The planning director, named July 24 by the City Council, will be stepping into a department often characterized by controversy. 

“I think it will be a great opportunity (for new director Carol Barrett) to reconstruct, rebuild and reshape a department that has to deal with a vast number of issues and problems such as land use, property inspections and interpretation of zoning regulations,” said City Manager Weldon Rucker. 

The department, with an $8.5 million budget for fiscal year 2001-02, has 70 full-time employees and consists of five divisions. 

The Office of the Director oversees the permit center and the redevelopment agency. Advance Planning manages future planning for transportation, housing and capital improvements. Current Planning, perhaps the most controversial division, reconciles applications for development with zoning regulations and neighborhood concerns.  

The Building and Safety Division inspects projects under construction, existing buildings and capital improvements for safety violations. The Toxics Management Division manages the disposal and storage of toxic materials and strives to prevent pollution by residents, businesses and city agencies. 

The department has been headed by Acting Director Wendy Cosin for 18 months. Liz Epstein, the former director, took a yearlong maternity leave, then decided not to return, leaving Cosin in charge until the city could find a permanent director.  

Barrett is currently the assistant director of the Planning and Zoning Department in Austin, Texas. One planning official described the new director as a “seasoned professional” with a reputation for being highly ethical. Barrett recently completed a book entitled “Everyday Ethics for Practicing Planners.” 

The perception of Barrett as highly principled might be helpful to the image of the Current Planning Division, recently drawn into a series controversial development proposals.  

Three projects, the Beth El proposal for a synagogue at 1301 Oxford St., a four-story, mixed-use building at 2700 San Pablo Ave. and a five-story mixed-use building at University Avenue and Acton Street were all approved by the Zoning Adjustments Board or the City Council despite strong neighborhood opposition.  

The approvals caused several residents and at least one councilmember to speculate that the Current Planning Division has been inappropriately influenced by developers. 

“I think there’s been a lot of inconsistency in how the zoning ordinance and area plans have been applied to particular developments,” said Councilmember Dona Spring. “The reports that planning staff have been giving us might as well be written by the developer.” 

Spring argued that whenever a certain aspect of a development proposal requires a discretionary interpretation of the zoning ordinance, planning staff will favor the developer. 

Juliet LaMont, a member of the Live Oak Codornices Creek Neighborhood Association, which opposed the proposed Beth El project, said her experience with the planning department wasn’t a pleasant one.  

“The reports we received were generally late and had big problems with misinformation, inaccuracies and bias,” Lamont said. “When we went to hearings staff misstated dates and the law itself. I don’t know if it’s incompetence, sheer bias or a combination of both.” 

Acting Deputy Director Vivian Kahn said there have been many changes in communities due to home additions and other remodeling projects. In addition she said many Berkeley homeowners have everything they own tied up in real estate and they are very nervous about new projects affecting the value of their property. 

Both Cosin and Kahn deny that the department has ever been an advocate for developers. 

“We don’t see ourselves as advocates for developers, we see ourselves as analysts of the zoning ordinance,” Kahn said. 

Mayor Shirley Dean said there has been confusion among members of the public because of inconstancies between the zoning regulations and the various neighborhood plans. She said that one of the primary concerns about the city’s proposed General Plan, which has been an ongoing project since 1987, is that it is consistent with the zoning ordinance and state building codes. The General Plan was approved by the Planning Commission in June and is expected to be considered by the City Council in September. 

Dean said some neighbors might believe the Current Planning Division staff is writing reports that favor developers but sometimes when a development decision doesn’t favor the neighbors they can unnecessarily blame the quality of the information.  

Howie Muir, of Neighbors for Responsible Development, which opposed the 2700 San Pablo Ave. project, said he also had concerns about Current Planning Division information.  

“There’s problems with getting staff reports in a timely manner,” he said. “Sometimes they’re available only three or four days before a decision is going to be made.” 

Cosin said the staff reports are complex documents, often filled with technical information. She said it would be very difficult to get them out sooner with so many projects going on simultaneously. 

Developer Patrick Kennedy, who has had several projects approved in Berkeley in recent years, including 2700 San Pablo Ave. and the Acton Apartments at University Avenue and Acton Street, said the Current Planning Division has been doing a good job of neutrally interpreting the zoning ordinance. 

“My experience with the planning department is that they don’t play favorites with anyone,” he said. “In fact it seems as though they bend over backwards to do accurate work because everything they do is second guessed by the neighborhood groups.” 

Cosin said it’s unfortunate that the department is mostly known as being in the middle of development controversies. She said the other things the department does often get overlooked such as the seven redevelopment projects that were approved by the City Council on June 19. Those projects include the development of a transit plaza at Berkeley’s train stop, the paving of Second Street and the development of three live/work spaces at 1631 Fifth St. 

“It’s really a shame,” Cosin said, “most people don’t know all the things we do.” 

Tuesday, Aug. 7

Intelligent Conversation  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will center on sex and drugs: Free will? Must laws be obeyed? Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free  

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. 525-3565 

Writing and Resistance  

In A Culture of Amnesia 

6 - 7:45 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Avenue 

Classroom #2 

Part of a workshop series on concepts and strategies for resistance through the spoken and written word, taught by Joyce E. Young. $12. 

849-2568 www.lapena.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

Derby Street at MLK Jr. Way 

548-3333 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK) 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday morning. Call Ann, 655-8863 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Strawberry Creek Daylighting 

Strategy Workshop 

6:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

Corporation Yard Green Room 

1326 Allston Way 

A workshop to develop an effective strategy for promoting the daylighting of Strawberry Creek downtown. Learn about current daylighting concepts and develop a working plan for the next year and beyond. Facilitated by Louis Hexter of MIG. Call Janet Byron to RSVP at 848-4008 or bjanet@earthlink.net 

Wednesday, Aug. 8

A Day at the Beach 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Part of the Lawrence Hall of Science Wednesday FUN-days. Build sand castles with sand sculptor Kirk Rademaker. Museum admission $3 - $7. 642-5132 

Thursday, Aug. 9

Ancient Native Sites of the East Bay 

7:30 p.m. 

Room 160 Kroeber Hall, University of California Campus 

Sean Dexter, archaeologist, will discuss the recent Data Recovery Program at the Emeryville Shellmound/South Bayfront site. Jakki Kehl, a Mutsun Ohlone, will discuss protecting cultural resources by developing partnerships and encouraging good stewardship of the land. $10 

841-2242 

Salsa Dance Classes 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Classes every Thursday with live percussionists, light refreshments, DJ playing Latin music. $10 or $15 for two. 237-9874 

Sea Kayaking 

7 p.m. 

REI 

1338 San Pablo Avenue 

Learn about the best sea kayaking spots in Northern California from Roger Schumann and Jan Shriner. Free. 527-4140 

Free Computer Class  

for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited, call ahead for a reservation. 644-6109 

Kensington 55+ Activity  

Center 

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Social Hall of Arlington Community Church 

52 Arlington Ave. 

Conversation, Apple II computer instruction, massage therapy, German conversation group, meditation and relaxation techniques, watercolor art class, tea and coffee. Special 11 a.m. program: F526-9146 or 547-1969. 

Friday, Aug. 10

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. (at Derby)  

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meeting Fridays through Aug. 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

Call 548-8283 x534 or x522 

Even Stronger Women 

1:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Free weekly cultural discussion class. This week: Tales of Murasaki. 549-1879 

Yiddish Conversation Group 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

644-6107 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/hhs/commsvc/seniors.htm 

Saturday, Aug. 11

Sixth Annual Reggae Worldbeat Festival  

Noon - 5 p.m.  

People’s Park  

Telegraph & Haste St. (behind Amoeba)  

Featuring: Obeyjah & The Saints with the Village Culture Drummers, Dancehall King; Major P., Wawa Sylvestre and The Oneness Kingdom Band and many more. Free, but donations encouraged.  

Free Classical Music Concert 

8 p.m. 

Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley Campus 

UC Berkeley Summer Symphony, Gene Chang, Henry Shin, Directors.  

Debussy, Stravinsky, Brahms. Free admission.  

For more information: 665-5631 

Sunday, Aug. 12

Live Oak Concerts 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

1275 Walnut St. 

Composition vs. Improvisation, Music/Structures by Tom Swafford. $10 644-6893 

Hands-On Bicycle Repair Clinics  

11 a.m. - Noon  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Learn front and rear derailleur adjustments from one of REI’s bike technicians. Tools provided. All you need to bring is your bike. Free. 527-4140 

Buddhist Architecture In the West 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Mark Henderson on “Building a Buddhist Temple.” Free. 843-6812 

Steel Drums and Sand Castles 

1 - 3 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Kirk Rademaker teaches sand sculpting while Richmond Bloco entertains with steel drum music. Museum admission $3 - $7. 

642-5132 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave., between 3rd and 4th Streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 

654-6346 

Opus Q Auditions 

7 - 9 p.m. 

The University Lutheran Chapel 

2425 College Ave. 

Opus Q - The East Bay Men’s Chorale is preparing for its first full season. Gay men and their allies are invited to audition for the world’s newest GALA ensemble. For more information: www.opus-q.com or 664-0260. 

Monday, Aug. 13

Auditions for Tom Stoppard’s “Travesties” 

7 p.m. 

Live Oak Theatre 

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 

Held by the Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, there are parts for five men and three women 20 - 70. Director Mikel Clifford asks that auditioners present a two-minute piece or read from a script. No appointment is needed, and there is no pay. 525-1620 www.actorsensembleofberkeley.com. 

Section 8 Resident Council  

Meeting 

5:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

East Bay Community Law Center 

3122 Shattuck Ave. 

All Section 8 recipients and concerned citizens should come tell the Resident Council all of their concerns about the program.  

Free Seminar on Ayurveda 

1 - 2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

The basic principles of Ayurveda for maintaining health and balance.  

644-6107 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/hhs/commsvc/seniors.htm 

LOS ANGELES – Hugo Alexander and Marcos Montero stand at the corner of Fletcher Drive and Atwater Avenue beneath the old, peeling neon sign for Ray’s Liquor. The intersection is a popular gathering place for day laborers; half a block away is a busy U-Haul outlet. Whenever a work truck rolls by, the men whistle and wave their hands, hoping to join a crew with a construction, painting or landscaping job. 

At least on the surface, Alexander and Montero make a curious pair. Montero is from the Merced district in Mexico City, and he speaks a highly urbanized and rapid Spanish. Alexander hails from Zacatecoluca, a city in central El Salvador; his speech has the tones and rhythms of a man from the provinces. Montero likes rock ‘n’ roll, Alexander, cumbia and merengue. Alexander eats pupusas; Montero, tacos. Montero says he crossed illegally into the U.S. because, as a house painter in Mexico, he couldn’t envision the slightest social mobility for himself and his family. Alexander says that after civil war, Hurricane Mitch and the devastating earthquakes earlier this year, he had no choice but to try his luck in the north. 

On this cool, gray summer morning, Alexander and Montero have yet to secure the day’s employment, but they aren’t worried about their prospects, even though it’s already past 10 a.m. 

“Sooner or later, we’ll be picked up,” says Montero, 30, a short and stocky man with eyes hidden behind huge Ray Bans. “There’s always somebody that needs us.” 

One reason Montero and Alexander can get along without the slightest sense of competition or of rivalry due to national origin is that both men have found there are enough jobs to go around. And in the end, the similarity of their circumstances today unites them despite their different backgrounds. Which is why I find some of the ideas floated by the Bush administration as it grasps for a new amnesty (or “regularization” as Bush prefers) so unsettling. 

Initially, Bush and his Mexican counterpart Vicente Fox spoke of a regularization deal exclusively for Mexican migrants, which would have set Alexander and Montero on opposite sides of a huge divide. Almost immediately, however, Central Americans, Caribbeans and even some South Americans (like the Columbian enclave of New York City), clamored that they are at least as deserving as their Mexican brethren. Mexicans, too, bristled at the notion. 

“We’re all in the same situation,” Montero says, snacking on hard-boiled egg and a Coke. “How can you distinguish between me and my brother here?” 

“I’m not waving my country’s flag, and my comrade isn’t either,” chimes in Alexander. “There’s no flags here.” 

Such sentiments have deep historical roots in Latin America. Simon Bolivar, the great Venezuelan independence leader, inspired legions with his vision of a hemisphere united in struggle against colonialism. Tirelessly scouring a vast region of the continent for support, he eventually defeated the forces of the Spanish Crown and founded the Republic of Gran Colombia (a federation of present-day Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador). That’s not to say, of course, that national boundaries don’t matter. Bolivar’s dream was ultimately shattered by the factionalism that ensued after independence, but to this day, every child schooled in Latin America is taught the basics about “El Libertador.” 

There is a contradiction in the Latin soul, a split as ancient as colonialism itself. Existing regional differences were exploited by Spain and other powers in the age-old “divide and conquer” scheme. And to this day, national rivalries play themselves out, sometimes innocuously (during qualifying matches for soccer’s World Cup), and sometimes quite viciously (Central Americans en route to the United States complain of brutal treatment while passing through in Mexico). 

But equally powerful are Bolivar’s ideals of commonality-distinct peoples with the same enemy can only win if united. Francisco Morazan attempted to unite the nations of Central America in the mid-19th century; Jose Marti rhapsodized in a similar vein from Cuba at the dawn of the 20th. Mexican-Central American tensions notwithstanding, the Mexican government actively sponsored revolutionary movements in El Salvador and Nicaragua during the 1980s, and hosted peace talks that led to a settlement of Salvador’s bloody conflict in 1992. 

I have roots in both Mexico and Central America. My father grew up In Los Angeles of Mexican parents, and my mother emigrated from her native El Salvador to the U.S. as a young adult. My Mexican grandparents lived in Silver Lake and I was quite close to them growing up – they were my connection to Old Mexico. My mother also sought to retain her ties with her family, and I spent several summers in El Salvador as a kid. Weaned on tacos and pupusas, as it were. 

In my family, I found it impossible to root for the Salvadoran or Mexican soccer teams during the World Cup qualifying matches. I grew up with the intuitive knowledge that borders are political lines of convenience-lines that one crosses if history makes it necessary to do so. 

Which brings us back to Hugo Alexander and Marcos Montero on the corner of Fletcher and Atwater. Both men vigorously argue in favor of an amnesty inclusive of all Latin Americans like them: people pushed out of their impoverished lands and pulled in by the American labor economy. Mexicans, Central Americans and Caribbeans arrived in the U.S. under different circumstances, but the majority of them share space in the service sector: by and large, the jobs with the worst pay and conditions. Living in legal limbo-as undocumented Mexicans or as Central Americans stuck in “temporary status” – they have little recourse to better those conditions. 

Just as Mexicans and Central Americans joined together in 1994 to march, by the tens of thousands, against Proposition 187, so today are they united in arguing for an amnesty that recognizes their commonality. It is an economic argument that translates, for migrants, into a moral imperative: if even one group is left out, all are symbolically denied. 

Much of the national Latino leadership is lining up against a Mexican-only “regularization.” It’s at times like these when we realize how much more we have in common than what separates us. 

Pacific News Service Associate Editor Ruben Martinez, whose own roots are Mexican and El Salvadoran, talked to new arrivals on the streets of Los Angeles. Martinez’ new book, Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail, will be published this fall.

924 Gilman St. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Aug 10: 90 Day Men, Assembly of God, Strong Intention, Under a Dying Sun; Aug 11: Toys That Kill, Scared of Chakra, Soophie Nun Squad, Debris; Aug 12: 5 p.m. Citizen Fish, J-Church, Eleventeen. $5. 924 Gilman St. 525-9926. 

Anna’s Place Aug. 11 and every Saturday night 10:30 p.m. - midnight, Ducksan Distones. The following play at 8 p.m. – Aug. 8: “The Renegade Sidemen;” Aug. 7: open mic.1801 University Ave. 849-2662.  

Eli’s Mile High Club Doors open at 8 p.m. Every Friday, 10 p.m. - 2 a.m., Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Split Shankin and Funky Man. $10; 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight and Salvage Coffee House All music at 8 p.m. Aug 6: Frank Yamma; Aug 8: San Francisco Klezmer Experience; Aug 9: John Renbourn; Aug 10: Jody Stecher, Kate Brislin; Aug 11: Al Stewart. $16.50 - $19.50. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jupiter Aug. 7: Joshi Marshal Project, jazz, soul and hiphop; Aug. 8: Broun Fellini’s, jazz/funk/hiphop grooves; Aug. 9: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu and Add1; Aug. 10: Steven Emerson, singer/songwriter mixes cool jazz and sweat soul; Aug. 11: J Dogs, funk-soul; Aug. 14: Chris Shot Group, folk-rock and soul combo; Aug. 15: Lithium House, electro/drum & bass styles with live jazz; Aug. 16: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu and Add1; Aug. 17: The Mind Club, Old school funk grooves with sonic swirls of acid jazz; Aug. 18: Blue & Tan, Bassist Vicki Grossi brings in the crew for elctro-acid-jazz funk stylings; All music starts at 8:00 p.m. www.jupiterbeer.com; or call the hotline: THE-ROCK. 843-7625  

La Peña Cultural Center Aug 10: 8:30 p.m. Ire $8; Aug 11: 9:30 p.m. Fito Reynoso’s Ritmo y Armonia. $10, $13 for dance class starting at 8:15; Aug 12: 5, 7:30 p.m. “Say Yo Business” Linda Tillery & The Cultural Heritage Chior. $18 in advance, $20 at the door. In the Cafe, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 

La Note/Jazzschool Aug 12: 4:30 p.m. The Freedom Project, 5:30 Eli Sundelson Trio. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

Shattuck Down Low Lounge Every Tuesday: 9:30 p.m., Posh Tuesdays with DJ’s Yamu, Delon, Add1, and Tequila Willie. Shattuck at Allston. www.thebeatdownsound.com  

Ali Akbar College of Music Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m. A concert of Indian classical music. Rita Sahai, vocals; Rachel Untersher, violin; Madhukar Malayanur, tabla; $20 general; $15 students. St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave., (415) 454-6264 or www.aacm.org 

Yoshi’s Aug. 7. Claudia Acuna $14; Aug. 8 through Aug. 12: Steve Turre Quintet, trombone and conch shell master in small group setting. Wednesday and Thursday, $18; Friday and Saturday, $22; Sunday matinee, $5 kids, $10 adults with one child, $18 general; Sunday, $22. Unless otherwise noted, music at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. 238-9200 or 762-2277 www.yoshis.com 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts Aug. 10: 7:30 p.m. & Aug. 11, 12, 5 p.m. Campers from Stage Door Conservatory’s “On Broadway” program for grades 5-9 will perform Fiddler on the Roof, Jr. $12 adults, $8 kids. 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 ext. 302 

“The Great Sebastians” Through Aug. 11: Friday and Saturday evenings 8 p.m. plus Thursday, Aug. 9, presented by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. A tale about a mind-reading act touring behind the Iron Curtain. A communist general believes the act and “invites” the Sebastians to his villa where the humor and excitement follows. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck (at Berryman). For reservations call 528-5620 

“Iphegenia in Aulis” Through Aug. 12: Sat. and Sun. 5 p.m. Special dawn performance on August 12 at 7 a.m. A free park performance by the Shotgun Players of Euripides’ play about choices and priorities. With a masked chorus, singing, dancing, and live music. Feel free to bring food and something soft to sit on. John Hinkel Park, Southhampton Place at Arlington Avenue (different locations July 7 and 8). 655-0813 

“Loot” Through Aug 25, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m. Special Performance Aug 20, 8:00 p.m. General Admission: $15, Students / Seniors: $10 La Val’s 1834 Euclid Avenue 655-0813 

“Reefer Madness” Aug. 8, 9, Aug. 22, 23: 9 p.m. A new one-act theatre piece adapted from a 1936 government-funded film opens a critical eye to the control of our society. Performed by The Elemental Theatre Group La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Avenue. Wednesdays are “pay what you can,” Thursdays $5 - $10. Contact Zachary Rouse or Tisha Sloan for more info at 655-4150 

“Romeo & Juliet” Aug 11 - Sep 2, Tuesdays - Thursdays. Bruns Memorial Amphitheater. Shakespeare’s classic about a young couple that meets, falls in love and dies in just five days. Adults: $22 - $41 youth (under 16): $12 - $41. 

“Barnum” Through Aug. 12. The story of legendary circusmaster P.T. Barnum, with plenty of musical theater and circus acrobatics. Splash Circus’ aspiring young circus artists will perform an hour before each show. $15 to $27. Friday through Sunday, 8 p.m. Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland. 531-9597 www.woodminster.com 

Films 

Pacific Film Archive Aug 7: 7:30 p.m. Figures of Motion; Aug 8: 7:30 p.m. Confessions of an Opium Eater; Aug 9: 7:30 p.m. The Return of Frank James; Aug 10: 7 p.m. Alone on the Pacific, 9:05 p.m. Her Brother; Aug 11: 7 p.m. While the City Sleeps, 9 p.m. Beyong a Reasonable Doubt; Aug 12: 3 p.m. Charlotte’s Web, 5:30 p.m. Tokyo Olympiad. New PFA Theatre 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

“Lumumba” Aug. 10 at Shattuck Cinemas. Biogrophy of the slain African political figure Patrice Lumumba. In French with English subtitles. 

“Roommates” Aug. 12. Max Apple’s true story of his immigrany grandfather who moved in with him when he was in college (in the 60’s). Peer led discussion following movie. $2 Suggested donation. Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 1414 Walnut Street 848-0237 

Exhibits 

“BACA National Juried Exhibition: Works on Paper” Through August 31: Wed. - Sun. Noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893 

“Bernard Maisner: Illuminated Manuscripts and Paintings” Through Aug. 8 Maisner works in miniature as well as in large scales, combining his mastery of medieval illumination, gold leafing, and modern painting techniques. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library 2400 Ridge Road 849-2541 

“Debbie Moore’s Autobiographical Paintings” Through Sep 30 at Good Vibrations. Portraits of the artist’s sensual explorations spanning 25 years and reflecting changing ways of intimacy and body play. 2504 San Pablo Avenue 848-1985 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910” chronicles the transformation of the city of Berkeley in this 10 year period. Thursday through Saturday, 1 – 4 p.m. Through September. Berkeley History Center, Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center St. Wheelchair accessible. 848-0181. Free.  

“A Fine Line” Through August 24, Tuesday - Friday, noon - 5 p.m. or by appointment. An exhibition works by Kala Fellowship winners for the years 2000 and 2001. Kala Art Institute 1060 Heinz Avenue 549-2977 

“Geographies of My Heart” Collage paintings by Jennifer Colby through August 24; Flora Lamson Hewlett Library 2400 Ridge Road 649-2541 

“MFA Survey Exhibition 2001” Third annual exhibition of works of recent graduates from Bay Area master of Fine Art programs. This year featuring artists working in three-dimentional media. Through Aug 18 Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth Street 527-1214 

“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 

“New Visions: Introductions 2001” Through Aug. 18: Wed. - Sat.: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Juried by Artist- Curator Rene Yanez and Robbin Henderson, Executive Director of the Berkeley Art Center, the exhibition features works from some of California’s up-and-coming artists. Pro Arts 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9425 

“Sistahs: Ethnofraphic Ceramics” through Aug. 22, Reception July 29 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Womens Cancer Resource Center Gallery 3023 Shattuck Avenue 548-9286 ext. 307 

“Ten Years Here” Exhibit celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Turn of the Century Fine Arts. Aug. 4 - Sept. 14, Sat & Sun 1-5 p.m. Reception Aug 4 2:00 - 7:00 p.m. 2510 San Pablo Avenue 849-0950 

Readings 

Boadecia’s Books Aug 11: Trina Robbins discusses her latest work “Eternally Bad: Goddesses with Attitute”. All events start at 7:30 p.m. and are free. 398 Colusa Avenue 559-9184 

Black Oak Books Aug 8: William Turner discusses his new memoir “Rearview Mirror: Looking Back at the FBI, the CIA and Other Tails”; Aug 9: Robert Clark reads from his new novel “Love Among the Ruins”; Aug 15: Molly Giles reads from her debut novel “Iron Shoes”. All shows at 7:30 p.m. free of charge. 1491 Shattuck Avenue 486-0698 

Cody’s Books Aug 8: Jane Mead, Mark Turpin. $2 donation. Readings at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-0837 

Coffee Mill Poetry Series Aug. 7: Featured readers JC and Bert Glick. 7-9 p.m.; August 21: Featured Readers: Victoria Joyce and Therese Bamberger; Both 7-9 p.m. Free. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland for info. (510)465-3935 or (510)526-5985, or Email: ksdgk@earthlink.net 

Tours 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Fridays 9:30 - 11:45 a.m. or by appointment. Call ahead to make reservations. Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387 

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

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins. $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. (closed Sundays, Memorial Day through Labor Day) Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

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 will close its exhibition galleries for renovation on October 1. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until October 1, 2001: “Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture.” “Sites Along the Nile: Rescuing Ancient Egypt.” “The Art of Research: Nelson Graburn and the Aesthetics of Inuit Sculpture.” “Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Photographs by George Foster.”  

$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 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

Lawrence Hall of Science “Science in Toyland,” through Sept. 9. Exhibit uses toys to demonstrate scientific principles and to help develop children's thinking processes. Susan Cerny’s collection of over 200 tops from around the world. “Space Weather,” through Sept. 2. Learn about solar cycles, space weather, the cause of the Aurorae and recent discoveries made by leading astronomers. This interactive exhibit lets visitors access near real-time data from the Sun and space, view interactive videos and find out about a variety of solar activities. “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. “Saturday Night Stargazing,” First and third Saturdays each month. 8 - 10 p.m., LHS plaza. Space Weather Exhibit now - Sept. 2; now - Sept. 9 Science in Toyland; Saturdays 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. $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. “How Big Is the Universe?” Aug. 1 through Aug. 24. Learn how to determine the distance of celestial objects, one of the purposes of the Hubble Space Telescope. Daily, 2:15 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, 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 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  

The UC Berkeley Art Museum is closed for renovations until the fall. 

Send arts events two weeks in advance to Calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.net, 2076 University, Berkeley 94704 or fax to 841-5694. 

To send a message of peace and perseverance to parents, peers and the community, 17 Berkeley High students set out on a 600 mile, 14-day cycling trip from downtown Berkeley to San Diego County’s Santana High School Monday. 

Santana High was the scene of a school shooting in March that left two dead and 13 wounded. 

Most of the Berkeley students are from low-income families and didn’t own bicycles until two months ago. Drawn from the East Bay Asian Youth Center’s after-school tutoring program at Berkeley High, many have never been away from home for two weeks.  

Some have yet to travel outside of the Bay Area. 

But early Monday morning they stood decked out in professional cycling gear in Civic Center Park as parents and community leaders paid tribute to their vision and courage in undertaking this grueling trip. 

“I think I could probably pedal up to the BART station and back and that would be about it,” quipped Berkeley High Principal Frank Lynch. 

The students have spent the  

last two months training on stationary bikes and – on the weekends – pedaling police-donated bicycles up and down the Berkeley Hills. Monday, on the first leg of their trip, after taking BART across the Bay, the students would attempt a 25-mile climb along Highway 1, from San Francisco up to Half Moon Bay State Park. 

The students will camp out in California state parks each night of their trip, using tents, sleeping bags and a mobile kitchen contributed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Halfway through the trip they have a day off to visit the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. 

Still, before their departure Monday, students and their parents said they were a little nervous about the trip, where the students would sometimes be expected to travel up to 60 miles in one day.  

“I wouldn’t even undertake this trip in a shaky car let alone a bicycle,” said parent Gwendolyn Edmond, whose son Aramon Bartholomeau would be one of those to lead the pack as the students rolled out of Civic Center Park and onto Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. “To me it’s so awesome. I can’t even imagine it.” 

Ramundo Ramirez, parent of student cyclist Guadalupe Ramirez, said he plans to join up with his daughter for a day next weekend – halfway through the trip – just to make sure she’s doing okay.  

Talking with Board of Education President Terry Doran, who would bike part of the way with the students Monday, recent Berkeley High graduate Maria Herrera laughed nervously as she told about feeling a little bit fatigued from all the weeks of training, before the journey had even begun. 

“I was already feeling it coming up here,” she said. “I was like, I should’ve stretched or something.” 

But when it came time for her to step up to the podium Monday, in front of a television camera, Herrera was all business. 

“This is a very important trip for all of us,” she said. “We’re all going through some barrier that we have to get through. And this trip is really going to prove to us our capabilities.” 

Herrera’s mother, Lucia Herrera, said she had some doubts whether her daughter could make an arduous trip at first, but has since been impressed by her growing determination. 

“Now, I believe she’s going to make it,” Herrera said.  

“This is a great experience, because if you can make this you can make so many things in life,” she added. 

Parents and students alike Monday said they hoped this brave effort by students of color – African American, Latino and Asian American – would go a long way to undermine negative stereotypes about minority youth. 

Asked what message she hoped the trip would send, Beatrice DeBerry-Barrigher, legal guardian of one of the riders, said: “Do not accuse all ethnic children.  

“If one ethnic child does something bad, every child of color is stigmatized, which is unfair,” DeBerry-Barrigher said. “These children come from good homes. Some are being raised by grandparents and aunts, and with God’s help, we’re trying to mold our future leaders.” 

When they reach Santana High, the Berkeley group will join with members of the Santee, Calif., community both to celebrate their achievement and to condemn outbursts of youth violence across the nation. 

“There is peace out in the world, (but) you have to look for it,” said Guadalupe Ramirez, moments after she bid an emotional farewell to her family Monday. “You have to find it.” 

Through fundraising and outreach, the students have raised $10,000 of the $17,000 cost of the trip. Donations are still needed and can be addressed to Berkeley Boosters/PAL, “Pedaling for Peace,” P.O. Box 17, Berkeley, Calif. 94701. 

Tonight, there are some Berkeley residents who will be alone, locked inside shuttered houses, unaware of who their neighbors are and unable to get or give help in case of a disaster. 

But people in the area of Ajax Place in the north Berkeley hills and on Dohr Street in southwest Berkeley are not among them. 

Most of these people – and some 40 other neighborhoods, organized into Neighborhood Watch Groups – are trained in disaster preparedness and know whom to call if they see criminal activity. And they know each other. 

Tonight they’ll be having barbecues and potlucks, celebrating and strengthening their neighborhoods – it’s the National Night Out.  

In most cities, the Night Out is a time for people to own their streets, unintimidated by a criminal element. In Berkeley, crime’s only one of the targets. The other is getting neighbors prepared to help one another in case of fire or an earthquake. 

Trudy Washburn’s Neighborhood Watch Group around Ajax Place is potentially some 80 families strong. The group’s been together for more than six years, and it’s organized. It has identified all the residents in the area, pinpointing children, pets and disabled people. Detailed maps even show where the shut-off valve to the gas is located on every house. 

Tonight the group will hear from a representative of Disaster Preparedness Services and the fire department. Police will be there to talk one-on-one with individuals, said Washburn, who expects Councilmember Betty Olds to be present as well. One of the high points will be meeting families who have recently moved into the area. 

Over on the 2700-2800 blocks of Dohr Street in southwest Berkeley, Rusty Scalf is getting ready for tonight. He’ll be firing up a barbecue, picking up a sheet cake and collecting door prizes. 

It’s about “neighborhood cohesiveness, bonding,” he said. “So neighbors know each other.” 

The neighborhood looks out for crime – one neighbor saw another’s garage being burglarized and immediately called police, Scalf said. But it’s just as much about caring. “We know who has medical problems.” And when one neighbor recently lost a loved one, the neighborhood got together to offer condolences. 

“We try to combat (anonymity),” he said. 

Just down the block, on the 3000 block of Dohr, and including nearby blocks of Prince and Stanton, another Neighborhood Watch Group will be gathering. “We’re trying to revitalize our neighborhood association,” said Chuck Robinson, a member of the group, which potentially includes some 80 households. 

Robinson said the crime rate in his area has been significantly reduced over the past few years. “While we still have to watch out for burglaries,” Robinson said, the group’s looking more at earthquake preparedness “and the safety and security of our seniors.” 

To find a watch group in your neighborhood, call 981-CITY and ask for the Neighborhood Liaison for your area. Or contact the Police Department Community Services Bureau at 981-5808.

Deregulation. Price caps. Energy fuel shortages. And pundits pointing fingers in all directions.  

Most Californians now realize that the fastest way out of the immediate energy crisis (because the crisis the world experienced in the 1970s never really went away) is for each of us to conserve energy.  

Energy-efficient products, from light bulbs to weatherstripping is making a difference in the amount of energy consumed, but there is a hidden phantom stealing watts at your expense that you aren’t even aware of. 

It’s called “phantom power” – power you don’t necessarily know that your home or business is using. According to the researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, Americans spend nearly $1 billion dollars each year to run their TVs and VCRs when these products are switched off.  

Switched off? Most televisions, stereos, VCRs and other appliances that work with a remote never really turn off when your hit the “off” button – they remain in a standby mode. That’s why they are able to turn back on again with the remote. See LBNL’s webpage, http://EETD.LBL.gov/Leaking/Reducing.html for more information. If there is a glowing LED (light-emitting diode) on your TV or stereo or other appliance after you switch it off, it is still drawing power, making your meter turn.  

As a result, there is a slow drain of electricity from each of these appliances, and it doesn’t stop there. 

Take a look around your home at what you have plugged in right now. Electric toothbrush that’s recharging? Cellphone recharging? Coffeemaker, microwave, stove, dishwasher, all with built-in clocks? While each appliance may only draw five to twenty watts, the cumulative effect of these appliances can cost $5 – $12 a month at current electricity rates. That means you could be just tossing away nearly $144 dollars of your money every year.  

The quickest way to take control of your immediate electricity use is to plug the larger appliances such as the TV and VCR into a power strip with a kill switch, and turn them off using the switch, rather than just the remote.  

Using the switch on the power strip severs the power to the appliance, and prevents the slow trickle of wasted energy. Power strips can be purchased for under $5 each; most homes have one or two of them lying around anyway. 

The next best thing you can do is to de-gadetize your home – put away the seldom-used appliances with the built-in clocks. Consider NOT using the electric can opener, popcorn maker, rice cooker, sandwich maker, and all those other gadgets that perform functions that you can do manually or using a conventional appliance.  

As major appliances need replacing, look for the most energy-efficient products available. The EnergyStar logo (www.energystar.gov) will indicate that the product has passed a government efficiency test. Generally these products don’t cost much more than the less-efficient ones, and will result in lifetime savings.  

Companies are developing high-efficiency transistors and other technologies to help reduce these phantom power losses. Some very new products offer standby power supply technology that use only 1/4 and 1/2 watt standby power. (See http://EETD.LBL.gov/Leaking/ for more information.) Reducing your phantom power losses will mean more of your money stays in your wallet. 

Alice LaPierre is an energy analyst for the city’s Energy Office. Her column appears as a public service the first and third Tuesday of the month.

LOS ANGELES — Philip Morris attorneys urged a judge Monday to slash a $3 billion punitive damage award to a cancer-stricken smoker and to grant a retrial. 

The arguments formed a two-pronged attack by the tobacco giant on a June 6 decision by a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury that awarded Richard Boeken, 56, compensatory damages of $5.5 million and $3 billion in punitive damages. 

The verdict was the largest in an individual lawsuit against a tobacco company. 

Boeken, a smoker for 40 years, has lung cancer. The former oil and securities dealer claimed in his lawsuit against Philip Morris that he was the victim of a tobacco industry campaign that portrayed smoking as “cool,” but concealed its dangers. 

Philip Morris’ attorneys urged Judge Charles W. McCoy, who presided over the trial, to grant a motion to reduce the punitive damages to no more than $25 million. 

“The award of $3 billion in an individual case ... raises profound issues in our system of justice,” Kenneth Starr, attorney for Philip Morris, told the judge. “No published opinion (in California) sanctions an award of more than $25 million.” 

Starr also argued that because the tobacco industry expects to be facing many similar decisions in the future, a smaller award is justified since the company could not afford to pay $3 billion to every plaintiff. 

Boeken’s attorney, Michael Piuze, argued that the severity of what the tobacco company did justified the high punitive award. 

“Philip Morris traded health for wealth for 50 years, lied about it, and got caught,” he said. 

Philip Morris’ lawyers also argued for a new trial, primarily because McCoy refused to allow the company to present evidence of Boeken’s past criminal convictions, information the jury might have used to decide his credibility. 

Attorney Maurice Leiter argued that there was no evidence of a direct or indirect link between past statements from Philip Morris and Boeken’s belief that smoking was safe. Because of this, Leiter said, jurors had to take Boeken’s word that he got that idea from Philip Morris. 

“The plaintiff’s credibility was a key part of our defense,” Leiter said. 

Boeken had two felony convictions during the 1970s — one involving stolen property and one for possession of a small amount of heroin. In 1993, he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of aiding and abetting wire fraud. The case involved a telephone boiler room operation that sold oil and gas properties from 1986 to 1988 in Wyoming. 

Prosecutors said the business took in about $2.1 million from more than 180 investors. Boeken testified for the government in the prosecution of his former boss, pleaded guilty to the felony and was ordered to pay a fine and $50,000 in restitution. 

Piuze pointed out that the court ruled three times during the trial that Boeken’s criminal record was irrelevant to the case and could prejudice the jury. 

Piuze conceded that there was no direct evidence linking Philip Morris’ statements and Boeken’s beliefs, but said the circumstantial evidence was proof enough. 

“Is it a coincidence that Mr. Boeken ends up believing exactly what they’re putting out?” he said. 

The judge said he would reach a decision by the close of business Thursday. 

SAN FRANCISCO — California appears to be a land of haves and have-nots, with above-average median household incomes but more children living in poverty. 

The figures released Monday also show that California has a higher percentage of families on public assistance. 

The information was gathered as part of a separate national sampling of 700,000 households. Called the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey, it reached residents in 32 of the state’s 58 counties. 

The median household income in California was $46,499, about 12 percent higher than the national average of $41,343. And 20 percent of children lived in poverty, compared with 17 percent nationwide. 

The government considers a family of four poor if it makes about $17,000 or less annually. 

Across the state, 14 percent of people were poor compared to 13 percent nationally, 11 percent of families were poor compared to 10 percent nationally and 19 percent of families received public assistance compared to 17 percent nationally. 

California is a state of “enormous extremes,” said Dara Schur, a lawyer with the nonprofit Western Center on Law and Poverty, which provides legal assistance. 

“We have very wealthy communities on one hand and then people living in poverty on the other,” Schur said. “If we don’t find a way to make it liveable for people of all economic sectors, it’s going to be disastrous for people at all levels.” 

Schur cited national and state tax policies which she said reward the wealthy, and California lags behind other states in providing housing subsidies and assistance to the poor. 

Ted Gibson, a state Finance Department economist, says another contributor to the income gap is immigration; an estimated 25.9 of California’s population is foreign-born, higher than any other state. 

“I think you have to look at the fact that we have a higher percentage of immigrants than any state in the union,” Gibson said. “And initially, when immigrants first arrive they tend to have lower incomes.” 

Rent is often the biggest expense for the poor in California. About 21 percent of renters here pay at least half their income for housing, heat and water. Only in New York and Florida do more tenants pay that much. 

August Alimorong, 24, knows how hard it is to get ahead in California. The Filipino immigrant said he brings home $972 a month working at a San Francisco sandwich shop. He shares an apartment with several friends and cooks rice at home to save money to send home to his family. 

“I use the bus now, but I’m hoping to save so someday I can own a car,” Alimorong said. 

“The people I represent everyday – I don’t see how they even afford food,” said Jonathan Milder, an attorney with the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County. 

Milder’s clients include an immigrant family of three in Lompoc whose landlord increased rent 50 percent from $500 to $750 in one month. The father makes $2,000 a month at a garage. Tenants in their building were told to pay up or get out, in violation of a new state law requiring two months’ notice for rent hikes of more than 10 percent. 

Miller is trying to buy the families more time. 

“They end up cutting corners where they can,” he said. “They don’t have car insurance or medical coverage and they aren’t going out to dinner like me and you. They have to get assistance for their children’s lunches at school.” 

Children may suffer most from the gap between rich and poor, said Amy Dominguez-Arms, vice president of Children NOW in Oakland. 

“Poverty affects the likelihood they’ll grow up healthy, be able to succeed, do well in school and live in safe housing,” she said. 

In California’s schools, 26 percent of children qualified to receive free or reduced price school meals in the last year, compared with only 22.8 percent nationwide. 

The survey also showed a gender gap among California workers, with males having a median income of $29,886 in 2000 – about 46 percent higher than the $20,527 median income for women. 

However, the salary gap wouldn’t be this extreme if the Census had surveyed similar occupations among men and women, said Deborah Reed, an economist with the Public Policy Institute of California, a San Francisco-based think tank. 

Women also often work fewer hours than men, and tend to work in lower paying occupations, she said. 

“Once we adjust for the hours worked and the occupations, it would be much more equal,” she said. 

Among the elderly, poverty was not as rampant. Only 9 percent of those 65 and older lived below the poverty line, compared to 11 percent nationally. 

But Gibson said California seniors may appear to be faring well because the state has a relatively small elderly population. That’s because elderly people can sell their homes for a high return in California and use the cash to retire in more affordable states. 

——— 

On the Internet: 

http://www.census.gov 

http://www.childrennow.org 

Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara Co. — http://www.fsacares.org 

CA Dept. of Finance — http://www.dof.ca.gov/ 

http://www.wclp.org 

http://www.ppic.org 

NEW YORK — The phrasing varies but the message is the same: The big dreams of a stock market comeback as momentous as its collapse are faded and jaded now. Forget them. Get real. 

The message may be the recognition of reality by that dwindling bunch of financial analysts who had been holding out hope.  

One by one they’ve conceded defeat, reluctantly, because to do so means “we were wrong.” 

The Federal Reserve began lowering interest rates in January, and the dreamers saw a recovery in the first quarter. The second quarter brought more reports of earnings losses. And the third quarter seems likely to as well. 

You might for a while be able to deny earnings as the basis for stock prices – why, prices of stocks soared on no earnings at all in 1999 – but you can’t do so forever. And with third-quarter earnings likely to be weak, forever is closing in on the dreamers. 

In fact, one view developing now has corporate chiefs becoming more interested this year in cleaning house than showing big profits.  

More concerned with lowering inventories, closing plants and reducing work forces. 

Ed Yardeni, chief investment strategist of Deutsche Bank, goes so far as to express the belief some chiefs “are also cutting their operating earnings as much as possible so their comparisons will improve next year.” 

Gerald Perritt, a realist and editor of The Mutual Fund Letter, says “one by one the optimists are throwing in the towel,” finally recognizing that the sharp rebound they forecast in January may not come by December. 

In fact, Perritt reminds investors, “many of America’s industrial giants are telling Wall Street that they don’t see a turnaround in the earnings skid anytime this year.” 

Moreover, a smattering of technology and telecommunications companies are suggesting to analysts that they aren’t even sure their industries, still in retreat, are going to come roaring back next year. 

Perritt’s advice is to bite the bullet, sell stocks that are built on a dream and use the proceeds to invest in funds that are packed with so-called value stocks.  

“Value is back in vogue.” 

Anthony Maramarco of “The Babson Staff Letter,” agrees.  

In fact, he observes, the resurgence in the value sector began more than a year ago, just as the tech-wreck began, scattering investors like a nest of ants. 

Value investing at the time didn’t offer the dreamy possibilities of technology stocks.  

But it offered a haven in companies with slow but real growth, low volatility, positive cash flow and maybe even dividends. 

Maramarco isn’t against growth-style investing, as opposed to value investing, but he does observe that each waxes and wanes, requiring diversification and regular rebalancing to best suit the times. 

And these could be the times again when terms such as “earnings” and “cash flow” aren’t viewed as old-fashioned, “old economy” terms, but logical, realistic investment expectations. As opposed to dreamy hopes. 

John Cunniff is a business analyst for The Associated Press

Austin’s assistant planning director, Carol Barrett, will take the reins of Berkeley’s Department of Planning and Development in the fall. The appointment was approved by the City Council at its July 24 meeting. 

“Carol Barrett is a seasoned professional who is extremely well regarded by her peers from all over the country,” said Acting Deputy Director Vivian Kahn. “Berkeley is very fortunate to get somebody of her caliber. She really knows her stuff.” 

Berkeley’s planning department has 70 full-time employees and is budgeted at $8.5 million for fiscal year 2001-02. The department is responsible for managing the city’s current and future development, while ensuring environmental safety, harmonious neighborhood development, aesthetics and functionality. 

Planning’s Division of Current Planning is often put in the difficult position of having to reconcile community needs and desires with state codes and local zoning laws. That job can be tough in Berkeley, according to planning officials, because there’s a high level of sophistication among residents and a tradition of civic participation. 

“People are passionate about their neighborhoods and developers are often passionate about their projects,” said Acting Director of Planning and Development Wendy Cosin. “People feel that way everywhere but in Berkeley it’s a little more.” 

The planning department’s subdivisions include Toxics Management, Current Planning, Advance Planning, and Building and Safety. The various divisions oversee a multitude of functions related to development projects such as issuing permits, inspecting projects at various stages of construction and planning and managing the city’s storage and disposal of toxic waste. 

Barrett has been working as a city planner since 1974. She has been with the planning department in Austin, Texas, for 10 years. Currently she is the assistant director of the Neighborhood Planning and Zoning Department.  

Originally from Miami, Fla., Barrett received a masters degree in city planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is well respected among her peers and was among the first class of College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners, a organization created in 1999 to honor the lifetime achievements of city planners. 

She recently completed a book entitled “Everyday Ethics for Practicing Planners,” which she said will be available by the end of the year. 

She and her husband Gary, have been married for 25 years. They have two sons, Craig, a junior at the University of Texas in Austin, and Andrew, a sophomore at UC Berkeley. 

Barrett will be taking over from Cosin, who was appointed to the post 18 months ago when then director, Liz Epstein took a four-month maternity leave. Epstein chose not to come back, which left Cosin at the helm while the city searched for a new director. Cosin will return to her previous position of deputy director when Barrett starts Sept. 10.  

Berkeley’s Department of Planning and Development has been in the center of several land-use and development controversies in recent months including the proposed Beth El synagogue, school and social hall at 1301 Oxford St., the mixed-use, four-story development at 2700 San Pablo and the mixed-use, four-story development at University Avenue and Acton Street. 

Despite strong opposition from neighborhood groups, all of those projects were approved by either the Zoning Adjustments Board, overseen by the planning department, or the City Council The approval of the proposed projects has caused some neighborhood groups to suggest the planning department has become an advocate agency for developers by shepherding their proposals through the city’s planning process. (The proposal for 2700 San Pablo Ave. was withdrawn by the developer and will be reviewed a second time by ZAB, once a new environmental study has been completed.) 

In a telephone interview Friday, Barrett said communities that are experiencing development can often feel that city planners are being unduly influenced by developers. She said that it’s the job of the city planner to be candid with people and respectful of all points of view. But she said ultimately decision makers should rely on a framework of planning regulations and state codes. 

“Sometimes people are very familiar with community sentiment and their intense hope as a citizen is that if they can eloquently express their feelings and convey the shared value with their community they will be able to influence development projects,” she said. “But that is not always possible and out of frustration, people in the community sometimes feel that you’re in the developer’s pocket.” 

Barrett, whose father died when she was 3 years old, said she was raised by her mother, a church secretary, who instilled in her a strong sense of community service. She first became interested in city planning during a semester at American University in Washington, D.C. while an undergraduate at Stetson University. 

“I was able to get some hands-on experience working at the city, state and federal levels,” she said. “I became aware of how much thinking goes into what makes a city work. I was very attracted to the planning profession because it requires a lot of technical skills, but invites the community to participate.” 

Barrett said she is most proud of the neighborhood planning work she’s done in Austin. The city had not adopted a neighborhood plan since 1979 and she was assigned the job of working with neighbors, business and community services to put together comprehensive plans for six neighborhoods. 

Barrett, who is known in the Austin press as the “Governess of Neighborhood Planning,” said three of the plans have been adopted into the city’s zoning ordinance and the other three await council action. 

Berkeley will offer a different set of challenges. Austin experienced a growth spurt in the last 10 years. According to the U.S. Census 2000, the city of 650,000 people grew by nearly 200,000 over the last decade. Austin’s planing department has had to manage new growth into open spaces.  

Berkeley, with a population of about 100,000, on the other hand, saw a population increase of only 136 people in the last 10 years. There is very little room for development and the planning department mostly manages remodeling and in-fill projects.  

Barrett said she will spend her first days in Berkeley getting acquainted with the city’s culture. “My role is to be a good listener and reflective of the kind of comments that folks are going to be making,” she said.  

Barrett, who is regarded as a planner with a strong set of ethics, offered a shorthand version of one of her guiding principles.  

“I’ve often thought of what I would want written on my headstone,” she said. “ I would want it to read: ‘She tried to do the right thing’ and the right thing is to seek to expand choice and opportunity for all persons.” 

Monday, Aug. 6

Intensive Production Urban  

Gardening Training 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Santa Fe Bar & Grill 

1310 University Ave. 

Growing Gourmet: A free urban gardening training & potluck lunch.  

Learn ways to intensively and organically grow produce for your own use or for an urban market garden. A hands-on training in the garden located behind the restaurant and potluck lunch at 1 p.m. Katherine Webb 

841-1110. 

Osteoporosis: How to put  

Bone Loss on Hold 

9 a.m. - 10 a.m. 

Summit Campus 

Cafeteria Annexes B & C 

350 Hawthorne Ave. in Oakland 

A free lecture by Dr. Elliot Schwartz, co-director of the Foundation for Osteoporosis Research and Education. Learn how to create a program that will help minimize bone loss.  

Ellen Carroll: 869-6737. 

Tuesday, Aug. 7

Intelligent Conversation  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will center on sex and drugs: Free will? Must laws be obeyed? Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague.Free  

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 Don, 525-3565 

Writing and Resistance  

In A Culture of Amnesia 

6 - 7:45 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Avenue 

Classroom #2 

Part of a workshop series on concepts and strategies for resistance through the spoken and written word, taught by Joyce E. Young. $12. 

849-2568 www.lapena.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

Derby Street at MLK Jr. Way 

548-3333 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK) 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday morning. Call Ann, 655-8863 

Free Computer Class for  

Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Strawberry Creek Daylighting 

Strategy Workshop 

6:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

Corporation Yard Green Room 

1326 Allston Way 

A workshop to develop an effective strategy for promoting the daylighting of Strawberry Creek downtown. Learn about current daylighting concepts and develop a working plan for the next year and beyond. Facilitated by Louis Hexter of MIG. Call Janet Byron to RSVP at 848-4008 or bjanet@earthlink.net 

Wednesday, Aug. 8

A Day at the Beach 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Part of the Lawrence Hall of Science Wednesday FUN-days. Build sand castles with sand sculptor Kirk Rademaker. Museum admission $3 - $7. 

642-5132 

Thursday, Aug. 9

Ancient Native Sites of the East Bay 

7:30 p.m. 

Room 160 Kroeber Hall, University of California Campus 

Sean Dexter, archaeologist, will discuss the recent Data Recovery Program at the Emeryville Shellmound/South Bayfront site. Jakki Kehl, a Mutsun Ohlone, will discuss protecting cultural resources by developing partnerships and encouraging good stewardship of the land. $10 

841-2242 

Salsa Dance Classes 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Classes every Thursday with live percussionists, light refreshments, DJ playing Latin music. $10 or $15 for two. 

237-9874 

Sea Kayaking 

7 p.m. 

REI 

1338 San Pablo Avenue 

Learn about the best sea kayaking spots in Northern California from Roger Schumann and Jan Shriner. Free. 

527-4140 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Kensington 55+ Activity Center 

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Social Hall of Arlington Community Church 

52 Arlington Ave. 

Conversation, Apple II computer instruction, massage therapy, German conversation group, meditation and relaxation techniques, watercolor art class, tea and coffee. Special 11 a.m. program: Safety, Pat Caftel presents Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness. For more information call 526-9146 or 547-1969. 

Friday, Aug. 10

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. (at Derby)  

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meeting Fridays through Aug. 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

Call 548-8283 x534 or x522 

Saturday, Aug. 11

Sixth Annual Reggae Worldbeat Festival  

Noon - 5 p.m.  

People’s Park  

Telegraph & Haste St. (behind Amoeba)  

Featuring: Obeyjah & The Saints with the Village Culture Drummers, Dancehall King; Major P., Wawa Sylvestre and The Oneness Kingdom Band and many more. Free, but donations encouraged.  

Free Classical Music Concert 

8 p.m. 

Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley Campus 

UC Berkeley Summer Symphony, Gene Chang, Henry Shin, Directors.  

Debussy, Stravinsky, Brahms. Free admission.  

For more information: 665-5631 

Sunday, Aug. 12

Live Oak Concerts 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

1275 Walnut St. 

Composition vs. Improvisation, Music/Structures by Tom Swafford.  

$10 644-6893 

Hands-On Bicycle Repair Clinics  

11 a.m. - Noon  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Learn front and rear derailleur adjustments from one of REI’s bike technicians. Tools provided. Free.  

527-4140 

Buddhist Architecture In the West 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Mark Henderson on “Building a Buddhist Temple.” Free. 

843-6812 

Steel Drums and Sand Castles 

1 - 3 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Kirk Rademaker teaches sand sculpting while Richmond Bloco entertains with steel drum music. Museum admission $3 - $7. 

642-5132

Never an excuse for crimes like those of Reddy  

Editor: 

It’s touchy at best, but we have to look at ourselves and see how our well-intentioned policies have created damages to our communities.  

We’ve tried to see crime by people who, in our society, have long been abused because of their color in a different light, taking into account their oppression.  

Berkeley has gone so overboard in this direction as to come up with the kind of problem we’re seeing when looking at the Lakireddy situation.  

Their crime is being reviewed as though their excuses have some merit. 

Their excuses are subtended by Berkeley’s traditional concern with their community’s calling us racist.  

They are also using the customs/culture argument although in roundabout language. ‘...it is our custom/culture...’ to rape/abuse girls/women/poor people/people who are back in the villages providing us our support so we can keep abusing them all. 

These (alleged and convicted) rapists need to be set away from our troubled society for the rest of their lives.  

We need to be protected against this kind of monstrosity. It’s bad enough we grow it locally, on our own, without it having to appear that since it’s done elsewhere, there’s any rationale for it, or that its perpetrators can be reformed.  

The people who have done these terrible acts have been here long enough to perceive that their actions, while occurring around here,too, are no way acceptable, and were not only criminal but brutal, sexist and ageist as well. 

If we’d clean up in one place, we might begin to render justice further in our community. These arguments for these intolerable actors are vomitous - I get literally ill seeing us protect that behavior in any way, any where. 

Norma J F Harrison 

Berkeley  

No such thing as a pure economic system 

Editor, 

My chemistry professor paraphrased the law of entropy as “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” The Planet has been receiving many letters, of which Mr. Foldvary’s (8/2/01) is the latest, that suggest that economics is not subject to this type of constraint, and that you can actually get a whole free market, and not just lunch. 

The two ideas are similar in that both describe asymtotic limits that are not attainable in the real world. Educated people no longer attempt to build perpetual motion machines because they represent a “free lunch”. Unfortunately, Republicans and Libertarians are still trying to remove regulatory controls on the market in pursuit of their goal of the mythical “free market”. Unfortunately, because the free market limit is an inherently unstable limit. Yes, one can have stupid regulations, but an unregulated market will rapidly become an extremely unfree market. 

An unregulated market is prey to the development of oligopolies and oligopolic control (California energy prices, anyone?). An unregulated market has no way of dealing with externalities, and is inefficient and inequitable in its use of natural resources (the “tragedy of the commons”). An unregulated market optimizes for the moment, and cannot easily take costs now to defer more serious costs later (global warming, anyone?). An unregulated market has no ethics; it was not okay for the British to stand aside and let the Irish starve during the potato famine. 

On the other side of ideological fence, Syrek (8/1/01) claims that the market is a racket because of interest, dividends and rents. Capital is a resource and has a market. Syrek’s criticism is valid when rates are usurious or the initial outlay is unearned, but this is a problem that could be controlled by market regulations and estate and progressively structured income taxes (Senator Feinstein take note please!). 

Economic systems are not simple. Slavish devotion to extreme ideologies such as the free market or pure communism can force people into serving the economy, instead of the reverse. Humane and efficient solutions are more likely to arise in a regulated market economy. 

Robert Clear 

Berkeley 

Don’t forget loses at Nagasaki 

Editor: 

Your article (page 1, Aug 4-5 issue) rightly calls attention to the horrible loss of civilian life at Hiroshima August 5, 1945. But equally unthinkable is the similar terror attack that struck Nagasaki some five days later. One bomb, though not at a civilian target, seemed possibly justifiable to me at the time (I was then 16). But why the second bomb? In the recent Truman biography by gifted historian David McCulloch, the justification for the second bomb is, for many readers, convincingly presented – and there is no question that Truman and his advisors were humane men – but surely Nagasaki should not be forgotten even if the justification will forever be debated. 

Bob Somers 

Berkeley 

Take vehicle pollution into account 

Editor 

Concern about the air pollution near the I-80 freeway should take into account the tire dust and benzene in the air. Tire dust (rubber & latex) is an extremely small particulate, too fine for most filters. Depending upon the amount actually lost from each tire, if one pound is lost each year it would be approximately 8000 tons total in the Bay Area. 

The Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto has found that children who live near a roadway with 20,000 or more vehicles per day have an 8 or 9 times higher chance of getting leukemia. 

Occupants of vehicles in congested traffic are often breathing the exhaust from the other vehicles, particularly at toll plazas on foggy days with still air. The tolls on the Bay Bridge should have been collected eastbound where the 16 lanes of toll collection could handle all the bridge traffic with no backup and the afternoon breezes dispersed the pollution for vehicle occupants and toll takers. 

Charles L. Smith 

Berkeley 

From:  

Steve Geller  

To:  

opinion@berkeleydailyplanet.net 

Six months ago, I made up a handy acronym to remind me what I thought I 

would not like about the Bush administration. TEAR - Tax Cut, 

Environment, Abortion, Religion. Here’s the TEAR score today: 

The Tax Cut was enacted, and still looks to me like national fiscal 

irresponsibility to reward Bush’s bankrollers. But even Senator Feinstein 

voted for it. 

Environment -- Kyoto, Arsenic, Wildlife Range (need I say more?) 

Abortion -- Bush hasn’t done as much damage as I expected, possibly due 

to political vulnerability on other issues. Senator Boxer is sponsoring 

a bill to reverse Bush’s "gag rule", which denies federal funding to 

organizations which use their own funds to counsel women about 

reproductive choices, lobby for reproductive rights or provide 

abortions. 

Religion -- If I were one of the religious right folks, I’d feel poorly 

rewarded by the Bush administration. All that happened was the support 

for "faith based" public service groups. Stuff like school prayer 

and expunging evolution from the schoolbooks may have been put on hold 

due to present political vulnerabilities. 

But before long, I expect all Bush’s TEAR policies to be fully operational. 

Unfortunately for the country, let alone the world, we have 3 1/2 more 

years of Bush to go. 

Steve Geller 

2540 College #311 

Berkeley 94704 

Subject:  

Nagasaki 

Date:  

Sat, 4 Aug 2001 22:37:52 EDT 

From:  

Rsomers2@aol.com 

To:  

opinion@berkeleydailyplanet.net 

History might be written by its victors, but a new film about an African political hero suggests revolution is remembered for its martyrs. 

“Lumumba,” opening in Berkeley on Friday, is a story told by a corpse. The film opens on a remote African plain where two men armed with machetes and kerosene are putting the pieces of the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo into an oil drum for incineration. The voice-over is from the assassinated Patrice Lumumba (played by Eriq Ebounay) inviting us to hear the story of a revolutionary who never realized his vision. 

Lumumba was elected to office in 1960 at the turbulent moment Congo became independent of Belgium’s colonial rule. Left adrift with few political resources, the Congolese government rapidly declined into nearly complete collapse. Lumumba – incorruptible, visionary, and proud – was deposed from office after two and one-half months by a military coup. Six months after elected he was dead. 

“His legacy was the sacrifice of his life, and the few big ideas he was defending,” said the film’s writer/director Raoul Peck, during his stay in San Francisco in June. “And most of all he said ‘no’ to corruption. He could not be bought.” 

Congo’s rich natural resources were sought after by the international community, and because of its fragile government the country was vulnerable to external pressure. The film portrays Lumumba’s mission to overcome internal divisions and establish a pan-African coalition, and his country’s desperate needs in the wake of independence.  

Raoul Peck was born Haitian and raised in Congo under the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko, just after the assassination of Lumumba. His relationship with the legacy of Lumumba is personal, political, and cinematic. In 1991 he created a documentary called “Lumumba – Death of a Prophet” in which he explored his early memories of childhood in the wake of the murder of a national hero. 

He was later approached by Swiss producers to create a film about a European traveling to “some African country” where, like Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” he confronts his personal demons. 

“I was not interested in that because I was interested in my own stories and my own history. But I could propose something else,” Peck recalled. “It’s best to speak about something you know, and I knew Congo.” 

After writing several unsatisfying drafts of scripts about the Congo, Peck realized he could look directly into the heart of late 20th century Congo – and, by extension, Africa – by telling the story of Lumumba. He says “Lumumba” is not merely based on the true story of the man, but it is the true story. 

As even the most perfunctory student of media representation knows, claiming a film is not just an interpretation of history but history itself is insupportable and a bit arrogant. But Peck did his homework and found the documented facts were dramatic enough to reproduce without doctoring them with fiction. 

“This is a rare example. I didn’t have to invent secondary characters. All the names you hear are real people. A lot of the small events in the film I did not invent. To the last details, and dialogues, I did not invent.” 

Peck went so far as to consult archival photos and filmstrips on the shooting set to make sure his re-enactments were accurate down to the extras and props. Much of the film, however, was shot in Mozambique and Zimbabwe for logistical reasons. 

When shooting a scene of a rag-tag troop of dissenting soldiers storming Lumumba’s cabinet meeting with guns raised, Peck was able to draw on eyewitness accounts.  

He was also able to use his position as a moviemaker to evoke the desperate fear in the crazed eyes of the soldiers on the edge of losing control. 

“Imagine his own fear having to play a Prime Minister even though he knew his experience was very short,” Peck said of Lumumba. “He had maybe two or three years’ military experience. It’s difficult to imagine, but it was incredible.” 

The story of Lumumba perhaps didn’t need invention to be good storytelling, but Peck did allow himself license as director to create cinematic moments that communicate something above their historical accuracy. 

Standing on a remote airstrip, Lumumba and President Joseph Kasavubu (played by Maka Kotto) pause their conference about the unstable future of their government to look at the beauty of the expansive savannah. The scene articulates a note of awe in view of the landscape and a taste of disappointment that this country they love and fight for might never be free. 

Peck says he made this film for a wide audience in an attempt to popularize the legacy of Lumumba but his attention to detail is for the people who know Africa already. “I wanted, if a Congolese watches this film, that he feel at home. I didn’t want to cheat on that; which happens a lot in movies… I wanted to make a film the Congolese people would be proud to see.” 

“Lumumba” runs Aug. 10-17 at the Shattuck Cinema, 2230 Shattuck Ave.

924 Gilman St. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Aug 10: 90 Day Men, Assembly of God, Strong Intention, Under a Dying Sun; Aug 11: Toys That Kill, Scared of Chakra, Soophie Nun Squad, Debris; Aug 12: 5 p.m. Citizen Fish, J-Church, Eleventeen. $5. 924 Gilman St. 525-9926. 

Anna’s Place Aug. 11 and every Saturday night 10:30 p.m. - midnight, Ducksan Distones. The following play at 8 p.m. – Aug. 8: “The Renegade Sidemen;” Aug. 7: open mic.1801 University Ave. 849-2662.  

Eli’s Mile High Club Doors open at 8 p.m. Every Friday, 10 p.m. - 2 a.m., Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Split Shankin and Funky Man. $10; 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight and Salvage Coffee House All music at 8 p.m. Aug 6: Frank Yamma; Aug 8: San Francisco Klezmer Experience; Aug 9: John Renbourn; Aug 10: Jody Stecher, Kate Brislin; Aug 11: Al Stewart. $16.50 - $19.50. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jupiter Aug. 7: Joshi Marshal Project, jazz, soul and hiphop; Aug. 8: Broun Fellini’s, jazz/funk/hiphop grooves; Aug. 9: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu and Add1; Aug. 10: Steven Emerson, singer/songwriter mixes cool jazz and sweat soul; Aug. 11: J Dogs, funk-soul; Aug. 14: Chris Shot Group, folk-rock and soul combo; Aug. 15: Lithium House, electro/drum & bass styles with live jazz; Aug. 16: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu and Add1; Aug. 17: The Mind Club, Old school funk grooves with sonic swirls of acid jazz; All music starts at 8:00 p.m. www.jupiterbeer.com; or call the hotline: THE-ROCK. 843-7625  

La Peña Cultural Center Aug 10: 8:30 p.m. Ire $8; Aug 11: 9:30 p.m. Fito Reynoso’s Ritmo y Armonia. $10, $13 for dance class starting at 8:15; Aug 12: 5, 7:30 p.m. “Say Yo Business” Linda Tillery & The Cultural Heritage Chior. $18 in advance, $20 at the door. In the Cafe, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 

La Note/Jazzschool Aug 12: 4:30 p.m. The Freedom Project, 5:30 Eli Sundelson Trio. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

Shattuck Down Low Lounge Every Tuesday: 9:30 p.m., Posh Tuesdays with DJ’s Yamu, Delon, Add1, and Tequila Willie. Shattuck at Allston. www.thebeatdownsound.com  

Downtown Restaurant and Bar August 6: 7 p.m. Jesse Colin Young of the sixties hit group, The Youngbloods, will be performing at a No Nukes evening, sponsored by Greenpeace. The evening commemorates the 56th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The proceeds go to Tri-Valley CAREs and Citizen Alert. Tickets are $100. 2102 Shattuck Ave. 800-728-6223 

Ali Akbar College of Music Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m. A concert of Indian classical music. Rita Sahai, vocals; Rachel Untersher, violin; Madhukar Malayanur, tabla; $20 general; $15 students. St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave., (415) 454-6264 or www.aacm.org 

Yoshi’s Aug. 7. Claudia Acuna $14; Aug. 8 through Aug. 12: Steve Turre Quintet, trombone and conch shell master in small group setting. Wednesday and Thursday, $18; Friday and Saturday, $22; Sunday matinee, $5 kids, $10 adults with one child, $18 general; Sunday, $22. Unless otherwise noted, music at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. 238-9200 or 762-2277 www.yoshis.com 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts Aug. 10: 7:30 p.m. & Aug. 11, 12, 5 p.m. Campers from Stage Door Conservatory’s “On Broadway” program for grades 5-9 will perform Fiddler on the Roof, Jr. $12 adults, $8 kids. 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 ext. 302 

“The Great Sebastians” Through Aug. 11: Friday and Saturday evenings 8 p.m. plus Thursday, Aug. 9, presented by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. A tale about a mind-reading act touring behind the Iron Curtain. A communist general believes the act and “invites” the Sebastians to his villa where the humor and excitement follows. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck (at Berryman). For reservations call 528-5620 

“Iphegenia in Aulis” Through Aug. 12: Sat. and Sun. 5 p.m. Special dawn performance on August 12 at 7 a.m. A free park performance by the Shotgun Players of Euripides’ play about choices and priorities. With a masked chorus, singing, dancing, and live music. Feel free to bring food and something soft to sit on. John Hinkel Park, Southhampton Place at Arlington Avenue (different locations July 7 and 8). 655-0813 

“Loot” A Shotgun Players’ production. Through Aug 25, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m. Special Performance Aug 20, 8:00 p.m. General Admission: $15, Students / Seniors: $10 La Val’s 1834 Euclid Avenue 655-0813 

“Reefer Madness” Aug. 8, 9, Aug. 22, 23: 9 p.m. A new one-act theatre piece adapted from a 1936 government-funded film opens a critical eye to the control of our society. Performed by The Elemental Theatre Group La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Avenue. Wednesdays are “pay what you can,” Thursdays $5 - $10. Contact Zachary Rouse or Tisha Sloan for more info at 655-4150 

“Romeo & Juliet” Aug 11 - Sep 2, Tuesdays - Thursdays. Bruns Memorial Amphitheater. Shakespeare’s classic about a young couple that meets, falls in love and dies in just five days. Adults: $22 - $41 youth (under 16): $12 - $41. 

“Barnum” Through Aug. 12. The story of legendary circusmaster P.T. Barnum, with plenty of musical theater and circus acrobatics. Splash Circus’ aspiring young circus artists will perform an hour before each show. $15 to $27. Friday through Sunday, 8 p.m. Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland. 531-9597 www.woodminster.com

Echema waiting for NCAA ruling 

Cal tailback Joe Echema is waiting to hear from the NCAA on whether he will be eligible for the upcoming football season. 

Although Echema’s grade point average is sufficient for eligibility, he failed to meet the NCAA’s requirement for units passed in a one-year period. Echema fell one unit short in 2000, but Cal has requested that the NCAA give Echema a waiver. 

If Echema is forced to sit out the 2001 season he will take his redshirt year, which is something the Cal coaching staff had considered for him anyway during spring practice, since the Bears were supposed to have three senior tailbacks – starter Joe Igber, Echema and Saleem Muhammed – which would have given them superior depth. But Muhammed decided to tranfer earlier this year, and Echema’s absence would leave head coach Tom Holmoe’s squad without an experienced backup for Igber.  

Incoming freshmen Terrell Williams and Will Scott, both from Hoover High (San Diego), are the only other tailbacks on the roster. Senior Marcus Fields was a tailback in his first two years at Cal, but is expected to fill a utility role, seeing time at fullback, H-back and wide reciever. 

Cal recruit fails to qualify 

Mike Wells, who was supposed to bolster the Bears’ linebacking corps this season, failed to acheive a qualifying score on his college entrance exams and won’t be attending Cal. Wells, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound PrepStar All-American from Sahuaro High (Tucson) has decided to attend another college, accoring to Cal sources. 

BHS star Davis to attend San Jose State 

Former Berkeley High basketball star Ryan Davis will walk on to the team at San Jose State for the 2001-2002 season, according to Berkeley High head coach Mike Gragnani. 

“They really like Ryan down there, and he can fit in well with their team,” Gragnani said. “He’s got a good chance at earning a scholarship down the line.” 

Davis was the Yellowjackets’ leading scorer as a senior last season after transferring to the school from Lincoln High (San Francisco). Davis also played at Berkeley High during his freshman year. 

Berkeley High football schedule announced 

The Berkeley High football team will open its regular season schedule on Sept. 7 with a game at Foothill High in Pleasanton. The Yellowjackets will also face James Logan (Union City) and Dos Palos in non-league play before kicking off the ACCAL season with an away matchup with El Cerrito on Sept. 28. 

Berkeley will also travel to De Anza on Oct. 5 before hosting Alameda a week later. They have a bye on Oct. 19, which head coach Matt Bissell said he is currently trying to fill. The ’Jackets homecoming game is on Oct. 26 against Encinal, and the regular season wraps up with an away game against Richmond on Nov. 2 and a home game against Pinole Valley on Nov. 8. 

Schott helps U-21 team to Nordic Cup title 

GJOVIK, Norway - The U.S. Under-21 Women’s National Team put together a masterful performance in the championship game of the Nordic Cup Tuesday, scoring three goals in the first 16 minutes in a 6-1 destruction of Sweden to win its third consecutive title at the most elite competition in the world for U-21 women. Cal forward Laura Schott tallied two assists in the game and finished her first Nordic Cup tournament with a goal and three assists.  

Forward Anne Morrell, making her first start of the tournament, scored three goals, all off far post headers, while midfielder Aleisha Cramer registered two goals and two assists.  

Morrell, and forwards Danielle Borgman and Schott stepped up big for the Americans in the most lopsided Nordic Cup championship game in history. It was also the greatest margin of victory in the 16 matches of this year’s tournament.  

“In absence of (Abby) Wambach and (Katie Barnes), two of our regular starters, Anne Morrell, Laura Schott and converted defender Danielle Borgman gave us terrific performances in their starts up front,” U.S. coach Jerry Smith said.

“There’s only two things that money can’t buy,” Texas songwriter Guy Clark sang in 1983. “That’s true love and home grown tomatoes.” 

But growing tomatoes is not an easy task. That’s what customers at Berkeley Farmers’ Market learned Saturday at the annual tomato tasting. 

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the public could taste samples of the 16 varieties of tomatoes – of all colors and shapes – that the market’s farmers sell on a regular basis. This year the tasting also included a cooking demonstration and a talk on organic tomato-growing. 

“It’s for people to get a sense of the huge variety of (tomatoes),” said Kirk Lumpkin, the farmers’ market special events coordinator, as he explained what the purpose of the tasting was. “I’m sure that there are still a lot of people, because what you get in the supermarket tends to be so limited in choice, who don’t know there are hundreds, maybe thousands of kinds of tomatoes.” 

Supermarket tomatoes lack flavor for a very simple reason, explained Paul Underhill, an organic farmer from Terra Firma Farm in the Central Valley.  

They are bred for shipping and not for taste. They are still green when harvested and are treated with ethylene gas to ripen. They are also hybridized to have a thicker skin and a shape that withstands the wear and tear of industrial processing. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has three standards for grades of tomatoes for shipping: green, mature and vine ripe. 

“All those tomatoes before they get to the supermarket are gassed to turn red,” he said. “They never develop any sugar; they never develop any flavor.” 

But the tomatoes that customers could sample Saturday are grown in a different way. First of all, they are harvested when they are ripe. And unlike agrabusinesses’ tomatoes, which are grown on bush plants, organic farms grow tomatoes like a vine on trellises or support stakes. This agricultural method, Underhill said, prevents tomatoes from cracking on the ground when ripening or from getting moldy if the soil is moist. It also keeps the tomatoes in the shade of the plants, protecting them from direct sun. 

Producing tasty tomatoes, however, also requires a nutritive soil, including calcium,  

and the right quantity of water, Underhill said. 

“Tomatoes need a certain amount of water but they don’t like to get too much,” said Underhill. “If you over-water them, they can split. If they don’t have enough water they can’t get the calcium out of the ground and they tend to develop large brown spots.” 

Those who want to grow tomatoes in their garden, Underhill concluded, should plant cherry tomatoes, which don’t need very good soil, don’t easily get burned by the sun, and are more likely to resist the Bay Area’s level of humidity. 

Earlier in the morning, Laurel K. Miller from the Sustainable Kitchen, a Berkeley cooking school, demonstrated how to prepare tomato-based soup and a fresh salad called “Panzanella.” 

Different varieties of tomatoes have different uses, she explained. 

“If you’re making a sauce, a Panzanella or a soup, it’s okay to have mushier or riper tomatoes,” she said. “But if you need something a little bit more firm like for a salad and you want the integrity of the shape of the tomato, you want to avoid that.” 

Another tip: meatier tomatoes make better sauces. Heirloom tomatoes, for instance, are particularly good for raw dishes, but too watery to be successfully cooked. 

“They have a lot of water content,” Miller said. “They tend to evaporate away and you really loose the complexities and the flavors.” 

The diversity of its colors and shapes, on the other hand, makes them perfect for salads. 

To those who have trouble choosing a variety, Miller recommends Early Girl, which is an all-purpose tomato. 

*** 

There will be another tomato tasting Tuesday, from 2 - 7 p.m. at the Farmers’ Market on Derby St. at MLK, Jr. Way. 

With a new school year fast approaching, the oft-asked question of what to do about Berkeley High is back in the spotlight.  

While the search for answers is complicated by the absence of money, new programs are being launched and, if the new superintendent has her way, existing resources will be better coordinated. 

Due to a critical budget shortfall in the Berkeley Unified School District, the high school will begin the new year with roughly four fewer teachers. The on-campus suspension program, a mainstay of the school’s discipline system for years, has been cut. The popular Rebound program for failing freshman is out of money and will not be available to ninth graders who arrive at Berkeley High School unprepared. 

There will be other new programs to help these students, however. Eighth graders at risk of failing when they start Berkeley High at the end of this month have been enrolled in a special, one-week “summer bridge” program intended to bolster both their confidence and their study skills. 

The director of the popular Writer’s Room program, which pairs Berkeley High students with volunteer writing tutors in one-on-one sessions, hopes to make tutors available to every freshman who needs one this year.  

Regular Berkeley High teachers are being trained for the first time in how to teach reading to the more than 100 students who enter the school each year with skills well below grade level – including some who have difficulty reading at all. 

The whole freshman curriculum has been reorganized to make it easier for teachers to work as a team, identifying “at risk” students from the get go and working together to keep them from falling through the cracks.  

Finally, other tutoring and mentoring programs at the school are said to be picking up steam, including one program that would have Berkeley High seniors serve as mentors to freshman, showing them how to survive in an overwhelming and often dysfunctional system. 

Some say, however, that If the year just ended is any indication, the high school is likely to remain an overwhelming and dysfunctional place for many students despite these efforts. Board of Education Vice President Shirley Issel that’s partly because the school’s infrastructure is so strained that even services, programs and strategies implemented with the best of intentions often go awry. 

“The infrastructure is too dysfunctional to accomplish anybody’s goals, and it’s affecting all the students. They’re all on their own. The school can’t really attend to their individual needs.” 

But the problems are bigger than the school, argue many, including Berkeley High School Principal Frank Lynch and Rebound teacher Katrina Scott-George. 

Research has labored to make this point over and over again in recent years. Depending on which study one reads, scholars have found compelling ways to argue that how well students do in school depends on economic factors, family structure, parent education levels, hours of television watched or not watched, participation in extracurricular activities, access to computers, class size, adherence to standards, freedom from standards, teacher quality, teacher training, teacher attitudes about race, society’s attitudes about race, and much, much more. 

Clearly, a school system can only begin to address a few of these factors. All the players, from parents to preachers to politicians, have to work together. 

And that, contends the new superintendent of schools, Michele Lawrence, is why Berkeley has an opportunity to make more progress than many schools districts. The resources are here, she said in an interview last week. There are district advisory committees to deal with everything from construction to budgeting, each of them staffed by highly skilled community volunteers. There are organized and expert parent groups in the African American community, the Hispanic community, the special education parents community and more. There are two independent foundations doing fundraising and organizing for Berkeley High. Finally, there is the Berkeley Alliance, which promises, among other things, to leverage the resources of the city and UC Berkeley to help improve Berkeley public schools. 

The missing piece, said Lawrence, is an overarching plan to unite these groups in a common crusade; to avoid miscommunication, duplication of effort, and working at cross purposes. 

Lawrence said her job will be to “work with all the groups to line up systems and processes” so Berkeley can focus its remarkable array of resources on the single greatest challenge faced by the high school: the academic achievement gap. 

Rather than having the high school administrators working to address the gap in one way, the Parents of Children of African Descent strongly advocating another way, and the school board considering the problem from yet another angle, the groups need to be on the same page, Lawrence said.  

“If an organization responds emotionally to coming up with solutions to problems without thinking through logistically how to implement them, then you end up being disappointed in the results, because you can’t deliver on your promises,” she said.

Sunday, the day before the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, some 65 anti-nuclear activists gathered in the afternoon on the west lawn of the UC Berkeley Campus to remember the death and destruction the bomb caused and to vow that it will never happen again.  

Dan Marlin, pictured above, holds a banner with Fusako De Angelis, calling on the university to end its management of the Los Alamos and Livermore laboratories where nuclear weapons are researched and designed. Left, Bill Olin holds a sign calling for an end to the nuclear arms race. Anti-nuclear activist Pat Waters is seated. 

Marlin addressed the crowd, reading a description of the bombing by Hiroshima survivor Yamaika Michiko, 15 years old when the bomb dropped as she was on her way to work. Machiko had 37 operations in the days and years after bombing. Councilmember Kriss Worthington also spoke, blasting the Bush administration for moving forward with the proposed National Missile Defense system, a violation, he said, of the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, of which the United States is a signatory.

Boy dies after freak motorcycle accident 

SAN ARDO – An 11-year-old San Ardo boy was killed after driving a motorcycle through a cord strung across a road, the Monterey County coroner’s office says. 

Uri Cervantes was riding a 1993 Yamaha motorcycle on a dirt farm road Saturday when he drove into a 4-foot-high nylon cord that was being used as a gate. 

Authorities had received complains by neighbors of the woman that she was allowing neighborhood children to ride her motorcycle without any supervision, said Sgt. David Norum of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department. 

Police are investigating whether negligence was involved in the accident, Norum said. 

Man linked to missing woman gives DNA sample 

LOS GATOS – Los Gatos police have taken a DNA sample from a man who was seen leaving a Campbell-area bar with a woman who’s been missing for a week. 

Police searched the man’s car and home looking for clues regarding the disappearance of Jeanine Harms. 

Police would not say what items were seized. They also have not released the man’s name. 

Forty-two-year-old Harms was last seen leaving the Rock Bottom Brewery with the man. He says she appeared fine when he left her duplex about 1 a.m. 

Los Gatos Police Sgt. Kerry Harris says Harms may have been the victim of foul play based on evidence found in her home. 

Bankrupt wine company to sell 80,000 bottles 

NAPA – Connoisseurs, collectors and anyone else who enjoys sipping wines will get a chance next month to take home whatever taste tickles their palates 

Former online Napa wine retailer Wine.com is expected to auction off more than 80,000 cases of wine left after the retailer filed for bankruptcy in May. 

The auction is expected to draw collectors and professional buyers from casinos to cruise ships. About $1 million in rare wines will be auctioned by Realm Connect. 

Auction organizers say the event will be the largest ever of its kind, but state alcohol regulators are checking to make sure the sale complies with licensing laws.

LOS ANGELES – Buoyed by generous government subsidies and plummeting costs, solar power is enjoying a rare day in the sun. 

In places like sun-kissed California, the energy source that once languished on the economic fringe is now carving out a booming niche among consumers hamstrung by high electricity prices and the threat of blackouts. 

“As the energy problems in the United States increase, it slides more into the mainstream,” said John Thornton, a principal engineer in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. 

The situation has sent a jolt through sales of solar power equipment. 

Domestic shipments of photovoltaic cells increased 74 percent during the two-year period ending in 2000, according to the federal Department of Energy. That’s enough equipment to generate at least 75 megawatts of power at peak usage times. One megawatt can power 750 average homes. 

The DOE projects that total could reach 3,200 megawatts by 2020. 

Meanwhile, the price of those cells continues to fall; they now cost just 20 percent of what they did 25 years ago. Rooftop systems that can meet half a home’s electricity needs for more than 20 years now cost as little as $10,000 with rebates and tax credits available from the federal and state governments. 

“You’re talking a five- to six-year payback range in California, compared to 20 a few years ago,” said David R. Lillington, president of Sylmar-based solar cell manufacturer Spectrolab Inc. 

Dan Kammen, a professor in the energy and resources group at the University of California, Berkeley, said it’s the first time that solar power systems can be justified economically. “Before it was just a good idea environmentally,” he said. 

Photovoltaic cells produce electricity when struck by sunlight, and a portion of that energy is absorbed by a semiconducting material such as silicon. That knocks loose electrons, sending them coursing through the material. The current can then be drawn off as a source of power. 

Photovoltaic output peaks when demand for electricity and the wholesale price of power both spike – typically on hot, sunny days. 

But even today, three decades after those cells were first made available on a commercial basis, photovoltaic systems still produce less electricity at a greater cost than all other significant means of generation. 

Solar power contributes just 0.02 percent of the total amount of electricity fed into the nation’s grid. And even at its cheapest, it costs 20 cents per kilowatt-hour to generate, or roughly four times as much as electricity produced from fossil or nuclear fuels on average. That makes large-scale plants unfeasible, experts said. 

“From an electric utility standpoint, it’s developing, it’s being used, but the technology costs have to come down more for it to be more usable,” said Jayne Brady, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Edison Electric Institute, which represents shareholder-owned utilities. 

Still, for individual homeowners like Karina Garbesi, an assistant professor of geography and environmental studies at California State University, Hayward, the rooftop panels can be an attractive alternative. The system atop her Bay Area home regularly produces excess electricity that she can sell to her utility. 

“My meter runs backward during the day,” Garbesi said. 

In housing developments being built in places like San Diego and Sacramento, solar panels are now standard in some new homes, their cost factored into the sale price. 

“We’re seeing more use of photovoltaics in new construction,” said Joe Wiehagen, an engineer with the research center of the National Association of Home Builders in Maryland. “It can be a bit less expensive in a new home and you don’t have to worry about working it into your mortgage because it’s already there.” 

Subsidies also make the capital costs of the systems less prohibitive. 

At the Los Angeles headquarters of Neutrogena Corp., officials recently installed a 200-kilowatt system that should cut the amount of power the firm buys by 20 percent, said Senaka Nanayakkara, the cosmetics company’s director of facilities. 

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power ponied up $1 million of the system’s $1.4 million price tag, as part of its program to add the equivalent of 100,000 residential rooftop solar systems by 2010. 

Similar subsidy programs should continue to drive down prices and prevent the solar power industry from foundering as it did in the 1980s, when fossil fuel prices fell and interest in emerging alternative energy sources waned. 

“We could still screw it up. Yank price supports and you could drive industries out,” Garbesi said.

SACRAMENTO – Julia “Butterfly” Hill spent nearly two years living in a California redwood to save it from a logger’s chain saw. 

Now, she’s back to earth with other logging opponents, fighting in the courts, state Legislature and at the ballot box as part of a growing movement against clearcutting and harvesting of California’s few remaining old growth forests. 

The revived activism, they said, is needed to respond to a well-funded timber industry with friends in the White House and governor’s office. 

Unable to match the industry financially, logging opponents are tapping a coalition of environmental groups and mainstream churches to gather the 419,260 signatures needed for a November 2002 ballot measure that would ban cutting virgin timber on nonfederal land and outlaw harvesting trees alive before California became a state in 1850. 

Reports filed at July’s end show the timber industry spent more than $348,000 on lobbyists and gave more than $155,000 to state officeholders, including $17,000 to Gov. Gray Davis the first half of this year. 

Opponents point to the recent budget negotiations that ended with a sales tax break for logging equipment as an example of the clout wielded by the well-connected industry. 

“We can’t play that game. We don’t have the deep pockets,” said former North Coast Rep. Dan Hamburg, an activist and the 1998 Green Party nominee for governor. 

Elsewhere, the anti-logging movement has been energized. The California Democratic Party’s resolutions committee condemned clearcutting in July.  

The Citizens’ Campaign for Old Growth Preservation and the Sierra Club independently cite surveys they say show public support for such a ban, and accuse Davis of breaking his 1998 pledge to ensure “all old-growth trees are spared from the lumberjack’s ax.” 

That’s unfair, said state Resources Agency Assistant Secretary Maria Rea. Davis “has done a lot of things to protect what little old growth there is.” 

Davis also created conservation easement and Forest Legacy programs, Rea said, is also negotiating with the industry to protect other old-growth forests. 

Industry officials said California already has the nation’s most stringent forestry rules, despite the higher demand for lumber created by development. There’s been a lot of progress made on environmental issues, but that rarely gets noticed, they said. 

“What we get for that is more lawsuits and more protesters hanging out in trees and locking themselves to fences,” said Pacific Lumber Co. government relations director Jim Branham. 

Some lawmakers think the California Board of Forestry has delayed action on salmon habitat and timberland protections, said Sen. Byron Sher of Stanford and Assemblyman Fred Keeley of Boulder Creek, Davis’ fellow Democrats. 

That’s why the Legislature voted to withhold half the board’s budget unless it extends temporary rules set to expire at year’s end. Davis vetoed the plan. 

Democratic Senate leaders put off confirming Davis’ three January board appointees until at least September, when they may face sharp questioning. 

Environmental groups and some lawmakers say Davis stacked the nine-member board in the industry’s favor, while Davis spokesman Roger Salazar said the governor’s appointees provide a “balanced, fair perspective” which he would not detail. 

A Senate-approved bill by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, would restrict the governor’s authority by setting new qualifications for his appointees. Industry representatives said that automatically gives environmentalists three seats on the board. 

Sher also has a bill opposed by industry that would let counties ask the board to block Department of Forestry approval of any timber plan calling for removing at least 70 percent of a stand of trees. 

That puts the Legislature in an “eyeball-to-eyeball” fight with Davis, said Sierra Club organizer Warren Alford. 

Outside the Legislature, activists have launched protests in Humboldt, Santa Cruz and Nevada counties against logging plans by Pacific Lumber, Redwood Empire and Sierra Pacific Industries. 

“Every other system is failing,” Hill said during a recent Capitol rally 19 months after her 738-day redwood sit-in. “That’s the only time you see people taking to that final line, being willing to risk their lives and their freedom for what they believe in.” 

In court, environmental groups are also finding some success. 

They won a court order and U.S. Forest Service administrative decision temporarily halting the logging of fire-killed trees in a former roadless area of Northern California’s Six Rivers National Forest. 

Separately, a federal judge is threatening to block the thinning of trees in three Northern California national forests as part of a fire prevention program, unless the Forest Service shows it won’t hurt the environment. 

A third suit argues that runoff of sediment and herbicides from Pacific Lumber Co. logging sites amounts to water pollution barred by the federal Clean Water Act. 

Branham called the pollution suit “ridiculous,” another attempt to shut down the company’s logging. In recent years the company began leaving more trees alongside streams, avoiding landslide areas, and increasing its use of helicopters instead of tractors to remove logs, he said, but “enough is never enough.” 

Sierra Pacific, said director of forest policy Tom Nelson, recognizes logging is under assault and has “done a lot over and above” what’s required. Most residents appreciate the company’s efforts, he said, but the critics “are people who want you not to cut trees any more.” 

The company said it will sell 30,000 to 50,000 acres of marginal timberland to a conservation group for permanent preservation. 

It also said it will voluntarily leave more trees on 70 percent of Sierra timberlands it had planned to clear-cut. The Anderson-based company calls its new practice “visual retention,” designed to soften the visual impact of clear cuts in tourist-heavy areas. 

That’s “clearcutting by another name,” Alford said. 

Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center and Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch sued the company last week in Calaveras County court, alleging the state’s current forest practices law and regulations fail to properly take into account clearcutting’s “cumulative impact” on wildlife and waterways.

Eight months ago, a group of Berkeley High parents, appalled to find 180 freshmen failing two or more classes at Berkeley High, decided to take matters into their own hands. 

They demanded, and got, money from the school district and the city to start the Rebound program for 54 failing students.  

On Friday morning, parents, teachers and school administrators packed the Berkeley High Parent Resource Center to watch 41 of the original 54 students graduate from the program. 

“At your (high school) graduation, I’m going to be looking for you,” said an emotional Katrina Scott-George, a favorite math teacher for the Rebound students over the last eight months. 

“Katrina, she never let me give up,” said Cofi Barrow, a Berkeley High freshman who went from getting almost all F’s on her report card last fall to all A’s and B’s this summer. 

From January until last week, the students, almost all of them of African American or Latino heritage, became part of a separate community at Berkeley High. They attended English and math classes that were twice as long and half the size of regular freshman English and math classes. They worked one-on-one with Rebound’s five teachers, who were dedicated to helping them not just survive Berkeley High, but graduate with enough credits to be eligible for college. 

(In keeping with national trends, most of these minority students had arrived at Berkeley High with reading and math skills well below grade level. In some cases, the students’ academic deficiencies were so pronounced that meaningful participation in the school’s regular freshman curriculum seemed impossible.) 

Not all Rebound students improved their grades as dramatically as Barrow. But most improved at least from failing grades to passing grades during the second semester, and then, over the summer, made up the credits they were missing from the fall semester.  

“If it weren’t for y’all, I wouldn’t be going to the 10th grade to tell you the truth,” said one Rebound student Friday, thanking the Parents of Children of African Descent and others who supported the Rebound program. 

Nearly all the students were more engaged in the Rebound classes than regular classes, Rebound staff said. They attended class more regularly and made more use of tutoring and counseling services available at the school. 

As Scott-George put it, “Learning is a very internal process. We learn because we want to learn; because we have some motivation to learn. I think Rebound was a success in providing these kids a place where they wanted to learn.” 

A key element in the success of the program, PCAD members said Friday, was the incredible efforts Rebound teachers and program coordinator Leslie Plettner, a Berkeley High teacher who stepped in to help guide the program last winter, made to involve the parents of Rebound students in the program.  

More than 30 Rebound parents paid a visit to their children’s classrooms at least once during the program, Plettner said. After teachers met with students each Friday to go over their progress (a fairly radical innovation in itself, at a school where large class sizes make such student-teacher relationships difficult to maintain), they called parents to give them an update as well. 

Consistent outreach to parents “held the students more accountable because the parents and teachers were on the same page,” said Plettner. “I think the (Rebound) community showed what is possible. If all the players are invested in education, then we can work to achieve an equitable outcome.” 

The Friday ceremony was bittersweet for many, however. 

PCAD member Michael Miller said he was concerned that, with Rebound coming to an end, students might have a difficult time readjusting to the regular high school environment. 

“These kids have been under some amazing care these last few months,” Miller said. “Now they have to take wing and go out on their own. And that’s kind of scary.” 

Still, Miller said the taste of success that Rebound gave to students and parents alike may go a long way to sustaining the students academic momentum. 

“If there was any question about whether the kids could do it, that’s resolved,” Miller said. “I think the parents who have been involved will continue to be involved. They understand what their kids can do.” 

And the Rebound program will not come screeching to a halt, said Irma Parker, a PCAD member and a parent liaison in Berkeley High’s Parent Resource Center. The community formed through the Rebound program will continue to thrive, she said. PCAD has already used the last of the Rebound funds to hire a guidance counselor to work specifically with the Rebound graduates, at least for the first half of the coming school year, to help them stay on track. 

Part of the legacy of the Rebound program, said Miller and others, is to demonstrate how the district can begin to address the achievement gap more effectively. 

“We have a group of students who come to Berkeley High whose needs cannot be met by the structure of the present school,” said Berkeley School Board President Terry Doran after the ceremony Friday. “It takes extraordinary means. So our challenge is, where do we find the means to duplicate this program.”  

While almost everyone can agree that smaller class size is critical to helping students bridge the gap, Doran said, California school districts simply don’t have enough funding to make this a reality. 

Even for those students who participated in Rebound – only a fraction of the freshman who failed one or more classes this past year – it may not be enough, said Scott-George. The reasons for the achievement gap, from economic inequality to institutional racism, are “very complex,” she said. 

“It’s much bigger than Berkeley High School. They’re still swimming against a tide that’s very powerful.” 

Some said they look to the Rebound students themselves to begin to “change the culture” at Berkeley High, by succeeding against the odds and showing next year’s freshman the way. 

With new study skills, strong friendships, and a shared vision of success, Rebound students said Friday they were ready to meet the challenge.  

“I got her back and she got mine,” said Barrow of her best friend, fellow Rebound student Kandis Session. 

Said Session, “We’re going in there knowing what to do now. We’re not going to mess up. We’re going to college.” 

Saturday, Aug. 4

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 

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 5 and accompanied by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Robert Bowman 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Friends Church 

1600 Sacramento St.  

Retired Air Force and NASA Official and Presidential Candidate, Dr. Robert Bowman will speak against the weaponization of space. 663-8065. 

Animal Picnic Family  

Workshop 

10 - 10:50 a.m.;11 - 11:50 a.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Touch and hold a variety of animals and see how they eat their lunch. For children 3 - 8 and an accompanying adult. Registration required, $8 - $25. 642-5132 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

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

Annual Tomato Tasting, an opportunity to sample the range of tomato varieties at the market. Also, the grand opening of the Food Court. 548-3333 

Poetry Reading 

3 - 5 p.m. 

1527 Virginia Street 

The Bay Area Poets’ Coalition presents an open reading outdoors on the front lawn. 

527-9905; poetalk@aol.com 

Bay Area Eco-Crones 

10:30 a.m. - noon 

Epworth Church, Youth Room 

1953 Hopkins 

Discuss ecological significance of mushrooms and bats; plan rituals for habitat restorations projects.  

874-4935 

Foster Parent Certification Class 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St. 

This class will cover all aspects of Foster Parenting and is open to anyone interested in attending. Free.  

Call Bob at 641-6200; nailahfs@pacbell.net. 

Sunday, Aug. 5

Live Oak Concerts 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

1275 Walnut St. 

B.A.C.H. (Baroque and Classical Harmonies), the vocal and instrumental ensemble, will perform Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Vivaldi’s Gloria. $10  

644-6893 

Anti-Nuclear Vigil 

1 - 3 p.m. 

UC Berkeley, Lawn at West Entrance, 

Oxford and University Ave. 

Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki; opposing UC weapons labs’ contracts; urging UC Berkeley to host a national TV debate on nuclear weapons ban.  

Circle of Concern  

848-8055. 

Buddhism 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Mark Henderson on “Four Thoughts that Awaken the Heart.” Free.843-6812 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave., between Third and Fourth Streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 

654-6346 

Monday, Aug. 6

Intensive Production  

Urban Gardening Training 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Santa Fe Bar & Grill 

1310 University Ave. 

Growing Gourmet: A free urban gardening training & potluck lunch.  

Learn ways to intensively and organically grow produce for your own use or for an urban market garden. A hands-on training in the garden located behind the restaurant and potluck lunch at 1 p.m. Katherine Webb 

841-1110. 

Osteoporosis: How to put 

Bone Loss on Hold 

9 - 10 a.m. 

Summit Campus 

Cafeteria Annexes B & C 

350 Hawthorne Ave. in Oakland 

A free lecture by Dr. Elliot Schwartz, co-director of the Foundation for Osteoporosis Research and Education. Learn how to create a program that will help minimize bone loss.  

Ellen Carroll: 869-6737. 

Tuesday, Aug. 7 

Intelligent Conversation  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will center on sex and drugs: Free will? Must laws be obeyed? Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free  

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 Don, 525-3565 

Writing and Resistance  

In A Culture of Amnesia 

6 - 7:45 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Avenue 

Classroom #2 

Part of a workshop series on concepts and strategies for resistance through the spoken and written word, taught by Joyce E. Young. $12. 849-2568 www.lapena.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

Derby Street at MLK Jr. Way 

548-3333 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK) 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday morning. Call Ann, 655-8863 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited, call ahead for a reservation. 644-6109 

Strawberry Creek Daylighting 

Strategy Workshop 

6:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

Corporation Yard Green Room 

1326 Allston Way 

A workshop to develop an effective strategy for promoting the daylighting of Strawberry Cree. Call to RSVP at 848-4008 or bjanet@earthlink.net 

— compiled by Guy Poole 

Wednesday, Aug. 8

A Day at the Beach 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Part of the Lawrence Hall of Science Wednesday FUN-days. Build sand castles with sand sculptor Kirk Rademaker. Museum admission $3 - $7. 

642-5132 

— compiled by Guy Poole 

Thursday, Aug. 9

Ancient Native Sites of the East Bay 

7:30 p.m. 

Room 160 Kroeber Hall, University of California Campus 

Sean Dexter, archaeologist, will discuss the recent Data Recovery Program at the Emeryville Shellmound/South Bayfront site. Jakki Kehl, a Mutsun Ohlone, will discuss protecting cultural resources by developing partnerships and encouraging good stewardship of the land. $10 

841-2242 

Salsa Dance Classes 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Classes every Thursday with live percussionists, light refreshments, DJ playing Latin music. $10 or $15 for two. 

237-9874 

Sea Kayaking 

7 p.m. 

REI 

1338 San Pablo Avenue 

Learn about the best sea kayaking spots in Northern California from Roger Schumann and Jan Shriner. Free. 

527-4140 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Kensington 55+ Activity Center 

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Social Hall of Arlington Community Church 

52 Arlington Ave. 

Conversation, Apple II computer instruction, massage therapy, German conversation group, meditation and relaxation techniques, watercolor art class, tea and coffee. Special 11 a.m. program: Safety, Pat Caftel presents Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness. For more information call 526-9146 or 547-1969. 

New power plants - get ready for assault on environment 

The Daily Planet received this letter addressed to the mayor and council: 

The brisk, cool breezes smelled fresh the last few days. Usually, our breezes arrive more from the west, according to maps at the city library... Except in winter months. 

After the new power plant in Hayward goes into operation, will the south breezes seem fresh and clean to our delicate senses? 

The State Energy Commission holds hearings soon; do we all feel softened up for this new potential assault on the environment? Will our beautiful East Bay become the latest heavy industrial center? Guess how big the plant may be? Want to pick its color? Shall we plant a couple trees? Will it hummmm, day and night? 

Maybe the local media already explored and exhausted the relevant impacts. Doesn’t that word, “impact,” have a kind of stimulating thump to it, like exploding refineries, deep-throated, belching smokestacks, and the like. 

Terry Cochrell 

Berkeley 

Union support of Arctic drilling is shocking 

The Daily Planet received this letter addressed to John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO: 

I come from a working class labor union family. Several weeks ago I was spending time in discussion convincing a student about the importance of unions. 

Now today I hear on the news that the AFL-CIO has backed the drilling for oil in the Arctic. I was stunned. My parents who are passed-on would be stunned. 

Growing up as a child of union workers who grew up during the depression had taught us not to waste resources and to take care of things and to have a respect and reverence for nature. I have acted upon that within my adult life.  

These values – when I act upon them in advocating for using less and protecting what gives us life--has pegged me as as an “other” as in one of “those environmentalists.” This caring for the earth and the ecosystems that support life has been denounced by many of who wish to continue to exploit or consume more than necessary. 

Long Term Sustainable Jobs that have been created with new technologies replacing the one time extraction concept that does not provide permanent jobs. We have the amazing technological know how to create options that profit the well being of the earth. 

Is that student’s analysis correct? – does labor have “a myopic self interest that does not care about the impact we are having on the planet and continue to suck up to the Oil industry bosses that always throws them crumbs?  

If industry came from a place of justice to begin with we would not need unions!” How can one argue that truth? 

I personally have cut my fuel consumption 75 percent and am walking more to save fuel in contrast to the urban consumers who own SUV’s, many that I see parked outside the high tech gyms and quite a few parked outside REI with what a paradox!)mountain bikes strapped to them!  

We can save the wild Arctic Refuge, one of the last keystone ecosystems & migratory paths for many species by just simply cutting back unnecessary trips and trading in gas guzzling SUV’s for similar but fuel efficient vehicles.  

The Bush energy plan IGNORED energy efficiency, fuel economy, global warming and alternative to fossil fuels.  

It is not about wild places or our justification using wild places as a commodity for our consumption,it is about how we have taken the concept of “stewardship” for self to satisfy wants vs. needs. 

We are so busy with our human pursuits that we cannot see that many species and ecosystems that are life support systems to the planet now need a helping hand. 

“We are the fire which burns the country” - Bantu Proverb 

Redwood Mary 

Berkeley 

7-story building to support arts, housing and Brower center 

Editor: 

I was pleased to see your story (7/31/01) concerning the arts center proposed to be part of the David Brower building at the Oxford Street Parking Lot. I’d like to clarify a few of the points in Ben Lumpkin’s excellent article.  

What Kind of Arts Center? – We are proposing a center that would encompass all of the arts. The Berkeley Performing Arts Center would present a wide variety of the traditional performing arts -- theater, dance, and music -- while our partner, the Berkeley Art Center, would manage a fine arts facility with an art gallery and classroom space for art education.  

We’re very excited by the prospect of having visual arts, performing arts, book-readings, poetry, film, and the other arts, all bumping into each other and interacting in the same building.  

How Big is the Arts Center? -- We’ve been talking about a 30,000 sq ft facility. This would include a 420-set theater, a 99-seat theater, a smaller “black-box” multi-purpose theater, a cabaret/restaurant, and 3,000 sq ft for the Berkeley Art Center. That figure needs some clarifying; the actual floor space, including room for bathrooms and administrative areas, would be around 15,000 sq ft. The rest of the square footage – known a “gross floor area” – would be from the 20-30-foot ceiling height required by the theater spaces.  

How Big Should the Brower Building Be? – This may turn out to be the critical question. The 5-story building proposed by the Planning Commission clearly would not be large enough to contain the Brower Center, two floors of affordable housing, retail space, and a substantial arts center. We would like to see the building get bigger – at least seven stories, maybe more. Housing advocates and urban environmentalists agree with us that the site is appropriate for a well-designed taller building.  

The City Council has asked the City staff to study the feasibility of a larger arts space and a larger building, and we hope that this study will lead to something more substantial than the Planning Commission’s version. 

We hope you’ll continue covering this story as it develops. We’re confident that we’ll end up with a first-class arts center that Berkeley can be proud of.  

Mickey Tenenbaum 

Chairman, Berkeley Performing Arts 

Berkeley 

Cigarettes and Walgreens - a perfect match 

Editor:  

Where on earth did the Berkeley Tobacco Coalition get the idea that Walgreens selling cigarettes is somehow contradictory?  

There's not a single item on any of their shelves that has anything remotely to do with health. A wide variety of junk food, dangerous drugs, chemical applications and toxic household products keeps the money flowing, but has compromised our health, weakened our children's immunity and drained our vitality.  

How many of us are willing to change our degenerative American diet and lifestyle; to take personal responsibility for their health (and children's health)? 

Michael Bauce 

Berkeley 

Editor: 

It's touchy at best, but we have to look at ourselves and see how our 

well-intentioned policies have created damages to our 

communities. We've tried to see crime by people who, in our society, have long been 

abused because of their color in a different 

light, taking into account their oppression. Berkeley has gone so overboard in this 

direction as to come up with the kind of 

problem we're seeing when looking at the Lakireddy situation. Their crime is being 

reviewed as though their excuses have some 

merit. 

Their excuses are subtended by Berkeley's traditional concern with their community's 

calling us racist. They are also using the 

customs/culture argument although in roundabout language. '...it is our 

custom/culture...' to rape/abuse girls/women/poor 

people/people who are back in the villages providing us our support so we can keep 

abusing them all. 

These murdering rapists need to be set away from our troubled society for the rest 

of their lives. We need to be protected against 

this kind of monstrosity. It's bad enough we grow it locally, on our own, without 

it having to appear that since it's done 

elsewhere, there's any rationale for it, or that its perpetrators can be reformed. 

The people who have done these terrible acts 

have been here long enough to perceive that their actions, while occurring around 

here,too, are no way acceptable, and were not 

only criminal but brutal, sexist and age-ist as well. 

If we'd clean up in one place, we might begin to render justice further in our 

community. These arguments for these intolerable 

actors are vomitous - I get literally ill seeing us protect that behavior in any 

way, any where. 

Yours truly, 

Norma J F Harrison 

1312 Cornell 

Berkeley 94702 Ca., USA 

1-510-527-9584 

normaha@pacbell.net 

When local composer Phil Freihofner first saw the classic silent film “Der Golem” (Germany, 1920), it struck him that this film needed an appropriate musical soundtrack. 

He had been arranging music for a double-reed quartet for several years and decided to apply what he had learned to this project.  

The result will be presented Sunday at the Fine Arts Cinema, when a quartet of two oboes, English horn and bassoon will play Freihofner’s evocative score while the movie is screened.  

This performance is in the tradition of the time of the movie’s release, when cinema theaters were the biggest employers of musicians.  

Nowadays we tend to believe that silent films were generally accompanied by a solo keyboard player, but this is actually a result of financial pressures during the declining years of silent films, rather than aesthetics. 

Recently the Clubfoot Orchestra and other bands have been exploring the possibilities of composing and performing scores for silent films. Freihofner’s work further develops this concept in a different orchestration. 

The Golem was a clay man brought to life by sorcery. It was created to protect the Jewish community of Prague against attacks by Christians.  

Of course there are problems with controlling and decommissioning the monster. The film also introduces a love story and court intrigue to add drama.  

Freihofner calls up some of the moods of Dukas’ “Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” klezmer tunes, Chopin mazurkas and even Wagnerian melodrama, all the while utilizing original material and skillful manipulation of the limited resources of a quartet of woodwinds.  

He conceived of the film as occurring in three worlds: the Jewish ghetto, the ruling Court, and the world of Magic. So the various scenes and moods are addressed differently in each world, while maintaining a sense of organic wholeness by invoking motivic links between the worlds. 

Fans of virtuoso technique should know that the lead oboe parts will be performed by Mark Weiger from the famous double reed quartet “Wizards.” Some sections require serious chops, but mostly the music does not call attention to itself in a way which might distract the audience away from the action on the screen. 

Also worthy of attention are the occasional moments of silence in the score. The composer understands the value of a pause for the audience to hear the eery reaction of the film catching its breath. 

Although many in the audience will consider this event a music concert with a film providing context for the composition being played, others will be amazed by the stunning visual spectacle, and may even allow the music to become incidental commentary on this unique film.  

Clearly many aspects of this film influenced “Frankenstein” and other monster films. The sinister curves of the interior sets and the stylized costumes offer plenty of eye candy to divert the attention away from the music. 

Yet those audience members will derive the most pleasure who manage to integrate the two into a kind of “Gesamtkunstwerk”, an integrated work of art, which Wagner was always striving to produce.  

This soundtrack can clearly stand by itself as a piece of music, but it is so clearly intended to augment a specific flow of imagery, action and emotions.  

Freihofner intends to be a trailblazer in the way he distributes the score.  

Whoever rents the film will have the option of also renting the score to be played live by four musicians, so other audiences might have a chance to experience this enhanced and improved film. 

This presentation might be just the beginning.  

If this instigates a happy trend of restoring appropriate live music to silent films, Sunday’s performance will be an important premiere.

924 Gilman St. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Aug. 4: Toxic Narcotic, Menstrual Tramps, Emo Summer, Four Letter Word, Shitty Wickets; Aug 10: 90 Day Men, Assembly of God, Strong Intention, Under a Dying Sun; Aug 11: Toys That Kill, Scared of Chakra, Soophie Nun Squad, Debris; Aug 12: 5 p.m. Citizen Fish, J-Church, Eleventeen. $5. 924 Gilman St. 525-9926. 

Anna’s Place Aug. 4, 11 and every Saturday night 10:30 p.m. - midnight, Ducksan Distones. The following play at 8 p.m. – Aug. 4, Robin Gregory and Bliss Rodriguez; Aug. 5: “Danubius,” Hungarian quartet; Aug. 6: “The Renegade Sidemen;” Aug. 7: open mic.1801 University Ave. 849-2662.  

Ashkenaz Aug. 5: 9 p.m. Roots Reggae featuring Groundation and Tchiya Amet. $10. 11317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5099 www.ashkenaz.com 

Eli’s Mile High Club Doors open at 8 p.m. Every Friday, 10 p.m. - 2 a.m., Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Split Shankin and Funky Man. $10; 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight and Salvage Coffee House All music at 8 p.m. Aug 4: Adam Levy, Will Bernard; Aug 5: MonTango; Aug 6: Frank Yamma; Aug 8: San Francisco Klezmer Experience; Aug 9: John Renbourn; Aug 10: Jody Stecher, Kate Brislin; Aug 11: Al Stewart. $16.50 - $19.50. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jupiter Aug. 4: Solomon Grundy, from Orange County, combining jazz, calypso, and world beat; Aug. 7: Joshi Marshal Project, jazz, soul and hiphop; Aug. 8: Broun Fellini’s, jazz/funk/hiphop grooves; Aug. 9: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu and Add1; Aug. 10: Steven Emerson, singer/songwriter mixes cool jazz and sweat soul; Aug. 11: J Dogs, funk-soul; Aug. 14: Chris Shot Group, folk-rock and soul combo; Aug. 15: Lithium House, electro/drum & bass styles with live jazz; Aug. 16: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu and Add1; Aug. 17: The Mind Club, Old school funk grooves with sonic swirls of acid jazz; Aug. 18: Blue & Tan, Bassist Vicki Grossi brings in the crew for elctro-acid-jazz funk stylings; All music starts at 8:00 p.m. www.jupiterbeer.com; or call the hotline: THE-ROCK. 843-7625  

La Peña Cultural Center Aug 4: 8 p.m. Grito Serpentino, Small Axe Project, Jime Salcedo-Malo & Leticia Hernandez $10; Aug 5: 7 p.m. Insight in concert $10; Aug 10: 8:30 p.m. Ire $8; Aug 11: 9:30 p.m. Fito Reynoso’s Ritmo y Armonia. $10, $13 for dance class starting at 8:15; Aug 12: 5, 7:30 p.m. “Say Yo Business” Linda Tillery & The Cultural Heritage Choir. $18 in advance, $20 at the door. In the Cafe, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 

La Note/Jazzschool Aug 5: 4:30 p.m. Vocalists’ Series (Denine Monet), 5:30 p.m. Instrumentalists’ Series (Pelo Mar); Aug 12: 4:30 p.m. The Freedom Project, 5:30 Eli Sundelson Trio. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

Shattuck Down Low Lounge Every Tuesday: 9:30 p.m., Posh Tuesdays with DJ’s Yamu, Delon, Add1, and Tequila Willie. Shattuck at Allston. www.thebeatdownsound.com  

Downtown Restaurant and Bar August 6: 7 p.m. Jesse Colin Young of the sixties hit group, The Youngbloods, will be performing at a No Nukes evening, sponsored by Greenpeace. The evening commemorates the 56th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The proceeds go to Tri-Valley CAREs and Citizen Alert. Tickets are $100. 2102 Shattuck Ave. 800-728-6223 

The Greek Theatre Aug. 4: 7 p.m., The String Cheese Incident, $29.75. Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road 444-TIXS, or (415) 421-TIXS www.sfx.com 

Ali Akbar College of Music Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m. A concert of Indian classical music. Rita Sahai, vocals; Rachel Untersher, violin; Madhukar Malayanur, tabla; $20 general; $15 students. St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave., (415) 454-6264 or www.aacm.org 

Yoshi’s Aug. 4 and Aug. 5. Oregon, World jazz fusion. $18 to $22 general; Sunday matinee, $10 adult with one child and $5 children; Aug. 7. Claudia Acuna $14; Aug. 8 through Aug. 12: Steve Turre Quintet, trombone and conch shell master in small group setting. Wednesday and Thursday, $18; Friday and Saturday, $22; Sunday matinee, $5 kids, $10 adults with one child, $18 general; Sunday, $22. Unless otherwise noted, music at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. 238-9200 or 762-2277 www.yoshis.com 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts Aug 4: 8 p.m. “Cuatro maestros Touring Festival” two-hour theatrical event of music and dance performed by four elder folk artists and their talented young counterparts. Adults $18 Children $12; Aug. 10: 7:30 p.m. & Aug. 11, 12, 5 p.m. Campers from Stage Door Conservatory’s “On Broadway” program for grades 5-9 will perform Fiddler on the Roof, Jr. $12 adults, $8 kids. 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 ext. 302 

“The Great Sebastians” Through Aug. 11: Friday and Saturday evenings 8 p.m. plus Thursday, Aug. 9, presented by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. A tale about a mind-reading act touring behind the Iron Curtain. A communist general believes the act and “invites” the Sebastians to his villa where the humor and excitement follows. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck (at Berryman). For reservations call 528-5620 

“Iphegenia in Aulis” Through Aug. 12: Sat. and Sun. 5 p.m. Special dawn performance on August 12 at 7 a.m. A free park performance by the Shotgun Players of Euripides’ play about choices and priorities. With a masked chorus, singing, dancing, and live music. Feel free to bring food and something soft to sit on. John Hinkel Park, Southhampton Place at Arlington Avenue (different locations July 7 and 8). 655-0813 

“The Lady’s Not for Burning” Through Aug. 4: 8 p.m. Set in the 15th century, a soldier wishes to be hanged and a witch does not want to be burned at the stake. Written by Christopher Fry, directed by Susannah Woods. $5 - $10. South Berkeley Community Church 1802 Fairview st. 464-1117 

“Loot” Through Aug 25, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m. Special Performance Aug 20, 8:00 p.m. General Admission: $15, Students / Seniors: $10 La Val’s 1834 Euclid Avenue 655-0813 

“Orphans” Through Aug. 5: Fri. and Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Lyle Kessler’s dark comedy about a mysterious stranger invading the home of two orphaned brothers. $15. The Speakeasy Theater, 2016 Seventh St. 326-8493 

“Reefer Madness” Aug. 8, 9, Aug. 22, 23: 9 p.m. A new one-act theatre piece adapted from a 1936 government-funded film opens a critical eye to the control of our society. Performed by The Elemental Theatre Group La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Avenue. Wednesdays are “pay what you can,” Thursdays $5 - $10. Contact Zachary Rouse or Tisha Sloan for more info at 655-4150 

“Romeo & Juliet” Aug 11 - Sep 2, Tuesdays - Thursdays. Bruns Memorial Amphitheater. Shakespeare’s classic about a young couple that meets, falls in love and dies in just five days. Adults: $22 - $41 youth (under 16): $12 - $41. 

“Barnum” Through Aug. 12. The story of legendary circusmaster P.T. Barnum, with plenty of musical theater and circus acrobatics. Splash Circus’ aspiring young circus artists will perform an hour before each show. $15 to $27. Friday through Sunday, 8 p.m. Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland. 531-9597 www.woodminster.com 

Films 

Pacific Film Archive Aug 4: 7 p.m. Human Desire, 8:50 p.m. Hangmen Also Die; Aug 5: 3 p.m. The Yearling, 5:30 p.m The Woman Who Touched Legs; Aug 7: 7:30 p.m. Figures of Motion; Aug 8: 7:30 p.m. Confessions of an Opium Eater; Aug 9: 7:30 p.m. The Return of Frank James; Aug 10: 7 p.m. Alone on the Pacific, 9:05 p.m. Her Brother; Aug 11: 7 p.m. While the City Sleeps, 9 p.m. Beyong a Reasonable Doubt; Aug 12: 3 p.m. Charlotte’s Web, 5:30 p.m. Tokyo Olympiad. New PFA Theatre 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

“7th annual Brainwash Movie Festival” Aug. 3-5: (bring a chair) at the Pyramid Ale brewery, 901 Gilman Street 527-9090 ext. 218. Festival Pass: $30, Individual tickets: online: $8, door: $10 

“Lumumba” Aug. 10 at Shattuck Cinemas. Biogrophy of the slain African political figure Patrice Lumumba. In French with English subtitles. 

“Roommates” Aug. 12. Max Apple’s true story of his immigrany grandfather who moved in with him when he was in college (in the 60’s). Peer led discussion following movie. $2 Suggested donation. Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 1414 Walnut Street 848-0237 

Exhibits 

“BACA National Juried Exhibition: Works on Paper” Through August 31: Wed. - Sun. Noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893 

“Bernard Maisner: Illuminated Manuscripts and Paintings” Through Aug. 8 Maisner works in miniature as well as in large scales, combining his mastery of medieval illumination, gold leafing, and modern painting techniques. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library 2400 Ridge Road 849-2541 

“Debbie Moore’s Autobiographical Paintings” Through Sep 30 at Good Vibrations. Portraits of the artist’s sensual explorations spanning 25 years and reflecting changing ways of intimacy and body play. 2504 San Pablo Avenue 848-1985 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910” chronicles the transformation of the city of Berkeley in this 10 year period. Thursday through Saturday, 1 – 4 p.m. Through September. Berkeley History Center, Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center St. Wheelchair accessible. 848-0181. Free.  

“A Fine Line” Through August 24, Tuesday - Friday, noon - 5 p.m. or by appointment. An exhibition works by Kala Fellowship winners for the years 2000 and 2001. Kala Art Institute 1060 Heinz Avenue 549-2977 

“Geographies of My Heart” Collage paintings by Jennifer Colby through August 24; Flora Lamson Hewlett Library 2400 Ridge Road 649-2541 

“MFA Survey Exhibition 2001” third annual exhibition of works of recent graduates from Bay Area master of Fine Art programs. This year featuring artists working in three-dimentional media. Through Aug 18 Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth Street 527-1214 

“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 

“New Visions: Introductions 2001” Through Aug. 18: Wed. - Sat.: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Juried by Artist- Curator Rene Yanez and Robbin Henderson, Executive Director of the Berkeley Art Center, the exhibition features works from some of California’s up-and-coming artists. Pro Arts 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9425 

“Sistahs: Ethnofraphic Ceramics” through Aug. 22, Reception July 29 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Womens Cancer Resource Center Gallery 3023 Shattuck Avenue 548-9286 ext. 307 

“Ten Years Here” Exhibit celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Turn of the Century Fine Arts. Aug. 4 - Sept. 14, Sat & Sun 1-5 p.m. Reception Aug 4 2:00 - 7:00 p.m. 2510 San Pablo Avenue 849-0950 

Readings 

Boadecia’s Books Aug 4: Dyke Open Myke! Coffeehouse-style open mike night featuring both established and emerging talent; Aug 10 Susann Cokal reads from her novel “Mirabilis” set in 14th-century France; Aug 11: Trina Robbins discusses her latest work “Eternally Bad: Goddesses with Attitute”. All events start at 7:30 p.m. and are free. 398 Colusa Avenue 559-9184 

Black Oak Books Aug 8: William Turner discusses his new memoir “Rearview Mirror: Looking Back at the FBI, the CIA and Other Tails”; Aug 9: Robert Clark reads from his new novel “Love Among the Ruins”; Aug 15: Molly Giles reads from her debut novel “Iron Shoes”. All shows at 7:30 p.m. free of charge. 1491 Shattuck Avenue 486-0698 

Cody’s Books Aug 5: Justin Chin, Gerry Gomez Pearlberg; Aug 8: Jane Mead, Mark Turpin. $2 donation. Readings at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-0837 

Cafe de la Paz “Poetry Nitro” Weekly poetry open mike. Aug 6: featuring Andrena zawinski. 6:30 p.m. sign-up, 7 p.m. reading. 1600 Shattuck Ave. 843-0662  

Coffee Mill Poetry Series Aug. 7: Featured readers JC and Bert Glick. 7-9 p.m.; August 21: Featured Readers: Victoria Joyce and Therese Bamberger; Both 7-9 p.m. Free. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland for info. (510)465-3935 or (510)526-5985, or Email: ksdgk@earthlink.net 

Tours 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Fridays 9:30 - 11:45 a.m. or by appointment. Call ahead to make reservations. Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387 

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

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins. $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. (closed Sundays, Memorial Day through Labor Day) Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

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 will close its exhibition galleries for renovation on October 1. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until October 1, 2001: “Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture.” “Sites Along the Nile: Rescuing Ancient Egypt.” “The Art of Research: Nelson Graburn and the Aesthetics of Inuit Sculpture.” “Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Photographs by George Foster.”  

$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 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

Lawrence Hall of Science “Science in Toyland,” through Sept. 9. Exhibit uses toys to demonstrate scientific principles and to help develop children's thinking processes. Susan Cerny’s collection of over 200 tops from around the world. “Space Weather,” through Sept. 2. Learn about solar cycles, space weather, the cause of the Aurorae and recent discoveries made by leading astronomers. This interactive exhibit lets visitors access near real-time data from the Sun and space, view interactive videos and find out about a variety of solar activities. “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. “Saturday Night Stargazing,” First and third Saturdays each month. 8 - 10 p.m., LHS plaza. Space Weather Exhibit now - Sept. 2; now - Sept. 9 Science in Toyland; Saturdays 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. $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. “How Big Is the Universe?” Aug. 1 through Aug. 24. Learn how to determine the distance of celestial objects, one of the purposes of the Hubble Space Telescope. Daily, 2:15 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, 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 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  

The UC Berkeley Art Museum is closed for renovations until the fall. 

Send arts events two weeks in advance to Calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.net, 2076 University, Berkeley 94704 or fax to 841-5694. 

Initial results of a Harrison Park air study confirmed predictions that airborne particulate matter has increased over the soccer field and alarmed some city officials with an increase as much as 60 percent above state-recommended levels. 

“I expected higher numbers, but was surprised at the level of increase,” said Hazardous Materials Supervisor Nabil Al-Hadithy. 

Parks and Waterfront Director Lisa Caronna cautioned that the findings are preliminary and there is still more testing to be done.  

“We don’t have all the data yet and when we do, we will take whatever is the most appropriate action.” 

The $40,000 study began at the newly-finished soccer field July 1 and will continue for 11 months. The data for the month of July was released Aug. 2 and is considered preliminary. The study will be carried out over the course of a year to monitor air quality under all kinds of weather conditions. 

A 1997 study has been criticized by members of the Community Environmental Advisory Commission as insufficient because it was conducted over a period of only two days. 

The city contracted with private consultant Applied Measurement Science to perform the study. The contract called for analysis of two different sizes of particulate matter. The study will also analyze the air for traces of the carcinogen chromium 6. 

The two particulates are Particulate Matter 10 (PM10), which are particles about 10 micrograms in size, and the even smaller Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5), which is 2.5 micrograms in size, or about one-seventh the width of a strand of hair, according to Bay Area Air Quality Management District spokesperson Ralph Borrmann. 

Particulate matter is small airborne pieces of liquid or solid matter that comes from a variety of sources, but is most often associated with exhaust from automobiles, according to Borrmann.  

Eric Winegar, who is carrying out the analysis for Applied Measurement Science, said the equipment he was using to measure PM2.5 was not working correctly so the results are unavailable. But he did provide a month’s worth of data on PM10. 

Both particulates can infiltrate the lungs but the more dangerous of the two is PM2.5 because it is so small it can deeply penetrate the membranes in the lungs.  

“PM2.5 is more of a sensitive issue for people who are more naturally sensitive to respiratory problems such as children, seniors and those who suffer from respiratory problems,” Borrmann said. “It can increase the frequency and severity of asthma attacks and bronchitis for example.” 

The initial test results show that on nine occasions in July, the levels of PM10 rose above the state Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended level of .050 micrograms per cubic meter. In one case, on July 2, the 24-hour average was 35 micrograms or 60 percent above what the state regards as acceptable.  

Al-Hadithy said he can’t say whether the high numbers constitute a health hazard until a toxicologist examines the test results. 

According to an Aug. 2 staff report from the Toxics Management Division, there was an expectation of higher numbers because the field is located near a section of Interstate 80 that was recently widened, which resulted in a 20-percent increase in the traffic volume during heavy commute times. Another 18-percent increase is estimated by 2005 according to the report. 

The initial results show the worst times of day at the soccer field are between 10 a.m. and noon. The hours caused Community Environmental Advisory Commissioner LA Wood to speculate the particulates were coming from the city’s refuse transfer station located next to the park at Harrison and Second streets or perhaps from two industrial sites in the area. 

Al-Hadithy said the monitoring equipment was placed in an area where it would be close to the transfer station and the freeway so test results would show a “worst case scenario.” 

“I’m very interested in the sources of the particulate matter,” Wood said. “I’m surprised that there’s no mention of the possibility of Berkeley Asphalt or Pacific Steel as possible contributors.” 

Both businesses are within three blocks of the playing field. 

Wood also said he was suspicious of the faulty equipment that was unable to produce the more hazardous PM2.5 results. 

“There’s two things that make me wonder if the city is sitting on more results, the test has been going on for the last month and there should be more information then what’s been released,” he said, “and the city’s historic tendency to sweep air issues related to Harrison Park under the carpet.”

When he speaks about the book he wrote in 1999, Ken Moshesh describes it as the narration of a tragedy, his tragedy.  

It is the story of a man who once taught at UC Berkeley and is now a homeless person banned from campus. 

“It’s an insider look at what this situation is like in terms that a person that hasn’t experienced it would hopefully be able to relate to it,” he said holding one of the three existing copies of his manuscript – “Cobblestoning Quicksand Mazes.” 

Since he was arrested for sleeping outdoors Jan. 18, Moshesh has been one of the most vocal advocates for Berkeley’s approximately 1,000 homeless people. After his arrest, he decided to challenge the constitutionality of the so-called “lodging law,” which forbids people to sleep on any property without the owner’s permission. He soon became the leader of an active campaign against the criminalization of the homeless in Berkeley. 

Within a few months, the movement registered two important victories. In April, the City Council voted for a moratorium of the enforcement of the lodging law, and earlier this month a local judge ruled the law unconstitutional in Moshesh’s case. 

But Moshesh’s activism started much earlier. Like many people of his generation, he first got involved in social movements in the 1960s. 

Born in Oakland in 1946 as the second child of a family of 10 children, Moshesh grew up in a low-income environment but made his way through to higher education. He received a degree in sociology and teaching credentials at UC Berkeley, while participating in the People’s Park movement.  

Ever since these days of protest and strategic meetings on the rooftops of Telegraph Avenue, Moshesh has had one purpose in life: to make sure that even the most disadvantaged sector of the population has equal opportunities. 

“Even if I had managed to go through coming from a very large very poor family I realized that the actual instruction was not set up for a person like me,” he said. “So I was trying to make it more likely for persons coming from my background to reach their goals.” 

With this mission in mind he later became one of the co-founders of the African American studies program at the university’s Department of Ethnic Studies and a teacher in Oakland’s elementary schools. 

“My goal was to bring the university closer to the community rather than move it, in an elitist manner, away from it,” said Moshesh who also advocated in favor of early childhood education. “We needed an effective feeder system to get our students where they were to be.” 

Harvey Dong from the Ethnic Studies Department remembers Moshesh as a level-headed person who taught martial arts and Asian philosophy. He also remembers his political fire.  

“There were a lot of African-American students who were involved in establishing Ethnic Studies at that time and they put in a lot of time and energy to fight for the department,” he said. “When there were problems in terms of funding, Moshesh got himself involved supporting the students.” 

Moshesh’s ideas on education however were not always appreciated. Increasing discrepancies between his views and the administration’s goals ultimately forced him to leave the Ethnic Studies Department in 1972. The same happened 14 years later with the Oakland school district. 

Moshesh soon found a new way to serve the community. In 1986 he started working in low-income housing construction in west Oakland. But by that time serious issues that affected him for years had become hardly manageable. In Moshesh’s mind, these problems were in large part the result of the FBI counterintelligence’s effort to stop his activism. “Quite a few people were commissioned to do whatever they could to stop people who were involved in creating social change,” he said. Moshesh said his family members were involved in drug trafficking. He thinks they were bribed into intimidating him. Among other things, he said he was attacked several times on his work site. He consequently quit his job and became homeless. That was in 1993.  

Moshesh receives Supplemental Security Income benefits for a mental disability. 

Since then, Moshesh has found ways to write a book, work with a multi-media publication specializing in low-income issues called Poor Magazine and make seven video films on homelessness. One of them, “Endangering the Species,” won an award for excellence at Berkeley Video Festival last year. 

His style combines images, prose, poetry and music. Creativity, Moshesh thinks, is the best vehicle for his fight for social justice.

Some 140,000 people died as a result of the atomic bomb dropped Aug. 6, 1945 on Hiroshima, Japan. Others were burned, blinded, became diseased and scarred for life. 

Bay Area anti-nuclear activists say they haven’t forgotten. And they don’t want others to forget. They say they also haven’t forgotten that it was the University of California’s Los Alamos Lab that built the bomb. 

Physicians for Social Responsibility, Women for Peace, the Circle of Concern and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom are holding a vigil Sunday to commemorate the bombing. 

The vigil is on the grounds of UC Berkeley, because the campus is part of the University of California system. Vigil organizers are calling on the university to cut its ties with the Los Alamos laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where nuclear weapons are researched and designed. 

A UC spokesperson, however, defends the labs’ role as a “public service.” He argues that possession of a nuclear arsenal is, in fact, a deterrent to their use. 

Margaret Olney of Berkeley has helped organize the annual vigil every year since its beginnings in 1979. “We want to stop the university from managing the weapons labs,” she said. “By managing the labs, it gives all its prestige to building the weapons.” 

The coalition of anti-nuclear groups has demanded that the university sponsor televised public debates on its role in overseeing the weapons work. UC Berkeley held the first of three forums in the spring. It wasn’t televised, however. 

The forum was a good beginning, Olney said, but there are a number of topics still to be addressed in the public arena: What’s the effect of fear of nuclear war as the main deterrent? she asked. “What’s the relationship between inner and outer violence? and, how much is spent on weapons that could be spent on more productive things?” 

Jeff Garberson, University of California spokesperson on laboratory issues, explained the long history of the university’s involvement with the labs. In Berkeley, the Radiation Laboratory was set up by the university on the campus in 1929. (Today the national labs in Berkeley are off campus and do not do nuclear weapons research or design, according to lab personnel.) 

The Los Alamos Lab was founded in World War II and is credited with creating the first atomic bomb. The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory was set up in 1952, during the cold war. 

Why does the university manage the labs? “In a historic sense, the United States needed someone with expertise in managing complex laboratories,” Garberson said. “The university felt as a public service it should respond to the government (request.) We’re proud of the public service, done for a nation which wants this work to be done and done well.” 

The vigil is Sunday at the west entrance to the UC Berkeley Campus. At 1 p.m., there will be a silent vigil, remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki; at 2 p.m., there will be speakers from physicians for social responsibility, the Berkeley City Council, and the Circle of Concern. For information, call 849-3020 or 848-8055. 

The 800 block of Delaware Street is the location of the first settlement in Berkeley that grew into a true community.  

In the 19th century, Delaware Street connected Jacob’s Landing (1853) with Bowen’s Inn (1854) on the old Contra Costa Road (now San Pablo Avenue). The block is a city historic district and the pioneer feeling of the streetscape is still somewhat intact.  

The community that developed in the vicinity of Delaware Street was called Ocean View because from here the ocean was visible through the Golden Gate. Remnants of 19th century Ocean View still exist.  

Queen Anne houses and workman’s cottages are scattered on surrounding streets. Some are still on their original lots, while others were moved or raised to accommodate new uses.  

The house at1814 Sixth St. was built around 1880. The small single-story structure sits on its original lot and has not been altered.  

The first floor is raised above the street about four feet to protect it from flooding, which was once common in west Berkeley.  

It is interesting to note the care given to the decorative details of this tiny home, which is only 20 feet wide by 30 feet deep.  

The most prominent elements of the cottage are the two tall sash windows containing eight lights surrounded by wide wood moldings.  

The windows are capped with an elaborate hood molding which has curved brackets, floral carvings, dentils, and molded framed paneling.  

There are carved wood moldings on either side of the entry, and above the front door is a transom window.  

Other Victorian elements include channel siding and an open gable with five triangular brackets. Although it is not known who built this house, it is known that Thomas Andrews was living next door at 1812 Sixth Street with his wife, Annie, in 1880.  

Such information is sometimes found in old city directories, block books, and voter registrations available at the Oakland Public Library’s History Room or the Bancroft Library.  

Susan Cerny writes “Berkeley Observed” in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural  

Heritage Association.

BERKELEY — Two weeks after being injured by fishing hooks and fishing lines, five brown pelicans hobbled out of their cages and jumped onto the rocks at the Berkeley Marina Thursday. 

About 50 pelicans have been brought to the rescue center so far this year. The birds get injured while diving for fish, winding up with the hooks embedded in their wings and fishing wire wrapped around their bodies. 

But not all of them can be saved. If fishing wire cuts off a bird’s leg or it is too emaciated, the pelican is euthanized, said Jay Holcomb, director of the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Cordelia. 

The rescue center is beginning a campaign to educate anglers that cutting fishing lines in the water or leaving hooks behind is dangerous for birds. Although the campaign will center in brown pelicans, because the are an endangered species, it stressed all birds that scour for fish are in danger. 

Brown pelicans were once on the brink of extinction from the effects of the pesticide DDT on breeding. They were listed as endangered in 1970 and the pesticide was banned in the United States two years later.

SAN FRANCISCO — Hundreds of dogs of all sizes and breeds gathered with their owners Friday outside City Hall to protest a proposed citywide dog policy tightening off-leash restrictions. 

The proposal by the city Recreation and Parks Department would set aside designated dog play areas within city parks. But opponents argue the rules are too restrictive. 

“What has raised dog-owners’ hackles is nearly a decade of tightening restrictions and narrowing options for off-leash recreation in the Bay Area,” said Laura Cavaluzzo, an organizer of the Critical Mutt rally. 

Siobhan Maize, 29, attended the event with her lab mix, Deacon. 

“I thought it was important to come today because I can see the attempts to control dogs getting out of control,” she said.  

“It’s very important for dogs to get off-leash and exercise and socialize with other dogs.” 

A spokeswoman for the parks department told the San Francisco Chronicle that the parks are in the first year of a 10-year capital improvement plan, which includes considering dog use at all parks. 

“There’s going to be a lot of things going on in the parks and off-leash areas are going to have to be a part of the change ... It’s going to take some compromises,” said spokeswoman Becky Ballinger. 

The draft proposal is open to public comment until Aug. 13. 

SACRAMENTO — A 41-year-old Turlock man charged with breaking into the state Capitol with his bare hands Friday has reignited a debate over Capitol security. 

The incident comes eight months after a man with a history of mental problems drove his fully loaded big rig into the Capitol’s south steps, killing himself and causing severe damage to the south porch when his truck burst into flames. 

On Friday, Antonio Richard Mariscal drove up to the Capitol’s west steps about 6:30 a.m., parked his compact car on the lawn, pushed through a reinforced window using his arms and hands, then crawled inside, the California Highway Patrol said. 

He was immediately stopped by two CHP officers on duty inside. 

“He became somewhat combative,” said Capt. Troy Abney, but carried no weapons and made no threats. 

The incident lends more credence to proposals to install vehicle barriers around the Capitol, said Jon Waldie, a spokesman for the Legislature’s Joint Rules Committee that oversees security there. 

The CHP has made recommendations to the committee in the wake of January’s assault, and those will be considered when lawmakers return from their summer break, Waldie said. 

“It’s pretty similar to past reports. They’re going to lean pretty strongly to some type of security,” he said. 

However, the CHP stopped short of recommending the Capitol grounds be fenced off as was proposed previously when security was reviewed, Waldie said. Instead, the focus has been on heavy concrete flower planters that would block vehicles while allowing pedestrians free access. 

While vehicle barriers might have stopped Mariscal from driving on to the lawn, the incident also raises concerns about how Mariscal was able to use his bare hands to push reinforced glass out of its frame, Waldie said. 

And that, in turn, highlights questions raised by many lawmakers over how to boost security without interfering with the public’s right of access to their state Capitol. 

“If he’d waited a half-hour, he could have walked in,” Waldie said. The building opens to the public at 7 a.m. 

The rules committee’s consideration of new security measures has been delayed while legislators were preoccupied with the budget and energy crisis, Waldie said, but will likely be given new urgency by Friday’s break-in. 

Abney declined comment on Capitol security arrangements. 

He said Mariscal sustained minor cuts and was treated by a CHP paramedic at the scene. He was booked into Sacramento County Jail on charges of burglary and resisting arrest. No bail had been set pending a Tuesday court appearance. Mariscal made no statements to police. 

“It does appear he was acting alone,” Abney said. “We have no idea what his motivation was at this time.” 

Sgt. Mike Brock said there was no apparent connection to January’s incident. 

“There were no threats on anything like that – nothing even related to that incident that happened on the south steps (in January),” Brock said. 

Crime scene tape blocked the west steps Friday as workers cleaned up the broken glass. There was a board over the broken two feet wide-by-five feet tall window, and handprints on an adjacent unbroken window. 

Meanwhile, the attorney general’s office and Department of General Services are continuing negotiations with Salt Lake City-based Dick Simon Trucking Co. and its insurance carrier over reimbursement for repairs from January’s crash, said department spokesman Robb Deignan. 

The company supplied the rig and employed the driver, Mike Bowers, 37, of Hemet. The state wants the company or its insurer to pay the estimated $13.5 million in repairs. 

That’s lower than the earlier estimate of $16.5 million. Deignan said there was less cost to clean up interior water damage, and a smaller area on the outside of the Capitol that needed sandblasting and replacement of the granite facade. 

A heavily damaged Senate committee room is likely to be reopened at month’s end, he said. The entire restoration is scheduled for completion in May. 

PASADENA— NASA’s Galileo will swoop within 124 miles of the north pole of Io on Sunday, a close shave that may take the aging robotic spacecraft through a giant plume of volcanic gases erupting from the moon of Jupiter. 

The probe will make its closest approach to Io – the most volcanic body in the solar system – at 9:59 p.m. PDT on Sunday. Just seconds later, the spacecraft’s path should take it through an area where a giant volcanic plume was seen belching as high as 239 miles from the volcano Tvashtar in December. 

If the plume has persisted, the glitch-prone Galileo will fly through the top quarter of the column of gas. While volcanic ash can gum up jetliner engines here on Earth, the tenuous plume of gas should not damage Galileo. 

During the flyby, scientists expect Galileo to take readings of the moon to determine whether it produces its own magnetic field or if it is induced by Jupiter’s field. It will be two months before images and data from the flyby will be returned to Earth. 

It will mark the first of Galileo’s three passes by Io. Others are scheduled in October and January. After that, the $1.4 billion probe will swing past the tiny moon Amalthea before plunging to a fiery death in the crushing atmosphere of Jupiter in 2003. 

Galileo, launched in 1989, has orbited Jupiter since 1995. 

Io is the innermost of Jupiter’s four largest moons, discovered by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei – the Galileo spacecraft’s namesake – in 1610. 

The gravitational pull of nearby Jupiter tugs on the moon with tidal regularity, heating the moon and causing its tremendous volcanism. NASA scientists estimate as many as 300 volcanoes pock the surface of the moon, which is just slightly larger than the Earth’s moon. 

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On the Net: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/ 

SACRAMENTO — Despite being the only Republican holding statewide office, Secretary of State Bill Jones is battling lukewarm reception from his own party and scant financial support for his gubernatorial campaign. 

With seven months before the primary, the Jones campaign has less than $1 million in the bank – one-thirtieth of the amount amassed by Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and a third of that raised by Republican candidate William E. Simon Jr. 

And Jones’ potentially biggest political threat is yet to come. Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, a Republican with the personal wealth to rival Davis’ war chest and the backing of President Bush, has yet to say whether he will run for governor. 

“A lot of people in the political community and the contributing community are just hanging back,” said John Pitney Jr., a Claremont McKenna College government professor who studies Republican party activity. 

Riordan has said he will decide in the next 90 days whether to run, but he has formed an exploratory committee and is touring the state. 

Jones’ campaign chairman, former Gov. George Deukmejian, concedes that Riordan’s waiting to decide is affecting the campaign’s budget. 

“He is only helping Gray Davis, because many traditional contributors are waiting to see who all of the candidates are going to be,” Deukmejian said. 

But Deukmejian said Jones will focus on Davis’ handling of a statewide energy crisis and will “raise enough money to be victorious in the election.” Jones’ camp also plans to focus on the fact that Simon has never held a public office and Riordan has donated to Democratic campaigns including Davis’ in the past. 

In recent weeks, Jones has driven a barrage of news stories criticizing energy consultants and others in Davis’ office for having financial interest in energy companies. 

Some, including members of his own party in private, have questioned his using stationery and staff from his government office for press releases and events attacking Davis. 

Republican insiders say Jones’ campaign treasury simply won’t cut it in a predominantly Democratic state where he must advertise in two expensive television markets. 

Davis spent $35.3 million to get elected in 1998. He came from behind to beat two self-financed candidates, airline executive Al Checchi and Rep. Jane Harman, in the 1998 primary. The four major candidates for governor spent a combined $38 million, most of it on TV ads, in a two-month period before the 1998 primary. 

Politically, Pitney and others say Jones is fighting several other battles in his run for governor. He hails from Fresno, which provides a small support base compared to the Los Angeles home of Davis, Simon and Riordan. 

He lost backers – including Bush and his supporters – last year when he first endorsed Texas Gov. George W. Bush and then switched to back maverick GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona. And though he holds a constitutional office, secretary of state doesn’t attract much public attention. 

“When Republicans pull out their political Geiger counters, they detect radioactivity,” Pitney said. “They realize that, of all the people in California, Bill Jones is probably not the favorite of the Bush White House.” 

Still, Jones has support from some parts of the state’s largest industry, the agricultural community that made up the bulk of his campaign donations in the first six months of this year.  

He boasts years of government experience as a lawmaker and secretary of state. And he has proven he can collect votes from across a state where Democrats dominate. 

Jones campaign manager Rob Lapsley said it is too early in the race to write off Jones as a force. 

“We have between now and March 5 to build the resources that we need and we are absolutely confident that we will do that,” Lapsley said. 

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On the Net: Campaign finance reports at http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov and Jones’ campaign Web site at www.BillJones.org 

MODESTO — Rep. Gary Condit returned Friday to face an uncertain future with his California constituents, leaving behind growing unrest among his Washington colleagues. 

Arriving at San Francisco’s airport, Condit began his summer congressional recess the same way he has spent most of the past three months – avoiding photographers and the reporters who wanted to question him about affairs and missing intern Chandra Levy. 

He said nothing as he rolled his duffel bag toward an exit. He has not been publicly spotted since – not in Modesto at his home or office. 

One senior Democrat has pronounced his career over. California’s senior senator has said he lied to her. And his partner in forming a group of conservative Democrats has accused him of discrediting Congress. 

Still another California Democrat, Anna Eshoo, who had earlier defended Condit, said, “It’s hurtful to all of us. It’s held against the whole place.” 

Condit has maintained his public silence about Levy, although a police source has said he admitted to an affair with the 24-year-old constituent who was in Washington for a federal internship. 

Levy, 24, has been missing since early May, and police have no clues about her whereabouts. They have said that Condit is not a suspect in her disappearance, but they have interviewed him four times, taken a DNA sample and searched his apartment. 

Modesto residents say they’re weary of Condit’s silence and feel betrayed by the man who portrayed himself as a politician who chooses the moral high ground. 

“When this first came out, he should’ve come out with any information that could’ve helped police find the girl,” said Steve Cary, a 57-year-old merchant seaman. 

Democrat Carlos DeLaRosa, 28, said he’d vote for Condit again, but thinks he’s in the minority. 

“I remember him since I was a little kid,” he said. “He was always a big part of the community. I know he’s made some mistakes, but I don’t think this should affect his political career.” DeLaRosa said most of his friends and neighbors disagree. And he acknowledged that Condit’s “career is pretty much over, unfortunately.”  

Condit could face a House ethics investigation into allegations that he obstructed the Levy investigation by urging other women to remain quiet. Condit denies those allegations. The House ethics committee has deferred a decision while the police investigation continues. 

Meanwhile, Condit must decide whether to say anything about Levy while he is home in Modesto. His staff refused to release his schedule, and chief of staff Michael Lynch said he had no idea whether Condit would address constituents about Levy. He did not visit his office on Friday. Condit’s silence has also brought rising criticism from fellow lawmakers. 

“Congressman Condit’s failure to come forward and to be fully candid, combined with the conduct involved, really does violate the public trust and affects his integrity and credibility as a legislator,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. 

Earlier in the week, Feinstein spoke bluntly in relating a conversation in which she said Condit had denied a romantic relationship with Levy. “He lied to me,” she told McClatchy Newspapers. 

Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas, Condit’s seatmate on the Agriculture Committee and a co-founder with him of the Blue Dog group of conservative Democrats, issued a searing statement late last month. 

“I will say that through his actions and behaviors, Congressman Condit has brought controversy and discredit to his family, his district and the Congress,” Stenholm said. 

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Condit should have followed the advice he gave President Clinton to “tell the public everything about your private life.” 

Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox News, “His political career as a practical matter, I assume, is gone.” 

Condit, an easy winner last year, reported raising and spending in the first half of this year about as much as he did in the same period two years ago. He has said nothing about his plans. 

SACRAMENTO — In California this summer, energy prices have stabilized, the lights have stayed on and Gov. Gray Davis keeps raising millions of dollars for his re-election bid. 

But the heat’s still on for the leader of the nation’s most populous state. 

Instead of rolling blackouts, Davis has been hit with revelations that his energy consultants owned stock in the same companies with which they negotiated taxpayer-backed power contracts. 

“We are moving from an energy crisis into a political crisis,” said Doug Heller, consumer advocate with the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. 

Last week, Davis fired five consultants who acknowledged they owned stock in Calpine, a San Jose-based power generator that has received about $13 billion in electricity contracts with the state over the next 20 years. 

The following Monday, Davis’ chief spokesman Steve Maviglio revealed he bought $12,000 worth of Calpine stock on June 20. On Thursday, Davis’ office said Maviglio had sold the stock, and Maviglio said he wouldn’t quit, despite a Los Angeles Times editorial calling for his resignation. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began investigating last week to see if Davis’ consultants had broken any security fraud laws, according to a Los Angeles Times report. SEC officials have declined to say whether the agency is investigating. 

And two of Davis’ financial advisers for energy, Joseph Fichera and Michael Hoffman, sent letters Friday to his chief of staff saying they do not have any stock holdings in companies providing power through the Department of Water Resources. 

Fichera acknowledged in his letter that the managers of an account he owns, but said he does not actively manage, sold options to acquire stock in The Williams Companies, Inc. But that was “prior to my commencement of substantive work for the Department of Finance or the Department of Water Resources,” he wrote. 

The unfolding controversy comes as Davis has managed to deflect many potential political obstacles. He signed a $103 billion budget that, although a month overdue, saw him use his veto power to make cuts legislators could not. His conservation plan has seen Californians make dramatic cuts in their power use. 

And this week Davis filed his campaign finance reports that show he raised $5.8 million for his 2002 campaign during the first six months of the year. That gives him $30.5 million in the bank, more than 10 times the total of any of his announced opponents. One of those opponents, Republican Secretary of State Bill Jones, is leading the latest attacks. Other Republicans, who were bruised by the scandal that forced Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush to resign last year, have been quick to jump in. 

“By avoiding blackouts thus far, he should have had a nice quiet summer once you got past the state budget, and the worst possible political nightmare is now occurring for him,” said Rob Stutzman, a political consultant for the state Republican Party. 

Aides to the Democratic governor accuse Republicans of trying to divert attention from Davis’ aggressive approach to easing the state’s power woes. 

“They are trying to incite a political witch hunt based on rumor and innuendo,” said Davis spokeswoman Hilary McLean. 

Davis, she said, had acknowledged the possible conflicts and moved quickly to fix them. 

When blackouts hit, “we were in a crisis mode,” McLean said, and the administration didn’t ask the consultants to make the financial disclosures that are required of state officials. 

At best, the stock revelations show poor judgment, critics said, and corruption at worst. Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte called the Davis administration “ethically challenged” and needs to be prodded by legislative hearings to tell the truth. 

Because the energy crisis had ebbed somewhat, Davis’ power victories may be overshadowed by scrutiny of his consultants, said Mark Baldassare, a pollster for the Public Policy Institute of California. 

“This is a very important time politically for the governor,” said Baldassare, whose poll in May showed Davis’ popularity slipped to its lowest point. 

“A lot of attention will turn to the fiscal and political issues surrounding the development of the state’s energy policy,” he said.

LOS ANGELES — In an unusual hearing, a frail elderly woman who witnessed a Sacramento-area bank holdup in 1975 gave testimony Friday for use in the upcoming trial of former SLA fugitive Sara Jane Olson on charges of trying to kill police officers. 

Dorothy White, 77, underwent conditional examination in her Sacramento home because she is very ill with heart problems and “may die before this case goes to trial,” Los Angeles County district attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said. 

The judge in Olson’s case was present as White was questioned by a prosecutor and a defense lawyer. Her deposition will be submitted as evidence at Olson’s much-delayed trial, currently expected to begin on Sept. 24. 

Olson, 54, is accused of trying to murder Los Angeles police officers by planting bombs under police cars in 1975 in retaliation for the deaths of six members of the Symbionese Liberation Army in a fiery shootout. The bombs did not explode. 

Indicted in 1976 under her former name, Kathleen Soliah, she was a fugitive until her 1999 capture in Minnesota. During those 23 years, she took a new name and was living as a doctor’s wife, mother and active community member. She is free on $1 million bail. 

The prosecution claims that Olson was involved in two Sacramento-area bank holdups in 1975 that allegedly were committed by members of the SLA, the radical group that kidnapped newspaper heiress Patty Hearst. 

Prosecutors want to use the testimony of White and two other elderly women as circumstantial evidence to show Olson’s involvement in SLA actions. Her lawyers say the robberies are irrelevant to the Los Angeles case. 

White has said that just before the holdup of Guild Savings and Loan, she saw a man outside the bank who matched the description of James Kilgore, Olson’s former boyfriend. 

Prosecutors plan to interview the other women in a Sacramento courtroom on Aug. 10. 

Marceline Jones, 80, and Evelyn Burns, 78, both have said they saw a woman suspect during a bank holdup in Carmichael. 

Olson has denied that she was involved in the bomb case or the bank robberies. 

HAMILTON, N.J. — Seven years ago, Maureen Kanka and her husband thought they would live in their house for the rest of their lives. As she looks toward the small park across the street, she’s no longer sure. 

The home that once stood there is gone, replaced with flowers, benches and a goldfish pond fed by a small waterfall. The Kankas no longer have to look at the place where their 7-year-old daughter was beaten, raped and strangled by a convicted sex offender. 

“It’s very hard to live here,” Kanka said. “Even though it’s beautiful now, the house is always there.” 

Seven years ago, the man who lived in that house, Jesse Timmendequas led police to the body of Megan Kanka, hidden in tall weeds in a nearby park. He was later sentenced to death. 

Since then, laws bearing Megan’s name have been passed throughout the country requiring convicted sex offenders to register with authorities. New Jersey expanded its version just last month. There is also a federal law. 

But state and federal courts have sharply restricted public notices of sex offenders’ presence to protect their right to confidentiality. While the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet weighed in, critics say the case has already changed the way some civil liberties are handled in court. “Megan’s Law has done more to cancel redemption as a societal good than anything else that’s been enacted legislatively in the last century,” said Jack Furlong, a defense lawyer who has fought to limit New Jersey’s version of the law. 

“Judges now routinely think that it’s OK to bypass the Constitution in the name of political expediency.” 

“It used to be in America you could pay your debt to society and move on,” added Edward Mallett, a Texas attorney and president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. “You still can if you’re an armed robber, or a killer or a writer of bad checks.” 

Almost since the day of Megan’s death, Maureen and Richard Kanka have pushed to allow communities easier access to information about sex offenders. Had they known Timmendequas was living across the street with two other convicted sex offenders, they say, Megan would be alive today. 

Kathryn Flicker, now the director of the state Division of Criminal Justice, prosecuted the case in Mercer County. She met the Kankas for the first time when they arrived at the medical examiner’s office to identify their daughter’s body the day after it was found. 

“Her daughter’s death brought her forward with a mission,” Flicker said. “I’m sure if this had not happened, you would never have heard of Maureen Kanka. I’m sure she wishes you’d never heard of her.” 

Megan’s death was not unique. What the Kankas did, Flicker believes, was put people on guard in a way many had not been before. 

“They were the personification of Americans who were in the suburbs trying to do the best by their children,” said Flicker, who keeps a photo of Megan in her office on a shelf with photos of her own family. “It was sort of the culmination of a moment when people realized we had sexual predators and people weren’t dealing with it.” 

Last month, New Jersey joined some 30 other states with a law that will establish an Internet registry of sex offenders. The measure allows exceptions for juveniles and incest crimes. 

Megan’s mother believes laws are not enough. When she lectures before parents’ groups, she tells them they need to talk to their children frankly about pedophiles. 

“I often wonder what kind of impact she would have had if she had lived,” she said of her daughter. “I know what kind of impact she had in death, but I wonder.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

State site: www.state.nj.us/lps/dcj/megan/meghome.htm 

Advocate link: http://www.parentsformeganslaw.com 

Defense lawyers: http://www.criminaljustice.org 

A group in North Carolina plans to protest the “overwhelming number of illegal Hispanic workers invading the area.” A California coalition urges people to lobby against giving legal status to undocumented immigrants. 

And on New York’s Long Island, the topic at a conference this weekend is the “illegal immigration disaster.” 

Sparked by changing demographics, examples of anti-immigration sentiment seem to be cropping up with increasing frequency around the country. 

Observers say much of the hard feeling is directed at Hispanics, whose numbers grew 58 percent to more than 35 million in the last decade, according to census figures. 

Anti-immigration advocates feel newcomers lower wages, increase unemployment, pollution, traffic and crime, and strain hospitals, parks and energy resources. 

They’re also upset that President Bush is weighing a proposal to grant legal residency to some undocumented Mexicans in the United States. 

“It’s because it’s getting more in your face,” said Gordon Lee Baum, head of the Council of Conservative Citizens, which says it has 25,000 members. 

“All of the sudden they see it happening in their community. They wake up one morning like the people at the Alamo, and say ’Where did the Mexicans come from?”’ 

Lisa Navarrete, a spokeswoman for the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group, said community organizations report violence against Hispanics is growing, although La Raza does not formally track such crimes. 

In the middle-class community of Farmingville, on Long Island, a county official vetoed a proposal last spring to build a hiring center for day laborers. The workers, many of them undocumented Mexicans, congregate in Farmingville seeking work in landscaping, painting and construction. 

Last September, two Mexican day laborers were beaten, allegedly by two men posing as contractors. One of the men, Christopher Slavin, is now on trial in Suffolk County Criminal Court. 

“The backlash came the minute they walked across the border,” said Ray Wysolmierski, a spokesman for Sachem Quality of Life Organization, the Farmingville citizens group that is sponsoring this weekend’s conference on illegal immigration. In June, a Minnesota man was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for first-degree assault after hitting a Salvadoran immigrant in the head with a piece of wood. Prosecutors said the man decided to attack after hearing the immigrant speak Spanish. 

And in Arizona, hundreds of ranchers are patrolling their lands along the border, detaining immigrants and turning them over to the Border Patrol, said Roger Barnett, who carries a pistol while cruising his 22,000-acre Douglas ranch. 

“They don’t need to be on my place, and they don’t need to be in this country,” Barnett said. “Our government is doing nothing about it.” While such dramatic examples of anti-immigrant sentiment are sporadic, observers say the feeling has manifested itself in other ways. 

The Newton, N.C., rally later this month will protest an “alien invasion,” as well as the North American Free Trade Agreement and trade with China. The event is being sponsored by the local chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens. 

The Ku Klux Klan last August held a rally in Siloam Springs, Ark., where Hispanics make up the largest minority group. In response, the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas helped organize a cultural diversity fair, dubbing it “pinatas for peace.” 

And in February 2000, former Klansman David Duke told Siler City, N.C., residents their town will be overrun by a wave of immigration from Mexico. 

Messages like that are painful to immigrants, said Ilana Dubester, director of Siler City’s Hispanic Liaison. “They are trying to adjust, working really hard, they have their families, they go to church, and yet somehow are not made to feel welcome,” she said. 

Some groups are using billboard campaigns to criticize immigration. 

A few miles from the state line between California and Arizona, a billboard sponsored by the California Coalition for Immigration Reform reads “Welcome to California, the illegal immigration state. Don’t let this happen to your state.” A second, near Porterville says, “Deport all illegal aliens. The job you save may be your own.”

WASHINGTON— President Bush seems to bolt from the White House every chance he gets. He begins a monthlong vacation on his Texas ranch Saturday, and by the time he returns he will have spent nearly two months of his presidency there. 

And that doesn’t include the many weekends he’s spent at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains. 

The White House calls the Texas trip a working vacation and notes that he’ll have staff with him to help him attend to presidential chores.  

He also plans trips outside Texas a few days each week, using the 1,600-acre spread in Crawford, near Waco, as his base. 

There is no denying Bush’s impulse to get away from the office. 

“I think it is so important for a president to spend some time away from Washington, in the heartland of America,” he said the other day, discussing his love for the ranch he and Laura Bush bought two years ago with proceeds from the sale of his share in the Texas Rangers baseball team. 

“Whenever I go home to the heartland, I am reminded of the values that build strong families, strong communities and strong character, the values that make our people unique.” 

Bush prefers wide-open spaces where he can run, hike and walk his dogs to the confining White House environs. He also says he likes to get in touch with “real” people outside the Beltway. 

He has spent 14 weekends at Camp David, bringing paperwork and an aide or two along. He played host to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain there. Bush also logged a long weekend last month at the family’s Kennebunkport, Maine, compound, throwing horseshoes, playing golf, fishing. 

Sensitive to suggestions that the president might be loafing, the White House has dubbed the remainder of August as Bush’s “Home to the Heartland Tour.” 

“It’s going to be a working vacation in the classic definition of the word,” presidential press secretary Ari Fleischer said Friday. 

Presidents have a lot more flexibility on taking vacations than the average salaried employee. And Bush has a lot of help in making travel arrangements. 

He has a fleet of helicopters and a jumbo jet at his disposal. 

He also faces unique pressures in his job. Most Americans don’t live inside a gated compound with snipers on the roof and tourists peering in. 

Bush says he plans to “work and take a little time off” in Texas. 

Using the ranch as a base, he will promote White House initiatives in Rocky Mountain National Park, Denver, Albuquerque, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and San Antonio. 

Aides also expect him to make a decision on the divisive question of whether to allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, and announce it before Congress returns. 

Ken Khachigian, who wrote speeches for Presidents Reagan and Nixon, said getaways provide invaluable downtime for presidents. 

“They just want to get away from Northwest Washington and have a little privacy and relax,” said Khachigian, who spent time with both Republican presidents during their California vacations.  

“They want to feel like they don’t have to wake up in the morning and go to some boring meeting with a budget guy, or have to listen to a Cabinet officer talk about something.” 

Nixon established a “Western White House” in San Clemente, Calif., designating a Cabinet Room and offices for top staff in temporary buildings. 

Reagan was more determined to unwind, tolerating Khachigian and the speechwriting chores he brought to the Santa Barbara ranch. Reagan personally drove Khachigian back to his car when the work was done, the speechwriter said. 

Reagan spent all or part of 335 days of his eight-year presidency on his ranch. 

The first president Bush spent 153 days in Kennebunkport vacationing, and 390 at Camp David. 

President Clinton went to Camp David an average of about once a month, and generally took two weeks off in the summer; a week at Christmastime; and a week in late winter. Favorite destinations were Martha’s Vineyard, Jackson Hole and the Virgin Islands. 

While Bush is gone, aides will mind the shop at the White House. Vice President Dick Cheney, won’t be among them. He will be at his own vacation home in Jackson Hole, Wyo., until Labor Day, though in contact with Bush whenever needed, a spokeswoman said.

Dear Tom and Ray: 

You guys goofed! Your article on the cargo capacities of pickup trucks was completely wrong.  

A truck designated an F150 means the truck is rated for a half-ton of payload, not one and a half tons of payload, as you had said.  

An F250 is rated for a three-quarter-ton payload, not two and a half tons, as you stated. And an F350 means it's rated  

for one ton of payload. Please correct it before someone blows out his tires trying to carry too much weight. — Brian 

TOM: We goofed on our numbers, Brian. We both must have been passing brain stones that day. We know that traditionally, a truck with a designation of 150 (Ford) or 1500 (Chevy and Dodge) has been known as a "half-ton pickup," meaning that it has a payload capacity (the amount of weight it can carry, including passengers) of 1,000 pounds, or half a ton.  

The 250/2500 and 350/3500 pickups have traditionally carried three-quarter-ton and one-ton designations, respectively. 

RAY: But after we got your letter (and letters from about 10,000 other readers), we decided to do a little more research, and we discovered that the traditional designations are completely wrong, too. 

TOM: It turns out that the Ford F150, Chevy Silverado 1500 and Dodge Ram 1500 have payload capacities in the range of 1,500 to 2,000 pounds (if you want the exact numbers, you can look them up on our Web site, the Car Talk section of www.cars.com under "Model Reports").  

That means the 150/1500s are actually three-quarter and one-ton pickups! 

RAY: But wait, it gets even more confusing. The Ford F250, Chevy Silverado 2500 and Dodge Ram 2500 have payload capacities of between 3,000 and 4,700 pounds. So that's between one and a half tons and nearly two and a half tons. 

TOM: You still with us? Because the 350s and 3500s have payloads of 4,500 to almost 6,000 pounds, or between two and three tons. 

RAY: So the old notions of half-ton, three-quarter-ton and one-ton pickups no longer apply. And if you're planning to carry serious cargo, you really have to check out the specific payload capacity of the truck you're interested in. Even between different versions of the same truck, payload capacities can differ quite a bit. 

TOM: I still think Mercedes has the best and clearest payload designations. As we said in our previous article, they use designations like ML320 and ML430, which everybody can understand. It means those vehicles can carry 3.2 and 4.3 mothers-in-law, respectively.  

••• 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

Is it possible that my van (’94 Dodge Grand Caravan) burned on its own? Or was it vandalized? The whole engine compartment burned up. I hadn't driven it since 4 p.m., and at 3 a.m. my daughter woke me up to tell me that the front yard was on fire (it was actually my van in the driveway). Can a vehicle spontaneously combust? — Chaya 

RAY: Yes it can, Chaya. It's actually not spontaneous, but it would seem that way to you. 

TOM: Cars usually catch fire because a wire gets chafed somewhere. The initial damage happens most often during an accident or a subpar post-accident body repair.  

But it can also happen during regular engine repairs or when a misrouted wire harness has its insulation rubbed away by another part of the car. 

RAY: Once the bare wire is sufficiently exposed, it can short out against the car's body or frame and then start drawing current from your battery. 

TOM: And if it draws enough current over a long enough time, it can generate enough heat to make the wire's insulation smolder. And from there, it's a short leap to igniting surrounding parts, the fuel line and the front lawn. 

RAY: I'd say vandalism is very unlikely in this case, Chaya. Especially since the fire was in the engine compartment. I think it was just bad luck. 

TOM: So just be glad that you and your daughter were both unhurt and that the only casualty of the whole affair was a 1994 Caravan. I think that's what doctors would call "an extremely positive outcome."  

When one of Wall Street’s best-known prognosticators said this past week that the Dow Jones industrials would reach 12,500 by year’s end, at least a few market watchers were flabbergasted. 

For the blue chips to reach the goal set by Goldman Sachs chief market strategist Abby Joseph Cohen, they’d have to rise more than 19 percent over the next five months although investors, with little inclination to buy, have kept stocks mired in a narrow trading range. 

Cohen’s prediction for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, a broader measure of the market, was even more bullish – a gain of 28 percent to 1,550 by the end of 2001. 

“It’s an excellent time to look at technology,” Cohen told CNBC Wednesday, adding that she also likes consumer cyclicals, including home builders and retailers, that tend to do better in stronger economies. She also recommended financial services firms. 

But her enthusiasm is far from universal on Wall Street. With the major indexes still below where they started the year – the Dow down nearly 3 percent, the Nasdaq composite index off 16 percent and the S&P lagging by 8 percent – there is a lot of persuading to do. 

“It’s unlikely. Nothing’s impossible, but I would say there’s still no indication that we are on the cusp of the kind of rally that would create something like this,” said Richard Dickson, technical analyst at Hilliard Lyons. 

“I’d say that 1,550 is on the optimistic end,” said Charles Crane, strategist for Victory SBSF Capital Management. “A lot of things have to go right for the market to achieve those levels. Earnings estimates especially will have to start to rise.” 

Many say it will be next year before the market really starts to rise. 

Tom Galvin, chief market officer at Credit Suisse First Boston, issued his own forecast for the S&P during the week, putting it at 1,500 – for the end of 2002. Previously, he had predicted the index would reach 1,550 by that time. 

Still, he sees the beginnings of a market recovery by late this year, even if the actual economic revival doesn’t take hold for another few months. The market normally advances or falls before the economy does. But Galvin’s enthusiasm is limited, particularly when it comes to technology. 

While stalwarts like healthcare are expected to continue their strong growth, the outlook for transportation, technology and cyclical stocks – those whose performance is tied to the economy – is less promising. He said that’s because companies still have too much inventory and the economy isn’t growing quickly enough to justify new orders. 

The inability to guess when business will improve, particularly in the area of technology, also has been a significant obstacle to the market’s advancement. Many investors, unsure of what to expect next, are reluctant to do the kind of buying needed to support a broad advance across the indexes. 

That was true this past week. Although semiconductor stocks, which are frequently considered a precursor to a wider advance, enjoyed a nice bump up — the widely-followed Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose about 7 percent — the buying only marginally nudged the broad market forward. 

Galvin believes Wall Street is still waiting for a firm signal that better times are ahead before buying. 

“To make this market show any substantial rise, it’s not just going to be less bad news but materially obviously good news, like new orders or a bigger than expected rate cut by the Fed,” he said in an interview. “Until that happens it’s going to be slow grinding ahead.” 

In the big picture, though, the major stock indexes’ progress may be of limited value.  

The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq are based on a select group of mostly large-cap stocks. 

They don’t reflect the track record of specific segments of the market, like healthcare, energy, or smaller-sized companies’ stocks. 

“I would pay attention to investor sentiment, where value might be,” said Crane, the Victory SBSF strategist. “I spend very little time worrying about indexes and I think investors should spend virtually no time on then.” 

The market ended the week mostly flat, although gains in semiconductor stocks did help the Nasdaq. The index gained 1.8 percent or 37.26 over the week, overcoming a Friday loss of 21.05 that left the Nasdaq at 2,066.25. 

The Dow ended the week up 96.11 points or 0.9 percent, despite falling 38.40 to 10,512.78 Friday. The S&P 500 index rose 8.53 for the week, a 0.7 percent rise. It slipped 6.40 Friday to 1,214.35. 

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the performance of smaller company stocks, slipped 1.84 to 487.15 Friday. It ended the week up 2.14, or 0.4 percent. 

The Wilshire Associates Equity Index, the market value of New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq issues, was $11.242 trillion Friday, down $77.74 billion from the previous week. A year ago, the index was $13.619 trillion. 

Lisa Singhania is a business writed for The Associated Press

If it weren’t for the consumer – the courageous, spendthrift, debt-be-damned U.S. consumer – the economy might now be in the midst of recession. 

Instead, while the new electronic economy seemed to vanish and the old industrial economy fell into a now 12-month deterioration, the broad economic numbers have skirted the line between growth and decline. 

But, according to the latest Commerce Department figures, consumers are still spending.  

Personal consumption rose 0.4 percent in June, double expectations, as consumers spent on cars and houses, travel and tickets. 

Making such behavior all the more remarkable are the circumstances in which the consumer performance has been staged. Their assets have shrunk. The jobless rate has risen, albeit slowly. Their debts have mounted. 

Last year, the net worth of American families declined for the first time in decades, partly due to the stock market, partly because homeowners tapped into their home equity for money to pay bills and enjoy life. 

Federal Reserve figures show that the total net worth of households and nonprofit organizations fell last year to $41.4 trillion, more than $840 billion less than at year-end 1999. 

True, home prices rose, giving a boost to homeowner confidence, but so did mortgage debt.  

The homeowner equity to debt ratio fell to 54 percent as of last December, a decline from 70 percent in less than two decades. 

All this doesn’t necessarily mean households are unaware of what they’re doing. Various surveys show them concerned about current economic conditions. But the same surveys show them confident about the future. 

The assumption seems to be that the future will be similar to the recent past, a period that included a soaring economy, spectacular rises in stock values, rising wages, falling unemployment and stable prices. 

That perspective seems also to include the assumption that the current economic weakness is a mere hiatus, a recess from the frantic pace of the past decade, and that the next decade will be as rewarding as the 1990s. 

It might be; it might not. 

One practical lesson from the past is that opinions delivered by so-called experts never are accompanied by guarantees.  

And without guarantees, households would seem to be taking a casino-type gamble. 

Well, perhaps not. Finance authorities will tell you that it is wise to borrow when borrowing rates are low, as they are today, and especially when the money is to be invested in growing assets, as houses have been. 

Averaged for geographical regions, home ownership has been rewarding. To a great extent, rising home equity has provided consumers with the borrowing power they’ve used to keep the economy this side of recession. 

In that sense, America’s consumers, usually referred to as either confident or cautious, have shown they are courageous too.  

It takes courage to take on risks, even the most prudent of risks. 

And nobody can assure America’s consuming households that the risks they are taking are prudent. 

John Cunniff is a business analyst for The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The yearlong slide in factory jobs slowed a bit and service jobs gained some ground in July, holding the nation’s unemployment rate steady at 4.5 percent. 

While the better-than-expected showing in the Labor Department’s report offered a glimmer of hope, analysts said, dangers still remain for the economy, which has been mired in a slowdown for a year. 

“We certainly are not out of the woods yet. The economy is very, very soft, but perhaps one can sense the rate of decline in the economy is slowing,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Economy.com.  

“It may be the economy is nearing the end of the worst of its problems.” 

Although payrolls fell for the second month in a row, the drop wasn’t as big: 42,000 jobs were eliminated in July, compared with 93,000 in June. Manufacturing led July’s decline but the loss of factory jobs was the smallest since December. 

“This is the first sign that the hemorrhage of job losses in manufacturing is beginning to ease,” said Jerry Jasinowski, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, whose industry has been bearing the brunt of the slowdown. 

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said the fact that the jobless rate was unchanged “suggests some stability in the economy.” 

The jobless rate has remained at 4.5 percent for three of the last four months.  

While it represents the highest unemployment level reached during the slowdown, the rate is still low by historical standards. 

However, many economists predict the unemployment rate, which is considered a lagging economic indictor, will rise in the months ahead, possibly passing 5 percent by year’s end. 

“Hiring is not going to get back on track until companies’ sales and profits do,” said Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist with LaSalle Bank/ABN AMRO. “Businesses are anxious for more tangible signs that the bottom has passed and aren’t seeing them yet.” 

To avert the first recession in the United States in 11 years, the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates six times this year, totaling 2.75 percentage points. 

Many analysts believe Fed policy-makers will order another rate reduction, probably by a quarter-point, at their next meeting Aug. 21, and said Friday’s report would justify such a move. 

The Bush administration and many private economists are hopeful that the Fed’s aggressive credit easing along with tax-rebate checks now arriving in mailboxes will permit the country to dodge a recession this year. 

Still, that hope hasn’t erased economists’ biggest fear and the greatest potential threat to the economy: A major pullback in consumer spending, a main force keeping the economy afloat. If the employment climate seriously deteriorates, consumers would probably curtail spending and throw the economy into recession. 

“The economy is still teetering on the edge of a recession. We can handle another few months of moderate job losses, but if it gets much worse, consumer spending ... could sink and take the whole economy down with it,” said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services. 

Manufacturing, which many believe is suffering through a recession of its own, continued its employment slide, losing 49,000 jobs last month. But that was less than half the size of the losses in factory jobs in each of the prior three months, heartening some economists. 

In the last 12 months, manufacturers — coping with slumping demand and excess stocks of unsold goods — have cut a total of 837,000 jobs. 

Meanwhile, employment in the service sector grew by 5,000 in July, the smallest number of jobs added in nearly a year. Much of the weakness came from temporary employment companies, which have lost 429,000 jobs in the last 10 months. 

But employment at health-services firms grew by 25,000 in July, and engineering and management companies added 13,000 jobs. Bars and restaurants gained 40,000. 

Government employment rose by 31,000 last month, with most of the strength coming from state and local governments hiring education workers. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Labor Department: http://www.dol.gov 

When a San Francisco police officer stopped him in his car eight months ago, Pablo, a 27-year-old Berkeley day laborer from Honduras, knew what to expect. It was the fifth time this had happened to him since he moved to the United States in 1996. 

“Me quitaron el carro (they took my car),” he said. “They didn’t even let me take what I had left inside it.”  

That day, Pablo also spent seven hours in jail and was fined.  

The reason? His work permit was still being processed, and although illegal immigrants like Pablo are not permitted to have a California driver’s license, he was behind the wheel. 

But things could change. A number of legislators, including Asemblymember Dion Aroner, D-Berkeley, are supporting a bill that would allow immigrants to get a driver’s license while waiting for legal documentation. Introduced in December 2000 by assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, AB 60 passed the state Senate Transportation Committee on a 10-2 vote July 10 and should reach the Senate floor later this month. 

“Assemblyman Cedillo feels that as a matter of public safety, all drivers should get an opportunity to get a driver’s license,” said David Galaviz, Cedillo’s legislative director. “The Department of Motor Vehicle is not an immigration office. It shouldn’t be checking people’s immigration status.” 

Under the current law, individuals applying for a driver’s license must submit their Social Security numbers to prove that they are legally on U.S. soil. The bill would delete this requirement and only ask immigrants to present proof that they are in the process of getting legal status. According to Cedillo’s office, about a million immigrants in the state could benefit from the proposed legislation. 

Labor leaders across California also support the bill. They believe it will rectify laws that are unfair to immigrants, while increasing safety on streets and highways.  

“The prohibition is simply vindictive; it’s to make (immigrants’) life more difficult,” said Carol Zabin, chair of the Center for Labor Research and Education at UC Berkeley. “It’s not a deterrent. So if they are here because of the economic reality of their country, to just send them underground and have them do things that are not safe for them or the rest of us is absurd.” 

To the many illegal immigrants who work as day laborers, having a car can be critical to getting a job. That’s why so many of them drive illegally, including employers’ vehicles. 

Since the police took his car, Pablo said he has about 30 percent fewer job opportunities. 

“For us a car is not a luxury, it’s a need,” he said. “I’ve been offered jobs in areas with no public transportation that I couldn’t take because I don’t have a car.”  

Another advantage of the bill, Pablo said, is that it would allow some illegal immigrants to have some kind of U.S. identification. 

“The bill is very important, because you are well identified, and you can go to work with the confidence that you won’t have any problems,” he said. 

A similar bill was vetoed by Governor Gray Davis in 2000, but Cedillo’s office is currently trying to reach an agreement with the governor to make sure he signs the legislation. 

“We want the governor’s office to come up with a proposal on what can be done to address this issue,” said Galaviz. 

The governor’s office was unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon. 

Pablo said authorities forget that many illegal immigrants would like to comply with California law. But the system doesn’t allow it. Now that he has a work permit, Pablo said he is still unable to get a driver’s license because he owes about $6,000 in fines for driving illegally. He can’t afford to pay them and doesn’t want to risk a new arrest. 

“I don’t like jail. That’s why I haven’t bought another car,” he said. “I want to do everything legally. I still carry this fear inside. It’s hard.”

Friday, Aug. 3  

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. 

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meets Fridays through Aug. 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

548-8283 x534 or x522 

Saturday, Aug. 4 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club 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 5 and accompanied by an adult. Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Robert Bowman 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Friends Church 

1600 Sacramento St.  

Retired Air Force and NASA Official and Presidential Candidate, Dr. Robert Bowman will speak against the weaponization of space. Following the speech and rally there will be a procession to the gates of the Livermore Lab for a nonviolent, risk arrest action. 

Livermore Conversion Project: 663-8065. 

Animal Picnic Family  

Workshop 

10 - 10:50 a.m.;11 - 11:50 a.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Touch and hold a variety of animals and see how they eat their lunch. For children 3 - 8 and an accompanying adult. Registration required, $8 - $25. 

642-5132 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

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

Annual Tomato Tasting, an opportunity to sample the range of tomato varieties at the market. Also, the grand opening of the Food Court. 548-3333 

Poetry Reading 

3 - 5 p.m. 

1527 Virginia Street 

The Bay Area Poets’ Coalition presents an open reading outdoors on the front lawn. 

527-9905; poetalk@aol.com 

Bay Area Eco-Crones 

10:30 a.m. - noon 

Epworth Church, Youth Room 

1953 Hopkins 

Discuss ecological significance of mushrooms and bats; plan rituals for habitat restorations projects.  

874-4935 

Foster Parent Certification Class 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St. 

This class will cover all aspects of Foster Parenting and is open to anyone interested in attending. Free. Call Bob at 641-6200; nailahfs@pacbell.net. 

Sunday, Aug. 5  

Live Oak Concerts 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

1275 Walnut St. 

B.A.C.H. (Baroque and Classical Harmonies), the vocal and instrumental ensemble, will perform Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Vivaldi’s Gloria. $10  

644-6893 

Anti-Nuclear Vigil 

1 - 3 p.m. 

UC Berkeley, Lawn at West Entrance, 

Oxford and University Ave. 

Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki; opposing UC weapons labs’ contracts; urging UC Berkeley to host a national TV debate on nuclear weapons ban.  

Circle of Concern 848-8055. 

Buddhism 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Mark Henderson on “Four Thoughts that Awaken the Heart.” Free. 843-6812 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave., between Third and Fourth Streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 654-6346 

Monday, Aug. 6 

Intensive Production  

Urban Gardening Training 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Santa Fe Bar & Grill 

1310 University Ave. 

Growing Gourmet: A free urban gardening training & potluck lunch.  

Learn ways to intensively and organically grow produce for your own use or for an urban market garden. A hands-on training in the garden located behind the restaurant and potluck lunch at 1 p.m. Katherine Webb 

841-1110. 

Osteoporosis: How to put  

Bone Loss on Hold 

9 a.m. - 10 a.m. 

Summit Campus 

Cafeteria Annexes B & C 

350 Hawthorne Ave. in Oakland 

A free lecture by Dr. Elliot Schwartz, co-director of the Foundation for Osteoporosis Research and Education. Learn how to create a program that will help minimize bone loss. 869-6737 

Tuesday, Aug. 7 

Intelligent Conversation  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will center on sex and drugs: Free will? Must laws be obeyed? Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free  

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 Don, 525-3565 

Writing and Resistance  

In A Culture of Amnesia 

6 - 7:45 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Avenue 

Classroom #2 

Part of a workshop series on concepts and strategies for resistance through the spoken and written word, taught by Joyce E. Young. $12. 

849-2568 www.lapena.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

Derby Street at MLK Jr. Way 

548-3333 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK) 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday morning. Call Ann, 655-8863 

Free Computer Class  

for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited, call ahead for a reservation. 644-6109 

— compiled by Guy Poole 

Strawberry Creek Daylighting 

Strategy Workshop 

6:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

Corporation Yard Green Room 

1326 Allston Way 

A workshop to develop an effective strategy for promoting the daylighting of Strawberry Creek downtown. Learn about current daylighting concepts and develop a working plan for the next year and beyond. Facilitated by Louis Hexter of MIG. Call Janet Byron to RSVP at 848-4008 or bjanet@earthlink.net 

Wednesday, Aug. 8 

A Day at the Beach 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Part of the Lawrence Hall of Science Wednesday FUN-days. Build sand castles with sand sculptor Kirk Rademaker. Museum admission $3 - $7. 

642-5132 

Thursday, Aug. 9 

Ancient Native Sites of the East Bay 

7:30 p.m. 

Room 160 Kroeber Hall, University of California Campus 

Sean Dexter, archaeologist, will discuss the recent Data Recovery Program at the Emeryville Shellmound/South Bayfront site. Jakki Kehl, a Mutsun Ohlone, will discuss protecting cultural resources by developing partnerships and encouraging good stewardship of the land. $10 

841-2242 

Salsa Dance Classes 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Classes every Thursday with live percussionists, light refreshments, DJ playing Latin music. $10 or $15 for two. 

237-9874 

Sea Kayaking 

7 p.m. 

REI 

1338 San Pablo Avenue 

Learn about the best sea kayaking spots in Northern California from Roger Schumann and Jan Shriner. Free. 

527-4140 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Kensington 55+ Activity Center 

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Social Hall of Arlington Community Church 

52 Arlington Ave. 

Conversation, Apple II computer instruction, massage therapy, German conversation group, meditation and relaxation techniques, watercolor art class, tea and coffee. Special 11 a.m. program: Safety, Pat Caftel presents Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness. For more information call 526-9146 or 547-1969. 

Friday, Aug. 10  

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. (at Derby)  

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meeting Fridays through Aug. 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

Call 548-8283 x534 or x522 

Saturday, Aug. 11 

Sixth Annual Reggae Worldbeat Festival  

Noon - 5 p.m.  

People’s Park  

Telegraph & Haste St. (behind Amoeba)  

Featuring: Obeyjah & The Saints with the Village Culture Drummers, Dancehall King; Major P., Wawa Sylvestre and The Oneness Kingdom Band and many more. Free, but donations encouraged.  

Free Classical Music Concert 

8 p.m. 

Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley Campus 

UC Berkeley Summer Symphony, Gene Chang, Henry Shin, Directors.  

Debussy, Stravinsky, Brahms. Free admission.  

For more information: 665-5631 

Sunday, Aug. 12 

Live Oak Concerts 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

1275 Walnut St. 

Composition vs. Improvisation, Music/Structures by Tom Swafford.  

$10 644-6893 

Hands-On Bicycle Repair Clinics  

11 a.m. - Noon  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Learn front and rear derailleur adjustments from one of REI’s bike technicians. Tools provided. All you need to bring is your bike. Free.  

527-4140 

Buddhist Architecture In the West 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Mark Henderson on “Building a Buddhist Temple.” Free. 

843-6812 

Steel Drums and Sand Castles 

1 - 3 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Kirk Rademaker teaches sand sculpting while Richmond Bloco entertains with steel drum music. Museum admission $3 - $7. 

642-5132 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave., between 3rd and 4th Streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 

654-6346 

Opus Q Auditions 

7 - 9 p.m. 

The University Lutheran Chapel 

2425 College Ave. 

Opus Q - The East Bay Men’s Chorale is preparing for its first full season. Gay men and their allies are invited to audition for the world’s newest GALA ensemble. For more information: www.opus-q.com or call 664-0260. 

Monday, Aug. 13 

Auditions for Tom Stoppard’s “Travesties” 

7 p.m. 

Live Oak Theatre 

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 

Held by the Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, there are parts for five men and three women 20 - 70. Director Mikel Clifford asks that auditioners present a two-minute piece or read from a script. No appointment is needed, and there is no pay. For more information phone 525-1620 or visit www.actorsensembleofberkeley.com. 

Tuesday, Aug. 14 

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 Don, 525-3565 

Writing and Resistance  

In A Culture of Amnesia 

6 - 7:45 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Avenue 

Classroom #2 

Part of a workshop series on concepts and strategies for resistance through the spoken and written word, taught by Joyce E. Young. $12. 

849-2568 www.lapena.org 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK) 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday morning. Call Ann, 655-8863 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Auditions for Tom Stoppard’s “Travesties” 

7 p.m. 

Live Oak Theatre 

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 

Held by the Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, there are parts for five men and three women ages 20 - 70. Director Mikel Clifford asks that auditioners present a two-minute piece or read from a script. No appointment is needed, and there is no pay. For more information phone 525-1620 or visit www.actorsensembleofberkeley.com. 

The Candy Cottage 

1:30 p.m. & 2:30 p.m. 

Hall of Health 

2230 Shattuck Ave. (Lower Level) 

“The Candy Cottage” is a short comedy written and performed by the Hall of Health staff, for children ages 3 to 12. The play provides information about eating healthy, the food pyramid, and what vitamins and minerals do for your body. The Hall of Health is a hands-on community health-education museum and science center sponsored by Children’s Hospital of Oakland. Free. For more information call: 549-1564. 

Wednesday, Aug. 15 

Space Weather 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Part of the Lawrence Hall of Science Wednesday FUN-days. Explore the Space Weather exhibit, talk to NASA researchers, look for sun spots, make a sundial, cast sun prints. Museum admission $3 - $7. 

642-5132 

Berkeley Communicator Toastmasters Club 

7:15 a.m. 

Vault Cafe 

3250 Adeline 

Learn to speak with confidence. Ongoing first and third Wednesdays each month. 

527-2337 

Support Group for Family/Friends  

Caring for Older Adults 

4 - 5:30 p.m. - 3rd Wednesday of each month 

Alta Bates Medical Center  

Herrick Campus 

2001 Dwight Way 

3rd floor, Room 3369B (elevator - B) 

The group will focus on the needs of the older adult with serious medical problems, psychiatric illnesses, substance abuse, and their caregivers. Facilitated by Monica Nowakowski, LCSW. 

Free. For more information call 802-1725 

Thursday, Aug. 16 

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 

Ancient Native Sites of the East Bay 

7:30 p.m. 

Room 160 Kroeber Hall, University of California Campus 

Christopher Dore will discuss “Space and Place at Two East Bay Shellmounds.” Jason Claiborne, archaeologist with Archeotec, Inc., will discuss his recent work and the delicate position of playing “archaeo-police” versus serving the client in a talk entitled “Insuring the Future of the Past.” $10 

841-2242 

Salsa Dance Classes 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Classes every Thursday with live percussionists, light refreshments, DJ playing Latin music. $10 or $15 for two. 

237-9874 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Kensington 55+ Activity Center 

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Social Hall of Arlington Community Church 

52 Arlington Ave. 

Conversation, Apple II computer instruction, massage therapy, German conversation group, meditation and relaxation techniques, watercolor art class, tea and coffee. Special 11 a.m. program: Travel, Jackie Hetman presents “A 17-Day Train Trip Through Namibia.” For more information call 526-9146 or 547-1969. 

The Candy Cottage 

1:30 p.m. & 2:30 p.m. 

Hall of Health 

2230 Shattuck Ave. (Lower Level) 

“The Candy Cottage” is a short comedy written and performed by the Hall of Health staff, for children ages 3 to 12. The play provides information about eating healthy, the food pyramid, and what vitamins and minerals do for your body. The Hall of Health is a hands-on community health-education museum and science center sponsored by Children’s Hospital of Oakland. Free. For more information call: 549-1564. 

Friday, Aug. 17  

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. (at Derby)  

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meeting Fridays through Aug. 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

Call 548-8283 x534 or x522 

Opus Q Auditions 

3 - 5/ p.m. 

The University Lutheran Chapel 

2425 College Ave. 

Opus Q - The East Bay Men’s Chorale is preparing for its first full season. Gay men and their allies are invited to audition for the world’s newest GALA ensemble. For more information: www.opus-q.com or call 664-0260. 

Saturday, Aug. 18 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

Center Street @ Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

12th Annual Cajun & More Festival. Live music by: Motor Dude Zydeco, Johnny Harper’s Carnival, Creole Belles, Sauce Picuante. Food, crafts fair, micro-breweries, and free Cajun dance lessons with Pattie Whitehurst. Free event open to the public. For more information call: 548-3333 or visit www.ecologycenter.org 

Sunday, Aug. 19 

Hands-On Bicycle Repair Clinics  

11 a.m. - Noon  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Learn how to fix a flat from one of REI’s bike technicians. All you need to bring is your bike. Tools are provided. Free  

527-4140 

Tibetan Culture 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Stephanie Hoffman on “Preserving the Tibetan Literary Heritage.” Free. 

843-6812 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave., between 3rd and 4th Streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 

654-6346 

Opus Q Auditions 

4 - 6 p.m. 

The University Lutheran Chapel 

2425 College Ave. 

Opus Q - The East Bay Men’s Chorale is preparing for its first full season. Gay men and their allies are invited to audition for the world’s newest GALA ensemble. For more information: www.opus-q.com or call 664-0260. 

Monday, Aug. 20 

Tuesday, Aug. 21 

Intelligent Conversation  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will center on fears and phobias: getting and overcoming them. Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free  

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 Don, 525-3565 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK) 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday morning. Call Ann, 655-8863 

Berkeley Fibromyalgia Support Group 

12 - 2 p.m. every 3rd Tuesday 

Alta Bates Medical Center  

Maffly Auditorium - Herrick Campus 

2001 Dwight Way 

Rap session. For more info call D.L. Malinousky: 601-0550 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Wednesday, Aug. 22 

Magic Mike 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Part of the Lawrence Hall of Science Wednesday FUN-days. Bay Area favorite Magic Mike with theatrical illusions and electric comedy. Museum admission $3 - $7. 

642-5132 

Thursday, Aug. 23 

Salsa Dance Classes 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Classes every Thursday with live percussionists, light refreshments, DJ playing Latin music. $10 or $15 for two. 

237-9874 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Kensington 55+ Activity Center 

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Social Hall of Arlington Community Church 

52 Arlington Ave. 

Conversation, Apple II computer instruction, massage therapy, German conversation group, meditation and relaxation techniques, watercolor art class, tea and coffee. Special 11 a.m. program: Holistic Health, Jan Stecher leads in Rosen Movement. For more information call 526-9146 or 547-1969. 

Friday, Aug. 24 

Saturday, Aug. 25 

Astrojax Playday 

1 - 4 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Astrojax is part yo-yo, part juggling balls and a lasso. The inventor, theoretical physicist Larry Show, will give a demonstration and instruction. Museum admission $3 - $7. 

642-5132 

Cerrito Creek Work Party 

10 a.m. 

Meet at Creekside Park (south end of Belmont Street), El Cerrito 

Join Friends of Five Creeks in removing brush to make a new trail along Cerrito Creek. Bring work gloves and clippers if you have them.  

For more information: 848-9358 or f5creeks@aol.com, or www.fivecreeks.org. 

Sunday, Aug. 26 

Healing 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Sylvie Gretchen on “Healing Mind.” Free. 

843-6812 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave., between 3rd and 4th Streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 

654-6346 

Tuesday, Aug. 28 

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 Don, 525-3565 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK) 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday morning. Call Ann, 655-8863 

Thursday, Aug. 30 

Salsa Dance Classes 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Classes every Thursday with live percussionists, light refreshments, DJ playing Latin music. $10 or $15 for two. 

237-9874 

Lost in the Wilderness 

7 p.m. 

REI 

1338 San Pablo Avenue 

Jason Flesher, a Search and Rescue member for almost 20 years, will share his nine rules for surviving in the wilderness. Free. 

527-4140 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Kensington 55+ Activity Center 

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Social Hall of Arlington Community Church 

52 Arlington Ave. 

Conversation, Apple II computer instruction, massage therapy, German conversation group, meditation and relaxation techniques, watercolor art class, tea and coffee. Special 11 a.m. program: Music, Hugh Kelly plays harmonica and leads sing-along. For more information call 526-9146 or 547-1969. 

Friday, Aug. 31 

By Earl Ofari Hutchinson 

Pacific News Service 

LOS ANGELES -- When some organizers of the upcoming United Nations conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, threatened to tack incendiary resolutions on the agenda denouncing Zionism and demanding reparations for slavery, the predictable happened. President Bush screamed foul and said that the United States would stay home. Congress quickly passed a non-binding resolution backing him. The resolution’s backers, mostly reparations activists and representatives from Arab countries, instantly branded Bush a racial obstructionist for ducking these issues. 

This is a convenient label to plaster on him. In the past few weeks, Bush’s foes -- and even some friends – called him an environmental obstructionist for refusing to endorse the Kyoto Accords on Global Warming. He’s been called a health obstructionist for not committing more U.S. dollars to the global fund to fight AIDS and other diseases in Africa and Asia. And he’s been tagged as a peace obstructionist for backing out of germ warfare talks and attempting to scrap arms control agreements. 

Though Bush can be pilloried for soft-peddling affirmative action, racial profiling, hate crimes, and the death penalty, and saying and doing nothing about the Florida voting debacle that still rankles many Blacks, the racial obstructionist label is one that doesn’t fit. His demand that the conference excise any resolution condemning Zionism from the agenda is consistent with U.S. policy. Then President Jimmy Carter, and every president since, denounced the U.N. resolution passed in 1975 that equated Zionism with racism and relentlessly demanded that the resolution be repealed. A decade ago, the United Nations finally dumped it and even the Palestinian Liberation Organization publicly rejected the slogan. 

Still, this doesn’t mean that Israel’s divisive domestic and aggressive military policies toward the Palestinians is not a legitimate subject for the conference to debate. 

The issue of slave reparations is just as touchy a policy issue for the Bush administration. It insists that slavery ended decades ago, that the slaves and their slavemasters are long dead, that the U.S. government has no legal obligation to pay reparations, and that the issue is racially inflammatory. Bush and former President Bill Clinton scrupulously avoided any public mention of bills introduced by Rep. John Conyers, D-Miss., in Congress during the past decade to establish a commission to study the reparations issue. They also ignored a bill twice introduced by Rep. Tony Hall, D-Ohio, that called for Congress to apologize for slavery. Clinton, whom of all presidents would have been the most likely to support this call, touched off a brief flurry by raising the possibility of an apology, but then quickly backing away from it. 

But even though Bush’s opposition to reparations is consistent with past and present U.S. hostility toward the subject, this doesn’t mean that it should not be discussed. The U.S. government encoded slavery in the Constitution, and protected and nourished it in law and public policy for more than a century. And, in the near century after slavery’s end, legal segregation, peonage, and racial terrorism has saddled the Black poor with a terrible legacy of poverty, violence, and education and health neglect. The United States also applauded the decision by German corporations to pay compensation to slave laborers in Nazi concentration camps, and helped broker a deal in which Swiss bankers agreed to pay billions to Holocaust victims for pillaging their bank accounts. 

While Bush should not make the colossal mistake of using reparations and the Zionism issues as an excuse to boycott the conference, conference organizers also must not make the equally colossal mistake of permitting these issues to sink the conference. It is an historic milestone that European nations, Canada and the United States, finally acknowledge that racism fuels much of the inequality and poverty in Asia and Africa and perpetuates conflict and division between these nations and the West. The conference also presents the golden opportunity for western nations to go on record firmly opposing racism and intolerance and to pledge to combat their corrosive affects. The conference also could wring greater commitments from the wealthy nations to move faster on debt relief, pour more funds into AIDS treatment and prevention programs, vastly increase development aid, and negotiate more equitable trade pacts with non-white nations. 

The stakes are much too high to let political pettiness and ideological demagoguery torpedo the once-in-a-millennium chance nations have to come to grips with the monster evils of racial bigotry and intolerance that have wreaked havoc on the world for centuries. Bush must do everything he can to make sure that the U.S. is present and accounted for at Durban, and conference organizers must do everything they can to make sure that it is. 

Pacific News Service Commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson (ehutchi344@aol.com) is a nationally syndicated columnist and president of The National Alliance for Positive Action. 

What does it mean to be brainwashed? 

Dave Krzysik of the Brainwash Film Festival can’t explain it, but he knows it when he sees it. He and a loose collection of cohorts have cobbled together a five-day presentation of largely loony short films and videos that are as difficult to categorize as they are to rationalize. 

A computer-generated poem about a toy animal with no head. Bad gastronomical decisions on New Orleans. Swimming with chickens. The films of Brainwash laugh at intellect and instead demand to be intuited. 

“Brainwash is a little elusive,” said Krzylic from his Rockridge home. He credits festival programmer Vikki Vaden’s ability to mesmerize audiences with an impressionistic arrangement of films. After last year’s showing at a San Francisco alternative film venue, The Werepad, Brainwash had to turn up the house lights to get the audience to leave. 

This year the festival plays for three days beginning Friday at the Pyramid Ale brewery/restaurant on Gilman Street in Berkeley. The selections were chosen because there were “Brainwash,” said Krzylic, an amorphous criteria, part of which was a tendency for low production values. 

“Tour Tips #14” by Danny Plotnick, is the first foray into video for the heretofore reigning “King of the Super-8.” It tells a very brief story told with clip-art collage of a drummer in a touring rock band who gets sick from overeating in New Orleans. Presented as a spoof of a television public service announcement, “Tour Tips” is a visually sharp and clean depiction of a disgusting incident in the life of an indulgent rock and roller.  

“Fowl Play” is a spoof of paranoia and sexual deceit as two women lie in bed idly surfing through a montage of random television images. The implied lesbian domestic scene is darkened by an ominous, telltale smell. The sweat of guilt beads on the guilty woman’s forehead as she tries to hide her crimes of poultry and chlorinated water. 

In a particularly bawdy moment, the nervous woman furtively smells her fingers as though they were the smoking gun. 

“That was completely improvised,” said Berkeley-based filmmaker Mary C. Mathews, crediting her actress for making the absurd sexual metaphor more explicit. The film started as a humble three-panel cartoon which Mathews developed into a one-minute play for a New York City festival of one-minute plays. She won that festival award then further developed the idea into a three-minute film for a festival of short films created last year by San Francisco radio station Alice. 

“We wanted to make something really out there,” said Mathews, whose film did not play at the Alice festival but its crazy humor gave it that elusive “Brainwash” quality. Chickens, as any comedian knows, are inherently funny things. 

Brainwash has a taste for the bizarre, and its pedigree encourages acts of deflating artistic pomposity. Krzylic claims the festival lineage can be traced back to the original Merry Pranksters, a 1960’s troupe of heads and hipsters led through counter-culture antics by Ken Kesey and the “Further” bus. 

The descendant generations of cultural noisemakers called themselves the Suicide Club, the Cacophony Society (instrumental in creating the annual Burning Man desert freak-out) and now the tech-savvy pranksters communicate via the Laughing Squid internet server. 

Now in its seventh year, the Brainwash festival began with the cumbersome title “1st Annual Cacophony Drive-In Movie Festival.” “’Brainwash’ says all that,” said Krzylic who renamed the festival after a San Francisco laundromat, “and it’s a lot shorter.”  

The drive-in aspect of the original festival has not been completely lost. The screenings at Pyramid Ale today, Saturday and Sunday will be outdoors. It will not be possible to actually drive up to the screen, however, and Krzylic encourages moviegoers to dress warmly and bring their own chairs. 

MUSIC 

924 Gilman St. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Aug. 3: Sworn Vengeance, N.J. Bloodline, Settle the Score, Existence, Step; Aug. 4: Toxic Narcotic, Menstrual Tramps, Emo Summer, Four Letter Word, Shitty Wickets; Aug 10: 90 Day Men, Assembly of God, Strong Intention, Under a Dying Sun; Aug 11: Toys That Kill, Scared of Chakra, Sophie Nun Squad, Debris; Aug 12: 5 p.m. Citizen Fish, J-Church, Eleventeen. $5. 924 Gilman St. 525-9926. 

Anna’s Place Aug. 4, 11 and every Saturday night 10:30 p.m. - midnight, Ducksan Distones. 1801 University Ave. 849-2662. 

Ashkenaz Aug. 3: 9:30 p.m. DJ Dougie Swing; Aug. 4: 9:30 p.m.Tropical Vibrations; Aug. 5: 9 p.m.Roots Reggae featuring Groundation and Tchiya Amet; Aug. 8: 9 p.m., Brenda Boykin and Home Cookin’; Aug. 9: 10 p.m. Greatful Dead night with DJ Digital Dave. 11317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5099 www.ashkenaz.com 

Eli’s Mile High Club Doors open at 8 p.m. Every Friday, 10 p.m. - 2 a.m., Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Split Shankin and Funky Man. $10; 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland 655-6661 

First Congregational Church Aug. 3, 7:30 p.m. George Cleve conducts the Midsummer Mozart Festival Orchestra in Symphony in B-flat, K 391, Piano Concert in F Major, K 459, German Dances, K 571 and Symphony in C Major, K 425, 2345 Channing Way. (415) 292-9620. 

Freight and Salvage Coffee House All music at 8 p.m. Aug 3: Wylie & the Wild West, the Waller Brothers, Aug 4: Adam Levy, Will Bernard; Aug 5: MonTango; Aug 6: Frank Yamma; Aug 8: San Francisco Klezmer Experience; Aug 9: John Renbourn; Aug 10: Jody Stecher, Kate Brislin; Aug 11: Al Stewart. $16.50 - $19.50. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jupiter Aug. 3: Mas Cabezas, Rhodes-based latin jazz trio with local vet Ezra Gale; Aug. 4: Solomon Grundy, from Orange County, combining jazz, calypso, and world beat; Aug. 7: Joshi Marshal Project, jazz, soul and hiphop; Aug. 8: Broun Fellini’s, jazz/funk/hiphop grooves; Aug. 9: Beatdown with DJs Delon, Yamu and Add1; Aug. 10: Steven Emerson, singer/songwriter mixes cool jazz and sweat soul; Aug. 11: J Dogs, funk-soul; Aug. 14: Chris Shot Group, folk-rock and soul combo; Aug. 15: Lithium House, electro/drum & bass styles with live jazz; Aug. 16: Beatdown with DJs Delon, Yamu and Add1; Aug. 17: The Mind Club, Old school funk grooves with sonic swirls of acid jazz; Aug. 18: Blue & Tan, Bassist Vicki Grossi brings in the crew for elctro-acid-jazz funk stylings; All music starts at 8:00 p.m. www.jupiterbeer.com; or call the hotline: THE-ROCK 2181 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625.  

La Peña Cultural Center Aug 3: 8 p.m. Los Delicados, Aya de Leon $10; Aug 4: 8 p.m. Grito Serpentino, Small Axe Project, Jime Salcedo-Malo & Leticia Hernandez $10; Aug 5: 7 p.m. Insight in concert $10; Aug 10: 8:30 p.m. Ire $8; Aug 11: 9:30 p.m. Fito Reynoso’s Ritmo y Armonia. $10, $13 for dance class starting at 8:15; Aug 12: 5, 7:30 p.m. “Say Yo Business” Linda Tillery & The Cultural Heritage Choir. $18 in advance, $20 at the door. In the Cafe 3105 Shattuck Avenue 849-2568 

La Note/Jazzschool Aug 5: 4:30 p.m. Vocalists’ Series (Denine Monet), 5:30 p.m. Instrumentalists’ Series (Pelo Mar); Aug 12: 4:30 p.m. The Freedom Project, 5:30 Eli Sundelson Trio. 2377 Shattuck Avenue 845-5373. 

Shattuck Down Low Lounge Every Tuesday: 9:30 p.m., Posh Tuesdays with DJs Yamu, Delon, Add1, and Tequila Willie. Shattuck at Allston. www.thebeatdownsound.com  

Downtown Restaurant and Bar August 6: 7 p.m. Jesse Colin Young of the sixties hit group, The Youngbloods, will be performing at a No Nukes evening, sponsored by Greenpeace. The evening commemorates the 56th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The proceeds go to Tri-Valley CAREs and Citizen Alert. Tickets are $100. 2102 Shattuck Ave. 800-728-6223 

The Greek Theatre Aug. 3 and Aug. 4, 7 p.m. The String Cheese Incident, $29.75. Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road 444-TIXS, or (415) 421-TIXS www.sfx.com 

Ali Akbar College of Music Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m. A concert of Indian classical music. Rita Sahai, vocals; Rachel Untersher, violin; Madhukar Malayanur, tabla; $20 general; $15 students. St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave., (415) 454-6264 or www.aacm.org 

Yoshi’s Aug. 3: 9 p.m, Woody Allen's New Orleans Jazz Band, $50; Aug. 4 and Aug. 5. Oregon, world jazz fusion. $18 to $22 general; Sunday matinee, $10 adult with one child and $5 children; Aug. 7. Claudia Acuna $14; Aug. 8 through Aug. 12: Steve Turre Quintet, trombone and conch shell master in small group setting. Wednesday and Thursday, $18; Friday and Saturday, $22; Sunday matinee, $5 kids, $10 adults with one child, $18 general; Sunday, $22. Unless otherwise noted, music at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. 238-9200 or 762-2277 www.yoshis.com 

THEATER 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts Aug 4: 8 p.m. “Cuatro maestros Touring Festival” two-hour theatrical event of music and dance performed by four elder folk artists and their talented young counterparts. Adults $18 Children $12; Aug. 10: 7:30 p.m. & Aug. 11, 12, 5 p.m. Campers from Stage Door Conservatory’s “On Broadway” program for grades 5-9 will perform Fiddler on the Roof, Jr. $12 adults, $8 kids. (For info call 527-5939); 2640 College Avenue 845-8542 ext. 302 

“The Great Sebastians” Through Aug. 11: Friday and Saturday evenings 8 p.m. plus Thursday, Aug. 9, presented by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. A tale about a mind-reading act touring behind the Iron Curtain. A communist general believes the act and “invites” the Sebastians to his villa where the humor and excitement follows. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck (at Berryman). For reservations call 528-5620 

“Iphegenia in Aulis” Through Aug. 12: Sat. and Sun. 5 p.m. Special dawn performance on August 12 at 7 a.m. A free park performance by the Shotgun Players of Euripides’ play about choices and priorities. With a masked chorus, singing, dancing, and live music. Feel free to bring food and something soft to sit on. John Hinkel Park, Southhampton Place at Arlington Avenue (different locations July 7 and 8). 655-0813 

“The Lady’s Not for Burning” Through Aug. 4: 8 p.m. Set in the 15th century, a soldier wishes to be hanged and a witch does not want to be burned at the stake. Written by Christopher Fry, directed by Susannah Woods. $5 - $10. South Berkeley Community Church 1802 Fairview st. 464-1117 

“Loot” Through Aug 25, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m. Special Performance Aug 20, 8:00 p.m. General Admission: $15, Students / Seniors: $10 La Val’s 1834 Euclid Avenue 655-0813 

“Orphans” Through Aug. 5: Fri. and Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Lyle Kessler’s dark comedy about a mysterious stranger invading the home of two orphaned brothers. $15. The Speakeasy Theater, 2016 Seventh St. 326-8493 

“Reefer Madness” Aug. 8, 9, Aug. 22, 23: 9 p.m. A new one-act theatre piece adapted from a 1936 government-funded film opens a critical eye to the control of our society. Performed by The Elemental Theatre Group La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Avenue. Wednesdays are “pay what you can,” Thursdays $5 - $10. Contact Zachary Rouse or Tisha Sloan for more info at 655-4150 

“Romeo & Juliet” Aug 11 - Sep 2, Tuesdays - Thursdays. Bruns Memorial Amphitheater. Shakespeare’s classic about a young couple that meets, falls in love and dies in just five days. Adults: $22 - $41 youth (under 16): $12 - $41. 

“Barnum” Aug. 3 through Aug. 12. The story of legendary circusmaster P.T. Barnum, with plenty of musical theater and circus acrobatics. Splash Circus’ aspiring young circus artists will perform an hour before each show. $15 to $27. Friday through Sunday, 8 p.m. Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland. 531-9597 www.woodminster.com 

FILMS 

Pacific Film Archive Aug 3: 7:00 A Full-Up Train, 9:00 The Men of Tohoku; Aug 4: 7:00 Human Desire, 8:50 Hangmen Also Die; Aug 5: 3 p.m. The Yearling, 5:30 p.m The Woman Who Touched Legs; Aug 7: 7:30 p.m. Figures of Motion; Aug 8: 7:30 p.m. Confessions of an Opium Eater; Aug 9: 7:30 p.m. The Return of Frank James; Aug 10: 7 p.m. Alone on the Pacific, 9:05 p.m. Her Brother; Aug 11: 7 p.m. While the City Sleeps, 9 p.m. Beyong a Reasonable Doubt; Aug 12: 3 p.m. Charlotte’s Web, 5:30 p.m. Tokyo Olympiad. New PFA Theatre 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

“7th annual Brainwash Movie Festival” Aug. 3-5: 9 p.m. (bring a chair) at the Pyramid Ale brewery, 901 Gilman Street 527-9090 ext. 218. Festival Pass: $30, Individual tickets: online: $8, door: $10 

“Lumumba” Aug. 10 at Shattuck Theater, Biogrophy of the slain African political figure Patrice Lumumba. In French with English subtitles. 2230 Shattuck Ave.  

“Roommates” Aug. 12. Max Apple’s true story of his immigrany grandfather who moved in with him when he was in college (in the 60’s). Peer led discussion following movie. $2 Suggested donation. Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 1414 Walnut Street 848-0237 

Exhibits 

“BACA National Juried Exhibition: Works on Paper” Through August 31: Wed. - Sun. Noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893 

“Bernard Maisner: Illuminated Manuscripts and Paintings” Through Aug. 8 Maisner works in miniature as well as in large scales, combining his mastery of medieval illumination, gold leafing, and modern painting techniques. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library 2400 Ridge Road 849-2541 

“Debbie Moore’s Autobiographical Paintings” Through Sep 30 at Good Vibrations. Portraits of the artist’s sensual explorations spanning 25 years and reflecting changing ways of intimacy and body play. 2504 San Pablo Avenue 848-1985 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910” chronicles the transformation of the city of Berkeley in this 10 year period. Thursday through Saturday, 1 – 4 p.m. Through September. Berkeley History Center, Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center St. Wheelchair accessible. 848-0181. Free.  

“A Fine Line” Through August 24, Tuesday - Friday, noon - 5 p.m. or by appointment. An exhibition works by Kala Fellowship winners for the years 2000 and 2001. Kala Art Institute 1060 Heinz Avenue 549-2977 

“Geographies of My Heart” Collage paintings by Jennifer Colby through August 24; Flora Lamson Hewlett Library 2400 Ridge Road 649-2541 

“MFA Survey Exhibition 2001” third annual exhibition of works of recent graduates from Bay Area master of Fine Art programs. This year featuring artists working in three-dimentional media. Through Aug 18 Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth Street 527-1214 

“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 

“New Visions: Introductions 2001” Through Aug. 18: Wed. - Sat.: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Juried by Artist- Curator Rene Yanez and Robbin Henderson, Executive Director of the Berkeley Art Center, the exhibition features works from some of California’s up-and-coming artists. Pro Arts 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9425 

“Sistahs: Ethnofraphic Ceramics” through Aug. 22, Reception July 29 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Womens Cancer Resource Center Gallery 3023 Shattuck Avenue 548-9286 ext. 307 

“Ten Years Here” Exhibit celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Turn of the Century Fine Arts. Aug. 4 - Sept. 14, Sat & Sun 1-5 p.m. Reception Aug 4 2:00 - 7:00 p.m. 2510 San Pablo Avenue 849-0950 

Readings 

Boadecia’s Books Aug 3: Mabel Maney (author of the Nancy Clue/ Cherry Aimless and Hardly Boys mysteries) reads from her new book “Kiss the Girls and Make them Spy” featuring Jane Bond, James’ lesbian twin sister; Aug 4: Dyke Open Myke! Coffeehouse-style open mike night featuring both established and emerging talent; Aug 10 Susann Cokal reads from her novel “Mirabilis” set in 14th-century France; Aug 11: Trina Robbins discusses her latest work “Eternally Bad: Goddesses with Attitute”. All events start at 7:30 p.m. and are free. 398 Colusa Avenue 559-9184 

Black Oak Books Aug 8: William Turner discusses his new memoir “Rearview Mirror: Looking Back at the FBI, the CIA and Other Tails”; Aug 9: Robert Clark reads from his new novel “Love Among the Ruins”; Aug 15: Molly Giles reads from her debut novel “Iron Shoes”. All shows at 7:30 p.m. free of charge. 1491 Shattuck Avenue 486-0698 

Cody’s Books Aug 5: Justin Chin, Gerry Gomez Pearlberg; Aug 8: Jane Mead, Mark Turpin. $2 donation. Readings at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-0837 

Cafe de la Paz “Poetry Nitro” Weekly poetry open mike. Aug 6: featuring Andrena zawinski. 6:30 p.m. sign-up, 7 p.m. reading. 1600 Shattuck Ave. 843-0662  

Coffee Mill Poetry Series Aug. 7: Featured readers JC and Bert Glick. 7-9 p.m.; August 21: Featured Readers: Victoria Joyce and Therese Bamberger; Both 7-9 p.m. Free. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland for info. (510)465-3935 or (510)526-5985, or Email: ksdgk@earthlink.net 

Tours 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Fridays 9:30 - 11:45 a.m. or by appointment. Call ahead to make reservations. Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387 

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

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins. $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. (closed Sundays, Memorial Day through Labor Day) Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

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 will close its exhibition galleries for renovation on October 1. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until October 1, 2001: “Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture.” “Sites Along the Nile: Rescuing Ancient Egypt.” “The Art of Research: Nelson Graburn and the Aesthetics of Inuit Sculpture.” “Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Photographs by George Foster.”  

$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 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

Lawrence Hall of Science “Science in Toyland,” through Sept. 9. Exhibit uses toys to demonstrate scientific principles and to help develop children's thinking processes. Susan Cerny’s collection of over 200 tops from around the world. “Space Weather,” through Sept. 2. Learn about solar cycles, space weather, the cause of the Aurorae and recent discoveries made by leading astronomers. This interactive exhibit lets visitors access near real-time data from the Sun and space, view interactive videos and find out about a variety of solar activities. “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. “Saturday Night Stargazing,” First and third Saturdays each month. 8 - 10 p.m., LHS plaza. Space Weather Exhibit now - Sept. 2; now - Sept. 9 Science in Toyland; Saturdays 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. $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. “How Big Is the Universe?” Aug. 1 through Aug. 24. Learn how to determine the distance of celestial objects, one of the purposes of the Hubble Space Telescope. Daily, 2:15 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, 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 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  

The UC Berkeley Art Museum is closed for renovations until the fall. 

Send arts events two weeks in advance to Calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.net, 2076 University, Berkeley 94704 or fax to 841-5694. 

Six years after the concept was approved, bicyclists, day trekkers and bay enthusiasts can expect the completion of the Berkeley Bay Trail by January. 

“The trail has been long awaited but it will be a very exciting link for commuting and recreation once it’s completed,” said Parks and Waterfront Director Lisa Caronna. 

Ultimately the new trail will be a link in a ribbon of 400 miles of pathways that will encircle the San Francisco and San Pablo bays. 

The City Council gave its stamp of approval to the trail design July 24 and the city manager was given authorization to sign a contract with Richmond-based Bauman Landscaping Company, to construct the paved trail. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in September. 

According to supervising civil engineer, Apurba Chatterjee, the 14-foot-wide trail will extend from Point Emery, near the end of Ashby Avenue, and run along the west side of West Frontage Road to Virginia Street where it will link with an existing section of the trail that extends to the Richmond Marina.  

Berkeley signed an agreement with Caltrans to construct the trail in May of 1996. Originally the cost was estimated to be $2.4 million but has since increased to $3 million, including engineering costs. The state will fund most of the project and Berkeley will pony up about $78,000, according to the staff report. 

The state Senate approved the “Ring Around the Bay” plan in 1987. The plan was authored by then Senator Bill Lockyer, now the state’s attorney general. The project is being overseen by the Association of Bay Area Governments which has been responsible for trail design and administration of the plan. 

The Berkeley section of the trail will be part of the larger San Francisco Bay Trail which will connect nine Bay Area Counties and 47 cities with 400 miles of trail, paths and roadway that will encircle the San Francisco and San Pablo bays. According to the project’s official website, 210 miles of the trail is already completed. 

The website describes the trail as having many uses.  

“The Bay Trail provides easy accessible recreational opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts including hikers, joggers, bicyclists and skaters,” the description reads. “It also has important transportation benefits, providing a commute alternative for cyclists, and connecting to numerous public transportation facilities such as ferry terminals, light-rail lines, bus stops and Caltrans, Amtrak and BART stations.” 

According to the website, the trail will eventually cross all the major toll bridges in the Bay Area. 

The trail will wind through beaches, marinas, fishing piers and over 130 parks and wildlife preserves for a grand total of 57,000 acres of open space. The trail also passes through urban areas such as downtown San Francisco.  

The various sections will consist of paved multi-use paths, dirt trails, bike lanes and city streets. 

Caronna said the Berkeley Bay Trail will also complete bicycle and pedestrian access to the Berkeley Marina from the Pedestrian Overpass once it’s completed. 

“We have just received a Coastal Conservatory grant of $200,000 to study linking the trail to the Berkeley Marina,” Caronna said. “It’s very exciting to have these pathways that are connecting everything.” 

For more information about the San Francisco Bay Trail go to the ABAG’s website at www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/baytrail/index.html

Many casual listeners believe that Mexican music consists of a single style.  

But in fact there is a huge variety within the culture south of the border.  

The concert will present master musicians from four different regions, emphasizing the diversity, strength and quality of traditional Mexican and Mexican-American music and dance. This program features elder master artists together with talented and dedicated young artists. 

Julián Gonzaléz plays violin in the traditional form of mariachi from Jalisco, Mexico, which he performs without the modern addition of trumpets. He learned his technique and repertory from his father and uncle, who learned it from their father. This version of mariachi has the deep soul of legitimate folk music, in contrast to the commercial caricatures which we often hear. 

Atilano López sings many of his songs in Purepecha, one of the native languages of Michoacan.  

Traditionally musicians in this region also dance, so it is likely that López will put down his vihuela and demonstrate a few fancy steps. The troupe of dancers also perform an important role as percussionists.  

López is joined by his two sons, Atilano and Roberto, among the members of his band. 

Santiago Jimenez Jr. learned the art of Tex-Mex accordion from his father, Santiago Jimenez Sr. who was one of the pioneers of this style. Although his brother Flaco combines elements of rock ’n‘ roll and pop music in his version of Tex-Mex, Santiago is proud of the fidelity with which he preserves the flavor of his father’s music. This is the real deal, straight and undiluted. 

Andrés Vega plays music with obvious Caribbean spice. With his son’s harp sounds providing a bouncy rhythmic framework, the other musicians improvise melodic variations and complex counterrhythms.  

The band plays several exotic instruments which are in the same family as guitars and vihuelas, but are used only in Veracruz. This music inspires a party atmosphere, so the hall becomes a fandango with several generations of revelers celebrating together. 

Even though the focus of this program is the grand old masters, perhaps the brightest stars are the young local musicians called Los Cenzontles (Mockingbirds), who play a short set to begin each half of the concert, and also dance and sing during several of the numbers of the various master musicians. In this way, we get to see these traditions being passed on right before our eyes, as the new generation polishes techniques with guidance from their respected elders. 

The members of this local group study traditional Mexican music and dance at Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center in San Pablo.  

They demonstrate deep mastery of all four styles of music being presented on this program, justifying the name “Cenzontles” for mockingbirds are famous for learning the songs of other birds and for their general musical virtuosity. 

This concert is a treasure-store for musicologists or fans of world music.  

Any one of these four master musicians would be worthy of a journey crosstown, yet they are all playing the same venue on the same night. 

Also the dancers perform in authentic folkdance styles. This is not “Ballet Folklorico” in glittering costumes. These are the flirtatious rituals of farmers and cowboys close to the earth. 

Of course, anybody who is already familiar with the riches of Mexican folk music and dance will understand how exciting this concert will be.  

Those who are unfamiliar with these styles should prepare for a treat.

LOS ANGELES — NASA has begun releasing the most accurate global map ever created – 3-D images of mountains, valleys and plains that were put together from a trillion measurements of the Earth’s surface collected by a space shuttle crew last year. 

The digital topographical maps were crunched from the 8 terabytes of data gathered during the 11-day Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, which ended in February 2000. The data – equal to 160 million pages of text – includes precise measurements of 80 percent of the Earth’s land mass. 

“The map is going to be 100 times better than any other global map that we have,” said Tom Farr, the mission’s deputy project scientist at the NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. 

Astronauts collected the data with two large radar antennas, one tucked in the shuttle cargo bay and one on the end of a 197-foot mast. The two simultaneously imaged the surface of the Earth. When combined and processed, the data gathered reveal a stereo view of the topography. 

NASA expects maps created from the data – available over the Web – will help pilots dodge remote mountain peaks, scientists study drainage patterns in valleys where they’ve never set foot and the Defense Department – the mission’s main customer – better guide missiles. 

More than 160 military and intelligence systems will use the digital terrain elevation data, said Thomas Hennig, the project’s manager at the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, which underwrote much of the $142 million mission. 

Other uses include settling border disputes, like those that arose while hammering out the 1995 Dayton peace accord that ended the war in Bosnia. 

“They can see immediately if we move it, it does this for me, and it does that for you,” Hennig said. 

For now, the data will come at a trickle, with JPL releasing one mapped area each week to scientists. The first, which covers an 8,000-square-mile swath of Colorado, was released Tuesday. 

“For many parts of the world that have been poorly mapped this will be a tremendous benefit to lots of people,” said Allen Carroll, chief cartographer for the National Geographic Society. 

The first continental map of North America is slated for release next spring. The last of six large releases, showing the world’s islands, should come by the end of 2002. Steve Young, a researcher at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., works on a project that will use the data to create a synthetic vision system pilots can use for navigation. 

Such a virtual reality display would meld global positioning satellite information and topographic data to show pilots their position in three-dimensional space — including the location of obstacles. 

“Hopefully, it would help to eliminate accidents due to loss of situational awareness, either in the fog or soup, with respect to where the ground, towers or mountains are,” Young said. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Mission site: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm

PALO ALTO — A jury convicted a Palo Alto man of second-degree murder Thursday for beating and strangling his wife of 33 years. 

Prosecutors believe real estate consultant Kenneth Fitzhugh, 57, may have killed music teacher Kristine Fitzhugh, 52, because she was about to reveal that he was not their son’s biological father. 

But the exact motive was unclear because Fitzhugh was angry about several issues with his wife, prosecutor Michael Fletcher said outside Santa Clara County Superior Court. 

“There were other dynamics in this relationship that were stressors,” he said. Fitzhugh needs to “buck up and start being honest about this,” he added. 

The six-man, six-woman jury deliberated for three days before determining that Fitzhugh killed his wife, though not with premeditation, a requirement for a first-degree murder conviction. Fitzhugh faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 10. 

Fitzhugh sat quietly and didn’t appear to show any emotion as the verdict was read. His lawyer said he will appeal. 

Fletcher said at trial that Kristine Fitzhugh was about to tell her oldest son, Justin, that his biological father was a longtime family friend, not Kenneth Fitzhugh. DNA testing proved that 23-year-old Justin Fitzhugh’s father is former lawyer Robert Brown of Placerville. 

Police at first considered the death an accident, but an autopsy showed Kristine Fitzhugh had been killed by a blow to the head. The defense claimed an intruder killed Kristine Fitzhugh. Nolan said his client was the victim of sloppy police work and investigators who jumped to conclusions. No weapon was found and no motive was proved. 

Kenneth Fitzhugh said he was looking for a church site in San Bruno for a client when his wife was killed, and he returned home to find her dead at the bottom of the stairs. He testified that he never suspected his wife and his best friend had had an affair. 

Both Kenneth Fitzhugh and his wife’s son, Justin, took the stand during the monthlong trial. 

The jury also saw a dramatic police video of Kenneth Fitzhugh from the day of his wife’s death. He pounded the table and screamed that his wife’s shoes were responsible for her death. He said she had previously fallen while wearing the shoes found beside her body and that he had repeatedly told her to get rid of them. 

Police had found a pair of shoes, a paper towel and a shirt in Kenneth’s 1999 Chevrolet Suburban. All were flecked with his wife’s blood. His lawyer claimed a traumatized and dazed Kenneth Fitzhugh took the items to his vehicle after finding his wife’s dead body. 

OAKLAND — The boy who was mauled by three pit bulls in June is showing signs of improvement, but hospital officials said Thursday he likely will not get to go home any time soon. 

Shawn Jones, 10, is receiving speech and physical therapy. Doctors hope the daily sessions will help him regain motor skills and help them recognize the damage done. 

”(Today) he sang to his doctor a Whitney Houston song. He also sings songs he makes up,” said Carol Hyman, media director of the Children’s Hospital in Oakland. 

Hyman said doctors could not estimate how long the boy will stay in the hospital, but said it could be many months. He still must undergo muscle and nerve reconstruction. 

Shawn was riding his new bicycle in his Richmond neighborhood on June 18 when he was attacked by the dogs. His injuries included dozens of puncture wounds on his upper body and both his ears were torn from his head. His hearing was not affected. All but one of his wounds have closed. 

“He is working very hard in physical therapy,” Hyman said. “Dr. Elaine Pico (a rehabilitation physician) said he was even complaining, and that is a good sign because it means he is pushing himself to the limits.” 

Since Monday, Shawn has been in a regular room with another boy his age in the rehabilitation unit, and had a trip to the playroom Thursday. 

Two of the three dogs are in the custody of animal control officers. The third was never found. 

The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office has charged the owner of the pit bulls, Benjamin Moore, 27, with two misdemeanor counts of allegedly concealing the dogs after the attack. A hearing for Moore was scheduled for Aug. 8.

BERKELEY — The American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation says that longtime leader Julia Carol is one of five recipients of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's "Innovators Combating Substance Abuse'' award, which comes with a $300,000 grant. 

According to the foundation, Carol, the former executive director and current director of special programs, has been "instrumental'' in creating a smoking prevention program called "Teens As Teachers'' and eventually eliminating smoking on domestic airline flights. She has worked for 17 years to clear secondhand smoke from the air, raise a generation of smoke-free youth, and counter "Big Tobacco's'' influence. 

“It is a tremendous honor for me and everyone affiliated with The American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation to be recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,'' Carol said.  

She added that it is through grants and rewards that the 

foundation has been able to grow from a local grassroots organization into a 

national team of public health professionals. 

The Innovators Award includes a $300,000 grant, which the foundation plans to use to create a Web site that would be a resource database for health advocates, reporters, policy makers and researchers.

SACRAMENTO — California’s fourth- and eighth-graders, including students who must take the state’s new graduation test, scored near the bottom again in the latest national math test released Thursday. 

The sobering results of the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress in math, known as the nation’s report card, came despite years of concentrated education reforms and billions of dollars spent on public schools. 

Only 15 percent of California fourth-graders and 18 percent of eighth-graders performed at or above the proficient level in 2000. That was an improvement from 11 percent and 17 percent in 1996, but below the national averages of 25 percent for fourth-graders and 26 percent for eighth-graders. 

State fourth-graders scored 214, up from 209 in 1996, but well below the national average of 226. Of the 40 states that gave the test, only Mississippi scored lower. The perfect score was 500. 

State eighth-graders had a score of 262, down from 263 four years before and below the national average of 274. Of 39 states participating, only Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico had lower scores. 

However, state education officials quickly cautioned that many of the math-related changes are just starting to take effect and probably won’t be reflected until the next NAEP math test in 2004. 

“The report card released by NAEP today shows that California schools, teachers, parents and students have a lot of work ahead to improve student achievement and reach the higher standards we have set,” said Kerry Mazzoni, education secretary for Gov. Gray Davis, who made school improvements the focus of his first two years in office. 

Mazzoni noted that the test was given in February 2000 to 1,750 fourth and eighth graders in this state, before the Davis-proposed spending of $298 million to train math teachers and before the approval of tough new math books last winter. 

State school Superintendent Delaine Eastin also said the state has “a lot of work to do,” particularly for minority and poor students. 

However, she said California’s NAEP scores are “artificially deflated” because more non-English-speaking students are included here than elsewhere in the country. 

California’s sample included 27 percent limited-English-proficient students in fourth grade and 19 percent in eighth grade, compared with 6 percent and 4 percent nationally. 

In addition, 49 percent of California’s tested students in fourth grade were eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, compared with 35 percent nationally. 

Eastin said she was pleased that fourth graders, who have benefitted from smaller class sizes in their first four grades, improved their score. She also pointed to modest improvements for minority students. 

The eighth-graders who lost ground are the class of 2004, the first who must take the state’s new high school test to graduate. That test covers language arts and math, including algebra and statistics. 

Eastin says the test shows more focus and resources are needed for middle schools, such as smaller class sizes, additional after-school or summer classes and higher salaries for qualified teachers in poor schools. 

On the Net: NAEP results: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard

The FBI on Thursday discounted an anonymous tip to an Internet site alleging that Chandra Levy’s body was buried under a parking lot near a Virginia military base 130 miles south of Washington. 

The FBI investigated the tip that alleged the missing intern was buried near Fort Lee, an Army training base south of Richmond, said Mary Johlie, an FBI spokeswoman in Richmond. 

“The FBI, in concert with Fort Lee officials, have determined that there is no site on or around the Fort Lee military base that corresponds with information provided in the anonymous tip,” Johlie said in a statement. 

Police who have investigated Levy’s disappearance in Washington had asked authorities at Fort Lee to search the site, but the FBI announced late Wednesday that no search would be conducted until the tip was investigated. 

Police said the tip, which came from a California crime tip Web site, was just one of hundreds of leads being pursued since Levy disappeared three months ago. 

Terrance Gainer, Washington’s No. 2 police official, said police requested the search after some information in the tip about the purported location of Levy’s body – a parking lot – and a description of construction in the area checked out. 

“We called down there and confirmed obviously that there’s a Fort Lee, Va., that there’s construction and there’s a parking lot,” Gainer said. 

“This is a little better than a tip like, ’I had vision last night she is in dark water,”’ he said. “There is more specificity. And it is geographically accurate. But that is not necessarily unusual.” 

Fort Lee is a 5,000-acre Army training base about 30 miles south of Richmond. 

Levy, 24, of Modesto came to Washington last year for an internship at the federal Bureau of Prisons and was last seen April 30. 

Police have interviewed Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., four times. Condit, who is married, acknowledged in his third police interview that he had an affair with Levy, according to a police source. Police say he is not a suspect in her disappearance. 

Washington police Sgt. Joe Gentile said WeTip, a California organization that accepts crime tips and passes them on to authorities, faxed the anonymous tip Tuesday night. 

——— 

On the Net: 

WeTip: http://www.WeTip.com 

SAN DIEGO — A 15-year-old boy who allegedly was lured away from his family in 1999 returned to San Diego on Thursday after he was stopped at Disneyworld for trespassing. 

Michael Pringle embraced his 17-year-old brother, his mother and friends as he arrived at the airport amid of crowd of reporters and photographers who had been alerted by the FBI. 

Michael was picked up by sheriff’s deputies last week after he was stopped for trespassing at the Orlando, Fla., theme park, FBI agent Darrell Foxworth said. 

An alert social worker recognized Michael from a photo on the Web site of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, he said. 

Michael disappeared from Chula Vista in May 1999, where he had been living in a home for troubled youth. At the time, the family had been experiencing hardship, with his mother suffering from clinical depression and his father out of work, according to his brother, Robert. 

An older man, whom authorities and the family declined to identify, offered Michael trips and gifts, his mother, Mercedes Pringle, said. 

“He didn’t seem like a bad guy,” she said. “He seemed to be a nice character. We didn’t think anything about it. But by the time we realized it, it was too late. They were gone.” 

A week after disappearing, Michael phoned his brother to report he was fine, but wouldn’t say where he was. It was the last time they spoke. 

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Michael declined to say where he had been or what he had been through. 

“I don’t feel like getting into that right now,” he said, betraying little emotion. 

Though investigators say he was lured away, Michael disputed that. He said was not held against his will. 

“I thought of trying to come back. I just didn’t,” he said. “I’m back now.” 

Mrs. Pringle, a medical assistant, described the last few years as “a nightmare.” 

“It breaks my heart. I blame myself,” she said. “It’s my fault because I should have caught some things ... like one time this guy gave my son a pager and a cellular phone. Now what in the world are you going to do with a cellular phone on a 12-year-old kid?” 

Foxworth said the case is under investigation, but no arrests have been made. 

“This child has been missing since he was 12 years old. There’s a lot of questions as far as what’s happened, where he’s been for the two and a half years, what his experiences have been, what he’s been subjected to.” 

Michael said he was happy to be home and looking forward to restarting the relationship with his family. He also wants to resume school, though after more than two years away from classes he couldn’t say what grade he’d be in. 

Asked what he planned to do next, Michael bowed his head in thought. His brother jokingly interjected: “He’s going to Disneyland.” 

Giving his brother a stoney look, Michael remained silent. 

MARINA DEL REY — The California Coastal Commission, faced with a lawsuit, promised Thursday to begin reviewing this Santa Monica Bay community’s coastal development plan this year, a move that might result in recommending a halt to new development. 

“We are hopeful that this review ... will help us save a slice of this coastal paradise that is now accessible to all of the residents of the Los Angeles regions,” said David DeLange, president of the Coalition to Save the Marina, which had sued the commission. 

Under terms of a consent decree settling the suit, the commission agreed to begin its review of land-use plans for popular Marina del Rey and part of the Ballona Wetlands open area this year. 

After the review is completed, the commission will make recommendations to Los Angeles County officials on whether development plans for the area should be modified and how.  

The county is not required to follow those recommendations, however. 

Activists said development plans for high-rise condominium towers, hotels and shopping centers threaten the natural feel of Marina del Rey, an unincorporated area 15 miles southwest of Los Angeles. 

A plan by a Saudi Arabian sheik to build a 20-story luxury hotel was singled out by activists as the kind of project they’re trying to stop.  

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to authorize negotiations with Sheik Abdul Aziz al-Ibrahim to extend the lease he already has on public land at the marina. 

“The very character and charm of Marina del Rey is at stake,” DeLange said.  

“We intend to fight to preserve this way of life.” 

The coastal commission is required by the state’s coastal act to review each of the state’s Local Coastal Programs – land-use and zoning directives that outline regulations for development along the state’s coast – every five years. 

The commission has only reviewed two LCPs out of more than 50 since it was created in 1972, said Sarah Christie, the agency’s legislative coordinator. 

“The commission has never had the budgetary and staff capabilities to carry out this program,” Christie said. “Regrettably, we’re in violation of our own statute.” 

Next year’s state budget had included $1.4 million for the commission to perform more reviews, but Gov. Gray Davis cut that money out with a line-item veto when he signed the budget. 

Christie said that regardless of funding concerns the commission is committed to performing the Marina del Rey LCP review. 

“We don’t know where we’re going to get the staff to do it, but we’ll find a way,” she said.

SANTA FE SPRINGS — Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson’s effort to reopen a defunct oil refinery and build a power plant faced scrutiny Thursday by some who questioned the safety of such an operation. 

It was the latest round in a battle between the televangelist’s company, Robertson Charitable Remainder Unitrust, which claims the concerns have been chiefly raised by environmental activists, and the opposition group Communities for a Better Environment. 

While Communities for a Better Environment held a town hall meeting to discuss possible health risks posed by opening the Cenco Refining Inc. plant, refinery officials were offering residents tours to allay any fears. 

Caught in the middle were residents who want the suburban Los Angeles community to prosper but worry about a repeat of the plant’s previous problems, such as ammonia and sulfur leaks. 

“I want to know why, why don’t they put it somewhere else. Why can’t they put it in Beverly Hills or Westwood or Santa Monica,” said Francis Fuentes, who moved to the South Fulton Village senior citizen residential complex just blocks from the refinery in 1998. “I want them to tell me they won’t open it.” 

Fuentes was one of 75 people who attended the public meeting to discuss possible health risks posed by opening the Cenco Refining Inc. plant. 

But Robertson’s company liaison, Don Brown, said the company has addressed any potential health risks the plant might pose to the community. 

“This is a small plant. It really doesn’t take up any space. It isn’t going to be noticed by the public,” Brown said, adding if opened the operation would refine 50,000 barrels of oil a day and include a plant to power refinery equipment. 

Activists and some residents have accused Robertson’s company of trying to push the plant on a vulnerable community, which is predominantly working class and Hispanic. 

“These are people already fighting pollution problems,” said Scott Kuhn, a CBE attorney. 

Brown said the allegations were untrue. 

“How do you fight something like that? This plant was already here,” he said. 

CBE sued Robertson’s company last year, claiming the plant should go through the same permitting process as other plants.  

The group contends reopening the plant would expose residents to increased pollution and the threat of toxic gases. 

Brown said the company plans to spend $170 million to install state-of-the-art pollution controls and monitoring equipment.  

He also said the state’s conditional use permit makes clear gas leaks or other problems could shutter the plant. 

“This is not going to be like the old plant. If anything happens like that, the state will close us down,” he said. 

Robertson’s family trust purchased the closed Powerine Refinery Inc. in 1998 using money from the sale of some of his family’s broadcasting interest. He said he’s been seeking bank financing to reopen it ever since, renaming it Cenco Refining Co.

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals panel ruled Thursday the California Department of Corrections cannot punish Muslim inmates who miss prison work assignments to attend a Sabbath service. 

The case stems from a class-action suit representing about 300 Muslim inmates at a medium-security state prison in Vacaville. The prison reduces time for prisoners who work at the prison. Inmates sued the prison in 1996, saying they were being unfairly punished for missing work schedules when they attended a Friday service on prison grounds. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the prisoners, saying the prison’s policy violated their rights to freedom of religion. The penalties for missing work assignments include suspension of privileges, confinement to cells and a loss of early release credits. 

Judge Dorothy W. Nelson wrote that freedom of religion in prisons “is obviously in the public interest,” and noted that attendance of religious services are “commanded by the Koran.” 

The decision upholds a federal judge’s injunction that prohibited the department from punishing inmates who miss work to attend services. 

The case is Mayweathers v. Newland, 00-16708. 

LONDON — Depression is at least as common during pregnancy as it is after childbirth, and should be diagnosed because it may be harmful to the baby, new research indicates. 

While doctors are careful to spot and treat postnatal depression, they are not so vigilant about looking out for depression during pregnancy because they don’t expect to see it, said the study’s lead investigator Jonathan Evans, a senior lecturer in psychiatry at Bristol University in England. 

“This will be a surprise to many because most people think that women are protected from depression during pregnancy, that it is a time of emotional well-being,” agreed Dr. Ruta Nonacs, a perinatal psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston who was not involved in the study. “But this shows that over 10 percent of women have depression during pregnancy – the same as at any point in their lives.” 

Previous studies have suggested that depression and anxiety during pregnancy may be linked to low birth weight, premature birth and reduced blood flow in the womb. Evans called for urgent research to clarify the potential consequences to the baby of a mother’s depression during pregnancy.  

In the end, it will come down to whether the depression itself, or the drugs used to treat it, are worse for the fetus, experts said. 

Postnatal depression is different from the “baby blues,” a transient tearfulness that afflicts most women in the first few days following childbirth. 

A more severe mental illness after childbirth called postpartum psychosis, which affects about one in 1,000 women after delivery, can in extreme cases involve mothers harming their children. It usually strikes in the first two weeks to one month after delivery. 

In the study, published this week in the British Medical Journal, more than 9,000 British women recorded their moods through pregnancy and after childbirth in a series of questionnaires.  

They were assessed for depression at 18 and 32 weeks of pregnancy and eight weeks and eight months after giving birth. 

The scientists found that 13.5 percent of the women passed the threshold for depression when they were 32 weeks pregnant, while 9.1 percent scored at that level eight weeks after delivery. 

Normally, depression occurs in about the same proportion of women – between 10 to 15 percent of them – at other times of life. 

“It’s actually a popular myth that postnatal depression is a specific syndrome,” Evans said.  

“Clearly, people do get depressed postnatally. But it has entered public consciousness as a sort of condition somehow separate from the rest of depression and what we are saying is that it is depression like depression at any other time and it occurs no more frequently than at any other time in a woman’s life.” 

Although the study found that rates were slightly higher during pregnancy than postpartum, some experts said some cases of postnatal depression may have been missed because the first measure occurred at eight weeks after birth. 

“I think there is a syndrome that they’ve missed, that happens much more immediately after childbirth and gets resolved by eight weeks,” said Dr. David Mrazek, chairman of psychiatry and psychology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. 

Also, some of the most depressed women dropped out toward the end of the study and did not complete the postnatal questionnaires.  

The postpartum figure is an underestimate, but how important an underestimate is unclear, Mrazek said. 

“The single most striking thing is this unremitting level of between 8 and 11 percent of young women who come up seriously depressed,” Mrazek said, adding that efforts need to be focused on treating such women to prevent suicide and other complications. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Postpartum Support International, http://www.chss.iup.edu/postpartum/ 

SACRAMENTO — Hospitals that perform a relatively small number of bypass surgeries did well in the first report measuring how California hospitals do in bypass operations. 

The study, released Thursday by a state agency and coalition of employers, shows that hospitals that do a small number of surgeries “can perform quite well,” said Dr. David M. Carlisle, the director of the Office of Statewide Health. 

Of the 79 hospitals that volunteered data for the study, only four performed worse than expected. Hospitals were ranked by whether their results were better, worse, or the same as expected. The expectations were based on the risk level of the patients. 

There are 118 hospitals that perform coronary artery bypass grafts in California. 

Of the hospitals that participated, three did better than expected, and four performed worse. 

The three hospitals that performed better than expected were Summit Medical Center in the Bay area, Sutter Memorial in Sacramento, and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Orange County. Mercy San Juan Hospital in Sacramento, John Muir Medical Center in the Bay Area, Downey Community Hospital in Downey, and Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in the Los Angeles area performed worse than expected. 

About 27,000 Californians undergo coronary bypass graft bypass surgery each year. 

California, where hospitals are not required to release detailed information about performance results, is the fourth state to do a voluntary study, Damberg said. New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have also done voluntary studies. 

A coronary artery bypass graft reroutes blood to the heart after the vessels to the heart have narrowed by creating new vessels from veins in the leg. The overall in-hospital death rate associated with the procedure is 2.6 percent. 

The study is the first in a series of reports on bypass surgery mortality. The results were based on data from 70 percent of bypass surgeries done from 1997-1998. 

The next report, which will show results for 1999, is scheduled for release later this year. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Read the full report at the Office of Statewide Health Planning Web site http://www.oshpd.state.ca.us 

or at the Pacific Business Group on Health Web site at http://www.pbgh.org 

MENLO PARK — The future of Geron Corp. – and of millions of people who suffer from Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and other ailments – could well lie in a nondescript business park, guarded by sophisticated electronics and patent attorneys. 

Dozens of vials of human embryonic stem cells – fuzzy, microscopic balls formed in the first days after conception – are kept alive here in an enzyme soup that helps them multiply. Some scientists believe they can prod these cells to grow into tissues that can replace damaged cells and organs. 

This is long-shot science. It is also fraught with mind-numbing economic and social implications – and has become mired in a contentious debate over whether the federal government should pay for such research. 

Geron’s fortunes are deeply enmeshed in the politics of genetic medicine. 

On Wednesday, the company’s stock dropped by 7.8 percent after the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to criminalize human cloning – even though Geron doesn’t rely on cloned human embryos for its stem cells as do some of its competitors. 

The stock was already trading so low that Geron’s board of directors recently approved a poison pill defense to fend off possible hostile takeover attempts. 

Long-term investors in Geron are apt to be hurt – and drug development delayed – if President Bush orders a permanent ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. 

With or without federal funding, if human embryonic stem cells ever live up to their potential as cures for everything from cancer to brain diseases, Geron is uniquely positioned to dominate the emerging field of regenerative medicine. 

The company owns 62 patents involving an anti-aging enzyme, cloning techniques and related technology for regenerative medicine. The company has also applied for about 40 more patents involving stem cells. 

In addition, Geron pays other stem cell patent holders for exclusive commercial rights, making it the largest financial backer of the research in the United States. 

Geron gets its stem cells from the University of Wisconsin, which extracts them from 4-day-old embryos obtained from fertility clinics. 

The idea is to grow the stem cells into adult cells, which can then be kept ageless and dividing through telomerase, an enzyme that controls cell aging. Geron patented the enzyme six years ago while researching ways to make old cells young again. 

“Where we are going with this is cells in a bottle,” said Thomas Okarma, Geron’s chief executive. “Living cells will be tomorrow’s pharmaceuticals.” 

While Geron researchers work on developing cures, the company’s lawyers and financial executives are busy attempting to corner commercial markets with strategic investments. 

This year, Geron is investing at least $4.7 million with academic researchers studying embryonic stem cells at the University of Wisconsin, Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University and other schools. Next year, Geron plans to spend at least $3.4 million. 

By contrast, the next biggest contributor to stem cell research, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, spent only $1.2 million last year. 

Geron’s investments give it commercial rights to the research. Geron provided nearly all the funds that enabled Wisconsin researcher Jamie Thomson to discover human embryonic stem cells in 1998. 

Wisconsin has since grown generations of stem cells from the same initial embryos, becoming the nation’s largest human embryonic stem cell manufacturer and providing Geron with a constant supply. 

But some researchers have complained of difficulty coaxing Wisconsin stem cells to grow and differentiate into usable tissue. They press for the creation of many more colonies of stem cells. 

And hence the political debate. Abortion opponents argue that it is immoral to harvest the stem cells because doing so requires killing a human embryo. Since 1996, the government has banned all federal funding of research that would harm, damage or destroy human embryos. 

Bush is reviewing the policy. A decision to allow federal funds for stem cell research could prompt substantial new investments. Blocking federal money altogether could severely limit Geron’s potential. 

But if Bush decides on a compromise – allowing money for research involving existing stem cells, but blocking funds for research that would destroy more embryos – Geron could wind up with a near-monopoly over the most promising areas of human embryonic stem cell technology. 

Whatever happens, Geron will still face competition and scientific obstacles. 

Its founder, Michael West, left in 1998 after Geron’s board refused to spin off the company’s stem cell unit. 

Texas oilman Miller Quarles, one of Geron’s initial investors, then sold most of his Geron stock and helped West finance his acquisition of Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Mass., which now competes with Geron. 

Advanced Cell wants to personalize medicine through cloning, using a patient’s own cells to repair damage – the technique the House voted to ban. 

Other companies work with adult stem cells, which may be less useful to science but are certainly less problematic politically than the embryonic cells that Geron uses. 

The National Institutes of Health last year contributed $147 million to human adult stem cell research by both private and government labs, and it expects to top that figure this year. 

It will take years for stem cells to pay off – if ever. 

Immune rejection remains a key stumbling block. Our bodies reject foreign cells. Heart transplant recipients, for instance, require anti-rejection drugs that have serious side effects and often don’t work at all. 

Until researchers find a solution, regenerative medicine remains theoretical and keeps Geron’s future speculative. All of that makes investors impatient – to say nothing of the sick and aging. 

“I’m 86 years old and I don’t have much time left,” Quarles said. “They better find something pretty damn quick.”

LOS ANGELES — NetZero Inc., one of the few remaining providers of free Internet access, is slashing staff, selling a subsidiary and reducing its free service to save money, company officials said Thursday. 

In another sign that its business model isn’t working, the Westlake Village-based company has eliminated 66 positions and will reduce the number of free hours available to basic service customers from 40 to 10 a month, effective Oct. 1. 

It also sold subsidiary RocketCash, an e-commerce company best known for its partnership with the Sprite soda brand. RocketCash has 27 employees and cost NetZero several million dollars a year to operate. 

The sale closed Wednesday, but neither the name of the buyer nor the terms of the deal were disclosed. 

“If we have a business tangential to our core business, and if we are spending a lot of time or effort on that, this market will not give us credit for that,” NetZero chief executive Mark Goldston said. “We can’t afford the diversion.” 

The 66 layoffs at NetZero and the sale of RocketCash resulted in a 26 percent overall reduction in staffing. 

With the news, shares of NetZero rose 5 cents to close at 65 cents a share on Thursday. 

Goldston said NetZero wanted to make the cost-cutting moves before its merger with New York-based Juno Online Services in a deal that will create the world’s second-largest Internet service provider behind AOL. NetZero hopes to close the stock deal by year end. 

Goldston declined to estimate how much the changes might save his money-losing company, saying only that it will be in the millions of dollars. 

The slashing of service hours will affect about 30 percent of the company’s free-access customers, Goldston said. The goal is to move people from free service to a “Platinum” plan that costs $9.95 a month. 

About 3.4 million people used NetZero services in June, but only about 210,000 were billable subscribers. 

Analysts described the NetZero changes as part of a larger move away from free Internet service. When the firm opened nearly four years ago, it was the first to offer free Web access to customers willing to share personal information and look at targeted advertising. 

Last month, e-tailer BlueLight.com of San Francisco said it would discontinue its free Internet service. 

Free access companies simply have not been able to make the advertising-based model pay, said David Smith, vice president of Internet strategy at Gartner Inc. in Stamford, Conn. 

“The free lunch is over,” he said. “See if those 10 free hours are there six months from now.” 

In preparation for the next earthquake, a geological survey team has been drilling in various locations around west Berkeley to determine which areas will experience the most violent shaking. 

Since June, Geologist Tom Noce of the U.S. Geological Survey, has been leading the USGS Earthquake Hazards Team around west Berkeley in a 22-ton truck boring 1.5 inch-wide holes deep into the ground to assess which parts of the city will shake more than others. There will be a total of 40 borings and the tests are expected to go on until mid August. 

The study is focused on west Berkeley because the ground is less dense and more prone to intense shaking during an earthquake compared to the hills areas, which is mostly comprised of bedrock and therefore more stable. 

The city manager’s chief of staff, Arrietta Chakos, said the survey data will be compiled in the Comprehensive Earthquake Hazard Map, which city planners will use to develop structural requirements for building and remodeling projects. In addition, emergency response teams will be able to use the maps immediately after an earthquake to determine which sections of the city are most likely to suffer significant injuries and damages. 

Chakos said the survey is mandatory under the State Hazards Mapping Act of 1990, which requires cities and counties across the state to map out high-risk areas and take whatever damage-prevention measures possible. 

Chakos said the project is being paid for through the federal Project Impact Program, which works with communities throughout the nation to better prepare families, businesses and local governments for natural disasters.  

Chakos said the hazard maps should be complete in about a year. Once completed, city planners and Berkeley’s Seismic Technical Advisory Group will analyze the data and make suggestions about building and structural retrofitting in the high-risk areas. 

“The maps will basically give us some guidance for building and zoning,” Chakos said. “For example, a developer building in a high-risk area may be required to have a soil engineer study the site and assess potential risks.” 

The Seismic Technical Group, is comprised of seismic experts at UC Berkeley. The group has been advising the city for the last six years on earthquake preparedness in city buildings. 

“They’ve advised us on the Civic Center, the Public Safety Building and the new library building,” Chakos said. “We’re really quite fortunate to have them.” 

Tom Noce, who has conducted similar surveys in Oakland, Alameda and Santa Clara County, said the drilling process so far has been mostly carried out at the Berkeley Marina, which is landfill and more likely to experience intense shaking and ground failure during an earthquake. 

He said the USGS Earthquake Hazards Team uses equipment housed in a 22-ton, three-axle truck. A 1.5 inch drill bores a hole approximately 100 feet below the surface. As the drill is driven into the ground, it collects electronic data about the characteristics of the soil at various levels.  

The drill does not bring soil the surface to be analyzed. 

Once the ground conditions have been measured, Noce creates a mini earthquake by striking the surface with a sledge hammer. The reaction, which is called a sheer wave, is measured. Then Noce estimates the intensity of shaking during a quake by comparing the sheer wave measurement to the characteristics of the soil. 

The public is invited to witness the process Friday at 10:30 a.m. behind the Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center. 

For more information about emergency preparedness in Berkeley you can visit the city’s web site at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/projectimpact or call the Office of Emergency Service at 644-8736.

Through three games of the Slam N’ Jam Elite 8x2 Tournament, the Oakland Soldiers had blown past overmatched opponents with a whole lot of flashy plays and very little effort. But when it came down to the championship game, it was good old-fashioned muscle that carried them past a halftime deficit to the title. 

Facing a Next Level team that very few people expected to make it to the final, the Soldiers found themselves in real trouble on Wednesday evening for the first time this week. Despite pulling off some spectacular plays in the first half, they found themselves trailing 38-32 at the intermission. The Next Level players, fresh off of upset wins over EBO and the Michigan Hurricanes, weren’t psyched out by the Soldiers’ dunks and alley-oops; they just went back down and scored some baskets of their own. Their backcourt trio of Brandon Worthy, Joe Calderon and Steve Cotton were able to penetrate the Oakland defense for some easy baskets, and proved a tough matchup for the favored host team. 

With the highlight reel not getting them anywhere, the Soldiers turned to Leon Powe and John Winston to get some easy points inside to regain the lead early in the second half. 

Powe started the half with a nice move that resulted in an easy dunk for the 6-foot-7 junior. He then tipped in a LeBron James miss to pull his team within two points. A couple of minutes later, he captured the lead for his squad with a score that was pure muscle, overpowering two Next Level defenders for a layup. 

“I knew I had to pull us through, even though I was a little tired,” Powe said. “But we had to win this one. You have to win your home tournament.” 

Then Winston got into the act. The Salesian High star got a putback on a DeMarcus Nelson miss, then made a three-point play the hard way, driving to the basket for a bucket and foul. He scored again off of penetration a minute later, and the Soldiers had a 48-43 lead that they would never relinquish.  

Winston is one of the players that sometimes falls into the background playing with stars like Powe, James and Marquis Kately, but he proved that he can play with the best of them. 

“We’ve got 10 of the best ballplayers in the country, and sometimes it’s a little hard to find the best five in any game,” Soldiers coach Mark Olivier said. “But we win with scoring by committee and by playing tough defense.” 

Next Level’s Marcus Martinez tried to rally his team with a 3-pointer, but John Sharper answered with two bombs of his own to widen the Oakland lead to 57-50. All that was left was a few highlight plays by the Soldiers down the stretch, and the hosts walked away with the trophy. 

Powe led all scorers with 24 points, after only scoring 14 in the semi-final victory against the LA Paladins earlier on Wednesday. James had a fairly quiet 18 in the final, but showed why many consider him to be the best prep player in the country with some spectacular passes and deft ballhandling. Jayson Obazuaye led Next Level with 22 points. 

The Soldiers’ semi-final was a tough game early, but turned into a blowout in the second half, as James, Powe and Kately put on another show with alley-oops and breakaway dunks. Paladin point guard Deric Clark showed a nice game, breaking off a couple of sweet crossovers and leading his team with 17 points, and Doug Thomas showed a lot of heart despite a lack of size against the Soldier big men, but the Los Angeles team was clearly overmatched. 

In the other semi-final, Next Level prevented the matchup the Soldiers really wanted with the Hurricanes when Cotton tied the score with a 3-pointer with two seconds left to force overtime. Five different Next Level players scored in overtime, and six points by star point guard Anthony Roberson couldn’t carry the Hurricanes to the final. 

NOTES: Kately’s top four college choices are Cal, Arizona, North Carolina and UCLA, but he said he’s “still open to hearing from other schools.” The Riordan (San Francisco) wingman has attracted a lot of attention this summer after missing most of the last high school season... St. Mary’s (Berkeley) teammates Sharper and DeShawn Freeman have benefited from increased exposure this summer with the Soldiers, and each has several schools after him. Freeman listed his top schools as UTEP, Mississippi State, Pepperdina and UC Santa Barbara, while Sharper is considering Portland, Santa Clara, Dartmouth and Yale.

Through three games of the Slam N’ Jam Elite 8x2 Tournament, the Oakland Soldiers had blown past overmatched opponents with a whole lot of flashy plays and very little effort. But when it came down to the championship game, it was good old-fashioned muscle that carried them past a halftime deficit to the title. 

Facing a Next Level team that very few people expected to make it to the final, the Soldiers found themselves in real trouble on Wednesday evening for the first time this week. Despite pulling off some spectacular plays in the first half, they found themselves trailing 38-32 at the intermission. The Next Level players, fresh off of upset wins over EBO and the Michigan Hurricanes, weren’t psyched out by the Soldiers’ dunks and alley-oops; they just went back down and scored some baskets of their own. Their backcourt trio of Brandon Worthy, Joe Calderon and Steve Cotton were able to penetrate the Oakland defense for some easy baskets, and proved a tough matchup for the favored host team. 

With the highlight reel not getting them anywhere, the Soldiers turned to Leon Powe and John Winston to get some easy points inside to regain the lead early in the second half. 

Powe started the half with a nice move that resulted in an easy dunk for the 6-foot-7 junior. He then tipped in a LeBron James miss to pull his team within two points. A couple of minutes later, he captured the lead for his squad with a score that was pure muscle, overpowering two Next Level defenders for a layup. 

“I knew I had to pull us through, even though I was a little tired,” Powe said. “But we had to win this one. You have to win your home tournament.” 

Then Winston got into the act. The Salesian High star got a putback on a DeMarcus Nelson miss, then made a three-point play the hard way, driving to the basket for a bucket and foul. He scored again off of penetration a minute later, and the Soldiers had a 48-43 lead that they would never relinquish.  

Winston is one of the players that sometimes falls into the background playing with stars like Powe, James and Marquis Kately, but he proved that he can play with the best of them. 

“We’ve got 10 of the best ballplayers in the country, and sometimes it’s a little hard to find the best five in any game,” Soldiers coach Mark Olivier said. “But we win with scoring by committee and by playing tough defense.” 

Next Level’s Marcus Martinez tried to rally his team with a 3-pointer, but John Sharper answered with two bombs of his own to widen the Oakland lead to 57-50. All that was left was a few highlight plays by the Soldiers down the stretch, and the hosts walked away with the trophy. 

Powe led all scorers with 24 points, after only scoring 14 in the semi-final victory against the LA Paladins earlier on Wednesday. James had a fairly quiet 18 in the final, but showed why many consider him to be the best prep player in the country with some spectacular passes and deft ballhandling. Jayson Obazuaye led Next Level with 22 points. 

The Soldiers’ semi-final was a tough game early, but turned into a blowout in the second half, as James, Powe and Kately put on another show with alley-oops and breakaway dunks. Paladin point guard Deric Clark showed a nice game, breaking off a couple of sweet crossovers and leading his team with 17 points, and Doug Thomas showed a lot of heart despite a lack of size against the Soldier big men, but the Los Angeles team was clearly overmatched. 

In the other semi-final, Next Level prevented the matchup the Soldiers really wanted with the Hurricanes when Cotton tied the score with a 3-pointer with two seconds left to force overtime. Five different Next Level players scored in overtime, and six points by star point guard Anthony Roberson couldn’t carry the Hurricanes to the final. 

NOTES: Kately’s top four college choices are Cal, Arizona, North Carolina and UCLA, but he said he’s “still open to hearing from other schools.” The Riordan (San Francisco) wingman has attracted a lot of attention this summer after missing most of the last high school season... St. Mary’s (Berkeley) teammates Sharper and DeShawn Freeman have benefited from increased exposure this summer with the Soldiers, and each has several schools after him. Freeman listed his top schools as UTEP, Mississippi State, Pepperdina and UC Santa Barbara, while Sharper is considering Portland, Santa Clara, Dartmouth and Yale.

Thursday, Aug. 2

Free Computer Class  

for Seniors 

9 - 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited, call ahead for a reservation. 644-6109 

Community Environmental Advisory Commission 

7 p.m. 

Planning and Development Department - First Floor Conference Room 

2118 Milvia St. 

Among the items on the agenda are residential woodburning and the Harrison Street Skate Park. 

Kensington 55+ Activity Center 

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Social Hall, Arlington Community Church 

52 Arlington Ave. 

Conversation, Apple II computer instruction, massage therapy, German conversation group, meditation and relaxation techniques, watercolor art class, tea and coffee. For more information call 526-9146 or 547-1969. 

Ancient Native Sites of the East Bay 

7:30 p.m. 

Room 160 Kroeber Hall, University of California Campus 

A panel discussion on ancient sites $10 841-2242 

Friday, Aug. 3

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. 

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meets Fridays through Aug. 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

548-8283 x534 or x522 

Saturday, Aug. 4

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 

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 5 and accompanied by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Robert Bowman 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Friends Church 

1600 Sacramento St.  

Retired Air Force and NASA Official and Presidential Candidate, Dr. Robert Bowman will speak against the weaponization of space. Following the speech and rally there will be a procession to the gates of the Livermore Lab for a nonviolent, risk arrest action. 

Livermore Conversion Project: 663-8065. 

Animal Picnic Family Workshop 

10 - 10:50 a.m.;11 - 11:50 a.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Touch and hold a variety of animals and see how they eat their lunch. For children 3 - 8 and an accompanying adult. Registration required, $8 - $25. 

642-5132 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

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

Annual Tomato Tasting, an opportunity to sample the range of tomato varieties at the market. Also, the grand opening of the Food Court. 548-3333 

Poetry Reading 

3 - 5 p.m. 

1527 Virginia Street 

The Bay Area Poets’ Coalition presents an open reading outdoors on the front lawn. 

527-9905; poetalk@aol.com 

Bay Area Eco-Crones 

10:30 a.m. - noon 

Epworth Church, Youth Room 

1953 Hopkins 

Discuss ecological significance of mushrooms and bats; plan rituals for habitat restorations projects.  

874-4935 

Foster Parent Certification Class 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St. 

This class will cover all aspects of Foster Parenting and is open to anyone interested in attending. Free. Call Bob at 641-6200; nailahfs@pacbell.net. 

Sunday, Aug. 5

Live Oak Concerts 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

1275 Walnut St. 

Baroque and Classical Harmonies, the vocal and instrumental ensemble, will perform Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Vivaldi’s Gloria. $10 644-6893 

Anti-Nuclear Vigil 

1 - 3 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Oxford and University Ave. 

Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki; opposing UC weapons labs’ contracts; urging UC Berkeley to host a national TV debate on nuclear weapons ban.  

Circle of Concern 848-8055. 

Buddhism 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Mark Henderson on “Four Thoughts that Awaken the Heart.” Free. 843-6812 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave., between Third and Fourth Streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 654-6346 

Monday, Aug. 6

Intensive Production  

Urban Gardening Training 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Santa Fe Bar & Grill 

1310 University Ave. 

Growing Gourmet: A free urban gardening training & potluck lunch.  

Learn ways to intensively and organically grow produce for your own use or for an urban market garden. A hands-on training in the garden located behind the restaurant and potluck lunch at 1 p.m. Katherine Webb 841-1110. 

Osteoporosis: How to put Bone  

Loss on Hold 

9 a.m. - 10 a.m. 

Summit Campus 

Cafeteria Annexes B & C 

350 Hawthorne Ave. in Oakland 

A free lecture by Dr. Elliot Schwartz, co-director of the Foundation for Osteoporosis Research and Education. Learn how to create a program that will help minimize bone loss. 869-6737. 

Tuesday, Aug. 7

Intelligent Conversation  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. Discussion will center on sex and drugs: Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free  

527-5332 

More time to comment 

Editor: 

It’s official. UC Berkeley has graciously extended the 45-day comment period on its biggest-ever construction initiative – the Northeast Quadrant Science and Safety (NEQSS) Projects – for 14 more days.  

This is 23 percent of the 60-day extension that Berkeley City Council requested in its July 24 resolution and that was reiterated in the city manager’s fax to Chancellor Berdahl of last Thursday. 

The city had also asked for an additional public hearing on the NEQSS Draft EIR and another one prior to the submission of the NEQSS Final EIR to the UC Regents for certification (now scheduled in November). 

Written responses to the NEQSS Draft EIR are now due by 5 p.m., Wednesday, August 15.  

For additional official information, or the two-volume Draft EIR itself, please contact UCB Principal Planner Jennifer Lawrence at 642-7720 or .  

For unofficial information, feel free to contact me via email at itsa@dnai.com or at 841-7271.  

You can fax your NEQSS DEIR comments to 642-9442 or mail (or hand carry them) to Capital Projects, University of California, 300 A & E Building, Berkeley CA 94720 or UC Physical and Environmental Planning Office, Room 300, 1936 University Ave., 94704. 

Jim Sharp 

Berkeley 

Pharmacies want profit, not health 

Editor: 

Thanks for that great article by Ben Lumpkin about pharmacies in Berkeley. 

I just want to add that Walgreens doesn’t just “sell” tobacco products. The hypocrisy of their ads on television about their wonderful, healthy pharmacy atmosphere is shown in the gross way they promote cigarettes in all four stores in Berkeley. They don’t just sell, they push and they push hard.  

They have allowed Philip Morris to BOLDLY advertise Marlboro in huge displays.  

If they would cut back the promotion, hide the cigarettes from view and accompany any sale of cigarettes with a brochure about quitting, then their wonderful tv image might make some sense. Right now PROFIT is their only goal. 

The Corporate Walgreens people respond to my comments and photos of their Marlboro displays in Berkeley stores by saying they are sending it to the “higher ups.” 

In other words, they have no logical excuse for what they are doing so rather than sticking their foot in their mouths, they will stop saying anything and continue to promote tobacco in their stores. 

If we get any earthquaking changes in their disgusting habits, we’ll let you know. 

Tim Moder 

member, Berkeley Tobacco Coalition 

Problem is that free market’s not really free 

Editor: 

Invoking my name in her Aug. 1 letter, Marion Syrek gives examples of legal “scams” that she says show that “free enterprise” is a racket. It was very perceptive to put “free enterprise” in quotes, because we need to carefully distinguish today’s distorted markets from a truly free market. A pure free market and true free enterprise are voluntary for the whole society. What we have today instead are larcenous markets skewed by government force. The scams are not due to markets as such, but to the privileges and subsidies granted by government, with the costs imposed by government on the public. A slave market, for example, steals the labor of the slave, but the basic fault lies with the government in legalizing and enforcing this theft.  

It is confusing to blame markets for today’s scams. Once you realize the fundamental problem is government-granted privileges and force, the effective remedy becomes clear. 

Fred Foldvary 

Berkeley 

Cigarette sales subvert drug store mission 

Editor: 

Ben Lumpkin’s excellent story about cigarette sales in pharmacies (July 26) highlights a strange hypocrisy on the part of retail chain stores. 

The same places that offer many cures also sell the only legal product that, when taken as intended, can kill you. 

Is the desire for profit so great that these health professionals can’t make a decision to stop selling a killer drug? Maybe they ought to look into a way of legalizing the sale of heroin – there’s lots of profit there too. 

“Police don’t sell guns,” Lumpkin quoted one customer as saying...a good comparison for Walgreens and Longs to consider. 

I would think that the mission of a pharmacy is subverted by selling “cancer sticks;” maybe the City Council should consider prohibiting the sale of tobacco products in health care facilities such as hospitals, medical offices and pharmacies. 

Paul Fletcher, 

Oakland 

Old UC Theater, not Oxford lot, place for arts 

Editor: 

Re: Mickey Tenenbaum’s quest since 1975 for a Berkeley performance complex of at least 500 seats for his favorite arts groups (Daily Planet, 7/31/2001): I’ve found it!  

It’s the former UC Theatre, on University Ave. near Shattuck. It’s now empty, it’s enduringly elegant, and everyone loves it. It has 1,300 seats. If that’s too many, founder Gary Meyer has suggested dividing it into three performance halls of different sizes. 

Restoring the UC (including necessary seismic work) would cost less than ballooning the size and cost of the proposed new Oxford Lot development. And bringing the UC back to life wouldn’t crowd the Cal campus’ edge, or block anyone’s view. 

For the public, the UC offers many other advantages over the Oxford site: It’s closer to BART and major bus lines. It’s directly adjacent to great restaurants and cafes (which have long depended on the UC as the block’s “anchor” tenant). It’s right beside the city’s designated “Arts District” on Addison. And it’s far from residences whose tenants might be disturbed by patrons leaving nighttime performances. This last point is a real issue for the proposed 90-apartment complex on Oxford Street as your article paraphrased theatrical impresario George Coates, “The more choices, the bigger the crowds.” 

Founder Gary Meyer is reportedly interested in personally helping to reopen the UC as a performing-arts center. Come on, property owners! Come on, Mayor Dean and City Council! Come on, fellow arts patrons! Let’s help make this happen! 

One last point: When your article described the travails of theater groups forced to perform in “the basement of La Val’s Pizza parlor on Durant Avenue,” I think you actually meant La Val’s Subterranean on Euclid Ave., north of the campus. This is a wonderful place to catch performances. Sure, it’s cramped and funky – like the Haight-Ashbury coffeehouses and Greenwich Village basement folk-music clubs where the 1960s were born. But this is what cutting-edge culture should feel like in a university town. Let’s not dis the fine Subterranean – let’s go there to enjoy emerging local talent before they graduate to a larger space like the UC.  

Michael Katz 

Berkeley,  

Oscar London, a pseudonymous Berkeley internist who practices out of a two-story sole proprietorship on Webster Street, has published his second collection of satiric essays, a sequel to “Kill as Few Patients as Possible.” 

“From Voodoo to Viagra” vents on such topics as: “The 7 Habits of Highly Obnoxious Patients” and “How to Cut Your Doctor’s Bill in Half.” (For his next collection, maybe Dr. London will cover “How not to complain after spending long lonely hours in pain in a doctor’s waiting room, only to become the target of a sarcastic essay.”)  

But I quibble, for the writing in “From Voodoo to Viagra” is witty and tart, informative on a array of issues and surprisingly fun, despite the acerbic point of view piercing as one of those long – loooong – needles about to give you a shot.  

Dr. London does have his not-so-secret lusts: for Krispy Kreme donuts from Union City; for dissing alternative medical modalities such as the use of St. John’s Wort in treating depression and the use of magnets in reducing pain; and methinks Dr. London moans a bit much over the trials and travails of having the occasional celebrity patient. 

Many of Dr. London’s ideas are original and even impressive, such as that “the bloated burger billionaires should direct their charitable funds to the American Heart Association, much as the tobacco execs, out of the goodness of their prosecutor’s hearts, are contributing a bundle to Lung Cancer research.” He also has fascinating things to say about testosterone. 

But Dr. London’s voice soars to its most inspiring heights when he recounts his happy experience of making an apt and unusual double diagnosis (in non-English speaking cousins) of Mitral Stenosis – a rare, life-threatening, but potentially quite curable condition. Dr. London loves the practice of medicine: “trading in arthritic broken-down joints for shiny, metallic models that run like brand-new Audi TT coupes” and hitting upon the perfect drug or combination of drugs to effect a cure on even the most bedraggled and hopeless of patients.  

While laughter is, indeed, strong medicine, these memoirs primarily show how humor can motivate and soothe the physician.  

Nothing wrong with that. 

When all’s said and done, Dr. London comes across as sweet. He greatly admires firefighters, and he attributes the fact that married men live longer than bachelors to the way most wives take such careful care of their husbands: “I’ve never seen a husband drag his wife to the doctor. I’ve seen a thousand wives drag their husbands into my office.” He adores his family and – bless him – works hard to serve the “25 patients a day” the HMOs require him to see.  

As he says, “in the end, all of us will be most remembered not for what we did but for how deeply we loved.”  

Sari Friedman’s work appears in literary magazines and anthologies. She teaches writing in local community colleges.

MUSIC 

924 Gilman St. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Aug. 3: Sworn Vengeance, N.J. Bloodline, Settle the Score, Existence, Step; Aug. 4: Toxic Narcotic, Menstrual Tramps, Emo Summer, Four Letter Word, Shitty Wickets; Aug 10: 90 Day Men, Assembly of God, Strong Intention, Under a Dying Sun; Aug 11: Toys That Kill, Scared of Chakra, Soophie Nun Squad, Debris; Aug 12: 5 p.m. Citizen Fish, J-Church, Eleventeen. $5. 924 Gilman St. 525-9926. 

Ashkenaz Aug. 5: 9 p.m. Roots Reggae featuring Groundation and Tchiya Amet. $10. 11317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5099 www.ashkenaz.com 

Eli’s Mile High Club Doors open at 8 p.m. Every Friday, 10 p.m. - 2 a.m., Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Split Shankin and Funky Man. $10; 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland 655-6661 

Freight and Salvage Coffee House All music at 8 p.m. Aug 2: George Kuo, Narin Pahinui & Aaron Mahi; Aug 3: Wylie & the Wild West, the Waller Brothers, Aug 4: Adam Levy, Will Bernard; Aug 5: MonTango; Aug 6: Frank Yamma; Aug 8: San Francisco Klezmer Experience; Aug 9: John Renbourn; Aug 10: Jody Stecher, Kate Brislin; Aug 11: Al Stewart. $16.50 - $19.50. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jupiter Aug. 2: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu and Add1; Aug. 3: Mas Cabezas, Rhodes-based latin jazz trio with local vet Ezra Gale; Aug. 4: Solomon Grundy, from Orange County, combining jazz, calypso, and world beat; Aug. 7: Joshi Marshal Project, jazz, soul and hiphop; Aug. 8: Broun Fellini’s, jazz/funk/hiphop grooves; Aug. 9: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu and Add1; Aug. 10: Steven Emerson, singer/songwriter mixes cool jazz and sweat soul; Aug. 11: J Dogs, funk-soul; Aug. 14: Chris Shot Group, folk-rock and soul combo; Aug. 15: Lithium House, electro/drum & bass styles with live jazz; Aug. 16: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu and Add1; Aug. 17: The Mind Club, Old school funk grooves with sonic swirls of acid jazz; www.jupiterbeer.com; or call the hotline: THE-ROCK (843-7625)  

La Peña Cultural Center Aug 3: 8 p.m. Los Delicados, Aya de Leon $10; Aug 4: 8 p.m. Grito Serpentino, Small Axe Project, Jime Salcedo-Malo & Leticia Hernandez $10; Aug 5: 7 p.m. Insight in concert $10; Aug 10: 8:30 p.m. Ire $8; Aug 11: 9:30 p.m. Fito Reynoso’s Ritmo y Armonia. $10, $13 for dance class starting at 8:15; Aug 12: 5, 7:30 p.m. “Say Yo Business” Linda Tillery & The Cultural Heritage Chior. $18 in advance, $20 at the door. In the Cafe 3105 Shattuck Avenue 849-2568 

La Note/Jazzschool Aug 5: 4:30 p.m. Vocaists’ Series (Denine Monet), 5:30 p.m. Instrumentalists’ Series (Pelo Mar); Aug 12: 4:30 p.m. The Freedom Project, 5:30 Eli Sundelson Trio. 2377 Shattuck Avenue 845-5373. 

Shattuck Down Low Lounge Every Tuesday: 9:30 p.m., Posh Tuesdays with DJ’s Yamu, Delon, Add1, and Tequila Willie. Shattuck at Allston. www.thebeatdownsound.com  

“Midsummer Mozart Festival” All shows at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 3: Four pieces including “Symphony in B Flat.” $32 - $40. First Congregational Church 2345 Channing Way (415) 292-9620 www.midsummermozart.org  

“Downtown” Restaurant and Bar August 6: 7 p.m. Jesse Colin Young of the sixties hit group, The Youngbloods, will be performing at a No Nukes evening, sponsored by Greenpeace. The evening commemorates the 56th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The proceeds go to Tri-Valley CAREs and Citizen Alert. Tickets are $100. 2102 Shattuck Ave. 800-728-6223 

The Greek Theatre Aug. 3 and Aug. 4, 7 p.m. The String Cheese Incident, $29.75. Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road 444-TIXS, or (415) 421-TIXS www.sfx.com 

THEATER 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts Aug 4: 8 p.m. “Cuatro maestros Touring Festival” two-hour theatrical event of music and dance performed by four elder folk artists and their talented young counterparts. Adults $18 Children $12; Aug. 10: 7:30 p.m. & Aug. 11, 12, 5 p.m. Campers from Stage Door Conservatory’s “On Broadway” program for grades 5-9 will perform Fiddler on the Roof, Jr. $12 adults, $8 kids. (For info call 527-5939); 2640 College Avenue 845-8542 ext. 302 

“The Great Sebastians” Through Aug. 11: Friday and Saturday evenings 8 p.m. plus Thursday, Aug. 9, presented by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. A tale about a mind-reading act touring behind the Iron Curtain. A communist general believes the act and “invites” the Sebastians to his villa where the humor and excitement follows. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck (at Berryman). For reservations call 528-5620 

“Iphegenia in Aulis” Through Aug. 12: Sat. and Sun. 5 p.m. Special dawn performance on August 12 at 7 a.m. A free park performance by the Shotgun Players of Euripides’ play about choices and priorities. With a masked chorus, singing, dancing, and live music. Feel free to bring food and something soft to sit on. John Hinkel Park, Southhampton Place at Arlington Avenue (different locations July 7 and 8). 655-0813 

“The Lady’s Not for Burning” Aug. 2 - 4: 8 p.m. Set in the 15th century, a soldier wishes to be hanged and a witch does not want to be burned at the stake. Written by Christopher Fry, directed by Susannah Woods. $5 - $10. South Berkeley Community Church 1802 Fairview st. 464-1117 

“Loot” Through Aug 25, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m. Special Performance Aug 20, 8:00 p.m. General Admission: $15, Students / Seniors: $10 La Val’s 1834 Euclid Avenue 655-0813 

“Orphans” Through Aug. 5: Fri. and Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Lyle Kessler’s dark comedy about a mysterious stranger invading the home of two orphaned brothers. $15. The Speakeasy Theater, 2016 Seventh St. 326-8493 

“Reefer Madness” Aug. 8, 9, Aug. 22, 23: 9 p.m. A new one-act theatre piece adapted from a 1936 government-funded film opens a critical eye to the control of our society. Performed by The Elemental Theatre Group La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Avenue. Wednesdays are “pay what you can,” Thursdays $5 - $10. Contact Zachary Rouse or Tisha Sloan for more info at 655-4150 

“Romeo & Juliet” Aug 11 - Sep 2, Tuesdays - Thursdays. Bruns Memorial Amphitheater. Shakespeare’s classic about a young couple that meets, falls in love and dies in just five days. Adults: $22 - $41 youth (under 16): $12 - $41. 

Films 

Pacific Film Archive Aug 2: 7:30 Kadosh; Aug 3: 7:00 A Full-Up Train, 9:00 The Men of Tohoku; Aug 4: 7:00 Human Desire, 8:50 Hangmen Also Die; Aug 5: 3 p.m. The Yearling, 5:30 p.m The Woman Who Touched Legs; Aug 7: 7:30 p.m. Figures of Motion; Aug 8: 7:30 p.m. Confessions of an Opium Eater; Aug 9: 7:30 p.m. The Return of Frank James; Aug 10: 7 p.m. Alone on the Pacific, 9:05 p.m. Her Brother; Aug 11: 7 p.m. While the City Sleeps, 9 p.m. Beyong a Reasonable Doubt; Aug 12: 3 p.m. Charlotte’s Web, 5:30 p.m. Tokyo Olympiad. New PFA Theatre 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Aug 2: 1 p.m. “Fighter”, 3:15 “Brownsville Black and White”, 5:15 “Inside Out”, “Grrly Show”, 8:45 p.m. “Jewish Luck”, “SF Klezmer Experience”. General admission: $8.50, Matinees (up to and including 4 p.m.): $7, Students/Seniors/Groups: $6.50. Wheeler Auditorium, UC Berkeley. (925)866-9559 http://www.sfjff.org 

“7th annual Brainwash Movie Festival” Aug 3-5: (bring a chair) at the Pyramid Ale brewery, 901 Gilman Street 527-9090 ext. 218. Festival Pass: $30, Individual tickets: online: $8, door: $10 

“Lumumba” Aug 10 at Shattuck Cinemas. Biogrophy of the slain African political figure Patrice Lumumba. In French with English subtitles. 

“Roommates” Aug 12. Max Apple’s true story of his immigrany grandfather who moved in with him when he was in college (in the 60’s). Peer led discussion following movie. $2 Suggested donation. Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 1414 Walnut Street 848-0237 

Exhibits 

“BACA National Juried Exhibition: Works on Paper” Through August 31: Wed. - Sun. Noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893 

“Bernard Maisner: Illuminated Manuscripts and Paintings” Through Aug. 8 Maisner works in miniature as well as in large scales, combining his mastery of medieval illumination, gold leafing, and modern painting techniques. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library 2400 Ridge Road 849-2541 

“Debbie Moore’s Autobiographical Paintings” Through Sep 30 at Good Vibrations. Portraits of the artist’s sensual explorations spanning 25 years and reflecting changing ways of intimacy and body play. 2504 San Pablo Avenue 848-1985 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910” chronicles the transformation of the city of Berkeley in this 10 year period. Thursday through Saturday, 1 – 4 p.m. Through September. Berkeley History Center, Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center St. Wheelchair accessible. 848-0181. Free.  

“A Fine Line” Through August 24, Tuesday - Friday, noon - 5 p.m. or by appointment. An exhibition works by Kala Fellowship winners for the years 2000 and 2001. Kala Art Institute 1060 Heinz Avenue 549-2977 

“Geographies of My Heart” Collage paintings by Jennifer Colby through August 24; Flora Lamson Hewlett Library 2400 Ridge Road 649-2541 

“MFA Survey Exhibition 2001” third annual exhibition of works of recent graduates from Bay Area master of Fine Art programs. This year featuring artists working in three-dimentional media. now - Aug 18 tuesday - saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth Street 527-1214 

“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 

“New Visions: Introductions 2001” Through Aug. 18: Wed. - Sat.: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Juried by Artist- Curator Rene Yanez and Robbin Henderson, Executive Director of the Berkeley Art Center, the exhibition features works from some of California’s up-and-coming artists. Pro Arts 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9425 

“The Saints Are Coming... To Bring Hope” Through July 30: Tue., Wed., Sat. 12 - 5, p.m., Fri. 1 - 5 p.m., An art installation featuring Fred DeWitt, Leon Kennedy, Josie Madero, Esete Menkir, Belinda Osborn, Arline Lucia Rodini, April Watkins, and Carla Woshone. The Art of Living Center 2905 Shattuck Ave. 848-3736  

“Sistahs: Ethnofraphic Ceramics” through Aug. 22, Reception July 29 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Womens Cancer Resource Center Gallery 3023 Shattuck Avenue 548-9286 ext. 307 

“Ten Years Here” Exhibit celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Turn of the Century Fine Arts. Aug. 4 - Sept. 14, Sat & Sun 1-5 p.m. Reception Aug 4 2:00 - 7:00 p.m. 2510 San Pablo Avenue 849-0950 

“The Trip to Here: Paintings and Ghosts by Marty Brooks” Through July 31: Tues. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 1 a.m. View Brooks’ first California show at Bison Brewing Company 2598 Telegraph Ave. 841-7734  

Readings 

Grand Lake Theater August 2: Vincent Bugliosi will be speaking and signing his book, “The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined our Constitution and Chose our President.” 7 p.m. Tickets are a $15 donation. 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. 

Boadecia’s Books Aug 3: Mabel Maney (author of the Nancy Clue/ Cherry Aimless and Hardly Boys mysteries) reads from her new book “Kiss the Girls and Make them Spy” featuring Jane Bond, James’ lesbian twin sister; Aug 4: Dyke Open Myke! Coffeehouse-style open mike night featuring both established and emerging talent; Aug 10 Susann Cokal reads from her novel “Mirabilis” set in 14th-century France; Aug 11: Trina Robbins discusses her latest work “Eternally Bad: Goddesses with Attitute”. All events start at 7:30 p.m. and are free. 398 Colusa Avenue 559-9184 

Cody’s Books Aug 5: Justin Chin, Gerry Gomez Pearlberg; Aug 8: Jane Mead, Mark Turpin. $2 donation. Readings at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-0837 

Cafe de la Paz “Poetry Nitro” Weekly poetry open mike. Aug 6: featuring Andrena zawinski. 6:30 p.m. sign-up, 7 p.m. reading. 1600 Shattuck Ave. 843-0662  

Coffee Mill Poetry Series August 7: Featured readers JC and Bert Glick. 7-9 p.m.; August 21: Featured Readers: Victoria Joyce and Therese Bamberger; Both 7-9 p.m. Free. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland for info. (510)465-3935 or (510)526-5985, or Email: ksdgk@earthlink.net 

Tours 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Fridays 9:30 - 11:45 a.m. or by appointment. Call ahead to make reservations. Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387 

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

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins. $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. (closed Sundays, Memorial Day through Labor Day) Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

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 will close its exhibition galleries for renovation on October 1. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until October 1, 2001: “Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture.” “Sites Along the Nile: Rescuing Ancient Egypt.” “The Art of Research: Nelson Graburn and the Aesthetics of Inuit Sculpture.” “Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Photographs by George Foster.”  

$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 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

Lawrence Hall of Science “Science in Toyland,” through Sept. 9. Exhibit uses toys to demonstrate scientific principles and to help develop children's thinking processes. Susan Cerny’s collection of over 200 tops from around the world. “Space Weather,” through Sept. 2. Learn about solar cycles, space weather, the cause of the Aurorae and recent discoveries made by leading astronomers. This interactive exhibit lets visitors access near real-time data from the Sun and space, view interactive videos and find out about a variety of solar activities. “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. “Saturday Night Stargazing,” First and third Saturdays each month. 8 - 10 p.m., LHS plaza. Space Weather Exhibit now - Sept. 2; now - Sept. 9 Science in Toyland; Saturdays 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. $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. “How Big Is the Universe?” Aug. 1 through Aug. 24. Learn how to determine the distance of celestial objects, one of the purposes of the Hubble Space Telescope. Daily, 2:15 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, 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 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  

The UC Berkeley Art Museum is closed for renovations until the fall. 

For Michele Lawrence, Berkeley’s new superintendent of schools, Wednesday morning was a watershed of sorts: an eagerly awaited dining room table was delivered to her new Berkeley home. 

“I’ve got a bed to sleep in and, now, a table to eat on,” said a well-satisfied Lawrence, who confessed that she’d been eating breakfast and dinner from a card board box since she moved up from Los Angeles County earlier this month.  

Lawrence served as superintendent of the Paramount Unified School District for 10 years before accepting the Berkeley post this spring. 

Two weeks into the Berkeley job, Lawrence has taken advantage of a time when most parents, students, teachers and school board members are away on vacation to pour over school district documents and get up to speed on critical issues.  

She’s visited a number of school sites and met with principals and district department heads. She’s met with a range of Berkeley groups involved in public education, including citizen advisory committees that support the school board, groups who work with Berkeley schools’ organic gardens, the Parents of Children of African Descent group at the high school, the League of Women Voters, the Berkeley Alliance, the mayor and the chief of police. 

“I’m trying to evaluate where I need to start first and what impedes progress,” Lawrence said. 

But the new superintendent has wasted no time in getting a central message across to the district’s central office staff and others: the message that the Berkeley Unified School District, as an organization, has serious internal problems that must be fixed quickly if Berkeley schools are to get the support they need. 

Some of the most basic services for which schools rely on the central office – educational materials, budget and assessment information, and the maintenance and repair of equipment and facilities - are in critically bad shape, Lawrence said, echoing the concerns voiced by many school board members in recent months. 

“As a result, there seems to be frustration with every group I’ve been meeting with about the district’s ability to respond to their needs,” she said. 

Lawrence is already hard at work on some preliminary measures for addressing these issues. After visits to some Berkeley schools, notably the high school, Lawrence is assigning maintenance crews to give “filthy” rooms a thorough going over before class begins Aug. 29.  

Under a bond measure passed in November, the school district will see its annual maintenance budget more than double to $3.8 million. Lawrence expects to oversee the hiring and training of several new maintenance workers this fall to significantly bolster the maintenance support available to schools. 

“You can’t have a crew go in and fix the school and then allow it to go back and deteriorate,” Lawrence said. “We have to have an ongoing process for routine cleanup and maintenance.” 

In the central office, Lawrence said nothing short of a reorganization the staff was needed to help implement greater accountability. Rather than having one manager oversee a large number of employees, as happens under the current system, there needs to be more managers, Lawrence said – each with a relatively narrow focus of responsibility. 

“That’s a more tightly structured system, so there is a direct link between evaluation and performance,” she explained. 

Cathy James, associate superintendent for support services, is leaving the district at the end of this summer at after 11 years. But, until she leaves, she is working closely with Lawrence to help her settle in.  

James said the new superintendent is a quick study and wastes no time communicating her expectations to staff. 

“It’s really hard to come into an organization that’s this complex and kind of get what all the nuances are,” James said. “I think that she’s very candid with people about what she’s thinking and what her approach is.” 

Lawrence has struck a firm but supportive tone when communicating her concerns to central office staff, James added. Her style has been not to point the finger at any individual but to encourage the whole staff to join in a massive effort to turn things around, she said. 

“There’s a lot of work to be done, and that’s a little bit intimidating. But I don’t think anybody’s objecting to the goal,” James said. “Some of us flinch because we know that (the criticisms are) true. A lot of it is stuff that we are all frustrated about.” 

James warned, however, that, at least in the budget area, much of the difficulties with providing information in the past year were caused by the double curse of staff turnover and an old, dysfunctional data processing system. The district has been battling to replace the system since last year, James said – but the battle is not yet won.  

Lawrence said one of the central office staff’s top priorities this fall must be to improve the quality and organization of information – budgetary or otherwise – provided to school board members prior to their biweekly meetings. By cutting out a lot of the guess work for board members, Lawrence hopes to help them get right to the heart of matters that come before them. 

“It’s the staff’s responsibility to make certain that we are providing the board with the information necessary to make an informed decision, rather than one than is a response to emotions projected at a board meeting,” Lawrence said. “Rather than argue about whether the figures are accurate you ought to be arguing about where you’re putting your priorities.” 

An added bonus, said Lawrence, could be shorter board meetings. While Berkeley school meetings often run from 7:30 p.m. until 1 a.m. the following morning, Lawrence’s board meetings at Paramount were almost always over by 10 p.m., she said. 

“I really admired and enjoyed watching the democratic process in probably it’s purest form,” Lawrence said of her first experience at a Berkeley school board meeting last month. “But I wonder if you can actually do the district’s business at (1 a.m.). 

“We might just want to start with the target that (meetings) should end on the same day that they start.” 

As part of its struggle to protect homeless people’s civil rights, the nonprofit organization Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency is doing a survey of the needs of Berkeley’s homeless individuals. 

The survey, which began in June and should be done by September is part of the BOSS effort to decriminalize homelessness in Berkeley and to address the lack of services for homeless people. 

“We are conducting the survey for two purposes,” said BOSS director boona cheema. “To have a sense of what the needs continue to be and to be able to go to the city with documentation around the entire issue of the interactions between the police and homeless individuals.” 

The survey, cheema said, is directly linked to the Homeless Human and Civil Rights Resolution approved by the City Council in April. In addition to declaring a moratorium on the enforcement of legislation forbidding homeless people to sleep outdoors, the resolution recommended funding for detox, daytime respite care, rainy day vouchers and storage units. The council approved the first part of the resolution, but included no funding for the program in its 2001-2002 budget.  

Councilmember Kriss Worthington said he thinks funding might be found in the mid-year adjusted budget or through a state grant. 

This survey aims at helping the city document the need for these services. 

BOSS plans to survey about 120 people by the end of summer. The study is done through one-on-one interviews that focus on issues such as access to shelters, employment, and health care. The survey, cheema said, is conducted on food lines, in shelters and on the streets all around Berkeley. 

BOSS plans to have a full report ready by the time the City Council comes back from its summer recess in September. Nevertheless, the organization already submitted preliminary findings at the last City Council meeting on July 24. 

Eighteen individuals had been surveyed. Their ages ranged from 20 to 53. A large number of them were white males. The preliminary findings showed that one-third of those polled have some kind of physical disability and/or alcohol or drug use problem. Three-quarters of them reported mental illness. 

The preliminary findings also indicated that all the interviewees would use a legal campground if available and that two-thirds of them had no safe storage space for their possessions. Finally, 11 of the 18 respondents reported they had no safe place to sleep and that they had been awaken at least once by police during the month preceding the interview. 

Although the survey doesn’t reveal anything really new about the homeless community, cheema said it brings a new insight into some of the challenges homeless individuals face. 

“The issue of sleep deprivation and what it does to people, that’s a connection that nobody had made before,” she said. “We’ve always said that homeless people’s behavior is related to mental illness or drug and alcohol use.” 

Worthington, who sponsored the resolution, praised BOSS’ initiative for giving a voice to the homeless community. 

“There is a lot to be learned from listening from the people who are homeless themselves,” he said. 

The BOSS Survey is not the only study on homeless needs conducted in Berkeley. In 1997 the Housing Department issued a report on homelessness after polling nearly 200 homeless individuals. And Alameda County is currently gathering information on homeless people who use shelters, transitional housing and drop-in centers. 

Tim Stroshane a senior planner in Berkeley’s Housing Department and the chair of Alameda County’s Data Collection and Management Committee, said that the county is also trying to assess the needs of those homeless who stay away from services. 

“The data collection and management committee is studying ways of doing a regular street level estimation of homeless people who prefer not to use services,” he said. Thereby, he added, service-providers will better know how to meet the specific needs of these people. 

From those findings, BOSS concludes that the homeless desperately need a detoxification center, more storage units, rainy day vouchers, and daytime respite care.

Make-a-Circus came to Civic Center Park for the 12th consecutive year Wednesday, playing music, juggling, clowning and tumbling in front of more than 100 children, before teaching the youngsters to perform as well. 

The nonprofit organization has been touring California for 27 years, each year teaching new lessons about health, friendship, the environment and a range of other topics to young children through a unique brand of interactive circus-theater. 

“When you’re in theater, jobs like this are really terrific because it’s a rewarding type of gig and you get to work out in the sunshine,” said Sara Moore, Make-a-Circus’ Artistic Director and a former clown with Ringling Brothers. “You get to teach kids and be really hands on. You get to perform for them and make them laugh, and then you get to teach them, so you’re giving all the way around.” 

This year’s performers’ program, titled “Penelope Puddle’s Problematic Playground,” was set in a daycare center ran by a cynical Puddle and follows the students in the program and shows how they help each other through various problems. 

At the end of the performance Puddle’s daycare catches fire and she is saved by her students, causing her to turn over a new leaf and become a much more optimistic and friendly woman. 

Many members of the Make-a-Circus team are students from its Teen Apprentice Program. TAP is a program that teaches circus skills such as clowning, stilt walking, juggling and acrobatics. 

Bobby Hartman is Make-a-Circus’ Program Director and Teen Supervisor. He performed in Make-A-Circus in 1999 and became the Teen Supervisor for the 2000 tour. He stayed with the program during the year and revamped the TAP program. 

“(Hartman) took over a Teen Apprentice Program that didn’t have adequate leadership and completely mobilized it,” said Moore. “He got them doing their own production and this coming year they will actually be doing their own circus play.” 

Lauren and Julia Yee are 15-year-old twin contortionists from Oakland who got involved in Make-a-Circus through the TAP program. 

“We met (Hartman) at a juggling festival, and he invited us to join the program,” said Lauren grinning widely, “so we did.” 

Johannes Magr, Make-a-Circus’ Musical Director has been composing original music for every show over the last five years. 

“It’s a great opportunity to do a show for kids, it’s a great opportunity to write music, it’s a great living,” said Magr. “We give attention to a lot of kids who deserve to be paid attention to.” 

Several Berkeley summer programs including Berkeley Youth Alternatives, the Young Adult Project and the Inclusion Program attended the event. 

Children from these camps and various others were taught clowning, juggling, tumbling, and even how to make a human pyramid. 

“The best part was being on stage,” said 9-year-old Zachary Tanenbaum, a standout in the juggling workshop. 

The children showed off their newly acquired skills in the second performance of the day. The second story was about a woman named Miss Moody who had mood swings and went through many steps to become Miss Chipper. 

Acrobatic interludes including “the Symphony of Mood Swings,” “Juggling Pills” and “As the Pyramid Stands” were worked into the script as students from each workshop got their opportunity to be on stage. 

Make-a-Circus also sponsors the Clown Therapy Program, a program that teaches physically, developmentally and emotionally challenged youth clowning and the circus arts. 

The troupe tours parks throughout California in the summer, and puts on a scaled-down, more educational version of their show for schools when they are in session. 

For more information about Make-a-Circus, TAP or Clown Therapy call (415) 242-1414 or write to clowns@makeacircus.org. 

History volume on UC Berkeley library shelves 

Alan Ritch, librarian assistant at UC Berkeley’s Doe Library confirmed Wednesday that the university has received the recently published Volume 26 of a series of history books on U.S. foreign relations and that it is available to those using the university library system 

The book, which was published by the Government Printing Office, has been the object of controversy across the country since the CIA decided a few days ago to recall it from libraries. The book reveals details of U.S. involvement in anti-communist massacres in Indonesia during the 1960s. 

Ritch however said the university’s library system has received no request from the CIA to send the volume back to Washington, D.C. 

“I’m happy to say that we have not received a formal letter from the Government Printing Office asking us to withdraw this document,” he said. “It is on the shelves where people can use it.” 

Workshops scheduled  

for BART districts’ change 

The BART Board of Directors will hold three workshops for the public to give input and comment regarding the redistricting of BART board districts. 

In accordance with the Public Utilities Code, BART will adjust the boundaries of the election districts so they are nearly equal in population according to 2000 U.S. Census data. 

The workshop closest to Berkeley will be held Aug. 9 at 5:30 p.m. at BART’s Lake Merritt Administration Building, 800 Madison St. 

Workshops will also be held at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 7, Concord Police Department, Community Meeting Room, 1350 Galindo St. and 5:30 p.m., Aug. 8, San Francisco City Hall, Committee Room 408, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco. 

For more information, visit the BART Web site at www.bart.gov or contact the BART District Secretary at 464-6085. 

Julia Morgan Center  

for the Arts receives grant 

The Koret Foundation has awarded a $35,000 grant to the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts on College Avenue to support an arts education program based on New York’s Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education.  

The newly formed institute at JMCA is the first in Northern California and one of 26 affiliated with the Lincoln Center Institute in the United States, Hong Kong and Australia.  

Based on an aesthetic education concept pioneered by philosopher/ educator Maxine Greene, the learning model focuses on engaging teachers with specific works of art from the point of view of the artist. Teachers trained in the method take a renewed sense of discovery back to the classroom for the benefit of their students, according to a JMCA press statement. This model of aesthetic education has been in practice for 25 years in New York. 

“We’re breaking down the barriers between art and education, and between art and the rest of our lives,” said Sabrina Klein, JMCA executive director. 

Holiday Open Studios seeks artists, craftspeople 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios is looking for professional artists, craftspeople and galleries to be part of the 11th annual Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios event which takes place on four weekends, starting Nov. 24 and 25 and going through Dec. 15 and 16. Deadline is Sept. 1. Artisans participate from their studios/workshops, giving the public a glimpse into the creative process. Interested artists and galleries should call 845-2612.

In a spacious room on the top floor of St. Mark’s Church, just a few blocks form the intersection of Telegraph Avenue and Bancroft Way, homeless youth arrive to the rumble of rock music and the scent of hot food wafting from the kitchen.  

“Clients” are greeted by UC Berkeley students around their own age. After some small talk, they’re invited to help with the meal preparation.  

Two years in development, Berkeley’s new Monday night Youth Clinic is the vision of UC Berkeley seniors Shawn Mattison and Jessica Woan, who have served as co-coordinators of the clinic since it opened.  

As freshmen, both Mattison and Woan volunteered at the Suitcase Clinic, a homeless clinic sponsored by UC Berkeley and run by university students that has served some 11,000 homeless since it opened in 1989. While the clinic was thriving, Mattison and Woan noticed a conspicuous absence of both women and youth taking advantage of its basic medical services.  

When the Suitcase Clinic opened a center to cater to only to women and small children in 1998, Woan took over as coordinator for two years. Meanwhile, she and Mattison began planning, and pursuing funding for, a youth clinic. With a $10,000 grant from the Donald A. Strauss Foundation, they launched the venture in January.  

It didn’t take long for word of the Youth Clinic to circulate through the fairly close-knit community of homeless teens and twenty-somethings who hang out on and around Telegraph Avenue. One Youth Clinic regular, who gave her name as Kittie, said the clinic seemed to catch on overnight. 

“I was hanging out, and everybody had disappeared. So I asked one of the guys, ‘Where did everybody go?’” And he said, ‘the drop-in clinic,’ ” Kittie said. 

Curious, Kittie made her way to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. What she found was, by her estimation, a refuge from the anxiety and depression of her street existence that she would scarcely have imagined possible. 

“It was like some little secret place,” Kittie said. “The people who are here really do care, and they try their best to give us what we need.” 

For homeless youth, it’s not just a question of having a place to go, said Youth Clinic staff. It has to be the right kind of place. 

Since many homeless youth come from backgrounds of abuse – many have run away from home to escape abusive situations – there is a tendency to be distrustful of homeless service centers where both the staff and the clientele are predominantly adults, said Jason Albertson, a social worker who staffs the Monday night Youth Clinic.  

The Youth Clinic takes a low-key, user-friendly approach to providing social services for the 100 to 200 youth between the ages of 13 and 23 estimated to be living on the streets of downtown Berkeley. Mattison and Woan have made their number one priority for the Monday night clinic to simply do all they can to make youth feel comfortable and at ease for three hours a week.  

Youth who may have spent the last week battling the hunger, sleeplessness and anxiety that often accompanies life on the street find themselves suddenly immersed in an environment reminiscent of a sleepover party at the Youth Clinic.  

“We base the whole model around trying to be sensitive to the youth culture,” Mattison said. 

Based on the demographic information Youth Clinic volunteers were able to gather from 115 clients earlier this year, about 45 percent of those who use the clinic are between the ages of 18 and 21. Another 40 percent are in their 20s. 

Last Monday about 30 homeless youth turned up at the clinic for dinner. Afterwards, some settled in for a couple hours of socializing, entertainment, or rest.  

Art supplies were spread out on some tables for those youth – and their were many – who want to translate some of the stresses of their day or week into poetry, short stories or drawings. One UC Berkeley volunteer tapes the day’s output to scrap paper, which she will later take home, photocopy, and staple into a crude magazine to be circulated the following Monday. 

“The creative output is just amazing to me,” said Woan. “They just take time in the evenings and let all their thoughts spill out.” 

Razors, soap and other amenities are available for those who want to get cleaned up. 

The center’s UC Berkeley student volunteers are trained to help with medical and dental referrals, legal advice and job hunting, among other things. On most Monday’s a physician is on site to consult with clients. Every other week a volunteer veterinarian provides check-ups for clients’ pets – mostly cats and dogs.  

“Whatever the goals are that they want to reach, we have people who are willing to meet with them outside (of the clinic) and help,” said Mattison.  

Nevertheless, the most popular services seem to be things aimed at giving the youth an opportunity to unwind and relax. 

As Albertson put it, “For people who live outside, to have a space that they can control and feel real safe in is really rare.” 

Foot-washes given by the UC Berkeley volunteers are popular. Hope McDonnall, an acupuncturist who runs a detox clinic for Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley, is in constant demand at the clinic. She offers 30-minute “full-body” treatments to help alleviate foot pain, back pain and flu symptoms that many youth pick up from living and sleeping on the streets.  

“It’s a youth-specific place,” McDonnall said of the clinic. “They own the space, they own the treatment. They feel at home here.” 

A homeless youth who called himself “Monsoon” agreed with this assessment. Going to the clinic is “like going to a friend’s house,” he said. 

Monsoon was one of about a dozen youth Monday drawn small television showing the movie “Army of Darkness” – and happily heckling the film’s cheesy attempts at depicting evil. 

“With entertainment comes relaxation,” Monsoon said. 

Monsoon has been living on the streets since he lost his job four months ago, he said. He knows clinic staff could help him plan a strategy for breaking back into the job market, when he’s ready. 

But, for the time being, Monsoon said he’s just glad to have a space to come each week with people he relates to easily.  

“That’s probably one of the best medicines out there, is being able to relate to somebody and have them relate to me,” Monsoon said. 

Woan and Mattison said this type of medicine flows both ways at the Youth Clinic. 

“Through the clinic, I’ve probably met the strongest, bravest people I’ve met in my life,” said Woan. 

The Youth Clinic is constantly looking for more collaborators, funders and volunteers. In particular, they’d like to be able to offer chiropractic treatment, educational services and expanded medical and mental health care in the future. To volunteer your services or make a donation, contact Shawn Mattison at (510) 540-8658 or sdm411@aol.com. 

Wednesday, Aug. 1

The LHS 500:  

Virtual Racecars 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Part of the Lawrence Hall of Science Wednesday FUN-days. Build and test drive a virtual racecar to find out what makes an efficient vehicle. Museum admission $3 - $7. 

642-5132 

Berkeley Communicator Toastmasters Club 

7:15 a.m. 

Vault Cafe 

3250 Adeline 

Learn to speak with confidence. Ongoing first and third Wednesdays each month. 

527-2337 

Extreme Pizza’s  

Grand Opening 

5:30 p.m. 

2352 Shattuck Ave. 

Mayor Shirley Dean will welcome Extreme Pizza to Berkeley. There will be a comedy show at 8:30 p.m. featuring 10 local comedians including Tommy Devine and Leslie Choler. The evening will be hosted by Tony Sparks.  

486-0770 

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 

Quit Smoking Class 

6 - 8 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis Street 

A six week quit smoking class. 

Free to Berkeley residents and employees. 

Call 644-6422 or email at: quitnow@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Salsa Dance Classes 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond  

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Classes every Thursday with live percussionists, light refreshments, DJ playing Latin music. $10 or $15 for two. 237-9874 

Adventuring With Kids 

7 p.m. 

REI 1338 San Pablo Avenue 

Karen and Paul Amstutz share stories and slides of family adventures with their one- and three-year-old daughters. Free.  

527-4140 

Free Senior Computer Class  

9 - 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited, call ahead for a reservation. 644-6109 

Community Action Team 

Advisory Group (CATAG) 

7 p.m. 

Over 60’s Clinic 

Town Hall Summit Update, group addresses city’s health disparities. For more information call Sheryl Walton 665-6809 or  

Candace Miles-Threatt 665-6837. 

Thursday, Aug. 2

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9 - 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited, call ahead for a reservation. 644-6109 

Community Environmental Advisory Commission 

7 p.m. 

Planning and Development Department - First Floor Conference Room 

2118 Milvia St. 

Residential woodburning, Harrison Street Skate Park update, arsenic in playgrounds - follow up, diesel generators, recycling of universal waste, microwaves - update are among the items on the agenda of the CEAC. 

Kensington 55+ Activity Center 

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Social Hall of Arlington Community Church 

52 Arlington Ave. 

Conversation, Apple II computer instruction, massage therapy, German conversation group, meditation and relaxation techniques, watercolor art class, tea and coffee. Special 11 a.m. program: Ancient Architectures, Virginia Walker presents slides of pyramids, temples, Gothic and other churches. For more information call 526-9146 or 547-1969. 

Ancient Native Sites of the East Bay 

7:30 p.m. 

Room 160 Kroeber Hall, University of California Campus 

A panel discussion on ancient sites featuring Sandra Sher, freelance historian and author of The Native Legacy of Emeryville; Richard Schwartz, author of Circle of Stones and Berkeley 1900; Perry Matlock, native advocate and volunteer with the International Indian Treaty Council; and Randy Grandin, explorer of West Contra Costa County native sites. Stephanie Manning, moderator. $10 841-2242 

Friday, Aug. 3

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. (at Derby)  

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meeting Fridays through August 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

Call 548-8283 x534 or x522 

Saturday, Aug. 4

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club 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.  

www.cal-sailing.org  

Robert Bowman 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Friends Church 

1600 Sacramento St. (@ Cedar)  

Retired Air Force and NASA Official and Presidential Candidate, Dr. Robert Bowman will speak out against the weaponization of space. Following the rally there will be a procession to the gates of the Livermore Lab for a nonviolent, risk arrest action. For details call Livermore Conversion Project,  

663-8065. 

Animal Picnic Family Workshop 

10 - 10:50 a.m. and 11 - 11:50 a.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Touch and hold a variety of animals and see how they eat their lunch. For children ages 3 - 8 and an accompanying adult. Registration required, $8 - $25. 

642-5132 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

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

Annual Tomato Tasting, an opportunity to sample the whole range of tomato varieties at the Market. Also, the grand opening of the Food Court.  

548-3333 

Poetry Reading 

3 - 5 p.m. 

1527 Virginia Street (one block from N. Berkeley BART) 

The Bay Area Poets Coalition presents an open poetry reading outdoors on the front lawn. For more information call 527-9905 or 845-8409 or poetalk@aol.com 

Bay Area Eco-Crones 

10:30 a.m. - Noon 

Epworth Church, Youth Room 

1953 Hopkins 

Discuss ecological significance of mushrooms and bats; plan rituals for habitat restorations projects. 874-4935 or 527-4582 

Foster Parent Certification Class 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St. (at MLK) 

This class will cover all aspects of Foster Parenting and is open to anyone interested in attending. Free.  

For more information call Bob at 641-6200 or nailahfs@pacbell.net. 

Sunday, Aug. 5

Anti-Nuclear Vigil 

1 - 3 p.m. 

U.C. Berkeley, Lawn at West Entrance, 

Oxford and University Ave. 

Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Opposing U.C. weapons labs contracts; Urging U.C.B. to host a national TV debate on nuclear weapons ban. For more information call Circle of Concern 848-8055. 

Buddhism 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Mark Henderson on “Four Thoughts that Awaken the Heart.” Free. 

843-6812 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave., between 3rd and 4th Streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 

654-6346 

— compiled by Guy Poole 

Monday, August 6

Intensive Production Urban Gardening Training 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Santa Fe Bar & Grill 

1310 University Ave. 

Growing Gourmet: A free urban gardening training & potluck lunch.  

Learn ways to intensively and organically grow produce for your own use or for an urban market garden. A hands-on training in the garden located behind the restaurant and potluck lunch at 1 p.m. For more information call Katherine Webb, 841-1110. Free community training, meets the first Monday each month. 

Osteoporosis: How to put Bone Loss on Hold 

9 a.m. - 10 a.m. 

Summit Campus 

Cafeteria Annexes B & C 

350 Hawthorne Ave. in Oakland 

A free lecture by Elliot Schwartz, MD, Co-Director of the Foundation for Osteoporosis Research and Education. Learn how to create a program that will help minimize bone loss. For more information or to make a reservation, contact Ellen Carroll at 869-6737. 

Mayor Shirley Dean to Receive  

Delegation of Japanese Scouts 

10 a.m. 

City Hall 

2180 Milvia St. 

A contingent of 38 Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts from Osaka, Japan, will present an official proclamation from the mayor of Sakai, Japan, to Mayor Shirley Dean. For more information call 841-8117. 

Tuesday, August 7

Intelligent Conversation  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will center on sex and drugs: Free will? Must laws be obeyed? Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free  

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 Don, 525-3565 

Writing and Resistance  

In A Culture of Amnesia 

6 - 7:45 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Avenue 

Classroom #2 

Part of a workshop series on concepts and strategies for resistance through the spoken and written word, taught by Joyce E. Young. $12. 

849-2568 www.lapena.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

Derby Street at MLK Jr. Way 

548-3333 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK) 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday morning. Call Ann, 655-8863 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Strawberry Creek Daylighting 

Strategy Workshop 

6:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

Corporation Yard Green Room 

1326 Allston Way 

A workshop to develop an effective strategy for promoting the daylighting of Strawberry Creek downtown. Learn about current daylighting concepts and develop a working plan for the next year and beyond. Facilitated by Louis Hexter of MIG. Call Janet Byron to RSVP at 848-4008 or bjanet@earthlink.net 

Wednesday, August 8

A Day at the Beach 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

UC Berkeley 

Part of the Lawrence Hall of Science Wednesday FUN-days. Build sand castles with sand sculptor Kirk Rademaker. Museum admission $3 - $7. 

642-5132 

Thursday, August 9

Ancient Native Sites of the East Bay 

7:30 p.m. 

Room 160 Kroeber Hall, University of California Campus 

Sean Dexter, archaeologist, will discuss the recent Data Recovery Program at the Emeryville Shellmound/South Bayfront site. Jakki Kehl, a Mutsun Ohlone, will discuss protecting cultural resources by developing partnerships and encouraging good stewardship of the land. $10 

841-2242 

Salsa Dance Classes 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Classes every Thursday with live percussionists, light refreshments, DJ playing Latin music. $10 or $15 for two. 

237-9874 

Sea Kayaking 

7 p.m. 

REI 

1338 San Pablo Avenue 

Learn about the best sea kayaking spots in Northern California from Roger Schumann and Jan Shriner. Free. 

527-4140 

Free Computer Class for Seniors 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

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

644-6109 

Kensington 55+ Activity Center 

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Social Hall of Arlington Community Church 

52 Arlington Ave. 

Conversation, Apple II computer instruction, massage therapy, German conversation group, meditation and relaxation techniques, watercolor art class, tea and coffee. Special 11 a.m. program: Safety, Pat Caftel presents Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness. For more information call 526-9146 or 547-1969. 

The market is a racket 

Editor, 

Fred Foldvary and others may choose to believe that the market economy is not a racket. But there are people who choose to believe that the earth is flat. What are the facts? 

Stockholders receive dividends, for which they do no work. Moneylenders receive interest for which they do no work. Big landlords receive rent for which they do no work. When people who don’t work live off the labor of people who do, what else can you call this but a racket? The fact that these scams are legal simply shows that the entire “free enterprise” system is a racket.  

As the world changes, the old rackets can be eliminated. The slaveowners once had a great racket, but slavery is now virtually extinct. Absolute monarchs once had their racket, and claimed to rule by divine right. They too are almost extinct.  

When enough people become aware that the wealthy perform no necessary function, we will be able to change things. The parasitic stockholders, landlords and moneylenders will all be driven out of the temple and will have to go to work.  

Marion Syrek 

Oakland 

Oxford lot wish list may be too long for height limit 

Editor: 

I must respond to a characterization (as a “sneer”) by Zelda Bronstein (Letters, Daily Planet, July 30) of a remark I made to a reporter regarding the proposed Oxford Lot downtown development. She then opined, “Perhaps Smith would like to explain.” 

Ms. Bronstein is the vice chair of the city’s Planning Commission. Here is my response to her challenge: 

The City Council approved last week the Planning Commission’s recommendation to develop the current city parking lot on Oxford Way at Kittredge Street in an extraordinary combination of nonprofit office and display space (for an environmental center to be named for David Brower); affordable housing; community arts space that would include a performance stage and galleries; two floors of (very costly) underground parking, and retail shops. 

Add to this the fact that Ms. Bronstein and other Planning Commission spokespeople have said that all these components must be enclosed in a structure that cannot exceed five stories! 

The Civic Arts Commission, which it is my pleasure to chair, is in favor of the Oxford Lot structure including the largest feasible cultural arts space, as the Planning Department staff works on meshing all these great ideas into a proposal that will honestly address how much all this will cost and whether or not a developer, and the city and Brower Center as partners, will all realistically be able to afford to build it along the lines of this initial proposal. 

It will be some time – many months – before the details are hammered out and the costs estimated (this is called “penciling out”) as the city goes out to seek proposals from the development community. 

Quite the opposite of “sneering” at supposed extravagance, I was simply telling the truth as I see it: that the initial proposal is a compendium of wonderful desires, probably all of which will have to be adjusted to literally fit within the structure as it is currently limited (five floors, 50,000 square feet per floor). When the reporter asked what I thought of the chances for everyone involved with the project getting their heart’s desire, that’s when I indicated that some of what is being wished for will doubtless have to fall away. Anyone who thinks that is not going to happen does not have a grasp of economic reality, to wit: the city’s budget is not a bottomless pit, and developers must have a financial incentive to bid on a project. 

I regret that Ms. Bronstein decided to express her feelings in a personal attack, but once she did so I felt I had no choice but to set the record straight. 

Sherry Smith 

Civic Arts Commission chair 

Anti-tobacco folk go too far 

Editor, 

Perhaps Ben Lumpkin would do another article about the anti-cigarette folks. How do members of the Tobacco Prevention Coalition differentiate themselves from other anti-choice groups and factions? Which of their own behaviors do they hope will be legislated against – for their own good? Have all coalition members stopped driving their cars, as these pollute our shared air? Have any ever purchased cigarettes, or gas? 

After TPC folk beat down the pharmacies, will they then move on to bookstores which sell books of which members disapprove, or theaters showing films members find distasteful? Also, as friend once said to me, “Won’t they be surprised when they get to die of nothing?”  

A Berkeley non-driver, by individual choice who is not evangelical about my own choices! 

Sangwan Zimmerman 

Berkeley 

Media needs to pay attention 

Editor, 

We went to the Federal Courthouse on Tuesday July 24 to witness Judge Armstrong’s sentencing of Lakireddy Bali Reddy’s rich and powerful brother and sister-in-law – Jayaprakash and Annapurna Lakireddy – for their part in the importation of undocumented aliens from India for sexual and labor exploitation. As with Reddy, the attorneys had agreed to absurdly lenient sentences of a maximum of 16 months for Jayaprakash and a maximum of 12 months for Annapurna. We had earlier written to Judge Armstrong to ask her to reject the attorney’s plea bargain and to instead sentence the Lakireddys to at least 10 years each.  

Jayaprakash and Annapurna Lakireddy had willfully falsified visa applications and other immigration documents so that Reddy and his sons would have sexual slaves to rape as frequently as they pleased, and so that they could share in the profits from exploiting the labor of many other indentured servants to build their financial empires.  

We told Judge Armstrong that deliberately pimping young girls for pedophiles should not be tolerated. We emphasized that exploiting vulnerable people for cheap labor to build financial empires on their backs should also not be tolerated.  

Just as Judge Armstrong had given Reddy a scandalously light sentence of only 8 years on June 19, we anticipated that she might follow this pattern with the Lakireddys. This would be consistent with the typically unjust practice of preserving a double standard of justice – one for the rich and powerful and another for everyone else. Consider the fact that Judge Armstrong readily granted Reddy’s request to serve his sentence in Lompoc Prison, a luxury institution nicknamed “Club Fed.” Why would she voluntarily add to his privileged treatment in this way when it isn’t required by the legal system that criminals choose where they are to be incarcerated? We wondered if she would grant this same privilege to the Lakireddys. 

We were surprised and disappointed to note the lack of media interest in the sentencing of the Lakireddys. Despite our colorful protest before Judge Armstrong convened her Court, only one cameraman was waiting outside – too bored, it seemed, to even take a picture of us. This, despite the fact that the courtroom was nearly filled by interested individuals. How does the media decide that two pimps who are guilty of the trafficking in young girls for a serial sexual pervert, among other crimes, is of no interest to the public? 

After secret negotiations in the courtroom, Judge Armstrong postponed the sentencing of the Lakireddys until September 18. The Lakireddys looked distressed by this decision. We wondered if they, too, were expecting to get a token rap on the knuckles for their crimes. The media will have another opportunity to treat Jayaprakash and Annapurna Lakireddy’s sentencing with the seriousness it deserves. And hopefully Judge Armstrong will have time to reflect on the injustice of handing out light sentences to criminals merely because they are rich and/or powerful.  

Dr. Diana Russell 

Marcia Poole 

Berkeley 

924 Gilman St. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Aug. 3: Sworn Vengeance, N.J. Bloodline, Settle the Score, Existence, Step; Aug. 4: Toxic Narcotic, Menstrual Tramps, Emo Summer, Four Letter Word, Shitty Wickets; Aug 10: 90 Day Men, Assembly of God, Strong Intention, Under a Dying Sun; Aug 11: Toys That Kill, Scared of Chakra, Soophie Nun Squad, Debris; Aug 12: 5 p.m. Citizen Fish, J-Church, Eleventeen. $5. 924 Gilman St. 525-9926. 

Ashkenaz Aug. 5: 9 p.m. Roots Reggae featuring Groundation and Tchiya Amet. $10. 11317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5099 www.ashkenaz.com 

Eli’s Mile High Club Doors open at 8 p.m. Every Friday, 10 p.m. - 2 a.m., Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Split Shankin and Funky Man. $10; 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland 655-6661 

Freight and Salvage Coffee House All music at 8 p.m. Aug 2: George Kuo, Narin Pahinui & Aaron Mahi; Aug 3: Wylie & the Wild West, the Waller Brothers, Aug 4: Adam Levy, Will Bernard; Aug 5: MonTango; Aug 6: Frank Yamma; Aug 8: San Francisco Klezmer Experience; Aug 9: John Renbourn; Aug 10: Jody Stecher, Kate Brislin; Aug 11: Al Stewart. $16.50 - $19.50. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jupiter Aug. 2: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu and Add1; Aug. 3: Mas Cabezas, Rhodes-based latin jazz trio with local vet Ezra Gale; Aug. 4: Solomon Grundy, from Orange County, combining jazz, calypso, and world beat; Aug. 7: Joshi Marshal Project, jazz, soul and hiphop; Aug. 8: Broun Fellini’s, jazz/funk/hiphop grooves All music starts at 8:00 p.m. www.jupiterbeer.com; or call the hotline: THE-ROCK (843-7625)  

La Peña Cultural Center Aug 3: 8 p.m. Los Delicados, Aya de Leon $10; Aug 4: 8 p.m. Grito Serpentino, Small Axe Project, Jime Salcedo-Malo & Leticia Hernandez $10; Aug 5: 7 p.m. Insight in concert $10; Aug 10: 8:30 p.m. Ire $8; Aug 11: 9:30 p.m. Fito Reynoso’s Ritmo y Armonia. $10, $13 for dance class starting at 8:15. In the Cafe 3105 Shattuck Avenue 849-2568 

La Note/Jazzschool Aug 5: 4:30 p.m. Vocaists’ Series (Denine Monet), 5:30 p.m. Instrumentalists’ Series (Pelo Mar); Aug 12: 4:30 p.m. The Freedom Project, 5:30 Eli Sundelson Trio. 2377 Shattuck Avenue 845-5373. 

Shattuck Down Low Lounge Every Tuesday: 9:30 p.m., Posh Tuesdays with DJ’s Yamu, Delon, Add1, and Tequila Willie. Shattuck at Allston. www.thebeatdownsound.com  

“Midsummer Mozart Festival” All shows at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 3: Four pieces including “Symphony in B Flat.” $32 - $40. First Congregational Church 2345 Channing Way (415) 292-9620 www.midsummermozart.org  

“Downtown” Restaurant and Bar August 6: 7 p.m. Jesse Colin Young of the sixties hit group, The Youngbloods, will be performing at a No Nukes evening, sponsored by Greenpeace. The evening commemorates the 56th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The proceeds go to Tri-Valley CAREs and Citizen Alert. Tickets are $100. 2102 Shattuck Ave. 800-728-6223 

The Greek Theatre Aug. 3 and Aug. 4, 7 p.m. The String Cheese Incident, $29.75. Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road 444-TIXS, or (415) 421-TIXS www.sfx.com 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts Aug 4: 8 p.m. “Cuatro maestros Touring Festival” two-hour theatrical event of music and dance performed by four elder folk artists and their talented young counterparts. Adults $18 Children $12; Aug. 10: 7:30 p.m. & Aug. 11, 12, 5 p.m. Campers from Stage Door Conservatory’s “On Broadway” program for grades 5-9 will perform Fiddler on the Roof, Jr. $12 adults, $8 kids. (For info call 527-5939); 2640 College Avenue 845-8542 ext. 302 

“Iphegenia in Aulis” Through Aug. 12: Sat. and Sun. 5 p.m. Special dawn performance on August 12 at 7 a.m. A free park performance by the Shotgun Players of Euripides’ play about choices and priorities. With a masked chorus, singing, dancing, and live music. Feel free to bring food and something soft to sit on. John Hinkel Park, Southhampton Place at Arlington Avenue (different locations July 7 and 8). 655-0813 

“The Lady’s Not for Burning” Aug. 2 - 4: 8 p.m. Set in the 15th century, a soldier wishes to be hanged and a witch does not want to be burned at the stake. Written by Christopher Fry, directed by Susannah Woods. $5 - $10. South Berkeley Community Church 1802 Fairview st. 464-1117 

“Orphans” Through Aug. 5: Fri. and Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Lyle Kessler’s dark comedy about a mysterious stranger invading the home of two orphaned brothers. $15. The Speakeasy Theater, 2016 Seventh St. 326-8493 

“Reefer Madness” Aug. 8, 9, Aug. 22, 23: 9 p.m. A new one-act theatre piece adapted from a 1936 government-funded film opens a critical eye to the control of our society. Performed by The Elemental Theatre Group La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Avenue. Wednesdays are “pay what you can,” Thursdays $5 - $10. Contact Zachary Rouse or Tisha Sloan for more info at 655-4150 

Boadecia’s Books Aug 3: Mabel Maney (author of the Nancy Clue/ Cherry Aimless and Hardly Boys mysteries) reads from her new book “Kiss the Girls and Make them Spy” featuring Jane Bond, James’ lesbian twin sister; Aug 4: Dyke Open Myke! Coffeehouse-style open mike night featuring both established and emerging talent; Aug 10 Susann Cokal reads from her novel “Mirabilis” set in 14th-century France All events start at 7:30 p.m. and are free. 398 Colusa Avenue 559-9184 

Cody’s Books Aug 5: Justin Chin, Gerry Gomez Pearlberg; Aug 8: Jane Mead, Mark Turpin. $2 donation. Readings at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-0837 

Cafe de la Paz “Poetry Nitro” Weekly poetry open mike. Aug 6: featuring Andrena zawinski. 6:30 p.m. sign-up, 7 p.m. reading. 1600 Shattuck Ave. 843-0662  

Coffee Mill Poetry Series August 7: Featured readers JC and Bert Glick. 7-9 p.m.; August 21: Featured Readers: Victoria Joyce and Therese Bamberger; Both 7-9 p.m. Free. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland for info. (510)465-3935 or (510)526-5985, or Email: ksdgk@earthlink.net 

Grand Lake Theater August 2: Vincent Bugliosi will be speaking and signing his book, “The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined our Constitution and Chose our President.” 7 p.m. Tickets are a $15 donation. 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. 

Tours 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Fridays 9:30 - 11:45 a.m. or by appointment. Call ahead to make reservations. Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387 

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

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins. $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. (closed Sundays, Memorial Day through Labor Day) Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

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 will close its exhibition galleries for renovation on October 1. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until October 1, 2001: “Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture.” “Sites Along the Nile: Rescuing Ancient Egypt.” “The Art of Research: Nelson Graburn and the Aesthetics of Inuit Sculpture.” “Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Photographs by George Foster.”  

$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 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

Lawrence Hall of Science “Science in Toyland,” through Sept. 9. Exhibit uses toys to demonstrate scientific principles and to help develop children's thinking processes. Susan Cerny’s collection of over 200 tops from around the world. “Space Weather,” through Sept. 2. Learn about solar cycles, space weather, the cause of the Aurorae and recent discoveries made by leading astronomers. This interactive exhibit lets visitors access near real-time data from the Sun and space, view interactive videos and find out about a variety of solar activities. “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. “Saturday Night Stargazing,” First and third Saturdays each month. 8 - 10 p.m., LHS plaza. Space Weather Exhibit now - Sept. 2; now - Sept. 9 Science in Toyland; Saturdays 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. $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. “How Big Is the Universe?” Aug. 1 through Aug. 24. Learn how to determine the distance of celestial objects, one of the purposes of the Hubble Space Telescope. Daily, 2:15 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, 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 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  

The UC Berkeley Art Museum is closed for renovations until the fall. 

English playwright Joe Orton lived fast and died young. Beaten to death with a hammer in 1967 at age 34 by his longtime gay lover, he left behind a small body of work, including “Loot” (1965) and the posthumously produced “What the Butler Saw” (1969). 

Orton’s reputation has flourished since his death, due in large part to the 1978 biography “Prick Up Your Ears” by New Yorker theater writer John Lahr, and the subsequent movie based on that book a decade later starring Gary Oldman as Orton. 

Still, for me, the problem of the plays remains. I have never seen a great production of an Orton play. 

Berkeley’s talented Shotgun Players are the latest to give it a go. The company is currently running a thoughtful and meticulously staged production of “Loot” at LaVal’s Subterranean on the Northside. 

“Loot” is an absurdist, high-speed, sex-and-death farce, set in an English lower-middle-class family living room. Here patriarch MacLeavy (Greg Lucey) mourns the passing of his wife, who rests for much of the play in an open coffin in the center of the room. 

With a funeral imminent, the MacLeavy’s gay son Hal (Andy Alabran) appears to have robbed a bank with his sleazy bisexual chum Dennis (Danny Wolohan). Unexpectedly, the deceased woman’s nurse (Renee Penegor) morphs into a voracious, gold-digging sexual predator, and before long a mysterious water board inspector (Jonathan Gonzalez) arrives with pipe and magnifying glass to conduct an investigation. 

All farcical hell breaks loose. It’s a two-hour round-robin of hiding the bank loot and hiding the corpse. 

The acting in this production is super. Director Reid Davis has elicited fascinating performances from his entire cast.  

Lucey is comically woe-bestruck as the long-suffering, put-upon, newly widowed MacLeavy, the most real character in a world of otherwise complete zaniness. Renee Penegor is enticing and elusive as the pornographic, puritanical, hooker/nurse, married seven times in ten years, and looking for more. 

Andy Alabran is fascinating as hypersexual, simpleton son Hal, filled with dreams of opening his own brothel, and crazed with the hots for his chum Dennis. Alabran hypnotically twists his face and sucks his lips when he has to think. 

Danny Wolohan is also mesmerizing as swashbuckling bisexual undertaker’s assistant Dennis, enthusiastically scanning the room for money or tail. 

But the problem is that these great performances add up to less than the sum of their parts. And I think the basic challenge lies in the severe difficulty of staging Orton’s script, which tends to be cartoony and one-dimensional. 

All of the characters, for example, speak in the same voice. And the communications they make to each other are not thoughtful, character-based expressions, but rather jocular, nonsensical verbal gags of the moment. “Loot” feels like a play written on speed, without the human emotional connections. After two hours, you’re exhausted. 

To help counterbalance the characters’ one-dimensionality, director Davis and his cast have obviously put a lot of work into creating deeper people with backgrounds, histories, motivations, mysterious secret lives and subtexts. This work has paid off and given the play’s characters a fascinating richness, making them interesting people. 

There is a lot going on for the actors. They have wonderful moments during their non-speaking times on stage, communicating by eye contact or facial expression, or scheming internally. 

But, the production just isn’t that funny. “Loot” is supposed to be a farce, but the night I attended, the laughs were few and far between. Despite lots of effort to create a slapstick chaos, the show is missing the sort of basic laughs that, say, Laurel and Hardy get when they start hitting each other with their hats. 

Without that, the silly story just doesn’t carry enough weight for the play not to be funny. In the final analysis, “Loot” is dated. 

When first produced in 1965, “Loot” broke a lot of taboos. It made fun of religion, the law, marriage and middle-class sexual rules. From that iconoclasm the play earned its reputation for shock value. 

But now it’s 36 years later, and “Loot’s” bawdy religious satire, sexual backroom hanky-panky between boys and jokes about necrophilia just don’t offend a more jaded modern audience the way they once did. 

Planet theater reviewer John Angell Grant has written for “American Theatre,” “Backstage West,” “Callboard,” and other publications. E-mail him at jagplays@yahoo.com.

The Oakland Soldiers needed a wakeup call. Leon Powe gave it to them. 

Two thunderous dunks by the Oakland Tech star helped Slam ‘n Jam’s premiere team shake off some rust, and the Soldiers cruised to an 85-57 win over the Houston Superstars on the second day of the Slam ‘n Jam Elite 8x2 Tournament on Tuesday. The Soldiers put on a show for the crowd against an overmatched opponent, and must be considered the heavy favorites to win the tournament championship today. 

The Soldiers came out very slowly against the Superstars, and trailed 8-4 with seven minutes gone. The game, played at RSF Fieldhouse, was very slow, with 13 fouls called at that point. But Powe used his muscle inside to tie the score at 8-8, and teammate LeBron James hit a nice fadeaway jumper to give the Soldiers the lead. 

But Powe’s team was still playing as if they were half asleep, and it took a highlight-reel play from their opponents to get them fired up. When diminutive Houston point guard Eddie Rowe threw an alley-oop pass on a fastbreak to teammate Justin Carter for a spectacular dunk, the crowd cheered the Texas team for finally injecting some life into the game. Carter followed with an emphatic blocked shot on James, throwing the highly-touted guard’s shot into the stands, and the momentum seemed to be going with the visitors. 

But the hosts finally got in gear soon after. John Sharper stole a pass and led Powe with a pass for a huge breakaway jam, then Powe put Carter in his place by throwing down another dunk, this one right in Carter’s face. The crowd exploded in response, and Powe urged the fans to get even louder. With chants of “Soldiers! Soldiers!” echoing in the gym, John Tofi scored five points in the last 30 seconds of the half to give the Slam ‘n Jam team a 34-23 halftime lead. 

“We expect to make plays like that all the time. Anything less is unacceptable,” Powe said after the game. “These games are just fun.” 

The second half was all Soldiers, as Marquis Kately led off with two dunks, the second a 360-degree two-hander that brought the house down. With James, Kately and Powe running the floor like racecars, they got the place rocking with bunches of alley-oops, dunks and spectacular drives. James, who is considered the best prep player in the nation, started taking it easy, opting for layups instead of dunks.  

“I just want to go out and play my game,” said James, who is playing with the Soldiers for the first time this summer. “But when a lot of people come out to watch you and your team play, you gotta give them some kind of show.” 

The Soldiers took turns tossing up long 3-pointers and running isolation plays, but turned it back up for the last two minutes. A Tofi steal turned into a James tomahawk, Powe got off another huge dunk, then followed with a crossover drive that missed but was slammed home by James. The game ended on an alley-oop pass from halfcourt by DeShawn Freeman to Kately, and the Soldiers were clearly enjoying themselves to the last. 

“It was just showtime out there,” Freeman said. “It’s basically like practice, and I like practicing my lobs.” 

The Soldiers will have to get more serious today, as they face West Coast Stars, who beat the Bay Area Ballers 70-46 on Tuesday, in a semi-final game. If they win that game, they will likely play the Michigan Hurricanes in the final. The Hurricanes are expected to beat EBO in the other semi, and the Soldiers are looking forward to facing a team that is comparable in talent to themselves. 

“We want Michigan bad,” Soldiers coach Mark Olivier said. 

Both semi-final matchups will take place at the RSF Fieldhouse at 3:30 p.m., with the championship set for 6:30.

A UC Berkeley professor is asking the community to pressure the university not to comply with a CIA decision to take back from libraries a history book revealing the involvement of the United States in the massive killing of Indonesian communists in the 1960s. 

A few days ago, the CIA decided to recall Volume 26, one in a series of history books called “Foreign Relations of the United States.” The volume in question covers Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines and was recently published by the Government Printing Office. 

Outraged at the CIA’s decision, Peter Dale Scott, a former Canadian diplomat who currently teaches in UC Berkeley’s English Department, sent letters and e-mails to local newspapers and UC Berkeley employees to raise awareness around the issue. 

In a message he wrote to faculty members and administrative staff on campus, Scott blames the CIA for trying to hide historical facts from the public to protect the government’s interests. He also invites them to react.  

“I hope you will persuade the university not to collaborate in this clumsy effort at truth suppression, which mimics the ludicrous games the U.S.S.R. played with the Soviet Encyclopedia in the 1930s,” he wrote. 

The book, Scott added, exposes the U.S. involvement in a 1965 Indonesian Army’s anti-Communist campaign, that led to the killing of an estimated 1 million people. 

Neither Associate University Librarian Alan Ritch of the Doe Library on the UC Berkeley campus nor spokespersons in the university’s Public Information Office were able to say Tuesday whether the volume had actually been received and if it was available to the public.  

A public information representative, who asked that her name not be used, said the librarian who would have known if the book had been received was ill and unavailable on Tuesday. She added that she was unaware of any instructions for the removal of the book. 

According to Scott, the CIA’s decision is directly linked to the Bush administration’s new policy toward Indonesia. 

“Very soon we’re going to see the Bush administration resume aid to the Indonesian Army and to a group called Kopassus,” said Scott in a telephone interview. Kopassus, he said is the Indonesian Army’s Special Force and the main architect of the 1965 massacres. “What worries them is that it’s a volume that details that aid to Kopassus in 1965.” 

Others across the nation have reacted to the CIA’s effort to recall the book. Friday, the George Washington University’s National Security Archive protested by posting the volume on its Web Site. 

“There are no lawful grounds to withhold the book,” said Tom Blanton, director of the Archive. “They can’t prevent us from posting it on the web.” The document, Blanton said, was declassified more than a year ago and should therefore be available to the public in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. 

The posted volume – at http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB52/ – talks about, among other things, a December 1965 telegram from Ambassador Marshall Green to the State Department, talking about his intention to donate the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars to the movement leading the anti-Communist repression. 

“The chances of detection or subsequent revelation of our support in this instance are as minimal as any black bag operation can be,” the telegram says. The volume also suggests that the U.S government was aware that the killing of communists was massive. 

By trying to hide the truth, Blanton said, the CIA is obtaining exactly the opposite.  

“They’re trying to put toothpaste back in the tube and that’s a very difficult thing to do,” he said. “What they’re really doing is calling attention to the book and have more people reading it.” 

The City Council promoted Stephen Barton from “acting” to permanent director of the Housing Department July 24, making him the official head of the agency as it struggles to maintain an affordable housing stock in the midst of what he calls “major social change.” 

Barton, 51, has worked for the city since 1989 and has been acting head of the department for two-and-one-half years.  

He holds a doctorate in city and regional planning from UC Berkeley and has won several awards for articles on housing issues. He has lived in Albany for 13 years with his wife of 23 years, Barbara. They have one son, Andre, 22.  

The closed-session vote to approve Barton was 7-1-1 with Councilmember Betty Olds voting in opposition and Mayor Shirley Dean abstaining. 

Both Dean and Olds said they thought it was too early to name Barton director because of the ongoing problems with the Berkeley Housing Authority, which is now struggling to reverse years of disorganization that has resulted in the possible dissolution of the agency due to the underleasing of federally subsidized Section 8 housing. 

“I abstained because, instead of voting ‘no,’ I was hoping we could outline some objectives for him to reach over the next six months before appointing him,” Dean said. “I don’t expect miracles but I think we should have given him some more time.” 

Councilmember Dona Spring said she strongly supports Barton’s appointment as director. She said Barton inherited a lot of problems with the Housing Authority, a division of the Housing Department, and that his official appointment will shore up his authority among city staff and the public. 

“I know in the past he has been hampered because he was only the acting director,” she said. “His appointment will answer a lot of questions about what his authority is and how long he will be around to work on the problems that face the department right now.” 

The Housing Department, budgeted at $14 million for fiscal year 2001-2002, is charged with the difficult task of producing, preserving and supporting affordable housing in Berkeley. The department puts a special emphasis on meeting the needs of residents who are low-income, homeless, seniors or disabled. 

Barton oversees four divisions: the Berkeley Housing Authority; Program Planning, Management and Budget; Housing Services, and the Energy Office. 

In addition the department administers state and federal grants to 75 nonprofit organizations that provide a wide range of social services that include job training, homeless prevention and child care. 

Barton said he sees the role of the Housing Department as critical to maintaining Berkeley’s rich culture and diversity. He said the high cost of housing is changing the city’s social fabric.  

“As each home or apartment becomes available the new tenants are of a higher economic level than those who just left,” he said. “This is a period of major social change for Berkeley.” 

If the trend continues, Barton said the result will be a change in the social character of Berkeley due to the replacement of blue collar workers, teachers and those who pursue careers of higher value such as art, research and social services. 

“Now you can go to a reading at a book store where the author walks from his home to read his work,” he said. “Those same authors won’t be able to walk from their homes any more unless we make housing available at below current market rates.” 

Barton was born and raised in the New York area where his father was a professor at Columbia University. Shortly after graduating Haverford College in 1972, he came to California. 

He said he came west on an unlicensed bus line called the Gray Rabbit, which left him off at the corner of University Avenue and Sixth Street. “It was April 12, 1973,” he said. “The bus had come across county through the desert and when we came into California the mountains were green and sunny. It was just a tremendous sight.” 

With the exception of one year back in New York, Barton has lived in the Bay Area ever since. 

Among Barton’s goals for the Housing Department is turning over the 61 units of public housing to a tenant-run management system so the BHA can focus on its main task, which is to provide as many Section 8 vouchers as possible. 

“The city of Berkeley is not a very good housing manager,” he said, “Others can do much better.” 

Barton said one of the things he is most proud of accomplishing during his tenure as acting director is detailing the problems with the BHA, bringing them to the attention of the BHA Board and developing a business plan to turn the agency around. 

“You don’t solve problems without recognizing how bad they are,” he said.  

The mayor won’t meet with Japanese scouts and their local hosts at City Hall after all. The meeting, planned for Monday morning, where Japanese scouts are to present Mayor Shirley Dean with a proclamation from the mayor of Berkeley’s sister city in Japan, will be moved to a private location.  

And that’s a relief to openly gay Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who questioned the original meeting place. 

The Boy Scouts’ policy is to ban “out” homosexuals as scouts and as scout leaders and the city’s policy is not to support groups that discriminate, Worthington said.  

(The Daily Planet has been unable  

to confirm the position of  

the Japanese Boy Scouts with respect to homosexuality.) 

Dean said that moving the meeting, which would have included the foreign visitors as well as local host scouts, off city property, was to remove the young visitors from the embarrassment they might encounter had they met in a public place.  

“These are visitors from another country,” she said. “I’m welcoming them to the city of Berkeley.” 

According to Dean, the city attorney said that the meeting would be proper as long as there was no city money involved in supporting the event. City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque did not return the Daily Planet’s numerous calls to confirm city policy. 

The youth, who will be hosted by the Berkeley-Albany Girl Scout Association – the Girl Scouts do not discriminate against gays – and the Mt. Diablo-Silverado Boy Scout Council of America, will arrive in the Bay Area on Saturday. At the Monday event, now to be held at a private undisclosed venue, the scouts will present an official proclamation to Dean from the mayor of Sakai, Japan, a sister city to Berkeley. The visit is an offshoot of exchanges with the sister city program. 

The national scout policy excluding gays from the Boy Scouts weighs heavily on local scout leader George Fossellus. When he joined the Boy Scouts as a youth, morally straight meant morally upright, he told the Daily Planet Tuesday. Now the term’s been interpreted to mean that a scout and scout leaders must be heterosexual. 

Fossellus, who is helping to organize the visit of the Japanese scouts, said he doesn’t agree with the national policy and says local scout troops are working from inside the organization to change the policy. He works with the scouts despite its discriminatory policies because of the positive benefits he said the youth get from scouting and the service the scouts give to the community. 

When Worthington learned from a reporter that the mayor had decided to meet with the scouts off of public property, he commented, “Oh, that’s wonderful,” then qualified his enthusiasm. 

While he said he believes it is the mayor’s right to meet with the scouts on private property, he said she ought to take an additional step and educate the young visitors about Berkeley’s policy of non-discrimination. Worthington said he plans to write an explanation to the youth, have it translated into Japanese and offer it to the mayor to give to the visitors. 

Dean said the move of the meeting away from City Hall is to protect the young visitors. “We don’t want to see them embarrassed at all,” she said. “These are children. They do not set policy.” 

UKIAH — A growing number of medical marijuana users whose backyard pot plants were stolen by thieves or commandeered by police have succeeded in getting insurance companies to reimburse them for the loss. 

But just as medical marijuana was beginning to gain acceptance as an insurable belonging, the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in an Oakland, Calif., case has cast doubt on the future of such payments. 

The dollar amounts aren’t huge — after all, the missing pot is supposed to keep one person healthy, rather than be sold on the street, where high-grade marijuana is more expensive than gold. But it’s real money to a sickly policyholder. One insurer paid $12,375 to a man who lost 3 pounds of pot to an armed intruder. 

It’s not like anyone with a stash can file a claim. Insurers, which are state-regulated, don’t cover illegal property. 

But they generally agree that marijuana becomes a homeowner’s bona fide personal property under some state laws when the policyholder has permission to grow or possess it for medical reasons. That’s possible in the eight states where medical marijuana laws are in conflict with federal drug laws – California, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Oregon and Washington. 

Even though these laws are in conflict with federal law barring use or possession of marijuana, major insurance companies have made at least a dozen such reimbursements, according to a series of interviews by The Associated Press. Most of the claims for stolen plants or harvested marijuana have been filed in California. 

The claims have forced insurers to enter a legal gray area. “How do you determine its value? Who is going to be your expert?” asks Lisa Wannamaker, a spokeswoman for Allstate, which has paid four such claims in California. “There’s no set process in place on how to deal with it.” Any developing clarity disappeared in May, when the Supreme Court ruled that clubs dispensing medical marijuana according to state laws could not use a “medical necessity” defense against federal anti-drug laws. The court noted that Congress declared that marijuana has no medicinal value. 

However, the justices said they specifically did not resolve such constitutional questions as whether states can experiment with their own laws, or whether individual Americans have a right to marijuana as a pain remedy. 

Medical marijuana advocates say insurers are treating the ruling as political cover despite these unresolved legal questions. “If an insurance company is looking for an excuse to save a few dollars and deny a claim, I suppose they can use the Supreme Court case as an excuse,” says Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. None of the major insurance companies questioned said they received new marijuana claims since the ruling. State Farm, citing federal law, will deny future claims, and the other insurers will give them renewed scrutiny, spokesmen said. 

“It’s clearly stated in the homeowners’ policy that we will not pay for illegal activities,” said Lonny Haskins, the State Farm spokesman. 

At least three other companies besides Allstate have paid claims on stolen medical marijuana in California. They include the California State Automobile Association, Travelers Indemnity Co., and OneBeacon, which made the payments when it operated as CGU California Insurance. 

In September 1999, Robert DeArkland of Fair Oaks became the first person known to be reimbursed for marijuana through household insurance. He received $6,500 from CGU California Insurance for 13 marijuana plants seized from his garage by sheriffs’ deputies. 

Other reimbursements haven’t been so smooth. 

Chris Miller haggled with Allstate over the value of 17 plants that Placer County sheriff’s deputies confiscated when they raided his Citrus Heights home in March 1999. He was exonerated of marijuana cultivation charges after claiming an exemption under Proposition 215, the 1996 California ballot measure that authorized medicinal marijuana. 

Wannamaker said Allstate first offered Miller $1,272, but later agreed to a $4,900 settlement 

In less than two years, the California State Automobile Association has made “less than six” such payments, according to Joe Ponkovich, CSAA’s manager of claims administration. 

One was to a Ukiah man who reported that his backyard plants were chopped down in September 1999. The man, an Air Force veteran who has a doctor’s recommendation to smoke marijuana for anxiety related problems, asked not to be identified to avoid drawing more attention from thieves. 

CSAA sent an investigator to talk to local deputies, who confirmed he was registered to grow the plants and had filed a police report. The Ukiah Cannabis Club helped assess the plants’ value. 

He made the claim at the suggestion of a police officer, and couldn’t believe it when he got a $2,500 check for his five plants. 

“You’ve got to go through the motions and the paperwork. And that’s what I did with the herb,” he said, pointing to the insurance documents that classified each 7-foot stalk under language protecting policyholders against a loss of up to $500 for “trees, shrubs and other plants.” 

The Ukiah man didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but he noted that the plants were undervalued. 

“Five hundred dollars on the outside would buy you 2 ounces,” he said. “Each one of these had a pound and a half. They were huge buds.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.norml.org/ 

http://www.allstate.com/Home/Home.asp 

http://www.statefarm.com/ 

http://www.csaa.com/index-anonym.asp 

http://www.travelers.com/ 

http://www.cguusa.com/ 

SAN FRANCISCO — Two environmental groups released a report and map that warn of the possible destruction to wildlands across the country if President Bush’s energy plan is approved. 

The groups are urging the U.S. House of Representatives not to approve the energy bill under consideration.  

The report and map come as the White House and congressional Republicans renewed intense lobbying for the Bush energy plan, and was released the same day Bush again called for drilling in an Arctic wildlife refuge. 

The Sierra Club’s map shows what the nation would look like if the 1,300 proposed new power plants were evenly spread across the country. 

“It looks like the country got a bad case of the chicken pox,” said Eric Wesselman, regional energy representative for the Sierra Club. 

The groups said the plan could increase air pollution, destroy wild areas and pose threats to neighborhoods with new nuclear reactors.  

They called on the Bush administration instead to focus on alternative forms of energy and conservation, and to take such action as increasing the fuel efficiency of sport-utility vehicles. 

The Wilderness Society’s report and map highlight 16 areas it says are representative of the wildlands that could be negatively affected by drilling for oil and natural gas.  

The areas include national forests and deserts, grasslands, canyons, basins and monuments across the country. 

“This proposal presents an incredibly narrow view,” said Dan Smuts, assistant regional director for the Wilderness Society. “Drilling in these areas would do nothing to solve our dependence on foreign oil.” 

Environmental groups have argued that increased drilling in these areas, most notably the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, will not yield a substantial amount of oil or natural gas. 

“The modest payoff does not justify the damage that would be done to the air and wildlife and water quality,” Smuts said. 

But Bush said again Tuesday that he thinks the drilling could be done without harming the environment. 

The report warns that the California Coastal National Monument, which stretches the length of the state, is threatened by offshore drilling, as oil companies have 36 leases to drill for oil and natural gas off the coast.  

It also highlighted the Carrizo Plain National Monument, near Bakersfield, where drilling could take place. 

The Carrizo Plain holds the largest concentration of vertebrate endangered and threatened species in the world, Wesselman said, and drilling there would harm the delicate balance. 

“Clearly, we’re dependent on fossil fuels. We’re not saying we should get rid of the internal combustion engine,” he said. “We don’t need to drill for oil and natural gas in our nation’s most special wildlands.” 

In spring, Bush released his plan for increasing the nation’s energy supply, warning that gasoline and electricity prices could rise.  

The plan includes expanding oil and gas drilling on public land and focusing on nuclear power. 

The House energy package includes incentives for technology that would allow continued use of coal to produce power and would give tax breaks to those who buy hybrid gas-electric vehicles. It would also give tax breaks and favors to the coal, oil and nuclear industries. 

On the Net: 

http://www.wilderness.org 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/energy

SACRAMENTO — Democratic Gov. Gray Davis has raised $5.8 million this year for his re-election bid, bringing his campaign treasury to $30.5 million. 

Davis’ nearly million-dollar-a-month fund-raising pace was revealed Tuesday in a summary of a long-anticipated campaign finance report covering the first six months of the year, when the state was hit with rolling blackouts and Davis saw his popularity slide. 

According to the report, the Davis campaign brought in $5.8 million and spent $1.9 million with more than a year to go before the election. 

Davis’ contributions dwarfed those of his two Republican challengers. Secretary of State Bill Jones’s gubernatorial campaign received $930,000 during the same fund-raising period, while Los Angeles businessman William E. Simon Jr. took in $2.9 million. 

Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan has formed an exploratory committee but has not decided whether to run.  

Riordan, a wealthy businessman who has been encouraged by President Bush, is thought to be the most formidable rival, given Davis’ deep war chest and fund-raising skills. 

Davis’ chief campaign adviser Garry South said the governor raised money from “a broad-based group of donors.” 

Details of the contributors were not immediately available. 

Davis has been criticized for attending fund-raisers during the state’s worst  

energy crisis. 

South said the campaign canceled several fund-raisers and out-of-state trips during that period because of the governor’s duties during the power crunch. 

“We’ve still done pretty well this six months, but we would have done even better,” South said. 

Jones issued a statement Tuesday criticizing Davis’ “insatiable appetite for campaign contributions.” 

Meanwhile, Simon spokesman Jeff Flint said Davis “has raised the bar,” but that he is confident Simon can keep pace with the governor. 

South was unapologetic about the size of Davis’s campaign account. He said Davis will continue to solicit donations and said he expects Simon and Riordan, if he decides to run, to contribute large amounts of their own money. 

“We’ll be ready for whatever they throw at us,” South said. 

The Davis campaign spent some of the money on focus groups and opinion polls throughout his term in office, and Davis campaign aides launched his re-election campaign’s first radio ads in early July. 

The statewide ads, costing $150,000 a week, feature Davis thanking residents for conserving energy and discussing his approach to remedy the power crunch. 

On the Net: Campaign finance reports at http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov and Davis’ Web site at http://gray-davis.com/

SAN JOSE — A woman who repeatedly left her young children in the trunk of her car while she was at work – and once turned up the radio to drown out one boy’s cries – was sentenced to three months in jail and five months of home detention Tuesday. 

A tearful Rosemarie Radovan, 31, also was sentenced to five years of probation. She pleaded no contest in March to two counts of felony child endangerment. 

Radovan was arrested in November after a co-worker told police he heard her 5-year-old son crying while he and Radovan drove to get ice cream. Radovan turned up the car’s radio and kept driving – a fact that Judge Robert Ambrose said he found “particularly offensive.” 

Investigators determined that Radovan had left the boy and her other son, then 7, in the trunk as many as 10 times in a year while she worked at an electronics-manufacturing company in Santa Clara. 

On some occasions, the car’s back seat was lowered so the boys could crawl from the trunk into the passenger section, prosecutor Dan Nishigaya said. The children were never physically harmed, he said. 

Radovan cried and repeatedly apologized when she took the stand at her sentencing hearing Tuesday.  

The single mother said she has been in counseling and working on her parenting skills in hopes of someday being reunited with her sons, who have been living with her parents. 

“I know what I did was wrong,” Radovan said, breaking down in tears.  

“I’m sorry about that. I love my children so much.” 

Radovan could have been sentenced to more than seven years behind bars. Nishigaya asked the judge for a “minimal to moderate” sentence and said outside court that he felt the decision for eight months in custody  

was appropriate. 

Radovan was comforted by several relatives after the hearing and did not speak to reporters. The children were not in attendance. 

Radovan’s arrest raised questions about the ability of working-class parents to afford child care in Silicon Valley, where the cost of living remains exorbitant. Prosecutors, however, pointed out that Radovan was driving a new car.

WASHINGTON — Consumers, a key force keeping the economy afloat, spent vigorously in June despite rising layoffs and a volatile stock market. Incomes rose modestly. 

The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity, rose by a bigger-than-expected 0.4 percent in June, following a 0.3 percent rise in May. 

Americans’ incomes rose by a solid 0.3 percent, after a 0.2 percent increase the previous month. 

The spending and income figures aren’t adjusted for inflation. 

When consumer spending is adjusted for inflation, it rose by 0.2 percent, half as fast as the unadjusted 0.4 percent gain. 

One of the main factors that has kept the country from slipping into recession during the yearlong economic slowdown has been steady spending by consumers. 

Some economists worry that if the job market were to seriously weaken in the months ahead, spending might collapse, throwing the country into recession. 

The nation’s unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent in June and businesses eliminated 114,000 jobs. Many economists are predicting the July jobless rate will climb to 4.7 percent and that another 38,000 jobs will be cut. The government will release the employment report Friday. 

Other analysts believe the country will be able to dodge a recession, predicting that tax-rebate checks and the Fed’s aggressive credit easing will lift economic growth later this year. 

The administration is also urging Congress to give it the negotiating authority it needs to strike new free-trade agreements as a way to boost economic growth. 

“Free trade is an antidote for our economic ills,” Commerce Secretary Donald Evans said Tuesday in commenting on the income and spending report. “We need more than open wallets. We need open markets. Trade promotion authority is needed now more than ever.” 

In an effort to avert the first recession in the United States in 11 years, the Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates six times this year, totaling 2.75 percentage points. Many economists believe the Fed will cut rates again at its next meeting, Aug. 21. 

In June, spending on durables rose by 1.5 percent, following a 0.2 percent drop in May. 

Spending on nondurables fell by 0.2 percent, after a 0.6 percent rise. 

Spending on services increased 0.4 percent in June, following a 0.2 percent gain. The services category includes such things as gas and electric utilities, visits to doctors, bus and train fares and rent for housing. 

None of the figures is adjusted for inflation. 

With the pace of spending outpacing income growth, the nation’s personal savings rate dipped to 1.1 percent in June, after a 1.2 percent reading in May. 

Annual revisions, based on better data, also released Tuesday resulted in improvements in monthly disposable income figures, which lifted the savings rate out of negative territory for January through May. 

Economists say the savings rate doesn’t provide a complete picture of household finances because it doesn’t capture gains realized from such things as higher real-estate values or from financial investments.

The Associated Press 

LOS ANGELES — Boeing Co. will move 1,100 engineering jobs in its international space station and space shuttle divisions from Southern California to Texas and Florida in an effort to cut costs and locate workers closer to customers, company officials said Tuesday. 

The move comes as NASA attempts to curtail an estimated $4 billion in overruns connected with the space station project. The agency also has trimmed space shuttle upgrades to save money. 

The relocation of Boeing employees – about 1,000 from a facility in Huntington Beach and another 100 from a Canoga Park plant – is designed to cut costs through consolidation. The move is expected to be completed by Nov. 1. 

Boeing officials stressed the move is also intended to move engineers closer to major customers like NASA and the United Space Alliance, which is building the space station. 

“I can’t find any reason on the planet why I don’t want to be nearer to my customer,” said Mike Mott, vice president of Boeing’s Human Space Flight & Exploration unit. “NASA likes having their contractors where they can see them, up close and personal.” 

Boeing now has about 7,000 employees at its Huntington Beach facility. The headquarters of its human space flight division will remain there. 

Employees who do not want to accept jobs in Houston or Kennedy Space Center in Florida will be given the chance to seek other Boeing jobs in Southern California. 

Most of the affected jobs are in engineering or other professional functions. Boeing officials declined to say how much they hope to save through the move, except that it could total millions of dollars. They also insisted the effort was not an attempt to cut jobs through attrition. 

Mott said worker reaction has been mixed. 

“I think my popularity has gone down slightly on the Huntington Beach campus overall,” he said. 

Boeing expects about one-third of the 1,100 Southern California employees to make the move. 

The firm’s current space station contract is worth about $9 billion. It picked up most of that work when it acquired McDonnell Douglas. 

Boeing got its shuttle contracts when it bought Rockwell International Corp.’s aerospace business. That work brings in roughly $500 million a year, company officials said. 

Earlier this year, Boeing said it would cut as many as 500 jobs at its rocket manufacturing plant in Huntington Beach, as the company concentrates those operations in Colorado and Alabama. 

In El Segundo, Boeing Satellite Systems is cutting 400 jobs, mostly in administrative staff, while planning to hire 200 engineers to meet growing demand for those systems. 

Boeing already has 2,500 employees at the Kennedy Space Center. 

“Florida’s strong business climate and labor force have essentially sealed the deal in bringing these space shuttle and international space station operations to Florida,” said Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. 

LOS ANGELES — Boeing Co. will move 1,100 engineering jobs in its international space station and space shuttle divisions from Southern California to Texas and Florida in an effort to cut costs and locate workers closer to customers, company officials said Tuesday. 

The move comes as NASA attempts to curtail an estimated $4 billion in overruns connected with the space station project. The agency also has trimmed space shuttle upgrades to save money. 

The relocation of Boeing employees – about 1,000 from a facility in Huntington Beach and another 100 from a Canoga Park plant – is designed to cut costs through consolidation. The move is expected to be completed by Nov. 1. 

Boeing officials stressed the move is also intended to move engineers closer to major customers like NASA and the United Space Alliance, which is building the space station. 

“I can’t find any reason on the planet why I don’t want to be nearer to my customer,” said Mike Mott, vice president of Boeing’s Human Space Flight & Exploration unit. “NASA likes having their contractors where they can see them, up close and personal.” 

Boeing now has about 7,000 employees at its Huntington Beach facility. The headquarters of its human space flight division will remain there. 

Employees who do not want to accept jobs in Houston or Kennedy Space Center in Florida will be given the chance to seek other Boeing jobs in Southern California. 

Most of the affected jobs are in engineering or other professional functions. Boeing officials declined to say how much they hope to save through the move, except that it could total millions of dollars. They also insisted the effort was not an attempt to cut jobs through attrition. 

Mott said worker reaction has been mixed. 

“I think my popularity has gone down slightly on the Huntington Beach campus overall,” he said. 

Boeing expects about one-third of the 1,100 Southern California employees to make the move. 

The firm’s current space station contract is worth about $9 billion. It picked up most of that work when it acquired McDonnell Douglas. 

Boeing got its shuttle contracts when it bought Rockwell International Corp.’s aerospace business. That work brings in roughly $500 million a year, company officials said. 

Earlier this year, Boeing said it would cut as many as 500 jobs at its rocket manufacturing plant in Huntington Beach, as the company concentrates those operations in Colorado and Alabama. 

In El Segundo, Boeing Satellite Systems is cutting 400 jobs, mostly in administrative staff, while planning to hire 200 engineers to meet growing demand for those systems. 

Boeing already has 2,500 employees at the Kennedy Space Center. 

“Florida’s strong business climate and labor force have essentially sealed the deal in bringing these space shuttle and international space station operations to Florida,” said Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. 

LOS ANGELES — Computer products distributor Ingram Micro Inc. reported a $12 million loss in its second quarter because of what it called soft demand throughout the information technology sector. 

The company reported a profit of $33.2 million during the same period last year. 

Losses per share were 8 cents in the quarter ending June 30, compared to earnings of 22 cents in the year-ago period. 

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call had expected losses of 3 cents a share in the most recent quarter. 

“This is a horrendous time in general for technology products and technology markets,” said analyst Shawn Milne of Wit SoundView. “As a whole, (Ingram) revenues are sort of at the high end of the warning range. What is important for investors is what Ingram has to say about the forward outlook.” 

The company had warned in June that it would break even at best during the quarter. At worst, it expected to lose $10 million. 

Net sales for the second quarter dropped 18 percent to $6.02 billion. 

The company, based in Santa Ana, is the largest distributor of computer products in the world and is listed as the 49th largest company in the United States by Fortune magazine. 

In a conference call with analysts, company officials described the financial environment for their industry as the worst ever. They also noted that Ingram had managed to cut $22 million in operating expenses in the second quarter. 

“We are determined to build on our leadership as the top technology distributor in the world,” said chief executive Kent Foster. 

In early June, the company said it planned to slash as many as 1,000 jobs in this country, or 6 percent of its worldwide work force, in hopes of saving as much as $40 million a year. The layoffs will result in closings of a distribution hub in Newark, Calif., and two facilities in Rancho Cucamonga and Santa Ana. 

The earnings announcement was made after markets closed Tuesday. Shares in Ingram Micro closed unchanged at $13.96. 

LOS ANGELES — Toyota Motor Corp. has forged a $100 million marketing alliance with Universal Studios that will link the auto maker with the promotion of theme parks, movies and other aspects of the giant entertainment company. 

The three-year deal allows Toyota to sponsor theme park attractions, place cars in movies and distribute music CDs featuring Universal artists through Toyota dealerships. 

Under the deal, which has an option for another two years, Toyota will pay a fee of about $100 million to Universal, said Stephanie Sperber, senior vice president of global alliances for Universal Studios. 

The agreement essentially positions Toyota as the official car of the entertainment company, which is owned by Vivendi Universal. 

The crux of the deal involves theme parks in California, Florida, Japan and Spain, where Toyota will sponsor several attractions. 

In the film realm, Toyota will have a “first look” agreement to place cars in Universal movies, allowing it to claim product placements before other auto makers. 

“The scope of this agreement is so large and extends across so many divisions that it is unlike most other alliances out there,” Sperber said. “The sponsorships traditionally stop with theme parks, but we have taken that concept and really blown it out.” 

SAN FRANCISCO — Victims and their families cannot sue weapons manufacturers for damages when criminals use their products illegally, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday in a closely watched case testing gunmaker liability. 

The high court’s decision – whether a gun manufacturer can be sued on allegations it partly was responsible for a criminal shooting – stems from a 1993 massacre of eight in a San Francisco law office skyscraper. 

In one of the court’s most visible rulings this year, the justices kept in step with other courts and insulated gunmakers from such liability. Every state high court and federal appellate court in the nation to consider such suits against gun manufacturers has ruled that makers of legal, non-defective guns cannot be sued for their criminal misuse. 

The court ruled 5-1 that the Legislature’s rules regarding product liability do not allow for such suits against gun manufacturers. 

“In reaching this conclusion, we are not insensitive to the terrible tragedy that occurred on July 1, 1993,” Justice Ming W. Chin wrote. “The Legislature has set California’s public policy regarding gun manufacturers liability under these circumstances. Given that public policy, plaintiffs may not proceed with their negligence claim.” 

Monday’s decision was an important victory for weapons manufacturers and Miami-based Navegar Inc., the maker of the weapon used in the skyscraper massacre. The justices overturned a California lower court decision allowing victims to sue a gun manufacturer for the criminal acts of someone else. 

Surviving victims of the skyscraper rampage claimed that Navegar was liable for damages because it marketed the TEC-DC9 to appeal to criminals, and that Navegar should have foreseen that it would be used in a massacre. 

Their case, originally thrown out by a trial judge, was resurrected two years ago when California’s 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that the survivors were entitled to a trial on their claims that the gunmaker marketed the TEC-DC9 to criminals. 

The court said there was evidence that the TEC-DC9 has no legitimate civilian use and the company’s ads, including one that touted the gun as fingerprint-resistant, suggested criminals were among its intended customers. 

The California appellate court said Navegar “had substantial reason to foresee that many of those to whom it made the TEC-DC9 available would criminally misuse it to kill and injure others.” 

In a lone dissent Monday, Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar agreed with the appellate court decision, arguing that the victims’ case should proceed to trial on grounds that Navegar was negligent in marketing the fast-firing weapon to the general public. She said Navegar should have restricted its sale to firing ranges, police and military users. 

She added that, had a conventional handgun been used, there may have been fewer deaths. Werdegar also said her colleagues misconstrued California’s product liability laws, which she said allows such suits against gunmakers. 

Until the law is amended to contradict the majority’s thinking, she said, “gunmakers ... will apparently enjoy absolute immunity from the consequences of their negligent marketing decisions.” 

Monday’s decision could insulate gunmakers in suit by Los Angeles, San Francisco and 10 other California cities and counties, claiming faulty design, manufacture and distribution of firearms. At least 16 similar suits have been filed by local governments elsewhere. 

In the Navegar case, Gian Luigi Ferri, a mentally disturbed man with a grudge against lawyers, entered the 101 California St. skyscraper and opened fire in a law office with two TEC-DC9s and a revolver. He killed eight people and wounded six before killing himself. 

Stephen Sposato, whose wife, Jody, was killed while giving a deposition in the building, was outraged with the decision and said he would work to change the law. 

“They shouldn’t be selling things like this. There is no upside for society with a product like that,” he said. “I’m a gunowner and a lifelong Republican. But this has got nothing to do with that.” 

John Findley, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, said no state legislature has adopted a law for such lawsuits and was pleased the court did not enact “judge-made legislation.” 

And such legislation could be a tough sell in Sacramento. 

Gov. Gray Davis, in signing legislation last month making it a crime to leave a loaded weapon in reach of a juvenile, said he did so as an “exception to the general view that additional gun control legislation is not needed until law enforcement has an opportunity to advise us as to the effect of legislation recently signed into law.” 

Ernest Getto, a lawyer for Navegar, said there was no evidence of any connection between the manufacturer’s legal activities and Ferri’s criminal conduct. 

“The California Supreme Court’s decisions are normally considered trend setting,” he said. “This decision adds to the body of law that has been growing on this topic.” 

Dennis Henigan, legal director for the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, who argued the case on behalf of Ferri’s victims, said Navegar should be sued. 

“I don’t think the Legislature meant to protect irresponsible gunmakers,” Henigan said. “We want the Legislature to correct this injustice.” 

Found in Ferri’s suburban Los Angeles apartment were copies of Soldier of Fortune and similar magazines, in which Navegar commonly advertised the TEC-DC9. 

The TEC-DC9, a high-capacity pistol easily converted to fully automatic fire, was one of the guns used by two students to kill 12 fellow students and a teacher in Littleton, Colo. 

The case is Merrill vs. Navegar, S083466. 

SAN FRANCISCO – Oracle Corp. built an $11 billion dollar a year business selling and installing software on computers, but CEO Larry Ellison thinks those days are ending. Five years from now, Ellison believes Oracle will generate most of its revenue renting its products in a world wired to the Internet. 

Under this scenario, businesses and eventually consumers will go online to log on to a Web site and pay a monthly fee for access to a wide variety of applications, instead of buying a disk and installing the software on a single computer’s hard drive. 

The transition is a no-brainer in Ellison’s mind because businesses will save money hiring consultants to handle the tedious process of installing software on in-house computers and their employees will have the flexibility to access applications from just about anywhere, using laptops and handheld devices. 

Meanwhile, Redwood Shores-based Oracle will build a more reliable revenue stream akin to a cash-rich cable TV company that collects subscriptions from a captive audience month after month. 

“I believe all software companies will transform themselves into online service companies. We have no choice,” Ellison said earlier this summer. 

Even longtime Ellison nemesis, Microsoft Corp., is heading down the same path as Oracle. As part of a new Internet initiative unveiled last year, the Redmond, Wash.-based company is introducing a new service called “HailStorm,” which will enable businesses and consumers to rent a variety of online applications for a monthly fee. 

Despite the resolve of the world’s two biggest software companies, online software rentals seem like a pipe dream to many industry executives and analysts. 

“Large companies are never going to trust someone else to run their software. If you believe technology is your most precious asset, you are not going to let go of it,” said PeopleSoft Inc. CEO Craig Conway. “Every year, it seems like there is some major paradigm shift predicted for the industry. Sometimes they actually happen, but most of the time they don’t.” 

Ellison certainly missed the mark with one of his most heralded predictions of sweeping technological change. In the mid-1990s, Ellison made worldwide headlines by unveiling a network company that would draw upon online resources and make Microsoft’s Windows-based operating system obsolete. Ellison’s vision hasn’t panned out yet and most analysts believe he is shooting too high again with his ambitious predictions for online software services. 

“It’s going to be a very gradual evolution, if it occurs at all,” said industry analyst Charles Phillips of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in New York. “People like to have control over their own technology. They like to build it themselves. They want to be able to see it in a room.” 

Security concerns and worries about system outages also might discourage online software subscriptions. 

Software companies like Oracle and Microsoft are pushing to build online subscription businesses because they are beginning to recognize the growth limitations of their traditional sales approach, Phillips said.  

Both companies say they are reaching such a saturation point with their software that they realize there is only so much more money they can make from one-time fees for new products and upgrades. 

A breed of companies known as “application service providers” have been struggling terribly in their efforts to rent software online. The most prominent pure ASPs include Annapolis, Md.-based USinternetworking Inc. and San Mateo-based Corio Inc., which have lost $408 million and $186 million, respectively since their inceptions in 1998 while attracting fewer than 500 customers combined. 

Reflecting their grim outlook, the stocks of both companies are stuck under $1 per share. USinternetworking went public in April 1999 at $21 per share while Corio made its stock market debut in July 2000 at $14 per share. 

Despite the early troubles of pioneering ASPs, the research firm International Data Corp. sees a bright future for the concept. In a recent report, IDC predicted total ASP revenues will swell from $986 million last year to $24 billion in 2005. 

Proponents of online software rentals say the ASPs have flopped because they are leasing applications made by outsiders, such as PeopleSoft, SAP and Siebel Systems. 

“The only companies that will be successful in delivering online services will be the software companies themselves,” Ellison predicts. “Everyone else that tries to deliver online services will fail.” 

Marc Benioff, one of Ellison’s former lieutenants at Oracle, says his San Francisco-based start-up is proof that online software subscriptions are the wave of the future. Since going online in March 2000, Salesforce.com has signed up 50,000 employees at 2,800 companies that pay $65 per monthly subscriber. 

“We are going great guns,” Benioff said. “The Internet has matured to the point that it is more than capable of handling this kind of model.”

Two men were shot Thursday morning on West Frontage Road, according to Berkeley police. 

The motive behind the shooting is still unclear, police spokesperson Sgt. Kay Lantow said Friday..  

The first victim, a 32-year-old Oakland resident, was sitting in his car talking to a woman when a car pulled up behind theirs.  

Two men allegedly got out of the car and began shooting. According to Lantow, the woman in the car, who was unharmed, got out of the vehicle and ran south on Frontage Road screaming for help, before hiding in her own car parked five cars down the road.  

The man, who was shot in the liver, drove himself to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center then was transported to Highland Hospital trauma center via ambulance, Lantow said. 

A second man shot near his spinal chord, who also showed up at Alta Bates, was apparently a bystander on Frontage Road, Lantow said. 

There are no suspects. Neither of the victims have been released from the hospital.  

••• 

A man brandishing a semi-automatic weapon may have been involved in two robberies over the last week, according to Sgt. Lantow. 

The suspect, described as a 5 foot 9 inch 200-pound Hispanic male in his 20s, and two companions, also in their 20s and armed with revolvers, allegedly robbed three men walking on the 2800 block of College Avenue at 2:30 a.m. July 27.  

Lantow said the suspects, who were walking in front of the victims, slowed their pace, then encircled the victims demanding money. The suspects allegedly stole credit and ATM cards, $80 cash, a watch, a cell phone and a wallet before running off. There were no injuries.  

On Sunday, a 25-year-old man walking on College Avenue near Parker Street was robbed by a similarly described suspect – a 5 foot 9 inch, 200-pound Hispanic male in his 20s with a shaved head and a goatee, wearing a black hooded sweater and blue jeans. 

Lantow said the victim was walking home on College Avenue at 1:40 a.m. when a man walking in front of him turned the corner onto Parker Street.  

When the victim got to the intersection, he found the suspect waiting with a dark-colored gun, according to Lantow. The suspect allegedly forced the victim to give him his credit cards and the $11 he had on him.  

Not satisfied with the cash, the suspect allegedly patted the victim down in search for more, but did not find any more cash before he ran off. There were no injuries. There have been no solid leads in either of these cases. 

– Compiled by Kenyatte Davis

The state’s 20/20 energy conservation program will shell out $60 million in rebates for utility customers who made significant cuts in their power use in June. 

About 27 percent of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers and 28 percent of Southern California Edison customers trimmed their bills by 20 percent over last year. They’ll get a 20 percent rebate on their next statements. 

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. customers had only to cut their use by 15 percent, because residents there had conserved power last year when their electricity bills tripled.  

About 38 percent of San Diego customers this year will get the rebate. 

The program has been a greater success than state officials estimated when it was proposed this spring, during the height of the power crisis. 

Federal officials, including energy regulators, “were making fun of the idea of conserving, calling it a personal virtue,” said S. David Freeman, Gov. Gray Davis’ energy adviser.  

“Well, this place is the most virtuous place on earth.” 

About 2.6 million residential customers will share $28 million in rebates, averaging just less than $11 each. 

The rebates compare electric use from this summer to last summer, and are available to about 10 million homes and businesses who receive their electricity from PG&E, SDG&E or Edison. The rebate was intended to arrive at summer’s end but now appears on each monthly bill. 

On the Net: 

http://www.governor.ca.gov 

http://www.pge.com 

Though it’s the most discussed plan for reforming Social Security, letting workers invest some of their payments in the stock market isn’t the only way to save the system. 

There’s another way, and it’s already been proved — and not in theory or tests, but in the real world.  

And not in Chile, whose plan is often cited as a successful example, but right here in the United States. 

This alternative plan, already in use for 20 years, is destined to gain a broader hearing now that the stock market has demonstrated anew its tendency to go to extremes, erasing billions of dollars of market value. 

The so-called Galveston Model doesn’t worry about stock market volatility because it doesn’t invest in stocks. Instead, it lends the pool of money from participants to a top-rated financial institution. 

In doing so, it obtains a better rate than you or I or any other small investor might receive.  

Over two decades the returns have ranged from 5 percent to 15.5 percent, averaging out to 7.5 percent to 8 percent a year. 

Returns of that sort aren’t what might be expected from prudent stock investments, but the risk is vastly reduced. And it’s been time tested. And now the Institute for Policy Innovation, a Lewisville, Tex. think tank, and resident scholar Merrill Matthews Jr., think it deserves study. 

Twenty years ago county officials in Galveston, Tex. opted to withdraw from the Social Security system (an option ended in 1983) and accept a retirement plan devised by Rick Gornto, a financial planner.  

Matagorda and Brazoria Counties followed suit. 

Currently, according to Matthews, there are about 2,740 fulltime employees contributing a percentage of their payroll tax to retirement savings.  

First Financial Benefits of Houston then pools the money and loans it out to the best bidder at a guaranteed interest rate. 

The employees bear little risk. “They get their interest whether the stock market goes up or down – and they have done so for 20 years,” says Matthews. 

He cites these figures from First Financial Benefits: 

• A low-income worker ($17,124 a year) retiring at age 65 would get $782 per month from Social Security, but $1,285 from what is called the Alternate Plan. 

• The high-income worker ($51,263) at 65 will get $1,540 from Social Security, versus $3,846 from the Alternate Plan. 

In addition, the Galveston model includes a life insurance policy that pays three times a worker’s salary between a minimum of $50,000 and a maximum of $150,000. It pays double for accidental death. 

While stock market returns have averaged more than 10 percent over the past six decades, that average includes huge gains in some years and big losses in others, a factor that opponents are bound to stress. 

Matthews holds a doctorate in philosophy but his motives are pragmatic.  

The stock market model, proposed by President Bush, has worked in other countries, and could here, he says, but opponents have ammunition. 

That ammunition has been provided by the stock market itself, whose plunge over the past year or so, coinciding with the Social Security debate, has erased as much as $5 trillion of stock valuations. Poor timing, he says. 

Therefore, he suggests, it would be wise to consider the Galveston model to counter political posturing and “risky scheme demagoguery.” 

“A model that is as safe at your bank,” he says, “may be the only viable political option.” 

John Cunniff is a business analyst for The Associated Press

SANTA MONICA — The party that ran Ralph Nader for president in November actually wasn’t an official national party at all. Instead it was an association of state parties. 

Now, Green Party officials believe they have satisfied the requirements for national party status, and they announced Monday they are seeking the designation from the Federal Election Commission. 

“We’re saying we are a national party. We can raise more funds, and raise the threshold point of our recognition,” Santa Monica Mayor and Green Party member Mike Feinstein told a press conference at the local chapter’s crowded storefront office. “We’ve decided to participate in the system.” 

National party status — which the Greens sought unsuccessfully in 1996 — is desirable mainly for fund-raising purposes, said FEC spokeswoman Kelly Huff. Local and state party committees may not accept donations above $5,000 a year per contributor, while the limit for national party committees is $20,000. 

“The biggest benefit is the higher contribution limit,” Huff said. 

A party must satisfy various criteria in order to qualify as a federally recognized political party and form an official national committee. These include nominating candidates for various federal offices in numerous states, engaging in activities like voter-registration drives on an ongoing basis and holding a national convention. 

The FEC found in 1996 that the Green Party did not satisfy all those requirements, but party officials say they anticipate success this time around. 

“We’re a grass-roots political party so we grow from the grass roots up. That’s why it’s so exciting today, because it’s showing that we have grass roots across the United States,” said Anne Boeke, former co-chair of the Association of State Green Parties, which the new Green Party of the United States would replace. 

“We couldn’t have done this before.” 

Party officials plan to file the necessary paperwork with the FEC by Aug. 10. FEC attorneys will then make a recommendation to the six commissioners, who have 60 days to issue an opinion. 

The Green Party ran 57 candidates for congressional seats across the country in 2000, none of them successful. Nader was on the ballot in 45 states and got 3 percent of the vote nationwide — preventing Democrat Al Gore’s election, in the view of some. 

Nader’s candidacy raised the party’s profile and has resulted in increased membership, according to party officials. The party now claims about 200,000 members nationwide and official chapters in more than 30 states. 

Green Party officials hope that national party status will raise their profile and help them move their anti-corporate, pro-social justice agenda forward. 

“The new Green Party of the United States is a political framework from which we will fuel the momentum against corporate power that is building on a global scale,” said Jo Chamberlain, an environmental activist from San Mateo County and member of the new national steering committee.