Bowing to public and legislative pressure, state officials Monday agreed to a change in jurisdiction over the toxic cleanup of Campus Bay, the South Richmond site where developers hope to build a condo project atop a hazardous waste dump. 

“It’s my understanding that the water board and the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) are working on a transfer plan to have DTSC become the lead agency,” said East Bay Assemblymember Loni Hancock Monday.  

The move follows a heated joint legislative hearing convened Saturday in Richmond by Hancock and state Assemblymember Cindy Montañez, a Southern California lawmaker who chairs the Assembly’s Rules Committee and as well as the Select Committee on Environmental Justice. 

Speaker after speaker at Saturday’s meeting voiced outrage at the water board’s handling of the site and demanded that site jurisdiction be removed from the San Francisco Regional Water Control Board over to the DTSC. 

“I’m not going to celebrate until I see all the details,” said Peter Weiner, a San Francisco attorney who represents a citizens’ group which has challenged the project on public health and safety issues. 

Formal word came from Rick Brausch, assistant secretary for external affairs of the California Environmental Protection Agency, in an e-mail to legislators and regulators. 

“DTSC and the Regional Board are discussing the logistics for transitioning lead regulatory oversight. . .to DTSC,” Brausch wrote. 

The toxic control agency will control all aspects of the dry land portion of the site, and the water board will continue to play a role in the restoration of marsh and wetlands near the shore, he said. 

“It’s a great, great thing,” said Sherry Padgett, a BARRD member who has worked next to the site for seven years and whose struggle with rare forms of cancer led her to become a leading critic of the Campus Bay project. 

“Once the camel gets its nose into the tent, it’s going to be hard to keep it out,” she said. “From now on there will be public participation and formal logs of complaints.” 

Padgett praised the two legislators for listening to residents’ complaints and acting on their concerns.  

Karen Stern, publicist for Cherokee Simeon Ventures, the joint venture proposing to build the housing complex, said Russell Pitto, chair of Simeon Properties, one of the two corporate partners, had requested greater DTSC involvement in a Monday morning call to Brausch. 

“We are looking for clarity, and we welcome DTSC’s involvement,” Stern said. “Clearly both agencies have roles to play.” 

Richmond Showdown 

All parties agreed that Saturday’s hearing was instrumental in bringing about the regulatory regime change. 

Saturday’s drama began with Padgett’s testimony, a passionate and riveting plea to the legislators and regulatory officials gathered in a packed meeting room at UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station.  

Her message was simple: Give DTSC final say over the future of the site where Cherokee Simeon hopes to build a waterfront complex of 1330 units of condos, townhouses and apartments atop a pile of buried waste. 

Her testimony, a personal story of tragedy and purpose, drew a standing ovation from most of the audience. 

And before the session ended, Brausch had promised he would meet Monday in Sacramento meeting with the heads of the two agencies. 

Critics of the development—the large majority of the speakers—found a receptive audience in Montañez and Hancock, the member of the California Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials who had requested the hearing. 

Beyond their immediate concerns over Campus Bay, the lawmakers looked at the system itself, promising new legislation designed to reform a regulatory system both agreed is seriously flawed.  

Regulatory Choices 

The lawmakers’ questions to state regulatory officials revealed a bureaucratic landscape in which a developer seeking to build on polluted earth can chose whichever agency she thinks will make the job the easiest and cheapest—a decision which even the state’s top environmental officer can’t reverse. 

And what are the developer’s options? 

• One, the DTSC, is a state-wide agency staffed by scientists, toxicologists and other experts which conducts its oversight with extensive public notice and participation from the very outset. 

• The other, the regional water board—without a single toxicologist for the last two years—is a regional entity which presents its work as a fait accompli, with public participation only at the end. 

In the case of Campus Bay, the change only came after the developer agreed this week to change the jurisdiction to the DTSC. 

Montañez, whose San Fernando Valley district includes several seriously polluted sites earmarked for development, told the gathering that “my passion as a legislator is the issue of brownfields and environmental justice.” 

Brownfields are defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as “real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.”  

Table Top Mountain 

The reason for Saturday’s gathering lay just to the north, what Padgett described as “a 350,000 cubic yard, 30-acre, eight-foot-tall table top mountain with a concrete cap”—the toxic residue of a century of chemical manufacturing where Cherokee Simeon wants to build housing. 

Cherokee Simeon Ventures began the project as a biotech park, then settled on the housing development after the tech boom tanked. 

The corporate entity combines the expertise of developer Pitto’s Simeon Properties with the deep pockets of Cherokee Investment Partners, a firm which investments pension and other institutional funds in brownfields development. 

Until 1998, the land housed a chemical manufacturing complex last owned by AstraZeneca, a British firm. 

The site landed on the federal Superfund list, a high priority list, before the federal Environmental Protection Agency passed jurisdiction to the state, which placed it on its own Superfund list. 

Water Board’s Role 

Jurisdiction had already come under the aegis of water board in 1980, after the discovery of polluted outfall water. The board retained oversight responsibility for when the land was sold to Cherokee Simeon on Dec. 31, 2002. 

AstraZeneca had originally estimated it would cost $100 million to clean up their mess, including land at the UC Field Station where the hearing was held. But an Emeryville firm, LFR (Levine Fricke Recon) captured the deal with a $20 million bid which called for the polluted soil to be buried on site rather than buried in an off-site toxic waste dump. 

The Levine in the cleanup firm’s corporate name is Berkeley toxic cleanup up specialist turned would-be casino developer James D. Levine, who worked years ago on the water board staff with a senior water board staff member who is closely involved in the Campus Bay project. 

AstraZeneca had already spent $20 million to remediate the site to industrial and commercial standards when the sale closed, according to a handout distributed at the meeting by Cherokee Simeon. 

Health Director’s Concerns 

One of the first official voices to join Padgett’s call for a DTSC takeover at the site was Contra Costa County Public Health Director Dr. Wendel Brunner.  

“For a site as complex as this, the water board doesn’t have the expertise or experience to handle it on their own,” he declared to the applause of the audience. 

“The water board persists in maintaining they have adequate expertise,” Brunner said. “They have demonstrated that they do not. . .and when the developer indicated” plans to build housing, the board “should have transferred the lead to the DTSC and worked in support.” 

While Brunner noted that “Contra Costa County has the highest concentration of toxic and hazardous waste per capita in California,” Richmond Mayor Irma Anderson noted that “Richmond has the highest incidence of cancer in Contra Costa County. 

“It appears very clearly we have a legislative problem with who makes the best decisions,” she added. 

Brausch told the audience that California EPA Secretary Terry Tamminen “is very interested in the issues of the site here in Richmond and in the overall issues” of cooperation between the regulatory agencies. 

It was then that Brausch, a veteran of 18 years with DTSC, said he would summon the heads of both agencies to his Sacramento office to work out the issue of jurisdiction. 

Richmond Official Booed 

Richmond elected and appointed officials have supported the housing project, looking for a boost to the city’s property tax base. 

Steve Duran, director of the City of Richmond Community and Economic Development Department and a leading proponent of the project, came under intense questioning, and drew a chorus of disbelieving boos when he declared his agency’s top priority was public health. 

To Duran and other city officials, the construction of a large number of condos promises a substantial increase for the tax base of a cash-starved city government. He also cited the project’s compliance with the housing goals of the county and the Association of Bay Area Governments. 

Moneys generated by the site, he said, would help fund redevelopment in high-crime, low income minority neighborhoods. 

A Cherokee Simeon handout distributed at the meeting and echoed on the city’s website noted that the project could bring the city $7 million in annual tax revenues for Duran’s agency, $6.8 million in impact fees to the West Contra Costa Unified School District, $7.3 million in impact fees to the city, $40 million for site infrastructure improvements and 500 temporary construction jobs. 

Richmond City Councilmember Tom Butt, the highest vote-getter in last week’s election and a recipient of donations from Cherokee Simeon, and council colleague Maria Viramontes expressed frustration at not being able to rely on state agencies for adequate supervision of the site. 

In an e-mail distributed after the meeting, Butt said he had no faith in either the water board or DTSC. He also faulted city staff for relegating too much regulatory authority to the state and federal government. 

Newly elected Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin, a member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance and an active project opponent before her election, joined the call for DTSC to talk the helm. 

West Contra Costa School Board member Karen Fenton, a former chemical technician, praised Hancock and Brunner “for being a good guy.” 

Of Fires and Dust 

Jess Kray, a Marina Bay resident and the owner of Kray Cabling where Padgett works, said he initially dismissed her concerns. “I told Sherry, the most intelligent and curious person on this planet, that ‘I’m sure we’re being taken care of ‘ because I naively assumed (the regulators) acted like the fire department. 

“Not only does the fire department come when they’re called, but they’re proactive. They come every year to my business and tell me, ‘That’s a fire hazard, clean it up.’ 

“And it’s not like you can tell them when you have a fire, ‘The last time you came out and put water all over everything, so this time I’m going to call the school board.’ Imagine if you could shop for who puts out your fire. That would be bad for all of us.” 

It was an analogy Hancock later said was illuminating. 

Many speakers complained of dust being generated during the current cleanup. 

“There was dust last week. You couldn’t see the yellow line down the middle of the road,” said Weiner. “People complain, but nothing is done and the DTSC is not asked” for help. 

“We need an agency that understands what air quality is about,” and has the specific equipment and expertise, he said. 

Anger, Concern Voiced  

The audience applauded when Jeff Hohenstein, a BARRD member and an instructor at Aikido of Berkeley, which has a martial arts studio a half block from the site, called for a halt to all work at the site until oversight issues are resolved. 

He pointed to an Oct. 20 letter from DTSC which found fault with the water board’s acceptable levels for dust leaving the site and called for a 620 percent reduction. 

Tim Calhoun, owner of a business next to the site, was particularly angered that during the current phase of the cleanup, Levine Fricke ripped the cap off a portion of the buried waste to make room for temporary storage of contaminated muck being dredged out of a waterfront marsh. 

Claudia Carr, a UC Berkeley professor of environmental science, policy and management in the College of Natural Resources, lives in Marina Bay in the residence closest to the project on the north. 

“This is an enraging situation,” said Carr, one of the first to join BARRD. “There is incredibly broadspread fear and anger, and issues of life and death. . .there must be oversight by the DTSC and EPA. I have zero faith in the water board,” which, she said, relied for its scientific information on the developer and Zeneca and its cleanup agent, Levine Fricke. 

The Sierra Club also wanted DTSC oversight at the project, said Norman La Force, legal chair of the club’s San Francisco chapter. 

DTSC “has not only public participation but long term enforcement,” La Force said, “and both are absent from the water board.” La Force also faulted the water board for failing to adequately address wildlife issues. 

Representatives of several Richmond neighborhood associations joined in the criticism, including the Richmond Annex Neighborhood Council, the Cortez Stege Neighborhood Council, and the Richmond Panhandle council. 

Invisible Threats 

One of the main concerns of neighbors and a serious challenge to any plan to put housing on the site are the volatile organic compounds that have been detected escaping from the soil at Campus Bay. 

These airborne chemicals pose a wide range of health risks and have been detected above the minimal remediation levels set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. 

Compounds detected at actionable levels include acetone, benzene, carbon disulfide, chloroform, PC, TCE and vinyl chloride. 

Cherokee Simeon proposes to deal with them by installing fans to blow air through channels below the proposed housing, a plan that drew sharp comments from critics at the meeting. 

Activists Zero In 

Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, represents a coalition of 70 community-based environmental justice groups across the state and has served on several state and federal advisory boards. She came from her home in Rosamond in the Mojave Desert to testify at Saturday’s hearing. 

Williams, an economist by training, said the push for brownfields projects “comes from the economic development process, not from the public health ethic.” 

While the goal of the public is protection of health and the environment, the goal of local government is to add to the tax base, and the goal of the developer is profit generation, she said. 

In the case of Zeneca, she said, “It’s a complete mystery how a federal Superfund site went to the state and then mysteriously appears on the water board” agenda, a process she called “regulation by Russian roulette.” 

She described the Campus Bay site as “the poster child of bad outcomes,” and noted that “(t)he water board has no requirements for public participation except at their board meetings.” 

Marlene Grossman came in from Pacoima, a city in Montañez’s legislative district, where her organization, Pacoima Beautiful, is fighting a battle against water board-supervised site adjacent to a heavily populated low-income neighborhood where nearly every home reports at least one case of asthma. 

Grossman’s concern is a heavily contaminated site that housed a facility of bathroom hardware manufacturer Price Pfister, a subsidiary of tool company Black & Decker. The companies picked the water board to oversee the cleanup. 

Grossman praised Montañez and Williams for their help in her campaign. 

“Stay vigilant, and do your work well,” she told Richmond activists. 

Differing approaches 

Jim Marxen, who supervises public participation for DTSC, said his agency operates on the 1984 federal Superfund guidelines. 

“We have community meetings very early on to find out what issues and concerns they have. “Community input works best early, early on,” he said to nods of assent from the audience. 

The agency provides a 30-day comment period in the early stages of a project, and the comments and responses are posted on the agency website and mailed out as well, along with fact sheets and public notices. 

In addition, a community advisory panel provides guidance throughout the cleanup process. 

While Bruce Wolfe said he regarded his water board’s role “as moderator between the property owner and the community” to make sure the developer is responsive and the cleanup satisfactory, Barbara J. Cook, the Berkeley-based regional head of DTSC, said her primary concern is “risk to public health.” 

Simeon Properties’ Pitto attended the hearing but left the testifying to Dwight Stenseth, Managing Director of Cherokee, a firm that has purchased more than 330 brownfields sites in North America and Western Europe in the last 14 years. 

Stenseth presented a picture of a socially responsible company teamed with “a highly reputable developer” who has worked closely with city government and community stakeholders. 

“We don’t necessarily care who we work with as an agency,” Stenseth said.  

Lawmakers Weigh In 

“Whether it’s Northern California or Southern California, the water boards are always under attack and the DTSC is seen as the model of public participation,” said Montañez.  

“A member of my staff was told by a member of your staff that you have neither the mandate, the money or the expertise to implement DTSC standards,” Hancock told Bruce Wolfe, executive director of the San Francisco Bay water board. 

“The state needs one process, and it should be the DTSC process,” the Berkeley legislator declared. 

“One of the key points I’ve learned is that the public, ordinary families, should not have to become experts to go about their daily life,” Hancock said as the hearing grew to a close. “There needs to be a single process, transparent to all. This is the beginning, and there’s a ways to go. 

“I’m very encouraged that there was a commitment from Cal EPA to sit down Monday and make sure the cleanup is done in a way that’s good for all of us.” 

Afterwards, she said she preferred to see the DTSC designated as the lead agency. “We need what DTSC can provide and we need it now,” she said. 

Montañez said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez is deeply concern with the issues raised at the hearing, and that Hancock’s concerns “have very strong backing from the members of the Legislature.” 

Hancock wants legislation that will mandate public participation in all brownfields projects, and Montañez said the statutes will be introduced later this year. 

Both were encouraged that Brausch had called the meeting Monday to hash out jurisdiction over the campus Bay site. 

Padgett, Carr and the other activists said they hope Saturday’s hearing marks a turning point. 

“I do believe I felt the earth move,” said Kray

California Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials 

California Assembly Select Committee on Environmental Justice 

Dear Committee Members: 

First, thank you to the members of the Committees for taking the time to hear our story. Thank you to Loni Hancock and her terrific staff for making this hearing happen. Thank you to the Richmond Neighborhood Councils who are represented here today including Parkview, Eastshore, Crescent Park, Laurel Park, East Richmond, Southwest, Point Richmond, Marina Bay and especially the Panhandle and Richmond Annex. Thank you to the Downwind Property and Business Owners who are present today. Thank you to fellow members of the Bay Area Residents for Responsible Development and especially Peter Weiner for his remarkable and wise counsel. And thank you to my employer, Kray Cabling, Inc. and Jess Kray for continued support. 

I am here because something went very wrong with governmental oversight of one of the most toxic sites in the State of California. In 1997, Astra Zeneca, the second largest pharmaceutical company in the world, made a decision to close the 85 acre Western Research Facility where highly toxic chemicals were developed and manufactured for 100 years.  

By the end of 1998, the once thriving facility turned into a ghost town. Pink slips and transfers were passed out. Parking lots emptied and approximately 50 office buildings, laboratories, manufacturing facilities, storage units and slabs were slated for demolition. A demolition permit was issued by the City of Richmond on a five inch by eight inch card. No questions were asked and no references were made to the site being one of the most hazardous in the State of California. Demolition began in late 1998 and proceeded through 2001. No inspections, no questions and no follow-up by the City of Richmond. No public notice to the unsuspecting downwind community. Between late 1998 and 2001, the site was methodically and intentionally flattened. No public involvement. No protection. No hazard notices.  

Zeneca’s original one hundred million dollar set-aside for toxic site cleanup was replaced with a twenty million dollar budget cleanup, which was too incredible to pass up, offered by Levine Fricke Recon. Rather than hauling out the toxic material to Class I and Class II dump sites, the Levine Fricke plan created a 350,000 cubic yard, 30 acre, 8 foot tall table top mountain with a concrete cap. In other words, why spend the money to haul it out when it could be scooped, mixed, treated and covered on site at one fifth the price. Levine Fricke obtained tentative/conceptual approval of the budget cleanup plan from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. During that time, public inquiries regarding Zeneca site cleanup orders, were posted as actively managed on the Department of Toxic Substances Control list of sites, having been passed from the federal Environmental Protection Agency Super Fund investigation process, to the California Environmental Protection Agency for follow-up.  

Plans were made by Zeneca to offload the property to a developer as soon as practicable. Site chemical cleanup commenced some time between 1999 and 2001, prior to Water Board or DTSC approval of a plan. No public notice, no precautions, no air monitors, no hazard notices. The Regional Water Board approved the cleanup plan and approved cleanup orders September 2001. How the cleanup plan for one of the most toxic sites in the State of California moved from the Department of Toxic Substances Control list of managed sites to the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board remains a mystery. Serious cleanup activities began May 2002, known to most of us who lived through it as Big Dig 2002. Blowing dust was so prevalent and dark we could not see the sun for hours on many days. So much dust was in the streets, vehicles kicked up clouds of dust as if they were traveling dry dirt roads. Vegetation was covered with so much dust that some died, unable to breath. Large populations of rabbits, skunks, squirrels, mice, birds and feral cats disappeared. They never returned. Dirt was everywhere. The white dumpsters outside our businesses turned dark brown with layers and layers of dark dirt. Our cars were covered with dirt every night when we left our offices. Every person who worked in the area remembers it vividly. Operations continued sometimes 24 hours a day for weeks. Trucks left the site covered with dirt and mud leaving a mile long trail past the Central Avenue exit on Interstate 580. The hauling contractor listed on the City of Richmond grading permit for Big Dig 2002 was not licensed to handle hazardous materials and is not a licensed contractor in the State of California. 

Zeneca did not file an Environmental Impact Report describing the full extent of the cleanup which began in 1998 and continues through today, six years later. Zeneca provided no public warning or comprehensive view of the cleanup’s extraordinarily lethal human health hazards or the broad and severe impact to other environmental categories such as endangered species, traffic, air quality, noise, marshland habitat, visible shoreline change, vegetation, local industry, recreation and most importantly short and long term human health.  

Zeneca put the two northern Lots 1 and 2 on the block for sale and by the end of 2002, the new owner, Simeon, received a negative declaration and clearance from the City of Richmond to move forward with plans to develop more than 450,000 square feet of bio tech office and lab space on the northern 27 acres. Then the bio tech market crashed and plans changed. Simeon and its fund source, Cherokee, joined to purchase the remaining 56 acres, including the massive 350,000 cubic yards of toxic material under a 30 acre cap averaging eight feet above ground level.  

Simeon Cherokee proposed a high density high rise residential development to house more than 3,000, to the City of Richmond with encouragement from the Richmond Redevelopment Agency early 2004. The proposal was in direct conflict with the Knox Freeway Corridor Specific Plan which calls for buffer zones between industrial, commercial and residential neighborhoods. The community turned out in record numbers in March and May 2004, opposed to the residential development. The Draft Environmental Impact Report for residential or big box retail development purposely avoids reference to the massive toxic cap and ongoing site cleanup. The Draft EIR is on temporary hold per Simeon’s request. Simeon told the City of Richmond they are waiting for a statement from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board that the site can be classified for residential use if 24 hour a day, 7 day per week fans are installed to whisk away the accumulating extremely toxic, invisible, odorless fumes which will be present for hundreds of years. On the flip side, the Water Board told us they are waiting for an Environmental Impact Report before they make a statement regarding land use. 

Last month, more toxic site cleanup work commenced in the marsh area of the 85 acre site. 25,000 cubic yards of extremely toxic marsh muck are being moved to an open pit in the middle of the 30 acre table top mountain of hazardous material. Zeneca remains the polluter of record while Simeon/Cherokee proceed with the next phase of cleanup. 

Up until March 2004, I, like most members of our community, thought governmental agencies were heavily involved in the hour-to-hour and day-to-day operations at the Zeneca site. I worked across the street, directly downwind, 50 feet from the fence line for the last seven and a half years. I often worked 10 to 14 hour days, six to seven days a week. Every time I gave the site consideration from my office window, I thought super cops were taking special care to keep us safe. I couldn’t have been more wrong, maybe dead wrong. No governmental authority watched out for our health and well-being between 1998 and 2001. Then the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board approved a self-monitored cleanup plan September 2001 that required little to no governmental involvement other than to read and file periodic reports describing progress, when they arrived by mail.  

I might never have given it more thought if I had not become very, very ill. In September 2003, Thoracic Surgeons at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center removed a tumor the size of the front of my fist from my front lower left chest wall. They cut out four ribs, the xiphoid, part of my sternum and all of the abdominal muscles. They put me back together with an eight inch round Marlex patch to hold my insides in and a piece of red rubber to keep the diaphragm working. The tumor was chondroma/chondrosarcoma, an extremely rare cancer – one in two and a half million. There is no cure, only excision. No chemotheraphy, no radiation. During the six month follow-up CT and PET scans February 2004, the radiologist found a marble sized tumor in my left thyroid which was not present on scans July 2003. Surgeons removed my thyroid July 2004. I was diagnosed with papillary carcinoma, with Hurthle cells, Hashimoto’s and thyroiditis. I was given megadoses of radioactive iodine and remained isolated for weeks while the glow wore off. I have lost two thirds of my hair and it is still falling out. Thyroid cancer is very rare, at one percent of all cancers in the United States. In July 2004 two new tumors surfaced on my right upper chest wall. We are watching them closely, considering them benign for now. If the tumors must be removed, surgeons will be taking out my upper right chest wall including what remains of my sternum. In December I am scheduled to have a complex septated cyst removed from my right ovary and the ovary might go, too.  

Physicians who see me regularly include a primary care, two surgeons, an endocrinologist, a hematologist, a gynecologist, a cardiologist, a radiologist, two pathologists, a geneticist and an oncologist. When I tried to return to work spring 2004, I started talking to neighbors in our business community and found my experience up to that point was not unique. An unusual number of tumors, cancers and illnesses surfaced among 24 individuals out of 300 working full time in the neighborhood within a two year period. Of the 24 individuals, 11 are dead. Maybe some of those could be considered normal. I do not consider my case normal. My geneticist says nothing in my inherited genetic makeup predisposed me to any kind of cancer. My family has lived into their late 90s for many generations. I missed three days of work for illness in more than 25 years of professional work. A silent, insidious and deadly toxic exposure altered and damaged my genetic code, allowing these tumors to grow unfettered. 

The community has actively been trying to get the attention of the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board since March 2004. We have asked hundreds of very appropriate questions which have gone unanswered. We wrote three formal letters outlining our concerns. We met with representatives of the Water Board who were good people, but ill equipped to deal with public inquiry. It became evident by mid summer that while the Water Board likely does an outstanding job overseeing the safety of our water resources, they are not structured to monitor a hazardous site as complex and lethal as the Zeneca site cleanup. In addition to our written inquiries, we have appreciated the three letters written by the Department of Toxic Substances Control to the Water Board regarding this site, even though they have been limited in scope per political and organizational restrictions. We have been dismayed that most of the direction or recommendations made by DTSC have been largely ignored.  

For seven months we have asked repeatedly for:  

• An explanation of why more than two thirds of the known site toxins have not been included in dust and air samples during 2002 and 2004.  

• A public notice or letter describing the extent of our risk. 

• More air monitors including monitors in our businesses to measure indoor volatiles. 

• An explanation of the allowable limits of dust and chemicals of potential concern 

• Daily dust samples with rapid turn around including chemical analysis 

• Split sampling 

• More comprehensive dust tests including particulate size 

• Remediation plans to bring the known volatile organic chemical hot spots within the 30 acre toxic mountain within acceptable limits 

• An explanation of how children can be allowed to attend a daily after school program in a building less than 100 feet from known toxic hot spots. 

• A list of all chemicals developed and manufactured on the property. 

• Uranium, plutonium and other radioactive material tests because we know the site was used for radioactive experiments in the 1960s. 

We implore upon you to find a way to first move this site to DTSC control and oversight, and second, influence regulatory change to insure public involvement, and that this kind of exposure does not happen again. 

My primary concern is for the health of my friends and fellow employees, my neighbors and future inhabitants of the property. We have a moral responsibility to insure that everyone, especially children, pregnant women and frail elderly are not harmed by unseen poisons emanating from this site for many generations to come.  

Sincerely yours, 

Sherry B. Padgett 

Bay Area Residents for Responsible Development  

According to close observers of the Albany City Council race, voters sent a clear message last week by electing two new members who oppose large-scale waterfront development. 

Both Robert Lieber and Farid Javandel, who received the second and third highest percentage of the vote, respectively, were endorsed by the Sierra Club and have stated their opposition to the various development plans that have been proposed for the Albany waterfront.  

“I believe that this council won’t be a heavy development council, at least that’s what I’m hoping for,” said Lieber, who is a registered nurse at Alta Bates. “I think the city spoke out clearly by backing Sierra Club candidates.” 

The third candidate who won a seat, Jewel Okawachi, was an incumbent and has said she is also opposed to large-scale development. 

The development issues facing the city include the informal proposal by Magna Corporation, which owns the Golden Gate Fields racetrack, to build a 600,000- to 800,000-square-foot mall on a parking lot to the northwest of the racetrack. 

Magna Entertainment Corp., the largest operator of horse tracks in North America, has not released any formal plans for the development, but has selected Caruso Affiliated Holdings as the developer. Both the firm and its president, Rick J. Caruso, have generated controversy with their other developments around the state, such as The Grove, a megamall complex in Los Angeles.  

Magna’s future at the site is not certain, city leaders said. The company could shut down the Golden Gate Fields racetrack and focus on their new racing facility in Dixon, which sits on 260 acres adjacent to Interstate 80. If the race track is closed, the Albany site could be made available for a new development.  

Citizens for Eastshore Parks and the local Sierra Club chapter have already issued a proposal for what to do with the land if Golden Gate Fields leaves. They want 85 percent of the land to be parks and open space, leaving 15 percent for development. 

Inland, the new council will face new development by the University of California at the Gill Tract. The university is already moving ahead with new housing developments and plans to develop 72,000 square feet of retail space as well. All three council winners said they were concerned about the university plans for the site and wanted to see limited development. 

Lieber, who won 20 percent of the vote, second behind Okawachi, said he supports the CESP/Sierra Club proposal to keep the racetrack property and the parking lot as 85 percent open space and 15 percent development.  

“I would oppose a massive development down there,” said Lieber. “It would ruin open space and park land that are desperately needed by Albany and the entire Bay Area.” 

Javandel, who is a traffic and civil engineer, said he also supports the CESP/Sierra Club proposal. Both, however, hope the city can devise a way to bring in development that will generate a comparable amount of tax revenue if the racetrack leaves. 

“I’m not opposed to reasonable development,” said Lieber.  

To replace the racetrack Javandel said he envisions a resort-style hotel on the eastern portion of the land which would shield the open space near the shore from the freeway. 

“I think certainly as the race track diminishes as a revenue source it becomes necessary to replace the lost revenue for the city,” said Javandel. 

Robert Cheasty, the president of Citizens for Eastshore Parks and a former Albany mayor, said Lieber and Javandel being elected speaks loudly about the concerns of the community 

“People who are waterfront advocates were concerned that there was not a strong enough voice to stand up to development proposals,” said Cheasty. “It was clear that the town came out in support of the candidates that spoke for protecting the waterfront.” 

“I think we are going to have a good council,” said James Carter, the executive director of the Albany Chamber of Commerce. 

Carter said he hopes both candidates’ opposition to large developments will help local businesses survive. 

“I’m glad they are fighting them over there,” he said in reference to Magna’s proposed development. 

Carter said he also hopes both candidates help stop what he calls the “malling” of the Easy Bay. He said Albany businesses were hurt by the El Cerrito mall. With another down at Golden Gate Fields and development at the Gill Tract, he said, the East Bay is in danger of becoming another place dominated by big-box retail malls. 

“Some people want the East Bay to be L.A. I’m from L.A. and I certainly don’t want that to happen,” he said. 

The architects of a proposed ferry service from Berkeley to San Francisco unveiled their ridership study Saturday, saying that the Berkeley Marina is emerging as the leading site for the service. 

Although the location of a proposed ferry terminal in Berkeley remains uncertain, Steven Castleberry, executive director of the Water Transit Authority (WTA), said that barring a fight from Albany, the marina is the likely spot. 

At a special joint meeting of the city’s Waterfront and Transportation commissions, Castleberry outlined a modest commuter service that by 2010 would begin transbay service. 

The WTA, established in 1999 by legislation authored by State Senator Don Perata (D-Oakland), is flush with money. In March, Bay Area voters approved Measure 2, also championed by Perata, which earmarked $41.5 million for creating and expanding ferry lines.  

For the proposed Berkeley service, the measure will contribute $12 million for two new boats and a projected $3.2 million annual subsidy to help pay for the service. What the measure won’t pay for is the estimated $10 million needed to construct a terminal that warring parties want to see either at the edge of the Berkeley Marina, or further north, either at the mouth of Gilman Street in Berkeley or Buchanan Street in Albany. 

Norman La Force of the Sierra club, reiterated the group’s opposition to locating a ferry terminal anywhere other than the marina. The alternative locations, he said, would direct ferries through the waters of the Eastshore State Park, a plan he compared with rerouting busses through Yosemite National Park to get to Reno. 

“You’re not going to get a consensus if Gilman or Buchanan is chosen as the site,” he said. 

Jeri Holan of Friends of an Albany Ferry said, “I don’t want to see public money wasted on a service that might never get off the ground.” She noted that ferry service from the marina has failed before. The most recent attempt, following the Loma Prieta Earthquake, lasted less than a year. 

The Sierra Club and local environmental organizations can wield influence over land use on the shoreline. Two years ago, they worked to keep athletic fields off a section of Albany coastline and currently they are battling the Magna Corporation over the company’s planned commercial development at the site of the Golden Gate Fields Race Track. 

For a ferry terminal to be viable either on Gilman or Buchanan, Magna would have to allocate land to build a projected 300-400 parking spaces. 

Acknowledging the political muscle wielded by the environmental groups, Castleberry said after the meeting that unless the Albany City Council lobbied hard for the ferry service, the Marina would likely be home to the terminal. A final decision, he said, would not come until after the sites had been studied in an environmental review. 

Neither location is an ideal home to a ferry terminal, Castleberry said. The marina is prone to traffic congestion and has a limited parking supply, while directing boats to the shallow water around Gilman or Buchanan would require dredging to deepen the sea channel which could affect native wildlife, he said. 

A prolonged fight over the location of the terminal could jeopardize the service. If the funds for the Berkeley ferry aren’t dedicated by 2010, Measure 2 calls for them to be transferred to a different line. 

Studies by the WTA project a Berkeley ferry service that by 2025 would account for 1,700-1,800 passenger trips a day. Three-fourths of the passengers would arrive to the terminal by car, 56 percent would be commuters and most would live in Emeryville, North Berkeley, Albany and Kensington. The projections come from commuter surveys and computer models, Castleberry said. 

The models, which relied on land use data from the Association of Bay Area Governments, assumed that ferries would run every 30 minutes during peak hours, trips would take 28 minutes and fares would be $3.50 for a one way trip with a $2 parking fee. 

The projected subsidy for the Berkeley Ferry would be $4 per passenger per one way trip—about twice the per passenger subsidy given to AC Transit. 

Most of the projected ferry passengers would be current motorists, said Tony Bruzzone, Service and Operations Planning Manager for AC Transit. 

Measure 2 grants AC Transit the first option to run the ferry system and Bruzzone, who has previously worked with the WTA as a consultant, said AC Transit expected to exercise its option. 

The commissions are scheduled to hold a second joint meeting in March and then hold an official scoping session for the draft environmental impact report (EIR) over the summer. The draft EIR is due for review in the summer of 2006 and a final EIR is scheduled for the beginning of 2007. 

When the final gavel falls at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, a 21-foot high pedestrian footbridge could be coming to Hearst Avenue, new building guidelines could be in place on University Avenue, an architecturally significant cottage could be set for an expansion and a blueprint for revising the city’s 15-year-old creek law could be on the way for all of Berkeley.  

But the council has already postponed ruling on the bridge, creeks and University Avenue and a consensus won’t come easily. 

The issue of how to regulate the roughly 2,400 homes that are within 30 feet of an open creek or underground culvert remains, perhaps, the most hotly contested issue the council has faced this year. 

Creek supporters want restrictions on new construction strengthened, a group of homeowners wants them weakened and two proposed compromises for moving forward haven’t even made it to a vote. 

At the last meeting, two weeks ago, the homeowners’ group Neighbors on Urban Creeks said they were blind-sided by a last minute proposal from Mayor Tom Bates and councilmembers Linda Maio and Miriam Hawley that called for a task force to study creek issues. 

Now, with the backing of councilmembers Gordon Wozniak and Betty Olds, the group has proposed another plan. It will support an advisory committee on creeks if the council gives creek advocates and opponents the authority to appoint some of the committee members. 

“We want a guarantee that there is equal representation on the committee,” said Barbara Allen of Neighbors on Urban Creeks. 

Their proposal calls for creating a 12-member committee comprised of six members selected by Neighbors on Urban Creeks and six members appointed by different creek advocacy groups.  

The advisory committee would serve under the Planning and Public Works commissions and would be limited in scope to deliberating the current laws prohibiting new roofed development within 30 feet of a creek, the definition of a creek and whether culverts, which redirect creeks underground, should be regulated in the same way as creeks. 

Other issues would be farmed out to various city commissions, including the issue of whether property owners should be responsible for repairing and maintaining culverts on private property, which will be handled by the Public Works Commission. 

The compromise plan from Bates, Maio and Hawley would create a task force to review creek issues and make recommendations regarding the ordinance and city creek policies by May 2006. 

Juliet Lamont, a member of Friends of Five Creeks, favors the task force outlined in the Bates, Maio, Hawley plan, which she said offered a more “balanced approach” to dealing with creek issues. 

Jensen Cottage 

The council will consider an appeal to stop the proposed expansion of the Jensen Cottage. The home built in 1937 at 1650 La Vereda Road was designed by William Wurster, the architect for whom UC Berkeley’s Wurster Hall is named. 

Preservationists say that the home foreshadowed modernist designs that would become popular 15 to 20 years later and that the plan to increase the building’s size by about 65 percent would destroy its character. 

Last week they asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to landmark the building, but Planning Manager Mark Rhoades said the petition arrived too late because the Zoning Adjustments Board had already approved the request to remodel the house. 

The house is owned by Marguerite Rossetto, the mother of Wired Magazine founder Louis Rossetto, who owns a nearby home. Louis Rossetto said that his mother decided to remodel the house so that it would include a first-floor bedroom. He said his mother feared that she could break her hip if she tripped while walking downstairs from her bedroom on the second floor. 

Foothill Bridge 

UC Berkeley’s 16-year campaign to build a bridge over Hearst Avenue also comes before the City Council Tuesday. 

The bridge, which would connect La Loma Dormitory on the north side of Hearst to the rest of the Foothill housing complex, requires a city encroachment waiver. On three separate occasions city leaders have indicated their opposition. 

But this time, the university has sweetened the pot. In return for the bridge, it is offering $200,000 in pedestrian improvements along Hearst and has promised not to build a bridge until the city’s Design Review Commission approves the plan. Commissioners have unanimously rejected the current drawings. 

UC Planner David Mandel said the bridge, which was part of the original design for the residential community, is needed to improve pedestrian safety and to make La Loma accessible for disabled students. UC has already spent $600,000 on its attempts to win the permit and plans to spend another $600,000 to build the bridge. 

Currently no disabled student lives in La Loma, which is located on a steep gradient that requires a wheelchair user to take a half-mile route around the Greek Theater to get from the dormitory to the dining commons. Without the bridge, Mandel said, the university would be susceptible to a claim under the Americans With Disability Acts that its facilities were not accessible. 

But as in years past, the project faces opposition from several neighbors. Jim Sharp, who lives a few blocks from the proposed bridge, criticized what he said was university encroachment onto the north-side of campus, referring to the bridge as UC Berkeley’s “Arc de Triomphe.” 

In May, the Public Works Commission voted 6-2 to oppose the plan. The commission found that the $200,000 offer was insufficient and questioned if disabled students would chose to live in La Loma anyway because of its hillside location. 

The university is hoping for a strong student turnout at Tuesday’s meeting. Last week, the UC Residence Hall Assembly sponsored a pizza party to rally support among students. 

University Avenue 

A new set of zoning regulations for University Avenue could be approved Tuesday. 

PlanBerkeley.org, a group organized around building on University Avenue, is asking the council to remove one section of the new rules that would allow for residential-only buildings. 

The incentive for developers to build residential only structures, they say, comes from a state law that grants developers of projects more space if they include a certain percentage of affordable housing units. Since the added density is based on residential space, they fear, developers would opt for the residential-only model. 

Stephen Wollmer of PlanBerkeley.org predicted that with the added density bonus, the residential-only buildings which are zoned to be no taller than three stories could rise to five stories. 

Gene Poschman, a planning commissioner, is backing the group’s claim. Last month, he submitted a report to the council showing that residential-only buildings on University Avenue would be over 90 percent larger than in other parts of the city. After receiving the report, the council voted to hold off approving the new zoning rules until city staff responded. 

Poschman and PlanBerkeley.org proposed reducing the amount of lot space a new building can cover, so that when a developer applies for the bonus space, it fills out the lot instead of potentially adding two stories on top of the building. 

That proposal runs counter to the directives of the University Avenue Strategic Plan, according to a staff report from Planning Manager Mark Rhoades. According to the report, added building setbacks would run counter to the strategic plan and “result in gaps in the development fabric of the avenue.” 

At its last meeting, the Planning Commission voted 5-4 against conducting another study of residential-only buildings. 

›

Two statewide organizations that advocate for a transparent political process are split over whether a request for Berkeley city councilmembers to vote on budgetary priorities in private violates state law. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington raised concerns to both the California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC), based in San Rafael, and Californians Aware, based in Sacramento, that the city manager’s request that councilmembers “vote” by fax on city budget priorities violated the Brown Act. 

The law requires that all legislative votes be done in public and that the residents are given notice of the scheduled vote. 

“If the council wants the confidence of the people of Berkeley, they should not be voting in secret,” said Worthington, who argued that the priority setting amounted to a legislative action by the council. 

Priority setting is one of the most important actions undertaken by the council, said Worthington, because it sets the framework for the upcoming budget.  

The priority list serves as a general directive to department heads as they start to plan their budgets, said Deputy City Manager Lisa Caronna. 

The council is not always asked to set priorities before the budget cycle. Worthington said the city manager’s office last made a similar request several years ago when he and Councilmember Maudelle Shirek refused to comply because they believed it was illegal. 

Siding with Worthington is Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition. Scheer said he thought voting on priorities amounted to legislative action, even though it might be “a close call” under the Brown Act. He recommended the City Council set priorities at a properly noticed public meeting where the public has a chance to participate via public comment. 

Although Scheer said his group might not have the resources to pursue a complaint, he added that if a court voided the process for the selection of priorities, the city’s final budget would be subject to legal challenge. 

However, Terry Francke of Californians Aware, a political watchdog group that supports open government, said that he thinks that the city manager’s request, while it shouldn’t have used the word “vote,” likely would stand up in court. 

Francke interpreted ranking budget priorities as a “preliminary ranking that would make real deliberation possible.” 

If the city ranked the options at a public meeting, Francke said it could take hours to complete the process. 

“It doesn’t seem like a terribly good use of everyone’s time,” he said.  

To be legal under the Brown Act, Francke said the city would have to publish the rankings from each council member, which City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque said the city planned to do. 

“It’s a completely open public process and no action will take place except at the council meeting,” she said. Albuquerque said the vote to set priorities was not a violation of the open meeting law. 

Although the directions to council members said the rankings would be tallied and presented at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Caronna said the tally has been postponed until next week to give staff time to receive and process the rankings. In retrospect Caronna said she wished she had used a word other than “vote” in the directive to council members. “There probably was a better way to phrase it,” she said. 

w

Faced with a still-precarious city budget situation and uncertainty over the direction of city waterfront development, Richmond voters last Tuesday re-elected virtually the same City Council that created the situation, with one notable exception: newcomer Gayle McLaughlin. 

McLaughlin said her election demonstrated that “the voters wanted somebody with principles and ethics and they wanted somebody who brought a fresh perspective.” 

Out of 15 candidates running for five at-large council seats, Richmond re-elected three incumbents (Tom Butt, Mindell Penn, and Nat Bates), one former city councilmember who voluntarily gave up his Council seat to run for mayor three years ago (John Marquez) and McLaughlin. One councilmember, first-termer Gary Bell, was defeated and another councilmember, Charles Belcher, chose not to run for re-election. 

Missing the cut by a little over a thousand votes was Andrés Soto, who was the target of several last-minute hit-piece mailings sent out under the name of the Richmond Firefighters’ Association. Soto and winning newcomer Gayle McLaughlin ran as endorsed candidates of the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA). McLaughlin, who was one of the co-founders of RPA along with Soto (whom she called her “colleague”) and several other individuals, said the organization “has brought together many different groups from different backgrounds, including Greens, progressive Democrats, Peace and Freedomers, some Libertarians. It’s a unified progressive group whose purpose is to educate and facilitate progressive discussion, as well as to endorse candidates.” 

McLaughlin said she was able to “fly under the radar” of the hit pieces because, “apparently, [the groups putting out the hit pieces] didn’t realize how much support I had among the base. That was their error, I guess, to my gain.” 

She said that despite the fact that so many incumbents were returned to City Council, the election demonstrated that Richmond voters wanted a change.  

“The majority of voters cast votes for new people, but because there were so many new people, it got diluted over so many of the challengers,” she said. “Those incumbents that did win put a lot of money into their campaigns, and bombarded voters with mailers, circulars. I think, unfortunately, the voters need to be educated further to make sure they know who is the right kind of change to have. But clearly the people in Richmond were so fed up with the incumbents and with the state of the city that they were looking out for new people, and it took the kind of campaign that we ran to engage them.” 

Asked what she expects to accomplish when she takes office in January, McLaughlin said that “because I am the only independent progressive voice on the council at this point, I will pretty much be doing resistance. We don’t expect to be able to put forth the full program that we want to until there are more progressives on council.” 

She said that the RPA expects to be running another slate of candidates in 2006. 

As for what she will be fighting for, McLaughlin said that among other things, “the utility users tax cap should be removed. And I will push for pollution regulation and an environmental justice ordinance. But because most of the council will still be in the hands of corporations and mega-developers, it will be an uphill battle.” 

Veteran Councilmember Tom Butt, who garnered the most votes last week in his re-election bid, said “Probably the biggest surprise in the election was that McLaughlin won and that (incumbent) Gary Bell didn’t. I just would not have anticipated those results.” 

Butt said he thought it helped McLaughlin that she was not a target of the city’s usual last-minute hit pieces, “but that can’t explain it all. Anyway, I’m glad to see it. I’m looking forward to working with her. She shares a lot of the same political things that I have. Of all the people on the council, I’m probably closest to her political interests than anybody.” 

Butt defined those interests as “environmental issues, planning issues, getting away from influences of industry and developers and large business and doing what’s right for the neighborhoods.” 

Richmond voters also decided to limit the nine-member City Council to 7 members, effective November 2008. 

Meanwhile, the Nov. 3 election did provide some financial relief for Richmond, as city voters easily approved a 0.5 percent sales tax increase for use in the city’s general fund with nearly 60 percent of the vote, and state voters approved Proposition 1A, a measure designed to limit the state’s raiding of city revenue sources. 

Richmond’s city finances hit bottom earlier this year with projections of a $21.3 million per year structural deficit and widespread rumors that the city might have to declare bankruptcy. Since then, according to City Finance Director Pat Samsell, the council did “yeoman’s work” in cutting the deficit, including a series of layoffs and position eliminations that cut 40 percent of the city’s general fund budgeted workforce, and dropping the city’s general fund budget from $114 million in fiscal year 2003-04 to $96.8 million in 2004-05. In addition, the city’s labor unions are currently voting on negotiated givebacks that could save the city even more. 

But in debates leading up to last week’s elections, council opponents continually pointed out that it was the current council that got the city in its fiscal difficulties in the first place. And Samsell cautioned that while Richmond was currently “over the major fiscal hump,” maintaining that position was dependent on the newly-elected council maintaining fiscal discipline. “They still have to be fiscally conservative,” he said. 

According Councilmember Butt, however, Richmond’s budget “is still a disaster” despite substantial progress made by the Council and City Manager Phil Batchelor last year in attacking the city’s fiscal problems.  

Butt said that assertions that Richmond has balanced its budget are only true if you leave out revenues still owed from years past. 

“[The city’s finance department] has said that we have a balanced budget for this year,” Butt said. “But that’s only because there were some one-time revenues cranked into it. I think we’re getting close to being able to adopt a balanced budget in future years without having to go to one-time revenues to do it, but my understanding is that we still have a cumulative deficit that’s going to keep rolling forward of somewhere between $18 million to $28 million, and that needs to be addressed. And until we deal with that, as far as I can tell, we don’t have a balanced budget.” 

A major revenue source the city is looking towards to close the cumulative deficit is the sale of publicly-owned land at Point Molate, on the Richmond waterfront. The city is considering two offers. One, from Berkeley developer James D. Levine and his Upstream Investments, comes with plans to turn it into a casino resort complex. The other, from ChevronTexaco, which wants the land for a security buffer for its refinery. Either offer would bring millions to the city. Councilmember Butt says he expects that issue to be resolved by the lame duck council before the end of the year, but if it doesn’t, the Point Molate decision will almost certainly be one of the first orders of business for the new City Council when it meets in January. 

McLaughlin said that the vote on the property should be put off, and not just until the new council is sworn in. 

“I hold the position that neither of these proposals should be taken,” she said, “but that we should hold onto Point Molate as public property until the right development comes along. We should keep most of it open space. And that was my position throughout the campaign.”›

The owner of an Oregon Street property where one UC student collapsed and later died—and where several student tenants were later arrested on drug dealing and illegal weapons charges—has called a meeting with neighbors of the property to hear their concerns about the incident. 

“I decided that being a good neighbor, a concerned neighbor, and a former resident of the neighborhood, that I wanted to hear those concerns,” said Cynthia LeBlanc, chief academic officer of the West Contra Costa Unified School District, who once lived at the Oregon Street property in the mid-1980s. “I think we share a common interest. We all want to make sure that we have stable, respectable persons in our neighborhood. My commitment is to do whatever I need to do to make that happen. That has always been my commitment.” 

In the immediate aftermath of the death and arrests two weeks ago, neighbors had called the two-house complex between Shattuck Avenue and Fulton Street a “problem property” that had been the subject of “several complaints” to LeBlanc about “problem tenants” for several years predating the tenancy of the arrested students. They accused LeBlanc of being nonresponsive, and said they were working on getting her to sell the property. 

All of the neighbors have asked not to be identified. 

LeBlanc called the charges untrue. 

“I don’t know on what basis they made that statement [about my being non-responsive],” she said “but I guess one of the things I’m trying to demonstrate—as I’ve always tried to demonstrate—is that once I’m called, I do respond. I’m not aware of any situation either where I was called directly or if they contacted the property management company and we did not respond. There are no outstanding complaints that I’m aware of. Absolutely none.” 

The Oregon Street property is managed by Bert Realty of Oakland. 

LeBlanc said that she has gone back through her records and the records of the realty company, and said she has found “very few complaints. I never have had an eviction there until this time, in my recollection. I’ve always had occupants of that property that are respectable. All of the occupants have always been thoroughly screened.” 

LeBlanc said that immediately upon hearing of the death and arrests, she evicted the four student tenants living in the two houses on the property. 

A neighbor who has been invited to the LeBlanc meeting says at least for now, she is satisfied with the progress that is being made in clearing up the problems at the property. “She sent someone down to clean up the property,” the neighbor said. In addition, a ramshackle shed behind the back cottage has been torn down.  

“I think that Cynthia is really trying,” she said, adding that “things have calmed down a little bit” in terms of the neighbors’ concerns.  

As for the incident that vaulted the Oregon Street property into the news, LeBlanc said that she was “totally surprised and upset” by the incident, and “very concerned. Certainly, I regret the loss of any life, for any reason. I was totally, totally unaware of anything that was occurring on that property. I had absolutely no knowledge. And once I found out, I took immediate action to stabilize the situation and to bring a sense of security to the situation there as best I could within the parameters I had.” 

The four roommates at the two-house complex have all pleaded innocent to the drug dealing and weapons charges, and will appear in Superior Court in Oakland on Dec. 8 to set a date for a preliminary hearing. In the meantime, law enforcement officials are still trying to determine the cause of death of UC Berkeley senior Patrick McCann, whose collapse and death led to the police raid on the property. McCann had illegal drugs in his system when he died.

Battling bids for Point Molate, a choice piece of city-owned waterfront property sought by two rival suitors, will once again confront the Richmond City Council Tuesday. 

The two offers were to be discussed during a 9 a.m. executive session, then again when the council holds its public meeting starting at 7 p.m. 

The item is carried on the council agenda as “Consider approving one of the two following proposals for Point Molate,” and the council could either adopt one of the proposals or continue the discussion to yet another meeting.  

ChevronTexaco, Richmond’s largest industry and principal employer, wants the site as a security buffer, and would restrict uses to industrial and associated commercial uses. 

Berkeley developer James D. Levine has teamed his Upstream Point Molate corporation with the world’s largest gambling firm and a Native American tribe to offer the city a super resort with hotels, high-end shopping and a massive casino.  

Levine’s consortium has offered a $20 million down payment, with an additional $2 million a year for the following 15 years. 

In addition, the Guidiville Rancheria band of Pomo tribespeople, who would own the site as a reservation, has agreed to compensate the city for required city services at the rate of an additional $8 million a year for the first eight years after gambling operations commence and $10 million annually thereafter. 

Other promised payments could bring the proceeds even higher—though approval for a casino is anything but certain. 

Chevron offers a $50 million payment as early as Dec. 23, another $5 million within ten days of signing to fund new jobs in the city, plus a special tax assessment of $1 million per year for 25 years as payments in lieu of property taxes, “though I expect there will also be some type of regular property taxes, too,” said a corporate spokesperson. 

The refinery also agrees to take the land on an “as is” basis. 

The offer also gives the city long-term use of a valuable 25-acre tract commercial/industry tract near the Richmond marina. 

Both developers promise parks and Bay Trail easements.  

Members of Berkeley’s Planning Commission are scheduled to discuss two controversial issues Wednesday—revisions to the city Landmarks Ordinance and proposed changes to commercial parking regulations—and may discuss a third. 

Discussion of the third topic depends on what the City Council does Tuesday night to move forward any of the various proposals for a new creeks ordinance. 

The planners will discuss how the council’s action, if any, will impact future commission actions. 

The session begins at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

—Richard Brenneman

VOTING MOTIVES 

Editors, Daily Planet 

Maybe I was naively uninformed, but I didn’t know that Karen Hemphill was African-American (Rivera, Selawsky Appear to Hold on to School Board Seats,” Daily Planet, Nov. 5-8). I hope she runs again. Next time it should be without a campaign manager who attributes anti-African-American motives to a portion of us voters who supported a different candidate. 

Bob Gable 

• 

ADDRESSING THE FACTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Now that the inevitable epithets and marginalizing has occurred perhaps we can address the facts. On behalf of the South Berkeley Crime Prevention Council, others and myself made numerous contacts with the Drop-in Center and City staff months before I considered entering the race for District 3. As usual, we were trying to resolve issues before they got worse and prevent crime and violence in our community. 

Let’s be perfectly clear, I never stated a position on homeless services. What I did illustrate was the error of only using anecdotal evidence as opposed to thorough assessment of all competing interest and program effectiveness in the allocation of public funds. I also commented on obvious inequities between South Berkeley and the rest of the city. 

Contrary to Sally Zinman statements in her letter defending the Drop-in Center, I spoke with her face-to face at the City Council meeting she refers to. In the spring, I discussed the lack of oversight of this nonprofit with directors of Berkeley Mental Health departments. I also dialoged with Drop-in Center volunteers at the South Berkeley Budget Forum when they advocated for refunding, the same volunteers who publicly admitted they needed police help to keep out the dealers from ducking into the Center to avoid detection. These overtures mostly fell on deaf ears, and this summer we saw increased crime and violence along Adeline. 

Why is it that Ms. Zinman cannot be fair and admit the Center has failed to maintain good relations with their neighbors, sufficiently supervise their operations or comply with the conditions of their use permit? Agreements made 10 years ago specifically to avoid this kind of disregard. 

Why is it that compassion is not a two-way street, that arrogance and name-calling is the standard for civic engagement in Berkeley? This tactics are central to the dysfunction of our city politics. 

Get beyond it and get real! 

Laura Menard 

• 

ABSENTEE BALLOTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The absentee ballots that we requested well before the deadline did not arrive by Oct. 29. We were leaving town for five days so we went down to Berkeley City Hall on the 29th to vote because we have cast ballots there before. We were very surprised to learn that we could not vote at City Hall. We were given a slip of paper that gave us driving instructions via the freeway to the Alameda County Courthouse on Oakland’s Lake Merritt. No instructions for public transportation were offered. Berkeley promotes the use of public transportation and its access facilities cause many differently abled people, elderly people and students to reside in Berkeley and use public transportation. I wonder how many people who rely on public transport were unable to vote and I wonder who made the decision to require Berkeley citizens to travel to Oakland to cast a ballot? We were told by the Alameda County Registrars Office on the 29th that our ballots had been mailed on Friday, Oct. 29, but we were allowed to vote a full regular ballot on a court house machine rather than a provisional partial ballot. The absentee ballots were not in our mailbox when we returned to Berkeley on Nov. 3. I wonder if they will ever arrive? I trust that the Daily Planet will urge the Berkeley City Council to work on behalf of Berkeley citizens to be certain that we can cast ballots in Berkeley. 

Sally Williams 

• 

RAISING MORALE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I cannot refrain from thanking Becky O’Malley, and profusely so, for her brilliant piece “Second Guessing the Voters Again” (Daily Planet, Nov. 5-8). Nothing has helped more to raise my battered morale after the recent election: She has razor-sharp understanding and a sense of humor to boot. May the Daily Planet enjoy a long and vigorous life!  

Bruce Nalezny 

• 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I have not seen Becky O’Malley this animated in her contributions in a long time. Unfortunately her opinion of “we are smarter than you” thing does not cut it. There is good reason why our system works not just for Berkeley but for the whole country whose aggregate wisdom I personally trust more than our provincial interests. On another asides Doug is actually right about these Diebold ballot systems. Being a programmer I cannot see how we can have absolute transparency unless we have access to the source code in the gizmos. 

Steve Pardee 

• 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I would like to respond to Nancy Feinstein’s commentary “Defeat of Tax Measures Favors Individuals, Not Common Good (Daily Planet, Nov. 5-8).”  

First, I think she should not assume everyone who voted against Measures J,K,L do not care about our community and social services. I am so appreciate to live in a city that cares about the disabled, the environment, and social services that I don’t mind supporting our community services through my property taxes each year. I actually voted for some of the measures but what motivated me to draw the line and say no to others was finances. Maybe Nancy needs to expand her mind and take a look at what is going on in this city. It is so expensive to live here! I want to keep my house and continue to live in Berkeley. I don’t think our council fully appreciates the fact that people of color are leaving this city because they cannot afford to live here, a large population lives on fixed incomes, and some seniors are losing their homes. If council has to make hard decisions on the budget-good! To hit up Berkeley residents time and again for money is irresponsible. We elect our councilmembers to handle tough issues not pass the buck-literally! 

T. Michai Freeman 

• 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Nancy Feinstein condemns the “no new tax” votes of “business owners, professionals and whoever else trying to make a living in whatever ways they do”. 

I am one of those “whoever else” people. I live in Berkeley, pay property taxes in Berkeley, and have raised two sons in Berkeley. I am also a BASTA! volunteer, who cares about services, schools and libraries. None of the above makes me uncaring or (God forbid!) a Republican. 

Instead, I and others understood the issues at hand. We want to be able to see our grown children stay in a city that has become more and more unfriendly to homeowners. I laud the response that other Berkeley citizens showed at the polls, and will continue to fight irresponsible government. 

As for the libraries: of course they are important, but if Ms. Feinstein would look at the numbers she would see that they are among the most generously funded of all city programs, but still are unable to live within their means.  

The band of BASTA! volunteers was outspent by the Mayor and his friends 7:1. Yet, the taxpayers understood the truth of our message. They are sick and tired of irresponsible wage/benefit packages, and 51+ commissions that continue to have staff, but serve little or no purpose. What we must now do is convince the mayor and council that it can no longer be business as usual. To this end, we must all work together. 

Miriam Wilson  

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

Are the Berkeley citizens who voted no on the local tax measures selfish neo-Bushies as Nancy Feinstein who have it or sophisticated city budget watchers as Barbara Gilbert believes (“City’s Failed Tax Measures: Mourning Vs. Morning After,” Daily Planet, Nov 5-8)? I would propose a third category: the practical bill-payers. To parse this further, there’s the homeowner who just paid the county property tax and wonders how to manage the rest of her obligations. Then there’s the property owner who still has the bill on his desk and wonders how to pay it before the penalty deadline of Dec. 10 and the tenants who know that tax increases will be passed on to them. 

In this recession, people are strapped for cash: low wage earners, the unemployed, the retired, the part-timers, the sick and disabled. And guess what, such working class folk and people on fixed incomes actually own property in Berkeley. Wealthier owners who bought their houses at more recent higher prices and thought they could afford the mortgage have discovered the added expenses of property maintenance. 

I would submit that people voted no simply to control the spending side of their household budgets, and that’s neither selfish nor sophisticated, it’s responsible. 

Toni Mester 

• 

HONORING BROWER AND THE EARTH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I recently heard that the Berkeley Arts Commission voted in favor of the sculpture that was made as a memorial to David Brower. I’m glad that the sculpture will be in Berkeley since this is where Brower lived and worked for so many years.  

I haven’t seen the sculpture but know that its basically is a huge globe, (45 feet in diameter), with a figure of Brower walking over it. Besides its size, it seems that the design has stirred up some controversy because the figure meant to be Brower can be interpreted as a white man setting out to dominate the world, rather than protect its fragile natural elements. An alternative offered by the artist, is to have Brower sitting on a bench looking at the world.  

While I think the bench alternative is an improvement, I’d like to suggest a third alternative that I think David Brower would be likely to have approved of. My suggestion is to leave the human figure out of the sculpture all together. Brower worked hard over his long life because he loved, and cared for the Earth. What better memorial could there be to him than to honor the Earth by showing it as a simple and beautiful globe, with his name and something about his dedicated work, inscribed on a memorial plaque?  

I think Brower might see a human figure, no matter where the placement, as out of scale next to the globe of the Earth. While it seems that the world is getting smaller and smaller because of our human technical abilities, in part it is still the experience of contrast in physical scale between the Earth and one individual human that allows us to feel the awesome power and beauty of nature that Brower loved so much.  

Fran Segal  

• 

MANDATE ME NOT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Fifty-one percent Bush/Cheney. Forty-eight percent Kerry/Edwards. An election too close to call till the morning after. One hundred fifty thousand Ohio votes away from President Kerry. Despite these slim margins and a deeply divided electorate, President Bush maintains he has a mandate and has earned “political capital” which he intends to “spend.” Excuse me, but a 3 percent margin of victory does not a mandate make. Nor does it provide a blank check to steamroll radical right political and moral agendas through Congress and into the classrooms, living rooms, bedrooms and wombs of everyday Americans. Bush clearly intends to do so, and unless we, the 48 percent who opposed Bush, remain vigilant and continue the struggle, there will be little political will in Washington to stop him from injecting religious fervor into legislation. This will result in a society where beliefs are dictated by Biblically backed laws and one’s moral decisions usurped by legislation mirroring religious doctrines. The foundations of this country (personal choice, dissent, and tolerance for differences) are under attack and, for the sake of our individual freedoms, I hope we do not let our energies of passionate opposition dissipate into contented acceptance of an election lost. 

Shu-Jon Mao 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

John Kenyon’s article on viewless apartments and the huge effect Patrick Kennedy’s Panoramic Interests is having on transforming Berkeley’s downtown and near-downtown served to remind me of how deeply Kennedy’s work and influence offends me for another reason (“Viewless Apartments Mar Buildings of Distinction,” Daily Planet, Nov. 5-8). 

I was not aware of the issue of viewlessness. But I have been particularly angered at his method of winning approval by holding out the promise of arts venues incorporated into some of his buildings, while finally offering unimproved raw concrete space that cash-starved arts groups could never afford to develop and use. 

I am forced by the location of the latest outrage, the Fine Arts Building on lower Shattuck, to walk, drive or bike by it several times a week and it positively makes me seethe! Some find the architecture itself or the building’s pistachio and stainless steel facade reason enough to dislike it. But for me the problem lies in the cruel irony of its “suggestion” of a cinema tower on the corner and—far worse!—an actual marquee...used to advertise vacancies, not upcoming movies! (Kennedy had, of course, at the outset of the project promised a new theater, art gallery, etc., and evidently managed to convince Keith Arnold, the proprietor of the movie house, not to oppose his plans.) 

Readers of the Daily Planet may recall an article this July by Richard Brenneman on the “death of the Fine Arts Cinema” which by then had been acknowledged as inevitable. He quoted Leslie Landberg (daughter of the original Fine Arts Cinema’s co-founder): “Anyone who crunched the numbers would’ve realized it wouldn’t work....It’s the same thing that happened with the Shotgun Players and the Gaia Building. Kennedy just uses these people for PR, then puts them over a barrel to say, ‘this is a done deal’. But somehow it never is.” 

I don’t know if he got any density bonuses for the Fine Arts, the way he did with the Gaia. I sure hope not. The only thing of which I am sure is that he’s making out like the proverbial bandit—and our community is left robbed of arts space that could have been or, even more bittersweet, was and will never be again. 

And to add insult to injury: we’ll live for the life of the building with the symbol of what we lost. 

Is this guy a piece of work, or what? 

Donna Mickleson 

• 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Ken Bullock’s review of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, performed by the Berkeley Repertory Theater, while certainly well-written, makes an ironic and critical mistake. The well-researched review misses the many compelling and emotionally engaging meanings of the play. According to Tony Taccone, Artistic Director of the BRT, Sarah Ruhl’s work “say(s) something about the world we live in” “through metaphor.” This magical synthesis of set, lighting, script and direction (as well as the strong presence of the cast), delivered an innovative transformation from classic to essential contemporary theater experience. 

By shifting the center of this classic tale to from Orpheus (musician who is driven to reunite with his dead lover) to Eurydice (a clever woman with a cherished deceased father), Ruhl gives us a version that is both surprising and heart warming. Not old-school feminism at all, but rather a Neo-feminist rendition, the play extends to its audience a refreshing tenderness and creative devotion between daughter and father. This critical human relationship, depicted so well through Sarah’s delicate language, is expressed with great eloquence through the simple metaphors of water, light, rebirth and death.  

Eurydice (Maria Dizzia) is eased into the underworld through the breaking of silence, the telling of stories and the “creation of a spiritual home ” by her father (Charles Shaw Robinson). The Father enters the world of the silent stones in a ritualized suicide after her disappearance from the Underworld. As Eurydice duplicates this sad choice, the enduring devotion between parent and adult-child hangs in the air of the shimmering set. The aqua light, the sound and sight of water both amplifies and comforts our grief for them.  

But there is more! So much more that sadly Bullock’s review missed: the charming allure of the Nasty Interesting & Lord of the Underworld whom Eurydice tricks and escapes not once but twice! And the subtle failure of her relationship and marriage to Orpheus to inspire a strong and enduring connection.  

By expecting that the play have the same emphasis as the many renditions Bullock so tediously recounts in his review, Mr. Bullock’s eye was perhaps a bit dull and insensitive to the many meanings of this innovative and enjoyable work of theater.  

Michelle T. Clinton 

Richmond 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

It seems the Daily Planet failed in “Covering the [Entire] World of Berkeley” in its post-election edition, particularly in Becky O’Malley’s editorial. Hard as it may be to stomach, there are actually those of us in Berkeley who are proud, delighted, and relieved that President Bush was elected * again. We’re not evil right wing religious zealots (a neighbor’s definition). We’re not stupid backwoods rednecks. We’re not war mongers, homophobes, or oil barons. And we’re not geographically misplaced voters. We are, in fact, Berkeley natives (i.e., “indigenous peoples”). Some of us attend church, some of us don’t. We are products of Berkeley’s public and parochial schools; we even attended UC Berkeley. We are old, young, and middle-aged. We are Democrats and Republicans. 

Our views of life and the world and our place in them (i.e., our “phony moral values,” according to Ms. O’Malley) are as sacred to us as the “real” moral values spewed at us for the past 40 years on Berkeley’s streets, from its church pulpits, in our schools, on the campus, and in publications like the Planet. We’ve listened, we’ve discussed, we’ve been patient, we’ve fought back. Our views, tested through time and experience, have remained precious to us, even through repeated personal and public ridicule and condemnation by those among us who claim moral, intellectual, social, and religious superiority as well as a monopoly on practicing tolerance and understanding justice.  

Believe it or not, Ms. O’Malley, some of us are even stupid enough to prefer Disneyland to the annual embarrassment of the How Berkeley Can You Be parade. 

Congratulations on a second term, Mr. Bush! 

Jeanne Gray Loughman 

• 

AMERICA WON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

President Bush is truly a great leader. We will be safe for the next four years with Bush leading the way to world peace. 

The liberals, the United Nations, and the Europeans are crying because Bush will not allow any of them to veto our ability to fight for freedom and liberty. 

Long live President Bush! 

Sidney Steinberg 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

There’s the little business of the presidential election process itself. It entailed a lack of a paper trail, screens that incorrectly recorded votes for a different candidate, systems crashing, inadequate staffing (for just one day!), absentee forms disappearing or not delivered, Diebold’s statement that he’d do anything to elect Bush, continued disenfranchisement, and numerous other “voter irregularities.” It adds up to a more finessed effort than in 2000 with the same result.  

Consider this: A national movement to pledge to boycott the 2008 presidential election until and unless the election process is cleaned up. At this point, there’s nothing left to lose. Consider not cooperating with the corruption of a democratic bedrock. More than anything, the government needs the façade of democracy. That façade can be challenged by a time honored nonviolent action, the boycott.  

Let’s take heart from Native Americans and African Americans, among others, who fight on despite all odds.  

Maris Arnold  

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

In the barrage of last minute get out the vote ‘robo-calls’ —from Loni Hancock, Barbara Lee, Eli Paraiser of MoveOn.org, etc.—definitely the strangest was the recording from Jerry Brown warning me of the 25,000 criminals that would be released from prison if the moderate three-strikes rollback, Prop. 66, were passed. (I’ve read elsewhere that this was false.) How far we’ve come when our own “Gov. Moonbeam”, who’s father stood against the death penalty at the risk of losing his own governorship, which he did, and who supposedly represents our enlightened California mindset, could come this far. Joining Arnold and former Gov. Pete Wilson, he helped defeat this attempt to correct the excesses of three-strikes. How sad. He must be running for some new office, possibly attorney general? 

Chris Gilbert 

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After my husband’s accident, when he was transferred to Kaiser’s Redwood City Neurology Department, I was told not to leave valuables in his room. I was warned again when Ralph was sent to Kaiser’s Vallejo Rehabilitation Center. 

I’ve heard it many times since, in and around the dozens of hospital rooms Ralph has occupied in the past 10 years. “Remove all personal belongings,” a nurse will advise. “You never know who might come in and take from the sick and suffering.” 

But pilfering has not been a problem during our hospitals stays. It’s when we come home that the trouble begins. Lost, missing, and unaccounted for items and cash have become the norm in our daily life. It started with the first person we hired to help with Ralph’s care. A middle-aged man answered our ad for a live-in attendant. 

He arrived by bus carrying a small paper bag filled with his belongings and a resume that claimed he was a theology student. Back then, I relied on things like work histories and references to make hiring decisions. It was before I realized that recommendations from “friends” of the applicant meant virtually nothing, and a resume was simply a piece of paper with words on it. 

The “theologist” lasted three days in our employment before it became evident that he could not make a sandwich for himself, let alone help Ralph out of bed. I sent him packing with his belongings, too stressed to notice that he left with three paper bags instead of his original one.  

But I didn’t care. What importance were possessions when my husband was wrestling with the fact that he would never use his arms or legs again? 

That first experience of theft under our roof was only the beginning of a long, painful indoctrination into what I have decided is the fine line between stealing and sharing, the trade-off I am willing to make in order to get care for my husband, and respite for me.  

I’ve lost count of how many helpers we have had in the past 10 years, and I refuse to inventory the missing items, or count up the amount of vanished cash. It would only serve to make me depressed and question my sanity. Others who have been in our position will understand the dilemma, and those who do not, well, bless you for being so lucky.  

One of the after effects of a traumatic accident like Ralph’s is adjusting ones values and morals to a different set of codes in order to survive. We now exist on the marginal edges of society. It’s where we fit in best. Ralph and I have learned to compromise, modify, concede and negotiate for his right to get up in the morning, for my right to get out of the house. It has not been easy, but it has worked. 

When my deceased grandmother’s gold watch went missing, I blamed myself for leaving it on a bureau, in plain sight of anyone who might walk by. When money disappeared from my purse, I knew I needed to be more careful. When checks were cashed that we didn’t write, I had to have them canceled. 

I once caught an attendant with his hand in my wallet. “What are you doing?” I asked. “Your money was falling out,” he said. “I’m putting it back for you.” “Thank you,” I answered. 

Recently a credit card company called to warn that unusual purchases had been made with my Chevron card. “Like what?” I asked. “Two full tanks of gas were purchased at the same time about an hour ago,” they said. “And twelve BabyRuth candy bars were also bought with the card.” 

“Don’t cancel the card,” I said. “It’s a family kind of thing.”  

When our employee/housemate returned home in time to help me get Ralph ready for an appointment, I asked him if he had gotten gas for our car.  

“Of course,” he said. “You left it empty.”  

“You wouldn’t happen to have a BabyRuth on you, would you?” I asked.  

“Why yes,” he said, pulling one from his pocket to share with me. “How’d you guess?” 

“No reason,” I said. “But if you’ve got more, I’d like two.” 

›

10:25 a.m. Cinnamon calls. She has hepatitis C and diabetes. She is hard of hearing, and lives in a coffin size space above a garage. She is worried about whether she will be able to get a real apartment with her five cats. She also is having a problem with a raccoon who is stealing the cat food. The raccoon is very aggressive and even climbs up the ladder into her loft. She is also worried about her daughter, who lives in Sacramento and was busted for amphetamines. She will be out of jail in December, but will come out without anything. She has lost custody of her children and will be homeless. Cinnamon called just to say hello and to hear a kind voice. 

11:15 a.m. I’m in the car on the way to get a cup of tea, I listen to Kerry’s concession speech calling for unity and healing, and I’m furious. What is he talking about? We should just forget Iraq? The dying and the dead? The flag draped coffins? The despair of our cities? The melting of the polar icecaps? It’s as if for him the election was an intramural touch football game, after which both sides can go out for a beer. This is no time for unity. It’s the beginning of a life-and-death struggle. Fuck him. 

12:00 noon. At the Nomad café. Coffee drinkers occupy every burnished steel table. Their laptops are open in front of them. So it was yesterday, and so it will be tomorrow. The waitress is wearing a knit sweater, because it’s cold. The sky has clouded over and gone gray.  

1:30 p.m. At the east end of the People’s Park, a police officer is ticketing the belongings of homeless people that have been left unattended. Sparks walks up with a bag of chips, and curses. He’d only been gone a few minutes and now he has a ticket. I remind him that he has court at 3:30 p.m. 

3:30 p.m. Sparks shows up in Berkeley traffic court, for trial on a citation he received for panhandling at the freeway off ramp at Gilman street. The Highway Patrol officer who gave him a ticket is a woman in her late thirties. She’s in her tan uniform, with her pant legs tucked into knee high black boots. She describes for the court, driving by, seeing Sparks standing with a sign, stopping, and giving him the ticket. And then she says that he was very pleasant and polite, and that he was not one of the regulars whom she sees over and over again, and that she would not at all mind if the court reduced the fine. Commissioner Rantzman, smiles and asks whether she is making a motion to dismiss. She says that whatever the court would like to do would be O.K. with her. Commissioner Rantzman looks over at us and says that given yesterday’s events, he doubts that there will be much compassionate conservatism coming out of Washington and therefore he feels it would be appropriate to exercise some here today. And he dismisses the ticket. And I thank the court and the officer and walk out thinking all is not lost, that we will still find good in unexpected places. 

6:00 p.m. I take the BART train to San Francisco and join a march up Market Street from Powell, led by drummers pounding away in the back of a flatbed truck. The bullhorns blare the familiar chants: “Free Free Palestine.” “The People United Will Never Be Defeated.” “End the Occupation.” A person holds up a big sign saying “9/11 was an inside job.” Another: “He never was my president and he never will be.” And then there’s the one that most succinctly expresses my feelings: “Fuck this.” The night is cool but it has stopped raining. There are perhaps 2,000 of us. We stop briefly for a rally at the Mission police station, then head down Van Ness to 24th Street and Mission. I thought it would be good to be with kindred spirits and to demonstrate that the struggle will continue. But by the time the march ends, I’m tired, and have to pee rather badly, and as an effigy of Bush is burned in the intersection, and the police put on their helmets, I realize it all feels very very old. I’ve done this too many times, and our march seems such an inadequate response to the enormity of what has happened.  

I know without a doubt that at this very moment great waves of depression are sweeping through the left. And we will be urged, with the optimism that is mandatory for engaged people, not to give in to despair, to organize; to attend where-do-we-go-from-here conferences, to escalate our activism, to participate in more protest marches, to remain active, engaged, connected. This is as it should be. But we will all feel a sinking feeling that nothing we do seems to matter; that they are out of control, that they are more powerful than ever. Just for tonight, I choose not to turn away from that feeling. I admit that I imagine making an internal migration. It would be nice to tend my private garden, to give more time to art, to writing, and to family. For this evening I pause to acknowledge the depth of the catastrophe, before moving on.  

Osha Neumann is a Berkeley-based atttorney. A version of this story was published by AlterNet.›

The exit polls that showed a sweeping victory for Sen. Kerry on Nov. 2 were right. Unfortunately, the 2004 presidential election was cleanly stolen by Bush & Co. How, you say? With the help of Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia and SAIC, four interlocked secretive right-wing electronic voting machine manufacturers. We have entrusted the most important election task, that of actually counting and tabulating the vote totals to extremist organizations with secret proprietary vote-counting computer software with no auditable paper trail for hand recounts. How very convenient, how very clean, how very slick and with all the evidence of election rigging is buried deep on their computer hard drives. 

Sen. Kerry won a landslide victory by between two million and five million votes. The pre-election public opinion polls pointed to a large and growing Kerry election day majority and the election day exit polls also indicated a Kerry victory. Unfortunately, theocratic extremely right-wing computer election machine manufacturing corporations were in charge of “counting” the votes of millions and millions of Americans. Some how, a few million Kerry votes didn’t get counted and a few million bogus Bush votes showed up in the final election tallies and voila, a Bush “victory.” 

Democracy in 21st century America has been kidnapped and destroyed by extreme right-wing control of the new secret computerized electronic vote counting systems. Verifiable hand-counted paper ballots are the only way to restore legitimate elections in America.  

Just search the Internet for any terms such as “black box voting,” “Max Cleland,” “Diebold,” “Sequoia,” “SE&S,” “Greg Palast,” “election fraud” or “election theft” and you will find a wealth of information to help arm you in the coming fight to restore legitimate free elections and democracy in our country. 

In 2002, the Republican Party staged their test run of controlling the new Diebold computerized paper-trail-free electronic voting systems that were installed in every precinct in the State of Georgia. It worked like a charm. Two popular Democratic incumbents, the Gov. Roy Barnes and Sen. Max Cleland, were both “defeated” by Republican challengers. The Democrats were both ahead by several points in both the pre-election voter opinion polls and in the election day exit polls, yet the Diebold voting machines declared the two Republican challengers as winners. The local media claimed to be “amazed” by this election “upset.” 

They should have been horrified and outraged. These elections were stolen electronically. There was no paper trail, no recount was possible and for good measure, Diebold Corporation “accidentally erased” the disputed 2002 election returns data from their computer hard disk drives a few days after the election. How convenient, how clean, how slick and how crooked is Republican election theft in the 21st century. 

The 2000 and 2004 presidential elections were both stolen by Bush & Co. The 2008 and 2012 presidential elections will suffer the same fate unless we institute a complete and total return to traditional, verifiable hand-counted paper election ballots.  

The Republican Party will never lose another presidential election as long as we allow their corporate buddies to “count” our votes in secret.  

James K. Sayre is an Oakland resident. 

3

7 a.m. on election morning found me trudging through the frozen streets of Boulder, Colo. to the county Democratic headquarters. Twelve hours later, having dispatched hundreds of volunteers to Boulder and the surrounding counties, I helped shut down the office and then gleefully proceeded to the “victory” party. I thought we had won; the information we received during the day suggested that Kerry would carry Colorado and win overall. 

Alas, I was mistaken. Kerry did win in Boulder, and most of the counties that our office covered, but he lost crucial Jefferson county, and the state. My experience paralleled that of Democratic volunteers in other swing states: we worked hard, registered many new voters, cajoled the undecided, mobilized a massive turnout, and we still lost. 

What can be learned from this experience? Two lessons immediately jump out. One is that the underlying theme of this election was not the war in Iraq or the economy, but rather values. Exit polls asked voters what the decisive issue was in determining their vote. The most frequently cited issue was “moral values.” Of those who felt this way, 80 percent voted for Bush. The importance of values also explains what seems on the surface to be a contradictory poll result: voters who believed that “terrorism” was the most important issue voted overwhelmingly for Bush—86 percent, his strongest issue—but those who believed that “Iraq” was the most important issue preferred Kerry. My experience interviewing republicans indicated that they saw the war against Terrorism as a moral conflict, and therefore viewed Bush as more capable of leading this fight because “He’s a Christian.” Republicans separated the war in Iraq from the war on terrorism. Their attitude seems to be that we are losing the battle in Iraq but we will win the war, the crusade against terrorism, because George Bush is a strong Christian leader. 

The Kerry campaign was never successful in seizing the values “turf.” Part of this failure can be attributed to the scurrilous “Swift boat” campaign, which convinced many voters that Kerry was a person of poor moral character. This perception was reinforced by the Republican theme that Kerry was a “flip-flopper.” Taken together, these assaults had an enormous impact. The exit polls showed that Bush dominated Kerry on character issues such as “honest/trustworthy,’ “clear stand on issue,” and “strong leader.” 

The religious right fully mobilized and grew in power in this election. Of those who attend church at least weekly, 61 percent voted for Bush (Protestants were at 70 percent.) Christian conservatives relentlessly pushed their issues: prohibition of abortion and gay marriage. For this audience, these issues were paramount. I had born-again friends who disapproved of Bush’s conduct of the war in Iraq and his handling of the economy, but still voted for him because he was against abortion and gay marriage. 

Kerry lost in Colorado but Democratic Senatorial candidate Ken Salazar won. Salazar ran a socially conservative campaign: he was for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and against federal funding for abortions. Salazar beat Republican Pete Coors because, in the eyes of many religious conservatives, Salazar was seen as having the better moral character. 

The second lesson to be learned from this bitter defeat is that Democrats were out-organized. Democrats raised a lot of money, and put up a valiant get-out-the-vote effort here in Colorado and other swing states, but the Republicans raised more money and did equally well getting out the vote. While 89 percent of Democrats voted for Kerry, 93 percent of Republicans voted for Bush. That four percent difference decided the election. (Rather than garner a substantial majority of independent voters, Kerry attracted 49 percent versus Bush’s 48 percent.)  

I got deeply enough involved in the Colorado Democratic get-out-the vote effort that I saw evidence of systemic problems. For example, there was an indigenous Kerry campaign here, before the Democratic National Committee (DNC) got involved. Once the DNC determined that Colorado was going to be a swing state, they sent in political operatives and money. In most counties the DNC involvement was heavy handed; they seized control of the Kerry campaign and treated the locals like peons. (Fortunately, this was not true in Boulder, where the DNC folks and the Boulder Dems worked effectively together.) 

When I was waging technology battles in Silicon Valley I learned the lesson that while it is important to work hard, it is even more important to work smart. Democrats in Boulder County worked hard and they worked smart. I don’t believe this was true in the rest of the state. 

On Nov. 3 I participated in a post-mortem with my new Boulder friends. We were sad, but hopeful. The group agreed that we could build upon our Boulder accomplishments and pledged to fight on. Interestingly, we all believed that the long-term future of the Democratic Party rests with Barack Obama. When he runs for president, in 2012 or 2016, Democrats have to have our act together. If we start work now, we will be able to ensure this. 

Bob Burnett is working on a book about the Christian Right.›

Berkeley, what are we seeing about ourselves this morning? Many of us woke up this morning feeling a deep depression about the state of our country, especially as we absorbed the vast numbers of people who supported the arrogant, self-serving, mean spiri ted leadership of our president. I, like many others in Berkeley, felt marginalized in my perspectives about everything from international policy and national priorities to individual and social concerns. But when I look at my own community, I see some of the same trends that I see in the national results. I am heart sick at the defeat of Measures J, K, L and M—which would have paid for youth programs, libraries, police, fire and other front-line services. In the decision to save those of us who might hav e had to spend a few hundred dollars a year, from having to spend those dollars, I see a community that is trying to “protect” individuals at the cost of our commonwealth. Sound familiar?  

In Berkeley, like many other places all over, many of us feel mor e pressed financially than we felt five years ago as well as more worried about our childrens’ future and the future of the world. And when I look at the local election results, I see us responding to our fears, by doing exactly what Republicans have been trying to make us do in response to our fears, i.e. think about how each one of us can take care of “me and mine” better (the first step of which is always to tighten our own pocketbooks). The Republicans want us to turn away from believing that what wi ll take care of each of us, is to do whatever it takes to make our communities stronger—whether they be local, national, or international communities. They want us to turn away from those who argue that we need to increase our generosity with each other d uring hard times, rather than accept a scarcity model that has us holding on, for dear life, to our individual piece of “security.” 

But it is strong community, and a sense that people will come forward to take care of each other, (each and every one of u s) in hard times, that gives people a real sense of security, as well as a hope in humanity and the world. It is continuing to invest in community—especially in the hard times—that will help our children not feel as afraid to inherit the world they are gr owing up in. It is not solutions that imply that we should watch out because our civil servants are incompetent, or trying to milk us, that truly help our children, (or any of us for that matter), to feel less afraid.  

There are segments of our community, who have become increasingly proud of themselves simply because they are willing to not feel “pressured” to toe what they consider to be the Berkeley “correct” line. These segments have begun to associate “integrity” with being the person who is willing to fiercely stand up to another segment of our community—rather than to define integrity as that part in each of us that enables us to do what is difficult to do as an individual, because we understand that it is in the service of the common good to do s o (emphasis on “in the service of the common good”).  

And what does it mean, anyway, to join the Right in pointing the finger at government, or civil servants for our problems? It is government; our elected representatives and civil servants who spend th eir every working hour trying to serve the public good. We are pointing our fingers at the non-profit entities in our communities—e.g. libraries for heavens sake, as the source of problems and pressures we are each feeling. I am sure that there are inefficiencies in government, and that there are things that are not perfect in the ways that money is spent in government. (These are problems one finds in the private sector as well). But I look at our city representatives and civil servants as the people in our community who most have to deal with the economic and social disparities of our town. It is 

they who are devoting their work lives to trying to deal with some of the trickiest challenges facing our society, (including representing the will of supposed ly one of the most progressive communities in the country). Could the people who backed BASTA—the people in those businesses and associations do these jobs better? Whether or not they could, they are not the ones who have chosen to devote their lives to t rying. They are business owners, professionals, and whoever else, trying to make a living in whatever ways they do. But they are not dealing with the limited resources and growing needs of our community as a whole. 

Shame on those of us who have voted dow n raising our taxes to support city services; the city’s request of us that we tighten our individual belts to enable our Berkeley to hold on to our community values. In this moment of history, with Bush and the Republicans pushing the public to believe t hat the problems we are experiencing are caused by government and will be alleviated if we cut taxes, what does it mean that we, in Berkeley, find people in our midst making the same arguments. And what does it mean that we, in Berkeley, supported those v oices? In the wake of the tax cuts many of us have received from the Republican-controlled congress, their unfunded mandates and cuts to all kinds of human services, what does it mean that we feel that we cannot raise our local taxes? 

When each of us, wh ether we voted for, or against these measures, feels depressed and incredulous at the support for Bush and his administration throughout this country, let us look to what we need to do to change the dynamics within our own community. Let us prepare for th e next election in which the same needs will be there, and the same arguments will be made against putting any more of “our own money” to meet the needs. Let us prepare to answer even the argument that it is not worth giving any more money to our city government services until the city gets rid of all its efficiency problems. 

Our children deserve to see this community of adults as role models of generosity, role models of knowing the importance to our own sanity, and even world peace, of our taking care of “the other,” and asserting a public priority on serving every member in our community. Our children deserve to believe that it is possible to live together in community without believing that in order to meet individual needs we have to close our eyes to the needs of the community as a whole. Let us show them that “go it alone” and “take care of ourselves” are not every American’s reaction to hard times.  

Nancy Feinstein is a North Berkeley resident. 



Like at least half the nation, I woke up Nov. 3 stunned with the dreadful news that Kerry had conceded Ohio and Bush had somehow managed to carry the nation despite extensive organizing and united efforts by the left to change the course of our country. Leaving Ohio on the long trek home to Berkeley, the Kerry/Edwards lawn signs were tattered along the side of the Ronald Reagan highway here in Cincinnati, Ohio, and my Mazda wore its “Nothing Accomplished” bumper-sticker as a badge of defiance. Despite our failure to carry Southern Ohio, there are tremendously important lessons to extract from the past few weeks of our Get Out The Vote efforts, and we need to begin planning now to make the 2006 mid-terms a true turning point for our country. 

We always knew that Ohio was going to be one of the most pivotal states in the 2004 election, and there was no other place I would rather be in the weeks leading up to the election. Of the plethora of 527’s working in Ohio, I landed a job with MoveOn PAC’s Leave No Voter Behind campaign, and I drove 2,700 miles across the country to begin pouring my heart and soul into this grassroots effort to get every democrat out to the polls in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. 

Our office started early and ended late, working seven days a week, 14 to 19 hours a day. We made thousands of calls, we trained hundreds of volunteers, we organized canvassing operations in precincts with high numbers of Democrats with spotty voting records. Ultimately, our office of twelve organizers managed to motivate almost 9,000 Democrats to get out to the polls. Coupled with the intense registration and mobilization efforts of America Coming Together, VoteMob, and other progressive groups, we managed to make 2004 a net loss for Bush and Cheney in Southern Ohio and we almost changed the fate of the nation. The question we are all asking ourselves now is: how will we improve our efforts so that by 2006 we will translate the outpouring of support and enthusiasm into a truly grassroots movement with serious legs of its own. 

One useful way to consider the disparate groups is what they each bring to the table. MoveOn PAC, for example, came up with a brilliant web-based interface that allowed any Joe Citizen to come in off the street, get a password, and immediately start canvassing his own neighborhood. This allowed for regular folks to participate in the campaign in a meaningful way at their convenience. Generally, once they realized the tangible effect their efforts were going to have on the outcome of the race, they poured more and more of their energy into the campaign. 

America Coming Together put together a fantastic operation and registered hundreds of thousands of extra voters. The AFL/CIO component gave them considerable organizational capacity and after a year of work on the ground their local knowledge held tremendous potential to translate into a Kerry landslide. 

Other 527’s put together equally laudable efforts, but ultimately we failed to translate the enormous preparations into adequate numbers of real voters on election day. One huge short-coming was a lack of coordination between the various Get Out The Vote efforts. Our office ended up wasting a considerable amount of our efforts in precincts that were already being covered by A.C.T., while other needy precincts were neglected because of a failure to identify and target swing neighborhoods in earlier phases of the campaign. 

Beyond these coordination issues which can easily be remedied through cooperation between the designers of these campaigns, there is the fundamental issue of progressives playing to their strengths. The Republicans have proven that they have perfected mobilizing their core constituents in getting to the polls. The correct response is not to abandon our principles and cater to the hollow “family values” message that has lulled so many Christian Americans to effectively sign their own death sentences, voting against their economic and moral interests to support corporate warmongers. No, the correct response is to reach out and provide a truly responsive and tangible political apparatus to the tens of millions of working poor who are alienated by the American political system. The Republicans may have evangelicals, but we have Black Baptists, Universalists, Quakers, progressive Catholics, and interpreters of the Bible who are compelled by Christ’s emphasis on social justice and peace.  The Republicans may have the N.R.A., but we’ve got A.C.O.R.N., the Sierra Club, N.O.W., and hundreds of community-based groups just waiting to be mobilized. 

We need to recognize that despite the disappointing results of the 2004 Election, the vast majority of the country wants fiscal responsibility, environmental sustainability, and to fulfill the simple obligation that we leave our world better off for the next generation. The coming calamity of the Bush administration’s short-sighted foreign and domestic policies may soon be manifest in a catastrophic economic collapse, and (God-forbid) another 9/11-scale attack. As progressives, we need to be prepared to rebuild our country and we cannot depend on the Democratic Leadership Council to mark the path out of the miasma they’ve created by catering to the dwindling center. 

The onus is now on the people of this country to take our country back, and we need to use our own tools (MoveOn, ACT, VoteMob, Dean’s Democracy For America, not the DNC) to grab the reins of our this nation and get our country back on track. 

Teddy Miller, a Berkeley High and UC Berkeley graduate, received a graduate degree in development studies from the London School of Economics this year. He headed for Cincinnati, Ohio to work on the presidential election for MoveOn PAC as a team leader. He had passed the Foreign Service exam, intending to work to help President Kerry recover the United States' damaged image abroad, but now intends to go to law school in the fall and continue work for success in the mid-term elections in 2006.›

It has all the makings of a party: chips, pizza, beer, bourbon, a projection screen and an amp. The mood, however, is dour at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Public Policy.  

This decision has yet to be made, but optimism is grossly lacking among the 80 students and friends have gathered to watch the election. Florida’s not even close. Ohio’s not looking close enough. The popular vote is skewing Bush, the enlarged U.S. map is cloaking the school building in red, and glum faces reflect the realization that regardless of who wins, we left-coasters are in the minority. 

The first W win was easier to stomach. Lefties maintained a sense of superiority – after all we had the popular vote, and if you threw Nader on top of the pile, the country was clearly on our side. In 2000 Democrats and liberals responded with a brazen assault of satire and sarcasm. They painted Bush as an idiot, a talking monkey on the Vice President’s lap. We bathed in glow of the Saturday Night Live sketches. “See America?” we thought. “See what an idiot our president is?” 

Two years later, the “Democrat majority” lost the Senate, bucking a longstanding trend of the sitting president’s party losing Congressional seats in mid-term elections. The “Democrat Majority” responded with kooky e-mail forwards. We used 9-11 to explain away the Senate shift. We made dates for Bowling for Columbine. “See America?” we pleaded. “See how your president is manipulating you?” 

Four months later, the United States invaded Iraq under a reactionary premise of preemption. The “Democrat Majority” took to the streets in San Francisco, Boston, New York, and Chicago. We signed on-line petitions. We petitioned our city councils to pass a resolution opposing the war. We got on the bandwagon of a Democrat unknown called Governor Dean. And we started donating a whole bunch of money. “See America?” we shouted. “See what a force we can be?” 

A year later, Governor Dean imploded. We jumped horses to another New Englander, Senator Kerry. We started hearing about the Republican war chest. We started hearing about Republican tampering with the voter registration process. The “Democrat Majority” donated in record amounts. We got on buses and airplanes. We registered voters. We exposed fraud. We filed lawsuits. “See America?” we pounded. “See these compassionate conservative values?” 

Election Day 2004 is drawing to a close, and regardless of who wins tonight (or whenever this election will be decided), the “Democrat Majority” has been made plainly aware that it is in the minority. We from Boston, from New York, from D.C., from California, who have gathered in Berkeley, are coming out of a cocoon we have built out of satirical articles, liberal documentaries, and wishful thinking. There is a big, red country staring us in the face, and it doesn’t believe in gun control, gay rights, or a woman’s right to choose.  

Regardless of who wins tonight, the new “Democrat Minority” needs to wake up tomorrow and smell the country. From Idaho to Florida, the country does not see eye-to-eye with the blue states. The challenge of the Democrat Minority, and the challenge that I and my classmates face, is one of showing America what we believe this country can, and should be. The challenge cannot be met by Kerry’s vague “plan.” It cannot be met by another e-mail forward. It certainly cannot be met by another Michael Moore movie.  

The challenge for conveying Democratic values on a majority Republican country is one of talking, of listening, and of fighting for what we believe in: civil liberties, health care for all, a clean environment, and a government that solves problems domestically and abroad. In six months, my classmates and I will be let loose from the People’s Republic of Berkeley. Some of us will be headed to red states. All of us will be faced with a nation of challenges. It is my hope that we will face those challenges head on, and not hide under a fresh pile of satire. 

Ian Hart is a masters student in public policy at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School.  

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Now that the election is over, there is sure to be a push from the White House to abolish the scourge of the 2004 election season—political 527 groups. Doing this, however, would be a serious mistake. 

Whether you like the results of Tuesday’s election o r not and whether you found the spate of negative television commercials aired by 527s despicable or informative, one thing is indisputable: 527s registered millions of new, previously disenfranchised voters and the casting of their ballots strengthened o ur democracy. 

As many people already know, 527 groups started growing in size and influence after passage of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law that curtailed the campaign activities of political parties. Getting their name from the pro vision in the IRS code that governs them, 527s spent tens of 

millions of dollars registering new voters. 

Should 527s be given the credit for the record turnout of 120 million people who voted on Tuesday? 

There were many factors that helped create Tuesda y’s staggering turnout: deeply held beliefs about the war in Iraq, moral values, the economy and future threats of terrorism. But this does not tell the full story—there have always been great issues and stark choices before the American electorate. The V ietnam War, Watergate and sexual scandal were also motivating issues, but they never inspired the same level of voter participation. 

The difference this election was the role of catalyst that 527s played with marginal citizens. 527s groups sought out peo ple in this ‘unregistered class’ and brought them into the electoral fold. Through strong organizations, aggressive outreach and solid follow up by 527s, the unregistered added their names to the voting rolls and cast ballots for the first time. 

Many peo ple do not focus on the voter registration work of the 527s, but instead see only the unrelenting carpet-bombing of negative television ads that were unleashed by advocates of both presidential candidates. While these ads were often distasteful, to abolish 527s because of it would be shortsighted and unfair. 

America has always had negative political advertising (attack pamphlets were used against Abraham Lincoln) and we have always risen above it. Instead, what our country has truly been hampered by is elections in which only small segments of our population vote.  

For too long an ever-shrinking segment of America was voting and making choices for the rest of the country. Like a family meeting around the kitchen table that excludes half the clan, the p aucity of perspectives weakens the quality of the decisions made. 

For most of our country’s history, laws and harassment prevented some Americans from voting. Property requirements, poll taxes, literacy tests and outright bans on voting based upon gender or race made America a poorer nation. These institutional barriers have largely been removed, but America created a new invisible obstruction for itself that kept voters at home; rampant apathy caused by political leaders who failed to inspire those on t he margins.  

With President Bush reelected and a stronger Republican majority in Congress, there is certain to be an effort next January to choke off the funding sources for 527s. While the GOP was able to play a solid game of catch-up during this election cycle with their own 527s, it was Democrats who elevated this form of campaign strategy to an art form. Republicans may gain a slight partisan advantage if 527s are abolished or financially neutered, but it is our country that will be the real loser. 

It is far from certain if the voters signed up by 527s will vote again anytime soon. They need constant cajoling and inspiring in a way that apparatchiks from the two major parties were never able to do. It seems that only 527s and their legions of young people who look like and understand the disaffected can truly reach these voters on the fringes of our democracy. 

We know the American house of democracy stands far stronger with all of its citizens inside, even the disenfranchised. Until someone can fin d another way to bring these marginal voters into the process, the 527s offer our best hope at keeping them where they need to be: inside, with the rest of us. 

Jason Alderman is director of the Bay Area Center for Voting Research (www.votingresearch.org), a non-partisan think tank based in Berkeley.b

On Sept. 24 the Daily Planet published my letter wondering why the Berkeley Planning Department’s website no longer lists notices of decision (NODs) resulting from the recent approval or disapproval of use permits by the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB). The department’s website has a heading, “Current Development Projects, Notices of Decision and City Council Appeals,” but neither NODs nor appeals to the City Council are actually posted.  

As I noted in September, public access to NODs is critical to the democratic planning process in Berkeley, since ZAB’s actions can be appealed for only 14 days after the notice of decision for a project has been formally issued.  

Fellow citizens: I just discovered, wholly by chance, that lists of current NODs and appeals to the council can be found on the website agenda of the City Council’s Agenda Committee, under the heading, “Land Use Matters.” Click on the heading to see the lists. As far as I can tell, these items have been posted in this fashion since last March.  

This is better than nothing but still problematic. The Agenda Committee agendas are usually posted by the city clerk on the Thursday afternoon prior to the committee's meeting. That means that an NOD that’s issued on a Friday won’t appear on the website until the following Thursday, eliminating seven precious days in which to prepare an appeal to the council.  

A city planning staff committed to citizen participation in planning decisions would make sure that important notices were widely disseminated in a timely manner. Announcements of NODs and council appeals should be posted on the Planning Department’s website as soon as they’re issued. Instead, these items are being squirreled away in an obscure spot with the public left in the dark. When I called the zoning office last September and asked about the missing NODs, the person who answered the phone said nothing about the Agenda Committee agenda.  

Citizens of Berkeley, supposedly one of the most democratic places on earth, deserve better. The question is, how do we get it?  

Zelda Bronstein is a former chair of the Berkeley Planning Commission. Ä

Some 20 members of Neighbors on Urban Creeks attended the Oct. 19 City Council meeting determined to maintain our positive stance of preserving the environmental benefits of creeks without conflict with the reasonable enjoyment of our private property. We were hopeful of a supportive council response to the over 600 people who signed our petition, and the more than 125 people who subsequently sent in letters emphasizing that the task of revising the Ordinance should be given to the Planning Commission. We also had support for our position from nationally known planning and legal authorities who pointed out that the Creeks Ordinance involved land use issues and that legally they must be reviewed by the Planning Commission and from city staff.  

We were stunned to find out at the City Council meeting that Mayor Bates, and Councilmembers Hawley and Maio were sponsoring a so-called “compromise” proposal. We only found out about this proposal when members of other creek groups spoke about it during the public comment period. No one from Neighbors on Urban Creeks had even heard about it before then and other members of the council were just receiving it.  

One member of the group who sees themselves in opposition to Neighbors on Urban Creeks, handed one of our members a copy of the proposal. Mayor Bates stated the proposal was available on the web. However, this proposal was NOT available on the city’s agenda website where citizens would normally find material to be discussed at the council meeting. It was only available on the mayor’s website. The Bates-Maio-Hawley proposal is dated Oct. 18, but Councilmember Hawley said it was not finalized until the afternoon of Oct. 19. To date, no one has offered any explanation as to how and when this proposal was put together, and how it was distributed to some and not to others.  

The Creeks Ordinance is arguably the biggest land use matter confronting this city in decades. The city must understand that the owners of the 3,000 -plus properties citywide directly affected by this ordinance, many of whom have been long-time dedicated stewards of our creeks, demand a voice in determining our future. Instead of ensuring a balanced, cooperative process, the Bates-Maio-Hawley proposal gets everyone started on the wrong foot because: 1) owners of property directly affected by the ordinance are not guaranteed an equal, or even any, voice on the task force as each member of the council will appoint someone to the task force in December, after the election; 2) the Planning Commission is given a minor role since they have only one appointment to the task force which is not even required to be a commissioner, and review by the commission occurs after task force recommendations have been made; 3) public input is called-for after the task force has completed its work; 4) the all-important topics of financial responsibility for repair of culverts, the 30-foot set-back requirement, definition of a creek, and culverts as creeks are not specifically included for discussion; and 5) an adversarial environment is created from the beginning with the provision requiring that creek protections expire if revisions are not completed in one year. 

The alarmist language used by other creeks groups is inconsistent with their stated desire to work cooperatively on a task force with people who may not share their point of view. The Creeks Ordinance was first approved, and subsequently revised and discussed, with only these other creeks groups. In light of new information about how the ordinance actually affects people throughout this city, the council must correct that initial mistake by bringing the process of revising the ordinance out into the open where it can be examined by people representing many different views about what should be done. The Planning Commission is the best vehicle for doing that.  

Neighbors on Urban Creeks stands for a Creeks Ordinance that can be supported by everyone. While daylighting is a goal to be considered, daylighting the process of how we get there should not even be in question. Along with the fairness of giving an equal voice to those most affected, it is the very foundation of creating good public policy. Neighbors on Urban Creeks has written a proposal that guarantees that: different viewpoints, including those of property owners on culverted creeks and the stewards of open creeks on their properties, have an equal voice; an open process with public input when it counts most; a major role for the Planning Commission but also allows for full participation from the Public Works, Parks and Recreation and Community Environmental Advisory Commissions; the important topics of creek definition, setback, costs to property owners of enforcement, and city financial responsibility for the maintenance and repair of culverts will be addressed. Further, Neighbors on Urban Creeks predicts that the work in our proposed process can be completed at a lower cost to the city. We have placed this proposal on the agenda for all to see before the Nov. 9 City Council meeting through the sponsorship of Councilmembers Olds and Wozniak.  

Neighbors on Urban Creeks asks you to come to the meeting and help us forge a process that will create the kind of solution that everyone in Berkeley can support.  

Neighbors on Urban Creeks: Barbara Allen, Katherine Bowman, Diane Crowley, Shirley Dean, Genevieve Dreyfus, Cecilia Gaerlan, Vonnie Gurgin, Martha Jones, Jill Korte, Jerry Landis, Mischa Lorraine, Terry Mandel, Robin McDonnell, Miriam Ng, Jana Olson, Bob Schneider, Trudy Washburn

Mayor Bates’ proposals for (once again) more taxes to soothe the budgetary woes of the city have gone down in flames, and his response is, “I don’t think people fully understood what they were doing when they opposed taxes (Daily Planet, Nov. 5-8 p.18.).” Of course not. We’re all uneducated boobs in the city electorate who don’t know what’s best for us and who are unable to appreciate the magnitude of the goodness and mercy that our local government bestows upon us. I feel bad that I am such an ungrateful slob. I stay up at night worrying about such character defects. I even have asked for divine guidance to help me to understand what I am doing when I vote on local issues, but apparently it did not help my comprehension. I am so sorry I failed Mayor Bates and all his minions.  

Perhaps my failure in not fully understanding what I was doing when I voted against taxes had to with my reception at the Planning Department a little over one year ago when I tried to register a change of address for my law office. It was simple (or so I naively thought.) I was moving from one suite of professional offices into another suite, about 11 blocks away. I would register the change of address (which again, having recently fallen off a turnip truck and not fully understanding the wonderful service provided by this city ) I thought would take maybe 10-15 minutes and then I’d go off and have lunch with a friend. But no. First I filled out one form and handed it in. Then I waited for about 45 minutes until I was called to the desk again and handed another form to fill out. After that was filled out and another half-hour had passed I was given a third form to fill out, asking how much alcohol I planned to serve at my office, food preparation plans, what plans I had made for the influx of out-of-town visitors who would clog the local parking (would that it were true) what construction I was undertaking (none) and on and on and on. All the time the person “helping” me would move away to other things and disappear, necessitating me getting in back of the line again and again. When I asked why it was necessary to fill out so many forms of dubious pertinence at such length simply to move from one office suite to another and why I couldn’t be given all the forms at once so as to save some of the three hours this ordeal took, I was snidely told, “Well, you’re a lawyer, you figure it out.” Then, when it was over I got to stand in still another line to pay the City of Berkeley another $100 to compensate it for taking all this trouble on my account. I wrote and complained about the rude and demeaning way I was treated and never got an apology. 

And the thing is, even with all my skill and experience gained in 29 years of practicing law, I never did figure out why all this was necessary. I never figured out why the city was paying some rude flunky—as well as guaranteeing the pension of that flunky for life plus making sure the flunky had adequate medical coverage (while I have to pay for my own and am lucky to get it) -- to insult and be nasty to people who want to set up a business inside the City of Berkeley. I came within a few minutes of saying the hell with it, I’d move to El Cerrito or Oakland. I guess the mayor is correct: I don’t understand much. I had thought maybe it was a good idea to encourage business to locate here. I had thought that it would be great if the city maintained cordial relations with the people who worked here and lived here and from whom it wanted to extract ever more tax dollars. In the words of Steve Martin: “Naahhhh.” 

And here I was in the voting booth, a year later, my ability to understand such things being severely compromised, deciding whether my already bloated property and utility taxes should be further burdened so that I could make sure that Berkeley continued to provide services at such a high level as I’d experienced, and somehow I ended up voting no. 

Oh, please forgive me Mayor Bates. 

Paul Glusman is one of the Berkeley Daily Planet’s attorneys.

The 20th annual Film Arts Foundation Festival Of Independent Cinema screens this weekend, Friday through Sunday, at San Francisco’s Roxie Cinema and Castro Theater, following a Thursday night gala at The Mighty Nightclub in the Design District. The festival features narrative, art, experimental and documentary films from around the world—including several by Berkeley and other East Bay filmmakers. 

Race is the Place, a 90-minute documentary by Rick Tejada-Flores and Ray Telles, both Emeryville residents whose film office is in Berkeley, shows at 10:15 p.m. Saturday at the Roxie. Race is the Place is an engrossing montage of old movie and cartoon footage with racial content (even grinning tourists learning to hula or cartoon animals playing Native America ns) intercut with interviews and performances featuring poets, performance artists and comedians whose art deals with this volatile theme, “the subject of the future,” as several of the artists put it. 

Included are African-American poet Amiri Baraka, who interprets poet John Keats’ “Truth is Beauty, Beauty is Truth” in light of activist and author W. E. B. DuBois: “To love Beauty, you must love the Truth”; Haunani Kay Trask, native Hawaiian poet and activist, saying white society “should be glad all this sorrow and anger is being channeled into art”; and Lalo Guerrero, “Father of Chicano Music,” doing Joyce Kilmer one better by singing, “I don’t think I will ever see/Many Chicanos on TV.” 

Many young performers and comedians of different ethnic backgroun ds also appear in the film, like San Francisco’s Shabaka, Northern California’s Culture Clash, Andy Bumatai (Filipino-Hawaiian-German: “In Hawaii, ethnic humor’s just called ‘humor’”), Kate Rigg (performing Asian-American ‘Trip-Hop’ on stage, intercut wit h the same rap on the street), Egyptian-American Ahmed Ahmed (“‘You’re a comedian? Say something funny’—‘Uh, I just graduated from flight school?’”)—and Danny Hoch (with his ludicrously funny tale of a cop, “and I’m whiter than he is,” trying to squeeze a n admission of ethnicity out of him to explain his “ghetto accent”). 

Literally a case of art holding up a mirror, Race is the Place documents those who would expose the fallacy articulated by author James Baldwin in an old interview clip: “White American s assume I live in a segregated society—they live in a segregated society but don’t know it, as I do.” 

Tina Naccache—a former Berkeley resident who for years hosted a weekly KPFA-FM Arabic music program—journeyed from Beirut to join her fellow filmmakers Erica Marcus and Hrabba Gunnarsdottir for the screening of their documentary, Alive in Limbo, which follows four Palestinian refugee children and one Lebanese child over a ten-year period, showing them coming of age in a camp near Beirut and near the Isr aeli-occupied zone in the south. Against the background of a rapidly-changing society, their world does not change very much. Alive in Limbo’s showing at the Castro 1:30 p.m. Sunday underscores the importance of the Festival to filmmakers: the level of at tendance will be the crucial factor deciding whether it will be screened on public television. It will also play at Berkeley’s La Peña Cultural Center in coming weeks.  

Berkeley resident Alfonso Alvarez—whose films “have screened in bars, backyards and B BQs around the world”—contributes his seven-minute Down on the Farm to Saturday’s 3:45 p.m. program Beyond Belief (“animated, experimental and narrative shorts”) at the Roxie. Shot and hand-processed at Phil Hoffman’s Film Farm near Toronto, Alvarez optic ally printed his edited black-and-white harvest footage onto color stock using color filters, displaying the range of techniques of the experimentalist—from lap dissolves to shifting film speeds, scratched emulsion to sunstrike and solarization and sunstrike to scratched emulsion, making a rhythmic equation between the rigors of farmwork and filmmaking. 

Other entries show faces and scenes familiar (if some only subliminally so) to Bay Area audiences: Adriano Bravo’s feature Tell It Like It Is, the music and struggle for recognition of Oakland blues singer-songwriter-organist Lady Margaret, 6 p. m. Sunday at the Castro; a feature drama on grafitti artists in The Mission (Quality of Life by Benjamin Morgan, 9:15 p. m. Friday, Roxie); Lexie Liban and Lidia Szajko’s documentary Girl Trouble of three female teenagers “entangled in the S.F. juvenile justice system”; the premiere of Clark Brigham’s feature tale of an artist’s secret return to San Francisco to solve the old mystery of his best friend’s murder—and the part played in it by his own father; or Liam Dalzell’s “post-911” Punjabi Cab, a glimpse at the city’s darker side through the eyes of Sikh taxi drivers (preceding Alive in Limbo, Castro, 1:30 p.m. Sunday). 

Film Arts Foundation has been supporting filmmaking and its distribution since 1976. From social-political documentary, through music films and narrative fiction to the personal art film, Film Arts Foundation has served as a bridge between general audiences and local artists, universal themes an d personal styles—getting it onto the screen. 

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TUESDAY, NOV. 9 

FILM 

Loose Ends: “Recent College Cinema” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

David Sedaris ”Strictly Speaking” at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $20-$38. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“In the Name of Justice” a staged reading by Shotgun Players of a new translation of Albert Camus‚ “Les Justes” at 7:30 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. 841-6500.  

“Greek Art and Architecture in Italy” by Barbara A. Barletta, Prof. of Art History, Univ. of Florida, at 7:30 p.m. at the Archeological Research Facility, 2251 College Building, UC Campus. 415-338-1537. 

Ivan Eland discusses “The Empire Has No Clothes: U.S. Policy Exposed” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Ntozake Shange on “The Sweet Breath of Life: A Poetic Narrative of the African-American Family” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Joseph Fischer describes the “Story Cloths of Bali” at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533. 

The Whole Note Poetry Series with Randy Fingland and Bert Glick at 7 p.m. at The Beanery, 2925 College Ave., near Ashby. 549-9093. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Molly’s Revenge, traditional music of Ireland, Scotland and england at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50- $16.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

“Gigi’s Fabulous Adventure,” music inspired by myth and Taoism at 8 p.m. at Teance/ 

Celadon Fine Teas, 1111 Solano Ave. Tickets are $20, including tea samples. 524-1696. 

Cyril Guiraud and Dave Michel-Ruddy at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Jovino Santos Neto Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10 

THEATER 

Royal Court Theatre, “4.48 Psychosis,” by Sarah Kane. Wed. - Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sun. at 3 and 7 p.m., at Zellerbach Playhouse. Tickets are $65. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

FILM 

“O Primeiro Dia” in Portuguese with English subtitles at 7 p.m. in the CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch. 642-2088. 

Video Art: “Home, Home on the Range” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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

Russell Banks introduces his political historical novel set in the U.S. and Liberia, “The Darling” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Don George, Global Editor of Lonely Planet, introduces “The Travel Book” at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533. 

Thais Mazur reads from her new book “Warrior Mothers” at 7 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. 883-0600. www.belladonna.ws  

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert, solo piano with Karen Rosenak at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Music for the Spirit with The Pacific Boy Choir Academy at 12:15 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555. www.firstchurchoakland.org 

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

Anthony Paule and Mz. Dee at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Matt Berkeley Group at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Pete Muller at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $16.50-$17.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Lenka Dusilova, Company Car, Hazerfan at 8:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $4. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Cedar Walton Trio with Kenny Burrell at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, NOV. 11 

EXHIBTION OPENINGS 

“I Was There: The Democratic National View” Photographs by Peter Stein documenting the political landscape in the United States in the early 1970s. Reception with comments by the artist at 4 p.m. at the Badè Museum, Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. Exhibition runs through Nov. 18.  

THEATER 

“Ruthless” a musical parody of classic stories by the Mills College Players, through Sun. at 8 p.m. at Lisser Hall Theater, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $5-$15. 636-7106. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Minsk Connection” with Kala ArtsLink Fellow Tatiana Radsivilko at 7:30 p.m. at Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977. www.kala.org 

Michael N. Nagler, UCB prof. emeritus describes “The Search for a Non-Violent Future” at 7:30 p.m. at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Floetry, a Spoken R-evolution of Word at 8 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $7-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Liza Featherstone describes “Selling Woman Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers’ Rights at Wal-Mart” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with featured readers Jerry Ferraz and M.A.C., at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave., near Dwight Way. 526-5985.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Laurie Anderson “End of the Moon” violin, electronics and spoken word at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$46. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Aza and Helené, North African music, at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Bluehouse, Australian women’s trio, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50-$16.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Moot Davis with Pete Anderson at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Sebastien Lanson, solo jazz guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Kelly Takunda Orphan Project at 8 p.m. at Kimball’s East, 6005 Shellmound, Emeryville. Tickets are $10. 658-2555. www.kimballs.com 

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

Selector Series at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

FRIDAY, NOV. 12 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Yuji Hiratsuka, prints. Reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at Schurman Fine Art Gallery, 1659 San Pablo Ave. Exhibition runs to Nov. 30. Gallery hours are Weds-Sat 2-6 p.m. and Sun 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 524-0623. 

Yaqui Jewelery by NaNa Ping Reception at 6:30 p.m. at Gathering Tribes Gallery, 1573 Solano Ave. Through No. 14. 528-9038. 

FILM 

Cine Mexico: “That’s the Point” at 7 p.m. and “Tender Little Pumpkins” at 9:05 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, “Present Laughter” by Noel Coward at 8 p.m. Fri. and Sat. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman. Through Nov. 20. Tickets are $10. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Aurora Theatre “Emma” at 8 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. through Dec. 19. Tickets are $36. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Repertory Theater, “Eurydice” at the Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. through Nov. 14. Tickets are $20-$55. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Black Repertory Theater, “Who’s Who in the Tough Love Game” a new play by Ishmael Reed. Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2:30 and 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. through Nov. 27. Tickets are $5-$20. 3201 Adeline St. 652-2120. 

Central Works, “A Step Away” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Through Nov. 21. Tickets are $8-$20. 558-1381. 

Contra Costa Civic Theater, “Noises Off” Fri., Sat., and selected Sun., through Nov. 20. Tickets are $10-$15. 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito. 524-9132. www.ccct.org  

Impact Theatre, “Meanwhile, Back at the Super Lair” by Greg Kalleres, Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. through Dec. 11, at La Val’s Subterranean Theater, 1834 Euclid. No show Nov. 25. Tickets are $10-$15. 464-4468. www.impacttheatre.com 

Junction Avenue Theatre Company “Tooth and Nail,” from South Africa with giant puppets by Heather Crow ,at 8 p.m. at Durham Studio Theater, UC Campus. 642-9925. http://theater.berkeley.edu 

Royal Court Theatre, “4.48 Psychosis,” by Sarah Kane. Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sun. at 3 and 7 p.m., at Zellerbach Playhouse. Tickets are $65. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“Ruthless” a musical parody of classic stories by the Mills College Players, through Sun. at 8 p.m. at Lisser Hall Theater, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $5-$15. 636-7106. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Readings from Kim Addonizio’s Poetry Workshops 7 p.m. at Temescal Cafe, 4920 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. 595-4102. 

A Celebration of our Anarchist Mothers, Lucy Parson, and Voltarine de Cleyre with authors Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Barry Patemen at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Laurie Anderson “End of the Moon” violin, electronics and spoken word at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$46. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Contra Costa Chorale, New Millennium Strings Orchestra at 8 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Road, Kensington. Tickets are $12-$15. 524-1861. ccchorale.org 

Rachmaninoff “Vespers” Sung in Church Slavic by University Chorus and Oakland Symphony Chorus at 8 p.m. at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 4700 Lincoln Rd. Tickets at $3-$10 in advance only. 207-4093. www.oaklandsymphonychorus.org 

Jazz in Fine Art at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Above and Beyond A Hip Hop Dance Showcase at the Julia Morgan Theatre at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $7-$17. 845-8542. www.juliamorgan.org 

O-Maya, International Hip-Hop Exchange at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson with Nick & Shanna at 8 p.m. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Roy Rogers & Norton Buffalo, guitar and harmonica duo, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $21.50-$22.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Lee Waterman Quintet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

DJ & Brook, jazz trio, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

7th Direction, Golden Shoulders at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Submission Hold, Eskapo, Angry for Life, S.C.A. at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

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

Drink the Bleach, Bottom, Ghengis Khan at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Anton Barbeau at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $5-$10. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Grand Groovement at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Cedar Walton Trio with Kenny Burrell at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, NOV. 13 

CHILDREN 

“The Master Maid” a Word for Word performance in celebration of Children’s Book Week at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Central Library, 2090 Kittredge. 981-6223. 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Different People, Different Places” Paintings by Bernice R. Gross and Robert Wahrhaftig. Reception at 7 p.m. at Fourth Street Studio, 1717D Fourth St. Exhibition runs to Dec. 13. 527-0600. www.fourthstreetstudio.com 

“Neighborhood Convergence” New public art in Emeryville opening at 4 p.m. at the Powell St. undercrossing of I-80 at the Powell St./ 

Emeryville exit. www.unrulyimages.com/publicart/new/converge.jpg 

FILM 

Cine Mexico: “Wildflower” at 7 p.m. and “A Woman in Love” at 8:50 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

International Latino Film Festival “Una Revelación Cubana” at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $8. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Ballet, the Earth and the Pain of Being on the Ground” with photographer and sculptor Leonard Pitt, at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Art Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Cost is $12. 848-1228. www.giorgigallery.com 

Ros McIntosh will read from her book “Live, Laugh & Learn” at 12:30 p.m. at the German Delicatessen, The Junket, in the El Cerrito Plaza, El Cerrito. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Javanese Gamelan and Dance at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Trinity Chamber Concert with The Berkeley Saxophone Quartet, at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864. www.TrinityChamberConcerts.com 

Magnificat “A Due Voci Pari” at 8 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Ellsworth and Bancroft. Tickets are $12-$25. 415-979-4500. www.magnificatbaroque.org 

Contra Costa Chorale, New Millennium Strings Orchestra at 5 p.m. at Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Tickets are $12-$15. 524-1861. ccchorale.org 

Lang Lang, piano, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32-$56 available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Choreographers’ Performance Alliance with host Diane McKallip and performances by local dancers at 7:30 p.m. at Eighth Street Studios, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $10. 644-1788, ext. 2. 

Big City Improv at 8 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, Ashby Ave. Tickets are $15 at the door. 595-5597. www.ticketweb.com  

We the Planet Music and Activism Festival with The Roots, Mickey Hart, Third Eye Blind, at 7 p.m. at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland. Workshops will be held during the day on how to get involved in your community. www.wetheplanet.org 

Jug Free America at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

John “Buddy” Conner, Celebration of His Life and Music, with Robert Stewart Quartet, Calvin Keys Quartet, M.R.L.S. and The Buddy Conner Memorial Band at 1 p.m. at Yoshi’s, Jack London Square. Donation $10. 238-9200. 

Liz Carroll & John Doyle, Celtic fiddler and guitar duo, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Broun Fellinis at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Savoy Family Cajun Band at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Lecture on Cajun music at 8 p.m., dance lesson at 9 p.m. Cost is $5-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Clockwork, a capella jazz, at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Brian Harrison at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Nac One at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $5. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Grapefruit Ed, Snake in Eden at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

The People, Orixa at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Patricio’s Tri-Angulo at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277.›

Somehow I had missed, until just recently, the fact that skunks are no longer considered part of the weasel family. Skunks are now in the skunk family, and have been since 1997. Nobody tells me these things. 

This business of families is the legacy of Carolus Linnaeus, aka Carl von Linne, the 18th-century Swedish botanist who devised a system for classifying living things that scientists still use today.  

In Linnean taxonomy, every animal, plant, fungus, or bacterium fits into a series of nested boxes, each box with a Latinate name.  

Take my associate Matt the Cat: Matt’s species is Felis domesticus, and he shares the genus (plural genera) Felis with a number of small wildcats. Matt’s also a member of the family Felidae (with lions, tigers, and lynxes), the order Carnivora (with dogs, bears, raccoons, seals, mongooses, hyenas, weasels, and skunks), the subclass Eutheria (with primates, rodents, and all the other mammals that have a placenta), and the class Mammalia (with marsupial possums and kangaroos and the monotreme platypus). And mammals fit into the subphylum Vertebrata (animals with backbones), the phylum Chordata (animals with spinal cords), the kingdom Animalia, the domain Eucarya (organisms whose cells have a nucleus). From Eutheria on up, Matt and I are in the same boxes. 

For most of the time since Linnaeus, scientists have used physical characteristics like skulls and teeth to assign organisms to their proper box. The weasel family, the Mustelidae, was defined by enlarged scent glands, an absent molar, and the loss of a cutting notch on the upper fourth premolar—traits common to skunks, weasels, ferrets, martens, mink, otters, badgers, and wolverines. 

The problem is that anatomy doesn’t necessarily reveal evolutionary relationships. Different organisms may share a trait they all inherited from a common ancestor, or they may have each evolved the trait on their own. Bats, birds, and pterodactyls developed wings independently. 

There’s a school of taxonomy called cladistics, invented by entomologist Willi Hennig, that tries to sort out relationships by identifying shared derived characteristics—like the feathers that mark both parrots and penguins as birds. Scientists who practice cladistics use a forbidding jargon, which I’ll spare you. The important word to remember is “clade”: a lineage with a common ancestor. Mammals as a whole are a clade, and so are carnivores—and based on anatomy, so were weasels. Linnaeus lived well before Darwin and saw the natural order as the work of a tidy God; cladistics helped make evolutionary sense of his system. 

Along with cladistics, molecular genetics gave taxonomists a more sophisticated tool kit. It’s now possible to compare strands of DNA from, say, a whale and a hippo, and recognize them as relatives. Given assumptions about rates of genetic mutation, it’s even possible to use molecular clocks to determine when two lineages first separated.  

Together, cladistics and molecular genetics shook up the old Linnean order. Some of the boxes were broken up, and animals and plants were moved from box to box. Botanists split up the lily family and the snapdragon family. Herpetologists decided anoles and horned lizards didn’t belong in the iguana family. Ornithologists discovered turkey vultures were closely related to storks, and mockingbirds to mynahs. Every time I pick up a new field guide, I find the taxonomists have been at it again. 

The skunks’ turn came a few years ago when Jerry Dragoo, now at the University of New Mexico, and Rodney Honyecutt of Texas A & M reanalyzed the weasel family, comparing two mitochondrial genes—genes we inherit from our mothers, widely used for calibrating molecular clocks. They looked at material from most of the genera traditionally included in the family, as well as representatives from other carnivore groups: raccoon, coyote, black bear, California sea lion. And they found that skunks were genetically really different. The other members of the weasel family shared a more recent common ancestor with raccoons than they did with skunks, which may have branched off 40 million years ago. Dragoo and Honeycutt recommended the skunks be placed in a family all their own, the Mephitidae, and most references published since 1997 have gone with that. 

But what about those teeth, and the scent glands? Well, all carnivores have scent glands, and enlarged glands have evolved in families like the civets that have never been considered close kin to either weasels or skunks. And the dental traits used to define the weasel family have developed more than once in independent carnivore lineages—evolving convergently, like the wings of birds, bats, and pterodactyls. 

Convergence is a funny thing: natural selection producing similar designs among unrelated species. South America used to have grazing mammals with single-toed hooves, but they weren’t horses. 

Australia is full of marsupial analogs to eutherian mammals: marsupial cats, moles, flying squirrels. There’s an African mammal called the zorilla, or striped polecat. It’s black with white stripes down its back and has a powerful chemical defense. The zorilla looks like a skunk, behaves like a skunk, smells like a skunk—but it sorts with the weasels. (Just to complicate things, an odd Southeast Asian carnivore called the stink badger turns out to be not a true badger but a skunk, a remnant of an ancient Old Word skunk lineage). 

Dragoo, who shares his home with intact skunks and tells reporters he doesn’t have much of a sense of smell, sees the skunk-weasel split as a kind of vindication for the “cute little critters.” It does complicate the rhetoric of abuse, though. You can still call someone a skunk; you can call him a weasel. But now you have to pick one or the other. 

TUESDAY, NOV. 9 

Tilden Tots Join a nature adventure program for 3 and 4 year olds, each accompanied by an adult (grandparents welcome)! We’ll learn about our fine feathered friends from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 636-1684. 

“Secrets and Lies from Vietnam to Iraq” with Daniel and Patricia Ellsberg at 7:30 p.m. at College Preparatory School, Buttner Auditorium, 6100 Broadway, Oakland. Cost is $5-$10. 658-5202. www.college-prep.org/livetalk 

“The Implications of Eco-Justice for a Theological Anthropology” with Reverend Peter Saltwell, Director of Eco-Justice Ministries at 7 p.m. in the GTU Dinner Board Room, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2560. www.gtu.edu/studentgroups/trees 

“When Myth Trumps History: The Reclamation Bureau and the Family Farm, 1902-1935” with Donald Pisani, Professor of History, University of Oklahoma, at 5:30 p.m. in 10 Evans Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Water Resources Center Archives. 642-2666. 

Berkeley Business Plan Competition Workshop: Opportunity Recognition at 6 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Room, Haas School of Business, UC Campus. For more information see http://bplan.berkeley.edu/ 

“The End of Suburbia” a film about how peak oil production will change our lives, followed by a discussion with Jan Lundberg, founder of the Sustainable Energy Institute, at 6 p.m. at Redwood Gardens main hall, 2561 Derby St. www.berkeleybest.org 

ID Theft Workshop Find out how to reduce your chances of becoming an innocent victim, at 7 p.m. at the El Cerrito Senior Citizens Center, 6500 Stockton St. Sponsored by the El Cerrito Crime Prevention Committee, the El Cerrito City Council, and the El Cerrito Police Department. Reservations required. 215-4414, ext. 30.  

“Growing Up in a Bay Area Orphanage for Chinese Youth” A narrated video of historical photos that tells the story of the Chung Mei Home for Chinese boys and Ming Quong Home for Chinese girls. Panel discussion follows featuring former residents. At 7 p.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. 526-7512.  

Free Quit Smoking Workshop from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. with a follow-up class on Nov. 23 at the South Berkeley Senior Center. To register call 981-5330. 

Free Depression Screenings from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Stephens Lounge, MLK Student Union, UC Campus. 642-7202. 

Organic Produce at low prices sold at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon Streets every Tuesday from 3 to 7 p.m. This is a project of Spiral Gardens. 843-1307. 

Family Story Time at the Kensington Branch Library, Tues. evenings at 7 p.m. at 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

Belly Dancing Lessons at 7:30 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. Cost is $5. 883-0600 www.belladonna.ws  

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Marge Robinson, who has lived in Berkeley for the last 90 years, will speak on “Remembering Berkeley” at 11 a.m. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10 

Kathy Kelly, Founder of Voices in the Wilderness and Iraqi Solidarity Activist at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison St., at 27th. Tickets are $12 in advance, at independent bookstores, $15 at the door. Benefit for KPFA. 848-6767, ext. 609. 

“KPFA/Pacifica: Democracy Deferred?” A panel discussion with speakers Solange Echeveria, Bill Mandel, Susan Stone, and others at 7 p.m. at La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 415-424-8311. 

“Dance Me Outside” a documentary of life on an Indian Reserve in Canada at 7 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Free, donations accepted. 452-1235. 

“Jews Among Muslims and Christians in Late Antiquity” a symposium from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Dinner Boardroom at the GTU, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2482. 

“Jewish Families in Context” with Olga Silverstein, MSW, CSW, at 11:30 a.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $5. 848-0237.  

“Fruitful Flailings: Reading the Anger of the Prophet Jonah” with Barbara Green, Prof., Biblical Studies, Dominican School, at 7 p.m. in the GTU Chapel, 1798 Senic Ave. 649-2440. 

East Bay Genealogical Society with Margery Bell of the Family History Center at 10 a.m. in the Library Conference Room, Family History Center, 4766 Lincoln Ave., Oakland. 635- 6692. 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday, rain or shine, at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes, sunscreen and a hat. 548-9840. 

Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine College Open House from 6 to 8 p.m. at 2550 Shattuck Ave. Learn about how you can become a licensed acupuncturist. RSVP to 666-8248, ext. 106. 

Prose Writers’ Workshop An ongoing group focused on issues of craft. Meets Wed. at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 524-3034. georgeporter@earthlink.net 

Poetry Writing Workshop, led by Alison Seevak, every second Wed. at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, Edith Stone Room, 1247 Marin Ave. Registration required. 526-3700, ext. 20. 

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

vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, NOV. 11 

Reduced City Services Today Call ahead to ensure programs or services you desire will be available. 981-CITY. www.cityofberkeley.info 

“Race and Public Policy: A Proactive Agenda for 2005 and Beyond” Workshops and panels through Nov. 13 at the MLK Student Union, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Applied Research Center. To register go to www.arc.org  

Grizzly Peak Flyfishers monthly meeting at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Community Center, 59 Arlington Ave. Long-time member and author Seth Norman will speak. Expert, beginning and “wannabe” fly fishers are all welcome. For further information, call Richard Orlando at 547-8629. 

Biodiesel 101 An introduction to this clean, homegrown alternative fuel, including what you need to get started, where to buy it, collectives and events. From 7 to 9 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Family Literacy Night from 5 to 7 p.m. with storytelling by Ayodele, at Habitot, 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111. www.habitot.org  

East Bay Mac User Group meets the 2nd Thursday of every month, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Expression Center for New Media, 6601 Shellmound St. http://ebmug.org, www.expression.edu 

FRIDAY, NOV. 12 

Reduced City Services Today Call ahead to ensure programs or services you desire will be available. 981-CITY. www.cityofberkeley.info 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Marcella Adamski on “What is Happening to Tibet?” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $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. 

November is We Give Thanks Month! Join participating restaurants in supporting the Berkeley Food and Housing Project. For a list of participating restaurants please visit www.bfhp.org  

“Writing About Race” with Victor Merina, former Los Angeles Times reporter, at 7 p.m. at North Gate Hall, Room 105, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Graduate School of Journalism. 

“So How’d You Become an Activist?” with Bob Bloom, Dennis Cunningham, Bill Simpich of Earth First, attorneys representing Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney, who were victorious in a $4.5 million lawsuit against the FBI and Oakland Police, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St., at Bonita. Suggested donation $5. 528-5403. 

Literary Friends meets at 1:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center for a Haiku poetry workshop with Connie Andersen. 549-1879. 

Peace Corps Send Off Party and Social Mixer at 6 p.m. Triple Rock, 1920 Shattuck Ave. Come meet and speak with returned Peace Corps volunteers, applicants, nominees, invitees, and others interested in the Peace Corps. Please RSVP to John Ruiz at 415-977-8798. jruiz@peacecorps.gov 

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

Berkeley Chess Club meets Fridays at 7:15 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Players at all levels are welcome. 652-5324. 

“Three Beats for Nothing” a group that meets to sing, mostly 16th century harmony, for fun and practice, at 10 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 655-8863, 843-7610. 

Women in Black Vigil from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. 548-6310. 

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. Sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. 655-6169. www.bpf.org 

Overeaters Anonymous meets every Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the Northbrae Church at Solano and The Alameda. Parking is free and is handicapped accessible. For information call Katherine, 525-5231. 

SATURDAY, NOV. 13 

A Weekend Campaign to Weatherize with the California Youth Energy Services. Free energy audits and materials installations to help you reduce your energy bills. To schedule an appointment call 428-2357.  

Seed Saving Workshop Covering seed saving in detail, including botany and pollination, and types of seeds. From 7 to 9 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $10-$15. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Junior Rangers Aides Training for youth at Tilden Nature Area. Held in the afternoon. Call Dave Zuckermann for information, 525-2233. 

The Biofuel Oasis Grand Opening of the only operating public biodiesel fueling station in the Bay Area, from noon to 4 p.m. at 4th and Dwight. www.biofueloasis.com 

Let Worms Eat Your Garbage Small on space and big on benefits, worm composting is a great way to recycle kitchen scraps. From 10 a.m. to noon at Regan’s Nursery and 4268 Decoto Rd. in Fremont. Part of Bay-Friendly Gardening. 444-SOIL. www.stopwaste.org 

Help Restore Cerrito Creek Join Friends of Five Creeks volunteers 10 am to noon to plant natives and remove weeds at Cerrito Creek at El Cerrito Plaza, at the south edge of Plaza parking lot, north end of Cornell Street. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

Help Restore San Pablo Creek at the El Sobrante Library at 9:30 a.m. Refreshments, tools, and gloves provided. Heavy rain cancels event. Sponsored by San Pablo Watershed Neighbors Education and Restoration Society. 231-9566. 

Save California Least Terns at the Alameda Wildlife Refuge at the former Alameda Naval Air Station, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. All ages welcome. Sponsored by the Golden Gate Audobon Society. 843-2222. www.goldengalteaudobon.org 

“Plant Selection and Installation” A hands-on class in Berkeley from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We will visit a local nursery and botanic garden to view and discuss why, and how, to select appropriate plants for a variety of situations. Emphasis on Native Californian plants. Sign up by calling the Building Education Center at 525-7610.  

Solo Sierrans Sunset Walk at Emeryville Marina at 4 p.m. Wheelchair accessible. Meet behind Chevy’s Restaurant at the small parking lot. 234-8949. 

South Berkeley Community Church Holiday Bazaar and Art Show from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the church, located on the corner of Fairview and Ellis Streets. Gifts, decorations, and collectibles will be available from local artists and craftspeople. 652-1040. 

We the Planet Music and Activism Festival with The Roots, Mickey Hart, Third Eye Blind, at 7 p.m. at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland. Workshops will be held during the day on how to get involved in your community. www.wetheplanet.org 

Do-It-Yourself Festival and Skillshare Enjoy free information, food, and music, at 10 a.m. at People’s Park. www.barringtoncollective.org 

“Reporting Across Cultures, Writing About Race” A free seminar for journalists and the public from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the North Gate Library, Graduate School of Journalism. To RSVP, please send an email with your name and affiliation, by Nov. 10, to merinaworkshop@lists.berkeley.edu 

Motivating the Teen Spirit A teen empowerment program at 10 a.m. at Holiday Inn, Top of the Bay, 1800 Powell St., Emeryville. Cost is $25. Presented by Tamika’s Adolescent Group Homes, Inc. 472-8104. bm2432@sbcglobal.net 

“Chavez and the Struggle of Democracy in Venezuela” at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. Cost is $7-$15 sliding scale. Fundraiser for Just Cause Oakland. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

Integrative Health Conference Alternative health conference featuring interactive workshops at 105 North Gate Hall, UC Campus. Presented by Students for Integrative Medicine. www.studentsforintegrative- 

medicine.info 

Mudpuppy’s Tub and Scrub and Sit and Stay Cafe opens at Point Isabel, East Bay Regional Park, at 11 a.m. Canine and human refreshments available. www.ebparks.org 

Images of India A fundraiser with music and film to benefit ASHA at 3 p.m. at International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Cost is $15-$100. www.ashanet.org/berkeley/events 

Kol Hadash Family Brown Bag Shabbat at 11 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic. Bring lunch for yourself and your children, and finger dessert to share. Juice provided. kolhadash@aol.com 

SUNDAY, NOV. 14 

Coffee for the Birds Is your morning cup shade grown? Sample some “songbird coffee” and pastries as you learn a little natural history of a billion dollar industry. We’ll go out for a short walk to spot our resident birds if it isn’t raining. Meet at 9 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center. Cost is $5-$7. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Help Clean up San Pablo Creek and its tributaries. Learn about the Dumping Abatement and Pollution Reduction Program and the trash assessment monitoring tool as we remove harmful trash. Refreshments, tools, and gloves provided. Call for meeting place. Sponsored by The Watershed Project. 231-9566. Elizabeth@thewatershedproject.org 

The Women of Color Resource Center will honor five leading women for their spirit of creative resistance at the Sixth Annual Sisters of Fire Awards celebration, at 11 a.m. at the North Oakland Senior Center, 5714 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. Sliding scale donation starting at $15. 444-2700. info@coloredgirls.org 

Green Sunday “The Election Results: Where Do We Go From Here?” at 5 p.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in Oakland. Sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County.  

“Older and Wiser: Basic Legal Knowledge for Living Well to the End” with attorney Sara Diamond at 1 p.m. at Berkeley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Cedar and Bonita. 

“No Man Left Behind: Homelessness and Other Veterans Issues” at 2 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. In conjunction with the exhibition “What’s Going On? California and the Vietnam Era.” 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with Sylvia Gretchen on “Art and Consciousness in Tibetan Buddhism” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, NOV. 15 

City of Berkeley Draft Southside Plan A scoping session on the draft envionmental impact report for the Southside neighborhood, bounded by Bancroft Way, Fulton St., Dwight Way, and Prospect St. At 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. For information contact Janet Homrighausen at 981-7484. 

Tea at Four Taste some of the finest teas from the Pacific Rim and South Asia and learn their natural and cultural history, followed by a short nature walk. At 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. Cost is $5-$7, registration required. 525-2233. www.ebparks.org 

“Legacy of a Coup: A Guatemalan Village Perspective” with Beatriz Manz, Prof. of Geography and Ethnic Studies, at noon in the CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-2088. www.clas.berkeley.edu 

“Delivering Energy Efficiency and Comfort in Highly Glazed Buildings” with Stephen Selkowitz, Building Technologies Dept., LBNL, at 5:30 p.m, 104 Wurster Hall, UC Campus. 

“From Rabbi to Aryan: Jesus in Modern Theology” with Susannah Heschel, Chair, Jewish Studies Porgram, Dartmouth, at 7 p.m. in the Dinner Boardroom at the GTU, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2482. 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people 60 years and over meets Mondays at 10:15 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Join at any time. 524-9122. 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

CITY MEETINGS 

City Council meets Tues., Nov. 9 at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

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

Planning Commission meets Wed., Nov. 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., Nov. 10 at the South Berkeley Senior Center, Barbara Attard, 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/policereview 

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Nov. 10, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. Cliff Marchetti, 644-6376 ext. 224. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/waterfrontM

When the freshly elected Berkeley City Council convenes next month it will have three new members and one unenviable challenge. 

After voters rejected all four tax increases that would have raised $8 million for libraries, paramedic services, youth programs, and the city’s cash-strapped general fund, councilmembers will have to start cutting and slashing themselves out of a $7.5 million general fund deficit projected next year. 

“We’re going to have our backs against the wall,” said Councilmember Gordon Wozniak, who was not up for reelection Tuesday. 

City voters did approve Measure B, an $8 million-a-year property tax for Berkeley schools. With two-thirds vote needed to pass, it was approved by 71.5 percent of voters, according preliminary results. 

Joining the council in December will be Max Anderson, Laurie Capitelli and Darryl Moore. Anderson defeated eight-term incumbent Maudelle Shirek, Jeffrey Benefiel and Laura Menard in District 3. Capitelli defeated Barbara Gilbert and Jesse Townley to succeed Miriam Hawley in District 5. Moore defeated Sharon Kidd to succeed Margaret Breland in District 2. In District 6, incumbent Betty Olds defeated Norine Smith. 

“Winning under these circumstances is humbling,” said Anderson, whose win effectively ends the political career of Shirek, a seminal leader in the civil rights movement. Earlier this year Shirek was thrown off the ballot when an aide failed to properly file her candidate papers. Representatives for Shirek did not return phone calls for this story. 

Menard, Anderson’s other main opponent, doubted that she and her supporters could work with him after a contentious campaign. “He went too low,” said Menard who accused Anderson of co-opting her issues and portraying her as lacking compassion. 

Opponents of the city tax measures, who took no position on tax measures not proposed by the city, painted the vote as a mandate for change in city hall.  

“We concluded that the city was out of control, but that we weren’t in a position to make judgments on other jurisdictions,” said David Wilson, a leader of Berkeleyans Against Soaring Taxes. Without a united opposition, voter passed the school district’s Measure B; Measure CC, a $42 million tax for the East Bay Regional Park District; and Measure AA, a bond measure to raise up to $980 million for seismic retrofits to BART. 

While privately several on the council had predicted that voters would reject some of the tax measures, the clean sweep left councilmembers second guessing their Election Day strategy. 

“We put too many things on at once,” said Councilmember Kriss Worthington. “If we just had the library tax and one other one, they could have passed.”  

The library tax, Measure L, failed with 50.5 percent of the vote, far below the two-thirds threshold needed to pass. Measure K, a tax on youth services, won 53.5 percent of the vote. Measure M, an tax increase for the city’s Paramedic fund, netted 50 percent. Measure J, an increase to the utility tax and the only tax that needed a simple majority to pass, garnered just 37 percent of the vote. 

Worthington blamed the “sensory overload” of tax measures on the council’s impulse to appease council members who championed different taxes, but, which he said, only served to divide the council on the different proposals. 

Councilmember Dona Spring agreed that the council approved too many tax measures, but said legal constraints prohibited the city from proposing one large measure that the entire council could rally around. 

Mayor Tom Bates, who said he was most surprised that voters rejected the utility tax, chalked up the defeat not to a lack of confidence in City Hall but to a regional backlash against city taxes. 

“Look at San Francisco,” he said. “They have their most popular mayor in recent years and they rejected tax measures too.” 

Elsewhere in the East Bay, Oakland and El Cerrito passed taxes, while Fremont rejected a tax increase. 

The first groups to feel the pinch of the rejected tax measures will be about 20 community agencies that received six months of funding beginning last July with a contingency that the funding would expire at the end of the year if voters rejected Measures J and K. Among the groups slated for cuts at the start of the new year are the Berkeley Boosters and a youth homeless shelter. 

Next year the city must close a $7.5 million deficit. Already City Manager Phil Kamlarz has proposed $4 million in cuts that include permanently closing a fire truck company and eliminating vacant positions in the police department. 

The city over the next few months must now chart further cuts, said Budget Manager Tracy Vesely. She is scheduled to present a budget update when the new council convenes for the first time on Dec. 7. 

Service at the library, which reduced hours this summer, will remain the same through next June, when further cuts to the book budget or operating hours will likely be necessary, said Director of Library Services Jackie Griffin. 

“It’s going to be pretty devastating,” said Mayor Bates. “I don’t think people fully understood what they were voting for when they opposed taxes.” 

But councilmember Olds questioned “how much real cutting we’ll have to do. 

“Some of those measures are things we can live without,” she said. “It might not be that bad.” 

The defeat of the tax measures is expected to have pronounced ramifications for city unions, some of which pumped thousands of dollars into campaigns to support the measures. 

After most unions agreed to defer a portion of their scheduled salary increases this year in return for the city renouncing its right to force the unions to take the same action for the remainder of their contracts, union leaders are expecting the city to demand more sacrifices. 

“We expect them either to impose mandatory time off or initiate cuts in services, which might include layoffs,” said Leland Johnson, President of SEIU 535, which represents city librarians. He added that no matter the city’s demands, his union would refuse to defer scheduled salary increases for a second consecutive year. 

Eric Landes-Brenman, President of Public Employee Union Local 1, said he also feared layoffs, and called on the city to work with unions to identify areas where the city could operate more efficiently. 

The new council appears likely to maintain the fluid alliances that have become its trademark since Mayor Bates took office in 2002. Despite the defeat of the tax measures he supported, Bates, who has endorsed six of the eight members of the new council, remains a potent political force.  

Councilmember Olds predicted the new council would be loosely divided into three ideological groups with Anderson joining Spring and Worthington on the left, Moore joining Bates and Maio in the center, and Capitelli joining herself and Wozniak on the right. 

Spring, who like Olds often found herself voting in dissent, expected Anderson to bolster the progressive wing of the council, which she said suffered when Councilmember Shirek began voting more conservatively. 

Race, which formed a quiet subtext to the Berkeley School Board elections, bubbled over the surface this week as a representative of presumed defeated candidate Karen Hemphill charged that “that Berkeley showed its true colors” on election day. 

“There is a lot of frustration in both the African-American and Latino communities [following the election],” said Hemphill campaign manager Marissa Saunders. “It shows once again that our voices don’t matter. I think Berkeley isn’t as progressive as it claims to be.” 

Preliminary results in the closely contested race showed incumbents Joaquin Rivera and John Selawsky defeating challengers Karen Hemphill, Kalima Rose, and Merrilie Mitchell. But with the preliminary tally showing Selawsky with only a 680 vote margin over Hemphill, city election officials cautioned that the still-uncertain number of uncounted provisional ballots could possibly change the election results. Rose finished 116 votes behind Hemphill and Mitchell trailed the field badly, some 7,200 votes behind Rose. 

Rivera, who finished 3,000 votes ahead of Selawsky, is of Puerto Rican descent. Selawsky and Rose are white. Hemphill is African-American. 

From time to time throughout the campaign, Hemphill made mild mention of her contention that another minority member of the board was needed because Rivera was ignoring the needs of Berkeley’s Latino and African-American citizens. But two days after the final votes were in, Saunders—who is African-American—was more harsh.  

“I’m surprised that Rivera came in first,” she said. 

Asked why she thought that happened, she replied, “Some people in the city don’t care that the African-American community and the Latino community said they didn’t like him. It doesn’t matter to them. He’s looking out for their kids. He’s never represented people of color, the eight years he’s been in office. And now we have another four years that he’s not going to be representing us. I like him personally. We’re friends. But in all honesty, he doesn’t represent me or my children. He never has, and he never will. It’s never been an urgency with him.” 

Saunders added that “the wonderful thing about the campaign was that we were able to develop a multi-racial, multi-economical campaign base which was something that we think the incumbents didn’t have, and never will have.” 

Rivera did not reply to telephone calls requesting comment on the election. 

Defeated challenger Kalima Rose was more philosophical.  

“I’m disappointed that Karen and I didn’t win,” she said, “but I thought that we made a strong showing and gained a lot of community support. I thought it was very interesting that our [my and Karen’s] numbers stayed very solid throughout the precinct results, so it wasn’t like we only had supporters in one community or in one part of the city. That was encouraging to me that we showed a broad base of support. The fact that she and I finished so close together showed that the message we took out to the communities for educational excellence resonated with those folks. It strengthened my resolve to keep working on those issues.” 

Rose said it was too early to talk about possible plans of running again. 

“I’m going to keep on with my work for reforms at the high school,” she said. “I expect that a lot will unfold in the next few years that would inform my decision.” 

Discussing the passage of Measure B—the tax measure for supplementary funding for the Berkeley Unified School District—Selawsky said, “Assuming that Joaquin and I have been re-elected, I think there was a recognition that the board has done its work over the past four years, and that we’re on the right track. I think it’s a recognition that the board has done what it needed to do to balance the budget, to get the systems back in operation, and to lay the foundation for the next four years.” 

But Selawsky cautioned that he wasn’t going to be complacent. 

“I also realize that there’s a lot of work that we have left to do,” he said. “The next step is the strategic planning process, which is coming up real soon. Measure B passed, and we have to plan for some of that funding. I also want to take a good look at our middle school program. Joaquin and I have been saying through the campaign that we’ve made real gains in the elementary school program, but it plateaus at the middle school. There’s been small progress at the middle school level, and we need to work on our program there—get more resources, if that’s what it takes—analyze what’s working and what’s not working.” 

Rose credited a portion of Measure B’s success to volunteers who also worked in her campaign and Hemphill’s, and the measure also benefited from a united front of support from the five school board candidates. During at least two candidates’ debates, Rivera closed by urging that however citizens voted in the school board race, they should all cast their ballots in favor of Measure B. 

Selawsky noted that a key factor in the tax measure victory was that unlike the city tax measures J, K, and L, Measure B escaped the opposition of the city’s anti-tax forces, particular that of BASTA (Berkeleyans Against Soaring Taxes). BASTA was formed this summer to fight the four city tax measures and a measure to publicly fund city elections on the November ballot, all of which were defeated on Tuesday’s ballot. 

“I think the biggest factor was the BASTA people and the anti-tax folks did not include Measure B in their anti-tax mailings and literature and publicity,” Selawsky said. “From talking to people and seeing the signs around, I would say about half the BASTA people supported Measure B. Looking at that, I figured that Measure B was probably going to be okay.”

Several thousand votes likely remain uncounted in Berkeley after an unprecedented surge in last minute voter registrations left nearly 5,000 residents off of the voter rolls. 

UC students appeared to have been disproportionately affected by the discrepancy between voter registration lists and people claiming to be registered voters. Approximately one out of three students going to vote had to cast a provisional paper ballot when their names didn’t appear on voter rolls, said Wanda Hasadsri, lead poll watcher for the UC Berkeley Graduate Assembly. 

“We definitely have a problem with what happened,” said Matthew McFeeley, organizing director for the University of California Student Association, which registered over 6,000 students statewide this semester. “There is no guarantee that the votes will count.” 

The State Legislature established provisional ballots for state and local races to ensure that voters not listed on registration lists would still be able to cast a vote. Before the votes can be counted, election officials must verify that voters casting the provisional ballots are, in fact, registered. 

In 2000, only 60 percent of the more than 100,000 provisional votes cast in Los Angeles County were ultimately declared valid, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. 

Verifying and counting the ballots will take about two weeks, said Elaine Ginnold, the assistant registrar of voters for Alameda County. In addition to provisional ballots, absentee ballots delivered to polling stations on Election Day also remain to be counted. Those are expected to take about two weeks for final tallies as well. 

Ginnold said that typically that the county receives between 50,000 and 75,000 absentee ballots on Election Day, but didn’t know how many were received in Berkeley on Tuesday. 

As of Thursday morning, out of 81,611 registered voters in Berkeley, 42,661 votes have been recorded, Ginnold said, a turnout, so far, of just over 50 percent. Depending on how many provisional ballots are accepted and how many absentee ballots came in on election day, the percentage of voter turnout should rise, she said. In 2000, the year of the last presidential election, 54,684 out of 72,299 registered voters cast a ballot, or about 75 percent. 

While it is unlikely to alter the outcome of any city-wide races, the number of uncounted ballots is estimated to exceed the current vote margin for two races: one, for school board director, where incumbent John Selawsky leads his closest competitor by 680 votes, and the other, for Measure R, an initiative to loosen medical cannabis laws which is losing by 866 votes. 

Ginnold attributed the high numbers of voters not listed on voter rolls to a new state law that pushed back the deadline for registering to vote to Oct.18—15 days before the election. Since the registrar printed the voter registration roster on Oct. 4—29 days before the election—the previous deadline for registering to vote, anyone who registered after Oct. 4 wasn’t included on the voter rolls. 

“It’s a clerical conundrum,” she said. 

As of Thursday, Ginnold said, 4,970 voters had registered in Berkeley after the rosters had been printed and thus weren’t included on voter registration lists given to election workers at Berkeley polling stations. It isn’t known how many of those voters showed up to the polls Tuesday. 

Raeanne Young, 20, a student at Mills College who registered within the last two weeks, wasn’t please to be handed a provisional ballot. 

“It’s unbelievable they made it such an ordeal just to vote,” she said. Young was one of over 100 voters—about one in four, according poll worker Gregory Willmore—forced to fill out a provisional ballot at the polling station in the basement of the Seventh Day Adventist on 2236 Parker St. 

Several blocks away at the YWCA, a poll worker identifying himself as Dak said the precinct had issued more than 200 provisional ballots and had recorded 468 votes on the touch screen machines.  

William Sutton, the precinct coordinator, said the high number of voters not appearing on the registration lists contributed to long lines at the precinct, where the wait to vote peaked at over two hours. 

To expedite voting, election workers at the YWCA—much to the dismay of UC poll monitors—encouraged voters to fill out provisional ballots while in line to speed up the process. 

“They were giving provisional ballots for people who were registered and requested a standard paper ballot and telling people they would definitely count,” said Wanda Hasadsri, UC Berkeley Graduate Assembly poll monitor. She counseled voters to remain in line and wait to vote electronically. 

Ginnold insisted that as long as voters filing out the provisional ballots had registered, their votes would be counted before the county is required to certify the election in three weeks. Voters who requested a paper ballot and those who filled out provisional ballots were all given the same form; there is no difference between the two ballots, she said. 

She said that all paper ballots were ordered to be placed in a provisional ballot envelope in order to efficiently account for them. Two years ago, she said, paper ballots were dumped into ballot boxes making them difficult to track. 

McFeeley of the ASUC said Berkeley was one of several cities with UC campuses where students had trouble voting. The worst case, he said, was at UC San Diego, where the county had only two precincts for the 24,000 student campus. With a large turnout of recently registered voters and a shortage of English language provisional ballots, hundreds of San Diego student voters were given the option of waiting hours for the delivery of new provisional ballots or filling out ballots written in Vietnamese, he said. 

Ginnold said that in comparison to recent elections, Alameda County’s electronic voting machines suffered few malfunctions. Berkeley precincts lodged 17 complaints to the registrar’s office, two of which involved problems with the voting machines, according to the Electronic Incident Voting System. 

At the Rose Garden Inn, one caller issued a complaint that the electronic machines failed intermittently and at the Claremont Library Branch, a caller issued a complain that voters were being given provisional ballots when several machines malfunctioned. 

Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commissioners Monday approved plans for a pair of duplexes in the city’s newest landmarked historic neighborhood, ending a long and grueling battle. 

The same meeting also witnessed the start of what may prove an equally contentious and even more complex battle over the nearby site where a San Mateo developer hopes to building a four-story condo and retail complex. 

Three other projects—the expansion of one of Berkeley’s best-known landmarks, a proposal to landmark a West Berkeley industrial building and the fate of a home designed by one of California’s best-known architects—ensured that the meeting drew the largest turnout in recent memory.  

Sisterna duplex designs approved 

Residents and property owners along half-block sections of Fifth and Sixth streets and the south side of the block of Addison Street joined with preservation activists to apply for recognition as a city historic district, a status granted by the commission March 1. 

The move to landmark the historic Sisterna neighborhood was sparked by developer Gary Feiner, when he applied to turn two Victorian cottages at 2104 and 2108 Sixth St. into duplexes. 

In creating the Sisterna district, the commission refused to grant landmark status to the house at 2108 Sixth St. because the majority felt the structure had been remodeled to the point where the significant distinguishing features of the original had been obliterated. 

But the commission did landmark the lot as part of the district, giving it the final say over Feiner’s proposal. 

Commissioners rejected Feiner’s original designs as both too bulky and too similar to each other to fit into a neighborhood characterized by small and architecturally distinct 19th Century working class homes. 

During the following months, commissioners found themselves at odds not only with the developer but with city staff as well. 

Before Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments Board voted to issue a staff-prepared mitigated negative declaration on the project—a key pre-construction document—landmarks commissioners voted a unanimous resolution declaring the document erred in finding that Feiner’s project did not “substantially degrade the existing visual character or quality of the site and its surroundings.” 

Though the resolution detailed the commission’s objections to the design and laid out steps for resolving the issues, none of their recommendations and findings made it into the documents ZAB adopted, angering the landmarks panel and leading to heated exchanges with city staff. 

Many of the neighbors objected to any form of mitigated negative declaration and urged the city to order a more rigorous and costly environmental impact report, but city staff strongly disagreed. 

But the landmarks commission held final say over the project, and members set subsequent meetings between Feiner, his architects, neighbors and a specially appointed commission subcommittee led to a series of plan revisions, culminating in the design approved Monday. 

While neighboring property owners weren’t entirely happy with the new designs and requested an additional subcommittee meet before the final vote, commissioners voted unanimously to approve the project.  

The commission still retains final say over the design revisions they requested. 

Brennan’s Battle Brewing 

Monday’s meeting also saw the opening salvoes of what promises to be another development battle on a site two blocks away from Feiner’s duplexes. 

The fracas was triggered in July, when developer Dan Deibel of the Urban Housing Group of San Mateo filed plans to build a full-block condominium, retail and parking complex on the block lined by Addison Street, University Avenue, Fourth Street and the Santa Fe Railroad tracks. 

The project designer is Berkeley architect Kava Massih, who is also designing the new Berkeley Bowl further south in West Berkeley. 

The project would demolish two existing businesses at the site: Celia’s, a Mexican restaurant at 2040 Fourth St., and Brennan’s, a longtime Berkeleyan tavern at the corner of Fourth and University. 

While Celia’s owners have said they have no plans to reopen at the site, Deibel and the owners of Brennan’s have said the venerable pub will reopen in new quarters in the complex. 

Berkeley preservationist Gale Garcia added a complication in late October when she filed an application to landmark both structures, prompting the sizable turnout at Monday’s meeting. 

Elizabeth Wade, daughter of Brennan’s creator John Brennan and the current owner of the working class pub, favors the demolition, as do her son and daughter, Barney and Margaret Wade. 

Support for the Wades came from several people, including Steven Block of Moraga, who charged that neither building had any merit, industrial Realtors Don Yost and John Norheim, whose office is nearby, Bernie Ryan and Deibel. 

Supporters of the landmark designation included several proponents of the Sisterna Tract; John Brennan, a cousin of the Wades; and the daughter of Irwin Johnson, designer of the Celia’s building who requested by letter that the commission not act before their next meeting, where she promised to offer her own testimony. 

Deede Sloan, a long-time Brennan’s customer, recalled once standing in the food line with singer Bing Crosby and Jerry Brown. 

Another potential stumbling block came from an amateur historian, a well-known archaeologist, and representatives of Native American groups, who all sought to block any development on the land until a thorough scientific search can determine if ancient burials lie beneath. 

The buildings are a block away from where a dozen skeletons were unearthed in the 19th Century and a few blocks from the center of the Berkeley Shellmound, one of the oldest sites of human habitation in the Bay Area.  

Shellmounds served as burial sites, and are considered sacred sites by contemporary Native Americans. Smaller sites tended to cluster around the largest mounds, within a radius that could include the project site. 

Kent Lightfoot, a UC Berkeley archaeology professor who specializes in the shellmound cultures, told the commission that Deibel had promised a full two-stage archaeological survey to thoroughly probe the site for possible artifacts and remains. Richard Schwartz, an amateur historian and preservationist who assisted on the landmarking proposal, said he was present for the promise. 

Deibel said he had conducted a limited survey but had yet to receive the results. 

The possible presence of Native American remains sparked the interest of city Planning Manager Mark Rhoades. 

“I have very extensive concerns about the shellmound, which will require extensive testing,” he told the commissioners. “But that’s not before you tonight, only Celia’s and Brennan’s.” 

Several commissioners disagreed, offering the possibility that the presence of a Native American cultural site could be sufficient grounds for landmarking the entire site. 

The commissioners voted to continue the hearing until their Dec. 6 meeting. 

Fight Delayed over Nexus 

In an unusual twist, commissioners were confronted with the possibility of rival landmark applications for the same property. 

At issue is the distinctive brick structure at the southeast corner of Eighth and Carleton streets built in 1924 for Standard Die & Specialty by the Austin Building Co., the firm that also built the distinctive H.J. Heinz Co. factory at San Pablo and Ashby avenues. 

The building is owned by the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, which uses part of the building for an animal training facility. The majority of the structure is used by the Nexus Collective, which has occupied the site for the past 30 years, and their gallery. Adjacent metal buildings house the collective’s workshops. 

Nexus supporters, who favor the original application written by veteran preservationist John English, fear the humane society will evict the collective to secure much-needed expansion space. 

Humane society supporters charge that English’s application devoted too much attention to the collective and too little to the earlier history of the building, an allegation English denied. 

The commission delayed any action until its February meeting to allow the humane society and its historical consultant to finalize its rival application. 

Howard Automotive 

Emeryville architect Sady S. Hayashida presented revisions of his plans for an addition to the landmarked Howard Automotive building at 2140 Durant Ave., one of Berkeley’s best-known landmarks and one of the few surviving Moderne structures in the city. 

Commissioners had found that the two-story addition to the southern part of the structure had mimicked the original too closely, and they praised his revisions—though they still were sufficiently distinctive to win their approval. 

A subcommittee of commissioners and citizens which has met once with the architect will hold a second meeting before revisions are submitted in December. 

The building will house the institute of Buddhist Studies, which is affiliated with the Buddhist Churches of America and the Graduate Theological Union. 

Chair Jill Korte told commissioners Carrie Olson and Leslie Emmington Jones that City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque had advised them that they should recuse themselves from any votes on the project because of their ties to the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA), which has taken a formal position on the project. 

Both said they intend to vote. 

Olson, who sits on the organization’s board, said she had never spoken on the project at BAHA. “I’m happy to work with staff to make this project work,” she said. 

Emmington Jones, a BAHA employee, said she was present for a BAHA discussion before the applicants filed for their permit, but “I have nothing to recuse myself from.”  

Last Ditch Battle 

Architects and writers may have moved too late to save a building by William Wurster, one of America’s most prominent mid-20th Century residential architects. Built in 1937, the home at 1650 La Vereda Road foreshadows designs which would become popular 15 to 20 years later. 

The application to landmark the modernist structure wasn’t filed until after the Zoning Adjustments Board had already approved a request to substantially alter the building. 

Planning Manager Rhoades told commissioners they couldn’t act on the proposal, and that the only way to block the remodeling was through an appeal already filed by architect Brian Viani, a coauthor of the landmarking application. 

Architect John Holey, hired by owner Marguerite Rossetto to design the remodel, strenuously objected to landmarking efforts. 

Her position was countered by Viani, architectural historian Ruth Rosen, Christopher Adams and letters from other architects and the senior architectural writer for Sunset magazine. 

Viani’s appeal comes before the council on Nov. 9. H

A new citizen seeking to cast her first vote and her husband screamed, yelled and threatened to call the police before they were allowed to cast their ballots at the YWCA polling station Tuesday. 

The ruckus, which occurred just after 8 p.m., capped off an election day that Precinct Coordinator William Sutton called “a debacle.” 

Margalit Lutskevich and her husband Aharon Habshoosh took their place in line outside the YWCA at approximately 7:40 p.m., 20 minutes before polls closed. They and others still waiting outside were ushered into the lobby to continue their wait. 

What they didn’t know was that the YWCA, at 2600 Bancroft Way, houses two separate polling precincts, one for the surrounding south campus neighborhood and the other for residents who li ve in a precinct just north of the UC Berkeley campus. 

While the south campus precinct was beset by complaints against poll workers and long lines caused primarily by large numbers of voters who didn’t appear on voter rolls, the north campus precinct ran smoothly. Assuming, after a quick survey of the remaining voters, that nobody in the jam-packed lobby was waiting to vote at the north campus precinct, election workers shut down voting machines promptly at 8 p.m. 

The election worker announced that the polls were closed, but didn’t specify that voting had ceased in the north campus precinct. 

When the couple learned that there were in fact two polling stations and that the north campus precinct was closed, they rushed to the precinct doors. 

“I’m going to go through this door and vote,” Habshoosh screamed at a poll worker. “My voting right is not going to be violated arbitrarily by a bureaucrat.” 

Other poll workers came to the couple’s defense. 

“I think that’s really scandalous and it’s totally undem ocratic,” said a poll worker named Dak, who said he saw the couple in the lobby at 8 p.m. “I would never think anything like that could happen in Berkeley.” 

Lois Fisher, an election worker at the north campus precinct said she hadn’t seen the couple when she surveyed voters waiting in the lobby. 

Election workers called police, who calmed tempers and brokered a compromise allowing the couple to vote via provisional ballot at the south campus precinct. 

As he left the polling station shortly after 9 p.m., Habshoosh was still angry over the ordeal. “It’s not all right,” he told Officer Michael McElroy. “We should have been able to vote on the touch screen machine.” 

The YWCA is notorious for long lines, said Councilmember Kriss Worthington who worked to se cure additional voting machines for the two precincts inside. 

But the extra machines were little help for the south campus precinct, said Poll Monitor Wanda Hasadsri, as nearly half of those who came to vote at the precinct weren’t on the voter rolls and had to fill out provisional ballots. 

Election workers needed more time to process unlisted voters and as a result, she said, voters waited in line for over two hours, while at times as few as two of the 10 voting machines were being used. 

Once inside t he precinct, Hasadsri said, voters faced unprofessional poll workers. One worker, Garfield Harris, refused to remove buttons urging support for Karen Hemphill, a candidate for the board of education, and for the Berkeley Drop-In Center, which was a controversial issue in the District 3 city council race. 

Hasadsri said that another poll worker berated students who weren’t on the voting rolls. “He told one person that he wished his foot was longer so he could kick him in the ass,” she said. 

Sutton called the behavior of the two poll workers “unacceptable” and said he would recommend that neither be allowed to work in future elections. 

Harris said he understood he was violating election law by wearing the buttons, but nevertheless decided not to remove th em. A veteran of over ten elections, Harris said Tuesday was “the worst” he had ever seen.  

“What do you expect if the count doesn’t put half of the voters on the rolls?” he said.›?

On an election day when Republicans painted most of the country red, Berkeley called it an early night. 

Many of the election night gatherings advertised as “parties” better resembled group therapy sessions after news services called Florida for Bush shortly before 9 p.m. 

“It’s pretty depressing,” said Lori Belew, her face cupped in her hands. Like many at La Peña, she cheered wildly when Kerry took Pennsylvania only to watch the packed house slowly disperse as Bush staked out leads in two other key battleground states. 

The lone cause of hope for Democrats after 9 p.m. came when newscasters declared Minnesota for Kerry. The news spurred Jack Thorpe to lead the sparse crown in chants of, “Are we going to win in Ohio? Yeah! 

“Kerry has been fighting from behind the whole damn time. He’s going to win it,” Thorpe said. 

Shortly before 10 p.m., Thorpe’s optimism was shared at the headquarters for Measure B, a school tax, which was the only tax measure voters approved Tuesday. 

“Kerry still has a good chance,” District Superintendent Michele Lawrence said. 

What she and others didn’t know was that about five minutes earlier the Fox Radio Network called Ohio and the election for Bush. 

When alerted of the projection, the optimism quickly turned to skepticism and then to desperation. 

“That’s just Fox,” said one Measure B supporter. “I don’t see how they could tell yet.” 

But Measure B volunteer Mary Hilbert started to see the writing on the wall. “Please God,” she said. “I’m at that bargaining stage like I’d give up my first born.” 

Asked if forced to chose between a victory for Kerry or a victory for Measure B, which will pump $16 million into Berkeley schools over the next two years, School Board Director Shirley Issel didn’t mince words. 

“Kerry,” she said. 

While Measure B supporters could take solace in their local victory, there was no silver lining three blocks down the road at the headquarters for city tax measures J, K and L, which would have given money to the library, paramedics and the general fund.  

“They’re all going down,” said Calvin Fong, an aide to Mayor Tom Bates, as he watched returns trickle in on the county registrar’s webpage. 

By 10:30 p.m., with only half of the local returns counted, the spacious office, which doubles as the headquarters for the United Democratic Campaign, was nearly empty. Mayor Bates and other members of the City Council who championed the tax hikes were nowhere to be found. 

Vicky Liu, the campaign coordinator for the three tax measures, said the only matter still undecided was whether to bring out the cake they had ordered with icing that spelled out, “Victory 2004.” 

Like at other election gatherings, supporters of measures J, K and L closed shop long before final election results were tabulated. 

Laura Menard, who lost her bid for City Council in District 3, ended her party shortly before 10 p.m. “Everyone said they were tired and had to work tomorrow,” she said. 

La Farine Bakery on Solano Avenue, the site of a victory celebration for Laurie Capitelli, the winner in City Council District 5 and Betty Olds, the winner in District 6, went dark before 11 p.m. 

“Everyone was so depressed about the national results,” Olds said. 

“I should have known better. I grew up in the Midwest and there are only two things to do there, fornicate and go to church.” 

The party also ended early at the home of Dan Newman, one of the leaders behind Measure H, an initiative to publicly finance city elections. Newman sat dejected in his living room shortly after 11 p.m. as election returns showed Measure H’s $41,000 campaign could only garner 40 percent of the vote. 

“Clearly we need to educate Berkeley more on what a great system this is,” he said of the plan to fund local elections with public money. 

Marie Bowman reported that the mood was more upbeat at a party held by Berkeleyans Against Soaring Taxes, which opposed all of the losing tax measures. 

“I think it’s great news,” she said, adding that the apparent Kerry loss had dampened the festivities somewhat. 

Berkeley’s resident night owl Tuesday was Robyn Few, chief proponent of Measure Q, which called for decriminalizing prostitution. Few and a couple of loyal supporters remained at the Missouri Lounge past 1 a.m. as returns showed voters overwhelmingly rejecting the measure. 

With the help of several beverages, Few managed to stay upbeat in spite of the measure’s defeat and ready herself for the next four years. 

“We’re going to take Bush on,” she said. “We’re going to have to deal with him for four years, but he’s going to have to deal with us.”

In the aftermath of the victory of Oakland’s safety Measure Y, supporters were calling it the result of a “measured, reasonable compromise” while progressive opponents said they lost because of defections from organizations and politicians “we would have expected to be fighting on our side.” 

The parcel tax and parking tax surcharge measure is expected to add $19.9 million in new revenue to fund safety and violence prevention programs in Oakland, including the hiring of 63 new sworn police officers, $4 million per year in fire department expenditures, and approximately $6.4 million to fund violence prevention social programs. 

Preliminary results this week gave the measure 69.8 percent of the vote. A two-thirds vote was needed to pass. 

Measure Y was Oakland’s third try at a violence prevention tax in recent years. In 2002, voters passed Mayor Jerry Brown’s proposal to hire 100 new police officers, but at the same time voted down the three companion tax measures to fund the hiring. In March of this year, progressive Councilmember Nancy Nadel’s measure to raise $10 million for violence prevention programs and hire 30 to 40 police officers—Measure R—barely missed the two-thirds vote needed for passage. 

A defeat of Measure Y would have been a severe political blow to Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, who has already announced his intention to run for California attorney general in 2006. 

Councilmember Jean Quan, who campaigned extensively for the measure, said that a defeat of Measure Y would have meant that a new violence prevention measure would not have been introduced until 2008. 

“Everything’s going to be tied up in 2006 in the Oakland mayor’s race,” she said. 

While preliminary tallies were coming in on election night at Alameda County election headquarters in Oakland, Quan said that she had predicted that Measure Y would get 68 percent of the vote. She said she was “obviously pleased” that the final tally exceeded her expectations. 

Quan praised the measure’s “good mix” between additional police and violence prevention social programs. “There was a lot of misinformation about the measure,” she said. “I think we convinced voters that it was carefully crafted, that we made sure a lot of checks and balances were in place. But the most important thing was that there are serious problems with violence in portions of Oakland, and we can’t handle those problems with the current number of police. Those concerns were reflected in the vote.” 

But former Councilmember Wilson Riles—who was defeated by Jerry Brown two years ago in the mayoral election—said that money and desperation were key factors in Measure Y’s victory. Riles campaigned against the measure. 

“There were a lot of well-recognized elected officials with powerful names like Barbara Lee who swayed a lot of people,” Riles said. “In addition, we weren’t able to mount a sufficient campaign to get in any kind of depth of the issue. People supported a political compromise without looking any deeper as to whether what they were supporting would actually make any difference in the city. People are just desperate and hoping that something can be done.” 

Riles estimated that Y opponents were badly outspent, with approximately $26,000 spent to defeat the measure and $140,000 spent to support it. 

Noah Zern, a member of the Education Not Incarceration coalition that opposed Y, agreed that Y opponents “didn’t have the resources or the experience to run a serious electoral campaign.” Zern said that his group was “disappointed in some of the progressive leaders, like Nancy Nadel and Barbara Lee, who took positions supporting Measure Y. We plan on meeting with them and doing follow-up work to make sure that doesn’t happen again.” 

Zern saw a silver lining in the defeat, however. 

“Our goal for the campaign was to challenge the notion that police make us safer,” he said. “We wanted to advance the debate that the community needed job training programs and health care, a better education system, adequate housing, and adequate food. We feel that through the campaign we were successful in strengthening the coalition against the prison-industrial complex.” 

And Wilson said that even though Y has passed, Oaklanders should not look for relief on the streets any time soon. 

“The police department has a lot of folks to hire to get up to the level of personnel that the city is committed to maintain before they can even start collecting and spending any of this Y money,” he explained. “It’s going to take a while to do that. In the meantime, the police department is in total disarray, both because they won’t have a chief for a while and to fulfill the requirements of the Riders settlement that they have not met the marks on.” 

Oakland Police Chief Richard Word will soon be leaving the department for a similar job in Vacaville, and a new police chief has not yet been chosen. The Riders settlement involved a recent multi-million dollar settlement by the city over claims that Oakland police officers systematically beat arrestees, lied on reports and on the witness stand, and manufactured evidence. As part of the settlement, Oakland is being monitored by a court-chosen team to improve its police department. 

“I’m not expecting there will be many new police very soon,” Riles said. “And those that do get into the system will be as poorly trained as those who are presently in the neighborhoods that are under the greatest stress from violence.”?

Measure K, one of the most heated issues this year in El Cerrito, went the way most thought it would, passing with 6,427 votes, or 65.3 percent. 

The measure approves an already existing 8 percent utility tax that generates $2.2 million dollars for the city’s general fund, or roughly 12 percent. 

“We’re thrilled,” said Debbie Weeks, one of the leaders of the Yes on K campaign and the host of the campaign’s election party on Tuesday night. “We felt pretty strongly that we were going to do okay, but you can’t tell until the very end.” 

Most of those gathered at the party, including a group of firefighters from the nearby fire station, said they knew they were in the homestretch after the initial absentee ballots came in with well over 50 percent in favor of the measure.  

The tax was on the ballot because it was originally passed in 1991 by the City Council without being put up to the voters. At the time, the council believed that general taxes, or taxes that don’t fund one particular program, do not need voter approval. Subsequently, the California Supreme Court ruled otherwise, so the city was forced to put the tax on the ballot. 

According to city officials, if voters rejected the measure, city services that depend on the money such the police department, fire department, senior programs and swim center would have been scaled back.  

Those opposed to the measure, many of whom joined a campaign called El Cerritans for Tax Justice, said they knew the odds were against them but were still satisfied with the results. 

“We got beat, there is no denying it, but they did not get two-thirds,” said Brit Johnson, one of the leaders of the tax justice campaign and the husband of Gina Brusatori, a councilmember who just stepped down to comply with the city’s informal term limit rule. 

Two-thirds of the vote was not required and the tax passed with a simple majority, but Johnson said he was glad to see significant, even if not decisive, opposition to the measure. 

Opponents claimed the tax was poorly drafted and were asking voters to delay the tax for a subsequent election to allow for more citizen oversight. In the meantime they wanted the city to use some of its reserve funds to keep existing programs alive. 

They also claimed the city is guilty of fiscal mismanagement and could have reduced the tax rate below 8 percent if there was better management of the city budget. 

Johnson said the tax justice campaign was grossly out-funded by the Yes on K campaign so they felt good about receiving more than a third of the vote. He said that the vote also disproves the claim by tax supporters that the tax justice campaign represented only a small minority. 

The heated battle over the cleanup and development of the heavily polluted South Richmond site of a chemical manufacturing complex heads to a higher venue Saturday. 

Assemblymember Loni Hancock and fellow legislators will conduct a formal hearing at UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station, one of two adjacent properties that housed the plants. The hearing runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Building 454 of the Field Station, 1301 South 46th St. The site is west of the I-580 Bayview exit. 

The immediate focus of the hearing is the cleanup of polluted muck from a portion of the bayfront Stege Marsh on property owned by Cherokee Simeon Ventures, a consortium which plans to build a 1,330-unit housing complex atop a buried toxic waste dump. 

“I am very interested in two things,” Hancock said Thursday. “First, that the cleanup now underway is conducted safely and that the concerns of the community are answered, and second, what, if any, new legislation is needed to insure that the proper procedures are in place to secure the best results for the public.” 

Nearby property-owners, businesspeople and area residents have complained repeatedly that the ongoing cleanup has been poorly managed, resulting in potential exposures to hazardous substances. 

Contra Costa County Public Health Director Dr. Wendel Brunner played a leading role in initiating the hearing, expressing particular concerns that bureaucratic turf wars were hampering the cleanup and citing a lack of concern for community anxieties. 

Community activists have consistently complained about dust escaping from the site, both during the current cleanup and during the larger operation two years ago that concentrated on the inland portion of the Campus Bay site. 

Tighter controls have been ordered for this phase of the cleanup after neighbors mobilized and one group, Bay Area Residents for Responsible Development (BAARD), retained legal counsel. 

While overall responsibility for supervising the site rests with the Bay Area Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), Brunner and neighbors have asked that control be transferred to the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), which is regarded by many as more rigorous. 

On at least three occasions over the last 10 days, dust at the site has been detected at levels above the figures set for remedial action by the DTSC, which are ten times more stringent than levels set by the RWQCB. 

Hancock’s hearing will focus in part on the issue of jurisdiction, the role of public participation in the cleanup process, the status of current operations at the Campus Bay project, and the future of the site itself.  

The session is jointly sponsored by the Assembly Environmental and Toxic Materials Committee, chaired by John Laird, and the Select Committee on environmental justice, chaired by Cindy Montanez. Both legislators are scheduled to attend. 

Montanez has conducted hearings in Southern California on site cleanups supervised the Regional Water Quality Control Boards there, Hancock said. 

“We also want to determine how the supervising agency is picked, if it’s done by the developer or by the California Environmental Protection Agency,” Hancock said. 

Another concern is the proposed change of use from an industrial park to concentrated housing. Brunner and others have raised concerns that the requisite remediation standards for the two types of development, with permanent residency triggering significant lower levels of permissible exposures. 

Cherokee Simeon has proposed installing fans that would blow air beneath the residential structures to prevent concentrations of volatile organic compounds buried on the site. 

“We want to address how changes in end use trigger reexaminations of how remediations have been conducted,” Hancock said. 

Richmond city officials, reeling under a massive debt load and eager for tax revenues, have made no secret of their desire to see the housing project built, and Cherokee Simeon has emerged as a significant player on the Richmond political scene, contributing $2,500 each to four incumbent candidates in the just-concluded city council election. 

Three of the developer’s candidates won, all incumbents, including top vote-getter Tom Butt, Mindell Penn and Nathaniel Bates. The other recipient, Gary L. Bell, lost. Gayle McLaughlin, the other winner, is a member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, which has been critical of corporate influence on municipal government. 

Richmond officials are expected to attend the hearing, said Michelle Milam, the member of Hancock’s staff who has been organizing the session. 

Among those currently scheduled to testify are: 

• A top official of Cherokee Simeon. 

• County Health Director Brunner. 

• Bruce Wolfe, executive director of the RWQCB. 

• Barbara Cooke of the DTSC. 

• Richmond City Planner Barry Cromartie. 

• Sherry Padgett of BAARD. 

• Jane Williams of California Communities Against Toxins. 

• Marlene Grossman of Pacoima Beautiful. 

Citizens and other stakeholders will also have the opportunity to testify during a public comment session, and Milam said she expects UC officials to attend as well. 

After a reporter advised Hancock earlier this week that a sizable hole had been cut into the fence surrounding the marsh excavation, her office has contacted Rick Brausch of the state Environmental Protection Agency to determine who is responsible for maintaining the site perimeter. 

While the marsh cleanup hearings are underway indoors at the Richmond Field Station, another marsh action will be happening outside. 

The Bayshore Stewards are conducting a restoration of native plants in the previously cleaned-up section of Stege Marsh on the UC property. 

Volunteers will be setting out native plants along the edge of the marsh to restore the breeding and nesting habitat of the endangered clapper rail shorebird. 

Program coordinator Elizabeth O’Shea said rain gear, tools, gloves and refreshments will be provided. 

For further information call 231-9566.

On Tuesday the Berkeley Daily Planet had its first hearing in Alameda Superior Court concerning the unsealing of records filed in a class action lawsuit brought against California Wal-Mart stores. 

Represented by the Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld law firm in Oakland, the Daily Planet filed a motion in August to unseal the records after they found that nearly every document filed by Wal-Mart in the case was under “conditional seal” and inaccessible on the court’s Domain website.  

The suit that the newspaper is trying to gain access to is a statewide class action suit brought by 204,000 Wal-Mart workers who claim Wal-Mart violated their rights under state labor laws by denying them their meal and rest breaks, and by secretly deleting hours worked from their paychecks. The case was filed in 2001, granted class action status on Nov. 6, 2003 and is expected to go to trial in June 2005. 

“Wal-Mart seems to think that they do not have to play by the rules,” said Suzanne Murphy, a lawyer for the paper, about the sealing of all the documents. 

The Daily Planet is concerned the case violates the public’s constitutional right to access court records. It is also concerned that the case could set a precedent where the public, rather than the party that wants to keep its records secret, is forced to prove that court documents should be open to the public. 

According to Murphy, this is not the only lawsuit in California where Wal-Mart has tried to keep its documents secret. According to Jessica Grant, the attorney for the workers in the class action suit, Wal-Mart has designated nearly all their documents confidential in both this case and in other cases around the country. 

“Wal-Mart is hyper-sensitive and they do not want anyone to know about their company,” said Grant.  

Grant added that she believes the real point is that Wal-Mart doesn’t want the public to learn that they are artificially suppressing labor costs by intentionally understaffing their stores and secretly deleting hours from employees paychecks.  

At the hearing Tuesday, Judge Ronald M. Sabraw in the Complex Litigation Department of Alameda Superior Court heard arguments from both sides and is expected to issue a decision within the next couple of days. In a tentative ruling issued by Judge Sabraw the motion to unseal all the records was denied as premature. According to lawyers for the newspaper, that tentative ruling could change significantly with the final ruling. 

The records the newspaper is trying to access are those filed by the parties for the motion that granted the case class action status. The paper also wants access to papers filed in connection with a summary adjudication motion by Sabraw concerning certain legal issues in the class action suit. 

In their opposition to the newspaper’s motion, lawyers for Wal-Mart argue that many of the documents the newspaper has asked to see “contain and discuss highly sensitive proprietary information including trade secrets, business strategies and unique methodologies,” and therefore should remain under seal.  

In the same brief Wal-Mart says the parties followed procedures provided by a protective order entered in the case, and initially asked the court to permanently seal some of the documents submitted “conditionally under seal.” A protective order is an agreement drawn up between both sides in the litigation, which sets guidelines for how they will produce, designate and file confidential information. 

They add, however, that beginning in August 2002, rather than hold two hearings for each motion in the case—one on the motion itself, and another on the request to permanently seal the motion papers—the “court specifically allowed the parties to file documents ‘conditionally under seal’” without having to bring a formal motion to permanently seal. 

“Until now, Plaintiffs have never filed a challenge to the propriety of a document Wal-Mart filed under seal,” they write. 

A spokesperson for Wal-Mart declined to comment further on their argument or any of the other questions posed by the Daily Planet. 

Attorneys for the Daily Planet countered that the sealing of court records is governed by the California Rules of Court, which were mentioned in the protective order, but which Wal-Mart did not follow. Those rules were meant to give effect to the strict constitutional limits on sealed records announced by the California Supreme Court in a 1999 case, NBC Subsidiary (KNBC-TV) v. Superior Court.  

According to the Planet’s attorneys, those rules provide that a court record may be sealed only if the court finds that “the proponent of secrecy has an overriding interest in a particular court record that outweighs the public’s right of access to that record,” and enters an order sealing the record based on that finding. 

Wal-Mart was required to file a formal motion proving its “overriding interest” for every conditionally sealed document before the court made a decision based on the document, according to the paper’s attorneys. Under the protective order, Wal-Mart had to bring a motion to permanently seal no later than 30 days after the last paper filed by the parties in support of or opposition to the court’s decision  

Wal-Mart never filed a motion to have the records permanently sealed, so the conditional seal should no longer apply and the documents should be accessible, Murphy said. 

“If the party fails to jump through the right hoops and prove that the record should be under seal, it’s too late,” Murphy said. 

In the meantime, David Rosenfeld, another attorney for the Daily Planet, found that the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco had copies of many of the records the newspaper is seeking, which are publicly available and not under seal. According to Murphy, Wal-Mart filed the documents as part of a writ petition asking the Court of Appeal to reverse Judge Sabraw’s rulings on the class certification and summary adjudication motions.  

According to Murphy, Wal-Mart’s public filings in the Court of Appeal means it either knew the records were never properly sealed by the trial court, or waived any right, it may have had to keep those records secret.  

9

An Alameda County Coroner’s office toxicology report has revealed that UC Berkeley senior Patrick McCann had illegal drugs in his system when he died under mysterious circumstances two weeks ago, but there is no evidence yet as to what may have caused his death. 

After McCann collapsed in his Oregon Street home in late October, his roommates took him to the emergency room at Alta Bates Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Berkeley police said at that time that there were no visible signs of injuries on his body. The death triggered a police raid on the two building Oregon Street complex shared by McCann and fellow UC students, ending with the arrest of four of his roommates on drug and weapons charges. 

The four roommates pleaded innocent Thursday to the charges, and will appear in Alameda County Court in Oakland on Dec. 8 to set a date for a preliminary hearing. 

The toxicology report found methadone and alcohol in McCann’s system. The coroner’s office said that a final determination of the cause of McCann’s death may be several weeks away. 

—

As a social anthropologist I observed the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the rise of powerful, close-knit circles that filled the leadership vacuum and seized large chunks of state-owned wealth. These exclusive groups resemble the neoconserv ative or “neocon” core of 10 or so players who helped push the United States into Iraq. The rise of this neocon power circle—and its continued prominence within and without the second-term Bush administration—signals troubling changes in American governin g and policymaking.  

The Eastern European former apparatchiks and the American neocons share many characteristics. They specialize in blurring state and private interests and spheres. They are skilled at skirting both the government’s rules of accountabi lity and business codes of competition. They have created new norms that make bureaucracy more like business and business more contingent on government.  

In The Power Elite, written a half century ago, C. Wright Mills noted that three interlocking prongs of power—corporations, the military and the political elite—were diminishing the authority of elected officials. That trend is stronger today. The outsourcing and privatization of government functions in the name of efficiency and cost savings have led t o the delegation of more authority to private entities and new opportunities for strategically placed groups of actors to co-opt public policy agendas.  

This was certainly the case in Eastern Europe. After the revolutions of 1989, when states began divesting themselves of state-owned resources, informal groups worked in and around the crumbling systems to grab state-owned firms and other resources at fire-sale prices. Players soon learned that wearing multiple hats was the most effective modus operandi. In Poland, officials often presented visitors with two or more sets of calling cards—their official government ones, and cards naming their position in an NGO or consulting firm, sometimes even one that did business with the public office they headed. Schooled under communism in dodging the overbearing state, “mafias” and “clans” positioned themselves at the state-private nexus of activity to mold the emerging system to their advantage.  

I call these exclusive, informal factions “flex groups,” for their ease in playing multiple and overlapping roles and conflating state and private interests. These players keep appearing in different incarnations, ensuring continuity even as their operating environments change.  

The flex groups’ activity in unraveling c ommunist states was more intense than in stable societies such as the United States. However, with the outsourcing of government functions flex players are now becoming a fixture in American politics, too. Today, consulting firms, NGOs, think tanks and pu blic-private partnerships are doing more of the work of government than do civil servants. They write budgets, manage other contractors and make and implement policy. While government contracts are on the rise, driven in part by the demand for military, nation-building and homeland security services, the number of civil servants available to oversee them is falling. Clinton-era efforts to streamline bureaucracy have further decreased the government’s oversight capacity.  

The resulting labyrinth presents openings for flex groups to co-opt public policy portfolios and dilute effective monitoring and study of alternative policies. It also makes the flex group mode of operating attractive to an impatient administration. Cohesion and activism make it effectiv e and an asset to a president, except when it becomes a liability. The neocon core, with a long-held strategy for American policy toward the Middle East, had just such an appeal. The group not only had goals that coincided with those of the Bush II admini stration, it also had a ready-made strategy to achieve them.  

Flex groups’ interactions are far more complex than traditional good-old-boy networks-such as the “Wise Men” who re-fashioned American foreign policy at the end of World War II or John F. Kenn edy’s “Best and Brightest” who executed the Vietnam War in the 1960s.  

As flex players, the neocons have had myriad roles over time. They quietly promoted one another for influential positions and coordinated their multi-pronged efforts inside and outsid e government in pursuit of agendas that were always in their own interest, but not necessarily the public’s.  

Consider the ties among three members of the neocon core: Richard Perle, former chairman of the Defense Policy Board; Paul Wolfowitz, deputy sec retary of defense; and Douglas Feith, undersecretary for policy in the Defense Department. In 1973, Perle helped his friend Wolfowitz find work in the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. In 1982 Perle, as assistant secretary for international security po licy in President Reagan’s Defense Department, hired and later promoted Feith after the latter was fired as Middle East analyst from the National Security Council. A couple of years after leaving the Pentagon, Perle became a highly paid consultant for the lobbying firm International Advisers Inc., which Feith set up in 1989. By serving as a consultant to the firm, Perle-who had just finished a seven-year stint at the Pentagon, during which he supervised U.S. military assistance to Turkey-was able to bypas s federal regulations that prohibited officials from serving foreign interests ri ght after leaving government.  

The “mutual aid society” of these three central figures continues to this day. In 2001 Perle and Wolfowitz (as deputy secretary of defense) s aw to it that Feith was appointed undersecretary for policy in the Defense Department. Feith, in turn, selected Perle for appointment as chairman of the Defense Policy Board. (Perle resigned as chairman in March 2003 amid allegations of conflicts of interest, and from the board altogether a year later.)  

Flex players are not necessarily engaged in unethical activity, but they always help each other out in furthering their careers, livelihoods and mutual aims. Even when some players are “in power” within an administration, they are flanked by people outside of formal government. Flex groups have a culture of circumventing authorities and creating alternative ones. They operate through semi-closed networks and penetrate key institutions, revamping them to marginalize other potential players and replacing them with initiatives under their control.  

The neocon core has set up its own duplicative entities in government that often enable them to bypass or override the input of otherwise relevant bodies. Two s ecretive units in the Pentagon were created under Feith and staffed in part by people recruited by Perle from neocon circles. The core empowered shadow hubs of decision-making, including the “mini National Security Council,” a small circle of influence wi thin the NSC, and a similar group in the vice president’s office.  

The blurring and overlapping public and private roles and offices enable players to avoid accountability. Perle, for example, surfaces at the epicenter of a head-spinning array of busines s firms, consultancies, lobbying and ideological initiatives, consistently evading accusations of impropriety that have been leveled against him.  

Today’s most successful players have gone beyond the revolving door, in which executive-branch officials an d members of Congress become industry lobbyists upon leaving office, or industry leaders become officials who help regulate their own industries. Revolving-door careerists are now joined by flex players, who may be on both sides of the door at the same ti me—or for whom the door itself has vanished.  

Flex groups bring impressive energy and staying power in pursuit of their financial and/or ideological bottom line, but they are inherently unaccountable to the public. Their rise pre-dates the George W. Bush administration. But Bush’s second term will likely embolden this growing cadre of flex players, to the detriment of democracy.  

Janine R. Wedel is an associate professor in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. She is writing a book tentatively titled Chameleons in Command: Shadow Power in a Globalizing World..u

After two shootings, one serious, and a series of four vehicle arsons in seven days along a three-block stretch of Harmon Street in South Berkeley, police are declining to say if the crimes are related. 

The first incident took place shortly before 3 a.m. on Oct. 27, when a man was shot on the street outside a home at 1611 Harmon St. 

The victim was taken to Highland Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and has refused to cooperate with police, said BPD spokesperson Officer Shira Warren. 

The second shooting, logged as a shot or shots fired into a dwelling or vehicle, occurred near the corner of Harmon and Sacramento streets at 11:02 p.m. on Oct. 30. Police declined to offer any details of the incident. 

The first of the arson incidents was reported at 10:25 p.m. the following evening, said Deputy Fire Chief David Orth, followed by a second at 11:34. 

Two cars sustained relatively minor damage in the fires, he said. 

The next fire was reported at 12:28 a.m. Tuesday, followed by a second blaze at 3:27 a.m. The arsons resulted in significant damage to a camper unit and a car, he said. 

All four fires were near the intersection of Harmon and California streets. 

Orth said police had a description of an individual seen in the area at the time of one of the blazes. 

http://www.jfdefreitas.com/?path=/00__Latest%20Work¯

INKWORKS PRESS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Inkworks Press, a union printshop, proves daily that union printing is not synonymous with high costs, contrary to the implication in your article on union printing and political campaigns in Berkeley (“Emeryville Printer Wins Big in Election Sign Business,” Daily Planet, Nov. 2-4). For 30 years Inkworks has been meeting the printing needs of the peace and social justice community and progressive businesses by finding ways to reduce costs. 

Most recently we acquired a cutting edge full color press to provide affordable printing on short-run color jobs, using 100 percent recycled papers and vegetable oil inks. By being smart on printing options and working with our customers we demonstrate that union printing combined with a “beyond compliance” environmental commitment makes good business sense. 

Bernard Marszalek 

Inkworks Press 

• 

OF, BY AND FOR THE RICH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Unfortunately, it appears that a government of, by and for the rich will continue for at least four more years. I take a small comfort from the fact that voters in my home state and my home town showed a great deal more wisdom than the country as a whole. 

Michael Fullerton 

• 

DIEBOLD VOTING MACHINES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Who knows, who can know, how many electronic ballots might have been flipped by the Diebold voting machines? Without a paper trail, like a cash register receipt, election officials can not verify and validate the count. Flipping between one and two percent of the votes would be enough to produce the apparent results. And Diebold’s president is one of Bush’s deepest supporters. 

If any good can come from this election, let it be new regulations to ensure fair, verifiable vote counting. Our democracy is more valuable than partisan politics. 

Bruce Joffe 

Piedmont 

• 

FOR KERRY BY DEFAULT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

My vote for Kerry was less for him and more against Bush. 

I have been told that Kerry was told he had to say he would continue Bush’s war on Iraq in order for him to win. I never could figure out how Kerry could say the war was a mistake and then say that he would continue it. 

The reasons that Kerry gave for opposing the war in Vietnam were that the U.S. government had lied about it and that it could not be won. 

These are two of the reasons that I believe the war on Iraq should be stopped. 

Had we known that Kerry was going to be defeated we might have chosen Howard Dean to be the candidate. At least we could have listened to some lively speeches. Until the Democrats get control of at least one house of Congress they will not be able to change the course Bush has set this country on. 

Max Macks 

• 

BRENNAN’S 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

According to a Contra Costa Times article entitled “Brennan’s isn’t going anywhere” (July 30, 2004), developer Dan Deibel of the Urban Housing Group stated that after the initial construction was complete, Brennan’s might be asked to move to a new location a block away, “but such plans are at least five years off, and may never materialize.” 

When we learned in September that a demolition permit had already been applied for, I and others sought signatures for landmark applications for the Brennan’s and Celia’s buildings. Signers said about Brennan’s, “it’s a Berkeley institution” and “it’s a piece of history!” I realized that the Brennan’s building is a landmark, even if it never receives such designation, and wrote the applications myself. 

Regarding the Celia’s building, which had been the beloved Boy Scout Building when I was growing up, it was a pleasure to learn about its gifted architect, Irwin Johnson, and a delight to interview former boy scouts and Scout Executives. It was a sad endeavor, however, as this charming little building will likely be lost. 

I was chagrined to learn, approximately a week before the landmark hearing, that the proprietors of Brennan’s, the Wades, were opposed to the application.  

No one I have talked to believes that the Brennan’s bar and restaurant will survive moving into a smaller venue with insufficient parking. I sincerely hope that the Wade family receives very generous monetary compensation for moving. If so, they might be the first party in Berkeley to benefit from making a deal with a developer. Remember that there is no Fine Arts Theater in the Fine Arts building. The Gaia building contains no Gaia Bookstore nor Shotgun Theatre, and to this day, fails even to house a jazz club. 

The Brennan’s and Celia’s buildings are in danger of demolition to accommodate yet another neighborhood insult—a lot-covering condo or rental block (its use is undecided). Perhaps out-of-town developers are unaware that the rental market has tanked, even as in-town developers scramble to turn their rental blunders into condos.  

While condo construction might be sensible in areas with insufficient buildings or a growing population, Berkeley has neither. When the first condo colossus opens, we will see how much purchase demand there is for small units in big blocks. Most people want a home attached to a portion of land, while buyers of new condos own mainly sheet rock and air. 

Deibel’s Urban Housing Group is a subsidiary of Marcus and Millichap, a national real estate investment brokerage company. Two years ago, local carpetbaggers were ravaging Berkeley. Now national corporations want a piece of the action. If this project goes through as either condos or rentals, I’m convinced it will be a financial disaster, and only wish that the corporation behind this venture would find a MacDonald’s and a Taco Bell to demolish, rather than part of our history. 

Gale Garcia 

• 

MORE ON BRENNAN’S 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I don’t particularly have an opinion on the merits of Brennan’s as a building worthy of landmark status, but I do have an observation. Under the recently proposed revisions to the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance, no building less than 50 years old that occupies the site of a developer’s application for a use permit will automatically be considered by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for landmark status. The current LPO has a forty year threshold. The proposed new ordinance, now finally being considered by the Planning Commission after a four-year-long process at the LPC, was approved by some of the same commissioners who now seem to vocally favor living by the old standard. What we can conclude, therefore, is that if this 46-year-old building is indeed approved for landmark status, it is very likely to be the last one of its age to gain such approval. And as such it deserves even closer attention than such a relatively youthful building normally receives. 

Alan Tobey 

• 

CODEPENDENCY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It’s election day and I was out shopping. When I exited a middle age woman was sitting by my bike. “Have you already voted?” I asked her. “No, she responded. I’m still thinking.” It turned out she is both a U.S. citizen and one of 2 million Iranian exiles who fled the fundamentalist Iranian regime. I don’t trust Kerry, she said. I asked her why. I’m politically active in the Iranian community and we’ve seen a 12 million dollar check his campaign accepted from the mullahs. That’s not likely, I told her. It’s illegal, and if you’ve seen it they would be caught and exposed. I’ve seen the check, she insisted. I couldn’t convince her it was implausible, an “October surprise.” 

I don’t trust the Democratic party myself. But if the DNC was even thinking of risking the election by accepting money from Iranian clerics they wouldn’t be stupid enough to accept a big fat check signed by an Iranian mullah. That’s just common sense. But not to people who are inexperienced in how the art of political manipulation is applied in the U.S. system; or unaware of how computers can generate phony photos of anything. Carl Rove and his minions apparently had a squadron of people assigned to figure out the vulnerability and gullibility of numerous specific voter groups that might be sold a bill of goods about John Kerry being a threat to them in particular. We all know about the Swifties developed to neutralize the military and veteran vote for Kerry, but how many more of these stories about $12 million dollar checks from militant Iranian fundamentalist Muslims, (or people knocking on your door in the black community in Florida and telling you they can write down your official vote right then and there so you won’t have to go to the polls) are yet to surface? How many before the “other America” realizes their co-dependency in a fraud to undermine our democratic rights?  

Marc Sapir  

• 

POINT MOLATE RESORT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

There has been an attempt to obscure the merits of the Point Molate Resort proposal by those with special interest. It is up to us to find out what this resort proposal really means to our community. 

One of the many benefits that the Point Molate Resort will bring to this community is a youth job apprenticeship program. Studies have shown that Richmond has one of the highest unemployment rates particularly among the youth in the state. An employment apprenticeship program will make a huge impact on the jobless rate in this community. I strongly believe that early preparation would lend to more stable career opportunities for the youth. 

Many Richmond youth have not been exposed to mentors, sharing the importance of an education or the acquisition of a trade, skill, or job readiness training. It is surprising to note that many youth surveyed were unable to demonstrate the fundamentals of job retention. These among other essentials skills necessary to advance on the career ladder are offered through our apprenticeship program, and have been proven to reverse the lack of socio-economic responsibility. 

The Point Molate Resort has committed to financially support the proposed local youth apprenticeship program as a way to open doors to a more stable future. Employers such as the building and trades unions have commented that this program “hits the nail on the head,” and welcomes this opportunity to help meet their diversity workforce requirements. Now is the time to implement this program to ensure its success. 

As we examine the positive impacts of the Point Molate Resort, keeping in mind the future of our community, we realize that it rests in the hands of the youth. We have the privilege of passing the torch to them. Say yes to the Point Molate Resort . 

Larry Fleming, 

Executive Director 

Visitacion Valley Jobs, Education, and Training 

• 

PROUD AMERICANS? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The saddest thing about this election is that so many Americans support a “president” who (1) was not legitimately elected, (2) violates binding treaties, (3) puts the profits of corporations above the protection of our health and our environment, (4) waged war without the Congressional declaration of war required by our Constitution, (5) killed approximately 40 times as many innocent people as Osama Bin Laden, (6) has no respect for the United Nations, and (7) is almost universally hated around the world.  

And we are expected to be proud to be Americans? Not at the moment. 

Michael J. Vandeman 

Hayward 

• 

A NEW REPUBLIC 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

What went wrong with the recent “election”?  

So many Americans are jumping for joy that Bush was elected that I feel like Cassandra for even trying to point out Bush’s flaws.  

Bush ignored 28 different warnings that 9/11 was about to happen. He cost America over 2 million jobs. He’s run up the largest debt in history, effectively bankrupting America, the richest country in the world. He has exhibited the ethical behavior of an alley cat. He’ll promise anything for cash. And even his cult Christian backers’ worst nightmares—terrorism, abortions and homosexuality—have vastly multiplied in the last four years. And don’t tell me that nobody voted for Kerry—we had voters standing out in the rain in Ohio at 4 a.m. to vote against Bush. 

So. What went wrong with this election? Why were the “official” results so much different from the exit polls? Ask Diebold. Ask Karl Rove. And ask the Americans who voted for Bush.  

“Why did you vote for Bush?” 

“Because we didn’t know any better. Because we didn’t want to know any better.” I feel like Cassandra, standing out in the rain, saying gloomy things while everybody else laughs. 

Nobody else wants to live in a progressive country where Christian values are still honored, our government doesn’t lie to us, the buck stops here—and we still have bucks? Nobody else wants that? Too bad for them. I still do. 

I hereby declare the Independent Republic of 2009 Stuart Street! Stop me if you dare. I have my own army, navy, air force and White House. I even have my own Gross National Product. “Thou shalt not kill” is my country’s motto. I build my own highways and salute my own flag. And I’m not going to recognize the USSRA either! (Unless of course they beg.) 

Is this a good idea? Probably not. 

Got a better one?  

Jane Stillwater 

• 

TOO DAMN CEREBRAL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

There has been some talk in leftist circles to the effect that the flamboyant actions of Gavin Newsom over gay marriage gave the election to George Bush, but that is just another rationalization by the left, in my humble opinion. The real problem seems obvious in retrospect. The Kerrys were just too damn cerebral. Maybe Kerry had guts, but he had a conscience too. Middle America intuited a logic that is probably irrefutable. A measured response to terrorism, no matter how competent, would probably be ineffective in protecting the homeland. It is only the threat of an overreaction by a madman in the whitehouse that has any deterent value at all. As in the cold war, when mutual assured destruction was the doctrine, so it is now. In retrospect, Ted Kennedy was wrong, and Al Gore was right—Howard Dean was the right choice. First of all, he is less cerebral, and second of all, like a modern-day Buddha he would have challenged the whole chain of events that necessitates the doctrine of mutually assured destruction. There is a chance that Middle America might have responded to a sincere argument along those lines, coupled with the sincere argument that was made concerning Bush’s commitment to big business. From Kerry they got only cognitive dissonance on the terrorism issue, and that is what cost him, and us, the election and a chance to radicalize Middle America. 

Peter Mutnick 

• 

CREEK ORDINANCE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

On Nov. 9 the Creek Ordinance will again be before the City Council. A sudden effort to get rid of the 15-year-old ordinance was generated by telling homeowners that they could not rebuild if there was an earthquake. One entity that would want to dump the Creek Ordinance at this time is Congregation Beth El, currently building on Codornices Creek. Five of the nine members of the Planning Commission are currently Beth El members. The plan was to send the Creek Ordinance to the Planning Commission to change and then for council to simply drop the setback requirement without a public hearing.  

Unfortunately the city attorney and top planning staff are not to be trusted. The city attorney was blind to the conflict of interest in proposals to send the ordinance to the Planning Commission. Rather, she identified conflict of interest for members of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association that prevented them from participating in the hearings on development of the creek site of Berkeley’s first farm. The Planning Department allowed Beth El to get its permits without submission of grading and landscape plans for the creek portion of the site and did not apply the Creek Ordinance consistently with its stated purposes. 

Beth El should not now be allowed an occupancy permit for their 35,000 square foot erection at 1301 Oxford until a parking plan is produced and approved. In order to accommodate cars attracted by a social hall seating 200 for dinners, they would need to rent parking from Mary Magdalene and mitigate the impacts on that site.  

A landscape and grading plan for the creek portion still needs to be submitted, approved and implemented. The plan should detail restoration of the entire creek on the Beth El site, planted with bay trees to continue the green canopy of Live Oak Park.  

If Beth El continues not to have a parking plan and a landscape plan to continue the creekside tree canopy, they are in violation of their conditions of approval. 

The Chinese Christian Church that had the site before Beth El bought it was not allowed to build anything except a facsimile of the original farm house. On southside, First Presbyterian and St. Johns Presbyterian both had to build underground parking in order to expand. All religious institutions in Berkeley need to be treated equitably. 

Eva Alexis Bansner 

• 

BADLY PRUNED CAPTION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The photo in “Prostitution Opposed, Marijuana and Trees Ignored” (Daily Planet, Nov. 2-4) is not an example of bad pruning, as the caption states. The photo shows a tree with dieback, most likely suffering from root and trunk damage due to sidewalk reconstruction, since the dieback is located mainly over the sidewalk, but also probably from drought, pollution, vehicle impacts, and compacted, poorly aerated soil. Pruning is not the apparent cause of damage, and it is only part of the solution. However, it is difficult to remove the causes of damage; they are prevalent in the urban environment. Urban street trees generally face all these problems, and more. Together, these problems shorten the trees’ life expectancy and diminish their appearance. 

The photo does not support the notion that the city is remiss in its tree maintenance. Rather, it displays a symptom of a financially strapped municipal tree program limited not by a lack of vision, expertise or public oversight, but by a lack of funds. For the public to be helpful to city trees, it needs to support the city forestry staff, not divert authority and funding to a Tree Board. (I’m glad that a majority of voters have agreed.) Short of  

additional funding, what the Forestry Department needs from citizens is to be notified of potential problems and be allowed to establish priorities. Their job is difficult enough without undermining their authority. 

T. Gray Shaw 

• 

SUPREME COURT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Chief Justice Rehnquist’s illness and the doubtful health status of three other Supreme Court Justices prompt me to advocate that the new Congress restrict to two the number of Supreme Court justices that in his lifetime any U.S. president may seat on the court when it has one or more remaining members, and to three should the entire court be extinguished—as may have been planned for 9/11. 

With no present limit, in the worst possible event—total court elimination—one man, the president, would seat nine new justices, all to serve for life, and as they age over many years, offering few changes, except from resignation, impeachments or early death. 

Isn’t that, for the same bleak scenario, far worse than to be served for a maximum of seven-plus years by a minimal Court of three, to increase to full size over several administrations? 

No matter who is President from 2005 to 2009, four Supreme Court replacements loom large as a near possibility, bringing, almost inevitably, sharp acrimony and confirmation “Borking”—unless Congress anticipates, and legislates early the above limits. 

While, with four possible retirements looming, limiting replacements to two could soon shrink the court to seven seats for part of a term or two, it should also, for our present and future, minimize long-lasting Court imbalances and favor there a healthy diversity of views, age, sex, race, ethnicity, and economic class. 

Judith Seagard Hunt 

• 

PIMPS AND PROSTITUTES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I appreciate the people who want hookers to be safe in Berkeley, but frankly, I’m more concerned for my own safety and the safety of the neighborhoods we shop in and visit. Father O’Donnell worked very hard with neighbors to rid University Avenue of the violent pimps who were stalking the students who sat at bus stops, like my friend Joyce’s daughter. Both Father O’Donnell and I received death threats while we were standing up to the pimps and the johns. I was accosted on University Avenue twice by young men who assumed I was a hooker (perhaps because I was wearing a red coat?) and found it amusing, since I was quite middle aged at the time, but it was not amusing when a pimp threatened Father O’Donnell with a gun. 

People understandably do not want to shop in areas where women are accosted, nor do we want the problems with drugs that always accompany prostitution. Please do not ignore the dangers to neighborhoods by asking police to non-prioritize the issue of prostitution. Pimps are not friendly guys, in my experience. 

Alta Gerry 

• 

ABSENTEE BALLOTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The absentee ballots that we requested well before the deadline did not arrive by Oct. 29. We were leaving town for five days so we went down to Berkeley City Hall on the 29th to vote because we have cast ballots there before. We were very surprised to learn that we could not vote at City Hall. We were given a slip of paper that gave us driving instructions via the freeway to the Alameda County Courthouse on Oakland’s Lake Merritt. No instructions for public transpoirtation were offered. Berkeley promotes the use of public transportation and its access facilities cause many differently abled people, elderly people and students to reside in Berkeley and use public transportation. I wonder how many people who rely on public transport were unable to vote and I wonder who made the decision to require Berkeley citizens to travel to Oakland to cast a ballot? We were told by the Alameda County Registrars Office on the 29th that our ballots had been mailed on Friday, Oct. 29, but we were allowed to vote a full regular ballot on a court house machine rather than a provisional partial ballot. The absentee ballots were not in our mailbox when we returned to Berkeley on November 3. I wonder if they will ever arrive? I trust that the Daily Planet will urge the Berkeley City Council to work on behalf of Berkeley citizens to be certain that we can cast ballots in Berkeley. 

Sally Williams 

?

On Tuesday evening, as actual vote tallies in the presidential race began coming in, television commentators immediately noted that there was a marked difference between the actual vote tallies and the projected vote tallies as worked out in the exit pol ls. The exit polls were being conducted outside of voting booths across the country by Edison Media Research/Mitofsky International in a national election pool jointly sponsored by the Associated Press, CNN, Fox News, and the three broadcast television ne tworks. 

Consistently, the actual votes recorded for Kerry were coming in less than the vote projected by the exit polls. And so, for much of the evening, television commentators batted around the question of how the exit polls could have gotten things so wrong. 

As if there might be no other possible explanation. 

In elections, people steal votes. That is the way of elections, whether they take place in Kabul or Kansas City. If enough votes are stolen, one way or another, the results of an election can be altered. If you call that a conspiracy theory, you are either very naive, or you’re covering up. 

Probably the most infamous example of American vote-stealing occurred in the 1960 presidential race, which ended with a 49.7 percent/49.5 percent split i n the popular vote, one of the closest on record. Nixon dropped a widely-anticipated challenge of that election based upon allegations of Democratic vote-stealing in Illinois and Texas, but only after outgoing President Eisenhower withdrew his support for such a challenge. Rumors later surfaced that Eisenhower took that position only because of fear that a court challenge might reveal that Republican vote-stealing had given Nixon the electoral victory in other states. 

In those old paper ballot days, vote s were manually counted at each polling station, one by one, after the polls closed. Usually, the poll workers would open the ballot boxes and empty the ballots out on a table. One worker would read out the vote, ballot by ballot, while another worker wou ld mark down each tallied vote on a sheet. To guard against fraud, candidates would have observers in the room standing behind both the reader and the tallyers, making sure the votes were both called out and written down right. To steal votes at the count in g table in those days, you had to get rid of the other candidates’ observers. And so, I remember that in the first election I worked as an observer—1966, in Dallas County (Selma), Alabama—two of us got run from the polling station by Jim Clark, the Dal las County sheriff who became infamous a year earlier when he ordered the beating of civil rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the Selma-to-Montgomery march. 

Still, paper ballots served American elections well during much of the life of the r epublic. The big advantage was that, so long as you preserved the ballots and made sure no one tampered with them, you could always go back and count them again if someone suspected that someone had cheated on the first count. In most states, in fact, when the difference between the winner and loser gets to within a certain small percentage point, recounts were mandatory in order to make sure an election was not won or lost by human error. 

But that was in the old, paper ballot days. 

Somewhere along the line, we decided that paper ballots were too old-timey, too old school, and we needed to move up to the modern age. Why such a move was necessary, I’ve never been able to figure, but move, we did. First to the mechanical devices like the old punch-card ma chines-the ones made famous in the 2000 “butterfly ballot” and “hanging chad” Florida election-in which the voter pulled a lever that punched a hole in a card, rather than the voter simply taking a pencil and marking an “x” on the ballot. Then, when we be came enamored with computers, we decided that we just had to computerize our voting as well. And so, en masse, counties around the country have been running their elections through computer touch screens. Touch your finger to your favored candidate on the screen, an “x” appears in its place, something happens somewhere inside the guts of the computer, and the voter walks away satisfied that the correct vote has been recorded. 

And so, trust in human observers has been replaced by trust in computers. In an age when we see clever hackers run circles around computer programs, entering the most “secure” spaces, we ought to be wary of that. 

How do we know that the votes in those touch-screen machines are being correctly counted? Actually, we don’t. 

In the 20 03 California gubernatorial election, I got thrown out of the polling counting station in Berkeley, California—the first time that had happened to me since 1966—when, in my job as a reporter for the Berkeley Daily Planet, I attempted to observe the vote c ount procedure being used on the Diebold computerized voting machines. Representatives of the Alameda County Registrar of Voters office later said that barring observers from the counting station was a mistake, but the workers who called the Alame da Count y sheriff’s deputies and ordered me out insisted they were doing so on orders from their superiors. Who gave those orders, I’ve always wondered since then, and why? What were they trying to hide? 

In that same 2003 recall election, two minor cand idates go t close to 40 percent and 30 percent, respectively, of their entire statewide vote total in one county using Diebold computerized voting machines. That widely-publicized discrepancy was caught only because it was so out of whack with the statewi de results. But if some clever computer wizard were to secretly program in a shift of say, one-half of one percent of the vote from one candidate to another in each computer voting machine in each precinct across the state, the shift would never be notice d, and it could change the results of a statewide race. 

We could guard against such a problem if voters were issued a paper receipt when they finished voting on one of those computerized voting machines. The voter could check the receipt to make sure eac h vote was listed correctly, and then drop the receipt in a ballot box on the way out, just as they used to drop their paper ballot in the old days. In a dispute, the receipts could be manually recounted to make sure the electronic tally given by the comp uters was correct. ATM’s give such receipts. Computerized cash registers give such receipts. But so far, makers of the computerized voting machines have resisted installing such receipt devices on their machines. One wonders why. 

Between 2000 and 2002, D iebold—the most popular computerized voting company—gave $200,000 to the Republican National Committee, and Diebold CEO William O’Dell pledged his support to help George W. Bush win re-election in 2004. One wonders how. 

Were the Edison Media Research/Mitofsky Inte rnational exit polls wrong on Tuesday night, and the votes reported by such computerized voting devices as Diebold right? Or was it vice versa? 

No accusation, friends. Just a preliminary question, from a curious election observer. 

Suicide Victim Found 

Berkeley paramedics were summoned to the 2200 block of University Drive on the UC Berkeley campus at 7:25 Monday morning after a student discovered a body in the bushes. 

“There was a clothesline rope and bruising around his neck,” said Deputy Fire Chief David Orth. “He had hanged himself from an overhead branch, and the rope had broken.” 

The dead man was identified as Eduardo Zamudio-Zee, 32, of Oakland. A search of the body turned up a suicide note and a receipt for the rope. 

Robs Dollars from Depot 

At 10:30 Monday morning, a gunman masked by a scarf walked into the Dollar Depot at 1440 University Ave., pulled a pistol and demanded cash from the cashier, said Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Shira Warren. 

The bandit escaped on foot carrying the contents of the till. The cashier was shaken but otherwise uninjured. 

Punches Victim, Grabs Purse 

A 39-year old woman was punched and robbed of her purse shortly before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday near the corner of Blake Street and San Pablo Avenue. 

Gunpoint Purse Heist 

A gunman accosted a woman walking near the corner of Fourth and Delaware streets about 8:15 Wednesday evening and demanded her wallet. The victim complied.

Some people do it for civic duty. The pay certainly doesn’t attract any but the most desperate or the most dedicated. Retired seniors accept the $80 for a 14-hour day (minus a one-hour break) as pin money for being useful. 

I was asked by the Registrar Of Voters (ROV) in 1996 if I would be willing to work at the polls. My memory of working a long day in a damp dark basement in 1972 wasn’t appealing and I hesitated. When I was told that there was a short version of helping on election day, I leapt at the chance. 

The position was precinct center captain, and involved supervising one of four such centers where the votes and equipment for 19 precincts would be processed and sent on to ROV headquarters. It started at 8 p.m. and ended around 11 or 12, or as s oon as all of the precincts came in. Even with a class and some preparation and set up, at $34 the pay was tolerable. 

My site at the Corporation Yard was a five-minute walk from my home. I took the class and took home the Return Center box with the equip ment needed to set up the operation. I followed directions, and for several elections worked the job like a pro. 

I set up the room like an assembly line. There were at least two burly men to unload the cars of flags, booths and heavy ballot boxes. Two or three teens had clipboards, one with a list of the precinct numbers to check off, the other with triplicate forms for each precinct (signed by me in advance) for the judge and inspector of each precinct to sign. 

The ballot boxes with locks contained the precious cargo—the blue register bag with all of the signs and registers and unused ballots, and the red box with the actual voted ballots. These had been counted at the precincts and sealed. My job was to put the red boxes into boxes and label them and to do the same with the blue bags. When the teens weren’t doing the clipboards, they helped me with the boxes, and when the men weren’t unloading cars they were loading a U-Haul truck with the booths and other equipment. The boxes went in at the end of a load. We had a driver who would pitch in, and a troubleshooter with radio contact between ROV and all of precinct centers. I packed the boxes, but floated where needed. 

The building had many advantages. It had bathrooms, a pay phone, and vending machines. There was a sink and a microwave. I carried several dollars worth of change for the workers to get snacks or to make calls for rides home. 

There was a driveway from the gate with an overhang at the entrance where the vehicles lined up to be unloaded. Everything worked according to plan under my charge for years until March 2000, the day of the first March California primary. 

I’d left home with my Return Center box at 7:45 well prepared. There was a light rain and as I unpacked and greeted my crew, it became a steady rain. 

In the box there were four heavy duty flashlights, and several forest green plastic ponchos. I passed these out, along with the W-2 forms to the crew. Amongst them was my neighbor, Fred, who the ROV said that I could recruit to insu re enough help. 

Everyone was at their stations as the first of cars came it. The most experienced crews came in within the hour. 

What had been a steady rain turned into torrents. Precinct lists and forms were getting wet. Pens wouldn’t write, sticker la bels wouldn’t peel, and permanent markers were smearing. Tempers, were getting short, but incredibly, the crew was avoiding back ups. I was getting tired with damage control, and we had half the shift to go. 

One of the men complained about the weather. H e was wearing a Teamster jacket under his poncho, and he had half boots to match those ones with the steel toes. He complained that his boots had a slow leak and that his socks were soaked and he was getting chilled. He took a quick break and, removing hi s socks, wrung them out and wadded them in paper towels and dried them in the microwave. I pretended not to notice....After all, if they were well wrapped...... 

Cardboards were put on the floor while most of the precincts came in. I flew around filling a nd labeling boxes, checking the tally of the precincts left to come in. Occasionally there was a “lost” precinct, one that went somewhere else, or one that was dumped on us. That’s what the troubleshooter was for. 

Suddenly Fred called out “Hey, Edie, loo k at what that guy is doing! He’s putting his boots into the microwave!” I looked up, and started across the room. Too Late! The timer dinged and the guy had his shoes on and was back outside. 

Somehow the night ended and everything was cleaned up by 11:3 0. Most of the crew was released to rides home. I got a ride home with the troubleshooter. At midnight I put myself in bed only to get a call from ROV saying that they couldn’t find the Return Center box. (They found it the next day). 

I decided to stop d oing that job. Fred still teases me about that day, and I decided that doing the day shift would allow me to go to those victory parties that I’d been missing.. 

In November 2000 I worked at North Berkeley Senior Center. The 51 bus went close by. I quickl y learned the job. It was more comfortable than the site was in 1972. I did get little over an hour because I voted at Strawberry Creek Lodge and still got Lunch. We all took turns on the registers and counted ballots against the register pretty fast. The inspector drove me to Outback to the victory party for BCA. I didn’t stay long, and went to bed for a fretful night of listening to the election returns. 

I worked the March 2002 primary at the Corporation Yard. I had the advantage of voting and getting lunch in an hour. It was relaxed and even social, as friends and neighbors came in that I hadn’t seen in years. Jokes were cracked about “hanging chads,” and the day moved smoothly. There were a few snafus, like lost registrations or confusion about polli ng places. Those registered Peace and Freedom, which was not on the ballot, could vote any party but Green. Bummer. 

In November, I returned. Despite the efforts of the wonderful couple who set up the computer voting machines, there were snags with registered voters. There was the white register, a green one, and a pink one. There were many voters who were on none of them. While in a line going out the door, voters whipped out their cell phones to call ROV. We had several visits from ROV, as well as from community volunteers who checked the white registers. We had a lot of backups as we traded jobs working the voting cards and the registers. 

I really like computerized voting. When the machines came to City Hall, it was a joy. No waiting, helpful clerks, you could sit down. Best of all, the user friendly screen was easily read and you could review your vote. The paper trail and the tampering issue gives one pause , but frankly, we should be like other countries and vote on Sunday or solely by mail. There should be REAL inspectors at the headquarters to see that the counts are valid. 

I worked the recall election. I didn’t favor the recall and hesitated about working it, but decided at the last minute that I would. 

I had to go to Friends Church at Cedar a nd Sacramento at 4 am for a ride with the inspector because the busses didn’t go there at six am. (They are worse now). So, I brought coffee and lots of food. There was a full kitchen there. 

It was a long and tiring day. Precincts were combined because i t was expected to be a low turnout with a short ballot. There was confusion about polling places but that was nothing compared to the use of the computerized voting machines. 

We were given a script to use in assisting the voters to use the machines. I me morized it; the only things that we couldn’t do were to 1) influence the voter, and 2) touch the screen. Many voters were confused by the number of candidates (134?) and by the process of going back and forth on the touchscreen to review, cancel, or re-se lect. I would review the instructions according to the script, but one senior just got so frustrated that he left the screen without completing his vote! 

When I voted at City Hall, my method was to memorize the number of my candidate. This might not have worked in all parts of Alameda County as the lists were scrambled on different Sample Ballots. 

We had some computer malfunctions, including at the one that my senior voter had abandoned. This happened during our inspector’s break, so we had to put an “o ut of order” sign on that computer and call ROV. They did send out troubleshooters and observers other than at times that we called them. 

At last the day was done, that whirlwind of assisting voters at the machines, working the cards and the registers. W e cleaned up in record time. I counted the Absentee and Provisional ballots and comparing them against the registers, and by helping to disconnect the computers with their scrolls of recorded votes. Each scroll showed how many had voted at each machine, a nd it was a matter of adding up the numbers along with the ballots counted and recorded against the register. Everything tallied right away, and the inspector packed it up dropped it at the Corporation Yard. I was dropped at home and had some evening left to enjoy.  

This year, I opted out. I voted absentee. Maybe next time...... 

Edith Monk Hallberg is a Berkeley resident.ª

It is traditional for the losing candidate in a presidential race to give a concession speech thanking his or her supporters, and calling on them to join together with those who did not vote the same way. John Kerry followed that tradition in his concess ion speech, but as one of his supporters, here is some of what I would have liked to hear him say: 

My friends, after a long and hard-fought campaign, it has become clear that a majority of the American people voted yesterday in a way that we had hoped th ey would not. Millions of our fellow Americans have given their support to four more years of fear, of war and its attendant profiteering, to the repression of working people, and the suppression of some of our most cherished individual liberties. They ha ve backed an empty strategy of denial where objective facts do not support the policy choices of the current administration, of bluster where those policies have no hope of success, and of threats when those policies are questioned.  

I am deeply disappoi nted in the choice made by that slim majority, but I am an American, and I humbly accept it. And now, for those of us who make up the nearly half of the electorate whose votes are our only record of the beliefs, the values, and the moral choices we have m ade in this election, I say to you that we too have won something. We have declared ourselves as true Americans, we have stood up and been counted in opposition to the wrongheaded and dangerous policies of the current administration, and we have won the r ight to remain in patriotic and loyal opposition to the continuation and extension of those policies. An opposition loyal to the values that made this country a beacon of light and hope to the rest of the world for generations, loyal to the preservation o f individual liberties and the basic principles of tolerance which underlie our Constitution, loyal to the founders’ precepts of freedom and justice for all.  

If we remain united in our resolve, dedicated to standing firm against the tide of fear, of suspicion, of intolerance and of selfish greed that has temporarily prevailed in our great country, we will withstand the onrushing forces of extremism and unilateralism, and preserve the basic rights and freedoms which over the last five decades brought us to the levels of power, strength, and prestige that we enjoyed until the start of the current administration.  

To those who are discouraged by the events of the past 36 hours, I say, “Remain steadfast, remain united, remain faithful to our fundamental pr inciples, and when the current swell of nearsighted and mean-spirited politics fueled by fear and suspicion has ebbed, we will stand ready to welcome back those voters, those Americans, who recognize that in 2004 they were swayed by appeals couched in a morality that holds no virtue, security that offers no protection, and self-interest that provides no relief from the very real problems that face our nation.”  

I stand before you today, humbled by the extraordinary effort that you have made on my behalf, and on behalf of all of us. I have spent years in public service, and I will not leave this stage now without promising you this: The Democratic Party, including the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party, has important, vital work to do over the next f our years, and there is no time or place for lethargy or depression. We will oppose, patriotically, those policies that we have identified time and time again during this campaign as being bad for our working families, bad for our security interests at ho me and abroad, and bad for the long-term prospects of this great experiment we call America. It is our home, and we will fight loyally to preserve all that is important and vital to us, at home and overseas. In a short time, only two years from now, we wi ll have the chance to regain control of Congress, and in the meantime, we need to defend our liberties, our freedom, and our fundamental values, at every turn. That is the work we have in front of us today, and for the next four years, and I promise you I will remain dedicated to those tasks, inspired by your dedication over the long course of this campaign. Good luck to all of us, and God bless America, and all its people. 

Bart Selden has lived in Berkeley for more than 25 years. 

Berkeley, what are we seeing about ourselves this morning? Many of us woke up this morning feeling a deep depression about the state of our country, especially as we absorbed the vast numbers of people who supported the arrogant, self-serving, mean spiri ted leadership of our president. I, like many others in Berkeley, felt marginalized in my perspectives about everything from international policy and national priorities to individual and social concerns. But when I look at my own community, I see some of the same trends that I see in the national results. I am heart sick at the defeat of Measures J, K, L and M—which would have paid for youth programs, libraries, police, fire and other front-line services. In the decision to save those of us who might hav e had to spend a few hundred dollars a year, from having to spend those dollars, I see a community that is trying to “protect” individuals at the cost of our commonwealth. Sound familiar?  

In Berkeley, like many other places all over, many of us feel mor e pressed financially than we felt five years ago as well as more worried about our childrens’ future and the future of the world. And when I look at the local election results, I see us responding to our fears, by doing exactly what Republicans have been trying to make us do in response to our fears, i.e. think about how each one of us can take care of “me and mine” better (the first step of which is always to tighten our own pocketbooks). The Republicans want us to turn away from believing that what wi ll take care of each of us, is to do whatever it takes to make our communities stronger—whether they be local, national, or international communities. They want us to turn away from those who argue that we need to increase our generosity with each other d uring hard times, rather than accept a scarcity model that has us holding on, for dear life, to our individual piece of “security.” 

But it is strong community, and a sense that people will come forward to take care of each other, (each and every one of u s) in hard times, that gives people a real sense of security, as well as a hope in humanity and the world. It is continuing to invest in community—especially in the hard times—that will help our children not feel as afraid to inherit the world they are gr owing up in. It is not solutions that imply that we should watch out because our civil servants are incompetent, or trying to milk us, that truly help our children, (or any of us for that matter), to feel less afraid.  

There are segments of our community, who have become increasingly proud of themselves simply because they are willing to not feel “pressured” to toe what they consider to be the Berkeley “correct” line. These segments have begun to associate “integrity” with being the person who is willing to fiercely stand up to another segment of our community—rather than to define integrity as that part in each of us that enables us to do what is difficult to do as an individual, because we understand that it is in the service of the common good to do s o (emphasis on “in the service of the common good”).  

And what does it mean, anyway, to join the Right in pointing the finger at government, or civil servants for our problems? It is government; our elected representatives and civil servants who spend th eir every working hour trying to serve the public good. We are pointing our fingers at the non-profit entities in our communities—e.g. libraries for heavens sake, as the source of problems and pressures we are each feeling. I am sure that there are inefficiencies in government, and that there are things that are not perfect in the ways that money is spent in government. (These are problems one finds in the private sector as well). But I look at our city representatives and civil servants as the people in our community who most have to deal with the economic and social disparities of our town. It is 

they who are devoting their work lives to trying to deal with some of the trickiest challenges facing our society, (including representing the will of supposed ly one of the most progressive communities in the country). Could the people who backed BASTA—the people in those businesses and associations do these jobs better? Whether or not they could, they are not the ones who have chosen to devote their lives to t rying. They are business owners, professionals, and whoever else, trying to make a living in whatever ways they do. But they are not dealing with the limited resources and growing needs of our community as a whole. 

Shame on those of us who have voted dow n raising our taxes to support city services; the city’s request of us that we tighten our individual belts to enable our Berkeley to hold on to our community values. In this moment of history, with Bush and the Republicans pushing the public to believe t hat the problems we are experiencing are caused by government and will be alleviated if we cut taxes, what does it mean that we, in Berkeley, find people in our midst making the same arguments. And what does it mean that we, in Berkeley, supported those v oices? In the wake of the tax cuts many of us have received from the Republican-controlled congress, their unfunded mandates and cuts to all kinds of human services, what does it mean that we feel that we cannot raise our local taxes? 

When each of us, wh ether we voted for, or against these measures, feels depressed and incredulous at the support for Bush and his administration throughout this country, let us look to what we need to do to change the dynamics within our own community. Let us prepare for th e next election in which the same needs will be there, and the same arguments will be made against putting any more of “our own money” to meet the needs. Let us prepare to answer even the argument that it is not worth giving any more money to our city government services until the city gets rid of all its efficiency problems. 

Our children deserve to see this community of adults as role models of generosity, role models of knowing the importance to our own sanity, and even world peace, of our taking care of “the other,” and asserting a public priority on serving every member in our community. Our children deserve to believe that it is possible to live together in community without believing that in order to meet individual needs we have to close our eyes to the needs of the community as a whole. Let us show them that “go it alone” and “take care of ourselves” are not every American’s reaction to hard times.  

Nancy Feinstein is a North Berkeley resident. 

On Election Day, Berkeley voters trounced five ballot measures put forth by our political establishment (mayor, City Council, city manager, city labor unions, and various vested and invested friends of). Four of these (Measures J, K, L, and M) would have resulted in direct tax increases upon an already overtaxed population. The fifth (Measure H) was an indirect tax increase, since it would have committed the city to creating a $1,800,000 fund for political candidates. 

There are some lessons here. 

You c an’t assume that the people spending and browbeating the most always win. While the campaign finance filings are not complete, and in some cases may hide the ball, it appears that the proponents of Measures H, J, K, L, and M outspent the opposition by som ething like seven to one. Most of the proponents’ money came from labor unions, developers, political interest groups, and other organized sources. 

In Berkeley, there is a substantial disconnect between the governors and the governed. The tax measure ele ction results were not entirely unpredictable, had any of our leaders really listened to the community during the last year. Last fall, the first parcel tax package was routed. Subsequently, the City Council heard repeatedly from an informed citizenry about the city’s tax and budget situation Instead of listening, the political establishment assumed that voters would not (could not?) think critically, and would vote reflexively for any tax with a feel-good label and heavy-duty marketing. The focus of the pro-tax campaign: “It’s for our kids, our library, our very physical survival.” However, no real citizen support ever developed for these measures. Instead, voters listened to and learned from the budget expertise of a coalition of homeowners, neighborhoo ds, and citizens. Voters successfully absorbed complex information about Berkeley’s relative tax burden, structural deficit, labor costs, General Fund backfilling, skewed program priorities, and unevaluated expenditures. 

The city’s budget problems are tr uly structural and not amenable to a quick fix. Revenues in every recent year have gone up by far more than inflation, but costs have gone up even more! The library, with a 45 percent increase in expenditures over just five years, may be the most flagrant example, but it is not alone. The built-in causes of cost escalation are overstaffing, excessive wage/benefit packages, and duplicative or outmoded programs. Our residents, knowing this, do not want a budget band-aid—they want a budget cure. 

Given the v oters’ wisdom on the tax measures, the big question is “How will the political establishment and its allies respond?” Will there be a new attitude and approach after Nov. 2, or just more of the same? Mourning or Morning? More of the same will be hand-wrin ging, then anger, then punishment--announcements of reductions in essential or cherished city services, such as a fire truck or Sunday library services.  

Taxes versus service cuts is a false choice and not what the voters are seeking. Those of us who led the opposition to the tax measures may be underfunded political neophytes, but we are not unintelligent. For nearly a year we have been studying this city’s budget. Along the way, we have repeatedly made constructive suggestions for new revenue streams, prioritizing and evaluating services, and resolving labor issues in a fair manner. If implemented, our suggestions will move us toward a balanced and reasonable budget for hard times and will actually improve the quality of city services.  

The city’s own Citizens Budget Review Commission made similar points in their June report, a report that was effectively buried by the city. It should now be exhumed and read.  

The city needs a plan for long-term financial stability that does not rely on the return of Good Times and does not extract a pound of flesh from our overtaxed populace. The city must truly act as a good steward of the peoples hard-earned money, rather than as a vengeful overlord protecting the interests of its retainers. Berkeley residents and taxpayers deserve no less. We have a vested interest in the long term social and economic sustainability of our community.  

So, now that there will be no cash infusion for a quick fix, it is time for reconstructive work at the drawing board and bargaining table. Those of us in the community who have worked so hard on these matters are on call to assist. 

Barbara Gilbert was a candidate for the District 5 City Council seat. 

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A presidential race that nearly split America in two ended today with both candidates urging unity. To quote John Kerry in his concession speech, “[There is] the danger of division in our country and the need—the desperate need—for unity, for finding common ground and coming together.” However, characteristic of much of their campaigns, neither the president nor the senator offered up a plan as to how we begin to fuse together the fractures caused by a dichotomous nation. 

No matter where you stand on issues after the presidential election, half of your fellow Americans disagree. Today, the country is divided across cultural, moral, and economic lines—the same lines that were drawn in the 2000 election. According to exit polls, Bush supporters tend to be culturally and religiously conservative married rural voters, a large majority with an annual salary of over $150,000. Those who favored Kerry appear to be polar opposites of the Bush backers: single, urban voters earning a more modest salary. Moral issues appear to be most important among those who voted for the president, while Kerry voters are most concerned about the economy.  

So, after the speeches are made and the confetti is swept up, the key question remains how do we heal a divided nation? If you do not agree with the current agenda, it is imperative that you remain vocal and active. Real change does not happen overnight. It requires patience and the insistence that if an issue matters to you, you will not stand by and let injustice happen. Continue to fight for what you believe in, even after the ballots are cast.  

Younger voters need to be taught that their voices will eventually be heard, if they speak up loud and long enough. The efforts to send this new generation to the polls, found in the energetic display of P. Diddy’s “Vote or Die” campaign and the “in-yo-face” politics spewing from the lyrics of Eminem’s “Mosh” should not be overlooked in their power to educate, empower, and motivate the young, disillusioned populous, who most of the time exude apathy about any issue not involving Paris Hilton or the latest celebrity du jour. 

Even though they find themselves on the losing side, it is dangerous for Democrats to concede to four more years of the same. Instead, they should harness the energy that brought a record number of voters to the polls this year and made possible smaller, but significant, victories, such as the historic election of Barack Obama in Illinois. 

Most importantly, there arises the need to recognize and embrace each other’s differences, realizing that we have a lot to learn from each other. Refuse to succumb to the gray waters of the melting pot of yesterday. If Bush is truly seeking “the broad support of all Americans” make him earn it. Only then, in the words of Senator John Kerry, “we can begin the healing.” 

Rebecca Paris is graduate student at UC Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare.  

On a narrow, winding country lane in the lower Berkeley hills stands an empty house, described affectionately by its neighbors as the Jensen Cottage. It is one of the most famous homes designed by the distinguished mid-century architect William W. Wurster. And Wurster Hall, the building that houses the College of Environmental Design on the UC Berkeley campus, is named after this famous architect. 

The Jensen Cottage formed part of complex owned and occupied by the same family for over 100 years. During the late 1990s, a retired professor and his wife rented the home. They loved its elegant simplicity and graceful flow of space.  

Built in 1937, the Jensen Cottage, like many modernist homes, is outlined by simple, straight, box-like lines. Inside, the rooms gracefully open to one another, giving the home a spacious, airy feeling. Both the downstairs living room and dining area, as well as the two bedrooms upstairs, open to views to the west.  

Then, the Jensen Cottage was sold to an elderly woman, Mrs. Marguerite Rossetto. Behind that purchase, however, was her son, Louis Rossetto. The founder of Wired Magazine, Rossetto had sold the publication and bought a home at the far end of the same narrow, winding road on which the Jensen Cottage has stood since 1937.  

When Rosetto began building additions to his own home, no one publicly complained, despite the fact that deafening noise and immense trucks that stopped traffic created a permanent nuisance. It was, after all, his property and everyone understood that he had a right to keep expanding his home. And, so he did, year after year.  

But then, using his mother’s name, Rossetto applied for permits to increase the size of the Jensen Cottage by about 65 percent. The architectural plans call for a two-story addition which would add a second cube to the original home, significantly increase the footprint of the structure, alter its exterior, increase its floor area by about 60 percent and expand its street-side elevation by 100 percent.  

In short, the proposed addition would obliterate the prismatic shape of the original house. While the architects did plan to replicate materials and window dimensions, they rejected designs that could have situated the addition behind the original home, slightly down the hill, and leave the form of the original house recognizable.  

That’s when neighbors realized they needed to preserve the integrity of this historic home. Mrs. Rossetto, who lives on the East Coast, has only spent a few weeks in this home. She also confided to one neighbor, Sue Martin, that she doesn’t even want the house to be expanded.  

But her son has different ideas.  

Neighbors asked to meet with Louis Rossetto, but he refused their request. Then, they asked him to consider a compromise that would preserve the integrity and scale of the home. Instead of discussing the problem with his neighbors, he sent his architects and a “hired expediter” who explained that they had no authority to change the plans.  

For those who may be unfamiliar with William Wurster’s historic reputation, he is, along with Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan, responsible for creating and influencing Berkeley’s distinguished architectural landscape.  

Many authoritative sources not only document Wurster’s distinguished career and reputation, but also describe the historical significance of the Jensen Cottage.  

An article about this home, which was built in 1937, was featured in the periodical Western Homes in 1938. In 1983, Berkeley’s Architecture Heritage Calendar featured the Jensen home in its appointment calendar. In 1995, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art curated a major exhibition of Wurster’s work, which included the Jensen Cottage. In 1996, the University of California Press published a book that accompanied the exhibit, edited by Marc Trieb and titled An Everyday Modernism, the Houses of William Wurster.  

And what do architectural historians and critics have to say about Wurster’s significance?  

Above all, they emphasize that he was a preeminent residential architect from the 1920s to the 1960s, who created a model for homes that influenced the distinctive Bay Area architectural style.  

Words like “humility” and “everyday” crop up frequently in their descriptions of Wurster’s work, which never aspired to exotic shapes and showy materials:  

“Wurster’s secret was that he never saw his houses as any more than a backdrop for well-lived lives and good views. ‘The picture frame and not the picture,’ he often said; and on that frame the best detail was ‘the unlabored thing that looks as inevitable as something that comes out of a frying pan just right, like an omelet in France.” 

Architectural historians also praise Wurster for taking commissions for modest and inexpensive homes, of which the Jensen Cottage is a classic example. “This little house with its ship-cabin scale reflects Wurster’s belief that no job was ever too small for his interest,” wrote one architectural historian. Wurster applied remarkable skill to make his homes respect their sites, as well as modest budgets. As a result, the Jensen Cottage of 1937, wrote one critic, “has remained an enduring example of Wurster’s skill in planning compact dwellings. Disposed on two floors to maximize the minimal land provided by the tight and sloping site, this house of under 1,800 square feet appears much larger than its actual dimensions.” 

Fortunately, William Wurster was not ignored during his lifetime. In 1969, the American Institute of Architecture awarded their highest honor, the Gold Medal Award. Marc Trieb, Professor of Architecture at U.C. Berkeley, wrote “For almost three decades William Wilson Wurster occupied a preeminent position in American residential architecture. His everyday modernism, which tempered national and international architectural trends with a concern for things local, provided a model for living in California, and through coverage in publications, the nation at large. As dean of the schools of architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later the University of California at Berkeley, Wurster also exerted a formidable influence on architectural education from the late 1940s through the 1960s. Yet despite this list of impressive achievements Wurster is no longer well known.” 

Thankfully, that is no longer true. Already, one Wurster house, “The Glass House,” located in Berkeley, has received landmark status. The Jensen Cottage, an early and classic example of elegant modernist architecture, deserves the same protection.  

Unfortunately, the community which wishes to preserve this historic gem have encountered some obstacles. When they appealed to the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB), the members of that board—for whatever reasons—failed to recognize the historic significance of the structure. As a result, ZAB quickly approved Rossetto’s plans to build a two-story addition to the cottage.  

In response, the local community immediately filed an application to the Landmark Preservation Commission, asking them to designate the Jensen Cottage a historic landmark. At the same time, they appealed the ZAB decision to the City Council, which will take up the matter on Tuesday, Nov. 9.  

What do these folks want? According to Brian Viani, who wrote the appeal and the application for landmark status, they want “the City Council to either approve their appeal of ZAB’s hasty decision or to defer any decision until the Landmark Preservation Commission has had time to evaluate the Jensen Cottage for landmark status.” 

With a few minor exceptions, this historic home remains almost as it was built. Should the Jensen Cottage receive a landmark designation, it would be protected from turning into yet one more ostentatious McMansion in the East Bay hills.  

The City Council should approve this community’s appeal and send the issue back to where it belongs—the Landmark Preservation Commission.  

Berkeley is famous for preserving its architectural and historical heritage. The Jensen Cottage is part of that precious legacy.  

Ruth Rosen is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of California, Davis. Christopher Adams is a retired architect and city planner.  

›

Long ago in England, in a bizarre BBC interview, an ancient Irish countryman with a voice from a J.M. Synge play was expressing his low opinion of architecture. Asked about St. Paul’s Cathedral, he opined that, “All buildings are ugly, but some are uglier than others.” Fifty years later I feel somewhat the same about the “built environment” of Berkeley, particularly the new crop of downtown apartments squeezed into landlocked “opportunity sites.” 

Two in particular, one facing Shattuck Square and the other at University Avenue and Milvia Street, are worth a hard look. Touted as “smart,” they might qualify as architecture, i.e., exterior style, but they surely fail as civilized development. Each is hemmed-in by existing old structures that rob perhaps a third of the new living units of light, views, or both. At the same time, each is respectablized culturally by presenting lovingly designed entrance facades to the main avenue. Both are projects of Panoramic Interests, a Berkeley infill development company. 

Kirk Peterson’s Bachenheimer Building at 2119 University Ave., with its cleverly designed Italianate fantasy overlooking Shattuck Square, yearns to be dominating a pedestrian plaza in Rome or Venice, but the narrow lot leaves it looking squeezed, like a disappointed half of a grander edifice. Thus the long, more casual westerly frontage with its not-quite-matching corner towers, seems to be happier, less forced, despite its appearing to sit on a giant podium of very un-Classical “retail-commercial.” 

In total contrast, the more severe, less nostalgic Touriel Building, design by Assembly Architects, at 2004 University Ave. fits comfortably into its strident setting. Its main frontage on the avenue manages to look striking and elegant without the aid of round-headed windows, red-titled roof or rusticated base (pretend heavy masonry). Even contextually, it one-ups the Shattuck Square building. Set off against a handsome deep-green wall, the narrow boards of the projecting window-bays nicely echo the tan brickwork of the old building immediately east. 

Round the corner, set back from MIlvia, the long facade facing the bay is a novel composition of lively red stucco and more wood boarding, enhanced by a system of horizontal sliding exterior shutters that should create an ever-changing visual reading of this sunny westerly frontage. Extroverted and to some eyes brash, time will soon soften this bold wall. The red will gently fade, and the extensive boarding weather, as wood always does. Meanwhile, the odd-looking wire fencing up on the roof, designed to receive flowering vines, will eventually add a crown of vegetation. 

In the face of all this imaginative creating, it feels almost unbearable that most of the lowest-level apartments on this bay-view side look out at a strip of sky and the back wall of Au Coquelet, while many of the east-facing units are 15 feet from a old blank masonry wall. And the Shattuck Square apartments are as bad if not worse. For an architectural thrill, stand across from University Avenue from Peterson’s seductive Palladian facade, and notice how the building’s easterly wall angles back from the front corner, running closer and closer to the brick side of the old Acheson Medical Building until it passes the latter’s back corner a medieval-handshake away. Now stroll around to the north end off Berkeley Way, and observe how new apartment windows enjoy a close-up view of UC Press’s uninspiring back. As for the long westerly side, it’s much the same condition as the bottom-level apartments on Milvia—no civilized view. 

Regarding this whole question of sub-standard “basement apartments” in new, architecturally significant buildings, I hear a surprising number of comments to the effect that, after a hard day on the campus, most students will close the curtains and hit the books. Similarly, young working couples will stagger in exhausted, roll down the blinds, and watch TV. These seem cynical assumptions by people who, in many cases, inhabit single family houses with windows on all sides and views of the garden if not the bay. One suspects here an elitist attitude towards apartment dwellers, strangely mixed with passionate support of ‘smart growth,’ here meaning more apartments close to BART. 

What then can be done to prevent this anomaly of architectural quality and sub-standard units? Two ideas come to mind, one optimistic and long-term, the other effective immediately. First, the city could introduce design-studies of problem sites in the central district where apartment building has happened or could happen. These could take the form of competitions that would, among other benefits, show off the work of local designers. The block of the Gaia Building (also a Panoramic Interests project, completed in 2001, at 2116 Allston Way) would make a good first study. A more drastic step, but one that could yield faster results, would be to introduce new rules requiring, along with light, ventilation, etc., a tolerable view or outlook for main living areas, whether panorama, street scene, or quiet garden court. 

Strictly applied, the second concept would stop some developers dead in their tracks, driving them out of the denser parts of downtown, and this would be a great blessing. Instead of it becoming the over-built westerly edge of a patently over-built campus, this oddly-laid out old area between, say, Hearst and Durant avenues, could become a delightful, pedestrian friendly district of low- to medium-height buildings clustered around interior garden courts. Trumpetvine Court, connecting Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way, is a good living demonstration. 

Throughout the greater downtown-area this ‘mini-park’ concept still applies. More and bigger structures have appeared—the Fine Arts Building at 2471 Shattuck Ave.—or will soon appear—the nine-story Seagate apartments on Center Street—further increasing the need for quiet public open-space removed from the frenetic traffic of the streets. 

V

FRIDAY, NOV. 5 

THEATER 

Acme Players Ensemble, “Ghost in the Machine” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., call for Sun. times., through Nov. 7, at APE Space, 2525 Eighth St. Suggested donation $5-$20. 332-1931. 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, “Present Laughter” by Noel Coward at 8 p.m. Fri. and Sat. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman. Through Nov. 20. Tickets are $10. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Berkeley Repertory Theater, “Eurydice” at the Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. through Nov. 14. Tickets are $20-$55. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Central Works, “A Step Away” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Through Nov. 21. Tickets are $8-$20. 558-1381. 

Contra Costa Civic Theater, “Noises Off” Fri., Sat., and selected Sun., through Nov. 20. Tickets are $10-$15. 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito. 524-9132. www.ccct.org  

Impact Theatre, “Meanwhile, Back at the Super Lair” by Greg Kalleres, Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. through Dec. 11, at La Val’s Subterranean Theater, 1834 Euclid. Tickets are $10-$15. 464-4468. www.impacttheatre.com 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Paris and Other Obsessions” Photographs, drawings, sculpture by Leonard Pitt, at Giorgi Art Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Reception at 6 p.m. Exhibition runs to Nov. 21. 848-1228. www.giorgigallery.com 

FILM 

Ximena Cuevas and the Laboratory of Life Salon with Ximena Cuevas at 1:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Bollywood/Tollywood: “I Have Found It” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Chris Carlson reads from “After the Deluge” at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

By the Light of the Moon, open mic for women at 7:30 p.m. at Changemakers, 6536 Telegraph. Cost is $3-5. 482-1315. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bolshoi Ballet, “Raymonda” at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $48-$110 available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

En Pointe Youth Dance Company’s “Autumn Excerpts” by Berkeley’s youth founded and directed dance company, at 7:30 p.m. at Longfellow Middle School Auditorium, 1500 Derby St. Tickets are $5. enpointedance@yahoo.com 

Renaissance and Baroque Lutes at 7:30 p.m. at MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda. Tickets are $20 at the door. 792-9146. 

Quijerema at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $10-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Ray Cepeda with Los Pinguos at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Bob Sheppard Quartet at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazz- 

school.com 

Stompy Jones at 9 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club. 848-7800. www.berkeleycityclub.com  

Bill Kirchen, rockabilly, dieselbilly and truck-stop rock, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $16.50-$17.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Kuma, Zonk, The Volumes at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

The Tiptons, Beth Custer Ensemble at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com  

Rhonda Bennin Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Roger Riedbauer at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

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

Will Bernard & Friends at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277 

The Plus Ones, Sabrina Steward, The Fictions, Safeway at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Improvised Music and New Compositions with Kris Tiner, Noah Phillips, Jack Wright and Phillip Greenlief at 8:30 p.m. at 1924 Tea House. Donation $5-$10. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

SATURDAY, NOV. 6 

CHILDREN 

“Wild About Books” storytime with storyteller Marijo at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Gerry Tenney at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

THEATER 

Rebel Comedy Night Progressive and provocative stand-up comedy with Louis Katz, W. Kamau Bell, Brent Weinbach, Jasper Redd and Sherry Sirof, at 9 p.m. at Fellini Restaurant, 1401 University Ave. Cost is $5. 841-5200. 

FILM 

Bollywood/Tollywood: “Anything Can Happen” at 6:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Paris Transforming: The Beauty and Horror of Urban Reconstruction” with photographer and sculptor Leonard Pitt, at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Art Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Cost is $12. 848-1228. www.giorgigallery.com 

Derrick Jensen speaks on the “Dismantling of Civilization” at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Two Redheads and 88 Solenoids New work for disklavier piano at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Arts Festival Gallery, 2324 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $8-$12. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Berkeley Chamber Group at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864. www.TrinityChamberConcerts.com 

Bolshoi Ballet, “Raymonda” at 2 and 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $48-$110. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Choreographers’ Performance Alliance with host Aileen Kim and performances by local dancers at 7:30 p.m. at Eighth Street Studios, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $10. 644-1788, ext. 2. 

Philharmonia Baroque “An Evening in Old Vienna” at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant Sts. Tickets are $28-$62. 415-392-4400. www.philharmonia.org 

Baroque Etcetera “German Idol” music of J.S. Bach at 8 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church, 5201 Park Blvd., Oakland. Donations suggested. 540-8222. www.baroquetc.org 

Taj Mahal Benefit concert for the Native American Health Center, at 8 p.m. at the Paramount Theater, Oakland. Tickets are $15-$100. 625-8497. www.ticketmaster.com 

Four Seasons Concerts, Leon Bates and Jeanne StarkIochmans, pianists, at 7:30 p.m. at Calvin Simmons Theater, 10 Tenth St., Oakland. Tickets are $25-$35. 601-7919. www.fourseasonsconcerts.com 

Transcendence Gospel Choir, the first all-transgendered choir, at 7:30 p.m. at Pacific School of Religion Chapel, 1798 Scenic Ave. Donation $10-$20, reservations suggested. 704-7729. 

Nguyen Dance Company presents “Close to the Trai Tim (Close to the Heart)” at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $10-$15. 925-798-1300. www.juliamorgan.org 

Samba Ngo at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenez. Premiere screening of Tom Weidlinger’s new documentary at 8 p.m. Cost is $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Ray Cepeda at 9:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$18. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Lisa Sangita Moskow and Unity Nguyen at 7 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. Cost is $15. 883-0600 www.belladonna.ws 

Kurt Ribak Jazz Group at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Insolence, Everything Taken, Aphasia at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Grey de Lisle, Crooked Jades at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

David Jacobs-Strain, traditional and future blues, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50-$16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Eric Swinderman Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Samantha Raven at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Signal Lost, Look Back and Laugh, Desolation at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Patrick Greene Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Gojogo and Transmission Trio at 8 p.m. at the 1924 Tea House. Donation $5-$10. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

SUNDAY, NOV. 7 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Eye Talk Art” visions from three NIAD artists, reception at 1 p.m. at Britt-Marie’s Gallery, 1369 Solano Ave. 527-1314. 

Urban Photography by Lauren Murphy. Reception at 4 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

“Threshold: Byron Kim” Guided tour at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

FILM 

The World of Astrid Lindgren: “The Brothers Lionheart” at 3 p.m. and Bollywood/Tollywood “I Have Found It” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Pursuing the Irish Healer: Valnetine Greatrakes” with Leonard Pitt, at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Art Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Cost is $12. 848-1228. www.giorgigallery.com 

Abe Ignacio and Jorge Emmanuel on “The Forbidden Book: The Philippine-American War in Political Cartoons” at 3 p.m. at Eastwind Books, 2066 University Ave. 548-2350. 

Poetry Flash with Stephen Kessler and Marcia Falk at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bolshoi Ballet, “Raymonda” at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $48-$110 available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Baroque Etcetera “German Idol” music of J.S. Bach at 4 p.m. at Episcopal Church of the Good Shepard, 1823 Hearst St. at Ninth. Donation $10 suggested. 540-8222. www.baroquetc.org 

Volti, “New American Directions” contemporary choral music at 4 p.m. at St. Mark’s episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Tickets are $8-$20. 771-3352. www.voltisf.org 

Philharmonia Baroque “An Evening in Old Vienna” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant Sts. Tickets are $28-$62. 415-392-4400. www.philharmonia.org 

Broceliande, Celtic music, at 4 p.m. at St. Alban’s Parish Hall, 1501 Washington Ave., Albany. Donation $10-$12. 569-0437. www.broceliande.org 

Choreographers’ Performance Alliance with host Andrea Mok at 7:30 p.m. at Eighth Street Studios, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $10. 644-1788. 

Candido Camero and “Patato” Valdez at 7 p.m. at the Calvin Simmons Theater, Oakland. Tickets are $22-$42. www.sfjazz.org 

“Share the Music” Celebration of First Congregational Church’s Birthday with Babá Ken Okulolo and the Nigerian Brothers, Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir and others at 4 p.m., at 2501 Harrison St. at 27th, Oakland. Tickets are $10-$15. 444-8511, ext. 15. 

French Cabaret, presented by the Alliance Française at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

ChoZen at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

The Bobs, a cappella quartet, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $16.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Steve Erquiaga and “Trio Paradiso” at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Rachel Sage and Lisa Alice at 8 p.m. at the 1924 Tea House. Suggested donation of $5-$10. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

MONDAY, NOV. 8 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Manuscript Illumination 700 AD to 2020 AD” Slide lecture by Mel Ahlborn at 6:30 p.m. in the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, GTU, 2400 Ridge Rd. 528-1709. www.friendsofcalligraphy.org 

Penelope Duckworth examines “Mary: The Imagination of her Heart” at 7:30 p.m. First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way at Dana. Sponsored by Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Monday at Moe’s with Alan Bern and Lucinda Weaver at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Chris Carlsson, editor, discusses ways local politics can transform urban life in “The Political Edge” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Patricia Wells introduces “The Provence Cookbook” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Express featuring Debra Grace Khattab from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

UC Jazz Ensembles at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, NOV. 9 

FILM 

Loose Ends: “Recent College Cinema” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

David Sedaris ”Strictly Speaking” at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $20-$38. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“In the Name of Justice” a staged reading by Shotgun Players of a new translation of Albert Camus‚ “Les Justes” at 7:30 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. 841-6500.  

“Greek Art and Architecture in Italy” by Barbara A. Barletta, Prof. of Art History, Univ. of Florida, at 7:30 p.m. at the Archeological Research Facility, 2251 College Building, UC Campus. 415-338-1537. 

Ivan Eland discusses “The Empire Has No Clothes: U.S. Policy Exposed” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Ntozake Shange on “The Sweet Breath of Life: A Poetic Narrative of the African-American Family” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Joseph Fischer describes the “Story Cloths of Bali” at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533. 

The Whole Note Poetry Series, with Randy Fingland and Bert Glick at 7 p.m. at The Beanery, 2925 College Ave., near Ashby. 549-9093. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Molly’s Revenge, traditional music of Ireland, Scotland and england at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50- $16.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

“Gigi’s Fabulous Adventure,” music inspired by myth and Taoism at 8 p.m. at Teance/ 

Celadon Fine Teas, 1111 Solano Ave. Tickets are $20, including tea samples. 524-1696. 

Cyril Guiraud and Dave Michel-Ruddy at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Jovino Santos Neto Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10 

THEATER 

Royal Court Theatre, “4.48 Psychosis,” by Sarah Kane. Wed. - Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sun. at 3 and 7 p.m., at Zellerbach Playhouse. Tickets are $65. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

FILM 

“O Primeiro Dia” in Portuguese with English subtitles at 7 p.m. in the CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch. 642-2088. 

Video Art: “Home, Home on the Range” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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

Russell Banks introduces his political historical novel set in the U.S. and Liberia, “The Darling” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Don George, Global Editor of Lonely Planet, introduces “The Travel Book” at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533. 

Thais Mazur reads from her new book “Warrior Mothers” at 7 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. 883-0600. www.belladonna.ws  

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert, solo piano with Karen Rosenak at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Music for the Spirit with The Pacific Boy Choir Academy at 12:15 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555. www.firstchurchoakland.org 

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

Anthony Paule and Mz. Dee at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Matt Berkeley Group at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Pete Muller at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $16.50-$17.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Lenka Dusilova, Company Car, Hazerfan at 8:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $4. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Cedar Walton Trio with Kenny Burrell at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

ª

FRIDAY, NOV. 5 

Tilden Tots Join a nature adventure program for 3 and 4 year olds, each accompanied by an adult (grandparents welcome)! We’ll learn about our fine feathered friends from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 636-1684. 

November is We Give Thanks Month! Join participating restaurants in supporting the Berkeley Food and Housing Project. For a list of participating restaurants please visit www.bfhp.org  

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Dr. Saba Mahmood, Prof. Middle Eastern Studies, on “Retooling Democracy and Feminism for Today’s Burden of Empire.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $12.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For ireservations call 526-2925.  

Literacy & Beyond Celebrates Dia do los Muertos Family Literacy Night with altar making, and storyteller Olga Loya, at 7 p.m. at the Downtown Berkeley YMCA, 2001 Allston Way. 665-3271. 

“News from Native California” with Frank LaPena, Laura Cunningham, L. Frank, Julian Lang/ 

Xatimniim, and Malcolm Margolin, of Heyday Books, at 7:30 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St. 549-3564, ext. 307. 

First Fridays Film Series “Hidden in Plain Sight” on the School of the Americas, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Free. 482-1062. 

Womansong Circle Community singing with Betsy Rose. Potluck snacks at 6:45 p.m., singing at 7:15 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. 525-7082. 

Asian Business Association Charity Fashion Show at 7 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Cost is $10-$12. Proceeds benefit A Safe Place domestic violence shelter in Oakland.  

Literary Friends meets at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. We will discuss Ayn Randh. 232-1351. 

Berkeley Chess Club meets Fridays at 7:15 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Players at all levels are welcome. 652-5324. 

“Three Beats for Nothing” meets to sing 16th century harmony for fun and practice at 10 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 655-8863, 843-7610. 

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. 655-6169. www.bpf.org 

Overeaters Anonymous meets every Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the Northbrae Church at Solano and The Alameda. Parking is free and is handicapped accessible. For information call Katherine, 525-5231. 

SATURDAY, NOV. 6 

Potential Water Transit in Berkeley A Joint Workshop of the City of Berkeley Transportation and Waterfront Commissions and the San Francisco Bay Water Transit Authority from 9 a.m. to noon at Berkeley Yacht Club, 1 Seawall Drive. 981-7010. 

Sick Plant Clinic The first Sat. of every month, UC plant apthologist Dr. Robert Raabe, UC entomologist Dr. Nick Mills, and their team of experts will diagnose what ails your plants from 9 a.m. to noon at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Dr. 643-2755. 

“Fire in Your Backyard - Friend or Foe?” A program on fire history in the East Bay, fire ecology and homeowner safety, with demonstrations of a fire engine, firefighters’ personal protective equipment and wildland firefighting techniques. At 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. Free. Youth age 14 and up are welcome. 525-2233. 

Kids Garden Club For children 7-12 years old to explore the world of gardening. We plant, harvest, build, make crafts, cook and get dirty! From 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $5-$6, registration required. 525-2233. 

Junior Rangers of Tilden meets Sat. mornings at Tilden Nature Center. For more information call 525-2233. 

“Plant Selection and Installation” A hands-on class in Berkeley from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We will visit a local nursery and botanic garden to view and discuss why, and how, to select appropriate plants for a variety of situations. Students will participate in designing and planting a residential garden. Emphasis on Native Californian plants. Sign up by calling the Building Education Center at 525-7610.  

Help Clean up San Pablo Creek and its tributaries. Learn about the Dumping Abatement and Pollution Reduction Program and the trash assessment monitoring tool as we remove harmful trash. Refreshments, tools, and gloves provided. Call for meeting place. Sponsored by The Watershed Project. 231-9566. Elizabeth@thewatershedproject.org 

An Afternoon with Ram Dass from 2 to 5 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. Donation $20 at the door. 302-3302. 

Benefit for the Bay Area Search and Rescue Council with music by Built to Spill and Citizen Cope at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Pyramid Alehouse, 901 Gilman St. Cost is $16. www.pyramidbrew.com 

Moment’s Notice a monthly salon for improvised music, dance and theater at 8 p.m. at Western Sky Studio, 2525 8th St. 415-831-5592. 

Noche Tropical Silent Auction Party to benefit Albany Schools. With food, music and wine at 7 p.m. at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany. Tickets are $35-$40. 528-0848. a_saint@pacbell.net 

Artisan Marketplace with jewelry, art, readings and more from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. 883-0600. www.belladonna.ws  

Car Wash Benefit for Options Recovery Services of Berkeley, held every Sat. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lutheran Church, 1744 University Ave. 666-9552. 

SUNDAY, NOV. 7 

Search for Salamanders Watch carefully for the slippery amphibians, they love the wet weather so hope for rain. Learn the difference between a newt and a salamander on this easy hike. Meet at 9 a.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Military Families Speak Out with Cindy Sheehan whose son was killed in Sadr City in April, at 10:30 a.m. at Berkeley Fellowship, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. 

“Tribute to Veterans” Retired military personnel are offered a complementary lunch or dinner entree at Spenger's Fresh Fish Grotto, 1919 Fourth St. Present a VA card, a VFW card, discharge papers or a DD214 to your server when you are seated. Reservations are suggested but not required. 845-7771. 

“The Sound of Success: Fine Tune Your Music Business Skills” A day-long seminar for musicians sponsored by California Lawyers for the Arts. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Alice Arts Center in Oakland. To register call 415-775-7200, ext. 111. www.californialawyersfor- 

thearts.org 

“The Civil Rights Movement and Activism Across Communities” with Ron Dellums at 2 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. Cost is $7-$10. In conjunction with the exhibition “What’s Going On? California and the Vietnam Era” 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

“Dharma and Democracy: A Global Perspective, Beyond the Elections” a conversation with Joanna Macy and Sulak Sivaraksa at 6 p.m. at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley Ave. 655-6169. 

“End of Life Decisions” with Susan Rubin from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at Salem Lutheran Home, 2361 East 29th St., Oakland. 534-3637. 

Healing Friction a free facilitated open council and speak out for hearing all voices to improve the political process at 2 p.m. at Redwood Gardens, 2951 Derby St. 866-236-0346. 

Autumn in Asia, a walk through the Asian area with Asian plant expert Elaine Sedlak at 10 a.m. at UC Botanical Garden. Cost is $8-$12, registration required. 643-2755. 

Celebrating Native Californian Cultures with music, crafts and storytelling from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Phoebe Hearst Museum, Bancroft at College. 643-7648. 

Free Sailboat Rides between 1 and 4 p.m. at the Cal Sailing Club in the Berkeley Marina. Bring warm waterproof clothes. www.cal-sailing.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with with Elizabeth Cook on “The Stupa: Sacred Symbol of Enlightenment” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, NOV. 8 

Safe Driving Class for Seniors from 1 to 5 p.m., and on Nov. 10. Seniors who complete both sessions will get insurance discount. To register send a check for $10, made out to AARP, to Helen, at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2717 Garber St., Berkeley, 95705. For more information call 869-6737. 

Tea at Four Taste some of the finest teas from the Pacific Rim and South Asia and learn their natural and cultural history, followed by a short nature walk. At 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. Cost is $5-$7, registration required. 525-2233. www.ebparks.org 

Peace Corps General Information Meeting at 6 p.m. at the Berkeley Central Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 415-977-8798. www.peacecorps.gov 

The National Organization of Women Oakland/East Bay Chapter meets to discuss the election at 6 p.m. at The Oakland YWCA at 1515 Webster St. 287-8948.  

“Women in Latin American Politics” with Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Senator and first lady of Argentina, at 4 p.m. in the Maude Fife Room, 315 Wheeler Hall, UC Campus. 642-2088. www.clas.berkeley.edu 

“The Medicare Prescription Drug Card” with Susan Haley, Legal Assistance for Seniors at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

East Bay Mobile Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Albany YMCA, 921 Kains Ave. 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.  

“Cafe Society in Japan, or Why Starbucks May Not Prevail” with Marry White, Prof. Boston Univ., at 5 p.m. in the IEAS Conference Room, 2233 Fulton St., 6th Flr. http://ieas.berkeley.edu 

Financial Planning Workshop: College Planning 101 with Jarrett Topel, Certified Financial Planner at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

Women’s Cancer Resource Center, volunteer training, every second Monday of the month, from 6 to 8 p.m. at 5741 Telegraph Ave. To sign up call Emily at 601-4040, ext. 109. emily@wcrc.org 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people 60 years and over meets Mondays at 10:15 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Join at any time. 524-9122. 

“Ulysses” Discussion Book Group at 7 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. We will meet every Monday night and hopefully finish by Bloomsday 2005. 

Fitness for 55+ A total body workout including aerobics, stretching and strengthening at 1:15 p.m. every Monday at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5170. 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

TUESDAY, NOV. 9 

Tilden Tots Join a nature adventure program for 3 and 4 year olds, each accompanied by an adult (grandparents welcome)! We’ll learn about our fine feathered friends from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 636-1684. 

“Secrets and Lies from Vietnam to Iraq” with Daniel and Patricia Ellsberg at 7:30 p.m. at College Preparatory School, Buttner Auditorium, 6100 Broadway, Oakland. Cost is $5-$10. 658-5202. www.college-prep.org/livetalk 

“The Implications of Eco-Justice for a Theological Anthropology” with Reverend Peter Saltwell, Director of Eco-Justice Ministries at 7 p.m. in the GTU Dinner Board Room, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2560. www.gtu.edu/studentgroups/trees 

“When Myth Trumps History: The Reclamation Bureau and the Family Farm, 1902-1935” with Donald Pisani, Professor of History, University of Oklahoma, at 5:30 p.m. in 10 Evans Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Water Resources Center Archives. 642-2666. 

“The End of Suburbia” a film about how peak oil production will change our lives, followed by a discussion with Jan Lundberg, founder of the Sustainable Energy Institute, at 6 p.m. at Redwood Gardens main hall, 2561 Derby St. www.berkeleybest.org 

ID Theft Workshop Find out how to reduce your chances of becoming an innocent victim, at 7 p.m. at the El Cerrito Senior Citizens Center, 6500 Stockton St. Sponsored by the El Cerrito Crime Prevention Committee, the El Cerrito City Council, and the El Cerrito Police Department. Reservations required. 215-4414, ext. 30.  

“Growing Up in a Bay Area Orphanage for Chinese Youth” A narrated video of historical photos that tells the story of the Chung Mei Home for Chinese boys and Ming Quong Home for Chinese girls. Panel discussion follows featuring former residents. At 7 p.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. 526-7512.  

Free Quit Smoking Workshop from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. with a follow-up class on Nov. 23 at the South Berkeley Senior Center. To register call 981-5330. 

Free Depression Screenings from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Stephens Lounge, MLK Student Union, UC Campus. 642-7202. 

Organic Produce at low prices sold at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon Streets every Tuesday from 3 to 7 p.m. This is a project of Spiral Gardens. 843-1307. 

Family Story Time at the Kensington Branch Library, Tues. evenings at 7 p.m. at 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

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. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

Acting and Storytelling Classes for Seniors offered by Stagebridge, at Arts First Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. Classes are held at 10 a.m. Tues.-Fri. For more information call 444-4755. www.stagebridge.org 

Belly Dancing Lessons at 7:30 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. Cost is $5. 883-0600 www.belladonna.ws  

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Marge Robinson, who has lived in Berkeley for the last 90 years, will speak on “Remembering Berkeley” at 11 a.m. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10 

Kathy Kelly, Founder of Voices in the Wilderness and Iraqi Solidarity Activist at 7:30 p.m. at Firts Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison St., at 27th. Tickets are $12 in advance, at independent bookstores, $15 at the door. Benefit for KPFA. 848-6767, ext. 609. 

“KPFA/Pacifica: Democracy Deferred?” A panel discussion with speakers Solange Echeveria, Bill Mandel, Susan Stone, and others at 7 p.m. at La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 415-424-8311. 

“Jews Among Muslims and Christians in Late Antiquity” a symposium from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Dinner Boardroom at the GTU, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2482. 

“Jewish Families in Context” with Olga Silverstein, MSW, CSW, at 11:30 a.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $5. 848-0237.  

“Fruitful Flailings: Reading the Anger of the Prophet Jonah” with Barbara Green, Prof., Biblical Studies, Dominican School, at 7 p.m. in the GTU Chapel, 1798 Senic Ave. 649-2440. 

East Bay Genealogical Society with Margery Bell of the Family History Center at 10 a.m. in the Library Conference Room, Family History Center, 4766 Lincoln Ave., Oakland. 635- 6692. 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday, rain or shine, at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes, sunscreen and a hat. 548-9840. 

Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine College Open House from 6 to 8 p.m. at 2550 Shattuck Ave. Learn about how you can become a licensed acupuncturist. RSVP to 666-8248, ext. 106. 

Prose Writers’ Workshop An ongoing group focused on issues of craft. Meets Wed. at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 524-3034. georgeporter@earthlink.net 

Poetry Writing Workshop, led by Alison Seevak, every second Wed. at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, Edith Stone Room, 1247 Marin Ave. Registration required. 526-3700, ext. 20. 

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

vigil4peace/vigil 

CITY MEETINGS 

Council Agenda Committee meets, Mon. Nov. 8, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St., Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/agenda-committee 

Peace and Justice Commission meets Mon., Nov. 8, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Manuel Hector, 981-5510. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/peaceandjustice 

Public Housing Resident Advisory Board meets on Mon., Nov. 8, at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Housing Authority, 1901 Fairview St. Angellique DeCoud, 981-5475. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/publichousing 

City Council meets Tues., Nov. 9 at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers, Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

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

Planning Commission meets Wed., Nov. 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., Nov. 10 at the South Berkeley Senior Center, Barbara Attard, 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/policereview 

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Nov. 10, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. Cliff Marchetti, 644-6376 ext. 224. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/waterfront 



As usual, our readers are doing a great job of analyzing the local election results in these pages, and we really don’t need to add much. We have just a few observations on the stylistic issues which affected the campaigns for local taxes. Our front page election night photos said it all. They were taken by a photographer who doesn’t cover city politics, didn’t necessarily know the names and numbers of the players, and just shot what he saw. In the Measure B victory photo we saw a bunch of happy parents lifting apple slices to toast their victory. Among them were fathers Dan Lindheim and Larry Gordon, who darn near drove us at the Planet crazy with a steady stream of letters, commentary pieces and “informational” phone calls. Voters who were paying any attention at all to local elections couldn’t miss the message; if they didn’t catch it in the Planet, they could have seen the hundreds of signs on their neighbors’ lawns around town. Good job, guys.  

At the headquarters of the proponents of the city tax measures, it was a different picture. The photographer caught Julie Sinai, one of the mayor’s paid professional staffers, staring glumly at a computer screen. In the background were three political insiders, one of whom was another paid mayoral assistant. No “average taxpayers” were anywhere in sight.  

When the final precinct-by-precinct returns are in, a more sophisticated analysis of how the votes came down will be possible. And when the final financial filings have been tabulated, we’ll know more about who paid for the campaigns. We do know, however, that there was precious little rank-and-file voter support for the city taxes. Employee unions and developers by and large funded the pro-tax campaigns, and taxpayer groups funded the anti-tax position (at a much lower level). The Antis also wrote lots and lots of letters and commentaries. Like the pro-B parents, they were not shy about insisting that they got their share of space in the opinion pages. From the Pro-city-tax side, we got a letter signed by the mayor, and perhaps a few more, but no outpouring of citizen sentiment, no anguished calls.  

And with friends like the employee unions, the tax measures didn’t really need enemies. Many citizens tagged over-generous city employee contracts followed by union intransigence on meaningful salary cuts to help with budget shortfalls as their reason for voting against the taxes. Conservatives, including the traditional Grumpy Old Men and Women, were up front about it. Moderates and progressives didn’t join BASTA in any numbers, and were more likely to complain in furtive phone conversations and via e-mail, but they were plenty annoyed by union stonewalling.  

Another issue which brought many moderates and progressives together was a shared perception that the city’s planning department is out of control, dominated by pro-growth ideologues who have no interest in citizen control of the agenda. Every group had its horror stories. Progressives in general acknowledge the need for additional low-cost housing in Berkeley, which many moderates do not, but members of both groups have good communication and shared outrage at the way densification in the form of big ugly boxes for market-rate renters is being promoted by city staff with a “neighbors be damned” attitude. It’s possible to argue, and we did, that voting no on tax measures is not the way to solve the problem, but it was hard to think of an alternative to recommend. 

City Council elections weren’t much help. Berkeley, like the U.S. Congress, has been gerrymandered, with the collusion of sitting council members, into “safe” districts, so that candidates didn’t have to reveal their positions on touchy issues like growth or salaries. District 3 was designed to be safe for Maudelle Shirek, but when she was unexpectedly removed from the action it was also safe for a successor from her progressive camp. District 2 is another safe district, especially for a political insider like Darryl Moore. District 6 is designed to be safe for the right wing of the moderate faction, and it was. District 5 was tailored for the nervous middle moderates, a slam dunk for affable candidates like Hawley and Capitelli who can engineer endorsements from both sides by avoiding taking positions on anything of consequence during the campaign.  

The bottom line is that the many citizens who were unhappy with employee salaries or staff-promoted pro-growth policies felt that they had little recourse but to vote no on everything. This will cause a good deal of unhappiness for recipients of effective city aid for the unorganized and defenseless among us, if the city council yields to the temptation of cutting programs instead of staff salaries. Homeless people don’t have a union to advocate for them, so the temptation will be there.  

What’s the alternative? The old political alliances have just about disappeared. Berkeley Citizens Action and the Berkeley Democratic Club are vestigial organizations which meet only to endorse in election years, and whose endorsements have less and less impact. Members are grey and tired in both camps.  

Well, there’s a mayoral election in only two years, as well as council races in some of the more volatile, less safe districts. This might be a good time for unhappy citizens to begin planning a unity strategy which would bring together disgruntled residents of the growth-impacted districts and voters who want better control of city spending on staff salaries. A candidate for mayor who announced early, in the next few months, and who could tap into both of these streams, might provide a focus. 

—Becky O’Malley 

›

A friend has a post-election analysis: “I’m disgusted and fed up with the working class in this country. They sold out their own self interest for the right to yell ‘faggot’ out of their pick-ups.” She’s got a point. About half of the American electorate has once again distinguished itself by preferring snake oil to vitamins—not the first time this has happened historically, not even the first time in my lifetime, but it’s always disheartening to see this self-destructive behavior in action.  

They did it for Ronald Reagan, at a time when the designated evils were long hair and marijuana. Now many of the small towns of rural America are plagued with methamphetamine and crack, and hair as a guide to values has morphed so many times it doesn’t matter anymore, but the suckers have just shifted to buying a new brand of snake oil, “defense of marriage.” The pollers haven’t finished telling us exactly who voted for what and why, but the media (per the small number of NPR minutes I’ve been able to stomach since the election) is already hot on the trail of “moral values” as the decider in this election.  

Nancy Pelosi isn’t fooled. Marc Sandalow (a bright fellow who went to kindergarten in the Midwest with one of my daughters) quotes her in Thursday’s Chronicle: “The Republicans did not have an election about jobs, health care, education, environment, national security; they had an election about wedge issues in our country, and you know what they are…This was not a referendum on privatizing Social Security.”  

When moral values are reduced to telling the gay guys down the street that they may not promise at City Hall to love and take care of each other, we’re in Parodyville, or perhaps Disneyland. Religious leaders, real religious leaders, if there still are any, have a lot to answer for in this election. A special circle of hell will be reserved for the Catholic bishops who chose in this election to ignore real evils—the thousands of deaths of living human beings in Iraq, this country’s devotion to capital punishment, nearly unique in the modern world, and some of their own clergy’s fascination with abusive sexual exploitation of children—in favor of denouncing gay marriage. Low-church Protestants, the bible-thumpers of yore, have been transmogrified into “evangelical Christians” by the media, but they’re still the fools Sinclair Lewis nailed in Elmer Gantry 75 years ago. His description of Elmer would fit any of the two-bit preachers who are being interviewed today crowing over the Bush victory: “He had, in fact, got everything from the church and Sunday School, except, perhaps, any longing whatever for decency and kindness and reason.” Even many Jewish leaders (from whom, sorry, I might have expected better) have been AWOL in surprising numbers from the battle over reducing moral values to nothing but sexual mores.  

Does anyone out there even remember “Sabbath observance”? That was a “moral issue”, for a good part of the country for more than half of the twentieth century. As recently as the early 1970s, everything was required by law to stop on Sundays in much of the country: in Massachusetts, in Michigan and in Mississippi. More from Elmer Gantry: “The Maker of the universe with stars a hundred thousand light-years apart was interested, furious, and very personal about it if a small boy played baseball on Sunday afternoon.” Now, however, the preachers at the drive-in churches would never, never suggest that Wal-mart should shut down for the Sabbath. The supposedly moral questions have a way of shifting with the political winds. 

And one more quote from Elmer Gantry: “He was born to be a senator. He never said anything important, and he always said it sonorously.” That’s Dubya, and he’s damned good at it. I rarely watch television, so when I finally happened to catch Bush and Kerry side by side a couple of weeks ago, outside of the debates, I was worried. Bush was pink, perky and pontifical; Kerry was grey, lugubrious and moved his arms like a robot.  

I know, image questions like this shouldn’t matter, but they do. My old friend George Lakoff got it half-right when he urged Democrats to re-frame the issues in this election using language which would resonate with the electorate. They picked up on his advice, and Kerry started using loaded words like “strength” more often. But in retrospect his campaign attempt to portray himself as a warrior just looked silly a lot of the time. Kerry in battle fatigues carrying a hunting rifle was uncomfortably reminiscent of Michael Dukakis in a tank.  

Those of us on the progressive left, whatever that might mean these days, played our part in the drama like good soldiers, though we had our doubts from the beginning. We contributed our brains to designing elaborate web systems for optimizing the campaign, our bodies to get-out-the-vote drives in Nevada and Florida and Oregon and Ohio, and our money to the Democratic National Committee and America Coming Together. It doesn’t seem to have made a whole lot of difference, because the good grey candidate of the Democratic Leadership Council was never able to get the attention of the electorate with his cautious middle-of-the-road positions.  

Jim Hightower has often been quoted as saying that there’s not much in the middle of the road except yellow lines and dead armadillos, and the timid centrism of the DLC has now given us two successive armadillo tickets. Would’a, could’a, should’a, but what if Kerry had launched his campaign by saying vigorously, “I was wrong about Iraq, but now I’ve changed my mind?”  

Kerry was fooled about Vietnam, though he later repented. He was fooled again on Iraq, and he never fully repented. How about, just for variety, a Democratic candidate who catches on early to what’s going on and is not timid about saying so? It’s entirely possible that Howard Dean might have won this election if he hadn’t been sandbagged by the DLC and its media allies. Me-too Democrats fighting for the middle of the road will just continue to be blindsided by the hard right’s shifting compass of phony “moral values.” 

• • • 

Some nuggets of good news from the hustings: an environmentalist self-starter, Green Gayle McLaughlin, spent less than $11,000 and won a seat on the Richmond council with a platform of protecting Point Molate. The most conservative Santa Cruz councilmembers were defeated. There were more write-in votes for a Democratic self-starter in San Diego than regular votes for both of the ballot candidates, two sleazy Republicans running against each other in a non-partisan mayoral election, and she might even win.  

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