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UC Berkeley Students and Staff Protest Budget Cuts (Photo Essay)

By Planet Correspondents
Friday October 08, 2010 - 10:43:00 AM
Planet Correspondents

October 7, 2010 was a day of protest in the UC system, focusing on budget cuts but extending to a range of other student and labor issues. The main planned event of the day at the UC Berkeley campus was a Sproul Plaza rally.

Following a march through the campus, perhaps 500 protestors occupied the Reading Room at Doe Library for several hours, before leaving the building.

These photos, contributed to the Planet by a reader who wishes to remain anonymous, show the chronological sequence of events during the day. 

 

 

Morning pickets assembled at campus entrances, distributing red armbands and flyers. Some passing drivers honked in support. 

Posters lampooning UC President Mark Yudof and Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman (pictured with a Pinocchio nose made of a long balloon) made frequent appearances in the demonstration. During the morning small groups gathered outside, while UC security watched. 

 

The noontime Sproul Plaza rally filled the center of the Plaza and the Savio Steps with several hundred demonstrators. 

 

Following the rally a crowd, probably numbering at least 500, marched to California Hall, the administration building while UC police watched from the sidelines. Along the way a campus display wall with the fundraising slogan “Thanks to UC…” was amended to read, “…I’m in debt.” 

As the head of the marching column reached California Hall, the rear ranks were still passing through Dwinelle Plaza. The march circled California Hall then headed up towards the Campanile, before circling back to Doe Library. 

 

400-500 demonstrators entered Doe Library and climbed to the main reading room. UC Police initially blocked access after the room filled up, but soon were simply standing by the doors as protestors and curious spectators came and went. In the nearby Heyns Reading Room and other parts of the enormous building, students continued to study undisturbed. 

 

University Library administrators asked the crowd in the reading room to respect the facility and its users, and told them they could stay until the usual closing time of 9:00 pm. Some protestors brought in food—mainly water and bread—and ate at the study tables, while others circulated through the crowd picking up litter and debris. 

 

Protest signs were hung from the bookshelf walls and scattered on tables. Demonstrators talked and debated throughout the room. Individuals stood on chairs and tables to speak to the crowd but the cavernous hall amplified background noise and made it hard for the whole crowd to hear any single speaker. Votes were taken on whether to remain in the building. 

 

Downstairs, UC Police clustered, but according to the Daily Californian live blogging, the protestors largely exited the Library on their own well before the 9:00 pm closing time. Two men had climbed through the windows of the reading room to hang a banner above the main entrance. 

 

 

 


Student Protests Rock UC Berkeley and Other Schools

By Saul Sugarman (BCN)
Thursday October 07, 2010 - 09:45:00 PM

More than 500 protesters rallied against tuition fee hikes and budget cuts at the University of California at Berkeley today, including about 100 who planned to gather at the school's library well into the evening, a university spokeswoman said. 

Students at other UC and California State University schools also held protests at their respective campuses.  

The Berkeley protestors submitted a list of demands, including free education for all and for the university to rescind a 32 percent tuition fee increase that took place in the 2009 academic year. 

"We need to reverse the hikes and reverse the layoffs," said Luis Reyes, a student worker at UC Berkeley who was at the protests today. 

Reyes said he is upset that 200 more layoffs are planned at UC Berkeley this year in order to save $20 million. 

Organizers took their protest to the north reading room of Doe Library, where they were expected to stay until about 9 p.m., said Janet Gilmore, a spokeswoman for the university. 

The office of the chancellor responded to the protest on the school website. 

"Although we cannot respond to all of the demands for which you are fighting, we do support the cause of continuing to raise your voices to inform the California public," the statement said. 

No injuries or arrests have been reported in association with the protest, but police increased staff to ensure the demonstrations remain peaceful, UC Berkeley police Lt. Alex Yao said.  

The rally was held a day after state officials released a budget package that, if passed, could give each of the state's university systems $199 million. 

An additional $106 million for both school systems will come from the federal stimulus bill approved in 2009, for a combined total of $305 million. 

"The budget is a welcome change of trajectory, but whether or not all Californians can attend these schools is still on the table," said Alice Sunshine, a spokeswoman for a rally held today at California State University East Bay.  

Sunshine, who works for the California Faculty Association, said the CSU system has experienced many difficulties this year, including faculty layoffs. 

"A lot of people had to retire early," said Kim Geron, a professor at CSU East Bay. "Or they work 10 months or six months out of the year." 

University of California, Merced students also rallied against tuition fee hikes in downtown Merced, said Scott Jason, a university spokesman. He said about 50 students were participating in the rally. 

 

 


Plaintiff's Brief Filed in Rose Street Lawsuit

By Becky O'Malley
Thursday October 07, 2010 - 10:54:00 PM

The first shot has been fired in the suit filed by Berkeley Hillside Preservation, an unincorporated association, and neighbor Susan Nunes Fadley against the city of Berkeley and the City Council, with architect Donn Logan and his clients, software mogul Mitchell D. Kapor and his wife Freada Kapor-Klein named as real parties in interest. 

Attorney Susan Brandt-Hawley has filed a petition for a writ of mandamus to require the city to conduct the appropriate environmental review of the project proposed for a steep site at 2707 Rose Street. 

Berkeley Hillside Preservation is asking the court to require the City to conduct an environmental impact review (EIR), as mandated by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 

The project was approved by the Zoning Adjustment Board in late January, and the City Council subsequently refused to overturn it on appeal. 

Judge Frank Roesch will conduct the first hearing of the case in Alameda County Superior Court on December 2. 

The introduction to the attorney’s opening brief summarizes the plaintiffs’ argument: 

Single-family homes are usually exempt from CEQA’s purview, and rightly so. When a modest construction project will not have significant impacts, there is no need for environmental review or public scrutiny. 

This case, on the other hand, presents a monumental exception. On a steep wooded hillside on a narrow street in the seismically-vulnerable Berkeley hills, a 10,000 square foot structure with underground parking for 10 cars is proposed as a two-person residence and as a venue for philanthropic events. 

Everyone admires philanthropy, and the right to build a home is sacrosanct. But this is not a typical low-impact single-family home that rightfully qualifies for a CEQA exemption. There is abundant record evidence that the project’s massive size in its constrained location may result in significant environmental impacts. An extant 1917 Craftsman bungalow is to be demolished and the new home would be among the five largest ever built among the 17,000 single-family residences in Berkeley. 

Most of the unique historic homes in the vicinity are 80% smaller, and the record reflects wide community insistence on environmental review and mitigation of the project’s hotly-disputed aesthetic, geotechnical, historic, and traffic impacts. 

Yet a split Berkeley City Council refused to require environmental review, and instead approved the project’s four discretionary use permits based on CEQA’s categorical exemptions for single-family homes and urban infill. This was unlawful. Categorical exemptions are rebuttable and are disallowed upon a low-threshold “fair argument” — abundantly provided here —that a project may have a significant environmental impact. 

To be clear: the Court is not being asked to weigh in on the beauty versus banality of the project’s utilitarian box design or even its size. Opinions differ. A peremptory writ is sought because the City Council asserted categorical exemption from CEQA and failed to conduct any environmental review before approving multiple discretionary use permits. Petitioners simply seek a public CEQA process to inform City consideration of permit approvals, alternatives, and mitigation measures. This Court’s peremptory writ will require the City to fulfill its duty to conduct the salutary environmental review mandated by CEQA. 

 

The full text of the brief can be found here, and past articles about the controversy are listed here.


Thieves Snatching Credit Cards Left in Bank of America ATMS

By Bay City News
Thursday October 07, 2010 - 06:39:00 PM

Police in Berkeley are warning residents of a crime trend in which scammers stake out ATMs and gain access to debit and credit cards. 

This year, thieves have accessed Bank of America accounts in approximately 23 individual cases by staking out the machines and pouncing on them when community members forget to retrieve their cards before walking away, police said Wednesday. 

As soon as the customer walks away, the suspect can access the customer's account and make withdrawals -- stealing an average of $400 in each case, plus any additional charges that can be made prior to the customer's cancellation of the account, police said. 

The suspects often sit in a car, feign talking on the phone, or panhandle in front of the ATMs while watching vulnerable customers. 

Berkeley police detectives have been working with Bank of America representatives to address this trend, and management has responded by increasing the volume of beeping alerts on the machines that remind customers to retrieve their cards. 

Bank management is also in the process of hiring security personnel for the branches, police said. 

Police are asking for the community's help in reducing these crimes by being vigilant when making ATM transactions, developing a method to remember to take the card before walking away, and alerting others immediately if someone forgets a card. 

Two men have been arrested in connection with the thefts. Nau Macminh, 48, was arrested for crimes allegedly committed at the Telegraph and Durant avenues branch. Jason Miller, 41, was arrested at the north Shattuck Avenue branch. 

Detectives are searching for other suspects they believe are engaged in the same criminal activity and are encouraging community members to call the police non-emergency line at (510) 981-5900. 

Crimes in progress should be reported using 911, or (510) 981-5911 from a cell phone.


Copy Shop Will No Longer Print Planet

Thursday October 07, 2010 - 11:31:00 AM

The Daily Planet has been informed that the copies of the paper printed by Copy Central and distributed through news racks will no longer be available. The printer has also been asked to collect outstanding copies of this week’s issue immediately. Several hundred copies were printed weekly and sold for $2 each. 

It would not be a mistake to consider that the usual suspects might be involved. 

We will continue to post graphic images of the paper (PDFS) online at berkeleydailyplanet.com every Wednesday for the foreseeable future and we hereby give permission for anyone who wishes to make copies and to give them away or sell them for whatever price they can get. Images of this week’s paper can be found on this week’s front page. 

Online readers, please tell your friends who prefer print what’s happened, and you might even print them out a copy if you’re feeling generous.


“Bankrupting America”: The Truth behind those ‘Hole in the Ground’ Ads

By Gar Smith
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 11:59:00 AM

Suddenly, the ads were everywhere — flashing on TV screens and popping up on local radio stations. The TV ads featured a sweating white guy in a business suit shoveling dirt in the bottom of an ever-expanding trench while a voice-over boomed: “When you’re in a hole, stop digging.” In the radio spots, the scrunch of a shovel was interrupted by an echo-chamber-enhanced voice pleading: “Hello? Can we have a little help down here?” 

The message was clear: Federal spending has put the nation in a hole and people need to tell Washington to stop — presumably by voting against incumbents in the November election. The messenger, however, was less clear. The commercials ended with the line: “This message has been brought to you by BankruptingAmerica.” 

But just who is behind these hole-in-the-ground advocacy ads? The ads don’t say and the website (www.bankruptingamerica.org) sheds little light on who is bankrolling “BankruptingAmerica.” The “About Us” page lists no staff, mailing address, affiliates or sponsors. BackruptingAmerica (BA) characterizes itself as “an educational project that explores the politics hindering economic opportunity and growth.” BA’s Web page claims its goal is “not to merely place blame or point fingers” but also to seek solutions. 

The anonymous authors claim that the organization opposes “unprecedented government spending and debt,… higher taxes and poorly designed bureaucratic red tape” (as opposed to well-crafted red tape, presumably). Putting on populist airs, BA claims a concern over “corporate welfare” and appears to hold both Bush and Obama equally guilty of reckless spending. The site even posts comments by “Left-of-center political commentator Robert Reich” and jibes from Bill Maher cracking wise about government spending. 

 

“Put on your Earmuffs” 

As part of its educational mission, BA promises to “explain the key components and likely effects of 1,000-page bills the public never sees” and promises to “look for the hidden kickbacks and pork barrel projects Congress hopes you’ll never find.” These would be two worthy services but there is no evidence BA has yet bothered to pursue either goal. If there has been any critical feedback, you won’t find it on the BA site. At the bottom of its page attacking “last year’s unpopular bailouts to over 600 businesses,” is the terse announcement: “Comments are closed.” 

BA’s message is largely negative. Like the Tea Party, BA’s vibe is sustained by vague complaints and attacks against “big government.” One BA video explains “How to Create One Million Jobs in Five Easy Steps.” Step 1: “Put on your earmuffs.” (Ignore Washington’s claim that Federal spending can create jobs.) Step 2: “Remove your earmuffs and listen to a smart economist.” (Carmen Reinhart opines that the debt has damaged our economic growth.) Step 3: “Listen to another smart economist.” (Christina Romer, departing White House economist, notes that a 1% drop in GDP equals 1 million jobs.) Step 4: “Apply Transitive Property.” (Cutting the debt would help create jobs.) Step 5: “Go ahead and put on your earmuffs again.” (“Ignore Washington’s claims that cutting spending would harm job creation…. Tell Washington that cutting spending is essential for job creation.”) 

The message remains Tea-Party-friendly. There are few specifics on what programs to cut (reducing the Pentagon budget is one quick way to cut the deficit by billions) and certainly no mention of taxing the 1% of Americans who (thanks, in large measure to Bush/GOP tax “reforms”) now hold most of the nation’s wealth. 

Following the Clues 

So who is behind BankruptingAmerica? There is one slim clue. Under the heading: “What’s in it for us?” BA reveals that it is “a project of Public Notice, a nonpartisan nonprofit… 100 percent focused on arming people with… economic facts and figures.” 

The first public notice of Public Notice apparently came in late February 2010, with a column that appeared in US News and World Report railing against Washington’s “[b]ackroom deals, trillion-dollar deficits, pork-laden spending bills, and multibillion-dollar bailouts.” 

On September 28, Public Notice paid for an ad on MSNBC that complained of soaring debt and out-of-control Federal spending and ended with a call for viewers to turn out in November and vote for “small, caring government.” The implicit message — that viewers should cast a vote against the incumbent party — seems inconsistent with the rules governing “nonpartisan nonprofit” organizations. However, Public Notice can get away with this because, unlike a traditional 501(c)3 nonprofit, it is a 501(c)4 organization. As such, it is free to engage in “limited” political activity and does not have to disclose its donors. 

Jason Togyer, an on-air host at Pittsburg’s WRCT-FM, was concerned that Public Notice has been “underwriting announcements on public, non-commercial radio stations… right before an election.” The ads were included on “The World Café,” a program produced by WXPN-FM in Philadelphia and syndicated on other nonprofit stations. 

Togyer noticed that, like the BA homepage, the Public Notice website contains “almost no information about who’s behind it.” Public Notice claims its mission is to provide “clear, unbiased and useful information” to the masses. But, as Togyer notes: “They don’t list a board of directors and they won’t reveal who’s funding it. They don’t even list a mailing address.” 

The Public Notice website specifically attacks the government’s stimulus bill, which it proclaims a failure. The website also features a video with clips (that appear to come from Glenn Beck’s August 28 Washington, DC rally) that poses five questions: Which president (1) Spent $3 trillion in a single year, (2) provided a bailout for big corporations, (3) spent billions on a stimulus package during a recession, (4) hiked spending on non-defense items several times over the rate of inflation and, (5) passed a costly healthcare bill. The ad’s answer is a bit of a shocker: “Both Bush and Obama.” 

This may look like a bipartisan jab but it’s disingenuous. As “The Dissenting Indian” blogs in a piece titled “Public Notice — A Teabagger/GOP Front,” “President Obama’s healthcare bill was fully paid for… and even reduces the federal deficit — by $130 billion over the first ten years and by over $1.2 trillion over the second decade.” By contrast, George W. Bush’s Medicare prescription drug program was a costly boondoggle designed to enrich the country’s largest drug companies. 

Another clue to the politics of BankruptingAmerica is found by checking the site’s “Media” section. BA has posted a number of op-eds that it has placed in newspapers around the country. They are all written by Gretchen Hamel. Ms.Hamel is the founder and partner of a public relations organization called Endeavour Global Strategies. EGP appears to have a staff of three. Sean M. Spicer also is listed as EGP’s “founder and partner.” Before setting up EGP, both Hamel and Spicer were powerful communications officials in the George W. Bush administration. 

As Bush’s Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative for Public and Media Affairs, Hamel was (in her own words) “a lead player in crafting and conducting” the campaign to pass Bush’s Free Trade Agreements. Hamel got her start in Washington as Deputy Press Secretary for Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK) before becoming Communications Director for Rep. John Carter (R-TX). In 2005, Hamel became “chief spokeswoman and press secretary” for the House Republican Conference. 

Until 2009, Spicer served in the Executive Office of the President as George W. Bush’s Assistant US Trade Representative for Media and Public Affairs. Before joining the White House, Spicer was Communications Director for the House Republican Conference. He has also served as President of the Republican Communications Association and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Defense Committee. 

Hamel Goes On the Record 

In March, Zachary Roth managed to reach Gretchen Hamel at the Public Notice office in Washington, DC and reported on his conversation in a TPMMuckraker article for Talking Points Memo (TPM). Asked what specific spending programs Public Notice wished to see cut, Hamel replied: “Its not just about one program.” Asked about the funding sources behind Public Notice, Hamel would only say the organization had “dozens of supporters across the US.” Asked to name some of the major donors, Hamel demurred. “We will not be disclosing our donors. We want to protect the anonymity of our donors.” While she claimed this is common nonprofit practice, it is not. 

Hamel reiterated the claim that Public Notice’s mandate was nonpartisan. “We’re gonna be critical of anyone who is involved in the misuse of taxpayer dollars and overspending,” she declared. When Roth asked if she had objected to overspending while serving in the Bush administration, she said she had “but did not elaborate.” 

Hopping in the Hole 

BankruptingAmerica is not the only “nonpartisan” PR firm waving its shovels in the direction of Washington. A group called DefeatTheDebt.com (DTD) is airing another set of ads that depict a flushed Uncle Sam shoveling away in the bottom of a large hole while a little girl looks down from above and pleads: “Please stop digging.” Another DTD ad depicts a classroom filled with children pledging allegiance to “America’s debt and the Chinese government that lends us money, and to the interest, for which we pay, compoundable, with higher taxes and lower pay, until the day we die.” 

DefeatTheDebt boasts more transparency than Public Notice, providing an address, staffing and contact information. The website reveals that DTD is a project of the Employment Policies Institute (EPI), a nonprofit “dedicated to studying public policy issues that affect the American economy.” On DTD’s website, Executive Director Rick Berman expresses concern that the consequences of our growing $13 trillion debt (which requires “$500 million in interest payments every day”) could prove “disastrous.” But there’s another side to DTD and its sponsor, EPI. 

According to SourceWatch, Berman created the Employment Policies Institute in 1991 to lobby on behalf of hotel, restaurant, alcohol and tobacco interests. EPI is also the home base for the pro-management Center for Union Facts. Despite its insider reputation as a “think tank financed by business,” EPI continues to present a “populist” face by claiming a number of worker-friendly domain names including MinimumWage.com, LivingWage.com, and GatewayJobs.org. Even EPI’s name seems to have been chosen for its proximity to the long-established Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank with roots in organized labor. It is probably no coincidence that the logo for Berman’s EPI uses the same typeface as labor’s EPI. The websites are easily confused: epi.org vs. Berman’s epionline.org. (Chairs of Berman’s EPI have included restaurant impresario Norman Brinker — Steak and Ale, Burger King, Pillsbury restaurant group — and Outback Steakhouse founder Chris Sullivan.) 

In 1994, EPI warned that the Clinton Healthcare plan would trigger the loss of 2-3 million jobs. EPI did not advertise the fact that the Clinton’s program was to be financed, in part, by a tax on cigarettes — or that EPI had worked closely with R. J. Reynolds on its campaign. In 1997, Philip Morris saw EPI as a good partner to promote its opposition to proposed smoking bans in public places. (Like Public Notice, EPI is also a 501(c)4 organization, which frees it to engage in “limited” political activity and hide the identity of its donors.) 

In 2008, EPI and the Center for Consumer Freedom (also founded by Rick Berman) joined the Republican attack on ACORN by purchasing a full-page ad in the New York Times accusing ACORN of “a list of abuses” and directing readers to contact RottenAcorn.com. EPI’s major gripe with ACORN was likely ACORN’s insistence on increasing the minimum wage — including wages for workers in the restaurant, hotel and service industries. EPI prefers to defend lower minimum wages, claiming they best serve the needs of “the poor and uneducated.” In1992, EPI was defending the fact that 6.5 million Americans had been relegated to part-time work, arguing that this meant greater “flexibility” for workers and companies. 

In 2009, EPI crafted radio and TV spots for the “Committee to Rethink Reform,” which attacked the Democrats’ proposals for healthcare reform. SourceWatch reports that EPI has spent “substantial funds on ads in other right-wing campaigns.” Other EPI ads compare the national debt to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and warn that a “Budget Freeze Wont Fix the Debt.” One EPI spot stretches the “nonpartisan” label by featuring Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA). 

On October 3, Rep. Wolf addressed the GOP’s Patriot’s Dinner in Prince William County, Virginia, and bemoaned the fact that the US now has to compete with India and China — “a nation that opposes our values, a nation that hacks our computers daily, a nation with no religious freedom.” Wolf criticized the nearly $13 trillion in debt the US has racked up (while failing to mention that nearly all of that debt was accumulated while he was in office). In July, Wolf (who makes a point of his close ties to officials at Lockheed Martin) introduced his “Bring Jobs Back to America Act” — a plan to create new jobs without new federal spending. Noting that "many companies see the rising costs of wages and shipping in foreign countries,” Wolf proposed luring US companies back home by offering lavish “tax incentives to aggressively ‘onshore’ these jobs." Ironically, July was also the month in which Wolf voted against the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 

How to Grab a Shovel and Fight Back 

Washington has proven fertile ground for the spawning of misleadingly named lobbying groups. The roster of fake “grassroots” organizations includes Save Our Species Alliance (opposed to the Endangered Species Act), National Smokers Alliance (opposed to the regulation of Big Tobacco), Americans for Job Security (opposed to the estate tax for the wealthy), United Seniors Association (supported prescription medication legislation backed by Big Pharm), Americans for Tax Reform (Grover Norquist’s anti-tax group), FreedomWorks (Dick Armey and right-wing billionaires), Americans for Prosperity (the Koch brothers’ oil interests) and Karl Rove’s American Crossroads (which is suspected of shifting tens of millions in secret funding from corporations to bankroll political campaigns in the November elections). These corporate front groups masquerading as grassroots organizations have given rise to the term “Astroturf.” (The disclosure that California’s Proposition 23 — an initiative that would torpedo the state’s ambitious goal to address climate change by promoting “green jobs” in renewable energy — is largely backed by powerful out-of-state oil and gas interests has given rise to a new term for faux activism — the “gas-roots” organization.) 

In response to growing citizen complaints, Sen. Max Baucus, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has called on the IRS to investigate secretive political front groups that skirt the law to raise millions to support the campaigns of pro-business candidates. Baucus has specifically asked the IRS to look into the dealings of Rove’s American Crossroads. In addition to congressional investigations, action is needed by the Department of Justice and the Federal Elections Commission. 

Recently, “Diet for a Small Planet” author Frances Moore Lappé has stepped into the fray to call on friends to support the Fair Elections Act. “I’m on fire about what, to me, is the ‘mother of all issues’,” Lappé writes, “We’re losing democracy itself, as the power of private corporate influence in elections is drowning out citizen’s voices.” Fortunately, Lappé notes, in late September, a key House committee gave the nod to the “Fair Elections Now Act.” FENA — a bi-partisan bill sponsored by Reps. John Larson (D-Conn.), Walter Jones (R-NC) and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) — would promote a nationwide system of voluntarily citizen- and public-financed elections that would free candidates to compete without relying on corporate money. Candidates would be required to raise donations of no more than $100 each from individual, home-state voters. These contributions would be matched four-to-one by a fund supported with revenues from the sale of Federal broadcast licenses. 

Common Cause President Bob Edgar called the committee vote “a huge step forward for voters who feel ignored by Washington…. As long as we have politicians answering to corporations and lobbyists who finance their campaigns, they will never be accountable to the people who elected them.” 

Public Campaign CEO Nick Nyhart hailed the vote as sending “a strong signal” that 85% of US voters want regulations to “curb lawmakers’ dependence on special interest campaign donations.” 

The program has already been adopted by three states, including Maine, where 80 percent of the state’s legislators no longer have any financial reason to favor corporate gain over the public good. FENA already has 166 sponsors — Democrats and Republicans — and the support of more than 170 state and national organizations. A campaign is underway to press House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring FENA to a vote before the full House — hopefully, before the November election. 

 

Actions You Can Take: 

 

American Crossroads Watch. www.velvetrevolution.us/acrw/signup.php 

Clean Up Washington. www.cleanupwashington.org 

Write the Department of Justice. www.justice.gov/contact-us.html 

Contact Congress: To find our where your representative stands on FENA, call the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 225-3121 

Call Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (202) 225-4965. 

Public Campaign. www.publicampaign.org/ 

Fair Elections Now. http://fairelectionsnow.org/ 

Gar Smith is the winner of several Project Censored Awards and is co-founder of Environmentalists Against War. He is based in Berkeley, California.


Yogurt, Oil and Tenants' Rights Dominate Berkeley Council Meeting

By Charlotte Perry-Houts
Friday October 01, 2010 - 12:38:00 PM

Frozen yogurt, British Petroleum, and political prisoners were a few of the lively subjects discussed at Tuesday's regular City Council meeting. 

The Council ceremonially declared September 28th, 2010 Floyd Salas Day. The jolly, wizened Salas, an acclaimed Hispanic author, was present along with a crowd of family members who cheered enthusiastically as he accepted the honor. Also recognized was Indigenous People's Day, declared for October 9th, 2010. Everybody was encouraged to attend the Pow-Wow celebration on that date at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Park. Biotech partners also took the opportunity to thank Youth Works and the City of Berkeley for grant money used to place teenagers in biotechnical internships. 

The Council made a unanimous decision to send a letter on behalf of the City of Berkeley urging President Barack Obama to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier. Peltier is a political prisoner from the American Indian Movement who was convicted of murdering two FBI agents at Oglala, South Dakota, and sentenced to two consecutive life terms in 1977. Supporters insist that his trial was unfair, with nearly all of the evidence having been manipulated, invented, or suppressed by the FBI. Three speakers thanked the Council for supporting Peltier, who has now been in prison for 35 years. 

Perhaps the longest discussion that took place on Tuesday night was the appeal by the owners of Papa Mango, a frozen yogurt shop near Telegraph, against the Zoning Adjustment Board’s decision to allow a Pinkberry frozen yogurt shop at 2400 Telegraph. Christine Limpin and her husband appeared at the Council meeting to argue on behalf of the eight existing locally and independently-owned frozen yogurt restaurants, claiming that the ZAB made its decision without hearing the position of the existing shops. 

The addition of Pinkberry, designated a “quick-serve” restaurant because customers are given their yogurt to sit down and eat at the store, would make 44 quick-serve restaurants in the area, exceeding the quota. Given that fact, and for fear that the number of frozen yogurt shops in the area might be getting out of control and posing a detriment to the livelihood of the smaller businesses, Limpin and seven other frozen yogurt businesses petitioned to have a second hearing. Limpin also claimed that she and her husband were not notified properly about the original ZAB hearing. 

Councilmembers Maio and Worthington moved to support the appellants and have a second hearing. “What their petition asks is have a hearing and consider the facts,” said Worthington. “Given that I am not an expert on yogurt and I do not know if this particular yogurt is dramatically different from all the other kinds of yogurt, I think [it's] the least we can do for these eight small businesses who are struggling in Berkeley—they are already here, and they are struggling.” Eventually, however, seemingly in the interest of filling a business location that has been unoccupied for three years in a bad economy, a substitute motion was passed upholding the ZAB decision and turning down the appellants. 

Item number 19 on the agenda, regarding a Stuart Street resident and landlord who had turned a five-unit residence into four units, turned into a lengthy, often confused debate about Measure Y. Measure Y, passed in 1998, spells out protections from eviction for tenants meeting certain criteria, one of which is that they live in a building containing five or more units. Since this transformation from five to four units had been made without a permit prior to any attempts to qualify for one, and since the transformation would remove Measure Y eviction protections from future tenants, it was decided to remand the ZAB's previously sympathetic ruling back to the Board. 

If ZAB decided to deny the permit, some councilmembers feared, the tenants of the building could be evicted. So, with advice from the City Attorney, it was agreed that the city has discretion to enforce eviction protection in this situation to prevent any evictions from taking place. 

The final item taken up by the council was a recommendation authored by Councilmember Jesse Arreguin that the council urge the University of California to terminate its contract with British Petroleum. “When this agreement was entered into,” the agenda item said, “we didn't know that B.P. would be responsible for the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry, and the impacts of that oil spill will continue to affect the gulf coast for many years to come.” 

This item brought up seven public speakers, one dressed in Blue and Gold with a furry bear hat, trailing a black paper bag from her shoe, wearing a number of “B.P.” logos. All of the speakers came to support Arreguin's item, and all were disappointed. 

Perhaps because the research facility operating under funding from B.P. “creates $50 million in money being spent,”as Councilmember Wozniak pointed out, the item died without a motion. “I think the university's a very powerful interest in the city, and they're strongly, strongly against this,” Arreguin commented. “So I think their opposition to this strongly influenced the councilmembers decision to not support this.” 

[This article first appeared as an Extra last week.]


Council Postpones Sunshine Ordinance Until At Least January

By Charlotte Perry-Houts
Friday October 01, 2010 - 12:34:00 PM

Tuesday's City Council worksession on the Sunshine Ordinance for open government ended with Mayor Bates' promise that “we will bring this item back into the Council in January. And we will be ready to make it happen.” The Sunshine Ordinance, an attempt to make city governance more accessible to the public, has been on the table in various forms for the last ten years and has seen 24 drafts by the City Attorney. The ordinance is an attempt to improve upon the “minimum standards” set by the Brown Act of 1953 and the California Public Records Act of 1968. 

The only public comment at the worksession came from Sherry Smith, President of the League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville. She voiced the LWV's support of a Sunshine Ordinance and named a number of components that the LWV would like to see in an ordinance, including the release of the Council agenda packet at least one week earlier. 

The Citizens Sunshine Committee gave a twenty-minute presentation regarding their most recent draft of the ordinance. The group has drafted three different versions of the initiative between January of 2009 and May of this year, awaiting city staff's fiscal analysis and response to each. 

The main concern of the city staff has been the cost of implementing the ordinance, estimating that the CSC's most recent draft represents $2 million in “ongoing annual costs.” The CSC disputed that number, saying that the staff estimate includes technological upgrades and modernization that ought to be made regardless of any ordinance. 

The CSC also argued that payroll expenses are very high because the city governments doesn’t have up-to-date technology, and that the time spent servicing Public Records Act requests alone could be reduced by 100 hours per week with the right technical assistance. “The bottom line is the staff estimates reflect a profound extreme and shockingly wasteful fiscal management,” stated Roger Marquis, the CSC's information technology consultant. 

The staff's Power Point presentation focused on four primary points for an ordinance: the agenda process, the conduct of meetings, how public records are made available, and the possibility of an advisory commission for the ordinance. They committed to the Council that they could have a draft ordinance prepared by January for consideration. 

Everybody on the council, on the city staff, and from the CSC claimed to have the same ultimate goal. Councilmember Max Anderson said that it is to have “an open government that is responsive to the citizenry, and still allows us to proceed in a manner that we don't induce some self-imposed paralysis on the government.” 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington pointed out that there are a number of points in the ordinance that are not particularly controversial on which most of the council seemed to agree. Nobody argued against the need for a more accessible venue for council meetings or the need for an easier-to-navigate website. Everybody agreed that the meetings should not run later than 12 a.m., with most councilmembers wishing that they would not run past 10 or 11 p.m. 

It also seemed that everybody wanted an earlier release of the Council agenda packet, which would give the public as well as the councilmembers more time to study the issues being presented at the meeting. Since the CSC's ordinance will likely be approved for the November, 2012 ballot, but will probably not be passed before then, Worthington recommended that the Council take action on passing those non-controversial sections of the ordinance at the next available opportunity, most likely at the upcoming January discussion. 

[This article first appeared as an Extra last week.


Mehserle Lawyer Seeks New Trial

By Janna Brancolini (BCN)
Monday October 04, 2010 - 11:21:00 PM

Lawyers for former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle have asked a Los Angeles judge to issue a new trial after the defense team unearthed a 2008 incident that was "pretty much identical" to the defense rejected by jurors last year. 

Defense lawyer Michael Rains submitted the 134-page motion Friday to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry, who is presiding over the case after it was relocated from Alameda County due to widespread attention. 

The filing alleges that the jury did not have a legal basis to convict Mehserle of involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting passenger Oscar Grant III on the Fruitvale station platform while Grant was lying facedown on the ground on Jan. 1, 2009. 

It also says new evidence has come to light since the jury made its decision in July that should entitle Mehserle to a new trial. 

Mehserle's defense has said the shooting was accidental and that the former officer, who had been on the force 2.5 years and been trained to use his Taser just three weeks before the killing, meant to shoot Grant with a Taser stun gun instead of his firearm. 

"The district attorney at our trial argued that even though there had been some prior cases of officers mistakenly shooting guns instead of Tasers, not a single one was identical to this case," Rains said. 

But after the trial, the defense team discovered an incident in which a 13-year veteran of a sheriff's department in Kentucky shot a suspect with a gun instead of a Taser, Rains said.  

The sheriff's lieutenant shot a suspect in the small city of Nicholasville and severely injured him, Rains said. 

He said the district attorney determined the lieutenant had made a mistake but did not have any criminal intent. No criminal charges were filed against him. 

The lieutenant was using the same type of gun and same type of holster used by Mehserle, and the two situated their respective weapons on the same parts of their belts, Rains said. 

"In all respects it's pretty identical to what happened to Mr. Mehserle," he said. 

Deputy District Attorney David Stein, who is prosecuting the case, did not return calls seeking comment today.  

Although he faced charges of first- and second-degree murder, Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for killing Grant, a 22-year-old Hayward resident, after a fight broke out on the platform. 

Mehserle is set to appear in court for sentencing on Nov. 5 and could face between two and 14 years in prison, Rains said. He said the judge would likely rule then on the motion for a new trial.


Proposed Acheson Commons Development Would Add 200 Units to Downtown Berkeley

By Steven Finacom
Saturday October 02, 2010 - 11:18:00 AM
The Acheson Commons development would see a new five story residential tower
              built above the foreground building at the corner of University and Shattuck, and
              other new construction and renovation housing extending up the 2100 block to the
              right.
Steven Finacom
The Acheson Commons development would see a new five story residential tower built above the foreground building at the corner of University and Shattuck, and other new construction and renovation housing extending up the 2100 block to the right.
A bird’s eye view of the proposed development, with the corner of University and
                              Shattuck at lower left. The existing Acheson building is second from right; a five
                              story residential structure would be built over the existing Ace Hardware building at
                              far left. Preliminary design by Kirk Peterson, architect.
A bird’s eye view of the proposed development, with the corner of University and Shattuck at lower left. The existing Acheson building is second from right; a five story residential structure would be built over the existing Ace Hardware building at far left. Preliminary design by Kirk Peterson, architect.
Kirk Peterson, the project architect for the Acheson Commons project, also designed
              the Bachenheimer building, center, in 2004.
Steven Finacom
Kirk Peterson, the project architect for the Acheson Commons project, also designed the Bachenheimer building, center, in 2004.
These two brown shingle apartment buildings at Berkeley Way and Walnut would
              be demolished or moved to some as-yet-unidentified other site as part of the
              proposed development.
Steven Finacom
These two brown shingle apartment buildings at Berkeley Way and Walnut would be demolished or moved to some as-yet-unidentified other site as part of the proposed development.
The proposed Acheson Commons project would cover about 2/3s of the block
                                              bordered by University Avenue, Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley Way, and Walnut Street.
                                              The Bachenheimer Building, which intersects the development, is owned by the
                                              developer. The two white-roofed buildings along Berkeley Way are not owned by
                                              the developer or part of the project.
The proposed Acheson Commons project would cover about 2/3s of the block bordered by University Avenue, Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley Way, and Walnut Street. The Bachenheimer Building, which intersects the development, is owned by the developer. The two white-roofed buildings along Berkeley Way are not owned by the developer or part of the project.
A site plan for the development, with University Avenue at the bottom.
A site plan for the development, with University Avenue at the bottom.
The Walnut Street frontage of the housing infill above the existing Ace Hardware building. Preliminary design by Kirk Peterson, architect.
Steven Finacom
The Walnut Street frontage of the housing infill above the existing Ace Hardware building. Preliminary design by Kirk Peterson, architect.

Preliminary designs for a block long, six building, 200 rental unit development planned for downtown Berkeley were unveiled September 30, 2010, by the developer and the project architect. 

The site of the “Acheson Commons” development includes seven existing buildings, three of them designated historic landmarks. They stand on the 2100 block of University Avenue bordered by Shattuck on the west and Walnut on the east.  

Proposed by Equity Residential, a nationwide developer and operator of rental housing, the development would involve additions to three existing buildings, removal of two others, and renovation of two more. 

Residential structures with commercial ground floors would rise four to six stories along University Avenue from Shattuck to Walnut, and wrap around the Walnut corner into a six-story, entirely new construction, apartment building extending to Berkeley Way. 

Dustin Smith, one of three Equity Residential representatives at the community meeting held in the Shattuck Hotel to present the project, said the company currently “owns about 8,500 units in the Bay Area (including) about 500 units in eight buildings in Berkeley.” Nationwide, another Equity representative said, the company has more than 144,000 units. 

The proposed project would increase Equity’s Berkeley housing stock by “around 200 units in four buildings,” according to Kirk Peterson of Oakland, the project architect who made most of the presentation at the meeting. 

The preliminary designs Peterson presented build on the historic character of the landmark Acheson Physician Building and its neighbors on the block. The existing properties were largely built in the early 20th century by the Acheson family. Equity recently purchased the buildings from the estate of an Acheson employee who had inherited the commercial property. 

All the new buildings are traditionally styled. As Peterson presented his designs he said, “if you imagine the Acheson family in the 1920s had commissioned all of these (new) buildings and hired me, this is what I would have done back then.” 

“One of the reasons we hired Kirk is because he’s very conversant with historic preservation,” said Dan Golovato, Equity First Vice President, who appeared to be leading the Equity team at the meeting. “We’re making a pretty significant investment, trying to be a catalyst for all of downtown.” 

The existing properties, working from west to east along the north side of University Avenue, include the one-story U.S. Realty Corp. Building, often known as the MacFarlane Building after the candy store once located there.  

Sporting an ornate metal cornice painted white above arched clerestory windows, and occupying the northeast corner of the University Avenue / Shattuck Avenue intersection, it was built in 1925 and designated a city of Berkeley landmark in 1986.  

Next is another one-story, early 20th century commercial building with a painted brick façade, currently housing a copy shop. Peterson noted that the design of the façade is identical to the commercial ground floor of the Acheson Physicians’ Building further up the block. 

The brick building is bordered on the east by the Bachenheimer Building, designed by Kirk Peterson in 2004 in a historicist style for another client. This was the first property Equity purchased on the block as part of its earlier acquisitions in downtown.  

Beyond the Bachenheimer Building is a tiny, wedge shaped one-story structure, home to a Crepes a Go Go branch, then the Acheson Physicians’ Building (2131 University Avenue) designed by George L. Mohr in 1908, and designated a city landmark in 1982. 

Finally, at the end of the block and on the northwest corner of Walnut Street and University Avenue, stands the S.J. Sill & Co. Grocery Building, designed by James Plachek in 1915 and designated a city landmark in 2004.  

It’s familiar to generations of Berkeley residents as the downtown home of Berkeley Ace Hardware. Behind and around the corner from the Sill Grocery are two freestanding, two-story, brown shingle apartment buildings. 

Peterson said the project proposes one new building on the Shattuck / University corner which would be set back behind the existing facades of the two buildings there and rise six stories. Although this would be a single, unified, residential structure the façade would have two treatments, making it look like two separate buildings along University Avenue matching the existing building frontages.  

The top two floors of the easternmost wing would be set back behind a terrace so the tower of the adjacent Bachenheimer Building would remain prominent on the skyline. 

The University Avenue façade of the Acheson Physicians’ Building would be restored and the interior altered to residential units. Adjacent, on the University / Walnut corner, Sills Grocery / Ace Hardware would be topped by a five story residential addition.  

Behind that structure, at Berkeley Way / Walnut Street the two brown-shingle buildings would be removed and replaced with a new construction, six-story, residential building. 

Three Equity representatives—including Smith and Golovato—stood in the back of the room while Peterson presented the design, but also answered questions from the audience of about 25, which included about half a dozen developer and architect staff. 

Several attendees identified themselves as connected with businesses on the block. city of Berkeley Economic Development staffer Dave Fogerty and downtown Berkeley Association Executive Director Jon Caner were present, along with architect and city Council candidate Jim Novosel.  

The meeting was relatively low key and brief. Among the questions asked and answered were these: 

Will the project be constructed all at once? “That’s the intent,” said Smith.

When will it be built? Two years of design and city reviews and approvals are anticipated, followed by about two years of construction, Golovato said. The company is preparing an application to submit to the city of Berkeley in October or November.  

Golovato said that the current state of the economy and the local rental market would not deter the development or schedule. 

Would ground floor storefronts be kept? “Everything that’s retail now remains retail,” said Golovato. Peterson added that some existing smaller commercial spaces might be combined into larger rental spaces by the renovation, but could also be subdivided again. 

Can the existing retail tenants remain? “The existing tenants have to go somewhere else while the construction is happening but hopefully they can come back,” said Peterson.  

“Assuming we can reach an agreement on the lease we’d like to have the tenants come back,” said Golovato. When pressed by one meeting attendee who said “Ace Hardware for me is very critical,” Golovato said “we would like to see them come back,” and “there’s the possibility they could move into the Acheson Building.” 

The Equity representatives, however, appeared to word their statements carefully to avoid any implicit promise of relocation assistance. 

What happens to the two brown shingle houses? “Those buildings get recycled off site,” said Peterson. “They would be moved elsewhere,” said Golovato. He later said, “we don’t know” when asked if they would be preserved. “We won’t be involved in restoration. Our preference is to move them.” Peterson said he knew of interest from one party who might take one of the houses on another site. 

Who will live in the apartments? While the owners can’t restrict the occupancy, “we are not building specifically for the student population,” said Golovato.  

He added, “almost all of the units (in the design) are larger than the average size of the rest of our portfolio in Berkeley.” They would range, he said, from about 500 to about 1,000 square feet, with the largest units having two bedrooms. 

Will parking be provided? Peterson said any new parking in the development would be sited beneath the Berkeley Way / Walnut development. Golovato said a parking study to assess need and demand was underway. 

Would the developers build any taller than six stories? “There’s no flexibility in going higher because we get out of stick construction,” Golovato said. Five stories of stick or wood frame construction can be done over a concrete ground floor, Peterson added. Taller buildings must be constructed of concrete or steel, making them more expensive to build. 

The project comes at an interesting time, when proponents of Measure R on the November ballot argue that downtown Berkeley is stagnant and needs new zoning rules and higher building heights to attract significant development. 

But in this case, a large national developer is proposing to develop a full block face of new housing under the existing downtown zoning.  

The Acheson development would add about 200 units of new housing to the downtown. By my count this would be the 14th or 15th large residential development built in the downtown since the existing Downtown Plan zoning was adopted in 1990.  

Taken together, the developments have ranged from two to nine stories tall and have created hundreds of new housing units in the downtown in the past 20 years. 

The project also raises some interesting, and perhaps troubling, historic preservation issues.  

Peterson’s historicist approach to the design is a welcome relief to this writer, along with the adaptive reuse of four historic buildings, three of them city landmarks.  

However, the project would also remove (and perhaps demolish) two other buildings, the brown shingle houses on Walnut that form a small but important cluster with two other wooden residential buildings across the street. 

The interior of the Acheson Building and the Ace Hardware commercial space could also be radically altered, further reducing the already limited inventory of interior historic spaces in the downtown. 

And questions can be raised about whether placing a five-story addition atop the Ace Hardware building will work from a design standpoint or, instead, look as if the addition is crushing the older building.


Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Open House

By Steven Finacom
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 10:05:00 AM
LBNL Researchers demonstrated a simple, efficient, stove designed for use in
              northwest Africa.
Steven Finacom
LBNL Researchers demonstrated a simple, efficient, stove designed for use in northwest Africa.
A model house helped illustrate aspects of residential energy efficiency.
Steven Finacom
A model house helped illustrate aspects of residential energy efficiency.
Nitrogen-cooled superconductors levitated a tiny bus along a magnetic track.
Steven Finacom
Nitrogen-cooled superconductors levitated a tiny bus along a magnetic track.
Inside the impossibly complex bowels of the Advanced Light Source a
              researcher monitored an experiment.
Steven Finacom
Inside the impossibly complex bowels of the Advanced Light Source a researcher monitored an experiment.
Visitors could examine an urban scale wind turbine, next to a balloon model of
              a nanotube.
Steven Finacom
Visitors could examine an urban scale wind turbine, next to a balloon model of a nanotube.

Thousands of curious locals, including many children, ascended to the usually off-limits grounds of Berkeley’s Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Saturday, October 2, 2010, at the Lab’s open house. 

The Lab opened its gates to large numbers of members of the public for the first time in nine years for the event called “It’s All About Energy!” which featured tours, talks, demonstrations, food and entertainment.  

A “fun zone” allowed children to create huge bubbles, see how superconducting materials can float a vehicle above a magnetic track, and make and test a model airplane. Just down the hill from the children’s area the rusty framework of the partially dismantled Bevatron rose, off limits to tour attendees. 

The visitors did not have the run of the entire, vast, research campus but were limited, except for 15 minute bus tours, to a several acre area just beyond the crest of Charter Hill, that included an auditorium and office building, cafeteria, and the Advanced Light Source facility. 

Hundreds of energetic yellow-shirted LBNL staff and volunteers explained experiments, handed out literature and directed traffic as the visitors disembarked from a convoy of shuttle buses that had climbed the Hill from an assembly point near Oxford Street. 

Visitors could come for free, but were required to sign up in advance online, and present a printed pass to board the shuttle buses. 

A parking lot near the arrival point was turned into a tented concourse where visitors could see an affordable high efficiency stove designed for use in Darfur and Ethiopia, examine a low noise wind turbine scaled for residential and urban use, see how “vampire” appliances use energy even when turned “off”, and examine the output of different types of high efficiency light bulbs. 

Glossy handouts abounded, including posters and laminated placemats explaining the evolution of the universe and nuclear science. Visitors received “passports” they could take to various stations and have stamped, in return for a prize.  

The passport offered questions tied to certain displays such as “where can you find ways to help your house stop leaking energy?”, “Where can you learn about the tiny creatures who helped clean up the Gulf oil spill?”, and “What scientific tool is so big it needs to have its own building?” 

The answer to the last question was the most alluring interior space on the tour, the Advanced Light Source (ALS) housed in the shell of the circa 1930s Cyclotron building that helped make Berkeley a towering empire of atomic science. 

Inside the ALS visitors could circle the perimeter, watching experiments in progress and talking to researchers.  

The huge dome houses a “third-generation synchrotron” which accelerates sub-atomic particles to fantastic speeds for research. The accelerator sweeps around an interior circuit with numerous “beam lines” coming off it to direct streams of electrons into specialized experimental areas. 

The experimental equipment is so complex and confusing to the layperson’s eye that at several points the building looked like the inside of a Borg Cube from “Star Trek”, with winking red lights signaling radiation, and tangled masses of equipment wrapped in tin foil. 

Just below the ALS the LBNL guesthouse offered tours and enticements, including a drawing for a free night’s stay. The one-year-old three-story structure designed by Donald McDonald curves across the hillside below the Advanced Light Source facility.  

Operated as a year-round onsite hotel by the Conference Services division of the UC Berkeley campus, it provides single rooms, doubles, and suites priced from $129 to $159 a night. 

Staff leading tours said many of the guests are visitors and researchers at the Lab itself, but the facility is also open to people affiliated not only with the Lab but with the Berkeley campus as well.  

Affiliation, one guide said, has a loose definition. A guest simply has to have “a legitimate business interest at UC.” Parents visiting a student attending the Berkeley campus would qualify, he said, although there is a restriction that no guest can be younger than 17. 

One staff member mentioned that the facility has an advantage over hotel housing in Berkeley, since it stands on government land and does not pay hotel occupancy taxes. 

Views from the west side rooms and the two-story lobby of the building are spectacular, down over the Lab, the Berkeley campus and the central Bay Area. 

The Lab campus is a curious and sprawling jumble of buildings, roadways, and equipment dating from the 1930s to just this year. Mostly hidden from view because of its rolling site and elevation above Berkeley, it’s essentially a vast counter campus with thousands of employees, operated under the auspices of the University of California, but independent of its physical neighbor, UC Berkeley. 

The two institutions are integrated, however, through joint research projects and joint appointments of many researchers. 

LBNL arose from the nuclear research of its namesake, Ernest Orlando Lawrence, a prodigy professor in the Physics Department at UC who was the first individual working a public institution to win a scientific Nobel Prize. 

Here and there on the property it appears some attention has been given to site planning and architecture for appearance, rather than just efficiency, but the effect is decidedly muddled. 

The landscape appears in transition. Eucalyptus and Monterey pine abound but there were fresh stumps to show where some had recently been cut down, and new tree plantings seem to emphasize redwoods. 

LBNL is also becoming more visible on the skyline. The ALS just recently completed a blocky new “User Support Building” wing that provides additional space for researchers, but also juts out into the view shed just above the historic Big “C” and occludes the iconic cyclotron dome from some angles. 

Much of the interstitial space between buildings remains “wild”. Turkeys are a daily sight within the complex and one staff member told us that a female mountain lion and her cubs had been seeing playing just that morning on the roadway where we were walking. 

Wildlife was not visible on the Open House Day; there was, however, a researcher dressed as a cow. 

In a grassy courtyard, in between performances of a bluegrass band and ukulele club made up of Lab employees, LBNL Director Paul Alivisatos made brief remarks welcoming visitors to the event. “it’s a very exciting laboratory and we’re happy to have you here today, and it’s going so well I think we’re going to have these events more frequently”, he said.


Cougar Watch (Reader Report)

From Jennifer Pearson
Sunday October 03, 2010 - 11:06:00 AM

[Editor’s Note: Reader Jennifer Pearson has been keeping us up-to-date on recent discussion of sightings of mountain lions (aka cougars) in the Berkeley Hills on neighborhood listservs.] 

From Jennifer Pearson on Saturday, Oct 2 

Fwd: [from the LOCCNA neighbor association] 

Subject: More mountain lions-- Notice to LBNL staff 

Dear Colleagues, See below on mountain lion evidence at LBNL. Please do education of our Berkeleyans who come from New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc and have not learned about coexisting with wildlife.. Absent knowledge of what to do...some panicked folks are now buying guns? 

Forwarded message from Alan Gould:  

Notice from LBNL copied below. In light of our recent community night on mountain lions, I'm not so sure that the part that says "If you see a mountain lion, immediately call 911" is really the best thing to do. I'm bccing this to someone at felidaefund.org to see if they have anything to add. I had not known that the mountain lion that was killed in our neighborhood was a male. 

________________________________________ 

Dear Colleagues: 

Occasional sightings of mountain lions around the Lab are not unusual; however, due to a recent series of incidents, it would appear a mother and two juvenile mountain lions are spending more time in the area. 

In addition to the sighting and killing of a male lion in north Berkeley on Aug. 31, two young lions were sighted, and a dead deer and goat were found, near Building 85 last week. A dead fawn was found on Monday near Building 64, and multiple sightings of a female lion and her offspring were made earlier today. 

While mountain lion interactions with humans is extremely rare, Lab employees and guests should take precautions to prevent possible attacks. Avoid being outside and alone during dawn or dusk hours, when lions are most active. If you encounter a lion, face the animal, make noise and try to look bigger. Do not run away. 

If you see a mountain lion, immediately call 911. 

Safety is everyone's responsibility, so please take the necessary steps to prevent injury to yourself and others. 

Jim Krupnick 

Associate Lab Director for Operations 

Chief Operating Officer 

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab 

 

Received from Jennifer Pearson on September 22: 

Are Berkeley public servants cautioning the inexperienced CITYWIDE? These cougars have been present long before 'pioneers' and settlers took land. This Colusa Ave. sighting (at night) is close by the opened Blackberry Creek at Berkeley's Thousands Oaks Berkeley Elementary School Park -an ancient movement corridor for wildlife. 

The ALERT below was sent to Neighborhood Watch Groups in Kensington by Officer Doug Wilson. 

Are we asking Berkeley citizens to report on the presence of cougars and bobcats when we catch a glimpse or find their scat in our gardens? 

For example, on Lincoln Street near the Milvia Poetry Garden fish pond an experienced wilderness camper found cougar scat on a driveway near his wife's door in early August. (Wildlife follow the water corridors--Lincoln Creek flows under ground of the school playground and street.) 

From Officer Doug Wilson, Kensington Police Department: 

I want to mention a Security Alert. On Tuesday, 9/21/10, at approximately 1730 hours, a taxi cab driver reported seeing a small Mountain Lion in the area of Berkeley Park Blvd and Colusa Ave. 

His call advised dispatchers that the Mountain Lion walked into an unknown direction and the cab driver did not feel threatened by it. On-duty Kensington Officers completely checked the area for a good amount of time and they did not observe the animal. We have had no additional calls since. 

Now, please be aware there are many animals in this area all the time, we often don’t see them. But the reason I am sending you this, “Security Alert” is because I want you all to be cautious (especially at night) and use common sense safety tips such as being on alert at night and using lights when out walking with or without your dogs. Maybe keep some legal pepper spray/mace with you on your late night walks. You can “Google” where to buy the products legally. Also, please call 911 if you hear or see anything that you think Police should check out. 


Updated: Cragmont School Evacuated: Suspicious Package Harmless

By Dan McMenamin (BCN)
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:54:00 PM

A bomb squad has determined that a suspicious package found this afternoon at a Berkeley elementary school is harmless, a police spokeswoman said. 

At 2:14 p.m., the principal of Cragmont Elementary School, located at 830 Regal Road, reported that there was a suspicious package in her office, Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said. 

The school was evacuated, and nearby streets were shut down while the Police Departent's bomb squad sent in a robot to perform an X-ray scan of the package, Kusmiss said. 

The package was deemed harmless at about 4:20 p.m. when the bomb squad concluded it was a lunch box with wires in it, she said. 

The report of the suspicious package came near the end of the school day when many parents were already headed to the school to pick up their students, Berkeley Unified School District spokesman Mark Coplan said. 

Coplan said staff and students were moved to a nearby playground, where parents and school buses took the kids away. 

After the bomb squad destroyed the package, staff were allowed to return to the campus, where Coplan said "everything will be back to normal" on Wednesday. 

He complimented the response by school staff and Berkeley police to ensure the safety of the students. 

"It's good to see how smoothly they handled it, and it helps them to know in the future they'll be in good hands," Coplan said. 

 


New: “Sierra Club” Yes on R mailer financed by Sam Zell

By Daniella Thompson
Thursday October 07, 2010 - 11:31:00 AM

If you’re a Berkeley voter, you’ll have received the colorful mailer from the Yes on Measure R campaign conspicuously designed to look as if it had come from the Sierra Club.

Like Measure R itself, the mailer harps on the word “green” numerous times. Of course, there is nothing in the ballot language that guarantees any green (or even rosy) outcome for downtown Berkeley.

What we have here is a case of flagrant greenwashing, financed by developers. 

California Form 460, Monetary Contributions Received, was made available on October 5. As of 30 September 2010, the Yes on Measure R campaign reports having received $32,450 in contributions. 

By far the largest contribution—$25,000 (see a scan of the disclosure form)—was given by Equity Residential, an S&P 500 company and landlord to over 200,000 tenants nationwide. 

Equity Residential’s chairman is Chicago billionaire Sam Zell (yes, he who bought and destroyed the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times). 

Why would a Chicago real estate firm throw money into a Berkeley race? Because Equity Residential is one of downtown Berkeley’s major landowners. In 2007, it acquired developer Patrick Kennedy’s portfolio of seven apartment buildings. Recently, the company purchased the Acheson properties on University Avenue between Shattuck and Walnut, where it plans a major development. 

Equity Residential has a serious stake in Berkeley, and it’s anything but green. 

Nor is the second-largest donor to Yes on Measure R a green environmentalist. In fact, he’s none other than the infamous Lakireddy Bali Reddy, major landlord, developer, and convicted importer of sex slaves. 

The L.B. Reddy Estate Co., LLC, donated $2,500 to the Yes on Measure R campaign. 

In third place is William Falik, who contributed $1,000. 

Falik’s bio on the U.C. Berkeley Law School’s website tells us that he has “practiced land use, real estate, and environmental law and mediation in Northern California for the past 37 years and during this period he has pursued a dual career as attorney and real estate developer. [...] Currently, he is the Managing Partner of Westpark Community Builders which developed 1,500 acres in Roseville, California and planned and entitled 4300 residential units which were sold to the three largest builders in the United States. In addition, as CEO of Live Oak Enterprises, he has developed the Whitney Oaks master planned community in Rocklin, California with a championship Johnny Miller designed golf course and 2000 homes.” 

And here’s an even more interesting fact about Falik, reported by Peter Byrne: 

In the late 1980s, [developer Angelo] Tsakopoulos and [Phil] Angelides were trying to plow over protected vernal pools in the flood plains of Sacramento county. But their development projects were stalled due to federal and state environmental concerns. Suddenly, a real estate partnership called Live Oak Associates II bought up part of the flood plain adjacent to AKT Development’s land. Government disapproval of wetland development vaporized. 

The land was lifted from the flood plain—on paper. Live Oak Associates II mysteriously obtained permission to roll over the wetlands. 

Tied with Falik in third place is City Councilmember Gordon Wozniak, who also contributed $1,000. 

Two contributors came in with $500 each: 

• Diablo Holdings Ltd. of Alamo, CA, is a property & asset management company representing The Lineweaver Trust, a private investment company (John L. Lineweaver is president of Diablo Holdings). The company manages real estate assets in Alamo and Berkeley, including the Cambridge Apartments at 2500 Durant Avenue and an office building at 2000 Center Street. 

• Marjorie Randolph, senior vice-president of Human Resources and Administration for The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. She resides in Los Angeles. 

Three contributors came in with $250 each: 

• S. Osborn Erickson, chairman of the Emerald Fund. On its website, the company claims to be “San Francisco’s premier real estate developer” and displays an array of large developments. • • Julie Matlof Kennedy of Piedmont, a lawyer and lecturer at Stanford Law School, is married to Patrick Kennedy. • • Jack Schafer of San Francisco is president of Jack Schafer Associates, which provides consulting services to shopping centers and department stores in Asia. 

Liveable Berkeley contributed $200. 

William Falik, Marjorie Randolph, S. Osborn Erickson, Julie Matlof Kennedy, and Jack Schafer have something else in common: they are all members of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s board of trustees. 

Other Berkeley Rep trustees who contributed to Yes on R are John Field of San Francisco, retired chairman of Field Paoli Architects ($100); David Cox of San Francisco, former president and CEO of Cowles Media Company ($100); Sandra R. McCandless of Lafayette, a partner in the international law firm SNR Denton LLP (formerly Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal LLP) ($100); Thalia Dorwick of Oakland, an author and editor retired from McGraw-Hill Higher Education ($100); Jean Z. Strunsky of San Francisco, vice-president of administration and trustee of the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts ($100); Kerry L. Francis of Oakland, former chairman of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP’s Corporate Investigations practice ($100); David Hoffman, associate director of External Collaboration with the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute at Stanford University ($100); and Dale Rogers Marshall, president emerita of Wheaton College ($100). 

The Rep’s managing director, Susan Medak, also contributed $100 to Yes on R. 

That leaves one individual. Pamela Nichter of Novato, who is vice-president, COO and CFO of Osterweis Capital Management in San Francisco, contributed $100. Nichter and her husband are donors to the Berkeley Rep. In the Rep’s 2009 annual report, their donation is listed in the Directors category ($1,500–$2,999). 

Julie and Patrick Kennedy’s donation to the Rep is listed in the Presidents category ($3,000–$5,999), and Kennedy’s Panoramic Interests is listed as a Berkeley Rep corporate sponsor, under gifts of $6,000–$11,999. S. Osborn “Oz” Erickson, who sits on the Rep’s finance committee with Julie Kennedy, is a donor in the Associate Producers category ($6,000–$11,999). Bill Falik, who is chair of the Rep’s facilities committee, donated even more. He and his wife are listed in the Executive Producers category ($25,000–$49,999). This might explain why Susan Medak is so eager to support Measure R. 

And there you have it. These are the “green” individuals and companies who paid for the “Sierra Club” Yes on R mailer. 


 

Daniella Thompson has written for the Planet about architecture, but this commentary represents her own opinion. It originally appeared on the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association Blog.


Updated: The Berkeley Democratic Club's Endorsement Meeting (Opinion)

By Abigail Surasky
Monday October 04, 2010 - 09:46:00 PM

[Editor’s Note: A reader saw my plea for a report of what happened at the endorsement meeting of the Berkeley Democratic Club (formerly known as The Moderates) and she volunteered this report of what she saw. We asked her if she is supporting any candidate or issue. “Sure,” she said, “I'm endorsing Jesse Arreguin (because of his presentation on Measure R, which I previously knew nothing about); Measures H&I; and for School Board I'm endorsing Julie Holcomb and Leah Wilson.” She seems to have done her best to be fair to all however.]

City Council Highlights

As a whole, the city council candidates were a colorful crew, reflecting a healthy diversity of opinions and styles (though disappointingly not race) that make Berkeley what it is. 

District 7 

Standout moments included incumbent Kriss Worthington opening up by saying he would demand a recount if he somehow won BDC's endorsement since he fully expected a George Beier coronation. Despite criticism from some saying Worthington doesn't support Bus Rapid Transit, he gave examples of different versions of BRT that he encouraged people to consider. George Beier, who stated his opposition to BRT, gave a commanding performance worthy of Citizen Kane. His passion was impressive, but overshot the mark for the venue. Ces Rosales' responses were disappointingly anemic in comparison to both of her opponents. Kriss Worthington did not need to request a recount; George Beier won the endorsement handily. 

District 8 

Incumbent Gordon Wozniak gave highlights of his record and longevity, spent a long time listing all his endorsements, protested any accusations that he's been less than responsive to district residents, and was defensive of city negotiations with UC Berkeley. Jacquelyn McCormick, an interior designer turned neighborhood activist, gave a sincere appeal about her run for office in order to give District 8 residents a more responsive representative on City Council. Stewart Emmington Jones, relatively young but quite articulate, represented the Green Party principles admirably. Wozniak was endorsed. 

 

District 4 

Incumbent Jesse Arreguin was a no-show. He later said it was because BDC's endorsement of Jim Novosel was a shoo-in, so he opted to attend another endorsement party where his chances of being endorsed were greater. (He did, however, appear at the following BDC meeting where he debated admirably against Measure R.) Architect Jim Novosel talked about the debate over the downtown plan being primarily one of height. He supports Measure R, and criticized Jesse Arreguin as being a voice who creates needless divisions, whereas he would work better with UC, the mayor, and other council members. He also portrayed himself as a preservationist. Eric Panzer, young, articulate, and in support of Measure R, talked about his advocacy of more housing and jobs. He also supports Measure R. Finally, Bernt Wahl, who actually has his own Wikipedia page, highlighted his expertise in Chaos Theory, something he said would be useful as a council member in Berkeley, and presented a number of innovative high tech solutions that could, among other things, increase safety and help law enforcement. Novosel was endorsed. 

 

District 1 

Incumbent Linda Maio presented as the status quo, with predictable confidence and knowledge about the city budget and other issues. She talked about her progress in reducing the odors emanating from Pacific Steel, but that there are still health concerns to be addressed. A very young Jasper Kingeter, impassioned about serving his community, had an impressive grasp of the residential and quality of life needs of District 1. He seemed undeterred by his lack of experience and understanding of city workings. Finally, Merillie Mitchell, who arrived quite late, asked for just two of her allotted three minutes before the Club, though had to be prodded off the stage after at least five. Her main message was about the lack of transparency on City Council, citing her numerous hours at City Council meetings, including the period that precedes the public's usual arrival. Her commitment in serving as a liaison between her community and the Council and her fearlessness in asking pointed questions was admirable though her style is confrontational and quirky. Maio was endorsed. 

 

School Board 

Incumbent Karen Hemphill, a BUSD parent, gave a fairly balanced speech about the school board's positive track record during her term in office to sustain efforts and support initiatives to close the achievement gap, while helping students at the top to thrive, and pointed to the recent test score results that show marked improvement in all groups districtwide. She portrayed herself as a person who is able to listen intellectually to different factions in highly charged debates without unnecessarily fueling passions. Some observers felt she gave an overly confident and lackluster performance. Others responded well to her. 

 

Josh Daniels, a BUSD alumnus and lawyer, young and articulate, gave thoughtful responses that demonstrated a working knowledge of BUSD issues. He pointed to his expertise in local bond measures, finance, and his having co-founded Berkeley High's student court in 2005, the year he worked on that project. He claimed to be the only candidate who had experience working with students, teachers, administrators, the school board, and the city. 

 

Julie Holcomb, a BUSD parent, past co-chair of the Berkeley School's Excellence Project citizen's oversight committee, past member of the superintendent's Budget Advisory Committee, and past co-president of Berkeley High's Development Group, eloquently displayed the knowledge of an incumbent, with sound responses to difficult questions that reflected a deep knowledge of BUSD and commitment to all students. As the owner of a successful printing press, she talked about her commitment to bringing the trades to Berkeley High to provide a wider range of career options for students of all backgrounds. 

 

Leah Wilson, a BUSD parent, who came across as the most dynamic and eloquent speaker of the evening, astutely presented the different sides of each concern, including the needs of those at the bottom of the achievement gap as well as at the top, cautioned against oversimplifying issues or candidates, and emphasized the importance and challenges of implementing evidence-based practices in our schools. She discussed her qualifications as a lawyer who works with the foster care and juvenile justice systems on the local, state and national levels, attentive to the unique issues of those students, and managing funding the size of BUSD's budget. 

 

Priscilla Myrick, who has been a BUSD parent and longtime literacy volunteer and math tutor at various BUSD schools, past member of BUSD's Citizens' Budget Oversight Committee, Berkeley High's School Site Council, and the Superintendent's Advisory Committee for Small Schools, talked about her background as a CFO with skills she could provide as BUSD faces increasing budget cuts, and strongly criticized the school board for their alleged lack of transparency, especially around bond measures, which incited Joaquin Rivera (past school board member and newly elected Alameda County School Board Director) from the audience to fiercely challenge her claims. 

 

Finally, Norma Harrison, community volunteer, began by stating she doesn't think we need schools as they currently exist. After imitating a baby crying at birth (wah wah), she explained that learning starts right away. Despite her distinctive quirkiness, she raised provocative points questioning age segregation in our schools, and the current practice of confining teaching to teachers, and learning to schools. 

 

The BDC Board recommended endorsing Karen Hemphill, Julie Holcomb, Leah Wilson. Only Julie Holcomb and Leah Wilson received enough votes to secure a BDC endorsement. To everyone's dismay, Karen Hemphill just missed the minimum number of votes required. Norma Harrison received no votes. 

 

A revote was taken with the three runners-up. 21 votes were needed for an endorsement (60% of the 35 votes cast). The results: 'No Endorsement' 4, Josh Daniels 4, Priscilla Myrick 12, Karen Hemphill 15. Debate ensued about the fairness of the second vote as many people had left at this late hour not expecting that there would be another vote. The Board considered, and apparently approved, a request from BDC member Laurie Capitelli to hold another vote at the next meeting when more people could be present and informed of the revote. 

 

Two weeks later, the same three candidates returned, were each given the floor once again (to the momentary protest of a couple members), and then votes were cast for the third and last time. The ratio of votes cast for each candidate was the about same as prior. This time Karen Hemphill was just one vote shy of the required 21 votes. BDC could make no endorsement for a third school board candidate. 

 

 

Measures 

 

Measures H&I Debate (school bond measures): 

Con: A citizen argued against increased taxes; hence, against measures H&I. 

Pro: School Board Members stated this was a continuance, not an increase, and essential to maintaining and improving school facilities, a benefit for the entire community. 

Measure H (facilities maintenance) - 36 votes cast; 22 votes needed to endorse. Yes: 31, Endorsed.
Measure I (facilities improvements) - 35 votes cast; 21 votes needed. Yes: 23, Endorsed

 

 

Measure R Debate (downtown plan): 

Con: Jesse Arreguin spoke passionately about the 3 or 4 existing downtown Berkeley plans, developed collaboratively, that would be ready to implement instantly with approval by City Council. Measure R would start the process all over again, and contains many loopholes for big development. Jesse strongly opposed accusations that he wants to block progress in downtown Berkeley, and reiterated his commitment to foster a thriving downtown business community, and a revitalization of the downtown. 

Pro: Laurie Capitelli stated the existing plans are too prescriptive. R would allow elected council members to call the shots on a new downtown Berkeley plan. John Caner, Executive Director of the Downtown Berkeley Association, claimed that, according to business owners in other areas who would like to set up shop in Berkeley, Berkeley needs a new plan in order to be inviting to new businesses. 

Measure R: 33 votes cast, 20 votes needed. Yes:21 No: 8 No endorsement:4 Endorsed. 

 

Measure S Debate (tax marijuana dispensaries): No debate. 

Measure S: 33 votes cast; 20 votes needed. Yes:23 No: 7 No endorsement: 3 Endorsed. 

 

Measure T Debate (replaces measure JJ with new regulations around marijuana dispensaries): 

Con: Former Mayor Shirley Dean argued she didn't oppose medical marijuana, but had studied the measure and the subject, a topic she previously knew little about, stating "I didn't inhale," and dislikes the existing Measure JJ. However, she strongly opposes this measure because it doesn't adequately remedy the problems of JJ. She convincingly pointed to many serious flaws with Measure T. 

Pro: Laurie Capitelli supports this measure because it's a much-needed improvement over JJ. 

Measure T: 34 votes cast; 21 votes needed. Yes: 11 No:16 No endorsement: 7 No endorsement. 

 

Measure F (additional $10 car registration fee to help fund road and transportation costs) 31 votes cast; 19 votes needed. Yes :20 No: 9 No endorsement:2 Endorsed

 

Superior Court Judge 

John Creighton spoke at length about how judicial elections work, his background and philosophy. Clearly someone who likes what he does. He won the endorsement by acclamation. His opponent, Victoria Kolakowski, was not present. 

 

Other Candidates - running unopposed 

Anne Marie Hogan - Berkeley City Auditor. As always, Anne Marie is friendly, accessible, fair and balanced. 

Andy Katz - re-election to EBMUD Board of Directors. A charismatic speaker who makes the subject of water interesting, and says he is committed to fair policies, and educating the public about water conservation and water politics. 

Addendum: Amongst the School Board candidates, 88% of club members voted to endorse Julie Holcomb, and 64% of club members voted to endorse Leah Wilson. Any candidates registered as other than Democrat could not garner votes at the Berkeley Democratic Club. Thus School Board candidate Norma Harrison (among other candidates) was unable to be endorsed or receive any votes at the event. 

 

 

Citizen reporter Abigail Surasky is a licensed acupuncturist practicing in Berkeley, and an involved parent in the Berkeley public schools.  


How I'm Voting on the State Propositions

By Stu Flashman
Monday October 04, 2010 - 01:56:00 PM

[Editor’s Note: Stu Flashman is a Rockridge-based environmental attorney and an avid follower of local and state politics. He’s a normal East Bay progressive, but just to keep you confused, here’s also a link to the web site of a Los Angeles progressive organization, which differs with Stu on some propositions.]

My sample ballot came today, which says to me it’s time for me to share my opinions on the ballot measures and candidates. It is, as it usually is in a statewide November election, a pretty long ballot. I’m going to start with the ballot measures. This year, they’re a pretty easy group for me to decide on. Maybe not so much for you. For the first time I can remember, I’m 100% in agreement with the positions of the California League of Women Voters, where they’ve taken a position. You can find their analysis here: I go beyond the League, however, by sticking my neck out on the other ballot measures as well. 

Proposition 19 — Marijuana Legalization – Prohibition didn’t work in the 1920s and 1930s. Marijuana prohibition hasn’t worked either. All it’s done is provide extra income to drug dealers and made it easier for people to transition from MJ to harder drugs. I think we’d do far better to legalize, regulate, and tax MJ. That’s not to say that I think MJ is a great thing. I know some people who went overboard on MJ and got really messed up; butnothing like what happens with hard drugs, and not as badly as some people I’ve known have gotten messed up on alcohol or cigarettes. YES 

Prop. 20 — Congressional Redistricting Commission — I agree with LWV on this one. While in principle having congressional redistricting done by an impartial redistricting commission would be a big improvement, we haven’t even seen whether it’ll succeed for the state legislature. Let’s give the new system a chance to work and see how it does before we jump in with both feet. (I should at this point disclose that I’m one of the sixty finalists for the redistricting commission, of which fourteen will be chosen. Consequently, I’ve spent a fair amount of time pondering the issue. It’s not going to be easy, but I am hopeful that the commission will do a good job.) That having been said, I’m not ready to go “double down” on it yet. — NO 

Prop. 21 — State Parks Vehicle License Fee — The League is also neutral on this measure, but I’m giving it a “thumbs up”. Like the League, I generally don’t like ballot box budgeting. However, this measure matches new income to an existing need. that’s very different from, for example Prop 98′s earmarking a set proportion of the state budget for schools or Oakland’s “Kids First II” measure, which locked a percentage of the city’s general fund for child-oriented services. I think those kind of measures are a big mistake, because they pit one expenditure against another. However, I have nothing against voting in a special tax to fund a special need. It seems particularly fitting to use the vehicle license fee, because most people access state parks with their car, and the fee will be tied to allowing free park admission for California registered vehicles. — YES 

Prop. 22 — Local Funds Protection — I have mixed feelings about this measure. Having served on a local agency (the county mosquito abatement district), I’m well aware of the havoc a state “funds transfers” can wreak on local budgets. However, there’s one budget I wouldn’t mind having havoc wreaked on — redevelopment agencies. While redevelopment agencies can do some good — Emeryville’s agency being a notable example — they also can do a lot of mischief, and Emeryville has provided just as good examples of that too. They also take money away from other local agencies, so when they complain about a state takeaway, it’s the pot calling the kettle black. As I said in an earlier post, I don’t buy it. — NO 

Prop. 23 — global warming suspension — If we could actually suspend global warming by a ballot measure, I’d be 100% for it, but this measure is to suspend AB 32, the California legislature’s recently-enacted measure to try to reduce CO2 emissions and limit global warming impacts. This measure is funded almost entirely by out of state big oil and big coal interests, who want to keep fiddling while the whole world burns (or at least gets way too hot). If this measure passes, it’ll tell the whole world that Californians can’t see beyond the nose on their face. I will be extremely embarrassed; almost as badly as when Nixon won 49 out of 50 states in 1972. At least then I was living in Massachusetts. — NO!NO!NO! 

Prop. 24 — Repeal of corporate tax breaks — So, part of the 2008-2009 budget “deal” that the legislature passed was a set of corporate tax breaks that were supposed to stimulate the economy. Are you feeling particularly stimulated yet? Neither am I. If I was going to stimulate California’s economy, I’d do it by keeping teachers, firemen, police, and other public employees from getting laid off. That means giving government enough money to keep running. You don’t do that by handing out corporate tax breaks to your friends at the expense of state revenue. Maybe the Republicans, with a little more than 1/3 of the legislative seats, can extort this kind of crap out of our weak legislative leadership, but we, the voters, don’t need to let it continue. — YES!YES!YES! 

Prop. 25 — majority vote on state budget — Speaking of extortion and the state budget, the reason a Republican minority is able to exercise disproportionate control is largely because passing a budget requires a 2/3 vote in both houses. Aren’t you just a little bit tired of having to wait until October for the state to have a budget, and learning about all the horse trading that happened to get one (often at our expense)? ENOUGH! — YES!YES!YES! 

Prop. 26 — 2/3 vote for all fees — This is another one of those deceptive special interest sponsored ballot measures, like Prop.23 on this ballot and PG&E’s measure on the June ballot. This one’s sponsored primarily by the tobacco and alcoholic beverage industries, who don’t like having fees placed on their products to help pay for the health damage they cause. This measure would also protect polluters from fees intended to clean up the damage they cause. If you don’t mind living in a toilet, go ahead and vote for this measure, because that’s what you’re asking for. NO!NO!NO! 

Prop. 27 – send redistricting back to the legislature — So, How much confidence do you have in California’s legislature? If you’re like most Californians (including me), the answer is, “Not much!” This measure would kill the California Citizens’ Redistricting Commission before it even gets fully formed. All the money spent thus far on getting it set up would be wasted, and instead we’d hand the control back to the legislature so they can re-gerrymander the districts and continue to get themselves re-elected. How stupid do they think we are?! (Please don't answer that question.) NO


Why I Support Julie Holcomb for Berkeley School Board

By David Manson
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 01:00:00 PM

I have worked on the "front lines" of youth and community development work in Berkeley ever since I moved here in 1991. During my time with the South Berkeley YMCA, Berkeley Youth Alternatives, and Berkeley Boosters Police Activities League, I have worked with some of Berkeley's most at-risk youth in programs designed to support their success in our public schools and help move them to higher education and to become successful, contributing members of our community. 

During that time, I have had the privilege of working alongside some of the most dedicated public servants and citizen activists that I believe our country has to offer. I have witnessed sacrifices of time, resources, and ego from people whose only concern was assuring that Berkeley's young people would have access to the highest quality education possible. I have seen people engage in rigorous public debate about one of our most intractable issues in the pursuit of that goal, the racial achievement gap. 

I am supporting Julie Holcomb's candidacy to serve as one of our next BUSD School Board members for the simple reason that, in all of my time working on these issues, I have not come across a more credible, passionate, balanced and hard-working person. Her leadership skills, business experience and in-depth knowledge of BUSD issues, finances and community concerns is unsurpassed.  

Julie recognizes that the racial achievement gap is a very real, very painful and very critical issue in our schools that goes to the very heart of our mission as a community and she is one of the few people I know who is able to balance the many emotions, facts, competing interests and politics and remain focused on assuring that ALL of Berkeley's children have their needs respected and met, and receive the highest possible standard of instruction and support. Meeting that need while making dramatic improvement in the achievement and success of our community's lowest performing students will be the single biggest challenge of the next several years as this district struggles with the ongoing challenges of seemingly endless funding cuts from the state.  

I offer Julie my wholehearted, unabashed and highest possible recommendation for this job. Her years of experience as a successful small business owner, her length of time serving the district as a parent volunteer, community leader on BSEP issues, Co-Chair of the Planning and Oversight Committee all make her uniquely qualified to serve. She deserves our support! 

David Manson was the Campaign Coordinator fo Measure A of 2006 and is Former Director of Berkeley Boosters 

 


BAHA Election Information Available Online: BAHA endorsement: Vote No on Measure R

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 01:18:00 PM

 

The Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association has come out against Measure R.  

The reasons are outlined in a flier available for download from the BAHA website: 


In an effort to provide election information concerning
preservation issues
to its members and the voting public, the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA) has published the following three items on its website.

Candidates' responses to BAHA questionnaire
BAHA invited the 14 candidates running for City Council to answer three questions relating to pressing preservation issues.
The questions are:
1. Do you support Measure R? Specifically, how do you think its enactment would affect historic resources in Downtown Berkeley?
2. Measure R would allow two mixed-use buildings and one hotel that could reach 180 feet in height and be located anywhere within the Downtown Core. Should Downtown Berkeley have any new buildings taller than 120 feet? Please elaborate.

3. The University of California is expanding beyond the campus. Should new UC buildings outside the campus conform to the City of Berkeley's zoning laws as regards height and bulk?
Ten candidates responded, and their answers are published on the BAHA website:
BAHA does not endorse candidates for public office.
______________________________________
Measure R - Claims vs. Facts
Retired city planner John English analyzes several key aspects of Measure R. For each of them, he compares proponents' deceptive wording, as quoted from the voter's pamphlet, with what the measure itself does or doesn't prescribe.
Mr. English's analysis is published on the BAHA website:


Bayer US: Layoffs despite Tax Breaks

From Coalition against BAYER Dangers (Germany) www.CBGnetwork.org (in English)
Friday October 08, 2010 - 10:23:00 AM

Only 14% of US-workers have collective agreements / Unions systematically pushed out of Bayer factories / protests at Bayer Berkeley plant

Bayer Corporation announced the laying off of 29 union workers in Berkeley/California. The factory is one of the last unionized Bayer plants in the US. About 150 workers protested in front of the plant despite Bayer's threats against those going to the rally. 

Only last year the company received a $10 million tax break from the Berkeley and Oakland City Councils. Prior to this Bayer had threatened to outsource parts of the production to a contract manufacturer. The Berkeley plant is the sole producer of Bayer´s antihemophilic factor Kogenate. Sales for Kogenate last year were 888 million Euro (about $1.2 billion). 

Donal Mahon from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in Oakland comments: “The company told us they would give us 45 days notice before layoffs and that they would occur in the fourth quarter. They gave us two days notice, they were double what was expected, and they came in the third quarter. They also threatened to lay more of us off and rewrite the job descriptions to take production jobs out of the bargaining unit if we took the issue to arbitration.” 

Despite Bayer´s promise that “employees have the opportunity to form representative bodies at all our sites” (Bayer Sustainability Report 2009) the company conducts aggressive anti-union campaigns, especially in the US. Only 14% of Bayer´s North American workforce have collective agreements on wages and working conditions (the lowest percentage of all Bayer employees worldwide), in comparison to 42% in Latin America and 88% in Europe.  

Workforces considering to establish works councils are told by Bayer that unions are jeopardizing jobs. Factories with organized workers are threatened with being closed. This is a threat that has often been carried out: in 2007 Bayer shut down a pharmaceuticals plant in West Haven, Connecticut; 1,500 highly skilled union workers were laid off. Also in 2007 the polymer factory in New Martinsville was reduced in size; about half the bargaining unit was thrown out or given severance. And the Elkhart/Indiana plant with a workforce of more than 2.200, largely unionized, was nearly completely shut down.  

Axel Köhler Schnura from the watchdog group Coalition against Bayer Dangers, which has been monitoring the company for more than 30 years, says: “BAYER has a long history of giving profits precedence over labor rights. It is a scandal that 45 percent of the total Bayer workforce are not protected by collective bargaining agreements. The low extent of unionization results in lower wages and less resistance to dismissals. 

Less than a handful of Bayer´s more than fifty factories in North America are still unionized. Bayer has more than 16.000 employees in North America. About a quarter of Bayer´s sales are made in the US, more than in Bayer´s home country Germany. (online: www.cbgnetwork.de/3536.html

 

more information: 

· Bayer HealthCare Job Cuts Unlikely to Be Reversed: www.dailycal.org/article/110536/bayer_healthcare_job_cuts_unlikely_to_be_reversed 

· Coalition against Bayer Dangers (English site): www.cbgnetwork.de/4.html 

 


Opinion

Editorials

Remembering Pat Cody

By Becky O'Malley
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 11:46:00 AM

Last Thursday night we were sorry to learn that Berkeley’s beloved Pat Cody, who founded Cody’s Books along with her late husband Fred, had died at 5:30 that evening, with her children at her side. We put a brief version of these comments on line on Friday, and Pat’s son Anthony Cody sent us an obituary which we published. We asked friends and admirers to send along their reminiscences of Pat, and since then we have been hearing about the mark she left on the world from some of the many people whose lives she touched. 

“Would it have been worth it after all?” asked Eliot’s Prufrock. What in life is worth doing is a perpetual question, especially difficult for those of us who suspect that this life on earth might be all we’re going to get, who question the probability of getting another chance in the hereafter, whenever or wherever that might have been. 

Some—many—seem to believe that the reason for life in the world is to amass as large a share as possible of the goods of the world before you die. How else to explain the behavior of the small percentage of Americans who hold a generous percentage of the nation’s wealth, and still are trying to get more? 

Others are perpetual seekers after knowledge, at every level from lifelong academic research down to taking endless knitting classes at the local yarn shop—but death destroys accumulated knowledge. Physical beauty and its greedy sibling sexuality are important to many—but these people tend to be disappointed when youth departs, often taking beauty and associated pleasures with it. 

The French talk about “l’homme moyen sensible”—the ordinary person, man or woman, with normal desires and ambitions. What should reasonable humans—and especially women—aspire to in life? 

Anyone who’s wondering how to live, and why, could profit from studying how Pat Cody answered this question. In her 87 years she did a host of things, big and small, with vigor and grace. Her life spanned a period of enormous change in perceptions of what women could and should do, and she changed and grew with the times. She aspired to many of the worthwhile goals which have been suggested for all of us, and achieved most of them—a renaissance woman who was a shining beacon in the dark ages of the last half century. 

In a 2003 profile, her longtime friend Dorothy Bryant sketched Pat’s many visible public achievements: six significant projects which all had lasting benefits. She’s counted as a founder of Cody’s Books (with her husband Fred—for many years one of the finest bookstores in the world), of Women for Peace (first to sound the alarm about the Vietnam War), of the Berkeley Free Clinic, the Berkeley Women’s Health Collective and DES Action (which supported women and their children who were harmed by a chemical prescribed in pregnancy in what became a world-wide movement). After Fred died she was part of Berkeley’s pioneer grief support group. 

And while accomplishing all this, she also enjoyed a wonderful marriage with Fred, raised four lively and opinionated children and gave great pleasure to all of us who patronized their bookstore. One of my fondest memories of my first years in Berkeley is Christmas shopping at Cody’s on Telegraph, with the rosy-cheeked Cody offspring cheerily wrapping our book gifts for us. All four grew up to be public-spirited citizens who are now doing their part to save the world as their parents did before them. 

Among Pat’s many generous acts in her last years was loyally supporting and occasionally contributing to the Berkeley Daily Planet in a variety of ways. She wrote us concise letters on a variety of topics, sent financial contributions when we were hard up, and even stopped by the office occasionally to encourage us as she took her constitutionals around the neighborhood. 

In one of those letters, she made a modest suggestion for improving the world which might be considered by those contemplating an appropriate memorial: 

Many of us elders walk daily for our health and for errands, as we no longer drive. I want to advocate more resting stops, like the ones found at bus stops, but scattered through neighborhoods where buses do not go. Lack of such benches keeps many elders virtually housebound.  

Anyone who has yard space could put out a small bench for weary passers-by with Pat’s name on it. Those who don’t have space could organize a modest campaign to provide some benches for public areas. This would be a simple but effective way of honoring her memory and continuing her tradition of public service. 

 


Letters about Pat have started to come in from Berkeley and around the world. Here are the first submissions:  

When my husband and I picked up our daughter in the late '70's at SFO, we did so in our VW bus. Since we usually carried our hot air balloon in the bus (painted as the Yellow Submarine) all the back seats were out so everyone made themselves comfortable on the floor with their luggage. Teri had been in Hawaii with a friend, returning from the wonderful hospitality of two other people who also returned on the same plane as they. Of course we readily agreed to drive these other two to their home in Berkeley. When we dropped them off, we finally introduced ourselves. "We're Pat and Fred." "Cody?" I was shocked that we had such famous people sitting on the floor of our VW bus. Famous? Yes. Wonderful, caring gentlepeople? YES!

Rita Wilson

Not only was Pat Cody a consummate activist, but she was a wonderful mentor in helping start our DES Action group in Sydney. Our group will always remember her fondly and will miss her.

Carol Devine
Coordinator, DES Action Australia-NSW

Truly a classic New England kind of old fashioned person of complete integrity, modest, perceptive, compassion for others and all the other good things we have cherished for decades.

Joan Levinson

Since everyone knows about Pat's activism, passion for social justice, public service, indignation at social injustice, I'd just simply to tell readers what it was like to arrive in Berkeley in 1967 and have the unbelievable good luck of living across the street from Pat and Fred Cody and their children. From them, I learned about Berkeley. With them, I went to peaceful demonstrations. In the street, we celebrated Johnson's resignation. I loved their children and spent time photographing them and giving the portraits to Pat, who always graciously thanked me as though I were Ansel Adams. I was so young; she had already done so much and that I admired. Pat became my heroine first, then my friend. She was always smarter and sharper than anyone else, and she modestly and quietly took on world health practices of using the chemical DES after she discovered its impact on a mother's children. From a small kitchen table, she launched a global health movement and that is only of dozens of things for which we shall remember her. Pat, you had a glorious, triumphant life. I'll miss you.

Ruth Rosen
Professor Emerita of History, U.C. Davis
Visiting Professor of History, U.C. Berkeley
 

Please send your own memories of Pat Cody to opinion@berkeleydailyplanet.com, and we’ll publish them.


The Editor's Back Fence

Who’s Behind Measure R? “Sam Zell” is the Answer

By Becky O'Malley
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 09:51:00 PM

Last night (Tuesday, October 5) a League of Woman Voters debate on Measure R, on the Berkeley ballot in the upcoming election, served as the arena for dramatic revelations about the financial muscle behind the advisory ballot measure which purports to give citizens the opportunity to endorse their mayor’s “green vision” for downtown development.

As they say in clichéd movies about investigative reporting, all you have to do is “follow the money.” Measure R opponents, including anti-R debaters Councilmember Jesse Arreguin and Planning Commissioner Patti Dacey, showed up clutching the hot-off-the-internet documentation of California Form 460, the Campaign Disclosure Statement, which was made available only yesterday. .

It revealed that the “Berkeley Alliance for Progress – Yes on Measure R” committee has raised $32,450 so far, of which by far the greatest percentage,$25,000, came from—wait for it—billionaire Sam Zell’s Equity Residential Corporation. .

Yes, that Sam Zell. The same one who bought the L.A Times and the Chicago Tribune and sucked them dry, ran them into bankruptcy. 

Planet readers know him well. A Google search on the Planet website will give you more information than you need about who he is and what he’s been up to, mostly collected by ace reporter Dick Brenneman. 

And as luck would have it, the front page of today’s New York Times features a multi-page expose of how Zell destroyed the Tribune: “At Flagging Tribune, Tales of a Bankrupt Culture

It’s disgusting reading. 

When he’s not destroying newspapers, Zell is the dominant financial interest in Equity Financial, which bought the many downtown Berkeley properties developed by Patrick Kennedy. The company is gradually buying up more and more of downtown Berkeley. Equity’s latest project proposal would cover almost all of a big block at the corner of Shattuck and University. 

Berkeley’s campaign finance laws limit individual contributions to candidates, but vague committees with high-flown monikers like “Alliance for Progress” aren’t covered, which is why the Zell group (and other development corporations) can contribute the lion’s share of the budget for ballot measures like R. 

It’s all part of a really disturbing trend in campaign financing, capped by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision which says that corporations are just like people when it comes to cash-register politics. Here in Berkeley, they’re even better off than people, allowed by law to make $25,000 contributions (and more) to advance their political goals. 

The listed treasurer of the Berkeley Alliance for Progress is Vicky Liu of San Francisco, previously an aide in Mayor Tom Bates’ office, who told the Planet she’s an independent contractor just “volunteering” for this job. Bates himself is a well-known “Developer’s Democrat” who was supposed to speak on the Pro side at the debate, but bailed at the last minute. 

How is the committee spending Zell’s cash? Well, at the debate someone was passing out the Alliance’s glossy and expensive tri-fold mailer, heavy with green ink and prominently displaying the name and logo of the Sierra Club, which ought to be ashamed of itself. The League of Women Voters, despite its claim that it was the “nonpartisan” sponsor of the debate, lent its logo to the piece as well, along with several other well-known green-washing outfits like the Downtown Berkeley Association. Needless to say, none of these organizations was listed as financial contributors. 

With Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina and Developer’s Democrat Don Perata in Oakland all trying hard to spend their way into political power, Berkeleyans should worry that now their own city seems to be for sale. 

This is not a new story, of course. The San Francisco Mime Troupe’s summer show several years ago was called “City for Sale”, satirizing the San Francisco trend which has now reared its ugly head here. 

What happened in the debate itself? I’ll leave that story for the Planet reporter who was there to tell you. 

But I’d like to hereby announce the Planet’s Sam Zell cartoon contest (funded by the O’Malley family and friends as a public service). We’ll pay $500 for the best editorial cartoon which depicts Sam Zell (not a pretty fellow, judging by his picture in the Times) in bed with the League of Women Voters on one side and the Sierra Club on the other. Entries will be published in this space, and readers can vote for their favorite. 

It should be fun. 


If you want to know more, Berkeley Daily Planet historic preservation columnist Daniella Thompson has also posted an excellent analysis of Berkeley Alliance for Progress Yes on R contributors on the Berkeley Architectural Heritage blog.


Now Read This: A Selection of Links of Interest to Berkeley and Environs

Monday October 04, 2010 - 12:23:00 PM

UC-BP opens a new raptor- and bat-free hall? (From Richard Brenneman's Blog)

UC Berkeley, which bill’s itself as The Nation’s Finest Public Research University™, is opening a new center, and they promise it’s free of bats and raptors.

But there’s at least one old bat who’ll be on hand for it’s dedication today, former Reagan Secretary of State and military/industrial entrepeneur George Shultz, and as for the raptors, what about the center’s namesake, UC Regent Richard Blum, whose been steadily feasting off the carcass of America’s dying public universities for years? 

Shultz, for those who may not recall, was Secretary of the Treasury for Richard Nixon and came to the Reagan cabinet from Bechtel, a company that builds prisons, Iraqi schools, military bases, and, once upon a time, nuclear reactor containment structures. He went back to Bechtel when he left the cabinet and just retired from its board last year, helping the company land nearly $3.2 billion in defense contracts in the last four years alone. 

And Blum, the spouse of Sen. Diane Feinstein, used to own the company that built lots of buildings for the same university system he governs. He’s also in partnership with UC to feed students to the systems schools through the private college system he owns. 

Read more: 

Always be sure to call it research !
Sunday’s New York Times contained an interesting discussion by their relatively new public editor, Arthur Brisbane, about writers who neglect to attribute facts and ideas to their original author. His piece focuses mainly on a popularization of academic work which appeared in the Times’ Sunday magazine, but links and comments make clear that it’s a problem in journalism as a whole. It’s particularly a problem for online journalism, since it’s become so quick and easy to copy reporting work done by others. Professor Lehrer had the first and last word on the topic years ago, of course: Plagiarize!

UC Berkeley agrofuel: A dream built on deception?
Former Planet reporter Richard Brenneman continues his coverage of the BP-UCB sweetheart contract in a blockbuster new story on his always interesting blog:

" Back when agrofuel entrepreneur Chris Somerville was selling the BP-funded half-billion-dollar agrofuel program to UC Berkeley colleagues, the Monsanto-made millionaire claimed the goal was producing enough fuel to power the nation using only the country’s marginal farmlands.

Wrong, according to stunning research from Tad Patzek, who was one of the leading campus critics of the BP project and who now chairs the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering and the University of Texas, Austin." 

Read more:


Cartoons

Odd Bodkins: Frog Oil Beer

Dan O'Neill
Monday October 04, 2010 - 10:01:00 PM


BOUNCE: Crackerbox Palace

Joseph Young
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 09:28:00 AM


BOUNCE: Wizard Fribitty Ribbity

Joseph Young
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 09:24:00 AM


Pinocchio in the 21st Century

Bob Crabb
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 09:30:00 AM


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 01:41:00 PM

Whitman Deceives 

 

With her stance on Prop 23, Whitman is trying to have it both ways! I was lucky enough to win tickets to the 1st debate between Brown and Whitman at UC Davis. While Whitman has come out against Prop 23, her decision to put a hold on AB 32 after taking office goes completely against her job-creation goals. 

Whitman said that she wanted to make California a business-friendly state. But green technology is the future! Brown recognizes this. His plan for creating jobs is based on promoting clean energy and green jobs that will attract the type of businesses that will not only bolster California’s economy, but allow it to continue leading the way in the fight to stop global warming. 

Proposition 23 is a deceptive measure funded almost entirely by two Texas oil companies that are trying to trick Californians into voting against their own interests. Whitman may be a “No” vote on 23, but her plan for AB 32 shows that this is all political strategy. She may not be openly supporting Texas oil, but if she puts California’s global warming law on hold she might as well be. 

 

Katherine Lockwood 

 

UC Sports 

Some surprising wisdom actually appears in this announcement, at least two pieces. One, the Faculty Senate, belatedly but there, still runs this place. Two, in the worthy search for the "third way," the Chancellor discovered the model that should apply to all of Cal sports, not just the rugby team; and to all universities, not the least my first, which has also gotten too serious about athletics. 

Still when earlier this year the University decided to disband the Water Resources Archives at Berkeley, that seemed to rank as the dumbest decision my second university could make. But this one comes close. As with addressing our nation's financial distress, this solution represents at best a band aid, at worst hitting the least-deserving targets (the true student-athletes), and a missed opportunity for transformative change. 

And by the way, as one who encounters them on Strawberry Canyon runs past those "temporary" football quarters that most colleges would envy as permanent facilities, just how many guys remain on the football payroll? 

 

Tony Rossmann 

 

Tea Party 

It is still possible for Democrats to retain majorities in both Houses of Congress. Why? Because the Tea party will either defeat mainstream Republican candidates in the primaries (which they've already done) or Tea Party politicianswill split the conservative vote thus giving Democrats victories in November. 

A good example of the latter case is the recent election in an upstate New York district where the Tea Party put up a candidate and the conservative vote was split thus giving the Democrat the win. 

This should have been a lesson to Tea Partiers. It wasn't. In Nevada's Republican primary the Tea Party's candidate Sharron Angle pushed aside a bunch of moderate Republicans. Sharron Angle, who is to the right to Ghengis Khan was the winner. 

Most Americans are middle-of-the-roaders, not extremists. Extreme candidate are going to lose every time. In this election season, Republican and the Tea Party fringe can't be reasoned with, only defeated. 

Ron Lowe


Response to Commentary in Favor of Measures H and I

By Henrik Bull
Saturday October 02, 2010 - 11:18:00 AM

The Reader Commentary from Cathy Campbell, Karen Hemphill, William Huyett and Eric Weaver carefully avoids any discussion of the Bond Authorization limit of $210 million for Measure I. In 2000 we voted for a $116.5 Bond Issue which promised new classrooms at Berkeley High as the highest priority. In the ensuing 10 years no new classrooms were built. Instead, the money was spent on a $10 million bus and transportation center, and another $10+ million will be spent on a new "high school stadium under construction". Neither the transportation center nor the Stadium (also called Field House in recent BUSD literature) were mentioned in the 2000 Measure AA voter's manual.  

 

The 2200 seat Stadium and an attached two story building of 14,000 square feet, with lockers, bathrooms, offices, press room, etc., is planned to be located to the East of the football field, in the middle of the open space.This project is scheduled for Phase One. In addition, new bleachers with 500 seats for visitors will be built on the other side of the field. Drawings can be found on the bakervilar.com website. Click on Projects, Educational. 

 

The Reader Commentary letter states that the Measure I money "...is needed to build a fifteen classroom building on Milvia Street...". No mention is made of the new 13,000 square foot gymnasium that will be part of the same building. Again, see the architect's web site. Is the BUSD trying to hide the expenditures for non academic uses? 

 

Berkeley professes to be progressive and "Green." Yet, it is well known that the greenest building is one that already exists. Energy is embodied in the existing building, energy is spent in demolition, and more energy is used in the new construction. It takes 40 - 60 years for a new energy efficient building to make up for this energy waste, and the existing building can be retrofitted with the latest technology.  

 

The BUSD never seriously studied the adaptive reuse of the Old Gymnasium at Berkeley High. As a retired architect, I did such an investigation and found that the Old Gym could be renovated for all 15 classrooms on the second floor (as opposed to 3 floors on the BUSD plans). All the facilities planned for the Stadium/Field House can be accommodated on the first floor of the Old Gym. The planned gymnasium (actually 3 gym spaces) can also be housed within the existing gym structure. A two story high basketball space could be created within the north end of the Old Gym. It would have ground level access from Milvia and have seating for 500+ spectators . The BUSD plans show very limited seating and no public access. There is spectator seating at the existing Donahue gym, but it is located deep into the campus and has very limited restrooms and locker facilities. 

 

In the recently defeated $22 million pools bond issue (Measure C), almost half was budgeted to create a new warm water pool. The existing warm water pool at the Old Gym is loved by its users. It was recently upgraded by the City. In 2000 we voted to spend $3+ million to improve the pool. This money was not spent. The RIchmond Plunge recently reopened their huge, beautiful, and very "Green" public pool. A total of about $8 million was spent. Why can Richmond act more sensibly than Berkeley? 

 

If the $210 Million Measure I bond issue fails, I hope that the BUSD would reconsider the decision to throw away a 83,000 square foot building and instead do a "Green" recycling of the Landmarked Old Gym. 


Vote Yes on Measures H and I for Berkeley Schools

Cathy Campbell, Karen Hemphill, William Huyett, Eric Weaver
Friday October 01, 2010 - 12:11:00 PM

With sample ballots and election materials landing in mailboxes, we want to tell Berkeleyans why we are voting “Yes” on Measures H & I and, why we encourage all residents to join us to protect our community’s investments in our schools and to build for the future.  

We are sure Berkeley will agree that good schools bring value not just to students and their families but to the whole community. 

 

“Yes” on Measure H means Berkeley Unified School District can continue to maintain safe district school facilities and grounds with the continuation of a modest parcel tax, a renewal of the same tax at the same rate first approved by Berkeley voters in 2000.  

With the continual reduction in state funding for schools, we see districts across the state dismantling maintenance departments and programs, leaving their facilities to an uncertain future. Deferred or no maintenance unintentionally leads to buildings that are no longer safe and even costlier to repair. This budget strategy is penny-wise and pound-foolish. Berkeley must take care of its own investments – these are our public schools and we owe it to our children and youth to keep them safe and sound. 

Our school district welcomes 10,000+ students, teachers and employees through their doors each morning. The district operates 100 buildings at 23 different sites and relies on these maintenance tax funds to keep fire safety systems updated, electrical switches and wires up to code, roofs free of leaks, boilers and heating systems functioning properly, while meeting safety standards inside and out. 

“Yes” on Measure I means Berkeley Unified can continue to build new, and modernize old, buildings that create safe places to welcome and inspire our children.  

The first priority for Measure I funding is the completion of Berkeley High School, where 3,300 of the district’s students attend school each day. New funding is needed to build a fifteen classroom building on Milvia Street allowing the removal of the eleven portables that now fill the softball field.  

In order to be a leader in science and career technology education, Berkeley High School must have upgraded science labs and adequate space for specialty programs. Our ability to offer project-based work, essential to career and technology classes, is also limited by our current facilities. 

Dining facilities at Longfellow and Willard Middle Schools are inadequate and unpleasant. Students at these schools deserve better. 

School playgrounds and physical education facilities need to be refurbished and replaced. District grounds and sport facilities are in perpetual use during the school day and many become centers of community and neighborhood life afterschool and on evenings and weekends. The Derby Street field needs to be completed so it can accommodate more sports teams and activities. 

The district’s facilities construction plan accommodates expected growth in the student population, upgrades technology infrastructure that supports the educational needs of today’s students, and builds new and modernizes old facilities. Seismic safety is critical. New bond money will allow this priority to continue. The plan also reduces the carbon footprint of district facilities and the cost of utilities by investing in green and energy efficient systems. 

All schools need replacement of major building systems along with replacement of hardscape and landscape over time. For example, of the eleven elementary schools in the district, eight will be due for new roofs and all eleven will need new fire alarm systems in this next decade. New projects include solar electricity and other energy conservation systems to replace expensive and inefficient building systems. 

California offers school districts very limited provisions for capital investments. This is why Berkeley voters approved school facilities bonds in 1992 and in 2000 that funded the last two ten-year plans for renewal of our schools. And the State cannot take either Measure H or I funds from Berkeley.  

The 1992 facilities bond built new schools at Cragmont, Rosa Parks, Thousand Oaks, and buildings at Longfellow, Berkeley Technology Academy, and Berkeley High. It seismically upgraded and modernized many of the others.  

The bond approved in 2000 is dedicated to a wide range of projects including the King Dining Commons, two new preschools, the new energy efficient school bus and transportation facility, classrooms at BHS, solar panels at Washington, as well as the new high school stadium under construction. It funded the modernization of six schools across the city and replaced building systems - roofs, floors, and boiler. 

As the money in the current bond becomes exhausted, passage of Measure I will ensure Berkeley Unified the financing to meet school construction needs over the next ten years.  

We recognize that these are difficult financial times. Measure H is a renewal of the current maintenance parcel tax at the same rate – it is not a new tax. Measure I was written so that Berkeley property owners will not pay a higher tax than what has been paid in the recent past for all school bonds. Both measures require citizen oversight and independent audits to ensure the transparency and accountability in the expenditure of taxpayer funds.  

Investment in safe and improved public school facilities and grounds offers a financial return. Research links school facility bonds to improved home values over time. 

The vision behind Measures H and I is that our public schools continue to be valued jewels in our community where current and future students and staff, preschool to adult school, are housed in safe, handsome buildings and grounds that support the pursuit of academic and personal excellence.  

We invite you to join us in this vision. Vote Yes on H&I! 

 

Cathy Campbell, President, Berkeley Federation of Teachers 

Karen Hemphill, President, Berkeley School Board 

William Huyett, Superintendent, Berkeley Schools 

Eric Weaver, Berkeley Community Member & BUSD Parent Emeritus 

 

 


The Pepper Spray Times

by Grace Underpressure
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 09:46:00 AM

Columns

Dispatches From The Edge: Bedding Down With The Devil in Indonesia

By Conn Hallinan
Friday October 01, 2010 - 12:24:00 PM

Bedding down with the Devil is the only way one can describe a recent decision by the Obama administration to resume contact with the Indonesian military’s (TNI) most notorious human rights abuser, the Special Forces unit, Kopassus. Following a July meeting with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates lifted the 1999 ban on any contact with the unit. 

The Indonesian military has a long record of brutality toward its own people, starting with the massacre of somewhere from 500,000 to 1 million Communists and leftists during a 1965 military coup. That massive bloodletting was followed by a reign of terror against separatist groups in Aceh and West Papua and the invasion of East Timor. In the latter case, the UN estimated that as many as 200,000 died as a direct result of the 24-year occupation, a per capita kill rate that actually surpasses what Pol Pot managed in Cambodia. 

But, even by the brutal standards of the TNI, the 5,000-man Kopassus unit has always stood out. It kidnapped and murdered students in 1997 and 1998, made up the shock troops for the Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor, and ruthlessly suppressed any moves toward independence in West Papua. 

West Papua is the western half of New Guinea that Indonesia invaded in 1969. 

“Working with Kopassus, which remains unrepentant about its long history of terrorizing civilians, will undermine efforts to achieve justice and accountability for human rights violations in Indonesia and Timor-Leste [formally East Timor],” says John M. Miller, national coordinator of East Timor & Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). 

The Obama administration’s rationale for lifting the ban is that U.S. contact with Kopassus will serve to improve the unit’s human rights record. “It is a different unit than its reputation suggests,” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morell told the New York Times. “Clearly, it had a very dark past, but they have done a lot to change that.” In any case, he said, “the percentage of suspicious bad actors in the unit is tiny…probably a dozen, or a couple of dozen people.” 

The aid to Kopassus appears to violate the Leahy Law that prevents the U.S. from training military units accused of human rights violations. “Kopassus has a long history of abuse and remains unrepentant, essentially unreformed, and unaccountable” U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) told the Times

No one in Kopassus or the TNI accused of human rights violations has ever been tried or removed from their position. “We regret this development very much,” Poengky Indarti of the Indonesian human rights group Imparsial told Reuters. “There is still impunity in the Indonesian military, especially in Kopassus.” She added, “We are confused about the position of Barak Obama, Is he pro-human rights or not?” 

According to ETAN, Kopassus—sometimes called Unit 81—helped organize the murder of five Australian journalists in Balibo on the eve of Indonesia’s 1975 invasion of East Timor. Kopassus is also accused of a 2002 ambush in West Papua that killed three teachers, two from the U.S. According to Australian intelligence, the ambush was an effort to discredit the Papuan liberation movement. 

There is also suspicion that the attack was aimed at blackmailing mine owners into paying protection money. From 2000 to 2002, Freeport McMoRan paid the TNI $10.7 million in protection money, but the company shut down the payments shortly before the ambush. 

No one in Kopassus has ever been disciplined for the unit’s role in organizing nationalist militias to terrorize the East Timorese into voting against independence. The TNI financed and led militias’ killed some 1500 people, displaced two-thirds of the population, and systematically destroyed 75 percent of East Timor’s infrastructure. 

It was Kopassus’ involvement in forming and directing the militias that was responsible for the U.S. decision to stop military training for the unit. 

And, rather than improving Kopassus’ human rights record, U.S. training appears to have had the opposite effect. The “worst abuses” by the Indonesian military, according to Ed McWilliams, a former U.S. State Department counselor in Jakarta from 1996-99, “took place when we [the U.S.] were most engaged.” 

According to Karen Orenstein, former Washington coordinator of ETAN, “History demonstrates that providing training and other assistance only emboldens the Indonesian military to violate human rights and block accountability for past injustices.” 

This pattern is not confined to Indonesia. A recent study by the Fellowship for Reconciliation found that Colombian army units trained by the U.S. were the troops most likely to be associated with human rights violations. 

“There are alarming links between increased reports of extrajudicial executions of civilians by the Colombian army and units that receive U.S. military financing,” John Lindsay-Poland told the Inter Press Service. Lindsay-Poland is a research and advocacy director for the Fellowship and an author of the two-year study. 

Called “Military Assistance and Human Rights: Colombia, U.S. Accountability, and Global Implications,” the report examined 3,000 extrajudicial executions by the Colombian military. “We found that for many military units, reports of extrajudicial executions increased during and after the highest levels of U.S. assistance,” Lindsay-Poland told IPS

The U.S. “School for the Americas” has trained numerous Latin American leaders associated with human rights abuses and death squads. 

ETAN points out that Maj. Gen. Hotma Marbun, a senior Kopassus commander, has just been appointed regional commander in West Papua. Marbun was a highly placed officer during a particularly bloody period in East Timor from 1983-86, and was also involved in military operations in West Papua in 1982 and 1994. 

Human rights organizations are reporting that the INF has stepped up its counterinsurgency operations in West Papua, including numerous sweeps aimed at “separatists.” The Indonesian military tends to describe any West Papuan who objects to Indonesia’s military occupation as “separatists.” 

Some 22 non-governmental organizations from Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Britain, Timor-Leste, and the Netherlands have written a letter to President Yudhoyono protesting the imprisonment of scores of Papuans arrested for peacefully demonstrating or expressing their opinions. Some of these activists have been sentenced for “rebellion” under the criminal code that goes back to the Dutch colonial period. 

According to the NGOs the use of the criminal code to imprison dissenters is a violation of the Indonesian constitution that guarantees citizens the right to “freedom of association and expression of opinion,” and the right to right to “seek, acquire, possess keep, process and convey information by using all available channels.” 

Sentences have ranged from three to 15 years, and human rights groups say that the prisoners have been mistreated. 

More than 50 members of the U.S. Congress recently sent a letter to President Obama stating that the Indonesian government may have committed “genocide” against West Papuans. “Genocide is usually difficult to document since leaders are often reluctant to state their intentions to destroy another nation, race, or ethnic group,” the letter stated. “Even still, in 2007 Col Burhanuddin Siagian, who was then the local commander said, ‘If I encounter elements that use government facilities, but still are betraying the nation, I will destroy them.’” 

Members of the congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses are prominent in the group of 50. The Congress members urged President Obama to meet with representatives of the West Papua during his upcoming November visit to Indonesia and to make the island “one of the highest priorities of the American administration.” 

West Papua groups have called for an “international dialogue” on the current situation, and Komnas Ham, the Indonesian government’s official human rights commission, recommends withdrawing military forces from the island to encourage an atmosphere for talks. 

In the meantime, ETAN and the West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAC) have asked the Obama administration to reject Indonesia’s new ambassador to the U.S., Dino Djalal. The groups claim that Djalal has been a tool for the Indonesian military and that he blamed the violence in East Timor on the Timorese. ETAN and WPAC say that Djalal was “a dogged critic of international journalists and human rights organizations who sought to report these atrocities.” 

Why is the U.S. bedding down with these thugs? 

According to the New York Times, Indonesian “officials dropped hints that the unit [Kopassus] might explore building ties with the Chinese military if the ban [against training] remained.” With the U.S. taking a more aggressive stance Asia—the recent U.S.-South Korean war games, and the immense pressure the Obama administration put on Japan to let it build a new Marine base in Okinawa come to mind—the U.S. clearly saw a Chinese incursion into Indonesia as a threat. 

Of course, there might never have been a Chinese offer. Indonesia learned long ago that all one had to do to open the U.S. aid spigot was to become chummy with Beijing. 

The U.S. has a long and sordid relationship with Indonesia’s military. According to documents uncovered by George Washington University, the U.S. fingered leftists for military death squads during the 1965 coup. During the Ford administration, then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger gave Indonesia the green light to invade East Timor. And the Americans acquiesced with Jakarta’s torpedoing of a UN-sponsored referendum on independence following Indonesia’s 1969 invasion of West Papua. 

It looks like we are about to once more bed down with some pretty awful characters. 

Conn Hallinan’s columns can be found at dispatchesfromtheedgeblog.wordpress.com 

 

 

 

 


Wild Neighbors: Roadkill Revisited

By Joe Eaton
Monday October 04, 2010 - 02:08:00 PM

The California Roadkill Observation System has been up and running for a year now. Maine recently got into the act, and I would expect additional states to follow. It’s straightforward enough: if you spot dead wildlife on the road, you can report your observations to a website where they will be tabulated and mapped. 

CROS, a joint project of the Road Ecology Center and Information Center for the Environment at UC Davis, has had 7783 observations reported to date, representing 217 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. A retired veterinarian named Ronald Ringen is credited with 1610 sightings. 

You will probably not be surprised to learn that the most frequently reported casualty is the raccoon (953 observations.) The remainder of the top ten includes the striped skunk, immortalized by Loudon Wainwright III, in second place; then the California ground squirrel, Virginia opossum, mule deer, western gray squirrel, desert cottontail, and black-tailed jackrabbit. The only non-mammals are number 9, the barn owl, and number 10, the common toad. 

That seems pretty representative. My own sightings on a recent trip from Berkeley to Sebastopol included raccoon, possum, skunk, and two deer. The only real surprises on the top ten list are the gray squirrel, which I think of as relatively uncommon, and the toad. I’ve never seen a road-killed toad in California, and I hope these are not the Davis toads for which highway undercrossings were being built. 

Scrolling down the raw list of species reveals some interesting outliers. There’s the odd fox, both native gray and introduced red, and coyote; even mink, river otter, and badger. Last month’s mammal reports also included black bear and feral pig. Occasional non-owls among the birds: mourning dove, spotted towhee, turkey vulture, red-winged blackbird, ring-necked pheasant, common moorhen, western scrub-jay, northern mockingbird, American crow (not that many), mallard, wild turkey. Gopher snakes, which have an unfortunate penchant for basking on roads, are among the reptilian victims, along with rattlesnakes, kingsnakes, and racers. Bullfrogs and newts are also reported. 

Not all users are taking the system seriously. The first time I visited the site, I noticed that the species list included “panda” and “large white bear.” These “observations” appear to have subsequently deleted. As far as I could tell, there have been no reports of hairy humanoids (Bigfeet? Bigfoots?) 

Identifying some of the victims must have been a challenge, especially at highway speed. When all you have is a smear of fur, it’s difficult to make species determinations. Props to Dr. Ringen and his wife Sara, who drive hundred-mile loops three times a month, recording GPS locations of their finds; obsessive, but in a good cause. Ringen claims he can spot a mouse while driving 50 miles an hour. According to the New York Times, though, he admits that he “regularly pulls over for bird remains only to find discarded banana peels.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The Public Eye: Polarization Politics: So Far, So Good

By Bob Burnett
Friday October 01, 2010 - 11:47:00 AM

It’s a familiar joke: A man falls off a forty-story building; as he passes the twentieth floor, a friend yells out the window, “How’s it going?” and the faller screams, “So far, so good!” Now it’s become the Republican campaign theme. 

The United States is in freefall. The economy is stagnant, shedding good jobs. We’ve lost our edge in the global marketplace. The middle class is getting squeezed out, as the rich get richer and the poor poorer. We’re stuck in an endless war in Afghanistan. Horrific problems, such as global climate change, are ignored. Millions of voters believe the good ship America has lost her way. 

Meanwhile Republicans play blame games. Stoke the fires of polarization. Chant: “So far, so good. Let’s shut down the government.” 

As the US heads into a critical midterm election, the US electorate is more polarized than at any time since the Vietnam War. And Republicans view this as an accomplishment rather than as a problem. 

Attitudes about healthcare reform typify our political division. The latest Kaiser Foundation Tracking Poll indicates that while support for the bill is increasing – 49 percent of respondents now have a favorable opinion of it versus 40 percent unfavorable – the opposition has become more entrenched. 26 per cent feel the bill should be repealed “as soon as possible.” (A Fox News poll shows that 44 percent favor repealing.) 

There’s a hardcore conservative minority that opposes everything the Obama Administration proposes: economic stimulus, action to spur employment, tax increases for billionaires, campaign finance reform, repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” cap and trade legislation to limit emissions, and on and on. They don’t have any substantive counter proposals; they’re united by hatred of Barack Obama. 

Recently, the GOP released their Pledge to America. If these were not such serious times, the document might be dismissed as political humor, a parody of 1994’s Republican Contract with America. Pledge is best understood as a baroque overture to the Tea Party movement that has its own Contract from America.  

These conservative manifestos share three components: First, the belief that power has to be returned to the states, that much of what goes on in Washington is unconstitutional. (Conservatives believe that, because of the tenth amendment to the Constitution, many Federal laws are unconstitutional because they usurp power from states – the so-called Tenther movement.) The second component is the desire to reign in government spending and cut taxes – although there are few serious proposals on how to do this other than defunding health care. And finally, conservatives propose to solve the energy crisis by removing all barriers to exploration of domestic reserves and operation of US power plants – regardless of the environmental consequences or the fact that this won’t solve the problem. 

Neither the Pledge to America nor the Contract from America consider the United States’ most pressing problems, how to: guarantee good jobs for working Americans, end the war in Afghanistan, ameliorate global climate change, and reduce the role of moneyed interests in American politics. These are “So far, so good” plans that ignore America’s real problems and instead appeal to nativism.  

Given that the conservative manifestos are not solutions oriented – they’re rants – why are polarization politics working? Why does the enthusiasm gap favor conservatives? 

An obvious answer is that it’s easier to be against something rather than for it, particularly in the middle of a depression. Rank-and-file conservatives who were outraged by the election of Barack Obama have seized upon difficult economic times as an excuse to rail against all things Democratic. 

But there are two other culprits. Every problem is someone’s opportunity. And America’s problems have presented conservative media with a terrific opportunity to expand their base. As Barack Obama’s numbers have fallen, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh’s have risen. 

But let’s not forget the free-market capitalists, the power elite who were the real base of the George W. Bush era. Conservative powerbrokers like the Koch brothers have seized on inchoate populist anger, molded it into the Tea Party movement, and harnessed it for their avaricious purposes.  

There are unusually high stakes in the November 2nd midterm election. It’s about more than which Party will control the Senate and the House of Representatives, which Party will be seen as having momentum going into the 2012 Presidential election. 

Conservatives want to shut down the Federal Government. Republican Senator Jim DeMint brags that his objective is paralyze the Senate in “complete gridlock.” 

Their plan seems to be working. The United States is in freefall and the radical Republican response is, “So far, so good. We want the government to crash.” 

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

 


Senior Power:“I Am Worn To A Raveling”-- Helen Beatrix Potter (1866-1943). “The Tailor of Gloucester” (1901)

By Helen Rippier Wheeler
Friday October 01, 2010 - 12:08:00 PM

This is about chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and chronic myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) and their relationship to pain and depression. 

Fatigue is a common health complaint, one of the hardest terms to define, and a symptom of many different conditions. Fatigue is a challenge. 

Fatigue (fatigue syndrome) is weariness or exhaustion from labor, exertion, or stress. Also known as tiredness, exhaustion or lethargy, fatigue is generally defined as a feeling of lack of energy. It is not the same as drowsiness, although the desire to sleep may accompany fatigue. Apathy is a feeling of indifference that may accompany fatigue or exist independently. (Another definition of fatigue is temporary loss of power to respond, induced in a sensory receptor or motor end organ by continued stimulation.) 

Fatigue is common. Around 20% of Americans report fatigue sufficiently intense to interfere with normal life. There are both physical causes and emotional causes. The challenge is how to tell what is causing one’s fatigue and whether it is serious enough to see a doctor. I say, if you have a doctor and you feel bad, consult her/him! 

Everyone has experienced fatigue, but it is difficult to define and measure because of the interplay among biologic, psychological, and social factors. And there’s that gap between patients’ organizations and those health professionals who contend that fatigue is all in patients’ heads. Ninety percent of fibromyalgia patients are women. [“Fatigue as a window to the brain.” Issues in Clinical and Cognitive Neuropsychology. Edited by John DeLuca. MIT Press, 2005.]  

Pain and fatigue are too often considered subjective discretional health complaints. But for many seniors, they are not arbitrary, and they are not the antithesis of objective! They are common in all societies. Pain has been extensively researched and pain clinics are numerous, but fatigue is still controversial. Scientific studies of fatigue are scarce, and fatigue clinics are nonexistent in most places. Acute fatigue due to extensive physical or mental work is a normal phenomenon; the treatment of choice is rest. Pathologic (relating to or caused by disease) fatigue remains after rest and can block normal life.  

There are many possible causes for fatigue. Techniques of combating and avoiding fatigue can be easier said than accomplished. Fatigue can be depressing, and depression can induce fatigue. 

Avoid: excess carbohydrates, overwork, emotional depression or suppression, clutter in your life, frustrations, sensory overload, pain, stress. 

Get exercise. Get adequate restorative sleep. Once things are changed to allow you to wake up feeling refreshed, fatigue may diminish. Get a pc (personal computer)… regular Internet use reduces the rate of depression among elderly Americans by 20%, according to a 2009 study by the Phoenix Center, a Washington, D.C. think tank. 

People with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) and Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome (CMP) are often oxygen-starved. (Lack of oxygen may also be caused by allergy, fluid retention, or microcirculation difficulties.) Fatigue can also stem from the constant effort to function in spite of pain. [“Fibromyalgia & Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome”: p 125, 338] 

What about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the treatment of fibromyalgia, pain and fatigue? Acupuncture, ayurveda, biofeedback, chiropractic medicine, herbalism, heat application, homeopathy, hypnosis, massage therapy, meditation, naturopathy, nutritional-based therapies, physical therapy, T'ai Chi, traditional Chinese medicine, yoga…  

Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Complementary Medicine Program concluded that the limited amount of high-quality evidence suggests that “real acupuncture” is more effective than “sham acupuncture” (also referred to as “poor quality acupuncture”) for improving symptoms of patients with FMS. [“Is acupuncture effective in the treatment of fibromyalgia?” Berman BM, Ezzo J, Hadhazy V, Swyers JP. Journal of Family Practice. 1999 Mar;48(3):213-8] 

A 2009 article in the journal Academic Medicine that summarized research on alternative therapies reported acupuncture was not proven to help patients with problems other than pain or nausea. Chiropractic care of fibromyalgia lacks scientific evidence and was not recommended. [SmartMoney p77 September 2010] 

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis) are both disorders characterized by widespread musculoskeletal aches, pain and stiffness, soft tissue tenderness, general fatigue, and sleep disturbances. Fibromyalgia is typically accompanied by fatigue, headache, and sleep disturbances. You may also hear fibromyalgia syndrome, fibromyositis. And controversy. I say, if you have a doctor and you feel bad, consult him/her!  

There are designated possible fibromyalgia tender or “trigger points,” although a person with the disorder may feel pain in other areas as well. During diagnosis, force is exerted at each of these 18 points. The patient must feel pain at 11 or more of these points for fibromyalgia to be considered. Four kilograms of force is about the amount of pressure required to blanch the thumbnail when applying pressure. 

I consulted my Redwood Gardens friend. Her fibromyalgia experience through years of courageous hanging in there is relevant and interesting. Sleep is her big problem. As a senior citizen, she considers herself lucky in terms of her fibromyalgia because now she doesn’t have to get up and go to work after an exhausting, sleepless night. Asked whether she was aware of those symptomatic pressure points: Yes! And of depression, which contributes to inability to lose weight. Fatigue is another big problem. Has she tried alternative approaches? Yes! Acupuncture (Alexander technique) and TaiChi. After years of “my miseries,” she takes only Aspirin. She has ups and downs, good and bad times. “Arthritis is a generic,” she reminds me. 

There are “questions” regarding the validity of Fibromyalgia as a clinical entity. It continues to be a disputed diagnosis. Many members of the medical community do not consider fibromyalgia a disease because of a lack of abnormalities on physical examination, and the absence of tests they consider objective and diagnostic. Again, I say, if you have a doctor and you feel bad, consult her/him! 

xxxx 

Elders in the news:  

California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) is holding its 7th Annual Convention, “Taking Back the State in 2010”, October 12-13, in Oakland. Register online now. 

On September 27th the Elder Justice Coalition announced that neither the House nor Senate Labor, Health and Human Services FY 2011 appropriation bills contain any money for the Elder Justice Act. Funding for the Elder Justice Act has been hindered by the fact that the bill passed as late as it did in the FY 2011 appropriation planning process combined with a more difficult fiscal environment. Congress is headed towards adopting a Continuing Resolution (CR) to begin the new fiscal year. The resolution would last until mid-November and until then; programs would continue to be funded at the FY 2010 level. New programs would not be funded. 

Wednesday, October 17, 10:30 AM-12 Noon: Lavender Seniors Presentation. Join the Emeryville Senior Center for this informational presentation which will focus on LGBT aging issues. 4321 Salem St. 94608. (510) 596-3737). The Coming Out Again Group meets at the North Berkeley Senior Center,1901 Hearst. (510) 981-5190 or check Berkeley’s website/Seniors for date(s) and time. 

xxxx 

Attention, candidates… Running for election in the November election? You are invited to email to Senior Power (pen136@dslextreme.com) a statement of your “platform” in regard to senior citizens, e.g. housing, health, transportation. If you are running for re-election, please describe the h ighlights of your record on issues important to seniors. Deadline is October 13. 

### 

Editor’s note: Dr. Wheeler is not a physician and does not purport to provide medical advice. She is a senior advocate whose graduate degrees are from Columbia University and the University of Chicago.


Arts & Events

Stage-East Bay Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 03:00:00 PM

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE  

"Compulsion," through Oct. 31, 8 p.m. Tue. and Fri.; 7 p.m. Wed.; 2 and 8 p.m. Thu. and Sat.; 2 and 7 p.m. Sun; check website for special matinees. A new play featuring Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor Mandy Patinkin. $14.50-$73.  

2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949, (888) 4BR-Ttix, www.berkeleyrep.org.

 

EAST BAY IMPROV  

"Tired of the Same Old Song and Dance?" 8 p.m. East Bay Improv actors perform spontaneous, impulsive and hilarious comedy on the first Saturday of every month. $8.  

Pinole Community Playhouse, 601 Tennent Ave., Pinole. (510) 964-0571, www.eastbayimprov.com.

 

SS RED OAK VICTORY  

"Rivets," by Kathryn G. McCarty and Mitchell Covington, through Oct. 24, 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Directed by Kathryn G. McCarty. $25-$30.  

Port of Richmond, 1337 Canal Blvd., Richmond. www.ssredoakvictory.org/history.htm.< 


Professional Dance-San Francisco Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:59:00 PM

COUNTERPULSE  

"2nd Sundays," 2-4 p.m. Sun. Sept. 12: Philein Wang, ZiRu Tiger Productions, Tammy Cheney, Lenora Lee. Free.  

1310 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 626-2060, www.counterpulse.org.

 

DANZHAUS  

"This Dance This Place," through Oct. 2 and through Oct. 9, 8 p.m. Thu.-Sat. Choreography by Lizz Roman. $20. www.lizzromananddancers.com. 

1275 Connecticut St., San Francisco. www.danzhaus.com.

 

PALACE OF FINE ARTS THEATRE  

"Smuin Ballet: Brahms/Haydn Variations," through Oct. 9. See website for complete details. $20-$62. www.smuinballet.org. 

3301 Lyon St., San Francisco. (415) 567-6642, www.palaceoffinearts.org.

 

PENA PACHAMAMA  

"Flamenco Thursdays" with Carola Zertuche, 8:30 p.m. Thursdays Music and dance with performers of traditional flamenco. $10.  

Brisas de Espana Ballet Flamenco, 6:15 and 7:15 p.m. Sun.  

$10-$15.  

For ages 21 and older. 1630 Powell St., San Francisco. (415) 646-0018, www.penapachamama.com.

 

ZACCHO STUDIO  

"Zaccho Dance Theatre: Sailing Away," through Oct. 10, 1-5 p.m. The company performs a site-specific dance performance on Market Street between Powell and First streets, exploring the history of African American's early contributions to the development of San Francisco.  

1777 Yosemite Ave. #330, San Francisco. (415) 822-6744, www.zaccho.org.


Readings-East Bay Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:59:00 PM

A GREAT GOOD PLACE FOR BOOKS  

Seth Harwood, Oct. 8, 7 p.m. "Young Junius.''  

Emma Campion, Oct. 13, 7 p.m. "Kings Mistress.''  

Rick Yancey, Oct. 14, 7 p.m. "The Curse of the Wendigo.''  

Lisa Brown, Oct. 17, 11 a.m. "Vampire Boy's Good Night.''  

6120 LaSalle Ave., Oakland. (510) 339-8210, www.ggpbooks.com.

 

BOOKS INC., ALAMEDA  

Barbara Tomblin, Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m. "Bluejackets and Contrabands.''  

Elizabeth Soep, Vivian Chavez, Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. "Drop That Knowledge.''  

Harry Hamliny, Oct. 15, 1 p.m. "Full Frontal Nudity: The Making of an Accidental Actor.''  

Free. Readings at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 1344 Park St., Alameda. (510) 522-2226, www.booksinc.net.

 

BOOKS INC., BERKELEY  

Bill Smoot, Oct. 12, 7 p.m. Bill Smoot discusses conversations with master teachers.  

Jessica Francis Kane, Oct. 13, 7 p.m. "The Report.''  

Katherine Ellison, Oct. 14, 7 p.m. "Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention.''  

Kim Dowery, Oct. 15, 7 p.m. "Air Kissing.''  

1760 4th Street, Berkeley. (510) 525-7777, www.booksinc.net.

 

DIESEL, A BOOKSTORE  

Michael Krasny, Oct. 10, 3 p.m. "Spiritual Envy.''  

Randy Shaw, Oct. 14, 7 p.m. "Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the Ufw, and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century.''  

5433 College Avenue, Oakland. (510) 653-9965.< 

 

EASTWIND BOOKS  

Barbara Jane Reyes, Maiana Minahal, Veronica Montes, Oct. 16, 3 p.m. "Diwata,'' "Legend Sondayo,'' and "Angelica's Daughters.''  

2066 University Ave., Berkeley. (510) 548-2350.< 

 

MOE'S BOOKS  

Karen Joy Fowler, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.  

Poetry Flash: Timothy Donnelly, Barbara Claire Freeman, Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m.  

10 a.m.-11 p.m. daily. 2476 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2087, www.moesbooks.com.

 

MRS. DALLOWAY'S  

Tom Hudgens, Oct. 9, 4 p.m. "The Commonsense Kitchen.''  

Kim Kupperman, Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. "I Just Lately Started Buying Wings: Missives from the Other Side of Silence.''  

Michael Krasny, Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m. "Spiritual Envy: An Agnostic's Quest.''  

Rachel Saunders, Oct. 16. "The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook.''  

2904 College Avenue, Berkeley. (510) 704-8222.< 


Popmusic-East Bay Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:58:00 PM

924 GILMAN ST. All ages welcome. 

Stone Vengeance, Hatchet, Evil Survives, Oct. 8, 7 p.m.  

$10.  

Scream, Oppressed Logic, Toys That Kill, Zero Progress, Oct. 16, 7 p.m.  

$12.  

$5 unless otherwise noted. Shows start Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926, www.924gilman.org.

 

ALBATROSS PUB  

Whiskey Brothers, 9 p.m. First and third Wednesdays.  

Free.  

Steve Carter Jazz Trio, Oct. 16, 9:30 p.m.  

$3.  

Free unless otherwise noted. Shows begin Wednesday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 1822 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-2473, www.albatrosspub.com.

 

ARMANDO'S  

Wendy Dewitt, Oct. 8, 8 p.m.  

$10.  

Zazi, Oct. 9, 8 p.m.  

$10.  

Blues Jam, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.  

$3.  

West Coast Songwriters Association Competition, Oct. 13, 7 p.m.  

$5.  

Duo Gadjo and Friends, Oct. 14, 8 p.m.  

$10.  

Michael Lamacchia's Organic Jive Collective, Oct. 15, 8 p.m.  

$10.  

707 Marina Vista Ave., Martinez. (925) 228-6985, www.armandosmartinez.com.

 

BECKETT'S IRISH PUB  

Green Machine, Oct. 8.  

The Luke Thomas Trio, Oct. 9.  

The Shure Thing, Oct. 14.  

Free. Shows at 10 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2271 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 647-1790, www.beckettsirishpub.com.

 

BLAKE'S ON TELEGRAPH  

Bozone, Automatic Band, Oct. 9, 9 p.m.  

$10.  

Tonik, Oct. 16, 9 p.m.  

 

For ages 18 and older unless otherwise noted. Music begins at 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2367 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0886, www.blakesontelegraph.com.

 

FOX THEATER  

O.A.R., Oct. 9, 8 p.m.  

$29.50.  

M.I.A., Oct. 12, 8 p.m.  

$35.  

Gogol Bordello, Forro In The Dark, Oct. 14, 8 p.m.  

$32.50.  

Widespread Panic, Oct. 15 through Oct. 17, 8 p.m.  

$45.  

1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. (510) 452-0438, www.thefoxoakland.com.

 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE  

"Freight Open Mic," Tuesdays.  

$4.50-$5.50.  

City Folk, Oct. 8.  

$18.50-$19.50.  

Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings, Oct. 9.  

$22.50-$23.50.  

Bill Staines, Oct. 10.  

$18.50-$19.50.  

Beppe Gambetta, Oct. 12.  

$20.50-$21.50.  

Moira Smiley and VOCO, Oct. 13.  

$18.50-$19.50.  

"Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons," Oct. 14.  

$18.50-$19.50.  

Los Cenzontles, Oct. 15.  

$20.50-$21.50.  

The Earl Brothers, Oct. 16.  

$18.50-$19.50.  

Neydavood Ensemble, Oct. 17.  

$22.50-$23.50.  

Music starts at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761, www.freightandsalvage.org.

 

GREEK THEATRE  

Maroon 5, Oct. 10, 6 p.m.  

$39.50-$59.50.  

Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road, Berkeley. (510) 548-3010, www.apeconcerts.com.

 

JAZZSCHOOL  

Riff-Raff, Oct. 8, 8 p.m.  

$10.  

Joshi Marshall Project, Oct. 9, 8 p.m.  

$12.  

Debbie Poryes Quintet, Oct. 10, 4:30 p.m.  

$15.  

Beep! And The Holly Martins, Oct. 15, 8 p.m.  

 

Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 4:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2087 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 845-5373, www.jazzschool.com.

 

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF THE EAST BAY  

Gaucho, Oct. 16, 8 p.m.  

$10-$15.  

1414 Walnut St., Berkeley. (510) 848-0237, www.jcceastbay.org/.< 

 

JUPITER  

"Americana Unplugged," 5 p.m. Sundays. A weekly bluegrass and Americana series.  

"Jazzschool Tuesdays," 8 p.m. Tuesdays. Featuring the ensembles from the Berkeley Jazzschool. www.jazzschool.com. 

8 p.m. 2181 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-8277, www.jupiterbeer.com.

 

KIMBALL'S CARNIVAL  

"Monday Blues Legends Night," 8 p.m.-midnight. Enjoy live blues music every Monday night. Presented by the Bay Area Blues Society and Lothario Lotho Company. $5 donation. (510) 836-2227, www.bayareabluessociety.net. 

522 2nd St., Jack London Square, Oakland. < 

 

LA PENA CULTURAL CENTER  

"African Music Night Celebration," Oct. 9, 9 p.m.  

$15-$20.  

Holly Near, Oct. 17, 7 p.m.  

$23-$25.  

Free unless otherwise noted. 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568, www.lapena.org.

 

MEMORIAL PARK, HAYWARD  

MetalFest 2010, Oct. 9, 1-5 p.m. Bands include Imagika, Potential Threat, Age of Aggression and more. Admission is free; bring along some canned food for the Salvation Army Canned Food Drive. "Bring a metal cansee a metal band.''  

24176 Mission Blvd., Hayward. < 

 

THE NEW PARISH  

The Real Nasty, The Stone Foxes, Oct. 8, 9 p.m.  

$8-$10.  

Trainwreck, Oct. 9, 9 p.m.  

$10-$14.  

Elephant Man, Oct. 13, 10 p.m.  

$22.  

Mercury Soul, Oct. 14, 9 p.m.  

$5-$8.  

The Breakestra, Oct. 15, 10 p.m.  

$15.  

579 18th St., Oakland. (510) 444-7474, www.thenewparish.com.

 

ORACLE ARENA  

How Sweet The Sound, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m.  

$4.75-$6.75.  

7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. (510) 625-8497, (925) 685-8497, (415) 421-8497, www.ticketmaster.com or www.theoaklandarena.com.

 

RHYTHMIX CULTURAL WORKS  

"Americana Night, Sirens of The West," Oct. 9, 8 p.m.  

$12-$15.  

Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 2513 Blanding Ave., Alameda. (510) 845-5060, www.rhythmix.org.

 

SHATTUCK DOWN LOW For ages 21 and older. 

"Live Salsa," Wednesdays. An evening of dancing to the music of a live salsa band. Salsa dance lessons from 8-9:30 p.m.  

$5-$10.  

"Thirsty Thursdays," 9 p.m. Thursdays. Featuring DJ Vickity Slick and Franky Fresh. Free.  

The Freshman, Oct. 8, 9 p.m.  

$10.  

"The Feel Good: Love Below," Oct. 9, 9 p.m.  

$5.  

Orquestra La Clave, Oct. 13, 8 p.m.  

$10.  

John Payne and the Hurt Funk Release Party, Oct. 15, 9 p.m.  

$10-$15.  

2284 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 548-1159, www.shattuckdownlow.com.

 

STARRY PLOUGH PUB  

The Starry Irish Music Session led by Shay Black, Sundays, 8 p.m. Sliding scale.  

Paul Manousos, Bray, Blackstone Heist, Oct. 9, 9 p.m.  

Jaymes Reunion, Shawn Brown, Oct. 14, 9 p.m.  

For ages 21 and over unless otherwise noted. Sunday and Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082, www.starryploughpub.com.

 

UPTOWN NIGHTCLUB  

Undead Boys, Loose Lips, Oct. 8, 9 p.m.  

Free.  

Oakland Active Orchestra, Oct. 12, 9 p.m.  

Free.  

The Dickies, Nobunny, Oct. 14, 8 p.m.  

$12.  

KYRO, Whitney Nichole, Oct. 15, 9 p.m.  

$7.  

The Legendary Shack Shakers, Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies, Oct. 16, 8 p.m.  

$12-$14.  

1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. (510) 451-8100, www.uptownnightclub.com.

 

WOODMINSTER AMPHITHEATRE  

Ray McCoy, Stabe Wilson, George Duke, Oct. 10, 2 p.m.  

$5. www.sundaysintheredwoods.com. 

3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland. (510) 531-9597, www.woodminster.com.

 

YOSHI'S  

Mary Stallings, Eric Reed Trio, Oct. 8 and Oct. 9, 8 and 10 p.m.  

$12-$22.  

Dan Marschak, Oct. 10, 7 p.m.  

$10.  

Chick Corea Trio, Oct. 11 through Oct. 14, 8 and 10 p.m.  

$60-$65.  

Michael Franks, Oct. 15 through Oct. 17, 8 and 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 2 and 7 p.m. Sun.  

$5-$30.  

Shows are Monday through Saturday, 8 and 10 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. (510) 238-9200, www.yoshis.com.


Galleries-East Bay Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:52:00 PM

"BAY AREA HEART GALLERY," -- Exhibit consists of photographs of children, youth and families, accompanied by their compelling stories. The joint exhibit opens in the Alameda County Administration Building, 1221 Oak Street, Oakland and at the Eden Area Multi-Service Center, 24100 Amador Way, Hayward. 

8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon. - Fri.< 

 

HALL OF PIONEERS GALLERY  

"Oakland Chinatown Pioneers," Twelve showcases, each focusing on historic leaders and personalities of the community.  

Free. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Chinese Garden Building, 275 Seventh St., Oakland. (510) 530-4590.< 


Galleries-San Francisco Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:52:00 PM

"35TH ANNUAL SF OPEN STUDIOS," -- through Oct. 31. More than 800 artists will open their studio doors to the public during this month-long event taking place throughout the city, with different areas participating on different weekends. See website for complete details. 

www.artspan.org.

 

LOST ART SALON  

OPENING -- "Adine Stix: A Retrospective," through Oct. 31. An extensive survey of paintings from the 1960s.  

245 S. Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. (415) 861-1530, www.lostartsalon.com.


Classical Music-San Francisco Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:48:00 PM

CALVARY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH  

San Francisco Academy Orchestra, Oct. 10, 5 p.m. Works by Mozart, Piazzolla and Sir Edward Elgar. Andrei Gorbatenko conducts. $10-$20. www.sfacademyorchestra.org. 

2515 Fillmore St., San Francisco. (415) 346-3832, www.calvarypresbyterian.org.

 

DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL  

Esperanza Spalding, Oct. 10, 8 p.m. Performing "Chamber Music Society.'' $20-$65. www.sfjazz.org. 

201 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org.

 

GOLDEN GATE PARK MUSIC CONCOURSE  

"Golden Gate Park Band" Oct. 10, 1 p.m. Works by Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, Glenn Miller and others. Michael Wirgler conducts. Free.  

Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way, San Francisco. < 

 

HERBST THEATRE  

San Francisco Performances: The Takacs Quartet, Oct. 9, 8 p.m. Works by Haydn, Bartok and Beethoven. $35-$60. www.sfperformances.org. 

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Oct. 15, 8 p.m. Works by Bach. Conducted by Lars Ulrik Mortensen. www.philharmonia.org. 

401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. (415) 392-4400, www.cityboxoffice.com.

 

LEGION OF HONOR MUSEUM DOCENT TOUR PROGRAMS -- Tours of the permanent collections and special exhibitions are offered Tuesday through Sunday. Non-English language tours (Italian, French, Spanish and Russian) are available on different Saturdays of the month at 11:30 a.m. Free with regular museum admission. (415) 750-3638.  

ONGOING CHILDREN'S PROGRAM --  

"Doing and Viewing Art," For ages 7 to 12. Docent-led tours of current exhibitions are followed by studio workshops taught by professional artists/teachers. Students learn about art by seeing and making it. Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to noon; call to confirm class. Free with museum admission. (415) 750-3658. 

ORGAN CONCERTS -- Ongoing. 4 p.m. A weekly concert of organ music on the Legion's restored 1924 Skinner organ. Saturday and Sunday in the Rodin Gallery. Free with museum admission. (415) 750-3624. 

$6-$10; free for children ages 12 and under; free for all visitors on Tuesdays. Tuesday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Lincoln Park, 34th Avenue and Clement Street, San Francisco. (415) 750-3600, (415) 750-3636, www.legionofhonor.org.

 

MOST HOLY REDEEMER CHURCH  

"Music Sources presents Brian Asawa," Oct. 8, 7 p.m. Works by Vivaldi, Handel and Geminiani. $15-$20. www.musicsources.org. 

100 Diamond St. at 18th Street, San Francisco. < 

 

NOE VALLEY CHAMBER MUSIC  

The New Esterhazy Quartet, Oct. 10, 4 p.m. Works by Haydn. Concert takes place at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, 455 Fair Oaks St., San Francisco. $15-$18.  

1021 Sanchez St., San Francisco. (415) 648-5236, www.nvcm.org.

 

OLD FIRST CHURCH  

Duo Revirado, Oct. 8, 8 p.m. Works by Giuliani, Machado, Piazzolla, Moalem, Jobim, Dorham and others. Thomas Yee, violin, Jose Rodriguez, guitar.  

Agave Baroque, Oct. 10, 4 p.m. Works by Buxtehude, Lawes, Marais, Matteis, Purcell, Schmelzer and Uccelini.  

$14-$17; children 12 and under free. 1751 Sacramento Street, San Francisco. (415) 474-1608, www.oldfirstconcerts.org.

 

SAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC  

Nicole Paiement, Oct. 9, 8 p.m. Works by Philip Glass, Marnie Breckenridge and Laura Schwendinger. $15-$20.  

$15 to $20 unless otherwise noted. Hellman Hall, 50 Oak St., San Francisco. (415) 864-7326, www.sfcm.edu.

 

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA  

"Le Nozze di Figaro," by Mozart, through Oct. 22. Nicola Luisotti conducts. Sung in Italian with English supertitles. Sept. 21, 8 p.m.; Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 25, 8 p.m.; Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 3, 2 p.m.; Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 10, 2 p.m.; Oct. 16, 8 p.m.; Oct. 22, 8 p.m. $20-$360.  

"Madama Butterfly," by Giacomo Puccini, Oct. 12 through Nov. 27. Nicola Luisotti conducts. 8 p.m. Oct. 12, 15, 23, 29, Nov. 5, Nov. 27; 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20, 26, Nov. 11, Nov. 17; 2 p.m. Nov. 14 and Nov. 21. $20-$360.  

$25 to $245 unless otherwise noted. War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. (415) 864-3330, www.sfopera.com.

 

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY  

"Beethoven's Symphony No. 7," through Oct. 9, 8 p.m. Michael Tilson Thomas conducts. $15-$140.  

"Chamber Music," Oct. 10, 2 p.m. Works by Mozart, Berg and Dvorak.  

Semyon Bychov conducts Rachmaninoff and Walton, Oct. 15 through Oct. 17, 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 2 p.m. Sun.  

$15-$140.  

$25-$130. Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org.

 

ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL  

"Sunday Afternoon Recitals," 3:30 p.m., unless otherwise noted. Sept. 5: Travis Baker.  

Sept. 12: Christoph Tietze.  

$5 suggested donation. 1111 Gough St., San Francisco. (415) 567-2020, www.stmarycathedralsf.org.


Classical Music-East Bay Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:47:00 PM

CAL PERFORMANCES All performances in Zellerbach Hall unless otherwise noted. 

"Beethoven: The Complete Sonatas for Cello and Piano," Oct. 10, 3 p.m. David Finckel, cello, and Wu Han, piano. Concert takes place in Hertz Hall. $42; half price for children 16 and under.  

Zellerbach Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley. (510) 642-9988, www.calperformances.net.

 

CROWDEN MUSIC CENTER  

"Classical Revolution," Oct. 10, 4 p.m. Works by Debussy, Brahms and more. $15; free for children under 18.  

1475 Rose St., Berkeley. (510) 559-6910, www.crowdenmusiccenter.org.

 

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF BERKELEY  

Philharmonia Baroque, Oct. 16 and Oct. 17, 8 p.m. Sat.; 7:30 p.m. Sun. Works by Bach. Conducted by Lars Ulrik Mortensen. www.philharmonia.org. 

2345 Channing Way, Berkeley. (510) 848-3696, www.fccb.org.

 

LESHER CENTER FOR THE ARTS  

"Diablo Symphony: Symphonic Metamorphoses," Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m. Works by Saint-Saens, Rodrigo and more. Joyce Johnson Hamilton conducts. $12-$20. www.diablosymphony.org. 

1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. (925) 943-7469, www.lesherartscenter.com.

 

LIVERMORE VALLEY OPERA  

"Don Giovanni," through Oct. 10, 8 p.m. Sat.; 2 p.m. Sun. Mark Streshinsky directs this adaptation of the classic Mozart opera. $39-$64.  

Bankhead Theater, 2400 1st St., Livermore. (925) 373-6800, (925) 417-5070, www.livermorevalleyopera.com.


Stage-San Francisco Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:44:00 PM

AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATER  

"Scapin," by Moliere, through Oct. 23, 8 p.m. Tue.-Sat.; 2 p.m. Wed., Sat.-Sun. Check website for exact dates and times. Directed by Bill Irwin. $10 and up; check website for special deals and events.  

Geary Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco. (415) 749-2228, www.actsf. org.< 

 

BEACH BLANKET BABYLON This long-running musical follows Snow White as she sings and dances her way around the world in search of her prince. Along the way she encounters many of the personalities in today's headlines, including Nancy Pelosi, Condoleezza Rice, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harry Potter, Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, Britney Spears, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Hillary Clinton, George and Laura Bush, Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart, Tom Cruise, Angelina, characters from Brokeback Mountain and Paris Hilton. Persons under 21 are not admitted to evening performances, but are welcome to Sunday matinees. 

"Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon," 8 p.m. Wed. - Thurs.; 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Fri. - Sat.; 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sun.  

 

$25-$78. Club Fugazi, 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd. (formerly Green Street), San Francisco. (415) 421-4222, www.beachblanketbabylon.com.

 

CHANCELLOR HOTEL UNION SQUARE  

"Eccentrics of San Francisco's Barbary Coast," 8 p.m. Fri. -Sat. Audiences gather for a 90-minute show abounding with local anecdotes and lore presented by captivating and consummate conjurers and taletellers. $30.  

433 Powell St., San Francisco. (877) 784-6835, www.chancellorhotel.com.

 

CLIMATE THEATRE  

"The Clown Cabaret at the Climate," 7 and 9 p.m. First Monday of the month. Hailed as San Francisco's hottest ticket in clowning, this show blends rising stars with seasoned professionals on the Climate Theater's intimate stage. $10-$15.  

285 Ninth St., Second Floor, San Francisco. www.climatetheater.com.

 

KIMO'S BAR  

"Fauxgirls," 10 p.m. Every third Saturday. Drag cabaret revue features San Francisco's finest female impersonators. Free. (415) 695-1239, www.fauxgirls.com. 

1351 Polk St., San Francisco. (415) 885-4535, www.kimosbarsf.com.

 

THE MARSH  

"The Mock Cafe," 10 p.m. Saturdays. Stand-up comedy performances. $7.  

"The Monday Night Marsh," 8 p.m. Mondays. An ongoing series of works-in-progress. $7.  

1062 Valencia St., San Francisco. (415) 826-5750, www.themarsh.org.

 

NEW CONSERVATORY THEATRE CENTER  

"And Then They Came For Me," by James Still, Oct. 3 and Oct. 10, 2 p.m. Directed by Sara Staley. $15-$20.  

25 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. (415) 861-8972, www.nctcsf.org.

 

SAN FRANCISCO COMEDY COLLEGE CLUBHOUSE (800) 838-3006, www.clubhousecomedy.com.  

"Naked Comedy," A comedy showcase featuring some of the best comedians in San Francisco. BYOB for 21 and over. Saturdays, 9 p.m.  

$10. 

"Hump Day Comedy," Host Rich Stimbra and a variety of stand-up comics will get you over the Wednesday work hump. BYOB for 21 and over. Wednesday, 8 p.m. $5. 

414 Mason St., Suite 705, San Francisco. (415) 921-2051, www.sfcomedycollege.com.

 

SHELTON THEATER  

"Shopping! The Musical," by Morris Bobrow, A quick-paced musical about those obsessed with buying things. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m. $27-$29. www.shoppingthemusical.com. 

Big City Improv, 10 p.m. Fridays.  

$20. (510) 595-5597, www.bigcityimprov.com. 

533 Sutter St., San Francisco. (415) 433-1227, www.sheltontheater.com or www.sheltontheater.com.

 

VICTORIA THEATRE  

OPENING -- "Jerry Springer the Opera," through Oct. 16, 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat. The hilarious and award-winning musical about the outrageous talk show comes to San Francisco. $25-$36. www.jerrysf.com. 

2961 16th St., San Francisco. www.victoriatheatre.org.


Around & About Onstage

By Ken Bullock
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 09:57:00 AM

—TheatreFirst wrapped up performances of Anton in Show Business, Jane Martin's play about an unlikely troika of actresses—one from Southern Methodist U. trying to make her way in Manhattan, asking Jesus' indulgence (comic ingenue Megan Briggs); another a princess of the (unpaid) Off-Off Broadway stage, cynical and down (Beth Deitschman, an unusual actor, with finally a role in the East Bay she can begin to sink her teeth in); the third a TV star "slumming" onstage in hopes of a film deal (Josie Alvarez)—flying to Texas to rehearse and play some kind of interpretation (always-game trouper Phoebe Moyer, as a rash of pretentious directors) of the Russian playwright's Three Sisters

The all-female cast (a facet that becomes self-referential—and which includes energetic Amaki Izuchi, a strong Shannon Veon Kase and Denkyi Ronge as a questioning reviewer in the audience) put on an engaging show of a sometimes funny, often savvy, though sometimes slightly arch, play-within-a-play-within-the-world-of-theater. Michael Storm, TheatreFirst's artistic director, helmed the show, making apparent once again the distinctively new course the company seems set on, in comparison to the years of Clive Chafer's tenure as A. D.—which featured many plays from the UK and elsewhere exploring social engagement; Michael Storm's proclivity is for plays about theater and the art—and job—of acting, from North America and Ireland—and a war horse, Rosenkrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead—at least so far. 

—Last Friday night, the second night of Traditions Engaged, the combination of concerts with a conference at the Yerba Buena Center, followed by a stand in LA, celebrating Kathak teacher, dancer and choreographer Chitresh Das, three performances highlighted the storytelling and dramatic aspects of Indian dance: Chitresh's own company, premiered his Kathak drama Sita Haran from stories in the Ramayana, like a live silent movie with a lush instrumental track, featuring an all-female cast playing both sexes, the strongest performance by Charlotte Moraga playing demon king Ravan with mustache-twirling elan; V. P. and Shanta Dhananjayn dancing the strict classical form of Bharata Natyam, V. P. Dhananjyan himself with unusually sinuous style and raconteurish charm, particularly in a vignette about an untouchable on pilgrimage turned away from a temple—and a splendid, rare performance of Kathakali, the great South Indian classical drama, with a story from the Mahabharata about a heavenly nymph rebuffed and appeased, a kind of mythic comedy of manners, with stunning costume and make-up, intricate stylized gestures and intense movement communicating wordless dialogue, while drumming and singers backed the virtuosic performances of Vijayan Gopinathan—a man playing the nymph with the subtlety of a Kabuki onnagata—and, as epic hero Arjuna, Sadanam Harikundaram, who is also playwright and composer. 

—It's a pleasure to watch a Broadway trouper like Mandy Patinkin at close range—that and the excellent "utility" support of his two fellow actors , the work of three excellent puppeteers and a well-staged production (directed by Oskar Eustice, once artistic director for the Eureka Theatre in San Francisco) are the reasons to see Compulsion by Rinne Groff at Berkeley Rep. 

The play itself seems promising going in—based on author Meyer Levin and his fascination with Anne Frank and her then-recently discovered diary, the action follows his zeal in getting it published and scripting it for theater, which turns to obsession when he's sidelined as 'other interests" predominate, and Levin puts career, reputation and marriage on the line seeking what he considers justice, while increasingly self-identified with the original victim diarist herself. Levin founded a marionette theater himself—shades of Kleist's parable on theatrical self-consciousness, "On the Marionette Theater"—and the puppets act out the Franks in hiding, and represent some of the characters of Groff's play as well. 

But it never really comes into focus, constantly doubling back on, even contradicting itself, leading to nagging questions: to what end was the play written? Patinkin's perfect as Sol Silver, the Levin character, but his authority as a performer overshadows the piece, even causing awkward moments when his grasp exceeds the material reached for ... It's as if it was written by committee, vainly trying to please everyone and no-one, like many commercial movies end up. Still, the pleasure of the craftsmanship onstage and the high production values make up in part for the slump of artistic posturing in the script. (through October 31 at the Rep; 647-2949; berkeleyrep.org 

Youth Musical Theatre Company will be staging Cole Porter's 30s fandango Anything Goes at the Julia Morgan Center on College Avenue, October 12 through 22; 12-$22; (800) 836-3006, brownpapertickets.com 

Lower Bottom Playaz will present August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean, an ambitious project directed by founder Ayodele Nzinga. Community theater at its most committed. October 8-17, 7:30 p. m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p. m.Sundays, out-of-doors at the Sister thea bowman Memorial Theater, 920 Peralta, West Oakland. $10-$20. 208-1912; lowerbottomplayaz.com


Faculty Club Recitals Delight

By Dorothy Snodgrass
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 01:18:00 PM

Remember that great Masterpiece series a few years back, "Jewel In the Crown?" Well, in my humble opinion, the Women's Faculty Club on the U.C. campus is a jewel in the crown of the University of California. Designed by John Galen Howard and completed in in 1923, this lovely building is a Berkeley treasure. 

I was reminded of this fact when I attended Thursday's "Arts in the Afternoon", featuring Soprano Angela Arnold and Pianist Michael Seth Orland in a marvelous recital. Stepping into the Stebbins Lounge, I was warmly greeted by Mary Remy, the Club's gracious hostess, who suggested that I have a drink from the well stocked bar. I settled for a class of white wine and then made myself comfortable in an arm chair near the handsome Steinway piano.
Waiting for late arrivals, Christina Gillis offered brief backgrounds of the performers, mentioning their impressive musical achievements. We learned that Angela had the honor of singing the National Anthem at the 2010 San Francisco Opera at AT&T Park, having won the competition run by SFO and Radio Station KDFC. More impressive were her performances with the U.C. Berkeley Symphony, San Francisco City Chorus and the Philharmonic Baroque Chorale.
A svelte, striking beauty, this multi-talented artist treated the audience to an ambitious, varied program of music by composers Mozart, Debussy, Blech and others, ably accompanied by Michael Seth Orland, an equally accomplished chamber musician. The opening number, "Un motodi gioia" ("A Thrill of Joy") was vert appropriate since Angela sang with obvious joy throughout her inspired performance, conveying that joy to her listeners.
Following this splendid recital, guests were invited to partake of a tempting, altogether delectable buffet in the Club's Dining Room, where the musicians mingled with people offering congratulations for their wonderful performance.
If you missed this delightful program, take heart. You'll be pleased to hear that "Arts in the Afternoon" will offer another Concert on Tuesday, October 12th, 4:00 - 6:00 with Harpsichordist Melody Hung in a program of French music honoring Gaspard Le Roux, and additional music by Couperin, de la Guerre, LeBegue and de Loison.
Given all of the above alluring events, I think you'll agree that the Women's Faculty Club is, indeed, a "Jewel in the Crown."


Museums-San Francisco Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:57:00 PM

ASIAN ART MUSEUM OF SAN FRANCISCO The Asian Art Museum-Chon-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture recently unveiled its new building in San Francisco's Civic Center. The building, the former San Francisco Public Library, has been completely retrofitted and rebuilt to house San Francisco's significant collection of Asian treasures. The museum offers complimentary audio tours of the museum's collection galleries. "In a New Light," There are some 2,500 works displayed in the museum's new galleries. They cover all the major cultures of Asia and include Indian stone sculptures, intricately carved Chinese jades, Korean paintings, Tibetan thanksgas, Cambodian Buddhas, Islamic manuscripts and Japanese basketry and kimonos.  

ONGOING FAMILY PROGRAMS --  

Storytelling, Sundays and the first Saturday of every month, 1 p.m. This event is for children of all ages to enjoy a re-telling of Asian myths and folktales in the galleries. Meet at the Information Desk on the Ground Floor. Free with general admission.  

"Target Tuesday Family Program," first Tuesday of every month. Free with general admission.  

"Family Art Encounter," first Saturday of every month, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Drop in to make art related to the museum's collection. Children must be accompanied by an adult. In the Education Studios. Free with admission.  

DOCENT-LED ART TOURS -- The museum's docents offer two types of tours: a general introduction to the museum's collection and a highlight tour of specific areas of the collection. Free with museum admission.  

ARCHITECTURAL GUIDES -- Tuesday through Sunday at noon and 2:30 p.m., Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Learn about the former Main Library's transformation into the Asian Art Museum on this 40-minute tour. Free with museum admission.  

RESOURCE CENTER -- Tuesday through Sunday, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Watch a video, or learn more about Asian art with slide packets, activity kits and books. Free with museum admission. 

"Japan's Early Ambassadors to San Francisco, 1860-1927," through Nov. 21. Timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the ship Kanrin Maru and the first Japanese embassy to the United States, this thematic exhibit focuses on some of the first Japanese diplomats and cultural emissaries in San Francisco, and how they responded to the experience of being in America.  

$7-$12; free children under age 12; $5 Thursday after 5 p.m.; free to all first Sunday of each month. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. 200 Larkin St., San Francisco. (415) 581-3500, www.asianart.org.

 

BEAT MUSEUM Formerly located on the California coast in Monterey, the Beat Museum now sits in historic North Beach. The Museum uses letters, magazines, pictures, first editions and more to explore the lives of leading beat figures such as Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady and many others. A gift shop and bookstore are open to the public free of charge. 

"North Beach Walking Tour,", A 90-minute walking tour of North Beach with Beat Museum curator Jerry Cimimo. See the bars, coffeehouses, homes, and other Beat-related highlights of North Beach. Call for info. $15. 

$4-$5. Monday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. CLOSED MONDAY. 540 Broadway, San Francisco. (800) KER-OUAC, www.kerouac.com.

 

CABLE CAR MUSEUM The museum is located in the historic Cable Car Barn and Powerhouse. Visitors can see the actual cable winding machinery, grips, track, cable and brakes, as well as three historic cable cars, photo displays and mechanical artifacts. The best way to get to this museum is by cable car; street parking is practically non-existent. 

Free. April 1-Sept. 30: daily, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 1-March 31, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 1201 Mason St., San Francisco. (415) 474-1887, www.cablecarmuseum.org.

 

CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES  

"Nightlife," 6 p.m. Thursdays. Every Thursday night, the Academy transforms into a lively venue filled with provocative science, music, mingling and cocktails, as visitors get a chance to explore the museum.  

"Where the Land Meets the Sea," Exhibition features sculpture by Maya Lin.  

$14.95-$24.95. Daily, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. (415) 379-8000, www.calacademy.org.

 

CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY  

HISTORY WALKABOUTS -- Ongoing. A series of monthly walking tours that explore the history, lore and architecture of California with veteran tour guide Gary Holloway. Walks take place rain or shine so dress for the weather. Reservations and prepayment required. Meeting place will be given with confirmation of tour reservation. Tour price includes admission to the Museum.  

MUSEUM -- Ongoing. The museum's permanent collection is made up of the Fine Arts Collection, consisting of 5,000 works of art that represent the history of California from pre-Gold Rush days to the early decade of the 20th century; and The Photography Collection, containing nearly a halfmillion images in an array of photographic formats documenting the history of California in both the 19th and 20th centuries. The Library and Research Collection contain material relating to the history of California and the West from early exploration time to the present including texts, maps, and manuscripts.  

"Landscape and Vision: Early California Painters from the Collections of the California Historical Society," open-ended. An exhibit of oil paintings including a large number of early landscapes of California, from the museum's collection.  

"Think California," through Feb. 5, Wed.-Sat. noon-4:30 p.m. An exhibition highlighting the colorful history of California through the institution's remarkable collection of artwork, artifacts and ephemera. Themes include: Coming to California, Scenic Splendors, Earthquakes, Floods and Volcanoes, and more. $1-$3; members are always free. 

"Think California," through Feb. 5. Exhibition features artworks, artifacts and ephemera exploring California's colorful history.  

$1-$3; free children under age 5. Wednesday-Saturday, noon-4:30 p.m. 678 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 357-1848 X229, www.californiahistoricalsociety.org.

 

CHINESE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA The CHSA Museum and Learning Center features a permanent exhibition, "The Chinese of America: Toward a More Perfect Union'' in its Main Gallery, and works by Chinese-American visual artists in its Rotating Galleries. "Leaders of the Band," An exhibition of the history and development of the Cathay Club Marching Band, the first Chinese American band formed in 1911. 

$1-$3; free children ages 5 and under; free for all visitors first Thursday of every month. Tuesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, noon-4 p.m. 965 Clay St., San Francisco. (415) 391-1188, www.chsa.org.

 

CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM The museum, formerly known as the Jewish Museum San Francisco, has a new addition designed by Daniel Libeskind and is dedicated to exploring the richness and diversity of Jewish thought and culture.  

GALLERY TOURS -- Sunday and Wednesday, 12:30 p.m. Free. 

"Maira Kalman: Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World)," through Oct. 26. The first major museum survey of the award-winning illustrator, author and designer.  

$4-$5; free for children under age 12; free third Monday of every month. Sunday -Thursday, noon-6 p.m. DEC. 25, NOON TO 4 P.M.; CLOSED JAN. 1. 736 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 655-7800, www.thecjm.org.

 

DE YOUNG MUSEUM The art museum has now reopened in a new facility designed by Swiss architecture firm Herzog and de Meuron and Fong and Chan Architects in San Francisco. It features significant collections of American art from the 17th through the 20th centuries; modern and contemporary art; art from Central and South America, the Pacific and Africa; and an important and diverse collection of textiles. 

ARTIST STUDIO PROGRAM -- Ongoing. 1-5 p.m. Wed.- Sun. A monthly interactive program during which the public can meet and work with a featured artist. Demonstrations take place in the Kimball Education Gallery, which does not require paid admission. (415) 750-7634. 

"Children's Workshops: Doing and Viewing Art and Big Kids-Little Kids," Saturdays, 10:30 a.m.-noon and 1:30-3 p.m. Family tour and art activity for ages 4-12. 

LECTURES BY DOCENTS -- Ongoing. These lectures are free and are held in the Koret Auditorium unless otherwise noted.  

"Friday Nights at the de Young: Cultural Encounters," 5-8:45 p.m. The de Young stays open until 8:45 p.m. each Friday night and hosts special events including live music, dance, film, lectures and artist demonstrations.  

Aug. 22: "Cultural Encounters presents Hot Brazilian Nights.''  

Event features music by Forro for All and art-making for the entire family.  

Aug. 29: "Cultural Encounters.''  

Event features live music by the Scott Amendola Trio. Free with admission. 

"Poetry Series," 7-8:30 p.m. $8-$12. (415) 750-7634. 

"Pat Steir: After Hokusai, after Hiroshige," through Jan. 30. Exhibition shows the continued influence of the Japanese print on Western artists into the late twentieth century.  

OPENING -- "To Dye For: A World Saturated in Color," through Jan. 9. Exhibition features over 50 textiles and costumes from the Fine Arts Museums' comprehensive collection of textiles from Africa, Asia and the Americas.  

$6-$10; free for children ages 12 and under; free for all visitors the first Tuesday of every month. Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m.; Friday, 9:30 a.m.-8:45 p.m. Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco. (415) 863-3330, www.deyoungmuseum.org.

 

GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MUSEUM The museum is a project of the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) Historical Society. 

$2-$4. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. 657 Mission St., Suite 300, San Francisco. (415) 777-5455, www.glbthistory.org.

 

INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN  

101 Howard Street, Suite 480, San Francisco. (415) 543-4669, www.imow.org/home/index.< 

 

LEGION OF HONOR MUSEUM DOCENT TOUR PROGRAMS -- Tours of the permanent collections and special exhibitions are offered Tuesday through Sunday. Non-English language tours (Italian, French, Spanish and Russian) are available on different Saturdays of the month at 11:30 a.m. Free with regular museum admission. (415) 750-3638.  

ONGOING CHILDREN'S PROGRAM --  

"Doing and Viewing Art," For ages 7 to 12. Docent-led tours of current exhibitions are followed by studio workshops taught by professional artists/teachers. Students learn about art by seeing and making it. Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to noon; call to confirm class. Free with museum admission. (415) 750-3658. 

ORGAN CONCERTS -- Ongoing. 4 p.m. A weekly concert of organ music on the Legion's restored 1924 Skinner organ. Saturday and Sunday in the Rodin Gallery. Free with museum admission. (415) 750-3624.In the Gould Theater unless otherwise noted. $4 after museum admission unless otherwise noted. (415) 682-2481. 

"Sunday Jazz Brunch," 11 a.m.-3 p.m. $21-$53. 

"Very Postmortem: Mummies and Medicine," Oct. 31. Exhibition explores the modern scientific examination of mummies providing new insights into the conditions under which the Egyptians lived, bringing us closer to understanding who they were.  

$6-$10; free for children ages 12 and under; free for all visitors on Tuesdays. Tuesday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Lincoln Park, 34th Avenue and Clement Street, San Francisco. (415) 750-3600, (415) 750-3636, www.legionofhonor.org.

 

MARKET STREET RAILWAY MUSEUM The museum will permanently display a variety of artifacts telling the story of San Francisco's transportation history, including dash signs, fare boxes, a famed Wiley "birdcage'' traffic signal and more. 

Free. Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. 77 Steuart St., San Francisco. (415) 956-0472, www.streetcar.org.

 

MEXICAN MUSEUM  

THE MEXICAN MUSEUM GALLERIES AT FORT MASON CENTER ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED --  

The Mexican Museum holds a unique collection of 12,000 objects representing thousands of years of Mexican history and culture within the Americas. The permanent collection, the Museum's most important asset and resource, includes five collecting areas: Pre-Conquest, Colonial, Popular, Modern and Contemporary Mexican and Latino, and Chicano Art. The Museum also has a collection of rare books and a growing collection of Latin American art. 

Fort Mason Center, Building D, Buchanan Street and Marina Boulevard, San Francisco. (415) 202-9700, www.mexicanmuseum.org.

 

MUSEO ITALOAMERICANO The museum, dedicated to the exhibition of art works by Italian and Italian-American artists, has a small permanent collection of paintings, sculptures, photographs and works on paper by such renowned artists as Beniamino Buffano, Sandro Chia, Giorgio de Chirico and Arnaldo Pomodoro.  

DOCENT TOURS -- Wednesdays, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Free. 

$2-$3; free children under age 12; free to all first Wednesday of the month. Wednesday-Sunday, noon -4 p.m.; first Wednesday of the month, noon-7 p.m. Fort Mason Center, Building C, Buchanan Street and Marina Boulevard, San Francisco. (415) 673-2200, www.museoitaloamericano.org.

 

MUSEUM OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS AT SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY  

Free. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Humanities Building, Room 510, SFSU, Font Boulevard and Tapia Drive, San Francisco. (415) 405-0599, www.sfsu.edu/~museumst/.< 

 

MUSEUM OF PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN  

Free. Wednesday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue at McAllister, 4th Floor, San Francisco. (415) 255-4800, www.mpdsf.org.

 

MUSEUM OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA A new museum exploring and celebrating the influence of the African Diaspora on global art and culture through interactive, permanent and changing exhibits and special programs. The museum occupies the first three floors of the new St. Regis Hotel at Third and Mission streets.  

"Celebrations: Rituals and Ceremonies," "Music of the Diaspora,'' "Culinary Traditions,'' 'Adornment,'' "Slavery Passages,'' and "The Freedom Theater.'' 

"Urban Kidz Film Series," Noon-3 p.m. An offshoot of the San Francisco Black Film Festival, featuring a striking assemblage of short and feature films designed to spark the imaginations of the 5-to-12-year-old set. $10 adults; children free. (415) 771-9271. 

$5-$8; free children age 12 and under. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; CLOSED MARCH 13 THROUGH MARCH 21. 685 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 358-7200, www.moadsf.org.

 

NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM LIBRARY (THE J. PORTER SHAW MARITIME LIBRARY) Closed on federal holidays. The library, part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park, focuses on sail and steam ships on the West Coast and the Pacific Basin from 1520 to the present. The museum library holdings include a premiere collection of maritime history: books, magazines, oral histories, ships' plans and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park's 250,000 photographs. 

Free. By appointment only, Monday-Friday, 1-4 p.m., and the third Saturday of each month 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fort Mason Center, Building E, Third Floor, Buchanan Street and Marina Boulevard, San Francisco. (415) 560-7080, (415) 560-7030, www.nps.gov/safr.< 

 

PACIFIC HERITAGE MUSEUM The museum presents rotating exhibits highlighting historical, artistic, cultural and economic achievements from both sides of the Pacific Rim. The museum features a permanent display documenting the history and significance of the Branch Mint and Subtreasury buildings. 

Free. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 608 Commercial St., San Francisco. (415) 399-1124.< 

 

RANDALL MUSEUM  

"Earthquake Exhibit," Learn about plate tectonics. Make a small quake by jumping on the floor to make a "floor quake'' that registers on the seismometer in the lobby. See the basement seismometer that registers quakes around the world. Walk through a full-size earthquake refugee shack that was used to house San Franciscans after the 1906 earthquake that destroyed so many homes.  

"Creativity and Discovery Hand in Hand," A photography exhibit that gives visitors a look into the wide variety of programs the Museum offers in the way of classes, workshops, school field trips, and special interest clubs.  

"Toddler Treehouse," Toddlers may comfortably climb the carpeted "treehouse'' and make a myriad of discoveries, from the roots to the limbs.  

"Live Animal Exhibit," Visit with more than 100 creatures including small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, raptors and small birds, insects, spiders and tide pool creatures. "Saturdays Are Special at the Museum," Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A series of drop-in ceramics and art and science workshops. All ages are welcome, though an adult must accompany children under age 8. $3 per child, $5 per parent-child combination.  

"Bufano Sculpture Tours," first and third Saturdays of the month, 10:15 a.m. A tour of the giant animal sculptures of Beniamino Bufano. The sculptures were carved out of stone in the 1930s and include a giant cat and a mother bear nursing her cubs.  

"Animal Room," Visit some of the animals that live at the museum, including reptiles, raptors, tide pool creatures and small mammals.  

"Meet the Animals" Saturdays, 11:15 a.m. to noon. See the Randall's animals close-up and in person.  

"Animal Feeding," Saturdays, noon. Watch the animals take their meals.  

"Golden Gate Model Railroad Exhibit," Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

DROP-IN ART AND SCIENCE WORKSHOPS -- Ongoing. 1-4 p.m.  

$3-$5. "Drop-in Family Ceramics Workshop," Saturday, 1:15-2:15 p.m. 

"Drop-in Family Ceramics Workshop," Saturday, 10:15-11:15 a.m. $5. 

"Meet the Animals," Saturdays, 11:15 a.m. Learn about the animals that live at the Randall Museum. 

"Film Series for Teenagers," Fridays, 7 p.m. 

"Third Friday Birders," 8 a.m. The hike through Corona Heights Park allows participants to enjoy the early morning views and learn more about the feathered inhabitants of the area. Children aged 10 and older if accompanied by adult. 

"Golden Gate Model Railroad Exhibit," Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 

"Animal Feeding," Saturday, noon. 

"Meet the Animals," 11:15 a.m.-noon. 

Free. All ages welcome; an adult must accompany children under age 8. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; CLOSED ON CHRISTMAS. 199 Museum Way, San Francisco. (415) 554-9600, www.randallmuseum.org.

 

SAN FRANCISCO CABLE CAR MUSEUM The museum is located in the historic Cable Car Barn and Powerhouse. Visitors can see the actual cable winding machinery, grips, track, cable and brakes, as well as three historic cable cars, photo displays and mechanical artifacts. The best way to get to this museum is by cable car; street parking is practically non-existent. 

Free. October 1-March 31: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Daily; Closed on New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving and Christmas. 1201 Mason St., San Francisco. (415) 474-1887, www.cablecarmuseum.com.

 

SAN FRANCISCO MARITIME NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK One of only a few "floating'' national parks, the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park includes four national landmark ships, a maritime museum, a maritime library and a World-War-II submarine named the USS Pampanito.  

HYDE STREET PIER -- Demonstrations, ship tours, programs, music and special events offered throughout the day. Check ticket booth for schedule. At the foot of Hyde Street, Hyde and Jefferson streets.  

Entering the Pier is free but there is a fee to board the ships.  

HISTORIC SHIPS AT THE HYDE STREET PIER -- The historic ships at the Pier are the 1886 square-rigger "Balclutha,'' the 1890 steam ferryboat "Eureka,'' the 1895 schooner "C.A. Thayer'' (not available at this time due to restoration), the 1891 scow schooner "Alma,'' the 1907 steam tug "Hercules,'' and the 1914 "Eppleton Hall,'' a paddlewheel tug.  

"Balclutha." This historic ship, a three-mast square-rigger, has undergone extensive repairs and preservation work. She now contains more original materials and fittings than any other historic merchant square-rigger in the United States. The Balclutha is a designated National Historic Landmark. At Hyde Street Pier.  

"Eureka." Explore this 1890 ferryboat with a 40-foot walking-beam engine. The boat once carried passengers and autos across the San Francisco Bay. At Hyde Street Pier. Daily, call for times of boat tour.  

"C.A. Thayer." A three-mast schooner used in the lumber and cod fishing trades. At Hyde Street Pier.  

"Alma." Between 1850 and the early 1900s, the best highways around the San Francisco Bay area were the waterways and the delivery trucks and tractortrailer rigs of the time were the flat-bottomed scow schooners. Able to navigate the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta region's shallow creeks, sloughs and channels, the scows' sturdy hulls could rest safely and securely on the bottom providing a flat, stable platform for loading and unloading. Made of inexpensive Douglas fir, scow's designs were so simple they could be built by eye or without plans.  

"Hercules." Tugs in the early part of the 20th century towed barges, sailing ships and log rafts between Pacific ports. Because prevailing north/west winds generally made travel up the coast by sail both difficult and circuitous, tugs often towed large sailing vessels to points north of San Francisco. In 1916 Hercules towed the C.A. Thayer to Port Townsend, Wash., taking six days to make the trip. At the end of the sail era, the Hercules was acquired by the Western Pacific Railroad Company and shuttled railroad car barges back and forth across San Francisco Bay until 1962.  

"Eppleton Hall." Built in England, the steam side-wheeler plied the Wear and Tyne rivers of Northeast England. Designed to tow ocean-going colliers (coal-carrying sail vessels) the tugs saved transit time getting the sail vessels upriver to load. The side-wheelers were also used to tow newly built ships out to sea. From 1969 to 1979, the Eppleton Hall served as a private yacht. She was modified for an epic steam via the Panama Canal to San Francisco, passing through the Golden Gate in March of 1970.  

HISTORIC SHIP AT FISHERMAN'S WHARF --  

"USS Pampanito." This World-War-II-era submarine is berthed at Fisherman's Wharf. The submarine celebrated her 50th anniversary in November of 1993 and is perhaps best known for her participation in a "wolf pack'' attack on a convoy of enemy ships during World War II. The entrance fee includes a taped audio tour that describes what life on this submarine was like. At Pier 45, near foot of Taylor Street. Monday through Thursday, Sunday and holidays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. $9 general; $5 seniors, $4 active duty military, $4 youth ages 6 to 12; free children under age 6. (415) 775-1943.  

"Historic Ship Volunteer Work Party," Saturday, 9 a.m. Become part of an effort to preserve four of the park's nautical treasures. Work on a different ship each Saturday. Bring work clothes, work shoes and lunch. Call for meeting place. (415) 332-8409.  

Unless noted otherwise, events take place on the Hyde Street Pier, located at the foot of Hyde Street on Jefferson Street.Ongoing. Current Exhibits at the Visitor Center:  

"What's Your Pleasure? Recreational Boats of California's Past," openended. This exhibit includes 1940s Sacramento Hydroplanes, a Russian River launch from the 19th century, classic wooden motor launches and motor boats, and other smaller crafts.  

"Hydroplanes and Racing Boats," open-ended. A small exhibit showcasing 1930s racing engines and hydroplane boats.  

"Frisco Bound," an exhibition about immigration to San Francisco, clipper ships, and the Gold Rush era.  

"Hyde Street Ship Models," an exhibit of models of the historic ships at the Hyde Street Pier.  

"Discovery Room," a preview of the Maritime Library where visitors can look up documents and photographs.  

(415) 447-5000. 

"Adventures at Sea: Life Aboard a 19th century Sailing Ship," Daily, 2:15 p.m.-3 p.m. Take a guided tour of the sailing ship Balclutha and learn about the hardships and awards of the sailors show fought for survival during the treacherous Cape Horn passage. Vessel admission. 

Entering the Pier is free but there is a fee to board the ships. The fee allows access to all ships and is good for seven days. $5; free children under age 16. May 28-Sept. 30: daily, 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m.; Oct. 1-May 27: Daily, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Foot of Hyde Street, San Francisco. (415) 561-7100, www.nps.gov.

 

SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF CRAFT AND DESIGN A museum celebrating and promoting the art of contemporary craft and design. The museum showcases diverse exhibitions from regional, national and international artists, working in mediums such as wood, clay, fiber, metal and glass. 

$2-$4; free youths under age 18. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 550 Sutter St., San Francisco. (415) 773-0303, www.sfmcd.org.

 

SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART  

"Matisse and Beyond: The Painting and Sculpture Collection," This newly reconceived exhibition of SFMOMA's modern art collection features paintings, sculptures and works on paper from the first 60 years of the 20th century. Featured artists include: Joseph Cornell, Ellsworth Kelly, Yves Klein, Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Andy Warhol and Paul Klee.  

"Between Art and Life: The Contemporary Painting and Sculpture Collection," This new presentation of the SFMOMA collection features works from the past five decades by Louise Bourgeois, Robert Gober, Eva Hesse, Anish Kapoor, Sherrie Levine, Brice Marden, Gordon Matta-Clark, Barry McGee, Bruce Nauman, Robert Rauschenberg and Kara Walker.  

"The Art of Design: Selections from the Permanent Collection of Architecture and Design," The exhibit will feature 100 selections from their architecture, graphic design and industrial design collections on a rotating basis. It features classic works plus new designs by up-andcoming artists.  

"Picturing Modernity: Photographs from the Permanent Collection," Photography is possibly the quintessential modern art medium because its 160-year history corresponds almost exactly with Modernism's duration as a cultural movement. This exhibit looks at the photograph's unique pictorial ability and its ever-growing pervasiveness in modern culture, putting the medium in dialogue with paintings and other kinds of art.  

KORET VISITOR EDUCATION CENTER -- This facility includes multimedia display technology, "Pick Up and Go'' guides for adults and children, art videos, and a community art gallery created by participants in school, teen and family programs. Thursday, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 

"Tony Labat's I Want You," The latest installment in the newly launched program series "Live Art at SFMOMA.'' The artist invites denizens of the Bay Area to make their own demands of the public which riffs on the iconic "I Want You'' army recruitment campaigns of World Wars I and II, he asks you what you would do if you had only one minute to seize the voice of authority, to be the finger-pointing Uncle Sam. 

Jesse Hazelip, through Nov. 13. Artists Gallery showcases the work of the Oakland-based artist.  

$7-$12.50; half price on Thursdays after 6 p.m.; free for all visitors on the first Tuesday of every month. Monday, Tuesday and Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m.-5:45 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-8:45 p.m. 151 Third St., San Francisco. (415) 357-4000, www.sfmoma.org.

 

SAN FRANCISCO PERFORMING ARTS LIBRARY AND MUSEUM "Dance in California: 150 Years of Innovation," This permanent exhibit traces the history and artistic range of modern dance in California, with photographs and documents highlighting the achievements of Lola Montez, Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, Martha Graham, the Christensen brothers, the Peters Wright School, the company of Lester Horton, Anna Halprin and Lucas Hoving.  

"Maestro! Photographic Portraits by Tom Zimberoff," This permanent exhibit is a comprehensive study of a generation of national and international conductors. In Gallery 5.  

"San Francisco 1900: On Stage," In Gallery 4.  

"San Francisco in Song," In Gallery 3. 

Free. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 1-5 p.m. San Francisco War Memorial Veteran's Building, 401 Van Ness Ave., Fourth Floor, San Francisco. (415) 255-4800, www.sfpalm.org.

 

SEYMOUR PIONEER MUSEUM The museum, owned by The Society of California Pioneers, houses a permanent research library, art gallery and history museum. Exhibits include a photography collection documenting California history. 

$1-$3. Wednesday-Friday and the first Saturday of the month, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Society of California Pioneers, 300 Fourth St., San Francisco. (415) 957-1859, www.californiapioneers.org.

 

TREGANZA ANTHROPOLOGY MUSEUM AT SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY The museum, founded in 1968, houses collections of archaeological and ethnographic specimens from Africa, Oceania, Asia, and North America as well as small collections from Central and South America. There are also collections of photographs, tapes and phonograph records from Africa and Europe. In addition, there is an archive of field notes and other materials associated with the collections. The museum also houses the Hohenthal Gallery that is used for traveling exhibits as well as exhibits mounted by students and faculty. 

Free. Museum office: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-noon and 1 p.m.-4 p.m.; Hohenthal Gallery, SCI 388: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Science Building, SFSU, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco. (415) 338-2467, www.sfsu.edu/~treganza/.< 

 

ZEUM Zeum is a technology and arts museum for children and families featuring exhibits and workshops that cover a variety of fascinating subjects.Ongoing.  

 

$8-$10. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday-Sunday. 221 Fourth St., San Francisco. (415) 820-3220, www.zeum.org.


Outdoors-East Bay Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:57:00 PM

"INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY," -- Oct. 9. A festival celebrating native American culture, with dancing, food, arts & crafts, a market and more. Event takes place at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, between Center Street and Allston Way, Berkeley. 

10 a.m.-6 p.m.(510) 595-5520, www.ipdpowwow.org.

 

ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM Ardenwood farm is a working farm that dates back to the time of the Patterson Ranch, a 19th-century estate with a mansion and Victorian Gardens. Today, the farm still practices farming techniques from the 1870s. Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with regular admission.  

"Blacksmithing," Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Watch a blacksmith turn iron into useful tools.  

"Horse-Drawn Train," Thursday, Friday and Sunday. A 20-minute ride departs from Ardenwood Station and Deer Park.  

"Animal Feeding," Thursday-Sunday, 3-4 p.m. Help slop the hogs, check the henhouse for eggs and bring hay to the livestock.  

"Victorian Flower Arranging," Thursday, 10:15-11:30 a.m. Watch as Ardenwood docents create floral works of art for display in the Patterson House.  

"Potato Harvesting," Learn the spectacular history of this New World native as you dig with your spade and help find the spuds. 

"Horse-Drawn Train Rides," Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 10:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Meet Jigs or Tucker the Belgian Draft horses that pull Ardenwood's train. Check the daily schedule and meet the train at Ardenwood Station or Deer Park. 

"Country Kitchen Cookin'," Sundays, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Enjoy the flavor of the past with treats cooked on Ardenwood's wood burning stove. Sample food grown on the farm and discover the history of your favorite oldtime snacks. 

"Animal Feeding," Thursday-Sunday, 3 p.m. Feed the pigs, check for eggs and bring hay to the livestock. 

"Toddler Time," Tuesdays, 11-11:30 a.m. Bring the tiny tots out for an exciting morning at the farm. Meet and learn all about a new animal friend through stories, chores and fun.  

$1-$5; free children under age 4. Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 34600 Ardenwood Blvd., Fremont. (510) 796-0199, (510) 796-0663, www.ebparks.org.

 

BAY AREA RAIL TRAILS A network of trails converted from unused railway corridors and developed by the Rails to Trails Conservancy.  

BLACK DIAMOND MINES REGIONAL PRESERVE RAILROAD BED TRAIL -- Ongoing. This easy one mile long rail trail on Mount Diablo leads to many historic sites within the preserve. Suitable for walking, horseback riding, and mountain biking. Accessible year round but may be muddy during the rainy season. Enter from the Park Entrance Station parking lot on the East side of Somersville Road, Antioch.  

IRON HORSE REGIONAL TRAIL -- Ongoing. The paved trail has grown into a 23 mile path between Concord and San Ramon with a link into Dublin. The trail runs from the north end of Monument Boulevard at Mohr Lane, east to Interstate 680, in Concord through Walnut Creek to just south of Village Green Park in San Ramon. It will eventually extend from Suisun Bay to Pleasanton and has been nominated as a Community Millennium Trail under the U.S. Millennium Trails program. A smooth shaded trail suitable for walkers, cyclists, skaters and strollers. It is also wheelchair accessible. Difficulty: easy to moderate in small chunks; hard if taken as a whole.  

LAFAYETTE/MORAGA REGIONAL TRAIL -- Ongoing. A 7.65 mile paved trail converted from the Sacramento Northern Rail line. This 20-year old trail goes along Las Trampas Creek and parallels St. Mary's Road. Suitable for walkers, equestrians, and cyclists. Runs from Olympic Boulevard and Pleasant Hill Road in Lafayette to Moraga. The trail can be used year round.  

OHLONE GREENWAY -- Ongoing. A 3.75-mile paved trail converted from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railway. Suitable for walkers, strollers and skaters. It is also wheelchair accessible. The trail runs under elevated BART tracks from Conlon and Key Streets in El Cerrito to Virginia and Acton Streets in Berkeley.  

SHEPHERD CANYON TRAIL -- Ongoing. An easy 3-mile paved trail converted from the Sacramento Northern Rail Line. The tree-lined trail is gently sloping and generally follows Shepherd Canyon Road. Suitable for walkers and cyclists. It is also wheelchair accessible. Begins in Montclair Village behind McCaulou's Department Store on Medau Place and ends at Paso Robles Drive, Oakland. Useable year round. 

Free. (415) 397-2220, www.traillink.com.

 

BAY AREA RIDGE TRAIL The Bay Area Ridge Trail, when completed, will be a 400-mile regional trail system that will form a loop around the entire San Francisco Bay region, linking 75 public parks and open spaces to thousands of people and hundreds of communities. Hikes on portions of the trail are available through the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council. Call for meeting sites.  

ALAMEDA COUNTY -- "Lake Chabot Bike Rides." These rides are for strong beginners and intermediates to build skill, strength and endurance at a non hammerhead pace. No one will be dropped. Reservations required. Distance: 14 miles. Elevation gain: 1,000 feet. Difficulty: beginner to intermediate. Pace: moderate. Meeting place: Lake Chabot Road at the main entrance to the park. Thursday, 6:15 a.m. (510) 468-3582.  

ALAMEDA-CONTRA COSTA COUNTY -- "Tilden and Wildcat Bike Rides." A vigorous ride through Tilden and Wildcat Canyon regional parks. Reservations required. Distance: 15 miles. Elevation gain: 2,000 feet. Difficulty: intermediate. Pace: fast. Meeting place: in front of the North Berkeley BART Station. Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. (510) 849-9650. 

Free. (415) 561-2595, www.ridgetrail.org.

 

BICYCLE TRAILS COUNCIL OF THE EAST BAY The Council sponsors trail work days, Youth Bike Adventure Rides, and Group Rides as well as Mountain Bike Basics classes which cover training and handling skills. "Weekly Wednesday Ride at Lake Chabot," Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. A 13- to 20-mile ride exploring the trails around Lake Chabot, with 1,500 to 2,000 feet of climbing. Meet at 6:15 p.m. in the parking lot across from the public safety offices at Lake Chabot in Castro Valley. Reservations requested. (510) 727-0613.  

"Weekly Wednesday 'Outer' East Bay Ride," Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. Ride some of the outer East Bay parks each week, such as Wild Cat Canyon, Briones, Mount Diablo, Tilden and Joaquin Miller-Redwood. Meeting place and ride location vary. Reservations required. (510) 888-9757. 

Free. (510) 466-5123, www.btceb.org.

 

BOTANIC GARDEN  

Intersection of Wildcat Canyon Road and South Park Drive, Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley. www.ebparks.org.

 

CRAB COVE VISITOR CENTER At Crab Cove, you can see live underwater creatures and go into the San Francisco Bay from land. You can also travel back in time to Alameda's part. The goal is to increase understanding of the environmental importance of San Francisco Bay and the ocean ecosystem. Crab Cove's Indoor Aquarium and Exhibit Lab is one of the largest indoor aquariums in the East Bay. 

"Catch of the Day," Sundays, 2-3 p.m. Drop by to find out more about the Bay and its wildlife through guided exploration and hands-on fun. 

"Sea Squirts," 10-11:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Discover the wonders of nature with your little one. Registration is required. $6-$8. 

"Sea Siblings," Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Explore the natural world and take part in a theme related craft. Designed for the 3-5 year old learner. Registration is required.  

$4. (888) 327-2757. 

Free unless otherwise noted; parking fee may be charged. 1252 McKay Ave., Alameda. (510) 521-6887, www.ebparks.org.

 

DUNSMUIR HOUSE AND GARDENS HISTORIC ESTATE Nestled in the Oakland hills, the 50-acre Dunsmuir House and Gardens estate includes the 37-room Neoclassical Revival Dunsmuir Mansion, built by coal and lumber baron Alexander Dunsmuir for his bride. Restored outbuildings set amid landscaped gardens surround the mansion.  

ESTATE GROUNDS -- Ongoing. Self-Guided Grounds Tours are available yearround. The 50 acres of gardens and grounds at the mansion are open to the public for walking Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Booklets and maps of the grounds are available at the Dinkelspiel House. Free.  

GUIDED TOURS -- Docent-led tours are available on the first Sunday of each month at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. (except for July) and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. $5 adults, $4 seniors and juniors (11-16), children 11 and under free. 

Dunsmuir House and Gardens, 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland. (510) 615-5555, www.dunsmuir.org.

 

FIFTY-PLUS ADVENTURE WALKS AND RUNS The walks and runs are 3-mile round-trips, lasting about one hour on the trail. All levels of ability are welcome. The walks are brisk, however, and may include some uphill terrain. Events are held rain or shine and on all holidays except Christmas and the Fifty-Plus Annual Fitness Weekend. Call for dates, times and details. 

Free. (650) 323-6160, www.50plus.org.

 

FOREST HOME FARMS The 16-acre former farm of the Boone family is now a municipal historic park in San Ramon. It is located at the base of the East Bay Hills and is divided into two parts by Oak Creek. The Boone House is a 22-room Dutch colonial that has been remodeled several times since it was built in 1900. Also on the property are a barn built in the period from 1850 to 1860; the Victorian-style David Glass House, dating from the late 1860s to early 1870s; a storage structure for farm equipment and automobiles; and a walnut processing plant. 

Free unless otherwise noted. Public tours available by appointment. 19953 San Ramon Valley Blvd., San Ramon. (925) 973-3281, www.ci.sanramon. ca.us/parks/boone.htm.< 

 

GARIN AND DRY CREEK PIONEER REGIONAL PARKS Independent nature study is encouraged here, and guided interpretive programs are available through the Coyote Hills Regional Park Visitor Center in Fremont. The Garin Barn Visitor Center is open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In late summer, the Garin Apple Festival celebrates Garin's apple orchards. The parks also allow picnicking, hiking, horseback riding and fishing. 

Free; $5 parking fee per vehicle; $2 per dog. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. 1320 Garin Ave., Hayward. (510) 562-PARK, (510) 795-9385, www.ebparks.org/parks/garin.htm.< 

 

GREENBELT ALLIANCE OUTINGS A series of hikes, bike rides and events sponsored by Greenbelt Alliance, the Bay Area's non-profit land conservation and urban planning organization. Call for meeting places. Reservations required for all trips.  

"Self-Guided Urban Outing: Berkeley," This interactive smart growth walking tour of central Berkeley examines some of the exciting projects that help alleviate the housing shortage in the city as well as amenities important to making a livable community. The walk, which includes the GAIA Cultural Center, Allston Oak Court, The Berkeley Bike Station, University Terrace and Strawberry Creek Park, takes between an hour-and-ahalf to two hours at a leisurely pace. Download the itinerary which gives specific directions by entering www.greeenbelt.org and clicking on "get involved'' and then "urban outings.'' Drop down and click on Berkeley. Free. 

Free unless otherwise noted. (415) 255-3233, www.greenbelt.org.

 

HAYWARD REGIONAL SHORELINE With 1,682 acres of salt, fresh and brackish water marshes, seasonal wetlands and the approximately three-mile San Lorenzo Trail, the Hayward Shoreline restoration project is one of the largest of its kind on the West Coast, comprising 400 acres of marshland. Part of the East Bay Regional Park District. 

Free. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. 3010 W. Winton Ave., Hayward. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org/parks/hayward.htm.< 

 

HAYWARD SHORELINE INTERPRETIVE CENTER Perched on stilts above a salt marsh, the Center offers an introduction to the San Francisco Bay-Estuary. It features exhibits, programs and activities designed to inspire a sense of appreciation, respect and stewardship for the Bay, its inhabitants and the services they provide. The Habitat Room offers a preview of what may be seen outside. The 80-gallon Bay Tank contains some of the fish that live in the Bay's open waters, and the Channel Tank represents habitats formed by the maze of sloughs and creeks that snake through the marsh. The main room of the Center features rotating exhibits about area history, plants and wildlife. Part of the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District. "Exploring Nature," An exhibit of Shawn Gould's illustrations featuring images of the natural world. 

"Waterfowl of the Freshwater Marsh," 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Join an expert birder to go "behind the gates'' to areas of the marsh that are not open to the public. 

"Weekend Weed Warriors," 1-4 p.m. Help the shoreline to eliminate the non-native plants that threaten its diversity. Ages 12 and older. Registration required. 

"Nature Detectives," 11 a.m.-noon. An introduction and exploration of the world of Black-Crowned Night-Herons. Ages 3-5 and their caregivers. Registration required. 

Free. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 4901 Breakwater Ave., Hayward. (510) 670-7270, www.hard.dst.ca.us/hayshore.html.< 

 

JOHN MUIR NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE The site preserves the 1882 Muir House, a 17-room Victorian mansion where naturalist John Muir lived from 1890 to his death in 1914. It was here that Muir wrote about preserving America's wilderness and helped create the national parks idea for the United States. The house is situated on a hill overlooking the City of Martinez and surrounded by nine acres of vineyards and orchards. Take a self-guided tour of this well-known Scottish naturalist's home. Also part of the site is the historic Martinez Adobe and Mount Wanda. Public Tours of the John Muir House, Begin with an eight-minute park film and then take the tour. The film runs every 15 minutes throughout the day. Wednesday through Friday, 2 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.  

MOUNT WANDA -- The mountain consists of 325 acres of grass and oak woodland historically owned by the Muir family. It offers a nature trail and several fire trails for hiking. Open daily, sunrise to sunset. 

JOHN MUIR HOUSE, Tours of this well-known Scottish naturalist's home are available. The house, built in 1882, is a 14-room Victorian home situated on a hill overlooking the city of Martinez and surrounded by nine acres of vineyards and orchards. It was here that Muir wrote about preserving America's wilderness and helped create the national parks idea for the United States. The park also includes the historic Vicente Martinez Adobe, built in 1849. An eight-minute film about Muir and the site is shown every 15 minutes throughout the day at the Visitor Center. Self guided tours of the Muir home, the surrounding orchards, and the Martinez Adobe: Wednesday-Sunday, 1 a.m.-5 p.m. Public tours or the first floor of the Muir home: Wednesday-Friday, 2 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Reservations not required except for large groups.  

$3 general; free children ages 16 and under. Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 4202 Alhambra Ave., Martinez. (925) 228-8860, www.nps.gov/jomu.< 

 

KENNEDY GROVE REGIONAL RECREATION AREA The 95-acre park contains picnic areas, horseshoe pits and volleyball courts among its grove of aromatic eucalyptus trees.  

$5 parking; $2 per dog except guide/service dogs Through September: daily, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. San Pablo Dam Road, El Sobrante. (510) 223-7840, www.ebparks.org.

 

LAKE CHABOT REGIONAL PARK The 315-acre lake offers year-round recreation. Services include canoe and boat rental, horseshoe pits, hiking, bicycling, picnicking and seasonal tours aboard the Chabot Queen. For boat rentals, call (510) 247-2526. 

Free unless noted otherwise; $5 parking; $2 per dog except guide/service dogs. Daily, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. 17930 Lake Chabot Road, Castro Valley. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.

 

LINDSAY WILDLIFE MUSEUM This is the oldest and largest wildlife rehabilitation center in America, taking in 6,000 injured and orphaned animals yearly and returning 40 percent of them to the wild. The museum offers a wide range of educational programs using non-releasable wild animals to teach children and adults respect for the balance of nature. The museum includes a state-of-the art wildlife hospital which features a permanent exhibit, titled "Living with Nature,'' which houses 75 non-releasable wild animals in learning environments; a 5,000-square-foot Wildlife Hospital complete with treatment rooms, intensive care, quarantine and laboratory facilities; a 1-acre Nature Garden featuring the region's native landscaping and wildlife; and an "Especially For Children'' exhibit.  

WILDLIFE HOSPITAL -- September-March: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hospital is open daily including holidays to receive injured and orphaned animals. There is no charge for treatment of native wild animals and there are no public viewing areas in the hospital. 

$5-$7; free children under age 2. June 16-Sept. 15: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.; Sept. 16-June 15: noon.-5 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 1931 First Ave., Walnut Creek. (925) 935-1978, www.wildlife-museum.org.< 

 

LIVERMORE AREA RECREATION AND PARK DISTRICT  

4444 East Ave., Livermore. (925) 373-5700, www.larpd.dst.ca.us/.< 

 

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SHORELINE This 1,200-acre park situated near Oakland International Airport offers picnic areas with barbecues and a boat launch ramp. Swimming is not allowed. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Grove, a group of trees surrounding a grassy glade, is at the intersection of Doolittle Drive and Swan Way. The area also includes the 50-acre Arrowhead Marsh (part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network) and a Roger Berry sculpture titled "Duplex Cone,'' which traces the summer and winter solstice paths of the sun through the sky. 

Free. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., unless otherwise posted Doolittle Drive and Swan Way, Oakland. (510) 562-PARK, Picnic reservations: (510) 636-1684, www.ebayparks.org.

 

MILLER-KNOX REGIONAL SHORELINE A 295-acre shoreline picnic area with a secluded cove and swimming beach, and a hilltop offering panoramic views of the north Bay Area. 

Free. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., unless otherwise posted. 900 Dornan Dr., Richmond. (510) 562-PARK, Picnic Reservations: (510) 636-1684, www.ebparks.org.

 

MOUNT DIABLO STATE PARK The 3,849-foot summit of Mount Diablo offers great views of the Bay Area and an extensive trail system. Visitors to the park can hike, bike, ride on horseback and camp. Notable park attractions include: The Fire Interpretive Trail, Rock City, Boy Scout Rocks and Sentinel Rock, Fossil Ridge, Deer Flat, Mitchell Canyon Staging Area, Diablo Valley Overlook, the Summit Visitor Center (open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), the Art Gallery, the Observation Deck and the Mitchell Canyon Interpretive Center. 

Free. $6 per vehicle park-entrance fee; $5 for seniors. Daily, 8 a.m. to sunset. Mount Diablo Scenic Boulevard, from the Diablo Road exit off Interstate Highway 680, Danville. (925) 837-2525, www.mdia.org or www.parks.ca.gov.

 

PLEASANTON RIDGE REGIONAL PARK This 3,163-acre parkland is on the oak-covered ridge overlooking Pleasanton and the Livermore Valley from the west. A multi-purpose trail system accommodates hikers, equestrians and bicyclists. 

Free. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Foothill Road, Pleasanton. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.

 

POINT PINOLE REGIONAL SHORELINE The 2,315-acre parkland bordering Pinole, Richmond and San Pablo offers views of Mount Tamalpais, the Marin shoreline and San Pablo Bay. There are trails through meadows and woods, and along the bluffs and beaches of San Pablo Bay. Visitors can hike, ride bikes or take the park's shuttle bus to reach the 1,250-foot fishing pier at Point Pinole. 

$5 per vehicle; $4 per trailered vehicle; $2 per dog (guide/service dogs free). Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., unless otherwise posted. Giant Highway, Richmond. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.

 

QUARRY LAKES REGIONAL RECREATION AREA The park includes three lakes sculpted from former quarry ponds. The largest, Horseshoe Lake, offers boating and fishing, with a swim beach that will open in the spring. Rainbow Lake is for fishing only, and the third lake, Lago Los Osos, is set aside for wildlife habitat. In addition, there are hiking and bicycling trails that connect to the Alameda Creek Regional Trail. The park includes three lakes sculpted from former quarry ponds. The largest, Horseshoe Lake, offers boating and fishing, with a swim beach that will open in the spring. Rainbow Lake is for fishing only, and the third lake, Lago Los Osos, is set aside for wildlife habitat. In addition there are hiking and bicycling trails that connect to the Alameda Creek Regional Trail. 

$5 parking; $2 per dog except guide/service dogs; boat launch fees; Park District fishing access permit fee of $3. Through Labor Day: daily, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sept. 6 through Sept. 30, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. 2100 Isherwood Way,, between Paseo Padre Parkway and Osprey Drive,, Fremont. (510) 795-4883, Picnic reservations:: (510) 562-2267, www.ebparks.org.

 

ROBERT SIBLEY VOLCANIC REGIONAL PRESERVE East Bay residents have several volcanoes in their backyard. This park contains Round Top, one of the highest peaks in the Oakland Hills. 

Free. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. 6800 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.

 

RUTH BANCROFT GARDEN One of America's finest private gardens, the Ruth Bancroft Garden displays 2,000 specimens from around the world that thrive in an arid climate. Included are African and Mexican succulents, New World cacti, Australian and Chilean trees, and shrubs from California. 

DOCENT TOUR SCHEDULE -- 10 a.m. Saturdays. Docent-led tours last approximately an hour and a half. Plant sales follow the tour. By reservation only. $7; free children under age 12.  

SELF-GUIDED TOURS -- Ongoing. 9:30 a.m.-noon Mon. - Thurs.; 9:30 a.m. Fri.; 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sat.; 5 p.m. Sunday. Self-guided tours last two hours. No reservations required for weekday tours; reservations required for Friday and Saturday tours. Plant sales follow the tours. $7; free children under age 12.  

Gardens open only for tours and special events listed on the garden's telephone information line. 1500 Bancroft Road, Walnut Creek. (925) 210-9663, www.ruthbancroftgarden.org.

 

SHADOW CLIFFS REGIONAL RECREATION AREA The 296-acre park includes an 80-acre lake and a four-flume waterslide, with picnic grounds and a swimming beach. Water slide fees and hours: (925) 829-6230. 

$6 per vehicle; $2 per dog except guide and service dogs. May 1 through Labor Day: daily, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.; shortened hours for fall and winter. Stanley Boulevard, one mile from downtown, Pleasanton. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.

 

SULPHUR CREEK NATURE CENTER A wildlife rehabilitation and education facility where injured and orphaned local wild creatures are rehabilitated and released when possible. There is also a lending library of animals such as guinea pigs, rats, mice and more. The lending fee is $8 per week. "Toddler Time," Learn about animals by listening to stories and exploring. Themes vary by month. Call for schedule. $7 per family.  

"Day on the Green Animal Presentations," Meet an assortment of wild and domestic animals. Wildlife volunteers will present a different animal each day from possums to snakes, tortoises to hawks. Saturday and Sunday, 2:30 p.m. 

"An Owls Overture," Oct. 16, 6:30-8:30 p.m. This adult-only program provides the opportunity to meet Sulphur Creek's native owls, and learn about their hooting, wisping and clicking. Registration is required. $16. www.haywardrec.org. 

Free. Park: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Discovery Center: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Animal Lending Library: Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Wildlife Rehabilitation Center: daily, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 1801 D St., Hayward. (510) 881-6747, www.haywardrec.org/sulphur_creek.html.< 

 

SUNOL REGIONAL WILDERNESS This park is full of scenic and natural wonders. You can hike the Ohlone Wilderness trail or Little Yosemite. There are bedrock mortars that were used by Native Americans, who were Sunol's first inhabitants. 

"Sunol Sunday Hike," Sundays, 1:30-3 p.m. A natural history walk in Sunol Regional Wilderness. 

"Sunol Sunday Hike," Sundays, 1:30-3 p.m. A natural history walk in the wilderness. 

Free unless otherwise noted; $5 parking; $2 dog fee. Geary Road off Calaveras Road, six miles south of Interstate Highway 680, Sunol. (510) 652-PARK, www.ebparks.org.


Museums-East Bay Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:56:00 PM

AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM AND LIBRARY AT OAKLAND The Oakland Public Library's museum is designed to discover, preserve, interpret and share the cultural and historical experiences of African Americans in California and the West. In addition, a three-panel mural is on permanent display. 

Free. Tuesday-Saturday, noon-5:30 p.m. 659 14th St., Oakland. (510) 637-0200, www.oaklandlibrary.org.

 

ALAMEDA MUSEUM The museum offers permanent displays of Alameda history, the only rotating gallery showcasing local Alameda artists and student artwork, as well as souvenirs, books and videos about the rich history of the Island City. 

Free. Wednesday-Friday and Sunday, 1-4 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 2324 Alameda Ave., Alameda. (510) 521-1233, www.alamedamuseum.org.

 

BADE MUSEUM AT THE PACIFIC SCHOOL OF RELIGION The museum's collections include the Tell en-Nasbeh Collection, consisting of artifacts excavated from Tell en-Nasbeh in Palestine in 1926 and 1935 by William Badh, and the Howell Bible Collection, featuring approximately 300 rare books (primarily Bibles) dating from the 15th through the 18th centuries. 

"Tell en-Nasbeh," This exhibit is the "heart and soul" of the Bade Museum. It displays a wealth of finds from the excavations at Tell en-Nasbeh, Palestine whose objects span from the Early Bronze Age (3100-2200 BC) through the Iron Age (1200-586 BC) and into the Roman and Hellenistic periods. Highlights of the exhibit include "Tools of the Trade" featuring real archaeological tools used by Badh and his team, an oil lamp typology, a Second Temple period (586 BC-70 AD) limestone ossuary, and a selection of painted Greek pottery.  

"William Frederic Bade: Theologian, Naturalist, and Archaeologist," This exhibit highlights one of PSR's premier educators and innovative scholars. The collection of material on display was chosen with the hopes of representing the truly dynamic and multifaceted character of William F. Badh. He was a family man, a dedicated teacher, a loving friend, and an innovative and passionate archaeologist.  

Free. Tuesday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Holbrook Hall, Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0528, www.bade.psr.edu/bade.< 

 

BERKELEY ART MUSEUM AND PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE  

"Thom Faulders: BAMscape," through Nov. 30. This commissioned work, a hybrid of sculpture, furniture, and stage, is the new centerpiece of Gallery B, BAM's expansive central atrium. It is part of a new vision of the gallery as a space for interaction, performance, and improvised experiences.  

"Himalayan Pilgrimage," through Dec. 19. Exhibition features sculpture and painting dating from the ninth to the eighteenth centuries and drawn from a private collection on long-term loan to the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.  

"Hauntology," through Dec. 5. Drawn primarily from the museum's recent acquisitions of contemporary art, this exhibition explores a wide range of art through the lens of the concept of "hauntology,'' a term coined by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida in 1993 to refer to the study of social, psychological, and cultural conditions in the post-Communist period.  

2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. < 

 

BLACKHAWK MUSEUM  

AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM -- The museum's permanent exhibition of internationally renowned automobiles dated from 1897 to the 1980s. The cars are displayed as works of art with room to walk completely around each car to admire the workmanship. On long-term loan from the Smithsonian Institution is a Long Steam Tricycle; an 1893-94 Duryea, the first Duryea built by the Duryea brothers; and a 1948 Tucker, number 39 of the 51 Tuckers built, which is a Model 48 "Torpedo'' four-door sedan.  

"International Automotive Treasures," An ever-changing exhibit featuring over 90 automobiles.  

"A Journey on Common Ground," An exhibit of moving photographs, video and art objects from around the world exploring the causes of disability and the efforts of the Wheelchair Foundation to provide a wheelchair for every person in need who cannot afford one.  

Free Public Tours, Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. Docent-led guided tours of the museum's exhibitions. 

$5-$8; free for children ages 6 and under. Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 3700 Blackhawk Plaza Circle, Danville. (925) 736-2280, (925) 736-2277, www.blackhawkmuseum.org.

 

CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY  

HISTORY WALKABOUTS -- Ongoing. A series of walking tours that explore the history, lore and architecture of California with veteran tour guide Gary Holloway. Walks are given on specific weekends. There is a different meeting place for each weekend and walks take place rain or shine so dress for the weather. Reservations and prepayment required. Meeting place will be given with confirmation of tour reservation. Call for details.  

678 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 357-1848, www.californiahistoricalsociety.org.

 

CHABOT SPACE AND SCIENCE CENTER State-of-the-art facility unifying science education activities around astronomy. Enjoy interactive exhibits, hands-on activities, indoor stargazing, outdoor telescope viewing and films. 

"Beyond Blastoff: Surviving in Space," An interactive exhibit that allows you to immerse yourself into the life of an astronaut to experience the mixture of exhilaration, adventure and confinement that is living and working in space.  

"Chabot Observatories: A View to the Stars," Explore the history of the Chabot observatories and how its historic telescopes are used today. Daytime visitors can virtually operate a telescope, experiment with mirrors and lenses to understand how telescopes create images of distant objects and travel through more than a century of Chabot's history via multimedia kiosks, historical images and artifact displays.  

"Live Daytime Planetarium Show," Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Ride through real-time constellations, stars and planets with Chabot's full-dome digital projection system. 

"Galaxy Explorers Hands-On Fun," Saturday, noon-4 p.m. The Galaxy Explorers lead a variety of fun, hands-on activities, such as examining real spacesuits, creating galaxy flipbooks, learning about telescopes, minerals and skulls and making your own comet. Free with general admission. 

"Daytime Telescope Viewing," Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. View the sun, the moon and the planets through the telescopes during the day. Free with general admission. 

Center Admission: $14.95; $10.95 children 3-12; free children under 3; $3 discount for seniors and students. Telescope viewing only: free. Wednesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Also open on Tuesdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. after June 29. 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. (510) 336-7300, www.chabotspace.org.

 

JUDAH L. MAGNES MUSEUM The museum's permanent collection includes objects of Jewish importance including ceremonial art, film and video, folk art and fine art, paintings, sculptures and prints by contemporary and historical artists. 

"Projections," Multimedia works from the museum's extensive collections of archival, documentary and experimental films. Located at 2911 Russell Street.  

$4-$6; free for children under age 12. Sunday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. CLOSED APRIL 3-4 AND 9-10; MAY 23-24 AND 28; JULY 4; SEPT. 3, 13 AND 27; OCT. 4; NOV. 22; DEC. 24-25 AND 31. 2911 Russell St., Berkeley. (510) 549-6950, www.magnes.org.

 

LAWRENCE HALL OF SCIENCE  

"NanoZone," Discover the science of the super-small: nanotechnology. Through hands-on activities and games, explore this microworld and the scientific discoveries made in this area.  

"Forces That Shape the Bay," A science park that shows and explains why the San Francisco Bay is the way it is, with information on water, erosion, plate tectonics and mountain building. You can ride earthquake simulators, set erosion in motion and look far out into the bay with a powerful telescope from 1,100 feet above sea level. The center of the exhibit is a waterfall that demonstrates how water flows from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Bay. Visitors can control where the water goes. There are also hands-on erosion tables, and a 40-foot-long, 6-foothigh, rock compression wall.  

"Real Astronomy Experience," A new exhibit-in-development allowing visitors to use the tools that real astronomers use. Aim a telescope at a virtual sky and operate a remote-controlled telescope to measure a planet.  

"Biology Lab," In the renovated Biology Lab visitors may hold and observe gentle animals. Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.  

"The Idea Lab," Experiment with some of the basics of math, science and technology through hands-on activities and demonstrations of magnets, spinning and flying, puzzles and nanotechnology.  

"Math Around the World," Play some of the world's most popular math games, such as Hex, Kalah, Game Sticks and Shongo Networks.  

"Math Rules," Use simple and colorful objects to complete interesting challenges in math through predicting, sorting, comparing, weighing and counting.  

"Animal Discovery Room,,' 1:30-4 p.m. Visitors of all ages can hold and touch gentle animals, learn about their behavior and habitats and play with self-guided activities and specimen models.  

"Forces That Shape the Bay," This science park shows and explains why the San Francisco Bay is the way it is, with information on water, erosion, plate tectonics and mountain building.  

"Ingenuity in Action," Summer 2010. Enjoy the best of the Ingenuity Lab. Engage your creative brain and use a variety of materials to design, build and test your own innovations.  

"Kapla," Play with simple, versatile building blocks that can be used to build very large, high and stable structures.  

"KidsLab," This multisensory play area includes larger-than-life blocks, a crawl-through kaleidoscope, the Gravity wall, a puppet theater and a reading area.  

"NanoZone," Discover the science of nanotechnology through handson activities and games.  

"Planetarium," Explore the skies in this interactive planetarium.  

"Science on a Sphere," Catch an out-of-this-world experience with an animated globe. See hurricanes form, tsunamis sweep across the oceans and city lights glow around the planet.  

"Scream Machines -- The Science of Roller Coasters, through Jan. 2. This head-spinning, stomach-churning exhibition for thrill-seekers features interactive exhibits, artifacts and images to explore.  

$6-$12; free children ages 2 and under. Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. University of California, Centennial Drive, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org.

 

LINDSAY WILDLIFE MUSEUM This is the oldest and largest wildlife rehabilitation center in America, taking in 6,000 injured and orphaned animals yearly and returning 40 percent of them to the wild. The museum offers a wide range of educational programs using non-releasable wild animals to teach children and adults respect for the balance of nature. The museum includes a state-of-the art wildlife hospital which features a permanent exhibit, titled "Living with Nature,'' which houses 75 non-releasable wild animals in learning environments; a 5,000-square-foot Wildlife Hospital complete with treatment rooms, intensive care, quarantine and laboratory facilities; a 1-acre Nature Garden featuring the region's native landscaping and wildlife; and an "Especially For Children'' exhibit.  

WILDLIFE HOSPITAL -- September-March: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hospital is open daily including holidays to receive injured and orphaned animals. There is no charge for treatment of native wild animals and there are no public viewing areas in the hospital. 

$5-$7; free children under age 2. June 16-Sept. 15: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.; Sept. 16-June 15: noon.-5 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 1931 First Ave., Walnut Creek. (925) 935-1978, www.wildlife-museum.org.< 

 

MEYERS HOUSE AND GARDEN MUSEUM The Meyers House, erected in 1897, is an example of Colonial Revival, an architectural style popular around the turn of the century. Designed by Henry H. Meyers,the house was built by his father, Jacob Meyers, at a cost of $4000.00. 

$3. Fourth Saturday of every month. 2021 Alameda Ave., Alameda. (510) 521-1247, www.alamedamuseum.org/meyers.html.< 

 

MUSEUM OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE VILLAGE A science museum with an African-American focus promoting science education and awareness for the underrepresented. The science village chronicles the technical achievements of people of African descent from ancient ties to present. There are computer classes at the Internet Cafi, science education activities and seminars. There is also a resource library with a collection of books, periodicals and videotapes. 

$4-$6. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, noon-6 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. 630 20th St., Oakland. (510) 893-6426, www.ncalifblackengineers.org.

 

MUSEUM OF CHILDREN'S ART A museum of art for and by children, with activities for children to participate in making their own art.  

ART CAMPS -- Hands-on activities and engaging curriculum for children of different ages, led by professional artists and staff. $60 per day.  

CLASSES -- A Sunday series of classes for children ages 8 to 12, led by Mocha artists. Sundays, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.  

OPEN STUDIOS -- Drop-in art play activities with new themes each week.  

"Big Studio." Guided art projects for children age 6 and older with a Mocha artist. Tuesday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. $5.  

"Little Studio." A hands-on experience that lets young artists age 18 months to 5 years see, touch and manipulate a variety of media. Children can get messy. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $5.  

"Family Weekend Studios." Drop-in art activities for the whole family. All ages welcome. Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. $5 per child.  

FAMILY EXTRAVAGANZAS -- Special weekend workshops for the entire family.  

"Sunday Workshops with Illustrators," Sundays, 1 p.m. See the artwork and meet the artists who create children's book illustrations. Free. 

"Saturday Stories," 1 p.m. For children ages 2-5. Free. 

Free gallery admission. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m. 538 Ninth St., Oakland. (510) 465-8770, www.mocha.org.

 

MUSEUM OF THE SAN RAMON VALLEY The museum features local artifacts, pictures, flags and drawings commemorating the valley's history. It also houses a historical narrative frieze. In addition to a permanent exhibit on the valley's history, the museum sponsors revolving exhibits and several guided tours. The restored railroad depot that houses the museum was built on the San Ramon Branch Line of the Southern Pacific Railroad 108 years ago. 

Free. August: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The Depot, West Prospect and Railroad avenues, Danville. (925) 837-3750, www.museumsrv.org.

 

MUSEUM ON MAIN STREET Located in a former town hall building, this museum is a piece of local history. It has a photo and document archive, collection of artifacts, local history publications for purchase, and a history library. It is supported by the Amador-Livermore Valley Historical Society. 

$2. Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.; CLOSED DEC. 23-JAN. 8. 603 Main St., Pleasanton. (925) 462-2766, www.museumonmain.org.

 

OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA "Art a la Carte," Wednesdays, 12:30 p.m. Art docents offer a variety of specialized tours focusing on one aspect of the museum's permanent collection. Free with museum admission.  

"Online Museum," Thursdays, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Explore the museum's collection on videodisks in the History Department Library.  

Docent Gallery Tours, Saturday and Sunday, 1:30 p.m. 

"Explore our New Gallery," through Dec. 2. The new Gallery of California Art showcases more than 800 works from OMCA's collection-one of the largest and most comprehensive holdings of California art in the world.  

"Gallery of California History," through Dec. 2. This new gallery is based on the theme of Coming to California.  

OPENING -- "Pixar: 25 Years of Animation," through Jan. 9. Exhibition presents an unprecedented look at the Emeryville-based animation company.  

$5-$8; free for children ages 5 and under; free to all on the second Sunday of the month. Special events are free with museum admission unless noted otherwise. Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; first Friday of the month, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. 1000 Oak St., Oakland. (510) 238-2200, www.museumca.org.

 

PARDEE HOME MUSEUM The historic Pardee Mansion, a three-story Italianate villa built in 1868, was home to three generations of the Pardee family who were instrumental in the civic and cultural development of California and Oakland. The home includes the house, grounds, water tower and barn. Reservations recommended. Group tours may be arranged between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tues.-Sun.  

Private Tours and Teas: Take a private tour followed by tea in the Pardee family dining room (available for 4-12 persons).  

Tour with light tea: $12 per person  

Tour with high tea: $25 per person.  

High tea without tour: $20 per person. 

$5-$25; free children ages 12 and under. House Tours: 10:30 a.m. every Wednesday and second Saturday of each month; 2 p.m. the second Sunday or each month. 672 11th St., Oakland. (510) 444-2187, www.pardeehome.org.

 

SAN LEANDRO HISTORY MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY The museum showcases local and regional history and serves as a centerpiece for community cultural activity. There are exhibits on Ohlone settlements, farms of early settlers, and contributions of Portuguese and other immigrants. There will also be exhibits of the city's agricultural past and the industrial development of the 19th century. "Yema/Po Archeological Site at Lake Chabot," An exhibit highlighting artifacts uncovered from a work camp of Chinese laborers, featuring photomurals, cutouts and historical photographs. 

Free. Thursday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. 320 West Estudillo Ave., San Leandro. (510) 577-3990, www.ci.sanleandro. ca.us/sllibrarymuseum.html.< 

 

SHADELANDS RANCH HISTORICAL MUSEUM Built by Walnut Creek pioneer Hiram Penniman, this 1903 redwood-framed house is a showcase for numerous historical artifacts, many of which belonged to the Pennimans. It also houses a rich archive of Contra Costa and Walnut Creek history in its collections of old newspapers, photographs and government records. 

$1-$3; free-children under age 6. Wednesday and Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.; Closed in January. 2660 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek. (925) 935-7871, www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us.< 

 

SMITH MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, HAYWARD The museum houses significant collections of archaeological and ethnographic specimens from Africa, Asia and North America and small collections from Central and South America. The museum offers opportunities and materials for student research and internships in archaeology and ethnology. 

Free. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Meiklejohn Hall, Fourth Floor, 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd., Hayward. (510) 885-3104, (510) 885-7414, www.isis.csuhayward.edu/cesmith/acesmith.html.< 

 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY HEARST MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY  

"Native California Cultures," This is an exhibit of some 500 artifacts from the museum's California collections, the largest and most comprehensive collections in the world devoted to California Indian cultures. The exhibit includes a section about Ishi, the famous Indian who lived and worked with the museum, Yana tribal baskets and a 17-foot Yurok canoe carved from a single redwood.  

"Recent Acquisitions," The collection includes Yoruba masks and carvings from Africa, early-20th-century Taiwanese hand puppets, textiles from the Americas and 19th- and 20th-century Tibetan artifacts.  

"From the Maker's Hand: Selections from the Permanent Collection," This exhibit explores human ingenuity in the living and historical cultures of China, Africa, Egypt, Peru, North America and the Meditteranean. 

$1-$4; free for children ages 12 and under; free to all on Thursdays. Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sunday, noon-4:30 p.m. 103 Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way and College Avenue, Berkeley. (510) 643-7648, www.hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu.

 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY MUSEUM OF PALEONTOLOGY "Tyrannosaurus Rex," A 20-foot-tall, 40-foot-long replica of the fearsome dinosaur. The replica is made from casts of bones of the most complete T. Rex skeleton yet excavated. When unearthed in Montana, the bones were all lying in place with only a small piece of the tailbone missing.  

"Pteranodon," A suspended skeleton of a flying reptile with a wingspan of 22 to 23 feet. The Pteranodon lived at the same time as the dinosaurs.  

"California Fossils Exhibit," An exhibit of some of the fossils that have been excavated in California. 

Free. During semester sessions, hours generally are: Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.-10 p.m. Hours vary during summer and holidays. Lobby, 1101 Valley Life Sciences Building, #4780, University of California, Berkeley. (510) 642-1821, www.ucmp.berkeley.edu.

 

USS HORNET MUSEUM Come aboard this World War II aircraft carrier that has been converted into a floating museum. The Hornet, launched in 1943, is 899 feet long and 27 stories high. During World War II she was never hit by an enemy strike or plane and holds the Navy record for number of enemy planes shot down in a week. In 1969 the Hornet recovered the Apollo 11 space capsule containing the first men to walk on the moon, and later recovered Apollo 12. In 1991 the Hornet was designated a National Historic Landmark and is now docked at the same pier she sailed from in 1944. Today, visitors can tour the massive ship, view World War II-era warplanes and experience a simulated aircraft launch from the carrier's deck. Exhibits are being added on an ongoing basis. Allow two to three hours for a visit. Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to climb steep stairs or ladders. Dress in layers as the ship can be cold. Arrive no later than 2 p.m. to sign up for the engine room and other docent-led tours. Children under age 12 are not allowed in the Engine Room or the Combat Information Center. "Limited Access Day," Due to ship maintenance, tours of the navigation bridge and the engine room are not available. Tuesdays.  

"Flight Deck Fun," A former Landing Signal Officer will show children how to bring in a fighter plane for a landing on the deck then let them try the signals themselves. Times vary. Free with regular Museum admission.  

"Protestant Divine Services," Hornet chaplain John Berger conducts church services aboard The Hornet in the Wardroom Lounge. Everyone is welcome and refreshments are served immediately following the service. Sundays, 11 a.m. 

"Family Day," Discounted admission for families of four with a further discount for additional family members. Access to some of the areas may be limited due to ship maintenance. Every Tuesday. $20 for family of four; $5 for each additional family member. 

"History Mystery After Hours Tour," 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Explore the USS Hornet after hours and learn the history of this ship while it is illuminated in red lights used for "night ops." Also, hear stories about the ships' legendary haunts. Reservations required. (510) 521-8448 X282. 

"Flashlight Tour," 8:30 a.m. Receive a special tour of areas aboard the ship that have not yet been opened to the public or that have limited access during the day. $30-$35 per person. 

$6-$14; free children age 4 and under with a paying adult. Daily, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Pier 3 (enter on Atlantic Avenue), Alameda Point, Alameda. (510) 521-8448, www.uss-hornet.org.< 


Kids-East Bay Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:55:00 PM

"OAKTOBERFEST," -- Oct. 9. Enjoy craft beer, live entertainment, food, an eco fair, kids activities and more. Event takes place at MacArthur Blvd. and Fruitvale Ave. in the Dimond district of Oakland. 

11 a.m.-6 p.m.www.oaktoberfest.org.< 

 

ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM Ardenwood farm is a working farm that dates back to the time of the Patterson Ranch, a 19th-century estate with a mansion and Victorian Gardens. Today, the farm still practices farming techniques from the 1870s. Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with regular admission.  

"Blacksmithing," Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Watch a blacksmith turn iron into useful tools.  

"Horse-Drawn Train," Thursday, Friday and Sunday. A 20-minute ride departs from Ardenwood Station and Deer Park.  

"Animal Feeding," Thursday-Sunday, 3-4 p.m. Help slop the hogs, check the henhouse for eggs and bring hay to the livestock.  

"Victorian Flower Arranging," Thursday, 10:15-11:30 a.m. Watch as Ardenwood docents create floral works of art for display in the Patterson House.  

"Animal Feeding," Thursday-Sunday, 3 p.m. Feed the pigs, check for eggs and bring hay to the livestock. 

"Horse-Drawn Train Rides," Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 10:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Meet Jigs or Tucker the Belgian Draft horses that pull Ardenwood's train. Check the daily schedule and meet the train at Ardenwood Station or Deer Park. 

"Toddler Time," Tuesdays, 11-11:30 a.m. Bring the tiny tots out for an exciting morning at the farm. Meet and learn all about a new animal friend through stories, chores and fun.  

"Country Kitchen Cookin'," Sundays, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Enjoy the flavor of the past with treats cooked on Ardenwood's wood burning stove. Sample food grown on the farm and discover the history of your favorite oldtime snacks. 

"Potato Harvesting," Learn the spectacular history of this New World native as you dig with your spade and help find the spuds. 

$1-$5; free children under age 4. Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 34600 Ardenwood Blvd., Fremont. (510) 796-0199, (510) 796-0663, www.ebparks.org.

 

BLACKHAWK MUSEUM  

AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM -- The museum's permanent exhibition of internationally renowned automobiles dated from 1897 to the 1980s. The cars are displayed as works of art with room to walk completely around each car to admire the workmanship. On long-term loan from the Smithsonian Institution is a Long Steam Tricycle; an 1893-94 Duryea, the first Duryea built by the Duryea brothers; and a 1948 Tucker, number 39 of the 51 Tuckers built, which is a Model 48 "Torpedo'' four-door sedan. "International Automotive Treasures," An ever-changing exhibit featuring over 90 automobiles.  

"A Journey on Common Ground," An exhibit of moving photographs, video and art objects from around the world exploring the causes of disability and the efforts of the Wheelchair Foundation to provide a wheelchair for every person in need who cannot afford one. Free Public Tours, Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. Docent-led guided tours of the museum's exhibitions. 

$5-$8; free for children ages 6 and under. Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 3700 Blackhawk Plaza Circle, Danville. (925) 736-2280, (925) 736-2277, www.blackhawkmuseum.org.

 

CHABOT SPACE AND SCIENCE CENTER State-of-the-art facility unifying science education activities around astronomy. Enjoy interactive exhibits, hands-on activities, indoor stargazing, outdoor telescope viewing and films. 

Center Admission: $14.95; $10.95 children 3-12; free children under 3; $3 discount for seniors and students. Telescope viewing only: free. Wednesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Also open on Tuesdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. after June 29. 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. (510) 336-7300, www.chabotspace.org.

 

CHILDREN'S FAIRYLAND A fairy tale theme park featuring more than 30 colorful fantasy sets. Designed especially for children ages 10 and under, there are gentle rides, a train, the "Peter Rabbit Village,'' puppet shows, story-telling and lots of slides and animals. Admission price includes unlimited rides, special shows, guest entertainers and puppet shows.  

OLD WEST JUNCTION -- Children's Fairyland's newest attraction is a Wild West-themed town sized just for children, with a livery stable, bank, jail and a water tower slide.  

PUPPET SHOWS -- Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. All shows are at the Open Storybook Theatre. Free with regular Fairyland admission.  

ARTS AND CRAFTS CENTER -- Activities on Saturday and Sunday, noon to 3 p.m.  

ANIMAL OF THE DAY -- Saturday and Sunday, 1-1:20 p.m. at the Humpty Dumpty Wall. Learn about one of Fairyland's animal friends. 

"Arts and Crafts," Noon-3 p.m. Event features arts and crafts projects for children and their families. $6. 

"Animal of the Day!" Saturdays and Sundays, 1-1:20 p.m. Come up close and learn about Fairyland's creatures. 

$6; free for children under age 1; $2 for a Magic Key. No adult admitted without a child and no child admitted without an adult. Summer (June through Labor Day): Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fall and Spring: Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Winter: Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CLOSED DEC. 25-JAN. 4. 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. (510) 452-2259, www.fairyland.org.

 

CRAB COVE VISITOR CENTER At Crab Cove, you can see live underwater creatures and go into the San Francisco Bay from land. You can also travel back in time to Alameda's part. The goal is to increase understanding of the environmental importance of San Francisco Bay and the ocean ecosystem. Crab Cove's Indoor Aquarium and Exhibit Lab is one of the largest indoor aquariums in the East Bay. 

"Sea Siblings," Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Explore the natural world and take part in a theme related craft. Designed for the 3-5 year old learner. Registration is required.  

$4. (888) 327-2757. 

"Catch of the Day," Sundays, 2-3 p.m. Drop by to find out more about the Bay and its wildlife through guided exploration and hands-on fun. 

"Sea Squirts," 10-11:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Discover the wonders of nature with your little one. Registration is required. $6-$8. 

Free unless otherwise noted; parking fee may be charged. 1252 McKay Ave., Alameda. (510) 521-6887, www.ebparks.org.

 

DUNSMUIR HOUSE AND GARDENS HISTORIC ESTATE Nestled in the Oakland hills, the 50-acre Dunsmuir House and Gardens estate includes the 37-room Neoclassical Revival Dunsmuir Mansion, built by coal and lumber baron Alexander Dunsmuir for his bride. Restored outbuildings set amid landscaped gardens surround the mansion.  

ESTATE GROUNDS -- Ongoing. Self-Guided Grounds Tours are available yearround. The 50 acres of gardens and grounds at the mansion are open to the public for walking Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Booklets and maps of the grounds are available at the Dinkelspiel House. Free.  

GUIDED TOURS -- Docent-led tours are available on the first Sunday of each month at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. (except for July) and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. $5 adults, $4 seniors and juniors (11-16), children 11 and under free. 

Dunsmuir House and Gardens, 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland. (510) 615-5555, www.dunsmuir.org.

 

FOREST HOME FARMS The 16-acre former farm of the Boone family is now a municipal historic park in San Ramon. It is located at the base of the East Bay Hills and is divided into two parts by Oak Creek. The Boone House is a 22-room Dutch colonial that has been remodeled several times since it was built in 1900. Also on the property are a barn built in the period from 1850 to 1860; the Victorian-style David Glass House, dating from the late 1860s to early 1870s; a storage structure for farm equipment and automobiles; and a walnut processing plant. 

Free unless otherwise noted. Public tours available by appointment. 19953 San Ramon Valley Blvd., San Ramon. (925) 973-3281, www.ci.sanramon. ca.us/parks/boone.htm.< 

 

HABITOT CHILDREN'S MUSEUM A museum especially for children ages 7 and under. Highlights include "WaterWorks,'' an area with some unusual water toys, an Infant Tree for babies, a garden especially for toddlers, a child-scale grocery store and cafe, and a costume shop and stage for junior thespians. The museum also features a toy lending library. "Waterworks." A water play gallery with rivers, a pumping station and a water table, designed to teach about water.  

"Little Town Grocery and Cafe." Designed to create the ambience of shopping in a grocery store and eating in a restaurant.  

"Infant-Toddler Garden." A picket fence gated indoor area, which includes a carrot patch with wooden carrots to be harvested, a pretend pond and a butterfly mobile to introduce youngsters to the concept of food, gardening and agriculture.  

"Dramatic Arts Stage." Settings, backdrops and costumes coincide with seasonal events and holidays. Children can exercise their dramatic flair here.  

"Wiggle Wall." The floor-to-ceiling "underground'' tunnels give children a worm's eye view of the world. The tunnels are laced with net covered openings and giant optic lenses. 

$6-$7. Wednesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Closed Sunday-Tuesday. 2065 Kittredge St., Berkeley. (510) 647-1111, www.habitot.org.

 

HALL OF HEALTH A community health-education museum and science center promoting wellness and individual responsibility for health. There are hands-on exhibits that teach about the workings of the human body, the value of a healthy diet and exercise, and the destructive effects of smoking and drug abuse. "Kids on the Block'' puppet shows, which use puppets from diverse cultures to teach about and promote acceptance of conditions such as cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, leukemia, blindness, arthritis and spina bifida, are available by request for community events and groups visiting the Hall on Saturdays. "This Is Your Heart!" An interactive exhibit on heart health.  

"Good Nutrition," This exhibit includes models for making balanced meals and an Exercycle for calculating how calories are burned.  

"Draw Your Own Insides," Human-shaped chalkboards and models with removable organs allow visitors to explore the inside of their bodies.  

"Your Cellular Self and Cancer Prevention," An exhibit on understanding how cells become cancerous and how to detect and prevent cancer. 

Suggested $3 donation; free for children under age 3. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 2230 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 549-1564, www.hallofhealth.org.

 

HAYWARD SHORELINE INTERPRETIVE CENTER Perched on stilts above a salt marsh, the Center offers an introduction to the San Francisco Bay-Estuary. It features exhibits, programs and activities designed to inspire a sense of appreciation, respect and stewardship for the Bay, its inhabitants and the services they provide. The Habitat Room offers a preview of what may be seen outside. The 80-gallon Bay Tank contains some of the fish that live in the Bay's open waters, and the Channel Tank represents habitats formed by the maze of sloughs and creeks that snake through the marsh. The main room of the Center features rotating exhibits about area history, plants and wildlife. Part of the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District. "Exploring Nature," An exhibit of Shawn Gould's illustrations featuring images of the natural world. 

"Nature Detectives," 11 a.m.-noon. An introduction and exploration of the world of Black-Crowned Night-Herons. Ages 3-5 and their caregivers. Registration required. 

"Weekend Weed Warriors," 1-4 p.m. Help the shoreline to eliminate the non-native plants that threaten its diversity. Ages 12 and older. Registration required. 

"Waterfowl of the Freshwater Marsh," 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Join an expert birder to go "behind the gates'' to areas of the marsh that are not open to the public. 

Free. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 4901 Breakwater Ave., Hayward. (510) 670-7270, www.hard.dst.ca.us/hayshore.html.< 

 

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF THE EAST BAY  

"Shabbat Celebration for Young Children," Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Join other families with young children to sharethis weekly Jewish holiday of joy and renewal.  

1414 Walnut St., Berkeley. (510) 848-0237, www.jcceastbay.org/.< 

 

JUNIOR CENTER OF ART AND SCIENCE A center dedicated to encouraging children's active wonder and creative response through artistic and scientific exploration of their natural urban environment. The center's classes, workshops, exhibits and events integrate art and science. Three educational exhibits are mounted in the "Children's Gallery'' each year. A docent-led tour, demonstrations, hands-on activities and art projects are available to school groups throughout the year.  

"Jake's Discovery Garden," Jake's Discovery Garden is a new interactive studio exhibit designed for preschool-aged children and their adult caregivers that teaches young visitors about the natural environments found in their backyards, playgrounds and neighborhoods. 

Free; programs and special exhibits have a fee. September through May: Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June through August: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 558 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. (510) 839-5777, www.juniorcenter.org.

 

LAKE CHABOT REGIONAL PARK The 315-acre lake offers year-round recreation. Services include canoe and boat rental, horseshoe pits, hiking, bicycling, picnicking and seasonal tours aboard the Chabot Queen. For boat rentals, call (510) 247-2526. 

Free unless noted otherwise; $5 parking; $2 per dog except guide/service dogs. Daily, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. 17930 Lake Chabot Road, Castro Valley. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.

 

LAWRENCE HALL OF SCIENCE  

"NanoZone," Discover the science of the super-small: nanotechnology. Through hands-on activities and games, explore this microworld and the scientific discoveries made in this area.  

"Forces That Shape the Bay," A science park that shows and explains why the San Francisco Bay is the way it is, with information on water, erosion, plate tectonics and mountain building. You can ride earthquake simulators, set erosion in motion and look far out into the bay with a powerful telescope from 1,100 feet above sea level. The center of the exhibit is a waterfall that demonstrates how water flows from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Bay. Visitors can control where the water goes. There are also hands-on erosion tables, and a 40-foot-long, 6-foothigh, rock compression wall.  

"Real Astronomy Experience," A new exhibit-in-development allowing visitors to use the tools that real astronomers use. Aim a telescope at a virtual sky and operate a remote-controlled telescope to measure a planet.  

"Biology Lab," In the renovated Biology Lab visitors may hold and observe gentle animals. Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.  

"The Idea Lab," Experiment with some of the basics of math, science and technology through hands-on activities and demonstrations of magnets, spinning and flying, puzzles and nanotechnology.  

"Math Around the World," Play some of the world's most popular math games, such as Hex, Kalah, Game Sticks and Shongo Networks.  

"Math Rules," Use simple and colorful objects to complete interesting challenges in math through predicting, sorting, comparing, weighing and counting.  

HOLT PLANETARIUM -- Ongoing. Shows on Saturdays and Sundays. Programs recommended for ages 6 and up unless otherwise noted. $2.50-$3 in addition to general admission.  

$6-$12; free children ages 2 and under. Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. University of California, Centennial Drive, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org.

 

LINDSAY WILDLIFE MUSEUM This is the oldest and largest wildlife rehabilitation center in America, taking in 6,000 injured and orphaned animals yearly and returning 40 percent of them to the wild. The museum offers a wide range of educational programs using non-releasable wild animals to teach children and adults respect for the balance of nature. The museum includes a state-of-the art wildlife hospital which features a permanent exhibit, titled "Living with Nature,'' which houses 75 non-releasable wild animals in learning environments; a 5,000-square-foot Wildlife Hospital complete with treatment rooms, intensive care, quarantine and laboratory facilities; a 1-acre Nature Garden featuring the region's native landscaping and wildlife; and an "Especially For Children'' exhibit.  

WILDLIFE HOSPITAL -- September-March: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hospital is open daily including holidays to receive injured and orphaned animals. There is no charge for treatment of native wild animals and there are no public viewing areas in the hospital. 

$5-$7; free children under age 2. June 16-Sept. 15: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.; Sept. 16-June 15: noon.-5 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 1931 First Ave., Walnut Creek. (925) 935-1978, www.wildlife-museum.org.< 

 

MUSEUM OF CHILDREN'S ART A museum of art for and by children, with activities for children to participate in making their own art.  

ART CAMPS -- Hands-on activities and engaging curriculum for children of different ages, led by professional artists and staff. $60 per day.  

CLASSES -- A Sunday series of classes for children ages 8 to 12, led by Mocha artists. Sundays, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.  

OPEN STUDIOS -- Drop-in art play activities with new themes each week.  

"Big Studio." Guided art projects for children age 6 and older with a Mocha artist. Tuesday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. $5.  

"Little Studio." A hands-on experience that lets young artists age 18 months to 5 years see, touch and manipulate a variety of media. Children can get messy. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $5.  

"Family Weekend Studios." Drop-in art activities for the whole family. All ages welcome. Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. $5 per child.  

FAMILY EXTRAVAGANZAS -- Special weekend workshops for the entire family.  

"Sunday Workshops with Illustrators," Sundays, 1 p.m. See the artwork and meet the artists who create children's book illustrations. Free. 

"Saturday Stories," 1 p.m. For children ages 2-5. Free. 

"Saturday Stories," 1 p.m. For ages 2-5. Free. 

Free gallery admission. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m. 538 Ninth St., Oakland. (510) 465-8770, www.mocha.org.

 

POINT PINOLE REGIONAL SHORELINE The 2,315-acre parkland bordering Pinole, Richmond and San Pablo offers views of Mount Tamalpais, the Marin shoreline and San Pablo Bay. There are trails through meadows and woods, and along the bluffs and beaches of San Pablo Bay. Visitors can hike, ride bikes or take the park's shuttle bus to reach the 1,250-foot fishing pier at Point Pinole. 

$5 per vehicle; $4 per trailered vehicle; $2 per dog (guide/service dogs free). Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., unless otherwise posted. Giant Highway, Richmond. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.

 

ROBERT SIBLEY VOLCANIC REGIONAL PRESERVE East Bay residents have several volcanoes in their backyard. This park contains Round Top, one of the highest peaks in the Oakland Hills. 

Free. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. 6800 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.

 

SHADOW CLIFFS REGIONAL RECREATION AREA The 296-acre park includes an 80-acre lake and a four-flume waterslide, with picnic grounds and a swimming beach. Water slide fees and hours: (925) 829-6230. 

$6 per vehicle; $2 per dog except guide and service dogs. May 1 through Labor Day: daily, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.; shortened hours for fall and winter. Stanley Boulevard, one mile from downtown, Pleasanton. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.

 

SULPHUR CREEK NATURE CENTER A wildlife rehabilitation and education facility where injured and orphaned local wild creatures are rehabilitated and released when possible. There is also a lending library of animals such as guinea pigs, rats, mice and more. The lending fee is $8 per week.  

"Toddler Time," Learn about animals by listening to stories and exploring. Themes vary by month. Call for schedule. $7 per family.  

"Day on the Green Animal Presentations," Meet an assortment of wild and domestic animals. Wildlife volunteers will present a different animal each day from possums to snakes, tortoises to hawks. Saturday and Sunday, 2:30 p.m. 

Free. Park: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Discovery Center: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Animal Lending Library: Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Wildlife Rehabilitation Center: daily, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 1801 D St., Hayward. (510) 881-6747, www.haywardrec.org/sulphur_creek.html.< 

 

USS HORNET MUSEUM Come aboard this World War II aircraft carrier that has been converted into a floating museum. The Hornet, launched in 1943, is 899 feet long and 27 stories high. During World War II she was never hit by an enemy strike or plane and holds the Navy record for number of enemy planes shot down in a week. In 1969 the Hornet recovered the Apollo 11 space capsule containing the first men to walk on the moon, and later recovered Apollo 12. In 1991 the Hornet was designated a National Historic Landmark and is now docked at the same pier she sailed from in 1944. Today, visitors can tour the massive ship, view World War II-era warplanes and experience a simulated aircraft launch from the carrier's deck. Exhibits are being added on an ongoing basis. Allow two to three hours for a visit. Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to climb steep stairs or ladders. Dress in layers as the ship can be cold. Arrive no later than 2 p.m. to sign up for the engine room and other docent-led tours. Children under age 12 are not allowed in the Engine Room or the Combat Information Center.  

"Limited Access Day," Due to ship maintenance, tours of the navigation bridge and the engine room are not available. Tuesdays.  

"Flight Deck Fun," A former Landing Signal Officer will show children how to bring in a fighter plane for a landing on the deck then let them try the signals themselves. Times vary. Free with regular Museum admission.  

"Protestant Divine Services," Hornet chaplain John Berger conducts church services aboard The Hornet in the Wardroom Lounge. Everyone is welcome and refreshments are served immediately following the service. Sundays, 11 a.m. 

"Family Day," Discounted admission for families of four with a further discount for additional family members. Access to some of the areas may be limited due to ship maintenance. Every Tuesday. $20 for family of four; $5 for each additional family member. 

"Flashlight Tour," 8:30 a.m. Receive a special tour of areas aboard the ship that have not yet been opened to the public or that have limited access during the day. $30-$35 per person. 

"History Mystery After Hours Tour," 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Explore the USS Hornet after hours and learn the history of this ship while it is illuminated in red lights used for "night ops." Also, hear stories about the ships' legendary haunts. Reservations required. (510) 521-8448 X282. 

$6-$14; free children age 4 and under with a paying adult. Daily, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Pier 3 (enter on Atlantic Avenue), Alameda Point, Alameda. (510) 521-8448, www.uss-hornet.org.< 

 

WATERWORLD CALIFORNA

$19.95-$31.95 General Admission; Season pass: $39.99-$59.99. Park closes in October and reopens in May. 1950 Waterworld Parkway,, Concord. (925) 609-1364, www.waterworldcalifornia.com.


Highlights-East Bay Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:54:00 PM

"LIVERMORE ART WALK," -- Oct. 9. More than 150 artists will be on hand displaying their work, ranging from pottery to painting, stained glass, jewelry, and much more. Event takes place throughout downtown Livermore; see website for details. 

11 a.m.-5 p.m.www.artwalklivermore.org.< 

"OAKTOBERFEST," -- Oct. 9. Enjoy craft beer, live entertainment, food, an eco fair, kids activities and more. Event takes place at MacArthur Blvd. and Fruitvale Ave. in the Dimond district of Oakland. 

11 a.m.-6 p.m.www.oaktoberfest.org.< 

 

924 GILMAN ST. All ages welcome. 

Scream, Oppressed Logic, Toys That Kill, Zero Progress, Oct. 16, 7 p.m.  

$12.  

$5 unless otherwise noted. Shows start Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926, www.924gilman.org.

 

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE  

"Compulsion," through Oct. 31, 8 p.m. Tue. and Fri.; 7 p.m. Wed.; 2 and 8 p.m. Thu. and Sat.; 2 and 7 p.m. Sun; check website for special matinees. A new play featuring Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor Mandy Patinkin. $14.50-$73.  

2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949, (888) 4BR-Ttix, www.berkeleyrep.org.

 

CAL PERFORMANCES All performances in Zellerbach Hall unless otherwise noted. 

"Beethoven: The Complete Sonatas for Cello and Piano," Oct. 10, 3 p.m. David Finckel, cello, and Wu Han, piano. Concert takes place in Hertz Hall. $42; half price for children 16 and under.  

Zellerbach Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley. (510) 642-9988, www.calperformances.net.

 

CROWDEN MUSIC CENTER  

"Classical Revolution," Oct. 10, 4 p.m. Works by Debussy, Brahms and more. $15; free for children under 18.  

1475 Rose St., Berkeley. (510) 559-6910, www.crowdenmusiccenter.org.

 

FOX THEATER  

Gogol Bordello, Forro In The Dark, Oct. 14, 8 p.m.  

$32.50.  

1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. (510) 452-0438, www.thefoxoakland.com.

 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE  

Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings, Oct. 9.  

$22.50-$23.50.  

"Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons," Oct. 14.  

$18.50-$19.50.  

Music starts at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761, www.freightandsalvage.org.

 

HUMANIST HALL IN NORTH OAKLAND  

"Sharkwater," Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m. A screening of a documentary film that strives to show that sharks are not the ferocious monsters that deserve our fear or hatred; instead, they are an important part of the ocean and help to keep everything balanced in the food chain. $5.  

390 27th Street, Oakland. www.humanisthall.org.

 

LIVERMORE VALLEY OPERA  

"Don Giovanni," through Oct. 10, 8 p.m. Sat.; 2 p.m. Sun. Mark Streshinsky directs this adaptation of the classic Mozart opera. $39-$64.  

Bankhead Theater, 2400 1st St., Livermore. (925) 373-6800, (925) 417-5070, www.livermorevalleyopera.com.

 

MEMORIAL PARK, HAYWARD  

MetalFest 2010, Oct. 9, 1-5 p.m. Bands include Imagika, Potential Threat, Age of Aggression and more. Admission is free; bring along some canned food for the Salvation Army Canned Food Drive. "Bring a metal cansee a metal band.''  

24176 Mission Blvd., Hayward. < 

 

THE NEW PARISH  

Trainwreck, Oct. 9, 9 p.m.  

$10-$14.  

579 18th St., Oakland. (510) 444-7474, www.thenewparish.com.

 

SS RED OAK VICTORY  

"Rivets," by Kathryn G. McCarty and Mitchell Covington, through Oct. 24, 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Directed by Kathryn G. McCarty. $25-$30.  

Port of Richmond, 1337 Canal Blvd., Richmond. www.ssredoakvictory.org/history.htm.< 

 

UPTOWN NIGHTCLUB  

The Dickies, Nobunny, Oct. 14, 8 p.m.  

$12.  

The Legendary Shack Shakers, Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies, Oct. 16, 8 p.m.  

$12-$14.  

1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. (510) 451-8100, www.uptownnightclub.com.

 

YOSHI'S  

Chick Corea Trio, Oct. 11 through Oct. 14, 8 and 10 p.m.  

$60-$65.  

Shows are Monday through Saturday, 8 and 10 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. (510) 238-9200, www.yoshis.com.


General-East Bay Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:53:00 PM

"INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY," -- Oct. 9. A festival celebrating native American culture, with dancing, food, arts & crafts, a market and more. Event takes place at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, between Center Street and Allston Way, Berkeley. 

10 a.m.-6 p.m.(510) 595-5520, www.ipdpowwow.org.

"LIVERMORE ART WALK," -- Oct. 9. More than 150 artists will be on hand displaying their work, ranging from pottery to painting, stained glass, jewelry, and much more. Event takes place throughout downtown Livermore; see website for details. 

11 a.m.-5 p.m.www.artwalklivermore.org.< 

"OAKTOBERFEST," -- Oct. 9. Enjoy craft beer, live entertainment, food, an eco fair, kids activities and more. Event takes place at MacArthur Blvd. and Fruitvale Ave. in the Dimond district of Oakland. 

11 a.m.-6 p.m.www.oaktoberfest.org.< 

 

ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS  

Gem Faire, Oct. 8 through Oct. 10, Noon-7 p.m. Fri.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. More than 60 exhibitors will be on hand with jewelry, gems, beads, crystals, silver, rocks, minerals and more. $7. www.gemfaire.com. 

4501 Pleasanton Ave., Pleasanton. (925) 426-7600, www.alamedacountyfair.com.

 

ASHKENAZ  

"I Like My Bike Night," 9 p.m. First Fridays of the month. This monthly series brings bicycle innovators, enthusiasts, artists and organizations together under one roof, as well as encourages regular Ashkenaz show-goers to leave their cars in the driveway and arrive at the venue by bicycle instead. $8-$25.  

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.

 

AUCTIONS BY THE BAY  

"ArtiFacts: A Lecture Series for Collectors," 3 p.m. First Sundays of the month Guest curators, scholars and conservation experts from throughout the Bay Area discuss the art of collecting. First Sunday of every month, 3 p.m. $7; includes a preview of the monthly estate auction which takes place the following day at 10am.  

Auctions by the Bay Theater-Auction House, 2700 Saratoga St., Alameda. (510) 835-6187, www.auctionsbythebay.com.

 

BAY AREA FREE BOOK EXCHANGE  

"Free Books," 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. - Sun. Donate your unwanted books and receive new titles for free.  

10520 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. (510) 526-1941, www.bayareafreebookexchange.com.

 

CALIFORNIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY AND LIBRARY  

"California Genealogical Society and Library Free First Saturday," 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Event takes place on the first Saturday of every month, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Trace and compile your family history at this month's open house event. Free. www.calgensoc.org. 

2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland. (510) 663-1358.< 

 

CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY  

HISTORY WALKABOUTS -- Ongoing. A series of walking tours that explore the history, lore and architecture of California with veteran tour guide Gary Holloway. Walks are given on specific weekends. There is a different meeting place for each weekend and walks take place rain or shine so dress for the weather. Reservations and prepayment required. Meeting place will be given with confirmation of tour reservation. Call for details.  

678 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 357-1848, www.californiahistoricalsociety.org.

 

CALIFORNIA MAGIC THEATER  

"Dinner Theater Magic Show," 7:30 p.m. Fri - Sat. Enter the joyous and bewildering world of illusion while chowing down on a home cooked meal. Each weekend features different professional magicians. Recommended for ages 13 and older. $54-$64 includes meal.  

729 Castro St., Martinez. (925) 374-0056, www.calmagic.com.

 

CHABOT SPACE AND SCIENCE CENTER State-of-the-art facility unifying science education activities around astronomy. Enjoy interactive exhibits, hands-on activities, indoor stargazing, outdoor telescope viewing and films. 

Center Admission: $14.95; $10.95 children 3-12; free children under 3; $3 discount for seniors and students. Telescope viewing only: free. Wednesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Also open on Tuesdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. after June 29. 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. (510) 336-7300, www.chabotspace.org.

 

DUNSMUIR HOUSE AND GARDENS HISTORIC ESTATE Nestled in the Oakland hills, the 50-acre Dunsmuir House and Gardens estate includes the 37-room Neoclassical Revival Dunsmuir Mansion, built by coal and lumber baron Alexander Dunsmuir for his bride. Restored outbuildings set amid landscaped gardens surround the mansion.  

ESTATE GROUNDS -- Ongoing. Self-Guided Grounds Tours are available yearround. The 50 acres of gardens and grounds at the mansion are open to the public for walking Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Booklets and maps of the grounds are available at the Dinkelspiel House. Free.  

GUIDED TOURS -- Docent-led tours are available on the first Sunday of each month at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. (except for July) and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. $5 adults, $4 seniors and juniors (11-16), children 11 and under free. 

Dunsmuir House and Gardens, 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland. (510) 615-5555, www.dunsmuir.org.

 

FRANK OGAWA PLAZA  

"Oakland Artisan Marketplace," 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Fridays. The City of Oakland and Cultural Arts & Marketing Department presents a weekly market featuring fine arts and crafts of local artists. Free. (510) 238-4948, www.oaklandartisanmarketplace.org. 

14th Street and Broadway, Oakland. < 

 

HUMANIST HALL IN NORTH OAKLAND  

"Sharkwater," Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m. A screening of a documentary film that strives to show that sharks are not the ferocious monsters that deserve our fear or hatred; instead, they are an important part of the ocean and help to keep everything balanced in the food chain. $5.  

390 27th Street, Oakland. www.humanisthall.org.

 

JACK LONDON AQUATIC CENTER  

"Oakland Artisan Marketplace,"' 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays The City of Oakland and Cultural Arts & Marketing Department presents a weekly market featuring fine arts and crafts of local artists. Free. (510) 238-4948, www.oaklandartisanmarketplace.org. 

115 Embarcadero, Oakland. < 

 

LAWRENCE HALL OF SCIENCE "NanoZone," Discover the science of the super-small: nanotechnology. Through hands-on activities and games, explore this microworld and the scientific discoveries made in this area.  

"Forces That Shape the Bay," A science park that shows and explains why the San Francisco Bay is the way it is, with information on water, erosion, plate tectonics and mountain building. You can ride earthquake simulators, set erosion in motion and look far out into the bay with a powerful telescope from 1,100 feet above sea level. The center of the exhibit is a waterfall that demonstrates how water flows from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Bay. Visitors can control where the water goes. There are also hands-on erosion tables, and a 40-foot-long, 6-foothigh, rock compression wall.  

"Real Astronomy Experience," A new exhibit-in-development allowing visitors to use the tools that real astronomers use. Aim a telescope at a virtual sky and operate a remote-controlled telescope to measure a planet.  

"Biology Lab," In the renovated Biology Lab visitors may hold and observe gentle animals. Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.  

"The Idea Lab," Experiment with some of the basics of math, science and technology through hands-on activities and demonstrations of magnets, spinning and flying, puzzles and nanotechnology.  

"Math Around the World," Play some of the world's most popular math games, such as Hex, Kalah, Game Sticks and Shongo Networks.  

"Math Rules," Use simple and colorful objects to complete interesting challenges in math through predicting, sorting, comparing, weighing and counting.  

HOLT PLANETARIUM -- Ongoing. Shows on Saturdays and Sundays. Programs recommended for ages 6 and up unless otherwise noted. $2.50-$3 in addition to general admission.  

$6-$12; free children ages 2 and under. Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. University of California, Centennial Drive, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org.

 

LESHER CENTER FOR THE ARTS  

"20th Anniversary Celebration of the Lesher Center for the Arts," Oct. 9. An elegant evening featuring cocktails, dinner, auction live entertainment, and much more. See website for full details.  

1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. (925) 943-7469, www.lesherartscenter.com.

 

ORACLE ARENA  

"Mickey & Minnie's Magical Journey," Oct. 13 through Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Thu.; 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Fri.; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Sat.; 1 and 5 p.m. Sun. Join Mickey, Minnie, and a host of other beloved Disney characters as they ice skate and perform a delightful show for the whole family. $16-$75. www.disneyonice.com. 

7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. (510) 625-8497, (925) 685-8497, (415) 421-8497, www.ticketmaster.com or www.theoaklandarena.com.

 

SULPHUR CREEK NATURE CENTER A wildlife rehabilitation and education facility where injured and orphaned local wild creatures are rehabilitated and released when possible. There is also a lending library of animals such as guinea pigs, rats, mice and more. The lending fee is $8 per week. "Toddler Time," Learn about animals by listening to stories and exploring. Themes vary by month. Call for schedule. $7 per family.  

"Day on the Green Animal Presentations," Meet an assortment of wild and domestic animals. Wildlife volunteers will present a different animal each day from possums to snakes, tortoises to hawks. Saturday and Sunday, 2:30 p.m. 

"An Owls Overture," Oct. 16, 6:30-8:30 p.m. This adult-only program provides the opportunity to meet Sulphur Creek's native owls, and learn about their hooting, wisping and clicking. Registration is required. $16. www.haywardrec.org. 

Free. Park: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Discovery Center: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Animal Lending Library: Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Wildlife Rehabilitation Center: daily, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 1801 D St., Hayward. (510) 881-6747, www.haywardrec.org/sulphur_creek.html.< 

 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE Exploring cinema from the Bay Area and cultures around the world, the Pacific Film Archive offers daily film screenings, including rare and rediscovered prints of movie classics; new and historic works by world famous directors; restored silent films with live musical accompaniment; retrospectives; and new and experimental works. Check Web site for a full schedule of films.  

"First Impressions: Free First Thursdays," first Thursday of every month. Special tours and movie presentations. Admission is free. 

Single feature: $5-$8; Double feature: $9-$12 general. PFA Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-5249, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu.

 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, MORRISON LIBRARY  

"Lunch Poems," 12:10-12:50 p.m. First Thursdays of each month  

2600 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-3671.< 

 

USS HORNET MUSEUM Come aboard this World War II aircraft carrier that has been converted into a floating museum. The Hornet, launched in 1943, is 899 feet long and 27 stories high. During World War II she was never hit by an enemy strike or plane and holds the Navy record for number of enemy planes shot down in a week. In 1969 the Hornet recovered the Apollo 11 space capsule containing the first men to walk on the moon, and later recovered Apollo 12. In 1991 the Hornet was designated a National Historic Landmark and is now docked at the same pier she sailed from in 1944. Today, visitors can tour the massive ship, view World War II-era warplanes and experience a simulated aircraft launch from the carrier's deck. Exhibits are being added on an ongoing basis. Allow two to three hours for a visit. Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to climb steep stairs or ladders. Dress in layers as the ship can be cold. Arrive no later than 2 p.m. to sign up for the engine room and other docent-led tours. Children under age 12 are not allowed in the Engine Room or the Combat Information Center. "Limited Access Day," Due to ship maintenance, tours of the navigation bridge and the engine room are not available. Tuesdays.  

"Flight Deck Fun," A former Landing Signal Officer will show children how to bring in a fighter plane for a landing on the deck then let them try the signals themselves. Times vary. Free with regular Museum admission.  

"Protestant Divine Services," Hornet chaplain John Berger conducts church services aboard The Hornet in the Wardroom Lounge. Everyone is welcome and refreshments are served immediately following the service. Sundays, 11 a.m. 

"Family Day," Discounted admission for families of four with a further discount for additional family members. Access to some of the areas may be limited due to ship maintenance. Every Tuesday. $20 for family of four; $5 for each additional family member. 

"Flashlight Tour," 8:30 a.m. Receive a special tour of areas aboard the ship that have not yet been opened to the public or that have limited access during the day. $30-$35 per person. 

"History Mystery After Hours Tour," 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Explore the USS Hornet after hours and learn the history of this ship while it is illuminated in red lights used for "night ops." Also, hear stories about the ships' legendary haunts. Reservations required. (510) 521-8448 X282. 

$6-$14; free children age 4 and under with a paying adult. Daily, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Pier 3 (enter on Atlantic Avenue), Alameda Point, Alameda. (510) 521-8448, www.uss-hornet.org.< 


Exhibits-San Francisco Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:51:00 PM

"35TH ANNUAL SF OPEN STUDIOS," -- through Oct. 31. More than 800 artists will open their studio doors to the public during this month-long event taking place throughout the city, with different areas participating on different weekends. See website for complete details. 

www.artspan.org.

"SUN SPHERES," -- "Sun Spheres'' is a trio of mosaic sculptures by artist Laurel True at the intersection of Ocean and Granada Avenues in the OMI District of San Francisco. 

(415) 252-2551, www.sfartscommission.org/pubart.< 

 

AIA SAN FRANCISCO  

"Water for a Sustainable City," through Oct. 29. Exhibit explores the development of San Francisco's water system through the lens of architecture and design.  

Free. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 130 Sutter St., # 600, San Francisco. (415) 362-7397, www.aiasf.org.

 

CONSERVATORY OF FLOWERS The Victorian landmark has 1,500 species including rare and beautiful tropical plants from 50 countries. Exhibits include Highland Tropics, the Aquatic Plants, Lowland Tropics, Potted Plants and the new Special Exhibits gallery. Opened in 1879, the wood and glass greenhouse is the oldest existing conservatory in the Western Hemisphere. 

"Chomp 2! Return of the Carnivorous Plants," through Oct. 31. Special exhibition of carnivorous plants features living plants and activities for families.  

$5 general; $3 seniors, students and youth ages 12-17; $1.50 children ages 5-11; free for ages 4 and under; free first Tuesdays. Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. John F. Kennedy Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. (415) 666-7001, www.conservatoryofflowers.org.

 

EVENING GALLERY WALKS These monthly evening gallery walks or "crawls'' are a way to learn about art for the casual viewer without the intimidation of visiting a gallery with no one else around. Generally the galleries are filled on the "walk'' evenings with people drinking wine and talking. Gallery owners are happy to answer questions about the art on view. The important thing to remember is that it is free to gaze and drink. 

"First Thursday," 5:30-8 p.m. Generally some 20 galleries participate in this monthly evening of open galleries. Many are located around Union Square. Some of the galleries that participate on a regular basis are Pasquale Iannetti Gallery, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, and Hackett-Freedman Gallery, all on Sutter Street; Meyerovich Gallery and Dolby Chadwick Gallery on Post Street; and Rena Bransten Gallery and Stephen Wirtz Gallery on Geary Street. Sponsored by the San Francisco Art Dealers Association. First Thursday of the month. Free.  

San Francisco. < 

 

HOTEL DES ARTS The boutique 51-room art hotel in Union Square features an art gallery by Start SOMA. 

"Painted Rooms," An exhibit of painted rooms in the hotel by emerging artists.  

Free. Daily, 8 a.m.-11 p.m. 447 Bush St., San Francisco. (415) 956-4322, www.sfhoteldesarts.com.

 

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF SAN FRANCISCO  

"The Digital Liberation of G-d," A permanent interactive media installation created by New York-based artist Helene Aylon, which examines the influences of patriarchal attitudes upon Jewish traditions and sacred texts.  

Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. 3200 California St., San Francisco. (415) 292-1200, Box Office: (415) 292-1233, www.jccsf.org.

 

MILTON MARKS CONFERENCE CENTER  

"Local Color," through Oct. 10. Works by 27 artists from the Peninsula Chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art.  

455 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco. < 

 

SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY, BAYVIEW-ANNA E. WADEN BRANCH  

"Bayview's Historical Footprints," A permanent photographic exhibition celebrating the diverse history of Bayview Hunters Point featuring multimedia oral histories from community elders.  

Free. Monday, Tuesday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Wednesday, 1 p.m.-8 p.m.; Thursday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m.; Friday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. 5075 Third St., San Francisco. (415) 355-5757, www.sfpl.org.

 

SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY, MAIN BRANCH  

"Digging Deep: Underneath San Francisco Public Library," Exhibition collects archaeological remains from the Gold Rush-era cemetery and the ruins of old City Hall destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.  

"Singgalot (The Ties That Bind)," through Oct. 24. The exhibit celebrates 100 years of Filipino American experience with photographs, images and historical documents drawn from the National Archives, the Library of Congress and personal collections.  

Free. Monday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m. 100 Larkin St., San Francisco. (415) 557-4400, www.sfpl.org.

 

USF THACHER GALLERY  

"Galleons and Globalization: California Mission Arts and the Pacific Rim," through Dec. 19. The exhibit explores the lively commerce in iconography, materials and ideas that shaped California's rich mission arts.  

2130 Fulton St., San Francisco. (415) 422-5178.< 


Exhibits-East Bay Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:50:00 PM

CARMEN FLORES RECREATION CENTER  

"El Corazon de la Communidad: The Heart of the Community", Painted by Joaquin Alejandro Newman, this mural installation consists of four 11-foot panels that mix ancient Meso-American and contemporary imagery to pay homage to local activists Carmen Flores and Josie de la Cruz.  

Free unless otherwise noted. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. 1637 Fruitvale Ave., Oakland. (510) 535-5631.< 

 

LAWRENCE HALL OF SCIENCE "NanoZone," Discover the science of the super-small: nanotechnology. Through hands-on activities and games, explore this microworld and the scientific discoveries made in this area.  

"Forces That Shape the Bay," A science park that shows and explains why the San Francisco Bay is the way it is, with information on water, erosion, plate tectonics and mountain building. You can ride earthquake simulators, set erosion in motion and look far out into the bay with a powerful telescope from 1,100 feet above sea level. The center of the exhibit is a waterfall that demonstrates how water flows from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Bay. Visitors can control where the water goes. There are also hands-on erosion tables, and a 40-foot-long, 6-foothigh, rock compression wall.  

"Real Astronomy Experience," A new exhibit-in-development allowing visitors to use the tools that real astronomers use. Aim a telescope at a virtual sky and operate a remote-controlled telescope to measure a planet.  

"Biology Lab," In the renovated Biology Lab visitors may hold and observe gentle animals. Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.  

"The Idea Lab," Experiment with some of the basics of math, science and technology through hands-on activities and demonstrations of magnets, spinning and flying, puzzles and nanotechnology.  

"Math Around the World," Play some of the world's most popular math games, such as Hex, Kalah, Game Sticks and Shongo Networks.  

"Math Rules," Use simple and colorful objects to complete interesting challenges in math through predicting, sorting, comparing, weighing and counting.  

"Kapla," The hands-on exhibit features thousands of versatile building blocks that can be used to build very large, high and stable structures and models of bridges, buildings, animals or anything else your mind can conceive.  

$6-$12; free children ages 2 and under. Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. University of California, Centennial Drive, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org.

 

LINDSAY WILDLIFE MUSEUM This is the oldest and largest wildlife rehabilitation center in America, taking in 6,000 injured and orphaned animals yearly and returning 40 percent of them to the wild. The museum offers a wide range of educational programs using non-releasable wild animals to teach children and adults respect for the balance of nature. The museum includes a state-of-the art wildlife hospital which features a permanent exhibit, titled "Living with Nature,'' which houses 75 non-releasable wild animals in learning environments; a 5,000-square-foot Wildlife Hospital complete with treatment rooms, intensive care, quarantine and laboratory facilities; a 1-acre Nature Garden featuring the region's native landscaping and wildlife; and an "Especially For Children'' exhibit.  

WILDLIFE HOSPITAL -- September-March: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hospital is open daily including holidays to receive injured and orphaned animals. There is no charge for treatment of native wild animals and there are no public viewing areas in the hospital. 

$5-$7; free children under age 2. June 16-Sept. 15: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.; Sept. 16-June 15: noon.-5 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 1931 First Ave., Walnut Creek. (925) 935-1978, www.wildlife-museum.org.< 

 

OAKLAND ASIAN CULTURAL CENTER  

"Oakland's 19th-Century San Pablo Avenue Chinatown," A permanent exhibit of new findings about the rediscovered Chinatown on San Pablo Avenue. The exhibit aims to inform visitors about the upcoming archaeological work planned to explore the lives of early Chinese pioneers in the 1860s.  

Free. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Pacific Renaissance Plaza, 388 Ninth St., Suite 290, Oakland. (510) 637-0455, www.oacc.cc.

 

OAKLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT  

"Going Away, Coming Home," A 160-foot public art installation by Mills College art professor Hung Liu. Liu hand painted 80 red-crowned cranes onto 65 panels of glass that were then fired, tempered and paired with background panes that depict views of a satellite photograph, ranging from the western United States to the Asia Pacific Area. Terminal 2.  

Free. Daily, 24 hours, unless otherwise noted. Oakland International Airport, 1 Airport Drive, Oakland. (510) 563-3300, www.flyoakland.com.


Dance-East Bay Through October 17

Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 02:49:00 PM

"INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY," -- Oct. 9. A festival celebrating native American culture, with dancing, food, arts & crafts, a market and more. Event takes place at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, between Center Street and Allston Way, Berkeley. 

10 a.m.-6 p.m.(510) 595-5520, www.ipdpowwow.org.

 

ELKS LODGE, ALAMEDA  

"All You Can Dance Sunday Socials," Sunday, 4-6 p.m. Marilyn Bowe and Robert Henneg presents monthly socials with ballroom, swing, Latin and rock & roll themes. www.dancewithme.info. 

2255 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. (510) 864-2256.< 

 

SHATTUCK DOWN LOW For ages 21 and older. 

"Live Salsa," Wednesdays. An evening of dancing to the music of a live salsa band. Salsa dance lessons from 8-9:30 p.m.  

$5-$10.  

2284 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 548-1159, www.shattuckdownlow.com.

 

SOLAD DANCE CENTER  

"Persian Dance," Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30 and 10 p.m. Rosa Rojas offers traditional dance classes. $10.  

Citrus Marketplace, 2260 Oak Grove Rd., Walnut Creek. (925) 938-3300.< 

 

STARRY PLOUGH PUB  

"Ceili and Dance," Traditional Irish music and dance. The evening begins with a dance lesson at 7 p.m. followed by music at 9 p.m. Mondays, 7 p.m. Free.  

For ages 21 and over unless otherwise noted. Sunday and Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082, www.starryploughpub.com.


Pow Wow Now: Part 4: The Dancers

By John Curl
Tuesday October 05, 2010 - 09:27:00 AM

Dawn on pow wow day greets the vendors, many coming from long distances, setting up booths displaying an amazing array of craft items and traditional foods. With them is vendors coordinator Hallie Frazer and her clip board, straightening out any confusion about spaces and checking that all the booths are carrying only creations hand made by Native people. Every vendor contributes a piece to the raffle, and winners are announced throughout the day. 

Around 10 am traditional elders bless the grounds. Then exhibition dancing begins, from traditions outside the dances of the pow wow proper. People who arrive later miss this extraordinary segment. Native California Indians dance first, since it is their land and we are their guests. Traditional Pomo dancers, feather bands across their foreheads, feathered robes and skirts, bone whistles, barefoot and crouched, stomping deep into the earth, hunting, praying. Then the Aztec dancers, conch shell trumpets to the four directions, long feathers swooping to the beat of the tall upright drum, connecting earth and sky, keeping the stars, planets, celestial forces in their proper motion, balance and harmony. 

The Open Gourd Dancing begins. Because of its particular spiritual significance, no filming is permitted. The dancers, usually with a red and blue blanket over their shoulders, holding metal or gourd rattles and feather fans, find places near the perimeter of the circle. They dance in place or nearby, shaking the rattles in a horizontal motion, lifting their feet to the drums in prayer. The pace of the songs starts slowly then picks up as the dance progresses. It is a healing for warriors, a proud, dignified dance. The Head Gourd Dancer this year is Earl Neconie (Kiowa). 

At noon is the Grand Entry, and the pow wow proper begins. All the dancers line up in a specific order behind elders and veterans carrying the Eagle Staff and flags at the entrance to the arena. This is in honor of all the warriors of the past and veterans of today who sacrificed for their people. As a host drum begins a special song, the staff and flag holders lead the procession into the arena and around the circle, slowly moving in a group to the drum beat: a powerful spectacle. Then the MC calls an honored elder forward to give an invocation. As the other host drum plays veterans and victory songs, the staff and flags are positioned at the MC table, and the procession leaves the arena. 

The dance circle is blessed by an honored elder. The MC introduces the head staff and visiting dignitaries. This year the MC is Randy Pico (Luiseño), the Arena Director Henry Johnson (Paiute) and the Coordinator Gino Barichello (Muscogee). 

The drum begins again, for either a sneak-up or a round dance. The sneak-up dance is based on scouting animals or rivals. The drum quickens to pitch, suddenly stops, and the dancers need to stop simultaneously. Intertribal Round dances are joyous social occasions, and all people—non-Native and Native alike—are invited into the arena to dance together. Everyone joins hands into a long circle moving around and around. If there are too many, another circle is formed within the first. The round dance transcends all cultures and brings people together. 

The Contest dancing begins, organized around dance style, gender, and age. The judges are elders, usually winning dancers. The contest styles are Traditional, Fancy, Grass, Jingle, and Shawl. Pow wow dances today are the result of over a century of evolution through interaction of the Native people of different tribes and nations. 

The Tiny Tots come on first, all under 6, some in their first pow wow, always a joy to watch, and everyone’s a winner. 

The Head Man and Head Lady Dancers are the first to dance in any song. This is an honor, and head dancers serve as model for all other dancers. This year the Head Dancers are siblings, Daniel and Angelina Swimmer (Lakota). 

The Men’s Traditional Dance is based on a warrior stalking game or tracking an enemy. The dancer may be wearing a feather bustle and headdress, beaded moccasins, ankle bells, carrying a shield and a dance stick. 

Men’s Fancy Dance is strenuous, with intricate footwork. Fancy Dancers spin and leap, wearing brilliant regalia, and two feathered/beaded dance sticks.

 Men’s Grass Dance involves swaying and dipping motions. It began as an occasion of flattening plains grass for a camp. Grass dancers wear colorful shirts and pants, with fringes and ribbons, ankle bells, headdress, beaded moccasins. 

Ladies’ Fancy Shawl Dance is based on a butterfly in flight, with highly energetic, intricate footwork involving dips, twirls, spins, and other fancy steps. The dancers wear a fringed shawl with vest and leggings usually adorned with sequins or beads, and a feather in the hair. 

The Jingle Dance dress is sewn with row upon row of small metal cones that chime rhythmically, and dancers wear beaded leggings, carry a feather fan and a plume in the hair. The Jingle Dance is associated with healing. 

In between contest dances there may be Honor Songs for members of the community who have crossed over in the last year, and Blanket Dances to raise funds for deserving organizations, families in need, visiting drums, or another worthy cause. Every year there are special dances, such as a Two Step/Owl Dance (Ladies Choice); a Potato Dance sponsored by the Black Native American Association, a Switch Dance (women and men exchanging regalia and dancing in each other’s style). At various times more intertribal Round dances are held where all people, Native and non-Native dance together. 

Toward the end of the day the final raffle winners are announced. The contest winners are called to be honored and receive their prizes. There is a Thank- You song for the organizing committee. Finally at 6pm, as the sun hovers low in the west, the Eagle Staff and the colors are retired, and the Indigenous People Day Pow Wow is ended until next year.  

Hope to see you there. For all our relations. 

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This year Berkeley Indigenous Peoples Day Pow Wow and Indian Market will be held in Civic Center Park on Saturday, October 9, 10am to 6pm. Sponsored by the City, it is always free.