OAKLAND – An innovative, former restaurant owner and an evolutionary biologist have joined forces to consult with businesses, schools and governments on earth-friendly energy-saving techniques. 

Former restaurateur Walter Harmon and biologist David Seaborg called a news conference Tuesday to announce their newly-formed consulting firm, which is so new that it doesn’t yet have a name. The company will assist large energy consumers to drastically cut energy costs and at the same time reduce environmental excesses that contribute to global warming.  

“The only energy source we have is conservationism,” Harmon said. “It’s the only one that makes sense globally, environmentally and economically.” 

Harmon, who had been retired for 10 years, brings practical experience to the partnership. He was the owner of Merritt Restaurant and Bakery in Oakland during the energy crisis in the early 1970s. The news conference was actually a tour of the energy-saving equipment installed at the restaurant. 

Interested in cutting his energy costs in the 18,000-square-foot restaurant-bakery, Harmon first improved the lighting scheme. “Incandescent light is about 5 percent illumination and 95 percent heat,” Harmon said as he pointed overhead to circular florescent tubes. “We switched to circle lights which are 85 percent illumination and 15 percent heat.” 

Harmon also reduced the number of florescent tubes in the lighting fixtures in the kitchen and storage areas. “We were able to reduce our energy use for lighting by 74 percent and still maintain the same illumination,” he said. 

After upgrading the lighting system he turned to refrigeration and heating. Harmon had a system of 39 compressors supporting a fleet of regular refrigerators, 10 walk-ins, and a variety of counter coolers and cooled display cases. 

He made use of the heat the compressors generated by re-routing it to a series of 100 gallon heat-recovery units on the roof thereby cutting out the energy needed to heat the hundreds of gallons of hot water the restaurant uses every day. 

Harmon began saving money immediately and was able to recover his investment in four years. 

“New technology has made the equipment smaller and the cost lower,” Harmon said. “With the higher cost of energy, businesses can recoup investments twice as fast.” 

Seaborg, the son of Glenn Seaborg, the developer of plutonium who was an Associate Director of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, said the consulting company will advise restaurants on solid waste and the reuse of water. 

“We can help restaurants with cutting carbon dioxide use, cutting solid waste and cutting water use,” Seaborg said. 

Seaborg, who lives in Walnut Creek, is the founder of the World Rain Forest Fund and says he is motivated by his desire to halt global warming. “Global warming is real. The last decade was the hottest ever recorded,” he said. “The Golden Toad of Costa Rican rain forest is the first species that is extinct because of global warming.” 

Any profit he makes from the consulting business will be put into the World Rain Forest Fund, Seaborg said. 

The first company he and Harmon plan to work with is the world-renowned Chez Panisse. The restaurant has given the consultants a verbal agreement, Seaborg said. The Daily Planet was unable to reach restaurant management for confirmation. 

Wednesday, Feb. 14

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling Classes for  

Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Faye Carol Sings Lady Day 

7:30 p.m. 

King Middle School  

1781 Rose St.  

A tribute to Billie Holiday including Lady Day’s most popular songs, including “Strange Fruit,” “Good Morning Heartache,” “God Bless the Child” and “You Let Me Down.” Benefit for KPFA Radio and La Pena Cultural Center.  

$15Call 848-6767 x609 or visit www.kpfa.org 

Planning Commission Public  

Hearing  

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

The commission is holding public hearings on the Planning Commission Draft General Plan. The commission requests that all written comments on the plan be submitted by March 1.  

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 Simplicity,” 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  

Free “Quit Smoking” Class 

5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis (at Ashby)  

Cease your smoking with the help of this free class offered to Berkeley residents and employees. 

Call 644-6422 to enroll or e-mail quitnow@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Natural Conversations 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Hillside Community Church  

1422 Navellier St.  

El Cerrito 

A series of Thursday evenings of conversation “engaging people in discovering the pleasures of an excellent discussion.” Focus on conversations in nature and explore what they are meant to convey.  

$10  

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Kathleen Lynch and host Mark States.  

644-0155 

Climbing Mt. Shasta 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Tim Keating of Sierra Wilderness Seminars will give a slide presentation on climbing and skiing this North California peak. 527-7377  

Berkeley Metaphysical  

Toastmasters Club  

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month. Call 869-2547 

“Religion, Power & the New Economy”  

1:30 - 3 p.m. 

Chapel of the Great Commission  

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

A panel discussion featuring distinguished GTU alumni/ae, in celebration of Dr. James A. Donahue’s inauguration as President of the GTU.  

Call 649-2400 

West CAT Meeting 

7 p.m. 

Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church  

997 University Ave.  

Review the racial and health disparities issues and see the model of the community capacity building.  

Rent Stabilization Board  

7 p.m. 

2134 MLK Jr. Way  

Council Chambers, Second Floor  

First reading of the proposal to amend Regulation 1206 to increase the statute of limitations for former tenants to file petitions with the Board from one year to three years. You can hear the meeting on KPFB, 89.3 FM or on Cable Channel 25.  

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. 549-2970  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or  

visit www.stagebridge.org 

Saturday, Feb. 17

“Go-Go-Go Greenbelt!” 

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Rockridge BART  

Oakland  

A bike tour on this ride into the rolling East Bay hills. A free ride sponsored by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call 415-255-3233 for reservations or visit www.greenbelt.org 

Rockridge Writers 

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Spasso Coffeehouse  

6021 College Ave.  

Poets and writers meet to critique each other’s work. “Members’ work tends to be dark, humorous, surreal, or strange.”  

e-mail: berkeleysappho@yahoo.com 

Valentine’s Dinner Dance  

Benefit Gala 

4:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalists hall  

1924 Cedar (at Bonita)  

Dance to the music of Toru Saitu & his band. Benefits BFUU.  

$10 donation  

Call 849-9508 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Free Puppet Show  

1:30 - 2:30 p.m. 

Hall of Health  

2230 Shattuck Ave., Lower Level  

The Kids on the Block, an award-winning puppet troupe that includes puppets of diverse cultures and puppets with medical conditions such as leukemia and spina bifida. Free 

Call 549-1564  

P.U.R.R.S. Pet Adoption Day 

Noon - 5 p.m. 

Pet Food Express  

1942 MLK Jr. Way  

Cats, kittens, rabbits, dogs and other pets in need of homes will be available for adoption.  

Call 444-3204 

Secretary should not fight others’ opposition to arms escalation 

Editor:  

Any believer in God should know we don’t belong up in the heavens - more “cold-bloodedly” referred to today as space - with our military might, nor does any other nation. You could say that that is what the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missiles’ Treaty symbolizes.  

Nevertheless, our Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, is reported to have been trying this past Saturday, in Munich, Germany of all places (the 1930’s headquarters of Hitler and his then Nazi gangsters), “to defuse opposition to the Bush administration’s anti-missile plans by offering to help European nations and other allies to deploy missile defenses.”  

So when Donald Rumsfeld, who should be called (as his position was historically referred to when the United States was still viewing the world and its problems realistically) the Secretary of War, tries to defuse opposition to escalation of the international arms race, he is acting as a world-class promoter of what the United Nations General Assembly voted opposition to on a number of significant occasions within the past several years with just two dissenters: Israel and the U.S.  

And with Senator Joseph Lieberman supporting Rumsfeld in Munich it’s obvious we wouldn’t have had a different approach to achieving world peace had he and Gore been elected to provide leadership truly committed to world peace along the lines enunciated by Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We need rational citizens of the United States of America; and thank God there are a lot of us who are willing to work, democratically, along those lines in the interest of global freedom from poverty, disease, ignorance and injustice - not to mention nationalistic, racial and religious prejudice, and none of it in the interest of war and the means of waging it in criminal violation of the principles and the spirit of the United Nations Charter, and the U.S. Constitution, as well as the U.S. Declaration of Independence.  

Al Williams 

Oakland 

Wealthy are source of our problems; don’t need tax break 

Editor:  

Two decades have passed since the United States’ top income brackets were taxed at a rate of more than 70 percent. Consequently, only older citizens are conditioned to consider the current rate below 40 percent to be low, while “President” Bush and others believe it would be wise to diminish further the tax on six figure and up incomes.  

Yet the recipients of current gigantic incomes (and inheritances) are the very cause of our major national problem: The increasing gap between the poor and the super-rich. e.g.: The huge profits from the power shell game in California, with the consequent and inevitable rise in the cost of living, go not into governmental pockets, but ultimately into private ones.  

The way to get back these ill-gotten gains and return them to the populace at large is to greatly increase the personal income tax rate. Thus, the government will secure the wherewithal to invest in projects of public benefit such as: publicly owned power plants and transmission systems, highway and bridge repair, nationwide equalized support of public schools (rather than local support through real estate taxes, which inevitably deprive children of the poor), national health services, public rental housing, etc.  

With much higher income taxation of the rich should be added removal of the income ceiling on social security contributions and a cost of living exemption so that all workers may have social security coverage. But contributions will not commence, as is now, to be taken from the first dollar earned, but would leave contribution-free a decent amount on which first to live.  

Judith Segard Hunt 

Berkeley 

Gas shortage  

is shell game 

Editor: 

Concerning that expensive Shell game, the supposed energy and gas shortage in California (and elsewhere?):  

The Democratic governor of California wants to use surplus tax funds to buy gas from utility companies; this is then to be sold to citizens, who will pay twice for the same product - first from the tax funds to which they contributed and then again to the gas companies. 

This scam started when Republican Governor Pete Wilson was in office, but one could hardly tell the difference. The refusal of President Bush to cap oil profits will handsomely reward his friends in the oil business. Moreover, his planned tax cut will transfer the expected government tax surplus to tax payers; low and middle-class citizens, however, will need that refunded money to pay for uncontrolled gas prices.  

All that new wealth of the government will thereby be transferred to the energy companies.  

Max Alfert 

Albany  

Spirituality should count  

The Daily Planet received this letter to Robert Kehlmann, commissioner on the Landmarks Preservation Commission:  

Today’s Berkeley Daily Planet carries a lead article, “Shellmound’s Intangible Value is Spirituality.” In it is your recommendation that environmental studies add a new consideration - spirituality.  

I have for some time been a supporter of the preservation of our Berkeley Shellmound, and I think now that I’ve read your recommendation I can say that it has been for the spirituality of the Shellmounds that I have been so supportive. I have, as Stephanie Manning knows, written any number of poems about the Shellmound, moved on a deep level by what I can name as something “spiritual.” I have sent letters to various commissioners and other involved parties. These, too, have come from the same place, and I’m glad to have it named - publicly.  

I encourage you to have this recommendation discussed on our city boards and commissions that deal with environmental studies. Hopefully, more ways will be found for inviting the public to participate. Many sensitive Berkeley residents, I’m sure, would have strong reactions to “in Stephanie’s words) “driving piles 70 feet into the ground, right through the burial grounds.”  

Thanks for the creative idea.  

William Noel 

Berkeley 

Ode 

Ode To Berkeley (sung to Sing A song Of Sixpence) 

I'd sing a song of Berkeley 

except I'm ready to explode. 

You forgot to pick up garbage 

and my dumpster overflowed. 

It happens at least once a month. 

I'm really getting mad. 

I pay lots of money – on time, in full –  

for service that is bad. 

This is not about police or fire departments 

or city schools. 

Nor is about the Zoning Board 

or Rent Stabilization Board (the fools!) 

It's just about a simple thing  

like keeping Berkeley clean. 

If you'd collect my garbage– on time, in full– 

I wouldn't sound so mean. 

So Mayor Dean and Council Members 

will you kindly do your stuff? 

Direct the refuse commissar  

to please get off his duff. 

I'll close by saying simply: 

I'm not a “k'vetch” from Hell: 

just an ordinary Berkeley homie  

who wants this city to run well. 

Ljuba Davis 

Berkeley 

A Witness's Account of Reclaim the Streets 2/9/00 

On Friday an emergency demonstration was held to support the people's effort to halt the suicidal steamroller of globalization. Specifically we wanted to demonstrate in solidarity with indigenous people who are rising up against the International Monetary Fund’s imposition of “structural adjustments” in Ecuador.  

The situation there is dire. As of Feb. 6, at least three people have been killed by police, many more injured. Six thousand have marched on the capital. Masses of people have occupied schools, television stations, blocked roads of bridges, and more. The emergency demonstration called by “Reclaim the Streets” was an effort show our support for their struggle and to highlight the destructive practices of the IMF.  

It was also called by Berkeley Critical Mass, so the demonstration served a secondary purpose to promote awareness for the need of more bicycle and people friendly streets. It is America's dependence on oil that precipitates human rights abuses in “3rd” world countries. The big corporations, backed by the IMF and World Bank, decimate indigenous people and their lands in search of oil and other natural resources that end up in other countries. 

The demonstration was a peaceful reclamation of the streets as a way to get the message out. However the police response was as if there was some kind of riot taking place. The only thing that was taking place was a street party/demonstration. There was a sound system, free food, speakers, banners, bicyclists, a couch, and speaking truth to power. We had no guns, 

we had no weapons. There wasn't any violence at all until the police showed up. The police immediately needed to “take control” of the situation. They captured our sound system and started jabbing people with their clubs. I saw several people get jabbed and violently shoved 

for merely dancing in the streets. Our right to peaceably assemble meant nothing to the Berkeley P.D. Our right to freedom of speech also meant nothing illustrated when a police officer jumped into the crowd that was on the sidewalk and stole the banner that read “indigenous freedom”. Two 

people were arrested, for what I do not know. I watched them get arrested and it looked like they were singled out of the crowd. Probably because they were the ones most vocal about the injustices that were taking place before their eyes. 

The polices' response and behavior that night not only represent a threat 

to human rights and free speech, but a major threat to public safety. When 

the two people who were arrested were being driven off in a Police van, the 

driver of that van drove very reckless and erratic. He was not only 

endangering the lives of the citizens who were in the path of this out of 

control police vehicle, but he was also endangering the two unwilling 

passengers in that van. Since most of Brancroft was still blocked off the 

driver of the van could not go down Bancroft. I guess he was too impatient 

to wait for the crowd to disperse so he drove over the curb on Bancroft 

near Telegraph and launched down the stairs between Eshelman and the Bear's 

Lair. Thet’s right, the driver of the van took his vehicle down the stairs. 

It was going so fast. I was shocked and afraid. Shocked because I 

wouldn't even take a four wheel drive SUV down those stairs. Afraid 

because of the speed of the van. Big vans like that can't stop on a dime, 

especially if they are cruising down a flight of stairs. There could have 

been people at the bottom of those steps. I'm certain that the officer 

couldn't see or know if his path was clear. His reckless behavior could 

have resulted in death for some unsuspecting person walking near those 

steps. 

The vehicle made a loud thump as it hit the ground and stairs. The impact 

was so great that it tore off several bricks. If you think I am 

exaggerating, go to the stairs that I am talking about and you will see the 

damage the police vehicle did to them. Besides the threat to innocent 

bystanders near those stairs was the threat to the captives in the back of 

that police van. I watched them get loaded into that van and they weren't 

buckled up or anything. These two captives could have sustained serious 

injuries as they bounced around in the back of the van as it plowed down 

those stairs. 

This incident captures how the Berkeley P.D. deals with nonviolent 

protesters: they over react by bringing out an armed goon squad of 100+ 

officers, make unnecessary arrests and threaten overall public safety with 

reckless and irresponsible behavior. Don't get me wrong, I would rather 

deal with the Berkeley P.D., then the armed forces in Ecuador who kill 

protesters. But don't let that preference down play the seriousness of the 

situation that took place Friday night. Berkeley Police Department 

policies concerning how they deal with nonviolent protesters needs to be 

looked at. The officer of that out of control van also needs to answer for 

his apparent lack of concern for public safety and lack of concern for 

those who are forced to be his passengers. 

Nicholas Sobb 

Berkeley 

510-841-4156 

Dear Editor,  

So the ever ineffective Berkeley Police Review Commission can't find a policy that is violated by an on duty police officer tearing down posters expressing political speech. Might I suggest THE FIRST AMENDMENT OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. Police officers, on duty, are not private citizens but an organ of the government. There is no policy statement necessary for superiors insist that government employees not intentionally violate the Constitution they have sworn to uphold. I am not foolish enough to believe any action will be taken. I've lived in this town too long.  

Robert Nichols  

2018 Channing  

Berkeley,CA 94704  

(510)848-4233 

Dear Editor: 

The demand for more parking will never cease until we find a way to live without having to drive everywhere. Cars and culture cannot somehow mix to make healthy and vibrant communities. Until we stop fighting about parking and start building a better city for pedestrians, we will forever be at the mercy of the car and its needs. Maybe some of you would agree that a vibrant new Arts District in the downtown would be much nicer without maximum parking and yet another glut of cars circling the downtown. Even if we built a giant coliseum of parking, we 'd still experience the increase in cars in the streets as they wind in and out of town. The goal isn't building community in this scenario, it is selling culture and services to people who live outside the community.  

But isn't Berkeley big enough to support its own theaters, supplemented by BART riders from San Francisco and Walnut Creek? Apparently not, because we don't have enough people living here in to fill the seats. We didn't think ahead. Instead, we kept building to live by and for the car, fueling a mass exodus to the sprawling suburbs and creating the commuter lifestyle. As a result, we now have a lot more jobs and things to buy and dothan we have places to live for the people who would work at those jobs and buy things here. We are living out of balance and still trying to fulfill our commercial and arts district expectations by bringing in more cars, throwing the entire situation yet further out of whack.  

One solution currently being discussed is to build more housing in the downtown. And better yet, some are suggesting to make lots of it car-free housing. What better way to ensure a captive audience of theater and movie goers who aren't going to hop into cars and go driving away? If Berkeley additionally created a beautiful pedestrian oriented public plaza with natural and cultural amenities supported partly by this new breed of car-free urban culture lovers, the other residents of Berkeley and public transit takers from around the Bay Area, everyone would benefit, (except General Motors). Ecocity Builders and our network of supporters thinks that the time has come for us to start planning for the city of walkable centers, connected by public transportation, in natural and agricultural landscapes, connected by natural habitat corridors. It will take years and it will not be easy. But working towards the ecolgocially balanced city will benefit us all, now and into the future. In our minds, there is no other direction. We owe it to our children and their children to set in motion a sequence of events that will work to heal and harmonize rather than continue to pave the way, literally, for mass destruction of the biosphere.  

Ecocities benefit people of all backgrounds, incomes, ages and life-styles. People who don't drive won't buy gas or need lots of parking, but they will still buy food, clothes and tickets to the theater. In fact, without having to spend all that money on their cars, they might even be able to spend more on CDs and books and other cultural amenities Berkeley offers.  

But there still are those folks who are suspicious about these mysterious "car free" people. "Who are they?" they wonder. They can't imagine that a regular sort of person could really live without a car. There seems to be an stereotype labeling anyone who will want to be living without a car in Berkeley as either a student or a "bike radical." That is an incorrect assumption, although there is nothing wrong with either of those kinds of people. Car free people may work at a restaurant, or a school, or a high powered law firm. 

Some of them may ride bikes and some may take classes at the University. Others will be different. Diversity and variety in people is much more interesting than models of cars. But if we don't start focusing on creating a city for people, all we will ever get is more arguments about parking and yet more cars. 

Kirstin Miller 

Ecocity Builders 

510-524-4919 

1474 7th St. 

Berkeley 

I'm sure you have been informed of an extremely cruel website called www.bonsaikitten.com. 

We feel it is important to inform the public that, while this is probably no more than a cruel hoax, it promotes an idea that will torture and kill small animals and, if actually done, would constitute felony animal cruelty under California law.  

This website is already being monitored by the ASPCA and they have a statement about it on their website.  

It is sad that any person or group would devalue companion animals in this way. If you would like to talk to me about this, please call 845-7735, extension 22. 

Nancy Frensley 

Berkeley East Bay Humane Society 

Berkeley, CA 

Title: Racist History in the Media 

Modern Medicine started with Greek science, phonetic writing was invented by 

the Semites, and Egyptians were light skinned. All are misconceptions actively promoted by our modern media. 

The ancient Egyptians were primarily African for the earlier part of their history, as artifacts show. Yet Dreamworks' “Prince of Egypt”, a typical child's introduction to Egypt, portrays Egyptians as light skinned. 

The Egyptians used a phonetic alphabet called Hieratic for business, administration, science, and popular stories that is a clear ancestor of the Phoenician and in turn our Latin alphabet. Yet the New York Times in November 13 1999, discussing new archaeological finds, praises the enumerable benefits of the early Semitic “discovery” of a phonetic alphabet. They could have said the same about the African Egyptian's discovery of a full thousand years earlier which the Semites themselves apparently borrowed. 

Moreover, these Egyptians wrote the first medical texts (at least in the western hemisphere) in their Hieratic script. 

Medical historians have reported that the Greeks set up their medical schools on Egyptian technology in Egypt, and that early Indo-European 

courts like the Persians boasted an Egyptian physician. Yet if you believe our children’s' history books the Greeks are the sole founders of modern medicine. 

European scholars earlier this century first reported the African versions I discuss above, and it was only subsequently that people got to work to “cleanse” history of African influence, producing the three misconceptions I opened with. Your recent opinion piece last week on Black History Month is to be commended. History ghettos haven't succeeded in repairing our society's racist view of early western civilization and our media still promotes this racism. 

Wray Buntine 

Berkeley

Valentine’s Day has been canceled 

This is not a test  

“We’re all so intensely conditioned, preyed upon by capitalism around our romantic and sexual desires,” said Aya De Leon, who has hosted alternative Valentine’s Day celebrations at La Peña Culture Center every year since 1996.  

“We’re seduced away from being concerned about the world, by this idea that we can feel better if we just fall in love. Falling in love is great, but there should be an environment where people can celebrate love of self, love of spirit, love of community,” she said. 

Having grown up in Berkeley, Aya, 33, says she has been “extremely opinionated” all her life. Her mother, Anna De Leon, is a long time community activist and former civil rights lawyer. “I grew up hearing stories of police brutality around the dinner table,” she said.  

As a family, they participated in the anti-nuclear movement; Aya was a teen organizer and nonviolence trainer, while her mom worked with the protesters’ legal team. Aya was also a teenage feminist.  

“There was this wonderful satirical group in Berkeley, called LAW, Ladies Against Women. We started a spin-off group in our high school, TAUNT, Teenagers Against Unmoral Naughty Things,” she said. “My dream was to found a traveling guerrilla theater and travel the world doing street theater.” 

Aya set aside those aspirations to study political science at Harvard, where she wound up switching majors seven times before graduating with a degree in history.  

It was a shockingly unpleasant experience, coming from Berkeley to “an incredibly racially stratified, conservative environment.”  

Aya, who is African American and Puerto Rican, got involved with Free My People, “a youth-run, youth-led ultra-left African American collective in Roxbury, Mass. They gave me a deep sense of what it meant to be intimately involved in a community.” 

Aya returned to Berkeley to work on a novel about a group of young black women who form a sisterhood to help each other through college.  

But “writing a novel is very isolating and I’m a very extroverted person, so I found myself going to open mics just to read snippets of my work and feel more connected to people.”  

She never considered herself a poet, however, until she went back to school for a master’s degree in fine arts.  

“Folks would write poems and I’d say, ‘Gee, what’s that poem about?’ and they’d say ‘It doesn’t have to have meaning.’ And I just thought, ‘What? Then what’s the point?’ I’d always thought writing was predicated on having something to say. So I figured, if these people can write poems that don’t mean anything and call themselves poets, then I could certainly be a poet.” 

Aya’s first poem, Loyalty, was about a young black girl in an alcohol and drug prevention program that Aya ran in Alameda. “She misbehaved constantly and she wore me out, but I was determined to stay connected to her.” 

Since then, Aya has stunned audiences throughout the Bay Area and the country with her powerful performance poems. She’s won poetry slams from San Francisco to New York City - she was on the winning SF slam team that made the nationals last year. She’s performed at benefits for the Prison Activist Resource Center, Speak Out and KPFA and has published an essay in Essence and short stories in anthologies. 

Her topics cover the gamut from “fat liberation,” to the plight of gay youths who sell their “priceless ass” on the streets of San Francisco, to the wounded souls of African American men, to prayers for Mumia Abu Jamal, to poems like Icon which are about “corporate control of everything:”  

I can just imagine what advertisers would do with King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail... 

... let’s say the NBA buys his speech at the March on Washington talking about “I have a team . . .”  

Or perhaps it would be bought by developers talking about “I have a scheme . . .” 

De Leon says: “My work has a political message, and an emotional message about people healing themselves. Hopefully it’s funny, or the metaphors are interesting, and it’s entertaining too.  

“I want people to feel it, hopefully agree with it, and take whatever’s useful for them and integrate it into their lives.” 

Contact Aya De Leon at micdmicd@yahoo.com 

Marc Polonsky is the author of “The Poetry Reader’s Toolkit.” He can be contacted at marcwordsmith@sfo.com.

Twenty-four satellites in outer space send messages to earth. It only takes three of them to tell an AC Transit bus where it’s at. 

This month, after four years of plans, some of the buses will roll out of their main Emeryville station equipped with new technology to receive satellite communication. Although these first buses – about ten – may not startle patrons with their graceful techno-wizardry, it will be “totally unnoticeable to the public” said Jim Gleich, deputy general manager for AC Transit. Administrators say that by the end of the year all AC Transit buses will be receiving satellite messages from outer space, informing the central office of their exact location, and preventing the bus patterns that frustrate riders. 

Electronic messages will make any problems obvious, instantaneously. 

“Now they’ll be able to see on screens where all the buses are. They’ll be able to determine whether buses are running late, or early, if they’re all bunched up they’ll be able to see it,” Gleich said. “Everyday there are endless problems on the streets with detours that are either caused by some kind of utility construction or a fire.” These emergencies result in spur-of-the moment schedule changes or delays, that the central dispatch office in Emeryville may not know about.  

Currently, problems are spotted several ways. Ten supervisors split up the 400 square miles AC Transit serves and go out on the streets to monitor the bus lines, some of the 600 bus drivers may radio in difficulties, or riders may call in complaints. Satellite monitoring of buses will obviate the more clumsy forms of communication, said John Rudniski, operations technology administrator. 

“It’s analogous to an airport controller,” said Rudniski. “A controller can see every plane around the airport. A dispatcher would sit in front of a computer with a map of the Bay Area,” he said, and see icons of the buses moving in real time. “Everything’s verbal right now, if I want to know where someone is driving her bus, I have to call her.”  

Senior Transportation Supervisor Jim Cater said with the new technology, a signal will warn drivers when they are outside of the “service window,” with a minute leeway on either side, in which a bus is scheduled to arrive at a particular point. “The new system will help everybody be more attentive,” said Cater. In addition, the system will track each of the buses and their drivers and issue a 24 hour report that indicates all the buses that were operating outside their service windows.  

AC Transit administrators believe that new information translates into fast changes: bus drivers can slow down if they are ahead of schedule, the central office can dispatch buses to fill in, if buses are behind schedule, and the schedules themselves can be fixed to reflect the new information administrators receive about the way the bus schedule actually works on the ground. 

In addition to the question of timing and accuracy, administrators tout an improved emergency response time. Currently the bus driver may send an emergency signal to the central office. But when a report comes in, the central office must find the bus by communicating with the bus. If the driver can’t communicate, the central office must guess the bus’ location. “Right now in an emergency situation the operator has an alarm and we have to go by timetables to see where the bus is supposed to be,” said Cater. 

Under the new system, bus drivers can radio for help silently by pressing a button to signal the main control center. Because the satellites map the bus locations, help can be sent out immediately to the correct location.  

The new technology will be placed in buses gradually, after any glitches with the first test buses have been fixed. 

In order for the satellite mapping to function, all the components must be in order. Satellites send messages out to buses, telling them how far away they are from that particular satellite. The bus then combines that information with the distances from other satellites to find its exact location. 

The system works through a process called triangulation, a mathematical term that Rudniski simplified to the basics. “If you can picture the satellites like balls of twine up in the air, the distance from each ball of twine to the bus is represented by a length,” he said. “Those three lengths can only meet at the top of the bus, where the antennae is.” A computer server then polls each bus for its location – polling 625 buses takes two minutes – and repeats the cycle constantly re-mapping the buses. 

Luckily, dispatchers will not be required to learn the mathematical basis for receiving the communications in order to understand the positions of the buses, simple computer skills are enough to bring the AC Transit dispatchers into the satellite age. “You point and click, even to set up a radio communication,” said Rudniski. “It’s like Yahoo! Maps.” 

The federal government provided most of the cost for the buses in a $14 million grant for capital improvements. But Gleich spent Tuesday lobbying for more money from Congress. In addition to the funds for new buses, Gleich hopes to receive $2 million to promote the inclusion of real-time bus schedules along the bus routes, letting riders know how long they’ll have to wait for the next bus. The first shelters of this model will be along San Pablo, but with time they maybe expanded throughout the AC Transit line.

The AC Transit Board is looking for a few good bus riders. 

Applications are being accepted for bus riders interested in serving on one of two advisory committees: the Accessibility Advisory Committee and the Bus Riders Advisory Committee. Directors appoint two members from each of their wards to serve on the advisory committees and give the rider’s perspective.  

Joe Wallace served as president of the Rider Advisory Committee prior to being elected AC Transit director in November. He is the natural liaison between committees and the board of directors, and said that the Advisory Committees are a necessary part of the administrative system.  

“Basically the role that they play is to give the community’s view on how the service is, or what complaints they may have about non-existing services,” he said. “They are our ears and eyes out there every single day, they’re up and down on the buses.”  

More importantly, he said, the committees represent the space for public participation in any bureaucracy. “I think the community should always have a word in whatever public agency they’re dealing with.” 

Bruce DeBenedictis has served on the Rider Advisory Committee since its inception in 1996. He lists work on Measure B, the transportation bond passed in November, as the most important activity undertaken by the committee. In addition to helping garner funds for more and better transit, in the past year the committee has examined the complaint system, discussed public information materials, and inevitably, discussed service problems such as missed runs. “The major issues are always there, late buses, buses that don’t show, badly trained drivers,” said Charlie Betcher, another long-term member of that committee. 

DeBenedictis said in the coming year, the committee will be able to give feedback on service changes paid for with Measure B. “The rider should have a say about what services we do get for our money,” he said. 

The Accessibility Advisory Committee ensures AC Transit remains accessible to elderly and disabled bus riders, by making sure that equipment is in working order and that signs and signals convey the necessary information to riders.  

The directors are looking for a diverse group of riders to serve on the committees to provide a varied perspective. DeBenedictis said that it’s hard to realize the details that affect disabled riders until someone tells you that he has to distinguish buses by the different sounds that they make.  

The most important qualification to serve on the advisory committees is to have lived with AC Transit. “I think anybody who’s a dedicated bus rider and wants to improve the service would do us all a service by applying,” said Betcher. 

DeBenedictis said mastering the AC Transit kvetch is not enough, committee members must be “exceptional riders,” willing to listen hard to community members and think about what is best for the community as a whole. 

Wallace, whose ward encompasses north and west parts of Berkeley, will be appointing at least one person this year. “What I would be looking for is a person that uses public transportation,” he said. “A person that will not only serve on those committees but will get back to their communities about what goes on with AC Transit and with the issues that both committees represent.” 

Greg Harper, whose AC Transit district includes parts of south Berkeley as well as parts of Oakland and Emeryville, was not available to interview. 

Applications for the Advisory Committees are available from the AC Transit District Secretary at 1600 Franklin, Oakland 94612. They are due Feb. 23. 

For more information about serving on the advisory committees call 891-4851

Some best-selling authors may rush into electronic publishing with their latest thrillers, but academic institutions such as the University of California, Berkeley, are cautiously investigating the world of e-books.  

UC Berkeley's library began a modest experiment with electronic books almost a year ago, spending about $50,000 to pick 835 titles mainly from the social sciences and to make them available online to any UC Berkeley student or faculty or staff member with a library card and a personal computer.  

The online collection, chosen from about 15,000 titles available through a company called NetLibrary, is meager compared to the 9 million volumes UC Berkeley keeps on its library shelves. But the electronic project is viewed as a necessary and important step in keeping current with information as well as with the modes of its delivery.  

“The faculty has learned a lot about e-books, and (the librarians) learned about reader behavior, such as that they are intrigued, but not ready to give up print,” said project leader Milton Ternberg, a librarian at the Thomas J. Long Business Library at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. 

He called the program "very successful."  

So far, the "bestsellers" in UC Berkeley's experiment are titles in economics, business and the Internet. Economics and business together scored 777 "hits" between April 2000 and late January of this year, according to tallies for the campus's special electronic titles. The books are accessible online day or night to UC Berkeley users who connect to the campus network from work, labs, libraries, laptops, home offices, dorm rooms, apartments or fraternities and sororities.  

Next in popularity are sociology books with 623 hits, then political science with 334 and anthropology with 276.  

The title recording the most visits - 63 - so far is "Inventing the Internet," followed by "Borders in Cyberspace" and "Game Theory." Rounding out the top five: "Pop Internationalism" and "101 More Best Resumes."  

Ternberg said all the books might be more popular if more people knew about them. Despite efforts to publicize the program on library Web sites and e-mailings to targeted campus audiences, Ternberg and others said many people still are learning about e-books.  

The Teaching Library on campus offers a drop-in course, "Finding Books," that includes instruction about the NetLibrary "self-service" collection.  

"Students seem very interested to learn that we have electronic books 

as part of the library's collection," said Aija Kanbergs, an assistant at UC 

Berkeley's Teaching Library. "I think some students use it, especially 

when our own paper copies of the book are checked out."  

"For example, one anthropology graduate student doing fieldwork in 

Cuba and missing the UC Berkeley library was enthusiastic about the 

possibility of having the library with her in the field," said Suzanne 

Calpestri, librarian for the George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library. 

"Other students were enthusiastic about being able to search across the 

full text of many titles and looked forward to having more online."  

Many scholars see benefits for the electronic monograph with their 

research, although they don't see it as a permanent replacement for the 

traditional paper library, said Calpestri, a member of the group evaluating 

the project.  

Also among the advantages is the speed of locating citations in books, 

having the information immediately accessible on a desktop computer, 

and easily printed. Users have credited an online review of an electronic 

book with helping them decide whether to walk or drive to the library 

later to pick up the hard copy.  

Some negatives about the project: only one person can check out, or 

view, an e-book at a time, some users find it annoying that usage is 

tracked, and the software for reading a text online doesn't make for a 

very comfortable experience. Books also can be kept for just one day.  

One of the biggest drawbacks is price. The NetLibrary e-book costs the 

same as a hardback version, plus a sliding fee to make it available for 

viewing or checkout. The electronic book costs 15 percent of the 

purchase cost for the first year. After that, the cost declines all the way 

to 3 percent in the sixth year. Or, an institution can pay the purchase 

price - plus 50 percent of that price tag - to have the book available 

online forever.  

Beth Sibley, a political science and sociology librarian who is working with 

Ternberg to analyze UC Berkeley's e-book experiment, said changes in 

this field are immense and constant.  

Alan Ritch, UC Berkeley associate university library and director of 

collections, said in a recent report that digital transformation of printed 

resources so far is uneven and is "being embraced unequally by scholars, 

of varying experience and proclivities, within the disciplines."  

As UC Berkeley and other institutions - UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Santa 

Barbara, San Francisco Public Library and Oakland Public Library - 

experiment with the e-book, none plans to stop buying paper versions, 

thus escalating budget demands and at least somewhat constricting the 

variety of materials ultimately available.  

"Eventually, the delivery of information resources (texts, images, sound, 

video) to libraries and users may save staff time and architectural 

space," Ritch said in his report. "However, during this transitional period 

... library operational costs are actually higher than they have ever 

been."  

Electronic book boosters include those in the technology field, Ternberg 

said, many of them anxious to have more computer manuals online 

because paper versions wear out so fast.  

At the National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering at UC 

Berkeley, some 10 electronic books have been published and posted at 

the Earthquake Engineering Library. They include works of several UC 

Berkeley professors of structural engineering, and an electronic book 

dictionary of earthquake engineering is due soon.  

Ternberg said e-books should benefit from the passage of time.  

"There's a whole generation coming up that is so tuned in to reading and 

doing everything by computer," he said, predicting it will be less fond of 

the paper book than are many current researchers and readers. And 

others less enamored with the digital age simply will become more 

comfortable with the e-book as they use it more, he said. The software 

available to read electronic books also is steadily improving, he said.  

Ternberg said the program likely will continue for at least the next couple 

of years, but the collections committee has agreed not to add any new 

titles for now.  

Other universities around the country, including the University of Texas 

and Vanderbilt, have purchased between 15,000 and 20,000 e-book 

titles, finding economy and buying power through a consortium of 

university libraries all testing the electronic field.  

"We (UC Berkeley) didn't want to do that, but we might want to in the 

future," Ternberg said.  

Scholarly journals online, meanwhile, are becoming so popular they are 

"off the charts," said Sibley. UC Berkeley professors Robert Cooter, 

Aaron Edlin and Benjamin Hermalin worked with computer programmer 

David Sharnoff to start in 1999 an e-journal operation called 

bepress.com. It offers online journals featuring cutting-edge research in 

the fields of macroeconomics and theoretical economics. The electronic 

publication caught the attention of scholars and publishers with a 

promise of peer-reviewed publication in as little as eight weeks, rather 

than the typical two-year wait. Sibley said electronic books may be 

slower in gaining popularity and use, but she expects that to gradually 

change.  

Ternberg also is a member of a task force studying e-books for the 

California Digital Library. The group is scheduled to make 

recommendations on March 14 about what the nine-campus UC system 

should do with e-books in terms of acquisition of titles, sharing titles, 

principles for licensing and other issues.  

SAN FRANCISCO — An attorney testified at City Hall that his mastiff-Canary Island dog was not involved in the fatal mauling of a woman last month, despite frightening accounts from the public about run-ins with the animal. 

Robert Noel, and his wife Marjorie Knoller, testified at a public hearing that their dog Hera played no role in the death of St. Mary’s lacrosse coach Dianne Whipple, who died at her doorstep after a bloody attack Jan. 26. 

Bane, the dog said to have inflicted the fatal wounds, was put down that night. 

But the couple has refused to surrender custody of their other dog, Hera, who remains at a city animal welfare facility. 

The police sergeant who heard the testimony will make the final decision on Hera’s fate within two weeks. 

The couple said neither dog had a history of aggression since arriving in San Francisco from rural Hayfork, where the animals were raised. 

“Hera and Bane were not the least bit aggressive,” Noel said at a “vicious dog” hearing Tuesday. 

He disputed the claims of people who came forward to relate harrowing experiences with his dogs, but offered no explanation for the fatal attack. 

“The behavior was totally out of character for either one of them,” Noel told Sgt. William Herndon. 

One man testified that Hera bit him on the rear when he exited an elevator in their apartment building. 

David Moser said the couple seemed dismissive of the incident at the time. 

“I recall being kind of shocked at their reaction,” Moser said. “They didn’t seem to discipline the dog.” 

Noel rebutted Moser’s testimony, saying the man bumped into his wife and “assaulted” her without apologizing.  

Noel said the man bumped his leg on the elevator door, causing a mark. 

Noel also attacked the testimony of a letter carrier who said he had use his mail cart to fend off the dogs in front of the couple’s apartment. 

“Hera started running for the mail cart. Her eyesight is not the best,” Noel said in explaining the incident. 

Police officers and animal control workers called to the scene the night of Whipple’s mauling recalled finding her lying on the floor, covered in blood with her clothes shredded around her. 

Animal control officer Andrea Runge said she was not prepared for what she saw. 

“It was shredded bits of cloth, clumps of hair and blood,” Runge testified. 

She and the other animal control officers said Hera growled and banged against a closed glass door until they subdued her. Runge described Hera’s behavior as “crazed.” 

Knoller started to cry as she recounted the fatal mauling, saying she was tried to restrain Bane and protect Whipple by covering her with her own body. 

Bane, she said, inflicted all of Whipple’s wounds while Hera merely tugged at her pant leg. Knoller pleaded for Hera’s return. 

Herndon asked Knoller if she felt it would be safe for the public if the dog was returned to a domestic environment. 

“She’s a wonderful pet and I do believe she would be just fine,” Knoller said. 

As Knoller returned to her seat, players from the lacrosse team Whipple coached hissed and said loud enough to be heard “psycho, psycho.” 

Other St. Mary’s students held back tears as they discussed the dogs’ owners. 

“It’s clearly obvious that these people have a sick and twisted view of what a gentle, loving dog is,” said Melissa Boyle, a St. Mary’s lacrosse team member. 

Sheriff’s deputies escorted Noel and Knoller from the hearing before it ended. 

Meanwhile, city prosecutors are trying to determine if Noel and Knoller knew the dogs were vicious — a prerequisite to deciding if charges should be filed against the couple. 

EMERYVILLE — Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante used a racial slur during a speech to a labor group celebrating Black History Month, a move he calls a mortifying mistake. 

Bustamante, was has focused on improving race relations during his political career, said he meant to use the word “Negro” but slipped and said another n-word during his speech about the black union movement. 

Bustamante, a Democrat, was speaking at the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists’ annual awards dinner and scholarship fund-raiser Friday. 

Bustamante said Tuesday that he was reading a prepared speech when he heard himself say something that sounded like an offensive slur. 

“I finished my speech and people were clapping but I said, ‘I can’t leave the podium. I can’t leave the podium because I don’t know if you heard what I think I heard, but if you did, that is not me, that’s not how I was raised, and that’s not how I teach my children,”’ Bustamante said. 

Antonio Christian, president of the Northern California chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, said he did not hear the slur, nor did his wife, but that if Bustamante did use the word, he forgives him. 

“This man has a great record that has been good to minorities and labor and now we are going to crucify him for a mistake?” Christian asked. 

Some coalition members have asked that Bustamante come back to the organization and apologize again, but Christian said he would survey members to find out if that was necessary. 

SAN DIEGO — University of California researchers hope to treat Alzheimer’s patients by using genetically altered cells to rebuild neurons in the brain. 

A study to begin next month will take skin cells from a patient, alter them genetically so that they produce a chemical called nerve growth factor, and then implant them in the same patient’s brain. 

A test of the procedure was found to reverse neuron deterioration in aging rhesus monkeys afflicted with a condition similar to Alzheimer’s, according to neurologists at the UC San Diego Medical Center. 

“This is the start of something that, if it is successful, could literally prevent or at least slow down the progression of the disease,” Dr. Mark Tuszynski, a neurologist heading the research, told The San Diego Union-Tribune. 

Alzheimer’s disease disrupts the way the brain works, affecting the parts of the brain that control thought, memory and language. Neither the cause nor the cure has been found. Currently, one in 10 people over the age of 65 and as many as half those over 85 have Alzheimer’s. 

The benefits of restoring nerve fibers remains to be seen since Alzheimer’s disease also involves other types of brain cell damage and deposits of amyloid plaques. 

“We don’t know enough to say how useful rescuing these neurons will be,” said Dr. Michael Selzer, a University of Pennsylvania neurologist studying nervous system regeneration. “It’s a worthwhile thing to try. It’s possible you would still develop dementia but maybe the memory problem would not be as severe.” 

In a report in Monday’s edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Tuszynski and neuroscientist James Conner found the procedure regenerated connection fibers, called axons, in the brains of five elderly monkeys. 

The improvement lasted at least a year after the altered cells were injected. Tuszynski said he couldn’t predict how long it might last in people. 

Human testing of the technique won federal approval a year ago. But the researchers have found only two appropriate patients after evaluating 500 applicants. They are looking for six more patients for the first phase of the testing. 

To be eligible, Alzheimer’s patients must be in early enough stages of the disease to be able to understand the risks of experimental treatment and must have no other medical problems. 

Tuszynski is a shareholder in a San Diego company, Ceregene, that has a financial interest in any gene therapy technology to emerge from the studies. 

On the Net: 

http://www.pnas.org/ 

LOS ANGELES — Union members, in the minds of many, are older, white, male blue-collar workers. It’s a stereotype the AFL-CIO is trying to change — in fact believes it must change to survive. 

For the nation’s labor leaders gathering here this week at the AFL-CIO’s winter meeting, the challenge is how to expand membership and organization in a changed economy. 

Last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the percentage of American workers belonging to unions fell last year to 13.5 percent – or 13 million – the lowest in six decades. Unions blame a decline in heavily unionized industries, accompanied by job growth in nonunion parts of the economy. 

“That’s very bad news for the American labor movement and in our view, very bad news for the economy and for those important programs and values that we fight for,” said Mark Splain, AFL-CIO organizing director.  

“There’s nothing more important to us than building a larger and stronger labor movement.” 

Last year, 400,000 new members joined unions, and the AFL-CIO wants to double that this year, Splain said. 

It will be a tough road, said Richard Hurd, director of labor studies at Cornell University.  

For starters, unions must do a better job of showing how they are relevant to the lives of all workers and their families. Immigrants and minorities represent a large opportunity, Hurd said. He cited an AFL-CIO town hall meeting Monday in Los Angeles that included a large Hispanic audience. 

“If they could project this – the culture that’s here – and spread it, it would help people see the diversity of unions,” he said. 

The AFL-CIO has started pressing for immigrant workers’ rights and has held forums across the country calling for laws that criminalize employer exploitation and amnesty for undocumented workers in the United States. 

Also, unions must tap into the growing white collar sector by changing the blue-collar, laborer image and making themselves relevant to those workers, Hurd said. Progress is being made in such areas as medicine. 

“Health care workers are having a feeling of losing control of what they do on the job,” he said.  

“They see their control dwindling and it creates a need to join a union.” 

A poll conducted for the AFL-CIO by Peter D. Hart Research Associates found that Americans view unions more positively than in the past. Sixty percent approved of labor unions in general, up from 55 percent in 1981.  

The segment who disapprove of labor unions was 25 percent, down from 35 percent in August 1981, according to the survey of 1,005 respondents, 116 of whom were union members. 

The poll was conducted Jan. 22-25 and had an error margin of 4 percentage points. 

“In order to make the most of these opportunities, we have to continue to shift resources to organizing, target strategically, train more organizers and build support for workers from entire communities,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. 

Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, the second largest union under the umbrella of the AFL-CIO, said unions should work together instead of competing for those new members. 

The SEIU also is aggressively focused on health care issues and is pursuing “health care only” legislation in states like California and Maryland. The proposal would prevent health care funding from being used to break or fight unions by corporations and require it be spent on health care, Stern said. 

“We have to change where we are because of what our members want — a 21st century partnership with their employers,” Stern said. 

The SEIU has spent about $100 million on organizing efforts — about $1,000 per person. It has increased new membership to 70,000 to 80,000 a year, up from 20,000 to 40,000 new members. Stern said the goal is 150,000 a year. 

Unions also see a new generation of activists on campuses across the country, where students are concerned about workers rights and graduate students have formed their own unions. 

“There’s more and more community, political and religious support around these organizing campaigns, which is really where the battle is waged,” Splain said. “It’s less a focus on Washington.” 

Linda Cushing, a part-time professor at North Orange County Community College, helped her co-workers form a union with the American Federation of Teachers. Cushing said the effort was conducted largely through an e-mail campaign and over the Internet. 

Two-thirds of all community college faculty are part-time, with the same credentials as full-time professors, Cushing said. But she said they are paid only about one-third to one-half of what regular faculty members make for teaching the same classes, and they don’t receive medical benefits, retirement or seniority rights. 

“When we get seriously ill or injured, we go on welfare,” Cushing said. “It’s shameful.” 

——— 

On the Net: http://www.aflcio.org 

SACRAMENTO — A power-sapping cold snap put California at a renewed risk of blackouts Tuesday as lawmakers considered expanding the state’s role in the electricity business to help two huge utilities out of debt. 

Frosty weather and the shutdown of power plants for repairs raised the risk of blackouts during peak demand Tuesday evening, but enough power was found to fend them off, said Stephanie McCorkle, spokeswoman for the Independent System Operator, which oversees the state power grid. 

The Legislature, meanwhile, worked on proposals to help restore Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to financial health. A plan that would have the state buy the utilities’ power lines won Senate energy committee approval Tuesday afternoon. 

Gov. Gray Davis said he hopes the state will be ready to propose a relief plan to the utilities later this week. He moved to dispel criticism from some consumer advocates that the plan will amount to a ratepayer- and possibly taxpayer-financed bailout. 

“What I will propose, hopefully this Friday, will not be a bailout. It will be a buyout,” Davis said at a Los Angeles news conference. 

Davis did not put a dollar figure on the state’s contribution but said California was looking at a range of options, including taking stock or warrants in the utilities, assuming ownership of the transmission lines or other assets such hydroelectric dams. 

“We will insist on receiving commensurate, equivalent value for any value we will confer on the utilities,” Davis said. 

The state is in its fifth straight week under a Stage 3 power alert, with electricity reserves threatening to fall to just 1.5 percent. 

California has scrambled for power for weeks, driven by high demand and a tight supply due in part to scarce hydroelectric power in the Pacific Northwest. 

The power crisis inflicted rolling blackouts on the northern two-thirds of the state twice last month. 

On Tuesday, plants that would have produced 10,000 megawatts were down for repairs, McCorkle said. That’s enough power for about 10 million households. 

In addition to the tight supply, wholesale electricity prices have soared since last summer, pushing Edison and PG&E close to bankruptcy. 

California’s two largest utilities say they’ve lost nearly $13 billion due to high wholesale power prices, which the state’s 1996 utility deregulation law blocks them from recouping from customers. 

Edison faced another financial deadline Tuesday, the expiration of a 30-day extension granted by 23 banks owed about $200 million. The company asked for another extension. 

The state has been spending roughly $45 million a day since mid-January to buy power for customers of PG&E and Edison, both denied credit by electricity wholesalers. 

It is now negotiating contracts for cheaper long-term power that would be financed with an estimated $10 billion in state revenue bonds the utilities’ customers would pay off over a decade. 

——— 

On the Net: 

California ISO: www.caiso.com 

SAN DIEGO — California must better manage its thirst for electricity to accommodate the spikes in demand that could make the state’s already miserable power situation worse when temperatures soar this summer, officials said. 

While California races to add power plants and boost its supply of electricity, more can be done to influence how – and when – consumers use that power, industry and government officials said. 

A few days each summer, demand for electricity spikes in California, with residential and commercial air conditioning drawing 30 percent of the power consumed in the state. 

With few – if any – energy companies willing to build power plants only to meet those rare spikes of 15,000 or more megawatts, more must be done to manipulate demand, officials said Monday during a “Power Crisis in the West” conference sponsored by Xenergy and Infocast. 

“We have to manage the load – and not just service it as we have in the past,” said Gary Swofford, vice president and chief operating officer of Puget Sound Energy in Bellevue, Wash. 

A major problem, said one utility executive, is that the state’s 1996 deregulation law isolates the consumer from the realities of the marketplace. 

While wholesale prices have soared, California’s utilities have price caps on what they can charge consumers.  

That means without any incentive to reduce use, consumers have kept demand at largely static levels this winter, even as power supplies dwindled, said Stephen Baum, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Sempra Energy, which owns San Diego Gas & Electric and the Southern California Gas Co. 

“The retail price caps have killed any response to the situation,” Baum said. 

Curt Hebert, the newly appointed chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said price caps do both short- and long-term damage by hindering the responsiveness of a supposedly free market. 

“I have never wanted to see prices rise and I certainly don’t want to see that now, but what’s important now is we keep the lights on,” Hebert said. 

William Keese, chairman of the California Energy Commission, said demand can be more responsive to price – even without hiking the price consumers pay. 

Keese said the 15,000 megawatts that go to keeping the state’s homes and workplaces cool during periods of peak demand represent “a massive opportunity for efficiency.” The amount of power is normally enough to light 15 million average California homes. 

Link together, say, hundreds of large commercial buildings in the state with a computerized system that automatically reduces power use during periods of peak demand and the state could be nimble enough to reduce the size of the spike in demand – all without bringing more power plants on line, Keese said. 

“You can ratchet that power up and down faster than you can turn on a power plant,” Keese said. At times of peak demand, when power is at a premium, even a 2.5 percent reduction in consumption can mean $700 million in savings for the state. 

Swofford said Puget Sound Energy has begun experimenting in Washington with showing its 800,000 customers how the price of electricity can vary. For now, the Web-based program is only informational, but the utility hopes it will lead one day to real-time pricing, where the rates a consumer pays for electricity can fluctuate, depending on everything from the season to time of day. 

“We’ve got to get to the point where customers can see price signals,” Swofford said. ”(And) they have got to be in the position where they can respond to what they see.” 

Meanwhile, the state was under a Stage 3 power emergency Tuesday as power reserves threatened to fall below 1.5 percent. Blackouts were not expected. The power alert has been in effect for a record five weeks. 

Y2K worriers took some ribbing when the computer bug they spent thousands preparing for turned out to be all buzz and no bite. 

But they’ve got something to smile about now, as the preparations they took to ward off computer chaos give them the edge on dealing with rolling blackouts from the Year 2001 energy crisis. 

“A wood stove’s a nice thing to have around,” said graphics designer Bill Grey. “We’re probably saving $100 a month at least.” 

The Year 2000 problem was that computer programs designed to recognize only the last two digits of a year to save space would read the year ”00” as 1900. Government and corporations spent millions to fix the problem, but some worried they wouldn’t be able to get done in time and began taking precautions. 

Among them was Grey, who put in the stove, bought long-lasting rechargeable marine batteries for a backup electrical system and purchased solar panels. As it turned out, the Year 2000 arrived without incident. 

But using the stove this winter has halved his utility bills. Meanwhile, the batteries kept his business Web site up during routine blackouts last summer and he expects to use it a lot more this summer, when the power crisis is expected to get worse as air conditioners in the hot Central Valley click on. 

“It really gives you a sense of self-containment and sufficiency,” he says. 

A few miles away in the country town of Sebastopol, organic grower Shepherd Bliss prepared for Y2K by tracking the sun’s movements to figure out the best way to line-dry his clothes and filling 55-gallon drums with water. 

After the Y2K flap flopped he thought about tipping out the water, but decided to hang on to it. Now it serves as backup if a blackout cuts power to the electric well pump he needs to water his livestock. 

Bliss hasn’t lost his discontent with the high-tech, high-convenience bent civilization is taking, calling the energy crisis “a wake up call to self-reliance, to basic American pioneer values, frontier values, what made the west what it is.” 

Some got into generating their own power without the prod of Y2K fears. 

“I would like to be independent of the grid, but it’s not from fear. It just feels good to be independent,” says Chris Beekhuis, vice president of engineering at efinance.com. 

Beekhuis installed solar panels on the roof of his San Jose home about two years ago because he wanted environmentally friendly energy. He expected the system, which cost $13,000 after rebates, would pay for itself in 25 years. 

With utility rates rocketing, the investment’s looking smarter than ever. 

His electric bill is less than $5 a month and sometimes the 2.2-kilowatt system provides more power than needed, which means Beekhuis gets to see his electricity meter turning backward. 

“It’s a wonderful feeling. In some ways, it feels like you’re winning,” he says. 

In Santa Rosa, Grey, the Y2K preparer, never got around to installing his solar panels, not really convinced the power grid was going to collapse. 

He’s planning to rectify that omission. 

“I really would like to be independent of these characters,” he says. 

LOS ANGELES — Downpours flooded roads and snow buried mountain passes Tuesday as Southern California’s most powerful storm of the season peaked. 

The storm plastered the region’s mountains with staggering accumulations of snowfall since its weekend arrival: 5 to 7 feet on Mount Baldy and 3 feet on Mount Wilson in the San Gabriel range northeast of Los Angeles. 

Winds gusting to 75 mph pushed so hard on boats tied up at a marina in Los Angeles harbor that two docks were ripped apart early Tuesday. About 20 people who live aboard boats were evacuated in the early morning hours. 

No one was hurt but a few of the nearly 40 boats that became adrift were heavily damaged, Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells said. 

“Thank God nobody was hurt in this whole thing,” said Renee Carbajal, office manager at Cabrillo Way Marina. “It was a miracle.” 

Snow and rainfall were greater than normal primarily because the storm stalled as it reached the region, said Ray Tanabe, a National Weather Service meteorologist. 

“It’s a very slow moving storm so we’re affected by it a lot longer,” Tanabe said. “It’s a strong storm, but not unusually strong.” 

Rainfall totals since the storm arrived included 3.47 inches at Los Angeles International Airport, 3.34 inches in downtown Los Angeles, 4.47 inches in Beverly Hills and 7.32 inches at Live Oak Dam in eastern Los Angeles County. 

Gov. Gray Davis said the storm may have provided a silver lining for the state’s power crisis. 

“I’ve been in touch with the Department of Water Resources and they have informed me the storm has had a beneficial impact on our electricity situation,” Davis said.  

“It’s increased the capacity of our hydroelectric power. So while it is inconveniencing people, it does help us provide more electrons by producing more hydropower.” 

Snow shut Interstate 5 over 4,144-foot Tejon Pass through the Tehachapi Mountains northwest of Los Angeles. The California Department of Transportation estimated that the Grapevine section of I-5, which handles about 30,000 vehicles a day, may reopen sometime Wednesday. More than 100 trucks became stuck in snow Tuesday along the major route for north-south travel, said California Highway Patrol Officer Ruben Soliz. 

Two buses filled with children, including one returning to the San Joaquin Valley from Disneyland, had to be rescued on Interstate 5 by the CHP and Kern County sheriff’s deputies, officials said. 

Traffic on Highway 14 between the high desert Antelope Valley and the Los Angeles basin also moved under Highway Patrol escort. 

Antelope Valley Union High School District and Rim of the World district schools were closed because of snow. 

Traffic accidents plagued streets and freeways throughout the region. 

Three trucks crashed in the afternoon on the westbound Riverside Freeway near Corona, blocking four of five lanes, said CHP Officer Curtis Higgins. Several people were injured and up to 30 vehicles may have been involved in chain-reaction accidents, he said. 

The storm system arrived in Southern California on Sunday and may have played a role in five traffic deaths Monday, Lynch said. 

Authorities warned that saturated areas, especially areas denuded by fire on Palomar Mountain and in Alpine in San Diego County, as well as a burn area north of Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino County mountains, were vulnerable to slides. 

Trees and branches blown onto power lines caused scattered power outages for about 19,500 Southern California Edison Co. customers, said Tom Boyd, a company spokesman. Outages were reported in Monrovia, Compton, Long Beach, Huntington Beach and other areas. 

The storm also raised bacteria levels in the ocean off San Diego County, forcing authorities to close beaches from Coronado south to the border with Mexico. Urban runoff typically leads to an increase in bacteria levels at some beaches, which can remain high for at least 72 hours. 

LOS ANGELES — Police were searching Tuesday for a masked gunman who fired on an armored car guard outside a grocery store and fled with a bag of money. 

The robbery Monday was the latest in a string of attacks on armored cars in Southern California.  

Three guards have been killed and six people wounded in six months. 

The armored car guard was walking out of Jetro Wholesale Groceries in the Crenshaw area when the robber fired several shots, Officer Jason Lee said. 

No one was hit, he said, but the guard dropped a cash bag as he ran back into the store.  

The gunman took the bag and fled in a van with two other people. The stolen van was abandoned a few blocks away. 

In the past six months: 

• An armored car guard was killed and a second was wounded Feb. 5 in a holdup outside a North Hollywood supermarket. 

• A store guard was grazed by a bullet on Dec. 12 outside a South Central supermarket, and an armored car courier was shot in the back but escaped injury because he was wearing a bulletproof vest. 

• An armored car guard was found shot to death Dec. 7 in the vehicle after it was hijacked outside a West Hollywood bank. 

• Robbers shot an armored car guard to death Oct. 30 outside a bank in Ontario. 

• A bystander was killed and four people were wounded when robbers exchanged gunfire with an armored car guard outside a San Fernando Valley store on Aug. 13.

SAN FRANCISCO — Pushing forward with its aggressive plan to be all things to all people in the high-tech world, Hewlett-Packard Co. showed off a new portfolio of Internet software for businesses Tuesday. 

Executives displayed 25 new software products with key ingredients companies need to conduct business online, such as usage-based billing – rather than by monthly fee – and management of data storage space. HP has signed on such large customers as Samsung and Delphi Automotive Systems. 

The launch was aimed at “the new center of gravity” in business computing, a “move from the do-it-yourself model to ‘Do it for me,”’ Carly Fiorina, HP’s chief executive, president and chairwoman, said in a videotaped address played in a darkened hotel ballroom. 

HP is rolling out its software initiative as key competitors such as IBM Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Microsoft Corp. also are increasing their Web-based services. 

HP claims its main advantage is flexibility: Users can buy individual pieces of the software, which is designed to work with programs created by other companies. In fact, executives repeatedly described HP’s open-source software as a bridge between Sun’s Java-based applications and those created for Microsoft’s .Net strategy. 

The move will be a key test of how well Fiorina has reshaped HP since taking the helm in 1999.  

HP missed the boat on the beginning of the Internet explosion, and Fiorina has streamlined and “reinvented” the $48 billion mammoth in hopes of making it a nimble and indispensable New Economy player. 

Software accounts for more than $2 billion of HP’s annual revenue, but that still is less than 5 percent of the overall business, which is dominated by computer and printer sales. In comparison, 18 percent of all information-technology spending worldwide goes for software, said Salomon Smith Barney analyst John B. Jones Jr. 

“Other than their network monitoring software, they have a reasonably low profile in the software industry,” Jones said.  

“They’ve been trying to increase their software content, but as a percentage of the business it remains quite small.” 

Because of its global presence, HP believes its software business can grow as much as 30 percent to 35 percent per year, said Eric Buatois, general manager for marketing and strategy in the software division. 

The new software lineup includes updates on some existing products and new offerings made available by the company’s $450 million acquisition of Bluestone Software Inc. of Philadelphia last fall.  

Bluestone specializes in the software infrastructure, or “middleware,” necessary for business applications on the Internet. 

HP shares rose 60 cents Tuesday to $33.20 on the New York Stock Exchange. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.hp.com 

NEW YORK — The New York Times Co.’s digital unit said Tuesday that it has agreed to provide content to Yahoo! News to broaden its readership. 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

New York Times Digital said in a statement it will provide select articles from the national, politics, business, international, technology and arts sections ofNYTimes.com, newyorktoday.com and Boston.com. 

“We are committed to making the best content available to consumers and this agreement enables our readers to access articles from one of the world’s most well-respected news organizations,” said Matt Rightmire, vice president and general manager of Yahoo Media. 

Yahoo, based in Santa Clara, had 2000 revenue of $1.11 billion. New York Times had 2000 revenue of $3.49 billion. 

“We look forward to expanding our reach through this additional distribution channel and to providing Yahoo users with a new entrypoint to our sites and our high-quality content,” said Catherine Levene, vice president of strategy and business development for New York Times Digital. 

The New York Times Co. announced last month it was slashing 17 percent of the digital unit’s work force in the hopes of meeting its financial goals by the end of 2002. 

On the Web: 

http://www.nytco.com 

http://www.yahoo.com 

NEW YORK — Disgruntled investors sold stocks lower Tuesday, suffering a letdown after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan suggested interest rates will fall by a smaller amount than Wall Street wants. 

Greenspan’s remarks before a Senate committee overshadowed a retail sales report that indicated the economy isn’t quite as weak as the market has feared. Investors are worried that smaller rate cuts will take longer to reinvigorate the economy. 

“That’s sort of disappointing the markets,” said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer for First Albany Corp. 

The market saw Greenspan’s testimony as a sign to sell and lock in recent profits. Investors had been expecting the Fed, which in January twice dropped rates a half point, to lower rates by another half point in March. But analysts said the market is now concerned that the Fed might implement only a quarter-point adjustment, giving the economy less stimulus. 

“Investors are just a little less convinced that we are going to get the (economic) recovery that he is forecasting,” Johnson said. 

While Greenspan, who testified before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, said he believes the economy will improve in the second half of the year, investors are less sure, Johnson said. 

“If the markets saw a recovery in the economy and earnings coming, we would have strong markets today,” Johnson said. 

A positive sign for the economy came earlier from the Commerce Department’s report that retail sales rose 0.7 percent during January, slightly ahead of analysts expectations and the biggest jump in four months. Consumers spent on a wide variety of goods, from cars to clothes to building supplies. 

The retail report “was an important piece of evidence to show the economy is not spiraling down into a recession,” said Charles H. Blood Jr., senior financial markets analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. 

— The Associated Press 

Other blue chips fell as the retail spending news couldn’t compensate for investors’ disappointment over Greenspan’s testimony and their fears about the anemic economy. Citigroup slipped 86 cents to $54.59, and Coca-Cola lost 86 cents to close at $59.96. 

Most market analysts have been expecting lower borrowing costs to boost economic growth in the second half of the year, especially in the long-battered tech sector. 

Still, tech stocks, which have mostly suffered the weakest earnings in the slowing economy, trended lower on Tuesday. Intel lost $2.13 to close at $32.44, and Microsoft fell 56 cents to $58.19. But Hewlett-Packard rose 60 cents to $33.20. 

Advancing issues narrowly outnumbered decliners 16 to 15 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was 1.27 billion shares, compared with 1.23 billion at the same point Monday. 

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the performance of smaller company stocks, finished down 2.78 at 502.57. 

Stocks closed lower in overseas trading. Japan’s Nikkei index fell 1.1 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 index slipped 0.2 percent, Germany’s lost 0.1 percent and France’s CAC-40 index declined 0.4 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

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

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

WASHINGTON — Nearly two in three people who were pushed off welfare because they failed to follow the rules were not working after losing benefits, a three-city study finds.  

For those who left welfare on their own, it was the opposite: two out of three were at work. 

The study, released Tuesday by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, highlights the important role that sanctions, or punishments, have played in newly aggressive welfare programs.  

Sanctions got little attention during the national debate over welfare in 1995 and 1996, but they have been responsible for driving large numbers of people off state caseloads – in some states, they account for up to half of all those who have left. 

In this study, about 17 percent of those who lost benefits were being punished for failing to follow the rules.  

In most cases, participants failed to adhere to procedural requirements – missing a meeting with a caseworker or failing to file the right paperwork, the study found. Few were punished for refusing to work. 

Of those who were sanctioned, 35 percent reported getting a job. Among those who left welfare for some other reason, 67 percent were working. 

“Families that have had their benefits reduced or ended for not following the rules are among the most vulnerable in our study,” said Andrew Cherlin of Johns Hopkins, the lead researcher. In 1999, researchers interviewed about 2,500 families with children in low-income neighborhoods in Boston, Chicago and San Antonio, Texas.  

Of them, about 1,300 caregivers were receiving or had received cash welfare over the past two years. 

The study found that sanctions tended to affect families that were more vulnerable than other welfare families.  

They were poorer, more likely to say they were hungry, less likely to have a telephone or a car, more likely to use drugs and alcohol and more likely to live in a dangerous neighborhood. 

These findings are consistent with other studies, said LaDonna Pavetti, an authority on welfare sanctions at Mathematica Policy Research. 

She said people who are sanctioned are more likely to have a host of challenges that make it harder for them to work, including low literacy, mental health problems and drug or alcohol addictions. 

“These issues create a story of people who appear not able to comply or don’t understand what they are being asked to do,” she said.  

“We need to think of them as a vulnerable group more than as a group who says, ‘I’m not doing this’ and actively choosing not to comply (with welfare rules).”

WASHINGTON — The most vulnerable patients in the nation’s operating rooms, intensive care units and newborn wards won’t have enough able caregivers in 20 years because of a shrinking pool of registered nurses, health experts warned Congress on Tuesday. 

“When you visit your father after a coronary bypass or your mother in an Alzheimer’s unit, you expect a competent nurse to be there,” Linda Hodges, a nursing college dean from Arkansas, told the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions subcommittee on aging issues. 

“The current nursing and nurse educator shortages pose a major threat to ... society’s most vulnerable populations,” she said 

The hearing on how much the federal government should pay for recruiting or keeping nurses came as the Health and Human Services Department prepared to release new figures Wednesday on the nursing work force. 

Preliminary data provided by the Senate on Tuesday shows out of 2.7 million licensed registered nurses, 2.2 million were employed as nurses in 2000. That is compared with the 2.5 million licensed to practice, and 2.1 million employed in the 1996 government survey, conducted by the department’s Bureau of Health Professions. 

From 1996 to 2000, the average age of registered nurses has risen from 44.3 to 45.2, the Health Department figures show. 

Federal officials and nursing groups agree the nation will experience an acute shortage of registered nurses starting in 2010, when today’s nurses start to retire. 

But age isn’t the only factor. Experts said at the Senate hearing: Mid-career departures are cutting into the talent pool. Fewer young people are taking up the profession. And the 94 percent of women in nursing are increasingly finding doors opening in business, law and other male-dominated careers. 

“Nurses tell me they feel undervalued, overworked, and underpaid,” said Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Senate panel. 

Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., who chairs the subcommittee, said senators would introduce a plan in the next few weeks that would include grants for nursing scholarships and training programs. 

In the meantime, witnesses said, the need for specialized care is already eating into local and state budgets. For example: 

— Last November, nursing shortages forced Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to leave 10 percent of its surgical beds unfilled, delaying or canceling some surgeries. 

— In Arkansas 53 hospitals, most of them rural, reported 750 openings for registered nurses. 

— Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, more than doubled salaries to attract nurses to the weekend shifts. 

Health care needs are too unpredictable for hospitals not to be prepared with enough staff, said Brandon Melton, who oversees hiring for the Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives system of 120 not-for-profit health centers. 

“We have no control over flu outbreaks, highway accidents, or the scores of other emergencies that erupt on a daily basis,” he said. 

Witnesses called for an increased federal role. 

“Just as the nation has made finding, training and retaining police officers and teachers a national priority, we strongly urge President Bush and Congress to elevate nursing staff to a similar status,” said Dr. Charles H. Roadman, president of the American Health Care Association. 

The nonprofit network of 12,000 nursing care centers released its own study saying nursing homes would need to spend as much as $15 billion next year to fill their shortages. 

—— 

On the Net: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee: http://www.senate.gov/ 7/8labor/107Hearings/107hearings.htm 

In an attempt to shield consumers from an unstable energy market, the City Council will consider two long-term measures to take control of the city’s energy supply. 

The two priority proposals on tonight’s council agenda could immunize Berkeley from future energy shortages. One is forming a city-owned utility and the other is creating a cooperative in which Berkeley would purchase wholesale power on behalf of residents.  

Both proposals would require extensive evaluation and will not likely provide any financial relief to ratepayers during the present statewide energy crisis, now in its fifth week of Stage 3 power alerts. Since the crisis began electricity rates have gone up 9 percent and natural gas prices have spiked 200 percent.  

One possibility the city will look into is Community Aggregation in which city residents would form a cooperative to purchase power on the wholesale market. The power would then be delivered by PG&E via the existing infrastructure. PG&E would continue to bill residents and maintain the poles and wires that deliver energy to Berkeley homes. 

Under this option, to be viable, the cooperative would have to negotiate a considerably cheaper wholesale price from energy suppliers than PG&E does.  

According to a staff report prepared by the city’s Energy Department and the Budget and Fiscal Management Office, Berkeley could gain negotiating leverage by isolating its energy use according to regional climate.  

For example, Berkeley doesn’t use as much energy for air conditioning during the summer as Walnut Creek does, but Berkeley pays an average rate that partially subsidizes communities that use more electricity during hot weather. 

“By subdividing rate classes into smaller, more homogeneous groups, the charges can be closer to the actual cost of service,” according to the report. 

Berkeley would also have to keep its overhead lower than PG&E and greatly reduce profit margin, according to the staff report. 

The other option is the city running its own utility company. In this case Berkeley would purchase the city’s power infrastructure from PG&E. The city utility would be similar to Alameda’s which has run its own utility successfully for years. 

Berkeley would purchase and deliver energy as well as maintain the power lines and poles. It would also be responsible for administration of the system, including billing. 

Again, according to the staff report, Berkeley would have to be able to negotiate better wholesale energy prices than PG&E and in addition keep the operating overhead and system maintenance down to make this a viable option. Berkeley’s electricity delivery system is very old and would be expensive to maintain. Currently Berkeley’s system maintenance costs are averaged out with newer communities such as Hercules. 

There are substantial financial and legal issues that will have to be explored before the city could commit to either of these options. 

“A substantial investment of staff and financial resources will have to be committed to study these options,” the report says. 

The City Council will consider several other energy-related recommendations tonight including the city’s expected utility tax windfall.  

According to a staff report, the Budget and Fiscal Management Office estimates that Berkeley will receive $650,000 in increased taxes as a result of high utility costs.  

The council approved a Budget Review Commission recommendation that the city not profit from the energy crisis. It now collects a 7.5 percent tax on utilities. Councilmembers had hoped the city could ask the utility not to tax the rate hike, but PG&E, which collects the tax, has indicated that it would be too difficult to administer the tax break.  

Berkeley households would save approximately $5 per year, but city staff has determined that it would be too expensive for the city to mail out rebates.  

The staff report suggests the easiest thing to do would be route the money into an existing unspecified programs for low-income residents that “can be increased to provide this direct assistance quickly without much additional administrative burden.” 

Councilmember Polly Armstrong said there are a lot of creative minds in Berkeley and that she is looking forward to hearing the ideas of people who have been motivated by the current crisis. 

“I think people haven’t been challenged in a long time,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to hearing about possible solutions.” 

Tuesday, Feb. 13

“Great Decisions” - U.S. Trade Policy 

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. Feedback received at these lectures is held in high regard by those in the government responsible for national policy. $5 single session, $35 entire series for single person, $60 entire series for couple  

Call Berton Wilson, 526-2925 

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 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

Wednesday, Feb. 14

Stagebridge Free Acting  

& Storytelling Classes for  

Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Faye Carol Sings Lady Day 

7:30 p.m. 

King Middle School  

1781 Rose St.  

A tribute to Billie Holiday including Lady Day’s most popular songs, including “Strange Fruit,” “Good Morning Heartache,” “God Bless the Child” and “You Let Me Down.” $15 848-6767 x609 or visit www.kpfa.org 

Planning Commission Public  

Hearing  

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

The commission is holding public hearings on the Planning Commission Draft General Plan. The commission requests that all written comments on the plan be submitted by March 1.  

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 Simplicity,” learn about this movement whose philosophy is “the examined life richly lived.” 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  

Free “Quit Smoking” Class 

5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis (at Ashby)  

Cease your smoking with the help of this free class offered to Berkeley residents and employees. 

Call 644-6422 to enroll or e-mail quitnow@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Natural Conversations 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Hillside Community Church  

1422 Navellier St.  

El Cerrito 

A series of Thursday evenings of conversation “engaging people in discovering the pleasures of an excellent discussion.” $10  

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Kathleen Lynch and host Mark States. 644-0155 

Climbing Mt. Shasta 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Tim Keating of Sierra Wilderness Seminars will give a slide presentation on climbing and skiing this North California peak. 527-7377  

Berkeley Metaphysical Toastmasters Club  

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month. Call 869-2547 

“Religion, Power & the New Economy”  

1:30 - 3 p.m. 

Chapel of the Great Commission  

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

A panel discussion featuring distinguished GTU alumni/ae, in celebration of Dr. James A. Donahue’s inauguration as President of the GTU. Call 649-2400 

West CAT Meeting 

7 p.m. 

Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church  

997 University Ave.  

Review the racial and health disparities issues and see the model of the community capacity building.  

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  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Saturday, Feb. 17

“Go-Go-Go Greenbelt!” 

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Rockridge BART  

A bike tour on this ride into the rolling East Bay hills. A free ride sponsored by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call 415-255-3233 for reservations or visit www.greenbelt.org 

—compiled by  

Chaosn Wainright 

Rockridge Writers 

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Spasso Coffeehouse  

6021 College Ave.  

Poets and writers meet to critique each other’s work. “Members’ work tends to be dark, humorous, surreal, or strange.”  

e-mail: berkeleysappho@yahoo.com 

Valentine’s Dinner Dance Benefit Gala 

4:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalists hall  

1924 Cedar (at Bonita)  

Dance to the music of Toru Saitu & his band. Benefits BFUU.  

$10 donation  

Call 849-9508 

Free Puppet Show  

1:30 - 2:30 p.m. 

Hall of Health  

2230 Shattuck Ave., Lower Level  

The Kids on the Block, an award-winning puppet troupe that includes puppets of diverse cultures and puppets with medical conditions such as leukemia and spina bifida. Free 

Call 549-1564  

Sunday, Feb. 18

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  

Waterfalls of Berkeley  

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

North Berkeley BART  

Sacramento at Delaware  

On this urban waterfall hike, discover three waterfalls along rushing creeks hidden in Berkeley neighborhoods. A free hike sponsored by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call 415-255-3233 for reservations or visit www.greenbelt.org 

Kaleidoscope Performances  

2 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts  

2640 College Ave. (at Derby)  

Yassir Chadley, traditional Moroccan musician and Sufi storyteller.  

$5 - $10  

Call 925-798-1300 

Healthful Building Materials 

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Learn about healthful materials in this seminar conducted by environmental consultant Darrel DeBoer.  

$35  

Call 525-7610 

Tritium danger debated 

Can’t trust lab to evaluate hazards 

Editor: 

The report by IFEU, Berkeley’s independent science consultant hired to evaluate radiation related hazards from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab clearly shows that the lab is not to be trusted with determining risks to the public from its operations.  

IFEU has calculated that that a full release of the Tritium Facility’s inventory during an earthquake or fire would expose nearby people, the children and workers of the Lawrence Hall of Science museum and other downwind residents, to 3,700 times more radiation than LBNL admits. The report also concludes that overall the data on the past 20 years of tritium dumping and storage is so shoddy that we will never be certain whether huge amounts of unaccounted tritium inventory got dumped along with the declared releases and who may have been exposed. LBNL, desperate for any silver lining in this damning document, holds up their irresponsible and inadequate monitoring practices as evidence that there are no records of anyone receiving a dose of this penetrating radioactive carcinogen which is also linked to infertility and other genetic defects.  

And now LBNL , through their own Sampling Task Force, says that we can trust them to test their facility (which has been virtually shut down for almost four years).  

The only purpose of this farce is to get the Tritium Facility off the Superfund-eligible list and return to business as usual. The locale around the Tritiun site was nominated for Superfund status when random sampling showed the area to be highly contaminated.  

The air inside the LHS was found to be too radioactive for adults, nevermind children who are much more sensitive. How radioactive is this site? Early on, members of the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste sent a random sample from the museum site to an independent lab in Ohio for analysis.  

One has to look far and wide to find technicians untainted by Dept. of Energy contracts or other affiliations. Not used to receiving samples with such high levels of radioactivity, that lab complained that their whole operation became contaminated and alarmedly wanted to know where the sample had originated from. And this is where we allow tens of thousands of children annually to visit. The Alameda County Board of  

Education still stands by their advisory that parents and teachers investigate and decide for themselves before traveling to the LHS, despite intense pressure from LBNL. The Berkeley  

City Council has repeatedly demanded closure and clean-up of the Tritium Facility.  

Where does LBNL get all the money it spends on its phony Task Force and other public relations scams? One way is to underpay their own firefighters who are understaffed with a high turnover rate.  

Facing some of the worst hazards that require special technical expertise, these workers can’t afford to live here and leave for better jobs. Those who remain live 2-3 hours away and are not available for emergency call-in. The firefighters are having an informational picket March 1. Heaven help us if the Tritium Facility should catch fire.  

Mark McDonald  

Berkeley 

Tritium is all around us: look at exit signs 

Editor: 

I have read with interest your article entitled “Lab poses health risk in fire, report says” (Feb. 7) where you trumpet the possible health risk associated with a hypothetical tritium release from a major fire at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Although such a major fire is very improbable and tritium at LBNL is stored in a chemically inert form as uranium tritide, one can always imagine a worst case scenario. 

Doubtlessly, you believe that such an exotic substance as tritium would only be found in secure research laboratories. What most people do not realize is that tritium is quite common and regularly encountered in every day life. Since tritium is one of the least dangerous radioactive substances, it is used widely in EXIT signs, luminous watches, luminous instrument dials, and airplanes. In fact, one distributor of tritium-filled EXIT signs, claims that his company sells 100,000 curies annually in the Bay Area. Since tritium has a twelve-year half life, the total inventory of tritium in the Bay Area probably exceeds one million curies. An informal survey indicates that tens of thousands of curies of tritium are being used in EXIT signs in Berkeley alone, a use that is sanctioned ironically under the State fire code. This tritium is stored in fragile glass tubes susceptible to breakage in a major fire or earthquake. 

Since Dr. Franke (author of the IFEU article) has postulated a worst case scenarios for the tritium stored at LBNL, I would like to postulate the same scenario for the EXIT signs. 

In this case the chemical form of the tritium is predominantly hydrogen which burns readily and can even react explosively with air. Since tritium-filled EXIT signs are widely used in buildings throughout Berkeley, large numbers of the public would be exposed in a major disaster. 

Since you may not be familiar with the tritium hotspots in downtown Berkeley, let me give you a few examples. One of my favorites is the bright red EXIT sign containing about 10 Curies of tritium that hangs over one of the exquisitely carved wooden doors of the downtown Berkeley Post Office. Suite 100 of the US Postal Service is one of the best places to view green tritium-filled EXIT signs up close, located throughout this building. If you look carefully, you can see the tiny yellow sticker with the radioactive warning label on the bottom right. With a magnifying glass, you can read the date when the ten or twenty year warranty on the sign expires on the bottom left. On the back side of each sign is a label stating that since the sign contains tritium, it should be returned to the manufacturer for proper disposal as radioactive waste when its warranty expires. Unfortunately, over 90 percent of the signs end up in the local dump. 

If you want to experience tritium at a basketball game, I recommend the UCB Haas Pavilion. If you would like to combine banking with with tritium, I recommend Citibank on Shattuck Ave. If browsing through a bookstore is more your style, try Barnes & Noble on Shattuck. If shopping is your pleasure, you may want to visit Ross Movie theaters are also a good place to experience tritium. If you want to see children at play next to tritium visit the Hall of Health or Habitot. Finally, one can even encounter tritium at newspaper offices, e.g the Berkeley Daily Planet office. 

In summary, tritium is not an exotic substance only used at LNBL, but rather common in our fair city. If downtown Berkeley were to be destroyed in an earthquake or in major fire, this tritium would be released and a large segment of the public would be exposed. For my part, I worry about the 90 percent of those tritium-filled EXIT signs that get thrown in the local dump. 

Gordon Wozniak, “acting chair” City of Berkeley's Community Environmental Advisory Commission, Scientist, LBNL. 

924 Gilman St. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted $5; $2 for a year membership Feb. 16: The Bananas, Pitch Black, Shotwell, Pirx the Pilot, Rock & Roll Adventure Kids; Feb. 17: Lack of Interest, The Neighbors, Black Hands, Capitalist Casualties, Iron Lung; Feb. 18, 5 p.m.: Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Fire Sermon, Lugosi 525-9926  

Albatross Pub All music at 9 p.m. unless noted Feb. 13: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; Feb. 14: Carlos Oliveira Brazilian Jazz Duo; Feb. 15: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Feb. 20: pickPocket esemble; Feb. 21: Whiskey Brothers 1822 San Pablo 843-2473 

Ashkenaz Feb. 13, 9 p.m.: Danny Poullard & Friends, dance lesson at 8 p.m.; Feb. 14, 8:30 p.m.: Carlos Zialcita plays R&B, swing, and soul for lovers; March 24, 2 p.m. - 2 a.m.: Ashkenaz fourth annual dance-a-thon featuring Lavay Smith, African, Caribbean, reggae, Balkan, North African and cajun bands for 12 hours of nonstop dance music. 1370 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman) 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Eli’s Mile High Club Feb. 9: Red Archibald; Feb. 10: Kenny Blue Ray; Feb. 16: Little Johnny & the Giants; Feb. 17: Ron Thompson; Feb. 23: Carlos Zialcita; Feb. 24: R.J. Mischo 3629 MLK Jr. Way Oakland  

Freight & Salvage All shows begin at 8 p.m. Feb. 8 & 9: Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys; Feb. 10: Baguette Quartette with Odile Lavault; Feb.11: Bob Franke 1111 Addison St. 548-1761  

Crowden School Sundays, 4 p.m.: Chamber music series sponsored by the school; Feb. 24, 8 p.m.: Cynthia & the Swing Set and the American Jubilee Dance Theatre. Free swing dance lesson, 7 p.m. New Orleans cajun and creole dinner to be served before dance lesson. $10 - $40 Benefits the Crowden School 1475 Rose St. (at Sacramento) 559-6910 

Tuva Space All shows at 7:48 p.m. Feb. 18: Saadet Turkoz seeks to evoke pictures and atmosphere by means of voice and music which transcend cultural boundaries. Saxophonist Eric Barber defies categorization; Feb. 19: Trio of Fred Frith, guitar, Pierre Tanguay, percussion, and Jean Derome, alto and bariton saxophones. $8 donation 3192 Adeline (at MLK Jr. Way) 649-8744  

Jazzschool/La Note All music at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 18: Sheldon Brown Group; Feb. 25: Lauri Antonioli; March 4: Ray Obiedo; March 11: Stephanie Bruce Trio; March 18: Wayne Wallace Septet $6 - $12 2377 Shattuck Ave.  

Cal Performances Feb. 16 & 17, 8 p.m.: Balinese Orchestra Gamelan Sekar Jaya present “Kawit Legong: Prince Karna’s Dream,” $18 - $30.; Feb. 20, 21, 23 & 24: In two separate programs the Netherlands Dans Theater I presents the work of former artistic director, Jiri Kylian $34 - $52 Zellerbach Hall UC Berkeley. 642-9988 or www.calperfs.berkeley.edu Feb. 11, 3 p.m.: Horacio Gutierrez $24 - $42; Feb. 25, 3 p.m.: Prazack Quartet $32; Feb. 28, 8 p.m.: Clerks’ Group performs music from the Burgundian Courts; March 4, 3 p.m.: Baritone Nathan Gunn sings Brahms, Wolf, and a selection of American songs $36 Hertz Hall UC Berkeley 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra April 3, and June 21, 2001. All performances begin at 8 p.m. Single $19 - $35, Series $52 - $96. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley 841-2800  

Percussions Du Guinee Feb. 16 & 17, 8 p.m. Feb. 18, 7 p.m. Internationally respected Guinean percussionists craft a performance simultaneously inspired by traditional music, yet modern in presentation. $20 - $25 925-798-1300 

Will Bernard & Motherbug and Ten Ton Chicken CD Release Party and Live Web Cast Feb. 17, 9 p.m. IMUSICAST Studios 5429 Telegraph Ave. (at 54th) Oakland $10  

“Dido and Aeneas” March 2, 8 p.m.; March 4, 2 p.m. A tale of English Baroque opera that follows the tale of Dido, queen of Corinth, as she is courted and won by Aeneas, conqueror and future founder of Rome. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. Call 925-798-1300 

Young People’s Symphony Orchestra March 3, 8 p.m. David Ramadanoff conducts the orchestra in a program featuring Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and a suite from Piston’s ballet “The Incredible Flutist” $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. Call 925-798-1300  

“In Song and Struggle” March 4, 4 - 10 p.m. Copwatch presents the second annual event bringing together some of the best women artists from around the Bay Area and beyond in commemoration of International Women’s Day. Artists include Shelley Doty, Rebecca Riots, Rachel Garlin, and many others. Call Copwatch, 548-0425  

“Mystic Journey” March 10, 8 p.m. Suzanne Teng and Mystic Journey are a unique contemporary world music ensemble, based in Los Angeles, making their Bay Area debut. $15 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. Call 925-798-1300 

“The Road to Mecca” by Athol Fugard Through Feb. 24, Friday - Saturday, 8 p.m. Feb. 22, 8 p.m. $10 Live Oak Theatre 1301 Shattuck 528-5620 

“Nightingale” presented by Central Works Theater. Saturday, Feb. 24 & Saturday, March 3, 5 p.m.; Free preview Feb. 8, 8 p.m. $8 - $14 LaVal’s Subterranean 1834 Euclid Ave. 558-1381 

“Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me” by Frank MacGuinness Feb. 15 - March 17, Thursday - Saturday, 8 p.m. Sunday, 8:30 p.m. The story of three men - an Irishman, an Englishman and an American held in a prison in Lebanon. $10 - $15 8th St. Studio Theatre 2525 Eighth St. (at Dwight) 655-0813 

“New Territory” Presented by Terrain along wih the Choreographer’s Performance Alliance. An eclectic evening of dance and performance with a variety of choreographic styles and themes. $10 Western Sky Studio 2525 Eighth St. (at Dwight) 845-8604 

“Magnetic North” Six programs of experimental Canadian video from the past 30 years that range from documentary to conceptual art. In all, 40 tapes from 46 artists will be shown on six Wednesday evenings. Through Feb. 28. $7. Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft (at Bowditch) 642-1412  

“Durruti and the Spanish Revolution” The LaborFest U.S. premiere screening and dicussion of this documentary which tells the story of the Confederation National del Trabajo during the Spanish Civil War. Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m. $7 donation requested. La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave. 415-642-8066 

“Toto Recall” A 15-film retrospective honoring Italy’s comic genius. Through Feb. 24 Weekend days only, Friday - Sunday. $7 for one film, $8.50 for double bills. Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

Berkeley Historical Society “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. 1931 Center St. 848-0181 

“Consecrations: Spirits in the Time of AIDS,” Through Feb. 24. An exhibit seeking to expand the understanding of HIV and AIDS and the people affected by them. Wednesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Pro Arts Gallery 461 Ninth St., Oakland. 763-9425  

“Race & Femininity” Acrylic Paintings of Corinne Innis Paying homage to her subconscious, Innis uses rich colors in her acrylic paintings. Through Feb. 26; Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 1 - 7 p.m. and by appointment. Women’s Cancer Resource Center 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 x307  

“Trees With Frosting” Stevie Famulari decorates landscapes with sugar and frosting, making her artwork edible and changeable by viewers. This particular display will remain for two months. Through February Skapades Hair Salon 1971 Shattuck Ave. 251-8080 or steviesart@hotmail.com 

“Dorchester Days,” the photographs of Eugene Richards is a collection of pictures portraying the poverty, racial tension, crime and violence prevalent in Richards’ hometown of Dorchester, Massachusetts in the 1970s. Through April 6. UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism 121 North Gate Hall #5860 642-3383 

Boadecia’s Books All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted Feb. 23: Becky Thompson reads “Mothering Without a Compass: White Mother’s Love, Black Son’s Courage” 398 Colusa Ave. Kensington 559-9184. www.boadeciasbooks.com 

Cody’s Books All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted Feb. 13: Christie Kiefr talks about ‘Health Work for the Poor: A Practical Guide”; Feb. 15: Jason Lutes, cartoonist, will discuss his graphic presentation “Berlin: City of Stones”; Feb. 20: Becky Thompson discusses “Mothering Without a Compass: White Mother’s Love, Black Son’s Courage”; Feb. 21: Poetry of Gillian Conoley & Kathleen Fraser; Feb. 22: Alison Gopnik describes “The Scientist in the Crib: What Early Learning Tells Us About the Mind”; Feb. 23: Carol Field reads “Mangoes and Quince”; Feb. 25: Poetry of Martha Rhodes, Linda Dyer & Joy Manesiotis; Feb. 26: Terry McMillan reads from “A Day Late and a Dollar Short” 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore All events at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27: Barbara Wagner, co-founder of Lost Frontiers, gives a slide presentation and talk about “Pakistan & the Lost Tribes of teh Hindu Kush”; Feb. 28: Travel writer Christopher Baker will read and talk about his 7000 miles motorcycle odyssey through Cuba as chronicled in his book “Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro’s Cuba” 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533  

“Strong Women - Writers & Heroes of Literature” Fridays 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. North Berkeley Senior Center 1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 549-2970  

Duomo Reading Series and Open Mic. Thursdays, 6:30 - 9 p.m. Feb. 8: Tom Odegard; Feb 15: Kathleen Lynch; Feb. 22: Charles Ellick; March 1: Eliza Shefler; March 8: Judy Wells; March 15: Elanor Watson-Gove; March 22: Anna Mae Stanley; March 29: Georgia Popoff; April 5: Barbara Minton; April 12: Alice Rogoff; April 19: Garrett Murphy; April 26: Ray Skjelbred. Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

Holloway Poetry Reading Series Feb. 8, 8 p.m.: Carl Dennis and Jen Scappettone will read. Sponsored by the Department of English UC Berkeley Maude Fife Room (Room 315) Wheeler Hall UC Berkeley 653-2439  

Lunch Poems First Thursday of each month, 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. March 1: Aleida Rodrigues; April 5: Galway Kinnell; May 3: Student Reading Morrison Room, Doe Library UC Berkeley 642-0137 

Class Dismissed Poetry Posse March 2, 7:30 p.m. Afro-Haitian dancers, Dance Production dancers, the BHS poetry slammers, an opening a capella number and a few surprises. A benefit for a Berkeley High school student trip to Cuba. $5 - $10 Little Theater Berkeley High School 2246 Milvia St.  

“Escape from Villingen” Feb. 10, 10:30 a.m. Dwight Messimer will be reviewing his new book dealing with POW escapees Great War Society 640 Arlington Ave. 527-7118 

Mick LaSalle Feb. 11, 6 p.m. S.F. Chronicle film critic, LaSalle will read from his book “Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood.” After the reading two Pre-Code films will be screened, “Design for Living” and “A Free Soul.” $7 Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

Tours 

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

Berkeley City Club Tours 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. 848-7800  

The fourth Sunday of every month, Noon - 4 p.m. $2  

Golden Gate Live Steamers Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Lomas Cantadas Drive at the south end of Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley. 486-0623  

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.  

UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Centennial Drive, behind Memorial Stadium, a mile below the Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley. 643-2755 or www.mip.berkeley.edu/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. 

Lectures 

Berkeley Historical Society Slide Lecture & Booksigning Series Sundays, 3 - 5 p.m. $10 donation requested Feb. 25: “Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin,” Gray Brechin will discuss the impact and legacy of the Hearsts and other powerful early families; 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; March 18: “Topaz Moon,” Kimi Kodani Hill will discuss artist Chiura Obata’s family and the WWII Japanese relocation camps. Berkeley Historical Center Veterans Memorial Building 1931 Center St. 848-0181 

“Great Decisions” Foreign Policy Association Lectures Series Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - Noon, Feb. 13 - April 3; An annual program featuring specialists in the field of national foreign policy, many from University of California. Goal is to inform the public on major policy issues and receive feedback from the public. $5 per session, $35 entire series for single person, $60 entire series for couple. Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 526-2925 

Ruth Acty Oral History Feb. 18, 3 - 6 p.m. In honor of Black History Month, Therese Pipe will present the history of Acty, who became the first African American teacher in the Berkeley Unified School District in 1943. Berkeley Historical Society Veterans Memorial Building 1931 Center St. Admission free 848-0181 

Glendale Path, as seen from Fairlawn Drive, runs three blocks west to the La Loma-Glandale Park. It is not passable in its entirety. Path  

aficionados from the Berkeley Path  

Wanderers’  

Association say it should be. They want the path easily  

negotiable not only for folks out for a stroll and those  

walking to town, but for emergency  

situations. They point out that there is a need for east-west escape routes from the hills in case of fire.  

Glendale Path was put on a list of  

priority paths for upgrades after the 1991 hills fire, but has not been maintained. Upgrades to the Glandale Path are on tonight’s council agenda.

In a landmark case, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Berkeley telefundraiser Marketing Services Group, Inc. Direct to negotiate a contract with its employees. 

The effort to unionize goes back two years, said telemarketer and artist Chandra Garsson, who has worked for New York-based MSGI and its predecessor for five years. 

Garsson said she feels good about her work, raising money for nonprofits such as Planned Parenthood and the Portland Art Museum.  

But, she says she needs a decent hourly wage, health care, sick days off and a comfortable chair in which to work.  

“It’s very expensive to live in the Bay Area,” she said. 

Two years ago Garsson and some of her co-workers decided they would form a union in order to get what they wanted. So they went to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which agreed to help. The workers attempted to form a union by “card check,” with most the about 70 workers signing authorization cards.  

When a majority of a company’s workers sign authorization cards, a union is formed – as long as the employer agrees. 

But manager Norris Mottley rejected the union, Garsson said. 

Mottley told the Daily Planet he had “no comment” on this story. 

After Mottley turned down the card check, workers then went on to hold a National Labor Relations Board-sanctioned vote in June 1999. They lost the election. Garsson claims the loss was due to flagrant labor law violations on the part of MSGI management. 

She said management held meetings the employees had to attend to address issues related to the union. These kinds of meetings are not permitted under the labor code. 

In particular, Garsson said management threatened to take away the workers’ flexible hours, something Garsson said they cherished. The flexible work hours allow Garsson to practice her art and to earn a living by telefundraising. When she has a grant or has sold a piece of art, she works fewer hours, but other times, she works more. 

She also accused management of “packing the unit,” hiring more workers than were needed to dilute the pool of pro-union workers. 

At the same time, the company tried to buy off the workers. “They gave us all across the board raises and bought new ergonomic chairs,” she said.  

Arthur Krantz of Leonard, Carder, Nathan, Zuckerman, Ross, Chin and Remar agreed that the workers were being treated unfairly and took the case to a National Labor Relations Board hearing, which was held before an administrative law judge. That process began about nine months ago and may drag on for months into the future, he said. 

Hoping that the workers could get relief more quickly, Krantz went to Federal District Court to try to get a judge to force management to the bargaining table. The judge wrote a “cease and desist” order, telling management not to violate labor laws, but did not order the company to accept a negotiated contract, Krantz said. So the attorney took the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and won. 

“The company is obligated to bargain with the union,” Krantz said, noting that it is the first time the Ninth Circuit Court has issued this type of order. “This is truly a landmark ruling.”  

The workers will be forming a bargaining committee in the next few weeks and negotiations on a contract should start soon thereafter. 

“It’s been a very long journey,” Garsson said. “It feels well worth it.”

At tonight’s meeting the City Council will likely authorize the city manager to enter a contract for an $135,000 Environmental Impact Report for the long-awaited new fire station in the Berkeley Hills.  

In November 1992 voters approved Measure G, a general obligation bond that provided $55 million over 20 years to seismically upgrade all of the city’s fire stations and build a new, jointly funded and operated, fire station in the Berkeley Hills with Oakland. 

Oakland later bailed out of the plan and Berkeley is now on track to build and run its own new fire station near Shasta and Park Gate roads about seven blocks from Station No. 7, in the north hills area. 

In December the city hired an architect to seek community input and begin schematic drawings. Now the city has chosen Oakland consultants Lamphier Associates to carry out the EIR. Lamphier was the only consulting firm to make a bid on the project. 

Organic food program may expand 

Mayor Shirley Dean has recommended the City Council adopt a program similar to the Food and Nutrition Policy for the Berkeley Unified School District for all city programs involving the regular preparation of food. 

Currently the school district has a policy that emphasizes organic food preparation for all meals and snacks. Dean would like to see that program extended to include youth centers, summer camps and senior centers. 

The goals of the school district program include assurance there are hungry students, to promote better eating habits and to ensure served foods be as organic as possible. 

Dean is asking the city manager to determine costs and report back to the City Council. 

Five-year lease for library’s friends 

The city manager has recommended the City Council extend the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library’s lease on a 1,000 square-foot retail space in the Sather Gate Mall. 

In 1998 the city leased the space to Friends of the Library, which sells city memorabilia and used books in the space, for one year with a option for another year for the nominal rent of $1 per month.  

Since that time, the non-profit has raised $113,000 for the Berkeley Public Library. The new lease will be for five years at the same monthly rate. 

Affordable housing proposed for parking lot 

Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek has recommended the City Council adopt a policy that the Ashby BART Station parking lot be developed with affordable housing and made available for public sector workers. 

According to the recommendation the relocation of the parking lot and Berkeley Fleamarket, which has occurred on the parking lot every Saturday for many years, should be considered if necessary. 

The recommendation says that public workers are unable to purchase homes in the current real estate market and providing housing for them in Berkeley would ease parking and traffic problems because they would be more likely to walk or take public transportation to work. 

The City Council Meeting will be held at 2180 Milvia St. in the City Council Chambers at 7 p.m. The meeting will also be broadcast live on KPFB Radio, 89.3 and Cable B-TV (Channel 25).

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court denied Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski’s bid for a trial Monday, saying he failed to present evidence he was coerced into pleading guilty to three fatal mail bombings. 

Kaczynski, who entered his plea in January 1998 in a mail-bombing spree that killed three people and injured 23, had told the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals he felt pressured to plead guilty as a way to avoid being portrayed as mentally ill by his defense attorneys. 

But Kaczynski “admits that this is speculative and that no proof for it is possible,” Judge Pamela Ann Rymer wrote in the 2-1 decision. 

Kaczynski had claimed a federal judge violated his rights by allowing his lawyers to use his mental condition as a defense, over his objections, and denying his request to represent himself. He had wanted a trial even if it meant getting the death penalty but was given a life sentence in exchange for his guilty plea. 

Kaczynski pleaded guilty in 1998 to a nearly 20-year bombing spree. Kaczynski, 58, dubbed the Unabomber, led authorities on the nation’s longest and costliest manhunt before his arrest at his remote Montana mountain cabin in 1996. 

In correspondence with The Associated Press, Kaczynski said he was innocent. 

“People sometimes plead guilty without being so simply because that may represent their least undesirable alternative in a given legal situation,” he wrote in one of two letters to The AP. 

The Justice Department initially sought a death sentence for Kaczynski but accepted a life sentence after a court-ordered psychiatric examination, conducted over his objections, concluded he was a paranoid schizophrenic. 

He said in his appeal that it was necessary to plead guilty to avoid a trial at which he would be portrayed as mentally ill by his court-appointed defense attorneys. 

In handwritten court papers, Kaczynski referred to himself in the third person and wrote that the guilty pleas “were induced by the threat of a mental-state defense that Kaczynski would have found unendurable, as well as by deprivation of constitutional rights.” 

The Unabomber wrote that his “counsel’s portrayal of him as a grotesque lunatic would have been broadcast nationwide, and this was a prospect that anyone might have found unendurable. Suicide to avoid public humiliation is by no means unknown.” 

Kaczynski attempted suicide in jail after his lawyers told him of their plans. 

The Unabomber told The AP that if he was granted a new trial, he might argue that the government falsified evidence against him. 

“I may use, for example, a defense that will emphasize, among other things, the dishonesty and incompetence of the FBI,” he wrote to The AP. 

Michael Mello, author of “The United States of America versus Theodore John Kaczynski,” said Kaczynski deserved a trial. 

“Had he been able to hire his own lawyers, he would have been represented in a way if we were paying $300 per hour,” Mello said. “He was too poor to hire Johnnie Cochran and company.” 

In a sole dissent, Judge Stephen Reinhardt agreed with Mello’s conclusion. 

“This case involves the right of a seriously disturbed individual to insist upon representing himself at trial, even when the end result is likely to be his execution,” Reinhardt wrote. 

Kaczynski wrote to the court that he “repeatedly made it clear to his attorneys that if presented with a choice between life imprisonment and a death sentence, he would just as soon have the death sentence.” 

The Harvard-trained mathematician turned Montana recluse is serving a life sentence at a federal maximum-security prison in Florence, Colo., for the string of Unabomber attacks between 1978 and 1995. Two were killed in Sacramento and the other in New Jersey. 

The government labeled him the Unabomber because many of his attacks were directed at university scholars. Kaczynski’s writings have connected the attacks to his campaign against what he considered the tyranny of technology. 

J. Tony Serra, a prominent San Francisco defense attorney who volunteered to represent Kaczynski, said the Unabomber, if granted a new trial, would have needed to put on a so-called “political defense” as his only, albeit slim, chance of avoiding a death sentence. 

Serra said that Kaczynski told him during a prison visit more than a year ago that the Unabomber told him that “he always wanted to go to trial. He wanted to air his principles, his ideology behind his actions. He thinks he was saving the world.” 

Timothy McVeigh offered a similar and unsuccessful political defense, claiming he killed 168 people by blowing up a federal building in Oklahoma City as retribution for the FBI’s attack on the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. 

——— 

On the Net: 

9th Circuit opinions: http://www.ce9.uscourts.gov/ 

The case is United States vs. Kaczynski, 99-16531. 

FRESNO — Mariposa Superior Court officials decided Monday to reverse a policy that required criminal background checks for reporters covering the murder trial of Yosemite killer Cary Stayner. 

The court withdrew the requirement after news organizations and a public interest group said it violated press freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, said Michael Berest, the court’s executive officer. 

Reporters who consented to the background checks can have their file destroyed or can pick it up from the sheriff’s office, Berest said. Courtroom credentials will be issued to reporters who met other requirements for the press pass, including employment verification from their news organizations. 

The news director at KSEE-TV in Fresno said he was relieved the court rescinded the policy. Seven reporters and photographers from the station had submitted their fingerprints. 

“From the beginning it was a concern for us on why they needed that information on our crews,” said news director Chris Long. “We had talked to the folks in Mariposa and they said, ‘That’s the way it’s got to be,’ so we were just complying with it as best we could.” 

The policy went unchallenged until The Associated Press refused to comply last week. That was followed by complaints from newspaper editors, media lawyers and the California First Amendment Coalition, a group concerned with open government, free speech and free press issues. 

In a sharply worded letter to the county’s lawyer Friday, Kent Pollock, the First Amendment Coalition’s executive director, called the policy a “highly intrusive, utterly arbitrary invasion of privacy on professionals whose work is protected from governmentally imposed burdens.” 

Pollock also said the policy likely violated the civil rights of reporters who consented to the review. He said the coalition would provide legal representation for reporters who felt their rights had been violated. 

As of Thursday, 16 reporters had cleared the background checks. About 30 other background checks were pending, said Lt. Brian Muller of the sheriff’s office. Muller couldn’t be reached Monday for more current totals. 

Under the policy, reporters who did not have a press pass to cover Stayner’s case in federal court were required to submit their fingerprints, which were run through a state Department of Justice computer to check whether they had a criminal record. 

Friday was the deadline to submit the fingerprints, but the policy – intended to improve security in the 147-year-old courthouse – was suspended while court officials reconsidered the measure. 

Stayner, 39, is awaiting trial for the murder of three park tourists two years ago. 

Carole Sund, her daughter, Juli, and their friend, Silvina Pelosso, disappeared while staying at the Cedar Lodge, where Stayner worked as a handyman.  

Their bodies were found a month later and Stayner reportedly confessed to the killings. Stayner is already serving a life sentence for murdering a woman who led children on nature tours at the park.  

A preliminary hearing is scheduled March 5, but it will likely be postponed. Stayner’s lawyer asked to continue the case until April 26 because she has another trial at that time. 

On the Net: 

California First Amendment Coalition: http://www.cfac.org

LOS ANGELES — The deaths of a carjacking victim and her alleged attacker, who committed suicide, could have been prevented if a mental hospital and a jail had provided proper care for the man, his mother said Monday. 

Joshua Daniel Lee, 22, committed suicide in his Los Angeles County jail cell Friday, after being released from the jail’s mental health unit to its general population, where he was placed in a single cell. 

Police said he confessed to the fatal Jan. 30 stabbing of Diane Bragg, 66, of Bel Air after trying to take her car in a shopping mall parking lot in suburban Redondo Beach. 

“He should have been getting help and Mrs. Bragg would still be alive,” Lee’s mother Victoria Ainsworth said of her son’s release from a mental hospital after three days of treatment earlier in January. 

He was kept in restraints at the hospital, then “they sent him in a taxi to my father’s house without notifying anyone,” she claimed. 

Jail officials and spokesmen for Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center in Hawthorne did not immediately return telephone calls Monday. 

Lee was being held in a cell that is checked hourly when he was found hanging from a bedsheet at 12:42 a.m. Friday, sheriff’s deputies said. 

“He was placed in a mental health ward and then released to the general jail population after an early diagnosis of schizophrenia,” Mrs. Ainsworth said at a news conference outside the county’s Twin Towers jail. 

“I begged them to watch Joshua,” his mother said. She said jailers gave her little information about her son’s death “except that he killed himself.” 

“I’m here today to ask everyone — to help me in getting answers,” she said. “I want to make sure no one will suffer like the Braggs and our family.” 

“In the very words of what the police department told me, you can’t do anything until they hurt someone or hurt themselves,” she said, describing laws applying to the care of mental patients. 

While he was hospitalized he was given two medications normally used for psychotic patients, she said. 

Family attorney Glen Jonas contends county officials and mental hospital officials have yet to answer questions posed on behalf of the family. 

About the lack of a suicide watch, Jonas asked: “Who made that decision and why did they make that decision? They were aware of his mental health problems and then he was released into the general population.” 

Mrs. Ainsworth said she has been a nurse for 20 years, and she told hospital and jail officials about signs of her son’s mental illness, first exhibited in August. 

“He would have periods of normality. But at times there was apathy, delusions, hallucinations, anti-social withdrawal, agitation and emotional unresponsiveness,” she said. 

Before the mall stabbing, Lee had some “minor brushes” with the law, including “breaking into a car and stealing a beer when he was 18,” his mother said. 

“Josh liked to smoke pot, that’s it,” she said of problems before he confronted Mrs. Bragg — reportedly to obtain her SUV so he could leave town. 

LOS ANGELES — State officials Monday received more time to negotiate a bailout with the state’s nearly bankrupt utilities after a federal judge denied Southern California Edison’s request for an immediate rate increase. 

After the ruling, Attorney General Bill Lockyer said an Edison victory Monday “would have provided a weapon to use against the state” in negotiations with the utilities. 

In a statement, Gov. Gray Davis also praised the ruling. He has said he hopes to have a debt-relief plan ready for consideration by Friday. 

“To the extent that it provides time to work on a comprehensive solution, this is a positive event,” said Assemblyman Fred Keeley, D-Boulder Creek, the lawmaker who wrote the bill allowing the state to enter long-term contracts to buy power. 

Proposals floated in the Legislature have included taking over the utilities’ transmission lines or hydroelectric dams or receiving stock options in the companies in exchange for financial assistance. 

Senate leader John Burton, D-San Francisco, has introduced a bill that would have the state buy the utilities’ transmission lines, which constitute about 60 percent of the state’s electric grid. The bill would also create a public power authority to operate the transmission lines. 

U.S. District Court Judge Ronald S.W. Lew Monday refused to grant Edison’s request for a preliminary injunction, which would have forced the California Public Utilities Commission to raise electricity rates within seven days. 

Edison had wanted rates raised by 1 cent per kilowatt hour per year for three years in an attempt to recoup about $2.5 billion in past wholesale electricity costs. 

Edison sued the PUC in November for refusing to lift a rate freeze that has been in effect since the state deregulated its utilities in 1996. The company wants to pass on to ratepayers wholesale electricity costs, which have skyrocketed since last summer. 

Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric say they have lost nearly $13 billion. Both are seeking to raise rates through the federal court. 

The judge’s ruling allows a trial on the underlying merits of the suit to go forward. No trial date was set, but a hearing was scheduled for March 5. 

Consumer groups praised the decision. 

“Edison’s attempts to achieve immediate rate relief were designed to increase the pressure on Sacramento for a legislated bailout,” Nettie Hoge, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, said. 

TURN, along with Los Angeles County, were allowed Monday to intervene in the federal case Monday. Judge Lew said both groups would contribute expertise necessary to unravel the complex issues in the case. 

Wall Street analysts said Monday’s decision alone would not move Edison closer to bankruptcy 

“The creditors are probably frustrated because they did lose leverage,” Linda Byus, an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, said. “But I don’t think it’s in anyone’s interest to see these companies go bankrupt.” 

A spokesman for Reliant Energy, one of the state’s largest suppliers of electric power, said Reliant would not immediately try to force Edison into involuntary bankruptcy. 

“We have not said that at ’X’ time or if ’X’ happens, we’ll start with proceedings,” Richard Wheatley said. “We continue to stand by the fact this is just another step in a long and arduous process” 

Reliant joined last Friday with Dynegy Inc. and Mirant to form a creditor’s committee “to explore options for receiving payment” from the state’s Independent System Operator and two investor-owned utilities. 

Edison does face a deadline Tuesday, when a group of banks will decide whether to extend a deadline on payments Edison owes. The utility said it would not speculate on what was likely to happen. 

Shares of Edison’s parent company, Edison International, fell 57 cents Monday to close at $12.53. Shares of PG&E fell 50 cents to close at $12.55. 

The central issue in the lawsuit now is whether the power purchases Edison made since wholesale prices began to skyrocket last summer were “reasonable” 

The PUC has claimed Edison could have paid less for power from other sources, making a huge rate hike unnecessary. 

Lew chastised Edison for characterizing a ruling he made Jan. 8 as a victory for the utility. Edison has said Lew’s ruling meant that the federal government, not the state, has authority over wholesale rates. 

Lew said Monday his decision was not as sweeping as Edison described. 

“The plaintiff’s description of the ruling is flatly wrong,” Lew said. 

Lew said his ruling was more narrow in scope and said the merits of the case will hinge on the review of Edison’s power purchases, a comment that drew praise from the PUC. 

“The judge never ruled against us on the merits of the case,” PUC attorney Harvey Morris said outside the courtroom. 

The lawsuit may be combined with a similar suit filed by PG&E. The two utilities serve nearly 9 million residential and business customers throughout California. 

Meanwhile, California entered a fifth consecutive week under a Stage 3 alert on Monday as power reserves threatened to fall below 1.5 percent. 

A statewide cold snap strained already tight resources and several power plants remained down for repairs and maintenance, said Stephanie McCorkle with the Independent System Operator, overseer of the state’s power grid. 

LOS ANGELES — A set of advocacy groups that have their own stake in the state’s power crisis will unveil a 13-point plan Tuesday aimed at preventing rate increases for lower income customers and creating a public power authority for the wholesale market. 

The coalition of environmental groups, consumer advocates and unions that have complained about being left out of negotiations said the state’s three largest utilities should be saved from bankruptcy. 

The groups, which include the Sierra Club and The Utility Reform Network, were brought together by the California Labor Federation. 

The plan’s recommendations were drafted over the last two weeks.  

One of the ideas listed in the plan proposes a three-tiered rate system with a low-cost base rate, a higher tier for consumption above the base, and a third rate for excessive consumption. 

The coalition also recommends the California Public Utilities Commission inspect power plants to ensure they are properly maintained. Many plants currently don’t fall under the PUC’s jurisdiction. 

“Corporate interests seek to capitalize on a crisis mentality to weaken labor and environmental protections,” the groups said. “Workers and the environment should not bear the burden of repairing the damage caused by corporate greed and mismanagement.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Napster Inc.’s free song-swapping experiment was imperiled Monday by a federal appellate court’s decision that the company must halt what millions of Internet users have come to enjoy: the unrestricted sharing of copyright recordings. 

Though Napster vowed to fight the ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the company’s music free-for-all may be doomed. The ruling, affecting some 50 million Napster subscribers, is a landmark in the dawning, uncertain age of digital entertainment distribution. 

“I’m bumming,” said John Nock, 35, of Morgantown, W.Va., who said the ruling could prevent him from mixing more tapes for his June wedding. “I’ve actually coordinated the whole music program off Napster. I got all the fun dance and good-time music. The love portion, I’m going to have to do it the old-fashioned way.” 

A three-judge panel of the appeals court said it was apparent that “Napster has knowledge, both actual and constructive, of direct infringement.” 

And the panel said, in generally upholding a lower court judge’s injunction that would shut down Napster, that the recording industry “would likely prevail” in its suit against the file-swapping service. 

The heavy metal group Metallica, the first band to demand its songs be removed from Napster, said the ruling reaffirmed the right of artists not to have their music exploited. 

“We are delighted that the court has upheld the rights of all artists to protect and control their creative efforts,” the band said in a statement. “Napster was wrong in taking not only Metallica’s music, but other artists who do not want to be a part of the Napster system.” 

Napster CEO Hank Barry said the company would appeal in hopes of getting a larger panel of the Ninth Circuit to review the case. He called on Napster users to lobby Congress and said the company would do everything it could to remain alive. 

Napster can stay in business until U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel retools her injunction, which the appellate court called overbroad. No hearing date has been set. 

Minutes after the panel’s decision, thousands of Napster users were trading more than 1.5 million files on just one of the company’s more than 100 servers. And even if Napster folds, there are plenty of alternatives. 

“We’ll all find a way to get around it,” said Faisal Reza, 20, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “People who want music will always be one step ahead of people trying to stop them.” 

In the 58-page opinion, the three-judge panel told the lower court judge to focus her injunction more narrowly on the copyright material and direct the Redwood City-based company to remove links to users trading copyright songs stored as MP3 files. 

Napster has argued it is not to blame for its subscribers’ use of copyright material, citing the Sony Betamax decision of 1984, in which the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hold VCR manufacturers and videotape retailers liable for people copying movies. 

But the appeals court said no such protection extends to Napster because the company clearly knew its users were swapping copyright songs. 

“It’s time for Napster to stand down and build their business the old-fashioned way. They must get permission first,” said Hilary Rosen, president and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America. “The court of appeals found that the injunction is not only warranted, but required. And it ruled in our favor on every legal issue presented.” 

The appeals panel said Napster may be liable when it fails to patrol its system to preclude access to potentially infringing files. The extent of that liability could be determined at a trial. 

The panel said Patel’s injunction was overbroad because it placed the entire burden on Napster of ensuring that no “copying, downloading, uploading, transmitting or distributing” of works occur. Instead, the court said, the music industry must warn Napster that copyright work is on the site before Napster “has the duty to disable access.” 

Copyright attorney Larry Iser said the order means the industry must provide a detailed accounting of what titles it wants Napster to remove from its search index, a move that is likely to doom Napster. 

Napster attorney David Boies, in an earlier filing with the appeals court, said it was technologically impossible for the Internet site to abide by such an order. 

Major record labels hope Monday’s ruling will force millions of computer users to pay for music the online music swapping service has allowed them to get for free. 

The digital music technology Napster made popular is here to stay either way. The recording industry appears stymied by the notion of funneling music to consumers via the Internet for a price while freely available computer applications allow even the computer novice to do it for free. 

The five largest record labels – Sony, Warner, BMG, EMI and Universal – sued as soon as Redwood City-based Napster took off, saying it could rob them of billions of dollars in profits. 

In May 1999, Napster founder Shawn Fanning released software that made it easy for personal computer users to locate and trade songs they had stored as computer files in the MP3 format, which crunches digital recordings down to manageable lengths without sacrificing quality. 

The concept of “peer-to-peer” song trading quickly proved too popular to contain. As Napster users grew by the millions, other file-sharing programs also popped up, such as Gnutella and Freenet. And the labels themselves are looking to use the same technology, only with paying subscribers and secure digital formats that prevent copying. 

“What this means is that peer-to-peer distribution models may not be the best way to go,” said analyst P.J. McNealy of the Gartner research firm. “The big bullseye has now been turned on Gnutella.” 

After the appellate judges began deliberating in October, Napster made agreements with former business foes like Bertelsmann AG, the parent company of the BMG music unit. The German media giant has promised much-needed capital if Napster switches to a subscription-based service that pays artists’ royalties. 

“Today’s decision is another step in the process of accommodating the legitimate rights of copyright holders and the important interests of Napster users,” Bertelsmann said in a statement. “Bertelsmann is committed to implementing a win-win strategy, one that secures and compensates the rights of artists, copyrights holders and the music industry while also enabling Napster to provide music lovers with a first-class file-sharing system.” 

The other four major labels are holding out for Napster’s demise. 

Phil Leigh, a digital music analyst at Raymond James and Associates, said while the decision will make it hard for Napster to continue operating it also could lead to legislation setting up a licensing scheme in which Web sites pay record companies a fee for the right to offer downloads of their catalogues. 

“I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a consumer backlash that would lead Congress to get involved and set up some mandatory licensing for the Internet,” Leigh said. “What we could see here is a replication of what happened in the broadcast radio business in the 1930s. Originally what they had to do was pay egregious license fees. And eventually what resulted was statutory licenses, mandatory licenses.” 

On the Net: 

Napster: http://www.napster.com 

Recording industry: http://www.riaa.com 

EMusic: http://www.emusic.com 

MP3: http://www.mp3.com 

Ninth Circuit: http://www.ce9.uscourts.gov 

NEW YORK — Investors piled back into blue chip stocks Monday, sending the market broadly higher and reversing some of last week’s sharp declines. 

Traders were looking ahead to testimony Tuesday from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who has already eased some of Wall Street’s anxiety about the economy with two interest rate cuts this year. 

Ronald J. Hill, an investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in New York, said investors were hoping Greenspan would offer more hints of further interest rates cuts during his biannual assessment of the state of the economy before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. “My sense is that he’s going to stress that the economy needs more help to reaccelerate, setting the stage for additional rate reductions,” Hill said. “That’s the most important thing investors need to know.” 

The Fed twice lowered interest rates a half a percentage point during January, and further easing is anticipated. Most economists expect the rate reductions to boost economic growth in the second half of the year. 

Meanwhile, there was interest in biotech stocks as scientific magazines published for the first time the complete human genome map and sequence. The journal Nature is publishing the work of a public consortium, and the journal Science is publishing the sequence by Celera Genomics, a Rockville, Md., company. 

Shares of companies that specialize in telecommunications fiber-channel products fell sharply after U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray lowered its investment rating on Emulex to neutral because of lowered first-quarter earnings estimates. 

— The Associated Press 

Emulex plunged $37.13 to $40.38, while shares in QLogic Corp. plummeted $15.56 to $54.81, and shares in Brocade Communications Systems dropped $11.13 to $63. 

Financial and pharmaceutical stocks, which have been popular with buyers in search of stable investments, also were up, and there was some recovery in retail stocks. 

Federated Department Stores was up $2.35 at $43.50, while Kmart rose 32 cents to $8.74. Gap gained $1.01 cents to $28.01, and J.C. Penney rose 39 cents to $14.35. 

The gains marked a distinct reversal from last week, when bad news from a number of tech bellwethers including Lucent Technologies, Cisco Systems and Dell Computer led to a selloff that wiped out much of the Nasdaq’s gains from the month before. 

Advancing issues outnumbered losers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 1.23 billion shares, down from 1.28 billion on Friday. 

The Russell 2000 index rose 8.30 to 505.35. 

Stocks closed higher in overseas trading. Japan’s Nikkei index rose 2.17 percent, while in London, the FT-SE 100 index gained 1.25 percent. Frankfurt’s DAX index was up 1.04 percent and in Paris, the CAC 40 index rose 0.82 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

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

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

HONOLULU — The Navy will use a deep-sea robot to investigate the ocean floor where a Japanese fishing vessel sank after it was struck by a U.S. submarine, a Navy spokeswoman said Monday. 

Lt. Col. Christy Samuels, spokeswoman for the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, said no decision about a salvage operation had been made. She did not say when the remote-controlled submersible would be dropped. 

The possibility of a salvage operation –which has been urged by the Japanese – was the subject of a meeting planned Monday between Adm. Dennis Blair, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, and Yoshitaka Sakurada, Japan’s parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs. 

The Ehime Maru went down in 1,800 feet of water nine miles from Honolulu on Friday after it was hit by the surfacing USS Greeneville. Twenty-six people were rescued, but nine are missing and feared dead. 

The Navy and Coast Guard have searched more than 5,000 square miles with no signs of the missing, who include four Japanese students, two instructors and three crewman. 

Anguished relatives have urged the Navy to conduct a salvage operation and Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has said rescuers should use “all available means” to raise the vessel. 

The Ehime Maru is 180 feet long and 499 tons. Bringing it nearly one-third of a mile to the surface would be costly and risky, experts said. 

“It’s a salvage operation that I think is unrealistic,” said Charles Vick of the Federation of American Scientists in Washington. “I know it’s hard to say that to people.” 

Others said risks and expense will be weighed against a strong interest in avoiding damage to U.S. relations with Japan. 

“The pressure is on us very, very strongly to do something along this line,” said John Craven, a professor of ocean studies at the University of Hawaii who helped develop the Navy’s deep-submergence program. 

Craven said he could not recall the raising of an entire boat the size of the Ehime Maru from a similar depth. He said the Navy must first determine whether the ocean floor at the site is sandy or muddy and whether the vessel has broken apart. 

If it is relatively intact, Craven said, “lift bags” could be attached and inflated, raising the ship. 

But the depth at the site would pose a huge challenge. 

“Can divers operate freely in the water at 2,000 feet?” Craven asked. “The answer is probably not,” meaning the Navy would have to rely on remotely controlled robots. 

FORT STEWART, Ga. — President Bush, in his first trip with all the trappings of commander in chief, told U.S. soldiers Monday that “America is not serving you well” and promised morale-boosting pay increases, better housing and health care. 

“I’m proud to lead you,” Bush told hundreds of soldiers and their families on a cold, wind-swept marching field. “And I’m committed to serve you.” 

It was a day filled with firsts for the new president: his first major trip as president, his first flight aboard the Boeing 747 Air Force One and the first official playing of “Hail to the Chief.” It was the first of four presidential trips this week designed to promote Bush’s national security policies, including a Friday stay in Mexico. 

Bush reviewed the troops with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld – the president’s steps keeping time with a military hymn, battle flags dipping as he passed each unit.  

Cannons pounded out a 21-gun salute, the first for Bush as president. 

Less formal later, the president visited cramped quarters and ate lunch with the troops. 

“Our nation can never repay our debt to you, but we can give you our full support and my administration will,” Bush said in his brief remarks. 

He announced a $310 billion proposed Pentagon budget for 2002, up $14 billion from the current figure. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said $5.7 billion of the new money will improve the quality of life for troops; the rest will help other projects keep pace with inflation. 

Going to the troops: 

• Pay increases, with $1.4 billion given to the Pentagon to decide how to divide it. The increases would come atop the 4.6 percent across-the-board pay hike in the current budget. 

• Health benefits, with $3.9 billion set aside to eliminate most deductions and fund a mail-in pharmacy. 

• $400 million to improve military housing. 

“While you’re serving us well, America is not serving you well enough. Many in our military have been over-deployed and underpaid. Many live in aging houses and work in aging building,” Bush said, each point punctuated by thunderous applause. 

“This is not the way a great nation should reward courage and idealism,” he said.  

“It’s ungrateful. It’s unwise. It is unacceptable.” 

Some Republican congressmen have expressed surprise that Bush has tabled requests for huge spending increases at the Pentagon until Rumsfeld completes a strategy review. 

Hoping to ease concerns about his commitment, senior administration officials have said they expect Bush to seek additional military funding after Rumsfeld’s review is completed, most likely this summer. Bush’s first three trips this week are also an attempt to show that his interest in the Pentagon isn’t flagging. 

He shook hands with dozens of soldiers, both here and at Hunter Army Airfield, and played to the crowd in a speech laced with familiar references. He shouting “Hooah!” — the traditional Army greeting — and addressed 3rd Infantry soldiers by their beloved nickname, “Dog-faced soldiers.” 

The reception was warm, especially compared to the tepid greeting former President Clinton received on his first military-related trips. Clinton’s highly publicized efforts to avoid the Vietnam War and his early push to end the ban on gays in the military got him off to a rocky start with the Pentagon brass and some troops. 

Bush avoided the Vietnam War by serving in the Texas Air National Guard, a point that wasn’t raised by a dozen soldiers questioned about their new commander in chief. 

“I like the fact that he wants to raise my pay and improve my living conditions,” said Army Pvt. Don Dills of Gulfport, Miss. 

Jostling for a presidential handshake, Army Pvt. Eric Foiles of Cadott, Wis., paused to say, “I’m hoping he might be able to get us out of the places we don’t need to be. I think we’re spread too wide of an area.” 

Bush lined up with soldiers at a mess hall, dining on lasagna, mashed potatoes and strawberry cake after his entry was greeted by a standing ovation.” 

Master Sgt. Karen Stepp, who served Bush lunch, said she hopes the president keeps his word on pay. 

“Morale is soldiers’ food — you have to feed them,” she said. “Hopefully while he’s in, we can continue to see increases. Hopefully it’s not just a one-time shot.” 

Bush seemed to revel in the day. Boarding Air Force One — the same plane his father flew as president — Bush had a quick look around the familiar aircraft and went to its office, where he donned a presidential flight jacket and did some work, Fleischer said. 

He was accompanied by several lawmakers, including two Democrats: Georgia Sens. Sen. Zell Miller and Max Cleland. 

In his only other flight as president, Bush spoke behind closed doors to lawmakers after flying to Pennsylvania on a small military plane. Aides said he had not requested “Hail to the Chief” sooner because he believes it should be reserved for formal occasions. 

At the opening of his remarks, Bush offered a silent prayer for the victims of the Japanese fishing boat that sank after being hit by a U.S. submarine off Hawaii. 

Using a sensitive magnetic field detector, a team of physicists, chemists and biochemists at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has created a very sensitive and fast immunoassay.  

Immunoassays are widely used in medical laboratories and industry to detect small levels of bacteria, drugs and many kinds of proteins or chemicals. The new technique, which relies on a so-called SQUID microscope, overcomes some of the drawbacks of standard immunoassays while speeding up the process. 

“This technique could let you do in an hour or in minutes what now takes a day,” said John Clarke, professor of physics in the College of Letters & Science at UC Berkeley and a faculty senior scientist in the Materials Sciences Division at LBNL. “If this really works, we could get information in real time, so that hospitals could diagnose an illness at the bedside, or food processors could find out immediately whether there is any bacterial contamination.”  

Aside from medical uses, a SQUID microscope also could be critical in bioterrorism situations where it is crucial to know the biological or chemical agent as soon as possible.  

The new development was reported in the Dec. 19, 2000, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The microscope relies on a device called a SQUID, or Superconducting Quantum Interference Device.  

Pioneered by Clarke over the past 35 years, the SQUID is the most sensitive detector of changes in magnetic field, and among other applications has been used to measure minuscule magnetic fields from the brain and the heart. 

The SQUID is made from a high-temperature superconducting material - yttrium-barium-copper oxide - that operates at about 196 degrees C below the freezing point of water. 

Though the SQUID is very cold, it can be brought close to living samples to detect small magnetic fields from them.  

Clarke and graduate students Yann R. Chemla and Helene L. Grossman used the SQUID microscope to detect magnetic fields from various nearby sources, in this case nanometer-sized magnetic particles linked by antibodies to biologicaltargets. The research team also included chemist Ray Stevens, a former UC Berkeley faculty member now at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla; Mark Alper, adjunct professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at UC Berkeley and deputy head of the Materials Sciences Division at LBNL; and UC Berkeley undergraduate student Yan Poon.  

In their initial experiments they were able to detect as few as 30,000 magnetic particles, which, if each were attached to a single target, means that their limit is about 30,000 cells or proteins. The most sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) can detect no fewer than 100,000 labeled targets.  

However, refinements now underway should improve the sensitivity and allow them to detect as few as 50 to 500 magnetic particles. Since some bacteria have thousands of attachment sites for a particular antibody, theoretically the SQUID microscope could detect a single bacterium.  

"This is fast and simple enough that you could use it in a batch process, matching the versatility of existing immunoassay methods," Clarke said. He said that an array of samples could readily be scanned over the SQUID. 

To obtain high sensitivity, some immunoassay techniques require that cells be cultured overnight or longer in order to obtain a sufficient number to show up in an immunoassay. The sensitivity of the SQUID microscope makes this step unnecessary, thus making it faster.  

Also, some current immunoassays label cells or molecules by attaching fluorescent or radioactive tracers with the help of antibodies designed to adhere selectively to the target. When irradiated with UV light the fluorescently-labeled targets light up, while the radioactively-labeled targets expose a film. 

These techniques require that unattached tracers be flushed away, however. 

The new technique eliminates this step because magnetic tracers attached to the target behave differently than unattached tracers.  

"A big part of the appeal of this technique is that you can easily distinguish between labeled and unlabeled particles," said Chemla. This is possible because the nanoparticles are superparamagnetic, which means that when they encounter a magnetic field they become magnetized, line up along the field lines, and remain that way for a short time after the magnetic field is switched off. The aligned particles produce a net magnetic field that is strong enough to be detected by a SQUID.  

If the nanoparticles are not attached to a target, however, the field generated by the aligned nanoparticles lasts only a short time before the magnets randomize as they jostle around (a process called Brownian rotation) and cancel one another out. If the nanoparticles are attached to a target that is in turn immobilized on a surface, though, the magnets can't reorient themselves Instead, the spins of the individual atoms in the nanoparticle - the source of its magnetic dipole moment - are free to reorient themselves, eventually canceling out the magnetic dipole of the nanoparticle. This process is called N*el relaxation.  

For their technique to work, the physicists chose magnetic particles with complementary properties: when unattached, they randomize by Brownian rotation in less than a thousandth of a second; when attached, however, they require about a second to randomize via N*el relaxation. Thus, when the SQUID microscope measures the decaying signal for a second after the outside field is switched off, the magnetic signal comes solely from the attached particles.  

Because the sample takes only one second to magnetize and one second to demagnetize, detection takes as little as two seconds, Alper said. Even counting preparation time, he is optimistic that the whole process can be reduced to a minute or less.  

"This could be used in a wide variety of applications to detect almost anything you can make antibodies against," he said. In addition, this technique could be used with any "molecular recognition element" - a molecule that can bind specifically to a particular surface feature on another molecule. Thus, the range of detectable targets is very broad and not limited to those against which antibodies can be produced.  

"These are preliminary results from a device that hasn’t yet been optimized," Alper said. "Nevertheless, this is a clear scientific demonstration that you can apply these very, very sensitive magnetometers to the detection of biological substances."  

Clarke, Alper and the students now are working with Paul Alivisatos, professor of chemistry and faculty senior scientist at LBNL, to come up with improved nanoparticles, and with Carolyn Bertozzi, UC Berkeley associate professor of chemistry and a member of LBNL's Materials Sciences and Physical Biosciences Divisions, to improve methods of attaching them to molecular recognition elements. The work was supported by grants through LBNL from the Division of Materials Sciences, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy. Clarke and Alper are among several hundred UC Berkeley researchers involved with the campus's Health Sciences Initiative, which draws scientists from a broad range of fields to tackle today's health problems. 

Resident complains after sighting officer removing flyer for political rally 

Stemming from an incident in which a Berkeley police officer was seen taking down flyers promoting a Mumia Abu-Jamal rally, the Police Review Commission is asking the department to develop a poster removal policy. 

The City Council will consider an recommendation from the PRC Tuesday asking the Berkeley Police Department to develop a training bulletin that would outline police policy on the removal of flyers, placards and posters from city-owned utility poles and lampposts. 

The PRC approved the recommendation with a unanimous vote on Nov. 8. Commissioner Bill Taylor was not present. 

The recommendation was the result of a First Amendment complaint filed by Berkeley resident Stephen Rosenbaum last May. In his complaint, Rosenbaum said that on May 12, he was headed to the BART station at Shattuck Avenue and Center Street when he witnessed bicycle patrol officer Mark Bachman taking down two flyers advertising a Mumia Abu-Jamal rally which was to take place the following day. 

In 1982 Abu-Jamal, a former radio journalist and Black Panther party member, was sentenced to death for the killing of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner in Philadelphia after a 1981 traffic stop involving Abu-Jamal’s brother. Abu-Jamal is currently awaiting execution on death row in a Pennsylvania state prison. 

Monday, Feb. 12

African-American “Death of a Salesman” Auditions 

7 p.m. 

Live Oak Theatre  

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman)  

There are roles for eight men and five women, aged 30 - 60. Attendees are asked to present a monologue no longer that three minutes. Roles are non-paying. 

Read Those Plans 

7 - 10 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Architect Andus Brandt will instruct how to read architectural plans.  

$35  

Call 525-7610 

Tuesday, Feb. 13

“Great Decisions” - U.S. Trade Policy 

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. Many of the lectures are presented by specialists in their field and are often from the University of California. Feedback received at these lectures is held in high regard by those in the government responsible for national policy.  

$5 single session, $35 entire series for single person, $60 entire series for couple  

Call Berton Wilson, 526-2925 

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 at 531-8664 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann at 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

Wednesday, Feb. 14

Stagebridge Free Acting &  

Storytelling Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Faye Carol Sings Lady Day 

7:30 p.m. 

King Middle School  

1781 Rose St.  

A tribute to Billie Holiday including Lady Day’s most popular songs, including “Strange Fruit,” “Good Morning Heartache,” “God Bless the Child” and “You Let Me Down.” Benefit for KPFA Radio and La Pena Cultural Center.  

$15 

Call 848-6767 x609 or visit www.kpfa.org 

Planning Commission Public  

Hearing  

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

The commission is holding public hearings on the Planning Commission Draft General Plan. The commission requests that all written comments on the plan be submitted by March 1.  

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.” 

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  

Free “Quit Smoking” Class 

5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis (at Ashby)  

Cease your smoking with the help of this free class offered to Berkeley residents and employees. 

Call 644-6422 to enroll or e-mail quitnow@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Natural Conversations 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Hillside Community Church  

1422 Navellier St.  

El Cerrito 

A series of Thursday evenings of conversation “engaging people in discovering the pleasures of an excellent discussion.” Focus on conversations in nature and explore what they are meant to convey.  

$10  

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Kathleen Lynch and host Mark States.  

644-0155 

Climbing Mt. Shasta 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Tim Keating of Sierra Wilderness Seminars will give a slide presentation on climbing and skiing this North California peak.  

Call 527-7377  

Berkeley Metaphysical  

Toastmasters Club  

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month.  

Call 869-2547 

“Religion, Power & the New Economy”  

1:30 - 3 p.m. 

Chapel of the Great Commission  

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

A panel discussion featuring distinguished GTU alumni/ae, in celebration of Dr. James A. Donahue’s inauguration as President of the GTU.  

Call 649-2400 

West CAT Meeting 

7 p.m. 

Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church  

997 University Ave.  

Review the racial and health disparities issues and see the model of the community capacity building.  

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  

Stagebridge Free Acting &  

Storytelling Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Saturday, Feb. 17

“Go-Go-Go Greenbelt!” 

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Rockridge BART  

Oakland  

A bike tour on this ride into the rolling East Bay hills. A free ride sponsored by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call 415-255-3233 for reservations or visit www.greenbelt.org 

Rockridge Writers 

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Spasso Coffeehouse  

6021 College Ave.  

Poets and writers meet to critique each other’s work. “Members’ work tends to be dark, humorous, surreal, or strange.”  

e-mail:  

berkeleysappho@yahoo.com 

Building a museum at the Shell Mound should solve parking lot controversy 

Editor: 

The Spenger's Parking Lot Shell Mound controversy could have a nice solution which would benefit everyone. Give the developers permission to build, if they agree to help fund an archaeological dig and a museum. This implies not burying all of the shell mound under buildings and parking. 

The museum could actually make money, by attracting tourists. 

Steve Geller 

Berkeley  

Lampley leads team with 17 points, 10 rebounds 

EUGENE, Ore. – Sean Lampley had 17 points and 10 rebounds as California recovered from a poor first half to defeat Oregon 65-56 Saturday. 

Cal (17-6, 8-3 Pac-10) closed the game on a 16-7 run to beat Oregon (12-9, 3-8) at McArthur Court for the first time in four years. 

Bryan Bracey had 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Ducks, who have lost eight of 10. 

The game matched the conference’s leading scorers in Lampley and Bracey. Lampley is averaging 19.5 points per game; Bracey 18.6. 

Lampley’s jumper with 6:51 remaining gave the Golden Bears their final lead of the game, 51-49. They made six of eight free throws in the final 1:18 to seal it. 

Cal shot just 26 percent in the first half (5-of-19), but trailed only 26-22 because the Ducks shot 36 percent. 

“It certainly wasn’t a pretty game,” Braun said. “But our objective was not to look good. Oregon has a high-powered offense with a great transition game. Our focus was to slow them down. We also did a great job challenging 3s, and that’s not our strength.” 

The lead changed hands 13 times in the second half, and there were seven ties. Cal took its first lead of the game on two free throws by Brian Wethers with 18:18 to go. 

The game stayed close until Cal scored six straight points to make it 57-50. 

Oregon led 11-5 after four minutes as Julius Hicks, starting at forward instead of Bracey, found success inside with six straight points. 

The Ducks pushed the lead to 19-8 on Anthony Norwood’s 3-pointer, but went cold in the final 10 minutes. Cal outscored Oregon 14-7, capped by a 3-pointer from Ryan Forehan-Kelly. 

Joe Shipp added 12 points for Cal. Hicks had 11 for the Ducks. 

A joint study by the University of California at Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found that appliances on “standby” mode have a considerable impact on electricity bills. 

If you need proof, the scientists and students who conducted the study say, just darken your house one evening and look for the glowing red dots and the flashing faces of your digital clock. 

Every second of that residential light show is costing you money. 

According to the study, the average California home pays between $50 and $70 a year for “leaking” electricity. Eliminating it could save you between six and 26 percent on your average monthly electricity bill. 

“We've only recently found out how substantial the energy savings can be,” said Daniel Kammen, Berkeley professor and director of its Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory. “People could save enough power to offset the rise in electricity rates. 

The study, conducted last spring by graduate student J.P. Ross, surveyed 10 Northern California homes which had an average of 19 appliances on standby and were of varying sizes and number of occupants. 

Ross and co-writer Alan Meier found that a 67 watt per household average used to power items on standby. That is more electricity than what would be used to leave a 60-watt bulb on nonstop for a whole year. 

Although the study was small, the authors say it's clear that leaking electricity is costing energy consumers money, and reducing its consumption could be beneficial. 

One thing you can do is to unplug your home appliances when you're not using them, or to group them all on a surge protector so that they can all be turned off at once. 

Computer printers waste a lot of electricity, as do some television sets and video cassette recorders. Cell phone rechargers and cable television boxes also cost Californians money. 

While unplugging your appliances is one solution, the authors noted that a permanent solution lies with the appliance manufacturers. In Europe, for example, some appliances come with two power buttons, one that leaves them ready to be used with a remote and others that actually turn the appliance off. 

Meier and Ross also say the manufacturers could comply with a one-watt energy mode standard that could reduce leaking electricity by 68 percent without compromising functionality.

British Columbia wins game on late try 

After 75 minutes of fast-paced, hard-hitting action, the Cal rugby team led the University of British Columbia 25-22. After losing twice to the Thunderbirds last year, the Bears could taste redemption. 

But BC fullback Stan Manu broke the Cal backline for a big gain, and flipped the ball to streaking winger Nigel Griffin, who touched the ball down for the deciding try and a 27-25 victory in the first leg of the teams’ annual series. The final try seemed to break the Bears’ spirit, and the Thunderbirds spent the remaining minutes threatening the Cal tryline again. 

The game was one of missed opportunities for the Bears, as fullback John Buchholz missed four penalty attempts, as well as having a drop-goal blocked in the final minutes. 

“I thought (Buchholz) struck the ball okay. He got off to a bad start, missing his first one, but I stuck with him,” Cal heaad coach Jack Clark said. “I thought that last kick was real tough for him.” 

The Bears also committed more turnovers than usual, and two BC tries came directly from Cal mistakes. Just before halftime, the Bears lost the ball in a ruck just outside their try zone, and the Thunderbirds punched the ball over easily to to up 12-10. The ensuing kickoff was a disaster for Cal, as Griffin broke three tackles, then off-loaded to Manu for another try in injury time, and the visiting side had a 19-10 lead at the break. 

“We had two minutes of insanity, and it cost us 12 points,” Clark said. “They had a couple of breaks and good support on the ball, and they just finished it.” 

Buchholz missed a penalty attempt early in the second half, but his forwards got the ball right back, and he slotted his next attempt through the uprights to bring his team within six points. And when Cal eight-man Shaun Paga burst through the BC defense and outran Manu to the corner for a try, the Bears had a 20-19 lead following Buchholz’s conversion. But the lead was short-lived, as a Thunderbird penalty kick put the visitors back on top. 

The next 20 minutes was marked by turnovers by both sides, as well as some of the hardest tackles seen at Witter Field this year. Neither team managed to score until Cal flyhalf Matt Sherman broke through the Thunderbird backline and found Buchholz streaking down the right side. The fullback slipped through Manu’s tackle and scored in the corner to give his team their last lead of the game. 

The Bears will head to Canada to face the Thunderbirds on March 28. 

“It’s harder to play in Vancouver because it’s away from home, and they’re defending the shores of British Columbia,” Clark said. “But on the other hand, we’ll have another five or six games under our belts, and five or six more weeks of training. We’ll be a better team.” 

The Bears next challenge will be playing two games in one day in Austin, Tex. on Sunday. They will play Texas at 1 p.m. and Oklahoma at 2:30.

Lamile Perry is like most teenagers. He likes to hang out with friends, shoot hoops, talk to girls and dream about what it will be like to go off to college — not bad for a guy who wasn’t supposed to even breathe on his own. 

“Yeah, I’ve come a long way,” Perry said. 

When he joins the U.S.A. Track and Field team at the 2001 Junior Wheelchair Games in Brisbane, Australia this September, the 17-year-old will celebrate not only athletic success — but personal triumphs. 

As one of 30 team members selected from across the country, this will be Perry’s second time competing in the games. However, it is up to each athlete to pay for their travel expenses — air fare and accommodation — and Perry needs to come up with $3,519 this spring in order to compete. 

Born with Cerebral Palsy, a congenital disease that affects the muscular and nervous system, he was two months premature which required him to be hospitalized and hooked up to a life-saving respirator for the first few months of his life.  

Doctors didn’t expect Perry to come off the respirator. But Perry pulled the tube out by himself, which amazed his doctors and family. 

His mother, Mary Lightfoot, said Perry has never let obstacles get in the way of success.  

“From that day on I knew he’d be a strong kid,” Lightfoot said.  

And she was right. 

Since the age of six, Perry has been involved with Bay Area Cruisers — a wheelchair sport team run by the Bay Area Outreach Recreation Program.  

“At first I didn’t like it,” said Perry. He is able to take small steps, but has to use a wheelchair to get around. “I wasn’t used to being in a wheelchair so much.” 

But not long after, he found that sports were his thing. At 9 years old he began competing in both track and field, and basketball. His motivation and enthusiasm helped him soar, said his coach Tim Orr. 

“He’s come a long way,” said Orr, who has worked with Lamile at BORP since Perry was 7 years old. “When he first came he was real young and just a crazy kid, but he’s really matured and become a leader. He’s made a lot of progress.”  

Orr noted that in addition to track and field, Perry is an outstanding basketball player despite the severe muscle contractions that Cerebral Palsy causes. “For him to have gotten where he is with basketball is amazing. He has made the most of his ability.” 

As a junior at Berkeley High School, Perry spends an hour and a half practicing each day preparing for the USA games.  

“My family and friends really motivate me, they’re very supportive,” Perry said. Lamile has a twin brother Emile and who suffers from a more severe form of Cerebral Palsy than he does. 

Although Perry plans on participating in several events when he arrives in Australia, he said he prefers the 100-meter and the discus throw. He is expected to compete in eight to 10 races while he is at the games.  

“My only goals for the trip are to do as best as I can and make my country proud,” said Perry. 

Orr has been chosen as the national coach for the third time and will accompany Lamile to Australia. Two other area athletes were chosen to attend as well — Marcus Oden of Walnut Creek will be part of the basketball team and Jen Chew of Antioch will compete in several track events.  

“These kids are the cream of the crop,” said Orr. “It’s a lot of fun to travel with the best junior athletes in the country.”  

For more information or to contribute call BORP at 849-4663.

The fans were loud and raucous. The band played with fervor. The atmosphere was electric. When Cal head coach Caren Horstmeyer talked of building a home-court advantage, this must have been her vision.  

Horstmeyer’s Bears, led by the dynamic backcourt duo of Courtney Johnson and Kenya Corley, defeated the Oregon Ducks, 68-57, Saturday night at Haas Pavilion. The win moves the Bears into a fourth-place tie in the Pac-10, and marks the first time they have won four straight conference games since 1992. More importantly, the win snapped a 15-game losing streak to Oregon.  

After the final horn, the crowd of 1,271 ecstatic Cal fans celebrated, the Straw Hat band played, and forwards Ami Forney and Lauren Ashbaugh grabbed a giant blue Cal flag and planted it, symbolically, in the free throw lane on the south side of the court. Soaking in the joy, Horstmeyer even took the microphone to thank the fans for their support.  

“We want to pack Haas Pavilion,” said Horstmeyer after the game. “We’ve had good crowds, and we want to build on that.” 

Johnson led the Bears by filling the stat sheet in every important category. The senior from Antioch scored twenty points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out three assists, blocked two shots, and pilfered six steals while playing all 40 minutes of the contest. Nonetheless, she didn’t seem a bit tired after the game.  

“This victory means the world, said Johnson. “We’ve never beaten Oregon, never swept the Oregon schools.”  

Corley was held scoreless in the first half, but finished with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Another big key for the Bears was Forney, who racked up 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Forney only hit one shot from the floor but was 10 of 14 from the free throw line. 

Oregon, the two-time defending Pac-10 champion, was led by Angelina Wolvert’s 18 points, and forward Brianne Meharry, who contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds. However, Oregon got little offense from their guards, as the Bears held the Ducks’ backcourt to just 11 points on 3-of-26 shooting. Shooting guard Jaime Craighead, in particular, killed the Bears last month in Oregon, hitting five three-pointers, but was held to just 1-of-8 shooting on the night. “It was a very disappointing effort; we just couldn’t score again,” said Oregon head coach Jody Runge. “We got good efforts from Angelina and Brie (Meharry), but our outside scoring was nil.” 

Unlike last month’s encounter in Eugene, the Bears stayed with Oregon from the opening tip. The Bears were able to penetrate Oregon’s defense and used that ability, along with an up-tempo attack, to create lay-ups and free throw opportunities. Forward Genevieve Swedor was able to convert on feeds from Johnson and Amber White for easy layups, keeping the Bears close early.  

The Bears were also fortunate that Jenny Mowe, the Ducks’ star center, was hobbled by a muscle pull. Still, Wolvert scored eight first-half points in the low post, and the Ducks were able to able to use their size to lead them into halftime leading 29-22. 

The Ducks took a 38-27 lead with 15:48 to play in the game when Horstmeyer took a key timeout.  

“I told the team that all we had to do was stay close to them (Oregon),” said Horstmeyer. “If we stayed close, we would win the game.” The Bears turned up the defensive pressure, with a hand contesting every Oregon shot and deflecting seemingly every pass. Meanwhile, Corley started to heat up on offense, beating her defender off the dribble for easy layups seemingly at will. Finally, Johnson finished a 14-2 run with two free throws to put Cal in the lead, 48-47, with 7:07 to play. By that time, crowd, band, and team had all reached a fever pitch. The momentum, and the game, had shifted to Cal. 

Though the Bears were pleased with the victory, the hunger remains for more.  

“Right now, we’re waiting for Stanford,” said Corley. “We’re not satisfied until we get Stanford.”  

The Bears get their chance Friday night at Maples Pavilion, where Cal will try to eliminate another 15-game losing streak. Cal lost to their arch-rivals, 63-56, last month at Haas Pavilion.

Professor Emeritus Edward Robert Francis Ward (“Ted”) Crossman, of the College of Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, died Monday, February 5th, 2001.  

Conceding a brief battle with Lymphoma, he died at home. Although he retired in 1987, he maintained an office in Etcheverry Hall until the time of his death, where he continued to meet with graduate students.  

Professor Crossman was a pioneer in the field of human performance and skill, sociotechnical systems, organization, and interactive computer systems, and conducted early research in pilot aircraft dynamics and human factors. After earning his Ph.D. in Engineering Production from Birmingham University in 1956, he went on to teach at both Oxford and Reading Universities in England. He joined the Berkeley faculty in 1964, when he was invited to begin a program in Applied Psychology and Human Factors in Engineering. Emigrating here with his wife and four children, he arrived just in time to witness the Free Speech Movement and blossoming of the Counter Cultural Phenomenon. He served as department chair for one year, 1969-1970, resigning in protest over the administration’s handling of the student demonstrations. He became a naturalized citizen in 1976.  

Born September 25, 1925 in Hambrooke, Bristol, England, Crossman served with the Royal Air Force during World War Two. He was in Hiroshima, Japan immediately after the bombing.  

An early radio and computer aficionado, tinkerer and inventor, Crossman was working on developing a special foam rubber that he felt could be used to build the most comfortable bed.  

Preceded in death by his oldest son, Francis Hedley Danvers Crossman, and his only daughter, Lucia Edna Alice Crossman, he is survived by two sons and four grandchildren.  

A memorial service for Professor Crossman will be held Saturday, February 17th, at 1:00 p.m. at the Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. at Walnut, Berkeley.  

Donations may be made in his honor to the Berkeley Free Clinic.

The Berkeley High School freshman baseball team’s season is in danger of being canceled due to California’s current power shortage. 

The Berkeley City Council will decide at Tuesday’s meeting whether Willard Park, where the team practices and plays, will be included in the shutdown of city sports facility lights. 

“If there were no lights at Willard, there would be no freshman season,” Berkeley head baseball coach Tim Moellering said. “All of their practices and home games are at night and at Willard.” 

Last week, the city decided to shut down all lights at city sports facilities during Stage 2 and Stage 3 energy crises, which have become common in the past months. But Moellering contacted city officials, who decided to let the lights at Willard stay on until a permanent decision could be reached. 

The city controls the lights at Willard, unlike the lights at Berkeley High and UC Berkeley, because it paid $153,000 to expand field use by upgrading the lights. The city pays the electric bill even though the lights are on Berkeley Unified School District property. The district pays the electric bill at Berkeley High. 

Moellering said the Willard situation is different than other Berkeley fields, which host recreational activities. 

“I think I could live if I couldn’t play softball at night, but it’s important to these kids to be able to play,” he said. 

Margie Gurdziel, whose child plays on the freshman team, thinks the city is being unfair. 

“I’d hate to see the season disintegrate because the city is making a political statement,” Gurdziel said. “It seems very unfair.” 

The Berkeley City Council meeting is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the City Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, second floor.

Bay Area Clean Water Agencies wants to light a fire under local residents to get them to change their ways. 

The group is asking people to cut down on their use of fireplaces and wood burning stoves during the cold winter months.  

Instead, they offer alternatives such as gas inserts or EPA certified pellet stones. 

“Wood burning is a major source of dioxin — the same pollutant that comes from diesel engines,'' said Phil Bobel, spokesman for Bay Area Clean Water Agencies.  

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District reports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently listed the San Francisco Bay as impaired due to the build-up of dioxins. 

“First, pollutants are released into the air,” Bobel said. “But they ultimately land in the water. It all goes back to the old adage:  

What goes up must come down.” 

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District's Teresa Lee is urging people not to try to lower their rising utility bills by using their fireplaces.  

“Even with the cold weather we've been having, it's still inefficient to try to heat your home using a fireplace,'' she said.  

“You'll be warmed if you sit within six feet of the fire, but the rest of your house is getting colder as outdoor air leaks in to replace the hot air that's gone up the chimney.” 

Water quality officials report that the National Toxicology Program announced that it is adding dioxin to a federal list of substances “known to be human carcinogens.” 

“It's very simple,” Bobel explains. “We need Bay area residents to consider cleaner burning alternatives so we can reduce pollution in the air and our waters.” 

For those who insist on building fires, the group suggests they use manufactured logs which are up to 50 percent cleaner than regular wood, avoid using soft woods like cedar, pine or redwood and never burn garbage, plastic, glossy or colored paper or scrap wood that has been painted or stained.

Led by the outstanding pitching of senior right-hander Nate Fernley and two-run homers by Michael Wirrick and Michael Davies, Brigham Young shutout the California baseball team, 4-0, Saturday afternoon at Evans Diamond.  

The Bears fall to 4-2 on the season, while the Cougars improve to 6-4 overall. BYU won the first game of the series, 2-1, Thursday, while Cal won game two, 5-3, Friday.  

Fernley improved his record to 4-0 in impressive fashion. He threw a complete game, allowing only three hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts.  

The Cougars scored their runs on a two-run homer by Davies off of Bear starter Ryan Atkinson in the second inning, and Wirrick’s two-run round-tripper in the sixth inning off of Bears freshman Brian Montalbo.  

Cal did not get a hit off of Fernley until freshman Conor Jackson’s infield single in the fourth inning. The Bears could only muster two other hits, pinch-hitter Spencer Wyman’s single to right field in the eighth inning and Jackson’s double down the left field line in the ninth inning.  

Besides Wirrick and Davies two-run homers, Tim Law also helped BYU, going 3-for-4.  

Cal will next travel to Pacific on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Billy Hebert Field in Stockton.

SAN FRANCISCO — Major record labels are hoping today’s long-awaited appellate court ruling in their case against Napster Inc. will cripple the online music service, forcing millions of computer users to begin paying for the songs Napster allowed them to get for free. 

If Napster wins, the ruling could unleash any number of new ventures waiting for guidance on whether the “personal use” exception to copyright law prohibits trading songs over the Internet. 

Even if Napster loses, the song-swapping technology it unleashed is here to stay, particularly in the music business, which both loathes and loves the idea of getting music to consumers via the Internet, and is developing a range of pay-for-play schemes. 

“Monday’s decision may finally clear the way for the legitimate online marketplace to thrive in an environment that encourages both creativity and a respect for copyright,” said Hilary Rosen, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, in a statement Friday. 

The five largest record labels — Sony, Warner, BMG, EMI and Universal — sued the Redwood City-based startup as soon as the service took off, saying it could rob them of billions of dollars in profits. 

The issue before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is whether to uphold U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel’s July injunction ordering Napster shut down pending a trial over the music industry lawsuit. 

But the three-judge appellate panel also could rule more broadly, describing how copyright law should apply to emerging technologies that make it ever more difficult to control and profit from the distribution of music as well as software, books, movies and other creative content. 

Respect for copyrights and artists royalties has been all but ignored since Napster founder Shawn Fanning released software in May 1999 that made it easy for anyone with a personal computer to search vast directories for the songs they want, and then download and trade them as MP3 files. 

These files can be copied endlessly with no loss in sound quality — a quantum leap from the “personal use” of cassette tapes and other music formats. 

But the concept of “peer-to-peer” song trading proved too popular to contain. As Napster users grew by the millions, other kinds of file-sharing programs also popped up, such as Gnutella and Freenet, ensuring that Internet music giveaways will continue. And the labels themselves are looking to use the same technology, only with paying subscribers and secure digital formats that prevent copying. 

Since the judges began deliberating in October, Napster has made friends with former business foes like Bertelsmann AG, the parent company of the BMG music unit. The German media giant has promised much-needed capital if Napster switches to a subscription-based service that pays artists’ royalties. 

But Bertelsmann’s move did not start an avalanche of similar Napster deals. The other four major labels are holding out for Napster’s demise. And new companies positioning themselves as resellers or aggregators of music content have enjoyed mild success at best. 

One reason is that they’ve been charging consumers for what Napster users can get for free. Another is that Napster has hardly been the only player the recording industry has dragged into court. 

Riffage.com, a music Web site geared toward bringing emerging artists to eager listeners, folded in December. Last month, online music retailer EMusic.com cut more than one-third of its staff and sent three top executives packing. Last week, the ripple effect brought down the Internet Underground Music Archive. The IUMA.com Web site was one of the first resources for unsigned artists before it was acquired last year by then high-flying EMusic. 

Napster fans flocked to Scour Inc. in July when it briefly appeared that the federal injunction against Napster might stick. But Scour’s similar file-sharing application also fell victim to copyright lawsuits and shut down in October. The Michael Ovitz-backed venture allowed users to share music, video, images and software. 

Gnutella, for one, appears to be lawsuit-proof. Instead of dialing in to a server like Napster or Scour services, Gnutella offers a distributed networking system where each online user is in direct contact with all others without an intermediary. 

The freely distributed Gnutella software offers no company to sue, but it is more demanding on personal computers and has yet to enjoy Napster’s popularity.  

That could change as renegade developers make it compatible with new search engines and build more applications around it. 

U.S. copyright law includes a “doctrine of fair use” which allows copies to be made and used without permission if the copying is for a nonprofit purpose, and won’t cause the creative content to lose value in the marketplace. 

Whether Napster is costing the record industry billions — or growing their customer base — is a matter of debate. 

On the eve of Monday’s ruling, University of Southern California constitutional law professor Erwin Chemerinsky wondered whether record companies would have any financial incentive to produce music if it is increasingly copied and given away electronically. 

“Authors and producers need the assurance of a return that free downloading undermines,” Chemerinsky said. “Napster is a real threat to creativity and production.” 

But a recent appellate ruling in another MP3 case sided against the music industry right to clamp down on computer duplications of musical works.

Case is still unsolved, and many questions are still unanswered in child’s death 

VALLEJO – Sometimes Stephanie Kahalekulu wakes up at night, wondering. 

She wonders why the bubbly 7-year-old she helped raise vanished six months after going to live with her birth mother. She wonders how the girl’s remains came to be abandoned on a wooded hillside. 

She wonders what happened in between. 

The search for Xiana Fairchild ended this month with the discovery of a small skull in the green splendor of the Santa Cruz mountains. The search for answers goes on. Chief among the questions: What happened to Xiana? Are the adults who had charge of her telling the truth? And does a jailed cab driver hold a key to the case? 

“I need to know,” says Kahalekulu. “Knowing is hard and it hurts but it’s nothing compared to going through it and she went through it.” 

——— 

Xiana’s story began grimly. She was born when her mother, Antoinette Robinson, was in prison for auto theft. But soon she was living in Hawaii with her great-grandmother and Kahalekulu, a very young great-aunt — 36 — because of the wide age disparity in the family. 

Family pictures show a bright-eyed child with a mass of curly black hair, playing in a laundry basket, standing on a beach, opening presents. Always, there is the brilliant smile, one that had become a gap-toothed grin by her final pictures. 

“She was in her own little giggly world, really,” says Kahalekulu, laughing as she recalled how Xiana, neat even as a small child, used to clean off each step before climbing up a slide. 

In June 1999, Xiana was reclaimed by her mother, who had moved to the former Navy town of Vallejo, about 35 miles north of San Francisco. 

Kahalekulu, who’d moved to Colorado at that point, was against the idea but didn’t have any legal standing. 

She made do with frequent phone calls; the last was on Thanksgiving 1999. “We asked her direct questions as to how she was doing. Her answers didn’t give any indication that anything was wrong.” Toward the end of the conversation, Xiana and Kahalekulu’s young daughter began chatting about Christmas; after hearing the promise, “Mommy will buy you that,” Kahalekulu picked up the phone with a smile. “I said, ’What am I buying you for Christmas? She said, ‘You’re buying me a Gameboy for Christmas.’ I said, ‘Oh well, we’ll see.”’ 

Two weeks later, Xiana was gone. 

——— 

From the beginning, the case was shrouded in ambiguity. 

Xiana was reported missing on Dec. 9, 1999, by her mother. Robinson’s live-in boyfriend, Robert Turnbough, told police he had dropped Xiana off at the school bus stop. 

Turnbough would later say that Xiana left the house by herself. He said he lied because he was afraid he would become a suspect since he had once been convicted for scalding a 9-month-old. A few days later, the gray sweat pants Turnbough had said Xiana was wearing when she disappeared turned up in the laundry. Turnbough said he had assumed that was what the girl was wearing. 

Kahalekulu, who’d flown in to search for Xiana, was horrified. She walked through the neighborhoods Xiana walked on her way to the bus stop, heard neighbors tell how Xiana was sometimes locked out of the apartment in the afternoons, watched as Turnbough’s stories faltered. 

“I would like to know what way it is that you make someone tell the truth,” she lamented. 

Turnbough and Robinson subsequently appeared before a federal grand jury. Vallejo police describe both as being under “a cloud of suspicion,” but no charges have been filed. Both deny having anything to do with Xiana’s disappearance. 

Turnbough called an impromptu news conference to declare his innocence. “I might do drugs and mess up a bit, but I am not a monster,” he said. 

Robinson’s lawyer, Dan Healy, says his client’s been maligned. 

“They’ve treated the mother of a murdered child like dirt,” he said. 

——— 

Xiana’s disappearance sent a tremor through the Bay area, which has been hit with a number of child abductions, including the 1993 kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas from Petaluma. 

Within days, a volunteer search center was in place and fliers flapped from telephone poles. 

Then, in the summer of 2000, something extraordinary happened. 

Another girl was kidnapped from the streets of Vallejo — and escaped. Shackled to the front seat of the kidnapper’s car for two days, the girl first tried to pick the lock with a nail file and, when that didn’t work, grabbed a ring of keys when her abductor was out of the car and freed herself, flagging down a passing truck and diving through the open window of his cab. 

Kahalekulu cried when she heard about the kidnapping. “There was the exact same feeling of not knowing what to do and feeling that I needed to find her, find her right this minute because something horrible must be happening right now and then not being able to do anything because you can run as far as you can and you can’t find the child.” 

She was thrilled when the girl escaped — and prayed that shy Xiana would be able to summon up the same temerity. “I was hoping, ’Have it in you. Just once — that’s all you need to get away.”’ 

The man arrested in the 8-year-old’s kidnapping, former Vallejo cab driver Curtis Dean Anderson, 39, turned out to have a long history of abusing women. He also had lived in Vallejo at the time Xiana disappeared and had worked for the same cab company for which Robinson and Turnbough had once worked, although not at the same time. 

From jail, Anderson made a number of rambling statements, including reportedly telling Kahalekulu he kidnapped Xiana and kept her for two weeks and then gave her, alive, to someone else. He also said he once gave Xiana a ride in his cab. 

Kahalekulu continues to visit Anderson in jail, sure that he’s guilty. 

Police, who took Anderson to the spot where Xiana’s skull was found but didn’t pick up any new information out of the trip, say it’s not clear whether Anderson knows something or is just fond of publicity. 

“There’s no evidence that links Mr. Anderson to the Xiana Fairchild case,” said Santa Clara Sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Eastus. 

Anderson’s attorney, Carl Spieckerman, did not return a telephone call to The Associated Press. But he has said that there’s no evidence corroborating Anderson’s reported statements. 

After the skull was found, tests put the time of death six months back, close to the time of the second kidnapping, although officials now say those reports are premature and the death could have taken place much earlier. 

Kahalekulu dearly hopes they’re right. 

“I wake up in the middle of the night,” she said. 

——— 

On a quiet winter’s morning, a sharp wind whistles around the corner of the search center in a donated storefront and ruffles three wilted balloons tied to the front door. The lonely cry of a seagull echoes overhead. 

Someone has left a teddy bear that has fallen on its face; a woman passing by stoops to straighten it. 

Posted in the window, a flier announcing Xiana’s disappearance bears the handwritten addition, “We will always remember you.” 

A dispute with another child advocate over donations earlier this year was a setback, but Kahalekulu plans to keep the center open for now. 

Summing up Xiana’s life for a speech to the volunteers who helped look for her, Kahalekulu focused on how the 7-year-old lived, not how she died. 

“Picture her now running and laughing and giggling her classic Xiana giggle. Be happy for her,” she said. “She is safe in the arms of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

SAN DIEGO – Some wanted to support renewable energy sources such as solar power. Others sought cheaper rates. Some just didn’t like the state’s three utility companies. 

Whatever their motives, most of the more than 200,000 Californians who signed with independent electricity companies are being switched back to their old utilities as the state’s experiment with retail power competition comes to a messy end. 

“It has effectively been killed in its youth,” said Michael Shames, executive director of the Utility Consumers’ Action Network in San Diego. 

Meanwhile, California remained at a Stage 3 power alert for the 27th straight day on Sunday. Power reserves remained low but no rolling blackouts were reported. 

Most independent electric companies began halting their California operations in recent weeks, unable to pass the skyrocketing wholesale price of power to consumers. Then Gov. Gray Davis suspended any expansion of retail competition as part of an emergency power law. 

The corporate retreat, which includes at least one company that sold power over the Internet and another that managed to serve 7 percent of the city of Palm Springs, is seen as another element of the state’s failed deregulation effort. 

For years, California consumers could only buy their power from three utilities — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric. But in 1998, regulators authorized independent firms to sell energy. 

The experiment unraveled as wholesale energy prices began to skyrocket this summer. The government froze the utilities’ rates but not those of independent firms. 

That turned out to be a hard lesson for Yvonne Gaston, a retired teacher from El Cajon. She signed up with Green Mountain Energy Co. of Austin, Texas, because she liked the company’s use of renewable energy. 

But her last bill climbed to nearly $600 as she paid 26 cents per kilowatt hour while her neighbors with SDG&E service were charged the capped rate of 6.5 cents. 

“They should have told me I was going to get this huge, horrible bill,” said Gaston, 60. “I feel like it was a betrayal.” 

Last month, Gaston dropped her Green Mountain service, just before the company switched most of its customers back to their original utility. 

California’s experiment with independent providers had started out with great expectations. 

The independents had expected 150,000 customers a month would switch from Southern California Edison, said Denise Grant, director of the utility’s division that works with retailers. 

“There was a lot of eagerness and ambition about the potential for the market in California,” she said. 

When the state market opened, some 300 companies signaled interest. But only about three dozen energy service providers, or ESPs, actually went through the cumbersome process to get permits. 

Those who did then had the challenge of persuading consumers to make the switch to an unknown entity. While ESPs were assigned large blocks of customers when Pennsylvania deregulated its market, companies in California had to go out and find them. Green Mountain, for one, set up booths at swap meets and grocery stores. 

In the end, the switch was made by fewer than 225,000 Californians, or less than 2 percent of the state. 

By comparison, Edison, the state’s largest utility, has 4.3 million customers. 

Commonwealth Energy Corp. of Tustin retains about 70,000 accounts because, early on, it purchased long-term wholesale power contracts that assured it some price stability, spokesman Roy Reeves said. 

But most of the other ESPs have dropped out of the market, at least temporarily, including Utility.com, GoGreen.com, and New West Energy. Green Mountain’s customer base has dropped from 60,000 clients to about 8,000 who had long-term service contracts. 

“We’re back to a monopoly,” Green Mountain spokesman Rick Counihan said.

CAMARILLO – Gasoline pump prices remained steady over the past three weeks despite falling crude oil costs and lower winter demand, an industry analyst said Sunday. 

The average price of gas nationwide on Friday was about $1.52 per gallon, down just .07 cents from Jan. 19, according to the Lundberg Survey of 7,500 stations. 

The retail price dipped less than a penny per gallon in much of the country. That was offset by slight increases in the Rocky Mountain and Western coastal states, which had seen prices dip in the previous two-week period, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said. 

Various regions “do not move in lockstep together,” Lundberg said. 

The steady state followed an average hike of 4 cents per gallon in the previous period. Gas prices still remain nearly 19 cents lower than they were last June, when the average price reached more than $1.71 per gallon. 

Lundberg said prices should remain steady and could dip again “if there are no problems in the system (of) refining or distribution.” 

The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was about $1.49 for regular unleaded, $1.59 for midgrade and $1.68 for premium. At full-service pumps, the average was about $1.86 for regular unleaded, $1.95 for midgrade and $2.03 for premium.

CARMEL – Members of a displaced American Indian tribe say their ancestors deserve recognition for building and maintaining California’s first mission here some 230 years ago, but the Roman Catholic Church says the tribe is simply grasping at a way to win federal tribal status. 

Chief Tony Cerda of the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel tribe led a prayer dance Saturday afternoon at the Monterey Presidio, the site where he said his ancestors first greeted Father Junipero Serra in 1770. 

Cerda’s dance included chants in a circle with 20 tribe members in full regalia. The group then marched about a mile through town with a police escort and later drove four miles south to Carmel to deliver a “peace pouch” of tobacco, sage and acorn meal to the Mission San Carlos Borromeo. 

“We want them to recognize us and our ancestors,” Cerda explained. 

But the rainy demonstration met opposition from another tribe that said Cerda has no claim that his forefathers first inhabited the Carmel mission. 

“I don’t respect someone who comes into my territory and does all these demonstrations,” Rudolph Rosales, tribal chair of the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation in Monterey, told reporters. 

“This is my home,” Rosales said. “I’m not going to sit at home and watch something like this go on when my family did as much as his did.” 

Cerda and his tribe of about 1,500 members are based in Chino, just east of Los Angeles, where they migrated after Mexicans took over the Spanish missions in the 1830s. But he said his ancestors were the first American Indians to come to the Carmel mission after his forebear, Chief Chanjay, persuaded them to go. 

Cerda said he has provided the mission with documents showing that the Rumsen tribe helped build and maintain the facility where Serra lived, worked and was buried in 1784. 

“We welcomed them. We gave them food, we have them deer, we gave them fish,” Cerda said. “If it hadn’t been for our people, they wouldn’t have survived.” 

At the end of the demonstration, Cerda delivered the peach pouch to the Carmel mission. It was intended for Monsignor Declan Murphy, but a receptionist said he was not there and would not accept it for him. Cerda left the pouch at the door. 

In September, a Los Angeles-area public relations firm hired by the tribe sent Murphy a letter asking that the Diocese of Monterey recognize the tribe’s contributions to the mission. 

But an attorney representing the church said the Rumsens have made unreasonable demands in an attempt to gain tribal status with the federal government. 

“It takes the government 20 years to recognize a tribe, and they want to use our name for some other purpose, and that is not appropriate,” said Rick Harray, general counsel to the diocese. “Being a pawn in vying for tribal status is offensive.” 

While Cerda agrees a letter from the church might help the tribe gain formal recognition, he said that’s not the point. 

“All we want is recognition that we were the first,” said Cerda, who is Catholic. “We’re not trying to take over the mission or claim the land.” 

But Harray said that’s not the message he got when Cerda’s tribe sent a letter asking the mission to put the tribe’s name on its stationary, erect a bronze statue of a Rumsen Indian and change the inscription on a cross to include the tribe’s name. 

“They want exclusive recognition as the only group, and they want to tell a Catholic church what to put on their cross,” Harray said. “That’s pretty cheeky.” 

The Catholic Church has recognized the importance of the mission with a minor basilica designation in 1960 and a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1987. 

Problems between California tribes and the church go back hundreds of years. 

“The mission Indians had to work to feed themselves and support the entire military, including the presidio in San Francisco,” said Jack Forbes, Native American Studies professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis. “They were a form of captive.” 

He said Serra, the Franciscan missionary who founded California’s missions, wasn’t as benevolent as some may think. Many indigenous people died from disease, bad diets or poor living conditions during his conversion attempts. 

After the Mexicans took over the Spanish missions, dozens of tribes dispersed to surrounding lands. 

“The Catholic church eventually got titled to the mission building itself,” Forbes said. “The Indians didn’t get any of the land.” 

And Harray said that’s not about to change. While generic reference to American Indians already exist at the mission, he said it wouldn’t be fair to grant one tribe exclusive recognition. 

“Once you throw things like that that look like demands, you have poisoned the atmosphere,” he said. “These are not waters we can fish in.”

Stolen Koalas were beaten, zoo officials say 

SAN FRANCISCO — The two koalas kidnapped in December from the San Francisco Zoo and later recovered were beaten by the two teens who abducted them, officials said Friday. 

Zoo animal keeper Nancy Rumsey told a juvenile court judge that the older koala, 15-year-old Pat, was beaten “to submission” and briefly fled up a tree while attempting to escape her captor. 

Rumsey’s testimony came at a sentencing hearing for two boys, ages 15 and 17, who stole the koalas from the zoo December 27. 

“I noticed right away that (Pat’s) lower jaw was swollen and she had trouble walking,” Rumsey said. “She was really wobbly and continues to be disoriented.” 

Veterinarians who conducted initial examinations said the koalas appeared to be in good condition, and were later told about the maltreatment. 

The koalas were recovered Dec. 28 after an anonymous tip led police to the house where the animals were being kept. 

The teen-agers pleaded guilty to charges of burglary, possession of stolen property and grand theft. Their sentencing has been postponed until April. 

Peninsula city to get new public high school 

EAST PALO ALTO — This fall, high school students here could finally be able to walk to school. 

A long-awaited public high school approved Thursday for East Palo Alto will be the first in the city for 25 years. Students in the city have been bused to schools in other cities since 1976, when Ravenswood High closed. 

The Ravenswood City School District board authorized the college preparatory charter school to open in September with 80 students. 

“The community is happy,” said Superintendent Charlie Mae Knight. “It was like Camelot again in East Palo Alto.” 

A lottery system will decide who will attend the school from the district, which covers East Palo Alto and east Menlo Park. 

The school will be operated by Aspire Public Schools, a nonprofit co-founded by a former superintendent of San Carlos schools. 

Kidnap suspect causes trouble 

VALLEJO — Kidnapping suspect Curtis Dean Anderson allegedly struck a Solano County jail officer Friday. 

Anderson was being transported to a court hearing at about 6:30 a.m. when the incident occurred. 

Solano County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Gary Faulkner said Anderson struck an officer with his open hand and then spit blood on the officers face. 

Anderson is in jail on charges that he kidnapped and sexually assaulted an 8-year-old Vallejo girl last year. 

Anderson has also been questioned in connection with death of Xiana Fairchild. The seven-year-old went missing in 1999 and her skull was recently found in the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

No arrests have been made in that case. 

Flasher clown faces ban 

CLAYTON (AP) — Flasher the Clown’s “dog in the pants” act has gotten him in trouble before, and the children’s entertainer may now be banned from a family Fourth of July parade. 

“We have no problem with Mr. Manion,” said Ben Jay, parade chairman. “But it becomes a problem when he flashes his coat - a dog pops out of his pants and he wants kids to pet it.” 

Bob Manion is familiar with criticism of the act he has performed for 30 years — he was also banned him from the Walnut Festival in Walnut Creek. 

The Clayton parade committee has fielded complaints from the public and committee members for the past two years. It renewed deliberations last week to decide whether Flasher will return, and could decide as early as next month. 

Manion was taken aback with the news that he may not be welcome at the parade. 

“It’s ludicrous. I can’t believe this,” he said. 

The 59-year-old father of three has said he is not being rude or insensitive, that he just wants to make kids laugh. Supporters, such as Clayton Councilwoman Julie Pierce, called critics “a little bit hypersensitive.” 

Man arrested for passing out Bibles 

SAN RAMON (AP) — A man has been arrested for passing out Bibles at a middle school and refusing to leave school grounds. 

Jerome Denham, a 65-year-old Walnut Creek resident, told officials he was “doing God’s work” as he gave the books to drivers who were picking up students at Pine Valley Middle School. 

Eight other people who were members of Gideons International were also handing out Bibles on the sidewalk, but they were not on school property and were not arrested. Gideons International distributes Bibles to motels, hospitals and others. 

School officials said that even after repeated requests, Denham would not leave the area where he stood, which slowed the flow of traffic on campus. 

“It has nothing to do with distributing Bibles, which is within their right to do,” said San Ramon Valley school district spokesman Terry Koehne. “The issue was a safety issue,” he said. 

Koehne said the district will not press charges against Denham. 

Bus catches fire 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An electric bus caught fire in the city’s financial district Saturday afternoon. 

The incident happened as the Muni trolley coach was unloading passengers in downtown around the financial district. The driver was able to usher his five passengers off the bus through the front door as the back of the vehicle went up in flames, and no one was injured. 

The blaze blew out the vehicle’s windows and melted the seats. 

Passengers said they have never seen an electric bus catch fire. A Muni spokeswoman said the fire started where the electricity comes through overhead wires to power the bus.

SAN FRANCISCO – Power regulators report that many businesses enjoying lower electricity rates “gamed” the state by not cutting power when asked to help avert rolling blackouts. 

The Public Utilities Commission report, released Thursday, cites “serious problems” of compliance with the so-called interruptible program that regulators have relied on to ease pressure on California’s strained power grid. 

Last year, it said, only 62 percent of Southern California Edison’s interruptible customers cut power when asked. Meanwhile, 90 percent of Pacific Gas & Electric customers did so. 

“Numerous customers, including some schools and hospitals, ’gamed’ Edison’s tariffs,” the report said. “Edison’s low compliance rate has likely been caused by a number of customers who should never have signed up for Edison’s program in the first place.” 

The PUC has estimated customers signing interruptible contracts with SoCal Edison, PG&E and San Diego Gas and Electric have saved $2 billion since 1986. 

Utility officials said the slump in compliance reflected difficult times. 

“It’s a business decision they have to make,” SoCal Edison spokesman Steve Conroy said. “The compliance rate is certainly not what we’d like to see, but it has certainly been to a degree that it has prevented rolling blackouts in the Southern California area.” 

Under the program, businesses earn a roughly 15 percent discount on their power bill in exchange for curtailing use during times of peak demand. 

Until recently, such outages were rare, occurring primarily during hot summer months. But over the past three months, calls for interruptions became an almost daily routine. California’s roughly 1,700 interruptible customers could opt to leave the lights on during the voluntary outages, but had to pay 100 times normal rates for doing so. 

Indeed, last year PG&E customers were assessed $2.2 million in penalties for ignoring conservation calls, while SoCal Edison customers were assessed $92.4 million. 

But some of those fines may go unpaid. 

Companies cried foul after some were asked to kill power for six hour stretches, sometimes three times per day. 

In response, last month the PUC voted to suspend the penalties, reasoning that interruptible customers have borne a disproportionate burden during the state’s power crisis. 

Businesses now face no penalty for refusing to cut their power, but will continue to receive the rate discount for joining the program. 

PG&E spokesman Ron Low said his utility still regularly asks large customers to curtail usage during peak periods. He said responses have been generally good. 

The report also suggested a series of improvements to the program. 

Among these were a review to see which current participants might be removed from the program. 

The report also suggested a new scheme under which participants would agree to 25 hours of interruptions per month. Once they have cut power for 25 hours, they would receive a subsidy for cutting further. Participants could also identify five non interruptible days per month.

SAN FRANCISCO – When Epinions.com raised $33 million in 1999, CEO Nirav Tolia received the red-carpet treatment from adoring venture capitalists making a mint off the dot-com craze. 

A year later, Tolia ran into one cold shoulder after another as he scraped to raise a few million dollars more to keep his company’s product review Web site afloat during a sobering downturn in the Internet industry. 

“I have worn out 10 sets of knee pads begging people for money,” Tolia, 29, said. 

“If venture capitalists hear you are an Internet company dependent on advertising, they tell you they’re not interested. If they hear you are an e-commerce company, they slam the door in your face. If they hear you are a business-to-consumer company, they say they never want to see you again.” 

In a rare vote of confidence for a consumer-focused Web site, Epinions finally managed to secure $12 million in venture capital from BV Capital, Benchmark Capital, August Capital, Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co. The company plans to announce the cash infusion Monday. 

The money will be enough to tide over Epinions.com until the Brisbane-based company begins making money at the end of this year, Tolia said. 

Not all the employees who helped build Epinions’ site will be around for the rest of the journey. Just before the company secured the venture capital, Epinions laid off 24 employees, representing a 27 percent cut in its payroll. 

Venture capitalists didn’t demand cuts, but the layoffs “proved to our investors that we are fiscally responsible,” said Tolia, who cried as he delivered the bad news to employees. “It was just the right thing to do for the business.” 

The gauntlet that Epinions navigated en route to its final round of venture capital is another sign of the daunting times facing Internet companies, particularly those with sites primarily aimed at consumers. 

Venture capitalists are still pouring billions of dollars into the development of the Internet, but just a trickle is going to the whiz kids who promised to revolutionize the world by peddling goods and information over the Web. 

E-commerce companies received $114.6 million, or 1 percent, of the $11 billion of venture capital invested in the Internet during the fourth quarter of 2000, according to data compiled by VentureOne and PricewaterhouseCoopers. A year earlier, e-commerce companies received 1.4 billion, or 11 percent, of the $13.3 billion that venture capitalists invested in the Internet. 

Online content companies fared only a little better with venture capitalists. In the fourth quarter of 2000, venture capitalists invested $357 million in online content companies, a 49 percent decline from the same 1999 period. 

The falloff reflects the dismal track record of the pioneering commerce and content sites that squandered a torrent of venture capital over the past year. 

Since last February, 77 e-commerce and online content companies have failed, according to a “Dot-Com Flop Tracker” run by the Industry Standard, a San Francisco-based magazine devoted to the Internet economy. Virtually all of these unprofitable companies failed because venture capitalists refused to invest additional money. 

If anything, the outlook for this sector is turning even bleaker as advertisers curtail their spending and formidable retailers set up their own Web sites to complement their brick-and-mortar chains. 

“Venture capitalists are looking for a reason not to invest in (commerce and content) companies now,” said Bill Gurley, a partner at Benchmark Capital. “They are pulling into their shells, like a tortoise.” 

The hot investment spot on the Internet now appears to be “infrastructure” — a catchall used to describe start-ups building tools that make it easier to surf the Internet. 

Internet infrastructure companies received $3.4 billion in venture capital during the fourth quarter, doubling the $1.7 billion that flowed to the sector in the prior year, according to VentureOne. 

“If you are building a business around fiber optics equipment, you are going to attract a lot of interest. If you are a guy trying to develop a content or commerce site, it’s extremely tough right now,” said John Gabbert, VentureOne’s director of research. “Venture capitalists are questioning business plans more stringently than they had been.” 

Unlike the past few years, venture capitalists no longer are focusing on many people visit a Web site. 

In Epinions’ case, it didn’t matter that the site has emerged as powerful magnet among shoppers, with 2.3 million unique visitors in January, according to PC Data Online. It didn’t matter that Epinions is the second most popular “ask and advise” site behind Keen.com and the 348th most trafficked site on the Web or that its traffic has doubled in the past six months. 

In a series of meetings spread over several months, Tolia had to show how Epinions would make money and convince them that the breakthrough would occur in a matter of months, rather than years. 

Going through the grinder gave Tolia extra incentive to make sure Epinions becomes profitable. 

“I never want to have to raise money again,” he said.

A detoxified and newly designed Harrison Street Skate Park project may soon be rolling again after the discovery of contaminated groundwater halted construction last November. 

The City Council will consider a request from the city manager for $115,000 to complete the clean up of contaminated groundwater and $50,000 to hire designers to develop new skate park plans. Lisa Caronna, director of Parks and Waterfront, said if the funds are granted the new plans could be ready for review this month. 

The skate bowls, nine-foot-deep concrete skating areas, were being excavated last November when the carcinogen chromium 6 was discovered in groundwater that had seeped into the bowls. Construction was stopped and the City Council approved emergency funding of $100,000 for the removal and treatment of the water. 

Some 120,000 gallons of contaminated water was removed from the site and another 80,000 gallons are currently being stored in four enclosed tanks adjacent to the site, according to Hazardous Materials Supervisor Nabil Al-Hadithy. 

Al-Hadithy said some of the additional $115,000 being requested from the City Council will be used to treat the groundwater in the tanks with iron sulfate, which will render the chromium 6 into a benign form known as chromium 3 or metallic chromium.  

Once treatment is complete, the groundwater will be released into the sanitary sewer system. The city is in contract with the environmental engineering company SECORE Inc. to carry out the groundwater treatment. 

Al-Hadithy said the treatment plan was complex to design. “It really was a great deal of work,” he said. “We worked with outside chemists and chemical engineers to develop the plan.” 

In addition to treating the groundwater in the bowls with bisulfate, the bases will be filled with crushed rocks and sealed off. Al-Hadithy said the bisulfate treatment would provide an added margin of safety. 

“Once completed there will be no route of exposure,” Al-Hadithy said. “It will be double and triple sealed.” 

City officials would like to have the work completed as soon as possible. According to a staff report, Harrison Field, immediately north of the skate park, is scheduled to open for adult soccer teams on Feb. 18. Youth soccer is scheduled to begin on March 11. 

The soccer field use does not depend on the decontamination of the skate park area. 

A temporary fence has been erected around the skate park site and signs have been posted in English and Spanish, warning soccer players to not enter the construction site. 

Because of the contaminated groundwater plume beneath the skate park, the design will have to be changed. The Parks and Waterfront Department has requested $50,000 to redesign the bowls so they rest above ground. 

Caronna said the city will hire a skate park designer and a structural engineer to create the new design. She said the two excavated bowls on the east side of the park will probably not be re-designed. 

“We should be able to save about 50 percent of the work already done,” Caronna said. “But the two bowls to the west will probably have to be raised.” 

The estimated cost of the Skate Park is $400,000, which is only $20,000 more than the original budget according to the staff report prepared by the city manager. 

However, if the cost of the toxic clean up is added to the overall cost of the skate park, the project is about $235,000 over its original budget.

Saturday, Feb. 10

Spirits in the Time of AIDS Open Mic.  

1 p.m. 

Pro Arts Gallery  

461 Ninth St.  

Oakland  

As part of “Consecrations,” the public is invited to see special performances, spoken word, commentary and more.  

Call 763-9425 

Masters of Persian Classical Music 

8 p.m. 

Zellerbach Hall  

UC Berkeley  

Featuring vocalist Mohammad Reza Sharjarian and his son, Homayoun Sharjarian.  

$20 - $40  

Call 642-9988 or e-mail tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Dreams & Intuition 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

1502 Tenth St.  

Marcia Emery, Ph.D., will discuss how to attune your intuitive dream antenna, intuitively unravel the symbolic message of a dream symbol and apply an intuitive dream interpretation method to the entire dream.  

$85  

Call 526-5510 

“The West Wing Meets the East Bay” 

7:30 p.m. 

Saint Joseph the Worker Church 

1640 Addison St.  

A conversation with Martin Sheen. Tickets available at Black Oak Books, Cody’s Books, St. Joseph the Worker Church, and at the door.  

$20 donation 

525-3787  

Annuals for the Dry Garden 

10 a.m. 

UC Botanical Garden 

200 Centennial Drive  

Annie Hayes of Annie’s annuals will suggest some annuals to plant in gardens that are water-deprived during the summer months.  

$15  

Call 643-1924 

Sunday, Feb. 11

Horacio Gutierrez  

3 p.m. 

Hertz Hall 

UC Berkeley  

The Cuban-American pianist will perform Berg’s Sonata, Op.1, George Perle’s Nine Bagatelles, Schumann’s Fantasie, Op. 17 and Beethoven’s Sonata No. 29.  

$24 - $42  

Call 642-9988 or e-mail tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Storyteller Yolanda Rhodes  

1:30 - 2:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science  

UC Berkeley  

Rhodes performs music-filled stories of African and African-American history and folklore. Part of series of events throughout February to honor Black History Month. Included in admission.  

$5 - $7  

Call 642-5132 

Reimagining Pacific Cities  

6 - 8:30 p.m. 

New Pacific Studio  

1523 Hearst Ave.  

“How are Pacific cities reshaping their cultural and environmental institutions to better serve the needs and enhance the present and future quality of life of all segments of their societies?” A series of ten seminars linking the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, and other pacific cities. $10 per meeting  

Call 849-0217 

“From Swastika to Jim Crow” 

2 - 4:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Due to the depression and anti-Semitism in the ‘30s, many Jewish “refugee scholars” found they had difficulty finding jobs and were embraced by black universities. Both students and teachers, in the pre-Civil Rights era, found they shared a common experience of living under oppression and a passion for education. Guest speaker Jim McWilliams.  

$2 suggested donation  

Call 848-0237 x127 

Why Do a Long Retreat? 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Pl.  

Retreatants from Holland, Brazil, Germany, and other places share how they made the time to participate in two and four month retreats.  

Call 843-6812 

African-American “Death of a Salesman” Auditions 

1 p.m. 

Live Oak Theatre  

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman)  

There are roles for eight men and five women, aged 30 - 60. Auditioners are asked to present a monologue no longer that three minutes. Roles are non-paying. 

Rhythm & Muse Open Mike  

2 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Museum  

2621 Durant (at Bowditch)  

Featuring poet/photographer Valentine Pierce. Call 527-9753 

Monday, Feb. 12

African-American “Death of a Salesman” 

Audtions 

7 p.m. 

Live Oak Theatre  

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman)  

There are roles for eight men and five women, aged 30 - 60. z are asked to present a monologue no longer that three minutes. Roles are non-paying. 

Read Those Plans 

7 - 10 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Architect Andus Brandt will instruct how to read architectural plans.  

$35  

Call 525-7610 

Tuesday, Feb. 13

“Great Decisions” - U.S. Trade Policy 

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. Many of the lectures are presented by specialists in their field and are often from the University of California. Feedback received at these lectures is held in high regard by those in the government responsible for national policy.  

$5 single session, $35 entire series for single person, $60 entire series for couple  

Call Berton Wilson, 526-2925 

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 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Wednesday, Feb. 14

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Faye Carol Sings Lady Day 

7:30 p.m. 

King Middle School  

1781 Rose St.  

A tribute to Billie Holiday including Lady Day’s most popular songs, including “Strange Fruit,” “Good Morning Heartache,” “God Bless the Child” and “You Let Me Down.” Benefit for KPFA Radio and La Pena Cultural Center.  

$15 

Call 848-6767 x609 or visit www.kpfa.org 

Planning Commission Public Hearing  

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

The commission is holding public hearings on the Planning Commission Draft General Plan. The commission requests that all written comments on the plan be submitted by March 1.  

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  

Free “Quit Smoking” Class 

5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis (at Ashby)  

Cease your smoking with the help of this free class offered to Berkeley residents and employees. 

Call 644-6422 to enroll or e-mail quitnow@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Natural Conversations 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Hillside Community Church  

1422 Navellier St.  

El Cerrito 

A series of Thursday evenings of conversation “engaging people in discovering the pleasures of an excellent discussion.” Focus on conversations in nature and explore what they are meant to convey.  

$10  

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Kathleen Lynch and host Mark States.  

644-0155 

Climbing Mt. Shasta 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Tim Keating of Sierra Wilderness Seminars will give a slide presentation on climbing and skiing this North California peak.  

Call 527-7377  

Berkeley Metaphysical Toastmasters Club  

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month.  

Call 869-2547 

“Religion, Power & the New Economy”  

1:30 - 3 p.m. 

Chapel of the Great Commission  

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

A panel discussion featuring distinguished GTU alumni/ae, in celebration of Dr. James A. Donahue’s inauguration as President of the GTU.  

Call 649-2400 

West CAT Meeting 

7 p.m. 

Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church  

997 University Ave.  

Review the racial and health disparities issues and see the model of the community capacity building.  

There is a widespread sense in the Arab world that this is an important transition period – based in part on the view that the West, especially America, has messed up in the Middle East. 

Many think this could be a window of opportunity in the “Arab world” – some 200 million people in 28 countries bound together by their common Arabic language. 

Underlying this sense of transition are a number of events in the wider world. 

One is the new administration in Washington. The Arabic press makes no secret about its belief that the Clinton administration was too closely tied to Israel to succeed in brokering Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, even though most Arab papers supported those efforts. 

They also made it clear that the new president has already sent signals to several Arab states that his administration wants to work with them on Middle East issues. A commentary in the Jan. 24 issue of the Saudi-financed newspaper As-Sharq al-Ausat noted that the Bush administration has far fewer top-level Jewish- Americans than the Clinton administration. 

There is a widespread sense in the region that Bush is downgrading the Israel-Palestinian conflict to lesser urgency. 

As for the new Israeli government, many if not most Arabs see little difference between Sharon and his predecessor, the peace-seeking Ehud Barak. Barak built more settlements in the Occupied Territories than Benyamin Netanyahu, and under Barak the military have killed more Palestinians than the earlier Rabin and Netanyahu governments. 

Clearly the most important elements of change, from the viewpoint of American global interests, are tied to the fact that the Middle East remains the world's main source of oil, and also – with the Caspian and Central Asian regions, both predominantly Muslim – potentially the main source of natural gas. 

Ten years ago, the Bush Sr. administration not only won a military victory that forced Saddam Hussein to pull out completely from Kuwait, it won a political victory that made America the dominant power in the Middle East and gave it great influence in the Caspian and Central Asian 

regions. 

This political victory came about even before Desert Storm. Then Secretary of State James Baker III succeeded in organizing a coalition to fight the war that included Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria as well as Britain and France. 

When the coalition asked Security Council permission to use military force to dislodge Saddam from Kuwait the Soviet Union voted yes and China abstained. The stunning military victory consolidated the coalition, and later in 1991, Baker organized the Madrid conference that launched the Arab-Israeli peace process. 

Now the coalition is in shambles. 

It started to weaken in June, 1993 when the then-new Clinton administration excluded Saudi Arabia from the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. It became clear that, despite “progress,” Israel only wanted peace on its own terms and Arafat's Palestinian Authority was unable to 

deliver on any accord. 

The Palestinian al-Aqsa Intifada finally doomed the coalition. Syria dropped out, Egypt pulled back and Jordan, especially after King Hussein died and the Intifada erupted, started inching backwards. 

The balance of power in the Middle East has suddenly changed quite radically. 

Russia's new young leader, Vladimir Putin, ardently believes Russia is a military superpower – and that if America were not so arrogant it would concede it is an empire like Russia. Putin is leading Russia into a new Middle Eastern role in a way that has turned America's dual containment policy into a farce. 

Iran and Iraq have de-contained themselves. Russia is arming Iran and helping it build nuclear reactors, and UN sanctions against Iraq have become irrelevant – with Russia in the lead a growing roster of countries has ignored the UN air embargo against Iraq. 

Indeed, Syria and Iraq, once sworn enemies, are now busy visiting each other. And, more significantly, foreign oil companies last year built a pipeline linking Iraq's oil rich north with Banyas, a Syrian port on the Mediterranean and netting Iraq a million or two US dollars every day. 

Saddam has even announced he is going to try again to get back Kuwait, Iraq's alleged “19th province.” And to irk his American enemies he has converted all his wealth from dollars into euros. 

The Gulf War coalition is not dead. A lengthy commentary by a noted writer, Ghassan al-Imam, published in As-Sharq al-Ausat, which has an intense dislike of Saddam Hussein, argues that neither Sharon nor Saddam will able to shake the alliance between Egypt, Syria, and the Saudis. 

His most telling point is that the rulers of all three countries have had a long and profitable association with the Bush family going back to the Reagan days when George Sr. was Reagan's vice- president. These contacts helped raise oil prices from a disastrous low of $10 a barrel during the 1980's and stabilizing the price at $25. When Bush chose fellow Texan Dick Cheney to be his vice- presidential candidate the media noted their common links to the oil industry. And when James Baker III became the chief lawyer for Bush in the Florida vote dispute another link to the oil industry was revealed. 

It was clear that Middle East issues played a key part in those nominations. Not only in the super-rich USA but in most parts of the world – oil and gas are the global economy's lifeline. 

Ghassan al-Imam believes that almost two decades of personal contacts between the Bush family and various ruling Arab clans could give the Arab world a window of opportunity they have never had since the 1950s. 

PNS editor Franz Schurmann, professor emeritus of history and sociology at UC-Berkeley, has traveled widely in the Middle East and reads the Arab- and Farsi-language press.

Habitot Children’s Museum “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. $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. Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

UC Berkeley Art Museum “The Mule Train: A Journey of Hope Remembered” through March 26. An exhibit of black and white photographs that capture the fears and faith of those who traveled from Marks, Mississippi to Washington, D.C. ,with mule-drawn wagons to attend the Poor People's Campaign in December, 1967; “Joe Brainard: A Retrospective,” Through May 27. The selections include 150 collages, assemblages, paintings, drawings, and book covers. Brainard’s art is characterized by its humor and exhuberant color, and by its combinations of media and subject matter; Muntadas - On Translation: The Audience, Through April 29. $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. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. 642-0808. 

The Asian Galleries “Art of the Sung: Court and Monastery” 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 “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. Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way and College Ave. 643-7648  

924 Gilman St. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted $5; $2 for a year membership 

Feb. 10: Lifes Halt, Rocket Queen, Barry Manowar, Rosemary’s Billygoat, Adversives; Feb. 16: The Bananas, Pitch Black, Shotwell, Pirx the Pilot, Rock & Roll Adventure Kids; Feb. 17: Lack of Interest, The Neighbors, Black Hands, Capitalist Casualties, Iron Lung; Feb. 18, 5 p.m.: Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Fire Sermon, Lugosi 525-9926  

Albatross Pub All music at 9 p.m. unless noted Feb. 8: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Feb. 13: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; Feb. 14: Carlos Oliveira Brazilian Jazz Duo; Feb. 15: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Feb. 20: pickPocket esemble; Feb. 21: Whiskey Brothers 1822 San Pablo 843-2473 

Ashkenaz Feb. 10, 6:30 p.m.: Musical theater with Zorman & Yampels; Feb. 13, 9 p.m.: Danny Poullard & Friends, dance lesson at 8 p.m.; Feb. 14, 8:30 p.m.: Carlos Zialcita plays R&B, swing, and soul for lovers; March 24, 2 p.m. - 2 a.m.: Ashkenaz fourth annual dance-a-thon featuring Lavay Smith, African, Caribbean, reggae, Balkan, North African and cajun bands for 12 hours of nonstop dance music. 1370 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman) 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Eli’s Mile High Club Feb. 10: Kenny Blue Ray; Feb. 16: Little Johnny & the Giants; Feb. 17: Ron Thompson; Feb. 23: Carlos Zialcita; Feb. 24: R.J. Mischo 3629 MLK Jr. Way Oakland  

Freight & Salvage All shows begin at 8 p.m. Feb. 8 & 9: Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys; Feb. 10: Baguette Quartette with Odile Lavault; Feb.11: Bob Franke 1111 Addison St. 548-1761  

Crowden School Sundays, 4 p.m.: Chamber music series sponsored by the school; Feb. 24, 8 p.m.: Cynthia & the Swing Set and the American Jubilee Dance Theatre. Free swing dance lesson, 7 p.m. New Orleans cajun and creole dinner to be served before dance lesson. $10 - $40 Benefits the Crowden School 1475 Rose St. (at Sacramento) 559-6910 

Tuva Space All shows at 7:48 p.m. Feb. 18: Saadet Turkoz seeks to evoke pictures and atmosphere by means of voice and music which transcend cultural boundaries. Saxophonist Eric Barber defies categorization; Feb. 19: Trio of Fred Frith, guitar, Pierre Tanguay, percussion, and Jean Derome, alto and bariton saxophones. $8 donation 3192 Adeline (at MLK Jr. Way) 649-8744  

Jazzschool/La Note All music at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 11: Hal Stein Quarter; Feb. 18: Sheldon Brown Group; Feb. 25: Lauri Antonioli; March 4: Ray Obiedo; March 11: Stephanie Bruce Trio; March 18: Wayne Wallace Septet $6 - $12 2377 Shattuck Ave.  

Cal Performances Feb. 10, 8 p.m.: Masters of Persian Classical Music, $20 - $40; Feb. 16 & 17, 8 p.m.: Balinese Orchestra Gamelan Sekar Jaya present “Kawit Legong: Prince Karna’s Dream,” $18 - $30.; Feb. 20, 21, 23 & 24: In two separate programs the Netherlands Dans Theater I presents the work of former artistic director, Jiri Kylian $34 - $52 Zellerbach Hall UC Berkeley. 642-9988 or www.calperfs.berkeley.edu Feb. 11, 3 p.m.: Horacio Gutierrez $24 - $42; Feb. 25, 3 p.m.: Prazack Quartet $32; Feb. 28, 8 p.m.: Clerks’ Group performs music from the Burgundian Courts; March 4, 3 p.m.: Baritone Nathan Gunn sings Brahms, Wolf, and a selection of American songs $36 Hertz Hall UC Berkeley 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra April 3, and June 21, 2001. All performances begin at 8 p.m. Single $19 - $35, Series $52 - $96. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley 841-2800  

“Songs for the Young at Heart” Feb. 10, 4 p.m. Featuring La Bonne Cuisine by Bernstein and The Shepherd on the Rock by Schubert. Donations accepted St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave.  

Gianni Gebbia, Michael Manring, Simple Sample & Garth Powell Feb. 11, 7:48 p.m. Italian saxophonist Gerbia teams up with electric bassist Manring for a set of free improvisations. Local percussionist Garth Powell will present a short solo on a soprano musical saw. $8 donation Tuva Space 3192 Adeline (at MLK Jr. Way) 649-8744 

“The Prodigals” Feb. 11, 9 p.m. An Irish rock group who play “jig-punk” $5 This show is 18 and up. Blake’s 2367 Telegraph Ave.  

Community Women’s Orchestra Feb. 11, 4 p.m. Pieces to be played include those written by Berkeley High students Ariel Wolter and Maianna Voge. Donations accepted Malcolm X School 1731 Prince St. 653-1616 

Young People Chamber Orchestra Feb. 11, 4 p.m. Celebrating the music of J.S. Bach, Corell, Handel and others St. Johns Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave. Call 595-4688 

Percussions Du Guinee Feb. 16 & 17, 8 p.m. Feb. 18, 7 p.m. Internationally respected Guinean percussionists craft a performance simultaneously inspired by traditional music, yet modern in presentation. $20 - $25 925-798-1300 

Will Bernard & Motherbug and Ten Ton Chicken CD Release Party and Live Web Cast Feb. 17, 9 p.m. IMUSICAST Studios 5429 Telegraph Ave. (at 54th) Oakland $10  

“Dido and Aeneas” March 2, 8 p.m.; March 4, 2 p.m. A tale of English Baroque opera that follows the tale of Dido, queen of Corinth, as she is courted and won by Aeneas, conqueror and future founder of Rome. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. Call 925-798-1300 

Young People’s Symphony Orchestra March 3, 8 p.m. David Ramadanoff conducts the orchestra in a program featuring Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and a suite from Piston’s ballet “The Incredible Flutist” $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. Call 925-798-1300  

“In Song and Struggle” March 4, 4 - 10 p.m. Copwatch presents the second annual event bringing together some of the best women artists from around the Bay Area and beyond in commemoration of International Women’s Day. Artists include Shelley Doty, Rebecca Riots, Rachel Garlin, and many others. Call Copwatch, 548-0425  

“Mystic Journey” March 10, 8 p.m. Suzanne Teng and Mystic Journey are a unique contemporary world music ensemble, based in Los Angeles, making their Bay Area debut. $15 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. Call 925-798-1300 

Theater 

“Fall” by Bridget Carpenter Through Feb. 11. $15.99 - $51. Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2025 Addison St. 647-2949, www. berkeleyrep.org 

“In Search of my Clitoris” Written and performed by Sia Amma Feb. 8 & 9, 8 p.m. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. $12 - $14 415-775-6608 

“The Road to Mecca” by Athol Fugard Through Feb. 24, Friday - Saturday, 8 p.m. Feb. 22, 8 p.m. $10 Live Oak Theatre 1301 Shattuck 528-5620 

“Nightingale” presented by Central Works Theater Feb. 9 - March 4, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 24 & Saturday, March 3, 5 p.m.; Free preview Feb. 8, 8 p.m. $8 - $14 LaVal’s Subterranean 1834 Euclid Ave. 558-1381 

“Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me” by Frank MacGuinness Feb. 15 - March 17, Thursday - Saturday, 8 p.m. Sunday, 8:30 p.m. The story of three men - an Irishman, an Englishman and an American held in a prison in Lebanon. $10 - $15 8th St. Studio Theatre 2525 Eighth St. (at Dwight) 655-0813 

“New Territory” Presented by Terrain along wih the Choreographer’s Performance Alliance. An eclectic evening of dance and performance with a variety of choreographic styles and themes. $10 Western Sky Studio 2525 Eighth St. (at Dwight) 845-8604 

Films 

“Magnetic North” Six programs of experimental Canadian video from the past 30 years that range from documentary to conceptual art. In all, 40 tapes from 46 artists will be shown on six Wednesday evenings. Through Feb. 28. $7. Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft (at Bowditch) 642-1412  

“Durruti and the Spanish Revolution” The LaborFest U.S. premiere screening and dicussion of this documentary which tells the story of the Confederation National del Trabajo during the Spanish Civil War. Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m. $7 donation requested. La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave. 415-642-8066 

“Toto Recall” A 15-film retrospective honoring Italy’s comic genius. Through Feb. 24 Weekend days only, Friday - Sunday. $7 for one film, $8.50 for double bills. Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

Exhibits 

Berkeley Historical Society “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. 1931 Center St. 848-0181 

“Consecrations: Spirits in the Time of AIDS,” Through Feb. 24. An exhibit seeking to expand the understanding of HIV and AIDS and the people affected by them. Wednesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Pro Arts Gallery 461 Ninth St., Oakland. 763-9425  

“Race & Femininity” Acrylic Paintings of Corinne Innis Paying homage to her subconscious, Innis uses rich colors in her acrylic paintings. Through Feb. 26; Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 1 - 7 p.m. and by appointment. Women’s Cancer Resource Center 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 x307  

Drawings & Watercolor Paintings of Daniel Hitkov Hitkov is a young Bulgarian artist whose subjects are the real and unreal in nature, people and things. Through Feb. 12. Red Cafe 1941 University Ave. 843-7230 

“Trees With Frosting” Stevie Famulari decorates landscapes with sugar and frosting, making her artwork edible and changeable by viewers. This particular display will remain for two months. Through February Skapades Hair Salon 1971 Shattuck Ave. 251-8080 or steviesart@hotmail.com 

“Dorchester Days,” the photographs of Eugene Richards is a collection of pictures portraying the poverty, racial tension, crime and violence prevalent in Richards’ hometown of Dorchester, Massachusetts in the 1970s. Through April 6. UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism 121 North Gate Hall #5860 642-3383 

“Still Life & Landscapes” The work of Pamela Markmann Through March 24, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Red Oak Gallery 1891 Solano Ave. 527-3387 

“Kick Back,” the Department of Art Practice of UC Berkeley spring faculty show Through March 2; Informative lecture Feb. 14, Noon Worth Ryder Gallery Kroeber Hall UC Berkeley Call 642-2582 

“Unequal Funding: Photographs of Children in Schools that Get Less” An exhibit of black & white photographs by documentary photographer Chris Pilaro. Through March 16, Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.; Opening reception, Feb. 9, 6 - 8 p.m. Photolab Gallery 2235 Fifth St. 644-1400 

“Contemporary Photogravure” Printing from hand-inked plates etched from a film positive, a unique exhibition of photographs with luxurious tones. Feb. 8 - March 30, Tuesday - Friday, Noon - 5 p.m. or by appointment; Opening reception, Feb. 8, 6 - 8 p.m. Kala Art Institute 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 

“Musee des Hommages,” Masterworks by Guy Colwell Faithful copies of several artists from the pasts, including Titian’s “The Venus of Urbino,” Cezanne’s “Still Life,” Picasso’s “Woman at a Mirror,” and Boticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

“Evolution,” No problem quilters exhibit their soft-cloth sculptures. New Pieces is the only gallery that exclusively exhibits quilts in the Bay Area. Through March 1, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sunday Noon - 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave. 527-6779 

Amanda Haas, New Paintings and Olivia Kuser, Recent Landscapes Feb. 14 - March 24, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Opening reception Feb. 14, 6 - 8 p.m. Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth St. 527-1214 

“Water From Your Spring” Artistic residency with composer Ann Millikan and painter Selena Engelhart Feb. 11 - 17, Wednesday - Sunday, Noon - 5 p.m. Free; Performance of Millikan’s music featuring the California E.A.R. Unit, plus guests: Feb. 17 & 18, 8 p.m. $15 - $20 Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park  

Readings 

Boadecia’s Books All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted Feb. 10: Karin Kallmaker reads from “Sleight of Hand”; Feb. 23: Becky Thompson reads “Mothering Without a Compass: White Mother’s Love, Black Son’s Courage” 398 Colusa Ave. Kensington 559-9184. www.boadeciasbooks.com 

Cody’s Books All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted Feb. 8, 7 p.m.: Sheli Nan presents “The Essential Piano Teacher’s Guide”; 7:30 p.m.: Susan Griffin, Willy Wilkinson, Ellen Samuels, Dorothy Wall and Abe Doherty talk about “Stricken: Voices from the Hidden Epidemic of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”; Feb. 9: Matt Ridley discusses “Genome: The Autobiography of a Species”; Feb. 11: Poetry of Jack Hirschman & Luke Breit; Feb. 12: Jett Psaris and Marlena Lyons discuss “Undefended Love”; Feb. 13: Christie Kiefr talks about ‘Health Work for the Poor: A Practical Guide”; Feb. 15: Jason Lutes, cartoonist, will discuss his graphic presentation “Berlin: City of Stones”; Feb. 20: Becky Thompson discusses “Mothering Without a Compass: White Mother’s Love, Black Son’s Courage”; Feb. 21: Poetry of Gillian Conoley & Kathleen Fraser; Feb. 22: Alison Gopnik describes “The Scientist in the Crib: What Early Learning Tells Us About the Mind”; Feb. 23: Carol Field reads “Mangoes and Quince”; Feb. 25: Poetry of Martha Rhodes, Linda Dyer & Joy Manesiotis; Feb. 26: Terry McMillan reads from “A Day Late and a Dollar Short”; Feb. 28: Poetry of Sandra Gilbert & Wendy Barker 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore All events at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8: Bruce Henderson tackes a 130 year old mystery in “Fatal North: Adventure & Survival Aboard USS Polaris, The First U.S. Expedition to the North Pole”; Feb. 27: Barbara Wagner, co-founder of Lost Frontiers, gives a slide presentation and talk about “Pakistan & the Lost Tribes of teh Hindu Kush”; Feb. 28: Travel writer Christopher Baker will read and talk about his 7000 miles motorcycle odyssey through Cuba as chronicled in his book “Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro’s Cuba” 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533  

“Strong Women - Writers & Heroes of Literature” Fridays 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. North Berkeley Senior Center 1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 549-2970  

Duomo Reading Series and Open Mic. Thursdays, 6:30 - 9 p.m. Feb. 8: Tom Odegard; Feb 15: Kathleen Lynch; Feb. 22: Charles Ellick; March 1: Eliza Shefler; March 8: Judy Wells; March 15: Elanor Watson-Gove; March 22: Anna Mae Stanley; March 29: Georgia Popoff; April 5: Barbara Minton; April 12: Alice Rogoff; April 19: Garrett Murphy; April 26: Ray Skjelbred. Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

Holloway Poetry Reading Series Feb. 8, 8 p.m.: Carl Dennis and Jen Scappettone will read. Sponsored by the Department of English UC Berkeley Maude Fife Room (Room 315) Wheeler Hall UC Berkeley 653-2439  

Lunch Poems First Thursday of each month, 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. March 1: Aleida Rodrigues; April 5: Galway Kinnell; May 3: Student Reading Morrison Room, Doe Library UC Berkeley 642-0137 

Class Dismissed Poetry Posse March 2, 7:30 p.m. Afro-Haitian dancers, Dance Production dancers, the BHS poetry slammers, an opening a capella number and a few surprises. A benefit for a Berkeley High school student trip to Cuba. $5 - $10 Little Theater Berkeley High School 2246 Milvia St.  

“Escape from Villingen” Feb. 10, 10:30 a.m. Dwight Messimer will be reviewing his new book dealing with POW escapees Great War Society 640 Arlington Ave. 527-7118 

Mick LaSalle Feb. 11, 6 p.m. S.F. Chronicle film critic, LaSalle will read from his book “Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood.” After the reading two Pre-Code films will be screened, “Design for Living” and “A Free Soul.” $7 Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

Tours 

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

Berkeley City Club Tours 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. 848-7800  

The fourth Sunday of every month, Noon - 4 p.m. $2  

Golden Gate Live Steamers Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Lomas Cantadas Drive at the south end of Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley. 486-0623  

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.  

UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Centennial Drive, behind Memorial Stadium, a mile below the Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley. 643-2755 or www.mip.berkeley.edu/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. 

Lectures 

Berkeley Historical Society Slide Lecture & Booksigning Series Sundays, 3 - 5 p.m. $10 donation requested Feb. 25: “Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin,” Gray Brechin will discuss the impact and legacy of the Hearsts and other powerful early families; 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; March 18: “Topaz Moon,” Kimi Kodani Hill will discuss artist Chiura Obata’s family and the WWII Japanese relocation camps. Berkeley Historical Center Veterans Memorial Building 1931 Center St. 848-0181 

“Great Decisions” Foreign Policy Association Lectures Series Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - Noon, Feb. 13 - April 3; An annual program featuring specialists in the field of national foreign policy, many from University of California. Goal is to inform the public on major policy issues and receive feedback from the public. $5 per session, $35 entire series for single person, $60 entire series for couple. Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 526-2925 

Ruth Acty Oral History Feb. 18, 3 - 6 p.m. In honor of Black History Month, Therese Pipe will present the history of Acty, who became the first African American teacher in the Berkeley Unified School District in 1943. Berkeley Historical Society Veterans Memorial Building 1931 Center St. Admission free 848-0181 

The first time the Berkeley boys’ basketball team faced Pinole Valley this season, they slipped away with a 59-54 win in a tough game that could have gone either way. But thanks to a depleted Pinole Valley squad, the rematch wasn’t nearly as exciting. 

The Yellowjackets (18-5 overall, 9-0 ACCAL) blew past the visiting team on Friday night at Donahue Gymnasium 67-58, taking advantage of a Spartan team that was missing three starters due to academics. Although Pinole Valley’s (12-9, 5-3) remaining starters, Mike Gates and John Chapple, combined to score 38 points, the rest of the team was tentative and ineffective against the Berkeley press. 

Gates, the Spartans’ leading scorer, had a rough game, turning the ball over seven times and looking out of control on several drives to the basket. Berkeley’s rugged forward Ramone Reed guarded him for much of the game. 

“Ramone Reed can guard anyone in this league. Hell, he can guard anyone in this state,” Berkeley head coach Mike Gragnani said. “We didn’t have to do anything to Gates besides put Ramone on him.” 

The ’Jackets were led by point guard Ryan Davis’s 24 points, while shooting guard and defensive specialist Byron St. Jules pitched in with 14. 

“I had my worst game against Pinole Valley the first time, and I wasn’t going to let it happen again,” said St. Jules, a senior. 

Berkeley is now clearly in the driver’s seat in the ACCAL race, three games ahead of the second place team. 

“It feels great to come in here in my first year and take control of the ACCAL,” Gragnani said. “But I’m really not satisfied with the way we played tonight.” 

St. Jules got Berkeley going early, pulling down two rebounds and taking them coast-to-coast for layups. Guard Muhammed Nitoto came off the bench to give the team an early spark, getting two steals and two assists in the first period. But Gates scored six points early to keep his team in the game at 11-8. 

The ’Jackets started to pull ahead for good when Davis put back his own shot and was fouled. He hit the free throw to put his team up 18-12, then center Jahi Milton converted a layup to give Berkeley a 20-12 lead after the first quarter. 

After Gates hit the first bucket of the second period, the ’Jackets went on a 9-0 run, keyed by two more Nitoto dishes, both to St. Jules for layups. When Davis got another putback right at the buzzer, Berkeley was up 35-18 at the half. 

St. Jules, who struggled in the teams’ first game, scored 12 points in the first half, most of them from penetration into the lane.  

“I know my best offense is going to the hole,” the senior said. “I’m doing it more in games now, because that’s where I’m strongest.” 

Davis hit a three-pointer early in the second half to double up on the Spartans, 40-20. But Berkeley’s defensive intensity lagged, and Gates and Chapple led their team back into contention, ending the period down by 14. Gates hit a three to open the fourth quarter, and Chapple made two free throws, and the Berkeley lead was down to nine points.  

“We got ahead 40-20 and our defense completely shut down,” Gragnani said. 

“Whenever we get a cushion, we should put teams away,” Davis said. “But we don’t have that killer instinct we need.” 

But the Spartans couldn’t get any closer until there were only 30 seconds left in the game, and when Atticus Honore made a layup and was fouled soon after, the game was decided.

Master gardener, speech therapist, nurse, photojournalist, radio programmer, a friend who knew how to listen, a religious, spiritual and fun-loving person – Leona Jacobs-White was all of these, according to her friends and family. 

Jacobs-White, 72, died of cancer in her Berkeley home Jan. 31. Her death was peaceful, friends said. 

KPFA, Berkeley’s community radio station, had been White’s second home since the mid-1980s. After she retired, first from nursing at Oakland Kaiser Hospital, then from her post as speech therapist for the public schools in Richmond, Jacobs-White, an African American, joined a training program at the radio station especially designed to bring minority women into broadcasting.  

After graduating from the program, Jacobs-White began producing shows at the station’s Women’s Department. Amelia Gonzales, who heads KPFA’s training program today, directed the Women’s Department at the time. She talked about the breadth of Jacobs-White’s programs, recalling that they ranged from shows on sex workers trying to unionize, to issues of women’s health and nutrition. “She would not let herself be pegged into one arena or genre of radio,” Gonzales said. 

Some of the work the Women’s Department took on was grueling, such as the 24-hour programming on International Woman’s Day. “She made work seem like a party,” Gonzales said. 

Around the time that Jacobs-White was completing the training program, Dr. Mike Alcalay found out he was HIV positive and was beginning to plan a radio show on the epidemic. White became his co-host in addition to her work in the Women’s Department. 

While the program covered serious topics, what stands out for Alcalay was the “laugh in her voice.” 

Others who work at KPFA also point to Jacobs-White’s sense of humor and they signal out the infamous bat show on “Seven Generations.” 

White co-produced “Seven Generations,” a program about the environment, which draws its name from the Native American concept that today’s decisions ought to be made with the seventh generation in mind. 

“She was very committed to the earth and to gardening,” said Weyland Southan, who co-hosted the program with Jacobs-White. 

The program on bats that Jacobs-White produced was aimed at showing that the flying creatures eat insects in gardens and eliminate the need for pesticides. 

White wasn’t content to simply interview an authority on bats. She had the expert come into the studio with the creatures. They flew around the studio during the interview. “Bats were screeching on the air,” Southan said. 

Adding to the diversity of her programming, Jacobs-White recently worked on a series called “Pagliacci’s Fools,” which recreated old-time radio drama.  

She was more than a programmer. She was a decision-maker as well. As such, she was a member of the station’s Local Advisory Board. “She was helpful on internal matters,” said Phil Ofegueda, KPFA’s assistant general manager. 

“Living Room” host Kriss Welch remembers White as someone who, when she asked how you were, really wanted an answer and listened to it. “She always had a comforting and kind word,” Welch said. “If you were unhappy, she would really support you.” 

She was both loving and fun-loving said her cousin P.J. Jackson, who had recently gone to Trinidad for Carnival with Jacobs-White. 

Weyland Southan remembers that White “lived every moment to the end of the moment.” She practiced the Yoruba religion and “was very excited about going to the next world,” Southan said. 

Gonzales recalls: “She called everybody love.” 

Her survivors include her uncle and aunt, Charles and Meda Lewis of Oakland, cousins Phyllis “P.J.” Jackson of Oakland, April Campos of Oakland and Charles Lewis, Jr. of San Jose.  

A memorial service will be held near the time of her birthday, May 28.

As well intentioned as they are, high school video productions are marked by a level of discipline given to home movies crossed with the enthusiasm of a term paper. Something only a mother could love, and she could be jiving, too. 

“When you think of high school filmmakers you think of silly fighting films,” said Berkeley High School junior Portia Boni. She and her curatorial compatriots – Natalia Ackley-Barahona, Zachary Cohen, Dario Fernandez, Chevalier Patterson and Jesse Roll-Beyea, all members of the Berkeley High Communication Arts and Sciences (CAS) program – have waded though almost 75 submitted tapes of student work to come up with a program of which to be proud.  

The 2nd annual Berkeley High School/Bay Area Film and Video Festival, screening this Sunday at the Pacific Film Archive, is culled from works submitted by East Bay high school students: documentaries, experimental pieces, parodies, animation, and music videos. And one silly fighting film for good measure. 

Some thoughtful, some slapstick, these filmmakers’ intentions may be to push a social envelope, or to have fun with a camcorder. “Last year was a little more avant-garde,” said Maria Chavez, a Cal student and ArtsBridge scholar who mentored the curatorial process, “this year they chose a wider range.” Casting the net wider enabled them to catch works that were clearly intended to have fun with the medium and take a stab at teenage culture. A hotbed of adolescent output is Pirate Productions at Pittsburgh High School, from whence comes “Menacing Phantom,” two minutes of pure swordfighting, a la Star Wars, featuring plastic light sabers and surprisingly impressive choreography and sound mix. 

Another Pirate Production is a music video by 5-Gether called “Hardest Part of Breaking Up,” in which the pop vocal boy-group laments their kleptomaniac girlfriends. It may be poking fun at N’Synch, or it may be an homage. (After the recent Superbowl half-time show, who can tell the difference?) The underground party scene is sent up in Walker Koppleman-Brown’s “One Rave,” a seven-minute blurt about the frustration of looking for the elusive something-to-do on a Friday night. Koppleman-Brown, a senior at Berkeley High and the son of Berkeley-based filmmaker Charles Koppleman, said his film was not made through any campus group, but as a teaching assistant to a freshman video class he had access to equipment. 

He was also a member of last year’s festival programming team, and had been concerned that the festival would not continue.  

“We didn’t think there was anybody else who wanted to do this,” he said. When Portia and her colleagues stepped up to the plate, Koppleman-Brown’s offered his strongest piece of veteran advice: to not be discouraged by the lack of submissions. 

After the eventual flood of tapes arrived, Portia said one of the challenges was getting the right mix. Haphazardly placing works of serious intent inside an array of comedic pieces risked robbing the former of the reading they are due. Kabu Nietschmann’s “The Next Generation,” an impressionistic video of dance and Santana music, touches on the humanistic hopefulness of physical movement and community – arguably the spiritual intention of rave parties – and compliments Koppleman-Brown’s humorous piece. 

The documentary discipline is well executed in “Port Chicago,” a non-fiction, historical account of a WWII naval disaster. Using archival photos and an interview with an historian, the filmmakers’ telling of the racist aftermath of an ammunition explosion would not be misplaced on PBS television. 

The film that best captures an intuitive filmmaking touch and sheer goofball yuks is John Sobel’s “Water Polo: Triumph of Glory.” A mock-documentary starting with an incompetent high school water polo team and their water-less practice pool, the 15-minute video inventively exhausts all the omic potentials of Zen training, chorus-line calisthenics, and inflatable water wings. 

Sobel’s deft hand in the editing demonstrates the wisdom that comedy is all about timing, and he gets kudos for assembling a troupe of actors with seemingly unquenchable excitement for absurd slapstick. The idiotic physical humor is reminiscent of Saturday Night Live (remember the synchronized swimming skit with Martin Short? How could a teenager like Sobel know that one?) and older, intellectually stunted Little Rascals. 

The Berkeley High School/East Bay Film and Video Festival screens Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. For ticket information call 642-5249.

St. Mary’s started sluggishly for the second week in a row, but another dominant second half sealed the Panthers’ 91-70 victory over St. Elizabeth’s (Oakland) on Friday night.  

Early on, the Bay Shore Athletic League-leading Panthers were down by a bucket at the end of the first quarter and led by just six at the half before going on a tear that saw them outscore St. Elizabeth’s 49-34 after the break. 

St. Mary’s missed its first four shots of the game before DaShawn Freeman hit a three-pointer with 6:02 left in the first quarter. For St. Elizabeth’s, senior guard Bakari Altheimer scored seven of his game-high 27 points in the low-scoring opening period. At the end of one, the Mustangs led 13-11. 

St. Elizabeth’s Adebola Odunikan scored the team’s first two points of the second quarter before St. Mary’s went on a 7-0 run to grab the lead with 5:12 remaining in the half.  

The Panthers never looked back.  

Freeman scored 13 in the period and St. Mary’s led by as many as 11 before the break. St. Elizabeth’s scored the final five points of the half including a running, nothing-but-net three-pointer that the Mustang’s Altheimer launched from beyond half-court as time expired. 

The Panthers built its lead in the third quarter by using a full-court press on defense that forced Mustang turnovers, while on offense John Sharper, Terrence Boyd and Jeremiah Fielder drained timely three-pointers. Boyd added two more three-point plays after scoring the hoop and adding the free throw as St. Mary’s went on a 9-2 run to end the third. 

“I think the kids just stepped up their intensity (in the second half),” said St. Mary’s coach Jose Caraballo. “We came out pretty lethargic (in the first half) while they came out ready to play.” 

St. Mary’s continues to overpower BSAL opponents with its offensive rebounding and tenacious defense. Its performance against St. Elizabeth’s was no exception. 

“They’re big and strong and finally beat us up a little bit,” said St. Elizabeth’s head coach Bob Howard. “Physically we got worn down. That’s a hard pace for us to play against.” 

Eleven different players scored for St. Mary’s. Behind Freeman’s team leading 22, Sharper added 18, Boyd contributed 14 and Chase Moore tossed in 10 despite getting two quick fouls in the first quarter. Altheimer was the only player in double figures for St. Elizabeth’s. 

“DaShawn is playing the way he’s supposed to be playing,” Caraballo said of the 5-foot-10 guard. “He has the ability to make everyone around him better.” 

As the team did last week, St. Mary’s struggled from the free throw line, hitting just 7-of-18. St. Elizabeth’s was 15-of-24 from the line. 

The Mustangs are the latest conquest for the Panthers, who have dominated the BSAL this season. With the win, St. Mary’s improves to 21-4 overall and 9-0 in the league. St. Elizabeth’s dropped to 15-10 and 6-4 in the BSAL. 

“We were fine until they started hitting the threes,” Howard said of the Mustang’s second half woes. “The press kicked in a little better and it sort of snowballed on us.” 

St. Mary’s faces Piedmont on Tuesday.

Like most cities, the City of Franklin school is growing.  

Unlike other population booms this one is being embraced with excitement, especially since the increase is the successful result of a unique public learning program. 

The City of Franklin Microsociety Magnet School, currently a K-5 program will expand to include a middle school curriculum next year, making it the first K-8 model offered in the Berkeley Unified School District.  

A microsociety school is a progressive interdisciplinary curriculum program established nationally in the 1980s by a New York City school teacher, George Richmond. It was founded on research data that suggest students learn best by doing, so every microsociety is a student-run miniature “city.” 

“We’re really excited,” said Principal Barbara Penny-James. “Adding the middle school program was part of the original plan, so we’re eager to continue growing – parents, kids and staff are really looking forward to this.” 

The middle school program, as it was designed when approved, will be phased in over three years. Next fall, the Virginia Street school will welcome two sixth-grade classes and add a grade per year through 2003-2004. 

Derick Miller, media coordinator for the City of Franklin, said there are currently 160 students who attend the school. Next year he expects the school to increase by about 70 students for the entire school. Miller said the school has more than enough room since classes currently use only about one-third of the building space.  

As a magnet school, the City of Franklin receives some federal funds in addition to state funding, and is a school that parents elect to send their child to, rather than one where the students’ school is determined by the school district. 

The “citizens” of the sixth-grade community will have their own town square like the lower grades, with a council and mayor, among many more mock real-life businesses and governing agencies, which are all student run. The classrooms and hallways will also be decorated with murals, such as of a town square, to ensure a more realistic experience.  

According to Principal Penny-James, the sixth-grade program will encompass a global theme. Given that, the school will introduce a French program next year. Penny-James also said that when seventh grade is added the school wants add a Spanish program and perhaps a Cantonese class for the eighth grade, so that students are exposed to a number of the world’s languages. 

The sixth grade will have a multimedia and technology program which will include a T.V. studio and a stock market unit.  

“Middle school is known as a dilemma,” said Penny-James, underscoring her excitement at directing the first K-8 public school in Berkeley. “We’re confident that initiating a K-8 school will change the middle-school era to an innovative, positive time in an adolescent’s life.” 

A K-8 program allows parents to keep their children in one school and not have to reroute them from an elementary school to a middle school, which is often tough on a child. 

“Normally sixth graders jump into a middle school and start on the bottom and it makes (the transition into adulthood) even more startling,” said Miller. “ Where as in a K-8 school, sixth graders are more of older role models to the younger kids and in return they gain more confidence.” 

Addie Holsing, a curriculum advisor with a non-profit education corporation Knowledge Context in Santa Cruz, who has been working with the school, agrees with Miller. She said that the middle school years are a key time in adolescent development for creating close relationships and finding ones’ place in the world. 

According to Holsing the City of Franklin’s real world approach is beneficial to the students because it fosters these developments. 

“Real world tasks make more sense to students,” said Holsing. “If they do tasks that are practical, they think there is something there for them and stay interested - that’s the magic of a microsociety school.”  

The fifth-grade students that plan on staying at the school to attend the sixth grade said they couldn’t be happier. 

“This school is a whole lot better than my last school,” said 11-year old Erin Williams. “You learn a lot more, plus you get to have your own business.” 

“I wasn’t here last year, but my mom thought this would be a good school,” said 10-year old, Cassimere Pugh. “I ran for mayor this year, but wasn’t elected and then I ran for secretary and didn’t get that, but I’ll run next year and hopefully become mayor.” 

The City of Franklin Microsociety Magnet School will host an information night on the middle school program at 7 p.m. on Feb. 28. For more information or a private appointment or tour call 644-6260. 

The Cal baseball team evened its series versus Brigham Young on Friday, defeating the Cougars 5-3 at Evans Diamond. The Bears, who fell to BYU 2-1 on Thursday, improve to 4-1 on the season, while the Cougars go to 5-4 overall.  

Cal was led by the strong pitching of senior David Cash (2-0) and freshman Matt Brown. Cash, who struggled early, recovered to pitch six innings with a career-high nine strikeouts. Brown replaced Cash in the seventh inning and earned his first collegiate save.  

After the Bears were down, 1-0, they responded with three runs in the third inning off of BYU starter Jeff Stearman . Cal’s freshman catcher Chris Grossman led off the inning with a single, and after Brad Smith fouled out to third base, the Bears tacked on four straight hits with RBI singles from sophomore David Weiner and freshman Conor Jackson, and a sacrifice fly from senior Clint Hoover.

The picture above is a 1930s post card of Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley’s “main street” looking north from Dwight Way.  

Shattuck bears the name of one of Berkeley’s earliest landowners and most enterprising developers, Francis Kittredge Shattuck.  

Shattuck was born in New York in 1824 and arrived in California with his brother-in-law, William Blake, in 1850.  

After two years in the gold fields Shattuck, Blake, William Hillegass and James Leonard purchased a square mile of what would become Berkeley in 1852.  

The area is now bordered by Addison and Russell streets, Grove Street and College Avenue. Shattuck’s parcel was the mile long strip between Shattuck Avenue and Grove Street. 

In 1876, Shattuck convinced Leland Stanford to bring a Central (later Southern) Pacific spur line from Oakland along Adeline Street into what is now downtown Berkeley.  

The width of Shattuck Avenue today is the legacy of the old rail line. Shattuck Square and Shattuck Place were the location of the train station.  

The post card shows the second phase of public transportation, the era of electric street cars.  

Shattuck Avenue remains today the principal transportation route through central Berkeley with its modern-day BART trains now underground.  

Susan Cerny, author of Berkeley Landmarks, writes this column in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association

Progressive Caucus Vice Chair Congresswoman Barbara Lee joined her caucus colleagues in unveiling a10-year, $900 billion tax cut that benefits all Americans equally.  

The “American People’s Dividend,” presented by the Progressive Caucus, proposes a $300 tax credit for every man, woman and child in America.  

The Progressive Caucus plan is part of a larger budget framework that will protect Social Security and Medicare, pay down the federal debt, provide tax credits, and vastly increase spending on education, health care, housing, alternative energy, and veterans programs. 

"It is evident that President Bush’s Plan will help the very rich far more than others," said Lee. "President Bush’s Tax Plan leaves out childless couples, senior citizens, stay-at-home mothers and the very poor." 

Economists agree that Bush’s tax cut plan will cost somewhere between $2.0 and $2.7 trillion rather than the $1.6 trillion claimed.  

The Bush Tax Plan uses almost the entire projected budget surplus for tax cuts, 43 percent of which go to the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, while giving little to nothing to those in the lowest tax brackets. Under the Bush plan, a low-income family of four making less than $13,000 per year would receive less than $100 in tax credit. 

Under the American People’s Dividend, the same family would receive $300 hundred per person, amounting to $1,200 – a difference of $1,100. 

“President Bush’s Tax Plan is ‘Reaganomics’ revisited,” Lee said.  

“We learned during the 1980s that a huge tax cut for the wealthy, particularly when combined with a significant increase in military funding, leads to growing deficits and economic instability for the poorest Americans.”  

“‘Trickle Down Economics’ did not work then, and will not work as currently proposed by President Bush.  

“ Our tax plan will stimulate the economy, while protecting Social Security and Medicare, funding federal programs, and leaving enough money to pay off the long term national debt,” she said.  

“With the skyrocketing costs of housing, medicine, college education, and other important and necessary items, we must act now to benefit people who need this tax credit to enhance the quality of their lives,”Lee said.

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles and San Francisco have been damaged at least six times by major earthquakes in the past 200 years but the mighty San Andreas Fault has been relatively quiet in recent decades, according to a new map of historical temblors. 

The map shows the estimated epicenters of more than 800 quakes of magnitude-5 or above, along with areas that were shaken strongly enough to suffer building damage. 

The quakes occurred between 1800 and 1999. The map cannot be used to predict earthquakes but it does point out areas that have been historically active, said Tousson Toppozada, a senior seismologist with the state Department of Conservation’s Division of Mines and Geology. 

It “tells you where the risk is highest,” he said. “It can be used by planners, city and county officials who are concerned. It can be used in site studies for critical structures like hospitals and schools,” he said. 

However, quake damage can occur far from the epicenter depending on factors such as the temblor’s magnitude and how its energy is released. 

For example, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in the Santa Cruz Mountains caused a freeway to collapse 55 miles away. 

“A map that just shows epicenters wouldn’t tell you whether other areas had been damaged, or how often they have been damaged. This map provides that information,” Jim Davis, a state geologist who heads the mines division, said in a news release. 

The map was released a day before the anniversary of the Feb. 9, 1971, San Fernando quake. The 6.7-magnitude temblor killed 65 people. 

More than 20 years in the making, the map used earthquake information recorded by instruments. For older quakes, estimates of the epicenters and damage were made based on reports in travelers’ journals, mission records and Gold Rush-era newspapers, Toppozada said. 

The map shows that, on average, California has been jarred by a quake of magnitude-6 or higher every year since 1850, Toppozada said. 

Since 1800, earthquakes capable of damaging unreinforced buildings have occurred at least six times in the Los Angeles area north to San Fernando, San Francisco Bay area to Santa Cruz, and the region from Eureka to Cape Mendocino. 

A 1999 U.S. Geological Survey study concluded that there is a 70 percent chance that a large earthquake will shake the Bay area in the next 30 years. 

The study found that the rate of large quakes in the region dropped after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, probably because it released strain on local faults.  

But the study said strain on those faults has been slowly building and strong quakes began to occur in the 1980s. 

The new map shows that the San Andreas Fault system has been relatively quiet in the past 90 years compared to a century earlier. 

That “raises the red flag” that the fault could be building up pressure and could be helpful as scientists determine whether a major fault will erupt on the fault in the next 30 years, Toppozada said. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.consrv.ca.gov/dmg/geohaz/ms49.htm 

SAN FRANCISCO — Investigators have searched the apartment of the owners of the dogs that fatally attacked their neighbor, Diane Whipple, outside her apartment two weeks ago. 

KGO-TV is reporting that investigators searched the apartment of Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller on Friday and removed boxes of evidence. It is not clear what was recovered. 

“I only wish it were done sooner,” said Michael Cardoza, an attorney for Sharon Smith, Whipple’s partner. “Now that the D.A.’s homicide team is involved, we’re pleased.” 

Whipple died Jan. 26 in her apartment hallway after being attacked by the two mastiff-Canary Island dogs.  

Prosecutors are still mulling charges against Noel and Knoller, who are both attorneys. 

In another development, police said they have solid evidence that one of the dogs had a history of biting. 

A former tenant of the Pacific Heights building was passing by the dogs when one of them lunged and bit him. Police Lt. Henry Hunter said the skin was not broken, but there was swelling and bruising. 

The owners of the dogs are under investigation to determine if they knew of any dangerous tendencies the animals might have had, according to District Attorney Terence Hallinan.  

He has said they could face manslaughter charges in Whipple’s death under a state law regarding dogs trained to fight, attack or kill. 

Cardoza expects to file suit against the couple within a month. 

The canines involved in Whipple’s death are part of a fighting-dog ring in which dogs were bred for such jobs as protecting illicit drug labs.  

The ring was run by two white supremacist inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison, and in a bizarre twist, Noel and Knoller recently adopted one of the inmates, 38-year-old Paul John Schneider.

The Associated Press 

SACRAMENTO — Damage caused by a truck driver who rammed his 18-wheeler into the state Capitol last month could top $8 million, a legislator said Friday. 

The General Services Department has estimated damage to the Capitol at $5 million to $8 million, said Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza, chairman of the Legislature’s Joint Rules Committee. 

He has since been told it will be at the upper end of that range. 

“It could run even higher,” Cardoza said. “It’s amazing how quickly it adds up. The first day’s tally was $2-to-$3 million, then it was $3-to-$5 (million), now it’s $5-to-$8 (million).” 

The preliminary damage estimate didn’t include the cost to fight the resulting fire or the cost of investigating the crash, the Merced Democrat said. 

Driver Mike Bowers, 37, of Hemet, was killed but no one else was injured when his big rig struck the Capitol’s south porch Jan. 16 as the Assembly was adjourning for the night. 

Bowers’ employer, Dick Simon Trucking Inc. of Salt Lake City, has a $50 million insurance policy on its drivers, and the state will seek reimbursement from the insurance company once all the costs have been tallied, said Cardoza, whose committee oversees maintenance of the Capitol. 

The California Highway Patrol has spent $179,724 on the crash, $175,000 of that for personnel costs, spokeswoman Anne DaVico said Friday. The CHP investigation and resulting costs are continuing, she said. 

The Sacramento Metro Fire Department determined Friday that its total cost is $23,194, said spokesman Capt. Don Braziel. Costs to other agencies, including Sacramento police, weren’t available Friday. 

The company’s insurer made an early offer to settle the claim but the state rejected it as premature, Cardoza said. He said that decision turned out to be wise, because costs keep mounting. 

Jeff Abernathy, the trucking company’s security manager, said he couldn’t comment Friday because he hadn’t seen the damage estimates. Abernathy said neither the company’s insurer nor its attorney would comment. He would not reveal the name of the insurance company. 

Water used to fight the fire flooded the Capitol’s elevator shafts, which had to be repeatedly pumped as water seeped back in from the surrounding substructure, Cardoza said. 

The elevators had to be checked for damage, mold had to be contained and plaster replaced. 

The state archivist had to specially treat old books, antiques and other artifacts in the historic governor’s office because smoke contains damaging acids. 

“That is an incredibly expensive process, so we don’t even know yet all of the different costs that are involved,” Cardoza said. 

He has scheduled a Feb. 22 hearing to gather what he hopes will be final damage estimates. 

LOS ANGELES — The convicted killer of Bill Cosby’s son has withdrawn his appeal and confessed that he murdered Ennis Cosby, an act which he called “great wickedness” in a letter to authorities that was released Friday. 

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley announced the development after Mikhail Markhasev and his lawyer filed a notice in appeals court that they were abandoning efforts to reverse Markhasev’s conviction. 

In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Kyle Brodie, the 22-year-old Markhasev apologized to the victim’s family and said he wanted to abandon his appeal and admit his guilt. 

“Although my appeal is in its beginning stages, I don’t want to continue with it because it’s based on falsehood and deceit,” said Markhasev’s hand-written letter. “I am guilty and I want to do the right thing.” 

Markhasev added, “More than anything I want to apologize to the victim’s family. It is my duty as a Christian and it’s the least I can do after the great wickedness for which I’m responsible. This is way overdue and although my apology is too late, it’s still the right thing to do.” 

Ennis Cosby, 27, a graduate student at Columbia University, was home on vacation when he was shot to death while fixing a flat tire near a freeway offramp in January 1997. 

Markhasev, a Ukrainian-born immigrant, was convicted of the shooting in which Cosby was a target of opportunity. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. 

After the conviction, Markhasev’s lawyer tried to win a new trial on grounds that incriminating letters used against him had been forged by another convict. But that attempt was rejected. 

Cosby’s family had no comment, spokesman Joel Brokaw said. “This is an extremely rare event,” Brodie told a news conference. He said he knew of no other case in which a defendant has made such an explicit post-conviction confession to a prosecutor. 

Deputy District Attorney Anne Ingalls, who handled the case, said she had no doubt that the letter of confession was penned by Markhasev because “I recognized the handwriting.” She said she always believed she had an “airtight case.” 

As for Markhasev’s motivation, Cooley said, “It falls in the category of confession is good for the soul.” 

In his letter, Markhasev said he had tried to get a message to the Cosby family about a month ago but does not believe they received word that he wanted to confess. 

“I’m not coming to you with guile or hidden agendas,” Markhasev said. “This is as simple and plain as I can get. ... This is not about me, but about those whose lives I’ve marred and my motive is to at least try to mend the things which I’ve destroyed.” 

While legislators continue to debate plans to help the state’s debt-ridden utilities avoid bankruptcy, a federal court judge could take the matter into his own hands Monday and order an increase of nearly 50 percent in electricity rates. 

Southern California Edison says the increase is needed so it can recover the billions of dollars it owes power generators. Edison wants the increase to begin within seven days of the judge’s ruling, before a hearing can be held on the underlying merits of its case. 

The utility is arguing that if the court later rules against Edison or lowers the amount granted, refunds could be made. 

Edison sued the state Public Utilities Commission last November for refusing to lift a rate freeze that has been in effect since the state deregulated its utilities in 1996. The company wants to pass to ratepayers wholesale electricity costs, which have skyrocketed since last summer. 

The lawsuit is scheduled to be heard in U.S. District Court on Monday, and if a ruling in Edison’s favor is issued the state is expected to appeal. 

A similar lawsuit filed by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was recently transferred to the same court. Both cases are likely to be consolidated, although that hasn’t happened yet. 

Edison won a preliminary victory in its lawsuit in January when U.S. District Court Judge Ronald S.W. Lew agreed with the utility’s central claim that regulating wholesale rates was a federal – not a state – concern. But he allowed the PUC to pursue a claim that Edison ignored opportunities to buy electricity at a lower cost. 

The PUC is opposing Edison’s application in part because it has not finished its review of the company’s power purchases. 

Edison had originally sought a rate increase to help it recover past costs as well as cover any current cost overruns. After the state committed $10 billion to buy power on behalf of the utilities last week, Edison dropped the demand for current compensation. It is now seeking a smaller rate increase it says is needed to recoup about $2.5 billion in past costs. 

The PUC argues that if the injunction is granted and Edison recoups its costs within one year, rates would rise by about 3 cents per kilowatt hour – a nearly 50 percent hike. Ratepayers now pay a state-capped 6.5 cents for the cost of power, which doesn’t include additional costs for transmission and service. 

Edison says it wants to spread those costs over three years, raising rates by a more modest 1 cent per kilowatt hour. 

State Attorney General Bill Lockyer said late Thursday he will ask the court to deny Edison’s request or at least delay a ruling while the state debates several plans to reduce the debt incurred by Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric. 

The legislature is considering several options, including buying the state’s transmission grid from the utilities. 

“The situation which the governor and Legislature face is already complex, and granting SCE the relief it now seeks will simply create a new obstacle around which the state must navigate,” Lockyer’s court filing states. 

Lockyer also told the court that thanks to recent state action Edison no longer faces the threat of imminent bankruptcy and should not be granted any immediate rate hike. 

Lockyer and the PUC also both argue that Edison should not be allowed to alter an agreement it entered freely in 1996. 

“Edison zealously advocated and lobbied for the enactment of AB 1890 (the deregulation bill), knowing full well that AB 1890 froze rates and created risks for utilities,” the PUC states in its court filing. 

The PUC also argues that Edison “reaped billions of dollars in excess revenues as a result of the regulatory scheme it now attacks.” 

A recent independent audit commissioned by the PUC revealed that since 1996, Edison transferred $4.8 billion to its parent corporation, Edison International, which used the money to pay debt, buy back stock and issue dividends to shareholders. 

DEVELOPMENTS 

• California power regulators brace for an electricity-sucking cold snap stretching well into next week that could make it even tougher for the state to draw much-needed power from the Pacific Northwest. 

• The strapped power grid remains under a Stage 3 alert with reserves threatening to fall below 1.5 percent. No blackouts are expected. 

• Duke Energy files a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles challenging Gov. Gray Davis’ authority to commandeer long-term power contracts owned by financially struggling Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. 

• A group of power suppliers sues in federal court in Los Angeles resisting the California Power Exchange’s attempt to make them pay nearly $1 billion in bills owed by Edison and PG&E. 

• Three power wholesalers, Reliant Energy, Dynegy and Mirant, form a committee to consider their options for obtaining payment for energy purchased by the Independent System Operator, which oversees the state’s power grid, and by Edison and PG&E. 

• Davis says that by the end of next week he expects to have agreement among state officials, SoCal Edison and PG&E on a plan to help the two utilities pay off their debts. 

• The state stands by its refusal to pay for the last-minute emergency electricity purchases the state power grid makes on behalf of Edison and PG&E. Southern California Edison CEO John Bryson tells lawmakers at an Assembly oversight hearing that his company can’t afford the high bills. 

• Also at the Assembly energy hearing, Bryson defends his company’s decision to issue dividends in September while the utility was facing extremely high wholesale costs.  

Failing to pay them would have scared off lenders, he testifies. 

— Robert D. Glynn, head of PG&E Corp., the parent of Pacific Gas and Electric Co., tells the Assembly panel that the parent company has not hidden its assets. PG&E Corp. restructured to let non-utility subsidiaries get separate credit ratings, but those entities are still fully owned by the parent company, Glynn says. 

— Law enforcement officials give the Davis administration their plan for enforcing an energy conservation mandate issued last week by Davis. It will take effect by mid-March. 

The executive order mandates $1,000 fines for retailers who fail to “substantially reduce” outdoor lighting after business hours. The goal is to reduce retail outdoor lighting demand by 50 percent. 

Stanislaus County Sheriff Les Weidman, president of the California State Sheriffs Association, says law enforcement wants to work with businesses, with an emphasis on rewarding those that dim their lights. 

— The California Energy Commission announces a new Web site, www.consumerenergycenter.org, aimed at helping consumers conserve power. 

— Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater, introduces legislation that would double penalties for crimes committed during blackouts and give law enforcement advance notice so they can flood blackout areas with patrol cars. 

WHAT’S NEXT: 

— A federal hearing is scheduled Monday in Los Angeles to consider an Edison lawsuit seeking to pass its high wholesale costs onto customers. PG&E has filed a similar lawsuit. State lawmakers, concerned that the utility may prevail in the case, hope to devise a debt-relief plan before the hearing. 

— The state’s Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency start an outreach campaign next week, sending e-mails to 80,000 associations, chambers of commerce, and economic development organizations that will in turn pass the message on to more than 300,000 businesses. 

— U.S. District Judge Frank Damrell Jr. holds a hearing Friday in Sacramento on the ISO’s attempt to continue requiring three major wholesalers to sell it power. He is weighing whether to replace his temporary restraining order against the three utilities into a preliminary injunction, the next step before a permanent injunction. 

— The governor expects to reach agreement by Friday on a plan to help Edison and PG&E pay off their debts. 

THE PROBLEM: 

— High wholesale power costs, high demand, transmission glitches and a tight supply worsened by scarce hydroelectric power in the Northwest and maintenance at aging California power plants are factors in the crisis. 

Much of the problem is blamed on the state’s 1996 utility deregulation law, which required the state’s investor-owned utilities to sell their power plants and buy wholesale power, but capped the rates they can charge customers. At the same time, no new power plants were built in California. 

Edison and PG&E say they’ve lost nearly $13 billion due to soaring wholesale prices and are on the brink of bankruptcy. Electricity and natural gas suppliers, worried by the two utilities’ poor credit ratings, are refusing to sell to them, leading the state to start buying power for the utilities’ nearly 9 million residential and business customers. 

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers in Northern and Central California could face natural gas shortages by next month – or as soon as next week if a cold front hits – the power company warned. 

The problem intensified when companies that supply about 10 percent of PG&E’s gas terminated deliveries after Tuesday expiration of a U.S. Energy Department order that required suppliers to continue providing gas to PG&E. 

The utility’s chief executive, Gordon R. Smith, sent a letter to Gov. Gray Davis late Wednesday asking him to support PG&E’s request to state regulators for an emergency declaration that would require Southern California Gas Co. to buy extra gas and sell it to the financially ailing utility. 

Smith also asked the governor to use the state’s credit to help buy gas for PG&E’s residential users and other core customers. 

Davis is reviewing the request, a spokesman said Thursday.  

The California Public Utilities Commission declined to take up PG&E’s request at its Thursday meeting. 

Without enough supplies, many of PG&E’s 3.9 million gas customers and entire cities, from the Bay Area and Sacramento to Fresno, face potential shortages of gas for furnaces, stoves and clothes dryers. 

Because electricity-generating plants that burn gas, along with hospitals and industrial users, are among the “noncore” customers whose supplies would be reduced or curtailed first, any gas crisis could affect electricity supplies. 

PG&E projects that its gas storage inventory will be drawn down to minimum levels by mid-March. Even before then, executives said, diversions from noncore customers could occur, especially if cold weather increases demand for heat. 

Projected temperatures of 39 degrees to 40 degrees would place a core load on PG&E’s system of 2.1 billion cubic feet. The utility has about 1 billion cubic feet on contract and can draw 950 million additional cubic feet from supplies. 

FRESNO — Mariposa court officials are reviewing a policy requiring criminal background checks for reporters covering the case of Yosemite killer Cary Stayner. 

News editors who were surprised to hear about the novel restriction imposed on the media – but not on other members of the public – challenged the measure Friday that they claim violates the Constitution.  

A public interest group concerned about free press issues said the county may have violated the civil rights of reporters. 

Editors at the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News wrote letters Friday officially protesting the constraint, and editors at The Fresno Bee planned to phone the court to challenge the policy. 

“Any citizen can go watch a trial,” said San Francisco Chronicle Managing Editor Jerry Roberts.  

“To try and impose some special restrictions and sanctions on news organizations because they’re covering a trial is a clear violation of the protections of a free press.” 

County officials said they required the background checks for security purposes in the historic little courthouse in the foothills of the Sierra. 

No threats have been made on Stayner’s life, but county officials wanted to make sure there were no rogues in the gallery. 

Michael Berest, the court’s executive officer, said he thought he was following the procedure used during Stayner’s case in U.S. District Court in Fresno.  

But federal court officials said they never checked to see if reporters had criminal records. 

“It is being re-evaluated,” Berest said Friday.  

“We understand the concerns that have been raised and we are looking at it very seriously.” 

No member of the media had questioned the policy until The Associated Press protested  

this week.  

The Supreme Court has upheld the right of the press and public to attend criminal trials for years, said Kent Pollock, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition. 

The coalition – a network of citizens, journalists, attorneys and public officials concerned with open government, free speech and free press – lodged a letter of complaint with Mariposa County.  

Pollock said the group would be willing to file a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of reporters who had consented to the background check. 

“By requiring background checks on reporters and not the general public, the county is imposing a highly intrusive, utterly arbitrary invasion of privacy on professionals whose work is protected from governmentally imposed burdens,” Pollock wrote in a letter to the county counsel. 

At least 16 reporters had passed the criminal background check by Thursday, after their fingerprints were analyzed by a Department of Justice computer, said Lt. Brian Muller of the Mariposa Sheriff’s Department. 

Berest said a Friday deadline to submit fingerprints for analysis was on hold as court officials reviewed the policy. 

Stayner, who is serving a life sentence for murdering Yosemite naturalist Armstrong, faces trial in Mariposa on charges that he murdered three tourists visiting the park. 

Carole Sund, her daughter, Juli, and their friend, Silvina Pelosso, disappeared while staying on the outskirts of the park at the Cedar Lodge, where Stayner worked as a handyman.  

Their bodies were found a month later and Stayner reportedly confessed to the killings. 

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 5 in the case, but is likely to be postponed.  

Stayner’s lawyer filed a motion to continue the case until April 26. Prosecutors are not contesting the motion, said defense lawyer Marcia A. Morrissey.

WASHINGTON — To win the centerpiece of his energy plan, President Bush will have to change some minds among seven Republican senators who staunchly oppose oil drilling in Alaska’s pristine Arctic wildlife refuge. 

That’s in addition to penetrating an almost solid wall of Democratic opposition and overcoming intense lobbying from environmentalists who have made protection of the Arctic refuge their top priority, people on both sides of the issue agree. 

“We’ve got a lot of selling to do,” the president acknowledged recently. 

Bush, a former oilman, has made drilling in the now off-limits Arctic National Wildlife Refuge the focus of a campaign to boost domestic energy production, arguing that drilling and wildlife preservation can go hand in hand. 

But some members of the president’s own party have made clear their distaste for exploitation of the Alaska refuge. 

Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire is among the lawmakers bracing for a high-powered pitch from the White House. He says he won’t be swayed. 

A Republican energy bill, to be introduced next week in the Senate, will include as its core proposal the development of the refuge’s 1.5 million acre coastal plain where geologists believe 11 billion barrels of crude oil may be waiting. 

Democrats already have indicated they’re prepared to filibuster, if necessary, any legislation that includes the refuge issue. “It’s kryptonite and will kill the energy bill,” predicts Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. 

Congress set aside the refuge’s coastal plain for protection 41 years ago and oil companies have been lobbying to gain access to the tundra just east of the Prudhoe Bay oilfields ever since.  

Environmentalists view it as a national treasure not to be disturbed, citing the annual migration of caribou and numerous migratory birds to the refuge’s coast along the ice-filled Beaufort Sea. 

While Bush’s victory in November gave new impetus to lifting the congressional ban, Senate elections the same day made it more difficult. 

Six Republicans and one Democrat who favored development of the refuge either lost their bids for re-election or retired. Two of them — Attorney General John Ashcroft and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham — are now part of the Bush Cabinet. They were all replaced by Democrats opposed to drilling. 

On the other hand, all but one of the eight anti-drilling Republicans are back, showing little sign of shifting sides. Along with Smith, they are Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, James Jeffords of Vermont, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois and Richard Lugar of Indiana. 

The lone GOP drilling opponent who lost — Delaware’s William Roth — was defeated by a Democrat with the same stance. Only in Nevada and Virginia did the pro-drilling forces make gains with the election of two GOP senators — John Ensign and George Allen — who are likely to be in their camp. 

Three Democratic senators have made clear their support for developing the refuge: Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, both of Hawaii and John Breaux of Louisiana. 

Last year, pro-drilling forces won a narrow 51-49 symbolic vote on drilling in the refuge as part of a budget bill. With the changes produced by last November’s election, that vote now would be 54-46 against drilling. 

Public attitudes, according to various surveys, indicate voters prefer the Alaska refuge be protected. A recent Associated Press poll showed 53 percent of those responding were against oil drilling there, while 33 favored development. 

“I don’t think the case has been made,” said Collins, the Maine senator, in an interview. “We need to look at other ways to increase production and conserve more energy and develop alternative energy sources.” 

Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, who will guide energy legislation through the Senate and for years has been a staunch advocate for drilling in the refuge, says he thinks he can win some anti-drilling senators to his side. 

He’s circulating invitations to senators to join him in a trip there, perhaps as early as next month. If they see it for the barren land that it is, they might be convinced oil can be drilled there using modern technology without doing environmental harm, he argues. 

Snowe says she might take Murkowski up on the invitation but doesn’t believe the trip will change her mind. “There are other steps that can be taken,” she says. 

SAN JOSE — The small Silicon Valley company developing a personal flying machine has gotten an important boost in its effort to make the sci-fi dream a reality: a $5 million grant from the military. 

The SoloTrek Exo-Skeletor Flying Vehicle being developed by Millennium Jet Inc. has not been tested in the air yet, though it has been undergoing rigorous testing in a NASA wind tunnel.But the project is showing enough promise to attract the interest of the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA), which hopes the SoloTrek someday can help soldiers get around obstacles or avoid dangerous situations. 

“It’s incredibly exciting,” said Michael Moshier, an aerospace engineer and former Navy combat pilot who founded Sunnyvale-based Millennium Jet five years ago and has been pouring his own money into it. DARPA’s funding will come over the next three years, allowing special forces troops to to do further testing after that. 

But don’t strap on your helmet just yet: Consumer use – if ever – would come much later. 

The SoloTrek is one of many projects being considered for a DARPA program called Exoskeletons for Human Performance Augmentation. It aims to find technologies that will help troops maneuver better and carry more firepower and supplies. 

“Systems with varying degrees of sophistication may be explored, from an unpowered mechanical apparatus to full-powered mechanical suits,” according to a description on a DARPA Web page.  

The agency won’t comment further about the program. 

If the SoloTrek works as designed, it would take off and land like a helicopter and transport its user in a standing position. The pilot would stand on two footrests, lean on a sliding backrest and grip handles that control the tilt and speed of Hula Hoop-sized ducts that blow air. 

The 7-foot-6-inch tall aircraft would have a 10.5-gallon fuel tank and a top speed of about 80 mph. It would be able to stay up for three hours, and travel about 120 miles. 

NASA has been helping with engineering and testing, but for the most part, the project has been built on the dreams and sweat of Moshier and his chief engineer, Rob Bulaga. The company is adding employees, in hopes of bringing the total number to seven. 

Moshier estimates that even with the DARPA funding, Millennium Jet needs to raise another $3 million over the next three years to stay alive. 

The next step for the SoloTrek is to be put through what Moshier calls a “high-power static thrust test,” in which a test pilot will fire the prototype up to full power for the first time. The machine will remain chained to the ground, however, while researchers measure its thrust. 

If all goes well, by late spring or early summer Moshier hopes to begin “tethered hover testing” – the SoloTrek would be propelled off the ground for the first time, but still leashed to the ground. 

“It’ll be the first time we’ll see daylight under the tires, so to speak,” Moshier said with a laugh Friday. “We’re continuing to push the envelope one step at a time.” 

On the Net: 

http://www.millenniumjet.com 

http://www.darpa.mil/dso/thrust/md/Exoskeletons/index.html 

SAN FRANCISCO — The federal appeals panel considering Napster Inc.’s fate will issue its ruling Monday in the high profile music-sharing lawsuit, the court announced Friday. 

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a decision by the three-judge panel will be released by 11 a.m. The decision is to be posted at the court’s Internet site at www.ce9.uscourts.gov. 

The court, which in the past year has issued rulings in favor of technology despite concerns of copyright infringement, national security and Internet monopolies, heard the recording industry’s case in October against the Napster site that acts as a gateway for millions of online surfers to exchange and record copyrighted music. 

The recording industry wants Napster shut down, alleging it is contributing to widespread copyright infringement. The panel could remove Napster from the Internet or allow it to keep operating. 

Napster maintains it is just providing a service for users to share music and not all of the music is copyright protected. 

The recording industry has accused the Redwood City-based company of copyright infringement and wants the giveaway stopped. Hilary Rosen, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, issued a statement Friday regarding the upcoming ruling. 

“We’re confident that the Ninth Circuit understands the severity of our claim and will uphold the decision of the U.S. Federal Court.  

Monday’s decision may finally clear the way for the legitimate online marketplace to thrive in an environment that encourages both creativity and a respect for copyright,” Rosen said. 

The 9th Circuit temporarily halted a federal judge’s July order shutting down Napster so it could decide for itself whether Napster could continue operating while the recording industry’s case against it proceeds in court. 

On the Net: 

http://www.napster.com 

Recording Industry Association of America: http://www.riaa.com 

WASHINGTON — From credit cards to installment plans, the Internal Revenue Service offers taxpayers several options if they can’t pay their tax bills in full. 

Those who are unable to file their tax return by midnight April 16 – the traditional date of April 15 is a Sunday – also can ask for an automatic four-month extension.  

That extension, however, doesn’t apply to any taxes owed, which must be paid on time. 

“Filing for an extension does give taxpayers some extra time to make sure all of their paperwork is in order, but it doesn’t push back the deadline to send the IRS a tax payment,” said Kathy Burlison, senior tax specialist at H&R Block.  

“In fact, you are required to estimate what you owe and send that amount with your extension form to the IRS.” 

Any tax liability that isn’t paid by the April 16 due date could be subject to interest and a late penalty, she added.  

Taxpayers should use IRS Form 4868 to request an extension. For another two months – the IRS doesn’t automatically grant these – use form 2688. 

There are a variety of ways to pay a tax bill: 

• Credit Card. Taxpayers can use American Express, MasterCard or Discover to charge taxes due by calling either Official Payments Corp. at 1 (800) 2PAY-TAX (272-9829) or PhoneCharge Inc. at 1 (888) ALLTAXX (255-8299). A convenience fee is applied; Visa is not participating in the program. 

Tax experts say people should carefully consider the interest rate on a credit card when deciding whether to use it.  

An IRS installment agreement currently charges 9 percent interest plus a late penalty of one-half percent – one-quarter percent for taxpayers who filed returns on time – compared to some credit card interest rates of 18 percent or higher. 

• Installment agreement. IRS Form 9465 is used to request such a payment plan, which is guaranteed for taxpayers whose total liability doesn’t exceed $10,000, haven’t had an installment plan in the last five years and agree to pay the bill within three years or less, among other requirements.  

Interest, late payment penalties and a $43 processing fee also apply. 

• Offer in compromise. For large unpaid tax liabilities, the IRS may accept a lesser amount if the taxpayer can’t pay.  

Form 656 is used to make such an offer, and the debt can often be paid off over time with fixed monthly payments. If a taxpayer defaults, the entire original tax liability plus interest and penalties will be reinstated. 

• Direct debit. Taxpayers who file returns electronically can have their taxes due debited by the IRS from a checking or savings account.  

Taxpayers can specify the date for the debit, meaning they can file their return early and then wait until April 16 to pay the bill.

NEW YORK — News that Motorola plans to cut up to 4,000 additional jobs sent the stock market down sharply Friday as investors grew more pessimistic about the prospects of a quick turnaround for the economy and company earnings. 

Pharmaceutical and financial stocks advanced, but not enough to offset the broader downturn that began early in the session on reports that Dell Computer was also pondering layoffs. Analysts said investors, still unable to take many chances, were again shifting away from technology to sectors viewed as less risky. 

“The focus is on the near term. Are we going to go into a recession and who is going to warn next about bad earnings,” said Robert Streed, portfolio manager at Northern Select Equity. “This is another excuse to take profits, especially on the technology side, where you had some significant gains last month.” 

All three major indexes are now within a handful of points of where they started 2001. The Dow is slightly down for the year. 

Motorola’s announcement Friday wasn’t a huge surprise, given the semiconductor and wireless technology company’s previously disclosed 5,000-plus job cuts.  

— The Associated Press 

But it accelerated a technology selloff already under way on more general concerns that the sector will suffer in the months ahead as businesses and consumers spend less. 

Motorola fell 92 cents to $18.90. 

Dell dropped $2.56 to $23.50, a 10 percent loss, on a Wall Street Journal article that the computer maker was considering job cuts. 

Future performance worries also hurt Nortel Networks, which fell $2.20 to $30.50, and Oracle, down $3.56, or 13 percent, at $23.56. 

The market has been struggling for months with worries about profits and whether stocks are fairly valued in light of the slowing economy. Two interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve last month helped spur some strong technology gains, but the rally has since faltered. 

“It just seems like there hasn’t been any good news for a while in technology, and these are the latest examples,” said Charles Pradilla, chief investment strategist at SG Cowen Securities. “The earnings news and the announcements we’ve heard in this sector have been overwhelmingly negative. 

“There really isn’t a reason for these stocks to move higher right now.” 

The financial and drug sectors were stronger, reflecting investors’ desire for less volatile stocks. Banker J.P. Morgan Chase rose 27 cents to $51.95, while pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson climbed 35 cents to $94.98. Utilities also benefited; Duke Energy climbed 27 cents to $41.30. 

But retailers trailed for a second session after Thursday’s selloff on worries that the sector will struggle in a sluggish economy. Wal-Mart dropped $1.90 to $50.40. 

Also Friday, Lucent fell $1.53 to $15.36, a 9 percent drop, on a Journal report that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating accounting practices at the company. 

Declining issues outnumbered advancers 17 to 13 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 1.28 billion shares, down from 1.32 billion Thursday. 

The Russell 2000 index fell 5.84 to 497.05. 

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 2.6 percent. Germany’s DAX index was dropped 2.1 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 slipped 0.7 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell nearly1.1 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

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

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

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Sean Lampley scored a career-high 32 points and hit the game winning 3-pointer with under a second left to give California a 72-69 overtime victory over Oregon State. 

Jason Heide scored a career-high 23 points to lead Oregon State (8-14, 2-8 Pac-10), which only had seven players in uniform. Sophomore Emonte Jernigan did not play, while point guard Deaundra Tanner did not dress for the game because of a two-game suspension for breaking an unspecified team rule. 

With one second to play in regulation, Adam Masten inbounded to Jimmy Haywood, who dribbled once and hit a layup to tie the game at 62 and force overtime. 

Solomon Hughes rebounded a 3-point attempt by teammate Joe Shipp and banked in a 6-footer to put California (16-6, 7-3) ahead 69-68 with 24 seconds in overtime. 

Heide was then fouled by Hughes, and hit one of two free throws to tie the score. 

The Golden Bears then inbounded the ball to Shantay Legans, who brought the ball up and found Lampley at the top of the key for the 3-pointer. 

After Heide hit two free throws to tie the score at 60 with 40.3 seconds remaining, Lampley backed Heide down at the other end and drew a foul. Lampley made both free throws with 10.6 seconds left to give the Bears the lead. 

Heide tried to answer at the other end, but his fade-away 12-footer was blocked out of bounds by Lampley, setting up Haywood’s layup.

Perhaps labor martyr Joe Hill’s not dead after all. 

The International Workers of the World, better known as the wobblies, announced Thursday they have organized a union at Berkeley’s Community Conservation Centers.  

The 16 new union members sort and sell the recycled goods the city collects from its citizens, then sells the goods for re-use.  

The dozen or so recyclers who work for the Ecology Center have been members of the IWW since 1989. 

“We voted yesterday,” said CCC employee Ron Wynn. Wynn does a little bit of everything at CCC – he drives a forklift, sorts materials and works shifts overseeing the recycling center at Dwight and Martin Luther King Jr. ways.  

With a union contract, there will be “better pay, more benefits for us and our families, and better working conditions,” he said. 

The employees had wanted to form a union the easy way, by card check, with the workers filling out cards authorizing a union. If a majority completes the cards, then the employer must accept a union. But the employer must accept the card check process. 

Jeffrey Belchamber, CCC general manager, didn’t. So the union had the National Labor Relations Board hold a vote Wednesday. With one employee absent, all the workers voted for the union. 

Belchamber said he didn’t see the need for a union. “I think that I’ve been a fair manager,” he said. Union negotiations will take time away from his other duties, he said. “I hope people will be reasonable and educated,” he said. 

Steve Ongerth, branch secretary for the IWW, contends that the CCC does not pay its workers a “living wage,” a minimum wage mandated by the city for businesses that contract with it, but Belchamber strongly disagreed. “They don’t know what they’re talking about. They’re ignorant,” he said. 

Berkeley’s Finance Director Fran David said the city does not have staff to track businesses to oversee which ones comply with the ordinance. The council decided that “essentially enforcement will be complaint driven,” she said. 

Ongerth boasts that the IWW, founded in 1905, is a radical union. Organizers are unpaid, so union dues are low he said. They organize everyone within one industry, so that unions are not in competition with each other.  

As for the long history of the union – with which singer-songwritier Joe Hill was an organizer – it’s “one of the first to call for an eight-hour day,” he said. The union opposed the Chinese exclusion act, fought for child labor laws and was “one of the first unions to organize woman,” Ongerth said.

Friday, Feb. 9

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling Classes for  

Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit 

www.stagebridge.org 

Berkeley PC Users Group 

7 p.m. 

Vista College 

2020 Milvia St., Room 303 

E-Mail: meldancing@aol.com 

Introducing: Julia Morgan  

School for Girls 

7:30 - 8:30 a.m. 

Julia Morgan School for Girls 

Holy Names College 

Sky Room, Durocher Hall 

3510 Mountain Blvd.  

Oakland 

A select gathering of business and professional women devoted to fostering leadership in the young girls in our community.  

Saturday, Feb. 10

Spirits in the Time of AIDS Open Mic.  

1 p.m. 

Pro Arts Gallery  

461 Ninth St.  

Oakland  

As part of “Consecrations,” the public is invited to see special performances, spoken word, commentary and more. 763-9425 

Masters of Persian Classical Music 

8 p.m. 

Zellerbach Hall  

UC Berkeley  

Featuring vocalist Mohammad Reza Sharjarian and his son, Homayoun Sharjarian.  

$20 - $40  

Call 642-9988 or e-mail tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Dreams & Intuition 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

1502 Tenth St.  

Marcia Emery, Ph.D., will discuss how to attune your intuitive dream antenna, intuitively unravel the symbolic message of a dream symbol and apply an intuitive dream interpretation method to the entire dream. $85 526-5510 

“The West Wing Meets the East Bay” 

7:30 p.m. 

Saint Joseph the Worker Church 

1640 Addison St.  

A conversation with Martin Sheen. Tickets available at Black Oak Books, Cody’s Books, St. Joseph the Worker Church, and at the door.  

$20 donation 

525-3787  

Annuals for the Dry Garden 

10 a.m. 

UC Botanical Garden 

200 Centennial Drive  

Annie Hayes of Annie’s annuals will suggest some annuals to plant in gardens that are water-deprived during the summer months.  

$15  

Call 643-1924 

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  

Horacio Gutierrez  

3 p.m. 

Hertz Hall UC Berkeley  

The Cuban-American pianist will perform Berg’s Sonata, Op.1, George Perle’s Nine Bagatelles, Schumann’s Fantasie, Op. 17 and Beethoven’s Sonata No. 29.  

$24 - $42  

Call 642-9988 or e-mail tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Storyteller Yolanda Rhodes  

1:30 - 2:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science  

UC Berkeley  

Rhodes performs music-filled stories of African and African-American history and folklore. Part of series of events throughout February to honor Black History Month. Included in admission.  

$5 - $7 Call 642-5132 

Reimagining Pacific Cities  

6 - 8:30 p.m. 

New Pacific Studio  

1523 Hearst Ave.  

“How are Pacific cities reshaping their cultural and environmental institutions to better serve the needs and enhance the present and future quality of life of all segments of their societies?” A series of ten seminars linking the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, and other pacific cities. $10 per meeting Call 849-0217 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

“From Swastika to Jim Crow” 

2 - 4:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Due to the depression and anti-Semitism in the ‘30s, many Jewish “refugee scholars” found they had difficulty finding jobs and were embraced by black universities. Both students and teachers, in the pre-Civil Rights era, found they shared a common experience of living under oppression and a passion for education. Guest speaker Jim McWilliams.  

$2 suggested donation  

Call 848-0237 x127 

Why Do a Long Retreat? 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Pl.  

Retreatants from Holland, Brazil, Germany, and other places share how they made the time to participate in two and four month retreats.  

Call 843-6812 

African-American “Death of a Salesman” 

Audtions 

1 p.m. 

Live Oak Theatre  

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman)  

There are roles for eight men and five women, aged 30 - 60. Auditioners are asked to present a monologue no longer that three minutes. Roles are non-paying. 

Rhythm & Muse Open Mike  

2 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Museum  

2621 Durant (at Bowditch)  

Featuring poet/photographer Valentine Pierce.  

Call 527-9753 

Monday, Feb. 12  

African-American “Death of a Salesman” 

Audtions 

7 p.m. 

Live Oak Theatre  

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman)  

There are roles for eight men and five women, aged 30 - 60. z are asked to present a monologue no longer that three minutes. Roles are non-paying. 

Read Those Plans 

7 - 10 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Architect Andus Brandt will instruct how to read architectural plans.  

$35  

Call 525-7610 

Tuesday, Feb. 13 

“Great Decisions” - U.S. Trade Policy 

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. Many of the lectures are presented by specialists in their field and are often from the University of California. Feedback received at these lectures is held in high regard by those in the government responsible for national policy.  

$5 single session, $35 entire series for single person, $60 entire series for couple  

Call Berton Wilson, 526-2925 

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 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

Wednesday, Feb. 14 

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Faye Carol Sings Lady Day 

7:30 p.m. 

King Middle School  

1781 Rose St.  

A tribute to Billie Holiday including Lady Day’s most popular songs, including “Strange Fruit,” “Good Morning Heartache,” “God Bless the Child” and “You Let Me Down.” Benefit for KPFA Radio and La Pena Cultural Center.  

$15 

Call 848-6767 x609 or visit www.kpfa.org 

Planning Commission Public Hearing  

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

The commission is holding public hearings on the Planning Commission Draft General Plan. The commission requests that all written comments on the plan be submitted by March 1.  

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  

Free “Quit Smoking” Class 

5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis (at Ashby)  

Cease your smoking with the help of this free class offered to Berkeley residents and employees. 

Call 644-6422 to enroll or e-mail quitnow@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Natural Conversations 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Hillside Community Church  

1422 Navellier St.  

El Cerrito 

A series of Thursday evenings of conversation “engaging people in discovering the pleasures of an excellent discussion.” Focus on conversations in nature and explore what they are meant to convey.  

$10  

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Kathleen Lynch and host Mark States.  

644-0155 

Climbing Mt. Shasta 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Tim Keating of Sierra Wilderness Seminars will give a slide presentation on climbing and skiing this North California peak.  

Call 527-7377  

Berkeley Metaphysical Toastmasters Club  

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month.  

Call 869-2547 

“Religion, Power & the New Economy”  

1:30 - 3 p.m. 

Chapel of the Great Commission  

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

A panel discussion featuring distinguished GTU alumni/ae, in celebration of Dr. James A. Donahue’s inauguration as President of the GTU.  

Call 649-2400 

West CAT Meeting 

7 p.m. 

Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church  

997 University Ave.  

Review the racial and health disparities issues and see the model of the community capacity building.  

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  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Saturday, Feb. 17  

“Go-Go-Go Greenbelt!” 

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Rockridge BART  

Oakland  

A bike tour on this ride into the rolling East Bay hills. A free ride sponsored by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call 415-255-3233 for reservations or visit www.greenbelt.org 

Rockridge Writers 

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Spasso Coffeehouse  

6021 College Ave.  

Poets and writers meet to critique each other’s work. “Members’ work tends to be dark, humorous, surreal, or strange.”  

e-mail: berkeleysappho@yahoo.com 

Valentine’s Dinner Dance Benefit Gala 

4:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalists hall  

1924 Cedar (at Bonita)  

Dance to the music of Toru Saitu & his band. Benefits BFUU.  

$10 donation  

Call 849-9508 

Free Puppet Show  

1:30 - 2:30 p.m. 

Hall of Health  

2230 Shattuck Ave., Lower Level  

The Kids on the Block, an award-winning puppet troupe that includes puppets of diverse cultures and puppets with medical conditions such as leukemia and spina bifida. Free 

Call 549-1564  

Sunday, Feb. 18  

Waterfalls of Berkeley  

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

North Berkeley BART  

Sacramento at Delaware  

On this urban waterfall hike, discover three waterfalls along rushing creeks hidden in Berkeley neighborhoods. A free hike sponsored by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call 415-255-3233 for reservations or visit www.greenbelt.org 

Kaleidoscope Performances  

2 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts  

2640 College Ave. (at Derby)  

Yassir Chadley, traditional Moroccan musician and Sufi storyteller.  

$5 - $10  

Call 925-798-1300 

Healthful Building Materials 

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Learn about healthful materials in this seminar conducted by environmental consultant Darrel DeBoer.  

$35  

Call 525-7610 

Tuesday, Feb. 20 

“Great Decisions” - China & Taiwan 

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. Many of the lectures are presented by specialists in their field and are often from the University of California. Feedback received at these lectures is held in high regard by those in the government responsible for national policy.  

$5 single session 

Call Berton Wilson, 526-2925 

Berkeley Intelligent Conversation  

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

Jewish Community Center  

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose)  

With no religious affiliation, this twice-monthly group, led informally by former UC Berkeley extension lecturer Robert Berent, seeks to bring people together to have interesting discussions on contemporary topics. This evenings discussion topic is different cultural, ethnic and religious values.  

Call 527-9772  

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 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

John Henry, Steel-Driving Puppet 

3:30 p.m. 

South Branch Berkeley Library  

1901 Russel St.  

Loren and Dean Linnard, using a variety of rod and hand puppets, elaborate sets, and original songs and music, will tell the story of this legendary railroad man.  

Call 649-3943 

John Henry, Steel-Driving Puppet 

7 p.m. 

North Branch Berkeley Library  

1170 The Alameda 

Loren and Dean Linnard, using a variety of rod and hand puppets, elaborate sets, and original songs and music, will tell the story of this legendary railroad man.  

Call 649-3943 

Wednesday, Feb. 21 

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Control Hypertension 

6:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

Summit Medical Center - Summit Campus 

Summit South Cafeteria Conference Room  

3100 Summit St.  

Oakland 

Bessanderson McNeil, MPH, and the Ethnic Health Institute, will help attendees take control of their lives. Free 

Call 204-3443 

Sacred Cinema  

7 - 9 p.m. 

Pacific School of Religion 

1798 Scenic Ave., Chapel Six 

Ken Peer has sought to explore sacred themes and to draw attention to the spiritual lives of individuals from the world’s great wisdom traditions. See three of his short films at this free screening.  

Call 649-2523 

John Henry, Steel-Driving Puppet 

3:30 p.m. 

Claremont Library  

2940 Benvenue  

Loren and Dean Linnard, using a variety of rod and hand puppets, elaborate sets, and original songs and music, will tell the story of this legendary railroad man.  

Call 649-3943 

Thursday, Feb. 22 

Free “Quit Smoking” Class 

5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis (at Ashby)  

Cease your smoking with the help of this free class offered to Berkeley residents and employees. 

Call 644-6422 to enroll or e-mail quitnow@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Charles Ellick and host Louis Cuneo.  

644-0155 

Rivers of the World  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Pamela Michael, writer, educator and river conservationist, will highlight her new anthology “The Gift of Rivers: True Stories of Life on the Water,” showing slides of nearly 100 of the world’s great rivers. Free 

Call 527-4140 

Growl & Howl of Man & Woman 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Hillside Community Church  

1422 Navellier St.  

El Cerrito 

A series of Thursday evenings of conversation “engaging people in discovering the pleasures of an excellent discussion.” Bring your favorite gender assumptions and put them to the test.  

$10  

Agaves & Yuccas 

7 p.m. 

UC Botanical Garden 

200 Centennial Drive 

Mary and Gary Irish, experts on these plants will show you where to find these dry garden plants and how to makes them grow happily.  

$15 

Call 643-1924 

John Henry, Steel-Driving Puppet 

3:30 p.m.  

West Branch Berkeley Library  

1125 University Ave.  

Loren and Dean Linnard, using a variety of rod and hand puppets, elaborate sets, and original songs and music, will tell the story of this legendary railroad man.  

Call 649-3943 

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  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Saturday, Feb. 24 

Tibetan New Year’s Celebration 

6 - 9 p.m. 

Britta Hauenschild gives a flute concert followed by a festive dinner and New Year’s celebration. Proceeds support Nyingma Institute sacred art and education programs.  

$30 suggested donation  

Call 843-6812 

Celebrate Samuel H. Day, Jr.  

2 - 4 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists 

1924 Cedar St. (at Bonita)  

Longtime anti-nuclear activist and journalists, Day was the coordinator of the U.S. campaign to free Israeli nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu. Day died suddenly at his home in Madison, Wisconsin on Jan. 26.  

Call 548-3048 or visit www.nukewatch.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 

Reimagining Pacific Cities  

6 - 8:30 p.m. 

New Pacific Studio  

1523 Hearst Ave.  

“How are Pacific cities reshaping their cultural and environmental institutions to better serve the needs and enhance the present and future quality of life of all segments of their societies?” A series of ten seminars linking the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, and other pacific cities.  

$10 per meeting  

Call 849-0217 

Authors in the Library: Lois Silverstein 

11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Writer and performer, Silverstein, will read selections from “Oh My Darling Daughter,” “Behind the Stove,” and a work-in-progress, “Family Matters.” Discussion and book signing will follow. Free.  

Call 848-0237 x127 

Planetary Temples 

8 p.m. 

Shambhala Booksellers  

2482 Telegraph Ave.  

Employee Don Frew will show slides of teh ruined city of Harran. Free 

Call 848-8443 

Tuesday, Feb. 27 

“Great Decisions” - Missile Defense  

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. Many of the lectures are presented by specialists in their field and are often from the University of California. Feedback received at these lectures is held in high regard by those in the government responsible for national policy.  

$5 single session 

Call Berton Wilson, 526-2925 

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 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

City Council Meeting 

8 p.m. 

Sheryl Walton of CAT will provide an overview of the CAT and its model to the City Council and Berkeley viewers.  

Wednesday, Feb. 28  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Conversations in Commedia 

7:30 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave. (at Prince) 

Mime Troupe founder Ron Davis and icon clown Wavy Gravy give dialogues on satire.  

$6 - $8  

Call 849-2568 

Women in Interfaith Relationships  

9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Led by Dawn Kepler, this workshop will explore interfaith relationships on many levels, in relation to culture, religion, and gender. People of all backgrounds and orientations are invited to attend.  

$10 

848-0237 x127 

Planning Commission Public Hearing  

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

The commission is holding public hearings on the Planning Commission Draft General Plan. The commission requests that all written comments on the plan be submitted by March 1. 

Thursday, March 1  

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Eliza Shefler and host Dale Jensen.  

644-0155 

Berkeley Metaphysical Toastmasters Club  

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month.  

Call 869-2547 

Friday, March 2  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.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  

Class Dismissed Poetry Posse 

7:30 p.m. 

Little Theater 

Berkeley High School  

2246 Milvia St.  

Afro-Haitian dancers, Dance Production dancers, the BHS poetry slammers, an opening a capella number and a few surprises. A benefit for a Berkeley High school student trip to Cuba.  

$5 - $10  

Saturday, March 3 

Rockridge Writers 

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Spasso Coffeehouse  

6021 College Ave.  

Poets and writers meet to critique each other’s work. “Members’ work tends to be dark, humorous, surreal, or strange.”  

e-mail: berkeleysappho@yahoo.com 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Wild About Books? 

10:30 a.m. 

Central Berkeley Library  

2121 Allston Way  

Mary Miche, leader of Song Trek Music, will lead a sing-along that will send everyone home humming.  

Call 649-3913 

Sunday, March 4  

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Monday, March 5  

Your Legal Rights with HMOs 

6 - 7:30 p.m. 

YWCA Oakland  

1515 Webster St., Second Floor  

Oakland  

Presented by the Women’s Cancer Resource Center, UCSF Cancer Resource Center and the San Francisco Bar Volunteer Legal Services, this free workshop covers what your legal rights are and how to guard them.  

Call 415-885-3693 

Beginning Bicyclist Workshop  

7 - 9 p.m. 

YMCA  

2001 Allston Way  

Community Room 1, Main Floor  

Jason Meggs and Zed Lopez will teach you how to keep yourself and your bike safe and even how to use your bike for shopping. Free  

Call Jason Meggs, 549-RIDE 

Tuesday, March 6  

“Great Decisions” - U.S. & Iraq 

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. Many of the lectures are presented by specialists in their field and are often from the University of California. Feedback received at these lectures is held in high regard by those in the government responsible for national policy.  

$5 single session 

Call Berton Wilson, 526-2925 

Berkeley Intelligent Conversation  

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

Jewish Community Center  

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose)  

With no religious affiliation, this twice-monthly group, led informally by former UC Berkeley extension lecturer Robert Berent, seeks to bring people together to have interesting discussions on contemporary topics. This evenings discussion topic is health, nutrition and science; bioengineering.  

Call 527-5332  

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 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

Wednesday, March 7  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Women in Interfaith Relationships  

9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Led by Dawn Kepler, this workshop will explore interfaith relationships on many levels, in relation to culture, religion, and gender. People of all backgrounds and orientations are invited to attend.  

$10 

848-0237 x127 

Thursday, March 8 

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Judy Wells and host Dale Jensen.  

644-0155 

Friday, March 9  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.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  

Berkeley PC Users Group 

7 p.m. 

Vista College 

2020 Milvia St., Room 303 

E-Mail: meldancing@aol.com 

Saturday, March 10  

The Secrets of Sacred Cinema 

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave., Mudd 103 

Kevin Peer, a documentary film maker for the past 25 years, gives a two-day intensive for people interested in exploring documentary filmmaking. No equipment or prior experience required.  

$200 per person and registration is required 

Call 486-1480 

Sunday, March 11 

Reimagining Pacific Cities  

6 - 8:30 p.m. 

New Pacific Studio  

1523 Hearst Ave.  

“How are Pacific cities reshaping their cultural and environmental institutions to better serve the needs and enhance the present and future quality of life of all segments of their societies?” A series of ten seminars linking the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, and other pacific cities.  

$10 per meeting  

Call 849-0217 

Myths & Realities of the International House  

3 - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Historical Society  

1931 Center St.  

Director Joe Lurie will show a video and talk about the history and the struggle to open the International House.  

$10 donation  

Call 848-0181 

Walk on the Moon  

2 & 7 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

A mother and daughter explore their identities as they summer in the Catskills in 1969 amidst the news of Woodstock and the first lunar landing. Peer led discussion to follow film.  

$2 suggested donation  

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 

“Great Decisions” - International Health Crisis 

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. Many of the lectures are presented by specialists in their field and are often from the University of California. Feedback received at these lectures is held in high regard by those in the government responsible for national policy.  

$5 single session 

Call Berton Wilson, 526-2925 

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 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

Wednesday, March 14 

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

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  

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Elanor Watson-Gove and host Mark States.  

644-0155 

Berkeley Metaphysical Toastmasters Club  

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month.  

Call 869-2547 

Friday, March 16  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.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, March 17  

Rockridge Writers 

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Spasso Coffeehouse  

6021 College Ave.  

Poets and writers meet to critique each other’s work. “Members’ work tends to be dark, humorous, surreal, or strange.”  

e-mail: berkeleysappho@yahoo.com 

Tuesday, March 20 

“Great Decisions” - Mexico Reexamined  

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. Many of the lectures are presented by specialists in their field and are often from the University of California. Feedback received at these lectures is held in high regard by those in the government responsible for national policy.  

$5 single session 

Call Berton Wilson, 526-2925 

Berkeley Intelligent Conversation  

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

Jewish Community Center  

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose)  

With no religious affiliation, this twice-monthly group, led informally by former UC Berkeley extension lecturer Robert Berent, seeks to bring people together to have interesting discussions on contemporary topics. This evenings discussion topic is death and dying in celebration of the Ides of March.  

Call 527-9772  

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 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

Wednesday, March 21  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Thursday, March 22  

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Anna Mae Stanley and host Louis Cuneo.  

644-0155 

Friday, March 23 

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.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, March 24 

Ashkenaz Dance-A-Thon 

2 p.m. - 2 a.m.  

Ashkenaz  

1370 San Pablo Ave.  

Join Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers along with African, Cajun, North African, Balkan, reggae, and Caribbean bands in this twelve hour dance music-fest. This is Ashkenaz big fundraiser for making improvements, including a new dance floor and ventilation system.  

$20 donation  

525-5054 or visit www.ashkenaz.com  

Sunday, March 25 

Reimagining Pacific Cities  

6 - 8:30 p.m. 

New Pacific Studio  

1523 Hearst Ave.  

“How are Pacific cities reshaping their cultural and environmental institutions to better serve the needs a

Report is correct: fire at labs poses real danger  

Dear Editor, 

Berkeley Lab spokesman Kolb accuses the City of Berkeley science consultant, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, of using false assumptions ( Lab poses health risk..., 2/7/01) in determining the radiation dose persons might get (18,000 milli- rem) if they were near a National Tritium Labeling Facility (NTLF) building fire.  

Perhaps Kolb doesn't realize these assumptions were recently distributed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in a SENES Risk Assessment written by the Lab's own consultant, Owen Hoffman. 

The Lab claims a radioactive fire at the NTLF would be no problem because the heat would cause the tritium plume to rise to a height of 38 meters. The Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) patio is 40 meters above the NTLF roof. Thus, the radioactive plume would disperse at nose level if the wind were blowing toward the LHS. 

U.S. EPA claims that the cancer risk from an 18,000 millirem exposure would be 7 in 1000. However cancer is only one of the risks from tritium. It also causes infertility, birth defects, genetic damage, mutations and immune suppression. If there were several hundred children visiting the LHS at the time of such a release, the cancer risk for just them would be at least two children.  

For comparison, a death rate, from defective Firestone tires, of less than .0006 per 1000 people caused the recall of thousands if not millions of those tires. At the Lawrence Hall Science 7 cancer cases per 1000, plus countless other maladies, should be sufficient to effect action. Do we have to have cancer deaths, and, if so, how many before we close the National Tritium Labeling Facility? 

Gene Bernardi 

Co-Chair Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste 

Berkeley 

Radiation doses to lab workers too small to measure by blood tests 

Editor: 

The following is a reply to a letter published in the Berkeley Daily Planet on Jan. 31, 2001 ("Labs should test staff blood", signed by Marion Fulk) 

We thank Mr. Fulk for his suggestions, but the methods he proposes do not have the sensitivity to detect the low levels of radiation exposure associated with Berkeley Lab operations.  

Radiation operations at Berkeley Lab are under strict control, and Lab monitoring programs show that personal radiation exposures are only a small fraction of the federal limits of 5,000 millirem (mrem) per year for workers; 100 mrem per year for members of the public; and 10 mrem per year due to offsite emissions of radionuclides like tritium.  

U.S. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency have reviewed the Lab’s monitoring program and agree with this conclusion. The City of Berkeley's environmental consultant, IFEU, also concurred that offsite radiation exposures due to tritium did not exceed the 10 mrem per year limit. 

The blood tests suggested by Mr. Fulk have been used successfully elsewhere to measure effects in individuals exposed to much higher levels of radiation, including survivors of the atomic bombings in Japan and the reactor accident at Chernobyl. In those cases, individual radiation exposures exceeded 5,000 mrem by as much as 10 - to - 20 times or more.  

Monitoring radiation exposures at levels below 5,000 mrem per year can be done by direct measurement of the radiations, not of the effects, which are too small to measure.  

Direct radiation measurements have the sensitivity to provide assurance that worker and public radiation exposures remain below the applicable federal limits mentioned above.  

Background radiation in the San Francisco Bay area exposes all of us at a rate of approximately 260 mrem per year.  

Radiation operations at Berkeley Lab involve an additional exposure to the nearby community of no more than 0.3 mrem per year - 0.1% of the background radiation.  

It is not clear that any method existing today can detect effects in humans due to this small increase in radiation exposure. It is clear that the methods proposed by Mr. Fulk do not have the sensitivity necessary for this purpose. 

Gary H. Zeman, Sc.D. 

Eleanor A. Blakely, Ph.D. 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 

Habitot Children’s Museum “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. $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. Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

Judah L. Magnes Museum “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. 2911 Russell St. 549-6950  

UC Berkeley Art Museum “The Mule Train: A Journey of Hope Remembered” through March 26. An exhibit of black and white photographs that capture the fears and faith of those who traveled from Marks, Mississippi to Washington, D.C. , with mule-drawn wagons to attend the Poor People's Campaign in December, 1967; “Joe Brainard: A Retrospective,” Through May 27. The selections include 150 collages, assemblages, paintings, drawings, and book covers. Brainard’s art is characterized by its humor and exhuberant color, and by its combinations of media and subject matter; Muntadas - On Translation: The Audience, Through April 29. This conceptual artist and pioneer of video, installation, and Internet art presents three installations. $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. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. 642-0808. 

The Asian Galleries “Art of the Sung: Court and Monastery” 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 “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. Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way and College Ave. 643-7648  

Lawrence Hall of Science “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. “Vision,” Through April 15 Get a very close look at how the eyes and brain work together to focus light, perceive color and motion, and process infomation. “T. Rex on Trial,” Through May 28 Where was T. Rex at the time of the crime? Learn how paleontologists decipher clues to dinosaur behavior. Black History Month Events, Feb. 10 - 24, Events include a presentation by Dimensions Dance Theatre, storyteller Yolanda Rhodes and an event commemorating Black scientists and inventors. “Saturday Night Stargazing,” First and third Saturdays each month. 8 - 10 p.m., LHS plaza. $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. 642-5132 

Holt Planetarium 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. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu  

924 Gilman St. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted $5; $2 for a year membership Feb. 10: Lifes Halt, Rocket Queen, Barry Manowar, Rosemary’s Billygoat, Adversives; Feb. 16: The Bananas, Pitch Black, Shotwell, Pirx the Pilot, Rock & Roll Adventure Kids; Feb. 17: Lack of Interest, The Neighbors, Black Hands, Capitalist Casualties, Iron Lung; Feb. 18, 5 p.m.: Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Fire Sermon, Lugosi 525-9926  

Albatross Pub All music at 9 p.m. unless noted Feb. 13: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; Feb. 14: Carlos Oliveira Brazilian Jazz Duo; Feb. 15: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Feb. 20: pickPocket esemble; Feb. 21: Whiskey Brothers 1822 San Pablo 843-2473 

Ashkenaz Feb. 9, 9:30 p.m.: Bob Marley Birthday Bash with Foundation, Ras Kidus, DJ Spliff Skankin; Feb. 10, 6:30 p.m.: Musical theater with Zorman & Yampels; Feb. 13, 9 p.m.: Danny Poullard & Friends, dance lesson at 8 p.m.; Feb. 14, 8:30 p.m.: Carlos Zialcita plays R&B, swing, and soul for lovers; March 24, 2 p.m. - 2 a.m.: Ashkenaz fourth annual dance-a-thon featuring Lavay Smith, African, Caribbean, reggae, Balkan, North African and cajun bands for 12 hours of nonstop dance music. 1370 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman) 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Eli’s Mile High Club Feb. 9: Red Archibald; Feb. 10: Kenny Blue Ray; Feb. 16: Little Johnny & the Giants; Feb. 17: Ron Thompson; Feb. 23: Carlos Zialcita; Feb. 24: R.J. Mischo 3629 MLK Jr. Way Oakland  

Freight & Salvage All shows begin at 8 p.m. Feb. 9: Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys; Feb. 10: Baguette Quartette with Odile Lavault; Feb.11: Bob Franke 1111 Addison St. 548-1761  

Crowden School Sundays, 4 p.m.: Chamber music series sponsored by the school; Feb. 24, 8 p.m.: Cynthia & the Swing Set and the American Jubilee Dance Theatre. Free swing dance lesson, 7 p.m. New Orleans cajun and creole dinner to be served before dance lesson. $10 - $40 Benefits the Crowden School 1475 Rose St. (at Sacramento) 559-6910 

Tuva Space All shows at 7:48 p.m. Feb. 18: Saadet Turkoz seeks to evoke pictures and atmosphere by means of voice and music which transcend cultural boundaries. Saxophonist Eric Barber defies categorization; Feb. 19: Trio of Fred Frith, guitar, Pierre Tanguay, percussion, and Jean Derome, alto and bariton saxophones. $8 donation 3192 Adeline (at MLK Jr. Way) 649-8744  

Jazzschool/La Note All music at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 11: Hal Stein Quarter; Feb. 18: Sheldon Brown Group; Feb. 25: Lauri Antonioli; March 4: Ray Obiedo; March 11: Stephanie Bruce Trio; March 18: Wayne Wallace Septet $6 - $12 2377 Shattuck Ave.  

Cal Performances Feb. 10, 8 p.m.: Masters of Persian Classical Music, $20 - $40; Feb. 16 & 17, 8 p.m.: Balinese Orchestra Gamelan Sekar Jaya present “Kawit Legong: Prince Karna’s Dream,” $18 - $30.; Feb. 20, 21, 23 & 24: In two separate programs the Netherlands Dans Theater I presents the work of former artistic director, Jiri Kylian $34 - $52 Zellerbach Hall UC Berkeley. 642-9988 or www.calperfs.berkeley.edu Feb. 11, 3 p.m.: Horacio Gutierrez $24 - $42; Feb. 25, 3 p.m.: Prazack Quartet $32; Feb. 28, 8 p.m.: Clerks’ Group performs music from the Burgundian Courts; March 4, 3 p.m.: Baritone Nathan Gunn sings Brahms, Wolf, and a selection of American songs $36 Hertz Hall UC Berkeley 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra April 3, and June 21, 2001. All performances begin at 8 p.m. Single $19 - $35, Series $52 - $96. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley 841-2800  

“Songs for the Young at Heart” Feb. 10, 4 p.m. Featuring La Bonne Cuisine by Bernstein and The Shepherd on the Rock by Schubert. Donations accepted St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave.  

Gianni Gebbia, Michael Manring, Simple Sample & Garth Powell Feb. 11, 7:48 p.m. Italian saxophonist Gerbia teams up with electric bassist Manring for a set of free improvisations. Local percussionist Garth Powell will present a short solo on a soprano musical saw. $8 donation Tuva Space 3192 Adeline (at MLK Jr. Way) 649-8744 

“The Prodigals” Feb. 11, 9 p.m. An Irish rock group who play “jig-punk” $5 This show is 18 and up. Blake’s 2367 Telegraph Ave.  

Community Women’s Orchestra Feb. 11, 4 p.m. Pieces to be played include those written by Berkeley High students Ariel Wolter and Maianna Voge. Donations accepted Malcolm X School 1731 Prince St. 653-1616 

Young People Chamber Orchestra Feb. 11, 4 p.m. Celebrating the music of J.S. Bach, Corell, Handel and others St. Johns Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave. Call 595-4688 

Percussions Du Guinee Feb. 16 & 17, 8 p.m. Feb. 18, 7 p.m. Internationally respected Guinean percussionists craft a performance simultaneously inspired by traditional music, yet modern in presentation. $20 - $25 925-798-1300 

Will Bernard & Motherbug and Ten Ton Chicken CD Release Party and Live Web Cast Feb. 17, 9 p.m. IMUSICAST Studios 5429 Telegraph Ave. (at 54th) Oakland $10  

“Dido and Aeneas” March 2, 8 p.m.; March 4, 2 p.m. A tale of English Baroque opera that follows the tale of Dido, queen of Corinth, as she is courted and won by Aeneas, conqueror and future founder of Rome. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. Call 925-798-1300 

Young People’s Symphony Orchestra March 3, 8 p.m. David Ramadanoff conducts the orchestra in a program featuring Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and a suite from Piston’s ballet “The Incredible Flutist” $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. Call 925-798-1300  

“In Song and Struggle” March 4, 4 - 10 p.m. Copwatch presents the second annual event bringing together some of the best women artists from around the Bay Area and beyond in commemoration of International Women’s Day. Artists include Shelley Doty, Rebecca Riots, Rachel Garlin, and many others. Call Copwatch, 548-0425  

“Mystic Journey” March 10, 8 p.m. Suzanne Teng and Mystic Journey are a unique contemporary world music ensemble, based in Los Angeles, making their Bay Area debut. $15 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. Call 925-798-1300 

Theater 

“Fall” by Bridget Carpenter Through Feb. 11. $15.99 - $51. Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2025 Addison St. 647-2949, www. berkeleyrep.org 

“In Search of my Clitoris” Written and performed by Sia Amma Feb. 8 & 9, 8 p.m. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. $12 - $14 415-775-6608 

“The Road to Mecca” by Athol Fugard Through Feb. 24, Friday - Saturday, 8 p.m. Feb. 22, 8 p.m. $10 Live Oak Theatre 1301 Shattuck 528-5620 

“Nightingale” presented by Central Works Theater Feb. 9 - March 4, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 24 & Saturday, March 3, 5 p.m.; Free preview Feb. 8, 8 p.m. $8 - $14 LaVal’s Subterranean 1834 Euclid Ave. 558-1381 

“Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me” by Frank MacGuinness Feb. 15 - March 17, Thursday - Saturday, 8 p.m. Sunday, 8:30 p.m. The story of three men - an Irishman, an Englishman and an American held in a prison in Lebanon. $10 - $15 8th St. Studio Theatre 2525 Eighth St. (at Dwight) 655-0813 

“New Territory” Presented by Terrain along wih the Choreographer’s Performance Alliance. An eclectic evening of dance and performance with a variety of choreographic styles and themes. $10 Western Sky Studio 2525 Eighth St. (at Dwight) 845-8604 

Films 

“Magnetic North” Six programs of experimental Canadian video from the past 30 years that range from documentary to conceptual art. In all, 40 tapes from 46 artists will be shown on six Wednesday evenings. Through Feb. 28. $7. Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft (at Bowditch) 642-1412  

“Durruti and the Spanish Revolution” The LaborFest U.S. premiere screening and dicussion of this documentary which tells the story of the Confederation National del Trabajo during the Spanish Civil War. Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m. $7 donation requested. La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave. 415-642-8066 

“Toto Recall” A 15-film retrospective honoring Italy’s comic genius. Through Feb. 24 Weekend days only, Friday - Sunday. $7 for one film, $8.50 for double bills. Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

Exhibits 

Berkeley Historical Society “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. 1931 Center St. 848-0181 

“Consecrations: Spirits in the Time of AIDS,” Through Feb. 24. An exhibit seeking to expand the understanding of HIV and AIDS and the people affected by them. Wednesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Pro Arts Gallery 461 Ninth St., Oakland. 763-9425  

“Race & Femininity” Acrylic Paintings of Corinne Innis Paying homage to her subconscious, Innis uses rich colors in her acrylic paintings. Through Feb. 26; Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 1 - 7 p.m. and by appointment. Women’s Cancer Resource Center 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 x307  

Drawings & Watercolor Paintings of Daniel Hitkov Hitkov is a young Bulgarian artist whose subjects are the real and unreal in nature, people and things. Through Feb. 12. Red Cafe 1941 University Ave. 843-7230 

“Trees With Frosting” Stevie Famulari decorates landscapes with sugar and frosting, making her artwork edible and changeable by viewers. This particular display will remain for two months. Through February Skapades Hair Salon 1971 Shattuck Ave. 251-8080 or steviesart@hotmail.com 

“Dorchester Days,” the photographs of Eugene Richards is a collection of pictures portraying the poverty, racial tension, crime and violence prevalent in Richards’ hometown of Dorchester, Massachusetts in the 1970s. Through April 6. UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism 121 North Gate Hall #5860 642-3383 

“Still Life & Landscapes” The work of Pamela Markmann Through March 24, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Red Oak Gallery 1891 Solano Ave. 527-3387 

“Kick Back,” the Department of Art Practice of UC Berkeley spring faculty show Through March 2; Informative lecture Feb. 14, Noon Worth Ryder Gallery Kroeber Hall UC Berkeley Call 642-2582 

“Unequal Funding: Photographs of Children in Schools that Get Less” An exhibit of black & white photographs by documentary photographer Chris Pilaro. Through March 16, Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.; Opening reception, Feb. 9, 6 - 8 p.m. Photolab Gallery 2235 Fifth St. 644-1400 

“Contemporary Photogravure” Printing from hand-inked plates etched from a film positive, a unique exhibition of photographs with luxurious tones. Feb. 8 - March 30, Tuesday - Friday, Noon - 5 p.m. or by appointment; Opening reception, Feb. 8, 6 - 8 p.m. Kala Art Institute 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 

“Musee des Hommages,” Masterworks by Guy Colwell Faithful copies of several artists from the pasts, including Titian’s “The Venus of Urbino,” Cezanne’s “Still Life,” Picasso’s “Woman at a Mirror,” and Boticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

“Evolution,” No problem quilters exhibit their soft-cloth sculptures. New Pieces is the only gallery that exclusively exhibits quilts in the Bay Area. Through March 1, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sunday Noon - 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave. 527-6779 

Amanda Haas, New Paintings and Olivia Kuser, Recent Landscapes Feb. 14 - March 24, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Opening reception Feb. 14, 6 - 8 p.m. Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth St. 527-1214 

“Water From Your Spring” Artistic residency with composer Ann Millikan and painter Selena Engelhart Feb. 11 - 17, Wednesday - Sunday, Noon - 5 p.m. Free; Performance of Millikan’s music featuring the California E.A.R. Unit, plus guests: Feb. 17 & 18, 8 p.m. $15 - $20 Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park  

Readings 

Boadecia’s Books All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted Feb. 10: Karin Kallmaker reads from “Sleight of Hand”; Feb. 23: Becky Thompson reads “Mothering Without a Compass: White Mother’s Love, Black Son’s Courage” 398 Colusa Ave. Kensington 559-9184. www.boadeciasbooks.com 

Cody’s Books All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted Feb. 8, 7 p.m.: Sheli Nan presents “The Essential Piano Teacher’s Guide”; 7:30 p.m.: Susan Griffin, Willy Wilkinson, Ellen Samuels, Dorothy Wall and Abe Doherty talk about “Stricken: Voices from the Hidden Epidemic of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”; Feb. 9: Matt Ridley discusses “Genome: The Autobiography of a Species”; Feb. 11: Poetry of Jack Hirschman & Luke Breit; Feb. 12: Jett Psaris and Marlena Lyons discuss “Undefended Love”; Feb. 13: Christie Kiefr talks about ‘Health Work for the Poor: A Practical Guide”; Feb. 15: Jason Lutes, cartoonist, will discuss his graphic presentation “Berlin: City of Stones”; Feb. 20: Becky Thompson discusses “Mothering Without a Compass: White Mother’s Love, Black Son’s Courage”; Feb. 21: Poetry of Gillian Conoley & Kathleen Fraser; Feb. 22: Alison Gopnik describes “The Scientist in the Crib: What Early Learning Tells Us About the Mind”; Feb. 23: Carol Field reads “Mangoes and Quince”; Feb. 25: Poetry of Martha Rhodes, Linda Dyer & Joy Manesiotis; Feb. 26: Terry McMillan reads from “A Day Late and a Dollar Short”; Feb. 28: Poetry of Sandra Gilbert & Wendy Barker 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore All events at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8: Bruce Henderson tackes a 130 year old mystery in “Fatal North: Adventure & Survival Aboard USS Polaris, The First U.S. Expedition to the North Pole”; Feb. 27: Barbara Wagner, co-founder of Lost Frontiers, gives a slide presentation and talk about “Pakistan & the Lost Tribes of teh Hindu Kush”; Feb. 28: Travel writer Christopher Baker will read and talk about his 7000 miles motorcycle odyssey through Cuba as chronicled in his book “Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro’s Cuba” 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533  

“Strong Women - Writers & Heroes of Literature” Fridays 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. North Berkeley Senior Center 1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 549-2970  

Duomo Reading Series and Open Mic. Thursdays, 6:30 - 9 p.m. Feb. 8: Tom Odegard; Feb 15: Kathleen Lynch; Feb. 22: Charles Ellick; March 1: Eliza Shefler; March 8: Judy Wells; March 15: Elanor Watson-Gove; March 22: Anna Mae Stanley; March 29: Georgia Popoff; April 5: Barbara Minton; April 12: Alice Rogoff; April 19: Garrett Murphy; April 26: Ray Skjelbred. Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

Holloway Poetry Reading Series Feb. 8, 8 p.m.: Carl Dennis and Jen Scappettone will read. Sponsored by the Department of English UC Berkeley Maude Fife Room (Room 315) Wheeler Hall UC Berkeley 653-2439  

Lunch Poems First Thursday of each month, 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. March 1: Aleida Rodrigues; April 5: Galway Kinnell; May 3: Student Reading Morrison Room, Doe Library UC Berkeley 642-0137 

Class Dismissed Poetry Posse March 2, 7:30 p.m. Afro-Haitian dancers, Dance Production dancers, the BHS poetry slammers, an opening a capella number and a few surprises. A benefit for a Berkeley High school student trip to Cuba. $5 - $10 Little Theater Berkeley High School 2246 Milvia St.  

“Escape from Villingen” Feb. 10, 10:30 a.m. Dwight Messimer will be reviewing his new book dealing with POW escapees Great War Society 640 Arlington Ave. 527-7118 

Mick LaSalle Feb. 11, 6 p.m. S.F. Chronicle film critic, LaSalle will read from his book “Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood.” After the reading two Pre-Code films will be screened, “Design for Living” and “A Free Soul.” $7 Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

Tours 

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

Berkeley City Club Tours 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. 848-7800  

The fourth Sunday of every month, Noon - 4 p.m. $2  

Golden Gate Live Steamers Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Lomas Cantadas Drive at the south end of Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley. 486-0623  

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.  

UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Centennial Drive, behind Memorial Stadium, a mile below the Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley. 643-2755 or www.mip.berkeley.edu/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. 

Lectures 

Berkeley Historical Society Slide Lecture & Booksigning Series Sundays, 3 - 5 p.m. $10 donation requested Feb. 25: “Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin,” Gray Brechin will discuss the impact and legacy of the Hearsts and other powerful early families; 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; March 18: “Topaz Moon,” Kimi Kodani Hill will discuss artist Chiura Obata’s family and the WWII Japanese relocation camps. Berkeley Historical Center Veterans Memorial Building 1931 Center St. 848-0181 

“Great Decisions” Foreign Policy Association Lectures Series Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - Noon, Feb. 13 - April 3; An annual program featuring specialists in the field of national foreign policy, many from University of California. Goal is to inform the public on major policy issues and receive feedback from the public. $5 per session, $35 entire series for single person, $60 entire series for couple. Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 526-2925 

Ruth Acty Oral History Feb. 18, 3 - 6 p.m. In honor of Black History Month, Therese Pipe will present the history of Acty, who became the first African American teacher in the Berkeley Unified School District in 1943. Berkeley Historical Society Veterans Memorial Building 1931 Center St. Admission free 848-0181 

The first half belonged to Felicia Ragland. The second half belonged to Kenya Corley. Luckily for the Cal women’s basketball team, Corley had some help, while Ragland did not. 

Corley, the Bears’ shooting guard, scored 21 of her 23 points after halftime, leading her team from a 15-point deficit early in the second half to a 72-60 victory over Oregon State on Thursday at Haas Pavilion. 

The Bears (9-11, 5-5 Pac-10) started slowly, and Ragland was viciously accurate from beyond the arc in the first half, hitting 5-of-6 from three-point land and scoring 19 points in the half. The Beavers (11-9, 3-7) pulled out to an early 13-5 lead thanks to their domination of the boards, pulling down the first 13 rebounds of the game. 

Trailing 36-24 at halftime, Cal head coach Caren Horstmeyer told her team to stop Ragland. 

“We wanted to make someone else beat us, and we did a good job on Ragland in the second half,” Horstmeyer said. 

Ragland scored a career-high 30 in the game, but struggled after the break, making just four of her 14 shots. Nicole Funn was the only other Beaver to score in double figures, but shot just 4-of-13 on her way to 11 points. 

Corley, on the other hand, got plenty of help. Center Genevieve Swedor scored a career-high 13 off the bench, while forward Ami Forney and point guard Courtney Johnson each scored nine points. 

“Genevieve was a great spark for us,” Horstmeyer said. “It’s nice to get that kind of bench play.” 

The Beavers took a 41-26 lead before two events got the Bears fired up. First, Corley came out of nowhere to block a Beaver layup, then Horstmeyer stomped halfway across the court to protest a call, earning herself a technical foul. 

“When you see a coach that fired up, it really sparked us,” Corley said. 

From there on in, it was all Bears. Corley hit a three-pointer on the next possession, then made two free throws and another three. After making another free throw, she hit yet another three-pointer, giving her 12 points in two minutes and pulling the Bears within five. 

“I knew I played passively in the first half, and I wanted to come out and be aggressive in the second half,” Corley said. 

Cal forward Amber White blocked a shot on the next Oregon State possession, and point guard Courtney Johnson took the ball all the way for a layup. Corley followed with an acrobatic layup, the a jumper in the lane to tie the game at 49-49 with 10 minutes left in the game. 

Ragland immediately answered with a three-pointer of her own, and she shushed the Cal student section on her way back down the floor. But the momentum was still with the Bears, and when Corley again attacked the basket and was fouled, she converted both free throws to give the Bears their first lead of the game, 53-52, after nearly 32 minutes of play. It would be the only lead change of the entire game. 

Ragland tried to pull her team back into the lead, but missed two shots and committed a turnover on the next three Beaver possessions. Cal forward Ami Forney hit a layup and a free throw, then Corley did the same, and the Bears had a 67-58 lead. The Beavers started fouling the Bears, and a Cal procession to the free-throw line ensued. The Bears ended up with 30 shots from the charity stripe after shooting none in the first half.

Environmental studies of proposed developments frequently consider things like traffic, noise and pollution. But at least one Landmarks Preservation commissioner would like to add a new category – spirituality. 

Commissioner Robert Kehlmann said the spiritual consideration is warranted in this case because a 21,300 square-foot retail building is being proposed by Rue-Ell Enterprises on a portion of the West Berkeley Shellmound. According to archeologists and Shellmound advocates, the site is a repository of Native American artifacts that go back to 3700 B.C. The City Council designated the site a Berkeley historical landmark in October. 

Kehlmann said the site was a Native American burial site and therefore is spiritually significant. He would like to see a focused Environmental Impact Report that considers the aesthetics and cultural aspects of the site. 

“Gothic cathedrals were often built on the site of Romanesque churches, which were built on top of a spiritually significant places.” Kehlmann said. “Berkeley should try to increase the vocabulary of environmental studies and go into areas of spirituality that are clearly important to  

its residents.” 

Planning and Development Department staff updated the Landmarks Preservation Commission with a Draft Initial Study of a proposed retail building at 1900 Fourth St. on Monday. The one-story building would be located on the northeast corner of Spenger’s Parking lot bounded by Fourth and Third streets and Hearst and University avenues. 

Because the site is a local historical landmark, the California Environmental Quality Act calls for study to determine if a Environmental Impact Report is necessary,said Interim Deputy Director of Planning Vivian Kahn. EIRs are costly and time consuming and usually developers prefer a Mitigated Negative Declaration, which is prepared by the Planning Department and is less thorough. 

Kahn said the California Environmental Quality Act usually requires only physical impacts be considered and that she was unaware of any EIRs that consider spiritual impacts. 

The Zoning Adjustment Board will ultimately decide which study is required. 

According to a preliminary study by archeologist Christopher Dore, of Garcia and Associates, the building foundation will not go deeper than four feet. The same report estimates that the upper limit of cultural deposits, such as shells, parts of tools and possibly human remains, begin at approximately six feet below the surface.  

The study concludes that there would be little or no affect on the site provided a series of measures are applied. One measure, the report suggests, is the presence of an archeologist who would be capable of identifying artifacts during excavation. If for example, human remains were discovered, all construction would stop and not be allowed to resume until approved by the Alameda County coroner and a supervising archeologist. 

But Stephanie Manning, who wrote the 75-page document the LPC used while considering the designation of the Shellmound, said that so far developers have only addressed whether there is a physical presence of artifacts on the site and not the intangible components. “The history of the site is much more important than how many bones they might or might not find,” she said. “They need to get Ohlone descendants involved, they’re the ones who know about the land and its value.” 

Manning said there may be ways to avoid compromising the historic value of the site and still build the retail building. But she said Berkeley will have to be more creative than Emeryville.  

The City of Emeryville has approved a 325,000 square-foot mall directly on top of Shellmound that still contains 200 human remains, according to Manning. 

“They’re going to drive piles 70 feet into the ground, right through the burial grounds.” she said. “And all they’re doing to make up for this is erecting a statue of an Ohlone Indian, painting a mural on a wall and putting up a web site.” 

Charles Kahn, of Kahn Design Associates, the architect for the 1900 Fourth St. project, did not return calls from the Daily Planet. 

Consider workers at tool library 

Editor: 

Ever since I arrived in Berkeley three years ago, I have been extremely impressed by the existence a tool library in our great town, and also by the quality of service and assistance patrons can get there.  

When you think of it, where else than Berkeley would such a great concept as a tool library come to fruition? As if that in itself were not enough, the staff there are exceedingly helpful, conscientious, enthusiastic and good-humored people.  

I find all of Adam, Mike and Candida (and Peter, who just retired), extremely knowledgeable and always eager to help patrons with their every question, something that is increasingly rare nowadays. 

Over the past three years, with the help of these staffers, I personally have gone from a regular Mr. All-thumbs, to someone who knows basic tools and can actually fix and build things around the house, almost all of it thanks to this exceptional library. It is in fact such a subject of pride for me, as a new Berkeleyan (resident and home owner), that I actually include it on the occasional tours of Berkeley that I give to my friends and relatives who visit here.  

Truly, few local institutions represent the very spirit of Berkeley more proudly than this one.I would like to urge the Library Board to make sure to reward the very successful work consistently done by Adam,  

Mike and Candida by giving them priority, as is their due, when it comes to additional hours and benefits, before they write the job description for an additional new staffer.  

These guys are the real reason behind our tool library success and they deserve to be rewarded accordingly. 

Khalil Bendib,  

Berkeley 

Looking to end the season on a high note, the Berkeley boys’ soccer team dominated El Cerrito, winning 3-0. But by the time the game ended, the stakes got a lot higher. 

With rumors swirling that league leader Richmond was upset earlier in the day came a ray of hope for the ’Jackets (10-2 ACCAL, 14-5 overall). If indeed Richmond had lost, Berkeley would be co-champions with an automatic berth in the North Coast Section playoffs. The Richmond score was not available at press time. 

The Yellowjackets made sure of their own victory by shutting down the El Cerrito offense, only allowing one shot on goal in the first half. Freshman striker Kamani Hill scored two goals, the first from a feed from midfielder Liam Reilly that he side-footed into the El Cerrito net to give Berkeley a 1-0 lead in the first half. His second goal was a header from a cross by Stefan Isaksen that closed the scoring for the day early in the second half. 

“He’s a sensation, isn’t he?” Berkeley head coach Eugenio Juarez said. “Kamani’s as good or better than any freshman I’ve seen.” 

The ’Jackets also got a goal from Reilly, assisted by midfielder Tiago Venturi.

In the wake of last week’s rough launch of Rebound, a program to support ninth-graders who are not meeting class standards, the school board and community continue to question the development of the intervention plan. 

At Wednesday’s School Board meeting, Director Joaquin Rivera said, “It is clear to me that we need to hire experienced, qualified credentialed teachers. As of Friday those teachers have not been identified. At risk kids need experienced credentialed teachers. For me this is not negotiable.”  

The program, named Rebound last week by the 50 or so youngsters in the program, was developed by a group of residents who call themselves, Parents of Children of African Decent. They designed the program to help ninth-grade students failing core classes. 

Although it wasn’t on the agenda, Rebound proved to be a hot topic at the meeting. References to the week-old program were made throughout the evening. 

Approved by the school board on Jan. 23, the program hit a bump in the road last week when parents learned that the teachers hired for the program, although college graduates, did not hold proper teaching credentials. But that problem was mended quickly when substitute teachers were called in to work side by side with the non-certified teachers.  

So the intervention program began, but the board and community continue to raise questions: have student needs been assessed? do donations to the program actually reach it? who is really in control of the program? 

Rivera said the proposal he voted for included an assessment of the skills in which the students are deficient.  

“This is major and essential to this plan,” Rivera said, adding that not assessing student needs defeats the purpose of the program.  

“I want to see assessments – that’s imperative,” said board member John Selawsky. “But I see this program as an opportunity not only for students, but for the staff, board and community. I want to remind everyone that there will be ups and downs and bumps in the road, but we must view this as an opportunity.  

Proponents of the intervention program say that its uniqueness is in its structure. At risk students are placed in intensive courses with a low student-teacher ratio. In addition, students in the program must abide by an aggressive attendance policy and are closely monitored by teachers, mentors and parents. All efforts are made to ensure that participants do not slip through the cracks.  

Michael Miller, an active PCAD parent said Thursday that the program has already shown to be a success and that students are responding well to the undivided attention they have received from teachers.  

Miller said he is not sure who is responsible for the program at this point. He said he knows Dr. Charles Martin was named coordinator, but he said he wondered to whom Rivera was addressing his comments at Wednesday night’s meeting. 

“We (the parents) agree completely that this needs to be a part of the plan,” Miller said, referring to the need to make sure teachers are credentialed and that students are assessed. “I don’t know if it’s true, but it sounds like people are saying ‘it’s you, the parents of PCAD that aren’t doing what you are supposed to.’ ”  

Miller underscored that the program is now part of Berkeley High School and does not belong to the parents’ group.  

When the proposal was accepted by the School Board, Miller said he thought that meant that the school district would put the various support personnel in place, and that the School Board would be more involved in the actual implementation process. 

“We expected to have a lot more people involved,” said Miller, adding that Principal Frank Lynch has been a great help. “We expected to have the district put in place the various individuals. Through their expertise, the school board is the best at being able to identify what needs to happen – none of the parents is qualified to direct these kids.”  

Terry Doran, president of the School Board, said the high school is indeed in charge of the program. He said that Principal Lynch has been exceptional at managing the program so far and trusts him to make decisions and enforce the programs’ rigors.  

“ It’s fair to say that Director Rivera has legitimate concerns,” said Doran on Thursday. “I personally trust the principal to select qualified teachers. I have no reason to doubt him and I’m confident that he’s moving the program right along.” 

Doran said that Lynch will enforce the students’ skills assessment and make sure that all the teachers are qualified.  

“It’s an on-going process, said Doran. “It’s going to take a while for us to collect resources. Eventually we’re going to hire a counselor to help in assessing these students.”  

Miller said there is also a question of making sure funds get to the program. If the program receives a monetary donation, who makes sure that it goes to the program and not into the Berkeley Unified School District general fund? he asked.  

Early in Wednesday’s meeting, a few Berkeley residents voiced their dismay with the School Board’s approval of the plan.  

Resident Bruce Wicinas said he is disturbed with how quickly the proposal whizzed by the school board. He said he’s not sure if he agrees with the school board allocating $100,000 for the program, pointing out that Berkeley High School needs help in other areas such as building maintenance. He further noted that several tutorial programs for underachievers are already in place at BHS, but don’t get used by students.  

“There are a lot of resources that are under utilized,” said Niles Xi’an Liechtenstein, student board member. Discussions around the intervention program has brought out that fact, he said. “I see a lot of good coming from this.” 

DAVIS — About 300 Asian-American students and their supporters peacefully marched at the University of California, Davis, Thursday, protesting recent confrontations with white students. 

Administrators urged students to follow the university’s code of tolerance and nondiscrimination. More than 35 percent of the university students are of Asian or Pacific Islander descent. 

Julienne Kwong, a 20-year-old sociology major and a member of the university’s Council for Asian Pacific American Affairs, said the administration’s action was “not enough, not when victims don’t feel they have anybody to turn to when they feel threatened.” 

Problems began in October, according to the university, when members of a California State University, Sacramento, Asian sorority said they were intimidated by members of a white UC Davis fraternity as the two groups attempted to arrange rocks into messages at a levee, a traditional student activity. 

The same month, Korean-American and white youths, including some UC Davis students, had a confrontation in an apartment parking lot in Davis. Two white youths were arrested on hate-crime charges after a large group of whites then assaulted the Korean-Americans in their apartment. 

In December, police broke up a brawl at the levee between at least 70 members of a white fraternity and three Asian fraternities, all attempting to arrange rocks into messages. 

A series of other incidents have been less well documented, adding to students’ and administrators’ frustration, said university spokeswoman Lisa Lapin. 

“Everybody has been very concerned and taking this seriously,” Lapin said. “This really isn’t really an adversarial thing with the administration. This is really raising awareness.” 

Administrators pulled members of competing fraternities into a mediation meeting last month, and last week distributed an open letter decrying the incidents and urging hate crime victims to come forward. Carol Wall, the university’s vice chancellor for student affairs, met with Asian student leaders Thursday evening to hear their demands. 

The demands included mandatory diversity training for students and faculty; a coordinator to work with hate-crimes victims; more Asian language and culture classes and funding; and creation of an Asian-American student center. 

FRESNO — When Yosemite killer Cary Stayner returns to court on charges of murdering three park tourists, he won’t be the only one in the room whose criminal background was examined. 

Concerned about security in the tiny old Mariposa County courthouse, court officials are requiring reporters to get a fingerprint analysis to make sure they have a clean record before they can report on Stayner’s trial. 

The measure is unusual in legal journalism and somehow managed to slip past the gaze of editors, news directors and First Amendment experts who usually make efforts to protect press freedom. 

“This is the first thing I’ve heard about it,” said Charlie Waters, executive editor of The Fresno Bee. “This is absurd.” 

Waters said Thursday that a reporter from the newspaper was credentialed because he covered Stayner’s case in federal court, but said he also plans to send other reporters and they won’t submit to criminal background checks. 

Mariposa Superior Court Executive Officer Michael Berest said he thought he was following the procedure used to issue press credentials in the federal case against Stayner. 

But Carol Davis, a federal court official in Sacramento who was consulted by Mariposa officials, said reporters only had to submit two photos and show their credentials to get a special pass for the case heard in Fresno federal court. 

“This is way off from what they said when I spoke with them. Whoa,” said Davis, an administrative analyst for the Eastern District of California. 

Thirteen reporters who had photo identification from the federal case did not have to undergo the background check, said Lt. Brian Muller, spokesman for the sheriff. The remainder of the 61 journalists who applied for credentials required the fingerprint analysis. 

So far, checks performed for 16 applicants have not unearthed any criminal activity, Muller said. If a record of a crime is found, then law enforcement and court officials will discuss whether the reporter can cover the hearing. 

The Associated Press reporter assigned to the case did not have federal court credentials and is the only reporter who has objected to the background check, Berest said. 

Terry Francke, general counsel for the California First Amendment Coalition, said the fingerprinting appears to violate constitutionally guaranteed press freedoms. 

“A background check may become relevant when the issuing agency has to provide security for people who are frequent targets,” Francke said. ”(Press passes) are certainly not issued to get you into a public trial, or public school board meeting. That’s a different issue entirely. I’m surprised that others aren’t balking at it.” 

The Mariposa rule only applies to the media. A few entry passes will be issued to the public for hearings and they won’t have to submit to a background check, Berest said. Everyone in the court will have to pass through a security check for weapons. 

Criminal background checks were required for reporters covering the Denver trial of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, but similar checks were not required in the high-profile case of convicted Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski in Sacramento, Davis said. 

“This isn’t the McVeigh case, this isn’t a terrorist who blew up a federal building,” said Marcia A. Morrissey, Stayner’s defense lawyer. She said the measure was very strange. 

To understand what all the fuss is about, one need only take a look at Mariposa, a county of about 16,000 residents scattered among foothills that roll up to the rugged Sierra Nevada where Yosemite is located. 

The area has seen its share of crime, but nothing has brought the notoriety – or a stampede of media – like the killer who stalked Yosemite National Park two years ago. 

Carole Sund, her daughter, Juli, and their friend, Silvina Pelosso, disappeared while staying on the outskirts of the park at the Cedar Lodge, where Stayner worked as a handyman. Their bodies were found a month later. 

Stayner, who reportedly confessed to the killings, is already serving a federal life sentence for murdering and beheading Yosemite naturalist Joie Armstrong in July 1999. That case was heard in federal court because Armstrong was killed in a national park. 

The stakes in the state case are high and Stayner faces the possibility of execution if convicted, though prosecutors have not announced whether they will seek the death penalty. 

The case made headlines around the world, where Yosemite is revered for its dramatic cliffs, tumbling waterfalls and granite domes. National and international media left footprints all over the area during the intense manhunt for the killer. 

The trial scheduled in Mariposa County is probably the biggest thing to hit town in years and officials want to make sure there are no security problems, Muller said. 

After Stayner was booked, Sheriff C.A. “Pelk” Richards held a hastily scheduled news conference to announce that Stayner had been safely transferred to the county jail. After his arraignment, Richards praised the security at the 147-year-old courthouse. 

The sheriff’s Web site looks more like the Cary Stayner home page, with his mug shot beneath the words ‘Sheriff Mariposa, CA’ and nary a sight of the county’s top cop. 

Even the editor of the local weekly newspaper has pitched in to help out, volunteering as a media liaison for an overburdened court staff. Jill Ballinger, editor of the Mariposa Gazette, said she initially offered to help because she works with the court people every day. 

“It’s been nothing but a huge pain,” she said

LOS ANGELES — Watching street races would be illegal under an ordinance approved by the City Council and sent to the mayor for approval. 

The ordinance, passed Wednesday, makes it an infraction to watch a street race. First-time offenders face a maximum fine of $250. Repeat offenders could go to jail. 

The ordinance also tacks a $40 administrative fine on the fee to retrieve cars impounded for racing. Drag racing is a popular diversion for both teen-agers and young adults, who flock to wide boulevards to race souped-up cars in areas such as San Pedro, the San Fernando Valley and cities such as Carson. 

“This problem has plagued our city for some time,” said Lt. Blaine Bolin of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Carson station. “The tradition of street racing goes back a couple of generations.” 

“A lot of people feel this is just kids being kids but in fact we’ve had more than one fatality involving street racing,” he said. “It’s very serious to us.” 

The county’s only legal venue for amateur drag racing is in Palmdale, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles. 

SACRAMENTO — Getting a jump on new campaign contribution limits, California legislators raised $7.3 million between the November election and the end of 2000 in donations of up to $250,000. 

The end-of-the-year fund-raising, before voter-approved contribution limits took effect Jan. 1, enabled lawmakers to boost their campaign treasuries to a total of $18.3 million. 

“Clearly the candy store was open and they were out to get the candy,” said Tony Miller, a former top state elections official and a supporter of tough contribution limits. 

Proposition 34, approved by voters on Nov. 7, put a $3,000-per-election limit on donations to legislators from most sources. 

Small-donor committees, groups of at least 100 people who each chip in no more than $200 a year, can give up to $6,000. There is no limit on how much political parties can give to lawmakers. 

So far only organizations representing teachers, firefighters and real estate agents have formed small-donor committees. 

There were no donation limits for legislative races before Jan. 1, except for campaigns to fill midterm vacancies in the Senate or Assembly. Earlier attempts to impose broader limits were either rejected by lawmakers, vetoed by the governor, turned down by voters or overturned by the courts. 

Lawmakers put Proposition 34 on the ballot, saying it was a compromise that could pass a court constitutionality test. 

The end-of-the-year fund-raising ranged from a few thousand dollars taken in by some rank-and-file lawmakers to the $2.8 million collected by the Legislature’s top leaders, Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, and Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco. 

Burton raised nearly $1.8 million; Hertzberg took in more than $1 million. 

Other big fund-raisers included Sen. Joseph Dunn, D-Laguna Niguel, Assembly Minority Leader Bill Campbell, R-Villa Park, Assemblyman Herb Wesson, D-Culver City, Senate Minority Leader Jim Brulte, R-Rancho Cucamonga, and Sen. Bob Margett, R-Arcadia. 

Each of them raised more than $200,000. Dunn’s total topped $441,000, including $150,000 from Burton. 

Congressional Democrats gave $250,000 to Burton and $200,000 to Hertzberg. The speaker also got $100,000 from AT&T. Steven Kirsch, founder of the Internet company InfoSeek.com, gave $100,000 to freshman Assemblyman Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto. 

Simitian said had no qualms about taking that much money from Kirsch. 

“This is a guy who is pro-environment, pro-campaign finance reform and concerned about the vitality of high tech, none of which troubles me in the slightest,” Simitian said. 

“People who give to me buy into my politics and my values; I don’t buy into their politics and values because of their gift.” 

He said wasn’t actively fund-raising after the election and was surprised when he got that large a donation. He had a little more than $139,000 in end-of-the-year donations altogether. 

There were also dozens of five-figure donations to legislators from labor unions, insurance companies, Indian tribes and other groups that lobby at the Capitol. 

“I think that groups maybe made an effort to empty out their coffers (before Proposition 34 took effect),” said Burton. “I think that may have accounted for a larger-than-normal (flow of contributions).” 

Philip Morris and its affiliates were among the most active contributors, giving $422,500 to lawmakers in the last weeks of the year. The tobacco giant and its sister companies were the biggest end-of-the-year contributors to 19 legislators, with donations of up to $25,000. 

“Our philosophy is to support those whom we believe may see issues in the same way we do or may be open to hearing our point of view,” said Peggy Roberts, a spokeswoman for Philip Morris, which also owns Kraft Foods and Miller Brewing Co. 

“We have a pretty significant presence there in California through all of our operating companies. California is a pretty important state for us.” 

She said many of the contributions were made in response to requests from lawmakers to help pay off their campaign debts. The company was not asked by legislators nervous about taking tobacco money to delay any donations until after the election, she added. 

Philip Morris gave more than $622,000 to lawmakers last year before the election. 

Proposition 34 also puts a $3,000 limit on transfers of campaign money from one lawmaker to another, and legislators shifted more than $2 million among themselves in the weeks before that cap took effect. 

The money is not included in the $7.3 million fund-raising total. 

Transfers of campaign funds have been one of the sources of power for legislative leaders. They have traditionally raised large amounts of campaign money and then given most of it to their fellow party members. 

Burton gave nearly $821,000 to other Democratic lawmakers between the election and the end of the year. 

Wesson funneled $511,900 to other lawmakers. He said he was trying to help Democrats who could face tough re-election campaigns in 2002, not attempting to line up support for a future campaign for speaker. 

“I don’t believe we did anything contrary to the intent of voters,” he said. “It was a window of opportunity to assist individuals that we are going to need to have here next session if we are going to continue to make improvements on civil rights, education and health care.” 

———— 

On the Net: Read the campaign finance reports at www.ss.ca.gov.

YUBA CITY— Citing an energy crisis of “catastrophic proportions,” a federal judge Thursday ordered three major suppliers to sell electricity to California despite their worry two cash-strapped utilities won’t pay for it. 

The reprieve for California energy regulators came as the governor announced he will dramatically accelerate power plant construction to try to stave off summer blackouts. 

U.S. District Judge Frank Damrell Jr.’s extension of a temporary restraining order he issued Tuesday ensures three key suppliers will not pull about 4,000 megawatts off the state’s power grid. That’s enough power for roughly 4 million homes. 

“The state of California is confronting an energy crisis of catastrophic proportions,” the judge wrote. The loss of the power they provide “poses an imminent threat of blackouts.” 

The grid’s manager, the California Independent System Operator, sought the order, warning that the electricity’s removal would disrupt the region’s power supply so severely that outages would spread beyond California. 

“This would be a serious impact on the safety, health and welfare of not only Californians, but everyone in the Western U.S.,” said Jim Detmers, the ISO’s managing director of operations. 

The order, in effect at least until a Feb. 16 hearing on whether the judge should issue a preliminary injunction, names Reliant Energy Services Inc., AES Pacific Inc. and Dynegy Power Corp. 

Reliant had been the only supplier named in a restraining order issued by the Sacramento judge Tuesday night, shortly before the midnight expiration of a Bush administration directive requiring suppliers to continue selling to the state grid despite utility solvency concerns. 

The other two companies had voluntarily committed to keep supplying the ISO pending Thursday’s ruling on an extension of the order. 

Houston-based Reliant, which is responsible for about 9 percent of California’s energy, has balked at selling the ISO emergency power to send to Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. It fears it will never be paid by the cash-strapped utilities. 

Reliant has asked the state to stand behind the utilities’ purchases. Gov. Gray Davis is unwilling to do that because he believes Reliant wants to drive up prices by locking the state into purchases on the costly spot power market, spokesman Steve Maviglio said. 

AES and Dynegy said they would exceed their annual air pollution limits if the ISO required them to operate their plants. Air quality regulators reject those claims. 

California faced a Stage 3 power alert for a record 24th straight day Thursday. No repeat of the rolling blackouts that darkened large parts of northern and central California for two days last month was expected. 

Davis, looking ahead to a summer energy crunch expected to be even worse than the winter’s, issued an executive order he said will add enough electricity for 5 million homes by July. 

The state will provide $30 million in bonuses and speed up the approval process for small natural gas or renewable-fuel power plants that run only during peak hours of the day, if those facilities will be operating by summer, Davis said. 

Such “peaking plants” – which provide 50 megawatts or less during times of high demand – would go through the state approval process within three weeks. One megawatt is enough electricity for about 1,000 homes. 

The governor asked President Bush to direct federal agencies to also issue permits for small plants within the same time frame. 

“We will demonstrate that California can cut red tape, build more power and protect the environment,” Davis said at a news conference in Yuba City, about 45 miles north of Sacramento, where a new 545-megawatt power plant is expected to be operating by July. 

The bonuses, provided with taxpayer money, will be allotted according to plant size. The bonus would be about $1 million for a 50-megawatt plant, Davis spokesman Maviglio said. 

The White House is reviewing the governor’s request, spokeswoman Claire Buchan said. 

The state Energy Commission estimates California could fall 5,000 megawatts short during the hottest periods this summer. That’s enough power for roughly 5 million homes, the amount provided by July under Davis’ plan. 

In addition, the state will push to add 5,000 megawatts of in-state power production by July 2002 and another 10,000 by summer 2004, Davis said. He said no pollution standards would be eased to accomplish it. 

The state will provide at least $300 million in tax credits and other financial incentives to beef up business and residential use of renewable energy, including wind-driven and solar power, and retrofit natural gas plants owned by municipal water districts. 

For larger plants that could operate during peak demand periods next year, Davis’ order would cut the approval period to four months; it now normally takes more than a year. Davis reinstated an expedited process that expired in October. 

Winston Hickox, head of the state Environmental Protection Agency, said he had no estimate on the number of companies who might be interested in building power plants. 

“A tremendous number of people have come out of the woodwork with ideas,” Hickox said. 

The military has offered defunct bases as sites, and oil companies and other industrial power users are interested in building cogeneration plants, he said. Such facilities harness a byproduct of manufacturing such as steam to produce power. 

The state is trying to find a permanent solution to the energy crisis, which is blamed on the results of deregulation, limited hydroelectric supplies, transmission problems and aging power plants taken out of service for maintenance. 

A week ago, Davis signed a law allowing the state to negotiate long-term power contracts that would have California spend an estimated $10 billion raised through the sale of revenue bonds to provide power to PG&E and Edison’s nearly 9 million customers. 

California has already committed at least $1.1 billion to short-term power purchases for the utilities since mid-January. 

PG&E and Edison say they have been driven nearly $13 billion in debt since June under soaring wholesale electricity costs that California’s 1996 deregulation law bars them from passing onto customers. 

Lawmakers are working on a proposal to acquire PG&E’s and Edison’s transmission lines to help the utilities pay their wholesale power bills. 

——— 

On the Net: 

California ISO: www.caiso.com 

Read the judge’s ruling at http://www.caed.uscourts.gov/ 

See Davis’ order at www.gov.ca.gov 

Read SB33X, the transmission legislation by Burton, D-San Francisco, at www.sen.ca.gov 

WASHINGTON — President Bush dispatched his proposed $1.6 trillion, 10-year tax cut on what should be a tortuous journey through Congress on Thursday, urging action because “a warning light is flashing on the dashboard of our economy.” 

Democrats, while insisting that they, too, want to trim taxes this year, cast Bush’s proposal as a version of President Reagan’s first tax cut. They said the Bush plan was too big, risked plunging the federal budget back into deficit and was skewed toward the rich. 

“We’ve already tried what President Bush is proposing,” said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. “We did that in 1981. The rich got richer. The poor got poorer. And working families got stuck with the entire bill.” 

While Democrats try halving the size of Bush’s package and aiming it more at lower-income Americans, many Republicans and lobbyists will spend the next few months seeking to add on. 

Some GOP lawmakers have talked of pushing the price tag beyond $2 trillion. Business groups want to insert provisions trimming corporate income tax and capital gains tax rates, speeding up writeoffs for equipment purchases, and other items. 

“We’re on the verge of a feeding frenzy all across the board,” said Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, senior Democrat on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee. 

The opposing tugs from both sides mean it is impossible to predict what the final bill will look like. But there is virtually no doubt that Congress this year will pass the biggest tax cuts since Reagan’s 1981 package. 

What Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill actually delivered to Congress was a nine-page document describing the plan Bush campaigned on, which focused on a reduction in income-tax rates. It would also double the $500 per child tax credit, phase out the estate tax, make permanent the temporary credit for business research and reduce the marriage penalty, which is the extra tax some couples must pay after they marry. 

GOP leaders were pleased to begin their first serious tax-cutting drive in years. Former President Clinton vetoed most of their tax cuts since they took over Congress in 1995. 

“After years of waiting, we finally have received an honest to goodness tax proposal from the White House,” said House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois. 

Though the bill may not clear Congress until at least the summer, Bush spent the third week of his presidency pushing his tax plans in daily appearances. His hope is to take advantage of momentum provided by the sluggish economy and skyrocketing budget surplus estimates. 

“Our Treasury is full and our people are overcharged,” Bush said in the White House Rose Garden, where he also reiterated his desire to make some of the cuts retroactive to last Jan. 1.  

“Returning some of their money is right, and it is urgent,” he said, underscoring the argument that a tax cut should help the slowing economy. 

Bush said his plan would mean tax savings of $1,600 to the average family of four, though he didn’t mention that that would be years from now, when all of the tax cuts are fully phased in. 

Besides putting extra money into people’s pockets, Bush said the cuts made sense in light of projected budget surpluses. The Congressional Budget Office envisions $5.6 trillion in surpluses for the coming decade. 

Bush and his aides say his plan will help lower- and middle-income taxpayers most because their reductions would grow by the largest percentages. Bush said families earning between $35,000 and $75,000 would get tax breaks of from $600 to $3,000 more each year. 

But Democrats say the biggest winners would be the rich, who pay most of the taxes but would also see the largest dollar savings. According to the Democratic-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the bottom 60 percent of taxpayers, earning less than $39,300, would get an average $227 tax cut, while the richest 1 percent – making $319,000 or more – would get an average $46,072. 

That led Daschle and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., to meet with reporters Thursday next to a muffler and a new 2001 Lexus. They said those represented what lower-income and wealthy taxpayers could buy, respectively, with their tax savings. 

Democrats say they are working on an alternative they expect to cost $700 billion to $800 billion, which would help all taxpayers but be more targeted on lower- and middle-income earners. 

Gephardt said it may include tax cuts contingent on the government running specified surplus amounts, and aides said it may include rebates that would be mailed to taxpayers. 

Q: About two years ago, the submersible pump broke in our 185- foot deep well. We had the pump rebuilt, but our well water took on an oily smell and began leaving a film in the toilet. We thought the condition would eventually clear up but it hasn’t. The pump rebuilder claims that oil from the broken pump contaminated our water, and can offer no solutions to the problem. Is there anything we can do short of drilling a new well to get clean water? 

A: It sounds as if you have a “weak well” rather than a “strong well.” In the latter case, the water level doesn’t rise and fall and, consequently, if oil gets into the well, it floats on top of the water and doesn’t get down to the pump. In a weak well, the water level rises and falls frequently and so the well components become coated with oil. 

Since the oil condition has lasted for two years (an exceedingly long time, when you consider that there is only about a half cup of oil in the pump) and, under normal use, it should take only a few weeks to flush out the oil, it’s possible that the oil is from a leak in a buried fuel oil tank. I suggest you have a water sample tested to determine if the contamination is fuel oil or lubricating oil. If it’s fuel oil, you’ll have to find and repair the leaking tank. If it’s pump oil, you should check further to see if the water is contaminated with PCBs, known carcinogens. Apparently, some well pump motors made before the mid-1970s had starting capacitors that were immersed in an oil that contained PCB. Possibly your old pump was one of these. 

Removing oil from the well is difficult and not a do-it-yourselfer job. It should be handled by a professional pump installer or well driller. 

Q: We get some rough winters and we have a problem with water leaking down through our ceiling when the snow starts to melt. We’ve had to retape and repaint our ceiling every spring because of this. Interestingly enough, our roof doesn’t leak at all when it rains. Is there a way we can correct this situation? 

A: Sounds to us like your water leakage problem is caused by an ice dam – a common situation in the Northeast. Ice dams begin when a layer of snow next to the roof melts. When this water freezes, a dam is created, which causes further melted snow to accumulate in a pool. Roofs are designed to shed water, not to protect against standing water, which eventually works its way down through the roof and your ceiling. Removing the snow from the roof is the best solution. The next best alternative is maintaining a “cold-roof.” The way to do this is by over-insulating the ceilings and having abundant ventilation in the attic. This will keep the heat in your home from warming the roof, and will keep the roof-deck temperatures lowered to the point where snow won’t melt. Heating tapes along eaves and valleys can also help, but ice dams may form farther up the roof giving you the same problem. 

To submit a question, write to Popular Mechanics, Reader Service Bureau, 224 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.

Buying the right energy-efficient windows for your own particular needs goes beyond considering just the R value of the glazing system.  

The window frames also should play an important role in the buying decision, as should the location of the house and where in the house the new windows will be installed. 

For example, cutting heat loss is important in Minnesota, but not so important in Florida. Similarly, a window on the north side of a house in a cold climate should be designed to save energy. Those on the south side should save energy and allow as much solar energy as possible to pass through. Here are some points to consider when shopping for new windows: 

Energy ratings – Most manufacturers provide both the center-of-glass and the entire window energy ratings. Obviously, the entire window R value is a better indicator of performance. Don’t be confused if you see a U value alongside the familiar R rating. They are different sides of the same coin. R values measure resistance to heat transfer – the higher the better. U values measure heat transfer – the lower the better. To keep everything straight, convert U values to R values by dividing the U value into 1. 

Shading coefficient: This rating tells how much solar energy a window captures. A single pane of glass has a shading coefficient of 1. A blocked window would be rated at 0. So, if reducing cooling costs is important, pick a window that has a low shading coefficient. Tinted windows are good choices, but low-e technology designed for warm climates can also produce low shading coefficients while providing clear glass. 

Handling light: Besides letting heat energy pass through, windows also allow light into our homes. Not all windows do this equally. Clear double-glazed windows allow about 77 percent of the visible light to pass through. Low-e glass allows about 70 percent and a high-R window, around 62 percent. Part of the light is in the form of the ultraviolet radiation that’s responsible for the fading of carpets and furniture. You’ll find windows that allow everything from over 50 percent of the UV radiation through, to windows that let less than 1 percent through. 

Air infiltration: This is important in all climates. Windows should be well constructed and allow a minimum of air infiltration. The design of some types of windows make them tighter than others. Casement And awning windows are tighter than double-hung windows, for example.  

A rating of .02 or .03 is very tight; a rating of .5 is loose. These ratings apply to the window itself, not the actual installation. Stopping leaks around a window once it’s in the wall is the responsibility of the installer. 

Buying windows can get confusing. The trick is to decide what each window should do and then buy the system that best meets those goals. 

It shouldn’t be necessary to turn off the water to the entire house just to fix a leaky faucet, but that’s exactly what many homeowners must do. Why? Because they don’t have individual shutoff valves installed under every sink. 

If you’re facing the same situation, consider putting a valve on every hot- and cold-water supply tube. The valves will not only allow you to shut off the water to one sink without disrupting the flow to others but they’ll also provide a quick way to turn off the water in the event of a flood caused by, for instance, a cracked fitting or ruptured supply tube. The good news is that adding compression shutoff valves to an existing sink is a simple, straightforward job that most homeowners can handle. In most cases you won’t even need to replace the supply tubes that run from the valves to the faucet. However, if the tubes are corroded or kinked, replace them with braided stainless-steel supply lines (about $5 each). Standard compression valves cost about $7 each.  

Two conditions, two valves 

There are two styles of compression valves commonly used in sink hookups. When the water pipe enters the sink cabinet through the back wall, a right-angle-stop valve is required to make the 90-degree turn to the faucet. When it enters through the floor, no turn is needed so a straight-stop valve is used. 

You must also consider the type of pipe that supplies water to the sink. If it’s made of half-inch rigid copper, you’ll need a compression fitting to connect the valve. If the piping is threaded galvanized iron, use a valve that has female iron-pipe threads. Here, we’ll show two different installations: adding an angle-stop valve to galvanized iron pipe and putting a straight-stop valve onto copper pipe. Note that angle- and straight-stop valves are available for both copper and iron piping.  

Angle-stop valve 

Your first step is to shut off the water to the entire house at the meter. Drain the system by opening the sink and tub faucets on the lowest floor. Some water might remain in the system, so keep a small bucket handy. 

Next, use a wrench to loosen the water-supply tube from the adapter. Break the 3-eighths-inch compression nut free with the wrench, then twist it off with your fingers. To disconnect the other end of the supply tube from the faucet, use a basin wrench. The long handle of this wrench allows you to reach up behind the sink bowl and grab onto the faucet’s coupling nut. With the water-supply tube removed, use a pipe wrench to grip the threaded galvanized pipe stub coming out of the wall. Then use an adjustable wrench to unthread the old adapter from the pipe stub. Clean away hardened pipe dope from the pipe threads. Brush on a fresh coat of pipe-joint compound, then thread on the new valve. Tighten the valve using the adjustable wrench, but be sure to backhold the pipe stub with a pipe wrench. Lubricate the threads of the angle-stop valve with pipe-joint compound and attach the new flexible supply tube. Connect the opposite end of the tube to the faucet with the basin wrench. 

Straight-stop valve 

Sinks plumbed with copper pipe are even easier to upgrade. In this case, we attached a straight-stop valve to the pipe stub with a compression fitting. Start by removing the water-supply tube and loosening the lower compression nut with a wrench. Lift out the old adapter fitting and set it aside. You won’t be able to remove the old compression nut because the crushed ferrule will keep it locked in place, but that’s not a problem.  

First, brush pipe-joint compound onto the valve threads and then press the valve onto the pipe stub coming through the floor of the sink cabinet. Next, pull up on the compression nut and thread it onto the valve. Finish tightening the nut using two wrenches; be careful not to overtighten the nut, or the fitting will leak. 

Finally, reconnect the supply tube to the valve and faucet, then turn the water back on. If you find a slight leak, tighten the compression nut a little more.

If you’re like most people, chances are good that you don’t appreciate the convenience of hot water at the tap until there is none.  

This can be especially true when in the middle of a hot shower things turn cold, very cold. 

Generally, a water heater is one of the most reliable appliances in a home.  

With regular maintenance it can provide years of service. Besides keeping you in hot water (something we know a lot about), a good maintenance program can quiet a noisy water heater, lower your utility bill and extend the life of the water heater.  

And who can’t stand to save the cost and aggravation of yanking out a water heater and installing a new one that will do essentially the same thing that the old one did?  

It’s not like buying a fancy new appliance with lots of buttons and gadgets that will please and entertain you. A water heater is a water heater. 

It’s essentially a large thermos bottle that consists of an outer housing, a tank and a burner assembly.  

Have you ever wondered how your water heater does its job? Cold water enters at the top of the tank and flows through a plastic pipe called a dip tube, which delivers the cold water to the bottom of the tank where the burners are located.  

The heated water rises to the top of the tank where it flows out when needed. As hot water is drawn from the tank, more cold water enters the tank to be heated. The water is kept hot with a layer of insulation that is sandwiched between the tank and the outer housing. 

Corrosion presents the biggest threat to a water heat.  

The water’s chemistry combined with the high temperature creates a corrosive environment that can attack the tank, requiring its replacement.  

To prevent the tank from deteriorating, water heaters come equipped with an anode rod.  

The rod, also known as a sacrificial anode, is made of aluminum, zinc or magnesium. It attracts corrosive elements to keep the tank from deteriorating. The anode eventually will deteriorate completely – instead of the tank. 

To maintain this protection, the anode rod should be inspected at least once annually – more often where water is more corrosive. The anode rod can be inspected by removing a hex-head nut located at the top of the water heater.  

Once removed, the anode might consist of little more than a stub of wire – evidence that a new one is needed.  

Replacement anodes aren’t a standard stock item at many hardware stores or home centers, but can usually be found at a plumbing supply store. An anode will need to be replaced every five years or so. 

After the anode, sediment at the bottom of the tank is the next biggest threat to your water heater.  

Sediment reduces the efficiency of the burner, which raises your utility bill. Sediment also is a breeding ground for bacteria that can cause your hot water to smell like rotten eggs.  

And, as if that isn’t enough, sediment is usually the cause of the rumbling sound that makes a water heater sound like a locomotive. 

The most effective means of dealing with sediment is to get rid of it by regularly flushing the tank. This is done by connecting a garden hose to the drain valve located at the bottom of the tank, opening the valve and allowing water to flow for several minutes. 

Here’s a problem that might hit home. If during the first few minutes of a hot shower the water suddenly turns cold, you likely have a broken dip tube. That’s the plastic pipe that delivers cold water from the top of the tank to the bottom near the burners.  

A cracked or broken dip tube will cause cold water to mix with hot water at the top of the tank and, consequently, result in cold water at your shower or faucet. 

Ironically, your water heater is still flush with hot water.  

This can easily be solved by turning off the cold water supply to the heater, removing the water supply and nipple and broken dip tube and replacing it with a new one. 

Although generally reliable, a controller-thermostat will fail from time to time, causing the water temperature to vary erratically.  

The controller can be replaced without replacing the entire water heater – at a fraction of the cost. While the controller can be replaced by a do-it-yourselfer, this is something that you might want done by a pro.  

The safest and most energy-efficient setting for a thermostat is between 120 F and 130 F. A temperature setting less than 120 F could allow potentially fatal bacteria to propagate within the tank. A higher temperature setting can deliver scalding water. 

All water heaters have a temperature- and pressure-relief valve that is designed to prevent the water heater from exploding.  

Some manufacturers suggest testing the valve every six months or so by raising and lowering the test lever on the valve.  

This should produce a sudden burst of hot water from the drain line connected to the valve. More frequent testing can reduce the chance of a leak caused by mineral and corrosion buildup.  

However, if a leak results immediately after a test, simply operate the test lever several times to free lodged debris that might be preventing the valve from seating properly. 

Toxic gases produced by the burner should be safely vented through a flue pipe that attaches to the top of the water heater. Frequent inspections should be made to ensure that the flue pipe is aligned with the water heater exhaust port.  

Be sure that the flue is drawing properly by holding a match under the vent pipe. If the flame is drawn toward the vent pipe, it is drawing properly. If the flame blows away from the vent pipe, the flue is backdrafting, which could cause carbon monoxide poisoning.  

Check for an obstruction or damage to the vent pipe. If none exists, call in a pro to solve the problem. 

Readers can mail questions to: On the House, APNewsfeatures, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020, or e-mail Careybro(at)onthehouse.com. To receive a copy of “On the House: Plumbing” or “On the House: Painting,” send a check or money order payable to The Associated Press for $6.95 per booklet and mail to: On the House, PO Box 1562, New York, NY 10016-1562, or through these online sites: www.onthehouse.com or apbookstore.com.

WASHINGTON — A business approach to managing the environment that uses terms “performance-based” and “market-driven” won the backing Thursday of two senior Republicans and a Democrat who help steer natural resources policy. 

In an 18-page document described as a nonpartisan blueprint for lawmakers, the Business Roundtable laid out a program for “constructive changes in our environmental protection system.” 

The group, which comprises chief executives of large companies, said free trade and environmental flexibility should  

be emphasized. 

The document also recommended that lawmakers help shift regulatory controls away from the Environmental Protection Agency and toward the states along with voluntary self-auditing, approaches that have been endorsed by new EPA Administrator Christie Whitman, New Jersey’s former governor. 

Other goals include a “better alignment of energy and environmental policies” and an overall climate of fewer regulations on businesses in order to reduce barriers on developing new technology. 

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Bob Smith, R-N.H., described the group’s approach as serious and thoughtful. 

“Our goal is to ensure a clean environment in harmony with a strong economy,” he said.  

“By embracing innovation in the private sector, coupled with cooperation and not confrontation, we can achieve the environmental goals we set forward to accomplish.” 

Smith said the blueprint would “get the full attention it deserves from my committee” in addressing bills on everything from cleaning up abandoned industrial sites to reauthorizing the Clean Air Act. 

Two other lawmakers – Reps. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., Chairman of the House Science Committee, and Rick Boucher, D-W.Va., senior Democrat on the House Commerce Committee’s energy and power subcommittee — also described the plan as sensible. 

Industry leaders were represented by Earnest W. Deavenport Jr., chairman and CEO of Eastman Chemical Co.; Fred Webber, president of the American Chemistry Council; and American Forest and Paper Association President Henson Moore. 

Ben Beach, a spokesman for the Wilderness Society, said some industries seem to think “the Bush administration is going to get the gravy train up and running.” 

But, he said, “More and more, everyone is realizing that a healthy environment and a strong economy go hand in hand, and that, by and large, you’re going to have a stronger economy if you protect your lands, air and water.” 

——— 

On the Net: The Business Roundtable blueprint: http://www.brtable.org/document.cfm/496 

SAN FRANCISCO — The governor may proceed with a suit against 18 school districts in a bid to force them to fix shoddy classrooms, issue textbooks and hire credentialed teachers as required under state law, a judge ruled Thursday. 

The governor’s suit is an outgrowth of one by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU, which opposes the state’s litigation, in its suit accuses California of sidestepping its duty to guarantee students an equal public education. 

The state is claiming the school districts and their locally elected boards, not Sacramento, ultimately are responsible for ensuring equal educational opportunities for all children.  

The ACLU claims otherwise, and urged San Francisco Superior Judge Peter Busch to dismiss the state’s suit that could grow to include California’s 1,054 school districts. 

The judge, in approving the state’s claim, said he was bound by laws that allow so-called cross complaints in lawsuits. In this case, the state’s cross complaint is “suggesting that another party is responsible,” the judge said. 

ACLU attorney Mark Rosenbaum said the ACLU’s suit demands that the state implement a system to ensure all students get an equal education. The state’s cross complaint, he said, interferes with that goal. 

John Daum, an attorney for the state, said “our claim is that the districts can fix these problems.” 

Peter Sturges, a lawyer for the San Francisco Unified School District and the Fresno Unified School District, boiled down the issue: Did a school district “not get enough money, or did the school misspend it?” 

The ACLU sued the state in May in a case that grew to represent 98 students in 46 schools in 18 school districts.  

The ACLU soon will ask the judge to expand its suit to cover all 1,054 school districts and their 5.8 million students. 

Here is a sampling of allegations contained in the ACLU and state lawsuits: 

—At Cloverdale High School, classroom temperatures reach as high as 110 degrees in the summer. Students cannot take certain books home because there aren’t enough. 

—At Morris E. Daily Elementary School in Fresno, some children “have urinated or defecated on themselves at school because toilets were locked when they needed to use the restroom.” 

—At Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra, economics textbooks haven’t been updated since 1986 and, among other things, one-third of the student population must stand during assemblies because the seats are missing. 

A hearing on how to proceed with both cases is set for May 6. 

The ACLU’s case and the state’s suit are Williams vs. California, 312236. 

Two weeks ago, the St. Mary’s soccer team beat St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) 2-1. At the time, the Panthers were at the top of their game, looking forward to a run at first place, and the Pilots were scuffling along at 1-4 in BSAL play, just hoping to eke out a spot in the playoffs.  

The Pilots did manage to slip into the playoffs as the sixth and final seed by winning three of their last four games. Meanwhile, St. Mary’s lost to league power Kennedy and took a surprising loss to St. Patrick-St. Vincent to end the season. That loss knocked St. Mary’s out of first place and a first-round bye, setting up the home matchup with the St. Joseph. 

With three key players out, the Panthers couldn’t hold off the surging Pilots, losing 1-0 on a controversial goal. 

The teams had battled for 75 minutes with no goals, with each team missing several chances throughout the game. But when St. Mary’s backup goalkeeper Mark Pankow collided with sweeper Nolan Horinouchi and couldn’t come up with a cross cleanly, chaos broke loose in front of the goal. Pankow nearly recovered the ball, but had it kicked away by a Pilot. St. Joseph substitute Robert Dooley pounced on the ball and slammed it into the back of the net for the lead. 

St. Mary’s head coach Teale Matteson protested that Pankow had the ball kicked out of his hands, but his pleas fell on deaf ears, and after St. Mary’s midfielder Stephon McGrew blew a breakaway with two minutes left, the Panthers’ season was over. 

“The referees said Mark didn’t have control of the ball, so they didn’t afford him the normal protection given to the goalie,” Matteson said after the game. “I saw it as the goalie being fouled trying to make a save.” 

Matteson said despite his dispute with the deciding goal, he took nothing away from a ferocious St. Joseph team. 

“You create your own luck, and I can’t begrudge them anything,” he said. “The better team is the one that capitalizes on its opportunities, and today that was St. Joseph.” 

Although the Pilots barely made the playoffs, the result wasn’t as much of an upset as one might think. Head coach Jason Eisele’s team lost by just one goal to Kennedy and St. Mary’s, and tied second-place St. Patrick’s. Following the earlier loss to St. Mary’s, Eisele guaranteed his team would win a playoff game, and his team followed through on his promise. 

“A number six seed doesn’t do us justice,” said St. Joseph captain Jeffrey Gonzalez. “We’re a better team than they realize.” 

Eisele took the opportunity to make another prediction. 

“We’re going to be the first number six seed to win the league,” he said. 

The Panthers had plenty of chances to score on Tuesday, but just couldn’t finish them. They had three shots on goal in the first five minutes, and the St. Joseph defenders were resorting to clearing the ball blindly. But Gonzalez was able to start several counter-attacks, and Pankow, who started in place of the injured Nick Osborne, had to come out hard on several occasions to stop breakaways. 

St. Mary’s forward Pat Barry and McGrew both had several nice runs through the Pilot defense, but were turned back or mishit their shots every time. 

Notes: St. Mary’s Barry was voted to the first-team All-BSAL team after leading the league with 66 points in the regular season. Barry was the only player in the league to be named on every possible ballot (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players). McGrew, Horinouchi and midfielder Zack Huddleston were voted to the second team.

Berkeley resident Linda Levitsky has recently been recognized as the Alameda County’s Outstanding Woman of the Year in the category of environment for 2001. 

Levitsky, executive director of the East Bay Depot for Creative Re-use will be inducted into the Alameda County’s Women’s Hall of Fame on March 3 at a ceremony in Fremont that will honor her and seven other exceptional women who have impacted the county and its residents. 

The honor is awarded by the Alameda County Health Care Foundation and the Commission on the Status of Women, along with the Board of Supervisors who collectively established the Women’s Hall of Fame of Alameda County in 1993. 

“Linda is an exceptional woman whose work has made a great contribution to the county,” said Carolyn Roach of the Health Care Foundation.  

The depot is a nonprofit organization that is committed to protecting the environment through reduction of materials that end up in the landfill by collecting unwanted materials from businesses, manufacturers and individuals. These items, which consist of old fabrics, magazines, chairs, paintings, buttons, are available to teachers, artists, community programs and the public for reuse. 

It is currently housed at 6713 San Pablo Ave., a building owned by the University of California. The agency is currently in negotiations with the university, in an attempt to extend its lease at that location.  

In addition, Levitsky is honored for establishing several ecologically effective programs in the area, including the Second Chance, First Chance Program and the Renewed Products program. 

“You never know who makes a contribution to Alameda County unless we speak up and acknowledge them,” said Roach. “This is a way to let the community know of their achievements.”  

The Women’s Hall of Fame was spearheaded by former Supervisor Mary King with the goal of recognizing outstanding women in the county.  

Although there are 10 possible categories, this year only eight awards will be given, Roach said. She said the judges did not elect any women from the sports or youth categories.  

The other Hall of Fame inductees include Dorothy Graham in the health category for creating, Berkeley Place, a community mental health agency; Minnie Bateman in arts and culture, Dr. Cynthia Harris in education, Ruthe P. Gomez in business and professions, Helen Waukazoo in community service, Ilene Weinreb in justice and Dr. Susan Opp in science.  

Black History Month has turned into a mundane, meaningless and commercialized farce. 

The celebration was started in 1926 by the educator Carter G. Woodson as “Negro History Week.” Woodson selected a week in February because that is the birth month of two heroes, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. 

Woodson's purpose was to recognize the importance of black history to America. He never intended the celebration to continue. 

Woodson “fervently hoped that soon the history of African Americans would become an integral part of American history and would be observed throughout the year,” according to historian John Hope Franklin, “...down to his death in 1950, he continued to express the hope that Negro History Week would outlive its usefulness.” 

Instead, in 1976 Negro History Week became Black History Month. Many in the media take notice of this month, giving token nods by publishing articles about African Americans and airing special programs and movies. Museums and libraries hold special exhibits, lectures and events. And of course there are the omnipresent parades and food festivals. 

As Lynn Elber, the Associated Press television writer recently wrote: “television barely dips a toe into the breadth and depth of black experience, so some amends are made in February.” 

Amends is the word. Black History Month has become a ready-made excuse to ignore African American history for the other 11 months of the year. It's little more than a bone to throw to us, not amends enough. 

Our evolving story should be told – it cannot just be bottled up and packaged in the shortest month of the year (or any other month for that matter). 

At a 1998 symposium on the value of Black History Month, The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education noted that it has become a “marketing weapon” allowing advertisers and book publishers to boost sales and then abandon them for the remainder of the year. There are also special marketing efforts directed to the African- American communities during the month for products like liquor, cigarettes and sodas, according to the Journal. 

Broadcast networks and cable channels can dust off old movies and show and re-show tired programs, add a few original programs and then forget about any commitment to diversity in front of and behind the cameras the remaining 11 months. 

What is lost in this commercialization is the essence of Woodson's dream – to recall the contributions of African Americans in history, industry, the arts and sciences and all aspects of our country. 

Grade school students do benefit from the Black History Month curriculum, but most citizens don't gain much of an appreciation for African Americans in February – or any other month, for that matter. For the record, February is also American Heart Month, International Boost Self-Esteem Month, International Embroidery Month, Library Lovers Month, National Cherry Month, National Children's Dental Health Month, National Snack Food Month, and last but not least Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month. 

M. Dion Thompson of the Baltimore Sun, who supports the continuation of Black History Month says, “[It] is coming and I don't know what to do, the calendar is going to be crammed with more events than I could possibly attend, even if I were cloned.” 

And that's the problem. We're kidding ourselves if we think that by designating February as Black History Month we're really doing anything to honor African Americans or to combat racial prejudice in this country. For it is this prejudice that continues to divide us. 

So, I will boycott Black History Month and instead of a month of perfunctory gestures, I will have a yearlong effort of recognizing African Americans who made and continue to make a contribution. 

PNS commentator Akilah Monifa is a writer who lives in Oakland 

The Cal football program got its yearly infusion of talent on Wednesday, as 17 high schoolers and three junior college players signed letters of intent to play for the Bears. Headlined by a local star who head coach Tom Holmoe caught on the rebound, the class is considered to be Cal’s strongest in several years. 

Lorenzo Alexander, a 6-foot-3, 280-pound lineman who starred for St. Mary’s College High School for the last four years, committed to the Bears only after the Stanford admissions office rejected him. Alexander is widely regarded as one of the top 10 defensive line prospects in the country this year, the most highly-touted defensive lineman to commit to Cal since Andre Carter. 

“We know that we got him in a rebound situation, and we don’t care,” Holmoe said Wednesday. “We’ve told him the same things since he was a sophomore, and I think he realized that it was real. He’s the major force in this class. He has great size and speed.” 

Alexander is one of four SuperPrep All-Americans in the class, and one of 12 PrepStar All-Americans. There are 10 offensive players and 10 defensive players in the class. 

The new class of Bears is rated 34th in the country by PrepStar and 36th by Rivals.com.  

Other key players who committed to Cal on Wednesday are linebacker Mike Wells (Tucson, Ariz.), quarterback Richard Schwartz (Huntington Beach), and running backs Will Scott and Terrell Williams, who were teammates at Hoover High School in San Diego. 

“I think Mike Wells is a real sleeper,” Holmoe said, pointing out the player’s long wingspan and athletic ability. “He didn’t get a lot of respect from the ranking services, but he’s got a lot of potential.” 

Schwartz will be brought along slowly, as junior-to-be Kyle Boller has a stranglehold on the starting quarterback spot, and redshirt freshman Reggie Robertson (Wells’ high school teammate) has impressed the coaches with his athletic ability. 

The two teammates from San Diego were both adamant that they wanted to play offense, although both are were outstanding cornerbacks in high school. Holmoe said that with Cal’s depth at tailback, Scott and WIlliams could change their minds. 

The three junior college transfers will all be expected to contribute next season. Defensive end Tom Canada, who had 16 sacks for Hancock JC despite battling an ankle injury for most of the season, is already enrolled at Cal and will take part in spring practice. Canada, along with defensive end Josh Gustaveson and Alexander, will be counted on to help replace the departing Carter and Jacob Waasdorp, who anchored the Cal defense.  

Cornerback Ray Carmel, who Holmoe said will also be a kick returner, should help offset the loss of cornerback Chidi Iwouma. 

Also bolstering the defense next season will be the return of two players who left the team last year for personal reasons. Cornerback Atari Callen and linebacker Jamaal Cherry should both challenge for starting spots after missing last season. 

One recruit, Healdsburg offensive lineman Andrew Cameron, won’t be ready to play until 2003. Cameron tore his ACL during the season and will enroll in the spring semester of 2002. 

One thing missing from the class is a speed receiver or two. The Bears didn’t have bona fide deep threat last season, and both wide receiver recruits, Christian Prelle of Huntington Beach and John Rust of Lake Oswego, Ore., are possession-type wideouts. 

“We did go after some real fast guys, but didn’t get that speed-burner type of wide receiver,” Holmoe said. “Our receiving corps has been shoddy in the past number of years, but there’s no question in my mind that we’re very strong now, and we’ve added two quality players. But there’s no coach in his right mind who doesn’t want speed outside.”

Kim Jackson’s child is 6 years old. A good kid, says his daycare teacher Susan Tourban, but one who seeks adventure. 

The adventure the child and a friend had last week, however, left his mom steaming and pointing fingers at the school district.  

The first-grader was supposed to get on the bus at the City of Franklin Magnet School to go to his after-school program at Rosa Parks School, but he and his friend, a second-grader, never got on the bus. Instead they walked to their daycare and got in trouble along the way. 

Franklin Principal Barbara Penny James said both children were walked to the bus by their teachers, as they ought to be, but that, somehow, the two slipped away. “He has a history. He has money and goes to the store,” Penny James said. “Little boys do this.”  

Since the incident, Penny James said the school is keeping a closer eye on Jackson’s child. “He is being watched, since the incident happened,” said the 26-year principal. 

Interim Superintendent Steve Goldstone had not been briefed on the incident, but expressed concern, especially when he learned the age of the child in question. “With the real little ones, sometimes they get lost” just going to the classroom, he said. “I think we have to be concerned about all the children that need to be on the school bus. We have to find ways to improve our practice.” 

Jackson doesn’t excuse her child’s role in the misadventure – he and his friend ended up destroying property and getting police involved. She said, however, there would have been no problem had the adults in question seen to it that the child had been put on the bus properly.  

“He crossed University (Avenue) and San Pablo (Avenue) by himself,” Jackson said.

Editor, 

I have read many letters attacking the utilities for the present energy mess, and almost no letters pointing to those actors, and factors, that I think are significant. People have pointed to the fact that there have been no new power plants for years. Why should there be?  

The 1996 deregulation act required that the utilities divest half of their thermal generation, and it hardly seems reasonable that they would be building new plants in California, when they are supposed to be divesting themselves of plants.  

Nor would one expect the companies that buy the utility’s plants to be building new ones, since their capital is tied up in buying the old plants.  

How about more utility conservation programs? Excellent idea - in hindsight, but very difficult to justify beforehand in excess of what the PUC allows the utilities to recover in their rates. Price hedging? Another excellent idea, but the PUC turned down the utility’s request last summer. 

The issue of blame has skewed people’s thinking on recovery. People want the utilities and their stockholders to cover the short-fall, but I suspect that this is about as realistic as trying to squeeze blood from a stone.  

It is also malicious, as the utilities and their stockholders have already taken a major financial loss.  

Utility stocks have dropped precipitously, the utilities have defaulted on their contracts, their bonds are now classified as junk, they have suspended dividends, laid off employees and are talking bankruptcy.  

When I see people leaving their landscape lighting on during the day I can only suggest that we look in the mirror if we want to see who is responsible for this mess. 

The amazing thing in all of this is that our governor is still trying to artificially limit the price to the consumer.  

I have done the conservation measures that are cost-effective, but I could justify more, and would therefore do more, if energy prices were higher.  

One would hope that by now we would know enough to not repeat our past mistakes. 

Robert Clear 

Berkeley 

Cal goalkeeper Maite Zabala and defender Tami Pivnik were selected in the Women’s United Soccer Association supplemental college draft this week, and will both play in the fledgling league’s inaugural season beginning in April. 

Zabala was chosen with the eighth overall pick by the Atlanta Beat, and Pivnik was chosen by the Bay Area CyberRays with the 31st overall pick. 

“I was a little surprised to have been picked so high,” Zabala said. “But I’m glad I’ll be getting the chance to keep playing soccer.” 

Zabala plans to graduate next winter, but will drop her current classes to train with the Beat. She will return to school when the season ends in August. 

“I’m a little nervous, because I’ve never been to Atlanta,” she said. “But a lot of people have told me it’s a nice city.”

First the Berkeley Housing Authority Board heard how the troubled agency has failed property owners and Section 8 tenants Tuesday night. Then it listened to a plan to save the agency from  

dissolution. 

Interim Housing Director Stephen Barton along with Interim Berkeley Housing Authority Manager Sheila Maxwell explained to BHA board members how the agency has failed to provide landlords with overdue rent increases and has been slow to process Section 8 voucher applications for the 1,500 priority households on the BHA waiting list.  

HUD has made 1,840 Section 8 vouchers available to the BHA and currently there are only 1,300 households receiving the government rental  

subsidies. Because BHA has failed to make full use of available vouchers, the agency is on the verge of collapse, according to Barton. 

According to a recent BHA report, last year the city agency was $255,000 over budget and it expects to lose another $247,000 this year. In addition to the operating deficit, the city was fined $54,000 last year by HUD for not assigning more vouchers.  

To add to the agency’s woes, BHA officials said that the Section 8 program is losing 10 housing units a month because landlords say they can get higher rents on the open market, Barton said. The number of landlords taking their units out of the program has increased from 1999 when a total of 29 units were taken out of the Section 8 program, said Councilmember Dona Spring. 

“If the Housing Authority is unable to return to self sufficiency reasonably quickly it’s very likely the city would contract its duties out another agency such as the Alameda County Housing Authority,” Barton said. 

Under state law, the City Council governs the BHA, which has the authority to dissolve the agency if is deemed unable to carry out its duties. Mayor Shirley Dean said the City Council may decide the BHA’s fate as early as May if there is no evidence of operation improvement. 

Barton and Maxwell outlined two tasks the agency must perform in order to turn the agency around. Barton said the first thing the agency has to do is process the qualified households on the waiting list. Once the agency raises the number of Section 8 households to 1,750, which would be close to 95 percent of HUD approved vouchers, the agency will not no longer be losing money. 

HUD pays the BHA approximately $700 per year for each assigned Section 8 voucher, according to Barton. Barton has set a goal of being financially solvent by June, 2003. 

Recently hired BHA Manager Sheila Maxwell, the former general manager of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, said she has taken steps to organize Housing Authority staff and policy.  

“We’ve been able to modify and revise procedures to cut down on the processing time of the huge amount of paperwork that this office is responsible for,” Maxwell said. “We also have regular and consistent meetings with staff to keep on top of internal problems.” 

Maxwell said she has taken steps to update the agency’s infrastructure with new computers and software that will allow staff to decrease processing time. 

Barton said the agency will also be working with landlords to put into effect long overdue rental increases. “Virtually all of the landlords who are in the Section 8 program need to have their rents raised to current HUD approved levels,” he said. “We are going to make a serious effort to have all the rents raised within six months.” 

Some landlords have not yet received increases that were approved by HUD two years ago. 

Barton said the BHA has trained and assigned several staff members to focus exclusively on shepherding landlords through the rental increase process. 

Barton said by bringing landlords up to current HUD approved rates, which he said are comparable to market rates, he hopes to reverse the trend of landlords opting out of the Section Program. 

Spring said if the city loses its Housing Authority, section 8 tenants and landlords could lose influence over the government housing program. “It’s a very sobering idea that we may lose the BHA,” she said. “If we did, we wouldn’t be able to give as much attention to the needs of Berkeley tenants or landlords. The accountability that we now have from the BHA would be greatly reduced.” 

Dean has suggested the creation of a seven-member commission that would have more time for BHA issues than the current BHA Board, which is made up of the mayor, city councilmembers and two tenants. 

“We have never been able to give the BHA the kind of time it needs,” she said. “I believe we need a board to meet two or three times a month to keep on top of things.” 

Councilmember Linda Maio thanked Barton for “airing your dirty linen.” She said it appeared he had analyzed the situation very well and put together an effective plan to turn the BHA around. 

Councilmember Betty Olds, who was a member of the Rent Stabilization Board for eight years, said it was about time the landlords got some consideration. “You can’t kick people in the teeth as long as Berkeley’s landlords have and expect them to continue participating in the Section 8 program,” she said. “I was very heartened to hear that the BHA is making landlord concerns a priority.” 

President of the Black Property Owners Association, Frank Davis, said the plan sounds good, but what the BHA needs to do is to take action. “If we can get that out of the way, we can solve a lot of these problems,” he said. “That is the most important thing.” 

Whether your heart belongs to anyone this Valentine's Day may depend on what happened the first time you fell in love.  

This new finding, by University of California, Berkeley, graduate student Jennifer Beer, challenges the notion commonly held since Freud that the stability of the parent-child relationship sets the stage for attachment later in life.  

With romance, said Beer, "Some of the problems you have in the romantic domain may have more to do with your first love than with your parents." She based her work on the first-love stories of 303 UC Berkeley undergraduates, mostly juniors, collected in 1997.  

By "first love," Beer doesn't mean a childhood crush on a teacher or movie star, but the first real relationship of a romantic nature between two individuals, often experienced in adolescence or early adult years. Those who remember the experience positively are more likely to consider themselves securely attached to their current romantic partners, she said, and to perceive their romantic partners as securely attached to them.  

She now is looking at how such recent and distant "vivid" representations of self and partner are stored in different memory systems in the brain and what this might reveal about self-perception.  

"Vivid memories are very detailed, self-defining, something you recall a lot, stories and anecdotes you dwell on or tell all the time," Beer said.  

In the case of first love, such memories often range from bittersweet but fond - perhaps recollections of a poignant puppy love tinged with regard or regret for a long-ago sweetheart - to deeply painful, soul-crushing experiences.  

Whatever happened, “it can set you up as thinking, 'This is what I am like as a relationship partner,’ ” Beer said.  

People who recollect their first romantic experience as involving good feelings, for instance, citing memories of happiness, excitement, strength, inspiration, pride and enthusiasm, were more likely to be in stable relationships years later than those recalling hostility, upset, stress, guilt, fright or shame, Beer found.  

"First love relationships often break up. So people say, 'What do you mean, good feelings? It was a breakup,' " she said. "But even though the relationship ended, which seems like it might be negative, the vivid memories surrounding the experience can be good or bad."  

As an example of a good experience, Beer cited one respondent who suffered greatly because her former boyfriend dated other women immediately after their relationship ended. But, prior to that, the experience had been a positive taste of what love could be, and the woman learned what made her happy in a relationship.  

Alternatively, Beer described a stormier experience that left the respondent years later with the unshakeable suspicion that all men were untrustworthy.  

"This is wrong, but I cannot help myself," the respondent commented. "One negative experience has been enough to change my entire outlook on men."  

Beer identified four patterns of perception surrounding relationships:  

* Secure - A secure, positive sense of both self and partner in a relationship.  

* Dismissive -A positive sense of self, but not of partner.  

* Preoccupied - A positive sense of partner, but not of self.  

* Fearful - Negative recollections of both.  

Those with memories of positive emotion and outcomes from their first relationship "were more likely to have positive views of self and others in romantic relationships," Beer said. 

"Those with more negative emotions and outcome were more likely to show one of the other three patterns." 

SAN FRANCISCO — At least one other person may have witnessed the fatal mauling of a college lacrosse coach, and the victim’s partner says it wasn’t the first attack. 

An elderly neighbor has come forward, saying she witnessed the fatal attack through a peep hole in her door, San Francisco Police Lt. Henry Hunter said Wednesday. 

The woman, who police have not identified, said she was too scared to go outside, but said the “dogs were banging against her door so hard she put the chain up,” because she was afraid they would break it down, Hunter said. 

Sharon Smith said her partner of seven years, Diane Whipple, a 33-year-old coach at St. Mary’s College, had been bitten once before by one of the mastiff-Canary Island dogs in their apartment foyer.  

Smith said the dog lunged for Whipple’s wrist last month and bit down on her sports watch, which prevented serious injury. 

“She was terrified of the dogs,” Smith said. 

Smith, a vice president at the Charles Schwab investment firm, has hired lawyer and former Alameda County prosecutor Michael Cardoza to monitor the district attorney’s investigation and to ensure the owners, Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller, are prosecuted. No lawsuits have been filed. 

“I want to see the two of them locked up,” Smith said. “This isn’t a car accident, where it happens, and you grieve and then move on.” 

As Whipple was coming home to the couple’s sixth-floor apartment with groceries Jan. 26, Bane, a 120-pound dog, attacked Whipple, throwing her down on the floor and ripping at her throat with his teeth as Knoller tried to restrain him. Another dog, Hera, tugged at her clothes, police have said. Whipple died later that evening at the hospital. 

The canines involved in Whipple’s death are part of a fighting-dog ring in which dogs were bred for such jobs as protecting illicit drug labs.  

The ring was run by two white supremacist inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison, and in a bizarre twist, Noel and Knoller recently adopted one of the inmates, 38-year-old Paul John Schneider. 

District Attorney Terence Hallinan has said Noel and Knoller could face manslaughter charges in Whipple’s death. 

But Cardoza is hopeful prosecutors will go one step further. He says under a mischievous dog section in the law, second-degree murder charges can be filed. 

“Hopefully, they will bring charges,” he said. “And hopefully, they will be second-degree murder charges against these people.” 

He said he expects to file suit against the couple within the next few weeks. 

Calls to Noel and Knoller were not returned to The Associated Press on Wednesday. 

But Hunter said police have been gathering mixed information about the dogs. 

“We want to be fair. We’re not going out with any preconceived notions. We’re letting the chips fall where they may,” he said. “We have had people say the dogs were friendly and they petted them every day and other people who say, ’These dogs scared the heck out of me.”’ 

Smith said she’s never really met the neighbors who live down the call of their Pacific Heights apartment building, but that even she had a close encounter with one of the dogs last year when she reached down to pet the animal. 

“Robert screamed out ’No!’,” she recalled. “He told me the dog had been in a fight in the park and was spooked. It made me scared of the dogs.” 

LOS ANGELES — Nuclear energy has a daunting list of negatives – economics, fears about safety and waste disposal, and the potential to fuel the creation of nuclear weapons. 

But California’s power crisis is prompting some to renew calls to expand the power source. 

State Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, plans to introduce legislation in the next few weeks to move the state toward greater use of nuclear energy. 

The measure would seek the reopening of the Rancho Seco nuclear power plant, which shut down in 1989 a day after Sacramento-area voters passed a referendum calling for its closure. 

“I’m told that with half a billion dollars and nine months we could refit the facility and generate 1,100 megawatts of power,” McClintock said.  

“I don’t think the support exists at present, But once there has been public debate on the issue, I believe the support will exist.” 

California’s two nuclear facilities – Diablo Canyon and San Onofre – are the state’s two biggest power sources, generating more than 4,000 megawatts between them. 

State Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-San Fernando, said the energy crisis has thus far produced little talk in Sacramento of expanding nuclear energy. But the topic seems much less divisive, he said. 

“The discussion is much more casual,” he said. “In the past, it would conjure up automatic controversy.” 

Alarcon also sees a cautious optimism among nuclear power providers that the energy crisis could make it easier for them to operate. 

Alarcon, however, believes options like solar energy and new natural gas plants are better ways to handle the state’s long-term needs. 

Nuclear power provides roughly one-fifth of the nation’s electricity needs, but no nuclear plants have been approved in this country for 23 years. Meanwhile, a number of plants have closed. 

That could hamper any effort to bring more plants on line. 

“The politics could be insurmountable; it’s not clear,” said John P. Holdren, director of the Program on Science, Technology and Public Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy’s School of Government. “There’s a group in the middle I think are revisiting their views.” 

Holdren is scheduled to speak Friday in Irvine at a National Academy of Engineering symposium on the future of nuclear power.  

He said nuclear energy should be re-examined as an alternative to fossil fuels, which provide about 75 percent of the world’s energy but contribute to global warming. 

Holdren said he is “not an unabashed nuclear booster.”  

He considers using more natural gas and developing renewable energy sources like wind as high priorities on the world’s energy to-do list. 

“The question is will that be enough. We have to look at some of the more difficult” options, including nuclear energy, Holdren said.  

“There is no silver bullet out there, and that is what people need to get through their heads.” 

Dan Jacobson, legislative advocate for the California Public Interest Research Group, said embracing a rebirth of nuclear power “would take us from one crisis and put us in the next.” 

Nuclear power has proven to be a needlessly expensive and dangerous energy source, especially in earthquake-prone California, he said. In a state with the potential to meet about half of its energy needs with renewable sources, the long-term need for nuclear power is nonexistent, he said. 

Holdren said there are four primary obstacles to expanding nuclear power.  

It’s more expensive than fossil fuels; safety must improve before a significant number of new plants can be built; long-term solutions for waste disposal are needed; and strategies to keep nuclear material from ending up in weapons must be developed. 

“The authorities have endorsed so many missteps that they have little credibility,” Holdren said. 

Peter Lyons, science adviser to Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said a project in South Africa may be the prelude to greater use of nuclear power. 

The 100-megawatt “pebble bed modular reactor system” is about one-tenth the size of a typical nuclear reactor and is designed to have zero chance of a meltdown, even if all coolant flow is lost.

SAN DIEGO — An appeals court Wednesday struck down a key provision of Proposition 21 which, with strong support from voters last year, allowed prosecutors to charge youths as adults for certain serious crimes. 

In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled the provision violates the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers clause by taking power from judges and giving it to prosecutors, who are part of the government’s executive branch. 

The court found that “the fundamental nature” of the decision to charge a juvenile as an adult amounts to a sentencing decision that can’t be turned over to prosecutors. 

The ruling came in an appeal of a decision to charge eight San Diego teens as adults for an attack on five Mexican agricultural workers last summer. Similar challenges to the law have been filed on behalf of minors around the state. 

“This changes the way the juvenile courts are going to proceed in thousands upon thousands of cases,” said Kerry Steigerwalt, a lawyer for one of the eight San Diego teen-agers. 

“This guts Proposition 21,” he said. 

The San Diego County District Attorney’s office, which charged the youths with robbery and assault in the attack, is expected to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court. 

Proposition 21, approved by nearly two-thirds of voters in March, overhauled the state’s juvenile justice system to crack down on young criminals. It had strong backing from former Gov. Pete Wilson as well as Gov. Gray Davis. 

It required pretrial detention for people younger than 18 who are charged with serious crimes and established a new probation system for youths. 

Justice Alex McDonald, who was appointed to the court in 1995 by Wilson, wrote in the majority opinion that Wednesday’s ruling doesn’t invalidate other provisions of Proposition 21, such as a mandate that youths 14 and older be tried as adults for murder and sexual assaults. 

The troublesome part of the law was a portion giving prosecutors the power to decide whether they would charge youths as adults for other crimes — such as robbery and hate-crimes in the case of the San Diego teens. 

In dissenting from the majority, Justice Gilbert Nares argued that voters have the legal right to delegate such decisions to prosecutors. 

“I believe the people of this state have the constitutional power and the right to take such a measured approach to combat serious and violent juvenile crimes,” wrote Nares, who was appointed to the court in 1988 by Gov. George Deukmejian. 

The law also sought to close a wide gulf between sentencing for adults and minors. 

If the eight San Diego teens — who ranged in age from 14 to 17 at the time of the attack — had been convicted as adults, they would have faced sentences ranging from 12 years to 16 years for robbery and assault with a hate-crime enhancement. 

As juveniles, their maximum penalty would be confinement in California Youth Authorities facilities until age 25. 

Critics have argued that incarcerating juveniles with adults and for longer sentences is cruel and unusual punishment, and say that young people sent to adult prisons generally get no chance at rehabilitation. 

The Associated Press 

LOS ANGELES — Icebox.com, an ambitious Web entertainment site that seemed on the verge of mainstream success, is closing. 

The company pioneered the idea of using the Internet as a place to test ideas that could later be made into television shows or feature films. Last August, it sold a short, animated series called “Starship Regulars” to the Showtime cable channel, which still plans on turning it into a live-action show later this year. 

The company also licensed an animated show, “Zombie College” to the Fox Broadcasting Network, which is developing it into a live-action pilot. 

The company said Wednesday it will lay off most of its remaining 27 employees Friday. 

Steve Stanford, chief executive officer and Icebox Inc. co-founder, said the company ran out of money and time. Icebox raised $13.4 million last April and has been unable to raise more money or find either a partner or a buyer. 

“There is such a negative sentiment about Web content out there,” Stanford said Wednesday. “Given the current environment, it did not make sense to continue the business.” 

Stanford said he is still trying to sell the company or at least some of the shows on the site. After Friday, the site will continue to exist for a while, although no new episodes will be posted. 

“We had great support from the creative community,” Stanford said. “We had fairly high aspirations. We wanted to make the Web a place where people could go to create quality entertainment.” 

Most companies that have tried to attract viewers and advertising revenue with original programming on the Internet have struggled. 

The Digital Entertainment Network was the first to fold early last year. It was soon followed by Pop.com, the much-heralded effort backed by such Hollywood powerhouses as Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard. Pop.com closed before it even debuted. 

Icebox.com seemed more likely to succeed, in part because it did not try to be an entertainment destination. Instead, it used the Web as a place for established artists to try out new material, which could then be sold, with Icebox retaining part of the subsequent profits. 

Unlike many other sites, which showcased content written, and often animated, by amateurs, Icebox enlisted top writers, including Rob LaZebnick, an Icebox co-founder and co-producer of the Fox television series, “The Simpsons,” and Eric Kaplan, a producer of the Fox animated series “Futurama.” 

“We believed if you could give a proven artist the freedom to create things, some good things would come out of that.,” Stanford said. “We had some great properties. We also had some not-so-great properties.” 

The site drew harsh criticism from those who charged it featured raunchy and often offensive material. One show, “Mr. Wong,” made sport of an 85-year-old Chinese houseboy complete with overbite and jaundiced complexion. 

Stanford said he is not sure what he will do next. 

“This is something I was really passionate about,” he said. “I never thought I would have to do something else.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.icebox.com 

LOS ANGELES — A federal appeals court has ruled that environmental and preservation groups can sue the U.S. Navy over demolition of the Long Beach Naval Station that was home to bird habitats and historic buildings. 

“It was outrageous,” said attorney Richard I. Fine, who represented the plaintiffs.  

“They destroyed over $500 million worth of buildings. It was horrible.” Use of the closed naval installation was at the center of a heated political battle in the late 1990s when the city of Long Beach proposed an agreement with the China Ocean Shipping Co. to establish its own cargo port on the property. 

Two California congressmen opposed the plan, claiming the property could become a base for Chinese spying and smuggling. That plan was abandoned. 

The appeals court ruling issued Tuesday involves the removal of ficus trees that served as habitat for rare birds and the demolition of buildings designed by architect Paul Williams that might have been appropriate for inclusion on the National Registry of Historic Places. 

The attorney who represented the city of Long Beach in the protracted litigation said adequate environmental studies were done to determine how best to use the property. 

A mitigation fund was set up to move some 50 adult ficus trees to other locations, according to Principal Deputy City Attorney Dominic Holzhaus. 

Other measures provided for a shallow water habitat for the black-crowned night heron, one of the species of birds believed to be endangered by the demolition. The birds have been thriving in the new location, Holzhaus said. 

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling written by judge Stephen Reinhardt said the fact the naval station has already been demolished does not make the issue moot. 

Bird watchers want the U.S. Navy to repair damage done to the bird habitats and to consider more environmentally acceptable uses for the property. 

“The bird watchers have shown a concrete and particularized interest in observing the birds and their habitat from land adjacent to the station,” the ruling states. 

The appeals court sent the case back to a federal district court. The citizen groups plan to ask U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson to order the Navy to reconsider uses for the land that might include restaurants and commercial buildings, Fine said. 

The city, however, has arranged to lease the naval station property to Hanjin, a Korean shipping line that is already operating a newly constructed terminal. Other buildings remain under construction. 

The Navy plans to transfer ownership to the city after completing a mandated cleanup over the next year. It must decide whether challenge the appeals court ruling or return to district court for resolution, Holzhaus said. 

LOS ANGELES — Dale Evans, the singer-actress who teamed with husband Roy Rogers in popular Westerns and wrote their theme song, “Happy Trails to You,” died Wednesday at 88. 

Evans died of congestive heart failure at her home in Apple Valley in the high desert east of Los Angeles, said Dave Koch, son-in-law of Evans’ stepson, Roy “Dusty” Rogers Jr. She had suffered a heart attack in 1992 and a stroke in 1996. 

Evans’ son and other family members were at her side. A memorial service will be held Saturday, Koch said. She was the “Queen of the West” to Rogers, the “King of the Cowboys.” She rode her horse, Buttermilk, beside him on his celebrated palomino, Trigger. 

“There’s the last of the great ladies from a great era – the cowboy era,” said Fran Boyd, executive director of the Academy of Country Music. “She was always really gracious and a very big supporter of her husband.” 

The first movie she made with Rogers, already an established singing cowboy star, was “Cowboy and the Senorita” in 1944. They married in 1947, and together appeared in 35 movies, including such Saturday afternoon favorites as “My Pal Trigger,” “Apache Rose” and “Don’t Fence Me In.” 

When the B Western faded in the early 1950s, they began their television career. “The Roy Rogers Show” ran from 1951 to 1957; later incarnations included “The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show,” 1962, and “Happy Trails Theatre,” 1986-89, a show of repackaged Rogers and Evans movies on cable TV’s Nashville Network. 

In 1951, she wrote “Happy Trails,” which became their theme song. She also wrote the 1955 gospel music standard “The Bible Tells Me So,” with the refrain, “how do I know? the Bible tells me so.” 

She and Rogers recorded more than 400 songs. Their most recent album was “Many Happy Trails,” recorded in Nashville in 1985. 

She wrote more than 20 books, including the best-selling “Angel Unaware,” a poignant account of their daughter, Robin, the only child born to the couple.  

Robin, who had Down syndrome, died of complications from the mumps shortly before her second birthday in 1952. 

It wasn’t the couple’s only taste of tragedy. Korean-born Debbie, one of the couple’s adopted children, was killed with seven others in a 1964 church bus crash; the following year, their adopted son John choked to death while serving in the Army in Germany. 

“In the Bible, it doesn’t say you’re going to get by without having troubles,” Rogers once said. 

The couple also adopted another daughter and raised a daughter by foster parenthood. In addition, Evans had a son by a previous marriage, and Rogers had a son and two daughters, one of them adopted, with his first wife, Arline. She had died in 1946, shortly after giving birth to Roy Jr. 

Evans was born Frances Octavia Smith on Oct. 31, 1912, in Uvalde, Texas. When she was a girl her family moved to Osceola, Ark., where she attended high school. 

She was working as a secretary in Chicago when she tried to launch a show business career, she recalled in the 1984 interview. 

“I wanted to get a foothold in radio, but I couldn’t get a job,” she said. “Finally I succeeded in Memphis, then I got jobs in Louisville and Dallas before going back to Chicago.” 

She became Dale Evans during her brief stint in Tennessee. Initially, she used her married name, Frances Fox, and then Marian Lee. Over her protests, the station manager changed it to Dale Evans, because he felt it was “euphonious” and would roll easily from the lips of announcers. 

From local radio singing jobs, she worked up to national radio, signing on in 1940 as a singer on a weekly CBS radio show “News and Rhythm.” Shortly afterward, she started working in Hollywood, appearing in films such as “Orchestra Wives” and “Swing Your Partner.” 

She said she felt sorry from some of today’s rock stars: “They are overnight successes making unbelievable amounts of money. They’re like meteors, shooting up and then falling just as fast. People like Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Roy and me, we paid our dues. We’ve known the hard times and the good, and we appreciate what we’ve got.” 

Besides Roy Jr., she is survived by her son by her first marriage, Tom Fox; adopted daughter Dodie Sailors; foster daughter Marion Swift; stepdaughter Linda Lou Johnson; adopted stepdaughter Cheryl Barnett; 16 grandchildren; and more than 30 great-grandchildren. 

WASHINGTON — In its quest to persuade more taxpayers to file returns electronically, the Internal Revenue Service this year is making 23 more forms available in e-format and scrapping the requirement that taxpayers mail in a separate paper signature form. 

“People made fun of us: ’You’ve got electronic filing but then you’ve got to file a piece of paper.’ It didn’t make sense,” said IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti. “This is really a major breakthrough. It makes electronic filing paperless.” 

The IRS is expecting 42.3 million electronic tax returns out of a total projected 129.7 million returns by April 16, up from about 35 million that were e-filed a year ago.  

Among the benefits: faster refunds, much greater accuracy, direct deposit and debit and far less chance of further contact with the IRS. 

“You’re 40 times less likely to hear from the IRS if you file electronically,” said Terry Lutes, IRS chief of electronic tax administration. 

New this year to replace the paper signature form is a five-digit PIN number a taxpayer will select through a paid practitioner, tax preparation software or an Internet-based preparer.  

To prove identity, taxpayers must provide the IRS two “shared secrets” from last year’s tax return: the numbers for their adjusted gross income and total tax. 

“If those two things match, then we’ll accept it,” said Lutes said. 

This “self-selected” PIN number will also replace the postcards the IRS sent last year to about 11 million e-filing taxpayers that gave them an electronic signature to replace the paper form. 

Among the new IRS forms being made available electronically are those for supplemental income and loss, depreciation, wage and tax statements and farm rental income.  

With these additions, 97 percent of all IRS forms – and virtually every form needed by the average taxpayer – can be used in e-filing. 

Both of these changes will particularly encourage electronic filing by paid practitioners, who tend to deal with more complex returns and typically use a greater variety of forms, Rossotti said. 

“Paid preparers have said they don’t want some paper returns and some electronic. They want to do it one way,” he said. “That’s a legitimate point.” 

The IRS is attempting to meet a goal set by Congress of having 80 percent of all tax returns e-filed by 2007. 

Other electronic tax filing changes for this year: 

• Taxpayers will have a second option to pay their taxes using MasterCard, Discover or American Express cards. PhoneCharge Inc., at 1 (888) ALLTAXX, is now competing with Official Payments Corp., at 1 (800) 2PAYTAX. Fees apply in both cases. 

• Beginning April 1, taxpayers can seek a filing extension from the IRS through the TeleFile touch-tone phone system and allow taxes to be deducted directly from bank accounts. 

• Combined state-federal filing will be expanded to all states with an income tax. 

• Acceptance of 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ forms from U.S. overseas possessions. 

• Paid preparers will be able to write in comments supporting or clarifying an entry on a client’s tax return. 

Look for more tax help all this week on the Berkeley Daily Planet’s business page.

CHICAGO — People who catch HIV are increasingly likely to encounter mutant forms of the virus that are able to resist some of the drugs commonly used to treat the infection. 

Drug-resistant strains have been a major problem since the start of treatment in the early years of the AIDS epidemic, but until recently this resistance emerged as the virus evolved inside each patient’s body. Now, however, doctors say these resistant viruses apparently are being passed on to others in significant numbers. 

U.S. researchers Wednesday reported an abrupt upswing over the past two years in the prevalence of resistant forms of the virus in newly infected people. 

They said the cause of this increase is almost certainly the widespread use of drug combinations that have revolutionized the treatment of AIDS since 1996. These medicines have transformed HIV from a death sentence to a manageable condition, but they have also increased the number of outwardly healthy people whose bodies harbor resistant virus. 

When all goes well, the drugs hold reproduction of the virus so low that no resistant mutants can evolve. But often, the medicines fail to work this well, and a virus gradually emerges that is resistant to one or more of the drugs being taken. 

“There are significantly greater numbers of patients who have failing regimens and who transmit their virus,” said Dr. Susan Little of the University of California, San Diego. 

Her study was conducted on 394 people in Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego, Montreal, Birmingham, Ala., and Vancouver, British Columbia. She presented the results at the Eighth Annual Retrovirus Conference in Chicago. 

The patients were seen by doctors between 1995 and last May. All were checked within three months of catching HIV. 

Between 1995 and 1998, less than 4 percent of the patients caught resistant virus.  

In 1999 and 2000, this rose to 14 percent. Six percent of these had a virus that was resistant to two drugs. 

Most of those who catch HIV never realize it until years later. However, patients occasionally realize it soon after infection because they get temporary flu-like symptoms. Some doctors recommend immediate drug treatment for such patients. 

In these cases, Little said doctors should check their patients’ viruses to see if they are resistant to any drugs before starting therapy. 

Doctors believe that without treatment, patients’ drug-resistant virus eventually evolves back to the non-resistant form. However, a record of the resistant virus is stored in patients’ immune systems, and it can re-emerge once treatment starts. 

The growing spread of resistant virus “has tremendous important in our ability to treat people effectively,” said Dr. Douglas Richman, another member of Little’s team. 

Another study, conducted by Dr. Hillard Weinstock of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, raises the possibility that the level of resistant virus varies greatly among different risk groups. 

Weinstock’s team surveyed 603 people newly diagnosed with HIV in 10 cities. It found that 16 percent of white homosexual men had resistant virus, compared with 3 percent of blacks who caught the virus heterosexually. 

Two other studies from Switzerland and France also found high levels of resistant virus, though resistance was more common there than in the United States during the mid-1990s.  

In a study of 121 newly infected patients, Dr. Marie-Laure Chaix of Necker Hospital in Paris found that 9 percent had resistant virus in 1996, 7 percent in 1997, 6 percent in 1998 and 10 percent in 1999. 

NEW DELHI, India — In a challenge to big drug manufacturers, an Indian company is offering to supply AIDS drugs to a medical relief agency at 3.5 percent of the cost charged in Western countries, as long as they are distributed for free. 

Bombay-based Cipla Ltd. will sell the three-drug, anti-retroviral cocktail to Doctors Without Borders for $350 a year per patient, instead of the $10,000 to $15,000 charged in the United States and Europe, Cipla chairman Yusuf Hamied told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 

The decision could revolutionize the treatment of HIV patients in developing countries, where the virus is most rampant – but it’s unclear if the companies holding patents on the drugs will go along. 

Annick Hamel, of Doctors Without Borders, said the Paris-based aid agency is studying the proposal “with a lot – a lot – of interest.” 

“For us, it’s excellent news,” said Hamel, who runs the group’s Campaign for Access to Essential Medicine that would oversee the project. 

“It’s going to make a huge difference,” said Anjuli Gopalan, executive director of an advocacy group for AIDS patients in India, the Naz Foundation. But Gopalan warned the proposal could get India into “a lot of trouble” because of international patent laws enforced under the World Trade Organization. 

The cocktail consists of two 40 milligram tablets of stavudine, two 150 milligram tablets of lamivudine and two 200 milligram tablets of nevirapine, all of which are patented and protected under WTO rules. 

Bristol-Myers Squibb holds the patent on stavudine under the brand name Zerit; GlaxoSmithKline of Britain developed lamivudine, also known as Heptovir; and Boehringer Ingelheim of Germany holds the rights to nevirapine under the name Viramune. 

Under WTO rules, if a country fails to enforce international patent laws, punitive trade sanctions could be imposed. But whether the big drug companies pressure their national governments to bring a case in the WTO remains to be seen considering the sensitivity of the issue. 

A spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline in London, Phil Thompson, said the company was not consulted about Cipla’s offer and was waiting to see the details. 

“It would appear that the offer is partially one of donation. As a consequence of that, questions have to be raised about the sustainability of the offer. Certainly questions need to be answered,” Thompson said. 

A spokesman for Boehringer Ingelheim refused to say if the company would take legal action against Cipla, but it has said in the past that “intellectual property rights should be protected.” 

Hamied said Cipla can manufacture the drugs so cheaply because his company makes the raw materials and production costs in India are low. 

“This is my contribution to fighting AIDS,” Hamied said. He added that he was inspired by the Jan. 26 earthquake in western Gujarat state, where more than 17,000 people have been confirmed dead, and the outpouring of aid for the 1 million people estimated by the United Nations to have been left homeless. 

“AIDS is going to be a bigger holocaust in India than the earthquake,” Hamied said. 

Hamel of Doctors Without Borders said Cipla’s offer showed that quality generic drugs can be made, sold and distributed at prices far lower than currently on the market. 

The key to the program is a three-tiered pricing scheme in which wholesalers would pay $1,200 for enough drugs to treat one patient for a year; governments would pay $600 and Doctors Without Borders would pay $350. 

“We’re not making money, but we are not going to lose money either,” Hamied said. “With the average of the three prices, we should break even.” Hamied said Cipla cannot be sued in India and that it was up to Doctors Without Borders to work out the legalities of importing the drugs into the countries where they work. 

Doctors Without Borders has campaigned for two years to convince Western pharmaceutical companies to cut drug prices. 

Before finalizing a deal, certain details need to be ironed out, Hamel said. A group from Doctors Without Borders plans to meet with Cipla representatives on Feb. 15 in Bombay. 

“In any case, for that price — $350 — we’re takers,” Hamel said. “If the agreement is finalized, we will buy the medicine from Cipla and give it for free to those who need it.” 

The aid agency operates 40 AIDS projects worldwide, about half of them in sub-Saharan Africa, home to 70 percent of the world’s 36 million AIDS cases. Some African countries spend only $5 a year per capita on health care. 

Hamied said he hoped his offer would “wake up” the government in India, where doctors say 3,500 people a day are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. More than 50 million Indians will be infected by 2005, Hamied said. 

GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Boehringer Ingelheim have all agreed to participate in the International Partnership Against AIDS in Africa initiative, which will supply drugs at a discounted price to the governments of developing countries, but the prices are still about $1,100 per patient per year. In a statement Wednesday, Doctors Without Borders called on the major manufacturers to match Cipla’s offer. 

Bristol-Myers Squibb spokesman Bob Laverty said Wednesday evening that his company was still looking into details of Cipla’s offer, but that “there’s a role for legally developed generic drugs” in some countries. 

“As long as they’re observing patent laws which are in effect in these countries, then they are absolutely free to sell their drugs,” Laverty said. He said Bristol-Myers Squibb must determine what patent laws are applicable in the African countries. 

Critics of the cheaper drugs argue that patients taking the drugs must be closely monitored in a well-equipped clinic, something that is rare in developing countries. AIDS activists, though, say that Western doctors are too cautious and that the problem is to large to deny those with HIV access to the drugs. 

SAN FRANCISCO — If Napster Inc. wants to parlay Monday’s legal defeat into financial victory, the song-swap sensation of the Internet has its work cut out. 

Napster has said it plans to start charging subscription fees by summer, but major record labels haven’t yet been persuaded to work side-by-side with the Redwood City-based company and, as a result, will not willingly part with titles from their coveted artists. 

And it’s not clear whether the one label that does support Napster, Bertelsmann AG, will continue to finance the Internet upstart in the face of a losing legal battle. 

“This is neither the beginning nor the end of Napster,” said Andreas Schmidt, head of Bertelsmann AG’s eCommerce group. “Now it’s really important to move to the future with a membership-based service.” On Monday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel to rewrite her injunction against Napster and focus specifically on getting the company to stop enabling copyright infringement. 

Bertelsmann insists it will continue to support Napster financially. But the German media giant must realize that even legitimate online music retailers have failed to win over the number of rabid fans that Napster has with free MP3s. 

Napster estimates its free music model has attracted more than 50 million registered users. MP3.com, for all its dealmaking prowess with major record labels, refuses to say how many people have signed up for the its subscription-based streaming song service called My.Mp3.com. 

MP3.com only relaunched the service after reportedly paying millions to the Big Five record labels – Sony, Universal, BMG, EMI and Warner – to settle a copyright infringement suit of its own. 

EMusic.com tried a similar route, allowing computer users to buy songs at 99 cents each, or subscribe for music downloads for as low as $9.99 a month. EMusic’s business hasn’t dried up completely, but the company has reported more bad news than good and recently laid off 36 percent of its staff. 

EMusic’s current number-one selling album is “Long Tall Weekend” by the quirky band They Might Be Giants. That band is nowhere to be found among Billboard’s top 100 albums, much less its top 10. Labels managing Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys aren’t yet ready to part with their premium artists online. 

Nonetheless, EMusic CEO Gene Hoffman lauded the ruling against Napster. 

“We are pleased that the district court will be issuing a new injunction against Napster that will effectively block the unauthorized distribution of music files,” Hoffman said. 

The true test of Napster’s oft-mentioned “next generation” application is whether it can will offer any reason to exist other than free MP3s. Chat rooms? Been there — as have countless other Web sites. Unsigned artists? Others have done that too, and failed. 

Riffage.com went bust after little more than a year of promoting unknowns and webcasting concerts. The Internet Underground Music Archive, a pioneering online haven for garage bands, was acquired by EMusic and promptly closed its service to new artists after the funding floundered. 

Is Napster confident it can improve on these efforts while protecting its users’ rights to “personal use” sharing as allowed by federal law? 

“We’re fighting for this principle and we believe that the actions that the users are engaged in is not copyright infringement,” said Napster CEO Hank Barry. “While we believe this is legal, respecting the court decision otherwise, it is clearly not industry supported.” 

Though Napster vows to fight the appeals court ruling, and any subsequent new injunction, the company’s music free-for-all may be doomed. 

“I’m bumming,” said John Nock, 35, of Morgantown, W.Va., who said the ruling could prevent him from mixing more tapes for his June wedding. 

“We’ll all find a way to get around it,” said Faisal Reza, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “People who want music will always be one step ahead of people trying to stop them.” 

Napster’s service is still up and running and the appeals court did not mention any liability of users who choose to continue downloading the application. But the MP3 trading appears threatened. 

A three-judge panel of the appeals court said it was apparent that “Napster has knowledge, both actual and constructive, of direct infringement.” 

In upholding a lower court judge’s injunction that would shut down Napster, the panel said the recording industry “would likely prevail” in its suit against the file-swapping service. 

The heavy metal group Metallica, the first band to demand its songs be removed from Napster, saw the ruling as vindication. 

“We are delighted that the court has upheld the rights of all artists to protect and control their creative efforts,” the band said in a statement. “Napster was wrong in taking not only Metallica’s music, but other artists who do not want to be a part of the Napster system.” 

The Recording Industry Association of America concurred. 

“It’s time for Napster to stand down and build their business the old-fashioned way. They must get permission first,” said RIAA President Hilary Rosen. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Napster: http://www.napster.com 

Recording industry: http://www.riaa.com 

EMusic: http://www.emusic.com 

MP3: http://www.mp3.com 

Ninth Circuit: http://www.ce9.uscourts.gov 

SAN JOSE — An 18-year-old college student was killed in south San Jose in an explosion at his home Saturday afternoon. 

Patrick Wentsu Hsu, a freshman from University of California, Santa Barbara who was at home for the weekend, died in the blast at 4:30 p.m. No one else was in the house. 

San Jose police are investigating the explosion as a possible homicide, but have no suspects and no apparent motive. 

The front window was blown out and the bedroom where the explosion took place was damaged. His parents speculate that a bomb was sent to Hsu in a package addressed to him that arrived during the second week of January. Hsu’s parents gave the package to him when he arrived home, and it contained a robotic toy dog. 

Investigators would not say whether a mail bomb was responsible for the explosion, which they believe is an isolated incident. San Jose police spokesman Rubens Dalaison said the explosion was not related to the arrest of Al DeGuzman, the 19-year-old student who was arrested Jan. 30 for allegedly planning to plant bombs at his De Anza College campus in Cupertino. 

Berkeley’s Central Works Theater Ensemble opened its 11th season Friday at LaVal’s with the world premiere of an intriguing new play "Nightingale." This production is a homecoming of sorts, since the company performed its first two seasons at LaVal’s in 1990-1992. 

Set in Los Angeles, “Nightingale” is a modern-day retelling of a grisly Greek myth about rape and murder within a family, and justice and revenge. Ovid retells the story in his “Metamorphoses,” and Sophocles apparently wrote an earlier play about the myth which has not survived. 

In the myth, King Tereus rapes his wife’s younger sister Philomela. When she threatens to tell about the rape, Tereus cuts her tongue out and imprisons her. 

Philomela then weaves her story into a tapestry and smuggles it out to her sister. The two women take revenge by killing the king’s son and feeding his body to him in a stew. 

After the king pursues the two women in a rage, the gods turn them all into birds, and Philomela becomes a nightingale. 

Central Works has altered elements of this myth in their modern-day Los Angeles retelling that was written by Gary Graves, but developed collaboratively by company members during a workshop process. 

“Nightingale’s” opening moments are strong. A silent tableau of horrified and traumatized rape victim Melody Weaver (Rica Anderson), with bloody mouth, is juxtaposed against a low budget local television commercial featuring her rapist — “carpet king” Terry King (Louis Parnell) — giving a hard television sales pitch for the best carpet deals in the San Fernando Valley.  

Cut from that to Terry’s pregnant real estate lawyer wife Renee (Jan Zvaifler) as she sorrowfully prepares a dinner in their upscale Valley dining room, while husband Terry, disoriented, drinks a cocktail and looks in the neighborhood for the missing family dog. 

When Renee’s missing younger sister Melody suddenly shows up and invites herself back into the family after running away unexpectedly ten years earlier at age 15, things get tense. 

Wild Melody has been a doper and prostitute on the run, sort of a female version of the Sam Shepard desert rat. And the missing pet dog may, in fact, be the beef bourguignon being served for dinner. 

In updating to present day Los Angeles a mythological Greek story of kings, queens, gods, and magical birds, Central Works has created elliptical incongruities in the story, but these are more often thought-provoking and poetical than misplaced. 

Moments in the production that may at first seem like continuity confusions, such as wife Renee’s apparent ambivalence about the rape, usually right themselves as the story progresses. 

The script’s main weakness, as it passes through its tough confrontation, climax and resolution of sorts, is that it loses the feel of specific, individual Los Angeles people. As the story progresses, the three characters fade, rather, into symbolic types. 

The unexpected sexual kiss between the two sisters at the play’s end also sends the story careening in new direction that isn’t much explored. 

In this play, which runs about 85 minutes without an intermission, director Graves and the actors take their time with the silences between this lines. Generally, this is effective. 

The rape and denial set-up at the top give a powerful subtext to the innocuous amenities and politeness that are later spoken among the three. 

Gregory Scharpen’s sound design adds many nice touches, from the 1950s Johnny Mathis love songs that open and close the play, to the sounds of birds, the low-level rumbling of the earth opening and ghostly expressionist musical tracks that put the story at times in a world bigger than the Los Angeles moment. 

Those Greeks knew how to write a drawing room tragedy. 

“Nightingale,” presented by Central Works at LaVal’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Avenue, Berkeley, Friday through Sunday, through March 4. Call (510) 558-1381 or go to www.centralworks.org. 

The White House examined a request Friday from California to speed environmental reviews involving power plant construction, triggering a sharp disagreement over whether the request amounts to rolling back environmental rules. 

California Gov. Gray Davis, in a letter to President Bush, asked that federal agencies help the state speed up consideration of permits for new power plants to try to avoid electricity shortages this summer. 

Since state permits often are affected by federal decisions on water and air pollution and endangered species protection, Davis asked the president for “assistance to expedite permitting by all appropriate federal agencies” along the same time schedule being adopted by state agencies. 

Asked about the letter, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said it was being reviewed by the special energy task force, headed by Vice President Dick Cheney. 

“Is the state asking to waive environmental laws?” Fleischer was asked. 

He said the administration views the letter “as a request to lift or relax environmental protection” in order to maximize power production in California, which for weeks has been under threat of rolling blackouts. 

Fleischer described the request as involving not only the issuance of permits for new power plant construction but also the permission to ease environmental rules on existing plants and for “relaxation” of current restrictions on pzlants using pollution permits. 

“The governor made no such request,” said Roger Salazar, Davis’ spokesman in Sacramento.  

“The only thing the governor requested is that the federal government direct a number of agencies to expedite the permit review process and essentially cut through the red tape” for new power plants. 

Salazar made available Winston Hickox, head of the California Environmental Protection Agency, who reiterated that Bush is not being asked to ease any federal environmental rules. 

“We have not waived any air quality standards to accommodate the need for maximum power production” and have no plans to do so, insisted Hickox. He said state regulators have “run every ounce of flexibility out of the system” to give power plants ways to produce maximum power and still meet air-quality requirements. 

Hickox was named by Davis as a power plant siting overseer who will direct the state effort to get an additional 5,000 megawatts of electricity capacity into operation by summer. The request to Bush was not aimed at environmental changes that apply to existing power plants, he said. 

In a series of orders issued Thursday, Davis directed state agencies to take no longer than 21 days to consider and act on permits involving power plant construction. 

The governor asked that federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, which handles air and water pollution matters, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service, which have jurisdiction over endangered species, be required to also make their reviews in the same timeframe. 

The governor was not asking for a relaxation of the regulations but only expedited action on the regulations, said Salazar, and only as the rules apply to construction of new power plants. 

The governor’s plan calls for getting three large, base-load power plants, being built by Calpine Corp., of San Jose, Calif., completed by this summer. They are expected to add about 1,200 megawatts of power. 

Another 2,200 to 2,500 megawatts of capacity is hoped to be made available from smaller plants either near completion or at various stages of development, said Hickox. 

——— 

On the Net: Federal Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/ 

California Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.calepa.ca.gov/ 

LOS ANGELES — Nearly 7 million Californians lack health insurance despite the state’s economic growth, according to a university study released Thursday. 

The number of Californians under age 65 who were covered by health insurance rose by 500,000 between 1998 and 1999, mainly due to growth in employment-based insurance. 

But “we still have more than one in five non-elderly Californians uninsured,” said E. Richard Brown, lead author of the University of California, Los Angeles, study. 

“We see improvement in this last year, but that’s after several years of amazing economic growth,” he said. “That shows how resistant expanding coverage is ... even to things like improving the labor market.” 

“The most troubling thing is that it took so long for us to see improvements due to the economy,” he said, and a slowdown “may change these figures.” 

The number of uninsured Californians dropped from 7.3 million in 1998 to 6.8 million in 1999. About 1.1 million were illegal immigrants. 

The percentage of uninsured non-elderly dipped to 22.4 percent – down from a year earlier but about the same as in 1996. 

Six in 10 Californians were insured through their jobs or those of family members. About one in 10 were covered by Medi-Cal and the state’s Healthy Families Program. Healthy Families aims to insure children whose families earn too much to qualify for poverty-level programs but cannot afford private insurance. 

The study, funded by a grant from the California Wellness Foundation, concluded that the public programs could be expanded to help many more people. 

Gov. Gray Davis and the Legislature have proposed expanding the Healthy Families Program to cover some parents.

SAN FRANCISCO — Caltrans officials admit they made some mistakes when they rolled out the FasTrak electronic toll system on Bay Area bridges and have discussed several plans to alleviate continuing traffic backups. 

Those plans include adding more FasTrak lanes on the bridges, including a new one on the Dumbarton Bridge by next week. 

“While there were some short-term problems, in the long term we’re going to have thousands of motorists signed up with FasTrak,” Caltrans spokesman Colin Jones said Wednesday, adding that about 5,000 applications are being submitted each week. 

“We’d be more concerned if no one was signing up. As we add more lanes and get more people signed up, the system is going to grow and improve.” 

Jones’ optimistic assessment differs from the experiences many Bay area commuters have reported.  

Some commuters say they are being charged for trips they  

didn’t take.  

And those who cross the Golden Gate Bridge say their transponders – the devices on a car’s windshield at the heart of the electronic payment system – don’t always work. 

Also, new applicants must endure a four- or five-week wait to get their transponders.  

Commuters can sign up by telephone, on line or by getting an application from a toll collector. 

Some of the worst traffic problems have been at the Bay Bridge, where only the two center lanes are FasTrak-equipped – forcing commuters to weave through a sea of cars for a chance to pay their tolls electronically. 

“Generally, the last couple of times I’ve come in I’ve just paid the toll. (It’s) not worth cutting over all the lanes,” said Eric Enos, a Bay Bridge commuter. 

Jones said Caltrans plans to immediately add more FasTrak lanes to all Bay area bridges – including one on each side of the Bay Bridge toll plaza by the end of April. 

Officials expect a new FasTrak lane at the Dumbarton Bridge by next week.  

The San Mateo Bridge should have a FasTrak-only lane by March. Officials also hope to have every toll booth accept FasTrak by the end of the year.