Once known for tolerance toward the downtrodden, Berkeley turned a corner Tuesday night, advocates for the homeless and mentally ill say, when the City Council voted to give police greater power to cite people lying on city sidewalks. 

The business community, however, claimed victory in the eight-month fight to pass Mayor Tom Bates' Public Commons for Everyone Initiative, saying that people with inappropriate street behavior trample on the right of shoppers to enjoy the public commons and for merchants to earn their living. 

There was general agreement among homeless advocates, business representatives and the council around the initiatives' provision to further restrict areas where smoking is allowed. 

Most those filling the council chambers – largely advocates for the poor and people with psychiatric disorders – also agreed with the section of the initiative that promises future enhanced services to the mentally ill, based on raising new parking meter revenue. 

A number of advocates for the homeless, however, said the services – including increasing the number of public toilets and their hours and funding supportive housing units – should have been delivered long ago and without the punitive measures. 

It's like an abusive husband speaking to his wife, attorney Osha Neumann told the council: "I'll support you, but you have to accept this abuse." 

The vote on the initiative came in three parts: 

• A resolution that requires one warning (down from two) and no complaint to enforce a ban on sleeping in public places, with "enforcement to remain a low priority between 10 p.m. and 6 p.m." passed 5-3-1, with Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmembers Laurie Capitelli, Betty Olds, Gordon Wozniak and Darryl Moore voting in favor, Councilmembers Dona Spring, Kriss Worthington and Max Anderson voting to oppose and Councilmember Linda Maio abstaining. 

• An ordinance that broadens prohibitions on lying on the sidewalk from a few commercial districts to all commercial districts was approved 6-2-1, with Bates, Moore, Maio, Capitelli, Olds and Wozniak voting in favor, Worthington and Spring opposed and Anderson abstaining. 

• A third vote approved greater restrictions on where people can smoke and passed, in concept, the idea that parking meter fees will be raised and that various services such as toilets and housing will be provided. The council will address the specifics of this ordinance later. This vote passed 8-0 with Anderson abstaining. 

Ed Roberts Campus 

In other business the council unanimously approved $2 million to fund the Ed Roberts Campus that included $1.5 million previously set aside for a sound wall between Aquatic Park and the freeway. The council promised to search for new funds for the sound wall. This approval along with other funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and BART means the $45 million project can move forward. 

Oak grove tree-sitters had cause for gratitude on Thanksgiving when over 80 Berkeley community members and students, led by the “Berkeley Grandmothers for the Oaks,” defied UC police orders, risked arrest, and successfully delivered bulging bags of food and jugs of water to the arboreal protestors. 

“This is truly the power of the people. We used our group spirit and group strength to do what none of us could have done alone,” said Karen Pickett of the Bay Area Coalition for the Headwaters. “They’ve been arresting people one by one, so this was just perfect that we could come together as this group with grandmothers in the very center of the circle and send sustenance up to the tree-sitters,” added Pickett. 

The communal act of civil disobedience followed an intense week of arrests at the grove. UC police arrested at least eight people in the preceding three days for allegedly providing various forms of support to the tree-sitters, such as delivering food and water or audibly warning tree-sitters of the presence of police. On Wednesday alone, UC police arrested five people including three students, one of whom spent the holiday in Santa Rita Jail. All five were held on $10,000 bail. 

As I arrived at the oak grove at 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, I saw elderly women and other community members on the sidewalk pathway in front of the fenced-in grove lugging delectable acorn pies, stuffing, canned food, and hefty five-gallon water jugs. Officer Baird read Alameda County Superior Court Judge Richard Keller’s order to the crowd and threatened to arrest them if they sent supplies into the trees. 

Lesley Emmington said she wanted to bring an offering to the tree-sitters even if it meant risking arrest. 

“If you came here at nighttime, this is like a Guantanamo situation. There are strobe lights [pointed at the tree-sitters] ... the young people are being harassed. What’s the problem with me coming and bringing food?” said Emmington. 

After milling about for a few minutes, unsure of how to proceed in the face of police threats, several community members began to spontaneously sing and play the fiddle. The crowd gathered into a circle, hugging each other tightly, and sang Civil Rights Movement-era activist songs modified to fit their cause. 

“Ain’t gonna let no Regents turn us around, turn us around … Gonna save the oak grove trees,” they sang in an ever-strengthening voice, building the confidence of all assembled. 

A few feet from where I stood, environmental advocate Redwood Mary turned to face one of the UC policemen, Officer Moody, and reminded him that in the city of Berkeley, it’s illegal to cut down any of the targeted trees in the grove. She said UC was ignoring the will of Berkeley voters. 

“We’re going to jail because we’re standing for our own laws … We’re not doing civil disobedience, we’re here to enforce the law,” said Redwood Mary. 

Mary then added in a soft, kindly voice, “I’m asking the police, will you allow me to give a pie? What would happen to me if I give food to another human being who’s hungry on Thanksgiving?” 

Officer Moody kept his gaze averted and replied, “You heard the judge’s order.” 

Tree-sitters then dropped a rope into the human circle, and several people attached a bag of food. With at least eight pairs of hands touching the bag, the message was clear: “If you’re going to arrest one of us, you’ll have to arrest all of us.” 

“This food and this water are weapons of dissent,” said Redwood Mary. “This is an act of terrorism,” joked Matthew Dodt of Copwatch. “Providing pie is not a criminal act,” called out Pickett. 

The officers did nothing as tree-sitter Shem pulled the first bag up into the trees, accompanied by cheers from the crowd. After that, it was a free-for-all, as people sent up the rest of the food and water. 

Soon enough, the police officers at the scene visibly relaxed and the tension dissipated. By the end of the gathering, police and community members exchanged wishes of “Happy Thanksgiving.” 

The tree-sitters had another message to remind everyone of the significance of the day. 

“Thanksgiving is an imperialist holiday to celebrate the conquest of America. But Thanksgiving is also a day for sharing food and getting together with friends, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re turning Thanksgiving into a day of resistance to power, and I feel great,” proclaimed tree-sitter Millipede. 

The community members had come at the behest of tree-sitters, who posted flyers across town imploring supporters to “respect Native sovereignty, protect this Native American burial ground, and resist the starvation of protestors.” 

Many people offered gratitude to the police for not interfering. When questioned, the police offered no explanation for their decision not to follow through on their previous threats. 

“Even though there were laws that were violated, we decided to just observe,” said Moody. Security guards videotaped the proceedings. 

“By picking and choosing who they’re going to enforce the judge’s order against, UCPD is committing selective enforcement, which is illegal,” Jake Gelender of Copwatch later told me. 

Asked if she was afraid of being arrested, Redwood Mary responded, “Yes, I was. But sometimes you have to walk through your fear to do the right thing…. I trusted that the Creator would protect us and that we would be successful since we acted in nonviolence and from a place of love and spontaneity.” 

When told that officers might yet arrest her and others at a later date, Redwood Mary said, “That may happen, because the police have been arresting people from the streets when they’re not near the grove. This is how the University is wasting our taxpayer money. This fence cost over $80,000! This double fence with barbed wire is a human rights violation.” 

Following the success of the Thanksgiving food delivery, UC Police introduced a new threat. On Friday night, a UC police officer told me that he would arrest anyone who had a conversation with the tree-sitters, no matter what the topic. The officer disagreed with Copwatch representative Matthew Dodt’s argument that speaking with the tree-sitters was constitutionally protected free speech. The officer stated that speaking to tree-sitters is, according to UC’s lawyers, a violation of Judge Keller’s order. While the order forbids specific actions such as “placing objects” in the trees and “climbing” in the trees, it says nothing about “speaking” to the tree-sitters, nor does it imply that such conversations are forbidden. 

A birthday party to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the tree-sit will be held at the oak grove Sunday, Dec. 2 from noon to 6 p.m. The Berkeley Grandmothers for the Oaks have announced plans to send more food and water to the tree-sitters on Sunday at 2 p.m. They’ve asked community members to bring lots of non-perishable food, mostly vegan, and water jugs with lids and handles. 

Matthew Taylor is a UC Berkeley Peace and Conflict Studies student and a founding member of the Free Speech Free Trees Student Coalition. 

If the Berkeley City Council gives its approval tonight (Tuesday), the city will award a $50,000 sole source contract to the nonprofit corporation Build It Green to prepare the groundwork for a pilot solar project. 

The council first meets at 6 p.m. in closed session with police union representatives, then meets in open session as the Joint Powers Financing Authority at 6:30 p.m. to address the lease of the property at 711 Harrison St. to Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency.  

At the regular 7 p.m. meeting, councilmembers will consider: new laws prohibiting smoking and lying down in commercial areas; $2 million to fund the Ed Roberts Campus; asking the Planning Commission to investigate giving permit priority to those who want to build “green”; and approving the Downtown Berkeley Business Improvement District budget.  

Public hearings include fee increases for ambulance services and establishing stricter building codes. A report on mistakes made in dredging at Aquatic Park could be taken up by council or simply left for council review on the “information” calendar. 

Smart Solar 

The Department of Energy has given Berkeley a $200,000 grant—which the city and other entities must match—to put together a pilot project intended to get a dozen Berkeley homes and businesses to use solar energy. The idea is for the city to assemble contractors, equipment, financing and expertise in the field of solar energy and offer installation cheaper and with more confidence than average homeowners or business owners could do independently. 

Based on the resources and information compiled during the pilot, the project is expected to take off on its own after a couple of years, bringing some 200 new solar energy systems on line in Alameda County annually. 

At tonight’s meeting, the council will consider the project’s initial $50,000 contract—$30,000 from the grant and $20,000 from the city’s general fund—for a sole source contract to Build It Green (BIG) to “convene potential suppliers, contractors, service vendors and permitting agencies….” 

If approved, BIG would also advise the city on products, services and financial instruments and develop technical specifications, procurement strategies and policies.  

BIG is a nonprofit organization located at 1434 University Ave. that merged in 2005 with the Green Resource Center, founded by the city and others in 1999. 

Generally, the city is required have contracts bid competitively. But according to Energy Officer Neal De Snoo, only BIG is qualified to do the job. 

Build It Green “is a natural for this. It is uniquely qualified for this. It’s basically what they do—assemble stakeholders in energy and green building. No other agency does that,” De Snoo told the Planet on Monday. 

According to the contract, the recipient will, among other duties, plan a kick-off event. The contract identifies some of those asked to participate:  

• Sustainable Berkeley, an organization that includes the university (the Haas School of Business and UC Berkeley Capital Projects), “green” consultants and health-care businesses, the Community Energy Services Corporation (Sustainable Berkeley’s fiscal agent), the Ecology Center and other nonprofits, and commercial realtors with environmental credentials.  

• UC Berkeley’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, in the university’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Energy and Resources Group.  

• UC Berkeley's Haas Business School (also represented through Sustainable Berkeley). 

• PG&E, represented through East Bay Energy Watch (comprised of Berkeley, Oakland and various nonprofits), managed by the Berkeley-based for-profit corporation QuEST, Quantum Energy Services & Technologies, Inc. 

• The California Energy Commission. 

• The Department of Energy’s technical assistance staff. 

Asked if the kick-off will be open to others than named participants, De Snoo said, “It will probably be public.” 

This item appears on the council consent calendar and could be approved without discussion. 

Laws to curb inappropriate behavior 

Mayor Tom Bates’ Public Commons for Everyone Initiative (PCEI) is back before the council, where it has been discussed several times.  

This time, the council will be asked to approve three new laws—two adding restrictions to lying on the sidewalk and one further restricting smoking. Councilmembers will also address, in concept, a 25-cent hike in parking meter fees to eventually pay for services aimed at people whose behavior is considered inappropriate in shopping areas. 

The no-lying ordinance expands laws prohibiting lying on the street to all commercial areas. It requires a second reading, then kicks in a month from that time. 

A resolution, according to the city clerk’s web page, expresses council policy or direction to the city manager and generally takes effect upon adoption. It may be changed by a subsequent resolution. Also on the council’s agenda is a new resolution, replacing a prior one, which allows police to cite people lying on the sidewalk with one rather than the present two warnings and drops the need for the citation to be complaint-driven. Enforcement is to be “a low priority” between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. 

The second ordinance proposes a ban on smoking on specific streets in commercial districts, in parks and near child care and senior centers. 

The initiative is supported by the Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Berkeley Association, who say the inappropriate behavior hurts business, but is opposed by advocates for the homeless and mentally ill who say persons with inappropriate behavior need help rather than punishment. 

Charged with soliciting input, PCEI Consultant Lauren Lempert held a Sept. 29 town hall meeting. Most attendees opposed the punitive aspects of the initiative. 

She took the concept to a number of commissions. Three wrote reports for the council. 

The Homeless Commission recommended increased social services, but concludes: “the commission cannot support the enforcement aspects of the initiative without the opportunity to review them in the context of a fully developed plan that includes new housing and social services opportunities.” 

The Peace and Justice Commission report says sufficient laws exist to address problematic behavior. “The Commission believes that approval of the PCEI would have detrimental impacts by further disenfranchising homeless and mentally ill individuals,” the report says. 

And the Community Health Commission report expressed approval of the recommendations to increase public bathroom facilities and other services, but requested the initiative to also address the over-concentration of liquor stores in south and west Berkeley. 

“The commission is concerned about the excessive penalties for behaviors associated with being homeless, to enforce PCEI without first identifying and developing needed resources to assist homeless persons,” the CHC report says. 

The council will be asked to approve, in concept, proposals for services, and funds to be allocated from the $1 million in new meter revenue. Services may include: 

• Bathrooms: $142,000: expand hours of existing bathrooms, add porta-potties, provide stipends for businesses allowing non-customer bathroom use; 

• Housing and support services for 10 to 15 people: $350,000. 

• Centralized intake services to direct homeless persons to available shelter beds: $60,000. 

• Job training and education for youth 18-25: $100,000. 

• Help for homeless persons to access disability, Medi-Cal and food stamp benefits: $78,000. 

• Public seating, trash receptacles: $60,000. 

• Host program: $200,000: hires individuals to be “eyes and ears” on Telegraph Avenue and downtown, “assisting community members and merchants in dealing with low-level offenses,” and assisting tourists. 

• Signs for no-smoking ordinance: $10,000. 

Ed Roberts Campus 

Two million dollars is proposed for the Ed Roberts Campus, the nonprofit office/fitness/childcare complex for disabled people slated for part of the east Ashby BART station parking lot; $1.5 million is to be taken from California Department of Transportation funds, originally intended for a sound wall between Aquatic Park and the freeway. Another $500,000 is to be taken from the city’s capital budget. The funding is to match other monies, completing $9 million needed to break ground on the $45 million ERC, proposed 12 years ago.  

The transfer of funds faces opposition from Aquatic Park advocates, who say that money should be reserved for its originally intended purpose. 

Two years of grueling and sometimes acrimonious effort comes to an end Thursday night when the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee holds its final meeting. 

Created in the negotiated settlement agreement between the City of Berkeley and UC Berkeley, DAPAC was given a two-year mandate to craft a new downtown plan that allows the university significant off-campus expansion room in the heart of the city.  

Members are currently reviewing the 107-page, eight-chapter draft of the document they’ll hand off to the Planning Commission when Chair Will Travis pronounces his final “We’re adjourned.” 

Most of the chapters were adopted with little controversy, save for the two that embody one of the city’s deepest fissures—preservation versus high-rises. 

On one side are strong advocates of development, who see more and taller buildings as a solution to the city’s economic, housing, transportation and social services needs and ecological aspirations. 

On the other side are those who say that encouraging more modest development in keeping with the city’s historic character—which they say is one of Berkeley’s strongest attractions—will meet many of those same needs, but in a more environmentally friendly manner. 

Broader trends 

The tension carries over into the broader scope of Berkeley politics, in a city where voters in recent years have tended to favor developer arguments and their well-funded political campaigns over the aspirations of the highly vocal advocates of a smaller-scale dream. 

Four years ago, 80 percent of Berkeley voters rejected a radical height limitation initiative that would have lowered maximum heights on new buildings in major commercial districts from the current five-story limit to a maximum of three. Developers funded the opposition, which outspent proponents by more than 10-1. 

After the City Council approved a revised, more-developer-friendly landmarks ordinance last spring, preservationist proponents of the city’s existing ordinance made a few updates in the existing ordinance and submitted it as an initiative, losing by a much narrower margin 57-43 margin against a campaign again well-funded by development interests.  

But the same City Council majority which typically sides with developers in key development battles appointed a downtown planning committee that sided with preservationists in key votes over the downtown skyline. 

Each councilmember appointed two members, with Mayor Tom Bates appointing the chair—an unusual move in a city where committees and commissions typically elect their own chairs. 

It was the mayor’s own appointments which embodied the committee’s subsequent schism, with Chair Travis eloquently arguing the more developer-friendly position, while environmentalist Juliet Lamont spoke for the preservationist consensus. 

While committee members split during discussions over the historic preservation chapter, which incorporated design policies, when it came to a final vote Oct. 17, the preservationist-friendly chapter won by a 20-0-1 vote, with only Planning Commission Chair James Samuels abstaining. 

But the tensions remained, and the gesture of unanimity offered on preservation collapsed in the face of the land use policies that would set the scale and mass of development in the city center for at least the next eight years. 

The division was starkly revealed Nov. 7, when a motion that would have allowed up to two controversial 16-story “point towers” fell on a 10-11 vote. Later in the meeting, members voted 13-7-1 for lower heights.  

They reaffirmed their decision Nov. 12, when members voted 11-1-8 to keep most downtown buildings at 85 feet, while allowing four at 100 feet, four more at 120 and two high-rise hotels which could rise 100 feet higher. 

The towers, offered in a set of alternative proposals prepared by the planning staff, triggered strong opposition and an outpouring of public comments, most rejecting the idea of adding a thicket of new buildings to downtown as tall as the Wells Fargo and Great Western (né Power Bar) buildings. 

What next? 

Thursday night’s meeting—which begins at 7 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center at 1901 Hearst Ave.—will feature public comments, votes on any holes and inconsistencies in the chapters and a final chance for members to comment on their two-year journey and the resulting plan. 

The final session will be the committee’s 48th meeting. Many faces have changed since DAPAC first convened on Nov. 21, 2005, and during its two-year course, members have served on a range of subcommittees tasked with drafting individual chapters and policies. 

The longest-serving subcommittee, staffed by four members each from DAPAC and the Landmarks Preservation Commission, met 15 times between August 2005 and last month to draft the Historic Preservation & Urban Design chapter. 

The last committee formed drafted the Land Use chapter, the result of a decision by members who rejected Travis’ designation of Victoria Eisen as chair. Subcommittee members themselves picked Rob Wrenn. 

In the end, the subcommittee left it up to DAPAC itself to provide height limitations after members failed to achieve the super-majority vote Wrenn had sought.  

From here, the plan will move on to city staff for wordsmithing and then to the Planning Commission, which has had four representatives on DAPAC in the persons of Chair Samuels and commissioners Gene Poschman, Helen Burke and Patti Dacey—the latter three on the DAPAC majority but often in the minority on the commission. 

Then the plan moves forward to the City Council, though the university has reserved the right to challenge provisions it doesn’t like. 

The council must adopt the plan and certify its accompanying environmental impact report by May 25, 2009, under terms of agreement ending the city’s lawsuit against the university, unless City Manager Phil Kamlarz and Chancellor Robert Birgeneau agree to a continuance. 

Any dispute would be resolved in court, but pending a final judicial decision, the settlement allows the university to move forward with development plans incorporated in the Long Range Development Plan which sparked the city’s legal action. 

Delay would also allow the university to cut its possible $1.2 million in annual payments to the city by $15,000 for every month of delay. The payments from gown to town are intended to compensate the city for the university’s impacts on city infrastructure and services.

The Oiled Wildlife Care Network closed down its bird rescue center at the Berkeley Marina Monday and moved operations to the International Bird Rescue and Research Center in Cordelia. 

Hundreds of oiled birds have been collected at the rescue center since Nov. 9—two days after the Cosco Busan crashed into the Bay Bridge and spilled 58,000 tons of bunker fuel into the bay—and then driven to Cordelia for treatment. 

“We are finding less and less oiled and dead birds everyday,” Mark Ragatz, shoreline unit manager for the East Bay Regional Park District, told the Planet Monday. “We haven’t found any today. From now on, the sick birds will be taken to Cordelia directly.” 

Ragatz added that the East Bay regional parks were still closed to water traffic. 

“We are working with the county environmental health department to reopen less affected areas such as Crown Beach in Alameda and Point Pinole in Richmond,” he said. “We will be testing and sampling the water to see if it is safe. Several areas are still being cleaned up. HazMat professionals have been deployed from Miller/Knox in the south through Eastshore State Park, Point Isabel and Middle Harbor. There is still oil on the rocky shoreline but it looks much better.” 

The professionals deployed by The O’Brien’s Group, the private recovery firm hired by Cosco Busan owner Regal Stone Ltd. to respond to the oil spill, were still wiping the rocks along the Berkeley Marina free of oil Monday.  

The city had stopped deploying volunteers and handed over clean-up efforts to the professionals last week. 

“We are glad to have the contractors there,” said Berkeley city spokesperson Mary Kay Clunies-Ross. “It’s definitely less of a crisis but we are still being careful about health and safety. Right now we are holding tight to see what kind of clean-up happens.” 

Jeff Topic, site supervisor for the HazMat crew contracted by O’Brien’s, said his men had been working around the clock to address the problem. 

“We didn’t stop even on Thanksgiving Day,” he said. “There’s no holiday for us. We keep going every day from 7 a.m. as long as there is light and it’s safe to work. Things are better than before but it’s up to the Coast Guard to come and tell us when to stop. We’ll probably be here for a few more days.” 

The oil is being collected in lined dumpsters before being disposed of at a hazardous waste site, Topic said. 

The city is still under an emergency order and people are being asked to stay 50 feet away from the shoreline as directed by the proclamation issued by City Manager Phil Kamlarz. 

Although boat traffic is being allowed at the Marina, boat owners have been asked not to wash their boats. 

A plan to safely decontaminate boats and marinas is being developed by Unified Command. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has prohibited fishing for human consumption until Dec. 1. 

The Berkeley Aquatic Park lagoon was opened to rowing, canoeing and kayaking Wednesday. 

“The tide tubes have been closed for almost two weeks now, and that seems to have kept the lagoon fairly clean compared to the bay,” Deputy City Manager Lisa Caronna said in a statement. “We’re glad to see Aquatic Park being used again.”

Extensive interviews, discussions and reviews marked the two-day visit to Berkeley High’s International High School by the International Baccalaureate Organization as part of an application to accredit the program within the institution’s International High School last week. 

School officials and faculty members described the site visit as positive. 

“It went extremely well,” said International High School English teacher Jared Baird. “I was really excited to talk to the team ... They turned out to be very friendly.” 

As a smaller learning community program within the high school, the International High School focuses on international studies. The four-year interdisciplinary curriculum—which began with the ninth-grade in 2006—focuses on global culture, history, artistic expression, and political and economic systems. It now consists of two years, ninth and tenth grade.  

If it is accepted as a member of the International Baccalaureate Organization, the school plans to adopt the organization’s Middle Years Program and Diploma Programme, expanding into grades 11 and 12. Students would transition from the Middle Years Program into the comprehensive Diploma Program after the 10th grade. 

Students will be able either to earn certificates in any of twelve areas of study or to pursue the full IB Diploma with examinations in six subjects. 

All courses from Berkeley International High school will meet the California Content Standards and UC/CSU entrance requirements. 

Based out of Geneva, Switzerland, the International Baccalaureate Organization has programs across 2,145 schools in 125 countries, including seven Bay Area schools. 

The three-member team from New York, Bend, Ore., and Vancouver, B.C., said they could not comment about their visit. 

“We are hoping to find out about the accreditation in March,” Baird said. “Right now there are 240 students per class at the freshman and sophomore pre-IB levels. After we get accredited, we hope to get 1,000 students enrolled in International Baccalaureate.” 

Although the program has met with encouragement from many in the school community, some have concerns. 

“It’s great because it’s part of an effort at Berkeley High to break the school down into knowable communities where the students know the teachers and the teachers know the students,” said Cathy Campbell, president of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers.  

“But as a union leader I worry about sustainability,” she said. “There’s a lot of energy and excitement about the program at first, but the question we need to be asking is how can we sustain the program. If the idea is to articulate the grades and evaluate the program, then it will take a lot of extra time for teachers as well as professional development. If Berkeley High is successful in getting accredited, that’s going to be a significant responsibility for the district and the school board.” 

School board president John Selawsky said that the team had asked questions about curriculum and staff development. 

“I see a lot of positives,” he said. “It’s a great match for Berkeley High. The school has an international cosmopolitan atmosphere which is true of Berkeley as well.”  

Proposed first by Berkeley High’s head of African-American Studies department Robert McKnight and former chair of the history department Doug Powers in 2001, the International Baccalaureate program was reintroduced by principal Jim Slemp as an alternative and partner with Academic Choice in 2005. 

After being approved by the Berkeley Board of Education in 2006, it was included as a part of the school’s lottery system. 

“It wasn’t our first choice since we didn’t know about it when we moved from Connecticut to Berkeley last year but it would have been,” said Angela Price, Berkeley High college councilor and parent of an International High School sophomore. 

“I have been in college preparation for 20 years and read a zillion essays and looked at transcripts from all over the world,” she said. “International Baccalaureate students have always impressed me. They are well rounded and are sensitive to other cultures as well as their own. I don’t want my child to live in a bubble.” 

Baird was busy distributing copies of a short story by South African writer Nadine Gordimer to his Global Literature and Composition class Tuesday. 

“The ninth-grade literature is tied to their history class,” he said. “Right now they are learning about Sub-Saharan Africa. The curriculum is based on best practices and the latest research. In addition to being really challenging, it’s amazingly accessible and built on student choice. It develops skills for post secondary work.” 

Miya Sommers, a sophomore at the International High School, said that the program had been her first choice. 

“I am half-Japanese and I wanted to get a global understanding of the world,” she said while waiting to be interviewed. “You don’t just listen to lectures or take notes like in Academic Choice but get an in-depth thinking of everything. I am learning about England and Africa at the same time.” 

Berkeley High School teachers are sent to attend workshops in Texas, Los Angeles and Georgia for training in the International Baccalaureate program. 

“The curriculum is modeled after the English system,” said Berkeley High science department co-head Aaron Glimme, who will teach chemistry to International Baccalaureate students. “A lot of work is graded by the teachers and then sent to the organization. The IB standard for chemistry is different from AP level courses. IB courses are broader and have more organic chemistry whereas AP is more focused and doesn’t cover as many topics. As a result teachers have to adapt to a different set of material.” 

Glimme, who was trained to teach the International Baccalaureate program in New Mexico, said that the site team had been pleased with the science department. 

The newcomer visiting the Berkeley Marina for the first time, the long-time local sunbathing on the lawn at Willard Park, the dog walker at Ohlone Park, the sunset viewer at Indian Rock, the softball player at San Pablo, the romantic in the Rose Garden, or the new mother watching the children at Virginia-McGee tot lot—all may be excused in the midst of their enjoyment, for perhaps imagining that such places have been around as long as Berkeley itself. 

In fact, Berkeley’s park and recreation spaces are the complex physical expression of an uneven, decades-long, tapestry of civic and neighborhood effort, planning, cooperation and struggle. That story is set forth, starting this week, in a history exhibit. 

“The Legacy of Berkeley Parks: A Century of Planning and Making” opens this Thursday, Nov. 29, at the Berkeley Art Center in Live Oak Park, at 1275 Walnut St. The free event will start at 7 p.m. and includes a talk about Berkeley parks and the exhibit by Professor Louise Mozingo, one of the organizers. Thereafter the Art Center is open Wednesday through Sunday, 12-5 p.m. 

The exhibit was conceived and assembled by Mozingo and Marcia McNally, her colleague in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at the University of California, working with one of their graduate students, Sadie Mitchell (né Graham). 

“We were contacted by members of the Parks and Recreation Commission in 2004, asking for some assistance in thinking about new ideas for Berkeley parks,” says McNally, also a long-time West Berkeley resident. 

After initial research, they realized that the city was on the cusp of meaningful park anniversaries, particularly the centennial of the 1907 acquisition of the 12-acre San Pablo Park site from developer Mason-McDuffie. 

“Let’s think of it in broader terms of where we’ve been, and also look at the future,” became the new motivation, McNally says. She and Mozingo enlisted Mitchell who had approached them seeking a research theme. 

As park history research began, McNally and Mozingo also used Berkeley park issues, particularly the future of the Santa Fe right-of-way, as the focus of studios and classes they taught at Cal. 

After considering a park fair or centennial banners, they finally settled on planning the current exhibit. After it closes at the Berkeley Arts Center, it will move to the City’s Addison Street windows downtown for a display starting in April 2008. Then, hopefully, a third venue in West Berkeley or the waterfront area will exhibit it. 

The exhibit, McNally says, isn’t meant to simply revisit past events and accomplishments, but challenge Berkeley to think more comprehensively about its park future. 

“We haven’t had a real park plan for nearly 50 years,” she notes. “Let’s think about the whole city.” 

One of the early impediments to a Berkeley park system was the fact that many residents viewed the State University grounds—the current UC Berkeley campus—as a public park that they didn’t have to pay for. 

But, as the exhibit text notes, “when Berkeley grew by 30 percent after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the prospect of a city without open space loomed.” 

The next year the San Pablo Park site was acquired. In 1909 a municipal Playground Commission was organized. In 1914, initial improvements to San Pablo Park were finished, and the city also acquired the beginnings of Live Oak Park. 

Codornices Park acquisition came in 1915, along with the first of Berkeley’s comprehensive park planning documents, the “Report on the City Plan for the Municipalities of Oakland and Berkeley” by planner Werner Hegemann. 

Hegemann, an exponent of the City Beautiful Movement, laid out in lavish written, graphic, and visual detail a vision for better residential neighborhoods and business districts, transportation networks, and open spaces in the central East Bay. 

He proposed an elaborate bay shore park (albeit on landfill, and separated from mainland Berkeley by a dredged ship channel and industrial zone) and park corridors following the natural creek channels from hills to bay. 

“The Hegemann plan was completely spatially related to the geography of the place,” McNally says, praising “the remarkable ecological sinuousness in it.” 

Berkeley didn’t immediately realize any of those visions, but did work hard at more modest park development for the next decade, adding the Grove playground and James Kenney Park in the flatlands and several small hill parks, and populating them with elaborate public programs. 

“If I could live in any era of park making in Berkeley, it would be the late ’20s and early ’30s, McNally says. Despite the arrival of the Depression, “there was so much exuberance, so much commitment to making happy families, happy children.” 

There were thousands of schoolchildren in Berkeley then, outnumbering the older student population at the university. Berkeley had robust recreation programs, playgrounds, and activities and nearly two million recorded user visits annually to its parks programs by 1939. 

“The Depression was catastrophic, but the New Deal was a boon to Berkeley’s parks,” the exhibit text notes. “After years of modest municipal allocations, federal money provided for physical improvements and new recreation staff to organize an amazing range of activities—everything from team sports to pet shows.” 

Federal New Deal money and labor assisted with the creation of three of Berkeley’s most memorable open spaces—Aquatic Park, what would become the Berkeley Yacht Harbor and the Berkeley Rose Garden. 

The post-war era saw a focus on neighborhood parks, including the creation of the Virginia-McGee Totland in 1948. A Long Range Recreation Plan in 1945 projected playground development linked to the numbers of children in neighborhoods. 

In the 1950s and ’60s there were several park projects and a revised Park and Recreation Plan—Berkeley’s last—completed in 1957. The city undertook house moving and demolition and street closures to create neighborhood parks such as Willard. Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” brought federal dollars to Berkeley for urban renewal, and eight mini-parks and tot-lots were developed in the same era that impromptu and unofficial People’s Park emerged. 

In 1974, Berkeley voters approved Measure Y, which provided $3 million for new parks. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw the planning and creation of Cedar Rose Park, Strawberry Creek Park, Ohlone Park on land that had been cleared to build BART through north-central Berkeley, and the purchase of the old Santa Fe Railroad right-of-way. 

The era was marked by considerable neighborhood and community group participation in park planning, a new ecological focus in open space planning, and the germination of one national trend, creek-daylighting. 

Berkeley’s park history also has several instances where opportunities slipped away. In the early 20th century a failed bond election cost Berkeley the opportunity to buy what became the Thousand Oaks residential tract. 

A few years later Werner Hegemann proposed his linear “Midway Plaisance” park stretching through much of Albany and Berkeley. It never came to pass. 

As the 1930s began, another election failed to generate the supermajority necessary to buy Wildcat Canyon from the water district, although a later regional effort in which many Berkeleyans participated brought that land into the East Bay Municipal Park District. 

“People could never get over the fact that Berkeley was so stingy in the early years and missed opportunities to acquire land,” McNally says, but a considerable amount of public open space has actually been preserved through later efforts. However, “if you have the luxury of looking back 100 years, Berkeley has achieved a lot of things,” in park development.  

If jurisdictional labels are set aside, she notes, the open space system within and surrounding Berkeley, including not only the city’s parks but the Eastshore State Park, regional parks in the hills, public school properties, and the university’s undeveloped slopes and canyons, comes close to approximating those early visions of a network of expansive open spaces seaming and embracing the city. 

Park history of course is also, fundafundamentally, the history of people who work to create and sustain the parks. The exhibit brings attention to some of those who have been obscured by time, particularly Charles W. Davis, the city’s superintendent of recreation in the pre-World War II era. 

Often, “the staff is forgotten,” McNally says, although they are largely responsible for the development, operation, and success of parks in the long periods between high-profile plans. 

She also notes, among others, the contributions of current assistant city manager and former parks director Lisa Caronna, creek advocate and longtime Park Commission member Carole Schemmerling, former parks director Bill Montgomery, city and regional planning professor Fran Violich—“such a symbol of park advocacy and play space”—and “the whole group of landscape architects who worked for the city through Measure Y.” 

What of the future? Although much recent attention has been given to physically large park projects, including the East Shore State Park and playing fields for youth sports, McNally believes that opportunities lie with small-scale open space efforts and connectivity in the interstices of the built-up city. 

“We have a lot on our minds as Berkeleyans—public health, pedestrian planning, the quest for a food policy, and the moment in time of a 100-year anniversary of parks,” McNally says. “Surely these things can work together. Why not a plan for the city outside the state’s requirements of the general plan that envisions these things together, and maybe picks up additional agendas of path wandering, community gardens, creek daylighting, downtown design?” 

She cites as examples of recent successes the complex of small open spaces in North Berkeley, including the Karl Linn Garden and Berkeley Ecohouse, that “now read as a park,” and the “completely brilliant infill park idea” of neighborhood activists, including designer Mike Lamb, that resulted in the tiny 0.2 acre Halcyon Commons in south central Berkeley. 

She also admires the small paved area at the west end of recently renovated Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Park that functions equally well as a periodic festival venue and an informal, but heavily used, skateboard area. 

Elsewhere, McNally says, “Louise and I are completely charmed by the traffic roundabouts” that have recently been built throughout Berkeley, each contributing a few hundred square feet of planted space to calm and soften street intersections. 

And future park-like spaces may be equally untraditional. A survey in part of northwest Berkeley found, McNally says, quite a few residents who didn’t necessarily want park space “for the traditional nuclear family or recreation” but would like to have urban “open spaces to hang out, but where you don’t have to pay money to sit in a chair and drink coffee.” 

Photograph: Courtesy Berkeley Historical Society 

Future baseball great Billy Martin (in cap) playing in Berkeley’s James Kenney Park in 1935. 

Betty Inclan has been appointed the new president of Berkeley City College, the Peralta Community College District announced last week. 

Inclan, the associate superintendent and vice president of academic affairs at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, will take office Jan. 1. She is the permanent successor to Judy Walters, who abruptly resigned last August after guiding the school from a collection of downtown Berkeley rental spaces under the name of Vista College to its current newly built Center Street campus. 

Dr. Wise Allen has since served as Walters’ interim replacement. 

“Dr. Inclan brings a wealth of knowledge about California’s community college system, and its student population, to Berkeley City College,” Peralta College District Chancellor Harris said in a prepared statement. “Her experience in academic and program administration, fundraising, teaching, and higher education issues, are tremendous assets for BCC and the Peralta Community College District.” 

Inclan, a Cuban native who was raised in Florida, has worked in the educational field for 27 years, including stints at Kent State, Miami Dade Community College, and Modesto Junior College. 

A proposed deal between the Port of Oakland and CBS Outdoor to put a second 20-by-60-foot billboard near the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza has sparked opposition from at least one local environmental group, but the Oakland city councilmember who opposed the first billboard says she lacks the power to prevent it. 

“My position on this issue has been consistent,” Councilmember Jane Brunner said by telephone this week. “I’m not thrilled about people seeing a barrage of billboards along I-80 as they enter the City of Oakland from the Bay Bridge. I believe that all billboards put up on city property should go through a careful review by City Council, and that includes a review of the financial agreements. But I lost that vote when it came up before City Council, and I haven’t yet been able to convince a majority of councilmembers of my position.” 

If approved by the port’s board of commissioners at its Dec. 4 meeting, the amended agreement will allow CBS to build the second billboard some 500 feet before the first on the right-hand side of I-80 leaving the toll plaza. Payment to the port will be the same as for the first billboard: $157,500 per year. 

Clear Channel also owns a billboard in the vicinity. 

The Port Commission’s Dec. 4 meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the port headquarters near the ferry terminal on the far western end of Jack London Square. 

CBS’s original toll plaza billboard raised considerable controversy when it was installed earlier this year because it included an electronic display that some observers said interfered with night driving. The permit application for the second billboard does include an electronic display, but instead CBS has proposed “a traditional double-sided backlit structure.” 

The original billboard agreement also included a side deal between CBS and then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown for a $6 million contribution from the billboard company to Brown’s heavily subsidized Oakland School for the Arts Charter school. 

Consideration of the amended Port-CBS agreement was originally scheduled for the Port Commission’s Nov. 6 meeting, but was pulled at the request of Port Executive Director Omar Benjamin. 

Waterfront Action Executive Director Sandy Threlfall spoke briefly in opposition to the proposed second CBS toll plaza billboard at the commission meeting, even after the item was pulled, and later expanded on her remarks by telephone. 

“I don’t think billboards belong on the city’s waterfront,” Threlfall said. “In addition, the concern I have is that the East Bay Regional Park District is planning a park in the area that will be overlooked by the new billboard. How many parks do you know of that have billboards over them?” 

Threlfall said that the port’s wetlands properties are ceded to the port by the State of California in trust, “and should be used for wetlands trust purposes only.” Saying that billboards do not fit that use, Threlfall said, “Every time they use this land for non-trust purposes, the public loses access to a treasured public asset.” 

Brunner, chair of the council’s Community and Economic Development Committee, originally tried to assert city control over the placement of billboards on port property in 2005, but her proposal for City Council approval of port billboards lost in her own committee that summer on a 1-3 vote (Councilmembers Henry Chang, Larry Reid, and Ignacio De La Fuente voting against Brunner’s proposal). 

In September 2005 Brunner tried again, winning council approval for council talks with the port “towards a negotiated agreement on regulating outdoor advertising in the port area.”  

However, no memorandum of understanding between the port and the city was ever finalized and signed, and the port retained control over the placement of billboards on port property. 

UC Berkeley’s building boom continues to move forward, with calls for bids issued to three companies for the renovation of seven buildings housing 800 students at Clark Kerr Campus. 

The university’s contractor in a second major project, the Li Ka-Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Services, is also seeking subcontractors on that project—which will follow demolition of Earl Warren Jr. Hall, which now occupies the site.  

The university plans a $130 million retrofit for Clark Kerr Campus, a 500-acre Spanish Colonial Revival complex in the Berkeley hills which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a city landmark. 

Three construction firms have prequalified to submit bids by the Dec. 5 deadline: Plant Construction Company and Nibbi Brothers Associates, both of San Francisco, and Sundt Construction of Tucson. All three firms have experience with large historic properties. 

Sundt built the original housing, schools and hospital for Los Alamos National Laboratory during World War II and relocated a historic London bridge to the Arizona desert, while Plant has restored and renovated the Fairmont Hotel and the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Nibbi has done retrofits and repairs to San Francisco’s Pier One and the Spreckels Temple of Music in Golden Gate Park. 

The university presented preliminary plans to the city in May, and the project under bid will see the full renovation of seven of the 20 buildings on the campus, plus additional repairs and renovations to the facility’s steam plant and auditorium building. 

University officials have assured the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission that all work will conform to the complex’s historic character, save for some alterations of pathways and railings needed to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Those latter alterations are being conducted as a separate project from the housing renovation. Seismic retrofits of some of the campus’s dozen other buildings have already been completed. 

According to the prospectus seeking bids, work will be conducted in two phases, each totaling 97,000 square feet and each expected to take 10 to 11 months. 

Bids will be opened on the afternoon of Dec. 5. 

McCarthy Building Cos. of San Francisco, which won the contract for the Li Ka-Shing building last August, is now seeking subcontractors to bid on construction of that project, which the university has estimated will eventually cost $117 million. 

The firm is seeking companies which can do everything including provide utilities, hang drywall, install elevators and slap on the final coat of paint on the structure, which will rise to more than 100 feet near the crescent at the western edge of the main campus at Oxford Street. 

Deadline for bids is Dec. 28. 

Demolition of Earl Warren Jr. Hall removes from the campus map the name of the Supreme Court Chief Justice whose tenure saw a revolution in the nation’s laws governing race and civil liberties. 

Warren, a California native who had served as Alameda County District Attorney and California Attorney General before his elevation to the high court by President Dwight Eisenhower, presided over the court from 1953 to 1969. 

His name is still memorialized at the UC Berkeley Law School in the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity, which was created two years ago to conduct policy research on issues of law, race, ethnicity and justice. 

Information on the bids for these and other university projects may be found at www.cp.berkeley.edu/AdsForBids.html 

Berkeley Planning Commissioners will face a light agenda when they meet Wednesday night, with the only action item a decision to set a public hearing. 

The hearing to be scheduled will focus on a proposed amendment to the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance, which sets requirements for housing developers to build or fund units for low-income tenants as part of their larger projects. 

Jordan Harrison, the city planning staffer who serves as commission secretary, said the ordinance is the first in a series of proposed changes to the ordinance the commission will take up in coming months. 

The measure under consideration would exempt mixed-use projects in residential neighborhoods with four or fewer living units from any obligation to provide low-income units. 

Another proposal that will come to the commission is presently before the city’s Housing Advisory Commission, and will set fees for high-end condominium developers who want to provide payments in lieu of including affordable housing in their projects. 

The funds would go towards building affordable housing projects elsewhere. 

Commissioners will also continue their discussions aimed at formalizing new ordinances to set city standards for density bonuses awarded housing projects in commercial districts. 

State law requires an additional size bonus for developers who build affordable units as part of their projects—the subject of considerable tension in debates over projects like the “Trader Joe’s” apartments-over-commercial project planned for the northwest corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and University Avenue. 

Critics have charged that current city policy allows developers to build structures that overpower the residential neighborhoods behind commercial thoroughfares, while developers argue that the size increases are needed to create economically viable projects. 

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way—a block from the site of the proposed Trader Joe’s project.  

Residents in the vicinity of Magee Avenue and Blake Street became very much alarmed yesterday afternoon over the actions of a stranger. In fact, they became so alarmed that the marshal’s office was called upon to investigate the case and protect the people from what they supposed was a maniac—and all because the man was so thoughtless as to sit down on the edge of the sidewalk and remove one of his shoes. 

—Berkeley Daily Gazette, July 16, 1905, as cited by Richard Schwarz in Berkeley 1900. 

The Public Commons for Everyone Initiative, targeting people with behaviors some consider inappropriate for shopping areas, comes back to the City Council Nov. 27. It’s a proposal to enact restrictions on lying on the sidewalk and smoking in commercial areas, and it also calls for raising $1 million from increased parking meter fees to fund, in part, services for difficult-to-serve people with mental illnesses and drug and/or alcohol addictions. 

The controversial set of laws and possible services, proposed in various iterations over seven months by Mayor Tom Bates, pits some mental health and homeless advocates, who say the plan further criminalizes homeless and mentally ill persons, against many in the business community who argue that people with inappropriate behaviors keep shoppers away. 

The proposal the council will debate on Nov. 27 satisfies neither those in the business sector who wanted stronger prohibitions against inappropriate street behavior, nor advocates for homeless, addicted or mentally ill people who called for increasing services without the stick. 

If the plan were approved next week, lying on the sidewalk in all commercial areas would be banned, with police citing violators after one warning. The citation would not have to be complaint-driven. (The current law applies to fewer streets and requires two warnings and that the citation is complaint-driven.) 

The proposed law says enforcement would remain “low priority” between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., except when there is a complaint against the individual or there is a history of chronic problems of persons “lodging without consent” in a given location. 

Smoking would be banned on commercial-area sidewalks. 

Roland Peterson, chair of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce board and executive director of the Telegraph Avenue Business Improvement District, says the proposed ordinances are weak.  

“Originally, I wanted to see no long-term sitting on the sidewalk,” he said. “So many people sit on the sidewalk and accost [others].”  

The council removed sidewalk sitting from Bates’ original proposal, saying it would reconsider it later in light of results from the other restrictions. 

Peterson had argued there should be no warning—“like most laws,” he said—before an officer cites people lying on sidewalks. 

Peterson was also critical of the no-smoking-in-commercial-areas component. “The issue is not smoking,” he said, explaining that smoking restrictions fail to address the central issue: inappropriate street behavior.  

While the lying and smoking restrictions would kick in 30 days after the ordinances get a second reading—Dec. 11 if the council gives its approval Nov. 27—the proposed services, if approved, would take longer to get started. 

If the council votes in concept on Nov. 27 to increase the parking meter rate from $1 to $1.25, the city attorneys still have to write a resolution to that effect to come back to the council at a later date. The meters would then have to be recalibrated and the increased funds collected to pay for any new services. 

Meanwhile, the council has yet to decide what services to provide and who would provide them if the money became available. 

The programs proposed in the staff report for Nov. 27, prepared by Management Analyst Lauren Lempert, who was hired at $7,200 per month to put together the initiative, include increasing the number and availability of public toilets, providing housing and support services to 10 or 15 of the most difficult to serve chronically homeless persons, expanding services for older teens and young adults, providing advocacy for people to obtain disability benefits, and more. 

Responding to the proposal, the Homeless Commission said in a report to the council that the concept remained too undeveloped to consider. “The Commission cannot support the enforcement aspects of the initiative without the opportunity to review them in the context of a fully developed plan that includes new housing and social services opportunities,” the commission wrote. 

Public bathrooms 

While the initiative underscores the need to treat public urination and defecation as an infraction, which police are more likely to enforce than a misdemeanor, the plan before the council Tuesday says the city will write no new laws prohibiting public urination or defecation until a sufficient number of public toilets becomes available. 

The initiative proposes spending $142,000 to increase the number of public bathrooms available, including new “porta-potties,” and increasing public toilet hours. The bathrooms would be cleaned through a work program designed to put unemployed people to work, the staff report said. 

The initiative includes a “visitor restroom program” on Telegraph in which business owners would open their restrooms to the public and the city would pay a stipend to them for restroom upkeep. 

Supportive housing 

For the Homeless Commission, Councilmember Dona Spring, Osha Neumann, attorney and advocate for homeless persons, and others, the most important component of any plan to help people with mental health or drug and alcohol issues get off the streets is housing linked to supportive services.  

Spring pointed out that the plan has to take a long-term view—it takes years to stabilize someone on the streets with multiple needs, she said. 

The staff proposal would dedicate $350,000 to housing subsidies and coordinated intensive services for 10 or 15 chronically homeless adults “who are hardest to reach and most likely to [exhibit] problematic street behavior.”  

Spring pointed to the difficulty of selecting which people receive these services, noting that some have been on waiting lists for such services for years. “We need to serve 10-to-15 people one hundred times,” she said. 

No Smoking 

The proposed ordinance expands prohibitions against smoking to include commercial areas, designated by streets, senior centers, health facilities and parks.  

Asked how the new law would affect small-business owners or their employees alone in their shops, who frequently step outside for a cigarette break, Lempert told the Planet that there won’t be “a cop posted outside every store.”  

The ordinance will be enforced by “peer pressure,” she said. “It will be complaint driven.” 

No Lying  

Neumann told the Planet he believes from talking to his clients that as soon as the mayor proposed new laws last spring, police in the Telegraph area stepped up ticketing homeless people for so-called “quality of life” violations, such as lying on or obstructing the sidewalk. 

The Daily Planet submitted a public records act request to see the numbers and kinds of violations being ticketed, but City Manager Phil Kamlarz responded that the data was unavailable: “We were unable to extract the information from our data base due to the way the data entry coding is done,” he said in a Oct. 31 email. (The City Council similarly requested but did not receive this information.) 

Fearing arbitrary enforcement, Spring called the ordinances “punitive” and “a giant step backwards.  

“Even if [the prohibition against lying on the public right of way] is low priority at night, people will still be harassed,” she said, noting that the men’s shelter has a 30-day stay limit. “What do you do when your 30 days are up?” she asked. 

Responding to her own question, she answered: “You go and try to sleep in some doorway.”

Berkeley city officials said that test results for the Aquatic Park dredging spoils showed high but not hazardous lead content. 

W.R. Forde, the contractor hired by the city’s Public Works Department to dredge the lagoon, was responsible for the tests. 

The city’s Public Works Department dredged the lagoon at the north end of the park and unloaded the spoils along the shoreline three weeks ago without requesting a permit from the California State Water Resources Control Board.  

Lauren Jensen, supervising engineer for Public Works, told the Planet Tuesday that the test results were favorable. 

“The soluble threshold limit contamination, which tells you whether the contaminants will leach out of the soil, is below hazardous level,” he said. “So it’s good news. Now it will be taken to a local landfill but I don’t have a plan worked out for that yet.” 

The Planet has requested a copy of the lab results from Public Works. 

The project drew criticism from city officials and local environmentalists because the spoils were discarded on a popular bird-watching site and adjacent to one of the main wading-bird foraging spots. 

The Sierra Club condemned the city’s decision to dredge the lagoon during migratory bird season in a letter to the state Water Board. 

It demanded that the city provide the board and the public with information on whether it had adequate staff and expertise to handle the project. 

“My understanding is that Berkeley is meeting at the site with a biological consultant this week to get her input on making the rest of the work more biologically friendly,” said Brian Wines, who oversees permits for Alameda County at the state water board. 

Laurel Marcus Associates—the consultants hired by the city to advise the Aquatic Park subcommittee on future projects—is reviewing the potential impacts at the excavation site and the temporary placement site. 

“I’ll be looking at what activities can take place at the site to improve it once the project is over,” Marcus said. “We’ve done some of the field work but we won’t comment on anything right now.” 

City Manager Phil Kamlarz said that the city would carry out its own tests to determine if the sludge was toxic. 

“I hope the city will test it independently and not rely on the hired contractor,” said councilmember Darryl Moore, who has demanded an explanation from the city about the project. 

“Getting the sludge tested by the contractors themselves doesn’t really help.” 

The approximately 30 truckloads of spoils near the Berkeley Rowing and Paddling Club have been covered by black plastic sheets and burlap bags to prepare for rain, which could wash contaminants into the water. 

When the decision to dredge at Aquatic Park was made, the city of Berkeley had recently lost its hazardous waste disposal and emergency response contractor, after the state Department of Toxic Substance Control ordered the company’s Palo Alto facility to close and revoked its operating permit in August because of a history of violations and accidents. 

On May 8, when the City Council approved a contract with Romic Environmental Techno-logies Corporation for “disposal of hazardous and universal waste generated by the city and to  

provide emergency response, cleanup and disposal services,” the controversial waste firm was already under investigation by the state’s toxics department for a May 2004 and March 2006 burn incident and June 2006 chemical release and employee burn incidents. 

The state also fined Romic $849,500 in 2005 for improper waste storage.  

The U.S. EPA was investigating Romic’s Chandler, Ariz., facility at the same time for violating federal waste handling and storage laws. EPA’s $97,000 in fines against Romic for violating environmental law came right after the agency shut down the Chandler plant by refusing to grant it a permanent use permit in August. 

The decision resolved EPA’s complaint about a series of emission releases into the air at Romic’s Chandler facility near the Gila River Indian Reservation on April 5 and the company’s subsequent failure to implement emergency contingency operations to mitigate the possibility of a release. 

Although some Berkeley city officials had advised the city’s Public Works department against hiring Romic, the company remained under contract for six months. 

City Manager Phil Kamlarz told the Planet that he had not been aware of Romic’s controversial history. 

“I’ll have to look into it,” he said. 

“The general policy is that until there is substantial evidence about violations, we can’t disqualify the bidder.” 

Jim Mason, the city’s occupational health and safety officer, told the Planet that the city had not conducted any business with Romic during the contract period.  

“Even though they were under investigation it does not mean they are a bad contractor,” he said. 

Mason added that during the time Romic was under investigation by the EPA, it was under a temporary contract with the city for $25,000. 

According to the contract approved for renewal by the City Council in May, Romic had been the city’s primary hazardous waste disposal and emergency response contractor since 2006. The contract was supposed to be extended until 2011 for $450,000, but according to Mason it was never executed. 

In his recommendation to Kamlarz to approve the renewal, David Hodgkins, the city’s director of human resources, said that city staff had “thoroughly examined Romic Environmental Technologies Corporation’s references and credentials” and found it to be a responsible bidder. 

But Cheryl Nelson, manager of EPA's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Facilities Management Office, said the city should have known enough to be wary of Romic.  

“The city would have found out about the ongoing investigations against Romic if they had contacted the State Department of Toxic Substance Control,” she said. 

“We don’t endorse any hazardous waste contractors but the city could have checked up on their permit and asked questions ... There’s a lot that could have been done.” 

Nelson added that city officials should have been aware of the June 2006 incident when 4,000 gallons of hazardous chemicals reacted with each other while being loaded into a tanker truck at Romic’s Palo Alto facility and created a cloud over two acres of nearby wetlands. 

“It was pretty serious,” she said. “It was all over the news.” 

Councilmember Darryl Moore told the Planet on Thursday that he was unaware of Romic’s history. 

“This is all new information for me,” he said.  

“It’s extremely disturbing that the city did not act with due diligence to check the company’s background. There are lots of hazardous waste contractors out there. There is no need for the city to deal with a firm that is under investigation.” 

Massachusetts-based Clean Harbors Environmental Services acquired certain assets of Romic in June but excluded its Palo Alto and Chandler, Ariz. facilities. 

A California Superior Court judge has voided the City of Oakland’s approval of the controversial Oak-to-Ninth development project, sending the project back to the Oakland Planning Commission and the City Council for a new round of environmental impact report certification and commission and council votes. 

In a 55-page decision issued last Friday, Judge Jo-Lynne Q. Lee agreed with the claims of a coalition of neighborhood and environmental activists that the Oak- to-Ninth EIR had not adequately addressed the issues in several key areas, including cumulative impact of past and present projects, traffic impact, and seismic risk mitigation. 

At the same time, the court ruled that the City of Oakland had properly considered alternatives in its EIR before concluding that much of the massive Ninth Avenue Terminal, the largest existing building on the Oak-to- Ninth site, could be largely dismantled for the project.  

The ruling comes at a time when Oakland will be losing its longtime Director of Planning, Claudia Cappio, who oversaw the original approval process in the Oakland Planning Commission and in the Oakland City Council for the Oak-to-Ninth Project. A spokesperson in the Oakland City Administrator’s office confirmed that Cappio has turned in her resignation, though a date for her leaving her position has not been set. 

“For me, personally, it’s going to be a devastating loss,” Public Information Officer Karen Boyd quoted Adminstrator Deborah Edgerly as saying. “It’s going to leave a big hole in our operation.” Boyd called Cappio a “great presence” and “an incredible worker.” 

Cappio, who was recently injured while riding her bicycle, was not available for comment. 

Last week’s Superior Court ruling was on two lawsuits filed sep 

arately in the summer of 2006 but later consolidated, one by the Coalition of Activists For Lake Merritt (CALM) and Oakland architect progressive and activist Joyce Roy, seeking to overturn the EIR, and one by the Oakland Heritage Alliance seeking to keep the Ninth Avenue Terminal from being essentially destroyed even if the project itself were approved. 

The Oak-to-Ninth project, which seeks to rebuild a stretch of aging Oakland waterfront property along the estuary just south of Jack London Square, was controversial from its inception, and became an issue both in last year’s mayoral election and in the later District Two election between incumbent Pat Kernighan and challenger Aimee Allison. 

• 

The final language of the ruling will be issued sometime after mid-December, and the parties will have 60 days after that date to file an appeal. The lead attorney for Oak To Ninth developer Signature Properties, Steven M. Bernard of Balgley & Bonaccorsi of Newark, California, was out of the office for the rest of the week and unavailable for comment on whether Signature would encourage the city to appeal. 

The ruling comes after some 25,000 pages of documents from the city’s original planning approval process were submitted to the court, as well as over 200 pages of written legal argument submitted by all sides. 

The Superior Court ruling comes barely a week after plaintiffs voluntarily dropped a separate lawsuit that challenged the Oakland City Attorney’s throwing out of petitions calling for a vote on the Oak To Ninth Project. 

A spokesperson for Mayor Dellums said the mayor has not yet read Judge Lee’s decision, which was issued on Friday but not available until late Monday, and said that the mayor would not comment until he had the chance to read the report and consult with staff. 

Alex Katz, Communications Director in the City Attorney’s office, said that “in legal terms, it’s a split decision, but a win for the city.” Katz said that the court agreed with the city on 14 of the specific EIR complaints made by the plaintiffs, and with the plaintiffs on 10 issues. “We see that as positive,” he said, adding that he believed the city can resolve the EIR complaints upheld by the court “relatively easily.” 

Katz conceded, however, that the decision means a new Planning Commission and City Council vote, which now gives opponents a second chance to gather signatures for a ballot referendum if they don’t like the outcome. 

Meanwhile, the EIR lawsuit plaintiffs themselves had always argued that they did not want to stop the Oak To Ninth project entirely, but wanted modifications. The judge’s ruling now gives them that opportunity. 

Because of that, the EIR lawsuit plaintiffs were ecstatic about Judge Lee’s ruling. 

“I’m feeling great. I’m dancing,” Joyce Roy said. “It’s such a bad project on so many levels in so many ways.” 

Naomi Schiff, president of the Oakland Heritage Alliance, said that while “we’re sorry that the judge doesn’t think the salvaging of the Ninth Avenue Terminal is important,” she added that “my understanding is that all the city approvals are voided, and that this gives everyone a chance to take a second look at this project, including the terminal.” 

And even Oakland League of Women Voters president Helen Hutchinson, who had sounded drained and disappointed last week when announcing the Oak-to-Ninth Referendum Committee’s decision to withdraw its separate lawsuit, was decidedly more upbeat in reacting to the EIR victory. 

“In many ways, the ruling justified our decision to call for a referendum on the project.” Hutchinson said. 

Arthur Levy of Levy, Ram & Olson LLP of San Francisco, the Oakland Heritage Alliance attorney, said that he was “disappointed with respect to the Ninth Avenue Terminal,” but “extremely pleased, overall, at the outcome of the ruling. We’re hoping that the project will be improved as it comes back through the planning approval process.” 

Levy said that he had not yet talked with OHA officials about the possibility of appealing the court’s Ninth Avenue Terminal findings to the California Appeals Court. 

And Brian Gaffney of San Francisco, attorney for CALM and Roy, also said he was pleased with the ruling, adding that the decision left Signature Properties with three options: going back through the EIR process, filling in the sections that the judge ruled were incomplete or unaddressed, appealing the ruling, or trying to work out a settlement with the plaintiffs that could bring a modified form of the project to the Planning Commission and City Council. Gaffney called any Signature appeal “risky.” “An appeal could take a year and a half to get through the Appeals Court,” he said, “and if they lost, they would still have to go through all of the city processes again to get approval for the project.” 

If the proposed 3,100-residential unit, 200,000-square-foot commercial space development Oak-to-Ninth project does go back through the Oakland planning process, it will find a landscape distinctly different from when the project was approved on a 6-0 City Council vote in the summer of 2006. 

In 2006, Jerry Brown was mayor of Oakland. Brown was a strong supporter of the Oak-to-Ninth Project, and considered it a key part of his plan to bring commercial development and 10,000 new residents to the general downtown Oakland area. Ron Dellums is mayor of Oakland now, elected on a campaign platform of bringing all sides to the table in deciding development issues, as well as using the city’s development approval powers to promote the city’s diversity. 

Asked to comment on Dellums’ views on the development and diversity issue during last year’s mayoral campaign, president Mike Ghielmetti of Signature Properties, the developer of Oak-to-Ninth, told the Oakland Tribune a little dryly “There’s a great deal of concern in the development community. The remarks were not taken well.”

Editor’s note: This is the second of two articles on concerns arising from UC Berkeley $500 million biofuel program. Part 1 ran in the Nov. 20 issue. 

Supporters of the $500 million biofuel research pact between UC Berkeley and British oil giant BP have compared it to the Manhattan Project. 

And one inevitable parallel stems from the visions of cheap, world-saving energy supplies promised from the technology spawned by that massive World War II effort to build war-ending nuclear weapons. 

“Our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter” declared Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chair Lewis L. Strauss to science writers in 1964, promising as well as the end of “great periodic regional famines in the world.” 

And all of it the gift of nuclear power. 

The AEC, eloquent promoter of nuclear power in the 20th century, was later renamed and elevated to cabinet status as the Department of Energy, today the ultimate sponsor of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where the BP-sponsored Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) will be headquartered. 

It’s the very same lab was the site of critical discoveries at the dawn of the atomic era, further cementing the Manhattan Project legacy. 

But a look backward at the history of atomic energy reveals a different and far more complex story, with a darker legacy woven in. 

While nuclear reactors do supply a significant portion of Europe’s electricity, the atomic legacy has also created massive contamination and hazards. Chernobyl and Three Mile Island weren’t factored into the original equations, nor the legacies of radiation-contaminated water and farmlands and the threats of cancer and long-term debilities. 

So too the promised energy bonanzas flowing from the Berkeley and Illinois labs of the Energy Biosciences Institute may have other legacies, perhaps those raised by critics such as UC Berkeley scientists Miguel Altieri and Ignacio Chapela. 

They and other scientists and social researchers warn of biological hazards and charge that lands which grow food to feed hungry billions in the Third World will be co-opted by corporate giants to sate the fuel demands of American vehicles, leading to grave social consequences. 

Land and patents 

Critics of what EBI and its proponents call biofuels use another word to describe fuels harvested from planted crops: Agrofuels. 

Environmental activists and supporters of indigenous people and the poor campesinos of Latin America charge that large-scale growing of genetically engineered crops for fuels have already scarred the global landscape, threatened critical food supplies and led to shootings of indigenous peoples who resist the powerful owners of the vast plantations of South America. 

Soy plantation owners of Paraguay—the people behind the 2005 shootings witnessed by a UC Davis doctoral student—are recent Brazilian immigrants who have been buying up small tracts and consolidating the land into same kinds of plantations already thriving in their former homeland. 

Brazilian government raiders earlier this year freed more than a thousand slaves on plantations where sugar cane is grown to produce ethanol, currently the world’s leading agrofuel. 

Meanwhile, Monsanto has found itself in confrontations with Latin American countries where it contends that its patented pesticide-resistant soy strains are being planted illegally on biofuel plantations without payment of royalties to the North American patent holder. 

That St. Louis-based company is also a major funding source for the private research company created by Chris Somerville, executive director of EBI. 

Critics contend that the high prices paid for patented seeds of Monsanto and other gene-tweaking companies are too high for small farmers, driving them from the land and paving the way for a new era of giant latifundia. 

During a June breakfast meeting of the United States Energy Association, Berkeley nuclear physicist Dan Kammen, who sits on EBI’s executive committee, said that BP had already funded three Berkeley students to head to India and Africa in search of native plants—“germ plasm,” in Kammen’s words—that might serve as new fuel crops. 

Kammen told the gathering that “from the beginning,” EBI researchers would be “looking at the social dynamics that you’ve got to work with, not against, to make sure the fuels that you start to work on are supported by communities (and) lead to better food security.” 

Kammen’s own lab is in Nairobi, Kenya. 

U.S. land worries 

As for the U.S., EBI’s Somerville told the gathering that most crops for domestic biofuel production would be grown “east of the Mississippi [where] there is adequate rainfall to grow very highly productive species.” 

That focus was the reason that led UC Berkeley and LBNL to team up with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), in the heart of America’s farm belt. 

While EBI backers say the farmlands will be marginal for food crops, the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations warn that Acting Secretary of  

griculture Chuck Conner has announced that he is thinking of opening up some of the country’s most environmentally sensitive protected lands to farming because of the push for agrofuels. 

Conner’s department may allow farmers to withdraw from the 22-year-old Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) without incurring the currently mandated penalties. 

Farmers have currently enrolled 34 million acres of easily eroded land in the CRP program, acreage which environmentalists say provides critically needed wildlife habitat. 

Crops and GMOs  

The major research effort of EBI seeks an economical way to make fuels from plant fiber, rather than the more easily refined sugars found in the juices of such crops as corn, soybeans and sugarcane—currently the main staples of ethanol production. 

They also seek more efficient fuels than ethanol, which is considerably less energy-charged than gasoline and other petroleum distillates. 

The EBI’s project relies heavily on genetic modification to produce both the “feedstock,” as fuel-makers refer to crops, and the microorganisms they plan to engineer to break down the complex sugars in plant fibers for refinement into fuels. 

While Somerville has focused on switchgrass, Steve Long, another member of the EBI executive committee, focused on another grass, miscanthus, in his lab at UIUC. 

“Steve has calculated that, in his plots in Illinois, that on an annual basis he’s getting about two percent of the solar energy fixed by the plants into useful energy,” said Somerville. 

If production proves feasible at those levels, he said, “we’re talking slightly more than one percent of the terrestrial surface to meet all human fuel needs. That’s why so many of us feel optimistic about the long-term potential of the field.” 

But research projects aimed at creating genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have emerged as a stormy political issue across the globe because they give ownership of the stuff of life to corporations which create an economy of scale that favors massive plantations in place of traditional small holdings. 

Other concerns focus on the wisdom of large-scale introduction of man-made genes into a vastly complex biosphere, while others worry that GMOs could produce unknown forms of illness. 

EBI boss Somerville has ridiculed GMO health fears, contending that the worst result that's ever happened “has been a mild rash,” while opponents cite reports of intestinal ailments in GMO-fed animals killed to provide meat for human tables. Others point to the infiltration of GMO strains into native foodstuffs, an issue which almost cost Chapela his job at UCB. 

Economic pressures resulting from GMO rice strains in India have led to suicide, and Australia currently bans GMO crops, while three million Italians just signed a petition calling for a ban on GMOs in their country. 

But GMOs have played little part in the media coverage of EBI. 

Critical questions 

While the EBI proponents say they are confident they can develop crops that will reduce the global emissions of the greenhouse gasses cited as the key factor in the ongoing global warming crisis, other scientists aren’t convinced. 

Leading biofuel critics include Rajendra K. Pachauri, chair of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change—the organization which shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore. 

The two best-known American biofuel critics are UC Berkeley’s Tad Patzek and David Pimentel of Cornell University. 

They have been joined by Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), who has urged immediate adoption of standards that ensure that biofuel crop production doesn’t lead to destruction of more rain forests. 

Forests in Steiner’s native country of Brazil have been cleared to make way for fields planted in genetically modified soybeans and for sugarcane. 

Steiner also told BBC news that biofuel producers should be required to prove their fuels don’t produce more carbon dioxide emissions than they eliminate. 

Burning of forests to make way for palm trees for biofuel production have sent CO2 emissions soaring in Indonesia, as well as destroying the habitats of endangered species, including the orangutan. 

Meanwhile, BP is hedging its bets. On Nov. 5 the company announced that it was funding collaborative research at Arizona State University on transforming photosynthetic cyanobacteria into a feedstock for high energy transportation fuels. 

While no dollar amount was revealed, the university described the project as “significant.” 

BP also provides $1 million a year to the University of Texas as part of energy consortium which hopes to develop microscopic “nanosensors” to map oilfields. 

The Berkeley Board of Education will meet in closed session Monday to screen applications for the position of superintendent of the Berkeley Unified School District. 

The search for a new superintendent began in September after current district superintendent Michele Lawrence announc-ed her retirement. She will leave the post Feb. 1. 

The district hired Mission Viejo-based Leadership Associates to conduct the recruitment process, which started with a community meeting. The application period closed on Nov. 5. 

“We got a good strong and diverse pool of candidates,” said board president Joaquin Rivera. “One of the best the consultants have seen in years.” 

After the board screens the applicants they will conduct interviews on Dec. 8 and 9th. After the final candidate is approved, dates will be set to visit his or her district. 

The board will then announce the name of the candidate to the community. 

The district has come under criticism from some community members and organizations for carrying out a closed selection process. Board members said the success of the search depends on its confidentiality. 

For more information on the search see www.leadershipassociates.org.

What’s nice about book reviews is that, well done, they turn a monologue into a dialogue. It takes a certain amount of chutzpah for an author to reveal his thought processes and his conclusions on the printed page, and even more to submit to the judgment of his peers about whether or not he got it right. At our house we’ve been planning for a while now to form opinions about two new books by two Bobs, Robert Reich, now a Berkeley snowbird who teaches at UC’s Goldman School of Public Policy in the months when Cambridge is unpleasant, and Robert Kuttner, who’s still mostly an Easterner. They’re co-founders of The American Prospect, a worthy if sometimes dull journal of opinion populated mostly by center-left thinkers with a Boston background who have a lingering affection for the Democratic Party in some of its manifestations.  

The American Prospect (which now likes to call itself TAP to seem trendy) put the two new books head to head in a recent issue. Bob R. (Supercapitalism) and Bob K. (The Squandering of America) made a valiant effort to turn the seemingly minor differences in their analyses of what’s wrong with America into the political economists’ version of a Battle of the Bands, with predictable results. Both of us, the publisher and I, read it, or more precisely tried to read it and gave up in the middle because we (well, OK, I) kept falling asleep. Neither of us is a great fan of economics, often called the dismal science. He’s too much of a scientist to be persuaded by the often flimsy math many economists use to support their theories, though he does love Brad DeLong’s web site. I’m much more interested in social and cultural questions than in money.  

Someone gave him the Reich book for his birthday. Both of us really do intend to read it, but we haven’t gotten around to it yet. Then we heard the author on a talk show last week, and tried to figure out what the central premise was. But the questions asked were not probing enough to uncover the theme, beyond what the title and subtitle—Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy and Everyday Life—suggest.  

Just when we were thinking that we’d really have to get around to reading the book, and to reading Bob Kuttner’s book to boot, the New York Review of Books came in the mail, right in time for the long weekend. In a review titled “The Wrecking Ball of Innovation,” Tony Judt skillfully engages Professor Reich in a pointed dialogue about the relationship between capitalism and democracy, and particularly about the reliance on economic growth which has come to characterize much of what is sometimes called “progressive” thinking in the last 30 years. He notes that “...the relationship betwen capitalism and democracy (or capitalism and political freedom) should not be taken for granted: see China, Russia, and perhaps even Singapore today. Efficiency, growth, and profit may not always be a precondition or even a consequence of democracy so much as a substitute for it.”  

He characterizes Reich’s central thesis as the conflict between a “civic” identity and an “economic” one. He quotes what he calls a Reich sound bite: “As citizens [we] are sincerely concerned about global warming: as consumers and investors [we] are actively turning up the heat.” And he questions it: “... the real reason Robert Reich’s ‘citizen’ might be confused about global warming is not because he is also a part-time investor and consumer. It is because global warming is both a consequence of economic growth and a contributor to it. In which case, if ‘growth’ is good and global warming bad, how is one to choose? Is growth a self-evident good? Whether contemporary wealth creation and efficiency-induced productivity growth actually deliver the benefits they proclaim—opportunity, upward mobility, happiness, well-being, affluence, security—is perhaps more of an open question than we are disposed to acknowledge. What if growth increased social resentments rather than alleviating them? We should consider the noneconomic implications of public policy choices.” 

Judt’s review is a seminal piece, much too long and nuanced to summarize here or to characterize in short quotes. It questions, among other things, the trend to privatize everything that used to be public and the real consequences of the welfare reform which was one of the proudest achievements of the Clinton administration in which Reich served. Anyone who cares about public policy can and should read it. (It can be found online at www.nybooks.com/articles/20853.) 

And what does it offer for our many readers who are more interested in local public policy than in the impact of global capitalism? More than one might think. Some of Judt’s premises and conclusions shed a lot of light on current local controversies.  

The meeting of the Downtown Plan committee which discussed what size building should be allowed in downtown Berkeley featured a vocal minority contending that the question should be decided by outside expert economists, who could prove conclusively how tall buildings needed to be to provide a rate of return to developers which would spill over some part of their profits for public goods like green spaces. Whatever happened to the idea that providing open space for citizens was the responsibility of the whole body politic—that citizens deserved more than a few crumbs from the private table? (Attorney and DAPAC member Steve Weissman effectively demolished the idea of leaving everything to the experts by relating his experience with duelling economists in his day job at the Public Utilities Commission.) 

And what about Berkeley’s Orwellian-named Public Commons for Everyone Initiative? Local philosopher Osha Neumann has always likened the mayor’s repeated tries to pass such ordinances to the Poor Laws of 19th Century England. Tony Judt similarly sees the Poor Laws philosophy underneath Clintonian welfare reform, which he says “makes an individual’s claim upon the collectivity...contingent on good conduct.”  

Economic efficiency is the justification Berkeley’s mayor and several councilmembers have given for cracking down on the homeless: to make downtown more pleasant for shoppers. Here’s Judt on that goal: “Abundance (as Daniel Bell once observed) may be the American substitute for socialism; but as shared social objectives go, shopping remains something of an underachievement.” 

And the threat of global climate change seems to have popped up locally as just another profit opportunity. Many who should know better are salivating over the opportunities for “green” building projects without remembering that re-use is the greenest alternative. There’s a reason that Tony Judt uses the metaphor of “the wrecking ball of capitalist innovation.” There’s more private profit in new buildings, even though there’s more public benefit in re-using old ones. Or consider the cargo cult theory of public transit: If we build a lot of condos, surely someone will send buses to serve them.  

There’s much more to say here, but not much more space to say it in. Read both Bobs’ books or at least read the review. 

If you want to argue about some of these ideas, Bob Kuttner will be at Cody’s Bookstore at 7 tonight (Tuesday) to talk about his book, and he’s a funny man in person. Or if you believe that all political economy is local, you can join the Brother Can You Spare a Dime Chorus at old City Hall at 6:30, preceding the meeting where councilmembers will verbalize their rationalization for voting with the mayor to criminalize sleeping on the sidewalk. Either of these shows would be educational. 

ARE WORDS OF PRAISE  

PERMITTED IN BERKELEY? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Words of praise for the City of Berkeley seldom come trippingly to the tongue. Here they are, and the topic is nothing less than...trash. The city has gifted everyone with their very own personal-size trash bin for recycling kitchen garbage. The bin’s bright green color is just right—cheery, a bit cheeky, and evocative of Balanchine’s Emeralds ballet. This cook/dishwasher’s companion is not too big, not too small, but just right. The plastic is hardy, and comes up gleaming after its bath. And to top it all off, the city is good enough to pick up its contents and compost them every week. Is this place heaven, or wot? 

Rita Maran 

• 

PUBLIC COMMONS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regarding the “Public Commons for Everyone Initiative” to be discussed by the City Council this week: Contrary to the apparent assumptions of many opponents, not everyone who hangs out on the street is homeless. Case in point: A few years ago, one of the loiterers was my 15-year-old niece. She found it more fun to hang out on Telegraph and get high than to stay in her home town and go to high school. Thanks in large part to Berkeley’s laissez-faire attitude, she got pregnant by some loser she met on the Ave, and now she’s a dropout and single mother. It seems clear to me that enforcing minimal standards for civil behavior on the street would reduce the extent to which Berkeley enables that sort of self-destructive behavior. I don’t see how doing so would harm those who are out there due to substance abuse problems or mental illness. 

Robert Lauriston 

• 

UC’S WARPED PRIORITIES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

For the cost of the Guantanamo-style fence and lights UC wrapped all around the west of Memorial Stadium we could have sent a dozen kids or more, with fully paid tuition, to UC. Add to this the costs for police overtime, lawyers’ fees and the like, and we are talking easily another dozen students or so. Let’s not forget, all this is done on our dime, yet what are we paying for? “To protect our police officers” as one of UC’s mouthpieces proclaims? There’s a cancer spreading through UC’s system, all the way down from the president. 

Jurgen Aust 

• 

BP SEEKS GLOBAL HARVEST 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Richard Brenneman’s Nov. 20 article contains a careless error. Soybeans may be grown for food or fuel, but when the oil is to be used for fuel that fuel is not generally ethanol—it’s biodiesel. And soy meal—the residue left after oil is separated—is, itself, a valuable commodity. 

Mr. Brenneman is clear what he is against, but does your readers no great service by failing to state clearly what he favors. Does he favor BP and other oil companies getting their advice from sources less competent that the scientists and thinkers at UCB? Or does he favor doing nothing about greenhouse gas emissions that most responsible scientists seem to agree have something to do with climate change? How does he suggest addressing fuel and environmental emissions issues, especially when an increasing fraction of these fuels and emissions are coming from sources outside the United States and used by people outside the United States? 

It is easy to rail against change. And not all change is for the better. But the long sweep of human history should be enough to convince even Mr. Brenneman that change is inevitable. The important questions have to do with what changes we want to occur, how we guide them, and how we monitor and regulate them. The ethics and bioethics of fuel supply and environmental protection are too important to be left to politicians or oil company executives—or irresponsible journalists. 

Charles G. Scouten 

Senior Associate, The Fusfeld Group 

Warrenville, IL 

• 

TIME TO TAKE UCB TO TASK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I have lived in Berkeley now for 26 years, the past 13 of which have been in District 8. I am one of Gordon Wozniak’s constituents, and I am a strong proponent of the concerted efforts to block the construction of the so-called high performance sports center at Memorial Stadium. Such a construction is ill-advised at that location, and opposed by the vast majority of Berkeley’s citizens. I’m sure Mr. Wozniak realizes this. Also, I would like to remind him of the illegality of destroying California living oaks, such as the ones UC Berkeley proposes to destroy. Can Councilmember Wozniak explain UC’s appalling, unmitigated arrogance? Can he explain their disregard and disrespect for ordinary Berkeley residents? The barbed-wire topped fence they have erected around the grove is an alarming and grotesque eyesore. Their treatment of the activists is becoming increasingly inhumane. Now, according to the Daily Planet, they propose to cut large limbs from the oak trees, thereby causing further blight, damage, mayhem and abuse. My sense of outrage is beyond measure. UC’s reckless ambitions and greed are destroying the quality of life for ordinary Berkeley citizens who deserve a livable and attractive environment. Enough is enough! As one of his constituents, I implore Mr. Wozniak and his fellow city officials to get off their knees and begin standing up to the university. They must demand that UC Berkeley cease it’s arrogant and thuggish conduct, and begin respecting the wishes of the city and it’s good people who act as their hosts. 

Kevin Moore 

• 

IWW SUPPORTS WORKERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am a member of the local branch of the IWW and have been involved in organizing with the union for several years now. My response is to Christine Staples Nov. 16 “commentary” on the Metro Lighting situation. I am not an official spokesperson for the union, nor am I involved at Metro, though I have stopped by the picket line several times. 

I wish to make two points here: 1) Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act guarantees workers the right to engage in “concerted activity” for “mutual aid” with co-workers and to bargain with an employer over “Hours, wages, terms and conditions of labor.” It does not say that in order to do this a worker must sign a card, petition for an election, negotiate a contract or even join a union. Exercising these legal rights nearly all employees at Metro have taken out membership in the IWW and worked with the union to present their issues and concerns to the owners. But unfortunately the owners have refused to recognize this or sit down and discuss workplace issues. Metro owners are currently facing over a dozen Unfair Labor Practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board federal agency. 

2) On the subject of improving the lives of working people, the IWW has a number of current and recent successes to speak of in the Berkeley and local community. At our two organized recycling operations in Berkeley many workers are immigrants with families. What they have achieved in negotiations includes higher wages, improved health care and better working conditions. Also the IWW has attempted to bargain a contract with Shattuck Cinemas, a part of Landmark Theater Co. There is no agreement yet, but the workers have received four raises over the course of a year and a half with the union. The starting wage was $7.25, is now $8.75 and will go up to $9.25 on Jan. 1. The Shattuck workers have demanded time-and-a-half on Thanksgiving and just this week the company agreed to grant this to all Landmark workers at 60 or so cinemas nationwide. 

The workers at Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics on Shattuck Avenue are also members of the IWW. Among other improvements, the workers won the removal of black mold throughout the store. Management met with us, agreed and had the mold removed. My point here is that, yes, the IWW may have lofty goals but there should be no mistake the IWW has supported workers locally to consistently win immediate improved conditions and wages. Staples has a right to her opinion. But I will refrain from discussing the issues she raises specifically regarding Metro, as I believe the workers/organizers are much better suited to do so if they choose. Ultimately the IWW should be given a chance to respond to Staples on the “commentary” pages of the Daily Planet. 

Bruce Valde 

Oakland 

• 

BERKELEY HIGH WARM POOL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing to express my sincere hope that Berkeley will not lose its Warm Pool until there is a new warm pool officially underway. I am not a senior nor am I permanently disabled; however, I suffered a serious leg injury last year and have not been able to exercise very much until now. (I have been unable to use regular pools because my injured leg is extra-sensitive to the cold.) 

The Berkeley Warm Pool has solved that problem for me, and on my first day there I could see that it is an important resource for many people. The pool was busy: of the adult swimmers, two of us were wheelchair owners, six of us were not. Then there were more than a few children, trying out their water wings and practicing kicking in the water.  

Of course many people enjoy swimming in colder water. But some of us can’t, or prefer not to. 

People form communities so as to more efficiently provide for their emotional well-being, physical health and safety. Children, seniors and other potentially vulnerable individuals deserve to feel safe, comfortable and provided for. This includes having meaningful—not just theoretical—access to recreation. We depend on elected officials to ensure this.  

I thank the City Council very much for their actions on this issue to date. I hope the council continues to act until a new, fully-funded warm pool is built. And remember that Berkeley, with its progressive policies, is a role model for other communities across the state. We have enough retail, market-rate housing, sports facilities and restaurants in the East Bay. Can the City Council use its power to ensure that those who need it have their one warm pool? 

Heather Holbrooks-Kuratek  

EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is the  

correct version of a letter that ran in a different form in the Nov. 20 edition. 

• 

HE CAN’T HEAR THEM 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Master Bates’ latest public display of moral fecal matter regarding his refusal to let disabled and senior users of the warm pool speak early in the City Council agenda is yet another disclosure of what the man’s all about.  

His manic emphasis on the city’s green proposals reveals still another pattern as well. Democratic Party (read DLC) strategy for the 2008 elections is to brand themselves as environmental leaders and throw a few eco-bones to the faithful who, apparently, can’t think of where else to vote.  

The trade-off for the eco-bones will be Democratic Party support for reconfiguring the Middle East continuing under various spins; growing income disparities won’t bring forth legislative calls for progressive tax legislation; forget about single-payer health care; the herding of minority youth into the prison system will continue. Indeed, our very own Loni Hancock voted for the last round of prison construction funding in September. But we’ll all have solar panels.  

The solutions are out there. One tiny example: Berkeley could have installed portable toilets for the homeless and others who need them years ago. But with a smiley green face, the Democrat political class will do what they can to maintain the status quo. To deeply challenge it would mean losing their jobs. 

Maris Arnold 

• 

‘LIONS FOR LAMBS’ 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I saw Lions for Lambs, and would like to urge your readers to see it. I’m sending this letter to the Daily Planet rather than to the San Francisco Chronicle because Planet readers are the sort of people it is addressed to. It is preaching to the converted, because Redford knows full well that no one in favor of the Iraq war is going to see it. But it is not telling the converted what they want to hear, which is what makes it interesting. Tom Cruise’s imaginary Republican senator is by far the most articulate and convincing character in the movie, far more so that the two main leftist characters played by Streep and Redford. Redford is relying on the fact that his viewers will already disagree with Cruise’s character, and be shaken up by the fact that they have so little to say in response to him. The movie’s main point is that we are in time where, in Yeats’ words, “The best lack all conviction, and the worst are filled with passionate intensity,” and that unless someone gets off their butts, the worst will continue to do the damage they are doing. 

What Redford is trying to do is get the converted out on the streets and active again, not change the minds of those who are still pro-Iraq war. I think it will have that effect on the few people who do see it, and that is exactly what Redford expected. He knew that this movie would probably have a negative effect on his box office aura, and lose money. But he also felt he had to do something, and because he makes movies, he made a movie. I think that was a heroic thing to do, and I think it will do some good. Hey, it got me to write a letter to the editor. I know that isn’t going to have much effect, just as Redford knows that his movie isn’t going to have that much affect. But each of us has to do what we can do. Otherwise, people like Cruise’s character will continue to run things. 

Teed Rockwell 

• 

IRAQ WAR FUNDING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

No more funds for Iraq, except to assure orderly and prompt withdrawal. Use Pentagon funds for high-priced weapons systems that have no military value since the demise of the Soviet Union. Some of these weapons are still being built so as “not to loose the expertise of how to build them.” That ridiculous reason is based on the belief that American know-how couldn’t rise to the need, if the occasion ever presents itself in the future. Meanwhile, our kids need education, our families need health care, our environment needs stewardship, and our infrastructure needs repair. Also, our dollar needs strengthening, wasting dollars on imperial wars can not be afforded. 

Bruce Joffe 

Oakland 

• 

BLACK FRIDAY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

If I hear one more mention of “Black Friday,” I shall slit my wrists! I wonder what hotshot advertising genius came up with that name, which is clearly a contradiction in terms. Presumably desperate merchants and retailers are attempting to lure customers into their stores for blockbuster bargains—so why Black Friday? Doesn’t the very word “Black” cast a somber, foreboding tone? 

On further reflection, however, after watching television and newspaper coverage of the mad rush this past Friday when consumers practically broke down department store doors as early as 5 a.m. in their feverish haste to swoop up merchandise—pushing, shoving, grabbing as many items as they could hold—“Black Friday” seemed an entirely appropriate phrase. Fighting over desktop computers and DVD players, greed reared its ugly head and shoppers suddenly turned into savage beasts, fighting over a dead hawk! Piling their carts with as much merchandise as they could handle, they forked over credit cards, adding to an already astronomical debt, with little thought as to how they would pay for these fabulous bargains. No, this is not a pretty scene, but one which occurs every year the day after Thanksgiving. How else can it be described other than Black Friday? 

Dorothy Snodgrass 

• 

WHEN PROGRESSIVES CHEAT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

When Republicans cheat to get their candidates elected, we do our best to expose the violations and make noise. But what about when we see our fellow progressives cheating? That’s the dilemma facing KPFA listener-activists after the recent election for the board of directors. KPFA’s management team controlled the mic and openly intervened in the election to tip the playing field in favor of a slate of candidates whom they had recruited for the purpose of packing the board with rubber stampers. As in Ohio and Florida, the cheaters won. They will now have close to a two-thirds majority on the board. 

Complaints of the numerous violations were filed, but, without an enforcement mechanism, the election supervisors were powerless to do much. For example, when a prominent ex-programmer illegally used a station e-mail list to call on listeners to vote for the pro-management slate, the election supervisor ordered as a remedy that each of the opposition groups be allowed to send out a message of their own over the same list. But, as with so many other election procedures designed to ensure fairness, this order was not implemented by KPFA management. The election supervisor also imposed a penalty on the culprit, banning him from the station’s airwaves for the remainder of this year. However, only three days after the announcement of the penalty, the offending programmer was a guest on the Morning Show. He’s also scheduled to host a segment on the upcoming KPFA crafts fair. In this and other instances, the election supervisors were unable to enforce regulations, remedy violations or impose penalties on offenders. Without such powers, fair elections won’t happen. At this point, remedies won’t be easy. There will be the inevitable polarization, bitterness, pain, disgust and bad feelings, and no matter how it may come out in the end, we progressives are going to look bad. It’s messy, and it’s tempting to forget the whole thing, pretend it didn’t happen. On the other hand, if nothing is done, the cheaters will go on cheating; they’ll control KPFA, and what kind of community radio will that be? 

Daniel Borgström 

Oakland 

• 

A HOLIDAY MESSAGE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Holidays are approaching with a message to us all that giving gifts without the feeling of sharing does no mean anything special. A word of comfort has more meaning than wrapping the store-bought gift out of traditional obligation. I went to an area where homeless people sit in the sun. I was carrying woolen clothing and some chocolate filled nuts. I gave the bag of food and clothing to a middle-aged woman and said, “Please share this with your neighbors.” The woman looked up in the cold winter weather and said, “God bless you.” 

I pray daily that I should be the person who can share with others rather than be the receiver. 

Romila Khanna 

Albany 

• 

OAKLAND CRIME 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regarding J. Douglas Allan-Taylor’s recent articles on crime in Oakland: Many Oakland residents believe the city’s biggest problem is the crime rate. They have a right to be upset, and they were naturally dismayed when the mayor responded to their concerns by describing the police as “an oppressive presence.” 

The Oakland Police Department is too small, even at full strength (803 officers), to fully protect the community’s safety and civil rights. Changes in deployment and work shifts are unlikely to solve the problem. The size of the department is one of the last remaining legacies of the Knowland era. The Knowlands were anti-tax, conservative Republicans. In those days the city could get by with an underfunded police department. In the 1950s, for example, there were only about 15 homicides annually. The lowest number after World War II was 8, in 1955. All that changed after the drug era began, and the homicide rate rose to its current average of 100-plus per annum. The lowest number of homicides in recent years was 72 in 1998, under Chief Samuels. He lost his job because his spending on community policing rocketed way beyond his budget. 

Most cities the size of Oakland have about 1,400 officers. My own belief is that Oakland should have a minimum of 2,000. If a new measure is proposed to increase the number of police officers, I hope liberals and progressives support it. A larger police department would be a blessing for ordinary people everywhere in the city. 

Phil McArdle 

• 

MORE ON OAKLAND CRIME 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your columnist J. Douglas Allen-Taylor quotes Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums’ public safety task force co-convener Jason Victor Serinus denouncing the alleged practice of “locking up more and more young black and brown people.” Mr. Serinus needs to check the numbers. The rate of arresting youth ages 10-17 in Oakland fell from 2,491 per 100,000 in 2000 to 1,387 per 100,000 in 2005. That’s not “more and more;” it’s fewer and fewer. These rates were computed from California Dept. of Justice tallies by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. 

The basic number that both Serinus and Allen-Taylor ignore is the fact that Oakland has half a police department. Most major cities have 35 to 45 officers per 10,000 residents; Oakland has 18. We need at least 1,100 police in Oakland, up from the 722 we had as of Nov. 2. Then we can implement community policing (Mr. Serinus’s special concern) as well as have enough officers to drop Oakland a few spots down from its current rank as—if you will permit me one final number—the fourth most dangerous city in the country. 

Charles Pine 

Oakland Residents for Peaceful Neighborhoods 

• 

BUS RAPID TRANSIT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was pleased to read that Doug Buckwald, notorious nay-sayer on Bus Rapid Transit, has seriously studied the EmX BRT in Eugene, Oregon. He even called an LRT official—who said that “they would have encountered far greater difficulty getting their BRT system implemented if they had displaced parking to any significant extent.” When I was in Eugene, I saw very little on-street parking along the EmX route. 

Sure, we don’t need dedicated bus lanes on all of the route. All we need is some way to ensure that the BRT will run faster than the cars. That means bus lanes in places where car congestion slows the buses now. Some people can’t seem to conceive of the BRT actually reducing car traffic—but that’s just what should happen if enough car drivers ride the BRT. If 60 people ride one bus, that’s 60 fewer cars blowing CO2. 

It would be nice to have free fares on our BRT, like the free fares on the Emery-Go-Round, but we’d have to tax businesses to pay for it, as Emeryville did. Eugene’s free fares are only for the first year; after that, they may have to charge. The rest of Eugene’s bus system requires a fare, and does not yet use proof-of-payment—even though most riders have some kind of pass. 

After hearing the truth about Eugene’s BRT, perhaps Berkeley could work on fixing the flaws in our BRT plan and go on to have Eugene’s BRT success. 

Steve Geller 

• 

STEM CELL SHOCKER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A stem cell shocker—skin cells can be used instead of embryonic cells to duplicate organ parts—thus defusing the debate over ethical standards. Not so shocking once you realize that each cell contains a DNA replica of the whole body. 

In the movie Star Wars, Luke Skywalker’s adventure begins when a beam of light shoots out of the robot R2D2 and projects a miniature three-dimensional image of Princess Leia. The image is a hologram. A hologram is a specially constructed image which, when illuminated by a laser beam, seems eerily suspended in three-dimensional space. The most incredible feature of a hologram is that any piece of it provides an image of the entire hologram. In the same way the information of the whole body and all its organs is contained in each cell. 

Ron Lowe 

Grass Valley

The proceeding of the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC) has come to an end. And what an ending it is. This Thursday, Nov. 29, the Committee will vote on the plan and most likely, a slight majority will affirm it and a minority will abstain; not vote against it but abstain in the final vote before the group disbands. It is a true irony that the many of those who were appointed by the councilmembers that had voted against creating DAPAC, were those who worked the hardest to create a consensus plan that is reasonable, progressive and one that most of our citizens will likely support. On the other hand, most appointees of councilmembers who voted to create DAPAC have indicated that they will abstain from voting for the plan. DAPAC, set up by the City Council with a slim 5 to 4 vote, has ended mirroring the divisions on the city Council in the reverse. 

DAPAC members have approved all aspects of the plan except those concerning land use policies. The main contention between the two sides is over building heights. In explaining the differences between the two positions, I will first compare the majority’s proposed land use policies from those of the 1990 plan. That plan was an attempt to rein in downtown development and to buffer neighboring residential districts from the impacts of large scale buildings. The plan was in part a reaction to the proposed Courtney Building of 10 stories at the corner of Durant and Fulton and to the Golden Bear along University Avenue.  

The 1990 plan divided the downtown district into a core and several surrounding buffer zones. The plan envisioned a wedding cake zoning profile of taller buildings in the core and lower buildings in the buffer areas as one neared low scaled residential districts. It established core heights of 65 feet and five stories with building volumes (FARs) of four times the square footage of a site. With augmentations or bonuses, development could rise to 87 feet and seven stories with building volumes of six. The buffer zones were limited to 40-foot heights and three stories but could be augmented to 50 feet and four stories. 

DAPAC members by and large viewed the 1990 plan as too restrictive. However, two views developed as to how to loosen the rules on building heights and encourage growth. The majority view proposes core heights of 85 feet and six stories with building volumes of 4.9 the square footage of a site. In addition to allowing buildings of this height, it also stipulates that there can be four buildings of 100 feet/seven stories and four buildings of 120 feet/nine stories. Furthermore, it allows two more buildings, if they are hotels, to exceed heights of 200 feet or up to 19 stories such as the proposed hotel at the Bank of America site.  

The minority view first wants to give developers the right to unlimited 100’ high buildings throughout the core. Second, they wish to defer fixing the maximum height of the four tall buildings until an economic analysis is performed. Their arguments are based on a view that in order for development to provide economic benefits, it must be allowed to build to a profitable height. From DAPAC’s beginning, several have argued for heights above 14 stories or around 160 feet, depicted as point towers. They fear that without allowing these higher heights and the unlimited 100-foot buildings, the city will not be encouraging development that could support the many public improvements envisioned in the plan.  

The majority clearly desires to envision and control the shape and character of the downtown and not leave it up to developers and their number calculations to dictate the look and feel of their cityscape. They are comfortable with five- to six-story buildings and feel that these types fit into our cityscape better and will provide enough population growth. They also have little fear that development will go away as the presence of the University assures continuing growth and change.  

Regardless of height considerations, all have agreed to increase the core’s boundaries appreciably. The current core is approximately 33 acres and is defined by Addison on the north, Kittredge on the south, and stretches midway to Oxford and Milvia. The new core will be nearly 72 acres or more than twice the current size. It stretches somewhat between Hearst on the north, Durant on the south, Oxford on the east and midway to MLK on the west. To accomplish this, the buffers, though intact, have been shrunk. These two remarkable land use changes, the general increase in building heights and the core’s boundaries, represent an astounding up scaling and up zoning of the downtown. By any objective appraisal, this is a huge change embracing the goal of increasing residential populations and commercial life in the downtown. 

Not only will private development obtain huge changes to zoning laws, the university, with its sizable land holdings along the Oxford edge of the downtown, has been sanctioned to build up to the limits that they desired. Under current zoning, their land is zoned for heights ranging from 40 feet to 60 feet. They have come out of this process with a clear mandate as regards heights and stories. A 100-foot height limit will apply to all university properties, although they agreed to reduce heights along Hearst Street. They have also agreed to several good urban planning principles; to bring the campus’ park-like features into their downtown developments, to create better pedestrian connections throughout, to respect historical important buildings (read University Garage), and to create public, accessible uses along street frontages. All in all, the university’s participation has been engaging, constructive and sympathetic to the city’s goals. If one views the DAPAC process as a new model for constructive planning between the university and the city, which was one of its original goals for both parties, the plan created represents an astounding success.  

There are urban design modifiers to this encouragement of development. For the first time, the downtown district will have lot coverage standards. Up till now, the downtown is the only district that allows developments to cover 100 percent of their property with buildings. No setbacks are presently required. Nor is ground floor open space required. The new plan will required that developments with buildings above 100 feet will be able to cover only 80 percent of their lot. Developments up to a 100 feet will be allowed 90 percent coverage. This simple ruling will obtain ground floor open space and landscaping areas within our urban environment. It will help encourage mid-block pedestrian walkways, greenery and open spaces that the plan proposes. 

On the face of it, DAPAC finds itself in an incredible circumstance: To have a group of people, who worked diligently and intently for two years come to the end of their deliberations with 40 percent voting to abstain over one issue—building height. It would be one thing if the plan was some radical, no-growth, no-change document that severely limited private development or the university’s right to use their land. Two years ago, some political wags would have predicated such an outcome. Instead, to most observers’ amazement, and to even many of the participants who have developed the plan, the opposite has occurred.  

As an architect who has closely watched development and planning in Berkeley’s downtown for a quarter of a century, I have little doubt that the new plan is light years ahead of the 1990 plan in embracing growth along with our community values. The plan acknowledges that the downtown is not a “finished” cityscape. In and among its fine buildings, there are under-used and insubstantial properties whose upgrade or redevelopment will allow for the continued improvement of the downtown’s cityscape. It is essential that we use the talents and energies of architects and developers to augment the built environment and champion the belief in a better future for citizens and visitors. With these thoughts, I hope that those members of DAPAC who did not vote at our last meeting to support the majority’s view reflect on how far we have come as a group in embracing growth and change. In that reflection, I hope that you find it possible to embrace a consensus position for the good of the community, and send to the Planning Commission and City Council a plan that a majority of our citizens would approve.  

Jim Novosel is a Berkeley architect and a DAPAC member. 

OK, I’ve been putting this off for a long time, but now I have to ask. In what universe does Bob Burnett live? I’m interested because I’d like to go there too. In Bob’s universe, surely goodness and mercy will follow us as soon as “bad” Republicans are replaced by “good” Democrats. I guess in Bob’s universe the “good” Democrats haven’t already been in control of Congress for a year, getting nothing done that might cheer us humble folk. Oh, but wait, that’s not fair! They have a mere majority and there’s a Republican in the White House, so how can we expect them to accomplish anything? We must look back to the glory years from 1993 to 2001 when the Democrat in the White House did so much good for us…. Oops, I forgot! For all except the first two years (during which he agitated for NAFTA, instituted “Don’t ask, don’t tell”, and created the health care debacle) that poor Democrat was hamstrung by a Republican Congress. So there was no way he could possibly have accomplished all the wonderful things he intended. 

The first presidential election in which I voted was the Kennedy/Nixon race of 1960. My dad said, “Well, I don’t like either of them, but I’ll probably vote for Kennedy as the lesser of two evils.” Thus was I introduced to my family’s rule: always vote for the Democrat, who is always the lesser of two evils. And thus, holding my nose, I voted, all the way through 1992. In 1996, however, unlike Bob Burnett, I coped with the cognitive dissonance produced by the following truth: William Jefferson Clinton had not proved to be the lesser of two evils. He was exactly the same evil! Just like Reagan and Bush I before him and Bush II after, Bill brought us offshoring, deregulation, attacks on the poor, assaults on civil liberties, environmental degradation, foreign policy through bombing, and, under Hillary Rodham’s guidance, the handing over of the American health care system to big pharma and the insurance industry, with the disastrous consequences still unfolding today. 

So in 1996 I acted rationally. I gave up my allegiance to the Democratic Party. Along with most of those other few Americans who still bother to vote, I became independent. What this means in practice is that I scan through the entire list of, sigh, candidates for any office and try to decipher which of them might, possibly, be the least of the evils. Sometimes it’s the Democrat, sometimes it isn’t. But the range from worst to best is hardly ever wide and often inscrutable. 

Of course, there are reasons for this. Such as rigged elections. And money, money, money. Under our current system, the only people neurotic enough, venal enough, or both, to become candidates are not people you would want to have to dinner, let alone elect to office. So it’s no surprise that our current crop of presidential hopefuls makes mediocre look positively astral by comparison. 

So, what is to be done? My own sense is vote, since what the hey. And vote creatively. For example, work your butt off for Cindy Sheehan, instead of muttering about circular firing squads. What? You think Sheehan is going to knock off that great “progressive” Pelosi? Who’s done so much for us? No, she won’t. She can’t. But if she gets even 10 or 15 or 20 percent of the vote, she will attract national attention to the fact that Pelosi is not doing the job her constituents sent her to Congress to do. And spitting into the self-referential complacency of the chattering classes is always worth it. 

In the same vein, I will definitely support Cynthia McKinney for president, should she ever decide to run. Cynthia, who (unlike Ralph Nader) has real political instincts, could revitalize the Green Party, getting it organized and making it far more representative of the American polity than it now is. Which would be good, because, boy, do we need a real third party! 

But, oh gosh, what if the Green Party takes votes away from the “good” Dems and, as a consequence, the “bad” Repubs win? Stop a minute. Do you really think it matters whether it’s Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani in the White House? Rudy will provide far more amusement. It’s Hil who’s cast in the Dubya I’m-always-right-I-will-punish-my-enemies mold. Anyway, whichever wins, the course of America is set and will continue downward, taking us all with it. 

Which brings me to my second point. Vote. Why not, it’s fun. It feels all patriotic and small-town like Norman Rockwell, with the cute little flag out in front and the “I voted” sticker to wear. But don’t stop there! Think of something! Do something! Find others to do it with! Be creative! Be brave! Be aggressive! Throw yourself on the gears, like Mario Savio said. Absent divine intervention, what I do and you do and you do is our last, slim, chance to save the American republic. Which reminds me. Don’t forget to keep your fingers crossed. 

Joanna Graham is a Berkeley resident. 

• 

BAN TOBACCO  

COMPANY FUNDING 

ON CAMPUS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing this letter in respond to tobacco companies’ attempt to manipulate research findings in UC campus. The University of California should reject any grants from the tobacco industry because that industry has a history of undermining academic freedom and distorting re-search results. The acceptance of grants from the tobacco industry creates a negative image of the UC system and significantly reduces UC research credibility. Besides, tobacco companies have been earning profits at the cost of public health. Both tobacco companies’ nature and practices are against the University’s fundamental missions of public service. As UC students, we feel obliged to persuade the university to forbid any academic units accepting tobacco grants in order to preserve the value of our university’s reputation and stature, which always outweighs short-term financial benefits. Money should not stand in our scientists’ way of seeking the truth. 

Junjie Liu 

• 

WALL OF ART 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Fifteen years ago the I-80 freeway was widened between University and Ashby avenues, adding four traffic lanes, moving the nearest lane 40 feet closer to Aquatic Park and removing the hedge that previously separated and hid the freeway traffic from users of the west side of the park. This mile-long voluminous hedge had been a remarkably effective baffle against the sight and roar of traffic. Before the freeway was widened the west side of Aquatic Park was frequented by walkers, joggers, bicyclists, birdwatchers, idlers, readers in shady nooks, etc. Removing the barrier of the hedge, adding four lanes of traffic and moving the ten lane total of its roaring, stinking, hurtling turmoil, with no intervening baffle 40 feet closer to the park has rendered the mile-long west side of Aquatic Park entirely desolate for 15 years. Hardly anyone uses this half of the park at all any more— a radical change in patterns of park use, for obvious reasons. 

When the freeway was widened the City of Berkeley conducted public hearings which concluded that, to address this obvious problem, a sound wall should be constructed between the park and the freeway. Later, city planners were persuaded to pursue the idea of a “natural” wall decorated with living plants, which after several years delay was rejected as impractical by Caltrans. Nothing has happened since—if you don’t count the 15 years of ruin of the west side of Aquatic Park. 

The decision to put up a soundwall along the west side of Aquatic Park was never revoked, just put aside and ignored, without any visible public process. When the I-80 to I-580 interchange was reconfigured in the late ’90s, the soundwalls in El Cerrito came down and went up again in a matter of less than three weeks. Now it is rumored that funds available for the Aquatic Park soundwall project will instead be diverted to other purposes. Whether the rumor is accurate or not, this matter is overdue for a public discussion, which includes the now well-demonstrated fact that continuing postponement of construction of a soundwall entails the continuing sacrifice of half a city park. Why? 

If Caltrans prohibits a “wall of nature,” maybe Berkeley can get away with a wall of art. Rather than leave it blank, it would be amusing to parcel the park side of the soundwall into about 130 40-foot segments surfaced to enable creation, over the years, by donation of artists, of an ongoing free public museum of mural art—with a quarter-century’s worth of panels set aside for Berkeley High Senior Art Class projects. 

Jim Powell 

• 

COMMUNITY INPUT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Re: “Housing Surveys” Letter to the editor from HAC Commissioner Casalaina: 

Making the housing recommendations short survey available at the Berkeley public libraries, on the second floor of City Hall 2 and online is a positive step. It’s notable that the city’s senior centers were not included among accessible well-trafficked pick-up places. A pile of surveys at the front desk of each of the city’s senior centers will reach not only seniors but also people attending meetings at these community senior centers as well. 

Helen Rippier Wheeler 

• 

SOLUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The solution to climate change problems would also stop the pollution destroying our land and health. Slowing down climate change and pollution is not a solution that lasts. 

We are going the wrong way. Employment is not the goal, retirement is. If we turn to a retirement lifestyle of making a garden paradise with edible landscaping and useful pets, of goats, sheep, cattle and chickens, we can save our world and bring peace and joy into our lives. Foods would not need to be processed and transported. The multitudes of people who planted fruit and nut trees would make quick work of adding trees to the environment. 

A garden paradise solves many world problems. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated for the family gathering together with an abundance of food. We can have that all year long. 

Marie Devine 

Kansas City, MO 

• 

SCHIP BILL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The SCHIP bill that is currently in Congress, and vetoed by the President, is a strong bipartisan bill that would invest $35 billion over five years to provide health care to 10 million children. 

The purpose of SCHIP is to provide health coverage to children of working families who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance. 

According to the Congressional Budget Office, it costs $3.34 per day to cover a child under SCHIP. One day in Iraq costs $300 million. 

Gene Ulmer 

Fort Bragg 

• 

RENT BOARD 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In support of the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board and in answer to recent criticism: 

During the past year, we have been tormented by the shady and unethical behavior of our landlady who has seemed to “fly beneath the radar” for many years in her disrespectful treatment of both her tenants and any requirements of the codes of The Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board or Housing Departments. 

Our occupancy was never reported, according to the code, and therefore, in the eyes of our landholder, the rules just didn’t apply. 

Because we are not as naive as she presumed, we have had the consistently good counsel of the Rent Board who made us aware of the rights and responsibilities of both parties (landlord and tenant) and our landlord has had to behave accordingly. Accountability, by the way, that would never have occurred to her without our awareness of proper and legal decorum. 

To assume that the Rent Board is irrelevant is a ridiculous posture. The codes set by Berkeley Rent Stabilization actually “level the playing field.” Both tenant and landlord are expected to abide by the reasonable codes which support honorable correctitude on both parts. The tenant is treated and acts as a respectable and respectful occupant and the landlord is asked and obligated to provide healthy and safe environs at a reasonable rent and to repay the tenant’s investment in security with a fair rate of interest in a timely manner. Adequate time and consideration in writing is required for increases in rent and resources and appeals are available for either party. 

These may seem trivial expectations. Hardly. We have gone two years without our interest repaid; we have lived in sub-standard conditions (with numerable code violations) and have had to deal with countless mortgage holders, independent and bank, looking for the landlady or one of her pseudonyms. We have been asked for an unreasonable and illegal rent increase without suggestion in writing (due process) and have had to collect gas and electrical money from an adjacent tenant because the utilities were aligned without proper installation or code considerations. We have had no fire egress and unworkable and unsafe bathroom (a room included included in our rent) and other problems too complicated or covert to mention. 

Although, both of us are educated and consider ourselves worldly-wise, we have never had to deal with such unethical performance on the part of a landlord before and without the guidance and advice of Nick Traylor at the Berkeley Rent Stabilization we would have been just another pair of victims of a unscrupulous landholder. 

Kindly understand: The Rent Stabilization Board is neither an advocate for the tenant or the landlord. It does, however, keep watch that both parties treat one another decently and within the very realistic parameters of the codes. 

I would advise perspective Berkeley tenants and landlords to know your rights regarding the safety and comforts of your home and the financial terms of your agreement. Be aware that, as a tenant, you are entitled to receive the interest on your security funds yearly from a landlord and that penalties apply when not repaid to you in a timely manner or if your health or safety is jeopardized within your rental unit or if your rental price is not that registered with the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board. 

The Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board works when all parties want it to work; when both the tenant and the landlord honor their contracts with one another clearly and honestly. 

Unfortunately, the reality of our “dog-eat-dog/what-the market-will-bear” society makes the role of The Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board necessary. Of course, I wish this weren’t the case, but it is and fortunately for us, the Board enlightened and empowered us to get off the landlord victim list, utilize the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board codes and hold our landlady accountable to those codes. For this, we are grateful. 

J. C. Robinson 

• 

POLICE AND DRUGS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

According to the S.F. Police Officers Association president, all law enforcement agencies are having trouble finding recruits who can meet the required zero tolerance for drug use. That is for illicit drugs, not alcohol and tobacco, which cause more deaths annually than all illegal substances combined. 

We should welcome the common sense approach being initiated by California cities where there are 11,000 unfilled law enforcement jobs. Zero tolerance is not a realistic standard, and never has been, at any level of society, whether it’s in a public high school or police academy. 

If police and criminal justice resources were focused on serious crimes, the shortage of police officers would be less critical and police officers’ jobs would be less difficult…and less dangerous. Too much of our police effort is wasted on expensive drug busts chasing non-violent offenders. I agree with the Drug Policy Alliance that drug abuse is actually a health issue not one of criminal justice.  

The raids being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (the notorious "Feds"), in cooperation with hundreds of local police, on harmless marijuana dispensaries smacks of terrorism. 

Our nation spends an estimated eight billion dollars on marijuana enforcement annually while arresting over 800,000 of our fellow citizens, 89% of whom for simple possession alone (FBI Uniform Report). 

Where are our public officials and our representatives in Congress? Our politicians? Are they afraid of alienating the powerful interests who benefit from the status quo? 

John Wagers, Oakland  

• 

KPFA POLICY FAILURES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

KPFA fails the public in a major way by its restrictive policy on announcement of demonstrations. As Henry Norr pointed out in the November 20 Planet, you must send your announcement weeks in advance. Any morning now, Bush could invade Iran, and KPFA would be loath to interrupt "Music of the World" to announce the noon rally. 

Every day the KPFA policy fails the Tree-Sitters in the Memorial Oak Grove. The cops take actions against the Sitters on very little notice. The Sitters need to rally supporters quickly to come to the trees. Presently, the Sitters use a phone list. How much more efficient, and politically educational, it would be if KPFA could give the word. But without long prior notice, KPFA rules ensure it proceeds with regular programing. 

Ted Vincent 

• 

WAYS TO STOP THE WAR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A concrete proposal to stop funding the war 

David R. Obey (D-Wis), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, is spearheading a drive to stop all appropriations for the war from leaving his committee unless a deadline is set for withdrawing the troops. John Murtha, chair of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee agrees with him. They and all members of the Appropriations Committee need to be lobbied not to give in to pressures to relent. Please let them and the other members know that you support this effort, and urge all your friends and family all over the United States to do the same. 

Most members can be emailed from the link on their websites. You can contact your representative, all of them in your state, and/or those out of your state in various ways. Via e-mail, they prefer to hear from constituents and will e-mail replies to them, but not to others. Still, they may notice a glut of e-mails on the subject. 

Other ways to reach them are by calling or faxing them at 202 225-3365. Or you can write to them. You can find all the information for each representative (plus district number) at www.visi.com/juan/congress or www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml 

Please contact members of both parties. 

Estelle Jelinek 

On Sept. 11, the Chronicle’s urban design writer, John King, an-nounced on the front page that an architectural jury had predictably chosen for the Transbay terminal site a 1,200-foot tower most resembling a titanic penis. A shaft the height of the Empire State Building thrusting out of the current plateau of glass and steel that now obscures the city’s hills would, correspondents to the paper opined, either wreck remaining views or assure San Francisco’s world-classiness. Can first-rate delis or Frank Gehry anythings be far behind for our retiring little city?  

Nine days before, the Chronicle’s revered and retired environmental writer, Harold Gilliam, published an essay in the Sunday opinion section entitled “Towering Above Quake Country.” Gilliam offered a sobering caution that aesthetic squabbles about highrises built between cocked fault lines display world-class hubris, for each tall building is a daring experiment in engineering whose risks grow greater as developers attempt to erect structures matching in height those of San Francisco’s age-old would-be rival, Manhattan.  

But even Gilliam missed a fundamental truth about modern cities. They are not simply agglomerations of structures but extraordinarily complex organisms, as dependent upon vulnerable life-support systems for public safety as is the human body upon its circulatory and lymphatic systems. Those systems are not keeping pace with San Francisco’s vertical hypertrophy. Indeed, they can’t.  

As the high rises grow higher and denser south of Market, few choose to remember what destroyed the city in 1906. In only one brief sentence did Gilliam name it: “What about fires in the upper stories?” Why just upper stories?  

In his non-fiction thriller The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906: How San Francisco Nearly Destroyed Itself, Philip Fradkin reminded readers that San Francisco had been a fire underwriter’s nightmare ever since it sprang from the shores of Yerba Buena Cove in 1849. The influx of gold-seekers so fertilized land value that the grid of streets begun around the Mexican plaza (now Chinatown’s Porstmouth Square) leapt out in all directions, climbing precipices and leveling hills to bury low-lying marshes, creeks, and the harbor itself. As Simone de Beauvoir once remarked, the town seemed to have been laid out by someone who hadn’t been there.  

Buildings, at least, nodded to one threat only to fall to another. Robert Louis Ste-venson observed that frequent earthquakes so terrified San Franciscans that “in that rainless clime, the whole city is built of timber—a woodyard of unusual extent and complication.” Fear and necessity thus assured that “nowhere else in the world is the art of the firemen carried to so nice a point.” On the morning of April 18,1906, that woodyard spontaneously ignited at multiple points south of Market, and the city’s firemen could do little more than watch as the holocaust quickly moved into and consumed downtown’s “fireproof” structures.  

Seeking a scapegoat, many blamed the private Spring Valley Water Company whose system spectacularly failed after flames erupted in scores of damaged buildings after the shaking stopped. In response, the company’s chief engineer, Hermann Schussler, rushed out a folio volume just three months after the last flames were quenched. The Water Supply of San Francisco, California Before, During and After The Earthquake of April 18th, 1906, and the Subsequent Conflagration contained a map that illustrated at a glance why neither the water company nor the fire department were to blame: heedless growth and speculative fervor stacked the pyre that few wanted to acknowledge then, as now.  

Water mains (and gas lines as well) predictably snapped wherever streets crossed buried creeks, coves, lakes and swamps whose soils momentarily liquefied. South of Market Street, they broke along the snaking underground courses of Mission and Hayes Valley creeks, and north of Market on Yerba Buena Cove—otherwise known as the Financial District. As in New Orleans two years ago, “first responders” trained to deal with discrete crises were largely helpless when confronted with a sudden systemic failure.  

In 1983, Mayor Dianne Feinstein pressed for the departure of her rogue PUC chief Richard Sklar when he—as a member of the city’s Planning Commission—refused to OK more highrise growth unless developers contributed more to expand the city’s overstretched transit infrastructure. As usual, the mayor and her wealthy supporters saw soaring towers—no matter how banal—as proof of the city’s “world-class” status. That its firefighting life-support system lay upon jello foundations, and that skyrocketing land values were driving the city’s firefighters to seek cheaper homes across vulnerable bridges, was of little concern. They did not see the city as an organism, but as a lucrative marketplace the height of whose skyscrapers were for them the measure of its greatness.  

Under the best of circumstances, highrise fires are difficult enough to extinguish. Under the worst, when streets are blocked by fallen debris, flattened cars, and by panicked and dead people—well, I leave it to your imagination what could happen there and to the East Bay if high rises ignite like bundled faggots. A recent bridge collapse at rush hour momentarily woke the nation’s media to what tax cuts combined with headlong growth have done for public safety. Will San Franciscans tax themselves—or developers contribute—to substantially expand and reinforce water mains and the fire department? Can we learn from a century-old catastrophe that was, for all its adjectival overkill, truly world-class?  

One year after the centenary of its destruction, the city built on sand and goo debates the design merits of ever denser towers, while Yerba Buena Cove, Mission Bay, and the buried creeks of SoMa mapped by Herman Schussler quietly await their encore call on history’s stage.  

Gray Brechin is an historical geographer and the author of Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin

Does being pro-green mean being anti-black? 

Ordinarily one wouldn’t think so. But the mini-drama that is unfolding in Berkeley surrounding the eviction of Kandy’s Car Wash at the intersection of Ashby Ave. and Sacramento St. gives one pause for thought. 

Kandy Alford, the proprietor, has four full-time employees and many more part timers when the weather is warm and business is brisk. 

Local newspapers have given periodic coverage to the car wash’s current precarious situation but to date none have reported in a manner that put the eviction in a context that has any meaning to the surrounding community. 

The city apparently favors the plans of the Biofuel Oasis collective to relocate to the site of Kandy’s Car Wash and sell biofuel reconstituted from used vegetable oil from the car wash’s present location. 

Berkeley has granted the collective’s request to defer a $5,000 permit fee due to economic hardship. 

Ignoring, for the purposes of this discussion, the growing controversy over biofuels in general and the resulting impoverishment and starvation in the so-called Third World, does replacing Kandy’s Car wash with a biofuel station really make sense in the face of all the problems said to exist in South Berkeley? 

For instance, virtually around the corner from the car wash, at 1610 Oregon St., concerned neighbors of an elderly black couple who live there have filed more than one law suit designed to run them out of town. 

Why? Because young relatives of the couple have, it is said, taken over the house and deal drugs from there. Likely the allegations are true. 

Furthermore, by Berkeley standards, there is a high rate of crime in South Berkeley and there are numerous black youth who obviously are unemployed and apparently doing little to find the scant employment opportunities that exist for them. 

In other words, South Berkeley resembles other communities with significant black populations that have seen community life deteriorate over the past 30 years. 

Surprisingly, however—well, maybe not so surprisngly—on-line reactions to media reports on Kandy’s eviction run more to concerns that re-fitting the property to accomodate a biofuel station will destroy the historical integrity of the building’s design, or that Kandy should be evicted because the music is too loud. 

Clearly, some in Berkeley are challenged on the issue of race—so let’s try to use an analogy that many may more easily understand. 

Let’s assume South Berkeley is the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners are having a terrible season. Adequate defense but horrible offense. 

Then coach Mike Nolan announces, “Look, in order to turn this season around and score more points, what we need to do is get rid of our most consistent and prolific scorer, field goal kicker Joe Nedney!” 

Total nonsense. If Nolan were to make such an announcement he’d be looking for another job the same day, unless of course the city of Berkeley owned the 49ers, in which case the city’s deep thinkers would say, “Let’s hold a series of hearings to discuss this.” 

Well, Kandy Alford is South Berkeley’s field-goal kicker. He is the most consistent and prolific employer of more African Americans, actually at-risk African Ameri-cans, than any other private employer in the community. 

But Berkeley wants to run Kandy out of town. That may not be totally fair to say: after all, the city has offered to help Kandy relocate—but to where? What other enclave of small black busineses exist in Berkeley except the Alcatraz-Adeline corridor? No obvious space there. 

There are other concerns. 

The Ashby-Sacramento intersection is a small community of black and other minority owned shops. Economically they support one another and many seem to support Kandy remaining right where he is. 

Louis Grier, who operates a jewelry and watch repair business across the street from the car wash put it like this. “I don’t have any problem with the car wash or the people who work there. I’d rather have them out there washing cars than say engaging in other activities not so positive.” 

BB’s Restaurant and Seafood also sits across the street from Kandy’s. Owner Toddy Bayeme said, “Lots of times people who take their cars to be washed come over here and have lunch. I’m not happy about closing the car wash. And I understand they want to sell food there too. It will hurt my business.” 

Toddy has a menu taped to the window of Kandy’s office to encourage his customers to venture across the street and to get something to eat. 

Finally, one other point. Judith Scherr, in her Daily Planet article on the car wash informs us that there exists beneath the property a toxic plume, residue from a dry cleaner who used to occupy the space. It needs to be cleaned up if Biofuel Oasis is going to dig and install fuel tanks. 

Who’s going to pay for cleaning that up? 

If the biofuel collective can’t afford the permit fees, how is it going to afford a toxic chemical cleanup? Is the city going to pay for that also? 

Keeping in mind the law suits around 1610 Oregon, if the city of Berkeley is willing to go to all this trouble and expense to evict working blacks from Kandy’s Car Wash to enable a mostly all white women’s collective then what we’re really talking about is not promoting environmentalism but rather a genteel form of ethnic cleansing 

People who are concerned about this issue should attend the next Zoning Adjustment Board meeting scheduled for Nov. 26, 7 p.m. at the Berkeley City Council chambers. 

Jean Damu is a member of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration Steering Committee.

This is a minimally edited transcript of a speech improvised on September 14, 2007, from the steps below the oak grove near Memorial Stadium, where a small group of protesters had been occupying the trees since last December. Several weeks earlier, the university had put a chain-link fence around the grove, ostensibly “to protect the protesters” from maddened football fans, but actually to further harass the protest, which it was also attacking in court. On this day, after I spoke, 40 members of a new student group supporting the protest—wearing blue-and-gold T-shirts proclaiming “Free Speech” and “Free Trees”—scaled the fence to bring supplies and moral support to the protesters. Twenty-one remained, choosing to be arrested. 

Right before my turn, a young woman, introduced as one of the original tree-sitters, was brought to the steps to speak. Jessica Walsh began, “Wow … So, I ran up into a tree …” and fell silent. She just stood there, shaking slightly, her eyes bright with tears, so evidently moved that the small crowd of listeners remained completely transfixed, save for those who called out “We love you, Jess,” and “Thank you for doing this.” Finally she choked out, in a small voice, “These trees saved me.” After a longer silence, she said, “That’s all,” handed the microphone back to the moderator, and stepped back among her friends. After a brief introduction, thanking me for my role in the Free Speech Movement and ending, “… and let us learn from our elders,” I took the steps. 

That’s really a hard act to follow. Four words: “These trees saved me.” Jeepers. 

I don’t usually flaunt credentials, but I’m doing it here for a reason. Yes, I am a genuine relic from the Free Speech Movement. I was there, I helped do that. I also was a two-time varsity wrestler at the University of Chicago in my youth—so I’m not hostile to college athletics. And I was also a science teacher to young children for 29 years, so you’ll understand why I start by saying that I want to talk about ecology. And I want to talk about social ecology.  

Now you know, these oak trees, ravaged as the ground beneath them is, are home to 400 different creatures large enough to see with your eyes, from sowbugs on up to squirrels. It’s a real, little forest, it actually is doing its job. It’s not like the eucalyptus trees on Treasure Island, which back home in Tasmania have 400 things that live with them but here have practically nothing because their chemicals are weird and not adapted here. So that’s trees, not a forest. This is a patch of genuine forest. 

But I want to talk about social ecology. You understand what an indicator species is. The spotted owl is an indicator species. When the spotted owl numbers go down, it’s wrong not just because we care for the spotted owl, but because the spotted owl is a species that testifies to the health of the entire forest. If its numbers are declining, that means the whole forest is sick.  

The oak grove here is an indicator species in the social ecology. When the oak grove is going down, it’s not just about the oak grove. It’s a symptom of a general sickness in the whole social ecology. The oak grove is not separate from the rest of the university, which looks like it’s across the street. But there’s not a street dividing it into two parts, it’s one thing.  

The university acts in this town … lord, how can I begin? I should not go on too long, right? The university is a large corporate force in the town that is utterly impervious to social control. It uses city services and doesn’t pay for them, it expands one way and another into different parts of the town, and up into Strawberry Canyon, without adequate consideration of the environmental impact. You understand, I’m talking about the social environment. The problems of control right here are not different from the problems of control of the university in the entire town. We don’t want to crush the university. We love it. But we want it to act right. It’s a corporation, so it’s a “person,” unfortunately. So it should act like a good person in the social ecology that we live in, rather than befoul it and pollute it. [applause] 

Fifty years ago, when I was a student, I used to come and sit here at times, under these oaks, just to feel my life, to feel the environment, to try to understand who I was in this place, what I was doing here, what the place was. It gave me some breathing space, some perspective on the university. Kids had been doing that for twenty-five years before me, kids have been doing exactly the same thing here for the last fifty years. I’m talking heritage, I’m talking function. I can’t testify to the Native American bones that are buried here, but I understand that this grove was planted originally as a testament to those who fell in World War I. We’re in the middle of another war at this time, when why they’re falling makes much less sense. Just considering this isolated point, it’s not the best time to tear down a memorial to people who fought in a war that in some respects made more sense.  

Fifty years ago and up to this time, students have been using this space. It’s not just an empty space that’s decorated with some trees. It’s a functional part of the campus, it’s like a piece of lung where people can breathe. Forty years ago, I used to pause here while going up to the Greek Theater to see the Grateful Dead or whoever, because this was a good place to have a few puffs. For thirty-five years before that, kids had been pausing on their way to the Greek Theater to have a little tipple. And in the years since I did this, that’s been part of the night function of this little lung here. Hey, that’s part of the night-time university. They say it doesn’t count like the day-time university. That’s not true, you learn as whole people. What goes on in the night informs what goes on in the day, they should not be artificially separated. And these—how would you describe what I’ve just been talking about, “social amenities”?—should not be easily sacrificed to corporate greed.  

O my god, how can I speak of corporate greed? Well, let’s talk about it. I’m a friend of athletics. But baseball isn’t baseball any longer, you know that, not even Little League. We used to choose up teams ourselves and make our own field … Football isn’t football any more. The kids who play football here are not getting paid so much right now, but they’re going to make five million next year. It’s a feeder for the vast corporate entertainment industry. [applause] 

So put first things first. That the university wants to build its athletic center here is a sign of the corporate priorities. Hey, you’ve got a stadium here which many of us love, I used to go watch the Bears in the stadium. You’ve got a stadium here, it’s cracked, it’s broken. And you know that the ground’s going to shake. I’ve been living here since 1958 and the ground didn’t used to shake, and it keeps going more and more like this [demonstrates], I can feel it with my body, I’m an animal on the planet, I feel the ground shaking, this is not a joke. It’s going to shake big-time, and if it shakes when there are sixty thousand people in there, there’s going to be many more people killed than if they did something to fix it up.  

“No, no! We’ve got to build a $125 million athletic facility here, right next to the stadium, so the kids don’t have to walk so far.” There are places all over the campus where you could do it, there are places all over the town where there are ugly buildings, where there’s a university-owned parking lot. You just have to build a structure above the parking lot, it’s not taking anything away, it’s not where it will blight people’s vision. No, get the priorities straight. Fix the stadium before you build something else right on top of the Hayward Fault. [applause] 

You don’t have to be a graduate student in social policy, a graduate student in engineering, to understand that this is not smart. You don’t have to be a graduate student in political science to understand that there was something fudged in the Environmental Impact Report. And that when the university can get away with doing its own Environmental Impact Report, and have it sanctioned because it’s a high governmental agency already, without going through the offices of the town, then something is wrong. So, I’m still talking about indicator species, you understand? This is a profound indicator species.  

The university takes over more and more territory in the town, and the town, on the whole, has rolled over, because it’s just another big developer, in fact it’s the biggest developer, right? So the town has actually rolled over the most for the biggest developer. So much for our present city administration! You understand? You do understand, because you’ve followed these things. Your opinions ought to be respected, young people. That was true in my day, and it’s true now. How much of what I’m saying is new to you, aside from maybe the metaphor of the indicator species? Nothing! You know all this stuff already, right? How come no change happens? Whoa! It makes less sense to me now than it did when I was your age, and it didn’t make hardly any damned sense then.  

The campus itself … I stand before you as just another aging hippie, standing around a fence. Like when I was a younger hippie, with this hair, I was standing around the fence they put around the People’s Park. Whoa! They did the same thing then, they’re doing the same thing now. We made something pretty there, and they put a fence around it, and said “you can’t do that here, this is corporate property, you can’t touch it.” This grove was already here, it didn’t need any amenities, it was okay like it was. Let it be. Right? But you pointed out the problem, and so they put up a fence to keep you from parking here, from speaking here.  

Before the fence went up, three old ladies went and climbed a tree here. Only they weren’t just any three old ladies. The oldest of them is old enough to be my mommy, Sylvia McLaughlin, 91 years old, she’s not seen on the streets much these days. She comes out of her place to climb the tree to make a point. She’s not just any old lady, she’s the old lady who with her two buddies started Save the Bay, which stopped them from filling in the Bay, which looked like an inevitable consequence of unstoppable power. [applause] But they stopped filling in the Bay. And now we’re reclaiming the Bay. These things can happen. These things can happen. It doesn’t take very many people who are determined, to actually do it. This is the profound lesson from Sylvia.  

This is the profound lesson from the Free Speech Movement, also. You should get it straight. The press makes it look like, “oh, there were giants in the earth, in those days!” It’s not true. We were just like you. Except we didn’t have T-shirts like yours printed up, because it cost too much then. We had the same feelings of being outshouldered, neglected, bulldozed, nobody listens to us. We looked a little funny. We dressed a little funny. So it’s not the past. The past is still in the present. This is a profound free speech issue. These people in the trees, they’re there for me. I didn’t climb the tree. They did it for me. Thank you, people in the trees. [applause] I’d like to say, “because you were there, I didn’t have to climb the tree.” But you know, that’s a cop-out. That I didn’t come before this, that I didn’t climb a tree like Sylvia climbed the tree.  

A reverse metaphor here. They were filling in the Bay, they’ve stopped it. Look, the university before, when I was young, it had many lungs. You understand? There was a lot of breathing space in the university. There were more spaces like this one. And they’ve gone down, one by one. It’s like they’ve been filling in the Bay of Peaceful Spirit here, with this building here and that building there. And where you can go just to sit and relax and be yourself, and breathe with the earth, which is still in the middle of all of this, it shrinks smaller and smaller. “Well, that’s not important.,” they say. “That’s not important, it’s just some kind of amenity. What’s important is to build a new $300 million research facility funded by corporate pharmaceuticals.” Well, that may be important, in some ways. But hey, get it in balance! Don’t forget about it! 

Okay. I could go on and on, but I think I’ve hit the main points. [applause] Except for free speech. These people in the trees are canaries, singing for us. The university’s got no right to stop them from singing. This is sacred space, not only for the things we’ve listed, but also because this is one of the places where we ringed the campus with picket signs after a bunch of us got dragged off to jail in 1964. Zachary, the Free Speech Movement didn’t start on December 2, that’s when it peaked, with the Sproul Hall sit-in and strike. So starting an occupation here on that date was even more appropriate than Zachary indicated. 

Now, one last thing. I come walking along, right over there, and I see this big bronze bruin sculpture, right? It’s the Cal Bear! What kind of bear? A grizzly bear, right? Well, the last grizzly bear was seen in this state when? In 1896, or something like that, right? So, after the grizzly is safely extincted, they raise a monument to the grizzly. Now, I am the grizzly. Look on my chest, there’s a picture on my T-shirt, of all those people in the Plaza, sitting around the police-car in ‘64. You have now in the middle of the campus the Free Speech Movement Café. I helped to plan it. But I don’t want that to be the statue of the grizzly. There’s a picture of me there. One of the people walking through Sather Gate, on the right-hand side, one of the guys with his hand on the pole of the banner that says “FREE SPEECH” is me when I’m your age. Okay? That’s the grizzly. Okay?  

You don’t want the Free Speech Grizzly extinct on this land. You don’t want them boasting about how they got its pelt and its bones without live grizzlies in the streets, up in the trees, doing what grizzlies do. [applause] And you’ve got to live with them! That’s the thing about bears, the bears are coming back, and you’ve got to live with the bears. They’re people, right? They’re actual people, more so than corporations. The Native Americans had it right. The bears were people, we’re people. They lived with the bears. You’ve got to live with them, you can’t just go thunk and they’re gone. The free speech grizzlies are Bears. The university has to learn that it’s got to live with them. It can’t put up fences, make law-suits to extirpate them, because they’re going to come back, again and again and again.  

When whoever it was among you put forth this litany here – “oh, we knocked, we lettered, we petitioned, we had meetings, we gave this and that” – tears literally came to my eyes, because that’s what we did, and you know, the truth was, you’ve got to go through all those steps, and it won’t make a damned bit of difference to them, but you’ve got to cover your ass. And then you take the next step. Because of potential felonious conspiracy charges, I am definitely not urging you to go do such nasty things to this fence that they have to have a 24-hour armed police guard continually here to make clear to the public what is happening here. I can’t say that, I can’t ask you to do that, you know. But I will tell you what happened in 1972, after two and a half years, with the fence around People’s Park.  

Somebody printed up 500 copies of a flyer that gave a certain date. And on that date, three thousand people came to People’s Park, around the fence, and they pulled it down with their bare hands. [applause] And then what happened? Then they came in with the shotguns, and they killed one, blinded another, wounded many, I got a little buckshot … no, I’m sorry, that was the first time. The second time we did it, they didn’t do anything. Because the fallout from the first time, when they shot and beat so many, had been so extensive, that they actually let three thousand people pull down the fence and take the Park back. And the Park still, in its battered way, in the social ecology, is still limping along. God help us, it’s still an open space, for that long. May this fence come down! May this place still be an open space, thirty years from now! [applause] 

[Had I not been flustered at running on so long, I might have added: “How fine it is to see you grizzly cubs come back to this land. Go Bears!” But I think they knew how I felt about them.] 

Did any of you have a chance to watch one or more of the countless You Tube segments about the failures of the American education system recently? If you haven't had the chance, I highly recommend that you view at least one lengthy segment as an act of good citizenship on your part. No greater social disease exists today than the demise of our public education system. As a nation we have not seen such a glaring detriment to the collective spiritual growth of our Republic since the days when Jim Crow ruled the social landscape of America.  

So, whom do we blame for the diminishing intellectual returns of our youth over the last 25 years? What institutional failures can we identify in this time frame as the culprits? Why is it that our public education system has eroded from one of the best in the world, to one of the worst in little more than a quarter of a century? Have the jaded personalities that are so commonplace in modern America cultivated a socio-cultural norm that predisposes our public schools to failure? If so, then our public schools stand little chance of surviving this historical epoch in which individual success has taken on a god-like reverence, and collectivist ideals have become passé.  

I realize that we are all predisposed to expect nothing less than hyperbolic sensationalism from the media, yet I can assure you this is not the case with any of the reports I have seen, or read, during my years as a fledgling educator in a credential program. On some levels, I actually think that a bleaker picture could be drawn than the one promulgated by the media. For instance, the countless fights and racially charged violence that I witnessed nearly every day at a Richmond area middle school last year and Berkeley High School the year before that, are the types of events that I do not normally see covered by the media. Perhaps it is just too raw for us to look at these stark situations and admit to ourselves that, despite all of our talk about the virtues of plurality and social justice, the message is not clear to our young people. Their actions certainly bear witness to this fact.  

Sadly, circumstances like the ones I just described defined my time as a teacher. It is a sad fact that well meaning people such as myself, and other educators, become so overwhelmed by the multitude of problems in our schools that we run hard, and fast, away from this discord to seek employment in a more serene environment. The result of this phenomenon is the further alienation of our young people by the people they need the most between 8 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon.  

Many people suggest that the way to solve the problem of teachers fleeing the field is to pay them more money. That is flat out wrong in principle. Although more money is always appreciated in trades that are over worked and underpaid, people that propose money as the solution to our educational dilemma do not understand the complexities of our school system. To put it bluntly, very few people go into teaching for the money. There is a strong culture of idealism that defines most of the people who strive to become educators. The way to keep these individuals is to ensure a peaceful environment for them to practice their trade. The truth is that many of our young people increasingly lack respect for their teachers, and the ideals of solidarity and learning that are encouraged in the classroom. Until we create a classroom culture that can guarantee teachers will have the opportunity to practice their trade in peace and safety, the problems facing us will only get worse.  

I realize that this line of reasoning makes me sound like an undisputed fatalist with a cynical streak. However, I would more accurately describe myself as a realist from whom the youthful idealism that drove me to pursue teaching as a mechanism of social justice was squashed by the harsh reality of a heartless and uninspired social condition that our young people are all too willingly to oblige at the expense of their own intellectual growth.  

Ultimately, all of the words I have written are as meaningful as the diminishing return our tax dollars provide for our schools and the students therein. Learning is a state of being that is bequeathed upon us by the death of our own ignorance. It is not a commodity that can be quantified by a fiduciary bottom line in Washington or Sacramento. In this day and age we have become external manifestations of the internal metaphor we call stupidity. That is to say, we are witnessing the ascension of uselessness.  

As a final thought, I hope that our society reacquaints itself with the idea that teaching, and knowledge acquisition, is a mechanism of social Darwinism that serves the potential for self-actualization. Learning is as natural to our instincts as spinning in circles is to a toddler. We cannot turn off our inherent curiosity anymore than we can turn off our sexuality. In this respect I see hope for the future of the human race, for the drive to enhance the intellect can never truly be turned off, it can only be misdirected.  

Jonathan Stephens is an educator. 

While George Dubya Bush will be in office for 14 more months, many have already labeled him the worst president in modern American history. They complain that the Bush legacy will extend well beyond January of 2009, when the next president takes office. Political observers lament he has had the “reverse Midas touch,” where he’s worsened every aspect of American foreign and domestic policy he’s blundered into. Bush’s most lasting negative legacy can be attributed to his autocratic leadership style, which has inspired other politicians to emulate his tactics and ethics. As a result, we see mini-Dubyas running for president and Dubya clones ruling other countries. 

Bush has had a distinctive and destructive presidency. One characteristic has been dogmatic inflexibility: he came into power with a militant conservative agenda—cut taxes, reduce government restrictions on business, expand the role of the military, and promote American empire—and has not deviated from this. Even in the face of evidence that it was counterproductive, Bush has steadfastly pursued his program: when he launched his “war” on terror, he could have asked the American people to make a common economic sacrifice and pay higher taxes, but he refused to do this. His administration ran up unprecedented deficits while claiming to be “stimulating” the market. 

President Bush does not believe in the balance of powers doctrine prescribed in the Constitution: the notion that the executive, judiciary, and legislative branches of government are co-equal. Since he initiated the war on terror, he has acted as if he was above the Constitution. He invaded Iraq on false premises, filled the American media with misleading propaganda, and ignored the modern rules of war regarding treatment of prisoners and civilians. Building upon his manufactured image as “wartime” commander-in-chief, Dubya has operated more as a despot than as the leader of a democracy. 

Evidently, Bush feels the American people pay more attention to what he says than to what he does. His speeches are filled with platitudes about democracy and liberty; according to Dubya everything the United States does in Iraq is intended to produce a model democracy. Nonetheless, the policies of the Bush administration have diminished freedom in the United States and created a police state in Iraq. 

Bush’s guiding morality is that the ends justify the means. His decisions are based solely upon considerations of power: how a particular policy will enhance his power, as well as that of the Republican Party and their wealthy supporters. Early in the Bush administration, a former policy adviser, John Dilulio, reported that every White House policy had to be approved by Karl Rove, Bush’s consigliere,; an indication that the White House strove to maximize the political consequences of every move the president made. 

Now, as Republicans struggle to find a 2008 presidential candidate, the top four contenders—Giuliani, McCain, Romney, and Thompson—are running as mini-Dubyas. Giuliani and Romney, in particular, take the stance “we’re like George Bush, only smarter.” All four support the president’s ill-considered war in Iraq, but argue they would do a better job of “winning” it. 

Nonetheless, the most dire consequences of the Bush leadership style—“it’s okay to do anything, so long as you win”—has been in foreign policy. While the White House talks about spreading democracy throughout the world, what they have actually dispensed is plutocracy disguised as free-market capitalism. 

The most horrific consequences of President Bush’s style have occurred in Pakistan, where the Bush administration has steadfastly supported a dictator, General Pervez Musharraf. The White House position has been “because Pervez is our ally in the war on terror, he has carte blanche.” 

In 2002, the failed U.S. military expedition into Afghanistan did not capture Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders, but instead pushed them into the lawless territories of Pakistan. General Musharraf became the Bush administration’s point person in Central Asia: Dubya met with Musharraf, looked him in the eye, and declared him to be the right man for the job of rooting out terrorist evildoers. As a result, the United States funneled more than $10 billion in military aid to the Musharraf government. Yet, the Los Angeles Times recently reported that rather than fund anti-terrorist projects, “Pakistan has spent the bulk of it on heavy arms, aircraft and equipment that U.S. officials say are far more suited for conventional warfare with India.” Nonetheless, because General Musharraf is on Dubya’s side, the White House has ignored his draconian domestic policies. As a result, Musharraf has become an autocrat and disabled Pakistani democracy. 

General Musharraf has emulated his mentor, George Bush. Using the threat of terrorist attack as an excuse, Musharraf has expanded the powers of the presidency and curtailed civil liberties. He has adopted the Bush morality that the ends justify the means, that it is OK to circumvent democratic process as long as your objective is to defeat evildoers. In the process, Musharraf has enhanced his political power as well as that of his political party. He has become a Dubya clone. 

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

Chopped fish and mealworms: not your classic Thanksgiving menu. But that’s what the eared and horned grebes at the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRCC) were getting. The larger birds—surf scoters, greater scaup, western grebes, common murres—were fed whole fish. The coots, according to a whiteboard notation, got a side of bloodworms “if we have any bloodworms.” 

I had volunteered for holiday duty (along with some 40 other people, as it turns out; the staff was hard put to find work for all of us) and had been assigned the fish-chopping detail, retrieving thawing small fish from a tub and scissoring them into diagonal chunks. I took them to be anchovies at first, but someone told me they were smelt. Not the endangered delta smelt, which is supposed to smell of cucumbers; these guys smelled unequivocally fishy. 

The IBRRC, an institution that deserves to be better known, is in Cordelia, near the 80/680 junction and the northern fringe of Suisun Marsh. Founded in Berkeley after the 1971 Oregon Standard oil spill and housed for years at Aquatic Park, it moved up here 30 years later. What the IBRCC does is the gold standard of oiled-bird care. Veterinarians and other emergency responders are here from as far away as Chile and Germany to watch the staff deal with the aftermath of the Cosco Busan spill, and to lend a hand themselves. 

Two weeks after the container ship hit the Bay Bridge, operations were winding down here. New birds were still being brought in, but only a trickle in comparison with the original flood. I found a current tally on the whiteboard in the break room: as of 10 p.m. on Nov. 21, 1,053 birds had arrived alive. Of those, 745 had been washed with Dawn detergent, and 133 had been released at Pillar Point and in Tomales Bay. Another 80 to 100 were undergoing blood testing and a veterinary check as candidates for release. A further 1,544 had been picked up dead, and were filling up the IBRCC’s freezers. 

Most of the birds awaiting evaluation and release were surf scoters, black-and-white orange-billed drakes and dark-brown ducks. There are thousands of them on San Francisco Bay this time of year; over 75 percent of the whole North American population winters locally. They’ve been hammered by contaminants in the Bay and logging and climate change on their boreal forest nesting grounds. They didn’t need to encounter 58,000 gallons of bunker oil. 

The scoters—and scaup, grebes, murres, common loons, bufflehead, and ruddy ducks—were housed in converted backyard pools, covered with netting to keep the spill victims in and opportunistic egrets and other fish-eaters out. Each pool bore a “No Diving” warning, but the birds were ignoring it. Diving, though, is what got them in trouble in the first place. All these species forage by diving for fish or mollusks from the water’s surface. Birds that make their living in other ways were less affected. 

But the spill cast a broad net. Nearly 40 species have been brought to the IBRCC, dead or alive: five species of grebes, three of loons, eight of ducks, five of gulls. There were a couple of shorebirds (black turnstone, lesser yellowlegs), a few pelagic seabirds (northern fulmar, rhinoceros auklet), even sparrows and starlings. And three raccoons, all DOA, presumably drowned while scavenging oiled bird carcasses. 

Chopping the smelt, which can become a fairly absorbing task, I was surrounded by controlled chaos. A volunteer named Sandra directed the movement of birds from pool to pen to examining station using three whiteboards and colored cardboard tags. (The next time this happens, and it will, the IBRCC may use microchips to track the traffic.) Plywood pens were being moved and sluiced down with pressure hoses. Yet another media crew, this one from a Sacramento TV station, arrived midmorning and had to be escorted around. 

Between food prep and towel folding, I got to watch a western grebe’s pre-evaluation. It was swaddled in a towel and not happy to be on the examining table. The vet took a blood sample and examined its yellow-green legs, which appeared swollen: too much time out of the water before it was rescued. It would have to stay in its pool a bit longer. Others with the right blood values and weight would get to go out. 

And I got to meet UC Davis oil spill response veterinarian Greg Massey, who, with Oiled Wildlife Care Network director Michael Ziccardi, will be trying to learn more about treating oiled birds so as to be better prepared for that inevitable next time. They’ll be looking at infrared imaging to detect which birds are losing body weight, better sanitation at the rescue center, blood analyses as more effective predictors of survival. 

If there’s a bright spot to the whole sorry Cosco Busan saga—the bungling, the flailing response, the neglect of whole stretches of badly oiled shoreline, don’t get me started—it’s what the folks at IBRCC, and its affiliated rescue centers like WildCare, are doing. There are still some heroes around. 

Photograph by Ron Sullivan. 

A scaup drake revels in his restored waterproofing and apparent health, in a pool at the International Bird Rescue Research Center’s Cordelia facility.

Oh to have been a fly on the wall during the recent meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan., Nov. 1.  

Rice was in Ankara trying to forestall a major Turkish offensive into Northern Iraq aimed at rooting out the Kurdish PKK, who have launched several cross-border assaults, killing and kidnapping Turkish soldiers. The Bush administration claims a Turkish invasion would destabilize Iraq, but in fact, the story is a good deal more complex. 

For the past three years, the U.S. has armed the PKK’s Iranian-based counterpart, the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), to attack Iran. If the Turks cross the border in force, they are likely to blow the elaborate cover the U.S. has spun to camouflage its support for an organization it officially considers “terrorist.” 

According to Pepe Escobar in the Asia Times, the PKK is suddenly “flush with new mortars, anti-tank weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and even anti-aircraft missiles.” Where did they get them? The Turks suspect the U.S., in particular U.S. General David Petraeus, who oversaw a Pentagon program that flooded Iraq with weapons whose serial numbers were never recorded. According to the Turks, a lot of those arms ended up with the PKK. 

Ankara is not only unhappy about the attacks on its soldiers, it is deeply nervous about an upcoming referendum that will determine whether Kirkuk—with its 10 billion barrels of oil—will end up as part of an autonomous Kurdistan. The Turks want all Iraqis to vote on whether that comes to pass, but the Iraqi constitution restricts voters to city residents. And because the current Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri-al-Maliki depends upon the votes of Kurdish delegates to the Iraqi parliament to keep him in power, the Turks’ demand has gone nowhere.  

Maliki and the Kurds claim that Turkish intelligence recently helped organize a Cairo meeting of Sunni country intelligence chiefs, aimed at subverting the current Iraqi government. The meeting included Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan, along with the U.S. and the British. 

Speaking at the Socialist International meetings in Geneva, Iraq’s President Jalal Talabani, a leader of one of the two main Kurdish parties, denounced “some Arab states” for “conniving” against the Baghdad government. 

Iraq Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Shiite, also blasted “foreign intelligence” and the Turks for “conspiring” against the Maliki government. 

In the meantime Turkey has 100,000 troops massed on the border of northern Iraq. If the Turks came across in force, would they keep to the border area, or would their troops push on to Kirkuk, essentially derailing any attempt to make the city part of Kurdistan? At least that is what the PKK charged in a Nov. 9 statement asking for a “dialogue” to reduce the current tension. 

So what happened in the Ankara meeting? 

There are indications that the Americans might have cut a deal with the Turks and the PKK. According to Patrick Cockburn of the Independent, the PKK has moved a substantial number of its forces into Iran. Osman Ocalan, brother of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and a founder of the organization, says the PKK has strong support among Iran’s four million Kurds, and that “In the last six months the PKK has started a war against Iran.” That war has already killed more than 150 Iranians, and Iran has periodically retaliated by closing the border and shelling Kurdish villages in Iraq. 

Was the PKK move to Iran part of a deal: The PKK vacates the Iraq-Turkish border and joins Washington’s jihad to overthrow the Iranian regime? In return, did the U.S. supply the PKK with arms and sophisticated weapons? While the U.S. State Department has kept a distance from the PJAK, the group’s leader, Haj Ahmedi, is reported to have met with mid-level Pentagon officials this past summer. 

Washington needs the Kurds because not only are they pro-American, but their well-trained Pershmerga militia also plays an important role in helping to fight insurgents throughout Iraq. If the Turks invade, the Pershmerga might go home to fight their traditional enemies. 

At the same time, the U.S needs to placate Ankara, because 70 percent of its supplies for the Iraq War pass through Turkey. Did the U.S. promise the Turks it would push for a nationwide referendum on the fate of Kirkuk, a referendum it is thought the Kurds cannot win?  

You don’t need a crystal ball to predict that this is all likely to end in disaster. The problem is that the people in that region of the world play a mean game of chess, while the folks in the Oval Office haven’t even mastered checkers. 

••• 

Lest we forget. When Jean Marie Le Pen, the anti-Semitic leader of the French right, called the Jewish Holocaust “a detail of history,” he was charged with a crime. It is against the law to deny the Holocaust in France, as it is in a number of European nations.  

But when President George W. Bush referred to the murder of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1916 as “historic mass killings,” and Secretary of State Rice called the systematic massacres “the events of 1915,” no one said a word.  

Bush and Rice, of course, led a full-court press to block a non-binding resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide from coming to a vote in the House because it would do “great harm” to relations with Turkey, said the President. The Democrats dutifully backed down and once again the Armenian Holocaust was interned, another victim of the U.S.’s war in Iraq. 

It is not the first time the Armenian Holocaust has been shelved in the name of opportunism and “state-to-state” relations. In 2001, Shimon Peres, the current president of Israel, told the Anatolia News Agency, “We reject attempts to create a similarity between the Holocaust and the Armenian allegations. Nothing similar to the Holocaust occurred. It is a tragedy what the Armenians went through but not a genocide.” 

Peres, Bush and Rice should spend a few hours with Viscount James Bryce and Arnold Toynbee’s “The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire 1915-1916,” or read the reports of Henry Morgenthau, U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Robert Fisk’s magnificent book, “The Great War for Civilization,” would also be illuminating.  

The three might take a trip to Margada where they can help rebury the 50,000 Armenian men, women, and children drowned and shot by the Turks. They might want to read a cable by Turkish Interior Minister Talaat Pasha to a prefect in Aleppo: “You have already been informed that the Government…has decided to destroy all the indicated persons living in Turkey…their existence must be terminated, however tragic the measure taken may be, and no regard must be paid to either age or sex, or to any scruples of conscience.” 

All three might find it interesting that a young German teenager, Rudolf Hoess, served in the Turkish Army during the massacres. Hoess was appointed commandant of Auschwitz in 1940, and oversaw all the death camps by 1944. 

No “similarity” between the Jewish Holocaust and the “Armenian allegations”? As Fisk argues in his book, the latter was a blueprint for the former.  

In August 1939, Adolph Hitler commented on why it would not be a problem to liquidate the Jews: “Who, after all, is today speaking of the destruction of the Armenians.” 

Not Bush, not Rice, not Peres, and shamefully, not Congress. 

Once, it is said, a basketball fan came up to Oakland native and Boston Celtic star Bill Russell and asked him what it was like to guard Wilt Chamberlain. Russell, so the story goes, gave the fan one of his famous quizzical looks, thought about it for a moment, and then asked back, “What’s your frame of reference?” 

In many ways, during the recently concluded debate over police 12-hour shifts in Oakland, I felt the same way. Like a spectator, without any frame of reference to judge the various arguments. 

For those who haven’t followed, an arbitrator—they are always identified in the press as “impartial arbitrators” to differentiate them from the other kind, I suppose—ruled last week that the City of Oakland can institute 12-hour shifts. Oakland Police Chief Wayne Tucker wanted to institute the change to the 12-hour shifts, our powerful friends at the Oakland Police Officers Association (OPOA) police union opposed it, and when they couldn’t settle it during negotiations, they sent it to the impartial arbitrator, Charles Askin. 

Following the initial breakdown is easy. Oakland police officers currently work shifts that consist of 10 hours a day. They do this for four straight days, then take a three-day weekend, if I understand it right, and then start their week all over again. This is a common shift pattern in some industries, giving the same hours of work in a week—40—that you have in the standard 5-day/8-hours-a-day office hour shifts, and the three days off for a weekend makes it popular among many workers. 

For managers trying to fit four-day/10-hour shifts into the standard five-day work week, this can be something of a challenge, as the manager has to make sure that there are enough workers coming in on Mondays (covering the Monday-through-Thursday shift) and enough workers coming in on Fridays (covering the Tuesday-through-Friday shift). 

The management problem becomes infinitely more difficult if you are trying to fit the four-day/10-hour shift into a 24-hour a day operation, such as are run by police departments. The reason for that difficulty is easily seen. If your first 10-hour shift works from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and your second 10-hour shift works from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m., that leaves a 4-hour hole from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. The hole gets covered by having a third, overlapping schedule running from, say, 1 a.m. to 11 a.m. But doing that means that during some hours of the day, from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. and again from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., you end up having two shifts of officers out on the street. 

The Oakland Police Department actually runs a slightly more complicated schedule, with slightly different hours and two night shifts coming on at staggered times. 

From that light, one can easily see why the 12-hour shifts are so attractive to those who must manage a 24-hour a day system. You can schedule shift changes at noon and midnight, for example, and gone is the four-hour hole. You can’t fit that into a 40-hour week, of course (I’ll wait, while you try), but the City of Oakland got around that in the recent negotiations by proposing what you might call a staggered two-three/14-day system. Under that system, officers work two days on, two days off, three days on, two days off, two days on, and three days off over a 14-day period, adding up to 84 hours worked, or a 42-hour work week. For the schedule to operate, officers must work every other weekend. 

So far, this is standard time management stuff, and if you’ve got a good head for such things, or a spreadsheet program and about fifteen minutes of time to kill, you can fiddle around and figure out the angles yourself. Beyond that, however, you begin to get into insider baseball, or basketball, where the average observer gets lost. 

In the weeks leading up to the arbitrator’s ruling, we began hearing what you might call the 11th hour problem by the OPOA and their various community supporters in arguing against the 12-hour day. So the argument goes, a police officer catches a call on the 11th hour of their 12-hour shift, a dangerous call, in which they must pull their weapon and make a life or death decision. The officer is tired after pulling such a long shift, and their judgment could be impaired. Under such circumstances, so the argument went, do you want officers with guns out on the streets making such decisions? For anyone who has worked a 12-hour shift on any kind of job, the argument was compelling. It was particularly compelling for people who are normally critical of the police, with the sort of wicked twist that if you don’t trust these guys completely when they’re clear-headed, why would you want to trust them when they’re yawning and sleep-stressed. 

Even while ruling in favor of the 12-hour shifts, Mr. Askin, the arbitrator also noted another compelling argument against it, writing that “it appears that the 4/10 schedule as currently configured (in part because of the six-hour daily overlapping factor) provides superior staffing during weekend and late-hour periods when crime activity is greatest.” Mr. Askin called that “a disquieting and significant disadvantage of the City’s proposal.”  

The counter argument from police management and those who supported the city’s negotiating position was that Oakland police are racking up hours overtime as a norm under the current system, some of it mandatory, some of it voluntary. In either case, so the argument went, the same 11th-hour problem was now occurring, and the real howling from the police officers was about losing their overtime pay and veteran officers having to work on weekends when they’ve gotten used to being home. And even with that “disquieting and significant disadvantage” of losing the automatic police buildup during high crime hours, the arbitrator, Mr. Askins, concluded that the 12-hour shift “provides more advantages and will better serve the interest and welfare of the public in the [Oakland Police] Department’s mission to improve its ability to suppress and respond to crime.” 

But as I said, here we are getting into insider discussion where those who are not familiar with police practices in general and Oakland’s situation in particular start to get lost. 

I’ve pulled 12-hour shifts, and more, on a construction site, in a mill, and at a computer keyboard or a typewriter, and the last couple of hours of those activities can be brutal and my work efficiency down. But that’s steady work that is either physically or mentally taxing—or, in some cases—both. I have no frame of reference for how that compares to police work, and I suspect that this is the same for the average citizen. Both from observation and common sense, we know from the outside that police work can be alternately tedious and boring—writing or taking reports, for example—or extremely stressful—such as arresting a resisting suspect. But in any given police officer’s day, how much is there of one and how much of there is the other, how much is taken up with routine patrol, how much is done in some type of investigation or crime scene activity that could result in court testimony, how much effect do these highly different activities have on each other, and how has training and experience prepared officers to handle it? I freely confess, I have no clue. 

But in this case, I don’t think I need to have a clue. 

I don’t know if the 12-hour day will eventually end up being the best schedule for the Oakland Police Department or that what Chief Wayne Tucker calls “geographic accountability”—in which the existing six police service areas are consolidated into three geographical territories with a single commander and assigned police who stay within their area—is the best way to manage the department and get a handle on Oakland’s soaring crime situation. It may be that after the experience of six months or a year, the department decides that some tweaking in the system is needed. It may be that after the experience of six months or a year or more, the department decides that the 10-hour, 4-day model was actually more efficient, or there is another staffing model out there that is superior. It may be that the proposed geographic boundaries don’t fit Oakland’s character, and the territories should be expanded to four. Or five. 

For me, it’s a question of management and accountability. The current system is not properly working. Crime in Oakland is soaring along with overtime payments to police officers and in the current management configuration—where the OPOA has been able to block any changes—we appear to have reached a stalemate where we are stuck in place. It’s not the police chief’s 12-hour shifts that offers a way out of that stalemate. It is the freeing of the Oakland police chief to be able to make those types of management decisions that break the stalemate and move us forward. We hold the Chief of Police—and, ultimately, the mayor who has the hiring and firing power over the chief—accountable for the results. Do police officers come when we need them and call them? Are crimes being solved? Are the conditions that cause these crimes being reduced, however gradually? And to hold the chief and the mayor accountable for those results, we have to make sure that they have the freedom to manage. For me, that is what the recent arbitration was about, and that is what the current contract negotiations between the City of Oakland and the Oakland Police Officers Association are about. 

How did Bill Russell guard Wilt Chamberlain? Not to put too fine a point on it, that’s what they hired Red Auerbach for. 

I was hoping to pass along a wholehearted endorsement of one of my favorites in the odd category of “stores where I pretty much can’t afford anything but it’s all nice to look at”—I think of such a place as a museum if the staff is welcoming enough.  

As it turned out, though The Wooden Duck is absolutely perfect in that regard and also forwards the bright idea of making furniture out of salvaged teak, mostly from houses being torn down in Indonesia and China; salvaged Douglas fir from West Coast barns and such; and with lumber planed from dead or fallen trees more locally. Much of the last is in the form of great long tables, some with the edges unplaned and in their original wavy shape, to handsome effect.  

The garden furniture, though, is slightly less wonderful in origin: it’s all made of “plantation-grown teak.” This sounds like a good idea, and maybe is one, but one has to wonder what used to exist where these plantations are.  

There was nothing to document whether the teak for the garden furniture had been grown sustainably, and the salesperson had little information other than that the plantation grew shade coffee under the teak trees. 

What if the wood were certified? That’s still a matter of controversy. 

The Forest Stewardship Council, an international nongovernmental organization based in Germany, sets standards for sound forest management and accredits other groups to inspect and certify. 

After the timber is cut, its chain of custody from forest to consumer has to be documented. Some big names have signed on to one degree or another, including Home Depot, Lowe’s, and IKEA. And consumers have shown that, given a choice, they’ll opt for certified products even if they’re more expensive. 

One of the key players in the FSC, the Rainforest Alliance, audits forestry operations worldwide through its SmartWood program, covering everything from lumber to maple syrup. The Gibson guitarmaking company offers a line of Les Paul SmartWood guitars. 

Is it working? There are some apparent success stories. On the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, small farmers have been certified by SmartWood as growing teak sustainably on small plots, as an alternative to illegal harvests. Their practices include continuous planting and intercropping teak with cocoa, coffee, cashews, pepper, and candlenut trees instead of putting all their eggs in a monocultural basket. 

The fact that a teak operation has been certified doesn’t guarantee that it still meets FSC standards, though. SmartWood gave its blessing to the Javanese state-owned plantation forestry operation Perum Perhutani in 1990. Eleven years later, SmartWood decertified Perhutani, an action affecting 36 companies that used the wood for teak garden furniture. Teak certifications have also been lifted in Panama.  

But even the most diversified teak plantation isn’t a rain forest. It’s a brutal simplification of the intricate complexities of tropical ecosystems. Shade coffee plantations in Central America offer some space for biodiversity; they do this by leaving some of the original forest canopy in place rather than replacing it with a crop that gets harvested periodically.

I’m learning the guitar at the advanced age of 49 (don’t laugh, it feels old to me) and it’s mighty slow going. My friend and teacher, Scott, plays like the Almighty and it’s unimaginable to me that I’ll ever be able to play well enough to be heard in public. It seems an awfully steep slope between the novice and the expert, filled with layers of past experience and the gradual honing of our senses and practices. Further, there seem to be inherent advantages that some have over others. Gifts, we might call them, and it’s damn sure that the gift of guitar isn’t in me. Oh well, I’m having a good time and it’s an excuse to belt out a song. 

Visualizing construction is a lot like this. There appear to be some natural inclinations toward or against this skill, but I would argue that it’s mostly a great deal of learned experience that separates the nascent from the master. 

This leads to some strained (at very least) interactions between parties at either end of the chain of command when construction is under way. 

Contractors, when they’re good, are exceptionally skilled at visualizing a completed project before a single piece of plaster has been bashed from the old walls. Actually, I would argue that this is the central skill in the art of construction. A contractor does not need to be particularly strong, as there are tools and leverage to provide for that (although it can help), and this is why women are just as able to be great contractors.  

Business skills are important but this is true in any trade. It’s the ability to visualize how things come apart and go together that makes a contractor special. This IS, of course, also the skill of the architect, engineer and inspectors too. They must be able to see through the built environment and imagine things they cannot actually see. They must also be able to look at a set of plans and transfer these images (or mentally apply them) to the actual space. It’s sort of a 3-D mapping skill.  

Home or building owners run the full range when it comes to this skill. It’s common for a homeowner to have little skill in looking at a set of plans or in imagining what will happen to the kitchen when it gets remodeled. Naturally, this leads to a certain amount of mayhem in the construction process, and it starts the first time an architect or contractor meets with a client. A client may merely have wanted to create a bit more space for themselves in one end of the house and ended up with an addition on the back end, when all they really needed was to have a wall moved.  

Sadly, this bit of wisdom is often beyond the visualizing skill of the client and it falls to the designer or trade professional to explore what the client really wanted and to demonstrate how this might be accomplished. It’s a bit like translating a language. Most people, if walked through this process can be shown things that they just didn’t see on their own.  

Aside from the skill to see through walls and imagine a space in a new way (or a whole new building), design professionals and builders also have tools including drawing and modeling to show what their ideas will look like once completed. Any client of even a fairly small project (e.g., bath remodel) should avail themselves of these tools (although models are usually reserved for whole buildings).  

You might need to demand (STOP, I need to see a drawing before we move forward) some visual aids so that you can better participate in the process and get the product you’d hoped for. Don’t get pushed into a job that you don’t understand. 

Now, construction is often quite amorphous and things don’t end up exactly as we had planned. That’s O.K., it’s not a fixed target and there’s more than a little serendipity in it, gifting us with little (and large) marvels we didn’t bank on. If all goes well, it’s like a Christmas present that just keeps opening and revealing itself day after day until the day they carry their tools away. But, the more we are able to translate on a day-to-day basis, the closer we can get to having the project emulate our internal image.  

One of the things you, as a customer of this process, can do is to start a “phrase-book” for your meeting with the professional. Buy a stack of those magazines of houses or baths and start cutting out pictures of what you like. When you paste them in, jot a note about what you liked beside it. It need not be the right cabinet or flooring or trim style. It might have just been the light in the room or the color combination. It might have been the way the furniture all fits together in the space. Cut out pictures of the kinds of lighting you like, even if the fixture is different. 

You might like a picture that shows wall sconces or hidden, indirect lighting or a particular kind of touch-dimmer. When you sit with your contractor or architect, it will do wonders to be able to show them these pictures and say, “What I liked in this image was the way the wall curved” or “I don’t like these cabinets, but I like the way they pull out.” You’re speaking their language (and perhaps teaching them as well) and moving much more directly and quickly toward your goal.  

Ask the contractor or designer to provide you with drawings and samples or pictures to show you what you’re getting and then expect things to go, at least a little, awry. Remember that there’s magic in the deviations, like a road trip in the country (think Bridges of Madison County, not Blair Witch Project). 

If your visualizing skills are a little lean, remember to compensate through more active participation. While contractors do need to get their work done, it’s O.K. and actually essential to check in on what’s happening on a daily basis, showing what you like or don’t like and asking questions to help better understand what’s happening. There are few things in life more frustrating for a contractor than to have a client ask for a change a week later than necessary when so much more has been done to embed that work in place.  

Construction, like cooking or quilting, is a layering process, building one thing upon another. If the framing of a wall seems poorly placed, it may be quite easy to change after one day. A week later, that same wall may contain wiring, plumbing and wallboard. The client has a responsibility to speak up in a timely fashion when things are not coming out as they wished or imagined and to realise that the cost of these changes may reasonably rest at their doorstep when they don’t.  

Now, this isn’t to say that a failure to follow the plans on the part of the contractor is the client’s responsibility. It’s not. But understanding precisely what those plans will create is no small task for the contractor and frequently beyond the ken of the client. So it makes sense for you to keep your eyes peeled as drawings manifest as reality, so that, IF you come to realize that the plan isn’t quite what you wanted (or a paint color, or a trim style), you won’t have a lot of backtracking to do (or pay for).  

By the way, it is normal and fair for contractors to charge for any change that’s requested once construction has begun, and what you couldn’t visualize becomes your cross to bear, not theirs. Do the right thing and offer to pay for changes as you realize they’re needed and not strain the relationship by asking the contractor to make costly (yes, everything is costly) changes that come out of their profits. 

This is why good communication with your design and trade professionals is so vital from the very start. If you don’t feel as though you can chat and muse with them, it’s a good idea to change partners. Remember this: No matter how cordial it may be when you first meet, it’s going to be less so as time goes by. The best contractors won’t keep the process from being frustrating, at least part of the time. SO, be sure that you’re starting out with trust and a sense that this person (or people) will go the distance and represent your vision and wishes well.  

Lastly, after all the admonitions, let me say that this can be, and often is, a very exciting process and a lot of fun. Not as much as learning guitar but ... pretty close. 

TUESDAY, NOV. 27 

CHILDREN 

First Stage Children’s Theater “Stone Soup: The Musical” at 7:30 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $5 at the door. 

FILM 

“Film and Video at CCA: Performative, Gestural, Collaborative Work” with filmmakers in person at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Freight and Salvage Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $4.50-$5.50. 548-1761.  

George Higgins & Jerry Ratch at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. 525-5476.  

CJ Pascoe, author, in conversation with Barrie Thorne on “Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity & Sexuality in High School” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585.  

Robert Kuttner discusses “The Squandering of America: How the Failure of Our Politics Undermines Our Prosperity” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Edmund Welles Bass Clarinet Quartet, avant jazz, heavy chamber music, black metal, and classic rock at 8 p.m. at Berkeley City Club. 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $20. 525-5211.  

LeRoy Thomas & The Zydeco Roadrunners at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $12. 525-5054.  

Singers’ Open Mic with Kelly Park at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ.  

Randy Craig Trio , jazz, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Bilal, neo-soul jazz vocalist, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 28 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Paula Kamen disucsses “Finding Iris Chang” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

Mark Schapiro and Michael Pollan in conversation on “Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products: Who’s at Risk and What’s at Stake for American Power” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $5-$13. 559-9500. 

Melanie West reads from her new legal thriller “Conflict of Interest” at 7 p.m. at Laurel Book Store, 4100 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. 531-2073. 

“Writing Teachers Write” teacher/student readings from the Bay Area Writing Project at 5 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik and Three Blind Mice, at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oakland City Center Holiday Concert with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir at noon at 12th and Broadway, Oakland.  

U.C. Jazz at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $6. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Billy Dunn & Bluesway at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. West coast swing dance at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Rumbache at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Crowsong at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Leni Stern at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Bilal, neo-soul jazz vocalist, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, NOV. 29 

EXHIBITIONS 

“One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now” Guided tour at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“n+1: The Function of the Small Magazine at the Present Time” with editors of the journal on literature, politics and culture at 6 p.m. at 141 McCone Hall, UC Campus.  

Joanna Katz will show slides and talk about her paintings and mixed media pieces in the current show Magpies@Giorgi at 4 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave., at Ashby. 647-3513. 

Elizabeth Currid on “The Warhol Economy: How Fashion, Art, and Music Drive New York City” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. 

“The Legacy of Berkeley Parks: A Century of Planning and Making” with Marcia Grady, Sadie Graham and Louise Mozingo at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St.  

Alice Rothchild reads from her new book “Broken Promises, Broken Dreams - Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resiliance” at 7:30 p.m. at Kehilla Synagogue, 1300 Grand Ave., Piedmont.  

Stephen Vincent and Pat Reed, poets, at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Adam David Miller introduces “Ticket to Exile: A Memoir” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Tallis Scholars “Poetry in Music for the Virgin Mary” at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Durant and Dana. Tickets are $48. 642-9988.  

Culann’s Hounds at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Irish dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $13-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

UC Berkeley’s The Movement Fall 2007 Showcase Thurs. and Fri. at 8 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $9 at the door. ucb.movement.showcase@gmail.com 

Savoy Family Band at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

John Williams Gordon Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Tracy Sirota, folk rock, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Tresspassers, Bluegrass Revolution at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

Fred O’Dell & the Broken Arrows at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Roy Haynes and Birds of a Feather at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s. Cost is $16-$28. 238-9200.  

FRIDAY, NOV. 30 

THEATER 

Altarena Playhouse “The Man Who Saved Christmas” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda, through Dec. 16. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553.  

Aurora Theatre Company “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.  

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.  

Berkeley Rep “After the Quake” at the Trust Stage, 2025 Addison St., through Dec. 21. Tickets are $33-$69. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Black Repertory Group “A Rasin in the Sun” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 3201 Adeline St., through Dec. 14. Tickets are $10-$20. 652-2120. 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., at Contra Costa Civic Theatre, 951 Pomona Ave., at Moeser, El Cerrito, through Dec. 9. Tickets are $11-$18. 524-9132.  

Impact Theatre “A Very Special Money & Run Winter Season Holiday Special” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave., through Dec. 22. Tickets are $10-$15. 464-4468.  

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, through Dec. 15. Tickets are $18. 232-4031.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Site Revamped” Paintings by Marty McCorkle and Rachel Dawson. Opening reception at 5 p.m. at the Esteban Sabar Gallery, 480 23rd St., Oakland. 444-7411.  

“Commemorating 100 Years of the Hellenic Presence in the Bay Area” A pictoral exhibit and reception at 4 p.m. at Ascension Community Cener, 4700 Lincoln Ave., Oakland. www.ascensioncathedral.org 

“Radical Graphics of Taller Tupac Amaru” opens at 550 Second St., Jack London Square, Oakland. www.proartsgallery.org  

Touchable Stories “Richmond: The Story Continues” Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 6 p.m. at Old Kaiser Cafeteria, Shipyard #3, 1303 Canal Blvd., Richmond. Cost is $6-$12. Reservations required. 619-3675. www.touchablestories.org 

“Purple Holidaze” Opening reception at 7 p.m. at Gallery Eclectix, 7523 Fairmount Ave., El Cerrito. 364-7261. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Mark Wilson on “Julia Morgan: Architect of Beauty” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Ross Dance Company “Speak” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Cost is $15-$20. 428-9339. www.rossdance.com 

Summer of Love Salute to benefit Berkeley Liberation Radio with the Barry “the Fish” Melton Band, the Nick Gravenites Band at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12. 525-5054.  

Marvin Sanders, flute, Lena Lubotsky, piano, at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery 2911 Claremont Ave., at Ashby. 848-1228. 

Circus Oz “The Laughing Gravity Tour” Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m., Sun. at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $26-$48. 642-9988.  

UC Berkeley’s The Movement Fall 2007 Showcase at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $9 at the door. ucb.movement.showcase@gmail.com 

Babtunde Lea’s “Summoning of the Ghost” Tribute to Electric Miles and Beyond at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Xile and Xocolate with Meklit Hadero from Ethiopia and MamaCoatl from Mexico at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org  

Terrence Brewer Quintet at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373.  

Euphonia at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Tom Paxton at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $26.50-$27.50. 548-1761.  

Kismet-Mahal at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

The Flux, Frame of Mind at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

Swoop Unit at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Roy Haynes and Birds of a Feather at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $16-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, DEC. 1 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Colibri at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5 for adults, $4 for children. 849-2568.  

Andy Z, imaginative musical journeys, at 11 a.m. at Studio Grow, 1235 Tenth St. Cost is $7. 526-9888. 

“Short Attention Span Circus” with Jean Paul Valjean Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave, off Grand Ave., Oakland. Cost is $6. 452-2259. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Recent Landscape Photographs by Rob Reiter” Reception at 2 p.m. at The LightRoom Gallery, 2263 Fifth St. 649-8111. 

Poster Art of David Lance Goines on display from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sun. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 1186 Cedar St. 

“The Art and History of Early California” opens at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak St., Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2022. 

“Caalliiffoorrnniiaa Baakkeelliittee” Photographs by Richard Toronto. Opening reception at 5 p.m. at The Gallery at Lavezzo Designs, 5751 Horton St., Emeryville. 

Beaded Artwork from South Africa, in commemoration of World AIDS Day, on display from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Vital Life Services, 5720 Shattuck Ave. at 57th St., Oakland. 593-6690. 

FILM 

“The Living End” with filmmaker Gregg Araki in person at 8:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Made In Equilibrium” works by Michele Elizabeth Lee, Brady Nadell and Ross Drago. Artist talk at 3 p.m. at ABCo Artspace, 3135 Oakland, Oakland. www.abcoartspace.com 

Anna Furtado on the second installment in her lesbian historical fiction series, “The Briarcrest Chronicles” at 7 p.m. at Laurel Book Store, 4100 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. 531-2073. 

C.S. Giscombe, Susan Gevirtz, Brian Awehali and Catherine Meng read at 2 p.m. at Small Press Distribution Open House 1341 7th St. at Gilman. 524-1668.  

Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading, 3 to 5 p.m., at Strawberry Creek Lodge, 1320 Addison St. Park on the street, not in Lodge parking lot. 527-9905.  

Poetry Flash with Susan Kelly-DeWitt and Sandra McPherson at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra “Puccini’s Messa di Gloria” at 8 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Free, donations appreciated. 

Showcase of Bay Area Chamber Music Artists from 3 to 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Piano Club, 2427 Haste St. at Dana. Free, reservations suggested. 415-820-153., www.sffcm.org 

Three Trapped Tigers with Tom Bickley and David Barnett, recorders, at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Cost is $8-$12. 549-3864. 

Terry Bradford with Voena children’s choir, at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $23-$26. 925-798-1300. 

Ross Dance Company “Speak” at 8 p.m. at Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Cost is $15-$20. 428-9339. 

Erica Azim, traditional Shona mbira music of Zimbabwe at 8 p.m. at the Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance, 729 Heinz Ave. Cost is $15 at the door. 548-6053.  

Mike Glendinning, guitarist, songwriter CD release party at 2 p.m. at Pri Pri Cafe, 1309 Solano, Albany. Cost is $5. Proceeds will go to the Stroke Awareness Foundation. 528-7002. 

Anton Mitzerak & Kim Lorene, world music, at 7 p.m. at Unity of Berkeley, 2075 Eunice St. Donations welcome. 528-8844. 

Gamelan Sari Raras at 7 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $4-$12. 642-4864.  

Saed Muhssin’s Arab Orchestra of San Francisco & La Peña Community Choru at 8 p.m. at La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $15-$18. 849-2568.  

Lloyd Gregory Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ.  

“Musical Night in Africa” at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15. 525-5054. 

Sotaque Baiano at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Katherine Peck and Michael Burles at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Ramblin Jack Elliott at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $24.50-$25.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

WeBe3 with Rhiannon, Joey Blake and David Worm, at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $20. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Pat Nevins and Ragged Glory at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Royal Hawaiian Serenaders at 9 p.m. at Temple Bar Tiki Bar & Grill, 984 University Ave. 548-9888. 

SUNDAY, DEC. 2 

CHILDREN 

Asheba with Women of the World at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

EXHIBITIONS 

“One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now” Guided tour at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. 

Poster Art of David Lance Goines on display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 1186 Cedar St. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“For Keeps: Women Tell the Truth About Their Bodies, Growing Older, and Acceptance” with editor Victoria Zackheim, at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Anthony Lappe and Dan Goldman introdce their graphic novel “Shooting War” at 3 p.m. at Comic Relief of Berkeley, 2026 Shattuck Ave 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra “Puccini’s Messa di Gloria” at 4:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Free, donations appreciated. 

California Bach Society performs Charpentier’s “In Nativitatem Domini Canticum” at 4 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft at Ellsworth. Tickets are $10-$25. 415-262-0272. www.calbach.org 

Voci “Voices in Peace: VII: Winter Stillness” at 7 p.m. at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $15-$20, free for children under 12. www.vocisings.com 

WomenSing Holiday Concert at 4 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $10-$25. 925-974-9169. www.womensing.org 

“Messiah-Sing” in Baroque Style at 6 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. Suggested donation $10, no one turned away. 525-0302. 

Savoy Family Cajun Band at 1 p.m. at Down Home Music on Fourth St. 525-2129. 

Girl Talk Band, world jazz, at 1:30 p.m. at The Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720 ext 17. 

“Roots, Sass and Jazz” with Rhonda Benin, Darlene Coleman, Muziki Roberson and others at 4 p.m. at Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, 1616 Franklin St. All ages. Tickets are $10-$15. 836-4649. www.blackmusiciansforum.org 

Laurel Ensemble with Lori Lack, piano, and Catherine Seidel, soprano, “All About Igor Stravinsky” at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. Cost is $10-$15. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Classical South-Indian Dance Performance with Zavain Dar and Rebecca Whittington at 5 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 301 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $5-$7. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/23493 

Oakland East Bay Symphony “Let Us Break BRead Together” with teh Oakland Symphony Chorus, Mt. Eden H.S. Choir, Kugelplex, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and Piedont Choirs at 4 p.m. at Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway. 625-8497. 

Twang Cafe featuring Doug Blumer and the Beer Hunters, Pam Brandon & Maurice Tani, Chickwagon, at 7:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $10. www.twangcafe.org 

Holly Near at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $26.50-$27.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Junius Courtney Big Band from 3 to 6 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $15. All ages welcome. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Con Alma Jazztet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

The Troublemakers Union, international music for human rights, at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Ambrose Akinmusire at 4:30 at the Jazzschool. Cost is $20. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Savoy Family Band at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15-$18. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Nate Cooper at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

MONDAY, DEC. 3 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Aurora Theatre Company Script Club “Born Yesterday” by Garson Kanin with Maureen McVerry and Paul Heller at 7:30 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. 843-4822. 

“If Lost Then Found” with Kristin Lucas, artist, at 7:30 p.m. at 160 Kroeber Hall, UC Campus. 643-9565. http://atc.berkeley.edu 

Frank Moore, poetry, at 6 p.m. at Cafe Leila, 1724 San Pablo Ave. 526-7858. 

Poetry Express with Sayre Mingan, youth poet, at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Ed Neff and Friends, bluegrass, at 7 p.m. at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Ave. 849-1100. www.lebateauivre.net 

Trovatore, traditional Italian music, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

West Coast Songwriters Competition at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $5. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org

Poets Stephen Vincent (author of the newly published Junction Press collection, Walking Theory) and Pat Reed, both Bay Area poets noted for close observation of landscapes, will read 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Pegasus Books, at 2349 Shattuck Ave. 

Vincent is a native of Richmond, and, excepting two years as a Peace Corps volunteer, lecturing at the University of Nigeria-Nsukka, a lifelong Bay Area resident. He lives in San Francisco. A founding coordinator of California Poetry-in-the-Schools, Vincent lectures at the SF Art Institute and teaches creative writing at the Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning. He leads a walking and writing workshop for Stanford’s Continuing Studies Program.  

Vincent is the founder and publisher of Momo’s Press and is director of arts for book publisher Bedford Arts. His other titles include Walking (also from Junction Press), Towards Spicer (Cherry on the Top Press) and Sleeping With Sappho (faux ebooks). 

Vincent’s new collection alternates between observations and ruminations of what he sees on his walks, and elegies, especially for his father and his brother, but also for friends and for jazz musician Steve Lacy: “no one ever said the roll/would stop rolling ... / ... we strange ones, so familiar.” 

Repetition and restatement weave together the strands of immediate experience with loss and reflections on language. Poet Beverly Dahlen noted: “[Walking Theory] enhances the ancient association of the foot as measure of the poetic line ... measure becomes metaphor: ‘ ... foot ever to the ground, image by image, / thought by thought, word by word ...’.”  

A whimsical quality also enters in: “Leave a spiral jetty on the hill/little stone by little stone. / vary the color—dark to bright— / say hello, say good-bye.”  

Or, more abstruse: “Falling in love with Aphasia: / ( ) / Will you be mine? / Will you not say a thing? / Breathe on me.”  

Pat Reed was born “under the landing patterns of LAX,” and “grew up with her feet in the Pacific Ocean.”  

After years of “practicing violin ... in a walk-in closet,” she discovered poetry at 19, and moved from Southern California to the Bay Area about 25 years ago.  

She’s studied literature at UC Berkeley, surfed, played fiddle and practiced Soto Zen at Green Gulch Ranch in Marin and at the Berkeley Zen Center. She lives in Oakland, where she’s taught—and written about teaching-—South-East Asian immigrants over about a decade.  

She teaches at Cal State Hayward.  

Her poems often read as quick, sometimes humorous glimpses of nature, with a sense of the gaze that’s perceiving: “Aspen / flip’t the sun- / light /and the speckled deer / bound at me / blink’t big eye / lifted an ear / swiveled its head / & tore at the / thorny berry.” 

The series at Pegasus has featured notable internationally known poets, such as Nathaniel Tarn, as well as local writers. Schedules and info can be found at: pegasusbookstore.com. Clay Banes, series programmer, posts a blog, “eyeball hatred.” 

Owen Hill, who organizes readings at Moe’s Books on Telegraph Avenue, commented, “Clay really knows what he’s doing, and has been programming a good series, though it’s been a little under the radar. I hope it gets more recognition.”

WRIGHT CENTENNIAL  

Oakland Public Theater is launching an ongoing reading project for Richard Wright’s centennial at 7 p.m. Wednesday (the anniversary of Wright’s death in Paris in 1960) at the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland. The event will feature a reading of “Go Tell It On The Mountain,” focussing on the influence of the church on Wright and his fellow black expatriate writers and others he worked with or affected, such as James Baldwin, Chester Himes and Ralph Ellison. Readings will be drawn from Wright’s and others’ works, as well as biographical materials. Conceived by Richmond playwright and actor Richard Talavera, the series is directed by Oakland’s Norman Gee, and will explore various themes in the life of the author of Native Son, that black sequel to Dreiser’s An American Tragedy, and Black Boy, at different venues every month. Free admission. 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 534-9529 or richardwrightproject@gmail.com 

Ken Burns’ latest monumental television production is currently being shown on PBS channels. The War follows more than 40 people from 1941 to 1945, focusing on the citizens of Luverne, Minnesota; Sacramento, California; Waterbury, Connecticut; and Mobile, Alabama. The book companion to the series, The War: An Intimate History, 1941-1945, is available in public libraries.  

When I watched and listened to The War, the words and photographs of two of the men who appear throughout—Quentin C. Aanenson of Luverne and Eugene Bondourant Sledge of Mobile—were particularly poignant, especially episode 5: “FUBAR—fucked up beyond all repair.”  

I was living in the Unites States during World War II, contemporary with these then-young heroes. Three of my friends had already enlisted. One, a Nisei, was stationed in cold isolated Minnesota teaching Japanese in six-week rotations. Another was shipped overseas in the Queen Elizabeth’s depths and stationed outside London on General Eisenhower’s clerical staff, diving into a rain-filled fox hole during nightly air-raids. The third, with an incredibly high IQ, was assigned to type and “transport” (drive.) They later used their GI Bills—Hisako earning an M.S. degree, Justine a B.A., and Dorothy a Ph.D; none married.  

I sent soap and stockings to my English Red Cross club counterpart, who had been evacuated from London and already lost some of her hearing in the bombings, and she squeezed handwriting onto both sides of scraps of paper. We became lifelong friends a la Helene Hanff’s 84, Charing Cross Road. 

In 1994 I chanced upon a brief television interview of Aanenson describing “A Fighter Pilot’s Story,” a VHS production he had created for his family. The World Catalog indicates its presence in collections of 43 public, academic and military libraries, two of which are in California: the Los Angeles County Public Library at Downey and the Ontario City Library.  

I was so impressed with this compassionate man that I asked the editor of The Library Journal, for which I reviewed videos and books, to consider it for LJ reviews.  

My review from 17 years ago began:  

“Using personal photos, combat film, period music and correspondence, 73-year-old Aanenson created this masterwork to explain his World War II combat experience to his family. The ‘story’ is of a 20-year-old Army Air Corps enlistetee as he learns to fly the P-47 Thunderbolt, meets his future spouse, is commissioned, and flies European missions beginning with D-Day. (It aired on PBS as part of 1994 D-Day commemoration.) This touching first-person narrative and photographs convey the emotional and physical transformation wrought by the brutality of war conveys a young man who ‘nearly lost all hope.’ Sensitivity, insight, and meticulous record-keeping combine with forthright presentation to make this hero’s narrative unique. Essential for all public, college, and most libraries serving adults and young adults...” [Library Journal 120, April 1, 1995] 

Now an elder, Aanenson appears again, contributing significantly to The War as both a narrator and the fighter pilot. The production team wisely uses his military footage and personal films, diary entries and letters to convey the tragic story of one man’s war from a very personal viewpoint. For pilot Quentin Aanenson, combat brought moments of intense anguish. In a clip posted on The War website, he remembers one mission when his plane’s machine gun fire sent the bodies of German soldiers flying. “When I got back home to the base in Normandy and landed, I got sick,” he says. “I had to think about what I had done … that didn’t change my resolve for the next day. I went out and did it again and again and again and again.” 

“For the men of the ‘old breed’ who struggled, bled, died, and eventually won on Peleliu and Okinawa, Sledgehammer is their most eloquent spokesman. I’m proud to have served with them—and with him,” declares U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Captain Thomas J. Stanley.  

Eugene Bondourant Sledge (1923-2001) was “Sledgehammer” to his fellow rifle company Marines and “E. B. Sledge” as author of With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, first published by Novato’s Presidio Press in 1981. UC Berkley’s main collection holds a copy of the illustrated edition for which historian Paul Fussell, another The War narrator, has provided a worthy introduction. Fussell’s own horrific and disillusioning World War II service led to his 1996 book, Doing Battle: The Making of a Skeptic. He writes, “If it was Sledge’s fine sensibility that caused him to suffer more than some, it is that same sensibility that in this book has kept the distinctions firm, the compassion warm, the imagination agile, and the values admirable.”  

Sledge prefaces his book, “My Pacific war experiences have haunted me, and it has been a burden to retain this story ... I’m fulfilling an obligation I have long felt to my companions in the lst Marine Division, who suffered so much for our country. None came out unscathed.”  

One of the many casualties is his initial innocence about human evil: “Something in me died at Peleliu.” 

Today not many Americans can comprehend (let alone pronounce) what happened in places called Bouganville, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Morotai, Noumea, Palau, Pavuvu, Peleliu, Okinawa—other than “The Teahouse of the August Moon.”  

Sledge takes the reader into “the abyss of Peleliu” and on to “the bloody muddy month of May on Okinawa” that almost drove him insane and about which 50 years later he still had nightmares. Supposed to take three or four days, it lasted for almost two months, one of the worst slaughters of Marines in the Pacific. Many now believe that the invasion of this six-square mile island was entirely unnecessary. 

“As I looked at the stains on the coral, I recalled some of the eloquent phrases of politicians and newsmen about how ‘gallant’ it is for a man to ‘shed his blood for his country,’ and ‘to give his life’s blood as a sacrifice,’ and so on. The words seemed so ridiculous. Only the flies benefited … None of us would ever be the same after what we had endured. To some degree that is true, of course, of all human experience. But something in me died at Peleliu. Perhaps it was a childish innocence that accepts as faith the claim that man is basically good. Possibly I lost faith that politicians in high places who do not have to endure war’s savagery will ever stop blundering and sending others to endure it.”  

Following World War II, I began to reject that giving their lives phrase. Today, when, instead, I say taking their lives, at best I get a questioning look. 

Despite the old saw about one picture being worth a thousand words, I shall avoid the likes of the mini TV-series said to be forthcoming from DreamWorks, Inc., creators of Band of Brothers. It “will tell the intertwined stories of three Marines during America’s battles with the Japanese in the Pacific during World War II.” Joseph Mazzello has been cast as Eugene Sledge; filming locations include Australia. 

Nothing can take the place of viewing/listening to “A Fighter Pilot’s Story,” which is extremely verbal, and slowly reading With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. Both are still essential for the collections of all public, college, and most libraries serving adults and young adults. I commend Sledge to those who determine community book-reading; while he’s not in the public library’s collection and the university’s circulating collection is not accessible to ordinary folk, Amazon makes it possible to be in spirit with the Old Breed.

Chopped fish and mealworms: not your classic Thanksgiving menu. But that’s what the eared and horned grebes at the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRCC) were getting. The larger birds—surf scoters, greater scaup, western grebes, common murres—were fed whole fish. The coots, according to a whiteboard notation, got a side of bloodworms “if we have any bloodworms.” 

I had volunteered for holiday duty (along with some 40 other people, as it turns out; the staff was hard put to find work for all of us) and had been assigned the fish-chopping detail, retrieving thawing small fish from a tub and scissoring them into diagonal chunks. I took them to be anchovies at first, but someone told me they were smelt. Not the endangered delta smelt, which is supposed to smell of cucumbers; these guys smelled unequivocally fishy. 

The IBRRC, an institution that deserves to be better known, is in Cordelia, near the 80/680 junction and the northern fringe of Suisun Marsh. Founded in Berkeley after the 1971 Oregon Standard oil spill and housed for years at Aquatic Park, it moved up here 30 years later. What the IBRCC does is the gold standard of oiled-bird care. Veterinarians and other emergency responders are here from as far away as Chile and Germany to watch the staff deal with the aftermath of the Cosco Busan spill, and to lend a hand themselves. 

Two weeks after the container ship hit the Bay Bridge, operations were winding down here. New birds were still being brought in, but only a trickle in comparison with the original flood. I found a current tally on the whiteboard in the break room: as of 10 p.m. on Nov. 21, 1,053 birds had arrived alive. Of those, 745 had been washed with Dawn detergent, and 133 had been released at Pillar Point and in Tomales Bay. Another 80 to 100 were undergoing blood testing and a veterinary check as candidates for release. A further 1,544 had been picked up dead, and were filling up the IBRCC’s freezers. 

Most of the birds awaiting evaluation and release were surf scoters, black-and-white orange-billed drakes and dark-brown ducks. There are thousands of them on San Francisco Bay this time of year; over 75 percent of the whole North American population winters locally. They’ve been hammered by contaminants in the Bay and logging and climate change on their boreal forest nesting grounds. They didn’t need to encounter 58,000 gallons of bunker oil. 

The scoters—and scaup, grebes, murres, common loons, bufflehead, and ruddy ducks—were housed in converted backyard pools, covered with netting to keep the spill victims in and opportunistic egrets and other fish-eaters out. Each pool bore a “No Diving” warning, but the birds were ignoring it. Diving, though, is what got them in trouble in the first place. All these species forage by diving for fish or mollusks from the water’s surface. Birds that make their living in other ways were less affected. 

But the spill cast a broad net. Nearly 40 species have been brought to the IBRCC, dead or alive: five species of grebes, three of loons, eight of ducks, five of gulls. There were a couple of shorebirds (black turnstone, lesser yellowlegs), a few pelagic seabirds (northern fulmar, rhinoceros auklet), even sparrows and starlings. And three raccoons, all DOA, presumably drowned while scavenging oiled bird carcasses. 

Chopping the smelt, which can become a fairly absorbing task, I was surrounded by controlled chaos. A volunteer named Sandra directed the movement of birds from pool to pen to examining station using three whiteboards and colored cardboard tags. (The next time this happens, and it will, the IBRCC may use microchips to track the traffic.) Plywood pens were being moved and sluiced down with pressure hoses. Yet another media crew, this one from a Sacramento TV station, arrived midmorning and had to be escorted around. 

Between food prep and towel folding, I got to watch a western grebe’s pre-evaluation. It was swaddled in a towel and not happy to be on the examining table. The vet took a blood sample and examined its yellow-green legs, which appeared swollen: too much time out of the water before it was rescued. It would have to stay in its pool a bit longer. Others with the right blood values and weight would get to go out. 

And I got to meet UC Davis oil spill response veterinarian Greg Massey, who, with Oiled Wildlife Care Network director Michael Ziccardi, will be trying to learn more about treating oiled birds so as to be better prepared for that inevitable next time. They’ll be looking at infrared imaging to detect which birds are losing body weight, better sanitation at the rescue center, blood analyses as more effective predictors of survival. 

If there’s a bright spot to the whole sorry Cosco Busan saga—the bungling, the flailing response, the neglect of whole stretches of badly oiled shoreline, don’t get me started—it’s what the folks at IBRCC, and its affiliated rescue centers like WildCare, are doing. There are still some heroes around. 

Photograph by Ron Sullivan. 

A scaup drake revels in his restored waterproofing and apparent health, in a pool at the International Bird Rescue Research Center’s Cordelia facility.

TUESDAY, NOV. 27 

El Cerrito Democratic Club meets to discuss the endorsement of February ballot initiatives, with Abdi Soltani, Executive Director of the Campaign for College Opportunity at 7:30 p.m. at ECDCs new location, El Cerrito United Methodist Church, 6830 Stockton St., near Richmond Ave. Members of the public are welcome. 375-5647. www.ecdclub.org 

“Bicycle Touring in Italy” A slide presentation with Paul and Teri Hudson at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Lead-Safe Painting and Remodeling Class for homeowners who want to learn to detect and remedy lead hazards in the home. From 6 to 8 p.m. at Emeryville Recreation Center, 4300 San Pablo Ave, Emeryville. Free, but resgistration required. 567-8280. www.aclppp.org 

Berkeley High School Governance Council meets at 4:15 p.m. in the Community Theater Lobby. 644-4803. 

Berkeley PC Users Group meets to discuss computer problems and remedies at 7 p.m. at 1145 Walnut St., near corner of Eunice. MelDancing@aol.com 

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at West Pauley Ballroom MLK Student Union, UC Campus. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com  

Family Storytime at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043.  

“Accupressure for Pain” with Lawrence Schectman at noon at the Fibromyalgia Education Group, Herrick Campus, Alta Bates Medical Center, 2001 Dwight Way, followed by pot-luck. 644-3273.  

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.  

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 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 28 

Birding with the Golden Gate Audubon Society at Lake Merritt and Lakeside Park in Oakland. Meet at 9:30 a.m. at the large spherical cage near Nature Center at Perkins and Bellevue. 834-1066. 

“Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power” with Mark Schapiro in conversation with Michael Pollan at 7:30 pm at the First Congregational Church in Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. For tickets contact 415-255-7296. ext. 253. www.globalexchange.org/events 

“Holiday Giving: Think Green, Think Fair Trade, and Don’t Get Scammed” Program and Holiday Party with the Berkeley-East Bay Gray Panthers at 1:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst, corner of MLK. 548-9696. 

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Colloquium with Ruth Tringham on “Multi-scalar Spatial Context of Past Social Practices” at 1 p.m. at Wurster Hall, Room 315A, UC Campus. All welcome. laep.ced.berkeley.edu/events/colloquium 

Small Business Loan Application Night with Lenders for Community Development, a not-for-profit providing loans and business consulting to low-income business owners who cannot qualify for bank loans from 5 to 7 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. RSVP to 1-866-299-8173. buildcredit@L4CD.com  

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. Heavy rain cancels. 548-9840. 

After-School Program Homework help, drama and music for children ages 8 to 18, every Wed. from 4 to 7:15 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Cost is $5 per week. 845-6830. 

Teen Book Club meets to discuss derivative titles at 4 p.m. at Claremont Branch Library, 2940 Benvenue at Ashby. 981-6121. 

War and Peace Book Group meets to discuss “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut at 7 p.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 16. 

THURSDAY, NOV. 29 

“The Legacy of Berkeley Parks: A Century of Planning and Making” at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St.  

BASIL Seed Library Meeting Learn how to support local garden seed saving at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 658-9178. 

“Using Science and Technologies for Environmental and Health Problems in Developing Countries” with Christina Galitsky of LBNL at the Association for Women in Science meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Novartis, Room 4.104, 4560 Horton St. Suggested donation $5-$10. www.ebawis.org 

Green Collar Jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area at noon at Morgan Hall Lounge, 114 Morgan Hall, UC Campus. 642-6371. 

“Broken Promises, Broken Dreams - Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resiliance” with author Alice Rothchild at 7:30 p.m. at Kehilla Synagogue located at 1300 Grand Avenue, Piedmont.  

Babies & Toddlers Storytime at 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

FRIDAY, NOV. 30 

“The Camden 28” a documentary on the nonviolent antiwar resistors who were arrested in the summer of 1971 for the break-in at the Camden NJ draft board, at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Friends Church, Sacramento & Cedar. 923-1853. 

East Bay Paratransit A community meeting with Assemblywoman Loni Hancock at 1 p.m. at North Oakland Senior Center, 5714 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, entrance at parking lot at 58th St., Oakland. 559-1406. 

Teen Playreaders meets to read “Hamlet” and other plays based on the classic, at 4 p.m. at Claremont Branch Library, 2940 Benvenue at Ashby. 981-6121. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Orientation from noon to 1 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. Come learn about volunteer opportunities. 644-8833. 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Donald H. Blevins, Chief Probation Officer, Alameda County, “How the Alameda County Probation System Serves its Citizens” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

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. 

SATURDAY, DEC. 1 

Native American Pow Wow with drumming, dancing, Native American crafts and foods, and activities for children, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on Sun. from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Laney College Gymnasium, 900 Fallon St. at 10th, Oakland. Benefits American Indian Child Resource Center. 208-1870, ext. 310. 

Spinning a Yarn Listen to fairy tales inpired by spinners and watch the spinning wheel turn at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Alternative Gift Market, with gifts that can change the world - medical supplies for Darfur, reforestation in Haiti, or shelter for our neighbors here in the East Bay, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Hillside Community Church, 1422 Navellier St., El Cerrito. 236-4348. 

East Bay Sanctuary Covenant’s Crafts Fair with world crafts and art from Africa, Central America, Haiti, Palestine, Afghanistan and Tibet, Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way at Dana.  

California College of the Arts Holiday Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Oliver Art Center, CCA’s Oakland campus, 5212 Broadway, at College Ave.  

Berkeley Artisans Open Studios Sat and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Dec. 16. 845-2612. www.berkeleyartisans.com 

Richmond Art Center Holiday Art Festival with art and craft sale, hands-on art activities for children and silent auction, from noon to 5 p.m. at 2540 Barrett Ave., at 25th St., Richmond. 620-6772. www.therichmondartcenter.org 

Alameda Artists Holiday Open Studios Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A map of open studios is available at www.ci.alameda.ca.us/arpd 

Masala Artist Collective Holiday Bazaar from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Swarm Gallery, 560 Second St., Oakland. 654-9180. 

Small Press Distribution Holiday Open House with a book sale and readings from noon to 4 p.m. at 1341 7th St. at Gilman. 524-1668.  

Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library Holiday Book Sale with books, pamphlets, and more, at 10 a.m. 595-7417. 

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour of “The Hillside School” Built in 1925 by Walter Ratcliff, led by Kay Dolit and Carolyn Adams. Walk is from 10 a.m. to noon. Cost is $8-$10. To register and for information on meeting place call 848-0181. www.cityofberkeley.info/histsoc/ 

Plant Natives on Berkeley Paths Join Friends of Five Creeks and Berkeley Path Wanderers to plant natives along pathways in the Upper Codornices Creek watershed. Call to RSVP. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

Walk the Upper Claremont with Berkeley Path Wanderers Explore history, trails, and hidden open spaces in the upper Claremont area on a Berkeley Path Wanderers Association walk. Meet at 10 a.m. at Peet’s Coffee, 2916 Domingo. 849-1969. www.berkeleypaths.org 

French Broom Removal Volunteers needed to remove the broom in Redwood Regional Park. We provide the tools. Meet at 9:30 a.m. at the Skyline Gate staging area, 8500 Skyline Blvd. 812-8265. 

Fungus Fair: A Celebration of Wild Mushrooms Explore the mysteries of the mushroom, with exhibits, slidetalks, mushroom marketplace, tasty mushroom soup for sale, and hands-on fungus fun for the whole family, Sat. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sun. from noon to 5 p.m. at Oakland Museum of CA, 1000 Oak St., at 10th St., Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. 

Book Drive for West County Reads Bring your book donations to Jenny K at 6927 Stockton Ave. and Well Grounded Coffee and Tea, 6925 Stockton Ave., El Cerrito, Sat. and Sun. between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. www.westcountyreads.org  

“Sowing Seeds” Humane Education Workshop for teachers and advocates for social justice and environmental preservation, Sat. from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sun. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 240 Mulford, UC Campus. Registration is $125, students $35. Financial aid available. sowingseeds@HumanEducation.org 

Behind the Scenes at Pixar Animation Studios Benefit for the Emery Ed Fund at 11 a.m. at Pixar Animation Studios, 1200 Park Ave., Emeryville. Tickets are $100 and up. 601-4911. 

Political Affairs Readers Group “Class Struggle in a Socialist Market Economy” A discussion at 10 a.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Sponsored by the Communist Party USA, Oakland Berkeley Branch. Articles available at www.politicalaffairs.com 

Produce Stand at Spiral Gardens Food Security Project from 1 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon St. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

SUNDAY, DEC. 2 

22nd Annual Holiday Appeal for Class-War Prisoners from 3 to 6 p.m. at Berkeley Unitarian Universalists, 1606 Bonita Ave. at Cedar. Cost is $5-$10. 839-0852. 

Making Natural Holiday Wreaths Learn about fir, bay and other flora and how to use them, from noon to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Please bring a pair of small hand-clippers, a large flat box and a bag lunch. Not appropriate for children under 8. Cost of $25-$34. Registration required. 1-888-EBPARKS. 

Berkeley Artisans Open Studios from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Dec. 16. 845-2612. www.berkeleyartisans.com 

Richmond Art Center Holiday Arts Festival with arts and crafts, silent auction, children’s art activities from noon to 5 p.m. at 2540 Barrett Ave., Richmond. 620-6772. 

Albany Holiday Art Show and Sale, with watercolors, drawings, paintings and etchings, acrylic paintings, cards, bookmarks and more, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave., Albany. 559-7226. 

Masala Artist Collective Holiday Bazaar from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Swarm Gallery, 560 Second St., Oakland. 654-9180. 

Old Time Radio East Bay Collectors and listeners gather to enjoy shows together at 5 p.m. at a private home in Berkeley. For more information email DavidinBerkeley at Yahoo.com. 

“Using Filters in Photoshop” with Don Melandry, photoimager, at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6107.  

Cool Schools Warming Campaign for middle and high school students to learn how to take action against global warming in their schools and communities, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the College and Career Center, Berkeley High School, 1980 Allston Way, at Milvia. RSVP to 704-4030. chicory@earthteam.net 

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 Jack Petranker on “Are We Ready for the Truth?” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 809-1000 www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, DEC. 3 

“Protecting North Richmond Wetlands” with Rich Walkling of Natural Heritage Institute at 7 p.m. at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin at Masonic. Free. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

CITY MEETINGS 

City Council meets Tues., Nov. 27, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Planning Commission meets Wed., Nov. 28, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Janet Homrighausen, 981-7484.  

Downtown Area Plan Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7487.

The Nov. 23 story “Judge Throws Out Oak-to-9th Plan EIR” mistakenly stated that Alex Katz, communications director in the Oakland’s city attorney’s office, said the court agreed with the city on 14 of the EIR complaints and with the plaintiffs on 10 issues. Mr. Katz had said the court had agreed with the city on 10 issues and with the plaintiffs on four issues, for a total of 14 issues.

FRIDAY, NOV. 23 

THEATER 

Anteres Ensemble “Human Voice” by Jean Cocteau at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sun. at 2 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $25. 415-531-8454.  

Aurora Theatre Company “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.  

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.  

Berkeley Rep “After the Quake” at the Trust Stage, 2025 Addison St., through Dec. 21. Tickets are $33-$69. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Black Repertory Group “A Rasin in the Sun” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 3201 Adeline St., through Dec. 14. Tickets are $10-$20. 652-2120. 

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. ccct.org  

Impact Theatre “A Very Special Money & Run Winter Season Holiday Special” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave., through Dec. 22. Tickets are $10-$15. 464-4468.  

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, through Dec. 15. Tickets are $18. 232-4031.  

Wilde Irish Productions “The Children of Lir” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 3 p.m., through Nov. 24 at Gaia Arts Center, 2116 Allston Way. Tickets are $10-$12. 841-7287.  

EXHIBITIONS 

Touchable Stories “Richmond: The Story Continues” Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 6 p.m. at Old Kaiser Cafeteria, Shipyard #3, 1303 Canal Blvd., Richmond. Cost is $6-$12. Reservations required. 619-3675. www.touchablestories.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Women’s Will “Christmas Memories” readings of Christmas Classics Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at the Pardee Home Museum, Oakland. Tickets are $10-$15. 420-0813. www.womenswill.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Raffi Garabedian, jazz, at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

David Jacobs-Strain at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Sulky Darky, Tiger Fight at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

The Steve McQuarry Group at 8 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave.  

The Revtones, 1/4 Mile Combo at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Married Couple at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Tuck & Patti at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $22-$26. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, NOV. 24 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Made In Equilibrium” works by Michele Elizabeth Lee, Brady Nadell and Ross Drago. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at ABCo Artspace, 3135 Oakland, Oakland. www.abcoartspace.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Women’s Will “Christmas Memories” readings of Christmas Classics at 8 p.m. at the Pardee Home Museum, Oakland. Tickets are $10-$15. 420-0813. www.womenswill.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Dan Zanes & Friends at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Sun. at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $16-$26. 642-9988.  

Barbara Dane and Her Band at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $15. 841-JAZZ.  

Marimba Pacifica, Los Bros with guests at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Mere Ours, Tyler Whitmore at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Gary Zellerbach with Georgianna Krieger on saxophone at 8 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave.  

Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Maya Kronfeld Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Nathan Clevinger Group, Jon Arkin Trio at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

David Jeffrey’s Jazz Fourtet at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

SUNDAY, NOV. 25 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Chamber Music Sundaes featuring San Francisco Symphony musicians and friends, at 3 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $18-$22, at the door. www.chambermusicsundaes.org 

Pulse Brasil at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

David Grossman “Bach for Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Eliyahu & Qadim at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Eric & Suzy Thompson at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Steve Shaffer and friends at 8 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave.  

MONDAY, NOV. 26 

FILM 

“Live at the Rainbow” Bob Marley & the Wailer’s 1977 show at 8 p.m. at Elmwood Theater, 2966, College Ave. at Ashby. Cost is $10. 433-9730. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Alix Olson and friends perform from “Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

Judith Thurman reads from “Cleopatra’s Nose: 39 Varieties of Desire” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Poetry Express Between the Holidays Erotic Poetry Night at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Classical at the Freight with Trio Concertino at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. 

Babshad Jazzz at 7 p.m. at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Ave. 849-1100.  

Musica ha Disconnesso, traditional Italian music, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Louie Romero y su groupo Mazacote at 8:30 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200.  

TUESDAY, NOV. 27 

CHILDREN 

First Stage Children’s Theater “Stone Soup: The Musical” at 7:30 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $5 at the door. 

FILM 

“Film and Video at CCA: Performative, Gestural, Collaborative Work” with filmmakers in person at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Freight and Salvage Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $4.50-$5.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

George Higgins & Jerry Ratch at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. 525-5476.  

CJ Pascoe, author, in conversation with Barrie Thorne on “Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity & Sexuality in High School” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. www.universitypressbooks.com  

Robert Kuttner discusses “The Squandering of America: How the Failure of Our Politics Undermines Our Prosperity” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Edmund Welles Bass Clarinet Quartet, avant jazz, heavy chamber music, black metal, and classic rock at 8 p.m. at Berkeley City Club. 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $20. 525-5211. www.berkeleychamberperform.org 

LeRoy Thomas & The Zydeco Roadrunners at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $12. 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 

Randy Craig Trio , jazz, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Bilal, neo-soul jazz vocalist, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazzschool at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 28 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Paula Kamen disucsses “Finding Iris Chang” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

Mark Schapiro and Michael Pollan in conversation on “Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products: Who’s at Risk and What’s at Stake for American Power” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $5-$13. 559-9500. 

Melanie West reads from her new legal thriller “Conflict of Interest” at 7 p.m. at Laurel Book Store, 4100 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. 531-2073. 

“Writing Teachers Write” teacher/student readings from the Bay Area Writing Project at 5 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik and Three Blind Mice, at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oakland City Center Holiday Concert with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir at noon at 12th and Broadway, Oakland.  

U.C. Jazz at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $6. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Billy Dunn & Bluesway at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. West coast swing dance at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Rumbache 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.  

Crowsong at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Leni Stern at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Bilal, neo-soul jazz vocalist, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, NOV. 29 

EXHIBITIONS 

“One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now” Guided tour at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“n+1: The Function of the Small Magazine at the Present Time” with editors of the journal on literature, politics and culture at 6 p.m. at 141 McCone Hall, UC Campus.  

Joanna Katz will show slides and talk about her paintings and mixed media pieces in the current show Magpies@Giorgi at 4 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave., at Ashby. 647-3513. 

Elizabeth Currid on “The Warhol Economy: How Fashion, Art, and Music Drive New York City” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. 

“The Legacy of Berkeley Parks: A Century of Planning and Making” with Marcia Grady, Sadie Graham and Louise Mozingo at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St.  

Alice Rothchild reads from her new book “Broken Promises, Broken Dreams - Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resiliance” at 7:30 p.m. at Kehilla Synagogue, 1300 Grand Ave., Piedmont.  

Stephen Vincent and Pat Reed, poets, at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Adam David Miller introduces “Ticket to Exile: A Memoir” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Tallis Scholars “Poetry in Music for the Virgin Mary” at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Durant and Dana. Tickets are $48. 642-9988.  

Culann’s Hounds at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Irish dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $13-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

UC Berkeley’s The Movement Fall 2007 Showcase Thurs. and Fri. at 8 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $9 at the door. ucb.movement.showcase@gmail.com 

Savoy Family Band at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

John Williams Gordon Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Tracy Sirota, folk rock, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Tresspassers, Bluegrass Revolution at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082  

Fred O’Dell & the Broken Arrows at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Roy Haynes and Birds of a Feather at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $16-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com

There’s a magical time in childhood when the fiction of film is nearly indistinguishable from the reality of life, a time when a child still has a willingness and an ability to believe that magic is possible, and that maybe, just maybe, he can be its agent.  

I was at that age when George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy was at its peak. It seemed to me entirely possible that such a cosmic drama indeed took place light years ago in a faraway galaxy, and that it might be still be in progress, maybe even somewhere in my neighborhood. Lucas’ attempt to construct a myth was successful, and I, and a gazillion other kids around the world, were his silent collaborators.  

It doesn’t take a battery of special effects and widescreen melodrama to grab hold of a child’s imagination, however. Another film held sway over my young imagination, one that approached the world of youth and dreams from the opposite end of the spectrum.  

Albert Lamorisse’s Academy Award-winning The Red Balloon (1959) was a major fixture in my childhood, a seemingly perennial treat bestowed on me and my fellow students throughout elementary school. And, judging by a casual survey of Internet posts on the topic, my school was hardly unique; it seems, when it comes to The Red Balloon, no American child was left behind. It seemed very real to me the first time I saw it, and though the reality of it faded as I grew older, successive viewings never failed to enthrall.  

The Red Balloon and White Mane (1953), another of Lamorisse’s children’s films, are getting a theatrical release from Janus Films. The two short films (approximately 35 minutes each) will screen as a double feature beginning today at Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas in downtown Berkeley.  

The Red Balloon follows a few days in the life of Pascal (Pascal Lamorisse, the director’s son). In the opening scene he climbs a lamppost to untangle a red balloon, which he carries with him for the rest of the day. When he returns home in the afternoon, his mother discards the balloon by releasing it from their apartment window. But the balloon, grateful to the boy for having rescued it, hangs around, and in the morning it descends to street level again to join Pascal as he walks out the door and starts the long walk to school.  

From that point on the two are inseparable. However, the pair draws the attention of a pack of bullies who chase Pascal and the balloon through the streets and empty lots of Paris. The chase culminates in a remarkable scene in which we see just how well Lamorisse has managed to anthropomorphize the balloon. In a single long shot, the balloon slowly deflates—an oddly painful moment that drew tears from many a rapt child in my classes. But what follows is an uplifting scene that perfectly embodies the fantasies of childhood.  

The White Mane is also the story of childhood and friendship, this time between a boy and a seemingly untamable wild horse. Again Lamorisse produces an evocative tale, beautifully photographed, that examines the compassion and dreams of a young boy. 

White Mane is a horse among horses, the leader of his herd, proud, defiant and elusive. Ranchers try to catch and tame him, but none can hold onto him for long. But the boy is able to prove his devotion and sincerity to the horse, and what develops is another magical friendship that concludes with another of Lamorisse’s fairy tale endings.  

Down under at La Val’s Subterranean, the Impact theater company has already geared up for the season with their brand-new Very Special Money & Run Winter Season Holiday Special, complete with Xmas lights and a lit-up “Season’s Greetings” sign in red and green on the usual set, resembling a basement rec room. 

In this case, it’s the lobby, rooms and garage of a seedy hotel, where our intrepid couple of crooks on the lam, Bobby Jean Marshall (Jessica Rhodes) and Jimmy Jake McAllister (Alex Curtis)—aka Money & Run, the postmodern Bonnie & Clyde—are holing up for the holidays, hoping for a quiet Christmas, out of sight, mind and warrant or subpoena. 

Hard on their heels, as they strong-arm their way into the last room in a “no-vacancy” flea trap catering to hookers and crazies, are an expectant couple, Meryl (Seth Tygesen) and Josephine (Elissa Dunn), who get stabled in the garage. Everybody’s charmed at this cracker replica of the Holy Family, and the lucky pair themselves hold a loud, fractious talk about whether almost-due Josephine’s really a virgin, or if heavy petting in the back seat doesn’t count. 

Among others interested in the young parents-to-be is Big Momma Bob (Cynthia Brinkman, in a lusty turn), who wants the birth to be broadcast live from her liquor emporium—and is offering cash for the rights. And just when it seems to be a white trash Christmas, Frankie (ebullient Alan Bare) and his entourage blow in from the burg in full mafia fashion as The Three Wise-Guys, after Meryl to collect on a sucker bet and cash in on the Christmas kid. 

Rounding out the rout are Dr. Asswagon (comedic Jon Nagel) and Jimmy Jack Bodeen (Matt Gunnison), who seems to bear a personal grudge towards our hero. 

It starts out slow and amusing, but shifts into high and hysterical before too long, with funny fight and chase scenes. The cast of 14 does well, with Jeremy Forbing’s direction, in this burlesque of road and buddy pics, caper flicks, and pious holiday fare in general. Choco Couture’s costumes, like Big Momma Bob’s outsize Santa outfit with cowboy boots, add to the slightly surreal Tobacco Row decadence. 

It’s all a burlesque, perfectly suited to Impact’s entertainment mission, which often includes burlesque dancers, replaced here by hookers: Miyuki Bierlein (who doubles as a killer nurse and “assorted homeless”), Casi Maggio (also Angel, whose annunciation’s on a restaurant check, “like a fortune cookie,” and yet another killer nurse with a snap of the latex glove) and Sarah Thomas (Frankie’s moll as well). The chorus, whether dancing or, here, strolling by and taunting the leads, neatly vaudevillize this basement theater that packs ’em in, intent on fun, over their beer and pizza.

I was hoping to pass along a wholehearted endorsement of one of my favorites in the odd category of “stores where I pretty much can’t afford anything but it’s all nice to look at”—I think of such a place as a museum if the staff is welcoming enough.  

As it turned out, though The Wooden Duck is absolutely perfect in that regard and also forwards the bright idea of making furniture out of salvaged teak, mostly from houses being torn down in Indonesia and China; salvaged Douglas fir from West Coast barns and such; and with lumber planed from dead or fallen trees more locally. Much of the last is in the form of great long tables, some with the edges unplaned and in their original wavy shape, to handsome effect.  

The garden furniture, though, is slightly less wonderful in origin: it’s all made of “plantation-grown teak.” This sounds like a good idea, and maybe is one, but one has to wonder what used to exist where these plantations are.  

There was nothing to document whether the teak for the garden furniture had been grown sustainably, and the salesperson had little information other than that the plantation grew shade coffee under the teak trees. 

What if the wood were certified? That’s still a matter of controversy. 

The Forest Stewardship Council, an international nongovernmental organization based in Germany, sets standards for sound forest management and accredits other groups to inspect and certify. 

After the timber is cut, its chain of custody from forest to consumer has to be documented. Some big names have signed on to one degree or another, including Home Depot, Lowe’s, and IKEA. And consumers have shown that, given a choice, they’ll opt for certified products even if they’re more expensive. 

One of the key players in the FSC, the Rainforest Alliance, audits forestry operations worldwide through its SmartWood program, covering everything from lumber to maple syrup. The Gibson guitarmaking company offers a line of Les Paul SmartWood guitars. 

Is it working? There are some apparent success stories. On the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, small farmers have been certified by SmartWood as growing teak sustainably on small plots, as an alternative to illegal harvests. Their practices include continuous planting and intercropping teak with cocoa, coffee, cashews, pepper, and candlenut trees instead of putting all their eggs in a monocultural basket. 

The fact that a teak operation has been certified doesn’t guarantee that it still meets FSC standards, though. SmartWood gave its blessing to the Javanese state-owned plantation forestry operation Perum Perhutani in 1990. Eleven years later, SmartWood decertified Perhutani, an action affecting 36 companies that used the wood for teak garden furniture. Teak certifications have also been lifted in Panama.  

But even the most diversified teak plantation isn’t a rain forest. It’s a brutal simplification of the intricate complexities of tropical ecosystems. Shade coffee plantations in Central America offer some space for biodiversity; they do this by leaving some of the original forest canopy in place rather than replacing it with a crop that gets harvested periodically.

I’m learning the guitar at the advanced age of 49 (don’t laugh, it feels old to me) and it’s mighty slow going. My friend and teacher, Scott, plays like the Almighty and it’s unimaginable to me that I’ll ever be able to play well enough to be heard in public. It seems an awfully steep slope between the novice and the expert, filled with layers of past experience and the gradual honing of our senses and practices. Further, there seem to be inherent advantages that some have over others. Gifts, we might call them, and it’s damn sure that the gift of guitar isn’t in me. Oh well, I’m having a good time and it’s an excuse to belt out a song. 

Visualizing construction is a lot like this. There appear to be some natural inclinations toward or against this skill, but I would argue that it’s mostly a great deal of learned experience that separates the nascent from the master. 

This leads to some strained (at very least) interactions between parties at either end of the chain of command when construction is under way. 

Contractors, when they’re good, are exceptionally skilled at visualizing a completed project before a single piece of plaster has been bashed from the old walls. Actually, I would argue that this is the central skill in the art of construction. A contractor does not need to be particularly strong, as there are tools and leverage to provide for that (although it can help), and this is why women are just as able to be great contractors.  

Business skills are important but this is true in any trade. It’s the ability to visualize how things come apart and go together that makes a contractor special. This IS, of course, also the skill of the architect, engineer and inspectors too. They must be able to see through the built environment and imagine things they cannot actually see. They must also be able to look at a set of plans and transfer these images (or mentally apply them) to the actual space. It’s sort of a 3-D mapping skill.  

Home or building owners run the full range when it comes to this skill. It’s common for a homeowner to have little skill in looking at a set of plans or in imagining what will happen to the kitchen when it gets remodeled. Naturally, this leads to a certain amount of mayhem in the construction process, and it starts the first time an architect or contractor meets with a client. A client may merely have wanted to create a bit more space for themselves in one end of the house and ended up with an addition on the back end, when all they really needed was to have a wall moved.  

Sadly, this bit of wisdom is often beyond the visualizing skill of the client and it falls to the designer or trade professional to explore what the client really wanted and to demonstrate how this might be accomplished. It’s a bit like translating a language. Most people, if walked through this process can be shown things that they just didn’t see on their own.  

Aside from the skill to see through walls and imagine a space in a new way (or a whole new building), design professionals and builders also have tools including drawing and modeling to show what their ideas will look like once completed. Any client of even a fairly small project (e.g., bath remodel) should avail themselves of these tools (although models are usually reserved for whole buildings).  

You might need to demand (STOP, I need to see a drawing before we move forward) some visual aids so that you can better participate in the process and get the product you’d hoped for. Don’t get pushed into a job that you don’t understand. 

Now, construction is often quite amorphous and things don’t end up exactly as we had planned. That’s O.K., it’s not a fixed target and there’s more than a little serendipity in it, gifting us with little (and large) marvels we didn’t bank on. If all goes well, it’s like a Christmas present that just keeps opening and revealing itself day after day until the day they carry their tools away. But, the more we are able to translate on a day-to-day basis, the closer we can get to having the project emulate our internal image.  

One of the things you, as a customer of this process, can do is to start a “phrase-book” for your meeting with the professional. Buy a stack of those magazines of houses or baths and start cutting out pictures of what you like. When you paste them in, jot a note about what you liked beside it. It need not be the right cabinet or flooring or trim style. It might have just been the light in the room or the color combination. It might have been the way the furniture all fits together in the space. Cut out pictures of the kinds of lighting you like, even if the fixture is different. 

You might like a picture that shows wall sconces or hidden, indirect lighting or a particular kind of touch-dimmer. When you sit with your contractor or architect, it will do wonders to be able to show them these pictures and say, “What I liked in this image was the way the wall curved” or “I don’t like these cabinets, but I like the way they pull out.” You’re speaking their language (and perhaps teaching them as well) and moving much more directly and quickly toward your goal.  

Ask the contractor or designer to provide you with drawings and samples or pictures to show you what you’re getting and then expect things to go, at least a little, awry. Remember that there’s magic in the deviations, like a road trip in the country (think Bridges of Madison County, not Blair Witch Project). 

If your visualizing skills are a little lean, remember to compensate through more active participation. While contractors do need to get their work done, it’s O.K. and actually essential to check in on what’s happening on a daily basis, showing what you like or don’t like and asking questions to help better understand what’s happening. There are few things in life more frustrating for a contractor than to have a client ask for a change a week later than necessary when so much more has been done to embed that work in place.  

Construction, like cooking or quilting, is a layering process, building one thing upon another. If the framing of a wall seems poorly placed, it may be quite easy to change after one day. A week later, that same wall may contain wiring, plumbing and wallboard. The client has a responsibility to speak up in a timely fashion when things are not coming out as they wished or imagined and to realise that the cost of these changes may reasonably rest at their doorstep when they don’t.  

Now, this isn’t to say that a failure to follow the plans on the part of the contractor is the client’s responsibility. It’s not. But understanding precisely what those plans will create is no small task for the contractor and frequently beyond the ken of the client. So it makes sense for you to keep your eyes peeled as drawings manifest as reality, so that, IF you come to realize that the plan isn’t quite what you wanted (or a paint color, or a trim style), you won’t have a lot of backtracking to do (or pay for).  

By the way, it is normal and fair for contractors to charge for any change that’s requested once construction has begun, and what you couldn’t visualize becomes your cross to bear, not theirs. Do the right thing and offer to pay for changes as you realize they’re needed and not strain the relationship by asking the contractor to make costly (yes, everything is costly) changes that come out of their profits. 

This is why good communication with your design and trade professionals is so vital from the very start. If you don’t feel as though you can chat and muse with them, it’s a good idea to change partners. Remember this: No matter how cordial it may be when you first meet, it’s going to be less so as time goes by. The best contractors won’t keep the process from being frustrating, at least part of the time. SO, be sure that you’re starting out with trust and a sense that this person (or people) will go the distance and represent your vision and wishes well.  

Lastly, after all the admonitions, let me say that this can be, and often is, a very exciting process and a lot of fun. Not as much as learning guitar but ... pretty close. 

FRIDAY, NOV. 23 

Golden Gate Audobon Society Walk along the Berkeley Waterfront Meet at noon behind Seabreeze Market at the corner of University Ave. and frontage Rd. Heavy rain cancels. 845-5908. 

“Speaking Truth in the Teeth of Power” with Ward Churchill at 7 p.m. at AK Press, 674A 23rd St., between MLK and San Pablo, Oakland. Suggested donation $5. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

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. 

SATURDAY, NOV. 24 

The Icarus Project Five Year Anniversary Party Community potluck and story-sharing at 6 p.m. at AK Press 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. 208-1700. 

13th Annual Womyn of Color Arts and Crafts Fair featuring artists and craftswomen selling their original, handcrafted works, including paintings, clay sculptures, textiles, jewelry, wearable art, and more Sat. and Sun. from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Berkeley Artisans Open Studios Sat and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Dec. 16. 845-2612. www.berkeleyartisans.com 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

Around the World Tour of Plants at 1:30 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Car Wash Benefit for Options Recovery Services of Berkeley, held every Sat. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lutheran Church, 1744 University Ave. 666-9552. 

SUNDAY, NOV. 25 

Solo Sierrans Sunset Walk at the Martinez Regional Shoreline Meet at 3:30 p.m. at the old Amtrak Station near railroad crossing, off Ferry for a leisurely stroll along scenic shoreline and marina, with an optional stop later for dinner. For info call 925-458-0860. 

Berkeley Artisans Open Studios from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Dec. 16. 845-2612. www,berkeleyartisans.com 

Tour of the Berkeley City Club, Julia Morgan’s “little castle” at 1:15, 2:15, and 3:15 p.m. at 2315 Durant Ave. Free, donations welcome. 883-9710. 

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 Robin Caton on “Developing Inner Balance” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 809-1000 . 

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. 26 

Pools for Berkeley meets to discuss the results of the visioning committee, and November 2008 ballot possibilities to improve Berkeley aquatics at 7 p.m. at City of Berkeley Corporation Yard, Public Meeting Room, 1326 Allston Way. www.poolsforberkeley.org 

“Iraq: Status Report and Options” with Stephen D. Biddle, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations at 4 p.m. in the Lipman Room, 8th flr, Barrows Hall, UC Campus. 642-7747. 

“Rising Tides: Helping Coastal Cities Adapt to Sea Level Change” with Kristina Hill, Associate Professor and Director of the Graduate Program in Landscape Architecture at the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, at 7 p.m. at 112 Wurster Hall, UC Campus. 642-4942.  

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at West Pauley Ballroom MLK Student Union, UC Campus. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com  

TUESDAY, NOV. 27 

El Cerrito Democratic Club meets to discuss the endorsement of February ballot initiatives, with Abdi Soltani, Executive Director of the Campaign for College Opportunity at 7:30 p.m. at ECDCs new location, El Cerrito United Methodist Church, 6830 Stockton St., near Richmond Ave. Members of the public are welcome. 375-5647. www.ecdclub.org 

“Bicycle Touring in Italy” A slide presentation with Paul and Teri Hudson at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Lead-Safe Painting and Remodeling Class for homeowners who want to learn to detect and remedy lead hazards in the home. From 6 to 8 p.m. at Emeryville Recreation Center, 4300 San Pablo Ave, Emeryville. Free, but resgistration required. 567-8280, http://www.aclppp.org 

Berkeley PC Users Group meets to discuss computer problems and remedies at 7 p.m. at 1145 Walnut St., near corner of Eunice. MelDancing@aol.com 

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at West Pauley Ballroom MLK Student Union, UC Campus. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com  

Family Storytime at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043.  

“Accupressure for Pain” with Lawrence Schectman at noon at the Fibromyalgia Education Group, Herrick Campus, Alta Bates Medical Center, 2001 Dwight Way, followed by pot-luck. 644-3273.  

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.  

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 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your digital images, slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 28 

Birding with the Golden Gate Audubon Society at Lake Merritt and Lakeside Park in Oakland. Meet at 9:30 a.m. at the large spherical cage near Nature Center at Perkins and Bellevue. 834-1066. 

“Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power” with Mark Schapiro in conversation with Michael Pollan at 7:30 pm at the First Congregational Church in Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. For tickets contact 415-255-7296. ext. 253. www.globalexchange.org/events 

“Holiday Giving: Think Green, Think Fair Trade, and Don’t Get Scammed” Program and Holiday Party with the Berkeley-East Bay Gray Panthers at 1:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst, corner of MLK. 548-9696. 

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Colloquium with Ruth Tringham on “Multi-scalar Spatial Context of Past Social Practices” at 1 p.m. at Wurster Hall, Room 315A, UC Campus. All welcome. laep.ced.berkeley.edu/events/colloquium 

Small Business Loan Application Night with Lenders for Community Development, a not-for-profit providing loans and business consulting to low-income business owners who cannot qualify for bank loans from 5 to 7 p.m. at Beckett's Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. RSVP to 1-866-299-8173. buildcredit@L4CD.com  

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. 

After-School Program Homework help, drama and music for children ages 8 to 18, every Wed. from 4 to 7:15 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Cost is $5 per week. 845-6830. 

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 

Teen Book Club meets to discuss derivative titles at 4 p.m. at Claremont Branch Library, 2940 Benvenue at Ashby. 981-6121. 

War and Peace Book Group meets to discuss “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut at 7 p.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 16. 

Stitch ‘n Bitch at 6:30 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

THURSDAY, NOV. 29 

“The Legacy of Berkeley Parks: A Century of Planning and Making” at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St.  

BASIL Seed Library Meeting Learn how to support local garden seed saving at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 658-9178. 

“Using Science and Technologies for Environmental and Health Problems in Developing Countries” with Christina Galitsky of LBNL at the Association for Women in Science meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Novartis, Room 4.104, 4560 Horton St. Suggested donation $5-$10. www.ebawis.org 

Green Collar Jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area at noon at Morgan Hall Lounge, 114 Morgan Hall, UC Campus. 642-6371. 

“Broken Promises, Broken Dreams - Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resiliance” with author Alice Rothchild at 7:30 p.m. at Kehilla Synagogue located at 1300 Grand Avenue, Piedmont.  

Babies & Toddlers Storytime at 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

World of Plants Tours Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 p.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $5. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu