Some pedestrians using the crosswalk at Ashby and Piedmont avenues said they feel endangered crossing the street during busy traffic hours, because the Santa Rosa lights at that intersection have been dismantled. 

Embedded in crosswalks, Santa Rosa lights blink to warn cars when a pedestrian is crossing. They first gained prominence in Berkeley when former Councilmember Polly Armstrong, together with residents, pushed to implement this system at the corner of Claremont Avenue and Brookside Drive, following concerns about the dangers of crossing at busy intersections. 

On Wednesday, Peter Hillier, Berkeley’s assistant city manager for transportation, said the lights were working at the intersection of Asbhy and Piedmont. But a reporter visiting the site Wednesday afternoon confirmed reports from residents that the lights had been not functioning for months. 

The button to turn the lights on had been removed and the electrical connection had been taped up rendering them non-operable.  

Earl Crabb, a resident who lived a few blocks down, said he has had trouble crossing at the intersection. 

“The cars just seem to whiz by without noticing you,” he said. “At least with the lights on they would stop before. But now I have to take my chances when I need to cross. It looks like an accident is just waiting to happen.” 

Crabb said he noticed that the lights had been dismantled towards the end of July.  

“I am not sure if the city did this or whether they were vandalized,” he said. “But if it was indeed the city, then I want to know why it was taken off and when they will put it back. It’s just a matter of checking the wiring and putting the buttons back to make the lights work again.” 

About five years ago, a disabled woman in a wheelchair was killed crossing the street at the intersection.  

“I remember the incident quite well,” said Suzy Thompson, who has lived in the neighborhood for the last 15 years. “It was late in the afternoon and the lady in the wheelchair was crossing at the west corner of Piedmont and Ashby. But she wasn’t using the crosswalk and the driver of the car who hit her did not see her. He had the sun in his eyes. It was very unfortunate.” 

The Santa Rosa lights had been installed at the Ashby and Piedmont intersection by the city around a year ago. 

Thompson added that she thought the Santa Rosa lights were something of a mixed bag.  

“During the day the cars cannot see the lights too well and it ends up giving you a sense of false security,” she said. “I don’t really trust them and am always on the lookout when I cross the street. I have a disabled child who doesn’t walk very fast and therefore I am ultra-cautious when I am at that crossing. It would be great if the city could fix them. They really help at night.” 

Andrea Blake, a water meter reader for East Bay MUD, said that she spends about six hours in the area everyday and the cars hardly stop to let her cross the street. 

“It’s like I am getting in their way,” she said. “Since it’s Highway 13, the cars speed a lot. I would hate to think what would happen if they didn’t stop in time to let me cross.” 

“This is news to me,” said Hillier, when the Planet informed him on Thursday that the lights were indeed not working. “I will have to send someone down there to see whether they had been vandalized or what the case is. That is all I can say at this moment.” 

Hamid Mostowfi, the city’s supervising traffic engineer told the Planet on Thursday that the electrical wiring at the location had been giving the city recurring problems. 

“It has proven to be a maintenance issue,” he said. “We are considering replacing the system with some other form of pedestrian warning, but we do not have any funding at this time.” 

In the meantime, he said, the city has removed the activation button to prevent giving pedestrians a false sense of safety. 

“The advance pedestrian warning signs equipped with LEDs have been turned on to permanent flashing, to warn drivers of pedestrians crossing at this location,” Mostowfi said.

Two days after the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) sued Berkeley Unified School District, charging it with violating California’s Proposition 209 by racially discriminating among students during placements at elementary schools and at programs at Berkeley High, school district officials said they will not change their policies. 

“BUSD stands firmly by its elementary student assignment plan for Berkeley elementary schools,” said Berkeley Superintendent Michele Lawrence. “Pacific Legal wanted to make a public splash on the 10th Anniversary of Proposition 209 and they used Berkeley schools to do that. Their misguided intent is needless to say a distraction at the beginning of a new school year.” 

Board Director Shirley Issel echoed Lawrence’s words.  

“A high profile lawsuit like this at this time is a big distraction,” she said. “It is very unfortunate timing, especially at a time when we are busy teaching our children and working hard to pass Measure A.” 

The lawsuit, American Civil Rights Foundation vs. Berkeley Unified School, filed at the Alameda County Superior Court Wednesday, alleges that BUSD “uses race as a factor to determine where students are assigned to public schools and to determine whether they gain access to special educational programs.” 

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

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

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

In 2003, the PLF sued the Berkeley schools on behalf of a parent who charged the district with race-based assignment of students in a different and earlier Berkeley program, but the case was dismissed by Judge James Richman who said that voluntary desegregation plans or ‘race-conscious’ school assignment systems were not specifically prohibited by Prop. 209. 

This time, Beard said, “We are suing BUSD on behalf of a California non-profit public benefit corporation called American Civil Rights Foundation, whose members include individuals who are residents and taxpayers in Berkeley. They are dedicated to monitor and enforce civil rights laws, including Proposition 209.” 

Berkeley’s student assignment plan divides the city into three sections, with each running from the bay to the hills. 

“The zip code plays the most important role in this plan,” said BUSD spokesperson Mark Coplan. “Students are assigned to schools within their section based on a system that takes into account race, parent income and parent education level. They can select up to three schools within their area and about 85 percent of families get their first choice. We aim to bring children from various educational, racial and socio-economic backgrounds together and have so far been successful.” 

“Telling students they can’t attend a particular school because of their race and the race of their neighbors is immoral and illegal,” said Beard. 

Karen Hemphill, 2006 School Board candidate, said that if schools did not look at ethnicity and socio-economic diversity then Berkeley would end up with segregation.  

“I am very concerned that PLF is choosing to revisit this issue,” Hemphill said. “There are certain individuals in the baby boomer generation who did not grow up with different cultures around them and are therefore closed to new ideas and diversity. They are the ones who have a problem with the school assignment plan.” 

The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights And Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) expressed their support for the school district at the school board meeting on Wednesday. 

“The PLF lawsuit that was filed today gives Berkeley a chance once again to stand up and fight for integration and quality education,” said Mark Airgood, a BAMN representative. “This is an important opportunity to show that Berkeley is leading the nation on integration. Two years ago when the city went on to win the case against PLF, it was the parents, the students and this very board which came together to support the school district’s integration plan. I am confident it will be the same this time too.” 

While incumbent Mayor Tom Bates, with 20 years in state office and four years as mayor, has accumulated the lion’s share of endorsements and buckets of cash—about $74,000 according to his Oct. 5 filing—challenger Zelda Bronstein is running a relentless community campaign, while raising about one-third—$24,000—the amount Bates raised.  

Two other mayoral challengers, community activist Zachary RunningWolf and recent Stanford graduate Christian Pecaut, are continuing to fight for the office and to get their message out without the benefit of endorsements or campaign funds.  

Bates has the support of notable office holders, Rep. Barbara Lee, state Sen. Don Perata, Oakland Mayor-elect Ron Dellums, as well as Councilmembers Linda Maio, Darryl Moore, Max Anderson, Laurie Capitelli and Gordon Wozniak. He also has organizational support from diverse democratic clubs—the new Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club and the Berkeley Democratic Club, which endorsed Bates’ opponent Shirley Dean in 2002—as well as community activist Dave Blake, a zoning commissioner who is running for the Rent Board, St. Joseph the Worker priest Fr. George Crespin, realtor John Gordon, developer Avi Nevo and dozens more. 

Bronstein says she’s proud of her neighborhood support. Endorsers includes Planning Commissioner Gene Poschman, Dean Metzger, president of the Claremont-Elmwood Neighborhood Association, Robert Lauriston with Neighbors of Ashby BART (NABART), Elaine Green of South Berkeley’s United We Stand and Deliver, and Janice Thomas, past president of the Panoramic Hill Association. Bronstein is also endorsed by the Progressive Convention, Progressive Democrats of the East Bay and the NABART steering committee. 

Bates and Bronstein—as well as Bates and Runningwolf and Pecaut—differ on a number of critical city issues. 

The settlement agreement 

One of the issues that pushed Bronstein to run for the office—she was a Bates’ supporter four years ago—is what Bates’ detractors call the “secret” agreement with the university. The city sued the university over its development plan and the fees it pays for sewers and other city services. The two parties settled in July 2005, and as a condition of the negotiations first proposed by the city’s attorney, the details of the settlement could not be disclosed before it was final.  

“Could I have gotten more?” asked Bates in an interview in his University Avenue campaign office. “It’s easy for critics to say I could have gotten more. Reality is we got three times more than we got in the past.” 

Bates added that the university has agreed to purchase supplies locally and to hire people from First Source, the local hiring program. 

Because the university does not have to follow local laws, the city has limited leverage, Bates said. “Any sophisticated person knows they are exempt from zoning,” he said. “They can do whatever they feel like doing.” 

In a separate interview in her Martin Luther King Jr. Way campaign office, Bronstein said that if she were mayor, she’d rescind and re-negotiate the settlement. And she’d negotiate it in public. 

“I’d try to persuade the university to pay its fair share for city services,” said Bronstein, noting she is at a disadvantage not knowing exactly what was negotiated. 

Pointing to the city of Santa Cruz, where citizens have placed a measure on the November ballot to restrain university growth, Bronstein said it is possible to pressure the university. “In response (to the ballot measure) the university has scaled back its plans,” she said. 

What is needed, she added, is “strong civic leadership.” 

Asked about the Santa Cruz ballot measure, Bates said, “We could have symbolically done something like that.” He added, “Some people would like the university to pack up and leave.” 

He said he underscored the need to try to get the university to pay its fair share, but also said people should recognize the important place the university has in the life of the city. “The university is what makes this town great,” he said, noting that he’s worked for the betterment of the city with deans from the Schools of Public Health, Public Policy and Education.  

Pecaut argued, “The mayor lets (the Board of Regents) do whatever they want to” and Runningwolf contended that by settling the lawsuit behind closed doors, “Tom Bates locked out the power of the residents in an open forum.” 

Measure J 

Measure J, the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance ballot measure, also points up differences between Bronstein and Bates.  

Bronstein is one of the endorsers of the measure listed in the voters pamphlet. Bronstein said the measure would provide legal protection to properties that may be worthy of landmark status.  

Bates had a revision of the Landmark Preservation Ordinance before the City Council which he withdrew until after the election.  

Calling the draft ordinance an “outrageous proposal,” Bronstein said it weakens landmark protections. The Bates proposal “makes demolition easier,” she said. Bates’ “process doesn’t allow enough time for citizens to weigh in— they are citizen volunteers.”  

Bronstein added: “I’m a preservationist, but not a purist. We need a strong preservation law.”  

Bates called himself “a strong preservationist,” but said: “I’m opposed to (Measure J) adamantly.”  

He pointed out that Berkeley has 300 landmarks, “more than San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland combined.” Bates said he is against people using the landmark process to stop development. He said the ordinance he proposed “gives everybody logical rules they can play by.” 

Public financing of elections 

Despite the efforts of a number of community stalwarts, public financing of elections never made it to the November 2006 ballot. While they both support the concept of public financing of elections, both Bates and Bronstein had concerns about the initiative as it was proposed. 

Bronstein called the “clean money” campaign “a great concept.” However, she said, “Some of the details need to be worked out still.”  

One question that wasn’t answered to her satisfaction was, “Where’s the money going to come from?” Even considering financing the mayor’s race alone, the budget would have been at least $280,000: $140,000 for each candidate demonstrating community support. 

“That seemed like a lot of public money,” Bronstein said. Less money needs to be allocated to the race, she added. “We need to campaign differently.” 

Bates said his hesitation around the local “clean money” initiative was that if it didn’t succeed this time—a similar measure having lost soundly two years ago-- it could not be brought back in the foreseeable future for political reasons.  

Bates said he’s watching the statewide public financing measure. 

“If it passes in Berkeley, I’ll bring it back” in the next election, he said, noting, however, “I’m watching closely what’s happening statewide and I’m worried. People are upset that money distorts politics but they haven’t made the connection with clean money as a solution to solving the problem.” 

Runningwolf said he believes in clean elections, “leveling of the playing field.” 

And Pecaut said he would have voted to put the measure on the ballot, had he been mayor. He criticized Bates for voting against putting it on the ballot: “The mayor’s vote decided it,” he said. 

Both Bates and Bronstein have records to run on—Bates as mayor and state assemblymember for 20 years and Bronstein as a planning commissioner for seven years, two years of which she spent as chair. 

“I helped guide the process that led to the first new general plan in 25 years,” Bronstein said. Noting that she received a Downtown Berkeley Association award for leadership and consensus building, she said she worked on the general plan with a wide range of constituencies and staff.  

Bates points to the new Berkeley City College (formerly Vista College), “something I worked on for 20 plus years.”  

And he claims leadership in the development of workforce and low income housing built along traffic corridors so that it doesn’t impact neighborhoods.  

Bates didn’t flinch about the idea of raising taxes in the near future. With city income flat and health benefit costs increasing 23 percent next year, he says the future will be harder. “The infrastructure is in lousy shape. We’ll have to go back to the voters” for funding. 

Asked about his support for moderate incumbent Councilmember Gordon Wozniak over progressive Jason Overman, Bates said Wozniak “provides an excellent voice for his (Wozniak’s) point of view. I think it’s good to have a divergence of views on the City Council. I have a good relationship with him, although we don’t always agree.” 

Runningwolf says some of his major issues are support for open government, instant runoff voting, drug-testing police officers who work in the drug vault, and support for low-income and Section 8 housing,  

Christian Pecaut said he supports a ballot initiative for a new warm pool for the disabled and elderly and adding city resources to more depressed areas in South Berkeley.  

After 21 years of organizing, planning, cajoling and fund-raising, Eastshore State Park became a reality Wednesday, fulfilling the dreams of a coalition of environmentalists, politicians and organizations. 

A dedication ceremony at the Berkeley Meadow at the foot of the marina brought together many of those who fought for the realization of the 8.5-mile-long, 2,002-acre park which stretches from Emeryville to Richmond. 

The event was especially gratifying to Sylvia McLaughlin, the 89-year-old Berkeley woman who co-founded Save the Bay. 

“I feel wonderful and very, very gratified,” she said Thursday. “The first step has been accomplished—and now, onward.” 

While Wednesday’s ceremony marked a very real accomplishment, McLaughlin said much remains to be done as economic pressures on local governments and offers from developers are threatening key stretches of the bayshore. 

“There are lots of challenges,” she said. “No, let’s say opportunities.” 

Among the critical issues, she said, are plans for a waterfront shopping center at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, and multiple pressures in Richmond, including: 

• Developing efforts to create a massive container shipping port in an environmentally sensitive area. 

• Plans to create a shoreline casino, hotel, shopping and entertainment complex at Point Molate. 

• Drafting of a new General Plan for the city. 

“All of the cities have financial problems,” McLaughlin said, “and they need to figure out where to get the money for maintaining their infrastructure and paying their employees.” 

While shoreline development is tempting, McLaughlin said “recent studies have shown that parks and recreation areas add value to the surrounding areas.” 

Park genesis 

McLaughlin’s involvement in bay conservation began in 1961, when she and the colleagues she calls her “tea ladies” were stirred to action by an announcement that Berkeley officials were planning on filling in 2,000 acres of the bay west of the city’s shoreline, and the Army Corps of Engineers was floating plans that called for filling in most of the bay by 2020. 

Thus was born Save the Bay, with McLaughlin, Kay Kerr and Esther Gulick playing the leading roles. 

Three years later, some of their efforts paid off with the drafting of the city’s Interim Waterfront Plan which specifically called for creating parklands along the shoreline—a measure that would require purchase of the existing lands from Santa Fe Railroad, which owned most of the East Bay shoreline. 

Years of organizing followed. 

In 1985, McLaughlin became one of the founders of a new organization, Citizens for East Shore Parks, devoted to fighting the railroads development plans. In addition to Save the Bay, other founding groups were Citizens for the Albany Shoreline, the Emeryville Shoreline Committee, the Sierra Club and the Golden Gate Audubon Society. 

Dwight Steele, an environmentalist and activist, headed CESP until his death in 2002. Robert Cheasty, also a lawyer, is the group’s current president. 

In 1986, Berkeley voters approved a shoreline protection initiative, followed by similar measure from Emeryville in 1987 and Albany in 1990. 

Thanks to legislation authored by then Assemblymember Tom Bates, and aided by bond measures passed at the state and local levels, the East Bay Regional Parks District was designated as the lead agency for parkland acquisition and management. 

In 2000, the California Department of Parks and Recreation launched a planning process that led two years later in a unanimous vote by the state Parks Commission to approve the park’s general plan. 

“It’s been very gratifying to see this happen,” McLaughlin said. “I’ll be even happier in Proposition 84 passes, which will provide the funds for our parks that will allow us to continue to plans for an area park that can be enjoyed by people as well as birds and other wildlife.” 

That measure, the Clean Water, Parks and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, would provide $5.4 billion in funds for safe drinking water, parklands and coastal protection. 

McLaughlin said she’ll also be playing close attention to local elections, where development issues are playing key roles. 

Wednesday’s gathering was well attended by political and environmental luminaries, including Assemblymember Loni Hancock, the mayors of Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville and Richmond, city staff, and directors and staff of the East Bay Regional Parks District and the state department of Parks and Recreation.  

Sylvia McLaughlin gets ready to take the stage at the park opening. Photograph by Shelly Lewis. 

While Berkeley may have been known as the free speech capital of the world, the city now lags behind seven other jurisdictions that operate under “sunshine” laws that expand California’s open government statutes. 

On Tuesday, the Berkeley City Council will take its first collective look at a draft sunshine ordinance authored by the Berkeley city attorney. Sunshine laws expand the public’s access to government, open avenues for citizen input into the public process and broaden an individual’s right to obtain government documents. 

In addition to the city attorney’s draft, the council will consider additional suggestions from City Councilmember Kriss Worthington, and from SuperBOLD, Super Berkeleyans Organizing for Library Defense, the group that has threatened to sue the city over its limited public comment access at public meetings.  

“We’re putting (the ordinance) out to the public, so they have a chance to comment,” says Mayor Tom Bates, who is bringing the item to council with Worthington, although the pair differs on a number of specifics.  

Both Bates and Worthington say the council should schedule a public hearing on the ordinance. 

Public comment 

SuperBOLD has been lobbying the council for months—and has retained the Oakland-based First Amendment Project’s legal services—to create a comment period in which the public is permitted to express itself on all matters that come before the City Council, as do some 30 other California cities.  

For more than a decade, the city clerk chose by lottery 10 people who wanted to address the council; each was permitted to speak for three minutes. Since the lawsuit has been threatened, Bates has revised the system, asking the city clerk to choose 15 speakers, each of whom speaks for two minutes, after which others whose issues have not been addressed are allowed to speak, one pro and one con for each issue. 

Gene Bernardi of SuperBOLD says Bates’ plan is inadequate and that every person who wishes to speak should be allowed to do so.  

There are more than two sides of every issue, she argued, recalling an individual who was at a Berkeley City Council meeting, hoping to support permits for the West Berkeley Bowl store, but only if the store agreed to a unionized workforce. People spoke for and against issuing permits for the store, but no one addressed the union issue.  

“Everything is not A or non-A,” Bernardi says. 

Worthington has further suggested that when it is expected that many people will want to address the council on a particular issue, a public hearing on the issue should be called. 

Bates says changes in public comment procedures should come about as modifications of council rules, but Worthington argues the council can too easily waive or change its rules. “If it’s an ordinance, it’s not subject to whims,” Worthington said. 

Settlement agreements 

Settling lawsuits behind closed doors has been a subject of controversy in Berkeley, particularly with respect to the July 2005 UC-City of Berkeley settlement agreement. The city attorney’s recommendation is that proposed settlements be placed on the council’s regular open agenda for approval. 

“All agreements would be made public prior to adoption,” Bates says, supporting the language in the draft ordinance. 

A prototype sunshine ordinance, authored by the San Jose Mercury News and the League of Women Voters, currently under consideration by San Jose, goes further, prohibiting the city from signing settlement agreements that demand secrecy. 

Resolving disputes 

The city attorney’s draft ordinance provides for disputes to be settled by the city manager. If they are not, people can go to court in some cases. Worthington, however, contends that suing the city should be an option in all cases. 

San Francisco and Oakland have commissions that resolve disputes and monitor the effectiveness of their sunshine ordinances. Arguing for this option, Anthony Sanchez, a First Amendment Coalition intern who worked on suggested additions to the ordinance, said the city manager option “puts way too much discretion in the manager’s hands.” 

A commission, on the other hand, would scrutinize the usefulness of the ordinance and recommend changes, he said. 

Bates said another possibility would be taking questions not resolved by the city manager to the Fair Campaign Practices Commission.  

Among other additions Worthington espouses are: 

• Moving the council meetings to a larger venue with better access to disabled persons. 

• Telling the public a time certain when a public hearing will begin. 

• Making law enforcement records and logs accessible to the public and press. 

Concerns about the city attorney’s abrupt mid-September shutdown of the public process addressing complaints against police drew about a dozen people to the open portion of the joint City Council-Police Review Commission closed session Tuesday. 

The members of the public had come to call on the city to resume open hearings into complaints against the police. 

The meeting was called to address an unresolved 2002 Berkeley Police Officers Association lawsuit against the city, which argues that public hearings on complaints against police violate privacy mandates for police personnel issues. 

Berkeley City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque linked the recent California Supreme Court decision, Copley Press v. San Diego County, which concluded that police officers’ disciplinary records are confidential, to the BPOA lawsuit. 

During the public portion of the meeting, Albuquerque explained the need for the session to be closed. “What strategies we’ll employ (in response to the lawsuit) should not be disclosed,” she said. 

The future of PRC open hearings would not be discussed in the meeting, she said, but added, “Should the PRC decide to change its procedures, that will occur in open session.” 

PRC Commissioner Michael Sherman said in a phone interview Wednesday that he was satisfied that the closed meeting could not have been held in public without revealing the city’s possible strategy regarding the lawsuit. “We would not want to put our legal cards on the table,” Sherman said. 

Also on Wednesday, PRC Commissioner David Ritchie said he was hopeful that open hearings on complaints against police officers would resume as a result of the closed-door meeting. 

Speaking of the Copley case, Ritchie said it was very specific and addressed the need for confidentiality in matters of discipline for police officers. “It’s always been our position that we have nothing to do with discipline,” Ritchie said. 

The PRC investigates complaints and rules to sustain or dismiss the complaints. It is then up to the police chief to discipline officers, if he chooses to do so. 

In Tuesday’s public comment session preceding the closed-door meeting, a number of residents spoke out against the suspension of complaint hearings.  

Former PRC Commissioner Mark Schlosberg, who is police practices policy director for the Northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, called for “open civilian oversight” of the police.  

“We should explore ways to keep the hearing process open,” he said. However, he added, if they must be closed, then as much information as possible should be disclosed. Schlosberg further called for a definitive legislative solution to Copley. 

Andrea Pritchett of Copwatch called on the council and PRC “to fight for open hearings.”  

And Jake Gelender, also of Copwatch, said, “I can’t believe in the middle of a massive police scandal, you’ve stopped the police inquiries.” Gelender was referring to a police sergeant who pled guilty to stealing drug evidence from the police drug vault and to two cases where two other police officers have been put on administrative leave, one for reportedly taking money from federal agents during a sting operation and the other for allegedly firing his service revolver while inebriated.  

Gelender also called on the body to hold an open meeting—rather than the closed session—to address the suspension of the hearings.  

Similarly, the Berkeley Daily Planet called for the council and PRC to hold public discussions on the question of closed hearings. 

The closed-door session will continue next Tuesday. “We’re willing to wait and see for the time being what our options are,” Ritchie said. 

The meeting will begin with public comment at 5 p.m. on the sixth floor of the administrative building at 2180 Milvia St.  

Berkeley voters will have the chance to settle the fate of Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (LPO) when they vote on Measure J. 

Titled the Landmarks Preservation and Demolition Permit Application Ordinances, the package basically tweaks the city’s current landmarks laws and policies with minor fixes backers say will bring them into line with state legislation. 

Supporters say the law is needed to save structures that are critical for neighborhood identity and to block a wave of demolitions that could transform the character of neighborhoods. 

Rival ordinances 

Measure J was drafted in response to the effort spearheaded by Mayor Tom Bates to revise the city’s 1974 ordinance to make the law more friendly to developers, who claim the existing law causes needless delays and blocks some worthy projects. 

The ostensible reasons involved real or potential conflicts with the state Permit Streamlining Act (PSA), legislation which mandates timely processing of development applications. 

Just how serious the conflicts between the two laws were remains the subject of debate, but the city attorney’s office said changes were needed—while preservationists say there hasn’t been a single case where applications under the current law were delayed beyond the limits set by the PSA. 

A lengthy redrafting process involving both the Landmarks Preservation and Planning commissions resulted in prolonged and often heated debate, and in the end, the mayor and Councilmember Laurie Capitelli drafted their own version. 

That measure passed the City Council on first reading in July by a 6-2-1 vote, with Betty Olds and Kriss Worthington in opposition and Dona Spring abstaining. But the council withheld the second vote needed to enact the measure pending the outcome of the Measure J vote. 

Spring has since signed on as a Measure J supporter. 

During the July council meeting, nearly 60 residents spoke in opposition to the mayor’s ordinance, while supporters could be counted on the fingers of one hand—one being an Oakland attorney who frequently represents developers in their battles with the existing ordinance. 

In the end, a vote against Measure J could end up being a vote in support of the Bates/Capitelli proposal, which could be given a final vote on Nov. 14, the first council meeting after the election. 

Supporters contend that despite the criticisms of developers, the existing ordinance is far from the state’s most restrictive. 

While Berkeley’s ordinance has produced 272 designated landmarks and structures of merit (the two categories of historical designation under the LPO) and four historic districts, Measure J supporters note that Pasadena has 11 historic districts, one of which alone contains 800 homes. 

The alternative 

Preservationists say their biggest concern with the Bates/Capitelli ordinance is that it creates two parallel review processes, landmarking and the Request for Determination (RFD), along with rules for applying each, both when a development project is planned and when no project is planned. 

The RFD is a process that Measure J supporters contend would in effect serve as a stealth device to allow developers to destroy landmarks after first obtaining immunity from landmarking. 

In the RFD, a property owner hires a historical consultant from an LPC-vetted list, who then reviews the property’s architecture and history. After the report is filed, the LPC has 60 days to landmark the structure. If the LPC fails to act, the public has an additional 21 days to file a landmarking petition. 

If no action is taken, all landmarking efforts are banned during a two-year “safe harbor.” 

The developer can file for a building permit the day after the deadline expires and opponents are barred from filing a landmark application to delay or prevent demolition and construction. 

The key point preservationists raise is that an RFD without notice of the intended project is far less likely to stir a public response than a development proposal. 

Proponents of the mayor’s ordinance say the RFD provision protects developers from foes who are less interested in preserving buildings with architectural merit than with stopping development and increasing the city’s housing supply. 

Opponents counter with the contention that the cheapest and most effective way to create new affordable housing is through rehabilitation of existing structures. 

Measure J fans, foes 

The measure’s two authors, Laurie Bright and Roger Marquis, are both members of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA), and Bright also serves as president of the city’s Council of Neighborhood Assocations. 

Other proponents include an unusual amalgam of allies who often find themselves divided on other issues. 

Former mayor Shirley Dean has joined with Councilmember Dona Spring in support of the measure, along with Zoning Adjustments Board member and Claremont-Elmwood Neighborhood Association President Dean Metzger, Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee and former LPC member Patti Dacey, Berkeley NAACP Executive Secretary Elaine Green and Rent Stabilization Board member and Housing Advisory Commission Chair Jesse Arreguin.  

While Mayor Bates and spouse Assemblymember Loni Hancock are firm opponents, Zelda Bronstein, the mayor’s leading rival in the upcoming mayoral elections, supports the measure. 

Other Measure J opponents include Sally Woodbridge, an architectural historian who has found herself in frequent conflict with the BAHA because of her much narrower criteria for assigning landmark status. 

Others include Alan Tobey, a member of the board of the Livable Berkeley lobbying group, Planning Commissioner Harry Pollack, Landmarks Preservation Commission members Fran Packard and Burton Edwards, City Councilmember Linda Maio and former Councilmember Mim Hawley. 

Notably absent from any visible role in the fray are developers like Patrick Kennedy, Chris Hudson and Timothy Rempel who had waged long and costly battles against landmarking efforts. 

Supporters have organized for campaign spending purposes under the name of Landmark Preservation Ordinance 2006 Update PAC, and have reported raising a total of $13,007. 

But one key question remains: Who paid for the costly midsummer telephone poll that featured extensive questions about the landmarks ordinance, exploring what questions and issues might influence voters to vote against the measure? 

While no organizations or individuals have yet filed the city’s Form 410 as opponents of Measure J., a well-funded and negatively focused poll usually means deep pockets are waiting to try to influence the vote. 

A “Wanted—Jack O’Connell” flyer was posted to the Oakland Public School Parents email list this week, taking the State Superintendent to task for what it called “crimes against democracy.” 

O’Connell has come under severe criticism in recent months for his operation of the Oakland Unified School District, which the state took over in 2003. 

Local education leader Henry Hitz, who posted the flyer to the parents’ list, said that he was not involved in the poster’s creation in any way, and would only say that it was sent to him by “someone.” 

The City of Oakland has three local measures on the November ballot, all them placed by a vote of the Oakland City Council. Two of them—Measures M and O—are amendments to Oakland’s city charter. One of them—Measure N—is a bond measure. 

MEASURE M—Police And Fire Retirement Board Investments Charter Amendment. 

(Shall section 2601(e) of the Charter of the City of Oakland be amended to provide that the Police and Fire Retirement Board shall make investment decisions regarding common stocks and mutual funds in accordance with the prudent person standard as established by court decisions and as required by the California Constitution?) 

This is one of those financial housekeeping measures that drive voters crazy because voters can’t quite comprehend what they are all about, and which city officials insist are absoutely necessary. In this case, the necessity being asserted is the ability for the city to have more flexibility in making investments through its Police and Fire Retirement System, thus—according to city officials—reducing the city’s overall liability and saving the taxpayers money. 

Oakland’s Police And Fire Retirement System (PFRS) was established in 1951, accepted new members for the next 25 years, and then was closed to new members in 1976. Oakland police and firefighters hired after that date now participate in California’s Public Employees Retirement (PERS) system. 

Oakland’s PFRS members were given the option of transferring to the state PERS system, but a number of them did not. All but three of the remaining PFRS members have retired and are receiving benefits from the program. PFRS retains the obligation to pay the retirement benefits for the police and firefighters who chose to remain with the local retirement system. The system is managed by a seven-member board which includes City Administrator Deborah Edgerly, and is chaired by a member of the Oakland Police Department. 

The retirement payments to PFRS members come primarily from two sources: employee contributions from the City of Oakland, and returns on investments authorized by the PFRS board. 

Here’s where it gets complicated. 

Under the Oakland City Charter, Edgerly and other PFRS board members say that retirement fund managers are “severely restrict”[ed] in their ability to get the “highest rate of total return possible” on investments, limiting investments to stocks and mutual funds and prohibiting investment in non-dividend paying stocks without approval by the Board. 

In its place, the PFRS Board wants the ability to apply what the California Constitution calls the “prudent person standard” in investments. The details of that standard are beyond the scope of this analysis to explain, even if we had the ability to do so. 

PFRS is a defined benefit plan, one of the “old school” plans in which retirees are guaranteed a certain monthly benefit rather than the newer “defined contribution” plans which tailor individual benefits to how much money is in the overall fund. Because of that, taxpayers in the City of Oakland are ultimately responsible for keeping the fund up at a certain level so that PFRS retirees are able to receive their mandated benefits. 

But unless the investments completely collapse, approval of the investment guidelines under this proposed charter amendment will not have immediate fiscal effect on Oakland taxpayers, according to the city administrator’s report. The City of Oakland is already paid up on its employer contribution to the PFRS through 2010. 

Of local political organizations taking a position on Measure M, the Metropolitan Greater Oakland Club recommends a Yes vote, while neither the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club or the John George Democratic Club chose to take a position.  

MEASURE N. Library Improvement and Expansion Bonds 

(To construct a new Main Library at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center and to acquire land and construct new branch library facilities and to renovate and expand branch library facilities, shall the City of Oakland issue $148,000,000 in bonds?) 

Measure N is an attempt to address three separate City of Oakland issues: 1) upgrading Oakland’s branch libraries, including renovation and expansion of existing branches as well as constructing new branches; 2) finding a new home for the Main Library to replace the existing facilities at the lower end of 14th Street near Lake Merritt; and 3) finding a public use for the recently-closed Kaiser Convention Center. 

Until the Oakland Coliseum was built in 1966, the Kaiser Convention Center, with its massive arena and adjacent auditorium, was Oakland’s major public venue for large events, hosting everything from rhythm & blues music concerts to graduation exercises for the city’s largest high schools. 

Even after the Coliseum took over the major-audience events, the Convention Center continued as the city’s mid-range venue, serving as the home of the Oakland Ballet, for example. All that ended when, in a controversial decision, the Oakland City Council chose to close the Center down in January of this year because of falling revenues. 

The Convention Center sits directly across from Lake Merritt in a prime location that will soon become “primer” when, using the Measure DD bond money, the 12th Street-14th Street “highway” in front of the building is completely overhauled and the Center will essentially sit on the banks of Lake Merritt. Because of that, developers have had their eye on the massive, now-vacant building, with proposals ranging from tearing it down entirely to making it a part of the high-rise condominium and commercial development proposed for the Oakland Unified School District Lake Merritt-area properties. 

But there have been proposals to keep the Convention Center as a public entity. One of them, turned down last year by the Oakland City Council, would have turned the center into an entertainment and performing arts venue jointly operated by a private management company and the Peralta Community College District. 

The Peralta District was part of another proposal that would have established a joint City of Oakland-Laney College library in the building. That proposal fell through when representatives of the Laney College Library and Laney College faculty felt it was unworkable. 

A portion of Measure N would authorize bond money for a go-it-alone move of the Main Library from its present location to the Convention Center, with the library taking up a portion of the facilities (between 120,000 and 160,000 square feet), and the rest of the convention center left in reserve “for future expansion.” 

One of the questions not specifically addressed in the bond measure is what will happen to the existing Main Library facility. Will it remain in public hands—either the library’s or the city’s—or will it be a candidate for private development? 

The rest of the bond money not expended on the main library move would go to expansion and upgrades of several existing branch library facilities. Voters should check the actual ballot language to see which branch facilities will be upgraded.  

Of local political organizations taking a position on Measure M, the Metropolitan Greater Oakland Club recommends a yes vote, while neither the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club or the John George Democratic Club chose to take a position.  

MEASURE O. Instant Runoff Voting Charter Amendment 

(Shall the City Charter be amended to require the use of ranked choice voting, known sometimes as instant runoff voting, to elect city offices by a majority vote at a November election without holding a prior June election?) 

Some voters are understandably confused by the measure, since many believe that Oakland City Council already authorized ranked choice voting, sometimes called instant runoff voting (IRV). However, that was only for special elections to fill the unexpired City Council term. 

In addition, because Oakland runs its elections through the Alameda County Registrars office and because Alameda County does not currently have machines capable of handling IRV, Oakland’s special election IRV provision—like Berkeley’s general IRV—has not yet been implemented. 

Measure O would put Oakland in the same position as Berkeley—authorizing instant runoff voting for all city offices (including the Mayor, Councilmembers, and School Board members) but not being able to actually implement it until Alameda County purchases the machines capable of doing so. 

Oakland now operates a system in which a “nominating election” is held in June. If a candidate for city office wins a majority of the vote in that election, she or he wins office, and no further voting is necessary. This is what happened in last June’s mayoral race, where Ron Dellums won a majority of the vote over several challengers. 

If no candidate wins a majority of the vote in the “nominating election,” the top two vote-getters face each other in a November runoff. This is the case in Oakland City Council District Two, where no candidate got a majority of votes in June, and therefore the top two candidates—incumbent Pat Kernighan and challenger Aimee Allison—face each other again in a runoff. In this case, the candidate who did not come in first or second in June—Shirley Gee—was eliminated and will not appear on the November ballot. 

Under the proposed instant runoff system, the June “nominating election” will be eliminated, and only one city election will be held in November. If there are more than two candidates on the ballot of a city office, voters will have the chance to “rank” their choices; that is, the voter will give their first choice for the office a #1 ranking, their second choice a #2 ranking, their third choice a #3 ranking, and so forth. The theory is that the voter will give a #1 ranking to the person they most want to win the election, and give a #2 ranking to the person they want to win if their #1 choice doesn’t win. 

The votes are then counted in “rounds.” If one candidate gets a majority of votes in the first “round” of counting, that candidate automatically wins, and there is no more counting. However, if no candidate gets a majority of the votes in the first round, the candidate getting the least amount of votes is dropped off the ballot. 

The voters who voted for the last-place candidate then have their second choice votes applied to the remaining candidates. If any candidate now gets a majority of votes—including the second choice votes from the ballots of people supporting the last place candidate—then that candidate wins the office. 

The voting keeps going through new rounds—eliminating the last-place candidate each time and applying their next-ranked votes—until someone eventually gets a majority, and wins the election. 

Proponents of instant runoff voting for Oakland say it will save the city money by not forcing a second, runoff voting when one candidate does not get a majority. 

Opponents say that it is unfair to ask voters to make a second or third choice of candidates, when all they want is to pick their top choice. Critics also say the system could end up in confusion if it is not clear to voters how a particular candidate got enough votes to win. 

The Metropolitan Greater Oakland Club, the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, and the John George Democratic Club are all recommending a yes vote on Measure O. 

With the cities of Berkeley and San Leandro already approving the use of instant runoff voting (IRV) whenever the Alameda County voting system can accommodate it—and Oakland voters scheduled to decide on an IRV ballot measure next month—the Alameda County registrar’s office has set up tentative plans for an IRV conference later this month with representatives of the county’s municipalities and other interested parties. 

Last June, Alameda County Supervisors approved a contract with Oakland-based Sequoia Voting Systems to provide electronic scanners and a small number of touchscreen voting machines for the county’s election system. 

As part of that contract, Sequoia will write IRV-compatible software for use in the Alameda County machines by November 2007. Alameda County registrar’s office spokesperson Guy Ashley said the county wanted to have the software in place a year in advance of the 2008 Presidential election “because we want to be able to try it out in smaller elections first, to see if it works.” 

“Sequoia wants us to provide specifications on how we want IRV to work in Alameda County,” Ashley said. “We want to set up a meeting with the county’s stakeholders to talk about the key things people want in IRV.” 

No meeting date has yet been set. 

Police seeks suspects in two sexual assaults 

Campus and city police are seeking suspects in two sexual attacks that occurred last week, campus Police Chief Victoria L. Harrison announced Thursday. 

The first assault happened just after 8 p.m. Sept. 28 on Fulton Street near the Channing Way intersection when a bald or shaved-head man wearing jeans and a hoodie grabbed a woman from behind and threw her to the ground. 

When the woman began struggling with her assailant, he gave up and fled northbound on Fulton. 

The second attack was reported early on the morning of Sept. 30 by a student who had been drinking at the Down Low nightclub at 2284 Shattuck Ave. when she began feeling strange. 

Berkeley Police Department spokesperson Officer Ed Galvan said all the information provided to officers came from an emergency room nurse, who was legally required to report the incident. 

“We haven’t been able to talk to the woman, and she hasn’t returned our calls,” Officer Galvan said. 

According to the nurse’s report, the woman had just made it into the restroom when she collapsed, waking up to find that she was being raped. She was not able to give a clear description of her assailant, Harrison reported. 

“We would be happy to talk to her anonymously, to meet her in a parking lot or in any other way she would like. It is important that we get all the information we can so we can prevent further attacks,” he said. 

Chief Harrison urged students to protect themselves against so-called “date rape drugs” by refusing drinks from strangers, taking beverages only from bartenders when in a club, watching drinks closely, and taking drinks elsewhere only from sealed cans and containers. 

Another warning sign is when a fellow drinker reports feeling far more intoxicated than would be justified by the small amount of liquor consumed. 

Harrison urged anyone with information about the attacks to call the Berkeley Police Department at 981-5900.

The U.S. government’s Gulfstream jets are back in the news. 

Last month, following a two year inquiry, Canadian Justice Dennis O’Connor released an 822-page report detailing how Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen of Syrian origin, was illegally rendered by American agents “to Syria against his wishes and in the face of statements that he would be tortured if sent there.” 

The Americans flew the shackled Arar to Jordan on a Gulfstream III jet and drove him to Syria, where he was beaten until he confessed that he had trained at an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan, where he’d never been. For 10 more months he was caged in a coffin-size cell before his wife’s campaign to have him released succeeded. Justice O’Connor concluded that “categorically there is no evidence that Arar did anything wrong or was a security threat.” 

On Tuesday, Sept. 19, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales categorically denied U.S. responsibility in the affair. “We were not responsible for his removal to Syria,” claimed Gonzales, who said he had not read the Canadian report. “I’m not aware that he was tortured.” 

Arar’s removal to Syria, Gonzales said, “was a deportation.” But, “even if it were a rendition,” Gonzales went on, the U.S. government works seeks to ensure “that they will not be tortured.” 

Gonzales’ denial mirrors what President Bush and Secretary Rice have said on numerous occasions. 

Nonetheless, Justice O’Connor’s report, an Amnesty International investigation, Federal Aviation Adminstration flight records, the New York Times and many others agree that on Oct. 8, at 9:40 a.m., a Gulfstream III jet with a tail number of N829MG took off from Teterboro, N.J. After a stop-off at Washington’s Dulles Airport, it departed at 1:36 p.m. from Bangor, Maine, bound for Rome and then Jordan. 

According to Justice O’Connor’s report, Arar was blindfolded in Jordan and driven by American authorities to a secret Syrian intelligence service jail known as the “Palestine Section.” “I was shut away underground, in a cell 6-foot by 3 called ‘The Tomb,’” Arar told investigators. “It was full of rats and it was always dark ... I was brutally beaten and tortured with iron chains and electric shocks.” 

The Gulfstream jet used to render Arar is of particular interest because its operator, according to a report in Britain’s New Statesman two years ago by Stephen Grey, a British journalist who also writes for the Sunday Times of London and The New York Times, was “the US’s Special Collection Service. It runs a fleet of luxury planes, as well as regular military transports, that has moved thousands of prisoners around the world since 11 September 2001.” 

The Special Collection Service (SCS) is a secret agency jointly operated by the NSA and the CIA. It doesn’t officially exist, and is off the media’s radar. Even seasoned security analysts who will usually discuss the most controversial subjects won’t say a word about the SCS “unless of course they’re willing to incur into the wrath of the NSA,” notes a former intelligence official on condition of anonymity. 

According to a Greek investigation into the tapping of more than 100 Greek leaders’ cell phones during the 2004 Athens’ Olympics, some of the eavesdropped conversations were transmitted to a site near Laurel, Md. John Pike, an iconoclastic watchdog who heads GlobalSecurity.org., a think tank based in Virginia near the Pentagon, believes the area is home to the SCS headquarters. 

What little is known about the SCS is due mainly to Pike. About a decade ago, in his prior job at the Federation of American Scientists, Pike posted on the Internet satellite photos of two buildings in a forested patch in Maryland. Pike said that SCS headquarters are disguised as a bland corporate campus, and that to receive communication from the field the SCS may be using State Department facilities. 

Claims that SCS performs such activities are discounted by Vincent Cannistraro, a former top official in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations and a former Director of Intelligence Programs for the National Security Council. “The SCS doesn’t operate domestically and doesn’t target political subjects. It is a tactical tool deployed abroad to collect information about terrorist activities.” 

There’s no dispute, however, that SCS personnel operate undercover. Overseas they set up sophisticated interception systems with code names like Oratory and Austin. Satellite relay stations for these intercepted communications are located in U.S. embassies—and in Canadian, British, Australian and New Zealand embassies overseas as well, according to a Village Voice investigation. 

Why have so few reporters followed Pike’s lead? “Because it’s a highly clandestine operation and the government is damn serious about it,” Pike says. 

Since 9/11, all government information collection efforts have intensified, and Cannistraro believes it’s likely the SCS is now receiving the lion’s share of the increased funding and personnel fed to the covert intelligence community. 

Could agents from the SCS now be manning the U.S. rendering teams—the so-called “special removal units?” This would accord with their urgent post-9/11 mandate: Become an active hunter of information rather than a passive collector. If SCS black ops teams are involved in the U.S.’s “extreme renditions,” their job may be to compare the intelligence, however worthless, collected from outsourced torture to intelligence they’ve electronically intercepted. 

On Wednesday, Sept. 20, an embarrassed Justice Department spokesman revised Mr. Gonzales’ denials of the previous day. He said the Attorney General had intended to make only a narrow point: that deportations are now handled by the Department of Homeland Security, not the Department of Justice. Also on Wednesday, Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced five “resolutions of inquiry” aimed at forcing the release of government documents related to the Arar case. 

Under Congressional rules, the resolutions must be voted on in five House committees within 14 days, or Mr. Markey will be able to force a vote by the full House. If any inquiries are approved, it may be the first time even indirect official light is cast upon the Special Collection Service. 

Jeffrey Klein, a founding editor of Mother Jones, this summer received a Loeb, journalism’s top award for business reporting. Paolo Pontoniere is a New America Media European commentator.

Two turkey hot dogs, Tater Tots, canned fruit and chocolate milk—that was what lunch meant for Berkeley public school students a year ago. 

Today, kids are served “made from scratch” nutrient-based lunches, such as rotini with fresh tomato sauce, roast herb chicken or tofu, fresh fruit and low-fat milk, choices which are a far cry from the prepackaged heat-and-serve frozen lunches they got before. 

“I banned transfats, preservatives, refined flour, sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, white bread, generic hot dogs and hamburgers and too salty foods when I started out last fall,” said Ann Cooper, who marked her first anniversary as the nutrition services director for the Berkeley schools on Oct. 1. 

“It’s been a challenge, and cooking for school children is no chef’s fantasy, but I have enjoyed every minute of it,” she said. “What is important is that the kids are finally getting to eat healthy and the project is getting a lot of good press.” 

Cooper, a former celebrity chef and author of Lunch Lessons, was hired and funded by a three-year financial grant from the Chez Panisse Foundation last October to rebuild the nutrition services in the schools. 

“I wanted to not only improve the food, but also come up with some kind of a blueprint for changing school lunches nationwide,” she said. “I worked on menu cycles, recipes, ordering guides, and staffing changes. The school board recently approved a staffing reorganization which will help the Nutrition Services to function in this way even after I leave, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.” 

The ride, however, hasn’t been smooth. 

“Berkeley’s Renegade Lunch Lady,” as Cooper is fond of calling herself, has met obstacles including elementary school tantrums about pizza toppings, dilapidated kitchen infrastructure, staff shortages and a tight public-school budget. 

“The kids hated the corn, zucchini and other vegetarian toppings,” said Alicha Byrd, a satellite operator for the Malcolm X Elementary School cafeteria. “The meat eaters thought that they were being forced to become vegetarian and they would just toss the slices into the trash.” 

Malcolm X fifth-grader Iyaunti Yancay said even with the addition of meat toppings, the new pizza is still not to her liking. 

“The pizzas we get now are just bread, sauce and cheese, and the pepperoni is sometimes uncooked, I still toss mine into the trash. I want real toppings,” she said wrinkling up her nose during lunch on Wednesday. She added that she craved hamburgers, nachos, and hot dogs and missed chocolate milk. 

Her friend Sana Khan said that the food had improved since last year. 

“At least we eat it now,” Sana said. “Earlier we used to toss it around and lie to our teachers that we had eaten it. But I wish we could have some sort of a dessert,” she said, over her lunch of teriyaki meatballs, veggie lo-mein and stir-fried vegetables. 

“Change is hard for the kids but in this case it is for the best. Dessert, however, is an absolute no-no,” said Cooper firmly, as she ordered her staff around the Central Kitchen at Jefferson Elementary School around 7 a.m. on Thursday.  

“Most adults don’t have dessert for lunch, even if they say they do,” she said. “So why should kids? They do get fresh fruit for dessert, which is healthy. They also get grass-fed hot dogs once every month. I have banned chocolate milk, fried food and vending machines. It’s tough, I know, but the kids have to get used to it.” 

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Cooper’s background lies in cooking for cruise ships and celebrities as varied as Hillary Clinton and The Grateful Dead. Her only experience in cooking for hungry school children comes from consulting for charter and public schools in New York, and most recently from working as a chef for the privately owned Ross School in East Hampton. 

At Ross, Cooper had 27 employees for 500 diners and spent $12 a day on each child for breakfast and lunch. In Berkeley, however, she feeds 4,000 hungry children on a staff of 53 and a budget of $3.50 for the same two meals. 

Cooper said that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which uses the commodity program to buy up farm surpluses and stabilize prices, is responsible for the imbalance in the meat and dairy products and vegetables that are sent to school cafeterias annually.  

“I want to sue the USDA for all the unhealthy food it keeps on feeding school children every year,” she said. 

When the USDA visited the Berkeley Nutritional Services Department in March, they noted that the food was “very high quality and was visually pleasing as well as tasty,” but wanted Cooper to follow a “nutrient-based menu planning.” 

“We are following USDA guidelines and entering every recipe into a USDA- approved database so that their ingredients can be broken up into vitamins, proteins and minerals. We are getting ready for the USDA’s visit in November,” said Cooper. 

With the help of the Chez Panisse Foundation, Cooper is trying to document the changes that she is bringing into the school district’s Nutrition Services system. The foundation is also funding a study by the UC Berkeley Center for Weight and Health that will gauge the emotional, physical and academic effects of this project on children over a period of four years, she said. 

“Right now we buy differently, cook differently and feed differently. Kids will always crave junk food, but we are the adults, the caregivers,” Cooper said. “If we educate them about healthy choices, they are sure to take it up.” 

However, for Berkeley High students Kimberly Moreno and Vanessa Gonzales, street food takes preference over the freshly cooked cafeteria fare every day. 

“We are used to junk food,” Kimberly said. “We don’t care about the new lunches even if they taste better. The cafeteria lines are way too long.” 

“Plus we get healthy options outside too if we want it,” Vannessa added, as they joined their friends inside Peiking Express, a Chinese fast-food joint on Center Street. 

The BHS cafeteria offers up to four different food stations everyday with choices including a farm-fresh organic salad bar and a rotating Asian, American, Mexican and Italian food counter. Starting today (Tuesday), a healthy snack store will open in the campus cafeteria. 

“We are in competition with all the bad stuff that is available on Shattuck Avenue,” said the school district’s Executive Chef Margarite Larau, who joined Cooper’s team last fall. “Kids in high school have the freedom to just walk outside the door and eat what they want. No matter how good the school lunches are, it is a little difficult to attract kids because we are an open campus. There are 3,000 students in BHS but we serve only 300 to 400 meals every day.” 

Last Friday was burrito day at BHS. Filled with a choice of either bean and cheese or chicken, the All Star burritos were fresh and transfat-free. 

Standing in line with his students was BHS Principal Jim Slemp. “I eat at the different stations every day,” Slemp said. “They provide good choices for everyone. I am glad to see that the kids are finally enjoying their food.” 

Meg Veitch, a sophomore at BHS, said that the quality of cafeteria food had improved since last year. “Most people are happy with the healthy choices offered. But the fruits are not very fresh. By the time we get them, they get all soft and yucky,” she said. 

Rio Bauce, a junior at BHS, chair of the Berkeley Youth Commission and occasional writer for the Daily Planet, said that he had noticed longer lines at the school cafeteria recently. 

“The new lunch project hasn’t created a major buzz among the students yet, but it’s slowly getting noticed,” he said. “Most of us eat out or bring our own food, so it will be sometime before all the different healthy options get sampled. Till then Top Dog and Extreme Pizza get first preference.”

Backers of a pedestrian plaza along North Shattuck Avenue between Vine and Rose streets are ready to seek funds for the project, the project’s leading proponents say. 

David Stoloff and Helene Villet, chair and vice chair of North Shattuck Plaza Inc., will formally unveil project plans Sunday at the Spice of Life Festival.  

The festival, open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., will be held along Shattuck from Virginia to Rose streets. 

A community meeting will follow on Oct. 26 to seek comments and critiques to be used in hammering out a final design, said Stoloff, a retired planner who sits on Berkeley’s Planning Commission. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut St. 

“If all goes well and we find all the funding, the plaza could open by next summer, although that’s probably too optimistic,” said Stoloff. 

The project would radically transform the streetscape in the heart of the Gourmet Ghetto, closing off Shattuck between Vine and Rose and turning the current angle parking and access lane along the eastern side of the avenue into a 50-foot-wide pedestrian walkway with landscaped plantings, two rows of shade trees and benches. 

The walkway would also include more outdoor seating for restaurants along the new plaza. 

The block-long stretch of Shattuck between the triangular Shattuck Commons shopping complex on the west and the Longs Drug parking lot on the east would be transformed into a parking lot, replacing the lost angle parking spaces while still allowing northbound vehicles to travel to Rose Street, albeit at reduced speed. 

“Everything in the plan is on the public right-of-way,” said Stoloff, “and all the parking spaces are replaced. We have met with all the owners and merchants and they’re pretty much on board.” 

The North Shattuck Association, which administers the city-sanctioned business improvement district, put up the funds to update the design and created a designer selection committee from members of the association and the newly formed corporation, which was created in January. 

“We sent invitations to all Berkeley urban and landscape architectural firms,” Stoloff said, ultimately selecting landscape architects Meyer & Silverberg to create the plan. 

“The estimated project cost is $1.5 million,” he said, “but that’s a guesstimate. The designer will have a better number soon.” 

The costliest single item is likely to be a kiosk that would be built between Longs and the avenue near the entrance to the new parking lot, which would feature a food vendor, storage of moveable furniture and a restroom that would be supervised by the vender, Stoloff said. 

“The idea is to have eyes on the plaza with the vendor there,” said Villet. 

Merchant concerns 

While the plan has won the approval of most merchants, Longs still has concerns, Stoloff concedes. 

Fred Shokouh, who owns the Bel Forno cafe in Shattuck Commons, has concerns as well, including vehicle access along the current stretch of Shattuck that would be transformed into a parking lot, and with the kiosk restroom, which he fears could become a magnet for the homeless. 

“What surprises me the most is that they haven’t done a traffic study,” Shokouh said. “This is very surprising. If I wanted to put a nail in the wall of my restaurant, I’m sure they’d want a study. But for this, they haven’t done a study.” 

Shokouh noted that after he installed an automatic teller machine for the convenience of customers, city officials ordered him to remove it because he hadn’t obtained a use permit. 

“They told me it would cost $3,000 and give notice to everyone in the neighborhood and then I would have to go before the City Council, which could turn me down,” he said. “But this was approved in 2001 without a traffic study. But overall, I’m not against it if they are not taking away from my business, especially the parking.” 

Assistant City Manager for Transportation Peter Hillier said that because vehicles can still travel north through the parking lot, there should be no significant changes. 

“That area is already closed off when the Farmers Market is held, and this project will have less impact than that, so there probably isn’t any need,” Hillier said. 

The one aspect Hillier said might require a study is the impact of closing off the Shattuck Avenue entrance to the Longs parking lot, a concern of the retailer’s as well, Stoloff acknowledged. 

As for the farmers’ market, Villet and Stoloff said vendors would probably be accommodated on the new enlarged pedestrian area south of the new lot. 

Project history 

Stoloff said the project has been in the works since the late 1990s, when the city was undertaking major improvements on the avenue itself, fundlargely with federal grant money. 

“They did some cosmetic improvements on the sidewalks and set up an advisory committee of merchants and residents to help formulate a long-range improvement plan for North Shattuck,” Stoloff said. 

The city hired a North Shattuck consultant to do the plan, Design Community & Environment, which drafted a plan for North Shattuck that extended all the way south to Hearst Avenue, with the target area between Vine and Rose. 

The city approved the plan in 2001, but without committing the needed funding. 

“So the plan was shelved until June 2005, when I talked to Heather Hensley, the executive director of the North Shattuck Association, at the Live Oak Fair. She said they had some money they could commit to the project, but not enough. I suggested setting up a citizens’ group to refine the plan in cooperation with the association and then to find the money,” Stoloff said. 

Villet said she has met with enthusiastic responses from Hillier and city Neighborhood Services Liaison Michael Caplan—hardly surprising since the City Council resolution passed last year endorsing the plaza concept was jointly submitted by Councilmembers Dona Spring and Laurie Capitelli, who are frequently at odds on other issues. 

Capitelli serves on the corporation’s board, along with former councilmember Mim Hawley, Hensley, CPA Judith Bloom, attorney and former school board member Lloyd Lee, Walnut Square owner Laszlo Tokes and Margo Lowe of M. Lowe & Co. Jewelers. 

“The project was inspired by the fact that this used to be the terminus for the F Train and light rail,” said Villet, a retired architect. “We’re looking at using wooden planking to recapture the feel of that era.” 

Villet and Stoloff said they wanted the greenest possible design, and one key ingredient is replacing a lot of asphalt and concrete with permeable surfaces that will allow rainwater to seep into the soil rather than burden the city’s already overtaxed storm drains. 

“We’re looking at an organic garden, too—perhaps for children, like Alice Waters is doing with the schools,” Villet said. Waters, Berkeley’s most famous restaurateur, serves on the plaza project’s advisory board. 

More information may be found on the corporation’s website, www.northshattuckplaza.org and on the website of Councilmember Capitelli at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/council5/NSPlaza.html.

While housekeepers waved white sheets from the Emeryville Woodfin Suite Hotel balconies early Friday morning, some 80 people—Emeryville residents, religious leaders, trade unionists, and immigrant rights activists—circled the sidewalk in front of the hotel calling on management to implement Measure C, Emeryville’s minimum wage law for hotel workers.  

Not a law some might think would emerge amidst the tiny town’s big boxes, card clubs and glitzy Bay Street, Measure C, approved by voters in November 2005 and in effect since December, offers worker protection for employees in hotels of more than 50 people. Specifically, it requires a minimum wage of $9 per hour, and an $11 per hour average wage, and says that if housekeepers are asked to clean more than 5,000 square feet of floor space per day, they must be paid overtime. It also requires pay for jury duty and requires a 90-day employee retention period if the hotel changes management. 

Brooke Anderson, organizing director with East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, which organized the Measure C campaign and is monitoring its implementation, said that not only is the hotel refusing to implement the measure, it is harassing immigrant workers by demanding they complete new forms showing they have a right to work in the United States, even though they already had completed these forms when they were hired. 

“That’s highly suspicious,” said Anderson, who argued that a demand for renewing the paperwork was retaliation for worker support for organizing efforts to implement Measure C. 

“Workload protections are important, housekeeping is one of the most dangerous jobs,” she said. “There are more giant fluffy beds and the rooms (at the Woodfin) are all suites. Housekeepers suffer from exhaustion and repetitive stress.” 

As demonstrators, armed with buckets and brooms, were calling for the hotel to “clean up its act” outside, inside the hotel, Woodfin attorney Heather Sager of Carlton DiSante & Freudenberger told the Planet she had met with the protesters, “none of whom represents the employees,” she said. 

She also said she has spoken to city officials and they said the city is “the sole entity in charge of compliance,” she said. 

Sager also denied that employees were being asked to fill out new forms that showed they had a right to work.  

“If the city found we were outside compliance, they would pull our permit,” Sager said, adding that the demonstrators “should get their facts before making allegations.” 

Sager contended that the Woodfin Hotel requires a lower volume of work compared to comparable hotels. 

To back up their claims more thoroughly, organizers say they need access to documents that detail wages and square-footage of rooms. In a phone message, City Attorney Michael Biddle said the hotel had submitted documents the city had requested. Organizers say they have submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the city to obtain copies of these documents. 

The state enacted legislation in the early 1990s permitting minimum wage laws within cities, according to Howard Greenwich, research director for the East Bay Alliance. San Francisco passed a minimum wage law for the entire city two years ago and Santa Cruz has a minimum wage law on the Nov. 7 ballot. Greenwich said the minimum wage law movement has grown out of the living wage movement, in which “living wages” are tied to city contracts. Berkeley has a living wage ordinance and one is moving through Emeryville’s City Council process. 

Berkeley Councilmember Kriss Worthington said he proposed a minimum wage ordinance that went to the city Labor Commission more than a year ago. The commission was waiting for the state to pass its minimum wage law, according to commission secretary Delfina Geiken, and will likely revisit the issue now that it has done so. 

Organizers are not only holding protests at the Woodfin, they filed a lawsuit on Thursday alleging the hotel has not paid the overtime for workers who clean more than 5,000 square feet in a day, and has unfairly retaliated against workers by cutting their hours. 

Sager said she had not reviewed the lawsuit and could not comment on it. 

Reached by phone on Friday, Emeryville City Councilmember John Fricke said he supports the efforts on behalf of the workers. 

“I have a strong belief in the right of labor to organize,” he said. In a phone message Mayor Ruth Atkin said she was the lone councilmember to endorse Measure C and strongly supports its implementation. 

Today (Tuesday) the City Council and Police Review Commission are scheduled to discuss whether the city can hold public inquiries to investigate complaints against Berkeley Police Department officers as they have in the past. 

But the public won’t be privy to the discussion, which is to be held behind closed doors. 

The issue of public inquiry into police conduct is not officially on the closed-door meeting agenda, but is related and likely to surface in discussion, according to PRC Officer Victoria Urbi, who staffs the commission. 

The item posted for the closed-door session is a meeting which will include the PRC, the City Council and their attorneys, concerning a lawsuit filed in 2002 by the Berkeley Police Officers Association. The complaint says that, given that disciplinary actions are private personnel matters, mandatory appearance of Berkeley police officers at public hearings “violate(s) the statutory and contractual rights of the officers who are subject to these inquiries.” 

Urbi explained that the closed-door discussion will center around the relationship between the Berkeley officers’ lawsuit and an Aug. 31 California Supreme Court decision, Copley Press vs. San Diego County, which broadens the scope of privacy laws that protect police from the disclosure of disciplinary records maintained by police departments. 

They will talk about “if we need to close our hearings,” Urbi said. 

In response to the Copley decision, the city attorney, in mid-September, canceled the PRC’s inquiry boards through the end of October. The inquiry boards, made up of three PRC commissioners, investigate complaints against police officers and either sustain or dismiss the complaint. The police chief can take the PRC ruling into consideration when disciplining an officer, but is not obliged to do so. 

The question of suspending the inquiry boards has not been discussed in public session. 

Shutting out the public on this issue concerns PRC Commissioner Sherry Smith, who said the city ought to divide the question, addressing the BPOA lawsuit in closed session and talking about the Copley ruling and the future of the police review hearings in open session. 

That is also the position of PRC Commissioner Bill White, who told the Planet: “Discussion of the Copley decision should not be handled in closed session. If we’re going to discuss the Copley decision, it’s a public discussion.”  

White said Police Review Commission hearings should never have been suspended in response to the Supreme Court decision. “I don’t feel that the Copley case and the Berkeley PRC process are related,” White said.  

The difference is that the PRC does not discipline officers, he said. The Supreme Court decision turns around San Diego’s Civil Service Commission, which, unlike the PRC, is responsible for disciplining officers. 

Urbi said a public discussion of the hearing process should be held separately in the future. 

In a phone interview, City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque argued that discussion in closed session is entirely appropriate under the state’s open meeting laws. In light of the BPA lawsuit and the Copley decision, the council and PRC will discuss “if the current (PRC) procedures are legally defensible or not.”  

If the council and PRC decide the procedures are legally defensible, then the boards of inquiry will resume as in the past. Consideration of future changes will take place at a future date in open session, Albuquerque said, contending that holding Tuesday’s meeting in open session would give the BPOA an unfair advantage by learning the city’s strategy with respect to its lawsuit. 

The closed-session meeting, preceded by public comment, is at 5 p.m., at the city administrative building, 2180 Milvia St. 6th floor. 

Embattled former Berkeley Library Director Jackie Griffin, whose attorney threatened to sue the Berkeley Public Library if its trustees fired Griffin, is poised to become the next director of the Ventura County library system. 

Today (Tuesday) the Ventura Board of Supervisors is slated to approve an employment contract with Griffin for $141,804. (Her annual salary in Berkeley was $131,494.) Ventura County will also provide Griffin with a housing allowance not to exceed $25,000 and reimbursement of moving expenses up to $7,000. She will also receive a benefits package and a car allowance, the amounts of which are not stipulated in the contract. 

In an agreement with the Berkeley Board of Library Trustees, signed in June by both Griffin and her attorney Jonathan Siegel, Griffin promised not to sue the city. She was permitted to stay on the city payroll using accrued vacation time until the end of June. And she was paid $34,000, equal to three months salary, given airfare and hotel expenses for a library conference in New Orleans for $1,500 and received medical benefits for six months equal to $6,200.  

Jim Fisher of SuperBOLD, Berkeleyans Organizing for Library Defense, a critic of Griffin’s push for RFID (radio frequency identification chips embedded in books for check-out purposes), said he thought it was interesting that Griffin would go from Berkeley to a conservative area such as Ventura. 

“If they’re looking for a technician, that’s what they’re going to get,” he said. 

Some members of the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC) will face back-to-back meetings this week as the full committee meets Wednesday night, followed by a second session Thursday for members who sit on a subcommittee looking at developments on Center Street. 

Wednesday’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. with public comments, followed by a presentation by Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive Director Kevin Consey on the $120 million museum complex planned for the west end of the block between Center and Addison streets along Oxford Street. 

The university plans a hotel and convention center complex at the western end of the block. 

The meeting will segue into a discussion of a set of draft scenarios about land use and design elements for the new plan, which was mandated by the city’s settlement of its lawsuit filed last year challenging the UC Berkeley Long Range Development Plan outlining projects through 2020. 

DAPAC members who also belong to the panel’s Center Street Subcommittee will be back in the same North Berkeley Senior Center meeting room at 7 p.m. Thursday. 

The downtown planning committee voted overwhelmingly to form the subcommittee in July despite opposition from Chair Will Travis and member Dorothy Walker, a retired UC Berkeley executive. 

With current Transportation and former Planning Commission Chair Rob Wrenn serving as interim chair, the meeting will focus on recommendations to be presented at the next DAPAC meeting in November. 

Items for discussion include: 

• The height of the planned hotel, previously cited as being as much as 12 stories, seven more than the current downtown base maximum height. 

• Options for Center Street between Oxford Street and Shattuck Avenue, with options including two-lane traffic, a pedestrian plaza, green space and a possible open waterway rechanneling Strawberry Creek from its current underground culvert beneath Allston Way. 

• Parking and vehicle access to Center Street. 

• Coordination of the museum and hotel complexes. 

• The role of Center Street in the overall downtown area. 

• Selection of a chair for the subcommittee’s next meeting. 

Both meetings begin at 7 p.m. in Rooms A and B on the second floor of the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

The Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) addressed issues concerning residential use permits on Thursday. 

Neighbors of 157 and 161 Vicente Road spoke against the two single-family dwellings that were being proposed at these addresses in the Berkeley Hills, stating concerns such as privacy, views, security and fencing between homes and noise and light disturbances from the garages. 

“We are totally against the proposed box-like structure. We prefer something floating,” said Alyssa Wang, a resident of 151 Vicente.  

Georgia Wright, who has lived at 105 Vicente since 1967, spoke about the valuable view and privacy that would be lost if the construction took place.  

“For us across the street who don’t have too much of a view, the creek’s vegetation provides our only delight,” she said. “The size of the proposed houses would take that away. Add to that the constant car doors slamming, the engines roaring and the headlights blaring into our rooms. We want the board to reject this design.” 

A resident of 95 Vicente Road stated that the building design did not blend in with the rest of the neighborhood’s character and said he was concerned about the high noise levels and light visibility that would result from the project.  

Board member Bob Allen said that he could not find enough credibility in the neighbors’ objections. “It looks like a typical Berkeley music chair where the last one gets ganged up upon,” he said. 

The board approved the construction of the two single-family residential units but requested an addition of a six-feet high fence that would separate the property from 151 Vicente.  

The project on 1628 Carleton St. was continued to the next ZAB hearing. The owner, Darrell Rupe, wanted a use permit to demolish an existing single-family dwelling and construct a new one, but the board decided that it did not have the appropriate variance findings to grant the bearings for it. 

Unwatched pot 

A watched pot may never boil, but an unwatched one can burn, as a Vassar Avenue resident learned last Thursday evening. 

Deputy Fire Chief David Orth said the resident had forgotten that pot of water they’d left on the burner until flames started and smoke started boiling up. 

A panicked call to 911 at 9:14 p.m. brought firefighters to the scene at 429 Vassar, where they found the kitchen cabinetry fully aflame. 

It took but a few minutes to knock down the flames, but by the time the smoke cleared, an estimated $25,000 in damage had been done to the dwelling and another $10,000 to the contents, said Orth. 

“Pots can burn,” Orth said, explaining that once the water boils off, heat can melt the metal, or the pot can radiate heat that catches nearby plastics ablaze or triggers grease caught up by range hoods. 

“In this case, the fire got up the hood and spread to the cabinets,” he said.  

Candle culprit 

It may be better to light a candle than curse the darkness, but Chief Orth said it’s better not to light them at all—and certainly not if you’re planning to leave the room. 

A resident of a three-story dwelling at 2833 Regent St. discovered that a candle left burning in a bedroom at the rear of the second floor had ignited a blaze that was soon roaring. 

An effort to smother the flames resulted only in second- and third-degree burns to the hands, followed by a call to 911. 

“It went to a second alarm as soon as the first units arrived because the rear of the structure was already heavily involved,” Orth said. 

The blaze spread into an adjacent deck and into the ceiling above a third-floor attic that had been converted to a bedroom, he said. 

Firefighters arrived at 2:12 a.m., five minutes after the call, and it took them until 3:20 to control the fire. “We were still knocking down hot spots a couple of hours later,” Orth said. 

The blaze gutted the bedroom, a converted sun porch, as well as a deck and part of the roof. 

Damage to the structure was estimated at $400,000, with loss of contents topping $10,000, Orth said.

Ralph S. Hager, Oakland resident, retired physicist, and quiet activist for the disabled community, passed away at Alta Bates Hospital on Friday morning, Sept. 29.  

Ralph lived passionately and enthusiastically throughout his life. When a bicycling accident on Claremont Avenue on April 27, 1994, left him permanently paralyzed below the shoulders, Ralph took the energy he dedicated to his favorite activities, (skiing, mountaineering, bicycling, home-brewing, cooking meals with eclectic menus, stained-glass making, listening to and playing jazz and classical music), and threw himself into new pursuits. 

For 11 years Ralph was a committed board member with the Center for Independent Living, serving at various times (and sometimes simultaneously) as president, vice president, and chair of the programs committee. He rarely missed a meeting, and on the days when he was confined to his bed or in a hospital, Ralph made certain he was connected to his fellow board members via telephone.  

Ralph was born in Minneapolis, Minn., on Feb. 5, 1939, the son of Vivian and Walter Hager. Ralph and his identical twin brother, Richard, graduated as salutatorians from Washburn High School. (They had perfect attendance, but both received a C in art which they vehemently resented). The brothers enrolled together at the University of Minnesota, both graduating in 1961, Ralph with a degree in physics, Richard with a degree in mathematics.  

After graduation Ralph moved to California and continued his education at the California Institute of Technology, earning a Ph.D. in nuclear physics in 1966, followed by two years of post-doctoral work. Ralph then joined the staff at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories. He remained there for the next 25 years in a big-time, scientific-think tank-type position that his wife, Susan Parker, never really understood, but accepted. 

Ralph was a fervent sports fan, with a particular fondness for the Oakland A’s, San Francisco Giants, UCLA and UC Berkeley basketball teams, and anything to do with his beloved Golden Gofers. After the accident Ralph developed passionate interests in collecting, including baseball memorabilia, film noir videos, antique advertising signage, antique stained glass lighting fixtures, blues music cds, and jokes. Recently he had become fascinated with movies that featured tap dancing, beginning a new collection of videos that are still arriving, via UPS and USPS, to his home. 

Ralph was often featured in essays his wife wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle, the East Bay Express, and the Berkeley Daily Planet. Ralph enthusiastically supported her writing, although he was quick to point out a grammatical error or innocent exaggeration. Ralph was a man who liked order and the scientific method. Caps on pens were always replaced, borrowed items returned, scissors put with the pointed tips down. But after his accident, Ralph was able to leave behind his old life and forge a new way. It was not easy, but he never looked back or lamented what he had lost. He only looked forward and rejoiced in what he had gained.  

Ralph is survived by his children, Mindy and Jeff Hager, his sister Phyllis Brown, his brother Richard Hager, his wife, Susan Parker, five nieces, extended family, devoted friends and caregivers.  

A private service will be held in his honor on Oct. 15.  

For a glimpse of Ralph, see www.rshager.com. 

Donations in Ralph’s name can be made to the following two organizations that he loved and supported: 

The Center for Independent Living, 2539 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704. 841-4776, www.cilberkeley.org. 

Center for Accessible Technology, 2547 8th St., 12-A. Berkeley, CA 94710. 841-3224, www.cforat.org. 

Many readers seem to assume that the Planet will automatically endorse former Planning Commission Chair Zelda Bronstein, who is on leave from her job as one of the Planet’s Public Eye columnists, in her campaign for mayor of Berkeley. But it’s not that simple. We do have enormous respect for Bronstein’s experience and expertise in all matters related to the current and future state of the city fabric, and for her keen intelligence and quick mastery of new ideas. Since she’s been contributing to the paper, she’s become a friend as well as a colleague. But that shouldn’t be the whole story. Following the “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” theory of management, it is appropriate to see what Tom Bates has done with his opportunities before deciding whether to support a change. He’s generally conceded to be personable and friendly, but is that enough? Under our charter, the mayor of Berkeley is able to establish a tone and a direction for the efforts of the City Council, but he or she must lead by example and exhortation rather than by exerting power.  

Berkeley’s city charter establishes a “weak mayor” form of government. In theory, the mayor has no more power than that of an extra at-large councilmember plus a few ceremonial duties. The city manager and the people he hires pretty much run the show most of the time.  

Jerry Brown engineered a charter amendment to become Oakland’s first strong mayor, but then squandered his opportunities. Some cities have even weaker mayors than Berkeley. Santa Cruz, for example, gets a new mayor every year, elected by the city council from among its own members in rotation.  

Bates came to Berkeley with a lot of good will on his side, left over from 20 years of uncontested service in the state Legislature. He started with what was supposed to be an exciting new era, based on having a progressive majority: Shirek, Worthington, Maio, Spring, Breland and himself. It would have been possible for him to accomplish some of the goals which have traditionally been endorsed by progressive candidates in Berkeley: affordable housing, citizen-centered planning, civil rights.  

But his term began with bad news for progressives (or even conventional liberals of any stripe, not just far-lefties). He grabbed a bunch of copies of the Daily Cal which endorsed his opponent and threw them in the trash. That foolish temper tantrum whittled what should have been his bully pulpit down to soapbox size. Berkeleyans who consider the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution to be their political gospel were well and truly shocked.  

One of his associates, a respected civil rights attorney, sent out an e-mail to rally supporters in the face of an uproar which some of the shocked people were planning for Bates’ first City Council meeting. It said, in part: 

“No fair person can seriously describe Tom as anything but a staunch defender of the First Amendment in all its parts and all its glory.” 

Well, yes. But actually, no. Unfortunately, that e-mail reminded me of the sign which had been in my garage since 1994, filched from a telephone pole at election time: “Assemblyman Bates Says to Vote Yes on Measures N &O.” That year I emerged dormouse-like from a long political slumber to discover that some of the “progressives” that I’d been voting for, whom I’d been trusting to mind the store, were pushing a ballot measure aimed at punishing people for asking for money on the street. In other words, they were supporting banning the content of a panhandler’s speech instead of the time, place and manner in which it is exercised—an obviously unconstitutional attack on the free speech guarantees of the First Amendment. The ballot argument for these measures was signed by, among others, ex-Mayor Loni Hancock and her husband, Assemblyman Tom Bates. I met a good number of the best people in Berkeley in the campaign against N & O, but we lost the election. The resulting ordinance was of course overturned in federal court, as we predicted it would be, thanks to the ACLU. It was an expensive boondoggle, with Berkeley and Bates on the wrong side. 

That’s two strikes against the First Amendment for Bates. Strike three was the letter which appeared in this space a few weeks ago, signed by Mayor Bates and his spouse among other pols, castigating the Planet for printing a reader-submitted op-ed which some readers found offensive and parrotting the completely untrue charge that editors had refused to meet with the offended parties. Most courageous local politicians did not allow themselves to be bullied into signing that letter, but Bates was not among them.  

The mayor of Berkeley can be a leader in defending civil liberties and promoting open government, but Bates has not been that leader. It’s taken the threat of a lawsuit from library users to focus his attention on allowing adequate public comment at city meetings, and the problem hasn’t been solved. Bates’s backroom bad deal with the University of California—which opponents call the “secret sellout”—stands in stark contrast to the Santa Cruz city council, which even placed a measure on the ballot to restrict unmitigated UC expansion.  

But what about his record in other areas? Something seems to be wrong with the way misdeeds by police officers are being handled, though the full story is still being kept secret. Residents in some neighborhoods have turned to small claims court to address on-going crime problems which city authorities have not managed to solve. Beyond that, there’s not much to talk about.  

“The Bates Updates”—the mayor’s city-funded press releases—are still available on the Internet, and they make pretty thin reading. There’s lot of talk about supporting education and kids, the functional equivalent of baby-kissing, but council members and mayors can’t do much in that area. There’s a lot of feel-good environmental arm-waving, conferences, committees, but little in the way of significant accomplishment.  

Land-use planning is the last bastion of significant power and responsibility for local governments. In this arena Zelda Bronstein has shown herself time and again to be on the side of neighborhood residents and opposed to outside corporate development interests. Bates, on the other hand, has been the developers’ best friend on the council.  

His term started out with a much-ballyhooed “Task Force on Planning and Development” which was supposed to “fix Berkeley’s broken development process.” In fact, the development engine, never broken, has continued to chug along smoothly, just as it did under Bates’ predecessors. Big ugly boxes now dominate Berkeley’s skyline, overshadowing neighboring flatlands homes.  

The Bates task force used hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of city staff time, was heavily stacked in favor of developers, and produced nothing of value for local residents. The task force’s single positive idea, from the citizens’ perspective, was the 4’x8’ yellow information signs which were supposed to be erected on proposed building sites, and even those were shrunk to 2x4 by the planning department in the end. The worst product of that task force has been the Mayor’s lengthy and expensive effort to gut the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance, which will still be in the works unless Measure J, the citizen initiative to retain the LPO, succeeds. 

Downtown Berkeley and Telegraph Avenue have been allowed to slide under the Bates regime, despite the vigorous efforts of Councilmembers Kriss Worthington and Dona Spring, who represent those areas, to hold the line. Longtime Berkeley businesses are shutting their doors. The useful Telegraph Avenue Association has been de-funded and homeless and mental health services have been cut, though some are being restored as the election nears.  

Almost no affordable housing units for families have been built since Bates has been in office, though many expensive new apartments are being condo-ized for well-off buyers. The backhanded effort by Bates cronies to build still more pricey units on the Ashby Bart parking lot, with the usual pittance of lower-priced units as cover, produced outrage from neighbors when it was revealed, but Bates is still pursuing it, undeterred by public opinion. 

What does all this add up to? It’s hard to defeat an incumbent backed by big developer bucks, but there are many reasons to conclude that Tom Bates doesn’t deserve a vote of confidence telling him to stay the course for two more years. Zachary Running Wolf and Christian Pecaut have made some good points about Bates’ record, but neither is ready for prime time. Anyone who thinks that Berkeley deserves a better deal than it’s gotten in the four years of the Bates tenure should be voting for Zelda Bronstein in this election.  

As members of a Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC) discuss the future of Center Street in a meeting room upstairs, Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) members will meet Thursday downstairs to consider a proposed new Center Street Landmark. 

The proposed landmark is the Ennor’s Restaurant Building—better known to latter-day Berkeleyans as the old Act I & Act II Theater at 2128-2130 Center St. 

Recently acquired by developer Patrick Kennedy, the building had housed a small multiplex theater closed earlier this year by operator Landmark Theaters. 

Preservationist John English worked on the proposed landmark designation the commission will consider at its 7:30 p.m. meeting in the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way. 

Meeting upstairs in a session that starts a half-hour earlier is DAPAC’s Center Street Subcommittee, which is considering planned UC Berkeley developments along with other elements of the future of the one-block stretch of Center between Shattuck Avenue and Oxford Street. 

Other hearings scheduled for the LPC meeting include the proposed landmarking of 1340 Arch St. and another in the many hearings slated on unauthorized repairs to a landmarked home at 147 Tunnel Road. 

Two previews are planned that won’t require any action. In the first, owner Tad Laird will give the LPC a look at his proposal to restore the exterior of his just-landmarked Bolfing’s Elmwood Hardware Building and add three living units on a new second floor. 

The building is located at 2149-2151 College. 

The second project preview will feature developer Ed Levitch’s plans for the Martin Building, a Queen Anne cottage at 2411 Fifth St., which was designated a structure of merit in August over the owner’s ojections. 

The commission will also discuss proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance about the Zoning Adjustments Board’s Design Review Committee, regulations that clarify the body’s role and limit appeals from its decisions. 

City redevelopment staff will discuss measures planned to mitigate construction impacts from the Aquatic Park Connection project, particularly as it impacts the landmarked Berkeley Shellmound.

THANKS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Just a quick note to let people know that I appreciate Doug deHaan, Pat Bail, and Eugenie Thomson for standing up for Alameda and pledging not to use Alameda City Council as a stepping stone to higher office in Sacramento or elsewhere. 

Thank you Doug, Pat, and Eugenie. 

Rosemary McNally 

Alameda 

• 

ANIMAL RIGHTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

PawPAC, California’s political action committee for animals (since 1980), has just released its 2006 Voting Record for the state Legislature, along with its endorsement recommendations for the November election. 

Find out how your state representatives did on legislation to protect animals and the environment. You might be surprised. 

For a copy of the chart, please visit our website at www.pawpac.org. 

Eric Mills 

PawPAC board member 

• 

ALBANY WATERFRONT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In his recent guest commentary, Robert Cheasty decries proposed development on the Albany Waterfront, and calls on all Albany “environmentalists” to support his position. The irony of all this is that no development on the Albany waterfront has ever been proposed. The Caruso proposal (never formalized) was initially 200 feet from the water, and then, in response to community input, was increased to 300 feet. All the land between the development and the shoreline was designated as open space, and would have included a Bay Trail connection through Albany. 

If Mr. Cheasty really does not like waterfront development, he should concentrate his energies in rounding up enough money to buy out Chevy’s in Emeryville, His Lordships and Skates in Berkeley, and the Berkeley Doubletree Hotel—buildings that really are on the water. For far less money than he would need to buy out the Golden Gate Fields race track and build a park on that land, he could move all these buildings to a location next to the freeway (where he seems to think development belongs) and free up all the waterfront space these buildings formerly occupied for whatever he (and the Sierra Club) think people should be doing there. The fact that people seem to like the connection to the water that these buildings provide should be no obstacle to the true believers. Just don’t count on my support.  

Howard McNenny 

Albany 

• 

RAUDEL WILSON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Does Becky O’Malley know Raudel Wilson? Does she know that he is a branch manager for a locally owned and operated bank, one committed to the community; not a corporate giant? 

I wonder where Becky O’Malley banks. Or does she keep her money under the mattress? I ask because the tone of Ms. O’Malley’s commentary seemed to suggest that being a bank manager was a bad thing; something an honorable person would not aspire to. 

With the upcoming election, we have a choice to make; stay with the status quo and continue to see Berkeley decline, or attempt to affect some positive change and hopefully revitalize Berkeley. I know Raudel to be a kind, caring and thoughtful person. I have every reason to believe that he would bring these same attributes to the City Council. Maybe it’s time for a change in Berkeley politics. Maybe Raudel Wilson is the right person to help bring about a positive change. 

Stephen Southern 

• 

PROP. 1B 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In a few weeks, at the ballot box, we will face the high cost of cheap labor. Proposition 1B, the “Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Act,” asks taxpayers to become obligated to pay $38.9 billion (including more than $1 billion in debt service) for some needed infrastructure improvements. Much of the pressure for improvement and expansion is the result of approximately 500,000 new California residents each year. Illegal immigration and high birth rates, the two primary factors in population growth, are beneficial for consumers and businesses in the short run. But we cannot escape the long-term costs. 

The bond amount of Proposition 1B is probably excessive, and it will certainly not improve the State’s bond rating which is among the lowest of all the states. Nonetheless, most economists predict that we must somehow pay about $5 billion per year for the next 25 years to meet projected traffic demands. This does not include other needs for schools and hospitals. A partial solution: Stop the war in Iraq, sanction employers who hire undocumented workers, start a “Marshall Plan” (equal to the cost of the Iraq war of $134 billion) for Latin American countries. 

Robert Gable 

• 

FOR GEORGE BEIER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Since 1996 when Kriss Worthington was first elected, overall sales on Telegraph Avenue have declined 30 percent, major businesses and institutions have left the area, and major crime in District 7 has increased close to 40 percent (while decreasing in most other parts of the city). The stress on neighborhoods has increased due to crime, development, traffic and the lack of residential parking. 

Is it all Kriss Worthington’s fault? Of course not, but after 10 years of leadership the time has come for fresh ideas and new leadership. George has developed detailed positions on such issues as: Crime, Telegraph Revitalization, Student Issues, and Affordable Housing and Homelessness. 

It is not ideological battles that need to be waged in Berkeley, but realistic and comprehensive solutions to the problems that we all face. While supporting mass transit, George also sees the need to increase parking and is opposed to cutting two traffic lanes on Telegraph (as part of the Bus Rapid Transit proposal). His platform on crime does not blame the homeless, but does recognize the concentration of criminal activity in the district mirrors the social problems we face at People’s Park, Downtown, and on Telegraph. 

District 7 residents deserve a councilmember who is willing to come out clearly on controversial issues and vote accordingly. In addition to George’s position on the Telegraph Bus Lane proposal, he supported the West Berkeley Bowl, opposes the Condo Conversion initiative (Measure I), and supports the Landmarks Preservation initiative (Measure J). Clearly George is not an ideologue or political partisan, but an independent thinker who studies the issues, reaches his own conclusions, and is not afraid to take a position. 

I support his positive energy, his candor, and his willingness to work with everyone to get things done. It is time for new leadership in Berkeley and George Beier the one to provide it. 

Gregory S. Murphy 

• 

YES ON MEASURE A 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing to urge all Berkeley voters to vote yes on Measure A. Measure A continues the current parcel tax that supports Berkeley public schools. It is not a new tax, or even a tax increase. Measure A just ensures that recent improvements to Berkeley public schools—in terms of class size, music instruction, libraries and more—are not discontinued. 

With two daughters in the schools, I see firsthand how Measure A helps kids learn. All of the libraries that my kids and their classmates love are funded by Measure A. The revenue generated by the measure keeps their classes to a size that allows each student individualized attention. And Measure A funds music instruction for all students beginning in the fourth grade. 

The renewal of Measure A is critical to the City of Berkeley’s future for all residents. Quality public school means a better-educated population, higher graduation rates and increasing property values. 

Please vote yes on A. 

Victoria Eisen 

• 

PROP. 90 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Supreme Court’s 2005 5-4 decision in Kelo v. City of New London favored the government’s right to use the “eminent domain” clause to take land away from private property owners in favor of the greater good was dead wrong. It was a vastly unpopular ruling that put too much power in the hands of the government, giving the government authority over the private citizen. The Kelo decision gave government the power of evicting homeowners for not only things like needed infrastructure but possible economic development. 

So when I saw Prop. 90, I was immediately attracted to it. Giving homeowners a 180-day right to trial to have their day in court from the government kicking them off their land seemed only fair. And if Prop. 90 stopped there, I would be in favor of it. However it does not. 

In fact Prop. 90 helps the very developers who already bathed in riches from the Supreme Court decision. Billions of dollars will come from taxpayers pockets and a nearly bankrupt state government because developers and other cash hungry forces will be able to sue the government claiming “economic loss.” 

Because of “economic loss” rights created under Prop. 90, the government’s ability to regulate things like size of developments, kind of development, and other zoning ordinances would be severely limited because law suits brought by developers. Things like historic preservation, noise restrictions for bars, limits on development around parks and wetlands, uncontrolled development next farm and ranch land, right-to-farm laws, and flood control would all become to costly to implement because a developer could claim “economic lost.” The way we design our cities and towns would no longer exist and our tax dollars would go to lawsuits instead of programs and government services. The result of all these changes is that citizens will no longer be able to decide how to govern their cities and towns. 

At first Prop. 90 seems to be some what of an answer to the Supreme Court’s 2005 decision that broadened the “eminent domain” clause. However, upon further reading, one realizes that Proposition 90 is a ploy that will take away the citizens’ right to govern and, in the process, will surely cost the government billions upon billions dollars—all going into lawyers’ and developers’ pockets. 

David Callahan 

• 

CRISIS AT WOODFIN HOTEL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Judith Scherr’s excellent article (Oct. 3) outlining the situation suffered by its employees, particularly immigrant workers at the Woodfin Hotel in Emeryville reminds us of how essential it is to work and agitate together to address serious economic and social abuses. EBASE, which is organizing the protests at the Hotel, is a labor based organization that addresses issues of low wage poverty and economic inequality by working in coalition with other progressive organizations and individuals. EBASE played an important role in winning a contract for workers at the Claremont Hotel. The Woodfin hotel employees, who are non-union, are being intimidated and retaliated against because they are defending their rights to build a better life for themselves and their families.  

Last November Emeryville voters approved Measure C, which is a living wage requirement for large hotels. As Scherr mentions, it guarantees hotel workers a decent income, a reasonable work load, and a modicum of job security if the hotel is sold. A particularly unique feature of the referendum is that the city can revoke a hotel’s permit to operate if the provisions of Measure C are not implemented. But although Measure C was supposed to take effect nine months ago, the hotel management has been nevertheless ignoring every one of its provisions. 

Moreover, management is stopping at nothing to discourage its employees from demanding compliance with the law. Its most recent outrage is especially troubling. Although employers are only required to check immigration documents for new hires, they are now demanding that all employees, including those who have been employed by the hotel for many years, produce documentation. The idea, of course, is to scare them into submission. 

Because of the hotel’s irresponsibility, it is urgent that the Emeryville City Council enforce the law. With at least some prodding, the hotel owners may realize that they as well as their employees will benefit in the long run from a favorable settlement. But if management rules out negotiations, a more extensive battle will have to be fought mainly on public terrain, on the streets. If you would like to join other protesters on the sidewalks of the Woodfin Hotel and at Emeryville City Hall if necessary, please e-mail me at harry.brill@sbcglobal.net so that I can let you know the dates when rallies will be held. 

Harry Brill 

Berkeley Labor and Community Coalition  

• 

CITY’S POLITICAL CLIMATE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I want to express my thoughts on the political climate in Berkeley. I am a native of Berkeley and have been a resident at the same address in District 4 for 25 years. My neighbors and I are still “the beleaguered residents of flatlands districts.” We make our neighborhood as pleasant as we can without the help of the City Council. In our neighborhood, we contend with BHS students getting stoned before school, traffic anarchy at the corners of both MLK and Channing and MLK and Dwight and kids as young at 10 vandalizing our cars and threatening residents. Walking downtown is risky, dodging rude students, litter and cars. These problems are systemic and are beyond politics. 

I am growing weary of the same old voices that tout themselves as progressive, open minded and tolerant. The way Becky O’Malley describes the opponents of Spring and Worthington is condescending. I am suspect of those who would suggest that they alone speak for the downtrodden, the disenfranchised, the poor, the weak and those unable to speak for themselves. I find the jargon of the so-called progressives to be mere endless rhetoric. 

The opponents of Spring and Worthington are accused of being those “who’d like to remake Berkeley in their own image.” I ask you, what is the image of Berkeley now? The streets of Berkeley are filled with inconsistencies and more. The same issues are with us day after day, year and year. Where has all the rhetoric and symbolism of the progressives gotten the citizens of Berkeley, including those who have and those who have not. 

Symbolism over substance; this is the reputation of Berkeley. It doesn’t help anything to continually put down others who sincerely believe that they can make a difference (especially when the odds are against them). This is why I am supporting Raudel Wilson in District 4. I respect his willingness to challenge the incumbent with a genuine desire to take our city in a positive direction. 

Sherry Markwart 

• 

PUBLIC COMMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

For those of us who have gone to some trouble to attend a City Council meeting to speak our concerns to our elected representatives, to have waited and not been called, the Oct. 10 Berkeley City Council meeting will hopefully give us the opportunity to push for an all inclusive public comment period. The Sunshine Ordinance in the works for the last five years, should include a strong public comment section that would allow each person to speak. Our city representatives need to hear from us, whether they know it or not. City Council would be permitted to reduce the amount of time each person talks depending on the total number of speakers. Come early to get a seat and sign a speaker card. Meetings begin at 7 p.m. in Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. 

Jane Welford 

• 

IRV AIN’T THE PROBLEM 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was also at Berkeley Citizen Action’s endorsement meeting, although I wasn’t there when the votes were tallied. Judging from John Curl’s commentary piece, it’s clear that the electoral weirdness is not due to instant run-off voting. It’s due to the confused execution of the IRV system by BCA. The recent Progressive Coalition endorsement meeting used IRV flawlessly, in part because a couple of us IRV folks met with the organizer beforehand and worked out all of the details. Further evidence that IRV is not the problem can be seen in the many countries, states, cities, and organizations world-wide which successfully use IRV. 

If Curl’s description is accurate, there’s a couple of points where the BCA process went awry structurally—by dropping 2 of the lowest vote getters after the first round and by not dropping “No Endorsement” before the second highest vote-getter. After all, since “No Endorsement” is a choice that only received nine votes, it should’ve been dropped before a choice that received 20. 

Thanks for the continual coverage of local politics. 

Jesse Townley 

• 

CITY CARSHARE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As a non-profit, community based organization, City CarShare is focused on improving the environment while bringing affordable car sharing services to all neighborhoods. Recently, the Planet has covered issues of controversy at the UC Storage building, where City CarShare has recently introduced a vehicle. We are writing to make our position on the matter clear. 

City CarShare is a Bay Area non-profit, dedicated to providing alternatives to private car ownership. City CarShare vehicles are parked in neighborhood areas, and at major public transit connection points on both sides of the bay. Members share all the cars, reserving only the hours that best meet their needs. Studies have shown that City CarShare helps to reduce car ownership, demand for parking and the emission of greenhouse gases. 

Earlier this year, developer Patrick Kennedy offered to donate a parking spot at the UC Storage building, and we accepted. We felt the arrangement would be beneficial to City CarShare members and to the neighborhood. We chose to place a truck here because the proximity to storage and moving supplies makes sense. The truck is available to anyone who reserves it, for any purpose (related to UC Storage or not). We delayed installation for several months, to discuss community issues brought to our attention, and proceeded with the encouragement of our members, the City of Berkeley and neighborhood residents. 

In late September the truck was installed, and almost immediately vandalized (with acid on the windshield and damage to all body panels), resulting in an expensive repair bill. Unfortunately, residents who depend on availability of vehicles were harmed, as was City CarShare. Despite this incident, we intend to stay in this location so that we can serve the neighborhood and our members in the East Bay. 

City CarShare is, and always has been, open to discussions about neighborhood desires, needs and issues. Our goal is to have a positive impact on all the neighborhoods we serve. 

Thanks for sharing, 

Rick Hutchinson, CEO 

City CarShare 

• 

TARGET 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

At the request of an Alameda citizens’ group, I carefully reviewed the 465-page environmental impact report for the proposed Target at Towne Centre. These concerned citizens were baffled at the report’s conclusion that this project would have zero impacts.  

The answer is simple: The study did not evaluate a 145,000-square-foot Target store as proposed. It looked at the effects of a generic shopping area one-third that size. And, the report consistently used unrealistically low traffic assumptions to reach its flawed conclusions.  

One has to wonder: Why was only one third of the store considered and why was the lowest-range of assumptions used repeatedly? 

Neither I, nor the citizens who asked me to review the report, are against a Target store on Alameda Island. A retail store of this magnitude should not be located on the beach, where vehicles must travel through neighborhoods to get to their destination. Typically, Target stores are located near freeways. Preferable locations for a Target store would be closer to the estuary such as the site near the Alameda tubes or closer to Interstate 880. 

A new, reality-based environmental document is needed to give the citizens a clear picture of the impacts on our community, particularly for those who live along Park, Broadway, Otis, 8th, Willow, Gibbons and in the neighborhoods adjacent to the project. Traffic does not impact roadways; it impacts people. It impacts quality of life. A complete copy of my report is available at www.actionalameda.org.or via e-mail eugenie@islandalameda.com 

Eugenie Thomson 

Consulting Civil and Traffic Engineer 

• 

TRY SOMETHING NEW 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing because I’ve gotten to know George Beier. Kriss Worthington is well known: He has been Councilmember for 10 years. For the seven years I’ve lived in District 7, crime has gotten worse. Telegraph Avenue has gotten worse. Relationships with UC have gotten worse. Beier thinks he can turn that around. This is what I think of Beier: He is straightforward, honest, smart, experienced, energetic, enthusiastic, and upbeat. I like his vision for our city. I especially like his plan to deal with the biggest problem in our city, the elephant in the room, that is generally ignored—people don’t know how to solve it or think that it is a problem for the individual to deal with. I am talking about addiction. Underlying crime, violence, truancy, the loss of our young men to juvenile hall, the high cost of social services, and the largest cause of homelessness, is substance abuse and addiction. According to Berkeley Police, our addicts commit 3 to 5 crimes a day. But there are answers. A Berkeley organization, “Options,” that for 10 years has been operating quietly out of a building near city hall, just received the Organizational Achievement Award from the National Association of Addiction Professionals for excellence. On average, every dollar invested in addiction treatment programs yields a return of $4 to $7 in reduced drug-related crimes, and some programs can exceed costs by a ratio of 12 to 1 (reported Aug. 19 in the Washington Post). We need to put more city resources into treatment. Beier is on the board of Options, and he has seen this first hand. His plan to revive Telegraph Avenue and People’s Park, to reduce crime and address homelessness, includes getting addicts effective treatment. I am supporting Beier not only because I have seen his compassion and his energy, but because I have watched how he looks for and finds intelligent, cost effective solutions and has the business sense to get things done. I am not against Kriss, but it’s time to try something new. 

Faith Fuller 

• 

FOLEY SCANDAL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Let Representative Pelosi begin a thorough investigation into who was involved in this Foley scandal. Since the Republicans who knew about this did nothing, perhaps they were also involved in the same activities, which needs to be proven or disproven beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Why else would our elected officials not take action when crimes against children are involved? Certainly those who knew could only choose to act, unless it is a hidden agenda that perhaps more officials are involved in this behavior, and somehow wished to evade discovery and publicity and justice. 

Certainly to fail to act condones the acts themselves, and further endangers the public, and further brings disgrace to our government, by showing the cynical or criminal or both elements working within our supposedly sacrosanct officials, undermining our credibility at home and abroad. 

We must have a full investigation and it must be fairly done, and immediately, or our nation becomes a pariah before the world, condoning torture and pedophilia by hiding it instead of rooting it out. 

Are we so depraved and cynical that we no longer care for anything beyond political power, no matter the cost? 

We must take strong action, and show the world and our nation that we respect the law and justice, not officialdom over justice. 

Richard Hiersch 

By Shirley Dean 

Some have asked why I’ve become involved in the current effort to save Berkeley’s Landmark Preservation Ordinance (LPO). I’d like to tell people about that and why it is so important to vote Yes on Measure J this coming Nov. 7.  

Around 35 years ago, when the city didn’t have the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance that we have today, I and other members of my neighborhood rallied together to save a charming, beautiful well-preserved Victorian home that was located on the southwest corner of Bonita and Berryman Streets. It was painted a medium shade of gray and sat well back from the sidewalk surrounded by an old garden of bushes and flowering plants. It was rumored to have been the home of the daughter of the family that lived in the Bryne Mansion (since destroyed by fire) that stood a short distance to the east between Oxford and Spruce. Built in about the same style, it was one of the loveliest homes I have seen in the 50 or so years that I have been living in Berkeley. 

Our neighborhood quickly formed the Bonita Berryman Neighborhood Association and presented the City Council with over 1,000 signatures (gathered in just one week) of people in the area who opposed the demolition of that home and two others in order to construct a large, blocky apartment building. Hundreds of people wrote letters and appeared before the Planning Commission, Zoning Board and Council with their passionate pleas of support for our cause. It was all to no avail.  

Today, you can drive by that corner and only imagine the lovely structure that once stood there and how its history has been lost. What you see today is the building that replaced it and how that building impacts its neighborhood. What you can’t experience is how the loss of that building changed the people and their lives in that neighborhood. 

Not too long after we tearfully watched the bulldozers rip down that wonderful piece of history, many of us joined together to convince the City Council to adopt a Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. It wasn’t easy, but 32 years later that same LPO is alive and well providing protections for the historic structures and sites that contribute so much to the beauty and livability of this city.  

Today our Landmarks Preservation Ordinance is facing the biggest threat in its history under the strange logic that somehow making it easier to demolish older structures provides better neighborhood protection than does our current ordinance. I don’t know how to say it any other way—this is absolute nonsense on its face.  

We are being told that our existing LPO violates the state Permit Streamlining Act (PSA). The LPO has been law for over 32 years and after countless decisions, no part of it has ever been struck down by the courts. A law suit mentioned at a council meeting as an example of a PSA violation turns out to have nothing to do with the LPO—it involved a staff mistake on the date that the PSA was to start being counted. Six years ago, the state Office of Historic Preservation certified our LPO as being fully in compliance with all applicable state laws! Nothing has changed since then. 

Some people have taken great delight in pointing out what they believe are examples of “bad” decisions to landmark certain buildings. What they don’t tell you is that Landmark Preservation Commission decisions must be confirmed by the council before they are final. If a decision is “bad” it is the fault of the council that made that decision, not the fault of the law. What they also don’t mention is that the vast majority of these so-called “bad” decisions never became landmarks in the first place because decisions were reversed by the City Council!  

Throwing out the LPO because someone doesn’t think that a structure or site shouldn’t be recognized as a historic resource when it wasn’t recognized in that way anyway, is just one more example of the strange logic being used to defeat Measure J. Why is getting rid of the LPO so important to the Mayor and some members of the City Council?  

Measure J makes permanent the City’s 32-year-old LPO plus six updates that have been suggested by the state Office of Historic Preservation. If Measure J is defeated an ordinance proposed by the mayor is waiting in the wings to replace it. The mayor’s ordinance is heavily backed by developers. If Measure J is defeated, Berkeley will be condemned to relieve our history of demolishing charming, irreplaceable buildings that enhance neighborhoods only to replace them with large, non-distinct buildings that intrude onto neighborhoods. Haven’t we learned anything? We can have appropriate development AND retain our Landmarks Preservation Ordinance which preserves our neighborhoods. Vote “Yes” on Measure J on Nov. 7.  

Shirley Dean is the former mayor of Berkeley.

By NANCY CARLETON and  

SUSAN HUNTER 

1. Kriss supports our neighborhood 100 percent. As leaders in the Halcyon neighborhood in South Berkeley, we’ve turned to District 7 Councilmember Kriss Worthington time and again for help dealing with crime, trash, parking, and potholes. He has always dealt quickly and effectively with our concerns. In addition, Kriss is a reliable pro-neighborhood vote on City Council and understands that being pro-neighborhood is a core progressive value. That means supporting schools, libraries, and parks, as well as building new affordable housing while preserving existing low-income housing for neighbors who are long-term tenants. It also means having the guts to stand up to big developers when they’re trying to railroad neighborhoods or destroy our remaining architectural treasures. 

2. Kriss works harder than any Berkeley Councilmember ever. Even his political opponents acknowledge how hard Kriss works! (To demonstrate our objectivity, second place would go to former Mayor Shirley Dean.) 

3. Long before he ran for Council, Kriss was an early supporter of Halcyon Commons and has fought hard for funding for parks. Back when Kriss was a neighborhood leader himself (as board member of LeConte Neighborhood Association), he chaired the LNA meeting where they voted to support our neighborhood’s proposal to create a park to replace a parking lot, and he followed up with a personal donation. Since he’s been on the City Council, he has always done everything he could to support our small but important greenspace (the only public park serving over 900 households). Soon after Kriss was elected to City Council, the Parks Department was threatened with losing its entire budget due to a change in State law concerning assessment districts. Kriss worked tirelessly to make sure we won the two-thirds majority needed to safeguard funding for Berkeley’s parks. And he has supported new playing fields and an off-leash dog area, as well as mini-grants to encourage community-city partnerships in improving our parks. 

4. Kriss has helped us when we’ve needed to cut through red tape. Here we’re talking about the personal level: When we’ve run into bureaucratic runarounds involving the City, Kriss has made the calls and done the footwork to make sure our concerns are addressed promptly and fairly. 

5. Kriss is the real thing: a politician who is truly a public servant. Whereas some in city government seem to listen more to big campaign contributors and powerful interests like Sutter Medical Corporation, Kriss understands that holding public office is a sacred trust that involves doing your best to represent the people who elected you, even if it sometimes means upsetting groups like the conservative Chamber of Commerce. 

6. Kriss is independent and incorruptible, with total integrity. At this turning point in Berkeley’s political history, we need independent voices on the City Council who are also solidly progressive. Kriss’ integrity in this regard speaks for itself. 

7. Kriss genuinely cares and does his best to help neighbors who call his office, whether the issue is large or small. In the past few months in our neighborhood alone, Kriss has gotten illegal dumping cleaned up in at least eight locations, helped individual neighbors and whole blocks resolve permit-parking issues, and kept over one hundred neighbors on Woolsey Street from being pushed—without their consent—into Oakland. And several years back, after many of the basements in our neighborhood flooded, he managed to get the storm drains upgraded years ahead of schedule. 

8. Kriss is a regionally known leader on progressive issues: the environment, women’s rights, LGBT issues, civil liberties, diversity, affordable housing, tenant rights, and peace and justice. Although we’ve devoted only one of our ten reasons to this, it’s very dear to our hearts. Although we’re neighborhood leaders, we don’t just care about potholes, neighborhood watch, and disaster preparedness (though all of these are important to us, as they are to Kriss). We live in Berkeley because we love this community and what it stands for in the world. We want Berkeley to remain a strong leader when it comes to protecting the environment, leading the fight for full equality for the LGBT community, and taking a stand against the Bush administration and its far-right agenda. For every progressive cause we care about, Kriss has been a leader at local and regional levels, which has won him the support of the Sierra Club, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and all the progressive organizations in town that make endorsements. If Kriss is unseated in this election, the activist community will lose one of its most effective voices on the council. 

9. Kriss not only represents us well on Council; he’s a community organizer who does what he can to help others take action in effective ways. One of the things we like best about Kriss is the fact that he isn’t a politician by nature; throughout his adult life (and even as a teenager), he’s been active as a community organizer, and he has continued to demonstrate these important skills as our councilmember, bringing diverse groups of people to the table whose voices otherwise wouldn’t be heard.  

10. Kriss is an excellent human being we’re proud to call friend. Because Kriss is often in the thick of one political battle or another on our behalf, not everyone gets to see his softer side. But when you get to know him, you soon learn that he engages in small acts of kindness at every opportunity. To give just one example, recently one of us happened to mention that the San Francisco Chronicle, which she enjoys reading with her morning tea (at least on the days the Planet doesn’t come out), hadn’t been delivered on a day when she already wasn’t feeling well—and it was too late to call to get another. What a surprise when 15 minutes later Kriss knocked on the door with a fresh copy he had biked over to hand-deliver. 

Nancy Carleton and Susan Hunter were recently honored in a mayoral proclamation for their roles in creating Halcyon Commons, a small park in South Berkeley. Nancy is also the volunteer treasurer for Kriss’s campaign. 

By Carol Denney 

Another day, another short-sighted plan for Berkeley’s shuttered-up downtown. Longtime observers will yawn, put down their papers, and actually be completely up to date on the local planning groups’ most current recommendations, which are nearly identical to the last set. 

Berkeley craves a bustling, economically healthy downtown, but refuses to acknowledge that those people need a place to sit, a place to park, a reason to be there, and a place to use a restroom from time to time. Movie houses collapse, businesses of nearly 100 years’ duration finally can’t make the rent required for the new lease, landlords double the cost of business’ overhead, and the Berkeley City Council and the cronies they’re still content to appoint can’t figure out what the street people downtown figured out a long time ago; downtown Berkeley is a very uncomfortable place to be. 

People who spend a lot of time on the street, i.e. “homeless” people, sound a lot like people who remember Berkeley from several decades ago when they discuss the matter. There’s no place where you can sit with a friend and just enjoy the day for a reasonable stretch of time, since there is no place with a consistently clean bathroom to use when needed. 

There’s no place you can safely leave your vehicle so that you can see a movie, or so that you don’t have to cart around everything you’ve picked up during the day, without running the risk of an extremely expensive ticket or worse, or having everything you own towed away and possibly destroyed. 

Even the police rely on parking in residential neighborhoods, and can be seen sprinting to move their cars just ahead of the parking enforcement operators, that is, those that don’t have a “special understanding” with the department to avoid ticketing certain cars. 

Representatives on the latest planning committee can’t resist insisting that the imposition of a completely artificial running stream through the downtown or a stunning hotel/retail development slated to draw conventions of millionaires will ensure economic health to Berkeley’s struggling downtown. 

But citizens of Berkeley who have a long memory will laugh, as will those who spend long periods of time on the street, at the repetitive echo they hear from the last planning effort only a few years ago. If they spoke in passing, it would be to agree that they just need some honest open space to linger, exchange thoughts, meet friends, use a bathroom, and enjoy the day. Berkeley is so frightened that “homeless” people will use these amenities, that it refuses to afford them to the people it would otherwise rush to welcome downtown. 

In this way Berkeley remains stuck in its thinking, its planning, and its ability to move forward. Yes, poor people as well as rich people will sit on a bench, use open space, and need a restroom. But no one is as terrified of this prospect as the current planning appointees and the City Council. No one in Berkeley is unaware of the population of people who are homeless, or homeless during parts of the month, or who supplement their income by selling crafts or panhandling on the street. 

But they may not realize that their presumed terror of homeless people is inhibiting the City Council from doing the simplest things to improve downtown. 

Berkeley’s downtown may never have had many shelter spaces, but it used to have literally hundreds of single room occupancy hotel spaces, which offered immediate lodging for those with possibly only funds enough to afford a room for a few weeks at a time a chance to get themselves and their belongings off the street. These are the same spaces and “opportunity sites” being converted to condominiums for the wealthy. The City Council and its appointees are genuinely remiss if they don’t recommend replenishing the crucial housing stock represented by single room occupancy housing, which would enable homeless people and people without the $2000 to $3000 it currently takes to establish rental status to find somewhere to stay. 

The little things that could improve downtown Berkeley don’t cost nearly as much money as a huge hotel for rich conventioneers. The simple answer is clean public restrooms, restoration of what used to be plentiful single room occupancy hotels, more shelters for those who need them, and some pressure on the landlords who are driving away all the useful downtown businesses to keep business rents affordable. Berkeley without Hink’s, without Penny’s, without Edy’s, without the UC Theater, without Frazier’s, without Tupper and Reed, and without Radston’s, is a different place indeed. 

Carol Denney is a Berkeley musician and activist. 

FOR MCNERNEY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am pleased and grateful for your excellent article endorsing Jerry McNerney in his race against Richard Pombo in the 11th Congressional District. I am an 83-year-old man who is postponing starting treatment for prostate cancer until Nov. 8 so that I will be free to travel to Tracy so that I can do precinct work for Jerry McNerney. I have also been contributing to his campaign and hosted a fundraiser in my home for him. 

If you live on Planet Earth you will be affected by the outcome of this election. There is no one in Congress who has done more to damage this little planet than Richard Pombo. At every opportunity he has used his power as chairman of a vital congressional committee to benefit those who are engaged in reckless exploitation of the environment motivated entirely by personal greed. In exchange they have helped Pombo to become very rich while in office and have made huge contributions to his campaigns. 

Because of the change in the national mood there will never be a better opportunity to rid ourselves of this corrupt enemy of the earth and replace him with an honest, progressive environmentalist. It will take money and most of all dedicated workers, please join us in this good fight! 

Dan Julian 

Kensington 

• 

THE LEAST DEMOCRATIC CITY IN THE BAY AREA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The City of Berkeley hides under cover of a progressive reputation it has, unfortunately, long ago outlived, if ever met, in the matter of honoring all members of the public’s First Amendment rights to speak at City Council, Library Board and commission meetings. 

Under threat of lawsuit, and abandoning equal opportunity, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates has changed from the limit of 10 speakers (at three minutes each) selected by lottery, to around 15 speakers (at two minutes each) selected in secret. He may then ask if there is anyone who completed a speaker card who would like to speak to an agenda item not yet covered. Only two such speakers per item are chosen by the mayor to speak, providing one is pro and one is con. His latest experiment calls for anyone who would like to speak to an item on the Consent Calendar, prior to the council’s approval of this calendar. If there should be any takers (there were not on Sept. 19) it is unknown how he would choose those speakers and how many. 

Over 30 Bay Area cities, unlike Berkeley, apparently have a greater understanding of California’s Ralph M. Brown Act, as they allow all willing individuals the right to speak, not only during an open forum, but prior to each agenda item (Chaffee v. S.F.Library Commission). In Richmond anyone who wishes to address the City Council on items appearing on the agenda must file a speaker card with the City Clerk prior to the council’s consideration of the item. Each speaker is allowed three minutes. Individuals may also file a speaker card to speak during open forum on issues not on the agenda. Time allowed for each speaker is as follows: 15 or fewer, two minutes; 16-24 speakers, 1.5 minutes; and 25 or more speakers, one minute. 

Oakland’s rules of procedure clearly indicate that members of the public may speak on any number of agenda items, providing the individual completes a speaker card for each item. They may speak during open forum as well. You are allowed two minutes for each agenda item and one minute during open forum. 

Earlier this year Livermore city councilmembers agonized over whether they should continue to allow speaker cards be accepted on a particular agenda item once discussion on that item has begun. Councilmember Reitter stated “I’m more concerned about someone who honestly decides after hearing public comment, that they want to participate.” Councilmember Kamena opined maybe they shouldn’t have cards and “suggested the council explore mechanisms to allow someone who didn’t sign a card but has something urgent to say to do so....” (“Council’s cards still shuffled,” West County Times, Jan. 25.) 

Do you think that Berkeley should comply with the Brown Act? Do you want to be heard at City Council, board and commission meetings? If so, come to a City Council meeting. Complete a speaker card prior to 7 p.m. (and hope you’ll be called!). Demand a legal and equitable public comment procedure be included in a Berkeley Sunshine Ordinance. 

Ordinance yes! Wish list no! 

Gene Bernardi 

SuperBOLD 

• 

MEASURE J 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was pleased to see the Berkeley Daily Planet support the Landmark Initiative Ballot Measure J. To add my opinion to your opinion: I also support a yes vote on Measure J. I am all in favor of the preservation of the unique Berkeley architectural heritage, and having traveled recently to other cities I realize that it is our good luck. And that this has come about not without some forethought and consideration by citizens in the past. (We can all conjure up in our minds the terrible houses and building of some other city!) It is my understanding that a similar citizens’ initiative was passed in 1973 (the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance) when the city faced excessive residential demolitions. Our Preservation Ordinance of today is now under pressure, but luckily there are citizens in our midst today who worked hard on our behalf and gave us this opportunity to vote yes again to preserve our wonderful neighborhoods and exceptional collection of architectural treasures. I support Measure “J” and I would suggest every Berkeley voter do the same—or maybe we will no longer have such jewels as the library! The Victorian “Boudrow” house! The First Church of Christ, Scientist! The elegant gates of the Claremont Court! And many of our Berkeley brown shingles and little bungalows. 

I personally, loudly and clearly vote yes on Measure J. 

Wendy P. Markel 

• 

AIMEE ALLISON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

There is just over a month until the November elections. Please join me in supporting Aimee Allison for Oakland City Council. I will be volunteering a Aimee Allison’s headquarters every Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. at 3208 Grand Ave., next to the Grand Lake Theater. Other volunteer opportunities are below or call 277-0182 to help in other ways. 

After seeing Aimee Allison debate Pat Kernighan recently at Laney College it is clear that Aimee is a deep, inspiring and powerful young leader. She is someone who is in touch with the needs of low and no-income communities of color in Oakland. Like Ron Dellums, she will inspire others to take action and will bring a sense of movement and true democracy through participation. 

She had a fantastic knowledge of how Jerry Brown and those connected with him played a significant role in pushing out poor people of color from Oakland and what is needed to change this trend. She also showed deep connections with community organizations working for justice in Oakland; she was able to reference campaigns of organizations that I work with and care about deeply; groups like All of Us or None and the Ella Baker Center. 

In contrast Pat Kerninghan while a good person, has shown that she is often not willing to stand up against her wealthy campaign contributors or the Perata machine to stand with the people who need her support. I was present for her very first vote at City Council. We had organized with a group of youth to speak out against their criminalization for side shows, saying that the city needs to provide young people with activities, rather than incarcerating them because they don’t have anything to do. Because so many young people were there a motion was made to move the item on sideshows earlier on the agenda. Pat was the deciding vote and she voted no, making it so all the youth present were not able to speak (the item didn’t end up coming to the floor until after midnight!) Right after her first vote as a Councilmember a baby in the room started to cry. Aimee not only would have voted yes, she has shown that she would have lead the youth into council, speaking out at their rally beforehand. 

Particularly astounding to me at yesterday’s debate was that both in our one-on-one conversations and in front of the crowd Pat continuously stated that she was powerless to change the problems of Oakland, that it was the state and federal government that needed to make the changes. It made me wonder: Why was she running for City Council?? 

I asked her during and then again after the debate if, as a former civil rights activist and someone who says she believes in equality, if she would drop out of the race to support a young person of color. I explained that this was especially significant because it was clear from polling that if poor people in Oakland voted at the same rate as rich people that she would have no chance at winning. She recognized that this was true!! However, still stated that she was going to run and that is was our responsibility to unseat her. Let’s take that challenge!! 

This campaign, just like Ron Dellums’ campaign is not about Aimee Allison, it is about our movement and about the voice of the people of Oakland.  

Please get involved in Aimee’s campaign, stop by their headquarters: 3208 Grand Avenue next to the Grand Lake Theater or call at 277-0182 or go to www.aimeeallison.org.  

Jonah Zern 

• 

ALAMEDA CITY COUNCIL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It isn’t every day that a successful professional decides to devote as much time to a community as it takes to hold local office. In Alameda, however, engineer Eugenie Thomson is running for city council to do just that. What an opportunity for Alameda! 

In working with Eugenie on traffic issues related to a proposed Berkeley development, I found her to be impeccably honest and straightforward. She created a credible infrastructure analysis that required the city to dig for information instead of letting a project slide through on superficial assurances. She understands how to protect natural environments and neighborhoods and won’t sacrifice quality of life. 

Eugenie can analyze development situations both quickly and accurately. She cuts through the blather with tact. She maintains a calm atmosphere during discussion of controversial issues. Most importantly, she formulates creative strategies and suggests policies that can provide for the best interests of all parties.  

Eugenie will be a refreshing presence and constructive force working for the public good. If Alameda residents elect her, they will be glad.  

Mary Lou Van Deventer 

on behalf of Urban Ore, Inc. 

• 

TELEGRAPH AVENUE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I agree with Richard Walkings’ assessment that the quality of life on Telegraph Avenue had deteriorated in recent years (“Back in the Mix,” Sept. 15), but that is not because of Kriss Worthington. Rather, it’s in spite of him. 

Worthington voted against cuts to police and social workers on Telegraph Avenue. Although he was outvoted that time, he correctly predicted that defunding these crucial services would lead to exactly the kinds of problems Walkings’ enumerates. But guess who voted FOR these cuts? George Beier’s main endorsers on the City Council: Betty Olds, Laurie Capitelli, and Gordon Wozniak. 

To his credit, Worthington continued to fight for this money and spearheaded a successful campaign to restore it. Telegraph Avenue is now beginning to turn around. Worthington is also working to simplify the labyrinthine process involved in issuing business permits, so that vacancies on Telegraph Avenue, or anywhere else in Berkeley, can be quickly filled. 

Beier presents himself as a progressive, using many of Worthington’s bedrock platforms as his own. In his campaign literature, he promises that he will work to “increase drug and alcohol addiction outreach” and “build long-term affordable rental housing,” two things that Worthington has not only passionately advocated, but successfully implemented. 

But aside from the origin of “his” proposals, does Beier really mean what he says? If you look at three of his most enthusiastic supporters—the landlord lobby, the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce president, and the Berkeley Property Owners’ Association president—this question answers itself. Beier is allied with the most conservative forces in Berkeley. Believe what you see, not what he says. 

Judy Shelton 

• 

VOTING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The alternative to San Francisco’s version of instant runoff voting (IRV), in which people are limited to ranking three choices, is not “having to rank all the candidates” as stated in your Sept. 29 article on Jason Overman’s challenge to incumbent city council member Gordon Wozniak. Instead, without this limitation—which is a matter of voting machine design rather than policy—voters can rank as many or as few candidates as they wish. 

Among the places where IRV and choice voting (IRV’s sibling for multi-seat elections) are used, the only one I know of that requires you to rank all the candidates is Australia. 

Bob Richard 

Californians for Electoral Reform 

Kentfield 

• 

OUT OF TOUCH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Where has George Beier been? He has suggested building a cafe in People’s Park. Most neighbors remember the Catholic Worker Cafe trailer that was in the park for about a year. It was an interesting experiment but I don’t think million-dollar businessman George is talking about an actual FREE cafe that helps people. There are plenty of commercial cafes and vacant buildings in this neighborhood and very few parks. It would be foolish to choose our open green space to plop down a cafe. Our current local businesses need support and a good councilperson would work to defend them rather than take business from them. Also any citizen with a little historic memory would realize that building on People’s Park is the last way to bring peace and prosperity to our community. 

Douglas Foster 

• 

WORTHINGTON VS. BEIER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

On Nov. 7, voters in Berkeley City Council District 7 face a very stark candidate choice: between incumbent Councilmember Kriss Worthington and repeat challenger George Beier. District 7 encompasses the neighborhoods directly south of the UCB campus stretching to the Oakland boundary. 

Mr. Beier’s considerable dot-com era-generated wealth has apparently enabled him to launch a second campaign attempt against Councilmember Worthington. Eight years ago, in 1998, Mr. Beier sought unsuccessfully to defeat the current incumbent.  

The 2006 City Council election provides District 7 voters with a clear, explicit contrast: between a Councilmember who strongly supports—and vigorously defends—rent control and affordable housing, and his opponent who has significant associations with Berkeley’s local real estate industry.  

It is no coincidence that on the very day that Mr. Beier formally announced/launched his 2006 City Council candidacy, he was the featured speaker at the Berkeley Property Owners Association’s (BPOA) annual dinner event in May. The BPOA is the city’s largest and most powerful rental property owner/real estate organization. 

The reason this association is significant is because the BPOA has been traditionally hostile to Berkeley’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (rent control) since the ordinance’s 1980 passage by Berkeley voters. In fact, the BPOA has opposed nearly every affordable housing policy—even the very existence—of the elected Rent Stabilization Board and its corresponding oversight agency. 

The city’s rent control program regulates nearly 19,000 renter households across Berkeley providing tenants with a shield against arbitrary, unanticipated or unwarranted rent increases, including “no fault” eviction protections (eviction without a reason). The Rent Stabilization Program is the city’s largest and single most important affordable housing public policy. 

BPOA members and associates are also responsible for initiating, collecting signatures and currently campaigning for passage of Berkeley Measure I on the Nov. 7 ballot. 

In a nutshell, Measure I, if passed, would potentially convert thousands of affordable rental units into expensive condominiums leading to the eviction of renters and families from their homes (in the current market, Berkeley condos sell for an average price of $500,000). 

On Nov. 7, District 7 voters have a very straightforward choice: Councilmember Worthington or Mr. Beier. 

Chris Kavanagh 

• 

QUESTION ENDORSEMENTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Mal Burnstein insinuates that Zelda Bronstein’s failure to get certain endorsements, including that of the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, says something about her qualifications to be Berkeley’s next mayor (Letters, Sept. 19). 

As a former member of the WDRC, I can tell you that the club’s endorsement of Tom Bates says far more about WDRC’s disdain for Berkeley politics than anything about Zelda’s credentials. Few Wellstoners take any interest—much less any part—in Berkeley public life. That may explain why they thoughtlessly endorsed the incumbent, whose stock campaign speech is mostly devoted to his long-ago record in the state Assembly. 

In 2002 many of us supported Tom, based on his Sacramento reputation. In fact, we had little idea of how he really operated. Now we’ve had a good look at his political style and at what our city means to him. It remains to be seen whether he will be held accountable for his failure to live up to his promises, to run an open and honest government, and to include the people’s interests in his dealings. 

Those of us who care about Berkeley’s future would do well to question the endorsements of groups that slight democracy at home. 

I’m voting for Zelda Bronstein. 

Bonnie Hughes 

• 

MCCNERNEY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

For five years Berkeley citizens, clergy and politicians overwhelmingly supported the local chapter of UNITE HERE (Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees) in its successful boycott of the Claremont Resort. San Francisco just celebrated the conclusion of similar boycotts there. 

During this same period, the union has been contributing tens of thousands of dollars to the Congressional campaigns of anti-labor and anti-environment Republican Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy. No contributions were made to Democratic or other party candidates. They are the only union to contribute to Pombo’s campaign (www.OpenSecrets.org).  

Project Vote Smart (www.vote-smart.org) rates Pombo poorly on labor and the environment. 

While it is true that Pombo chairs the Congressional committee that regulates Indian gaming, and that casino workers make up a significant number of UNITE HERE members, it is short-sighted and destructive to support someone so blatantly against the interestes of members and other workers. 

UNITE HERE should contribute to Democratic opponent Jerry McNerney’s campaign (JerryMcNerney.org). McNerney is in favor of raising the minimum wage and other pro-labor positions. Those who supported this union during the Claremont boycott can contact: UNITE HERE, Local 2850 Oakland, Jim Dupont, International Vice President/President at 893-3181. Ask that a matching contribution be made to Jerry McNerney’s campaign. 

C Gilbert 

• 

PROPOSITION 90 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Proposition 90, advertised as a cure for misuse of eminent domain, is a fraud. Marketed and sold as “necessary” after a bad U.S. Supreme Court decision, the proposition does cure some misuse of eminent domain. Unfortunately, items attached to the law also have a host of other side effects that make the cure worse than the disease. 

Poisoned by right-wing backers, Prop. 90’s redefinition of “taking” is reminiscent of the redefinitions of “freedom,” “prisoner” and “warrant” that have become popular of late. Under Prop. 90, any law of decision that affects the potential profit of a business or value of property is considered “taking” and requires that payment be made to those who claim that they would have made more money in the absence of the law. 

The most obvious effects are those related to real estate. A law limiting coastal oil drilling—either a new one or an old one which requires that government make a decision to enforce it—would require that taxpayers pay developers the profit that could have been made via sale of oil from the property. 

While this is bad, the worst effects of Prop. 90 stem from its not being limited to real estate law. Under Prop. 90, an anti-identity theft measure that prohibits businesses from selling social security numbers to potential identity thieves would force taxpayers to pay the data brokers for what they would have made by selling their information. Ditto car lemon laws and the like. 

Just as importantly, a loophole-closing decision or minor action required to enforce an existing law could trigger Prop. 90 and put taxpayers on the line for billions. It also encourages questionable lawsuits by banning judges from forcing lawsuit abusers to pay both sides’ attorneys’ fees. Oregon, which passed its own version of Prop. 90 (without looking) is struggling with this right now. Over 4 billion dollars worth of lawsuits have been filed in just a few months. Let me remind you that 4 billion dollars is about 80,000 teachers or 40,000 firefighters. 

Prop. 90 is being marketed as a cure for eminent domain abuse. Unfortunately, the things attached to it make the cure worse than the disease. While eminent domain abuse does happen, it is rare in California (we have plenty of ways to recall elected officials when they do something wrong). Odds are that we will have another special election in 2007 to cover the new propositions that come up. Lets cancel Prop 90 and run a real property rights initiative for the next election. 

Tom Angelton 

• 

RESPONSE TO BHS COLUMN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

While the complaints and concerns addressed in the recent Berkeley High Beat column titled “Berkeley High Beat: Start of the New Year Worries” reflect the experiences of many students at Berkeley High School, I feel that many of these concerns were based on incomplete or incorrect information. As a senior at Berkeley High School I have had my fair share of schedule mishaps, but this past year I had a unique opportunity to work with Berkeley High’s Master Schedule Advisory Group on the master class schedule for this year. In this capacity I learned a great deal about the complexities and challenges of the master scheduling process.  

To begin with, I will briefly review the actual scheduling process. Because of the sheer number of students enrolled at BHS (approximately 3200), the school uses a program called SASI to assign classes. Because this is primarily an automated system scheduling errors inevitably occur. For example, many upper level language classes and general electives are only offered for one or two periods because of the small number of students who have signed up for these classes. If a student signs up for one of these classes in the spring, the computer moves the rest of their classes around in order to accommodate this request. If requested classes are scheduled during the same period the computer will attempt to prioritize the classes for the student and will drop one of the classes. For example, last year I requested AP Art in the spring and discovered in the fall that this one specific class request had disrupted my entire schedule. Once I dropped AP Art the rest of my course requests fell into place. 

The second concern raised by the Daily Planet column was the issue of student access to counselors. Berkeley High has a severe dearth of counselors—eight to be exact, or approximately one counselor for every 400 students. Given these limited resources, I feel that our counseling staff does the very best that they can. As mentioned in the Jacket article, the 180 students without schedules at the start of the school year had first priority with the counseling staff. However, the article failed to mention that the majority of these students were without schedules not because of any human or technical error, but rather because they were late registration or transfer students.  

Once every student has some kind of schedule, the school begins to process the swelling piles of student course change request forms. This year alone, Berkeley High’s eight counselors had to process approximately 2400 schedule change requests. Apparently, the reason why everyone had to sit around in their undesirable classes for so long wasn’t because of the “dysfunctional system” at all—it was because three out of four students at Berkeley High weren’t happy with the schedules they had requested and received. The number of courses offered, and the number of teachers hired, is entirely determined by the classes students register for in the spring. If students are unhappy with schedule delays at the start of the year, they should recognize the fact that these delays are a direct result of their own indecision. It is impossible for a school the size of Berkeley High to be as flexible and as responsive as we all would like. There are just too many students and too many variables in the equation to make this a simple process.  

Theo Wilson 

Senior, Berkeley High School

Robert Cheasty’s recent Daily Planet commentary correctly points out Magna’s strong desire to obtain a casino. He portrays this a negative in that it would be used to subsidize the continuation of the racetrack. But there is also a flip-side to all this: Magna’s desire for a casino can be used as leverage to convince Magna to quickly close the track and create a very large park in its place. 

We need to take a long term view of Albany’s needs when planning the waterfront. Since 1995 we have voted $10 million in new property taxes and we can conservatively expect to need $10 million more through 2016 (plus another $4 million inflation adjustment on current taxes). Ten years ago these measures easily passed by 25 percent. Currently they squeak by with only a one percent margin. Consider the pressures of a slowing economy, higher mortgage rates, falling home prices, and voter burnout. These tax measures will likely begin to fail. If the money does not come from taxes it can only come from the waterfront or by cannibalizing our small town ambiance with large scale development within Albany. It would take 20 Target stores along Solano and San Pablo to generate $10 million. Even the Caruso project’s $2 million is a drop in the bucket against a $10 million tab. 

Combining everyone’s wish lists, the ideal waterfront project should: free up 75 percent of the land for a large park, bring five to 10 million dollars additional income for Albany, have minimal effect on freeway traffic, not compete with Solano Avenue businesses, and create a strong incentive for Magna to close the track quickly. Environmentalists will block anything that doesn’t involve a large park and the fiscally oriented will block anything that doesn’t bring millions of additional income. The essence of a successful compromise is choosing a project not currently associated with any faction that meets enough of everyone’s needs to let us all get on with our lives. Like it or not, the only project which accomplishes all these goals is downsizing the racetrack to a casino plus a large park. 

Many have strong feelings against gambling. Usually the greatest fear is the unknown: how gambling will affect a community, will our community lose or profit? In Albany’s case there isn’t much unknown. We have had waterfront gambling for 60 years. In its heyday the racetrack brought 19,000 visitors while Albany maintained one of the lowest crime rates in the area because track income allowed us to overstaff our police department. Albany’s reputation never suffered for having a racetrack. It can be argued that Albany’s unique small town ambiance is a result of waterfront gambling which removed the need to build within Albany and enabled a lower crime rate than surrounding towns. 

Emotion-based public policy decisions are usually bad decisions. The similarity between Prohibition and the current anti-casino sentiment is striking. Prohibition argued that alcohol was addictive and that addictive behavior put a burden on society and family relationships, basically the same arguments for banning casinos. Prohibition failed disastrously because alcohol was widely popular, remained easy to get from criminal sources and the great majority did not become addicted. Internet gambling will remain easily available and grow rapidly no matter how hard the government tries to stamp it out. The government may even join in to get the revenue. Better these gamblers, addicted or not, should have an honest game available instead of dealing with many crooked Internet sites and return some of their spending to local communities. Gambling in California continues to grow. San Pablo and Richmond casinos are just the beginning. Like it or not, if we dig in our heels we will be surrounded by casinos in nearby towns, and left with a dilapidated racetrack, no park, and meager income. Our sacrifice will likely be in vain. 

Here are some questions an objective analysis might ask: Is a more “politically correct” project that exacerbates rush hour traffic and makes many drivers arrive home angry and stressed a worse influence on families than a casino which (because of its 24-hour operation) has little effect on rush hour traffic? Does never achieving a waterfront park that benefits the whole region make a worse impact than a casino which quickly brings one about? Would sacrificing our small town ambiance along Solano be better than a casino at the waterfront? Would the additional millions in our pockets to spend in Solano Avenue stores compensate for a casino? 

A casino could be configured to look much like the CESP hotel plan which was considered very attractive by many. It could be surrounded by trees and made invisible from the waterfront. It might possibly be made accessible only from the freeway, preventing direct access to and from Albany. A temporary casino to provide income during the transition could be put inside the racetrack building while constructing a permanent one. 

A casino is not an end in itself but leverage to do what we really want with the other 75 percent of the property. In a complex situation like this we cannot plan successfully through wishful thinking. We need to be practical and realize that we must each sacrifice some of our preferences in order to get our most important needs met. Above all, we need flexible thinking from our politicians. So far they have all opposed the casino plus racetrack concept but nobody has had the political courage to explore the casino-as leverage concept. It might be the only practical solution. 

Tony Caine is an Albany resident. 

Opinions expressed in Daily Planet commentary and letters to the editor are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Daily Planet or its staff.

I must protest the entire page given over to Mr. Cheasty’s Sept. 26 commentary on Golden Gate Fields. The CAS/CESP/Sierra Club group are at it again with their by-now-familiar list of scare tactics and misstatements. I think you owe it to your readers to correct the record. Let’s look at just a few of those scare tactics and misstatements: 

• The Caruso plan offered a “minimum amount of privatized open space.” The reality: The Caruso plan offered a new park at Fleming Point and a new Shoreline Park, with restored beaches, public restrooms, completion of the Bay Trail, and a restored fishing pier, for a total of 17 continuous acres of parkland along the shoreline. It also offered restored—and expanded—wetlands north of the race track, a YMCA building, a Farmers’ Market, plus open-air public meeting space and a public amphitheater.  

• A “mall” on the waterfront would “sap the economic vitality” out of Solano and San Pablo avenues. The reality: The Caruso plan called for upscale retail and upscale restaurants. These would not be a threat to the budget restaurants, nail salons, realtor offices, apartment buildings, medical offices, gas stations, and so on, that make up the businesses on Solano and San Pablo avenues. In addition, the planned shuttle between El Cerrito BART, the development, and Solano Avenue would have brought more foot traffic to Solano. It’s interesting to note that the Albany Chamber of Commerce did not oppose the Caruso plan. 

• A mall would “saddle the community with a traffic nightmare on Gilman Street.” The reality: No one knows what the effect on traffic would be, either due to the Caruso development or the CAS/CESP/Sierra Club development. Let’s not forget that their proposal includes development also! If the Albany City Council had guaranteed the completion of an environmental impact report (paid for by Caruso), we would have known the reality about traffic impact, both for the Caruso plan and the CAS/CESP/Sierra Club plan. 

• It places a racino on the shoreline. The reality: The Caruso plan included no gambling. Gambling is covered by state law, not local law, and the people of California have handily defeated any and all attempts to increase casino gambling in California. This scare tactic simply isn’t relevant to the discussion. 

• CAS supported development would “easily provide greater revenue to Albany than the track currently does.” The reality: It’s interesting to note that, for the past year, the CAS/CESP/Sierra Club group has only offered to replace existing revenue from the racetrack (currently about $1.6 million). Suddenly, they—plus their two candidates for City Council—are in unison saying that their development would increase revenue. They offer no details whatsoever to support this assertion. 

• A hotel/conference center “would bring in more tax revenue to Albany (both city and school district) than the current track operation, including the property tax revenue.” The reality: Do they just make things up as they go along? Regarding a hotel, a study commissioned by the city in 2004 was ambivalent—at best—about the viability of a hotel in that location. Regarding a conference center, again, there are simply no facts provided to support the idea that this would be viable. And do we really want a thousand cars all trying at the same time to get into a conference center parking lot at 8:30 on a weekday morning for a conference that starts at 9? Talk about a “traffic nightmare” on I-80! 

My blood runs cold when I think of how reckless and cavalier the CAS/CESP/Sierra Club people are regarding the financial well-being of Albany. We have streets full of potholes, storm drains that overflow, fewer trees every year, an unfunded five-year Capital Improvement Plan, unfunded school programs, a structurally weak Veteran’s Building, and so on, and so on. I can only hope that the new city-run waterfront-planning process will smoke out once and for all the appalling weaknesses in the ideas emanating from CAS, CESP, the Sierra Club, and their two candidates for City Council. 

Trevor Grayling is a member of the Albany Waterfront Coalition and the Sierra Club. 

Opinions expressed in Daily Planet commentary and letters to the editor are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Daily Planet or its staff.

Tom Bates’ mayoral campaign sent out an e-mail this week boasting that Berkeley Citizens Action (BCA) members endorsed Bates’ re-election by “an overwhelming 69 percent vote.” What wasn’t mentioned in the e-mail was that the crucial five votes that appeared to put Bates over the endorsement threshold were cast by BCA members who actually preferred his opponent, Zelda Bronstein. Those votes should never have been reallocated to Bates. Without those votes BCA would have voted no endorsement. 

Welcome to the exciting world of instant runoff voting (IRV) and its many opportunities for abuse. 

I should say that I have not endorsed any of the candidates for mayor, and I have not decided how I will vote on election day. As well, I can proudly say that I have known all of the people involved in the botched vote-counting decision for a long time, and I can vouch for their fairness and integrity. My concern is solely for the integrity of our endorsement process and for the disenfranchised members.  

IRV arose to respond to costly and low-turnout run-offs and to encourage people to vote their conscience beyond the two-party system without feeling that they are wasting their vote or helping the opposition win. Past BCA endorsement meetings have gone to multiple ballots. With most of the people gone, only a handful of diehards were casting the deciding votes, which was unfair. So this year we decided to use IRV. Everyone could listen to the speakers and vote and be free to leave, their preferences preserved on their single ranked ballots for each candidate or issue. 

On the count of all the first-place votes for mayor, Bates fell one vote shy of the 60 percent needed for an endorsement. Bronstein got 28 percent; Zachary Running Wolf, two votes; Christian Pecaut, one vote. There were nine votes for no endorsement. On the next round Pecaut and Running Wolf’s votes were dropped off and the second choices on those ballots were distributed between the two remaining candidates. That done, Bronstein gained two, “no endorsement” rose by one, and Bates still had the 44 votes he’d started with, leaving him the same one vote shy he was on the first round. 

At that point the vote counters did not agree about what should happen next. Two counters insisted that the correct way to proceed was to eliminate the second-place candidate, Bronstein, and give all of the number 2s on her ballots to the leading candidate, Bates. I argued that the two remaining candidates should both get the totals of number 1 and number 2 choices. Otherwise, only the leading candidate could ever win and the other finisher could never win in an instant runoff. Confusion reigned. Our resident IRV “expert“ was called in (literally, by cell phone, he’d left), and pronounced the Bronstein elimination appropriate. 

In retrospect I understand that the correct IRV procedure was to stop when it was down to two candidates, and if neither got 60 percent after the lowest candidates’ ranked votes have been added, the decision should be “no endorsement.” That is also the way BCA has always done it; when more than 40 percent wanted either the second-place finisher or no endorsement, then the decision was No Endorsement. The IRV provision that was used was a method designed to force a final decision, a useful provision for a general election, where you need to produce a winner, but inappropriate for an endorsement vote, where No Endorsement is a perfectly valid outcome. 

I still haven’t explained how Bates claimed 69 percent of the BCA endorsement votes. He undoubtedly got there by imagining a final “vote” where he got his 49 votes from the last ballot and Bronstein got her 20 from the second-to-last. In this fictitious vote, 49 out of 69 total votes (ignoring the 10 “no endorsement” votes) is 69 percent. No such vote ever occurred, or is legitimately derivable from the ballots.  

I’m sure there was no conscious bad intent in this sad travesty. But right now there’s hardly a more potent issue, nationally and worldwide, than the sanctity of the electoral process, and in Berkeley we must have maximum transparency. Berkeley Citizens Action has for many years been the conscience of the city, fighting to elect candidates who stand up for social justice. We need to stand up for it now. 

I respectfully request that the ballots be sequestered, that a full and open discussion take place over the correct way to count the ballots, that a recount be conducted, and the full tallies be made public. 

John Curl is a Berkeley resident. 

Opinions expressed in Daily Planet commentary and letters to the editor are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Daily Planet or its staff.

Some years back, the San Francisco Chronicle published a graphic photograph of a young African American man hanging from the guard railing of the Golden Gate Bridge, his arms stretched out so that, remarkably, he appeared to be dangling in a crucifix position. The youth had attempted to commit suicide. As a Caucasian Quaker chaplain and someone involved in the interfaith religious community for most of the last 20 years, and also as a mother and longtime Berkeley resident, that photo has haunted me. I have not been able to erase the image of that anguished young man from my mind, and have continued to ponder the questions: What can we do to empower and offer needed support to vulnerable older youth of color in our community? Aren’t we all his parents? How are we “crucifying” or by neglect leading our older young men of color to suicidal despair and a sense of hopelessness? 

In 1996 and for three years following, the Chaplaincy to the Homeless and member agencies of the Alameda County Youth Collaborative received over $500,000 in funds from the City of Berkeley and HUD to start and run a drop-in center and other programs for homeless runaway youth in the Telegraph Avenue area, with the support and leadership of District 7 Council Member Kriss Worthington. In efforts at understanding the challenges faced by those mostly white youth, City staff hired veteran social worker Wendy Georges to carry out a study of the problems faced by homeless runaway youth, and providing recommendations for next steps that might be taken in dealing with youth concerns.  

One of the critical recommendations Georges developed from her research was that a parallel study needed to be carried out of the problems and challenges faced by equally homeless “couch surfing” youth in South and West Berkeley. Georges pointed out that in South and West Berkeley as many as 400 African American and Latino youth, ages 18-25, were struggling each year with a culturally different, but equally serious sort of “homelessness,” and just as badly needed attention as did the mostly white Telegraph Avenue youth. 

Despite prodding for over two years by South and West Berkeley clergy involved in the Berkeley Ecumenical Strategies Team (BEST), that recommended study was never carried out by the City. 

Nonetheless, knowing well the struggles faced by older South and West Berkeley youth, and the need for services supporting them, in 1999 BEST, and its more than a dozen partner congregations, applied to HUD for funding to open three satellite, congregation-based sites focused on meeting the special needs of these at-risk young people. The plan envisioned by local pastors, included significant street outreach to programs at these locations. AIDS and STD testing and information, jobs and computer training, and recovery and support for staying out of the jail system were the themes conceptualized for the three sites, respectively.  

In their funding proposal, and in subsequent communication with City Council members, the clergy drove home that these hard to reach 18-25-year-old youth of color are at a phenomenally high risk of incarceration, recidivism and three strikes convictions, of joblessness, drug and alcohol addiction, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and consequent related mental health challenges. 

In 2000, led by Missionary Church of God in Christ’s Jubilee Restoration Inc., and with equally strong leadership from Phillips Temple AME, BEST received a $100,000 grant to initiate this program. Supportive funds in the $30,000 range followed from the City of Berkeley. Unfortunately, as events unfolded that vision was not able to be realized. Ultimately the grant was returned to HUD and the needs of these older youth in South and West Berkeley continued to go largely unmet. 

In June of 2004, my toddler daughter and I witnessed the shooting murder three blocks from our South Berkeley house of an African American youth 20 years old riding a bicycle, by a group of his peers on bicycles, most presumably drug related. Still, despite a vigil held by local clergy at the time, no increased services were able to be made available by the city addressing the needs of vulnerable youth of color. Government purse strings were simply too tight. 

Without these empowering services and outreach, I have watched as police cars day in and day out relentlessly roam the streets of our neighborhood. They come on motorcycles, in cars, and in groups of five cars, skidding ‘round the corners. The police are ever-present patrolling the streets of South Berkeley. All that our vulnerable youth need to do is make one wrong move and the police are there to arrest them. Yet I have never seen an outreach worker so much as approach the street corner of Ellis and Fairview near our house, where large groups of these older African American youth congregate. 

Meanwhile, this last year as the South Berkeley community has pondered a transportation hub at Ashby BART, whether we need more parks and open space, whether to move the South Berkeley library to the developing Ed Roberts Campus, and whether the police should expand their site on Adeline Street, the specific needs of at-risk older youth in South and West Berkeley have continued to be unaddressed.  

The past five years have for sure been cash-strapped as our state and local governments have struggled with a diminished pool of funds to distribute for social services and other competing programs reaching out to those in need. But with a brighter economic horizon and newly available monies for homeless outreach programs through the State’s Proposition 63, Berkeley is finally blessed with having resources available to potentially support at-risk older homeless youth in our community. With an upcoming Proposition 63 Request for Proposals, community organizations with the capacity to serve youth in South and West Berkeley will have a new opportunity to apply for funds to meet the needs of these young people. 

Kriss Worthington has again taken a leadership role in addressing the needs of homeless Telegraph Avenue youth for supportive services, as has Mayor Tom Bates. Hopefully, at long last, additionally the City of Berkeley will be able to pony up and earmark new funds generously supporting programs for South and West Berkeley’s “homeless” youth.  

Further, the City of Berkeley is in the process of contract negotiations with Alameda County for Mental Health Services Act money for transition age youth which could provide an additional stream of available youth serving funds—if properly earmarked. 

My prayer for Berkeley as we approach the fall “season of giving,” is that as people of diverse faith traditions and beliefs we find a way to gravitate away from our own concerns and problems and remember those still struggling on our streets…the people “hanging from the bridge,” as it were. Not all homeless people hold up cans begging for money! We need to do everything we can both as a City and individually to support empowering programs and services, as well as community organizing toward justice and equal opportunities for all. The disgrace of homelessness in all forms, in all age groups and among all races, has simply got to end! 

To let the City of Berkeley know you support programs for 18-25-year-old South and West Berkeley youth, contact: Mayor Tom Bates, 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704. Call: 981-7100. E-mail: Mayor@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

To donate: Some of the local agencies and programs currently serving and organizing with/for homeless youth include: 

Youth Emergency Assistance Hostel (YEAH) 

c/o Lutheran Church of the Cross 

1744 University Ave. 

Berkeley, CA 94703 

www.yeah-berkeley.org 

Boss Community Organizing Team 

c/o BOSS 

2065 Kittredge St., Suite E 

Berkeley, CA 94704 

www.self-sufficiency.org 

Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) 

c/o Coalition on Homelessness 

2940 16th St., Room 200-2 

San Francisco, CA 94103 

Street Spirit 

c/o AFSC 

1515 Webster St., #303 

Oakland, CA 94612 

www.thestreetspirit.org 

Sally Hindman is a former executive director of Berkeley’s Chaplaincy to the Homeless. She is the co-founder of Street Spirit with Terry Messman. 

Opinions expressed in Daily Planet commentary and letters to the editor are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Daily Planet or its staff.  

In the United States, consumerism is becoming a social disease. Billions of dollars is spent annually on advertising campaigns designed to delude people into spending huge sums of money on things they don’t need, many of which are harmful. From cosmetics, to “fashion” products, to household cleaners, to SUVs, people are consuming more and more, and at every turn, ingenious advertisers are coaxing us along. And the never-ending search for the wider TV screen, the bigger car, the most effective anti-aging cream, and the best household disinfectant, has left us distracted from those things that truly matter to us, and less able to affect meaningful change in our lives.  

While opinion polls show that a majority of Americans favor universal healthcare, our current for profit system is in shambles. While a majority of Americans oppose the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, the country is plunged into civil war, the death toll mounts, and the likelihood of another attack against the United States increases. And while most Americans support strengthening our public schools and public retirement systems, state and federal governments go about dismantling both. Those who care about democracy should be alarmed by the widening gap between our opinions on vital issues such as health care and war, and the direction in which our elected “leaders” are taking us. 

In other words, we seem to be moving from a society based on citizenship and democracy to one based on consumerism. 

This shift toward consumerism has been enabled by the privatization of our public, or common, spaces. When public space is turned over to private interests, the behaviors and attitudes of the people inhabiting those spaces change. Ever wonder why people hanging out at the mall are not discussing our healthcare crisis? Or the polluted air we breathe? Or violence in our communities? After all, they aren’t prevented from doing so. Well, I think its because those who own the malls have designed them in such a way that at every turn we are deluded into buying something. The last thing mall owners want is for people to be distracted from their designated role in life (namely, as consumers) by paying some attention to those matters that actually concern them.  

It is therefore imperative that we protect and expand our public spaces—those sacred spaces that cannot be penetrated by advertisers—where people are free to think for themselves. 

In Albany, there is an effort underway to protect the shoreline from private development and to expand the Eastshore State Park in the process. About a year ago, Rick Caruso, the Southern California developer hired by Magna Corp to bring a mega-mall (and most likely a casino) to the Albany shoreline, rolled into town intent on winning the approval of Albany residents. But to Caruso’s surprise, Albany residents, with leadership from the Sierra Club and The Citizens for the Albany Shoreline, mobilized against the proposed development, collecting signatures and turning out en masse to City Council meetings to ensure that the Council heard loud and clear from the community on this issue. Eventually, after he was denied special treatment from the City Council, Rick Caruso packed up and left town. 

And I couldn’t have been more pleased. We don’t need more malls. Corporate advertisers don’t need yet another venue from which they can delude us into buying more useless stuff. Instead, we need more public spaces: more parks; more open space, more community centers; and more town hall meetings. It is in these public spaces that we are free to connect with one another and work together to affect real positive change in our lives and communities. 

I appeal to readers to oppose any mall or big commercial development on the Albany Shoreline. Instead, please consider supporting the Citizens for the Albany Shoreline (website by the same name), and supporting Marge Atkinson and Joanne Wile for the Albany City Council, both of whom will continue to fight for open, public space at our shoreline. 

Michael Marchant lives in Albany. 

Opinions expressed in Daily Planet commentary and letters to the editor are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Daily Planet or its staff.  

Voters will determine 33 Senate seats in 2006. According to veteran DC prognosticator Charlie Cook, 17 incumbent senators are all but guaranteed reelection. In order to regain control of the Senate, Democrats will have to win at least six of the eight Republican seats that are in play and retain all eight of the contested Democratic sets. 

Here’s the latest on the 10 most interesting Senatorial races: 

In Connecticut, the Aug. 8 primary victory of Ned Lamont means that there will be a three-way race in November: lightly regarded Republican Alan Schlesinger, incumbent senator Joe Lieberman running as an independent, and Lamont. This is a solidly Democratic seat, so the competition will be between Lamont and Lieberman—both for the seat and the soul of the Dems. The latest polls show Lamont and Lieberman in a virtual dead heat. 

Minnesota has a vacant Senate seat because Democrat Mark Dayton is retiring. The primary was held Sept. 12. The Democratic candidate will be District Attorney Amy Klobuchar. The latest polls show her with a double-digit lead over Mark Kennedy, her Republican opponent. 

An interesting race is shaping up in Missouri where Republican incumbent Jim Talent has weakened in the polls. The Democratic challenger is State Auditor Claire McCaskill. The latest polls show this race as even. There’s a stem-cell initiative on the Missouri ballot and that may work to McCaskill’s favor, by bringing out the liberal vote. 

Montana used to be solid red state but elected a Democratic governor in 2004. Now it seems poised to dump Neanderthal Republican Senator Conrad Burns. The June 6 primary resulted in the nomination of populist farmer Jon Tester. The latest polls indicated the race is even. Burns has more money, however. 

In Ohio, Democratic Representative Sherrod Brown is running against embattled Republican incumbent Mike DeWine, who has been implicated in the Abramoff scandal. Brown has a slight lead in the polls, but DeWine has more money. 

The most highly publicized Senate race is in Pennsylvania, where Conservative Christian poster-child, Rick Santorum, is in trouble. Polls show him running behind the Democratic challenger Bob Casey, Jr., although the race has tightened up. Santorum has a lot of money on hand and can be expected to wage a vicious campaign to keep his seat. 

The Rhode Island primary happened Sept. 12. The Republican incumbent, Lincoln Chafee, will face former State Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse. Whitehouse is slightly ahead in the polls and has more money. 

There will be an open Senate seat in Tennessee because Bill Frist is retiring to run for President. In the Aug. 3 primary, Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker won the Republican nomination. He’ll face Harold Ford, Jr., a handsome, articulate, African-American Congressman. Polls show Ford gaining on Corker. 

In Virginia incumbent Republican George Allen was said to have an easy reelection. So easy that he was thinking about running for President. Democrats recruited former Secretary of the Navy Jim Webb to run against Allen and suddenly there’s a race. Allen didn’t help himself by uttering a racial slur during an August campaign event. Where Allen once had a twenty percentage point lead over Webb, now it’s only 5 percent. 

In the state of Washington, incumbent Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell is facing tough competition in Republican challenger Mike McGavick. Polls show Cantwell slightly ahead. 

Besides the BB top ten, there are several other races that should be watched. In Maryland, Democrat Paul Sarbanes is retiring. The primary is in September and whichever Democrat wins, will probably win the November election. In Vermont, Independent Jim Jeffords is retiring. The prohibitive favorite is Independent Congressman Bernie Sanders. 

Democrat Incumbents face stiff challenges in Michigan (Debbie Stabenow) and New Jersey (Bob Menendez). 

Democrats will likely pick up a few Senate seats. But, it seems unlikely that they will win enough to regain the Senate majority. 

This fall brings an enormous lesson in civics and how to understand the secret and inner workings of our government. Sometimes in the rush surrounding a particular event or action or piece of legislation, details get lost or overlooked, and it is only with the passage of time, and patient digging, that we begin to learn the truth of how a particular government action came to be. Thus it is with our emerging understanding of the actions of the Bush Administration with regard to terrorism both before and after the September 11th attacks. 

Thus it is, too, with our emerging understanding of the 2003 takeover of the Oakland Unified School District, which we were reminded of this week by the release of the Fourth OUSD Assessment and Recovery Plan by the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team. 

Many members of Oakland’s education community had been looking forward to the FCMAT report, hoping that it would show enough progress in the school district to allow State Superintendent Jack O’Connell to begin giving back some measure of local control. They were disappointed. While FCMAT said that OUSD was slightly improving—averaging a little over 3/4ths of a point improvement on a 10 point scale in the five operational areas that FCMAT is judging—the improvement was only good enough for FCMAT to recommend returning local control in one area: community relations and governance. While FCMAT can recommend, Mr. O’Connell makes the ultimate decision. 

More on the community relations/governance thing in a moment. 

We know, now, that back in 2003 when the Perata bill was going through the state legislature, there was a fierce struggle between O’Connell and FCMAT over the “end game” of state control of the Oakland schools—that is, who would have the ultimate say over when Oakland could get its schools back, the State Superintendent or FCMAT. In testimony to the Assembly Education Committee in May of 2003, then-OUSD School Board President Greg Hodge likened it to a fight between a bear and a gorilla, with Oakland school officials only hoping that the district didn’t get smashed in between. 

Mr. Hodge wasn’t the only one concerned. 

At the same hearing at which Mr. Hodge made his bear/gorilla remarks, Fresno Assemblymember Sarah Reyes raised the same question. “I’m trying to figure out the timeline for deciding whether or not you can have your district back,” the assemblymember said to Mr. Hodge and State Senator Don Perata. “I don’t want a Compton. I don’t think you want a Compton, where [the state] is going to be running you for the rest of your lives.” Reading from the language in Mr. Perata’s bill that outlined how Oakland would eventually get its schools back, Ms. Reyes said, “I don’t know from my perspective if this language is clear and concise enough… As you move this bill forward, you really, Senator, need to narrow that focus. Because we could have a Compton here. I’d like to see that language tightened up to say in two years, if you have a payback plan and FCMAT certifies your payback plan, you can have your district back.” 

Ms. Reyes went on to explain the problem with returning local control to the Compton Unified School District, which was taken over by the state in 1993. 

“We’re right now trying to struggle to get a bill for [Los Angeles Assemblymember] Dymally. Compton has been okay for a while and [the state is] still there. They’re doing well. They’re in the black.” 

A month after the May, 2003 Assembly Education Committee hearing on Oakland, ten years after the state originally took over, local control was restored to Compton Unified. 

Meanwhile Ms. Reyes, whose own West Fresno Unified School District had earlier been taken over by the state, explained why she was concerned about the return to local control language in the Oakland takeover bill. “My problem with this language is it’s kind of esoteric,” she said. “If I think you’re doing okay, then you can have your district back. If I don’t think you’re doing okay, you can’t have your district back. There’s no third party analysis.” 

Ms. Reyes’ complaint was that the Oakland takeover bill put too much discretion over return to local control in the hands of the State Superintendent. She felt that more authority should be given to FCMAT. “They have the number crunchers,” she explained. “That’s what FCMAT does.” 

But is FCMAT an objective body that has set objective standards for Oakland to return to local control of Oakland’s schools? Hardly. 

In August of 2003, when reporter Robert Gammon was with the Oakland Tribune (he has since moved over to the East Bay Express), Mr. Gammon wrote an article that charged that rather than helping prevent the takeover of the Oakland schools, FCMAT may have helped to orchestrate it. “Before the state takeover of Oakland schools, top officials from a Bakersfield agency with power over the district kept in close contact with two high-profile East Bay politicians and the future boss of the city's schools, public records show,” Mr. Gammon wrote in an article entitled “Phone logs link 'politics' to school takeover.” “Critics say office and cell phone records obtained by the Oakland Tribune provide evidence the takeover, and the resulting loss of local control of Oakland's schools, was politically orchestrated,” Mr. Gammon continued. “The records show top officials from the Bakersfield-based County Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) called Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, the office of state Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, and then-Compton schools chief Randy Ward at least 40 times each in the months before the takeover. Brown and Perata at differing times in the past year voiced support for the takeover, which took effect in June and placed Ward and FCMAT in charge of the school district. By contrast, FCMAT officials made no calls to the Oakland school leaders they were appointed to advise on how to solve the district's financial problems.” 

But what interest could FCMAT have in the state taking over of Oakland’s schools? 

Part of it is in the structure and purpose of FCMAT itself. A non-state organization set up by state legislation, one of FCMAT’s major mandates is to intervene in “troubled” California school districts. To do so, it hires teams of consultants, whose salaries are paid for by the intervened districts themselves. Every time FCMAT is called into a new district, these consultants have more work to do. Further, the longer they stay in a district, the longer the consultants continue to get their paychecks. And it is the consultants—who set the standards by which the districts must be judged and then decide, themselves, whether or not the districts have met those standards—who decide when they (the consultants) are no longer needed. Before our conservative friends got so hot on privatizing government, they used to call this a classic conflict of interest. 

But these are by no means the only problems with FCMAT’s intervention in Oakland, as well as with its system of assessments. 

FCMAT gives an overall score—between 0 and 10—in each of five operational areas. It also gives scores for individual areas within those five operational areas (within the area of Financial Management, for example, FCMAT rates 30 individual subtopics or subsets). To decide when it will recommend when Oakland can regain local control in any of the five operational areas, FCMAT has decided that it will do so “when the average score of the subset of standards in a functional area reaches a level of six, and it is considered to be substantial and sustainable, and no individual standard in the subset is below a four.” 

Those level numbers and the requirement that the individual subsets must reach a certain standard are FCMAT’s own, not SB39’s. The state legislation only reads that one of the requirements for return to local control is that “FCMAT … determines that for at least the immediately previous six months the school district made substantial and sustained progress in implementation of the plans in the major functional area.” FCMAT, which has a financial interest in remaining in Oakland as long as it can, was left to set the “substantial and sustained progress” bar wherever it wanted. There is no objective standard, so that legally, under its own rules, FCMAT could string out the state takeover indefinitely. The American colonists once launched a lively rebellion when the British king and Parliament invoked the same type of arbitrary authoritarianism. 

Meanwhile, how odd is FCMAT’s fourth progress report on Oakland Unified? In a district which has been completely stripped of local control, where democratic rights are no longer operable, where neither school board members nor the taxpaying public has any say in its operation, and where the State Superintendent has managed to completely ignore the wishes of the community in a major decision (the selling of the downtown OUSD properties, which is opposed all over Oakland), the only area where FCMAT says OUSD is doing well is in Community Relations And Governance. No, that’s more than odd. That, my friends, is perverse. 

There was a time not too long ago when “Jamabalaya” was just a Hank Williams song. The rich cuisine of southern Louisiana—Cajun, Creole, and their hybrid offspring—wasn’t well known outside the region. Then, as fiddler Michael Doucet recalls, 

“Paul Prudhomme burned a fish, and everything changed.”  

You can get blackened fish (not the canonical redfish, though) as a weekend special at Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen in downtown Berkeley, but there’s a lot more going on there. The place was a long time opening, and I had hopes that it would fill at least part of the gap left by the closing of A La Carte, my old standby for crawfish étouffée and bread pudding. Happily, I was not disappointed. Angeline’s gets it right. 

I knew there was a reliable hand in the kitchen with my first taste of gumbo ($12.95 for a sizable bowl, $5.95 for a cup). It had the richness and smokiness that could only be founded on a serious dark roux. Although the promised crab was not detectable, the bowl was full of Bay shrimp and chunks of andouille sausage, and okra was a discreet presence. 

Jambalaya, one of those dishes with as many recipes as cooks, may trace its ancestry to Spanish paella and West Africa’s jollof rice. Angeline’s version ($13.50) was even better than the gumbo. It was generously studded with andouille, chicken, and tasso (hardwood-smoked pork), and it needed no help from the bottle of hot sauce on the table. There’s also a vegetarian version with wild mushrooms ($12.50). 

Among other Louisiana classics, red beans and rice ($10.95) is a Monday special. Boudin, the pork-and-rice-stuffed sausage from the western prairie region of Cajun country, is available either as a starter ($4.95) or accompanied by hot links in a “Cajun mixed grill” ($14.95). Crawfish ´etouffée has appeared as a weekend special. You can also get regional specialty sandwiches: several variants of the po’ boy (catfish, shrimp, oyster, and fried chicken) or muffuletta, New Orleans’ answer to the hero. 

The menu isn’t purely Louisianan: there are pan-Southern items like fried catfish, a pasta dish, dinner salads. We couldn’t resist trying the catfish ($10.75), which was near-perfect: filets deep-fried in a thin cornmeal crust, served with creditable hushpuppies (on the sweet end of the hushpuppy continuum, but that’s all right) and a remoulade-based potato salad. “Small plate” options include fried oysters Bordelaise ($10.95), also not particularly Cajun or Creole, but delectable.  

Angeline’s chef, who hails from Baton Rouge, also does himself proud on the dessert end. The beignets ($3.95)—hot pillows of sweetened dough, traditionally eaten with strong coffee after a long night in the French Quarter—were almost weightless. We’ve also been impressed by the bread pudding with caramelized banana ($5.50) and the pecan pie ($5.50), which we were told was the third revision of a work in progress.  

The restaurant’s space, which formerly housed a noodle place, has been redone with pressed tin on the walls, ironwork, and a huge map of 19th-century New Orleans. Music from the owner’s collection is usually playing: jazz, zydeco, Cajun. The gumbo in particular went well with Clifton Chenier’s “Black Snake Blues.” 

If Angeline’s had its liquor license, it would be a great place to sip a Sazerac. For now, there’s iced tea (optionally sweetened) and lemonade. And the restaurant still seems to be in shakedown mode: one of our orders got lost in the shuffle on a recent visit, although the house made up for it by comping dessert. That aside, this place is well worth a visit. It’s clearly a labor of love, run by people who know and respect Louisiana’s culinary heritage and present it without compromise. Hurricane-battered southern Louisiana may still be down, but it’s important to keep the good times rolling wherever you can.  

ANGELINE’S LOUISIANA KITCHEN 

Lunch 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 

Dinner 5:30-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5:30-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday. Credit cards OK.  

2261 Shattuck Ave. (near Bancroft Way). 548-6900. 

It’s funny that humanity ever had trouble identifying itself as part of the continuum of animal life on this planet. Anyone who has ever looked into the eyes of a dog or cat must realize that there is as much of a person inside that creature as can be found in you or me. 

In that spirit I ask that you join me in taking a look at our territorial nature and some of the practical consequences we are forced to contend with around the houses we think we own. 

I remember years ago setting up one morning at the local flea market and watching as a very large percentage of the dealers that day seemed abjectly unable to confine themselves to the stalls they had been issued. Many, even most, attempted to push over the edges, to set their wares up to the left and right of the clearly marked lines they’d been placed within. 

I saw more than a few disputes and a healthy number of calm requests to move items off of someone’s stated turf. For the most part, things worked out but I find it interesting how hard it is for people to be happy with their lot (as it were) and how deep the sense of infliction amongst those who are invaded by an inch or two. 

The capacity for umbrage is great in the beast of man. I include myself, of course. 

Boundary disputes fill the courts every year. Ask any judge. And so many seem to be of a kind that might easily be resolved with a simple discussion; but it’s not in the genes. Boundary issues seem to bring out the very worst in all of us. I remained so angry at my rear neighbor that we didn’t speak for years and, at one point, I needed my friend Ed, a local attorney to resolve a relatively simple dispute with him because we simply could not sit at the same table and speak.  

Many of you reading this may recognize yourselves in this scenario. I recently discovered that the fellow had passed away over a year ago and realized that I had held anger, fear and resentment toward him for all this time in which he had not even been on the planet. How terribly and awfully ironic, eh? Again, I’m not alone. It seems to be a part of who we are and how we operate in the world. How many of our wars are based on this reptilian, mid-brain thinking, our ancient selves alive and stalking in the world of pagers and ICBMs. Funny and sad. 

Ed shared with me that he, with all his legal knowledge (he’s also a genuinely loving soul and a dear friend) had been through a similar trial (pun intended) for several years. It’s not unusual. Not in the least. 

For this reason, I often council my clients, those on the bridge to home-ownership, to approach boundary issues with little expectation and as much generosity and they can muster.  

People often ask me where the boundaries for the property are located and I always confess that I cannot know and that no one, save a surveyor, can say for any certainty where those elusive lines are hiding. It also gets worse in some parts of Berkeley where the damned things keep moving all the time.  

That said, there are some clues that can be used and a viewing of fences is generally the best source of data. Fences are not wholly reliable but may indicate where the properly line has come to exist over time. 

Ed calls this condition, a prescriptive easement as opposed to actual ownership (when it’s not on the property line). By adverse possession, a person can come to own some of your land over time but this is actually very difficult and requires a number of conditions that are very hard to meet. Nonetheless, the point is that just because there’s a fence doesn’t mean that it’s in the right place or representative of a true legal boundary. 

The same illusion can apply to a small building, a garage or a home addition. They’re not always located on the proper side of the boundary and are sometimes located inside the setback where they oughtn’t be. A setback is the locally proscribed spacing between your house and the property line and varies with certain kinds of construction in addition to the general rules that apply to your property. By the way, just because your neighbor has one set of setbacks, doesn’t mean that the same ones apply to you. This is also true for allowable building heights. Just because your neighbor has a two-story building doesn’t mean that you have the right to add a story onto yours. Seems unfair but, hey; Talk to city hall. 

There are exceptions to the usual setbacks for old or “grandfathered-in” construction (which means you don’t want to tear down that old garage in the corner of the property before some serious thinking, since you may not be able to put it back there once it’s down. Decks of varying heights as well as equipment (like water heaters) also have rules regarding setbacks and it’s worth a trip to the zoning department to check and find out exactly where you can and cannot build. 

So, when you’re first looking at a property, it’s worth looking at the “sense” or logic of the fences and gates. Do they look as though they belong where they are. One example of fences not making much sense is when they’re way over to one side and very close to one building but far from another. This may be a tip-off that the fence isn’t where the boundary has required it to rest. Another is that one fence isn’t in-line with the one on the next lot. If the fence seems to “jog” over at one point, it might be worth looking at a copy of the assessor’s parcel map for your block to see if the boundaries look the same. Ultimately a surveyor may be needed to unravel any real confusion but there a larger point to be made here: 

Although it’s good to be aware of the fact that your fences may not be where they belong, that a tree may be overhanging your property or that a sewer-line may cross over your property, it’s important to have some perspective. It is very easy, indeed, to begin to see these things are gigantic issues that are endangering your life and limb when they may, in fact, not have all that great an impact on your daily life. 

If a fence is depriving you of a one foot strip of your side yard, it may make life a tad more difficult, but before you call your lawyer take a serious look at the thing. Is it keeping you from being able to get past that side of the house? It is keeping the meter reader from doing her job? Perhaps it’s just keeping you from having to mow as much lawn. Sometimes the glass is half full. Occasionally it’s cracked. 

Consider that you might living next to that neighbor for many years to come. Which is more important in the long run, a few feet of crab-grass or the icy glances you will share from 20 feet as you weed the front yard for the next decade. Now, I’m not model citizen and I beg you to do as I say and not as I do, but this is really a no-brainer. Your daily happiness will have far more to do with your neighborliness than the exact accounting of your land portion. 

Trees continue to grow as time passes despite anyone’s intentions; so when the branches of your neighbor’s oak are keeping you up at night by endlessly grazing the window or eaves, take action, not acrimony. Talk to the neighbor and then, trim the tree. You have a right to trim the branches on your side of the property (I won’t say fence and you know why, right?) and by all means should if they’re close to your house (for fire safety if for no other reason).  

Nonetheless, it’s the high road to talk to the neighbor first and to be sure to have a learned person do the trimming so that the tree won’t get sick and die. You could, potentially, be held culpable for that too (it just never seems to stop, does it?). If you’ve taken a friendly approach, it’s far more likely that the neighbor will see you as their friend when things go wrong (do things ever go wrong?). 

My neighbor, may he rest in peace, and I had a dispute over a sewer line for many years and this was one that Freud would have a field day with. The sewer was badly damaged, had never been fixed properly, and on more than one occasion had leaked. This was just horrid and I felt as though I were a small child who had just had an accident in my pants when dealing with this fellow.  

At the time, I had a written easement (although I didn’t know it at the time) and had a right to perform repairs, but the process of repairing the dreaded thing went poorly for a range of reasons: Our communication was lousy; we didn’t approach it as a team with shared goals; I didn’t hire the best people to go onto his property as I should have but attempted the repair myself (contractors always think they should fix everything themselves, you know) and there were a range of plants and trees that my neighbor liked better than me, my wife and our children put together.  

We both lost perspective and in the end needed attorneys to settle the matter for us. Luckily, both of our attorneys had the good sense and ethically to keep us out of court and to find a sensible way to make us both miserable. Our hatred of the law and lawyers should rightly be our hatred of our own stingy and uncompromising selves. 

So before you buy, try to take a good look at the location of fences and trees. Find out where the sewer runs and investigate any easements that may run across your property. If you have a shared driveway, find out what protocols apply and spend some time talking to the person you’ll be sharing it with. In all cases, try to meet some neighbors before you buy and ask them to tell you of any concerns or past problems that they have experienced. 

The theory of enlightened self-interest seems to me to apply very well in these circumstances, not to mention the golden rule. While it can be incredibly difficult to see beyond our own small selfish concerns when it comes to neighboring issues, the stakes are really quite high. Those being your daily happiness and your sanity. Good luck and may you turn out to be smarter than me (which isn’t actually all that hard). 

Got a question about home repairs and inspections? Send them to Matt Cantor, in care of East Bay Real Estate, at realestate@berkeleydailyplanet.com.

I must have passed this place a thousand times without going in. I think it used to be called “The Windmill Nursery” and it still has the eponymous windmill, an old but still unrusted Aeromotor, evidently not in current use. 

It’s right at the end off the off-ramp from 101 to the road we usually take to Sebastopol and beyond, either to chase birds around Bodega Bay or to get our annual Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill fix at the Sebastopol Celtic fest in late September.  

But we’re usually eager to get to the birds or the music, and we give most of the roadside attractions on the Gravenstein Highway a pass.  

This year we had an extra hour or two the Saturday morning of the Celtfest, between the luxurious Motel 6 in Petaluma and the Sebastopol Community Center, so when we swerved for donuts at the first “Donuts!” sign, we also took a stroll through the nursery that sits fortuitously next to the donut joint.  

So the former Windmill (I think) Nursery is now “dig the nursery” or maybe it’s “dig: the nursery” with font changes working as punctuation. Cute name aside (and I say this as a former columnist whose former columns were shamelessly called things like “Dig This!” and “A Sense of Humus”) it’s well worth a visit if you’re in the neighborhood. The neighborhood’s worth a visit too, especially now that it’s harvest season for those apples, so it all works out. 

At “dig the nursery” I noticed seedlings from our old friends at Flatland Farm, who used to be located right in town at Blake near San Pablo. They’d turned the intractable clay soil we have in the lower flatlands here into something about as springy as a mattress and clearly congenial to the plants thriving in it, and they had the prettiest chickens I’ve ever met, Millefleurs.  

The nursery’s owner hails from here, too, and like so many plantfolk in the area used to work at Berkeley Horticultural Nursery. He said he’s interested in retailing plant starts from not-the-usual sources, including Flatland, Blooms of Glen Ellen, and others new to me.  

His assistant hails from the South Bay, which might account for his taste in plants: he’s responsible for the horde of succulents, some of them unusual even for succulents, in various sizes.  

Other interesting plants the day we visited included dasylirion (a plant that’s fun to watch while walking around it), nifty citrus including Buddha’s hand citron, and a big handsome blooming Franklinia alatamaha, the tree now extinct in the wild but saved as a species by planthunter William Bartram in the 18th century and the gardeners who’ve perpetuated it since.  

We also saw water hyacinth for sale. You’re scaring me, bhoyos. I don’t think Florida has any manatees to spare for us. (Pity; they’d add so much charm to the Delta.) There are other water plants too, like big papyrus; I forgot to ask if the koi in the big tank were for sale. They were certainly flirty.  

Don’t miss the gazebo made of bicycle wheels.  

Dig: the nursery 

8567 Gravenstein Highway, Cotati 

(707) 795-7825 

9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily. 

Ron Sullivan is a former professional gardener and arborist. Her “Garden Variety” column appears every Friday in East Bay Home & Real Estate. Her column on East Bay trees appears every other Tuesday in the Berkeley Daily Planet.

How’s Your Earthquake Knowledge? 

Rate yourself: Are the following statements true, or false? 

1. If your home was retrofitted in the last 5 years, you’re likely to be in good shape. 

2. Your water heater is the only appliance that really needs to be secured. 

3. Most injuries in earthquakes are from the resulting fires. 

4. Most earthquake damage is caused by the resulting displacement of soil. 

Answers: 

1. Unfortunately, there are contractors out there who are not performing complete and adequate retrofits. One of the best contractors in the area says that fully 30 percent of his business is coming along behind other contractors and doing the job right.  

2. It is recommended to secure furnaces, refrigerators, and washers/dryers. 

3. Most injuries are caused by objects falling on people.  

4. Most earthquake damage is caused by shaking.  

Larry Guillot is the owner of QuakePrepare, an earthquake consulting, securing and kit supply service. Contact him at 558-3299 or see www.quakeprepare.com to receive semi-monthly e-mails and safety reports.

One person’s ornamental is another’s weed. Like many other exotic plants, passionvine grows weedlike all over the Hawai’ian islands. It’s so much a part of the landscape that it has acquired a local name: lilikoi. Its fruit flavors the local specialty shave ice, and Queen Liliuokalani was so fond of it that she had a special set of dinnerware with a passionfruit motif. 

The butterfly whose caterpillars feed on the leaves of the passionvine is a big showy job, flame-orange with silvery spots like a spatter of mercury on the underside of its hindwing. On the mainland it’s called the Gulf fritillary, although it’s actually a longwing rather than a true fritillary. Someone has proposed renaming it the silver-spotted flambeau: to Hawaiians, sensibly enough, it’s the passionvine butterfly. 

By whatever name, it’s one of the few North American members of a mostly tropical group. Common in the Southeast (hence the Gulf part), its range is limited by that of its host plants. One form of passionvine gets as far north as Arkansas, where we called it maypop and made jam from it, and there are a bunch of wild species in Florida. The butterflies can’t tolerate cold winters, and those at the northern end of the range stage mass southward migrations. 

California has no native passionvines, though, and the Gulf fritillary didn’t establish itself here until they had been planted as ornamentals. It’s not clear when the butterflies first turned up; one lepidopterist speculated they followed the Southern Pacific tracks, but they might have wandered up from Mexico. After colonizing Southern California, they followed their food plant north to San Francisco. 

The larvae are picky about their food. When the adult butterflies emerge in spring, there’s a brief courtship in which the male fans his wings to give his mate a heady dose of pheromones. Then she lays her barrel-shaped eggs—on stalks, so ants and other small predators can’t get at them—on a passionvine leaf. The caterpillars hatch out and begin to munch. 

Flowering plants have a many-sided relationship with animals. A passionvine needs to have its flowers pollinated, its seeds distributed, and its leaves left the hell alone. So it’s evolved colorful fragrant blossoms to attract pollinating insects, and tasty fruit enclosing seeds that will hopefully be deposited somewhere away from the parent vine. And several lines of leaf defense have been developed. 

One tropical passionvine has hook-shaped hairs that puncture the soft bodies of caterpillars. Some resort to trickery: their leaves have projections that look like fine places to lay an egg but that are jettisoned by the plant once an egg is deposited. Still others have nectar glands that attract ants, which eat the longwing eggs or larvae, or faux eggs that make the leaf appear to have been preempted. 

The most common defense, though, is chemical. Passionvine leaves contain substances called cyanogenic glycosides, precursors of cyanide. This is enough to deter most leaf-eaters, but the evolutionary arms race hasn’t gone far enough to make the leaves unpalatable to the larvae of longwing butterflies. 

The butterflies get an advantage from their toxic diet. Experiments show that birds find Gulf fritillaries and other longwings distasteful. And it’s in the butterfly’s interest to advertise this. Gulf fritillaries may have evolved their vivid colors for the same reason that deer hunters wear Blaze Orange vests: to maximize their visibility. 

That would only work for predators with color vision, of course, which happens to include birds. The idea is that an inexperienced bird will take a bite of fritillary, go “Feh!”, and avoid big orange butterflies from then on. The learning process takes its toll of a few individuals, but the species benefits. 

Gulf fritillary caterpillars are also fairly gaudy, at least in their later stages: orange with menacing-looking black spines. The chrysalis, in contrast, is a cryptic object that looks like a curled-up dead leaf. 

Other butterflies publicize their bad taste in similar ways: the monarch, whose caterpillar stores up milkweed toxins, white butterflies that feed on mustard, the pipevine swallowtail whose larval diet is, guess what? And there’s an advantage to being orange, or whatever warning coloration: a bird that had tried to eat a fritillary might also pass up monarchs, and vice versa. 

This is where mimicry comes in: palatable butterflies which have evolved a protective resemblance to the distasteful ones. In the tropics this gets really complex, as most things do: there’s a whole raft of passionvine-feeding longwing species whose colors and patterns have converged to better spread the message, and free riders pretending to be poisonous. 

Warning coloration is not just a butterfly thing: it occurs in amphibians, sea creatures, and at least one bird, the hooded pitohui of New Guinea. It’s a nice bonus that the colors that function as keep-away signals to predators are also pleasing to humans. If you have room and a sunny exposure, you might consider planting your own passionvine to attract Gulf fritlliaries. Just remember not to eat the leaves. 

FRIDAY, OCT. 6 

THEATER 

Berkeley Rep “Mother Courage” at 8 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2025 Addison St., through Oct. 22. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

California Shakespeare Theater “As You Like It” at the Bruns Amphitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., Orinda. Tues.-Thurs., 7:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m. through Oct. 15. Tickets are $15 and up. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theater, “The Orchid Sandwich” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. through Oct. 21. at 951 Pomona Ave. El Cerrito. Tickets are $11-$18. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

Impact Theatre “Colorado” A dark comedy about celebrity worship, Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. Tickets are $10-$15. Runs through Oct. 28. 464-4468. www.impacttheatre.com 

Masquer’s Playhouse “A Walk in the Woods” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets are $10. 232-4031. www.masquers.org  

Shakespeare in the Yard “Mack, A Gangsta’s Tale” WordSlanger's version of Macbeth, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m. at Sister Thea, an outdoor theater at 920 Peralta St Oakland. Tickets are $5-$20. 208-6551. 

Shotgun Players “Love is a Dream House in Lorin” by Marcus Gardley, inspired by true stories of Berkeley’s historic Lorin District, Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Nov. 5. Sliding scale $15-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

UC Dept. of Theater “Suburban Motel” six plays by George Walker at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus, through Nov. 19. Tickets are $8-$14. For schedule see http://theater.berkeley.edu 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Whitework Embroidery” Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, 2982 Adeline St. Runs through Feb. 5. Hours are Mon.-Sat. noon to 6 p.m. Free. lacismuseum.org 

“The Secrets of Ousiders” Mixed media paintings by Diego Rios, oil paintings by Bernadette Vergara Sale and acrylic paintings by Liz Amini-Holmes. Reception at 5 p.m. at the Estaban Sabar Gallery, 480 23rd St. at Telegraph, Oakland. Runs through Nov. 1. 444-7411. www.estebansabar.com 

“Quilombo” Youth Graffiti Exhibition opens at Uhuru House, 7911 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, at 7 p.m. Includes music, breaking cyphers and Capoeira rodas. www.weekendwakeup.com 

New Work by Travis Browne, Jerry Chang, Nat Chua, Michael Eli, Jose Guinto, and Ajene Zapp Moss. Reception at 7 p.m. at Boontling Gallery, 4224 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. 295-8881. 

FILM 

Berkeley Film and Video Festival at the Oaks Theater, 1875 Solano Ave., through Oct. 8. Three day pass is $20-$25. http://berkeleyvideofilmfest.org  

Discovering Syrian Cinema “The Dream” at 7 p.m. and “The Night” at 9:15 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

James Fallows describes “Blind into Baghdad: America’s War in Iraq” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Robert Olen Butler reads from “Severance” fictional monologues, at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

Aya de Leon and “Generation Five” spoken word at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Falso Baiano Trio, Brazilian jazz choral group, at 8 p.m., at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Cost is $15. 845-1350.  

Linda Rose Stonestreet, Tricia Godwin, and Irina Rivkin at 8 p.m. at Rose Street House of Music, 1839 Rose St. Donation $5-$20 sliding scale. To RSVP call 594-4000 ext. 687.  

Free Jazz Fridays with Damon Smith, Spirit, drums, and Jon Raskin, saxophone, at 8 p.m. at 1510 8th St., Oakland. sfjazzmusic@yahoo.com 

Oakland Arts Clash, music, dance and visual arts by local Oakland artists at 7 p.m. at Malonga Casquelourd Center Theater, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. All proceeds will benefit youth dance programs in Oakland. 

Terracotta Warriors, Chinese dance, music, martial arts and acrobatics at 2 and 8 p.m. at Paramount Theatre of the Arts, 2025 Broadway, Oakland, through Oct. 8. Tickets are $45-$95. 625-8497. 

Oakland Opera “Les Enfants Terribles” Fri. - Sun. at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro Opera House, 201 Broadway, through Oct. 22. Tickets are $32-$36. www.oaklandopera.org 

On the Last Day, Karate High School, Four Letter Lie at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Doug Arrington & Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

The Flux, Baba Ken & Afro-Groove ConneXion at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz Cost is $10-$12. 525-5054.  

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

Bobbe Norris & the Larry Dunlop Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Jessie Turner and Megan McLaughlin at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

The Hellouts, Huckleberry Flint, Dave Hanley Band, Barefoot Nellies at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Decry, Retching Red, Z.B.S. at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Dave Ellis & Zoe Ellis at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5. 548-1159.  

Seventeen Evergreen, Minmae, Pants Pants Pants at 9 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Bitches Brew at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Maraca and The New Collective at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $24-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, OCT. 7 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Gerry Tenny singing silly songs at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568.  

Dashka Slater tells stories from “Firefighters in the Dark” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

THEATER 

“Meet Julia Morgan” A one-woman show performed by Betty Marvin at 2 p.m. at the Lakeview Branch of the Oakland Public Library, 550 El Embarcadero. 238-7344. 

EXHIBITIONS 

Past/Present/Future One year anniversary of the Living Room Art Gallery. Music by Antarctica Takes It, Social Studies and The Pets at 8 p.m. at 3230 Adeline St. 601-5774.  

“Can We Spare Some Change?” An art exhibit of paintings by Milton Bowens and kick-off of a recruitment campaign to increase the number of African American bone marrow donors opens at 6 p.m. at the African American Museum & Library, 659 14th St., Oakland. 637-0200. 

20th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 5630 Bay St., through Oct. 29. Free. 652-6122. www.EmeryArts.org 

FILM 

Ousmane Sembéne “Black Girl” at 6:30 p.m. and “Mandabi” at 8:15 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley Film and Video Festival at the Oaks Theater, 1875 Solano Ave., through Oct. 8. Three day pass is $20-$25. http://berkeleyvideofilmfest.org  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bay Area Poets Coalition open reading, from 3 to 5 p.m., at Strawberry Creek Lodge, dining hall, 1320 Addison St. Park on the street. Free. 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com.  

Lewis Lapham, editor emeritus of Harper’s Magazine, in conversation with Harry Kreisler, at 8 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Tickets are $12-$15. Benefit for KPFA and Global Exchange. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Four Seasons Concerts, with Leon Bates, piano, at 7:30 p.m. at Regents Theater, Holy Names University, Oakland. For tickets call 601-7919. 

Oju Eegun, Afro-Cuban ritual, music, song and dance at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15-$18. 849-2568.  

Callaloo Steel Drum Band with Jeff Narell at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ.  

The Zydeco Flames at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054.  

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

John Craigie and Kurt Huget at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

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

Sitting Duck at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886. 

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

Caroline Chung Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Jazz Fourtet at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473.  

Shiloh, hip hop, at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7-$10. 558-0881. 

Two Ton Boa, The Thrones, Year Long Disaster at 8 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $10. 451-8100. 

Tippy Canoe, Naked Barbies Dandeline at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

The Jim Dangles at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Love Equals Death, Lucky Stiffs, Sugar Eater at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 8 

CHILDREN 

“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day” at 2 p.m., and Mon. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $10-$18. 925-798-1300. 

Derek Anderson on friendship in the forest at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

EXHIBITIONS 

Photo Exhibit of Foster Children and Youth sponsored by the Bay Area Heart Gallery on display at the Berkeley Public Library central lobby, 2090 Kittredge St. and Downtown Berkeley YMCA, 2001 Allston Way, through Oct. 31. www.bayareaheartgallery.com 

Works by Paul Veres opens at 2 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

THEATER 

“Shorts ‘N Champagne” eight short comedies from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Gaia Bldg., 2120 Allston Way. Tickets are $35. 704-8855. 

FILM 

The Mechanical Age “Steel Beast” at 3:30 p.m. and “La bete humaine” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Architecture Tour of the Oakland Museum of California Tour of the building and gardens with architect Kevin Roche and landscape architect Dan Kiley. Meet at 1 p.m. at the koi pond on the first level. www.museumca.org 

Salim Lamrani on “Superpower Principles” at 5 p.m. at Casa Cuba Resource Center, 6501 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. 219-0092. 

Poetry Flash with Robin Ekiss and Thomas Heise at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Gospel On High from 2 to 6 p.m. at Woodminster Amphitheater, 3300 Joaquin Miller Rd., Oakland. 238-3052.  

Prometheus Symphony Orchestra performs Rimsky Korsakov’s Le Coq d’Or suite and Dvorak’s Symphony #9 at 8 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 116 Montecito St., Oakland. Free, donations requested. 

Maxim Vengerov, violin, at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $36-$68. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Charles Hamilton Band at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

The Venezuelan Music Project with Aquiles Baez & Gonzalo Teppa at 6 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12-$15. 849-2568.  

Wayne Wallace at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $25. 845-5373.  

Pine Leaf Boys, Cajun, Zydeco at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Americana Unlpugged: The Shots at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

7 Generations, Eye of Judgement, Gather, Time for Change at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

MONDAY, OCT. 9 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Matthea Harvey and Cort Day, poets, read at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Steven Vincent and Charles Faulhaber introduce “Exploring the Bancroft Library: The Centennial Guide to Its Extraordinary History, Spectacular Special Collections, Research Pleasures, Its Amazing Future & How it All Works” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Poetry Express with Terry McCarty from Los Angeles at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Blue Monday Jam at 8 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Khalil Shaheed, all ages jam, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Tomasz Stanko Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, OCT. 10 

FILM 

Alternative Visions “Warhol Screen Tests” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Framing the Struggle: The Black Panther Party in Black and White” with photographers Stepehn Shames, Jeffrey Blankfort and Ilka Hartman at 6 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, West Auditorium, 125 14th St. 238-3134. 

Bart Ehrman describes “In the Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way at Dana. Suggested donation $10. 559-9500. 

Michael Parenti and Salim Lamrani talks about “Superpower Principles: U.S. Terrorism Against Cuba” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Barry Lopez describes, “Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Huun Huur Tu, Tuvan Throat Singers, at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15. 525-5054.  

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

Ellen Hoffman Trio and Singers’ Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ.  

John Patitucci Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

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

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Laughing Bones/Weeping Hearts” An exhibition for Dias de los Muertos opens at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak, Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

THEATER 

“The Secret Circus” Wed. and Thurs. at 8 p.m. at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, through Oct. 19. Cost is $10-$20 sliding scale. 800-838-3006. www.themarsh.org  

FILM 

Pirates and Piracy “Madame X, An Absolute Ruler” at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Sylvan Brackett and Sue Moore discuss “The Slow Food Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez talks about “Haters” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Cafe Poetry with host Kira Allen at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña, 3105 Shattck Ave..Donation suggested. 849-2568. 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Vagabond Opera, Bohemian cabaret, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568.  

Wednesday Noon Concert, with Gabriel Trop, cello, Jim Prell, piano, Jessica Ling, violin, Inning Chen, piano at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Jazzalicious at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ.  

Eddie Fitzroy, Dennis De Menace at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. 525-5054.  

Orquestra Liberacion at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa dance lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Taarka, gypsy jazz, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Hippe Granade at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8. 848-0886.  

Hijack the Disco, Head Like a Kite, Elephone, indie rock, at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $8. 451-8100. 

The Connie Doolan Quartet at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

John Patitucci Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, OCT. 12 

FILM 

Discovering Syrian Cinema: Three by Omar Amiralay at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Dramatic Results: The Role of Regional Theater” with Tony Taccone, Jonathon Moscone, and Brad Erickson at 7:30 p.m. at The College Preparatory School, 6100 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $12.50 in advance, $15 at the door. 652-011. www.college-prep.org/livetalk  

Maxine Hong Kingston and veterans of the Vietnam and Iraq wars present “Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace” at 7:30 p.m. at the JCC, 1414 Walnut St.. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Jeff Norman describes “Temescal Legacies: Narratives of Change from a North Oakland Neighborhood” at 7:30 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $8-$10. Sponsored by Oakland Heritage. 763-9218. 

George Katsiaficas on “Victories and Defeats: Autonomous Movements in South Korea” at 7:30 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. 208-1700. 

Cathy Davidson on “36 Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mac Martin & the California Travelers at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Erik Jakobsen Quintet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Ray Brown 80th Birthday Salute with Marlena Shaw, Benny Green, John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Harvey Cartel, Shaken, Dig Jelly at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Selector: Black Edgars Musicbox at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Showtime @ 11 Hip Hop at 10 p.m. at the Golden Bull, 412 14th St. at Broadway, Oakland. 893-0803. 

The late Arthur Miller’s last play, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, a kind of stereoscopic screwball marital comedy, just opened at the San Francisco Playhouse, a block off Union Square, with the fine direction of Berkeleyan Joy Carlin. 

It poses a question: do parallel lives intersect for a bigamist in eternity? 

Miller’s earlier, more famous masterpieces don’t usually strike a theatergoer as comic. As the best-known postwar American playwright who spotlighted social issues on stage, his explorations into the downside of the American Dream—All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, A View from the Bridge, The Crucible—pitted the Normal Guy ironically against both the upshot of his own dreams and the society that promoted his dreaming them. 

But the apparent seamlessness of the plain, sensible fabric that Miller spun out into his socially conscious tales has been rent a little by recent exploration as memorial productions have sprouted up in the wake of the playwright’s death last year. Death of a Salesman, in an unusual production at Altarena Playhouse earlier this year, showed a humorous side to the dysfunctional family saga, as well as the lyricism Miller spoke of which rarely finds form on stage. 

And Joy Carlin’s excellently directed version of The Price for Aurora last year brought out what Miller referred to as his response to Absurdist humor, syncopating the story of two antagonistic brothers who’ve taken different paths in life, as well as different attitudes towards their father, a failed businessman.  

The protagonist of The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, Lyman Felt (a funny allegorical name at that), is like an escapee from the asylum of Miller’s middle-aging businessman types. A successful insurance salesman, proud of building a company on what we’d now call Equal Opportunity (an achievement which he explains to a black nurse from his hospital bed), has taken an unexpected drive through a snowstorm in upstate New York, landing himself in intensive care after a wreck, where he’s visited by his two wives, each unaware of the other’s existence ... or at least current status. 

There’s evidence—shades of Willy Loman—that Lyman, who in his “second marriage” has become a risk-taker, removed a police barrier before taking his fated drive down the mountain. Was it an unconscious wish for suicide, brought on by shame at the deception he’s wrought? So Tom, his Quaker lawyer and longtime associate would like to think. 

But Lyman remains recalcitrant, perversely shameless throughout as he confronts wives, a daughter (by the first wife), lawyer—and, yes, the nurse—insisting that what he did enabled nine years of happiness for them all. Why are they condemning him?  

In a swift progression of scenes on Bill English’s set, Lyman phases in and out of memory, dream and reality, often getting up from his bed as his interlocutors address a vacant pillow, both playing possum and confronting his questioners, as he goes over the vignettes of his life, including a wry African safari in which Lyman faces down a charging lion by kvetching defiantly at him, if the King of Beasts personifies what Lyman most resents, what challenges his freedom. 

Carlin’s stellar direction is matched by the casting: Lyman’s played with a wide-eyed leer at life by actor and playwright Victor Talmadge. His “trophy wife,” Theo Felt, a formerly pious, correct New Englander, is brilliantly delineated as she comes apart into her constituent elements by Karen Grassle, familiar from TV’s “Little House On The Prairie,” but also as a veteran of San Francisco’s fabled Actor’s Workshop. 

The “second wife,” Leah is played with spunk by a familiar figure on Bay Area stages (and the director’s talented daughter), Nancy Carlin. Keith Burkhardt presents a forthright, scrupulously ethical Tom, whether behind a desk or down on his knees in prayer—a marvelous straightman. Kristen Stokes as daughter Bessie runs a deliciously comic gamut from Daddy’s Girl to disappointed (and angry) ingenue. 

Marjorie Crump-Shears seems a natural for Nurse Logan, the most natural of the bunch, whose straightforward, blue collar family life Lyman valorizes ecstatically, flat on his back and shaking his head at the thought of it. 

“Why does anyone stay together once they realize who they’re with?” she asks. 

For producing Joy Carlin’s deft realization of a problem play gone a little wild ( Miller’s “old man’s tale,” as he regards his characters with kind detachment, as though they were in a terrarium), Bill English and Susi Damilano of the SF Playhouse deserve enormous credit. This is a final piece by an important playwright who even now still displays new facets of his multiplex vision of American life. 

THE RIDE DOWN MT. MORGAN 

Through Nov. 4 at the San Francisco Playhouse, 588 Sutter St. (near Powell Street). $36. (415) 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org.

The Berkeley Video and Film Festival makes its annual appearance this weekend, starting today (Friday) and running through Sunday evening at the Oaks Theater on Solano Avenue in Berkeley. This year’s program features more than 50 works, from brief clips by budding filmmakers, running just a few minutes in length, to full-length features by established directors.  

Festival Director Mel Vapour says this is their best and biggest yet. The festival has expanded over the years to include films from beyond the East Bay, and perhaps the most notable national product in this year’s program is The Big Buy, directed by Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck and produced by Robert Greenwald, who also produced last year’s Wal-Mart: The High Price of Low Cost. The Big Buy tracks the spectacular rise and fall of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, from his early days as an apparent no-count in the Texas legislature to his ascent to national power as Newt Gingrich’s right-hand man, to his successful—and illegal—battle to gerrymander the Texas redistricting process, a move which helped send George W. Bush to the White House.  

If you’ve been following the news, you know the rest of the story. But what The Big Buy adds to the tale is the behind-the-scenes machinations of the investigation into DeLay’s organization. Along the way, we hear from the usual suspects when it comes to commentary on all things Texas: Molly Ivins, Jim Hightower, etc., names sure to find a welcoming audience in Berkeley. The Saturday evening screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Birnbaum. 

Other films in the festival have roots a little closer to home. Festival Director Vapour has watched director Hoku Uchiyama grow up, from a young, talented kid who took part in youth programs at Vapour’s East Bay Media Center to a film school graduate and accomplished filmmaker. Uchiyama’s 34-minute film Rose is an engaging short subject with a compelling story and evocative photography. In the film’s first few minutes, Uchiyama clearly and effectively delineates his characters with a series of shots of the young protagonist and just a few lines of dialogue, drawing the viewer immediately into young Travis’ world and setting the stage for a tale that seamlessly blends the mystic with the mundane. The compositions, camera movements and polished style demonstrate the young director’s confidence and control over his craft. 

Two other films concern Berkeley itself. Double-Spaced: A Berkeley Comedy has that “Hey everybody, let’s make a movie!” feel to it. The movie is about students and feels like it was made by students as well, almost as a lark. It features plenty of shots of the city, from downtown to Telegraph Avenue, and of course plenty of shots of the UC campus. It even contains a brief shot of the student protagonist reading this very newspaper, but before you have a second to ponder this stark breach of realism, a close-up reveals that he is fact reading the comics page.  

It’s an amateurish film that wears on its sleeve its aspirations toward Wes Anderson-style preciousness, with a wayward protagonist caught up in a loony bit of intrigue, a soundtrack consisting of light, catchy pop songs, and an optimistic ending meant to reinforce the humanity of all involved. It has an awkward feel to it, and most of its punchlines are oversold. But then there’s Meghan Kane, an actress who, in just two scenes totaling probably just 60 seconds of screen time, steals the show with a hilarious and uncanny depiction of a student many will recognize: the glib, patronizing, utterly self-satisfied graduate student, so taken with her own fabulousness that she must focus her every word and gesture on the never-ending effort to make all around her aware of their comparative lack of fabulousness. It’s just a few seconds, but it’s worth the price of admission.  

Another film takes on the Berkeley theme as well, this one with slightly higher aspirations and budget. Berkeley concerns a young man who comes to town as a freshman in the late ’60s and has his life transformed by what he finds. The film stars Nick Roth as the student and Henry Winkler as his father. The film attempts to capture the experience of Berkeley during the Vietnam War era, but doesn’t quite pull it off. For many viewers the film will probably be a moving evocation of the experience; for others, it may seem to merely trivialize it. The Saturday night screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with director Bobby Roth.  

These examples only hint at the breadth of the festival’s offerings. For a complete schedule see www.berkeleyvideofilmfest.org. Day passes for the festival are just $12.  

BERKELEY VIDEO  

AND FILM FESTIVAL 

Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Oaks Theater, 1875 Solano Ave., Berkeley.  

www.berkeleyvideofilmfest.org. 

Photograph: Kathryn Robinson as Rose and Phillip Rogers as Travis in Rose, a short film by Hoku Uchiyama.

Often the most compelling dramas are not found in novels or Hollywood movies, but in everyday life. This is the charm and allure of The Up Series, an extraordinary documentary film project now in its fifth decade. 

Begun in 1964 as a program for England’s Granada Television, the first film in the series, 7 Up, featured interviews with a group of 7-year-old children in an effort to catch “a glimpse of England in the year 2000.”  

Michael Apted worked as a researcher on the first program and, with the second program, 7 Plus 7, broadcast in 1971, he took over the project, directing another film every seven years to follow up on the lives of the original 14 participants. The latest film in the series, 49 Up, opens today (Friday) at Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley. 

The project was begun all those years ago with very definite ideas in mind. The children were selected from various strata of English society with the intent of showing how one’s background may determine one’s future. “Give me the child until he is 7 and I will give you the man,” the narrator intones, and far more often than necessary. 

The premise may have been a bit contrived—even the 14-year-olds ridicule it for its simplistic approach in 7 Plus 7—and often it seems that Apted is far too determined to make the subsequent films conform to the expectations of the first. It might have helped to have had a sociologist involved with the formulation of the questions in order to give them a little more weight and validity; and perhaps someone with a background in therapy or counseling could have posed the questions in place of the director, someone with a better sense of how to communicate with people, to demonstrate the necessary curiosity and compassion. For Apted is often incapable of keeping the questions neutral or of phrasing his queries in such a way as to invite discussion. There are moments where his clumsy comments reveal as much about his own perceptions as those of the participants. In 7 Plus 7 he asks a trio of 14-year-old girls if they worry about the “danger” of finding themselves married and homebound with children when they’re in their early 20s. In 28 Up he asks a man if he’s worried about his sanity, and seven years later, when the man is 35 and still struggling to find his way in life, Apted asks if he has given up, to which the man snaps back “My life’s not over yet!”  

Perhaps this is a deliberate technique on Apted’s part, but if so it sometimes comes across as insensitive and rude, even if it now and then produces a valuable insight. At other times Apted seems too intent on validating the project’s original premises, attempting to draw definitive cause-and-effect links between the circumstances of childhood and adulthood. In effect, Apted, though he keeps himself off-camera, becomes a character in the drama, his leading questions often belying his own prejudices and preconceived notions. 

But these are minor flaws. Taken as a whole, the series is probably among the greatest documentaries ever made. And yes, there is much truth and value to the film’s premises, and to its aspirations toward sociological significance, and often its hypotheses are validated as children who seemed destined for a particular line of work or station in life indeed end up fulfilling those expectations. But the series is full of surprises, and overall it works best as simple human drama: Shamelessly cute 7-year-olds grow into awkward, gangly 14-year olds; budding, passionate adults of 21 become 28-year-olds settling into careers and families. The participants are honest, intelligent and interesting and their stories invite compassion; we take pleasure in their triumphs, we shed tears for their tragedies. We see them face rejection, take on new jobs and careers, search for love and companionship; we see them start families, raise children, and deal with the deaths of their own parents; we see them struggle to maintain marriages and face the setbacks of divorce; we see plans laid and hopes dashed, and then we see them rise again to rebuild their lives.  

The project itself has been something of a mixed blessing for its participants. One man even describes it as a bit of poison he is forced to swallow every seven years. Some opt out of later films, sometimes to return later, sometimes not. We don’t get the impression that any of them are participating in the project for the pleasure of being on television or on the big screen; they seem to participate out of a sense of duty, and not to the filmmakers, but rather to their fellow Englishmen. For even when they question the value of the project, they seem to evince a knowledge that their stories may in some way shed light for others on worthwhile issues.  

All the films leading up to 49 Up are available on DVD from First Run Features (www.firstrunfeatures.com). But you don’t necessarily need to have seen every film to appreciate the drama of the later productions. Each film features plenty of footage from the previous films to at least present the arc of each life. 

It must have been a wonderful experience for the original audiences to see this series begin and watch as these lives unfurled over the decades, to have grown up with these men and women and checked in with them every seven years. Undoubtedly many have found kinship with these 14 people as they have made their way through life. But to see the entire series, in sequence and all at once, is a revelation; full and rich human lives unfold in one film after another, the participants aging 40 years in just a few days’ time. The haughty are humbled, the meek gain confidence, the lost become found, the pampered lose everything. These are true human dramas, moving and fascinating, and unfolding in real time. 

49 UP 

Directed by Michael Apted. XXXX minutes. Playing at Shattuck Cinemas. 

THE UP SERIES 

Six Films by Granada Television and Michael Apted. $64.97. www.firstrunfeatures.com. 

Photograph Courtesy First Run Features 

Tony, a London taxi driver, is one of 14 participants in 49 Up, the latest in the long-running documentary project known as The Up Series.

The Jazz House, formerly on Adeline, will present a bi-weekly “Free-Jazz” series on the first and third Fridays of the month, starting at 8 p. m. tonight (Friday), at 1510 Eighth St. in Oakland, a block from the West Oakland BART station. 

The series features bassist Damon Smith, the founder of record label Balance Point Acoustics, leading a trio with East Bay drummer Spirit, and saxophonist Jon Raskin, the ‘R’ in Rova Saxophone Quartet. Admission is on a sliding scale, $5-15. 

The performance space was created by East Bay pianist Scott Looney, “an experimentalist, but not so much jazz,” said Jazz House founder Rob Woodworth. “He called me and asked, ‘any ideas?’ I chose free-jazz because I like it, it’s an emotional music—and there’s nothing much for it in the Bay Area right now.” 

The coming shows demonstrate its considerable width and breadth as an improvisational art taking off from traditional jazz: Oct. 20 features saxophonist Howard Wiley, familiar to Berkeley jazz listeners, in a collaboration with dancer Laurie Buenafe Krsmanovich, recently returned to the Bay Area, followed by a show by Nathan Clevenger Quintet on Nov. 3, and V-Neck, a duo of Sacramento guitarist Ross Hammond with drummer Tom Monson on Nov. 17. 

Clevenger, from New York, debuted at The Jazz House late last year, when it was still on Adeline Street near MLK. Shortly after, Woodworth lost his lease for the nonprofit’s home, and has been producing single shows and short-lived series in Berkeley and around the bay ever since. 

FREE-JAZZ 

Every third Friday at the Jazz House, 1510 Eighth St., Oakland. (415) 846-9432. www.thejazzhouse.com.

There was a time not too long ago when “Jamabalaya” was just a Hank Williams song. The rich cuisine of southern Louisiana—Cajun, Creole, and their hybrid offspring—wasn’t well known outside the region. Then, as fiddler Michael Doucet recalls, 

“Paul Prudhomme burned a fish, and everything changed.”  

You can get blackened fish (not the canonical redfish, though) as a weekend special at Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen in downtown Berkeley, but there’s a lot more going on there. The place was a long time opening, and I had hopes that it would fill at least part of the gap left by the closing of A La Carte, my old standby for crawfish étouffée and bread pudding. Happily, I was not disappointed. Angeline’s gets it right. 

I knew there was a reliable hand in the kitchen with my first taste of gumbo ($12.95 for a sizable bowl, $5.95 for a cup). It had the richness and smokiness that could only be founded on a serious dark roux. Although the promised crab was not detectable, the bowl was full of Bay shrimp and chunks of andouille sausage, and okra was a discreet presence. 

Jambalaya, one of those dishes with as many recipes as cooks, may trace its ancestry to Spanish paella and West Africa’s jollof rice. Angeline’s version ($13.50) was even better than the gumbo. It was generously studded with andouille, chicken, and tasso (hardwood-smoked pork), and it needed no help from the bottle of hot sauce on the table. There’s also a vegetarian version with wild mushrooms ($12.50). 

Among other Louisiana classics, red beans and rice ($10.95) is a Monday special. Boudin, the pork-and-rice-stuffed sausage from the western prairie region of Cajun country, is available either as a starter ($4.95) or accompanied by hot links in a “Cajun mixed grill” ($14.95). Crawfish ´etouffée has appeared as a weekend special. You can also get regional specialty sandwiches: several variants of the po’ boy (catfish, shrimp, oyster, and fried chicken) or muffuletta, New Orleans’ answer to the hero. 

The menu isn’t purely Louisianan: there are pan-Southern items like fried catfish, a pasta dish, dinner salads. We couldn’t resist trying the catfish ($10.75), which was near-perfect: filets deep-fried in a thin cornmeal crust, served with creditable hushpuppies (on the sweet end of the hushpuppy continuum, but that’s all right) and a remoulade-based potato salad. “Small plate” options include fried oysters Bordelaise ($10.95), also not particularly Cajun or Creole, but delectable.  

Angeline’s chef, who hails from Baton Rouge, also does himself proud on the dessert end. The beignets ($3.95)—hot pillows of sweetened dough, traditionally eaten with strong coffee after a long night in the French Quarter—were almost weightless. We’ve also been impressed by the bread pudding with caramelized banana ($5.50) and the pecan pie ($5.50), which we were told was the third revision of a work in progress.  

The restaurant’s space, which formerly housed a noodle place, has been redone with pressed tin on the walls, ironwork, and a huge map of 19th-century New Orleans. Music from the owner’s collection is usually playing: jazz, zydeco, Cajun. The gumbo in particular went well with Clifton Chenier’s “Black Snake Blues.” 

If Angeline’s had its liquor license, it would be a great place to sip a Sazerac. For now, there’s iced tea (optionally sweetened) and lemonade. And the restaurant still seems to be in shakedown mode: one of our orders got lost in the shuffle on a recent visit, although the house made up for it by comping dessert. That aside, this place is well worth a visit. It’s clearly a labor of love, run by people who know and respect Louisiana’s culinary heritage and present it without compromise. Hurricane-battered southern Louisiana may still be down, but it’s important to keep the good times rolling wherever you can.  

ANGELINE’S LOUISIANA KITCHEN 

Lunch 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 

Dinner 5:30-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5:30-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday. Credit cards OK.  

2261 Shattuck Ave. (near Bancroft Way). 548-6900. 

It’s funny that humanity ever had trouble identifying itself as part of the continuum of animal life on this planet. Anyone who has ever looked into the eyes of a dog or cat must realize that there is as much of a person inside that creature as can be found in you or me. 

In that spirit I ask that you join me in taking a look at our territorial nature and some of the practical consequences we are forced to contend with around the houses we think we own. 

I remember years ago setting up one morning at the local flea market and watching as a very large percentage of the dealers that day seemed abjectly unable to confine themselves to the stalls they had been issued. Many, even most, attempted to push over the edges, to set their wares up to the left and right of the clearly marked lines they’d been placed within. 

I saw more than a few disputes and a healthy number of calm requests to move items off of someone’s stated turf. For the most part, things worked out but I find it interesting how hard it is for people to be happy with their lot (as it were) and how deep the sense of infliction amongst those who are invaded by an inch or two. 

The capacity for umbrage is great in the beast of man. I include myself, of course. 

Boundary disputes fill the courts every year. Ask any judge. And so many seem to be of a kind that might easily be resolved with a simple discussion; but it’s not in the genes. Boundary issues seem to bring out the very worst in all of us. I remained so angry at my rear neighbor that we didn’t speak for years and, at one point, I needed my friend Ed, a local attorney to resolve a relatively simple dispute with him because we simply could not sit at the same table and speak.  

Many of you reading this may recognize yourselves in this scenario. I recently discovered that the fellow had passed away over a year ago and realized that I had held anger, fear and resentment toward him for all this time in which he had not even been on the planet. How terribly and awfully ironic, eh? Again, I’m not alone. It seems to be a part of who we are and how we operate in the world. How many of our wars are based on this reptilian, mid-brain thinking, our ancient selves alive and stalking in the world of pagers and ICBMs. Funny and sad. 

Ed shared with me that he, with all his legal knowledge (he’s also a genuinely loving soul and a dear friend) had been through a similar trial (pun intended) for several years. It’s not unusual. Not in the least. 

For this reason, I often council my clients, those on the bridge to home-ownership, to approach boundary issues with little expectation and as much generosity and they can muster.  

People often ask me where the boundaries for the property are located and I always confess that I cannot know and that no one, save a surveyor, can say for any certainty where those elusive lines are hiding. It also gets worse in some parts of Berkeley where the damned things keep moving all the time.  

That said, there are some clues that can be used and a viewing of fences is generally the best source of data. Fences are not wholly reliable but may indicate where the properly line has come to exist over time. 

Ed calls this condition, a prescriptive easement as opposed to actual ownership (when it’s not on the property line). By adverse possession, a person can come to own some of your land over time but this is actually very difficult and requires a number of conditions that are very hard to meet. Nonetheless, the point is that just because there’s a fence doesn’t mean that it’s in the right place or representative of a true legal boundary. 

The same illusion can apply to a small building, a garage or a home addition. They’re not always located on the proper side of the boundary and are sometimes located inside the setback where they oughtn’t be. A setback is the locally proscribed spacing between your house and the property line and varies with certain kinds of construction in addition to the general rules that apply to your property. By the way, just because your neighbor has one set of setbacks, doesn’t mean that the same ones apply to you. This is also true for allowable building heights. Just because your neighbor has a two-story building doesn’t mean that you have the right to add a story onto yours. Seems unfair but, hey; Talk to city hall. 

There are exceptions to the usual setbacks for old or “grandfathered-in” construction (which means you don’t want to tear down that old garage in the corner of the property before some serious thinking, since you may not be able to put it back there once it’s down. Decks of varying heights as well as equipment (like water heaters) also have rules regarding setbacks and it’s worth a trip to the zoning department to check and find out exactly where you can and cannot build. 

So, when you’re first looking at a property, it’s worth looking at the “sense” or logic of the fences and gates. Do they look as though they belong where they are. One example of fences not making much sense is when they’re way over to one side and very close to one building but far from another. This may be a tip-off that the fence isn’t where the boundary has required it to rest. Another is that one fence isn’t in-line with the one on the next lot. If the fence seems to “jog” over at one point, it might be worth looking at a copy of the assessor’s parcel map for your block to see if the boundaries look the same. Ultimately a surveyor may be needed to unravel any real confusion but there a larger point to be made here: 

Although it’s good to be aware of the fact that your fences may not be where they belong, that a tree may be overhanging your property or that a sewer-line may cross over your property, it’s important to have some perspective. It is very easy, indeed, to begin to see these things are gigantic issues that are endangering your life and limb when they may, in fact, not have all that great an impact on your daily life. 

If a fence is depriving you of a one foot strip of your side yard, it may make life a tad more difficult, but before you call your lawyer take a serious look at the thing. Is it keeping you from being able to get past that side of the house? It is keeping the meter reader from doing her job? Perhaps it’s just keeping you from having to mow as much lawn. Sometimes the glass is half full. Occasionally it’s cracked. 

Consider that you might living next to that neighbor for many years to come. Which is more important in the long run, a few feet of crab-grass or the icy glances you will share from 20 feet as you weed the front yard for the next decade. Now, I’m not model citizen and I beg you to do as I say and not as I do, but this is really a no-brainer. Your daily happiness will have far more to do with your neighborliness than the exact accounting of your land portion. 

Trees continue to grow as time passes despite anyone’s intentions; so when the branches of your neighbor’s oak are keeping you up at night by endlessly grazing the window or eaves, take action, not acrimony. Talk to the neighbor and then, trim the tree. You have a right to trim the branches on your side of the property (I won’t say fence and you know why, right?) and by all means should if they’re close to your house (for fire safety if for no other reason).  

Nonetheless, it’s the high road to talk to the neighbor first and to be sure to have a learned person do the trimming so that the tree won’t get sick and die. You could, potentially, be held culpable for that too (it just never seems to stop, does it?). If you’ve taken a friendly approach, it’s far more likely that the neighbor will see you as their friend when things go wrong (do things ever go wrong?). 

My neighbor, may he rest in peace, and I had a dispute over a sewer line for many years and this was one that Freud would have a field day with. The sewer was badly damaged, had never been fixed properly, and on more than one occasion had leaked. This was just horrid and I felt as though I were a small child who had just had an accident in my pants when dealing with this fellow.  

At the time, I had a written easement (although I didn’t know it at the time) and had a right to perform repairs, but the process of repairing the dreaded thing went poorly for a range of reasons: Our communication was lousy; we didn’t approach it as a team with shared goals; I didn’t hire the best people to go onto his property as I should have but attempted the repair myself (contractors always think they should fix everything themselves, you know) and there were a range of plants and trees that my neighbor liked better than me, my wife and our children put together.  

We both lost perspective and in the end needed attorneys to settle the matter for us. Luckily, both of our attorneys had the good sense and ethically to keep us out of court and to find a sensible way to make us both miserable. Our hatred of the law and lawyers should rightly be our hatred of our own stingy and uncompromising selves. 

So before you buy, try to take a good look at the location of fences and trees. Find out where the sewer runs and investigate any easements that may run across your property. If you have a shared driveway, find out what protocols apply and spend some time talking to the person you’ll be sharing it with. In all cases, try to meet some neighbors before you buy and ask them to tell you of any concerns or past problems that they have experienced. 

The theory of enlightened self-interest seems to me to apply very well in these circumstances, not to mention the golden rule. While it can be incredibly difficult to see beyond our own small selfish concerns when it comes to neighboring issues, the stakes are really quite high. Those being your daily happiness and your sanity. Good luck and may you turn out to be smarter than me (which isn’t actually all that hard). 

Got a question about home repairs and inspections? Send them to Matt Cantor, in care of East Bay Real Estate, at realestate@berkeleydailyplanet.com.

I must have passed this place a thousand times without going in. I think it used to be called “The Windmill Nursery” and it still has the eponymous windmill, an old but still unrusted Aeromotor, evidently not in current use. 

It’s right at the end off the off-ramp from 101 to the road we usually take to Sebastopol and beyond, either to chase birds around Bodega Bay or to get our annual Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill fix at the Sebastopol Celtic fest in late September.  

But we’re usually eager to get to the birds or the music, and we give most of the roadside attractions on the Gravenstein Highway a pass.  

This year we had an extra hour or two the Saturday morning of the Celtfest, between the luxurious Motel 6 in Petaluma and the Sebastopol Community Center, so when we swerved for donuts at the first “Donuts!” sign, we also took a stroll through the nursery that sits fortuitously next to the donut joint.  

So the former Windmill (I think) Nursery is now “dig the nursery” or maybe it’s “dig: the nursery” with font changes working as punctuation. Cute name aside (and I say this as a former columnist whose former columns were shamelessly called things like “Dig This!” and “A Sense of Humus”) it’s well worth a visit if you’re in the neighborhood. The neighborhood’s worth a visit too, especially now that it’s harvest season for those apples, so it all works out. 

At “dig the nursery” I noticed seedlings from our old friends at Flatland Farm, who used to be located right in town at Blake near San Pablo. They’d turned the intractable clay soil we have in the lower flatlands here into something about as springy as a mattress and clearly congenial to the plants thriving in it, and they had the prettiest chickens I’ve ever met, Millefleurs.  

The nursery’s owner hails from here, too, and like so many plantfolk in the area used to work at Berkeley Horticultural Nursery. He said he’s interested in retailing plant starts from not-the-usual sources, including Flatland, Blooms of Glen Ellen, and others new to me.  

His assistant hails from the South Bay, which might account for his taste in plants: he’s responsible for the horde of succulents, some of them unusual even for succulents, in various sizes.  

Other interesting plants the day we visited included dasylirion (a plant that’s fun to watch while walking around it), nifty citrus including Buddha’s hand citron, and a big handsome blooming Franklinia alatamaha, the tree now extinct in the wild but saved as a species by planthunter William Bartram in the 18th century and the gardeners who’ve perpetuated it since.  

We also saw water hyacinth for sale. You’re scaring me, bhoyos. I don’t think Florida has any manatees to spare for us. (Pity; they’d add so much charm to the Delta.) There are other water plants too, like big papyrus; I forgot to ask if the koi in the big tank were for sale. They were certainly flirty.  

Don’t miss the gazebo made of bicycle wheels.  

Dig: the nursery 

8567 Gravenstein Highway, Cotati 

(707) 795-7825 

9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily. 

Ron Sullivan is a former professional gardener and arborist. Her “Garden Variety” column appears every Friday in East Bay Home & Real Estate. Her column on East Bay trees appears every other Tuesday in the Berkeley Daily Planet.

How’s Your Earthquake Knowledge? 

Rate yourself: Are the following statements true, or false? 

1. If your home was retrofitted in the last 5 years, you’re likely to be in good shape. 

2. Your water heater is the only appliance that really needs to be secured. 

3. Most injuries in earthquakes are from the resulting fires. 

4. Most earthquake damage is caused by the resulting displacement of soil. 

Answers: 

1. Unfortunately, there are contractors out there who are not performing complete and adequate retrofits. One of the best contractors in the area says that fully 30 percent of his business is coming along behind other contractors and doing the job right.  

2. It is recommended to secure furnaces, refrigerators, and washers/dryers. 

3. Most injuries are caused by objects falling on people.  

4. Most earthquake damage is caused by shaking.  

Larry Guillot is the owner of QuakePrepare, an earthquake consulting, securing and kit supply service. Contact him at 558-3299 or see www.quakeprepare.com to receive semi-monthly e-mails and safety reports.

FRIDAY, OCT. 6 

Impeachment Banner Fridays at 6:45 to 8 a.m. on the Berkeley Pedestrian bridge between Seabreeze Market and the Berkeley Aquatic Park, ongoing until impeachment is realized. www. Impeachbush-cheney.com 

Berkeley Sustainability Summit with presentations on sustainability projects in Berkeley from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Krutch Theater, Clark Kerr Campus, 2601 Warring St. Cost is $25. RSVP to 548-2220 ext. 235. 

Job and Resource Fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the garden of the Oakland Museum, 1000 Oak St., Oakland, with presentaions by local companies, workshops and resume clinics, and information on seasonal employment opportunities. www.jobtrain.info 

The Path of Transformation: Heal from Domestic Violence from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Health Education Center, 400 Hawthorne Ave., Oakland. Cost is $25-$50, financial aid and scholarships available. 869-6763. 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with a debate between Dennis Kuby and Lisa Fullam on “The Morality of Legalizing Physician Aid in Dying” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. 526-2925.  

“Can We Spare Some Change?” An art exhibit of paintings by Milton Bowens and kick-off of a recruitment campaign to increase the number of African American bone marrow donors opens at 6 p.m. at the African American Museum & Library, 659 14th St., Oakland. 637-0200. 

“An Inconvenient Truth” Al Gore’s environmental documentary, at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Free. 482-1062. 

“An Inconvenient Truth” Al Gore’s environmental documentary, at 7 p.m. at Hillside Community Church, 1422 Navellier St., El Cerrito. 236-4348. 

“An Inconvenient Truth” Al Gore’s environmental documentary, at 6:30 p.m. at 565 Bellevue St., at Perkins, Oakland. 541-3009. 

Friends of the Oakland Library Booksale at The Bookmark Bookstore from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. to Oct. 7 at 721 Washington St. 444-0473. 

Moonrise, Sunset Hike A 3.5 mile nature hike over varied terrain. Meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Big Springs Staging Area, Tilden Park. Bring flashlight, layered clothing, water and a sack dinner. 525-2233. 

Autumn Harvest Festival at Habitot Museum with storytelling and crafts, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111.  

Mid-Autumn Festival at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

“Investing in Emerging Markets: China, India, Russia” Conference from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Andersen Auditorium, Haas School of Business, UC Campus. www.haas.berkeley.edu/ 

HaasGlobal/emergingmarketsconference.html 

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

SATURDAY, OCT. 7 

11th Swim a Mile for Women with Cancer Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mills College, Trefethan Aquatic Center, 5000 MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland. 601-4040, ext. 180. www.wcrc.org/swim/index.htm  

Berkeley Path Wanderers Association leads a free walk exploring Pt. Richmond’s quaint and curious architecture, hillside staircases, and spectacular new waterfront viewpoints. Meet at 10 a.m. at the statue in the triangle bordered by E. Richmond, Park Place, and Washington Avenue. Wear comfortable shoes; dress for all weather; bring water. Optional no-host lunch at local restaurant follows walk. 848-9358. www.berkeleypaths.org 

“Criminal Folly of the Bush Administration: A Casre for Impeachment” with Lewis Lapham, editor emeritus of Harper’s Magazine, in conversation with Harry Kreisler, at 8 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Tickets are $12-$15. Benefit for KPFA and Global Exchange. 559-9500. 

“The Big Buy: Tom Delay’s Stolen Congress” A documentary by Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck, 7:30 p.m. at The Oaks Theater, 1875 Solano Ave. 843-3699. 

Solar Richmond Tour of solar installations in Richmond from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Meet at Richmond Main Library, Richmond Civic Center, corner of Macdonald Ave. and Civic Center St. Free, but please register in advance. 758-1267. www.solarrichmond.org  

Autumn Arachnids Learn about the mysteries of the spider, and look for orb weavers, jumping spiders and more, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Kid’s Garden Club for ages 7-12 to explore the world of gardening, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 636-1684. 

Walking Tour of Oakland City Center Meet at 10 a.m. in front Oakland City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

An Evening with Lewis Lapham in conversation with Larry Bensky at 8 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Benefit for KPFA and Global Exchange. Tickets are $12-$15. 415-255-7296, ext. 244. 

Benefit Bazaar for the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Sat. from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sun. from 1:30 to 6 p.m. at 1924 Cedar St., at Bonita. 540-8721. 

Black Panther Party 40th Anniversary with Elbert “Big Man” Howard, from Black Panther Party Minister of Information at 3 p.m. at the Rockridge Branch of the Oakland Public Library, 5366 College Ave. 597-5011. 

East Bay Environmental Training Program on Sat. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Nov. 11 at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $75-$150 sliding scale. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

“The Overlooked Second Generation: Children and Transnational Families in the Global Economy” with Rhacel Salazar Parreñas Professor of Asian American Studies at UC Davis at 2 p.m. at Berkeley City College, Room 51. 

“Solar Electricity for Educators” A workshop on the global energy situation, the range of solar education projects, and how to address state curriculum standards with these projects, for teachers of grades 4-12. Teachers will receive a $150 stipend, materials, curriculum, and follow-up support. From 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at Rising Sun Energy Center, 2033 Center St. 665-1501 ext.13. www.risingsunenergy.org 

“Basic Gardening Techniques Make for Amazing Gardens” Learn about soil preparation, planting techniques, mulching choices and more at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

Introduction to Buddhist Teachings and Meditation with Richard Shankman, co-founder of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies, at 9 a.m at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. Donation $20. To register call 547-0757. 

“Enchantment: The Unique Relationship with the Guru” with Bill Gottlieb at 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland. RSVP to 415-703-0330. 

Produce Stand at Spiral Gardens Food Security Project from 1 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon St. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Bilingual Storytime Stories in English and Spanish for toddlers and preschoolers at 10:30 a.m. in the Edith Stone Room at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

“In God’s House: Asian American Lesbian & Gay Families in the Church,” A documentary at 7 p.m. at Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. 849-8260. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 8 

Spice of Life Festival in North Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto with food, culinary demonstrations, live music and more from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m on Shattuck Ave. from Virginia to Rose. 

Architecture Tour of the Oakland Museum of California Tour of the building and gardens with architect Kevin Roche and landscape architect Dan Kiley. Meet at 1 p.m. at the koi pond on the first level. www.museumca.org 

A Day of Peace in People’s Park from 12:30 to 5 p.m. with music and speakers on stopping the war in the Middle East, and the war against civil liberties at home.  

Indigenous People’s Day at Habitot Museum. Learn about the native peoples of California with performances and crafts, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111. www.habitot.org 

Desgin Charrette for Halcyon Commons Rejuvenation Project community workshop from 2:30 to 5 p.m. in the park on Halcyon Ct. at Prince St. In case of rain, meet at 3044-A Halcyon Ct. Free. 644-0172. 

“Green Sunday: Why Should Greens Be Interested In the Upcoming KPFA Local Station Board Election?” Speakers and discussion at 5 p.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland. 

Turtle Time Meet Tilden’s turtles then walk to Jewel Lake to see the wild turtles that live there, from 11 a.m. to noon at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

The Joy of Rats Learn about basic guardianship of rats with Bay Area Rat Rescue at 2 p.m. at RabbitEars, 303 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 525-6155. 

Free Sailboat Rides from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Cal Sailing Club in the Berkeley Marina. Bring change of clothes, windbreaker, sneakers. For ages 5 and up. cal-sailing.org  

Free Hands-on Bicycle Clinic Learn how to do a safety inspection from 10 to 11 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Bring your bike and tools. 527-4140. 

Pancake Breakfast and Fleet Week Events from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. aboard the Red Oak Victory Ship, in Richmond Harbor. Take the Canal Blvd exit off 580 and follow signs to the ship. Cost is $6, children under 5 free. 237-2933. 

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712.  

“A Generous Life” with Bill Hamilton-Holway at 9:30 a.m at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Robin Caton on “Living Fully” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812.  

MONDAY, OCT. 9 

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

National Organization for Women, Oakland/East Bay Chapter with Dana Spatz, executive director of Lifeline, an advocacy program to boost higher education outcomes among mothers on welfare, at 6 p.m. at the Oakland YWCA, 1515 Webster St. 287-8948. 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people aged 60 and over meets at 9:45 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Donation $3. 524-9122. 

Men’s Health Series: Prostate Cancer at 3 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Safety and Self Defense Seminar for Women at 7 p.m. at the JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Donation $5. 848-0237. 

“Osteoporosis: Risk, Detection and Prevention” with Beverly Tracewell at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

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. 

Lead Abatement Repairs Find out about funding for lead hazard repairs for rental properties with low-income tenants or vacant units, from 4 to 6 p.m. at 2000 Embarcadero, #300, Oakland. Sponsored by Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. 567-8280. 

TUESDAY, OCT. 10 

Tuesday is for the Birds An early morning walk for birders at Bear Creek Staging Area in Briones. Bring water, sunscreen, binoculars and a snack. This week we will visit. For meeting location or to borrow binoculars, call 525-2233.  

“The World According to Sesame Street” A documentary on the social impact of the Muppets, followed by a panel discussion at 6:30 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak. 

“Adventuring in Australia” with Eric Armstrong and Sarah Baughn at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Berkeley High School Governnace Council meets at 6 p.m. in the Community Theater Lobby. 644-4803. 

“The Role of Climate on Water Institutions in the Western Americas” with Justice Greg Hobbs of the Colorado Supreme Court at 5:30 p.m. at Goldman School of Public Policy, Room 250, 2607 Hearst Ave. at LeRoy. 642-2666. 

Batopia Learn the truth about bats with Maggie Hooper and her flying friends at 10 a.m. at the Golden Gate Branch of the Oakland Public Library, 5606 San Pablo Ave. 597-5023. 

Family Storytime at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

Torture Teach-in and Vigil every Tues. at 12:30 p.m. at the fountain on UC Campus, Bancroft at College. 

“Senior Options to Remain in Your Home” A panel discussion at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst. 981-5190. 

Handbuilding Ceramics Class from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s Senior Center, 2727 College Ave. Free, except for materials and firing charges. 525-5497. 

”Living with Threes and Fours” Informational night for parents at 7 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Registration required. 658-7353.  

Albany Library Homework Center is open from 3 to 5 p.m., Tues. and Thurs. for students in third through fifth grades.1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720 ext 17. 

How to Eat Well and Not Wear It at 7 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Sleep Soundly Seminar A free class on how hypnosis can help you sleep at 6:30 p.m. at 378 Jayne Ave., Oakland. To register call 465-2524. 

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

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11  

Walking Tour of Historic Oakland Churches and Temples Meet at 10 a.m. at the front of the First Presbyterian Church at 2619 Broadway. Tour lasts 90 minutes. For reservations call 238-3234. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping the public schools, from 3 to 4 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

Poetry Writing Workshop with Alison Seevak at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

“Protect Yourself from Identity Theft” with Timothy Yee, financial advisor at 6 p.m. at the Oakland Public Library, First Floor, 125 14th St. 238-3134. 

Spirited Child Series Learn how temperament affects children’s behavior and how to best live and work with inborn traits at 7 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. To register call 752-6150. If you need child care, at $5 per child, call 658-7353.  

”Choosing Infant Care” A workshop for new parents at noon at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Registration required. 658-7353.  

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. 548-9840. 

Current Events Discussion Group meets at 7 p.m. at the Niebyl Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. 597-4972. 

New to DVD “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu” Film and discussion at 7 p.m. at the JCC, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley BART Station. www.geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, OCT. 12 

A Creek in Downtown Berkeley? Helen Burke, Kirstin Miller, and Gus Yates discuss costs/benefits to “daylight” Strawberry Creek and close Center St. to traffic between Oxford and Shattuck, at 7:30 p.m. at The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. at Arch. 549-8790. 

“Temescal Legacies: Narratives of Change from a North Oakland Neighborhood” with author Jeff Norman at 7:30 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Peidmont Ave., Oakland. Donation $8-$10. Sponsored by the Oakland Heritage Alliance. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Environmental Film Series “The Future of Food” on genetically engineered foods, at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

“The Anza Trail and the Settling of California” with Vladimir Guerrero at 1 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak, Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200.  

“Oil and Global Warming Today: Voices from the Front Lines” with Ben Namakin, an environmental educator with the Conservation Society of Pohnpei, at 6 p.m. at the Free Speech Movement Cafe, UC Campus. 643-6445. 

An Evening with Margo Okazawa-Rey, feminist anti-militarist and scholar at 7 p.m. at Tehilla Synagogue, 1300 Grand Avenue, Piedmont. Donation $5. Sponsored by Bay Area Women in Black and the Women of Color Resource Center. info@bayareawomeninblack.org 

WriterCoach Connection seeks volunteers to help students improve their writing and critical thinking skills. Training session from noon to 3 p.m. 524-2319. 

Safety and Self Defense Seminar for Women at 1 p.m. at the JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Donation $5. 848-0237. 

Veterans Reflecting on War and Peace with Maxine Hong Kingston and war veterans at 7:30 p.m. at the JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Donation $5. 848-0237. 

Poetry Workshop with Donna Davis from 9 to noon at Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. An ongoing class offered by Berkeley Adult School.  

CITY MEETINGS 

City Council meets Tues., Oct. 10, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900.  

Youth Commission meets Mon., Oct. 10, at 6:30 p.m., at 1730 Oregon St. 981-6670.  

Commission on Disability meets Wed., Oct. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Don Brown, 981-6346. TDD: 981-6345.  

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Oct. 11, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426.  

Planning Commission meets Wed., Oct. 11, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. J981-7484.  

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Oct. 11, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. 981-6740.  

Community Health Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 12, at 6:45 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5356.  

Transportation Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 12, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7010.  

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Oct. 12, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410.  

TUESDAY, OCT. 3 

CHILDREN 

Gretchen Woelfle reads from “Animal Families, Animal Friends” at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Tania Katan will read from her memoir, “My One-night Stand with Cancer” at 7 p.m. at Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 5741 Telegraph Avenue at 58th St., Oakland. 601-4040, ext. 111. 

Mary Gordon reads from “The Stories of Mary Gordon” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

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

“Voices of East Bay Lesbian Poets” an anthology by Linda Zeiser at 7:30 p.m. at Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Club, 1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Cost is $5. 276-0379.  

Agi Mishol, Israeli poet, at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

Joe Gores introduces his latest political thriller, “Glass Tiger” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

RebbeSoul, world beat, Jewish roots music at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Singers’ Open Mic with Ellen Hoffman at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. 841-JAZZ.  

Jimmy Bosch at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200.  

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4 

THEATER 

“The Secret Circus” Wed. and Thurs. at 8 p.m. at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, through Oct. 19. Cost is $10-$20 sliding scale. 800-838-3006 www.themarsh.org  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Wild About Birds” paintings by Rita Sklar opens at the Lakeview Branch of the Oakland Public Library, 550 El Embarcadero. 238-7344. 

FILM 

Pirates and Piracy “A High Wind in Jamaica” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Ellen Ekstrom reads from her new novel, “The Legacy” at The Friends of the Albany Library Annual Meeting at 7:30 p.m. at 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720 

Paola Gianturco, photographer, on “Viva Colores! A Salute to the Indomitable People of Guatemala” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

Daniel Goleman explores “Social Intellegence: The New Science of Human Relationships” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Berkeley Poetry Slam at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Terracotta Warriors, Chinese dance, music, martial arts and acrobatics at 8 p.m. at Paramount Theatre of the Arts, 2025 Broadway, Oakland, through Oct. 8. Tickets are $45-$95, discount for children. 625-8497. 

Wednesday Noon Concert: Classical Percussion at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Whiskey Brothers Old Time and Bluegrass at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Creepy, Sugar Eater, Stonecutter at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $8. 451-8100.  

K23 Orchestra, CD release party at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $8. 525-5054.  

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

Calvin Keys Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ.  

Dave Stein Bubhub at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

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

Maraca and The New Collective at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $24-$28. 238-9200.  

THURSDAY, OCT. 5 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Colors” A group show by East Bay Women Artists. Reception at 6 p.m. at Royal Ground Gallery, 2058 Mountain Blvd., Montclair, Oakland. Exhibition runs to Jan. 7. 451-2661. 

“Never Again” Photographs of the physical and human consequences of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki opens at 5 p.m. at the Bade Museum of the Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. Open Tues. and Thurs. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Exhibition runs to Oct. 16.  

FILM 

Discovering Syrian Cinema “Shadows and Light” at 5:30 p.m. and “Today and Everyday” at at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Lunch Poems with Les Murray at 12:10 p.m. in the Morrison Library, in the Doe Library, UC Campus. http://lunchpoems.berkeley.edu 

Susan Snyder talks about and shows slides on “Past Tents: The Way We Camped” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Camille T. Dungy, poet, at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720 ext 17. 

Bruce Wagner and James Ellroy read at at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500.  

George Rabasa reads from his novel “The Cleansing” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Richmond Arts and Culture Commission Youth Performance in celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month. Spoken word, dance, and song presented by youth from East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, Masquers Playhouse, Familias Unidas at 5:30 p.m. at the Richmond Convention Center, 403 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond. 620-6952.  

“King Arthur” by Henry Purcell, directed by Mark Morris at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus, through Oct. 7. Tickets are $42-$110. 642-9988.  

Ancient Vision 3, with Wadi Gad, Malika Madremana, Arkangel, We A Dem Band at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Noah Grant at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Daniel Ho, Keoki Kahumoku and Herb Ohta, Jr. at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Boneless Children Foundation, Midline Errors, The Young Has Beens at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082.  

The Swamees, Hollywood 

dopesick, Hobo Jungle, southern and folk rock, at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. 

FRIDAY, OCT. 6 

THEATER 

Berkeley Rep “Mother Courage” at 8 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2025 Addison St., through Oct. 22. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

California Shakespeare Theater “As You Like It” at the Bruns Amphitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., Orinda. Tues.-Thurs., 7:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m. through Oct. 15. Tickets are $15 and up. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theater, “The Orchid Sandwich” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. through Oct. 21. at 951 Pomona Ave. El Cerrito. Tickets are $11-$18. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

Impact Theatre “Colorado” A dark comedy about celebrity worship, Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. Tickets are $10-$15. Runs through Oct. 28. 464-4468. www.impacttheatre.com 

Masquer’s Playhouse “A Walk in the Woods” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets are $10. 232-4031. www.masquers.org  

Shotgun Players “Love is a Dream House in Lorin” by Marcus Gardley, inspired by true stories of Berkeley’s historic Lorin District, Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Nov. 5. Sliding scale $15-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

UC Dept. of Theater “Suburban Motel” six plays by George Walker at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus, through Nov. 19. Tickets are $8-$14. For schedule see http://theater.berkeley.edu 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Whitework Embroidery” Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, 2982 Adeline St. Runs through Feb. 5. Hours are Mon.-Sat. noon to 6 p.m. Free. lacismuseum.org 

“The Secrets of Ousiders” Mixed media paintings by Diego Rios, oil paintings by Bernadette Vergara Sale and acrylic paintings by Liz Amini-Holmes. Reception at 5 p.m. at the Estaban Sabar Gallery, 480 23rd St. at Telegraph, Oakland. Runs through Nov. 1. 444-7411. www.estebansabar.com 

“Quilombo” Youth Graffiti Exhibition opens at Uhuru House, 7911 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, at 7 p.m. Includes music, breaking cyphers and Capoeira rodas. www.weekendwakeup.com 

New Work by Travis Browne, Jerry Chang, Nat Chua, Michael Eli, Jose Guinto, and Ajene Zapp Moss. Reception at 7 p.m. at Boontling Gallery, 4224 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. 295-8881. 

FILM 

Berkeley Film and Video Festival at the Oaks Theater, 1875 Solano Ave., through Oct. 8. Three day pass is $20-$25. http://berkeleyvideofilmfest.org  

Discovering Syrian Cinema “The Dream” at 7 p.m. and “The Night” at 9:15 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

James Fallows describes “Blind into Baghdad: America’s War in Iraq” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Robert Olen Butler reads from “Severance” fictional monologues, at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Aya de Leon and “Generation Five” spoken word at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Falso Baiano Trio, Brazilian jazz choral group, at 8 p.m., at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Cost is $15. 845-1350. www.hillsideclub.org  

Linda Rose Stonestreet, Tricia Godwin, and Irina Rivkin at 8 p.m. at Rose Street House of Music, 1839 Rose St. Donation $5-$20 sliding scale. To RSVP call 594-4000 ext. 687. www.rosestreetmusic.com 

Free Jazz Fridays with Damon Smith, Spirit, drums, and Jon Raskin, saxophone, at 8 p.m. at 1510 8th St., Oakland. sfjazzmusic@yahoo.com 

Oakland Arts Clash, music, dance and visual arts by local Oakland artists at 7 p.m. at Malonga Casquelourd Center Theater, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. All proceeds will benefit youth dance programs in Oakland. 

Terracotta Warriors, Chinese dance, music, martial arts and acrobatics at 2 and 8 p.m. at Paramount Theatre of the Arts, 2025 Broadway, Oakland, through Oct. 8. Tickets are $45-$95. 625-8497. 

Oakland Opera “Les Enfants Terribles” Fri. - Sun. at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro Opera House, 201 Broadway, through Oct. 22. Tickets are $32-$36. www.oaklandopera.org 

On the Last Day, Karate High School, Four Letter Lie at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Doug Arrington & Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

The Flux, Baba Ken & Afro-Groove ConneXion at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz Cost is $10-$12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Baguette Quartette at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Bobbe Norris & the Larry Dunlop Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Jessie Turner and Megan McLaughlin at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

The Hellouts, Huckleberry Flint, Dave Hanley Band, Barefoot Nellies at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Decry, Retching Red, Z.B.S. at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Dave Ellis & Zoe Ellis at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5. 548-1159.  

Seventeen Evergreen, Minmae, Pants Pants Pants at 9 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Bitches Brew at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Maraca and The New Collective at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $24-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, OCT. 7 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Gerry Tenny singing silly songs at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Dashka Slater tells stories from “Firefighters in the Dark” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

THEATER 

“Meet Julia Morgan” A one-woman show performed by Betty Marvin at 2 p.m. at the Lakeview Branch of the Oakland Public Library, 550 El Embarcadero. 238-7344. 

EXHIBITIONS 

Past/Present/Future One year anniversary of the Living Room Art Gallery. Music by Antarctica Takes It, Social Studies and The Pets at 8 p.m. at 3230 Adeline St. 601-5774. www.thelivingroomgallery.com 

“Can We Spare Some Change?” An art exhibit of paintings by Milton Bowens and kick-off of a recruitment campaign to increase the number of African American bone marrow donors opens at 6 p.m. at the African American Museum & Library, 659 14th St., Oakland. 637-0200. 

20th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 5630 Bay St., through Oct. 29. Free. 652-6122. www.EmeryArts.org 

FILM 

Ousmane Sembéne “Black Girl” at 6:30 p.m. and “Mandabi” at 8:15 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley Film and Video Festival at the Oaks Theater, 1875 Solano Ave., through Oct. 8. Three day pass is $20-$25. http://berkeleyvideofilmfest.org  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bay Area Poets Coalition open reading, from 3 to 5 p.m., at Strawberry Creek Lodge, dining hall, 1320 Addison St. Park on the street. Free. 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com.  

Lewis Lapham, editor emeritus of Harper’s Magazine, in conversation with Harry Kreisler, at 8 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Tickets are $12-$15. Benefit for KPFA and Global Exchange. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Four Seasons Concerts, with Leon Bates, piano, at 7:30 p.m. at Regents Theater, Holy Names University, Oakland. For tickets call 601-7919. 

Oju Eegun, Afro-Cuban ritual, music, song and dance at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15-$18. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Callaloo Steel Drum Band with Jeff Narell at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

The Zydeco Flames at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Sotaque Baiano, Brazilian music, at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

John Craigie and Kurt Huget at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

House Jacks at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Sitting Duck at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

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

Caroline Chung Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Jazz Fourtet at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473.  

Shiloh, hip hop, at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7-$10. 558-0881. 

Two Ton Boa, The Thrones, Year Long Disaster at 8 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $10. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Tippy Canoe, Naked Barbies Dandeline at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

The Jim Dangles at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Love Equals Death, Lucky Stiffs, Sugar Eater at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 8 

CHILDREN 

“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day” at 2 p.m., and Mon. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $10-$18. 925-798-1300. 

Derek Anderson on friendship in the forest at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

EXHIBITIONS 

Photo Exhibit of Foster Children and Youth sponsored by the Bay Area Heart Gallery on display at the Berkeley Public Library central lobby, 2090 Kittredge St. and Downtown Berkeley YMCA, 2001 Allston Way, through Oct. 31. www.bayareaheartgallery.com 

Works by Paul Veres opens at 2 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

THEATER 

“Shorts ‘N Champagne” eight short comedies from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Gaia Bldg., 2120 Allston Way. Tickets are $35. 704-8855. 

FILM 

The Mechanical Age “Steel Beast” at 3:30 p.m. and “La bete humaine” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Architecture Tour of the Oakland Museum of California Tour of the building and gardens with architect Kevin Roche and landscape architect Dan Kiley. Meet at 1 p.m. at the koi pond on the first level. www.museumca.org 

Salim Lamrani on “Superpower Principles” at 5 p.m. at Casa Cuba Resource Center, 6501 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. 219-0092. 

Poetry Flash with Robin Ekiss and Thomas Heise at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Gospel On High from 2 to 6 p.m. at Woodminster Amphitheater, 3300 Joaquin Miller Rd., Oakland. 238-3052.  

Prometheus Symphony Orchestra performs Rimsky Korsakov’s Le Coq d’Or suite and Dvorak’s Symphony #9 at 8 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 116 Montecito St., Oakland. Free, donations requested. 

Maxim Vengerov, violin, at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $36-$68. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Charles Hamilton Band at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

The Venezuelan Music Project with Aquiles Baez & Gonzalo Teppa at 6 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Wayne Wallace at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $25. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Pine Leaf Boys, Cajun, Zydeco at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Americana Unlpugged: The Shots at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

7 Generations, Eye of Judgement, Gather, Time for Change at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

MONDAY, OCT. 9 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Matthea Harvey and Cort Day, poets, read at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Steven Vincent and Charles Faulhaber introduce “Exploring the Bancroft Library: The Centennial Guide to Its Extraordinary History, Spectacular Special Collections, Research Pleasures, Its Amazing Future & How it All Works” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Poetry Express with Terry McCarty from Los Angeles at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Blue Monday Jam at 8 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Khalil Shaheed, all ages jam, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Tomasz Stanko Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

From an Ohlone woman’s menage with a zoot-suited Coyote, through a Japanese ex-houseboy and his picture bride eating pickled plums while awaiting relocation, a pair of Cain-and-Abel brothers who end up as Black Panther and strung-out Vietnam vet to the hip-hop kid of an interracial couple who bought a fixer-upper amid the drive-bys, the Shotgun Players’ premiere of Marcus Gardley’s Love is a Dream House in Lorin employs a cast of 30 to play 40-some characters that personify the story of the South Berkeley district in something like the narrative style of a WPA mural, all chromatic persona and event, motifs overlapping in time and space, recurring in gesture and song. 

The elaborate and engaging show, a true group effort to reflect a community’s reemergent identity, reads like a staged mission statement for the Players, who have called the Ashby Stage home just over two years. 

It began right after Shotgun had settled in, when Aaron Davidman, artistic director of San Francisco’s Traveling Jewish Theatre (who directs Dream House), a resident of Lorin in the early 1990s, read Melody Ermachild Chavis’s neighborhood memoir Altars in the Streets, and approached Shotgun founder Patrick Dooley about working together on a show that featured the community itself. Oakland-born Yalie playwright and Columbia U. teacher Marcus Gardley was comissioned last year, local people’s stories were gathered by the Shotgun team, Gardley’s many drafts of the play that he workshopped with the cast during his residency swelled (“We told him, let your imagination run wild,” said Dooley), and an exultant yet fiery public reading and discussion of a late version in July set the stage for last week’s triumphant opening night. 

Dream House, with its broad spectrum of present-day and historical (and mythic) local characters, its elliptical leaps between interlocking events from all eras, its language that ranges from Sunday sermon to rhymed street talk to song, sprawls—yet is tightly interlaced in all its vignettes and incidents, completely coherent, until at the end the crowd of previously divisive locals steps forward to tell their stories, their spirit eliciting a glowering gunman to put down his piece, have his say, and join them. 

“In some ways it was a lot easier than writing a play from my own imagination,” Gardley told Shotgun’s literary manager Liz Lisle. “For one, the stories were already rich and moving; I just had to thread them together.” 

But Gardley’s script is indeed rich with imagination, following a pattern he saw emerge from the research: a place where all kinds of people came to live, all with dreams they watched crumble. “’This land is cursed,’” Gardley recalls saying out loud, adding, “It wants to be healed.” 

Whatever they see in it, the stories Dream House provides a mirror to stimulate imaginations of locals and visitors alike, touching on both the dreams and hard times, and just suggesting current controversies. It’s an evening-long paean to that time-honored but neglected injunction, “Love Thy Neighbor.” 

Across the board—cast of 30, all ages and levels of performing experience, and production team of half that size—everybody has delivered to the best of their considerable abilities, costumed variously and choreographed across a set of a house undergoing remodelling under a backdrop of hills and swirling clouds, with quick, dramatic changes in light and sound. 

It would be unfair to single out anyone without naming all of them. Or maybe provoking a roll call of Lorin itself, past and present—of which only a dozen or so residents came to greet the opening of the Ashby Stage two years ago, but as of now, according to Dooley, “the biggest zipcode in our database is South Berkeley.” 

Love is a Dream House in Lorin 

8 p.m. Thursday-Sunday through Nov. 5 at the  

Asbhy Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. $15-$30.  

841-6500, www.shotgunplayers.org.

The Oakland Opera Theater opens this Friday its third Philip Glass opera—the compelling dance opera Les Enfants Terribles. This final opera of his trilogy based on the work by French artist Jean Cocteau, Les Enfants Terribles has been described by Glass as Cocteau’s “tragedy”: 

“If Orphée is Cocteau’s tale of transcendence and La Belle et la Bête his romance, then Les Enfants Terribles is his tragedy. Like the others, it articulates Cocteau’s belief in the power of imagination to transform the ordinary world into a world of magic. But unlike the two previous works, in which transformation leads to love and transcendence, Les Enfants Terribles takes us to the world of Narcissus and, ultimately, Death.” 

The opera, which is sung in French with a narration in English, tells of a teenage brother and sister, Paul and Elizabeth, who after the loss of their parents strive to live in a fantasy world they call “playing the game.” Increasingly isolated, they pass the days acting out their bizarre imaginings.  

Two friends—Gerard and Agathe—join them to form an oddly four-sided love triangle. When Paul falls in love with Agathe, Elizabeth connives to have Gerard marry Agathe. By ensuring that her brother will never leave her, Elizabeth leads them both into destruction. 

Although the original story was set in Paris, director Tom Dean has moved the setting to 1954 French Indochina. Placing the story amidst the turmoil of war, Dean gives the opera a context that lends motivational logic to the characters’ escapism. It also restages the piece as a commentary on the self-reflective nature of colonialism. The children of the story are adopted, just as in Indochine, French couples found it fashionable to adopt Vietnamese children who were then treated as someone (or something) between a child and a servant.  

Soprano Joohee Choi makes her Oakland Opera Theater debut in the principle role of Elizabeth. Choi recently completed a two-year residency with the Los Angeles Opera, and was acclaimed for her performances in Aida, Romeo et Juliette, Der Rosenkavalier, and Falstaff.  

Axel Van Chee returns to Oakland Opera Theater in the role of Paul. Recently described by Opera News as a “resonant baritone with striking stage presence,” Chee performed Captain Valentine in Oakland Opera Theater’s Johnny Johnson. 

Mezzo-soprano Cary Ann Rosko plays Agathe. Tenors Ben Johns and Johathan Smucker alternate in the role of Gerard.  

Soprano Choi says she had doubts about singing the part of Elizabeth. Although she wanted to add Glass’ work to her repertoire, she was taken aback by the piece’s difficulty. At first glance, she says, the music looked simple: “just a piano line.” Further study revealed the opera’s difficult tones and disharmonies.  

Baritone Chee agrees, describing the music as a game of cat and mouse: “The singers are the cat and the notes are the mice. You have to keep chasing them.” 

The music layers an intense rhythmic drive with a melodic line that Chee describes as “very romantic.” There are no duets or trios within the opera; the singers continuously switch from line to line, the music making slight shifts between singers. Because the music is minimalist, however, the smallest shift can sound huge. 

The singers agree that the melodic lines are lovely. In contrast, Chee remarks, this “very interesting and beautiful” melody provides the setting for a disturbing text. The story is a classic tragedy, with the characters fated to die, unaware that their obsessiveness will ultimately destroy them.  

The original score was written so that the singing line could be played on one piano; second and third pianos enrich the music by adding subtle complexity. Oakland Opera has engaged four of the Bay Area’s top accompanists—Skye Atman, Paul Caccamo, Daniel Lockert and Kymry Esainko—to perform the three-piano score under the musical direction of Diedre McClure.  

Dance, integral to the opera, is woven in from play’s beginning to end, and represents the children’s fantasy world. Each singer has his or her dance double, and must dance as well.  

The eight dancers working with the singers on stage are from the Oakland-based Nguyen Dance Company. Choreographer Danny Nguyen was recently recognized as one of the seven best creative choreographers in the Bay Area at Paul Taylor’s annual choreographic symposium in San Francisco. 

The sets, painted by Garrett Lowe, represent the house the characters inhabit, and like the music and the realities the children inhabit, are built in many levels like an intricate labyrinth. 

Once again Oakland Opera is offering a unique and fascinating theatrical experience with excellent singers, musicians and performers. The company’s increasing recognition for its innovative performances of 20th and 21st century operas is well earned and deserves the best of the community’s support.  

Oakland Opera Theater presents three operas per year, two fully staged and one in concert. Thanks to Jo Vincent Parks, a new member of the board of directors, the theater will launch a concert series this year that will include recitals and instrumental music. 

Les Enfants Terribles 

8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays from Oct. 6 to Oct. 22 at the Oakland Metro Operahouse,  

201 Broadway, Oakland (one block from Jack London Square). 763-1146, www.oaklandopera.org. 

One person’s ornamental is another’s weed. Like many other exotic plants, passionvine grows weedlike all over the Hawai’ian islands. It’s so much a part of the landscape that it has acquired a local name: lilikoi. Its fruit flavors the local specialty shave ice, and Queen Liliuokalani was so fond of it that she had a special set of dinnerware with a passionfruit motif. 

The butterfly whose caterpillars feed on the leaves of the passionvine is a big showy job, flame-orange with silvery spots like a spatter of mercury on the underside of its hindwing. On the mainland it’s called the Gulf fritillary, although it’s actually a longwing rather than a true fritillary. Someone has proposed renaming it the silver-spotted flambeau: to Hawaiians, sensibly enough, it’s the passionvine butterfly. 

By whatever name, it’s one of the few North American members of a mostly tropical group. Common in the Southeast (hence the Gulf part), its range is limited by that of its host plants. One form of passionvine gets as far north as Arkansas, where we called it maypop and made jam from it, and there are a bunch of wild species in Florida. The butterflies can’t tolerate cold winters, and those at the northern end of the range stage mass southward migrations. 

California has no native passionvines, though, and the Gulf fritillary didn’t establish itself here until they had been planted as ornamentals. It’s not clear when the butterflies first turned up; one lepidopterist speculated they followed the Southern Pacific tracks, but they might have wandered up from Mexico. After colonizing Southern California, they followed their food plant north to San Francisco. 

The larvae are picky about their food. When the adult butterflies emerge in spring, there’s a brief courtship in which the male fans his wings to give his mate a heady dose of pheromones. Then she lays her barrel-shaped eggs—on stalks, so ants and other small predators can’t get at them—on a passionvine leaf. The caterpillars hatch out and begin to munch. 

Flowering plants have a many-sided relationship with animals. A passionvine needs to have its flowers pollinated, its seeds distributed, and its leaves left the hell alone. So it’s evolved colorful fragrant blossoms to attract pollinating insects, and tasty fruit enclosing seeds that will hopefully be deposited somewhere away from the parent vine. And several lines of leaf defense have been developed. 

One tropical passionvine has hook-shaped hairs that puncture the soft bodies of caterpillars. Some resort to trickery: their leaves have projections that look like fine places to lay an egg but that are jettisoned by the plant once an egg is deposited. Still others have nectar glands that attract ants, which eat the longwing eggs or larvae, or faux eggs that make the leaf appear to have been preempted. 

The most common defense, though, is chemical. Passionvine leaves contain substances called cyanogenic glycosides, precursors of cyanide. This is enough to deter most leaf-eaters, but the evolutionary arms race hasn’t gone far enough to make the leaves unpalatable to the larvae of longwing butterflies. 

The butterflies get an advantage from their toxic diet. Experiments show that birds find Gulf fritillaries and other longwings distasteful. And it’s in the butterfly’s interest to advertise this. Gulf fritillaries may have evolved their vivid colors for the same reason that deer hunters wear Blaze Orange vests: to maximize their visibility. 

That would only work for predators with color vision, of course, which happens to include birds. The idea is that an inexperienced bird will take a bite of fritillary, go “Feh!”, and avoid big orange butterflies from then on. The learning process takes its toll of a few individuals, but the species benefits. 

Gulf fritillary caterpillars are also fairly gaudy, at least in their later stages: orange with menacing-looking black spines. The chrysalis, in contrast, is a cryptic object that looks like a curled-up dead leaf. 

Other butterflies publicize their bad taste in similar ways: the monarch, whose caterpillar stores up milkweed toxins, white butterflies that feed on mustard, the pipevine swallowtail whose larval diet is, guess what? And there’s an advantage to being orange, or whatever warning coloration: a bird that had tried to eat a fritillary might also pass up monarchs, and vice versa. 

This is where mimicry comes in: palatable butterflies which have evolved a protective resemblance to the distasteful ones. In the tropics this gets really complex, as most things do: there’s a whole raft of passionvine-feeding longwing species whose colors and patterns have converged to better spread the message, and free riders pretending to be poisonous. 

Warning coloration is not just a butterfly thing: it occurs in amphibians, sea creatures, and at least one bird, the hooded pitohui of New Guinea. It’s a nice bonus that the colors that function as keep-away signals to predators are also pleasing to humans. If you have room and a sunny exposure, you might consider planting your own passionvine to attract Gulf fritlliaries. Just remember not to eat the leaves. 

TUESDAY, OCT. 3 

Tuesday is for the Birds An early morning walk for birders through Bay Area parklands. Bring water, sunscreen, binoculars and a snack. This week we will visit Arrowhead Marsh. For meeting location or to borrow binoculars, call 525-2233.  

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping the public schools, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

Torture Teach-in and Vigil with Father Louis Vitale at 12:30 p.m. at the fountain on UC Campus, Bancroft at College. 649-0663. 

Environmental Links to Breast Cancer at 7:30 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Discussion Salon on Clean Money and Campaign Reform at 7 p.m. at JCC, 1414 Walnut.  

Sleep Soundly Seminar A free class on how hypnosis can help you sleep at 6:30 p.m. at 378 Jayne Ave., Oakland. To register call 465-2524. 

Guitars in the Classroom Free music and guitar classes for public school elementary teachers, beginners at 5:30 and intermediate at 6:30 p.m. at Lakeview Elementary School, 746 Grand Ave., Oakland. Classes run for 8 weeks. Advanced registration is required. 848-9463. 

Albany Library Homework Center is open from 3 to 5 p.m., Tues. and Thurs. for students in third through fifth grades. No registration is required. 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720 ext 17. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers Join a few slowpoke seniors at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the Little Farm for an hour or two walk. 215-7672, 524-9992. 

Handbuilding Ceramics Class from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s Senior Center, 2727 College Ave. Free, except for materials and firing charges. For information call 525-5497. 

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

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4  

Dedication of the Eastshore State Park at 11:30 a.m. at Berkeley Meadow, Frontage Road, between University and Gilman. A picnic lunch in the park and optional interpretive walks through the restored meadow will follow the program. For information contact the East Bay Regional Parks District, 544-2208. 

Berkeley Path Wanderers Association’s Fall Leaf Walk An easy stroll to enjoy falling leaves, ending with making leaf prints. Meet at the picnic area with the large fireplace in Live Oak Park, between Shattuck and Walnut, north of Rose. 524-2383. www.berkeleypaths.org  

Neighborhood and Community Green Space with David Dobereiner on “The Legacy of Karl Linn” at 1 p.m. in Wurster Hall, Room 315A, UC Campus. 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland Uptown to the Lake to discover Art Deco landmarks. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of the Paramount Theater at 2025 Broadway. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

Friends of the Albany Library Annual Meeting with local author Ellen Ekstrom reading from her new novel, “The Legacy” at 7:30 p.m. at 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 16. 

Friends of the Oakland Library Booksale at The Bookmark Bookstore from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. to Oct. 7 at 721 Washington St. 444-0473. 

Youth Media Council’s “Unplug Clear Channel” Party at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $3-$5. 849-2568. 

“Know Your Rights: What Employers Don’t Want You to Know” with author Carol Denise Mitchell at 6:30 p.m. at the Oakland Public Library, West Auditorium, 125 !4th St. 238-3134. 

WriterCoach Connection seeks volunteers to help students improve their writing and critical thinking skills. Training session from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. For information call 524-2319. www.writercoachconnection.org  

American Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation from 10 a.m. to noon. Various East Bay opportunities available. Advanced sign-up is required; please call 594-5165.  

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

“Living with Ones and Twos” Practical advice for parents with Meg Zweiback, nurse practitioner at 7 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Advance registration requested. 658-7353. www.bananasinc.org 

Spirited Child Series Learn how temperament affects children’s behavior and how to best live and work with inborn traits at 7 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. To register call 752-6150. If you need child care, at $5 per child, call 658-7353.  

New to DVD “Off the Map” Film and discussion at 7 p.m. at the JCC, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237, ext. 132. 

Current Events Discussion Group meets at 7 p.m. at the Niebyl Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. 597-4972. 

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. Sponsored by the Ecology Center’s Farm Fresh Choice. 848-1704. www.ecologycenter.org 

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, OCT. 5 

North East Berkeley Association Candidates Night for Mayor and School Board at 7 p.m. at Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 

First Thursdays at Fruitvale Village A street fair and farmer’s market with music, arts and crafts, stone fruit tastings, and activities for chidren from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Fruitvale BART.  

“Maquilapolis” A documentary on lives caught in the border-zone of the globalized economy, by Vicky Funari and Sergio De La Torre at 8:30 p.m. at Transmissions Gallery, 1177 San Pablo Ave. 558-4084. www.transmissions-gallery.com  

Workshop for Educators “More Than Your Standard Garden” Your school garden can be an outdoor classroom for science, math, or language arts. Learn how to develop standards-based lesson plans and link existing activities to California Content Standards. From 4 to 6 p.m. in Oakland. Cost is $25, scholarships available. 665-3546. www.thewatershedproject.org  

“Never Again” Photographs and discussion of the physical and human consequences of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at 5 p.m. at the Bade Museum of the Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave.  

Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival at 7 p.m. at the Lawrence Hall of Science. Tickets are $13-$15. 530-265-6424.  

Environmental Film Series “Life + Debt”on the effects of globalization on Jamaica and on the world’s developing countries at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

WriterCoach Connection seeks volunteers to help students improve their writing and critical thinking skills. Training session from noon to 3 p.m. For information call 524-2319. www.writercoachconnection.org  

Drop-in Health Clinics from 9 to noon at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst. 981-5190. 

Poetry Workshop with Donna Davis from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Offered by the Berkeley Adult School. 644-6130. 

Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters Club meets at 6:45 a.m. at Spud’s Pizza, 3290 Adeline at Alcatraz. Free, all are welcome. namaste@avatar.freetoasthost.info  

World of Plants Tours Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 p.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $5. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

FRIDAY, OCT. 6 

Impeachment Banner Fridays at 6:45 to 8 a.m. on the Berkeley Pedestrian bridge between Seabreeze Market and the Berkeley Aquatic Park, ongoing on Fridays until impeachment is realized. www. Impeachbush-cheney.com 

Berkeley Sustainability Summit with presentations on sustainability projects in Berkeley from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Krutch Theater, Clark Kerr Campus, 2601 Warring St. Cost is $25. RSVP to 548-2220 ext. 235. 

Job and Resource Fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the garden of the Oakland Museum, 1000 Oak St., Oakland, with presentaions by local companies, workshops and resume clinics, and information on seasonal employment opportunities. www.jobtrain.info 

The Path of Transformation: Heal from Domestic Violence from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Health Education Center, 400 Hawthorne Ave., Oakland. Cost is $25-$50, financial aid and scholarships available. 869-6763. 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with a debate between Dennis Kuby and Lisa Fullam on “The Morality of Legalizing Physician Aid in Dying” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

“Can We Spare Some Change?” An art exhibit of paintings by Milton Bowens and kick-off of a recruitment campaign to increase the number of African American bone marrow donors opens at 6 p.m. at the African American Museum & Library, 659 14th St., Oakland. 637-0200. 

“An Inconvenient Truth” Al Gore’s environmental documentary, at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Free. 482-1062. 

“An Inconvenient Truth” Al Gore’s environmental documentary, at 7 p.m. at Hillside Community Church, 1422 Navellier St., El Cerrito. 236-4348. 

“An Inconvenient Truth” Al Gore’s environmental documentary, at 6:30 p.m. at 565 Bellevue St., at Perkins, Oakland. 541-3009. 

Friends of the Oakland Library Booksale at The Bookmark Bookstore from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. to Oct. 7 at 721 Washington St. 444-0473. 

Moonrise, Sunset Hike A 3.5 mile nature hike over varied terrain. Meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Big Springs Staging Area, Tilden Park. Bring flashlight, layered clothing, water and a sack dinner. For information call 525-2233. 

Autumn Harvest Festival at Habitot Museum with storytelling and crafts, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111.  

“Investing in Emerging Markets: China, India, Russia” Conference from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Andersen Auditorium, Haas School of Business, UC Campus. ww.haas.berkeley.edu/ 

HaasGlobal/emergingmarketsconference.html 

Mid-Autumn Festival at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst. 981-5190. 

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

SATURDAY, OCT. 7 

11th Swim a Mile for Women with Cancer Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mills College, Trefethan Aquatic Center, 5000 MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland. 601-4040, ext. 180. www.wcrc.org/swim/index.htm  

Berkeley Path Wanderers Association leads a free walk exploring Pt. Richmond’s quaint and curious architecture, hillside staircases, and spectacular new waterfront viewpoints. Meet at 10 a.m. at the statue in the triangle bordered by E. Richmond, Park Place, and Washington Avenue. Wear comfortable shoes; dress for all weather; bring water. Optional no-host lunch at local restaurant follows walk. 848-9358. www.berkeleypaths.org 

“Criminal Folly of the Bush Administration: A Casre for Impeachment” with Lewis Lapham, editor emeritus of Harper’s Magazine, in conversation with Harry Kreisler, at 8 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Tickets are $12-$15. Benefit for KPFA and Global Exchange. 559-9500. 

“The Big Buy: Tom Delay’s Stolen Congress” A documentary by Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck, 7:30 p.m. at The Oaks Theater, 1875 Solano Ave. 843-3699. 

Solar Richmond Tour of solar installations in Richmond from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Meet at Richmond Main Library, Richmond Civic Center, corner of Macdonald Ave. and Civic Center St. Free, but please register in advance. 758-1267. www.solarrichmond.org  

Autumn Arachnids Learn about the mysteries of the spider, and look for orb weavers, jumping spiders and more, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Kid’s Garden Club for ages 7-12 to explore the world of gardening, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 636-1684. 

Walking Tour of Oakland City Center Meet at 10 a.m. in front Oakland City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

An Evening with Lewis Lapham in conversation with Larry Bensky at 8 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Benefit for KPFA and Global Exchange. Tickets are $12-$15. 415-255-7296, ext. 244. 

Benefit Bazaar for the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Sat. from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sun. from 1:30 to 6 p.m. at 1924 Cedar St., at Bonita. 540-8721. 

Black Panther Party 40th Anniversary with Elbert “Big Man” Howard, from Black Panther Party Minister of Information at 3 p.m. at the Rockridge Branch of the Oakland Public Library, 5366 College Ave. 597-5011. 

East Bay Environmental Training Program on Sat. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Nov. 11 at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $75-$150 sliding scale. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

“The Overlooked Second Generation: Children and Transnational Families in the Global Economy” with Rhacel Salazar Parreñas Professor of Asian American Studies at UC Davis at 2 p.m. at Berkeley City College, Room 51. 

“Enchantment: The Unique Relationship with the Guru” with Bill Gottlieb at 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland. RSVP to 415-703-0330. 

“Solar Electricity for Educators” A workshop on the global energy situation, the range of solar education projects, and how to address state curriculum standards with these projects, for teachers of grades 4-12. Teachers will receive a $150 stipend, materials, curriculum, and follow-up support. From 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at Rising Sun Energy Center, 2033 Center St. 665-1501 ext.13. www.risingsunenergy.org 

“Basic Gardening Techniques Make for Amazing Gardens” Learn about soil preparation, planting techniques, mulching choices and more at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

Introduction to Buddhist Teachings and Meditation with Richard Shankman, co-founder of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies, at 9 a.m at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. Donation $20. To register call 547-0757. 

Produce Stand at Spiral Gardens Food Security Project from 1 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon St. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Bilingual Storytime Stories in English and Spanish for toddlers and preschoolers at 10:30 a.m. in the Edith Stone Room at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

“In God’s House: Asian American Lesbian & Gay Families in the Church,” A documentary at 7 p.m. at Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. 849-8260. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

Around the World Tour of Plants at 1:30 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

Yoga for Peace at 9:30 a.m. at Ohlone Park, MLK at Hearst. Bring a yoga mat, warm blanket, and peace sign.  

Adult Fast Pitch Softball at noon. For location call 204-9500.  

Spiritwalking: Aqua Chi(TM) at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley High Warm Pool. Also Wed. at 3:30 p.m. Cost is $5.50, $3.50 seniors & disabled. Bring your own towels. 526-0312. 

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, OCT. 8 

Spice of Life Festival in North Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto with food, culinary demonstrations, live music and more from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m on Shattuck Ave. from Virginia to Rose. 

Architecture Tour of the Oakland Museum of California Tour of the building and gardens with architect Kevin Roche and landscape architect Dan Kiley. Meet at 1 p.m. at the koi pond on the first level. www.museumca.org 

A Day of Peace in People’s Park from 12:30 to 5 p.m. with music and speakers on stopping the war in the Middle East, and the war against civil liberties at home.  

Indigenous People’s Day at Habitot Museum. Learn about the native peoples of California with performances and crafts, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111. www.habitot.org 

Desgin Charrette for Halcyon Commons Rejuvenation Project community workshop from 2 to 5 p.m. in the park on Halcyon Ct. at Prince St. In case of rain, meet at 3044-A Halcyon Ct. Free. 644-0172. 

“Green Sunday: Why Should Greens Be Interested In the Upcoming KPFA Local Station Board Election?” Speakers and discussion at 5 p.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland. 

Turtle Time Meet Tilden’s turtles then walk to Jewel Lake to see the wild turtles that live there, from 11 a.m. to noon at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

The Joy of Rats Learn about basic guardianship of rats with Bay Area Rat Rescue at 2 p.m. at RabbitEars, 303 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 525-6155. 

Free Sailboat Rides from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Cal Sailing Club in the Berkeley Marina. Bring change of clothes, windbreaker, sneakers. For ages 5 and up. cal-sailing.org  

Free Hands-on Bicycle Clinic Learn how to do a safety inspection from 10 to 11 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Bring your bike and tools. 527-4140. 

Pancake Breakfast and Fleet Week Events from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. aboard the Red Oak Victory Ship, in Richmond Harbor. Take the Canal Blvd exit off 580 and follow signs to the ship. Cost is $6, children under 5 free. 237-2933. 

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

Kickabout at Codornices Park Soccer for all, skill and talent not required. For more information contact cambour@hotmail.com  

“A Generous Life” with Bill Hamilton-Holway at 9:30 a.m at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Robin Caton on “Living Fully” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, OCT. 9 

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

National Organization for Women, Oakland/East Bay Chapter with Dana Spatz, executive director of Lifeline, an advocacy program to boost higher education outcomes among mothers on welfare, at 6 p.m. at the Oakland YWCA, 1515 Webster St. 287-8948. 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people aged 60 and over meets at 9:45 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Donation $3. 524-9122. 

Men’s Health Series: Prostate Cancer at 3 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Safety and Self Defense Seminar for Women at 7 p.m. at the JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Donation $5. 848-0237. 

“Osteoporosis: Risk, Detection and Prevention” with Beverly Tracewell at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

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. 

Lead Abatement Repairs Find out about funding for lead hazard repairs for rental properties with low-income tenants or vacant units in Oakland, Berkeley or Emeryville, from 4 to 6 p.m. at 2000 Embarcadero, #300, Oakland. Sponsored by Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. 567-8280. 

CITY MEETINGS 

Commission on the Status of Women meets Wed., Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Tasha Tervelon, 981-5190. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/women 

Downtown Area Plan Advisory Commission meets Wed. Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7487. 981-7487. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning/landuse/dap 

School Board meets Wed. Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m., in the City Council Chambers. Queen Graham 644-6147 or Mark Coplan 644-6320. 

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5400. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/housing 

Landmarks Preservation Commission meets Thurs. Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Gisele Sorensen, 981-7419. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/landmarks 

Public Works Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 5, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jeff Egeberg, 981-6406. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/publicworks 

West Berkeley Project Area Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 5, at 7 p.m., at the West Berkeley Senior Center. Iris Starr, 981-7520. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/westberkeley