Representatives of UC Berkeley’s student government, landlords of the Daily Californian, an independent paper aimed at UC Berkeley students, have declared war on the paper’s editors, threatening to evict the paper unless editors sign off on editorial stipulations in a draft lease renewal agreement. 

While the paper and the American Civil Liberties Union claim the fracas boils down to an effort to muzzle a free press, student government leaders say they are simply trying to “to address readers’ complaints about issues of race gender and other forms of discriminatory harassment.” 

Under the terms of the proposed lease offered by the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC)—which remains unsigned— the paper must establish a code of conduct after discussions with students and hire an ombudsperson to represent reader interests. 

Should the paper fail to comply within the first two years of the five-year agreement, the ASUC can void the lease. 

Calling the provisions an “unacceptable infringement on editorial content,” Daily Californian Editor-in-Chief Eric Schewe set next Thursday as a deadline for signing a stipulation-free lease before the privately funded paper considers filing suit against the ASUC. 

Liberal and Leftist student organizations have long accused the paper of unfair coverage of minorities and of making insensitive editorial and business decisions. 

Two years ago the paper ran a paid advertisement on Feb. 28—the final day of Black History Month—from right-wing stalwart David Horowitz criticizing reparations to Blacks who trace their roots to slavery. 

Last May the paper caught flak for what critics said was biased coverage singling out the arrest of African American football player Michael Gray in connection with a fraternity brawl. The paper apologized for the advertisement but defended the news coverage. 

The Daily Californian, which returned to campus in 1994, has been leasing its office month-to-month since last year. The drive to include code of conduct provisions in the lease began this summer after left-wing undergraduate student party CalServe swept into power and shifted the makeup of the powerful ASUC Store Operations Board—which negotiates leases on behalf of the student government. 

Board members—students, faculty and administrative staff—insist the stipulations are worded gingerly enough so as not to impact editorial content while forcing the paper staff to engage in communication with different campus groups. 

“Many communities are not happy with the paper,” said Graduate Student President and Store Operations Board member Jessica Quindel. “They want the paper to be more responsive to the community.” 

Quindel defended the legality of the lease proposal, insisting that the paper was free to adopt its own code of ethics and choose how it wanted to present it to the campus. She compared the provisions in the lease to recent board efforts to ban the university clothing store from selling clothes manufactured in sweatshops and require campus coffee merchants to offer a fair trade brew. 

Support for the lease stipulations were not limited to only student members of the board. 

In July the board voted unanimously in favor of demanding the code of ethics. A second vote to follow up the code with a mandated discussion by editors with the campus community passed by one vote. 

Board member and Haas School of Business Professor Pete Bucklin said he was confident the board wasn’t violating the paper’s First Amendment rights, adding that “it would have been nice if the [the paper] had volunteered to put the stipulations in [the lease].” 

The local ACLU chapter wrote in a Sept. 2 opinion that the lease provision was “an unacceptable tool of control over the Daily Californian’s editorial content and would operate as a chilling effect on the newspapers’ reporting on the Regents’ activities.” 

The letter’s authors, Barbara McNabb and James Chanin, threatened to sue to prevent the lease provisions from going into effect. 

Schewe said the Daily Californian already follows the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics and has a reader’s representative independent from the editorial staff. He said he was also open to scheduling public meetings on campus, but that efforts to reconcile with various campus groups could not be tied to the new lease. 

The lease drama has dragged on partly due to forces outside the control of the paper and the Store Operations Board. 

Board members canceled their September meeting Wednesday after the ASUC Judicial Board disqualified the two graduate school store board members Quindel and Cintya Molina because, contrary to the ASUC Constitution, they had not been ratified by the ASUC Senate. 

They are expected to sail through an ASUC Senate Confirmation next week, but the next board meeting isn’t scheduled until October. 

Schewe said he wanted to stay on campus where it is easier to recruit new students, but that the paper was exploring the private rental market and any further delay on the lease could shut the paper out of prime office space. He has called for an emergency meeting of the Store Operations Board next week to hammer out the lease. 

Schewe said the Daily Cal pays the ASUC $72,000 annually, and the proposed new lease would reduce rent in return for more free advertising space for the ASUC. Nonetheless, Schewe said moving off campus was a “very strong consideration” since he could get a better deal from a private landlord. 

A move off-campus would not necessarily preclude a lawsuit against the ASUC, he said, saying that the decision would be up to the paper’s Board of Directors.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 12 

International Marketplace on San Pablo and University Aves opens at 11 a.m. with a celebration at the Spanish Table, 1814 San Pablo Ave. 981-2490. 

“Israel’s Secret Weapon,” a documentary on Israel’s wea- 

pons of mass destruction and whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu, at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. 528-5403 or 548-3048. 

The Freedom Archives will celebrate the release of their new audio documentary CD, “Chile: Promise of Freedom,” commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Chilean coup, at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $10-$20 sliding scale, no one turned away. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Rosemary Mucklow, Executive Director, National Meat Association, “Making Meat Safe for Americans.” Luncheon 11:45 a.m. $11.50 - $12.50, Speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020. 

Berkeley Critical Mass Bike Ride meets at the Berkeley BART the second Friday of every month at 5:30 p.m. 

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. wibberkeley@yahoo.com 548-6310, 845-1143. 

Meditation, Peace Vigil and Dialogue, gather at noon on the grass close to the West Entrance to UC Berkeley, on Oxford St. near University Ave. People of all traditions are welcome to join us. Sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. 496-6000, ext. 135. www.bpf.org 

SATURDAY, SEPT. 13 

Free Emergency Preparedness 

Class on Responding to Terrorism, for anyone who lives or works in Berkeley, from 9 a.m. to noon at 997 Cedar St., between 8th and 9th Sts. Register on-line at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes or call 981-5506. 

Walk and Write by the Berkeley Pier, sponsored by the Solo Sierrans. Meet at 3:30 p.m. on the sidewalk in front of Berkeley Pier, last stop on University Ave M bus. Bring writing supplies, water, snacks, sun protection, and small tarp, cushion, or other seating. 527-3857.  

Berkeley Path Wanderers Walk the historic pathway up Chater Hill. Meet on UC Campus outside Wurster Hall at 10 a.m. stuart60@pacbell.net 

The Great Dog Lick-Off, a benefit for the East Bay Humane Society, sponsored by Alan’s PETzeria, at noon at 843 Gilman St. For $5 you can cover your face with peanut butter and have your dog lick it off. Winner is the dog who licks the longest. 528-2155. 

Agricultural Roots Fair featuring street foods from around the world, farmers’ and agrarian crafts markets, produce tasting, educational displays about healthy eating and local farms, and competitive exhibits, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street, at 10th St. 433-9443. www.sagecenter.org 

Creating an Ecological House, with Skip Wenz, on modeling houses on ecosystems, natural building materials, solar design and alternative construction methods. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Building Education Center, 812 Page St. Cost is $75. For information call 525-7610.  

Composting in Urban Areas: The Real Dirt, a free class with Kathi Kinney, covering what composting is and its benefits. From 10 a.m. to noon at the 59th St. Community Garden, between Market and Adeline, Oakland. karenjoy@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Trees, Shrubs and the Law, a free class with Judy Thomas, Landscape Horticulture Professor, Merritt College, at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-1992. 

Project Completion workshop for writers, with Elizabeth Stark and Nanou Matteson. From 2 to 4 p.m. at Boadecia's Books, 398 Colusa Ave. For information call 527-2234. www.creativeprojectinstitute.com 

Organic Cooking Demon- 

stration and Book Signing with Annie Somerville of Greens at 11 a.m. at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, Center St. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

The Silence of Our Friends Workshop presented by The UNtraining, a program for untraining white liberal racism. From 1 to 5 p.m. at University of Creation Spirituality, 2141 Broadway, at 22nd, Oakland. Sliding scale $20-$50. For more information call 235-3957. www.untraining.org 

SUNDAY, SEPT. 14 

Solano Avenue Stroll Booths, theme parade with floats, horses, drill teams, marching bands and more. Sidewalk sales, carnival games, hand-made arts and crafts for sale, silent auction and more than 100 entertainers. 527-5358. www.solanostroll.org  

Jim Hightower at the East Bay ACLU Chapter meeting at 2 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 464-1330.  

Slingshot Publishing Collective, volunteer meeting, at 1 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

Community Art Day from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. Bring supplies or snacks to share. 644-6893. 

Introduction to Tango Start correctly by learning from a master, Paulo Araujo, founder of the Instituto Brasileiro do Tango in Rio de Janeiro. Today and Sept. 21, from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Cost is $15 class or $25 for both classes. The Berkeley Tango Studio. For registration and directions email smling@msn.com 

Tibetan Buddhism, Sylvia Gretchen on "Introducing Tibetan Buddhism," at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, SEPT. 15 

Home Owners Support Group, with Kim Titus of Urban Farmers who will talk about saving water and growing healthy plants with drip irrigation systems, at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Grey Panthers, 1403 Addison St. 548-9696. 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 6 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

TUESDAY, SEPT. 16 

Tribute to Roger “Bob” Gilmore, for his 80th birthday and honoring his 56 years of service to the community, at 5:30 p.m. at Shen Hua Restaurant, 2914 College Ave. Tickets are $20 in advance, $22 at the door, and are available at many Elmwood merchants. No gifts necessary, but if you have pictures, cards, or stories, we will be assembling a memory album for Bob. Sponsored by Bolfing’s Elmwood Hardware and The Elmwood Merchants Association. For additional information please call Tad at 843-3794 or email bolfings@pacbell.net 

The People’s Park meeting about acacia trees’ safety issues at 6 p.m. in People’s Park. The arborist’s report will be available at the People’s Park office and the UC Berkeley Office of Community Relations. For information contact Glenda Rubin, UC Community Relations, 642-7860 or e-mail pplspark@ 

uclink.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley Garden Club, “Autumn, the Second Spring” Kristin Yanker-Hansen, garden designer and owner of Kristin's Gardens will talk about and show plants for autumn bloom at 1 p.m. at the Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. For information call 524-4374. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers We are a few slowpoke Seniors who walk between a mile or two each Tuesday meeting at 9:30 a.m. in the Little Farm parking lot. To join us, call 215-7672 for information or check our web page, http://home.comcast.net/~teachme99/tildenwalkers. 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Sandy Nunn from Hospice will talk about their work and how you may want to volunteer. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 525-3565. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

Free Prostate Screening Program, Sept. 16-17, for uninsured, low-income men over 45, or high risk men over 35. Sponsored by Alta Bates Summit. For information and registration call 869-8833. 

“Rosh Hashanah and the Jewish Calendar - Multiple Beginnings, Many Opportunities,” with Avital Plan at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley-Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $5. 848-0327, ext. 112. www.brjcc.org 

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 17 

Genetically Engineered Foods and Your Health, with Jeffrey M. Smith, author of “Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating,” at 7 p.m. at Marriott at the Oakland City Center, Oakland. Free. bgerner2@comcast.net  

“Theological Education: First World and Third World Creative Dialogue” by Dwight Hopkins, associate professor of theology at the Divinity School, University of Chicago, at the GTU Convocation at 3:30 p.m. at University Christian Church, 2401 Le Conte Avenue. 649-2464.  

Prose Writers Workshop We're a serious but lively bunch whose focus is on issues of craft. Novices welcome. Experienced facilitator. Community sponsored, no fee. Meets 7 to 9 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut, at Rose. For information call 524-3034. 

Free Marketing Workshops, sponsored by Sisters Headquarters, for women entrepreneurs, every Wed. from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 643 17th St. Oakland. For information call 238-1100. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Sta- 

tion, corner of Shattuck and Center. Vigil at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www.geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

Amnesty International Berkeley Community Group meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1606 Bonita Ave., at Cedar St. Join fellow human rights activists to help promote social justice one individual at a time. 872-0768. 

Berkeley CopWatch open office hours 7 to 9 p.m. Drop in to file complaints, assistance available. For information call 548-0425. 

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters meets at 7:15 a.m. at Hide-A-Way Café, 6430 Telegraph Ave. For information call Fred Garvey, 925-682-1111, ext. 164. 

Community Dances, traditional English and American dances, at 8 p.m. every Wednesday, $9. 7 p.m. first Sunday, $10. Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. 233-5065. www.bacds.org 

Free Feldenkrais ATM Classes for adults 55 and older at 10:30 and 11:45 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut at Rose. For information call 848-0237. 

THURSDAY, SEPT. 18 

Friends of Strawberry Creek will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the West Berkeley Public Library Community Room, 1125 Uni- 

versity Ave., across from the Adult School. To confirm call 848-4008 or janet@earthlink.net or jennifemaryphd@hotmail.com or 987-0668. 

“Hidden Walks in the Bay Area,” a talk by Stephen Altchuler, at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Ave. at Arch. Sponsored by the Berkeley Path Wanderers Assoc. and the Hillside Club. www.berkeleypaths.org 

Fight Back Rally to Defeat Prop. 54, sponsored by the Black Radical Congress, with speaker Eva J. Patterson, from  

the Equal Justice Society, at 6:30 p.m. at SEIU 250, 560 20th St., Oakland. For more information, call 527-4099, or email fmbeal@igc.org 

“Venezuela: A Nation on Edge,” a KQED Frontline/World Series Event, reception at 6:45 p.m., screening and town meeting at 7:30 p.m. at International House, Sproul Room, Piedmont at Bancroft. 642-9460. 

So How’d You Become An Activist with Kris Welch of KPFA and Ed Holmes of the SF Mime Troupe, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St., at Bonita. Suggested donation $5. For more information call 528-5403. 

A Conversation About the Peace Process in Northern Ireland and the Role of Civil Service with Sir Joseph Pilling, Permanent Under Secretary, Northern Ireland Office, at noon at 201 Moses Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for British Studies. 643-2115.  

Lawyers in the Library at 6 p.m. at the Claremont Branch, Benvenue at Ashby. 981-6280. 

Berkeley Liberation Radio 104.1 FM holds public meetings for all interested people first and third Thursdays, 7 p.m. at the Long Haul Info Shop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 595-0190.  

ONGOING  

UC Botanical Garden Docent Training on Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., commen- 

cing Sept. 18 through February 12, with breaks for holidays. Fee and registration required. Call 643-1924 to sign up. 

Free Smoke Detectors for City residents and UC Berkeley students who live off-campus. Applications are available from the Environment, Health & Safety office of UC Berkeley, at any Berkeley Fire Station, or at the Fire Admin. Office located at 2100 MLK, Jr. Way. 981-5585.  

Free Energy Bill Payment Assistance The City of Berkeley has money to help low-income households pay their gas and electric bills. For applications contact the Energy Office at 644-8544. TDD: 981-6903. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/energy 

CITY MEETINGS 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board meets on Mon., Sept. 15, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers, Pam Wyche 644-6128 ext. 113. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/rent 

Public Housing Resident Advisory Board meets on Mon. Sept. 15 at 4 p.m. at 1901 Fairview St. Angellique DeCoud. 981-5475. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/publichousing 

Berkeley Housing Authority meets Tues., Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers, Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. ww.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/housingauthority 

City Council meets Tues., Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. in City Council hambers, Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Citizens Humane Commission meets Wed., Sept. 17, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Katherine O’Connor, 981-6601. www.ci.berkeley.ca. us/commissions/humane 

Commission on Aging meets Wed., Sept. 17, at 1:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Lisa Ploss, 981-5200. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/aging 

Commission on Labor meets Wed., Sept. 17, at 6:30 p.m., at Berkeley Work-Source, 1950 Addison St., Suite 105. Delfina M. Geiken, 644-6085. www.ci.-berkeley.ca.us/commissions/labor 

Human Welfare and Community Action Commission meets Wed., Sept. 17, at 7 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Marianne Graham, 981-5416. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/welfare 

School Board meets Wed. Sept. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers. Queen Graham 644-6147 or Mark Coplan 644-6320. 

Design Review Committee meets Thurs., Sept. 18, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Anne Burns, 981-7415. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/designreview  

Fair Political Practices Commission meets Thursday, Sept. 18, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Prasanna Rasaih, 981-6950. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/faircampaign 

Transportation Commission meets Thurs., Sept. 18, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Peter Hillier, 981-7000. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/transportation 

BORN AGAIN  

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I got out! Sold my house and moved out of Berkeley area and to Benicia. Sure is nice not having to walk around all the people on the sidewalk panhandling in front of every store. The Berkeley merchants bring it on themselves. It’s an attitude, not a problem! It’s all the PC crap that rules Berkeley, not the police or the local government. Let the police enforce the laws already on the books, and have the liberal judges enforce it, and part of the problem would go away. 

Get all the drug paraphernalia out of the head shops on Telegraph, and the drug problem would lessen. 

Let the police arrest for pot and crack, and get it off the street. Stop tying their hands! 

The attitude also gets rid of school superintendents and managers in Berkeley. Let them do their job! 

And here I am, up in Benicia becoming a born-again redneck. Love it! 

Allan Munkres 

Benicia 

• 

HEIGHT RULES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Did you know that developers are using tricks in neighborhoods much like those being used on commercial corridors? These tricks give a nod and a wink to oversized and insensitive development. 

Height rules! Not democratic process, nor quiet enjoyment of one’s home and community. The tricks to increase height include using lofts, mezzanines, undefined roof areas, and average height. Under “by right” development, the immediate neighbors have no rights. 

Mayor Tom Bates and his associates (including six of eight City Councilmembers) should be held responsible for the massive redevelopment of Berkeley which they are allowing and encouraging. Bates has actually said: “My priority now is getting Berkeley developed.” But who gave him the right to redesign this city? He said that he told everyone during his campaign about his plans for development. But Bates tells tall tales. I attended all the major political forums during the campaign, including the Greens, Berkeley Democratic Club, BCA, Berkeley Party, November Coalition, and the Rainbow Coalition, and Bates never mentioned his development plans. In fact, he didn’t mention much of anything, except the waterfront and his wife Loni. He usually arrived late and left early. 

“What can we do about out-of-control development and betrayal of the public trust?” I asked someone at City Hall today. “Well, I think we have to take the democratic process back.” he answered. “Just be active. Mobilize!”  

I share this advice with you. 

Merrilie Mitchell 

• 

PORTABLE LIGHTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A recent letter to the editor communicates contempt for stadium neighbors who annually “whine” about traffic, etc. “Why not move?” is the gist of the letter. 

The writer’s point of view is instructive because it suggests that the real story hasn’t gotten out yet. Concerned neighbors are not whining about the status quo, but about a possible project that stands in limbo. 

In the summer of 1999, UCB’s Athletic Department proposed to install TV broadcast quality lighting. But despite euphoria surrounding the opening of PacBell Park, few wanted our collective backyard lit up like South of Market in San Francisco. 

And yet that is exactly what was proposed. Only with a Public Records Act request did university administrators cough up the details. Prior to our request, we were only told that there would be “nine free-standing light poles...five light assemblies... approximately 60 feet above the stadium rim.” Upon receiving a blueprint in response to the record request, we learned the grizzly details: 282 lights with light assemblies as large as 22’x12’ with the smallest 19.5’x7’.  

The project stands in limbo while the athletic department continues its fundraising to retrofit Memorial Stadium. As many fans are opposed to installing TV lights, the administration has remained strategically ambiguous. If asked, they say they have no plans, which is quite different from making a commitment to their potential donors one way or another.  

The obvious compromise is portable TV lighting. But the only thing standing in the way between portable lighting and concerned neighbors is the administration’s silence on the issue and the public’s necessary reliance on the media for information and dialogue.  

Janice Thomas 

President, Panoramic Hill Association 

• 

RENEW INTEGRITY  

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Executive Editor O’Malley’s Editorial (”Hello and Goodbye Mayor, Council.” Daily Planet, Sept. 9-11) voicing concern over the smothering of Berkeley’s once vibrant Council meetings is very welcomed. O’Malley traces this smothering back to the Bates-driven Agenda (nee Rules) Committee. Let’s remember that all of Council except for Dona Spring and Betty Olds supported creation of this committee. This anti-democratic committee, then, was voted in by both moderate and progressive Democrats. At that moment, those who voted for it surrendered their civic vision of Council Agendas/meetings as Berkeley’s main open forum for political discussion. 

Now we have a small Agenda Committee deciding/delaying what city issues the Berkeley citizenry may be informed of. Adding insult to injury, we also now have fewer council meetings scheduled because Bates has other plans for those nights. The mayor’s absence heretofore never prevented council meetings; that’s why we have a vice-mayor. To date, we’ve not heard even murmurs of protest from the other councilpersons.  

Bates’ Agenda Committee and fewer council meetings are logically indefensible with regard to their democratic consequences. With these two maneuvers, Berkeley’s own political process has been undermined. This turn to the right belies whatever larger social justice resolutions City Council may pass.  

I would suggest that the Wellstone Democratic “Renewal” Club direct some of its energy to renew Berkeley’s own political integrity by working to abolish the Agenda Committee and to restore the cut council meetings but, alas, the Wellstone Club was initiated by Bates’ closest advisors.  

Instead, other citizens must input their councilpersons to rescind the Agenda Committee and restore cut council meetings. In addition, there always are the three minutes of public comment at council meetings to voice disapproval and sense of loss. Though it’s a long time to endure Berkeley’s loss of democratic process, there are also the next Berkeley elections to correct the course. 

Maris Arnold 

FRIDAY, SEPT. 12 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

ACCI Gallery, “SensuouS + A Jewelry Exhibition,” 5 to 7 p.m. Exhibition runs to Oct. 4. Gallery hours are Mon. - Thurs. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sat. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave. 843-2527. www.accigallery.com 

Addison Street Windows Gallery, “Sculptures by JP Long,” Opening 7 to 8 p.m. at 2018 Addison St.  

“Ourselves Through the Camera, 2003,” third annual exhibit of photographs of Rockridge by people who live or work around the Rockridge neighborhood, opening 6 p.m. at Rockridge Branch Library, 5366 College Ave. at Manila in Oakland. Exhibition runs through Oct. 12. 

CHILDREN 

Biscuit Dog and storyteller at 10:30 a.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

FILM 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder: “Beware of a Holy Whore” at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4 members, UC students, $5 UC faculty, staff, seniors, disabled, youth, $8 adults. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“September 11” A collection of short films at Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Ave. 464-5980. www.LandmarkTheatres.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Margo Adair introduces her book on meditation, “Working Inside Out,” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books, 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mark Morris Dance Group, featuring a world premiere set to the music of Bartok; Grand Duo and Serenade, both set to works by Lou Harrison; and Going Away Party, set to recorded songs by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32-$56. 642-0212. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Live Oak Concert with David Cheng, violin, Marvin Sanders, flute, Amy Brodo, gamba and ‘cello, Paul Rhodes, ‘cello, Katherine Heater, harpsichord, performing works by Bach, at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. Cost is $10, BACA members $8, students and seniors $9. Children under 12 free. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

The Boneless Children Foundation, Hello Donkey and Liz Setzer perform eclectica at the 1923 Teahouse, 1923 Ashby at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Trio Caminante, Latin American music in a special appearance for the documentary “Chile: Promise of Freedom,” at 7 p.m., at La Peña Cultural Center. Donation of $10-$20 requested, no one turned away. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Native Elements with Dub Congress and Pacific Vibrations at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

O’Maya performs gaucho gypsy jazz at 8 p.m. at Jupiter, 2181 Shattuck Ave. 848-8277. 

Collective Amnesia at 9 p.m. at Downtown, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810. 

The Waybacks, acoustic mayhem, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761.  

www.freightandsalvage.org 

Linn Brown, CD Release celebration, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $6-$15 sliding scale. 649-8744. www.thejazz- 

house.org 

Carolyn Mark and the Room-mates, The Lise Marr Experiment at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Growth of Alliance, The Caps, Toxic Possum at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $6. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Woman, live indy rock, at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com 

SATURDAY, SEPT. 13  

The Shotgun Players, “Mother Courage and Her Children,” by Bertolt Brecht, at 4 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. 704-8210. www.shotgunplayers.org 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Photolab Gallery, Recent Pinhole Photographs by S. McGrath Ryan, reception at 6 p.m. at 2235 Fifth St. Exhibit runs until Oct. 25. 644-1400. 

FILM 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder: “Effi Briest” at 6:30 and 9:10 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4 members, UC students, $5 UC faculty, staff, seniors, disabled, youth, $8 adults. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Landfill,” a local documentary about the homeless community that developed at the Albany Bulb, at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Gail Sheehy, reads from her new book, “Middletown, America,” about a New Jersey community devastated by the events of September 11th, at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Rhythm and Muse with Seth Augustus, Tuvan singer/songwriter at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

“Gimmicks vs. Lyrics,” a discussion of Hip Hop theater aesthetics at 1 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Free. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Philharmonia Baroque performs Handel’s final oratorio, “Jephtha,” at 7:30 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $29-$60 available from City Box Office 415-392-4400, or on-line at www.philharmonia.org.  

The White Stripes, at 8 p.m. at the Greek Theatre, UC Campus. 642-0212. 

Mark Morris Dance Group, featuring a world premiere set to the music of Bartok; Grand Duo and Serenade, both set to works by Lou Harrison; and Going Away Party, set to recorded songs by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32-$56. 642-0212. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Homage to Victor Jara with Rafael Manriquez and Trio Quijerema at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

The Waybacks, acoustic mayhem, and Jack Cassidy, bassist from the Jefferson Airplane, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Samba Ngo, Congolese singer, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Creation performs Caribbean Reggae at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Celtic Meltdown with Wild Hunt, Blue on Green and Ian Butler at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Mark Growden, multi-instrumentalist, performs at the 1923 Teahouse, 1923 Ashby, at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Rhonda Benin and Soulful Strut at 9 p.m. at Downtown, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810. 

Midnightmare, S.C.A. at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Joshi Marshall and Friends at 8 p.m. at Jupiter, 2181 Shattuck Ave. 848-8277. 

SUNDAY, SEPT. 14 

FILM 

The Films of Germaine Dulac: “La Mort du Soleil” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4 members, UC students, $5 UC faculty, staff, seniors, disabled, youth, $8 adults. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Guided Tour: Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics, at 2 p.m., Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Making Worlds: Artists, Scientists, and Genomics,” a panel discussion by three innovative artists together with three noted scientists on the interrelations between art and genetics, at 3 p.m. in the Museum Theater, Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $8, Free to UC staff, faculty and students. 643-6494. tctorres@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Poetry at Cody’s with Diane Di Prima and Maria Mazziotti Gillan at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mark Morris Dance Group, featuring a world premiere set to the music of Bartok; Grand Duo and Serenade, both set to works by Lou Harrison; and Going Away Party, set to recorded songs by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32-$56. 642-0212. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Live Oak Concert with David Cheng, violin, Marvin Sanders, flute, Amy Brodo, viola da gamba and ‘cello, Paul Rhodes, ‘cello, Katherine Heater, harpsichord, performing works by Bach, at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. Cost is $10, BACA members $8, Students and seniors $9. Children under 12 free. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Philharmonia Baroque performs Handel’s final oratorio, “Jephtha,” at 7 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $29-$60 available from City Box Office 415-392-4400, or on-line at www.philharmonia.org.  

Nawal performs Indo-Arabian-Persian music from the Como- 

ros Islands, at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $8 in advance, $10 at the door. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Cafe Bellie: Belly Dance Showcase at 7:30 p.m., with a class at 6:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Mary Gauthier, American gothic originals, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Margins, Los Burbanks at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $3. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Americana Unplugged Series: The Donner Mountain Band at 4 p.m. at Jupiter, 2181 Shattuck Ave. 848-8277. 

MONDAY, SEPT. 15 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Ted Nace reads from “Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Demoocracy” at 7:30 p.m. Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

www.blackoakbooks.com 

Christopher Marquis reads from his novel, “A Hole in the Heart,” about a young woman who must rebuild her life after losing her husband, at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Express, open mic featuring Selene Steese, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Dervish, traditional band from Ireland, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $4. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

TUESDAY, SEPT. 16 

FILM 

Alternative Visions: Hy Hirsh and the Fifties: Jazz and Abstraction in Beat Era Film at 7:30 p.m at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4 members, UC students, $5 UC faculty, staff, seniors, disabled, youth, $8 adults. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Maira Kalman, author of a dozen children’s books, introduces the latest adventures of Pete the Dog, “Smartypants: Pete in School,” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books, 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

Jeffrey and Rhoda Makoff discuss how to make big decisions in their new book, “Get off the Fence,” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

Steve Martinot will discuss “The Rule of Racialization: Class, Identity, Governance,” at 7:30 p.m. Black Oak Books, 1491 Shattuck Ave. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mimi Fox, solo guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810. 

Comedy Showcase, with Tony Sparks, Phil Puthumana, “The Curry Comic,” Ian Jensen, Kevin Avery and Tessie Chua at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Dayna Stephens House Jam at The Jazz House. Donation $5. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 17 

FILM 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder: “Fear of Fear” at 5:30 and 9:10 p.m. and “Chinese Roulette” at 7:20 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4 members, UC students, $5 UC faculty, staff, seniors, disabled, youth, $8 adults. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

John Stauber, investigative reporter, and founder and director of the Center for Media & Democracy, discusses “Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush’s War on Iraq,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Huston Smith and Phil Cousineau discuss “The Way Things Are: Conversations with Huston Smith on the Spiritual Life,” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Jeffrey M. Smith introduces his new book, “Seeds of Deception,” at 7 p.m. at the Oakland Marriot City Center, across the street from 12th St. BART station. Co-sponsored by Berkeley Natural Grocery, Rainbow Grocery Co-op, and Ecology Center. 526-0205 ext. 101. 

Calligraphy Lecture and Demonstration with Georgianna Greenwood and Carla Tenret, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 528-1709. www.friendsofcalligraphy.org 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7, $5 with student i.d. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Travel Book Series, with Susan Alcorn, author of “We’re in the Mountains, Not Over the Hill,” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert Mozart Clarinet Quintet, at the Chevron Auditorium at International House, corner of Bancroft and Piedmont Aves. Admission is free. 642-4864. 

Christopher O’Riley’s “Radiohead” Innovative pianist performs a program of music by British rock group Radiohead, transcribed by O'Riley for solo piano. At 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $14-$28. 642-0212. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Creole Belles at 8:30 p.m., with a Cajun dance lesson with Cheryl McBride at 8 p.m., at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Da Vinci’s Notebook, comedic a cappella quartet, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Patrick Greene Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter, 2181 Shattuck Ave. 848-8277. 

Jules Broussard, Bing Nathan and Ned Boynton at 8 p.m. at Downtown, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810. 

Love Rhino, Electric Jesus, 3 Prayers at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $6. 848- 

0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Nicole McRory at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. becketts- 

irishpub.com 

THURSDAY, SEPT. 18 

FILM 

Genetic Screenings: “Gattaca” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4 members, UC students, $5 UC faculty, staff, seniors, disabled, youth, $8 adults. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley Art Center Film Festival: Exploring Relationships and Aging, at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center in Live Oak Park. Tickets are $5-$10 sliding scale. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

“Mai's America,” A documentary about a Vietnamese exchange  

student, by Marlo Poras, will be shown at 7 p.m. at 2060 Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for Southeast Asia Studies. 642-3609. cseas@uclink.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Curator’s Talk on Gene(sis) with Constance Lewallen, Senior Curator for Exhibitions, at 12:15 p.m. in Gallery 2, and Guided Tour at 5:30 p.m. Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $8, free to UC staff, faculty and students. 643-6494. tctorres@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Tony Cohan discusses “Native State,” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Amelia Warren Tyagi on “The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle Class Mothers and Fathers are Going Broke,” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books, 1730 Fourth St. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Word Beat Reading at 7 p.m. featuring David Gollub and Sparrow 13, followed by an open mic, at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985 or 205-1749.  

Tony Rowell, son of Galen Rowell, introduces Barbara Rowell’s “Flying South: A Pilot’s Inner Journey,” her 25,000-mile 57-leg journey through Latin America, at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave at Rose, 843-3533. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Slaid Cleaves, Texas folk-roots at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

James Mathis Knockdown Society at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough.Cost of $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Keni El Lebrijano, flamenco guitar, at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810. 

Autana at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com 

Porch Life performs at the 1923 Teahouse, 1923 Ashby, at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org

What do the NBA and campaign finance reform have in common? 

According to Adonal Foyle, everything. 

Foyle, the well known 6’10”, 265-pound center for the Golden State Warriors, is quickly making a name for himself as one of the leading activists promoting campaign finance reform. 

As part of his drive to build a movement centered around reform, he came to UC Berkeley Wednesday to ask students in Dr. Alan Ross’s Political Science 179 class to help him “take the money out of politics and put people back in.” 

Foyle is the founder of Democracy Matters, a growing national organization that targets young people and helps them become involved in the movement to reform campaign spending. The organization has chapters across the nation, including a budding one at UC Berkeley. 

Socially involved throughout his life, Foyle said the idea to promote campaign finance reform came after he started playing in the NBA. Finding himself surrounded by money, he asked himself, “How should I use my wealth?” 

Sudden wealth and frustration with the political system started him thinking about the role money plays in politics. He decided to put his money where his mind was. 

“When you see an injustice you can turn your back to it or you can try and do something about it,” said Foyle. 

In an essay on his Web site, Foyle argues his point about campaign finance reform by comparing the process by which someone is drafted to the NBA to the election process. 

“The only criterion for entrance [into the NBA] is athletic prowess. So long as he or she is deemed able to play at the highest level, they will get that chance,” he wrote.  

“In very much the same way, politics should give all of our gifted and talented citizens an equal chance to compete to serve in political life… However, in politics today this is not the case. In the current system of campaign financing, having the desire or the ability to be a good political leader is not enough. 

“This system is not fair because it requires so much money to run for office, thus giving an unfair advantage to wealthy candidates, or to people willing to sell themselves to wealthy donors.”  

His basketball career has helped him promote his political involvement, but he admits political involvement has probably affected his NBA career, risking lost endorsements and facing the danger of losing popularity, he said. 

But Foyle said he’s not worried about the impact political involvement has on his image. If anything he says it helps him perform his duties as a role model. 

He said he targets young people because they’re still open to change and have the ability to act on it, and he took on campaign finance reform because he says it’s the basic change needed before any other social project can proceed. 

Anne Hadreas, Campus Coordinator for the UC Berkeley Democracy Matters chapter, said she joined because she was working on several social justice issues but didn’t feel like she was accomplishing anything. Realizing the potential that campaign finance reform has to clear away some of the barriers that were blocking the projects she was involved in, she decided to throw her full efforts behind the movement. 

“[Campaign finance reform] makes other reforms possible. Whether it be women’s issues, labor issues, environmental issues, etc.,” she said. 

Along with other students in Democracy Matters, Hadreas has been working toward campaign finance reform on campus, focusing on student government laws that allow for candidates to spend up to $3,000 on their campaign. 

“Who has an extra $3,000 dollars to spend?” asked fellow member Abe Gardner, who belongs to several other on-campus organizations concerned with electoral politics. 

Both Hadreas and Gardner attended the reception after Foyle’s presentation to Ross’ class. 

Rosssaid that, to him, the California recall election isn’t a right-wing conspiracy but a movement by people who were fed up with Gray Davis’ practice of “money for play,” or action based on money. 

“Money in politics is the central issue,” said Ross. “I think that Gray Davis has really angered people through his fundraising efforts.” 

Foyle, who is working towards his Masters degree in Sports Psychology, runs a tight schedule in order to juggle all his involvements, cutting back when basketball season starts. But he’s at it every chance he has. 

He enjoys being active and thinks he lives a balanced life. 

“It’s this constant juggling that is truly living,” he said. 

The only thing he says that could make things better, “would be if [the Warriors] make the playoffs.”

The following letter was addressed to City Clerk Sherry Kelly. 

Dear Ms. Kelly, 

Members of the Strawberry Creek Affinity Group (SCAG) have been discussing our personal perspectives on the upcoming California recall. While we generally agree among ourselves that the recall is another dangerous expression of the un-democratic nature of today’s political shenanigans, we are not all in agreement on who we should select after we press “No” on the video screen on the question of whether Gray Davis should be recalled.  

We are in agreement, however, on one aspect of this process. We are all deeply concerned about how our votes are recorded. We would ask that you comment on the fact that the electronic ballot used in Berkeley does not provide a paper copy for the voter. 

Our concern in this matter has been heightened because of reports of software failures and allegations of vote manipulation occurring during a period in our history when the election process has been rife with misconduct. We note that both Wisconsin and New York State have made efforts at requiring the electronic voting system to provide better protection against abuse or human error, as have the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Communications Workers of America. Generally, these demands include a requirement that a paper trail be established that allows for a post-vote audit. 

We would like to ask you what assurances you can provide that Berkeley’s voting equipment is secure and tamper-proof. Is there a mechanism to allow a post-vote audit? Can a voter request and receive a paper copy of his or her ballot? 

We would also ask that you provide the members of City Council with a copy of this letter and your response. Thank you for your assistance, Ms. Kelly. 

Sincerely, 

Members of the Strawberry Creek Affinity Group 

Carol Thornton, Jane Eiseley, Fran Rachel, Jane Kelly, Tom Kelly, Chris Kroll, Frances Berges, Patti Marsh, Bob Marsh, Dorothy Headley, Chris Walter, Nina Falk, Eric Roberts

The Berkeley Unified School District has killed plans to reschedule today’s beleaguered Berkeley High-Oakland Tech football game amid continuing questions as to why the game was put off in the first place. 

In a prepared statement released through the BUSD information office, Berkeley High School Principal Jim Slemp said a plan to hold the game at one of the Peralta Community Colleges came “very close...but all of the publicity about the game may have interfered with our options.” 

Slemp unilaterally canceled the BHS-Tech game last week after Berkeley Police warned him of reports about possible violence planned between non-students at the game. Oakland Tech Athletic Director Karen Jones later complained that Slemp had not involved her in the decision to cancel the game, nor had she been included in discussions about where and when the game might be rescheduled. 

BUSD Public Information Officer Mark Coplan said that the Peralta Community Colleges “gave us a field” for the game, but efforts to reschedule the game ultimately fell through “because of all the logistical nightmares of pulling it all together.” 

Coplan said he also worried that numerous broadcast vans from local television outlets would show up at the game, much as they showed up on Berkeley High’s campus last Friday following announcement of the game’s cancellation. 

“We were trying to keep this as low key as possible,” Coplan said, adding that there was no possibility that the BHS-Tech game could be rescheduled for later in the year. 

Coplan also took issue with the charge, published in last Tuesday’s Daily Planet, that Oakland Tech officials had not been included in the discussions to reschedule the game. 

He said that earlier this week, BUSD administration officials, along with the athletic directors of the two schools and Oakland Tech Vice Principal Marty Price, all participated in a meeting with Peralta Community College officials to secure a Peralta field. 

However, that meeting took place after the complaints from Tech Athletic Director Jones were published in the Daily Planet. 

Also this week, a South Bay athletic director revealed that at least two other local schools were involved in an attempt to help BHS and Tech play someone this week, if not each other. Neal Fromson, athletic director at James Logan High School in Union City, said that “McClymonds High School made a call to our school seeing if we would want to play Berkeley and if [McClymonds], then, could play Oakland Tech. It was an informal conversation between my football coach and the coach at McClymonds who played college ball together to see if they could make it work.” 

Logan and BHS last played each other in 1996. 

Fromson said that the arrangement was eventually nixed by Logan athletic officials because they did not have enough time to scout the Berkeley High team. 

Meanwhile, an Oakland Athletic League (OAL) coach (Oakland Tech is an OAL member), said he was “shocked” when he read about the cancellation in last week’s San Francisco Chronicle, and did not agree with the cancellation. The coach is not affiliated with Oakland Tech. 

“Canceling the game makes no sense to me,” the coach, who asked not to be identified, said in a telephone interview. “If you can’t have a secure game at Berkeley with the police department across the street...I’m sorry...there’s something just not adding up.” 

He said he didn’t understand why a game between Tech and Berkeley would be more dangerous than games regularly held between Tech and McClymonds and Skyline and Castlemont, which involve East Oakland-West Oakland-North Oakland community rivalries that are far older and have generated far more violence than has occurred recently in South Berkeley-North Oakland. 

The coach said he could only think of two OAL football games in recent years that had to be canceled because of violence. 

“One involved a series of fights among the players,” the coach explained, “one involved a series of fights in the stands. Both times, the game was almost completed before it was called, and one of the teams was far ahead.” 

Asked what would cause his team to cancel a game in advance, he said, “we would if there was a series of actual incidents leading up to the game, involving student bodies. Not peripheral violence, and not just kids talking smack. Kids in Oakland talk smack all the time. 

The coach also said that the BHS-Tech cancellation was already having a ripple effect on Berkeley High. “I was talking with a number of other coaches down in the South Bay after the Chronicle article came out, and they were all asking, ‘Is Berkeley that bad?’ And I had to tell them no, it wasn’t.”

On Sept. 9, at City Council, Tom Bates acted in a way that will damage his political career as mayor of Berkeley. Before this date, few will remember that Bates, with former Mayor Hancock, U.S. Senator Cranston, and then-Legislative honcho Willie Brown—all key Democrats—worked hard to defeat a Palestinian West Bank sister city resolution in Berkeley in 1988. Backed by big money, some of it from the Rightist American-Israeli lobby which unquestioningly supports all Israeli policy no matter how egregious, the Democratic Party machine interfered in Berkeley politics to trash the Jabaliyah resolution put on the ballot by 19,000 citizens. “We have a better way” to peace, they wrote in their glossy mailers. But the rest of us—whether Jews, Palestinians or other Americans of goodwill—are still waiting for the party’s “better way.” That fraud reminds one of Bush’s Iraq policies. As we wait, presidential front-runner Howard Dean has said his views are closer to the Rightist Israeli lobby—which has given over $120 million to the Democrats in a decade—than to the broad Israeli peace movement which seeks a just two-state solution.  

We have been waiting to hear when the Democratic leaders here in Berkeley will stop being the sycophants of the Israeli Right and call for an even-handed approach against impunity and in support of the rights of all peoples there through a U.N.-enforced peace rather than a yearly $8 billion blank check in U.S. tax dollars that supports State terror against the Palestinians.  

Now, 15 years later, Bates, who claims he wants to stay out of such “divisive” issues, emerges to “meddle in foreign policy” on the side of impunity. Bates opposed the City Council resolution endorsing Congressional House Resolution 111 that seeks a full U.S. investigation of the death of peace activist Rachel Corrie by a U.S.-supplied Israeli Army bulldozer. Then he turned around and voted in support of an Olds-Hawley resolution, backed by Israeli government supporters. The defeated resolution called for amending the Congressional resolution to investigate the deaths of all Americans in that region, an action one councilmember pointed out could assure that Corrie’s death not be investigated in our lifetime.  

Tom Bates, in voting for that latter resolution rather than abstaining or voting against both seemed to contradict his statements that he doesn’t want such “divisive” and “external” issues to damage the effectiveness of Berkeley’s City Council. But the sense that Bates was in contradiction is a mirage. We want to believe that people like Bates and Hancock have more political independence and integrity than, say, Bush or Clinton, and can vote their consciences. We expect more from local politicians than from state and national figures who depend upon tens of millions in campaign contributions. And we should.  

But it ain’t so.  

Mr. Bates, like Rumsfeld and Ashcroft, who fraudulently promote war at incalculable cost to the world, is duplicitous and should resign. You know he won’t. But Tom will later have to face reelection on a record that endorses the Israeli right wing and fails to speak out against the policies of U.S. neo-fascists like Kissinger, Wolfowitz, Perle, and other Bush Rightists. Those policies are causing incalculable suffering to the Palestinian and Iraqi people, and to our nation. We are responsible. As Max Anderson, describing a horrifying experience as a GI in Vietnam told City Council, it’s just like what I saw in Vietnam.  

Note: Hon. Barbara Lee is one of the signers of HR 111 which City Council voted to endorse 5:4 over the mayor’s opposition.  

After an hour-long closed door session Thursday evening, the Berkeley City Council emerged to announce they had picked Deputy City Manager Phil Kamlarz as the interim replacement for retiring City Manager Weldon Rucker. 

The appointment begins Nov. 1, and will be re-evaluated on May 1, with preliminary indications that the permanent City Manager’s position is Kalmarz’ unless either he doesn’t want it or Council changes its mind.  

Councilmember Betty Olds said there are no current plans by Council to search for another applicant, and Mayor Tom Bates had said earlier that the six-month interim period was designed to see if Kalmarz and Council were “happy with each other” on a permanent basis. 

Kamlarz is a 27-year veteran of Berkeley city government. He has served 10 years as assistant City Manager, six years as Deputy City Manager, and a brief period this year as interim director of the city’s Planning Department.

The school board has bristled at receiving a “report card.” However, report cards are important tools to help us assess how well students and the school district are doing. Unfortunately for the students and community, the California’s Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team, (FCMAT) gave the school board and district administration failing marks in major areas of responsibility, including maintenance.  

FCMAT has developed standards for school districts which cover five major areas: community relations, personnel management, student achievement, financial management, and facilities management. Grades are given on a scale of 0 to 10.  

Our community’s primary concern is safety. In the Year 2000, we passed Measure BB, the $4 million parcel tax for maintenance to make our schools safe and in good repair. Broken facilities lead to injuries. Of the 27 criteria for safety, only 4 standards received a passing grade of 7 or above. Twenty standards received 4 or below—clearly failing. What is troubling about this is that the problems identified in FCMAT were cited by the fire marshall and the district’s consultants reports in 1999. These include electrical panels without doors, missing exit signs, fire hazards, and violations of toxic and flammable materials and chemical standards. Despite adequate funding, BUSD has not hired the recommended key personnel to maintain the fire alarm system. BUSD needs to fix all safety problems now and report back in January. Have the fire marshall reinspect all schools so staff and students are safe. 

Maintain New Construction  

All new construction must be maintained. This was the guiding principle of the citizens’ Maintenance Advisory Committee (MAC). When MAC was first formed, we were appalled at how taxpayers’ money was wasted. Boilers, which were to last 25 years, lasted less than five because they were not maintained. Water leaks in new schools were not repaired and became $20,000 bills for dry rot. MAC told the Board that BUSD had to maintain our community’s $250 million dollar investment in new school construction. Yet, even on the simple issue of maintaining boilers, FCMAT gave BUSD a 3 out of 10—a failing grade. BUSD lacks a planned maintenance program. FCMAT said a planned maintenance program begins with school board leadership. BUSD needs a policy, a developed budget and timelines, articulated priorities, and a separate financial account. None of this is in place.  

Grounds 

All schools should have beautiful grounds. For the 65 percent of Berkeley without children in our schools, the grounds are what affects them. FCMAT said our school grounds do not look good. The current staffing for the grounds crew matches the staffing recommended by the district’s consultants. The problem is the need for improved organization, scheduling and deployment of the staff to produce greater effectiveness. Skilled administrators play an important role.  

Our community sustains five major garden nurseries, a world class botanical garden, and a renowned rose garden. Most Berkeleyans agree that the standards applied by BUSD’s Maintenance Department are lower than our community’s standards. BUSD, please understand: 

a) You must respect the work of parents and community in our school gardens. 

b) Bare dirt is not a landscape design goal. 

c) Garden tools used should not only be chain saws, weed whackers and mowers. 

d) Trees, especially Coast Live Oak, should not be pruned into lollipops. 

Custodial  

FCMAT points out what we all know: some schools are clean and some are not. Principals are supposed to focus on students and learning, not on the cleaning of 25 classrooms and 12 bathrooms every day, not on chemical usage, not on maintenance and repairs. Principals are not even at school in the evenings, when most of the cleaning takes place. Custodians are the first line of defense in maintenance because clean facilities, with routine minor maintenance, work better and last longer. A custodial supervisor was hired pursuant to the citizens’ recommendations. But then the custodial supervisor and custodians were pink slipped. Principals are supervising custodians, and we are back to unclean schools. If BUSD can’t adequately keep the existing school facilities clean now, what will happen when the additional new building at Berkeley High School opens? BUSD needs consistent progress and adherence to policies even with frequent change of administrators. 

Long Range Facilities Master Plan  

With the hundreds of millions spent on school facilities, FCMAT gave BUSD a zero—utter failure—for not having a long-range school facilities master plan. Projects are now designed on a piecemeal basis, which leads to expensive litigation, conflicts and mistakes. This reflects some of the concerns raised by the City of Berkeley and neighbors of the current Adult and Franklin schools. BUSD must gauge what is the best use of public funds and public facilities and that requires a long-range plan. 

Audits and Accountability  

The school board and superintendent have flagrantly refused and failed to comply with the terms of Measure BB itself. Measure BB calls for an annual independent audit to ensure that all Measure BB funds are spent in compliance with the terms of the measure. BUSD is it its third year spending the funds and has not conducted an audit. As Ann Marie Hogan, the city’s auditor, states: A performance auditor’s function is to “speak truth to power.” Instead of circling the wagons around a fading campfire, the school board members need to adopt the FCMAT audit recommendations and fully comply with Measure BB’s audit requirements. 

School Board Leadership  

The lack of school board leadership was cited by FCMAT in over 33 standards. This has led to the unpleasant situation where the school board, instead of providing leadership and guidance, follows the lead of a superintendent. This results in a system without checks and balances.  

Without the $13 million a year from BESP, the $4 million a year from Measure BB and without the over $250 million to rebuild and repair schools, Berkeley would be bankrupt, just like Oakland. Don’t waste our money. Do a good job.  

Sally Reyes is a native Berkeleyan. Her two children attended Berkeley public schools. She was a staff member of the BUSD Maintenance Department from 1978 to 1994 and a citizen member of the Maintenance Advisory Committee from 2002-2002. She was not reappointed this year. 

Copies of the FCMAT report are available from the Berkeley Public Library’s Central reference desk.

The Berkeley firefighters got to test out what could be new and important fire safety equipment Thursday: high-tech gadgetry developed by a UC professor and a handful of students to prevent recurrences of events that led to the deaths of so many at the World Trade Center two years ago.  

The technology, which incorporates several different technological advances, will help firefighters overcome some of the biggest barriers they now face including locating a fire, navigating a building and helping rescue operations find injured or trapped firefighters. 

The idea and the technology were originally developed in a UC Berkeley Engineering class called “High Tech Product Design and Rapid Manufacturing,” taught by professor Paul Wright. 

The teacher said the class is intended to allow students to build their own products, which usually means new designs for already developed consumer products. After Sept. 11, he said, some students began to re-think their product designs, motivating one team to try and design communication and information systems that they thought would facilitate the work of firefighters. 

“We began using information technology in the interest of society,” said Wright. “The students began to refocus their attention.” 

The results were designs for several new devices, including a firefighter’s Heads Up Display, or HUD, and the prototype for a new fire alarm/detector system. Together, the new technologies will allow the firefighters to access information that will help save lives and enable them to battle blazes more effectively.  

The project took flight after the team contacted several fire departments, including Berkeley’s, where firefighters were quick to realize the potential of the project. They have been enthusiastic participants throughout. 

Thursday’s demonstration marked only the second time the fire crews got a close look at the prototype, developed with the help of funds from Ford Motor Company, the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interests of Society, the National Science Foundation and Intel Corp.  

The Heads Up Display is a stamp-sized panel that fits into the firefighter’s mask and provides what Wright calls a “you are here map”—floor plans similar to those shoppers use to navigate a mall. 

One of the main concerns was keeping the panel small but effective, so the information is transmitted to a panel located in a position that doesn’t obscure vision. The display features clear, high-contrast graphics and fonts, giving firefighters exact positions of exits, stairs, walls, doors and other critical architectural features. 

Berkeley Deputy Fire Chief David Orth said that being able to know where you are going in a cloud of smoke where you can’t see six inches in front of you will be an enormous help to firefighters. 

“Until you’ve been in a burning building you don’t know how hard it is,” said Orth. “Anything that gives us the ability to navigate in that situation is really helpful.” 

Orth says that currently the only way firefighters can navigate through thick smoke is by using a wall as a point of reference and following it until they come to the next object, though sometimes they’ve been able to consult floor plans before going in or they’ve walked the building before during fire safety programs. 

The HUDs will also give firefighters information on oxygen levels as well as text messages transmitted from the incident commander outside the building via a wireless laptop. 

Another part of the technology consists of new fire directors, wireless platforms now under development involving red and green lights that will be mounted on doorways, functioning as stoplights. 

Firefighters in a stairwell will be able to see the directors on the door and know whether there is fire on the other side, as will firefighters moving from one of the floors into the stairwell. 

The directors also serve as wireless beacons that communicate information about the fire to the firefighters and to the command chief outside. In addition, they will function as tracking beacons, that keep tabs on the location of fire crews at all times. Because current satellite global positioning systems don’t work in buildings, the students had to design their own system. 

Orth praised the new system, saying it will save lives by enabling rescuers to quickly locate firefighters who get lost or stranded inside burning structures. Radios now in use sometimes don’t work in the chaos of a fire. 

When a floor or roof collapses, Orth said, “and you’re sending people back in to find someone, the trapped person probably only has about five minutes of air. Anything that makes that better is a good thing.” 

During Thursday’s test at the Berkeley Fire Tower, Wright cautioned that it will be about a year until they have “a fully robust system.”  

“We’re very happy to be able to accommodate the project,” said Craig Green, the Assistant Fire Chief and the Director of the Berkeley Fire Department’s Training Center, as he stood by and watched the UC Berkeley team working with the firefighters. “I can envision this being a real help in the future.”

The Berkeley High School Girls Crew Team, desperate to make Aquatic Park the new venue to race their rowboats, squared off at the City Council meeting Tuesday against an environmentalist determined to defend the migrating seabird habitat at the park. 

After listening to impassioned pleas from one environmentalist and several members of the 48-girl team—whose days are numbered at their Lake Merritt practice facility—the council showed little will to take sides, finally voting to postpone a $10,000 environmental study, a prerequisite for granting the team access to the park—while city officials make a last-ditch effort to find the team a different practice site.  

“We are looking at the options,” said Mayor Tom Bates, who asked for and was given a one week delay on the vote. “I want to talk to people in Oakland and find out why they can’t stay.”  

Until environmentalists raised objections in March, the planned move to the main lagoon in Aquatic Park seemed like a slam dunk. The city has recently sought new tenants for the West Berkeley park, which has suffered from a seedy reputation as Berkeley’s hotbed for illicit sex. 

After years of discussions with the Parks and Recreation Department, the team agreed to refurbish and run the derelict boathouse at the lagoon for a token annual rent of $100. 

“We felt confident the city wanted us there until the environmentalists sandbagged it,” said Chuck Knoll, team board member and father of a former rower. 

Environmentalists insist the team would disrupt migratory seabirds, especially open water birds like ducks and geese that call the park home from September through April, the same months the girls would hold daily afternoon practices. 

Boats frighten the birds, which then move to different locations, said Norman LaForce, of the Sierra Club. “That’s not good because then they expend tremendous amounts of energy when they should be feeding, and so they have less energy for migration.”  

An independent study commissioned by the city this summer backed up LaForce’s claim. Richmond-based environmental firm LSA Associates found that the crew team would pose a greater threat to the birds than kayakers who already traverse the 1500-foot lagoon because the team’s 8-person boats travel faster and their oars reach further out into the water. The LSA report did offer suggestions to lessen the impact on the birds. 

Despite the team’s 20-year run at Lake Merritt, leased for $7,000 a year, both Oakland politics and logistical issues have clouded their future there. Noll said the team agreed last year to leave by this fall after former Oakland Parks Director Harry Edwards pressured the Lake Merritt Rowing Club to find an Oakland tenant for the slot.  

Edwards’ recent resignation has bought the team some time. Jim Ryugo, his interim replacement, said he had no immediate plans to force them out, but that he would have to give Oakland tenants priority. 

Team members say that Lake Merritt is too far away and too small to accommodate the growing team. The boathouse only has space for one of their four boats, said Board President Karen Graul, so they keep their other $20,000 boats in storage and borrows boats from the rowing club. And since the team can only practice in the morning at the lake, there isn’t enough time to carpool the team to Oakland and get in a two-hour practice before the girls’ 8:30 a.m. class, Graul said. 

Team officials call Aquatic Park their best and only hope. The Jack London Aquatics Center at the Oakland Estuary charges $20,000 per year and is booked solid, said Executive Director Dede Birch. The Berkeley Boys Crew team practices there, but has too much equipment to share their slot with the girls.  

Efforts to lease a Port of Oakland facility for both teams have fallen through, according to Noll, and a proposed East Bay Regional Park development in San Leandro would cost more than the estuary, he said. 

“Aquatic Park is best”, said Graul, “because kids can walk or bike there and it will be more accessible to those who can’t carpool to Lake Merritt at 6:30 a.m.” 

The team had started to repair the boathouse early this year in anticipation of occupying it for this fall, but have stopped until Council gives them the go-ahead. The team is willing to abide by the recommendations in the LSA report and is offering to team up with EGRET to grow plants along the west shoreline to block encroachment from dogs and people when the birds are flushed to the edges of the lagoon during practice. 

“We don’t want to hurt the birds, but we certainly think that rowers and birds can co-exist,” said Graul. 

LaForce said LSA’s recommendations, which include prohibiting users in smaller nearby lagoons during practice and restricting visitors to the main lagoon shoreline, are unrealistic and won’t protect the birds.  

He insists that by law the city must scrap its proposed environmental study and perform a full Environmental Impact Report to see if the city could implement mitigations to provide for both the needs of the rowers and the birds. Such reports usually cost up to $100,000 and could make any deal with the team cost prohibitive. 

Jesse Douglas-Allen Taylor contributed to this report.

The Berkeley City Council approved a HUD Section 108 loan guarantee of up to $4 million for the Jubilee Village development Tuesday after first readjusting the amount which the project’s developers must come up with. The loan is planned for the purchase of the property only, and will not go towards the development itself. 

Jubilee Village is a planned 125-unit affordable housing project to be built on property bounded by San Pablo Avenue and 10th Street and Carleton and Parker streets. The project is being developed jointly by Jubilee Restoration, a non-profit arm of the Missionary Church of God in Christ, and the Related Companies of California, which has developed several affordable and urban multifamily housing projects in California. 

The council initially voted to use the HUD Section 108 loan monies to assume 90 percent of the cost of the land purchase or $4 million, whichever is lower. When Councilmember Miriam Hawley, who initially supported those numbers, changed her vote and defeated the measure, the developers agreed to accept 20 percent of the liability for the land purchase. The measure then passed. 

Hawley said afterwards that her decision to change her vote on the liability issue was not based upon concerns about either Jubilee Restoration or the Related Companies of California, but was merely a “fiscally sound” measure to keep the city from risking all of its HUD loan monies on one project. 

Construction of the project is estimated for March of 2005. Plans for the project have not yet gone through the city’s planning process.

One of Berkeley’s signature streets hosts one of the area’s signature street festivals Sunday—the always rambunctious Solano Stroll. 

An estimated 150,000 strollers will jaunt down Solano Avenue Sunday reveling in a zany sea of food, games and more than 100 entertainers, some with talents no one knew existed. 

Highlighting the event, as always, is the parade down Solano Avenue, open to anyone willing to fork over the $10 entrance fee and find a way to jive with the annual theme. 

This year’s event organizer, Lisa Bullwinkel threw participants a curve ball with the theme Imagine: Blooms of Hope. 

“I like to throw a theme out and see what people will do with it,” she said. Complicating matters for long-time parade entrants, Bullwinkel has imagined a parade without gas powered vehicles.  

Instead of decorating her trademark truck, Sandy Ashley, owner of a San Pablo Avenue sign shop will make two eight-foot long digital red truck photo prints and drag them down the street. “It was a desperate moment,” she said. “But they wouldn’t let me have my truck. 

While anyone can enter the parade, first prize has been less egalitarian. For the past three years the winner’s circle has been the private domain of Crestmont Elementary School. The kids and parents at the 66-student private school in Richmond will work all day Saturday building a cart—if all goes well, a Radio Flyer wagon—covered in hand-made flowers.  

Last year the school wowed spectators by configuring one thousand origami cranes in their truck. 

Without the truck, school Day Care Director David Wharton said the kids will have to pull their load this year, but that if all goes right “it should be pretty spectacular. 

The parade lasts from 11 a. m. until about 12:30 p.m. when grandstand performances kick off. As with the festival itself, the acts will veer from the straight and narrow.  

The Devil-Ettes, a San Francisco based all-woman synchronized go-go dancer troupe, will make their Berkeley debut. Wearing their trademark horns, the troupe will put their spin on 60s dance classics including the Bird, the Shake, the Shimmy, and the Jerk. 

Also on the main stage Freight and Salvage veterans SoVoSo will display their vocal prowess. The five-piece a cappella group replicates the drums, horns, strings and beats of Reggae, Funk, Latin and Jazz using only their voice boxes. 

No Berkeley festival would be complete without Pink Man, the town’s foremost unicyclist, but joining him at this year’s stroll will be Twisty Man, a balloon sculpture specialist; Bubble Man, a bubble blowing guru; and Zip Code Man, a local with a photographic memory who can name the corresponding zip code to any address thrown his way. 

The stroll first started in 1974 in the upper blocks of the avenue, expanding through the years to San Pablo while garnering a reputation as one of the East Bay’s most cherished events. 

“People come back home for the stroll,” Bullwinkel said. “I get phone calls for weddings an class reunions asking what day is the stroll this year.” 

The day begins at 8 a.m. with the traditional pancake breakfast at Veterans’ Memorial Park. Stroll booths open at 10 a.m. Free shuttles are scheduled to run from the North Berkeley BART station and along the parallel Marin Avenue.

Middle Eastern politics dominated Tuesday’s Berkeley City Council meeting as audience and Council polarized over two competing resolutions calling for Congressional investigations of deaths in the Israeli-Palestinean conflict. 

When the dust settled four hours later, the council had narrowly passed one of the motions, with the second back on the agenda for the elected officials’ next session on the Sept. 16. 

The failed “all American deaths inquiry” resolution was the competing measure to the successful “Rachel Corrie death Congressional inquiry” resolution recommended to Council by the Council’s Peace and Justice Commission and adopted by the council on a 5-4 vote. 

The results of the two votes divided the audience as much as it did the Council, leaving half walking out in angry disappointment and the other half cheering and waving signs. 

Corrie, a 23-year-old Washington state resident and a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), was killed last March in the Gaza Strip Palestinian village of Rafah when she was run over by a bulldozer driven by an Israeli soldier. She was one of several human shields who had placed themselves in the path of Israeli army units knocking down Palestinian homes. 

The Israeli government said that the Rafah operation was part of a search for terrorist hideouts, while ISM members contend it was part of an Israeli government plan to clear out Palestinian residents. 

An Israeli Army statement at the time called Corrie’s death “a very regrettable accident” involving protesters who were “intentionally placing themselves [in danger] in a combat zone.” But photographs of the incident showed that Corrie was wearing a bright orange vest. Fellow protesters at the scene said she was standing in full view of the bulldozer driver, and was driven over deliberately. 

Ten days after Corrie’s death, a bipartisan group of California Congressmembers, including Barbara Lee, George Miller, and Darrell Issa, joined 39 others in cosponsoring House Concurrent Resolution 111, which called for the U.S. and Israeli governments to cooperate in a “full, fair and expeditious investigation into the death.” 

Four months later, Berkeley City Peace and Justice Commission voted 11-2 to recommend that the Council adopt a resolution in support of Concurrent Resolution 111. At that same July meeting, Commissioners overwhelmingly rejected Commissioner Thom Seaton’s proposed amendment to Concurrent Resolution 111. 

Seaton’s proposal, included in the Commission report to the Council as a minority recommendation, would have asked that the investigation into Corrie’s death be expanded to include recent deaths of Americans killed by Palestinian suicide bombers, including former UC Berkeley student Marla Bennett. 

Emotional debate on the competing proposals dominated the Public Comment period of Tuesday’s Council meeting. 

Supporters of the Corrie resolution said that adding other deaths to the resolution would dilute its effect and doom efforts to force the Israeli government to provide information on Corrie’s death to the United States government and Corrie’s parents. 

Supporters of Seaton’s proposal, which was introduced by Councilmembers Betty Olds and Miriam Hawley, charged that failure to include deaths caused by suicide bombers left the impression that Corrie’s life was more important than the lives of other victims. 

The two sides of the public debate reflected competing positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict itself. 

Mayor Bates opened the debate with a plea to table the two measures indefinitely to keep the Council out of what he called “divisive” foreign policy issues. Bates eventually voted against the measure that would have only investigated the Corrie death and for the measure that would have investigated the deaths of Palestinian suicide bomber deaths as well as Corrie’s. 

While Councilmember Linda Maio voted in favor of the Corrie death investigation, she abstained on the resolution that would have added other deaths to the investigation. 

Maio said later that while voting for the competing resolution would have undercut the effect of the Corrie resolution, she “couldn’t in good conscience vote against a resolution that condemned the deaths of innocent Americans.” 

When the Corrie resolution passed, Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who had voted for the Corrie resolution, tried to introduce what he called a “compromise proposal” which would have included all of the Olds-Hawley language calling for a Congressional investigation into the “deaths and/or injuries sustained by all Americans...in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza due to ongoing conflicts,” but would not have asked Congress to amend the Concurrent Resolution 111 to include that language.  

Worthington’s measure would have also required the “all deaths and/or injuries” resolution to go back before the Peace and Justice Commission to “straighten out the language” while the Corrie resolution was passed on directly to Congress.  

Olds and Hawley rejected Worthington’s proposal, as well as requests by other Councilmembers to put their measure off for another week. 

That set the stage for the 4-4 vote which spelled temporary defeat on the Olds-Hawley measure—which the council will consider once again on Sept. 16 under the heading of old business. 

City Clerk Sherry Kelly said later that the request to put the “all American deaths” item on the Sept. 16 agenda was made by Mayor Bates. Kelly also said that Councilmember Hawley confirmed to her following the meeting that she wanted the item brought up again. 

Councilmember Betty Olds said Thursday that there was a possibility that supporters of the “all American deaths” resolution would pull it off the agenda before the September 16th meeting. 

The Corrie resolution vote: Ayes: Maio, Breland, Shirek, Spring, Worthington. 

Nayes: Hawley, Olds, Wozniak, Bates. 

The Olds-Hawley resolution vote:  

Ayes: Hawley, Olds, Wozniak, Bates. 

Nayes: Breland, Shirek, Spring, Worthington. 

Abstain: Maio.

My husband and I were at a crowded party in Berkeley. We were glad to be there. He had been bedridden for eight weeks, but had just been given permission by his doctor to get up for a few hours each day. 

I was leaning against a wall and he was sitting in his electric wheelchair, facing me. His wheelchair blocked the flow of partygoers, much like a big, unmovable Lazy Boy in the middle of heavy traffic. People walked around and in front of him, sometimes stepping between us and over his feet to get to the bar and buffet table.  

I scanned the jam-packed room to see if there was a better place to position ourselves. The only alternative was to wheel Ralph into a corner. I didn’t want to do it. I wanted him to be, as much as possible, a participant in the party.  

A woman sidled up beside me. “You’re the gal who writes about her husband sometimes, aren’t you?” she shouted.  

I balanced my drink in my left hand and introduced myself. “I’m one of them,” I answered. “But there are lots of women who write about their husbands.” 

“I mean you’re the one who writes about her disabled husband, right?” She cast a glance at Ralph.  

“Yes,” I said. “This is Ralph, my husband.” 

She nodded at Ralph and then leaned in closer, toward my ear. “You know, don’t you, that when your articles first appeared in the paper they caused quite a furor in the disabled community?” 

I felt my body go stiff and blood rush to my face. “No,” I said. I glanced at Ralph. I was glad he was unable to hear her words. “What kind of furor?” 

“You don’t know?” she asked. “I was working for a non-profit several years ago when one of your essays was published. No one could believe the things you were saying. You were obviously very angry that your husband had become disabled.” 

I looked down at my feet and up at the ceiling. I took another sip of my drink. 

“Someone copied the article and passed it around the office for everyone to read,” she continued. “We discussed coming over to your house and rescuing your husband. We were worried you might hurt him.” 

I took a bigger gulp of my drink and tried to focus on something. I looked directly at the woman’s face and stared at her nose. It was small and perky. 

“Really?” I said. “I wish you had come over. We could have used some help.” 

She chuckled softly. “We thought you sounded like a crazy person, like you couldn’t handle the situation.” 

“I couldn’t,” I said. “Sometimes I still can’t.”  

“Well, you seem to be doing pretty good now.” She shot another glance at Ralph. He was busy blocking traffic, talking to no one. 

“We were,” I said, “until now.” 

“What?” 

“I didn’t know that anyone wanted to rescue Ralph from me. All those times I took him to doctors’ appointments, therapy sessions and advisory meetings, no one said anything to indicate that they were worried about his safety.” 

I looked at Ralph. He was no longer just in the middle of the crowd. Now the buffet line actually snaked around his wheelchair. The room was growing hot and more congested. I thought it might even be spinning but I wasn’t sure. 

I peered back at the woman. “Do people still feel that way?” I asked. 

“Feel what way?” 

“That Ralph is in danger?” 

“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s getting crowded in here. I think I’ll get something to eat.” She scurried off to the end of the food line. 

I turned toward my husband. “Ralph,” I said, leaning down so that he could hear me.  

“I want to go home.” 

“Why?” he asked. 

“Because it feels unsafe in here,” I said. “I think it may be dangerous.”

For the longest time, it’s been my belief that if Mayor Jerry Brown were more like Bill Clinton, Oakland would have a better record of downtown development. But maybe not the way you’re thinking. 

When Brown was running for Mayor in 1998, and during his re-election campaign last year, he promised that downtown development was one of his three top priorities (if you’ve got a good memory, you’ll recall that the other two were education and crime, both of which are probably touchy subjects with the Mayor these days, what with the state takeover of the Oakland Public Schools, problems with both his charter schools, and two years of soaring murder rates…so that brings us back to downtown development). 

Anyway, while downtown development hasn’t been a total disaster under Jerry Brown, the Mayor hasn’t racked up a bundle of successes, either, in five years at the helm. There’s one new development that absolutely, positively would not have come to downtown Oakland if Jerry Brown had not been Mayor, and that’s the Gap store on Broadway. The reason we can say that Gap probably wouldn’t have come to downtown Oakland without Brown is that his girlfriend, Anne Gust, is a Gap executive.  

Mind you, I absolutely do not see anything either illegal, unethical, or improper about this type of arrangement, having the mayor’s girlfriend help out in development. In fact, I would like to encourage it, if I could. The problem is that unlike Bill Clinton, Jerry Brown appears to be a one-girlfriend kind of guy. Admirable quality, yes, but it sort of stunts Oakland’s progress, don’t you think?—because more mayoral girlfriends might mean more businesses coming into town. For a while I was thinking about getting local residents to sponsor a dating service for the mayor, just to get him started in the right direction, but a better idea has recently intervened. 

Last spring, the mayor left his Jack London neighborhood loft and moved in with Gust at her place in the converted Sears building at Telegraph and 26th Street, in a community commonly known as Koreatown. If you know anything about the neighborhood, it’s one of the rougher major street areas of the city after dark, with open air drug dealing, and more than it’s share of auto break-ins, fighting, and other assorted bad stuff. No surprise to anyone who drives through the area on a late summer evening, but, then, maybe, north on Telegraph was not one of the directions that the mayor liked to drive on late summer evenings. 

We can make that assertion because fighting crime and blight and generally improving the Koreatown community was not known as one of Mayor Brown’s priorities—not, at least, until he moved into the neighborhood.  

Now, of course, it is.  

“Since moving … into the … Sears Building,” the Tribune reported last month, the mayor “has been prowling the neighborhood…. When he doesn’t like what he sees, he picks up the phone and gives bureaucrats an earful until something gets done. So far, the mayor has helped get two buildings condemned, talked the housing authority into canceling its Section 8 contracts with one building owner, increased police patrols and helped the owner of a bar he frequents obtain a permit for karaoke.”  

In explaining if the police and other city officials are giving the Koreatown neighborhood special attention because it is, after all, the mayor’s new neighborhood, the Tribune quoted a police representative as saying, “I can’t say we are acting differently than we are in any other neighborhood, but when the mayor shows up, people tend to pay attention.”  

This has caused some grumbling from other neighborhoods about preferential treatment, but it is my belief that rather than whining and complaining, Oaklanders ought to recognize the potential in this situation and capitalize. 

If the mayor is more likely to be concerned about crime and blight and development in a neighborhood in which he lives, and if police and other city officials are more likely to respond to complaints and suggestions from the mayor than they are to complaints and suggestions from ordinary citizens, then the solution is obvious—concerned Oakland residents must induce the mayor to move into their neighborhoods, if only for a brief moment.  

I propose, therefore, that the City of Oakland set up an Rent-The-Mayor program, in which, for a nominal fee and the providing of a vacant room, apartment, house, or even a spare church pew, neighborhoods can obtain the services of the mayor for periods of a week up to a month. During that period, it will be the mayor’s responsibility to roam the local streets on foot, reporting blight and crime whenever he sees it and clearing red tape for frustrated citizens and business owners. Police and other city officials will quickly respond, criminals will be rousted, trashed cleaned, permits granted, the mayor can move on to the next neighborhood, and within a period of a couple of years, we can turn this city around.  

If Tom Bates can sleep for a night on the Berkeley streets, surely Jerry Brown can sleep in Dogtown and the Twomps.

Pacific Gas & Electric is moving its Berkeley customer service office on Sept. 29 from 2111 Martin Luther King Jr. Way to 1900 Addison St. 

PG&E spokesman Jason Alderman said the company was making the move because the exisiting office couldn’t meet the PG&E’s standards for handicapped accessibility. 

The new quarters are level with the sidewalk and easily accessible by wheelchair, he said. “All the services we offered in the MLK office will be available in the new one. Customers can still drop off their payments and handle billing situations.”

For anyone looking for a pleasant way to spend a Saturday morning, the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association invites ones and all to join in a climb up historic Charter Hill behind the UC campus. 

Hikers will learn about a century of Berkeley history while enjoying spectacular views and a late summer’s day in the Berkeley Hills. 

I’ll be leading the walk in my role as a local historian, starting at 10 a.m. Our walk starts on the UC campus with a stroll through a former 19th century residential neighborhood, including a home visited by Jack London. 

Next stop is the Greek Theatre, 100 years old this month, where tourgoers will learn about the history of Berkeley’s first great performance space and, in particular, the memorial marble chairs dedicated to figures from Berkeley’s past, from Phoebe Hearst to Frank Norris. 

The walk then climbs along the historic “Big C Trail” route overlooking Memorial Stadium and Strawberry Canyon and, finally, reaches the Big “C” itself, built as a symbol of student unity in 1905; the giant concrete letter overlooking Berkeley is the oldest feature of its type in the Western American landscape. 

Along the way we’ll learn about past uses of the Berkeley Hills from student hijinks to Sierra Club Easter services. 

The tour is free and no reservations are required. Gather by 10 a.m. sharp in the plaza west of Wurster Hall on the UC Campus. Look for the triangular wooden sculpture. 

Bring water and good climbing shoes. The walk goes up a steep dirt trail, and quickly gains 400 feet in elevation. The walk will last two to three hours. It is not wheelchair accessible. 

Parking is on your own. The UC Foothill Parking Lot ($7 public parking) is closest to the end of the walk. Drive up Hearst Avenue to above Gayley and follow the signs to the lot entrance on the right, double--checking the signs to avoid parking in restricted spaces. 

For more information on this and the other hikes offered by the Berkeley Path Wanderers—including a selection of self-guided tours—see their Web site: www.internettime.com/bpwa/.

While the corporate record industry files lawsuits against 12-year-olds and Cal students for downloading music from the web, O-Maya, a group of former Berkeley and St. Mary’s high school students, offers their music for free on the Web and for sale on their debut CD this weekend. 

More than just a band, O-Maya is a Berkeley-based nine-man, one-woman musical aggregation that mixes up everything from classic Mexican corridos to funky Afro-American soul to contemporary hip hop—all with a big beat you can dance to and a message of anger, hope and inclusion. 

Thirty-four-year-old B. Quincy Griffin describes himself as the “old man of the group.” A Berkeley High graduate [class of 1987] with a shaved head, Griffin recently won the Sundance Audience Award for his musical score to the film “My Flesh and Blood” and was nominated for an Oscar for his score for “My Daughter From Danang.” 

When asked to define O-Maya’s sound, the band’s ringleader faltered. 

“It’s a real problem trying to label it,” Griffin said. “We came up with Afro-Latin-hip-hop but that just describes what it is. I would call it a certain type of fusion but everybody thinks of jazz-fusion when you use the word fusion. It’s a lot of different cultures coming together.” 

“I would describe it as a good time,” said lead vocalist Destani Wolf. “[It’s music that has] a spicy vibe, that has hip-hop, has the urban elements but still has a message. It’s just acknowledging the current situation. 

“How this country deals with the world. How this country deals with itself, with the righteousness of understanding what’s out there and what needs to be changed in our education system, police brutality, going out and attacking countries that get left with nothing. In the name of what?” 

Wolf, a 1994 Berkeley High graduate, earned her B.A. in music from San Francisco State. She spent four years recording three albums and touring the world with local a cappella group SoVoSo. 

“We did a show a week after Sept. 11 [two years ago] that was probably one of our most emotional shows to me,” said Wolf. 

“Within our music, within our lyrics you can’t avoid the realities. It’s not just an escape. It’s fun to just get away but it feels good to understand what’s real. People are feeling the hope, there’s an undercurrent of that.” 

One of the youngest members of the group is 23-year-old drummer Valentino Pelizzer. He and Wolf met at Berkeley High and played together in several local bands. 

After returning from a year at the New School for Social Research in New York, Pelizzer’s planning on continuing his education at San Francisco State. He credits his musical classes at Berkeley High [class of 1998] as inspirational and decries the current climate of cutbacks in arts education. 

“I was in the Berkeley High band ensemble for three years,” said the pony-tailed Pelizzer. “Any music program, not just Berkeley High, but any music program should be supported because it gives kids an outlet that they would otherwise not get, especially kids who don’t have instruments at home. 

“They could come to school and play and let out their emotions or whatever’s going on in their heads. Music is very healing. 

“Teaching them to read is important just like teaching mathematics is important, but what music does is it ties all that in,” Pelizzer continued. 

“It ties mathematics to a very real situation. Math sometimes tends to be kind of out there in equations and formulas and stuff. Music is very real and tangible. 

“You can touch it and it lasts. It’s reading, it’s not reading the English language but it’s reading a language. It also helps you to develop self-esteem as a child: I can do something that people like.” 

Steve Hogan, O-Maya’s bassist agreed. A former St. Mary’s High student, Hogan played with Bay Area hip-hop legends The Coup and Goapele, who’s debut album was just re-released by Sony. 

“Music takes people to a higher plane,” the 24-year-old UC graduate said. “ I like playing dance music because I like the energy you provide the dancers they provide put back to you. It’s sort of like this positive cycle that increases the energy level.  

O-Maya plays tonight at Jupiter in downtown Berkeley. Their CD Release Party is Saturday, Sept. 13 at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, and you can also hear them Sunday, Sept. 28 at the How Berkeley Can You Be Festival. 

On the Web: www.o-maya.com/. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last of a three-part series on the history of Memorial Stadium.  

The building of Memorial Stadium was an enormous undertaking which began in November of 1922 and was rapidly completed by November of 1923. Building Review magazine reported that the first phase of the project was the excavation of approximately “...280,000 cubic yards of material by hydraulicking (sic) and by steam shovels...it was an extremely interesting sight to see.” 

The stadium was financed by subscription from alumni, faculty and students. For each $100 dollar donation, the subscriber would receive “script” worth $10 per year for ten years toward the purchase of tickets to the football games. 

The reason given for the selection of the Strawberry Canyon site over the previously announced alternative closer to downtown was that this was land the university already owned and therefore would not have to pay out additional funds for its purchase. 

Just why the University hadn’t considered this before announcing and soliciting funds for the other site remains a mystery. 

Neighbors feared that the stadium would be used for events other than university football games and events such as graduations, but were assured by Robert Gordon Sproul that the stadium would only be used for school-related activities—which proved to be the case for many decades thereafter.  

Then, suddenly in 1972—and despite regulations prohibiting use of university facilities by commercial enterprises—the UC Regents approved a three-year contract with the Oakland Raiders. 

Though the Raiders deal was the first violation of Sproul’s promise, it wasn’t to be the last: rock concerts came next. 

The new crowds—a different mix altogether from the more sedate university student and alumni community—overwhelmed the city, its services and especially the areas closest to the stadium. 

After two years, the City Council cried foul, passing a resolution disapproving of the leasing of Memorial Stadium for commercial use. 

The era of professional football games and other events in the stadium finally ended but only after much public complaint.  

To paraphrase a familiar quotation: If we don’t learn from the mistakes of the past we are bound to repeat them.  

One final note: The accompanying photograph was discovered at Urban Ore in an old family photo album someone had discarded. Among the many photos were six of the stadium under construction. If you have such photographic treasures, don’t throw them away. Donate them to the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association or Berkeley Historical Society.  

Susan Dinkelspiel Cerny is author of the book “Berkeley Landmarks.”

MoveOn—the Berkeley based activist organization that’s been using the Internet to shake up the political scene—is calling together a flash mob to register voters in Berkeley Saturday. 

“Flash mobs” are rapidly organized gatherings called together by the Internet and mobile phone, and originally began as a form of high tech pranking, with crowds called together to perform absurd acts then quickly disperse. 

Of late, the phenomenon has been taking on a more serious tone, sparked in part by a recent Doonesbury series about flash-mobbing for Democratic Presidential hopeful Howard Dean. 

MoveOn—founded during Clinton’s impeachment in 1999 by software entrepreneurs Wes Boyd and Joan Blades—takes the next step, using the practice to get out the vote. 

For Saturday’s event, volunteers—anyone in Berkeley who wants to join in is welcome—will gather on at 2 p.m. on Shattuck Avenue between Berkeley Bowl and Walgreens.

I’ve encountered coyotes in odd places—the men’s room of a park in Tucson, for one—but never, unlike a friend who knows his wildlife, in downtown Berkeley. He says it was crossing Shattuck Avenue, early in the morning before significant traffic. This shouldn’t have surprised me: I knew they were in the East Bay Hills (Tilden Park and Briones), and it was only a matter of time until they came to town. 

The coyote is one of the few medium-to-large predatory mammals that have prospered since the European settlement of North America. 

We think of them as Southwestern: the iconic baying-at-the-moon-beneath-a-saguaro pose, Chuck Jones’s maladroit schemer pursuing the Roadrunner through canyons and mesas. But they were also native to the Plains, and they’ve now wandered far beyond their original range, filling the niche of the timber wolf in the Northeast. 

We’ve shot, trapped, and poisoned them, but they keep coming back. 

They’ve inhabited the cultures and belief systems of North Americans for a long time, from Mexico (“coyote” comes from the Nahuatl coyotl) to the Arctic. Coyote—trickster, worldmaker, shapeshifter—features in thousands of creation myths and bawdy stories: see Malcolm Margolin’s “The Way We Lived” for a California sample. 

The coyote’s image is everywhere--Harry Fonseca’s paintings, Santa Fe kitsch—and its song, thanks to all those Westerns, is part of our collective soundtrack. 

What concerns me here, though, is their role as predators. Wile E. Coyote is atypical; most coyotes are very good at what they do. They’re opportunistic, scavenging carrion, eating fruit, taking insects, frogs, snakes, rodents, pronghorn, deer. Mostly solitary, they’ll join forces to run down an antelope, or follow a badger around to see what it flushes. 

As predators, coyotes are major architects of natural communities. There’s a sizable body of research showing how predators regulate ecosystems. Everyone knows that hunters keep the numbers of the hunted in check: The canonical story is of the deer on Arizona’s Kaibab Plateau, whose population exploded past sustainable levels when wolves and mountain lions were killed off. 

But it’s more complicated than that. 

Predation is also a force for biodiversity. Without predators, some species in a natural community would outcompete others and come to dominate. This seems to work the same way for starfish in a tidepool (keeping the mussels from taking over) as for tigers in a jungle. 

In a Texas study, coyotes were removed from test plots of grassland with multiple species of rodents. Nine months later, rodent diversity had declined; after a year, only one species of kangaroo rat was left. 

It also appears that predators don’t just regulate prey: they regulate other predators. 

Predators come in all sizes. Most terrestrial ecosystems have “mesopredators,” in the weasel-to-fox range. Larger predators like coyotes may either compete with mesopredators or prey on them directly. When top predators are eliminated, the smaller guys experience what conservation biologist Michael Soule dubbed “mesopredator release.”  

Their populations increase, and so does their impact on their prey base. 

Soule described the process in 1988, in a study of chaparral “islands” in the canyons around San Diego. He found that fragments without coyotes had fewer ground-nesting birds: quail, roadrunners, thrashers, towhees. The variable seemed to be the abundance of foxes, domestic cats, and other bird predators in the coyoteless areas. 

Indirectly, it seems, the coyote is a benefactor of the roadrunner. 

Since then, other researchers have supported this notion. Recent surveys of riparian corridors among Sonoma County vineyards found more large predators (coyotes, bobcats) and fewer small predators in the wider, better-vegetated patches. 

In the prairie pothole country, North America's duck factory, the presence of coyotes seems to reduce red fox predation on duck nests. A similar dynamic involving lynxes, mongooses, and rabbits was described in a Spanish national park. 

Soule and Kevin Crooks revisited coastal southern California a few years ago for a closer look at competition among predators and how prey species were affected. They found a strong positive correlation between coyote presence and chaparral-nesting bird diversity, and strong negative correlations between both of these and the abundance of gray foxes, opossums, raccoons, and domestic cats. 

Crooks and Soule wrote in the journal Nature: “The interactions between coyotes, cats and birds probably have the strongest impact on the decline and extinction of scrub-breeding birds.” 

Basically, coyotes kill cats. About a quarter of the coyote scat specimens collected in their study area contained cat remains. 

I can hear the Cat Lobby already: cats, house or feral, get a bad rap, they’re not really destructive predators, they didn’t wipe out the quail in Golden Gate Park. 

Let me cite the classic paper by P. B. Churcher and J. H. Lawton. Churcher and Lawton persuaded the cat owners of the English village of Felmersham to keep track of what their pets brought home in a year’s time. The village’s 70-odd cats accounted for a total of 1090 prey items, mostly mice, voles, and shrews, but about 300 birds. (And this doesn’t include whatever the cats ate on the spot). 

Interestingly, individual success varied: six feline slackers brought in nothing at all, while one overachiever accounted for 95 kills.  

So it seems straightforward: more coyotes, fewer cats, more birds. 

But roles can change; sometimes a top predator gets demoted. The coyotes of Yellowstone had a good thing going, with pronghorn antelope fawns a prominent item on their menu. Then the wolves returned, and wolves have zero tolerance for coyotes. Last year, according to pronghorn authority John Byers, antelope numbers increased for the first time in years. Byers credits the exclusion of coyotes by wolves: “It’s likely the wolves are going to be the single-most-important force to save the pronghorn of Yellowstone.”

Five days after this week’s Berkeley High-Oakland Technical High football game was abruptly canceled by Principal Jim Slemp, Berkeley school officials were still trying to reschedule the game for an alternate site—but apparently not in coordination with their counterparts at Oakland Tech. 

And given the publicity surrounding the cancellation, the Oakland Tech Athletic Director expressed doubts that the game should be played at all. 

The game between Berkeley and Tech, originally scheduled for this Friday at the Berkeley High campus, was canceled by Slemp last Wednesday after receiving word from the Berkeley Police Department about threatened violence from spectators planning to attend. 

Berkeley Police Department spokesman Kevin Scofield said Monday afternoon that it is “still unclear as to the exact nature of” the threatened violence. 

“It is my understanding,” he added, “that [the problem] was not between people on the two teams, but between other people who would come and create a problem.” 

Scofield said he had no information as to whether the “other people” involved students from the two schools or non-students. 

While acknowledging the potential danger of the threatened violence, Oakland Tech Athletic Director Karen Jones wondered why she and other Tech officials were not included in the decision to cancel the game. 

Jones said that she did not learn about the cancellation until Thursday of last week, the same day the San Francisco Chronicle made the announcement in a front-page story. 

Slemp declined to comment on the affair, and his secretary referred reporters to Berkeley Unified School District spokesperson Mark Coplan, who said Monday that the district was actively seeking out another site to hold the game 

Jones said she wasn’t being consulted on that matter, either. 

“Before it got to that point of cancellation, maybe what we should have done first was to talk about the alternatives among police personnel and officials of both schools,” Jones said, wondering why there was such a rush to unilaterally cancel the game a week and a half before it was scheduled to be held. 

“I’m wondering if we should even move forward with this now, because too much has been stirred up. Now if you try to correct it and start publicizing where the game is going to be, then that could be a problem. And if those people weren’t thinking about doing something before, now they are.” 

If the game is still to be played, Jones suggested two alternative sites: Skyline High School in Oakland, and Oakland Tech itself. 

“Oakland Tech would be ideal,” she said, adding that if the game were held there this year, she would recommend that it include no spectators “because of this community war that’s going on. Because we are not able to identify those community people, then the best thing to do would be to just have the players at the game.” 

Jones said Tech’s field “has four gates which could be easily locked, and you can’t see the game from the street. I look at that as being more of a safe haven, and more of a controlled environment [than Berkeley High]. This was a two-game contract, and Oakland Tech was scheduled to host the game for next year. We could have flip-flopped and gone to Berkeley next year instead. Hopefully, by then, all of this would have died out.” 

But BUSD spokesperson Coplan, who said an alternate field must be found by noon Tuesday if the game was still to be played on Friday, nixed Tech as a site. 

Coplan said he wanted to locate a field that the potential troublemakers wouldn’t “go looking for.” Although Coplan remained hopeful that an alternate field could be found, he said that several campuses had already turned him down “because there’s been so much press about this.” 

Marty Price, vice principal at Oakland Tech, said he doesn’t think the game should have been canceled. Although he called the information about the potential violence “credible” and stressed that police may have more information than they are revealing, Price said that given the information currently available, he thought the game could have been played at Berkeley High with parents and students with school identification in attendance. 

“We hold dances at [Oakland Tech] under those circumstances. Students have to get ID bracelets from the office in advance of the dance, and they can’t get in without one,” Price said. 

“Berkeley could have beefed up its police force for the game. They could have treated it like security personnel normally treat a Raiders game or a 49ers game,” he said. “We could have worked it out.” 

Price also revealed a possible source for the initial information about the threatened violence. He said it may have initially come to officials’ attention from an Oakland Tech football player, who warned his mother not to come to the game. 

The mother then contacted a Berkeley Police official who volunteers at after school Oakland Tech athletic activities. 

Price blamed the cancellation on the jumpiness of Berkeley school officials. “This may have been a problem with a first-year principal who doesn’t know the culture here yet,” he said. “He should have waited and looked at the alternatives first.” 

Meanwhile, people associated with Berkeley High were divided over the cancellation. 

“I would have been scared to death to have gone while things are this hot,” said Laura Menard, parent of a Berkeley High student and chairperson of the Russell, Oregon, California Street Neighborhood Association, the South Berkeley neighborhood where much of this summer’s violence has been centered. “I would prefer to err on the side of caution.” 

But students thought the game should go on. 

“I think it’s a bunch of crap,” said Julian Jones, a Berkeley High football player. “If it’s a safety issue, maybe we should have more cops and more security.” 

Lita Jackson, a Berkeley High cheerleader, said she didn’t believe any violence was imminent. “It’s not going to be big thing,” she said. “We all grew up with Tech people.” 

Tech AD Jones called the whole situation “one of those unfortunate things,” and said if the game isn’t played, it would be “a big disappointment” to Oakland Tech players. “A lot of them played Pop Warner football together and it’s been a number of years since Oakland Tech played Berkeley. So they were looking forward to it. They were excited.”

TUESDAY, SEPT. 9 

“Four Decades of Saving the Bay,” with Sylvia McLaughlin, Co-Founder of Save the Bay, at 5:30 p.m. at 105 North Gate Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Water Resources Center Archives. 642-2666.  

Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club meets to discuss the Re- 

call and Prop. 54 at 7 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 733-0996. 

Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters meets at 7 p.m. at the Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave., near Rockridge BART. 835-6303.  

Tuesday Tilden Walkers We are a few slowpoke Seniors who walk between a mile or two each Tuesday, meeting at 9:30 a.m. in the Little Farm parking lot. To join us call 215-7672.  

“Aftermath: Unanswered Questions From 911” A film produced by the Depleted Uranium Education Project, at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, Community Room, 2090 Kittredge. www.geocities. 

com/vigil4peace/vigil 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 525-3565. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

Morris Dancing Workshop Free. From 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. www.talamasca.com/berkmorris 

“Holocaust and Genocide: Entanglement of Master Concepts” with Prof. Dirk Moses, Dept. of History, University of Sydney, Australia, at 4 p.m. in 201 Moses Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Institute of European Studies. 643-2115. hsutton@uclink.berkeley.edu 

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10 

Circles of Hope: Pre-Emptive Peacemaking, participate in the nationwide Circles of Hope called for by Families for Peaceful To- 

morrows. Frank Ogawa Plaza, 14th and Broadway, Oakland (12th St/City Center BART). Sponsored by Peoples NonViolent Coalition. 839-5877. www.pnvrc.net 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center. Vigil at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www.geocities. 

com/vigil4peace/vigil 

Community Dances, traditional English and American dances, 8 p.m. every Wednesday, $9. 7 p.m. first Sunday, $10. Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. 233-5065. www.bacds.org 

Berkeley CopWatch open office hours 7 to 9 p.m. Drop in to file complaints, assistance available. For information call 548-0425. 

Free Marketing Workshops, sponsored by Sisters Headquarters, for women entrepreneurs, every Wed. from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 643 17th St. Oakland. For information call 238-1100. 

THURSDAY, SEPT. 11 

September 11 Tribute at noon in the Peace Bell Courtyard behind the MLK, Jr. Civic Center Building at 2180 Milvia. 

Joining Voices: Community Singing for Peace and Healing at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, Cedar and Bonita. Donation $8-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 525-7082.  

“Take Another Look: Human Rights Law and Politics in a Globalized World,” with Rita Maran, Ph.D., at 7:30 p.m. International House, Home Room, Piedmont at Bancroft Ave. 642-9460. 

St. John's Prime Timers Tap Dancing class meets on Thursday mornings at 9:15 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church at 2717 Garber St. Class is free and open to anyone over 50. 527-0167. 

Grizzly Peak Flyfishers meets at 6:30 p.m. at the Kensington Community Center, 59 Arlington Ave, for “Fish Story Night.” Grizzly Peak’s flyfishers will share thrilling tales of their summer adventures. 547-8629. rorlando@uclink4.berkeley.edu  

Lawyers in the Library, at 6 p.m. in the South Branch, Russell at MLK Jr. Way, 981-6260. 

FRIDAY, SEPT. 12 

International Marketplace on San Pablo and University Aves opens at 11 a.m. with a celebration at the Spanish Table, 1814 San Pablo Ave. 981-2490. 

“Israel’s Secret Weapon,” a documentary on Israel’s wea- 

pons of mass destruction and whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu, at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. 528-5403 or 548-3048. 

The Freedom Archives will celebrate the release of their new audio documentary CD, “Chile: Promise of Freedom,” commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Chilean coup, at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $10-$20 sliding scale, no one turned away. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Rosemary Mucklow, Executive Director, National Meat Association, “Making Meat Safe for Americans.” Luncheon 11:45 a.m. $11.50 - $12.50, Speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020. 

Berkeley Critical Mass Bike Ride meets at the Berkeley BART the second Friday of every month at 5:30 p.m. 

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. wibberkeley@yahoo.com 548-6310, 845-1143. 

Meditation, Peace Vigil and Dialogue, gather at noon on the grass close to the West Entrance to UC Berkeley, on Oxford St. near University Ave. People of all traditions are welcome to join us. Sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. 496-6000, ext. 135. www.bpf.org 

SATURDAY, SEPT. 13 

Free Emergency Preparedness 

Class on Responding to Terrorism, for anyone who lives or works in Berkeley, from 9 a.m. to noon at 997 Cedar St., between 8th and 9th Sts. Register on-line at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes or call 981-5506. 

“Hidden Walks in the Bay Area,” a talk by Stephen Altchuler, at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Ave. at Arch. Sponsored by the Berkeley Path Wanderers Assoc. and the Hillside Club. 

Walk and Write by the Berkeley Pier, sponsored by the Solo Sierrans. Meet at 3:30 p.m. on the sidewalk in front of Berkeley Pier, last stop on University Ave M bus. Bring writing supplies, water, snacks, sun protection, and small tarp, cushion, or other seating. 527-3857.  

Berkeley Path Wanderers walks the historic pathway up Chater Hill. Meet on UC Campus outside Wurster Hall at 10 a.m. stuart60@pacbell.net 

Agricultural Roots Fair featuring street foods from around the world, farmers’ and agrarian crafts markets, produce tasting, educational displays about healthy eating and local farms, and competitive exhibits, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street, at 10th St. 433-9443. www.sagecenter.org 

Creating an Ecological House, with Skip Wenz, on modeling houses on ecosystems, natural building materials, solar design and alternative construction methods. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Building Education Center, 812 Page St. Cost is $75. For information call 525-7610.  

Composting in Urban Areas: The Real Dirt, a free class with Kathi Kinney, covering what composting is and its benefits. From 10 a.m. to noon at the 59th St. Community Garden, between Market and Adeline, Oakland. karenjoy@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Trees, Shrubs and the Law, a free class with Judy Thomas, Landscape Horticulture Professor, Merritt College, at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-1992. 

Project Completion workshop for writers, with Elizabeth Stark and Nanou Matteson.From 2 to 4 p.m. at Boadecia's Books, 398 Colusa Ave. For information call 527-2234. www.creativeprojectinstitute.com 

Organic Cooking Demon- 

stration and Book Signing with Annie Somerville of Greens at 11 a.m. at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, Center St. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

The Silence of Our Friends Workshop presented by The UNtraining, a program for untraining white liberal racism. From 1 to 5 p.m. at University of Creation Spirituality, 2141 Broadway, at 22nd, Oakland. Sliding scale $20-50. For more information call 235-3957. www.untraining.org 

SUNDAY, SEPT. 14 

Solano Avenue Stroll Booths, theme parade with floats, horses, drill teams, marching bands and more. Sidewalk sales, carnival games, hand-made arts and crafts for sale, silent auction and more than 100 entertainers. 527-5358. www.solanostroll.org  

Jim Hightower at the East Bay ACLU Chapter meeting at 2 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 464-1330.  

Slingshot Publishing Collective, volunteer meeting, at 1 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

Community Art Day from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. Bring supplies or snacks to share. 644-6893. 

Introduction to Tango Start correctly by learning from a master, Paulo Araujo, founder of the Instituto Brasileiro do Tango in Rio de Janeiro. Today and Sept. 21, from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Cost is $15 class or $25 for both classes. The Berkeley Tango Studio. For registration and directions email smling@msn.com 

Tibetan Buddhism, Sylvia Gretchen on "Introducing Tibetan Buddhism," at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, SEPT. 15 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 6 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

ONGOING  

Free Smoke Detectors for City residents and UC Berkeley students who live off-campus. Applications are available from the Environment, Health & Safety office of UC Berkeley, at any Berkeley Fire Station, or at the Fire Admin. Office located at 2100 MLK, Jr. Way. 981-5585.  

Free Energy Bill Payment Assistance The City of Berkeley has money to help low-income households pay their gas and electric bills. For applications contact the Energy Office at 644-8544. TDD: 981-6903. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/energy 

Prose Writers Workshop We're a serious but lively bunch whose focus is on issues of craft. Novices welcome. Experienced facilitator. Community sponsored, no fee. Wednesdays, 7 to 9 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut, at Rose. For information call 524-3034. 

Folk Dancing, a new eight week class begins Sept. 9 and meets every Tues., 7:45 - 9:45 p.m. in Live Oak Park, 1301 Shattuck. Cost is $20. For information call 525-1980. www.berkeleyfolkdancers.org 

Bella Musica Chorus and Orchestra rehearsals for Fall Season begins Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. at Walnut. For audition information please call 525-5393 or email info@bellamusica.org 

Acting and Storytelling Classes for Seniors, offered by Stagebridge. Wed. and Fri. at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., beginning Sept. 10, and may be joined anytime. At Arts First Oakland, 2501 Harrison St., close to BART and AC Transit. For information, call 444-4755. www.stagebridge.org 

CITY MEETINGS 

Commission on Disability meets Wed., Sept. 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Paul Church, 981-6342. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/disability 

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Sept. 10, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/homeless 

Library Board of Trustees meets Wed, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. at the Claremont Branch, 2940 Benvenue Ave. Jackie Y. Griffin, 981-6195. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/library 

Planning Commission meets Wed., Sept. 10, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Ruth Grimes, 981-7481. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/planning 

Police Review Commission meets Wed., Sept. 10, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Barbara Attard, 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/policereview 

Commission on Early Childhood Education meets Thurs., Sept. 11, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Marianne Graham, 981-5416. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/earlychildhoodeducation  

Community Health Commission meets Thurs., Sept. 11, at 6:45 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. William Rogers, 981-5344. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/health 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Sept. 11, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.ber- 

keley.ca.us/commissions/zoning 

Two-by-Two Meeting of elected City and School officials to dicuss common concerns, Thurs., Sept. 11, at 12:30 p.m., in the Redwood Room, 6th floor, 2180 Milvia St. 644-6147.

So, now begins the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, as the English poet John Keats described it. Labor Day is over. Squirrels are having noisy battles in oak trees over this year’s acorn crop. The swallows are packing up to leave Capistrano. And here in Berkeley, citizens can celebrate the seasonal return of the City Council to take up their civic responsibilities—for a couple of weeks at least. Since we’re in California instead of England, we can expect the mists of August to lift somewhat in September and October. But the miasma that lately seems to hang over decision-making in Berkeley shows no signs of abating.  

This year, the Berkeley City Council has certainly been into “mellow.” They’ve been praised in suburban papers for agreeing most of the time on just about everything, and for ending meetings at the pleasant hour of 9:30, thus permitting suburban reporters to go home early. With very little fanfare, Berkeley has shifted over to “government lite.” The formerly contentious electeds are leaving much more of the business of government to the lifers, the people who stay on at City Hall year round and who know what the real city agenda is most of the time.  

What was once a four week summer recess has now almost stretched into October. This fall one of only three September meeting was cancelled so as not to interfere with a trip the mayor is planning. City staffers, not surprisingly, don’t complain. In fact, the office of the city clerk was lavishly decorated with “aloha” trappings to celebrate the Council’s July departure. 

In the six months between July and December of 2003, the City Council will have held only 11 regularly scheduled meetings, an average of fewer than two a month. One of the two meetings is devoted to public hearings and other non-action duties, so the Council typically considers “action items” only once a month these days. Even the “action items” tend to be lite: “nasty fences,” traffic circles on bicycle boulevards, etc. Major policy making takes place elsewhere, presumably, but you don’t see it much any more on cable TV at 7 on Tuesdays. Some special work sessions start at 5 p.m. on regular meeting days, where topics like “the budget” are discussed out of the glare of the public eye. Votes on such topics, by agreement, don’t usually happen at these sessions, though the published agenda carefully reserves the right for the Council to take action on any item if they choose. 

And setting the agenda in the first place is where the real decisions often take place. When Mayor Tom Bates took office, he brought a Sacramento-style decision-making process to Berkeley, featuring backstage deals instead of noisy public debates where possible. His first effort was to create an all-powerful “Rules Committee” like the one in the State Legislature (where he spent at least 25 years) which exerts tight control over what reaches the floor. Vocal objections from Councilmembers Spring on the left and Olds on the right eventually resulted in a shift to an “Agenda Committee” with less draconian powers. The Agenda Committee, nevertheless, is still a forum for off-camera wheeling and dealing. And it can be used to prevent controversial items from being discussed in public. It now might take a month or more for an item to reach the Council’s action agenda. 

Even worse, it can make it impossible to deal with urgent though non-controversial topics in a timely way. The current foolish and embarrassing dispute over hanging banners downtown to celebrate Berkeley Symphony Conductor Kent Nagano’s 25th anniversary in Berkeley is a case in point.  

There is absolutely no reason to believe that any elected policy maker in Berkeley, present or past, has ever intended to prohibit the publicly funded signposts in the downtown area from being used to pat a local non-profit arts organization on the back. And yet some constellation of ill-informed city employees has ruled that the symphony banners are verboten in Berkeley. The Planet’s story quoted Cisco DeVries, Mayor Bates’ Flack-in-Residence, repeating a bunch of faux-constitutional analysis which someone in the city attorney’s office dreamed up to support the ban. Never mind the fact that other cities like San Francisco hang signs for non-profits all the time. The University of California displays banners on city poles picturing Nobel Prize winners. The Downtown Berkeley Association, with many commercial members, hung banners advertising their Front Row Festival. And why shouldn’t they? 

This discussion has been going on since July, and it gets goofier and goofier. The Berkeley City Council is not perfect, by any means, and they do have their disagreements, but collectively they have more common sense than whatever non-elected city employees created this mess. The bottom line is that the Symphony celebration will take place on Sept. 29, regardless, but the Council will not be able to vote to approve the banners until Sept. 16, because they haven’t been around much lately. When they finally get a chance to vote on it, they’ll straighten it out, but by that time it will probably be too late to hang the banners.  

And that’s bad news for the concept of democratically elected government. These particular banners are no big deal in isolation, but the real strength of having elected citizens making timely public decisions in open meetings is that it keeps silly outcomes like this one to a minimum. 

Becky O’Malley is executive editor of the Daily Planet. She confesses to also being a non-voting member of the Berkeley Symphony’s board of advisors, and to being an inactive member of the State Bar of California. She doesn’t particularly like mass-produced banners of any kind.  

TUESDAY, SEPT. 9 

FILM 

“Aftermath: Unanswered Questions From 911,” a documentary by Guerrilla News Network at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. Sponsored by Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil. www.geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil.html 

Alternative Visions: “In the Mirror of Maya Deren,” at 7:10 p.m. Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4 members, UC students, $5 UC faculty, staff, seniors, disabled, youth, $8 adults. 642-0808.  

www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Minds on Fire: Conversations with UC Press Authors with art historian Sidra Stich, at 7 p.m. at 2120 Berkeley Way. 642-9828. camille.crittenden@ucpress.edu 

Louise Murphy, a Berkeley author, reads from her novel, “The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: A Novel of War and Survival,” set in Eastern Poland during the Nazi occupation, at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Writers Workshop on promotion and publicity at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861.  

Peggy Vincent reads from her memoir, “Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife,” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Courtableu performs classic Cajun dance-hall music at 8:30 p.m., with a dance lesson with Patti Whitehurst at 8 p.m., at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Dayna Stephens House Jam at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $5. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Mimi Fox, solo guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810. 

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10 

FILM 

“We Are Salvadorans,” a documentary by Susan Figueroa about three Salvadorans who fled the civil war, at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Donation of $5-$10 requested. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder: “The American Soldier” at 5:30 and 9:10 p.m. and “Gods of the Plague” at 7:10 p.m. Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4 members, UC students, $5 UC faculty, staff, seniors, disabled, youth, $8 adults. 642-0808.  

www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Tom Barbash introduces his novel of smalltown politics, “The Last Good Chance,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Café Poetry and open mic, hosted by Kira Allen at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Jennifer and Erik Niemann will show slides and read from their book, “Chasing Summer: Exploring the World on an 18-Month Honeymoon” at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave at Rose. 843-3533. 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7, $5 with student i.d. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Rabbi Alan Lew, of Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco, discusses “This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation,” at 7:30 p.m. Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert Songs of Devotion from the Medieval Mediterranean. Chev- 

ron Auditorium at International House, corner of Bancroft and Piedmont Aves. Admission is free. 642-4864. 

Carlos Oliveira and Brazilian Origins, acoustic Brazilian folkloric jazz, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Othello Molineaux, Trinidad’s steel drum master, at 8 p.m. p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Jules Broussard, Bing Nathan and Ned Boynton at 8 p.m. at Downtown, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810. 

Nicole McRory at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com 

Schoolhouse Rock at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

THURSDAY, SEPT. 11 

FILM 

“The Truth and Lies of 9-11,” presented by The Robber Barons at 7 p.m., at Ashkenaz. Free. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Genetic Screenings: The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4 members, UC students, $5 UC faculty, staff, seniors, disabled, youth, $8 adults 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Airplane,” the spoof, at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, a reading room, library and community center in South Berkeley located at 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751.  

www.thelonghaul.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Melody Ermachild Chavis will discuss “Meena, Heroine of Afghanistan: The Martyr Who Founded RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan,” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

www.blackoakbooks.com 

Aiden Hartley, reads from his novel about a father and son, both casualties of imperialism, “The Zanzibar Chest: A Story of Life, Love, and Death in Foreign Lands,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Mystery Night with authors Bruce Balfour, James Clader and Cara Black at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

Guided Tour: Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics, at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m., Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with featured readers Susan Birkel and Lucy Day, followed by an open mic, at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave., near Dwight Way. For information call 526-5985 or 205-1749.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Septiembre en la Memoria, a celebration of 30 years of the Chilean 9/11 and tribute to Orlando Letelier at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Téada, Irish traditionalists, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761.  

www.freightandsalvage.org 

Newal, Afro-Arabic singer/ 

songwriter from the Comoros Islands at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $6-$15 sliding scale. 649-8744. www.thejazz- 

house.com 

Keni El Lebrijano, flamenco guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810. 

The Skindivers, funky blues rock, at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

FRIDAY, SEPT. 12 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

ACCI Gallery, “SensuouS + A Jewelry Exhibition,” 5 to 7 p.m. Exhibition runs to Oct. 4. Gallery hours are Mon. - Thurs. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sat. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave.  

843-2527. acciart@aol.com, www.accigallery.com 

Addison Street Windows Gallery, “Sculptures by JP Long,” 7 to 8 p.m. at 2018 Addison St.  

“Ourselves Through the Camera, 2003,” third annual exhibit of photographs of Rockridge by people who live or work around the Rockridge neighborhood, opening 6 - 8:30 p.m. at Rockridge branch library, 5366 College Ave. at Manila in Oakland. Exhibition runs through Oct. 12. 

CHILDREN 

Biscuit Dog and storyteller at 10:30 a.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

FILM 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder: “Beware of a Holy Whore” at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4 members, UC students, $5 UC faculty, staff, seniors, disabled, youth, $8 adults. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“September 11” A collection of short films at Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Ave. 464-5980. www.LandmarkTheatres.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Margo Adair introduces her book on meditation, “Working Inside Out,” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books, 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mark Morris Dance Group, featuring a world premiere set to the music of Bartok; Grand Duo and Serenade, both set to works by Lou Harrison; and Going Away Party, set to recorded songs by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32-$56. 642-0212. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Live Oak Concert with David Cheng, violin, Marvin Sanders, flute, Amy Brodo, viola da gamba and ‘cello, Paul Rhodes, ‘cello, Katherine Heater, harpsichord, performing works by Bach, at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. Cost is $10, BACA members $8, Students and seniors $9. Children under 12 free. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Trio Caminante, Latin American music in a special appearance for the documentary “Chile: Promise of Freedom,” at 7 p.m., at La Peña Cultural Center. Donation of $10-$20 requested, no one turned away. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Native Elements with Dub Congress and Pacific Vibrations at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054.  

www.ashkenaz.com 

Collective Amnesia at 9 p.m. at Downtown, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810. 

The Waybacks, acoustic mayhem, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761.  

www.freightandsalvage.org 

Linn Brown, CD Release celebration, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $6-$15 sliding scale. 649-8744. www.thejazz- 

house.org 

Growth of Alliance, The Caps, Toxic Possum at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $6. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Woman, live indy rock, at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com 

SATURDAY, SEPT. 13  

The Shotgun Players, “Mother Courage and Her Children,” by Bertolt Brecht, at 4 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. 704-8210. www.shotgunplayers.org 

FILM 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder: “Effi Briest” at 6:30 and 9:10 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4 members, UC students, $5 UC faculty, staff, seniors, disabled, youth, $8 adults. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Landfill,” a local documentary about the homeless community that developed at the Albany Bulb, at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, a reading room, library and community center in South Berkeley located at 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751.  

www.thelonghaul.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Gail Sheehy, reads from her new book, “Middletown, America,” about a New Jersey community devastated by the events of September 11th, at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Rhythm and Muse with Seth Augustus, Tuvan singer/songwriter at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

“Gimmicks vs. Lyrics,” a discussion of Hip Hop theater aesthetics at 1 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Free. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Philharmonia Baroque performs Handel’s final oratorio, “Jephtha,” at 7:30 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $29-$60 available from City Box Office 415-392-4400, or on-line at www.philharmonia.org.  

The White Stripes, at 8 p.m. at the Greek Theatre, UC Campus. 642-0212. 

Mark Morris Dance Group, featuring a world premiere set to the music of Bartok; Grand Duo and Serenade, both set to works by Lou Harrison; and Going Away Party, set to recorded songs by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32-$56. 642-0212. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Homage to Victor Jara with Rafael Manriquez and Trio Quijerema at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

African Drum Workshop with Wade Peterson. Beginners from 10 to 11:30 a.m., experienced from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at The Jazz House. Cost is $15-$25, and advance registration is encouraged. 533-5111. 

The Waybacks, acoustic mayhem, and Jack Cassidy, bassist from the Jefferson Airplane, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Samba Ngo, Congolese singer, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Creation performs Caribbean Reggae at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Celtic Meltdown with Wild Hunt, Blue on Green and Ian Butler at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Rhonda Benin and Soulful Strut at 9 p.m. at Downtown, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810. 

Midnightmare, S.C.A. at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Annual Guinness and Oyster Festival, from 3 p.m. on, at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com  

SUNDAY, SEPT. 14 

FILM 

The Films of Germaine Dulac: “La Mort du Soleil” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4 members, UC students, $5 UC faculty, staff, seniors, disabled, youth, $8 adults. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Guided Tour: Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics, at 2 p.m., Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Making Worlds: Artists, Scientists, and Genomics,” a panel discussion by three innovative artists together with three noted scientists on the interrelations between art and genetics, at 3 p.m. in the Museum Theater, Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $8, Free to UC staff, faculty and students. 643-6494. tctorres@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Poetry at Cody’s with Diane Di Prima and Maria Mazziotti Gillan at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mark Morris Dance Group, featuring a world premiere set to the music of Bartok; Grand Duo and Serenade, both set to works by Lou Harrison; and Going Away Party, set to recorded songs by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32-$56. 642-0212. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Live Oak Concert with David Cheng, violin, Marvin Sanders, flute, Amy Brodo, viola da gamba and ‘cello, Paul Rhodes, ‘cello, Katherine Heater, harpsichord, performing works by Bach, at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. Cost is $10, BACA members $8, Students and seniors $9. Children under 12 free. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Nawal performs Indo-Arabian-Persian music from the Comoros Islands, at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $8 in advance, $10 at the door. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Cafe Bellie: Belly Dance Showcase at 7:30 p.m., with a class at 6:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Mary Gauthier, American gothic originals, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Margins, Los Burbanks at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $3. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Fun with Finnoula, Irish jamming session at 7 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com 

MONDAY, SEPT. 15 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Ted Nace reads from “Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy” at 7:30 p.m. Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

www.blackoakbooks.com 

Christopher Marquis reads from his novel, “A Hole in the Heart,” about a young woman who must rebuild her life after losing her husband on Mt. McKinley, at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Express, open mic featuring Selene Steese, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Dervish, traditional band from Ireland, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $4. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com

A year and a half of walking picket lines in the heat and rain is not enough to deter the Claremont Hotel employees who are currently organizing to form a union and sign a new contract at the upscale hotel on the Oakland-Berkeley boarder. 

To shouts of “no justice, no peace” and carrying signs that read “Why are so many spa workers injured?” around 60 workers, union organizers and community supporters were at it again on the sidewalk in front of the Claremont’s Ashby entrance, demanding what they say is only fair. 

The event was staged to highlight the number of injuries activists say workers at the Claremont are incurring because of what they claim is the resort’s tendency to overwork employees. Added to that is the inability to pay for raising health care costs, leaving many workers with no choice but to quit or work through the pain. 

“You can’t stay healthy working here in the spa,” said Norine Madrid, the lead aesthetician.  

Madrid, who was bothered by a pinched nerve in her shoulder a couple of months back, never consulted a doctor because she said the company’s health insurance plan was both too expensive and too complicated. 

She explains that with all the referrals she had to seek it just wasn’t worth it. “I thought it was a hassle, it didn’t seem like anything I could benefit from,” she said. 

Madrid, who is seven months pregnant and had just ended her shift, sat on the grass by the sidewalk to support those walking the line. 

“It just makes sense to take care of the employees. [If] you have healthy employees you have happy clients,” she said. 

The Claremont’s Housekeeping Department currently operates under a union contract that is set to expire on Sept. 15, and the Food and Beverage Department’s agreement expired almost two years ago. Along with the spa, whose employees have been trying to negotiate their first contract, the resort workers and the union are targeting KSL Recreation Corporation, which bought the resort five years ago, to sign a new master contract for the entire hotel. 

Started by Mike Shannon and Larry Lichliter—who both previously worked for the Vail resort in Colorado—in partnership with investment bankers Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., KSL owns a number of other well known resort properties throughout the country, including three others in California. 

Much of the firm’s financing comes from pension funds. 

“People are mad, they are ready to fight until they get contracts and recognition for the spa,” said Claire Darby, Boycott Coordinator for the Oakland-based Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (HERE-IU) Local 2850, which is organizing the workers. 

After Friday’s rally the Claremont released a statement expressing disappointment with the way “the union continues to put energy into these types of stunts while they refuse to put the same energy into serious negotiations at the bargaining table.” 

Darby points out that these same sentiments are felt on the other side as well. Employees and the union say that Claremont management has not come to the bargaining table with what they feel is a reasonable proposal concerning the expired Food and Beverage Contract, nor have they chosen to acknowledge a card check agreement that would officially validate the union in the spa. 

The workers’ frustration with the process is the original catalyst for a boycott that has now been running for almost two years. 

The boycott has been successful in pressuring several large groups to abandon their use of the facility for retreats and meeting space. The most recent group to pull out was the Cal Football Team, which formerly stayed at the resort before home games. 

Darby said the union joined with several student groups on campus to pressure the administration to respect the boycott 

The school’s decision to pull out came as a real surprise, Darby said. “It was awesome, no one thought they would agree. I consider it a huge victory.” 

Bob Rose, communications director for the Cal Football team, said that the decision to pull out was “definitely because of the unresolved labor issue.” 

The team now stays at the Berkeley Double Tree, which also recently signed a union contract with HERE-IU Local 2850. 

Other groups that have pulled out include HMO giant Kaiser-Permanente and Barbara Lee’s office. 

Drivers on Ashby Friday honked their horns and shouted from their windows in support of the pickets, many of whom dressed in fake slings and bandages. 

Darby said that many community supporters in Berkeley had immediately stopped using the Claremont as soon as they learned about the boycott.  

All the workers and union organizers on the line Friday said they were resolute about their commitment to sticking with the boycott and organizing drive until everyone received a fair contract. 

Darby, who has seen her share of ups and downs during the duration of the boycott, remains convinced that the workers will win. 

“This has gone on too long for us not to win, and it’s too important for us not to win,” she said. “Through the good and bad these workers have been incredibly strong and the support from the community has also been strong, and I have no doubt that we will win.”

WELDON RUCKER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

What a sad day for Berkeley it will be on Nov. 1. We get a wonderful city manager who treats everyone fairly, and then he moves on to the joys of retirement. Those are very, very big shoes to fill. I just want to publicly thank you Weldon for everything you have done for all of us.  

Kriss Worthington 

• 

CONNERLY RESPONDS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Although Mr. J. Douglas Allen-Taylor and I reach different conclusions about Proposition 54, I respect the civil manner in which he articulates his position. And, I must say that he makes several observations with which I agree. His is an important contribution to the debate about race that our society ought to be having. 

Ward Connerly 

SOUND AND FURY  

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The more sound and fury in the run up to the Oct. 7 vote the more I am convinced that nothing significant will happen. The reason is that California is, for better and for worse, simply too big (ranked sixth among the economies of the world) to be much moved by one person at the helm. Turning the wheel produces very little change in direction because there’s just too much necessary bureaucracy connecting the bridge to the rudder. It’s wiser, therefore, to stay with the ills we have. 

Marvin Chachere  

San Pablo 

• 

EAST BAY DEPOT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As someone who worked with the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse in various capacities for seven or eight years, I want to express my support for the statement published here regarding the “Depot” (Daily Planet, Aug.29-Sept.1). This store was started with good intentions, and for some time it served a valuable role in the arts, education and environmental communities, but in the last few years it has become a corrupt, repressive and reactionary institution. 

Its workers found that the only way they could get respect from their bosses was to affiliate with a union. Then, even before a contract could be finalized, the Depot fired or laid off almost all its union workers. The union members who were not fired were intimidated and harassed into leaving the union. The scabs who were hired to replace the union workers are understandably afraid to get involved with the union because they know they would lose their jobs as a consequence. Yet the Depot continues to masquerade as a progressive, community-based organization. This must change. 

Although, as an artist, I used to do a lot of shopping at this store, I have vowed to not spend another dime there until there is a change in management, and real reform in labor practices at the Depot’s store and and in its other programs . I urge all supporters of workers’ rights to do the same. 

Doug Cover 

• 

LABOR RESPONSE  

As an employee of the City of Berkeley and a member of a labor organization, I feel compelled to respond to a recent commentary by Barbara Gilbert promulgating breaking labor contracts by invoking sections of their Memoranda of Agreements which actually pertain to drastic economic conditions. 

Admittedly, I do not have the vantage point of a previous mayor’s aide, but I believe I have a more balanced perspective of the city’s economic struggle by virtue of actually having participated in formal negotiations between the City of Berkeley and Labor Union IBEW Local 1245. I must take exception to Ms. Gilbert’s intimation that labor employees are primarily responsible for the city’s economic problems. Her assertion that 80 percent of the city’s deficits are directly attributable to employee costs is misinformed and grossly exaggerated. 

Virtually all employee benefits, whether continuing or newly acquired, are obtained in lieu of actual pay. When negotiating, it must be understood that city workers are targeted for the median and are not necessarily at the top of “comparable” municipalities based on total compensation. 

The economic reality is that the cost of living is high not only for the taxpayers of the City of Berkeley but also for the workers who reside elsewhere in the Bay Area, and if the workers cannot obtain a cost of living increase they are not even treading water. 

Labor costs are relatively predictable and stable. They are not likely to jump out of nowhere, which is why we have formal negotiations often resulting in long-term contracts. Labor unions have the unenviable job of trying to hold the status quo. Amidst our president’s optimism for our economic future and California’s obvious distress it is not at all apparent that it is “necessary” to break union contracts and circumvent the legitimate negotiation process. 

If the City of Berkeley were to renege on its contractual responsibilities, there would be a devastatingly chilling effect on future negotiations. What would be the point to negotiating if either party could just not honor its commitments? All credibility would be lost. 

To Ms. Gilbert, I would say that we workers are not the cause of your economic malcontent. Rather, it is the selection by your city officials and administrators of which programs to adopt that determines whether or not large sums of money are well spent. Not only existing but also newly promoted programs all draw on the General Fund and tend to contribute to deficits. In all fairness, it is a daunting responsibility to prioritize and choose which programs to endorse particularly in such a diverse and vibrant community which demands a multiplicity of services from it’s employees. 

All programs are proposed as laudable but are they necessary and affordable? It takes courage to deny any program. Perhaps that is why it is almost impossible to “just say no” to any “special-interest” group. 

Regardless of the program, we city workers are the people that make your city officials’ promises real. Services simply do not exist without us. We believe that the taxpayers of the City of Berkeley acknowledge, appreciate and support our continuing commitment to serve them to the best of our capability. 

Despite our efforts, it seems that in essence, Ms. Gilbert is demanding that labor not only provide the necessary services but also fund them as well. 

Inevitably, when times are lean, there are those opportunists who immediately adopt the convenient expedient of targeting employee benefits which falls under the general rubric of “let’s cut the fat” while deflecting attention from the real costs. It is the proponents of just this kind of glib anti-labor rhetoric that reduces the American standard of living for workers. 

So, Barbara, while you are busily exhorting the taxpayers to cut the fat, can’t we also cut the crap? 

Rick Chan 

• 

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH 

Editors, Daily Planet 

What’s up with Susan Parker’s ongoing rant about San Francisco State? If it’s supposed to be humor, I don’t find it funny. If it is expose, it’s so narrow and one-sided that it undercuts the useful information. Her latest installment (“San Francisco State: A Kafka-Like Experience,” Daily Planet, Sept. 5-8) was actually troubling. Why is she going out of her way to prove that the institution’s problems are systemic and have nothing to do with California’s current economic mess?  

I went through SF State’s graduate writing program in the late 70s and returned briefly in the mid-90s. My experience wasn’t at all like Ms. Parker’s or those she quotes. I mean, sure, there were a few absurd seeming hoops to jump through and this or that was misplaced or moved like molasses through the system. I was obliged to make phone calls to keep things moving or arrive at school an hour early to deal with some office or another. All of this was a bit of a pain, but nothing to get in a tizzy about. As for the staff, though a few seemed to take pleasure in their own ignorance, most were competent enough. Indeed, a few were patient with me, pointing out in measured tones that if I’d just paid closer attention to instructions I wouldn’t be in whatever small mess. 

So I was taken aback by Ms. Parker’s second column. Had I missed something? Been one of the passive sheep without knowing it? Lucked out? I called around to a few friends, family members and acquaintances who had been to SF State to see where I stood. I was born in the East Bay and have spent most of my 51 years in Berkeley. The group consisted of those who had been undergraduates, graduate students, both, and in various fields of study. Their time of attendance spanned from the early 60s to 2001 and their responses were very similar. They all had some specific complaint or another, some story, but—in overview—they just shrugged and said “It’s a system, you learn to work it.” Since these weren’t a bunch of wussy folks by any means, I felt relieved. 

Given this, what was I (or any of the Planet’s readers) to make of Ms. Parker’s article? I was happy that she had the nerve to complain so vocally—a public service!—but wasn’t there something a little dangerous in her presenting such a skewed characterization? Especially when the Bush administration seems hell bent on privatizing everything from the public schools to the National Park Service? There are now and have always been inefficiencies in large public institutions. This is an important issue. But we’re in serious trouble when the liberal press begins taking ill-considered potshots at the public sector. Not that we should follow an “If 

you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all” policy, but, c’mon, give us a break. Ms. Parker sounds like a Republican in liberal clothing and I’m surprised her articles slipped past the Planet’s editorial staff.  

Enough is enough! 

George Porter 

Berkeley  

For the last quarter-century, writer Peter Manso’s notes from an old interview for a now-defunct magazine have gathered dust, locked away in storage and largely forgotten. 

Then a resourceful journalist dug up a copy of the magazine, and Manso’s ancient interview rocketed into the headlines, gathering far more publicity today than it did when it first appeared in print. 

That’s because the interview subject now wants to run California—and he’d told Manso about things he’d just as soon not have people discussing. 

Manso, an internationally know writer who divides his time between Berkeley and Provincetown, Mass.—where his home once belonged to celebrated Marxist author John Reed—he was a 35-year old freelancer in 1977 when he interviewed Arnold Schwarzenegger for Oui, a now-defunct sister publication of Playboy. 

The article appeared that August. 

The would-be governor was an apt interview candidate back then because he was starring in a just-released documentary, “Pumping Iron,” a film that became both a popular success and a cult hit. 

“The idea for the piece was mine,” said Manso, who was living in New York at the time. “The interviews stretched out over three or four sessions in Boston and New York. 

“I went with him to the [film’s] premiere in Boston, and I found him bright, charming, verbal, responsive, and clearly unusual.” 

Manso wasn’t all that surprised when Schwarzenegger talked openly about his sex life—receiving oral sex before winning the Mister Olympia title, partaking in a gangbang at his favorite gym, and his preference for large breasts. 

“That was just the 70s,” the writer said. “Not long after my piece on Arnie, another Berkeleyan, Bob Scheer, did an interview with Jimmy Carter in which he admitted to lusting after women in his heart. That’s just the way it was then.” 

What did surprise the interviewer was the way that, “at age 29, he’d figured out the course of the rest of his life. “Pumping Iron” would be his springboard to Hollywood.” 

The would-be actor also had a keen awareness that major Hollywood stars have a built-in half-life, and he would have to have a second career in business or politics.” 

Schwarzenegger’s often outrageous conduct towards women has been an open secret for years, Manso said. “This guy’s a narcissist. Arnold lives by Arnold’s rules,” he said. 

The muscleman turned-actor-turned-candidate generated headlines in England after he grabbed various portions of the anatomies of two women who interviewed him, and he’s said outrageous things even after he floated his first gubernatorial trial balloons. 

Because he’s a huge star overseas, Manso said the Oui flap has gathered headlines in London, India, Belgium, South Africa and elsewhere. 

Ever since the interview resurfaced in late August, Manso said he’s been swamped with requests for interviews. “I’ve done Good Morning America, CNN, Fox, NPR, and a lot of local TV in Boston.” An Associated Press interview appeared Sunday. 

Manso said Schwarzenegger’s response to the flap has gone through three distinct phases. 

“Initially, he said, ‘Oh, I used to say and do crazy and ludicrous things back then.’ Then, at the state fair in Sacramento, he said, ‘I have no memory of those things I said 25 years ago.’ And then Chris Matthews—a man who isn’t as smart as he thinks he is—gave him an out on ‘Hardball’ when he asked him, ‘Isn’t it possible you made those things up’” to promote “Pumping Iron?” “And he grabbed at it.” 

Manso said that “on one level” Schwarzenegger’s response “Is charming, energizing, even entertaining. But you’re a fool if you don’t see it as narcissism writ large. It’s really astonishing. How does he expect to get away with it?” 

The writer observed that those on the writ who made much of former President Bill Clinton’s sexual conduct and non-inhaling marijuana use have been strangely silent about Schwarzenegger’s admitted womanizing and his enthusiastic former use of hashish and marijuana. 

“The double standard employed in these matters is disgusting,” he said. 

Manso is no stranger to political flaps resulting from his interviews. A 1982 Playboy interview with New York Mayor Ed Koch appeared just as he announced his plans to run for governor of New York in 1982. Koch’s condescending remarks about Albany, the New York state capital—“life at its worst,” among others—are credited with costing him the election after they were reprinted on the front page of the New York Times. 

“He wasn’t planning to run at the time of the interview, and he realized it was his own fault. We became friends,” something he doesn’t expect will happen with the would-be California governor. 

Manso is best known for his biographies of actor Marlon Brando and writer Norman Mailer, and his latest book, “Ptown: Art, Sex, and Money on the Outer Cape,” has stirred up a fair amount of controversy, too, since its publication in July of 2002. 

A history of his alternate hometown in Massachusetts, the book has generated a storm of debate for its account of the transformation of the East Coast’s artist’s haven into a citadel of wealthy gays. 

Berkeley residents can brace for more of the same, because Manso’s training his literary sights on his other hometown as the subject for his next book. 

He’ll be returning to Berkeley later this month, ready to make up for lost time. 

“I’ve lost a week-and-a-half on my Berkeley book” because of the Schwarzenegger flap, Manso said.

Residents in North Berkeley have been trying to stop wireless base-station antennas proposed by Sprint at 1600 Shattuck in a residential area. This battle has been going on for 10 months. After months dealing with the City, neighbors of 1600 Shattuck have reached the conclusion that some city staff are back stabbing them to support Sprint by any means possible. Misconducts and actions of the City has caused monetary damages and emotional distress to the neighbors. Neighborhood groups around Berkeley might have similar experiences with the City. A chronology of events regarding antennas is as follows: 

From July through November of 2002, Sprint and the Planning Department worked together stealthily to complete an application for a use permit. In this period, according to the Berkeley Telecommunications Ordinance, Sprint was required to have a dialogue with the community. However, Sprint never got the community involved. Only in August 2003, a year after, Sprint held a belated meeting with the public. A dozen neighbors showed up, but left quickly, because they realized that the meeting was a sham. 

Around Thanksgiving 2002, the neighbors received notices for a Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) Public Hearing to make a final decision on the use permit for Sprint. The notification was poorly done. The law requires that neighbors in a 300 foot radius be notified. However, Arts Magnet Elementary School, which is within 200 feet, was not notified. 

In the ZAB Public Hearing, 11 neighbors talked against the antennas. There were 18 letters and e-mails opposing the antennas. The ZAB had already made up its mind to approve the use permit, regardless of how many objected to the plan. Finally, the ZAB granted a permit to Sprint. 

The Planning Department erred many times in reports. In the staff report by Ms. Sorensen, it was written that three neighbors, instead of 18, wrote to object to the antennas. In the notice of decision, Mr. Rhoades reported unanimous approval of the antennas. Neighbors objected to this because only seven ZAB members approved the antennas. 

Two neighbor groups filed two appeals by the end of January 2003 with the city clerk. 

In the process of writing their appeals, the appellants discovered illegal steps were taken by Sprint. They brought these points to the attention of City Council. However, the Planning Department wrote false reports to cover up for Sprint. The appellants bought the audio tape of the ZAB hearing from the Zoning Department. This tape reveals that the Planning Department made false statements in the Action Calendar of April 1. 

Some 800 neighbors and residents signed petition forms and sent e-mails to express their opposition to the antennas. The Planning Department, however, worked very hard to have both appeals dismissed. On April 1, 2003, a large crowd holding signs attended City Hall. City Council granted public hearing to the appellants which was scheduled on June 17, 2003. 

In early June, the Planning Department made a motion to postpone the public hearing, saying that the city is seeking a report by a third party engineer to evaluate the coverage needs of Sprint. The report was due in mid July. City Council decided to postpone the hearing until Sept. 16. Meanwhile, the Planning Department let Sprint install the antennas at 1600 Shattuck Ave., ignoring the pending public hearing. Residents objected to the installation. However, Mr. Rhoades claimed that the antennas are only “mock.” Residents have a detector that when pointed at 1600 Shattuck shows microwave radiation beyond the safe levels set by the FCC. 

Residents questioned the legality of mock structures, since they are not defined in any ordinance, and hence it is not clear if they require permits. The city attorney, Ms. Albuquerque, in her e-mail of June 23, agreed that there is no law regarding mock structures. She, however, strongly defended Sprint’s mock antennas. 

According to the Berkeley Telecommunications Ordinance, the city should provide the public with information regarding existing and proposed wireless 

facilities in Berkeley. To support Sprint, the Planning Department refused to provide such information to the appellants. On Aug. 22, a lawsuit was filed against the city for unlawful conduct, discrimination against the appellants in favor of Sprint, and causing emotional distress to them. Only then, on Aug. 25, Ms. Cosin of the Planning Department informed us of the availability of a complete inventory. On Aug. 26, Assistant City Attorney Cowan sent a letter to the appellants anxiously seeking their lawsuit. 

After two and half months, the Planning Department together with Ms. Albuquerque are now seeking another postponement of the hearing, saying that the report by the third party engineer is not available. This is yet another scheme by the Planning Department to diffuse efforts of appellants and give time to Sprint agents to collect signatures on their misleading petition forms. The appellants have made arrangements with an attorney who is coming from LA to represent them in the Public Hearing on Sept. 16. The city will be held responsible with lawyer’s fees, if the attorney flies from L.A. to only find out that the hearing is postponed. 

All things considered, neighbors of 1600 Shattuck believe that in applying for a use permit Sprint has breached laws, the Planning Department has tried to cover up for Sprint, and some city staff have been devotedly helping Sprint. Moreover, City Council is turning a deaf ear to what the neighbors are saying.  

The public is invited to attend the public hearing at 7 p.m. Sept. 16 in Old City Hall, to see City Council and Sprint vs. the public. 

Shahram Shahruz, PhD is a research scientist specializing in systems and circuits, a CAL Alumnus, a Berkeley resident for 20 years, and an appellant of the case at 1600 Shattuck Ave.

Bus drivers have abandoned plans for a one-day walkout after cash-strapped AC Transit temporarily restored some of the service cuts they had scheduled for December. 

AC Transit’s Board of Directors voted 4-3 Wednesday to return $2.5 million to this year’s operating budget, effectively delaying cuts on several lines through June while the transit agency explores ways to bolster revenues. 

Transit planners have not released the full list of service restorations, but officials say that major Oakland and Richmond Routes 47, 68, 72 will be spared and Routes 57 and 50 will avoid service reductions. Berkeley Transbay Route HX is still scheduled for elimination this December. 

In July, AC Transit announced the elimination of 34 bus lines and the alteration of 37 other routes to help plug a $50 million budget deficit. The cuts trimmed about $13 million from the deficit and were met with fierce opposition from the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 192, whose members feared heavy driver layoffs and the loss of service to poor and minority neighborhoods. 

The union threatened to stage a one-day walkout, which transit officials warned would further drive riders from local bus service.  

The $2.5 million slated to keep the busses rolling until June had been allotted to AC Transit’s reserve fund, which budget cuts had wrung dry in recent years. To keep the restored service over the long haul, the transit agency, with union approval, is considering a plan to float bonds tied to the employees’ pension funds. 

The plan would pump money invested by bondholders into the pension fund. Money AC Transit would have been obligated to devote to the pension fund would then be used to keep service intact. The pension fund would invest the money and AC Transit would be responsible for paying interest to bondholders. If the pension fund received high yields on its investments—as it has historically—AC Transit could pay less into the pension fund and continue to pay to operate the bus lines slated to be saved. 

The employees’ pension would not be at risk under the plan. If the pension did not make a healthy profit on its investments, AC Transit would still be obligated to make up the difference. In 2003 AC Transit paid $17 million to the pension fund. 

Several counties, including Marin and Contra Costa, use this type of financing according to AC Transit Deputy General Manager Jim Gleich. If the plan falls through, Gleich said the agency would only lose the $2.5 million allocated to continue service through June. 

Three directors worried that the bond plan was too vague.  

“It was haphazardly put together. I wanted more information before I agreed to it.” said Ward 2 Director Greg Harper, who felt the agency rushed the plan before the board to prevent a union walkout.  

The union was set to receive strike sanction from the Alameda Council of Labor last Friday—which it received—and a strike could have been called for any day. 

Service restorations will not affect expected bus driver layoffs this December. On Wednesday the board doubled monthly health benefits for drivers who retire at 60 with the hope of persuading older drivers to retire early. 

Still, Gleich did not expect enough drivers to take the package to spare some younger drivers their jobs. “Even with the delay [in service cuts] there will probably still be people laid off,” he said. 

ATU Local 192 President Christine Zook said the union was continuing to work with transit officials to secure more service restorations before the December service cuts go into effect.

With her Cody’s bag clutched to her Armani suit, 44 year old Buffy McNoodles doesn’t look like a threat to Telegraph’s streetlife, yet three decades of local Berkeley coverage prove she is. 

“Once her ‘perceptions’ of danger go into print via the Telegraph Avenue Association (TAA), we end up in jail whether we violate the law or not,” explained one homeless youth named Nameless. 

“The latest arrest figures show police have upped enforcement. Of the 466 arrests made on Telegraph this year, 87 were made in the past two weeks. Thirty-four of those arrests were for trespassing.’(Daily Planet, Sept. 5-8.) 

Some homeless youth stated that they were trying to co-exist with the shoppers, but found their attire offensive, their language objectionable, and their customs baffling. 

“Her SUV’s emissions and her profligate consumerism are a burden on the earth, no question about that,” commented Nameless. “But her most dangerous attribute is her lack of compassion. Coupled with the opportunism of the TAA, it puts those of us with the least resources in grave danger.”

Enthusiastic supporters from Berkeley crossed the Bay Saturday to hear presidential hopeful Howard Dean address 1,100 unionized health care workers in San Francisco. 

“I had to show up to support Dean. He’s our best hope” said Quinn Costello, who was among at least a dozen Berkeley residents attending a Dean rally in Yerba Buena Gardens after the union event. 

The former Vermont Governor whose grassroots Internet-based campaign has propelled him to the top of the Democratic field for the 2004 nomination has found particularly fertile ground in Berkeley. 

Last Wednesday approximately 130 residents swarmed Au Coquelet and the public library for the most recent of their monthly Dean campaign meet-ups—events held the first Wednesday of every month in cities across the country that give Dean supporters, connected through the Internet, a chance to meet in person to further the campaign. 

Six other East Bay towns held Dean meetings last Wednesday, but attendees in San Leandro, Oakland and Alameda estimated attendance at 35-50 people. 

Dean fever has spread to the UC Berkeley campus as well. Dave Borelli started Berkeley Students for Dean in April and after months of diligent recruitment the fledging club boasts 250 members, making it one of the largest student groups on campus. 

Student groups for Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Rep. Kucinich of Ohio are just getting organized. 

At first glance, Dean and Berkeley progressives seem like odd bedfellows. Dean fancied himself as a moderate governor who balanced budgets and even opposed stricter federal gun control laws. 

But in both style and substance Dean has seduced progressives. He has campaigned as the anti-Clinton, abandoning empathy for anger, and tapping into the Left’s furor over the Bush administration. 

His take-no-prisoners style was on display in San Francisco, where Dean told members of Service Employee International Union Local 250 that he would send Attorney General John Ashcroft back to Mississippi and House Majority Whip Tom Delay back to Houston. 

“He has chutzpah and speaks to the anger a lot of us have about Bush,” said Paul Hogarth, a Berkeley Rent Board Commissioner, who co-hosted a house party for Dean last June that raised $4,000. 

Dean’s credentials as the standard-bearer of Berkeley progressives derive from two key acts: his opposition to the war in Iraq and his signing of the most comprehensive gay partnership benefits of any state in the country. 

The bulk of his support comes from young voters, gays and pacifists—all of which Berkeley has in abundance. Many supporters at the San Francisco rally sported Dean buttons emblazoned with rainbow flags or peace signs. 

Berkeley progressives say Dean’s willingness to take politically dicey stands, combined with the lack of a viable candidate to his left and their disgust for President Bush, have allowed them to stomach his moderate positions on other issues. 

“He isn’t as progressive as most of us in Berkeley,” said Hogarth—who like many Dean backers considered supporting Rep. Kucinich until he determined the Ohio Democrat stood no chance in a general election. “It’s not that we love Dean; it’s that we hate Bush.” 

Pragmatism has become the mantra for local progressives, who after the disputed 2000 election are eager to return to the Democratic fold, but want a candidate they can rally around. 

Dean appears to be their compromise with the rest of the party. After three successive elections of being asked to swallow a moderate candidate who party leaders thought could appeal to the Left, progressives see Dean as a liberal who could appeal to moderates. 

“After the war we felt like we needed to do something. We thought Dean was the right person to make the push,” said Berkeley resident Dan Robinson. 

While Dean’s Berkeley base is fired up, many traditional Democratic constituencies remain lukewarm to him. After addressing the diverse union audience, Dean staged a rally attended by about 500 supporters. Like those at his Berkeley meet-ups, nearly everyone at the rally was white. 

Dean stressed his commitment to minority voters Saturday, telling health care workers that instead of pandering to swing voters he would focus first on, “people who have been with us from the beginning: African Americans and Latinos...” 

After the rally, Dean told reporters that he supported a recently signed California law granting drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. 

Inside the convention hall many union members said they were impressed, but didn’t know much about Dean. 

“I hadn’t heard of him,” said Mabel Davis, a home care worker. “His vision is for a younger, 20-something group.” 

At local meet-ups, Dean’s core supporters are trying to transmit their enthusiasm beyond Dean’s predominantly white base. Last month supporters formed a Latino Outreach Committee, which will concentrate on largely Latino neighborhoods like Fruitvale and West Berkeley and seek endorsements from Latino civic organizations. 

Monika Plazola, one of the leaders of the effort, said issues that have galvanized support for Dean so far—support for gay marriage and opposition to the war—won’t resonate with Latinos. “Those issues haven’t come up,” said Plazola. “People are more concerned with immigration, the economy and civil rights.”

Mark Morris and his Dance Group regularly perform for Cal Performances at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall—so much so that some claim the globally renowned dancer/choreographer as an honorary citizen of the People’s Republic of Berkeley. 

Certainly Morris is a member in good standing in the “cultural revolution,” as his footprints are stomped all over what is modern in today’s dance world. In addition to founding the Mark Morris Dance Group in 1980, Morris was one of the founders of the White Oaks Dance Project with Mikhail Baryshnikov. 

The Mark Morris Dance Group opened the Cal Performances season with “L’Allegro il Penseroso ed il Moderato” on Sept. 4 and returns to Zellerbach Hall Sept. 12-14 with a repertory program of dance featuring the music of the late West Coast composer Lou Harrison, a world premiere of dance to the music of Béla Bartók, and a nine-song dance cycle to the recorded music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. 

As we spoke, Morris—clad in shorts and a plain t-shirt—laughed easily. Unexpectedly pudgy for a dancer, and with longish, straggling gray hair, the 40-something Morris had just spent the afternoon wandering unnoticed around Berkeley. 

Daily Planet: Your music is rhythmically challenging. How do you teach dancers to work with complex rhythms? 

Mark Morris: How do I teach rhythm? I’m good at it and smart and my dancers are brilliant and we practice. You have to have something to start with though. If you’re interested in something you work on it. If you need it for what you do, if you have an interest in it, then it can come true. If you don’t need it and you’re not interested, you’ll never learn it. (laughs) 

Daily Planet: You’re in your 40s, as we age our bodies change, how does that effect you, as a dancer? 

Morris: Well, I don’t know. I’m going to dance a little bit longer, not a whole lot longer. I’ll keep performing some but not forever. Because it’s less… it’s more… it’s more trouble than it’s worth at a certain point—to warm up for two hours to dance for five minutes when it used to be the other way. It takes longer to recover from injuries. 

Of course I’m way smarter about certain things, I’d be much better at some things, if I could [just] do those things but that’s always how it works. That’s normal. 

You know I’m a lovely dancer and I continue to be, and when I don’t want to, I won’t. But I’m a very good teacher and I can still choreograph and I’d rather watch other people than watch me. (laughs) 

Daily Planet: Can you envision doing dance for older bodies? 

Morris: I already do. The youngest man in my company is 28, which doesn’t seem like much but in dance or in other things that require that sort of work, you know, like athletics or something, that’s very late in your career. So it’s different if you’re an instrumentalist or a writer or a painter or a choreographer, of course that’s different. 

But I work with… they are already older dancers, they’re in their 40s and that’s old for dancers and that’s great but you have to have been a good dancer and then stay a good dancer. You know just cause you’ve made it, you’re old and you’re still dancing doesn’t mean you’re good. It just means you’re old. It doesn’t mean you’re wise. It means you’re old.  

I was co-founder of the White Oaks Dance Project, which was originally older people, but it changed as it went along so that just Misha was an old ‘thang.’ It’s fine. It’s a possibility. I don’t think it’s the future of dancing, is everybody getting old. If you can still dance when you’re old and you make stuff up and there’s still good work to do than it’s great but it’s not like a mission. (laughs) 

I don’t work with little teenagers, I mean they’re great and they’re fun sometimes. At the San Francisco Ballet I’m working with much younger people and that’s fine but to tour and work and live with these people… I don’t want them to be 17. There aren’t very many good dancers anyway, old or young. But also that’s… if you’re 20… I mean, come on, who wants to see a naked old person? And that’s the market. 

Daily Planet: Is that your market, kids in their 20s? 

Morris: They’re all over the place. It’s mixed, but there’s a certain demographic that spends the most money on certain things. It’s not necessarily what I want to watch. I don’t like contemporary popular music very much ,but I never have. 

It’s not like I’m now old and there’s nothing like the Beatles were. I never really liked the Beatles that much. I mean for a minute I did, but it’s never been a big interest of mine. It’s not like I’m an old curmudgeon, it’s just like I don’t really spend the time doing things that I don’t like to do very much. 

Daily Planet: Bob Wills was once popular music. 

Morris: Yeah, in the 30s and 40s. Absolutely. I like lots of popular music. I just don’t like contemporary popular music. I like music from the 20s. It’s not a rule, it’s just a preference. It’s not like, ‘Oh, this is from the 50s therefore I don’t like that.’ I don’t think that way at all. It’s, ‘Oh. I like that song, what’s that?’ There are exceptions. But I don’t buy that music. It’s not interesting to me. 

Daily Planet: What is the story behind your Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys dances? 

Morris: I work with live music but this particular piece is one that’s not. It’s to recorded music because it’s a particular recording session that I like. I could hire a cover band but this is them [Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys] very, very old. He died sort of the next day. 

This is from the early-middle 70s, they’d been a band for 40 years. It’s them… they’re all very old on this recording. That’s what I like. It’s not a period recording from the 30s. It’s fantastic. If you listen to their music from the 30s and the 40s and then from the 70s, they’re relaxed and they don’t have to pay any attention to each other and they know each other and they read each other’s minds and they play fabulously and their rhythm is perfect and it’s great. It’s wonderful.

Way back in 1947 Roger “Bob” Gilmore went to work for Byron and Rhoda Bolfing at their Elmwood Hardware store on College Avenue in Berkeley’s Elmwood neighborhood. 

Fresh out of World War II and not that long out of Berkeley High School (“I’m a Yellow Jacket, class of ‘41” ), Gilmore was employed by a local engine manufacturing company when his new mother-in-law suggested the Bolfings would enjoy talking with him. 

“I’d been selling something from the time I was a little kid, selling magazines in the Depression years and everything. There wasn’t a moment when I wasn’t selling something. But after the war manpower was a tough situation. My mother-in-law was working for them part-time,” Gilmore recalled. 

“We got together and decided to try it out for a while and see how we liked it. We thought we’d meet later and find out whether it was going to work or not but we never got around to that second meeting,” he said laughing. 

Their relationship and the store grew for the next 22 years, the store doubling in size in the early 60s. In 1969 Byron and Rhoda decided to retire and offered the shop to their longtime employee.  

“We had a little talk and they asked if I wanted to take on the responsibility,” Gilmore recalled. “I said I’d love to if we can make something because I didn’t have a lot of big money stored up. So we wrote a contract.” 

Like the Bolfings, Gilmore and his beloved wife Jeanette ran the store together until she passed away early last year. 

With his 80th birthday approaching this Wednesday, Sept. 11th, the tall and lanky man decided to retire. Like the Bolfings before him, Gilmore offered the store and building to his former employee and longtime friend and tenant, 45-year old Tad Laird and his wife Nancy. 

In his 57 years on College Avenue, Gilmore has watched Berkeley grow from a modest college town into a city with an international reputation for academic excellence and progressive political positions.  

“It’s not just a college town any more; it’s a city and a very metropolitan city,” Gilmore said. “It’s a place where there’s room for everyone’s opinion, no matter what the opinion. 

“You’ve got people as far in left field as you can get, and you’ve got people as far in right field as you can get. And they all blend in Berkeley and this is the beauty of it.” 

Elmwood Hardware has been in continuous existence since 1923. “It was born the same year I was,” said Gilmore with a smile. 

Standing behind the counter in a neighborhood hardware store, helping generations of Berkeley and North Oakland residents, has given him a deep appreciation for his community and his place in it. 

“A hardware store is the supplier of the things to keep your house functioning,” said Gilmore. 

“If you want to fix it, the tools are there and the knowledge is there. We try to be not only the supplier of tools but the mentors and the education of it. When we sell a can of paint we try and make sure they do it right so they’ll still be pleased five years from now in the job they did.” 

While he decries big box stores, like “Home Despot,” as he refers to Emeryville’s megalithic competitor, Gilmore speaks fondly of his local competitors at family-owned Berkeley Hardware. 

In fact Gilmore speaks warmly of everyone and holds close to his family of customers, fellow merchants in the Elmwood, and members of his various social organizations, including Berkeley Rotary, the Berkeley Breakfast Club and his Masonic brothers. 

Gilmore says he plans to spend his new found leisure time restoring a home he recently purchased in Montclair, but his agreement with Laird includes an extended stint of “helping out” the new owners of Bolfing’s Elmwood Hardware. 

Bolfing’s Elmwood Hardware and The Elmwood Merchants Association have invited residents to join them for an evening in recognition and celebration of Roger “Bob” Gilmore’s 80th Birthday and honoring his 56 years of continuous service to the Elmwood District at Bolfing’s Elmwood Hardware on Tuesday, Sept. 16t at Shen Hua Restaurant, 2914 College Ave. 

A no-host bar opens at 5:30 p.m., followed by a buffet dinner at 6:30, followed by music, dancing and reminiscing until the doors close. Tickets are available at many Elmwood Merchants for $20 in advance or $22 at the door.

People’s Park Boardmember Sought 

UC Berkeley is looking for volunteers to serve on the People’s Park Community Advisory Board, a citizen panel that makes recommendations to the school about Berkeley’s most contested piece of real estate. 

Board members are picked by the university’s Vice Chancellor for Business and Administrative Services and can serve a maximum of three one-year terms. 

People’s Park, a half block west of Telegraph Avenue between Haste Street and Dwight Way, remains an icon of the 60s and the sight of literal and legal battles between students, street people, and UC administrators. 

The advisory board is UC’s main source of outside input on park programs and policies and is charged with guiding implementation of the school’s long-term conceptual planning for the land. 

Board members come from both campus and the surrounding community. 

Applications will be accepted through Sept. 30 for the 2003-2004 term. For more information call the People’s Park office at 642-3255 or email pplspark@uclink.berkeley.edu 

BCF to Hold Open House 

The Berkeley Community Fund, a nonprofit foundation that provides grants and scholarships to community organizations and students, will hold an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday in their new offices in the Cooper Building, 800 Jones St.  

In the annual grant cycle just ended, the foundation handed out over $62,000 in grants to community organizations and provided $20,000 in scholarships to Berkeley High School and Vista Community College students.  

Dog Owners to Take a Lickin’ 

Dog owners willing to suffer a modest degree of humiliation will have a chance to show off their pets and donate a little bit of cash to a deserving cause at noon Saturday if they enter the Great Dog Lick-Off. 

Sponsored by and held at Alan’s PETzeria, 843 Gilman St., the contest pits pooch against pooch, with the winner determined by which canine is quickest at licking off peanut butter smeared on his/her/its master’s/mistress’s face. 

All of the entry fee and five percent of the store’s sales for the day will go to the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society.  

City Terrorism Plans Explained 

Berkeley’s plans for responding to a terrorist threat will be presented during a special three-hour class Saturday at the Fire Department Training Center, 997 Center St. 

Open to anyone age 18 and over who lives or works in the city, the 9 a.m. to noon session will be presented by the city’s Office of Emergency Services (OES). 

For more information or to register, call OES at 981-5605—TDD 981-5799—of the CERT program coordinator, 981-5506. Online registration is availavle at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes.html  

State Bar Honors Berkeley Lawyer 

A Berkeley attorney who battled without payment to win medication coverage for a Vallejo man faced with the loss of Medi-Cal benefits for his AIDS medication has been honored with the State Bar President’s Pro Bono Public Service Award. 

Thomas A. Ostly, 31, was praised by his client, who told the State Bar that “Prior to his involvement, I was fighting a losing battle that no one seemed interested in taking on.” 

Ostly volunteered his services through Berkeley’s East Bay Community Law Center. 

He received the award from California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George and State Bar President James Herman during the State Bar’s annual meeting in Anaheim Friday.

Berkeley residents holding visitor parking permits must either use or exchange them by next Monday, thanks to a change in city parking ordinances. 

The road to the new policy began two years ago after several of residents complained to the city about the number of extra permits floating around, said Susie Monary-Wilson, Customer Service manager for the Berkeley Finance Department. The city then held several public forums to investigate what people were calling misuses and abuse of the permits. 

On March 5 of that year, the city sent out a letter advising residents about the new policy that would require holders to exchange extra permits, and a final decision was then made to create an exchange period that started in July of this year and ends on Sept. 15. 

Starting Sept. 16, anyone using one of the old passes will be cited for a parking violation. 

While well intentioned, the policy has proven frustrating for some residents who have found the exchange process more complicated than they expected. 

Katherine Pyle, a Berkeley resident who has a number of old visitor parking permits—some 10 years old—recently waited in line for over an hour and a half, only to walk away without being able to exchange all her permits. 

Pyle had a number of one-day passes that she was able to exchange but was upset to find—after standing in line for 90 minutes—that to exchange her 14-day permits she had to provide information on the vehicle assigned to use the permits, which would then be good for only five weeks. 

Armed with that information, she had to return to the back of the line and work her way forward once more to make her exchanges. 

Unlike the one-day permits, 14-day permits require license plate information and can be issued only three weeks in advance. They are not what Monary-Wilson calls “wild cards,” where they are issued and can be used whenever the holder wants within a one-year time period. 

The exchange process activates the permits, leaving holders only three weeks to use them, and giving Pyle only three weeks before she loses out on what are now $60 worth of permits—for which he paid only $2 originally. 

Monary-Wilson said the limitations were imposed on the 14-day permits because they were being abused more frequently than the one-day passes, prompting the original complaints that were the catalyst for the exchange program. 

Monary-Wilson also explains that the city tried to warn people about the new policy and encouraged people to use their 14-day passes before the deadline. 

Pyle, while sympathetic to the city’s attempt to alleviate the abuse problem, is still upset about possibly losing her permits. 

“It’s bizarre,” Pyle said. “I guess they have good intentions but it’s just a nightmare.” 

For more information please contact the Berkeley Finance Department at 981-7200.

Murder in South Berkeley 

A man was shot to death and dumped from a car in the area of Alcatraz Avenue and Adeline Street Friday night, police said. 

The murder—Berkeley’s fourth this year and the sixth along the Berkeley-Oakland border—raised fears that a dispute between rival South Berkeley and North Oakland factions may be heating up. 

Police, however, said there is no evidence linking the murder to the year-long dispute. 

Witnesses to the crime said they heard gunfire and upon looking over to a gray car, saw one of the car doors open and the victim shoved out. 

Berkeley Fire Department medics attended to the victim and rushed him to Alta Bates Hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

Berkeley Police are withholding the victim’s name until his family is located. He was described as a white male between 25-27. 

Cyclist Robbed 

Six teenagers tossed a Berkeley man off his bike Sunday night and stole his wallet, police said. 

The victim was riding south on the Ohlone Greenway between Cedar and Virginia Streets when six teenage boys stepped in his way. When the cyclist tried to avoid them, they yanked him off his bike and jumped on top of him, threatening to punch him if he didn’t surrender his wallet. One of the boys rifled through his pockets and grabbed the wallet and all of the boys raced down the bike path towards Virginia Street. 

Parole Violator Nabbed 

When a police officer making a traffic stop at the intersection of Curtis Street and University Avenue early Monday morning spotted a red pick-up truck double parked, a quick investigation discovered the car was stolen. The officer then arrested the driver, who was sitting inside the car. A search revealed two grams of methamphetamine in the driver’s pants pocket. Wayne Berger, 44, was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of methamphetamine and violating parole. A later investigation found that Berger also had a parole violation.

Blacks Struggle With Including Gay Rights Under Civil Rights Banner 

African Americans continue to grapple with the issue of gay rights, which have only recently been discussed openly in the community, gaining steam under the umbrella of civil rights, reports the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a black newswire in Washington D.C. 

At the recent commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the March on Washington, Martin Luther King III, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), Al Sharpton, and Coretta Scott King all linked the struggles of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders with that of African Americans to gain equal footing in the United States, according to the report by Hazel Trice Edney 

Some blacks don’t agree with this view. “I think one of the things that’s happened with the Civil Rights Movement is that it has been broadened to include so much that what it has done is effectively put the black issue to the side,” says Rev. Roscoe D. Cooper, pastor of the Metropolitan African-American Baptist Church in Richmond, Va. “I think that there are some folks who, because they need public attention, grab a hold of every issue and want to be politically correct.” 

Rev. Joseph Lowery, former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, was quoted as saying he doesn’t think that the gay rights struggle is synonymous with the civil rights movement. “I think there are similarities,” he said. “It always has been divisive, but it’s time for the choir to sing. I don’t mean just an excluding choir. I mean an inclusive choir. And if I’m going to err in terms of critical issues like that, I’m going to err on the side of inclusiveness.” 

Chinese American Police Officers Accused of Racial Profiling 

Incidents of racial profiling and police violence have been in the spotlight in Bay Area cities recently. The Chinese-language Sing Tao Daily highlighted an incident where the alleged offenders were uncharacteristically two Chinese American officers. 

Palo Alto police officers Michael Kan and Craig Lee pleaded not guilty of felony assault on Aug. 22 They were accused of beating 59-year-old Albert Hopkins, an African American, with a baton and pepper spray, according to the paper. 

Answering a call from a nearby resident, Lee approached Hopkins, who was sitting in a parked car on the evening of July 13. Lee questioned him, but Hopkins refused to get out of the car or tell Lee his name. Lee then called for backup. When Kan arrived, he asked Hopkins to step out of the car, but he did not comply, according to the report. 

Peter Waite, Deputy District Attorney of Santa Clara County said that Officer Kan tried to pull the driver out of the car and a struggle ensued. The two officers used batons and pepper spray to arrest Hopkins. Paramedics were later called and Hopkins was treated for bruises. 

After the incident, the Palo Alto police began an investigation and ordered the two officers to take a two-day administrative leave, the Sing Tao said. If found guilty of the charges, the officers could face three years imprisonment. 

English-Only Education for Immigrants Has Failed 

Five years after California voters approved a proposition that virtually eliminated bilingual education from public schools, it appears the new approach of immersing immigrant students in English-language study has failed, writes an analyst. 

Backers of Proposition 227 claimed ending bilingual education would enable immigrant students to learn English within a year, writes Domenico Maceri, a foreign language professor at Allan Hancock College. But in fact, he says, recent statistics from the California Department of Education show that only 32 percent of students in English-only immersion programs can speak basic English. 

In a front-page commentary for Central Valley’s El Mexicalo bilingual weekly, Maceri writes, “The promise of Proposition 227 has clearly not been kept. Five years after its passage, California’s foreign-born children are not learning English in a year.” 

He said that despite other successful statewide educational measures that have reduced class sizes and increased standardized testing to hold teachers more accountable for results, immigrant students are still lagging notwithstanding the immersion programs. 

Plus, he says, state statistics also show that a majority of students in immersion programs are not graduating to normal English classes in one year and also are performing dismally in statewide high school exams. 

He contrasts these results with what he says is the more successful approach of schools using a “dual-language” model, in which all students are taught in English and a foreign language. He cites Cesar Chavez Elementary School in San Francisco, which is an English-Spanish dual-language school, as an example. Maceri says that last year only 3 percent of the school’s students were proficient in English, according to the California English Development Test. This year, that number jumped to 38 percent under a dual language policy. 

Andrew Lam, Donal Brown, Kai Lui, Kapson Lee and Marcelo Ballve contributed to this report.

The latest round of labor troubles at Berkeley-based non-profit Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency (BOSS) stemmed not from managerial malice but from improperly filed time sheets that delayed paychecks to employees last week, Executive Director boona cheema said Tuesday. 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) halted payments to the homeless advocacy group in late July, she said, after a HUD audit found that the agency had unwittingly filed incorrect paperwork for its eight grants with the federal agency. 

Employees represented by the California Professional Employees Union Local 2345 filed a complaint Friday with the California Division of Labor Standards after BOSS failed to make its scheduled payday. A finding in favor of the union could cost BOSS $50 for each of the roughly 100 unionized workers made to wait for their checks. 

Union leaders said they were furious with management for risking the welfare of workers, about half of whom were at one time homeless and live paycheck to paycheck. 

“BOSS workers will have to become clients if Boss doesn’t uphold their responsibility to pay their employees on time,” said Christopher Graeber, Business Representative for BOSS employees. 

Graeber ripped management for promising to provide five days notice before missing a payday, but then alerting employees on Sept. 2 that BOSS checks scheduled to go out on the fifth would be delayed until Wednesday. 

BOSS Director of Human Resources Paul Sedler said the Labor Day holiday prevented BOSS from giving employees earlier notice and that employees in dire straights were given cash advances. 

cheema blamed the funding mix-up on new rules implemented by the Bush administration that have changed billing procedures. She said that months of payroll forms and time sheets must be resubmitted to comply with new rules before funding resumes. 

BOSS plans to send revised paperwork to HUD next week in hopes that it will regain funding by the end of the month. 

Without its bimonthly deposits from HUD, BOSS maxed out its credit line and found itself unable to meet payroll. cheema said that the agency recently received grant money from state agencies that will allow it to meet payroll on Wednesday, but that another delay is possible. 

“I hope that this will not happen again, but I can’t promise that it won’t happen again,” she said.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second in a three-part series on the history of Memorial Stadium. 

“Where once Strawberry Creek turned in its leisurely course to the bay, man has reared a great concrete bowl where more than seventy thousand people may gather to watch athletic contests and to see their sons and daughters graduate from college walls.” 

—Robert Sibley  

“The Romance of the University of  

California,” 1928  

Before Memorial Stadium was constructed, Strawberry Canyon was Berkeley’s most popular place to experience nature. It was a place for contemplation, bird-watching and walking in the woods, and a rustic neighborhood grew up on Panoramic Hill overlooking the canyon. 

Although the north side of the hill had been subdivided in 1888, it was not until 1904 when the entire hillside was purchased by Warren Cheney that the hill began to be developed for houses. Cheney was the former editor of the literary magazine The Californian and owner of the Warren Cheney Real Estate Company.  

Professor Charles Reiber’s house was one of the earliest built on the hill in 1904. The house, designed by noted architect Ernest Coxhead, is unique in that it wraps around the base of the hill where Panoramic Way intersects with Canyon Road. A sprawling shingle-style house, it was designed to blend with its natural rustic surroundings and look out over the canyon. 

As Panoramic Hill developed, many rustic yet sophisticated shingled houses were built, including 1 Canyon Road (1905), also designed by Coxhead for Frederic Torrey, a San Francisco art dealer. Other houses on the hill include several by Julia Morgan, Walter Steilberg, Walter Ratcliff, Bernard Maybeck and even one designed by Frank Lloyd Wright at 13 Mosswood. 

Most of the houses were built by university professors who wanted to live in the country, but within walking distance of the University and downtown. To this end, developer Cheney built the elegant Classic staircase, Orchard Lane, in 1909, and several footpaths and connecting staircases for pedestrian convenience.  

Even today, the hill has a remote unspoiled quality in spite of its proximity to the stadium and the bustle of the streets below. 

The special ambiance of this neighborhood is best experienced by walking, using the footpaths and staircases. Early 20th century homes of various sizes can be seen through a thick garment of greenery. A self-guided walking tour, giving the date and name of architect when known, is available for a small fee from Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (841-2242). 

The proposal to build the stadium into Strawberry Canyon provoked opposition not only from the neighborhood, but also from architects (see part one of this article in the Sept. 2-4 edition of the Daily Planet), the director of the California Academy of Sciences and the directors of the Greek Theater. 

Professor Reiber, whose house was designed expressly built to look over a wilderness, was so upset that he moved away. 

The university paid no attention to complaints, calling them “selfish,” planned the stadium in Strawberry Canyon and then declared in the 1923 Blue and Gold (Volume 49, page 42): “Surrounded by the natural beauties of Strawberry Canyon, the Stadium will be a monument which every Californian will be proud to have a part in the building.”  

Susan Cerny is author of the book “Berkeley Landmarks” and writes this in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.

Members of one South Berkeley neighborhood say their home has a lot going for it, and they gathered Sunday to create a mural to share their exuberance with the world. 

After months of planning and weeks painting, neighbors partied and painted throughout the afternoon to give the city its newest public art display, adorning the wall of Grove Liquors at the corner of Ashby Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. 

One-by-one, children, adults, old-timers and recent transplants slabbed their handprints and scrawled messages onto a mural designed, funded, planned and painted entirely by their friends and neighbors. 

“South Berkeley Shines” is the theme, with “Shine” outlined in block letters a dozen feet high. Showcased within each character, the artists painted in such local treasures as the Thai Temple, the Ashby Flea Market, and the Community Gardens. 

Singled out for special artistic attention was Joseph Charles, a Berkeley legend who for thirty years stood outside his house two blocks away at the corner of MLK and Oregon Street, waving with his signature yellow-orange gloves at motorists zipping past on their way to work. 

“We decided we wanted [the mural] to represent how fabulous our neighborhood is,” said Eve Cowen a four-year resident who spearheaded the project. Envisioning a mural that could both beautify and unify the neighborhood, she took to the streets passing out fliers to drum up interest in a project she hadn’t yet received permission to undertake. 

Over fifty neighbors attended the first meeting in February, bandying about ideas for the wall and debating strategies to get the project moving. 

Help came from Epic Arts—a South Berkeley nonprofit art collective that guided Cowen through raising money, finding free paint and getting city support—and the Nasser family, which has run the corner store for 15 years. 

The Nassers live just a few blocks from the shop, where they have long supported independent art. Two years ago the graffiti-scrawled wall blossomed with a globe symbolizing world peace, but after the artwork came under repeated assaults by spray paint-wielding taggers, everyone agreed it was time for a new mural. 

The family set up a collection box in the store which eventually collected the bulk of the $1,000 donated. Their generosity extended to the artists Sunday, whom they supplied with food and drink, including some wine and tequila. 

The eight artists, selected by community members from a pool of 15 applicants, received no pay, but said the opportunity to leave their mark on the famous wall was worth the labor. 

“We’ve been wanting to be part of this wall for 15 years,” said Brian Wallace a Berkeley-born graffiti artist who, along with partners Noah Daar and Rosario Archimedes, has made the leap from underground graffiti art to commercial and public art projects. 

Susan Bruckmeier, chosen to paint the homage to Joseph Charles, spent hours at the Berkeley Historical Society researching the man whose gloves sit under glass at the museum. She remembered seeing him as a kid growing up in Berkeley, but said the assignment helped her grasp how much he meant to the community.  

“It touched my heart that Mr. Charles spent all that time out in the neighborhood spreading good will,” she said. Once she started painting, neighbors stepped up to compliment her work and share their stories of Charles, who began waving in 1962 and didn’t stop for thirty years. He died last year at the age of 91. 

Neighbors were quick to heap praise on the new mural Sunday, with one woman declaring the new creation “hotter and spicier” than previous works. If there was any complaint, it was that the artists didn’t manage to squeeze in all of the legendary figures of South Berkeley. 

Idella Melton, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 30 years, questioned the absence of Councilmember Maudelle Shirek and Mabel Howard, a community activist who led the fight to make sure BART passed through South Berkeley underground so it wouldn’t rattle the neighborhood. 

“It’s a fun wall, but you should have serious people up there too,” she said. 

Several neighbors said they hoped the mural would help foster community spirit and lift the mood in South Berkeley, which has recently suffered from a series of shootings believed to be connected to a rivalry with some residents of North Oakland. 

“This [mural] blows me away,” said Debby Segal. “This neighborhood needs a good feeling about itself right now. We need a reminder here that the neighbors are good, decent people.” 

The artwork should be a lasting tribute to the neighborhood, thanks to the plastic coating artists applied which they said will shield their creation from graffiti banditry.  

Cowen insists the mural is just the beginning of a community movement to get neighbors working for a better world. She plans to use any left over money for new projects, perhaps planting trees on MLK or adding murals to other South Berkeley locals. 

“We want this to be an annual mission of rejuvenation that will unite and inspire people to make a lasting difference,” she said.

Oakland writer Mary Monroe is an inspiration in perseverance. She wrote her first book, “The Upper Room,” in 1974. After hundreds of rejection letters, and eleven years, the novel was finally published in 1985. It got great reviews and quickly disappeared. 

Fifteen years went by, along with a thousand rejection letters. Agents and editors came and went before she got her next big break. 

Her second book, “God Don’t Like Ugly,” was published in 2000. It was an overnight success and, after years of struggle, Monroe has finally cashed in. She got a three-book contract from Kensington, and then a second three-book contract. Mary Monroe is on a roll! 

I met Mary at Café Giovanni on Shattuck Avenue, a place she’s been frequenting several times a week since she moved to the Bay Area in the early 70S. 

Originally from Alabama, Mary grew up in Alliance, Ohio, a working class town just south of Cleveland. She always knew she wanted to be a writer and she always knew she wanted to leave Alliance. 

While a teenager she wrote for tabloid magazines, True Confessions and Bronze Thrills. 

“I was good at titles,” says Mary. “I invented stuff like ‘I Married My Rapist’, and ‘My Husband and His Lover Tried to Kill Me With Voodoo’. My super-religious grandfather took me aside and said, ‘Mary, you’ve got a god-given talent. Don’t waste it.’ The next day I came up with ‘A Homosexual Preacher Stole my Husband!’” 

Mary’s first choice of escape from Ohio wasn’t California. At nineteen she visited relatives in New Jersey and took a bus into Manhattan. 

She turned around and took another bus right back out of the city and returned to Alliance. 

Then she tried Erie, Pennsylvania. After days of looking for a place to stay and being turned away because of her color, she finally found a room at the Richmond Hotel. 

“I took it as a sign,” she says. “I had an aunt in Richmond, California and I decided that was where I ought to be, not downtown Erie, Pennsylvania.” 

After settling in Richmond, she worked temp jobs all over the East Bay and San Francisco. But during her lunch hours and at nights she wrote and wrote and wrote. Her inspirations were Alice Walker, Ishmael Reed, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison and Ann Rice. 

In 1989 actress Robin Givens contacted her about her writing. Mary whipped out a screenplay she called “Girlfriends.” Robin liked it but then everything fell apart. Mary laughs as she tells the story. 

“Back then Robin was having all those marital problems. I guess you can blame Mike Tyson for everything, including my failed connection with Robin.” 

But Mary’s knack for titles helped save the day. She rewrote “Girlfriends” as a novel and gave it a new name, “God Don’t Like Ugly.” It was a winner. Now in its fourteenth printing, readers from all over the country have been begging Mary to follow up with a book that starts where “God Don’t Like Ugly” ended. And that’s just what Mary has done.  

“God Still Don’t Like Ugly” (another great title) has just hit the bookstores. It’s the continuing tale of Annette Goode who thinks all men are as low-down as the father who deserted her, the boarder who abused her and the fiancé who walked out on her. She has severed ties with her murderous best friend, Rhoda, but then, after five years of separation, Rhoda saunters back into her life. And so does Annette’s old, apologetic daddy. 

Based loosely on Mary’s real life, “God Don’t Like Ugly” depicts a young woman learning to forgive and in doing so finding herself and the happiness that has eluded her. 

“What’s next?” I asked Mary. 

“’God Ain’t Through Yet,’” answered Mary. 

You can say that again. He’s definitely not through with Mary and for that we can be thankful.  

She’ll be appearing to talk about her newest offering on Oct. 11 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Marcus Books, 3900 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Oakland. 652 2344. 

Every Uncle Henry Book has the Uncle Henry Promise printed in the front. It takes up a full page, but the central premise is that “you will always have fun when you read it.” In fact, says Uncle Henry, sometimes “adults will laugh so hard they will fall on the floor and roll around clutching their stomach.” 

I road-tested “The Vile-Burgers,” the first Uncle Henry book, on my 7-year-old granddaughter Sophia, and I have to say frankly I didn’t do that, but it is indeed a very funny book—for an adult.  

The story involves a little girl from New York who sets off on a trek to Texas, accompanied by a peculiar group of ghouls who emerge from a Halloween pumpkin, to search for her “socialite archeologist” parents who disappeared on a quest for the lost Oiltec civilization. 

It’s told as a series of short takes, almost like a movie or TV script, with a sentence or two to set the scene followed by a few paragraphs of snappy dialogue. The snappy dialogue certainly made Grandma giggle, but Sophia was captured by the cliff-hanging plot turns. She didn’t really think it was funny—she took it seriously, and insisted on hearing scene after scene, so we got mostly through the book on the first reading.  

She was also able to read a lot of it herself, even though she’s not quite eight and the book is pitched for nine-year-olds. That’s the idea. Grandma reads until she wants to take a break, and then the kid is hooked and has to do some of the work herself to find out what happens. This is possible despite the inclusion of some fancy vocabulary, some but not all of which is defined in Appendix 1: “dastardly, adj. A really rotten thing to do is a dastardly act. Like when your little brother sneaks into your room at night in the dark and whilst you are sound asleep secretly ties one of your pant legs to the chair so when you get up late in the morning and need to rush out to catch the bus you can break your leg just trying to pull your pants on. That’s seriously dastardly.”  

Kids, of course, love fancy vocabulary, and will even sound words out if they must. The Uncle Henry series, funny as it is, has lots of well-disguised but serious educational goals based on the experience of Uncle Henry, in real life Hank Schwarz, once the president of a very successful L.A. advertising and marketing company. He’s spent the past few years working with inner city kids, reading to them at the local public library and as a volunteer art teacher in the 5th grade classroom of his wife Patricia in L.A.’s award-winning Solano Elementary School. Oh, and he draws all of the clever cartoon-like pictures for his books too. 

The Uncle Henry series is an interesting experiment in branding and packaging, clearly benefiting from Schwarz’s previous career. It’s being launched not as one book or even as a series, but as a publishing house, Uncle Henry Books, complete with Web site, which is in turn a division of Schwarz’s Prototype Entertainment Products. 

The books will be for sale initially on the Internet, and they will also be offered directly to schools and libraries. Traditional bookstore distribution may or may not follow.  

The series is definitely high-concept, as Schwarz explains in his tongue-in-cheek initial press release, which of course he wrote himself. He claims that his books are “(a) immensely funny” and “(b) completely orphan-free.” But also, “the other important aspect of Uncle Henry Books, which should be of interest to almost no one but a few humorless teachers and librarians, is that the idea was born as we watched the development of young children in school in the inner city over the years. 

We saw all the best educational practices in teaching and reading techniques that were possible to maximize literacy development at an early age like 8 or 10—even among the children of immigrants with no prior English experience. A typical classroom of 26 children might have seven to nine home languages. But the way they could read after only a few years, right up there with native speakers—that really caught our attention.”  

So there’s definitely a mission behind the madness in Uncle Henry books. Hank and Pat Schwarz have tried to capture all they’ve learned about teaching kids, and have put it in a peppy format which should successfully compete with television in capturing the imagination of young readers. 

The Web site, according to the release, will have “ a very serious Teacher Center with extensive notes on literacy development theory, strategies for reading development imbedded in Uncle Henry books, lesson plans, and further site references.” Not too serious, of course.“We still have our doubts,” said Uncle Henry, frowning, “about homework.” 

I’ve also read, but not road-tested, one of the other books which will be on sale Oct. 1, “How The Tooth Fairy, of All People, Saved the Day,” which is aimed at the 7 and up age group. It’s funny too, and similarly challenging.  

All I know about the third book is in Uncle Henry’s press release, and therefore may or may not be for real: “For the older, age 10 and up crowd including grad students who should probably be studying for their information science or organic chemistry finals instead, there’s the deceptively simple but intelligent sci-fi story “Biode.”  

“What would happen if an ordinary kid somehow created a heuristic artificial intelligence but then couldn’t tell anyone he had it? What would happen if you could ask it to do anything you wanted and no one knew about it? And what would happen if the one instruction you gave it was to learn everything about everything in the world, and it did?”  

Is Uncle Henry serious here? This seems a bit heavy for the average 10-year-old. And of course Uncle Henry is almost never completely serious about anything, so we’ll just have to wait and see what the book is about when it’s out, promised with the other two for Oct. 1.

Faced with a long stretch of unemployment the vast majority of upstanding, college-educated people who live indoors, bathe regularly and use deodorant would find the prospect of turning to panhandling intolerable. The sheer degradation of it would frighten even the most thick-skinned human from even considering it. 

But, as cruel as it may sound, the bleak prospect of resorting to handouts to make ends meet is not as completely out of the question for civilized folk as you might think. 

Just ask Bruce Moody, author of the recently published “Will Work for Food or $—A Memoir from the Roadside.  

Moody is the last person you’d think couldn’t figure out a way to keep off the median strip. A writer whose short fiction has appeared in the New Yorker and National Lampoon, Moody’s also published a novel, “The Decline and Fall of Daphne Finn,” and worked as an actor. 

After a stint as a advertising copywriter where he moonlighted writing fiction, Moody decided he couldn’t be true to both disciplines and decided to quit advertising and only do general office work to support his writing habit. 

This approach led to a comfortable office job that lasted nine years until he was summoned into his boss’ office and summarily fired. Pushing 60 and without any unemployment insurance (he had always worked as a contract employee), Moody suddenly found himself not just unemployed, but seemingly unemployable.  

“Maybe I looked too old to be out of a job,” writes Moody. “Maybe people hiring wanted people younger than they were themselves. Maybe I looked like everybody’s father and they didn’t want him working under them. I went out on a lot of interviews. I went to reemployment classes and worked up ten resumes for different fields. No takers.”  

With $4,000 saved, he continued to look for work and wrote a play about Christopher Columbus that went nowhere. Soon the money began to run out along with Moody’s optimism that he’d find another cozy office gig. 

“There was another option and that was to be homeless. And I contemplated it and thought about it and prayed about it,” says Moody who now works as a gardener, writer and actor. “I tried doing temp work. I would go into the agency everyday and I would get jobs occasionally but in the old days you could go into an agency and get temp jobs that lasted six months or longer while you were getting yourself re-focused. 

“At age 60 they didn’t want to hire me to drive the doughnut truck—which I would have been glad to do—‘cause they were going to have to let me go in five years” due to union retirement regulations. 

On New Year's day 1993, during the country’s last recession, Moody turned to the unthinkable: holding up a hand-lettered sign proclaiming his sincere interest in working for either food or money. 

His nondescript perch was the southbound Appian Way exit off of I-80 in Pinole, just a few minutes from his Crockett home and anyone who might recognize him. He stayed there for four months. 

Still with a roof over his head, Moody took the meager contributions to his cause and the work opportunities graciously. On the advice of a panhandler he approached his new line of work as just that, work. 

“Behave so as to be proud of yourself,” the beggar told him. “You think you’re a panhandler? But you don’t really know. Standing here on the roadside isn’t my story. So, whenever anyone gives you money, offer your service. Make that your story.” The man also instructed Moody to say “Bless you” to all he came in contact with whether they gave him anything or not. 

Moody took the stranger’s words to heart. He didn’t just merely take money from passersby; he worked for them as well. In his run on the roadside, Moody painted and did gardening work for the people who stopped to speak to him—even if they tried to stiff him in the end. 

Living frugally, he “managed to make the $750 a month necessary to eat and hold on to his apartment.  

Every night after coming home Moody would jot down his thought s and impressions in a journal. The result is his memoir. 

In the end perhaps the most important lesson Moody learned from his roadside sabbatical is that kindness is alive and well, especially in the Bay Area. 

“Most people were really kind and the book is a testament and a tribute to the kindness and generosity of Bay Area people," says Moody. He was especially struck by the gifts of people in not much better circumstances than himself, folks he describes as being "very close to where I was." 

“I caught a dose of kindness. Humiliation is the most fecund field for learning anything momentous in life,” says Moody. “I can give love to anyone. And everyone. And I do. I say “God bless you” to the freeway turnstile folks, to the checkout lady, to the gas station attendant, and I’d say it to the Queen of England if I met her. It’s the greatest gift any human can give another, and beggars are the ones who most frequently give it.”  

Bruce Moody will be appearing at a writer’s workshop tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Barnes & Noble on Shattuck Avenue. For more information, call 644-0861.  

About the same time my memoir came out, Gene Simmons of the legendary glam-rock band Kiss published “Kiss and Make-Up,” his official biography. We share the same publishing house and the same New York publicist even though our life stories are astronomically different. 

Gene Simmons was born in Israel and grew up in Brooklyn without enough toilet paper. His family was dirt poor. Now he is 55 years old, a husband, a father, a multi-millionaire, a semi-retired bona fide rock star. And he claims to have slept with 4,600 women! 

For the past year, ever since our books were published simultaneously, I have been trying to calculate how many trysts he has had per day.  

In some ways it is kind of thrilling to share something in common with Gene Simmons (book publication dates, not sleeping arrangements). But in other ways it is extremely disappointing.  

Our mutual publicist at Crown has a floor-to-ceiling poster of Gene Simmons in his cubicle. But he doesn’t have a single picture of me tacked to his walls and as far as I know there’s not even a photograph of moi hidden among the stacks of papers upon his desk. 

Shortly after I read Gene Simmons memoir, I called “our” publicist.  

“That Gene Simmons is quite a guy,” I said, trying to make my voice sound casual. 

“Yes,” answered the publicist. “He’s a real businessman and superstar.” 

“Four thousand women they say.” 

“Four thousand six hundred,” he corrected. 

“How is that possible?” I asked. 

“Well,” he said. “You know those rock stars. They get around.” 

“Yes,” I said. “I suppose they do.” 

He quickly changed the subject. “By the way, Suzy, there are a few things I want to clarify with you.” 

“Do you want to know how many men I’ve slept with?” 

“Good god, no,” he said. “I want to know how many people you think you can draw to a New York event.” 

“Not as many as Mr. Simmons, I’m afraid.” 

“Of course not. But realistically, how many do you think will come to a reading of yours in New York City?” 

I silently did a few calculations in my head. I knew about eight people in Manhattan, four in Brooklyn, one in Scarsdale and three in Jersey City. 

“Fifty,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster. 

There was silence on the other end of the phone. 

“No, probably 75,” I stammered. “At least 75. I’m sure.” 

I thought I heard a sigh. 

“Listen, I’m no Gene Simmons. I mean, I know he slept with Diana Ross and Cher and he’s friends with all his ex-lovers, but I’ve got some friends too. I really do.”  

“Okay,” he said. “I’m just trying to get an idea of what we can expect and what kind of venue we should look for.” 

“Probably not Madison Square Garden,” I said hoping to be helpful. “Maybe a little bookstore somewhere. A really little book store,” I added. 

“All right,” he said quickly. “I’ve got a call coming in. I’ll get back to you.” 

I heard the other end of the line go dead. I went to my bookshelf and pulled out “Kiss and Make-Up.” But I couldn’t concentrate. I’m 51 years old. If I sleep with one new person a day, everyday for the next 13 years, I will have Gene Simmons’ record beat. If I sleep with at least two people per week for the next 38 years I will be 89 years old and I will still be ahead of Mr. Simmons. 

Maybe if I put on a slick stretchy jumpsuit, spread on some black and white face paint, stick out my tongue, breathe fire, spit blood and make a lot of noise I can get more than 40 people to a book signing. Maybe, if I’m lucky, I can get 55. 

Gene Simmons’ newest book, “Sex Money Kiss” is available in hardback from New Millenium Press (264 pages; $25.05). “Kiss and Make-Up” is available in paperback from Three Rivers Press (304 pagers; $14).

When searching a mainstream news Web site don’t be surprised if you find Muslims described as “ragheads” and “Islamofascists.” Just don’t expect Israelis to be subjected to the same sort of ethnic slurs—articles that contain derogatory terms about Israelis are forbidden. 

SF.indymedia.org, a San Francisco-based independent news Web site, recently found about this policy the hard way. Google News, the news compilation site of the popular search engine, has banned all references to sf.indymedia.org material on its Web site because of a flap over the description of Israeli soldiers as “zionazis.” 

The term appeared in a posting to sf.indymedia.org last May in regard to an attack by Israeli soldiers on a Palestinian home in the West Bank that left a young child dead. The post was essentially a letter to the editor, but according to Ryan Bagded of Berkeley, an editorial staffer with sf.indymedia.org and a freelance journalist, Google News should not have referred its users to the posting in the first place.  

Due to Google News’ concerns about the freewheeling style at sf.indymedia.org (the site is dedicated to free speech and does not edit the content provided by contributors) Bagded says sf.indymedia.org agreed to set up a special link for stories that had been approved for Google News. It was a system that was supposed to catch phrases like “zionazi”—a term Bagded admits would not be suitable for a news Web site. 

“There’s still no explanation about how that happened,” says Bagded. “It could very well be a technical error on our end. I don’t think so, because we set up a special page for them. But then maybe the technical error’s on their end. Maybe their spider technology goes too far.” 

Google News uses “spider” technology to search for stories to include on its site—automated programs that grab the contents of various news organizations such as the New York Times’ Web site and then create an index for the stories. 

Sf.indymedia.org runs reports produced by volunteer producers on the anti-war movement, labor issues, forest preservation efforts and other stories often ignored or underreported by the mainstream press. The San Francisco Web site is one of many located around the world. 

A spokesman for Google said the company had no comment “at this time.”  

Google first took sf.indymedia.org off its index last March after determining that the site did not have proper editorial review of its articles. The special page was then developed, but in May the term “zionazi” was discovered and Google took sf.indymedia.org off its index for good. 

At the time, Marissa Mayer, who runs Google News, referred to “zionazi” as a “degrading, hateful slur.” In hopes that they could work something out, sf.indymedia.org refrained from reporting their removal from Google News until earlier this month when the group posted a notice about the action written by Bagded, available at www.sf.indymedia.org/news/. 

“We wanted to work it out with them and so we held off on saying anything publicly about it for a long time,” says Bagded. He says in May the site received anonymous e-mails from people claiming they would “make sure” that sf.indymedia.org would be removed from Google News. 

Further muddying the waters is that racial slurs directed at Arabs and Muslims seem to be allowed by Google News. 

Bagded recently searched the site for news about the Iraq war and came across references to “Islamofascists” and other terms. In a search of “green beretiraq” Bagded found an article written by a U.S. soldier that referred to Muslims as “ragheads” and included the following quote: “Instead of being sitting ducks for the ragheads we now are going after the worthless pieces of fecal matter.” 

“Their policy is inconsistent,” says Bagded. “They are extremely hardline about taking words like “zionazi” out, but you can go to the site right now and search for “Islamofascist” and find that.” He writes on sf.indymedia.org that he believes “Google News needs to take responsibility for their seemingly one-sided tolerance of what is and is not ‘hate speech.’”  

Lee Tien, senior staff attorney with the Electronic Freedom Foundation, a San Francisco-based non-profit dedicated to, among other things, protecting free speech and music downloading on the Web, isn’t sure Google’s action against sf.indymedia.org is censorship. 

“They clearly have a right to do it, but is it wise?” says Tien. 

Ultimately for Bagded, Google News’ removal of sf.indymedia.org is about accountability. “Google News is the most famous news aggregation service. It’s a widespread thing,” says Bagded. “Where I work lots of people use it. To me it’s important that right now people hold sites like this accountable because it’s the new form of media. I use Google News more than I read the newspaper or watch TV news and I know that almost all my friends are the same way.”

Now that two years have passed since the numbers 9/11 burned themselves into the American consciousness, many in Berkeley feel that the time has come to take a different approach in commemorating the events of that awful day. 

While the city government will be conducting a ceremony at the Civic Center, the tone and size of other events throughout Berkeley have changed in favor of new interpretations that in some instances are more personal, and in others more political. 

David Orth, Deputy Chief for the Berkeley Fire Department, said that instead of organizing a larger, formal event that would involve the entire department, city fire stations will each hold their own individual remembrances. 

“The desire is for the event to be more private,” said Orth, who struggled as he tried to explain the complexity of a situation where, on one hand, no one is ready to forget about the events of Sept. 11, but at the same time many don’t feel the need to relive or commemorate the events with the same intensity. 

People want “to both remember and not forget, but at the same time begin to move on,” he said. 

Orth, along with other members of the city fire and police departments, will join in the commemorative ringing of the Peace Bell in front of Berkeley’s Civic Hall at noon on Thursday. The bell, made of recycled hand guns, was created by Berkeley artist Bruce Hanson and was bought by the City of Berkeley in 2000. 

Others are using the second anniversary in more frankly political ways. 

Interpretations and analysis abounded in Berkeley after the terrorist attacks, but many respected the one-year anniversary as a time to remember instead of project. This year, however, they’ve harnessed the day as a way to reiterate their concerns. 

The La Pena Cultural Center is sponsoring an event called “Septiembre en la Memoria, 30 years of the Chilean 9/11,” appropriate since the Center was formed after the Chilean coup lead by the Agosto Pinochet destroyed the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende on Sept. 11, 1973, giving the day a rather different meaning. 

“We believe that Sept. 11 is 30 years old,” explains Fernando Torres, publicity coordinator for La Pena and a Chilean political prisoner who spent a year in jail after the coup. 

Torres and La Pena Director Paul Chin said that evidence establishes that the United States under Nixon and Henry Kissinger played a large role in backing Pinochet’s coup to oust Allende, contributing to what they see as a terrorist attack in its own right. 

“We [in Chile] have our own bin Laden,” said Torres. “His name is Henry Kissinger.” 

Pinochet’s dictatorial regime killed large numbers of the “disappeared,” and the ailing Pinochet was later indicted by a Spanish judge for human rights crimes. 

The event at the cultural center is also meant to remember Orlando Letelier, an exiled Chilean diplomat who on Sept. 21, 1976 was executed by a team of Chileans, a CIA agent and Cuban exiles. 

Letelier was an outspoken critic of the U.S.-backed coup and his murder has been labeled as an act of state-sponsored terrorism. Letelier’s son Francisco and well known political writer Michael Parenti will appear at the center’s commemoration event. 

A series of films will be shown throughout town including a new release called “September 11” which will be at Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas Sept. 12-18. Produced in France, the film consists of 11 segments from all around the world including one directed by actor Sean Penn. 

The film has generated both rave reviews and considerable controversy. Ed Arentz of Empire Pictures, the company that released the film in the U.S., said that the film was created because 9/11 had global implications, calling for commentary from those outside the U.S. 

“It’s a way to enter into a kind of dialogue with the rest of the world,” said Arentz. 

The film breaks cinematic ground, explains John Scheide, the producer for the American segment. Originally each director was given the same amount of money, 400,000 Euros, and the same amount of screen time, 11 minutes. Some produced documentary pieces like Loach and others created fictional narratives.  

“Whether they disagree or agree with what they see,” said Scheide, “they are certainly going to get a true piece of cinema.”  

Other films offered locally include “Aftermath: Unanswered Questions from 911” at the Berkeley Public Library on Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m., “The Truth and Lies of 9-11” at Ashkenaz on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m., and “Chile: Promises of Freedom,” at the La Pena cultural center on Sept.12 at 7 p.m. 

For those who still feel the need to express themselves, Singing for Peace, a group that formed after Sept. 11 to “sing out our grief for the dead in both New York City and Afghanistan,” is hosting “Joining Voices: Community Singing for Peace and Healing” at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists at Cedar Street and Bonita Avenue at 7:30 p.m. on the 11th. 

For more information about any of these events please see the Arts and Events calendar in this issue.

Reviewing Impact Theatre’s inaugural production at La Val’s Subterranean Theater is a little like trying to pin down a Baskin Robbins menu: Which tastes better: Chocolate Mint? Or maybe Strawberry Wonderful? 

This eager young company is baptizing their new-to-them—and first stable—quarters with their sixth annual program of what they dub “Briefs.” This time, for no decipherable reason, the program is called “Shock and Awe.” 

Since the ten playlets from twelve different playwrights bounce happily from one delightful absurdity to another, the tongue-in-cheek title should probably be summed up as “Why not?” Nothing else would make any sense, either. 

But the production isn’t about “making sense.” It’s about making fun. Perhaps surprisingly, these are not “message” entertainments. Impact Theatre is flagrantly youthful and energetic, deliberately targeting an audience of 18 to 35-year-olds. 

They’re also aggressively looking for new plays and new playwrights. At least in this production, they show no signs of the belligerent idealism that often comes with that package. 

Further, they don’t seem to have any particular guards at the door requiring ID cards. This could be valuable information since it is remotely possible that people over 35 can grasp and even enjoy light hearted satire about sex, drugs and politics, and whatever else happened to hit the playwrights’ minds. (No rock and roll here. The music is limited to a couple of amusing songs by the talented guitarist/composer Steven Klems). 

Klems, alas, is the only performer who can be mentioned by name, since the actors aren’t identified by their roles. They can’t be, since they bounce around so quickly from one to another—demonstrating an extraordinary level of talent. 

Their versatility is little short of awesome—but consistently funny, mind you, funny. 

One actor, for example, appears as a particularly slimy quiz show host, and minutes later is completely believable as a child-like character from “Lord of the Rings.” And then there’s the guy who plays President Bush... 

That playlet alone would justify the cost of a ticket. 

Speaking of which, the company has no illusions about the finances of their target audience in an area dominated by a student population. They’re committed to keeping their tickets comparable to the price of a movie. 

It’s a noble cause, even if they do find themselves pleading for alms from time to time.  

Perhaps one of the things that is most startling about this collection of theatrical bubbles is that the individual little plays are so fully developed. As brief as they are, almost all of them leave a sense of completion; you have seen a beginning, a middle, and an end. 

Equally so, the fact that they are selected from different authors, rather than being a display of works by an individual playwright, provides a variety of tone and style, as well as subject matter. The evening’s experience is far from that of having been jerked around from one playwright’s sensibility to another. It’s pleasant.  

It’s rather nice to go away from a theater having been entertained, not propagandized. 

Impact has a curious hook which presumably can bring an audience back to more than one performance, just out of curiosity. (And it’s nice to report that it’s possible to do that and still be amused all the way through—the actors are worth seeing more than one time). 

Eight of the playlets shown nightly remain the same, while the other two are alternated from one evening to the next. 

The advertisements can give guidance for the deeply committed.