Playing a team that was missing five starters and only played with 10 men, the Berkeley boys’ soccer team didn’t let up Thursday, pummeling Encinal 12-1. But there’s a good reason for the blowout. 

“I don’t apologize for beating them like that,” said Berkeley head coach Eugenio Juarez. “With our league only getting one playoff spot, you can’t let up when it comes to goal differential.” 

While Juarez does have a point, that knowledge didn’t make the beating any prettier for an outmanned Encinal (1-4-1, 0-4 ACCAL) squad. Following a 10-1 loss to ACCAL leaders Richmond, coach Ruben Avalos had to watch his team give up 27 shots on goal while taking just three. Avalos attributed the loss to his missing starters, most of whom are taking advantage of the winter break, and the fact that Berkeley (6-4, 3-1) plays on a unique field in the East Bay. 

“This is the biggest field we’ve played on, and our guys got tired chasing them around,” Avalos said. “The artificial turf didn’t help. We had most of our players playing in sneakers.” 

The ’Jackets took a while to get the scoring going, as their first goal came after 10 minutes had passed in the first half. Junior midfielder Liam Reilly found himself in the clear at the top of the goal box, and he calmly slotted the ball past beleaguered Encinal goalkeeper Kevin Schmeirer, who had seven saves in the game. After Berkeley forward Amadeo Alvarez had a shot cleared off the line by defender Randy Garchar, the floodgates opened. 

Alvarez finished a quick forward move off of an assist from midfielder Chris Davis in the 18th minute, and the race was on. Forward Vicente Bermejo narrowly missed a goal shortly after play resumed, and Alvarez scored a solo goal just three minutes later. Less than two minutes after that, a loose ball came free to Davis, who snuck the ball through a crowd and past Schmeirer from 30 yards out. Reilly scored his second goal of the game in injury time to close the first half at 5-0. 

“We needed to win by at least nine goals, so I told the players to keep going forward,” Juarez said of his halftime talk. 

The ’Jackets did just that, as freshman Kamani Hill twice bolted down the right side before setting up a pair of easy goals for senior Stefan Isaksen. Off the next kickoff, Alvarez got a long breakaway, finishing nicely to complete his hat-trick for the day. Hill scored soon after that, and Berkeley had completed its objective of a nine-goal lead. But they weren’t done scoring. 

Defender Cameron Parkinson got into the scoring column after finishing a cross from Reilly, and midfielder William Vega followed soon after with a goal of his own. 

The ’Jackets may have let down after that goal, understandable with an 11-0 lead. An Encinal player was dragged down in the box, and Schmeirer gained a pinch of revenge by burying the resulting penalty kick in the left corner of the net for his team’s only score of the day.  

But there was no moping for the Berkeley fans, as Isaksen scored soon after to score a hat-trick of his own. 

“We played well and met our objectives, and that’s pretty much all we can ask in a game like that,” Juarez said. 

Berkeley will face Washington (Fremont) Thursday at home at 1 p.m. Washington was a North Coast Section semi-finalist last year.

Habitot Children’s Museum Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue “Back to the Farm.”An 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 more.  

Cost: $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. 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. 647-1111 or www.habitot.org 

Judah L. Magnes Museum 2911 Russell St. 549-6950 Free. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.“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. 

“Second Annual Richard Nagler Competition for Excellence in Jewish Photography” Through Feb., 2001. Featuring the work of Claudia Nierman, Jason Francisco, Fleming Lunsford, and others.  

UC Berkeley Art Museum 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley Wednesday – Sunday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Open Thursdays til 9 p.m. “Amazons in the Drawing Room”: The Art of Romaine Brooks through Jan. 16, 2001  

Predominantly a portrait artist, Brooks paintings were influenced by elements of her life and are a visual record of the changing status of women in society. “Tacita Dean/MATRIX 189 Banewl” through Jan. 28, 2001 

A film instillation by British conceptual artist Tacita Dean of the total solar eclipse of Aug. 11, 1999.  

Pacific Film Archive Theater Gallery 2625 Durant Ave. “Continuous Replay: The Photographs of Arnie Zane” through Jan. 8, 2001Best known as the cofounder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Zane began his exploration of the human form through photography.  

The Asian Galleries “Art of the Sung: Court and Monastery,” open-ended. A display of early Chinese works from the permanent collection. “Chinese Ceramics and Bronzes: The First 3,000 Years,” open-ended. 

“Works on Extended Loan from Warren King,” open-ended. 

“Three Towers of Han,” open-ended. $6 general; $4 seniors and students age 12 to 18; free children age 12 and under; free Thursday, 11 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

642-0808. 

UC Berkeley Museum of  

Paleontology Lobby, Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley 

“Tyrannosaurus Rex,” ongoing. A 20 by 40-foot replica of the fearsome dinosaur made from casts of bones of the most complete T. Rex skeleton yet excavated. When unearthed in Montana, the bones were all lying in place with only a small piece of the tailbone missing. “Pteranodon” A suspended skeleton of a flying reptile with a wingspan of 22-23 feet. The Pteranodon lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. Free. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 642-1821. 

UC Berkeley Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way and College Ave. “Approaching a Century of Anthropology: The Phoebe Hearst Museum,” open-ended. This new permanent installation will introduce visitors to major topics in the museum’s history.“Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture,” ongoing.This exhibit documents the culture of the Yahi Indians of California as described and demonstrated from 1911 to 1916 by Ishi, the last surviving member of the tribe. $2 general; $1 seniors; $.50 children age 17 and under; free on Thursdays. Wednesday, Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 643-7648 

Lawrence Hall of Science “A Spirited Celebration of Kwanzaa with Awele Makeba,”  

Dec. 26, 1 p.m. Featuring tales and songs from African and African-American history, culture, and folklore celebrating the seven principles of Kwanzaa. “Magic Mike,” Dec. 27, noon and 1:30 p.m. A performance of dazzling special effects. “Season of Lights,” Dec. 28, 1 p.m. The Imagination Company brings world winter celebrations to life and highlights the significance of light to several cultures.“Earthcapades,” Dec. 29, 1 p.m. Hearty and Lissin blend storytelling, juggling, acrobatics and more to entertain and teach about saving the environment. “Bats of the World,” Dec. 30, 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Maggie Hooper of the California Bat Conservation Fund shows slides, introduces three live bats, and answer questions about these animals.$7 general; $5 seniors, students, disabled, and youths age 7 to 18; $3 children age 3 to 5; free children age 2 and younger. Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Dec. 24, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. “Gary Lapow's Light Up the Lights!” Dec. 31, 1 p.m. A performance of traditional holiday songs from around the world celebrating Las Posadas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas. $7 general; $5 seniors, students, disabled and youths age 7 to 18; $3 children age 3 to 6; free children under age 3.“Math Rules!” Ongoing. A math exhibit of hands-on problem-solving stations, each with a different mathematical challenge.“Within the Human Brain” Ongoing. Visitors test their cranial nerves, play skeeball, master mazes, match musical tones and construct stories inside a simulated “rat cage” of learning experiments. “In the Dark,” through Jan. 15, 2001. Plunge into darkness and see amazing creatures that inhabit worlds without light. “Saturday Night Stargazing” First and third Saturdays each month. 8 - 10 p.m., LHS plaza. “ChemMystery,” through Jan. 1, 2001. The LHS becomes a crime scene and a science lab to help visiting detectives to solve two different crime scenarios. Call 643-5134 for tickets  

$7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. 642-5132 

Holt Planetarium Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley 

Programs are recommended for age 8 and up; children under age 6 will not be admitted. $2 in addition to regular museum admission. “Constellations Tonight” Ongoing. Using a simple star map, learn to identify the most prominent constellations for the season in the planetarium sky. Daily, 3:30 p.m. $7 general; $5 seniors, students, disabled, and youths age 7 to 18; $3 children age 3 to 5 ; free children age 2 and younger. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; (510) 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

Music 

924 Gilman St. 

All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted 

$5; $2 for a year membership 

525-9926 Dec. 22: Dead and Gone, Phantom Limbs, Angel Dust, Justin Bailey, The Fleshies; Dec. 23: Hammers of Misfortune, Dekapitator, Black Goat, Kalmex and the Riff Merchants; Dec. 29: Nerve Agents, American Nightmare, Kill Me Kate, PBR Streetgang; Dec. 30: The Unseen, F-Minus, Intreped A.A.F., Broken Society, Stockyard Stoics; Dec. 31, 1 p.m.: Crucial Section, W.H.N.?, Scott Baio’s Army, Godstomper 

Ashkenaz 1370 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman) 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com Dec. 22: Trancemission, 9:30 p.m., $10; Dec. 23: Warsaw, George & the Wonders, KGB, and DJ; JahBonz, 9 p.m., $10 ; Dec. 29: Surco Nuevo, 9:30 p.m., $11; dance lesson with Felipe Martinez, 8:30 p.m.; Dec. 30: Legion of Mary with Martin Fiero, New Monsoon, 9 p.m., $10; Dec. 31: Balkan New Year's Eve Party, 8 p.m.;  

Featuring Vassil and Maria Bebelekov, Edessa, Anoush, Joe Finn. $12; Jan. 11: Benefit concert for Food First featuring: Ten Ton Chicken, Tree o’ Frogs, The David Thom Band and Buffalo Roam, $10 - $15  

Eli’s Mile High Club 3629 MLK Jr. Way Oakland  

All shows at 8 p.m.Dec. 22: Bolden & Birdlegg; Dec. 23: J.J. Malone; Dec. 29: Little Johnny & the Giants ; Dec. 30: Carlos Zialcita 

Freight & Salvage All shows begin at 8 p.m. 548-1761 

Dec. 22: Freight Holiday Review with: Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum, Street Sounds, Kathy Kallick, Brittany & Natalie Haas; 

Dec. 23: We Be 4: Rhiannon, Linda Tillery, Joey Blake & David Worm; Dec. 29: Peppino D’Agostino (Italian fingerstyle guitar); 

Dec. 30: Oak, Ash & Thorn (A Cappella of british isles) 

Albatross Pub 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473All shows begin at 9 p.m., unless noted. Dec. 26: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; Dec. 28: Keni “El Lebrijano” (flamenco guitar); Dec. 31, 10 p.m. - 1 p.m.: Dave Widelock Jazz Trio;  

Crowden School1475 Rose St. (at Sacramento) 559-6910 

Sundays, 4 p.m.: Chamber music series sponsored by the school.  

Jazzschool/La Note 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

All shows at 4:30 p.m.Tickets are $10 - $12  

Jan. 14: Afro-Jazz with Pascal Bokar ; Jan. 21: The BlueJazzHouse Party with Brenda Boykin and The Eric Swinderman Quartet  

Solano Holiday Performers Solano Ave.  

On weekend afternoons until Christmas, various artists will be performing. Dec. 23 & 24, Noon - 6 p.m. 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley 

841-2800 Performance dates include Jan. 31, April 3, and June 21, 2001. All performances begin at 8 p.m. Single $19 - $35, Series $52 - $96  

Strolling Musicians & Carolers Downtown Berkeley 

Sponsored by the Downtown Berkeley Association and co-sponsored by the Daily Planet and the City of Berkeley. 

Performances are 5 - 7 p.m. Dec. 22: Berkeley Community Chamber Chorus & These “R” They Gospel Youth Choir  

Klesmeh! Festival Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 415-454-5238 Dec. 23, 8 p.m. A Hanukkah concert of Klesmer music and its mutations, featuring the San Francisco Klesmer experience. Hosted by Berkeley monologist/comedian Josh Kornbluth. $18 advance, $20 door; $16 kids and seniors  

“Flamenco Fiesta” Cafe de la Paz 1600 Shattuck Ave. 843-0662 Dec. 31, 8:30 p.m. Dancer Lourdes Rodrigues and guitarists Keni “El Lebrijano” and David Gutierrez will perform along with additional dancers and singers Kati Majia and Sarita Ayala in a dinner show and a midnight countdown show.  

Tickets for dinner show, $50. Tickets for midnight countdown show, $21 (midnight countdown show begins at 11 p.m.) 

Dia de los Reyes Concert St. Joseph the Worker Church  

1640 Addison (415) 431- 4234 Jan. 13, 8 p.m. Performing will be Coro Hispano de San Francisco and Conjunto Nuevo Mundo with the Jackeline Rago Ensemble de la Pena.  

$12 - $15  

Theater 

“Dinner With Friends” by Donald Margulies Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2025 Addison St. Through Jan. 5, 200.1 845-4700, www.berkeleyrep.org 

“The Weir” by Conor McPherson Aurora Theater Company 

Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. Through Dec. 30, Tuesday - Saturday, 8 p.m. ; Sunday, 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. 

$30 general Call 843-4822 

“Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett Subterranean Shakespeare La Val’s Subterranean 1834 Euclid (at Hearst)  

Jan. 5 through Feb. 3, Thursday - Saturday, 8 p.m. 

$8 - $12 Call 234-6046 

Films 

New Iranian Cinema Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) Featured films include Mariam Shahriar’s “Daughters of the Sun,” Rassul Sadr Ameli’s “The Girl in Sneakers,” and Parvi Shahbazi’s “Whispers,” and many others.  

Jan. 4 - 13 $7 for one film, $8.50 for double bills Call 642-1412 for tickets and info.  

Exhibits 

Toki Gallery 1212 San Pablo Ave. 524-7363 “Heads of the Class,” ceramic sculptures by seventh and eighth grade students at the East Bay Science & Arts Middle School.  

Through Jan. 10, Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

Kala Art Institute 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 

Over sixty artists affiliated with the Kala Art Institute will show works ranging from wood block prints to digital media.  

Through Jan. 16, Tuesday - Friday, Noon - 5 p.m. 

Artists at Play Holiday Sale 1649 Hopkins St. 528-0494 The work of four artists creating various items: serving dishes, frames, ornaments, jewelry, monoprints, cards, and more.  

Dec. 23 & 24, Noon - 4 p.m.  

Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth St., Berkeley 527-1214 or www.traywick.com Group show by Traywick artists, Through Dec. 23. Gallery hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Nexus Gallery 2701 Eighth St., Berkeley 531-9229 “The Glitter Reminder,” paintings by Michele Theberge, prints and textiles by Sharon Jue, photographs by Amy Snyder, sculpted water environments by C.R. Mitchell and Tom Mataga and textile installations by Claudia Tennyson. Through Dec. 23 Gallery hours: Monday - Friday, Noon - 6 p.m., Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. 

Berkeley Historical Society 1931 Center St. Call 848-0181 

“Berkeley’s Ethnic Heritage.” An overview of the rich cultural diversity of the city and the contribution of individuals and minority groups to it’s history and development.  

Thursday through Saturday, 1 – 4 p.m. Free.  

Pro Arts Gallery 461 Ninth St., Oakland.  

763-9425 2000 Juried Annual, Through Dec. 30. This years show features 79 works by 70 artists. This show is juried by Larry Rinder, curator of contemporary art at the Whitney Museum. Wednesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

“Art of Ethan Snyderman,” French Hotel 1538 Shattuck Ave. (between Cedar and Vine) 763-1313 At the ripe old age of nine, Snyderman creates canvases with “figures reminiscent of Matisse and Modigliani.” Through December  

Readings 

Boadecia’s Books 398 Colusa Ave.  

Kensington 559-9184www.boadeciasbooks.com 

All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted Jan. 6: Gaymes Night; come play Balderdash, Sequence, and others and enjoy pizza, company, and teamwork.  

“Strong Women - Writers & Heroes of Literature” North Berkeley Senior Center 1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

549-2970 Mondays, Jan. 5 through June, 2001, 1 - 3 p.m. 

Taught by Dr. Helen Rippier Wheeler, author of “Women and Aging: A Guide to Literature,” this is a free weekly literature course in the Berkeley Adult School’s Older Adults Program.  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 All free events at 7:30 p.m. (unless noted) 

Jan. 11: Kristan Lawson & Anneli Rufus discuss their book “California Babylon: A Guide to Sites of Scandal, Mayhem, and Celluloid in the Golden State.”; Jan. 16: Various travel authors discuss the spiritual aspects of traveling, “Travel as Pilgrimage.”; Jan. 18: Berkeley resident, restaurant and move critic John Weil, through a slide presentation and talk, takes attendees on a unique tour through the rich artistic and cultural heritage of Berkeley and Oakland.  

Tours 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387 

Berkeley City Club Tours $2. The fourth Sunday of every month except December, between noon to 4 p.m.  

2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. 848-7800 

Golden Gate Live Steamers Small locomotives, meticulously scaled to size.Trains run Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sunday, noon to 3 p.m., weather permitting. Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Lomas Cantadas Drive at the south end of Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley. 486-0623  

UC Berkeley Botanical Garden The gardens have displays of exotic and native plants. Tours, Saturday and Sunday, 1:30 p.m. $3 general; $2 seniors; $1 children; free on Thursday. Daily, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Botanical Garden, Centennial Drive, behind Memorial Stadium, a mile below the Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley. 643-2755 or www.mip.berkeley.edu/garden/ 

Lectures 

Berkeley Historical Society Slide Lecture & Booksigning Series 

Berkeley Historical Center Veterans Memorial Building 

1931 Center St. 848-0181 Sundays, 3 - 5 p.m. $10 donation requested Jan. 14: Richard Schwartz on “Berkeley 1900,” the history of Berkeley at the turn of the century; Jan. 28: “The Finns in Berkeley and Co-op Beginnings,” a panel discussion on Finnish and Co-op history; March 11: Director of Berkeley’s International House, Joe Lurie, will show a video and dicuss the history and struggle to open the I-House 70 years ago.  

Developer is not for affordable housing 

Editor: 

Patrick Kennedy and his supporters have portrayed him as a friend of affordable housing. Yet in the proposed development at 2700 San Pablo, (now before the City Council), he has allocated just 10 percent of the development for affordable housing - not the 20 percent required by city regulations! In fact, in separate legal action he is trying to undo Berkeley’s regulation concerning that requirement. This is a friend of affordable housing? 

Mr. Kennedy’s definition of a building “story” leaves many of us scratching our heads. His Gaia building - a supposed “seven stories” he says is 106 feet tall.  

That comes out to 15 feet per story. I call that a TALL story. By the same measure a “five story” building at 2700 San Pablo could reach 75 feet! These are the kinds of stories we neighbors fear. 

Bob Kubik Berkeley 

City’s tradition is not free speech, but blocking it 

Editor: 

We should stop pretending that Berkeley attaches special value to free speech.  

Episodes in which a speaker is shouted down or prevented from addressing an audience are commonplace in Berkeley and have been for at least the past thirty years.  

They occur in all of our public forums in the city and on the university campus.  

After each violation of our right to speak, some official complains that our tradition of tolerance has been stained. Mayor Dean is the latest to recite this mantra, which always lacks proposals aimed at enforcing respect for the right to speak and listen freely.  

There are appropriate administrative and legal measures which can always be taken.  

In “The Berkeley Archipelago,” Joseph Lyford defined our principal problem years ago. He said we have accommodated ourselves to the “uncivil conduct of symbolic politics.”  

The Planet could help to restore a civil atmosphere in Berkeley by doing a story that lists all the speeches that have been suppressed by protesters (it makes a long and gaudy list), and updating it whenever necessary.  

Suppression of the right of free speech interferes with everyone’s right to listen, learn, and form opinions of his or her own.  

If we change our ways, eventually Berkeley will be a community which really does have a right to take pride in a tradition of free speech.  

Phil McArdle 

Berkeley 

Citizens can influence three-strikes outcomes 

Editor: 

Since passage of California’s notorious three strikes law a few judges up and down the state have refused to preside over cases where conviction would mandate a “three strikes” 25-years-to-life sentence.  

Some district attorneys have refused to prosecute a third-strike case when conviction would result in a long sentence, hugely disproportionate to past expectations. But, unfortunately, both altruistic DAs and judges need to earn a living.  

To nullify the three strikes law, we the citizenry must look to ourselves; called to jury criminal cases, anyone can help affect needed reform - without loss of time or money.  

Questioned by judge and attorneys in California’s criminal courts, every prospective juror should ask if the case is a third felony case.  

If told it is, he or she should state that he or she is opposed to the three strikes law and, if impaneled, conscience dictates that he or she must vote for acquittal.  

If information is refused as to whether or not it is a third felony case, a prospective juror should state that their conscience also requires them to acquit.  

Few can welcome jury duty for its meager pay. Declaring oneself unable to serve impartially as juryman when one’s conscience says a trial’s outcome can only be unjust will bring rich recompense in one’s pride at setting a good example which may thereby be spread and grow to stifle the three strikes law.  

Judith Segard Hunt 

Berkeley 

Analysis shows Gore won  

Editor: 

Just as the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese inspired President Roosevelt to declare Dec. 7, 1941 as a date which will live in infamy, I will declare Dec. 13, 2000 as a date that will live in infamy, as this was the day we learned that our votes didn’t count; as the loser of the 2000 presidential election suddenly became the winner through a complicated and calculated coup d’etat.  

Let me state right off the bat that I am not a diehard Gore supporter and therefore am not suffering from sour grapes syndrome. However, I do believe in the sanctity of our right to vote and choose our leaders through fair elections but this election was not fair. Far from it.  

Like many Americans, I became confused by all the various lawsuits, pregnant chads and the like, and felt compelled to do some homework. If I could make sense of this mess, I thought to myself, I could have a deeper understanding of our political system. 

After doing some research, I came to the following cut and dried conclusion. Vice President Al Gore won this election. He won the popular vote and with his victory in Florida, the electoral vote as well.  

You may be asking yourself, what victory in Florida? Didn’t the supreme court settle that matter once and for all? Yes, the supreme court did make its decision in Bush’s favor but it was a politically biased one as I discovered.  

Following are some of the reasons I came to that conclusion: 

The Miami Herald commissioned a statistical analysis of voting patterns in all Florida’s precincts to determine what would have been the result of the election, had there been no problems with chads or butterfly ballots. The result - Al Gore wins by more that 20,000 votes as opposed to the mere 100 or so officially certified for Bush. This study was reviewed and confirmed to be accurate by several of the nation’s top statisticians.  

Steven Doig, a professor at Arizona State University and an expert in computer assisted reporting, had the following to say about the analysis: “I’m no psychic. I don’t know what they really intended to do, but I do know that almost anywhere in that margin, Gore wins. You can argue about where in the range it should be.”  

Mr. Doig also noted the following: 

1) Urban democratic strongholds such as Broward and Palm Beach counties, both punch-card counties, were nearly three times as likely to have their ballots rejected as those in optical counties. The rejection rate for punch-card counties was 3.9 percent.  

2) 11,000 of the 23,000 projected for Gore in the study would come from Palm Beach County.  

3) Only 11 percent of the precincts recorded no discarded ballots. 

The analysis even tested higher percentages of non-votes, ranging from 10 percent to 90 percent of the discarded ballots. Gore won in all instances.  

Perhaps the most disturbing of my findings, though, is of how the African American vote in Florida may have been suppressed or at least compromised.  

ChoicePoint, a private firm with strong republican ties, was hired by the office of Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris to create a “scrub list” of purported felons.  

Early this year, ChoicePoint handed over to Ms. Harris’s office, a list of 8,000 ex-felons to scrub from their list of voters. It turned out that none of the 8,000 were ever guilty of a felony, only misdemeanors.  

Moreover, it is estimated that in Florida, where 173,000 men and women were on Katherine Harris’s “purge list,” at least 30 percent of black men were not allowed to vote.  

In a state where 93 percent of the African American vote was for Gore, it would be reasonable to assume that a large percentage of these men would have voted for Gore.  

And to put the icing on the coup d’etat cake, was Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who voted in favor of upholding the Leon County rulings on absentee ballots. Funny that little was written about the fact that both Scalia’s sons worked in the very law firms that represented Mr. Bush in both the federal and state courts. Should he have rescued himself from the monumental task in front of him? You bet he should have.  

So there you have it. This is the part that scares and angers me. Bush knows if the votes are counted he lost. He knows that he lost the popular vote and the electoral vote, but yet he uses all the power he can muster from his friends and connections in Florida to prevent the will of the people.  

Yes, Dec. 13, 2000 is a sad date in American history. This is the day our president was upseated in a complex coup d’etat. You will hear the talking heads on TV talk about how the nation must heal and stand behind its new president. But to truly heal, we need to understand the nature of our illness.  

We need to forgive ourselves for allowing this to happen and to create safeguards so it never happens again. After all, we have to live four more years with George W. Bush as our first illegitimate president.  

Steve Pinto 

Albany  

Keep kids on campus and feed them there 

Editor: 

Please help me understand. A logical solution for the lunch time problem at berkeley high and the downtown area is to be keep students on campus, which is being attempted by providing vendors. Whatever happened to school lunch programs and students bringing their own lunches? Are schools no longer providing lunch for its students? What about making a school rule to keep students on campus during lunch? 

Suzan Bollich 

Berkeley

Santiago Casal has been dreaming of a sun calendar memorial for over 20 years, and he’s willing to wait as long as it takes to bring the project to fruition. 

“I’m going to work on this forever ’til the day I die. This is my contribution,” he said on his way to the site of the proposed project to celebrate the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.  

“I’m a person of the ’60s so all the instincts of rebellion, that political awareness of our roots, it came a lot from that,” he said. 

The sun calendar, planned for a hilltop in Cesar Chavez Park, would be a memorial to Chavez, co-founder of the United Farm Workers. 

Various Berkeley sites are named after Chavez, including both the park and the UC Berkeley student resource center. 

Casal said he hopes his project will be on a larger scale. He wants to draw visitors from all over the United States and Mexico. 

While visiting Tikal, Guatemala, Casal saw a sun calendar that suddenly seemed the perfect memorial, recognizing ancient cultures and paying tribute to the ancient agricultural systems. “These places dramatize something that’s basic to being human.” 

Thursday’s was the tenth solstice that Casal has  

celebrated on the same hill in the park, overlooking the San Francisco Bay. The site is a no-longer-used landfill, with methane gas pipes running underneath it. That limits the kind of architecture that can be used. Planners must be wary of shaking the ground. But each changing season has made the project firmer. The group supporting the memorial has presented the project to the Waterfront Commission, the City Council and the School Board.  

Although the city has set aside the land for the calendar, Casal hesitated to call the sun calendar memorial a certainty. 

“I think the city is behind it,” said Casal. “But it’s not certain until you start construction. That’s just the nature of Berkeley.” 

In between pounding posts into the ground to mark the direction of the setting sun, Casal explained the blueprints of the memorial. The structure would start with two berms – mounds of earth made into flat shelves – that would encircle a 90-square-foot area.  

A few notches will be carved into the tops of the earthen walls, like those in the walls of a medieval castle. But these notches will be specifically placed to frame the setting sun of the solstice, to “try to bring more drama to it,” said Casal.  

Chinese gardens are an example of how structures can be used to frame pieces of landscape and “views.” How the sunset will be framed on the sun calendar project is, said Casal, “subject to art.” 

The advisory board that will help to define the sun calendar project consists of architects, artists, educators and astronomers, as well as people from the Cesar Chavez foundation. So far donations have been small, but the group is looking to local businesses and foundations to provide some of the hundreds of thousands of dollars the project will cost.  

The initial estimate is $500,000, but Casal said that may only pay for the skeleton of the project. Once some of the money is raised the advisory board will solicit artistic proposals. The complexity of the proposals will determine how much the project costs.  

Casal envisions bright colors. Another visionary wants to use light reflection to illuminate particular portions of the memorial on different days of the year, like Chavez’s birthday. The four cardinal points will represent four of the virtues Chavez is famous for, including courage and forgiveness.  

Alan Gould, director of the planetarium at the Lawrence Hall of Science, is a member of the board who waved good-bye to the winter sun Thursday in Cesar Chavez park. “Culturally, people have noticed through the ages that times get harder and harder as winter moves on and easier as spring comes,” he said. “People noticed a correlation between how the sun behaves and the bad and good times.” Cultural traditions grew up surrounding the movement of the sun, he said. 

Vida Bateau and her family, the only participants at the solstice event not affiliated with the project, came as part of that continuing tradition.  

“We do celebrate the solstice every year to welcome back the sun. I feel connected to it because it’s the oldest holiday.” She came to the solstice to greet the days of longer light. “It’s been very dark,” she said. 

Friday, Dec. 22

Music in the Streets 

5 - 7 p.m. 

Strolling through downtown  

Berkeley 

Berkeley Community Chamber Chorus & These “R” They Gospel Youth Choir 

Holiday Celebration 

Noon 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Includes a holiday meal and an opera, “Kiri’s Coventry Xmas.”  

Call 644-6107 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Saturday, Dec. 23  

Farmers’ Market Craft Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

(Center at MLK Jr. Way) 

Local craftspeople will be selling a variety of handcrafted gifts. Also live music, massage, and hot apple cider. Free 548-3333 

Artists at Play Holiday Sale  

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1649 Hopkins St.  

Work for sale includes dishes, frames, floral ribbon pins, jewelry, monoprints, and more. 528-0494 

Royal Hawaiian Ukulele Band 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

1561 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays.  

Klesmeh! Festival  

8 p.m.  

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts  

2640 College Ave.  

A Hanukkah concert of Klesmer music and its mutations, featuring the San Francisco Klesmer experience. $18 advance, $20 door; $16 kids and seniors 415-454-5238 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Sunday, Dec. 24  

Ancient Winds 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1573 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Artists at Play Holiday Sale  

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1649 Hopkins St.  

Work for sale includes dishes, frames, floral ribbon pins, jewelry, monoprints, and more. 528-0494 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Palestinian Solidarity Event 

1 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists 

1924 Cedar (at Bonita) 

Noura Erakat, just returned from occupied Palestine, will present a slide show and discussion on why she believes U.S. military aid to Israel must stop. 524-6064 

Tuesday, Dec. 26  

Kwanzaa! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join storyteller Awele Makeba as she shares tale and a capella songs from African and African-American history, culture, and folklore which celebrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Included with admission to the museum.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 642-5132 

Big Fat Year-End Kiss-Off  

Comedy Show VIII 

8 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts  

2640 College Ave.  

Featuring Will Durst, host of PBS “Livelyhood,” Johnny Steele, Debi Durst & Michael Bossier, Ken Sonkin the Magic Mime, and Steve Kravitz. $15  

(925) 798-1300 for tickets 

Blood Pressure Testing 

9:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Alice Meyers 

Call 644-6107 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 531-8664 

Wednesday, Dec. 27 

Magic Mike 

Noon and 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Special effects, magic, juggling, ventriloquism, and outrageous comedy is what Parent’s Choice Award winner Magic Mike is all about. Included in price of museum admission.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students;  

$3 children 3-4 Call 642-5132 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Chi Chuan for Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Mr. Chang 

Call 644-6107 

Thursday, Dec. 28

Season of Lights  

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

The Imagination Company brings to life world winter celebrations and highlights the significance of light to several culture. Included in museum admission price.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Imani In the Village 

2 p.m. 

Claremont Library 

2940 Benvenue  

Percussionist James Henry presents a drumming and dance program for all ages. Audience participation invited.  

Call 649-3943 

Death of the Lecturer 

7 p.m. 

West Branch Library 

1125 University Ave.  

Calling all detectives, those who enjoy reading mysteries, playing Clue, and solving crossword puzzles to untangle the reason for the final fate confrontation.  

Call 649-3926 

Friday, Dec. 29

Earthcapades 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join Hearty and Lissin as they blend storytelling, juggling, acrobatics, and more, to entertain and teach about saving the environment. Included in museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Saturday, Dec. 30

Bats of the World  

1 & 2:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Maggie Hooper, an educator with the California Bat Conservation Fund, will show slides, introduce three live, tame, and indigenous bats, and answer your questions about these fascinating creatures. Included in admission to the museum. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Kwanzaa Celebration 

4 p.m. 

South Branch Library  

1901 Russell St.  

Muriel Johnson of Abiyomi Storytelling is the featured storyteller at the library’s annual celebration which also includes a formal Kwanzaa ceremony.  

Call 649-3943 

Sunday, Dec. 31

Light Up the Lights! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Popular songmeister Gary Lapow performs traditional holiday music from around the world. Included in price of museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Tuesday, Jan. 2

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Jan. 3

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Thursday, Jan. 4

Snowshoe Tours  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Catherine Stifter of Backcountry Tracks presents a slide-show on her favorite ski and snowshoe tours off Highway 49 between Sierra City and Yuba Pass. Free 

Call 527-4140 

Friday, Jan. 5

Zen Buddhist Sites in China 

7 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California 

1000 Oak St.  

Oakland 

Andy Ferguson, author of “Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings,” presents a slide show of Zen holy sites in China. Ferguson will read from the book and engage the audience in a brief meditation session. Included in museum admission. 

$6 general, $4 seniors and students with ID 

Call 1-888-OAK-MUSE 

Taize’ Worship Service  

7:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

Loper Chapel  

(adjacent to) First Congregational 

Church of Berkeley  

Dana St. (between Durant & Channing) 

Call 848-3696  

“Waiting for Godot” 

8 p.m. 

La Val’s Subterranean  

1834 Euclid (at Hearst) 

Presented by Subterranean Shakespeare and directed by Yoni Barkan, director of last summer’s “A Midsummers Night Dream.”  

$8 - $12  

Call 234-6046 

Strong Women - Writers & 

Heroes of Literature 

1 - 3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Dr. Helen Rippier Wheeler, author of “Women and Aging: A Guide to Literature,” this is a free weekly literature course in the Berkeley Adult School’s Older Adults Program.  

Call 549-2970  

Tuesday, Jan. 9  

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Jan. 10  

Kids Dance Open House & Class 

5 - 6 p.m. 

El Cerrito Community Center 

7007 Moeser Lane 

El Cerrito  

Parents are invited to explore how dance relates to cognitive, kinesthetic, and socio-emotional development in their children. For ages three to seventeen. Free  

Call 530-4113  

Thursday, Jan. 11 

Toni Stone and the Negro Baseball League 

1 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California 

1000 Oak St.  

Oakland 

Marcia Eymann, curator of historical photography, discusses memorabilia of Toni Stone, a woman who played in the Negro Baseball Legue in the 1940s. Free. 

Call 1-888-OAK-MUSE 

Benefit Concert for Food First 

8 p.m. 

Ashkenaz  

1370 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman) 

Featuring the David Thom Band, Buffalo Roam, Tree o’ Frogs, and Ten Ton Chicken. All proceeds benefit Food First.  

$10 - $15 donation 

Call Kevin Doyle, 843-6389 x201 

California Babylon  

7:30 p.m. 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore  

1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose)  

Kristan Lawson & Anneli Rufus discuss their book “A Guide to Sites of Scandal, Mayhem, and Celluloid in the Golden State.” Free 

Call 843-3533  

Free Anonymous HIV Testing 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available.  

Call 642-7202 

“Waiting for Godot” 

8 p.m. 

La Val’s Subterranean  

1834 Euclid (at Hearst) 

Presented by Subterranean Shakespeare and directed by Yoni Barkan, director of last summer’s “A Midsummers Night Dream.”  

$8 - $12  

Call 234-6046 

Ski & Snowboard Descents  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Paul Richins, author of “50 Classic Backcountry Ski and Snowboard Summits in California - Mt. Shasta to Mt. Whitney,” presents in slides some of his favorite ski mountaineering and backcountry snowboard descents. Free 

Call 527-4140 

Friday, Jan. 12 

“Who’s Really In Charge Anyway?” 

7:30 p.m. 

Unitarian Hall 

1924 Cedar St.  

The subject to be discussed is the guru dilemma and individual spiritual mastership. Hear about the spiritual path of light and sound and the ancient teachings of the saints.  

Call Unitarian Hall, 841-4824 or visit www.masterpath.org 

Strong Women - Writers & 

Heroes of Literature 

1 - 3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Dr. Helen Rippier Wheeler, author of “Women and Aging: A Guide to Literature,” this is a free weekly literature course in the Berkeley Adult School’s Older Adults Program.  

Call 549-2970  

Saturday, Jan. 13 

“Dyke Open Myke!” 

7:30 p.m. 

Boadecia’s Books  

398 Colusa Ave. (at Colusa Cir.) 

Kensington 

A coffeehouse-style open mic. night for emerging talent. 

Call Jessy, 655-1015  

or Boadecia’s Books, 559-9184 

Dia de los Reyes Concert  

8 p.m. 

St. Joseph the Worker Church  

1640 Addison  

Performing will be Coro Hispano de San Francisco and Conjunto Nuevo Mundo with the Jackeline Rago Ensemble de la Pena.  

$12 - $15  

Call (415) 431- 4234 

Sunday, Jan. 14 

Teaching Chinese Culture in the U.S.  

2 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California 

1000 Oak St.  

Oakland 

Educators from Bay Area Chinese schools explore issues related to teaching Chinese culture and language. Included in museum admission.  

$6 general; $4 seniors and students with ID 

Call 1-888-OAK-MUSE 

LesBiGayTrans Parenting 

11 a.m. 

Boadecia’s Books 

398 Colusa Ave. (at Colusa Cir.) 

Kensington 

These two groups meet on the second Sunday of each month. The group meeting at 11 a.m. is for prospective parents, the one at noon for parents.  

Call 559-9184 

“Berkeley, 1900” 

3 - 5 p.m. . 

Berkeley History Center 

1931 Center St.  

Richard Schwartz gives an oral history of Berkeley at the turn of the century.  

A-Singin’ and a Chantin’ 

8 p.m. 

Shambhala Booksellers 

2482 Telegraph Ave.  

Pagan recording artist DJ Hamouris shares some songs and chants. 

Call 848-8443 

Free Feng Shui Class 

3 p.m. 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley  

2066 University Ave.  

Taught by Lily Chung, author of “Calendars for Feng Shui and Divination.” 

Call Eastwind, 548-3250 

Tuesday, Jan. 16  

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

“Travel as Pilgramage” 

7:30 p.m. 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore  

1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose)  

Various travel writers discuss the spiritual aspects of travel. Free 

Call 843-3533  

Avalanche Safety Course  

6 - 9:30 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Dick Penniman, internationally known avalanche instructor and consultant, presents a slide lecture and video presentation on the fundamentals of avalanches and rescue techniques.  

$20  

Call Dick Penniman, (877) SNO-SAFE 

Wednesday, Jan. 17  

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Thursday, Jan. 18  

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Library 

Claremont Branch  

2940 Benveue Ave.  

Facilitated by Cecile Andrews, author of “Circles of Simplicty,” learn about this movement whose philosophy is “the examined life richly lived.” Work less, consume less, rush less, and build community with friends and family.  

Call 549-3509 or visit www.seedsofsimplicity.org  

Combating Congestion  

1 - 5 p.m. 

Pauley Ballroom 

Student Union Building  

UC Berkeley 

A one-day transportation conference featuring Martin Wachs and Elizabeth Deakin, both of UC Berkeley. Co-sponsored by the Institute of Transportation Studies and the UC Transportation Center.  

Call 642-1474  

“Waiting for Godot” 

8 p.m. 

La Val’s Subterranean  

1834 Euclid (at Hearst) 

Presented by Subterranean Shakespeare and directed by Yoni Barkan, director of last summer’s “A Midsummers Night Dream.”  

$8 - $12  

Call 234-6046 

Become Berkeley City Smart 

7:30 p.m. 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore  

1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose)  

In a slide presentation & talk, Berkeley resident, restaurant and movie critic John Weil takes attendees on a unique tour through the rich artistic and cultural heritage of Berkeley and Oakland. Free 

Call 843-3533  

Journey Across China 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Eugene Tsiang, Shanghai native, will give a slide presentation on his two-month journey last spring by train and four-wheel drive vehicle across China’s Shaanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang Provinces. Free 

Call 527-4140 

Friday, Jan. 19 

Strong Women - Writers & 

Heroes of Literature 

1 - 3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Dr. Helen Rippier Wheeler, author of “Women and Aging: A Guide to Literature,” this is a free weekly literature course in the Berkeley Adult School’s Older Adults Program.  

Call 549-2970  

Monday, Jan. 22  

Berkeley Rail Stop Community  

Design Workshop 

7 - 9 p.m. 

West Berkeley Senior Center 1900 Sixth St.  

The public is invited to suggest ideas and comment on plans for design-development at the rail stop/transit plaza area of West Berkeley.  

Call 644-6580 

Urban Homelessness  

& Public Policy Solutions 

9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Alumni House  

UC Berkeley  

This day-long conference will include key scholars, service providers, and policymakers in the homelessness field. Some of the subjects to be covered will be: Homeless population dynamics and policy implications, health issues in homelessness, and legal and political issues in homelessness. Free and open to the public.  

For more info, visit: http://urbanpolicy.berkeley.edu/homeless.htm 

Tuesday, Jan. 23 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Thursday, Jan. 25  

Spirits in the Time of AIDS 

6 - 8 p.m. 

Pro Arts Gallery  

461 Ninth St.  

Oakland 

Pro Arts reception for the opening of their new exhibition seeking to expand the understanding of HIV and AIDS and the people who are affected by them.  

Call 763-9425 

Climbing Mt. Everest  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Bob Hoffman, organizer and leader of four environmental clean-up expeditions on Everest, will give a slide presentation on the Inventa 2000 Everest Environmental Expedition’s recent ascent. Free 

Call 527-4140 

Friday, Jan. 26 

Strong Women - Writers & 

Heroes of Literature 

1 - 3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Dr. Helen Rippier Wheeler, author of “Women and Aging: A Guide to Literature,” this is a free weekly literature course in the Berkeley Adult School’s Older Adults Program.  

Call 549-2970  

Saturday, Jan. 27  

Clori, Tirsi & e Fileno 

8 p.m. 

Crowden School  

1475 Rose St. (at Sacramento) 

Teatro Bacchino, the Bay Area’s Baroque Opera company, will be performing Handel’s story of jealousy in love. Pre-concert talk 45 minutes before the performance.  

$15 - $20  

Call 658-3382  

“Waiting for Godot” 

8 p.m. 

La Val’s Subterranean  

1834 Euclid (at Hearst) 

Presented by Subterranean Shakespeare and directed by Yoni Barkan, director of last summer’s “A Midsummers Night Dream.”  

$8 - $12  

Call 234-6046 

Cuddly, Soft, Furry Things & Friends 

10 - 10:50 a.m. & 11:10 a.m. - Noon  

Lawrence Hall of Science  

UC Berkeley  

A special workshop for two - three year-olds to meet, pet, and feed rabbits, doves, and snakes.  

$22 - $25, $10 for additional family members, registration required  

Call 642-5134 

Sunday, Jan. 28  

Clori, Tirsi & e Fileno 

7 p.m. 

Crowden School  

1475 Rose St. (at Sacramento) 

Teatro Bacchino, the Bay Area’s Baroque Opera company, will be performing Handel’s story of jealousy in love. Pre-concert talk 45 minutes before the performance.  

$15 - $20  

Call 658-3382  

Tuesday, Jan. 30 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Jan. 31 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra  

8 p.m. 

Zellerbach Hall  

UC Berkeley  

Featuring “Berkeley Images,” a world premiere by Jean-Pascal Beintus.  

$10 - $35  

Call 841-2800 

Friday, Feb. 2 

Strong Women - Writers & 

Heroes of Literature 

1 - 3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Dr. Helen Rippier Wheeler, author of “Women and Aging: A Guide to Literature,” this is a free weekly literature course in the Berkeley Adult School’s Older Adults Program.  

Call 549-2970  

Saturday, Feb. 3 

“Waiting for Godot” 

8 p.m. 

La Val’s Subterranean  

1834 Euclid (at Hearst) 

Presented by Subterranean Shakespeare and directed by Yoni Barkan, director of last summer’s “A Midsummers Night Dream.”  

$8 - $12  

Call 234-6046 

Sunday, Feb. 4 

“Under Construction No. 10” 

7:30 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church  

2727 College Ave.  

Experience the unusual rehearsal-reading format that lets the audience experience the collaboration between conductor, orchestra and composer in the Berkeley Symphony’s unique series presenting new works or works-in-progress by local Bay Area composers.  

Call 841-2800 

Friday, Feb. 9  

Strong Women - Writers & 

Heroes of Literature 

1 - 3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Dr. Helen Rippier Wheeler, author of “Women and Aging: A Guide to Literature,” this is a free weekly literature course in the Berkeley Adult School’s Older Adults Program.  

Call 549-2970  

Sunday, Feb. 11  

Ruth Acty Oral History Reception 

3 - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Historical Society  

Veterans Memorial Building 

1931 Center St.  

In 1943 Miss Ruth Acty became the first African American teacher to be hired by the Berkeley Unified School District. She taught thousands of students until her retirement in 1985. Oral History Coordinator Therese Pipe interviewed Acty in 1993-94 for the Berkeley Historical Society. Free  

Thursday, Feb. 15 

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Library 

Claremont Branch  

2940 Benveue Ave.  

Facilitated by Cecile Andrews, author of “Circles of Simplicty,” learn about this movement whose philosophy is “the examined life richly lived.” Work less, consume less, rush less, and build community with friends and family.  

Call 549-3509 or visit www.seedsofsimplicity.org  

Basics of PCs 

9 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science  

UC Berkeley 

A class for adults that will cover file management, loading software, software management, downloading pages from the Web, and more. 

$30 - $35, registration required  

Call 642-5134  

Friday, Feb. 16 

Strong Women - Writers & 

Heroes of Literature 

1 - 3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Dr. Helen Rippier Wheeler, author of “Women and Aging: A Guide to Literature,” this is a free weekly literature course in the Berkeley Adult School’s Older Adults Program.  

Call 549-2970  

Friday, Feb. 23 

Strong Women - Writers & 

Heroes of Literature 

1 - 3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Dr. Helen Rippier Wheeler, author of “Women and Aging: A Guide to Literature,” this is a free weekly literature course in the Berkeley Adult School’s Older Adults Program.  

Call 549-2970  

Sunday, Feb. 25  

“Imperial San Francisco: 

Urban Power, Earthly Ruin” 

3 - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley History Center 

Veterans Memorial Building 

1931 Center St.  

Gary Brechin speaks on the impact and legacy of the Hearsts and other powerful San Francisco families. Free 

Call 848-0181 

Tuesday, March 13  

Berkeley Rep. Proscenium Opening 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Repertory Theater 

2015 Addison St.  

Featuring the premiere performance of “The Oresteia” by Aeschylus. Opening gala dinner held prior to performance. Performance will be at 8 p.m. 

Call 647-2949 

Thursday, March 15  

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Library 

Claremont Branch  

2940 Benveue Ave.  

Facilitated by Cecile Andrews, author of “Circles of Simplicty,” learn about this movement whose philosophy is “the examined life richly lived.” Work less, consume less, rush less, and build community with friends and family.  

Call 549-3509 or visit www.seedsofsimplicity.org  

Saturday, March 17  

Berkeley Rep. Community Open House 

Noon - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Repertory Theater 

2015 Addison St.  

Tour the Berkeley Reps. new theater facility, a 600-seat proscenium stage theater. 

Call to reserve a tour, 647-2900  

Sunday, March 18  

“Topaz Moon” 

3 - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley History Center 

Veterans Memorial Building 

1931 Center St.  

Kimi Kodani Hill speaks on artist Chiura Obata’s family and the WW II Japanese relocation camps. Free 

Call 848-0181 

ONGOING EVENTS 

Sundays 

Green Party Consensus Building Meeting 

6 p.m. 

2022 Blake St. 

This is part of an ongoing series of discussions for the Green Party of Alameda County, leading up to endorsements on measures and candidates on the November ballot. This week’s focus will be the countywide new Measure B transportation sales tax. The meeting is open to all, regardless of party affiliation. 

415-789-8418 

Mondays 

Baby Bounce and Toddler Time 

10:30 a.m. 

Oct. 16 - Dec. 11 

Berkeley Central Library 

2121 Allston Way 

For children ages 6 to 36 months. Get those babies off to a good start with songs, rhymes, lap bounces, and very simple books. 

649-3943  

Tuesdays 

Easy Tilden Trails 

9:30 a.m. 

Tilden Regional Park, in the parking lot that dead ends at the Little Farm 

Join a few seniors, the Tuesday Tilden Walkers, for a stroll around Jewel Lake and the Little Farm Area. Enjoy the beauty of the wildflowers, turtles, and warblers, and waterfowl. 

215-7672; members.home.com/teachme99/tilden/index.html 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

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. 

531-8664 

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. 

644-8511 

Wednesdays  

10:30 a.m. 

Preschool Song and Story Time 

Berkeley Central Library 

2121 Allston Way 

Music and stories for ages 3-5.  

649-3943 

Thursdays 

The Disability Mural 

4-7 p.m. through September 

Integrated Arts 

933 Parker 

Drop-in Mural Studios will be held for community gatherings and tile-making sessions. This mural will be installed at Ed Roberts campus. 

841-1466 

Free Anonymous HIV Testing 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available.  

Call 642-7202  

Saturdays 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Poets Juan Sequeira and Wanna Thibideux Wright 

2nd and 4th Sunday 

Rhyme and Reason Open Mike Series 

2:30 p.m. 

UC Berkeley Art Museum, 2621 Durant Ave. 

The public and students are invited. Sign-ups for the open mike begin at 2 p.m. 

234-0727;642-5168 

Tuesday and Thursday 

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. 

644-6109 

Compiled by Chason Wainwright 

The City Council’s approval of a resolution Tuesday to support the boycott of Pasand Madras Cuisine has raised questions about the owners’ constitutional rights to the presumption of innocence. 

The council voted to support Women Against Sexual Slavery’s boycott of the Shattuck Avenue restaurant owned by Berkeley landlord Lakireddy Bali Reddy and his family. WASS is boycotting the restaurant because of Reddy’s alleged involvement with illegally bringing aliens, including minor teens, into the country for cheap labor and sex. The resolution passed by a 7-2 vote with Councilmembers Polly Armstrong and Miriam Hawley voting in opposition. 

Newly seated on the council, Hawley said the approval of the resolution was premature. “I thought it was improper,” she said Thursday. “It’s one thing for an individual to take part in a boycott but it’s quite another for the City Council to take an official position when no one’s been found guilty.” 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington who made the recommendation along with Councilmember Linda Maio and Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek, argued that the owner has basically admitted that he was involved. 

“It seems pretty clear from the information that’s been presented that there’s a very serious problem,” he said. “We think that everybody, women and men, should be doing what they can to end sexual slavery in all its manifestations.” 

Five members of Reddy’s family have been in plea negotiations with Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kennedy – Reddy, his sons Vijay Kumar Lakireddy, 32, Prasad Lakireddy, 42; his brother Jayaprakash Lakireddy, 47; and Jayprakash Lakireddy’s wife, Annapurna Lakireddy, 46.  

The five had been in negotiations with Kennedy to enter guilty pleas, but Prasad Lakireddy announced in court Dec. 11 that he would withdraw from negotiations and not plead guilty to any charges. 

Prasad Lakireddy’s attorney, Paul Wolf, denounced the resolution saying the council ignored his client’s rights and that the boycott may be unfairly hurting innocent family members and their employees. He argued the City Council must not be aware of the fact that only two of the restaurant’s owners have been charged with sex-related crimes. 

Among other allegations, Reddy is charged with bringing young women into the country illegally for his sexual gratification and his younger son, Vijay Lakireddy is charged with helping him to accomplish this. 

The three other family members are alleged to have brought aliens into the country illegally, but are charged with no sex-related crimes, Wolf said. 

“Should we punish the rest of the family because they’re related by blood?” Wolf asked. “Where in the American tradition do we do that?” 

WASS member Diana Russell, who has been picketing in front of Pasand Restaurant since January, said she was “thrilled” with the council’s resolution, but thought it did not go far enough. She said Reddy should be held responsible for the death of one of the women he is charged with bringing to the United States illegally for sex. “Mr. Reddy should be prosecuted for negligent homicide or homicide depending on whether (Chanti Jyotsna Devi) Prattipati was alive when he arrived or not,” she said. 

Russell was referring to the Nov. 24, 1999 incident in which Chanti Jyotsna Devi Prattipati, 17, died from carbon monoxide poisoning in one of Reddy’s apartments at 2020 Bancroft Way. Police have ruled Prattipati’s death accidental.  

It is alleged that Reddy was called to the apartment at the time but failed to call for an ambulance. A passerby told police she saw someone fitting Reddy’s description attempting to put Prattipati’s body into a waiting van identified as belonging to Reddy Realty. 

Prasad Lakireddy, part owner and manager of Pasand, said he was surprised by the council’s approval of the resolution.  

“So much of what people have been saying is not true,” he said. “It is very sad and I have to look at it philosophically. I have no ill-feelings for anyone.”

It seems Nick Slater has hit a nerve with a petition drive claiming that a George W. Bush presidency would be illegitimate.  

Since an interview Tuesday on KPFA radio, Slater, a Berkeley resident, has gotten dozens of e-mails and calls for petitions, three offers to set up Web sites and several calls for interviews by other media. 

As far as he knows, the petition is being circulated in San Diego and as far away as Pennsylvania, in addition to northern California. 

“I’m trying to ensure the integrity of the election process,” Slater said, explaining the petition as a way for people to express their frustration with the recent electoral process. “I put the petition together because I did not want to remain silent,” he said. The petition argues that a democratic government’s authority rests on “the freely given consent of its citizens” and that consent is given through elections. 

“Since democracy has not been seen to be done and the true and final result of the Florida vote in the recent presidential election is not yet known, as the Supreme Court acknowledges, we feel that we, as citizens of these United States, are unable to grant our authority and consent to the appointment of candidate George Bush as president,” the petition says. 

It further argues that two of the Supreme Court Justices, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, have conflicts of interest and should be removed for having participated in the process. 

“Justice Scalia had two sons working for the law firm representing Bush. Justice Thomas’ wife worked for the Heritage Foundation which is helping to choose the Bush cabinet,” says a letter by Slater accompanying the petition. 

Slater, who works in business services at UC Berkeley and comes originally from Great Briton, said he was shocked at the lack of outrage following the Supreme Court decision, even among those who call themselves progressive. 

“People feel powerless,” he said, arguing that citizens don’t care who is president “as long as they’ve got full bellies and SUVs.” 

He said that attitude sends a negative message to the entire world. “There are thousands of people who fought and died for the right to vote,” he said. 

Slater says, though an active shop steward at UC Berkeley, he’s never done anything like this before. He has no staff to answer phones and e-mails or funds to send out endless petitions, but he said he’s trying. “I’m making it up as I go along,” he said. “I don’t represent anybody or any organization.” 

The petitions, which call for a thorough re-count by hand in Florida, will be delivered to congressional representatives before the Bush inauguration, with copies back to Slater so he can tally the response. 

Calls for comment to the Republican Party offices in San Leandro and Walnut Creek were not returned. 

Slater can be contacted at P.O. Box 13466 Berkeley, 94712-4466 and e-mailed at: medieval@e-mail.com. 

California officials have submitted a plan to expand a low-cost health insurance program for children to cover some parents as well. 

The Healthy Families program, jointly funded by state and federal governments, provides medical care to children in families where the annual income is less than 21/2 times the federal poverty level. 

That means a family of four with an annual income of less than $42,625 a year would qualify. Families pay premiums of $4 to $27, depending on how many children are enrolled. 

Under the proposal submitted Thursday to the federal Health Care Financing Administration, parents earning up to twice the poverty level, or less than $34,500 for a family of four, would be eligible for coverage. The adults would pay an additional $20 to $25 per month for each parent, depending on income. 

State and private experts believe there are about seven million Californians – including two million children – currently without health coverage. 

State officials estimated that 290,000 adults could be covered by the expanded program. 

It will cost an additional $192 million in the 2001-02 fiscal year to expand coverage, with the state paying $71 million of that and the rest paid by the federal government, said officials with the California Health and Human Services Agency. 

Anne Marie Flores, co-chair of the Pacific Institute for Community Organization, which advocates for the working poor, said the adult coverage plan was good, but she added that it should cover adults in families making up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level. 

The premium rates “seem reasonable,” she added. 

California officials hope to have the plan approved by the end of February and to begin implementing it in July. 

Last week, Congress approved a bill that allows California to keep about $350 million in federal funds for the Healthy Family program. 

States that hadn’t spent their full federal share will be allowed to keep about 60 percent of their 1998 funds. 

On the Net: 

For more information visit www.healthyfamilies.ca.gov

The Associated Press 

SAN FRANCISCO— San Francisco Bay area air quality officials released a new smog-reducing plan to cut emissions from water heaters, concrete coatings and wood varnishings. 

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District board, which oversees nine counties, voted Wednesday to call on consumers to use wood products with less solvents and stricter standards for coatings applied to concrete piles, traffic barriers, underground vaults and other structures. Under the plan, households planning to replace their gas-fired water heaters would find only cleaner-burning ones on the market. 

The agency estimates these measures will cost $1,000 to $11,400 per ton of pollution saved. 

ougher regulations are expected in 2003, when a study for better emissions savings is completed, said Jean Roggenkamp, district planning manager. 

Roggenkamp said the region met California’s stiff pollution standards — 30 percent tougher than federal standards — for 99 percent of the year. 

Emissions have dropped 1,500 tons per day 10 years ago to 1,100 tons today. That’s despite the region’s 30 percent population jump in the past 20 years. 

Roggenkamp said that reduction is mainly due to cleaner automobile engines. 

Environmentalists, however, say officials aren’t working aggressively enough to control traffic or come up with new mass-transit initiatives. 

LOS ANGELES — In what prosecutors call the largest case ever involving fraudulent medical bills submitted by a California laboratory, a federal grand jury has indicted four people on charges of billing the Medi-Cal program for nearly $20 million worth of bogus blood tests. 

The 23-count indictment handed down Wednesday names Luisa Gonzalez, 55, and Juan Carlos Ciraolo, 59, owners of the now defunct Los Angeles Bio-Clinical Laboratory in Glendale, and Roberto Calderon, 39, and Alfredo Morales, 37, operators of La Guadalupana Clinic in Hawthorne. 

The indictment charges that over a three-year-period, the defendants obtained confidential billing information about patients and doctors enrolled in Medi-Cal, the federally subsidized medical program for the poor. 

Los Angeles Bio-Clinical Laboratory then used that information to bill Medi-Cal for tests it performed on blood that was bought from donors recruited off the street, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurice Suh. 

Until it closed in 1997, the lab submitted bills for reimbursement totaling about $40 million; half of the bills were fraudulent, the indictment said. La Guadalupana, which offered donors cash for their blood, appears to have been the lab’s main supplier, Suh said. The money made from the fraudulent billing allegedly was laundered through Gonzalez and Ciraolo’s personal bank accounts. 

“This case represents the most unconscionable acts of health care providers who pilfer the health care delivery system, which results in higher health care costs for everyone,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James V. DeSarno Jr. 

Although not indicted Wednesday, a doctor who runs a San Gabriel clinic has agreed to plead guilty in connection with the alleged fraud, Suh said. An FBI affidavit said Dr. Luis Lombardi made up reports showing he had examined Medi-Cal patients and then asked Bio-Clinical to conduct comprehensive blood tests, some costing up to $550. 

Agents arrested Ciraolo and Gonzalez on Nov. 17. They were freed on $250,000 bond and are scheduled for arraignment Dec. 26. Calderon and Morales are fugitives who have fled Los Angeles, Suh said. 

LOS ANGELES — Every few minutes Thursday, someone would lean over the ninth floor courthouse balcony, standing on tiptoes to peer over the wall. 

Next to a single bouquet of red and white carnations, they craned their necks to see the roof five stories below where a young mother threw her two young daughters to their deaths, then jumped to her own. 

When sheriff’s deputies saw the 27-year-old woman on the ledge of the downtown courthouse about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, they didn’t know she had already thrown her children, ages 5 and 7. 

The deputies tried to talk her down. About five minutes later, she jumped. 

“Anyone with the resolve to throw their own children off the roof certainly is unlikely to be talked down themselves,” police Capt. Charlie Beck said. 

The dead woman was identified as LaShanda Crozier of Los Angeles, said coroner’s spokesman Scott Carrier. The dead girls had not yet been identified, he said. 

The woman and her husband were in court earlier in the day for an eviction hearing, but “it was not contentious,” said sheriff’s Capt. Jay Zuanich of the courts service’s central bureau. 

The family had agreed to make payments that would allow the family to stay in their southwest Los Angeles home, Zuanich said. 

Police said the family left the courthouse, but the woman and her daughters later returned after the father went to work. 

How quickly they returned was not immediately clear. A courthouse employee who spoke on condition of anonymity said he saw the three about two hours before they died on the other side of the building’s wraparound balcony. 

He pointed to a foot-high wooden crate against the 4-foot-high balcony wall and said the woman stood on it, looking over the edge while her children played. “I just thought, ’I don’t know why you need to stand on a crate when you’re on the ledge, anyway.”’

Here we are in the 21st century, and still infusing life into our winters with cut evergreen boughs, just as did the ancient Egyptians, Persians, Jews, Christians, and Druids. 

Just a few evergreen boughs tied together and accented with a red ribbon make a doorway more inviting or a room more cozy. But going one step further with the greenery, to a wreath, creates something special. The actual making of a wreath can be an end in itself, particularly to the accompaniment of a warm fire, friends, and children. 

To make a wreath, start with a base. This might be a sturdy ring of wire (from a coat hanger, for example), straw that has been bound into a bulky circle with string, or a woven vine of grape, honeysuckle, or wisteria.  

The base might be all, or just about all, that is needed for a simple wreath. Poke in some sprigs of wild rose to add color, along with some overlapped sprigs of lavender, thyme, or rosemary, bound with thin wire, for fragrance. Keep thyme’s wiry stems somewhat loose and, along with the tiny stems, they can add body to a wreath. 

Perhaps you’re more drawn this time of year to wreaths that have rich, green color and are almost gaudy with ornamentation. The base for such a wreath is some evergreen plant. Not all evergreens are suitable, because some drop their leaves too readily indoors. Among needle-leaf evergreens, juniper, white pine, mugho pine, red pine, and spruce are good choices. Mahonia, holly, rhododendron, and English ivy are suitable broad-leaf evergreens for a wreath, although they won’t hold their leaves as long as the needle-leaved ones. Wire, glue or tuck small bunches of evergreens onto the base, with all the bunches facing the same direction. Don’t be stingy, for this mass of green color is what is going to visually unite the whole wreath. Next, add accent. Ornaments that are darker shades, or blue or green, make a quieter wreath than ornaments that are lighter shades, or red or yellow. Lively ornaments might include chains of shiny red cranberries or popcorn threaded together. And tinsel, of course. 

Lee Reich is a features writer for 

The Associated press.

Along fields and in the woods over much of North America, your eye could catch some bright color even this time of year.  

Look for plump, red winterberries, made even more dramatic for the way they cling closely to and contrast the plants’ almost black twigs. 

With good reason, the plant is also known as Christmasberry, coralberry, or Michigan holly.  

The plant is, in fact, a deciduous species of holly – our most widespread and cold-hardy native species. 

To plant winterberry for its fruits, you need a male and a female.  

Many varieties are available, some notable for being dwarf (Nana); some for their orange fruit (Afterglow); some for their yellow fruit (Chrysocarpa), and some for their particular abundance of fruit (Winter Red). 

Instead of buying a named variety, wild plants could be your source of plants. 

No need to dig up a wild plant, though. Just pluck a few berries for seeds, or prune off a few twigs for cuttings. 

The most important ingredient in growing winterberries from seeds is time. The seeds need 18 months to germinate.  

These seedlings will yield a mix of males and females, usually about one female for every three to 10 males.  

Unfortunately, you cannot distinguish males from females until they are old enough to flower. 

Stem cuttings, taken now or in early summer, are a quicker way to make plants.  

Those taken in early summer are especially easy to root.  

Cuttings have the advantage that they fruit sooner than do seedlings and, if the bush furnishing the cuttings had fruit, you know it’s a female. 

Winterberry is very forgiving about soil.  

Wild plants are often found growing in shade and in areas too wet for most other cultivated plants.  

Winterberry, however, can be grown equally well a site with full sun and well-drained soil. 

Winterberry does require a very acidic soil, one with a pH in the range of 4.5 to 5.5.  

Plenty of acidic peat moss, or some sulfur, can bring the  

soil pH down to that range,  

if necessary.  

A soil this acidic, incidentally, also is perfect for rhododendrons and mountain laurels, whose evergreen leaves make a nice backdrop for the winterberry fruits in winter. 

Even without that backdrop of evergreen leaves, winterberry makes a cheery winter sight, especially against lily-white snow.  

And indoors, the stems with their plump, bright fruits make fine decorations – another holly with which to “deck the halls.”

Q: Our 16-year-old painted redwood house has a terrible mildew problem, even during periods of bright sunshine. The inside of the house seems to sweat and the inside surfaces of the window frames are peeling. We would eventually like to have aluminum siding, but first we must solve the mildew problem. What do you suggest? 

A: You have probably checked the obvious sources of moisture such as a lack of kitchen and bath fans, and poor exterior landscaping that may allow rainwater to run into your basement and crawl space. Moisture rising from these areas is a common source of this problem. 

If you do not know the source of excessive moisture in the house, you should introduce some dry air from the outside. There are a number of air exchangers on the market that are designed for do-it-yourself installation and are reasonably priced. These units usually have a fan that moves fresh air in, over or through ducts that are heated by heated air from the interior of the house moving out through the same unit. 

This is not only a solution for excess interior moisture but an answer to super tight homes that suffer a lack of fresh breathing air. 

Q: Our house was built about 1925, with a cypress shingle roof installed on 1x4-inch wood strips, 8-inches on center. The attic has no ventilation or insulation. I would like to install a painted sheetmetal roof over the wood strips. My concern is condensation on the bottom of the sheetmetal. What is the best way to do this? 

A: Providing ventilation and a vapor barrier in the attic will control the moisture buildup and resulting attic condensation. You should also insulate the attic. Even though your house is located in a warm climate, insulation is cost-effective and will help make the house more comfortable. 

Check with your local utility company to determine the recommended amount of insulation for your attic. It is more practical to install insulation batts with an attached vapor barrier rather than using a separate vapor barrier. Place the batts on the attic floor between the joists with the vapor barrier facing toward the rooms below. 

You should also use at least two vent openings – to allow for air movement. Installing watertight vents in the sheetmetal roof may be difficult, so your best bet would probably be to use gable vents. A combination of gable and soffit vents would be even more effective. 

Since there will be a vapor barrier in the attic, the size of the vent openings can be less than it would be without a vapor barrier. Remember, the vent’s effective area is less than its actual opening. Screens or louvers can reduce airflow through a vent by as much as 50 percent. The effective area should be at least one-three-hundredth of the attic floor area. 

To submit a question, write to Popular Mechanics, Reader Service Bureau, 224 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019. The most interesting questions will be answered in a future column. 

Organic food could become cheaper and more widely available now that uniform federal organic standards, a decade in the making, have finally become law. The standards are expected to draw big growers into the small but growing market. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture standards, released Wednesday, are the result of years of false starts and intense lobbying. Foods that meet the new standards will bear a seal that reads “USDA Organic.” 

“It’s going to mean an additional standard of integrity in the marketplace and the ability to move product from state to state and country to country,” said Ray Green, organic program manager for California’s Department of Agriculture. 

“In terms of the old supply and demand thing, it’s going to create more integrity, consumer confidence and legitimacy, and that will fuel growth.” 

Organic growers in California, who have led the nation in the push to eliminate pesticides and other manmade chemicals from the food supply, were concerned that a weak federal standard would dilute the power of the state’s tough organic standards.  

But the final version of the federal rules for growers, processors and retailers turned out to be equally tough, if not more so in some areas. 

“As long as the federal law respects our chosen third-party certifiers, I don’t have a problem with it,” said Jonathan Steinberg, co-owner of Route 1 Farms in Santa Cruz. “We’re long-term organic growers. We’ve been in this 22 years. It probably won’t affect the way I grow much, but it’ll be interesting to see if it affects my costs and if I see more competition.” 

The federal standard also is the culmination of an effort begun in 1973, when a small cooperative, California Certified Organic Farmers, began inspecting and certifying each other’s farming methods and setting standards for just what “organic” means. 

The USDA’s first effort at setting national rules generated overwhelming objections from consumers, farmers and others, since it would have included genetically modified products, irradiated food and even sewage sludge as fertilizer. 

The final version bans genetic engineering or irradiation of organic products, which must be grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. The rules also govern such things as composting temperatures and feed for livestock being raised organically. 

To use the “organic” label in supermarkets, an organic farm or processing plant must pay an independent certifier – not a government agent – to inspect its operation. Until now, farms and plants that touted themselves as organic did not have to be certified. 

In California, “organic” farms and plants only had to register with the state and promise to comply with the rules, but state inspectors rarely checked to see if they were being followed. Now, any farm or business producing more than $5,000 in products annually must get certified each year. 

“I think it’s a great thing,” Green said. “The consumer will know that when they buy organic, they get what they pay for.” 

Of the 10,000 farms nationwide that claim to be organic, fewer than 7,000 are approved by the 88 different state or private certifying agencies around the country. Nineteen states have no regulations for organic farming. Eleven others have production standards but no certification process for ensuring that farmers comply with them. 

Consumers can expect to see an increase in organic processed products, since companies now know that if they take the extra effort to produce organic foods, they can get premium prices selling with the “organic” label anywhere in the United States, said Bob Scowcroft, executive director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation in Santa Cruz. 

“Why we have been so supportive of this and working so hard for so long is it’s consumer friendly,” he said. “There’s finally a labeled product that allows consumers the right to know how their food is grown and processed.” 

The new rules may make organic farming and processing more attractive to bigger growers, especially because supermarkets now have a standard for labeling and marketing their organic foods. And having large-scale producers involved could drive prices down. 

“I think, because they’re federal, we’ll see more of the large retailers getting into organics,” said Brian Leahy, the executive director of CCOF, which inspects operations throughout the state. “I think we’ll see prices getting closer to conventional.” 

Bu Nygrens, the purchasing manager for Veritable Vegetable, a San Francisco wholesaler, said the new rules will mean less work for her company, which has supplied organic fruit and vegetables to specialty supermarkets since 1978. 

Without the federal standard, “individual companies would have to do their own investigation not only of growers and shippers, but evaluating certification industries and finding out what their standards are,” she said. 

“We’re really looking forward to accreditation of growers by a third party and harmonizing export and import, so we don’t have to ask the same questions over and over.” 

LOS ANGELES — Hughes Electronics Corp., which operates the DirecTV satellite television network, is buying Telocity, a nationwide provider of high-speed Internet access, for $180 million in cash, the companies announced Thursday. 

Hughes, of El Segundo, will pay $2.15 for each share of Telocity, which is based in Cupertino. 

Hughes also announced Thursday it has begun shipping its new two-way satellite broadband service, called DirecPC. The company already offers DirecPC Internet service, but it only provides high-speed access for downloads. Messages and files sent from a consumer’s home travel via a 56k modem through a standard telephone line. 

The new service, which should be widely available in three months, includes broadband access in both directions. 

Hughes said the Telocity acquisition will allow it to market broadband services to its current 9 million DirecTV subscribers. The company said the DSL option will complement its DirecPC service and give consumers greater options. 

“This is a true gateway into the home for entertainment and information services,” Michael T. Smith, Hughes chairman and chief executive officer said during a conference call Thursday. “This makes DirecPC and DirecTV even more competitive with digital cable.” 

The acquisition of Telocity gives Hughes a comprehensive offering of services, including its satellite television packages, many of which come bundled with digital recorder devices and options such as AOL TV and Ultimate TV from Microsoft. 

With Telocity, the company can now offer satellite or terrestrial high-speed Internet access and can soon offer broader services, including video on demand, home security and home networking. 

Telocity offers a proprietary gateway unit that is installed by the customer without the need for a service call. Telocity said it currently reaches about 40 percent of the country’s population in 140 metropolitan areas. 

Through its gateway, Telocity offers additional services, including automatic backup of computer files and Internet-based telephone service. 

Smith said DirecPC offers faster speeds than the Telocity DSL option, but at a higher cost to consumers. The satellite also has a limited capacity. 

“This gives us the opportunity to reserve that capacity for areas not well-served by DSL,” Smith said. 

“By bundling Telocity’s capabilities with the high-quality offerings of DirecTV, we will offer consumers the best of both worlds — digital satellite entertainment and high-speed DSL Internet access — though a single portal into their homes,” Edward W. Hartenstein, senior executive vice president of Hughes, said. 

The tender offer to Telocity’s shareholders will begin Feb. 1 and expire April 2. As part of the deal, Hughes has agreed to provide Telocity with $20 million in “interim funding” before completion of the tender offer. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.hughes.com 

http://www.telocity.net 

The California Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the constitutionality of a state law that exempts religious organizations from local preservation laws and lets them raze and replace historic church buildings. 

The court, voting 4-3, said the 1994 law did not provide improper state assistance or endorsement of religion. 

“The exemption does not provide governmental assistance to religious organizations carrying out their religious mission,” Justice Marvin R. Baxter wrote for the majority. “By providing the exemption, the state simply stepped out of the way of the religious property owner.” 

The 1994 law stops cities and counties from enforcing historic landmark preservation laws against noncommercial property owned by religious organizations. A religious organization can alter or demolish a historic building if it decides the change is necessary for religious or financial purposes. 

In a dissent, Justice Stanley Mosk wrote that the Legislature is mingling in religious affairs while granting the religious groups broader powers than available to the lay public. 

“They impermissibly single out religious organizations for a special exemption from generally applicable historic landmark preservation laws at the expense of other property owners and to the detriment of the local community’s ability to preserve its history and character,” Mosk wrote. 

The law was sponsored by then-Assembly Speaker Willie Brown to aid San Francisco Archbishop John Quinn, who was in the process of closing nine Catholic churches with damaged foundations and declining congregations.  

Some parishioners threatened to sue under landmark preservation laws. 

Brown is now mayor of San Francisco, which challenged the law. 

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Joe Gray ruled in 1996 that the law established an unconstitutional state preference for religious organizations. 

But the 3rd District Court of Appeal overruled him last year and said the law merely removes a potential burden from the practice of religion by allowing religious organizations to decide which of their buildings to preserve. 

San Francisco and preservation groups said in court papers that the appellate decision “gives the Legislature a green light to exempt religious organizations, for purely economic reasons, from all kinds of legislation.” 

The case is East Bay Asian Local Development Corp. vs. California, S077396. 

SAN FRANCISCO — In the strongest sign yet that millions of Californians will soon be paying sharply higher electric bills, state utility regulators Thursday said consumers should pay more to keep the state’s largest electric companies from going bankrupt. 

“We believe that retail rates in California must begin to rise. It’s our intent to maintain the utilities’ access to capital on reasonable terms,” said the Public Utilities Commission, which ordered an independent audit of the utilities’ books before it formally decides whether to lift a rate freeze. 

PUC Chairwoman Loretta Lynch said the new rate increase – its amount is still unknown – would take effect Jan. 4 and show up on consumers’ bills shortly thereafter. 

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said it would raise bills gradually to “protect the consumers against rate shock.” 

With electricity imports slowing to a trickle, managers of the state’s power grid declared another “stage two” alert Thursday, meaning that power reserves are falling dangerously low, below five percent. Consumers were asked to conserve and some commercial customers were warned that they may have to turn off some power. 

In private negotiations with Gov. Gray Davis and other key politicians and regulators, the utilities have asked that customers pay for 20 percent or more of the companies’ debt. 

Before making any such deal, the PUC wants to confirm just how bad the financial picture is for PG&E and Southern California Edison, which together have taken on more than $8 billion in debt buying energy on the open market, but are constrained by a rate freeze from passing the costs on to consumers. San Diego customers, who are not covered by the rate freeze, have seen their bills double or triple. 

The PUC’s action Thursday requires the utilities to open their books to independent auditors and financial analysts selected by the commission. The audits were scheduled to begin Friday morning. 

“We have a public trust to keep the lights on,” Lynch said before the commission unanimously approved the plan. “We need to obtain the facts and we have a legal duty to make sure the facts are accurate.” 

The PUC will hold emergency public hearings next Wednesday and Thursday on the utilities’ finances, allowing consumer advocates, utilities, and power producers to have their say on the rate hikes. 

Consumer advocates say the crisis has been manufactured, and denigrated Standard and Poor’s warning Wednesday that the utilities could lose their credit rating and no longer afford to buy power. They likened it to financial blackmail, designed to scare Davis and the PUC into approving higher rates to protect the interests of investors. 

“Wall Street seems to think that every time a big company gets into trouble, there has to be a bailout by the customers or taxpayers,” said Harvey Rosenfield, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based watchdog group. 

Those suspicions were echoed Thursday by Washington Gov. Gary Locke, who accused electric companies of manipulating prices. Electricity that normally costs $30 per megawatt hour is now selling for $500 to $1,200 per megawatt hour, Locke said, while some electricity generating plants in California are lying dormant for unexplained reasons. 

“It is pretty obvious there is price manipulation going on,” said Locke, a Democrat. He said high energy costs are resulting in a “massive transfer of wealth, not only out of Washington but out of the West.” 

The utilities have said plants were taken down for needed maintenance when unusually cold weather hit, but they also argue that construction of new power plants has not kept up with growing demand. 

Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, a Republican, said ratepayers throughout the West can expect to pay more for power – even those who live in states like Utah, which generates more power than it consumes. California “has a regulatory system that is clearly not working,” Leavitt said, but the rest of the states in the grid will be affected by it. 

“The bottom line is, the market is solving the supply problem,” Leavitt said. “We just haven’t received the bill yet.” 

It wasn’t immediately clear if the PUC’s action on Thursday was enough to buy the utilities more time with Standard & Poors. PG&E vice president Dan Edwards said the utility expects to hear from the credit-rating agency on Friday. 

The political stakes couldn’t be higher for Gov. Davis, who has enjoyed high approval ratings but has been accused of failing to take action to avert the energy crisis, which has led to almost daily threats of brownouts and concerns that the state’s economy could suffer if the utilities go under. 

“He’s walking a tightrope,” said the governor’s spokesman, Steve Maviglio. Davis must balance consumer outrage over higher electric bills against the need for the utilities to stay solvent. 

Initial reaction from consumers suggests they won’t quietly accept the higher bills. 

“I think it’s ridiculous. I don’t think they should have deregulated it in the first place,” said electrician Lynn Barron, 43, of Fontana, in San Bernardino County. “It’s going to hurt my pocketbook.” 

Davis has little power over the energy market – only the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission can set price controls or force energy wholesalers to lock in prices with long-term contracts, two solutions advocated by Energy Secretary Bill Richardson. 

But the governor, who has strong influence on the PUC, can sign legislation to re-regulate California’s energy market, and use state money to help consumers or bail out the utilities. And even if they do go bankrupt, he could order them to continue providing electricity, with the state stepping in to guarantee their credit. 

After the PUC vote Thursday, utility watchdogs expressed skepticism about the audits as well, noting that with combined assets of $71 billion, Edison International and PG&E are major clients of virtually all the Big Five auditors. 

“The danger is that the audits become a whitewash of the utilities’ cooked books,” said Doug Heller, a consumer advocate with the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. 

Utility critics contend that the utilities have made billions off their own power plants since 1998 while also profiting from energy market conditions that worked to their advantage until this year. In 1998 and 1999, for instance, PG&E’s electricity revenues exceeded its electricity costs by $9.6 billion. So far this year, PG&E has paid $4.6 billion more for electricity than it has received from customers. 

Out-of-state energy suppliers worry they too could go under if PG&E and SoCal Edison can’t pay them. Arizona’s New West Energy, which was powering 600,000 California homes, said Wednesday it was cutting off supplies, although it still would have to sell its excess energy to California under an emergency order from Richardson. 

Besides mulling rate increases, Davis and Richardson are pushing for a $100 per-megawatt-hour rate cap on all wholesale electricity sold in the Western states, but other Western governors are wary, and S&P said that proposal won’t solve the problem. 

——— 

On The Net: 

http://www.standardandpoors.com/ratings 

http://www.ratepayerrevolt.org 

NEW YORK — Investors sought bargains on Wall Street Thursday, sending blue chips soaring while leaving the Nasdaq in positive territory for the first time in eight sessions. 

Overall, the market shrugged off a spate of profit warnings and its fears that the economy is slowing too much.  

“We’ve got a sense that a lot of the bad news has been priced into the marketplace. We are very oversold,” said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst for Jefferies & Co. “This is a bargain hunters market. 

Stocks have been trending lower since around Labor Day, as investors have sold off stocks – mainly in the high-tech sector – on fears that an economic slowdown, high interest rates and decreased consumer confidence would further soften profits. High-tech stocks, which had been premium priced, have been hit the hardest.on March 10, 2000. Investors on Thursday were somewhat optimistic that the newest sign of an economic slowdown would prompt the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates before it meets again at the end of January, analysts said. 

The government earlier in the day revised its annual growth rate from 2.4 percent to 2.2 percent in the summer, saying the gross domestic product was even weaker than previously believed. as the trade deficit deteriorated further. 

The Dow industrials posted nearly across-the-board advances, a reverse from the widespread losses seen Wednesday. Wal-Mart climbed $2.81 to $51.75, and Coca Cola rose $3.13 to $59.38. 

Tech issues also bumped up the Dow and the Nasdaq. Microsoft gained $1.94 to close at $43.44, and Intel moved $1.19 to $33.13. 

Investors want a sustainable rally but won’t commit to setting off one yet, analysts said. 

“Emotionally, investors are ready to do that. Whether there is a catalyst for them to do that is another issue,” said Alan Ackerman, executive vice president of Fahnestock & Co. “All eyes are on the Fed.” 

Until the Fed lowers rates, market watchers expect investors to continue to dump companies whose profit outlooks are weak. 

Earnings warnings early Thursday from Lucent Technologies and Xerox sent those shares downward but had little effect on the overall market, analysts said. 

Lucent lost $1.31 to trade at $14.19. Before the market opened, Lucent warned of poor first-quarter profits and announced a restructuring plan that will lead to cuts in excess of $1 billion 

Xerox, which said it likely will have a softer-than-expected fourth-quarter performance, was off $1.19 to $4.81. 

“We are used to those companies warning,” said Hogan, the analyst for Jefferies. “Lucent is four (quarters) for four. I don’t think the market had that major of a reaction to it.” 

Dow industrial AT&T, which warned that fourth-quarter earnings would be disappointing after the market closed Wednesday, fell $1.88 to $17.06. 

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 7 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange where volume was 1.40 billion shares, down from 1.42 billion on Wednesday. 

The Russell 2000 Index, which tracks the performance of smaller companies, was up 3.23 at 447.03. 

Overseas markets were lower. Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 3.5 percent, and Germany’s DAX index tumbled 0.8 percent. Britain’s FT-SE 100 lost 1.0 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.1 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com 

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com 

HODGKINS, Ill. — Not counting Santa’s workshop, or maybe Macy’s on Christmas Eve, it would be tough to find a busier place during the holidays than UPS’s mammoth package-processing plant outside Chicago. If the slowing economy has put a chill on holiday shopping, no such evidence was visible at the frenzied facility Tuesday on “Peak Day,” the busiest shipping day of the year. 

Nearly 11,000 workers scrambled against an unmissable deadline, processing more than 1.7 million packages and documents. Worldwide, United Parcel Service estimated it would ship 19 million packages this past Tuesday as momentum from the online shopping boom carries it and its competitors to another record-breaking holiday season. 

“It’s really intense. Everything is on the go, on the go,” said Brandon Ashana, 20, a “jam-breaker” assigned to help prevent parcels from getting mashed as they speed through the dizzying 65-mile network of conveyor belts. 

A fleet of 3,800 trucks ferried parcels in and out of the plant, while next to snowy railway tracks 200 yards away, workers loaded one of a dozen trains full of UPS goods that were due to depart by day’s end. 

One in every 10 of the 325 million packages that UPS anticipates delivering worldwide between Thanksgiving and Christmas will come through this little suburb, which Atlanta-based UPS chose as its main shipping point because of Chicago’s transportation hub and large labor pool. 

The facility – the world’s biggest and busiest package distribution facility, according to UPS – is as long as three aircraft carriers and twice as wide. 

The explosive growth in Internet shopping may be slowing. Commercial shipping leaders UPS and FedEx warned last week that revenues for the holiday period will not be as great as predicted because of public uneasiness with a slipping economy. 

But nearly 45 million Americans are expected to do holiday shopping online this year. 

FedEx spokeswoman said the overnight delivery company shipped 6.5 million packages on Monday, its busiest day, up 5 percent from last year’s holiday peak. The Postal Service estimates it will handle 191 million packages during the holidays, also a 5 percent increase from 1999. 

UPS handles more than half of all online purchases, and the fate of some e-retailers may ride on whether the company delivers their Christmas orders on time. 

After some Christmas Day disappointments in 1999 that resulted from bad planning by dot-coms, the shipping giant spent considerable time coaching them to improve coordination this year. UPS also continues to upgrade the heavily computerized plant, where conveyor belts speed at up to 500 feet per second, 80,000 sensors keep track of them, and dozens of employees man computer banks in a room that looks like Mission Control. 

With three days to go and overtime pay opportunities flowing, employees were in a holiday mood despite the din of conveyor belt rollers, clanging warning bells and motorized carts. 

On the Net: 

UPS: http://www.ups.com 

FedEx: http://www.fedex.com 

DHL: http://www.dhl.com 

Postal Service: http://www.usps.com 

After neighbors of a proposed antennae site raised concerns about exposure to electromagnetic radiation emissions, the City Council adopted a 45-day moratorium Tuesday on the placement of all new antennae that support wireless communications. 

The council unanimously approved the recommendation by Mayor Shirley Dean and Councilmembers Mim Hawley and Betty Olds, which sends the question of antenna placement to the Planning Commission. Commissioners will try to determine exactly what the city can legally do to restrict antennae in residential neighborhoods. 

“I don’t know if the city can do an outright ban in residential areas,” Dean said. “But if there’s a possibility of restricting antennae based on health concerns, then we should do it.” 

The city’s 1996 Wireless Communications Guidelines strongly discourages antennae in residential neighborhoods, but the Zoning Adjustments Board has approved every residential antennae application that has come before it.  

Commissioners and city staff have said that, according to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, municipalities are  

precluded from regulating the location of above-ground communications equipment for any reasons other than aesthetics. 

In a related action, the council set a public hearing for Jan. 23, for an appeal of the 12 antennae atop the Oaks Theater on Solano Avenue. 

The Zoning Adjustments Board approved a Nextel Corporation application for the antennae Oct. 12. The appeal was filed by a neighbor concerned about health risks. A number of concerned neighbors oppose the location of the antennae, including those who cite studies in the United Kingdom, which claim a growing body of evidence that exposure to electromagnetic radiation from cell phones and wireless communication antennae is hazardous, especially to children.  

“I’m sure the neighbors will have something to say and the folks who want to put up the antennae will probably be there,” said Councilmember Mim Hawley, who moved the resolution to set the appeal date. 

Allen Michaan, the owner of Renaissance Rialto, which runs the Oaks Theater said the property owner was responsible for the antennae application. He said he is upset about a neighborhood perception that he is responsible. 

“We’re very unhappy to be in the middle of this,” he said. 

The Daily Planet was unable to reach the owner of the theater property, Don Lee, in time for this story. 

The ZAB also had been considering an antennae application from Sprint Corporation for placement of seven antennae on the roof of the Jewish Community Center on Walnut Street, however the JCC Board of Directors has temporarily withdrawn the application because of member concern. There are several preschool programs and an after-school program, which operate at the JCC. 

*** 

A related issue was the adoption of a Telecommunications Ordinance by the council Tuesday night. Some residents hoped the ordinance would include restrictions on locating the antennae.  

As long as the Telecommunications Act of 1996 restricts most local regulation for the antennae, however, the local ordinance would be unable to include placement regulations.  

So, at the meeting Tuesday, Berkeley resident Erica Etelson asked the council to delay approving the new local ordinance until the conclusion of a pending Supreme Court case, Citizens For Appropriate Placement of Communications Facilities vs. the Federal Communication Commission, which is challenging the portion of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that prohibits municipalities from restricting antennae placement for health concerns (the case can be found on the web at www.emernetwork.org). 

“The case has received a lot of (supporting) briefs from other municipalities,” Etelson said. “There should be a decision by the court next summer.” 

The council approved the new ordinance 7-1-1 with the assurances of City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque that it can be amended according to any changes in FCC law. Councilmember Kriss Worthington opposed the ordinance and Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek abstained.

Thursday, Dec. 21

Berkeley Metaphysic  

Toastmasters Club 

6:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. 

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysic come together at Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters. Meets first and third Thursdays each month. 

Call 869-2547 or 643-7645 

Workshop on seasons 

3:45 p.m. 

Cesar Chavez Park: on the high ground overlooking the bay, about 300 yards south of Spinnaker road 

An informal workshop on the astronomical reasons for the seasons, an update on the progress of the solar calendar project, and to watch the setting of the solstice sun. 642-3375 

Free Anonymous HIV Testing 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available. Call 642-7202 

Environmental Musicfest  

8 p.m. 

La Pena  

3105 Shattuck Ave.  

Alicia Littletree and Timothy Hull, both known for commitment to social and environmental issues, perform.  

$5 - $7  

Call 415-927-1645 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

528-6983 for details 

Friday, Dec. 22

Music in the Streets 

5 - 7 p.m. 

Strolling through downtown  

Berkeley Community Chamber Chorus & These “R” They Gospel Youth Choir 

Holiday Celebration 

Noon 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Includes a holiday meal and an opera, “Kiri’s Coventry Xmas.”  

Call 644-6107 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Saturday, Dec. 23

Farmers’ Market Craft Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

(Center at MLK Jr. Way) 

Local craftspeople will be selling a variety of handcrafted gifts. Also live music, massage, and hot apple cider. Free 

Call 548-3333 

Royal Hawaiian Ukulele Band 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

1561 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Berkeley Farmers’ MarketNinth Annual Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

Klesmeh! Festival  

8 p.m.  

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts  

2640 College Ave.  

A Hanukkah concert of Klesmer music and its mutations, featuring the San Francisco Klesmer experience. Hosted by Berkeley monologist/comedian Josh Kornbluth.  

$18 advance, $20 door; $16 kids and seniors Call 415-454-5238 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph. 528-6983 for details 

Sunday, Dec. 24

Ancient Winds 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1573 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Tuesday, Dec. 26

Kwanzaa! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

Join storyteller Awele Makeba as she shares tale and a capella songs from African and African-American history, culture, and folklore which celebrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Included with admission to the museum. $7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 Call 642-5132 

Blood Pressure Testing 

9:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Alice Meyers 

Call 644-6107 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Dec. 27 

Magic Mike 

Noon and 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Special effects, magic, juggling, ventriloquism, and outrageous comedy is what Parent’s Choice Award winner Magic Mike is all about. Included in price of museum admission. $7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 Call 642-5132 

Tai Chi Chuan for Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) Call 644-6107 

Thursday, Dec. 28

Season of Lights  

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

The Imagination Company brings to life world winter celebrations and highlights the significance of light to several culture. Included in museum admission price. $7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Imani In the Village 

2 p.m. 

Claremont Library 

2940 Benvenue  

Percussionist James Henry presents a drumming and dance program for all ages. Audience participation invited. Call 649-3943 

Death of the Lecturer 

7 p.m. 

West Branch Library 

1125 University Ave.  

Calling all detectives, those who enjoy reading mysteries, playing Clue, and solving crossword puzzles to untangle the reason for the final fate confrontation. 649-3926 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Friday, Dec. 29

Earthcapades 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join Hearty and Lissin as they blend storytelling, juggling, acrobatics, and more, to entertain and teach about saving the environment. Included in museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Saturday, Dec. 30

Bats of the World  

1 & 2:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Maggie Hooper, an educator with the California Bat Conservation Fund, will show slides, introduce three live, tame, and indigenous bats, and answer your questions about these fascinating creatures. Included in admission to the museum. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Kwanzaa Celebration 

4 p.m. 

South Branch Library  

1901 Russell St.  

Muriel Johnson of Abiyomi Storytelling is the featured storyteller at the library’s annual celebration which also includes a formal Kwanzaa ceremony.  

Call 649-3943 

Sunday, Dec. 31

Light Up the Lights! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Popular songmeister Gary Lapow performs traditional holiday music from around the world. Included in price of museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Compiled by Chason Wainwright 

When eligible voters do not participate, what do you expect? 

Editor: 

We have just witnessed an audacious demonstration of partisan politics on the part of the U.S. Supreme court, the Florida legislature, their Secretary of State and the Republican party at large. This abuse of democratic principle did not, however, develop in a vacuum.  

Had there been a healthy participation in the process by most eligible voters it would have been very unlikely that these political power brokers could have gotten away with what they did.  

This kind of cancerous exploitation of the body politique is made possible by the anticipation of voter apathy and the endemic complacency that characterizes modern American politics.  

Does anyone really believe with a voter turnout of 80-90 percent that we would have what is essentially a tie in Florida? Or, that the Republicans could fly their legislative and judicial hypocrisy in the face of an involved and informed voting public? Or that Ralph Nader, the only candidate who generated any real passion, could be kept out of the national television debates by a commission cynically created by and for the two major parties? 

As long as 50 percent of the eligible voters sit on their hands in supercilious relation to their responsibilities as citizens of a democracy, we are inviting these kinds of outrages and insults to the integrity of the process we supposedly esteem.  

There was no excuse for not voting in this election. A wide range of choices across the political spectrum was on that ballot. Moreover, there are always local elections, bond issues and initiatives to consider.  

People forget that young men got their guts blown up on the beaches of Normandie and elsewhere so as to protect our  

right to vote and have that  

vote counted. 

Those of us who are too busy or cynical to bother educating ourselves and spending a few hours each year making reasoned decisions on who shall lead us and how our lives should be governed don't deserve to live in a country based on these values.  

Eligible nonvoters should be fined and if still unconvinced, deported to a country where they DO THE VOTING FOR YOU! 

Freedom is part and parcel of the ethos of our country. But the freedom to do nothing is not part of that social-political contract. It's time to send these holier than thou parasites a strong message: Take your smug, self-satisfied complacency....elsewhere. 

Marcus O'Realius 

Oakland

Riding a three-game winning streak, Cal hopes to maintain its momentum when the Bears meet Georgia in the fourth annual Pete Newell Challenge Thursday, Dec. 21. Cal is also a perfect 3-0 in previous Challenges, with wins over BYU (68-64 in 1998), North Carolina (78-71 in ’99) and Gonzaga (72-64 in ’00).  

However, the Bears must overcome the effects of a 10-day layoff for final exams before facing the Bulldogs. Earlier this season, Cal had a 14-day break between games (from Nov. 15-29) and came back with a pair of losses on the road at Saint Louis and UC Irvine.  

This time, though, the Bears are essentially at home at the Oakland Arena, where they have won 17 of their past 20 games. In addition, Cal is playing its best basketball of the young season. The Bears held high-scoring Colorado to more than 31 points below its season average in a 75-63 win Dec. 9. Cal then shot a season-high 50.8 percent from the floor in a 95-61 victory over Albany two days later.  

Individually, senior forward Sean Lampley continues to pace the team in both scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg). He has reached double figures in points six times in seven games to move up to 13th on Cal’s career scoring chart (1,283 points). In addition, Lampley has shot 53.5 percent from the floor in his last four games.  

The Bears are also getting strong inside play from centers Solomon Hughes and Nick Vander Laan. Hughes, who has come off the bench the last four games, leads the Pac-10 in field goal shooting at 71.9 percent and has scored at least 10 points in all four home games. Vander Laan ranks second to Lampley in rebounding with 6.9 per game and scored a season-high 12 points vs. Albany.  

On the outside, point guard Shantay Legans seems to have found his offensive rhythm, averaging 13.0 ppg and 5.0 apg his last two times out. During that span, he has made 50.0% of his field goal attempts, including 5-of-9 from three-point range.  

Cal’s best outside threat, though, is junior Ryan Forehan-Kelly, the Bears career leader in three-point percentage (44.3%). This season, Forehan-Kelly is 11-for-24 from behind the arc (45.8%) and is averaging 8.3 ppg. 

The Bulldogs (6-4) have won four of their last five games, but are coming off of a 75-57 loss to Wake Forest. They are led by guard D.A. Layne, their leading scorer at 16.3 points per game. Coach Jim Harrick’s team doesn’t have a true point guard, as Layne leads the team in assists with just 2.7 per game, but have three solid shotblockers in Shon Coleman, Anthony Evans and Robb Dryden. They will likely try to pound the ball inside against Hughes and Vander Laan, as Legans should be able to dominate in the matchup at point. 

No. 1 Duke will play No. 3 Stanford in the opening game of the Pete Newell Classic at 6 p.m.

As Californians wait for the energy crisis to send utility rates through the roof, the City Council is looking into the possibility of running its own electric company. 

On the recommendation of the Commission on Aging, the City Council adopted a resolution to have the Energy Commission thoroughly examine the possibility of the city becoming an electricity provider. The motion was approved by an 8-1 vote with Councilmember Polly Armstrong the only vote in opposition. 

Chairman Charlie Betcher said the Commission on Aging approved the recommendation largely because of concern for the city’s 20,000 seniors and disabled who live on fixed incomes. 

“These are people who will have to decide after paying rent each month whether to buy food or pay utilities,” Betcher said. 

The state declared a Stage two alert both Tuesday and Wednesday when power reserves dipped below 5 percent.  

PG &E reportedly will have to lay off employees and will absorb billions of dollars in losses. 

In the present environment, the Energy Commission will have to carefully consider the pros and cons of starting up an electric company. 

“It’s not clear if municipalization is the answer,” said Neal DeSnoo, secretary of the Energy Commission.  

“Whatever company is formed would have to purchase energy from the same wholesalers that existing utility companies do.” 

DeSnoo said Berkeley has an aging infrastructure of poles and wires and the cost of maintenance may eat up any potential cost savings. He said PG&E can spread out high maintenance costs in areas like Berkeley with lower costs from newly developed areas like Hercules.  

In their recommendation, the Commission on Aging referred to the City of Alameda and other municipalities, which run their own electric companies. But DeSnoo said they were formed a long time ago in an environment more favorable to municipal ownership.  

He said an example was the Federal Public Preference Program in which municipalities were given discounts on hydroelectricity produced in the northwest. 

“That program hasn’t existed in over 10 years,” he said.  

Crises in housing, health care and the environment are just a few of the issues stacked regularly on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors’ plates. 

Alice Lai-Bitker, appointed to the board Tuesday in a unanimous vote by the four board members, doesn’t flinch from the tasks ahead. 

“I’m ready to take the challenge and do the work,” she said Wednesday. 

As soon as she is sworn in, Lai-Bitker will take the place of former Supervisor Wilma Chan, D-Alameda, elected to the State Assembly seat formerly held by Green-turned- independent-turned-Democrat Audie Bock. Lai-Bitker worked as an assistant to Chan for six years. 

While Lai-Bitker does not directly represent Berkeley – Supervisor Keith Carson does – she says she will be an ally in addressing some of the issues Berkeley faces.  

One of her goals is to address the problem of the uninsured, people who earn too much money to receive MediCal, but who do not get adequate insurance benefits from their employers. 

Skyrocketing housing costs and rents that cause some to leave the county and others to go out on the streets is another issue Lai-Bitker plans to address. “Housing issues are not jurisdictional,” she said. 

She said she plans to work with Carson, especially on health care and housing issues. 

Carson said he is looking forward to working with the new supervisor, whose district includes parts of Oakland, San Leandro and Alameda. 

“She has been visible in the health committee meetings,” Carson said, adding that Lai-Bitker will work for solutions to the housing crisis.  

The greatest challenge Lai-Bitker might encounter, Carson said, “is that she’s “never been the policy maker.” But Carson, once an aide himself to former Rep. Ron Dellums, acknowledged that he had to go through the same learning curve when he was voted into office. 

Lai-Bitker, who was born in Hong Kong and emigrated as a graduate student to the Bay Area in 1983, will be the lone Asian on the board, as her predecessor was. “It’s good government when you have as many diverse voices at the decision-making table (as you can),” Carson said. 

The soon-to-be supervisor agrees. “It’s important to have that representation,” said Lai-Bitker whose volunteer efforts have included voter registration and education in the Asian community. 

Lai-Bitker lives in Alameda and is married to KCBS sportscaster Steve Bitker. She has two children 14 and 9. 

“I do not have the ambition of higher office,” Lai-Bitker said in her application to the supervisors for the post. “In fact, I am seeking the appointment only because I care about the district and the county, and I want to make a difference in people’s lives.” 

*** 

On Tuesday, in addition to voting Lai-Bitker into office, the supervisors declared an emergency in Alameda County housing. Some 200 people spoke in favor of adopting the state of emergency at the meeting, Carson said.  

Approving the resolution means setting “truly low-cost” housing high on the priority list for the supervisors, Carson said. 

The omnibus budget bill that passed Congress last week allocated $350,000 to improve the safety and security systems at Berkeley High School.  

Meanwhile, in Berkeley, administrators plod through the steps of bringing the project to fruition. 

The entire security system became the focal point of attention after several arson fires at Berkeley High School during the 1999-2000 school year. 

“Our City Council had been very concerned about how to keep students and staff alerted to emergency situations,” said Arrietta Chakos, the city manager’s chief of staff.  

Press releases from both Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, announcing the appropriation, mentioned the incidents of arson to indicate need for an improved safety and alarm system. 

The federal money will be used to improve the current intercom so that in case of an emergency the principal will be able to reach each classroom, said Karen Sarlo, public information officer for Berkeley Unified School District.  

“What we have right now is a working intercom system that goes from room to room and room to office,” said Leu Jones, manager of facilities planning for the school district. “What we don’t have are speakers that allow general announcements.”  

He said they also hoped to put speakers in the hallways. 

Chakos said the school district did estimates ahead of time for the cost of the system, so that the funding would be sufficient for the project.  

“What we’re likely to do is expand the existing intercom system we have, in which case (the federal money) may be enough to cover it,” Jones said. 

If they discover that they need to redo many parts of the system, the federal money may be supplemented by bond money, he said. 

The Office of the City Manager will administer the federal funds. “The whole effort was initiated by our City Council and our mayor, who wrote to congresswoman Lee and Senators Feinstein and Boxer,” said Chakos. “Their staff searched around for the appropriate funding vehicle.” She said that the process began in April, and those involved continued to send letters over the subsequent months. 

“Generally at the end of the legislative session they will roll bills together and pass them as one omnibus bill,” said Andrew Sousa, Lee’s press secretary. “It’s easier to pass one large bill.” 

Turning the federal grant into communication wires will not happen overnight.  

Jones said that figuring out the pieces needed will take between three and four months, and the bidding process for contractors will take another three months. 

Another portion of the security system, a camera surveillance project, has already been in the works for months. Sept. 6 the school board voted to install video cameras, which will tape footage to be reviewed in case of any incidents.  

In order for the project to begin, the school district must invite contractors to submit bids to provide materials and labor. The school district must then accept the lowest bidder meeting certain criteria. If a bidder for the cameras is found this go round and the school board approves the contract in January, “The contract can start the next day,” schools spokesperson Sarlo said. In earlier bidding periods, she said, no responsible bidder was found, slowing up the process.  

Today the bids for the surveillance project were opened: the two components of the contract, materials and labor, each received two bids. The bids ranged from $150,00 to $250,000, and Jones estimated that the entire project may cost approximately $400,000. 

Bond AA, which passed on Nov. 7, set aside $1.1 million for high school safety and communications systems. Money that doesn’t go to the surveillance cameras or intercom project – up to $700,000 – can be used for other purposes. 

“The security cameras are not covering everything on the campus. We might try to expand that,” said Jones, adding that they also might try new forms of communication, perhaps via television sets. “There’s a number of ways to approach it,” he said. 

Gerry Tenney encourages his audience to sing very high and “fancy” in a rendition of a song to teach vowels as part of a series of events the library is calling “A Season of Family Celebrations.” Tenney performed at the West Berkeley Public Library Wednesday afternoon. The last session in the series will be “Drumming and Dance” with percussionist James Henry at 2 p.m. Dec. 28 at the Claremont branch of the library at Benvenue and Ashby avenues.

OAKLAND— Conventional wisdom holds that the pre-Christmas rush can lead to depression, but one mental health expert says emotionally vulnerable people should pay closer attention to the calm after the storm. 

Richard Bee, a mental health professional at a Berkeley extension of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, says people may actually feel better, not worse, in the time leading up to December 25. 

“I feel there is a decrease (in depression) over Christmas because people get together with family. It's after Christmas that the bomb may drop so to speak,” he said. 

Bee is uniquely qualified to know the patterns of holiday depression. As admissions liaison for the Herrick Campus, a Berkeley psychiatric center owned by Alta Bates Summit, Bee serves as a preliminary go-between for the psychiatric center and patients, often determining who needs help and what kind. 

“In my experience we have more admissions over New Year’s than over Christmas,'' he said. 

Bee said deflated expectations of the holiday – reality checks such as family strife or wistfulness for more innocent times – is what can lead to Christmastime depression. But it's a feeling that tends to set in after the holiday is over, he said. 

Oakland psychiatrist Dr. Paul Guillory, whose office is located near the Summit hospitals, was not convinced that Christmas Day marked a cutoff for patterns of depression. He said such feelings arise during the whole season, not necessarily after Christmas is over.  

“I think the holidays in general can be both exciting to some people and more depressing to others,” he said. “It's more the season I think than Christmas Day itself.” 

Guillory agreed, however, on the cause of holiday depression. 

“There's certainly a lot of hype around Christmas that some people don't feel.” 

He said while this is a shared experience during the holidays, some people are more susceptible to clinical depression due to past experiences, chemical predisposition, or other factors. 

EMERYVILLE — Assemblymember Dion Aroner, D-Oakland/Berkeley, has scheduled meetings with Alameda County Superintendent Shiela Jordan and State Superintendent Delaine Eastin to discuss the financial status of the Emeryville School District. 

In a report released last night at the Emery Board of Education meeting, it was revealed that the school district is nearly $2 million in debt. This potentially triggers a state takeover of the troubled school district. 

“The district is clearly in trouble and needs some assistance,” said Aroner.  

“It is going to be very difficult for them to pay their bills and employees without some help from the state. I plan on meeting with Superintendent Jordan and Superintendent Eastin today to discuss options.  

“However, at the level of assistance we are talking about, the state is probably the only one who can afford to help us.” 

Aroner plans to introduce legislation to help bail out the district and to create a new system of checks and balances for superintendents. Emery Unified School District recently changed superintendents after the former superintendent, J.L. Handy resigned amidst allegations of financial mismanagement. Handy left the Compton School District $5 million in debt before taking over Emeryville's schools in 1993. The Emery Unified School District now may have to endure the same fate that faced Compton; the prospect of having a state administrator step in and manage the school district. 

OAKLAND — A woman who murdered her sister and impersonated her in public after stuffing her dismembered body in a freezer was sentenced Tuesday to life without parole. 

Sarah Mitchell, 50, of Oakland, was found guilty Nov. 21 of murdering her sister, Stevie Allman, a 52-year-old anti-drug crusader. 

The Alameda County jury spent more than three days in deliberations before returning the verdict against Mitchell, who was charged with murder with the special circumstance of financial gain. 

Prosecutors had requested the death penalty, but Deputy District Attorney Terry Wiley said he respected the jury’s decision. 

Wiley had argued that Mitchell’s plan was to impersonate her sister to withdraw money from her trust accounts. 

In the summer of 1997, Mitchell began posing as Allman. When the home they shared burned down, Mitchell claimed they had been the victims of a firebombing and blamed it on disgruntled drug dealers. 

Mitchell fooled others and received $3,600 in sympathy checks. Then-Gov. Pete Wilson offered a $50,000 reward for information in the case. 

Police soon discovered Allman was really Mitchell. Then, on July 16 of that year, they found Allman’s body. She had been murdered, dismembered and stuffed into a freezer sealed with duct tape in the ruins of her home. 

SACRAMENTO — In education offices around the state, brightly colored textbooks with bunnies and tigers on the front promise to help California teachers make their students math whizzes. 

Despite their cute look, the shiny new books are supposed to teach serious math – not the “fuzzy math” that the state rejected in 1997. 

The state Board of Education next month decides which of 23 sets of books should make the approved list of textbooks that local districts can buy with state money. 

They are the first books for elementary and middle schools aimed at complying with California’s tough 1997 skills-based math standards that specify what children in each grade should master. The books, produced by 15 publishers, are on public display through Jan. 8 in 24 county education offices. 

The state board’s Jan. 10 vote is one of the final steps in a process to toughen California schools that began in the mid-1990s as a response to sagging test scores. 

Teachers can use the new books to prepare students for the challenge of algebra, now taken by fewer than two-thirds of California students. Today’s ninth-graders will have to complete algebra and pass a new high school exit test that includes algebra to graduate. 

That formula is reflected in recommendations by the board’s 16-member Curriculum Commission, the final of four advisory committees of math experts, teachers and community members that have spent 18 months reviewing the books. 

The commission recommends that the board approve 12 of the textbook sets. It also recommends for eighth grade three sets of algebra books by two publishers. 

Using state funds that have greatly increased in the last two years, teachers in California’s nearly 1,000 districts who have tried to meet the standards with old materials will now have brand-new books. 

“It means the children will have available to them textbooks that represent our rigorous standards,” says Kerry Mazzoni, Gov. Gray Davis’ education secretary. 

Mazzoni says teachers and schools have complained that the state judges them on student test performance without supplying “the kind of textbooks they needed to provide the kind of education we expect for our children in California.” 

For the publishers, ranging from industry giants to small new companies, a spot on California’s list means a piece of the nation’s largest market – its 8,000 schools, six million children and a state book budget of $780 million this year. 

No one knows how many of the pre-standards “fuzzy math” books, from the state’s 1994 list, are still in classrooms. 

“It’s a patchwork, even within districts, even within schools,” says David Klein, a mathematics professor at California State University, Northridge. 

“Replacing abysmal books with high-quality books should significantly benefit California’s children,” says Michael McKeown of Mathematically Correct, a national group started in San Diego and that lobbies for skills-based math teaching. 

When the state adopted the standards in 1997, the battle was between advocates of traditional, back-to-basics math instruction and proponents of math reasoning, which uses group instruction and calculators and aims at deeper understanding. The basics, skills-based side won. 

Klein says the math reasoning system encouraged students to “invent arithmetic all by themselves” in groups with calculators. 

“You end up not learning a lot of arithmetic and there’s a big crash in high school and college, if they get that far,” he says. 

“California led the U.S. in first adopting the latest fad,” says McKeown, also a professor of medical science at Brown University. “Luckily, California has been one of the first to come to its senses.” 

Ruth Cossey, president of the California Mathematics Council, whose 10,000 members are math educators from preschool through college, agrees that it’s critical teachers and students have current materials. 

However, she says other books not on the list could also help students improve their math. 

“Some were never submitted because they did not think they would get a fair hearing,” says Cossey, also a professor of math education at Mills College in Oakland. 

ON THE NET 

Find an office where you can view the books  

through Jan. 8 at:  

www.cde.ca.gov/cilbranch/eltdiv/lrdc.htm 

Read the math standards at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/board/pdf/math.pdf 

Read about mathematics instruction at 

http://mathematicallycorrect.com 

http://cmc-math.org 

WASHINGTON — The on-again, off-again mission to faraway Pluto may be a go if NASA can do it on the cheap and without imposing long delays on a planned exploration of one of Jupiter’s moons. 

Ed Weiler, the chief of space science, announced Wednesday that the agency was seeking proposals that would make it possible to send a robot craft to Pluto before the most distant of solar system planets sweeps out of reach. 

A launch planned in 2004 to Pluto, the only planet not yet visited by a robot probe, was  

canceled in June when costs  

spiraled. 

Weiler said at the time that rising expenses for the Pluto-Kuiper Express were threatening the schedule for a higher-priority mission: sending a probe to Europa, a Jupiter moon that may harbor an ocean and possibly life. 

The costs of the Europa and Pluto missions had risen from $650 million to $1.5 billion, said Weiler, who acted to stay within budget and preserve the Europa mission. 

The decision prompted protests from space-oriented organizations such as the Planetary Society and the American Astronomical Society. 

Planetary scientists were concerned that the opportunity to explore Pluto would be lost for years. Reaching Pluto with current technology requires a spacecraft to first pass by Jupiter, picking up speed with a gravitational boost.  

After 2006, Pluto will move out of alignment for such a boost from Jupiter and the opportunity for a Pluto mission could be lost for about 20 years. 

Under the new plan, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is soliciting proposals for a cheaper Pluto mission that would have only a modest impact on the Europa mission launch plans. A delay of the Europa mission to 2008 would be acceptable, Weiler said, but not much beyond that. The Europa mission has a high interest and support because early studies suggests that the Jovian moon has an ice-capped ocean.  

Some scientists believe that if this is true, then there is a possibility life may exist there.  

The search for life beyond the Earth is one of NASA’s highest priorities.  

Weiler said NASA will accept Pluto mission proposals from any organization, including universities, aerospace companies and even NASA centers, such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which was in charge of the canceled Pluto mission. 

“We’ll leave it to the best minds in the country to determine the mission,” he said. “We are trying to cast the net wide to see what ideas are out there.” 

Weiler said NASA is open to considering any “viable option” but is not committed to a Pluto mission. 

At least two of the proposals, which are due March 19, will be picked in May for more study. If NASA concludes a Pluto mission is possible, the announcement will be made next fall, Weiler said. 

The proposals require that a spacecraft, with specific scientific and imaging capabilities, reach Pluto by 2015 and cost no more than $500 million. 

“We are gratified that NASA is trying to restore the Pluto mission to its launch schedule,” Louis Friedman, director of the Planetary Society, said in a statement. 

He said both the Europa and Pluto missions are “essential steps in exploring our planetary environment” and NASA “must find a way to launch missions to both worlds in the next eight years.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Pluto-Kuiper Express site: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ice—fire//pkexprss.htm 

Europa Orbiter site: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ice—fire//europao.htm 

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson on Wednesday extended for a week an order requiring Western generators to sell electricity to power-strapped California. 

Richardson, who supports a  

regionwide cap on wholesale electricity prices, also urged Western governors to work together to solve problems that have created power shortages in California and tripled prices for some consumers. 

Richardson met with five governors at an emergency meeting of the Western Governors Association. 

The five, some of whom were skeptical of the price cap, called for several specific steps to help alleviate the problems, starting with major conservation efforts in California and other western states. 

In addition, they asked President-elect Bush to create a team to work with the governors, while he is forming his Cabinet. 

They also asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to investigate the cause of California’s skyrocketing electricity prices, who benefits from the prices and whether any generating capacity has been withheld. 

FERC Chairman Jim Hoecker said he anticipated that information could be given to the governors within several weeks. “We have audit  

teams looking at this market as we speak,” he said. 

Hoecker also speculated that a regional price cap would not be much help. 

“Nationally, we have not improved our infrastructure enough to meet demands,” Hoecker said. 

The governors at the meeting represented Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. California Gov. Gray Davis did not attend, staying home to address the crisis. 

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber supported the proposed cap. 

“Naively, perhaps, those of us in the Northwest thought ourselves immune to power shortages, but the energy emergency that started this summer continues and threatens to engulf the entire West,” Kitzhaber said. 

Last week, Richardson issued an emergency order forcing 75 Western generators to supply electricity to California. The producers had been reluctant to supply power because they were concerned about receiving payment from California’s two largest utilities, both of which are in financial trouble. The order expired at midnight Wednesday, when the extension went into effect. 

FERC approved a flexible rate cap of $150 per megawatt hour that allows suppliers to charge more if they can prove a higher price is warranted. Davis and California’s major power utilities ridiculed the flexible cap as ineffective. 

Davis wants a firm regional price cap of $100 per megawatt hour, a concept that appears to be winning favor among some Western states worried that California’s energy problems could spread. 

Wholesale electricity prices peaked at $1,400 per megawatt hour this month in California after a $250 per megawatt hour price cap was dropped. 

The California-only price cap exacerbated the state’s energy shortage because suppliers stepped up their sales to other Western states willing to pay higher rates. 

Energy suppliers, who have been raking in record profits, fiercely oppose price caps. They warn that restrictions could hurt California in the long run by discouraging construction of new power plants. 

California’s two biggest utilities, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric, have accumulated more than $8 billion in debt buying high-priced electricity they must resell to households and businesses at dramatically lower prices under a 3-year-old rate freeze. 

STAGE TWO ALERT 

The Independent System Operator, the group that oversees the transmission lines that handle about 80 percent of California’s electricity, declared a Stage Two alert shortly after 2 p.m. 

The action, intensifying an alert issued earlier in the day, means that reserves dipped to below 5 percent. 

The ISO said the Stage Two alert would remain in effect until midnight.  

Peak electricity usage was expected in the early evening, at 33,720 megawatts. One megawatt is enough electricity to power 1,000 homes. 

On the Net: 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: http://www.ferc.gov 

Western Governors Association: http://www.westgov.org 

SACRAMENTO — Connecting Southern California, where power plants are humming along, and Northern California, which confronts a dwindling supply, is a congested transmission system known as Path 15. 

Located south of Los Banos and running to Harris Ranch, the 80 miles of 500,000-volt lines cut through largely rural areas. For weeks, the line has been operating at its peak capacity, pushing 3,000 megawatts north. 

When a line at the south end of Path 15 went out of service Tuesday, it immediately prompted the state to declare a power alert. Soon after, the Independent System Operator invoked a federal order requiring generators to sell power to California. 

The three major conduits moving power between north and south narrow to just two 500,000-volt lines at Path 15. In past days, when Northern California has been strapped for energy, plants in the south that have available power weren’t able to move it up the bottlenecked lines. 

The Path 15 transmission lines are “in overload mode and have been for several weeks and will be until spring” when the demand for electricity typically decreases, said Kellan Fluckiger, the ISO’s chief operating officer. 

It’s not a new problem, he said. The lines move power north when the Northwest turns generators down to conserve water — typically overnight. Power runs south on Path 15 during hot summer months, when generators in the cooler Northwest have plenty to export. 

“The problem managing Path 15 have gotten larger, larger, larger until this year,” Fluckiger said. “What’s needed is the addition of a third 500,000-volt line. It’s like a bottleneck.” 

But getting new transmission lines approved is a lengthy and expensive process. The lines cross county and city boundaries and over private property — but not without permission from each party. Between siting, permits and environmental paperwork, it takes five to seven years to build a line. 

And they don’t come cheap. Another 500,000-volt line could cost Pacific Gas & Electric Co. around $200 million, said Jeff Butler, PG&E vice president of operations. 

The utility evaluated the need to expand Path 15 in 1998, but determined it didn’t make sense, said Rod Maslowski, PG&E director of electric system operations. 

That’s because generators are already planned for Northern California, so customers wouldn’t need to import energy from the state’s south along Path 15. 

“If there was a significant amount of generation online today or built in Northern California,” Maslowski said, “that additional 500,000-volt line would quickly be of little use.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

California Energy Commission: http://www.energy.ca.gov/ 

SACRAMENTO — About 400,000 people, half of them in California, could get immigration amnesty they were previously denied under a bill awaiting President Clinton’s signature. 

The bill is an attempt to end a long legal battle. 

The bill “resolves most of the ultimate issues, but the courts still have to protect class members from deportation and joblessness pending the start-up of the (late-amnesty) application process,” said Carlos Holgein, an attorney with the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. 

The Los Angeles-based group has represented the immigrants through what one federal appellate judge termed  

“a long and unhappy history” of  

overlapping lawsuits. 

The new legislation, passed as part of a budget package last week, follows the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which permitted illegal immigrants who’d been in the United States continuously since at least Jan. 1, 1982, to seek amnesty. 

Nearly 2.7 million immigrants obtained amnesty under that law. Many others, though, were denied, including those who’d traveled briefly outside the United States. 

“The INS interpreted the law excessively strictly,” said Cecilia Munoz, of the National Council of La Raza. “They were telling people they were ineligible when they weren’t.” 

Lawsuits challenged the denials. Federal courts ordered the INS to grant work authorizations to those who were part of the class-action suits. This permitted the immigrants to work legally while waiting for final court decisions. It also prompted an unhappy Congress in 1996 to essentially strip federal courts of their jurisdiction. 

Now, Congress has given members of the class-action suits another shot at their amnesty applications. Immigrants must demonstrate they entered the United States before 1982. The American Immigration Lawyers Association estimates that 150,000 plaintiffs might be able to provide the necessary proof. 

“We may take a lenient attitude,” Don Riding, officer in charge of the Fresno-based Immigration and Naturalization Service office, said Monday, “but we’re still going to ask that they prove that they were here before 1982.” 

In the Central Valley from Stockton to Yuba City, 30,000 to 50,000 people could benefit from late amnesty, estimated Salvador Santillan, director of the California Hispanic Resource Council in Sacramento. 

Most of the potential beneficiaries are Mexican natives, and large numbers of people from Central America and Asia may also have reason to celebrate, he said. 

The late-amnesty provision is one of three major immigration measures soon to gain Clinton’s signature. 

Another establishes a new visa program to clear up some of the backlog of spouses and children of legal U.S. residents. The third extends for four months a program enabling certain immigrants to pay a $1,000 fine instead of having to leave the country before obtaining permanent U.S. residency.

NEW YORK — Investors’ hopes for a happy end to Wall Street’s most dismal year in a decade are vanishing in a seemingly unending string of stock selloffs. 

With an interest rate cut now ruled out until January, the market isn’t likely to find a catalyst for a sustainable rally until early 2001, many experts believe. 

“We’re talking bounces if anything, not a rally,” said Richard Dickson, a technical analyst with Scott & Stringfellow Inc. “It’s going to take a long time, in my opinion, to repair the psychological damage that is being done and has been done to tech stocks.” 

That’s not to say the stock averages won’t move higher during the six remaining trading days in 2000, when low volume of trading around the holidays can exaggerate gains or losses. 

It just means that short of a miracle, 2000 is slated to be the worst-ever year for the 29-year-old Nasdaq composite index. The technology-focused gauge is down more than 50 percent from its high for the year. 

The Dow Jones industrials, down 13 percent from its year-high, and S&P 500, off more than 18 percent, are also suffering. 

This week’s spectacular selloffs, including the Nasdaq’s seventh consecutive decline on Wednesday, haven’t helped – although they may make it likely the market will have to snap back at least a little bit. 

“The way the market’s going down, I’d say we should see a bump up. But will it go down again? That’s still the question,” said Yale Hirsch, author of the Stock Trader’s Almanac, who believes the market is so oversold and stock prices so low that it may be especially attractive to bargain hunters and other buyers. 

Most market observers say it will take an interest rate cut from the Fed to turn the stock market around. The Fed doesn’t meet until Jan. 30-31, and any action before then would be extraordinary. A couple of other January events could also prove key. 

Fourth-quarter earnings are due in the middle of the month. Warnings from some companies about those numbers have pushed stock prices lower, but the market could still react negatively to the actual results. 

“My sense is that maybe if you can meet your fourth-quarter numbers, we’ll be OK,” said Nick Sargen, a market strategist for J.P. Morgan. 

There’s also the market’s tendency to rise at the beginning of January as the previous tax year ends and investors stop selling stocks for tax purposes. 

But nothing is a sure thing. 

Although the consensus is that the Fed will lower interest rates at the end of January, Sargen worries that Wall Street will get ahead of itself, and rally on overoptimistic expectations. That’s what happened this week, when the Fed didn’t cut rates as the market had hoped, and instead just tilted toward cutting rates in the future. 

“Will the market have worked itself into a frenzy so that if the Fed cuts 25 basis points (0.25 percent) instead of 50 basis points it won’t be enough?” he said. “Nobody knows.” 

For investors, 2000 has been less about stock market theories and more about destruction. 

Although a few non-tech stocks have had spectacular returns this year – Boeing and Phillip Morris, for example, have more than doubled from their 52-week lows – most investors will be poorer this New Year’s Eve than they were in 1999. 

It’s a big change after five years of some of the strongest stock returns ever, but Pat Borchers, an office manager in Minneapolis, is keeping it in perspective. 

“It’s been a horrible year as far as the techs have been concerned and for stocks in general. The economy has definitely turned down a little bit,” she said. Her investment club hasn’t given up buying stocks, though. “We’ve bought Cisco three times now and it keeps going down. But I do think over the long-term it will do fine. Just now, it’s a little painful.”

NEW YORK — Christmas came early for investors in 2000. It came in March, as a matter of fact. Stocks were rising, confidence was soaring, homebuilders and carmakers couldn’t keep up with the demand. 

People exuded the spirit of the season. No gift for the family was too expensive – a cruise, a vacation house, trip to a theme park, a week of skiing – and you could always borrow the money and pay back later. 

What a wonderful discovery the wealth effect was. You didn’t have to worry about your future because your stocks and your home equity were making you richer every day in spite of your efforts to spend more. 

You could feel the vibrations of exuberance, of confidence in the future. Confidence breeds confidence, it was explained, just as a rapidly rising stock generates even more momentum. The evidence was there. 

The experts agreed: Materialism was great, even if occasionally it might mean overlooking a minor value or two. At no time in recent economic history were more experts giving their expert opinion that the economy would continue to boom, stocks rise and inflation behave. 

You really couldn’t blame Santa Claus for misreading the calendar. Besides, people were telling him that Christmas wasn’t just for December anymore. Get with it, they told him, this is new new Millennium. 

Just then, as ordinary people and experts prepared for a summer of fun, the cold winds of reality swept down upon the marketplace and stripped away its pretentions and revealed it as a pompous phony. 

The reality is still hard to grasp – the Nasdaq is down about 50 percent from its March high, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 is off by 15 percent or so. 

The housing price rise has slowed, cars are being cleared from lots by discounts and rebates, inflation has infected some areas of the economy, dot-coms are failing, consumer confidence is down four straight months. 

More subtly, the economic commentary that never ends, only recently illustrated with positive observations and opinions, is now filled with negative items, making things appear even worse than they are. 

There is no recession, but there are plenty of forecasts of such. The New Economy still exists, but you might have the impression is has gone puff. Jobs are still plentiful, and wages and benefits are actually creeping up. Though weakening, profits are still being made. 

You don’t have to look hard to find comments about getting coal in your stocking, but if you do look hard you can spy the glimmer of gold in the future. Confidence may be down, but it can quickly rebound. 

A great deal of what’s wrong about the economy has been made right, even if not totally. If need be, Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve grinch, may turn gracious and inject new vitality into the economy. 

The slowdown could worsen, but it isn’t yet at recession level; the expansion continues, but at a slower rate. Americans are more realistic and smarter about possibilities than they were in March. 

And they are likely to be far more inclined to do their homework, understand their own finances, and assume personal responsibility instead of taking the word of those whose shingle declares they are “expert.” 

Reality beats the dreamworld at Christmas, when hopes converge with the emergence of a new day. 

John Cunniff is a business writer for The Associated Press.

NEW YORK — Fears about a harsh economic slowdown and continuing weakness in corporate earnings sent stocks sliding Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrials giving up more than 260 points and the Nasdaq hitting another low for the year. 

Disappointed that the Federal Reserve declined to lower interest rates Tuesday and scared that the Fed has acknowledged the economy may be slowing too much and too fast, investors dumped both high-tech shares and blue chips. 

“Investors are seeing a confirmation from the Fed that the economy is very weak and that earnings are going to be pretty poor and that assistance from the Fed is not going to be right away,” said A.C. Moore, chief investment strategist for Dunvegan Associates in Santa Barbara, Calif. 

President-elect George W. Bush’s appointment of Alcoa chairman Paul O’Neill as the new treasury secretary seemed to hold little sway with investors, analysts said. 

Stocks have been heading lower since around Labor Day, as investors have sold off stocks – mainly in the high-tech sector – based on fears that profits would be further pinched by an economic slowdown, high interest rates and decreased consumer confidence. Meanwhile, a litany of companies have warned that future earnings would indeed be disappointing. 

“We’ve actually had a crash over the last few weeks, not a one-day crash,” said Ricky Harrington, a technical analyst for Wachovia Securities. “I think we are getting close to a short-term bottom, the beginning of a technical rebound.” 

— The Associated Press 

Typical year-end tax-loss selling compounded Wednesday’s drop in the market, analysts said. 

But with the year almost over and with most stocks at bargain basement prices, “we are very close to a start of a spectacular January rally,” Harrington said. 

A rally early next year likely will be concentrated among tech stocks, which have plummeted from premium prices, Harrington said. Blue chips haven’t been hit as hard, because investors have been redirecting their tech investments into shares of popular consumer brands, drug makers and financial companies. 

Another analyst predicted investors could abandon their Scrooge-like way of selling to bid stocks up later this week. 

“The rally starts very soon,” said Larry Rice, chief investment officer at Josephthal & Co. “We are ridiculously oversold.” 

Still, most analysts believe the any upcoming rally will be a short rebound and that the market will remain bearish through the first quarter. 

Wednesday’s high-tech losers included Cisco Systems, which skidded $5.25 to close at $36.50 in extremely heavy trading after Merrill Lynch cut its rating on the network equipment maker. 

Other tech stocks brought the Dow lower. Computer makers Hewlett-Packard and IBM, which slumped after Merrill Lynch also downgraded those stocks. Hewlett-Packard fell 88 cents to $30.44, and IBM tumbled $4.13 to $86. 

But the Dow’s losses were practically across the board. General Motors fell $1.88 to $50, and AT&T lost $1.63, closing at $18.94 before warning that fourth-quarter earnings will fall short of expectations. 

Retail stocks, battered by declining consumer confidence and a lackluster holiday shopping season, posted more losses. Despite faring better than most competitors, Target fell 56 cents to $28.19. Home Depot, which is a Dow industrial, slipped $1.50 to $41.13. 

But drug makers gained ground. Merck rose $1.88 to $93.38, and Johnson & Johnson climbed $1.44 to $100.63. 

The Commerce Department reported earlier that housing construction rose 2.2 percent in November, the biggest jump in nine months. But builders — like investors — are worried that a slowing economy will crimp their business. 

Declining issues outpaced advancers slightly more than 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange where consolidated volume was 1.74 billion shares, ahead of the 1.59 billion on Tuesday. 

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the performance of smaller companies, fell 14.98 to 443.80. 

Overseas markets also were lower. Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 1.5 percent, and Germany’s DAX index tumbled 3.6 percent. Britain’s FT-SE 100 lost 1.9 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 3.2 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com 

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com 

Berkeley Liberation Radio won’t be affected by the recent Congressional legislation limiting the number of licenses available to micro-radio stations throughout the country. It couldn’t get a license if it tried.  

“Our response is that we’re going to continue doing what we’re doing and that is broadcasting without a license,” said Paul Griffin, who trains DJ’s for the micro-radio station in west Berkeley.  

The Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000 was adopted by the U.S. Senate Friday – having earlier passed in the House of Representatives – as a rider to a larger budget bill. It countermands a proposal from the Federal Communications Commission to grant licenses to micro-radio stations providing local service to their communities at low-level power.  

The FCC proposal would have granted licenses to stations operating six dial points in either direction away from a current station. 

Alan Korn, lawyer for the National Lawyers Guild, Center for Democratic Communications, said that no spots would have been available in the Bay Area under these guidelines, because the airwaves are already packed; nationally, however, 1,000 new stations could have gotten licensed. 

The new congressional legislation only allows licenses to be granted to stations eight dial points away from  

existing stations on either side. And very few locations such as that exist, “so it will only be available in rural areas,” said Korn. He said now only about 70 spots will be available nationally. 

The new law decreasing the potential number of licensed micro-radio stations may produce the opposite effect. “You’re just going to have more unregulated pissed off pirate broadcasters. I think this is going to come back and hurt the broadcasters,” said Korn. 

The DJ’s of Berkeley’s Liberation Radio expressed those same sentiments. 

“We basically have explored every possible avenue of redress to somehow bring some balance back to the way the airways are used in this country,” said Griffin.  

“We’ve gone through the courts, the legislative process, the FCC, and the direct action campaign of electronic civil disobedience – people going ahead without sanction or approval from the government and putting up broadcast stations to serve their respective communities.” he said. “That is the only avenue left to us and it’s the most effective.” 

Berkeley has a long history with micro radio. One long-standing legal challenge to the micro-radio laws comes from Stephen Dunifer, founder of Free Radio Berkeley.  

“When Free Radio Berkeley itself went on the air it soon came to the attention of the FCC,” he said. “We began our legal entanglement with FCC at that point, so we took our equipment up the hills on Sunday nights.”  

After the court granted an injunction against Free Radio Berkeley, Berkeley Liberation Radio took its place, with 50 DJ’s, and as many different programs, including a show specifically focused on the trade embargo with Cuba, a Food Not Bombs radio show, and a family show on parenting. Thus far, Liberation Radio has avoided serious problems with the FCC.  

“Usually the FCC responds to complaints. We do try to be good neighbors on the dial and not interfere,” Liberation Radio’s Griffen said. “We’re trying to be a service to the community.” 

But DJ’s at the station professed their desire to keep broadcasting even if they are targeted by the government.  

“If each individual DJ had a transmitter he could broadcast for a half hour in some place that takes (the federal marshals) a half hour to get to,” said Greg Getty, who DJ’s the Mouse Report.  

The micro radio issue’s move out of the FCC and into the congressional halls may have unexpected benefits. 

“We’re trying to figure out what’s going to happen with people who’ve already applied to the FCC (for licenses); they may have some legal rights.,” said Peter Franck, lawyer for the Center for Democratic communications.  

Korn said that in California over 800 groups applied for licenses, including church groups, libraries, farm workers, and government agencies. 

Prior to the issuing of licenses, micro radio broadcasters had little legal resources because the state could fall back on the argument that the complainant didn’t apply for licenses, even though licenses weren’t available. Now people who did apply for licenses may stand on firmer ground, he said.  

And challenges can be directed against the congressional law at the district court level, while challenges to the FCC would have had to be reviewed in the federal court of appeals. Making a challenge at the district level is both less difficult, and less expensive, said Franck.  

He said that the lawyers will be deciding in the next few weeks whether or not to bring suit against the government, depending on both the desires of complainants and whether challenges have a reasonable chance of success. 

Tuesday, Dec. 19

Planning for the Future 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose) 

Informally led by Robert Berend, former UC Extension lecturer, this group aims to have intelligent discussions on a wide range of topics. They stress that there is no religious bent to the discussions and that all viewpoints are welcome. Bring light snacks to share with group.  

Call Robert Berend, 527-5332  

Children’s Holiday Gift Drive  

2 - 6 p.m. 

1708-B Martin Luther King Jr. Way (at Virginia) 

Donate new games, puzzles, coats, books, and toys for younger children. Donate phone cards, movie passes, gift certificates, and new clothes for teens. This is the last day of the gift drive.  

Call 848-3409 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 531-8664 

Get Flabbergasted  

2 p.m. 

South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St.  

Zun Zun, a husband and wife duo will perform musical theater for children and families. Free  

Call 649-3943 

Hansel and Gretel  

7 p.m. 

North Branch Library 

1170 The Alameda 

Oakland’s Opera Piccola will perform their version of “Hansel and Gretel.” Geared for preschoolers.  

Call 649-3943 

Wednesday, Dec. 20

Berkeley Communicators  

Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Family Sing-Along 

2 p.m. 

South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St.  

Gerry Tenney, musician, teacher, and performer returns to the Berkeley Public Library.  

Call 649-3943 

Alzheimer’s & Dementia  

Support Group 

1:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Call 644-6107 

Support for Family & Friends 

Caring for Older Adults 

4 - 5:30 p.m. 

Alta Bates Medical Center 

2001 Dwight Way 

Fourth Floor, Room 4190 

A group focusing on the needs of older adults with serious medical problems, psychiatric illnesses, and/or substance abuse, and their caregivers.  

Call 802-1725 

Thursday, Dec. 21

 

Berkeley Metaphysic 

Toastmasters Club 

6:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. 

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysic come together at Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters. Meets first and third Thursdays each month. 

Call 869-2547 or 643-7645 

 

Workshop on seasons 

3:45 p.m. 

Cesar Chavez Park: on the high ground overlooking the bay, about 300 yards south of Spinnaker road 

An informal workshop on the astronomical reasons for the seasons, an update on the progress of the solar calendar project, and to watch the setting of the solstice sun. 642-3375 

 

Free Anonymous HIV Testing 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available.  

Call 642-7202 

 

Environmental Musicfest  

8 p.m. 

La Pena  

3105 Shattuck Ave.  

Alicia Littletree and Timothy Hull, both known for commitment to social and environmental issues, perform.  

$5 - $7  

Call 415-927-1645 

 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

 

---

Friday, Dec. 22

Music in the Streets 

5 - 7 p.m. 

Strolling through downtown  

Berkeley 

Berkeley Community Chamber Chorus & These “R” They Gospel Youth Choir 

Holiday Celebration 

Noon 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Includes a holiday meal and an opera, “Kiri’s Coventry Xmas.”  

Call 644-6107 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Saturday, Dec. 23

Farmers’ Market Craft Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

(Center at MLK Jr. Way) 

Local craftspeople will be selling a variety of handcrafted gifts. Also live music, massage, and hot apple cider. Free 

Call 548-3333 

Royal Hawaiian Ukulele Band 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

1561 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Klesmeh! Festival  

8 p.m.  

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts  

2640 College Ave.  

A Hanukkah concert of Klesmer music and its mutations, featuring the San Francisco Klesmer experience. Hosted by Berkeley monologist/comedian Josh Kornbluth.  

$18 advance, $20 door; $16 kids and seniors  

Call 415-454-5238 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Sunday, Dec. 24  

Ancient Winds 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1573 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Tuesday, Dec. 26  

Kwanzaa! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join storyteller Awele Makeba as she shares tale and a capella songs from African and African-American history, culture, and folklore which celebrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Included with admission to the museum.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Blood Pressure Testing 

9:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Alice Meyers 

Call 644-6107 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Dec. 27 

Magic Mike 

Noon and 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Special effects, magic, juggling, ventriloquism, and outrageous comedy is what Parent’s Choice Award winner Magic Mike is all about. Included in price of museum admission.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Tai Chi Chuan for Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Mr. Chang 

Call 644-6107 

Thursday, Dec. 28  

Season of Lights  

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

The Imagination Company brings to life world winter celebrations and highlights the significance of light to several culture. Included in museum admission price.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Imani In the Village 

2 p.m. 

Claremont Library 

2940 Benvenue  

Percussionist James Henry presents a drumming and dance program for all ages. Audience participation invited.  

Call 649-3943 

Death of the Lecturer 

7 p.m. 

West Branch Library 

1125 University Ave.  

Calling all detectives, those who enjoy reading mysteries, playing Clue, and solving crossword puzzles to untangle the reason for the final fate confrontation.  

Call 649-3926 

Friday, Dec. 29  

Earthcapades 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join Hearty and Lissin as they blend storytelling, juggling, acrobatics, and more, to entertain and teach about saving the environment. Included in museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Saturday, Dec. 30  

Bats of the World  

1 & 2:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Maggie Hooper, an educator with the California Bat Conservation Fund, will show slides, introduce three live, tame, and indigenous bats, and answer your questions about these fascinating creatures. Included in admission to the museum. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Kwanzaa Celebration 

4 p.m. 

South Branch Library  

1901 Russell St.  

Muriel Johnson of Abiyomi Storytelling is the featured storyteller at the library’s annual celebration which also includes a formal Kwanzaa ceremony.  

Call 649-3943 

Sunday, Dec. 31 

Light Up the Lights! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Popular songmeister Gary Lapow performs traditional holiday music from around the world. Included in price of museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Tuesday, Jan. 2 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Jan. 3  

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Friday, Jan. 5  

Zen Buddhist Sites in China 

7 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California 

1000 Oak St.  

Oakland 

Andy Ferguson, author of “Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings,” presents a slide show of Zen holy sites in China. Ferguson will read from the book and engage the audience in a brief meditation session. Included in museum admission. 

$6 general, $4 seniors and students with ID 

Call 1-888-OAK-MUSE 

Tuesday, Jan. 9  

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Thursday, Jan. 11 

Toni Stone and the Negro Baseball League 

1 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California 

1000 Oak St.  

Oakland 

Marcia Eymann, curator of historical photography, discusses memorabilia of Toni Stone, a woman who played in the Negro Baseball Legue in the 1940s. Free. 

Call 1-888-OAK-MUSE 

Free Anonymous HIV Testing 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available.  

Call 642-7202 

Friday, Jan. 12 

“Who’s Really In Charge Anyway?” 

7:30 p.m. 

Unitarian Hall 

1924 Cedar St.  

The subject to be discussed is the guru dilemma and individual spiritual mastership. Hear about the spiritual path of light and sound and the ancient teachings of the saints.  

Call Unitarian Hall, 841-4824 or visit www.masterpath.org 

Saturday, Jan. 13 

“Dyke Open Myke!” 

7:30 p.m. 

Boadecia’s Books  

398 Colusa Ave. (at Colusa Cir.) 

Kensington 

A coffeehouse-style open mic. night for emerging talent. 

Call Jessy, 655-1015  

or Boadecia’s Books, 559-9184 

Sunday, Jan. 14 

Teaching Chinese Culture in the U.S.  

2 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California 

1000 Oak St.  

Oakland 

Educators from Bay Area Chinese schools explore issues related to teaching Chinese culture and language. Included in museum admission.  

$6 general; $4 seniors and students with ID 

Call 1-888-OAK-MUSE 

LesBiGayTrans Parenting 

11 a.m. 

Boadecia’s Books 

398 Colusa Ave. (at Colusa Cir.) 

Kensington 

These two groups meet on the second Sunday of each month. The group meeting at 11 a.m. is for prospective parents, the one at noon for parents.  

Call 559-9184 

“Berkeley, 1900” 

3 - 5 p.m. . 

Berkeley History Center 

1931 Center St.  

Richard Schwartz gives an oral history of Berkeley at the turn of the century.  

A-Singin’ and a Chantin’ 

8 p.m. 

Shambhala Booksellers 

2482 Telegraph Ave.  

Pagan recording artist DJ Hamouris shares some songs and chants. 

Call 848-8443 

Free Feng Shui Class 

3 p.m. 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley  

2066 University Ave.  

Taught by Lily Chung, author of “Calendars for Feng Shui and Divination.” 

Call Eastwind, 548-3250 

Tuesday, Jan. 16  

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Jan. 17  

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Thursday, Jan. 18  

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Library 

Claremont Branch  

2940 Benveue Ave.  

Facilitated by Cecile Andrews, author of “Circles of Simplicty,” learn about this movement whose philosophy is “the examined life richly lived.” Work less, consume less, rush less, and build community with friends and family.  

Call 549-3509 or visit www.seedsofsimplicity.org  

Combating Congestion  

1 - 5 p.m. 

Pauley Ballroom 

Student Union Building  

UC Berkeley 

A one-day transportation conference featuring Martin Wachs and Elizabeth Deakin, both of UC Berkeley. Co-sponsored by the Institute of Transportation Studies and the UC Transportation Center.  

Call 642-1474  

Tuesday, Jan. 23 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Saturday, Jan. 27  

Clori, Tirsi & e Fileno 

8 p.m. 

Crowden School  

1475 Rose St. (at Sacramento) 

Teatro Bacchino, the Bay Area’s Baroque Opera company, will be performing Handel’s story of jealousy in love. Pre-concert talk 45 minutes before the performance.  

$15 - $20  

Call 658-3382  

Sunday, Jan. 28  

Clori, Tirsi & e Fileno 

7 p.m. 

Crowden School  

1475 Rose St. (at Sacramento) 

Teatro Bacchino, the Bay Area’s Baroque Opera company, will be performing Handel’s story of jealousy in love. Pre-concert talk 45 minutes before the performance.  

$15 - $20  

Call 658-3382  

Tuesday, Jan. 30 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Sunday, Feb. 4 

“Under Construction No. 10” 

7:30 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church  

2727 College Ave.  

Experience the unusual rehearsal-reading format that lets the audience experience the collaboration between conductor, orchestra and composer in the Berkeley Symphony’s unique series presenting new works or works-in-progress by local Bay Area composers.  

Call 841-2800 

Sunday, Feb. 11  

Ruth Acty Oral History Reception 

3 - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Historical Society  

Veterans Memorial Building 

1931 Center St.  

In 1943 Miss Ruth Acty became the first African American teacher to be hired by the Berkeley Unified School District. She taught thousands of students until her retirement in 1985. Oral History Coordinator Therese Pipe interviewed Acty in 1993-94 for the Berkeley Historical Society. Free  

Thursday, Feb. 15 

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Library 

Claremont Branch  

2940 Benveue Ave.  

Facilitated by Cecile Andrews, author of “Circles of Simplicty,” learn about this movement whose philosophy is “the examined life richly lived.” Work less, consume less, rush less, and build community with friends and family.  

Call 549-3509 or visit www.seedsofsimplicity.org  

Sunday, Feb. 25  

“Imperial San Francisco: 

Urban Power, Earthly Ruin” 

3 - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley History Center 

Veterans Memorial Building 

1931 Center St.  

Gary Brechin speaks on the impact and legacy of the Hearsts and other powerful San Francisco families. Free 

Call 848-0181 

Thursday, March 15  

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Library 

Claremont Branch  

2940 Benveue Ave.  

Facilitated by Cecile Andrews, author of “Circles of Simplicty,” learn about this movement whose philosophy is “the examined life richly lived.” Work less, consume less, rush less, and build community with friends and family.  

Call 549-3509 or visit www.seedsofsimplicity.org  

Sunday, March 18  

“Topaz Moon” 

3 - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley History Center 

Veterans Memorial Building 

1931 Center St.  

Kimi Kodani Hill speaks on artist Chiura Obata’s family and the WW II Japanese relocation camps. Free 

Call 848-0181 

ONGOING EVENTS 

Sundays 

Green Party Consensus Building Meeting 

6 p.m. 

2022 Blake St. 

This is part of an ongoing series of discussions for the Green Party of Alameda County, leading up to endorsements on measures and candidates on the November ballot. This week’s focus will be the countywide new Measure B transportation sales tax. The meeting is open to all, regardless of party affiliation. 

415-789-8418 

Mondays 

Baby Bounce and Toddler Time 

10:30 a.m. 

Oct. 16 - Dec. 11 

Berkeley Central Library 

2121 Allston Way 

For children ages 6 to 36 months. Get those babies off to a good start with songs, rhymes, lap bounces, and very simple books. 

649-3943  

Tuesdays 

Easy Tilden Trails 

9:30 a.m. 

Tilden Regional Park, in the parking lot that dead ends at the Little Farm 

Join a few seniors, the Tuesday Tilden Walkers, for a stroll around Jewel Lake and the Little Farm Area. Enjoy the beauty of the wildflowers, turtles, and warblers, and waterfowl. 

215-7672; members.home.com/teachme99/tilden/index.html 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

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. 

531-8664 

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. 

644-8511 

Wednesdays  

10:30 a.m. 

Preschool Song and Story Time 

Berkeley Central Library 

2121 Allston Way 

Music and stories for ages 3-5.  

649-3943 

Thursdays 

The Disability Mural 

4-7 p.m. through September 

Integrated Arts 

933 Parker 

Drop-in Mural Studios will be held for community gatherings and tile-making sessions. This mural will be installed at Ed Roberts campus. 

841-1466 

Free Anonymous HIV Testing 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available.  

Call 642-7202  

Saturdays 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Poets Juan Sequeira and Wanna Thibideux Wright 

2nd and 4th Sunday 

Rhyme and Reason Open Mike Series 

2:30 p.m. 

UC Berkeley Art Museum, 2621 Durant Ave. 

The public and students are invited. Sign-ups for the open mike begin at 2 p.m. 

234-0727;642-5168 

Tuesday and Thursday 

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. 

644-6109 

Compiled by Chason Wainwright 

Free speech means hearing from all sides 

Editor, 

A common response from the powerful elite to vocal protest of their policies is a variation on the blame-the-victim theme: they complain about violations to their right of free speech.  

This has happened a number of times recently: in Seattle and Washington, D.C., during the anti-globalization demonstrations; at Cal for Madeline Albright’s commencement speech; during the Democratic and Republican National Conventions; and now with the forced cancellation of Benjamin Natanyahu’s speech.  

But, I believe that those of us who sympathize with the protests and the protesters have neglected to defend their actions as thoroughly as possible.  

Namely, that our right to speak freely is meaningless without the accompanying right to access speech or information freely.  

While it might be true that disrupting meetings and speeches such as Ms. Albright’s and Mr. Netanyahu’s limits, to a degree, the ability of those individuals to speak freely at that time, it does nothing to change the fact that they have almost exclusive access to the freedom of speech during all other times (especially outside the city limits of this town).  

Mr. (Robbie) Osman alluded to this in his editorial when he discussed the role U.S. media play in limiting our access to speech. I believe, however, that he did not go quite far enough in emphasizing that the First Amendment applies both to giving and receiving speech freely.  

Until all of us have the ability to easily access a broad and diverse range of opinions, including highly critical ones æ in other words, until the opinions of people like Ms. Albright and Mr. Netanyahu are tempered in an equitable way by those of people like Ms. Lubin are, none of us possess the right of free speech.  

For now, we must demand that right at every opportunity æ loudly, vocally and publicly.  

Joshua Miner 

Oakland 

Demonstrators were peaceful 

Editor:  

I was one of the demonstrators at the Netanyahoo event. One of your letter writers called us “goons.”  

My understanding of the word “goon” is a person who threatens people with violence or physically attacks people. 

The purpose of our demonstration was to demonstrate and publicize our disagreement with Netanyahoo and the illegal and immoral Israeli policies and actions that he represents.  

It was not our intention to prevent him from speaking or prevent audience members from entering the theater. 

We believe passionately in nonviolence. None of us would have stopped audience members from entering the theater. Audience members could have walked through our demonstration and no one would have threatened or attacked them. 

The event organizers cancelled the event, claiming that it was a dangerous situation for Mr. Netanyahoo.  

Either they said that to make us look bad, or, in a process of”transference,” accused us of being violent because they themselves believe in violence. 

Netanyahoo’s purpose was PR for Israel, at a time when Israel’s actions are looking reprehensible to many of us. We suspect that he decided to do his PR in other communities that are less informed than we are here of what is going on. 

When we heard the event was cancelled, our emotions made us shout with joy.  

To us it meant that Berkeley would not honor a man who is a perpetrator and representative of policies of ethnic cleansing by deprivation,destruction, exploitation, confiscation, torture and murder, a destroyer of lives. 

Myrna Sokolinsky 

Berkeley 

Tool library needs more tools not more bureaucrats 

Editor: 

Reader Allen Dull has brought up a major problem with bureaucrats who think that tax dollars are just play dough for their buddies.  

When the Berkeley Public Library bureaucrats seek to impose a tool library manager instead of spending the money on tools or on an on-site employee, they are like my former school district which forced us to get an over-paid non-teaching departmental coordinator that we did not want and did not need.  

We did need more books and more classroom teachers. 

It does not matter if a governing board is liberal or conservative, it develops an incestuous love affair with Administration and generally follows the policy that the further a person is from the work site, the higher they should be paid.  

The only problem then is finding something useful for them to do. 

Armand Boulay 

Berkeley

OAKLAND — Lakireddy Bali Reddy and four of his relatives were back in court Tuesday as a deal with federal attorneys may be unraveling. The five had said in October that they would enter guilty pleas, but Reddy’s son Prasad Lakireddy is now refusing to do so. 

Consequently, U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong discontinued probation assessments for Reddy, 63, his two sons Vijay Kumar Lakireddy, 32, and Prasad Lakireddy, 42, his brother Jayprakash Lakireddy, 48 and his wife, Annapurna Lakireddy, 46, because Prasad Lakireddy has “changed his mind and declines to plead guilty,” according to a statement filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Dec. 18. 

All five face charges of conspiracy to bring aliens into the United States illegally over a 14-year period ending in 1999. The immigrants were allegedly used as cheap labor for a restaurant, construction company and a technology support company owned by family members. 

Reddy, Berkeley’s largest residential real estate holder, faces additional charges of transporting a minor for illegal sexual activity and making false statements on his tax returns. His son Vijay Lakireddy, faces added charges of importation of an alien for immoral purposes and making false statements to the U.S. Department of Labor.  

To get more favorable treatment by the court, the five defendants made plea arrangements with U.S. Assistant Attorney John Kennedy. But the deal, the details of which have not been made public, was good only as long as all five were willing to plead guilty. As part of the agreement, the defendants began a probation assessment, which judges often order to obtain a complete profile of defendants for the purpose of sentencing. 

The Probation Office became concerned when Prasad Lakireddy stopped showing up for his scheduled assessment meetings with a probation officer. Then on Dec. 11, Prasad Lakireddy’s attorney, Paul Wolf, advised the government, the Probation Office and the court that his client would not plead guilty. 

The announcement prompted Armstrong to call a status hearing on Tuesday in which she discontinued the probation assessment and gave the defendants until Feb. 27 to make a final decision about a collective plea. 

According to the Dec. 18 document, if Prasad Lakireddy refuses to plead guilty, or any of the other defendants decide not to plead guilty, Kennedy will convene a new grand jury and bring all five defendants to trial.  

The case came to the attention of Berkeley authorities Nov. 24, 1999, when Chanti Jyotsna Devi Prattipati, 17, died from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning in one of Reddy’s apartments at 2020 Bancroft Way. A passerby called 911 to report she saw a man allegedly putting Prattipati’s body in the back of a van identified as belonging to Reddy Real Estate.  

Reddy, faces no criminal charges in the death but he has been charged with illegally bringing Prattipati and her 15-year-old sister into the United States for illegal sexual exploitation by Reddy himself. 

Bay Area lawyers defending micro-radio broadcasters were dismayed by radio lobbyists’ role in passing The Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000.  

Alan Korn and Peter Franck are lawyers for the National Lawyers Guild, Center for Democratic Communications, an agency that defends public use of the airwaves. 

“In some ways the biggest news in this story is the leading role of National Public Radio,” Franck said. 

“The political muscle came from the National Association of Broadcasters and National Public Radio,” Korn said 

He said the legislature would not be concerned about micro-radio had not these players forced the issue. 

“They failed in convincing the FCC so they went directly to congress,” he said. “The fact that NPR was on board crippled the movement, a lot of people who would be suspicious of (the National Association of Broadcasters) were convinced because of NPR.” 

Spokespersons for both the National Association of Broadcasters and National Public Radio cited concern about airwave interference as their major consideration in supporting the legislation. Statements published on both their Web sites expressed particular concern for Radio Reading Services for the Blind, an NPR subsidiary program broadcast on low-frequency airwaves. 

“All we wanted was testing so there wouldn’t be interference with low-level translators,” said a spokesperson for NPR, who asked that her name not be used, “They didn’t provide testing that would have given a real field view. Obviously low power was totally compatible with public radio, but not at the risk of losing something that’s already provided.” 

Korn said the Federal Communications Commission had already reviewed several studies examining the effects of new micro-radio stations, and established guidelines to prevent and deal with interference. 

“We think their concerns are about competition. Radio is a local medium by nature, NPR doesn’t talk about local news, or local concerns,” said Korn. 

“They were afraid that small stations would eat into their audience.” 

The spokesperson denied that NPR feels threatened by local micro-radio stations. 

“Local stations have to have local programming. That’s how people in their community associate with them,” she said. “It’s not an issue of competition. We’re all kind of going for the same goal of informing the community.” 

She added that the decreased number of stations will allow the FCC to determine whether or not micro radio will cause interference in a real world setting, not just in the laboratory. 

“They don’t even trust the FCC to study it. That’s a bit unprecedented, it makes no sense unless you understand the premise that they want to kill low power radio,” said Korn. 

“In congress if you don’t want to kill something outright, then you study it.” 

With only five shopping days left till Christmas, there’s a comic book character who is dying to make his way under your tree. 

And there are some outraged activist elves equally geared up to get the product off store shelves.  

Meet Death Row Marv, the battery-operated “Deluxe Boxed Figure” from McFarlane Toys, destined “for audiences over 18.” He’s about 16 inches high and seated in an electric chair. After a “switch” is thrown, a buzzing sound is heard, Marv’s eyes glow red and he begins convulsing. 

Marv isn’t done. “Is that the best you can do, you pansies?” he taunts. 

The violent capital punishment figure raised concerns among a group of local residents who oppose the death sentence. The group had planned to protest Saturday outside Durant Avenue’s Tower Records, one of the stores stocking Death Row Marv. 

“It is appalling that anyone would make a joke out of the death penalty,” said activist Carolyn Scarr, who helped organize the protest, which was halted after the manager said he would no longer carry the figure. The manager declined to comment for this story. 

“This figure is perpetuating the idea that state-sanctioned killing is OK,” Scarr said. 

A character from a 1991 comic, “Sin City” by macabre comic book illustrator Frank Miller (famous for “Batman,” “The Dark Knight Returns”), Death Row Marv is a fallen hero who is put to death because of what he sees as a justifiable revenge killing.  

The character is aimed at people familiar with Miller’s work and comic book aficionados, according to McFarlane Toys. 

“This was a product that matches the audience of McFarlane Toys,” said Ken Reinstein, a spokesman for the Arizona-based company. “We are in the horror genre and pop culture. It’s not intended as a toy for children.” 

The manager of another store that sold out of Death Row Marv, Comic Relief of Berkeley on University Avenue, said he does pay attention to who is buying it. “There’s no one buying this who isn’t familiar with Frank Miller and the Sin City story,” said manager Tyler Shainline.  

The attention Death Row Marv is attracting, however, is making it a more popular item, Shainline said. But he also questions why Marv is seen as so controversial, when, say, an 18-inch tall Michael Myers doll from the Halloween horror movies isn’t noticed. This doll wields a butcher knife and has the voice of Jamie Lee Curtis screaming, “Don’t kill me!” 

While Scarr does not approve of toys like this either, she makes a distinction between violence that the public knows is wrong, and violence that has been accepted as OK.  

“I don’t see any reason why we should be promoting violence at all,” she said. “But this Death Row Marv makes a joke out of the state killing people in our name.” 

Certainly this is not the first product represented in the “toy” category raising the ire of concerned parents and citizens. In 1989, a talking Freddy Krueger doll was pulled from shelves after parents protested that a serial killer doll was not appropriate for children. And in 1998, an arch rival of Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo – the Arab “Rambo Nomad” – was pulled from shelves after protests that the figure was perpetuating a stereotype of Arabs as terrorists.  

But McFarlane Toys said they are careful about where and how the product is marketed, so Marv is not associated with run-of-the-mill toys. “We don’t market it in a toy store, where kids will be,” Reinstein said. “It’s not going to be in a place where kids are getting Barbies.” 

Indeed in Comic Relief, the shelves are stocked with niche merchandise, appealing to those familiar with the comic book genre. But not far away at Tower Records, Death Row Marv had been sold along with more mainstream products like pop records.  

“For a society striving toward civilization, we should be discussing getting rid of capital punishment instead of advertising it,” Scarr said.  

SAN FRANCISCO — Four California cities rank among the nation’s best educated, new Census data show. 

The San Francisco Bay area’s dynamic economy probably has helped attract a disproportionate number of college graduates. Meanwhile, though, the state fared poorly when it comes to high school graduates – highlighting the gap between educational haves and have nots. 

San Jose had the highest percentage of adults with a college degree of any metropolitan area, the survey of 50,000 households reported.  

More than 42 percent of San Jose residents over 25 years old earned a bachelor’s degree.  

Nationally, 25.6 percent of Americans over 25 have a college degree. That’s up from 14 percent in 1975. 

“Man, we’ve got a lot of really educated people here,” said Eric Newburger, a Census researcher who co-authored the study. “We know in general that migration is driven by employment opportunities.” 

“There’s a mandate that folks have a higher education for jobs here,” said Michelle Montague-Bruno, a spokeswoman for the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, a high-tech industry association. 

But in a reflection of the state’s educational gap, Riverside-San Bernardino ranked near last among metropolitan areas – there just 19 percent of residents over 25 have earned a degree. 

California’s educational level suffers when it comes to the broader measure of how likely residents are to be high school graduates. Overall, 84.1 percent of Americans have a high school diploma. At 81.2 percent, California ranked 41st among states. 

“I think it portends a very sharply divided society of the educated and the uneducated, which correspond roughly to the rich and the poor,” said Anne MacLachlan, a senior education researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. “San Francisco, San Jose, Orange County and Oakland have not only many institutions of higher education, but also have a great deal of very sophisticated industries that require higher degrees.” 

The Census Bureau’s Newburger said that a significant portion of California’s college graduates come from outside the state. 

Foreign-born immigrants play an important role in the numbers, he said. 

Indeed, 44.2 percent of California residents born in Asia have a college degree. On the flip side, immigrants from Latin America tend not to have completed college. Newburger said 7.1 percent of foreign-born Hispanics have a degree. 

On the Net: 

Census Bureau report: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/educ-attn.html 

THE CITIES 

Here is a look at what U.S. cities have the greatest percentage of residents with a bachelor’s degree.  

1) San Jose: 42.4 

2) Washington, D.C.: 42 

3) Boston: 41.1 

4) San Francisco: 39.5 

5) Denver: 38.2 

6) Seattle, Wash.: 35.7 

7) Newark, N.J.: 34.7 

8) Oakland: 34.3 

9) San Diego: 34 

10) New York City: 32.9 

11) Orange County: 31.9 

National Average: 25.6 

Other California Cities: 

Sacramento-Yolo: 31.4 

Los Angeles-Long Beach: 25 

Riverside-San Bernardino: 19.3

SAN FRANCISCO — More and more police departments are trying to learn whether officers target minorities for traffic stops. The trouble is they’re cops, not computer whizzes, and may not know how best to gather and analyze their findings. 

That fact has software and data management companies eyeing a market that didn’t exist two years ago. 

“It’s just a perfect fit for what we’re providing to law enforcement agencies,” says Tom Hoag, president and CEO of Scantron Corp., which helps a dozen agencies compile traffic stop data. “This is sort of a recent phenomenon. We had a couple of customers a year ago and now there’s movement on this.” 

Two years ago, not a single department tracked traffic stop data by race. Now, about 400 of the nation’s 19,000 law enforcement agencies do. The federal government is helping create the market — the Justice Department has encouraged police to collect data that might prove or refute anecdotal accusations of profiling. 

Some agencies, like San Diego police and North Carolina state troopers, use sophisticated computer databases to log traffic stops. Police in Montgomery County, Md. use hand-held devices. Smaller departments may scribble on paper forms that clerical staff must enter into a computer. 

Companies like Scantron, best known for its fill-in-the-bubble grade school tests, hope to capitalize on the increasing demand. 

Scantron reported $100 million in sales last year and Hoag said the company might make $250,000 off traffic data projects. So while racial profiling may be a niche market, it’s also low risk because race-tracking programs require only small tweaks to existing technologies. 

Tustin, Calif.-based Scantron, for example, simply reprograms a scanner to read a customized form. The company sold its first racial profiling package to Hayward, Calif police. Since that Oct. 1999 deal, Scantron added cities like Oakland, Kansas City and St. Louis County, Mo. 

The cost is not a budget buster. Oakland spent $25,000 on two scanners and 80,000 forms with 11 blank spaces — ranging from race to whether police conducted a search – that an officer completes after traffic stops. 

Now, competitors are lining up. 

“There’s going to be a need in the vast majority of departments for this kind of technology,” predicts David Grip of the Mobile Government division of Aether Systems, a wireless information company that reported $6.3 million in sales last year. Six months ago, his company began to develop racial profiling software after it became clear that data collection “is not simply confined to a department here or there.” 

The arrival of private enterprise into the field encourages Amy Farrell, a researcher at Northeastern University who will use Scantron to help Rhode Island analyze its traffic stop data. 

New Technologies may make data collection easier, she says, but cautions that companies cannot help decide what data should be collected as well as academic experts. 

“There is some danger in jurisdictions just working with a company,” Farrell says. “The market doesn’t always drive the best research.” 

——— 

On The Net: 

http://www.scantron.com 

http://www.cardiff.com 

http://www.cerulean.com 

PASADENA — Voyager 1 is heading to the edge of the solar system, but first it must race the sun toward a milestone – a place where the supersonic solar wind backs up in a pressure wave. 

Sometime between early next year and 2003, the spacecraft could reach the “termination shock,” a signpost pointing to the verge of interstellar space, Ed Stone, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said Tuesday. 

The spacecraft already is the most distant manmade object in space, at 7 billion miles. 

“Voyager’s really a pathfinder,” Stone said. “It’s the best we have out there.” 

Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 carries scientific instruments and also a gold-plated record with greetings in 55 languages, analog images, music selections and sounds such as a mother’s kiss. 

Voyager is currently about twice as far from the sun as Pluto’s average orbit. It is moving at 38,6111 mph relative to the sun – fast enough that it could race from Los Angeles to New York in under four minutes. 

But that is a snail’s pace compared to the solar wind. The protons, electrons and ionized hydrogen particles that erupt from the sun and surround it in a bubble are blown outward at 1 million mph. 

The termination shock, located about 80 to 90 times the distance of Earth’s orbit, is the place where the solar wind abruptly slows to a fourth of its previous speed, almost as if hitting a wall, Stone said. 

The phenomenon is similar to a ship’s bow wave and the supersonic shockwave in front of a jet, he said. 

Ahead of that region lies the heliopause, where the pressure of the solar wind is counterbalanced by the interstellar wind – particles from exploding stars called supernovae. 

That boundary of interstellar space is believed to be about 120 to 130 times the distance between Earth and the sun, Stone said, but a better estimate will come when Voyager hits the pressure wave. 

“For the first time, we’ll know,” he said. “No one has ever been this far out from the sun before. It will certainly tells us what our local neighborhood is like.” 

There is a problem, however. Voyager must encounter the pressure wave within the next three years. Otherwise, increased solar activity will double or triple the flood of particles, effectively pushing the shock region outward at a speed Voyager can’t begin to match. 

“We probably won’t be able to catch it until it starts moving in again” as part of an 11-year sun cycle, Stone said. 

Both Voyager and its twin, Voyager 2, have enough electricity and attitude control propellant to operate until about 2020. At that time the generators will no longer support the science instruments.

Experts design system 

to save Humboldt County tree 

STAFFORD — The redwood that once housed an environmental activist for two years has gotten a girdle to help hold itself together after a recent chain saw attack endangered its life. 

Arborists and engineers have splinted Luna, the vandalized tree, with coils of half-inch steel cable secured to three nearby trees in hopes of keeping it upright. 

They also slipped wooden blocks between the cables and the tree’s bark to protect its cambium – the thin layer of tissue that transports nutrients and generates new wood and bark. 

Though the experts say they are unsure if the cables will provide enough support for the tree to outlast windstorms, their noninvasive approach has the approval of Julia “Butterfly” Hill. 

Motion filed to delay trial for accused synagogue arsonists 

SACRAMENTO — Federal prosecutors say delaying a trial for two brothers accused of setting fires at three Sacramento synagogues will harm the case. 

In documents filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento on Monday, the prosecutors said there is no reason to delay Matthew and Tyler Williams’ trial. 

The brothers also face murder charges in Redding. Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder, a gay couple, were found shot to death in their bed on July 1, 1999. 

The arsons happened on June 18, 1999. 

The Williams brothers’ attorneys say the murder trial must be handled first so that information from the arson trial cannot be used against the brothers in the murder case. 

The brothers could be put to death if convicted of the murders. The trial is scheduled for Sept. 19, but could be delayed by additional motions. 

Both men have pleaded innocent to the murder and arson charges. 

$4 million settlement proposed for child with brain damage 

LOS ANGELES — The county should pay $4 million to care for a child who was left severely brain-damaged because her foster mother fed her Prozac, Xanax and other drugs for years, a panel recommended. 

The lawsuit settlement, if approved by the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 9, would be among the largest the county has ever paid to a single plaintiff, County Counsel Lloyd W. Pellman said. It was recommended Monday by the county claims board. 

The money would provide overall care for the 4-year-old girl, who is in a round-the-clock care facility, said attorney Richard Voorhies, who filed the negligence lawsuit in Superior Court on the girl’s behalf. 

“What happened to this child was absolutely horrendous,” Voorhies said. 

— The Associated Press 

In a memo to supervisors, county lawyers said the county failed to follow its own guidelines for supervising the girl, identified in legal papers as Baby S. 

The girl, then 6 months old, was placed with Lynette Harms of Carpinteria in 1996. According to the lawsuit, Harms, who had adopted Baby S’s older sister, was a drug addict and over several years gave the child Phenobarbital, the sedative Xanax, the antidepressant Prozac, the sleeping drug chloral hydrate and other drugs. 

Some drugs were prescribed by a local pediatrician but required court approval was never sought, according to the lawsuit. 

In 1999, the comatose girl was taken to Santa Barbara Hospital, where she was found to have brain and liver damage. 

The lawsuit, alleging negligence, said some of the five social workers on the case failed to make legally required visits to the home. None were made between April and October 1998, according to a claims board document. 

Harms was convicted of shoplifting in Santa Maria in 1998 and her foster license was revoked the next year, the lawsuit said. 

Harms, the pediatrician and pharmacies previously agreed to settle their parts of the lawsuit for $3.45 million. 

Researchers find that bowhead whales can live 200 years 

SAN JOSE — Evidence of ancient harpooning methods combined with modern scientific research shows that a bowhead whale can live as long as 200 years and is possibly the oldest mammal on Earth. 

Three bowhead whales killed by Inupiat Eskimos in northern Alaska were estimated to be 135 to 172 years, while a fourth bowhead was believed to be 211 years old, researchers concluded. 

“This is just incredibly interesting,” Jeffrey Bada, a marine chemistry professor at the Scripps Institution in San Diego, told The San Jose Mercury News. “Maybe what we’re looking at are the survivors, the males who escaped hunting all those years.” 

Scientists figured out the whales’ ages by studying changes in amino acids in the lenses of the eyes. The age estimates were bolstered by native Alaskan Inupiat hunters in Barrow and other villages along the frozen north coast of Alaska who found six ancient harpoon points in the blubber of freshly killed bowhead whales since 1981. 

Modern harpoon points are made of steel but the ones found in the bowhead were made of ivory and stone, which haven’t been used since the 1880s. 

Bowhead whales, which live in the Beaufort and Bering seas between Russia and Alaska, are a species of baleen whale, which eat by using baleen bristles to filter krill and fish from the ocean for food. 

Most whales are believed to live between 80 to 100 years. Previously, the oldest whales were believed to be southern hemisphere blue and fin whales, which can live up to 114 years. 

If Bada and colleagues at the University of Alaska find that bowhead can live 150 years or more, the whale would be oldest mammal on the planet. 

“This just about doubles what everybody thought was the longevity of a large whale,” Steven Webster, senior marine biologist and a co-founder of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, told the newspaper in a story published Tuesday. 

“It’s pretty astounding that whales swimming around out there now could have been swimming around during the Battle of Gettysburg when Lincoln was president,” Webster said. 

The findings were first published last year in the Canadian Journal of Zoology and more recently in Science News and New Scientist. 

The Inupiat have hunted whales for more than 4,000 years with harpoons and for decades told of whales that several generations of hunters recognized by their markings. 

When the ivory and stone harpoon tips started appearing, Craig George, a wildlife biologist with the county government in Barrow, located 730 miles northwest of Anchorage, had theories about the bowheads’ hardiness but couldn’t prove it. 

“It seemed too fantastic at the time,” said George. “Then these really beautiful ancient stone harpoons starting showing up, and we realized something really interesting might be happening here.” 

It is unclear why the bowhead can live so long. 

One theory suggests that harsh living conditions have forced bowheads to evolve in order to survive long enough to breed over several years to keep the species from extinction. 

“This all adds luster to what is already a very compelling, charismatic animal,” said Webster. 

“We compare everything to our human terms, and things that grow to old, old ages seem to grow in value. Isn’t that the way it is with wines and antiques?” 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://nmml01.afsc.noaa.gov/CetaceanAssessment/bowhead/bmsos.htm. 

About Inupiat: http://www.co.north-slope.ak.us/ihlc/ 

SACRAMENTO — Consumers will have to help bail out two giant utilities that say they have lost $8 billion because of a retail rate freeze and big increases in wholesale electricity prices, Gov. Gray Davis said Tuesday. 

“They are going to have to participate in the solution, but there is nobody who is more uppermost in my mind than consumers,” Davis said. 

Two consumer advocates, however, questioned the governor’s sincerity and said a deal that raised consumers’ bills to cover just half of the $8 billion would actually fully repay the utility companies. 

“If we were uppermost in his mind I don’t think that his first action would be to figure out how can we bail out the utilities,” said Nettie Hoge, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, a watchdog group. 

“I am very skeptical of  

any kind of closed-door  

negotiations between the governor and the utilities.” 

The utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison, say they are caught between a temporary retail rate freeze imposed as part of utility deregulation legislation passed in 1996 and the recent increases in wholesale prices for electricity. 

They have filed lawsuits against the state seeking the right to raise their rates to get the money back. 

Settlement talks with the Davis administration could yield a smaller figure for the companies. But consumer advocates say that even if the governor agrees to a plan to raise rates only enough to return half the money, the utilities would, in effect, be fully compensated. 

“The reality is the $8 billion figure doesn’t reflect the amount of money utilities themselves make from generating power,” said Harvey Rosenfield, president of the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. 

“Fifty percent of the money utilities claim to have spent on power they actually got back themselves because they (also) sold power to the power exchange.... When they say they are out $8 billion they are only out $4 billion.” 

Davis wouldn’t say how much of the cost consumers should have to pay except to say he would not support any plan that “unfairly burdens consumers.” 

“I have made it clear to all parties that they are not recovering their costs, they are recovering only part of their costs,” he said. “Consumers, while bearing some of the burden, are not going to bear all of the burden.” 

Davis said he couldn’t run the risks involved if the two utilities declared bankruptcy. 

“If Southern California Edison runs out of cash, as they will at some point in the not-to-distant future, they will submit a plan to reduce the amount of power they provide,...” he said. “The lights will go off for at least five or six hours a day for roughly 50 percent of their service market.” 

But Rosenfield questioned whether the two companies financial woes are that serious. 

“There’s absolutely no evidence of that,” he said.  

“Their stock prices are almost as high as they have ever been. If a company the size of Edison were about to go under, Alan Greenspan would be talking about a bailout.” 

Davis said he would not support a bailout plan that did not have the “full benefit of full participation and consultation with the consumer groups.” 

But Hoge, Rosenfield and Michael Shames, executive director of Utility Consumers’ Action Network, a San Diego-based group, said they had not been consulted by the governor. 

Hoge said the utilities don’t want consumer groups involved in the negotiations “because we know when they are lying.” 

She said she was concerned that the state Public Utilities Commission would try to raise the retail rate freeze when it meets Thursday. 

Spokesmen for the two companies acknowledges that the utilities make money on electricity sales from their remaining generation facilities but said that revenue shouldn’t be counted against what they pay for electricity from other sources. 

Ron Low, a spokesman for PG&E, said most of the money PG&E receives from electricity sales is required to be used to pay off debts generated by its unprofitable power facilities. 

“The time is drawing near when we will no longer have the financial ability to enter into the market and purchase power for our customers,” he said. 

WEITCHPEC — Four decades after the remote Trinity River was dammed and diverted to pour water into California’s farm belt, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt tightened the spigot Tuesday, doubling the water kept in the north and outraging growers hundreds of miles away. 

In emotional ceremonies on the ancestral lands of the 4,000-member Hoopa tribe, Babbitt said his decision fulfilled a pledge he made to the Hoopa and Yurok tribes in 1993 during his first trip to the West as interior secretary. The promise: that he would act on the Trinity before leaving office. 

“We didn’t make it by much,” Babbitt said, noting his tenure ends in a month. 

Babbitt was escorted to the signing ceremonies by Hoopa Chairman Duane Sherman in a dugout canoe hand-hewn from a redwood that, by tribal tradition, was cut seven days after the full moon. 

“This wasn’t just a project. It was a cause invested with a moral imperative,” Babbitt said. 

The Trinity, which joins the Klamath 25 miles from the coast, is at the heart of the culture and economy of the Indian tribes that have inhabited the region for thousands of years. The area is about 300 miles north of San Francisco. 

“For 500 generations, the Hoopa tribe has known a different river than what they see today. Gone are those deep spawning pools, those alluvial gravels, those different salmon at different times of the year, those spring, fall and summer runs. It’s changed,” Sherman said. 

Legislation backed by growers and crafted in the 1950s led to federal projects, completed by the early 1960s, that dammed the river and diverted about 90 percent of the water at Lewiston through huge tunnels to the Sacramento River. 

The goal was to get more water into the Central Valley to produce power and irrigate crops to support California’s swelling population. Indians, whose approval was necessary to consummate the original legislation, said they agreed to the plan after being assured that “not one bucketful of water” would be diverted that would affect fish and wildlife habitat. 

But the runs of salmon, which provide commerce and food, diminished as large amounts of water were taken from the river. 

The 90 percent diversion was later reduced to about 75 percent, but the environmental impacts continued as the salmon populations slowly began to mend. For years, the Indians and their political allies have sought to retain more water in the north. 

Babbitt’s decision meets their demands, at least in part. 

It splits the diversion roughly in half – 52 percent to the Central Valley and 48 percent to be retained in the north. That means the amount of water shipped out to the valley will be reduced by some 300,000 acre-feet. An acre-foot of water, about 330,000 gallons, is roughly the amount used by a family of five in a year. 

Farmers, irrigation districts and utilities say the river is a crucial part of California’s water-delivery and power-generating system, and that reducing the flows southward violates federal promises. 

“Today’s decision was irresponsible,” said John Fistolera of the Northern California Power Agency, a consortium of nearly two dozen cities and farm-belt irrigation districts. He said the decision was based on flawed science and came at a time when California seeks new sources of energy to cope with an electricity crisis. 

“This is the perfect example of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing,” Fistolera said. 

The Westlands Water District near Fresno, the nation’s largest agricultural irrigation district, challenged Babbitt’s decision in U.S. District Court. The district’s request for a temporary court order halting the diversion was rejected, but a hearing on the issue is scheduled there in February. 

“Westlands is in a fight for survival,” Thomas Birmingham, Westlands’ general manager and legal counsel, said last week. “We’re going to do whatever we can to protect our water supply.” 

Another issue looms before the diversion actually begins. Several small bridges cross the Trinity and must be removed for environmental and safety reasons before the river flow can be boosted. Money to do that is not yet available – until it is, the bridges will stay in place. 

But Chairman Sherman said the money would be obtained. “We will find it internally,” he said. 

Although little known outside northern California, the Trinity supplies perhaps a seventh of all federal Central Valley Project water in the state and a fourth of the CVP’s electrical power. 

LOS ANGELES — A veteran LAPD homicide detective who was transferred to the auto theft division after prosecutors complained about his testimony in a murder case is now the subject of a formal complaint from a prosecutor in an auto theft case, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

The detective, John Curiel, admitted earlier this year to providing false testimony in a murder case which has since been dismissed. He said he confused two cases when he testified about interviewing a murder victim’s relatives and viewing the victim’s body at a time when he was actually on vacation. 

After a complaint in March by prosecutors in that case, the detective was transferred from homicide to auto theft. There, he has continued to investigate cases and testify. 

In a recent case against a man who allegedly went joy-riding in a car that had been left with a valet, Deputy District Attorney Teri Hutchison accused Curiel of being lazy and rude and displaying “selective amnesia” in his testimony, the Times reported Tuesday, citing documents and interviews. 

Hutchison said she asked Curiel to interview the car’s owner on the day of the preliminary hearing in the case.  

She then put Curiel on the witness stand and was appalled when he could not recall details from the conversation, which had occurred minutes before, according to an investigative document summarizing Hutchison’s allegations against the detective. 

Hutchison also said Curiel, who declined to comment for the Times article, falsely testified that the car had been impounded by police. 

Another deputy district attorney last week dismissed the charges in a second murder case in which Curiel was the investigating officer. In that February case, one of two eyewitnesses denied making statements attributed to her in Curiel’s report and in the detective’s sworn testimony at a hearing. 

Capt. Michel Moore, who supervises Curiel, said he was unaware that a murder charge was dismissed this week or that there were conflicts between Curiel’s report and the witnesses’ recollections.  

Moore said he will review the matter to determine whether Curiel should remain in his assignment. 

Meanwhile, Moore is awaiting the outcome of an internal investigation in which Curiel and two other Rampart Division officers were accused of coercing false testimony from a gang member in a December 1998 homicide. It was in that same case that Curiel claims he mistakenly testified about viewing the dead man’s body and interviewing his relatives at the hospital. 

The report about Curiel is the latest revelation from the LAPD’s troubled Rampart Division, which is at the center of a scandal involving allegations that police officers beat, framed and shot innocent people. More than 100 criminal convictions have been overturned and three officers were convicted last month on corruption-related charges. They have appealed. 

WASHINGTON — America’s love affair with gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and pickups is keeping national fuel economy at a 20-year low, the government says. 

With automakers focusing on the bigger, more powerful vehicles, the Environmental Protection Agency found that average gasoline mileage for 2000 model year passenger vehicles was 24 miles per gallon, the same as last year and the lowest since 1980. The figure had climbed to 25.9 mpg in 1987 and 1988. 

The drop in fuel economy corresponds to a surge in sales of “light trucks,” which include vans, pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. Those now account for 46 percent of all U.S. passenger vehicle sales. 

Light trucks tend to weigh more than cars and get fewer miles to the gallon. The average 2000 car gets 28.1 mpg, while light trucks get 20.5 mpg. 

“Consumers want cars that have certain performance features,” said Gloria Bergquist, spokeswoman of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers that lobbies on behalf of 13 automakers. “We sell cars that get 40 miles per gallon, but fewer than 2 percent of consumers buy them.” 

But Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club’s global warming program, said Tuesday that automakers spend much of their huge advertising budgets pushing lower-mileage SUVs because they are so profitable. 

“They have found that the American public will buy a large pile of steel with plush seats and cup holders, despite the fact that they will guzzle gas, pollute the air and roll over and kill people,” he said. 

Better gas mileage would reduce oil consumption, lower fuel costs and lower carbon dioxide emissions, he said. Passenger vehicles discharge about 20 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. 

The federal government’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, adopted in 1975 to boost fuel economy, require each automaker to reach a 27.5 mpg average fuel economy on new passenger cars and 20.7 mpg for light trucks. The automakers do not have reach the standard for each vehicle, but their entire fleet must meet the average. 

Critics say the standards are too low, but since 1996 the auto industry has successfully lobbied Congress to block the Clinton administration from even studying a possible increase. 

The EPA report, published last week, said new technologies are on the market that could increase fuel economy, but automakers instead have focused on building heavier vehicles and increasing acceleration. Vehicles that are heavier or have higher horsepower need more gas to operate, making it difficult to lower fuel economy even when new technologies emerge. 

The average fuel economy for 1981 vehicles was 24.1 mpg – slightly higher than model year 2000. But if the 2000 fleet had the same average weight and performance as in 1981 with today’s technologies, it could have achieved 25 percent higher fuel economy, according to the report. That would have saved more than 10 billion gallons of gasoline per year, according to EPA officials. 

The weight of cars and light trucks increased 10 percent and 16 percent, respectively, since 1981. Today’s cars can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 10.3 seconds, on average, down from 14.4 seconds in 1981. Average 0-to-60 acceleration for light trucks has moved from 14.6 seconds to 11.0 seconds. 

Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG have been working with the federal government since 1993 to develop higher-mileage vehicles in a program called the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. 

Under that program, the Clinton-Gore administration challenged automakers to develop by 2004 production prototypes of a family size sedan that would get at least 80 miles per gallon. All three automakers have produced concept cars that at least come close to reaching the goal and are using the technology to develop production vehicles with better gas mileage. 

Ford announced last summer that it would increase the fuel economy of its SUV fleet by 25 percent by the 2005 model year. GM responded by pledging to keep the fuel economy of its light truck fleet better than Ford’s. 

The report said if all the automakers increased their passenger vehicle fleets’ gas mileage by 25 percent in five years, average fuel economy would increase to 30 mpg. 

——— 

On the Net: 

To see the EPA report: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fetrends.htm 

Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers: http://www.autoalliance.org 

Sierra Club: http://www.sierraclub.org 

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A jury returned a $3.5 billion verdict against Exxon Mobil Corp. on Tuesday, finding the oil company defrauded Alabama on royalties from natural gas wells in state waters. 

The verdict by the circuit court jury was six times Alabama’s previous record of $581 million in a civil damages case. 

The jury’s verdict awarded Alabama $87.7 million in compensatory damages and $3.42 billion in punitive damages. 

The jury arrived at the punitive damages by tripling Exxon Mobil’s annual production from 13 natural gas wells along the Alabama coast. The jury deliberated two hours before returning the verdict. 

Exxon Mobil spokesman Tom Cirigliano said the company would appeal the verdict, adding, “We have always endeavored to comply with the requirements of our leases.” 

State attorney Bob Cunningham told jurors internal company documents showed the oil company labeled Alabama officials “inexperienced” in the natural gas business and deliberately decided to underpay the state. 

After the verdict, jury foreman Shae Fillingim of Montgomery said those documents were the deciding factor, adding that the company “pretty much knew they were doing something wrong.” 

But Exxon Mobil’s lawyers argued that the company has tried to follow the state’s contradictory leases for natural gas wells in coastal waters and the simple contract dispute with the state didn’t warrant a huge punitive damage verdict. 

“The numbers of Exxon are right. They make it something it’s not,” defense attorney Joe Espy said in closing arguments Monday. 

Exxon and state officials have been arguing since 1995 over how much the company owes Alabama in royalties from natural gas well drilled in state waters along the coast. Alabama consultants put the disputed royalties and unpaid interest at $87.7 million.  

The company — now Exxon Mobil as the result of a merger deal reached two years ago — contends it is much less, if anything at all. Wells that Mobil developed along the coast before the merger were not involved in the dispute. 

The state’s attorneys contended Alabama’s leases with Exxon Mobil require it to pay the state royalties on the gross proceeds from its natural gas wells along the coast. 

Exxon Mobil contended the leases allow it to deduct its processing costs before paying royalties. It also contended the leases don’t require royalty payments on natural gas used as part of its Alabama production process. 

Cunningham told the jury that with natural gas prices climbing, the company’s decision to underpay Alabama could have earned Exxon Mobil $1 billion over the next 30 years, and he asked the jury to return three times that amount in punitive damages, or $3 billion. 

“You’ve got to look at not only what they stole, but what they wanted to steal,” Cunningham said. 

The state also has suits pending against four other oil companies with natural gas wells in Alabama’s coastal waters. 

The record punitive damage verdict in Alabama is $581 million, returned by a Hale County jury in 1999 in a lawsuit against Whirlpool Financial National Bank over the purchase of a satellite dish. That verdict renewed cries of “jackpot justice” in Alabama and prompted the Legislature to pass a law capping punitive damage verdicts against large companies at $500,000 or three times the compensatory damages, whichever is greater. 

The cap took effect after the state and Exxon sued each other. 

The national record punitive damage verdict against corporations was the $145 billion awarded in July in a lawsuit brought by ailing Florida smokers. That verdict, which is being appealed, was divided among five tobacco companies. 

\

CHICAGO — A study of people who used cell phones for an average of less than three years found no evidence the devices cause brain cancer. 

The research does not answer the question of whether longer-term use is dangerous. 

The study, funded by the industry group Wireless Technology Research and the National Cancer Institute, appears in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association. 

The study of 891 people did find a slightly increased risk for a rare type of brain cancer, but the researchers said it was not statistically significant. 

While they acknowledge longer-term studies are needed, the researchers said the overall results should reassure the more than 86 million cell phone users nationwide. 

“We feel confident that the results reflect that cell phones don’t seem to cause brain cancer,” said epidemiologist Joshua Muscat, a scientist at the American Health Foundation who helped lead the study. 

Publication of Muscat’s research prompted the New England Journal of Medicine to release a study Tuesday showing similar results. The study, led by National Cancer Institute researchers and set for publication on Jan. 11, looked at 782 brain cancer patients and 799 people without cancer. 

Maximum cell phone use was at least an hour per day for five or more years, and no brain-cancer link was found even at that level.  

The authors of the second study said longer-term use needs more study. 

Unlike regular telephones, handheld cell phones contain an antenna inside the receiver, which puts the user’s brain close to the electromagnetic radio waves the antenna emits. Since cell phones were introduced in the United States in 1984, conflicting data have emerged from safety studies on animals and humans. 

The Food and Drug Administration has said there is no evidence that the phones are unsafe, but it has joined with the wireless industry in sponsoring research on the devices. Some cell phone makers have also started disclosing their products’ radiation levels. 

The JAMA study, co-written by Dr. Mark Malkin of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, involved phone-use questionnaires given to 469 men and women ages 18 to 80 with brain cancer and a 422-member cancer-free control group. 

Cell-phone use was slightly more common among the cancer-free participants, though average cell-phone use for both groups was under three hours monthly for less than three years. 

The amount and duration of cell-phone use were not related to an increased brain cancer risk except for a type of neuron-cell tumors called neuroepitheliomatous cancer. Of the 35 patients with these rare tumors, 14 – 40 percent – used cell phones. 

“An isolated result like that can occur entirely due to chance,” said Russell Owen, chief of the FDA’s radiation biology branch. He said the overall findings are in line with previous research and “certainly not cause for concern.” 

The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association said in a statement that it welcomes the JAMA findings and noted that its collaboration with the FDA will produce additional research into safety questions. 

Professor Henry Lai of the University of Washington, whose animal research linked cellular phone signals with cell damage in rat brains, called the JAMA study “very preliminary and inconclusive.” 

“Since most solid tumors take 10 to 15 years to develop, it is probably too soon to see an effect,” Lai said. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://jama.ama-assn.org 

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/radhealth.html 

http://www.nejm.org 

BOSTON — Vice President Al Gore is one of about 500 people nominated for the presidency of Harvard University, according to the chairman of the university’s presidential search committee. 

“He’ll go into our pool and be considered seriously,” Robert G. Stone Jr., a senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation, which will make the final choice, told The Boston Globe. 

Stone said Gore, who graduated from Harvard in 1969, is unlikely to be selected. 

“He doesn’t have the academic and intellectual standing,” Stone said in Tuesday’s newspaper. 

Stone confirmed that four people have nominated Gore to succeed Neil L. Rudenstine, who plans to step down next summer. 

Joseph S. Nye, dean of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, said the university was more likely to hire a nonpartisan figure. 

“He’s an extremely bright man who has a Harvard degree, and you can’t get much better experience,” Nye said. “But he hasn’t been in the academic world.” 

President Clinton and New York Sen.-elect Hillary Rodham Clinton are also rumored to be on the list, though university officials have not confirmed that. 

Rudenstine was paid more than $342,000 for the 1998-99 school year.  

Academics, politicians and business leaders are on the list, though Harvard spokesman Joe Wrinn said he wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few joke nominations.  

Wrinn said he spent a week this summer shooting down rumors that Hillary Clinton would be Harvard president after Rush Limbaugh mentioned it on his show. 

On Tuesday, the conservative radio talk show host sarcastically touted Gore’s qualifications as an effective vice president, published author and accomplished inventor. 

“Doonesbury” cartoonist Garry Trudeau spent a week in November mocking the nomination process. In his strip, a dean at fictional Walden University recommended his own school president for the job so he could step into the president’s shoes. 

The strip also featured an undergraduate student nominating his roommate, and mentioned “Colonel Crunch” as a nominee. When informed that it’s “Captain Crunch” not “Colonel Crunch,” and that he is a cartoon character, an uninterested reporter at a Boston newspaper says in the strip, “Whatever ... do we want to go there?” 

Harvard’s newspaper advertisement for the job lists simple requirements: “high intellectual distinction” and “demonstrated leadership qualities.” 

Gore is a “deeply admired Harvard alumnus,” Stone said Tuesday, but added: “The committee continues to focus its attention on academic leaders who have spent much of their careers working in the educational and research domain.” 

And Stone told The Boston Globe that Gore “doesn’t have the academic and intellectual standing.” 

The president’s job is to keep the university among the world’s elite, maintain the institution’s huge fund-raising machine and get often diverse faculty members thinking as one unit. 

Universities often bandy about the names of non-academics in their president searches but almost always select an intellectual from the ranks of academia. 

“Harvard is still the most visible higher education institution in the United States,” said Stanley Ikenberry, president of the American Council on Education. “They will be first and foremost looking for an academic leader.” 

BRUSSELS, Belgium — A bank better known for financing roads and railways said Tuesday it is earmarking $445 million to help European media companies compete with Hollywood and Silicon Valley. 

The European Investment Bank, the financing arm of the European Union, will provide the money over three years via loans, credit lines and backing for venture capital funds. 

The first deal was signed Tuesday with a commitment to invest up to $14.7 million in the Finland-based Venture Fund for Creative Industries, which targets music, sports and new media companies across northern Europe. 

European leaders have long fumed about the largely one-way nature of trade with the United States in areas like movies, television and music, which many view as threat to Europe’s own cultural identity and diversity. 

EU countries run a $6 billion trade deficit in such goods with the United States each year, and the imbalance risks becoming even greater with the advent of digital technologies, said EU Commissioner Viviane Reding, who is responsible for culture and education. 

“Both for cultural and economic reasons, it is essential to provide adequate funds to European creators,” said bank president Philippe Maystadt. “It is crucial that Europe play its role in the audiovisual industry.” 

That industry is an $18.7 billion-a-year business in Europe, But despite a tradition of government subsidies, it has long complained it lacks the funds to compete with Hollywood or the high-tech whizzes of Silicon Valley. 

Industry groups welcomed the EU initiative as recognition of the importance of such media in the new economy and said it could help stimulate Europe’s creative juices by attracting more private capital as well. 

Europe’s star directors like Wolfgang Petersen of “A Perfect Storm” and Roland Emmerich – of “Godzilla” and “Independence Day” – might not have to head for Hollywood to produce their next big-budget extravaganza, groups said. 

“Our ability to fund more ambitious projects is crucial if Europe is to keep its homegrown talents,” said Philippe Kern, secretary general of the European Film Companies Alliance. 

The European Union wants to support small- and medium-sized film production companies with low-cost loans, but larger credit lines will also be available for bigger players to build high-tech studios and digital installations. 

The venture capital fund is budgeted to reach $44.5 million and will provide seed money for companies developing Internet businesses, music, television programs and films. 

LOS ANGELES — Online music retailer EMusic.com Inc. is suing its Internet rival Mp3.com, saying the company violated the copyrights of the independent record labels EMusic represents. 

EMusic, based in Redwood City, Calif., claims MP3.com, based in San Diego, has included songs from independent record labels on its popular streaming audio service, MyMP3.com, without first securing a license from the labels. 

MP3.com recently restored its service after a long legal battle against the five major record labels, all of which reached multimillion-dollar settlements over the same issue. 

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in New York City. 

In a release Tuesday, EMusic said it has yet to determine how many of the approximately 13,000 albums from 600 independent record labels it represents have been included in the MyMP3.com service. The complaint was filed by EMusic and six partner labels, although the company said it expects more independent labels to join in the suit. 

“Although MP3.com has entered into settlement agreements with the five major record labels, they have chosen to ignore their infringing actions with respect to independent record labels,” Gene Hoffman, EMusic president and chief executive officer said in a statement. 

MP3 was reviewing the action and had no comment, a spokeswoman said. 

Last month, EMusic said it was set to deploy a new technology to identify its songs that are being traded online by Napster users. EMusic said it will begin using “acoustic fingerprinting” to monitor the songs being shared on Napster that allegedly infringe on the rights of EMusic’s artist and label partners.

NEW YORK — The Nasdaq composite index fell to its lowest level in more than a year Tuesday after the Federal Reserve indicated it was worried about the slowing economy, but declined to cut interest rates. 

Blue chips also tumbled when Wall Street again focused on earnings and fears of a possible recession. Analysts said investors were especially spooked by the Fed’s recognition that the economy may be slowing too much, too fast. 

“The market’s worried about earnings, and this tells us that it isn’t going to get better anytime soon,” said Gary Kaltbaum, a technical analyst at JW Genesis. “As soon as the Fed mouthed its words about the economy, stocks – especially the Nasdaq which is already in a downturn – got whacked again.” 

“Financial stocks and Microsoft did not do well and Wal-Mart’s down,” said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. “We got a little present from (Federal Reserve Chairman) Alan Greenspan, and I guess we wanted a bigger one. Now we’ve got to concentrate on earnings again.” In its statement Tuesday, the Fed indicated it was shifting its focus to economic weakness, rather than inflation because of “eroding consumer confidence” and “substantial shortfalls in sales and earnings.” 

—The Associated Press 

Todd Clark, head of listed trading at WR Hambrecht, said the market’s negative reaction reflected disappointment by many on Wall Street who had been banking on an interest rate cut, as well as fears about where the economy is headed. The market views lower rates as necessary to stimulate the slowing economy and jump-start slumping corporate profits. 

“The market got a little ahead of itself in expecting an interest rate cut right away,” Clark said. “We didn’t get the cut but ... to go from saying there is a risk of inflation to a risk of recession is as aggressive as the Fed’s going to get.” 

Advancing issues and decliners traded nearly evenly on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to nearly 1.59 billion shares, compared with 1.44 billion at the same point Monday. 

The Russell 2000 index fell 4.47 to 458.78. 

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 2.4 percent. Germany’s DAX index was up 1.4 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 was up 0.8 percent, and France’s CAC-40 rose 1.2 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com 

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com 

OAKLAND — A former state Assembly member has changed her party affiliation once again, but she’s not saying if it’s a strategic move to eventually pursue another office. 

Audie Bock, who once represented the 16th District of Oakland, Alameda and Piedmont, last week announced she’s switched from Independent to a Democrat. Bock, a former Green Party member who shocked the Democratic establishment when she won a special Assembly election last year, lost Nov. 7 to former county Supervisor Wilma Chan, a Democrat. 

Bock announced her party change at a Metropolitan Oakland Democratic Club meeting. She also joined the organization, which endorsed Chan, on the spot. 

“I just adopted a party affiliation. I did not have one,” she said Monday. “I don’t have any specific political plans. I simply wanted to be able to work more closely with the people who had supported me in past two campaigns.” 

She said she wanted to join the Democratic Party earlier, but she couldn’t if she wanted to run for the November election. Candidates have to be registered with a party at least a year before running for office. Bock said she changed her affiliation just after Dec. 4, her last day in office. 

“The area in which I live and did represent in the state Assembly is about 65 percent Democrat by population,” she said. “The people that I have worked with in politics have been largely Democrat.” 

Chan’s seat will be up for election in two years, but Bock said she has not decided if she would be interested in running. 

In its last meeting of the year, the City Council will consider a request by Easy Does It Emergency Services Programs to increase its annual contract by $50,000. 

EDESP provides services such as transportation and repair when disabled people who rely on wheelchairs find themselves stranded because of mechanical breakdowns. They also provide attendant care in emergency situations. Members of the disabled community have criticized the nonprofit for providing sub-par service. 

In June the city approved a two-year contract with EDES for up to $1.3 million. In a letter written to the city manager, the EDESP directors said they need the increase for legal fees, improvements to their new office space and new equipment. 

The city manager has recommended the council adopt the item.  

Fourth bore backlash 

Councilmembers Polly Armstrong and Mim Hawley will ask the City Council to send a letter to the California Transportation Commission protesting the funding of the fourth bore of the Caldecott Tunnel. 

Armstrong has worked for a over a year on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to develop traffic solutions related to the Caldecott Tunnel. Before the commission was able to make a recommendation, the California Transportation Commission decided to go ahead and fund the fourth bore, which, when completed, may increase traffic congestion in south east Berkeley. 

Restaurant boycott 

Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek and Councilmembers Kriss Worthington and Linda Maio will ask the council to adopt a resolution supporting Women Against Sexual Slavery in their boycott against the Pasand Restaurant. 

The owner of the Pasand, Lakireddy Bali Reddy is under indictment for transporting women, including minors, to the United States for sex and cheap labor. 

According to the written recommendation to the council, over 2 million women worldwide are sold into sexual slavery each year. “The demand is so great now, that women and children are being kidnapped or sold by their families. Impoverished young girls are tattooing their faces to make them appear ‘ugly’ as not to be taken to work as sexual slaves.” 

WASS is picketing the Pasand Restaurant to draw attention to a local example of sex trafficking. 

Wireless communication breakdown 

The City Council will also consider a moratorium on the installation of wireless communication antennae throughout Berkeley. 

Residents from several neighborhoods in Berkeley have complained to the City Council about the antennae which they say could pose a health risk. 

The council will also hear an appeal by neighbors of the Oaks Theater on Solano Avenue, where the Zoning Adjustments Board approved the rooftop installation of 12 antennae.  

Funds for public art 

The council will also consider an increase of $5,600 for the services of art consultant Steven Huss, who will offer his expertise on the University Avenue Median Art Project. 

The median is the last art project under the Measure S bond Issue, which included art projects at the library, two downtown sculptures and the Addison Street Arts District.  

The council meets at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The meeting is broadcast live on KPFB, 89.3 and on BTV Channel 25. 

Tuesday, Dec. 19

Planning for the Future 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose) 

Informally led by Robert Berend, former UC Extension lecturer, this group aims to have intelligent discussions on a wide range of topics. They stress that there is no religious bent to the discussions and that all viewpoints are welcome. Bring light snacks to share with group.  

Call Robert Berend, 527-5332  

Children’s Holiday Gift Drive  

2 - 6 p.m. 

1708-B Martin Luther King Jr. Way (at Virginia) 

Donate new games, puzzles, coats, books, and toys for younger children. Donate phone cards, movie passes, gift certificates, and new clothes for teens. Or donate money to support Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency. This is the last day of the gift drive.  

Call 848-3409 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Get Flabbergasted  

2 p.m. 

South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St.  

Zun Zun, a husband and wife duo will perform musical theater for children and families. They play over thirty instruments and are sing in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Free  

Call 649-3943 

Hansel and Gretel  

7 p.m. 

North Branch Library 

1170 The Alameda 

Oakland’s Opera Piccola will perform their version of “Hansel and Gretel.” Opera Piccola is a multiracial troupe of actors, singers, and dancers who pull unsuspecting audience members up to perform along with them. Geared for preschoolers.  

Call 649-3943 

Wednesday, Dec. 20

Berkeley Communicators  

Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Family Sing-Along 

2 p.m. 

South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St.  

Gerry Tenney, musician, teacher, and performer, the man behind the saga of King Kong playing ping-pong with Godzilla returns to the Berkeley Public Library.  

Call 649-3943 

Alzheimer’s  

& Dementia Support Group 

1:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Call 644-6107 

Support for Family & Friends 

Caring for Older Adults 

4 - 5:30 p.m. 

Alta Bates Medical Center 

2001 Dwight Way 

Fourth Floor, Room 4190 

A group focusing on the needs of older adults with serious medical problems, psychiatric illnesses, and/or substance abuse, and their caregivers.  

Call 802-1725 

Thursday, Dec. 21

Berkeley Metaphysic  

Toastmasters Club 

6:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. 

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysic come together at Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters. Meets first and third Thursdays each month. 

Call 869-2547 or 643-7645 

Free Anonymous HIV Testing 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available.  

Call 642-7202 

Environmental Musicfest  

8 p.m. 

La Pena  

3105 Shattuck Ave.  

Alicia Littletree and Timothy Hull, both known for commitment to social and environmental issues, perform.  

$5 - $7  

Call 415-927-1645 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Friday, Dec. 22

Music in the Streets 

5 - 7 p.m. 

Strolling through downtown  

Berkeley 

Berkeley Community Chamber Chorus & These “R” They Gospel Youth Choir 

Holiday Celebration 

Noon 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Includes a holiday meal and an opera, “Kiri’s Coventry Xmas.”  

Call 644-6107 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Saturday, Dec. 23

Farmers’ Market Craft Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

(Center at MLK Jr. Way) 

Local craftspeople will be selling a variety of handcrafted gifts. Also live music, massage, and hot apple cider. Free 

Call 548-3333 

Royal Hawaiian Ukulele Band 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

1561 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Klesmeh! Festival  

8 p.m.  

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts  

2640 College Ave.  

A Hanukkah concert of Klesmer music and its mutations, featuring the San Francisco Klesmer experience. Hosted by Berkeley monologist/comedian Josh Kornbluth.  

$18 advance, $20 door; $16 kids and seniors  

Call 415-454-5238 

Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir 

7 p.m. 

Holy Names College Regents’ Theatre 

3500 Mountain Blvd.  

Oakland 

tickets: $15 - $20, available at the door  

Call 848-3938 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Sunday, Dec. 24

Ancient Winds 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1573 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Tuesday, Dec. 26

Kwanzaa! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join storyteller Awele Makeba as she shares tale and a capella songs from African and African-American history, culture, and folklore which celebrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Included with admission to the museum.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Blood Pressure Testing 

9:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Alice Meyers 

Call 644-6107 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Wednesday, Dec. 27

Magic Mike 

Noon and 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Special effects, magic, juggling, ventriloquism, and outrageous comedy is what Parent’s Choice Award winner Magic Mike is all about. Included in price of museum admission.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Tai Chi Chuan for Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Mr. Chang 

Call 644-6107 

Thursday, Dec. 28

Season of Lights  

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

The Imagination Company brings to life world winter celebrations and highlights the significance of light to several culture. Included in museum admission price.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Imani In the Village 

2 p.m. 

Claremont Library 

2940 Benvenue  

Percussionist James Henry presents a drumming and dance program for all ages. Audience participation invited.  

Call 649-3943 

Death of the Lecturer 

7 p.m. 

West Branch Library 

1125 University Ave.  

Calling all detectives, those who enjoy reading mysteries, playing Clue, and solving crossword puzzles to untangle the reason for the final fate confrontation.  

Call 649-3926 

Friday, Dec. 29

Earthcapades 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join Hearty and Lissin as they blend storytelling, juggling, acrobatics, and more, to entertain and teach about saving the environment. Included in museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Saturday, Dec. 30

Bats of the World  

1 & 2:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Maggie Hooper, an educator with the California Bat Conservation Fund, will show slides, introduce three live, tame, and indigenous bats, and answer your questions about these fascinating creatures. Included in admission to the museum. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Kwanzaa Celebration 

4 p.m. 

South Branch Library  

1901 Russell St.  

Muriel Johnson of Abiyomi Storytelling is the featured storyteller at the library’s annual celebration which also includes a formal Kwanzaa ceremony.  

Call 649-3943 

Sunday, Dec. 31

Light Up the Lights! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Popular songmeister Gary Lapow performs traditional holiday music from around the world. Included in price of museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Compiled by Chason Wainwright 

In conceding defeat, Al Gore made a gracious and humorous speech. But it was what he didn’t say that pinpointed the limitations of his leadership and the frustration of his followers. 

His speech did have its elevated moments, particularly near the end, when he remarked that defeat may “shake the soul and let the glory out.” But the words, as he noted, were his father’s. 

More symptomatic was his choice of “partisan feeling must yield to patriotism,” quoting Senator Stephen Douglas’ words after he lost to Abraham Lincoln. Douglas, the notorious compromiser on the question of slavery, engaged in a series of debates with Lincoln.  

He was considered masterful on the platform, but as one observer noted, “There was nothing in all Douglas’s powerful effort that appealed to the higher instincts of human nature.” 

The same can be said of Gore’s concession speech. He might “strongly disagree” with the 5-4 Supreme Court decision, as he said. If, as one suspects, he felt anger, he kept that to himself. Like much of the U.S. press, he responded to a nightmare with denial. 

The Supreme Court’s decision used the 14th Amendment to ratify the disenfranchisement of thousands of Florida blacks and Jews. Chief Justice Rehnquist, so vocal about the need for equal protection of all voters in this case, was a precinct worker in 1964 delaying black voters by requiring them to read and interpret a passage from the Constitution. 

Would Gore not have shown more faith in this country and its Constitution if he had condemned and vowed to combat the practices which kept thousands of blacks in Florida from voting in this election? 

If his promise to help “bring Americans together” is to have any meaning, should he not have asked the new president-elect to join with him in pledging to reform both corrupt voting practices and bloated campaign financing? After all, these (especially the latter) helped land us in this mess in the first place. 

Instead of the inglorious Stephen Douglas, Gore could have offered the vision of Thomas Jefferson who, in 1816, wrote: “I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.” 

But in truth Gore has been as much the beneficiary of our monied corporations as Bush. Both men’s policies, as well as their campaign funds and personal fortunes, derive from multinational oil companies. 

Thus it was no accident that neither opposed Clinton’s “Plan Colombia,” a dangerous intervention in Latin America.  

This plan, which could become our next Vietnam War, is opposed by most nations in Europe, as well as in the affected part of South America. It should have been at least as important a campaign issue as prescription drugs for seniors. 

But Gore, the environmentalist, supports “Plan Colombia,” even though it serves a government which has granted a controversial drilling contract on Indian lands in the rain forest to a U.S. oil company, Occidental Petroleum. 

Cynics have been swift to point out that Gore holds a large personal interest in this company, inherited from his father. But whatever the motives for Gore’s silence, it is clear that both men’s hopes for America have receded from Jefferson’s goal of “silently lessening the inequality of property.” The absence of appeal to higher instincts was only too obvious from the outset of this dreary electoral campaign. 

The election’s sordid and controversial outcome should disillusion all those who love freedom, but this disillusionment should not give way to cynicism. On the contrary, by casting such a clear light on corrupt practices, it has created an unprecedented opportunity for significant electoral reform. 

It is certain that those whose votes were denied last month will demand, with unprecedented determination, to be counted two years from now. The clamor for democratic reforms will be so loud it might even be heard in Congress. 

The philosopher Ricard Rorty has reminded us of Walt Whitman’s comment, “Democracy is a great word whose history remains unwritten because yet to be enacted.” 

So let us make the pledge that Gore did not make, to hold the new president to his promise about enfranchisement. And let us make a further pledge to grant George W. Bush what every leader of a democratic republic should ask for, and what he richly deserves – our scrutiny. 

PNS commentator Peter Dale Scott authored “Deep Politics and the Death of JFK.” Some of the is the historic allusions in this article are quoted in his new long poem, “Minding the Darkness.” Scott’s Web site is http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~pdscott

The homeless mentally ill are often the most critically in need of basic services such as housing and medical treatment. But, in what social workers call a cruel twist, they are also the hardest to reach. 

The City Council will likely adopt a recommendation tonight to authorize the city manager to accept grants from the State Department of Mental Health totaling $2.73 million for the next three years to mobilize outreach workers to help Berkeley’s most seriously mentally disabled with housing, medical assessment, medication services and substance abuse treatment. 

The state is providing the funds through the AB 2034 program, which is making $54.9 million available to 25 counties and two cities. Gov. Gray Davis signed the bill last September. 

Social service workers have traditionally had a hard time helping the mentally ill homeless who are often wary of the workers and mistrustful of the institutions they work for. The prevailing wisdom is that the best way to help the mentally ill is through outreach programs in which social workers go to the client and slowly develop trust. 

The nonprofit Berkeley Emergency Food and Housing Project recently, after two and half years, won the trust of a woman who had been chronically homeless for 15 years, said Terri Light,director of Women’s Services  

“Getting people out and working the streets is what’s necessary to help the mentally disabled,” Light said. “But to develop a rapport and trust can be a series of tiny, tiny, tiny steps before they will agree to come in off the streets.” 

Light said outreach workers brought the woman sandwiches and slowly over the course of years were able to develop a relationship with her. The woman now has had medical treatment and a steady place to stay, which will facilitate her getting Social Security benefits. 

Jim Hynes, assistant to the city manager, said the state funds will go to develop outreach programs that will identify 100 of Berkeley’s homeless who are hardest to serve. The program is based on pilot programs in Sacramento, Los Angeles and Stanislaus counties.  

“The results were very, very successful in keeping people out of jail and getting them the services they really need,” Hynes said. 

He said the program will forge a working relationship with existing homeless agencies like the Berkeley Oakland Support Services and the Berkeley Emergency Food and Housing Project to identify and help serve the toughest cases. 

The department of Health and Human Services will hire 10 outreach workers who will spend the majority of their time in the field “engaging the most service resistant in their own environment,” Hynes said. “This is not your traditional clinic-based service.” 

Alex McElree, The Executive Director of the emergency homeless shelter in Oakland, which serves up 50 of Berkeley’s homeless each night during the winter, said there is always a concern when municipalities get money that they will just create another layer of bureaucracy. 

“I think social workers need to get out from behind the desk and get out into the street where they can do the most good,” McElree said. “I’m glad to hear Berkeley’s getting the money. If any city can make it work it’s Berkeley.” 

It’s 12:51 a.m. Thursday morning, Dec. 14 and I’m angry and I can’t sleep. My stomach roils when I imagine that on Jan. 20, I will be the citizen of a country whose president is George W. Bush. Oh my God! Oh my God! 

On Nov. 7, when George Bush was first announced president elect, I and I think most everyone knew George W. Bush, by hook or by crook was going to be the next president of these United States of America. At the same time I thought I held out hope that maybe all things being fair, maybe Al could pull it out. 

I realize now it was denial. I, like many other optimists in Berkeley was in denial. First, an irregular election such as this one could only have taken place in two places – Texas or Florida, for obvious reasons.  

Texas, we all agree was too obvious. Florida on the other hand was much more subtle and mysterious. What I didn’t know on Nov. 7 was to what extent Republicans controlling Florida would go to ensure George W. Bush becomes the 43rd president of the United States of America. The Irony of ironies for me was the party of states rights using the Supreme Court shamelessly to subvert the will of the majority of the people who voted in the State of Florida (the majority of whom, by the way, we believe voted for Al Gore). 

When I first heard what the Supreme Court had done, I was so angry I wanted to go picket somewhere and carry a sign that said Bush sucks or Supreme Bull–! I wanted to yell and march and sit in somewhere. I wanted to cry in public and join an action group. I want to do something about this. And I will! But before I do let just say a little more on this subject before moving on. 

The opinion of the five conservative supreme court justices, especially Scalia and Rehnquist,, was wrong, unfair, partisan and petty, in my opinion. I think most right thinking, non-republicans would agree. Yet we’re told there’s nothing we can do about it. Why not. Is the supreme court unassailable, can we only criticize in abstract and after the fact, their lack of justice and integrity? Again I want to do something. Let’s picket them until they can’t stand it anymore and retire all five in masse. Oh God! George W. Bush may get to pick new Supreme court judges. 

Had George W. Bush lost the presidency by hand count (not recount; these votes were never counted, the machine spit them out as not voting for any presidential candidate) the religious right, the centrist and every other Republican would be out in the streets, calling in on talk radio, clogging the internet with vitriolic rhetoric and manipulation of words to justify their intention to have, by hook or by crook, George W. Bush as their next president.  

(He’s not my president by the way.) I think we all know this to be true. Now we’re supposed to accept what happened and build bridges and try to work together. Of course we will move on and some of us may forget, but I wont. In fact I plan to organize and register as many voters as I can in the next four years. I will write letters and stay abreast of current events and keep my eyes on George W. Bush. I trust I won’t be alone. Every civil and social rights activist on the planet should be seeing red right about now. Look out George W. Bush, were watching you. And don’t try to make your brother Neil Governor of Texas either! 

Let’s doing something folks. Let’s organize and collaborate and present a united strong loud voice against the unlawful subversion of the will of the people. Let’s drop the Electoral College, get decent voting equipment for everyone, re-commit to the idea of voting rights for all and give back the power to the people! 

Finally let me say with assuredness, this ain’t over. It’s just beginning. Don’t forget this is a bunch of happy, employed lawyers were talking about. How many lawyers does it take to elect a president? All of them! 

Joy Moore is a resident of South Berkeley.

Run-off elections are costly, voters stay away from the polls in droves, and they don’t serve third-party candidates well. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington says there’s a better way: instant voter run-offs. That’s where voters cast their second, third, fourth or more choices at the same time they do their first. 

Worthington put a resolution on tonight’s council agenda calling on the city attorney to write ballot language for a City Charter change, which voters will be asked to approve in the spring of 2002. 

This form of voting means people can choose the candidate they truly want to win, instead of settling for the “lesser of two evils” approach, Worthington said. 

“There (is often) a difference between who the voters vote for and who they want to vote for,” he said. 

Instant run-off voting makes every vote truly count, Worthington said. 

Here’s how it works: Voters choose their first-choice candidate by marking a “1” after the name. Then they vote for their second choice, marking a “2” and then their third choice and so on. 

If no candidate gets a clear majority of the votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. All voters who placed a “1” after the eliminated candidate’s name, have their No. 2 choice processed. If there continues to be no clear winner, the lowest vote-getter is again eliminated and the elimination continues and votes of the eliminated candidate are carried over until there is a clear winner. 

Mayor Shirley Dean said she does not buy it. She says Worthington has not made his case for instituting the new process. “What is it about our current system that is broken?” she asked.  

She pointed out that there have been no run-off elections for the council since 1994. In that election, Dean finished second in the general election, but came in first after Don Jelinek in the run offs.  

The mayor argued that the process is difficult to explain to voters and, moreover, will take an excessive amount of staff time to prepare the ballot measure.  

“I think somebody has to explain this,” Dean said. 

Worthington said he started the process early because he knew it would take time for the staff to work on it and even more time to educate the voters. 

He argues the work is worth it for a number of reasons. 

“It ensures a more positive campaign,” he said, pointing out that if a candidate wanted a person’s “No. 1” vote and another person’s “No. 2” vote, the candidate would have second thoughts about running a nasty campaign. 

Further, instant-run-off voting allows more candidates to get into the race without being characterized as “spoilers.” 

It also will save the city the costs of the run off. 

The League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville studied instant run-off voting earlier this year and say they are behind it. “It’s somewhat more democratic,” said League President Jo Ann Price. However, Price added that she hadn’t seen the specifics of Worthington’s proposal and hesitated to comment on it. 

Although Cambridge, Mass., is the only city in the United States that uses a form of instant run-offs, this form of voting has been used for over 70 years in Ireland and Australia, and this year, the mayor of London was elected by this method. 

In November, Oakland adopted instant run-off voting to fill council vacancies. 

Because of its complexity, this type of balloting requires computerized voting, which is already planned for Alameda County, Worthington said.  

Carolyn Haydu, a recent graduate from UC Berkeley’s art program, shows off a section of her art piece that will be embedded in the sidewalk in front of the new Berkeley Repertory Theater on Addison Street. The final project will be approximately 84 square feet and will give pedestrians the sensation of walking on air, she said. Haydu who plans to attend graduate school after she completes the project said: “This almost like a graduate project but in the real world.”

Aimee Fisher got pregnant her senior year of high school, and the Christian day care she worked for fired her when she wouldn’t marry her baby’s father.  

“I didn’t have any skills to get a job,” she said.  

Fisher, whose mother and grandmother had both been on welfare, became a welfare recipient herself. 

Unlike many people on welfare who are funneled into the “Work-First” program, where they are encouraged to find work and worry about gaining skills later, Fisher went to school. After six years of receiving welfare, she’ll receive a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from UC Berkeley in May. 

The California Work, Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids agency, known as CalWORKS, focuses on moving welfare recipients to work and self-sufficiency. 

The most recent data from the Alameda County CalWORKS programs show that in Berkeley, about 400 CalWorks recipients were participating in the employment services program.  

Most of these have or will end up in entry-level jobs in the service industry, sales, or clerical. Seventy-seven percent will make $10 an hour or less. They move off welfare to join the working poor. 

In an Assembly Human Services Committee hearing held Monday in the Alameda County Supervisors’ Chambers in Oakland, Assemblymember Dion Aroner, D-Berkeley, said she hopes to find ways to move people out of entry-level jobs up into higher wage positions.  

“It’s always been an anomaly that you have a lot more services if you’re unemployed. We think the focus should shift more to people who are working and their career advancement,” said Michael Bernick of the California Employment Development Project. 

Speakers supported the idea of career ladders to train entry-level employees to move up to higher level positions within an organization. “We think very strongly that the program needs to have some learning on the job,” said Bernick.  

Bob Lanter from the California Workforce Association described a coordination in Napa County among Kaiser, CalWorks, and the local community college where janitors and others in entry-level positions are trained to become Certified Nurse Assistants. They garner higher wages and leave the entry-level positions open for new employees.  

Rasheedah Mwongazi went on welfare for the second time when she was 48 years old. She said she felt frustrated with the lack of skills building in CalWorks workshops. “We’re talking about people who may not have a GED, who may have had a sporadic education,” she said. The panel of CalWorks recipients reiterated the fact that lack of skills, especially communication skills, made it difficult for new workers to ever move up on the job.  

Employees without those skills, who are already on the job, have to work with employers, to create “new forms of apprenticeship” and enable themselves to advance, said Bernick. But “it has to be industry driven.” Employers must be able to voice their needs so that programs can train workers accordingly.  

The term “working poor” has no exact definition. Jean Ross of the California Budget Project said in her publication “Making Ends Meet,” that two working parents each need to earn $10.78 in order to achieve a modest standard of living. Unfortunately, she notes that unskilled workers are looking at an economy that has relatively few middle wage jobs which can afford to feed a family. She said most new available jobs offer only $8 to $10 an hour, even while the growth in the technology sector is hailed as providing new well-paying positions. 

“The tech industry in general is not a panacea for people to have sustainable jobs unless they already have technical skills,” said robert barrer, program director of Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency, a Berkeley based nonprofit. “It’s mind boggling how every economic boom has a defined set of winners who rationalize that this is good for everyone. But it’s contributed to hyperinflation and that really has had more negative impact on poor folks and working poor folks than any positive benefit from the tech market,” he said. 

To illustrate the position of many families who work and yet struggle to make ends meet, Ross noted that the federal poverty rate is $14,500 for a family of three. But rent on a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland costs 70 percent of that amount. 

Social Service workers in Berkeley find that many people they assist in the transition to work can’t find housing at all. 

“I would say that right now, the critical issue is housing, big surprise,” said barrer, whose agency served about 2,000 Berkeley residents last year. Employment coordinator Adrian Harper says that 45-50 percent of his clients come from Berkeley. “But that’s changing,” he said. “A lot of people come in from Berkeley that are homeless but once they get a job they have to move out of Berkeley because of the housing market.” 

Aroner intends to consider speakers’ proposals seriously, and tailor some of them to legislation for the upcoming session, said Kirsten Deichert, a member of Aroner’s staff. Deichert said Aroner hopes to allow study time for people who are in school to count toward 32 hours of work per week required for CalWorks recipients, and she will examine the possibility of a state Earned Income Tax Credit to allow low-income people to keep more of their paychecks. At the hearing, Aroner expressed great interest in the possibility of creating career ladders to assist entry-level low wage workers to become higher-wage earners.  

Meanwhile, welfare recipients still rely on formal education to provide them with the skills they need to move up in the job market. And navigating the system to maintain benefits and stay in school can be a challenge. “My two year limit comes up, and then school won’t count for my 32 hours (of required work per week),” said Fisher. She’ll have to work almost full time in addition to finishing the last two months of school. But Fisher already has three employment offers for after graduation.  

“Things are looking good,” she said.

A sociologist from the University of Berkeley at California has been named a recipient of the National Humanities Medal, to be awarded by President Bill Clinton in the nation's capital later this month. Robert Bellah joins the heady company of novelists Toni Morrison and Barbara Kingsolver, along with musician and composer Quincy Jones, in this year'’ list of 12 honorees, according to a UC Berkeley spokeswoman.  

Bellah, who retired three years ago, is well-known for his writing, including a 1985 book titled “Habits of the Heart” that sold a half-million copies and was later printed again in an updated version. His book looked at individualism and the common good as two themes of American life. The professor emeritus, who specialized in the sociology of religion, is currently writing several more books, including one about Japan. 

The National Humanities Medals will be awarded, along with 10 Medal of the Arts, in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 20. The ceremony will be followed by dinner at the White House. 

U.S. Rep Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, has announced that more than $1 million in federal funding has been earmarked for three East Bay community projects. 

The Youth Empowerment Services program of the Alameda County Department of Social Services will receive $425,000 from a labor and education bill. The funds will be used for job training, workshops, computer labs, and college preparation. 

The same bill will also give $361,000 to the Oakland Unified School District toward the creation of a teacher center that would provide on-line support for district staff, coaching and assistance with administrative issues. The Commerce-Justice State Bill will give $250,000 to Berkeley High School to update fire alarms and security measures. Authorities said the campus has been the scene of arson fires that were not detected because there was no working alarm system at the school.  

The announcement of the grants was made last week. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Tsunamis generated by underwater landslides pose a serious threat to coastal communities in California and elsewhere, say researchers who are trying to determine where submarine slips are most likely occur. 

Until recently, experts believed tsunamis were caused by distant undersea earthquakes or volcanoes. That changed in 1998, when a quake-triggered underwater landslide generated a 50-foot wave that killed 2,200 people on the coast of Papua New Guinea. 

Unlike tsunamis unleashed by distant quakes, locally generated tsunamis give only a few minutes warning before landfall. 

“The biggest thing about local tsunamis is that they’re surprising,” said Philip Watts, president of Applied Fluids Engineering Inc. in Long Beach. “Coastal residents need to be educated about the hazards.” 

On Monday, experts in the budding field of tsunamis and undersea landslides gathered at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union to discuss early attempts to locate hazardous areas and assess risk, particularly in Southern California. 

Detailed maps of the sea floor are still being collected and analyzed for evidence of past landslides and tsunamis. Researchers hope to eventually predict the likelihood, location, size and motion of future landslides, and the size of waves given those factors. 

Shortly after the Papua New Guinea disaster, researchers began looking more carefully at the sharp undersea cliffs and canyons off the coast of California, particularly at the southern end of the state. 

Collapses stretching for miles were found in at least two areas, near Santa Barbara and the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County. 

Along the Santa Barbara Basin, a more than 80-square-mile section of sea canyon wall slid near Goleta. The area of failure is nine miles long, 6.5 miles wide. The area fell more than 1,500 feet. 

“The hazard is there. We aren’t able to quantify it at the moment,” he said. “The basic thing we did was to show there have been some landslides in the past. Why wouldn’t there be any in the future?” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Applied Fluids Engineering Inc.: http://www.appliedfluids.com 

International Tsunami Information Center: http://www.shoa.cl/oceano/itic/frontpage.html 

SAN FRANCISCO — Randolph Apperson Hearst, the last surviving son of newspaper billionaire William Randolph Hearst, died Monday at a New York hospital following a massive stroke. He was 85. 

Hearst, who was chairman of the family’s media empire from 1973 to 1996, stayed largely out of the public eye except for the extraordinary time when his daughter, Patricia, was kidnapped by the revolutionary Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974. 

Throughout that ordeal, Hearst, who was then editor and president of the San Francisco Examiner, left his mansion regularly to face the media and discuss the latest SLA demands. 

When the group demanded that the Hearsts give millions of dollars in free food to California’s poor, he resolutely headed up the People In Need giveaway program, pledging $2 million. Eventually more than 90,000 bags and cartons of food were distributed. 

“Randy was the center of calm in a very turbulent period,” said his nephew, William Randolph Hearst III. 

Patricia later denounced her family, took the nom-de-guerre “Tania” and joined in a bank robbery. She eventually served 21 months in prison. 

Randolph Hearst, one of five sons of the legendary newspaper founder caricatured by Orson Welles in “Citizen Kane,” began work as a cub reporter covering police, courts and City Hall with the Hearst-owned Call-Bulletin in San Francisco. 

An heir to the family’s gold, silver and copper fortune who also earned millions each year from the Hearst Corp.’s media holdings, Hearst’s personal wealth was recently estimated to be $1.8 billion by Forbes Magazine. 

But acquaintances told the San Francisco Chronicle, which the Hearst Corp. recently acquired in a deal that also involved selling off the storied Examiner, that for all his riches and his role for many years as the family patriarch, Hearst often seemed down-to-earth. 

“He was a very bright, thoughtful, caring guy,” said William Coblentz, a lawyer and friend for many years. “He was self-effacing, devoid of prejudice, and he cared for people. He had a desire to listen ... which a lot of people in his position do not have.” 

Hearst also felt he had sold himself short, Coblentz said. 

“I think he felt he didn’t live up to the expectations of his father ... whatever they were. I think he felt he wasn’t as smart as he should be ... which was absolutely untrue,” Coblentz said. 

Hearst’s mother, Millicent, gave birth to him and his twin brother, David, on Dec. 2, 1915, in New York City. (David Hearst, president of a family foundation, died in 1986 at age 70). 

When their father died in 1951 at age 88, he did not leave any of his five sons in charge of his media empire. Instead, the vast holdings were handed over to professional managers, and the sons became the minority on a 13-member board of trustees. 

“The running of the company was left to outsiders because his father didn’t have confidence in his sons,” Coblentz said. 

And Randolph Hearst didn’t mind the arrangement, he said, because the corporation did quite well, growing to 27 TV stations, 16 magazines, 12 daily newspapers and several cable enterprises as well as huge real estate holdings. 

Forbes estimated the privately held corporation’s 1999 revenues to be $4.4 billion. 

At the time of his death he was president of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. 

“Randy Hearst shared his father’s strong vision and his abiding belief in the media business,” said Frank A. Bennack Jr., president and chief executive officer of Hearst Corp. 

In 1938 he married Catherine Wood Campbell of Atlanta. They had five daughters — Patricia, Catherine, Virginia, Anne and Victoria. They divorced in 1982. 

He was an executive for a range of Hearst newspapers, interrupting his career to serve as an Army pilot in World War II. 

In 1965 he became both chairman of the executive committee of Hearst Corp. and one of its directors. In the early 1970s he headed the Examiner and lived in Hillsborough. 

Raul Ramirez, now news director of KQED in San Francisco, remembers how Hearst hired him away from The Washington Post to be a reporter on the Examiner at a time when the SLA was publicly attacking his family. 

“I remember he pointed to his window and said, ’There is a city out there that I didn’t know existed, and we need people like you to help me see it better,”’ said Ramirez. “I saw him as a very concerned and troubled father who had heard those taped observations that were foreign to him, but in some way they resonated with him.” 

In his private life, Hearst involved himself in many civic groups, sitting on the boards of several charities. 

Educated at Harvard University, Hearst spent much of his free time at Wyntoon, the family’s sprawling estate near Mount Shasta. 

Earlier this year he bought the Vanderbilt mansion in Manalapan, Fla., for $29.87 million from Mel Simon, owner of the Indiana Pacers professional basketball team. 

Hearst’s second marriage, to Maria Scruggs, also ended in divorce. He married his third wife, Veronica de Uribe, in 1987. 

Up to the end, he remained interested in the family’s newspapers. 

“Randy called up regularly to complain about the size of the stock type in the business section or to talk about politics,” said Phil Bronstein, former executive editor of the San Francisco Examiner. “Randy clearly paid attention to what was going on in the world.” 

Along with his wife, Veronica, he is survived by his four other daughters. A funeral will be held Wednesday in New York City; he will be buried in the family plot at Colma, just south of San Francisco. 

California could keep about $350 million in federal funds to subsidize low-cost health insurance for children, under a bill approved by Congress. 

The Child Health Insurance Program, known as the Healthy Families program in California, is a joint federal-state insurance program for the children of low-income families.  

States that hadn’t spent their full federal share will be able to keep about 60 percent of their 1998 funds, and can use it to provide low-cost health insurance for families that make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to pay for traditional health insurance. 

“This is an embarrassment of riches. It is imperative that we do a better job of signing up children and that we take advantage of all these dollars to cover the whole family,” said Anne Marie Flores of the Pacific Institute for Community Organization, an advocacy group for the uninsured. 

Healthy Families was created to provide medical care to children in families where the annual income is less than 2 1/2 times the federal poverty level. 

That means a family of three with an annual income of less than $35,000 a year would qualify. Families pay premiums of $4 to $27, depending on how many children are enrolled. 

The state is still waiting to hear if they can expand the program to cover the parents of those children. 

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called the bill “an important first step” in addressing the problem of the uninsured. 

State and private experts believe there are about seven million Californians — including two million children — currently without health coverage. 

Allowing states to expand coverage to parents would help lower California’s rate of uninsured by about 600,000, Flores said. 

The state will have to come up with $128 million in matching funds if the program can be expanded to adults, she said. 

“This issue of having 7 million uninsured in California is horrible,” said Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys. “If the money had gone back to Washington, it would have been nothing short of criminal.” 

Legislators will be watching efforts to streamline the application process over the next year, Hertzberg said. 

“We want to do everything we can do to simplify the process and make sure everyone is treated fairly,” he said. 

The bill allowing states to keep some of the federal money was approved by Congress Friday as part of a larger spending bill. 

——— 

On The Net: 

http://www.healthyfamilies.ca.gov 

LOS ANGELES — Sara Jane Olson’s lead attorney was ordered Monday to appear in court and explain why he should not be taken off the Symbionese Liberation Army attempted-bombing case for failing to prepare for trial. 

Superior Court Judge Cecil Mills issued the order when attorney J. Tony Serra failed to show up for a hearing on postponement of the trial. It was one of several hearings that Serra has missed since he joined Olson’s defense last spring. 

“He’s a great lawyer and so he has a busy trial calendar,” Serra’s co-counsel, Shawn Chapman, said outside court. “I think he’ll be able to come here and satisfy Judge Mills that he is able to prepare for the case.” 

The judge said he was told that Serra is in a trial in Placer County in Northern California and could not come to Los Angeles because the jury there was deliberating. 

He is expected to appear after the jury delivers a verdict in that case. 

The prosecutors said they received a call on Monday from a San Francisco prosecutor who was concerned because Serra has a trial beginning there on Jan. 3. 

Meanwhile, Mills granted a postponement of Olson’s trial from the originally scheduled date of Jan. 8 until April 10. He said that the trial would begin within 30 days after that. 

The judge also criticized Deputy District Attorneys Michael Latin and Eleanor Hunter for filing a strongly worded opposition to the continuance which he called “mean-spirited and hurtful in its authorship.”  

He said they had spent more time castigating the defense lawyers than talking about the case. 

Mills took over as interim judge when Superior Court Judge James Ideman was transferred to a suburban courthouse and opted not to take the Olson case with him. Ideman had presided over it since just after Olson’s arrest in June 1999. 

Olson, formerly known as Kathleen Soliah, had been a fugitive since her indictment in 1976. She had changed her name, married, had three children and became a volunteer for her church and other community causes in St. Paul, Minn. 

Olson is accused of trying to murder police officers by placing bombs under squad cars in 1975, allegedly as retaliation for the deaths of her friends in a 1974 Symbionese Liberation Army shootout with officers. The bombs did not go off. 

Since the case resurfaced, defense lawyers repeatedly bowed out for personal reasons, leading to postponements. The judge’s departure was the latest upheaval. 

Mills said the case will be assigned to Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler. But Fidler will spend the first three months of 2001 on temporary duty at an appeals court. 

After a meeting with Olson and Chapman, the judge agreed to continue public payment of Chapman and other lawyers to assist her in sifting through thousands of documents. 

Olson said in an affidavit that she and her husband, a doctor, liquidated their assets and mortgaged their house to put up some of the money for her $1 million bail and to hire private lawyers after arrest.  

The bulk of her bail was posted by friends and family. 

Olson said she has not received any money from the Sara Olson Defense Committee but it has paid some of her travel costs. 

“My husband and I have no savings account and no other assets which can be liquidated,” Olson’s declaration said. 

She said she will be using money now in a trust fund to pay Serra and costs for her and her husband to relocate to Los Angeles for the trial. 

The prosecutors said outside court they are concerned about delays because a number of witnesses are elderly and some have died. They said that 25 witnesses have died since the date of the crime and several are now ailing. 

LOS ANGELES — An arsonist torched a car during a hot, dry Southern California windstorm, sparking a fire perilously close to dozens of homes, and a 480-acre wildfire in a condor refuge burned untamed Monday, although the birds weren’t in danger. 

A grassland blaze that began shortly before 6 a.m. in the remote area of Hopper Canyon in the Los Padres National Forest 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles, was still out of control at midafternoon. 

About 350 firefighters were hampered by winds gusting to 60 mph that grounded helicopters. 

“It’s hard even to stand up,” said Sandi Wells, a spokeswoman for the Ventura County Fire Department. “It’s blowing so hard that you can’t see the smoke. The wind is dissipating it.” 

No injuries were reported and no homes were threatened by the blaze. 

The eight endangered California condors who live in the refuge did not appear to be in danger, said Joe Luna, a county fire spokesman. 

“They were flying free at the time of the fire,” he said. 

A wildfire in October 1998 in the area blackened more than 12,000 acres of brushland. 

In Orange County, 30 acres of brush burned near Irvine Lake before the fire was contained without injury or damage to dozens of homes nestled in the hilly brushlands. The blaze was sparked by a stolen van set on fire and left on a dirt road, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. 

The seasonal Santa Ana winds gusted through canyons, valleys and deserts, whipping Christmas lights and palm trees and overturning a big rig truck. 

No injuries were reported, and the winds were expected to die down by nightfall, but return sporadically throughout the week. 

A high pressure zone that has kept the area dry and warm for the past few days was expected to remain through the holidays. Temperatures were in the 70s to low 80s. 

Humidity was a skin-cracking 10 percent in some areas, and there is no rain in the foreseeable future, said Bruce Rockwell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. 

“The last several years have been like this,” he said of the dry December. However, a wet January, February and March has followed, he added. 

“Technically, we’re not even in winter yet,” he noted. “We’ve still got a lot of winter ahead.” 

In the flat areas east of Los Angeles, trucks and recreational vehicles pulled over to wait out the winds. 

Slav Troyan of the Moscow Circus and his 10-dog act were forced to turn back temporarily while heading to Victorville for Wednesday performances. 

“Our trailer was ... like a boat on the waves,” he told KCAL-TV. 

“It feels like something from Dorothy in Kansas and the Wizard of Oz,” Kate Coleman said of the gusts roaring through the Porter Ranch area of the San Fernando Valley. 

The dry, blustery weather wasn’t much fun for Vicki Andrews either. 

“I teach school and the kids are just crazy in this kind of wind,” she told KABC-TV. “It’s horrible.” 

In Riverside County, the winds scoured dirt from fields and whirled it into blinding brown clouds. 

“I’m looking out the window and I can’t see the hills. It’s all blowing dirt. It’s yucky,” said Joanne Evans, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry in Perris. 

But the warm weather was a boon for beaches. 

“It certainly has brought people out in droves, especially people who have out-of-town guests,” said Christine Lloyd, spokeswoman for Gladstone’s, a beachside restaurant in Malibu. 

Lloyd said she reveled in the weather because it reminds her of December in her native Australia. 

“I was out in the back yard, hosing off the pool chairs, in just shorts and T-shirt, having a great time. 

“It feels like home. I love it,” she said. “Me being a Sydney girl, it’s 80 degrees, it looks like a real Christmas to me.” 

DANA POINT — Sworn to serve and protect, Sheriff’s Deputy Russ Chilton never figured that pledge would extend to mussels, crabs and starfish. 

Along Orange County’s coastal communities, deputies armed with citation books have begun an unusual enforcement program to protect tide pools from poachers and casual beachgoers. 

The popularity of tide pools among those collecting shells, rocks and sealife has threatened the very diversity that makes them an attraction. State law prohibits removing any object from tide pools and beaches in protected refuges, and marine officials fear that if the law isn’t enforced the tide pool colonies could disappear. 

“If people take the shells and animals out of the tide pools, we not only lose the tidewater organisms, we lose the bigger life forms that feed on them,” said Jon Lewengrub, marine life refuge manager at the Ocean Institute. “What’s at stake here is the future of the coast.” 

The Dana Point branch of the sheriff’s department was the first to begin monitoring the pools of water, which are left behind on beaches during low tides. The pools – full of small shellfish and other marine organisms – serve as feeding grounds for marine scavengers, such as birds, seals, shrimp and lobster. 

The Ocean Institute, a marine research facility based in the city, trained the officers in identifying and handling pool organisms. 

“Originally, I didn’t have any knowledge that we had any tide pools here,” said Chilton, who helped create the department’s tide-pool patrol policy. “Overnight, I had to learn about the shells, the animals, the rocks.” 

With nothing else like it in California, Orange County’s program is drawing the attention of coastal agencies and other counties. The National Marine Fisheries Service and the California Coastal Commission believe it may be the first program in the country to use local authorities to patrol tide pools. 

The county Sheriff’s Department began putting the tide pool patrol policy together in late January, at the urging of the Orange County Coastal Coalition, an agency made up of public and private coastal agencies. It acted after a report by California State University, Fullerton, found that many of the state’s protected tide pools were threatened. 

The program includes daily patrols at high and low tides, when the pools are at their most vulnerable to beachcombers and scuba divers. 

If caught with marine life, violators face fines of $50 to $1,000 and up to a year in jail, said Deputy District Attorney Michael J. Hernandez. 

Since deputies began full-time patrols in July, Hernandez has prosecuted 20 cases, ranging from unlawfully removing sea creatures to possession of fishing equipment on protected land. Nearly all those involved paid fines; no jail sentences were handed down. 

The primary target has been commercial poachers — scuba divers with spears and buckets. However, anybody caught removing items from protected tide pools can be cited. 

“If you have a family down there and they’re collecting a few seashells, we’re going to give a warning and make them aware it’s a refuge and that they can’t remove anything — not rocks or seashells or anything,” Chilton said. 

Deputies recently caught a man removing 76 mussels from the Dana Point refuge, posted with “No Take Zone” signs. He told authorities he planned to eat them. 

Rather than take the mussels as evidence, deputies took pictures of the contraband and returned the creatures to the sea. 

“If we lock it up as evidence,” Chilton said, “it does nobody any good.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Ocean Institute guide to tide pools: http://ocean-institute.org/teach-opp/teach-tidepool-guide.html 

Happy holidays. Just not for everyone. 

Aetna Inc. and The Gillette Co. on Monday joined a growing list of companies that have announced large-scale layoffs in recent weeks, unsettling workers just before the holidays. 

There is more going on than the usual trims and tucks companies often save for the fourth quarter. The pink slips are a tangible sign of a slowing economy and more layoffs are likely, analysts say. 

“I wouldn’t say that this market has gone soft,” said Mallika Ishwaran, an economist at the Levy Institute Forecasting Center. “But it’s definitely a turning point.” 

The evidence, experts say, are job cuts across a range of industries. General Motors, Motorola Inc., Unisys Corp. and Whirlpool all have outlined plans for layoffs, citing a tougher marketplace. 

Aetna and Gillette said they will pare a total of 7,700 jobs from their payrolls. 

Cuts have been deepest in the automobile, retail, industrial goods and financial services industries, said John Challenger, chief executive of the employee placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. 

He said monthly layoffs have risen to about 51,000 during the second half of this year, up from about 37,000 per month through June. 

Still, layoffs have been constant throughout the last decade’s economic expansion as companies remade themselves. Unemployment is still only 4 percent – just off its 30-year-low – and the jobless rate should remain low in coming months. 

“A layoff in one company doesn’t mean these people can’t find jobs new jobs relatively quickly,” said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors. “The economy is still adding workers.” 

Economists differ on what the layoffs will mean for the economy. 

Naroff said layoff announcements have often overstated the number of people who will actually lose their jobs, instead signaling positions that will  

go unfilled or hiring plans put  

on hold. 

Some industries, particularly those rooted in technology, are still strapped for workers and are looking to expand, said Sophia Koropeckyj, senior economist at Economy.com in West Chester, Pa. 

While many analysts say the overall layoffs are in line with projections of a “soft landing” for the economy early next year bringing slower, but sustained growth with minimal inflation. 

Others see signs of danger. 

“As a snapshot, it is not bad. But if you look at it in the longer term, as the economy slows even further, yes, this is definitely going to become a much bigger problem,” said Ishwaran, who forecasts a recession by the middle of next year.

DaimlerChrysler Company 

feeling the crunch 

FRANKFURT, Germany — DaimlerChrysler’s struggling Chrysler division will lose $1.25 billion in the fourth quarter, according to a newspaper report. 

That loss would be more than twice the $512 million the U.S. division lost in the third quarter. 

The poor figures sparked a management shake-up that put German executive Dieter Zetsche in place of American James P. Holden at the top of Chrysler to turn things around. The Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung, citing sources in Frankfurt financial circles, reported in an advance copy of a Monday article that DaimlerChrysler chairman Juergen Schrempp will send a letter to all company shareholders warning of the loss. 

Truck plant workers  

ratify union accord 

MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. — Union workers at Freightliner Corp.’s Mount Holly truck plant overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year labor agreement Sunday, more than 48 hours after the old one expired. 

The new contract affects about 2,350 workers at the Mount Holly plant and provides for three annual wage increases, company officials said. 

The company had said that it would close the Mount Holly plant Monday and move production temporarily to Mexico unless a new contract agreement was negotiated. 

Prudential Insurance  

has own IPO plan 

NEWARK, N.J. — The board of directors for Prudential Insurance Co. unanimously approved a plan for an initial public offering of the insurance giant’s stock by October, according to a memo distributed to workers. 

The plan to distribute shares to its approximately 12 million policyholders would make Prudential the most widely held U.S. stock, according to a memo from CEO Art Ryan that was distributed Friday, after the vote was taken. The company is expected to make an official announcement Monday. 

NEW YORK — Optimism that interest rates might soon be lowered sent blue chip stocks soaring Monday, while earnings worries again dogged the tech sector. 

Financial stocks surged on speculation that the Federal Reserve would cut rates more quickly than expected. But tech stocks fell, unable to overcome Wall Street’s doubts about their profitability in the slowing economy. 

“You still have significant earnings disappointments coming in technology,” said Jim Weiss, chief investment officer at State Street Research and Management. “And even though technology issues have come down, there are still valuation issues. Tech was hugely overvalued and blue chips never got to those levels.” 

Blue chips’ strength Monday appeared predicated on hopes the Fed would act more aggressively than expected at its regular meeting Tuesday, urged on by recent economic data, ranging from weak holiday sales to signs industrial production is slowing. 

“There’s growing optimism that the Fed will act sooner rather than later to cut rates,” said Alan Skrainka, chief market strategist at Edward Jones of St. Louis. “If they don’t cut rates Tuesday, they’ll send a very strong message that rate cuts are coming.” 

Although few actually expect a rate cut this week, Skrainka said many people expect the Fed “is going to be pretty unambiguous in saying the risk has shifted from inflation to recession.” 

“Tech stocks don’t seem to have found a bottom yet,” said Steven Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co. “We’re in the midst of what could be a reversal of these high interest rates, and they’re still not ready to stabilize.” 

Corporate profits’ worries remained evident Monday. 

Time Warner fell $9.47, or 13 percent, to $63.25 after the media giant reduced its 2000 annual outlook, citing soft demand for cable advertising and disappointing results from the Adam Sandler movie “Little Nicky.” 

— The Associated Press 

Amazon.com fell $3 to $19.88, after dipping to $18.94, a 52-week low, on continued worries about online retailers’ performance in a moderating economy. 

Also Monday, Wall Street rewarded companies which announced restructurings to increase profitability. 

Insurer Aetna shot up $3.81, nearly 12 percent, to $36.81 after saying it would cut 5,000 jobs, or about 12.5 percent of its work force. Gillette rose $1 to $34.81 after the personal care products maker announced it was cutting 2,700 jobs, or about 8 percent of its work force. 

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 5 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 1.4 billion, compared with a record 1.8 billion shares Friday. 

Trading was unusually heavy Friday because of the expiration of option contracts and futures contracts, in what is known as “triple-witching.” 

The Russell 2000 index on Monday was up 5.22 at 463.25. 

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average slipped nearly 0.5 percent. Germany’s DAX index rose 0.9 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 was up more than1.1 percent, and France’s CAC-40 gained 0.8 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com 

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com 

With unwavering support Monday from the electors who had pledged to vote for him, George W. Bush secured the Electoral College majority needed to become the 43rd president. 

Nevada’s four electors put the Texas governor over the top with a total of 271 votes, one more than the Constitution requires. 

That closed the door on the remote possibility that a few “faithless electors” who had pledged to vote for Bush might upset his victory by casting their ballots instead for Vice President Al Gore. 

All that remains is for Congress to make the votes official on Jan. 6. 

The electors gathered in their state capitals across the country to cast their votes. Hawaii cast the last votes, giving Gore a total of 266. 

Though Democrats and political reformers tried to persuade Republicans to defect, the only rogue elector was a Democrat from the District of Columbia who had been pledged to Gore but left her ballot blank as a protest against Washington’s lack of representation in Congress. 

Elsewhere, Gore’s home state of Tennessee cast its 11 electoral votes, as expected, for Bush. And Florida – after five turbulent weeks of recounts and legal challenges – kept its promise and cast its all-important 25 votes for the Republican. 

“It was like finally, we did it,” said Mel Martinez, an elector in Florida, where members hugged and high-fived after the vote. “It’s like a close ballgame and the clock ticks and your team wins.” 

As the day began, a small chance for a Democratic victory remained, with Bush holding a 271-267 lead over Gore among the 538 pledged electors. 

A switch by three Bush electors, along with the uncast Gore vote, would throw the election to the House. A switch by four Bush electors and the election was Gore’s. 

But most expected the Bush-pledged electors to keep their promise. 

In many states, electors are bound by law to keep their pledge. But other states – like Florida – have no such law. Some scholars say the laws probably are unenforceable. 

Several electors in the past have broken their pledge, most recently in 1988, but never in a close election where it could change the result. 

Gore’s running mate, Joseph Lieberman, discouraged any vote-switching as he thanked Connecticut voters for re-electing him to the Senate. 

“Al Gore and I don’t expect any surprises,” Lieberman said. Asked if they would accept such a victory, he laughed and said: “It’s too unlikely to think about.” 

Both parties mounted campaigns to reach the electors, with Bush aides seeking out all 271 votes pledged to the GOP. Democrats used e-mails and telephone calls to argue that Gore deserved to be president because he won the popular vote.  

Republicans dismissed the effort. 

“There was never any doubt,” said New Hampshire elector Wayne McDonald, who was besieged with calls from reporters and voters after news reports hinted that he was thinking of backing Gore. 

Some electors said they received thousands of e-mails. 

“They said, ‘Don’t vote for Bush. Vote for Gore. Think about what the American people want,”’ said Arkansas elector Sarah Agee, a state representative. “And I did with all my heart and voted Bush.” 

Some Gore electors criticized the Electoral College system, which for the first time since 1888 allowed the loser of the popular vote to win the electoral vote and with it, the presidency. Others were simply unhappy with the outcome. 

Maryland Senate President Mike Miller remained convinced Gore would have won had the U.S. Supreme Court not halted the last recount. “We only wish that somehow those 10,000 votes in Florida had been allowed to be counted,” he said. 

This year’s Electoral College meetings, like this year’s election, were unlike any seen in recent years. 

Usually the Electoral College gatherings are a rubber stamp of the popular vote. But the meetings in Indiana and Mississippi were marked by standing ovations and cheers. And the Arkansas Supreme Court chambers looked like a disco from the strobe lights of flashing news cameras. 

Bush elector Beverly Gard, an Indiana state senator, stood and took a picture of her ballot after she voted. Former North Dakota Gov. Ed Schafer hesitated a moment before marking his ballot for Bush: “I thought it was a Florida ballot. I couldn’t find the box.” 

“Your guy is B-U-S-H. Push it all the way through,” GOP Gov. Bill Owens told Colorado’s electors as they cast their eight votes. 

And officials in many states took the opportunity to call for voting improvements to avoid the confusion in Florida that left the election undecided for five weeks after Election Day. 

“We have to keep the revolution that began over 200 years ago moving forward. Michigan is going to lead the fight for election reform in America,” said John Kelly, an elector and Oakland University political science professor. 

In keeping with tradition, the ballots in New Hampshire were sealed with wax, placed in envelopes and carefully carried from the room. New York’s ballots, cast secretly, were placed in a 16-pound mahogany box with a brass latch. 

Each state’s result is copied six times, with one copy each sent to the U.S. Senate and the chief judge of the federal district, and two copies each to the state’s secretary of state and to the U.S. archivist in Washington. 

Like the election on Nov. 7 and the turmoil that followed, this process had an occasional glitch. 

Illinois’ ballots had a few errors, including Ralph Nader’s party listed as Reform instead of the Green Party. Electors fixed it and cast their votes. 

“The main parties were properly represented on the ballot,” Secretary of State Jesse White said. “No one would have voted for those other individuals, anyway.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Electoral College: http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/elctcoll 

Federal Election Commission: http://www.fec.gov 

Unofficial Electoral College Web ’zine: http://www.avagara.com/e—c 

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine military said Monday it won’t revive negotiations for the release of an Oakland man being held hostage and instead plans to fight his captors until they “surrender or are wiped out.” 

An Islamic separatist group, Abu Sayyaf, is still holding American Jeffrey Schilling and Filipino Roland Ulla after releasing dozens of other hostages it had taken captive since April. 

“Negotiations with such openly terrorist groups only embolden them to commit more violence,” the defense department said in a statement. “The military operations against Abu Sayyaf will continue.” 

Negotiations with the rebels have been on hold since mid-September, when the military launched an offensive on the group on the southern islands of Jolo and Basilan. 

The defense department said it considers Schilling a hostage, but added that he “might in fact be in conspiracy with the Abu Sayyaf.” It said the government is investigating how he ended up in rebel custody. 

Schilling, 24, a Muslim convert, was seized by the Abu Sayyaf after he visited their camp with his Filipino wife in August. His wife, a cousin of one of the rebel leaders, was not abducted. 

The rebels demanded $10 million in ransom. The government and the U.S. Embassy refused to pay, and the Philippine military launched a rescue operation to free Schilling and Ulla. 

In an interview last month, Schilling said he was being kept in chains, had an infection in his leg and was losing hope that he would be released. He said the rebels holding him travel at night to escape pursuing troops. 

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Scientists at Texas A&M University unveiled a disease-resistant black Angus bull Monday, a feat they said could lead to safer beef and more efficient ranching worldwide. 

“The potential for spreading the genetically based resistance to disease, I think, is exceptional,” said Richard Adams, the College of Veterinary Medicine dean. 

The month-old calf, called Bull 86 Squared, was cloned from genetic material frozen 15 years ago from Bull 86. That animal, which died of old age in 1997, was naturally resistant to brucellosis, tuberculosis and salmonellosis – all of which can be passed on to humans through uncooked beef, unpasteurized milk or contamination. 

The new animal carries the same traits. More of its genes will be tested for resistance to other diseases over the next few years. 

“What they’ve done is identify an animal that appears to have resistance to these diseases and all they’re doing is making another animal that’s genetically identical to it,” said Steven Kappes, an animal germ plasma and reproduction expert with the Agriculture Department’s research service. “So they’re not making the animal safer to eat.” 

“What they’re doing is just making more of something that is good,” he said. “That is a key: to identify animals that are genetically superior in certain traits and this allows us to make more of them.” 

Joe Templeton, an A&M professor of genetics and veterinary pathobiology, said cloning was a key addition to disease control. 

“The diseases we spent billions of dollars eradicating in the United States are across the border,” he said. “We import millions of cows a year. Many of those are infected and cause potential reintroduction of these diseases and another multibillion-dollar eradicating program.” 

He also said genetic engineering was more reliable in preventing diseases than vaccines and antibiotics. 

“You just turn them loose, let them eat the grass and enjoy,” Templeton said. “When they go into the food market, they don’t have antibiotics in them.” 

Salmonellosis can cause diarrhea, fever and cramps and is potentially fatal. Brucellosis carries the potential for brain infections and heart dysfunction, while TB is a deadly respiratory ailment. 

The genetically engineered calf is 10 to 100 times more resistant to the diseases than a normal animal, said Garry Adams, associate dean for research and graduate studies. 

“But what is important is that if they are also vaccinated, they will then become super resistant,” he said — between 100 and 1,000 times more resistant. 

I heard local schools were looking for substitute teachers, so I registered to take the California Basic Educational Skills Test.  

I completed an application form by filling small circles with a No. 2 pencil. I hadn’t performed this kind of activity since I was in grammar school 40 years ago. I was good at filling in the dots. I anticipated no problems with passing the test.  

One month later I arrived at Oakland Technical High School and took my place at the end of a long line of test-takers that snaked around the football field. Someone shouted through a megaphone that we would be allowed into the building soon. “Have your voucher and picture I.D. in hand,” the voice said. “Make sure you know what room you are going to and what seat you will occupy.” 

When the line moved forward so did I.  

Inch by inch I stepped toward an open door, then mounted the echoy stairs, and marched single file with my comrades down a hallway until I came to room 27J. Someone pointed at me and said, “Come in here. Hurry up.” 

“Take the seat you were assigned,” shouted a large woman who was obviously in charge of Room 27J. “You’ll see four numbers at each table. Match a number with the seat number on your voucher. Put backpacks and purses by the windows. Do not put anything under your chair. All you should have with you is a No. 2 pencil and an eraser. If you need to go to the restroom raise your hand. Only one person out of the room at a time. No talking, please.” 

I sat down as I was told to do and waited for the next set of instructions. When every seat was occupied the test booklets were passed out.  

“Don’t touch this book until I tell you to,” said the proctor. “Don’t open it, don’t write on it, don’t do anything until I say you can.”  

Everything I had learned 40 years ago in Wenonah Elementary School came back to me in a flash. Sit still. Don’t do anything until asked. Raise your hand if you need to go to the bathroom. There wasn’t any question that I’d make a great substitute teacher. I already knew the program. 

Susan Parker is a north Oakland resident and author of “Tumbling After,” which will be published next year. She can be reached at sparker@slip.net

Concerns about electromagnetic radiation prompted directors of the Jewish Community Center on Walnut Street to temporarily withdraw its application for rooftop wireless communications antennae. 

The Zoning Adjustments Board was scheduled to consider the application by the JCC and Sprint Communications to install up to seven antennae, which primarily support cellular phone use, at its Thursday meeting but the item was continued at the request of Sprint.  

A letter written by Sprint consultant Shannon McDougal requested the continuance until Jan.11 because “Sprint would like more time to adequately address the electromagnetic exposure fears within the community.”  

Jeffrey Carter, vice president of the JCC’s Board of Directors, said the project is under review because a significant number of members expressed health concerns about children who attend preschool and after-school programs at the center. The concerns were aired at a Wednesday meeting. 

“A final decision hasn’t been made,” Carter said. “The reason the hearing was delayed is because we want to get more feedback from our membership.” 

The JCC’s careful approach to the issue reflects growing concerns in several residential neighborhoods about the increasing number of antennae sprouting up in Berkeley. 

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, several residents voiced strong opposition to ZAB’s approval of 12 antennae atop the Oaks Theater on Solano Avenue. As a result, the City Council will be considering at least two recommendations to restrict antenna placement in residential neighborhoods. 

The Oaks Theater neighbors cited recent articles from medical journals in the United Kingdom claiming a growing body of evidence showing electromagnetic radiation from wireless communication antennae and cell phones is harmful. 

The British government recently announced a $10 million program to conduct additional studies and launch a nationwide public information campaign discouraging cell phone use especially among children. 

But there is some question about how much authority municipalities have over restricting the location of any communications systems. According to the planning department, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 precludes municipalities from regulating communications facilities for anything but appearance. 

The City Council adopted a set of guidelines in 1996 that discouraged antennae in residential neighborhoods. But the ZAB has approved every application for residential antennae. 

“The concerns about radiation raised by concerned citizens is a question that seems to be beyond our authority,” said David Blake, a ZAB boardmember. “We’ve made few changes to any of the applications that have come before us.” 

Monday, Dec. 18

Design Review Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Children’s Holiday Gift Drive  

2 - 6 p.m. 

1708-B Martin Luther King Jr. Way (at Virginia) 

Donate new games, puzzles, coats, books, and toys for younger children. Donate phone cards, movie passes, gift certificates, and new clothes for teens.Or donate money to support Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency. 848-3409 

Tuesday, Dec. 19

Planning for the Future 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose) 

Informally led by Robert Berend, former UC Extension lecturer, this group aims to have intelligent discussions on a wide range of topics. There is no religious bent to the discussions. Bring light snacks to share with group. 527-5332  

Children’s Holiday Gift Drive  

2 - 6 p.m. 

1708-B Martin Luther King Jr. Way (at Virginia) 

Donate new games, puzzles, coats, books, and toys. This is the last day of the gift drive. Call 848-3409 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

— compilied by  

Chason Wainwright 

Get Flabbergasted  

2 p.m. 

South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St.  

Zun Zun, a husband and wife duo will perform musical theater for children and families. They play over thirty instruments and are sing in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Free  

Call 649-3943 

Hansel and Gretel  

7 p.m. 

North Branch Library 

1170 The Alameda 

Oakland’s Opera Piccola will perform their version of “Hansel and Gretel.” Opera Piccola is a multiracial troupe of actors, singers, and dancers who pull unsuspecting audience members up to perform along with them. Geared for preschoolers.  

Call 649-3943 

Wednesday, Dec. 20 

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Family Sing-Along 

2 p.m. 

South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St.  

Gerry Tenney, musician, teacher, and performer, the man behind the saga of King Kong playing ping-pong with Godzilla returns to the Berkeley Public Library.  

Call 649-3943 

Alzheimer’s & Dementia Support Group 

1:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Call 644-6107 

Support for Family & Friends 

Caring for Older Adults 

4 - 5:30 p.m. 

Alta Bates Medical Center 

2001 Dwight Way 

Fourth Floor, Room 4190 

A group focusing on the needs of older adults with serious medical problems, psychiatric illnesses, and/or substance abuse, and their caregivers.  

Call 802-1725 

Thursday, Dec. 21 

Berkeley Metaphysic Toastmasters Club 

6:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. 

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysic come together at Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters. Meets first and third Thursdays each month. 

Call 869-2547 or 643-7645 

Free Anonymous HIV Testing 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available.  

Call 642-7202 

Environmental Musicfest  

8 p.m. 

La Pena  

3105 Shattuck Ave.  

Alicia Littletree and Timothy Hull, both known for commitment to social and environmental issues, perform.  

$5 - $7  

Call 415-927-1645 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Friday, Dec. 22 

Music in the Streets 

5 - 7 p.m. 

Strolling through downtown  

Berkeley 

Berkeley Community Chamber Chorus & These “R” They Gospel Youth Choir 

Holiday Celebration 

Noon 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Includes a holiday meal and an opera, “Kiri’s Coventry Xmas.”  

Call 644-6107 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Saturday, Dec. 23  

Farmers’ Market Craft Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

(Center at MLK Jr. Way) 

Local craftspeople will be selling a variety of handcrafted gifts. Also live music, massage, and hot apple cider. Free 

Call 548-3333 

Royal Hawaiian Ukulele Band 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

1561 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

Ninth Annual Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

Klesmeh! Festival  

8 p.m.  

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts  

2640 College Ave.  

A Hanukkah concert of Klesmer music and its mutations, featuring the San Francisco Klesmer experience. Hosted by Berkeley monologist/comedian Josh Kornbluth.  

$18 advance, $20 door; $16 kids and seniors  

Call 415-454-5238 

Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir 

7 p.m. 

Holy Names College Regents’ Theatre 

3500 Mountain Blvd.  

Oakland 

tickets: $15 - $20, available at the door  

Call 848-3938 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Sunday, Dec. 24  

Ancient Winds 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1573 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Tuesday, Dec. 26  

Kwanzaa! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join storyteller Awele Makeba as she shares tale and a capella songs from African and African-American history, culture, and folklore which celebrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Included with admission to the museum.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Blood Pressure Testing 

9:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Alice Meyers 

Call 644-6107 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Dec. 27 

Magic Mike 

Noon and 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Special effects, magic, juggling, ventriloquism, and outrageous comedy is what Parent’s Choice Award winner Magic Mike is all about. Included in price of museum admission.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Tai Chi Chuan for Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Mr. Chang 

Call 644-6107 

Thursday, Dec. 28  

Season of Lights  

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

The Imagination Company brings to life world winter celebrations and highlights the significance of light to several culture. Included in museum admission price.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Imani In the Village 

2 p.m. 

Claremont Library 

2940 Benvenue  

Percussionist James Henry presents a drumming and dance program for all ages. Audience participation invited.  

Call 649-3943 

Death of the Lecturer 

7 p.m. 

West Branch Library 

1125 University Ave.  

Calling all detectives, those who enjoy reading mysteries, playing Clue, and solving crossword puzzles to untangle the reason for the final fate confrontation.  

Call 649-3926 

Friday, Dec. 29  

Earthcapades 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join Hearty and Lissin as they blend storytelling, juggling, acrobatics, and more, to entertain and teach about saving the environment. Included in museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Saturday, Dec. 30  

Bats of the World  

1 & 2:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Maggie Hooper, an educator with the California Bat Conservation Fund, will show slides, introduce three live, tame, and indigenous bats, and answer your questions about these fascinating creatures. Included in admission to the museum. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Kwanzaa Celebration 

4 p.m. 

South Branch Library  

1901 Russell St.  

Muriel Johnson of Abiyomi Storytelling is the featured storyteller at the library’s annual celebration which also includes a formal Kwanzaa ceremony.  

Call 649-3943 

Sunday, Dec. 31 

Light Up the Lights! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Popular songmeister Gary Lapow performs traditional holiday music from around the world. Included in price of museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Tuesday, Jan. 2 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Jan. 3  

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Friday, Jan. 5  

Zen Buddhist Sites in China 

7 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California 

1000 Oak St.  

Oakland 

Andy Ferguson, author of “Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings,” presents a slide show of Zen holy sites in China. Ferguson will read from the book and engage the audience in a brief meditation session. Included in museum admission. 

$6 general, $4 seniors and students with ID 

Call 1-888-OAK-MUSE 

Tuesday, Jan. 9  

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Thursday, Jan. 11 

Toni Stone and the Negro Baseball League 

1 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California 

1000 Oak St.  

Oakland 

Marcia Eymann, curator of historical photography, discusses memorabilia of Toni Stone, a woman who played in the Negro Baseball Legue in the 1940s. Free. 

Call 1-888-OAK-MUSE 

Free Anonymous HIV Testing 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available.  

Call 642-7202 

Friday, Jan. 12 

“Who’s Really In Charge Anyway?” 

7:30 p.m. 

Unitarian Hall 

1924 Cedar St.  

The subject to be discussed is the guru dilemma and individual spiritual mastership. Hear about the spiritual path of light and sound and the ancient teachings of the saints.  

Call Unitarian Hall, 841-4824 or visit www.masterpath.org 

Saturday, Jan. 13 

“Dyke Open Myke!” 

7:30 p.m. 

Boadecia’s Books  

398 Colusa Ave. (at Colusa Cir.) 

Kensington 

A coffeehouse-style open mic. night for emerging talent. 

Call Jessy, 655-1015  

or Boadecia’s Books, 559-9184 

Sunday, Jan. 14 

Teaching Chinese Culture in the U.S.  

2 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California 

1000 Oak St.  

Oakland 

Educators from Bay Area Chinese schools explore issues related to teaching Chinese culture and language. Included in museum admission.  

$6 general; $4 seniors and students with ID 

Call 1-888-OAK-MUSE 

LesBiGayTrans Parenting 

11 a.m. 

Boadecia’s Books 

398 Colusa Ave. (at Colusa Cir.) 

Kensington 

These two groups meet on the second Sunday of each month. The group meeting at 11 a.m. is for prospective parents, the one at noon for parents.  

Call 559-9184 

“Berkeley, 1900” 

3 - 5 p.m. . 

Berkeley History Center 

1931 Center St.  

Richard Schwartz gives an oral history of Berkeley at the turn of the century.  

A-Singin’ and a Chantin’ 

8 p.m. 

Shambhala Booksellers 

2482 Telegraph Ave.  

Pagan recording artist DJ Hamouris shares some songs and chants. 

Call 848-8443 

Free Feng Shui Class 

3 p.m. 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley  

2066 University Ave.  

Taught by Lily Chung, author of “Calendars for Feng Shui and Divination.” 

Call Eastwind, 548-3250 

Tuesday, Jan. 16  

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Jan. 17  

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Thursday, Jan. 18  

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Library 

Claremont Branch  

2940 Benveue Ave.  

Facilitated by Cecile Andrews, author of “Circles of Simplicty,” learn about this movement whose philosophy is “the examined life richly lived.” Work less, consume less, rush less, and build community with friends and family.  

Call 549-3509 or visit www.seedsofsimplicity.org  

Combating Congestion  

1 - 5 p.m. 

Pauley Ballroom 

Student Union Building  

UC Berkeley 

A one-day transportation conference featuring Martin Wachs and Elizabeth Deakin, both of UC Berkeley. Co-sponsored by the Institute of Transportation Studies and the UC Transportation Center.  

Call 642-1474  

Tuesday, Jan. 23 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Saturday, Jan. 27  

Clori, Tirsi & e Fileno 

8 p.m. 

Crowden School  

1475 Rose St. (at Sacramento) 

Teatro Bacchino, the Bay Area’s Baroque Opera company, will be performing Handel’s story of jealousy in love. Pre-concert talk 45 minutes before the performance.  

$15 - $20  

Call 658-3382  

Sunday, Jan. 28  

Clori, Tirsi & e Fileno 

7 p.m. 

Crowden School  

1475 Rose St. (at Sacramento) 

Teatro Bacchino, the Bay Area’s Baroque Opera company, will be performing Handel’s story of jealousy in love. Pre-concert talk 45 minutes before the performance.  

$15 - $20  

Call 658-3382  

Tuesday, Jan. 30 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Sunday, Feb. 4 

“Under Construction No. 10” 

7:30 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church  

2727 College Ave.  

Experience the unusual rehearsal-reading format that lets the audience experience the collaboration between conductor, orchestra and composer in the Berkeley Symphony’s unique series presenting new works or works-in-progress by local Bay Area composers.  

Call 841-2800 

Sunday, Feb. 11  

Ruth Acty Oral History Reception 

3 - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Historical Society  

Veterans Memorial Building 

1931 Center St.  

In 1943 Miss Ruth Acty became the first African American teacher to be hired by the Berkeley Unified School District. She taught thousands of students until her retirement in 1985. Oral History Coordinator Therese Pipe interviewed Acty in 1993-94 for the Berkeley Historical Society. Free  

Thursday, Feb. 15 

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Library 

Claremont Branch  

2940 Benveue Ave.  

Facilitated by Cecile Andrews, author of “Circles of Simplicty,” learn about this movement whose philosophy is “the examined life richly lived.” Work less, consume less, rush less, and build community with friends and family.  

Call 549-3509 or visit www.seedsofsimplicity.org  

Sunday, Feb. 25  

“Imperial San Francisco: 

Urban Power, Earthly Ruin” 

3 - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley History Center 

Veterans Memorial Building 

1931 Center St.  

Gary Brechin speaks on the impact and legacy of the Hearsts and other powerful San Francisco families. Free 

Call 848-0181 

Thursday, March 15  

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Library 

Claremont Branch  

2940 Benveue Ave.  

Facilitated by Cecile Andrews, author of “Circles of Simplicty,” learn about this movement whose philosophy is “the examined life richly lived.” Work less, consume less, rush less, and build community with friends and family.  

Call 549-3509 or visit www.seedsofsimplicity.org  

Sunday, March 18  

“Topaz Moon” 

3 - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley History Center 

Veterans Memorial Building 

1931 Center St.  

Kimi Kodani Hill speaks on artist Chiura Obata’s family and the WW II Japanese relocation camps. Free 

Call 848-0181 

ONGOING EVENTS 

Sundays 

Green Party Consensus Building Meeting 

6 p.m. 

2022 Blake St. 

This is part of an ongoing series of discussions for the Green Party of Alameda County, leading up to endorsements on measures and candidates on the November ballot. This week’s focus will be the countywide new Measure B transportation sales tax. The meeting is open to all, regardless of party affiliation. 

415-789-8418 

Mondays 

Baby Bounce and Toddler Time 

10:30 a.m. 

Oct. 16 - Dec. 11 

Berkeley Central Library 

2121 Allston Way 

For children ages 6 to 36 months. Get those babies off to a good start with songs, rhymes, lap bounces, and very simple books. 

649-3943  

Tuesdays 

Easy Tilden Trails 

9:30 a.m. 

Tilden Regional Park, in the parking lot that dead ends at the Little Farm 

Join a few seniors, the Tuesday Tilden Walkers, for a stroll around Jewel Lake and the Little Farm Area. Enjoy the beauty of the wildflowers, turtles, and warblers, and waterfowl. 

215-7672; members.home.com/teachme99/tilden/index.html 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

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. 

531-8664 

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. 

644-8511 

Wednesdays  

10:30 a.m. 

Preschool Song and Story Time 

Berkeley Central Library 

2121 Allston Way 

Music and stories for ages 3-5.  

649-3943 

Thursdays 

The Disability Mural 

4-7 p.m. through September 

Integrated Arts 

933 Parker 

Drop-in Mural Studios will be held for community gatherings and tile-making sessions. This mural will be installed at Ed Roberts campus. 

841-1466 

Free Anonymous HIV Testing 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available.  

Call 642-7202  

Saturdays 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Poets Juan Sequeira and Wanna Thibideux Wright 

2nd and 4th Sunday 

Rhyme and Reason Open Mike Series 

2:30 p.m. 

UC Berkeley Art Museum, 2621 Durant Ave. 

The public and students are invited. Sign-ups for the open mike begin at 2 p.m. 

234-0727;642-5168 

Tuesday and Thursday 

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. 

644-6109 

Compiled by Chason Wainwright 

Reader has the Berkeley Tool Library blues 

Editor: 

The Berkeley Tool Library has been a glowing institution for years — the free use of tools to Berkeley residents with expert advice on how to use them and sometimes even on how to undertake a project altogether. The tool librarians have been efficient, helpful and friendly.  

And what is their reward? 

Pete, the founder of the tool library, is now retiring, apparently as little appreciated by the library administrators as he has been much appreciated by us tool borrowers. And Adam and Mikem Pete’s overqualified colleagues, apparently can look forward to more than half-time work even after Pete leaves. Another colleague, Candida, can look forward to less than half-time work with no benefits.  

As Peter leaves, Adam, Mike and Candida should get more hours, and corresponding benefits, along with the responsibility to manage the tool library. That’s the least deserved by these good employees and by us grateful taxpayers. 

Instead, what seems to be coming is the creation of a tool library manager position to be filled by someone who doesn’t even need to know tools. So the self-starting, self-sufficient employees are to face the lines of us tool borrowers with a supervisor instead of a fellow tool expert, with nothing to supervise and everything to learn, just a burden on the tool librarians and on those in line. 

Cut the nonsense! Leave the tool library in the capable hands of its expert employees! Give them the responsibility and watch this successful institution remain successful.  

Allen Dull 

Berkeley

The University of California baseball team has signed seven athletes to national letters of intent, including four players who are listed on TeamOneBaseball.com Top-100 High School Prospects List 

Cal head coach David Esquer and his staff signed four pitchers and three position players. The pitchers include Tyler Adamczyk, a 6-5, 180 pound right-handed pitcher/first baseman from Westlake Village (Westlake High School), Alex Trafton, a 6-4, 190-pound right-hander from Redlands (Yucaipa High School), Brent Hale, a 6-2, 200-pound right-hander from Palos Verdes (Peninsula High School) and Matt Swanson, a 6-7, 210-pound right-hander from Los Gatos (Los Gatos High School).  

The position players signed include Justin Nelson, a 6-2, 210-pound left-handed outfielder from Vista (Rancho Buena Vista High School), Terry Jones, a 6-2, 195-pound shortstop from Upland (Upland High School) and David Nicholson, a 6-0, 160-pound outfielder from Anaheim (Esperanza High School).  

Adamczyk, who is list the 12th best high school prospect by TeamOneBaseball, was 9-1 with 64 strikeouts and a 1.38 ERA in 56.0 innings last spring as a junior for Westlake High School. He also batted .400 with four home runs and 25 RBI and was named first team All-CIF Southern Section, L.A. Daily News All-Area Player of the Year, L.A. Times All-County Team and first team All-Marmonte League. Adamczyk was also selected as one of the nation’s Top 50 high school players for the USA National Team Trials in Joplin, MO in July of 2000.  

Another Bear signee ranked in TeamOneBaseball’s top prospects includes Justin Nelson, who is ranked 28th.  

Nelson is a left-handed pitcher as well as an outfielder and, according to Rivals.com, his frame and talents could be likened to Colorado Rockies outfielder Larry Walker.  

He has 6.6 60-yard speed and has one of the best outfield arms among the 2001 class of outfielders. As a pitcher, Nelson throws in the mid-80s and has an outstanding curveball.  

He is also a standout high school quarterback, passing for 720 yards and rushing for 644 yards as a junior. Nelson was named Palomar League Player of the Year in football.  

Terry Jones and David Nicholson are the other two Cal recruits ranked in the TeamOneBaseball Top 100 list.  

Jones, considered to be an outstanding athlete with a strong bat and the ability to play shortstop or third, is listed as the 40th-best prospect.  

Nicolson is the 81st top high school recruit and has above average speed in the outfield.  

“I’m extremely excited about this year’s recruiting class,” said Esquer. “I feel we have now backed-up last season’s recruiting class with another strong group of players.”  

The recruits 

Name Position Hometown/Last School 

Tyler Adamczyk RHP/1B Westlake Village, Westlake  

Brent Hale RHP Palos Verdes, Peninsula HS 

Terry Jones SS Upland, Upland HS 

Justin Nelson OF/LHP Vista, Rancho Buena HS 

David Nicholson OF Anaheim, Esperanza HS 

Matt Swanson RHP Los Gatos, Los Gatos HS 

Alex Trafton RHP Redlands, CA/Yucaipa HS

Every school day at 11:24 a.m., a line of students streams out of Berkeley High School toward downtown Berkeley food vendors.  

A committee of Berkeley High representatives and local government officials hope to keep students on campus by offering them the same food they can get downtown.  

Mayor Shirley Dean had hoped that food vendors could begin selling on campus in September, but the process has been considerably delayed. On Friday, Dean planned to send a letter to the local merchants advising them of the nutritional guidelines in the hopes of finding vendors who can start selling by next semester, which begins January 30.  

The main issue holding up the vendor program, according to Dean, has been meeting federal and local nutritional guidelines, while still providing food at a reasonable cost. Federal guidelines require school lunches to offer fruit and milk. Berkeley guidelines require that the meals be low in fat, nutritional, and “organic to the maximum extent possible,” according to a draft of the guidelines prepared by Child Nutrition Services. 

“The law requires that the (Berkeley Unified School District) provides free and reduced lunches,” said Joy Moore, project associate for the food systems project. “How that will happen we have not figured out.” 

The federal government reimburses the school district approximately $2.13 per student, Moore said. 

Each year, Dean said the Berkeley Unified School District loses approximately $60,000 on the low-income student school lunch program. She hopes that the new program will be able to make money on some items – particularly smoothies – to counterbalance the deficit. 

A draft of the letter sent to businesses Friday said that the food court will begin with only five vendors selling items wholesale to Berkeley Unified, who will then re-sell it to students. Students would purchase a meal ticket, and exchange tickets for food. Low-income students would receive tickets at reduced rates, but nobody would know how much a student had paid for a ticket, Dean said. 

Students on the Food Court Committee said in a schoolwide survey, students indicated they would spend $4 a day on lunch. The letter said the products must cost the school district between $1.50 and $3 per item.  

Moore could not say exactly how much each ticket would cost.  

“We’re trying to keep it as low as possible, we’re not in the business of making money, we’re in the business of serving quality food,” said Moore. 

The committee, made up of representatives from the school district, the mayors office, the Food Systems Project, Child Nutrition Services and from Berkeley High School, is keenly aware of the need to get students involved for the project to succeed. 

“We’re getting the Berkeley High School galvanized and organized around this,” said Moore. “That’s the only way the kids are going to own it, by being involved in the decision making process.”  

To maximize student input they sent out a schoolwide survey, she said, adding that 113 students volunteered to participate in the process. 

Students on the food court committee said they hoped to serve the food in a nice atmosphere, with good music and perhaps a dance floor for student performances. Desired foods included pizza, chicken burritos, fruit smoothies and Chinese noodle soup, according to the letter to the merchants. 

Sean Dugar, 16, a member of the Food Court Committee who will help advise the district on their choice of the vendors, said they are looking for, “vendors who are student friendly.”  

“If they don’t want students in their businesses on Shattuck, we don’t want them here,” he said. 

Both Deborah Badhia, executive director of the Downtown Berkeley Association and the mayor expressed their hopes that the on-campus vendors will eliminate some of the problems related to student traffic and relieve tension between vendors and students.  

“Our business community very much cares for and appreciates the high school students, and their exuberance,” said Badhia. “The difficulty is that the sheer number of students that come downtown in a very short window of time can impact the businesses. The clientele of workers won’t come to certain businesses for a portion of the day because it’s too filled up with students.” 

Badhia said although the vast majority of students behave well, a small percentage are disrespectful, fight, and “set a tone that reflects on the entire student body and inhibits commerce.”  

“If a group of students is blocking the business doorway, other customers usually can not come in or they feel intimidated,” she said. 

Dugar placed part of the blame for bad student behavior on the businesses themselves. “You’ll notice that the places where students start fights are not student friendly restaurants,” he said. Peking Express is an example of a restaurant where students never have any problems, he said.  

“They treat students like they’re actually human beings,” he said. 

Dean noted that the vendors will not be able to accommodate all of Berkeley High’s 3,000-plus students , but should relieve some of the problems with congestion.

Alameda County Supervisors are today interviewing five people who want to fill the District 3 seat left vacant by Wilma Chan's election to the California Assembly. 

The candidates were short-listed from 15 applicants who turned in completed applications to the board clerk by the deadline. No decision is expected today, but one may be announced as early as next Tuesday, the last Board of Supervisor's meeting scheduled for the year. 

The candidates are Ralph Appezzato, the mayor of Alameda; Berresford Bingham, trustee of the Alameda Unified School District's board of education; David Kakishiba, executive director of the East Bay Asian Youth Center in Oakland; Alice Lai-Bitker of Alameda, an assistant to Wilma Chan; and Gary Yee, chairman of the education department at Holy Names College. 

Yee does not live in District 3, although he says he owns a home in the district, where he plans to move if appointed.  

District 3 includes the island of Alameda, part of Oakland and San Leandro. The interviews are open to the public and there will be an open forum when the interviews are complete.

Gasoline prices during the past two weeks fell more than 51/2 cents on average, according to an industry survey released Sunday. 

The average price of all grades of gasoline was $1.54 on Dec. 15, according to the Lundberg Survey of about 10,000 service stations nationwide. 

Lower crude oil prices and a large supply of refined gasoline have contributed to the lower prices, said industry analyst Trilby Lundberg.  

The trend likely will continue over the next few weeks since the winter season typically leads to less demand for gasoline, Lundberg said. 

She also debunked the notion that service station operators raise their prices during the holidays. 

“We’re seeing a price fall of more than a nickel right before the winter holidays,” she said.  

“They competitively must avoid a price rise and cut prices, if possible, to chase sales during this low demand season.” 

The national weighted average price of unleaded gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was $1.46 a gallon for regular, $1.56 a gallon for midgrade and $1.65 a gallon for premium.  

At full service pumps, the average price was $1.85 for regular, $1.94 for midgrade and $2.02 for premium.

BERKELEY — University of California officials played down a report that they have developed preliminary proposals for major changes in admissions, including eliminating the SAT requirement. 

A story published in Friday’s San Francisco Chronicle said a draft report, which came out of a recent one-day conference on admissions, recommends eliminating the SAT and giving extra weight to consideration of students who participate in UC’s outreach programs. 

UC has struggled with decreasing black and Hispanic admissions since dropping affirmative action two years ago. Although UC no long can consider race, it can recruit and support disadvantaged students and the conference, attended by about a hundred UC admissions directors, faculty, students and system officials, was part of that effort. 

The Chronicle noted the draft recommendations are subject to months of review and some may have to be approved by regents. 

“It is going to make it possible for students in disadvantaged situations to prepare themselves better to apply to the UC,” Alex Saragoza, vice president for educational outreach, told the newspaper. 

Saragoza did not return a telephone call Friday to The Associated Press. 

But UC Provost C. Judson King responded to the article with a statement saying the conference “produced a variety of ideas but stopped well short of evaluation of those ideas or development of any formal plan for addressing these issues.” 

“We are at the brainstorming stage,” said UC spokesman Brad Hayward. 

UC provided a copy of draft recommendations typed up after the conference, but said they amounted to notes that would go into the creation of a draft report in the future. The draft recommendations released Friday discuss a range of options for the SAT, including reform, elimination or making it optional. 

They also pushed for substantial change in how students become eligible for UC, saying the pool must be broadened “to be accessible to the diverse groups among us.” 

UC has discussed dropping the SAT, the standardized test taken by many high school seniors, before, although the idea hasn’t been put to regents for a vote. The test has been criticized as a poor predictor of how students will do in college and culturally biased against minorities. 

However, some regents support it as a yardstick against grade inflation. 

If UC did eliminate the SAT, it would be a major move, said Bob Schaeffer of Fair Test, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, which fights bias in standardized tests. 

“For the biggest public education system in the country to take such a move would have tremendous influence,” he said. 

UC Regent Ward Connerly, who led the fight to drop UC’s affirmative action admissions, said he hasn’t seen the proposals. However, he said he was concerned UC is responding to pressure to try to increase the numbers of black and Hispanic students. 

“The Supreme Court has said in the most resounding of terms that we should not be using race, that we cannot try to engineer the outcome and yet we just don’t seem to get the message,” he said. “It’s not broken, the admissions system, so why are we trying to fix it?” 

SAN FRANCISCO — The rock and dust kicked up by an asteroid impact 65 million years ago was not enough to kill the dinosaurs, according to researchers – but the debris may have sparked a deadly global chemical reaction in the atmosphere. 

New studies show the Chicxulub impact crater on the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is smaller than once thought, making dinosaur extinction difficult to explain completely.  

Researchers presented those findings Sunday at the American Geophysical Union’s fall meeting. 

“If you rely on little pieces of debris actually clobbering organisms, then you’re in trouble,” said Virgil “Buck” Sharpton of the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. 

Since 1980, research on the dinosaurs’ disappearance has focused on the 125-mile crater and the 10-mile-wide asteroid believed to have created it. Dust from the impact was thought to have blocked out sunlight for years. 

Now, however, drilling around the Yucatan crater indicates the presence of carbonates and sulfate rocks.  

The new theory is that these were vaporized by the asteroid impact, a process that would have released chemicals that produce sulfur and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. 

The sulfur compounds would be especially toxic, Sharpton said. 

“They do nasty things. They form little globules that persist in the atmosphere for some considerable amount of time º decades to a hundred years,” he said.  

“They also mix with water in the atmosphere and produce sulfuric acid.” 

So besides old theories about a nuclear winter-type global cooling, researchers believe the giant oxygen-breathing reptiles also may have choked on carbon dioxide and suffered showers of caustic acid. 

“How do you initiate the global crisis? It had to be atmospheric chemistry of some sort,” Sharpton said.  

“That’s the only way you can transport the effect globally of something that dumps the majority of its energy into a single spot on the Earth’s surface.” 

Rock and dust alone from Chicxulub probably would not have been sufficient to snuff out life on the other side of the globe, Sharpton said – even a small pocket of life would have repopulated the planet. To test the theories further, Sharpton and colleagues plan to drill 1.5 miles into the crater and retrieve samples of the rock present in what was a shallow sea when the asteroid hit.  

The project, located 50 miles south of Merida will not begin before June. Studies of Chicxulub have more value than explaining the dinosaur extinction, said Gail Christeson of the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics in Austin. 

“We’re interested not just because it’s the point of impact but because of what we can learn about other asteroid impact craters,” she said. 

Scientists hope to learn what might happen if a future asteroid or comet crashes into Earth. 

Other studies presented at the AGU meeting compare Chicxulub with the much older Sudbury crater near Ontario. By comparing different levels of melted rock at the bottom of both craters, researchers are more confident that Sudbury was formed by a high-velocity comet and Chicxulub by a slower-moving asteroid. 

Comets are chunks of dirty ice; asteroids are giant rocks. 

Such large impacts are estimated to occur only once every 350 million years. That makes such craters – especially well-preserved ones such as Chicxulub – difficult to find on Earth. 

“We’ve got an opportunity, a unique opportunity on the face of the Earth, to study a crater in three dimensions that has been preserved almost in pristine shape,” Sharpton said. “And that’s really what we want to do.” 

On the Net: 

Asteroid impact theory: http://ucaswww.mcm.uc.edu/geology/huff/Chicxulub.html 

SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Bell should not be allowed to sell long distance service in California until it sorts through a tangle of service issues, a report to the state’s Public Utilities Commission concludes. 

Pacific Bell wants a piece of California’s $14 billion long-distance market. But first the company must pass muster with the PUC, which must determine how fairly Pacific Bell is treating other local service phone companies. 

That process is expected to last well into next year. 

Federal law requires Pacific Bell cannot provide long distance until it opens its monopoly on local service to smaller competitors. 

Those competitors use Pacific Bell’s hardware to carry calls because they do not have the capital to build duplicate networks from scratch. Pacific Bell, in turn, is not supposed to discriminate against piggybacking carriers when it comes to service. Indeed, that’s a requirement before regulators will let Pacific Bell sell long-distance service. 

A report for the PUC released Friday said Pacific Bell must improve in at least 10 service areas. Among those, the company must prove that it is able to handle large volumes of orders from competitors that use Pacific Bell lines. 

The report was written for the PUC by consultants at Cap Gemini, Ernst & Young and GE Global eXchange Services. It examined what happens when Pacific Bell’s customers opt for an alternate carrier or when the carriers request access to Pacific Bell’s network equipment to provide service. 

“These are things that we can move forward with and continually address,” Pacific Bell spokesman Bill Mashek said. 

Mashek said Pacific Bell now processes 81,000 orders from competitors each month, nearly all for businesses wanting to switch local phone companies. That shows Pacific Bell’s systems are “capable of handling a large volume. These results show that we provide efficient, excellent service to our wholesale customers.” 

Only two states have seen regional local phone companies win the right to sell long-distance service: Verizon Communications in New York, and Southwestern Bell in Texas. 

LOS ANGELES — The six companies that bought power plants in California when the state deregulated its utilities have seen profits rise dramatically this year, according to the companies’ third-quarter statements. 

The companies’ income for July, August and September, when wholesale prices were rising and utility companies began accumulating debt to pay for energy, rose from 37 percent at Houston-based Reliant Energy Inc. to more than 221 percent at Minneapolis-based NRG Energy Inc. 

A seventh non-utility company that operates power plants in California but didn’t buy any from the major utilities saw profits rise 243 percent in the third quarter. 

Together, the companies account for nearly 40 percent of the power generated within California, according to the California Energy Commission. 

The financial documents provide a glimpse of how lucrative the state’s fledgling and much troubled deregulated electricity market has become for the companies supplying the power. 

Critics of deregulation say the soaring profits are proof of how the process has veered wildly out of control – benefiting a handful of power companies at the expense of ratepayers and utility companies. 

“It looks obscene,” said Michael Shames, executive director of the San Diego-based Utility Consumers Action Network. 

San Diego Gas and Electric was the first utility in the state to sell off its assets under deregulation, exempting the utility from a rate freeze. Customers saw their bills double and triple earlier this year. 

Power companies said they are not to blame and instead said the state of failing to make accurate predictions about the enormous demand for electricity and the supply problems when it deregulated. 

“We are being vilified as the ones who are causing all of the problems in California,” said Dynegy senior vice president Lynn Lednicky. “Rather than trying to deal with the volume of electricity in California, people are trying to attack the price end of the equation.” 

Energy wholesalers said their profits are due to operations in California and elsewhere across the nation and can be attributed mostly to decreased supply and increased demand. 

Reliant Energy officials said about a third of the company’s third-quarter net income came from California. However, they said the main producer was the company’s mid-Atlantic operations, which accounted for more than half of its income. 

The company acquired five California power plants from Southern California Edison in 1998 for $280 million. 

“It has proved to be a good acquisition for us,” Reliant spokesman Richard Wheatley said. “It is definitely a stepping stone to build our business.” 

Officials with Houston-based Dynegy, which operates plants throughout the United States, said the California market has been lucrative this year but said they couldn’t break down income by region. 

Dynegy joined forces with another company to buy four power plants in Southern California for $570 million. The new holdings account for 16 percent of Dynegy’s national portfolio. 

The largest segment of the company’s power plants, about 30 percent, are in the Midwest. 

California’s energy market was a good financial opportunity for those willing to take the risk, Lednicky said. 

“With a brand new market, there is a great deal of uncertainty,” he said. “Some companies like to be the first one in the door. There were clear indications there was going to be a great deal of liquidity there.” 

When the state shifted to a deregulated market, out-of-state wholesalers began bidding for power plants required to be put up for sale by utilities. 

Some companies paid as much as 2 1/2 times a plant’s market value, indicating how lucrative executives believed the market to be. 

“We saw there was going to be a substantial need for power in California,” said Tom Williams, director of public affairs for the western operations of Duke Energy Inc. “We have been very pleased with our returns.” 

The Charlotte, N.C.-based company saw its third-quarter net income rise 74 percent compared to the same period a year ago, according to company financial statements. 

Other profit spikes were just as spectacular. Arlington, Va.-based AES Inc., for example, saw its third-quarter income rise 131 percent, from $58 million to $134 million. 

The state’s deregulation plan, which took effect four years ago, was supposed to lower prices for consumers through competition. So far, however, it has led to higher energy prices, put residents on alert for rolling blackouts and prompted bankruptcy warnings from utilities. 

California’s two largest utilities, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric, are operating under state-imposed rate freezes as they move toward deregulation. They say they have lost about $6 billion because of wholesalers’ prices and want to pass along the rate increases to their customers. 

Wholesale energy prices are averaging $330 per megawatt hour so far this month, 11 times higher than December 1999. 

On Friday, federal regulators ordered an overhaul of California’s electricity market, setting a price cap on wholesale rates in an attempt to control rising prices and curtail supply shortages. 

The temporary order will allow utility companies to keep the power they generate rather than selling it on the open market. 

A government hearing into an Alaska Airlines crash that killed all 88 people aboard ended Saturday night with investigators questioning the safety of a critical part used in the popular MD-80 and DC-9 series of jetliners. 

“We’re just gathering evidence to see where the safety deficiencies are,” John Hammerschmidt, who conducted the National Transportation Safety Board’s four-day hearing into the Jan. 31 crash, said in an interview. 

“There may be other aspects to the investigation that are not readily apparent from this hearing,” he said. 

The board plans to continue its investigation, with a conclusion on cause of the crash and recommendations expected in several months. It also can reopen the hearing if it chooses, Hammerschmidt told participants. 

From the start, the hearing focused on airline maintenance problems and the failure of a 21/2-feet-long jackscrew that helps control up-and-down movement in the tail wing of the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft. 

Saturday’s testimony dealt with the adequacy of Federal Aviation Administration’s procedures for monitoring of MD-80 and DC-9 jetliners, and why, as the NTSB’s Benjamin Berman put it, the FAA “didn’t pick up on these systemic problems.” Flight standards director Nick Lacey said the FAA is studying itself to determine just that. 

“We are learning through this process,” Lacey said at the hearing’s end. 

For the victims’ families, who hugged during breaks and taped photos of loved ones to chairs, the hearing was an often tedious exercise in accountability. 

“It’s very surreal. It feels really like this unbearable parade of if-onlys” said Emily Barnett, 37, of Bellingham, Wash., who had relatives on the flight. 

Spokesman Lou Cancelmi said the airline was satisfied with the hearing. “We want to find out what happened so that it never happens again,” he said. 

The jackscrew’s threads were found stripped and investigators suspect Boeing-approved Aeroshell 33 grease might have corroded the threads, or the jackscrew was left without lubrication because of a mechanical malfunction or the grease was improperly mixed with Mobil 28 grease, causing both to break down. 

U.S. Navy tests found the Aeroshell 33 grease was “contaminated” with Mobil 28 and contained aluminum-bronze particles from a stripped 8-inch gimbal nut. 

“Two incompatible greases should not be mixed because an inferior product could result,” the Navy reported. And Boeing engineer Dennis Jerome acknowledged: “There may be a chemical reaction between the two greases.” 

Boeing took over McDonnell Douglas in a 1997 merger and approved the airline using Aeroshell 33. But it was the only airline that did so on MD-80s, NTSB investigator-in-charge Richard Rodriguez noted. 

About 2,100 of the DC-9s and their MD-80 successors are in use, making them the world’s second-most popular models. The Boeing 737, with more than 3,000 in service, is the No. 1 plane. 

FAA experts and a Boeing engineer testified the jackscrew was found to be lacking grease, an assertion the airline hotly disputed. An FAA metallurgist said a tube that put grease on the jackscrew was clogged. 

Airline officials acknowledged paperwork was incomplete, lacking proper signatures, for approving the July 1997 change in the type of grease used. One engineer blamed the lapse on a deceased former co-worker. 

A transcript of the pilots’ final 32 minutes showed they fought valiantly until the last moments of their fatal nose dive into the Pacific Ocean near Los Angeles. 

Testimony during the hearing turned up evidence the airline initially pressured the pilots not to land at Los Angeles and it could have learned about a problem with its jackscrews as much as seven months before the crash. 

But the airline’s computer programming that tracks mechanical trends did not warn the airline until three days after the crash that three of the MD-80 series two-engine jets needed jackscrews replaced in 1999. 

The airline’s maintenance director, Wright McCartney, said it was unclear whether an earlier alert would have prompted the airline to check all its jackscrews. 

——— 

On the Net: 

National Transportation Safety Board site: http://www.ntsb.gov 

Federal Aviation Administration: http://www.faa.gov 

SANTEE — Council members in Santee and Oceanside are the only city officials in San Diego County who receive free home Internet access – a perk that has some people concerned. 

While the majority of the council members in the county get free Internet access at their office, some say it is unfair that taxpayers have to pay for their services at home as well. 

Santee Councilman Jim Bartell, who declined the free Internet service, said getting such a perk is a waste of money. 

“I think it’s an inappropriate use of city funds,” Bartell said. “I don’t think it’s necessary to do the job.” 

However, many city officials say the service is used to prepare of upcoming meetings and they use it to download important information, such as crime statistics from the San Diego Association of Governments’ Web site. 

Oceanside Councilwoman Betty Harding sees home Internet access as an important way to stay in touch with the city staff and constituents. She uses it to dial up city budgets and council agendas. 

“As far as I’m concerned, 95 percent of the work I do on my home computer is for the City Council, so I don’t consider it a perk,” Harding said. “If I wasn’t on the City Council, I wouldn’t have a computer.” 

Santee Mayor Randy Voepel said home access ranges from $22 to $50 per month and is a legitimate business expense. He said he never uses the account for personal use.

LOS ANGELES — When she was arrested a year and a half ago, Sara Jane Olson was still legally known as Kathleen Soliah, a fugitive who had eluded authorities for 25 years. Much has changed since then, including her name. 

The case which thrust this Minnesota housewife unwillingly into the public eye, however, is no closer to trial than it was after her friends and family posted $1 million for her bail in July 1999. 

Olson – the name she has used since she left her past behind in the radical 1970s – is charged with placing pipe bombs under police cars in 1974 as alleged retaliation for the deaths of her friends in a Symbionese Liberation Army shootout with officers.  

The bombs did not go off; no one was injured and Olson, who has maintained she had no connection with the events, disappeared. 

In June 1999 she was found in St. Paul, Minn. A tip from a viewer of TV’s “America’s Most Wanted” led the FBI to the doctor’s wife and mother of three who participated in amateur theatricals and was a tireless volunteer for her church and charities. 

She was arrested and brought to Los Angeles, scene of the alleged crime, and was jailed until her supporters bailed her out. 

And thus began a protracted legal minuet in which lawyers came and went, a key witness died, a new district attorney replaced the man who filed the charges and, last week, even the judge bowed out. Prosecutors are fuming over delays, but more postponements appear inevitable. 

Why are things moving so slowly? 

“I don’t think anyone feels any urgency since this case is 25 years old,” said Loyola University Law School Professor Laurie Levenson. 

There is also little concern about the now defunct radical group which made headlines when it kidnapped heiress Patricia Hearst in 1974. Levenson recalled that as a law student she attended the Hearst trial in San Francisco and remembers the radically charged atmosphere. 

“Today, the SLA seems more like a nostalgic memory than a threat,” she said. “The defendant looks less like a radical than a housewife and when the public thinks of a threat to public safety they’re more likely to think of the Rampart police scandal than the SLA.” 

Even Hearst, who is expected to be the star witness for the prosecution, has said she would rather not appear and drag up events that seem like ancient history. 

For Olson, the delays have placed her in limbo, flying back and forth across the country to court appearances, listening as prosecutors denounce her and defense lawyers praise her, waiting as dates are set and then re-set for her trial. 

Three times, her chosen lawyers have announced they had to leave the case. Stuart Hanlon left because he was a widower with two small children and could not travel from San Francisco for a lengthy trial. Susan Jordan dropped out because of health problems brought on by stress and Deputy Public Defender Henry Hall left due to an unstated conflict of interest. 

In February, witness Jack Scott, who once helped Hearst go underground, died of throat cancer. He had been expected to testify for the defense. 

In November, District Attorney Gil Garcetti lost a re-election race to Steve Cooley. And now, in the strangest twist of all, Superior Court Judge James Ideman who handled the case from its inception suddenly bowed out when he was transferred to a suburban court. 

Another San Francisco lawyer representing Olson, J. Tony Serra, has failed to appear for several pretrial hearings and his co-counsel, Shawn Chapman, has said she is unable to prepare the case alone. An interim judge has ordered a hearing Monday to try to resolve the future of the case. 

Meanwhile, Deputy District Attorneys Michael Latin and Eleanor Hunter are furious. They filed a document accusing the defense of “purposeful stalling tactics intended to avoid trial.” 

They made an unusual motion to have the defense attorneys removed for failing to prepare. 

“The defendant was a fugitive for almost 25 years,” the prosecutors said in their motion. “Approximately 23 witnesses died during the course of her flight and several others have died since her arrest. To repeatedly claim that the defendant is just an innocent victim of circumstance defies logic. 

In separate interviews, both Chapman and Hanlon said the case could be accelerated if it was streamlined down to the basic charges. 

Ideman had expanded the scope to include the entire history of the SLA including the Hearst kidnapping, the killing of an Oakland schools superintendent, a Sacramento bank robbery in which a woman was killed and the Los Angeles shootout in which six SLA members died. The pipe bomb incident became a footnote. 

“The evidence that the court is permitting the prosecution to introduce includes 22 acts of uncharged misconduct, several of which were the subject of their own multi-month trials,” she said.

At 32, Brendon Mills was already a millionaire veteran of two start-up technology companies when he left Silicon Valley and holed up last year in a rented office in Austin, Texas, equipped with a computer and a supply of caffeinated soda. 

A month later, Mills emerged with three plans for new businesses. He discarded two and took the third to venture capitalists, who eventually gave him $83 million. 

Mills’ Austin-based company is called General Bandwidth Inc., and it makes box-shaped devices that allow phone companies to carry voice calls over high-speed data-transmission wires called DSL, digital subscriber lines. 

It could be the future of telephone service. 

Right now, DSL is marketed as a faster alternative to tortuously slow dial-up Internet connections. Telecommunications companies are spending billions to build DSL networks. 

While faster Internet connections are spiffy, some analysts say DSL still needs to offer more to become irresistible. It needs, as the techies say, a “killer application.” 

Enter voice-over-DSL. 

In theory, and just now rolling out in practice, voice-over-DSL technology allows many voice signals to be carried over a single copper-wire loop. At a small business, several employees can be on the phone at the same time, with all their calls carried over the same line. 

Adding new lines with voice-over-DSL is cheaper than current phone-line installation because it doesn’t require an installer to come out – everything is done with switching gear at the phone carrier’s office. One drawback, however, is the possible loss of service in a power outage. 

Techies have been touting voice-over-DSL for more than a year. The Yankee Group, a respected research firm in technology circles, predicted in February that 45,000 homes and 17,500 businesses would have voice-over-DSL by year end. The real numbers, however, are closer to zero homes and 9,000 businesses, acknowledged Yankee Group analyst Matt Davis. 

“We certainly felt this market was going to emerge a little quicker,” Davis said. He is sticking to an optimistic outlook, however, predicting that once a big phone company offers voice-over-DSL service, demand will snowball. 

Yankee Group predicts 10 million voice-over-DSL subscribers in 2004. Another research firm, Dataquest, predicts 14.3 million customers in 2004. 

A handful of small companies dominate the market for “gateway” hardware, the box-shaped gadgets that allow phone companies to carry voice-over-DSL. The leaders include CopperCom, Jetstream Communications and TollBridge Technologies, all located in California’s Silicon Valley. Lucent Technologies, Cisco Systems and others are trying to break in to the business. 

General Bandwidth hopes to leapfrog over the pack by gearing its product to regional Baby Bells instead of more localized phone carriers. The Baby Bells have built about two-thirds of the existing DSL network, and Mills says contracts with them could be worth up to $400 million apiece. 

Several phone companies are testing General Bandwidth’s equipment, but the Austin company has yet to sign its first contract. It does, however, seem to have an advantage in signing up the biggest DSL provider out there, San Antonio-based SBC Communications Inc. 

That’s because SBC’s venture-capital arm owns 6 percent of privately held General Bandwidth, according to analysts — the man who oversees SBC equity investments would only say the company’s stake is less than 10 percent. Whatever the percentage, the investment gives SBC reason to use General Bandwidth equipment on its DSL network, pending trials set for next year. 

“We think there’s a great future for voice-over-DSL,” said the SBC official, Albert Hoover. “If I have DSL, I can also receive multiple phone lines in my home or small business. It’s something a lot of people will want.” 

Hoover said SBC likes the fact that General Bandwidth is working on a universal standard for voice-over-DSL while competitors are building proprietary machines that might not work with other systems. He also praised the company’s management. 

Mills, chief executive of General Bandwidth, worked at Dell Computer Corp. and took a marketing job at an Austin-based tech start-up in the mid-1990s. After the company was sold, its top officials started NetSpeed Inc., a DSL equipment maker that was sold in 1998 to networking giant Cisco Systems for $237 million. 

Mills joined Cisco as a marketing executive but left after a little more than a year. 

“I was fortunate enough to do very well in the acquisition by Cisco, and I was able to follow my own dream of starting a company,” Mills said. 

Leaving, he said, about $10 million in Cisco stock options behind, Mills retreated to the rented office with the cola cache and drew up the plans for General Bandwidth. (He is careful to state that the idea came only after he was on his own — lest Cisco lawyers claim that he developed his business plan on Cisco time.) 

Mills talked three other NetSpeed and Cisco veterans into joining his venture in May 1999. In 18 months, General Bandwidth has grown from four employees to 270. As soon as the company has a major customer, it plans to float an initial public offering of stock, which could help the founders forget about those lost Cisco options. 

“If liquidity happens, it will make us successful beyond all expectations,” Mills said. 

Students serve up annual meal 

Students will arrive at Berkeley High School today at 8 a.m. to start a marathon four hours of cooking for the eighth annual holiday meal.  

But things are a little different this year. Entirely on their own, the students are cooking and serving the holiday meal for 400 of Berkeley’s homeless. And in the process these student leaders are unwittingly learning how difficult leadership can be.  

“It’s a lot harder because everything is completely student run. But the students are taking the initiative,” said 18-year-old senior Maria Herrera, president of the Associated Student Body. “That’s special, it shows the devotion.” 

Students have a new student activities coordinator this year, Michele Janssen, but she’s out on sick leave and unable to help out. The coordinator of the past few years, Jamie Marantz, left last year. 

“It’s hard because we’re just moving to a new teacher – it’s hard adjusting to that,” said Laura Bernhard, a student in the leadership class. “(Marantz) knew what had to be done. There’s no manual you can go by. You just have to do it and get it done,” said Bernhard. 

Getting it done started six weeks ago. Students dedicated three days a week of their leadership class to the holiday meal, leaving the other two days for dances, rallies, and other student events. Two can drives, one at the homecoming rally and one last week garnered about 1,500 cans of food. A one period long, one day penny drive reaped an extra $800 for more supplies. 

“We always have food left over,” Herrera said. “A lot of the stores from the community donate.” 

She said Home Depot, Costco, Albertson’s, Andronico’s, Safeway, Noah’s and Jamba Juice are some that provided donations.  

The food preparation work began at 9 a.m. Friday, when students from the leadership class began moving cans and products to the Good Food Café. At 5 p.m., students were dancing around pots of beans and slicing dozens of cucumbers. In years past as many as 700 people have come to feast on the turkeys, mashed potatoes, pasta, ham, greens and desserts that the students dish up. This year students hope to serve 400 people, contacted through community shelters and reached through handing out fliers in the street. 

The leadership class, which does the majority of the work, is made up of the members of the Associated Student Body, the student representatives from each class year in school, the Link crew – mentor students that organize activities for freshmen, and students who apply for membership.  

Daniel Jarvis,15, elected to be in the class of about 35 students. “It’s a total win-win situation,” he said. “It’s something that’s fun that’s enriching other people’s lives.”  

Herrera said the Associated Student Body leaders, “basically run the class.” They are charged with keeping up morale and making sure all the work gets done.  

“Sometimes we act as mother figures,” Herrera said, as students around her carted boxes of cans to the Good Food Café. “We know that there’s a difference: there’s work time and play time. Right now it’s work time, but when the meal time comes it’s really fun.” 

In addition to those students who work the holiday meal for a grade, 90 students signed up to volunteer for the event. Natosha Fisher, 15, is one of these. “I’ve always had that thing about the homeless,” she said. “I’m so emotional about it so I figured I’d help someone out, someone less fortunate.” 

Sometimes, especially during the morning task of lifting and toting boxes, some students began to feel a little frustrated, and had to remind themselves of the end goal. 

“There’s no, ‘You win a thousand dollars at the end of the year,’” said Laura Bernhard, 15. “It’s just the satisfaction of knowing you’re helping out your fellow Berkeley people, helping out the community.” 

Herrera concurred. 

“It’s overwhelming. People say thank you so many times. It brings you back into perspective. They are thankful for a plate of food and we’re thinking about Nikes,” said Herrera. 

Saturday, Dec. 16

Berkeley Artisans  

Holiday Open Studios 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Get map from: 

1250 Addison St. #214 

or download at: http://www.berkeleyartisans.com 

Over one hundred professional artists and craftspeople open up their studios and workspaces to the public. All styles of artistic expression are represented. Runs Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 17. 

Call 845-2612  

“How to Buy a Computer” 

9 - 10 a.m.  

Bruno Consulting Services 

1700 Solano Ave., Suite A 

Learn what you need to know before going shopping. What do all those weird words mean? Learn laptop vs. desktop, PC vs. Mac, software vs. hardware considerations, technical support, printers and cost.  

Call 526-5666 

Bella Musica  

8 p.m.  

St. Joseph the Worker Church  

1640 Addison St.  

Directed by Arlene Sagan, Bella Musica chorus and orchestra perform the music of Handel, Bach, Bernstein and Barber.  

$12 suggested donation 

Call 525-5393 

Rebecca Riots  

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage  

1111 Addison St.  

“A band with a conscience that heals minds with its political and social commentary.” Cal 548-1761 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

Ninth Annual Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

Berkeley Community  

Chamber Chorus 

2 - 4 p.m. 

Strolling along Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Farmers’ Market Craft Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

(Center at MLK Jr. Way) 

Local craftspeople will be selling a variety of handcrafted gifts. Also live music, massage, and hot apple cider. Free 

Call 548-3333 

Free Puppet Shows  

1:30 & 2:30 p.m. 

Hall of Health  

2230 Shattuck Ave.  

The Kids on the Block, an award-winning educational puppet troupe, with puppets with such conditions as cerebral palsy, blindness and Down syndrome. The shows promote acceptance of physical and mental differences. Free 

Call 549-1564 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Sunday, Dec. 17

Benefits of Kum Nye  

and Meditation 

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

Miep Cooymans, Nyingma Institute meditation instructor lectures and demonstrates this self-healing system. Free 843-6812 

Pray for Peltier 

Noon - 3 p.m. 

Peoples Park  

Between Dwight & Haste above Telegraph 

Join with the Peltier Action Coalition and the Plight of the Redwoods Campaign in a prayer circle for a presidential pardon for Leonard Peltier and in honor of protectors and warriors for mother earth. You are asked to bring blankets for the homeless and potluck food and drink.  

Call 464-4534 

— Compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Quadraphoic Sound Explosion  

7:48 p.m. 

Tuva Space  

3192 Adeline St. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Thomas Day of San Francisco, Boris Hauf of Vienna, and Kit Clayton of San Francisco present a night of live experimental electronic music.  

$8 suggested donation 

Call 444-3595 

“The Nutcracker” 

2 p.m.  

Julia Morgan Theater 

2640 College Ave.  

Performed by the Berkeley Ballet Theater.  

$12 - $15  

Call 843-4689 

The Disputation 

2 - 4:30 p.m.  

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Call 848-0237 

Bella Musica  

4 p.m.  

St. Joseph the Worker Church  

1640 Addison St.  

Directed by Arlene Sagan, Bella Musica chorus and orchestra perform the music of Handel, Bach, Bernstein and Barber.  

$12 suggested donation 

Call 525-5393 

Guitar of Reverend Rabia 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

1741 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Hanukkah Happening 

8 p.m. 

Shambhala Booksellers 

2482 Telegraph Ave.  

Cantor and recording artist Richard Kaplan will lead attendees in seasonal music. Free.  

Call 848-8443 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Monday, Dec. 18

Design Review Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Children’s Holiday Gift Drive  

2 - 6 p.m. 

1708-B Martin Luther King Jr. Way (at Virginia) 

Donate new games, puzzles, coats, books, and toys for younger children. Donate phone cards, movie passes, gift certificates, and new clothes for teens. Or donate money to support Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency.  

Call 848-3409 

Tuesday, Dec. 19

Planning for the Future 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose) 

Informally led by Robert Berend, former UC Extension lecturer, this group aims to have intelligent discussions on a wide range of topics. They stress that there is no religious bent to the discussions and that all viewpoints are welcome. Bring light snacks to share with group.  

Call Robert Berend, 527-5332  

Children’s Holiday Gift Drive  

2 - 6 p.m. 

1708-B Martin Luther King Jr. Way (at Virginia) 

Donate new games, puzzles, coats, books, and toys for younger children. Donate phone cards, movie passes, gift certificates, and new clothes for teens. Or donate money to support Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency. This is the last day of the gift drive.  

Call 848-3409 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Get Flabbergasted  

2 p.m. 

South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St.  

Zun Zun, a husband and wife duo will perform musical theater for children and families. They play over thirty instruments and are sing in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Free  

Call 649-3943 

Hansel and Gretel  

7 p.m. 

North Branch Library 

1170 The Alameda 

Oakland’s Opera Piccola will perform their version of “Hansel and Gretel.” Opera Piccola is a multiracial troupe of actors, singers, and dancers who pull unsuspecting audience members up to perform along with them. Geared for preschoolers.  

Call 649-3943 

Wednesday, Dec. 20

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Family Sing-Along 

2 p.m. 

South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St.  

Gerry Tenney, musician, teacher, and performer, the man behind the saga of King Kong playing ping-pong with Godzilla returns to the Berkeley Public Library.  

Call 649-3943 

Alzheimer’s & Dementia Support Group 

1:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Call 644-6107 

Support for Family & Friends 

Caring for Older Adults 

4 - 5:30 p.m. 

Alta Bates Medical Center 

2001 Dwight Way 

Fourth Floor, Room 4190 

A group focusing on the needs of older adults with serious medical problems, psychiatric illnesses, and/or substance abuse, and their caregivers.  

Call 802-1725 

Thursday, Dec. 21

Berkeley Metaphysic Toastmasters Club 

6:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. 

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysic come together at Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters. Meets first and third Thursdays each month. 

Call 869-2547 or 643-7645 

Free Anonymous HIV Testing 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available.  

Call 642-7202 

Environmental Musicfest  

8 p.m. 

La Pena  

3105 Shattuck Ave.  

Alicia Littletree and Timothy Hull, both known for commitment to social and environmental issues, perform.  

$5 - $7  

Call 415-927-1645 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Friday, Dec. 22

 

Music in the Streets 

5 - 7 p.m. 

Strolling through downtown  

Berkeley 

Berkeley Community Chamber Chorus & These “R” They Gospel Youth Choir 

 

Holiday Celebration 

Noon 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Includes a holiday meal and an opera, “Kiri’s Coventry Xmas.”  

Call 644-6107 

 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

 

---

Saturday, Dec. 23

Farmers’ Market Craft Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

(Center at MLK Jr. Way) 

Local craftspeople will be selling a variety of handcrafted gifts. Also live music, massage, and hot apple cider. Free 

Call 548-3333 

Royal Hawaiian Ukulele Band 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

1561 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

Ninth Annual Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

Klesmeh! Festival  

8 p.m.  

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts  

2640 College Ave.  

A Hanukkah concert of Klesmer music and its mutations, featuring the San Francisco Klesmer experience. Hosted by Berkeley monologist/comedian Josh Kornbluth.  

$18 advance, $20 door; $16 kids and seniors  

Call 415-454-5238 

Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir 

7 p.m. 

Holy Names College Regents’ Theatre 

3500 Mountain Blvd.  

Oakland 

tickets: $15 - $20, available at the door  

Call 848-3938 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Sunday, Dec. 24

Ancient Winds 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1573 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Tuesday, Dec. 26

Kwanzaa! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join storyteller Awele Makeba as she shares tale and a capella songs from African and African-American history, culture, and folklore which celebrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Included with admission to the museum.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Blood Pressure Testing 

9:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Alice Meyers 

Call 644-6107 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Compiled by Chason Wainwright 

Nov. 29 protesters were intolerant 

Editor:  

On Wednesday evening, Nov. 29, I held a ticket to hear Mr. Netanyahu speak at the Berkeley Community Theater. To my chagrin, my constitutional right to listen to whomever I please was taken away from me by that rabble who held placards and shouted their cliches: that Israel was racist, fascist, nazi, etc.  

Where were the police to protect us? Where were the police to take us safely into the auditorium? They could have cautioned the protesters to make way for us to go into the yard and into the building.  

I really resent that the police made no effort to help us. I want a formal inquiry into this situation. This should not happen again. As a matter of fact, the city of Berkeley should apologize to the event organizer and Mr. Netanyahu.  

The intolerance of the protesters obliterated our first amendment and our constitution.  

Thalia Broudy 

Berkeley 

Wouldn’t let  

Hitler speak 

Editor 

Regarding Shirley Dean’s and a large number of others’ insistence that we trampled their and our purported free speech rights by resisting Netanyahu’s appearance: We, hopefully, wouldn’t let Hitler speak here, either. 

I hope we’d have done the same if Kissinger had appeared, given his insistence that nations of people need to be murdered, and the excuse that he can say it because he’s a Jew. 

Norma J F Harrison 

Berkeley 

What if the shoe were on the other foot? 

Editor: 

I suggest someone invite the historian David Irving of London to the Berkeley Community Theater to talk. He seems to invoke the same strength of feeling as Netanyahu but he’s on the other side of the fence. Let’s then see how the free speech community, the ADL, and the various local groups react.  

Wray Buntine 

Berkeley 

We are all responsible for our words 

Editor:  

In my view, the Netanyahu in Berkeley incident had very little to do with free speech and much more to do with karma, the most powerful force on earth; more powerful than the all the guns used to protect “free speech.” We are all ultimately responsible for the words we speak and the consequences that may result.  

Michael Bauce 

Berkeley 

Protesters were seniors, parents,  

not ‘goons’ 

Editor: 

Aubrey Lee Broudy (letters, 12-11) should check again with his wife about what happened when she went to hear Benjamin Netanyahu at the Berkeley Community Theater at Berkeley High School a couple of weeks ago. Mr. Broudy said his wife was unable to enter because “Berkeley goons had blocked the doors and the Berkeley police somehow were not able or willing to move them away.” 

As someone who wants to evoke the memory of Mario Savio and draw upon Berkeley's “freedom of speech” motto, Mr. Broudy should reconsider his characterization of people as goons. Amongst the so-called “goons” that night were senior citizens, people in wheelchairs, and young couples with their babies. If Mr. Broudy's wife had really been interested in hearing what people had to say, she would have found that there were any number of conversations going-on between those who had come to hear Mr. Netanyahu and those who had come to object to his presence, and there was an exchange of ideas between people who normally would not even be talking to one another. 

No one blocked any doors to the Berkeley Community Theater. Police did seal-off the Berkeley High School campus earlier in the day; explosives-sniffing dogs were brought in; and other dramatic preparations were made for Mr. Netanyahu's arrival. When people began entering the high school campus en route to the Theater, those there to protest Mr. Netanyahu's presence integrated themselves with the crowd after the police grabbed two people who had peacefully approached the ticket-holders to ask them to reconsider their decision to attend. At this point the police locked the gates to the high school campus.  

As one Police Lieutenant explained, the police were then unable to determine who was a ticket-holder and who was a demonstrator, so they were not able to “move them (the demonstrators) away,” as Mr. Broudy mentioned in his letter. The event was then cancelled by Mr. Netanyahu himself.  

Mr. Netanyahu is deeply involved in the suppression of free speech, assembly, and even the right to exist, of Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories. I am proud of the demonstrators who deprived him of a forum for his message of intolerance and hate in Berkeley. 

Steve Wagner, 

Oakland 

Did lecture series offer opposing view?  

Editor: 

Though I can see both sides of the recent “free speech” controversy over the appearance of Benjamin Netanyahu in Berkeley, I realized by reading your December 9 article “Lecture Series Provides Intellectual Entertainment” that the the prospective listeners were by no means passive agents in this imbroglio. 

Fame feeds upon itself. The celebrity of speakers such as Wesley Clark, Kissinger, and Netanyahu not only allows them abundant access to the mass media denied most of us but “entitles” them to lecture fees in the tens of thousands of dollars for a few hours of “work.” Going to hear them is an ethical choice; I would no more want to contribute to the net worth of any of these men than I would to that of a famous Holocaust denier or serial killer doing the lecture circuit because I “just wanted to hear what they had to say.” 

Moreover, series subscribers vote on whom they want to hear. Did the subscribers have the choice of hearing Yasser Arafat, Edward Said, Ramsey Clark, or Mordechai Vanunu, and if so, how did they vote? 

Gray Brechin 

Berkeley 

Netanyahu, not protests often on TV  

Editor: 

Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean sadly demeans herself, churning nonsense about protesters violating the “free speech” rights of ‘poor, besieged’ Benjamin Netanyahu – as well as falsely claiming that the protesters object to “controversial figures.” (We object to mass human rights violators.)  

As we said in the ‘90’s, “Puh-lease!” Netanyahu has more “free speech” than all the protesters combined.  

In case it has escaped the Mayor’s notice, Netanyahu – an omnipresent figure on American TV, with plenty of U.S. financial and media support – gets to speak all the time. You could hardly avoid hearing him.  

For those who felt so traumatized about missing Netanyahu’s PR speech, you can catch him almost any week, on any American TV set near you.  

And yet, in the U.S.major media, the dissent of even large nonviolent protests is only featured when protesters engage in bold civic actions that “make news.” Netanyahu’s cancellation made the protest “news.” 

Netanyahu would have never allowed any dissidents in the auditorium the free speech to morally challenge his involvement in Israel’s internationally condemned mass human rights violations.  

In fact, Netanyahu led a state whose very policies deny the free speech of those it oppresses. 

But Dean is not alone in defending the freedom of a mass human rights violator to carry on without inconvenient interruptions.  

I guess, over the years, the FSM signers of the Dec. 7 letter to the Daily Planet have become staid and forgotten a few things about the lopsidedness of power and dissent. I 

n such lopsidedness, the protest against Netanyahu actually constituted a strike for free speech. Only the peaceful disruption (in the tradition of sit-ins) brought some national attention to the moral issue of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.  

This increased free speech to voices typically censored by the American media. 

Mario Savio, an incisive and charismatic leader of the FSM, championed the free speech rights of those without institutional or state power to speak truth to power. Savio didn’t champion the free speech rights of power: power by its very nature already has this right. 

Savio also proclaimed that we must throw our bodies on the gears of state power when it becomes heinously oppressive – and in a way, that’s what the protesters did.  

We know what Netanyahu stands for: he stands for oppression. No business-as-usual. 

There is no true “free speech” without the opportunity to critically challenge power; and meaningfully none, when the major media is politically controlled and dissent is barred access.  

Then, there is only power’s propaganda. By unthinkingly criticizing the protesters as attacking “free speech,” Mayor Dean and the FSM letter writers subvert the very foundation of “free speech”: speaking truth to power.  

Joseph Anderson,  

Berkeley  

Don’t lose message  

of demonstration 

Editor: 

Using the theme “Attack on free speech” has been an inaccurate, but convenient, way of drawing attention away from the message of the demonstration of Tuesday, Dec. 5 outside the Berkeley Community Theater.  

“U.S. and Israel out of Palestine,” was one of the chants. U.S. money and arms enable Israeli military to murder hundreds of Palestinians (largely children) and to wound thousands more.  

U.N. Resolutions have repeatedly demanded that Israel withdraw to pre-1967 borders, that Jewish settlements in occupied territories are illegal under international law, and that East Jerusalem is part of Palestinian territory.  

Remember, it was the United Nations that ended the British mandate over 1947 Palestine and created the state of Israel alongside Palestine.  

Margaret Katz 

Berkeley 

First Amendment  

is for all 

Editor 

My God, I have never read a more fascist interpretation of free speech (letter by Osha Neumann 12/12) in my life, e.g. the first amendment “restricts government, not people. When (the government) makes a law restricting speech, that law affects us all and is enforced with all the power of the courts and the cops.”  

Unless, of course, zealots like this individual decides who will and will not enjoy this first amendment right.  

While he’s at it, why not dictate just who we, the ignorant majority, may hear or may not hear, see or read. I can’t believe this man is practicing law in our community  

Michael Yovino-Young 

Berkeley 

Chrome 6 raises questions about skateboard park  

Too much ado about little 

Editor 

Much Ado? -- Time to Move On 

I have held my public tongue as long as I can, but after reading the latest missile from Carol Denney blasted into the print arena of the Harrison Park controversy I am compelled to comment. The controversy is about a process that has as its primary goal, the building of a public park for the citizens of Berkeley. 

It seems to me that once again we have the classic Berkeley conundrum of trying to determine fail safe answers to complex problems and in the process creating a political circus to the max and sacrificing progress for absolutism. We are smart people. We should know by now SIMPLE ANSWERS AND NO RISK SOLUTIONS ARE NOT POSSIBLE.  

We have used, and yes in many cases misused this land, for at least 150 years. Many vocal Berkeley citizens (in an effort to be responsible for the health and safety of our children some generous people would say) focus on the dark side of humanity. However, the side of humanity that is so often overlooked here is the brighter side. In this case it is the products of scientific research and public agency oversight and planning.  

This is not a movie. The (prematurely) “sainted” L.A. Wood is not Erin Brockovich. Science and monitoring WAS in place. When problems were found preventive measures WERE taken. Children were NOT harmed or even put in danger. Most importantly the hazard that has surfaced CAN be cleaned up easily with science and technology that is available.  

In this situation, we can have it all. We can mitigate the pollution (which I’m told is not so bad on the scale of it), protect the Bay and provide a park for the citizens of Berkeley. The issue of blame, looking for villains and heroes, diverts energy from the real task, which is to support positive actions for the citizens. If there is a hero here, it is the City (elected, appointed and hired) which took a chance and built a park on that site. The villainy unfortunately is more pervasive than a company, an official or any other identifiable source or act from the past. I’m willing to write it off to the dark side of our collective human nature and instead say let’s get on with it so that the plans and dreams so close to completion can be realized. Finish the skate park.  

Susan McKay  

Landscape Architect  

Susan McKay participated in the design of the project.  

Contaminated site questioned 

Editor: 

It is not to the surprise of many in the city of Berkeley that high levels of hexavalent chrome and solvents were found at the excavation for the Harrison Street skateboard park.  

Twenty-five thousand dollars was spent by the city for testing the soil and groundwater. Why? To make sure it was safe.  

Why are we not surprised that the contamination of cancer-causing agents were deeper? Now the city has moved to spend upwards of $100,000 for pumps and treatment equipment and a study to find any health impacts.  

I do not believe raising the level of concrete will be the answer. Do we want our kids skateboarding in concrete bowls that supposedly cover up contamination?  

And then there is the Harrison Street playground. How much money has been spent to prove that the area is not toxic for our kids? 

Doug Fielding campaigned long and hard to convince the city council and many city commissions that the Harrison tracks were safe. The only commission to not support the playing fields was the commission on disability.  

Doug Fielding, who convinced the city to okay these parks and playing fields, has the contract to build the park through the Association of Sports Field Users. He still claims the concrete will protect the kids from contamination. I didn’t believe him the first time and I don’t believe him the second.  

What is wrong with this picture? Wake up Berkeley. This is a city where free range turkeys and fair trade coffee are important to us. 

We cannot trust anyone who is making money off the health of our children and future generations of Berkeleyans.  

What kind of legacy is that? 

Karen Craig 

Berkeley 

U.S. power can destabilize other countries 

Editor: 

Franz Schumann’s perspective: “Is there a recession coming?” that U.S. recessions are triggered by external destabilizing world events was enlightening.  

However, as we contemplate the next recession I feel Schumann slights important internal excesses that destabilize our own system and slights the destabilizing force our hegemonic power has on other world economies.  

For example, Schumann cites Nixon’s decision to end the draft, cut the military budget, then invade Cambodia as decisive.  

More important I believe, was Nixon’s decision to abandon the gold standard in 1971-73 at Bretton Woods, introducing volatility into currencies that has favored only arbitrageurs and has led to predatory currency speculation that wounds foreign economies.  

Also, he says that “...the world power balance is more destabilized than since 1991.” There is no world power unless we successfully fashion China as the next “Evil Empire.”  

Furthermore, the IMF and the World Bank intrusive edicts seeks to convert all the world economies into U.S. lookalikes, i.e. more “transparent,” so investors can invade their markets more easily. Malaysia had the nerve to say no thank you, and China no doubt will resist this hubristic exercise - others can not.  

Schumann hopes that we will resume a position as “unwobbling pivot.” Unfortunately, this investor driven, cookie-cutter mentality may simply eliminates the only remaining “econo-diversity” in the world that might retard rolling worldwide recessions of the future.  

Face it, our “bubble” is now much bigger than Japan’s was, and when ours bursts we will probably take down many more dependent economies than Japan’s did.  

Deborah Ritchey  

Berkeley 

Residents should learn to care for trees 

Editor:  

California has a tree ‘emergency’. Many trees have problems with old age, disease, and heavy rains and/or high winds. 

Much of this area was just grassland with scrub brush, and trees in gullies.  

Many of our trees were introduced and are nearing old age.  

In urban areas, tall trees are a major hazard to homes, pedestrians, parked cars and park users. 

Those tall trees in urban areas should be inspected yearly by qualified arborists. 

We need a statewide policy on removal of dangerous trees. 

Homeowners who need arborists should check the Yellow Pages and the Bay Area Checkbook magazine with ratings of arborists by their readers and of Consumer Reports.  

The University of California Cooperative Extension has a tree failure reporting system and holds annual conferences on tree failure and arborists.  

The twelfth conference is in January at Filoli. Arborists should contact UC Ext., 625 Miramontes St., #200, Half Moon Bay, CA. 94019, ph. (650) 726-9059.  

A booklet, “Recognizing Tree Hazards,” $5.41 postage-paid, UC Ext., (510)642-2431; fax: 643-5470; or at 6701 San Pablo Ave., Second Floor (just south of Ashby).  

Each county has a Cooperative Extension. In Alameda County: (510) 567-6812 for general information.  

On Tuesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., a master gardener and longtime volunteer promptly returns calls: (510) 639-1371. For other areas see the county government section of phone books.  

Charles L. Smith 

Berkeley 

By Jared Green 

Daily Planet Staff 

When people talk about Berkeley High basketball, conversation usually turns to the Lady Yellowjackets. Eight North Coast Section titles in the past decade can have that effect. Although the boys’ team won league titles the last two years, they were overshadowed by their powerful female compatriots. Mike Gragnani wants to change that. 

“I think Berkeley High is a sleeping giant in boys’ basketball,” said Gragnani, who was hired in July to coach the Yellowjackets. “I want to get the program right up to the level of the girls, and I don’t see any reason why we can’t.” 

That optimism is part of why Gragnani was hired.  

Berkeley High is one of the biggest schools in California, and it has more than its share of outstanding athletes.  

But the boys basketball team has never parlayed that wealth of talent into an NCS title, or even made much of a post-season run in the last two decades.  

Gragnani sees a solution coming. 

“With the amount of talent available, we’ve already got a head start,” he said.  

“We can teach the student-athlete how important intensity is, we can dominate the competition,” he said. 

Assuming that’s true, Gragnani and the Berkeley job were made for each other. Gragnani started as an assistant coach at St. Ignatius (San Francisco), his alma mater. He stayed there for five years under the tutelage of veteran coach Don Lippi, then moved on to the head job at Redwood High in Larkspur. The suburban school was a good starting point for Gragnani, but he hungered for a more competitive atmosphere. 

“I wanted to compete with the big boys, the best teams in the state,” he said. “That’s just what this job gives me.” 

Gragnani, 40, has thrown himself into the job, spending time not only on basketball, but on setting up academic programs for his players. He’s a stockbroker in real life, but it’s obvious that basketball is his passion, and his players see that. 

“He’s very intense, and we feed off that,” said Berkeley forward Louis Riordan. “He wants for us to win so badly.” 

Riordan, a senior, has been on the varsity squad for three years, and he agrees with his coach that the potential is there in the program for great things. 

“Berkeley has the potential to go to state every year,” he said. “The last two years, we had incredible talent, probably better than this year, but now we’ve got the team chemistry to go with it.” 

That chemistry was lacking, some say, because of the former coach. Stelton Mitchell was the coach since 1980, with a break from 1994-96, and many felt he was burnt out on coaching. He admitted as much when he stepped down in May. 

“I’m just having fun,” Mitchell said then. “I’m trying to instill that principle into the guys not to put pressure on yourself, because sometimes that can be your worst enemy.” 

One observer said Mitchell “didn’t seem to be into it, either on the court or off.” Even with EBAL titles the last two years, many felt the team underachieved. Gragnani wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again. 

“I told the players from day one what I expected from them,” he said. “I’ve done my best to squelch any old attitudes about no caring.” 

Gragnani’s coaching style  

is in-your-face, and so is the 

system he teaches. His players defend all 94 feet of the court, a full-court press that never gives an inch. 

“I’m a full-court coach, and I always will be,” he said. “It just so happens that this team was tailor-made for the system, with the quickness and depth that we have.” 

Indeed, Gragnani inherited players that fit his system perfectly. While lacking size (the slender Riordan is the team’s tallest player at 6-foot-5), the ’Jackets boast four guards who can pressure the ballhandler all the way up the court. And when senior Ryan Davis arrived as a transfer from Lincoln (San Francisco), Gragnani got a guard who is a natural leader at the point. 

“I was an off-guard at Lincoln, but it’s been an easy transition to the point,” Davis said. “I feel that’s my natural position.” 

But even if he had more size to work with, Gragnani said he wouldn’t change much. 

“We have to be up-tempo this year with our personnel, but we’ve got some big kids on JV who will come up next year,” he said. “They’ll have to learn the system too, but obviously they’ll have different roles.” 

Watching the Yellowjackets play, it’s obvious they believe in their coach and his ideas. They fly around the court, and no opponent is safe with the ball in his hands.  

Lippi, Gragnani’s mentor, came out on top in last week’s head-to-head matchup. Berkely played St. Ignatius in the first round of the Chris Vontoure Classic at De La Salle High, and the San Francisco school came out on top by five points. But Lippi was clearly impressed with what he saw of his student’s team. 

“He’s got the kids playing with real intensity,” Lippi said. “Most teams give in when they’re behind, but his kids just wouldn’t give up.” 

That intensity starts in practice. 

“Our practices are like wars now, much tougher than last year,” Riordan said. “Coach tells us to play like we don’t know each other, just like in a game.” 

“They’ve all bought into the system,” Gragnani said. “Occasionaly a guy will slip a little, but I’d say they’re sold on the system.”

The Zoning Adjustments Board approved on Thursday the controversial Final Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Beth El synagogue and school at 1301 Oxford St. 

Eric Norris, a representative of Pacific Municipal Consultants, the company which compiled the report, made some final changes to the document and the ZAB approved it by a 5-1-1 vote. Boardmember Carrie Sprague voted in opposition to the FEIR and new Boardmember Lawrence Capitelli abstained. 

Capitelli is Councilmember Miriam Hawley’s appointment. 

Boardmember James Peterson discovered at the beginning of the meeting he had been removed by City Councilmember Maudelle Shirek. His replacement, Michael Berkowitz, was unable to take his place on the board immediately because Berkowitz had not had an opportunity to familiarize himself with the agenda items. 

Boardmember Dave Freeman, who relies on a wheelchair and respirator, was unable to attend because of rainy weather conditions. 

The motion to approve the FEIR might have failed had it not been for what one planning staffer characterized as the “graciousness” of Boardmember Gene Poschman. Poschman was inclined to abstain, which would have left the motion one vote short of the five it needed for approval, but voted to approve in place of the absent Freeman. 

“It’s not our role to hold up projects any more than necessary,” Poschman said. “I know David Freeman was very much in favor of approving this.” 

The Live Oak-Codornices Creek Neighborhood Association opposed the FEIR’s approval because they said the 650-page document does not meet standards set by the Californian Environmental Quality Act.  

The LOCCNA claims the 35,000-square-foot project is too large and would cause traffic problems. The neighborhood group also said both Codornices Creek and elements of the property designated as city landmarks would be adversely impacted. 

“The questions board members asked about this FEIR really shows what a poor document it is,” said LOCCNA member Juliet Lamont. “It certainly wasn’t rubber stamped the way many of them are.” 

At previous meetings, several ZAB members asked Norris questions about how he determined the project’s impacts and mitigations on aspects of the report including parking, alternate sites and historical resources. 

Congregation Beth El members argue the FEIR is more than adequate claiming that the Oxford Street report is larger and more complete than EIRs for 200-unit subdivisions. 

Beth El members said the issues raised by the neighborhood group are exaggerated and that the FEIR clearly shows there will be no significant impact on the property that can’t be mitigated. 

“Many different plans were considered and many compromises were made as we worked for more than two years to find ways to incorporate neighborhood and environmental values,” said Beth El member Harry Pollock in a press release. “This proposal reflects the considered, thoughtful balance of all issues.” 

The approval of the FEIR moves the project onto the next stage which is ZAB consideration of the use permit. During this project the ZAB can alter the size or design of the project as well as impose restrictions on parking and traffic patterns according to Vivian Kahn, the interim deputy director of the Planning and Development Department. 

“The standards used for the Environmental Impact Report are lower than local zoning standards,” Kahn said. “It’s really two different things.” 

The ZAB will begin public hearings of the project at its Jan. 11 meeting. 

“Clearly the boardmembers have thoughts and suggestions for the use permit and we look forward to hearing them,” Pollock said. “We look forward to discussing the balance in our plan and all the factors that went into it.” 

Lamont said that despite her group’s belief that the FEIR is inadequate, there has not yet been a decision to appeal the ZAB’s approval to the City Council.  

“We feel pretty good about putting our efforts into the use-permit phase.”  

When businesses on University Avenue have a problem, they turn to Dave Fogarty. 

On Thursday, the University Avenue Association showed its appreciation to Fogarty, the city’s community development project coordinator, with its second annual outstanding community service award. 

“Dave is a blessing for us,” said Kirpal Khanna, president of the association and owner of Bazaar of India at 1810 University Ave., where Fogarty received his award plaque Thursday night. The association represents businesses on University Avenue between Martin Luther King Way and Fourth Street. 

Fogarty, a 13-year city employee, goes far beyond his normal city duties, Khanna said. Fogarty worked on his off hours for passage of Measure S, the November ballot measure that will fund an $800,000 renovation of the University Avenue median. Shop owners on the street have been pushing the city to plant flowers and install a better irrigation system on the median, which is now choked with weeds.  

“Thousands of people drive by every day and look at that ugly median,” Khanna said. “It’s embarrassing.” 

A spruced up median will improve the image of the street’s businesses, Khanna said. 

Fogarty said he was “greatly honored” by the award. But, he added, “I don’t think of this award as being for me, but for the joint effort we all participated in to get Measure S passed to and to get the landscaping that will really enhance University Avenue.” 

Fogarty said visitors to Berkeley have called the city to complain about the unsightliness of the median, but, until the passage of Measure S, there simply was not enough money to remedy the problem.  

Khanna said the award is not just for Fogarty’s work on Measure S. He was also instrumental in establishing police bicycle patrols along University, in combating graffiti, in assisting new businesses to obtain city permits, and in helping businesses get city grants for façade renovations, he said. 

Fogarty always attends the association’s monthly meetings, which “keeps us more informed and makes us more effective,” said John Solomon, treasurer of the association and owner of Venezia restaurant, 1799 University Ave. 

“He’s there on his own time, and he’s there because he’s interested in making University Avenue a better place,” Solomon said. “He’s just a delight.” 

Solomon won the group’s community service award last year for organizing the “How Berkeley Can You Be?” parade. That is yet another event that Fogarty volunteers for, he said. 

Khanna said Fogarty has had a lot to do with the increase in business along University Avenue over the past several years. There are now fewer vacant stores and a “more cosmopolitan” mix of shops, he said. 

Fogarty is working on other improvements for the street, including the construction of concrete extensions that intermittently jut out into the street in the parking lane. As with the extensions recently built along University Avenue in downtown Berkeley, the extensions will have trees planted in them. After those trees are planted, the city plans to remove existing trees that are diseased and dripping a sticky substance onto cars and onto the sidewalk; customers sometimes track the gunk into stores, damaging the carpeting. The city also wants to install decorative lights in the sidewalks, he said. 

Fogarty’s boss, Bill Lambert, manager of economic development, said he “wasn’t surprised” that the association gave Fogarty its award. 

“He’s very involved in lots of different activities and is usually behind whatever positive is going on,” Lambert said. 

There was Election 2000 fall out Berkeley style at the Thursday night Zoning Adjustments Board meeting, when a new ZAB commissioner tried to claim his seat. 

Councilmembers are able to make new appointments when elected or re-elected, and that is what Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek wanted to do. 

As some will recall, James Peterson, who was appointed to the ZAB by Shirek, ran against the vice mayor in the District 3 November elections, garnering about 19 percent of the vote. Peterson’s role on the ZAB was highly publicized during the campaign, when he accepted a campaign donation from an applicant with a project before the ZAB. He later returned the donation. 

Shirek won with 73 percent of the vote. 

Peterson describes the Thursday night scenario like this: “We had assembled. The meeting had not yet begun. I was reading over the materials, when someone said, ‘I’m here to replace you.’” It was Mike Berkowitz, long-time aide and friend to Shirek. 

“‘I’m not moving,’” Peterson said he answered, and insisted that a planning staffer call the city attorney to rule on whether he had to step down. “He said he’d been sworn in,” Peterson said, adding, however, that there was no paper work – he needed a confirmation. Peterson vacated his seat after being directed to do so by the city attorney, through a city planner. 

Berkowitz’s move was a deliberate attempt to put him in an “embarrassing situation,” Peterson argued. 

“It’s a classic case of dirty politics,” he said, contending that Berkowitz wanted to get on the commission to “kill Beth El,” the synagogue whose Final Environmental Impact Report was on the ZAB agenda. 

But that’s not the story Berkowitz tells. He said he’d tried to call Peterson earlier that afternoon to explain the situation to him, but had not got a return call.  

Berkowitz said that when he approached Peterson at the meeting, “He started swearing. He refused to leave.” 

He said he had no intention of embarrassing Peterson. “We tried to do it gracefully,” Berkowitz said, arguing that Peterson brought attention to himself. 

In any case, Berkowitz, who had been sworn in by the city clerk at about 5 p.m., had not studied the cases before the ZAB and so was not formally seated at the meeting. 

*** 

In other city planning news, Liz Epstein, planning director on parental leave, has tendered her resignation. Wendy Cosin continues to act as interim planning director.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Arctic ozone layer will not bounce back as quickly as expected from damage caused by ozone-depleting chemicals despite recent cutbacks in their use, scientists said Friday. 

The layer, monitored because ozone blocks cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation from the Earth’s surface, appears to have suffered damage from a combination of man-made pollutants and extremely low temperatures in the upper atmosphere. 

“The worry that we have is that in contrast with early years ... we have seen extremely low levels (of ozone),” said Paul Newman of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “This has given us concern as to why this is happening. How well do we understand the processes that are leading to these low levels?” 

Though the levels of some ozone-damaging pollutants have declined, extremely low temperatures in the upper atmosphere increased ozone loss above the North Pole from November 1999 through March 2000, the researchers said at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. 

Compared with previous years, levels of ozone decreased up to 55 percent at an altitude of about 12 miles from Dec. 1, 1999 to March 15, 2000. Later studies showed a decrease of more than 60 percent through April. 

The cold temperatures in the stratosphere are believed to be the result of warmer temperatures at ground level. That, in turn, could be caused by greenhouse gases that are suspected of contributing to global warming. 

In the extremely cold temperatures above the Arctic, more polar stratospheric clouds form. They provide the surface on which normally benign chemicals turn into ozone-destroying compounds. 

As a result, if all ozone-destructive chemicals were completely banned, the speed of recovery will depend on other factors, such as the temperature and yet-to-be-determined factors. 

Researchers noted that they observed continued declines in chlorine, one of the destructive chemicals. In 1989, an international protocol called for the phase out of chlorofluorocarbons commonly used in aerosol sprays and refrigerants. 

The researchers, however, noticed a continued increase in bromides, another destructive chemical. These compounds, used in grain fumigation and termite control, are being phased out more slowly — even less so in developing countries. 

The findings suggest that full ozone recovery will probably not occur in 2050, as earlier predicted, said Dale Hurst of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. 

And scientists are unsure of other factors that might delay it further. 

“This scenario shows the ozone layer recovery is significantly delayed. There are obvious uncertainties of predicting when ozone recovery will occur,” he said. 

Though the Arctic ozone layer is not as seriously depleted as the layer above Antarctica, researchers say millions of people could be exposed to high ultraviolet radiation if the thin layer should drift south over heavily populated areas of Europe and North America. 

The research presented Friday was part of the joint SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment and the Third European Stratospheric Experiment on Ozone. Balloons, aircraft measurements and satellite observations were used. 

——— 

On the Net: Solve home page: http://cloud1.arc.nasa.gov/solve 

SAN FRANCISCO — The $5.5 billion Iridium global telephone system couldn’t attract enough customers to keep the company out of bankruptcy court, but its network of 66-plus satellites is paying off for scientists. 

The 1,500-pound satellites are taking the most comprehensive global measurements ever of space weather, the interaction of the Earth’s magnetic field with charged particles that stream off the sun, scientists said Friday. 

“The Iridium system provides a marvelous opportunity for viewing space weather,” said Brian Anderson of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.  

“You essentially have a network of space weather stations.” 

Though the electrical currents that stream toward the Earth’s poles during space “storms” drive the Northern and Southern lights, they can damage spacecraft electronics, harm astronauts, knock out electrical grids and reduce the life span of satellites. 

Eventually, researchers believe they will have enough data to predict space weather and its effects – much as meteorologists on the ground better understand the paths and effects of storms by studying historical records. 

“Diagnosing the space environment is very important for predicting what effects will occur and when they will occur,” Anderson said at the annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. 

Space storms have been difficult to understand, because no system was in place to constantly monitor global changes in electrical currents and magnetic fields.  

The 66 Iridium satellites and several spares swarm around the planet at an altitude of 470 miles in various polar orbits. 

Iridium, a multinational partnership led until this week by Motorola Corp., was built to provide global wireless telephone and pager service.  

Each satellite was equipped with a magnetometer, an instrument that helps keep the solar panels pointed at the sun. 

Scientists realized that the magnetometers also can be used to measure changes in Earth’s magnetic field. The data were combined with radar to create global maps of electric power flowing to the polar atmosphere. 

“For the first time, Iridium measurements enable us to track the location and the magnitude of electrical power coming into this vast region,” said Colin Waters of Australia’s University of Newcastle, New South Wales. 

The research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation. 

Though an accidental scientific success, Iridium flopped commercially. Though the phones and pagers worked from anywhere on the planet, the bulky handsets that cost $3,000 and stratospheric rates of up to $7 a minute alienated customers. 

Iridium LLC filed for bankruptcy protection in August 1999. Earlier this week, all the company’s assets, including the satellites, were sold for $25 million to a group of private investors who plan to offer service to government and industrial clients. 

It was not immediately clear whether the sale would affect the system’s secondary scientific mission, Waters said. Until recently, however, Motorola had planned to deorbit the satellites. 

Iridium, developed over 12 years, was originally to consist of 77 active satellites and named after the element with 77 electrons. Later, organizers realized they needed only 66 satellites but didn’t change the name to Dysprosium, which is Greek for “hard to get at.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

National Science Foundation: http://www.nsf.gov 

Johns Hopkins Iridium information: http://sd-www.jhuapl.edu/constel—mag—science/ 

SAN JOSE — Lifescan Inc., a leading maker of diabetes monitors, pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges and was ordered to pay $60 million in fines, ending a three-year government investigation of a defective blood-glucose meter. 

Authorities alleged that Lifescan, a Milpitas-based billion-dollar subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, knew about two defects in the SureStep consumer device but failed to disclose the problems to customers or the Food and Drug Administration before marketing the device in 1996. 

The defects, authorities said, sometimes would cause false readings on the SureStep monitors. One defect sometimes would wrongly indicate high blood sugar levels, and the other defect sometimes would wrongly yield low test results. 

According to court documents, at least 61 of 2,000 customers complaining of the errors between 1996 and 1998 became ill or had to be hospitalized as a result. 

In June 1998, after several whistleblowers already had sparked the federal investigation, Lifescan instituted a voluntary recall of all SureStep meters manufactured prior to July 27, 1997. 

The company was charged with introducing a misbranded medical device, failing and refusing to furnish appropriate notifications to the FDA, and submitting false and misleading reports to the FDA. 

“Consumers are entitled to know, and the law demands, that all companies tell them honestly about problems and defects in medical devices,” said Matt Jacobs, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “Corporations in the health care field must be held to a high standard about informing patients and the FDA about the dangers of their products.” 

Friday, Lifescan pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts before Judge Jeremy Fogel in U.S. District Court in San Jose. 

The plea also resolved a separate civil case in which the government successfully won $30.6 million in restitution fees for Medicare funds used in purchases of the defective devices. 

In addition to the fines, Lifescan was placed on probation for three years, during which the FDA will oversee some of the company’s operations. 

In a prepared statement, Johnson & Johnson said Friday “no one at Lifescan engaged in intentional wrongdoing” but admitted its product labeling was deficient and that the company did not properly notify the government of the defects and was slow to remedy the problem. 

“Mistakes and misjudgments were made,” said Ralph S. Larsen, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson. “We fully acknowledge those errors and sincerely apologize for them.” 

A separate class-action suit filed on behalf of customers who bought the SureStep monitors is pending in federal court in San Jose. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Scientists are planning an ambitious mission to a new and barely explored world that isn’t far from the old one: the oceans. 

The watery depths cover more than two-thirds of the planet’s surface and drive the Earth’s climate, but for the most part have been largely ignored compared to the continents, atmosphere and even parts of the solar system. 

“Despite efforts over the past 25 years, 95 percent of the oceans remain unknown and unexplored,” said Marcia McNutt, president of the American Geophysical Union and of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. 

McNutt was chairwoman of the Ocean Exploration Panel, which recently finished a report calling for a new era of ocean exploration. The panel of ocean explorers, scientists and educators was formed last summer at the request of President Clinton. 

The group’s proposal, which was discussed at the AGU’s fall meeting Friday, calls for an approach involving both the physical and social sciences. Current research is too driven by specific theories; the new program will be powered by the spirit of discovery, panelists said. 

“We tend to focus on a particular scientific problem, at a particular place and at a particular time,” said John Orcutt, professor at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.  

“What we’re asking is to return to the idea of exploring this one last huge remaining part of our planet. It is a major departure that we’re asking for.” 

At the center of the proposal would be a voyage of discovery circumnavigating the globe. It would start in Maine, sail down the East Coast and points south, circle Antarctica, head north through the Indian and Pacific oceans, and finish with a trip under the Arctic polar cap. 

Before that happens – at a still undisclosed time – researchers hope to develop the best plan of attack by developing new tools and maps and setting up oceanic observatories. They also must somehow acquire all the equipment for the voyage. 

All the data from the project would be made instantly available to researchers and others via satellite links. 

“This is the first national report written by any nation that lays out the strategy for ocean exploration,” said D. James Baker, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

The panel, which earlier this month presented its report to Clinton, recommended $75 million each year for 10 years. NOAA, taking the lead so far, is asking for half that amount starting in its fiscal year 2002 budget request. 

Other federal agencies – such as the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Navy – could provide the rest of the money, panelists said. 

“This kind of program doesn’t work unless there are funds behind it,” Baker said. 

On the Net: 

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov 

American Geophysical Union: http://www.agu.org 

SAN DIEGO — A major earthquake would cause only minor damage to the massive concrete and steel columns that will support a portion of the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, a seismic test showed Friday. 

Engineers at the University of California, San Diego, placed a quarter-scale model of one column in the equivalent of a giant vise to simulate the pressure of a magnitude 8 earthquake on the nearby San Andreas fault or a magnitude 7.5 on the Hayward fault. 

A spider web of cracks appeared on a thin layer of exterior concrete near the base and top of the column as chunks the size of dinner plates fell to the ground. But scientists and state Department of Transportation officials dismissed the damage and called the column’s performance a success. 

“The column is still in perfect condition structurally,” Frieder Seible, chairman of the UCSD department of structural engineering, said as he stood by the 32-foot-tall model. 

The test at UCSD’s seismic lab was one in a series to be performed on components of the new span, which is being replaced to make it safer in an earthquake. 

Construction on the $1.5 billion project is scheduled to begin in late summer and to be completed in 2005. 

The seismic test also has implications beyond the Bay Bridge project because Caltrans plans to use the same type of column when it replaces the Carquinez  

and Benicia bridges northeast of  

San Francisco. 

The new type of column, also called a pier, consists of four solid columns of reinforced concrete surrounding a box-like concrete structure with a hollow center. About 14 piers will support two miles of the eastern span. 

Each pier is a coated in a thin layer of chalk-colored concrete to prevent corrosion and to improve the aesthetics of the support.  

This exterior layer at the base and top of the column cracked and flaked off during the test. 

But the damage doesn’t harm the structure of the column, is easily fixed and could be prevented with a minor architectural adjustment, said Bay Bridge project manager Brian Maroney. 

“I’m going to feel perfectly comfortable driving over this,” Maroney said. 

During the 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, a 30-foot span of the upper deck of the Bay Bridge collapsed.  

Caltrans later determined it would be cheaper to replace the eastern span than to retrofit it to modern safety standards. 

The 64-year-old bridge, crossed by 280,000 motorists a day, presents a major challenge because it straddles the Hayward and San Andreas faults.  

But engineers hope to minimize the risk with tests such as Friday’s, which exerted 700,000 pounds of sideways pressure on the column. 

“We have every confidence that it will hold,” Andy Budek, a UCSD research engineer, said as he observed the test of the column.

LOS ANGELES — Most Californians favor paying higher taxes to help everyone have affordable health care, according to a poll released Thursday. 

The poll commissioned by the nonpartisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found 72 percent would approve paying as much as $50 a year more in taxes if it meant the money would be used to provide affordable health care to the working poor. 

“Almost seven million Californian’s lack health insurance,” said Dr. Lew Sandy, executive vice president of the Princeton, N.J., foundation. 

These are people who have less than $28,000 a year in annual household income for a family of three, he said. 

The survey of 600 adults also showed that a slightly greater number of respondents – 77 percent – said they support the use of federal surplus funds to solve the problem nationally. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. 

The results were released on the first day of an industry conference titled “Health Coverage 2000: Meeting the Challenge of the Uninsured.” The meeting in Los Angeles was cosponsored by Families USA and the Health Insurance Association of America, among other health-care advocacy groups. 

The survey also found that: 

• 77 percent of respondents favored access to affordable health care by everyone, even it costs them more 

• 88 percent agreed a Bush administration and Congress should prioritize their agendas to include passing new laws to help the uninsured 

The public opinion poll was conducted in California by Public Opinion Strategies and Lake Snell Perry and Associates, two national polling firms.

Federal regulators ordered an overhaul of California’s electricity market Friday to try to control skyrocketing prices that have pushed the state to the brink of blackouts this month. 

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s order will set a “soft” price cap on wholesale rates and let the state’s investor-owned utilities keep the power they generate rather than be forced to sell it on the open market, as they had to under California’s 1996 utility deregulation law. 

San Diego Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric together generate 25,000 megawatts a day, about 60 percent of what the state uses on a busy day and 90 percent on a slow day, FERC said. The state Public Utilities Commission would then set the price the utilities could charge customers. 

“Today’s order will staunch the hemorrhage and start rehabilitation” of California’s power market, FERC Chairman James Hoecker said. 

All three privately owned utilities have been hit hard by soaring wholesale electricity prices, blamed in part on tight supplies and rising natural gas costs. 

The San Diego utility’s customers have seen their bills double and even triple since summer; SoCal Edison and PG&E, operating under state-imposed rate freezes as they move toward deregulation, say they are in financial danger. 

Meanwhile, the Independent System Operator, keeper of California’s power grid, has found itself in an almost-daily scramble this month to find enough megawatts in the West to prevent rolling blackouts. Friday marked the first day in nearly two weeks the state had enough electricity to avoid declaring any level of power alert. 

The commission ordered a “soft cap” on wholesale electricity prices of $150 per megawatt hour. Suppliers offering to sell power in California at more than that price would have to file paperwork with FERC defending the higher price. 

In an effort to encourage investor-owned utilities to avoid last-minute buying, FERC ordered them to buy 95 percent of their power more than a day ahead of when it is needed. 

FERC also allowed them to enter into contracts with generators outside the state Power Exchange, which had been set up to oversee all power sales within the state. 

FERC suggested a contract price of $74 per megawatt hour for five years.  

This would be far lower than prices during the current crisis, but higher than during milder weather when supply is plentiful. 

“Rather than cap the spot market created by the state of California, we simply shrink its size, we diminish its influence,” Hoecker said. 

The commission agreed to participate in a Tuesday power summit requested by Energy Secretary Bill Richardson and Oregon Gov. Gov. John Kitzhaber. 

Various commissioners disagreed with parts of the order. 

Commissioner William Massey said the suggested contract price would be all right for two years, but that generators might be overpaid over five years. 

“This shouldn’t be looked at as a floor,” Massey said. 

FERC’s soft cap of $150 per megawatt hour on the electricity that is still sold through the Power Exchange will last for four months. During that period, regulators will study the open market to determine whether prices are still “unjust and unreasonable,” as they found in setting the order.

SANTA ANA — A 40-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison Friday for murdering two children and injuring four others and a teacher’s aide by intentionally driving his car onto a preschool playground last year. 

Superior Court Judge John Ryan imposed two life sentences without possibility of parole on Steven Allen Abrams, whose sanity was an issue during the trial. 

Abrams’ mental problems were a mitigating factor, but he planned the crime and did it deliberately, the judge said in imposing the punishment recommended by the jury. 

“Because the intent was to harm as many children as possible, it went beyond what actually happened,” Ryan said. 

“As I was thinking about the case, I asked myself rhetorically about the psychological harm that the other children and the other workers suffered,” he said. “The impact this case had on so many lives just makes it terribly aggravated.” 

Brandon Wiener, 3, and Sierra Soto, 4, were killed when Abrams, a ticket broker employee, drove his Cadillac through a chain-link fence and onto the grounds of Southcoast Early Childhood Learning Center in Costa Mesa on May 3, 1999. 

“The holidays are here and I don’t have my baby to celebrate with,” Brandon’s mother, Pamela, tearfully told the court through sobs. She had just gone inside the school to get her son’s lunch box when the car rolled over him. 

Eric Soto told the judge that Sierra’s killer should be put to death. 

“Life without parole will not make me feel any better because it won’t bring my daughter back,” Soto said. 

A jury convicted Abrams in August on two counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder and two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter. The latter counts involved a couple whose car he tried to ram before smashing through the school fence. 

The prosecution contended that the attack on the children was a form of revenge for Abrams’ 1994 conviction on a charge of stalking a former girlfriend who lived in the area. 

“I was executing them ... as many as I could get,” Abrams said in a taped confession which jurors heard during the trial. “I was aiming for as many children as I could kill.” 

The defense claimed Abrams was legally insane, a paranoid schizophrenic who was trying to stop “brain-wave makers” from controlling his thoughts and behavior and who began hearing voices shortly after his stalking conviction. 

The prosecutor contended that Abrams’ mental problems were due to drug abuse. 

The jury decided in October that he was sane at the time of the crimes. 

Prosecutors then sought the death penalty but the jury voted in November to recommend that he spend the rest of his life in prison. 

The judge also sentenced Abrams to a concurrent term of 25 years and four months, and ordered him to pay $12,000 in restitution for the children’s funerals. 

The school shut down this year. 

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — When an extortionist’s bomb ripped through Harveys Resort & Casino in 1980, the company found opportunity in the tragedy and rebuilt Tahoe’s first high-rise to match the glitter of its newer neighbors on the south shore. 

But no matter how much the gild was burnished on the Nevada side of the state line, the luster remained tarnished on the California side. Just a block away from the modern hotels, South Lake Tahoe quickly gave way to a succession of souvenir stands, fast food joints and dilapidated 1950s-era motels. 

Where it wasn’t just tacky, South Lake Tahoe was downright seedy. 

“There was a definite acknowledgment in the community that we had a deteriorating tourism product,” former City Manager Kerry Miller said. 

It took less than two years to fix Harveys. Two decades later, South Lake Tahoe is finally getting somewhere. 

Within five years of the Harveys makeover, the casinos, Heavenly ski resort, local governments, environmental groups and other business and civic leaders began planning the reinvention of the south shore. 

“The underlying concept was to develop and create for South Lake Tahoe a worldwide image as a premiere resort destination – a unique product that people couldn’t find anywhere else,” Miller told the Tahoe Daily Tribune. 

By this summer, backhoes had leveled most of South Lake Tahoe’s old image and the new was emerging as the $250 million Park Avenue Redevelopment project. Its centerpiece – the $20 million Heavenly gondola – will be dedicated on the first day of winter, Dec. 21. 

It will link more than 5,000 hotel rooms to the ski resort’s upper California side 2,875 feet up the mountain in a 12-minute ride. Its length and capacity – 138 eight-passenger cars – make it California’s largest. 

“It’s another step of redevelopment which the area needs,” said longtime Harrah’s Lake Tahoe spokesman John Packer. “It’ll really makes South Lake Tahoe more of a skiing town where you don’t have to drive some great distance. 

“It’s a huge convenience for skiers. They don’t have to park and get a lift ticket. The ski lift comes to them.” 

The next step in the Park Avenue project will be to surround the gondola’s base with a European-style pedestrian village, featuring two chalet-inspired resorts, an ice rink, a theater complex, a parking garage and a shopping mall. 

Additional plans foresee a convention center, hotels, shops, restaurants and an art center. An artificial lake will be a scaled-down model of its famous neighbor. Improved mass transit and possibly a monorail lie further down the road. 

The area’s two natural attractions – the lake and the mountains – dictated caution in planing each step of the project. 

After lengthy – and often rancorous – negotiations, parties as diverse as developers, contractors, the League to Save Lake Tahoe and the Tahoe Regional Protection Agency all signed off on a compromise master plan. 

The accord that’s being seen as a model for similar developments elsewhere, particularly at ski areas, requires catch basins to store rain and snowmelt runoff from paved areas before the water reaches the lake. Landscaping will take the place of some concrete and buildings to be removed. 

The gondola’s concrete support beams were dug and placed by hand to keep machinery off the fragile mountainside. Trucks that carried supplies ran on temporary roads, which will be returned to their natural state. 

“If we had all gotten together and added it up, we probably would not have done it,” said Dennis Harmon, Heavenly’s managing director. 

As another part of the deal, the new condos and hotels will result in a reduction in the number of places to stay at the lake. For every new bed added, 1.3 must be removed. 

A glut of rooms was blamed for part of the area’s decline as the cheap mom-and-pop operations cut rates to lure customers then couldn’t afford even basic maintenance, much less improvements. 

While the more upscale digs will discourage the souvenir store crowd, their numbers will be replaced by fewer but better-heeled tourists, according to John Wagnon, vice president of marketing at Heavenly. 

“I don’t think those less expensive rooms are going to be replaced by anyone else so they’re pretty much going away,” he said. “The entire community is going to take a little bit of an uptick in terms of the clientele.” 

And while greater affluence meshes with the financial goals of South Lake Tahoe’s rebirth, Wagnon said fewer visitors will ease the impact on the fragile ecology. 

“That’s basically how the economic model works with the environmental model,” he said. 

While Heavenly is the only ski resort at the south shore, the area an hour from Reno’s airport is a starting point for wintertime skiers headed out to nearby resorts and looking to return to some apres-ski activities, particularly on the Nevada side. 

“Over the last 15 years, I think we’ve really changed the image of Lake Tahoe in the minds of consumers all throughout North America and in Europe,” Wagnon said, putting the former city manager’s vision of the future into present tense. 

“The results are starting to really show. We are a world class destination in pretty much every sense of the word.” 

On the Net: 

Lake Tahoe Web site: http//www.virtualtahoe.com 

CORTE MADERA — A pair of mischievous middle-aged men has been stalking through shopping mall parking lots - the habitat of the mighty sports utility vehicle – doing a little civil disobedience in hopes that their prey will become extinct. 

For four months, Robert Lind, who runs a deer-repellent business, and his cohort, construction worker Charles Dines, have scampered all over the San Francisco Bay Area, smoothing homemade bumper stickers onto hundreds of SUVs – the vehicles they love to hate. 

They’re tired of watching SUVs suck fuel at gas stations and flood rear-view mirrors at night with blinding headlights. Mostly, the “mad taggers” are tired of the SUVs’ impact on the environment. 

And now SUV are getting tired of their black-and-white bumper stickers, which exclaim: “I’m changing the environment! Ask me how!” 

Dines, who rides a BMW motorcycle, devised the idea after repeated chats with Lind about their shared scorn for SUVs. He likens it to the public pillories of old, where petty offenders were exposed to public shame. 

“We look at the bumper sticker as a way to punish these people,” explains Lind, who drives an old BMW car. “They think their status trinket it more important than the environment we all share.” 

Judging from what happened during a recent hunt at a mall parking lot here, SUV drivers certainly take offense to their antics. 

A flurry of women used their cell phones to call police, and Lind and Dines were twice confronted by security and police officers. 

“You don’t know the facts!” one mother hissed as she pushed a baby stroller back and forth near her pristine Chevy Tahoe after they inadvertently tagged it a second time, breaking their own no-repeat rule. 

“There’s no other car that has enough shoulder belts for booster seats and has cargo space,” the woman told them. “I don’t want my kids sitting 12 inches from the back of the car against glass like in a minivan.” 

Dines and Lind, fresh from a confrontation with police in another section of the lot, looked uneasy but took a few minutes to pitch their case against SUVs before making their escape. 

Tagging cars with their removable stickers, it turns out, can amount to a vandalism misdemeanor. 

“I understand your cause and everything,” Twin Cities police officer Mark Reischel told them. “I just think that adhering this to a car would make people mad. I know it would make me mad.” 

Lind says the facts about SUVs make the risk worth it. 

Drivers bought 2.8 million SUVs in the United States through November of this year, about 17 percent of all vehicles sold. Sales are up 4.6 percent from last year, according to Ward’s Automotive Reports. 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, average fuel economy in the SUV, van and pickup truck category is just over 18 mpg, compared with 23.6 mpg for cars. 

Some sport utility vehicles also have less stringent federal emissions standards since they are classified as heavy-duty trucks, which contributes to urban smog problems. 

Carl Calvert, editor of the magazine Today’s SUV, says he doesn’t understand why the pair focuses on SUVs rather than all large pickup trucks. 

“There’s always a certain faction that’s going to be looking at the negative attributes of SUVs,” Calvert said. “I think you can look at any automotive vehicle and see negative aspects.” 

Lind maintains that most SUVs are bought for status, not utility. 

“People are going to see and wonder what’s that all about,” Lind said. “Our goal is to attach enough social shame and ostracism to an SUV so that perhaps we’ll change public opinion. Maybe some people will think, well, maybe I shouldn’t buy an SUV.” 

The stickers also list a Web site, http://www.changingtheclimate.com, which gives advice on removing the stickers and invites targeted SUV owners to join in a spirited exchange of SUV philosophy. 

“Don’t ever vandalize my vehicle with your sticker again,” a recent post from an angry commercial fisherman reads. “I will physically confront and stop you.” 

Lind and Dines, their leather jacket pockets bulging with stickers, brag about the times when they’ve tagged SUVs without the drivers inside noticing. But mostly they try to avoid physical confrontations. 

They creep down to bumper level, stoop a bit to stick on their message and move on the next “big game” in one fluid motion, faces bright with glee. 

“We’re reasonable about it,” Lind says. “We don’t tag commercial vehicles — there are some people who need SUVs, and if its appropriate we don’t have a problem with it.” 

But they don’t always stick to their rules, said the Chevy Tahoe owner, who removed the bumper sticker the first time they tagged her, only to be struck again. 

“There are reasons people have large vehicles, like carpooling,” she said, asking to go nameless until she decides whether to sue for vandalism. “I appreciate their concern for the environment but I don’t feel they should be doing what they’re doing without knowledge of the specific car owners’ circumstance for buying that car.” 

THE RULES 

• Only big SUVs are fair game. “I tag in the affluent suburbs where they never get dirty or use the 4 wheel drive,” Lind says. “I figure that most people in rural areas are probably using them for a functional purpose and therefore don’t tag in those areas.” 

• Commercial vehicles are not tagged. “I have no gripe with people who really need these gas-guzzlers. It’s the morons who are keeping up with the Jones’ that raise my back hairs.” 

• Vehicles will not be tagged twice. 

• Only late models will be tagged. “Not some beat up old Suburban some poor soul has inherited.” 

• Vehicles are not targeted simply because they have 4 wheel drive. “Only the types that never use ’em (soccer moms, etc.). That leaves 85 percent.” 

On the Net: 

http://www.changingtheclimate.com 

http://www.todayssuvs.com 

http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/allsuv-01.html 

WASHINGTON — Nearly 500 current and retired FBI agents marched to the White House Friday in an unprecedented protest, opposing any presidential clemency for an American Indian activist convicted of killing two FBI men.  

Carrying a “Never Forget” banner lettered in red, a line of women stood two-by-two for the march to the White House gate with a petition to President Clinton signed by 8,000 current and former agents.  

Secret Service agents at the White House gate rejected the envelope, however, telling their fellow federal officers that no packages or documents can be accepted for security reasons. The FBI agents planned to mail the petition.  

Susan Lloyd, an FBI field office spokeswoman who joined the protesters, said the vast majority of those in the demonstration were active agents who applied for the day off.  

“None of this is on government time,” she said. The officers were escorted by about 30 District of Columbia police on motorcycles. 

The protest supported FBI Director Louis Freeh's recommendation against clemency for Leonard Peltier, who is serving two consecutive life sentences in the federal prison at Leavenworth, Kan. 

Freeh told Clinton such an act would “signal disrespect” for law enforcement.  

“There are situations in which mercy is warranted, but clearly what this man has done puts him outside of the reach of any presidential pardon,” said John Sennett, president of the FBI Agents Association, which has about 9,000 active and 1,000 retired members. Sennett, interviewed at the scene, is an FBI agent based in New York.  

Agents said they knew of no similar public display by active agents in the past.  

“FBI employees, like other federal workers and citizens, have the right to express their views on issues they feel passionately about,” said bureau spokesman Mike Kortan at FBI headquarters, noting that the demonstrators were on their own time. “While today’s event is unusual, it underscores the passion and depth of feeling of FBI employees across the country and around the world on this issue.” A handful of Peltier supporters shouted at the orderly line of officers as they passed. ``Peltier is a political prisoner,” said a man who identified himself as P.J. Smith of Washington.  

The White House has refused comment on all questions about possible pardons. A White House spokesman said Clinton would review pending requests for executive clemency before he leaves office in January, including that of Peltier.  

“There are strong passions on all sides of the issue,'' White House spokesman Elliot Diringer said Friday. “The president's decision will be based on the facts.”  

Attorney General Janet Reno, asked about the prospect of an FBI demonstration on Thursday, said, “I think we just have to see how it unfolds,” adding, “Everybody ought to be able to speak out about something that they care about deeply in a thoughtful, professional, dignified manner.” 

Peltier’s story has become well-known on Indian reservations across the country. FBI agents Ron Williams and Jack Koler were fired upon and killed while searching for robbery suspects on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota in June 1975.  

Peltier, after fleeing to Canada and being extradited to the United States, was convicted and sentenced in 1977 for the killings, despite defense claims that evidence against him had been falsified.  

Peltier’s supporters argue that there is little evidence that Peltier fired the shots that killed the agents. They allege Peltier was targeted by the FBI because of his vocal support of reservation autonomy and have opposed the demonstration by FBI agents.  

“We are very disappointed with the FBI response,'' Jennifer Harbury, an attorney for Peltier, said at a news conference Friday. “We think it’s inappropriate, and we think it's a sad day for democracy when our armed forces march through the streets to influence a decision for mercy and justice by a civilian president.” Peltier, 56, is serving his terms at the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan.  

He has suffered from health problems in recent years.

BRADENTON, Fla.— A Palestinian was ordered released from jail Friday after being locked up for three years on secret government evidence without ever being charged with a crime. 

Attorney General Janet Reno lifted a stay that had kept Mazen Al-Najjar behind bars. In an accompanying statement, Reno said that Justice Department officials “anticipate he could be deported from the United States soon.” 

His lawyers David Cole and Martin Schwartz said that they did not know when their client would be released from the Manatee County Detention Center, but that the man’s elated family was headed there. 

“There is nothing more gratifying than seeing an innocent man walk out of jail free,” Cole said. “It’s too bad that he spent 31/2 years in jail on secret evidence without ever having had a chance to confront it, but freedom is always sweet.” 

“I feel so happy. I give thanks to God,” said Al-Najjar’s sister, Nahla Al-Arian. 

The government has maintained that Al-Najjar had links to Mideast terrorists and was a threat to national security. Al-Najjar denied the allegations. Not even his lawyers have seen the evidence against him. 

The 43-year-old academic had been on the verge of freedom several times, most recently Tuesday, when Reno stopped his release, saying she wanted more time to review the case. His family, stunned by the news, had been waiting at the detention center with an $8,000 check to post his bail when the stay was issued. 

Al-Najjar’s battle for freedom has been a seesaw struggle through immigration hearings, federal court proceedings and the high reaches of the Justice Department. 

For the first three years of his imprisonment, Al-Najjar had been allowed only once-a-year visits from his three young, American-born daughters. In June, he was allowed to begin seeing them weekly like the rest of his immediate family. 

Immigration Judge R. Kevin McHugh had ordered Al-Najjar’s release early this month, saying the government failed to give him enough information to defend himself. 

McHugh viewed the classified evidence in chambers and said that a declassified summary given to Al-Najjar was not sufficient to keep him behind bars. He set bail and Al-Najjar’s family made plans to bring him home. 

However, the government appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which ordered Al-Najjar detained indefinitely, pending further study. 

The board lifted the order earlier this week, and federal immigration attorneys immediately turned to Reno. 

Al-Najjar’s cause has been championed by lawyers from Florida to New York, civil rights groups and members of Congress who consider his detention unjustified. 

About a dozen immigrants, mostly Arabs living in America, have been detained in U.S. jails without criminal charges on the basis of classified evidence, according to Rep. David Bonior, D-Mich. 

Cole, a Georgetown University law professor, said he has worked on 13 such cases and after much difficulty, all have been released. 

“All are living peaceably without any undermining of national security,” Cole said. He believes the government uses secret evidence not to protect national security, but when it knows its case would disintegrate if made public. 

Al-Najjar was born in Gaza and raised in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. He has been in the United States since 1981. His student visa expired years ago and he has been living illegally in this country. 

He has appealed a deportation order, partly on grounds that because he has no homeland, he has nowhere to go. A federal appeals court hearing was set for Jan. 9. 

Reno said the government expects the appellate court will uphold the deportation “in the next few months.” 

She defended the detention, saying courts have twice ordered Al-Najjar deported “based solely on public record evidence.” 

Al-Najjar was associated with the World and Islam Studies Enterprise, a think tank affiliated with the University of South Florida, and the Islamic Committee for Palestine, a group with a stated mission of fostering better understanding of Muslim issues. 

The U.S. government maintained that the Florida organizations fronted for the Islamic Jihad, which has claimed responsibility for terrorist bombings in the Middle East. 

LOS ANGELES — Online toy retailer eToys says it will cut its workforce and may run out of operating cash by the end of March because of weak holiday sales. 

The company said in a statement Friday that it has retained Goldman Sachs & Co. to explore a sale, merger or restructuring. 

EToys has revised its sales and earnings estimates for the third quarter ending Dec. 31. It said it is expecting net sales of between $120 million and $130 million instead of the $210 million to $240 million it had previously expected. 

The company also said it expects operating losses to be between 55 percent and 65 percent of revenue. That compares with an estimate of between 22 percent and 28 percent of revenue the company previously expected. 

If the new estimates hold, the company’s performance in the third quarter will still be better than the same period last year. Unless eToys raises additional capital or realizes significant savings from layoffs and other cost-cutting measures, it may not be enough to keep them in business, the company warned. 

“We are disappointed that sales have not materialized to the degree we had expected,” Toby Lenk, eToys president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “But we point to the fact that the company is expected to show between 12 percent and 22 percent growth in revenue versus the same quarter last year and we are serving customers exceptionally well this holiday season.” 

The company blamed poor sales on “a harsh retail climate” caused by concerns over the economy, current attitudes toward Internet retailing, and consumers who have been “meaningfully distracted by the presidential election and its aftermath.” 

The company said it will announce a plan to reduce its workforce in January. It also warned investors to disregard any previous guidance it has issued about expected revenues for the next fiscal year. 

Shares of the company were trading at $1.03 per share, down about 3 percent in late trading Friday.

LOS ANGELES — Shockwave.com says it will acquire Internet short film distributor AtomFilms to form a new company in an attempt to dominate the struggling Internet entertainment field. 

Shockwave.com, a private company based in San Francisco, will acquire Seattle-based AtomFilms in a stock swap, the companies said in a joint announcement Friday. AtomFilms shareholders will own 30 percent of the yet-to-be-named new company. 

Shockwave.com is owned by Macromedia Inc., a public company, which will own the rest of the new company along with several private investors. 

Rob Burgess, chairman and chief executive officer of Macromedia and chairman of Shockwave.com will be chairman of the new company.  

Mika Salmi, founder and chief executive officer of AtomFilms, will be CEO. 

Shockwave CEO Lawrence Levy will serve in a strategic advisory role through the transition, the companies said. 

The new company will be based in San Francisco. 

Shockwave.com produces online animated entertainment using “Flash,” a computer animation program. Director Tim Burton, the creators of the cable program “South Park” and others have created programs for the site. 

AtomFilms licenses and distributes short films and animation. 

Each company has approximately 150 employees. 

Internet entertainment sites are struggling to attract viewers and become profitable. Earlier this year, the Digital Entertainment Network folded after failing to create a Web-based network for online shows. Last month, Icebox.com, which uses top tier television writers to create animated shows, cut its staff by half. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.shockwave.com 

http://www.atomfilms.com 

NEW YORK — Investors who thought the resolution of the presidential election would set off a rally on Wall Street found themselves instead in the midst of a huge selloff. 

The negative reaction had nothing to do with the election of George W. Bush. Instead, analysts said, the market’s plunge this past week was all about disappointing earnings predictions, particularly one from Microsoft, and investor fears about the economy. 

“The fundamental problem is that people are very concerned about the possibility of a recession in 2001, although I don’t see one happening,” said Jack Shaughnessy, chief investment strategist at Advest Inc. 

“But all this bad news from computer stocks has affected a lot of people. Of the retail clients I advise, I’d bet a third to a half of their assets are in technology stocks, so these warnings have really hurt them.” 

That news was initially greeted warmly – even if it meant companies might not make as much money as they had during the previous year. After six interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve to slow unsustainable economic growth and stave off inflation, investors were optimistic that more hikes might not be necessary. 

But a series of warnings, first about companies’ third-quarter profits and in the past few weeks, about fourth-quarter results, has spawned a series of selloffs. High-tech was hit first, but the seemingly more durable consumer and financial stocks have suffered as well. 

Analysts now believe Wall Street’s fears have been exacerbated by the fact that while the Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates, it’s unclear when that will happen. And it took six months for the effects of interest rate cuts to work their way through the economy; no one knows how long it will take for the reverse to be felt. 

Moreover, the bad earnings news has kept coming, and from a broader range of companies. Companies are reducing their predictions for 2001, saying they expect the economic slowdown’s effects to be felt well into the spring and summer of next year. 

— The Associated Press 

“What Microsoft’s warning did was end up making people feel that a hard (economic) landing is a definite possibility and that companies are going to have a harder time than expected,” said Michael Mann, senior portfolio manager of AXP Mutual Fund. “Now people are not talking about a moderating economy, but a severe slowdown.” 

Mann is hopeful the Fed will relax its stance against lowering interest rates at its meeting Tuesday. Although he believes the market has already factored that change in what’s known as the Fed’s bias, it would be a precursor to a rate cut early next year. 

“There is definitely earnings risk in the marketplace right now,” Mann said. “But the offset to this would be a Federal Reserve decision to cut rates. It wold give people a glimmer that the Fed will not allow the economy to go into a recession.” 

Shaughnessy, the Advest strategist, is also bullish about the market, predicting growth of at least 10 percent in 2001 in the Nasdaq composite index and Dow Jones industrials. But he acknowledged that getting through the rest of the month may be tough. 

He thinks January stands to be better than expected for several reasons, including the inauguration of a president predisposed to tax cuts and the release of fourth-quarter results, which he believes won’t as bad as Wall Street fears. 

But the linchpin, he admits, will be what the Fed decides to do. 

“When the Federal Reserve decides to cut rates, that always turns the stock market around,” Shaughnessy said. “And I think they’re inclined to cut rates.” 

The Dow Jones industrials closed at 10,434.96, down 277.95 or 2.6 percent for the week following Friday’s 240.03-point loss. 

The Nasdaq composite index fell 264.11 or 9.05 percent to 2,653.32 after losing 75.19 Friday. 

The Standard and Poor’s 500 index lost 57.74 or 4.2 percent for the week, closing at 1,312.15 after a 28.78 loss Friday. 

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the performance of smaller company stocks, gave up 21.04 for the week, a 4.4 percent decline. It closed at 458.03 after losing 3.79 Friday. 

The Wilshire Associates Equity Index — which represents the combined market value of all New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq issues — ended the week at $12.093 trillion, down $573 billion from the previous week. A year ago the index was $13.251 trillion. 

End adv for weekend editions 

SAN FRANCISCO — Federal and state agencies systematically deny benefits to California’s homeless and disabled by failing to evaluate their claims fully, a group of attorneys from the San Francisco Bay area claim. 

Lawyers from Berkeley’s Homeless Action Center and the San Francisco office of Heller Ehrman White and McAuliffe filed a class action suit in U.S. District Court Wednesday, saying that federal and state agencies do not make enough effort to consult medical records or to contact doctors who have treated applicants in the past. 

Instead, the lawyers say, the Social Security Administration, its Center of Disability and Regional Offices and the state Department of Social Services lean too often on the opinions of their own contracted doctors to evaluate claims – which places applicants with inaccessible or absent medical records at a disadvantage for benefits. 

“The case really aims at trying to be sure that the most disfavored group of Social Security applicants – poor people with mental disabilities – get fairly evaluated on their medical record,” said Robert Borton, partner in the litigation group at Heller Ehrman White and McAuliffe. 

The Social Security Administration contends that it follows all federal guidelines for collecting evidence, though a spokesman said the agency would not comment on the suit until it was reviewed. 

“The best evidence always comes from an applicants’ own doctors, but there are times when that evidence is either not enough or it’s too old,” said Lowell Kepke, a spokesman with the San Francisco Regional Office of Social Security Administration 

Blanca Barna, a DSS spokeswoman, said the agency knew of the suit but would not comment until it had been served. 

Homeless applicants are often uninsured and are treated at county hospitals. That can make records and visits to doctors hard to track down, said Steven Weiss, staff attorney with the Homeless Action Center. But that’s no excuse, he added. 

The state DSS gets about 80,000 new disability claims each year, and those applicants must meet stricter requirements to qualify for disability insurance or payments from the Social Security Administration, Kepke said. The case was brought on behalf of eight plaintiffs and a class of potentially thousands of Californians, the attorneys say. 

The plaintiffs are not seeking monetary damages, but say they are asking for a court order requiring the agencies to follow the law and to grant disabled people who were unlawfully denied benefits the chance to have their claims reviewed. 

“Many people have their cases poorly developed by the state and then in three years their health is deteriorated, they’re uninsured. “People become homeless waiting for their claims to be approved, so there’s a lot of harm,” Weiss said. 

A two-alarm blaze gutted an unoccupied three-story home on Thousand Oaks Boulevard early Wednesday morning. 

At about 3 a.m. firefighters were summoned to the area by neighbors on Yosemite Road who thought the blaze might be in their back yard. Rather, firefighters found “a fully involved fire coming out of the windows” in a home at 1854 Thousand Oaks, the street behind Yosemite, said Assistant Fire Chief David Orth. 

Losses are estimated at about $850,000 Orth said. 

He said the property had been recently sold and was undergoing renovations. Fire inspectors were unable to enter the house Wednesday to determine the cause of the fire.  

“They tried to enter the house. They started falling through the floor,” said Orth. “The stairways were gone. The roof was gone.” 

Five engines, two trucks, an ambulance, PG&E crews as well as East Bay Municipal Utility District personnel were called to the scene, Orth said.

SAN JOSE — Hoping to hit high-tech companies where it hurts, an environmental organization is encouraging consumers to buy from businesses that do the best job of warning the public about the toxic chemicals they use. 

A study released Tuesday by the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition examined the Web sites of 44 Korean, U.S., Japanese and European companies and graded how much they tell consumers about their environmental practices. Most failed. 

“The good news is there’s some good stuff going on,” said Ted Smith, executive director of SVTC. “The bad news is there’s not enough.” 

SVTC is recommending that companies make information available on their Web sites about their manufacturing processes, chemicals, suppliers and subcontractors, and about where customers can take their older products for recycling, instead of just throwing them away. 

It also recommends that customers buy from companies with better environmental records. 

“There’s no hope on our horizon that we’re going to find a governmental solution,” Smith said.  

“We have to go back to old-fashioned organizing consumers and workers.” 

Lynn Fox, a spokeswoman for Apple Computer Inc., said no one was available to comment and deferred to the company’s Web site. 

On the Net: 

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition: http://www.svtc.org.

In response to recent published reports, a University of California provost has denied that California's flagship system for higher education is considering scrapping the Scholastic Aptitude Test. 

C. Judson King, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs for UC, said in a statement Friday that while officials are openly considering all options for making school admissions more fair for students, there are no specific plans  

“The ideas discussed to this point are simply that – ideas,” King said. “We intend to evaluate these ideas carefully, mindful of our legal obligations under Proposition 209.” 

Some critics say the SAT is an unfair admissions standard because its questions are geared for the wealthy, for whites or for males.  

The issue became more pertinent in the wake of voter-approved Proposition 209 – which outlawed affirmative action in public institutions – and university officials say they are trying to ensure the admissions process is fair for students of all backgrounds.  

UC spokesman Terry Lightfoot said, “We’re having a discussion and looking at a variety of ideas.” 

Lightfoot said the misunderstanding arose when a reporter witnessed a UC “brainstorming” session where eliminating the SAT was “one of about a hundred suggestions.''

SAN FRANCISCO — Two ancient Egyptian cities that mysteriously sank into the Mediterranean about 1,500 years ago could have fallen victim to floods or a major earthquake — or a combination of both, researchers said Sunday. 

Herakleion and Menouthis, seaports that flourished during the age of the Pharaohs and previously only known from the writings of ancient scribes, were recently uncovered by undersea archaeologists. But scientists have yet to agree on exactly how they ended up 30 feet beneath the surface of the Bay of Aboukir. 

Some experts believe an earthquake caused the land to sink up to 27 feet, submerging the shaken cities. Others point to a massive flood of the nearby Nile, which now flows farther east. Then there is the possibility of a tsunami. 

“Since that time, the land has subsided,” said Amos Nur, a geophysicist at Stanford University. “The cities have disappeared and the Nile is gone.” 

“What caused the subsidence of this entire area? Was it catastrophic subsidence or was it gradual?” he asked. “The second question is what caused the collapse of all the structures that stood in those two cities?” 

The demise of Herakleion and Menouthis was debated  

Sunday at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union,  

a gathering of Earth and  

planetary scientists. 

Nur, who works with the French archaeological team to uncover geologic explanations for the sinking, believes a massive earthquake played a large role in the destruction of the cities. But there’s a problem. 

The major plate boundaries, where faults capable of generating such a massive quake can be found, are hundreds of miles to the north of the port cities that once thrived about 15 miles east of Alexandria. 

There is some historical evidence of major earthquakes in the area – though not covering the time that the cities disappeared. And nobody has been able to find convincing evidence of major faults. 

“In order to get 8 meters (26 feet) of subsidence, you have to have a nearby magnitude-8.5 earthquake,” Nur said. “Is it possible that there are faults here that could generate large earthquakes but very infrequently so we miss them? 

“This makes for very exciting geophysics.” 

Egyptian engineers built the cities on unstable, silty soil. During a quake, the shaking can cause the ground to liquefy. That happens in modern times, too, including in San Francisco’s Marina district during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. 

It’s also possible that the cities were destroyed by a tsunami generated by a strong earthquake elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Such a giant wave destroyed a large part of Lisbon back in 1755, killing 60,000 people. 

Though the Lisbon disaster did not result in the city sinking, it is possible elsewhere – especially if a city is built on sediments, Nur said. 

Artifacts continue to be found in the area that could shed light on the cities’ demise, said Franck Goddio, who led the original expedition to the sites. In October, previously unknown and perfectly preserved piers were found off Alexandria. 

Archaeologists also found gold coins, the most recent dating to 740 A.D., said Jean-Daniel Stanley of the Smithsonian Institution. “Coins are useful because they’re gold coins. They’re not something someone would chuck out into the sea after cities had submerged,” he said. 

On the Net: Franck Goddio Society: http://www.franckgoddio.org/

SAN JOSE — A bizarre mystery unfolded Friday out of a usually routine corporate flight: Why did a Hewlett-Packard employee jump or fall from a small company plane at 2,000 feet, despite an attempt by another passenger to restrain her? 

Sacramento police Friday afternoon found the body of the young blonde woman, dressed in a dark suit, in a in a vegetable garden, about 200 feet behind a house and three blocks from Susan B. Anthony Elementary School. 

The coroner’s office identified her as Elisabeth Mathild Otto, 31, of San Francisco. 

The FBI said two passengers who saw Otto plunge from the plane were so distraught that they were unable to communicate to the pilots what had happened. Police were not notified she was missing until 45 minutes after the plane landed in San Jose on Thursday night. 

“We’ve ruled out foul play on behalf of any of the passengers,” FBI spokesman Andrew Black said. “We’re looking at it strictly as a possible suicide or an accident.” 

The 15-seat plane, a de Havilland Twin Otter, was carrying five passengers and two pilots when it left Lincoln Regional Airport in Roseville, northeast of Sacramento, late Thursday afternoon.  

For 22 years, Hewlett-Packard has operated the flight service for employees who travel between the high-tech giant’s Silicon Valley home base and its Roseville campus. Never before had there been an injury or a fatality, HP spokesman Dave Berman said. 

Soon after takeoff, the plane had to make an emergency landing because a warning light indicated the door was unlocked. The plane landed at 4:48 p.m. at the Sacramento Executive Airport, then took off again at 5:20 p.m. after securing the door. 

Three minutes later, the door opened. 

“When that plane hatch was opened, the passenger immediately in front of her turned around and observed a female passenger halfway out of the plane,” Black said. “He lunged over the seat, reached for her and was able to grab hold of her shoulder and attempted to pull her back into the plane.” 

Otto flew out the door at 2,000 feet, about 10 miles south of Sacramento. 

Amid what had to be a deafening and chaotic roar, the co-pilot managed to close the door, Black said.  

But the crew didn’t realize the woman was gone and continued on to San Jose, where the plane landed at 6:05 p.m. Police were later called from an HP office a few miles from the San Jose airport. 

Hewlett-Packard said Otto worked in the purchasing department. Black said the other passengers did not notice Otto behaving unusually before the incident. 

The company would not comment beyond a short statement issued early Friday. 

“We are deeply concerned and are helping authorities to determine what happened,” the statement said. “Out of respect for the individuals involved, we are not providing additional information at this time.” 

FAA inspectors determined that a mechanical malfunction had not caused the door to open, spokesman Jerry Snyder said. The FAA also said inspectors did not believe the pilot erred in continuing to San Jose after securing the door a second time. 

“The inspector couldn’t find any fault in his proceedings,” Snyder said. 

After Otto’s body was found Friday, schoolchildren in white shirts and navy blue pants watched police and reporters circle the area. Police chaplain Frank Russell talked to concerned residents in the poor neighborhood. 

“One family I’ve spoken to was worried about the ‘what-ifs,”’ Russell said. “What if the woman jumped out a second earlier and landed in their house?”