 is very unfortunate for us Bay Area and California residents and all Americans.” 

Since it’s by no means a perfect world, and since in Russia as in the United States the rich are getting richer while the public sector is getting poorer, his point is worth pondering. While it might seem nice to send a Russian painting back to a Russian museum, if it goes into private hands it’s possible that we might never see it exhibited again in either country, and that would be a shame. Is there someone else who should be making a broad-based policy decision regarding the fate of this valued possession of the state of California and all its citizens, instead of leaving the judgment to the narrow focus of the current BAM-PFA managers and the vagaries of the marketplace? It’s possible. 

MORE INFORMATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Kudos to Richard Brenneman for his clear, precise articles on development and sales of the new apartment buildings in Berkeley. But there’s always a bit more I am craving to know—what size are the rooms? What is the rental or condo price for apartments of various sizes? What is considered low-income rentals? Are they the same size apartments as the others? What are the occupancy/vacancy rates in the newer and older buildings? Who pays what kind of taxes on these building? And finally, who lives in them? 

I know many others who read the Planet would like to know these details. 

Joan Levinson 

• 

JOHN DENTON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

On behalf of the Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement (BAHIA Inc.), I would like to express our sadness in the passing of John Denton. As a councilmember and then as a retired community advocate, John Denton was always an advocate of our program that provides bilingual child care development services to low income families in Berkeley. Our organization celebrates 32 years of service this year on April 25, a milestone for a Latino non-profit organization. We will always remember our dear friend John Denton as helping us make the dream come true of serving families and their young children and providing this service bilingually. 

On many occasions John and Ruth spoke fondly of their summer or winter travels to Ajijic, Mexico where they had a community and an adopted family. They would drive to Mexico in a very beat up station wagon with piles of clothes and supplies to give to needy families in their town. They enjoyed living and immersing themselves in Mexico, speaking Spanish, eating tortillas, frijoles and chile, this was their diet and their sustenance in more ways than one. Together they had a passion and a mission to represent and serve the underserved communities, be that on a reservation, the other side of the border or within their own community. John Denton was a loving and kind advocate for the community. We will miss John very much as we miss Ruth. Together they will remain in our memory as the “abuelos” (grandparents) of our organization for generations to come.  

Beatriz Leyva-Cutler 

Executive Director, BAHIA, Inc. 

• 

U.S. INTERVENTIONS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Conn Hallinan’s April 10 column assumes that just because we might strongly disapprove of the violent history, contemptuousness, and opinions of Elliot Abrams, we should oppose his endorsement of U.S. military intervention in Darfur (or anywhere else that Eliot Abrams advocates U.S. military intervention). 

Unfortunately, Hallinan’s article provided no other strategy for intervention in Darfur, no clear arguments that the human rights abuses there will stop without some kind of intervention, and no discussion of the fact that there are people on the left who share the desire to see U.S. or U.N. military intervention there and that the Christian Right is joined by many on the left in urging a U.S. recognition of the genocide and an active response. 

I think it is a little overblown to attack Abrams for “levering U.S. forcing policy away from a concern for poverty toward a focus on “religious persecution” in Abrams’ capacity as the director for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (CIRF). From the title of the agency, it sounds like Abrams was doing his job. 

I’m looking for a more informative discussion of the situation in Sudan and Darfur than that presented by Hallinan. I understand the situation is horrible there, and has gone on too long and, up until this point, has not been resolved internally in any humane or stable way (i.e. the mass killings continue). What should be done? 

Bob Sarnoff 

• 

NO RESPONSE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In late March, I wrote to Betty Olds’ office to report an impassible section of sidewalk in her district, which had resulted in me being overturned in my wheelchair. The street, Euclid, is divided at that point, so crossing the street is not an option. Going out into the street, around the parked cars and into traffic moving fast behind me on the curves was not safe. I sent the location of the sidewalk and suggested that it be repaired. 

I received no response. Two days later, I resent the e-mail with a note stating that I had been amazed and disappointed not to have received confirmation of its receipt. I received no response. 

I wonder just whom Ms. Olds thinks pays her salary, and what she thinks her duties consist of? On the few occasions that I’ve written to my own council person, Laurie Capitelli, I’ve received from his competent office staff, prompt, polite and complete responses to my queries, and follow-up when necessary. 

I wonder, in general, what other people in the city expect from their elected representatives to the City Council, and whether they receive it? 

Susan Fleisher 

• 

BUS RAPID TRANSIT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Ted Vincent makes an obvious logical error in his letter attacking Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). He says that some trips cannot conveniently shift to the bus—for examples, trips to buy groceries or drop off children—and so he concludes that no trips will shift to the bus. 

But their are also many trips that could conveniently shift to the bus and that would shift if there were better bus service—for examples, one-to-the car trips to work, to school and to appointments. We will have better numbers when the environmental impact report comes out, but the figure I have heard is that BRT will shift 10,000 trips per day from cars to the bus, reducing congestion through the East Bay and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

Does Ted Vincent know that motor vehicles are California’s number-one source of greenhouse gas emissions? Does he know that Americans burn 45 percent of all the gasoline that is consumed in the world each year, almost as much as the entire rest of the world combined? Does he know that the recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, adopted by 130 nations, says that. unless we act dramatically to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, droughts will kill hundreds of millions of people during this century? 

I am sure Ted Vincent does not know that a recent study published in the Journal of Public Transportation found that, of all the possible investments we can make in transportation, the one that is most effective in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions is Bus Rapid Transit. 

Since motor vehicles are Berkeley’s our number one source of greenhouse gas emissions, and since BRT is the most effective investment we can make to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles, there is a clear moral imperative to support Bus Rapid Transit. 

Charles Siegel 

• 

IMMIGRANTS AND DEPORTATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As I read Judith Scherr’s article about the tragedy in the deportation of the Espinoza family, a parallel came to mind.  

The Espinozas, back in Mexico, live in a town with no gas and stagnant water. Their boys are sick. Scherr’s suggestion is that Berkeley be made a sanctuary city, or more sanctuaried, to allow more protection against deportation for the undocumented immigrants. The parallel that came to mind is the situation of a lost or feral pet..it no longer lives with the love of its owner, it is neglected, it may be sick and cold and lonely. Some people seeing this will gather all these lost animals up and keep them in their house. But one house cannot hold all these needy animals. Keeping too many of them in one place causes problems. Similarly with immigrants. Immigrants from the south have proved to so often be such diligent workers and friendly, beautiful people. It is the heart’s natural movement to want to help and protect them. But the condition of the house must be kept in mind as well. Only so many feral animals can be collected into one household before the whole atmosphere disintegrates into ferocity and squalor. Only so many refugees can be accepted into a refugee facility before the facility loses its ability to care for any of them.  

Are we concerned about the ecological, economic, sociological, psychological and other effects of overpopulation in this country? If we wish to take the stand that overpopulation is a serious problem, and that it matters how many people we crowd into our state, city, or apartment, then we have to draw lines somewhere, we can’t just allow anyone who walks across the border to set up house here. In my opinion, many of the undocumented immigrants would make much better citizens than some of those who’ve been here for generations. However, the many millions of Mexicans who have come here in disregard for the formal process of citizenship, now put pressure on our government, if it gives serious consideration to the problem of overpopulation within its borders, to exclude from potential citizenship more applicants from other nations than it would have formerly. This cannot be fair to those who desire to become citizens through legal means. If we were to naturalize many more individuals from Mexico than from anywhere else, that would also bring up questions of bias and racism, in that it would show an unacceptable preference to one group. In our process of naturalization, I believe that as a nation we can’t afford to be passive, handing papers to whoever decides to walk in, but ought to apply to the process of naturalization the wisdom of a larger view. What that wisdom ought to be, is rightly discussed among us all.  

While it is natural to want to help those who suffer, bringing them all into our house isn’t necessarily the best solution. Better would be to find ways of helping them where they live, so that our success as a nation doesn’t become our undoing when overpopulation finally frays too many nerves and causes too many other problems. We must accept the limits inherent in our ability to help, or else our limits will catch up with us.  

Deborah Cloudwalker 

Oakland 

• 

THE WAR PRESIDENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

President Bush has made it clear that there will be no compromise or negotiation with Democrats when it comes to his disaster in the desert. Bush got us into this mess in Iraq and now won’t let us extricate ourselves. 

Hell or high water, the “War President” is going to have it his way or no way. 

Here is a man who has lied and deceived Americans for the past six years—put impeachment on the table—democracy is not a one-man show. You will never appease this dogmatic ideologue set in his ways. 

Ron Lowe 

Grass Valley 

• 

WHO PROFITS? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In this land that prides itself on freedom of speech a few words spoken freely last week generated a five-day media whirlwind. 

No one wants sympathy, compassion, forgiveness or even tolerance for Mr. Imus and everyone with the briefest opportunity to speak has condemned, criticized, and cursed him. The whole country seems to have forgotten how harmless words are when compared to sticks and stones. 

Mr. Imus is very good at what he does; he insults people. That’s why he gets paid so handsomely. He a gifted equal opportunity verbal abuser. My peeve is not with this benighted, low-brow middle-aged white man but with his employers. Does anyone doubt that Imus, his critics and, of course, Rutgers but most of all the networks will come through this better off than before?  

Surely, the media moguls should not be allowed to increase their profits by hiring, suspending and rehiring anyone of Imus’ ilk. These moguls do not own the airwaves. We do. The networks may not use our space without permission and ought not use it any way they wish. We are to blame for allowing the broadcast of such uncivil, insensitive, uncouth, ill-mannered words.  

Marvin Chachere 

San Pablo 

• 

FATE OF PUBLIC ART 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In response to Becky O’Malley’s April 10 editorial, the decision to deaccession Wassilij Vereshchagin’s Solomon’s Wall was made, after a great deal of careful consideration, by the director and curators at the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA), with the unanimous support of the Board of Trustees and the university. 

While many have been able to enjoy the painting while it has been on long-term loan to the Magnes Museum, which is a private institution, our primary responsibility is to ensure that the university’s collections are utilized in a way that is of greatest possible benefit to the university, its faculty, staff, and students, and to the tens of thousands of local and international visitors who come to BAM/PFA each year. 

The deaccessioning of works of art from a collection is a difficult but necessary and responsible practice of museums around the world. In keeping with American Association of Museum policy, funds received from this sale must and will be reinvested back into the acquisition of art, ensuring the continued vitality and coherence of the museum’s overall collection. 

Since I began as BAM/PFA director in 2000, the museum’s acquisition program has been as active as any institution in the United States. Over the past seven years BAM/PFA has acquired more than 2,000 works of art, and 4,000 films and videos, ensuring our continuing excellence among university museums in the United States. Recent acquisitions have included an important collection of 50 Chinese paintings, part of an exceptional collection of more than 700 works of art from Tibet, and more than 900 photographs from the late nineteenth and early 20th century. Numerous gifts and acquisitions have followed our groundbreaking exhibition program featuring some of the most influential artists of our generation. In addition, funds have also been raised to establish the Edith R. Kramer Film Collection. 

We don’t take lightly our significant responsibility for stewardship of the university’s art collections. Let me assure you that our consideration of this matter has been sensitive to the sometimes competing interests of all who feel deeply about the university, its museums, and collections. We recognize and accept, with regret, that some will disagree with our approach. 

Kevin E. Consey 

Director, Berkeley Art Museum 

• 

ROSA PARKS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thank you for your recent coverage of kindergarten assignments in Berkeley. Our school, Rosa Parks, was featured in a positive light, finally. However, the article seemed to focus on the Dual Immersion Program as the only reason that parents would be happy with being assigned to Rosa Parks. Unfortunately, the wonderful English only program was not highlighted as equally rewarding. True, our school has had its ups and downs in the past. True, we have had to endure negative press and a negative reputation.  

Nevertheless, our school is a diverse environment where every child is equally rewarded with a wonderful education, whether in the Dual Immersion Program or in the English Only Program. As a parent of children in each program, I can attest that every part of our school is fantastic. We have amazing, experienced, and dedicated teachers, staff, and a Principal who have made all of Rosa Parks a great place to learn for all children. We look forward to more positive reporting in the future! 

Sally Torrez 

• 

WATER CHALLENGE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I recently attended the World Water Challenge meeting and was part of more than a hundred community members challenging the bottled water industry. I was delighted to hear that Mayor Newsom is supportive of the Think Outside the Bottle campaign and am grateful that he is protecting San Francisco’s public systems by moving the city away from bottled water. The keynote speaker, Jared Blumenfeld, presented extremely relevant points concerning our society’s massive necessity for water and alternatives in order to challenge the corporate takeover of water. Specifically, the companies Coke, Pepsi and Nestle are using their massive revenue to manipulate our society’s confidence in public water systems. 

It is mind boggling that we live in a city which offers some of the best drinking water in the nation, and yet Californians drink more than twice the national average in bottled water. If our water is safe and can be had for pennies to the gallon, why are we paying more for bottled water than we do for gasoline? 

Alison Bayley 

UC Berkeley student 

• 

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

John Werner Kluge, the Metromedia billionaire, just gave $400 million to Columbia specifically for financial aid. This is in addition to his $100 million Scholars Program. Shouldn’t the corporations and private individuals who have bought UC’s research services be expected to donate generously to its scholarship programs and financial aid? Isn’t research a secondary purpose of a university? What ever happened to education as the primary purpose of a state endowed, publicly funded educational institution that obtains all kinds of benefits (like not having to pay property tax) from its status in the state? From what I have been reading in the news recently, the UC system is making lots of money by engaging in private enterprise schemes—like building hotels and bombs, making fuel from food, and hawking athletic performances while student fees keep going up, the cost of living in places like Berkeley has become prohibitive and the people who do the real educational work, like the teaching assistants, get peon wages. Isn’t this a bit like the tail waging the dog? 

Joanne Kowalski 

If corporations are threatened to be taxed or regulated by the government in ways that may reduce their profits, they use their riches to invest on K Street (otherwise known as “Lobbyist Boulevard”) in Washington. Currently, there are over 34,000 lobbyists in the United States. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the Citizens for Tax Justice, and Public Campaign, “41 companies (including GE, Microsoft, and Disney) ‘contributed’ $150 million to political parties and campaigns for U.S. Federal candidates between 1999 and 2001, and enjoyed $55 billion in tax breaks in three tax years alone.” The pharmaceutical industry employs the highest number of 3,000 lobbyists and has spent $759 million to influence 1,400 congressional bills between 1998 and 2004.  

The United States emits approximately 25 percent of all greenhouse gases (GHG). Over the course of the 20th century the United States has emitted 50 percent more GHG than all of the world’s developing countries combined. Three influential stakeholders in the U.S. against the Kyoto Protocol are the oil, gas, and coal industries. Therefore, U.S. corporations influenced the government more than 141 other countries that signed the treaty. It is outrageous that the world’s economic leader and largest polluter was influenced by the size of corporate checks instead of the economic, environmental, and social welfare of their own citizens.  

The Center for Public Trust found that the oil and gas industry has spent more than $354 million on lobbying activities between 1998 and 2004, pushing hard on everything from a new national energy policy to obscure changes in the tax code. The top contributor was Exxon-Mobil with a total of $51 million in lobbying expenditures. Spending $24 million was British Petroleum, a controversial “green-washer.”  

Greenwashing is a term used to describe the activity of giving a positive public image to putatively environmentally unsound practices. Typically, it is a marketing technique used to distract the consumer from the company’s lack of transparency as it relates to their sustainable business practices. Companies become more transparent through their corporate social responsibility reports. These can usually be found on public companies’ websites along with their financial statements. I encourage you to look at them to see how green they really are compared to their public relations campaign.  

Without pressure from civil society and government, corporations have very little incentive to protect the environment. We as citizens need to speak up and fight the lobbyists’ influence if we want natural resources to be available for future generations. Send your local, state, and federal government officials letters to tell them you are concerned about sustainability and that you want change now. Use your dollar power to convince corporations that you want more environmentally friendly products and services. Boycotting unsustainable businesses will let their shareholders know that you are not in favor of their business practices.  

Let us tell the government, corporations, and K Street that we want the United States of America to be a leader in the sustainability movement.  

Emeryville resident Jules Macaluso is a sustainable management MBA student from the Presidio School of Management.  

Mark Sapir’s angry April 6 commentary about KPFA includes the following sentence: “When people...behave provocatively and are unwilling to clarify and negotiate over their differences within the institution, this advances the surreptitious attack on KPFA.” 

I am curious to know what steps Sapir took to “clarify” and “negotiate” before penning his rambling attack on the station, its staff, and its Program Director. Did he pick up a phone to call Sasha Lilley before comparing her to Mary Frances Berry and insinuating that she’s a “COINTELPRO type”? Did he attempt to verify any of the vague allegations he uses to smear KPFA? 

Sapir’s letter says Lilley is a “staff union representative”—in fact, she is not even a member of KPFA’s staff union. Sapir refers to a letter from Nancy Keiler to allege KPFA did not “cover” a Barbara Lee-Ron Dellums event at the Grand Lake Theater. Had he read the letter in its entirety, Sapir would have discovered (in addition to the correct spelling of Keiler’s name) that the KPFA News Department did, in fact, have a reporter at the event. 

Sapir states that KPFA’s live coverage of things like Congressional hearings is “collapsing”—in fact, there has been a sharp uptick in such coverage since Lilley became Interim Program Director. Under her leadership, KPFA has spearheaded network-wide live broadcasts of Election Night 2006, hearings on the confirmation of Robert M. Gates as secretary of Defense, the House Judiciary Committee’s interrogation of Alberto Gonzales, and demonstrations marking the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. 

Sapir states that KPFA’s listenership is falling. In fact, the last year’s worth of Arbitron numbers show its radio listenership holding steady, while its internet listenership climbs—no small feat when radio as a whole, and public radio in particular, are losing audience. At a time when falling donations at other public radio stations in our area has forced them to extend their on-air fundraising marathons, Sasha Lilley led KPFA through a Winter fundraising marathon—her first as interim program director—that exceeded its goal, and did so in less time than last year’s. 

Sapir’s letter claims that Lilley has issued a new “edict” against “advocacy”—in fact, there is no such rule. What exists is a decades-old policy, recorded in KPFA’s staff training manuals since at least the 1980s and shared by community radio stations across the nation, prohibiting what the Federal Communi-cations Commission describes as “Call to Action” language when announcing an event. Programmers at KPFA are welcome and often encouraged to tell our listeners when and where a given demonstration is—we just can’t use phrasing like “be there.” (Such language, can, under the right circumstances, get the station sued, fined by the FCC, or in trouble with the IRS.) 

Irony is lost on Sapir: He accuses Lilley of perpetuating “internal chaos” even as he attacks her for advising the station’s staff to comply with existing policies. Prior to Sasha Lilley, KPFA had been without a Program Director for nearly seven years—her promotion to the position of interim program director is an important milestone in the return to stability at KPFA after the real chaos that engulfed the station during Pacifica radio’s civil war in 1999 and 2000.  

How, Sapir asks, will KPFA be “a useful tool for the GI resisters’ movement, the immigrants’ rights and sanctuary movements, the prison reform and opposition movements, the new sds (already at 160 chapters), the Single Payer health care movement, the anti-state torture and death penalty activists, if such edicts are upheld?” 

Perhaps Sapir doesn’t listen much to the radio station he maligns. Clearly, he wasn’t listening the week Aaron Glantz traveled to Fort Lewis, Washington, to produce up-to-the minute reports on the failed court martial of First Lieutenant Ehren Watada. Sapir must not have been listening to his radio on May 1st, when KPFA spearheaded nationally-syndicated, on-the-ground coverage of the history-making immigrants’ rights protests. He must have his radio off when Christopher Martínez, KPFA’s Sacramento reporter, delivers what are easily the most comprehensive news reports on health care policy on any California broadcaster. Sapir presumably hasn’t heard Martínez’s reports on death penalty moratorium legislation either, or KPFA’s live broadcasts of vigils at the gates of San Quentin. And Sapir likely didn’t hear the hour-long interview devoted to the new SDS that aired on “Against The Grain”—a program Sasha Lilley co-founded—last month. 

It’s understandable Sapir didn’t hear all those things—not everyone can listen to their radio all the time. And it must be particularly difficult to focus on what’s on KPFA when you’re busily churning out a 1,500-word polemic describing a fantasy KPFA where the station’s staff are actually on the payroll of the FBI. Facts would just get in the way.  

Brian Edwards-Tiekert is a KPFA news reporter and treasurer of the KPFA Local Station Board. 

The superior court’s decision should ensure that the UC-City settlement continues to receive deserved examination, both legally and politically. That is because one premise of the court’s judgment—that the city could lawfully cut the public out of the settlement of a significant CEQA case—conflicts with the leading appellate decision on that subject, and thus deserves its own appellate review.  

Yet another of the court’s bases for decision—that the city did not surrender its land use authority by agreeing to share it with UC in the downtown area—should haunt both the city and university with this overriding question: if Berkeley can agree to share its land use authority with UC on city-controlled land, should not the university in the exercise of its constitutional “sovereignty” also voluntarily agree to share its authority over campus development with the City of Berkeley?  

Because I believe the superior court correctly ruled that the city could enter into the downtown plan agreement, and the city won that point, Berkeley citizens can now rightfully urge their government to insist that UC grant the same shared prerogative over campus lands. In the end, such a voluntary agreement by both town and gown to honor and harmonize each other’s land use plans—a goal that the County of Merced has partially achieved in development of UC Merced and its surrounding community—will produce wiser decisions and make both better neighbors.  

But none of this litigation would have been necessary had Berkeley’s leaders kept their promise to subject the CEQA settlement to public review before it was submitted for final approval by both parties. In 1984 the Sacramento Court of Appeal made clear in the County of Inyo v. City of Los Angeles water dispute that with important public rights at stake, the individual parties were not free “privately” to settle their CEQA case without involving the greater public. Berkeley’s mayor, city council, and city attorney violated the Inyo principle in asserting that UC “forced” them to keep the settlement private until it was too late for citizens to intervene and force public review. By ruling against the four individual petitioners in the present case, the superior court has enabled them to enforce the Inyo principle on appeal. 

Antonio Rossmann has practiced land use and water law for 35 years, including the Inyo and Merced examples cited here, and teaches those subjects at Boalt Hall. 

It is indeed exciting for an alumnus of UC Berkeley to read in the Daily Planet stories related to citizens’ concern for greener and sustainable development in Berkeley city, particularly the stories on Sustainable Berkeley and the People’s Park renovation.  

As a former resident of Berkeley, I welcome these initiatives. However in order to achieve positive results there is a need to reduce emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to achieve sustainable development. Perhaps the only way that is possible is by decreasing the burning of fossil fuel (coal) for generating electricity. The United States generates more than 60 percent of its electricity by burning coal, hence the federal government is reluctant to reduce generating electricity from coal, and consequently the government has been delaying its commitment to comply with the Kyoto declaration, which has called upon all nations to reduce emission of GHGs by 80 percent by the year 2050. 

However it is very essential for each country to decrease emission of carbon dioxide and harmful gases to save themselves from the harmful affects of climate change, and these practices should be taken up immediately by progressive cities like Berkeley and its citizens. The City Council must come forward to make people aware: how by their little efforts they can reduce emission of GHGs, such as restricting use of private cars (cars on Berkeley streets have definitely increased as I observed during last summer) and using public transport (the city of Berkeley is in the process of discussions of introducing bus rapid transit routes as read in the Planet earlier). Operating air-conditioners and heating systems for a minimum time of the day during hot and cold seasons should be followed to save energy and minimize emission of greenhouse gasses.  

Instead of generating heat by burning fuel, passive heating by solar energy and solar-heated hot water panels can be used. Such solar hot water panels are being extensively used in Israel. 

While the world has to cut down GHG emission by 26 percent to 32 percent by 2020, as is being complied with by the UK, the EU and other countries, the Bush administration is yet to make a firm commitment to the Kyoto protocol and specify the reduction that would be made by 2020. Delay in making a firm policy decision by the USA is affecting the world environment. 

On the other hand, recent reports in the press indicate that the U.S. government has sent out notices to officials going abroad not to speak on polar ice melting or on polar bears being an endangered species. Such pronouncements on behalf of the government are very unfortunate for the future of the United States and the world community. A leaked memorandum issued by a regional director of the U.S. Department of the Interior states that the officials within the United States Fish and Wildlife Service should limit their discussion when traveling in countries bordering the Arctic region because of sensitivities about climate change (Steve Connor, Los Angeles Indepen-dent, March 11, 2007). 

On Feb. 15 the United States and seven other wealthy countries, along with China, India, Mexico and Brazil, met in Washington to discuss the ways and means of establishing global legislation by which the countries around the world will be required to take steps to reduce emission of GHGs in order to save the earth’s major area from being drowned by seas within another 50 years, which is the prediction of the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change. The new Global Legislative Organization for Balanced Environment is expected to replace the Kyoto Protocol by 2012. 

It is also very encouraging to read stories on People’s Park where landscape architect MKThink has been assigned to prepare a proposal to develop the project. The professional firm will definitely follow their experience and knowledge to the best of their ability. 

However, People’s Park is no ordinary park; it is located in a very important spot and is likely to be used by the community of students and neighbors. However, there are some inherent problems which inhibit this park, so that it is not as popular as other parks, such as Golden Gate Park, as stated by one of the city officials at the meeting  

Consequently, the consultant will need to do more in-depth study to make this park more attractive to the student community; there is a need to talk to them and to involve them in the design process. Students and representatives from the community can be invited to put their ideas in sketches and notes as to how they want their park to be. Some of the basic attractive elements of park are: it must be easily accessible for different groups and those who are challenged; it must be safe and well-lighted in the evening; there must be spaces for group activities and also for individuals to rest; innovative recreational facilities are most essential. 

It is essential to involve the local citizen and student community to develop the most attractive design for the proposed People’s Park. There could be no appropriate People’s Park without the involvement of the people. Most important, this green area must be preserved at any cost as the city must maintain all available green spaces to establish “Sustainable Development.” 

At the world level, it has been observed during my travel across the world (from Singapore to Canada via the United States last summer) that people and city councils are now more aware of preserving green spaces and maintaining them. Singapore can be called a green city; starting from the airport (which is filled with orchids and tropical plants) and along the expressway leading to the city and even at the city center (Orchard Street ), you can see green trees and plants all the way.  

In San Francisco, the public spaces within the city have been landscaped meticulously and different levels have been introduced wherever possible. Vancouver too has pockets of green spots within the downtown area which are indeed attractive.  

In Calcutta, there is a large green park similar to Central Park in New York, which was in the process being en-croached upon. In January this year, the citizens protested about such encroachment on a green area and filed a court case. The court directed the state that these greens must be preserved. This is a victory for the environmental groups and they must unite across the world to protect the environment and minimize climate change the world over. 

Krishna P.Bhattacharjee is an architect and city planner and an alumnus of UC Berkeley.

If Berkeley is to lead the world in greatly reducing emissions, the city needs to set a target year of 2020 rather than the 2050 of Measure G. The looming crisis of climate change requires swift action. We can reduce emissions most effectively with a green tax shift. 

There are three basic ways to reduce pollution: regulation, permits, and pollution charges. The first two impose big costs on enterprise and will needlessly reduce living standards and our freedoms. Restrictions and permits costs will be hardest on the poor, as they will have less economic opportunity in a shrinking economy. 

The third method of reducing pollution is to make the polluters pay a tax in proportion to the damage caused. Unlike permits and regulations, a tax on pollution brings in revenue to the government. 

Several countries levy such charges on emissions. Germany taxes emissions that go into its waterways. Western Germany, along the Rhine River, has a lot of chemical factories, and yet, the rivers are quite clean, because of the stiff charge on emissions. 

We can measure the pollution from car exhaust with remote sensing using existing technology. Remote sensors at intersections and freeway exits would be able to detect the emissions from car tailpipes with infrared beams. A camera would record the license number of the vehicle. The devices are inexpensive and would enable the city to charge those who exceed some level of emissions. There would then be no need to regulate the number of cars or amount of driving. 

General taxes, like income and sales taxes, impose what economists call a deadweight loss or excess burden on society. This is the misallocation and waste of resources caused by arbitrarily raising the cost of goods, reducing the quantities produced and reducing investment, and so reducing growth and future wealth. A pollution charge does not have this deadweight loss because the pollution itself is a social cost. If there is no pollution charge, in effect the polluter gets subsidized. The polluter does not pay the full cost of his production. 

The excess burden of taxation in the United States has been calculated by economists as at least a trillion dollars a year. This deadweight loss is a bad thing, but we are living in a unique time in human history, when the deadweight loss of present-day taxation can save humanity from increasing and escalating global warming. It gives us a historic opportunity do make a great leap of fate. It enables us to implement the green tax shift. 

If governments at all levels levy swiftly escalating charges on pollution while simultaneously reducing taxes on income, sales, and buildings, this revenue neutral shift would efficiently reduce pollution while also reducing the deadweight loss of taxes on labor and enterprise. Pollution charges would not be able to replace all the taxes on income, sales, and buildings, so a complete green tax shift would also require a tax on land value or land rent. 

Since land has a fixed supply, a tax on land value does not reduce the supply of land, and so there is no deadweight loss. Landlords cannot pass on the land tax to tenants, because if they try, they get fewer tenants, and vacancies. Moreover, land cannot hide from the tax collector, and land cannot run away to Brazil. There is no way to evade a tax on land if all land is treated the same, taxed in proportion to its potential market value in its highest and best use, regardless of actual use. A land tax is also simple to implement, because the owner does not have to keep complicated records. The title holder gets a bill and pays it, like a utility bill. 

So a complete green tax shift would eliminate taxes on income, sales, and property improvements like buildings, and instead tax pollution and land value. There would also be user fees when a government service has specific beneficiaries. 

The complete green tax shift would increase productivity while greatly reducing pollution. The shackles of paying taxes and keeping records and getting audited would be lifted from the worker, from the entrepreneur, from savings accounts, from merchants selling goods, from consumers, indeed from all beneficial economic activity. We would be taxing something bad—pollution— instead of something good, like labor and enterprise and goods. 

Even the landowner would not have any tax burden after the transition to land-value taxation. A tax on land value reduces the price of land. The owner keeps less of the rent so he bids less for the land. After the transition, what a new owner pays in land tax, he saves in not having to pay for land, and not having to pay so much mortgage interest. 

Taxing pollution is the morally right thing to do and is really the only effective way to swiftly reduce pollution in a big way. It’s good for developed countries, and for developing countries such as India and China. The green tax shift would help all economies. 

We can have it all. We can take advantage of today’s big deadweight loss to do a green tax shift. If we don’t do a green tax shift, if we try regulating and permit trading instead, we will not eliminate the excess burden, but rather increase the costs of enterprise, and this will create political resistance, and pollution will get worse, and ruin our planet. 

The City of Berkeley can lead the way to limiting global warming with its own green tax shift. Tax polluters, and reduce taxes on utilities, business, and buildings. We would have a better economy, a higher standard of living, and much less pollution. Berkeley’s success would inspire others to do likewise. Tell our city council that we need the green tax shift, now!  

Fred Foldvary teaches economics at Santa Clara University and lives in Berkeley. 

KPFA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In “KPFA’s Tradition of Advocacy is Threatened,” in the April 6 issue of the Planet, Marc Sapir attacks Sasha Lilley, KPFA’s interim program director, for upholding KPFA’s policy of requiring that KPFA programmers refrain from overtly endorsing demonstrations and other public activities. But KPFA has followed this policy since sometime in the seventies. 

My question to Marc Sapir: Why attack Sasha Lilley for upholding this policy, without mentioning that it has been KPFA practice for decades? What is your real agenda? 

I have another question, this one for the editors of the Daily Planet. Why did you decide to publish this article? Marc Sapir attacks Sasha Lilley through insinuations and smears. He charges her with “perpetuating internal chaos at the station” without providing any evidence. In the context of his article, his statement that “we should assume that there are...COINTELPRO types operative in this environment” can only be taken as directed at Lilley. But of course Sapir gives no evidence, because there is none. Sapir even includes unsubstantiated, and irrelevant, rumors about Lilley’s parents. His rhetoric is left but his method is the McCarthyite tactic of discrediting one’s target through insinuations that are left unsubstantiated, but are scandalous enough to start tongues wagging, and thus do damage. It is difficult not to conclude that the Planet is so eager to promote controversy that it disregards the quality of the pieces that it publishes, and the merits of the arguments made in them. This style of debate destroys relations within the left, as well as discrediting the left. No doubt there will always be people who will engage in these sorts of tactics. But editors should exercise judgment about what they print. 

Barbara Epstein 

• 

STOP EDITORIALIZING 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Richard Brenneman, seems to have abandoned his usual journalistic impartiality and is now editorializing in his news stories. In his March 30 article covering the Planning Commission meeting of March 28, he referred to the “developer-friendly five-member majority...”, of which I am identified as one. This implies that the other four commissioners are “developer-unfriendly”—that they are allied with those in the city who see themselves as protectors against avaricious developers who would build huge multi-family housing projects and destroy low-density neighborhoods. Brenneman also mischaracterized me as wanting to end all business district quotas.  

To set the record straight: On the quota issue, I don’t pretend to know enough about whether quotas are good or bad for business, and under what circumstances. The Planning Commission was not asked to recommend a change in the Telegraph Avenue quotas for the different categories of business, but to make it possible for a business to exceed the quotas if the Zoning Adjustments Board agrees that it would be good for the district. 

On the “developer-friendly” characterization, many others and I are friendly to the kind of development that enables Berkeley to be a leader in smart, environmentally sensitive and socially responsible growth. To reduce permitted residential densities is inherently anti affordable housing since it reduces the housing production by increasing the cost of development. The reduction of the production of new housing, reduces our ability to bring housing and jobs into balance, and also reduces our ability to produce energy efficient housing. 

I urge Mr. Brenneman to keep to the job of reporting that he does so well and leave editorializing to the editorial page. 

David Stoloff 

• 

WEALTHY PANHANDLERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The commentary by Roland Peterson clarified for me the “Public Commons for Everyone” initiative: “...there are many wealthy, well-housed individuals who behave badly, so there are many homeless who are well-behaved.” 

That’s why I hate going downtown: all those aggressive wealthy panhandlers! 

Myrna Sokolinsky 

• 

PUBLIC COMMONS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Returning from a vacation this week, the pungent odor of urine greeted me at the entrance to the building where I lease office space. Last month on a weekend day afternoon, I observed a man urinating on the wall of the building at the northwest corner of Shattuck Avenue and Durant Street. The public library a block away offers toilet facilities. How many patrons of the soon to close Barnes and Noble across the way noticed this display as well? Arriving at work mornings the sight of feces on the sidewalks near this intersection is common. 

Governments exist, among other reasons, to maintain the streets free of human waste, but this city lacks the willingness to carry out this duty. The mixed reception given the mayor’s public commons proposal shows the absence of consensus that the current state of affairs is intolerable. Something is seriously wrong in the body politic. 

John McDougall 

• 

RED ZONES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I live at 1455 Spruce St. I came home from work today to discover that someone—presumably a city employee under orders from Traffic Engineering—had painted 20-foot red stretches from the corner of Spruce and Vine northward and eastward where no red zone had existed previously. This action immediately obliterated two parking spaces in a neighborhood that is not only severely impacted by parking issues, but where neighbors have fought a pitched battle and spent many thousand of dollars—along with the city—working out parking plans to accommodate the recently relocated Beth El congregation’s parking needs. 

What sense does it make, in light of the negotiated number of parking spaces we have all worked so hard to manage and create, for someone to come along and arbitrarily create red zones where perfectly legal parking spaces had existed? 

By what authority—i.e. where in the city charter—does it say the city traffic engineer or his designee can just come out and paint red zones into residential areas without input from residents? 

Michael Minasian 

• 

HOUSING MONEY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was startled to read that developer Patrick Kennedy and his investor David Teece received over $70 million in tax-exempt bonds from the Association of Bay Area Governments’ Finance Authority for Non-Profit Corporations. Isn’t that money supposed to go to nonprofit affordable housing developers such as Affordable Housing Associates? 

Robert Lauriston 

• 

IN DEFENSE OF CELL PHONES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Recently I read an opinion in your paper regarding hatred for cell phones and claiming users of cell phones are bimbos who prefer not to contemplate the future. 

I was wondering about the “surreal atmosphere in society” mentioned. I don’t experience that. I also wonder who these people are who are “spouting off at the top of their lungs”? Where are they? I ride AC Transit and BART, and I dine in restaurants too, yet I have not seen them, nor have I heard them. 

I enjoy my conversations with friends, family and loved ones on my cell phone as I go about my day (called multi-tasking). Maybe I missed something. I was too busy with the business of my own life to eavesdrop on conversations and to criticize others to the point of thinking they ought to be shot. 

To say that any human being should be lined up at dawn before a firing squad for any reason is utterly ridiculous and extremely rude. It scares me to think anyone would go that far in referring to the use of cell phones. 

Us blonde “bimbos” actually do stroll, meditate, gaze and dream. We are also the same ones who get things done in life, and I found your readers comments to be an extremely offensive attack on me and anyone who has a cell phone. 

Charlotte Lyon 

• 

PUBLIC TRANSIT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In the April 3 edition, Steve Geller earnestly proposes methods to improve bus service and attract riders, but even if all available lines ran every 45 seconds the bus would not suffice considering the travel needed to negotiate today’s world of specialization. 

A Berkeley mother takes her kid to child care in Albany, goes to the chiropractor in Alameda, the psychiatrist in Emeryville, and the doctor in Oakland, except if she needs brain surgery and has Kaiser, then she must go to Palo Alto for that service. Her older children may walk to school, but odds are their teachers had to drive to arrive before the bell. The woman’s father has Alzheimer’s meaning travel out to the rest home. 

Shopping can be hard for the mother to do by bus. To save money she gets groceries from the supermarket, and be it Berkeley Bowl or Safeway, hauling a week’s worth of food by bus is a chore. Too bad there are few mom and pop stores where one could grab a few things on the way from the bus. It is also too bad that ever more jobs need a credential or license —meaning courses to travel to, police departments to visit for fingerprinting, and jobs being filled by someone living 20 miles away, because that person has the credential. 

Ted Vincent 

• 

HYPOCRISY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

“Cheney criticizes Pelosi for Syria visit.” Has this man no shame?! He and Rush Limbaugh got together to bad-mouth Nancy for her travel and diplomacy, playing to the lowest common denominator in the GOP. What about the three Republicans who just recently visited Syria? No, this is more hysterical hypocrisy from the harpies of hell. 

Ron Lowe 

Grass Valley 

• 

SOUTHEAST BERKELEY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I’ve lived here 20 years and I rarely hear anyone call the Berkeley hills called “Southeast Berkeley,” Of course, since your article was about racism in that area, maybe it sounds better to say “southeast.” That way we might think it’s a rough area of town, rather than the upscale area that it really is. 

Kate Harper 

• 

GLOBAL WARMING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Last week the Supreme Court confirmed what science has continued to prove, that global warming is a reality that needs to be addressed. By deeming carbon dioxide emissions, like those from cars, trucks and power plants, subject to federal regulation, the government is finally taking a step towards combating global warming.  

Although this is a positive step, a very obvious component of global warming is being ignored: people. The more people on the planet, the more emissions are released into the air. Professor Tim Dyson of the London School of Economics indicates that even a 40 percent cut in per capita carbon emissions in the developed world could be completely canceled out by 2050—due to global population growth. 

Simply providing viable information and family planning resources can help curb this population growth. When women and couples are free to make their own informed choices and have access to family planning resources, they choose to have smaller families.  

Globally, at least 350 million couples lack family planning services. Certainly the lack of family planning services in underdeveloped countries is an enormous problem, but we can start by looking in our own back yard. In the United States, one-third of all births are unintended. We have the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the developed world.  

It is obvious that Bush’s “Abstinence Only” sex education is not working. From giving faulty information that “condoms don’t work” to withholding information about birth control, the upcoming bearers of children in one of the world’s most developed nations is being denied the right to make informed decisions. But by pushing for a change to comprehensive sex education, we have a chance to give our teenagers that same right that is now being championed in many less developed countries.  

It’s vital to focus on technical issues such as tax credits, energy alternatives and emissions trading programs. But cutting energy consumption must be coupled with stabilizing population, especially in the United States, where less than 5 percent of the world’s population produces about 25 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. And the best way to stabilize population is by giving our women the right to make an informed decision about their bodies.  

Georgia Gann 

Berkeley Field Organizer,  

Population Connection 

• 

EVIL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

On Wednesday April 4, President Bush addressed U.S. troops at Fort Irwin. He referred to a suicide bombing where terrorists allegedly used two children to get through a checkpoint and then exploded the car as strengthening his resolve to continue the war in Iraq. He said, “It makes me realize the nature of the enemy we face, which hardens my resolve to protect the American people. People who do that are not—it’s not a civil war, it is pure evil. And I believe we have an obligation to protect ourselves from that evil.” 

If this incident occurred, it is indeed morally reprehensible, but to hear Bush describe the killing of children as evil makes me want to gag at the hypocrisy. Over 650,000 Iraqis have died as a result of U.S. forces under Bush invading the country. How many of these were children? And did I miss the president condemning the sanctions imposed on Iraq after the first Gulf War during his father’s presidency and then continued under Clinton and then again under his own regime? By most accounts at least half a million children died as a result of these economic sanctions. Where was Bush’s moral outrage then?  

If killing two children in a car bombing is evil, then how do you describe acts that kill hundreds of thousands, Mr. President? War crimes? Crimes against humanity? Should a man responsible for the deaths of so many children be impeached? How do we “protect ourselves from that evil” Mr. Bush? 

Kenneth J. Theisen 

Oakland 

• 

A FAUSTIAN BARGAIN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A theme that emerges from a surge of new books is that the ship of state constructed over two centuries ago has lost is moorings. For example, in a class characterized by ominous forebodings you’ll find Chalmers Johnson’s trilogy, Blowback, The Sorrows of Empire, and Nemesis or in a different class you can find Noam Chomsky’s densely crafted Hegemony or Survival in which nuggets of unflattering facts strip naked our government’s royal clothing, or check out Jeremy Scahill’s Blackwater that exposes the contribution a mighty mercenary army is making to the Iraq disaster. All together this library advances a single thesis: As a nation we have failed so often to live up to the promises of our birth that we have come to change those promises willy-nilly to fit the nefarious goals we, as a nation, have come to pursue. 

Alarming instances are reported each day, sometimes explicitly, by the mainstream media. Often appearances hide the truth and just as often a small victory hides a large defeat. Let this one stand for the many. 

Both houses of Congress passed resolutions that urged but did not require that the president prepare to withdraw our troops from Iraq.  

Properly understood, these legislative acts conceded that the nation’s dignity (what’s left of it) is worth the death and dismemberment of tens of thousands more, ours and theirs. Thus, members of Congress voted for a “timetable” that, in effect, will trade blood for dignity. 

It is a sign of the times that the men and women now in the majority are capable of boasting about such a Faustian bargain.  

Marvin Chachere 

San Pablo 

A TRUE LANDMARK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was shocked when I heard that the Berkeley School Board voted to demolish the Gym at Berkeley High School. As a person born and raised in Berkeley, attending public schools, I have fond memories of the Gym. I first learned to dive off the high diving board there. My favorite gym class was modern dance and my friends and I spent many hours practicing for performances in the studio on the second floor located on the southern end of the Gym. 

I am a former special education teacher and was fortunate to spend my last years teaching in the Berkeley School District. I taught all grade levels as a teacher of the Visually Impaired. While working on the high school campus with students, I visited the Gym and, though the Gym had undergone many years of almost benign neglect, I was delighted to find that the beautiful wood floors are in amazingly good condition. The building has stood up surprisingly well considering the neglect it has suffered over the many decades since I attended Berkeley High. 

I don’t understand why this beautiful old gym, a wonderful example of more graceful times, must be demolished. Why has there been no serious consideration and public discussion about rehabilitating it?  

I would urge the mayor and councilmembers to look at what has been done with other historical school sites in this city: Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, Longfellow Elementary, John Muir Elementary, Berkeley Arts Elementary, to name a few. Surely the same could be done with the Berkeley High gym. It certainly meets the criteria for a city landmark on many different levels. I would hate to think that the mayor and City Council, supposedly so concerned with environmental issues and professing to want to make a difference in the world, would turn their backs on all the resources—including several thousand square feet of beautiful wood in nearly excellent condition—that would be completely wasted if the demolition of the gym complex was to occur. Rehabilitation and re-use seems so much more in keeping with the principles that so many of us in Berkeley believe in. 

Finally, I would like to mention the graceful setback of the gym that is so pleasing to passing pedestrians and drivers alike. If we seriously want to begin to make a dent in the conservation of the world’s resources, why not begin in our own back yard and save and restore this grand old building for our young people and community to enjoy in the decades to come? It would compliment and enhance other historic buildings in the city’s Civic Center: City Hall, the Veterans’s Building, the Main Post Office, to name only a few. I am hoping that the Landmarks Preservation Commission will do the right thing and vote to preserve this grand old structure that the Berkeley School Board so carelessly dismissed. 

Susan Chase 

A FEW CORRECTIONS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I write in needed response to the Wendy Walker-Moffat’s March 16 commentary “Independent Study Program at Risk.” 

Although this is an important and well-written commentary, I would like to make some corrections, and add some facts, and opinions from someone who spent the years from 1999 to 2005 working with students at the Independent Study facility. Hans Barnum was never a student at the Alternative High School. He wrote the piece quoted while he and his brother both were City of Berkeley Youth Commissioners (2003-2007). At that time Hans attended the Independent Study Program on the same campus location as the Alternative High School, and was completely familiar with the issues and events there. He wrote that piece because he was becoming extremely dissatisfied with the lack of BUSD’s response to student needs at both the Alternative High and the Independent Study Program. 

Both Hans and his brother, Nils, left the Berkeley Unified School District to attend a distance learning charter school independent study program in 2005. The reason they changed schools was because BUSD had sadly changed direction, (since replacing the very competent 1999-2004 directors of Independent Studies), in ways that both youth commissioners saw were causing harm to the students. This was not only because of the poor quality of new leadership at the Independent Study facility itself in 2005, but was also due to BUSD’s years of unresponsive, top-down management style which has seldom responded to the voices of BUSD students and their families.  

Since 2005, enrolled in a more supportive environment than offered by BUSD, and which is very responsive to the needs of students, both of these former BUSD students have passed the CAHSEE with very high scores (having only completed the ninth grade!), and are now straight A students in their new charter school. BUSD needs to take a look at the results of what has been happening to students in recent years, and when that look makes clear that the academic achievement rate is not what parents want for their children, and that other matters important to the students and their families are regularly being disregarded, then a change in leadership is what is needed for BUSD. 

To act in a costly manner to seriously disrupt the students and faculty, and diminish what little they now have, for unnecessary and poorly thought out change, is not a solution. Students do not need more mismanagement of the money taxpayers intend to be used to educate them. Those tax dollars are not intended to be used as an exercise in bureaucratic experimentation for which there is no reason to believe there will be any improvement in the quality of education of the students at risk because of BUSD’s errors. 

The cost of disrupting student populations could instead be spent on quality textbooks and other important materials that we are not now supplying students, services for teen-age high school students with children of their own, the serious drug problems at Berkeley High School, the lack of sufficient tutoring programs, disabled student services, improved wages and conditions for teachers, and many other educational needs that are now not being sufficiently met by BUSD. It is time to look at a much needed change in the leadership at BUSD. Merely disrupting the education of students, to try some haphazard approach to changing any inefficiencies, which the current leadership is not only unwilling to understand but is in a large part responsible for, is not an answer to improving education in Berkeley. We need to take a close look at the BUSD (mis)management problem that is the root of our children not getting the education from this school district that we are paying for, and stop trying to treat the symptoms instead of the disease.  

Patty Pink

There has been much discussion recently on the merits of the proposed development of the Oak-to-Ninth waterfront. 

The Oak-to-Ninth is a world-class site that “merits a seriously big-time international design competition, instead of just another routine Big Ugly Box condo development on steroids” (Becky O’Malley, Daily Planet). 

The current project not only sets aside the well-considered Estuary Policy Plan that was approved unanimously by the then sitting City Council, it is a “public rip-off of historic proportions” (Wilson Riles). 

These are the reasons that a group of citizens mobilized to exercise their First Amendment rights to petition for a referendum. Twenty-five thousand and sixty eight signatures were collected in three weeks in opposition to the ordinance approving the sale of this public land. 

The signatures were triumphantly turned in Aug. 17. However, City Attorney John Russo sided with the developers and disqualified the petitions claiming that it did not include the proper ordinance—even though the ordinance that petitioners used was the one that had been approved by the City Council. 

But the city made mistakes regarding the process used in approving the Oak-to-Ninth project.  

The city is obligated by its charter to provide the citizens and the City Council the proper ordinance before the second reading so that everyone knows what is going to be approved. 

The ordinance that was used by the petitioners was the version that the City Council voted on and available for the public to comment on. But it turns out that it was not the version that the city now claims is the “final” version of the ordinance.  

The city staff continued to modify the documents to come up with the final version and it was not submitted to the city clerk’s office until nine days after the council voted on July 18. 

The “final” version of the ordinance cannot be considered legally approved since the City Council did not vote on this “final” version and the public didn’t have an opportunity to comment on it. 

If John Russo can disqualify the petitions because they did not include the “final” version of the ordinance, he has an equal obligation to disqualify the “final” version of the ordinance itself since it was not the one voted by the council or the once available to the public for review. 

If the current project goes forward it will become a monument to the Old Oakland of backroom deals, when the city was a supplicant to developers’ whims and needs. 

The Oak-to-Ninth should instead be a world class waterfront envisioned by the City Council in the Estuary Policy Plan and by the voters in passing measure DD. It should be an emblem of a new Oakland as a beautiful waterfront city. 

I urge John Russo and Mayor Dellums to step forward in defense of Oakland’s people and its amazing potential as a waterfront city to achieve what it deserves rather than this ill-conceived giveaway to a developer. 

Once the waterfront is gone it will be gone forever. 

Akio Tanaka is an Oakland resident.

Marc Sapir’s April 6 commentary is an amalgam of factual inaccuracies, crisis-mongering, and unprincipled attacks on my character. That Sapir has launched an ad hominem attack on me is no surprise, given his track record of lashing out at KPFA staff for the past several years. But I was surprised that he chose to both agent-bait and red-bait me (and, bizarrely, my parents), in an attempt to discredit my work as KPFA’s interim program director. 

Here are the facts: 

There is no new rule against advocacy at the station. For the past three decades at least, KPFA has had a policy against “calls to action” that order listeners to attend events, such as stating that “you must come to this” or “be there.” Not only is it long-standing policy at KPFA and Pacifica, but it is standard procedure at community radio stations, owing to issues of liability. 

While staff have been sent reminders of station policy, no one at KPFA has been disciplined for making calls to action and no one is about to be “purged.” (Furthermore, Sapir is wrong in stating that Hard Knock Radio’s Davey D violated the call to action policy when he recently interviewed Fred Hampton Jr.) 

KPFA was founded on a mission of fostering cultural expression, investigating the causes of conflict, and engaging in radio that contributes to a lasting understanding between nations and individuals. We take that mission very seriously. We encourage KPFA programmers to announce demonstrations as often as they want and to give details on locations, times, schedules for when buses leave to demonstrations, etc.—anything short of directly telling listeners to attend events. Guests, however, can come on the air and freely urge listeners to attend rallies and demonstrations. The assumption is that listeners are savvy enough to make up their own minds without being told what to do by the station. 

What concerns me about Sapir’s hit piece is that, however riddled with falsehoods, it may leave the impression that KPFA does not allow announcements about the efforts to end the brutal US occupation of Iraq. Nothing could be further from the truth.  

We are very proud of the coverage that KPFA did this past month for the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, which included numerous announcements of demonstrations surrounding the anniversary. This coverage far outstripped what was done last year for the third anniversary of the occupation (before my appointment to this position). 

This time last year, KPFA broadcast from just one anti-war demonstration and did very little regular programming themed to the Iraq invasion anniversary. In contrast, this year KPFA did two live broadcasts from demonstrations opposing the occupation. We produced live coverage of the large demonstration in San Francisco on March 18, hosted by Davey D and Malihe Razazan and produced by Trinh Le, and covered the rally in front of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on the 19th, hosted by C.S. Soong and produced by Aaron Glantz. 

KPFA also produced special programming connected to the war throughout the weekend of March 17 and 18, including a four-hour jazz against war special and a two-hour special of the bilingual Rock en Rebelion. Programming marking the Iraq occupation anniversary played throughout the day on March 19, the actual anniversary of the war. KPFA also did extensive announcements of the anti-war demonstrations on its public affairs, music and arts programming. Each night of the week leading up to the anniversary, the Evening News announced demonstrations throughout Northern and Central California. Management asked KPFA’s Web director to create a web page to announce anti-war demonstrations (kpfa.org/demonstrations) and on-air recorded messages announcing our demonstration coverage—including the locations of the demonstrations we were broadcasting from—directed people to that web page.  

I’d like to thank all those many hard-working programmers and staff members at KPFA, including members of our First Voice Apprenticeship Program, who made our war commemoration coverage so successful. Their work highlights the fact that, as KPFA celebrates its 58th birthday this month, our commitment to shining a harsh spotlight on the causes of war is as strong today as it was in 1949 when KPFA came on the air. 

Sasha Lilley is interim program director for KPFA Radio. 

As a University of California Berkeley student and an avid supporter of the Cal Football team, I support the plan to construct a new training center for our student-athletes and to seismically upgrade Memorial Stadium. I believe that the successful completion of this project will benefit the school and the city. A highly successful athletic program brings in more money to the university, and the subsequent development of the area can help the city by potentially increasing the tax base. 

However, as a student in a planning class, I realize that some of the points that the city presents are valid concerns. The Alquist-Priolo Act that has been referenced in different articles does indeed require specialized testing for the presence of active fault zones. The use of this act in court to try and halt the development, though, seems ineffective; the university has already conducted testing in the area as part of their environmental impact report. The act does not prohibit any development as long as there are no active fault areas inside the zone. If the additional testing that is required proves that there are no fault traces in the development area, the city will only have wasted the taxpayer’s money by spending the time in court and caused an inconvenience to the university. 

The other issues that have been brought to bear against the project are little more than an attempt to confuse the issue by groups that want to get their way. The Panoramic Hill Association is against the project because they feel the additional activity would inconvenience them. However, the project plans for the stadium at this time actually call for fewer seats; there could be as many as 10,000 fewer fans attending each game. Also, the inclusion of a parking garage near the stadium will mean less parking on the street around the stadium. Although traffic may be slower for a few hours, the streets will potentially be less crowded overall. As such, Saturday afternoons would likely be less congested than they currently are if the new plan goes through. 

The other issue that is hotly contested is the proposed redevelopment of the oak grove to the west of Memorial Stadium. The tree-sitting groups claim that the coast live oaks are an essential part of the ecosystem. However, the university has plans to replant more trees than it will remove. In addition, the majority of the trees in the existing grove were planted after the stadium was constructed, and are not ancient and irreplaceable. The city’s attempt to use their coast live oak moratorium to halt the removal of the trees is invalid. While the trees are technically “within” the city’s borders, they are planted on California state property. Since the state is a higher level entity than the city, the states rules should take precedence over any city rules. The university is therefore not subject to this city law, and there is really no issue that prevents the redevelopment of the area. 

In the interest of continued healthy relations between the city and the university, it would be most beneficial for the two groups to meet outside of court and resolve their differences. The construction of the training center is vital to the continued success of the university’s athletics. I believe the remaining tree-sitters should be removed for trespassing on state property, and that the city should allow the training center to move forward. The university, in return, should study other potential sites for the parking garage, in an attempt to ease traffic concerns. There is no need for this to degenerate into a long and bloody battle.  

Colin Hawley-Snow is a UC Berkeley student. 

Do we need fewer oaks and more jocks? UC Berkeley seems to believe that we do. There is a plan to tear down a woodland grove of coast live oaks and several redwoods only to build a new sports training facility. Although these oaks are protected under the City of Berkeley’s Live Oak Protection Ordinance, the university claims that because it is a state institution they are “not obliged to obey local environmental laws.” A grassroots citizens’ campaign has sprung made up of various leaders, students, and community members to pressure the university to reconsider, look for other sites to build the facility, and save the oaks!  

However, there are those who believe that since Berkeley has some of the worse facilities in collegiate athletics, this is a necessary project. But I ask myself, what makes them so sure that with this new facility the football program will become more successful? What are the guarantees? And if they are in such a dire need for a new facility, why wait two years—the amount of time it would take to build—for this space when they can build it somewhere else?  

There are already four lawsuits filed in Alameda Superior Court challenging the environmental impact report for the university’s Southeast Campus Integrated Projects. The lawsuits are based on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act. The university is ignoring the fact that the location of the stadium is dangerous. It is placed directly above the Hayward Fault, an active earthquake fault in a hazardous fire area. This area has been listed by federal and state officials as a “high-risk target served by a limited and convoluted road networks makes no sense.”  

Thus, the university is not only ignoring the environmental impacts but also transportation. As the officials note, the road networks in that area are limited and extremely congested. The roads follow the periphery of the university buildings thus there is always a lot of traffic, especially during rush hours. In case of an emergency, the area would be difficult to reach. John M. Levy, a renowned city planner, states, “The automobile exacts a variety of hidden costs that are not so covered—air pollution; death and injury from accidents; and a more scattered pattern of land use.” Thus, not only is this going to create more congestion but it can also lead to greater health risks for the citizens and visitors of Berkeley. 

Recently it was made public that Native American remains were discovered in the Memorial Oak Grove in 1923. It is a sacred site for the Native American people. Therefore, not only is the environmental incident report not being reviewed properly for all environmental impacts, but it also did not address the archeological significance of the site. The native people are not remaining silent and hosted a press conference at Memorial Oak Grove. One of the speakers Morning Star addressed the problem. “Why is it that recreation is being chosen over the desecration of our homelands and of our burial sites, our ancestors aren’t able to rest. And so we are here today to say that UC Berkeley and the City Council of Berkeley does not support native peoples in their struggle to practice their culture and to continue on our traditions… and so we’re here today…to say that we are not going to allow this expansion of this parking to here over these burial sites of these…another desecration that has been dug up.” 

The university’s proposed renovation of Memorial Stadium and construction of the $125 million sports training center is creating much controversy among students and citizens. Sadly, UC only cares about the money and supposed success it will bring to the football program and is ignoring the cry of the people to Save the Oaks and save the sacred burial land. It is ridiculous that they are trying to evade the law protecting these live oaks under the conception that they belong to the state government. Back when congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) they recognized that “in cooperation with state and local governments, and other concerned public and private organizations…[they would] promote the general welfare, to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony.” This project does not respect this harmony and should not move forward. The people are speaking, Save the Ooaks!  

Gabriela Urena is a Berkeley resident.

“You’re Never Too Old to Camp.” Ha! In response to Marta Yamamoto’s article in the March 13 edition, I have to say that I was already too old in my 20s to go camping. No one I grew up with in Atlanta in the 1930s and 1940s had gone camping or intended to go camping ever. In the early 1950s, when I was a college student, I had a brief experience as a counselor at a summer camp for children, and one night I camped on the ground with a group of children. 

By the time I was drafted in 1953, I had almost forgotten my first camping experience when, during my period of involuntary servitude, I had to sleep in a pup tent for a week during basic training in below-freezing weather without a sleeping bag (only blankets). I did not enjoy it. Then, in the early 1960s, as a newly married man, I was invited by my wife to go camping at Yosemite. We pulled into Tuolumne Meadows after dark and were told the campground was filled, but we could piggy-back on another campsite which was already occupied. When we awakened the next morning, we were the only ones within view sleeping directly on the ground in sleeping bags without a tent or camper. That was OK. I’m not modest. That was, I have to admit, a nice experience—a sea of stars in a black sky stand out in memory. 

Later on, after we had children, we took our three boys on a camping trip. We loaded up the car and took off. When we were getting established at the campsite and it was approaching dinnertime, we discovered that I had neglected to bring the box containing the tableware. I was all ready to carve chopsticks out of twigs, but our kids were not quite old enough to handle them, so we drove back home. 

There used to be a saying in the Decorative Art Department at Cal, before it became the Design Department, that the principal role of architecture was to keep the rain off the decorative arts. But another role of architecture, for us non-campers, is to keep you away from the outside. On the other hand, the experienced campers will have an easier time of it after the Big One, when much of the architecture will no longer keep the rain off the decorative arts or us. 

Ms. Yamamoto, in her article, talks of mosquitoes, yellow jackets, and moths with great tolerance. I was under the impression that human beings were at the top of the food chain until I realized that human beings are food for mosquitoes. And moths are not a good memory for me, since I encountered moths with seven-inch wingspans in Japan. 

But there was another camping trip to Mt. St. Helena my wife and I went on organized by Michael Ellis, of Footloose Forays, which was almost pleasant. We slept on the ground in a tent, too far from the bathroom, but the espresso from Michael’s camping-stove-top espresso pot made everything okay. And a hike one day was beautiful until, as we returned to the campsite, we encountered rain, snow, sleet, and hail all in one-half hour. 

And then there was the camping trip with our sons and dog Raku. We slept in a borrowed pup tent with the dog, who was required by the campground rules to be confined to a tent or vehicle when not on leash. In the middle of the night, Raku wanted to investigate something outside the tent, so she clawed her way through the flimsy mosquito netting. We had to buy a new tent for my brother-in-law, from whom we had borrowed the tent. 

So the memories of my very few camping experiences are a mixed blessing after all—some good memories, some bad. Now in my seventies, I don’t want to sleep anywhere it’s cold and not near a bathroom. The insects will have to get their food from somebody else. But when and if the Big One comes, I’ll reconsider. 

Alan R. Meisel is a Berkeley resident.

We hear news every day about the “greening” of our world. Architects are designing with green materials, contractors are installing recycled floors, and appliances are put into kitchen and laundry rooms that use less energy. People buy products (from light bulbs to clothing) that show that we care for our environment. Some days it seems overwhelming! “What can I do about it?” can seem daunting. 

The one thing everyone can do, every day, to help our planet survive in tack for our grandchildren, is to recycle. Included in that category is the recycling of our food wastes: composting! If we compost food scraps and kitchen papers we will go a long way of reaching our goal of “Zero Waste” in the next ten years. 

When organic matter is put in the landfill it produces methane, which is a greenhouse gas and adds to climate change. The trash we threw out in the 1950’s did not decompose or break down: in fact, the newspapers can still be read today that say “Eisenhower elected President!” Recycling your paper, bottles, and cans is important, but so is recycling your greens, i.e. composting! 

There are two ways in which your household can stop organic matter from going to the landfill: 1) You can put your food scraps and kitchen papers in your own backyard compost bin (as 50 percent of Berkeley folks do now), or 2) Pending City Council approval, you will be able to put your compostables into your green cart along with your tree trimmings, cut grasses, and dead leaves. (My own personal goal is to break myself of the habit of using paper towels and the occasional paper napkin.) 

The contents of the green cart is taken to Modesto, where Grover Landscaping Company grinds it, screens it, piles it in long wind-rows, turns it every three days, gives it a sprinkling of water, and lets the sun “cook” it into rich, fine compost in ten weeks! Grover gives the city (for our parks, community and school gardens) a portion of it, and the rest is sold to farmers in the central valley.  

If you want to compost at home, a compost bin can be purchased at a reduced rate through stopwaste.org, or by calling 444-SOIL. I collect my orange peels, onion skins, carrot ends, dead flowers and other green matter in a covered pail under my kitchen sink, and every 5 days I take it to my backyard compost bin. There I layer it with dried leaves, turn it, and sprinkle it with water. It will break down in a matter of weeks. Now that it’s spring, I can put some of this dark, rich compost in my flower and vegetable garden! 

Beebo Turman is a Berkeley resident.

Where is all of this green stuff taking us? Who is in charge? Is this a Green Revolution? I’m waist deep in this sustainability muck and I haven’t a clue. Many say that time is short. The problems are huge—that there are more problems to fix than Gore’s climate challenge. Some suggest that drastic measures to control the planet’s population are required stop the destruction of our natural resource base. The list of problems is endless. 

So—go organic! Go hybrid! Go recycle. Localize the movement. Are these but “software fixes” for a dying planet? That ‘ol Bill Gates download-and-install mentality in action? 

Is the Green Wave a revolution of things? Hemp shirts, Green hot tubs, bamboo floors; are Green businesses really providing us with Green solutions? What does Green profit really mean to you? 

While I agree that anything we can do to bring about a greener, more sustainable society is wise, I wonder what model we need to apply to change the world system? Is it a “new green dot-com approach” where we slowly transform traditional products to full life cycle ready consumer goods, or do you advocate a “picket the City Hall” pitch a.k.a. the anti-war movement?  

Many simply strive to not be pious, overbearing, fanatical and militant about their green lifestyle. They buy those re-usable bags for family and friends for their groceries and sell us on the positives: convenience, ease to carry the goods, and of course environmental reward. Eat organic, local and sustainable produce. Be Healthy! 

Ponder the example now playing out in the Bolivarian Revolution started by Chavez in Venezuela. It’s a community-based, bottom up approach currently being leveraged all over Latin and South American and by some of the poor souls in New Orleans. Red or Green? 

Others are working in the Fair Trade movement to help shift the imbalance and inequity in the global marketplace and by improving working conditions for growers. Cup of coffee? 

Green is ours for the making! Better get involved. At right are some groups where you can learn about your seeds. 

Willi Paul is a Certified Green Business consultant in Alameda County. 

Benicia Inconvenient Group (B.I.G.) 

www.cafevoltairebenicia.com/BIG.html 

B.I.G.’s mission is to develop local and global principles and actions to promote sustainable lifestyles and economies. 

Green Rock — Bermuda 

http://Greenrock.org 

Green Rock wants to encourage and empower individuals and companies to do their part in making Bermuda socially, economically and environmentally sustainable for future generations. 

Sustainable Living Roadshow (SLR) 

www.sustainablelivingroadshow.org 

SLR is a touring group created to educate, entertain, inspire and empower individuals and communities across the globe with information and tools necessary to live in more direct sustainable harmony with the earth. It represents a new paradigm of businesses, travel, education and entertainment. See them in 2008. 

Bay Localize 

www.bayarearelocalize.org 

Bay Localize is building a more self-reliant, sustainable, and socially just Bay Area. They develop tools that identify local opportunities, connect grassroots groups and policymakers, and advance projects that enhance regional self-reliance, sustainability, and equity.

Our conservative friends—the traditional ones, not the pretenders who currently set White House policy—have long cautioned us to be careful about making new law. It is often accomplished in haste, but repented at leisure. Sometimes, we should listen to our conservative friends. They are not always wrong. 

So it is with SB1489, recently revived and reincarnated as SB67, also known as the “U’Kendra Johnson Memorial Act,” also known as State Sen. Don Perata’s sideshow car confiscation bill. Passed in haste under false pretenses during Oakland’s sideshow panic in 2002—it was named after a 22-year-old Oakland woman whose death was directly caused by a high-speed police chase, not a sideshow—the law only had a five-year life, with a built-in provision to examine its impacts, to assess both its value and its dangers, and to contemplate its renewal. Unfortunately, Californians are currently rushing through the review—if you can call it that—quicker than the original enactment. 

The bill’s renewal, which has already passed the California Senate Public Committee unanimously and is currently set for an April 16 hearing before the Appropriations Committee, reads that when “a peace officer determines” that an individual is “engaged in reckless driving on a highway, reckless driving in an off-street parking facility, or an exhibition of speed on a highway,” the peace officer can seize that car, and the city or county involved can hold the car for 30 days. The legal owner can retrieve the car earlier under certain circumstances. Otherwise, aside from any other fines or criminal penalties, the owner is responsible for paying both the towing and 30-day storage fees. 

The average reader may ask why I have made such a big deal about this? If you listen for a moment, I’ll explain. 

The problem with Mr. Perata’s sideshow confiscation law is that it neatly reverses the presumption of guilt or innocence, a presumption which we thought was an integral and necessary part of American law, with deep roots in English common law. For that reason alone, we never should have allowed it. 

Under the American Constitutional standard of the presumption of innocence, a person charged with a crime must be brought to trial, before a court independent of the charging party, and found guilty before a sentence can be imposed. It is the foundation of American criminal law. 

But that is completely overturned in Mr. Perata’s sideshow confiscation law. 

Read the paragraph above, again, which tells how the law is triggered. Punishment—the confiscation of the car, and its impoundment for a 30-day period—begins when “a peace officer determines” that a crime has been committed. Thus, easily, fluidly, effortlessly, with barely a whimper in protest from conservatives or civil libertarians alike, what we thought was sacred to our Constitution is tossed and abandoned. 

But it gets worse, my friends. 

In Oakland, to meet the various exceptions that allows an owner to retrieve the car before the 30-day impoundment period is up, the owner must appear—not before an independent court headed by a judge—but before a hearing officer who works for the City of Oakland, the same city government which was responsible for seizing the vehicle in the first place. 

The sideshow car confiscation law also has a problem with defining the offenses which trigger that confiscation. When it was drafted by Mr. Perata in 2002, SB1489 (now reincarnated as SB67) piggybacked onto existing state law which already allowed 30-day impoundments for “motor vehicle speed contests.” Those things are easily defined and understood—we know them as “racing.” 

But as much as some people confuse the two, sideshows have never involved racing. Instead, the activity most associated with the events are what is called “siding” or “doing donuts,” in which drivers perform intricate, controlled car maneuvers in a confined space, with the engine torqued up, usually accompanied by smoke from the rubber burning off the tires, often leaving a dark pattern behind in the pavement. To bring this type of activity under the new law, Mr. Perata added the provisions “reckless driving” and “exhibition of speed” to the original “motor vehicle speed contest” offense which triggered the law’s penalties. 

That in itself seems impermissibly and fatally vague to leave to the sole discretion of a police officer’s judgment as to guilt or innocence, but Oakland, under the since-department administration of Mayor Jerry Brown—did not leave it there. 

In a memo to the city administrator entitled “Status Report from the Chief of Police on the Abatement of Cruising/Sideshow Activities in the Jack London Square/Lower Broadway Area,” issued in January of 2002, former Oakland Police Chief Richard Word defined sideshow activity as including “cruising, loud music, loitering, and various events designed to demonstrate the prowess of individual vehicles (e.g., spinning “donuts” and “laying rubber”).” And, in fact, it is this broader, more inclusive definition of the triggering event—playing loud music while riding in a car, for example—that at least some Oakland police have been using to enforce Mr. Perata’s sideshow confiscation bill. 

In the most well-known application of that expanded sideshow offense definition, 41-year-old African-American Oakland resident and basketball coach Eugene Davis had his van seized by Oakland police in the summer of 2005 in East Oakland while Mr. Davis was driving two of his team members home. His offense, according to the police? Playing his car radio too loud. Eventually, Mr. Davis got both his van and some of his money back from the impoundment lot, as well as a public apology from Police Chief Wayne Tucker. But that, perhaps, was only because Mr. Davis had the help of Oakland police monitors in the PUEBLO organization, and the fact that Mr. Davis’ activity—even if he was playing his van radio “too loud” while riding through East Oakland—did not remotely fit the category that state legislators intended when they passed Mr. Perata’s sideshow car confiscation ordinance. If Mr. Davis had been 23 instead of 41, most people hearing about his situation would have assumed that he was guilty. Solely on the word of an unknown, unnamed police officer. 

We also know of the most horrific result of the bill, the shooting of three Latino youth from Sacramento while the youth were walking through East Oakland streets in the early morning hours last September. The youth were walking on the streets because Oakland police had seized their car on the word of one of the officers that the youth had been doing donuts, leaving them to make their way out of Oakland on foot, the best way they could. This was a violation of Oakland police policy, which says that drivers and passengers should not be left out on the street after a car is seized, but that police should conduct them to a safe location. 

But these are just the two most publicized abuses of Mr. Perata’s sideshow car confiscation law. How many others are there? 

When the California Legislature originally passed Mr. Perata’s bill in 2002, it provided for a procedure for us to find out. The bill was scheduled to last only until the end of 2006, at which time Oakland, or any other interested city, could return to Sacramento and say that the law continued to be necessary, and ask that it be renewed. Inherent in that “sunset” provision would be that Oakland—which had originally requested the law—provide facts and figures in a detailed study as to how the law had been applied and what were its effects, as well as having officials present themselves for questioning by state legislators. 

So far, both Oakland officials and state legislators have failed to do that. 

Neither the City of Oakland nor State Sen. Perata came to the legislature last year to ask for renewal of the original bill in time to meet the sunsetting deadline, which would be an indication that neither the city nor the senator thought the law was all that important. And so the law expired, in January of 2007. But then came both the city and Mr. Perata, insisting that the law was important, so important that it must now be reinstated on an “urgency” basis, without the usual scrutiny that ought to be used when a basic Constitutional right is breached. 

How lax was that scrutiny? At the first hearing on SB67, held before the Senate Public Safety Committee last month, Captain David Kozicki, representing the Oakland Police Department and the man who has run OPD’s sideshow abatement program since its beginning, said that “the law hasn’t been used that much in Oakland. Maybe 25 times since it was passed.” “Maybe” 25 times in five years? Wasn’t he sure? Was there some report somewhere, either to the legislature itself or to the City of Oakland, to back that up? Anxious to get on the other business, the assembled State Senators did not ask Mr. Kozicki to clarify further. 

Myself, I’m not so anxious. I’ve put in a public records act request to the Oakland Police Department, asking for their records on the use of Mr. Perata’s sideshow car confiscation law over the last five years, how many times it has actually been imposed, for what offenses, and under what circumstances. 

If we are going to suspend parts of the Constitution in Oakland, which dearly treasures its progressive reputation, we ought to know why, and what for don’t you think? Or are you not interested because, after all, you believe it only involves people participating in sideshows? But if no one is asking the questions, how do you know that’s true? 

Facing Albany Hill at the extreme northwestern corner of Berkeley is the Thousand Oaks neighborhood, subdivided in 1909. Noted for its scenic beauty, Thousand Oaks is also the land of a thousand rocks. These silica-rich volcanic rocks, named Northbrae rhyolite by geologist Andrew Lawson, are scattered wherever the eye may fall. Some of the largest may be found in public parks donated to the city by the Mason-McDuffie realty company, but many more are hidden from view in private gardens or under houses. 

Thousand Oaks developer John Hopkins Spring sold lots in the new tract with the promise that he would build his own home there. Although he reputedly owed more than a million dollars at the time, Spring was true to his word. He engaged architect John Hudson Thomas, who had made a name for himself as a designer of imposing houses, and in 1912–14 erected a 12,000-square-foot mansion, built entirely of reinforced concrete. 

One of the earliest and largest homes built in Thousand Oaks in Spring’s wake was Villa della Rocca, the residence of Stephen Joseph Sill (1856–1930) and his wife, Victorine Grace Harlan Sill (1858–1944), constructed in 1913. 

Stephen Sill was president of S.J. Sill Co., the largest retail grocery concern in the East Bay. Both he and his wife were born in the Sacramento delta and grew up in Woodland, Yolo County. Their fathers were farm owners active in civic affairs. Stephen’s father sometimes doubled as public administrator, while Victorine’s father, the conservative Democrat Joseph H. Harlan, was elected to the state Senate in 1879. 

Married in 1886, the Sills moved from Woodland to Berkeley in 1900. Mr. Sill established a tony grocery store at 2201 Shattuck Ave. that catered to the town elite and grew in leaps and bounds. Within two years, Sill had added a second storefront and included delicacies and fruit in his merchandise. Two years later, the business was incorporated and occupied three storefronts on Shattuck and a fourth on Allston Way. By 1906, another store had been opened at 2447 Telegraph Ave. The 1908 directory now listed the Shattuck store address as 2201–2209, and the merchandise also included vegetables and hardware. Bakery goods followed. Fine teas and coffees were a specialty. 

In 1915, the store would move to 2145 University Ave. The new building was designed by James W. Plachek and constructed especially for Sill’s by William J. Acheson, who owned so many commercial structures along the north side of University Avenue that the stretch was known as the Acheson Block. 

According to Sill’s obituary, “For nearly a quarter of a century the business flourished largely due to the great personality of Stephen Sill.” A large share of the store’s revenues came from home deliveries, made first by horse and wagon and later by an Autocar delivery truck. 

When Sill retired in 1924, he sold the business to the Appleton Grocery Company, which made a point of advertising itself as the successor of Sill’s. The Sill’s building, a designated Berkeley Landmark, has been occupied by Berkeley Hardware since 1964. 

Victorine Sill was a graduate of Mills College and a prodigious club woman. Her associations included the Twentieth Century Club, the Oratorio Society, the Mills Club of Alameda County, and the San Francisco Art Association. Her husband was a member of the Masons, Knights Templar, and the Elks, as well as a leading member of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce. Both were involved in Democratic Party politics, and in 1908 traveled to Denver to attend the national convention that nominated William Jennings Bryan as its presidential candidate (Bryan lost to William Howard Taft). Although Stephen Sill was the official delegate, it was his wife who made news by waving the California banner from a box occupied by the wives of the state’s delegates during the 80-minute ovation to Bryan. 

Mrs. Sill was also a well-known traveler, described by the Oakland Tribune as one “who gets more than the ordinary individual out of her journeying, and her experiences are always most interesting.” In 1907, following an extended tour of Europe, Mrs. Sill was asked by the Cap and Bells Club of San Francisco to deliver a paper on her “wanderings in the Old World,” featuring “a description of the various shopping methods and ideas employed by the women of European cities.” The Sills would make several trips to Europe and travel to the Far East, South America, and the Caribbean. 

The couple’s first Berkeley home was at 2224 Dana St., but within two years they moved to 2120 Kittredge, and by 1904 they were living above the store at 2209 Shattuck. They entertained regularly and lavishly. In May 1904, the Oakland Tribune reported that on the 10th of that month the Sills had entertained 85 guests at their beautifully decorated, spacious home. 

Eventually, fashion must have dictated a move away from downtown. In the wide-open Thousand Oaks, they selected a choice lot near the Great Stone Face. Taking their cue from John Hopkins Spring, they turned to John Hudson Thomas for the design of their home. 

A childless couple, the Sills nonetheless built a rambling residence on a lot extending from Thousand Oaks Boulevard (then called Escondido Avenue) to Yosemite Road. The house has entrances on both streets, with a garden on each side. No attempt was made to remove the rocks—one large rock juts directly out of the house wall on the west side. Sturdy buttresses and irregular massing of varying heights make the structure appear like a citadel. The Sills, who had encountered similarly situated structures while traveling in Italy, named their house Villa della Rocca (rocca is a rock-top fortress). 

According to Stephen Sill’s obituary, “the beautiful Sill estate” was “always open to the great hosts of friends of Mr. and Mrs. Sill.” The house boasts a ballroom unique to Berkeley—entirely wood-lined and informal in the living-with-nature tradition. A large stage can accommodate musical performances and amateur theatricals. Mrs. Sill used this ballroom to advantage; in March 1915, she offered a musical program to members of the Mills Club. The following October, the Sills hosted a dance for 60 guests from the Benedicts Club. In November 1919, it was the turn of the Five Hundred Club members to enjoy the Sills’ hospitality. 

In 1925, following Stephen Sill’s retirement, the couple sold the house and moved to Benbow, Humboldt County. After her husband’s death, Victorine Sill must have felt isolated in the north country and returned to Berkeley, where she took up permanent residence in the Berkeley Women’s City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Here she continued her rounds of social activities to a ripe old age. 

Villa della Rocca’s ballroom and rock-strewn garden will be open on BAHA’s Spring House Tour from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, May 6. 

Among the Rocks: Houses and Gardens in Thousand Oaks 

Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association Spring House Tour, 1-5 p.m. Sunday, May 6. $35; BAHA members $25. 841-2242. www.berkeleyheritage.com. 

Daniella Thompson publishes berkeleyheritage.com for the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA). 

Photograph: Daniella Thompson 

Villa della Rocca will be featured in BAHA’s May 6 Spring House Tour.

It’s a little off the gardening track, but who could resist a title like Flower Confidential? Actually, anything by Amy Stewart would be hard to resist. Her previous book, The Earth Moved, was a quirky introduction to the world of earthworms, touching on the giant worm of the Willamette Valley (three feet long and lily-scented) and Charles Darwin’s late-in-life fascination with worms (his long-suffering wife Emma played the piano for them; they were unresponsive).  

Flower Confidential (306 pages, $23.95 from Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill) is maybe not all that quirky, but still a great read. A cut-flower aficionado, Stewart sets out to trace the travels of flowers from breeder to grower to auctioneer to florist to your table. For many of them, it’s been a long strange trip. 

Stewart, a semi-local writer (lives in Humboldt County and writes for the San Francisco Chronicle) introduces a few semi-local characters, like the famously eccentric breeder Leslie Woodriff who created the ‘Star Gazer’ lily; and Lane DeVries, the current head of Sun Valley, the growing operation that marketed it.  

But most of the action is overseas. Cut flowers are now a major Third World export commodity, with Colombia, Ecuador, and Kenya leading the pack. Stewart visited several growers in Ecuador (Colombia being a bit dicey these days), where working conditions and health and safety regulations are much different from California. 

Those gorgeous super-roses—“the floral equivalent of a Tiffany diamond, all polished and carved and styled to perfection”—have hidden costs. 

Flower Confidential isn’t quite a horticultural follow-up to Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, though. Stewart seems almost as disturbed by what she encounters in the Netherlands, where she has been escorted through the Dutch-efficient Aalsmeer auction by a public relations person who confesses to being sick of flowers. At a company called Multi Color Flowers, she meets the Holy Grail of breeders, the blue rose: “Actually, it’s hard to compare this blue to any color you’d find in nature. It was more of a Las Vegas blue, a sequin-and-glitter blue. A blue you’d find in nail polish or gumballs, but not in a garden.” The blue rose, of course, has had a dye job. 

Stewart meets the flower inspectors of Miami airport, an unsung part of the Homeland Security task force; talks to upscale florists in Manhattan and street-kiosk vendors in Santa Cruz; and speculates on the future of the industry; she’s intrigued by a small chain called Field of Flowers that aspires to be the Home Depot of the cut-flower world. In an epilogue, she witnesses the Valentine’s Day rush at a flower shop in Eureka.  

In the end, you’re left with mixed impressions. What the global cut-flower industry does is remarkable, and so is the amount of jet fuel it burns in the process—and we’re not even talking about chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Critics of the American Way of Food have been talking about “food-miles”: the distances traveled from farm to plate. It might also be useful to think about “flower-miles.”

I don’t know about you but my eyes are often bigger than my stomach. It’s a constant problem. Well my column last week suffered for this malady and left so much unaddressed that I just have to devote another page to these worthy issues. 

Let’s take a look at heating. As houses progressed through the 20th century much changed. The earliest houses had coal burners in each room, although this was more common in 19th century houses. Aside from generating copious volumes of carbon monoxide and killing more than a few people, this was sooty and just plain hard work since one had to build and maintain coal fires 24/7 to keep body and soul in warmth. These coal burners can still be seen in the dining rooms of many of our earliest houses in the East Bay and are often mistaken for very small fire places. 

Coal gave way to natural gas or methane, the same flammable gas produced by all us mammals. At first natural gas was used without any oderant added and quite a few explosions resulted (and a few asphyxiations). A nasty odor was added to make us aware of it’s presence and a version of this is still in use today. Yes, that funny smell is added. Methane, like carbon monoxide is odorless.  

The first gas heaters (both central and floor mounted) had no pilot safety devices and relied upon the pilot to stay lit. If the pilot got shut off and one did not check prior to operation, a burner could fill a space with gas and….Kaboom. No more Victorian. By the time we move from our old Vicky to our 1930 Albany house we find a pilot safety device that would turn off the burner when the flame of the pilot blew out and would not operate until the device had been re-lit. Stoves from the 40’s also gained this feature as did early central furnaces. 

By the time the first El Cerrito houses were being built, forced air heating had arrived and floor furnaces began to slowly disappear. Richmond houses of the 50 ‘s and 60’s had smaller more efficient furnaces as well as wall heaters for the little houses. All of these were somewhat safer but all were and are vulnerable to cracked heat exchangers (the metal container that transfers heat from the noxious hot atmosphere above the burner to the clean interior atmosphere we breath). Today we have much more sophisticated heaters in the form of high efficiency “condensing” furnaces and the wondrous but rarely seen hydronic units that heat water and warm floors. 

Plumbing has advanced in a few ways over the last hundred years but, surprisingly, is largely the same. The major difference is in the piping material. Galvanized steel was used prior to 1900 and stood fast for at least 40 years. Around the beginning of the second world war, copper began to appear for hot pipes alone! We see this in El Cerrito houses and it’s a funny thing. Why would anyone use two kinds of piping in a house, two sets of methods, two sets of purchases. Very odd. The reason is that copper does not fill in with sediment, as steel is quite apt to do and hot pipes fill in much quicker than cold ones. So by 1940 the difference was well observed and some clever gal or guy suggested using that new (and surely expensive) copper pipe for the hot pipes.  

I’m certain that once a constituency of plumbers had learned the secrets of soldering pipe, it became evident that this was not only superior in terms of avoiding the corrosion and mineral infill that kills water flow but that this was substantially simpler and quicker to install. This is surely the reason that within a matter of just a few years, nearly all plumbing systems were solely copper. But if you keep your eyes peeled in E.C., you might just catch sight of one of these goofy systems. 

Many “galvy” systems had partial upgrades installed using copper and it’s always important that the two metals be kept apart because they form a battery that robs electrons from steel, the less noble metal (no offense intended). This effect can cause a great deal of corrosion resulting in a loss of pressure as well as leaks. This is commonly seen and cause for some attention, though nobody every died from an impoverished shower (and only Austin Powers dies from plumbing leaks). 

Berkeley and Oakland houses up through the thirties share these trials but by the time those World War II, El Cerrito tracts were going in, copper was used nearly everywhere. Richmond homes are also nearly all cupric and nary a one has a bad shower. 

CPVC (a stronger and more flexible version of the commonly seen sprinkler piping) is in use for water piping in many areas now and has just been approved for general use by California. Though we don’t see it around here now, we’ll be seeing a lot of it soon. 

Waste piping also makes a journey though the decades starting with cast-iron “bell & spigot” piping. The bell and spigot is the part where one end is swollen and the other end fits inside. The joint was packed with Oakum (a tarred fiber often made from hemp. Don’t even THINK about smoking this stuff) and filled with molten lead. Installing this proved so toxic to plumbers that by the 1960s the practice was eliminated in favor of “hubless” cast-iron, joined with a rubber and metal fitting. Just imagine breathing lead fumes all day. My liver hurts just thinking about it. 

Cast-iron systems began using steel threaded fittings for the small branches pretty early on but gave way to copper for small branches during those El Cerrito years. These may be the best systems in existence since cast-iron is very durable and copper is almost corrosion proof. Sadly, copper was too expensive and systems after 1960 began moving back to cast-iron and steel. But wait, Benjamin, I have one word for you. Plastics! (name that movie!) ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) piping arrived in the 1960’s and quickly ended the debate. ABS was so cheap and easy to install that nearly every house build after 1970 contains it (except where local authorities said no). Nearly every Richmond house has ABS and a few have defective piping due some bad batches made in the mid-’80s. 

I’ll finish with a brief climb to the roof. If you own a house from before 1920, it probably had one of two kinds of roofing. If the roof had a slight slope (often called a flat roof) it was almost certainly a tar and gravel roof. If the roof had a handsome slope, it was sure to be finished in wooden shingle. While tar and gravel is still in use, its days are sorely numbered having been confronted with a serious contender in the form of Modified Bitumen, which is sheet material that gets welded together and can last three decades.  

Wood shingle is no longer allowed here, or in many areas, due to its tendency to burn your house to the ground (one burning limb on your roof and it’s 1923 (or 1991) all over again).  

Composition or Asphalt shingles came along in the 1940s and were designed for use alone or as a covering over old wooden shingle. As a result it is not uncommon to see houses from the 1930 and earlier covered with two or more (I’ve seen four!) layers of asphalt shingle. This practice is undesirable as it adds a great deal of weight and will surely have an unpleasant “impact” when the big one hits.  

Well, once again, I’ve emitted a large volume of an inert non-combustible gas and left many subject untouched. Remember that we live in a history museum stretching from Oakland to Richmond (and out in all directions). Don’t forget to check out our lovely exhibits. The tours are free. 

Are you read to walk? 

When the Hayward Fault ruptures, if it’s a big one like the geologists say it well could be, we can expect that many roads will be impassable and, if you’re caught out in your car, driving home will not be an option. 

So it’s a great idea to have an emergency kit, a pair of sneakers or walking shoes, and some extra water in your vehicle. Depending upon where you are and how far from home (or other destination), you could be walking for a couple of days.  

Make this part of your plan and discuss with family members what will be your meeting location. After the quake, you won’t be talking on the phone—land line or cell—and you don’t want to be guessing about these things. 

Larry Guillot is owner of QuakePrepare, an earthquake consulting, securing, and kit supply service. Call him at 558-3299, or visit www.quakeprepare.com.

The full-page ads in the New York Times are wrenching: children in the last stages of starvation, terrified refugees, and burned out villages. They are the images that come to mind when most Americans think about the Sudan.  

But while the human rights crisis in Darfur is real—somewhere between 100,00 and 200,000 people have died since 2003—a seasoned cadre of neo-conservatives and right-wingers have latched on to the issue, pushing an agenda that favors military over political solutions.  

They include Elliot Abrams and Nina Shea, both of whom played key roles in the Reagan administration’s wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua, leading conservative evangelical Christians, and two of the country’s most right-wing legislators, U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) and U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado).  

Behind the rhetoric of the “war on terrorism,” the Bush administration has a long-term strategy for Africa that turns butter into guns.  

The White House recently established a separate U.S. military command for Africa—AFRICOM—and this past December directly intervened in Somalia’s civil war. The United States is also spreading a network of military clients throughout North Africa and the Sahara, and is even considering military action against anti-government insurgents in Nigeria. A key person in this new aggressiveness is long-time neo-conservative “prince,” Elliot Abrams. 

When he was appointed chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (CIRF) in 1999, Abrams began levering U.S. foreign policy away from a concern for poverty toward a focus on “religious persecution” in the Sudan, Russia and China. 

In 2002 he was appointed senior director of Near East and North African Affairs, just as the Bush administration began basing troops in Djibouti on the strategic Horn of Africa. Some of those forces took part in the recent invasion of Somalia. Abrams also helped launch the Trans-Sahel Counterterrorism Initiative that has drawn a number of countries in North Africa and areas bordering the Sahara into a web of military alliances. 

Abrams is currently the National Security Advisor for Global Democracy and Strategy and the point person on Israel. His philosophy of diplomacy is probably best summed up by a line from a chapter he wrote in the New American Century’s Present Dangers: Crisis and Opportunity in American Foreign and Defense Policy: “Our military strength and willingness to use it will remain a key factor in our ability to promote peace.” 

Negotiations are not his forte. William LeoGrande, Dean of the American University School of Public Affairs, and an expert on Central America, says that that Abrams’ track record demonstrates that he won’t “negotiate with adversaries,” but, instead, insists “on total victory, as if foreign policy were a moral crusade in which compromise was an anathema.”  

Abrams’ one prior involvement with Africa was his opposition to a diplomatic solution to South Africa’s 1975 attack on Angola just after that country had freed itself from Portugal. 

Force has always been central to the neoconservative view of the world. During the 1980s, Abrams helped organize the contra war against the Sandinista government of Nicaragua, and took part in the cover up of the horrendous El Mazote massacre in El Salvador by a U.S.-trained government battalion.  

Abrams’ vice-chair on the CIRF was Nina Shea of Freedom House, an organization with a long rap sheet on destabilizing countries, including recently attempting to dislodge Hugo Chavez’s in Venezuela. 

Shea founded the Puebla Institute in 1986 to fight the growth of liberation theology in Latin America and, according to former Contra leader, Edward Chamorro, worked with the groups trying to overthrow Nicaragua’s Sandinista government. Like Abrams, Shea focuses on the issue of religion rather than human rights. According to Newsweek Magazine, Shea made “Christian persecution Washington’s hottest topic.” 

A 2003 Human Rights Watch report entitled, “Sudan, Oil and Human Rights,” charges that when Abrams was chair and Shea vice chair of CIRF, they advocated assisting the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) the principle military opponent of the Sudan government. The Bush administration ended up backing the umbrella National Democratic Alliance of Sudan, which was dominated by the SPLM. 

Abrams and Shea pushed hard to get Congress to declare the crisis in Darfur “genocide,” a designation that would permit military intervention. But while on the surface some kind of military intervention in Sudan would seem a no-brainer, Darfur is complex: a brutal conflict between nomads and agriculturalists, a proxy war between Sudanese elites in Khartoum, and an arena of regional competition between Sudan, Chad and Niger. A military “solution” may end up making things worse, not better.  

Two of Congress’s most conservative legislators, Brownback and Tancredo, pushed hard for the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, which urges military intervention in the Sudan.  

Brownback is co-sponsor of legislation that would allow local, state, and federal officials to overrule the courts on religious issues; he calls abortion a “holocaust,” compares stem cell research to Nazi medical experiments, and says global warming is “a hoax.”  

Tancredo is also in deep in right field on a host of issues. He told a Florida radio station that if “fundamentalist Muslims” attacked the U.S. with a nuclear device, the United States should bomb Mecca, and he refers to Miami as a “third world country.” 

Two other key actors for the Bush administration in Sudan are Robert Seiple, the former CEO of World Vision, a Christian aid and advocacy organization active in 22 African countries, and Andrew Natsios, head administrator for the U.S. Aid and Development Agency (USAID) from 2001 to 2006, when he was appointed Special Envoy to the Sudan. 

According to John Eibner, chief executive officer of Christian Solidarity International, “domestic pressure” from Christian groups played a key role into pushing the U.S. to get involved in the Sudan. 

Seiple, a former Marine pilot in Vietnam, was appointed to the CIRF when it was formed in 1998 and lobbied for supporting the armed resistance to the Khartoum government. Natsios is a controversial figure because he opposed distributing drugs to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa when he was the USAID administrator. He told the House International Relations Committee that patients would be unable to take medications on time, because “African don’t know what Western time is. Many people in Africa have never seen a clock or a watch their entire lives.” The comment stirred widespread anger among Africans and AIDS activists. 

The people running the Bush administration’s strategy for Africa use the rhetoric of “freedom” and “stability,” but their policies have seen an increasing military presence on the continent, the overthrow of a government which had finally brought peace to Somalia, and the establishment of alliances with authoritarian governments in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Chad. 

A good many people are skeptical about the benefits of the Bush administration’s designs for Africa.  

“Many African affairs analysts remain unconvinced [that the United States’ primary concern is not about oil and resources], perceiving a race with China for the control of the continent with potentially unsavory consequences for Africans,” writes Nigerian-based journalist Dulue Mbachu. 

Nicole Lee of TransAfrica, the leading African-American organization concerned with Africa, is blunter: “This is nothing short of a sovereignty and resource grab.” 

The National Energy Policy Development Group estimates that by 2015, a quarter of U.S. oil imports will come from Africa. Most of these will come from the Gulf of Guinea, but Sudan has the second largest reserves on the continent. 

Many of the Bush administration’s central players in all this have close ties to Vice President Dick Cheney. It was Cheney’s National Policy Energy Development Group that recommended back in 2001 that the U.S. “make energy security a priority of our trade and foreign policy,” a blueprint the administration has closely adhered to. 

Given the actors and the script, it is hard not to conclude that the Bush administration’s strategy for Africa is less about freedom and God than about oil and earthly power. 

“Sit down,” I said to the sixth-grader standing at his desk to my right. It was another day of substitute teaching. I needed to prove that I was in control. 

“What?” he asked, although I knew he could hear me perfectly well. 

“Sit down,” I said again. “Sit down in your seat.” 

“I can’t,” he said. 

“Why not?” I asked. 

“I’ve got ADD,” he said. 

“ADD?”  

“Yeah,” he said. “You know what that is?” 

“Yes,” I said. 

“Then you know.” 

“Know what?”  

“That I can’t sit down.”  

“But you can,” I said. “And you must.” 

“Why?” 

“Because.”  

It was 8:30 a.m. and I was already losing my ability to reason. Why couldn’t he stand if he wanted to? 

“Because everyone else is sitting down,” I said. Pathetic. And my explanation wasn’t even true. The six-foot tall eleven-year-old next to the Attention Deficit Disorder kid was also standing.  

“Sorry,” said ADD. “But I can’t sit down. My teacher lets me stand up.” 

We stared at one another. 

“I take pills for it,” he added. 

“And?” 

“They haven’t kicked in yet.” 

“When did you take them?”  

“This morning.” 

“How long do they take to work?” 

“You never know. It could be hours.” 

“Sit down,” I said again. 

“Jeez,” he said as he sat down.  

“Pull your chair up so that you can reach your desk,” I said. 

“Jeez,” he repeated as he scooted his chair forward.  

“And you,” I said to the Goliath next to him. “You sit down, too.” 

“Can’t,” he said.  

“Why not?” I asked between my teeth. I could feel my blood pressure rising.  

“Gotta leg cramp.” 

“Get over it,” I said. “And sit down.” 

He sat, but appeared to be in excruciating pain. His left leg extended into the middle of the aisle. It was long and distracting. I did my best to ignore it.  

We went on with our math lesson, something about X equaling Y. Soon the boys were standing up again.  

“How are you guys ever going to get jobs?” I asked, “if you can’t sit down at a desk?”  

“I’m going to be a plumber,” said the short one with ADD. 

“I’m going to play for the NBA,” said the tall one.  

I gave up. They stood at their desks for the rest of the day.  

That afternoon when I arrived home, I found that my house was filled with the smell of gas. I called PG & E. An inspector came over and diagnosed the problem as a leak in a pipe somewhere under the house. “You need a plumber,” he said as he turned off the gas. “You won’t be able to cook or shower tonight. Someone needs to check this out ASAP.” 

I called a plumber. He arrived the next day. “Four hundred and fifty dollars to test the gas lines,” he said. “Four hundred if you pay cash.” 

“What do you need to do?” I asked. 

“I have to crawl under the house.” 

“Yuck!” 

He shrugged. “Somebody’s got to do it.” 

I watched the plumber as he held a flashlight and wiggled through a small dark opening that led to the bowels of my home. A while later he emerged. “It’s nasty in there,” he said, “but I’ve seen worse. I’ll have to replace the hot water heater and the pipes to it. Two thousand dollars. Less if you pay cash.” 

“Do I have a choice?” I asked.  

“Not really,” he said. “You could get someone else. You could crawl under the house yourself.” 

“Did you ever have trouble sitting in your seat when you were in elementary school?” I asked.  

“What?” 

“Nothing,” I said. “I’ll go get my wallet.”  

Why did I spend most of last week sneezing? Why do half the people on the street seem to be sneezing along with me? Is it a peculiarly Berkeley sort of performance art? 

No, right now it’s mostly the trees. I’m breathing an unrestrained sigh of relief because the fruitless mulberries on my street have mostly stopped their incontinent pollinating and their flowers are falling off. What looks like a mass die-off of homely gray caterpillars on the sidewalks—that’s them.  

Over the last couple of decades, as Thomas Ogren points out in his intriguing book Safe Sex in the Garden, there has been a shift in the sort of trees being planted, especially by public entities. Lots of “fruitless” trees and shrubs are being used because they’re “cleaner”—they don’t drop fruit or seeds on the sidewalk. As we’re seeing, that doesn’t mean they don’t make a mess. They’re being mass-produced, as big nurseries take on the methods of any other industrial enterprise. And they’re all males.  

All our trees are flowering plants, unless you’re counting tree ferns. Trees like pines and other conifers; oaks, alders, olives, and those mulberries, whose flowers are inconspicuous, are usually pollinated by wind. That’s why they don’t need showy blooms to attract pollinators.  

Male flowers produce pollen, and if there aren’t any handy females, where’s all that pollen to go? Into your lungs and mine, and that might be one reason pollen allergy rates are rising all over North America. When your exposure to some random allergen hits a certain lifetime threshold, you discover you’re allergic because you’re sneezing or wheezing or itching or worse. Here’s the rub: that threshold is unknown before you hit it, and so’s the particular allergen.  

A lot of these “non-messy” trees are cultivars that have been planted as replacements for the street trees killed by Dutch elm disease in the 50s and 60s. People had all sorts of ideas about streamlined living then, same as we do now. 

A cultivar—the name of a plant that you see in single quotes on its tag—is often a clone, reproduced by a scaled-up version of what Aunt Tillie did when she rooted a slip of tradescantia in water. All-male clones are produced either from a male of a dioecious species, which has staminate (male) and pistillate (female) flowers on separate plants, rather the way we mammals do it; or from the staminate parts of a monoecious species, which has both kinds of flowers in different places on each plant.  

Plants have a complicated assortment of sexual arrangements; a Falwell among them would either prosper on an endless indignation supply or confuse himself to death.  

And there’s a funny thing about cloning trees: If you clone a redwood from cuttings that come from the top of the tree, it will usually be taller and skinnier, more upward-tending, than a clone from the bottom branches of the same tree. (Yes, people do. They get cuttings from redwood tops by firing a shotgun up into the tree and gathering the bits of tree that fall. I kid you not.) 

Similarly, if you clone a twig that has only male flowers on it, you’ll get an all-male tree of a species that is normally hermaphroditic, with both sexes usually occurring in one plant. if you’re a big wholesale grower, you’ll do this a few thousand times and sell a few thousand genetically identical trees to your big clients and voila, drifts of pollen are wafting across the city.  

Add to the pollen count any number of other allergens like molds and mildews that got their boost with winter’s first rains, insects and their leavings, and just plain dust (including rubber from tires wearing on roads) and it’s a miracle we’re all breathing.  

Ogren and tree-lovers in general agree on some common-sense considerations for our trees. A less-than-healthy tree will typically carry a greater load of insects and molds (including the molds that flourish on the insects’ droppings), and the insects’ dander and the molds’ spores are powerful allergens. Choosing trees that will prosper where they’re planted and keeping them healthy will reduce that load.  

That will also conveniently and thriftily reduce the need for safety pruning, line-clearance pruning, and pesticide spraying. Healthy trees do all their good work more vigorously, and live longer.  

That good work includes trapping and filtering literally tons of airborne particulates and noxious gases that we’d otherwise be breathing—and, of course, producing oxygen and cooling our cities and mitigating cities’ effects on climate. 

That, plus much-needed bird and beneficial critter habitat, efficiently vertical. In a civilized society, we’d even be getting lots of free fruit from urban trees. Maybe that’s a goal to work toward, someday. 

Ron Sullivan is a former professional gardener and arborist. Her “Green Neighbors” column appears every other Tuesday in the Berkeley Daily Planet, alternating with Joe Eaton’s “Wild Neighbors” column. Her “Garden Variety” column appears every Friday in the Planet’s East Bay Home & Real Estate section.  

Photograph: Ron Sullivan 

Good riddance: The flowers are falling off the mulberries, finally.

FRIDAY, APRIL 13 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Industrial Chic” Fashion from recycled and industrial materials by Bay Area artists and designers at 7 p.m. at The Crucible, 1260 7th St., Oakland. Tickets are $15, reservations suggested. 444-0919.www.thecrucible.org 

“Recovery: Man Over Matter” Group show on interpretations of transformation. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at ACCI Gallery, 1652 Shattuck Ave. Exhibit runs to May 5. 843-2527. 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “Lysistrata” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman, through May 12. Tickets are $12. 525-1620. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Aurora Theatre “Private Jokes, Public Places” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through May 13. Tickets are $38. 843-4822. 

Barestage “Cabaret” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 72 Cesar Chavez Center, UC Campus, through April 28. Tickets are $8-$12. 642-3880. 

Berkeley Rep “Blue Door” at 8 p.m. at 2025 Addison St., through May 20. Tickets are $45-$61. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theater “A Streetcar Named Desire” Tennesse Williams’ Pulitzer Prize winning play opens at 8 p.m. Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Contra Costa Civic Theatre, 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito. Runs through May 12. Tickets are $8-$11. 524-9132. www.ccct.org  

Masquers Playhouse “She Loves Me” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, through May 12.Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org  

Shotgun Players “Blood Wedding” Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through April 29. Tickets are $17-$25. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

Wilde Irish Productions “The Cripple of Inishmaan” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through April 15. Tickets are $20-$25. 644-9940. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash Celebrates National Poetry Reading Month with Mary Mackey, Rochelle Ratner, Corrine Robins, and Eileen R. Tabios at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. 525-5476. www.poetryflash.org 

National Poetry Month Readings with Lisa Fishman and Richard Meier at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

New Perspectives on East Asia Book Series with David Leheny on “Think Global, Fear Local: Sex, Violence, and Anxeity in Contemporary Japan” at noon in the IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th flr. 642-2809. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

EnPointe Youth Dance Company performs orginal choreography in ballet, modern and hip hop at 8 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. Tickets are $8-$12 at the door. enpointedance@gmail.com 

UC Jazz Ensembles Spring Showcase at 8 p.m. at Chevron Auditorium, International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Tickets are $5-$10. 642-5062. 

Mills College Graduate Dance Thesis Concert with original choreography by Mary Bell, Janet Collard, Jan Jennings, Katie Michelle Rogers, Rebecca Anne Wilson, and others at 8 p.m. at Lisser Hall, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland. Tickets are $8-$10 at the door. 430-2175. 

Breath & Movement Dance at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. Cost is $5-$8. 981-1710. 

Back Porch Pickers, bluegrass at 8 p.m. Arlington Community Church, 52 Arlington Ave., Kendington. Tickets are $15, children $5. 526-9146. 

Suni Paz in Concert, music from Argentina at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Christy Dana Quartet plays the Jimmy Van Heusen Songbook at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373.  

Peron/Spangler Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Workingman’s Ed, J.C. Flyer at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054.  

Ray Cepeda, Latin rock, at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

DuoTones at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Matt the Electrician, Jason Kleinberg, AJ Roach at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

Babyland, Bloody Snowman, 8 Bit 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. 

Sinclair at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Extra Action Marching Band and others at 9 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $10. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Gift of Gab at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$7. 548-1159.  

Brazuca Dub Quartet at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

The River Runs Black at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Ron Carter Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square., through Sun. Cost is $14-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, APRIL 14 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Argentinian Singer Suni Paz at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences “Manzi: The Adventures of Young Cesar Chavez” Sat. at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $10-$18. 925-798-1300. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“2 of a Kind” Prints by artists from the California Society of Printmakers and the NIAD Center for Art and Disabilities. Reception at 2 p.m. at 551 23rd St., Richmond. and runs through June 15. 620-0290. 

Industrial Art Show Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Crucible, 1260 7th St., Oakland. 444-0919. www.thecrucible.org 

THEATER 

“Judgement Day: Where Are You Gonna Run?” at 7 p.m. at the Black Repertory Theater, 3201 Adeline St. Tickets are $15-$20. 478-3864. 

Peyvand Khorsandi “Generation Skip: Stand-up Comedy” at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $15-$25. 925-798-1300. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Art and Poetry by the Lake with Deborah Vinograd and Jan Steckel from 2 to 5 p.m. at Lakeview Branch Library, 550 El Embarcadero, by Lake Merritt in Oakland. 238-7344.  

Small Press Distribution Poetry Readings with Juliana Spahr, Will Alexander, Dodie Bellamy, and Albert Flynn Desilver at 2 p.m. at 1341 7th St. 524-1668.  

National Poetry Month Readings with Linh Dinh and Graham Foust at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Jonatham Lethem will read from his new novel “You Don't Love Me Yet” at 7:30 p.m. at Moe's Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave., with special musical guests The Bye Bye Blackbirds. 849-2087. 

Peggy Orenstein reads from “Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, a Romantic Night, and One Woman’s Quest to Become a Mother” at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

EnPointe Youth Dance Company performs orginal choreography in ballet, modern and hip hop at 8 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. Tickets are $8-$12 at the door. enpointedance@gmail.com 

Gamelan Sari Raras Javanese music and dance with guest dancer Eko Supriyanto at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $4-$12. 642-9988. 

“From Broadway to Opera” music of Mozart, Puccini, Dvorak, Offenbach, Sondheim, Weill, Kern and others with Nanette McGuinness, soprano; Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano; Kathryn Cathcart, piano, at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

Mills College Graduate Dance Thesis Concert with original choreography by Mary Bell, Janet Collard, Jan Jennings, Katie Michelle Rogers, Rebecca Anne Wilson, and others at 8 p.m. at Lisser Hall, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland. Tickets are $8-$10 at the door. 430-2175. 

Moment’s Notice Improv Performances of music dance and theater at 8 p.m. at Western Sky Studio, 2525 8th St. Tickets are $8-$10. 847-1119. 

Breath & Movement Dance at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. Cost is $5-$8. 981-1710. 

The Dave Matthews BLUES Band at 9:30 p.m. at Baltic Square Pub,135 Park Place, Pt. Richmond. 237-4782. 

Verbal Abuse, 2nd Class Citizens, Self Inflicted at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $8. 763-1146.  

Tom Rush at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $29.50-$30.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Ravines at noon at Cafe Zeste, 1250 Addison St. at Bonar, in the Strawberry Creek Park complex. 704-9378. 

The Snake Trio, new directions in jazz and Venezuelan music, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Mo’Rockin’ at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Diablo’s Dust and Ronnie Cato at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Nancy King and Steve Christofferson at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $20. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $5. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Truxton, Voodoo Ecnomics at 9 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100.  

Nicole McRory at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

The Strange Angels, blues and jam, at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Phoenix and Afterbuffalo, Free Peoples at 10 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

CV1 at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

No Alternative, Midnight Bombers 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, APRIL 15 

CHILDREN 

Women of the World with Jackeline Rago, Michelle Jaques and Kelly Tacunda Orphan at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“A Rose Has No Teeth: Bruce Nauman in the 1960s” Guided tour at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

Native American Weaver Grace Smith-Yellow Hammer Exhibition of traditional Navajo rugs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Gathering Tribes, 1573 Solano Ave. 528-9038.  

Works by Harry Liebermann at the Ames Gallery, 2661 Cedar St. through June 10. 845-4949. info@amesgallery.com 

“Recent Works of Changming Meng” Book signing at 3 p.m. at Alta Galleria, 2980 College Ave., Suite 4 421-1255.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

National Poetry Month Readings with Evie Shockley and Barbara Jane Reyes at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Joel Westheimer and contributing authors discuss “Pledging Allegiance, The Politics of Patriotism in America’s Schools” at 7 p.m. at the JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Sponsored by Black Oak Books. 486-0698. 

Brian Doherty describes “Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Kronos Quartet performs Górecki’s Third String Quartet at 3 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $48. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Ensemble AROW “The Teutonic Spirit” at 3 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 1501 Washington Ave., Albany. Tickets are $10 at the door. www.arowmusic.org  

Michael McKean “Strictly Speaking” Comedian, actor, songwriter at 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $20-$38. 642-9988.  

Gil Chun’s Bay Area Follies with tap, hula, ethnic and musical comedy at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison st. Tickets are $12-$15. Gilchun@aol.com 

Remembering the Kid from Red Bank: A Tribute to William “Count” Basie featuring the Count Basie Tribute Orchestra in a fundraiser for the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music. Pre-concert conversation with Orrin Keepnews at 12:30 p.m., concert at 2 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. Oakland. Tickets are $25-$35 sliding scale. 836-4649. 

Pappa Gianni and the North Beach Band at 2 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Elana James with Whit Smith at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Latin All-Star Jam with Ray Obiedo & Mombo Caribe, Jose Chepito Areas, Jose Najera, Tony Mayfield and others in a benefit for the Children of Chaguitillo, Nicaragua, at noon Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Suggested donation $10-$25. 

Falso Biano Brazil at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $9. 841-JAZZ.  

Quake City Jug Band at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Flamenco Open Stage with Carola Zertuche at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Cecelia Long Quartet at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373.  

Battle of the Bands at 6 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $10. 763-1146.  

MONDAY, APRIL 16 

CHILDREN 

“Charlotte’s Web” Read-Aloud In honor of National Library Week, join us in reading “Charlotte’s Web” at 3:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch Library, 6833 International Boulevard, Oakland. 615-5728. 

FILM 

“A Forgotten Resistance: The Mosque of Paris” with Annette Herskovits who survived the Holocaust as a young child in France, at 12:30 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room of the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. Brown-bag lunch. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

“No End in Sight” Documentary film on the months immediately before and after the toppling of Saddam, followed by a conversation with the director Charles Ferguso at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way. Sponsored by UC Berkeley's Center for Latin American Studies. 642-2088. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Art of Politics” with David Goines, artist and author and Eduardo Pineda, artist and Director, Museum of the African Diaspora at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6150. 

Aurora Theatre Staged Readings “American Whupass” by Justin Warner at 7:30 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. For tickets call 843-4822. 

Robert Hass reads from “Then and Now: The Poets Choice Columns, 1997-2000” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Daniel Alarcón reads from “Lost City Radio” at 1:15 p.m. at the Women’s Faculty Club, UC Campus. Hosted by the Center for Latin American Studies. 642-2088. 

PlayGround with Philip Kan Gotanda and Carey Perloff and the Emerging Playwrights Awards at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St. Tickets are $75. 415-704-3177. 

Poetry Express with Bert Glick at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Classical at the Freight with Michael Taddai & Friends at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. 

Mo’ Rockin Project at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, APRIL 17 

CHILDREN 

Marie Cartusciello Storyteller for ages 3 and up at 6:30 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

FILM 

“Anger Rising” The restoration of works by Kenneth Anger at UCLA, with film restorationist Ross Lipman at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Aya De Leon and Poetry for the People at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Jerry Beisler reading and slide show from “The Bandit of Kabul” at 7:30 p.m. at Book Zoo, 6395 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. 654-2665. 

Dana Whitaker describes the power of microfinance in “Upending the Status Quo” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Suggested donation $10. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Tom Rigney & Flambeau at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Singers’ Open Mic with Ellen Hoffman at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Ledward Kaapana at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $22.50-$23.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Kaspar/Sherman Jazz Quartet at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Music of Dharma Lecture with Reverend Hozan Hardiman at 7 p.m. at the Jodo Shinshu Center, 2140 Durant Ave., at Fulton. Cost is $10.  

Matt Wilson’s Arts & Crafts at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 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, APRIL 18 

EXHIBITIONS 

“eyecatchers” A group show by East Bay women artists. Reception at 6 p.m. at Royal Ground Gallery, 2058 Mountain Blvd., Oakland.  

FILM 

History of Cinema “After Life” at 3 p.m. and “8 Bit” at 8 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Holocaust survivor Dora Apsan Sorell introduces her book “Tell the Children: Letters to Miriam” at 6:30 p.m. at North Branch, Berkeley Public Library. 981-6250. 

Cesar A. Preciado-Cruz and Timothy Mason read in honor of National Poetry Month at 7 p.m. at the Richmond Public Library, 325 Civic CEnter Plaza, near Macdonald and 27th St., Richmond. 620-6561. 

Laura Flanders introduces “Blue Grit: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $5, available at Cody’s. 559-9500. 

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

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Music for the Spirit with Ron McKean on harpsichord, improvisation on Native American ceremonial tunes, at 12:15 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555. 

Berkeley Arts Festival: Sarah Cahill and Joseph Kubera: Terry Riley Four Hand Piano Music at 8 p.m. at 2323 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10-$20. 665-9496. fabarts@silcon.com 

Junius Courtney Big Band, Pete Escovedo & Friends in a fundraiser for music and arts in the Emeryville schools at 7 p.m. at Expression College for Digital Arts, 6601 Shellmound, Emeryville. Tickets are$50 and up. 601-4999.  

Omar Faruk Tekbilek and his Ensemble, Turkish/Middle Eastern at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $18-$22. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Orquestra La Verdad at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa dance lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

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

The Angry Philosophers at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Paul Monouses at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Rushad Eggleston & The Butt Wizards at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Faye Carol Sings Billie Holiday at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, APRIL 19 

CHILDREN 

Yolanda Rhodes, Storyteller Stories from the African Diaspora at 1 p.m. at the Temescal Branch Library, 5205 Telegraph Ave. 597-5049. 

THEATER 

“The Other Side of the Mirror” written and performed by Lynn Ruth Miller at 8 p.m. at Spud’s Pizza, 3290 Adeline. Cost is $10. 650-355-4296. 

FILM 

Film and Video Makers at Cal “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Mills College: The Architectural History of Walter H. Ratcliffe, Jr.” A lecture by Woodruff Minor at 5:30 p.m. at the Bender Room, Carnegie Hall, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. RSVP to 430-2125 cmilliga@mills.edu 

Jonathan Cohn describes “Sick: The Untold Story of America’s Health Care Crisis and the People Who Pay the Price” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

“Design for Ecological Democracy” with author Randolph Hester at 7:30 p.m. at the Builders Booksource, 1817 4th St. 845-6874. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

U.C. Berkeley The Movement Showcase Thurs and Fri. at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $8 at the door. 

Eric Taylor at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Diamante, Latin fusion, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Mindx with Melvin Seals, Izabella, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is TBA. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Sun House, Midnite Theory at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

The Cuban Cowboys at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$7. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Matt Lucas at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Keiko Matsui at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Headnodic & Raashan Ahmad at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5. 548-1159.  

The Zoopy Show, The Violent High, Joshua Eagle at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $10. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Sons of Oswald at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Machine Love at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277 

‘CLOWN BIBLE’  

This is the last weekend for Ten Red Hen’s innovative Clown Bible, the very original show at Willard Metalshop Theater behind the Middle School on Telegraph Avenue, in which a troupe of clowns pluck red noses, not apples, from the Tree of Life, and re-enact Biblical stories as a vaudeville-like musical comedy revue, in a rather literal rendering of chapter and verse, anointed with circus shtick. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 2425 Stuart St. $15-20. www.brownpapertickets or tenredhen.net. 

EN POINTE DANCE CO. 

EnPointe Youth Dance Company performs at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Roda Theater in downtown Berkeley. These talented high school students not only dance classical ballet, modern and hip hop but choreograph their pieces, design their costumes and lighting, and do all their own fundraising and publicity. $8-12. 2015 Addison St. enpointedance@gmail.com or EnPointe Youth Dance Company on My Space. 

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH 

Mary Mackey, Rochelle Ratner, Corrine Robins, and Eileen R. Tabios read at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. 525-5476.  

Poets Lisa Fishman and Richard Meier read at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. Deborah Vinograd and Jan Steckel read at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Lakeview Branch Library, 550 El Embarcadero, Oakland. 238-7344. Small Press Distribution hosts poets Juliana Spahr, Will Alexander, Dodie Bellamy and Albert Flynn DeSilver at 2 p.m. Saturday at 1341 Seventh St. 524-1668. Linh Dinh and Graham Foust read at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Evie Shockley and Barbara Jane Reyes read at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320.

When I was 5 years old my kindergarten class, for whatever reason, took a field trip to the home of one of my classmates. Too young to have any notion of the local geography, I had no idea where the house was located. It was only when I stepped out the back door of the boy’s house into his backyard that I recognized the yellow playhouse and battered metal slide and realized that this was the house directly behind my own. I peeked through a hole in the fence and saw my own backyard: the lawn, the patio, the rusted swingset, the family dog sniffing about in the tall grass, the soccer ball under a tree where I had left it the day before.  

It was a disconcerting experience to look back in on my life from another vantage point. For the first time I realized that to the boy who lived behind me, I was the boy who lived behind him. Thus I had to face the uncomfortable truth that I was not the center of the universe, but just one little boy from one family in one house in one neighborhood in a world of other little boys and families and houses and neighborhoods.  

It was a revelation for which I was not quite ready. But, being 5, I soldiered on. 

This notion of moving outward in order to look back in is the central theme of Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger, in both content and form, though the protagonist’s epiphanies are hardly as simple or as benign. The film screens at 8:50 p.m. Friday as part of Pacific Film Archive’s ongoing retrospective of the modernist director’s career. 

The Passenger stars Jack Nicholson, in one of his finest performances, as David Locke, an American journalist abroad who seizes an unforeseen opportunity to shed his life and identity in exchange for the life of Robertson, an acquaintance who has just died. Locke leaves behind a wife, a reputation, a home, everything, to take on the life of a man he barely knows. Using the man’s datebook to meet his appointments, Locke gradually unravels clues as to the life and identity of the man he has become, finding himself in more than a bit of trouble along the way.  

We get a hint as to the catalyst of this adventure in the form of documentary footage of the journalist at work. In the clip, Locke, during an interview, hands over his camera at the request of his subject, who then casts the camera’s gaze back at Locke and begins to question the questioner. The tables are turned, and Locke, squirming before the lens, has nothing to say. He has unexpectedly been given a glimpse of himself—his first, it seems, and just for a moment—and has no answer for what he sees. He grimaces in discomfort, looks about nervously, then reaches forward to take the camera back, suggesting that he is fundamentally ill-equipped to deal with the truth with which he has been presented.  

How much more resilient the 5-year-old who faces such a revelation, for he is unencumbered by the lifetime of assumptions and psychic inertia built up by the 35-year-old—a series of elaborate constructions each of which must be re-examined. The child’s epiphany is at least rooted in a sense of place; he sees a yard and a house, a family within the house and the house within a neighborhood—while Locke looks inward and finds nothing at all, or at least nothing he recognizes. 

Thus he takes the opportunity to adopt a new identity, to shed the dead skin of a life through which he has been sleepwalking and to usurp the life and identity of a dead man, to become a passenger on the road of another man’s narrative. The journey is both alluring and dangerous; Locke, as Roberston, picks up a young lover, negotiates with underworld thugs, and cruises scenic byways as he works his away across Europe. 

The closing sequence is a tour de force, a demonstration of bravura filmmaking for which the groundwork has been carefully laid over the preceding two hours. In a single, unbroken shot, Antonioni again employs the out-and-in motif, with Locke lying down on a hotel bed and turning away as the camera begins an extremely slow tracking movement toward the window. The movement and ambient sounds of the street draw our attention outside: Locke’s lover walks away, then returns; a boy throws stones; a trumpet sounds; cars pass by, stop, and move on; the two thugs arrive, and one walks toward the girl. All the while the camera steadily pushes forward until, just before it passes through the window, it pans slightly to the right to catch the faint reflection of the second thug entering the room, drawing his gun and using the rumbling of a passing car to mask the shot that kills Locke.  

The camera continues outward and into the street, following the arrival of the police and Locke’s estranged wife. And as she enters the hotel, the camera, still in one unbroken shot, turns back toward the building and pushes again toward the window, looking back in as she and the girl and the police enter the room. “I never knew him,” she says, when asked if she recognizes the man on the bed. “Yes,” says the girl, when the question is put to her. And Antonioni has left us with something of a metaphysical quandary.  

Who is this man? Is it Locke? Is it Robertson? Is it either, or is it anyone at all? Antonioni has forced us to look back in on our assumptions and re-examine the man we have come to know over the course of the film. Yet by the time the camera has made its journey outward, wheeled around and turned back in on itself, reality has shifted; Locke has ceased to exist. For that very act of introspection and the self-consciousness it requires permanently alters the man, the child or the moviegoer who experiences it, and in that long, lingering single shot, the film itself takes on the slow-motion processing of that self-awareness, stretching to contain not just action, but the mental processing of that action—the self-conscious preview, experience, re-play and analysis of its every facet.  

The Passenger is perhaps Antonioni’s masterpiece, the most successful merging of his patient, contemplative style and his somewhat grim world view, coalescing in the most tantalizingly inconclusive of conclusions. It is the dark side of rationalism: It is not “I think, therefore I am,” but “I think too much, therefore I cease to exist.” 

THE PASSENGER (1975) 

Screening at 8:50 p.m. Friday as part of  

“Modernist Master: Michelangelo Antonioni,”  

a retrospective of the director’s career running through April 22 at Pacific Film Archive. $4-$8. 

2575 Bancroft Way. 642-5249. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu. 

Photograph: Jack Nicholson plays a journalist adrift in North Africa in The Passenger.

Manzi: The Adventures of Young Cesar Chavez will be performed by Active Arts Theare for Young Audiences at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, April 14, and 2 p.m. Sunday, as well as the following weekend, at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 

Active Arts took a shorter version of the show on tour around local schools and libraries, including Berkeley Main Library, during the week-long festivities for Cesar Chavez Day. At Thousand Oaks Elementary School, Chavez’s nephew spoke before the show, “then an actor appeared onstage, portraying Chavez’s brother, father of the man who just spoke,” said Nina Meehan of Active Arts, “The children—and the nephew!—saw him act out the part. It was one of the coolest things.” 

Meehan noted that the longer version that will play Julia Morgan “goes quickly—one scene, everybody’s swimming, then they’re under the stars; after that, in a car, then picking crops. One scene goes into another seamlessly.”  

At the Morgan, there are more advantages for the audience than just watching a fuller version of Chavez’s childhood story. “To see theater in a beautiful space like the Morgan, with the sense of space and the lighting, is so different,” said Meehan. “When they’re out under the stars, and the uncle tells about the father and his struggle with injustice, you can feel the desert evening in the darkness—especially compared to the fluorescent lighting in the libraries and schools!” 

The script is by Jose Cruz Gonzalez, an experienced writer for young audiences. “We began looking for a script for a touring show,” Meehan said, “Something thematic for Cesar Chavez Day, and found out about Jose Cruz Gonzalez, who’d written Tomas and the Library Lady about Tomas Rivera, that had toured in Arizona. It’s written in the style of El Teatro Campesino—and our director, Dena Martinez, has worked with El Teatro as well as the SF Mime Troupe, so with masks and signs that identify the characters and their situations, four actors play eight characters—plus, there are children in the play.” 

The show has original music, with one actor “gently underscoring” the action and words on guitar. “The Julia Morgan has such great acoustics,” said Meehan, “that we don’t need to mic’ guitarist or actors. There’s a natural feel to it.” 

There will be educational games and activities in the lobby, featuring the musical instruments, mask-making and bilingual games with words in both English and Spanish.  

“To see Chavez portrayed as a child is a terrific tool,” said Meehan. “When you bring 250 kids, kindergarten through 5th grade together in the audience, and they see young Cesar doing what they do, playing with toys and swimming, then when they see the family have to leave their farm or work in the fields and sing of that repetitive work, day in and day out, there’s that instant recognition which carries over to the more difficult or unfamiliar things. A 4-year-old saw it and really enjoyed it, as did her family.” 

“The kids start to identify with the young Cesar, so that by the end, when they see him grown up with the United Farm Workers, there’s a universal feel to it all. The point is made that Chavez wasn’t born a leader, he became one. So the question is posed, without being asked, what can a child, what can one person do? What can you do?” 

It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at oneself through the eyes of others ... One ever feels his twoness—an American, a Negro; two warring souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. 

—W. E. B. DuBois 

Playwright Tanya Barfield of Blue Door, which just opened at Berkeley Rep, quoted these lines of DuBois in an American Theatre magazine interview (reprinted in the Rep’s program), for which her protagonist’s dilemma is emblematic. Lewis (David Fonteno), a mathematics professor, opens the show saying, “I won’t go to the Million Man March—and my wife wants a divorce!” 

The audience laughs, and Lewis continues to tell of his loneliness during—and now after—his 25-year marriage, which his wife, who’s white, has told him made her lonely, too, that he cut himself off from his background, isn’t a whole person. Lewis compounds the issue: “I watch my wife leave, and I divorce myself from myself.” 

His reflections and insomnia provoke reveries in which his dead relations appear (all played by Teagle F. Bougere): great-grandfather Simon, Simon’s son Jesse, Lewis’ brother Rex, communing with him, telling him their stories (which he’s heard, but forgotten or blocked out, having known all but Jesse), challenging him. Lewis questions who his intended audience would be, whose theirs is ... but they are talking to him, just as his own stories show that he’s been talking to the white establishment at his school in his head. 

Bougere fluidly slips in and out of character, spanning a century and more of black history—of American history—in vignettes inspired by research into WPA interviews and other oral accounts, his actor’s persona allowing the dead to speak, their experience to coalesce in one living, moving body. And Fonteno, struggling with it all as Lewis, is the witness in this two-man show. He’s a witness who finally enacts the part of his own drunken, later rejected, father, beating his younger self, the young Lewis as played by Bougere. This leads the mathematician (author of a book on “the repudiation of time” as incidents unconnected with the present, who was put on mandatory sabbatical because he insulted a black student he misunderstood as saying “house nigger” to him rather than “Heidegger”) to experience a kind of epiphany. He realizes the bond between himself and his father, and with their forebears, who endured, suffering the outrages of slavery, Jim Crow, lynch law and attempted assimilation.  

“White people try; black people fail!” shouted Lewis’ father on “the day he stopped singing.” 

The playwright has also written songs for the show, which are remarkably effective, authentic sounding pieces well-delivered mostly by Bougere. They accent the lyrical quality of a script that ambitiously strives, through its dual character of reflection and of storytelling, to do in one evening what August Wilson aimed at, on a different scale, in his life’s work, the series of plays that covers the African-American experience, generation by generation. 

This quest is ably fleshed out by the excellence of the two actors, directed with care and inspiration by noted actor Delroy Lindo, an Oakland resident. Set and lighting design (Kate Edmunds and Kathy Perkins, respectively) complement the mathematical and literary themes that underpin Lewis’s reveries with a curved ramp that descends to his easy chair, offset by a bookcase that reaches to the stars. 

The admirable objectives of Blue Door are undermined, however, by an unfinished, even glib quality to the construction of the script, which never rises above a “bitty” collection of vignettes, in one sense parodying Lewis’s compartmentalized conception of Time, in another sense a touch melodramatic. The lyricism that describes the events of the stories often renders them more symbolic than original, as the ending demonstrates. And the volume of research undertaken for the background of the stories can’t explain historical improbabilities in their telling, like a slave learning how to read by (apparently) reciting Moby Dick or being told a poem by Emily Dickinson, neither of which was much read (Dickinson was essentially unpublished) until many years later. 

Given amplitude by its fine acting and direction, its songs and its crucial sense of humor (sometimes a salutary, dry humor), it’s unfortunate that the thoughtful playwright met in the interview in the program didn’t take the references (and gestures toward) the self-consciousness of characters and audience further, in a real Pirandellian sense, bringing her reflectiveness, which parallels Lewis’s, into the heart of the play, going deeper into the contradictions between the stubborn memory of oppression and the wish to stand alone, start anew—and discover “that sense of the opposite ... what you find instead of what you expect to find,” as Pirandello himself defined Humor. 

Photograph: Kevin Berne 

David Fonteno and Teagle F. Bourgere star in Berkeley Rep’s Blue Door, directed by Delroy Lindo.

Dutch director Paul Verhoeven made his mark in 1977 with Soldier of Orange, a film about the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II. Now, after a 20-year-stint in Hollywood making films such as RoboCop, Total Recall, Basic Instinct and Showgirls, Verhoeven has returned to Holland to make another World War II epic, Black Book. But unfortunately the director took home with him every unpalatable and hackneyed trick he’d picked up in his travels.  

Is there not enough drama, enough tragedy, enough evil and nobility and pain and sorrow in the story of the Holocaust? Apparently not, as Verhoeven and fellow screenwriter Gerard Soeteman have fashioned the raw material of history into a trite melodrama, attempting to merge the all-too-real horrors of the Nazi march across Europe and persecution of the Jews with the twists and turns of a swashbuckling thriller.  

Every overwrought and cliched B-movie device is use. It’s a veritable glossary of cheap and simplistic filmmaking: The suffering but enduring heroine, who has seen so much, suffered so much, that she cannot even cry...until she can; the milquetoast resistance-fighter sideman for whom the firing of a gun into a dirty Nazi Jew-killer would mean going against every Christian moral fiber in his body...unless that Nazi Jew-killer should heap insult upon crime against humanity by taking the Lord’s name in vain. Every symbol is underlined and in bold, used, overused and repeated in close-up: Witness the prized locket containing portraits of martyred Jewish parents, employed once as a key to gain admittance to the office of a sympathetic gentile, and later used, in dramatic close-up, as a tool to quite literally seal the fate of a traitor and—once again all-too-literally—for the beset-upon heroine to find closure...by locking the traitor in a coffin where he will suffocate along with the jewels and cash he looted from his victims.  

The score too adds to the mess, descending more often than not into camp Hollywood edge-of-your-seat spectacle. Villainous acts are underscored with ominous, Darth Vader-esque chords; suspense is heightened with blasts of the horn section and the staccato thrusts of plaintive violins. Every five minutes you get the feeling Indiana Jones himself is about to burst into the room, and what a welcome relief if he did.  

The villains of Black Book would be worthy of him. They dish out a wealth of sexualized cruelty in graphic scenes that have become a Verhoeven trademark. The head of the Dutch Gestapo doesn’t merely hold our heroine at gunpoint, but waits until she’s topless and points the gun at her exposed breast. And when an unruly mob assails her in a prison camp, they again make sure she’s half-naked before dumping a steaming cauldron of excrement over her head.  

There may be talent and skill at work in Black Book, but unfortunately it has been applied toward unworthy material. For no amount of directorial talent or photographic competence can make this film work; no cast of polished, handsome actors—no matter how lovely their period costumes—can rescue the turgid dialogue. Nothing can save Black Book from itself. Not even Indiana Jones.  

BLACK BOOK 

Directed by Paul Verhoeven. Written by Verhoeven and Gerard Soeteman.  

Starring Carice van Houten, Sebastian Kock, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn.  

145 minutes. In Dutch, German and Hebrew with English subtitles.  

Rated R for strong violence, graphic nudity, sexuality and language.  

Playing at Shattuck Cinemas. 

Photograph: Carice van Houten stars as a Jew infiltrating the Gestapo in  

Paul Verhoeven’s Black Book.

Facing Albany Hill at the extreme northwestern corner of Berkeley is the Thousand Oaks neighborhood, subdivided in 1909. Noted for its scenic beauty, Thousand Oaks is also the land of a thousand rocks. These silica-rich volcanic rocks, named Northbrae rhyolite by geologist Andrew Lawson, are scattered wherever the eye may fall. Some of the largest may be found in public parks donated to the city by the Mason-McDuffie realty company, but many more are hidden from view in private gardens or under houses. 

Thousand Oaks developer John Hopkins Spring sold lots in the new tract with the promise that he would build his own home there. Although he reputedly owed more than a million dollars at the time, Spring was true to his word. He engaged architect John Hudson Thomas, who had made a name for himself as a designer of imposing houses, and in 1912–14 erected a 12,000-square-foot mansion, built entirely of reinforced concrete. 

One of the earliest and largest homes built in Thousand Oaks in Spring’s wake was Villa della Rocca, the residence of Stephen Joseph Sill (1856–1930) and his wife, Victorine Grace Harlan Sill (1858–1944), constructed in 1913. 

Stephen Sill was president of S.J. Sill Co., the largest retail grocery concern in the East Bay. Both he and his wife were born in the Sacramento delta and grew up in Woodland, Yolo County. Their fathers were farm owners active in civic affairs. Stephen’s father sometimes doubled as public administrator, while Victorine’s father, the conservative Democrat Joseph H. Harlan, was elected to the state Senate in 1879. 

Married in 1886, the Sills moved from Woodland to Berkeley in 1900. Mr. Sill established a tony grocery store at 2201 Shattuck Ave. that catered to the town elite and grew in leaps and bounds. Within two years, Sill had added a second storefront and included delicacies and fruit in his merchandise. Two years later, the business was incorporated and occupied three storefronts on Shattuck and a fourth on Allston Way. By 1906, another store had been opened at 2447 Telegraph Ave. The 1908 directory now listed the Shattuck store address as 2201–2209, and the merchandise also included vegetables and hardware. Bakery goods followed. Fine teas and coffees were a specialty. 

In 1915, the store would move to 2145 University Ave. The new building was designed by James W. Plachek and constructed especially for Sill’s by William J. Acheson, who owned so many commercial structures along the north side of University Avenue that the stretch was known as the Acheson Block. 

According to Sill’s obituary, “For nearly a quarter of a century the business flourished largely due to the great personality of Stephen Sill.” A large share of the store’s revenues came from home deliveries, made first by horse and wagon and later by an Autocar delivery truck. 

When Sill retired in 1924, he sold the business to the Appleton Grocery Company, which made a point of advertising itself as the successor of Sill’s. The Sill’s building, a designated Berkeley Landmark, has been occupied by Berkeley Hardware since 1964. 

Victorine Sill was a graduate of Mills College and a prodigious club woman. Her associations included the Twentieth Century Club, the Oratorio Society, the Mills Club of Alameda County, and the San Francisco Art Association. Her husband was a member of the Masons, Knights Templar, and the Elks, as well as a leading member of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce. Both were involved in Democratic Party politics, and in 1908 traveled to Denver to attend the national convention that nominated William Jennings Bryan as its presidential candidate (Bryan lost to William Howard Taft). Although Stephen Sill was the official delegate, it was his wife who made news by waving the California banner from a box occupied by the wives of the state’s delegates during the 80-minute ovation to Bryan. 

Mrs. Sill was also a well-known traveler, described by the Oakland Tribune as one “who gets more than the ordinary individual out of her journeying, and her experiences are always most interesting.” In 1907, following an extended tour of Europe, Mrs. Sill was asked by the Cap and Bells Club of San Francisco to deliver a paper on her “wanderings in the Old World,” featuring “a description of the various shopping methods and ideas employed by the women of European cities.” The Sills would make several trips to Europe and travel to the Far East, South America, and the Caribbean. 

The couple’s first Berkeley home was at 2224 Dana St., but within two years they moved to 2120 Kittredge, and by 1904 they were living above the store at 2209 Shattuck. They entertained regularly and lavishly. In May 1904, the Oakland Tribune reported that on the 10th of that month the Sills had entertained 85 guests at their beautifully decorated, spacious home. 

Eventually, fashion must have dictated a move away from downtown. In the wide-open Thousand Oaks, they selected a choice lot near the Great Stone Face. Taking their cue from John Hopkins Spring, they turned to John Hudson Thomas for the design of their home. 

A childless couple, the Sills nonetheless built a rambling residence on a lot extending from Thousand Oaks Boulevard (then called Escondido Avenue) to Yosemite Road. The house has entrances on both streets, with a garden on each side. No attempt was made to remove the rocks—one large rock juts directly out of the house wall on the west side. Sturdy buttresses and irregular massing of varying heights make the structure appear like a citadel. The Sills, who had encountered similarly situated structures while traveling in Italy, named their house Villa della Rocca (rocca is a rock-top fortress). 

According to Stephen Sill’s obituary, “the beautiful Sill estate” was “always open to the great hosts of friends of Mr. and Mrs. Sill.” The house boasts a ballroom unique to Berkeley—entirely wood-lined and informal in the living-with-nature tradition. A large stage can accommodate musical performances and amateur theatricals. Mrs. Sill used this ballroom to advantage; in March 1915, she offered a musical program to members of the Mills Club. The following October, the Sills hosted a dance for 60 guests from the Benedicts Club. In November 1919, it was the turn of the Five Hundred Club members to enjoy the Sills’ hospitality. 

In 1925, following Stephen Sill’s retirement, the couple sold the house and moved to Benbow, Humboldt County. After her husband’s death, Victorine Sill must have felt isolated in the north country and returned to Berkeley, where she took up permanent residence in the Berkeley Women’s City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Here she continued her rounds of social activities to a ripe old age. 

Villa della Rocca’s ballroom and rock-strewn garden will be open on BAHA’s Spring House Tour from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, May 6. 

Among the Rocks: Houses and Gardens in Thousand Oaks 

Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association Spring House Tour, 1-5 p.m. Sunday, May 6. $35; BAHA members $25. 841-2242. www.berkeleyheritage.com. 

Daniella Thompson publishes berkeleyheritage.com for the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA). 

Photograph: Daniella Thompson 

Villa della Rocca will be featured in BAHA’s May 6 Spring House Tour.

It’s a little off the gardening track, but who could resist a title like Flower Confidential? Actually, anything by Amy Stewart would be hard to resist. Her previous book, The Earth Moved, was a quirky introduction to the world of earthworms, touching on the giant worm of the Willamette Valley (three feet long and lily-scented) and Charles Darwin’s late-in-life fascination with worms (his long-suffering wife Emma played the piano for them; they were unresponsive).  

Flower Confidential (306 pages, $23.95 from Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill) is maybe not all that quirky, but still a great read. A cut-flower aficionado, Stewart sets out to trace the travels of flowers from breeder to grower to auctioneer to florist to your table. For many of them, it’s been a long strange trip. 

Stewart, a semi-local writer (lives in Humboldt County and writes for the San Francisco Chronicle) introduces a few semi-local characters, like the famously eccentric breeder Leslie Woodriff who created the ‘Star Gazer’ lily; and Lane DeVries, the current head of Sun Valley, the growing operation that marketed it.  

But most of the action is overseas. Cut flowers are now a major Third World export commodity, with Colombia, Ecuador, and Kenya leading the pack. Stewart visited several growers in Ecuador (Colombia being a bit dicey these days), where working conditions and health and safety regulations are much different from California. 

Those gorgeous super-roses—“the floral equivalent of a Tiffany diamond, all polished and carved and styled to perfection”—have hidden costs. 

Flower Confidential isn’t quite a horticultural follow-up to Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, though. Stewart seems almost as disturbed by what she encounters in the Netherlands, where she has been escorted through the Dutch-efficient Aalsmeer auction by a public relations person who confesses to being sick of flowers. At a company called Multi Color Flowers, she meets the Holy Grail of breeders, the blue rose: “Actually, it’s hard to compare this blue to any color you’d find in nature. It was more of a Las Vegas blue, a sequin-and-glitter blue. A blue you’d find in nail polish or gumballs, but not in a garden.” The blue rose, of course, has had a dye job. 

Stewart meets the flower inspectors of Miami airport, an unsung part of the Homeland Security task force; talks to upscale florists in Manhattan and street-kiosk vendors in Santa Cruz; and speculates on the future of the industry; she’s intrigued by a small chain called Field of Flowers that aspires to be the Home Depot of the cut-flower world. In an epilogue, she witnesses the Valentine’s Day rush at a flower shop in Eureka.  

In the end, you’re left with mixed impressions. What the global cut-flower industry does is remarkable, and so is the amount of jet fuel it burns in the process—and we’re not even talking about chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Critics of the American Way of Food have been talking about “food-miles”: the distances traveled from farm to plate. It might also be useful to think about “flower-miles.”

I don’t know about you but my eyes are often bigger than my stomach. It’s a constant problem. Well my column last week suffered for this malady and left so much unaddressed that I just have to devote another page to these worthy issues. 

Let’s take a look at heating. As houses progressed through the 20th century much changed. The earliest houses had coal burners in each room, although this was more common in 19th century houses. Aside from generating copious volumes of carbon monoxide and killing more than a few people, this was sooty and just plain hard work since one had to build and maintain coal fires 24/7 to keep body and soul in warmth. These coal burners can still be seen in the dining rooms of many of our earliest houses in the East Bay and are often mistaken for very small fire places. 

Coal gave way to natural gas or methane, the same flammable gas produced by all us mammals. At first natural gas was used without any oderant added and quite a few explosions resulted (and a few asphyxiations). A nasty odor was added to make us aware of it’s presence and a version of this is still in use today. Yes, that funny smell is added. Methane, like carbon monoxide is odorless.  

The first gas heaters (both central and floor mounted) had no pilot safety devices and relied upon the pilot to stay lit. If the pilot got shut off and one did not check prior to operation, a burner could fill a space with gas and….Kaboom. No more Victorian. By the time we move from our old Vicky to our 1930 Albany house we find a pilot safety device that would turn off the burner when the flame of the pilot blew out and would not operate until the device had been re-lit. Stoves from the 40’s also gained this feature as did early central furnaces. 

By the time the first El Cerrito houses were being built, forced air heating had arrived and floor furnaces began to slowly disappear. Richmond houses of the 50 ‘s and 60’s had smaller more efficient furnaces as well as wall heaters for the little houses. All of these were somewhat safer but all were and are vulnerable to cracked heat exchangers (the metal container that transfers heat from the noxious hot atmosphere above the burner to the clean interior atmosphere we breath). Today we have much more sophisticated heaters in the form of high efficiency “condensing” furnaces and the wondrous but rarely seen hydronic units that heat water and warm floors. 

Plumbing has advanced in a few ways over the last hundred years but, surprisingly, is largely the same. The major difference is in the piping material. Galvanized steel was used prior to 1900 and stood fast for at least 40 years. Around the beginning of the second world war, copper began to appear for hot pipes alone! We see this in El Cerrito houses and it’s a funny thing. Why would anyone use two kinds of piping in a house, two sets of methods, two sets of purchases. Very odd. The reason is that copper does not fill in with sediment, as steel is quite apt to do and hot pipes fill in much quicker than cold ones. So by 1940 the difference was well observed and some clever gal or guy suggested using that new (and surely expensive) copper pipe for the hot pipes.  

I’m certain that once a constituency of plumbers had learned the secrets of soldering pipe, it became evident that this was not only superior in terms of avoiding the corrosion and mineral infill that kills water flow but that this was substantially simpler and quicker to install. This is surely the reason that within a matter of just a few years, nearly all plumbing systems were solely copper. But if you keep your eyes peeled in E.C., you might just catch sight of one of these goofy systems. 

Many “galvy” systems had partial upgrades installed using copper and it’s always important that the two metals be kept apart because they form a battery that robs electrons from steel, the less noble metal (no offense intended). This effect can cause a great deal of corrosion resulting in a loss of pressure as well as leaks. This is commonly seen and cause for some attention, though nobody every died from an impoverished shower (and only Austin Powers dies from plumbing leaks). 

Berkeley and Oakland houses up through the thirties share these trials but by the time those World War II, El Cerrito tracts were going in, copper was used nearly everywhere. Richmond homes are also nearly all cupric and nary a one has a bad shower. 

CPVC (a stronger and more flexible version of the commonly seen sprinkler piping) is in use for water piping in many areas now and has just been approved for general use by California. Though we don’t see it around here now, we’ll be seeing a lot of it soon. 

Waste piping also makes a journey though the decades starting with cast-iron “bell & spigot” piping. The bell and spigot is the part where one end is swollen and the other end fits inside. The joint was packed with Oakum (a tarred fiber often made from hemp. Don’t even THINK about smoking this stuff) and filled with molten lead. Installing this proved so toxic to plumbers that by the 1960s the practice was eliminated in favor of “hubless” cast-iron, joined with a rubber and metal fitting. Just imagine breathing lead fumes all day. My liver hurts just thinking about it. 

Cast-iron systems began using steel threaded fittings for the small branches pretty early on but gave way to copper for small branches during those El Cerrito years. These may be the best systems in existence since cast-iron is very durable and copper is almost corrosion proof. Sadly, copper was too expensive and systems after 1960 began moving back to cast-iron and steel. But wait, Benjamin, I have one word for you. Plastics! (name that movie!) ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) piping arrived in the 1960’s and quickly ended the debate. ABS was so cheap and easy to install that nearly every house build after 1970 contains it (except where local authorities said no). Nearly every Richmond house has ABS and a few have defective piping due some bad batches made in the mid-’80s. 

I’ll finish with a brief climb to the roof. If you own a house from before 1920, it probably had one of two kinds of roofing. If the roof had a slight slope (often called a flat roof) it was almost certainly a tar and gravel roof. If the roof had a handsome slope, it was sure to be finished in wooden shingle. While tar and gravel is still in use, its days are sorely numbered having been confronted with a serious contender in the form of Modified Bitumen, which is sheet material that gets welded together and can last three decades.  

Wood shingle is no longer allowed here, or in many areas, due to its tendency to burn your house to the ground (one burning limb on your roof and it’s 1923 (or 1991) all over again).  

Composition or Asphalt shingles came along in the 1940s and were designed for use alone or as a covering over old wooden shingle. As a result it is not uncommon to see houses from the 1930 and earlier covered with two or more (I’ve seen four!) layers of asphalt shingle. This practice is undesirable as it adds a great deal of weight and will surely have an unpleasant “impact” when the big one hits.  

Well, once again, I’ve emitted a large volume of an inert non-combustible gas and left many subject untouched. Remember that we live in a history museum stretching from Oakland to Richmond (and out in all directions). Don’t forget to check out our lovely exhibits. The tours are free. 

Are you read to walk? 

When the Hayward Fault ruptures, if it’s a big one like the geologists say it well could be, we can expect that many roads will be impassable and, if you’re caught out in your car, driving home will not be an option. 

So it’s a great idea to have an emergency kit, a pair of sneakers or walking shoes, and some extra water in your vehicle. Depending upon where you are and how far from home (or other destination), you could be walking for a couple of days.  

Make this part of your plan and discuss with family members what will be your meeting location. After the quake, you won’t be talking on the phone—land line or cell—and you don’t want to be guessing about these things. 

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, APRIL 13 

Impeachment Banner Fridays at 6:45 to 8 a.m. on the Berkeley Pedestrian bridge between Seabreeze Market and the Berkeley Aquatic Park www. Impeachbush-cheney.com 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Amy Meyer on “Guardians for the Golden Gate” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. 526-2925.  

Film Festival for Diversity “Crash” at 6:30 p.m. in the Longfellow Middle School Auditorium, 1500 Derby at Sacramento. Free, including dinner and child care. Presented by the Berkeley PTA Council. 644-6320. 

“Growing Democracy” A documentary on what people living outside the U.S. think about us, at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., midtown Oakland. Donation $5. www.HumanistHall.net 

Womensong Circle Participatory Singing led by Betsy Rose at 7:15 p.m. First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Suggested donation $15-$20. 525-7082. 

Circle Dancing, simple folk dancing with instruction at 7:30 p.m. at Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St at University. Donation of $5 requested. 528-4253. www.circledancing.com 

SATURDAY, APRIL 14 

Rosa Parks Elementary School Rummage and Bake Sale Sat. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Multi Purpose Room, 920 Allston Way at 8th St. 848-9141. 

Berkeley Greens meet at 10:30 a.m. at the third floor meeting room, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St., to discuss an Earth Day booth, a solidarity event with the UC Oak Tree sitters, and a picnic/family day. 333-0539. www.acgreens.org/berkeley.html  

Marsh Creek Wildflower Walk Join Berkeley Path Wanderers on a 6-mile Morgan Territory wildflower loop led by naturalist Jim Hale. Call 549-2908 for carpool infromation and directions. www.berkeleypaths.org 

Mini-Farmers in Tilden A farm exploration program, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. for ages 4-6 years, accompanied by an adult. We will explore the Little Farm, care for animals, do crafts and farm chores. Wear boots and dress to get dirty! Fee is $3-$5. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Toddler Nature Walk, especially for 2-3 year olds, to learn about animal habitats. At 2 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Older Women’s League (OWL) on Current Nursing Home Issues with Prescott Cole, attorney for California Adocates for Nursing Home Reform, at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Co-Housing Community Room, 2220 Sacramento St. 528-3739. 

“The Temperature is Rising” A town Hall meeting on Global Warming with Assemblywoman Loni Hancock at 9:30 a.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. Kisasi.Brooks@asm.ca.gov 

Step It Up - Submerged Shopping Center Day of Action Join First Congregational Church of Berkeley’s rally calling on Congress to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2050, from noon at 3 p.m. at Christie Ave and Powell St, Emeryville. Free. www.fccb.org 

EarthDance Environmental Film Festival with documentaries, comedies, animation and family-friendly offerings from 10 am. to 11 p.m., and noon to 10 p.m. on Sun. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. Tickets are $15-$40. 238-2063.  

9th Annual LGBT Family Night at the Downtown Berkeley YMCA from 6 to 9 p.m. at 2001 Allston Way. Dinner followed by swimming, kindergym, sports, crafts, resource tables, and much more. Cost is $3, $10 per family. 665-3238. 

Small Press Distribution Open House and Book Sale from noon to 4 p.m., with poetry readings at 2 p.m. at 1341 7th St. 524-1668.  

Iris Show and Sale The Sydney B. Mitchell Iris Society Iris Show and Sale Sat. from 1 to 5 p.m. atn Sun. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lakeside Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. 277-4200. 

Basic Composting Workshop from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Vegetarian Cooking Class “Simple, Healthful Japanese Cuisine” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $45, plus $5 for food and materials. Registration required. 531-COOK.  

Mt. Wanda Bird Walk Join a Park Ranger for a walk in the hills. Terrain is steep, wear walking shoes and bring water and binoculars. Rain cancels. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Cal-Trans Park and Ride lot at the corner of Alhambra Ave. and Franklin Canyon Rd., Martinez. 925-228-8860. 

The Great War Society meets to discuss “Allied Invasion in Russia After WWI” by Marvin Weisberger at 10:30 a.m. at 640 Arlington Ave. 527-7118. 

“The Crisis in Africa: Oil, Islam and Darfur” with Professors Martha Saavedra, David Skinner and Barry Schutz at 7 p.m. at the Alameda Public Affairs Forum, Home of Truth, 1300 Grand St., Alameda. www.alamedaforum.org 

NAACP Meeting at 1 p.m. at 2108 Russell St. All welcome. 845-7416.  

Dramatically Speaking Toastmasters Club meets to discuss talking on television at 9 a.m. at 1950 Franklin St., Room 2F. RSVP required, ID needed to get into building. 581-8675. 

Hopalong Animal Rescue Come meet your furry new best cat friend from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Citibank, 4101 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 267-1915, ext. 500. www.hopalong.org  

“Critical Elements to Recovery from Trauma: a Case Study of Dissociation” Lecture by Priscilla Fleischer of the Sanville Insitute at 10 a.m. at a Berkeley home. Call for reservations and location. 848-8420. 

SUNDAY, APRIL 15 

Hike the History of the East Bay Regional Parks A 4-mile hike through Tilden’s canyons. Meet at 9 a.m. at the Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Behind the Streams Meet the insects that call our streams home at 1 p.m. at Lone Oak Stagin Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

“Open Garden” Join the Little Farm gardener for composting, planting, watering and reaping the rewards of our work, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Cancelled only by heavy rain. 525-2233.  

Holocaust Remembrance Day Event Co-sponsored by Jewish Family & Children’s Services of the East Bay and the City of Berkeley, and honoring survivors Eva Blustein and Rita Kuhn from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Berkeley City Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Speakers include Diane L. Wolf and music by Judy Frankel and Delphine Sherman. 558-7800, ext. 257. 

Network for Spiritual Progressives hosts a teach-in at 2 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St., Oakland. 644-1200. 

Iris Show and Sale The Sydney B. Mitchell Iris Society Iris Show and Sale from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lakeside Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. 277-4200. www.spiritualprogressives.org 

Red Oak Victory Ship Pancake Breakfast from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on board the ship in Richmond Harbor, 1337 Canal Blvd. Cost is $6, children under 5 free. 237-2933. 

Community Labyrinth Peace Walk at 3 p.m. at Willard Middle School, Telegraph Ave. between Derby and Stuart. Everyone welcome. Wheelchair accessible. Rain cancels. 526-7377. info@eastbaylabyrinthproject.org 

Voices for Impeachment with Dennis Loo, Peter Phillips, Editors, Impeach the President; Debra Sweet, National Director, The World Can't Wait Drive Out the Bush Regime!; Elizabeth de la Vega, United States v. George W. Bush; Sophie deVries, National Impeachment Coordinator, Democrats.com, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at King Middle School. Donation $5-$25 sliding scale. 415-864-5153.  

“We Don’t Play Golf Here and other Globalization Stories” Saul Landau’s video on the impact of globalization in Mexico, at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Congressman Pete McCloskey, Jr. on “War or World Peace Through the Law?” at 12:30 p.m. at International House, Ida & Robert Sproul Rooms, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Sponsored by the Democratic World Federalists. Cost is $10. 415-227-4880. 

Teen Wild Guide Training at the Oakland Zoo Teen volunteers are needed to assist in the new Valley Children’s Zoo. Training from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Oakland Zoo. For information call 632-9525.  

Earth Day at the Oakland Zoo Learn how to live more lightly on the planet with activities for children and a visit to the newly restored Arroyo Viejo Creek, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 632-9525.  

Free Hands-on Bicycle Clinic Learn how to repair flats from 10 to 11 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Erika Rosenberg on “Seeing through Self-Images” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, APRIL 16 

Tax Day Event Public granting of over $10,000 in resisted war taxes to community groups at 6:30 p.m. at 2220 Sacramento St. Potluck, bring something to go with soup. Free and wheelchair accessible. Everyone welcome. 843-9877. 

Earth Week A week long festival dedicated to celebrating the Earth and raising the community's awareness of environmental issues April 16-20 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sproul Plaza, UC Campus. earthweek.berkeley.edu 

“Improving Global Health: The Role of Universities” Panel discussion at 6:30 p.m. at West Pauley Ballroom, UC Campus. abkhan@berkeley.edu 

“A Forgotten Resistance: The Mosque of Paris” A screening of the documentary with Annette Herskovits who survived the Holocaust as a young child in France, at 12:30 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room of the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. Brown-bag lunch. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

“No End in Sight” Documentary film on the months immediately before and after the toppling of Saddam, followed by a conversation with the director Charles Ferguson, at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way. Sponsored by UC Berkeley’s Center for Latin American Studies. 642-2088. 

“Religion and Power” The 2007 McCoy Memorial Lecture, with Robert Bellah at 4:30 p.m. at the Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. Free, but RSVP requested. 849-8241. 

Cancer Prevention and Survival Cooking Class at 6:30 p.m. at Keller Williams, 4341 Piedmont Ave., 2nd Flr., Oakland. To register call 531-2665. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at East Pauley Ballroom, MLK Student Union, UC Campus. To schedule an appointment call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or go to www.BeADonor.com (Code: UCB) 

TUESDAY, APRIL 17 

Berkeley Garden Club Spring Tea and Floral Design Presentation at 1 p.m. at Epworth Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. Howard Arendtson, owner of H. Julien Designs, will be our guest speaker. Tickets available at the door for $8. 845-4482 . 

Berkeley High School Red and Golden Girls Luncheon for BHS women graduates from the class of 1957 and before at 11 a.m. at the Berkeley City Club. Tickets are $35. 845-5858 or 526-3619. 

Tilden Mini-Rangers An after-school porgram for ages 8-12 to learn about conservation and nature-based activities. Dress to ramble and get dirty. Cost is $6-$8. 636-1684. 

“Winning the Peace in Afghanistan: Challenges and Opportunities” with Said Tayeb Jawad, Afghan Ambassador to the US, Shamim Jawad, International Chair, Roots of Peace, at 1 p.m. in the Maude Fife Room, 315 Wheeler Hall, UC Campus. 642-9407. 

Climate Protection Lunch for Berkeley Property Owners and Managers on how to take action against global warming at noon at Berkeley Civic Center, 2180 Milvia St., Redwood Room, 6th flr. RSVP to 520-5486. 

“Push and Pull: Free Trade and Immigration” A discussion with journalist David Bacon and Mexican activist Juan Manuel Sandoval, at 7 p.m. at Oakland Workers Center, 2501 International at 25th, Oakland. Suggested donation $10. www.globalexchange.org 

“Climbing the Seven Summits” A slide show with John Christiana who has climbed the highest peak on each of seven continents, at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

“A Game as Old as Empire: The Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption” a discussion with Steven Hiatt, John Perkins, Antonia Juhasz, and others at 7 p.m. at Borders Books, 5903 Shellmound, Emeryville. 654-1633.  

Hunger Action Training with the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Learn the issues and how to become a successful advocate. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Alameda County Community Food Bank, 7900 Edgewater Drive, Oakland. To register call 635-3663, ext. 307. 

Parent Voices Meeting to organize for Stand for Children Day at 6 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. 658-7353. 

Discussion Salon on The Job Market at 7 p.m. at JCC, 1414 Walnut.  

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

“Myofascial Pain and Sleep Disorders and Auto-immune Diseases” with Dr. Janet Lord at noon at Maffley Auditorium, Herrick Campus of Alta Bates Medical Center, 2001 Dwight Way. 644-3273. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping the public schools, from noon to 1 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at East Pauley Ballroom, MLK Student Union, UC Campus. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com (code UCB) 

American Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation at 6 p.m. at 6230 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Help support the more than 40 blood drives held each month all over the East Bay. Advanced sign-up is required, call 594-5165.  

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

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18 

“Blue Grit: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians” with Laura Flanders at 7:30 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. TIckets are $5, available at independent bookstores. 848-6767, ext. 609. www.kpfa.org 

“Planning for Urban Wildlife” instead of past practices of extrication and extermination at 1 p.m. at Wurster Hall 315A, UC Campus. http://laep.ced.berkeley.edu/events/colloquium#8  

International Day of Peasant Struggle with an update on Brazil’s Landless Movement at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Donations welcome. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

“Antonia” A documentary on female rappers in the outskirts of Sao Paulo at 7 p.m. at 160 Kroeber Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies. 642-2088. 

“Jesus Camp” A documentary about Evangelical Christians at 7 p.m. at the Gray Panthers, 1403 Addison St., behind Andronicos. 548-9696. 

“24 Solo” A documentary sponsored by the NorCal High School Mountain Bike Racing League at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley High Campus. Tickets are $10-$12. 219-9460. www.norcalmtb.org  

“Crude Impact” A documentary on our dependence on fossil fuels at 7 p.m. at the Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave., near Rockridge BART, Oakland. www.sfbayoil.org/ebpo/ 

New to DVD: “History Boys” at 7 p.m. at JCCEB, 1414 Walnut St. Discussion follows. 848-0237. 

Albany Library Evening Book Club meets to discuss “Devil in a Blue Dress” by Walter Mosley at 7 p.m. at The Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 16. 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome 548-9840. 

THURSDAY, APRIL 19 

Civic Berkeley Public Forum Navigating the Maze: Lessons We’ve Learned Speakers from eight different neighborhood groups will discuss what works and what doesn’t in dealing with City Hall, at 7 p.m. at the B-Tech Academy, Multipurpose Room, corner of MLK, Jr. Way and Derby. 273-2496. 

“Africa, Islam & the War on Terror” with Dr. Abdi Samatar, Somali scholar from the Univ. of MN, at 6 p.m. at University Hall, 2199 Addison St. at Oxford. Sponsored by Priority Africa Network & the Center for African Studies. Suggesrted donation $5-$10. 238 8080 ext. 309. 

“Iraq, Iran and the Bush Agenda: The Danger of Wider War, the Challenge of Preventing It, and the Urgency of a New Global Dynamic” with Larry Everest at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way. 848-1196. 

“Design for Ecological Democracy” with author Randolph Hester at 7:30 p.m. at the Builders Booksource, 1817 4th St. 845-6874. 

Paul Hawken on the Worldwide Movement for Social and Environmental Change at 7 p.m. at College Preparatory School, 6100 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $5-$15. 652-0111.  

“Mesoamerica Resiste! ... with the Beehive Collective” on their use of innovative graphics on corporate globalization at 7:30 p.m. at AK Press, 674A 23rd St., Oakland. 208-1700. www.beehivecollective.org 

LeConte Neighborhood Association meets to discuss plans to improve People’s Park, business changes on Telegraph Avenue, new police procedures regarding loud parties, at 7:30 p.m. at LeConte School, enter from Russell St. 843-2602. 

“Key Employees: Engage Them or Lose Them” A talk by the Northern California Human Resources Assoc., at 7:30 a.m. at Room 231, The Promenade Bldg., 1936 University Ave. Cost is $30-$50. 415-291-1992. 

Simplicity Forum on “Growing Organic Food in Your Yard, Deck, Neighborhood” with Allie Sullivan, an intern with City Slickers Farm in Oakland, at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, Claremont Branch, 2940 Benvenue Ave. 549-3509.  

Free Diabetes Screening from 8:15 to 11 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Do not eat or drink anything for 8 hours beforehand. 981-5332. 

Alcohol Screening from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Options Recovery Services, 1919 Addison St. #204. No appointment necessary. 666-9900. 

Family Story Time for children ages 3-7 at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, North Branch, 1170 The Alameda, at Hopkins. 981-6107. 

Poetry Workshop with Donna Davis, ongoing on Thurs. from 9 a.m. to noon at the JCCEB, 1414 Walnut St. Donation $10 per semester. 848-0237. 

Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters Club meets at 6:45 p.m. at Spud’s Pizza, 3290 Adeline at Alcatraz. namaste@ 

avatar.freetoasthost.info

CORRECTION 

The article “Manuscript Documents Voices of the Warm Water Pool” neglected to mention that the Special Needs Acquatic Program (SNAP) at the Berkeley High Warm Water Pool was founded by Dori Maxon.  

Additionally, the manuscript Soakin’ the Blues Away: Voices of the Warm Pool, which was compiled by Daniel Radman, also contains 45 pictures taken at the warm pool. 

For more information on the manuscript or to obtain a copy, contact Daniel Rudman at 849-4145.

TUESDAY, APRIL 10 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Dirt Show” Ceramic sculpture from the Dept. of Art Practice opens with a reception at 4 p.m. at Worth Ryder Gallery 116 Kroeber Hall, UC Campus, corner of College and Bancroft.  

FILM 

“BB Optics” Optical printing and preservation work at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

A Week Without Racism Film Festival “Girl Trouble” at 5:30 p.m. at the YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Way. Free. www.ywca-berkeley.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Ann-Maurine Lara reads from her novel about three generations of women in the Caribbean at 7:30 p.m. at Laurel Book Store, 4100 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. 531-2073. 

Self-Preservation Workshop for Film and Video Makers with artist and preservationist Bill Brand at 6 p.m. in the PFA Theater. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

David Wallin describes “Attachment in Psychotherapy” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Music of Dharma Lecture by Reverend Hozan Hardiman at 7 p.m. at the Jodo Shinshu Center, 2140 Durant Ave. at Fulton. Cost is $10. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Tee Fee Swamp Boogie at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

John Hammond at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

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

Larry Vuckovich Jazz/Latin Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200.  

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 

EXHIBITIONS 

“eyecatchers” A group show by East Bay women artists at Royal Ground Gallery, 2058 Mountain Blvd., Oakland.  

FILM 

“The Purple Rose of Cairo” at 3 p.m. and “Zero for Conduct” at 8 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

A Week Without Racism Film Festival “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in four Acts” the documentary by Spike Lee about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina at 5:30 p.m. at the YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Way. Free. www.ywca-berkeley.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Ira Nowinski’s San Francisco: Poets, Politics, and Divas” with Ira Nowinski at 10:30 a.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak St., Oakland. Cost is $12.50, students $5. 238-2200. 

Nomadic Rambles Storytelling with Ed Silberman at 7 p.m. at Nomad Cafe. 595-5344.  

Neil Fiore describes “The Now Habit: Overcoming Procrastination While Enjoying Guilt Free Play” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Whiskey Brothers Old Time and Bluegrass at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Left Turn, No Signal at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Bernard Anderson & The Old School Band at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz.Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Stars Original at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Buxter Hoot’n at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Ron Carter Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square., through Sun. Cost is $14-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com  

THURSDAY, APRIL 12 

THEATER 

Aurora Theatre “Private Jokes, Public Places” opens at 8 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. and runs through May 13. Tickets are $38. 843-4822. 

“Clown Bible” acrobatic theater based on man’s relationship with God, Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at Willard Middle School Metal Shop Theater, 2425 Stuart St., through April 14. Tickets are $15-$20. www.brownpapertickets.com 

“My Brother Marvin By Zeola Gaye” which chronicles the life and demise of Marvin Gaye at 8 p.m. at the Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland, through April 15. Tickets are $38.50. 625-8497.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“A Rose Has No Teeth: Bruce Nauman in the 1960s” Guided tour at 5:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

FILM 

Film and Video Makers at Cal “Time After Time” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

A Week Without Racism Film Festival “In This World” a documentary on human trafficking at 5:30 p.m. at the YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Way.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Michael Pollan reads from “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals” in celebration of National Library Week at 7 p.m. at the James Moore Theatre, Oakland Museum of California, 10th & Oak Streets. 

A Tribute to the Poetry of the Late Bert Meyers will be held at 7 p.m. at Black Oak Books, 1491 Shattuck Ave. 486-0698. 

“Bruce Nauman’s Sound and Video Work” A gallery talk with Anne Walsh at noon at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

Daniel Mason reads from his new novel, “A Far Country” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Dani Shapiro reads from her new novel about mothers and daughters “Black & White” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

New Century Chamber Orchestra performs Arvo Part, “Tabula Rasa” for string orchestra at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $28-$42. 415-357-1111. www.ncco.org 

Sun Quartet at 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., $10-15 at door. www.hillsideclub.org  

Breath & Movement Dance at 6 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. Cost is $5-$8. 981-1710. 

Mills College Graduate Dance Thesis Concert at 8 p.m. at Lisser Hall, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland. Tickets are $8-$10 at the door. 430-2175. 

David Jacob-Strain at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. 

Ian Carey Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ.  

Noteworthy, a cappella, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Everest, The Crazies will Destroy You at 10 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. 

Headnodic & Raashan Ahmad at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5. 548-1159.  

Mitch Marcus Quartet + 13 at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $10. 763-1146.  

Headshire Griddle, True Margrit, Blue Mire at 9 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100.  

FRIDAY, APRIL 13 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Industrial Chic” Fashion from recycled and industrial materials by Bay Area artists and designers at 7 p.m. at The Crucible, 1260 7th St., Oakland. Tickets are $15, reservations suggested. 444-0919.www.thecrucible.org 

“Recovery: Man Over Matter” Group show on interpretations of transformation. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at ACCI Gallery, 1652 Shattuck Ave. Exhibit runs to May 5. 843-2527. 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “Lysistrata” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman, through May 12. Tickets are $12. 525-1620. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Aurora Theatre “Private Jokes, Public Places” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through May 13. Tickets are $38. 843-4822. 

Barestage “Cabaret” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 72 Cesar Chavez Center, UC Campus, through April 28. Tickets are $8-$12. 642-3880. 

Berkeley Rep “Blue Door” at 8 p.m. at 2025 Addison St., through May 20. Tickets are $45-$61. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theater “A Streetcar Named Desire” Tennesse Williams’ Pulitzer Prize winning play opens at 8 p.m. Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Contra Costa Civic Theatre, 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito. Runs through May 12. Tickets are $8-$11. 524-9132. www.ccct.org  

Masquers Playhouse “She Loves Me” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, through May 12.Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org  

Shotgun Players “Blood Wedding” Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through April 29. Tickets are $17-$25. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

Wilde Irish Productions “The Cripple of Inishmaan” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through April 15. Tickets are $20-$25. 644-9940. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash Celebrates National Poetry Reading Month with Mary Mackey, Rochelle Ratner, Corrine Robins, and Eileen R. Tabios at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. 525-5476. www.poetryflash.org 

National Poetry Month Readings with Lisa Fishman and Richard Meier at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

New Perspectives on East Asia Book Series with David Leheny on “Think Global, Fear Local: Sex, Violence, and Anxeity in Contemporary Japan” at noon in the IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th flr. 642-2809. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

UC Jazz Ensembles Spring Showcase at 8 p.m. at Chevron Auditorium, International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Tickets are $5-$10. 642-5062. 

Mills College Graduate Dance Thesis Concert with original choreography by Mary Bell, Janet Collard, Jan Jennings, Katie Michelle Rogers, Rebecca Anne Wilson, and others at 8 p.m. at Lisser Hall, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland. Tickets are $8-$10 at the door. 430-2175. 

Breath & Movement Dance at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. Cost is $5-$8. 981-1710. 

Back Porch Pickers, bluegrass at 8 p.m. Arlington Community Church, 52 Arlington Ave., Kendington. Tickets are $15, children $5. 526-9146. 

Suni Paz in Concert, music from Argentina at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Christy Dana Quartet plays the Jimmy Van Heusen Songbook at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373.  

Peron/Spangler Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Workingman’s Ed, J.C. Flyer at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054.  

Ray Cepeda, Latin rock, at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

DuoTones at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Matt the Electrician, Jason Kleinberg, AJ Roach at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

Babyland, Bloody Snowman, 8 Bit 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. 

Sinclair at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Extra Action Marching Band and others at 9 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $10. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Gift of Gab at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$7. 548-1159.  

Brazuca Dub Quartet at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

The River Runs Black at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Ron Carter Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square., through Sun. Cost is $14-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, APRIL 14 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Argentinian Singer Suni Paz at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences “Manzi: The Adventures of Young Cesar Chavez” Sat. at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $10-$18. 925-798-1300. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“2 of a Kind” Prints by artists from the California Society of Printmakers and the NIAD Center for Art and Disabilities. Reception at 2 p.m. at 551 23rd St., Richmond. and runs through June 15. 620-0290. 

Industrial Art Show Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Crucible, 1260 7th St., Oakland. 444-0919. www.thecrucible.org 

THEATER 

“Judgement Day: Where Are Your Gonna Run?” at 7 p.m. at the Black Repertory Theater, 3201 Adeline St. Tickets are $15-$20. 478-3864. 

Peyvand Khorsandi “Generation Skip: Stand-up Comedy” at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $15-$25. 925-798-1300. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Art and Poetry by the Lake with Tom Tuthill and Deborah Vinograd from 2 to 5 p.m. at Lakeview Branch Library, 550 El Embarcadero, by Lake Merritt in Oakland. 238-7344.  

Small Press Distribution Poetry Readings with Juliana Spahr, Will Alexander, Dodie Bellamy, and Albert Flynn Desilver at 2 p.m. at 1341 7th St. 524-1668.  

National Poetry Month Readings with Linh Dinh and Graham Foust at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Jonatham Lethem will read from his new novel “You Don't Love Me Yet” at 7:30 p.m. at Moe's Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave., with special musical guests The Bye Bye Blackbirds. 849-2087. 

Peggy Orenstein reads from “Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, a Romantic Night, and One Woman’s Quest to Become a Mother” at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Gamelan Sari Raras Javanese music and dance with guest dancer Eko Supriyanto at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $4-$12. 642-9988. 

“From Broadway to Opera” music of Mozart, Puccini, Dvorak, Offenbach, Sondheim, Weill, Kern and others with Nanette McGuinness, soprano; Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano; Kathryn Cathcart, piano, at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

Mills College Graduate Dance Thesis Concert with original choreography by Mary Bell, Janet Collard, Jan Jennings, Katie Michelle Rogers, Rebecca Anne Wilson, and others at 8 p.m. at Lisser Hall, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland. Tickets are $8-$10 at the door. 430-2175. 

Breath & Movement Dance at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. Cost is $5-$8. 981-1710. 

The Dave Matthews BLUES Band at 9:30 p.m. at Baltic Square Pub,135 Park Place, Pt. Richmond. 237-4782. 

Verbal Abuse, 2nd Class Citizens, Self Inflicted at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $8. 763-1146.  

Tom Rush at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $29.50-$30.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Ravines at noon at Cafe Zeste, 1250 Addison St. at Bonar, in the Strawberry Creek Park complex. 704-9378. 

The Snake Trio, new directions in jazz and Venezuelan music, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Mo’Rockin’ at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Diablo’s Dust and Ronnie Cato at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Nancy King and Steve Christofferson at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $20. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $5. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Truxton, Voodoo Ecnomics at 9 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100.  

Nicole McRory at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

The Strange Angels, blues and jam, at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Phoenix and Afterbuffalo, Free Peoples at 10 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

CV1 at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

No Alternative, Midnight Boambers 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, APRIL 15 

CHILDREN 

Women of the World with Jackeline Rago, Michelle Jaques and Kelly Tacunda Orphan at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

“A Rose Has No Teeth: Bruce Nauman in the 1960s” Guided tour at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

Native American Weaver, Grace Smith-Yellow Hammer will be exhibiting her own traditional Navajo rugs from 11 to 5 p.m. at Gathering Tribes, 1573 Solano Ave. 528-9038. www.gatheringtribes.com  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

National Poetry Month Readings with Evie Shockley and Barbara Jane Reyes at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Joel Westheimer and contributing authors discuss “Pledging Allegiance, The Politics of Patriotism in America’s Schools” at 7 p.m. at the JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Sponsored by Balck Oak Books. 486-0698. 

Brian Doherty describes “Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Kronos Quartet performs Górecki’s Third String Quartet at 3 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $48. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Ensemble AROW “The Teutonic Spirit” at 3 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 1501 Washington Ave., Albany. Tickets are $10 at the door. www.arowmusic.org  

Michael McKean “Strictly Speaking” Comedian, actor, songwriter at 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $20-$38. 642-9988.  

Remembering the Kid from Red Bank: A Tribute to William “Count” Basie featuring the Count Basie Tribute Orchestra in a fundraiser for the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music. Pre-concert conversation with Orrin Keepnews at 12:30 p.m., concert at 2 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. Oakland. Tickets are $25-35 sliding scale. 836-4649. 

Pappa Gianni and the North Beach Band at 2 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Elana James with Whit Smith at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Latin All-Star Jam with Ray Obiedo & Mombo Caribe, Jose Chepito Areas, Jose Najera, Tony Mayfield and others in a benefit for the Children of Chaguitillo, Nicaragua, at noon Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Suggested donation $10-$25. 

Falso Biano Brazil at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $9. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Quake City Jug Band at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Flamenco Open Stage with Carola Zertuche at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Cecelia Long Quartet at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Battle of the Bands at 6 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $10. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

MONDAY, APRIL 16 

CHILDREN 

Charlotte's Web Read-Aloud In honor of National Library Week, join us in reading Charlotte’s Web at 3:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch Library, 6833 International Boulevard, Oakland. 615-5728. 

FILM 

“A Forgotten Resistance: The Mosque of Paris” with Annette Herskovits who survived the Holocaust as a young child in France, at 12:30 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room of the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. Brown-bag lunch. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

“No End in Sight” Documentary film on the months immediately before and after the toppling of Saddam, followed by a conversation with the director Charles Ferguso at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way. Sponsored by UC Berkeley's Center for Latin American Studies. 642-2088 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Art of Politics” with David Goines, artist and author and Eduardo Pineda, artist and Director, Museum of the African Diaspora at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6150. 

Aurora Theatre Staged Readings “American Whupass” by Justin Warner at 7:30 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. For tickets call 843-4822. 

Robert Hass reads from “Then and Now: The Poets Choice Columns, 1997-2000” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

PlayGround with Philip Kan Gotanda and Carey Perloff and the Emerging Playwrights Awards at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St. Tickets are $75. 415-704-3177. 

Will Alexander and Andrew Joron read at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Poetry Express with Bert Glick at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Average Dyke Band in a benefit for CodePINK at 6 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $23. For tickets call 524-2776.  

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

Classical at the Freight with Michael Taddai & Friends at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Mo’ Rockin Project at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MARVIN GAYE 

My Brother Marvin, by Zeola Gaye, the Motown singer and composer’s youngest sister, sets out to counter the sensationalism surrounding his death with an intimate representation of family relationships. The show, with a promising cast, played to good reviews on the East Coast. The Oakland dates are the only West Coast performances on the tour. 8 p.m. Thursday, April 12 through Sunday, April 15 at the Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. $38.50. 625-8497. 

CLIMATE CHANGE VIDEOS ON CHANNEL 28  

A series of videos on climate change will air on Berkeley Community Media Channel 28 over the next week. 7 p.m. today (Tuesday): “Who Owns Nature?”, a 2005 address by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on global warming and related environmental, political, and spiritual challenges facing America (60 minutes). 7 p.m. Thursday: “Boiling Point: The Global Climate Crisis,” an analysis of the science and politics of climate change by Ross Gelbspan, prize-winning journalist and author of two acclaimed books on global warming (60 minutes). 9:30 p.m. Thursday: “The Great Warming,” based on a series originally made for Canadian television, “should be required viewing by all. Future generations’ lives, and maybe even ours, depend on it,” wrote the New York Times in November 2006. Narrated by Keanu Reeves and Alanis Morissette (90 minutes). 3 p.m. Saturday: “Boiling Point II” combines poetry by Drew Dellinger, an analysis of the science and politics of climate change by author Ross Gelbspan, and an update on global warming's relationship to the increasing intensity of hurricanes (60 minutes). 

POETRY OF BERT MEYERS 

Black Oak Books will host a celebration of the life and poetry of Bert Meyers and the posthumous publication of his In a Dybbuk’s Raincoat: Collected Poems, with readings by Robert Haas, Brenda Hillman, Morton Marcus, Daniel Meyers, Anat Silvera, David Shaddock, and Susan Griffin, at 7 p.m. Thursday. 1491 Shattuck Ave. 486-0698.

When Oakland-based jazz trumpeter Ian Carey was about 14 years old, he experienced something of a revelation. While he was growing up in upstate New York, his family attended church regularly, all singing in the choir. But when they moved back to Folsom, Calif., just east of Sacramento, Carey’s father searched the area in vain for a suitable church with a strong choir. Churches were plenty but choirs were not, and when he couldn’t find one he liked the family’s church-going days were over.  

“I had always thought that we were a religious family,” Carey says, “but once we got to California I found out we were really a musical family.” 

Thus one muse was replaced with another and a life-long obsession was born. 

The Ian Carey Quintet, made up of several Bay Area jazz scene stalwarts, will venture to the East Bay for the first time for a performance this Thursday, from 8 to 11 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island in downtown Berkeley. The band consists of Carey on trumpet and flugelhorn, Adam Schulman on piano, Fred Randolph on bass, Jon Arkin on drums, and Joe Cohen sitting in for Evan Francis on saxophone. The group has drawn praise from notable critics, including Bill Kirchner, editor of the Oxford Companion to Jazz and the Miles Davis Reader, who describes Carey as “a gifted young composer who asks deep musical questions and comes up with compelling answers.” 

The artistic pedigree runs through both sides of the family. Carey’s mother was a designer and illustrator, his father a classical vocalist and jazz aficionado who filled the house with the groundbreaking sounds of Miles Davis and other jazz greats from an extensive record collection.  

When it came time for Ian to pick up an instrument and try out for the school band his grandmother suggested the French horn, reasoning that the rarity of the choice would essentially guarantee him a spot in the band. But landing a spot proved easy enough, as Carey soon picked up a trumpet and found that he had a natural ability to hit the difficult high notes.  

The school’s big band experience may have shaped his early development, but Carey’s interests later gravitated back to the music of his father’s old records, to small band music and the beauty and intricacy of improvisation. Sacramento had a small but thriving jazz scene at the time, and the under-aged Carey and his friends spent many hours sipping ginger ales in the city’s night spots, listening to local musicians such as Tom Peron. After high school Carey spent a couple of years studying classical trumpet at the University of Nevada before he enrolled in New York’s New School, where he studied jazz and contemporary music while getting an intoxicating dose of the romance of the lifestyle, hobnobbing in local clubs with luminaries like Dave Douglas and taking part in roof-top jam sessions overlooking Manhattan.  

Upon graduation Carey financed his music by working as a proofreader at a law firm while struggling to make a dent in the city’s jazz scene, a cut-throat environment where up-and-comers aren’t always made to feel welcome. After four years of struggling to make a living while maintaining his passion for jazz, the pleasures were wearing thin.  

So when an offer of a three-month sublet in San Francisco materialized in the summer of 2001, Carey eagerly seized the opportunity for a temporary change of locale and a chance to check out the Bay Area jazz scene. It didn’t take long to decide to make the move permanent.  

“It’s a much more cooperative, more supportive scene in the Bay Area,” Carey says. “It’s more laid back and welcoming.”  

As if to punctuate his growing disenchantment with his life in New York, 9/11 replaced the figurative dark cloud hanging over Carey’s life in the city with a literal one. He returned in October of 2001 to settle his affairs before moving back to California for good.  

In San Francisco he formed his own quintet and soon landed a regular gig at the House of Shields on Montgomery Street. The high ceilings did little for the acoustics and the crowd wasn’t necessarily a jazz crowd, but the twice-a-month sessions gave the nascent group the chance to venture beyond standards and to push ahead with Carey’s own compositions, several of which found their way onto the quintet’s first album, Sink/Swim.  

The album has the feel of the late 1950s recordings of Miles Davis and Art Farmer, blending elements of hard bop and cool jazz while leaning toward gentler, more lyrical tones. Rick Ballard, proprietor of Groove Yard, an Oakland record shop that specializes in jazz and does its part to promote local talent, says the influence of Davis as well as Chet Baker is apparent, but that Carey is “closer to Farmer in that he often plays flugelhorn as well,” coaxing innovative improvisations out of that instrument’s darker tones. “He’s a promising, young, lyrical player,” says Ballard.  

The House of Shields gig eventually came to an end though, as the venue’s owners decided to end their flirtations with jazz and revert to booking rock bands and DJs. “It was a great experience,” says Carey, but the ending was not entirely undesired. “It’s not easy playing to a crowd of drunken bike messengers.” 

Thursday’s performance will likely feature a broad sampling of the quintet’s repertoire. “We’ll be playing music from our album, as well as new originals by members of the group and some jazz rarities,” Carey says. Jazz fans will get another chance to catch Carey in action the following night as well, when he and Schulman and Randolph will perform as a trio from 7-10 p.m. Friday night at the Parc 55 Hotel in downtown San Francisco.  

THE IAN CAREY QUINTET 

8-11 p.m. Thursday at Anna’s Jazz Island. $8. 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.annasjazzisland.com.  

Sink/Swim can be purchased for $13 through iancareyjazz.com or at the Groove Yard, or for $10 at the show.  

The Groove Yard: 5555 Claremont Ave., Oakland. 655-87400. To sign up for Rick Ballard's jazz newsletter, e-mail groove2@earthlink.net. 

Ian Carey, Adam Shulman and Fred Randolph will also perform as a trio from 7-10 p.m. Friday at the Parc 55 Hotel, 55 Cyril Magnin St., San Francisco. (415) 392-8000. No cover. 

Photograph by Michael Beller 

Ian Carey and his band will perform Thursday night at Anna’s Jazz Island in Berkeley. 

A chain of successes transformed a Hungarian play, Parfumerie, into an Ernst Lubitsch film, 1940’s Shop Around the Corner (with James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan), then the 1949 Judy Garland vehicle, In the Good Old Summertime, before becoming a 1963 Harold Prince Broadway hit, She Loves Me, and finally You’ve Got Mail on the screen in 1998. 

And the Masquers Playhouse in Point Richmond keeps the chain unbroken with a success of its own, its current production of She Loves Me. Originally created by Fiddler on the Roof team Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, with book by Cabaret’s Joe Masteroff, such a slew of successful predecessors have variously enabled the sprightly cast assembled under Marti Baer’s direction to take wing. Making the most of their material, they bring both the enthusiasm of community theater and the skill it takes to pull out the stops to this nostalgic musical comedy, providing the audience with a doubly entertaining evening.  

The story revolves around the employees of a perfume shop in Budapest, entre les deux guerres, their various eccentricities and love lives. Steven Kodaly (D. C. Scarpelli) is a smooth, mustachioed ladykiller, with bubbly ingenue Ilona Ritter (nimble, funny Alison Peltz) seemingly under his thumb—though Ilona’s miffed over Kodaly’s slipperiness and excuses. Maraczek, the owner (Larry Schrupp), harkens back to his own bachelorhood, while swearing fidelity to his only dancing partner, his wife. Georg Nowack, head clerk (Coley Grundman) confides to gentle non-interventionist Ladislov Sipos (Alex Shafer) that he has a secret romance with Dear Friend—a pen pal he’s never met. And Arpad, the enthusiastic delivery boy (Peter Budinger), just seems to be in love with his bicycle.  

Into the busy shop wanders Amalia Balash (Jacqueline Andersen and Robin Steeves alternating), looking for a job, which she scores on a challenge, acing an impossible cold sale that decides a side bet between Maraczek and Georg. 

Amalia becomes the shop’s top seller—and she and Georg start sniping at each other, unaware that they share something very much in common. And Georg finds himself inexplicably on Maraczek’s bad side, so skirmishing on two fronts. 

The split between the smiling, uncomplicated look that the clerks show their many customers and the tangle of their private lives and gossip is the comic back-and-forth that drives the play, bursting out in spirited, burlesqued production numbers on the sales floor, amusingly telegraphed in an escalating Christmas rush. More private moments are upstaged by the buzz of the shop, or in a show-stopping series of hilarious encounters in one of Budapest’s famed cafes (where humorous head waiter Robert Love, the Masquer’s managing director, strives in vain to keep a romantic atmosphere, with gypsy wildness and a chef dancing with shish kabob just two distractions). 

There are over two dozen songs, mostly with clever repartee, from Sipos’ wry “Perspective” to Ilona’s “Trip to the Library,” where she meets a blue-eyed optometrist who reads to this charming illiterate. Back to back are the two more ambitious numbers, Amalia reveling in the “Ice Cream” her opponent Georg has surprised her with, and Georg’s exultant, solo realization of the title song—and the show’s big hit—“She Loves Me (but she doesn’t know it).” 

As the show takes off, the cast performs with increasing gusto, culminating with Jacqueline Andersen, up on her toes, delivering “Ice Cream” in the style of art song, acting out Amalia’s overlapping emotions with winsome charm—and with Coley Grundman’s ecstatic dance, belting out the title tune. 

Pat King presides over a fine quintet from the ivories, and choreographer Chris Bell has paired well with Marti Baer’s stage direction to maintain the often parallel kinetic fields of retail ensemble with soliloquy or pas de deux trading focus, all on the stage at once, liable to burst out in song and dance at the uncorking of a scent flask. The ensemble players—Tom Accettola, Stuart Rosenthal, Mary Kidwell, Nancy Benson, Hattie Mullaly and Mr. Love—are crucial to this effect in their quick changes of character, appearing and disappearing, the crowd of faces in a busy European city. 

Marjorie Moore’s costumes and Renee Echavez’s lighting compliment Dave Wilkerson’s sets, all slightly impressionistic to sparely suggest the ambiance of a Budapest rendered fabulous in its day-to-day affairs, a little of that “Lubitsch Touch” gracing the often head-long rush of an American musical comedy with the master’s deft sophistication. 

SHE LOVES ME 

8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2:30 p.m. Sundays through May 12 at Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org.

Why did I spend most of last week sneezing? Why do half the people on the street seem to be sneezing along with me? Is it a peculiarly Berkeley sort of performance art? 

No, right now it’s mostly the trees. I’m breathing an unrestrained sigh of relief because the fruitless mulberries on my street have mostly stopped their incontinent pollinating and their flowers are falling off. What looks like a mass die-off of homely gray caterpillars on the sidewalks—that’s them.  

Over the last couple of decades, as Thomas Ogren points out in his intriguing book Safe Sex in the Garden, there has been a shift in the sort of trees being planted, especially by public entities. Lots of “fruitless” trees and shrubs are being used because they’re “cleaner”—they don’t drop fruit or seeds on the sidewalk. As we’re seeing, that doesn’t mean they don’t make a mess. They’re being mass-produced, as big nurseries take on the methods of any other industrial enterprise. And they’re all males.  

All our trees are flowering plants, unless you’re counting tree ferns. Trees like pines and other conifers; oaks, alders, olives, and those mulberries, whose flowers are inconspicuous, are usually pollinated by wind. That’s why they don’t need showy blooms to attract pollinators.  

Male flowers produce pollen, and if there aren’t any handy females, where’s all that pollen to go? Into your lungs and mine, and that might be one reason pollen allergy rates are rising all over North America. When your exposure to some random allergen hits a certain lifetime threshold, you discover you’re allergic because you’re sneezing or wheezing or itching or worse. Here’s the rub: that threshold is unknown before you hit it, and so’s the particular allergen.  

A lot of these “non-messy” trees are cultivars that have been planted as replacements for the street trees killed by Dutch elm disease in the 50s and 60s. People had all sorts of ideas about streamlined living then, same as we do now. 

A cultivar—the name of a plant that you see in single quotes on its tag—is often a clone, reproduced by a scaled-up version of what Aunt Tillie did when she rooted a slip of tradescantia in water. All-male clones are produced either from a male of a dioecious species, which has staminate (male) and pistillate (female) flowers on separate plants, rather the way we mammals do it; or from the staminate parts of a monoecious species, which has both kinds of flowers in different places on each plant.  

Plants have a complicated assortment of sexual arrangements; a Falwell among them would either prosper on an endless indignation supply or confuse himself to death.  

And there’s a funny thing about cloning trees: If you clone a redwood from cuttings that come from the top of the tree, it will usually be taller and skinnier, more upward-tending, than a clone from the bottom branches of the same tree. (Yes, people do. They get cuttings from redwood tops by firing a shotgun up into the tree and gathering the bits of tree that fall. I kid you not.) 

Similarly, if you clone a twig that has only male flowers on it, you’ll get an all-male tree of a species that is normally hermaphroditic, with both sexes usually occurring in one plant. if you’re a big wholesale grower, you’ll do this a few thousand times and sell a few thousand genetically identical trees to your big clients and voila, drifts of pollen are wafting across the city.  

Add to the pollen count any number of other allergens like molds and mildews that got their boost with winter’s first rains, insects and their leavings, and just plain dust (including rubber from tires wearing on roads) and it’s a miracle we’re all breathing.  

Ogren and tree-lovers in general agree on some common-sense considerations for our trees. A less-than-healthy tree will typically carry a greater load of insects and molds (including the molds that flourish on the insects’ droppings), and the insects’ dander and the molds’ spores are powerful allergens. Choosing trees that will prosper where they’re planted and keeping them healthy will reduce that load.  

That will also conveniently and thriftily reduce the need for safety pruning, line-clearance pruning, and pesticide spraying. Healthy trees do all their good work more vigorously, and live longer.  

That good work includes trapping and filtering literally tons of airborne particulates and noxious gases that we’d otherwise be breathing—and, of course, producing oxygen and cooling our cities and mitigating cities’ effects on climate. 

That, plus much-needed bird and beneficial critter habitat, efficiently vertical. In a civilized society, we’d even be getting lots of free fruit from urban trees. Maybe that’s a goal to work toward, someday. 

Ron Sullivan is a former professional gardener and arborist. Her “Green Neighbors” column appears every other Tuesday in the Berkeley Daily Planet, alternating with Joe Eaton’s “Wild Neighbors” column. Her “Garden Variety” column appears every Friday in the Planet’s East Bay Home & Real Estate section.  

Photograph: Ron Sullivan 

Good riddance: The flowers are falling off the mulberries, finally.

TUESDAY, APRIL 10 

“Impact of the 1906 Earthquake on Berkeley” with Richard Schwartz and Stephen Tobriner on “Bracing for Disaster” at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6107. 

Berkeley High School Governance Council meets at 4:15 p.m. in the Berkeley Community Theater Lobby to discuss the proposal for denise brown mural, proposed change in Bylaws, and budget decisions. 644-4803. 

March Across Emeryville for Justice for Woodfin Workers Rally at 5 p.m. at the Emeryville City Hall, Park St. at Hollis, and march at 6 p.m. at the Woodfin Suites. www.workingeastbay.org 

Free Diabetes Screening from 8:15 to 11 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Do not eat or drink anything for 8 hours beforehand. 981-5332. 

A Week Without Racism Film Festival “Girl Trouble” at 5:30 p.m. at the YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Way. Free. www.ywca-berkeley.org 

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

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

Cancer Prevention and Survival Cooking Class at 6:30 p.m. at Keller Williams, 4341 Piedmont Ave., 2nd Flr., Oakland. To register call Lori at 531-2665. 

“Poles for Hiking, Trekking and Walking” 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. Share your digital images, slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 548-3991.  

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 

Walk, Talk, Buck the Fence What’s at stake in the Ecology of Berkeley’s Strawberry Canyon A walk at 5 p.m. every Wed. with Ignacio Chapela and expert guests to discuss what is at stake in the proposed steps for the filling of the Canyon by the UC-LBL Rad-Labs, and now British Petroleum. http://canyonwalks.blogspot.com  

Teach-In and Vigil Against American Torture every Wed. at noon at Boalt Hall, Bancroft Way at College Ave.  

“Building Alliances: Latinos, Immigration & The Environment” with Maria Elena Durazo, head of the LA County Federation of Labor; Margot Pepper, Teacher at Rosa Parks School; Hilary Abell, Exec. Director of WAGES at 4 p.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium. www.ecologycenter.org/chavez  

“China and India: How Japan Approaches Asia’s Two Giants” A lecture with Ambassador Sakutaro Tanino, former Japanese Ambassador to China and India at 4 p.m. in the IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th flr. 642-2809. 

“Ira Nowinski”s San Francisco” a slide presentation at 10:30 a.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St. Cost is $12.50. 238-2200. 

Free Diabetes Screening from 8:15 to 11 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Do not eat or drink anything for 8 hours beforehand. 981-5332. 

“Kayaking 101” with paddling specialist Scott Goodman at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

A Week Without Racism Film Festival “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in four Acts” the documentary by Spike Lee about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina at 5:30 p.m. at the YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Way. Free. www.ywca-berkeley.org 

ReelVenezuela, Venezuelan films at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$9. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

New to DVD: “Half Nelson” at 7 p.m. at JCCEB, 1414 Walnut St. Discussion follows. 848-0237. 

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

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center. Sing for Peace at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www. 

geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

Stitch ‘n Bitch at 6:30 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

THURSDAY, APRIL 12 

“Seeds and the Privatization of Life” with Ignacio Chapela. Learn about the importance of saving seed diversity and about the local projects that are putting control back into the hands of local gardeners. At 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

William Sloane Coffin Awards will be presented to Robert N. Bellah and Nancy Scheper-Hughes at 5:15 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Reception follows. 559-9500. 

A Week Without Racism Film Festival “In This World” a documentary on human trafficking at 5:30 p.m. at the YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Way. Free. www.ywca-berkeley.org 

“Jewish Superheroes” with comic book expert Rabbi Harry Manhoff at 7:30 p.m. at the JCCEB, 1414 Walnut St. 839-2900, ext. 347. 

Peace Action West: 50 Years of Waging Peace Celebration with dinner and reminiscences at 6 p.m. at Madison’s, Lake Merritt Hotel, Oakland. Tickets are $125. RSVP to 839-3100. 

ReelVenezuela, Venezuelan films at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$9. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Family Story Time for children ages 3-7 at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, North Branch, 1170 The Alameda, at Hopkins. 981-6107. 

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

FRIDAY, APRIL 13 

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 Amy Meyer on “Guardians for the Golden Gate” 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.  

Film Festival for Diversity “Crash” at 6:30 p.m. in the Longfellow Middle School Auditorium, 1500 Derby at Sacramento. Free, including dinner and child care. Presented by the Berkeley PTA Council. 644-6320. 

“Growing Democracy” A documentary on what people living outside the U.S. think about us, at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., midtown Oakland. Donation $5. www.HumanistHall.net 

Womensong Circle Participatory Singing led by Betsy Rose at 7:15 p.m. First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Suggested donation $15-$20. 525-7082. 

Circle Dancing, simple folk dancing with instruction at 7:30 p.m. at Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St at University. Donation of $5 requested. 528-4253. www.circledancing.com 

SATURDAY, APRIL 14 

Rosa Parks Elementary School Rummage and Bake Sale Sat. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Multi Purpose Room, 920 Allston Way at 8th St. 848-9141. 

Marsh Creek Wildflower Walk Join Berkeley Path Wanderers on a 6-mile Morgan Territory wildflower loop led by naturalist Jim Hale. Call 549-2908 for carpool infromation and directions. www.berkeleypaths.org 

Mini-Farmers in Tilden A farm exploration program, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. for ages 4-6 years, accompanied by an adult. We will explore the Little Farm, care for animals, do crafts and farm chores. Wear boots and dress to get dirty! Fee is $3-$5. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Toddler Nature Walk, especially for 2-3 year olds, to learn about animal habitats. At 2 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Older Women’s League (OWL) on Current Nursing Home Issues with Prescott Cole, attorney for California Adocates for Nursing Home Reform, at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Co-Housing Community Room, 2220 Sacramento St. 528-3739. 

“The Temperature is Rising” A town Hall meeting on Global Warming with Assemblywoman Loni Hancock at 9:30 a.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. Kisasi.Brooks@asm.ca.gov 

Step It Up - Submerged Shopping Center Day of Action Join First Congregational Church of Berkeley’s rally calling on Congress to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2050, from noon at 3 p.m. at Christie Ave and Powell St, Emeryville. Free. www.fccb.org 

EarthDance Environmental Film Festival with documentaries, comedies, animation and family-friendly offerings from 10 am. to 11 p.m., and noon to 10 p.m. on Sun. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. Tickets are $15-$40. 238-2063. www.earthdancefilms.com 

9th Annual LGBT Family Night at the Downtown Berkeley YMCA from 6 to 9 p.m. at 2001 Allston Way. Dinner followed by swimming, kindergym, sports, crafts, resource tables, and much more. Cost is $3, $10 per family. 665-3238. 

Small Press Distribution Open House and Book Sale from noon to 4 p.m., with poetry readings at 2 p.m. at 1341 7th St. 524-1668.  

Iris Show and Sale The Sydney B. Mitchell Iris Society Iris Show and Sale Sat. from 1 to 5 p.m. atn Sun. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lakeside Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. 277-4200. 

Basic Composting Workshop from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Vegetarian Cooking Class “Simple, Healthful Japanese Cuisine” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $45, plus 435 for food and materials. Registration required. 531-COOK. www.compassionatecooks.com  

Mt. Wanda Bird Walk Join a Park Ranger for a walk in the hills. Terrain is steep, wear walking shoes and bring water and binoculars. Rain cancels. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Cal-Trans Park and Ride lot at the corner of Alhambra Ave. and Franklin Canyon Rd., Martinez. 925-228-8860. 

The Great War Society meets to discuss “Allied Invasion in Russia After WWI” by Marvin Weisberger at 10:30 a.m. at 640 Arlington Ave. 527-7118. 

“The Crisis in Africa: Oil, Islam and Darfur” with Professors Martha Saavedra, David Skinner and Barry Schutz at 7 p.m. at the Alameda Public Affairs Forum, Home of Truth, 1300 Grand St., Alameda. www.alamedaforum.org 

NAACP Meeting at 1 p.m. at 2108 Russell St. All welcome. 845-7416.  

Dramatically Speaking Toastmasters Club meets to discuss talking on television at 9 a.m. at 1950 Franklin St., Room 2F. RSVP required, ID needed to get into building. 581-8675. 

Hopalong Animal Rescue Come meet your furry new best cat friend from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Citibank, 4101 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 267-1915, ext. 500. www.hopalong.org  

“Critical Elements to Recovery from Trauma: a Case Study of Dissociation” Lecture by Priscilla Fleischer of teh Sanville Insitute at 10 a.m. at a Berkeley home. Call for reservations and location. 848-8420. 

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

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

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

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. 

Petite Pooches Playgroup for small dogs from 10:30 11:30 a.m., one block north of Solano on Ensenada at Talbot. 524-2459. 

SUNDAY, APRIL 15 

Hike the History of the East Bay Regional Parks A 4-mile hike throug Tilden’s canyons. Meet at 9 a.m. at the Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Behind the Streams Meet the insects that call our streams home at 1 p.m. at Lone Oak Stagin Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

“Open Garden” Join the Little Farm gardener for composting, planting, watering and reaping the rewards of our work, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Cancelled only by heavy rain. 525-2233. www.ebparks.org 

Holocaust Remembrance Day Event Co-sponsored by Jewish Family & Children’s Services of the East Bay and the City of Berkeley, and honoring survivors Eva Blustein and Rita Kuhn from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Berkeley City Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Speakers include Diane L. Wolf and music by Judy Frankel and Delphine Sherman. 558-7800, ext. 257. 

Iris Show and Sale The Sydney B. Mitchell Iris Society Iris Show and Sale from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lakeside Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. 277-4200. 

Red Oak Victory Ship Pancake Breakfast from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on board the ship in Richmond Harbor, 1337 Canal Blvd. Cost is $6, children under 5 free. 237-2933. 

Community Labyrinth Peace Walk at 3 p.m. at Willard Middle School, Telegraph Ave. between Derby and Stuart. Everyone welcome. Wheelchair accessible. Rain cancels. 526-7377. info@eastbaylabyrinthproject.org 

Voices for Impeachment with Dennis Loo, Peter Phillips, Editors, Impeach the President; Debra Sweet, National Director, The World Can't Wait Drive Out the Bush Regime!; Elizabeth de la Vega, United States v. George W. Bush; Sophie deVries, National Impeachment Coordinator, Democrats.com, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at King Middle School. Donation $5-$25 sliding scale. 415-864-5153. http://sfbaycantwait.org 

“We Don’t Play Golf Here and other Globalization Stories” Saul Landau’s video on the impact of globalization in Mexico, at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Congressman Pete McCloskey, Jr. on “War or World Peace Through the Law?” at 12:30 p.m. at International House, Ida & Robert Sproul Rooms, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Sponsored by the Democratic World Federalists. Cost is $10. 415-227-4880. 

Teen Wild Guide Training at the Oakland Zoo Teen volunteers are needed to assist in the new Valley hildren’s Zoo. Training from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Oakland Zoo. For information call 632-9525.  

Earth Day at the Oakland Zoo Learn how to live more lightly on the planet with activities for children and a visit to the newly restored Arroyo Viejo Creek, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 632-9525.  

Free Hands-on Bicycle Clinic Learn how to repair flats from 10 to 11 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

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 

Tibetan Buddhism with Erika Rosenberg on “Seeing through Self-Images” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, APRIL 16 

Tax Day Event Public granting of over $10,000 in resisted war taxes to community groups at 6:30 p.m. at 2220 Sacramento St. Potluck, bring something to go with soup. Free and wheelchair accessible. Everyone welcome. 843-9877. 

Earth Week A week long festival dedicated to celebrating the Earth and raising the community's awareness of environmental issues April 16-20 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sproul Plaza, UC Campus. earthweek.berkeley.edu 

“A Forgotten Resistance: The Mosque of Paris” A screening of the documentary with Annette Herskovits who survived the Holocaust as a young child in France, at 12:30 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room of teh Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. Brown-bag lunch. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

“No End in Sight” Documentary film on the months immediately before and after the toppling of Saddam, followed by a conversation with the director Charles Ferguson, at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way. Sponsored by UC Berkeley’s Center for Latin American Studies. 642-2088. 

“Religion and Power” The 2007 McCoy Memorial Lecture, with Robert Bellah at 4:30 p.m. at the Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. Free, but RSVP requested. 849-8241. 

Cancer Prevention and Survival Cooking Class at 6:30 p.m. at Keller Williams, 4341 Piedmont Ave., 2nd Flr., Oakland. To register call Lori at 531-2665. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at East Pauley Ballroom, MLK Student Union, UC Campus. To Schedule and Appointment call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or go to www.BeADonor.com (Code: UCB) 

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. 

CITY MEETINGS 

Homeless Commission meets Wed., April 11, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426. 

Police Review Commission meets Wed., April 11, at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-4950.  

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., April 11, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. Cliff Marchetti, 981-6740. 

Community Health Commission meets Thurs., April 12 , at 6:45 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5356.  

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., April 12, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410.  

The Daily Planet misidentified the date of a march through Emeryville in support of the Woodfin Hotel Suite workers. The march will take place today (Tuesday), gathering at 5:30 p.m. at Emeryville City Hall, 1330 Park St. and marching to the hotel at 5800 Shellmound St.