For the majority of human civilization, calendars were more than glossy packages full of 365 sexy models, airplanes, kitty cats or pug dogs a year. Agricultural civilizations needed to know the separation of the seasons as a matter of life or death, and numerous cultures worldwide independently developed methods of charting the time of year. The most famed surviving solar calendar is Stonehenge in the North of England, where it’s often cold, moist and foggy. 

It’s also cold, moist and foggy on the Berkeley Marina, where plans are under way to construct a solar calendar at Cesar E. Chavez Park. Santiago Casal, a sociologist who has worked in both the academic and corporate worlds, says the idea for the Cesar Chavez Memorial Solar Calendar came to him almost two decades ago. 

“I was in Guatemala, at a place called Uaxactún, where you could align the solstices and equinoxes,” recalls Casal. “I was taken by how intricate the sun/moon/earth system was, and how I didn’t understand it at all. I’ve long been an admirer of Cesar Chavez, and this seemed perfect – something rooted in agriculture. Plus I always used to walk here (at the marina), particularly at sunrise, so it all came together.” 

In the last couple of years, Casal contacted scientists and educators about the educational benefits a working solar calendar would offer to local schoolchildren, and additionally talked to architects and designers. At sunset of the summer solstice on Tuesday, scientists, astronomers, architects and 30-odd other onlookers braved fog, cold and Wrigley Field-like winds for a solstice workshop on the calendar’s possible future site. 

The educational benefits of the workshop were very nearly dashed by persistent fog, but, fortunately for all, the fog burned off right as the sun set on the longest day of the year, and returned immediately thereafter. 

“There are two components (of the calendar’s construction) – physical construction and curriculum development,” says Alan Gould, planetarium director at the Lawrence Hall of Science. “The science of the seasons has cultural connections, especially considering Cesar Chavez and Hispanic culture, but really all cultures.” 

LHS instructor David Glaser led the group – which included a good number of children – through a number of activities explaining the astronomical explanations behind solstices and equinoxes. As the day ended, the crowd watched the sun set between a wooden fork Casal set up where a small gap in the future calendar’s walls would be. Similar gaps would mark the sun’s setting point for all other solstices and equinoxes. 

“The (wall) height on the sunrise side would be seven feet high to frame up against the East Bay hills,” says landscape architect Lisa Howard, who assisted John Northmore Roberts in his design of the baseball infield-sized calendar. 

“On the other side it would be lower. It would still give you the sense of being enclosed, but you would be able to look over the walls and see the Golden Gate Bridge and Mt. Tam.” 

The Berkeley City Council has reserved the site for the calendar, but Casal estimates that raising the roughly $500,000 needed for the project may take several years. Considering the marina’s former usage as a waste dump, careful construction practices may raise that figure. 

Labor unions, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Science Foundation, local governments and other public and private foundations are just a few of the places the calendar’s supporters will search for funding. 

“People will be able to come by any time of the day and experience the sun/moon/earth system,” says Casal. 

“And it will be a naked-eye observatory, so you will be in the same shoes as your ancestors.” 

Free computer class for seniors 

9:30-11:30 a.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited; the class is offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109 

Berkeley State Health Toastmasters Club 

12:10-1:10 p.m. 

State Health Building, Eighth Floor, 2151 Berkeley Way 

Toastmasters International, a nonprofit educational organization, has been working for over 70 years to help people conquer their pre-speech jitters and improve communication skills. The local club meetings the second, third and fourth Thursdays of each month. 

510-649-7750; higgins_edie@hotmail.com 

Movie: Eddie Cantor Story 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Zoning Adjustment Board 

7 p.m. 

Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Among the items to be discussed is the matter of home occupations and accessory buildings and a review of a use permit for the property at 1616 LaVereda. 

“Tai Chi” 

Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. 

Jarl Forsman, a professional Tai Chi instructor, will speak during this week’s meeting of the City Commons Club. Social hour begins at 11:15 a.m. Luncheon is served from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Speaker starts promptly at 12:30 p.m. Lunch is $11 or $12.25; admission to the speech is $1, free for students. This is the final meeting for the summer. Regular Friday meetings will resume Sept. 8. 

510-848-3533 

Opera: Swan Lake 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Words in Collision: Summer Performance Art Series 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. (in Live Oak Park) 

The featured presentation will be “subtitled” with Susan Gervitz, Margaret Tedesco and company. Admission is $7 to $10. 

510-644-6893 

Bulgarian line dancing 

8 p.m. 

921 Kains, Albany 

The Albany Y Folkdancers and the San Francisco Mandala are sponsoring this Bulgarian line dance workshop by Nina Kavardjikova. Admission is $8. 

510-528-1100; Asha4results@Juno.com 

Disaster First Aid 

9 a.m.-noon 

Fire department’s Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. 

This summer, Berkeley’s Office of Emergency Services will offer a set of free training classes to help families prepare for emergencies. The classes, open to Berkeley residents at least 18 years old, will be taught by retired firefighters. The classes give hands-on training in how to put on a splint, extinguish a fire, use a fire hose, and more. Call ahead to register. Future classes will be held on Light Search and Rescue (July 15) and Fire Suppression (Aug. 12). 

510-644-8736 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Center Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

This weekend’s market will celebrate the summer solstice. Musical performances will be held throughout the four hours of the market. 

510-548-3333 

Jazz/Art at the Library 

3:30 p.m. 

Temporary Central Public Library, 2121 Allston Way 

This event is part of the summer program series in the library system. Lisa di Prima and the Donald Robinson Trio are the featured talents. 

510-644-6100 

Words in Collision: Summer Performance Art Series 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. (in Live Oak Park) 

The featured presentation will be “Out of the Q” by Dale Going. Admission is $7 to $10. 

510-644-6893 

Spay-Neuter Program 

People are encouraged to bring feral and stray cats to be sterilized and vaccinated. This program is sponsored by Fix Our Ferals. For ahead for location information, reservations and trap loans. 

510-433-9446 

Berkeley Hiking Club Mini-Hike 

8:30 a.m. meet at Shattuck Avenue and Berkeley Way 

Participants will travel to Mt. Tamalpais, where they will reconvene and meet leader at Rock Spring. There are about five miles on the leader’s choice of trails. 

415-388-1929 

Berkeley Hiking Club Main Hike 

8:30 a.m. meet at Shattuck Avenue and Berkeley Way 

Participants will travel to Point Reyes National Seashore, where they will reconvene and meet leader at Bear Valley Visitors’ Center at 9:30 a.m. Participants will make a seven-mile hike to Mt. Wittenburg. 

510-527-7754 

Hula Day: Family Sunday 

12:30-3:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science, Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley campus 

Hula performances will be held at 1:30 p.m. Science activities run throughout the entire three-hour event. 

510-642-5132; www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

Poetry Flash 

7:30 p.m. 

Cody’s Books, 2454 Telegraph Ave. 

The featured poets this session will include Suzanne Lummis. 

510-845-7852; 510-525-5476

San Pablo project meets most of area’s concerns 

It is quite obvious that Mr. Howie Muir (Letters, June 15) has not been listening to presentations of the project at 2700 San Pablo Avenue but is more willingly to follow and promote community propaganda relating to this project. The second iteration of the project design had mechanical space of 560 square feet on the roof top area, which is considered the fifth floor, and was described as “penthouse elevator mechanical space.” The third iteration of the project design shifted the massing of the building away from the residential facade or west side of the project to the San Pablo Avenue façade. The shifting of the massing with a double-loaded corridor scheme pushed units up a fifth story while maintaining a four-story height. 

The project since its inception has in no way disguised or misrepresented development concepts. We are simply trying to help revitalize the street, where many properties are vacant or underused. The project will be a benefit to the surrounding community more than a determent. In saying that we have resolved 95 percent of what the neighbors object to is very clear from parking, traffic, too density near residential neighborhoods, small enclosed courtyard and environmental impacts. But then, perhaps we wouldn’t have to continue to explain project elements and curve Mr. Muir’s ignorance of this project’s design if he would listen more than he likes to speak. 

Gordon Choyce II 

Project manager, 2700 San Pablo Ave. 

Nuclear-related work does occur here in Berkeley 

Doug Finley (Letters, June 21) believes that the absence of classified research at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley means that “we know there’s nothing vaguely resembling nuclear weapons research going on in Berkeley.” 

Unfortunately his reasoning is flawed; the so-called Stockpile Stewardship program ($4.5 billion per year and rising) includes a significant amount of unclassified nuclear weapons research. 

Berkeley Lab is currently building one of the arms of the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility (DARHT) – a 3D X-ray camera which will allow weapons designers at Los Alamos Lab to film the implosion of the core of a nuclear bomb. 

Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley are both involved in the Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) whose goal is to develop supercomputer simulations of the explosion of a nuclear bomb for weapons designers at Los Alamos, Livermore and Sandia Labs. 

The U.S. Government claims that Stockpile Stewardship is intended to maintain the safety and reliability of US nuclear weapons now that underground testing has been prohibited by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Leaving aside the incompatibility of this aim with the U.S.’s obligation to complete nuclear disarmament under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the fact that so-called “sub-critical” underground testing is still going on, and the refusal of Congress to ratify the CTBT anyway, the reality is that Stockpile Stewardship is a means to attract a new generation of scientists to build a new generation of weapons. 

And critical parts of this program are taking place right now in Berkeley. 

Julian Borrill 

Staff Scientist, Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley 

Board Member, Western States Legal Foundation 

One request for city in upcoming school bond vote 

In asking the electorate to approve the proposed school bond and maintenance tax, the city of Berkeley has an opportunity to practice truly enlightened government; namely, by posting the proposed budgets for the $116.5 million school bond and the twenty year, $3.8 million annual tax on the city’s Internet web site. Preferably, the web page would include a “frequently asked questions” section. I know I am asking a lot of my city, but then, so is it of us. 

A.C. Shen 

Berkeley 

Blame belongs to spay-neuter plan’s opponents 

In response to your June 20 story “Cat fight over city ordinance”: The spay neuter ordinance became layered and more costly to implement because of Councilmember Diane Woolley and the animal breeders who back her campaigns. The ordinance has been weakened and made more bureaucratic in deference to her objections and I doubt that she plans to vote for it in any form. To Woolley’s delight, the ordinance has become more difficult to pass because of purported costs involved. 

The ordinance started out as a simple low overhead ordinance that directly addressed the killing of cats and dogs at the Berkeley Shelter. Even this weakened and layered ordinance is still better than the status quo; at present we must all pay for the irresponsibility of a few who allow their animals to breed year after year swelling the numbers that end up at the shelter to be killed. 

Your article states that Woolley and the animal breeders care about the problem; not one of them has volunteered to work with the Berkeley volunteer rescue groups or has volunteered to be part of the repeating, onerous task of killing the animals at the shelter. The rescue groups are composed of “hands-on” people who proposed the original ordinance. At least two of the main advocates of this ordinance are people who constantly work with our most impoverished citizens; this is a quality of life issue for both people and animals. 

Shame of any councilmember who does not vote for the spay and neuter ordinance. 

Lindsay Vurek 

Berkeley 

Listen closely: Derby neighbors aren’t NIMBYs 

Re: Derby Street 

As Mr. Paul Seeman well knows, common usage of “hardball” denotes baseball played with a hard ball, which needs a large field, as opposed to “softball” which is played with a soft ball on a smaller field (Perspective, June 14). 

Many in my neighborhood want there to be a softball/soccer field on the site, leaving Derby Street open. The hardball team already has a place to play on a street that is already closed. 

It really frosts me the Mr. Seeman who lives on quiet Santa Barbara, in North Berkeley and is rich enough to own the two adjoining lots to assure his privacy, wants to tell our neighborhood, which is overflowing with traffic and has overflow parking from Iceland, The Bowl, The Tool Library, etc., how NIMBY we are. I don’t think so. We welcome these students, their parents, their grandparents, their aunts, their uncles, their cousins, their friends coming to Derby Street to watch their boys and girls play softball and soccer on a field which leaves our street open. 

Rosemary Vimont 

Berkeley

THEATER 

AURORA THEATRE 

“Split” by Mayo Simon, June 1 through July 2. A mordant clear-eyed view of an older couple's love affair. $25 to $28. Wednesday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-4822. 

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE 

“Closer” by Patrick Marber, through July 9. A funny, touching and unflinchingly honest examination of love and relationships set in contemporary London. $38 to $48.50. Tuesday, Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; May 27, June 1, June 3, June 10, June 15, June 24, June 29 and July 8, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 845-4700 or (888) 4BRTTIX. 

CALIFORNIA 

SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL 

“Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare, June 3 through June 24. The classic romantic comedy of mismatched lovers forced into a union. $21 to $38 general; $19 to $38 seniors; $10 to $38 children. Wednesday and Thursday, 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 4 p.m.; June 13 and June 20, 7 p.m. June 24, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Bruns Memorial Amphitheatre, Shakespeare Festival Way/Gateway Exit on state Highway 24. (510) 548-9666 or www.calshakes.org 

LaVal’s Subterranean 

Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by Yoni Barkan. The play will run from June 8 to July 8, Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. each night. 1834 Euclid Ave. (510) 234-6046. 

MUSIC VENUES 

ASHKENAZ 

Grateful Dean DJ Night with Digital Dave, June 22, 10 p.m. $5. 

Clan Dyken, June 23, 9:30 p.m. $11. 

Steve Lucky and The Rhumba Bums, June 24, 9:30 p.m. Lindy Hop Dance Lessons with Nick and Shanna at 8 p.m. $11. 

Hahbi'ru, June 25, 7:30 p.m. $10. 

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5099 or www.ashkenaz.com 

BLAKES 

Ripe, XODO, June 22. $4. 

An Evening with Groove Junkies, June 23. $5. 

Kofy Brown, Rous, June 24. $6. 

For age 18 and older. Music at 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0886. 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE 

Kathi McDonald and Brian Auger, June 22. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Eric Bogle, June 23. $16.50 to $17.50. 

The Limeliters, June 24. $16.50 to $17.50. 

John Dobby Boe and the avant jazz trio, June 25. $14.50 to $15.50. 

Music at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761 or (510) 762-BASS. 

LA PEÑA CULTURAL CENTER 

The Raquel Lopez Flamenco Dance Ensemble, June 23, 8:30 p.m. $18. 

Ritmo y Armonia, June 24, 9:30 p.m. $10. 

3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

924 GILMAN ST. 

Damad, Good Clean Fun, Meatjack, Brain Blood Volume, June 24. 

$5. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926. 

THE STARRY PLOUGH PUB 

Randy Weeks, Jim Roll, June 22. $6. 

Deke Dickerson and The Ecco-Fonics, Redmeat, June 23. $8. 

The Paladins, The Dusty 45's, June 24. $8. 

For age 21 and over. Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:45 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082. 

MUSEUMS 

Berkeley Historical Society 

"Berkeley's Ethnic Heritage." May 7 through March 2001. The exhibit examines the rich cultural diversity of our city and the contributions of individuals and minority groups to our history and development. The exhibit look at the original native tribelets in the area and the immigrants who settled in Ocean View and displaced the Spanish/Mexican landowners. It also examines the influence of theUniversity of California, the San Francisco earthquake, and World War II on the population and culture of Berkeley, and subsequent efforts to overcome discrimination. Curated by Linda Rosen and the Berkeley Historical Society Exhibit Committee. Thursday through Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Wheelchair accessible. Admission free. Berkeley Historical Society located in the Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center Street, Berkeley. 510-848-0181 

www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc 

UC BERKELEY ART 

MUSEUM 

“Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition,” May 20 through July 2. The 13th annual exhibit of work by candidates for the Master of Fine Arts degree. 

Rodin and His Contemporaries,” through August. An exhibit of 11 bronze maquettes on loan from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation in Los Angeles. The bronzes range in style from the artist's classically inspired “Torso of a Woman” to the anguish of “The Martyr.”  

$6 general; $4 seniors and students ages 12 to 18; free children age 12 and under; free Thursday, 1 1 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-0808. 

HALL OF HEALTH  

2230 Shattuck Ave. (lower level), Berkeley 

A hands-on community health education museum and science center sponsored by Children's Hospital Oakland and Alta Bates Medical Center. Free. For children ages 3 to 12 and their parents. 

(510) 549-1564 

LAWRENCE HALL 

OF SCIENCE 

“Experiment Gallery,” through Sept. 10. Step inside a giant laboratory and experiment with concepts surrounding sound, light, mechanics, electricity, and weather. 

$6 general; $4 seniors, students and children ages 7 to 18; $2 children ages 3 to 6; free children under age 3. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Centennial Drive, University of California, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

PHOEBE HEARST MUSEUM 

Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley 

“Modern Treasures from Ancient Iran,” through Oct. 29. This exhibit explores nomadic and town life in ancient and modern Iran as illustrated in bronze and pottery vessels, and textiles. 

“Pana O’ahu: Sacred Stones – Sacred Places,” through July 16. An exhibit of photographs by Jan Becket and Joseph Singer. 

“Phoebe Hearst Museum-Approaching a Century of Anthropology,” a sampling of the vast collections of the museum, its mission, history, and current research, with selections from ancient Egypt, ancient Peru, California Indians, Asia (India), and Africa. 

“Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture,” Ishi, the last Yahi Indian of California, spent the final years of his life, 1911 to 1916, living at the museum, working with anthropologists to record his culture, demonstrating technological skills, and retelling Yahi myths, tales, and songs. 

Wednesday through Sunday 10 am -4:30 pm; Thursday until 9 pm (Sept-May) 

(510) 643-7648 

HABITOT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 

Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 

A museum especially for children age 7 and younger. 

Admission is $4 for adults; $6 child age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child.  

Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

(510) 647-1111 

JUDAH L. MAGNES 

MUSEUM 

2911 Russell St., Berkeley 

“Telling Time: To Everything There Is A Season,” through May 2002.  

An exhibit structured around the seasons of the year and the seasons of life with objects ranging from the sacred and the secular, to the provocative and the whimsical. Highlights include treasures from Jewish ceremonial and folk art, rare books and manuscripts, contemporary and traditional fine art, video, photography and cultural kitsch. Through Nov. 4: “Spring and Summer.” 

Free. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

(510) 549-6950. 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). Calendar items should be submitted at least one week before the opening of a new exhibit or performance. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

Jobs for youth and health services for low-income people are among the programs that made it to the proposed liberal/progressive budget presented at Tuesday night’s council session. The council will vote on the proposals next week. 

This year, the mayor opted out of the process. Generally Mayor Shirley Dean, part of a more moderate council block, submits proposals that are different from those recommended by the competing faction. 

Dean says at next week’s meeting, she will ask the council not to spend the $3 million that is available. Before allocating the funds, the council should set up a more rational funding process, she argued. 

There is little wiggle room for creative decision makers within the budget process. The city is at the halfway point in a two-year budget, with about $215 million budgeted for each of the two years. A little over half of the budget – about $114 million – goes for salaries and benefits for the city’s 1,600 employees. 

Most of the remaining funds are set aside for specific uses. The bond funds pay for the uses to which they are dedicated, such as remodeling the library, civic center and building the new police-fire building. Fees homeowners pay on their tax bills for sewers and refuse go for these services. Other funds are set aside specifically for street and sidewalk repair or to lease office space or equipment. 

In this fiscal year, which begins July 1, there is about $3 million in funds that has not been earmarked for specific uses. This is the only money that the council can spend. 

For the past several months various organizations have lined up at public hearings and written letters to the council, asking for funds for their causes. Agencies within the city have also requested funds. The result was a list of almost $19 million in requests. 

Maio said four of the five progressives – herself, Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek, Councilmember Dona Spring and Councilmember Kriss Worthington – met and sifted through the requests, eliminating some and reducing others. Councilmember Margaret Breland did not participate in the process, Maio said. If five councilmembers meet outside a formal meeting, they are in violation of the state’s open meeting laws. 

Among the bigger-ticket items proposed are: 

• $200,000 to match federal grant funds for which the city has applied, to meet the health needs of low income people. 

• $65,000 for dental services at school sites. 

• $305,000 toward making the City Council Chambers more accessible to people who use wheelchairs. In part, funds would be used to study whether it is best to build a new council chambers – one has been proposed at the site of the old police building on McKinley Street – or to upgrade the chambers in Old City Hall. 

• $180,000 for a summer jobs program. This is money which the city lost when the federal government restructured its summer jobs program. The state could fund this program, but that will not be known until the state budget is approved. 

• $118,000 for bicycle and pedestrian safety measures, which will be proposed by the Transportation Commission. 

• $185,000 for animal care, including staffing the shelter with a volunteer coordinator, a no/low-cost spay-neuter program, animal shelter improvements, animal adoption advertising and funds to Home at Last, for its animal rescue efforts. 

• $55,000 for the Telegraph Area Association. 

A number of the city manager’s requests became part of the proposed budget: 

• $400,000 to complete the city’s telephone system. 

• $500,000 to pay for the costs of the city’s Living Wage program. These are the estimated increase in costs that would be passed on to the city by businesses whose employees would earn higher wages mandated by the ordinance. 

• $40,000 for mandatory earthquake insurance. 

Among the requests that did not make it to the proposed budget are: 

• Funding costs exceeding the budget for the Aquatic Park play structure. The council recommended that the funds come from the city’s playground budget. 

• Funding apartment inspections for carbon monoxide was not funded. However, a fee-based program will be proposed. 

• Funds for sidewalk repairs and deferred maintenance, above the annual allocations for these services. 

• Funds for traffic signals in addition to those already in the budget. 

• Funding a new animal shelter. 

Maio said she and other liberal/progressives will look again at their proposal over the next week. They will take into consideration a request for funds by the Chaplaincy to the Homeless, which had neglected to submit a formal request for funds. They will also consider a request by Berkeley Trip, which sells reduced-rate bus and BART passes. The proposal funds the agency at half the level requested. The university matches the city’s funding. Representatives from Berkeley Trip said the agency will fold unless it gets full council funding. 

Maio and her colleagues plan to tweak their proposal. “It’s a first cut,” Maio said. 

To receive a copy of the proposed budget call Maio’s office at 644-6359. 

Most every year, around this time, the mayor and the liberal/progressive faction of the council each publish dueling versions of how to spend the few dollars left over from the city’s fixed costs. 

But not this year. 

Mayor Shirley Dean says she is refusing to play the game. She will not write an alternative to the liberal/progressive budget. 

“First we need organization; we need restraint,” said the mayor, in a phone interview Wednesday. “There’s an absence of going to make these decisions? We are funding programs we know nothing about. 

“Somebody has to be the voice of reason.” 

Councilmember Linda Maio, the primary author of the liberal/progressive budget, said that by taking herself outside the deliberations, Dean is able to “take political potshots at the progressives.” 

The mayor, however, called the lineup of requesting organizations a “feeding frenzy.” The council needs to know more precisely what its money is buying, she said. 

That is not to say that the needs are not great nor that the requests are not valid, Dean added. 

Dean challenged the liberal/progressive budget, claiming it ignored the city’s commitment to moving the Public Safety Building antenna tower. She said it included items that should not be funded at all, such as giving $4,000 to the West Berkeley Association of Industrial Companies. 

“We have the largest, richest companies getting $4,000,” Dean said, contending that the association could easily get the funds from its membership. 

Maio argued, however, that the West Berkeley association is just getting started and needs the city’s help. These industries are especially important because they are “targeted for displacement by dot com groups,” she said. 

Maio further contended that the mayor knows the value of most the recommended expenditures. She pointed in particular to the $35,000 set aside for meals for low-income seniors at Strawberry Lodge, the $62,000 that would go to double the arts grants budget, and the $70,000 dedicated to a volunteer coordinator for the animal shelter. 

The mayor need not question whether the money is well spent, Maio said. “Staff has an oversight role. We don’t just hand out money.”

The Berkeley Police Review Commission reviewed its concerns last week about the rule that allows the commission only 120 days to investigate complaints of misconduct against Berkeley Police Officers. 

The 120-day standard comes from a memorandum of understanding with the Berkeley Police Association, the union that represents police officers in Berkeley. 

If an officer is to be disciplined by either suspension or termination, that discipline must be imposed within 120 days from the date the complaint is filed with the city or the commission, said Barbara Attard, secretary of the commission. 

Commissioner David Ritchie and some other members of the PRC want to extend the four-month investigation period, originally set to coincide with the department’s own Internal Affairs investigation. The findings of the Internal Affairs are used in disciplining officers. 

The 120-day time frame surfaced in an earlier commission meeting attended by the city manager and the city attorney. The city officials discussed the possible effects of the June 1999 decision of the 4th District Court of Appeals in Caloca vs. the County of San Diego, which strengthens a police officer’s right to appeal a decision of misconduct. 

In Caloca the appeals court reversed the judgment of a trial court that denied four sheriffs the right to an administrative appeal in regard to the Public Safety Officers procedural Bill of Rights Act. 

City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque said the Caloca case opens the door for a cumbersome and therefore costly appeal process, and she suggested that the police chief no longer use the commission’s findings for any personnel-related purposes. 

She said the results of a PRC investigation are not used by the police chief for disciplining officers, but the chief might use them in considering promotions and assignments. The city manager holds the authority to determine discipline imposed on officers. 

The commission voted unanimously to request funding from City Council to obtain independent counsel to evaluate the extent of an appeal process. The commissioners seek to retain the impact their investigations currently have. 

Last week Ritchie, who is an attorney, said the 120-day limit no longer has any purpose in light of the city attorney’s statements, and in effect it constrains the commission’s investigations. 

“(The 120-day rule) was put in a number of years ago, and back then the assumption was we actually did have influence on discipline, and in order for our decision to have some impact the decision had to be available in a certain amount of time – 120 days,” Ritchie said. 

“The state penal code allows for a one-year rule. We would like to go for that.” 

Commissioner Lucienne Sanchez-Resnik said that if the commission asked to eliminate the 120-day rule, the request probably would have to go to City Council. 

Attard said the commission cases are reviewed by the city manager, and in theory the city manager could use them in discipline. The efficacy of the process could be lost if the commission ignores the 120-day time limit, she said. 

BART elevators will be closed for major repairs 

The downtown Berkeley BART station is one of four East Bay stations having its elevators rebuilt as a part of a $1.4 billion renovation program. 

Renovation of the elevators at the stations-the others are Lake Merritt, 19th Street in Oakland and Lafayette, with Glen Park renovation to begin Friday. The work is expected to last about 60 days, and will include replacement of doors, floors and some electrical components, according to a press release. 

BART officials suggest calling (510) 464-2278 for help with trip planning, and for local Paratransit services, call (510) 287-5040 or (800) 555-8085. 

BART will be providing free lift-equipped shuttle service between the Berkeley and Ashby stations for train connections while the work is under way. The shuttle will operate from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends. 

Bulgarian line dancing workshop set for Friday 

ALBANY – The Albany Y Folkdancers and the San Francisco Mandala are sponsoring two Bulgarian line dance workshops by Nina Kavardjikova. One workshop is in Albany, Friday at 8 p.m., at 921 Kains, just south of Solano Avenue. Admission is $8. For more information, call 528-1100 or email Asha4results@Juno.com. 

Fire departments hold weekend training, drill 

East Bay fire departments will conduct a Mutual Response Area–Training/Drill in Tilden Park on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. It is part of the annual training conducted during the fire season and the second drill of the summer. 

Mutual response Areas (MRAs) were developed after the 1991 Oakland/Berkeley Hills Fire as one of the methods to quickly control wild fires. For this drill, the fire will be simulated only. The location of the drill will be at Equestrian Camp off Wildcat Canyon Road in Tilden Park. 

Gray Panthers discuss affordable housing 

Berkeley Gray Panthers will have a membership meeting on June 28 to discuss affordable housing entitled “Housing Rights? Where Will You Live Tomorrow?” The meeting will be held at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. at 1:30 p.m. It is open to the public. 

Scholarship awarded 

Joshua Walden of Berkeley received a $3,500 scholarship from the SBC Foundation for academic excellence last week. SBC scholarships are part of an annual awards program and are awarded to children of employees or retirees of Southwestern Bell, Ameritech, SNET, Pacific Bell, Nevada Bell, Cellular One and SBC Telecom. 

Walden will attend the University of California this fall and major in music. 

“Investing in these young students is an investment in our future,” Gloria Delgado, president of the SBC Foundation, said in a press release. 

“Education is a critical link in strengthening the communities in which we operate and our nation as a whole. We hope this educational scholarship will help Walden make a difference in the world.” 

– Daily Planet Staff

SAN FRANCISCO – On Sunday, BART will operate longer trains for the San Francisco Pride 2000 Parade in San Francisco. 

After the parade, BART personnel will be selling tickets at the Civic Center and Powell Street Stations in San Francisco for the homebound trip. BART urges people to buy round-trip tickets. 

For more information, call (510) 465-BART.

Drug arrests made 

A search warrant was served at 8:30 a.m. Friday on residents in an Oakland home by the Berkeley Special Enforcement Unit. The warrant was issued based on information that the suspects living there had been selling drugs in several Berkeley locations. During the search police found one wrapped piece of rock cocaine inside a Newport cigarette box. Clarence Brown, 44, and Freddie Lee Christian, 42, were arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance. 

DUI alleged in crash 

Following a collision at Harmon and King streets, at 6:16 p.m. Friday in which the driver of the vehicle ran into a stop sign, police officers observed that the driver had bloodshot and watery eyes. The driver also failed the Field Sobriety Test, according to police reports. Gilberto Echeveste, 20, a Berkeley resident, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and for not having a valid driver’s license. 

Verbal fight escalates 

Two men seated in front of a cafe at 2475 Telegraph Ave. were conversing about 5:15 p.m. Monday when a man they did not know came up to their table and started yelling at one of them. 

The cafe customers stood up to the interloper and told him they wanted to be left alone, but he refused to leave. The man who was the target of the yelling put his hands on the shoulders of the man who instigated the confrontation and tried to push him away from the table, but the interloper bit his hand. The man with the injured hand notified a police officer that he wanted to make a citizen’s arrest. Albin Woodey, 29, was arrested on a charge of battery. 

– Daily Planet Staff

Four young men were arrested for allegedly defacing two buildings with black spray paint about 1:30 a.m. Saturday. 

The graffiti was sprayed on two walls, one on the building at 2100 Milvia St., and the other at 2118 Milvia St., according to police reports. A security guard observed them, but did not try to stop them at first, but then noticed a police officer and flagged him down, said Capt. Bobby Miller of the Berkeley Police Department. 

The officer stopped two suspects on Addison Street near Grant Street and one of them was carrying a can of black spray paint. The security guard identified them as two of the four spray painters. Marcus Durant, 22, was arrested on charges of malicious damage by spray painting. The second suspect arrested is a juvenile. The two other suspects were not arrested.

A family fight erupted about 10 p.m. Monday on the 1200 block of Ninth Street when a woman’s two daughters visited her and her partner. 

Police Capt. Bobby Miller said the daughters, whose father previously had been married to their mother, called their mother but they found their telephone call phone was blocked. 

When they went to their mother’s home to investigate, they were confronted by their mother’s male friend. The confrontation escalated into an argument, said Miller, and one of the daughters went into the kitchen and picked up a butcher knife and swung it at the man several times over his head. He managed to pick up a pillow and ward off blows to his head, and then she threw the knife at him but missed. He sustained cuts on his left forearm and on one knee but was not seriously injured. Myrina Drummer, 18, was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon.

Berkeley Community Media is finally able to send its old equipment the way of carbon paper, floppy disks, wooden tennis racquets and 1,200-baud modems. In a long-awaited move, Berkeley-TV Channel 25 has landed a bevy of new cameras and computers, making the painstaking process of linear editing a thing of the past. 

“You can take film from VHS or digital cameras, upload the information into the computer, and edit it any which way you want,” explains BCM Access Coordinator John Dalton of the Final Cut Pro program running on one of the station’s two new Macintosh G4 computers. “With linear editing once you laid down your video you couldn’t insert something in the middle without doing everything over. Now you can cut and paste, jump around, add special effects, lighting, graphic information, even animations of some sort. You can move around the information on the hard drive, and the finished project streams out onto a video tape. This is a giant step for us.” 

In addition to the sleek new computers, B-TV also boasts four new digital camcorders, each a fraction of the size and weight of the station’s old VHS fare. In addition to being tiny enough to store in a cargo pants pocket, the digital cameras take higher quality pictures, are easier to use, and, being digital after all, spawn tapes that don’t degenerate in quality with each successive copying. 

While the new technology will certainly make it easier for the station to undertake its everyday activities, Executive Director Brian Scott is hoping to vastly expand BCM’s role. To start with, he’d like another couple of channels to broadcast on. 

“Right now we show City Council meetings, Berkeley Unified School District meetings and Rent Stabilization Board Meetings,” says Scott. “What I’d like to see is the station not only showing those meetings but also the Zoning Committee, the Planning Commission and other city organizations that would be able to have shows. And I’d also like to see a monthly program communicating to the public what’s taken place in the previous two or three council meetings so people can get a clear idea of what’s going in their government. 

“I’d like to get a second channel for government access,” continues Scott. “Right now it’s very frustrating trying to program the station around meetings that come every other week, sometimes once a month, sometimes not at all. We can’t really get any consistent programming.” 

With government television on its own channel, B-TV would dive into aggressive outreach into local schools, nonprofits and the community-at-large with the goal of generating a third channel within a year. 

“The public, education and government – each entity needs a separate voice,” says Scott. “It’s an overused phrase, but we have to bridge the digital divide. We have to bring people in rather than waiting for people sitting at home to get out of their chairs and come out to us. The more information you give people, the better.” 

Some of Scott’s most intriguing outreach plans focus on Berkeley’s schools. School events such as elections, plays and Berkeley High jazz band concerts could all be filmed and broadcast on BCM’s education channel. Students could participate in shows emphasizing their schoolwork. Scott uses Longfellow Middle School’s web design class as an example, pointing out that the students could put on a weekly call-in show highlighting their homework.  

Scott’s expansion plans would not be free, however. BCM’s programming is run by a mammoth computer known as the Head End, a massive juxtaposition of computers and 13 VCRs programmed with B-TV’s schedule. In addition to aiming for an upgrade from analogue to digital Head Ends, two new channels would require two new devices. 

BCM is funded by the city, which in turn receives money from AT&T via franchise taxes collected from cable television users. BCM’s franchise agreement with AT&T signed in the early 1990s stated that the cable provider might reconsider the amount of funding it pays toward community access television if it benefited from any additional technology. Scott hopes AT&T’s diversification and growth since the early ’90s translate into more funding. 

“It comes down to if AT&T is making more money now, then the city should be making more money now,” says Scott. “Once we open up that accessibility more people will come in here.”

Chinese Club Dragon Boat Celebration 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Jazz/Art at the Library 

4 p.m. 

North Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1170 The Alameda 

This event is part of the summer program series in the library system. Lisa di Prima and the Donald Robinson Trio are the featured talents. 

510-644-6850 

Baby Bounce and Toddler Tales 

7 p.m. 

West Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1125 University Ave. 

This storytime program is designed for families with children up to 3 years old. The free, participatory program features a half hour of multicultural songs, rhymes, lap jogs and stories to give very young children a lively introduction to the magic of books. Parents also will enjoy the new stories, rediscover old favorites and learn new songs and games to share. 

510-644-6870 

BUSD School Board meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Board/Council Chambers, Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Agenda items include approving the budget for the 2000-2001 fiscal year, moving ahead with a school bond and tax measure for the November ballot, and hearing a report from the Berkeley High Diversity Project on race/ethnicity and discipline at the school. 

Poetry Flash 

7:30 p.m. 

Cody’s Books, 2454 Telegraph Ave. 

The featured poets this session will be Stefanie Marlis and Judith Taylor. 

510-845-7852; 510-525-5476 

Upcoming Poetry Flash @ Cody's readings feature poetry by: 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 

8 p.m. 

Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley campus 

Program Four, June 21, 8 p.m. 

Kent Nagano will conduct the fourth and final concert of the season, featuring works by Berio, Mozart, and Bruckner. Tickets $19 to $35 general; $10 students. 

510-841-2800 

Free computer class for seniors 

9:30-11:30 a.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited; the class is offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109 

Berkeley State Health Toastmasters Club 

12:10-1:10 p.m. 

State Health Building, Eighth Floor, 2151 Berkeley Way 

Toastmasters International, a nonprofit educational organization, has been working for over 70 years to help people conquer their pre-speech jitters and improve communication skills. The local club meetings the second, third and fourth Thursdays of each month. 

510-649-7750; higgins_edie@hotmail.com 

Movie: Eddie Cantor Story 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Zoning Adjustment Board 

7 p.m. 

Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Among the items to be discussed is the matter of home occupations and accessory buildings and a review of a use permit for the property at 1616 LaVereda. 

“Tai Chi” 

Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. 

Jarl Forsman, a professional Tai Chi instructor, will speak during this week’s meeting of the City Commons Club. Social hour begins at 11:15 a.m. Luncheon is served from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Speaker starts promptly at 12:30 p.m. Lunch is $11 or $12.25; admission to the speech is $1, free for students. This is the final meeting for the summer. Regular Friday meetings will resume Sept. 8. 

510-848-3533 

Opera: Swan Lake 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Words in Collision: Summer Performance Art Series 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. (in Live Oak Park) 

The featured presentation will be “subtitled” with Susan Gervitz, Margaret Tedesco and company. Admission is $7 to $10. 

510-644-6893 

Disaster First Aid 

9 a.m.-noon 

Fire department’s Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. 

This summer, Berkeley’s Office of Emergency Services will offer a set of free training classes to help families prepare for emergencies. The classes, open to Berkeley residents at least 18 years old, will be taught by retired firefighters. The classes give hands-on training in how to put on a splint, extinguish a fire, use a fire hose, and more. Call ahead to register. Future classes will be held on Light Search and Rescue (July 15) and Fire Suppression (Aug. 12). 

510-644-8736 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Center Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

This weekend’s market will celebrate the summer solstice. Musical performances will be held throughout the four hours of the market. 

510-548-3333 

Jazz/Art at the Library 

3:30 p.m. 

Temporary Central Public Library, 2121 Allston Way 

This event is part of the summer program series in the library system. Lisa di Prima and the Donald Robinson Trio are the featured talents. 

510-644-6100 

Spay-Neuter Program 

People are encouraged to bring feral and stray cats to be sterilized and vaccinated. This program is sponsored by Fix Our Ferals. For ahead for location information, reservations and trap loans. 

510-433-9446 

Poetry Flash 

7:30 p.m. 

Cody’s Books, 2454 Telegraph Ave. 

The featured poets this session will include Suzanne Lummis. 

510-845-7852; 510-525-5476

Nuclear research not conducted in Berkeley 

It’s misleading just to run a photo of the sign modified to “Nuclear Weapons Research Zone” without correction (Daily Planet, June 20). It’s even more misleading to run your headline “How nuke free?” above it and caption without attribution “...contend that contrary to the city’s policy, nuclear research continues to be conducted within city limits” below. As a matter of actual fact, we know there’s nothing vaguely resembling nuclear weapons research going on in Berkeley because the very last classified program at Lawrence Berkeley Lab ended in the early ‘70s, and there was none on the UCB campus for decades before that. 

Most people confuse LBL with Lawrence Livermore Lab, which is of course operated by UC and where they do design weapons. For those who haven’t noticed, that’s a different operation in a different city. 

I always took those “Nuclear Free Zone” signs to mean “this city is certified to contain no atomic nuclei,” a wonderful illustration of the anti-scientific ignorance of those responsible for them. 

Doug Finley 

San Pablo 

Don’t resort to public ridicule of city officials 

The letter that Lucienne Sanchez-Resnik writes mocking Councilwoman Olds proposal to ban the use of cell phones by bicyclists drips of ridicule and contempt. (Letters, June 12). Though she assumes that it was Olds’ proposal that drew all the media attention, I believe that it is responses like hers that makes the media say, “there Berkeley goes again!” And as for her husband, Hank, who also wrote a letter, I really expected more. Mr. Resnik has well-developed intellectual and rhetorical skills and is fully capable of debating the issue on its merits. It is therefore even more disappointing when he chooses to level personal attacks, (“she’s out of her mind”) followed by the intriguing and far-fetched idea that she is engaged in a “deliberate and malicious attack on bicyclists.” (What is malicious about trying to improve bicycle safety?) Public officials are vulnerable when they put forth new ideas. We owe them the courtesy of responding to the content of their proposals with thoughtful and respectful dialogue. 

Mr. and Mrs. Resnik have done their community a disservice by stooping to name-calling and ridicule. Our youth need good examples of how to engage in civil discourse on civic issues. Thankfully, the school board strives to set such an example. 

When leaders in our community, like the Resniks, go public with their differences, I would hope that they could vent at home, and use the public venue to engage in productive and respectful dialogue. 

Shirley Issel 

BUSD School Board Director 

EcoHouse seeks residents’ support in raising funds 

Thank you for the excellent article, “An Ecological Neighborhood”, written by your staff journalist, Marilyn Claessens, which appeared in your June 17-18, weekend issue. It is amazing how rapidly the popularity of the Daily Planet has spread in the Berkeley community. When I tried to pick up another copy of the Planet on Saturday evening, I found that quite a few of your boxes were already empty. 

Your consistent reporting on the EcoHouse, and the Peralta, Northside, and Karl Linn Community Art Garden Commons, which also feature ecofriendly technologies, has done much to broaden support by Berkeley’s citizens, government, and business community. 

The response to this past weekend’s article was especially rewarding. People were eager to find out how they could contribute to our fund-drive to own the building outright. There are very few properties in our community that are commonly owned by citizens, making this purchase a precious opportunity. Owning the building will allow us to provide affordable educational and material services to the public and will help maintain the EcoHouse itself. With broad community support, we are confident we can raise the $240,000 to repay our lenders by spring of 2001. 

At present Berkeley’s Ecology Center is our fiscal agent until our application for nonprofit status has been approved. Please make checks payable to Ecology Center-EcoHouse. Your fully tax-deductible gifts will make EcoHouse a reality, offering incalculable long-term benefits not only for the Bay Area, but for the environment of our planet. 

Karl Linn 

President, 

Berkeley EcoHouse

THEATER 

AURORA THEATRE 

“Split” by Mayo Simon, June 1 through July 2. A mordant clear-eyed view of an older couple's love affair. $25 to $28. Wednesday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-4822. 

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE 

“Closer” by Patrick Marber, through July 9. A funny, touching and unflinchingly honest examination of love and relationships set in contemporary London. $38 to $48.50. Tuesday, Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; May 27, June 1, June 3, June 10, June 15, June 24, June 29 and July 8, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 845-4700 or (888) 4BRTTIX. 

CALIFORNIA 

SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL 

“Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare, June 3 through June 24. The classic romantic comedy of mismatched lovers forced into a union. $21 to $38 general; $19 to $38 seniors; $10 to $38 children. Wednesday and Thursday, 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 4 p.m.; June 13 and June 20, 7 p.m. June 24, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Bruns Memorial Amphitheatre, Shakespeare Festival Way/Gateway Exit on state Highway 24. (510) 548-9666 or www.calshakes.org 

LaVal’s Subterranean 

Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by Yoni Barkan. The play will run from June 8 to July 8, Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. each night. 1834 Euclid Ave. (510) 234-6046. 

MUSIC VENUES 

ASHKENAZ 

The Poullard-Thompson Cajun Trio, June 21, 9 p.m. Cajun dance lesson with Patti Whithurst at 8 p.m. $8. 

Grateful Dean DJ Night with Digital Dave, June 22, 10 p.m. $5. 

Clan Dyken, June 23, 9:30 p.m. $11. 

Steve Lucky and The Rhumba Bums, June 24, 9:30 p.m. Lindy Hop Dance Lessons with Nick and Shanna at 8 p.m. $11. 

Hahbi'ru, June 25, 7:30 p.m. $10. 

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5099 or www.ashkenaz.com 

BLAKES 

“Third World,” June 21. With UC Buu, DJ Add, Jah Bonz, Big Willie. $5. 

Ripe, XODO, June 22. $4. 

An Evening with Groove Junkies, June 23. $5. 

Kofy Brown, Rous, June 24. $6. 

For age 18 and older. Music at 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0886. 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE 

Urban Acoustic Dude, June 21. $12.50 to $13.50. 

Kathi McDonald and Brian Auger, June 22. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Eric Bogle, June 23. $16.50 to $17.50. 

The Limeliters, June 24. $16.50 to $17.50. 

Music at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761 or (510) 762-BASS. 

LA PEÑA CULTURAL CENTER 

Jim Page, June 21, 7:30 p.m. $5 to $15. 

The Raquel Lopez Flamenco Dance Ensemble, June 23, 8:30 p.m. $18. 

Ritmo y Armonia, June 24, 9:30 p.m. $10. 

3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

924 GILMAN ST. 

Damad, Good Clean Fun, Meatjack, Brain Blood Volume, June 24. 

$5. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926. 

THE STARRY PLOUGH PUB 

Ceili Dance featuring Brian Theriault and Friends, June 21. 8 p.m. 

Randy Weeks, Jim Roll, June 22. $6. 

Deke Dickerson and The Ecco-Fonics, Redmeat, June 23. $8. 

The Paladins, The Dusty 45's, June 24. $8. 

For age 21 and over. Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:45 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082. 

MUSEUMS 

Berkeley Historical Society 

"Berkeley's Ethnic Heritage." May 7 through March 2001. The exhibit examines the rich cultural diversity of our city and the contributions of individuals and minority groups to our history and development. Thursday through Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Wheelchair accessible. Admission free. Berkeley Historical Society located in the Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center Street, Berkeley. 510-848-0181; www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc 

UC BERKELEY ART 

MUSEUM 

“Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition,” May 20 through July 2. The 13th annual exhibit of work by candidates for the Master of Fine Arts degree. Artist Talk, May 21, 3 p.m. At Gallery 2. 

Rodin and His Contemporaries,” through August. An exhibit of 11 bronze maquettes on loan from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation in Los Angeles. The bronzes range in style from the artist's classically inspired “Torso of a Woman” to the anguish of “The Martyr.” Some of the maquettes were cast during Rodin’s lifetime, others have been cast fairly recently under the aegis of the Musee Rodin which alone is authorized to cast his sculptures posthumously. 

$6 general; $4 seniors and students ages 12 to 18; free children age 12 and under; free Thursday, 1 1 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-0808. 

HALL OF HEALTH  

2230 Shattuck Ave. (lower level), Berkeley 

A hands-on community health education museum and science center sponsored by Children's Hospital Oakland and Alta Bates Medical Center. 

“Your Cellular Self and Cancer Prevention,” ongoing. An exhibit on understanding how cells become cancerous and how to detect and prevent cancer. 

Free. For children ages 3 to 12 and their parents. 

(510) 549-1564 

LAWRENCE HALL 

OF SCIENCE 

“Experiment Gallery,” through Sept. 10. Step inside a giant laboratory and experiment with concepts surrounding sound, light, mechanics, electricity, and weather. 

“Math Rules!” ongoing exhibit. A math exhibit of hands-on problem-solving stations, each with a different mathematical challenge. Make mathematical ice-cream cones, use blocks to build three dimensional structures, make dodecagon pies from a variety of mathematical shapes and stretch mathematical thinking. 

“Within the Human Brain,” ongoing installation. Visitors test their cranial nerves, play skeeball, master mazes, match musical tones and construct stories inside a simulated “rat cage” of learning experiments. 

“Laser: The Light Fantastic” ongoing exhibit. 

$6 general; $4 seniors, students and children ages 7 to 18; $2 children ages 3 to 6; free children under age 3. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Centennial Drive, University of California, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

PHOEBE HEARST MUSEUM 

Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley 

“Modern Treasures from Ancient Iran,” through Oct. 29. This exhibit explores nomadic and town life in ancient and modern Iran as illustrated in bronze and pottery vessels, and textiles. 

“Pana O’ahu: Sacred Stones – Sacred Places,” through July 16. An exhibit of photographs by Jan Becket and Joseph Singer. 

“Phoebe Hearst Museum-Approaching a Century of Anthropology,” a sampling of the vast collections of the museum, its mission, history, and current research, with selections from ancient Egypt, ancient Peru, California Indians, Asia (India), and Africa. 

“Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture,” Ishi, the last Yahi Indian of California, spent the final years of his life, 1911 to 1916, living at the museum, working with anthropologists to record his culture, demonstrating technological skills, and retelling Yahi myths, tales, and songs. 

Wednesday through Sunday 10 am -4:30 pm; Thursday until 9 pm (Sept-May) 

(510) 643-7648 

HABITOT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 

Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 

A museum especially for children age 7 and younger. 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. 

Admission is $4 for adults; $6 child age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child.  

Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

(510) 647-1111 

JUDAH L. MAGNES 

MUSEUM 

2911 Russell St., Berkeley 

“Telling Time: To Everything There Is A Season,” through May 2002.  

An exhibit structured around the seasons of the year and the seasons of life with objects ranging from the sacred and the secular, to the provocative and the whimsical. Highlights include treasures from Jewish ceremonial and folk art, rare books and manuscripts, contemporary and traditional fine art, video, photography and cultural kitsch. Through Nov. 4: “Spring and Summer.” 

Free. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

(510) 549-6950. 

GALLERIES  

A.C.C.I. GALLERY 

“Abstract Expressions,” through July 1. A group show featuring Rita Flanagan, Carolyn Careis, Heather Hutchinson, Muriel Paley, and Naomi Policoff. 

Free. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-2527. 

GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION 

“On Common Ground.” through June 23. This exhibit is a portrait of faith-based communities in Los Angeles. 

“Finding the Sacred Mountain,” through June 20. An exhibit of sumi-e and watercolors by Robert Kostka. 

Free. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd., Berkeley. (510) 649-2541. 

KALA INSTITUTE 

“Markings/Imprints,” through July 28. The 2000 Kala Art Institute Fellowship Awards Exhibitions, Part I, featuring works by Susan Belau, Liliana Lobo Ferreira, and Jamie Morgan. 

Free. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Workshop Media Center Gallery, 1060 Heinz Ave., Berkeley. (510) 549-2977. 

NEW PIECES GALLERY 

“Progressions: the Quilt as Art,” through June 29. An exhibit of quilts by Jill Le Croisette. 

“Go We to the Revels Masked,” through June 29. An exhibit of dolls by Elise Peeples. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

TRAYWICK GALLERY 

Rachel Davis, Samantha Fisher, Benicia Gantner, Cherith Rose, June 21 through July 22. An exhibit of new work by the four artists. 

Free. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1316 10th St., Berkeley. (510) 527-1214. 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). 

Calendar items should be submitted at least one week before the opening of a new exhibit or performance. 

Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

A proposal to place a $116.5 million school bond and a special maintenance tax on the November ballot will be considered tonight by the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education. 

The bond would allocate funds for construction and renovation projects at several school sites, including Berkeley High, King and Willard middle schools, Franklin School and Berkeley Adult School. 

The special tax, meanwhile, is designed to ensure that the BUSD has enough money to keep its newly constructed and newly renovated buildings looking good – and safe for students and staff. 

Tonight’s recommendation follows a presentation two weeks ago by Paul Goodwin from Santa Monica-based GLS Research, which conducted a survey of Berkeley voters to determine the level of community support for a bond measure and/or a special tax. 

GLS found that nearly 80 percent of voters surveyed would be willing to support a $125 million bond, and about 70 percent would support a special tax. If both measures appeared on the ballot, 47 percent would support both, 12 percent would vote against both, 21 would support only the bond, and 9 percent would support only the tax. 

Current state law requires a two-thirds approval for any bond or tax measure. 

The survey of 600 randomly selected registered voters was conducted May 29 through June 1, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. 

That survey also attempted to gauge which potential BUSD projects were most important to voters. Building new classrooms ranked at the top, followed by repairing floors, walls, windows and roofs; replacing portable classrooms; improving seismic safety; and improving fire safety. 

At the bottom of the list – though not entirely without support – were building new athletic fields; improving gyms; improving the theater at BHS; and finally, provide a new administration building. 

“What we attempted to do was mesh what we see as the highest priorities for the district, with what the survey identified as the projects most supported by voters, which really are their highest priorities,” said Catherine James, associate superintendent for business services. 

Proposed tax 

According to the staff report prepared for tonight’s meeting, the special tax would yield more than $3.8 million annually for maintenance needs around the district. 

The BUSD currently spends about $2.4 million annually on maintenance personnel, supplies and equipment. A report prepared by a citizens advisory committee in April advocated significantly increasing allocations for maintenance, citing serious safety issues around the district and an overall trend toward facilities in disrepair. 

If approved by voters, the special tax would allow the BUSD to increase maintenance spending to around $4 million annually. In addition to the $3.8 million in revenue from the tax, the district projects income from the Hillside School site maintenance and food service maintenance. 

The tax would be based on the square footage of a home or business – residences at a rate of 4.5 cents per square foot, commercial at a rate of 6.75 cents per square foot. That means the owner of a 1,700-square-foot home would pay $76.50 per year. 

The staff recommendation calls for the special tax to last for 12 years. 

Proposed bond 

In 1992, Berkeley voters approved Measure A, a $158 million school bond measure that has funded a host of projects around the district. But in the eyes of school district leaders and other community members, many vital projects remain outstanding, creating the need for a new bond measure. 

The staff recommendation for $116.5 million comes in just below the $125 million mark that generated strong support in the GLS survey. 

Berkeley High would get the biggest chunk of funds from the bond: more than $28.1 million. About $19 million would be used to add classrooms and renovate space in the old gym complex, located along the east side of the campus. The city is already moving forward on a $3 million bond measure to pay for upgrading the warm water pool, part of the old gym complex. 

Other allocations for BHS would include about $7.6 million for improvements to other buildings and about $1.2 million for an improved campus communication system. 

If voters pass the bond in November, it means that more than $80 million will have been invested in construction and renovation projects at the high school over a 20-year period, said Lew Jones, manager of facilities planning. That’s more than most school districts would spend to build new high school campus. 

The staff recommendation calls for nearly $7.8 million to be used for projects at King Middle School. About $5 million would be designated for construction of a new cafeteria – exact details of where it would be built have yet to be determined – and the rest would finance modernization of the science building and the gymnasium. 

The BUSD will soon get under way with nearly $20 million in other improvements at King Middle, which will be funded through Measure A. The two wings of the main building will be seismically retrofitted, and electrical and technological systems also will be updated. 

Other proposed allocations from the school bond include: 

• Willard Middle School, $3.85 million for improvements 

• Franklin School site, $5.5 million for improvements 

• Berkeley Adult School, $8.15 million for improvements 

• Child Development facilities, $6.12 million for improvements 

• Sprinkler improvements around the district, $5.37 million 

The bond also would set aside about $1.1 million for improving “the property north of Derby Street,” an apparent indication that some staff members feel there is not enough community support to pursue construction of a regulation baseball field at the Derby-Martin Luther King Jr. Way site. That amount of money wouldn’t finance a baseball field but could pay for a softball-soccer field. Of course, the board still will have its say on what is done with that property. 

In their report, district officials said the school bond would be structured in such a way that the tax impact on a household wouldn’t exceed the current peak levels from the 1992 bond measure. That strategy was endorsed by the school board during its discussions earlier this month, and it would give bond supporters a key tool in their attempts to pass the bond this fall. It’s much easier, one could argue, to convince voters to OK a bond that won’t require them to pay higher taxes than they currently are paying, than a bond that will increase their tax burden. 

Tonight’s recommendations, if approved by the board, will be brought back at the first meeting in July, when the school board would likely formally place the measures on the November ballot. 

The deadline for getting ballot measures to the county doesn’t arrive until August, but the district wants to allow enough time for an effective campaign to emerge. 

School district employees cannot publicly advocate passage of either the bond or tax – at least, not while wearing a BUSD “hat.” They are allowed to campaign for or against any measure as a private citizen. 

The school board meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be held in Board/Council Chambers in Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. 

The meeting is scheduled to be broadcast on 89.3-FM, KPFB, and broadcast over Cable Channel 25, B-TV. 

A fire alarm that brought out a full assignment of firefighters to Berkeley High School Tuesday morning turned out to be a false alarm. 

Firefighters made a thorough check of all the floors of all the buildings on the campus, as did the school safety officers. They found no indication of a fire anywhere, said Assistant Fire Chief David Orth. 

He said the 911 report of a fire in “Building D” was a prank call made on a cellular telephone, and that it could have been made from anywhere – even right on the school campus. 

Orth said cellular phone calls to 911 are re-directed to the California Highway Patrol and then the CHP forwards them to the local jurisdictions. 

He said the Berkeley Fire Department received the call at 8:46 a.m. from the CHP and that they may have received the 911 call from someone relating the false alarm second hand. The California Highway Patrol told the Berkeley Fire Department that a fire was reported in the girls bathroom in Building D. 

But as Frank Brunetti, the district’s associate superintendent for business, noted, “We don’t have a Building D.” 

On Tuesday morning Orth said the department had considered the old heating plant by the Milvia entrance as a possible Building D, but he said such a designation would be discussed with school officials later in the day. 

At any rate, there is no girls bathroom in the old heating plant, which is scheduled to be razed to make way for new classroom structures on the east side of the high school campus. 

The Berkeley Fire Department deployed three engines, a ladder truck a duty chief and a staff person plus an engine and patrol unit with a pump from the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. 

“We did not want to take any chances,” said Orth. 

Berkeley’s three-decade history of standing up to countries whose policies are said to violate human rights took an abrupt turn Monday when the Supreme Court upheld a challenge to a Massachusetts law boycotting Burma. 

Based on that decision, City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque advised the city Tuesday to stop enforcing its purchasing restrictions on companies that do business with Burma. 

The high court’s 9-0 judgment overturned a 1996 Massachusetts law that barred the state from buying goods or services from companies doing business with Burma. By conducting a boycott, the state is unconstitutionally infringing on the federal government’s right to make foreign policy, the court said. 

It is at the discretion of the president to control economic sanctions against Burma, the judges wrote: “Although Congress put initial sanctions in place, it authorized the president to terminate the measures upon certifying that Burma has made progress in human rights and democracy, to impose new sanctions upon findings of repression, and, more importantly, to suspend sanctions in the interest of national security.” 

Berkeley began boycotting Burma in 1995, the first among numerous cities to do so. The boycott was in response to a call by Burma’s National League for Democracy, led by Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which alleged human rights abuses by the country’s rulers. 

Berkeley’s first foray into the use of selective purchasing was in 1979, when it followed the lead of Madison, Wis., and began boycotting companies that did business with South Africa. 

Cities and other jurisdictions followed worldwide. Former Rep. Ron Dellums introduced the boycott on the national level. In a speech at the Oakland Coliseum, not long after his release from prison, former South African President Nelson Mandela thanked the people of the Bay Area for contributing to the fall of apartheid in his country, through their support of local boycotts. 

Albuquerque said that the court’s decision was tailored narrowly to the question of Burma, so it would not impact other selective purchasing decisions made by the city. The city has selective purchasing policies with regard to refusing to buy old growth redwood products and purchasing recycled paper. In the past, it has boycotted companies that did business with Nigeria and Indonesia. 

The court’s decision, however, raises the question of whether the successful challenge to the Massachusetts law could open floodgates for further challenges to local boycotts. 

Shannon Wolfe, who has studied the ruling for the San Francisco-based human rights group Global Exchange, said she believes it is possible that local governments can re-write their ordinances so that they would pass muster under the Supreme Court ruling. 

“The ruling may mean that we have to find a new, improved method of expressing our opinion on human rights issues,” said Councilmember Kriss Worthington.

The Board of Directors of BCM is seeking applicants of diverse background and affiliation and with strong ties to community organizations and groups. 

Experience or expertise in management of small non-profit organizations or businesses and in personnel and financial management is welcome but not required. The responsibilities of Board members include attending monthly board meetings and serving actively on board committees for a term of at least one or two years. Applicants for elected or appointed positions should send a statement of relevant experience and/or interest to Allan C. Miller, Board Member at 2222 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley, CA 94704. Interested persons may also call Miller for more information at 510-848-7200. Applications must be received by July 8, 2000.

Fur could fly once again at tonight’s City Council meeting, when policy makers consider a law requiring cat and dog owners to either spay or neuter their animals or pay the piper for the privilege of not doing so. 

If the council approves the proposed ordinance, a public hearing on increased spay-neuter fees will follow. If the council turns down the ordinance, the public hearing to follow will address two related fees: voluntary embedding of a microchip for animal identification, $25, and spay/neuter deposits for animals that cannot be spayed or neutered at the time the animal is adopted. For dogs the deposits would be $75, and for cats, they would be $50. 

The proposed ordinance recommends a “carrot and stick” approach. It would charge people for the privilege of having unaltered animals and double charge them if their unaltered animals are found off leash where they shouldn’t be, or otherwise misbehaving. On the other hand, it would charge a very low fee for an altered dog license. 

Ordinance opponents, however, say the way to get pet owners to alter their animals is make the operation free or very low cost and making community education around the issue a priority. 

The ordinance, prepared by the city’s legal department, is based on recommendations approved by the council majority in February. It would: 

• Set the licensing fee for altered dogs at $7.50 annually and for unaltered dogs at $30. People with unaltered dogs with violations such as having been deemed vicious by animal services authorities or having been caught running at large, would be charged $60 for their license. 

• Exempt persons 65 years old and low-income individuals from paying license fees. 

• Create a cat license for unaltered cats, charging owners $30. Altered cats, or those which cannot otherwise reproduce, would not require licensing. 

• Make it an infraction to feed feral cats, unless the person feeding the animals is taking steps to get the animals altered. 

• Require that most unaltered animals adopted from rescue groups or from the animal shelter be altered before they are transferred. 

• Require that most unaltered impounded animals be altered and licensed before their release to the owner. 

• Create “fix-it” tickets. When an animal owner receives a citation for an animal running at large or a dangerous animal, citations can cost $100. The cost of the infraction will be forgiven if the pet owner gets the pet altered within 30 days of the infraction. 

• Enforce complaints against animals, such as allegations of vicious or barking dogs, on a complaint-driven basis. 

City staff estimates the cost to put the ordinance in place at $57,000 for the first year and $20,000 annually for subsequent years. Costs include an increased burden on the finance department to process the unaltered cat licenses and implement the multi-tiered dog-licensing structure. Finance department staff would also have to cross check dogs on the “bad” dog list – those with citations – with applicants for an unaltered license, answer numerous questions on the new fee structure and train personnel on the new fees. 

Councilmember Dona Spring, who supports the ordinance, says staff has overestimated the costs and has proposed a system that is more complex than necessary. Every applicant for the unaltered license should not have to be cross-checked with the city’s “bad dog” list, Spring said. Only the unaltered animals, picked up by animal control for various infractions, should be cross-checked for previous violations, she said. 

Spring underscored her support for the proposed law. 

“The ordinance will make people realize that there is a cost to the indiscriminate breeding of animals,” she said. “Our goal is to reduce the batches of puppies and kittens that come to the shelter.” 

Councilmember Diane Woolley opposes the ordinance, but says her goals are like Spring’s – to have animal owners breed their animals responsibly. 

But Woolley says the complex system of punishing pet owners is not the way to go. Rather, the city should focus its attention on educating, rather than punishing animal owners, she said. The program should be driven by incentives rather than negative disciple, Woolley said, arguing that spay and neutering programs should be free or very low fee. 

Woolley said she feared the program would be one more area where discrimination against people of color could come into play. 

“I hate to be institutionalizing another tool for discrimination,” Woolley said, contending further that the complexities and costs involved in the ordinance might dissuade people from licensing their pets at all. 

The city’s staff report on the ordinance concurs that the ordinance might not work as it should. 

“The degree of effectiveness of the proposed ordinance alone in reducing the number of unwanted and unclaimed animals, without a low-cost spay/neuter program, without increased animal license enforcement, and without public education is speculative,” it says.

===Tuesday, June 20 

Free computer class for seniors 

9:30-11:30 a.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited; the class is offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

510-548-3333 

Computer literacy course 

6-8 p.m. 

James Kenney Recreation Center, 1720 Eighth St. 

This free course will cover topics such as running Windows, File Management, connecting to and surfing the web, using E-mail, creating Web pages, JavaScript and a simple overview of programming. The course is oriented for adults. 

510-644-8511 

Berkeley Housing Authority 

7 p.m. 

City Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

The Berkeley City Council will meet as the Housing Authority, which includes two members in addition to the council, to address the lottery for Section 8 vouchers, a program to train public housing residents for grounds and maintenance positions, and reactivating the public housing resident advisory group. 

Berkeley City Council 

Following the Housing Authority meeting 

City Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

The council will meet to adopt items on its consent calendar and hold public hearings on a number of items, including revoking the use permit at Kragen Auto Parts, the Spay Neuter Ordinance and the budget. 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips. 

510-531-8664 

Cesar Chavez Memorial Solar Calendar celebration 

7:30 p.m. 

Cesar Chavez Park (on the high ground, overlooking the bay, about 300 yards from Spinnaker Road) 

A group of community members are working to construct a solar calendar at Cesar Chavez Park. In addition to honoring the late Cesar Chavez, the project would educate local school children and the general public about the astronomical and cultural significance of the seasons. A solar calendar is an architectural device used to keep track of the seasons. The most famous is Stonehenge in England, they also were constructed by other ancient cultures around the world. This event is a workshop and update on the project. 

32nd Anniversary Revue and Fund-raiser 

8 p.m. 

Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

This event will feature The House Jacks, Rebecca Riots, Dave Nachmanoff, Jenna Mammina, The Modern Hicks. Tickets $13.50 to $14.50. 

510-548-1761; 510-762-BASS 

=== Wednesday, June 21 

Jazz/Art at the Library 

4 p.m. 

North Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1170 The Alameda 

This event is part of the summer program series in the library system. Lisa di Prima and the Donald Robinson Trio are the featured talents. 

510-644-6850 

Baby Bounce and Toddler Tales 

7 p.m. 

West Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1125 University Ave. 

This storytime program is designed for families with children up to 3 years old. The free, participatory program features a half hour of multicultural songs, rhymes, lap jogs and stories to give very young children a lively introduction to the magic of books. 

510-644-6870 

BUSD School Board meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Board/Council Chambers, Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Poetry Flash 

7:30 p.m. 

Cody’s Books, 2454 Telegraph Ave. 

The featured poets this session will be Stefanie Marlis and Judith Taylor. 

510-845-7852; 510-525-5476 

Upcoming Poetry Flash @ Cody's readings feature poetry by: 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 

8 p.m. 

Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley campus 

Program Four, June 21, 8 p.m. 

Kent Nagano will conduct the fourth and final concert of the season, featuring works by Berio, Mozart, and Bruckner. Tickets $19 to $35 general; $10 students. 

510-841-2800 

=== Thursday, June 22 

Free computer class for seniors 

9:30-11:30 a.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited; the class is offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109 

=== Friday, June 23 

“Tai Chi” 

Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. 

Jarl Forsman, a professional Tai Chi instructor, will speak during this week’s meeting of the City Commons Club. Social hour begins at 11:15 a.m. Luncheon is served from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Speaker starts promptly at 12:30 p.m. Lunch is $11 or $12.25; admission to the speech is $1, free for students. This is the final meeting for the summer. Regular Friday meetings will resume Sept. 8. 

510-848-3533 

Words in Collision: Summer Performance Art Series 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. (in Live Oak Park) 

The featured presentation will be “subtitled” with Susan Gervitz, Margaret Tedesco and company. Admission is $7 to $10. 

510-644-6893 

=== Saturday, June 24 

Disaster First Aid 

9 a.m.-noon 

Fire department’s Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. 

This summer, Berkeley’s Office of Emergency Services will offer a set of free training classes to help families prepare for emergencies. The classes, open to Berkeley residents at least 18 years old, will be taught by retired firefighters. The classes give hands-on training in how to put on a splint, extinguish a fire, use a fire hose, and more. Call ahead to register. Future classes will be held on Light Search and Rescue (July 15) and Fire Suppression (Aug. 12). 

510-644-8736 

--------------- 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com, or berkeleydailyplanet@yahoo.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). Calendar items should be submitted at least four days in advance. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

There are times when half a loaf is definitely worse than none – especially when accepting half a loaf sets a very bad precedent. 

Just such a case is the upcoming November ballot proposition to lower the size of the majority vote needed to pass local school construction bonds from two-thirds to 55 percent. 

Why is 55 percent now being proposed? Because Proposition 26, the March primary election proposition to lower the standard from two-thirds to a simple majority, failed – but lost by only a 51.5-48.5 percent margin. The reasoning of backers like Gov. Gray Davis and the business leaders who pushed unsuccessfully for the change to simple majorities is no mystery: If a simple majority standard could get close to winning, they figure, lower the amount of change sought just a bit and a new proposition might very well pass. 

In short, they’re saying that half a loaf is better than none. In some ways that’s probably correct. Since 1997, fully 91 percent of all local school bond proposals have drawn more than majority support, but only 64 percent actually passed by winning the required two-thirds vote. Lower the bar to 55 percent and more than half the measures that failed would have passed. 

So a 55 percent majority would help some kids. It would accomplish much of what Proposition 26 sought to do: Build many new schools, add classrooms to others, modernize still more schools by wiring them for the Internet, repair leaky roofs, peeling paint and cracked asphalt. 

A 55 percent majority even draws the ire of most of the same people who fought so hard against Proposition 26. “It is astonishing,” say Jon Coupal and Joel Fox, president and president emeritus of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., in a tirade against the new plan, “that the governor would embrace a plan that, for all intents and purposes, is identical to the one the voters denied.” 

Of course, they contradict themselves, too. “The 5 percent difference in passing rates between 50 percent and 55 percent will hardly be noticed...,” they say. They are right on this one point, and that explains why Davis supports the new 55 percent plan. It would let local districts fix most of the schools in the worst need. 

Adds the Libertarian Party, another Proposition 26 foe, “To bring this back is nothing more than abuse of the initiative process.” Never mind that, like 26, the new proposition is not be an initiative, but will be placed on the ballot by Davis and the Legislature. 

But all this discussion misses the key point. A 55 percent standard institutionalizes the idea of a supermajority just as surely as a two-thirds requirement ever did. And the entire concept is fundamentally un-American. 

So in this case half a loaf – setting a standard easily met by most school bond proposals – is worse than no change at all. 

For if this idea becomes law, it will be decades before anyone even tries to get rid of the other two-thirds-vote bugaboos that continually haunt California government. 

For local school bonds, the two-thirds requirement goes back to the 1879 writing of the state Constitution. So does the two-thirds vote needed in the state Legislature for passage of the state budget. But the two-thirds vote required for passage of local general tax increases was set by the landmark 1978 Proposition 13. It was sort of an afterthought by Jarvis and Paul Gann, the proposition’s sponsors, who were far more interested in lowering property taxes. 

The idea of a two-thirds standard always aims to give minorities control over decisions. In the Legislature, it gives the minority party veto power over the yearly budget, allowing them more influence than their numbers often justify. 

When it comes to school bonds, the two-thirds standard allows a minority to veto the wishes of the majority – even a large majority. The fear behind this is that persons with no real estate will impose higher property taxes on homeowners. In reality, the two-thirds majority protects business and commercial property as much as it does homeowners. It keeps taxes on business property at rock-bottom levels even in times of extreme prosperity and record profits. 

Should these things exist in a society which decides almost everything else – including statewide votes on whether there should be majority rule on school bonds – by simple majorities of 50 percent-plus-one? In the federal Constitution, the only supermajorities ever required are for things like overriding vetoes and impeachments. These are much more serious business than passing school bonds.  

By a narrow margin, California voters opted last spring to restrain their own spending when it comes to local schools. But the vote was much closer than in 1993, the last time a similar attempt was made. Almost every political analyst opined afterward that the voters who came out in March were lopsidedly conservative-leaning, drawn by the Proposition 22 “defense of marriage” measure and by the fact there was a presidential contest on the Republican side while the Democratic outcome was a foregone conclusion. 

Knowing this, why should backers of a lower standard for school bond votes accept half a loaf, when they came so close to winning a full one last time out? The answer is they should not. 

The 55 percent proposal is a mistake, not only because it undershoots what can likely be won this fall, but also because it tacitly endorses the idea of supermajorities, and supermajorities are just plain wrong. 

Thomas Elias’ email address is tdelias@aol.com

Walker Evans is the Old Master photographer most frequently studied by young photographers today. Images from his 1936 series depicting three tenant farmer families in Alabama are in our history books and his architectural studies from that era are also familiar classics, but the whole range of his work is much broader, including a variety of experiments and enigmas. Now at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a vast exhibition surveying his work from his tentative beginnings in 1927 until his health failed in 1974. 

His best-known work was done with an 8 by 10 inch view camera on a tripod, a procedure requiring time and patience but one that allowed him to make subtle adjustments to get exactly the effect he wanted. When he photographed Allie May Borroughs, the wife of the share-cropper family he stayed with for several weeks, he placed her in front of the weather-beaten clapboards of their shack, looking directly at her as she stares into the camera. He made four negatives, with slight variations of expression. The one shown now has her head slightly tilted, her lips pursed, her eyes tightened and her brow wrinkled with a suggestion of concern. 

This is the image he chose to include in the book he and James Agee produced, “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,” because the disturbing quality suits that purpose. A series of powerful photographs like this came first, without caption or explanation, and then the long and complex text by Agee describing the habitat of these people, their struggles and their determination to survive despite drought and the Depression. Photographs and text were conceived as equal partners in expression and the score of photographs here from that project will draw the visitor’s searching and sympathetic study, but remain inevitably incomplete without Agee’s text. 

While planning these carefully composed studies of the people and of their shacks Evans also made snapshots with a Leica, which served him almost as a sketch pad for his instantaneous perception; three are in the exhibition as more casual records of the families. They contribute importantly to what is the most complete statement on the human condition in all of Evans’ work, for this series is the only time he penetrated so deeply into the personalities of specific individuals. While working with Agee that was necessary, but otherwise Evans preferred to be a detached observer. 

In 1929, when he was growing dissatisfied with his attempts to be a writer, and coming to concentrate on photography, he borrowed a Leica and took it out into the streets of Manhattan, mostly to make tilted shots of skyscrapers and other scenery. He was trying his hand at the New Vision style from Germany, verging on abstraction. But in the midst of these he took one picture of a black woman wearing a fur-trimmed coat standing next to the steps leading up to the El; he called it, laconically, “42nd St., 1929.” 

It is a memorable early example of street photography, a kind of selective freezing of something from the passing scene, a technique he returned to frequently. Perhaps the best known example is the long series on people riding the New York subways, which he began in 1938; for these he hid his Leica under his overcoat and rigged a cable release through his sleeve, catching people unaware, lost in their thoughts. In 1946 in Detroit he held a Rolleiflex at waist level and snapped half-length shots of people passing by at the end of the working day for a spread in Fortune magazine entitled “Labor Anonymous.” This kind of work stimulated many photographers in more recent decades, beginning with his young friend Robert Frank. 

While the casual always intrigued Evans (and his followers) it is his manipulation of the permanent that is his own most enduring legacy. He went to Bethlehem, Penn., in 1935 to document the effect of the Depression and made a photograph in a graveyard that is deceptively simple. In the foreground is a large stone cross, in the middle ground a row of worker’s housing with not a soul in sight, and in the distance the smoke stacks of the steel mills with no smoke, for they are not operating. This photograph is a complete metaphor for the Depression. 

But the power of this famous photograph comes from the careful manipulation of the two-dimensional composition, isolating and juxtaposing the cross at the left, the housing at the right, and the steelworks above, all exactly parallel to the picture plane. This was achieved by using the maximum flexibility of the big view camera. The film had to be parallel to the cross and housing to maintain the planar composition, but to separate these essential features Evans had to move to the right of the cross and then shift the lens to the left as far as it would go. 

Careful inspection of the railing that separates the two houses at the right edge reveals that the camera was exactly opposite the door at the right edge of the picture. As a result of this distorted perspective we see the side of the cross as well as the front, and therefore it stands out more effectively as a solid object. Evans frequently used this trick in his architectural studies, especially to gain a frontal view of a facade and still show the lettering on a sign projecting straight out from the facade. 

Indeed lettering and signs or posters always fascinated Evans and were a central theme in his recording the vernacular in American life; sometimes there was irony in his selection or juxtaposition, sometimes humor, as in an early photograph of men loading on a truck an enormous illuminated sign reading DAMAGED. Sometimes it is simple delight in the commonplace, for he collected old signs, some of which are in the exhibition. In his last years, when he lacked the strength to handle the big camera and tripod, he took up the Polaroid SX70 as a quick way of collecting images and photographed many signs, even abstracting two or three letters to build up a sort of alphabet among these small color prints. He was a collector of images at heart, some direct, some enigmatic. There is always food for thought in what he selected as finished work. It may not be easy to explain but it always seems exactly right.

AURORA THEATRE 

“Split” by Mayo Simon, June 1 through July 2. A mordant clear-eyed view of an older couple's love affair. $25 to $28. Wednesday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-4822. 

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE 

“Closer” by Patrick Marber, through July 9. A funny, touching and unflinchingly honest examination of love and relationships set in contemporary London. $38 to $48.50. Tuesday, Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; May 27, June 1, June 3, June 10, June 15, June 24, June 29 and July 8, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 845-4700 or (888) 4BRTTIX. 

CALIFORNIA 

SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL 

“Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare, June 3 through June 24. The classic romantic comedy of mismatched lovers forced into a union. $21 to $38 general; $19 to $38 seniors; $10 to $38 children. Wednesday and Thursday, 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 4 p.m.; June 13 and June 20, 7 p.m. June 24, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Bruns Memorial Amphitheatre, Shakespeare Festival Way/Gateway Exit on state Highway 24. (510) 548-9666 or www.calshakes.org 

LaVal’s Subterranean 

Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by Yoni Barkan. The play will run from June 8 to July 8, Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. each night. 1834 Euclid Ave. (510) 234-6046. 

A public hearing on the budget could bring out citizens for tonight’s full council agenda. 

Yet the same public will be unable to know what expenditures are recommended in the mayor and vice mayor’s competing budget proposals, both of which will be released at a time Tuesday that was still undetermined Monday evening. 

Each of the competing budgets will consider how to spend some $1 million-$3 million in available funds – $1 million if the budget follows the city manager’s itemized expenditures and $3 million if it does not. 

Agencies, organizations and city departments are all competing for the money for projects as diverse as paying the San Francisco Mime Troop to lead the How Berkeley Can You Be? parade (Berkeley’s X-plicit players march gratuit) or funding a jobs program for youth. The requests mount to more than $12 million. Decisions will be made next week. 

The proposed spay-neuter ordinance will be hotly debated. 

Also on the agenda is a public hearing on revoking Kragen Auto Parts’ use permit. The Zoning Adjustment Board is recommending that the business at 1600 University Ave. shut its doors, after failing to clean around its business and not stopping its patrons from working on cars nearby. The council will make its decision at a later meeting. 

Another hot topic is the search for a new city manager. The council may adopt a process for the search. Councilmember Linda Maio’s suggestions for the process, on the consent calendar agenda, had not been released by Monday evening. City Manager Jim Keene is leaving Berkeley in August to take a post in Tucson. 

One more item the council will likely not see until it’s time to vote on it, is a finalized copy of the city’s Living Wage Ordinance, which councilmembers approved in concept several weeks ago. This item also appears on the consent calendar. 

Another item on consent is raising the speed limit on Claremont Avenue from 25 mph to 30 mph. 

The council will also consider approving a 69-unit condominium project at 2136 Center St., a $700,000 contract for dock and restroom replacement at the Marina, and an ordinance that allows for the removal of oak trees which endanger life or property. 

The City Council meeting follows the Housing Authority meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The meetings are broadcast on KPFB, 89.3-FM and televised on B-TV, Cable Ch-25.

I read with interest your story about the move to raise the speed limit on Claremont Avenue. 

Several good points were made. Particularly by Dave Campbell. 

One not made though is that if the speed limit were increased now and the state bill AB 1885 were to pass what would be the effective outcome? It would be to protect people driving 40 MPH from speeding tickets. 

The timing is interesting. Could Armstrong’s initiative be a preemptive strike for the benefit of speeders? 

Eric Blossom 

Berkeley 

ASHKENAZ 

Nestinari, June 20, 9 p.m. Bulgarian dance lesson with Petur Iliev at 8 p.m. $8.  

The Poullard-Thompson Cajun Trio, June 21, 9 p.m. Cajun dance lesson with Patti Whithurst at 8 p.m. $8. 

Grateful Dean DJ Night with Digital Dave, June 22, 10 p.m. $5. 

Clan Dyken, June 23, 9:30 p.m. $11. 

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5099 or www.ashkenaz.com 

BLAKES 

Ascension, June 20. $5. 

“Third World,” June 21. With UC Buu, DJ Add, Jah Bonz, Big Willie. $5. 

Ripe, XODO, June 22. $4. 

An Evening with Groove Junkies, June 23. $5. 

For age 18 and older. Music at 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0886. 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE 

“Freight 32nd Anniversary Revue and Fundraiser,” June 20. Featuring The House Jacks, Rebecca Riots, Dave Nachmanoff, Jenna Mammina, The Modern Hicks. $13.50 to $14.50. 

Urban Acoustic Dude, June 21. $12.50 to $13.50. 

Kathi McDonald and Brian Auger, June 22. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Eric Bogle, June 23. $16.50 to $17.50. 

Music at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761 or (510) 762-BASS. 

LA PEÑA CULTURAL CENTER 

Jim Page, June 21, 7:30 p.m. $5 to $15. 

The Raquel Lopez Flamenco Dance Ensemble, June 23, 8:30 p.m. $18. 

3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

924 GILMAN ST. 

Damad, Good Clean Fun, Meatjack, Brain Blood Volume, June 24. 

$5. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926. 

THE STARRY PLOUGH PUB 

Ceili Dance featuring Brian Theriault and Friends, June 21. 8 p.m. 

Randy Weeks, Jim Roll, June 22. $6. 

Deke Dickerson and The Ecco-Fonics, Redmeat, June 23. $8. 

For age 21 and over. Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:45 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082. 

Court dates are set for next month for Berkeley High graduate Keith Stephens, who was charged with two misdemeanors for his part in a June 1 brawl with two police officers. 

Stephens’ defense attorney Arthur Kennedy Mitchell of Oakland has filed a motion that will be heard July 18 in Judge Carol Brosnahan’s courtroom, and a pretrial motion is set for July 26. 

In his motion, the defense attorney is asking the judge for a court order to view the confidential personnel files of a police officer in the criminal case. In a request such as this, only the judge, the defense counsel and a court reporter are allowed to be present, said Deputy District Attorney David Lim. 

Lim said Stephens was charged with willfully and unlawfully using force and violence resulting in the infliction of injury upon a police officer engaged in the performance of duty and resisting, delaying and obstructing an officer. 

Defense Attorney John Burris, an associate of Mitchell, said he wants to know if the officers had any prior allegations against them for misconduct, excessive force or verbal abuse such as racial slurs. 

As for the pre-trial motion, Burris said, “for my end it’s under investigation. It seems outrageous on its face. It seems like a minor event, driving with expired plates, escalating into this kind of use of force.” 

According to the report of the Berkeley Police Department, Stephens made an unprovoked attack on officers Tim Gardner and Stan Libed when they left their patrol car to investigate the expired vehicle registration of his mother’s car. 

Stephens and members of his family, some of whom participated in the fight, say that the young man didn’t know a patrol car was behind him, got out of his mother’s car and was pushed back inside by Gardner. 

Outside the Berkeley courthouse Monday morning, Stephens talked of his plans to play football for San Francisco City College and become a Berkeley firefighter. 

“They just keep on setting dates,” he said. “Why can’t they just get it done now?”

In your June 19 edition, two bicycle activists (from North Berkeley, if I read my phone book correctly) argue against changing the posted speed limit on Claremont Ave. to help police officers enforce more speeding tickets. Their shared rationale is that the state legislature might soon pass a bill that would uphold more tickets under existing limits. 

The emphasis should be on might: The legislature might pass the law. If so, the governor might sign it. If so, it will take effect next January – and the city might take advantage of it some time in 2001. 

But during the intervening six months or longer, how many people might be injured by speeders on Claremont who would otherwise be cited? How many drivers might get habituated to speeding, when their attitude would otherwise be permanently adjusted by getting a single $100+ ticket? Isn’t preventing speeding and injuries worth the scant “1,000 bucks” required to change signs – especially since the city would recover its investment after writing just a few extra tickets? One would think that bike activists, especially, might support this proposal. One wonders what might be their real agenda in leaving Claremont Ave. pedestrians (and, for that matter, cyclists) hanging for another six months? 

Unlike activist Hank Resnik, I do “get to Claremont very often” (almost daily). Let me reassure him that the positive changes there recently shepherded by Councilmember Polly Armstrong – including bright fluorescent signage, and even flashing lights in crosswalks – have already reduced prevailing speeds noticeably. Also, increased enforcement is coming, expedited by neighbors’ complaints about truck traffic. The final piece of the puzzle is this proposal to change the posted speed limit. 

Let’s hope the City Council puts that essential piece in place on Tuesday. 

Tom Brown 

Berkeley

A.C.C.I. GALLERY 

“Abstract Expressions,” through July 1. A group show featuring Rita Flanagan, Carolyn Careis, Heather Hutchinson, Muriel Paley, and Naomi Policoff. 

Free. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-2527. 

GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION 

“On Common Ground.” through June 23. This exhibit is a portrait of faith-based communities in Los Angeles. 

“Finding the Sacred Mountain,” through June 20. An exhibit of sumi-e and watercolors by Robert Kostka. 

Free. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd., Berkeley. (510) 649-2541. 

KALA INSTITUTE 

“Markings/Imprints,” through July 28. The 2000 Kala Art Institute Fellowship Awards Exhibitions, Part I, featuring works by Susan Belau, Liliana Lobo Ferreira, and Jamie Morgan. 

Free. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Workshop Media Center Gallery, 1060 Heinz Ave., Berkeley. (510) 549-2977. 

NEW PIECES GALLERY 

“Progressions: the Quilt as Art,” through June 29. An exhibit of quilts by Jill Le Croisette. 

“Go We to the Revels Masked,” through June 29. An exhibit of dolls by Elise Peeples. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

TRAYWICK GALLERY 

Rachel Davis, Samantha Fisher, Benicia Gantner, Cherith Rose, June 21 through July 22. An exhibit of new work by the four artists. 

Artist Reception, June 21, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

“nudge,” May 17 through June 18. An exhibit of new work by Terry Hoff. Reception, May 17, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Artist Talk, June 9, 10:30 a.m. 

Free. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1316 10th St., Berkeley. (510) 527-1214. 

--------------- 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). 

Calendar items should be submitted at least one week before the opening of a new exhibit or performance. 

Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

Among the items on the council’s consent calendar for tonight is a 4 percent raise for non-union employees. 

These are people who are not members of unions and ranges from camp cooks to the city clerk. 

The rationale for the raises is that because union folks will be earning 4 percent in the coming year – their contracts are tied to the cost of living – then the non-union personnel ought to be treated similarly. 

This is what the 4 percent means to just a handful of the city’s top employees: 

• The chief of police, who now earns $127,080, will get a $5,082 raise, if the council approves the increase. 

• The fire chief, who gets $123,924, will get a $4,956 raise. 

• The deputy fire chief, who earns $117,924 will earn $4,716 more. 

• The city attorney, who earns $117,528, will earn $4,701 more. 

• The two deputy city managers, who each earn $116,472, will earn $4,658 more each. 

• The director of health and human services, who earns $114,504, will get an increase of $4,580. 

• The director of public works, who gets slightly less at $110,004, will get an increase of $4,400. 

• The director of finance gets $108,600 and will get $4,344 more. 

• The assistant city attorney gets $101,472 and will get $4,058 more. 

• The four new neighborhood liaison positions, which are yet to be filled, will get salary hikes as well. The position, formally called “assistant city manager,” is set at between $93,300 and $128,000, 4 percent higher than the vacant positions are now scheduled.

A man robbed the cash register in Walgreen’s Drug Store at 1050 Gilman St. about 9:50 p.m. Friday. 

The suspect walked in and told the clerk he wanted to buy a pack of Newport cigarettes. He paid with a $5 bill. When the clerk opened the cash register to return change to the suspect, he quickly reached into the cash drawer and grabbed all the $20 bills inside, an unknown amount, according to police reports. He ran out of the store and into a getaway car, a 1980s model white Toyota Celica, and rode off on 10th Street. 

The suspect is described as a 25-year-old African-American male, about 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighing 190 pounds, wearing a baseball cap, green T-shirt and blue jeans.

With two blocks of Adeline Street closed to traffic, music echoing from both ends of the street and smoke from barbecues filling the summer air, Juneteenth was in full swing Sunday afternoon. 

Juneteenth is the oldest known national celebration of the last slaves being freed. It was June 19, 1865 that the Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with the news that the slaves had been emancipated. This weekend marked the 14th consecutive year that it was celebrated in Berkeley, making it the oldest Juneteenth Festival in the Bay Area. 

Between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., thousands of people celebrated Juneteenth by wandering along Adeline Street between Alcatraz and Ashby avenues while they were entertained by live music, good food, games and street vendors. 

The festival attracted many different people from the community, including Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean and members of the Golden State Warriors basketball team. 

At the north end of the Festival grounds, the Oaktown Jazz Workshops Stage was set up. Throughout the day, different musical acts performed, including the Berkeley High Jazz Combo and two bands from the Oaktown Jazz Workshops.  

At the other end of the street was a main stage, which attracted a slightly larger, older audience. It featured all sorts of bands, including the George Hubbard Big Belly Blues Band from Oakland. 

“It gets more joyous to play at this festival each time,” said Hubbard, who was performing at his third consecutive Juneteenth Festival. “Especially when you get to play on a stage in front of a large crowd like this.” 

Pete Escovedo was another musician to play at the large stage. Local Jazz pianist Ed Kelley and the Berkeley Steppers also performed on the stage. 

However, the two stages were not the only places where audiences took in music. Several bands and musicians set up along the street and played. 

Another feature of the Juneteenth Festival in Berkeley that always attracts an audience is the youth two-on-two basketball tournament, now in its sixth year. The tournament, affiliated with the Berkeley late-night basketball league and Athletes United for Peace, attracted a growing crowd throughout the day. 

“It is always nice out here,” said Doug Harris, executive director of Athletes United for Peace and the basketball tournament’s director. “It’s Father’s Day, so families come out here with their kids. This is like the annual Father’s Day part of our program. The kids really love it.” 

There were activities for children of all ages, including a giant Teaco Slide, a Fiesta Jump – an inflated room for kids to jump in – and many games offering prizes. 

There were a number of food tents specializing in barbecue and fried fish. Vendors also sold jewelry, clothing, artwork and other goods. 

The Adeline-Alcatraz Merchants Association established the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival in 1987, and it has grown every year since. There are over 20 cities in California alone celebrating Juneteenth this year. 

Monday, June 19 

Rent Stabilization Board 

7 p.m. 

Council Chambers, Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Tuesday, June 20 

Free computer class for seniors 

9:30-11:30 a.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited; the class is offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

510-548-3333 

Computer literacy course 

6-8 p.m. 

James Kenney Recreation Center, 1720 Eighth St. 

This free course will cover topics such as running Windows, File Management, connecting to and surfing the web, using E-mail, creating Web pages, JavaScript and a simple overview of programming. The course is oriented for adults. 

510-644-8511 

Berkeley Housing Authority 

7 p.m. 

Council Chambers, Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

City Council meeting 

7:10 p.m. 

Council Chambers, Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips. 

510-531-8664 

Cesar Chavez Memorial Solar Calendar celebration 

7:30 p.m. 

Cesar Chavez Park (on the high ground, overlooking the bay, about 300 yards south of Spinnaker Road) 

A group of community members are working to construct a solar calendar at Cesar Chavez Park. In addition to honoring the late Cesar Chavez, the project would educate local school children and the general public about the astronomical and cultural significance of the seasons. A solar calendar is an architectural device used to keep track of the seasons. The most famous is Stonehenge in England, they also were constructed by other ancient cultures around the world. This event is a workshop and update on the project. 

32nd Anniversary Revue and Fund-raiser 

8 p.m. 

Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

This event will feature The House Jacks, Rebecca Riots, Dave Nachmanoff, Jenna Mammina, The Modern Hicks. Tickets $13.50 to $14.50. 

510-548-1761; 510-762-BASS 

Wednesday, June 21 

Jazz/Art at the Library 

4 p.m. 

North Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1170 The Alameda 

This event is part of the summer program series in the library system. Lisa di Prima and the Donald Robinson Trio are the featured talents. 

510-644-6850 

Baby Bounce and Toddler Tales 

7 p.m. 

West Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1125 University Ave. 

This storytime program is designed for families with children up to 3 years old. The free, participatory program features a half hour of multicultural songs, rhymes, lap jogs and stories to give very young children a lively introduction to the magic of books. Parents also will enjoy the new stories, rediscover old favorites and learn new songs and games to share. 

510-644-6870 

BUSD School Board meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Board/Council Chambers, Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 

8 p.m. 

Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley campus 

Program Four, June 21, 8 p.m. 

Kent Nagano will conduct the fourth and final concert of the season, featuring works by Berio, Mozart, and Bruckner. Tickets $19 to $35 general; $10 students. 

510-841-2800 

Thursday, June 22 

Free computer class for seniors 

9:30-11:30 a.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109

SAN FRANCISCO – Last Planet Theatre is the Berkeley-based stage company that mounted the Wallace Shawn theater festival at last summer locally at the Julia Morgan Center. 

On Friday, the company opened its new production – “The Lament of the Wolf-Bat,” written and directed by Last Planet artistic director John Wilkins – at the Cell Space artists’ collective in San Francisco. 

Performed by 13 actors on a large stage, “The Lament of the Wolf-Bat” is a sprawling, dense, complicated and non-linear story that feels like a series of quickly changing dream vignettes. 

Set somewhere in America in 1847, play moves anachronistically in time and geography – including one scene in a Polish prison – telling the story of a young man named Andre who life is endangered by predatory wolf-bats seeking male victims who are virgins. 

The fact that Andre is married to a somewhat promiscuous woman named Eva confuses the issue as to whether he is a virgin or not. Many times watching this show I was not exactly sure what the play was about. 

Early in the story, Andre goes through a knifing ritual with a sultry woman. He then has visions of the prophet Moses, who materializes to give Andre guidance in his life. 

Andre’s brother Casey is a baseball nut. Casey dresses in modern-day baseball clothes, carries a baseball bat, and constantly talks baseball. 

At times, the baseball bat Casey carries is equated to the wolf-bat Andre fears. The play’s story has the quality of a dream, in which one kind of bat can become another kind of bat. 

Similarly, the concepts “desert” and “dessert” become interchangeable to drive the story line of a later scene. 

In his complicated mix of reality and internal vision, in danger of attack from wolf-bats, Andre is harnessed and tortured, figuratively and literally. 

Coming to his aid is a Polish assassin named Bereftski, who knew Andre’s imprisoned father in Poland in 1829, and who is obsessed with the Holocaust. 

In trying to figure out what this play is about, for a while it seemed that maybe the wolf-bat’s pursuit of Andre and other male virgins is some kind of 1847 metaphor for the emotional youth and inexperience of the new American psyche. 

Later, the play seemed to be about repressed Freudian sexual issues between men and women. 

In its final scene, however, “The Lament of the Wolf-Bat” makes a sharp hairpin turn, and suddenly becomes a routine domestic story, explaining away all of its earlier mystery. 

In an odd way, even though all the mystery is cleared up, this sudden denouement is actually disappointing. It seems to trivialize the earlier, denser story by revealing it as a fairly routine conflict over money and property – although the antagonist’s hatred and greed are never clearly explained. 

Ultimately, “Wolf-Bat’s” difficult journey doesn’t bring much in the way of insights or transformations. And running nearly two hours without an intermission, the show is a long haul. 

Playwright Wilkins has directed a vigorous production. Most of his actors do strong work. Cody Bayne shows some real versatility playing two distinct characters – Andre and Andre’s father. Sarah Neal is a playful, blood-thirsty, sexual wife Eva. 

Chris Pflueger creates an unctuous Minister Sinstra, an evil holy man who facilitates some of the story’s malevolent turns. Roger Loesch, as a smooth talking lawyer, serves as narrator for some of the scenes. 

Michael Leitch is an energetic baseball maniac Casey, and Matt Leshinskie an alternately enigmatic and compassionate Polish assassin Bereftski. 

Fight choreographer Michael Ditmore has staged a very good sword duel at the play’s climax. 

Watching “The Lament of the Wolf-Bat” is like listening to someone for two hours tell you about his long, complex, involuted dream. Although there are interesting moments, the dream’s power is much greater for the dreamer than for his audience. 

“The Lament of the Wolf-Bat” runs Thursday through Saturday, 8:30 p.m., at the Cell Space, 2050 Bryant (at 18th Street), San Francisco, through July 8. For tickets and information, call 510-845-2687, or visit the web site (www.lastplanettheatre.com).

How do you combat the speedsters racing down Claremont Avenue? Raise the speed limit, some say. 

That might seem contradictory to most rational folk. But there’s method in the proposal the City Council will face on Tuesday. 

A draft resolution recommends that the city raise the speed limit on Claremont Avenue from 25 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour. 

That is because the state controls traffic law. And the state law looks at how fast 85 percent of the people travel on a particular street and not at what speed is posted. On Claremont, 85 percent of the traffic move at 36 miles per hour. The police cannot enforce the 25 mph speed limit because the courts look at the actual speed people drive and say that Berkeley’s speed limit is unrealistic. 

“They’ll throw out the tickets,” said Councilmember Polly Armstrong, who is supporting the resolution. 

If the speed limit were raised to 30 mph, police will be able to enforce the speed at 10 miles above the limit, and cite people driving at 40 mph, says Traffic Engineer Reh-Lin Chen. 

So the enforcement would increase, even though the limit is set higher. 

The legal system considers Berkeley’s 25 mph zone a “speed trap,” Armstrong says, explaining the origins of the law. In the past, small towns in the south would set up speed traps to raise funds to run their cities. State law views Berkeley’s “unrealistic” posted speeds as a speed trap, she said. 

Calling the change “critical,” Armstrong concedes that raising the speed limit to get people to drive slower is “totally counterintuitive.” 

Dean Metzger, active with the Claremont-Elmwood Neighborhood Association, says raising the speed limit will put more pressure on the police to go after those who are truly speeding. 

“We need to catch the people going 40 miles an hour,” he said. 

Not everyone is happy at the thought of upping the speed limit. In fact, the Transportation Commission voted against the concept in December. Former Transportation Commissioner Hank Resnik said the heart of the problem lies in Claremont’s four-lane configuration. 

“It boils down to the fact that this is one of the few streets where (drivers) can go fast,” he said. 

The Transportation Commission, however, rejected a controversial proposal to create a two, rather than four-lane street. 

Resnik said raising the speed limit to cut the speed is heavily dependent on law enforcement. 

“Are we going to see stepped-up law enforcement?” he asked. And, if so, what other street will the officers be taken from? 

Dave Campbell, who heads the Bicycle Friendly Berkeley Coalition, said a law wending its way through the state legislature – AB 1885 by Assemblymember Lou Correa, D-Orange County – will go a long way toward empowering cities to control traffic as they see fit. The cities will have the right to set speed limits, which the courts will enforce. 

The bill was approved by the full assembly 43 to 27 on May 18, and will go to the Senate Transportation Commission on Tuesday. 

“It will allow Berkeley to set a speed limit on Claremont,” he set, calling on lawmakers to hold off on the vote and save the $1,000 it will cost to replace the 25-mile-per-hour signs with the 30 mph signs. “The prudent course is to save 1,000 bucks. If the bill passes, all Berkeley has to do is send a police officer over there.”

MUSEUMS 

Berkeley Historical Society 

"Berkeley's Ethnic Heritage." May 7 through March 2001. The exhibit examines the rich cultural diversity of our city and the contributions of individuals and minority groups to our history and development. The exhibit look at the original native tribelets in the area and the immigrants who settled in Ocean View and displaced the Spanish/Mexican landowners. It also examines the influence of theUniversity of California, the San Francisco earthquake, and World War II on the population and culture of Berkeley, and subsequent efforts to overcome discrimination. Thursday through Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Wheelchair accessible. Admission free. 

Berkeley Historical Society located in the Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center Street, Berkeley. 510-848-0181 

www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc 

UC BERKELEY ART 

MUSEUM 

“Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition,” May 20 through July 2. 

“Autour de Rodin: Auguste Rodin and His Contemporaries,” through August. An exhibit of 11 bronze maquettes on loan from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation in Los Angeles. The bronzes range in style from the artist's classically inspired “Torso of a Woman” to the anguish of “The Martyr.” Some of the maquettes were cast during Rodin’s lifetime, others have been cast fairly recently under the aegis of the Musee Rodin which alone is authorized to cast his sculptures posthumously. 

$6 general; $4 seniors and students ages 12 to 18; free children age 12 and under; free Thursday, 1 1 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-0808. 

HALL OF HEALTH  

2230 Shattuck Ave. (lower level), Berkeley 

A hands-on community health education museum and science center sponsored by Children's Hospital Oakland and Alta Bates Medical Center. 

Free. For children ages 3 to 12 and their parents. 

(510) 549-1564 

LAWRENCE HALL 

OF SCIENCE 

“Experiment Gallery,” through Sept. 10. Step inside a giant laboratory and experiment with concepts surrounding sound, light, mechanics, electricity, and weather. 

“Math Rules!” ongoing exhibit. A math exhibit of hands-on problem-solving stations, each with a different mathematical challenge. Make mathematical ice-cream cones, use blocks to build three dimensional structures, make dodecagon pies from a variety of mathematical shapes and stretch mathematical thinking. 

“Within the Human Brain,” ongoing installation. Visitors test their cranial nerves, play skeeball, master mazes, match musical tones and construct stories inside a simulated “rat cage” of learning experiments. 

“Laser: The Light Fantastic” ongoing exhibit. 

$6 general; $4 seniors, students and children ages 7 to 18; $2 children ages 3 to 6; free children under age 3. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Centennial Drive, University of California, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

PHOEBE HEARST MUSEUM 

Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley 

“Modern Treasures from Ancient Iran,” through Oct. 29. This exhibit explores nomadic and town life in ancient and modern Iran as illustrated in bronze and pottery vessels, and textiles. 

“Pana O’ahu: Sacred Stones – Sacred Places,” through July 16. An exhibit of photographs by Jan Becket and Joseph Singer. 

“Phoebe Hearst Museum-Approaching a Century of Anthropology,” a sampling of the vast collections of the museum, its mission, history, and current research, with selections from ancient Egypt, ancient Peru, California Indians, Asia (India), and Africa. 

“Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture,” Ishi, the last Yahi Indian of California, spent the final years of his life, 1911 to 1916, living at the museum, working with anthropologists to record his culture, demonstrating technological skills, and retelling Yahi myths, tales, and songs. 

Wednesday through Sunday 10 am -4:30 pm; Thursday until 9 pm (Sept-May) 

(510) 643-7648 

HABITOT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 

Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 

A museum especially for children age 7 and younger. 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. 

Admission is $4 for adults; $6 child age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child.  

Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

(510) 647-1111 

JUDAH L. MAGNES 

MUSEUM 

2911 Russell St., Berkeley 

“Telling Time: To Everything There Is A Season,” through May 2002.  

An exhibit structured around the seasons of the year and the seasons of life with objects ranging from the sacred and the secular, to the provocative and the whimsical. Highlights include treasures from Jewish ceremonial and folk art, rare books and manuscripts, contemporary and traditional fine art, video, photography and cultural kitsch. Through Nov. 4: “Spring and Summer.” 

Free. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

(510) 549-6950. 

GALLERIES  

A.C.C.I. GALLERY 

“Abstract Expressions,” through July 1. A group show featuring Rita Flanagan, Carolyn Careis, Heather Hutchinson, Muriel Paley, and Naomi Policoff. 

Free. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-2527. 

GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION 

“On Common Ground.” through June 23. This exhibit is a portrait of faith-based communities in Los Angeles. “Finding the Sacred Mountain,” through June 20. An exhibit of sumi-e and watercolors by Robert Kostka. 

Free. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd., Berkeley. (510) 649-2541. 

KALA INSTITUTE 

“Markings/Imprints,” through July 28. The 2000 Kala Art Institute Fellowship Awards Exhibitions, Part I, featuring works by Susan Belau, Liliana Lobo Ferreira, and Jamie Morgan. 

Free. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Workshop Media Center Gallery, 1060 Heinz Ave., Berkeley. (510) 549-2977. 

NEW PIECES GALLERY 

“Progressions: the Quilt as Art,” through June 29. An exhibit of quilts by Jill Le Croisette. 

“Go We to the Revels Masked,” through June 29. An exhibit of dolls by Elise Peeples. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

TRAYWICK GALLERY 

Rachel Davis, Samantha Fisher, Benicia Gantner, Cherith Rose, June 21 through July 22. An exhibit of new work by the four artists. 

Artist Reception, June 21, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

“nudge,” May 17 through June 18. An exhibit of new work by Terry Hoff. Reception, May 17, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Artist Talk, June 9, 10:30 a.m. 

Free. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1316 10th St., Berkeley. (510) 527-1214. 

THEATER 

AURORA THEATRE 

“Split” by Mayo Simon, June 1 through July 2. A mordant clear-eyed view of an older couple's love affair. $25 to $28. Wednesday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-4822. 

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE 

“Closer” by Patrick Marber, through July 9. A funny, touching and unflinchingly honest examination of love and relationships set in contemporary London. $38 to $48.50. Tuesday, Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; May 27, June 1, June 3, June 10, June 15, June 24, June 29 and July 8, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 845-4700 or (888) 4BRTTIX. 

CALIFORNIA 

SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL 

“Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare, June 3 through June 24. The classic romantic comedy of mismatched lovers forced into a union. $21 to $38 general; $19 to $38 seniors; $10 to $38 children. Wednesday and Thursday, 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 4 p.m.; June 13 and June 20, 7 p.m. June 24, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Bruns Memorial Amphitheatre, Shakespeare Festival Way/Gateway Exit on state Highway 24. (510) 548-9666 or www.calshakes.org 

LaVal’s Subterranean 

Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by Yoni Barkan. The play will run from June 8 to July 8, Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. each night. 1834 Euclid Ave. (510) 234-6046. 

MUSIC VENUES 

ASHKENAZ 

Nestinari, June 20, 9 p.m. Bulgarian dance lesson with Petur Iliev at 8 p.m. $8.  

The Poullard-Thompson Cajun Trio, June 21, 9 p.m. Cajun dance lesson with Patti Whithurst at 8 p.m. $8. 

Grateful Dean DJ Night with Digital Dave, June 22, 10 p.m. $5. 

Clan Dyken, June 23, 9:30 p.m. $11. 

Steve Lucky and The Rhumba Bums, June 24, 9:30 p.m. Lindy Hop Dance Lessons with Nick and Shanna at 8 p.m. $11. 

Hahbi'ru, June 25, 7:30 p.m. $10. 

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5099 or www.ashkenaz.com 

BLAKES 

The Blue Monday Jam featuring The Steve Gannon Band, June 19. $3. 

Ascension, June 20. $5. 

“Third World,” June 21. With UC Buu, DJ Add, Jah Bonz, Big Willie. $5. 

Ripe, XODO, June 22. $4. 

An Evening with Groove Junkies, June 23. $5. 

Kofy Brown, Rous, June 24. $6. 

For age 18 and older. Music at 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0886. 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE 

“Freight 32nd Anniversary Revue and Fundraiser,” June 20. Featuring The House Jacks, Rebecca Riots, Dave Nachmanoff, Jenna Mammina, The Modern Hicks. $13.50 to $14.50. 

Urban Acoustic Dude, June 21. $12.50 to $13.50. 

Kathi McDonald and Brian Auger, June 22. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Eric Bogle, June 23. $16.50 to $17.50. 

The Limeliters, June 24. $16.50 to $17.50. 

John Dobby Boe and the avant jazz trio, June 25. $14.50 to $15.50. 

Music at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761 or (510) 762-BASS. 

LA PEÑA CULTURAL CENTER 

Jim Page, June 21, 7:30 p.m. $5 to $15. 

The Raquel Lopez Flamenco Dance Ensemble, June 23, 8:30 p.m. $18. 

Ritmo y Armonia, June 24, 9:30 p.m. $10. 

3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

924 GILMAN ST. 

Damad, Good Clean Fun, Meatjack, Brain Blood Volume, June 24. 

$5. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926. 

THE STARRY PLOUGH PUB 

Ceili Dance featuring Brian Theriault and Friends, June 21. 8 p.m. 

Randy Weeks, Jim Roll, June 22. $6. 

Deke Dickerson and The Ecco-Fonics, Redmeat, June 23. $8. 

The Paladins, The Dusty 45's, June 24. $8. 

For age 21 and over. Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:45 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082. 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). 

Calendar items should be submitted at least one week before the opening of a new exhibit or performance. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

Berkeley police are investigating two rape cases reported last week. 

The first reported rape took place on June 10 in Berkeley; the victim contacted police two days later. According to police reports the victim went to the house of a female friend before they went to a wedding together. The two women drank alcohol, and the victim said she took some type of medication which she couldn’t identify. 

They arrived at the wedding about 6 p.m., and the victim drank several glasses of wine and her memory of events after that are hazy, said Berkeley Police Capt. Bobby Miller. She recalled getting into the back seat of a car with a man and engaging in sexual intercourse with him. 

She also recalled an encounter with another man at the wedding party, but said she had negative feelings about him and walked away from him. 

The victim asked someone to call her boyfriend and ask him to pick her up at the party. At some point during the weekend, the victim’s boyfriend questioned her about the events at the wedding party, and he believed she was raped and insisted on calling police. The case has been assigned to the sex crime detail. 

The second rape was reported at 11 p.m. Thursday in Berkeley. The rape occurred inside the victim’s bedroom in the house where she is a tenant. Her bedroom door does not have a lock, said Miller. 

The woman was assaulted by another tenant who came into her room and bound her hands and feet and forced her to have sexual intercourse. He brandished a pocket knife and threatened to hurt her. In the attack she sustained some bruising on her face and on her body and she went to the hospital the next day for treatment. 

Miller said police have identified the suspect but have not yet made an arrest. The case remains under investigation.

Organizers of the Cesar Chavez Memorial Solar Calendar will hold a community informational workshop Tuesday evening on the Berkeley Marina site where the project will be built. 

The workshop coincides with the summer solstice, which – despite last week’s heat wave – marks the official start of summer. 

A solar calendar is an architectural device used to keep track of the seasons. The most famous one is Stonehenge in England, but other ancient cultures all over the world also constructed them. 

The local project calls for the construction a solar calendar at Cesar Chavez Park, on the north side of the Berkeley Marina. In addition to honoring the late Cesar Chavez, the purpose of the project is also to educate local school children and the general public about the astronomical and cultural significance of the seasons, organizers say. 

So far, the concept has been approved by the Berkeley City Council, which has set aside space for the calendar at Cesar Chavez Park, and by the Berkeley School Board, which approved its educational use in Berkeley public schools. 

Tuesday’s event will be held at 7:30 p.m. on the high ground overlooking the Bay. 

Police officers investigating a suspicious vehicle about 6:45 a.m. Sunday on the 1500 block of Stuart Street found the driver sitting in the car with the engine running. The car had been in a collision, said Capt. Bobby Miller of the Berkeley Police Department. 

The driver seemed groggy, and when an officer got her attention, she showed symptoms of alcohol and drug intoxication, Miller said. She failed to perform the Field Sobriety Test. According to police reports, a crack pipe was found in the driver’s seat along with several empty beer cans and bottles. The license plate on the car in which the suspect was driving belonged to another vehicle. 

Mieasha Scott, 31, a Berkeley resident was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, possession of a crack pipe and possession of stolen license plates.

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley completes its 43rd season with an Agatha Christie mystery, “Murder At the Vicarage,” a Miss Marple classic. 

Directed by Margaret Gudmundsson, it opens July 14 at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Ave. 

The play will be onstage Friday and Saturdays through Aug. 12, with one Thursday performance, Aug. 10. Admission is $10 with discounts for groups of 15 or more. For reservations, call 528-5620.

The Judah L. Magnes Museum presents “Women and Rituals,” a talk about old traditions, Tuesday, June 27 from 6-7:30 p.m. Rabbi Helen Cohn of San Francisco’s Congregation Emanu-El and Manni Liu, executive director of the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco will he on hand for the talk. The museum is located at 2911 Russell St.

The area of community gardens near the BART tracks in the Westbrae neighborhood already is known for the establishment of Berkeley EcoHouse on Hopkins Street, and now the nearby stretch of Ohlone Greenway is about to be upgraded with plantings and cultural landmarks. 

A driving force behind the green cluster in the Hopkins Street/Peralta Avenue area of Westbrae is Karl Linn, a landscape architect and psychologist who lives nearby. 

One of the three community gardens in the cluster was named for him in 1993 by the city, shortly after his 70th birthday for his lifelong service to the community and to peace. The other two gardens in the cluster are the Peralta Garden on Hopkins Street, which contains sculptures and Tibetan prayer flags, and the Northside Garden that contains a cob tool shed. 

The cob shed resembles adobe, and it was created with a centuries-old building technique of mixing mud, soil and hay together. It’s a technique that exemplifies the principles of EcoHouse. 

Linn was a leader in the successful effort to turn the derelict property, at 1305 Hopkins, next to the Linn garden, into EcoHouse, a showcase for ecologically-sound home remodeling practices. 

His ongoing involvement in the community gardens and with EcoHouse, and now with the Ohlone Natural & Cultural History Greenway Project reflect his civic and career interests. But their function as meeting places also is important in the life of the community, said Linn. These green zones provide convenient, outdoor natural settings for neighbors to get out of their houses and meet face to face spontaneously, he explained.” 

“We’re not only growing crops, but we’re growing community among people which may be the most important thing we are doing,” Linn said. 

In about a month people walking the Ohlone Greenway between Gilman Street and Hopkins Street will have a new venue for meeting and greeting and learning something about the history of the area. An adobe “pier,” a small building, will be placed near a fence along the BART tracks. It will commemorate the Peralta family and the Mexican ranchero period in Berkeley. The pier will be landscaped and it will have an adjacent bench covered with mosaic tiles made by local school children. 

“We hope it will be a model for other neighborhoods (along the Ohlone Trail),” said Linn. The pier is part of the Ohlone Natural & Cultural History Greenway Project and Linn is a member of its Greenway Project Working Team. 

The project includes the Westbrae Oral History Project that will document the experiences of some of the range of people who have lived there. 

The organizers of the Ohlone Natural and Cultural History Greenway are aiming for the Gilman to Hopkins portion of the trail to serve users educationally and also to provide people with opportunities for people to sit down and talk. 

“Karl facilitates the community process,” said Babak Jacinto Tondre, a permaculturist and board member of EcoHouse and chairman of the garden committee. 

Tondre said the community-spirited Linn “is a genius at getting people to work together.” He said Linn supervises the gardens and “is out there almost every weekend coordinating something.” 

He said EcoHouse members are engaged in strategic planning in seven areas of concern. They include: community stability – to sustain multicultural and economically diverse neighborhoods; and building and materials systems – to utilize efficient technologies and use sustainable harvested renewable and non-toxic materials. 

Among the seven guidelines they include are organic gardening and outreach, such as educating schoolchildren about solar energy. 

EcoHouse is launching a $240,000 fund drive to repay the debt for the purchase price of the house. Linn hopes the contributions will come from many people in the community so they will have a stake in it. 

Tondre in his demonstration garden next to EcoHouse uses techniques of urban ecological gardening. It is a companion piece to EcoHouse, designed to demonstrate all the techniques and technology available in ecological living and gardening. 

Permaculture or permanent agriculture methods of gardening require low maintenance and chemical use, while producing high yields, said Tondre. 

Workshops on Permaculture are held from 12 to 5 p.m. Sundays in the garden at Peralta Avenue and Hopkins Street. They are free to the public. 

Currently the EcoHouse is rented by a family living in the structure that has been renovated using ecologically sound construction and materials. In the future sponsors plan to open it to the public as a demonstration house. 

One of its features is a tankless hot water heater, noted architect Greg VanMechelen, co-chairman of EcoHouse. 

A high-flame unit on the outside of the house heats a network of pipes that carry the hot water to the kitchen and bathroom. 

Eliminating the need to operate a heated tank of water produces quantifiable energy savings, he said. 

Cellulose from newspapers is used for insulation in EcoHouse. It is much more efficient than conventionally used fiberglass, he said. 

Old faucets were replaced with water efficient fixtures, and the vinyl floor in the kitchen was replaced with natural linoleum. 

The natural floor covering is composed of linseed oil, sawdust, mineral chips, and pine rosin. It has a jute backing. There are no petroleum products in the natural linoleum, said VanMechelen. “When it goes back into the ground, it makes a complete cycle – ground to ground.” 

Photovoltaic panels will eventually supply all the electricity for the house, so it can be self-supporting electrically. A trellis of salvaged steel will hold 200 square feet of the panels. 

VanMechelen explained that EcoHouse will be tied into the Pacific Gas & Electric grid. 

He said the panels will generate more energy than the house can use on sunny days, earning EcoHouse a credit to be balanced in the winter months by a deficit of energy. 

This spring Albany architect David Arvin led a team of UC Berkeley students who attended a class he taught on urban ecology in building large wooden shed in the garden adjoining the EcoHouse. It will be used in connection with the photovoltaic panels. 

“It is wonderful if they can pull it off, to have a demonstration home as a resource for the neighborhood,” said Councilmember Linda Maio, whose district includes Westbrae. 

“A lot of us would like to make energy efficient changes in our homes, but we don’t know how, and we don’t know how far technology has come,” she said.

Saturday, June 17 

Book Sale 

9 a.m.-4 p.m. 

Albany Community Center, corner of Marin and Masonic avenues 

The Friends of the Albany Library will hold its annual book sale this weekend. Prices for books, journals, art works, magazines, CDs, LPs, and videos start at 25 cents and go up to $25. 

510-526-3720 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Center Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

510-548-3333 

Free puppet shows 

1:30 and 2:30 p.m. 

Hall of Health at 2230 Shattuck Ave. 

The shows by The Kids on the Block are for children of all ages and their parents. The award-winning educational puppet troupe's program will be on physical and mental differences. Admission is free. 

510-549-1564 

Organic container gardening 

2:30-5:30 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 

Val Peters, Bay Area environmental educator, writer and gardener will lead this class. Cost is $15 for members, $20 for nonmembers. 

510-548-2220 

"Arab and Jew: A Dialogue in Music" 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Arts Magnet School theater, 1645 Milvia St. 

Israeli cellist Ohad "Udi" Bar-David and Palestinian violinist and composer Simon Shaheen will be featured in this event, sponsored by the East Bay Jewish-Palestinian Dialogue Group. Proceeds will benefit Open House in Ramle, Israel. Tickets are $25. 

925-947-1543; 925-736-8026 

Words in Collision: Summer Performance Art Series 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. (in Live Oak Park) 

"Impunity" by Eduardo Pavlovsky will be the featured performance tonight. Admission is $7 to $10. 

510-644-6893 

Pedestrian "Bike-In" Movie Night Party and Protest 

9 p.m. 

Underhill parking lot (Channing and College) 

This week's feature: "Repo Man", plus video activist shorts. Help transform a parking lot into a paradise every Saturday night this summer in protest of the University's plan to build a parking lot on the site, instead of student housing. 

510-CREW-CUT; www.geocities.com/rickisyoung 

Sunday, June 18 

Book Sale 

9 a.m.-4 p.m. 

Albany Community Center, corner of Marin and Masonic avenues 

The Friends of the Albany Library will hold its annual book sale this weekend. Prices for books, journals, art works, magazines, CDs, LPs, videos start at 25 cents and go up to $25. 

510-526-3720 

Free hands-on bicycle repair clinic 

11 a.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 

510-527-4140 

Annual Juneteenth Celebration 

11 a.m.-7 p.m. 

Adeline Street between Alcatraz and Ashby avenues 

This event celebrates the liberation of the Texas slaves, who didn’t get official word of emancipation until 1865 – two and one-half years after Abraham Lincoln’s Jan. 1, 1863, Emancipation Proclamation. 

Judah L. Magnes Museum Family Day 

12:30-3 p.m. 

Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. 

The free event will feature music, refreshments, art activities, and exhibit tours to families and individuals of all ages. Storyteller/song-leader Ira Levin will be on hand to entertain visitors, and guided tours will give visitors an in-depth look into the museum's current exhibitions. 

510-549-6950 

Roses workshop 

1 p.m. 

UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley campus 

Horticulturist Elaine Sedlack will show a range of species of roses from all over the world. The roses come from China, Japan, Europe and California. Cost is $7 for Garden members, $12 for nonmembers. Call ahead to reserve a place. 

510-643-2755 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 

7:30 p.m. 

St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 

"Under Construction No. 9" will feature George Thomson conducting a concert of new works or works-in-progress by local Bay Area composers. The concert is free. 

510-841-2800 

Monday, June 19 

Rent Stabilization Board 

7 p.m. 

Council Chambers, Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Tuesday, June 20 

Free computer class for seniors 

9:30-11:30 a.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited; the class is offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

510-548-3333 

Computer literacy course 

6-8 p.m. 

James Kenney Recreation Center, 1720 Eighth St. 

This free course will cover topics such as running Windows, File Management, connecting to and surfing the web, using Email, creating Web pages, JavaScript and a simple overview of programming. The course is oriented for adults. 

510-644-8511 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips. 

510-531-8664 

32nd Anniversary Revue and Fund-raiser 

8 p.m. 

Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

This event will feature The House Jacks, Rebecca Riots, Dave Nachmanoff, Jenna Mammina, The Modern Hicks. Tickets $13.50 to $14.50. 

510-548-1761; 510-762-BASS

Speaking up about their experiences, the newcomers to the Women’s Employment Resources Corp. traded hard luck stories about navigating the welfare system. 

Most of the small group of less than 10 young women had been receiving welfare payments for years and they are moving toward a turning point in their lives when they will leave welfare behind and go to work. 

The women are participants in a four-week employment workshop at the Women’s Employment Resources Corporation, a jobs powerhouse that operates out of a small office building at 3362 Adeline St. 

Anticipating a major change in their lives, the women complained about the past, about glitches in welfare administration, social workers switching off their cases, not enough money. 

“Like most of our clients coming off welfare, they have a lot of problems to resolve, but this is a new day,” said Carole Brown, director of the Women’s Employment Resources Corp. 

She said the clients are fearful, worried they won’t succeed, but they want to leave welfare as long as they can support themselves. 

Brown, who earned a master’s degree in social work from UC Berkeley, said that in her experience, which goes back to the 1970s, she said she has not seen welfare programs as productive as the one CalWorks currently is providing. She said the healthy economy is a strong contributing factor. 

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said. 

She said the county’s welfare program pays childcare providers directly for participating women, pays for their transportation and their clothing to wear to work. 

The county also offers mental health and domestic violence programs. Brown believes the healthy economy is a strong contributing factor to improved programs. 

Welfare reform has been tried before, but “this one is doing everything possible to help women get off welfare, “ she said. 

Previously, she said, participants “didn’t have a voice in their destinies, there were programs planned for them, the follow-up wasn’t too good, and you didn’t really get that sense that the system wanted to help you.” 

Brown said the state receives about $180 million from the federal government for welfare programs. The state then distributes that funding to counties. 

She said her agency is one of several that contracts with the county to provide services. It acts as a liaison between CalWorks and the community. 

The center, which worked with more than 100 clients this year, Brown said, is in its second year of its contract with CalWorks, which monitors the center’s program. 

The center receives an allocation, about $526,000, which it must earn based on the services it provides. She said Women’s Resources also receives an amount “under $50,000” from the City of Berkeley. 

Brown said they work with the city’s One-Stop program, at 1950 Addison St. The program is available to Berkeley residents to use its computers and fax machines and telephones at no charge for their job searches. 

Women’s Resources also helps find resources for people who have been laid off from their jobs and haven’t been able to obtain unemployment compensation. 

It’s a job information center for Berkeley residents who are seeking employment or other information about job training or schooling. 

Brown said she receives calls from a range of people from the down-and-out unemployed, people seeking lawyers, or grants, and from UC Berkeley graduates. 

“We’ve been here 16 years. We don’t know who will hit the door tomorrow,” Brown said. 

The Women’s Center follows clients’ progress on their new jobs at 30-, 90-, and 180-day intervals. It also acts as an interpreter for the mountains of paperwork that loom in the life of a woman who is exiting welfare for a job while raising her children. 

Women’s Employment Resources Corporation has a contract with CalWorks to be a liaison between the welfare department and the community.  

In turn the center is in contact with scores of employers in the Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville area. 

The way to say good-bye to welfare is by getting and holding a job that pays a living wage. Brown said the center is not aiming at minimum wage jobs but those paying $10. If they pay $8, she said the center wants the jobs to be accompanied by benefits. 

The center offers training programs, including computers, and life skills lessons. “The reality is that you can get all the training in the world, but if you have a bad attitude, you won’t get the job,” she said. 

On a promotional flyer, the Women’s Employment Resources Corp. advertises for clients “on CalWorks,” noting that the center can provide help with sanctions, skills assessment, mentoring, resume preparation and career counseling and workshops. 

Timiza Joseph, a single parent who is taking a leave of absence from operating a hair salon business, said she turned to the center to learn more about possible government grants she could apply for. 

Tracy Watson, who was temporarily disabled with a thyroid problem that remained undiagnosed for months, preventing her from receiving county aid, finally found a job working at Women’s Resources. 

The center allows her a flexible schedule, and while she still is recuperating, she is teaching computer skills to clients and advocating for them with a newfound sense of urgency. 

“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Watson – and she’s telling clients where to find the

Project is wrong for San Pablo 

After the first meeting of the neighbors and developer Patrick Kennedy, he called the group “an angry lynching mob.” I don’t think the likes of our rich, white boy from Piedmont was what Billy Holiday had in mind when she sings “Strange Fruit.” This time he calls the neighbors “citizen vigilantes” – equally inappropriate. The people in the area all took Civics 101, and are exercising their rights as citizens of our city. 

Who are builders to tell the people who live in the area what they need – who is Bill Lambert to tell them either? Where does he live? 

People who have to live in an area and adjust to whatever comes into their neighborhood should have more say than the outsiders who only plan to make money off the projects and city employees who live elsewhere. 

Rosemary Vimont 

Berkeley 

Tragic irony in man’s death 

In your article about the death of Noah Baum (Tues., June 13, “Berkeley native dies”), you explain that he was a novice lawyer interested in environmental issues and that he “especially opposed logging old-growth forests and driving gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles.” I feel certain that those who knew him as well as many of us who didn't are deeply touched by the tragic irony that “he was watching a basketball game in a sports bar in West L. A. when a Jeep Cherokee sped out of control and crashed into the restaurant. Baum was killed instantly and others were critically injured.” 

It could only have been more ironic if it had happened in a redwood forest. 

Gary Skupa 

Berkeley

THEATER 

AURORA THEATRE 

“Split” by Mayo Simon, June 1 through July 2. A mordant clear-eyed view of an older couple's love affair. $25 to $28. Wednesday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-4822. 

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE 

“Closer” by Patrick Marber, through July 9. A funny, touching and unflinchingly honest examination of love and relationships set in contemporary London. $38 to $48.50. Tuesday, Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; May 27, June 1, June 3, June 10, June 15, June 24, June 29 and July 8, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 845-4700 or (888) 4BRTTIX. 

CALIFORNIA 

SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL 

“Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare, June 3 through June 24. The classic romantic comedy of mismatched lovers forced into a union. $21 to $38 general; $19 to $38 seniors; $10 to $38 children. Wednesday and Thursday, 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 4 p.m.; June 13 and June 20, 7 p.m. June 24, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Bruns Memorial Amphitheatre, Shakespeare Festival Way/Gateway Exit on state Highway 24. (510) 548-9666 or www.calshakes.org 

LaVal’s Subterranean 

Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by Yoni Barkan. The play will run from June 8 to July 8, Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. each night. 1834 Euclid Ave. (510) 234-6046. 

MUSIC VENUES 

ASHKENAZ 

Tom Rigney and Flambeau, June 17, 9:30 p.m. Cajun dance lesson with Diana Castillo at 8:30 p.m. included in price. $11. 

Ali Khan, June 18, 7:30 p.m. $8.  

Nestinari, June 20, 9 p.m. Bulgarian dance lesson with Petur Iliev at 8 p.m. $8.  

The Poullard-Thompson Cajun Trio, June 21, 9 p.m. Cajun dance lesson with Patti Whithurst at 8 p.m. $8. 

Grateful Dean DJ Night with Digital Dave, June 22, 10 p.m. $5. 

Clan Dyken, June 23, 9:30 p.m. $11. 

Steve Lucky and The Rhumba Bums, June 24, 9:30 p.m. Lindy Hop Dance Lessons with Nick and Shanna at 8 p.m. $11. 

Hahbi'ru, June 25, 7:30 p.m. $10. 

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5099 or www.ashkenaz.com 

BLAKES 

Monkey, Firme, Los Karnales, June 17. $5. 

Robert Walter's 20th Congress, Clyde's Ride, June 18. $8. 

The Blue Monday Jam featuring The Steve Gannon Band, June 19. $3. 

Ascension, June 20. $5. 

“Third World,” June 21. With UC Buu, DJ Add, Jah Bonz, Big Willie. $5. 

Ripe, XODO, June 22. $4. 

An Evening with Groove Junkies, June 23. $5. 

Kofy Brown, Rous, June 24. $6. 

For age 18 and older. Music at 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0886. 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE 

Oak, Ash and Thorn, June 17. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Teresa Trull and Barbara Higbie, June 18. $16.50 to $17.50. 

“Freight 32nd Anniversary Revue and Fundraiser,” June 20. Featuring The House Jacks, Rebecca Riots, Dave Nachmanoff, Jenna Mammina, The Modern Hicks. $13.50 to $14.50. 

Urban Acoustic Dude, June 21. $12.50 to $13.50. 

Kathi McDonald and Brian Auger, June 22. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Eric Bogle, June 23. $16.50 to $17.50. 

The Limeliters, June 24. $16.50 to $17.50. 

John Dobby Boe and the avant jazz trio, June 25. $14.50 to $15.50. 

Music at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761 or (510) 762-BASS. 

LA PEÑA CULTURAL CENTER 

Peruvian master guitarist Raul Garcia Zarate, June 17, 8 p.m. $16. 

Jessie Turner, A Sleeping Bee, June 18, 7 p.m. $8 to $15. 

Jim Page, June 21, 7:30 p.m. $5 to $15. 

The Raquel Lopez Flamenco Dance Ensemble, June 23, 8:30 p.m. $18. 

Ritmo y Armonia, June 24, 9:30 p.m. $10. 

3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

924 GILMAN ST. 

Noothgrush, Kojak, PCP Roadblock, June 17. 

Damad, Good Clean Fun, Meatjack, Brain Blood Volume, June 24. 

$5. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926. 

THE STARRY PLOUGH PUB 

Noe Venable and The Ruiners, Eric McFadden Experience, Lael Alderman, June 17. $6. 

Ceili Dance featuring Brian Theriault and Friends, June 21. 8 p.m. 

Randy Weeks, Jim Roll, June 22. $6. 

Deke Dickerson and The Ecco-Fonics, Redmeat, June 23. $8. 

The Paladins, The Dusty 45's, June 24. $8. 

For age 21 and over. Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:45 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082. 

MUSEUMS 

Berkeley Historical Society 

"Berkeley's Ethnic Heritage." May 7 through March 2001. The exhibit examines the rich cultural diversity of our city and the contributions of individuals and minority groups to our history and development. The exhibit look at the original native tribelets in the area and the immigrants who settled in Ocean View and displaced the Spanish/Mexican landowners. It also examines the influence of theUniversity of California, the San Francisco earthquake, and World War II on the population and culture of Berkeley, and subsequent efforts to overcome discrimination. Curated by Linda Rosen and the Berkeley Historical Society Exhibit Committee. Thursday through Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Wheelchair accessible. Admission free. 

Berkeley Historical Society located in the Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center Street, Berkeley. 510-848-0181 

www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc 

UC BERKELEY ART 

MUSEUM 

“Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition,” May 20 through July 2. The 13th annual exhibit of work by candidates for the Master of Fine Arts degree. Artist Talk, May 21, 3 p.m. At Gallery 2. 

“Anne Chu/MATRIX 184 Untitled,” April 16 through June 18. The exhibition features a selection of Chu's T'ang dynasty funerary figures sculpted following her travels to Xian and Guangdong. The wooden figures range in height from 28 inches to over six feet.  

“China: Fifty Years Inside the People's Republic,” through June 18. The work of 25 Chinese and Western photographers explores half a century of social and political upheaval in this unusual exhibit. The 200 photographs, both black-and-white and color, cover the many regions, cultures and people that make up China as well as the mix of traditional life and the modern one. 

“Autour de Rodin: Auguste Rodin and His Contemporaries,” through August. An exhibit of 11 bronze maquettes on loan from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation in Los Angeles. The bronzes range in style from the artist's classically inspired “Torso of a Woman” to the anguish of “The Martyr.” Some of the maquettes were cast during Rodin’s lifetime, others have been cast fairly recently under the aegis of the Musee Rodin which alone is authorized to cast his sculptures posthumously. 

$6 general; $4 seniors and students ages 12 to 18; free children age 12 and under; free Thursday, 1 1 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-0808. 

LAWRENCE HALL 

OF SCIENCE 

“Experiment Gallery,” through Sept. 10. Step inside a giant laboratory and experiment with concepts surrounding sound, light, mechanics, electricity, and weather. 

“Math Rules!” ongoing exhibit. A math exhibit of hands-on problem-solving stations, each with a different mathematical challenge. Make mathematical ice-cream cones, use blocks to build three dimensional structures, make dodecagon pies from a variety of mathematical shapes and stretch mathematical thinking. 

“Within the Human Brain,” ongoing installation. Visitors test their cranial nerves, play skeeball, master mazes, match musical tones and construct stories inside a simulated “rat cage” of learning experiments. 

$6 general; $4 seniors, students and children ages 7 to 18; $2 children ages 3 to 6; free children under age 3. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Centennial Drive, University of California, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

PHOEBE HEARST MUSEUM 

Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley 

“Modern Treasures from Ancient Iran,” through Oct. 29. This exhibit explores nomadic and town life in ancient and modern Iran as illustrated in bronze and pottery vessels, and textiles. 

“Pana O’ahu: Sacred Stones – Sacred Places,” through July 16. An exhibit of photographs by Jan Becket and Joseph Singer. 

“Phoebe Hearst Museum-Approaching a Century of Anthropology,” a sampling of the vast collections of the museum, its mission, history, and current research, with selections from ancient Egypt, ancient Peru, California Indians, Asia (India), and Africa. 

“Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture,” Ishi, the last Yahi Indian of California, spent the final years of his life, 1911 to 1916, living at the museum, working with anthropologists to record his culture, demonstrating technological skills, and retelling Yahi myths, tales, and songs. 

Wednesday through Sunday 10 am -4:30 pm; Thursday until 9 pm (Sept-May) 

(510) 643-7648 

HABITOT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 

Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 

A museum especially for children age 7 and younger. 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. 

Exhibit: “Back to the Farm,” open-ended. This interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels like an earthworm, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and much more.  

Admission is $4 for adults; $6 child age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child.  

Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

(510) 647-1111 

HALL OF HEALTH  

2230 Shattuck Ave. (lower level), Berkeley 

A hands-on community health education museum and science center sponsored by Children's Hospital Oakland and Alta Bates Medical Center. 

“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. 

Free. For children ages 3 to 12 and their parents. 

(510) 549-1564 

JUDAH L. MAGNES 

MUSEUM 

2911 Russell St., Berkeley 

“Telling Time: To Everything There Is A Season,” through May 2002.  

An exhibit structured around the seasons of the year and the seasons of life with objects ranging from the sacred and the secular, to the provocative and the whimsical. Highlights include treasures from Jewish ceremonial and folk art, rare books and manuscripts, contemporary and traditional fine art, video, photography and cultural kitsch. Through Nov. 4: “Spring and Summer.” 

Free. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

(510) 549-6950. 

GALLERIES  

A.C.C.I. GALLERY 

“Abstract Expressions,” through July 1. A group show featuring Rita Flanagan, Carolyn Careis, Heather Hutchinson, Muriel Paley, and Naomi Policoff. 

Free. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-2527. 

GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION 

“On Common Ground.” through June 23. This exhibit is a portrait of faith-based communities in Los Angeles. 

“Finding the Sacred Mountain,” through June 20. An exhibit of sumi-e and watercolors by Robert Kostka. 

Free. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd., Berkeley. (510) 649-2541. 

KALA INSTITUTE 

“Markings/Imprints,” through July 28. The 2000 Kala Art Institute Fellowship Awards Exhibitions, Part I, featuring works by Susan Belau, Liliana Lobo Ferreira, and Jamie Morgan. 

Free. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Workshop Media Center Gallery, 1060 Heinz Ave., Berkeley. (510) 549-2977. 

NEW PIECES GALLERY 

“Progressions: the Quilt as Art,” through June 29. An exhibit of quilts by Jill Le Croisette. 

“Go We to the Revels Masked,” through June 29. An exhibit of dolls by Elise Peeples. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

TRAYWICK GALLERY 

Rachel Davis, Samantha Fisher, Benicia Gantner, Cherith Rose, June 21 through July 22. An exhibit of new work by the four artists. 

Artist Reception, June 21, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

“nudge,” May 17 through June 18. An exhibit of new work by Terry Hoff. Reception, May 17, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Artist Talk, June 9, 10:30 a.m. 

Free. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1316 10th St., Berkeley. (510) 527-1214. 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). 

Calendar items should be submitted at least one week before the opening of a new exhibit or performance. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

After the 10-odd months of controversy, acrimony and delays, the Memorial Stadium permanent lighting debate all boils down to one incontrovertible fact: University officials don’t think nine light towers would look crappy and the stadium’s neighbors do. Period.  

After numerous postponements, the University’s initial study of any possible environmental risks the light towers would pose was finally made available to the public on Friday. Under the guidelines of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), such an initial study must be made in order to determine if a further Environmental Impact Report is necessary. And, as the local group Neighbors of Memorial Stadium predicted all along, the University doesn’t think it is. 

“The project is exempt from CEQA because it will not cause a significant effect on the environment,” reads the study. “The project will facilitate the continued use of the stadium for its historic purpose; the project will not significantly alter a viewshed currently marked by existing flagpoles and other vertical elements; the installations are positioned outside the perimeter of the historic Stadium structure and would not touch the historic fabric. None of the exceptions to the general exemption would therefore apply.” 

The University argued that an EIR would be additionally unwarranted because the addition of nine light towers each standing 60-to-75 feet over the stadium’s rim would be “only a minor alteration to Memorial Stadium” which would not add any square footage, would replace temporary lighting and could be categorized as “small facilities” or “minor structures accessory to existing institutional facilities.” 

The Neighbors of Memorial Stadium, however, are not buying it. 

“I’m not surprised, but I’m very disappointed by their choice of procedure,” said Robert Breuer, president of the NOMS, a group formed last summer in opposition to the University’s initial attempt at implementing the towers. “They’ve had a long time to do something, and really all they’re doing is coming back to Square One of not seriously looking at this, nor have they had any contact with us in the intervening almost year. They’ve essentially frozen us out. 

“There’s no doubt it will cause a significant effect, and they come right out and say ‘it doesn’t,’” continues Breuer. “Comparing (the light towers) to flagpoles is perfectly ludicrous. And the idea that somehow the stadium lights are not part of the stadium is patently absurd. To say the lights that light the stadium aren’t part of the stadium is perfectly Orwellian talk. Logic like this isn’t going to fly.” 

In addition to declaring exemption from CEQA because permanent lights would replace the temporaries rolled into Memorial Stadium several times a year, the University claims that better directed permanent lighting could cut down on glare in the neighboring community by up to 95 percent. The NOMS, however, says glare is a red herring.  

“Glare is not the point. They want to talk about glare because they know it’s something they can fix,” said NOMS member Michael Kelly. “The real issue is you’ve got these big structures up there 365 days a year for a teeny use, three games a year. It’s the impact of the structure we’re concerned about, not the glare. I feel the Cal planning department is selling out the beauty of the campus in order to benefit a television station.” 

Fox, which owns the broadcast rights to the Pac-10, offered to install $1 million lighting systems in all of the conference stadiums 10 months ago. 

In addition to claims of verbally understating the towers’ impact, NOMS members say the computer-generated photographs the University included in the study and posted on the Internet visually understate the potential impact. 

Both Kelly and Breuer claim the photographs portray light towers shorter and thinner than what they believe the University is planning to install. Correlating the height of one tower with a nearby flagpole he personally measured to reach 30 feet over the stadium’s rim, Kelly calculated the image of the tower as extending no more than 57 feet over the rim. Within the report the University states the towers will stretch 65 to 70 feet above the rim.  

“The width (of the tower) looks to me to be very impractical,” added Kelly. “It clearly looks too thin to support so many lights.” 

The University hopes to address its differences with the neighborhood in a June 29 community meeting. Breuer, however, claims such a meeting would dissolve into a “Dog and Pony Show,” and hopes instead for a public hearing. At the City Council’s behest, City Manager James Keene wrote a letter to the University on June 6 requesting such a public hearing. 

“They want to have a meeting so they can check off a box saying they had a meeting with us,” said Breuer. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have to go through this again. We will take them to court and we will prevail.” 

OAKLAND – Cooling fog rolled back into Northern California Friday after an unusual midweek heat wave sent scores of people to the hospital.  

Authorities were investigating whether eight other deaths were due to the heat since temperatures shot past 100 Wednesday. Many of the dead were old or frail, making it hard to determine if heat was to blame. 

In one heat-related death, a 73-year-old man, Cam Bo Tu, collapsed while out walking Wednesday in Alameda County. A heart attack was the primary cause of death, but exposure was also listed as a factor, a coroner’s spokeswoman said. 

When San Francisco, where temperatures usually hover in the 60s, hit 103, there was no doubt the unusual heat created widespread distress, particularly among the elderly.  

“All of the counties that we talked to reported that there were significant increases in emergency ambulance traffic,” said Art Lathrop, director of emergency medical services for Contra Costa County. 

The heat buckled the pavement on the freeway linking San Francisco and Sacramento and also caused power outages and so-called “rotating brownouts” that left 97,000 customers in the dark. 

“We’re really having what I would call a heat storm,” Pacific Gas & Electric spokesman Tom Collins said. 

At a San Francisco Giants game Wednesday, 34 people were treated for heat exhaustion and one person was hospitalized for heat stroke with a body temperatures of 106 degrees.  

On Thursday, temperatures tumbled back to normal, the high in San Francisco at noon was 61 degrees, 42 degrees lower than the day before.  

Lathrop said his office will be tuning up contingency plans should severe weather break out again.  

“It’s not even summer yet,” he said. “It’s spring.” 

With the scent of barbecue in the summer air, the gold and green of kinti cloth decorating the booths, those sweet tones of the Berkeley High Jazz Band and Pete Escovedo’s red hot salsa sounds, Berkeley will remember the freeing of the slaves at its annual Juneteenth celebration. 

The festival specifically remembers the liberation of the Texas slaves, who didn’t get official word of emancipation until two and one-half years after Abraham Lincoln’s Jan. 1, 1863, Emancipation Proclamation. 

Juneteenth is celebrated around the country and has been a state holiday in Texas for 20 years. Berkeley will celebrate its 14th Annual Juneteenth Festival on Sunday, the oldest Bay Area Juneteenth Festival in the Bay Area. The celebration takes place between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Adeline Street, between Alcatraz and Ashby avenues. 

Sam Dyke, president of the Adeline-Alcatraz Merchants Association, heads up the Berkeley event. “We have an awesome musical lineup,” Dyke said, noting that there will be two stages, one whose music will appeal the older folks and one that will jazz the younger set. 

In addition to Escovedo, performers include celebrated local jazz pianist Ed Kelley, Beverly Watson’s Blues Band, John Handy, the Berkeley Steppers and more. 

“It’s a family thing,” Dyke said, adding that there are pony rides and face painting for the very young and a hoops contest for youth. Members of the Golden State Warriors basketball team will make an appearance. Food booths will represent Berkeley’s multicultural community, with a choice of Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, French, Mexican, and African food. 

“We keep the political speakers out,” Dyke says. Entry to the festival is free. Dyke reminds people that parking is limited. “Take BART,” he says. 

Berkeley attorney goes to China 

Berkeley attorney Joseph Berzok recently joined a two-week Global Volunteers lawyers team to Xi’an, China. 

Global Volunteers is a nonprofit, international development organization that offers short-term service opportunities in 19 countries around the world. 

The eight lawyers on the service team were given an inside look on the Chinese legal system through discussions with law students, practicing attorneys and government officials. 

Berzok concluded that while China is an ancient land of sweeping dynasties and sophisticated cultures, it is far behind in the area of civil and criminal law. 

“I learned that we are more alike than different,” he said in a press release. 

“We have the same interest in forging a peaceful relationship with our countries. I was also continually surprised by how much the Chinese know about America, particularly our history and our legal system.” 

For more information on Global Volunteers, contact (800) 487-1074; 375 E. Little Canada Rd., St. Paul, MN 55117; email@globalvolunteers.org; www.globalvolunteers.org. 

Summer solstice to be celebrated 

The Berkeley Farmer’s Market will celebrate the summer solstice on Saturday, June 24 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with live music. The first band, Backstep, will play at 11 a.m., followed by a Special Lunch Time Concert for Children and Families from noon to 2 p.m. At 2 p.m., Atahualpamantab will play. The Farmer’s Market is on Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. For more information, call 548-3333 or visit www.ecologycenter.org. 

Gender twist in Shakespeare classic 

Woman’s Will presents “Measure for Measure,” with a twist on Shakespeare’s play by reverse-gender casting. The performances will be at John Hinkel park in Berkeley on July 15 and 16 and Live Oak Park in Berkeley July 22 and 23. All performances start at 1 p.m. and are free admission. For more information, call (415) 567-1758. 

Health event set 

OAKLAND – Western Essential Tremor Network is hosting the first ever Essential Tremor & Dystonia Seminar on Saturday, June 24 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Samuel Merritt College, 400 Hawthorne Avenue, Oakland. 

The program will feature presentations about treatments and therapy demonstrations. For more information, call Kethleen Welker, Community Affairs Coordinator at (925) 600-7758. 

New address for BHS 

The new address of Berkeley High School is 2223 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley 94704. The old address was linked to the main offices on Milvia Street, and the fire that housed those offices was damaged in an arson fire in April. 

Spay-neuter event planned locally 

Fix Our Ferals is having a spay-neuter program for homeless cats on June 25. People are encouraged to bring feral and stray cats to be sterilized and vaccinated. For reservations, location information and trap loans call 433-9446. 

– Daily Planet Staff

Berkeley Opera’s 2000 season, Shakespeare at the Opera, concludes July 14-23 with six performances of Berlioz’s opera, “Beatrice and Benedick.” 

Berlioz’s opera was inspired by Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” It premiered as a hit in Berkeley Opera’s 1995 season as a concert production. This season the opera will be fully staged with a new production.  

The production will be sung in David Scott Marley’s English translation/adaptation. It is directed by Jenny Lord; Jonathan Khuner is music director and conductor, assisted by Philip Kuttner. 

Lane McNab and Stephen Rumph play the title roles of Beatrice and Benedick. Other singers include Jillian Khuner as Hero, Nicholas Nackley as Claudio, and Keir Murray as the villain, Don John. 

Performances are at Berkeley’s Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave. Performances start at 8 p.m. July 14, 15, 21 and 22, and at 2 p.m. July 16 and 23. 

Tickets are $30 general; $24 seniors; $15 youth. 

To charge by phone, call (925) 798-1300. For more information call (510) 841-1903 or visit www.berkeleyopera.com.

The initial plenary meeting of Northern California Women in Film and Television will be held on Friday, July 28 from 6-8 p.m. at the Film Arts Foundation, 346 Ninth Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco. 

Berkeley-based Northern California Women in Film and Television will be a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to helping women reach the highest levels of achievement in film, television and other media. It is an affiliate of New York Women in Film & Television and LA Women in Film. 

For information or to R.S.V.P., call (510) 558-0902. 

For directions to the Film Arts Foundation, call (415) 552-8760.

As the sun set over the UC Berkeley Greek Theatre and the fog rolled in Thursday evening, the Class of 2000 said its final good bye to Berkeley High School. 

About 750 seniors walked the stage in the graduation ceremony that lasted almost two hours. And as one can expect from almost any Berkeley High event, it featured a little bit of everything. 

The BHS All Star Jazz Seniors and the Berkeley High School Gospel Choir filled the Greek with music for nearly an hour as people took their seats. By the time 5:30 came around, the theater was filled with screaming friends, families and Berkeley High students. 

“Aren’t you glad it’s not yesterday?” activities coordinator Jamie Marantz asked the crowd, referring to the improvement over Wednesday’s blistering weather. 

The seniors filed into their seats just below the front of the stage, and the ceremony began with senior class co-presidents Lilia Tamm and Dominique Baillet welcoming the audience and introducing history teacher Wyn Skeels, the commencement speaker. 

Skeels, whose first year teaching at Berkeley High was coincidentally the Class of 2000’s freshman year, said he was honored to be chosen to represent the senior class. 

“You are the most inspiring people I know,” Skeels said of the students. 

Skeels joked about life at Berkeley High, stating that students spend four years learning their ABC’s: Administration, which changes every year; Bathrooms, which you never want to go near; and the Courtyard with its good atmosphere. 

His brief speech was followed by a tribute to Marcia Singman, a teacher who passed away unexpectedly this spring after teaching for over 30 years at BHS. 

Seniors Lauren Nagel-Werd and Noam Biale introduced two dance performances with anecdotes of Singman and the time they spent in her classes. 

Members of the Afro-Haitian Class danced to drumming and the Dance Production Class performed to James Brown’s “I Feel Good.” 

“Rather than mourning her death, we choose to celebrate her life,” Tamm said. 

It appeared the comedy part of the program was up next, as Ben Watson-Lamprey spoke followed by Jimmy Tran, Ahmad Cannon and Gustavo Hernandez, who led the seniors in an energetic and comical class cheer. 

Watson-Lamprey’s speech looked back on the last four years and what it was worth to the seniors in attendance. 

“We can’t write the last four years off as preparing for our lives,” Watson-Lamprey said, “because this is our life.” 

Next up were Catherine Owens and Jolie Beckwith singing “Count on Me” followed by Daveed Diggs reciting his spoken word piece entitled “So This Is It.” Diggs’ performance revisited the first day of high school and his first spirit rally. 

The next hour passed as students received their diplomas from the Board of Education, shook hands with principal Theresa Saunders, walked across the stage and then returned to the seating area in pure pandemonium. 

More than 60 of the seniors received athletic or academic awards or scholarships, including five who were awarded National Merit Scholarships and 55 California Scholarship Federation Sealbearers. 

For the Berkeley High School Class of 2000, Thursday’s graduation was the climax of four difficult, hard-working, fulfilling years. 

As Watson-Lamprey said, “The last four years have not been a preparation of our lives, they have been in essence our lives.”

===Friday, June 16 

“Vietnam” 

Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. 

Col. Harvey Short will speak during this week’s meeting of the City Commons Club. Social hour begins at 11:15 a.m. Luncheon is served from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Speaker starts promptly at 12:30 p.m. Lunch is $11 or $12.25; admission to the speech is $1, free for students. 

510-848-3533 

The history of New York Yiddish theater music 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Juneteenth celebration 

7-9 p.m. 

Downtown Berkeley YMCA, 2001 Allston Way 

Juneteenth is considered the date when the last slaves in America were freed. There will be a performance by the African Haitian Dance Group, storytelling with Orunamamu, the opportunity to taste African food, and the selling of African art and crafts by Zebra Trading Company. Other activities taking place on this special family night include swimming, floor hockey, soccer, basketball, and arts and crafts. The price for this family night is $1 per person. 

510-848-9622 

Words in Collision: Summer Performance Art Series 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. (in Live Oak Park) 

Tonight’s session will feature readings by poets and writers. Admission is $7 to $10. 

510-644-6893 

===Saturday, June 17 

Book Sale 

9 a.m.-4 p.m. 

Albany Community Center, corner of Marin and Masonic avenues 

The Friends of the Albany Library will hold its annual book sale this weekend. Prices for books, journals, art works, magazines, CDs, LPs, and videos start at 25 cents and go up to $25. 

510-526-3720 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Center Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

510-548-3333 

Free puppet shows 

1:30 and 2:30 p.m. 

Hall of Health at 2230 Shattuck Ave. 

The shows by The Kids on the Block are for children of all ages and their parents. The award-winning educational puppet troupe's program will be on physical and mental differences. Admission is free. 

510-549-1564 

Organic container gardening 

2:30-5:30 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 

Val Peters, Bay Area environmental educator, writer and gardener will lead this class. Cost for the class is $15 for members, $20 for nonmembers. Pre-registration strongly advised. 

510-548-2220 

"Arab and Jew: A Dialogue in Music" 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Arts Magnet School theater, 1645 Milvia St. 

Israeli cellist Ohad "Udi" Bar-David and Palestinian violinist and composer Simon Shaheen will be featured in this event, sponsored by the East Bay Jewish-Palestinian Dialogue Group. Proceeds will benefit Open House in Ramle, Israel. Tickets are $25. 

925-947-1543; 925-736-8026 

Words in Collision: Summer Performance Art Series 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. (in Live Oak Park) 

"Impunity" by Eduardo Pavlovsky will be the featured performance tonight. Admission is $7 to $10. 

510-644-6893 

Pedestrian "Bike-In" Movie Night Party and Protest 

9 p.m. 

Underhill parking lot (Channing and College) 

This week's feature: "Repo Man", plus video activist shorts. Help transform a parking lot into a paradise in protest of the University's plan to build a parking lot on the site, instead of student housing. 

510-CREW-CUT; www.geocities.com/rickisyoung 

===Sunday, June 18 

Book Sale 

9 a.m.-4 p.m. 

Albany Community Center, corner of Marin and Masonic avenues 

The Friends of the Albany Library will hold its annual book sale this weekend. Prices for books, journals, art works, magazines, CDs, LPs, and videos start at 25 cents and go up to $25. 

510-526-3720 

Free hands-on bicycle repair clinic 

11 a.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 

510-527-4140 

Judah L. Magnes Museum Family Day 

12:30-3 p.m. 

Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. 

The free event will feature music, refreshments, art activities, and exhibit tours to families and individuals of all ages. Storyteller/song-leader Ira Levin will be on hand to entertain visitors, and guided tours will give visitors an in-depth look into the museum's current exhibitions. 

510-549-6950 

Roses workshop 

1 p.m. 

UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley campus 

Horticulturist Elaine Sedlack will show a range of species of roses from all over the world. The roses come from China, Japan, Europe and California. Cost is $7 for Garden members, $12 for nonmembers. Call ahead to reserve a place. 

510-643-2755 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 

7:30 p.m. 

St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 

"Under Construction No. 9" will feature George Thomson conducting a concert of new works or works-in-progress by local Bay Area composers. The concert is free. 

510-841-2800 

===Monday, June 19 

Rent Stabilization Board 

7 p.m. 

Council Chambers, Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

===Tuesday, June 20 

Free computer class for seniors 

9:30-11:30 a.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited; the class is offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

510-548-3333 

Computer literacy course 

6-8 p.m. 

James Kenney Recreation Center, 1720 Eighth St. 

This free course will cover topics such as running Windows, File Management, connecting to and surfing the web, using Email, creating Web pages, JavaScript and a simple overview of programming. The course is oriented for adults. 

510-644-8511 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips. 

510-531-8664

THEATER 

AURORA THEATRE 

“Split” by Mayo Simon, June 1 through July 2. A mordant clear-eyed view of an older couple's love affair. $25 to $28. Wednesday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-4822. 

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE 

“Closer” by Patrick Marber, through July 9. A funny, touching and unflinchingly honest examination of love and relationships set in contemporary London. $38 to $48.50. Tuesday, Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; June 24, June 29 and July 8, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 845-4700 or (888) 4BRTTIX. 

CALIFORNIA 

SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL 

“Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare, June 3 through June 24. The classic romantic comedy of mismatched lovers forced into a union. $21 to $38 general; $19 to $38 seniors; $10 to $38 children. Wednesday and Thursday, 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 4 p.m.; June 13 and June 20, 7 p.m. June 24, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Bruns Memorial Amphitheatre, Shakespeare Festival Way/Gateway Exit on state Highway 24. (510) 548-9666 or www.calshakes.org 

LaVal’s Subterranean 

Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by Yoni Barkan. The play will run from June 8 to July 8, Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. each night. 1834 Euclid Ave. (510) 234-6046. 

MUSIC VENUES 

ASHKENAZ 

Let's Go Bowling, Critical Mass, Stiff Richards, June 16, 9:30 p.m. $11. 

Tom Rigney and Flambeau, June 17, 9:30 p.m. Cajun dance lesson with Diana Castillo at 8:30 p.m. included in price. $11. 

Ali Khan, June 18, 7:30 p.m. $8.  

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5099 or www.ashkenaz.com 

BLAKES 

Slaptones, Terra Cotta Troup, June 16. $5. 

Monkey, Firme, Los Karnales, June 17. $5. 

Robert Walter's 20th Congress, Clyde's Ride, June 18. $8. 

For age 18 and older. Music at 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0886. 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE 

Laurie Lewis and Her Bluegrass Pals, Slaid Cleaves, June 16. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Oak, Ash and Thorn, June 17. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Teresa Trull and Barbara Higbie, June 18. $16.50 to $17.50. 

Music at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761 or (510) 762-BASS. 

LA PEÑA CULTURAL CENTER 

“Collective Soul: New Directions of Hip Hop,” June 16, 8:30 p.m. Featuring Company of Prophets, Goapele, The Living Word Ensemble. $10 general; $8 students. 

Peruvian master guitarist Raul Garcia Zarate, June 17, 8 p.m. $16. 

Jessie Turner, A Sleeping Bee, June 18, 7 p.m. $8 to $15. 

3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

924 GILMAN ST. 

Bane, Calloused, Adamantium, Death by Stereo, June 16. 

Noothgrush, Kojak, PCP Roadblock, June 17. 

$5. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926. 

THE STARRY PLOUGH PUB 

Vagabond Lovers, Christy McWilson, June 16. $7. 

Noe Venable and The Ruiners, Eric McFadden Experience, Lael Alderman, June 17. $6. 

For age 21 and over. Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:45 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082. 

MUSEUMS 

Berkeley Historical Society 

"Berkeley's Ethnic Heritage." May 7 through March 2001. The exhibit examines the rich cultural diversity of our city and the contributions of individuals and minority groups to our history and development. The exhibit look at the original native tribelets in the area and the immigrants who settled in Ocean View and displaced the Spanish/Mexican landowners. It also examines the influence of theUniversity of California, the San Francisco earthquake, and World War II on the population and culture of Berkeley, and subsequent efforts to overcome discrimination. Curated by Linda Rosen and the Berkeley Historical Society Exhibit Committee. Thursday through Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Wheelchair accessible. Admission free. 

Berkeley Historical Society located in the Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center Street, Berkeley. 510-848-0181 

www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc 

UC BERKELEY ART 

MUSEUM 

“Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition,” May 20 through July 2. The 13th annual exhibit of work by candidates for the Master of Fine Arts degree. Artist Talk, May 21, 3 p.m. At Gallery 2. 

“Anne Chu/MATRIX 184 Untitled,” April 16 through June 18. The exhibition features a selection of Chu's T'ang dynasty funerary figures sculpted following her travels to Xian and Guangdong. 

“China: Fifty Years Inside the People's Republic,” through June 18. The work of 25 Chinese and Western photographers explores half a century of social and political upheaval in this unusual exhibit. The 200 photographs, both black-and-white and color, cover the many regions, cultures and people that make up China as well as the mix of traditional life and the modern one. 

“Autour de Rodin: Auguste Rodin and His Contemporaries,” through August. An exhibit of 11 bronze maquettes on loan from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation in Los Angeles. The bronzes range in style from the artist's classically inspired “Torso of a Woman” to the anguish of “The Martyr.” Some of the maquettes were cast during Rodin’s lifetime, others have been cast fairly recently under the aegis of the Musee Rodin which alone is authorized to cast his sculptures posthumously. 

$6 general; $4 seniors and students ages 12 to 18; free children age 12 and under; free Thursday, 1 1 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-0808. 

HALL OF HEALTH  

2230 Shattuck Ave. (lower level), Berkeley 

A hands-on community health education museum and science center sponsored by Children's Hospital Oakland and Alta Bates Medical Center. 

Free. For children ages 3 to 12 and their parents. 

(510) 549-1564 

LAWRENCE HALL 

OF SCIENCE 

“Experiment Gallery,” through Sept. 10. Step inside a giant laboratory and experiment with concepts surrounding sound, light, mechanics, electricity, and weather. 

“Math Rules!” ongoing exhibit. A math exhibit of hands-on problem-solving stations, each with a different mathematical challenge. Make mathematical ice-cream cones, use blocks to build three dimensional structures, make dodecagon pies from a variety of mathematical shapes and stretch mathematical thinking. 

“Laser: The Light Fantastic” ongoing exhibit. 

$6 general; $4 seniors, students and children ages 7 to 18; $2 children ages 3 to 6; free children under age 3. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Centennial Drive, University of California, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

PHOEBE HEARST MUSEUM 

Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley 

“Modern Treasures from Ancient Iran,” through Oct. 29. This exhibit explores nomadic and town life in ancient and modern Iran as illustrated in bronze and pottery vessels, and textiles. 

“Pana O’ahu: Sacred Stones – Sacred Places,” through July 16. An exhibit of photographs by Jan Becket and Joseph Singer. 

“Phoebe Hearst Museum-Approaching a Century of Anthropology,” a sampling of the vast collections of the museum, its mission, history, and current research, with selections from ancient Egypt, ancient Peru, California Indians, Asia (India), and Africa. 

“Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture,” Ishi, the last Yahi Indian of California, spent the final years of his life, 1911 to 1916, living at the museum, working with anthropologists to record his culture, demonstrating technological skills, and retelling Yahi myths, tales, and songs. 

Wednesday through Sunday 10 am -4:30 pm; Thursday until 9 pm (Sept-May) 

(510) 643-7648 

HABITOT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 

Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 

A museum especially for children age 7 and younger. 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. 

Admission is $4 for adults; $6 child age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child.  

Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

(510) 647-1111 

JUDAH L. MAGNES MUSEUM 

2911 Russell St., Berkeley 

“Telling Time: To Everything There Is A Season,” through May 2002.  

An exhibit structured around the seasons of the year and the seasons of life with objects ranging from the sacred and the secular, to the provocative and the whimsical. Highlights include treasures from Jewish ceremonial and folk art, rare books and manuscripts, contemporary and traditional fine art, video, photography and cultural kitsch. Through Nov. 4: “Spring and Summer.” 

Free. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

(510) 549-6950. 

GALLERIES  

A.C.C.I. GALLERY 

“Abstract Expressions,” through July 1. A group show featuring Rita Flanagan, Carolyn Careis, Heather Hutchinson, Muriel Paley, and Naomi Policoff. 

Free. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-2527. 

GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION 

“On Common Ground.” through June 23. This exhibit is a portrait of faith-based communities in Los Angeles. 

“Finding the Sacred Mountain,” through June 20. An exhibit of sumi-e and watercolors by Robert Kostka. 

Free. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd., Berkeley. (510) 649-2541. 

KALA INSTITUTE 

“Markings/Imprints,” through July 28. The 2000 Kala Art Institute Fellowship Awards Exhibitions, Part I, featuring works by Susan Belau, Liliana Lobo Ferreira, and Jamie Morgan. 

Free. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Workshop Media Center Gallery, 1060 Heinz Ave., Berkeley. (510) 549-2977. 

NEW PIECES GALLERY 

“Progressions: the Quilt as Art,” through June 29. An exhibit of quilts by Jill Le Croisette. 

“Go We to the Revels Masked,” through June 29. An exhibit of dolls by Elise Peeples. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

TRAYWICK GALLERY 

Rachel Davis, Samantha Fisher, Benicia Gantner, Cherith Rose, June 21 through July 22. An exhibit of new work by the four artists. 

Artist Reception, June 21, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

“nudge,” May 17 through June 18. An exhibit of new work by Terry Hoff. Reception, May 17, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Artist Talk, June 9, 10:30 a.m. 

Free. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1316 10th St., Berkeley. (510) 527-1214. 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). 

Calendar items should be submitted at least one week before the opening of a new exhibit or performance. 

Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

A light may be at the end of the tunnel in the ongoing permanent lighting at Memorial Stadium situation – and the neighbors of the historic stadium are expecting that it’s a train. 

After Fox Television offered to pick up the estimated $1 million tab for large, permanent lighting last year, neighborhood residents formed a group called Neighbors of Memorial Stadium, and threatened a lawsuit. The University then kicked off an initial study of possible environmental ramifications. According to University spokeswoman Marie Felde, that report, at long last, will be in print today. 

“It was supposed to be out in October, November at the latest,” says NOMS member Frederica Drotos. “We were told February after November came and went. Then March, then April, then May, then it would be ready so we could have a meeting in early June.” 

While the study’s findings will be unknown to the public until this afternoon, members of the NOMS said they would be highly surprised if any conclusion other than stadium lighting posing a minimal environmental impact would be reached. 

“I expect they’ll say everything’s fine, we should go away and not bother them,” said NOMS’ Michael Kelly. “If they drop this stuff into the mailbox tomorrow, it won’t get to us until sometime next week. They want to have a public meeting next Thursday. That’s not enough time for people to do real research and give informed opinions.”

Just call us Wireless Valley. That’s a new name for Berkeley coined by some high-tech newcomers from Sweden who make telephones, do research and don’t have anything to do with home furnishings. 

Ericsson Inc., the Stockholm-based communications supplier of wireless telephones has opened a research center in the newly renovated Francis K. Shattuck Building at the corner of Shattuck Avenue and Addison Street. 

The Swedish company located here in developer Avi Nevo’s stylish remake, mainly because of its five-year-old connection with the computer science department of UC Berkeley and this community’s proximity to Silicon Valley. 

With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson has staffed its Berkeley Wireless Research Center with 60 employees and plans to add 20 more in the near future. Half of them will be researchers, the other half, product developers. 

A primary focus of the Berkeley Wireless Center is its Mobile Applications Initiative that is linked to the growth of the mobile Internet market. 

Ericsson telephones and other small hand-held wireless units can access the Internet for games, stock tips and weather reports, and users can browse the Net on them. 

“Our research activity in the building is working together with UC Berkeley which is very prominent in the wireless area,” said Michael Eslamian, Director of Mobile Applications Initiative-Americas. 

“The knowledge of Internet is very strong in Silicon Valley, but the knowledge in wireless is not as strong there.” 

The companies that develop Internet applications in the Silicon Valley are the world leaders, said Eslamian. “Ericsson is the leader of wireless technology. Together we can build the future,” he said. 

Representatives from scores of companies from Silicon Valley and other parts of the Bay Area came to Berkeley Thursday evening to view Ericsson’s research facility and to demonstrate the products “that we together are bringing about,” said Eslamian. 

An Ericsson-made video captured the mood of the young employees in blue Ericsson shirts who moved about with the guests. 

“The company is all about hip, young, cutting edge,” said the voice on the video. “We think wireless is the next revolution. It’s not about technology. It’s about lifestyle. It’s about information whenever want it.” 

Interviewed on video from his office in Stockholm, Hakan Eriksson, the company’s head of research who attended graduate school at Stanford, said mobile Internet research is about creating a platform for applications on the horizon. 

He said the company was involved in research to build secure identity and other protections into the applications as well. 

The renovated building, with about 40,000 square feet of space on three floors, is a showcase for the wireless lifestyle. There are no telephone wires, there is no tangle of wires leading into computer terminals and plugs on the walls. Ericsson has four laboratories in its new center and its research will be available to companies such as electronic game companies who need to know the latest wireless technology in order to design new games for it. 

Gunnar Nilsson, Director of Ericsson Research, said the center is running a full-scale non-commercial cellular network that “can do everything.” 

The wireless center includes a GPRS (general packet radio service) emulation test environment, a live GPRS network, private developer studios, highly skilled personnel and a Mobile Internet Studio. He said six UC Berkeley students are interning at the center. 

Professor Randy Katz of the university’s Computer Science Department has worked with Ericsson for several years. He said the earliest reputation that Berkeley has with Internet technology dates back to the late 1970s when the UC Berkeley Computer Science Department did a project called the Berkeley Software Distribution of Unix, which still has applications today. 

When Ericsson approached the Computer Science Department, researchers there were working “to make different kinds of wireless technologies disappear – to completely hide the differences in those technologies.” Katz said researchers developed a software architecture to hide the differences and Ericsson heard about it as they were moving into the wireless Internet area and they respected the work at Berkeley. 

“They came to us and offered us the opportunity to collaborate with them, and move into the next level of research results in that area,” he said.

The Pacifica Foundation, KPFA radio’s parent organization, may have violated the California Corporations Code, when it stripped the local advisory board members of their right to vote for members of the governing board, says a report released Monday by the Joint State Auditor’s Committee.  

The report validates a number of the other complaints made by supporters of the 51-year-old Berkeley-based community radio station. 

“The report strengthens our claims that improper, possibly illegal actions (on the part of Pacifica) have gone on,” said Larry Bensky, KPFA radio host, fired from his national post with Pacifica last year. Bensky currently serves as a volunteer Sunday-morning talk show host. 

The California attorney general may decide to take action legal action based on the report. Sandra Michioku, press officer in the attorney general’s office, said her office had not had time to review the document, but will do so. 

The report quotes Belinda John, deputy attorney general from the Charitable Trust Section, who says that a nonprofit must adhere to certain legal principals, primarily that “the assets of the charities are used for their intended purpose. The role of the Attorney General’s office is to represent the public beneficiary of a charity (which) can not sue in (its) own right.” 

Bensky said that he hoped the attorney general will act on the report. He said it is valuable for other reasons. Its findings can be used to strengthen claims in several lawsuits pending against Pacifica. Two have been filed by staff dismissed by Pacifica – Bensky and former Station Manager Nicole Sawaya. The other two concern allegations of running the foundation in opposition to the interests of the listener sponsors. 

The report stems from an Aug. 20 audit committee hearing, held in Oakland at the request of 24 members of the state legislature. KPFA’s listener-sponsors wanted to know where their money was going, among other questions. In particular, they wanted to ascertain the costs for security guards which Pacifica had brought into the station and they wanted to know how much money was spent on the public relations effort Pacifica had made. 

The conflict between KPFA employees, volunteers and supporters, and Pacifica Foundation erupted in March 1999, when the station dismissed Sawaya. Problems grew as on-air programmers discussed Sawaya’s termination and were put on leave or fired by Pacifica management. The conflict grew when Pacifica locked out programmers and piped in pre-taped programming. More than 100 demonstrators were arrested when they committed civil disobedience outside the station. 

Pacifica representatives declined to appear at the hearing. 

“Because I value the principal of independence of undue political interference in public broadcasting, I will not appear as a witness during today’s hearing,” former Executive Director Lynn Chadwick wrote to the committee at the time. 

Among the other of the committee’s conclusions: 

• A lockout of union employees “appears” to have violated their collective bargaining agreement. 

• Several of Pacifica’s actions appear to contradict or violate the stated mission of the Pacifica Foundation. 

• Pacifica engaged in poor management practices that may have damaged the credibility of the corporation. 

• Pacifica executives used local KPFA operating revenues for purposes inconsistent with established practices and inconsistent with reasonable donor expectations. 

• Pacifica’s failure to communicate with its stakeholders and employees was inconsistent with its founding principles. 

Assemblymember Scott Wildman, chair of the audit committee, was not available to comment on the report. 

The report can be read on line at http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a43/jlacfinalpacrpt.doc

Man foils ATM robber 

An attempted robbery in front of a Wells Fargo automatic teller machine at 1095 University Ave. around 3 a.m. Monday was foiled by the would-be victim, who told the suspect that he didn't have any money. 

The suspect held his hand behind his back and threatened the victim as if he were holding a weapon. “You don't want to die,” the suspect told him. But when he did not get any money the suspect walked away on 10th Street. The suspect is described as an African-American male in his 30s, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, 150 pounds, wearing a dark-colored jacket. 

Arrest in robbery 

A man entered the cashier booth of the Chevron gas station at 2996 Telegraph Ave. about 3 p.m. Sunday and asked the clerk to give him change for $1. When she opened the cash register, the suspect reached inside and grabbed an unknown amount of cash. The clerk tried to push his hands away from the register, and the suspect threatened to kill him, according to police reports. Not long after the robbery a suspect matching the description was stopped by police. Marlon Albert Strickland, 27, of Richmond was arrested in connection with the robbery.

Daily Planet Staff 

A teach-in on the 50th anniversary of the War in Korea, entitled “The Forgotten War,” will be held Sunday from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church at 2362 Bancroft Way. 

It will reexamine the Korean War and seek ways of bringing peace and reunification to Korea. Korean survivors of the war – the Rev. Han Sang Eun and the Rev. Yoon Kil Sang – and U.S. veterans of the war – Paul Myers and Ralph Webb – will share memories of the war and discuss the impact the war had on their lives. 

Professor Kang Jeong-Koo of Dangkuk University in Seoul will address the origins of the Korean War, and Bay Area peace activist and Vietnam veteran Brian Wilson will also be on hand to report on his recent meetings in South Korea with village level committees to investigate Korean War atrocities. 

There will be a multimedia presentation with testimonies by survivors and children of survivors, a performance by the Korean Youth Cultural Center, poetry by Kim Myung Mi and a screening if the British Thames Television documentary, “Korea the Unknown War.” A candlelight vigil will be held at 9 p.m. at Sproul Plaza on the UC campus to commemorate the war. 

The teach-in is sponsored by the Teach-In Committee To End The War In Korea. 

For more information on the event, contact Philip Chung at 510-520-0739.

By Marilyn Claessens 

Daily Planet Staff 

Residents soon will be able to trim their trees or prune their rose bushes, or pull weeds and enjoy a city pickup of their throwaway greenery every other week. 

As of July 3, the Public Works Department will increase the collection of plant debris from once a month to every other week. The doubled pickups are not just seasonal, but for the entire year and future years. 

Residents have accumulated much more plant debris than the city could handle in once-monthly collections, said Debra Kaufman, recycling program manager. The amount of debris increases in the warm weather seasons. 

She said a good deal of the plant material that could have been recycled ended up in landfill with the garbage, because people were putting it in their garbage containers. 

“They’re allowed to do that, but now they have an opportunity for a second collection,” said Kaufman. 

“We have a pretty positive program. We won the 1999 Trash Cutters Award for the best organics recycling program in the state from the State of California Integrated Waste Management Board.” 

City Council decided last July to increase the pickups to meet the demand. A 3 percent rate increase was added to residents’ refuse bills about the same time, and two new vehicles were purchased to haul the plant debris to the solid waste site, at 1201 Second St. 

Landscapers and professional gardeners with large quantities of debris bring it to the site’s transfer station where it is weighed. The city allows a 30 percent discount from its regular rates for self-hauled plant debris, she said. 

All the plant debris residents dump in their plant carts is recycled, she said. It is taken to Modesto and composted. Some of that compost product returns to Berkeley and is used for vegetation next to public schools and for community gardens. 

The city’s compost material has helped produce fruit and vegetables for The Edible Schoolyard program at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. 

But the city encourages residents to do as much composting as they are able to do, said Kaufman. Large branches and other bulky plants need to go into the carts provided by the city. 

Berkeley has the highest rate of home composting in Alameda County, said Teresa Eade, program manager for the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and Recycling Board in San Leandro. 

More than 30 percent of single-family houses in Berkeley have a composting bin, she said. Composting is the best form of state-required waste diversion, she said, because the composted material saves energy in not being hauled or distributed. 

That’s a good response to the 10-year-old state waste management law that requires cities to cut waste by 50 percent by 2000, Eade said. 

Berkeley has a pilot program for collecting food waste from some businesses in town, Kaufman said. The commercial food wastes are added to the plant debris and composted. 

The odors from the wet fruit and vegetables from the businesses, such as the Monterey Market on Hopkins Street, are reduced because they are absorbed by the dry plants underneath, said Eade.

The Berkeley Adult School is hosting a workshop on the step-by-step process of completing a health proxy form, taught by Berkeley attorney Lynn Sherrell. 

The class will be offered Monday, June 26 and Monday, July 17 from 7-9 p.m. 

The cost is $12 plus a $2 materials fee. 

Berkeley Adult School is located at 1222 University Ave. and can be reached at 644-6784.

The Berkeley Symphony Orchestra officials announced this week that the group’s 30th season would open Nov. 10 with Elliott Carter’s one-act opera “What Next?” 

Carter’s first opera will receive its West Coast premiere in a concert version. It is inspired by Jacques Tati’s “Traffic,” the 1970 car-crash film. The program features the world premiere of Ronald Bruce Smith’s “Constellation for orchestra and live electronics,” produced in collaboration between Berkeley Symphony and UC Berkeley’s Center for Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT). The concert will conclude with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8. 

The season resumes on Jan. 31, 2001 as Kent Nagano presents the season’s second world premiere, young French composer Jean-Pal Beintus’ “Berkeley Images.” The performance is a Berkeley Symphony commission inspired by Margaretta Mitchell’s photographs of Berkeley landmarks. 

The program includes two works by Bay Area’s John Adams: “Gnarly Buttons,” Adams’ first work for clarinet and “El Dorado.” This concert is a collaboration with San Francisco Performances. It will be repeated on Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts as a part of San Francisco Performances’ season programming. 

The Berkeley season continues on April 3 with Britten’s “Lacrymae.” Bruckner’s last completed symphony, “Symphony No. 8,” will complete the program. 

The season will conclude on June 21, 2001 with the premiere of Kurt Rohde’s “Three Movements for Orchestra,” a new work by the San Francisco composer and violist. The program also includes Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Violin Concierto No. 2” and Brahm’s “Symphony No. 1.” 

All concerts are mainstage, except for “What Next?” which will take place at a venue yet to be announced. Mainstage performances take place at Zellerbach Hall, on the UC Berkeley campus. 

Subscriptions are $69, $98 and $128. Individual ticket prices are $19, $27 and $35; $10 for students. 

For tickets and information, call 841-2800.

The JMCA Summer Performing Arts Camp will begin two-week sessions Monday at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. 

The camp is open to students from grades 3-12, with programs for pre-kindergarten to second grade students offered at Heart's Leap at the JMCA. There are a few spaces still available; the cost is $350-$400 per two week session with scholarships available. For brochure or to register, call 845-8542 or visit www.juliamorgan.org.