Full Text

The panelists, pro and con, at the Measure R forum. Novosel had a hand-lettered name
                          plate since he was a last minute stand-in for Mayor Tom Bates, a no-show at the debate.
Steven Finacom
The panelists, pro and con, at the Measure R forum. Novosel had a hand-lettered name plate since he was a last minute stand-in for Mayor Tom Bates, a no-show at the debate.
 

News

Flash: Suspect with Gun Reported at Ashby BART in Berkeley--BART Police Unable to Confirm

By Saul Sugarman (BCN) and Berkeley Daily Planet
Saturday October 16, 2010 - 06:39:00 PM

BART police responded to reports of a male suspect with a gun in a Bay Area Rapid Transit station at Ashby Avenue in Berkeley this afternoon sometime after 4 p.m..  

Beverly, a Berkeley resident, told Bay City News that about eight officers with large rifles were seen walking through the Flea Market at the intersection in front of the station.  

"Children are upset, people are scared," Beverly said. "They wouldn't even say what they were doing. Somebody could get killed out here."  

An officer at Berkeley police said their department typically responds with rifles when they receive reports of suspects with guns, but a BPD spokesperson told the Planet that this was a BART case.  

BART spokespersons told the Planet that “there was no merit to the call”, meaning that no suspect with a gun was located, but confirmed that officers with guns had been deployed to investigate the report. .


New: Click the Next Issue Button to See Today's New Articles

Friday October 15, 2010 - 06:31:00 PM

Don't forget that from now on you can see the new articles by clicking on the "Next Issue" button at the top of this page. Among other exciting news, there's a link to Richard Brenneman's latest column about the BP/UC collusion.  

Starting this week, all new articles which come in after the new Wednesday issue closing date will be posted in the "Next Issue".


Changes to the Planet Schedule, No More Printed Planets

By Becky O'Malley
Tuesday October 12, 2010 - 03:58:00 PM

First: sad news. If you have friends who have been enjoying the Planets which have been printed by a public-spirited copy shop, please tell them that they won’t be able to get printed copies any more. The usual suspects, the same kind of people who harassed the advertisers in the print Planets for the last few years, are at it again. Please don’t blame the generous people at the copy company, who were just trying to be of service to Berkeley readers.

Second: Mike O’Malley and I, who are solely responsible for online production these days, have decided that the Tuesday deadline isn’t working as well as we’d hoped. For one thing, we miss the City Council when it’s in session on Tuesday nights. And right now, we’re happy to say that we have had so many election-oriented contributions that we just can’t do it all in one day.

What you have today (Tuesday afternoon) is NOT the whole issue for this week. Much more is in the works—it will probably all be online by tomorrow afternoon. But since we’ve been getting new submissions every day, there will be new pieces posted almost every day, at least until the election, so keep putting berkeleydailyplanet.com into your browser and clicking through to see what’s new. 

And we'd like to say a heartfelt thank you to the people who made printed Planets available for as long as they did. Many of their readers were seniors who haven't got computers. It's an awful shame that a few fanatics have managed to deprive them of the small pleasure of reading a local paper.


The Will of the People: Measure R is Debated (Sort of) Yet Again

By Christopher Adams
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 05:51:00 PM

Is the air too “dramatic” in the block of Addison which houses the city’s self-described “arts district;” is there something that fuzzes minds and prevents rational discourse? In January I went to a panel discussion about downtown development in the Aurora Theatre where not one of the panelists mentioned most of the activities which draw people downtown (like retail or restaurants or libraries or gyms). This Tuesday I went to a panel discussion in the same venue about Measure R, characterized by drama, if drama means “artifice,” “fictionalizing,” and “upstaging,” but mostly not including discussion of Measure R. Maybe the Chamber of Commerce, which had organized the panel, wanted it that way, but I went wanting to learn more, and I left as flummoxed as I had been in January. 

The cast of characters for Tuesday’s panel included Councilmember Jesse Arreguin, who opposes R and his opponents Jim Novosel and Bernt Wahl, both of whom favor it. The other panelists, introduced as “stakeholders, all favored R: John Caner, director of the Downtown Berkeley Association; Andy Katz from the Sierra Club; Erin Rhoades, director of Livable Berkeley; and Susie Medak, director of the Berkeley Rep. Considering it was six to one, Arreguin was allowed times for rebuttal to each of the others, and although he hardly had time to catch his breath, he managed to get his points across perceptively and sometimes even eloquently. 

Novosel efficiently articulated what R would do (the tallest allowable buildings would be lower than the DAPAC plan but there would be more of them; historic preservation procedures would be shortened but still, per Jim, long enough). Arreguin managed to articulate what Measure R won’t do (provide buffers to adjacent neighborhoods, pay for any improvements—green or otherwise). The other council candidate didn’t really say much about R except that he liked it. About historic preservation he said he lived in a brown shingle house but that not all of downtown could be brown shingle. He likes to ride his bicycle and wishes more Silicon Valley firms would rent space downtown, but he didn’t explain how Measure R would help either activity. 

John Caner talked about other college towns he liked, such as Boulder and San Luis Obispo, neither of which the last time I looked had 180 foot buildings, so again I wasn’t sure what this had to do with what Measure R. Erin Rhoades read prepared remarks which can only be described as Greenspeak, lots of environmental piety but few specifics. Regarding R she said that the California League of Conservation Voters supports it. (Not having seen anything about R in the flyer CLCV sent me or on their website, I have asked them for clarification.) Andy Katz, from the Sierra Club, seemed to like R because two Sierra Club representatives served on the DAPAC. Again the concept eluded me, as the City Council has rejected the DAPAC plan in favor of Measure R. Most mysterious was Susie Medak . Maybe she breathes more of the dramatic air or maybe she was just being polite as a host. She wants more people and more restaurants in downtown but didn’t say how Measure R would bring them. She wishes downtown were more like 4th Street, but 4th Street consists of mostly one- and a few two-story buildings and has no housing unless one counts the lowrise and low income housing two blocks away. 

Questions from the audience were allowed by filling out a card. I can’t say if other cards were read correctly. I know the moderator wrongly paraphrased mine until I (vocally) insisted it be read verbatim. Only one question per person was allowed, although the crowd was small. In contrast to meetings I am used to in Berkeley no one in the youngish and nicely dressed audience demurred to the rules, and things were over right on time. 

In the wrap-up Jesse Arreguin said Measure R is not necessary as the Council could adopt the DAPAC plan or the later Planning Commission Plan without any vote. Jim Novosel said Measure R would express “the will of the people.” 

Like a good green citizen I had walked to the meeting; it was a hot day and a long walk home. 

 

 


Who Paid for "the Sierra Club's" Yes on R mailer? (News Analysis)

By Daniella Thompson
Tuesday October 12, 2010 - 11:11:00 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. 






"Gerrymandering”: The Movie, the Proposition, the Conflict of Interest

By Gar Smith
Tuesday October 12, 2010 - 12:51:00 PM
Jeff Reichert
Jeff Reichert

“You don’t pick your representatives; your representatives pick you.”— A popular definition of the “gerrymandering” process 

First off, let’s get one thing straight: everyone west of the Adirondacks mispronounces the word. As Jeff Reichert’s new documentary notes, the word is pronounced “GARYmandering.” It was Founding Father Elbridge Gerry (pronounced “Gary”) who, as Governor of Massachusetts in 1812, carved up an electoral district so oddly that it resembled a salamander. 

Drawing on interviews with more than 50 commentators from across the political spectrum, “Gerrymandering” presents a compelling argument that allowing politicians to draw district maps is a tool that works to defeat true democracy. As one pundit colorfully observes: “Gerrymandering is the blood sport of politics.” When political lines are being reinvented on a map, “it’s not about ideas, it’s simply about power!” 

The film argues that allowing legislators to draw voting districts means “politicians choose voters instead of the other way around.” Once an urban population has been sliced-and-diced to consolidate wealthy neighborhoods, ensnare partisan cores, or divide and disempower Asian, Hispanic or African American enclaves, “it really doesn’t matter who you vote for,” a seasoned political player observes. “The election outcome has already been determined.” 

Reichert’s award-winning film succeeds in bringing many voices to the table, including politicians, professors, reporters, community activists, Native Americans and four current and former California governors (Ronald Reagan, Pete Wilson, Gray Davis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger). In an interview with The Planet, director Reichert emphasized that the film was intended to be nonpartisan, was “entirely privately financed” and that the timing of its release — two weeks before the crucial November election — was coincidental. Work on the film began in 2005, Reichert noted, “before Prop 20. Or Prop. 11 were even ideas.” 

The Voters First Act for Congress (proponents of California’s “anti-gerrymandering” Proposition 20) has taken full advantage of the timing. In early October, VFAC mass-mailed 660,000 free DVDs of “Gerrymandering” as part of a glossy election packet urging people to vote “Yes on 20; No on 27.” Mailing this multimedia “nonprofit” message cost somewhere between $102,000 and $113,000. Where does VFAC get this kind of money? More about that later. 

Mapmakers Behaving Badly 

“Gerrymandering” crisscrosses the country, revealing a range of bizarrely drawn districts that resemble earphones, worms, and slingshots. California is replete with gerrymandered regimes that sprawl and twist like mold spores in a Petri dish — a rogue’s gallery filled with examples of what can happen when a gerrymanderer’s Rorschach Treatment is employed to trump demographics. LA’s bucket-shaped Congressional District, for example, suggests a pigeon biting the tail of a toad kissing the snout of a cocker spaniel. In one delicious cameo, a Sixties-era Willie Brown marvels over his own Assembly district, noting that “Picasso would be proud” of the way it was drawn. One narrow section connecting two large pockets of pro-Dem voters was so thin it actually comprised little more than the median strip running down the midsection of a road. 

The shenanigans continue as the film introduces us to a rising young politician whose attempt to challenge an incumbent is derailed when the older man orders the challenger’s home “drawn out” of his New York district, making it impossible for supporters to vote for him. 

In New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, the film documents how entire districts have ceased to exist in flood-ravaged neighborhoods. The hurricane offered opportunities to redraw the political map of the South by drawing down the population of New Orleans while driving up the political populations in neighboring states selected to receive the refugees. 

One veteran politician revels in the ability of modern Gerrymanderers to divide a district into Democratic and Republican enclaves with such precision that “if you have a Republican husband and a Democratic wife, we can draw the line straight down the center of their bed.” Another political insider recalls a district that was redrawn because a politician wanted to exclude the apartment of an annoying intern. 

Jon Stewart pops up to introduce the remarkable episode in 2003 when the entire Democratic wing of the Texas Assembly and Senate disappeared in the middle of the night and hid out in a Holiday Inn in neighboring Oklahoma to stop a vote on redistricting plan that would hand Democratic seats to the Republicans. Tom Delay hatched the plan at the behest of Karl Rove and George W. Bush. Even though redistricting is supposed to happen only once every ten years, Rove hoped to engineer a mid-decade redistricting coup that would benefit the Bush White House. In the end, Delay dispatched Texas State Troopers to corral the wayward Dems. The vote proceeded and a passel of Bush-friendly Republicans summarily replaced seven seated Democrats. 

To dispel the idea that redistricting only benefits Republicans, Reichert points out “if Barack Obama hadn’t been involved in choosing his own district, he might not now be president.” In many cases, Reichert concedes, “racial redistricting helps minorities.” 

The Battle for California’s Prop. 11 

The core of the film revolves around the 2008 battle for Proposition 11, California’s Voter Empowerment Act. Prop. 11 was supposed to depoliticize the process by placing redistricting in the hands of an independent panel. Despite the failure of five previous attempts to reform the redistricting process, Common Cause activist Kathay Feng decides to mount one last attempt. Feng enlists the Women’s League of Voters, the American Association of Retired People and, most surprisingly, a broad-shouldered ally named Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Governator cruises through the film like he owns it, radiating energy, conviction, humor and charm. This may prove to be one of his best film roles. Schwarzenegger’s posturing as a tireless “populist hero” — working to return power to the people by ending the increasing polarization of state politics — was critical to the success of the initiative. 

Prop. 11 created an independent 14-member citizen’s commission. Reichert points out that 33,000 Californians “of all political persuasions” volunteered to serve of the commission. 

Reichert admits that Prop 20 might not wind up adding more fairness and balance to the political process but insists the current system has failed and it’s time to try something new. Asked if there are other systems that have proven to work better, he cites several European models, noting that Germany’s system is both successful and popular. Could modern computers accomplish redistricting impartially, free of political bias? Reichert can’t be sure but he does offer: “There is open source mapping software. A high school student with Google Earth might be able to do a better job.” 

“Gerrymandering” ends with a montage of “Congress Gone Wild” clips featuring angry words and bad behavior ranging from Republican John Boehner to Californians Barbara Lee and Henry Waxman. (Waxman is shown banging his gavel and threatening to have someone “physically removed.”). These snippets lack context and seem designed to portray all political incumbents as petulant and self-aggrandizing egotists. Asked about this, Reichert confesses, “We may have gone a bit overboard there.” 

With the 2010 Census completed and the next round of redistricting set to begin in January, the importance of this film in stimulating a debate cannot be denied. “Gerrymandering” will convince many viewers that it makes perfect sense to Vote Yes on 20 but, hold on. There are hidden forces at work behind the screen. Let’s take a minute to explore them. 

Follow the Money 

“There’s a lot of money in redistricting,” Reichert told the Planet, citing a number of well-financed and politically connected firms that profit by offering to redraw political boundaries. One of the most influential firm is owned by Michael Berman whose brother Howard holds forth over California’s 28th Congressional District. (Reichert says he tried to interview Michael Berman but “he wouldn’t talk to us.”) 

Reichert tells the Planet that the brothers Berman need to gerrymander the Assemblyman’s district to counter the rising power of the region’s Hispanic residents. After the 2000 census, Reichert notes, members of the State Democratic Party were strongly encouraged to send five-figure checks to Michael Berman’s firm. (According to the film’s executive producer Bill Mundell, “All of the Legislature, all of the congressional delegation, paid consultants $30,000 to draw bulletproof districts.” The Brennan Center for Justice reports that 30 of California’s Congressional reps wrote $20,000 checks as part of a $1.3 million contract to redraw the state’s Congressional districts.) 

The Planet asked Reichert why Prop. 20 has so much support from business groups and the Chamber of Commerce and no support from progressive groups and unions? Doesn’t this make it look like the Democrats stand to loose and the GOP hopes to gain from the passage of Prop. 20? Riechert admits this could happen but believes this is a risk that should be acceptable in a true democracy. “I don’t see this is a Republican power grab as much as it is a Democratic ‘power keep,’” Reichert explains. Reichert notes that the film “was entirely privately financed” and the filmmakers worked “with a laundry list of progressive advocacy groups nationwide to promote redistricting awareness and reform.” The film’s overall message, Reichert insists, is: “know the district you live in and participate in redistricting.” 

A check with Election Track reveals a clear division in support for the two competing propositions. Republicans and businesses fund Prop. 20 while incumbent Democrats, doctors, firefighters, trade and professional unions, including the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) support Prop. 27. 

As of October 6, 2010, the Dem-backed Prop. 27 campaign reported contributions totaling $4,312,638. For the same period, the Prop. 20 campaign had raised more than triple that amount — $13,375,419. Prop. 27 lists 28 individuals (plus 24 incumbent Democrats) as contributors with the biggest donations coming from the AFT ($1 million), the American Federation of State, Country and Municipal Employees ($1.25 million) and Dem-friendly billionaire Haim Saban ($2 million). (Glenn Beck’s bête noire, George Soros, also chipped in a token $100,000.) Political insider Tony Quinn points to another complicating factor. Saban once told the New York Times, “I’m a one-issue guy and my issue is Israel.” According to Quinn, Saban wants to assure that Representative Berman continues to exert a pro-Israel presence as chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. 

The Los Angeles Times made a big issue of the fact that Prop. 27 had the backing of pro-Dem billionaire Haim Saban but failed to report the biggest spender of all — Prop. 20’s Charles T. Munger, Jr. Described as a “self-employed” physicist, Munger (who works at the Stanford Linear Accelerator) has made 13 contributions to the Prop. 20 campaign totaling over S11 million. According to the Electron Track website, Munger made his first contribution of $301,770 on October 13, 2009. His individual contributions have ranged from $152,932 to $2.5 million. (According to Election Track, Munger made two $2.5 million contributions on a single day — September 27, 2010.) 

Prop. 20’s second largest contributor (with six donations totaling $1,912,002) was Charlotte A. Lowell, who describes herself as a “self-employed” attorney. Charlotte Lowell also happens to be Mrs. Charles Munger Jr. The combined contributions of the two Sacramento-based Mungers apparently account for more than 90 percent of the Prop. 20’s campaign funding. 

Election Track also records a $5,000 contribution from “Gerrymandering Movie, LLC. New York, NY 10001.” Reichert explains this donation as “in-kind for work we did to bring the film to readiness for the DVD mailing.” 

There is another conflict of interest that runs counter to the claim that “Gerrymandering” is wholly “nonpartisan.” The film’s executive producer, Bill Mundell, is the founder of Californians for Fair Redistricting. In 2005, Mundell poured at least $318,000 of his own money into this reform campaign. Mundell is chair of an alternative energy firm and an educational software entrepreneur who describes himself as “a lifelong Republican” and “a proponent of market-based solutions to economic and policy issues.” Mundell is a well-informed and passionate advocate of redistricting reform but his involvement in a campaign to use an this documentary as a tool to aggressively steer the electorate’s vote on a critical issue on November’s ballot undercuts the film’s nonpartisan claim. 

Mundell may be correct when he refers to gerrymandering as “America’s best-kept secret” — a tool of the status quo that “is more menacing than voter suppression or tampering.” But his personal stake and behind-the-scenes attempt to influence the outcome of the election needs to be factored into the equation. Explaining his decision to mail 660,000 copies of the “Gerrymandering” DVD to state voters the month before the election, Mundell wrote (in an op-ed in the Orange County Register): “My hope is that this will lead voters to vote yes on Proposition 20 (which would give the existing redistricting commission the power to also draw new district lines for California’s members of Congress) and No on Prop. 27 (which would eliminate the commission altogether).” 

Mundell admits he can’t promise miracles but “if it does nothing else, redistricting reform will empower intra-party dissenters in a way that enhances the free flow of ideas…. A fixed political system is a stagnant one.” The Democratic Party’s opposition to Prop. 20 is clearly predicated on the fear that it stands to lose seats if legislators no longer control the redistributing process. But Reichert estimates that, “at best, Republicans could hope to pick up maybe a seat or two statewide.” 

Ironically, Mundell seems to question the initiative process itself. “The failure of representative government in this state has led citizens to over-utilize the initiative process to express their will,” Mundell wrote in the Register. While Mundell said nothing about the threat that corporate-backed initiative campaigns pose for democracy, he holds the initiative process responsible for “leading directly to our recurring budget disaster” by creating “unfunded, uncoordinated mandates.” Equally out-of-sync with his role as champion of “Voter Rights” is Mundell’s observation that “no one can run the eighth-largest economy in the world when most of the budget has been predetermined by the voters.” 

When Mundell proclaims that Prop. 20 “is unquestionably an initiative of the people and not of the politicians, nor of the special interests,” he needs to explain how a “people’s initiative” can be almost totally bankrolled by two “self-employed” residents of Sacramento. 

Reichert insists that “our involvement in Prop. 20” does not compromise the film’s legitimacy because the film criticizes both major parties, notes the “pitfalls of Prop. 11,” and offers criticisms of the Yes on 20 campaign. Furthermore, the Prop. 20 organization “had no editorial control” over the contents of the film. “Prop. 20 does have major Republican backers,” Reichert adds, “but is also supported by a host of good government groups from the left.” And even if “mainly Democrats are lining up against it, it’s their opposition that’s making it partisan, not the language of the proposition itself.” Reichert points to an additional complication: “The same Democrats who are supporting Prop. 27 in California are supporting efforts similar to Prop. 20 in states where Republicans hold power” — a development that makes it “pretty clear that this is an issue that transcends simple party divisions.” Ultimately, Reichert argues, “I don’t think out support of 20 is partisan, even if the parties have separated themselves out on the issue.” 

Still, whenever any individual or group decides to attempt to “lead the voters” — be it by gerrymandering, “astroturf” campaigns, corporate-backed initiatives or documentary films — there should be transparency. Viewers — and voters — need to be advised that “Gerrymandering” may require an “R” rating — for A Risky Proposition. Voter discretion is advised. 

Gar Smith is Editor Emeritus of Earth Island Journal and co-founder of Environmentalists Against War (www.envirosagainstwar.org), which has just posted its 10,000th online article.


League of Women Voters Hosts Lively Measure R Forum

By Steven Finacom
Tuesday October 12, 2010 - 11:40:00 AM
The panelists, pro and con, at the Measure R forum. Novosel had a hand-lettered name
                              plate since he was a last minute stand-in for Mayor Tom Bates, a no-show at the debate.
Steven Finacom
The panelists, pro and con, at the Measure R forum. Novosel had a hand-lettered name plate since he was a last minute stand-in for Mayor Tom Bates, a no-show at the debate.
The audience at the forum held in Berkeley City College included many familiar faces from
              Berkeley’s development battles.
Steven Finacom
The audience at the forum held in Berkeley City College included many familiar faces from Berkeley’s development battles.

A forum on Measure R, the controversial downtown high-rise development proposal on Berkeley’s November ballot, provoked a sharp exchange of views last Tuesday.

More than 50 people attended the event that was held in the Berkeley City College building on Center Street and was sponsored by the League of Women Voters. 

Mayor Tom Bates was originally billed as one of the “pro” Measure R speakers—his City Council majority put the measure on the ballot—but he was a no show for the event. “He is stuck in Seattle, apparently”, apologized Jane Coulter, who introduced things for the League. 

The Bates seat at the debate table was taken instead by District 4 City Council candidate Jim Novosel, placing him next to City Council incumbent Jesse Arreguin who is one of his opponents in the November election.  

The table was filled out by Planning Commissioner Patti Dacey on the No on R side, and environmental consultant and “smart growth” advocate Tim Frank as the second pro-R speaker. 

Each speaker was given five minutes to provide a preamble of their views, before cross debate and audience questions. 

Novosel, who spoke first, used his time “to set the foundations for my belief in why R is so important for my city.” He said that two circumstances have made the downtown “improve immensely” over the past 20 years. The first is historic preservation, with several key buildings renovated and restored. The second is “we’ve had a tremendous number of housing units built, thousands (sic) of housing units built.”  

Those two interacting factors have brought the downtown “vitality that did not exist 20 years ago,” and “these two elements (preservation and new housing) go hand in hand in making a better city.” 

Novosel said he had “tremendous admiration for the historic preservationists” who worked to save historic downtown buildings, as well as admiration for the owners and developers who had restored them.  

“What Measure R does is a sense motion”, Novosel said. “We’ve had huge battles on the height of buildings over the last 5 years. So the Council said, let’s deal with the height. Let’s get the height out of the way.”  

Novesel dismissed concerns about the changes Measure R would call for in Berkeley landmark protections, saying, “the only other substantial issue is the issue on landmarks. The only thing (on landmarks) in Measure R is that it expedites the processing” of landmark reviews. “You get three months to file a landmark application on a downtown building” under R, Novosel said. “What’s the big deal? I can do it in two months.”  

Arreguin led off his comments by noting “Measure R is not a legal plan” according to the City attorney but is, instead, “largely non-binding and it doesn’t have measureable community benefits.”  

“Measure R is not transparent and is not good government.” “It’s not a plan. It’s a plan to have a plan,” Arreguin said. “What Measure R does is throw out 5 years of progress in developing downtown plans, and starts over again.” He said, “You would need to amend the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance and the Zoning Ordinance” to implement the Measure, and “Measure R doesn’t require people to pass a downtown Plan.”  

He argued that the proposal “does nothing to create a green and vibrant downtown” despite the repeated use of “green” references in the non-binding content. What it does do, Arreguin said, is dramatically increase allowable building heights downtown from current levels, without any guaranteed benefits, and weaken protections for historic buildings.  

“Measure R includes the same controversial proposals that Berkeley voters rejected in 2008” when they turned down the Mayor’s proposed changes to the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. 

Novesel, Arreguin said, “is really obfuscating what’s in R.” He noted that the DAPAC (downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee) in which both of them participated had approved a top building height of 225 feet only for two possible hotels in the downtown. He added that R “substantially increases heights not just in the core (of downtown) but in the surrounding residential areas.”  

Frank, who spoke next, agreed with Arreguin that “Measure R is an advisory measure”. He contended it was a natural follow-up to the Climate Action Plan the City had adopted. “One of the elements of a legitimate climate action plan has to be a land use element.”  

“We really have to look at whether we’re housing the people who grew up here”, Frank said, noting Berkeley “hasn’t lost homes, but there’s been a significant change in demographics.” 

He offered a standard argument in this context that “we’ve been pushing people out onto the farmland on the periphery of the Bay Area” and Measure R offered “an opportunity to bring more housing into the downtown.” 

Frank argued that business interest support and endorsement from some environmental groups for R means “the combination of environmentalists and the Chamber (of Commerce) working together is evidence that this is a plan the works well for all.” 

Dacey, during her introductory remarks, raised the issue of campaign donations to the “Yes on R” effort. Disclosures of campaign donations had been released earlier in the day and brought to the forum by “R” opponents.  

“There’s an old saying ‘Follow the Money’, Dacey said. Of about $32,000 given to the “Yes on R” campaign, she noted, “$25,000 comes from Sam Zell of Equity Residential.” Equity Residential owns several properties and hundreds of apartment units in the downtown and is on the verge of submitting to the city plans for new development that would cover 2/3s of a block on University Avenue in the downtown.  

Dacey called Zell “one of those right wing billionaires”, and said “I can pretty much guarantee you Sam isn’t funding this because he wants a great, green, downtown.” 

“The disagreements I have with the Measure R people are really fundamental over what is green and what is affordable housing”, Dacey said. “If you plan to do luxury condos, you’re probably out of luck in terms of environmental benefits.” 

Dacey criticized Frank for consulting for large developers, including one proposing a large Bay fill housing project in the South Bay. “I serve as a design professional”, Frank said. “I work on Smart Growth. I’m proud to do that work because it helps make the world a better place.” 

Frank emphasized the local Sierra Club and Greenbelt Alliance endorsements for Measure R, returning again to his theme that “this is a critically important task, helping to protect farmland by encouraging development where it should be.” 

As the question and answer period began, Dacey and Novosel clashed over the heights allowed in Measure R and the Mayor’s proposed “green pathway” which would allow developers additional height if they included certain benefits in their proposed projects. 

“Almost none of Measure R is legally binding”, Dacey said, arguing that the “green pathway” benefits would not be guaranteed even if developers were awarded additional height. And “people who don’t follow the ‘green pathway’ can still take the State density bonus (for housing) and take the 180 foot height (allowed under R) and go to 240 feet” with some new buildings, taller than the existing high rises downtown. 

“I believe it is an absolute height”, Novosel countered. “If the Council were to go against it (the 180 foot limit) they would go against the citizenry. It’s very simple”, he argued. “I see nothing wrong with going to 180 feet and I’m absolutely sure we won’t go over that.” 

Novesel added, in response to a question about what the University might do with his properties in Berkeley, that “the University has approved both the downtown Area Plan and the DAPAC Plan.” “They will adhere to the rules. That’s what they said to us.” 

Arreguin responded that although the University had supported the other two plans, Measure R “isn’t the DAPAC. It isn’t the DAP.” He noted on building heights that “in this proposal (Measure R) there’s no limit on the number of 100 foot buildings the University could build in the downtown”.  

“A lot of this ‘plan’ is the ‘Trust me, I’m a politician’ plan”, Dacey said. 

A question from the audience asked whether the measure would help create housing that young people with new families could afford. 

“As an affordable housing advocate, one of my concerns is that Measure R has no guarantees we’ll get affordable housing downtown”, Arreguin said. The Measure simply states, he said, that developers would be asked to pay an unspecified amount in a fee for affordable housing. 

“There’s a reason why the real affordable housing advocates in this town are supporting this plan” said Frank. “ ‘Green pathways’ actually provides a mechanism for incentivizing affordable housing.” He argued that the Measure represented a way to get around recent court decisions that have been invalidating parts of inclusionary housing ordinances in California. 

“What we’re going to get is mostly students”, said Dacey to answer the housing question. “The other thing we’ll get is million dollar condos” in the downtown. 

“We’ll have more students, and maybe million dollar condos. That sure doesn’t sound like workforce housing to me.” 

The next question asked what historic buildings might be endangered if the Measure passes? 

“I am not aware of any historic buildings that are in danger” Novosel contended. “I am not aware of any historical buildings being threatened.” He added that he supported creating a historic district in the downtown. 

“I’m a strong supporter of creating a historic district”, Arreguin said. But “we don’t need Measure R to create a historic district.” 

Dacey warned that the abbreviated timeline for reviewing the historic status of buildings could endanger undesignated historic structures in the downtown. “It takes huge amounts of time to work on landmarking”, she said. “We don’t have the City doing the landmark” applications, so the work is left up to citizens.  

“The City has been hell-bent to change the landmarks ordinance for six years at least”, she said. “They want to make it easier to tear down historic buildings.” 

The next question was addressed to Frank, asking him to expand on his argument that Measure R would reduce pressures for housing development on farmland, and noting that those who move to the suburbs tend to want single-family homes. 

“You don’t build single family homes in an environment like this” in the downtown Frank clarified. But “there are lots of folks living in the hills who would live close by if appropriate housing would be available.” “By building these homes in the downtown area, there’s a demographic that would like to live in this very, very, green setting.” 

“Berkeley is already an incredibly dense city”, Arreguin said. “Berkeley shouldn’t be trying to bear the burden of the East Bay’s housing demand”. He argued that Measure R “encourages gentrification” through the focus on high rise condos in the downtown. “We can do better.”  

“I don’t honestly know of families who would live downtown”, Novosel said. But, he added, if the green pathways provisions of R were actually carried out, “20% of these units have to be ‘affordable’.” 

“Measure R doesn’t guarantee you’re going to get the affordable housing downtown because you’re going to have an unspecified in-lieu fee”, Dacey countered, arguing that the money could be spent on housing outside the downtown.  

“Berkeley is a smart growth city” already, she said. But in existing residential neighborhoods like hers (the Le Conte district, southeast of downtown), “families are moving out as more dense development is impacting the neighborhood”. 

The next question asked the speakers to give their definition of ‘greenwashing’ a term that has been used by Measure R opponents to characterize the proposal. Greenwashing is generally used as a pejorative to characterize a proposal or project that claims to have environmental benefits but does not, at least not to the extent claimed.  

“Measure R IS greenwashing”, Arreguin said. “We can have a green progressive plan for downtown. The DAPAC developed that.” But “the green requirements in this proposal (Measure R) are not binding.” 

“The folks that have endorsed this from the environmental community believe this is a green plan”, Frank said. “What you have is green on this side and greenwashing on the other side.” 

“Greenwashing is about spin,” said Dacey. “The DAPAC Plan actually mandated green development. We are for appropriate development downtown.” Dacey noted that the local Green Party has opposed Measure R. 

“I fully believe when the Council gets R (after voter approval) they will add these goody things into the Plan”, Novosel said. 

The next question asked whether development of downtown would be delayed by passage of R, since the Measure is not a plan but calls for the City to start the process of creating a new downtown Plan. 

“There really isn’t a phenomonally huge difference between the two plans”, Measure R and the DAPAC Plan, Novosel said.  

“Contrary to what Mr. Novosel said, I wrote a plan that had binding green provisions and community benefits”, Arreguin countered. The City Council majority declined to put Arreguin’s plan on the ballot. 

“I don’t think waiting until we get a chance to vote on November 2 is a delay”, said Frank. “I believe what we are voting on is good for the downtown, is good for the property owners, and the residents.” 

“The City now faces a fiscal crisis and this is one of the answers.” 

“The new plan (that Measure R passage would mandate) is going to have to go through all the jumps and hoops”, Dacey said, taking time to develop and implement.  

She added that the recently completed SOSIP subcommittee process recommended streetscape and open space improvements in the downtown came up with projects that would cost about $30 million dollars. The extra development fees Measure R might bring in would only yield an estimated $3.2 million over several years. (Novosel chaired the SOSIP subcommittee; Dacey was a member.)  

The next question asked how high heights could go in the “buffer” residential areas around the downtown core if Measure R passes. 

“This is one of the inflated arguments”, Novosel said. “Nothing will change about the buffer zones.” “There’s a core and there’s a buffer zone.”  

“Measure R includes no buffering”, Arreguin countered. “The impacts could be considerable.” He noted that neighborhood leaders in the MAGNA neighborhood west of downtown and the Le Conte neighborhood southeast of downtown “are against Measure R.” 

“Measure R also relies on buffers”, Frank said. “There are ways to bring more housing in and put in it strategic locations while protecting single family neighborhoods.” 

“This buffering the neighborhood is a ‘policy’, there’s nothing to guarantee it” in Measure R, Dacey claimed. Measure R, she said, is “downtown on steroids.” 

The next question asked about loss of diversity in Berkeley’s population. 

“We’ve built a lot of housing”, Arreguin said. “none of it is affordable” and that’s “the reason that Berkeley has lost its diversity.” 

“We are losing our ethnic population”, Novosel agreed. He said of Berkeley’s African-American residents that “their children don’t want to live in Berkeley and deal in the sort of stuff we have in this room.” (He didn’t offer further clarification on the meaning of this statement.)  

Novosel argued that money from development would go to the City’s Housing Trust Fund, to create more affordable housing. 

“The in lieu fees (for affordable housing) Measure R might provide might be much less than what Jim is talking about”, Dacey cautioned. 

“If you look at the challenge of providing affordable housing in a very high land cost area like this, it has to be multi-family housing”, Frank said. “Upper income condos are an important compliment” to student and affordable housing development in Berkeley, he added. 

A question asked about the difference between encouragement for tall office buildings verses new housing in Measure R. 

“I’ve been through so many plans in the last few years”, Novosel said. “I’m pretty sure we’re looking towards more residences, not offices.” 

“This (Measure R) is one of the slowest possible ways for us to revitalize our downtown”, Dacey argued. Frank said that Measure R simply carries out strategies proposed in the Climate Action Plan. “This is a repeated strategy” to tie intensified land use development to climate action, he said.  

How will Measure R help Berkeley meet new State environmental mandates, the next question asked. 

“That’s a fundamental misunderstood” issue, Arreguin responded. “The opponents of Measure R want new housing downtown, at a reasonable scale. Five stories, 7 stories, ten stories, which has actually been done downtown.” “We don’t have to build 17 story buildings to meet the (State) requirements.” 

“The simple response is to put more humans in the inner Bay around the transit stops”, Frank said. 

“We do not need Measure R to meet any of these projected needs”, Dacey said. “Our current zoning is probably good for 30 years. Berkeley is one of the densest cities in the country”, and “we absolutely don’t need Measure R to meet the mandate.” 

Novosel said Berkeley has a “tremendous jobs and housing imbalance. We’re trying to correct this, to have more housing in the downtown.” 

The next question asked the panelists how Measure R would relate to economic development. 

“Building housing in the downtown is an economic development strategy”, said Frank. “If you look at the small businesses downtown I think they would agree.” 

“I don’t believe that JUST bringing tall buildings is going to revitalize downtown” said Arreguin. “One of the reasons we have vacant storefronts is because we have such high square foot rents.” 

“All the small businesses I’ve been polling say we need more housing”, said Novosel. “We need spaces that can incorporate retail stores of the size of Marshall, Penny’s or the Emporium” and tall buildings will help create that downtown, Novosel said.  

Dacey took a different approach to encouraging business. “I’ve always through a vacancy tax would be a way to reduce vacant storefronts” she said, since it would encourage property owners to get their vacant spaces rented. 

How will the public be able to participate in the creation of an actual downtown plan if Measure R passes the next questioner asked? 

“I’m hoping that all parties come back to the table and participate”, said Novosel. “The downtown is great right now, but it needs both sides of the land use wars to come together.” 

Arreguin said “I don’t know which parties will be at the table after the referendum.” “I was in discussion about trying to negotiate a plan”, but “the Mayor handed me a document and said take this or we’re going to the ballot.” 

“What’s remarkable is how similar all (the) plans are”, Frank said. 

“I love how all the people who were against the DAPAC Plan now say all the plans were essentially alike”, Dacey responded. “I think Measure R is actually a pre-emptive strike to keep certain people from the table.” 

The panelists were next asked about the issue of embedded energy in older buildings that might be demolished and replaced under Measure R, and whether that represented a ‘green’ strategy. 

“Is Measure R really a green plan if it will make it easier for older buildings to be torn down?” Arreguin asked. “We can preserve our historic buildings and promote adaptive reuse.” 

“I don’t get where you read there will be more demolition of Buildings in Measure R”, Novosel countered. “We all know what the landmarks are in the downtown, and we are going to keep them, pretty much.” 

Frank said that “the green pathway requires you to get the equivalent of LEED Gold”, which requires management of construction waste and measures that reduce energy consumption in new buildings. He added the most important way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to get people to live close to transit. 

Arreguin said that Measure R simply says it provides “guidance to a green pathway”. “I think we need to have strong green building requirements. The plan I wrote in consultation with community members would require LEED Gold.” 

“In Europe they have much higher standards and are doing extraordinary green things,” Dacey said. “I t seems very strange to me that we’re actually only ‘considering’ LEED Gold standards” in Measure R. 

Frank said “there are not many LEED Platinum (the next higher level) buildings in the whole country. LEED Gold is a very aggressive standard itself.” 

Candidates were next offered a chance to make closing remarks. 

“The proponents of Measure R have made certain statements that aren’t really correct”, said Arreguin. “Measure R is NOT a plan, and it’s NOT legally binding. I twill impact our neighborhoods and historic resources around downtown. We don’t need to do that to revitalize downtown.” 

“Let’s more forward with revitalizing our downtown right now”, he concluded. “We don’t need Measure R.” 

“I’d like to point out that Measure R is a very good compromise for the DAPAC and DAP” plans, Novosel said. “The spirit of compromise is very strong in the 7-2 vote of the City Council to put Measure R on the ballot.” “No one is going to go into the buffer neighborhoods” with development, he added.  

“I thought Measure R was going to be the way to unify ourselves as a community.” 

“Measure R is an advisory measure”, Frank said, like the ballot measure on the Climate Action Plan a few years ago. “Measure R is something that would make a more walkable, vibrant, downtown.” “You have this measure mix of the people who are the owners and the residents and environmentalists all working together.” He added that Measure R would also create temporary construction jobs. 

The DAPAC Plan “was a compromise”, Dacey said. “To ask us to compromise on the compromise is ridiculous.” “I think it (Measure R) is a club to say the citizens voted for the tall buildings”, she added. 

“Sam Zell is paying for this.” “If you think Patrick Kennedy” (developer of several downtown properties) has deep pockets, Sam Zell is a multi-billionaire. He’s going to be the biggest property owner there” in downtown Berkeley.  

“Measure R is deceptive, and grants us nothing.” 

 

(Steven Finacom writes frequently for the Planet on historic, land use, and feature topics. He personally opposes Measure R on the November ballot.)


Draconian Budget Cuts to Senior and Disabled Programs

by Lydia Gans
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 08:40:00 AM

Arnieville, the name inspired by the Hoovervilles in the depression years, was a month long camp out in Berkeley in July to protest threatened cuts in services for elderly and disabled people. Last week Arnieville went to Sacramento with their allies in a last ditch effort to prevent the legislature and the governor from making cuts in their desperately needed programs. The results – nothing. Other than a few arrests for “obstructing state business” they were not heard. The budget was passed with the cuts the legislative leaders had agreed on (in closed sessions). 

Then the governor wielded his blue pencil and proceeded to make even more draconian cuts. He blue pencilled 23 line items, altogether almost $1 billion in spending on welfare, special education and various social service programs. Assembly Speaker John Perez (D- Los Angeles) said the governor's vetoes “were directed at making life more difficult for California's working parents and the poorest, sickest and most elderly Californians.” 

Many social service programs are already struggling to survive. For some programs, such as In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) or MediCal, which literally help people survive, even a small cut can be devastating. IHSS provides home care workers who help seniors and disabled people with the necessary activities of daily living, with meals, washing, dressing, getting in and out of bed, and so on which they can not do for themselves. Without the help, they have no option but to go into a nursing home. One need only listen to a few people with the experience to realize what a horrible alternative that can be. Adrienne Lauby, IHSS recipient and Arnieville activist, says “there are people who have told me they will kill themselves rather than go into a nursing home and I am sure that some of them will. Because they've been there. And the loss of control that you have, like when you get up in the morning, when you have food, it's just immense. And then there's downright abuses ...” 

Cut backs in IHSS, MediCAL and other services not only hurt those who need them but have a measurable impact on the economy. A measure of the impact is what economists call 'output multipliers'. A report published by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education explains “Low income residents spend a greater share of their earnings and spend more locally than do higher income residents. For this reason, the multipliers for CalWORKS and IHSS are particularly high since more of the funds go to low income families while the multipliers for tax cuts to upper income tax payers are relatively lower.” IHSS, by far the largest program, itself employs over 300,000 workers so even a 10% cut would have a significant impact. The report also points out that some human service programs also bring in significant matching federal dollars. 

There is other collateral damage that results from cutbacks in services. Loss of the services of their home care workers can mean that family members have to fill in. A daughter might have to give up her job to become the care giver, thus further reducing the family income. And cutbacks in medical care are putting more and more of a load on hospitals and emergency rooms, all of which has negative effects on the economy. As for the home care workers, who receive minimum pay as it is, even if they don't lose their jobs they could have their hours reduced. This causes additional hardships for the workers because they must be employed at least 80 hours a month in order to qualify for medical benefits. 

Among the organizations joined in the coalition with Arnieville is CUIDO - Communities United in defense of Olmstead. [This refers to the 1999 supreme Court Olmstead decision that basically required states to provide persons with disabilities accommodations in community settings rather that institutions. It is a requirement as part of the implementation of the ADA.] Also participating in the coalition are the Health and Human Services Network of California, the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA), and Parent Voices. (For more information, all have web sites.) 

More and more people are feeling the pain and they will continue to appeal and to protest. A big issue, Adriene Lauby explains, is the so-called “anti-fraud” measures that are still in the budget which are used to intimidate and harass. And she points out that the budget process starts all over again in January. “We'll demand that the legislature get more taxes into the budget. We believe in a time of recession the safety net needs to greatly expand.” 


Chase Bank Logo To Rise Above Berkeley (News Analysis)

By Steven Finacom
Tuesday October 12, 2010 - 01:14:00 PM
A Chase Bank logo is proposed for the upper right hand corner of the
              south façade of the 13-story 2150 Shattuck office building, shown here from far
              down Shattuck Avenue.
Steven Finacom
A Chase Bank logo is proposed for the upper right hand corner of the south façade of the 13-story 2150 Shattuck office building, shown here from far down Shattuck Avenue.
A second Chase logo would be applied to the top of the east façade of the
              building, which rises here above the downtown Berkeley greeting sign in the BART
              Plaza. From this angle the logo mounted to the recessed penthouse would not be
              visible from the street, but it could be seen from further east.
Steven Finacom
A second Chase logo would be applied to the top of the east façade of the building, which rises here above the downtown Berkeley greeting sign in the BART Plaza. From this angle the logo mounted to the recessed penthouse would not be visible from the street, but it could be seen from further east.
Chase Bank currently has four logo displays on the Shattuck Avenue /
              Center Street corner, above the building entrance and ATM machines. New Chase
              signage for this level was approved in July. The separate building top signage would
              display the octagonal logo, but not the Chase name.
Steven Finacom
Chase Bank currently has four logo displays on the Shattuck Avenue / Center Street corner, above the building entrance and ATM machines. New Chase signage for this level was approved in July. The separate building top signage would display the octagonal logo, but not the Chase name.
Across the street Wells Fargo Bank has signage at the third floor level on
              the historic Chamber of Commerce Building, but no tower-top signage.
Steven Finacom
Across the street Wells Fargo Bank has signage at the third floor level on the historic Chamber of Commerce Building, but no tower-top signage.
On a third corner of Shattuck and Center the Kaplan Building currently
              carries corporate signage just above the third floor.
Steven Finacom
On a third corner of Shattuck and Center the Kaplan Building currently carries corporate signage just above the third floor.
A 1940s photo displayed at the entrance of what’s now Berkeley’s old
              Wells Fargo Building shows its large, illuminated, rooftop sign for the American
              Trust Company. The much-reviled sign was later removed from the top of the
              building.
Contributed
A 1940s photo displayed at the entrance of what’s now Berkeley’s old Wells Fargo Building shows its large, illuminated, rooftop sign for the American Trust Company. The much-reviled sign was later removed from the top of the building.
The view towards the northeast Berkeley Hills from the approximate
              location where one of the illuminated Chase Bank logos would be installed on 2150
              Shattuck.
Contributed
The view towards the northeast Berkeley Hills from the approximate location where one of the illuminated Chase Bank logos would be installed on 2150 Shattuck.

Blue and gold may be the revered historic colors of the University of California, but if a current proposal is approved, they may also become literal colors of controversy in the University city. 

Earlier this decade the gold “PowerBar” sign mounted atop 2150 Shattuck Avenue, one of Downtown’s two high rises, caused considerable community comment and criticism. That sign was eventually removed. 

Now the City of Berkeley is considering granting a permit to install two illuminated blue Chase Bank logo signs above the thirteenth floor of the same building. 

One logo would face east, towards the Berkeley Hills; the other south, down heavily traveled Shattuck Avenue. The eastern logo would be at about the same elevation as the yellow “PowerBar” logo signage. 

The PowerBar signage elevated a corporate name high above the city and intruded an illuminated commercial sign into the view shed looking west towards San Francisco Bay. 

Each smaller Chase logo would be blue and cover approximately forty-six square feet on an approximately seventy-two square foot background, smaller than the PowerBar sign which those proposing the project say had been 26 feet long. 

The Chase logos are comprised of 7 x 7 foot octagons, with four interlocking visual pieces, mounted to a background panel. “Halo illumination” would be used, meaning light would diffuse from behind the solid logo rather than shining directly through it. 

City of Berkeley Design Review staff brought the proposal before the Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 7, 2010. 

The LPC is granted a role in reviewing this particular signage because 2150 Shattuck is listed on Berkeley’s State Historic Resources Inventory (SHRI), a 1970s evaluation of properties with potential architectural and/or historical significance throughout town. 

The LPC review is simply advisory. The determination on whether to grant the signage application is a staff level decision. 

2150 Shattuck was designed by David Termolen and built in 1969 as the First Savings Building. Its significance is primarily architectural, since it was constructed with an unusual “suspended high-rise” structural system that had only been used once before in the United States. 

It was subsequently known as the “Great Western Building” because of the bank that came to occupy the ground floor. In the 2000s the “PowerBar Building” name came into use, along with the controversial illuminated sign. During the era when PowerBar offices were located in the high rise tower, a Washington Mutual Bank branch was on the ground floor in the old Great Western space. 

Now the banking space is a Chase Bank branch, following that the Chase acquisition and absorption of Washington Mutual. 

A representative of Chase Bank and their signage consultant from Philadelphia Signage were present at the LPC meeting to present a PowerPoint show of the design alternatives and answer questions. 

Anne Burns, the City of Berkeley’s design review planner introduced the topic. “We’ve been saying ‘no’ to them for months”, she told the LPC. “But the owners were calling, saying people are still calling their building the ‘PowerBar’ Building.” 

“Due to its location downtown, we feel it is appropriate that this building is observed as a financial institution. Historically the building was considered a financial center…” wrote Scott Newman, Vice President of the company that owns the building, to the Landmarks Commission. 

“We feel the building benefits from having an ‘identity’ and we would be pleased to have ‘Chase’ as the named tenant.” 

“This (proposal) is consistent with the ordinance” governing commercial signage, Burns said. “We did not evaluate this based on PowerBar. We evaluated this based on our ordinance and guidelines. And our ordinance is very permissive.” 

“The current proposed signage is consistent with Title 20 of the Berkeley Municipal Code (signs) and the Downtown Berkeley guidelines as overall building signage in terms of size, the number of signs allowed, and illumination”, Burns wrote in her staff report to the LPC. 

In the same document she also said “while the general regulations for business complexes limit location of signage to below the third floor or less than (40) feet above existing grade, these regulations only apply to tenants with no visible frontage. Furthermore, the building owner has proposed the signage as overall building signage and not tenant signage, so this regulation does not apply to this project.” 

In terms of location, the Downtown Berkeley Design Guidelines recommend that signs on the upper façade of a building be building identification signs only, while signs for ground floor tenants are to be located at the storefront level…Signage has been proposed as overall building signage and not tenant signage, so it is consistent with this guideline.” 

In essence, the staff interpretation seems to be that because the building owner wants to call this the “Chase” building and mount the Chase financial logo on the upper façade, the existing regulations prohibiting display of “tenant” signage don’t apply to the proposed sign, although the ground floor tenant coincidently happens to be Chase bank with the same name and logo. 

“The landlord is giving Chase the right to name the building,” said the signage representative, adding that the logo would be up presumably “as long as Chase is here.” 

“We have no plans of leaving Downtown Berkeley’s financial center”, said the Chase representative. “We’re not going anywhere.” He said that Chase, after acquiring Washington Mutual, is pursuing “a branding initiative” for the approximately 1,500 Chase branches in California, and is “working with the communities” as signage is changed. 

“What you may not know is that Berkeley isn’t a very corporate friendly town” responded Commissioner Carrie Olson. 

The presenters emphasized that the sign would not have the bright lighted appearance of the PowerBar sign. 

“The lighting here (in the proposal) is very subtle” said the Chase representative. “It’s very subtle, to say the least”, echoed the Philadelphia Signage representative. 

“We had the history on the PowerBar (sign)” said the Philadelphia Signage representative. “We know that was a big sign.” The top of the building is “an important place for Chase to be seen”, he added. “Putting a name up where it’s visible from street level and all sorts of points” is a goal. 

He mentioned the amount of vehicle traffic that comes up Shattuck Avenue towards the Downtown, with the top of the building prominently visible on the near horizon. 

The Commission discussed where the signage might be placed on the penthouse structure of the building. The presentation outlined two options; centering the two logos on the south and east facades, or “right justifying” them towards the corners of the building, from the perspective of people viewing them from the south or east. 

City “staff feel it suits the building better on the right hand side” said the Philadelphia Signage representative. “Unofficially I probably agree with them,” but “Chase’s preference is that they be centered.” 

It appeared most of the Commission members felt the right justification was a better solution. “I like the staff’s suggestion of putting off center”, said Teresa Clark, new to the Commission at this meeting. 

There was some disagreement between Commissioners on the desirability of a 14th floor level corporate logo above Downtown Berkeley, given the community distaste for the PowerBar sign, an installation which had come as a surprise to most Berkeleyans. 

“Ostensibly this is our business center”, Commissioner Antoinette Pietras said. “So I’m not totally offended by this sign.” “It’s not that big, I just don’t think it’s that obtrusive”, said Commissioner Robert Johnson. 

Commissioner Austene Hall differed, saying “I don’t think it’s necessary to put it up there. You’ll have a lot of people unhappy.” “I hated that sign”, she said of the former PowerBar logo. 

Commissioner Carrie Olson expressed concerns about the visual impact of the south-facing lighted sign on views from guest rooms in the Shattuck Hotel, a block south. 

She also suggested that the logo could be visible by daylight, but darkened later at night. “It’s too bad the City didn’t consider when it would be turned off at night”, she said of the PowerBar sign. 

“We do that now,” the Chase representative at the meeting said, explaining that the illuminated signs of the bank are not lit all night. 

Downtown high rise signage has long been controversial in Berkeley. The other Downtown highrise, the Wells Fargo Building (originally the Chamber of Commerce Building) that stands across the street from 2150 Shattuck, once had a large billboard-like neon sign on its tower roof, facing southeast. 

From scattered historical accounts, Berkeleyans appear to have heartily disliked the glaring illuminated red sign that advertised the American Trust Company that had a branch on the ground floor of the building. It was later dismantled. 

The next controversial sign more than half a century later was the PowerBar sign. 

Any controversy over the proposed Chase signage is limited to a single building at present. But if future high rises are constructed in the Downtown, it’s conceivable that owners or tenants would want to similarly “brand” them with corporate logos, slogans, or names, facing the Berkeley Hills and arterial streets. 

If I understand the current City of Berkeley staff interpretation correctly, staff could approve as many building name signs as there are highrises, and that signage could be coincidently the same as a corporate tenant of the building, so long as the applicant calls it “building signage” not “tenant signage”. 

To forestall that possibility, it would be prudent for Berkeley’s planning staff, commission, and Council, to formulate rules governing visible “branding” of high rise structures and to explicitly prohibit business or corporate names from being displayed on the upper levels of tall buildings. 

Since, aside from the PowerBar sign and the proposed Chase logos, no commercial signage has been proposed much above the third floor in Berkeley in recent decades, a workable approach might be to amend the signage ordinance to ban future signage over a certain elevation. 

The Wells Fargo Building and the across-the-street Kaplan Building provide useful examples. Both have prominent corporate names placed around the second or third floor, where they are visible for some distance down adjacent streets and highly visible to pedestrians nearby, but do not intrude on more distant view sheds. 

View the Landmarks Commission agenda for October 7, 2010, on the City of Berkeley’s website to see illustrations of the proposed signage.


An Eclectic Afternoon on Telegraph - Art Cars Parade

Steven Finacom
Saturday October 09, 2010 - 11:59:00 PM
More than 20 art cars rolled up Telegraph Avenue past Amoeba Music
              mid-day on Friday, October 8, 2010.
Steven Finacom
More than 20 art cars rolled up Telegraph Avenue past Amoeba Music mid-day on Friday, October 8, 2010.

For a few minutes midday on Friday, October 8, 2010, Telegraph Avenue experienced a burst of color, oddity, and originality out in the street as well as on the sidewalks. A group of art cars came to town. 

The impromptu parade—which went up Telegraph from Dwight to Bancroft, circled round, and passed by again—was arranged by Marc Weinstein, owner of Amoeba Music on the corner of Telegraph and Haste. 

In past years a platoon of art cars appeared annually in Berkeley. They were a fixture of the “How Berkeley Can You Be Parade.” 

“We’ve been sponsoring it (an art car visit) all these years and this year there was no parade so as a favor they came by”, said Weinstein, who knows many of the car owners. 

Horn toots, woof howls, and applause sounded along Telegraph in front of the Berkeley Amoeba store as more than 20 decorated cars passed by during the lunch hour. 

They had come up from the Sea Breeze Market in West Berkeley, Weinstein said. They included a yellow shark, a Volkswagen butterfly, a car bursting with day-glo flowers and squirrels, a “Deco Kar” (according to the personalized license plate), and another Volkswagen with a silver surfer figure lying on the hood. 

A number of the elaborately and whimsically decorated vehicles resembled the brightly painted, arched and muraled, façade of the Amoeba store. Drivers smiled and waved, and small dogs peered at the passing scene, from some of the cars. 

As the cars motored on up Telegraph, at the campus end of the Avenue a spirit rally for the UCLA football game on Saturday was just finishing up in crowded Sproul Plaza. 

In a Berkeley cultural convergence singing Cal Band members came down the Plaza past the Student Union while art cars turned past at Bancroft and Telegraph. 

I watched the car parade by from the sidewalk where a small group stood including Weinstein, Telegraph Area Association Executive Director Roland Peterson, and John Solomon, the founder and long-time organizer of the “How Berkeley Can You Be?” parade that last took place in 2008; he seemed pleased and nostalgic to see a line of art cars filling a Berkeley street again. 

“There should be a parade on Telegraph”, I said. We mused about a parade that might start further down Telegraph, on the wider blocks south of Dwight, and proceed up to the shopping district, maybe even go through Sproul Plaza and make the campus part of the route. 

It could be a true fusion of town and gown, with a mix of both campus and community marching participants—from art cars to the Cal Band, for instance—and spectators from both parts of town. 

Who would organize it? How would it run? Who would pay for it? Who knows? No one standing there was necessarily in a position to take the lead. Some new, energetic, organizing group or individual would have to emerge to make a new mark on Berkeley culture and character. 

As the “How Berkeley Can You Be?” website now says, “We regretfully do not have plans to produce the event again in the near future but who knows what will happen…after all, it is BERKELEY!” 

Photos: All Steven Finacom 

Amoeba Records owner Marc Weinstein (left), who invited the car owners to do an informal parade, watches them drive past. 

 

Several of the cars complemented the colorful facade of the Berkeley Amoeba Records store. 

 

As the art cars moved north on Telegraph, the Cal Band was headed south through Sproul Plaza after finishing a Homecoming game spirit rally. 

 

Cal Rally Committee members clustered on the Savio Steps following the rally.  


Press Release: Cultural Trust Hosts Berkeley City Council Candidates Forum on Oct. 20

From Lisa Manning, Chair, Berkeley Cultural Trust Marketing Director, Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse
Friday October 15, 2010 - 10:11:00 AM

Berkeley Cultural Trust (BCT) hosts a Berkeley City Council candidates forum, moderated by the League of Women Voters, from noon-1:30 pm October 20, 2010 at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley CA 94704. The forum is open and free to the public. 

The BCT, with over 75 members, is a consortium representing cultural organizations within the City of Berkeley. Our purpose is to advocate for policies and action that contribute to the well-being of artists and cultural organizations that are so important to the unique intellectual and spiritual life of the community. The Trust works cooperatively with and as an advisory body for the Berkeley Arts Commission. 

Seven candidates have indicated they will participate in this forum. The format of the meeting will be as follows: Sherry Smith, our moderator from the League of Women Voters, will open the meeting and explain the format and the procedures we will use. Each candidate will then have five minutes for an opening statement. The order of presentations will be determined randomly. The opening statements should address the following:
 

  • What policies/ideas would you suggest to support artists and strengthen cultural organizations in Berkeley?
  • Your approach to ensuring the planning department actually implements policy recommended by the Civic Arts Commission and approved by the city council such as the definitions of 'artist' used by developers.
  • Cuts to the City’s budget and how this impacts the Civic Arts Grant program. Given the significance of Berkeley cultural organizations as employers, our role in making Berkeley a destination, and the profound impact of the grant recipients on Berkeley’s economy, will you commit to ensuring that any cuts or increases to the Civic Art Grants program will be in line with the overall budget?
  • Many of the cultural groups in Berkeley serve a regional community and therefore are significantly impacted by issues related to the availability of parking & public transportation for their patrons. How will your policies reflect these considerations?
Members of the audience will be given cards for writing questions, which will be collected and reviewed before being passed to the moderator. The purpose of reviewing the questions is to ensure that a wide variety of topics will be covered, and to edit out any personal attacks or inappropriate comments. Each candidate will have a maximum of two minutes to answer every question, and the order in which candidates are called on to respond to questions will be rotated.
Before the close of the meeting, each candidate will have two minutes for a closing statement. The order of these presentations will be the reverse of that used in the opening statements. The forum will end at 1:30 pm.
 


Support Education and Accountability—Yes on H…No on I

By Priscilla Myrick
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 10:45:00 AM

Measure H is a parcel tax that will provide approximately $5 million per year for 10years (from 2013 to 2023) at a total cost of $50 million. The revenues from the parcel tax will be used to maintain school facilities.

Measure I authorizes the District to issue $210million in school construction bonds that will be used to construct classrooms and renovate district facilities over the next ten years. However, the cost to repay the bonds (principal and interest) will be $611 million over 50 years through 2060. 

Berkeley’s investment in school facilities 

Building and maintaining school facilities constitutes a “big ticket” item for any school district. We all want to support public education and mission-critical educational facilities. School districts create trust with the community when school construction bonds and school parcel taxes are used efficiently and effectively, and when there is oversight, transparency and accountability. Many school districts with growing student enrollments often struggle to build enough facilities to accommodate demand. However, BUSD has stable enrollment. BUS enrollment is currently at 9,000, a slight decline from 9,600 ten years ago. Ten years from now, the District anticipates 9,400 students. 

Compared with California public school districts with comparable enrollments (from7,000 to 11,000 students), Berkeley voters have already generously approved more school construction bonds than any other school district by passing both Measure A in1992 and Measure AA in 2000. Measure A and Measure AA bond measures have provided BUSD $274.5 million. Including matching state and other construction funds, the total invested in BUS facilities since 1992 is $340 million. 

 

PARCEL TAX  

Yes on Measure H: school maintenance parcel tax—cost $50 million 

Berkeley residents have made a remarkable investment in school facilities, and we need to maintain those facilities. Measure H is a renewal of Measure BB passed in 2000. 

Measure H is an extension of an existing parcel tax and provides approximately $5million per year for ten years to the district’s annual operating budget to maintain the school facilities that Berkeley residents have already invested in. Property owners will pay approximately $50 million over the ten-year life of the parcel tax. Maintenance expenses come out of our district’s annual operating budget. Other districts have cut maintenance due to decreased state funding. By providing separate maintenance funding through local parcel taxes, the BUSD does not have to either neglect maintenance or cut into classroom funding to maintain district facilities. 

Moreover, BUSD has created a citizens oversight committee for Measure BB and such oversight will continue under Measure H. Measure BB funds have been subject to annual financial audits by an independent CPA firm, an important measure of accountability. In tough economic times, we should support Measure H because those parcel tax resources go directly to the district’s operating budget and help to maintain the facilities that Berkeley taxpayers have so generously supported.  

BOND MEASURES  

Track record of school bond Measure AA of 2000 

When the Berkeley High “B building” burned to the ground in April 2000 and 26classrooms were destroyed, the District brought forth the $116.5 million Measure AA in November of 2000 to provide funding to replace the destroyed classroom building. The text of the ballot measure read, “To repair, upgrade and add new classrooms to address overcrowding and facilitate reduced class sizes at Berkeley High School…” 

Berkeley voters were told that Berkeley High classroom building was at the head of the line of projects to be funded by Measure AA, and $19 million of Measure AA was earmarked for that purpose. (Source: Bond Measure AA Financial Summary,www.busduse.org/aabb/) 

The ballot language of Measure AA provided a great deal of discretion to the School Board in implementing a building program. In 2007 at least $40 million of voter approved bond funds remained available. 

At the September 5, 2007 board meeting, the Berkeley School Board voted to revise the allocation of Measure AA funding. The classroom building at Berkeley High did not make the list of district top priorities even though the Berkeley High population constitutes over a third of the students (3,300) enrolled in the district. 

According to the minutes, the school board voted to use the remaining Measure AA funds to fund a transportation complex on Gilman ($12.5million), the relocation of the Central Office (administrative offices) to West Campus ($18.2 million), and a new football bleacher structure at Berkeley High ($10.4 million).None of these board-approved construction projects were mentioned in voter information for Measure AA. The cost of these three projects—$40 million, over a third of total Measure AA proceeds—could have easily covered a new classroom building on the Berkeley High campus. 

In August 2009 according to the oversight committee known as the Construction Advisory Committee (CAC), “The funds of the 2000 bond are fully committed though not fully spent. But the building campaign is short by at least one mission-critical facility—the Berkeley High south-of-Bancroft classroom building. After the 2000 bond the CAC and district staff regarded this building the head of the line of projects funded by the second bond. In the succeeding years that building was delayed and at last went tithe end of the line of projects…This building’s construction now stands unfunded.” 

Voters were promised annual financial audits of Measure AA funds by an independent firm. This has not happened. District officials have maintained that a “special audit” was completed in 2009. In fact, it was an “attest report,” which does not have the authority of an audit. 

Although the funds of the previous bond measures have been spent, Berkeley property owners are still obligated today to pay $300 million in principal and interest via property taxes through 2032.The classroom building at Berkeley High is once again at the top of the Measure I bond project list.  

Measure I is too costly--$611 million is too much 

Bond measures are loans that must be repaid from property taxes. The $210 million bond measure alone will require property owners to pay $611 million in principal and interest—three times the amount of the actual construction costs. Supporters say that tax rates will not be set higher than past levels. However, the ballot tax rate statement says,” Approval of the ballot measure authorizes the issuance of bonds under certain conditions, and is not approval of a specific tax rate or a specific bond issuance plan. 

The rate estimates in this statement reflect the District’s current projection of future assessed values and of future debt service payments, which are based on assumptions.” The bonds will be issued and spent over the next ten years, but Berkeley property owners will be repaying the debt over 50 years through 2060. 

If Measure I passes, Berkeley voters will have provided BUSD with almost half a billion in facilities financing ($485 million). If Measure I passes, property owners will be obligated to pay almost a billion dollars—$911 million—in total payments (principal and interest) over the next 50 years through 2060. 

Measure I is a vague and poorly written school construction bond measure and allows the school board total discretion in terms of how the funds are actually spent. No construction project is guaranteed completion. The text of the ballot measure states, “Inclusion of a project on the Bond Project List is not a guarantee that the project will be funded or completed. Listed projects will be completed as needed at a particular school site according to Board-established priorities, and the order in which such projects appear on the Bond Project list is not an indication of priority for funding completion.” There is still no guarantee that Berkeley High students will have enough classroom space in the future. 

Measure I also allows the District to “enter into agreements with the City of Berkeley or other public agencies or nonprofit organizations for joint use of school facilities financed with proceeds of the bonds…” Voters are left in the dark as to what the funds will ultimately be used for. 

Measure I is not based on a BUSD master facilities plan covering the time frame during which bond proceeds will be spent. There is no master facilities plan, timeline, prioritization of projects or needs assessment. This is not prudent management of construction funds. We should be planning what we build and build what we plan. 

We need a smaller targeted bond measure, not Measure I 

School construction bond money can go only into building and renovating school facilities and does not go into the district’s annual operating budget that pays for teachers and textbooks. If Measure I does not pass, the District should come back with a smaller more targeted bond measure. We need a bond measure that provides for better transparency, accountability and oversight. A better written and structured bond measure would be more fiscally responsible. The classroom building at Berkeley High remains an urgent need, but a smaller bond measure that is supported by a master facilities plan would be more appropriate given the current economic conditions. 

[Note: The District did not make the estimate of the total cost (principal and interest) of the proposed $210 million bond measure publicly available until 9/15/2010, after ballot arguments and endorsements and had been filed. For cost of bond measures see the BUSD website; click on Measure I Information (Blue Book). “BUSD Cumulative Effect of Measure I and Previous School Bond Measures,” page 58] 

 

Priscilla Myrick is a former CPA and chief financial officer and a candidate for Berkeley School Board 

Contact: priscilla@myrick4berkeleyschools.com


An Open Letter to Professor Robert Reich Regarding Berkeley Measure R

By Susan Cerny
Friday October 08, 2010 - 04:18:00 PM

Dear Professor Reich,

On September 30, 2010 I wrote you regarding your endorsement of Measure R and my observation that your endorsement conflicted with statements you make on public radio and on your blog site. (The letter is included below) 

The observation that has the most poignancy in this context I quote below: 

"As long as income and wealth keep concentrating at the top, and the great divide between America's have-mores and have-lesses continues to widen, the Great Recession won't end -- at least not in the real economy." (Quote taken from your blog) 

When I wrote to you on September 30th, donors to Measure R were yet unknown. Yesterday the donors were announced and the largest donor turned out to be Equity Residential, owner of hundreds of units in Berkeley and plans more, that is in turn owned by Sam Zell, a very wealthy individual who is obviously hoping to gain if Measure R passes. 

As I mentioned in my first letter to you this is an obvious example of legislation to keep the concentration of wealth at the top through zoning. Legislating for taller buildings that less wealthy developers can’t afford to build concentrate the wealth potential at the top. 

Although as an intellectual you observe that the concentration of wealth at the top has caused our current depression, perhaps you actually support the “great divide” between the haves and have-nots even though that would seem by your writings and speeches not to be the case. 

Sincerely 

Susan Cerny 

-----Original Message----- 

Thu, Sep 30, 2010 1:25 pm 

Subject: Measure R 

 

Dear Mr. Reich, 

Yesterday I heard you speak on NPR. I was struck by what you said--- "As long as income and wealth keep concentrating at the top, and the great divide between America's have-mores and have-lesses continues to widen, the Great Recession won't end -- at least not in the real economy." (Quote taken from your blog) 

You endorsed Berkeley City Council's Measure R. 

Measure R encourages and expands exactly what you have observed about 

the economy. 

The taller and bigger the buildings that can be built downtown, the bigger the businesses that are able to build them. Measure R expands the downtown area plan into transitional residential neighborhoods (approximately 14 blocks) where the height limit is currently 35'. Measure R increases the height limit to 60'. That increase in the height limit will negatively affect the small property owners as larger developers take advantage of opportunities to build larger buildings on these transitional blocks. 

I hope you understand why I will be voting NO on Measure R. It is not good for the economy. 

Sincerely 

Susan Cerny 

Author of Berkeley Landmarks and An Architectural Guidebook to San  

Francisco and the Bay Area. 

 


Berkeley Measure R: 2 Cons and a Pro

By B. Soffer
Saturday October 09, 2010 - 05:24:00 PM

[EDITOR’S NOTE:The Bay Area News Group (San Jose Mercury. Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times, West County Times, Berkeley Voice and more) has come out against Berkeley’s proposed Measure R.

Here’s a link to their editorial

Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates wrote an op-ed in response supporting Measure R.

Now B. Soffer of the Green Party has sent us his rebuttal, reprinted below:] 

Release the Hostages, Tom! I don’t want to call you a liar any more than I want to compare you to the Republicans in Congress, but it seems that this is the year of holding everything everyone wants hostage for the more controversial items the politicians or their donors want. Nationally the Republicans want to hold the middle class tax cuts - which everyone agrees on- hostage until they get tax cuts for the rich. 

Locally, Tom you’re holding the “green components”—which everyone also wants—hostage for tall buildings and the gutting of Berkeley’s Landmark protections. This will inevitably lead to replacing Berkeley’s older affordable housing with million dollar condos at a much faster rate. This is why developers and not environmentalists are the major funders behind the Measure R campaign. 

Tom, Measure R's green components that you speak of are also agreed to by most of the opponents of Measure R. The two controversial items, tall buildings and gutting landmark protections by creating a fast track around them, virtually guarantee a Referendum. 

Remember that “R” stands for referendum. Voters gathered 9200 signatures to stop the last downtown plan the Council passed. The same folks will gather the minimum of 5,558 signatures on any plan containing these controversial items, thereby delaying the above to 2012 at the very least. 

Without the controversial items a plan could be passed now by the City Council. Councilmember Kriss Worthington proposed passing the 90% that everyone could agree on but the Council majority said NO!! They also refused to put Councilmember Jesse Arreguin’s alternative Downtown Plan on the ballot. Instead they put this instruction to themselves on the ballot to come up with a plan (not and actual downtown plan). 

Berkeley needs a revitalized welcoming Downtown with plazas, open space, clean and wide sidewalks, tree-lined streets and bicycle amenities. A safe, vibrant green Downtown Berkeley, will help local merchants, attract business, create jobs, increase our economic vitality, improve public safety and strengthen the tax base, raising revenue for the City. 

Berkeley also needs affordable housing and innovative new green buildings requiring the highest standards in energy efficiency and sustainable amenities, such as rainwater catchments, open space, and recycling. We need development that has easy access to transit, car sharing, bike parking and will support a fund to provide alternatives to single occupancy vehicles, such as bus passes for residents and workers. Berkeley wants developers to hire local workers at fair wages. 

These are things Measure R promises and most opponents of R support. But Berkeley needs a new downtown plan with these things NOW!!! Measure R mandates none of these wonderful things we all want. 

Testimony to before the City Council by the city attorney and others made clear that the only things binding in Measure R are that any plan shall include the two controversial items the developers want: the gutting of landmarks protections and tall buildings, in this case 3 new buildings as high as the Wells Fargo and Great Western Buildings. 

Why is Measure R is supported by the Sierra Club and some other groups? They want all the promises of Measure R and are willing to swallow the controversial parts whether they like them or not. They probably are also hoping for a seat at the table when an actual downtown plan is drawn up. But remember that the Sierra Club also supported the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant! 

The Green Party, Berkeley Citizens Action, and Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association and others want everyone to vote no on R! Berkeley needs to send a Message to the City Council majority by defeating Measure R: 

Release the hostages NOW!!!” 

Pass a plan without the controversial parts but all the good things, NOW!!! 

Try to amend it separately later if you want the controversial parts included. 

Berkeley shouldn’t be forced to wait for the Downtown we all want. 


Measure R: Claims and Facts

By John English
Tuesday October 12, 2010 - 11:05:00 AM

Measure R is a deceptive attempt to slip through some highly controversial specifics by linking them to a parade of nice-sounding vague generalities and an alleged “green vision for the Downtown.” Don’t be fooled by proponents’ greenwashing rhetoric. Read the fine print. 

I’ll look here at several key issues by comparing (a) proponent claims, as quoted from the voter pamphlet, with (b) what Measure R itself actually does or doesn’t prescribe. 

The Nouveau-RFD

Proponents’ Claim: “The new Plan will ensure that a comprehensive, independent analysis of potential impacts on historic sites will be reviewed by the Landmarks Preservation Commission prior to approving any project….Any new development must be reviewed by the Landmarks Commission for its impacts on historic structures nearby.” 

The Reality: Measure R mentions a “City-conducted analysis of historical value” after the completion of which the LPC would have just a limited time to decide whether or not to landmark a developer’s targeted property. This is very reminiscent of the RFD (Request for Determination) process that was the most controversial part of proposed Measure LL in 2008. Lest we forget, the voters back then firmly rejected LL. 

Even if (a very big if!) you assume that Measure R’s “City-conducted” analysis would be unbiased, the claim that the analysis, and review thereof by the LPC, would be required for “any new development” is patently false. 

That analysis and review are mentioned only as part of the proposed special “Green Pathway” review process–using which is described by Measure R itself as “voluntary.” Developers could choose instead to follow the standard review process (and indeed, doing so would have some advantages for them). 

Even within the so-called Green Pathway process, the pertinent rule would vary depending on whether or not a proposed development were taller than 75 feet. Developers of lower-rise projects would have to submit an application “including funds for City-conducted analysis of historical value.” But the comparable wording for projects higher than 75 feet instead calls for submitting an application “with possible option to pay for City-conducted analysis of historical value.” So developers of the tallest new buildings could instead “opt” to submit THEIR OWN analysis (done by their hand-picked consultant), with predictably self-serving results. 

Height Limits

Proponents’ Claim: “Measure R restricts building heights….The new Plan allows two residential buildings and one hotel no higher than the Wells Fargo and Great Western Buildings….Despite what opponents claim, no building could be taller than what we have now. The plan does not permit anything higher.”  

The Reality: Proponents are trying to confuse “what we have now” with Downtown’s present two very tallest buildings. In fact, of course, virtually all of Downtown’s existing buildings are much, much lower than those existing towers. So are Downtown’s present allowable heights, under existing zoning and the present Downtown Plan. 

For several parts of Downtown, Measure R would substantially INCREASE allowable heights. 

And it’s quite untrue that nothing could exceed Measure R’s specified height limits. One reason involves the State Density Bonus Law. Though developers using Measure R’s Green Pathway review process would have to waive the right to a bonus under the state law, following the Green Pathway would (as I’ve already pointed out) just be voluntary. So developers who opt to instead follow the standard review process could still demand a State-required density bonus–possibly including height increases even above Measure R’s 180 feet. 

Furthermore, Measure R’s own proposed height limits are NOT as firm as advocates pretend them to be. Look closely at the part of the measure’s Section 4 that specifies those limits. Its preamble says the people merely “advise the City Council that planning efforts for the Downtown should include consideration [sic!] of” the indicated height limits. So passage of Measure R would get touted as sanction for letting developers build that high–but wouldn’t preclude the Council from letting them build even higher! 

Effect on University Projects

Proponents’ Claim: “UC Berkeley agreed to the plan adopted by Council. Without voluntary agreement with the plan, the UC could develop however and wherever they want.” 

The Reality: Here’s another case of flagrant obfuscation. The plan that “UC Berkeley agreed to” was the one that the City Council adopted in July 2009 and subsequently rescinded after citizens mounted a successful referendum campaign.
Measure R proponents are trying to confuse voters into thinking that UC has agreed to comply with the height limits specified in Measure R. But the Council’s July 2009 plan gave to UC special major concessions: allowing 100-foot-high buildings on nearly all of UC’s extensive present landholdings in Downtown, and letting UC build two 120-footers in addition to the plan’s other 120-footers. Though Measure R doesn’t mention those extras, the University surely hasn’t now given them up! To illustrate: At Hearst Avenue and Oxford Street, where Measure R proposes a 60-foot height limit, UC is constructing the Helios Building, which will be 100 feet high. 

Appallingly, the operative parts of Measure R itself avoid even mentioning the University at all. But if Measure R were approved, the Council in subsequently adopting the new Downtown Area Plan per se presumably would ADD BACK IN those special extra-height concessions for UC. 


Privatizing VA Medical Care: Another Tea Party attack against blacks, Latinos and poor whites

By Jean Damu
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 09:51:00 AM

The Republican Party and the Tea Party Express are on a roll, if the pundits and pollsters are to be believed.They say the opportunity will exist after the mid-term elections for them to be in a position to undo some of the positive legislation passed by Democratically controlled congresses. At the top of their hit list- undo the healthcare reforms and privatize social security, as well as the VA hospitals. 

Why should anyone besides veterans care about privatizing the VA? 

Everyone should care because VA hospitals arguably are not only the nation’s best providers of healthcare, but also because the VA hospitals are the best argument for a nationalized healthcare system.Many seem either not to know this or not to care. 

This begs the questions: Are some Democrats, progressives and members of the left so contemptuous of anything having to do with the military they are willing to sacrifice the best argument for nationalized health care in the US rather than admit the VA medical care system is, as some say, among the best in the US? Do Democrats agree with the Tea Partiers that government is so dysfunctional it can’t do anything right?For example, Michael Moore, in his wonderful 2007 agi/prop film, Sicko, an astonishing expose of the US medical system and its pimp, the insurance industry, visited Canada, Great Britain, Cuba and other countries exposing what he thought were far better healthcare systems than our own.Then in a real head scratcher Moore informs us, “There is actually one place on American soil that has free universal health care.”
Moore, ever the showman, takes several 9-11 responders, who were then suffering debilitating health problems due to their long exposure to toxic conditions at the bombing site, offshore to the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba. From a small outboard with bullhorn in hand, Moore demands naval authorities provide his friends the same excellent healthcare provided the “evildoers,” imprisoned there. 

But why didn’t Moore simply walk across the street in any large US city to examine any VA hospital? Veterans who choose to participate receive free universal healthcare in virtually every large city in the US. Currently there are about 1400 VA medical centers in the US. 

Rather than honestly examining the VA system, Republicans and Tea Partiers are falling over themselves joining the movement to decry any shift toward socialized medicine. 

African American Republican senatorial candidate from South Carolina, Tim Scott, thinks the VA hospitals should go under the knife. Ken Buck, the Republican Party and Tea Party Movement’s candidate for Senator in Colorado recently added his voice to those of John McCain, Republican Senate candidate in Alaska Joe Miller, Delaware’s reformed witch practitioner Kathleen O’Donnell and numerous others from that sector of the political class who think the VA medical care system should be privatized.This, they say, will down size big government.Just days ago Arizona Tea Party/Republican candidate Sharron Angle says she no longer supports the privatization movement. 

However Scott reasons, correctly we have to admit, government involvement in healthcare is a step toward socialism and he wants nothing to do with that. Never mind that the VA hospitals are among the nation’s best. 

Curiously, very few who normally oppose and ridicule the deep thinkers of the Tea Party Movement, have taken the time to address this issue. When Sarah Palin falsely and demagogically raised the false specter of death panels in regards to pending health care reforms no one pointed the VA and asked her, “Where are death panels?”Almost anyone who has come in extensive contact with the VA medical care system will tell you that despite what Hollywood and the media would have us believe, it is a successful and valuable model for health care delivery in the US and a worthy argument for nationalizing the nation’s medical care systems. However, in addition to the system’s socialistic character Tea Partiers and increasing numbers of Republicans are attacking the VA system because blacks, minorities and poor whites make up the bulk of the clients. 

Apparently they think the VA clients are voiceless and will not fight back. In a moment we will see this is not necessarily the case. 

This raises another question. Do Tea Partiers think veterans don’t like their hospitals? 

Apparently, and judging by their silence, everyone else on the other side of the political spectrum, Democrats and progressives, also think this is case.In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. 

In a 2003 study the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine found that VA hospital patients, more than private hospital patients, “are more likely to be in poor health, to have a low level of education, disability, or low income; to be black; and to have higher rates of psychiatric illness. These characteristics are associated with receiving poorer quality care.” 

But instead of receiving poor medical care the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that by every criterion VA hospitals are outperforming private hospitals.The characteristics of the VA healthcare population, poor, under-educated, black and Latino, exposes the Tea party movements’ goal of privatizing the VA as being not only racist but in addition is also part and parcel of the of the insurance industry agenda. 

Passionate defense of VA medical centers has not always existed.In the early 1970’s with the return home of large numbers of Viet Nam veterans VA delivery programs were so outmoded, understaffed and negligent numerous incidents across the nation played out with veterans carrying guns into the VA offices demanding better, more attentive treatment. If lives were not lost in the spontaneous outrage, lives were threatened on both sides of the VA desks. 

A generation ago the VA was a national embarrassment and disgrace.No longer.Over the years as a result of congressional bi-partisan embarrassment and bi-partisan agreement (an agreement that existed until approximately 2008 when John McCain suggested it would be cheaper to provide medical vouchers to veterans and to close the hospitals) VA hospitals have transformed themselves into the only known federal institutions in which their constituents almost universally would say, “The government cares about me. “ 

For instance, years ago the VA system computerized their records systems. This allows any veteran enrolled in the system to walk into any one of the VA’s 1400 medical facilities and have his entire medical history available to the on site personnel. This is important because doctors can avoid ordering repeat MRI’s or other unnecessary tests. 

Currently congress is considering allocating $2 billion in order for the nation’s other hospitals to computerize their records systems. But the system isn’t just a warehouse to store patient data. More important it has safeguards to improve quality care. The system warns providers, for example, if a patients’ blood pressure goes beyond a targeted level, or if he or she is due for a flu shot or cancer screening. 

Ashish Jha, associate professor of health policy at the Harvard School of Public Health and a staff physician at the VA hospital in Boston says that as a result of these and other changes made at the VA hospitals, “Over the years, quality goes up, but the cost stays flat, compared to the rest of the country.” 

This of course exposes the lies of John McCain and others who say it would be cheaper to privatize the VA. It would be just the opposite. 

In an article published by the Hudson Institute, one of the nation’s leading cheerleaders for the Tea Party point of view, Betsy McCaughy, a former Lt. Governor of New York wrote, “Dr. James Bragian, director of the National Center for Patient Safety at the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, points out that the VA is a leader in safety initiatives ranging from preventing injuries related to falls to fighting one of the most feared, drug-resistant hospital infections, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. In 2002 the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System launched a pilot program that reduced such infections a stunning 85%.” Since then that program has been instituted nationwide. 

The above incidents only give a keyhole size view into the VA system. Obviously not every facility is run at the same level of efficiency and some facilities, like most of the US infrastructure, are wearing out due in large measure to an inattentive congress. But there is no denying the system is working at a level at which most private hospitals can only aspire. 

Jerry McNerney, (D) from California’s San Joaquin Valley’s 11th District is one politician who seems to understand the value of the VA healthcare system and has generated political support from unusual quarters as a result. 

McNerney has successfully delivered federal funding for increased brain traumatic injuries for veterans and funding for a new veterans care facility in the San Joaquin Valley that will make medical care more accessible to veterans. 

As a result Dave Norris, the former state commander of the VFW, and [Spike Schau, a member of] the Warriors Watch Riders of Ca., a politically active, pro-military motorcycle club filmed an endorsement for McNerney that recently aired on northern California television.Ordinarily Norris and Warrior Watch Riders would have voted for McNerney’s opponent.Others, concerned about the predicted Tea Party tidal wave, should pay attention. 

You can see McNerney’s ad here: CD11: McNerney launches first TV ad | Political Blotter

 

[Editor's Note: Mr. Schau has informed the Planet that he endorsed McNerney and appeared in the video on his own behalf, not as a spokesman for an organization, and that he has asked the campaign to remove his titles from the video.]
 

 


Marijuana Measure T is not the Solution

By Shirley Dean, Former Mayor, City of Berkeley and Sophie Hahn, Community and School Leader
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 09:04:00 AM

This week we got our first look at the “Yes on T” flyer currently being distributed. We support the efforts of those Berkeley advocates for medical marijuana who have acted responsibly to help people find their way through the complex legal and practical problems that the chaos of State law around this issue has created. However, the assertions in the flyer urging a “yes” vote on Berkeley Measure T are so misleading that we feel compelled to reply.  

The Yes on T flyer FAILS to tell voters That Measure T allows an additional dispensary in Berkeley – an increase OPPOSED by City staff. It asserts that Measure T will restrict these dispensaries to commercial areas, but it fails to point out that Berkeley’s commercial areas include small neighborhood districts where single family homes are immediately adjacent to commercial uses such as Claremont/The Uplands, The Alameda/Hopkins, Hopkins/Monterey, Sacramento/Dwight, Solano, College, and parts of University and San Pablo Avenues as well as multi-family districts like Telegraph and Downtown. Measure T PERMANENTLY STRIPS AWAY the right to comment by nearby homes and businesses. A dispensary can locate in any commercial district with no notice, no public hearing and no comment allowed!  

The flyer asserts that dispensaries must be at least 600 feet away from any school but fails to mention that this distance is reduced by Measure T from 1,000 feet, and that State guidelines recommend that smoking of marijuana be prohibited 1,000 feet from schools, AND from youth centers and parks, which are not even mentioned in Measure T. The large marijuana growing areas allowed by Measure T are directly adjacent to the City’s Skateboard Park and Blue Barn Playing Fields where our kids gather. Recent studies show that Berkeley teens use marijuana at twice the rate of other teens in California. Measure T doesn’t begin to address the programs and protections which must be put in place to distance marijuana production and sales from our youth.  

The Yes on T flyer asserts that cultivation is limited to no more than six locations (30,000 square feet each, that’s about four acres total) – ONLY in West Berkeley’s industrial zone. THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. In addition to 4 acres in West Berkeley, Measure T allows every house and apartment in Berkeley to grow up to 200 square feet of marijuana indoors, in addition to 10 plants outside. 200 square feet of marijuana can produce up to 24 pounds a year worth about $72,000. City staff OPPOSED setting residential cultivation this high because of negative impacts in other communities that have allowed this level of home based cultivation.  

Residential cultivation is supposed to be for personal or collective medical marijuana users, but who will know? There is NO REQUIREMENT that residential growers have a license and no oversight or enforcement is provided by Measure T. Growing marijuana indoors requires significant increases in electricity and water use and frequently involves use of pesticides and insecticides. We’ve all read about fires being caused by overtaxed electrical systems used to grow marijuana. Newspaper reporters have documented the selling of chemicals not recommended for human consumption for use by marijuana growers - in Berkeley. The water used in cultivation will wash these toxins down our drains into our creeks and into the Bay.  

The Yes on Measure T flyer asserts that compliance with health and safety codes and a police-approved security plan are required. Measure T MAKES NO MENTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY CODES whatsoever and requires a police-approved security plan ONLY for dispensaries and the large West Berkeley growing facilities. The security plans are for the benefit of the marijuana facilities – not the public, and no security plan of any kind is required for residential growers.  

The Yes on Measure T flyer further asserts that cultivators will be required to provide free, safe medicine to low-income patients at a dispensary. Again, this is simply NOT TRUE. Measure T only says that the provision of free medicine to low-income patients “may” be considered – it does not say “shall.” In the same vague language, it says that growing marijuana should be organic to the “maximum extent reasonable” – providing no guarantee whatsoever. There is NO REQUIREMENT for labeling of medicine with place of origin, potency, or pesticide residue.  

Supporters of Measure T say they are proud of the process used to write it. City records show that five meetings were held by a four-member Council Subcommittee. Since some of these meetings might be attended by a quorum of Council Members, they were correctly designated as City Council Meetings. However, NONE of these meetings was posted on the regular Council meeting schedule so THERE WAS NO NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC! City records do not show any participation by law enforcement, school, or public health officials, neighborhood organizations or other important constituencies.  

Your NO VOTE ON MEASURE T will send a message to the Council to do this over using a broad-based process that involves the whole community, and results in legislation good for Berkeley as well as for patients and the marijuana industry.  



George Beier in His Own Words: A Cautionary Tale for Neighborhoods

By Judith Epstein
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 06:05:00 PM

The first time I met George Beier, he was charming, friendly, and he told me exactly what I wanted to hear. It just wasn’t the truth. Beier is a self-described “neighborhood activist,” but when Elmwood residents and merchants needed a champion, he took the side of the developer who would have destroyed our neighborhood. 

In 2007, the City of Berkeley broke laws and protocol to approve John Gordon’s project for a 5000-square-foot, late-night restaurant and bar in the old Wright’s Garage near Ashby and Benvenue. The project was adjacent to a residential neighborhood and had no parking for patrons or employees; food deliveries and garbage pick-ups were to be right on Ashby Avenue, since Gordon did not own the land behind his building. It promised to be a disaster for our neighborhood, so a number of us banded together to form the Elmwood Neighborhood Association. We filed suit against the City and Gordon Commercial after the City Council failed to give us a public hearing to reconsider the permit. 

A few months later, I went to a Willard Neighborhood Association meeting to enlist support for our lawsuit, and that’s where I met Beier. The first thing that he said to me was that he was a friend of John Gordon’s, but he had opposed John’s project. Maybe I was naïve, but I believed him. Weeks later, in the process of preparing for settlement talks, I read the entire project file and discovered how Beier had misled me. 

Beier spoke about John Gordon’s project at the Zoning Adjustments Board on two occasions. He spoke both in his capacity as President of the Willard Neighborhood Association and as a private citizen. As President of WNA, his job was to bring their concerns to ZAB, but when he spoke as an individual, he effectively undercut all of the neighborhood concerns that he’d presented earlier.On January 25, 2007, Beier told ZAB, 

"...Speaking for myself as an individual, I actually came here to speak on the applicant's behalf... [John Gordon] has made every effort, I think, to mitigate the damage he's going to do with development, and I respect thatI'm grateful he is working with us."Beier was no less controversial in an earlier appearance at ZAB. Some of our neighborhood’s greatest concerns about the project were the lack of parking and the necessity of making food deliveries and garbage pickups on Ashby Avenue, since C & C Cleaners owns the land behind Wright’s Garage. 

On January 11, 2007, Beier addressed ZAB and discussed the idea of the City using its power to drive a hard bargain with C & C Cleaners – even to the point of using eminent domain – to get the land for his friend’s project. 

"...Also, I think that the City should be more aggressive about the eligible space. She owns the cleaners. Behind the cleaners is that empty lot which is frankly of no use to her- I don't think - and it's got a space for about six parking spaces and potential deliveries. So it really would ease the strain on Ashby, and we get six additional parking spaces, which is a big concern. I think she wants to sell it for north of $1.5 million. I don't know if there's an eminent domain possibility, but the thought of going in there and making - working a hard negotiation would be a good idea. There's also toxic problems. It's my understanding that she would sell for that price and not clean it up. It's pretty exorbitant. It seems to me if we could have that capacity available to us, the whole building makes a lot more sense. I'd like to urge the City to pursue that. I know they are. I'd like to push them a little harder to do that." 

Are these the words of a true “neighborhood activist?” I can see why people are seduced by Beier’s easy charm, but the real neighborhood activist is the man he seeks to unseat: Council Member Kriss Worthington. 

Judith Epstein is a Co-Founder of the Elmwood Neighborhood Association


Sierra Club Local Endorsements = Machine, NOT Green

By Merrilie Mitchell
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 10:51:00 AM

The Sierra Club, terrific on national issues like BP, has a Berkeley based local Chapter that seems to have eclipsed our own UC - BP horror story without a peep. UC-BP plans massive Research and Development (R and D) in biofuels here, and they are planning for Berkeley to become the world capitol for this research. 

The word biofuel sounds innocent but this biofuel is about GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) research, now renamed "Synthetic" Biology. The September 2009 New Yorker has a lead article on this Synthetic Biology and the article is linked to B D Planet website. Scary stuff it is, and the UC scientists suggest that they might even create a better man! 

Nanotech, radiation, and clones, Oh My! …in little environmentalist Berkeley! These UC/Labs scientists, planners, and some local politicians, want to create a biofuel boomtown here in Berkeley, such as the city of Detroit became for the manufacturing of automobiles. Look at Detroit now! A wasteland because of a monocrop economy—boom and bust. 

Richard Brenneman wrote about this research in the Daily Planet ( on-line) March 6-8, 2007—“GMO Research Dominates BP-UC Partnership”. The Project is to create biofuels like ethanol made from biomass, or plant matter. 

BP gave a half billion dollars to UC for this biofuels research in 2007. The research strategy is to genetically modify algae, plants, and trees to be grown for alcohol fuel production. The scientists and BP get lucrative patents on the GMO's they can use and BP double dips on profits as they can add the alcohol to diesel fuel at about 5-10 %. 

The GMO biomass is often grown in plantations in 3rd World countries, having devastating effects including deforestation, destruction of land and the way of life of near Carbon-neutral people, and polluting the water, which can cause dead zones where fish once thrived. 

Could UC-BP use the algae blooms in Aquatic Park, or our green plant waste to make biofuels? Sure, but it's too straightforward for scientists and corporations that want to make money and Nobel prizes by ”improving on nature”. However, they are destroying nature on a larger and larger scale, dividing the people, and degrading our only planet. 

Our local Sierra Club Chapter has a policy of endorsing incumbents and Machine politician picks since 1984, when our Machine came to power. Our local Sierra Club has become a tool for the Machine which is for big development, and says nothing about the BP research taking over our town. The Mayor’s Plan (Measure R), for doubling Downtown and tripling heights seems to really be about accommodating UC/BP research, office, and housing. 

The West Berkeley Plan is about Master Use Permits for huge buildings all along the Bay for UC R and D. And remember UC Labs and BP are notorious polluters. 

In the local Sierra Club only a few do the endorsing of those blessed by the Machine. It seems like "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". The bird in the hand is captured, while the two in the bush are the wild ones most Sierra Club members should prefer because we know "In wildness is the preservation of the earth". 

A small controlled like-minded "monocrop" of scientists, politicians, or Sierra Club strategists is bad news for Berkeley and our planet. 

 

Merrilie Mitchell is a candidate for City Council in District 1. 

 


 


Press Release: Big win for SaveKPFA slate in KPFA's Local Board Election

Sent by Mal Burnstein of SaveKPFA
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 08:30:00 AM

The SaveKPFA slate has won a big victory in elections to KPFA’s local governing board. Listeners elected SaveKPFA members to six of nine open seats. 

 

The top vote-getter in the election, Mal Burnstein, said, “I believe that the results here indicate that the listener-members do not want an explicitly sectarian station. They want a station that presents varying points of view, civil discourse, controversy and comment; a station where ideas and facts not readily available elsewhere can get a hearing; a place where the arts, literature, music and theater are valued.” 

 

“In short, they want a return to the basic principles of Pacifica,” said Burnstein. “This election seems to be a vindication of our beleaguered and underpaid staff, laboring tirelessly during this economic slump. We owe them real thanks. “ 

 

The unofficial results show that along with Mal Burnstein, SaveKPFA members Jack Kurzweil, Margy Wilkinson, Matthew Hallinan, Tanya Russell and David Saldana were elected. Those winning election from the Independents for Community Radio slate were Tracy Rosenberg, Hyun-Mi Kim and Cynthia Johnson. 

 

The SaveKPFA candidates were elected in a landslide, despite an election process that was consistently biased against them. The local election supervisor charged with conducting a fair election admitted that she saw her role as “neutralizing” the SaveKPFA candidates because they had support from many KPFA staff members. 

 

SaveKPFA says one of its first priorities will be to advocate for a “Sustainable KPFA” budget that asks the parent Pacifica National organization to share in the financial pain and back off its demand for staff cuts that would decimate the station’s operations. The lame duck KPFA board of directors is expected to approve a budget at its October 16th meeting at 11 am at the south branch of the Berkeley Public Library. The new board will be seated in December. 

 

KPFA staff members also elected three staff representatives to the local governing board. Two of the three staff members, David Gans and Lewis Sawyer, supported the SaveKPFA slate. Shahram Aghamir is a member of the rival Independents for Community Radio. 

 

KPFA is the nation’s oldest listener-sponsored radio station and the flagship station of the Pacifica Radio network. 

 

STAY TUNED for more information on the fight to save KPFA listener-sponsored radio by emailing votesavekpfa@gmail.com.


Press Release: Who Are These Crooks--Er, Suspects?

From the City of Berkeley Police Department
Tuesday October 12, 2010 - 10:19:00 AM

Here's a Berkeley Police Department press release showing suspects in a recent car burglary and credit car theft case.  

he BPD sends these announcements out with the subject line "Who are These Crooks?", though the text links to a page with the more genteel title of "Who Are These Suspects?"


Press Release: Campaign Launched: Berkeley City Council Resolution to Welcome Cleared Guantánamo Detainees to Berkeley

FROM: Cynthia Papermaster, Director, National Accountability Action Network; Codepink Women for Peace,510-333-6097 cynthia_papermaster@yahoo.com; Susan Harman, Progressive Democrats of America, 510-866-6743; Nancy Talanian, No More Guantanamos (www.no
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 08:33:00 AM

Berkeley, CA. On Tuesday, October 12, a coalition of human rights and torture accountability groups [launched] a campaign to pass a Berkeley City Council Resolution welcoming one or two cleared Guantánamo Bay Prison detainees to Berkeley once Congress lifts its current ban. The resolution’s supporters, including groups and individuals who organized “Berkeley Says No to Torture Week”, Oct. 10-16, www.wesaynototorture.net hope the Berkeley City Council will adopt the resolution promptly, making the City of Berkeley the third U.S. municipality, and the first in California, to do so. No city funds would be used to support the men. They would be sponsored by volunteers, with the help of nonprofit organizations that help asylees. 

 

“The communities of Amherst and Leverett, Massachusetts, adopted similar resolutions during the last year,” said Cynthia Papermaster, who is coordinating the coalition campaign. “As we’re learning at ‘Berkeley Says No to Torture Week’ programs, the vast majority of detainees are innocent of wrongdoing and we owe them another chance at life, as well as a huge apology for what they’ve suffered. People who illegally approved torture, such as John Yoo, Jay Bybee and Dick Cheney, made us fear the detainees at Guantánamo, Bagram prison in Afghanistan, and other secret prisons worldwide. But Americans don’t know that the vast majority of Guantánamo detainees were sold to U.S. forces by people who received bounties averaging $5,000 per head for turning in ‘terrorists.’ Stories those people fabricated to collect the bounties were the initial ‘evidence’ against those men, and false confessions of wrongdoing were secured through torture.”  

 

Most of the 174 detainees who remain in the prison have been determined to pose no danger to the U.S. or its allies, yet they cannot return to their home countries because they would face persecution or because the Obama administration has placed a moratorium on resettlement of Yemenis. 

 

On January 11, 2011, some of the men who remain in Guantánamo Bay prison will begin their tenth year there. Congress’s ban on allowing any Guantánamo detainees to resettle in the U.S. is standing in the way of their resettlement in other countries. Many U.S. allies want to help, but they question why they are expected to accept all the men in need of third countries when the U.S. refuses to accept a single one. 

 

Said Papermaster, “It is past time these men were given their freedom and allowed to rebuild their lives. This is a humane gesture and the least we can do to lessen their suffering. Guantánamo detainees who cannot safely return home are really no different than other refugees whom Bay Area communities have welcomed in the past. And if the U.S. government, which has held the men for nearly nine years, can tell other governments it’s safe to take the men, then it should be perfectly safe for them to live here." 

Resolution Text: 

 

Draft Resolution to Assist in the Safe Resettlement of Cleared Guantánamo Detainees 

 

 

WHEREAS, President Obama vowed to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base by January 2010; and 

 

WHEREAS, many detainees at Guantánamo have been cleared by our government of wrongdoing and have been determined to pose no threat to the United States; and 

 

WHEREAS, many of these detainees cannot be repatriated because they are either stateless or have a well-founded fear of harm if returned to their home country; and 

 

WHEREAS, our government has asked other countries to accept cleared detainees but has banned their settlement in the United States; and 

 

WHEREAS, these detainees have suffered unjust imprisonment for many years; and 

 

WHEREAS, the city of Berkeley has many resources to help such detainees with trauma from their imprisonment; and 

 

WHEREAS, Berkeley residents have welcomed in the past many refugees from state-based violence experienced in other countries, 

 

 

 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Berkeley City Council: 

 

 

 

1) Urges Congress to repeal the ban on releasing cleared detainees into the United States and 
 

 

2) Welcomes such cleared detainees into our community as soon as the ban is lifted. 

 

 

 

And BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be sent to the President and Attorney General of the United States, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, the United States Senators for California, and Barbara Lee, the United States Representative for California's Ninth District.


Opinion

Editorials

Chicago Politics Comes to Berkeley: Sam Zell's Behind Measure R

By Becky O'Malley
Tuesday October 12, 2010 - 11:38:00 AM

This has been a busy week for the hardy little band of Berkeleyans who follow what’s going on in city government. They’re mostly downtown dwellers anxious about what’s about to land on their neighborhood, so they follow everything the City Council and the Planning Department are prepared to inflict on them with laser gaze.

For those of you who actually read the Daily Planet on a daily basis, much of what follows will be familiar, because an earlier draft was posted on Wednesday in the Editor’s Back Page category. Since then a great deal of new information has been added to the public discourse by public watchdogs. I’m revisiting the topic in this space (traditionally the best read section) to make sure no one who cares will miss a beat.

Here’s the instant replay: last Tuesday a League of Woman Voters debate on Measure R, which will appear on the Berkeley ballot in the upcoming election, served as the arena for dramatic revelations about the out-of-town financial muscle behind the advisory ballot measure which purports to give citizens the opportunity to endorse the mayor’s “green vision” for downtown development. 

For the full story of the debate, blow-by-blow, see Steve Finacom’s Page One piece in this issue. If you’ve managed to miss Measure R altogether, read all about what it is and why you should care there. But in brief, it’s a four-page-long ballot measure that uses the word “green” 23 times, but is almost completely advisory. It essentially gives the City Council a blank check to start all over again on yet another Downtown Plan for Berkeley. Only two of its “provisions” are binding: one makes it easier to fast-track demolition of historic buildings, and the other makes it easier to build high-rises.

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—Chicago 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.  

Yes, yes, we remember that just recently we said kind words about Chicago-style politics in this space, but that doesn’t mean that we wanted to bring Chicago to Berkeley. Zell has even been linked with the quintessential Chicago operator Rod Blagojevich. 

And as luck would have it, the front page of Wednesday’s New York Times featured 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 has bought the many downtown Berkeley properties developed by Patrick Kennedy. The company is gradually buying up more and more of downtown Berkeley—some believe it will soon be the largest commercial landowner in the city, if it’s not already. Equity’s latest project proposal, reviewed by Steve Finacom in last week’s issue, 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” which back ballot measures 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. As Gar Smith explained in last week’s Planet, there’s been a proliferation of these shady non-profits nationwide, and it’s happening here in Berkeley too. 

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—Yes on Measure R” committee 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.  

The Berkeley Alliance for Progress first filed its organizing document with the City of Berkeley in November of 2009. At that time, Beth Wright of Richmond was listed as the treasurer. She’s the proprietor of Beth’s Bookkeeping Shop, marketed primarily as serving non-profits. She told us that she knows little about the group’s current activities, but that at the time it originally filed her contacts were Berkeley District 5 Councilmember Laurie Capitelli and Tim Frank, the “environmental consultant” who spoke in favor of Measure R at Tuesday’s debate. (He did similar favors for the developers who are trying to build a big bay fill project near Redwood City on the salt flats, much to the distress of Save the Bay.) 

How is the committee spending Zell’s cash? Well, at the debate someone was passing out a 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. This piece later in the week showed in mailboxes everywhere in town. 

Needless to say, none of the organizations whose names were prominently featured on the brochure was listed as paying the cost of the fancy print job. The fine print on the back said “Paid for by the Berkeley Alliance for Progress, FPPC #1322829”. But oddly enough, the Alliance’s recently filed Form 460 listed expenditures up to September 30 as “$0.00”. Maybe they’re running a tab at the printer?  

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

Later in the week, Berkeley Daily Planet historic architecture columnist Daniella Thompson, who is also the president of Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, posted a detailed expose of all the rest of the “Alliance for Progress—Yes on R” contributors on the Berkeley Architectural Heritage website which we’ve reprinted in the Planet

There are several other opinion features in this issue which shed more light on what’s happening with Measure R, and we expect more will come in as Election Day approaches. 

To make the discussion more entertaining, we have announced 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. 

The deadline is next Monday. Entries should be sent to opinion@berkeleydailyplanet.com, with a subject line containing the words CARTOON CONTEST. All entries will be published here, and readers will be able to vote for their favorite. If you know any cartoonists, tell them about it.  

It should be fun.


The Editor's Back Fence

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

Sunday October 10, 2010 - 09:37:00 AM

The redoutable Richard Brenneman has a new post on his blog pointing to a piece about the big money which has been made by UC Berkeley faculty members, "folks who have made large fortunes playing economics for profits."


Cartoons

New: NEW! Cartoon Page--and Sam Zell Cartoon Contest Announcement

Sunday October 10, 2010 - 12:25:00 AM

We've been getting a flood of great political cartoons, thanks to (former Berkeleyan) Dan O'Neill's organizing ability, so we've given them their own section. This week we have Dan O'Neill's Odd Bodkins: "No Banjo",
Joseoh Young's BOUNCE: "Flashback to Tomorrow" and "Pepperland Trouble", and
Bob Crabb's "Return of the Jer-I". 

And also, we've been inspired to hold a contest for all interested political cartoonists. The deadline is coming right up. 

As we say in today's editorial, we have announced 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. 

The deadline is next Monday. Entries should be sent to opinion@berkeleydailyplanet.com, with a subject line containing the words CARTOON CONTEST. All entries will be published here, and readers will be able to vote for their favorite. If you know any cartoonists, tell them about it. 

Dan O'Neill 

 

"Flashback to Tomorrow" and "Pepperland Trouble" 

 

Bob Crabb 

 



Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 06:11:00 PM

Who Killed Willard Pool? 

After reading Stephanie Baer's story [in the Daily Californian] Who Killed Willard Pool, several questions crossed my mind. 

Why did George Bier wait two months to tell his story about the council members who would have voted to save Willard Pool but wanted to hurt Kriss Worthington's chance of being re-elected? He knew that same evening that two council members voted to close Willard Pool, yet did nothing. 

Had he done so, what would have been the outcome of keeping Willard Pool open? Did those two members break the oath that each of them took when being sworn into the city council? 

But my real question is who would vote for George Beier who waited so long to tell his story? He has already shown he can't be trusted.  

Lori Kossowksy  

***  

Clean Water 

The very strong argument for maintaining clean water is the same as other proven environmental protection arguments including limiting deforestation, mountaintop mining, and preventing species extinctions.  

Bryce Neuman 

***  

Urban Gardens in Alameda County 

On 10/10/10, small groups around the world gathered to revitalize their local communities. Here in Berkeley, one of these groups worked to create a community garden at the corner of Adeline and Alcatraz. The volunteers for this event, despite the wide range of age and experience, brought this great task to completion in a matter of hours, demonstrating some skill, but more passion. 

This type of community action is not seen everyday. Our area has many clubs designed to care for distant trails and forests, that, while very important, do nothing for the declining state of our cities. The few amazing organizations that are in place for this purpose cannot possibly provide all the help our communities need. We need more of these local community-based organizations, and more importantly, we need more willing volunteers to make these projects possible.  

In making these types of work parties more common, we would be making our community more beautiful and energy efficient. The plants used within the new garden were native, which require less water and external inputs than the lawns that might otherwise be there. These projects also allow members of the community the opportunity to create in their own neighborhood, thus instilling a sense of ownership and pride. The transformed land would be protected and nurtured by the hands that created it for years. Furthermore, this type of transformation does not need to be limited to ornamental gardens. With the willing participation of neighbors, vegetable gardens can be formed, allowing communities a cheap local source of nutritious food year-round. Almost one third of the people living in Alameda County are food insecure, with many relying on food from liquor stores, as they have no access to markets (UrbanFood.org). In creating these gardens, we would be supporting the nutritional needs of those in our neighborhood, as well as making our community a more beautiful, energy efficient place to live. 

Michelle Myers  

***  

Party of what?  

Newt Gingrich last week said that Democrats are the party of food stamps and Republicans are the party of pay checks. He should have said that the Republicans are the party of pink slips. The Republicans don't want more jobs. In George W. Bush's 8 years in office, less than a million jobs were created, the worst job record since the great depression. In the same way that Bertolt Brecht said, "the more they talk about peace, the more they are preparing for war," the more Republicans talk about wanting more jobs, the more they are applauding the shrinking number of jobs. High unemployment is good for them. The fewer jobs there are, the more working people have to compete for an ever-decreasing piece of the pie, and the lower wages get. Lower wages mean higher profits. And what happens when, like now, American wage earners earn so little that they can't afford to buy American products? The business interests who back the Republicans will invest their money overseas where wages are even lower. And if Americans want to buy something, it will just say Made in China on the back. Be grateful, American workers. You may be broke and in debt, but if the Republicans have their way, at least you're not on foodstamps. 

Larry Hendel 

*** 

Water 

Water is one of the most precious resources the earth has to offer. The topic of water is very controversial in California, especially since Southern California relies heavily on Northern California for water. In general there is an agreement that California is currently in danger of being in a serious water shortage if not that California has already reached that point. 

As a new student in UC Berkeley, I’ve noticed how much easier it is to live “green” than in my hometown of Miami. Berkeley clearly encourages its students to promote the safety of the environment; recycling bins possibly outnumber the trashcans, containers, utensils, and cups in the dining halls are all biodegradable, and the recently constructed bathrooms only have hand dryers to conserve paper. 

However, I have seen little encouragement to conserve water, at least in comparison to other environmental concerns. I even saw the lawn at Clark Kerr Campus being watered during the time of day when the sun is at its peak. In my dorm, I’ve seen posters informing students of various topics, like safe sex, drinking, the importance of recycling, etc. 

I believe that especially in California, the issue of water conservation should be more thoroughly addressed, and the student populace more informed. Simple tips and tricks, like turning off the water when you brush your teeth and how much water that can save if done over time, could help conserve water on a fairly large scale. 

Doing small things can leave lifestyles virtually the same but have a huge effect on water supply if done en masse, like by an entire college population. Then the state of California may not have to enforce as strict laws regarding how much water farms can use for irrigation, which could in turn help the agricultural economy. 

Natalia Slepak 

*** 

It's Time to Admit that the Iraq War was a Hoax 

Today, October 11 is the eight-year anniversary of the Oct. 11, 2002 Senate vote on the Iraq war resolution, which passed 77 to 33. The House had earlier passed the resolution. We should remember that Senator Barbara Boxer had the courage and common sense to vote "nay" on the resolution. Senator Boxer's vote was prescient because it was ultimately established that the Bush administration had intentionally built a case for war with Iraq without regard to factual evidence. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq and Saddam Hussein had no links to al Qaeda. Remember when Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, speaking about the invasion of Iraq, said, "I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN Charter. From our point of view, from the charter point of view, it was illegal." Senator Boxer's vote on the Iraq war resolution is just one of the many reasons we voted for her re-election. 

Ralph E. Stone  

*** 

End the Annual Budget Madness: Yes on State Proposition 25  

One hundred (100) days after the beginning of the fiscal year, California finally has a "balanced" budget. Again the balance is achieved by the usual gimmickry. How: by suspending Proposition 98, $1.7 billion of k-12 public education money will be deferred until July 2011;  

$189 million in Community College funds will be deferred until next year; assuming that California will receive $5.4 billion from the federal government although only approved $1.3 billion to date; and $1 billion increase in spending under the dubious assumption that revenues will increase in this troubled economy. The bottom line is that California is once again deferring the deficit until next fiscal year.  

Why do we have an annual budget crisis? Primarily because California is one of only three states – Arkansas and Rhode Island are the others – to require a supermajority to adopt a budget. Thus, each year at budget time, the Republican minority is able to exercise disproportionate control over the budget process because passing a budget requires a two-thirds vote in both houses.  

I for one am tired of having to wait until October for the state to finally have a budget and then learn about all the political horse trading -- often at the public's expense -- that happened to obtain one. 

That's why it is important that Proposition 25 pass so that a California budget needs only a majority in both the Senate and Assembly to pass. 

Ralph E. Stone  

*** 

Going green with local food 

With about 50% of the world’s population living in cities, the need for more local food is increasing. It is unnecessary to ship peaches from all the way from Florida to California when we can grow our own fruit in our back yards. Food miles must be eliminated or at least diminished. The carbon footprint of trucks and industrial packing houses dealing with the delivering of fruits and vegetables is unnecessary. Also, the motives behind large companies selling mass quantities of food are purely economic. 

Fruits are picked prematurely so that they can ripen during the time it takes to ship them to a grocery store. The result of this unfortunate process is cheap, low quality, high quantity food. There are three options for a city dweller who wants to keep their footprint small and their bellies full: 

First, they can shop at a local farmer’s market. They usually run weekly in the same location. In Berkeley, there are numerous markets that are open on different days of the week. My personal favorite is the one on Saturday on the corner of MLK and Center Street. You can buy a week’s worth of food and be set until the next weekend rolls around. 

The second option is to join a local community garden. If you don’t have a yard that can be used then the next best thing is a garden that is shared by others. These gardens are often organic which can reduce the pollutants that pesticides produce. The runoff in the area will be cleaner and better for the overall health of the city. 

The last fun and rewarding option is to create your own garden in your front or back yard. There are many different foods you can grow to create a sustainable source that comes from your own house. These options eliminate premature picking of foods and the majority of the food miles. If more people choose one of these paths then their cities will become more environmentally friendly, healthy, and happy.  

Joshua Sheltzer


UC Pension Proposal Boosts Executive Payouts, Targets Low-Wage Workers for Cuts

By Lakesha Harrison, President of University of California Employees AFSCME 3299
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:24:00 AM

Californians are tired of University of California President Mark Yudof saying one thing but doing another. Yudof has spearheaded a drive to hike tuition on students struggling to pay their room and board while spending lavishly on his own housing. He has forced furloughs and reductions on the lowest-paid staff while he hauls down an outsized salary and bevy of perks of close to $1 million annually.  

Now Yudof has declared that in fixing UC’s beleaguered pension system, “Retirement programs and policies must treat all faculty and staff equitably, [1] ” even as his pension team appointees propose to hike pension payouts to UC’s highest paid executives while cutting retirement benefits for low- and middle-income workers. 

As the San Francisco Chronicle has reported, shortfalls in the pension system were created when the university stopped contributing to its employees’ retirement account twenty years ago. UC’s Board of Regents met this week to hear recommendations to shore up the pension system. But what Yudof’s hand-picked pension panel didn’t want to tell the public is that the “solutions” they propose would protect or boost retirement income for those earning $180,000 and above while cutting retirement income for the UC custodians, food servers, and parking attendants least likely to have additional retirement savings. The task force’s unfair proposals come as the public is again questioning Yudof’s priorities. A New York Times/Bay Citizen report just raised new questions over Yudof’s wasteful spending on a $13,000 per month rental mansion and his use of University top officials to manage the relationship with his landlord at taxpayer expense. 

 

Yudof’s pension panel proposal would slash the meager retirement earnings of workers whose low salaries barely pay to keep a roof over their family’s heads.  

Yolanda Lopez, a senior custodian UC Santa Cruz, is the kind of employee UC’s task force proposals unfairly target. At 63 years old, Yolanda cleans dorms. After working 20 years at UC and raising three children as a single mother, Yolanda is ready to retire soon and spend more time with her grandchildren.  

Under UC’s current pension formula, Yolanda will receive about $1,500 a month from UC after she retires. It’s not enough to pay for anything but the basics, but with social security checks beginning after she turns 65, she’ll have just enough to get by. 

The Yudof Task Force wants the UC Regents to make retirement cuts that would drastically reduce retirement income for workers who begin at UC after 2013. 

Under Yudof’s plan, when a worker who comes to UC in a few years retires at 63 after 20 years like Yolanda, that person would only receive about $773 per month, less than half of Yolanda’s retirement income under the old plan. 

Stunningly, at the same time that UC claims it needs to cut retirement costs, one Task Force proposal would actually increase retirement income by as much as 47% for 200 highly compensated UC executives earning over $245,000.  

What’s more, cutting benefits for new workers, as the Yudof panel suggests, does not address the pension fund’s most critical problem – meeting the current gap between inputs and outflows. That’s because savings would only be realized when the wave of newly hired workers retires – a gap of about 15 years.  

Low-wage workers represented by AFSCME Local 3299 believe cutting benefits does not address the primary issue: keeping the UC pension adequately funded. The UC fund’s pension funding gap should be addressed by UC resuming the level of retirement contributions it paid up until 1990 when it took a 20-year holiday from paying any contributions. 

Restoring contributions in 2011 at pre-1990 levels – to be shared between UC and its employees through the collective bargaining process – would restore the pension to health.  

Restoring public trust in the UC means Yudof must take responsibility for keeping UC’s promise of a dignified retirement for the hard-working employees who dedicated their lives to making UC the best university in the world.


U.S. Hypocritical Imposition of Sanctions On 8 Iranian Officials

By Ralph E. Stone
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 12:03:00 PM

In an audacious display of hypocrisy, President Obama signed an executive order on September 28, 2010, imposing financial sanctions against eight Iranian officials for "serious and sustained human rights abuse" violations committed in the year since Iran's disputed presidential election. The order freezes any U.S. assets they might own and bars them from receiving a visa to travel to the United States.  

According to Iranian opposition activists, detainees were tortured and raped while imprisoned. Iranian officials denied the charges. Whether the charges are true or not, what right does the United States, who has acted wrongly, either morally or legally - that is, who has 'unclean hands' - to complain about the human rights abuses of Iran?  

Consider that on April 16, 2009, President Obama released four top secret memos that allowed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under the Bush administration to torture al Qaeda and other suspects held at Guantánamo and secret detention centers round the world. Remember the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse? According to the memos, ten techniques were approved: attention grasp (grasping the individual with both hands, one hand on each side of the collar opening, in a controlled and quick motion); walling (in which the suspect could be pushed into a wall); a facial hold; a facial slap; cramped confinement; wall standing; sleep deprivation; insects placed in a confinement box (the suspect had a fear of insects); and waterboarding. In waterboarding the individual is bound securely to an inclined bench, which is approximately four feet by seven feet. The individual's feet are generally elevated. A cloth is placed over the forehead and eyes. Water is then applied to the cloth in a controlled manner which produces the perception of suffocation and incipient panic. 

In the now-discredited August 2002 memorandum from then Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee to then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez narrowly defined physical torture as requiring pain "equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, the permanent impairment of a significant bodily function, or even death." 

And we all remember former Vice President Dick Cheney's comment that: "enhanced interrogation techniques" (a euphemism for torture) sanctioned by the Bush administration are not torture and dismissed criticism as "contrived indignation and phony moralizing." 

Human torture is not only morally unacceptable – it is also a crime. Waterboarding, for example, is explicitly prohibited by the Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions.  

President Obama issued executive orders giving the CIA authority to continue what are known as renditions or extrajudicial, secret abductions and transfers of prisoners to Egypt, Jordan, Morocco , Uzbekistan, and elsewhere, where torture was used. Torture is torture whether it is done by Americans at Guantánamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, Afghanistan, or by proxy through our rendition program.  

As of August 2010, there were still 176 detainees at Guantánamo Bay being held without charges, many of whom have been held for years. In addition, 50 detainees are considered too dangerous to release, but cannot be tried because the evidence against them is too flimsy or was extracted from them by coercion, so would not hold up in court. Thus, these detainees will be held indefinitely without charges or trial. As Amnesty International declared, the United States has established a "a new gulag of prisons around the world beyond the reach of the law and decency."  

And who can forget the U.S Army School of Americas (SOA)/, based in Fort Benning, Georgia, which trains Latin American security personnel in combat, counter-insurgency, and counter-narcotics. The SOA training manuals advocated torture, extortion, and execution. Is it any wonder that SOA graduates were responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America? In response to the controversy over SOA and protests by human rights activists, the SOA was officially "closed" in December 2000. But it reopened a month later as Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation - in the same installations, with the same staff carrying out the same work, and still remains in operation. 

What is more appalling is that according to a poll commissioned by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, too many Americans, while still rejecting the use of torture for terrorists by a margin of 56 percent to 42 percent, shows the support for torture has increased by 6 points since 2008 and by 13 points since the ques tion was first asked in 2004. The poll seems to reaffirm a famous passage from Louis Brandeis in Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928):  

“Decency, security, and liberty alike demand that government officials shall be subjected to the same rules of conduct that are commands to the citizen. In a government of laws, existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. To declare that in the administration of the criminal law the end justifies the means — to declare that the government may commit crimes in order to secure the conviction of a private criminal — would bring terrible retribution. Against that pernicious doctrine this court should resolutely set its face.”  

Until the United States puts its own house in order, it does not have the moral authority to chastise others for human rights abuses. Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. 

 

 

 

 

 

 


A Sad Lesson From Berkeley Bowl: What Not To Do

By Tirtho Mahmood
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 12:06:00 PM

In the Indian Subcontinent you should never get caught shop-lifting--no, not for legal reasons, for your own physical safety. Most of the time, the mob takes sadistic pleasure in beating up the suspect--sometimes the suspect dies, even though it might later be proven to be a mistake. 

I know, because I originally hail from that part of the world. 

In USA, I am sure nobody really beats up a shoplifting suspect. However, today, at Berkeley Bowl, a sad episode reminded me of such a case—not exactly like in the subcontinent, but similar in overreaction and an extra dose of zeal . 

It involves a female suspect and the reaction of the store security personnel. Following is what I saw, in present tense: 

The day is today, October 9th, 2010. I come out from the adjacent cafe of Berkeley Bowl (BB) West, after finishing my bowl of rice, late in the afternoon—it could be nearly four or past four PM. 

I approach my bike, and hear some commotion next to me. Like most other shoppers I shut it out and keep moving. Then I sense something is not right. I hear a female voice "get off me, " I see the wondering gaze of a fellow male shopper wearing green shirt looking behind and past me. I follow his gaze. 

We both look at an almost violent scenario unfolding. Violent not in the context of blood and guts, but in the manner that two (actually one person; the other person is I guess assisting him) people are confronting a customer at the exit of the store. 

One young male, allegedly a member of the security personnel and his female companion, both of African descent, were in objectionable physical proximity to a Caucasian female in her possible twenties. 

She has some grocery items in her hands. I remember a half gallon carton of orange juice. From the conversation, it seems that she, the Caucasian, is suspected of shoplifting. 

(I am mentioning the physical description for authenticity's sake, the race should not matter; I am dark enough.) 

The male was carrying a pair of handcuffs and he was not in any particular identifiable uniform. So, he is a not peace officer, that much is understandable. 

I keep calm and try to assess the situation. The male employee of Berkeley Bowl (with handcuffs of course, and who also has a hair tied up like a pony tail) is grabbing the female by arms. The suspect is not trying to escape; she is, so far I understand, trying to argue or protest, and twisting her body to create a distance. 

The BB security person keeps close to her physically and she keeps saying "let go of me." 

The female helper from the Berkeley Bowl (a possible chaperone, since the suspect is a female}, tries to act friendly, but the problem is, the male keeps his physical contact in a fairly objectionable manner, and is imposing. He tends to be dragging the suspect. 

And that's what I find seriously wrong—grabbing someone physically, even though there is no indication that the person is running away. 

I myself work in a retail environment, and I myself had the experience of both being a suspect and also suspecting someone mistakenly (which I will forever regret). However, I do not think anyone suspected of shoplifting should be physically pushed around unless there is a clear ground and necessity to do so. 

In the case of Berkeley Bowl incident this afternoon, there was no ground and necessity to do so. The suspect was not walking away, not posing any threat to the BB employee (her hands were kind of full), she was trying to avoid physical contact with the male security employee. 

I did not hear him speak professionally i.e. "Ma'am, would you please come inside. We have reasons to believe you have something that is not paid for. If not, we may have to call the police." Nor did he have any professional bearing in his conduct afterward. However, after continuous insistence from the suspect, the male employee of Berkeley Bowl released his grip on the side of the suspect’s arm, yet stayed close to her. 

I am not a lawyer, I do not know exactly how much right Berkeley Bowl was legally in the manner its employee behaved towards a suspect. But I know what is morally wrong. THE SUSPECT WAS NOT RUNNING AWAY AS SHE WAS APPROACHED; TOUCHING HER, GRABBING HER SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED. 

I understand Berkeley Bowl is like any other retail business, here to make money. But treating another human being in a such a manner puts them almost at the same level of mobs one may see in the Subcontinent , which I mentioned at the beginning of this piece--relatively speaking. 

Later I called the store security, they seemed to be reluctant to discuss the matter; so I asked for someone higher in the food-chain—possibly a manager. His name is Larry. He was not present; but a supervisor named Tuan responded. 

I asked Tuan about Berkeley Bowl's standard protocol or operating procedure about shoplifting suspects, if it had room for physically confronting a suspect. He claimed that, "No." He agreed with me that physical contact of that sort is unacceptable. He also told me that he was not aware of the situation yet. 

Then he asked me "What if she did shoplift?" I told him "Maybe she is a shoplifter, maybe not. Your security needs to find that out and confirm it. But does it give them the right to grab her and pull her as I saw happening outside? She was not walking away from them and your security personnel were not peace officers in uniform either." 

He relented "No," and suggested I call back on Monday to speak with Larry. I have nothing against Berkeley Bowl, but I think at least a few of their employees need some training in human as well as humane relations. Which seemed totally lacking today. 

Moreover, I think any retail business's security unit members who are in charge of preventing shoplifting should have an authorization badge as well as some sort of identification when they approach anyone suspected of wrongdoing. If not, then, every suspect has the right to avoid questioning, since the questioner is unknown and could be a threat. 

Once again, I am not a lawyer, I do not have the cunning of one, but I am a reasonable person. My reason finds the Berkeley Bowl's protocol displayed this afternoon totally uncivilized.
I am sure they have security cameras inside and outside, and they can easily replay what took place next to the entry door, and judge for themselves. 

I am not here to take side of the suspect, but I take her side when it comes to human dignity and civil rights--and that is, to be treated as not-guilty until proven, and to be treated respectfully at all times--even when proven guilty. Law punishes, we don't. It's sad to see Berkeley Bowl forgot to impart this basic norm of courtesy in its security team. Well, at least it teaches us what not to do. I hope other stores in the vicinity will learn the same. 


What If They Called a Riot and No One Came?

By Ted Friedman
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 09:45:00 AM

I showed up at People's Park Saturday morning before the big homecoming game at Memorial Stadium expecting a riot. 

All the ingredients of a witches' brew were simmering. The Telegraph Business 

Improvement District had urged the University to hold an unprecedented pep rally in... (hold onto your seat)--People's Park! That's right: a pep rally in the belly of a beast with animal memory of a deep wound. 

That past includes decisions on the part of the university that led directly to an event referred to as "bloody Thursday," (1969) in which more than 300 cops, including State Highway Patrol and Alameda Sheriff's deputies, rioted. 

As the riot spread to Telegraph Ave., James Rector, a student, was killed and a Berkeley resident, Alan Blanchard, was blinded. 

One-hundred and twenty eight protesters were wounded. 

The blaming finger is often pointed at then governor, Ronald Reagan, who had been elected on the pledge to quell protestors at state campuses, and the university itself, which had failed to head off the catastrophe. 

U.C. President,Clark Kerr, a liberal, with U.S. Senate aspirations saw his political star extinguished as Reaganism launched. 

Participants in this tragedy are holding grudgesa half century later. But the university seemed without a memory or a clue when they installed volleyball courts in People's Park in the early 1990's leading to a riotous second act to the continuing drama of People's Park. 

Why would any self-respecting protester protest volleyball? Perhaps it was seen seen as an encroachment on a Gettysburg soaked in the blood of Berkeley. 

When Berkeley officials who oversee the park were lobbied by the Telly businessmen to promote "multi-use," and "free speech," they at first thought it a reasonable enough notion. Why not hold that Sproul Hall pepper right smack dab in the center of People's Park. Why, indeed, not? 

Miracle would be too strong and a funny thing happened, too weak. Yet, the university suddenly became too late wise. 

Using the brains their educations gave them, U.C. officials saw through the specious argument for free speech, advanced by the businessmen. 

Students have been freely speechifying at Sproul Hall since the Free Speech Movement of the Sixties; in fact, pep rallies are held in the Sproul Plaza routinely. 

Maybe they have also concluded that "multi-use" is nothing more than provocative, a challenge to the park's role as a last ditch safety net for the homeless. 

One of the businessmen, channeling Reagan, could be heard muttering that the university had caved. 

Better late than never, they say. 

As the nation hails the seventy year anniversary 

of John Lennon's life, peace has its chance. 

 

Ted Friedman lives a half block from People's park. 

 

 

 


Columns

Dispatches From The Edge: Ecuador: Riot or Coup?

By Conn Hallinan
Friday October 08, 2010 - 03:31:00 PM

A police riot over an austerity bill, or a failed attempt to oust leftist Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa from office? In the aftermath of the Sept. 30 attack on Correa by police in Quito, it is looking more and more like this was an orchestrated coup. And while there is no evidence that the U.S. was directly involved, the Obama administration’s strong support for the current Honduran government may well have encouraged the plotters to expect similar treatment by Washington. 

The police attack on Correa was co-coordinated with similar takeovers in several other cities, the seizure of Ecuador’s two largest airports by army troops, and the occupation of the National Assembly. In the end the Ecuadorian Army supported the President, freed him from the police hospital where he was being held, and whisked him to safety, but only after a firefight killed one soldier and a student who had turned out to support Correa. The President’s car was struck by five bullets. According to the Latin American Herald Tribune, eight people died and 274 were wounded in incidents nationwide. 

Suspicion has fallen on former president and army colonel Lucio Gutierrez, who led a 2000 coup and has called for Correa’s ouster. Gutierrez currently lives in Brazil and denies any link to the attempted coup. Correa also charges that Gutierrez’s brother Gilmar, a member of the National Assembly, supported the coup. 

Last year’s coup in Honduras that ousted Manuel Zelaya has cast a shadow across the region, raising up the ghosts of a previous era when military takeovers routinely toppled governments in Latin America, including those in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador. According to The Guardian, Correa said in the aftermath of the Honduran coup, “We have intelligence reports that say after Zelaya, I’m next.” 

After Zelaya was ousted, the coup-led government of Roberto Micheletti organized elections—boycotted by most the population—and put Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo into power. Most countries in the region refuse to recognize the Lobo government, including the region’s major players, Brazil and Argentina. 

In spite of the fact that the Lobo government has overseen a wave of terror directed at journalists, trade unionists, gays and lesbians, and opposition activists, Washington is pushing hard for countries to end Honduras’s regional isolation and its suspension from the Organization of American States (OAS). 

“Now is the time for the hemisphere as a whole to move forward and welcome Honduras back into the inter-American community,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the OAS. 

But most countries are wary of anything that might give the appearance of endorsing a government brought in via a coup. There is also concern about the ongoing human rights crisis in Honduras. Reporters Without Borders has labeled Honduras the most dangerous country in the world for journalists—eight have been murdered in the past year—and human rights groups, including Amnesty International, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have all condemned the on-going reign of terror directed at members of the Honduran opposition, the National Front of Popular Resistance. 

While most nations in the region are reluctant to bed down with the Honduran government, the U.S. has opened the military aid spigot, donating $812,000 worth of heavy trucks to the Honduran Army. In the meantime, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is handing out $75 million for development projects, and $20 million for the “Merida” security program. 

“Washington’s support for the coup government in Honduras over the past year has encouraged and increased the likelihood of rightwing coups against democratic left governments in the region,” writes The Guardian’s Latin American correspondent Mark Weisbrot. “This attempt in Ecuador has failed, but there will likely be more threats in the months and years ahead.” 

Two obvious candidates are Bolivia and Paraguay. In the case of the former, organizations like USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)—both of which gave active support to organizations behind the Honduran coup—are active. 

In Honduras, NED and USAID helped finance the Peace and Democracy Movement and the Civil Democratic Union, both dominated by the country’s tiny elite, and which strongly supported the coup. Many of the Honduran Army’s officers, including coup leaders Gen. Vasquez Velasquez and Gen. Prince Suazo, have been trained by the U.S. Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation, the former “School for the Americas” that has trained coup makers and human rights violators from throughout Latin America. 

According to !Presente!, a publication critical of the School for the Americas, the commander of the police barracks where Ecuador’s President Correa was attacked, Col Manuel Rivadeneira Tello, is a graduate of the School’s combat arms training course. 

Bolivian President Evo Morales recently threatened to expel USAID for its role in financing opposition separatist groups based in the country’s wealthy eastern provinces. Along with the American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD)—an organization long associated with the Central Intelligence Agency—USAID and NED have underwritten separatist media and organizations based in the wealthy province of Santa Cruz, where most of the country’s natural gas deposits lie.  

The possibility of Eastern Bolivia declaring independence is very real and, if it happens, U.S. organizations will have played a major role in encouraging it. 

In May of this year, Fernando Lugo, the progressive president of Paraguay, reported to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) meeting in Buenos Aires, that he had evidence of a coup aimed at overthrowing his government. Lugo had a closed-door meeting with the UNASUR members, following which UNASUR reaffirmed its full support for the Paraguayan government. 

Paraguay is one of the poorest and most unequal countries on the continent, and it was long dominated by a military dictatorship. Lugo, who took office in August 2008 for a five-year term, put together a coalition that broke the 60-year stranglehold the conservative Colorado Party had over the country. 

Lugo has weathered some personal scandals—he is a former Catholic Bishop who fathered a number of children—and is currently suffering from lymphoma. He is locked in a battle with his more conservative vice-president, Federico Franco, and at loggerheads with a fractious congress that has made getting legislation through a trial. Those are the kind of difficulties that might well encourage Paraguay’s rightwing military and the Coloradoans to consider a coup, particularly if they think that Washington will eventually take a position similar to the one it took on Honduras.  

Of course not all coups are successful these days. An outpour of popular support for Hugo Chavez reversed the 2001 Venezuela coup, and Correa’s 67 percent positive rating—he has doubled healthcare spending, increased social services, and stiffed a phony $3.2 billion foreign debt—certainly played a role in spiking the Ecuador coup. 

But U.S. organizations like NED and AIFLD, active throughout the hemisphere, were closely associated with the Venezuelan coup makers. 

The Obama Administration promised a new deal in Latin America and a break from the policies of the Bush Administration. Instead it has beefed up its military presence in Colombia, sharpened its attacks on Venezuela, refused to back away from its blockade of Cuba, and played footsie with Honduran government. 

If countries in the region are paranoid, maybe they have reasons for it. 

 

To read other columns by Conn Hallinan go to dispatchesfromtheedgeblog.wordpress.com 


The Public Eye: The Job Crisis: Hard Times and Tough Choices

By Bob Burnett
Friday October 08, 2010 - 03:46:00 PM

Here in California, I’ve been calling voters, asking them to vote no on Proposition 23 – the Texas Oil attempt to roll back our enlightened environmental law (AB32). I’ve been impressed both by voters’ determination to defeat Proposition 23 and their reports of hard times. Many voters say they are hurting financially. 

It doesn’t come as a surprise. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the US unemployment rate is holding at 9.6 percent. But when you add the number of “discouraged” workers, who’ve quit looking for employment, and the number of who are working part time because they can’t find full time work, the total number of unemployed and underemployed rises to 16 percent. And that’s probably low considering the number of people who are stuck in jobs they hate but are afraid to leave – not to mention the number of folks who put in long hours but don’t earn a living wage. 

Last month the National Bureau of Economic Research declared that “the great recession” ended in June of 2009. Most Americans find that hard to believe when hard times continue. Indeed, financial guru Warren Buffett observed: “We're still in a recession… We're not gonna be out of it for a while…” Buffett defines a recession differently from the National Bureau of Economic Research, saying it ends “when real per capita gross domestic product returns to its pre-downturn level.” 

What Buffet didn’t say is that no one can predict when real per capital gross domestic product will rebound. Berkeley economist Robert Reich believes that during the Bush Administration ordinary consumers lost such a high percentage of their buying power that they no longer have the capacity to pull the US out of the recession. (Columbia economist Joseph Stiglitz agrees.) 

This long-lasting recession has had four consequences: high unemployment and a steady loss of decent jobs; low-interest rates; savage restriction of credit; and rising income inequality . The gap between rich and poor Americans is increasing and the middle class is wasting away. As a consequence, ordinary consumers have less discretionary income. 

The US economy depends upon steady consumption by working-class Americans. Conservative economic theory incorrectly assumes that rich folks buying yachts and vacation homes catalyze the consumer economy. That’s not happening; wealthy Americans have as much income as they have ever had but their purchases of Ferraris or diamonds aren’t boosting the economy. Average Americans aren’t consuming because they either don’t have the money or are saving it because they are fearful. 

Working folks aren’t consuming so businesses aren’t hiring. It’s an understandable but deadly cycle. There’s a fundamental loss of trust. That’s why Americans are depressed. 

Once upon a time, Americans prided themselves on their “can do” attitude. We shared the belief that no matter how difficult the problem we could solve it by banding together. That’s the spirit that prevailed during World War II when America united to defeat the Axis powers. And that same spirit is still seen in communities wherever there’s a hurricane or earthquake or horrific fire; we still have the capacity to form the “benevolent community” that works for the common good. 

Unfortunately, as regards the jobs crisis, America has lost its “can do” attitude. Economists Paul Krugman and Robin Wells address this in their NEW YORK REVIEW article The Way Out of the Slump: “ In the months immediately following the failure of Lehman Brothers, policymakers seemed to understand that we had entered a world in which the usual rules no longer applied—a world in which running huge budget deficits was an act of prudence, not folly... But that understanding faded fast. Unconventional policies are as badly needed as ever; but policymakers have lost their nerve.” (Their assessment is shared by financier George Soros.) 

Even before the results of the November 2nd elections are in, the US is in gridlock. Politicians know we’re facing hard times but they’re unwilling to make the tough choices required to jumpstart the economy. 

It’s time for liberals to roll up their sleeves and get back to first principles. We must be clear about our values and what’s required to solve the jobs crisis: 

1. Every American has the right to a decent job paying a living wage. 

2. If the marketplace won’t supply these jobs, then government has to be the employer of last resort. 

3. There must be a jobs-oriented stimulus package that not only supports America’s teachers and public safety workers but also strengthens the US infrastructure, in general. (Bring back the WPA!) 

4. We can pay for the new stimulus package by increasing taxes on both the wealthy and financial institutions. 

5. The Federal government has to be involved in economic policy. It has to intervene and create the jobs that the greedy, shortsighted private sector hasn’t provided. (Even if this means restricting trade with countries like China.) 

Hard times require tough choices. We have to have folks in Washington who are willing to turn the US in a new direction, where everyone who wants to work has a decent job. We need congress people with liberal values. 

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


Senior Power :“T’ain’t Funny, McGee.”

By Helen Rippier Wheeler
Sunday October 10, 2010 - 10:19:00 AM

Candidates running for election in the November election are invited to email to Senior Power ( pen136@dslextreme.com ) a statement of your “platform” regarding 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 Oct. 13. xxxx 

Every Tuesday evening at 79 Wistful Vista, Molly McGee piped up “T’ain’t funny, McGee.” Fibber McGee and Molly were funny. But, a re dirty old men and raging grannies funny? Laugh, old boy/old girl. Or you’ll be accused of lacking a sense of humor.  

“Harry and Tonto,” the well known 1974 comedy cum drama, is about an old man (Art Carney) who has been evicted from his apartment. He decides to take Tonto, his cat, and head cross country to live with one of his grandchildren. (Never a great idea.) Harry has numerous encounters with assorted people along the way. This familiar scenario supposedly portrays old men’s experiences. (“Old” is 70 and over, “Old Old” is over 85 years, per Chaparral House Administrator KJ Page.) 

Humor can be verbal, visual or physical. Though ultimately decided by personal taste, the extent to which an individual will find something humorous depends upon variables that include geographical location, culture, maturity, education level, intelligence and context. Humor supposedly plays a safety valve role, providing institutionalized outlets for hostilities and for discontent ordinarily suppressed by the group. Like ageism, racism, sexism... 

Research suggests that the Victor Meldrews of this world enjoy complaining about the young because it boosts their self-esteem. Victor Meldrew is the male lead in the PBS comedy series “One Foot in the Grave.”  

Far from feeling down about the younger generation's lifestyle and behavior, the elderly reportedly revel in their misfortune. According to one study, when given a choice, older people prefer to read negative views, rather than positive news, about young adults. ["The Victor Meldrew effect: a good moan makes elderly feel better," by Richard lleyne, Daily Telegraph [London], August 31, 2010.] 

Nein, respond German researchers: the archetypal grumpy old man portrayed by Victor Meldrew is a myth. They studied elderly people and found them to be happier than the young. “Older people and younger people have different goals when they use the media, and it shows in what they choose to read.” Living in a youth-centered culture, they may appreciate a boost in self-esteem. That’s why they prefer the negative stories about younger people, who are seen as having a higher status in our society. [The results of Professor Knobloch-Westerwick’s study appear in the September 2010 Journal of Communication.] 

English researchers report having discovered that people in general are mentally healthier in their later years despite problems associated with old age and impending death. Far from dwelling on a halcyon view of the past or a bleak future, pensioners (English senior citizens and elders are often referred to as “pensioners”) have learned to live in the moment and adopt a "life is too short" attitude to negative feelings. Their problems may be greater—due to ill health and age-related decline—but researchers claim they are better able to deal with them because of experience.  

xxxx 

Filmmaker Bent Hamer’s (1956- ) “ Kitchen Stories ” ( Salmer fra kjøkkenet, 2004 ) was the Norwegian Academy Award submission for Best Foreign Language Film. Like his “O’Horten,” “Kitchen Stories” is a heartwarming blend of amusing and clever circumstances. In particular, it is about two men -- one old and one middle-aged. 

The opening scenes at the Home Research Institute testing center are droll. It has been discovered that the average Swedish housewife while preparing her family’s meals annually walks the equivalent distance from Stockholm to the Congo. So observers are sent to a rural Norwegian district to map out the kitchen routines of single men…  

Folke Nilsson (Tomas Nordstrom) is assigned to study the kitchen habits of not-young farmer Isak Bjørvik (Joachim Calmeyer, 1931- ), who lives alone. The rules require Folke to sit on a tennis umpire's chair in Isak's kitchen and observe, but never to speak. At night he retires to a small Airstream-like camper parked next to the house. 

Isak stops using his kitchen, and observes Folke through a hole in the ceiling. The two lonely men slowly overcome their initial post-World War II Norwegian-Swedish distrust and become friends. I disagree with the media description of Isak as cantankerous. I so liked Isak and Folke.  

The ending is unclear. Is it intentionally ambiguous or simply open-ended, requiring us to think about these people? Isak’s beloved horse’s sickness has made him sad. We see the horse taken away. Not to the glue factory, we hope… perhaps for veterinary care. And is that an ambulance or a mortician’s limousine waiting in the dusk in front of Isak’s house? Segue from the cold snowy winter night scene to Scandinavian summer. Folke is living in Isak’s house and making tea in the kitchen.  

“O’Horten” is a later (2007) Bent Hamer film, also with English subtitles. Advertising and most reviewers don’t seem to “get the picture” at all! Entertainment Weekly is “grateful for every unexpected, sideways moment of deadpan charm;” another reviewer considers it “a picaresque tale.” Odd Horton is definitely not impassive or expressionless. Even the DVD cover- photograph of a goofy-looking, old feller lugging a calf-life dog does a disservice to the delightful, self-sufficient and resourceful old man portrayed with dignity by Baard Owe (1936- ) . Odd Horton aka “O’Horten” is a likeable guy, a self-sufficient (OK, he’s Nordic), reliable train engineer who lives alone. Now he is retiring after 40 years of service. We get to view and ponder several experiences that occur on the evening of his retirement dinner. The film’s ending is perfect. I’ll say no more. 

xxxx 

Older men may be at risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), often a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease, earlier in life than older women, according to information from the National Institute on Aging. A Mayo Clinic NIH-supported study suggests gender differences in cognition problems. MCI development and progression is more common in older men than older women, and it is consistently higher in men than women across all age ranges. Why is this important information? "Because evidence indicates that Alzheimer's disease may cause changes in the brain one or two decades before the first symptoms appear, there is intense interest in investigating MCI and the earliest stages of cognitive decline," according to NIA Director Richard J. Hodes, M.D. "While more research is needed, these findings indicate that we may want to investigate differences in the way men and women develop MCI, similar to the way stroke and cardiovascular disease risk factors and outcomes vary between the sexes." 

Researchers conducted in-person evaluations of 1,969 randomly selected 70-to 89-year-olds living in Olmsted County, Minn. The group was evenly split between men and women, who were predominantly white. These findings may not apply to other ethnic groups, but results of the study indicated that: 

  • A greater number of years spent in school was significantly associated with decreased MCI prevalence, from 30 percent among participants with less than nine years of education to just 11 percent in those with more than 16 years of education.
  • MCI prevalence was higher in participants who never married, as opposed to those currently or previously married.
xxxx 

Elders in the News 

Pat Cody, longtime Berkeley resident, feminist, bookstore owner and health activist, died on September 30, age 87. Her obituary appears elsewhere in the Planet. The Berkeley Public Library’s collection has: “Cody's Books: the life and times of a Berkeley bookstore, 1956-1977” by Pat and Fred Cody, published in 1992, and “ Pat Cody, Her Contributions In Health, Peace And Politics: An Interview” by Alice Hamburg in 1986. DES Action was one of the first issue-specific groups that arose from the women's health movement. It was founded in 1977 by mother-daughter team Pat and Nora Cody, responding to a crisis caused by the finding that DES (which had been given to millions of pregnant women between 1938-1971 to prevent miscarriage) caused cancer and serious reproductive tract abnormalities in these women's daughters. 

# # #


Swift Spectacle

By Joe Eaton
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 09:38:00 AM

When we arrived at the industrial site in Marin County (and that’s as specific as I can get) around 6:15 pm last Monday, a few swifts were already circling the tallest of three chimneys. Berkeley birder Rusty Scalf discovered this roost of migrating Vaux’s swifts in late September. I had assumed that the birds had subsequently moved on south, but friends had reported their continuing presence the day before. Since we had other business in Marin County that day, Ron and I decided to hang around until dusk and catch the show. 

As the light fell, more swifts flew in to join the orbiting flock. First there were dozens, then somewhere in the low hundreds. And they kept arriving. I despaired of keeping an accurate count, since birds continued to break away and fly out again. Somewhere around 6:45, the swifts began to fly into the tallest chimney, the leftmost of three. Some appeared to swerve and bounce off at the last second, while others dove in. By now there were easily thousands of swifts in the sky. If they were calling, I couldn’t hear them. 

At about 7, a few birds entered the adjacent, shorter chimney, although the tallest one still had more traffic. Had all the prime locations been taken? The flock tightened: no more flyouts. The light was going fast, but we could still see a handful of swifts in the air at 7:20. 

It occurred to me afterward that the only way to estimate the occupancy of the roost would be to determine the standard rate of swifts flying into the chimney(s) per second and multiply that by elapsed seconds. That’s what Scalf has been doing, using one of those clicker devices. He came up with a total of 6000-plus for the previous Saturday. A week later, a few days after we were there, he counted 6300. Another observer estimated 9000 around midweek. 

In any case, a heck of a lot of Vaux’s swifts, even though one of the brickyard employees told us the numbers were beginning to peter out. Scalf says their persistence at the Marin roost this late in the season is unusual; the birds should be on their way to their Mexican and Central American wintering grounds by now. He says all the known roosts north of San Rafael are empty. 

Unlike their close relative the chimney swift, Vaux’s typically roost in hollow trees rather than man-made structures. There have been some notable exceptions, though: up to 35,000 in a chimney in Portland, where they must have been packed in like sardines, and over 10,000 in the chimney of a school in Healdsburg. Those were fall-migration counts; reported spring roosts tend to be smaller, although a roost in Eugene had 15,000 occupants in early May. 

Vaux’s are classic swifts: small, dark, cigar-shaped. Like most members of their family, they have pamprodactyl feet, with the first and fourth toes freely pivoting forward and backward. This probably helps them keep a grip on vertical roosting surfaces. They build their nests of twigs, held together and to the substrate with saliva. (A relative, the edible-nest swiftlet of Southeast Asia, is the source of the primary ingredient of bird’s-nest soup.) Vaux’s swifts are suspected of mating in flight, although I suspect that would be hard to establish definitively. William S. Vaux, best known as a collector of minerals, was a Philadelphia friend of the 19th-century naturalist John K. Townsend, who discovered and first described the species. 

The breeding range of the northern (migratory) subspecies of Vaux’s swift extends from southeastern Alaska to central California, as far south as coastal Santa Cruz County and Yosemite National Park. The birds frequent old-growth conifer forests; I’ve seen them among both Douglas-firs and coast redwoods. 

One of several questions raised by the Marin roost is where these birds are coming from. According to the Marin County Breeding Bird Atlas, Vaux’s nests in small numbers in the county, with most observations on Bolinas Ridge. Could there possibly be 6000 breeding individuals in Marin? If not, how large is the catchment area for the roost? And how long have the swifts been using it? 

Another unanswered question: how far down the chimney do the birds go? There’s apparently no data on this point for chimney swifts either.  

It’s probably just as well that Vaux’s swifts haven’t adapted as thoroughly to human structures as chimney swifts have. I remember my first close encounter with swifts, when I was about six or seven my family was living in Little Rock in an older house with a working fireplace. One day a small flock of chimney swifts flew down in and into the living room. Pandemonium ensued. My mother, who had a morbid fear of birds, panicked. The cat went into hunter mode and began bouncing off the walls and furniture in pursuit of the swifts. I believe there was breakage. My father somehow herded the swifts the cat didn’t get into the attic, from which I hope they made their way outside. (I wasn’t allowed in the attic on my own because of the ghost.) And that was the end of the working fireplace.


Arts & Events

Stage-San Francisco Through October 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:09:00 AM

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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 10 p.m. Saturdays. Stand-up comedy performances. $7.  

"The Monday Night Marsh," ongoing. 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  

"Anita Bryant Died For Your Sins," by Brian Christopher Williams, through Oct. 24, 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat; 2 p.m. Sun. $24. 

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

 

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

"Naked Comedy," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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, ongoing. A quick-paced musical about those obsessed with buying things. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m. $27-$29. www.shoppingthemusical.com. 

Big City Improv, ongoing. 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.

 

THE STUD  

"Trannyshack," ongoing. A drag cabaret show that incorporates popular music, dance, props and outrageous humor into a stage show. Hosted by Heklina. Tuesday, midnight. $7. (415) 252-7883, www.heklina.com/. 

399 Ninth St., San Francisco. < 

 

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.<


Stage-East Bay Through October 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:08:00 AM

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.

 

THE MARSH BERKELEY  

"Loveland," by Ann Rudolph, through Nov. 13, 7 p.m. Fri.; 5 p.m. Sat. $20-$50. 

2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. Info: (800) 838-3006, Tickets: (800) 838-3006, www.themarsh.org.

 

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- Through October 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:07:00 AM

LESHER CENTER FOR THE ARTS  

"Diablo Ballet: A Tribute To Lena Horne." Oct. 15 and Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m. Fri.; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sat. $22-$46. 

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

"SAN FRANCISCO TROLLEY DANCES," -- Oct. 16 and Oct. 17. Guided performance tours leave from Duboce Park every 45 minutes; see website for complete details. 

11 a.m.-2:45 p.m.www.epiphanydance.org.< 

 

COUNTERPULSE  

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

"'Dewi Sri at the Picadilly' and 'Robam Snaih Buon'," through Oct. 17, 8 p.m. Thu.-Sat.; 3 p.m. Sun. New works by Sri Susilowati and Prumsodum Ok. $14-$24.  

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

 

COWELL THEATER AT FORT MASON CENTER  

"Wan-Chao Dance: Keep Her Safe, Please!" Oct. 16 and Oct. 17, 8 p.m. Sat.; 1 p.m. Sun. New works inspired by the conflicts in Indonesia in 1998 and the universal struggle of immigrants. $12-$20.  

"Likha Pilipino Folk Ensemble: Ritwal," Oct. 23, 2 and 7 p.m. New works designed to showcase Pilipino American cultures. $25. www.likha.org. 

Buchanan Street and Marina Boulevard, San Francisco. (415) 345-7575, www.fortmason.org.

 

ODC THEATER  

"ODC/Dance: Rebetiko and Our Body Remembers," Oct. 21 through Oct. 24 and Oct. 28 through Oct. 24, 8 p.m. New works by Kunst-Stoff and LEVYdance. $18.  

3153 17th St., San Francisco. (415) 863-9834, www.odctheater.org.

 

PENA PACHAMAMA  

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

Brisas de Espana Ballet Flamenco, ongoing. 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.

 

YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS The center's visual arts exhibitions feature contemporary art and popular culture by local, national and international artists. There are four rounds of exhibitions in the galleries each year. 

"Alonzo King Lines Ballet presents Scheherazade," through Oct. 24. New works by Zakir Hussain. See website for exact times and prices. www.linesballet.org. 

$3-$6; free the first Tuesday of every month. Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, noon-8 p.m. 701 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 978-2787, www.ybca.org.<


Readings-East Bay Through October 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:07:00 AM

A GREAT GOOD PLACE FOR BOOKS  

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

Nina Lesowitz, Oct. 20, 7 p.m. "The Courage Companion: How To Live Life With True Power.''  

Meredith Maran, Oct. 21, 7 p.m. "My Lie: A True Story of False Memory.''  

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

 

ART HOUSE GALLERY  

"Hell Strung and Crooked," Oct. 19, 7 p.m. Authors read work from a newly published anthology. $5.  

2905 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 472-3170.< 

 

BOOKS INC., ALAMEDA  

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

Nina Lesowitz, Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. "The Courage Companion: How To Live With True Power.''  

Lisa Quinn, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m. "Life's Too Short To Fold Fitted Sheets.''  

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

 

BOOKS INC., BERKELEY  

Kim Dower, Oct. 15, 7 p.m. "Air Kissing On Mars.''  

Louise Penny, Oct. 18, 7 p.m. "Bury Your Dead.''  

Tamam Kahn, Oct. 19, 7 p.m. "Untold: A History of the Wives of Prophet Muhammad.''  

Phil Cousineau, Oct. 20, 7 p.m. "Wordcatcher.''  

Laura McCreery, Oct. 21, 7 p.m. "Living Landscape: The Extraordinary Rise of The East Bay Regional Park District and How It Preserved 100,000 Acres.''  

Nick Bruel, Oct. 21, 4 p.m. "Bad Kitty.''  

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

 

CHABOT COLLEGE  

Stephen D. Gutierrez, Oct. 21, Noon. "Live From Fresno y Los.'' Reading takes place in the Library, Room 107A.  

25555 Hesperian Blvd., Hayward. www.chabotcollege.edu.

 

DIESEL, A BOOKSTORE  

Gemma Whelan, Oct. 21, 7 p.m. "Fiona: Stolen Child.''  

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.< 

 

HILLSIDE CLUB  

Houshang Asadi and Nooshabeh Amari, Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. "Letters To My Torturer.'' $6-$15.  

2286 Cedar St., Berkeley. < 

 

MERCURY 20 GALLERY  

Maxine Chernoff and Linda Norton, Oct. 20, 7 p.m. "The Turning'' and "The Public Gardens.'' $5.  

475 25th St., Oakland. (510) 701-4620, www.mercurytwenty.com.

 

MILLS COLLEGE  

Hiromi Ito, Oct. 19, 7 p.m. "Killing Kanoko.''  

5000 Macarthur Blvd., Oakland. (510) 430-2296, www.mills.edu.

 

MOE'S BOOKS  

Craig Santos Perez, Anna Rabinowitz and Norma Cole, Oct. 19.  

Joel Selvin, Oct. 21. "Smart Ass.''  

10 a.m.-11 p.m. daily. Readings take place at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2476 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2087, www.moesbooks.com.

 

MRS. DALLOWAY'S  

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

Rachel Saunders, Oct. 16, 4 p.m. "The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook.''  

Deborah Tannen, Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. "You Were Always Mom's Favorite!''  

Raina Telgemeier, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m. "Smile.''  

Judy Yung, Oct. 23, 4 p.m. "Angel Island.''  

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

 

ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH  

Leslie Marmon Silko, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m. "The Turquoise Ledge.'' $10-$12.  

114 Montecito Ave., Oakland. < 

 

UNIVERSITY PRESS BOOKS  

Laura Cunningham, Oct. 18, 6 p.m. "A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California.''  

Jeffrey Lustig, Oct. 20, 6 p.m. "Remaking California: Reclaiming The Public Good.''  

2430 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 548-0585, www.universitypressbooks.com.<


Popmusic-East Bay Through October 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:06:00 AM

924 GILMAN ST. All ages welcome. 

Scream, Oppressed Logic, Toys That Kill, Zero Progress, Oct. 16, 7 p.m. $12. 

Universal Order of Armageddon, Graf Orlock, Godstomper, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m. $8. 

$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, ongoing. 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  

Michael Lamacchia's Organic Jive Collective, Oct. 15, 8 p.m. $10. 

SF Bay Harpers, Oct. 20, 7 p.m. $5. 

The California Honeydrops, Oct. 21, 8 p.m. $10. 

The Kathy Kallick Band, Oct. 22, 8 p.m. $10. 

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

 

ASHKENAZ  

Elizabeth Mitchell and You Are My Flower, Oct. 17, 3 p.m. $4-$6. 

Flameco Open Stage, Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m. $10. 

Frankie Paul and the Melodians, The Yellow Wall Dub Squad, Oct. 21, 9:30 p.m. $15-$18. 

Heavyweight Dub Champion with Azeem, Oct. 23, 8:30 p.m. $12-$15. 

Big Sound Family, Oct. 24. $10-$20. 

Octopretzel, Oct. 24, 3 p.m. $4-$6. 

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.

 

BECKETT'S IRISH PUB  

Feelosophy, Oct. 15.  

D'giin, Oct. 16.  

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

 

BLAKE'S ON TELEGRAPH  

Tonik, Oct. 16, 9 p.m.  

Graham Patzner, The Help, Nine Wives, Japhy Riddle, Oct. 23, 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  

Widespread Panic, Oct. 15 through Oct. 17, 8 p.m. $45. 

Interpol, Oct. 18, 8 p.m. $35. 

Jonsi (of Sigur Ros), Oct. 19, 8 p.m. $35. 

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

 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE  

"Freight Open Mic," ongoing. Tuesdays. $4.50-$5.50.  

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. 

West Coast Songwriters, Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m. $6.50-$7.50. 

Freight Open Mic, Oct. 19. $4.50-$5.50. 

Jamie Sieber, Oct. 21. $18.50-$19.50. 

Capathia Jenkins and Louis Rosen, Oct. 22. $20.50-$21.50. 

Country Joe McDonald, Oct. 23. $22.50-$23.50. 

Upsurge!, Oct. 24. $18.50-$19.50. 

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

 

JAZZSCHOOL  

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

Ellen Robinson, Oct. 22, 8 p.m. $15.  

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

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

Lagtime, Oct. 16.  

The Whiskey Brothers, Oct. 17, 5 p.m.  

Jacob Zimmerman Trio, Oct. 20.  

Dietsnaks, Oct. 21.  

Socket, Oct. 22.  

Citizens Quartet, Oct. 23.  

Mountain Fire, Oct. 24, 5 p.m.  

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

 

KIMBALL'S CARNIVAL  

"Monday Blues Legends Night," ongoing. 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  

Holly Near, Oct. 17, 7 p.m. $23-$25.  

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

 

THE NEW PARISH  

The Breakestra, Oct. 15, 10 p.m. $15.  

Honeymoon, Big Eagle, Oct. 21, 9 p.m. Ages 18+. $10-$13.  

Brass Menazeri, Oct. 22, 9 p.m. Ages 18+. $8-$10.  

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

 

ORACLE ARENA  

Shakira, Oct. 22, 8 p.m. $9-$142.50.  

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

 

SHATTUCK DOWN LOW For ages 21 and older. 

"Live Salsa," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 9 p.m. Thursdays. Featuring DJ Vickity Slick and Franky Fresh. Free.  

John Payne and the Hurt Funk Release Party, Oct. 15, 9 p.m. $10-$15.  

Native Elements, Ras Kidus, Oct. 22, 9 p.m. $8-$10.  

Murs, Oct. 23, 9 p.m. $15-$20.  

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

 

STARRY PLOUGH PUB  

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

Tempest, Oct. 15, 9 p.m.  

Fred Odell, 7 Orange ABC, Jafar Thorne, Oct. 16, 9 p.m.  

Mousy Brown, Pockit, Audiafauna, Oct. 21, 9 p.m.  

The Heavy Guilt, Shady Maples, K I Nicholas, Oct. 23, 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  

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. 

Hot Attack!, Oct. 19, 9 p.m.  

Free.  

Dusty Fingers, Oct. 21, 9 p.m.  

Free.  

Soul Clap, Oct. 22, 9 p.m. $5. 

Flash Gilmore and the FunBeatles, Oct. 23, 9 p.m. $7. 

Mickey Avalon, Oct. 24, 8 p.m. $20-$25. 

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

 

YOSHI'S  

Michael Franks, Oct. 15 through Oct. 17, 8 and 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 2 and 7 p.m. Sun. $5-$30. 

Billy Cobham and Palindrome, Oct. 18 and Oct. 19, 8 p.m. $24. 

Avishai Cohen-Aurora, Oct. 20 and Oct. 21, 8 and 10 p.m. $20. 

Bilal, Oct. 22 and Oct. 23, 8 and 10 p.m. $20-$30. 

Raiatea Helm, Oct. 24, 2 and 7 p.m. $5-$20. 

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.<


Classical Music-San Francisco Through October 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 10:51:00 AM

HERBST THEATRE  

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," ongoing. 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.

 

 

SAINT JOHN ARMENIAN CHURCH  

John Boyajy, Oct. 17, 4 p.m. Works by Mozart and Beethoven. $20-$35. www.bayareabach.org. 

275 Olympia Way, San Francisco. < 

 

 

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, 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  

Semyon Bychov conducts Rachmaninoff and Walton, Oct. 15 through Oct. 17, 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 2 p.m. Sun. $15-$140. 

Joshua Bell, Oct. 21 through Oct. 24, 8 p.m. Thu.-Sat.; 2 p.m. Sun. Works will include Dvorak's "Carnival Overture,'' "In Nature's Realm,'' and "Othello Overture.'' $15-$150.  

Daniel Harding and the Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra, Oct. 24, 7 p.m. Works by Schumann, Beethoven and Brahms. $15-$97.  

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

 

 

ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL  

"Sunday Afternoon Recitals," ongoing. 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 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 10:03:00 AM

ARLINGTON COMMUNITY CHURCH  

John Boyajy, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m. Works by Mozart and Beethoven. $20-$35.  

52 Arlington Ave., Kensington. < 

 

 

CAL PERFORMANCES All performances in Zellerbach Hall unless otherwise noted. 

Jeremy Denk, Oct. 24, 3 p.m. Works by Gyorgy Ligeti and Bach. $42.  

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

 

 

CROWDEN MUSIC CENTER  

"Very First Concerts," Oct. 24, 11 a.m., 11:40 a.m., 12:20 p.m. Concerts featuring a central theme, short selections, and hands-on activities geared towards families with young children.  

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

 

 

ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH  

John Boyajy, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m. Works by Mozart and Beethoven. $20-$35.  

114 Montecito Ave., Oakland. <


The First Films of Akira Kurosawa

By Justin DeFreitas
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 08:05:00 AM

It's fitting that the great Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa began his career with a traveling shot. Sanshiro Sugata (1943) opens with a camera pushing forward through a village street, probing into the life and secrets of the hamlet and its denizens.  

 

The subject matter of this, his first film, is not profound — it is essentially a martial arts film — but Kurosawa never treated anything lightly. Even with this rather conventional film, he is striving for impact, for meaning, for a connection with his audience, and the director's confidence and skill are evident in every frame. 

 

Kurosawa reluctantly heeded the call for a sequel two years later, but otherwise his films took on a deeper tone, examining the state of Japan on the brink and in the depths of war. The Most Beautiful (1944) is a wartime propaganda film, but one whose realism, humanity and insight lent it a more artful air. The film takes place in an optics plant where female workers strive to prove that they are every bit as capable and patriotic as their male counterparts.  

 

The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945) is an adaptation of a classic Japanese play in which a lord and his entourage disguise themselves as monks in order to get through an enemy roadblock. Kurosawa added a character to this well-known drama, the first of many eccentric fools who liven his dramas with a comedic counterpoint. Though he cast a beloved comedian for the part, it is a rather rudimentary role, broadly played and often repetitive; the director would only improve in his use of this device throughout his career. Otherwise the film is notable for its use of minimal sets. Kurosawa may be best known in the West for his sweeping epics, full of battles and action, but here he demonstrates his equally impressive talent for containing taut, compelling drama in small spaces, with little action or melodrama. 

 

Kurosawa's characteristic techniques are evident from the start of his career. These early films include many examples of his mastery of the moving camera, of swift characterization, of action paired with quiet, probing sequences. His signature transitions are also already in place, dispensing with dissolves and fades in favor of wipes that move us quickly from scene to scene at a brisk pace.  

 

The First Films of Akira Kurosawa 

$59.95. www.criterion.com.


Around and About ... Performing Arts

By Ken Bullock
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 08:07:00 AM

Upcoming Events

—Mark Jackson's adaptation of Mary Stuart for Shotgun Players

Dancing on Glass, a social comedy from India

—Backyard Theater Revolution 

 

The first impressions—and they last—of Mark Jackson's adaptation of Schiller's Mary Stuart are of the set, by Nina Ball, an institutional green prison ward with video monitors displaying the empty corridors behind the doors that are the only openings in the walls, otherwise adorned with two-way mirrors. Some of the action will take place behind one of the mirrors, as if in a booth; one impressive, climactic moment takes place in a corridor on monitor, the moment after the door onto the stage is closed. The feeling remains that more could've been done with both set and tech set-up, sometimes strangely inert, unchanging, not just sterile yet brooding. 

A little subtler, David Graves' music/sound design—no Disney Music here!—accents and shapes certain moments, and by extension, the play itself. Graves, who was invited over two years to work with the Berkeley Symphony Under Construction development program, had only one theatrical score to his credit when he began working with Jackson a year and a half ago, on the Aurora production of Strindberg's Miss Julie. It's a pleasure to witness him becoming a good theater composer, as specialized in its way as film composer. (For a glimpse at what a great composer did, sparingly on film, to bring out a masterpiece adapted from theater, see Gregory Kozintsev's King Lear—with Shostakovich score (the director—a theater student of Meyerhold—and the composer worked together 40 years) at the Pacific Film Archive, October 23 at 8:30.) 

Schiller's play, his own combination of Weimar Classicism, echoes of the Sturm und Drang and Baroque theaters, as well as Kantian philosophy, pits the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots against her cousin and imprisoner, Elizabeth I. A circle of noblemen and councilors surround Elizabeth, with different views as to Mary's fate. Between the women, there's a complex of strong emotional enmity, some of it relating to religious and national differences, much to the rivalry of two claimants to the throne, one a passionate woman, several times a wife and mother, the other the Virgin Queen, a "bastard," as Mary the Catholic calls her, whose mother consorted with Henry VIII after he divorced and executed one wife and broke from Rome to marry Elizabeth's mother, eventually doing the same with her as well. 

The Shotgun production is in modern dress as well as a technological prison. Mary is dressed in sweats, takes off her shoes to walk in the grassy plot the stage pulls back to reveal, something a queen might do in a late 50s-early 60s movie. Elizabeth's (Beth Wilmurt) accoutered like a lady CEO, almost—but not quite—Meg Whitman or Carly Fiorina. 

The difficulty of playing Shakespeare in America, opined Orson Welles, is that Americans think a king is a gentleman wearing a crown instead of a hat. Schiller's a later middle class playwright, who wrote Mary Stuart after the French Revolution, knowing it's not just other monarchs who dispatch their fellow crowned heads. His play focuses on the conflict between personal emotion and the state embodied in a person, the claims of individuality and the divine right of queens. 

In the adaptation, "queen" and the rest of the idiom of monarchy—and of statecraft—is retained from the original. But there's no sense of gravity of presence, of regalness around either crowned head. A gauche lack of propriety has Mary (Stephanie Gularte) touched roughly by male keepers—which lets down what should be an almost shocking moment, when the fanatic closet Catholic Mortimer (Ryan Tasker), who has confused venerating Mary with possessing her, touches her boldly and amorously. There's a nagging sense throughout that a naughty schoolgirl's being punished by a schoolmarmish headmistress, a rebellious young employee by a jealous boss. The female roles, at the center of the play, acquire either a too-stiff or too-flimsy demeanor. 

The men fare better, though awkwardly so, as their roles are defined in relation to the women. Scott Coopwood plays a fleshed-out Leicester, himself caught between the two women he's made overtures to: one ambitiously, the other passionately. Jesse Caldwell plays a sturdy Paulet, Mary's gentleman jailer. John Mercer is Shrewsbury, Elizabeth's minister, who argues with the resentful Elizabeth not to make her cousin a martyr—and returns the royal seal of state to her in the high moment of the play's revelatory, Machiavellian finale, when Elizabeth punishes those who have responded to her version of her predecessor Henry II's barbed plea against Thomas a Beckett, "Who will rid me of this priest?" 

It's difficult to adapt an historical play to contemporary purposes, to media preoccupations of false imprisonment, torture ... Schiller's masterworks have their own problemata, according to Walter Benjamin: "No writer of modern times has struggled more intensely than Schiller to recreate the pathos of antiquity in subjects that have no connection with tragic myth. He believed that in the form of history he could renew the irrepeatable prerequisite which tragedy possessed in the myth ... [and] sought to base the drama on the spirit of history as understood by German idealism ... doing so, he wrested from classicism the possibility of giving a reflection of fate as the antipode of individual freedom." 

Wednesday at 7, Thursday-Saturday at 8, Sunday at 5, through November 7. Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Avenue at MLK. $17-$26. 841-6500; shotgunplayers.org 


Opening night of Mary Stuart, I was moved to describe to a friend at the reception a moment I'd witnessed of a great diva singing the title role of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda, taken from Schiller's play, at San Francisco Opera. Expectations ran high; it was a farewell performance. And it was strangely flat. Until the last aria, when Maria bursts into joyous song just before her execution, assuring her ladies in waiting she goes to death happily. It was a powerful moment, sung and played with intense authority, enough to make your hair stand up. After the final curtain call, the diva was honored on the apron of the stage—and apologized to the audience: she had a cold, "I couldn't give it my all." She had saved it till the end, and showed us, unforgettably, what "All" means. The diva was Joan Sutherland, who died a few days later, this past weekend. 


To phone in a performance is usually a pejorative, but Ram Ganesh Kamatham's Dancing on Glass elevates it to a virtue. This skewed, bittersweet romantic comedy, about a software engineer and a customer service jobber in a Bangalore phone tank, gives humanity and social amplitude in a generous, yet critical way to the disembodied voices, often sporting fantastic, suburban American handles, we hear when dialing an 800 number and reaching an outsourced assistance center. May I help you? ... 

Can they help themselves? Directed nicely by Vidhu Singh, Amisha Veda and Amit Sharma play the unlikely couple with humor and charm, in a play that shows educated, middle class Indians caught up in a disorientingly globalized, 24/7 high tech world with no humane future to work for. Megha's boyfriend—Shankar's roommate—Pradeep, who the audience only knows as a voice on the phone, is an overworked manager at the call center. When he's killed, falling asleep while on the road, Megha and Shankar move close, but neither really knows what to do with themself, much less the other. "Her hormones are all over the place; he's constipated ..." 

Like many contemporary comedies, especially those essentially solo or duo, Dancing on Glass features material very much in the vein of comedy sketches and monologues—but much more integrated into a real theatrical form, one with genuine flexibility, no stiffness or recycled clichés. The climactic scenes of Megha and Shankar out on the town, for want of developing a real bond, were apparently shockers in India: "Nice young people don't swear, get drunk, get sick in the street," as Vidhu Singh explained. Here, where that's not news anymore—not in these parts, anyway—Kamatham's play succeeds, nonetheless, showing the waywardness of young people knocked off the clock, both the internal, biological clock and the social time keeper. It fulfills Pirandello's definition of humor, right up to the denouement: "What you find, instead of what you expect to find." There's truth, both funny and sad, to this picture of the other side of a world rapidly folding back in on itself. 

The little company responsible for the production, RasaNova, clearly does theater for the love of it. There was an unusually warm and lively audience as well on opening night at CounterPulse, from where it moves this week to finish a short run with performances 7 pm Thursday and Friday at the Red Poppy Art House,2698 Folsom at 23rd, near 24th St. BART in the Mission, San Francisco. (415) 826-2402; redpoppyarthouse.org 

A few times lately, I've been to a real Berkeley scene—theater in the backyard. Jack Halton and George Killingsworth performed "Backyard Beckett," Rough for Theater 1, with the added treat of "phantasmagorical fiddle and Irish songs" by Hal Hughes, in George and Hal's backyard off Shattuck—later taken to the streets, performed in Kerouac Alley, next to City Lights (and Vesuvio's) in North Beach—played with humor and down-to-earth gutter charm, in other words, real Beckett. 

Back of another house, a Victorian this time, in the aptly-dubbed Gourmet Ghetto Gardens, Robert Estes directed a very serviceable "staged reading" of The Fantasticks, winsomely put over by a cast including, among others, Karma Raines, Stanley Spenger, others from Actors Ensemble, as well as at least one vet of the Lamplighters, Eric Casanova flying in from the Big Apple to essay a splendid El Gallo—and the aforementioned Curious George Killingsworth as the old ham thespian who, with his fake Indian, assists in the "planned abduction" of the female ingénue. Good singing and comedic turns in the brilliant autumn sunlight. 

George and I spoke about it afterwards, how right this sort of thing is, for the here-&-now of Big Recession, expensive rent on theatrical space, compressed schedules ... and a lack of social togetherness and mutual relaxation. We both vowed to spread the flame—metaphorically speaking, not to shout "Fire!" in a crowded patio—and fan up the Berkeley Backyard Theater Revolution—at least when good weather strikes again ... stay tuned for placards of more of the same ... 

Central Works' new play, Penelope's Odyssey, by Gary Graves, directed by John Patrick Moore—and produced using the unique Central works collaborative style—opens this Saturday at the Berkeley City Club on Durant, preceded by previews (the previews, October 14 and 15, and shows on the 21st and 26th are pay-what-you-can), running through November 25. Thursdays-Saturdays at 8, Sundays at 5. $25-$14, sliding scale. 558-1381; centralworks.org (A theater company that always delivers the goods.) 


Ed Reed, the classic jazz balladeer, is being celebrated—and benefited!—for his upcoming CD, Born To Be Blue, by The Cheeseboard Collective, 1512 Shattuck, between Cedar and Vine, in whose pizza annex Ed's sung with his talented and committed confreres on Tuesdays the past few years ... featuring Ed's soulful renditions of the Great American Song Book—mostly love songs—and a sharp quartet, with Noel Jewkes on saxophone, from 11 to 3 this Sunday afternoon. Another show, with the band from the CD sessions, later this month—Sunday, October 24 at 4, will be at Piedmont Piano, 18th & San Pablo, uptown Oakland. Further info: edreedsings.com 

Hardboiled for Hard Times, a tour of local noir/detective fiction writers reading their fiction, including Owen Hill and Summer Brenner, will be at Moe's Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. this Saturday at 7:30. Free. moesbooks.com


Swift Spectacle

By Joe Eaton
Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 09:38:00 AM

When we arrived at the industrial site in Marin County (and that’s as specific as I can get) around 6:15 pm last Monday, a few swifts were already circling the tallest of three chimneys. Berkeley birder Rusty Scalf discovered this roost of migrating Vaux’s swifts in late September. I had assumed that the birds had subsequently moved on south, but friends had reported their continuing presence the day before. Since we had other business in Marin County that day, Ron and I decided to hang around until dusk and catch the show. 

As the light fell, more swifts flew in to join the orbiting flock. First there were dozens, then somewhere in the low hundreds. And they kept arriving. I despaired of keeping an accurate count, since birds continued to break away and fly out again. Somewhere around 6:45, the swifts began to fly into the tallest chimney, the leftmost of three. Some appeared to swerve and bounce off at the last second, while others dove in. By now there were easily thousands of swifts in the sky. If they were calling, I couldn’t hear them. 

At about 7, a few birds entered the adjacent, shorter chimney, although the tallest one still had more traffic. Had all the prime locations been taken? The flock tightened: no more flyouts. The light was going fast, but we could still see a handful of swifts in the air at 7:20. 

It occurred to me afterward that the only way to estimate the occupancy of the roost would be to determine the standard rate of swifts flying into the chimney(s) per second and multiply that by elapsed seconds. That’s what Scalf has been doing, using one of those clicker devices. He came up with a total of 6000-plus for the previous Saturday. A week later, a few days after we were there, he counted 6300. Another observer estimated 9000 around midweek. 

In any case, a heck of a lot of Vaux’s swifts, even though one of the brickyard employees told us the numbers were beginning to peter out. Scalf says their persistence at the Marin roost this late in the season is unusual; the birds should be on their way to their Mexican and Central American wintering grounds by now. He says all the known roosts north of San Rafael are empty. 

Unlike their close relative the chimney swift, Vaux’s typically roost in hollow trees rather than man-made structures. There have been some notable exceptions, though: up to 35,000 in a chimney in Portland, where they must have been packed in like sardines, and over 10,000 in the chimney of a school in Healdsburg. Those were fall-migration counts; reported spring roosts tend to be smaller, although a roost in Eugene had 15,000 occupants in early May. 

Vaux’s are classic swifts: small, dark, cigar-shaped. Like most members of their family, they have pamprodactyl feet, with the first and fourth toes freely pivoting forward and backward. This probably helps them keep a grip on vertical roosting surfaces. They build their nests of twigs, held together and to the substrate with saliva. (A relative, the edible-nest swiftlet of Southeast Asia, is the source of the primary ingredient of bird’s-nest soup.) Vaux’s swifts are suspected of mating in flight, although I suspect that would be hard to establish definitively. William S. Vaux, best known as a collector of minerals, was a Philadelphia friend of the 19th-century naturalist John K. Townsend, who discovered and first described the species. 

The breeding range of the northern (migratory) subspecies of Vaux’s swift extends from southeastern Alaska to central California, as far south as coastal Santa Cruz County and Yosemite National Park. The birds frequent old-growth conifer forests; I’ve seen them among both Douglas-firs and coast redwoods. 

One of several questions raised by the Marin roost is where these birds are coming from. According to the Marin County Breeding Bird Atlas, Vaux’s nests in small numbers in the county, with most observations on Bolinas Ridge. Could there possibly be 6000 breeding individuals in Marin? If not, how large is the catchment area for the roost? And how long have the swifts been using it? 

Another unanswered question: how far down the chimney do the birds go? There’s apparently no data on this point for chimney swifts either.  

It’s probably just as well that Vaux’s swifts haven’t adapted as thoroughly to human structures as chimney swifts have. I remember my first close encounter with swifts, when I was about six or seven my family was living in Little Rock in an older house with a working fireplace. One day a small flock of chimney swifts flew down in and into the living room. Pandemonium ensued. My mother, who had a morbid fear of birds, panicked. The cat went into hunter mode and began bouncing off the walls and furniture in pursuit of the swifts. I believe there was breakage. My father somehow herded the swifts the cat didn’t get into the attic, from which I hope they made their way outside. (I wasn’t allowed in the attic on my own because of the ghost.) And that was the end of the working fireplace.


Outdoors-East Bay Through October 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:05:00 AM

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.  

"Toddler Time," ongoing. 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.  

"Animal Feeding," ongoing. Thursday-Sunday, 3 p.m. Feed the pigs, check for eggs and bring hay to the livestock. 

"Country Kitchen Cookin'," ongoing. 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. 

"Horse-Drawn Train Rides," ongoing. 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. 

"Potato Harvesting," ongoing. 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.

 

BAY AREA RAIL TRAILS ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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. 

"Sea Squirts," ongoing. 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. 

"Catch of the Day," ongoing. 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 Siblings," ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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.  

ALAMEDA COUNTY --  

"Self-Guided Urban Outing: Berkeley," ongoing. 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," ongoing. An exhibit of Shawn Gould's illustrations featuring images of the natural world.Ongoing.  

"Waterfowl of the Freshwater Marsh," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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, ongoing. 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, ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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 ongoing.  

4444 East Ave., Livermore. (925) 373-5700, www.larpd.dst.ca.us/.< 

 

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SHORELINE ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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.

 

PREWETT FAMILY WATERPARK ongoing. There are pools and water slides for all ages, from the Tad Pool for toddlers to Boulder cove for older swimmers. In addition to fun pools and slides there are fitness pools for lessons and exercise, lawns for relaxing, locker rooms, community room and kitchen. Lap lanes are open year round. Food and beverages are not permitted in the park. Picnic tables are available outside the park. 

$4-$11. Sunday through Friday: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; closed Aug.23-27, 30-31. 4701 Lone Tree Way, Antioch. (925) 776-3070, www.ci.antioch.ca.us/CitySvcs/Prewett.< 

 

QUARRY LAKES REGIONAL RECREATION AREA ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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 -- ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. Sundays, 1:30-3 p.m. A natural history walk in Sunol Regional Wilderness. 

"Sunol Sunday Hike," ongoing. 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 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:03:00 AM

AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM AND LIBRARY AT OAKLAND ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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 ongoing.  

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," ongoing. An ever-changing exhibit featuring over 90 automobiles.  

"A Journey on Common Ground," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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.  

"Galaxy Explorers Hands-On Fun," ongoing. 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. 

"Live Daytime Planetarium Show," ongoing. Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Ride through real-time constellations, stars and planets with Chabot's full-dome digital projection system. 

"Daytime Telescope Viewing," ongoing. 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.

 

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. 

"Architects at Play," ongoing. This hands-on, construction-based miniexhibit provides children with the opportunity to create free-form structures, from skyscrapers to bridges, using KEVA planks. Ongoing.  

$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.

 

HAYWARD AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM The museum is located in a former post office and displays memorabilia of early Hayward and southern Alameda County. Some of the features include a restored 1923 Seagrave fire engine and a hand pumper from the Hayward Fire Department, founded in 1865; a Hayward Police Department exhibit; information on city founder William Hayward; and pictures of the old Hayward Hotel. The museum also alternates three exhibits per year, including a Christmas Toys exhibit and a 1950s lifestyle exhibit. 

50 cents-$1. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 22701 Main St., Hayward. (510) 581-0223, www.haywardareahistory.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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. Play some of the world's most popular math games, such as Hex, Kalah, Game Sticks and Shongo Networks.  

"Math Rules," ongoing. Use simple and colorful objects to complete interesting challenges in math through predicting, sorting, comparing, weighing and counting.  

"Animal Discovery Room,,' ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. Play with simple, versatile building blocks that can be used to build very large, high and stable structures.  

"KidsLab," ongoing. This multisensory play area includes larger-than-life blocks, a crawl-through kaleidoscope, the Gravity wall, a puppet theater and a reading area.  

"NanoZone," ongoing. Discover the science of nanotechnology through handson activities and games.  

"Planetarium," ongoing. Explore the skies in this interactive planetarium.  

"Science on a Sphere," ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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.

 

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 ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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 ongoing.  

"Tyrannosaurus Rex," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. Due to ship maintenance, tours of the navigation bridge and the engine room are not available. Tuesdays.  

"Flight Deck Fun," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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.<


Museums-San Francisco Through October 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:03:00 AM

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," ongoing. 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.Ongoing. Free with general admission unless otherwise noted.  

"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,", ongoing. 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.Ongoing.  

$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.Ongoing.  

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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. Exhibition features sculpture by Maya Lin.  

BENJAMIN DEAN LECTURE SERIES -- Ongoing.  

$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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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.

 

MUSEO ITALOAMERICANO ongoing. 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.  

PERMANENT EXHIBITS --  

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

"Urban Kidz Film Series," ongoing. 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) ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. Toddlers may comfortably climb the carpeted "treehouse'' and make a myriad of discoveries, from the roots to the limbs.  

"Live Animal Exhibit," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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. 

"Animal Feeding," ongoing. Saturday, noon. 

"Third Friday Birders," ongoing. 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. 

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

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

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

"Meet the Animals," ongoing. 11:15 a.m.-noon. 

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

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

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 ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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 ongoing. "Dance in California: 150 Years of Innovation," ongoing. 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," ongoing. This permanent exhibit is a comprehensive study of a generation of national and international conductors. In Gallery 5.  

"San Francisco 1900: On Stage," ongoing. In Gallery 4.  

"San Francisco in Song," ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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. 

$8-$10. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday-Sunday. 221 Fourth St., San Francisco. (415) 820-3220, www.zeum.org.<


Highlights-East Bay Through October 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:02:00 AM

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.

 

ARMANDO'S  

The California Honeydrops, Oct. 21, 8 p.m. $10.  

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

 

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. 

Jeremy Denk, Oct. 24, 3 p.m. Works by Gyorgy Ligeti and Bach. $42.  

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

 

CRANEWAY PAVILION  

"Exotic Erotic Ball," Oct. 22 and Oct. 23, Expo: 4 p.m.-midnight Fri.; Noon-6 p.m. Sat.; Ball 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Sat. Music, burlesque, circus performances and more are in store for adult-themed Halloween party. $20-$150. www.exoticeroticball.com. 

1414 Harbour Way South, Richmond. (510) 735-1133, www.craneway.com.

 

DAVID BROWER CENTER  

"From Flipper to 'The Cove' and 'Blood Dolphins': A Conversation With Ric O'Barry," Oct. 21, 7 p.m. Ric O'Barry, star of the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove,'' will provide an update on Earth Island's Save Japan Dolphins campaign. $5-$20.  

2150 Allston Way, Berkeley. < 

 

FOX THEATER  

Interpol, Oct. 18, 8 p.m. $35. 

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

 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE  

Country Joe McDonald, Oct. 23. $22.50-$23.50. 

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

 

LESHER CENTER FOR THE ARTS  

"Diablo Ballet: A Tribute To Lena Horne." Oct. 15 and Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m. Fri.; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sat. $22-$46. 

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

 

THE NEW RHEEM THEATRE  

"The California Independent Film Festival Haunted House," Oct. 22 through Oct. 23 and Oct. 28 through Oct. 23, 7-11 p.m.; 7 p.m.-midnight Sun. A haunt that will have a taste of all the scary movies you love. $8.  

350 Park St., Moraga. < 

 

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 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  

Raiatea Helm, Oct. 24, 2 and 7 p.m. $5-$20. 

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.<


Kids-East Bay Through October 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:02:00 AM

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.  

ONGOING PROGRAMS --  

"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," ongoing. Thursday-Sunday, 3 p.m. Feed the pigs, check for eggs and bring hay to the livestock. 

"Country Kitchen Cookin'," ongoing. 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. 

"Toddler Time," ongoing. 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.  

"Potato Harvesting," ongoing. Learn the spectacular history of this New World native as you dig with your spade and help find the spuds. 

"Horse-Drawn Train Rides," ongoing. 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. 

$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.

 

ASHKENAZ  

Elizabeth Mitchell and You Are My Flower, Oct. 17, 3 p.m. $4-$6. 

Octopretzel, Oct. 24, 3 p.m. $4-$6. 

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.

 

BLACKHAWK MUSEUM ongoing.  

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," ongoing. An ever-changing exhibit featuring over 90 automobiles.  

"A Journey on Common Ground," ongoing. 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. 

ASK JEEVES PLANETARIUM -- Ongoing. The planetarium features one of the most advanced star projectors in the world. A daily planetarium show is included with general admission. Call for current show schedule.  

"Tales Of The Maya Skies," ongoing. "Tales of the Maya Skies'' is a new full-dome planetarium show that explores the cosmology of the ancient Maya, along with their culture and their contributions to astronomy. Starts November 21. 

"Space NOW!", ongoing. Each week, this real-time ride through constellations, stars, and planets will reflect current happenings in our sky. Space NOW! will also tie in activities going on throughout the center. This is Chabot's first daytime guided tour of the universe. 

"Astronaut," ongoing. What does it take to be part of the exploration of space? Experience a rocket launch from inside the body of an astronaut. Explore the amazing worlds of inner and outer space, from floating around the International Space Station to maneuvering through microscopic regions of the human body. Narrated by Ewan McGregor. 25 min. 

"Immersive Space: Fly Through the Cosmos," ongoing. Fridays, 8 p.m. Experience the "digital universe'' in a new full-dome system. Travel to the nearest star and beyond in seconds. 

"Sunshine," ongoing. A 15-minute planetarium show for children ages 5 and under. In the show, Sunshine, a lovable animated cartoon of the Sun, urges children to sing and play along with his tricks. In the process, he introduces the colors of the day sky and the other suns of the night sky. Free with regular general admission. 

"Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity," ongoing. Take a ride to the inside of a massive black hole and learn about the latest scientific evidence, which suggests that black holes are real. Narrated by Liam Neeson. Suitable for age 12 and older. Free with General Admission ticket. 

"Secret of the Cardboard Rocket," ongoing. Take a journey through the solar system with two young adventurers who turn an old cardboard box into a rocket. Recommended for ages 5-10. 

"The Search for Life: Are We Alone?" ongoing. A voyage from the ocean deep to the outer reaches of the cosmos in search of life, narrated by Harrison Ford. 

"The Sky Tonight," ongoing. Saturdays, 8 p.m. Take a live tour of the starry sky overhead on the night of your visit. The show includes a look at constellations, planets and special celestial objects. 

"Sonic Vision," ongoing. Friday-Saturday, 9:15 p.m. This show uses the latest digital technology to illuminate the planetarium with colorful computer-generated imagery set to today's popular music, including Radiohead, U2, David Bowie, Coldplay, Moby and more.Ongoing.  

"Dinner, Movie and the Universe," ongoing. Every Friday and Saturday evening. Enjoy a bistro-style dinner, then cozy up for a film in the 70-foot MegaDome theater and end the evening with a telescope viewing. Call to purchase general admission tickets and to make dinner reservations. (510) 336-7373. 

"Chabot Observatories: A View to the Stars," ongoing. This new permanent exhibit honors the 123-year history of Chabot and its telescopes. The observatory is one of the oldest public observatories in the United States. The exhibit covers the three different sites of the observatory over its history as well as how its historic telescopes continue to be operated today. Included are informative graphic panels, multimedia kiosks, interactive computer programs, hands-on stations, and historic artifacts. 

Telescope Visions Class, ongoing. 7 p.m. This course introduces participants to the astronomer's main tool: the telescope. Classes are held in the Galileo Room twice monthly. $85-$95; reservations required. (510) 336-7373. 

"Earth Science Day," Oct. 16, 11 a.m. Celebrate the wonder of planet Earth with a variety of outdoor learning activities including: gold panning, rock and mineral identification, naturalist-led hikes and more. Free with General Admission. 

TIEN MEGADOME SCIENCE THEATER -- Ongoing. A 70-foot dome-screen auditorium. Show times subject to change. Call for current show schedule. Price with paid general admission is $6-$7. Theater only: $7-$8. (510) 336-7373, www.ticketweb.com. 

"Cosmic Voyage," ongoing. A breathtaking journey through time and space. Zoom from the surface of the Earth to the largest observable structures of the Universe and back down to the sub-nuclear realm, a guided tour across some 42 orders of magnitude. Explore some of the greatest scientific theories, many of which have never before been visualized on film. 

"Forces of Nature," ongoing. This film showcases the awesome spectacle of earthquakes, volcanoes, and severe storms as scientists continue their quests to understand how these natural disasters are triggered. 

"The Living Sea," ongoing. The film celebrates the beauty, power and importance of the ocean. Produced in association with The National Maritime Center, the Ocean Film Network and Dr. Robert Ballard. 

"Dinosaurs Alive," ongoing. A global adventure of science and discovery, featuring the earliest dinosaurs of the Triassic Period to the monsters of the Cretaceous, "reincarnated" life-sized for the giant screen. Audiences will journey with some of the world's preeminent paleontologists as they uncover evidence that the descendents of dinosaurs still walk (or fly) among us. From the exotic, trackless expanses and sand dunes of Mongolia's Gobi Desert to the dramatic sandstone buttes of New Mexico, the film will follow American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) paleontologists as they explore some of the greatest dinosaur finds in history. 

"The Human Body," ongoing. This show explores the daily biological processes that go on in the human body without our control and often without our notice. This amazing story is revealed in detail on the giant screen. 

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," ongoing. Noon-3 p.m. Event features arts and crafts projects for children and their families. $6. 

"Animal of the Day!" ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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. 

"Sea Squirts," ongoing. 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. 

"Catch of the Day," ongoing. Sundays, 2-3 p.m. Drop by to find out more about the Bay and its wildlife through guided exploration and hands-on fun. 

Free unless otherwise noted; parking fee may be charged. 1252 McKay Ave., Alameda. (510) 521-6887, www.ebparks.org.

 

CROWDEN MUSIC CENTER  

"Very First Concerts," Oct. 24, 11 a.m., 11:40 a.m., 12:20 p.m. Concerts featuring a central theme, short selections, and hands-on activities geared towards families with young children.  

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

 

DUNSMUIR HOUSE AND GARDENS HISTORIC ESTATE ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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.Ongoing.  

$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 ongoing. 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!" ongoing. An interactive exhibit on heart health.  

"Good Nutrition," ongoing. This exhibit includes models for making balanced meals and an Exercycle for calculating how calories are burned.  

"Draw Your Own Insides," ongoing. Human-shaped chalkboards and models with removable organs allow visitors to explore the inside of their bodies.  

"Your Cellular Self and Cancer Prevention," ongoing. 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," ongoing. An exhibit of Shawn Gould's illustrations featuring images of the natural world. 

"Waterfowl of the Freshwater Marsh," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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.< 

 

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF THE EAST BAY  

"Shabbat Celebration for Young Children," ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. Play some of the world's most popular math games, such as Hex, Kalah, Game Sticks and Shongo Networks.  

"Math Rules," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 1 p.m. For children ages 2-5. Free. 

"Saturday Stories," ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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.

 

PREWETT FAMILY WATERPARK ongoing. There are pools and water slides for all ages, from the Tad Pool for toddlers to Boulder cove for older swimmers. In addition to fun pools and slides there are fitness pools for lessons and exercise, lawns for relaxing, locker rooms, community room and kitchen. Lap lanes are open year round. Food and beverages are not permitted in the park. Picnic tables are available outside the park. 

$4-$11. Sunday through Friday: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; closed Aug.23-27, 30-31. 4701 Lone Tree Way, Antioch. (925) 776-3070, www.ci.antioch.ca.us/CitySvcs/Prewett.< 

 

ROBERT SIBLEY VOLCANIC REGIONAL PRESERVE ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. Due to ship maintenance, tours of the navigation bridge and the engine room are not available. Tuesdays.  

"Flight Deck Fun," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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 ongoing. ` 

$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.<


General-East Bay Through October 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:01:00 AM

ASHKENAZ  

"I Like My Bike Night," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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. 

ASK JEEVES PLANETARIUM -- Ongoing. The planetarium features one of the most advanced star projectors in the world. A daily planetarium show is included with general admission. Call for current show schedule.  

"Sunshine," ongoing. A 15-minute planetarium show for children ages 5 and under. In the show, Sunshine, a lovable animated cartoon of the Sun, urges children to sing and play along with his tricks. In the process, he introduces the colors of the day sky and the other suns of the night sky. Free with regular general admission. 

"Tales Of The Maya Skies," ongoing. "Tales of the Maya Skies'' is a new full-dome planetarium show that explores the cosmology of the ancient Maya, along with their culture and their contributions to astronomy. Starts November 21. 

"Astronaut," ongoing. What does it take to be part of the exploration of space? Experience a rocket launch from inside the body of an astronaut. Explore the amazing worlds of inner and outer space, from floating around the International Space Station to maneuvering through microscopic regions of the human body. Narrated by Ewan McGregor. 25 min. 

"Space NOW!", ongoing. Each week, this real-time ride through constellations, stars, and planets will reflect current happenings in our sky. Space NOW! will also tie in activities going on throughout the center. This is Chabot's first daytime guided tour of the universe. 

"Immersive Space: Fly Through the Cosmos," ongoing. Fridays, 8 p.m. Experience the "digital universe'' in a new full-dome system. Travel to the nearest star and beyond in seconds. 

"Secret of the Cardboard Rocket," ongoing. Take a journey through the solar system with two young adventurers who turn an old cardboard box into a rocket. Recommended for ages 5-10. 

"The Search for Life: Are We Alone?" ongoing. A voyage from the ocean deep to the outer reaches of the cosmos in search of life, narrated by Harrison Ford. 

"The Sky Tonight," ongoing. Saturdays, 8 p.m. Take a live tour of the starry sky overhead on the night of your visit. The show includes a look at constellations, planets and special celestial objects. 

"Sonic Vision," ongoing. Friday-Saturday, 9:15 p.m. This show uses the latest digital technology to illuminate the planetarium with colorful computer-generated imagery set to today's popular music, including Radiohead, U2, David Bowie, Coldplay, Moby and more. 

"Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity," ongoing. Take a ride to the inside of a massive black hole and learn about the latest scientific evidence, which suggests that black holes are real. Narrated by Liam Neeson. Suitable for age 12 and older. Free with General Admission ticket. 

CHALLENGER LEARNING CENTER -- Ongoing. "Escape from the Red Planet,'' a cooperative venture for families and groups of up to 14 people, age 8 and up. The scenario on this one hour mission: You are the crew of a shuttle to Mars that has been severely damaged in a crash landing. Your replacement crew is gone, the worst dust storm ever recorded on Mars approaches, and air, food, and water are extremely low. The mission: get the shuttle working again and into orbit before the dust storm hits. Reservations required. Children age 8-12 must be accompanied by an adult; not appropriate for children under age 8. $12-$15; Does not include general admission to the Center. Reservations: (510) 336-7421. 

"Chabot Observatories: A View to the Stars," ongoing. This new permanent exhibit honors the 123-year history of Chabot and its telescopes. The observatory is one of the oldest public observatories in the United States. The exhibit covers the three different sites of the observatory over its history as well as how its historic telescopes continue to be operated today. Included are informative graphic panels, multimedia kiosks, interactive computer programs, hands-on stations, and historic artifacts. 

"Dinner, Movie and the Universe," ongoing. Every Friday and Saturday evening. Enjoy a bistro-style dinner, then cozy up for a film in the 70-foot MegaDome theater and end the evening with a telescope viewing. Call to purchase general admission tickets and to make dinner reservations. (510) 336-7373. 

Telescope Visions Class, ongoing. 7 p.m. This course introduces participants to the astronomer's main tool: the telescope. Classes are held in the Galileo Room twice monthly. $85-$95; reservations required. (510) 336-7373. 

"Earth Science Day," Oct. 16, 11 a.m. Celebrate the wonder of planet Earth with a variety of outdoor learning activities including: gold panning, rock and mineral identification, naturalist-led hikes and more. Free with General Admission. 

TIEN MEGADOME SCIENCE THEATER -- Ongoing. A 70-foot dome-screen auditorium. Show times subject to change. Call for current show schedule. Price with paid general admission is $6-$7. Theater only: $7-$8. (510) 336-7373, www.ticketweb.com. 

"Dinosaurs Alive," ongoing. A global adventure of science and discovery, featuring the earliest dinosaurs of the Triassic Period to the monsters of the Cretaceous, "reincarnated" life-sized for the giant screen. Audiences will journey with some of the world's preeminent paleontologists as they uncover evidence that the descendents of dinosaurs still walk (or fly) among us. From the exotic, trackless expanses and sand dunes of Mongolia's Gobi Desert to the dramatic sandstone buttes of New Mexico, the film will follow American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) paleontologists as they explore some of the greatest dinosaur finds in history. 

"The Living Sea," ongoing. The film celebrates the beauty, power and importance of the ocean. Produced in association with The National Maritime Center, the Ocean Film Network and Dr. Robert Ballard. 

"Cosmic Voyage," ongoing. A breathtaking journey through time and space. Zoom from the surface of the Earth to the largest observable structures of the Universe and back down to the sub-nuclear realm, a guided tour across some 42 orders of magnitude. Explore some of the greatest scientific theories, many of which have never before been visualized on film. 

"The Human Body," ongoing. This show explores the daily biological processes that go on in the human body without our control and often without our notice. This amazing story is revealed in detail on the giant screen. 

"Forces of Nature," ongoing. This film showcases the awesome spectacle of earthquakes, volcanoes, and severe storms as scientists continue their quests to understand how these natural disasters are triggered. 

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.

 

CRANEWAY PAVILION  

"Exotic Erotic Ball," Oct. 22 and Oct. 23, Expo: 4 p.m.-midnight Fri.; Noon-6 p.m. Sat.; Ball 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Sat. Music, burlesque, circus performances and more are in store for adult-themed Halloween party. $20-$150. www.exoticeroticball.com. 

1414 Harbour Way South, Richmond. (510) 735-1133, www.craneway.com.

 

DAVID BROWER CENTER  

"From Flipper to 'The Cove' and 'Blood Dolphins': A Conversation With Ric O'Barry," Oct. 21, 7 p.m. Ric O'Barry, star of the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove,'' will provide an update on Earth Island's Save Japan Dolphins campaign. $5-$20.  

2150 Allston Way, Berkeley. < 

 

DUNSMUIR HOUSE AND GARDENS HISTORIC ESTATE ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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. < 

 

JACK LONDON AQUATIC CENTER  

"Oakland Artisan Marketplace,"' ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. Play some of the world's most popular math games, such as Hex, Kalah, Game Sticks and Shongo Networks.  

"Math Rules," ongoing. 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.

 

THE NEW RHEEM THEATRE  

"The California Independent Film Festival Haunted House," Oct. 22 through Oct. 23 and Oct. 28 through Oct. 23, 7-11 p.m.; 7 p.m.-midnight Sun. A haunt that will have a taste of all the scary movies you love. $8.  

350 Park St., Moraga. < 

 

ORACLE ARENA  

"Mickey & Minnie's Magical Journey," 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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 ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. Due to ship maintenance, tours of the navigation bridge and the engine room are not available. Tuesdays.  

"Flight Deck Fun," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 11:00:00 AM

"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," -- ongoing. "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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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.

 

SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY, BAYVIEW-ANNA E. WADEN BRANCH  

"Bayview's Historical Footprints," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 10:59:00 AM

CARMEN FLORES RECREATION CENTER  

"El Corazon de la Communidad: The Heart of the Community", ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. Play some of the world's most popular math games, such as Hex, Kalah, Game Sticks and Shongo Networks.  

"Math Rules," ongoing. Use simple and colorful objects to complete interesting challenges in math through predicting, sorting, comparing, weighing and counting.  

"Kapla," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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 24

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - 10:58:00 AM

ELKS LODGE, ALAMEDA  

"All You Can Dance Sunday Socials," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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," ongoing. 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.<