Second Lt. Joseph Perkins described it as a small carnival—with its Humvee, Apache Helicopter simulator and climbing wall. A graduate of UC Berkeley, Perkins was one of the army recruiters on campus on Friday.  

Perkins hasn’t seen combat. But if he was called to Iraq, he said he’d go. “I signed up,” he said. 

“Get your free dog tags here,” one of the young men called out to those passing by. It was noon on Friday, day two of the three-day marketing effort to promote the army and ROTC on campus. 

“We’re promoting the army with games and personalized ID tags,” Filipe Tamayo told the Planet. Tamayo works for LAX, a marketing agency that sends teams of marketers all over the country to air shows, concerts and festivals to promote the army. They work in tandem with the recruiters. 

They’ll be next to Haas Pavilion on Bancroft Way on campus from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and in Arizona next week. 

Asked why he doesn’t join the army, Tamayo hesitated, then said it’s because he has the job with the marketing firm that he likes. 

Others should join, he said. “Basically, the army opens a lot of opportunities for youth,” he said.  

During the 20 minutes or so the Daily Planet hung around the area, only one person tried out the climbing wall and another one went into the helicopter simulator. A few picked up free dog tags.  

Most walked by. No one protested. 

Joseph Hill, a Laney College student tried out the helicopter, explaining the video simulation had him clearing an area. “It was a simulation of an attack; I cleared the way for a mission to make sure they could get through,” he said. “It’s pretty cool; it’s high tech.”  

Hill said when he was 18 he’d tried to sign up for the military, but asthma kept him out. 

Over at the climbing wall, marked on its side with “Go army.com,” Dwight Crane easily made it up to the top. 

“It’s fun,” Crow told the Planet after taking off his safety helmet. Crow, a senior in chemistry, said he didn’t think the marketing efforts could change the mind of anyone who wasn’t already planning on joining the army.  

He has no plans to join and shook his head “no” when asked if he supports the war. 

Crow doesn’t oppose the military. “It’s not the army, it’s the politicians,” he said. 

The Berkeley Marina was closed to incoming and outgoing boat traffic Friday after the incoming tide brought more oil globules and sick birds into its beaches and surrounding parks. 

State and local agencies are working to rescue the oiled birds at the Marina and all along the East Bay shoreline after the Cosco Busan crashed into the Bay Bridge and spilled bunker fuel in the bay Wednesday. 

The city’s Environmental Health Division has warned that people and pets should be kept away from the contaminated shoreline. 

“It’s hard to predict how long the cleanup will be, or how long the effects will linger,” said Acting Waterfront Manager Ann Hardinger in a statement. “A lot depends on just how much the ocean can take.” 

The Berkeley Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Team brought booms and other absorbent materials to the Marina to help clean up the water and shore. 

The Berkeley Animal Care Center reported that 25 sick birds were spotted along the shoreline from Berkeley through Albany on Friday. 

Mark Ragatz, shoreline unit manager for the East Bay Regional Park District, said that a command post had been set up at the Eastshore State Park today to clean affected birds. 

“It looks like a mess,” he told the Planet Friday. “Some areas are not hit as hard but it could take several weeks to clean up ... Oil appeared in Crown Beach in Alameda today.” 

The park district has closed off water access to a number of parks in the East Bay including Point Isabel Regional Shoreline in Richmond, a popular dog walking area. 

Ragatz said that contractors had been hired to clean up the spills. Trained staff from the California State Department of Fish and Game and other local and state agencies were also involved in the rescue mission. 

Dead birds have been spotted at the Berkeley Marina and the Albany Bulb. 

“We picked up a dead duck from the Berkeley Marina today,” said Kate O’ Connor, director of the animal care shelter. “The International Bird Rescue Research Center has told us not to pick up any more birds but to tell them what type of birds we spot and where.” 

Councilmember Dona Spring said she was extremely concerned about the birds and wildlife affected by the spills. 

“I don’t know if the Coast Guard is making any trips down to the Berkeley shoreline,” she said. “I guess they are too busy dealing with the major oil spills. We are going to be billing the Coast Guard for any expenses that occur during the clean up. We should all make it our top priority to go down there and volunteer.” 

Some environmentalists have said that winter was the worst time for an oil spill since the bay is full of ducks, grebes, pelicans, cormorants and other water birds. 

The surf scoters, a species of ducks whose population has declined, seems to be the hardest hit. 

An oiled bird either dies of hypothermia or starves if not treated immediately. 

The International Bird Rescue Research Center has advised residents and visitors against cleaning the birds and instead to call the organization’s hotline at (877) 823-6926. 

While attempting capture, the animals eyes should be covered with a blanket or towel and they should then be transported inside a secure and ventilated container. 

Rules to follow during rescue: 

• Keep the animal warm, 80-90 degrees.  

• Don’t feed it or give it fluids.  

• Keep it in a secure, dark container or kennel.  

• Stay quiet around it and don’t constantly look at the bird.  

• Get it to a rehabilitation hospital as quickly as possible.  

• Never keep the animal or try to treat it yourself  

For more information visit www.ibrrc.org/Cosco_Busan_spill_2007.html. or www.uscgsanfrancisco.com/go/site/823/.  

The fenced-in tree-sitters at UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium oak grove gained new allies Wednesday as their counterparts in Santa Cruz climbed redwoods while their allies were driven back by an onslaught of police clubs and pepper spray. 

Both protests target development plans of University of California, with the Santa Cruz tree-sitters challenging that campus’ Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). 

Meanwhile, UC Berkeley campus officials have literally raised the stakes at the stadium grove, installing most of a new, higher fence system designed to isolate Berkeley’s own protesters “prior to the removal of the tree-sitters,” said Charles R. Olson, a San Francisco attorney hired by the university. 

The tree-sitters are protesting the university’s plans to build a four-level, partly subterranean gym and office complex where the grove now stands. The gym is the first in a series of projects planned for the area. 

With a judicial ruling possible as early as Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging the university’s stadium area development plans, the campus is preparing for whatever comes next, said Dan Mogulof, executive director of the campus Office of Public Affairs. 

“Either we are ready to begin construction or the trees continue to be protected,” he said. 

In addition to the approach of a ruling by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara J. Miller, the Cal Bears football season ends Saturday. 

Until after the game, the university will keep existing pathways open in the grove area and will continue to allow food and water to be brought to the protesters occupying trees in the grove, Mogulof said. 

“But if the people in the trees continue to disregard state law, a court order, a local ordinance and campus regulations, we need to secure the area and enforce the law,” said Mogulof. 

The order refers to a ruling by another county judge, Richard Keller, who issued a university-sought temporary restraining order that, if enforced, would end the tree sit. 

But Mogulof said that to his knowledge the university is not planning to forcibly extract the protesters from the trees. 

“Everything is being done to minimize the chances of injury” to police, students and tree-sitters, he said. 

Olson, in a letter to Judge Miller sent Wednesday, said, “In order to remove the tree sitters from the trees and dismantle their living structures and circulation devices without unnecessary risk to the protesters or university security personnel, [Campus Police] Chief [Victoria L.] Harrison believes it is essential to establish a security perimeter that is larger than the currently existing perimeter.” 

The attorney also included a copy of Judge Keller’s order. 

Just how removal would be effected without forcible removal wasn’t explained, and Mogulof wasn’t saying. 

While Olson’s letter said that none of current actions are “implementing the Southeast Campus Integrated Projects”—the complex of buildings now under challenge in Miller’s court—Doug Buckwald disagrees. 

A plaintiff in the suit now before Judge Miller, Buckwald said that the post holes being bored in the parking lot adjacent to International House Thursday afternoon have nothing to do with the tree sitters. 

“They are clearly putting up a construction fence,” said Buckwald. 

Santa Cruz  

Wednesday’s events in Santa Cruz began at 4 a.m. when a handful of tree-sitters climbed into a grove of redwood trees on “Science Hill” slated to be chopped down to make way for a new Biomedical Sciences building—the first stage of construction under the campus Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). 

Campus and city police arrived as supporters were sending food, water and warm clothing up to the tree-sitters, arresting several of the supporters, said Jennifer Charles, a UCSC grad who is helping to coordinate publicity and support for the protest. 

“The student have been planning this for a while,” said Grant Wilson, who has a part-time position with the university’s Arts and Lectures Program. 

The LRDP plan calls for clearing about 120 acres of forested land on campus, said Charles, along with increasing the campus population by 4,500. 

The square footage of campus buildings would double under the plan, which has inspired a lawsuit by citizens and by the city of Santa Cruz, who say the plan doesn’t address the severe impacts it imposes on water, sewers, traffic and other community resources. 

Seven hours after their first encounter with police, protesters staged an 11 a.m. rally at the center of the campus, then set off toward the grove, where they were met by police standing behind temporary fencing and barriers. 

Campus police from UC Berkeley were also on hand, for what quickly developed into a melee after protesters confronted police and pushed their way into the grove and began to send food, water and—in some cases—the sweaters off their backs up to the tree-sitters, Wilson said. 

“Some of the officers got out their batons and really started thumping,” he said. “The students had nowhere to go and they were jammed up so close together they couldn’t even fall down. Other police actually pulled one policeman back because he was pretty liberal in the use of his baton.” 

Officers also used blasts of pepper spray, catching reporters as well as protesters, Wilson said. 

But in the end, the police relented, despite the arrival of another squad of officers in riot gear. 

“By that time there were more people showing up, so I think they realized that with that many students and community people there, it probably wouldn’t be good to come on so heavy-handed,” Wilson said. 

By the time the pepper spray had cleared, the students and their allies were in possession of the grove, with police standing by. 

Though one Berkeley officer was reportedly injured in the melee, campus police spokesperson and Assistant Chief Mitch Celaya did not return a call asking for confirmation. 

In a joint statement, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal and Campus Provost David Kliger condemned what they dubbed “a ‘dangerous’ demonstration.” 

In a move reminiscent of critics of the civil rights protests of as half-century ago, the administrators also placed some of the blame on outside agitators. 

“The incidents, which occurred on two parking lots proposed for the Biomedical Sciences Facility, involved a number of individuals not affiliated with the campus, including five people who scaled trees early in the morning on the site. 

“Instead of the constructive expression of speech through a nonviolent demonstration, the protest morphed into a dangerous example of inappropriate and in some cases illegal behavior.” 

Wilson said the tree-sitters, who appeared in masks in videos of the event, are reluctant to reveal their identities. 

But the protesters themselves were mainly students, joined by townspeople, Wilson and Charles said. Videos of the events show that most of those at the grove appear to be students.

The City of Berkeley dredged the lagoon at the north end of Aquatic Park and dumped the sludge along the shoreline this week. State Water Resources Control Board officials said the city’s Public Works Department never requested a permit for the project. 

Local environmentalists and city officials were furious that Public Works started the project during migratory season and dumped the sludge—likely toxic, they said—on the west side of the park, on top of a popular bird watching outlook and adjacent to one of the main wading bird foraging spots. 

Loren Jensen, supervising engineer at Public Works, told the Planet that the project was stopped Wednesday after public complaints and inquiries from the Planet. 

The lagoon is dredged every 15 years to clear out the debris around the tidal tubes and clean out the Strawberry Creek storm drain to improve circulation. The procedure costs the city about $80,000 from the General Fund. 

Jensen said that the State Water Resources Control Board and the Army Corps of Engineers —the two regulatory bodies responsible for issuing permits for dredging—had told project manager Hamid Kondazi that a permit wasn’t required but he couldn’t provide any documentation to support that claim. 

“He [Kondazi] can’t remember the name of the person he spoke to at the State Water Resources Control Board,” Jensen said.  

“A permit is required any time they are performing work in waters of the state under the California Porter-Cologne Act,” said Brian Wines, who oversees permits for Alameda County at the state water board. “They definitely should have asked us first. I am very disappointed that they didn’t do this.” 

By Wednesday, 30 truckloads of sludge formed four-foot piles along one of the best bird watching trails near the Berkeley Paddling and Rowing Club. Spills could be seen trickling down to the waters of the lagoon which feeds into the bay. 

Jensen acknowledged that the contractors hired by the city had not used the right method to dispose off the sludge. He did not name the firm the department had hired to dredge the lagoon. 

“I would not have approved the way it was done if I was the project manager,” he said. “There are some spills close to the area and the water should not be allowed to go back into the lagoon. It’s not a good sight. I have stopped the work and asked the contractors to clean up the spoils.” 

Wines told the Planet that the correct way to store the spoils was to pile it in a place and construct berms around it to prevent the water from running back into the waters of the bay. 

“We’ve asked Public Works to prepare it,” he said. 

Parks and recreation commissioner Lisa Stephens told the Planet that Laurel Marcus Associates—consultants hired by the city to provide advice on future park projects—had told the Aquatic Park Subcommittee that the sludge was probably highly contaminated since Strawberry Creek picked up all the urban waste on its way to the park. 

“I am astounded at the way our city continues to treat the park as its dump,” she said. 

An old car was sticking out from the spoils dumped at the site of excavation at the foot of Addison Street. 

A great blue heron, a park fixture, was feeding near a pile of the sludge which contained, among other things, a car steering wheel. Ducks and white-crowned sparrows could also be seen feeding near the dumps. 

“This is a place where the heron typically feeds,” said Mark Liolios of the Aquatic Park Environmental Greening, Education, and Restoration Team (EGRET). “I think as soon as the rains come the spoils will wash down and any toxic chemical in it will kill the fish and the birds that feed on it.” 

Berkeley arborist (and Planet columnist) Ron Sullivan told the Planet that stirring up the lake could disturb the birds’ food supply. 

“They really need to eat now, after the journey here, and all winter, to build up their reserves to return to their nesting grounds and breed,” she said. 

William Rogers, acting director for the city’s Parks Recreation and Waterfront department, said Wednesday he was not aware of the dredging. 

“Public Works told me today that the tubes are not working very efficiently,” he said. “In the event we have a lot of rain they want to improve the flow. There’s silt in front of the overflow that has caused floods in the past.” 

Stephens told the Planet that the city shouldn’t put storm water in the Aquatic Park to solve West Berkeley’s flooding problems. 

“It’s misguided public policy,” she said. “By deepening that area they are destroying a food habitat. There aren’t a lot of places at the Aquatic Park where birds can feed at the moment. Storm water is toxic. When the freshwater mixes with the salt water it kills the fish in the lagoon ... In order to keep West Berkeley from flooding, the city needs to have a very good storm-water plan.”

Amidst jeers, catcalls and demands for the mayor’s recall‚ and Mayor Tom Bates’ threats to clear the rowdy public from the chambers, the Berkeley City Council voted Tuesday to allow two powerful telecommunications companies to place antennas atop UC Storage, a five-story building owned by developer Patrick Kennedy adjacent to the neighborhood at Ward Street and Shattuck Avenue. 

Voting to overturn a Zoning Adjustments Board decision to disallow the antennas were Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmembers Laurie Capitelli, Linda Maio, Betty Olds and Gordon Wozniak. Councilmember Max Anderson voted to uphold the zoning board denial and Councilmembers Dona Spring, Darryl Moore and Kriss Worthington abstained.  

This reversed an Oct. 23 council action, where only Wozniak had voted to overturn the zoning board decision. The council had a month from the Oct. 23 vote to overturn the ZAB decision. 

Anderson, who represents the Ward Street neighborhood and is a registered nurse by profession, told the council that allowing the antennas—and their possible ill effects—was tantamount to disavowing a city resolution to follow the Precautionary Principle, which states that if a city policy might cause severe harm to the public, “lack of full scientific certainty about cause and effect shall not be viewed as sufficient reason for the city to postpone measures to … protect human health.” 

In accepting that policy, the city “accepted the responsibility of safeguarding us against technologies, environmental threats, other kinds of health threats that potentially exist,” Anderson said. 

The vote came after Kirk Trost, attorney with Sacramento-based Miller Owen & Trost, hired as outside counsel by the city, said publicly what he had been telling the council in closed-door sessions: given the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, the city could not win its case in court against Verizon. 

Based on the Zoning Adjustment Board’s denial of the right for Nextel and Verizon to place telecommunications antennas on the roof at 2721 Shattuck Ave., Verizon filed a lawsuit in federal court in August, saying the zoning board decision unlawfully restricts the company. 

Trost said he agreed with Verizon and Nextel that the zoning board decision was flawed. There was no evidence in the record to support ZAB’s claim that there was a problem with the information provided by the companies concerning their need for the antennas in order to provide adequate capacity, Trost said, noting, “Instead the record in fact contains substantial evidence to support the need for the facility.”  

Trost further underscored that the Telecommunications Act rules out consideration of adverse health impacts. 

City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque told the public at the meeting Tuesday that in addition to her office looking at the question, the city engaged three different outside attorneys, all of whom agreed that Berkeley could not win its case in court. 

Maio, who voted with the majority, pointed out that the courts have consistently sided with the telecommunications industry and that the Supreme Court refused to address the question when a case was submitted to it. 

Bates, who lives among those protesting the antennas, voted with the majority to support the Nextel/Verizon appeal, reversing his Oct. 23 vote to support the zoning board.  

“We need to back up and strengthen our ordinance [on locating antennas]. Our ordinance is terrible,” Bates said. “We have made mistake after mistake in trying to appease an angry, upset constituency. We’ve made mistakes by bouncing it back and forth [between the zoning board and the council]—we probably shouldn’t have done that.” 

Bates went on to say that if the council went to court, “We’re headed for a loss and attorneys’ fees. I can’t in good faith go in to lose.” 

The mayor denied the audience time to speak, saying the public hearing on the question had been closed Oct 23. Audience placards, however, sent the massage: “Local control over antennas,” “Uphold the ZAB decision,” and “People’s voice; supreme law.” 

Spring, who voted with Bates and Anderson on Oct. 23 to uphold the zoning board denial, abstained Tuesday, saying the city didn’t have options. “Right now, we don’t have an attorney that will even take this case for us,” she said. 

Capitelli agreed: “We will lose in court. We will lose quickly and cleanly,” he said. 

Wozniak, who consistently voted to overturn the zoning board decision, said the city could not change the Telecommunications Act. “The right way is to go to Congress and change it,” he said. 

Anderson stood with his constituents: “Sometimes even when you don’t think you can win, you need to fight,” he said. 

Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee members turned thumbs down on point towers in downtown Berkeley Wednesday, voting 13-7-1 for a six-story maximum building height, while allowing for up to ten exceptions. 

Two of the exceptions would be hotels, which would be allowed the greatest height, yet to be determined. 

The vote ends—for now—the repeatedly rejected and resurrected staff-backed plan calling for up to 14 16-story towers as a way of packing more people into the city center. 

Building heights and the fate of Berkeley’s historic buildings were the two central fault lines that surfaced repeatedly during the two years members of DAPAC have been meeting. 

Formally launched on Nov. 21, 2005, the committee approaches its mandated sunset date of Nov. 30 with only two more meetings left to tweak their draft of the new city center plan. 

The final proposal adopted Wednesday contained compromise provisions drafted by James Novosel, a Berkeley architect. 

The version of the land use chapter adopted Wednesday allows for an 85-foot maximum height for all but a handful of exceptions, effectively allowing one more story than the existing plan. 

In addition to the hotels, four other buildings would be allowed to rise to 100 feet and four 120-foot buildings would also be permitted.  

One of the 120-footers could be an office building, but the others would have to provide housing above the ground floor. 

Closer vote 

While the final vote bestowed approval by almost a two-to-one margin, a much taller skyline failed minutes earlier by a single vote. 

That proposal, advanced by Victoria Eisen, would have raised the general downtown maximum height to 100 feet, or eight floors for housing over commercial. 

That option in addition to the hotels, also allowed for a quartet of 120-footers, or a trio at 140 feet or a duet of the much-discussed 160-foot point towers. 

Dorothy Walker and other proponents of the taller skyline said that only by making projects financially attractive to developers could the city hope to win funds for the parks, open space, public restrooms and other civic benefits proposed in other parts of the plan. 

But their proposal failed on a 10-11 vote. 

One of those who voted for the proposal was developer Ali Kashani, filling in for an absent Linda Schacht, a UC Berkeley journalism instructor. 

Kashani had presented the Land Use Subcommittee with detailed analyses that he said showed that only buildings of five floors or less or those of 14 stories or more would yield the levels of profits needed to attract developers. 

But Novosel had countered that he was able to design projects at the heights he proposed which promised to yield healthy profits for developers. 

Planning Commission chair James Samuels said that 85-foot buildings aren’t profitable, and have been built mainly by non-profits who receive subsidies for creating affordable housing. 

Review period 

The compromise package also includes a requirement for a follow-up review eight years after the final plan is adopted by the City Council to determine if the provisions have allowed for development, and to study the plan’s impacts on the proposed public amenities. 

But proponents of the modified height plan received a less than reassuring response from Planning Director Dan Marks on the question of whether or not the maximum height limits would really stave off taller projects. 

“We can’t tie the hands of the City Council,” Marks said. “The Zoning Ordinance” which spells out the plan’s requirements applies, he said, “but if the City Council chooses to make an exception they can as a matter of state law.” 

“I was cautiously optimistic that a maximum would be a maximum, but I guess I have reason to be cautious,” said Jesse Arreguin. 

“This is an American democracy,” said DAPAC chair Will Travis. “None of us were elected dogcatcher,” he said, and the Planning Commission and the Zoning Adjustments Board are vehicles of the City Council. 

“We are making a mountain out of a molehill,” said Kashani. 

Planning Commission chair James Samuels said that the only practical measure open to DAPAC was to set the maximums as a way to minimize variables. 

“The council will be bound by this if they adopt it,” said Wendy Alfsen. “We want to make clear that this is maximum height, and that they will be bound by it.” 

“Unless they change it,” added Travis. 

“What we’re voting on is an esthetic,” Novosel said. “My vote is not going to be for unlimited 100-foot buildings, adding that it is not going to be for not making a decision. We’re still going to get some very high buildings.”  

Numbers game 

While critics of the smaller-scale option insisted that proposal would significantly reduce the city’s ability to build new housing, Planning Commissioner Gene Poschman has cited his own figures that he says show that even with the existing plan the downtown could accommodate all the housing units the Association for Bay Area Governments (ABAG) says the city needs to allow over the next seven years. 

But ABAG wasn’t mentioned Wednesday night, making the event one of the few meetings where density was raised and the regional governmental agency wasn’t invoked. 

The new plan was mandated by the city’s settlement of its lawsuit challenging UC Berkeley Long Range Development Plan 2020, which calls for extensive development in the city center. 

The university wants to build up to 800,000 square feet of new off-campus construction in the heart of the city, and will be allowed to build 100 buildings on its own properties. 

The university is also the driving force behind one of the two hotels, the Berkeley Charles, which would rise at the northeast corner of Center Street and Shattuck Avenue. 

The second high-rise hostelry would be an expansion of the existing Shattuck Hotel, a city landmark a block away. 

Winston Burton said he was swayed to vote for Novosel’s changes because of the additional height it granted. 

And when it came time for the final vote, Billy Keys, who had supported the higher alternative, dismissed the calls of his compatriots for a detailed economic analysis before any decision was made. 

“The two members on our committee who actually build buildings are on opposite sides,” he said. “We can be talking about the economics of buildings till midnight. It’s time to vote.”

While Berkeley Police Chief Douglas Hambleton agreed with many of the Police Review Commission recommendations aimed at preventing criminal activity among police officers, he took issue with a few. 

In a written report issued Wednesday afternoon, the chief said he disagreed with the commission’s assertion that an investigation into drug evidence theft within the Berkeley department had been insufficient. 

The commission report entitled Evidence Theft Within the Berkeley Police Department was issued Oct. 12 by a committee of three PRC commissioners and two community members in response to two instances of police misconduct: one was the theft of drug evidence from the locked evidence vault by former Sgt. Cary Kent. Kent pleaded guilty to three felonies, served a year of home detention and is now on probation.  

The second was the alleged theft of property of arrestees by a Berkeley police officer charged by the Berkeley Police Department and no longer with the department, but whom the district attorney declined to charge. 

The committee report, approved by the full commission at its Wednesday evening meeting, was intended to address “the systemic failure of a department to identify and remedy major lapses in security, personnel management and administration.” 

Hambleton’s written response to the various recommendations was available to the commission only a few hours before its meeting. The commission discussed it preliminarily in the presence of the chief, city manager and deputy city manager. A more thorough discussion of the chief’s responses is scheduled for the Dec. 12 commission meeting, 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center at Hearst Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The City Council will address the report and its recommendations in January. 

Among the most controversial committee findings was that the investigation into the Cary Kent case was insufficient.  

“Valuable evidence was not secured in a timely fashion, and no other individuals were investigated to determine what, if any, knowledge or involvement they may have had in the illegal movement of drug evidence. Police made no effort to determine whether Cary Kent was involved in illegal drug dealing after he was placed on administrative leave,” the report says. 

In his response, Hambleton said he disagrees with the finding, noting he had conferred with other current and former police chiefs, the Alameda County district attorney and others on the question of whether the investigation was adequate. “The investigation has been concluded,” he wrote. “Kent has been prosecuted … [and] has served his sentence … There is no need to reopen the investigation at this time.” 

While praising the chief for his willingness to work with the commission on its recommendations, Jim Chanin, an attorney and a community member of the committee that wrote the report and Commissioner Sherry Smith, also a member of the committee, took issue with the chief on this question. 

While the chief said that no more evidence was necessary for criminal prosecution, Chanin pointed out that this question goes beyond the Kent case. Chanin wanted to know why investigators failed to address the questions of what Kent might be doing with the drugs beyond personal abuse, and whether other officers were involved in the theft. 

“Our ongoing concern in the subcommittee was something like 289 envelopes. It seemed like that was rather much for a single felon to have absorbed,” Chanin said, referring to the number of envelopes investigators said had been tampered with. While investigators noted the number of damaged or opened envelopes, they looked only at how much drug evidence was missing from a handful of them. 

It seemed relatively easy to find out the difference between the amount of drugs an officer reported having taken from a suspect and put into the envelope, and the amount of evidence remaining in the envelope at present, Smith said. 

“There’s nothing here that indicates that any further investigation was done other than of Sergeant Kent and that gives us the heebie-jeebies because of the 289 [envelopes],” Smith said, underscoring that “others had access.”  

Smith said the commission hadn’t seen anything that showed that the other officers who also had access to the drugs were investigated and cleared. Some continue to work in the Special [drug] Enforcement Unit. “We’re not looking to have the Cary Kent case reopened,” she said. 

“No one knows how much drugs were taken,” Chanin said, arguing that other officers may have been involved, but there was no investigation into that possibility. 

Responding to the issue in his written report, Hambleton wrote that some individuals working with Kent had been transferred, while others remain in the same unit. “Since there is no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of these employees, it is not appropriate to make transfers that could be viewed as punitive,” says Hambleton’s response. 

Chanin spoke directly to the purpose of finding out how much drug evidence is missing. “[There was no] figuring out whether this was for personal use or for other than personal use,” he said. 

In his written response the chief said “the exact information was not needed for the criminal prosecution.”  

He said it would require reopening the case and involve the crime lab and “considerable time and expense. Due to resource issues, the county crime lab generally will not become involved in an analysis that is not related to a pending prosecution.” 

Chanin also expressed particular concern about the lack of clear policies regarding supervision by friends and relatives that has “disastrous consequences for the department.” The committee found that, in large part, the problem of recognizing that Cary Kent had a drug problem was that his appearance and poor work performance were overlooked by friends. 

While the chief agreed that such supervision could be problematic, he said city administrative regulations address the problem of near relatives. “It is not practical or realistic to restrict personal friendship within the city’s workforce,” he said. 

Among the recommendations with which the chief agreed were creating better early warning systems to identify officers whose behavior could become problematic for the department, putting in place an improved system to track entry into the evidence room, moving responsibility for cash accounts out of the police department and creating better systems to monitor seized asset funds. 

The report and the chief’s responses are on the Police Review Commission website at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/prc/ 

The East Bay Regional Park District temporarily closed water access at selected shoreline parks Thursday after an 810-foot container ship rammed into the Bay Bridge Wednesday and spilt oil into the bay. 

San Francisco has threatened to sue the company or agency responsible for the 58,000 gallon spill which was incorrectly reported at first by the Coast Guard as 140 gallons. 

The East Bay park district reported that water access at the following parks had been closed since oil had washed on its shores as of 3 p.m. Thursday: 

• Point Isabel Regional Shoreline, Keller Beach and Ferry Point Pier at Miller Knox Regional Shoreline in Richmond 

• Albany Beach and North Basin at Eastshore State Park 

• The small beach at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, Oakland 

Water access at Crown Beach in Alameda was closed as a precaution. The parks themselves remain open. 

Other district facilities impacted include the Brooks Island Regional Preserve off the Richmond Inner Harbor on the Richmond Marina. 

Absorbent material (boom) is being sent to some shoreline parks as a barrier. Local animal control officials are cleaning oiled birds. District staff will be cleaning up waterbirds today (Friday). 

Additional parks will be monitored and closures will be posted on www.ebparks. org, or call (888) EBPARKS for more information. 

More than 100 home and business owners may get long-term low-interest loans through the city to add energy efficiencies and/or solar panels to their properties, if a financing plan hatched by the mayor’s chief of staff, Cisco DeVries, pans out. 

The council voted unanimously Tuesday to support the plan in concept.  

Also at the Tuesday meeting, the council decided to hold a special Dec. 11 meeting to hammer out changes in the Condominium Conversion Ordinance, and they began to look at initiatives that might be on the November 2008 ballot, homing in on a $15 million measure to fund a new warm water pool for the disabled and elderly. 

Solar scheme 

The public financing plan advanced by Bates’ chief of staff Cisco DeVries is for the city to obtain money, from banks or bond issues, which would be lent to home and business owners to make their properties more energy efficient and/or to add solar panels and solar water-heating systems. 

The scheme promises to offer more favorable interest rates than private owners would be able to obtain on their own. Repayment would be over 20 years, rather than the 10 years a bank might otherwise require, City Manager Phil Kamlarz said. The loan would be paid back through an assessment added to property taxes, and the city would hold a lien on the property until the loan was paid off. When a property is sold, the assessment would continue to be paid by the new owner. 

DeVries estimates that the cost of the upgrades over 20 years would be about equal to the savings from the solar and other upgrades over the same period of time. 

Making the plan a reality will be costly, but the mayor said he hopes to use a $160,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. The agency has yet to award the grant. 

“We’re in discussions with the EPA,” DeVries said.  

City Manager Phil Kamlarz said the city’s not likely to know about the EPA grant until February or March. Councilmember Gordon Wozniak said the city shouldn’t wait for the EPA, but should move forward with funds initially from the general fund. 

“Don’t let others scoop us,” Wozniak said. The council did not incorporate Wozniak’s recommendation into its vote, but City Manager Phil Kamlarz said he will continue working on the plan with city staff. No budget for staff work on the project has been made public. 

“There’s lots of details I won’t ask about right now,” Councilmember Laurie Capitelli said.  

Some outstanding questions include the degree to which homeowners would be required to provide energy efficiencies before installing solar panels and the degree to which the city would screen or recommend contractors to do the work. 

At the meeting, Bates underscored the uncertainty of the project timeline. “People shouldn’t wait for us. There might be some bumps along the road,” he said. 

Warm pool 

An initial controversy over the council discussion of the warm pool—a swimming pool to serve the disabled and frail elderly—arose when Councilmember Dona Spring asked if the question could be addressed early in the evening, given that some disabled people attending the meeting had fixed times for transportation home. 

The mayor, however, refused, instead allowing discussion of antennas (see separate story) and his solar project early in the evening. 

The warm pool—kept at about 92 degrees Fahrenheit—is housed in a historic but seismically unsafe building at Berkeley High now slated for demolition. Voters approved a $3.2 million bond before the demolition was planned. The bond has not been issued.  

Plans for a new warm pool on Berkeley school property at Bancroft Way and Milvia Street are under discussion. Consultants estimate costs at $15 million. 

While some of the warm-pool users had already left the meeting by 9:45 p.m., when it was discussed, Ben Rivers was among those who remained. He made his way to the microphone, with difficulty, using the physical support of others to walk. He spoke clearly, though haltingly, telling the council about the effects of lupus on him. “Because of my neurological condition, cold water causes my body to tense up,” he said “It’s essential that the water is very warm.”  

The question of the pool was among other initiatives that might be placed on the November 2008 ballot. The mayor clearly did not want to see the city footing the bill for the pool. “Forty percent of the people who use the pool come from outside Berkeley,” he said, suggesting that the funding might come, in part, from other cities or from the East Bay Regional Parks. 

“Don’t shaft the 60 percent of the people who need the Warm Water Pool,” Spring said, calling on the city and school district not to demolish the current pool until a new one is in place. 

“Everyone is looking for someone else to come up with a solution—we lost an advocate when we lost [former mayor] Shirley Dean,” Spring said. 

Ed Noland, an architect from ELS Architects and Urban Design, was prepared to give a 10-minute presentation on possible pool design. Bates did not want to take the time to hear it, asking if Noland could make the presentation in a minute and a half.  

In his remarks, which took about five minutes, Noland said the pool would have various means for the entry and exit of disabled people, as well as decks wide enough for the storage of wheelchairs. The roof would be able to accept solar panels, but installing them at this time would be cost prohibitive. 

At $15 million, the cost for taxpayers would be about $5 to $8 per $100,000 assessed value of the property over 30 years. 

Also on the ballot 

Staff advised the council on possible ballot measures, most likely up for a November vote, but some could be on the ballot as early as June. A Landmarks Preservation Ordinance referendum will be on the ballot, as well as the resubmission of Measure R, Patients Access to Medical Cannabis Act of 2004. The latter was ordered back to the ballot by a superior court judge due to problems with retrieving data from the electronic voting machines for a recount in the 2004 election.  

Also possibly on the ballot are separate measures to fund storm water infrastructure, police officers, fire fighters and youth services, as well as an advisory measure on community choice aggregation, which would create a way for Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville to provide its own energy, rather than depending on PG&E. 

Condo conversion 

A workshop on condominium conversion was held, but members of the Berkeley Property Owners Association criticized the format, saying their concerns, including the 100 limit on conversions allowed each year and the 12.5 percent fee, were not addressed.  

In response, Bates called for a special council meeting Dec. 11 dedicated to the discussion of possible revisions to the ordinance.

Community members urged UC Berkeley to keep People’s Park an open space and sharply criticized a report on possible changes to the park at the People’s Park Community Advisory Board meeting Monday. 

More than 30 people commented on the draft report assessing the park’s needs and future changes prepared by San Francisco-based MKThink, consultants who were paid $100,000 by the university to conduct a nine-month study. 

Park users, UC Berkeley students and Telegraph area residents and merchants stressed that crime was their major concern at People’s Park. 

“We have to face the fact that it’s become very very dangerous,” said Michele Pelegri, a neighbor. “Some changes have to happen. Safety has to happen.” 

Captain Mitch Celaya, UC Berkeley assistant police chief, told the Planet after the meeting that he was extremely concerned about People’s Park. 

“There have been a total of 181 incidents that required police reports at the park this year,” he said. “Seventeen of those were violent crimes. The department supports cleaning it up or pruning the trees and bushes to make it a less attractive place for troublemakers. For individuals who say the park is a safe place, I am not sure they have a realistic view of what’s going on.” 

MKThink’s report proposed pavilions and other structures for the park. 

Sharon Hudson, a resident of Telegraph Avenue, called the proposed buildings in the plans “non-starters.” 

“The university has eyed that portion for development for the last 40 years and that will not happen without bloodshed,” said Gary Spencer. 

Debbie Moore urged boardmembers to look at the process carefully. 

“There is a process that happens every year and UC always wants to build something on it to reap profits,” she said. “If anything is constructed, riots will break out. Everyone wants open ground kept as open ground.” 

Park activist Arthur Fonseca said that the report ignored the existence of the free box—recently destroyed—and the free speech stage at the park. 

Board member George Beier complained that the report had failed to mention ways of honoring the park’s history. 

“We didn’t feel like we were qualified enough to comment on how to recognize the park,” said Mark Miller, the firm’s principal planner. 

Board member Gianna Ranuzzi said that the use of words such as “battleground” and “conflict” had cast a negative shadow on the report’s introduction. 

“We are summarizing what we saw to the board,” Miller replied. “They can take it or toss it.” 

Community members were also indignant that the report undermined the importance of Food Not Bombs, which provides free meals to more than 100 people every day. 

“They keep saying we need professional services,” said Peter Ralph, a park user. “There are a lot of people there who are served by the structure of Food Not Bombs and they didn’t talk to them.” 

Homeless shelter advocate Michael Reagan called MKThink’s suggestion to professionalize social services at the park “asinine.” 

“I could have done the same thing MKThink did for $100,” he said. “The university should have used the $100,000 to feed the homeless.” 

Miller told the board that the firm was not qualified to recommend whether the current social services were useful to the public and that further assessment would be required to come to a conclusion. 

“Engage in some serious thinking, not some MKThink,” one park user told the board.  

Gardener Terri Compost said that the report was based on two false concepts: the park was underutilized. and lacked diversity. 

“It is utilized and one of the most diverse places in the world,” she said. “We can definitely evolve the park. It can change. It doesn’t have to be static. But we need to involve everybody. I don’t think that getting rid of the trees and shrubs will help us to see through the park. Hopefully the university is not hoping to slip in those buildings there.”  

Emily Marthinsen, vice chancellor of facilities at UC Berkeley, said that the public comments would be included in the board’s final recommendations to the university scheduled to be discussed on Dec. 3. 

It’s not at all unusual for the majority of Berkeley voters to wake up with a nasty political hangover the morning after a presidential election. 

Consider the results of seven of the last ten elections: Nixon, Nixon, Reagan, Reagan, Bush, Bush, Bush. Berkeley voted against them all, but was overruled by the rest of the country (or the Supreme Court, as the case may be). 

And it’s not just during the relatively recent past that Berkeley has gone through this experience. 

Seventy-five years ago this week, gloom must have been strong throughout much of the town as Berkeley voters picked up the morning newspapers to learn their favorite had gone down to defeat in the Nov. 8 balloting. 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt had defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover. 

Berkeley voters had strongly backed both the political establishment and the losing side. 

Berkeley was a Republican majority town. There were 35,781 Republican voters registered in November, 1932, exceeding all other party affiliates by more than 19,000. 

Berkeley had only 14,329 registered Democrats. Socialist registration was 577. 78 affiliated with the Prohibition Party and 1 with the Liberty Party. 1,661 registered as “non-partisan.” 

Nearly three out of four registered voters cast ballots. “Semi-official” totals reported in the Berkeley Gazette on November 10, 1932, gave 21,750 Berkeley votes to Hoover, 14,713 to Roosevelt, and 2,223 to Socialist candidate Norman Thomas. 

Even though the Republican demoralization was obvious—Hoover polled some 14,000 votes below Republican registration in Berkeley, while Roosevelt drew slightly more local votes than there were registered Democrats—it wasn’t enough to offset the vast Republican numerical advantage in registration. 

Hoover won a 56 percent Berkeley majority, against 38 percent for Roosevelt. This was almost the reverse of the national tally, where Roosevelt took nearly six out of 10 votes (57.4 percent) and prevailed with nearly 23 million votes to less than 16 million for Hoover. 

Berkeley did show a slight pink tinge, with Norman Thomas receiving about four times as many votes as there were officially registered Socialists in town. 

The watershed election limited Hoover to 59 electoral votes, signaled the end of the era of robust Progressive Republicanism, and launched the New Deal coalition which would rule in Washington for another generation. 

And Berkeley was on the wrong side of history. 

Now you might console yourself with the thought that even if the town was Republican, at least the professors and students at the now-famous liberal campus must have favored Roosevelt. 

And you would be wrong. 

Faculty votes, of course weren’t dis-aggregated from the citywide totals, and most UC students weren’t old enough to vote. Of those who were, most couldn’t register to vote at their college address. 

But of UC faculty asked in a fall, 1932, straw poll about their Presidential preferences, 231, or 53 percent, favored Hoover. 98 said they supported Roosevelt, and 83 would vote for Norman Thomas, the Socialist. The Communist and Prohibition Party candidates got one vote apiece. 

The Hoover majority reflected similar faculty political preferences at Washington State, University of Oregon, Oregon State, USC and Stanford. 

Meanwhile, a straw poll taken among some Cal undergraduates in early October, 1932, recorded 410 favoring Hoover, 180 for Roosevelt, and 162 for Norman Thomas. Other names were written in by 100 voters. 

To be fair, those unscientific polls perhaps showed a hint of the future liberal and politically eclectic Berkeley. In the student poll, Democrat, Socialist, and “Other” votes combined formed a slight majority (442) over the Hoover vote (410). And in the faculty poll, one in five had supported the Socialist. 

The 1932 national campaign was hard-fought and bitter, but very short by today’s standards. Real campaigning didn’t start until the fall, and Hoover himself took to the campaign trail only for the final few weeks, after staying in the White House and appearing presidential. 

Roosevelt made a swing through California, with a stop in San Francisco, while Hoover returned to his adopted home state on election eve to vote from his home in Palo Alto. 

Thousands cheered his campaign train as it arrived in Oakland, and he traveled across the Bay for what seemed a triumphant parade up Market Street in San Francisco. 

Thus, today’s most strongly liberal / progressive California communities gave a hero’s welcome in 1932 to the Republican candidate who would, hours later, be decisively retired from the national stage. 

The Oakland Tribune wrote, on Nov. 6, that Hoover’s personal campaigning “changed the whole direction of the campaign, turning the tide sufficient to make it apparent that another fortnight of argument would render the outcome anything but doubtful.” 

The election itself, of course, swept all those Hoover silent majority fantasies away. A weak Hoover tide lapped only through Pennsylvania and part of New England. Roosevelt won everything else, including California, then a Republican stronghold in national elections. 

The Tribune acknowledged “an unparalleled political upheaval” the day after as returns were tabulated across the state. Democrats were making big gains up and down the ticket. 

But there, too, Berkeley had to be different. 

In the Congressional election for a new district that included Berkeley and parts of Oakland, Republican and political newcomer Ralph Eltse won a three-way match against Democrat and former City Attorney Frank Cornish and former Mayor and Socialist candidate J. Stitt Wilson. 

For a third-party candidate, Wilson drew a strong 10,072 votes to Eltse’s 17,501. The drop off from Hoover’s Berkeley majority to Eltse’s was over 4,000 votes. Democrat Cornish ran third, with 9,075. Cornish supporters pointed out that the Wilson and Cornish votes combined would have beaten the Republican. 

Perhaps so, but that wouldn’t necessarily indicate a latent liberal majority in 1932 Berkeley. Wilson’s status as a well-known former mayor probably attracted at least some Republican votes. 

And while Socialist candidate Wilson got more than 17 times as many votes as there were official Socialist voters in Berkeley, apparently only about one in four of the people who voted for Wilson also cast ballots for Norman Thomas, the Socialist candidate for President. 

In any case, Republican Eltse, although the winner, was swimming against the tide. California, which had only one Democrat in Congress before the election, sent 11 Democrats out of 20 in the State’s reapportionment-enlarged House delegation, along with newly-elected Democratic Senator William Gibbs McAdoo. 

“It was a grand house cleaning, with conservative and dry mis-representatives thrown in the discard by the stern hand of the voters,” the pro-Roosevelt San Francisco Examiner editorialized. “Dry,” of course, meaning those who supported Prohibition and lost statewide along with Hoover. 

In the state legislature, Republicans held their own in the Senate—helped by the fact that 17 Republican incumbents were not facing re-election in 1932—but lost a whopping 18 seats in the Assembly. Their majority there dropped to 55 out of 80, and Democratic Assemblymen increased from seven to 25.  

Looking back at the national election and its aftermath, historian Piers Brendon would later write in The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s: “…in just over three months the President averted catastrophe, restored the nation to psychological equilibrium and incidentally buttered his own political parsnips for life. He imbued the United States with a sense of purpose, unity and dynamism. He epitomized compassion in government. He reinvigorated public service and, like John F. Kennedy after him, got the young involved. He gave promise that the resources of democracy were equal to the crisis and that capitalism could heal itself. He exuded optimism. As Harold Ickes said, ‘It’s more than a New Deal. It’s a New World.’” 

California and the nation were on their way to a Democratic resurgence, led by Roosevelt. 

Berkeley was just slow in coming along for the ride. 

Amidst jeers, catcalls and demands for the mayor's recall – and threats from Mayor Tom Bates that he'd clear the rowdy public from the chambers – the Berkeley City Council voted Tuesday to allow two powerful telecommunications companies to place their antennas atop UC Storage, adjacent to the neighborhood at Ward Street and Shattuck Avenue. The building is owned by developer Patrick Kennedy.  

Voting in favor of overturning a zoning board decision to disallow the antennas were Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmembers Laurie Capitelli, Linda Maio, Betty Olds and Gordon Wozniak. Councilmember Max Anderson voted to uphold the zoning board denial and Councilmembers Dona 

Spring, Darryl Moore and Kriss Worthington abstained. 

The vote came after attorney Kirk Trost, hired as outside counsel by the city, told the council and public clearly what he had been saying in closed sessions: Berkeley could not win the federal court case filed by Verizon, given the telecommuncation companies' rights under the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.

As Berkeley’s downtown planning panel faces its Wednesday deadline to make, break, or abandon a compromise on raising buildings’ height limits, it might want to look to the decisions of those who’ve considered the issue a bit longer.  

The Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee’s (DAPAC) volunteer members have worked hard for two years in attempts to frame a better downtown. But whether fairly or not, the people who built Scandinavia’s most famous cities had up to a 950-year head start on DAPAC. And up to an 800-year lead on Berkeley’s initial settlement. What did they do with that advantage?  

As I learned last summer, visiting Scandinavian cities like Stockholm and Copenhagen (Denmark) is like a trip to an alternate future. These capitals have virtually no skyscrapers anywhere near their centers. 

There, as in other Scandinavian cities, you’ll hear the same story: Some institution built one slightly tall building, and everyone felt it had overshadowed historic landmarks and compromised the city’s core. So they didn’t make that mistake again.  

Here in Berkeley, Mayor Bates and planning staff keep pressing DAPAC members to approve 16-story downtown “point towers.” But Scandinavia’s city dwellers consciously chose to let other kinds of points dominate their skylines: historic church and city-hall spires that are high points of civic pride.  

In Berkeley terms, the equivalent would be deciding to keep buildings low enough to preserve views of the Campanile, our own City Hall, the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the hills. 

What Scandinavia has achieved is cities of moderate density and wonderful human scale—places where you’ll find a great balance of vitality and civility. You can see hints of this in my fragmentary snapshots here. But for more panoramic cityscape views, do a Google image search for “Stockholm,” “Copenhagen,” or Norway’s Berkeley-scale “Bergen.” 

Stockholm, in particular, is probably the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. (And I speak here as a fierce Bay Area partisan.) It forges its civic identity out of several distinct islands, each recalling a different model European city.  

In all, Stockholm’s skyline looks a lot like the 1940s San Francisco that Herb Caen (and many others) lamented losing to skyscrapers. Yet Stockholm does achieve density—not through soaring towers, but through a graceful fabric of five- to seven-story buildings.  

Those heights fit conveniently within Berkeley’s existing 1990 Downtown Plan zoning. In fact, Berkeley can readily meet its regionally assigned housing targets within this current envelope, according to DAPAC and Planning commissioner Gene Poschman—our city’s spry eminence grise when it comes to planning as if people mattered.  

Stockholm is the alternate future that Poschman is talking about. It’s also the future pointed to by the overwhelming majority of speakers who opposed “point towers” at DAPAC’s Oct. 20 public workshop.  

It’s important that Scandinavian capitals aren’t living museums preserved by tourism, like Florence or Venice. They’re real, living big cities—vital political and trade centers. And they do have some tall buildings and other structures (like TV towers), if you look hard enough. But by design, these are located nowhere near these cities’ cores.  

Mayor Bates and some DAPAC appointees are advocating higher downtown buildings in the sincere hope of expanding housing access and moderating the city’s environmental footprint. But Scandinavia’s low-rise-by-choice countries are hardly slackers on either front.  

By almost any indicator, Scandinavia leads the world in promoting broad prosperity and bridging social inequality. Scandinavian countries routinely top international rankings of overall “quality of life” and residents’ self-reported happiness.  

Sweden, already committed to weaning itself off nuclear power, has set a national goal of becoming oil-free by 2020. Stockholm seems to be every planning scholar’s model of an energy-efficient, “green” city. One-third of its area is parkland, reportedly the highest ratio in Europe.  

Off Copenhagen’s waterfront (as in many other places in Denmark), you’ll see tall wind turbines proudly deployed to generate clean electricity. And Scandinavian cities offer swift, frequent, and integrated public-transit service that makes AC Transit’s and BART’s slow-motion competition look like the relic of a bygone century.  

Back in Berkeley, whatever DAPAC recommends must still run a gantlet of Planning Commission and City Council approval—followed by possible litigation and ballot referendums. There’s a real chance of seeing two years of work overturned.  

One frustrated insider told me that DAPAC’s whole administrative budget might have been better spent on giving commissioners and staff a concise “Grand Tour” of European cities that long ago solved Berkeley’s dilemmas, then just turning them loose to write.  

So in its contentious debate over building heights, perhaps DAPAC should just renew the five- to eight-story guidelines from 1990’s Downtown Plan. DAPAC could declare that these limits still basically serve community sentiment and goals for another 20 years. This would put the new panel’s imprimatur on a living document that emerged from a robust, open and participative, process.  

Almost no one dislikes the 1990 plan. Unless, that is, they sit very high up—like in the mayor’s office, or top UC administrative offices, or the leafy Piedmont aeries where major developers tend to live. 

Can we all get along? It was cooperative, consensus-based Scandinavia that also originated the “ombudsman” name and concept, more than 450 years ago. UC maintains an ombuds office, and the city eagerly subsidizes a “mediation” service that serves the same end.  

Can we agree on five to eight? 

Michael Katz is a Berkeley resident. 

High rises and high densities top the agenda for Wednesday’s Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee meeting. 

With DAPAC’s Land Use Subcommittee unable to reach a decision last week on the most controversial element of Berkeley’s new downtown plan, they kicked the decisions upstairs to the full committee. 

DAPAC is now in its final month of deliberations on the new plan for the heart of Berkeley mandated in settlement of the city’s lawsuit challenging UC Berkeley expansion plans through 2020. 

City staff has consistently called for construction of 16-story point towers to accommodate anticipated population growth figures set by the Association of Bay Area Governments. 

City Planner Dan Marks has said downtown is the only practical place to locate the units, given strong opposition in other neighborhoods to building large numbers of dense condominium apartment buildings. 

While city staffers have reduced their calls for 14 of the high rise towers, the question remains what height limits the plan will impose, and in what areas of downtown. 

Hopes for what subcommittee Chair Rob Wrenn called a super-majority collapsed Wednesday when two members said they wouldn’t vote for an eight-story base height in an expanded downtown area core that the whole subcommittee approved earlier in the meeting. 

While city staff insists higher construction is needed to accommodate the ABAG numbers, Planning Commissioner Gene Poschman contends the numbers can be achieved with the existing plan and its five-floor baseline.  

During previous DAPAC sessions, opposition to the point towers has been strong, though retired UC Berkeley development executive and DAPAC members Dorothy Walker told the subcommittee Wednesday that the denser development she favors has strong support. 

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. At the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Way. 

The new downtown plan is the result of the city lawsuit that challenged the latest version of UC Berkeley’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). 

The same day Berkeley’s citizen planners will be considering the impacts of one UC campus’s LRDP, students, faculty and town citizens in another UC campus community will be meeting and marching to challenge another UC LRDP. 

The gathering starts at 11 a.m. in Baytree Plaza Santa Cruz, followed by a march at noon. 

The Santa Cruz LRDP calls for boosting enrollment there by 4,500 students, and organizers say expansion plans threaten the quality of educational life for student and faculty and endanger 120 acres of forested land on campus. 

Berkeley could be the first city to pay upfront costs for residents upgrading energy efficiencies and/or going solar.  

Tonight (Tuesday), the City Council will be asked to OK the concept of a Sustainable Energy Financing District. Few details of the financing plan, including its cost to the city, are presented in the two-page proposal, whose goal is to add 125 homes and businesses to the city’s stock of about 400 energy-efficient and/or solar sites. 

Before the regular meeting, the council will hold a 5 p.m. closed session addressing a Verizon lawsuit against the city, based on a zoning board decision not to give permits for the placement of telecommunications antennas atop UC Storage at 2721 Shattuck Ave. The public can speak before the executive session begins. A public hearing on this question will also be held as part of the regular council meeting. 

At 6 p.m. the council will hold a work session on condominium conversion, addressing, among others, questions of simplifying the conversion process. 

The regular council meeting begins at 7 p.m. In addition to the discussion of city financing for energy efficiencies and solar panels, the council will discuss a final version of the procedure for public comment at council meetings, two reports by the city auditor recommending improvements in handling funds at the Nature and Permit centers, and increasing a loan for the Freight and Salvage. 

Financing solar Berkeley  

Cisco DeVries, chief of staff to Mayor Tom Bates, has been working for about six months with staff in the city’s finance department and energy division and the city’s bond counsel to create a Sustainable Energy Financing District. 

According to the proposal, the city would raise funds through bonds or financial institutions and interested people or businesses would borrow the funds for the purpose of making their homes more energy efficient and/or for adding solar panels and solar hot water.  

The city would have a lien on the home or business to assure repayment, and the property owner would pay off the loan—including interest and an administrative fee—through property taxes over 20 years. New owners of the improved property would assume the added tax burden. 

The assumption is that the city could borrow funds for this purpose at a lower interest rate than the individual property owner. It is also assumed that property owners want to make these changes to their homes, but are not doing so because other means of financing is too costly. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington told the Daily Planet that, while no survey has been taken documenting the number of people interested in going solar, the publicity about the financing district would draw people to have the work done.  

“It’s all about advertising,” Worthington said. “The key thing is that this opens the door for people to move forward” on going solar. 

The two-page report does not estimate staff costs to date or future costs to put together the district.  

The city has written a grant application to the Environmental Protection Agency through which they hope to obtain $160,000 for some of the initial costs. 

The grant proposal names a number of city staff to work on the project, but does not say what percentage of their time will be spent on this project and what priority this project will have over other projects: 

“The project will be managed by the city, under the direction of the principal investigator—Neal De Snoo, energy officer and manager of the Energy and Sustainable Development Office. The city will be responsible for all deliverables, financial management and the overall performance and execution of the project. In addition to De Snoo, seven staff will be assigned to the Sustainable Energy Financing District program, including Billi Romain, sustainability coordinator (management of Build-It-Green process); Alice LaPierre, associate management analyst (adviser on technologies); Timothy Burroughs, climate action coordinator (adviser on outreach and program evaluation); Cisco DeVries, chief of staff to the mayor; Zach Cowan, deputy city attorney; Robert Hicks, finance director; and a new staff person.” 

Build-It-Green, named in the proposal, is a Berkeley-based non-profit. The organization would hold workshops with builders, contractors and solar installers “to develop and market the initiative.” Build it Green’s board includes members who work for local “green” for-profit businesses, including solar installers, construction companies and building materials venders. 

Rules for public comment 

The council will be asked to formally approve rules for public speaking to which it has already agreed in concept, with guidelines permitting the public to speak on all items they wish to. The council’s earlier rules restricted the public to ten speakers chosen by lottery. This was challenged by SuperBOLD (Berkeleyans Organized for Library Defense), which threatened a lawsuit if the rules were not changed. 

While SuperBOLD had wanted the rules to apply to all commissions and boards in the city, the current draft covers only the City Council.  

Auditor looks at permit and nature centers 

The permit center collects more than $800,000 in license, permit and engineering fees annually, but lacks a number of controls, City Auditor Ann-Marie Hogan said in a Nov. 6 report to the City Council. 

Among the problems cited are: sharing of one password among eight employees for computer entry into the receipts file; employees collecting payments do not have separate cash drawers or change funds; six employees have the combination to the safe, which is old and does not have the ability to capture data, such as the identity of the person opening it. 

The auditor has suggested remedies and the city manager agreed to most. They should be implemented by May. 

The nature center and adventure playground take in about $34,000 annually. In her report to the council the auditor pointed out controls she said were lacking. 

One was that Adventure Playground fees were sometimes waived when customers said they were low-income. There was no individual accountability for cash overages or shortages, she said. Among her recommendations is that if it is the City Council’s intent to waive fees, criteria should be established. 

Freight loan 

The council will be asked to approve an increase for the Freight and Salvage Coffee House of $350,000 beyond the original $527,000 loan to pay for city building permit fees for the new venue at 1010 Addison St. The council will also be asked to forgive another $75,000 of the original loan when construction of the new site is complete. The Freight and Salvage, formally known as the Berkeley Society for the Preservation of Traditional Music, has repaid $450,000 of the original loan. 

Human rights 

The council will be asked by the Peace and Justice Commission to approve a resolution for world financial institutions to cancel the debt of impoverished countries.  

The Peace and Justice Commission is also asking the council to call on state Attorney General Jerry Brown to dismiss charges against the San Francisco 8, eight former members or associates of the Black Panther Party charged in the 1971 killing of a San Francisco police officer.  

The resolution notes that the Panthers were “a primary target in the FBI’s illegal COINTELPRO program … designed to destroy and disrupt a number of progressive organizations … [and that statements of guilt resulting from] torture were used to bring charges in the mid-1970s.” 

161 Panoramic Hill 

A new home is proposed for 161 Panoramic Hill, but neighbors in the Panoramic Hill Association have appealed it, due to considerations of safety on the narrow street, particularly during construction. The public hearing on the appeal has been continued to tonight’s meeting. 

Warm pool 

The council packet includes a report on the warm pool, a swimming pool kept at about 92 degrees for the benefit of disabled and frail elderly people. The council has the option of discussing the report by moving it to the action calendar. 

In 2000, voters approved a $3.2 million bond to renovate the warm pool, currently located at Berkeley High School. Since that time the school district decided to demolish the structure that houses the pool and the pool itself. Constructing a new warm pool at Milvia Street and Bancroft Way, now a parking lot, is under consideration. 

Costs are estimated at $15 million. Voters would likely be asked to finance the costs through a bond measure. The cost to the taxpayer is estimated at about $6-to-$8 per $100,000 assessed value of a home, according to the report to the council.  

The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted on Thursday to nominate the Berkeley High School campus to the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district . 

The commission’s 5-0-1 motion to recommend the historic district was tempered with the acknowledgment that the old gym on the campus, itself the subject of a landmarking battle and now slated to be demolished, had been neglected and altered, and that a number of non-historic structures occupy the southern part of the campus. 

The State Office of Historic Preservation will vote in Palm Springs Friday on whether the district should be listed on the National Register. 

LPC Vice-Chair Gary Parson, who had opposed the landmarking of the Berkeley High old gym, abstained. 

“The application sweeps under the rug the effects of the earthquaking,” he said. “There is not much information provided about the pre- and post-retrofit structures.” 

LPC staff advised against the district nomination. 

Marie Bowman, a member of Friends Protecting Berkeley’s Resources, the group responsible for writing the historic district nomination, said that despite the staff comments, the state and the federal governments were pleased with the application. 

The Friends had sued the school district in March for what it charged was an inadequate environmental impact report on the demolition of the gymnasium and warm water pool within its Berkeley High School South of Bancroft Master Plan. 

Located on four consolidated city blocks in downtown Berkeley, Berkeley High was the first high school in California to be built according to a campus plan and is the only collection of school buildings in Berkeley which comprises different architectural styles of early 20th-century school designs. 

The district consists of eight buildings, four of which—the old gym and Natatorium (indoor swimming pool), the Shop and Science buildings and the Community Theatre—are city landmarks. 

Designed by William C. Hayes in 1922 in the Beaux Arts style, the old gym and the administration building are the oldest buildings on campus. 

Berkeley architect Walter H. Ratcliff designed two additions to the gym and Natatorium in 1929, which were modified by Thomas Chace in 1936 according to California’s 1933 Field Act for improvements in school building safety. 

The other three Art Deco style buildings were designed by Gutterson & Corlett in the 1930s. 

“All of the contributing buildings in the district are good examples of their style and illustrate the architectural evolution of the campus,” said Bowman. “Throughout its history, Berkeley High School’s various campus plans have tried to meld programmatic and administrative functions with civic architectural vocabularies, as the campus was conceived from its very start as an integral part of the downtown Berkeley civic center area.” 

Berkeley High itself goes back to Berkeley’s very beginnings in 1878, when the city was incorporated and the school district was established. 

One of the first accredited public high schools in California, in 1884, the school had its origins at the former Kellogg Primary School, located east of Shattuck Avenue, and Ocean View School in West Berkeley. 

1050 Parker 

LPC voted unanimously against landmarking a building at 1050 Parker St. but recommended that the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) should require that its full history be recorded as a condition of its demolition permit.  

In August, the tall metal-sash, multi-light windows were removed from the unoccupied one-story World War II-era building even though no demolition permit had been issued by ZAB. By law, demolition permits for any building over 40-years-old in a commercial zone must first be reviewed by the landmarks commission to determine whether the structure has any historic significance. 

The property had been purchased by San Rafael-based Wareham Developers from Pastor Gordon W. Choyce’s Jubilee Restoration organization in June. Project applicant Darrell de Tienne told the Planet in August on behalf of Wareham that the windows were removed as part of an asbestos abatement project. 

“The building is currently in very poor condition,” Chris Barlow, who was representing Wareham Developers, told the commission Thursday. “It would cost $2 to $3 million to bring the building back to warehouse standards. We would be delighted to recognize its history through a plaque.” 

Barlow added that Jubilee had an option to buy the San Pablo Avenue lot of the property back from Wareham to construct a residential unit. 

“The building did not look so bad not long ago,” said commissioner Carrie Olson. “Since Jubilee took it over, it has totally gone downhill ... anything that had any value was taken away.” 

The building was formerly occupied by Howell-North Publishers, who specialized in Berkeley, East Bay and California topics and railroad history. 

“Preservationists are united in saying that a plaque where a demolition has occurred is a joke no one appreciates,” Olson told the Planet after the meeting. “Our hope is that ZAB will require Wareham to have its history accurately represented ... The story then becomes part of the public record where future generations and historians can access it.”

The Richmond Community Redevelopment Agency (RCRA) is proposing to build a new housing development called Miraflores on the site of three Japanese American nurseries that date from the early 20th century. The greenhouse roofs are visible from west Interstate 80 near the Cutting Boulevard exit. 

Richmond bought the nearly 14-acre site for $7.6 million in June 2006 from the Sakai, Oishi, and Endo families, according to RCRA housing director Patrick Lynch and development program manager Natalia Lawrence, speaking in a joint interview last Friday. RCRA will establish a mix of single-family homes and rental apartments on the site. 

The two other partners in the Miraflores project are nonprofit developers of affordable housing: Eden Housing and the Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond. They will build 80 to 90 affordable-housing rental units on four acres of the site, said Lawrence. 

The city will choose a developer to build between 85 and 120 single-family homes for sale, most at market rate and at least 15 percent as affordable housing. The site will be a “parklike setting,” said Lynch, with open space, walkable areas, and the daylighting (or uncovering) of Baxter Creek, which flows partly under the site. 

In late October, Richmond published a request for proposals (RFP) from developers to build the single-family homes. A pre-submittal meeting and site tour will take place on Friday, Nov. 9, at 1 p.m. in the city council chambers. Proposals are due on Dec. 19. 

RCRA has met with a residents’ advisory committee and held a September meeting to get public input on the scope of the required environmental impact report (EIR). With preparation of the EIR, remediation of the site, and construction, Lynch and Lawrence estimate that the project will be complete in about 36 months. 

According to Donna Graves, who wrote the historical component of the 2004 “Historic Architecture Evaluation: The Oishi, Sakai and Maida-Endo Nurseries,” the site contains “the only extant cut-flower nurseries begun by Japanese Americans before World War II in the entire Bay Area, and [is] the last remaining of Richmond’s community of Japanese American flower growers.” 

Parts of the site may be eligible for placement on the National Register of Historical Places as well as the California Register of Historic Places. The city has identified the Sakai home, an adjacent water tower, and one greenhouse as structures to preserve, and plans either to keep them where they stand or to move them to new locations. 

California was once home to many farms and nurseries established by Japanese, or Issei, men who immigrated to the United States around the turn of the 20th century. 

A sizable Japanese American community grew up around the Bay Area, wrote Graves, as Japanese laborers who had found work with the Domoto brothers’ nursery in Oakland or laying railroad tracks in Richmond moved to the outskirts of established towns to start businesses. They bought or leased land and often used family labor to grow the carnations, chrysanthemums, and roses they would sell in San Francisco. 

The Alien Land Law of 1913 and similar laws forbade “aliens ineligible to citizenship,” Chinese and Japanese aliens, from owning property. Issei nurserymen and farmers transferred ownership to their U.S.-born children, or Nisei, or into corporations formed with non-Asian U.S. citizens. 

But this strategy proved no help after Japan’s Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.  

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942, authorizing the military to evacuate the 120,000 people of Japanese descent who lived on the West Coast into internment or concentration camps, often with only a few days’ notice. Most Japanese Americans complied, in the belief that this was the best way to show their loyalty. 

Japanese American families scrambled to store or sell most of their belongings, usually at a loss. Nursery owners hastily made arrangements for non-Japanese friends or colleagues to lease or maintain their businesses. In North Richmond, wrote Graves, nursery owners Frederick and Carrie Aebi took care of three Japanese American families’ nurseries in their absence. 

Some unscrupulous caretakers didn’t pay rent to interned owners, causing them to default on their mortgages. In Across Two Worlds: Memoirs of a Nisei Flower Grower, Yoshimi Shibata describes the caretaker’s white workers threatening him with a knife when he returned to check on his family’s property in 1944. 

Some nursery families that returned to the Bay Area in 1945 and 1946, like the Adachis, found their properties vandalized, their greenhouses shattered. In Richmond, some found their homes subdivided into rental units to house the shipyard and defense workers who had caused the city’s population to grow from 23,000 before the war to more than 100,000. 

Don Delcollo, president of the Contra Costa county chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, would like the Miraflores site to contain a memorial “to not only honor the flower-growing families but also all those interned” during World War II.  

Sixty-five years after the internment began, “we’re beginning to lose the vast majority of people who lived through the internment experience,” Delcollo said. He would like to see Richmond host “not just a memorial but something more on a national scale,” with the help of the National Park Service. 

Richmond is home to Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park, a collection of sites throughout the city, such as a Kaiser shipyard, two child-care centers, and the Ford assembly plant, that highlight Richmond’s industrial past and commemorate the lives of ordinary Americans during the war. Including some nursery structures in the national park might just work. 

Richmond Councilmember Tom Butt said in a recent interview that the National Park Service originally suggested that the nursery properties were part of the homefront story: “Richmond is rich in historic resources and properly used, these can add a lot of value.”  

He gave two recent examples of historic structures that have been saved. A 104-year-old building from Point Richmond’s Santa Fe train yard was rehabilitated and reopened this week as a Mechanics Bank branch. And a private developer bought the Ford assembly plant on the waterfront, rehabilitated the property, and fully leased the space. The Ford building is the future home of the national park visitors’ center. 

“All of these projects started out with a large number of naysayers, people saying, ‘That old piece of garbage? We’ve got to tear it down.’ ” Butt said. “But now they’re showplaces, they’re unique. They’re something that brings people to Richmond and adds value to the businesses that are in them and adds value to the community.” 

He sees the same thing happening at the Miraflores site. “What’s there will add value and will make that development distinctive and more desirable than it would be if all that stuff was just bulldozed and forgotten.” 

Historian Graves agrees: “There really needs to be a more systematic and inclusive conversation about what’s most significant here, what’s a way to tell the story that allows the housing to happen but doesn’t erase this really critical portion of the past. 

“Many communities have been able to achieve that balancing act, and now that Richmond has the honor of being the only place in the United States where the homefront story is being told, it seems to me that with some energy and creativity, people could find partners and resources to assist with this.” 

City of Richmond Community Redevelopment Agency 

www.ci.richmond.ca.us/index.asp?nid=99 

Eden Housing (non profit) 

edenhousing.org 

Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond (CHDC) 

www.chdcnr.com 

Donna Graves (historian), Ward Hill (architectural historian), and Woodruff Minor (architectural historian), “Historic Architecture Evaluation: The Oishi, Sakai and Maida-Endo Nurseries” (October 2004) 

www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentView.asp?DID=2144 

Councilmember Tom Butt, EForum Newsletter: 

www.tombutt.com/e-forum.htm 

City of Richmond Miraflores RFP and Related Documents 

www.ci.richmond.ca.us/index.asp?NID=1335 

Yoshimi Shibata, Across Two Worlds: Memoirs of a Nisei Flower Grower 

www.acrosstwoworlds.com 

For the average citizen, trying to clear up personal information on a government computer—Social Security records, for example—can range between a headache and a bureaucratic nightmare. For California ex-offenders it can be worse, a permanent way of life that sometimes can resemble a trip down into a Victor Hugo or Fyodor Dostoyevsky novel, a hole in which any effort to dig one’s way out only ends in burying oneself in a deeper hole. 

As a condition of their convictions, many California ex-offenders must pay fines and restitution, either to the state or to the victims, most often on installment. To pay such monthly installments, the ex-offender must, of course, have some source of income. But most employers require the filling out of a form that asks information on any criminal convictions, and many of those employers virtually automatically exclude any candidates who answer “yes” to such a conviction. No job, and no ability to pay the installments, gets the ex-offender deeper into problems with the courts. 

Another difficulty comes when ex-offenders take the first steps to try to clear up problems with their records in order to move forward with their lives. No small number of them have outstanding warrants that they have either forgotten about or were never informed of. Trips to the courthouse to deal with one situation can result—after a quick computer check—in an arrest for an entirely different situation. The same can be caused by simply going down to the Department of Motor Vehicles to reinstate a driver’s license or to obtain an identification card, without which no legitimate job can be obtained, and no check can be cashed once a job has been worked on and wages earned. 

The result can be that many ex-offenders who want to turn their lives around are prevented from doing so by bureaucratic entanglements, and are forced to either remain in a twilight zone of life where they can never re-enter society as full citizens, or else to revert back to the same type of criminal activity that got them into trouble in the first place. 

On Saturday morning, for the third straight year, a coalition of East Bay politicians, judicial representatives, and social services organizations called local ex-offenders together in the Berkeley High School Auditorium for a summit conference to help them start the process of working their way out of the morass. Co-sponsors and organizers included Congressmember Barabara Lee (D-Oakland), Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson (D-Oakland), the Alameda County Superior Court, the East Bay Community Law Center, and local ex-offenders organization All Of Us Or None. 

Dorsey Nunn, the charismatic ex-offender leader of All Of Us Or None, told participants that “cleaning your slate is a stopgap measure until we can win full rehabilitation after completion of your record.” He likened the continuing problems ex-offenders have once their time in prison or on parole is over to a situation “if you finished paying off your bill, and then a bill collector showed up the next day to ask you to pay something more.” 

Nunn said that helping get ex-offenders back into the mainstream of community economic and social life was “one of the important ways we can stop the violence and the craziness that’s going on all over Oakland.” 

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Gordon Baranco, who introduced the day’s events, said that “too many times, the legal system is a barrier to recovery from criminal conviction rather than assisting in that recovery.” Baranco said that such recovery was important both for the ex-offenders themselves and for society at large, and urged ex-offenders to “call your mamas, call your friends, call your neighbors across the backyard fence who always have that funny smell coming from their window, tell them we’re going to be here all afternoon, and they should come out and start getting their records cleared up.” 

In one workshop held in the Berkeley High band room, participants sat between the piano and assorted drums and peppered Serina Rankins, an East Bay Community Law Center paralegal, with questions about details on how to expunge their criminal records, and what will be the exact results. 

Participants learned, for example, that removal of a conviction from a person’s record under Penal Code 1203.4 can allow a job applicant to legally answer on a form that they have not been convicted of that particular crime. On the other hand, the conviction can still count as a strike under the three strikes law, and if it is a sex offense, the offender remains on the publicized sex registry. 

They also learned how, under certain circumstances, to have a felony conviction put down to a misdemeanor on their record using Penal Code Section 17b, or that they need a Certificate of Rehabilitation instead of record expungement if they served time in state prison, since in such cases the conviction will always remain on their record. 

For anyone who has never had to deal with the aftermath of a criminal conviction, it might have seemed like a conversation in another language, or dealing with a society with strange new rules. 

Rankins said that the Berkeley-based East Bay Community Law Center provides free consultation and representation for ex-offenders clearing up Alameda County criminal records, and will assist in filling out forms for records in counties outside of Alameda and states outside of California. 

Participants earnestly took notes or shared experiences with each other, and many of them took Rankins’ business card and set up consultation appointments. 

Earlier, participants listened to short presentations by local politicians sympathetic to their problems. 

Congressmember Barbara Lee criticized the fact that rehabilitation is no longer an official goal of the state’s criminal justice system. “Not enough lawmakers are concerned about what happens when ex-offenders come back to their families and communities after serving time,” Lee said. “When [Berkeley Mayor] Tom Bates and I were in the California Assembly, we tried to get rehabilitation back into the criminal code. We weren’t able to succeed. I know that [Assemblymembers] Sandré Swanson and Loni Hancock are working on that now. It’s a necessary step.” 

Bates, Swanson, and Hancock were all present at the summit. 

Lee also criticized “the prison-industrial complex that has skyrocketed in California under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.” 

Hancock called conditions for ex-offenders “a broken system. We have a broken probation system and a broken parole system. Coming out of incarceration, it takes four months to get an ID card from the state. Without that card, people can’t get a bank account, they can’t get a job, they can’t cash a check. And we wonder why these people are having problems.” Hancock said that the legislature passed a bill she authored this year (AB 639) that would have mandated the Department of Corrections to see that ex-inmates are able to get Department of Motor Vehicle ID cards as they come out of incarceration. “Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed it.” Hancock said.  

In his veto message Schwarzenegger said that while “I share the author's concern for providing tools to individuals about to be released from prison that will aid them in making a successful transition into the community … this bill will result in parolees receiving services that are not currently available to the general public. For example, the DMV does not perform the function of determining whether or not members of the general public have the ability to pay applicable identification card fees.” In addition, the governor said that Hancock’s bill would duplicate a pilot ID project already being worked on in collaboration with the California Department of Corrections and the Department of Motor Vehicles. 

“In his veto message, the governor said the ID program was going to be implemented, without the law,” Hancock said. “So we will watch him and see that he does so.”  

Swanson said that “we have to convince the larger public that we are not just doing you [ex-offenders] a favor, but that we are following the Constitution” in allowing ex-offenders to re-enter society after their sentences have been completed. 

And citing the biblical story of Jesus telling a crowd that was about to stone a prostitute that “he who is without sin, cast the first stone,” Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson said that “our society must understand we cannot prison-build our way out of the problem of crime and violence in California. We have to drop our stones and put our emphasis back into rehabilitation.” 

City Manager Phil Kamlarz and Police Chief Doug Hambleton will be at the Wednesday Police Review Commission meeting to respond to a subcommittee report on evidence theft issues. 

Last year former Sgt. Cary Kent pleaded guilty to felonies stemming from his theft of drug evidence he was charged with keeping safe. He subsequently spent one year on home detention.  

Following Kent’s conviction—and the charges against another officer for stealing property of arrestees—a subcommittee has been working to put in place new policies to reduce the possibility that these kinds of criminal actions could reoccur within the department. 

The subcommittee made a number of recommendations to the police chief and city manager, including improving the systems for auditing drug evidence and remedying deficiencies in the Kent investigation such as identifying the exact amount of drugs that were missing from all of the evidence envelopes that had been tampered with. 

The full report can be found on the PRC website: www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/prc. 

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. There will be time for public comment. 

—Judith Scherr  

Council rules are clear: councilmembers and mayor may not direct city staff to perform any task—at least not without the city manager’s intervention. 

And so a city manager’s memo last week sparked questions about which councilmembers might be overstepping their boundaries.  

The memo stated: “a few staff members have been involved in work assignments for council members ... Direct requests from individual members can cause uncertainly in priority setting and can cumulatively impact the goals that the council as a whole has set for the city.” 

“I assume the memo’s mostly directed at the mayor,” Councilmember Dona Spring told the Daily Planet on Friday. “His office involves city staff in so much of Tom’s [Mayor Tom Bates’] off-agenda work.”  

Spring said she was referring to the mayor’s solar initiative, for which he engaged the work of staff from a number of departments as well as outside bond counsel, all on the city’s dime.  

The manager’s memo might also refer to the mayor’s task forces, such as the health, budget and green business task forces for which the mayor uses city staff, Spring said, noting that Bates’ task forces often parallel city commissions. 

Mayor Bates did not return a call seeking comment Monday afternoon. 

“There’s an ad hoc government going on,” Spring said, noting that when she requests staff attend her community meetings, it takes weeks to get a response from the manager’s office.  

Councilmember Kriss Worthington said it’s not just Bates who makes liberal use of staff people. “Historically, the mayor gets away with this all the time,” he told the Planet on Friday. “City managers have historically been quite deferential to mayors.” 

City Manager Phil Kamlarz, however, told the Planet that his memo does not target any particular councilmember. “It’s the same memo I send out every couple of years,” he said. “It’s hard for new staff people to say ‘no.’” 

As long as the mayor or a councilmember goes through his office, they can request staff work, Kamlarz said. 

The City Charter says: “Except for the purpose of inquiry, the Council and its members shall deal with the administrative service solely through the city manager, and neither the council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any of the subordinates of the city manger, either publicly or privately.” 

As for giving preference to the mayor or particular councilmembers, Karlarz said: “I have staff work with all councilmembers. It’s all about managing the workload. It’s hard enough having one boss—but impossible with nine.” 

From the outside, Portable 9 looks like any other classroom at Berkeley High. But inside, a mix of sights, sounds and colors hurtles the visitor into a world of oil, paper and fabric.  

Local muralist Sara Bruckmeier enlisted the students from this classroom to help create two three-dimensional murals as part of the National Endowment of Arts’ “Big Read” project being celebrated in libraries across the nation this fall. 

Portable 9 is the home of Berkeley High’s Life Academy, started by Berkeley High Principal Jim Slemp in 2005 as a program which helps 20 ninth-graders who need extra help to adjust to high school through an interdisciplinary project-based curriculum. 

“The idea was that it would be an open storybook,” said Bruckmeier, who directs the HereStories project at Epic Arts, which produces local public art projects. “The kids have stuff they want to talk about and stuff they don’t want to talk about and we had to respect that ... At first we thought they would just come in and spill their guts, but at this age they want to keep their privacy.” 

On Thursday, the work and stories of these student artists will be mounted on the recently renovated walls of the West Berkeley Library Branch. Under every page on the murals is a hidden one, revealing only as much as its creator wants us to see.  

The academy students spend their freshman year in the portable classroom on the east side of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and then move across the street to the main campus for sophomore year. 

“The idea was to take students who get flagged out of junior high as kids who might struggle in a traditional academic setting and offer them support both academically and personally,” said Hasmig Minassian, Life Academy teacher. “Our small class sizes and structured coursework prepare them for tenth grade at Berkeley High.” 

She said middle schools refer students to the program who show potential but have not been successful in school.  

“We often get students who face academic and behavioral challenges,” Minassian said. “They may have trouble interacting with teachers, be below grade level or just defiant. We teach them skills they wouldn’t otherwise get ... try to get them involved in community and find a purpose.” 

Some Life Academy students said the location of the program helped them focus on their assignments, but others said they longed to be across the street with the other students. 

“I like it here, It’s quieter and helps me concentrate,” said Alanah Davis, 15, who painted a boombox on the mural to express her love for music. “I got sent out of class everyday at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School ... I was disruptive. The other students got to me and distracted me. But when I came here I started paying more attention.” 

Next to the Alanah’s boombox on the mural is a hand-stenciled charcoal-gray sketch painstakingly crafted by freshman Salman Khan. 

Salman, who got suspended from Longfellow Middle School for tagging, said that he wanted to become a graffiti legend when he grew up. “I draw names and faces on train tracks, factory walls and trucks,” he said, showing off black, silver and gold spray cans which travel with him in his bag all day. 

Salman’s friend Michael Joyce tagged the word “kid” in bold red letters on the mural. 

“People keep telling me to stop acting like a kid,” he said. “But I don’t want to. I think graffiti is a problem because people think it is a problem... If you make it legal, I bet you no one will do it.” 

Salman and Michael said they appreciate the classes at Life Academy but hate the portables. 

“It sucks,” said Salman. “I want to be in the main campus with my brother. They have way too much fun there.” 

Bruckmeier’s library mural project, enlisting the talents of the Life Academy students, has been a boon for many of the teenagers, said Matt Kraft, a Life Academy teacher. 

“A lot of our students have valuable insights and art gives them the ability to speak about themselves,” he said. “Helping them engage their artistic intellectuality is one of the many ways to try to build on their intellectuality ... It exposes them to a world they haven’t been exposed to.” 

Bruckmeier said the students have done a beautiful job of weaving their stories into the project. 

“When I look at the murals, I see the chaos and struggle that takes place when you are searching for identity,” she said. “Then I see the beautiful calmness. It’s important to remember that this group responds more to images than to words ... and that all they want is the freedom to express themselves.” 

Artists Reception open to the public at the West Berkeley branch on Nov. 8 from 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m. 

www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/services_and_resources/literacy_program/BigRead.php 

The “Emily” in the very successful Emily’s List fundraising organization is not a person but an acronym. It stands for the old political slogan Early Money Is Like Yeast, which means that a dollar given early in a campaign is worth many more dollars for the would-be candidate than one contributed at the end. Early dollars can be used to do fundraising for additional funds, and to reach out to undecided voters in time to recruit them as campaign volunteers.  

So it was no big surprise to see a sizable number of envelopes with Loni Hancock’s return address in our mail at home over the last couple of weeks. What was a surprise was noticing, as I did the bi-weekly junkmail toss, that only some of them were addressed to the two registered voters who live at our house. Others were addressed, either on the envelope or on the inside letter, to people I’d never heard of. One inside addressee was “Hon. Nancy Graham, Oakland City Council.” The only Nancy I know of on the Oakland Council is Nancy Nadel. Curiouser and curiouser. 

But as the Alameda County Registrar of Voters has recently demonstrated, computerized databases can get mailing lists messed up with little difficulty. Presumably Ms. Hancock’s team was unlucky enough to buy a bad list. But as I was throwing these letters away, a boldfaced underlined sentence in the middle of the first page caught my eye: I need your help to raise $250,000. A quarter of a million dollars? That sounds like serious money. 

And it’s only a primary. Maybe.  

The scenario is that if the ballot measure on the February ballot which is designed to keep State Sen. Don Perata from being termed out of his job goes down to defeat, then Assemblymember Hancock will be able run for his vacated senate seat. Oakland’s equally progressive ex-Assemblymember Wilma Chan will probably be her opponent in the Democratic primary.  

Loni seems to want to make sure that her pockets are well and truly lined just in case. Another piece of mail from her campaign was an invitation to a pricey fundraiser at a toney Hills address. The little return envelope that came inside one of the big envelopes had boxes to be checked all the way up to “Enclosed is a contribution of $3,600.” And the small print told us that “Small contributor committees may contribute a maximum of $7,200 per election.”  

Yes, serious money is being raised in our town, for sure. Well, whoever wins this race, we’ll continue to have our usual left-of-somewhere representation in Sacramento. One might wonder why it will take the better part of a million bucks from us voters and the special interest contributors to get there, however. 

And what will happen if Hancock gets the chance to ascend to the other house, I started wondering? Here’s where it gets interesting. In the same basket of mail was an invitation to Kriss Worthington’s campaign kick-off party—he’s running for Hancock’s assembly seat, assuming she doesn’t need it again. Since that one didn’t have big price-tags attached, we went, hoping to check out the house.  

When the hat was passed, we didn’t put anything in, but we felt a bit guilty about it. A chat with a campaign insider revealed that Kriss was also trying to raise what used to look like big bucks early in the race, though not nearly as much as Hancock wants. He said, for example, that members of most district labor unions already support Kriss, but that their leadership is reluctant to contribute actual money to someone who doesn’t already have a substantial war chest. Early Money Is Like Yeast, for sure. 

We went home. We thought it over. Here’s what we’ve decided: 

It’s traditional for newspapers to wait to endorse candidates until the waning days of the campaign, until polls are already predicting the winner. It’s traditional for big, well-funded newspapers to construct some sort of “editorial board” to interview candidates and to pretend to make a decision based on what they say. Uh-huh. Tell me when anyone has ever seen an editorial board bite the corporate hand that feeds it. 

And as anyone who reads this paper knows, we’re not a traditional paper anyhow. Our editorials are signed, and when I say “we” in them I’m just talking about the executive editor plus the publisher, “owners” only of our ratty desks, dangerous chairs and obsolete Macs, just the people who sign the paychecks and pay the bills. So when “we” endorse a candidate for office, it doesn’t bind anyone else on the paper. The reporters are still obliged to report the news fairly and accurately. The authors of signed columns speak only for themselves, as do the opinion page writers of letters and commentaries. And obviously the cartoonist does as he pleases. 

“We” have decided that Kriss Worthington, whom we’ve known for the 11 years he’s been on the Berkeley City Council, would make a very fine representative of the urban East Bay in the state assembly. We can’t imagine that anyone could do a better job. Kriss is phenomenally hard-working and very smart. Anyone who watches Berkeley City Council meetings knows that he’s the guy who follows the ball when most of his colleagues are wool-gathering.  

There are three other candidates in the Democratic race now, nice guys all but no match for Kriss in either experience or skill. Two are on the Richmond City Council—we’ve met them at political events and get their press releases, and they’re fine fellows, but not really ready for prime time. The third is a Berkeley resident with whom we’ve had a nodding acquaintance for a number of years, another nice guy, one who has access to a bundle of private money, but who has no legislative experience of any kind. 

There’s also a rumor that the Bates/ Aroner/Hancock apparatus (a reader once slapped our hands for calling it a machine) is desperately looking to field its own successor candidate. Dynastic politics is getting to be a bad habit in this country—if we’re not careful we could even succeed in bringing back feudalism. All too often in the 35 years I’ve been watching East Bay politics voters have been deprived of a real choice because the established Democrats have slipped in their official choice in the primary where very few voters participate. It’s time for this to end. 

Worthington is a true loyal Dem, well-liked by important segments like labor, environmentalists, feminists and minorities, but he’s not the official candidate of any organization or interest group. Hancock et al. would do everyone in the district a tremendous favor by not dredging up their own candidate and contributing to a completely unnecessary race to fill another war chest and line the pockets of ever more campaign professionals. In fact, if Hancock really truly believes that she needs to raise a quarter of a million dollars to run against Wilma Chan, she might do herself a favor by opting out of the assembly race altogether.  

But regardless of what Bates/Aroner/Hancock decide to do, we’ve already made our own choice, and we’re backing Kriss Worthington. If Early Money Is Like Yeast, early endorsements are the flour that must be kneaded in if the campaign is ever to rise to appropriate heights. We urge readers outside of Berkeley to get to know Kriss and what he stands for, and we think they’ll like him as much as we do.  

And don’t forget about that money thing, as annoying as it is. Our insider guessed that Kriss really needs to raise $100,000 by December 31 to continue as a credible candidate. It would be great if that could be raised by a thousand $100 contributions from rank-and-file voters, and it’s possible, if everyone chips in now. 

—Becky O’Malley 

P.S. Today’s mail brought yet another Hancock solicitation letter, this one correctly addressed to me. Those guys don’t quit. 

“Downtown Berkeley is at present a pretty desolate and unattractive place, one that many citizens avoid if at all possible.” 

We’ve been drowned in a new flood of words about the process commonly known as DAPAC which is scheduled to wind up this month, to the great relief of many of our readers, I’m sure. I’d firmly resolved to leave the remainder of the discussion to our many eager correspondents, who are more than capable of handling their role in the discourse with intelligence and even panache. But as the days dwindle down to a blessed few, the above quote, taken from a letter from a UC Berkeley faculty member, a humanities department chair in fact, just sticks in my craw. He’s a self-confessed hills dweller, though he graciously conceded that in the fullness of time he might be lured to a downtown condo if the area were fixed up to his specs. How condescending of him, as one of Jane Austen’s characters might have said without irony... 

His letter reminded me of an old book I inherited from a family member—perhaps it’s not even in print any longer. It is a collection of columns from the 1950s by San Francisco’s favorite PR guy, Chronicle columnist Herb Caen, now held in the deepest reverence because he railed long and hard against the Embarcadero Freeway, a classic planner’s disaster fortunately undone by the 1989 earthquake.  

To my surprise, even the sainted Herb made a few mistakes in the ’50s, or maybe more than a few. I was shocked by his chapter defending the demolition of thousands of Victorian-era homes in the Fillmore district and the Western Addition, using the contemporary leftist-modernist dogmatic excuse that those people (read “Negroes”) were propelled into lives of crime because they lived in degraded housing stock in an unpleasant area. Now, of course, there’s a nostalgic effort to bring back the remains of what seems in retrospect to have been a great neighborhood for those who lived there, regardless of what it might have looked like to those like Herb who lived in the more affluent parts of Baghdad-by-the-Bay. (Yes, children, he used to call it that affectionately). 

More and more, Berkeley politics seems to have deteriorated into this kind of us-vs.-them configuration. People like the professor in question who live in the higher reaches of Thousand Oaks or behind gates in the Claremont district are all too ready to tell the people who live on Addison Street or Berkeley Way or MLK what would be good for their neighborhoods. We don’t print addresses with our letters, but they’re often easy to find on the Internet, and a quick Google map exercise shows that those letter writers who live in the green leafy parts of town are the biggest promoters of more concrete downtown.  

And The Professor’s expressed willingness to move into the right kind of new condo in central Berkeley doesn’t help at all. Are we to suppose that if downtown is gentrified enough to meet his exacting standards, garden apartments for low-income families will be constructed on the verdant site of his current abode? I think not. His lovely hills home will be snapped up by another well-paid exurbanite, perhaps a refugee from San Francisco’s current binge of excessive urbanization, and the families driven away from their pleasant houses on Berkeley Way by the monstrous Trader Joe’s condo project will have to move to El Cerrito. And so it goes.  

While we’re in the let-them-eat cake department, an aside with a few unkind words about the fancy food folks might be in order. A San Francisco woman complained in a letter in Sunday’s New York Times about what sounded like yet another hagiographic treatment of Berkeley icon Alice Waters. I looked it up. It was in fact a tongue-in-cheek piece written by a harried mother of teenage boys about her desperate attempts to simultaneously be an up-to-code foodie mom and to continue her journalistic career at the Times.  

The letter writer’s feminist objections on Sunday to the current obsession with perfect food is not unfounded—she called for a new edition of “The Feminine Mystique” as a remedy. The funniest line in the original piece was the mother’s confession that she’d bought under-eye concealer to hide the ravages of a late night making from-scratch chicken broth. It’s not just women who are engaged in the feverish search for ultimate eating, however. The men have it pretty bad too, and when it morphs into parental guilt-tripping fathers suffer pangs just as much as mothers.  

And how does this relate to highrises in downtown Berkeley? It’s one more instance of privileged people telling the less privileged what’s good for them. Privilege isn’t only about money or status, it’s also about time. When busy parents who have their own lives to lead are told that they’re not doing right by their kids if they don’t make vinaigrette dressing at home with a mortar and pestle, something’s wrong somewhere. 

The writer, coached by Alice Waters in person (that’s the kind of connection a Times byline brings) reported triumphantly that her little dears responded enthusiastically to a Frog Hollow Flavor King pluot from the farmers’ market. Hallelujah—they’re not crazy.  

But I performed my own nutritional experiment on Halloween, at much less cost and with equally good results. I mixed a few ordinary no-brand fresh apples (probably organic, but maybe not) into the bowl of wrapped commercial candy which is now demanded by parents who believe urban legends. Guess what? The kids took them enthusiastically, one even biting into hers on the spot. “Wow,” she said. Wow, indeed.  

Is there a moral in here somewhere? Well, there always is. The Times writer’s healthy normal boys rejected roasted marrow bones at Chez Panisse and went instead for pluots, and they’d probably like my apples too.  

The lengthy and expensive DAPAC process was supposed to result in university gurus and hired planners with northside homes telling people who live in the urban part of Berkeley what’s good for them. But the people who actually live in the flats, Patti Dacey and Lisa Stephens and Jesse Arreguin and Jim Novosel and others, didn’t buy the script. They know what’s good for them and for others like them, and it’s not 16-story point towers. What effect their opinions will have on the future of downtown Berkeley remains to be seen.  

—Becky O’Malley

DOWNTOWN BUILDING HEIGHTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Phallic inspiration or not, I often admire the esthetics of well-designed tall buildings and even understand some of the benefits of denser land use. However, I seem to have missed one obvious question in these several years of passionate debate about downtown Berkeley height limits: How are persons rescued from “16-story point towers” in case of earthquake or fire? 

Gerta Farber 

• 

NATURE OF DEATH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In his thoughtful “Sonata on Important Things” (Nov. 2) Marvin Chachere offers a formulation, for himself and for the rest of us, on the nature of death. It invites contemplation and, perhaps, some further assessment. He first relates an assertion by Professor George Wald that “death does not exist in the non-human world and must therefore have meaning only among humans.” While this seems generally true, there is convincing evidence that elephants and the gorilla Koko have shown clear awareness of death as well as empathy for the dead, if not actual mourning. 

Mr. Chachere suggests that the beginning and end of human life have become indeterminate due to such advances as in vitro fertilization and artificial life support. There can be little argument that the biological beginning of life is the fertilization of an ovum, whether in vitro or in utero. But I would suggest that in sentient creatures we must look at the life of the brain. This amazing organ is a powerful processor, buzzing with electrical energy, constantly acquiring, revising, refreshing and retaining literally a world of data. When it plans, calculates, strategizes, creates art and meaning, we call it the mind. When it forms tastes, pleasures, compelling habits of association and gratification, we call it the self. (Some, who fantasize that it might somehow exist outside the body, call it the soul.) I propose that when the brain of the fetus first hears and assimilates sounds from the outside world, its life as a human has begun. Then, sometime later, when blood stops flowing to the brain and the last synapse has fired, life ends. 

Jerry Landis 

• 

MINOR QUIBBLES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I enjoyed Ken Bullock’s review of Little Mary Sunshine, and would like to see the play. However, the observation that the Masquers romp where Jean-ette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy would fear to tread was only half right. Nelson Eddy , admittedly came to fame and fortune because of the films, that he might never have found as an opera singer or concert artist, but he never ceased to laugh at them, and refused to ever take them seriously. In the 1960s, when he formed a greatly successful nightclub act with Gale Sherwood, he wrote their material, which included numerous comical, satirical skits revolving around Indian Love Call and the others. He would have been right at home on stage with the Masquers, because he had a delicious sense of humor that was only allowed to flourish on his radio shows—never in films; with one exception—The Chocolate Soldier with Rise Stevens. There he played a double role with great humor and got his best reviews. 

So I assure you and the Masquers that Nelson would be applauding and whistling his approval of this fun romp. 

Christine Souter 

• 

RHETORIC 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I’ve just finished reading Garry Wills’ brilliant book, Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America, in which the author provides fascinating insights into this great president (who was not entirely without flaws). No one can deny that the Gettysburg Address, intended to “clear the infected atmosphere of American history” (Wills’ own words) is one of the greatest documents in all of American historical literature. I find it almost unbelievable that this powerful, moving speech, delivered on a battlefield to a nation weary of war, contains only 272 words! Thinking ahead to the next 12 months when Americans will be subjected to boring, long-winded, acrimonious campaign speeches, I suffered an acute anxiety attack. 

Uttering an urgent prayer to St. Jude, the patron saint of Hopeless Cases and Desperate Situations (honest!), I implored him to help me through this painful year of agonizing campaign speeches, debates, talk shows, etc., suggesting that he might somehow, perhaps in a minor miracle, instill into all candidates Lincoln’s gift of brevity. Don’t let me down, Jude! 

Dorothy Snodgrass 

• 

REPLY TO RICHARD PHELPS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Unfortunately, last Friday’s Daily Planet, in its editorial wisdom, neglected to run Brian Edwards-Tiekert’s explanations about the accusations against him alongside of Richard Phelps’ commentary accusing Concerned Listeners of not answering them. Instead, the Planet relegated Edwards-Tiekert’s letter, which answered those allegations, to their website! Not a logical, nor a fair, editorial decision. Brian Edwards-Tiekert is, after all, the primary source cited by Phelps et al. in the serial screed that found its way into the KPFA ballot envelopes.  

As to Phelps’ commentary, his 10-point program is disingenuous, in that he is calling for many things that already exist. KPFA already has no corporate underwriting. It already has an elaborate system of financial transparency and accountability. It already plays Democracy Now twice a day. 

In contrast, the Concerned Listeners slate, which is endorsed by Larry Bensky, Angela Davis, Kevin Danaher, Conn Hallinan and many other Bay Area leaders, stands for real substantive strengthening of the station. We are running candidates for KPFA’s Local Station Board committed to creating a workable framework for cooperation between the listener board, the management and the staff. We Concerned Listeners are trying to emphasize the proper powers of the LSB, according to the Pacifica bylaws, which enable the board to set the general goals for the station (its mission), without dictating to the management and the staff (paid and unpaid), the hands-on radio folks, how to run a radio station.  

We are trying to democratize the station—to involve a broader listener base to help us shape KPFA so it can appeal to a wider audience, and to insure that no narrow political trend will take possession of KPFA. 

I urge you to vote for Concerned Listeners (www.concernedlisteners.org) and send in your ballots by Saturday to make sure that they will arrive on time. 

John Katz  

• 

COPENHAGEN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I enjoyed Michael Katz’s commentary on Stockholm and Copenhagen, a city I visit often for family reasons. These cities are built low for historic reasons, the technology available at the time dictating heights. Since Sweden was neutral and Denmark occupied during World War II, neither suffered the destructive bombing that radically changed and raised the skyline of major British and German cities. These days, height limits in Copenhagen are dictated by air safety as well as tradition and aesthetics. 

The Danes protect and preserve their historic architecture but they also value modern design by project. The black glossy structure in the middle of the Town Hall Square is reviled by many because it’s considered ugly and out of place, but the same people are proud of their new opera house and other recent brilliant constructions. 

What I admire most about Copenhagen is the public transport, especially safe biking. I always get a bike on loan and peddle all over the city on designated lanes that are built on cobble stone above the car lanes and below the sidewalk. The biker feels protected and special, often traveling in a pack, carefully observing the rules. There are even bike lights on the major thoroughfares. 

Two summers ago, when I was visiting during a heat wave, we pedaled across town to a beach, packed with thousands of bathers who must have all arrived the same way. I’ve never seen so many bikes in one place! 

But back home in Berkeley, I either walk or drive on the main streets. I’m afraid to ride my bike. It’s even scary to walk on pedestrian crosswalks. Returning home from Denmark, I often conjure an image of America without cars, scrapping them all and using the metal to build trains and bikes. Imagine. 

Toni Mester 

• 

DOWNTOWN DENSITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I’m pleased to see that Becky O’Malley took my recent letter to the “Daily Planet” seriously enough to engage with it in the editorial that appeared in the Nov. 11 issue. But her conclusions, and her attitude toward the whole debate about density, puzzle me. She suggests that many who favor higher densities are hill-dwelling outsiders, trying to “tell the people who live on Addison Street or Berkeley Way or MLK what would be good for their neighborhoods.” The implication is that those who don’t live downtown are not entitled to express opinions about the development of the area, since we won’t be forced to live with the consequences. And yet, when I report that I would be willing to move into the downtown area if it were to become more dense and lively, O’Malley sees that as evidence of condescension. Apparently one’s opinions about the state of downtown Berkeley can be taken seriously only if one already lives there. 

This is a ridiculous conception of the terms of debate. The fact is that all of us who live and work in Berkeley should take an interest in the state of our downtown area, and in the parameters that will shape its future development and growth. If O’Malley rejects higher densities in this area, she should spend her time explaining her vision for the future of our city, rather than Googling her opponents’ names to find out how high up in the hill neighborhoods they live.  

I don’t know what set of restrictions on building heights would be ideal for Berkeley. I was intrigued by Gerald Autler’s comparison of Berkeley with Cambridge in the same issue of the Planet, which suggests that clusters of higher density can be achieved without a lot of very tall structures. But one way or another, it seems to me that we should be encouraging greater density in the downtown area rather than resisting it, for two reasons. First, we have a responsibility to take better advantage of the transportation and building infrastructure that is already in place in downtown Berkeley. If we really favor a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and want to protect our beautiful California landscapes from suburban sprawl and blight, then we need to do our fair share as a community to encourage and to accommodate more sustainable patterns of growth. Second, our downtown would anyway be a more attractive place if there were more people living there, patronizing shops and restaurants and cafes, and populating the streets and sidewalks of the central area.  

R. Jay Wallace 

• 

ABAG’S CAPITAL FUNDING  

PROGRAMS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Readers must be as tired as I am of arguments about whether Berkeley’s population is declining or increasing, and I don’t want to add to that. We’ll know the answer in about three years’ time. However, I do want to clear up a point that Gale Garcia has made more than once. 

She dislikes all the buildings constructed by Patrick Kennedy’s Panoramic Interests firm, and she’s entitled to do that. What I think she’s somewhat less entitled to do is to say (in your Nov. 2 edition) that “ABAG loaned $72 million to Patrick Kennedy ....” and that “.... capital funding contributions from ABAG have had a devastating impact on the character of the town.”  

First of all, ABAG (the Association of Bay Area Governments, of which I was executive director before retiring in 1995) doesn’t have enough money, by a long shot, to lend to anyone. Its financial programs make available, throughout California, capital funds for locally approved projects, through debt instruments (either bonds or certificates of participation), whose purchasers do so within a system that’s among the most efficient and economical in the United States. 

Secondly, the items that concern Ms. Garcia are taken completely out of context. For example, in Berkeley ABAG has also provided funding for two very worthy institutions—the Wright Institute and the Lifelong Medical Center (the latter of which, near the Oakland border, required an extraordinary collaboration among Alameda County, Berkeley, Oakland, HUD and the state of California). Similarly, funding has been found for Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Oakland, and countless educational, health care, affordable housing and retirement facilities up and down the state. 

Thirdly (and perhaps most importantly), Ms. Garcia would obviously have preferred ABAG to say no to Mr. Kennedy. But what I don’t think we want is for ABAG’s financial experts to turn down a mental health facility in Santa Cruz, an affordable housing complex in Cupertino, a school building in Petaluma, etc., because they don’t like the way it looks. Surely these thumbs-up or thumbs-down decisions should be made by the local jurisdiction within the normal democratic system. And in Berkeley, where that system probably takes longer than just about anywhere else in the country, all the buildings Ms. Garcia dislikes secured the thumbs-up sign from our representatives. Her beef should be with them, rather than with a modestly funded regional agency trying its best to keep costs down for taxpayers, governments, non-profits, charities, first-time homeowners and the elderly.  

Revan Tranter 

• 

GREAT AMERICAN SMOKEOUT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout takes place on Thursday, Nov. 15. Although any day is a good day to quit smoking, this is a day for smokers to make their plan to quit, and for advocates to join the fight to help their communities enact smoke-free laws. Smokers can obtain free information on quitting at www.cancer.org/greatamericans. By calling the American Cancer Society Quitline® at 800-ACS-2345, smokers can double their chances of quitting for good. 

As a former pipe smoker for nine (9) years, I understand how difficult it is to give up the habit of lighting up when faced with a day filled with stress. But, I learned how hard it was to walk long distances in the city with pipe smoke clogging my lungs and airways. I gave up because I wanted to be able to walk and breathe when I got older. Give It Up, You owe yourself the chance to walk and breathe without coughing you when you get older. 

I want your readers to know: 

• Tobacco use is responsible for nearly one in five deaths, or approximately 438,000 lives, in the United States. 

• Smoking accounts for at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths and 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. 

• The U.S. Surgeon General reported last year that an estimated 126 million Americans are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes and workplaces, and that no level of exposure to secondhand smoke is safe. 

• Secondhand smoke is responsible for approximately 3,000 deaths from lung cancer among nonsmokers every year. 

The lifesaving results of tobacco control initiatives are just beginning. By helping Americans to quit smoking, and reducing exposure to deadly secondhand smoke, we will continue to make progress against cancer. 

Jeff Schwartz 

Community Services Director 

American Cancer Society 

Oakland 

• 

CAR SAFETY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

One simple and easy thing to do for safety is to put white reflective strips on the rear bumpers of cars. This makes a vehicle visible for several hundred feet away at night. It is especially useful in fogs, which happen frequently in the Central Valley. 

Rolls of 150 feet are available from Hawkins Safety Products, 1255 Eastshore Hwy., a few feet north of Gilman. Their phone number is 525-8500. The cost is about $50. A seven-foot length of the strip costs just a few cents. Garages could install these strips in a few minutes. 

I am not being paid anything for telling people about the strips.  

Charles Smith 

• 

KPFA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In 1999 I joined thousands in the street when the workers at KPFA were under attack by a board that wanted control of the station and the content. This is exactly what is happening again. This time it is “People’s Radio” that is attacking the workers and wants control. Their tactics and actions make a mockery of democracy in the name of democracy. If you respect and honor the incredible work done at the radio station... If KPFA is a lifeline to you as an activist or an artist... If you want the station to grow, to reach more people and to deepen its roots in movements for social justice and peace, I urge you to support the extraordinary group of life-long activists and organizers who are running as candidates with the Concerned Listeners slate. 

Jon Fromer 

• 

WHY WASTE TIME? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I witnessed once again the City Council sold out Berkeley Citizens to corporations. The event was the approval of the Verizon and Nextell antennas by the City Council. Three years ago they did the same to the neighbors of 1600 Shattuck. 

The event was yet another charade, a kind of kangaroo court. First the city attorney, having an outsourced attorney on her side, put such a convincing defense for the approval of the wireless facilities. The outsourced attorney talked for 10-15 minutes to let the council and the public know that nothing could be done because of the Telecommunication Act of 1996. 

A question occurred to me: Considering the TCA 1996, is there any way to say no to wireless providers? According to the city attorney, no. So, if there is no way to stop wireless facilities, why waste time? The city should throw away the wireless facility ordinance and cancel the ZAB or the City Council hearings. They can tell us the magic mantra TCA 1996 and rubber stamp all permits. 

What the city does is a sham democracy. They get people involved for close to two years, make them spend hundreds of hours and dollars, distress them, and at the end they say: Sorry because of the TCA 1996, nothing can be done. I believe that from now on, the city should not even bother to inform people of wireless facility applications. This can save people lots of time and money. 

No thanks to council members who approved antennas in 2004 and now. They should be recalled. 

Mina Davenport 

• 

DISAPPOINTED WITH DIANNE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was disappointed, yet not surprised, that Sen. Dianne Feinstein voted to confirm former judge Michael Mukasey for attorney general, thus assuring his confirmation by the full Senate. I went back and read Feinstein’s Oct. 26 press release explaining her vote. According to Sen. Feinstein, Mukasey gets much credit for not being Alberto Gonzales, which sets the bar awfully low for this nation’s chief law enforcement officer. She also notes that the Justice Department’s morale is very low and now needs a strong, independent person like Mr. Mukasey to lead it. Yet she brushes aside Mr. Mukasey’s refusal to show his independence from the president by categorically declaring “waterboarding” illegal. Waterboarding, by the way, is a simulated drowning techniques used on detainees. Waterboarding is clearly prohibited by the Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Convention. 

While Mr. Mukasey finds waterboarding personally repugnant, he would not necessarily regard waterboarding illegal in the absence of a specific statute or  

law prohibiting it, a disingenuous response at best. He calls on Congress to pass such a law. Is this a demonstration of independence from the executive branch? Didn’t President Bush vigorously oppose the congressional ban on torture? I also note that Rudolph Guiliani, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson, three of the leading Republican presidential candidates, refuse to condemn the use of waterboarding. 

I keep looking for our leaders or leaders-to-be to demonstrate moral fiber. Too often, I am disappointed as I am now with Sen. Feinstein. 

Ralph E. Stone 

San Francisco  

• 

SUTTER HOSPITALS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thousands of registered nurses at 10 Northern California Hospitals in the Sutter chain walked off their jobs for two days last month. Their main complaint has been over working conditions, which are horrendous. But not only nurses suffer. Conditions of work for hospital health workers is also a life and death issue for many patients. 

The major source of labor conflict is over the nurse-patient ratio. Too many patients assigned to each nurse reduce the opportunity for a swift response. Also, overworked nurses are more likely to make medical errors and even fail to wash their hands, which can precipitate deadly infections.  

It has been well documented that the greater the patient load, the higher the patient mortality rate. To take one example, a study of 168 hospitals, which was funded by the National Institute of Health, found that the chances of a surgical patient dying within one month of admission increased by 7 percent for each patient over four in a nurses workload. 

As a non-profit hospital chain, Sutter is required to favor public service over profits. But in reality, the Sutter chain is a most uncharitable charity. Maximizing profits is its main obsession. Toward that end, it has even overcharged uninsured patients, which prompted a judge to rule that they be reimbursed. Sutter’s top executives enjoy annual salaries, bonuses, and other perks exceeding a million dollars each. As patients are bilked, millions of dollars have been shifted to its other profit making enterprises. No wonder that Sutter is among the nation’s most profitable hospitals, earning last year $587 million—64 percent over the prior year. 

The Sutter hospitals are breaking the law, and patients are unnecessarily dying as a result. At the behest of the California Nurses Association, Senator Kuehl had successfully authored a bill mandating minimum staffing requirements at California hospitals. The bill was signed by Gray Davis in 1999. But Gov. Schwarzenegger’s appointees to the Department of Health Services, which is responsible for enforcing the legislation, ignores the chronic violations at Sutter as well as elsewhere. 

The irresponsibility of the state agency should be widely publicized and it should be pressured to do its job. Also, please call or write Sutter’s President and CEO Pat Fry to demand that the hospital chain obey the law. His office is at 2200 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento, CA., 95833, or phone (916) 286-6752. 

Harry Brill 

Wellstone Democratic Club

EDITOR’S NOTE: This letter was sent to the San Francisco Chronicle.  

For decades since a twin political assassination made Dianne Fein-stein mayor, the San Francisco Chronicle has covered for her and those of the wealthy and mighty whose interests—which are her family’s own—she represents. Your reporters have repeatedly used such descriptives as “California’s respected centrist Demo-crat” to hoodwink readers into believing what her voting record, like that of Joe Lieberman’s, plainly contradicts. Above all, you have failed to investigate or reveal Feinstein’s extraordinarily lucrative public-private partnership with her financier husband Richard Blum, now the chair of the UC Board of Regents, despite the wealth he has garnered from government contracts while his wife sat at the federal spigot.  

I never expected, however, that you would go so far as to take literal dictation from Dianne Feinstein’s office. Your opening description of Feinstein as a “stalwart Democrat” was enough to provoke my gag reflex, but your defense—even commendation—of her vote to confirm Michael Mukasey was taken almost verbatim from her ludicrous attempt on Tuesday to justify an indefensible action. In doing so, both she and you have virtually endorsed one of the most horrific forms of torture as well as this nation’s drift under the Bush-Cheney autocracy towards an outright, undisguised, brutal police state.  

I have news for you: Controlled drowning is already both domestically and internationally illegal and needs no further Congressional action to make it so. Furthermore, as Sen. Kennedy said, it does not need to be illegal to be at all times and everywhere reprehensible. No qualifications, no temporizing, no triangulating need apply unless one is on the side of barbarism, which Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday and you this morning revealed yourselves to be.  

Despite its steady decline in quality, I recently renewed my subscription to the Chronicle. Even though the Hearst Corporation has performed the miraculous—making the de Young ownership of that newspaper appear a golden age, as Caligula did that of the reign of Augustus—I felt a citizen’s duty to support a vestigial news-gathering institution like the floundering charity it has become. I did so even after learning that Hearst has entered a cross-ownership with Dean Singleton’s MediaNews Group which will enable both megacorporations to jointly control virtually all of the Bay Area’s newspapers, to further strip their newsrooms, censure criticism, and to bring us yet more celebrity tittle-tattle, carbon-enhancing consumerism, and other traditional Hearst fare.  

Over half a century ago, on June 9, 1954, attorney Joseph Welch famously stopped Sen. Joseph McCarthy in his hairy-knuckled tracks by asking twice, “Have you no sense of decency?” Americans responded positively at that time, but after decades of indoctrination by Reagan “conservatism,” Clinton neoliberalism and other “stalwart Democrats,” I’m not sure that most would now understand the ethical import of that question.  

After reading your editorial, I ask the same of you. I do not need to pay to receive boomeranged press releases from torture-equivocator and dictator-enabler Dianne Feinstein’s office when I can get them from her website. She and Sen. Schumer should be shunned in polite company, and your paper boycotted by those who still have the decency required to understand Welch’s query, even in Caligulan times like our own.  

I no longer want your paper to land daily like a steaming dog turd on my doorstep. I’m canceling my subscription and calling on everyone else to do the same until editor Phil Bronstein, like former Acting Assistant Attorney General Daniel Levin, submits to voluntary controlled drowning and then reconsiders from experience what he published this morning. Better yet, Dianne Feinstein—or whoever in her office faxed you that editorial.  

Gray Brechin is a local historian and author.

Daily Planet columnist J. Douglas Allen-Taylor has been an un-abashed apologist for Mayor Dellums for too long. In a petty feud with Chip Johnson of the San Francisco Chronicle, he uses his recent column to belabor the non-issue that Chip has been treating Mayor Dellums more harshly than former Mayor Brown. In the process, Allen-Taylor sadly misses the real story. Crime in Oakland is out of control and Mayor Dellums has failed to articulate a detailed action plan to address it. I for one applaud Chip Johnson’s tenacity in reporting the issue of crime. The Reader’s Platform in the San Francisco Chronicle relates the growing frustration residents face day after day with ever increasing crime and unresponsive and overworked police. Admittedly, Mayor Dellums did not create Oakland’s crime problem, but he has a responsibility to address it. 

In October of 2006, USA Today reported a list of the most dangerous cities using FBI figures and found that of 371 cities nationwide, Oakland ranked 364. Only seven other cities, including the likes of St. Louis, Detroit, and Compton, were more dangerous than Oakland. According to CityRating.Com, which also uses FBI statistics, Oakland’s 2003 murder rates were 3.50 times the national average, robberies were 2.78 times the national average, and all violent crimes were 2.31 times the national average. Yet Oakland has half the police. According to the U.S. Justice Department, Oakland Police have 18 sworn police officers per 10,000 residents. Other comparable communities have anywhere between 23 and 49 sworn police officers per 10,000 residents. This means that each Oakland officer must respond to more major crimes than in comparable cities. 

My community of North Oakland has been plagued with crimes, including murders, armed robberies of stroller pushing moms, brazen laptop snatchings, serial burglaries and the ubiquitous street corner drug dealing. Neighbors are working to deter crime through crime prevention councils and neighborhood walking groups. But criminals run amok, and they know police response is limited. Police complain there are not enough officers to respond to crimes, dispatch personnel are overworked, and the DA has a catch and release program. Police catch the criminals, and the DA releases them. One Oakland Officer conceded while it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon, perhaps it would be safer to do so rather than rely on the Oakland police to respond to a call for help.  

I attended the Oct. 13 town hall meeting to hear Mayor Dellum’s plans for Oakland, including addressing the pervasive issue of crime. The single biggest issue raised by most speakers at the meeting was crime. One speaker even referred to Oakland as the model city for crime, something that Mayor Dellums belittled and J. Douglas Allen-Taylor didn’t report. Unfortunately, I was disappointed to see Mayor Dellums is still long on rhetoric about solving poverty, an intractable issue that has plagued the United States for years and that no big city mayor has ever resolved, and far short on the details for getting more police on the streets to deter crime and allow residents to feel safe in their neighborhoods. That is not to say that addressing poverty in the long run isn’t part of the solution.  

Seemingly out of touch, Mayor Dellums had the audacity to lecture North Oakland residents and tell us that now that crime is pervasive in middle- and upper-class communities that people are concerned. And since crime is no longer restricted to the ghettos or the barrios, we need to put our money where our mouth. It has been widely reported that Mayor Dellums is reluctant to hire more police than Measure Y calls for because he does not want a police state. As simplistic as it sounds Mayor Dellums, more police on patrol in our neighborhoods and on the street will deter crime. See what New York City has done focusing on small quality of life issues, and what Colorado Springs and other cities of a comparable size have done. Equating more police to having a police state is simply irresponsible and misguided. 

According to Forbes Magazine, Alameda County has on average some of the highest property taxes in the country. Yet we are not getting basic local government services such as adequate police and are being asked by our mayor to pay even more. We have passed Measure Y for more police services, only to see the city fail to hire enough police. While solving poverty is a laudable goal, and something that needs a long-term plan with state and federal government assistance, we need relief in the short term to allow residents to feel safe and to encourage more private investment. If the mayor wants more discretionary funding to provide social programs, such as reintegrating parolees into the community and providing early intervention programs for at risk youth, then the trade-off is to encourage private investment that provides additional property, transfer, and sales taxes. Local economic development is not about pushing aside undesirable communities and undesirable residents, as J. Douglas Allen-Taylor posits, but is about bringing jobs and hope to Oakland residents, providing a funding source for the mayor’s desire to address the concentrations of poverty in Oakland. 

The residents of Oakland want Mayor Dellums to stand up and provide leadership on this issue. We want specifics, a timetable for action and responsible parties in the City of Oakland identified to implement a comprehensive plan that focuses on hiring more police officers and ensuring morale in the department improves. We don’t want tired rhetoric. Residents want safe neighborhoods, clean streets, paved roads and economic development. We want the basics of local government. We have already spoken with Measure Y. As a community we have already put our money where our mouth is. We know that Mayor Dellums is no Superman, but it is time that he stood up and show the leadership that we all expected. The devil is in the details. Otherwise, move over and let Ignacio De La Fuente run this city. 

Jeffrey G. Jensen is a North Oakland resident. 

I am not a member of the “Concerned Listeners”; nonetheless I am a ”concerned” listener. 

I, like most KPFA listeners, was under the impression that everything was resolved when the lawsuit was settled. However, at the prompting of a friend, I started to attend Local Station Board (LSB) meetings in early 2006 and then decided to run for the LSB in the fall of 2006. As the first runner- up in that election, I joined the board upon the resignation of board member Vida Simian in August 2007. 

I think the function of the LSB is similar to that of the board of directors of a company. The board is responsible for overseeing the management of the station to ensure that the finances are in order and that the station is providing compelling programming to the paying listeners. However, as I sat through the LSB meetings, I became concerned with many disquieting facts. I will list three of them. 

First concern is the relationship between the LSB and the general manager. In order for the board to exercise effective oversight of the station, it is important for the general manager to be working closely with the board. Currently, the interim general manager rarely meets with the board. Another thing we expect of a general manager is to nurture and encourage all the parts of the station. However, just as the Unpaid Staff Organization was finally getting its group organized, the interim general manager inexplicably and preemptively “de-recognized” them. Unfortunately this gave the appearance of cutting off a person’s legs who was just beginning to learn to walk again. Communication was lacking in the extreme. I hope that LSB can establish a good working relationship with the general manager, so that we can together strengthen every segment of the station.  

The second concern is the apparent marginalization of the Program Council to that of a strictly advisory role. It seemed that Program Council, consisting of all segments of the station, was an appropriate vehicle for making programming decisions in a fair, collaborative, respectful manner. Annie Hallet, of the Program Council, worked tirelessly to recruit candidates and conduct an election, but her efforts appear to have been for naught. A conspicuous example is that the Program Council should have been involved in filling the Sunday Salon slot, and it was not. Ob-viously, it should be of concern to the board whether the listeners are satisfied with the current new host. I hope that the program director will embrace a vibrant and engaged Program Council so that programming decisions can be made in a fair, collaborative, respectful manner, as laid out in the by-laws. 

The third concern is the way in which the LSB election has been run.  

1. Ballots were mailed out per the bylaws. 

2. The “Concerned Listeners” slate mailed flyers to all the members. This well- funded act of campaigning set the stage for unequal access to the voting subscribers which has not been balanced by anything else—including air time.  

3. Interim Executive Director Dan Siegel ruled that “People’s Radio Slate” statements were ‘personal attacks’ and removed them for a time from the station website in an especially autocratic moment. 

4. Audio archive of the Oct. 15 forum was removed from the lsb.kpfa.org web site 

5. The station has not played candidate’s recorded statements on air 20 days into a 30-day election cycle. 

As an institution that takes no corporate money, our election should be a model to the rest of the world of how a free and open election is run. 

Although “Concerned Listeners” candidates state that they will “bring civility to the board meeting” and “refrain from micro-managing the station”, after sitting in on LSB meetings for over a year I do not see them as issues. While civility is an important value, it is natural to have hotly contested ideas in situations that matter greatly to people and I fear that “civility” has become a code word to smear anyone who simply does not go along with Concerned Listeners’ plans.  

From a historical perspective we all owe Carol Spooner a great deal of gratitude for her Herculean efforts in bringing listener democracy to Pacifica and we should strengthen what she so admirably fought for, which is why I am joining her in her endorsements with one addition. 

I recommend voting for Joe Wanzala, Chandra Hauptman, Tracy Rosenberg and Steven Conley, among the independents; CC Campbell-Rock of the Voices for Justice slate; and Attila Nagy and his fellow candidates of the People’s Radio slate.  

Please remember that regardless of your preferences, to make listener democracy a reality, it is very important for each of you to take the time to mail in your ballot. Thank you. 

Aki Tanaka is an Oakland resident and is a listener member of KPFA LSB. 

For the average KPFA listener, it’s not easy to understand what—if anything—is really at stake in elections for the Local Station Board, nor how to select and rank candidates. They’re divided into myriad slates and factions, all passionately denouncing one another, but they’re all experienced progressives, and at a glance their platforms and platitudes sound pretty similar. And beyond the official election pamphlet, the station itself isn’t doing much to help voters understand the issues: There’s been only one, poorly publicized in-person candidate forum, and as of this writing, more than three weeks after the ballots were mailed, KPFA had yet to begin airing the recorded pitches candidates were asked to make weeks ago.  

So are the elections just another of those circular firing squads the American left is so famous for? If so, it would make sense to do what most listener-subscribers do: toss their ballots in the recycling bin, or perhaps just vote for the names you recognize or candidates endorsed by people you respect.  

That response would be a mistake, though, at least if you are among those who think KPFA and Pacifica could be a more dynamic and effective voice for peace and justice. Behind the sound and fury, this election involves serious issues about the direction of the station and network. And while they’re ostensibly about governance rather than programming (because the Local Station Board itself doesn’t make programming decisions), these issues are directly related to what goes out on KPFA’s signal—which is to say, how well it functions as a voice for social change. 

A bit of background 

The current bylaws were adopted in the wake of the crisis that came to a head in 1999, when the Pacifica national board, increasingly out of touch with listeners and local staff, moved to “hijack” the network, evidently with the goal of converting it into a more mainstream, corporate operation. A broad alliance of listeners and programmers managed to recover control of the network. The bylaws they eventually put in place were intended to create a system of governance that allowed for strong management, but obliged it to take into account the views of both listeners and staff (paid and unpaid). 

Unfortunately, the listener-staff alliance has largely unraveled, at least at KPFA. (There are similar dynamics at the other four Pacifica stations, though the particulars differ.) Many staff members, particularly but not exclusively paid staffers, have decided they don’t like the system of governance embodied in the bylaws. Instead, they have, with considerable success, promoted a model in which power is shared (albeit sometimes uneasily) between the paid staff and managers drawn from their own ranks, while listeners and unpaid staff are largely frozen out of decision making.  

The question the KPFA community now confronts is whether to accept this trend or to make a renewed attempt to implement the letter and spirit of the bylaw—to leave the station in the hands of a self-perpetuating in-group or to push forward to a model in which listeners and the unpaid staff, as well as the paid staff and managers, have a real voice 

KPFA’s current management—Interim General Manager Lemlem Rijio and Interim Program Director Sasha Lilley—are bright and energetic, and in my opinion they have some good ideas for improvements. On the other hand, they have made it clear that they have no use for anybody they don’t control. Specifically: They routinely ignore the LSB (Lemlem is an ex officio member and is supposed to give a report every month but hasn’t attended for months). Sasha suspended the Program Council (a group made up of herself and various other managers, plus representatives from the unpaid staff, the board, and the community) for months, and now that it has reconstituted itself, she wants it to do nothing but fill out online forms. And Lemlem moved to “derecognize” the Unpaid Staff Organization (UPSO) exactly at the moment when that group was pulling itself together after a long hiatus. 

For sure, the station and the network need strong managers—no one thinks they can be run by committee. The question is whether we should have strong managers who consult only among themselves and an oligarchy of paid staffers, or whether all the station’s constituencies can have seats at the table. 

Governance and programming 

The connection between governance issues and what goes on KPFA’s air isn’t entirely obvious, but after a year on the LSB and six months on the Program Council (during most of which it was suspended), I’m convinced the link is very real. On the one hand, the people who want listeners and unpaid staff to have a real voice in the direction of the station tend also to want more community news, activist voices, and vigorous and open political debate, including about “touchy” issues like Zionism and the Israel lobby, 9/11, and the role of the Democratic party vs. third parties. (None of this equates, as the Concerned Listeners group and some others would have you believe, to some kind of ultra-left takeover.)  

On the other hand, most of the management and staff who want to run things for themselves seem to be afraid of anything that departs from “professional” radio norms or that might offend the left-liberal crowd. 

Lemlem and Sasha tried, for example, to enforce a policy that would prohibit programmers from inviting listeners to turn out for demonstrations—Miguel Molina got written up for saying “be there” about a perfectly legal antiwar rally—even though their own lawyers eventually admitted that there are no legal or regulatory grounds to ban such “calls to action.” Lately, after the LSB approved a resolution I submitted calling on management to set up a simple system for political activists to get demonstrations and other events announced on the air, management took a disturbing step in precisely the opposite direction: they added an outright prohibition on announcements of demonstrations and rallies to the station’s guidelines on public-service announcements. 

And look what happened when Larry Bensky quit: many of us thought that offered a great opportunity to try out some sharp new voices on Sunday morning, but management, with no consultation with the Program Council or anyone else, handed the Sunday slot to Peter Laufer, a guy who sounds as if he’d be right at home on mainstream radio—which is where he has spent most of his broadcasting career.  

Your choices 

If you’re comfortable with decisions like those, go ahead and recycle your ballot, or vote for the Concerned Listeners slate, which is fully committed to backing the current interim management. But if you think listeners and unpaid staff deserve a role in KPFA decision making, and if you want the station to be a stronger voice for peace and justice, then you owe it to yourself to vote for candidates who support those goals. My choices: Joe Wanzala, Chandra Hauptman, Tracy Rosenberg, Attila Nagy, CC Campbell Rock, Steve Conley, Richard Phelps, Stan Woods, Gerald Sanders, Mara Rivera, and Dave Heller. (For an explanaiton of these choices, see TK.) 

However you vote, do it soon—ballots must be received back at the station on Nov. 15. 

Henry Norr is a member of KPFA’s Local Station Board and Program Council. 

Although our City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 7 surprised many of us naïve citizens by reversing its position made two weeks earlier in support of South Berkeley residents, it was less surprising if one examines the council’s history. On many occasions, the council had led Berkeley citizens to believe that it was truly sympathetic to neighborhood concerns over RF radiation from cell phone antennas. They cite for their reason federal law as promulgated in the 1996 Tele-Commun-ications Act which pre-empts the city from being able to defend its citizen on the basis of health concerns.  

This issue was taken up once more Tuesday evening at a packed public City Council meeting. Beginning at 5:15 p.m. the council met in closed session, in part, to develop its plan for presenting its capitulation to the phone companies on this issue. Attorneys, led by Manuela Albuquerque and Kirk Trost, an outside attorney, had once again pushed the city very hard to agree to Verizon’s terms or else face and lose a very expensive lawsuit. The plan involved deciding that the council would settle the controversy by allowing Verizon and Nextel to install their 11 antennas at 2721 Shattuck Ave. In return, Verizon would drop its lawsuit to eliminate the city’s illegal ordinance. Of course, these companies and any other interested telecom companies would also be allowed to locate many other antennas at the same site in the future.  

Berkeley Neigborhood Antenna-Free Union (BNAFU) had been alerted that afternoon that the public might not be allowed to speak on our issue. So I called the city clerk’s office Tuesday afternoon and was told that the mayor could choose to allow us to speak, so I left a message with his secretary that we had, in fact, been told by councilmembers that we would at least be allowed to speak during the public comment period. I also told the secretary that many of our supporters expected to be allowed to speak and that the mayor should definitely be apprised of this fact.  

Our public comments at the previous meeting had been so powerful and persuasive, that a motion to uphold the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) received three votes, including those of Max Anderson, Donna Spring and even Mayor Tom Bates. The motion to deny the ZAB received only one vote (Wozniak’s) in its favor.  

Our supporters naively went into Tuesday’s meeting believing that we had a good chance of maintaining the council support given to us at the previous meeting. And we came prepared to speak once again, in even greater numbers. 

Just before our item was to be discussed on the council’s Nov. 6 action agenda, the mayor contemplated whether or not to allow any public comment. We know this because a city staff member was told by the mayor to approach Verizon and Nextel to ask them if five minutes would be enough time for them to present their case. I was speaking to the Verizon attorney, Paul Albritton, at the time, outside in the hall when he was approached by a city staff member who asked to speak to him privately. When Mr. Albritton returned, he reported to me that he had been asked by this city staff member if five minutes would be enough for Verizon to present its case. He said to me that he told the staff member that Verizon did not need any more time. They had finished presenting their case, and he was going to go find the Nextel attorney. These comments also happened to be overheard by others standing nearby.  

Unfortunately and unfairly, this staff member had not approached any member of BNAFU with a similar proposal to arrange to hear our comments on this agenda item. In fact, none of our supporters were allowed to say a word on the antenna proposal during the entire meeting. 

When the antenna item did come up for discussion, Councilwoman Maio immediately asked for a report from Manuela Albuquerque’s outside “independent public interest” attorney Kirk Trost. He proceeded in a very clear, detailed and prepared speech to tell the council what the city’s attorneys had pounded into council members in closed sessions over the previous four weeks.  

After this speech, despite the protests of audience members wanting to respond, the “discussion” was closed, and the council quickly voted to reject the ZAB decision and grant Verizon and Nextel their permits. This muzzling of our free speech was totally unjust, in light of the mayor’s offer of speaking time to Verizon and Nextel.  

The council’s rush to a quick decision with no public comment swept under the rug many critical issues that had been raised at the public council meeting of Oct. 23:  

1. Ms. Richie Smith, a member of the City Commission on Aging had reported that loud noise emanating from the cell antenna equipment at her church, next to her home in South Berkeley, was still keeping residents awake at night. This problem continued after Ms. Richie and neighbors had reported the problem to the city some time ago and after the city documented that the noise level was exceeding legal limits. City staff had reported on Oct. 23 that they had not been aware of a continuing problem, and that they would solve it. Ms. Richie told us on Tuesday that as of Nov. 6, no action had been taken to remedy the problem. She was not allowed to speak because there was no time allowed for any public discussion on Nov. 6.  

2. On Oct. 23, BNAFU had asked that if the permit were to be granted, we needed to know that Verizon and Nextel would pay for an independent engineer to measure RF radiation levels in the area immediately surrounding the proposed site on Ward and Shattuck. We proposed that these measurements be taken before and after antennas were installed. We suggested that the University of California could assist in this effort. No councilmember insisted on this basic neighborhood protection.  

3. We had asked city staff many times previously, and the council itself on Oct. 23, how many Verizon and Nextel antennas are currently located at each Berkeley site. We never received that needed information. But there was no time allowed to answer this question on Nov. 6. 

4. Our neighborhood has no guarantee that more antennas will not be located at this site by other cell phone companies. We had suggested that the owner of the property, Patrick Kennedy sign a document binding him and any future tenant to limiting the number of antennas to those agreed upon as a result of this settlement. No council member even bothered to raise this concern on Nov. 6. 

5. On Oct. 23, we told the council that we must fix our ordinance so that it complies with the law. We proposed that the council agree to revise the current ordinance governing the installation of antennas to conform to current court rulings on the matter, so that in the future our ordinance will stand up to legal scrutiny. Until such time that we have a legal ordinance, should we not have a moratorium on further antenna installations? 

On Nov. 6, the council clearly was in a big rush to satisfy Verizon’s demands and disallow our participation. It gave what little control it does have for mitigating the damage done by its previous 8-1 decision to institute a cell antenna ordinance completely out of whack with the law. The council then compounded that error by disregarding all of the other important concerns that the community had raised at the Oct. 23 City Council meeting. 

Thankfully, this struggle is not over. In fact, we have not even begun to fight. 

Michael Barglow is a South Berkeley  

resident. 

WILL DAPAC HAVE BEEN WORTH IT? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Sometimes at the end all we can say is that the process was our most important product! 

Robert C Chioino 

• 

COLUMNISTS OR CHEERLEADERS? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Both J. Douglas Allen-Taylor and Chip Johnson miss the point. It doesn’t matter whether Jerry Brown or Ron Dellums is mayor of Oakland, or how many cops Oakland employs. Because the criminal justice system is broken. The system is primarily focused upon providing more jobs with unaffordable salaries and benefits for lawyers, prison guards, prison construction personnel, and police officers. The system as presently constituted provides California with a skyrocketing population of lawbreakers and more prisons with cost overruns. 

The East Bay needs a justice system focused primarily on protecting people from crime and on effectively motivating criminals to respect others. Perhaps Allen-Taylor and Johnson can quit cheerleading for their favorite local politicians long enough offer some help to East Bay residents who really are suffering from lawbreaking. 

Nathaniel Hardin 

El Cerrito 

• 

PART OF THE SOLUTION? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It’s amusing in a morbid sort of way that pied piper Bill McKibben and his merry followers continue to peddle the fantasy that an 80 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions in the United States is compatible with stopping the worst effects of global warming. 

As Guardian U.K. journalist George Monbiot convincingly argues in his brilliant treatise “Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning,” if we are serious about keeping global warming under the apocalypse threshold, we’ll need a 94 percent cut by 2030 in the United States in concert with an average 90 percent cut across the so-called “developed world.” Monbiot says doing something without doing enough is equivalent to doing nothing. That is to say, if our cuts are insufficient, we’ll still pass the tipping point where global warming accelerates without our help as a result of positive feedbacks, perhaps leading to the end of Earth’s capacity to sustain life (and in the best case, resulting in hundreds of millions of environmental refugees and ecological disaster so enormous it’s hard to imagine). The tipping point is generally recognized as two degrees centigrade of warming over pre-industrial levels, and if Monbiot is to be believed, McKibben’s target doesn’t keep us on the correct side of that perilous line in the sand. 

McKibben must somehow be aware of the futility of his efforts, as he’s asking Step It Up campaigners to scuba dive whilst holding banners announcing the insufficient target. “Congress: cut carbon 80 percent by 2050” proclaim the signs; they should be amended “and we’ll still end up underwater.” 

Hey, McKibben and friends—step it up! 

Matthew Taylor 

P.S.: Remind me, what goals did Berkeley’s Measure G set? Oh... also 80 percent by 2050? Glad to hear that Berkeley’s planning to turn my Gourmet Ghetto pad into a beachfront property. 

• 

HOW MANY ANTENNAS? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Between November 2002 to February 2004, neighbors in the vicinity of 1600 Shattuck Ave. were fighting the installation of antennas on the top of this building. Now, in the past 18 months, people on the south side are doing the same to stop antennas on the UC storage. Fighting wireless corporations brings immense hardship to neighbors. 

The fact of matter is that people are rightly concerned about the health risks of radiation from these antennas. There are papers in many scientific journals that report microwave syndrome among those who live close to cell-phone antennas. For instance, see, the paper entitled “The Microwave Syndrome: A Preliminary Study in Spain,” in Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, Vol. 22, pages 161-169, 2003. There are several major hurdles to fight wireless facilities.  

1. People are kept uninformed about the existence of cell-phone antennas in their neighborhood. Wireless facilities are usually hidden. Since the radiation from them is silent, odor-less, and invisible, people would never know that they are being irradiated.  

2. Reports from research institutes that warn the health risks of wireless facilities are marginalized.  

3. People are so much attached to their high-tech gadgets that are not willing to think twice. Using cell-phones is of course an artificially created demand by corporations. Ten to 15 years ago, people were living happily without being on cell-phones constantly. 4. In the United States, the Telecommunication Act of 1996 appears to guarantee unlimited power to wireless providers to install their antennas almost anywhere they wish and as many as they want. They always claim that there is not adequate coverage, there are no health risks from these facilities, etc. Such claims are mostly false. As Councilmember Anderson said in the public hearing, Verizon is not in Berkeley for the health of people.  

5. In Berkeley, in particular, the office of city attorney does not have the courage to fight corporations. 

A major question is: How many antennas can be installed around the town? This question was also raised by several councilmembers in the public hearing on the Oct. 23. There was no clear answer. But, by common sense, if wireless providers install 10-20 antennas in every two three blocks, then soon the level of power density from them will exceed even the lax limits set by the FCC. 

I believe that the City of Berkeley should make sure that the level of power density from these antennas in a neighborhood remains well below the FCC limits. This could be achieved by denying permit to wireless facilities when there are already some of them in the area. A proposal from Council Member Wozniak as people can cover their windows by aluminum foil is certainly not welcome. We should not jail ourselves in dark rooms because corporations like to make profit. 

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, the City Council will decide on the antennas on the UC Storage. Neighbors and the public should come to the Old City Hall to let the City Council and Verizon know that we do not want these antennas pop out like mushroom around us. 

Shahram Shahruz 

• 

BUS RAPID TRANSIT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is refreshing to read the letter from Dean Leakas, who uses his common sense to correct the “transportation experts’” claims about Bus Rapid Transit. 

The planners at AC Transit have looked at the traffic counts on Telegraph Avenue, they have looked at studies of how many drivers shift to transit in projects like the proposed BRT, and they have looked at each intersection on the route individually to see how many cars intersections could accommodate with mitigations to improve traffic flow. As a result of this study, they have concluded that, with mitigations, BRT will not cause a significant degradation of level of service at any intersection in Berkeley if we adopt the two-way Shattuck option. There will be one intersection that cannot be adequately mitigated if we adopt the Shattuck-Oxford loop option. 

Without going through all this transportation-expert nonsense about traffic counts and capacity at each intersection, Leakas is able to look around, use his common sense, and tell us that BRT will really cause gridlock. I’ve got another set of experts for Leakas who are even worse than the transportation experts. Mr. Leakas, do you know that there are astronomy experts who actually claim that the earth is round like a ball, when we can all look around, use our common sense, and see that the earth is really flat. 

Charles Siegel 

• 

MAD AS HELL! 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Do you think that it is fair for Dow Chemical to kill U.S. troops and people in other countries, and then say that they hand nothing to do with it? Well, I call it blood money, because I am one of those people dying from Agent Orange cancer made from the chemical that they made, and there are thousands of more people in other countries dying from it too. 

Herb Mathis 

• 

PEOPLE’S PARK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Two comments on plans for People’s Park. 

First is on the idea of adding new buildings to the park. Why not turn all the struggle which has occurred over this park through time into a positive, which is that a net result of all of this is that it has eked out an open space resource in an area where such a resource is sorely needed and which otherwise would have certainly been developed long ago. As density increases, this becomes more of an issue that was not anticipated in the past. MK Think’s Art Taylor stressed himself in their initial reconnaissance research that this area is impoverished for open space and this makes the open space aspect of the park a valuable resource which shouldn’t be undone. Any new buildings, be they museums or whatever, will effectively reduce the open space aspect of the park. Why do it? That is a mistake. 

Second is a feeling of unease about efforts to “memorialize” the park pre-humously. Celebrating the park’s history is one thing, and a good thing, but treating it like a memorial to something which was in the past and is now dead is another mistake. This mistake would be extremely disempowering to those who keep working on the park and who keep it alive. But still, People’s Park is not dead—it is alive, so burying it with an honorary commemorative funeral is not appropriate. An important part of its life which still goes on is embodied in the fact that community people still work on the gardens. Preserving this dynamic is crucial towards preserving the life that People’s Park has left in it. Replacing these efforts with those of professional landscaping services which would “exclude” user development is perhaps the worst idea I have heard proposed for anyone who cares about the meaning of People’s Park. As with any valuable resource, historic or otherwise, you don’t try to kill the resource when you still have it and then say “What a valuable resource we had. Let’s erect a plaque for it.” Let’s focus on options which keep the resource alive and does not “take the park away” from those who tend it in order to "transfer ownership” to those who want to mend it. 

Joseph Stubbs 

• 

DAY OF THE DEAD 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was a participant in the annual “Day of the Dead” procession in the Mission on Friday night. It was a beautiful and moving event. 

As I was going home, I saw two people with signs that read: 

“Dia de los Muertos is Not Halloween.” 

“Stop Mocking Our Traditions.” 

I was surprised that someone felt we were stealing their customs. I thought about how many different ethnicities participate in the Chinese New Year’s Parade. Then I watched as one sign was turned over, and it read: 

“Culture Vultures and Hipsters Out of the Mission.” 

It became obvious the sign-holders felt their district was being invaded by others and maybe they felt threatened. 

I was raised in an Italian/Polish Catholic family. Death was never talked about. Once a person “went to God” we never spoke of them again. 

Three of my closest friends died horribly from AIDS in the 1980s. I had no way to cope with that—their bodies were jetted away to their graves. About six years ago I attended my first Dia de los Muertos, and I made an altar for them. I did my research, so my “ofrenda” would be respectful of the cultural norms. 

I can understand, to a point, the sign-makers. I too saw the “fashionistas”—those who dress up in fancy clothes and seem to model their skeletal costumes. I also sense more of a “Burning Man” presence.  

But this is San Francisco. Everything that happens here becomes larger than the original. How many thousands of Spanish, Italian, heterosexuals, or other people go to the Gay/ Lesbian Pride Parade? 

The beauty of the Bay Area is the way we learn about other cultures and lifestyles. Done with respect, how can that be faulted? 

R. Tony Haze 

San Francisco 

• 

BERKELEY’S POPULATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I keep reading this nonsense in the Daily Planet about Berkeley’s population supposedly decreasing. All you need to do is step out onto the sidewalk and you can see with your own eyes how much more crowded and congested it is than it was 20 years ago. Do these erroneous population surveys take into account the thousands of homeless in Berkeley? Do they take into account the thousands of illegal immigrants? Do they take into account the thousands of recent legal immigrants (who are traditionally under-counted and difficult to count)?  

Well, here’s some indisputable facts. The UC Berkeley student population is growing by leaps and bounds every year. (Last year’s freshman class was an all-time record. Next year’s class will be even larger.) The California population is growing at the rate of one million new people every year. The California population is now growing at a faster rate than India! Does that give you an idea of what’s in store for us if we don’t stabilize our population growth? If you’re not bright enough to figure it out, just look at what’s already happened to the quality of life in India, China, Mexico and all the other countries that failed to stabilize their population. The answer isn’t useless nonsense like the falsely-named “Smart Growth.” The answer is no growth. We either stabilize our population or face the bitter consequences. 

Ace Backwords 

• 

EUGENE TRANSIT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Steve Geller’s Nov. 2 op-ed failed to note a couple of crucial differences between Eugene, Oregon’s EmX system and A/C Transit’s proposed East Bay Bus Rapid Transit project. 

The EmX reserved lanes don’t significantly worsen traffic congestion because there are still two or three lanes in each direction left for cars and trucks, plus lots of alternative routes. On Telegraph Avenue, the proposed East Bay BRT would leave only one lane in each direction; since most alternative routes are blocked to through automobile traffic by Berkeley’s “traffic calming” measures, at peak times this would result in the sort of gridlock we already see on College and Shattuck. 

The EmX provides fast service between downtown Eugene and nearby Springfield along a five-mile corridor that previously had only regular bus service. The local transit agency considered light rail, but went with BRT because it was cheaper. The proposed East Bay BRT would run between the Bayfair and downtown Berkeley BART stations, with stops at or within a few blocks of the San Leandro, Fruitvale, 12th Street, 19th Street, and MacArthur stations; no EBBRT stop would be much more than a mile and a half from a BART station. 

Rather than building a BRT system that would mostly duplicate existing BART service, we should invest in services that would increase BART ridership, such as more shuttles like the Emery-Go-Round and easy bike rental a la Paris’s Vélib.  

Robert Lauriston 

• 

BATTLE OF THE BOARD  

AT KPFA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I used to imagine that KPFA somehow ran itself, and that it was a place where people worked together for common goals, made decisions collectively and got along pretty well. Then, about two years ago, I started attending KPFA’s monthly board meetings. The situation, as I see it today, is like this: 

The station is run by a group of people who operate autonomously. They do not respond to listeners, or even to volunteer workers at the station. In August the station announced that it will no longer recognize the UnPaid Staff Organization (UPSO ). I find it maddeningly painful to see a progressive institution adopt policies that resemble those of a union-busting corporation. 

The de-recognition of UPSO is only one example of their exclusion of others from participation. Their decision-making and management style is top-down and cloaked in secrecy. 

It was to prevent excesses such as the above that KPFA has a board of directors which is elected by listeners and staff. The board’s job is oversight. This has brought the board into conflict with people who don’t want anyone looking to see how the listeners’ money is spent. In 2004 and ‘05 there was a successful year-long fight for transparency, led by members of the People’s Radio slate. (And for that I must say I do like People’s Radio.) 

Today, even the candidates on Sherry Gendelman’s slate pay lip service to transparency and accountability. In a leaflet they say: “We’ve strengthened the LSB’s financial oversight, bringing an unprecedented level of transparency to KPFA’s budgeting process.” But in reality, members and allies of Sherry’s slate generally opposed transparency. Some fought tooth and nail against it, which is why it took over a year to achieve. 

The station has had a series of general managers, but the real power always seemed to lie elsewhere. A clue to the identities of the power holders came out in the fall of 2005, when an intriguing e-mail came to light. It was addressed to eight KPFA people, including one who has since become the interim general manager. 

“[W]e need a general strategy session,” the e-mail read in part. “[H]ow do we make our enemies own the problems that are to come? Alternatively, should we be recalling LSB members/dismantling the LSB?” At first I was inclined to think that “dismantlement” wasn’t intended to be taken literally. The author of that e-mail impresses me as a capable person who’s done some good work at KPFA. Nevertheless, what I’ve seen in the last two years convinces me that he and the others are not being open with us, and that they are indeed working to neutralize the board. 

Although the e-mail was posted on websites, most KPFA listeners probably never knew of its existence until the current election when People’s Radio candidates wrote a collective statement for the voter pamphlet which included that e-mail and a detailed analysis of it. That statement drew blood. Both KPFA/Pacifica as well as Sherry Gendelman and others on her slate responded with howls of pain, characterizing their opposition as nasty, hateful and unfair. 

I think the People’s Radio statement was fair and appropriate. They said something that needed to be said. That’s how democracy works. 

Daniel Borgström 

Oakland 

• 

KPFA’S PAST ISN’T EVEN PAST 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Reading Matthew Hallinan’s “The KPFA Flap” (Oct. 30), I find the People’s Radio slate characterized as “nasty characters,” “attack dogs,” and “true-believer bullies,” capped by “they...substitute paranoid and baseless attacks on others to avoid spelling out what they really want....” Rather than engaging in exactly what he accuses the People’s Radio slate of, Hallinan would have done well to educate himself about the station on whose board he wishes to sit.  

“There is no danger of management turning the clock back to 1999,” he writes. “The power of the Local Station Board is now written into the bylaws of the Foundation.” But a central point of the People’s Radio fact-based candidate statement is that virtually all of the station’s current governance problems stem from intransigence regarding the bylaws by those holding power within the station. Contrary to statements made by some Concerned Listener candidates, the democratized bylaws do invest the Program Council with decision-making powers. When the Program Council decided to move Democracy Now! forward one hour (basically so that working people could listen to it during morning drive time), what was the overall reaction inside the station? Well, they didn’t agree to try it out on a probationary basis subject to evaluation. And they didn’t call for open discussion of the issue, in which the different viewpoints could be aired with the goal of reaching consensus or compromise. No, instead key staff simply refused to implement the decision. This signaled the beginning of post-hijacking actions by power brokers within the station to block and subvert any attempt to implement or create truly democratic process within KPFA, obstructions that continue to this day (witness the station’s current string of election violations).  

Like many current KPFA administrators and long-time insiders, Sherry Gendelman appears to know that it’s not politically feasible to admit to anti-democratic bias when it comes to station governance. KPFA management’s dirty little secret—not so secret now thanks to People’s Radio—is that they adamantly oppose democracy and transparency from taking hold within the station. That so many Concerned Listener candidates seem willfully oblivious to post-takeover station politics comports with an LSB intended to function as a rubber stamp to an increasingly secretive station administration, where top-down decision-making is the order of the day and power is unhealthily concentrated among a very few.  

Steve Gilmartin  

Oakland 

• 

LOCAL STATION BOARD 

ELECTION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I have read all the listener candidates’ statements in the KPFA voters’ pamphlet and all the Planet commentary and letters about the current KPFA Local Station Board (LSB) election. I have listened to most of the on-air election speeches. When candidates talk about what they WANT at KPFA, I find myself in agreement with most, if not all, of their ideas and proposals. I do wonder how some of these suggestions could possibly be implemented without a more serious approach to fund-raising, so statements that don’t emphasize (or don’t even mention) fund-raising trigger my skepticism. Likewise, the assumption that if we expand the KPFA listenership, fund-raising will just take care of itself. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? 

Beyond that, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that the entire collective statement of the People’s Radio (PR)group in the voters’ pamphlet, rather than a statement of what they are FOR, is an attack on another slate of candidates, the Concerned Listeners group. The voters’ pamphlet is the one opportunity that all candidates have to explain, in print, why they are running for the LSB, not to anybody who happens to tune into KPFA during the candidates’ forums, but to those of us who take the time to read the pamphlet and can actually vote in this election. People’s Radio folks chose to use that opportunity to attack other candidates, rather than tell us what THEY are about. 

What is the basis of this attack? A memo found in a trash basket at the station, suggesting a meeting that never actually took place. This memo has been used to accuse some staff and some board members of trying to “dismantle” the LSB. Sorry, but that’s not evidence of any plot to dismantle anything, much less a democratically elected station board. I wish Dan Siegel had not removed candidates’ statements from the Pacifica website, but it wasn’t wrong for anybody to bring to his attention the fact that some candidates had violated election rules that prohibit the use of KPFA resources to attack other candidates. 

Having said that, it is true that any board that is on a path that can lead to dysfunction, needs to change, if the organization is to survive. Several people, such as Carol Spooner, have urged KPFA listener voters to vote for the I-Team candidates, who are purportedly independent, although that’s not at all clear from their voting records. Spooner, in her recent Planet commentary, devotes a lot of space to attacking Dan Siegel, the now-infamous “dismantling” e-mail note, and the Concerned Listener candidates. But again, no discussion about the many and complex issues KPFA confronts in its attempts to reach a broader audience, to raise desperately needed funds, to diversify programming, and to build civility and truly respectful behavior within the LSB, the management, and the staff. And Spooner’s suggested voting strategy is aimed at defeating Concerned Listeners. It’s not about balance on the LSB. And it won’t promote free speech and open debate. This listener isn’t buying that argument. Concerned Listeners took the high ground and did not attack other candidates; they have a program that cares about expanding and deepening KPFA’s programs and outreach. Vote for them. 

Nancy Polin 

Oakland 

• 

A CRITIQUE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The analysis by Noelle Hanrahan, Adrienne Lauby, et al, published in the Oct. 31 SF Bayview, as well as the Berkeley Daily Planet, is right on the money in describing the situation at KPFA. The main problem with it is the voting recommendations. 

There are only four people on the I-Team slate, and without additional allies they are not going to be able to influence the direction of governance and the effectiveness of LSB decision making. While the Concerned Listeners on the LSB were divided in supporting the Unpaid Staff Organization against the interim general manager’s attempt to decertify it, this may have been because they have been directed to “support the staff,” those who “abstained,” in effect casting a No vote, understand that it is not the staff per se that they want to support, but the ruling clique of insider staff we have called the “entrenched staff.” The Concerned Listeners still constitute a voting bloc which follows leaders such as Sherry Gendelman in such votes as continuing to allow cutting edge speakers’ presentations in KPFA sponsored public events to be withheld from listeners and other progressive media as well, in order to raise money in KPFA fund drives. Only those who can afford to donate a large sum of money can hear the full talks, which are sometimes played in their entireties months later, if at all. This seems to be a clear violation of KPFA’s role as non-compromising source of information. The Concerned Listeners do not often “chart their own paths”, and we need to offer more pro-democracy candidates for people to vote for. 

In the meantime, the solidly progressive group which is already there, People’s Radio, has had its standing weakened by a long history of attacks by its opponents, and their more recent charges of election violations for using their campaign statements to lay out the power situation at the station. Complaints were made that this was merely personal attacks to those mentioned for their undemocratic stances, when it was an attempt to reach listeners with facts, listeners who were reached en masse by the CL sending out a mass mailing, which only they could collect enough money to do. The interim executive director of Pacifica himself in a clear violation of election procedures then characterized the PR statement as “personal attacks,” “hate speech” and “toxic,” and advised people to vote against them. 

Even Carol Spooner recognized this as a threat to progressive governance and chose to suggest that, as well as the I-Team slate, people should also vote for People’s Radio candidates. 

People’s Radio candidates are: Richard Phelps, incumbent; Stan Woods, incumbent; Attila Nagy, incumbent; Gerald Sanders; David Heller; Bob English; Mara Rivera. For more information on People’s Radio and the situation at KPFA please see People’s Radio website: www.peoplesradio.net. 

Mara Rivera 

When I interviewed with Councilmember Kriss Worth-ington two years ago regarding my interest in serving on the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC), the first thing that I said was that I felt that the existing Downtown Plan was generally fine and that there really was no need for a new plan. When I was later appointed to the DAPAC, I entered the process with a lot of skepticism, hoping that something positive would come out of the process. Two long and exhausting years later, I am still not only skeptical but also concerned about the direction of the DAPAC.  

I still believe that overall the existing Downtown Plan is a good document. While some changes are needed, I don’t think that it needs a complete rewrite like the DAPAC has done. Nevertheless there have been some benefits to this approach. DAPAC has included a lot of things that were not in the existing plan about green building, open space, and affordable housing, if they ever get implemented we will have a vibrant city center.  

When I first joined the committee, we were all informed that the purpose of the DAPAC was to not only develop an update of the existing Downtown Plan but to also help decide where the university will grow in the downtown. However over the past two years, this planning process has been less and less about the university, and more about allowing for high-rise buildings in the downtown. So it seems that either the focus of the DAPAC has shifted to the issue of whether to completely rewrite our land use policies, or maybe that was the main reason all along? 

When we first started our discussion of our land use policies, staff presented a number of suggested alternatives. The most controversial one was allowing for a significant number of 16-story buildings, or “point towers.” Unfortunately, “point towers” are still on the table, but in a different way. To support their argument the staff and some DAPAC members have offered a number of justifications. However over the past year and half these reasons have shifted and the discussion has morphed into a troubling direction.  

First staff had argued that we need significantly taller buildings to accommodate the number of new units required under the ABAG quota. However, we are not obligated to build the amount that is required. Additionally, it has been shown that we can accommodate the number of units that ABAG wants under our existing zoning. 

Then the argument was that buildings between five stories and 10 stories are not economically feasible. While I have never seen a single financial analysis supporting this argument, all one needs to do is look at the height of a lot of the new buildings in the downtown. A few of them are between five and 10 stories, including the infamous Seagate building.  

Then the argument was that we need taller buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Staff presented a series of calculations, which among other things said that if people were not going to live in the downtown they would live in Rockridge. This belief skewed the numbers and made it look like a five-story height limit would not provide the same number of benefits. Additionally, there has been a lot of research to show that tall buildings are not necessarily more energy efficient and in some cases use more energy than low-rise buildings.  

Then the justification was that we need taller buildings to promote transit-oriented development to reduce the number of people who drive to work and to support retail. None of these arguments has been supported by any academic study, and in fact they have been refuted many times.  

Some DAPAC members wanted taller buildings to allow for future residents to live in Berkeley. To date there has not been any analysis of how many people each scenario might bring to the downtown.  

At the DAPAC’s Land Use Subcommittee some members were suggesting that we need taller buildings to get more affordable housing and open space. However recent proposals approved by the City Council and before city commissions such as a study to rebate hotel tax revenue for the new Center Street hotel and a proposal to cap affordable housing in-lieu fees for high end condos seriously undermines this belief. 

Unfortunately now the debate has come down to some abstract debate over whether we want tall buildings or not. The DAPAC has not been presented with all of the necessary information to make a decision about heights, such as how the state Density Bonus law would factor into any height limit. We seem to be making a critical decision on the future of our community on the basis of aesthetics.  

Is this really what the community needs or wants? If the 50 or so people who spoke at the DAPAC workshop several weeks ago is any indication of the views of Berkeley residents, then there is strong opposition to any buildings over the seven stories allowed under the existing plan.  

More importantly we don’t need tall buildings to allow for an increased number of people, we can accommodate our population growth under our existing zoning.  

One of the speakers at the October workshop said that we need a “Berkeley solution” to whatever land use decisions that we make.  

I think that a “Berkeley solution” would be to keep our existing limit of five stories in the central part of the downtown but allow for some limited tall buildings, but only under the condition that we could get various public benefits such as open space, good design and affordable housing.  

Otherwise what is the point of allowing taller buildings? Density for density’s sake is not what should be driving our plan. We need a forward thinking vision that allows for change but also respects our identity and quality of life.  

I hope that the DAPAC can move beyond aesthetics and develop a plan that represents not only what the community wants but also what we will need for the future.  

But 16-story, 14-story, even 12-story buildings are not the answer.  

Jesse Arreguin is a member of the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee.  

Having lived in Berkeley and other parts of the Bay Area for a number of years (yes, I am one of those dreaded “true believers” indoctrinated at UC Berkeley’s Department of City and Regional Planning), I occasionally read the Daily Planet online from across the country—mostly for entertainment, it must be said. I’ve watched the debate over tall buildings in downtown Berkeley with some interest and have to say that, despite my “true believer” status and my tendency to agree with the “pro-development lobby group” Livable Berkeley, I find myself in this case sharing the skepticism about the wisdom of filling up downtown Berkeley with buildings of 14 stories and more. But opposition to that kind of height should not translate into support for the anti-growth position so often espoused by the Daily Planet.  

The moderates in this debate—and the others as well—would do well to find examples of places like Berkeley that have achieved smart growth goals without a lot of height. Not Paris, not San Francisco…wonderful places, but not really models for Berkeley. What about Cambridge, Massachusetts? Despite having a total population and demographic composition almost identical to Berkeley’s, despite having a university presence of at least the same scale (if one adds up Harvard and MIT), and despite having similar politics and ethos, Cambridge has achieved a more compact, urban feel without sacrificing its livability or human scale. To be sure, much of this is due to historical patterns of development, and the anti-development voices in Cambridge are loud and persistent. But Cambridge has also achieved density in some of its new developments without a lot of height and without detracting from the established residential neighborhoods. Equally importantly, the main activity nodes—Harvard Square, Central Square, Inman Square—have an urban feel lacking in Berkeley, and again, without a lot of height. The result is a small, livable city where people walk more (check the journey-to-work figures in the census) and that feels, in my opinion, more active and alive than Berkeley. 

When I moved from Massachusetts to Berkeley, I was surprised that the place that I had always thought of as a West Coast Cambridge was actually very different. When I moved back, the differences seemed even more striking: lots of compact urban nodes with restaurants and services, more people in the streets, no stretches of major avenues with vacant lots or used car dealerships, no empty retail spaces, a healthy job base in the biotech sector. 

Cambridge is not perfect, and the debate going on in Berkeley would not sound unfamiliar there. But it does show that the goals shared by many across the debate in Berkeley can be achieved without excessive height and without sacrificing quality of life. I would be happy to show anybody from Berkeley around Cambridge (as well as the best of Boston and surrounding communities) any time you wish. I suggest, however, that you wait until spring…weather is one realm in which Berkeley definitely has the upper hand. 

Gerald Autler lives in Boston, Mass.

Over the past 24-plus years, I have directly participated, either as a volunteer or a paid landscape architecture/urban design consultant, in approximately 15 separate projects that have been actually constructed in Berkeley’s downtown. 

In no particular order, those projects include the landscape and urban design components of the Blockbuster/Barnes & Noble Building, several phases of alterations to the BART Plaza, Central Library Expansion and Plaza, Library Gardens, Center Street Sidewalk Widening & Wayfinding, several phases of alterations to Addison Street to create the Addison Street Arts District, Berkeley Poetry Walk, selection and installation of public art, Measure S Downtown Public Improvements, and Berkeley Repertory Theater expansion and courtyard. 

These high visibility urban design projects, both public and private, collectively reflect the contributions of many individuals. For the 15 projects, total construction costs of the urban design features alone were approximately $6,500,000 over 24-plus years. This is the cost of the exterior work (sidewalks, streets, trees, lights, courtyards, etc.) not the buildings or other project costs. Each of these projects has had a positive effect, sometimes rippling into nearby areas.  

But, in fact, the overall impact of these projects on downtown has been relatively minor and the $6.5 million spent to date has barely made a dent in the general character of downtown. Even when coupled with numerous other completed projects with urban design components—Berkeley High School, Vista College, new housing developments, Civic Park and City Hall renovations, historic building renovations, movie theaters, new arts venues, new restaurants, office, retail stores—the actual condition of our downtown today remains very poor, to put it kindly.  

Sure, $6.5 million seems like a lot of money, but it pales in comparison with the amount that will be required to carry out the urban design transformation of downtown envisioned in the emerging downtown plan. And that vision is a fair representation of our community’s desires as expressed over many years, and during the DAPAC process. It is clear that much larger sums are needed, and that the improvements will have to be funded by a combination of public and private sources. 

More of the relatively small incremental improvements of the past two and a half decades are important, but they alone will not be enough to make our downtown into a safe, lively, attractive, and richly realized place. We are at a point when a larger, more concentrated effort is needed to redefine the center of our city, without apology. It is time to embrace a broader vision that encourages mutually complementary private and public developments that will help fund the essential public improvements necessary for a new downtown pedestrian structural system. 

Matt Taecker has courageously stuck his neck out with the proposed land use plan he brought before the DAPAC. While the plan he put forward may not be adopted, in my opinion he has properly framed the new way to think comprehensively about the future of our downtown. There is general agreement on the need for high levels of private as well as public investment, realistic and explicit incentives for development, and thoughtful distribution of both density and open space through the core area. Taken together, the emerging vision sets a bold new course. 

It is essential that the adopted plan be realistically implementable, with a clear funding strategy. If not, it will simply be a wish-list with unfulfilled and partially completed public improvements, storefront vacancies, and gritty confusion interspersed with a few jewels struggling to succeed. 

John N. Roberts is founder and principal of John Northmore Roberts & Associates, a landscape architecture and land planning firm in Berkeley. 

Winston Smith was sitting in his cubicle in the Ministry of Truth. It was his job to collect all of the information about the problems with high-rise buildings and high-density development and place it in the tube to be sent down the Memory Hole so that it would be forgotten forever. It had been a busy day; many records had been changed to prove that high-rise “Smart Growth” worked perfectly everywhere it had been tried. He was exhausted.  

Winston slowly pulled a cigarette out of his crumpled packet of party-approved cigarettes. The cheap, acrid smoke filled his lungs. It was unpleasant, but at least it wasn’t as bad as the diesel bus pollution that filled the concrete canyons along the streets down below and never seemed to dissipate. Besides that, the cigarette smoke warmed him up a bit—which mattered because heating expenses were now so high that they could no longer afford to heat the upper 27 stories of his building.  

Behind him, the poster on the wall listed the three slogans of the Party: 

“3- to 5-story buildings in quiet neighborhoods promote troublesome social intercourse. 

“ ‘Vibrant’ doesn’t just mean noisy; it also means enthusiastic young people committing playful acts of vandalism while intoxicated. 

“We have nothing to fear but fear of change itself.” 

Sighing heavily, Winston pushed away the stack of papers that would await him tomorrow morning. He glanced out the small window beside his desk and saw nothing but rows and rows of identical windows staring back at him set in drab gray concrete edifices. Whenever he saw this view, he recalled the party’s latest jingle that was broadcast repeatedly throughout the day: “Drab gray takes the blues away.” Indeed. The blue of the sky, first of all, thought Winston. Luckily, he caught himself before he frowned; an expression of discontentment would have attracted the attention of the patrols. 

Winston got up slowly on his arthritic leg and began to walk the half-mile to nearest elevator. As he rode down 47 stories to the street below, he thought about how fortunate he was to work in one of the smaller buildings in the city center. On the way out, he passed by the one parking space left in the whole downtown. It was reserved for the parking enforcement supervisor. 

Once on the street, he paused to admire the water feature that had been selected for downtown: The Juliet Lamont environmentally sustainable day-lighted drinking fountain—with two levels: one for kids, one for adults. UC advocate Dorothy Walker had argued strenuously for only the higher level—but fortunately DAPAC members had been able to work out an acceptable compromise.  

Winston stopped to take a drink, because he still had to walk another mile to reach his small cottage nestled beside an oak grove on the eastern edge of town. He was surprised that the oak grove had been saved—and he marveled that some causes were perhaps just too powerful even for Big Brother. Maybe there was hope after all. 

After dodging several speeding bicyclists along the way who careened straight at him on the sidewalk, Winston arrived at his front door. He slipped inside and stepped into the corner of his living room that was just out of range of the telescreen that the authorities used to observe all of his activities. He pulled a small book out of the cabinet drawer and set it down on the table. It was his brand new diary, just purchased on the black market. He took out his pen and opened the first page, and before he realized it he had filled half a page with the following words: 

DOWN WITH BIG BUILDINGS 

DOWN WITH BIG BUILDINGS 

DOWN WITH BIG BUILDINGS 

DOWN WITH BIG BUILDINGS 

DOWN WITH BIG BUILDINGS 

Well, he had done it now: By questioning the value of huge high-rise buildings, he had committed Height-crime. The Thought Police would be after him for sure. 

Winston was so shaken that he decided to go out for a walk. As he was heading down the sidewalk, he recognized a young woman walking towards him. He had seen her frequently on the streets downtown, usually craning her neck to try to catch a small glimpse of sky or a green leaf somewhere. In fact, Winston had heard people say that she knew all of the spots downtown where one could sit in actual sunshine for a whole 10 minutes!  

Just as the woman passed him, she stumbled and dropped a single orange out of her bag—which Winston knew must have come from the black market. So, Winston thought with exhilaration, she, too, was willing to risk violating the party’s rules! The woman looked up at him with an expression that was more like fear than pain, and he asked her if she was all right. She said, “It’s nothing, I just hurt my knee a bit. Thanks.” They both understood that they could show no emotion without risking interrogation by the Thought Police. He reached out his hand to help her up, and as he did so he felt her place a small piece of paper in his palm. And with that, she walked off in the direction she had been heading, as though the encounter had really meant nothing.  

His heart beating rapidly, Winston carefully placed the note in his pocket and walked back to his cottage. He again retreated to the corner of his living room out of sight of the telescreen, and took out the note and read it. He was so stunned by its contents that he read it once again more slowly. It said in large, almost child-like handwriting, “I love you…and SENSIBLE five-story downtown building height limits.” 

The Thought Police arrested both of them the next morning.  

Doug Buckwald is a Berkeley civic activist. He recommends that people read George Orwell’s classic work, 1984, for further insight into our current governmental practices.

Tonight (Tuesday), Bruce Kelley, a local developer, will ask the City Council to approve his plans to build a house at 161 Panoramic Way. The lot Kelley plans to build on sits between two blind curves on the narrowest section of this substandard road. While California Fire Code requires roads to be 20 feet wide, Panoramic Way is only 11 feet, 8 inches wide adjacent to the north side of Kelley’s lot. Panoramic Way was designed for 1920s cars and has hardly been upgraded since then. The road is treacherous because of its narrowness, its many blind curves, and the absence of shoulders and sidewalks. Walkers and joggers are forced to the edge of the road to dodge passing cars and delivery trucks.  

Larger trucks, unable to maneuver the curves, frequently block the road, sometimes for hours at a time. Delays in emergency response occur because the Fire Department has difficulty getting up the road. The construction of a new residence at the most dangerous location on the hill, with no ability for materials and supplies to be brought to the site without closing the road, could bring about life-threatening hazards. Panoramic Hill is zoned ESR, the strictest regulation in the city, because of the extreme fire danger and bad road conditions—there is only one entrance/exit serving all the 400-plus residents of the hill.  

“PHA [Panoramic Hill Association] was formed in 1948 because of the desperate need for an emergency access road. Nearly 60 years later this need is more urgent than ever because the risks are higher. The woodlands have grown, the roadway and other infrastructure have badly deteriorated, and more and larger vehicles often clog the road and block access,” explained Jerry Wachtel, president of the PHA  

In a close vote last March, the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) approved Kelley’s project, based, in large part, on the requirement that he perform several mitigations to reduce the risk and improve the safety of the proposed project. Inexplicably, these previously agreed upon mitigations seem to have changed. Most importantly, the ZAB approval prohibited construction activity, including loading/unloading or parking along and adjacent to the north side of the lot. Now city staff have flipped-flopped and have agreed to allow loading and construction at this, the most dangerous location on a dangerous road. In fact, they now propose closing the road on multiple occasions to allow construction to take place, thus denying their neighbors access to their own homes. . Neighbors are outraged and worried about the dire consequences should someone need an ambulance or fire department during the time the road is closed. But Kelley says closing the road and unloading from the north side will inconvenience no one.  

One neighbor wonders how Kelley could get the city to waive the front yard 20-foot setback requirement to be able to build his house 4.8 feet from the property line. “Everyone expects front yard setbacks in residential neighborhoods,” she added, is there some sort of backroom deal?”  

Janice Thomas, a Panoramic Hill resident, questioned the city’s role: “It is not the city’s job to twist the facts so as to make every project appear doable. Neither city staff nor advisory bodies nor elected officials should be so compelled. The applicant is indeed entitled to build at this site and to develop his property, but only if he does so in a way that does not cause detriment to others. To grant this use permit is to exacerbate an already existing dangerous condition, a condition that would not exist, I might add, were it not for the neglect of the city of Berkeley.”  

The City of Berkeley and the City Council have had considerable interaction with Panoramic Hill neighbors this year. Both the city and the university contributed funds to commence a study looking at the feasibility an emergency access road so emergency vehicles can reach homes when the tiny road is blocked. The PHA is a co-plaintiff with the city and the California Oaks Foundation opposing the University’s development plans for the stadium and SE campus area. Alameda County has proposed merging the Oakland and Berkeley parts of Panoramic Hill into one city. The City of Oakland, in which part of Panoramic Hill lies, effectively has a moratorium on building on the hill. Berkeley is considering a similar moratorium. All of these actions are taking place for one simple reason; the combination of Panoramic Hill’s location in a high-risk wildfire area, its proximity to the Hayward Fault, and its outdated and substandard road, contribute to this community being at extremely high risk for loss of life in the event of a natural disaster.  

There can be no excuse for approving a construction project that knowingly puts neighbors at elevated risk. Since the city is clearly aware of the existing dangers and the heightened risks imposed by this project, it would be more prudent, as Janice Thomas suggests, to first fix the road, and then allow development to more safely proceed.  

At its July public hearing, Councilmember Betty Olds commented “I don’t know why you all up there put up with those bad conditions.” The fact is that Panoramic Hill residents have been trying to work with the city for 60 years to fix these life-safety risks, but have little to show for it. The residents of Panoramic Hill again request that the mayor and the city take action to improve those conditions and prohibit development of this project until the road is repaired and emergency access is available.  

Cathy Orozco is a Berkeley resident. 

In 1992, the Earth First conference in Rio de Janeiro brought together people from all over the world, from all disciplines and walks of life, to address the issue of sustainability, especially in relation to the earth’s diversity of species—its living systems. Among other topics, Rio ’92 addressed polices of the rich countries that drove poor people who live off the land to adopt certain “slash and burn” practices detrimental to the environment. Out of Rio ‘92 flowed the United Nations Biodiversity Convention which the United States was one of the last countries to ratify. A similar stance was taken over the Kyoto Protocol that addresses the emission of greenhouse gases that are not sustainable to the earth’s environment. 

Since 1992, the international community has moved slowly towards the awareness and acceptance that rich countries in the Northern Hemisphere, with about 20 percent of global population, consume roughly eighty percent of the earth’s resources, including oil from non-renewable fossil fuel. Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth has helped to increase global awareness of this uneven consumption and negative environmental consequences that no doubt earned him the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. 

One of the proposed solutions to the finite-supply-of-oil problem, is the search for renewable forms of energy. This includes development of solar, geothermal and wind as sources of energy. But the big oil companies, in partnership with various governments, are pushing the idea that genetically-engineered crops, grasses and weeds, for example, can provide bio-fuels to replace oil used in vehicles. Assuming research is successful, how will this technology be deployed? Who will gain and who will lose? These are important public policy questions that governments everywhere and the public must address before jumping on private sector’s big oil agenda.  

There is evidence already that ethanol production from genetically modified corn has certain negative environmental and economic externalities and small farmers from the midwestern states are opposed to this. Palm oil bio-fuel plantations have displaced many people in Southeast Asia, the consequences of which are not dissimilar to those faced by dislocated Hurricane Katrina and Asian Tsunami victims. War-for-oil policies have wreaked disaster in Iraq and threaten the Middle East and further devastation of agricultural lands in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. What have we accomplished since 1992 in terms of sustainability on the planet?  

If we accept the United Nations’ underlying principles of sustainability—reduce, re-use, recycle—then the big oil renewable energy agenda must be challenged. Aside from the scientific and technical arguments regarding the ecological consequences of mass-scale bioengineered fuel plantations which the European Union will no doubt oppose in its own back yard, even if it involves its own British Petroleum or Shell, big oil business models and agendas are not driven by reduction of consumption, one of the chief principles of sustainability. In fact, its growth plan is based on increased number of vehicles run on bio-fuels. Even if this form of energy proves to be environmentally “clean” which is itself debatable, where would these plantations be located? In whose lands? Displacing which populations? Employing which slave-laborers? These are serious public policy questions that need to be discussed in open public forums all across the planet. We can no longer be concerned only with fueling our own SUVs and humvees, and the growing demand for cars in China, without worrying about the livelihoods of others even if they are in the Southern Hemisphere. We cannot continue to expect refugee relief, non-governmental agencies, and reactionary immigration policies to fix hunger and starvation of millions of people brought on by irresponsible front-end polices based on greed and increased consumption.  

Here in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, we must adopt sensible sustainability practices in terms of peoples’ needs. Key to this is land use and industrial development policies. A priority for land use policies, in light of the need for job creation, should be a preference for the types of industries that is also good for the environment. These industries include re-use and recycle, as well as wind and solar-based renewable energy, clean-technology industries that produce goods and supplies that are needed to upgrade our buildings and make them more energy efficient. These industries do not rely only on highly educated and highly-skilled workers, the way the bioengineering sector does. This emerging “truly green” sector needs to be carefully nurtured and not shoved aside by big oil agendas. 

Sustainability does not mean only environmental protection and clean energy. It means sustainable development for people and attention to those communities most in need of infusion of financial capital for revitalization, alleviation of poverty and reduction of crime. Building model cities requires the adoption of widely accepted principles of sustainability, such as reducing the reliance on cars as a primary mode of transportation. If not we will end up with worsening poverty even with the large sums of monies that big oil is investing. Such monies typically come with terms and conditions that are not in the best interest of the poor and disadvantaged. And the fate of the latter cannot be improved by the usual trickle down economic development supported by the work of non-governmental organizations. Governments have to fully embrace what is meant by sustainability in every corner of the planet. If not, 15 years from now where will we be? Can any local, state or regional government, win the 2022 Nobel Prize for leading the way for socially-equitable sustainable development for millions of people in its jurisdiction? This will require bold leadership and vision to deviate from the usual and forge new paths where none has gone before. It can be done.  

Oakland resident Nazreen Kadir is a scholar in science and public policy at the Western Institute for Social Research.

Evelyn Giardina said in a recent letter to the editor, “And good riddance to you, Manuela. You built a career by telling the city manager and City Council what they wanted to hear, which is not the same as providing good legal counsel. Take your golden parachute and just go.” 

Unfortunately, the real tragedy is not reached by this sort of conception of what happened. Manuela Albuquerque started out her career with Berkeley by defending rent control and ended it by almost single-handedly selling Berkeley down the river amidst the rising tide of corporate fascism. She did not just tell the City Council what it wanted to hear, but was a powerful influence in forcing it to do what it did not want to do. Under the rubric of expertise at law, she twisted the law and lied about the law at every turn. She created the prevailing attitude in Berkeley that law is too difficult for the common citizen or even the elected officials and must be left to the experts, especially her. She exercised autocratic power in Berkeley until apparently the shame became too much for even herself to bear. 

Her most dastardly deed was of course to engineer the City Council’s undemocratic acceptance of the current LRDP, which commits Berkeley to infiltration by the fascist hordes who are speedily taking full control of Berkeley, America, and the world. So that the common citizen CAN understand the real facts surrounding LRDP lawsuit, I will quote from my own brief filed with the United States Supreme Court on appeal. The fact that the courts denied and suffocated the truth at every turn does not cause it to cease to be the truth. Rather it is a further indictment of the court system itself and what it has become, which is a far, far cry from even what our founding fathers intended. Let the citizens of Berkeley know the truth: 

Petitioner alleged in his motion that he and all other citizens of the City of Berkeley had been unlawfully excluded by an actual extrinsic fraud both from participation in the settlement process and from the case itself as potential interveners. The alleged illegality was based on a self-evident conjunctive construction of California Government Code Sections 54953.(a) and 54956.9 together with California Evidence Code Sections 1152 and 1154.  

The argument is simply that Section 54953.(a) requires all meetings of the legislative body of a local agency to be open except as otherwise provided in the Brown Act itself. Section 54956.9 provides the allowable exceptions pertaining to meetings of the legislative body with its legal counsel to discuss pending litigation. That section applies only “when discussion in open session concerning those matters would prejudice the position of the local agency in the litigation.” However, Evidence Code Sections 1152 and 1154 provide that settlement offers and settlement negotiations can never be admissible in the litigation to establish either the validity or invalidity of a claim. Therefore, the discussion in open session concerning those matters, insofar as it is limited to a discussion of what occurred in the settlement negotiations, could never prejudice the position of the local agency in the litigation. Therefore, the exception does not apply and the discussion involving only what occurred in the settlement negotiations between the parties, as opposed to any further discussion involving legal analysis and weighing of options, was required to take place in public open session meetings. 

The rationale for the secrecy was stated by the city attorney as follows (see Appendix H):  

“The confidentiality agreement was actually signed at the city’s request, because the city has in the past had situations where during the pendency of a lawsuit comments are made or settlement discussions occur and then those discussions and comments are used in the litigation against the city.”  

It strains credulity that any city attorney could be so ignorant of the law. Rather, one must conclude that this was part of a conspiracy to deceive the public, whom the city attorney could assume would not be familiar with the law. This is made very clear by the confidentiality agreement itself, where the above concern is stated in Section 1, along with a mention of Evidence Code Sections 1152 and 1154. Again, it is inconceivable that well-educated attorneys could not realize that they were standing these code sections on their head by deriving a justification for secrecy from them, especially in light of the Brown Act and the recently added provision of the California Constitution pertaining to it, which were well-known to the attorneys. Rather, Section 1 of the Confidentiality Agreement was clearly a subterfuge for Section 2 of the Confidentiality Agreement, which disclosed its real and unlawful purpose (see Appendix G): 

“Both parties hereby agree that they will not disclose any of the information or documents exchanged during settlement negotiations outside the context of settlement of this Litigation. The parties agree that to the extent allowed by law, the information discussed or exchanged during settlement discussions will not be disclosed publicly.” 

This is clearly self-conscious subterfuge, because these two sentences are incompatible. The city attorney knew full well that the secrecy was not allowed to any extent, and yet she attempted to befuddle the masses into accepting a deprivation of their rights under the law. 

Peter Mutnick is a Berkeley resident. 

“Religion, sometimes, is a continuation of politics by other means,” notes Jon Alterman, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Middle East division, and it was hard to avoid that thought about last month’s conference of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) in Washington, D.C.  

There was Gary Bauer, former head of the right-wing evangelical Christian organization, the Family Research Council, bringing a crowd of 4,000 conventioneers to their feet with a prayer that “the people of Israel…—even under American pressure—never give up even one centimeter” of land in the Occupied Territories. 

According to the weekly Jewish newspaper, The Forward, a choir struck up “Blow the Trumpets in Zion, Zion,” while delegates “danced between the rows waving Israeli and American flags; some people wept.” 

If there was something slightly bizarre about apocalyptic Christians weeping over the fact that Israel might trade land for peace, there was nothing fringy about the foreign policy heavy weights CUFI has gathered under its wing. On hand to address the convention was Senator Joseph Lieberman, Republican heavyweight Newt Gingrich, and the man who will quite likely to be the next prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. 

The force behind CUFI, Texas Pastor John Hagee, counts President George Bush, Republican presidential hopeful Senator John McCain and the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee among his supporters, as well as a number of Democratic legislators, including U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel of New York. 

Hagee’s organization—active in all 50 states—is currently pressuring Congress to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon, increase aid to Israel and toughen sanctions on Iran, although the Texas minister himself doesn’t think Teheran will respond to anything but war: “It is time for America to adopt Senator Lieberman’s words and consider a military pre-emptive strike against Iran.” Hagee also advocates attacking Syria and the Palestinians.  

Lieberman and Hagee are not the only ones talking about attacking Iran these days. President Bush recently told the American Legion convention, “Iran’s actions threaten the security of nations everywhere … We will confront this danger before it is too late. According to an “informal poll” taken by ex-Middle East CIA field officer, Robert Baer, “The feeling is we will hit the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps” within six months. The Sunday Times reported Sept. 2: “The Pentagon has drawn up plans for massive air strikes against 1200 targets in Iran, designed to annihilate the Iranian military capacity in three days.” 

Are Christian evangelicals, in what is arguably the most religious administration in U.S. history, driving the Bush Administration’s agenda in the Middle East and Africa? Or is the religious content of U.S. foreign policy “politics by other means”? Is the current culture war against Islam by people like historian Bernard Lewis, philosopher Francis Fukuyama and Pope Benedict XVI a return to the religious mania of the First Crusade, or does it have more in common with TV evangelists whose concerns are the contents of their parishioner’s wallets rather than the state of their souls?  

Certainly the Bush Administration has appointed religious activists to key policy positions. Longtime religious activist and neoconservative Elliot Abrams, former chair of U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom, has helped focus U.S. foreign policy on “religious persecution” in Sudan, Russia and China. According to Newsweek, his co-chair, right-wing Catholic activist Nina Shea, made “Christian persecution Washington’s hottest topic.”  

The Bush administration’s Special Envoy to the Sudan, Robert Seiple, is the former CEO of World Vision, a Christian aid and advocacy organization. According to John Eibner, chief executive officer of Christian Solidarity International, “pressure” from Christian groups played an important role in pushing the U.S. to get involved in Sudan.  

But is U.S. Africa policy driven by religious activists, or by the fact that by the year 2015 some 25 percent of U.S. oil imports will come from that continent? Christian evangelicals have also made deep inroads into the American military.  

Lt. Gen. William Boykin, currently a deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, argues that the fight in Iraq is between a “Christian nation” and “Satan,” and can only be won “if we come against them in the name of Jesus.” 

The Pentagon is a strong supporter of Operation Straight Up (OSU), which delivers entertainment and sermons to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. OSU describes its mission as a “crusade”—an incendiary word in the Middle East—and distributes a “left behind” video game where players fight the Antichrist represented by the United Nations. Former Air Force Academy graduate Mickey Weinstein, who heads up the Military Freedom Foundation, describes OSU as “the Christian Taliban.” 

According to a 2006 study for the U.S. War College by Col. William Millonig, Christian evangelical influence in the armed forces began during the Vietnam War. He concludes that “conservative Christian and Republican values have affected the military’s decision making and policy recommendations,” warning that “America’s strategic thinkers, both military and civilian, must be aware of this and its potential implications on policy formulation.” 

Again, however, are the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan driven by a religious agenda, or the fact that 65 percent of the world’s remaining oil reserves are in the Middle East? 

Religion has long played a role in the West’s relationship to the rest of the world, but more as a way to divide populations than convert them. Ireland and India are cases in point. 

England invaded Ireland in 1170, but for the first 439 years it was a conquest in name only. In 1609, however, James I founded the Plantation of Ulster, imported 20,000 Protestant settlers and introduced religious strife as a political tactic. By favoring Protestants over the native Catholics in politics and economics—the so-called Ulster Privilege—the English pitted both groups against one another. 

The tactic was enormously successful, and England used it throughout its colonial empire. Nowhere were the British so successful in transplanting the Irish model than in India. 

But in India’s case it was unnecessary to import a foreign religion. The colonial authorities had India’s Muslim and Sikh minorities to use as their wedge. As the historian Alex von Tunzelmann argues in “Indian Summer,” it was the British who defined India’s communities on the basis of religion: “Many Indians stopped accepting the diversity of their own thoughts and began to ask themselves in which of the boxes they belonged.” 

Muslims and Sikhs were favored for the few civil jobs and university slots open to Indians, a favoritism that generated tensions among the three communities, just as it had in Northern Ireland. The colonial regimes exploited everyone in both countries, but for some the burden was heavier. When communities in both countries fell to fighting over the few crumbs available to them, the British authorities stepped in to keep order, sadly shaking their heads about the inability of people in both countries ever to govern themselves. 

While Sir John Davis was describing the Irish as “degenerate” with the “heart of a beast,” Lord Hastings was arguing that “the Hindoo appears a being nearly limited to animal functions and even in them indifferent … with no higher intellect than a dog.” 

Lest one dismiss the above characterizations as typical 19th Century colonial racism, Winston Churchill once commented, “I hate the Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.”  

Churchill’s intolerance, however, had a very practical side to it. As prime minister he once said that he hoped that the tension between Hindus and Muslims would remain “A bulwark of British rule in India.” 

The British were not alone in using religion as a tactic to divide and conquer. The French employed it quite successfully in Lebanon and Vietnam. In the former, Paris favored Maronite Christians over Muslims (and Sunni Muslims over Shiite Muslims), and in the latter, Catholics over Buddhists.  

No colonial tactic is successful forever, however, and in the aftermath of World War II the empires collapsed. But the use of religion as a device to divide and conquer leaves considerable wreckage in its wake. 

The current peace between Catholics and Protestants in Ulster is holding, but it took countless lives and almost 400 years to achieve.  

The partition of India on religious grounds cost more than a million lives and displaced some 12 million people. Pakistan and India have fought four wars since 1947, and the last one came distressingly close to going nuclear.  

And tensions between communities in India are still high. The right-wing Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party led nationwide riots over a 16th Century mosque in Ayodhya, and five years ago, 2000 Muslims were massacred in Gujarat by Hindu extremists. 

Exploiting religious differences hardly ended with the demise of the great colonial empires.  

The French continue to exploit religious divisions in Lebanon, and the U.S. is currently trying to cobble together a Sunni united front to confront Washington’s three opponents in the Middle East: Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Syria is mostly Sunni, but Bashar al-Assad’s regime is dominated by Alawites, a variety of Shiism. Some 60 percent of Lebanon is Shiite. 

But Shiites only constitute about 12 percent of Islam, and while Washington talks of a “Shiia crescent” as if it constituted some kind of united front, in fact there are enormous differences between Arab Syria and Lebanon, and non-Arabic speaking Iran. 

Islam is a polyglot of cultures and ethnicities—the largest Muslim country is Indonesia— but that point gets lost in the current culture war directed at Islam.  

Historian Bernard Lewis recently told the Jerusalem Post that Muslims “seem about to take over Europe” because Europeans have “surrendered” to Islam in the name of “political correctness” and “multi-culturalism.” Philosopher Francis Fukuyama argues that France’s opposition to the Iraq War was “in part to appease Muslim opinion,” and Omer Taspinar of the Brookings Institute claims that European Muslims “are becoming a more powerful political force than the fabled Arab street.” 

But as Jytte Klausen of Brandeis University points out, since only 10.25 percent of the Muslim population in Europe can vote, there is “very little cost” for political parties to ignore the concerns of Muslim communities. 

Researchers Jonathan Laurence and Justin Vaisse, who studied France’s Muslims, conclude there is “no such thing as a Muslim community,” and polls found that French Muslims listed “economic inequality” as their first concern. Foreign policy came in twelfth.  

Indeed, as Patrick Weil of the Sorbonne points out, the myth that Muslims somehow influenced France’s foreign policy “is the same argument as saying the Bush decision to go to Iraq was because of the Israeli lobby.” Muslims did oppose the war, as did most Europeans.  

If religion influences foreign policy, it is because it dovetails with the policies of powerful economic interests, which is not to say that religion always defers to secular self-interest. Once conjured up, it can take on a life of its own. 

In “Les Blancs,” Lorraine Hansberry’s edgy play about colonial Kenya, the play’s central character, Tshembe, points out that while concepts like race and religion are indeed instruments which men use to rule over one another, those contrivances create their own reality. “Men invoke the device of religion to cloak their conquests,” Tshembe tells a clueless American reporter. “You and I may recognize the fraudulence of the device, but the fact remains that a man who has a sword run through him because he refuses to become a Moslem or a Christian…is suffering the utter reality of the device. And it is pointless to pretend that it doesn’t exist—merely because it is lie.”  

In the Middle East and Sudan, religion certainly appears to be the “continuation of politics by other means.” Whether it is President George Bush invoking the threat of a world-wide Muslim Caliphate, or Pope Benedict XVI warning that Islam promotes violence, religion is increasingly being used to ramp up the fear factor in international politics. But as with Europe’s great religious wars, in the end religion in foreign policy is a device that allows the strong to seize the resources of the weak in the name of a higher power.

Water is the primary problem to solve if we’re to raise plants. I suspect this has always been the case almost everywhere (and offhand I can’t think of what the theoretical exception would be) and likely will be, at least until some theoretical descendants are working hydroponic plantations outside the orbit of, say, Mars, where the problem will be sunlight. Probably there’s some smiling herb grower now who’s working on an electricity-sparing solution to that.  

The conundrum, once we get that water, is balance. Surprise: the problem of water is also the problem of air.  

Winter’s coming in, and with luck we’ll have more rain. Some plants that have stoutly withstood the usual summer drought will succumb to a surfeit: succulents like cacti and some California natives like flannelbush are susceptible to crown rots and plain old drowning if they spend the winter in poorly drained soils.  

Roots, even those of big trees, lie mostly in the top two or three feet of soil. The more water-retaining the soil is, the more shallow most roots will be. They need some free oxygen, some air, around them, and soil with its pores and little spaces filled with water doesn’t have room for air.  

Containers also tend to drain slowly, often because something’s obstructing the hole in the bottom. (You wouldn’t be cruel enough to put a helpless plant in a watertight pot, would you? Aside from water plants and swamp plants that like wet feet, of course.)  

A paradox: a plant wilts when it’s too wet as well as when it’s too dry. The latter makes sense: water, moving through a plant’s circulatory system and out to its leaf tips and edges one molecule at a time, is part of what makes leaves and nonwoody stems stand up.  

So when leaves and stems droop, naturally we think of watering the plant. If we know the plant well enough, we can spot thirst before that, as leaves lost their usual luster and get just a little flaccid, a little tired-looking.  

Before rushing for the hose or the watering can, though, be bold and stick a finger into the soil at least one knuckle deep. A wilting plant in damp soil might either be temporarily coping with hot direct sun, or a fungal infection might be clogging its circulatory system. Fungi are present in most soils most of the time but, rather like the mildew on the bathroom wall, they get a boost from wet conditions.  

So cop a feel of your plants’ leaves and its soil, sure. But even before that, know what your plant will tolerate.  

The best way to figure that out is to know where the plant’s roots are. No, I mean figuratively. A plant of local ancestry will likely be OK in local soils. A plant from a mountaintop will want fast drainage. A plant from a riverside might not mind wet feet.  

The key to all that is the plant’s specific epithet—its Latin-sounding name. Uh-oh. But it’s not that hard, really. If you can order from a Thai or Italian menu, you can learn enough Latin to call your plants by name. 

Stay tuned.

I tend to stare at the ceiling a lot. I think it’s only to be expected. If you sleep on your back or lie on the couch reading Jane Austin (as we all must), you’re bound to spend a certain amount of time staring off into space and guess what’s there … between you and space but your ceiling. There it hangs (Yes, that’s what it’s doing, hanging.) between the walls, with all those cracks and stains and Grateful Dead posters and you think, “Maybe I should do something about this mess but what can I do? It’s a ceiling, not a casserole. I don’t know where to begin!” 

Many of us live in handsome old casas lined with walls and ceilings of lime plaster, a product made of limestone and transformed through baking and hydrating processes until we have the powder that makes useable plaster.  

In the houses of a hundred years ago and all the way up to about WWII, plaster was installed over wooden lath. This is essentially how this worked. Once a house was framed, a lather would install thin strips of redwood, lining the rooms of the house with these thin, furry and somewhat wiggly sticks. They varied in length, since there was no four- or eight-foot module and would run as long as the wall or ceiling allowed, getting spiked into place with lots of tiny “blued” lathing nails (bluing is a low-cost rust prevention).  

The lath was spaced about three-eigths of an inch, and when plaster was smeared across the lath surface, it would get smooshed (like my technical lingo?) though the spaces and dry into a shape that could no longer fit back out. This held the dry plaster in place. The plaster also dried onto the furry surface of the lath, further grasping the plaster. 

What I find fun about this technique is that it smacks profoundly of wattle and daub, a technique that is at least 10,000 years old, using wooden sticks similar to wooden lath with clay or dung smeared across the surface and finished into a hard surface. This was how walls in homes were commonly surfaced in many early European for eons. There truly IS nothing new under the sun. 

Anyway, I digress and then digress some more. 

Plaster was applied to the wooden lath in two or three coats of increasing hardness and decreasing viscosity so that the final layer could be quite smoothly applied and dry to a very hard surface. This actually becomes something of a problem for modern homeowners who want to stick Grateful Dead posters on their ceilings. They end up with cracks and also have a helluva time driving those thumb tacks in far enough. The wiser person puts up their poster using a tiny drill and a slightly fatter nail. Drill bits can be found in very fine sizes. 

In the era of WWII, wooden lath was replaced with gypsum lathing board (aka button board). This was the first use of the new gypsum plaster and predates and predicts drywall by at least a decade. Gypsum lath was made in long narrow sheets in which a field of holes was punched. The lathing board was nailed to wall and ceiling framing, much as modern drywall might be but was then covered with lime plaster. This is still done today in better homes where plaster is preferred. I’m on the fence as to how swell I think it is but I do admit to very much liking an imperfectly smooth surface, and drywall just doesn’t do that very well. 

So now, having laid down the history, we can discuss what can be done in your ancient manor. Real plaster that has begun to crack is easily distinguished from drywall, especially along ceilings. Since ceiling joists (usually 2x4s) hang from wall to wall, they tend to sinuate every time a Hummer (or truck) rumbles down the lane. 

Over the decades, they tend to develop fine cracks along the lathing, and if you look carefully you may notice that there are long running cracks about every two inches or so running the length of the room. Sometimes you can only see a few of them, but they still suggest the same effect. 

Plaster, like all things, varies in quality, and some plaster fared well these many decades. Other batches I’ve seen over the years haven’t proven so hearty and it’s quite clear that, in some cases, it was just bad mixing (this is also often true for concrete or stucco). If you have a house that has a lot of loose, cracking and unsightly plaster, I wouldn’t recommend any further patching but would instead beg you bite the bullet and start replacing the plaster with drywall. 

This has some real upside as well, so don’t feel bad. When you take the old plaster down, rather than patching over it, you gain access to the volume of the wall and make electrical work (and other cool things) a practical reality. Let’s take your dining room as a possible starting place (often a favorite). When you remove the plaster and all the old nails, you can easily add plenty of electrical outlets and lighting. 

You can install wall sconces if you like (a common Craftsman era feature) as well as a chandelier, a ceiling fan or recessed lighting. The wiring you connect all these things to can be quickly and cheaply installed because access is so good. Too often I see upgrades to lighting in a room with old plaster and am generally sure that the wiring wasn’t upgraded and may, in combination with bigger light fixtures become a hazard. 

With the wall open, it’s also possible to run speaker wire and install recessed or hanging speakers with hidden wiring. How about smart cable for a flat panel TV or a digital projector? How about phone wiring or a built-in vacuum system?  

A skylight is also easier to install if the plaster is out and sheetrock is going in, and it’s much easier to replace a window if you’re already replacing wall material. 

Taken on a one-room-at-a-time basis, replacement of plaster with drywall is not a huge project and here are some ways to make it even simpler: 

If keeping the job to a minimum is vital, old cracked plaster can be covered over with thin sheets of drywall. Drywall is made in one-fourth and three-eighths inch for just this purpose. Sheets of thick drywall can be screwed to framing directly through the old cracked plaster and then finished with tape and joint compound to create a smoother finish. 

Again, you won’t get a chance to use the full wall cavity, although you can make a lot of holes in the plaster running wiring, and then cover them over with your new layer. Two downsides to adding layers are loss of height or room size and added weight. 

When removing plaster, keep in mind that plaster is extremely alkaline and can cause a burning sensation when inhaled. Old plaster may also contain viral matter and other garbage that we’re better off not breathing, so use of a well-fitting respirator is strongly recommended if you’re involved in the removal process (also goggles, boots and heavy clothing). 

When removing plaster, it’s also a good idea to protect your floors with cardboard or old carpeting. Lime plaster is made using sand, and you can really scratch those old floors up if you don’t take precautions. 

It’s pretty amazing what a project like this can do for your spirits and how much a room can change in this process. My wife and I did this to our own home many years ago and it freed us to change many more things than we ever expected to change: lighting, skylights and even ceiling fans.  

Now I can lie on my couch and stare at the ceiling in the safe knowledge that somewhere, far away, someone else gets to stare at the Grateful Dead instead of me. 

Sometimes I miss out on interesting natural phenomena. It wasn’t until last month, while cruising the posters at the biennial State of the Estuary Conference, that I learned about the water snake invasion of Lafayette Reservoir. I’d go check it out, but it’s too late; they’re all gone. Another exotic-species boom gone bust. 

These were diamondback water snakes (Nerodia rhombifer), to be exact, a reptile I know from Arkansas. I’ve seen them swimming lazily in a sluggish creek in a Little Rock park. They’re good-sized snakes (about three-and-a-half feet long), heavy-bodied, with a chainlike dorsal pattern, red eyes, and black tongues. Unlike the venomous—and equally aquatic—cottonmouth moccasin, their eyes have round pupils rather than catlike slits. Males can be identified by the projecting tubercles on their chins, although I was disappointed to learn that they do not tickle the females with them. 

As their name suggests, you’d find these guys in ditches, creeks, lakes, ponds, bayous, or swamps, from Alabama west to Texas and north into Iowa. They also get up into branches overhanging the water; I have to wonder if the cottonmouth that dropped into the boat in one my father’s fishing stories, prompting its immediate evacuation, wasn’t a diamondback water snake. 

They feed on fish and frogs for the most part, with the occasional cotton rat or small bird, hunting by smell: a few drops of fish extract in the water puts them in attack mode. Some have been seen trapping fish in their coils. Older individuals hang out with their mouths open and their tails anchored to a rock, facing into the current, waiting for something interesting to swim by. 

Like most water snakes, diamondbacks are foul-tempered critters. “If handled, they bite viciously and spray musk,” write Carl and Evelyn Ernst in Snakes of the United States and Canada. Which brings us to the question of what these non-California natives were doing in the reservoir. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a water snake for sale at the East Bay Vivarium; you’d need a special aquatic setup, and the snake would probably bite you when you tried to clean the tank. 

Lacking other explanations, though, let’s assume some dissatisfied snake owner dumped his (I think “his” is a given) erstwhile pets in the reservoir. This would have been some time before 1990, when two snakes found their way from Lafayette to the UC Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Soon thereafter parties of 5 to 10 snakes were observed basking on tules, reservoir banks, even piers. There were incidents. Some anglers were unhappy to discover a snake on the end of their fishing line. 

Responding to recreationists’ complains, EBMUD hired Wildlife Control Technology in 1996 to evaluate control methods. The contractor concluded that an “original estimate of 200 snakes made by park staff is realistic, and probably conservative.” Although the species is known to hibernate in the northerly parts of its native range, the reservoir snakes were seen sunning in January.  

WCT made its recommendations (favoring trapping over shooting or the more extreme step of draining the reservoir), but EBMUD never had to implement them. On a subsequent survey in 1999, a new outfit, ECORP Consulting, found large numbers of dead snakes, along with dead red-eared slider turtles, throughout the reservoir. Some of the casualties were reported to have a fungus-like growth in their respiratory tracts, although no further analysis was done and no specimens were preserved. El Niño was blamed, or credited, for facilitating the disease outbreak, if it was in fact a disease outbreak. Snake flu? 

And that may have been it. ECORP says there have been no confirmed water snake sightings at the reservoir since late 1999, despite occasional rumors. Oddly, there are other pockets of alien water snakes elsewhere in the state—southern water snakes near Folsom and Long Beach, northern water snakes near Roseville. But it appears the diamondbacks have died out at Lafayette. 

Which is how it often goes with exotic plant and animal species. They flourish for a while, and then something—predator, pathogen, weather—knocks them back, and sometimes out. Case in point: Vancouver, B.C., used to be overrun with crested mynahs, an East Asian relative of the talking variety. They were the dominant bird of the fast-food parking lot ecological niche. Then they dwindled to a remnant, and a couple of years ago the last of them expired. 

If you’re wondering why reservoir snakes would have been a bad thing, recall that diamondback water snakes eat frogs as well as fish. California’s frogs—red-legged, yellow-legged, Cascade—are on the ropes already. The last thing they need is a new predator. The water snakes would also likely have eaten or otherwise displaced our native aquatic garter snakes. Best to leave well enough alone. 

Every now and then I see a teenager in one of my trees. From a window I thought at first it might be a small UC student locationally adrift, in a striped shirt. A closer look showed it to be a young Cooper’s hawk, glaring down at me in comparably dauntless fashion. Thanks to Joe Eaton’s bi-weekly column, I can guess that it is drawn to the sparrows and finches at the thistle feeder, though the ducks keep an eye skywards when it appears, and my female cat skedaddles into the house. Smaller than the ducks, she is I hope still too large for the crow-sized Cooper’s. 

Predators are not the only problems to beset the gardener. Having finally fenced my vegetables and arranged paths around the raised beds for excellent access, I noticed the turnips behaving oddly, as though they were trying to get out of the ground. Instead of doing what I usually do, hope that time will cure all ills, I did what I recommend to others, dug around the turnips to see what was going on beneath them. 

To my horror, this vegetable bed was choked with fine feeder roots surely put out by the closest tree, a willow, although at a distance of 15 feet and with a pond between tree and vegetables, this seemed unlikely. Could the roots belong to a plum tree, fifteen feet away in the other direction? Indeed, when I finally plucked up courage to look around dispassionately, I realized that trees that a moment ago, it seemed, were mere saplings, had now grown tall enough to cast significant shadows for several hours each day. 

One of the best things about gardening is that in spite of the obstacles that constantly impede efforts, hope springs eternal in the gardener’s breast. For I knew that although I could dig out these intrusive fibrous roots and in their stead place a deep box with a fine wire mesh nailed across the bottom, although I might have to change the location of the vegetable plot, although I might as well re-design the whole garden while I’m at it—although I realized all those things, I knew that the timing was perfect: October. 

October is the start of the year for California plants. The seeds of native flowers that bloom so early in the year are poised to sprout at the first hint of rain. With a new vegetable-growing area of sun-baked clay, autumn is the time for requesting a sack or two of manure from local stables and covering the clay with a nice thick layer of it. Get a truck load if necessary, the stable owners will be thrilled. Top the layer with hay, leaves, grass trimmings and by next March, given a rainy season worthy of the name, the ground beneath will be in superb condition for spring growing. 

It is possible to sheet or trench compost directly in the vegetable bed as a way of increasing the workability of the soil and its nutritional value. For trench composting, a channel is dug along the middle of the bed, vegetable trimmings from the kitchen are placed in it, the earth dug out goes back in, and a layer of mulch is placed on top of that. If dogs or racoons are a problem, put a board over everything, weighted down with bricks. Sheet composting is identical, except that everything is on the surface rather than in a trench. 

When vegetables are grown in the same area year after year, close attention must be paid not just to maintaining an adequate balance of nutrients, but also to the earth’s texture, its tilth. Allowing a vegetable bed to lie fallow for a season, feeding it with manure for nitrogen and organic matter for texture, will help it to catch its breath, so to speak. For related reasons, those of diseases, it is necessary to rotate crops, especially those in the brassicaceae, or cabbage family, and in the solanaceae, in which family are tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes and peppers. A fallow season can be part of a rotation plan. 

Having created a beautifully nourished and textured bed, it will still need overall maintenance, and this is where composting comes into its own. Much has been written about composting, most of it needlessly complex. It is not necessary, for example, to turn compost. Left alone for a year or less (depending on climate zone), microbes, earthworms and insects will do the job of converting kitchen trimmings, leaves, hay and so forth into that brown crumbly stuff sometimes called gardener’s gold. 

Quicker and easier is to use a container with a lid and a few air holes and introduce some red wriggly worms. These consume vast amounts of kitchen and garden material in a short time as they work or should I say worm their way up through it, leaving behind dense, friable, nutrient-rich compost. 

Some foods are unacceptable to worms, such as citrus and tomatoes (too acid). Toothless, they need a little grit, readily supplied by spent potting soil. Delicate rather than leathery leaves, no branches or pungent herbs, but plenty of other organic stuff is necessary to keep worms and kitchen trimmings well covered and at a moderate temperature. Water very lightly if all seems dry. 

Because it is so valuable, I use worm compost sparingly. After all, in theory my planting area has been well prepared. Just before setting out baby vegetables, I dig a little of this rich compost just under the surface of the bed, water it, and let it sit for a day. After setting in the seedlings, I side dress them with a little more. Then I water the plants, or puddle them in, as we rustics say. 

Compost provides balanced nutrition that plants can draw from according to their needs. It is a far cry from the forced feeding of liquid inorganic fertilizers such as superphosphate which, while producing sudden, even spectacular growth, does nothing for the texture of the soil. In no time at all, the earth will revert to clay. 

“Organic material” is by definition anything that once had life. This does not mean that anything can go into the wormless compost pile, either. Even if I ate it, I would not compost meat. It deteriorates quickly and attracts rats. Nor bread, for the same reasons. Fish on the other hand breaks down fast if covered with earth. As American Indians know, a fish head buried in a bed of corn is a natural fertilizer. I cannot imagine composting oil or, as an organic gardener, paper products, which contain chemicals or other additives of unknown kind. Eggshells add calcium, banana skins potassium. Sawdust and wood shavings, so long as they do not derive from plywood, and with the addition of a bit of nitrogen from manure to help decomposition, will soon improve texture. 

If only my teenage tree sitter were a vegetarian! But then I suppose he or she would only create yet another problem in the vegetable garden.  

FRIDAY, NOV. 9 

THEATER 

Actor’s Ensemble of Berkeley”Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave., through Nov. 17. Tickets are $10-$12. 841-5580. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Altarena Playhouse “Morning’s at Seven” A family comedy by Paul Osborn Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda, through Nov. 11. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Aurora Theatre Cmpany“Sex” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through Dec. 9. Tickets are $28-$50. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Playhouse “Seussical, the Musical” Thurs.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m., Sat. at 2 p.m., Sun. at 3 pm. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Dec. 2. Tickets are $18-$23. 665-5565. www.berkeleyplayhouse.org 

Berkeley Rep “After the Quake” at the Trust Stage, 2025 Addison St., through Dec. 21. Tickets are $33-$69. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Central Works “Every Inch a King” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through Nov. 18. Tickets are $9-$25. 558-1381. 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., selected Sun. at 2 p.m. at Contra Costa Civic Theatre, 951 Pomona Ave., (at Moeser), El Cerrito, through Dec. 9. Tickets are $11-$18. 524-9132.  

Masquers Playhouse “Little Mary Sunshine” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., selected Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

UCB Dept. of Theater, Dance, and Performance “Wintertime” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at the Durnahm Studio Theater, UC Campus., through Nov. 18. Tickets are $8-$14. 642-8827. t 

Women’s Will “Antigone” Fri.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St. between Telegraph and Shattuck, Oakland, through Nov. 11. Tickets are $15-$25 sliding scale. 420-0813.  

Wing It Performance Ensemble “Hot Earth” An improvisaltional performance on gobal warming at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $20 if you drive, $15 if you carpool, and $10 if you leave your car at home. 465-2797. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Unbound Confession” Non-Representational Statements Group show of abstract works. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at ACCI Gallery, 1652 Shattuck Ave. 843-2527. 

FILM 

International Latino Film Festival “Fabricando Tom Zé” Musica do Brasil at 6 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $6-$8. 849-2568.  

“Hollywood Commandos” with filmmaker Gregory Orr in person at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

“The Mind is a Liar and a Whore” by Antero Alli, at 8 p.m. at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. Cost is $6-$10. 548-2153. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Susan Dinkelspiel Cerny presents “An Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Karla Brundage reads from her new poetry collection “Swallowing Watermelons,” at 7 p.m. at Nefeli Caffe, 1854 Euclid Ave. 841-6374. 

Neva Carpenter reads from her memoir of growing up in El Cerrito “Harem Scarem in El Cerrito” at 6 p.m. at the IT Club Cafe, Cerrito Theater, 10070 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 848-1994. 

Adam David Miller reads from “Ticket to Exile” at 6:30 p.m. at Marcu Books, 3900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 652-2344. 

MUSIC AND DANCE  

Oakland East Bay Symphony with soprano Hope Brigss at 8 p.m. at Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway. For ticket information call 652-8497.  

Sarah Manning and Shatter the Glass Dinner and concert at 6 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, Oak at 10th St., Oakland. Cost is $40-$60. 238-2022. www.museumca.org 

American Ballet Theater at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $38-$100. 642-9988.  

Babtunde Lea’s “Summoning of the Ghost” Tribute to THe NYC Village Gate at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ.  

Los Cenzontles at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054.  

San Francisco Bay Area African Dance and Drum Festival at 6 p.m. and all day Sat. and Sun. at Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. 415-378-4413. 

Liz Carroll & John Doyle, Celtic fiddle and guitar, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761.  

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

SONiA & Disapper Fear at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082.  

108, Ghenna, Lbal, Pulling Teeth at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $8. 525-9926. 

Sinclair at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

San Francisco African Drum & Dance Festival at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $8-$10. 548-1159.  

One Struggle Band, Company of Prophets, The Attik at 7 p.m. at Café Axe Cultural Center, 1525 Webster, Oakland. Free. www.weekendwakeup.com 

Dionne Farris, R&B vocalist, at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $20-$26. 238-9200.  

SATURDAY, NOV. 10 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Ingrid Noyes & Michael Harmon, Old time music with banjo and guitar at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5 for adults, $4 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Reflections” Art Reflecting Positive Energy by East Bay Women Artists. Opening reception at 7:30 p.m. at Alta Bates Hospital Gallery, 2450 Ashby Ave. Exhibition runs to Jan. 3. 204-1667.  

“Cultural Memories” Color pigment photographs by Mary Ann Hayden opens at Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St.and runs to Dec. 28. 644-1400. 

“Community Recipe Book” an exhibit documenting the interaction of Laotian elders and African American and Latino youth as they participated in the park’s art and gardening program. Opening reception at 2 p.m. at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, 2465 34th Ave., Oakland. 532-9142. www.peraltahacienda.org 

FILM 

“Resisting Enemy Interrogation” films of the US Army Air Force at 6:30 p.m. and “The Memphis Belle: Story of a Flying Fortress” at 8:45 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

THEATER 

“A Shirtwaist Tale” on American labor history, American women’s suffrage, and American Jewish history, Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at JCC of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut St. Tickets are $15-$20. 848-0237, ext. 3. http://ashirtwaisttale.com  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rhythm and Muse with Philip Rodriguez at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893. 

Lydia Lunch and Arthur Nersesian read at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Sam Cacas introduces his new novel “BlAsian Exchanges” at 3 p.m. at Eastwind Books, 2066 Univesity Ave. 548-2350. 

“Keep ‘em Flying” A discussion of issues of masculinity and identity in the films of the FMPU at 2 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive Theater. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Nokuthula Ngwenyama, violin and viola at 7:30 p.m. at Regents Theater, Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $35-$40. 601-7919. www.fourseasonsconcerts.com 

American Ballet Theater at 2 and 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $38-$100. 642-9988.  

Roberta Piket and Eric km Clark in concert at 8 p.m. at Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Tickets are $10-$15. 845-1350. 

Gary Wade, Unplugged at noon at Cafe Zeste, 1250 Addison St. 704-9378. 

Works in the Works, a low-tech performance series for Bay Area performing artists to show newly created works and works-in-progress Sat. and Sun. at 7:30 p.m. at Eighth Street Studio, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $10. 527-5115. 

Shadowdance 2007, Gothic and Tribal belly dance at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $15-$20. 415-259-8629.  

Hecho in Califas with Upground and La Muñeca y Los Muertos at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Frankye Kelly & Her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Tom Rigney & Flambeau at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Not an Airplane, Chris Jones, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Bay Area Guitar Summit with Dave Ricketts& Rob Reich, Teja Gerken, and San Francisco Guitar Quartet at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

John Calloway & Diaspora at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373.  

Charles Wheal & the Excellorators at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Ben Bernstein and Friends at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082.  

Iron Lung, Agents of Abhorrence, Never Healed at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $8. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, NOV. 11 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Works by Teresa Brazen” Reception at 2 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

FILM 

“Land and Live in the Jungle” from films of the US Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit at 3 p.m. and “God Is My Co-Pilot” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Mark A. Wilson on “Julia Morgan: Her Unique Place in American Architecture” at 2 p.m. at the Seldon Williams House in Claremont Court. Tickets are $25. Sponsored by Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assoc. 841-2242.  

Day of the Dead Artists Talk with Abraham Ortega, Mariana Garibay and Lissa Jones at 2 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, Oak at 10th St., Oakland. 238-2022.  

“Moku o Lo’e: A History of Coconut Island” with author P. Christiaan Klieger, at 2 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, Oak at 10th St., Oakland. 238-2022. www.museumca.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

American Ballet Theater at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $38-$100. 642-9988.  

Live Oak Concert with Jupiter String Quartet at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. Cost is $12-$15. 644-6893.  

Community Women’s Orchestra “Women in Music” at 4 p.m. at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1331 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Suggested donation $10. 463-0313.  

Zehetmair Quartet at 5 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $46. 642-9988.  

Upsurge, jazz and poetry, at 7 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Chinyakare Ensemble at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Bandworks at 1 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Ed Reed at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15-$18.. 845-5373.  

Marc Atkinson Trio at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Angry Philosophers at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

MONDAY, NOV. 12 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Alice Walker reads from “We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness” at 6 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. www.universitypressbooks.com 

Ira Cohen, Michael Rothenberg and Louise Landes Levi read at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Ilana Simons reads from “A Life of One’s Own: A Guide to Better Living Through the Work and Wisdom of Virginia Woolf” at 4:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

John Truby describes “The Anatomy of a Story: 22 Steps to Becomming a Master Storyteller” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Poetry Express with Stuart Florsheim at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Theatrum Musicum, early Elizabethan consort music, at 7 p.m. at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Ave. 849-1100. www.lebateauivre.net 

UC Jazz Ensembles at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, NOV. 13 

CHILDREN 

Children’s Delight Musical Theeater for ages 3 and up at 6:30 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

Illustration Workshop with illustrator M. Sarah Klise of “Regarding the Fountain” at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. For ages 7 and up. 981-6223. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Naomi Wolf describes “The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot: A Citizen’s Call to Action” at 7:30 p.m. at , First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $10-$13. www.globalexchange.org/naomiwolf 

“The Country in the City: The Greening of the San Francisco Bay Area” Author Richard Walker, in conversation with Rebecca Solnit at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. www.universitypressbooks.com 

“Anarchy and Art” with author Allan Antliff at 7 p.m. at AK Press, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. 208-1700. 

Poetry Flash with Matthea Harvey & Joe Wenderoth at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. 525-5476. www.poetryflash.org 

Freight and Salvage Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $4.50-$5.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

John Truby explains “The Anatomy of a Stroy: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller” at noon at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Page Stegner introduces “The Selected Letters of Wallace Stegner” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Junior Reid, Reggae Angels at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $18. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Singers’ Open Mic with Kelly Park at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Andrew Sammons, jazz, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Vital Information at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 14 

CHILDREN 

“BookSongs” Gerry Tenney sings folksongs inspired by the books you love at 3:30 p.m. at the Claremont Branch, Berkeley Public Library, 2940 Benvenue Ave. 981-6280. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Spaces” Photographs by Warren Glettner opens at the Christensen Heller Gallery, 5829 College Ave., Oakland. 655-5952. 

FILM 

“Contortions: The Perfomance Work of Patty Chang” with filmmaker Patty Chang in person at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rhoda Curtis reads from her memoire “Rhoda: Her First Ninety Years” at 6:30 p.m. at the North Branch, Berkeley Public Library, 1170 the Alameda at Hopkins. 981-6250.  

Tony Platt, coauthor with Cecilia O'Leary of “Bloodlines, Recovering Hilter's Nuremberg Laws, From Patton's Trophy to Public Memorial” at 7:30 p.m. at Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. 388-8932. www.hillsideclub.org 

Ann Vileisis discusses “Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From and Why We Need o Get It Back” 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 

Joel Behrman Group at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Whiskey Brothers, old-time and bluegrass at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Bandworks at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Diablo’s Dust at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Benny Velarde at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa dance lessons at 8:30 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

VOCO with Moira Smiley at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Vital Information at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, NOV. 15 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Creative Reuse” works by Oakland students. Opening reception at 5:30 p.m. at 472 Water St., Jack London Square, Oakland. On display to Dec. 16. 465-8770, ext. 310. 

“One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now” Guided tour at 12:15 p.m.at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. 

Patrick O’Kiersey “Selected Paintings and Drawings” Opening reception at 5 p.m. at the Craft & Cultural Arts Gallery, Atrium, State of California Office Bldg. 1515 Clay St., Oakland. 622-8190. 

THEATER 

Hecho in Califas “Amor Cubano” Written and performed by Eric Aviles at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

“Patty Chang” A performance by the video/performance artist at 6 p.m.at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Barbara Becnel introduces and discusses Stanley “Tookie” Williams’ memoir “Blue Rage, Balck Redemption” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way at Dana. Donation of $10 suggested. 559-9500. 

The Holloway Series in Poetry: Rachel Levitsky: A poetry reading With graduate poet Gillian Osborne. Thursday, November 15th at 6:30pm 315 Wheeler Hall (the Maude Fife Room) on UCB campus Description: Avant-garde poet and critic Rachel Levitsky is a writer "committed to social and spiritual change." Her poems are often "highly charged, quick-to-read, funny and smart," sometimes vulnerable and bare, always engrossing For more info: http://holloway.english.berkeley.edu 

Adrian Tomine introduces “Shortcomings” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

John Hamamura reads form his novel “Color of the Sea” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

The Carol String Trio will present a free chamber music concert at the Central Berkeley Public Library on Thursday, November 15, from 12:15 to 1 pm. Violinist Brooke Aird, violist Linda Green and cellist Cathy Allen will perform works by Bach, Gliere and Dohnanyi. The performance takes place at the Central Berkeley Public Library, 5th Floor, 2090 Kittredge Street (at Shattuck), which is wheelchair accessible. This free event is sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library. For more information, call 510-981-6100 or visit www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.  

New Century Chamber Orchestra Baroque concert with Margaret Batjer at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $28-$42. 415-357-1111. www.ncco.org 

Yo-Yo Ma, cello and Kathryn Scott, piano, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $50-$125. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

dysFUNKtion Dance performance by UC Berkeley’s Asian American Association at 7 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $10 at the door.  

Aumnibus, acoustic world, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $TBA. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Infamous Stringdusters at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Snake Trio with Marco Grandos at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Mike Stadler at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Faun Fables, Yva Las Vegas, Loretta Lynch at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

Gato Barbieri at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Tenor Kalil Wilson, 26, who grew up in Berkeley and Oakland, won the annual New York Metropolitan Opera National Council competition regional finals in Los Angeles on Oct. 30 and will sing on-stage at the Met in February in the semifinals. 

Wilson, who now lives in Los Angeles, and is a recent honors graduate in ethnomusicology and vocal performance from UCLA, attended Berkeley Walden School, sang in the Oakland Youth Chorus and is an alumnus of the Young Musicians Program affiliated with UC Berkeley.  

His mother, Jackie Wilson, once ran a clothing store on Telegraph Avenue and is a past administrator for the Daily Planet. His stepfather, Baba Ken Okulolo, is the popular leader of West African and world music groups, such as Kotoja and the Nigerian Bros. 

Wilson recalled participating in his stepfather’s bands when very young, on stage dancing and playing drums. His first voice lessons were in high school. 

The Young Musicians Program “was welcoming, inviting ... it was really good training in the discipline of music, from the ground floor up,” he said. “There was a close relationship with the faculty. And everybody sang with the chorus during first period everyday.” 

He credited David Tigner, an influential teacher with the program, as “the first person who got me singing classical music. He was my mentor. A great person who ignited the spark I didn’t know was there.” 

Wilson’s interest in opera was “sparked by early music,” he said. “It had a lot of the conventions of jazz--improvisation, sparse scores with a lot of liberties taken, small ensembles and small stages. Monteverdi worked with orchestras of 15 to 20, max. They could see who they were playing for.” 

His training in ethnomusicology—with primary focus on West African popular music “and the larger diaspora, over to the Caribbean and America, with early jazz”—finds expression through his podcasts at www.passport.com, which Wilson said is “the flip side of ethnomusicology.” 

“I was looking at years in the academic trenches if I devoted myself to a career,” he said. “Singing took precedent. But that part of me manifested itself through the podcasts, the commentary I give on the programs. It’s prototypical music of the people, but maybe not so well-known. I pick it out, give an everyman’s intro, and the listeners’ curiosity takes over.” 

His programs, rated through I-Tunes along with other individuals’ podcasts and bigger concerns, like NPR podcasts, “usually place in the Top 50--and have been second in popularity,” earning up to 1400 hits recently.  

After recently finishing a demo of jazz and R&B standards, Wilson looks forward to the Met semifinals “with a lot of emotions; I choose the happy, the positive ones. I get to do what most people don’t. So I’m just going up there singing, trying to connect to the audience. Art is relevant if you’re true to it, trying to be part of the score; it’s frozen in time until performed. It’s a temporal form, and I’m halfway proud of myself if I produce something relevant to the moment, to myself and the audience. Then I’ve done the job of an artist.” 

The National Council’s competitions offer prizes of $15,000 to up to five winners of the Grand Finals. Unlike their famed pre-1954 predecessor, Auditions of the Air, they do not offer a contract or an audition for one with the Met (Auditions of the Air also awarded a $1,000 prize). Run entirely by volunteers, the competitions draw entrants from 45 districts in 15 regions. Semifinalists sing on the Met stage, finalists with full orchestra. 

Wilson’s regional appearance featured arias he chose from Benjamin Britten’s Albert Heering and from Giasone. For the semifinals, he’ll sing “two other baroque pieces: one obscure, from Rameau’s Dardanes, the other from Handel’s Alcina.”  

Of singing as a career and the “rap” of opera as “arcane” music, Wilson said, “I grew with chorus, early music, everything from Byzantine chants to modern showtunes and what’s in between. I explored my voice and choral singing. It’s been refreshing for me to unite things, to explore my racial and cultural background, to express unity, not disparity. Music is music; not the universal language, but a language. Popular music finds its way into the classical. Most high musics were once music of the people. For myself, I want to go where my voice leads me, down a number of paths which, so far, are not mutually exclusive.” 

Once in a great while, everything goes right. It’s not very often, mind you, but it does happen. This time it’s the play that’s ending its two-week run this weekend at the East Bay Jewish Community Center in Berkeley. 

The short version of this review is that everyone should drop everything and go see it. 

Aside from the fact that A Shirtwaist Tale is a great deal of fun and the music is delightful, it’s probably the easiest way you’ll ever find to get a real look at how we got to where we are in stuff like unions and women’s rights. 

(Hint: Aren’t you glad that those women in 1909 got work hours restricted to 52 hours a week plus not more than two hours of overtime on any one day?) 

Please note: There were men involved too. And we have some first-class performances by them on stage. 

But women—unable (or considered unfit?) to vote are presented here as leading the massive labor movement which caused so many changes. It’s a piece of history that really should be out there. 

A Shirtwaist Tale is a remarkable use of solid historical background for what is, in fact, a classic musical. There’s a full story—with a happy ending—quite comfortably intertwined with the real conflicts of the political struggles. 

Playwright Judith Offer has effectively and intelligently elected to create a 1950s style musical—complete with the now almost lost traditional third act. 

Offer says, “American playwrights are not addressing American subjects as much as they should.” 

She plans to write more “history” plays. That should strike anyone who sees her work in Shirtwaist as a really good idea.  

The uniformly excellent cast is astonishingly large by contemporary standards: Fifteen (Count’em 15!) actors for 16 roles. And the qualities of the performances are excellent. It is, in fact, so strong a production as to finally lay waste to the idea that all the best actors have turned professional.  

Quite probably, they just like to eat.  

We tend to think that once something is committed to film we have it forever. The act of recording seems by its very nature permanent, and often we forget that the very materials used to record are nearly as transient as the images they capture. For the reality is that film is a tenuous medium at best, given to disintegration and, in the case of nitrate films, spontaneous combustion. And this is compounded by the fact that cinema itself was for decades considered merely a novelty, an ephemeral entertainment of virtually no great cultural or historical value. 

In fact, it is estimated that 90 percent of all films made during the silent era (1895-1929) and 50 percent of all films made before 1950 are lost, disintegrated over time, neglected or willfully destroyed to extract their nitrate content, or simply mislabeled and forgotten, awaiting discovery on some dusty shelf. 

The National Film Preservation Foundation, a nonprofit organization created by Congress in 1997, has helped save more than 1,000 films over the past decade. Most of these films are not commercially viable; the audiences they draw at film festivals are not nearly large enough to cover the costs of their preservation and distribution, and there’s little financial incentive for commercial companies to release them on DVD.  

So the foundation, through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress, stepped into the void and began releasing many of these rare cultural artifacts on DVD. The award-winning Treasures From American Film Archives series has consistently been one of the best reviewed discs every year in which a collection has been released. The first set featured a sampling of rare films spanning the history and range of the medium; the second focused on the silent era. 

This year the foundation has released Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900-1934, another beautifully produced collection of 48 educational films, commercial features, cartoons, newsreels and propaganda films. The four discs each have a theme: urban life, women and women’s suffrage, labor and capital, immigration and patriotism. At $89.99, the price may seem a bit steep, but the set includes four feature films, an illustrated book with notes for all the films, and commentaries and original musical accompaniment for each. And all proceeds support further film preservation.  

Viewing these films is like traveling back in time. It’s a uniquely compelling experience to see documentary footage of everyday life 100 years ago, to see everyday people going about their everyday lives—not posed in static photographs, but walking, talking and laughing. And the more formally staged films say just as much if not more about who these people were, about how they thought and behaved, and how they sought to influence and persuade one another. And though the differences between their time and ours are legion, at times the real surprise is how much has remained the same. 

100% American (1918, 14 minutes) features the screen’s first genuine star, Mary Pickford, in a film designed to encourage citizens to buy war bonds. The idea of movie stardom and the harnessing of that influence for commercial and political means was new at the time, and there was no more popular figure in motion pictures than “America’s Sweetheart.”  

In the opening scene Pickford is shamed by a man on the street selling bonds. “Our boys are sacrificing their life-blood,” he cries, “What sacrifice have you made?” An alien thought in our time, when the popularity of war is maintained only by keeping it at arms’ length. We then watch as our plucky heroine struggles to overcome the myriad temptations of daily life—fancy new dresses, ice cream sundaes, public transportation—in an effort to save her pennies and donate them to the cause. Nevermind that Pickford wasn’t actually a citizen; in her native country the film was retitled 100% Canadian. 

In other films it’s apparent that some things haven’t changed over the years. Listen to Some Words of Wisdom (1930, 2 minutes) gives us Mr. Courage and Mr. Fear, chatting amiably over dinner at a restaurant. The Great Depression has Mr. Fear worried about his finances, even though he has just received a raise, and thus he orders a simple meal of crackers and milk. Mr. Courage intervenes, advising Mr. Fear that it is his patriotic duty to spend his money to help jump-start the economy.  

While there are many films in the collection that represent progressive causes, then as now film production was an expensive enterprise, so it is no surprise that so many of these films represent moneyed interests. Two cartoons illustrate the point. The first, The United Snakes of America (1917, 80 seconds) is essentially a newspaper political cartoon, brought to life by stop-motion animation as the drawing is inked in, first the faces and bodies of Uncle Sam flanked by an army man and a navy man. The film essentially creates a punchline by presenting the most crucial elements last, as snakes with labels such as “pro-German press” and “peace activists” come into view, attacking Uncle Sam and revealing that the cartoon is in fact a swipe at all those perceived as undermining the war effort. As far as editorial cartooning goes, this is not the least bit unusual. But to whom does this statement of opinion belong? An independent cartoonist? A media corporation—Hearst, perhaps, or Pulitzer? In the final seconds a hand comes into view to proudly sketch in the credit line and reveal the source: the Ford Motor Company.  

Uncle Sam and the Bolsheviki-I.W.W. Rat (1919, 40 seconds) is another animated political cartoon in which Uncle Sam protects the gross domestic product from the evil claws of the International Workers of the World, represented by a rat that crawls out of the woodwork to feast on the harvest. The patriotic Uncle Sam, tellingly hiding behind a wall of sacks labeled “American Institutions,” takes a shovel to the head of the dreaded Bolshevik-loving rodent and crushes it. Again, praise be to the Ford Motor Company. 

The status quo is again represented in a few films about the women’s suffrage movement. The Strong Arm Squad of the Future (1912, 60 seconds) is a short animated film that satirizes the movement by caricaturing women in roles of power as manly, brutish, and, most damningly, unappealing to men. More objective in its perspective is On to Washington (1913, 80 seconds), a news film that contains footage of the suffragette march on Capitol Hill. In a more commercial vein is The Hazards of Helen: Episode 13, one installment in a long-running serial in which the heroine battles not only villainous robbers, but the evils of workplace discrimination.  

This is just a small sample; Treasures III is far too varied to adequately express here. Suffice it to say that this is not just a collection for history buffs or cinephiles; the films contained here offer both entertainment and enlightenment, and more than a little astonishment.  

Photo caption: Suffragettes on Pennsylvania Avenue in On to Washington.

Poets and world travelers from the international scene of the 1960s and ’70s, Ira Cohen and Louise Landes Levi will read with poet and editor Michael Rothenberg 7:30 p.m. Monday at Moe’s Books on Telegraph Avenue. Admission is free. 

Cohen and Levi, both New Yorkers (Levi an honors graduate of UC Berkeley) met while both were living abroad, involved in the expatriate and international arts scene that was fostered by older generations of North American and European writers and artists. 

Michael Rothenberg met Cohen and Levi through his work editing Big Bridge, a decade-old online magazine. He’s also known for editing Penguin Books’ selections of poetry by Philip Whalen (whose caretaker Rothenberg was during the end of Whalen’s life), Joanne Kyger and East Bay poet David Meltzer—all important contributors to the Bay Area scene of the past 40 years and more.  

Louise Landes Levi has traveled to India “and, along the way, a lot of other places,” said her old friend David Schonberger, who runs Booksphere in New York City. Levi will revisit the Ali Akhbar School in Marin this trip. She now lives in a tower in Bagnori, a village in Tuscany, to be near her Buddhist teacher of the past 20 years, Namkhai Norbu. Her books of poetry include Guru Punk, Avenue ‘A’ & Ninth Street, Banana Baby and Water Mirror. Her translations include Sweet On My Lips, the love poems of Mirabai, Rasa by Rene Daumal, and Toward Totality by one of the original modern global explorers and seekers, Henri Michaux, whom Levi knew.  

Ira Cohen, a self-described “poet, photographer, filmmaker, world traveler and bullshit artist (maybe better if I said raconteur),” is a genial, sometimes acerbic monologist. His movies (some of which are available on DVD) include Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda, Kings With Straw Mats and Paradise Now. His books of poetry include Whatever You Say May Be Held Against You and On Feet of Gold. His photographs often document his many friendships, such as those with the older mainstays of the Tangier scene, where Cohen went in the early ’60s to live: Paul Bowles, William Burroughs and artist/writer Brion Gysin. 

“Burroughs I met when he was having his shoes shined. He was very cordial and razor-sharp wth his ability to express himself,” he said. “Bowles I used to visit frequently and give him the gossip of the Medina, where I lived. I considered it a magical possibility, being in my 20s and having relationships with men of that stature, whom I respected, but could always talk to straightforwardly.”  

About Allen Ginsberg, Cohen said: “He was always talking from some pulpit or position, looking at me to see how I’d fit in ... more aloof, complicated, self-involved, I guess more political, than the others.” 

Cohen joked further about his own writing and reputation as “a famous unknown.” 

“Being my age, a little overweight, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and try to look quickly away. I feel that way about my words sometimes,” he said. “But Brion Gysin told me, ‘You’re a man of the book, you’ll be around in the future commenting on us,’ and funnily enough, at 72, I’m around and they’re gone. And that was the world when I was younger, of people I admired and I strove to be in their company. The best thing in living the life I led was in the chance meetings and stumbling on things—like these men.”

Days of Heaven 

It is said that there is really just a handful of plotlines in this world, and that every book and song and film we devise is really just a variation on one of these archetypal themes. That may very well be the case, though the variations are infinite. And if they weren't infinite, the methods by which those themes are expressed most certainly are.  

Case in point: Terrence Malick's 1978 film Days of Heaven. A direct line can be drawn from William Faulkner's great novel Absalom, Absalom! through Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and on through this, Malick's second directorial effort. The film has just been released on DVD by Criterion in a pristine transfer that beautifully renders the movie's rich pastoral tones.  

All three concern powerful men who forge vast empires, only to run up against forces with which they are loathe to reckon, and all three stories are told from the vantage point of intermittently reliable witnesses. 

Welles adopted Faulkner's circular narrative form and moved his tale from the rural South to New York City in the deconstruction of the life of a man whose ambitions were ultimately curtailed by his own personal flaws. Malick moved the story back to the rural countryside, this time in the southwest. But whereas Faulkner's aristocratic plantation society was undone by the South's original sin of slavery, of racial tensions come to a head, Malick's is undone by less tragic but equally biblical plagues: locusts and fire. In all three, a man sees his particular brand of progress halted and reversed, ultimately leading to the destruction of the idyllic self-contained world he had sought to create. 

But Malick makes the story his own primarily through the telling of the tale. His version, unlike Kane and Absalom, is told chronologically, but it is far more elliptical. Malick's style can be described as impressionistic, full of contemplative shots of nature, of faces, of time passing slowly. It is as though Malick is giving us the chance to pause and simply watch the world breathe. Inserted here and there amid the action are quiet shots of birds passing overhead, of fields of wheat swirling in the breeze, of insects alighting on blades of grass—ephemeral sights and sounds that leave indelible impressions that defy verbal expression. A Malick film is not something to be dissected, examined and intellectualized, but rather something to be experienced and felt. 

Extra features include interviews with Gere and Shepard and cinematographers Haskell Wexler and John Bailey; a commentary by editor Billy Weber, art director Jack Fisk, costume designer Patricia Norris and casting director Dianne Crittenden; and an essay by film critic Adrian Martin. 

Days of Heaven (1978) 

Written and directed by Terrence Malick. Starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz. Photographed by Nestor Almendros. 94 minutes. $39.95. Criterion Collection. www.criterion.com. 

Battleship Potemkin  

Battleship Potemkin, Sergei Eisenstein's dramatization of an event from the Russian Revolution, is one of the touchstones of cinema. It caused a sensation when it was released in 1925 and remains one of the most influential films of the silent era. Its methods, bold and unconventional in their time, transformed cinematic technique. Kino International has recently released the film in what may prove to be a definitively restored edition, a two-disc set that includes both English and Russian versions of the film.  

The film is primarily influential due to what became known as "montage." Though the word really just translates as "editing" or "putting together," it has come to mean several different kinds of editing: rapid rhythmic cutting; spatial and temporally jarring cutting; or the accumulation of images in the creation of either an emotional effect or an intellectual idea. Perhaps the simplest definition is the juxtaposition of independent and often disparate images in the creation of meaning. Eisenstein himself described it as independent shots placed not one after the other, but on top of one another, like layers of meaning and emotion. 

The most famous example is the Odessa Steps sequence, a heart-pounding scene in which soldiers march methodically down what appears to be, due to Eisenstein's editing, an enormously long staircase, slaughtering a throng of people who rush to escape the gunfire. Eisenstein never fully orients the viewer to the landscape. Instead he provides a continuous rush of imagery: closeups of the dead and the dying; shots of crowds fleeing; stampeding feet; and, most famously, a baby carriage tumbling down the staircase, set in motion by the falling body of a murdered mother. Through the rapid juxtaposition of disparate shots, Eisenstein simulates the terror and bloodshed of the event, the disoriented space, the rush of motion, and the drawn-out feeling of time expanding, as though the horror will never end.  

There are simpler examples of montage as well. Early in the film, when the crew on the battleship feels the first stirrings of revolution, a sailor smashes a plate on the edge of a table. Eisenstein, through montage, imbues this moment with greater import and force by rapidly cutting in several views of this gesture. In quick succession we see the plate smashed in closeup and in medium shot, along with closeups of the soldier's face and arm. Essentially we see the action repeated, the plate smashed several times, but all this action flashes by in a second. It seems very simple, but Eisenstein was touching on something profound here, using the unique properties of the cinema in the creation of a powerfully expressive technique. With a few clever edits, he transformed a gesture of frustration into a battle cry, the first act of mutiny. The smashed plate heard round the world.  

Potemkin would be subject to far more cutting over the years. It would seem that every nation in which it appeared found it necessary to cut away at the film, diluting its revolutionary power and even shaping it to fit other ideologies. Thus the film, though it has been widely viewed and always appreciated, has rarely, if ever, been seen in anything resembling its original form since its 1925 premiere in Moscow. The Kino release does not claim to represent the film in its original state, but it is thought that this is as close as we're likely to get.  

Extra features include a 42-minute documentary on the making and restoration of the film, English and original Russian versions, and a photo gallery. 

Battleship Potemkin (1925) 

Directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein. 69 minutes. $29.95. Kino International. www.kino.com. 

Under the Volcano 

John Huston had one of the most varied careers a director can have. He started out as a screenwriter before making his directing debut with The Maltese Falcon in 1941. The film was a revelation, giving Humphrey Bogart his first truly great role. But as great as that film was, it owed much of its greatness to its source material, for Huston remained very true to the original text. He proved himself again and again though, and in many different genres, with Asphalt Jungle and Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Moby Dick.  

Some of his works were failures. As Christian Viviani points out in an essay that accompanies Criterion's new DVD release of Under the Volcano (1984), Huston was inclined to imbue projects of his own choosing with great passion, while granting assigned projects little creative spark.  

Under the Volcano is clearly one of Huston's pet projects. It features an excellent performance by Albert Finney as Geoffrey Firmin, a retired British ambassador in Mexico, reduced to alcoholism and self-destruction following the departure of his wife after she had an affair. Huston lavishes attention on the hard-drinking, self-loathing character, and on both the romance and the seediness of the environs.  

The movie is based on a novel by Malcolm Lowry, a book long considered "unadaptable" and thus more alluring to a maverick director like Huston. The novel concerns Mexico in the years before World War II, as the country was aligning itself with the Third Reich. Huston stripped the tale of much of its political and social ramifications to focus on the man himself, on the nature and consequences of his alcoholism, and on the relationships between the man, his wife and his half-brother.  

The film is mannered and theatrical, yet remarkably authentic in its portrait of a man simultaneously struggling to stay afloat and to drown himself, and of the loved ones around him who are desperate to help him with one and save him from the other.  

The result though is a film that remains somewhat unsatisfying. There are flashes of directorial brilliance, and the actors easily hold our interest, but the sidelining of much of the social and political context leaves Firmin's self-destruction seeming somewhat melodramatic, more soap opera than drama, more pulp than character study. 

The two-disc set includes commentaries by the film's producers, by screenwriter Guy Gallo, and by Huston's son, actor-director Danny Huston; a new interview with Bisset; a 1984 audio interview with John Huston; and two documentaries, one about the film's production and another about the life of author Malcolm Lowry. 

Under the Volcano (1984) 

Directed by John Huston. Adapted from the novel by Malcolm Lowry. Starring Albert Finney, Jacqueline Bisset, Anthony Andrews. 112 minutes. $39.95. Criterion Collection. www.criterion.com. 

Robinson Crusoe on Mars 

Science fiction is a delicate enterprise. No genre runs a greater risk of aging poorly. Theories and technologies can be discarded or adopted so quickly, and either way yesterday's fantasies just as quickly can seem quaint, naive, and silly. It's hard luck when these technical details overwhelm otherwise solid pieces of entertainment, and perhaps it is the works that avoid these pitfalls that age best. 

Byron Haskin's Robinson Crusoe on Mars is a good example of a science fiction film that manages to eschew much of the techno-gadgetry that sometimes sinks the genre. Instead Haskin focuses his plot mainly on the problem of a lone man's survival in a hostile landscape. It is less a science fiction film than a simple update of the Daniel Defoe novel. After all, Earth has been fully explored—why not reset the tale in the next frontier? 

Haskin is probably best known for bringing The War of the Worlds to the screen for the first time, in 1953. But Robinson Crusoe on Mars, though perhaps not quite as entertaining overall, is probably the more mature work. The special effects of course seem a bit simple at times, but this was, for the most part, cutting edge stuff. Haskin's spaceships move with frightening precision from one position to the next, like light-speed hummingbirds; his Mars is barren but with tantalizing signs of sustenance; and his caves are almost warm and comforting, perfectly conveying a sense of security, however tenuous, in a vast and terrifying landscape.  

The film lacks pacing, however. It understandably avoids the heartpounding race from one event to another of the alien-invasion variety, but Haskin's grasp of the techniques for slowing a film to a contemplative pace is weak at best. A more skillful director would have developed the spaces between the action and dialogue, lingering longer on the haunting images of the landscape, the shifting shadows as Martian day gives way to Martian night, or the weary but determined face of his hero. Of course, he would have needed a better actor than Paul Mantee to do it right, but still the film cries out for more finesse.  

Criterion's new DVD release of the film includes a commentary by screenwriter Ib Melchior, actors Mantee and Victor Lundin, and historian and special effects specialist Robert Skotak.  

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) 

Directed by Byron Haskin. Starring Paul Mantee, Victor Lundin. 110 minutes. $39.95. Criterion Collection. www.criterion.com. 

Water is the primary problem to solve if we’re to raise plants. I suspect this has always been the case almost everywhere (and offhand I can’t think of what the theoretical exception would be) and likely will be, at least until some theoretical descendants are working hydroponic plantations outside the orbit of, say, Mars, where the problem will be sunlight. Probably there’s some smiling herb grower now who’s working on an electricity-sparing solution to that.  

The conundrum, once we get that water, is balance. Surprise: the problem of water is also the problem of air.  

Winter’s coming in, and with luck we’ll have more rain. Some plants that have stoutly withstood the usual summer drought will succumb to a surfeit: succulents like cacti and some California natives like flannelbush are susceptible to crown rots and plain old drowning if they spend the winter in poorly drained soils.  

Roots, even those of big trees, lie mostly in the top two or three feet of soil. The more water-retaining the soil is, the more shallow most roots will be. They need some free oxygen, some air, around them, and soil with its pores and little spaces filled with water doesn’t have room for air.  

Containers also tend to drain slowly, often because something’s obstructing the hole in the bottom. (You wouldn’t be cruel enough to put a helpless plant in a watertight pot, would you? Aside from water plants and swamp plants that like wet feet, of course.)  

A paradox: a plant wilts when it’s too wet as well as when it’s too dry. The latter makes sense: water, moving through a plant’s circulatory system and out to its leaf tips and edges one molecule at a time, is part of what makes leaves and nonwoody stems stand up.  

So when leaves and stems droop, naturally we think of watering the plant. If we know the plant well enough, we can spot thirst before that, as leaves lost their usual luster and get just a little flaccid, a little tired-looking.  

Before rushing for the hose or the watering can, though, be bold and stick a finger into the soil at least one knuckle deep. A wilting plant in damp soil might either be temporarily coping with hot direct sun, or a fungal infection might be clogging its circulatory system. Fungi are present in most soils most of the time but, rather like the mildew on the bathroom wall, they get a boost from wet conditions.  

So cop a feel of your plants’ leaves and its soil, sure. But even before that, know what your plant will tolerate.  

The best way to figure that out is to know where the plant’s roots are. No, I mean figuratively. A plant of local ancestry will likely be OK in local soils. A plant from a mountaintop will want fast drainage. A plant from a riverside might not mind wet feet.  

The key to all that is the plant’s specific epithet—its Latin-sounding name. Uh-oh. But it’s not that hard, really. If you can order from a Thai or Italian menu, you can learn enough Latin to call your plants by name. 

Stay tuned.

I tend to stare at the ceiling a lot. I think it’s only to be expected. If you sleep on your back or lie on the couch reading Jane Austin (as we all must), you’re bound to spend a certain amount of time staring off into space and guess what’s there … between you and space but your ceiling. There it hangs (Yes, that’s what it’s doing, hanging.) between the walls, with all those cracks and stains and Grateful Dead posters and you think, “Maybe I should do something about this mess but what can I do? It’s a ceiling, not a casserole. I don’t know where to begin!” 

Many of us live in handsome old casas lined with walls and ceilings of lime plaster, a product made of limestone and transformed through baking and hydrating processes until we have the powder that makes useable plaster.  

In the houses of a hundred years ago and all the way up to about WWII, plaster was installed over wooden lath. This is essentially how this worked. Once a house was framed, a lather would install thin strips of redwood, lining the rooms of the house with these thin, furry and somewhat wiggly sticks. They varied in length, since there was no four- or eight-foot module and would run as long as the wall or ceiling allowed, getting spiked into place with lots of tiny “blued” lathing nails (bluing is a low-cost rust prevention).  

The lath was spaced about three-eigths of an inch, and when plaster was smeared across the lath surface, it would get smooshed (like my technical lingo?) though the spaces and dry into a shape that could no longer fit back out. This held the dry plaster in place. The plaster also dried onto the furry surface of the lath, further grasping the plaster. 

What I find fun about this technique is that it smacks profoundly of wattle and daub, a technique that is at least 10,000 years old, using wooden sticks similar to wooden lath with clay or dung smeared across the surface and finished into a hard surface. This was how walls in homes were commonly surfaced in many early European for eons. There truly IS nothing new under the sun. 

Anyway, I digress and then digress some more. 

Plaster was applied to the wooden lath in two or three coats of increasing hardness and decreasing viscosity so that the final layer could be quite smoothly applied and dry to a very hard surface. This actually becomes something of a problem for modern homeowners who want to stick Grateful Dead posters on their ceilings. They end up with cracks and also have a helluva time driving those thumb tacks in far enough. The wiser person puts up their poster using a tiny drill and a slightly fatter nail. Drill bits can be found in very fine sizes. 

In the era of WWII, wooden lath was replaced with gypsum lathing board (aka button board). This was the first use of the new gypsum plaster and predates and predicts drywall by at least a decade. Gypsum lath was made in long narrow sheets in which a field of holes was punched. The lathing board was nailed to wall and ceiling framing, much as modern drywall might be but was then covered with lime plaster. This is still done today in better homes where plaster is preferred. I’m on the fence as to how swell I think it is but I do admit to very much liking an imperfectly smooth surface, and drywall just doesn’t do that very well. 

So now, having laid down the history, we can discuss what can be done in your ancient manor. Real plaster that has begun to crack is easily distinguished from drywall, especially along ceilings. Since ceiling joists (usually 2x4s) hang from wall to wall, they tend to sinuate every time a Hummer (or truck) rumbles down the lane. 

Over the decades, they tend to develop fine cracks along the lathing, and if you look carefully you may notice that there are long running cracks about every two inches or so running the length of the room. Sometimes you can only see a few of them, but they still suggest the same effect. 

Plaster, like all things, varies in quality, and some plaster fared well these many decades. Other batches I’ve seen over the years haven’t proven so hearty and it’s quite clear that, in some cases, it was just bad mixing (this is also often true for concrete or stucco). If you have a house that has a lot of loose, cracking and unsightly plaster, I wouldn’t recommend any further patching but would instead beg you bite the bullet and start replacing the plaster with drywall. 

This has some real upside as well, so don’t feel bad. When you take the old plaster down, rather than patching over it, you gain access to the volume of the wall and make electrical work (and other cool things) a practical reality. Let’s take your dining room as a possible starting place (often a favorite). When you remove the plaster and all the old nails, you can easily add plenty of electrical outlets and lighting. 

You can install wall sconces if you like (a common Craftsman era feature) as well as a chandelier, a ceiling fan or recessed lighting. The wiring you connect all these things to can be quickly and cheaply installed because access is so good. Too often I see upgrades to lighting in a room with old plaster and am generally sure that the wiring wasn’t upgraded and may, in combination with bigger light fixtures become a hazard. 

With the wall open, it’s also possible to run speaker wire and install recessed or hanging speakers with hidden wiring. How about smart cable for a flat panel TV or a digital projector? How about phone wiring or a built-in vacuum system?  

A skylight is also easier to install if the plaster is out and sheetrock is going in, and it’s much easier to replace a window if you’re already replacing wall material. 

Taken on a one-room-at-a-time basis, replacement of plaster with drywall is not a huge project and here are some ways to make it even simpler: 

If keeping the job to a minimum is vital, old cracked plaster can be covered over with thin sheets of drywall. Drywall is made in one-fourth and three-eighths inch for just this purpose. Sheets of thick drywall can be screwed to framing directly through the old cracked plaster and then finished with tape and joint compound to create a smoother finish. 

Again, you won’t get a chance to use the full wall cavity, although you can make a lot of holes in the plaster running wiring, and then cover them over with your new layer. Two downsides to adding layers are loss of height or room size and added weight. 

When removing plaster, keep in mind that plaster is extremely alkaline and can cause a burning sensation when inhaled. Old plaster may also contain viral matter and other garbage that we’re better off not breathing, so use of a well-fitting respirator is strongly recommended if you’re involved in the removal process (also goggles, boots and heavy clothing). 

When removing plaster, it’s also a good idea to protect your floors with cardboard or old carpeting. Lime plaster is made using sand, and you can really scratch those old floors up if you don’t take precautions. 

It’s pretty amazing what a project like this can do for your spirits and how much a room can change in this process. My wife and I did this to our own home many years ago and it freed us to change many more things than we ever expected to change: lighting, skylights and even ceiling fans.  

Now I can lie on my couch and stare at the ceiling in the safe knowledge that somewhere, far away, someone else gets to stare at the Grateful Dead instead of me. 

FRIDAY, NOV. 9 

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 Kate van Orden on “Court Ballet and Politics in 17th Century France” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St.526-2925.  

“He Stood Up: The Mistrial of Lt. Ehren Watada” A documentary at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. 

Berkeley Women in Black weekly vigil from noon to 1 p.m. at Bancroft and Telegraph. Our focus is human rights in Palestine. 548-6310. 

Womansong Circle Paticipatory singing for women at 7:15 p.m., potluck at 6:45 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Small Assembly Room, 2345 Channing. Suggested donation $15-$20, no one turned away for lack of funds. 525-7082. 

Introduction to Fearless Meditation at 7 p.m. at Center for Urban Peace, 2584 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Donation $20-$30. 549-3733. 

SATURDAY, NOV. 10 

“Global Citizenship vs a New Arms Race: Can Peace Trump Hegemony?” with Jan Kavan, former Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic at 7:30 p.m. at the Alameda Free Library, Confernce Room A, 1550 Oak St. at Lincoln, Alameda. Free, donation accepted. www.alamedaforum.org 

Vegetarian Cooking Class “Thankgiving for the Birds” featuring squash dishes, root vegetables, biscuits and apple cake, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $55 plus $5 material fee. to register call 531-COOK. www.compassionatecooks.com 

March for Environmental Justice to stop Chevron’s proposed refinery expansion. Meet at noon at the Richmond BART Station parking lot to march to the Chevron refinery. 232-3427.  

Solo Sierrans Sunset Walk An hour walk, on paved trail, wheel chair accessible, through the Emeryville Marina Meet at 3:30 p.m. behind Chevy's Restaurant, by picnic tables. 234-8949.  

NAACP Berkeley Branch Meets at 1 p.m. at 2108 Russell St. 845-7416. 

Modern Tantric Art Auction to benefit Himalayan Health Care. Preview at 6 p.m., auction at 8 p.m. at Yga Mandala, 2807 Telegraph Ave. Free, but RSVP requested. auction@tantricart.net 

Immigration Law Clinic Volunteer attorneys available to answer questions from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, Temescal Branch, 5205 Telegraph Ave. at 52nd St., Oakland. Sponosred by the Charles Houston Bar Association. 205-9593. 

Promote your Music Using the Internet with Sarah Manning from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Community Room, 3rd flr., Berkeley Public Library 2090 Kittredge. 981-6233. 

“Creative Reuse Workshop” for Oakland students, (K-12), from noon to 4 p.m. at The Museum of Children’s Art, 538 Ninth St., Oakland. 465-8770, ext. 310. 

East Bay Waldorf School’s Annual Harvest Faire with games, crafts, entertainment and food from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3800 Clark Rd., El Sobrante. 223-3570. 

Ongoing Vocal Jazz Workshop from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin at the corner of Masonic, Albany. 524-6797. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

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

Car Wash Benefit for Options Recovery Services of Berkeley, held every Sat. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lutheran Church, 1744 University Ave. 666-9552. 

SUNDAY, NOV. 11 

Friends of the Alameda Wildlife Refuge Workday Help us prepare habitat for California Least Terns, which breed at the refuge. Meet at 9 a.m. at the main refuge gate at the northwest corner of former Alameda Naval Air Station, Alameda. Sponsored by Golden Gate Audubon Society. 843-2222. 

“Julia Morgan: Her Unique Place in American Architecture” with author Mark A. Wilson at 2 p.m. at the Seldon Williams House in Claremont Court. Tickets are $25. Sponsored by Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assoc. 841-2242. www.berkeleyheritage.com 

Green Sunday: Venezuela Report-back at 5 p.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th, Oakland. Sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. 

Laternenfest and Parade Join a tradition German celebration for the whole family from 5 to 7 p.m. at Bay Area Kinderstube Preschool, 842 Key Route Blvd (off Solano Ave), Albany. 

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

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with Ruth Richards on “Creativity and Spirituality in Everyday Life” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Sew Your Own Open Studio Come learn to use our industrial and domestic machines, or work on your own projects, from 5 to 9 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Cost is $3 per hour. 644-2577.  

MONDAY, NOV. 12  

Berkeley Green Mondays A presentation on “Green Car Alternatives” with Bradley Berman at 7:30 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 848-4681. berkeleygreenmondays@gmail.com 

“Converting Plants to Fuel” with Chris Somerville of LBNL/Energy Biosciences Institute at 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St. 486-7292. 

“Stopping Wal-Mart” Joe Feller and Paul Seger discuss strategies for keeping Wal-Mart out of our communites at 7 p.m. at the Wiki Wiki Hawaiian BBQ, 9935 San Pablo Ave. 526-0972.  

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

Dragonboating Year round classes at the Berkeley Marina, Dock M. Meets at 6 p.m. For details see www.dragonmax.org 

TUESDAY, NOV. 13 

End the Occupation Vigil every Tues. at noon at Oakland Federal Bldg., 1301 Clay St. www.epicalc.org 

“Make Art NOT War” Artists are invited to bring their works to display along the sidewalk in front of the Marine Recruiting Station, 64 Shattuck Square, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 548-7119. 

"Recycling Issues in Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville: What You Should Know" with Martin Bourque, Executive Director of the Berkeley Ecology Center and Nicole Almaguer, Albany Community Development Dept. at noon at Albany Library, at Marin and Masonic, Albany. Brown bag lunch sponsored by the League of Women Voters. 843-8824. 

“The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot: A Citizen’s Call to Action” with author Naomi Wolf at 7:30 pm, at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $10-$13. 415-255-7296, ext. 253. www.globalexchange.org/naomiwolf 

“Intellegence and Counter-Terrorism” with Ram Sidi, veteran member of Israel’s counter-terrorism establishment at 4 p.m. in the Toll Room, Alumni House, UC Campus. 642-7747. 

“Human Rights for European Gypsies” with C J Singh, at 7:30 p.m. at International House, Bancroft and Piedmont. 642-9460. 

Writer Coach Connection Volunteers needed to help Berkeley students improve their writing and critical thinking skills from noon to 3 p.m. To register call 524-2319. www.writercoachconnection.org  

Berkeley School Volunteers Orientation from 4 to 5 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. Come learn about volunteer opportunities. 644-8833. 

Community Meeting on Redesign of City of Oakland Website at 7 p.m. at LAkeside Park GArden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave. Other meetings throught the month. For the survey see www.oakland.net/survey For information call 449-4401.  

“Older and Wiser: Basic Legal Knowledge for Living Well to the End,” with estate planning attorney Sara Diamond at 1:15 p.m. at North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 981-5190. 

American Red Cross Blood Services is holding a volunteer orientation at 6 p.m. Advanced sign-up is required; please call 594-5165.  

Berkeley School Volunteers Orientation from 4 to 5 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. Come learn about volunteer opportunities. 644-8833. 

Street Level Cycles Community Bike Program Come use our tools as well as receive help with performing repairs free of charge. Youth classes available. Tues., Thurs., and Sat. from 2 to 6 p.m. at at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your digital images, slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

Community Sing-a-Long every Tues, at 2 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. 524-9122.  

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, NOV. 14 

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Colloquium with Amir H. Gohar “Balancing Tourism Development and Cultural Site Preservation Along the Red Sea Coast” at 1 p.m. at Wurster Hall, Room 315A, UC Campus. All welcome. laep.ced.berkeley.edu/events/colloquium 

Civilian War Victim Series “Collateral Damage” with Dr. Brian Gluss at 1 p.m. at Emeryville Senior Center, 4321 Salem, Emeryville. 596-3730. 

AnewAmerica’s Gala & Microbusiness Expo at 6 p.m. at the Holy Redeemer Conference Center, 8945 Golf Links Rd., Oakland. Tickets are $85. 540-7785. www.anewamerica.org 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. Heavy rain cancels. 548-9840. 

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, NOV. 15 

“Countryside Living: Impacts to Wildlife and Watersheds” with Dr. Adina Merender at 7 p.m. at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Sponsored by the Golden Gate Audubon Society. 843-2222. 

“Current Research at Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary” with research coordinator Dr. Lisa Etherington at 12:30 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, Oak at 10th St., Oakland. 238-2022. www.museumca.org 

“Playground” new extreme ski and snowboard film by Warren Miller at 8 p.m. at Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. www.warrenmiller.com  

“Aging Artfully” with Amy Gorman on Profiles of 12 Visual and Performing Women Artists 85 – 105 at 7 p.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave., El Cerrito. 526-7512.  

Babies & Toddlers Storytime at 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

FRIDAY, NOV. 9 

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 Kate van Orden on “Court Ballet and Politics in 17th Century France” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St.526-2925.  

“He Stood Up: The Mistrial of Lt. Ehren Watada” A documentary at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. 

Berkeley Women in Black weekly vigil from noon to 1 p.m. at Bancroft and Telegraph. Our focus is human rights in Palestine. 548-6310. 

Womansong Circle Paticipatory singing for women at 7:15 p.m., potluck at 6:45 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Small Assembly Room, 2345 Channing. Suggested donation $15-$20, no one turned away for lack of funds. 525-7082. 

Introduction to Fearless Meditation at 7 p.m. at Center for Urban Peace, 2584 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Donation $20-$30. 549-3733. 

SATURDAY, NOV. 10 

“Global Citizenship vs a New Arms Race: Can Peace Trump Hegemony?” with Jan Kavan, former Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic at 7:30 p.m. at the Alameda Free Library, Confernce Room A, 1550 Oak St. at Lincoln, Alameda. Free, donation accepted. www.alamedaforum.org 

Vegetarian Cooking Class “Thankgiving for the Birds” featuring squash dishes, root vegetables, biscuits and apple cake, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $55 plus $5 material fee. to register call 531-COOK. www.compassionatecooks.com 

March for Environmental Justice to stop Chevron’s proposed refinery expansion. Meet at noon at the Richmond BART Station parking lot to march to the Chevron refinery. 232-3427.  

Solo Sierrans Sunset Walk An hour walk, on paved trail, wheel chair accessible, through the Emeryville Marina Meet at 3:30 p.m. behind Chevy's Restaurant, by picnic tables. 234-8949.  

NAACP Berkeley Branch Meets at 1 p.m. at 2108 Russell St. 845-7416. 

Modern Tantric Art Auction to benefit Himalayan Health Care. Preview at 6 p.m., auction at 8 p.m. at Yga Mandala, 2807 Telegraph Ave. Free, but RSVP requested. auction@tantricart.net 

Immigration Law Clinic Volunteer attorneys available to answer questions from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, Temescal Branch, 5205 Telegraph Ave. at 52nd St., Oakland. Sponosred by the Charles Houston Bar Association. 205-9593. 

Promote your Music Using the Internet with Sarah Manning from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Community Room, 3rd flr., Berkeley Public Library 2090 Kittredge. 981-6233. 

“Creative Reuse Workshop” for Oakland students, (K-12), from noon to 4 p.m. at The Museum of Children’s Art, 538 Ninth St., Oakland. 465-8770, ext. 310. 

East Bay Waldorf School’s Annual Harvest Faire with games, crafts, entertainment and food from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3800 Clark Rd., El Sobrante. 223-3570. 

Ongoing Vocal Jazz Workshop from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin at the corner of Masonic, Albany. 524-6797. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

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

Car Wash Benefit for Options Recovery Services of Berkeley, held every Sat. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lutheran Church, 1744 University Ave. 666-9552. 

SUNDAY, NOV. 11 

Friends of the Alameda Wildlife Refuge Workday Help us prepare habitat for California Least Terns, which breed at the refuge. Meet at 9 a.m. at the main refuge gate at the northwest corner of former Alameda Naval Air Station, Alameda. Sponsored by Golden Gate Audubon Society. 843-2222. 

“Julia Morgan: Her Unique Place in American Architecture” with author Mark A. Wilson at 2 p.m. at the Seldon Williams House in Claremont Court. Tickets are $25. Sponsored by Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assoc. 841-2242. www.berkeleyheritage.com 

Green Sunday: Venezuela Report-back at 5 p.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th, Oakland. Sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. 

Laternenfest and Parade Join a tradition German celebration for the whole family from 5 to 7 p.m. at Bay Area Kinderstube Preschool, 842 Key Route Blvd (off Solano Ave), Albany. 

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

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with Ruth Richards on “Creativity and Spirituality in Everyday Life” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Sew Your Own Open Studio Come learn to use our industrial and domestic machines, or work on your own projects, from 5 to 9 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Cost is $3 per hour. 644-2577.  

MONDAY, NOV. 12  

Berkeley Green Mondays A presentation on “Green Car Alternatives” with Bradley Berman at 7:30 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 848-4681. berkeleygreenmondays@gmail.com 

“Converting Plants to Fuel” with Chris Somerville of LBNL/Energy Biosciences Institute at 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St. 486-7292. 

“Stopping Wal-Mart” Joe Feller and Paul Seger discuss strategies for keeping Wal-Mart out of our communites at 7 p.m. at the Wiki Wiki Hawaiian BBQ, 9935 San Pablo Ave. 526-0972.  

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

Dragonboating Year round classes at the Berkeley Marina, Dock M. Meets at 6 p.m. For details see www.dragonmax.org 

TUESDAY, NOV. 13 

End the Occupation Vigil every Tues. at noon at Oakland Federal Bldg., 1301 Clay St. www.epicalc.org 

“Make Art NOT War” Artists are invited to bring their works to display along the sidewalk in front of the Marine Recruiting Station, 64 Shattuck Square, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 548-7119. 

"Recycling Issues in Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville: What You Should Know" with Martin Bourque, Executive Director of the Berkeley Ecology Center and Nicole Almaguer, Albany Community Development Dept. at noon at Albany Library, at Marin and Masonic, Albany. Brown bag lunch sponsored by the League of Women Voters. 843-8824. 

“The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot: A Citizen’s Call to Action” with author Naomi Wolf at 7:30 pm, at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $10-$13. 415-255-7296, ext. 253. www.globalexchange.org/naomiwolf 

“Intellegence and Counter-Terrorism” with Ram Sidi, veteran member of Israel’s counter-terrorism establishment at 4 p.m. in the Toll Room, Alumni House, UC Campus. 642-7747. 

“Human Rights for European Gypsies” with C J Singh, at 7:30 p.m. at International House, Bancroft and Piedmont. 642-9460. 

Writer Coach Connection Volunteers needed to help Berkeley students improve their writing and critical thinking skills from noon to 3 p.m. To register call 524-2319. www.writercoachconnection.org  

Berkeley School Volunteers Orientation from 4 to 5 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. Come learn about volunteer opportunities. 644-8833. 

Community Meeting on Redesign of City of Oakland Website at 7 p.m. at LAkeside Park GArden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave. Other meetings throught the month. For the survey see www.oakland.net/survey For information call 449-4401.  

“Older and Wiser: Basic Legal Knowledge for Living Well to the End,” with estate planning attorney Sara Diamond at 1:15 p.m. at North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 981-5190. 

American Red Cross Blood Services is holding a volunteer orientation at 6 p.m. Advanced sign-up is required; please call 594-5165.  

Berkeley School Volunteers Orientation from 4 to 5 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. Come learn about volunteer opportunities. 644-8833. 

Street Level Cycles Community Bike Program Come use our tools as well as receive help with performing repairs free of charge. Youth classes available. Tues., Thurs., and Sat. from 2 to 6 p.m. at at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your digital images, slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

Community Sing-a-Long every Tues, at 2 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. 524-9122.  

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, NOV. 14 

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Colloquium with Amir H. Gohar “Balancing Tourism Development and Cultural Site Preservation Along the Red Sea Coast” at 1 p.m. at Wurster Hall, Room 315A, UC Campus. All welcome. laep.ced.berkeley.edu/events/colloquium 

Civilian War Victim Series “Collateral Damage” with Dr. Brian Gluss at 1 p.m. at Emeryville Senior Center, 4321 Salem, Emeryville. 596-3730. 

AnewAmerica’s Gala & Microbusiness Expo at 6 p.m. at the Holy Redeemer Conference Center, 8945 Golf Links Rd., Oakland. Tickets are $85. 540-7785. www.anewamerica.org 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. Heavy rain cancels. 548-9840. 

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, NOV. 15 

“Countryside Living: Impacts to Wildlife and Watersheds” with Dr. Adina Merender at 7 p.m. at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Sponsored by the Golden Gate Audubon Society. 843-2222. 

“Current Research at Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary” with research coordinator Dr. Lisa Etherington at 12:30 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, Oak at 10th St., Oakland. 238-2022. www.museumca.org 

“Playground” new extreme ski and snowboard film by Warren Miller at 8 p.m. at Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. www.warrenmiller.com  

“Aging Artfully” with Amy Gorman on Profiles of 12 Visual and Performing Women Artists 85 – 105 at 7 p.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave., El Cerrito. 526-7512.  

Babies & Toddlers Storytime at 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

TUESDAY, NOV. 6 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Joanne Kyger and David Trinidad read their poetry at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Joseph Lease and Lisa Robertson, poets, at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Joanna Macy discusses the newly revised “World as Love, World as Self: Courage for Global Justice and Ecological Renewal at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way at Dana. Cost is $10. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Zydeco Flames at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun/Zydeco 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.  

Vishten, fiddling and step-dancing, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

deMania Trio with Alex DeGrassi, Michael Manring and Chris Garcia at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $14-$20. 238-9200.  

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 7 

FILM 

Behold the Asian: Videoworks by James T. Hong with the filmmaker in person at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Forces: Paintings and Calligraphy by Lampo Leong” Artist talk at 4 p.m., reception at 5:30 p.m. at IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th flr. 642-2809. 

“Shanghai Splendor: Economic Sentiments and the Making of Modern China, 1843-1949” with author Wen-hsin Yeh, in conversation with Margaret Tillman and Allison Rottman at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. 

Fritjof Capra discusses “The Science of Leonardo: Inside the Mind of the Great Genius of the Renaissance” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

San Francisco Bay Area African Dance and Drum Festival Wed.-Fri. at 6 p.m. and all day Sat. and Sun. at Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. 415-378-4413. 

Albany Jazz Band Fall Concert at 7:30 p.m. at Ocean View Elementary School, 1000 Jackson St., Albany. Free. 524-9538.  

American Ballet Theater at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $38-$100. 642-9988.  

Dave Bernstein Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ.  

The Jelly Roll Souls at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $TBA. 525-5054.  

Mikie Lee and Amber at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Patrick Street, Celtic, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $26.50-$27.50. 548-1761.  

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

THURSDAY, NOV. 8 

FILM 

International Latino Film Festival “La cuidad de las fotografos” on chile in the 1980s at 6 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $6-$8. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Dahr Jamail reads from his new book “Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq” at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. Tickets $15. 548-0542.  

Javier O. Herta, author of “Some Clarifications y otros poemas” in a bilingual poetry reading at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way. 848-1196. 

Neva Carpenter reads from her memoir of growing up in El Cerrito “Harem Scarem in El Cerrito” at 10:30 a.m. at the El Cerrito Senior Center, 6500 Stockton Ave. 215-4340. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mills College Repertory Dance Concert Thurs at 7 p.m. and Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Mills College, Lisser Hall, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. Free to members of the Mills College community. 430-2175. 

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

Palindrome at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ.  

Berkeley High School Jazz Combo and Ensemble at 7 p.m. at College of Alameda’s F Building Student Lounge, 555 Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway (Atlantic Ave.), Alameda. Free. 748-2213. 

8x8x8 Dance performance at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

Andrian Gormley Jazz Ensemble at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Dionne Farris, R&B vocalist, at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $20-$26. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

FRIDAY, NOV. 9 

THEATER 

Actor’s Ensemble of Berkeley”Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave., through Nov. 17. Tickets are $10-$12. 841-5580. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Altarena Playhouse “Morning’s at Seven” A family comedy by Paul Osborn Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda, through Nov. 11. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Aurora Theatre Cmpany“Sex” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through Dec. 9. Tickets are $28-$50. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Playhouse “Seussical, the Musical” Thurs.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m., Sat. at 2 p.m., Sun. at 3 pm. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Dec. 2. Tickets are $18-$23. 665-5565. www.berkeleyplayhouse.org 

Berkeley Rep “After the Quake” at the Trust Stage, 2025 Addison St., through Dec. 21. Tickets are $33-$69. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Central Works “Every Inch a King” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through Nov. 18. Tickets are $9-$25. 558-1381. 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., selected Sun. at 2 p.m. at Contra Costa Civic Theatre, 951 Pomona Ave., (at Moeser), El Cerrito, through Dec. 9. Tickets are $11-$18. 524-9132.  

Masquers Playhouse “Little Mary Sunshine” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., selected Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

UCB Dept. of Theater, Dance, and Performance “Wintertime” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at the Durnahm Studio Theater, UC Campus., through Nov. 18. Tickets are $8-$14. 642-8827. t 

Women’s Will “Antigone” Fri.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St. between Telegraph and Shattuck, Oakland, through Nov. 11. Tickets are $15-$25 sliding scale. 420-0813.  

Wing It Performance Ensemble “Hot Earth” An improvisaltional performance on gobal warming at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $20 if you drive, $15 if you carpool, and $10 if you leave your car at home. 465-2797. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Unbound Confession” Non-Representational Statements Group show of abstract works. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at ACCI Gallery, 1652 Shattuck Ave. 843-2527. 

FILM 

International Latino Film Festival “Fabricando Tom Zé” Musica do Brasil at 6 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $6-$8. 849-2568.  

“Hollywood Commandos” with filmmaker Gregory Orr in person at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

“The Mind is a Liar and a Whore” by Antero Alli, at 8 p.m. at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. Cost is $6-$10. 548-2153. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Susan Dinkelspiel Cerny presents “An Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Karla Brundage reads from her new poetry collection “Swallowing Watermelons,” at 7 p.m. at Nefeli Caffe, 1854 Euclid Ave. 841-6374. 

Neva Carpenter reads from her memoir of growing up in El Cerrito “Harem Scarem in El Cerrito” at 6 p.m. at the IT Club Cafe, Cerrito Theater, 10070 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 848-1994. 

Adam David Miller reads from “Ticket to Exile” at 6:30 p.m. at Marcu Books, 3900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 652-2344. 

MUSIC AND DANCE  

Oakland East Bay Symphony with soprano Hope Brigss at 8 p.m. at Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway. For ticket information call 652-8497.  

Sarah Manning and Shatter the Glass Dinner and concert at 6 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, Oak at 10th St., Oakland. Cost is $40-$60. 238-2022. www.museumca.org 

American Ballet Theater at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $38-$100. 642-9988.  

Babtunde Lea’s “Summoning of the Ghost” Tribute to THe NYC Village Gate at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ.  

Los Cenzontles at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054.  

San Francisco Bay Area African Dance and Drum Festival at 6 p.m. and all day Sat. and Sun. at Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. 415-378-4413. 

Liz Carroll & John Doyle, Celtic fiddle and guitar, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761.  

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

SONiA & Disapper Fear at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082.  

108, Ghenna, Lbal, Pulling Teeth at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $8. 525-9926. 

Sinclair at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

San Francisco African Drum & Dance Festival at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $8-$10. 548-1159.  

One Struggle Band, Company of Prophets, The Attik at 7 p.m. at Café Axe Cultural Center, 1525 Webster, Oakland. Free. www.weekendwakeup.com 

Dionne Farris, R&B vocalist, at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $20-$26. 238-9200.  

SATURDAY, NOV. 10 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Ingrid Noyes & Michael Harmon, Old time music with banjo and guitar at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5 for adults, $4 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Reflections” Art Reflecting Positive Energy by East Bay Women Artists. Opening reception at 7:30 p.m. at Alta Bates Hospital Gallery, 2450 Ashby Ave. Exhibition runs to Jan. 3. 204-1667.  

“Cultural Memories” Color pigment photographs by Mary Ann Hayden opens at Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St.and runs to Dec. 28. 644-1400. 

“Community Recipe Book” an exhibit documenting the interaction of Laotian elders and African American and Latino youth as they participated in the park’s art and gardening program. Opening reception at 2 p.m. at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, 2465 34th Ave., Oakland. 532-9142. www.peraltahacienda.org 

FILM 

“Resisting Enemy Interrogation” films of the US Army Air Force at 6:30 p.m. and “The Memphis Belle: Story of a Flying Fortress” at 8:45 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

THEATER 

“A Shirtwaist Tale” on American labor history, American women’s suffrage, and American Jewish history, Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at JCC of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut St. Tickets are $15-$20. 848-0237, ext. 3. http://ashirtwaisttale.com  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rhythm and Muse with Philip Rodriguez at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893. 

Lydia Lunch and Arthur Nersesian read at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Sam Cacas introduces his new novel “BlAsian Exchanges” at 3 p.m. at Eastwind Books, 2066 Univesity Ave. 548-2350. 

“Keep ‘em Flying” A discussion of issues of masculinity and identity in the films of the FMPU at 2 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive Theater. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Nokuthula Ngwenyama, violin and viola at 7:30 p.m. at Regents Theater, Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $35-$40. 601-7919. www.fourseasonsconcerts.com 

American Ballet Theater at 2 and 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $38-$100. 642-9988.  

Roberta Piket and Eric km Clark in concert at 8 p.m. at Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Tickets are $10-$15. 845-1350. 

Gary Wade, Unplugged at noon at Cafe Zeste, 1250 Addison St. 704-9378. 

Works in the Works, a low-tech performance series for Bay Area performing artists to show newly created works and works-in-progress Sat. and Sun. at 7:30 p.m. at Eighth Street Studio, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $10. 527-5115. 

Shadowdance 2007, Gothic and Tribal belly dance at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $15-$20. 415-259-8629.  

Hecho in Califas with Upground and La Muñeca y Los Muertos at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Frankye Kelly & Her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Tom Rigney & Flambeau at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Not an Airplane, Chris Jones, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Bay Area Guitar Summit with Dave Ricketts& Rob Reich, Teja Gerken, and San Francisco Guitar Quartet at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

John Calloway & Diaspora at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373.  

Charles Wheal & the Excellorators at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Ben Bernstein and Friends at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082.  

Iron Lung, Agents of Abhorrence, Never Healed at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $8. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, NOV. 11 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Works by Teresa Brazen” Reception at 2 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

FILM 

“Land and Live in the Jungle” from films of the US Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit at 3 p.m. and “God Is My Co-Pilot” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Mark A. Wilson on “Julia Morgan: Her Unique Place in American Architecture” at 2 p.m. at the Seldon Williams House in Claremont Court. Tickets are $25. Sponsored by Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assoc. 841-2242.  

Day of the Dead Artists Talk with Abraham Ortega, Mariana Garibay and Lissa Jones at 2 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, Oak at 10th St., Oakland. 238-2022.  

“Moku o Lo’e: A History of Coconut Island” with author P. Christiaan Klieger, at 2 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, Oak at 10th St., Oakland. 238-2022. www.museumca.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

American Ballet Theater at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $38-$100. 642-9988.  

Live Oak Concert with Jupiter String Quartet at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. Cost is $12-$15. 644-6893.  

Community Women’s Orchestra “Women in Music” at 4 p.m. at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1331 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Suggested donation $10. 463-0313.  

Zehetmair Quartet at 5 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $46. 642-9988.  

Upsurge, jazz and poetry, at 7 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Chinyakare Ensemble at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Bandworks at 1 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Ed Reed at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15-$18.. 845-5373.  

Marc Atkinson Trio at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Angry Philosophers at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

MONDAY, NOV. 12 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Alice Walker reads from “We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness” at 6 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. www.universitypressbooks.com 

Ira Cohen, Michael Rothenberg and Louise Landes Levi read at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Ilana Simons reads from “A Life of One’s Own: A Guide to Better Living Through the Work and Wisdom of Virginia Woolf” at 4:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

John Truby describes “The Anatomy of a Story: 22 Steps to Becomming a Master Storyteller” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Poetry Express with Stuart Florsheim at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Theatrum Musicum, early Elizabethan consort music, at 7 p.m. at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Ave. 849-1100. www.lebateauivre.net 

UC Jazz Ensembles at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Little Mary Sunshine, at the Masquers Playhouse in Point Richmond, is silly, jejune, puerile, even childish. It’s all of these things so successfully that it can be really funny. 

This contemporary “loving” parody of old-time operettas isn’t sugary or saccharine, it’s loaded with the equivalent of high fructose corn syrup. The valiant Masquers romp where Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy would fear to tread. 

With the invocation of the songbirds of “Indian Love Call,” it’s appropriate to mention the hushed awe of the audience as the curtain opens to reveal a panorama, obviously and well-painted (John Hull’s scenery, lit by Renee Echavez) of the mighty Rocky Mountains. It’s a brilliant background for the noble silhouette of a stoic Indian (not Native American—nor cigar store Indian, quite), Chief Brown Bear (played by D. C. Scarpelli with both sang-froid and feeling), searching for his adopted daughter, Little Mary Sunshine, to inform her “Forest Rangers come!” 

They march out in formation, newly arrived on foot from the Mexican border, on their usual jaunt to Canada. But all is not simple bucolia and carefree, if intrepid marching. Capt. “Big” Jim (an heroic, somewhat obtuse Tom Accettola) takes aside Corporal Billy (Coley Grundman, a real trouper in every sense) to tell him they’re on a secret mission of some hazard—the apprehension of renegade Kadota Indians—especially Yellow Feather (played, generically enough, by Mr. Scarpelli), estranged son of Brown Bear and adopted brother to Little Mary Sunshine. 

The troupe meets Little Mary herself, and (as played to true, gesticular, attitudinal perfection by Sue Claire Jones) she is everything her name conjures up, a wonder of nature (and dime novels).  

It transpires that she and Capt. Jim are long a would-be item. And Corporal Billy is stuck on Mary’s maidservant, Nancy Twinkle (a sly Michelle Pond), though Billy’s downcast at Nancy’s gadabout, man-hungry ways. And the men (Forest Rangers, that is: Douglas Braak, Chris Schwartz, Larry Schrupp and Frederick Lein) are embarked on courtships of Little Mary’s dainty guests, the young ladies from the Eastchester Finishing School (Anne Collins, Heather Morrison, Katie Swango and Linda Woody-Wood), who are visiting the West and wondering just how, well, unlady-like they’re really allowed to be. 

The plot doesn’t thicken as much as it congeals, with the introduction of further delightful stock types from the potboilers of yore: Mme. Ernestine, retired Viennese diva with twinkle in eye and voice (played with appropriate gravitas and dumplings by Ann Homrighausen); intrepid Fleet Foot, Indian guide dim of eye and vague of purpose (an unblinking John Wilson) and General Oscar Fairfax, ret. of the Philadelphia Fairfaxes (sic), a proper gent gallivanting in his touring car, wanting nothing more from a young lady (or ladies) than to be her dear Uncle Oscar (owlishly rendered in mock innocence by John Hull). 

There are exciting tableaux (as when Yellow Feather creeps through the audience, only to strike a menacing pose as Little Mary swoons into the capacious embrace of Capt. Jim). And tender moments: Mary, spied on by the wily Yellow Feather, scolding her pet cuckoo bird in the wild. And mayhem: Yellow Feather intent on having his way with Little Mary, struggling in locked combat with Capt. Jim or Corporal Billy (disguised as yet another Yellow Feather), at night in the great outdoors, while the rest of the cast drifts nonchalantly and cluelessly by, challenged only by the plot and raging nature, somewhere in the wings. But in the end, as predicted in the prologue, justice triumphs: the land reverts—and reverts—to the true at heart, and even the villains seem without a scratch. 

It might be said that the soul of the performance is in its over 20 musical numbers: “Naughty Naughty Nancy,” or (as Brown Bear disdainfully adopts Corporal Billy) “I’m a Heap Big Indian,” the General’s plea “Say ‘Uncle’” or his duet with Mme. Ernestine on lost youth, “Do You Ever Dream of Vienna?” or the endlessly reprised theme of PollyAnna-ish Little Mary, “Look for the Sky of Blue.” It might be said, but really can’t be, as these serviceable tunes merely conjure up, albeit cleverly, a veritable waterfall of disgorged schmaltz. 

What it’s really all about is what runs back in East Bay theater to the old Straw Hat Reviews of the late ‘40s—a bunch of game amateurs banding together to put on a show, sending up sacrosanct theatricality with gentle humor, and inviting us to join in the fun. Many in the cast and crew are longtime Masquers, and they put out the juice to entertain us—and obviously themselves in the bargain.  

Robert Love, Masquers managing director, Pat King, musical director presiding over his sextet in the pit, and choreographer Kris Bell have put it all together in an evening that’s full of schtick, tongue-in-cheek and a constant lark—or cuckoo. 

Sometimes I miss out on interesting natural phenomena. It wasn’t until last month, while cruising the posters at the biennial State of the Estuary Conference, that I learned about the water snake invasion of Lafayette Reservoir. I’d go check it out, but it’s too late; they’re all gone. Another exotic-species boom gone bust. 

These were diamondback water snakes (Nerodia rhombifer), to be exact, a reptile I know from Arkansas. I’ve seen them swimming lazily in a sluggish creek in a Little Rock park. They’re good-sized snakes (about three-and-a-half feet long), heavy-bodied, with a chainlike dorsal pattern, red eyes, and black tongues. Unlike the venomous—and equally aquatic—cottonmouth moccasin, their eyes have round pupils rather than catlike slits. Males can be identified by the projecting tubercles on their chins, although I was disappointed to learn that they do not tickle the females with them. 

As their name suggests, you’d find these guys in ditches, creeks, lakes, ponds, bayous, or swamps, from Alabama west to Texas and north into Iowa. They also get up into branches overhanging the water; I have to wonder if the cottonmouth that dropped into the boat in one my father’s fishing stories, prompting its immediate evacuation, wasn’t a diamondback water snake. 

They feed on fish and frogs for the most part, with the occasional cotton rat or small bird, hunting by smell: a few drops of fish extract in the water puts them in attack mode. Some have been seen trapping fish in their coils. Older individuals hang out with their mouths open and their tails anchored to a rock, facing into the current, waiting for something interesting to swim by. 

Like most water snakes, diamondbacks are foul-tempered critters. “If handled, they bite viciously and spray musk,” write Carl and Evelyn Ernst in Snakes of the United States and Canada. Which brings us to the question of what these non-California natives were doing in the reservoir. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a water snake for sale at the East Bay Vivarium; you’d need a special aquatic setup, and the snake would probably bite you when you tried to clean the tank. 

Lacking other explanations, though, let’s assume some dissatisfied snake owner dumped his (I think “his” is a given) erstwhile pets in the reservoir. This would have been some time before 1990, when two snakes found their way from Lafayette to the UC Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Soon thereafter parties of 5 to 10 snakes were observed basking on tules, reservoir banks, even piers. There were incidents. Some anglers were unhappy to discover a snake on the end of their fishing line. 

Responding to recreationists’ complains, EBMUD hired Wildlife Control Technology in 1996 to evaluate control methods. The contractor concluded that an “original estimate of 200 snakes made by park staff is realistic, and probably conservative.” Although the species is known to hibernate in the northerly parts of its native range, the reservoir snakes were seen sunning in January.  

WCT made its recommendations (favoring trapping over shooting or the more extreme step of draining the reservoir), but EBMUD never had to implement them. On a subsequent survey in 1999, a new outfit, ECORP Consulting, found large numbers of dead snakes, along with dead red-eared slider turtles, throughout the reservoir. Some of the casualties were reported to have a fungus-like growth in their respiratory tracts, although no further analysis was done and no specimens were preserved. El Niño was blamed, or credited, for facilitating the disease outbreak, if it was in fact a disease outbreak. Snake flu? 

And that may have been it. ECORP says there have been no confirmed water snake sightings at the reservoir since late 1999, despite occasional rumors. Oddly, there are other pockets of alien water snakes elsewhere in the state—southern water snakes near Folsom and Long Beach, northern water snakes near Roseville. But it appears the diamondbacks have died out at Lafayette. 

Which is how it often goes with exotic plant and animal species. They flourish for a while, and then something—predator, pathogen, weather—knocks them back, and sometimes out. Case in point: Vancouver, B.C., used to be overrun with crested mynahs, an East Asian relative of the talking variety. They were the dominant bird of the fast-food parking lot ecological niche. Then they dwindled to a remnant, and a couple of years ago the last of them expired. 

If you’re wondering why reservoir snakes would have been a bad thing, recall that diamondback water snakes eat frogs as well as fish. California’s frogs—red-legged, yellow-legged, Cascade—are on the ropes already. The last thing they need is a new predator. The water snakes would also likely have eaten or otherwise displaced our native aquatic garter snakes. Best to leave well enough alone. 

Every now and then I see a teenager in one of my trees. From a window I thought at first it might be a small UC student locationally adrift, in a striped shirt. A closer look showed it to be a young Cooper’s hawk, glaring down at me in comparably dauntless fashion. Thanks to Joe Eaton’s bi-weekly column, I can guess that it is drawn to the sparrows and finches at the thistle feeder, though the ducks keep an eye skywards when it appears, and my female cat skedaddles into the house. Smaller than the ducks, she is I hope still too large for the crow-sized Cooper’s. 

Predators are not the only problems to beset the gardener. Having finally fenced my vegetables and arranged paths around the raised beds for excellent access, I noticed the turnips behaving oddly, as though they were trying to get out of the ground. Instead of doing what I usually do, hope that time will cure all ills, I did what I recommend to others, dug around the turnips to see what was going on beneath them. 

To my horror, this vegetable bed was choked with fine feeder roots surely put out by the closest tree, a willow, although at a distance of 15 feet and with a pond between tree and vegetables, this seemed unlikely. Could the roots belong to a plum tree, fifteen feet away in the other direction? Indeed, when I finally plucked up courage to look around dispassionately, I realized that trees that a moment ago, it seemed, were mere saplings, had now grown tall enough to cast significant shadows for several hours each day. 

One of the best things about gardening is that in spite of the obstacles that constantly impede efforts, hope springs eternal in the gardener’s breast. For I knew that although I could dig out these intrusive fibrous roots and in their stead place a deep box with a fine wire mesh nailed across the bottom, although I might have to change the location of the vegetable plot, although I might as well re-design the whole garden while I’m at it—although I realized all those things, I knew that the timing was perfect: October. 

October is the start of the year for California plants. The seeds of native flowers that bloom so early in the year are poised to sprout at the first hint of rain. With a new vegetable-growing area of sun-baked clay, autumn is the time for requesting a sack or two of manure from local stables and covering the clay with a nice thick layer of it. Get a truck load if necessary, the stable owners will be thrilled. Top the layer with hay, leaves, grass trimmings and by next March, given a rainy season worthy of the name, the ground beneath will be in superb condition for spring growing. 

It is possible to sheet or trench compost directly in the vegetable bed as a way of increasing the workability of the soil and its nutritional value. For trench composting, a channel is dug along the middle of the bed, vegetable trimmings from the kitchen are placed in it, the earth dug out goes back in, and a layer of mulch is placed on top of that. If dogs or racoons are a problem, put a board over everything, weighted down with bricks. Sheet composting is identical, except that everything is on the surface rather than in a trench. 

When vegetables are grown in the same area year after year, close attention must be paid not just to maintaining an adequate balance of nutrients, but also to the earth’s texture, its tilth. Allowing a vegetable bed to lie fallow for a season, feeding it with manure for nitrogen and organic matter for texture, will help it to catch its breath, so to speak. For related reasons, those of diseases, it is necessary to rotate crops, especially those in the brassicaceae, or cabbage family, and in the solanaceae, in which family are tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes and peppers. A fallow season can be part of a rotation plan. 

Having created a beautifully nourished and textured bed, it will still need overall maintenance, and this is where composting comes into its own. Much has been written about composting, most of it needlessly complex. It is not necessary, for example, to turn compost. Left alone for a year or less (depending on climate zone), microbes, earthworms and insects will do the job of converting kitchen trimmings, leaves, hay and so forth into that brown crumbly stuff sometimes called gardener’s gold. 

Quicker and easier is to use a container with a lid and a few air holes and introduce some red wriggly worms. These consume vast amounts of kitchen and garden material in a short time as they work or should I say worm their way up through it, leaving behind dense, friable, nutrient-rich compost. 

Some foods are unacceptable to worms, such as citrus and tomatoes (too acid). Toothless, they need a little grit, readily supplied by spent potting soil. Delicate rather than leathery leaves, no branches or pungent herbs, but plenty of other organic stuff is necessary to keep worms and kitchen trimmings well covered and at a moderate temperature. Water very lightly if all seems dry. 

Because it is so valuable, I use worm compost sparingly. After all, in theory my planting area has been well prepared. Just before setting out baby vegetables, I dig a little of this rich compost just under the surface of the bed, water it, and let it sit for a day. After setting in the seedlings, I side dress them with a little more. Then I water the plants, or puddle them in, as we rustics say. 

Compost provides balanced nutrition that plants can draw from according to their needs. It is a far cry from the forced feeding of liquid inorganic fertilizers such as superphosphate which, while producing sudden, even spectacular growth, does nothing for the texture of the soil. In no time at all, the earth will revert to clay. 

“Organic material” is by definition anything that once had life. This does not mean that anything can go into the wormless compost pile, either. Even if I ate it, I would not compost meat. It deteriorates quickly and attracts rats. Nor bread, for the same reasons. Fish on the other hand breaks down fast if covered with earth. As American Indians know, a fish head buried in a bed of corn is a natural fertilizer. I cannot imagine composting oil or, as an organic gardener, paper products, which contain chemicals or other additives of unknown kind. Eggshells add calcium, banana skins potassium. Sawdust and wood shavings, so long as they do not derive from plywood, and with the addition of a bit of nitrogen from manure to help decomposition, will soon improve texture. 

If only my teenage tree sitter were a vegetarian! But then I suppose he or she would only create yet another problem in the vegetable garden.  

TUESDAY, NOV. 6 

“An Unreasonable Man” A film on Ralph Nader at 6 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, Oak at 10th St., Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2022. www.museumca.org 

Independent Policy Forum: New Directions for Peace and Security with Carl P. Close, co-editor, “Opposing the Crusader State: Alternatives to Global Interventionism” at 7 p.m. at The Independent Institute, 100 Swan Way, Oakland. Cos tis $10-$15. RSVP to 632-1366, ext. 118. 

“Summer of Love” film clips presented by Richie Unterberger at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6100. 

Rabbis for Human Rights in Israel with Rabbi Arik Ascherman at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Ave. 549-9447. 

Writer Coach Connection Volunteers needed to help Berkeley students improve their writing and critical thinking skills from noon to 3 p.m. To register call 524-2319. www.writercoachconnection.org 

“What Not to Buy for Children for the Holidays” A panel discussion with Susan Gregory Thomas and Peggy Spear at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mills College Student Union, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com  

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 

End the Occupation Vigil every Tues. at noon at Oakland Federal Bldg., 1301 Clay St. www.epicalc.org 

Street Level Cycles Community Bike Program Come use our tools as well as receive help with performing repairs free of charge. Youth classes available. Tues., Thurs., and Sat. from 2 to 6 p.m. at at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

Community Sing-a-Long every Tues, at 2 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. 524-9122.  

Family Storytime at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043.  

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 7 

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Colloquium with Galen Cranz “Body Conscious Design” at 1 p.m. at Wurster Hall, Room 315A, UC Campus. All welcome. laep.ced.berkeley.edu/events/colloquium 

“HybridStand” film on new sustainable ideas, and talk by Mark Godley of Big City Mountaineers, at 6 p.m. at Green City Gallery, 1950 Shattuck Ave. 814-937-8216. 

American Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation from 10 a.m. to noon. Advanced sign-up is required; please call 594-5165.  

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. Heavy rain cancels. 548-9840. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center. Sing for Peace at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www. 

geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, NOV. 8 

¡Salud! A documentary on Cuba’s health care system at 7 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. Discussion follows. Tickets are $5-$10. 601-0182.  

Presidential Mix It Up with representatives from the campaigns of the major Democratic candidates from 6 to 9 p.m. at Arsimona’s, 561 11th St. at Clay, Oakland.  

“Prayer of Peace: Relief & Resistance in Burma's War Zones” with Nyunt Than, president of the Burmese American Democratic Alliance, with a short film on KAren Refugees at 7:30 p.m. at Newman Hall, 2700 Dwight Way at College. 

Alameda Measure A Debate on “Should Article XXVI “Multiple Dwelling Units” of the City of Alameda’s Charter be changed to exclude Alameda Point” at 7 p.m. in the social hall of Twin Towers United Methodist Church, 1411 Oak St., Alameda. www.alamedaforum.org 

FRIDAY, NOV. 9 

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 Kate van Orden on “Court Ballet and Politics in 17th Century France” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St.526-2925.  

“He Stood Up: The Mistrial of Lt. Ehren Watada” A documentary at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. 

Berkeley Women in Black weekly vigil from noon to 1 p.m. at Bancroft and Telegraph. Our focus is human rights in Palestine. 548-6310. 

Womansong Circle Paticipatory singing for women at 7:15 p.m., potluck at 6:45 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Small Assembly Room, 2345 Channing. Suggested donation $15-$20, no one turned away for lack of funds. 525-7082. 

Introduction to Fearless Meditation at 7 p.m. at Center for Urban Peace, 2584 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Donation $20-$30. 549-3733. 

SATURDAY, NOV. 10 

“Global Citizenship vs a New Arms Race: Can Peace Trump Hegemony?” with Jan Kavan, former Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic at 7:30 p.m. at the Alameda Free Library, Confernce Room A, 1550 Oak St. at Lincoln, Alameda. Free, donation accepted. www.alamedaforum.org 

Vegetarian Cooking Class “Thankgiving for the Birds” featuring squash dishes, root vegetables, biscuits and apple cake, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $55 plus $5 material fee. to register call 531-COOK. www.compassionatecooks.com 

March for Environmental Justice to stop Chevron’s proposed refinery expansion. Meet at noon at the Richmond BART Station parking lot to march to the Chevron refinery. 232-3427.  

Solo Sierrans Sunset Walk An hour walk, on paved trail, wheel chair accessible, through the Emeryville Marina Meet at 3:30 p.m. behind Chevy's Restaurant, by picnic tables. 234-8949.  

NAACP Berkeley Branch Meets at 1 p.m. at 2108 Russell St. 845-7416. 

Modern Tantric Art Auction to benefit Himalayan Health Care. Preview at 6 p.m., auction at 8 p.m. at Yga Mandala, 2807 Telegraph Ave. Free, but RSVP requested. auction@tantricart.net 

Immigration Law Clinic Volunteer attorneys available to answer questions from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, Temescal Branch, 5205 Telegraph Ave. at 52nd St., Oakland. Sponosred by the Charles Houston Bar Association. 205-9593. 

Promote your Music Using the Internet with Sarah Manning from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Community Room, 3rd flr., Berkeley Public Library 2090 Kittredge. 981-6233. 

“Creative Reuse Workshop” for Oakland students, (K-12), from noon to 4 p.m. at The Museum of Children’s Art, 538 Ninth St., Oakland. 465-8770, ext. 310. 

East Bay Waldorf School’s Annual Harvest Faire with games, crafts, entertainment and food from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3800 Clark Rd., El Sobrante. 223-3570. 

Ongoing Vocal Jazz Workshop from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin at the corner of Masonic, Albany. 524-6797. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

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

Car Wash Benefit for Options Recovery Services of Berkeley, held every Sat. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lutheran Church, 1744 University Ave. 666-9552. 

SUNDAY, NOV. 11 

Friends of the Alameda Wildlife Refuge Workday Help us prepare habitat for California Least Terns, which breed at the refuge. Meet at 9 a.m. at the main refuge gate at the northwest corner of former Alameda Naval Air Station, Alameda. Sponsored by Golden Gate Audubon Society. 843-2222. 

“Julia Morgan: Her Unique Place in American Architecture” with author Mark A. Wilson at 2 p.m. at the Seldon Williams House in Claremont Court. Tickets are $25. Sponsored by Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assoc. 841-2242. www.berkeleyheritage.com 

Green Sunday: Venezuela Report-back at 5 p.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th, Oakland. Sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. 

Laternenfest and Parade Join a tradition German celebration for the whole family from 5 to 7 p.m. at Bay Area Kinderstube Preschool, 842 Key Route Blvd (off Solano Ave), Albany. 

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

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with Ruth Richards on “Creativity and Spirituality in Everyday Life” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Sew Your Own Open Studio Come learn to use our industrial and domestic machines, or work on your own projects, from 5 to 9 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Cost is $3 per hour. 644-2577.  

MONDAY, NOV. 12  

Berkeley Green Mondays A presentation on “Green Car Alternatives” with Bradley Berman at 7:30 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 848-4681. berkeleygreenmondays@gmail.com 

“Converting Plants to Fuel” with Chris Somerville of LBNL/Energy Biosciences Institute at 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St. 486-7292. 

“Stopping Wal-Mart” Joe Feller and Paul Seger discuss strategies for keeping Wal-Mart out of our communites at 7 p.m. at the Wiki Wiki Hawaiian BBQ, 9935 San Pablo Ave. 526-0972.  

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

Dragonboating Year round classes at the Berkeley Marina, Dock M. Meets at 6 p.m. For details see www.dragonmax.org 

ONGOING 

Donate the Fruit From Your Fruit Trees We will gladly pick and deliver your fruit to community programs that feed school kids, the elderly, the homebound and the hungry. The fruit trees should be located in or very near North Berkeley and the fruit should be organic (no pesticides) and edible. This is a volunteer/ 

grassroots thing so join in!! Please email northberkeleyharvest@gmail.com or 812-3369. 

Bay-Friendly Gardening Offers Discounted Compost Bins to Alameda County residents. In addition to the bins, they also offer free workshops, videos, brochures, and answers to your compost questions. To order a bin call the compost information hotline 444-7645. 

CITY MEETINGS 

City Council meets Tues., Nov. 6, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900.  

Commission on the Status of Women meets Wed., Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190.  

Downtown Area Plan Advisory Commission meets Wed., Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7487. 

Police Review Commission meets Wed., Nov. 7, at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 981-4950.  

Commission on Early Childhood Education meets Thurs. Nov. 8 , at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5428. 

Community Health Commission meets Thurs., Nov. 8, at 6:45 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5356.  

West Berkeley Project Area Commission meets Thurs., Nov. 8, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7520.