A Berkeley woman, a member of Women in Black, contacted by the FBI in connection to the Sept. 11 attacks, compared looking to her organization for clues to the attackers, with looking for alligators in Montana. 

Kate Raphael tells the story this way: “I got home from work on Monday, Sept. 24 and there was a message on my voicemail from the San Francisco office of the FBI. They wanted to ask me questions, they wanted me to call them back. I didn’t want to do that.” 

An active member of Women in Black, Raphael describes the organization as an international network of mostly Jewish, mostly lesbian “feminist, anti-racist, anti-militarist” women who oppose the occupation of Palestine and the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan.  

“We are opposed to all forms of war and extreme nationalism,” Raphael said. When they are demonstrating, members of the group wear black and stand in public places. 

Instead of returning the call, Raphael contacted National Lawyers Guild attorney Rachel Lederman who called back in her place. Lederman learned that Raphael was contacted because of her involvement with Women in Black. The bureau wanted to talk to her about the Sept. 11 attacks and find out who she might know in the Middle East. 

Raphael says the call mystified her. “It’s very puzzling to me and more puzzling as time goes on. I thought it was the beginning of a wave of calls.” But no other Women in Black activists have been contacted, to her knowledge. “That makes it more confusing to me,” she said. 

And she wonders why the FBI thinks her organization would be able to provide insight to Sept. 11.  

“If the FBI really believes that the Women in Black, a mostly Jewish feminist lesbian (group) would know about fundamentalist men in the Middle East,” that would be surprising, she said. “It’s like an alligator hunter going to Montana. It’s his job to know there are not alligators in Montana. It speaks really badly about (the FBI’s) ability to do their jobs. Women in Black are about as far away as you’re going to get. I ask myself, why me?” 

Raphael’s attorney said the FBI made a critical mistake. After Raphael was contacted and the message left on her answering machine and Lederman contacted the bureau informing them that she was Raphael’s attorney, the FBI should not have called Raphael back. They should have dealt solely with her, Lederman said. But they did call Raphael again, saying she would be subject to being subpoenaed by the Grand Jury in New York that is investigating the Sept. 11 attacks. 

Raphael says she thinks the Grand Jury has better things to do than to actually subpoena her. If they do, Lederman said they’ll go to federal court to have the subpoena quashed. “In general, no one is obliged to answer questions from the FBI unless ordered by the court,” Lederman said, adding that, if people are contacted by the FBI, they should talk to the National Lawyer’s Guild at 415-285-1055 to get help.  

“I’m not going to be intimidated,” Raphael said. 

On Oct. 17, 7-9 p.m., the Middle East Children’s Alliance is holding a forum called, “Know your rights,” geared to those people who may be called by the FBI. The forum will be held at St. Joseph the Worker’s Church at 1640 Addison St. 

The Berkeley Yellowjackets ran roughshod over Alameda on Friday night, racking up 482 rushing yards on the way to a 48-14 home victory. 

Senior tailback Germaine Baird led the attack with 184 yards and a touchdown on just 13 carries, his best output of the season. Backups Craig Hollis, Roger Mason and Mario Mejia also scored rushing touchdowns for the ’Jackets. 

Berkeley (2-3 overall, 2-0 ACCAL) won the game easily despite committing 190 yards worth of penalties, a large percentage of which were for unsportsmanlike conduct and other extra-curricular infractions. 

“I’d like to think this game was an anomaly,” Berkeley head coach Matt Bissell said of his team’s penalties. “We’ve had very few penalties until now. We told our players to be aggressive, but apparently we need to tell them when to not be too aggressive.” 

Berkeley penalties negated several big gains, including an interception return by safety Nick Schooler that looked like a touchdown. But Juleen Jacobs was called for roughing the passer on the play, negating the turnover. 

The ’Jackets ran up more yards in penalties than they allowed the Hornets to gain on offense. Alameda (2-3, 0-2 ACCAL) managed to gain just 183 yards, including just 29 on the ground. Berkeley’s linemen constantly knocked their opponents off the ball on both sides, although the offensive line was called for holding four times. 

“We definitely executed well today, running our plays right,” lineman Matt Toma said. “It just seemed like we would open a huge hole, the back would break downfield, and we’d look back and see a flag on the weak side. But we dominated the line of scrimmage tonight.” 

Early in the game, however, it was the Berkeley passing game that gave them a quick lead. Quarterback Raymond Pinkston connected for long touchdowns on his first two passes. The first came on the fourth play of the game’s opening drive, a 38-yard toss that wideout Lee Franklin came down with in a crowd. 

After Alameda’s first drive resulted in a loss of 19 yards, Berkeley got the ball back at midfield. Pinkston needed just three plays this time, hooking up with Sean Young down the left sideline for 44 yards and a score, and the ’Jackets were up 12-0 after just six minutes of play. 

“(Berkeley offensive coordinator Charles) Johnson told us their DBs couldn’t stay with us, so we went right after them,” Franklin said. 

Alameda’s next drive looked doomed as well, as two plays were stuffed and the Hornets faced third-and-17. But quarterback Tom Gay looked off Berkeley Schooler before finding Drew Kocal on a quick slant for 55 yards. That big play gave Alameda some life, and Gay found running back Jay Castro on an out pattern for a touchdown. 

Berkeley’s next drive stalled at the Alameda 29, and the Hornets marched down the field for another score. Gay connected on two passes, Castro picked up 17 yards on a draw, and Berkeley helped out with a 15-yard facemask penalty to put the Hornets on the two-yard line. Gay then hit Tavis Vee on a wide receiver screen for the touchdown, and the point after gave Alameda a 14-12 lead. 

But that would be the last time the Hornets scored, and Berkeley just started piling up the rushing yards. Running back Aaron Boatwright got the ball rolling with a 34-yard scamper on the following drive, and Baird put the ’Jackets ahead for good with an 8-yard touchdown sweep.  

Berkeley nearly scored again before halftime, as Franklin made a tremendous one-handed catch to put them inside the 20 with seven seconds left, but an attempted quarterback throwback was snuffed out by the Hornets, and Berkeley went into the locker room with a 20-14 lead. 

The ’Jackets headed into the second half roaring. After forcing a three-and-out by Alameda, Mason scored on a 34-yard run right up the middle, trucking over the last Hornet defender. The Hornets couldn’t pick up a first down on the next drive either, but a blocking in the back penalty on the Berkeley punt return put the ball on the Berkeley 8-yard line. The Berkeley coaches then used all their backfield weapons to break Alameda’s spirit, using five different runners on an eight-play, 92-yard drive that ended in a 14-yard touchdown for Hollis. 

“We blessed with a bunch of great athletes,” Johnson said. “We might even have too many good guys at running back. But they all understand that if they do their jobs, they’ll all get a chance.” 

Hollis, who finished the game with 96 yards on 11 carries, is a junior and has shown flashes of talent that could make him one of the regions top runners next year. Despite splitting his backup duties with Boatwright, Mason and Mejia, he is the front-runner to replace Baird as the main man next year. 

“Right now my job is just to back Germaine up,” Hollis said. “But next year should be my year.” 

Berkeley’s next score came on their lone passing play of the second half, a 62-yard bomb from Pinkston to Young as time ran out in the third quarter. Young has scored on three long plays in Berkeley’s last two games, and his coaches consider him to be one of the best deep threats in the league, a realization Young seems to finally be making himself. 

“I think I can keep doing this if I keep trying really hard,” the soft-spoken junior said. “Our passing game is going pretty good with me and Lee.” 

Mejia capped the scoring with a 35-yard run with four minutes left in the game. 

“We’re finally coming together as a team,” Pinkston said. “We’re like a family now. It’s all love.”

The City Council narrowly approved a controversial redistricting plan Tuesday that has moderate councilmembers accusing progressives of manipulating a census undercount to add an extra 4,500 students to District 8. 

The progressive council block – Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek and councilmembers Dona Spring, Linda Maio, Kriss Worthington and Margaret Breland – acknowledged the imbalance in District 8, in the southeast section of the city. But they argued the chosen plan, drafted by two progressive residents, is the most consistent with the City Charter, which requires districts be redrawn to maintain the original districts that were drawn in 1986. 

The council approved the first reading of the new district lines by a vote of 5-4, with moderates Mayor Shirley Dean and  

councilmembers Polly Armstrong, Betty Olds and Miriam Hawley voting in opposition. The council will vote on the second reading of the new boundaries at next Tuesday’s meeting. If the council approves the second reading, the new boundaries will go into effect 30 days later. 

Moderates contend the approved plan was designed to weaken Armstrong’s popularity, by using the census undercount to put a large number of students, who are inclined to vote progressive, in her district. 

Progressives argued that the staff-produced plan, known as Scenario 5, that moderates preferred, would have weakened Worthington in District 7, by breaking up the Bateman neighborhood, a stronghold of support for him. 

The two council factions argued bitterly prior to voting on the plan, drafted by Michael O’Malley and David Blake. Blake is a former aide to Maio.  

Moderates suggested that a progressive-forged “back-room deal” during a meeting the day before the plan’s initial approval on Oct. 2.  

“Moderate councilmembers ought to reflect very carefully about the perception of this plan,” Dean said. “It needs to be fixed otherwise (the council) will forever be suspect.” 

Progressive councilmembers, which have a majority on the nine-member council, argued the plan is consistent with the City Charter and that moderate charges are baseless and the result of sour grapes because the plan they favored was not approved. 

“The moderates have been screaming bloody murder and foul play because students were redistricted into District 8 instead of homeowners,” Spring said. “This is the only plan that creates districts where no incumbent councilmember, progressive or moderate, is prejudicially favored to be removed from office.” 

The bitter conflict is largely due to what city officials estimate to be an undercount of 4,500 people - mostly students - by the 2000 U.S. Census. The undercount primarily occurred in districts 7 and 8.  

Despite solid evidence of the census blunder, the City Charter requires the council to redraw district lines so that each of the city’s nine districts have equal populations based on the current census whether it’s flawed or not.  

So, based on the census, the new council districts have close to 12,800 residents in accordance with the City Charter. But “real” numbers, based on the 1990 U.S. Census and the UC Housing Office, suggest that District 8 far exceeds the other seven districts with a total of 17,100 residents, of which 55 percent or 9,700 are students. 

Further complicating the issue, the city is currently disputing the official count with the U.S. Census Bureau and if the count is adjusted to reflect the actual population, the charter would require the council to scrap the approved plan, which has inspired the worst acrimony between the two council factions is recent years, and begin the redistricting process anew. 

Prior to the vote, Armstrong, who represents District 8, wanted to make sure the record reflected the new plan’s defiance of the intention of the charter by creating a population imbalance. 

“This plan goes in with eyes wide open, understanding (the progressives) have moved 5,000 (Armstrong’s estimate) extra people into District 8,” she said. “I want to make it clear that District 8 will have 5,000 more people when the dust clears.” 

Also prior to the vote, Maio said she was troubled by the population imbalance but chose to support the progressive plan and called the moderates’ charges of a back-room deal a “red herring.”  

“I felt very supportive of (the progressives’) issue because they have been very supportive of issues that matter a lot to me,” she said and then added. “I do acknowledge that approved plan puts a larger number of people into Polly Armstrong’s district.” 

In an Oct. 12 press release, Maio said the approved plan is the best plan given the restraints of the charter because it does not distort existing boundary lines and does not create a disadvantage for any sitting councilmember.  

Maio said she supports redrawing the district lines if the census is corrected to reflect the actual populations in districts 7 and 8. 

“We may be embroiled in another redistricting debate in just a few months,” she said. “Something to look forward to!”

Cal women win Pac-10 opener 

The Cal women’s soccer team got back to their winning ways on Friday, beating Oregon 3-0 in the Pac-10 opener for each team at Pape Field in Eugene. 

The Bears improved to 9-2-1, 1-0-0 in the conference while Oregon drops to 6-3-1 and 0-1-0.  

Cal scored its first goal on a 20-yard shot from Brittany Kirk in the 10th minute on an assist from Kassie Doubrava.  

Despite the field position being equal for much of the game, the Bears added a second goal in the 54th minute by All-American Laura Schott, who ranks 16th in the nation in goals.  

The Ducks gave up the match’s final score to Doubrava in the 65th minute on an assist from Kirk.  

Field hockey falls to Kent St. 

KENT, Ohio - No. 14 Kent State broke a 1-1 deadlock with two second-half goals to defeat No. 20 California, 3-1, Oct. 11 at Dix Stadium. Junior Megan Spurling scored two goals to lift the Golden Flashes to their fourth straight victory.  

The first half scoring started quickly. Spurling rebounded her own saved shot and put it in the back of the net at 32:18. Cal (6-4) quickly answered when it converted on one of its two penalty corners of the night. Danya Sawyer controlled Nora Fedderson’s saved shot and scored the first goal of her career with 21:50 left in the first half.  

In the second period, Kent State (7-5) converted on a direct corner. Junior Helen scored with assists from sophomore Arlette van Cleeff and junior Kristen at 20:28. Spurling ended the scoring on a 2-on-1 break with van Cleeff.  

Junior keeper Emily Rowlen made five saves against three goals allowed before being relieved by freshman Kelly Knapp with 10:43 left in the game. Knapp made two saves on the night. The Golden Flashes had 12 penalty corner chances compared to two for Cal.  

The Bears travel down state to visit Ohio State on Saturday at 1 p.m. 

No. 5 UCLA downs Bears 

LOS ANGELES, CA - The University of California women’s volleyball team (5-8, 1-5) lost to No. 5 ranked UCLA (10-3, 5-3), 3-0 (31-29, 30-12, 30-21), Friday evening at Pauley Pavilion. The Bears, who have never defeated the Bruins in women’s volleyball (0-41), were led by freshman Mia Jerkov’s 12 kills, while sophomore Gabrielle Abernathy added 11 kills and a .300 hitting percentage, and junior Reena Pardiwala had a team-high 14 digs.  

UCLA was led by senior Kristee Porter’s 20 kills and .500 hitting percentage (20 kills, four errors, 32 attempts).

Early on Oct. 20, 1991, John Traugott was finishing up a morning run in the Berkeley hills. The UC Berkeley English professor was rounding a curve a few blocks from his house when he noticed the eastern sky turning orange.  

Traugott had seen that same orange sky in 1970, when a wildfire devastated the East Bay hills.  

“I immediately knew what it was,” Traugott said. “And I knew the whole place was going to go.” 

The firestorm he saw would eventually raze his home on Alvarado Road and more than 3,000 others in Oakland and Berkeley. The concrete of Traugott’s patio turned to dust. Heavy iron cooking pots melted into mush.  

But perhaps most painful to Traugott, he lost two manuscripts of unfinished books that he had spent years creating. He has spent the last 10 years trying to create them again.  

The firestorm of 1991 wrenched many things from its victims. Thousands lost their homes, dozens lost their lives. But for many of the artists, writers, photographers and academics who populated the hills of the East Bay, they say the loss that truly broke their hearts was their work.  

On that morning, Traugott felt paralyzed by the enormity of the fire and the impossible decisions it demanded.  

“I was wondering what to do,” he said. “I couldn’t think of what to take out. So I just sat there.” 

Traugott was alone – his wife Elizabeth was in Chicago. Unable to react, he sat in his kitchen for about a half-hour, munching toast and drinking coffee, watching the orange sky grow darker. Distraught and disoriented, he finally managed pull himself out of his funk enough to do something.  

“I decided I’d get a suitcase and put something in it,” he recalled. “Then I went downhill to the Claremont hotel, and I opened up the suitcase and there wasn’t anything in it. I forgot to put anything in it – I was totally confused.” 

Eventually, he thought to retrieve the computer he said contained the two manuscripts – a book of essays on Jonathan Swift and a book about 18th century writers Samuel Richardson and Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. He walked back through the bushes, grabbed the computer and put it in his car before the house burned.  

But the computer was full of smoke, which can destroy the data inside. He later took it to a specialist who tried to salvage it, but who actually did more damage to it, Traugott said. By then, there was nothing left of the manuscripts.  

“They’re both gone,” he said. “I couldn’t go back and redo the research – I just didn’t have the energy at that point. So these two books are being rewritten from the top of my head, totally.” 

But Traugott, age 70, said he wonders whether he will ever finish the work.  

“I’m trying to finish it, but it goes so slowly. There are times when I can’t work on the books, because, I don’t know, I’ve done it before. It’s so fatiguing to try and recover these things.” 

*** 

For others in the Berkeley Hills, remaking what was lost was never even an option.  

Nancy Pollack, a painter and sculptor, had been in Hawaii when the fire hit. She lost a life’s worth of work when her house on Gravatt Drive burned. Strangely, Pollack, a self-professed packrat, felt the loss as a sort of liberation.  

“I never cried,” she said. “And I’m so emotional – I cry at everything.” 

Since there was no way remake years of original art, Pollock said she took the opportunity to start anew.  

“I said, gee, I can be anything I want. I don’t have a past,” she said. “I thought, maybe I won’t even have some of the same challenges. Maybe I won’t have trouble with the right-hand corner of my paintings any more.” 

Among her first projects after the fire, Pollock took the few items still recognizable after the blaze and worked them into sculptures: a set of blackened silverware mounted on a bronze-colored base, shards of clay pots arranged around an odd deck of cards that miraculously survived.  

“I don’t take myself that seriously anymore, because hey, poof, it’s gone,” she said.  

*** 

Jeremy Larner, a novelist, poet and Oscar-winning screenwriter who lived on Grand View Drive, drove to safety with his computer. In the confusion of the moment, Larner had grabbed not just the hard disk containing eight years of work, but made several trips to get the heavy computer components.  

“It’s interesting what you take when you run out of your house,” he said. “It was ridiculous for me to carry out my computer printer.” 

What he did not think to grab were 30 years worth of notebooks and a filing cabinet containing two manuscripts, including an unpublished novel. But, like Pollock, he said he felt almost unburdened by the loss.  

“The funny thing is that I was relieved,” he said. “I never missed them. Whatever was in those notebooks belonged to somebody I no longer was.”  

Larner would later write about going back to where his house had stood, and finding the filing cabinet: 

“Inside, I see a miracle – a sheaf of papers. I see letters, print – the lost manuscripts! I strain against the metal till I can wedge my hand inside. And the pages turn to dust in my fingers.” 

In the last ten years, many fire victims have rebuilt their houses and their lost work. John Traugott’s once-verdant backyard had been reduced to cinders, but now it blooms again, complete with towering redwood trees that have grown entirely since the fire.  

“It all came back,” said Traugott. “That’s been the most satisfying thing about the recovery. Ashes are good for growing.” 

The Library Gardens development, a five-building, 176-unit residential complex to be built behind the Berkeley Public Library, was approved by the Zoning Adjustments Board Thursday night. 

The project is the latest, but certainly not the last, of the major housing projects planned for the downtown area.  

A number of developers have recently set their sights on downtown – currently, there are at least four mid-sized to large housing developments apart from Library Gardens working their way through the city’s planning and permits process, for a total of 267 new apartments and condominiums. 

The rush to downtown seems to come in anticipation of the city’s new General Plan, which, if it is approved as expected next month, will place an emphasis on new housing construction in the center of the city. 

John DeClercq, senior vice president of TransAction Companies, which led the Library Gardens project, didn’t get the “9-0” vote he had hoped for from the ZAB, but he did come close. The board voted 7-1 on the project, with board member Carrie Sprague dissenting and board member Lawrence Capitelli absent. 

Sprague did have praise for Library Gardens’ “clever design,” but she said on Friday that out of concern for the neighborhood, she could not countenance the project’s intensive construction schedule. 

“They were very insistent that they wanted to work all day,” she said. “That’s the main thing I was worried about.” 

Library Gardens, with its 134,000 square feet of new floor space, is the largest housing development in Berkeley in recent memory. But it appears that much more is soon to follow in the downtown area, with the result that the economic and social dynamics of the city may be dramatically altered. 

The final draft of the Berkeley General Plan (July, 2001) calls for an increase in housing downtown in response to two needs: the housing crisis in the city and the Bay Area, and the ongoing revitalization of downtown. 

Steve Barton, director of the city’s Housing Department, said on Friday that he was pleased with the approval of Library Gardens, and that he looked forward to similar projects. Too often, he said, people want affordable housing but do not want either sprawl or greater density in urban areas. 

“People are in favor of housing in the abstract, but not in any particular place,” he said. “So it’s nice that in Berkeley there’s a general consensus to build new housing downtown.” 

Barton said that the housing crisis threatened the very character of the city, and that increased housing supply was one of the only ways that Berkeley could preserve its culture.  

“Often people here are not making as much money as they could if they wanted to,” he said. “People in Berkeley choose to work in research, or for a nonprofit, or in the arts, etc. That’s Berkeley’s role in the Bay Area, and if rents are not affordable, it is threatened.” 

The draft General Plan emphasizes residential development in the downtown partly because it well-served by mass transportation and partly because it could contribute to the area’s renaissance. Shattuck Avenue was once the unequivocal center of the city, but in the 1980’s it was injured, like many downtowns, by the nationwide exodus of people and business to the suburbs. 

Though revitalization programs in the 1990’s have been partly successful, the area still has not recovered its former glory. The downtown accounts for only 10 percent of all retail sales in the city – a figure equivalent to that of Telegraph Avenue, and dwarfed by West Berkeley’s 50 percent. 

Now, the hope is to invigorate the downtown by moving more people into the neighborhood. In the words of the Downtown Berkeley Association, “new permanent housing will increase street life, pedestrian traffic and a sense of community... and will generate increased demand for retail businesses – some of which are currently unavailable in the downtown.” 

If new residents are brought in, the thinking goes, new commercial and retail space will follow. The plan is reminiscent of Mayor Jerry Brown of Oakland’s pledge to bring in 10,000 new residents to revitalize the downtown of his city. 

Though the plan does enjoy widespread support, some people are beginning to voice their concerns. 

Carrie Olson, a long-time Berkeley resident and a member of the city’s Design Review Committee, said Friday that she wants to make sure that the diversity of downtown is preserved. 

“I want the growth to be sensible,” she said. “I want to have a mixed community in the downtown, a community that represents Berkeley as a whole.” 

Olson said that the Design Review Committee recently gave the ZAB an unfavorable report on one of the larger new projects being proposed for downtown. The units in the building were too small to support families or older couples, who usually want more living space than students. 

“If we end up with just students downtown, we will get another version of Telegraph Avenue,” she said. “Some of the new projects may not do their best to discourage that.” 

Olson said she was somewhat suspicious of the notion that increased housing would necessarily bring more retail opportunities, or more liveliness generally, to the downtown.  

“What works about a successful urban space – like some parts of Paris – is that you can go downstairs, out on the street and find what you need to cook dinner,” she said. “That doesn’t exist in the downtown right now.” 

“Part of the city’s responsibility is to make sure those services – grocery stores, laundries, drug stores, all the things you need for daily life – will be there.” 

But Victoria Eisen, the principal planner for the Association of Bay Area Governments’ Smart Growth Strategy project, said that Berkeley’s strategy to promote housing downtown fits perfectly with the vision of “Smart Growth” her group is developing. 

“It’s true that when people move into these units right now, there may be not be a supermarket you can walk to,” she said. “What Berkeley and other communities are doing is to bring in residents to support existing services, and hopefully attract new services.”

An apparent misquote thrust Berkeley – once again – into the national spotlight on Wednesday when the a Wall Street Journal Web site columnist attacked Councilmember Dona Spring for anti-war comments that she says were falsely attributed to her. 

At a press conference Thursday, Spring said she was misquoted in an article that appeared in the Daily Californian on Oct. 10. as saying “The United States is now a terrorist nation. According to the Taliban, (the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan) are terrorist attacks.”  

“I never denounced or condemned the United States,” Spring said at Thursday’s press conference. “I believe what I was trying to say was that U.S. bombing must seem like a terrorist attack to the innocent people in Afghanistan.” 

Spring received hundreds of e-mails from around the country Wednesday after a columnist for the Wall Street Journal’s Web site, James Taranto, denounced Spring’s “misquote” as “idiotic” under the heading “Berkeley’s useless idiots.”  

At Spring’s request, Taranto included a clarification letter written by Spring in his Thursday column. The Daily Californian, an independent student newspaper at UC Berkeley, also printed a letter from Spring clarifying her comments on Thursday.  

Spring asked Daily Californian Editor Janny Hu for a correction, but Hu said, after reviewing the reporter’s notes, she was standing by the quotes as printed. 

According to Mayor Shirley Dean’s executive assistant Tamlyn Bright, Dean received nearly 200 hostile e-mails from all over the country in response to the Wall Street Journal Web site column.  

Last month, Dean’s office was besieged by telephone calls after conservative radio talk show host, G. Gordon Liddy, broadcast the mayor’s office telephone number to his estimated 9 million listeners after criticizing Berkeley for temporarily removing the American flags from all fire department vehicles during a protest.  

Wednesday’s renewed national attention spurred Dean to quickly send out press releases denouncing Spring’s attributed comments in the Daily Californian. According to the release, Dean and her three moderate colleagues, councilmembers Polly Armstrong, Betty Olds and Miriam Hawley disagree with Spring’s “action and words.” 

The press release also referred to a resolution the council majority had attempted to pass last week. 

Spring had tried to put an emergency item on the council’s agenda Tuesday, which, if approved, would have had the city send letters to Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Rep. Barbara Lee and President George Bush asking them to do whatever possible to end the bombing of Afghanistan. The resolution further called for the council meeting to be adjourned “in memory of their innocent civilians in Afghanistan being harmed and made refugees due to the bombing.” 

The nine-member council failed to put the emergency item on the agenda. To add an emergency item to a agenda requires six votes – the council voted in favor of the resolution 5-4. The item will appear on next week’s council agenda. Because the item will not have emergency status at the next meeting, it will require only five votes for approval. 

Spring said she is rewording the item so that it is more sensitive to Americans who lost their lives in terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. 

In her press statement, the mayor said she and her three colleagues were “saddened that five members of the City Council would bring this issue to the council and use such inflammatory language.” It went on to say “that this is a time for reflection and more thoughtful responses and not for inflammatory rhetoric from the 60s.” 

At the press conference, Spring countered that it was irresponsible of Dean to reprint the misquote in her press release. Spring, who supports the dismantling of the Taliban, said that her resolution is only meant to express concern for innocent Afghanis who will die as a result of the American bombing. Spring added that since Sept. 11, Berkeley has unfairly become a “whipping boy” for the more conservative corporate media. 

“Anyone who questions the war effort is attacked mercilessly,” Spring said. “The hysteria is so great we are not able to have rationale debate.” 

Friday, Oct. 12

Will Star Wars Make Us Safe 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Redwood Gardens 

2951 Derby St. 

Panel of speakers will discuss President Bush’s proposed Missile Defense Program. The public is invited to contribute to this discussion. Sponsored by Women for Peace. 849-3020  

Saturday, Oct. 13

Shelter Operations 

9 a.m. - noon 

Office of Emergency Services 

997 Cedar St. 

Free classes in Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). 981-5605 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Neighborhood Parents Network 

10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 

College Avenue Presbyterian Church 

5951 College Ave. 

North Oakland and Berkeley Area Preschool Panel Discussion and Fair. School representatives will discuss the differing philosophical and theoretical thoughts of varying preschool models. $10, $5 for NPN members. 527-6667 www.parentsnet.org 

Optimal Fertility with  

Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine 

1 - 4 p.m. 

Berkeley Adult School 

1222 University Ave.  

This workshop will explore how Chinese medicine works to improve fertility, and how acupuncture, herbs and nutrition can be combined with Western fertility treatments, including IVF. $25, advance registration required. 595-1175 

Farmers’ Market Fall  

Fruit Tasting 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

Center St and Martin Luther King Way 

Free samples the whole range of fall fruit. There will be a wide variety of apples, pears and persimmons at a central location for taste-testing. 

548-3333 

Pow Wow and Indian Market 

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Civic Center Park 

Enjoy Native American foods, dancing and arts & crafts in Berkeley’s tenth annual Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration, this year honoring Mille Ketchesawno. 595-5520 

Optics Fair 

noon - 4 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Explore the world of the unseen at the first-ever LHS Optics Fair featuring a variety of microscopes, binoculars, and hand lenses to try out and compare. Parents, teachers and children age 6 and up. 642-5132 

Sunday, Oct. 14

Donna Lerew’s 70th Birthday Concert 

8 p.m. 

Unitarian Universalist Church  

One Lawson Rd., Kensington 

The distinguished Bay Area violinist celebrates her 70th birthday with a retrospective concert featuring Musica Viva String Quartet and Rose Trio. $10. Free parking. 525-0302 

Judaism and Christianity:  

Facing the Facts 

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Explore the history of the Jewish-Christian experience with Rabbi Shelly Waldenberg, teacher of Jewish Studies at Holy Names College and local Catholic High Schools. $10 public, $5 members. 548-0237 

Monday, Oct. 15

Rite of Christian Initiation  

for Adults Inquiry Program 

7:30 p.m. 

St. Mary Magdalen Parish 

2005 Berryman St. 

A program to learn everything you wanted to know about the Catholic Church but never had the chance to ask. 526-4811 

Emergency Preparedness  

Workshop 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave 

Anna Swardenski speaks to help seniors and people with disabilities be more prepared in case of an emergency. 

Franciscanism, Understanding the Vision 

1 - 2 p.m. 

Franciscan School of Theology 

1712 Euclid Ave. 

Graduate Theological Union presents seminar exploring the lives, times and writings of and about Francis and Clare of Assisi. 848-5232 

Interfaith Couples Look  

at Love and Choices 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Two films to stimulate discussion about interfaith families, love and identity. $25 per couple. 548-0237 

Tuesday, Oct. 16 

Crabby Chef Competition 

4 p.m. 

Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto 

1919 Fourth St.  

Top East Bay chefs compete to create the best crab dish. Free.  

5 - 7 p.m. Fund-raising Reception for the Visual and Performing Arts Group of Berkeley High School. $25 donation. 845-7777 

Similarities between Jewish  

\and Deadhead Spirituality 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

It’s been observed that a disproportionate number of deadheads are Jews. Dr. Leora Lawton, researcher of deadhead culture, explores the fascinating parallels between Jewish and deadhead rituals. $25 public, $15 members. 548-0237 

The Berkeley Garden Club 

2:15 p.m. 

Epworth United Methodist Church 

1953 Hopkins St.  

“Yearlong Garden Color with Bulbs” with Retired Director, Regional Botanic Gardens, Wayne Roderick. The program includes slides of flowering bulbs ideally suited to the East Bay climate. 524-4374 bgardenclub@aol.com 

Fibromyalgia Support Group 

noon - 2 p.m. 

Alta Bates Medical Center 

Maffly Auditorium - Herrick Campus 

2001 Dwight way 

“Herbal Alternatives and Drug Interactions for Fibromyalgia.” 601-0550 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

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

531-8664 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday.  

655-8863 

Israel and Palestine: Why the Oslo Peace Process Failed 

7:30 p.m. 

La Pena 

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Speaker Joel Beinin is a Professor of Middle East History at Stanford University: “The Oslo Declaration of Principles... was supposed to bring peace and stability to the Middle East... the entire region is more unstable than a decade ago. Why have the hopes of so many people for a just peace been disappointed?” He will also address the relationship between U. S. policy, the Arab-Israel conflict, and events of this kind. 863-6637 

Editor: 

A second wave of terrorism is occurring in America.  

Bigotry and hatred have been unleashed against Americans of Arab, Islamic, South Asian and even Native American heritage, leaving many who look or dress differently from most white Americans afraid to leave home.  

As third generation Japanese Americans we feel a deep sense of obligation to speak out in support of Arab American community in light of the violence and hate messages being directed at them.  

We know what it is like to be the target of such feelings. In the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were, our parents, friends and many of us, were incarcerated during World War II. Over two-thirds were American citizens by birth and over one-half were children. All were prisoners of war.  

Many of us carry lasting psychological and emotional effects. That is why we know this must never happen again to another group of people.  

We Americans, who strongly believe in freedom, justice and liberty for all, must not allow violence and discrimination to fall blindly on the Muslim and Arab American communities or on anyone who only looks “different” or “like the enemy.” 

Let us learn from our past. We urge everyone to take some overt action to show acceptance and support for the Muslim and Arab American communities. What can you do? 

1. Speak out whenever see an act of bigotry or hatred.  

2. Reach out to Muslims and others in your community. 

3. Urge your legislative leaders to protect the rights of Americans and immigrants.  

4. Become the person you would want to have standing up for you if such acts were directed against you.  

Members, Sansei Legacy Project: 

Sharon Senzaki, San Francisco 

Rich Tatsuo Nagaoka, St. Helena 

Dr. Kay Yatabe, El Cerrito 

Fumi Knox, Oakland 

Marion Hironaka Cowee, Albany  

Pat & Matthew Shiono, San Francisco 

Joyce Yamada, Pinole 

Carl Mune, Fremont 

Dale Komai, Mill Valley 

Grace Morizawa, Berkeley 

Marjorie Fujioka, Berkeley 

Jane Watanabe, San Francisco 

Marla Kamiya 

Carl Mune, Fremont 

Eugene Fujimoto 

Perhaps there was a time when a person could see a dollar earned and a dollar spent. Maybe, once, money could have been regarded as credit for goods or services rendered. Even if currency was ever that simple the markets today have complicated that a hundredfold. 

“Open Outcry” is a documentary by Jon Else about esoteric trading at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the abstract market gymnastics a dollar is put through, and, ironically, the visceral thrill of traders throwing themselves bodily into economic theory. 

The video, which will be broadcast on KQED-TV Friday at 11 p.m. and repeated Sunday at 6 p.m., is shot in the futures pits of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. For the economically ignorant, a future is a contract to buy a certain amount of goods on a certain date at a certain price. For example, cattle. Beef can be bought in advance, then that futures contract can be traded over and over until the date of delivery.  

Of course, the traders on the floor are interested in trading, not delivery, of beef. You will never see a cow in the cattle futures pit, only people frantically yelling numbers at each other. 

Jon Else, the head of the documentary program at the UC Berkeley School of Journalism, admitted that he knows “less than the average person about capital markets,” and that “Open Outcry” is not a primer to how markets operate, but rather a peek into the experience of capitalism. Because unless you look very closely and very carefully, capitalism can look like chaos. 

With hundreds of people wearing colored jacket smocks crammed in a space about the size of a tennis court, each gesticulating wildly and screaming out numbers, the futures pits appear to be a lawless melee. But there is a system, and Else’s camera seems to be working on the assumption that if you look at something long enough, eventually you’ll figure out what’s going on. 

Capital markets would not be too difficult to understand if futures trading were limited to hamburger beef, and such things a person could physically touch. The trouble comes in trading intangibles like interest rates, or rates of interest rate change differentials.  

“When they get into things like trading options on futures on Eurodollars, which are in fact interest rates on currency held outside the United States, I have to check out,” said Else. “That’s not a hamburger to me. That goes somewhere into a world that’s way, way beyond hamburgers.” 

The 50-minute film is made up of 10 long camera shots (actually, 11 shots if you look for the hidden edit), each between 10 and 15 minutes long. Considering the average sustained camera shot in a typical TV sitcom is roughly three seconds, these marathon shots panning the active pits are both a meditation on money and a nearly scientific observation of group activity.  

“All of the skills that those traders use are cave man skills,” said Else. “Who can do lightening-fast calculations in their head? Who has a loud voice? Who is tall? Who has sharp elbows? Who has physical strength and agility? Who has the ability to stand on their feet without taking a leek for six hours at a time? There are not a lot of places in life to test all those evolutionary skills every day. I think that’s part of the attraction.” 

The apparent irony is the way the film shows us the traders on the floor going through physically grueling all-day combat for split-second trades on items that only exist in theory. Of course part of the attraction is the enormous amount of money that can potentially be made on the floor, but in the heat of the trading frenzy we can see how money can slip loose from the idea of credit for goods and services to become a factor manipulated by the trading process. 

“Actually, I went in kind of cynical,” said Else about how he first approached the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as a documentary subject. “I went in with a vague sense that the capital markets in general and the stock markets were somehow tainted with evil, that somehow their only reason for being was for rich people to get richer. With that particular market, I came away with the impression that that was distinctly not true.” 

Although the documentary does not explain for the layperson how trading works it does raise the cultural question of what is the nature of money as a social and political force. Through voice-over we hear traders postulating that money is fascistic in that it adamantly seeks its own stability. Or, that money is essentially democratic, and handling it in these markets is not dependent on race or creed or background. 

“I sort of looked for a way to poke a hole in that argument, in my own mind,” said Else. “But looking at the floor, there, I couldn’t. Money really is, for better or worse, blind. Money is always looking for the highest return, like a very aggressive piece of DNA.” 

By the end, the idea money has lifted itself off of dead presidents and become like a biological force of nature. The control of markets, or when markets go out of control, assumes the tricky ethical dilemma of Dr. Frankenstein.

924 Gilman Street Oct 12: One Line Drawing, Funeral Dinner, Diefenbaker, Till 7 Years Pass Over Him; Oct 13: Dead and Gone, Cattle Decapitation, Vulgar Pigeons, Wormwood, Antagony; Most shows are $5 and start at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted.  

Ashkenaz Oct 12: Sambo NGO; Oct 13: Clinton Fearon, Dub Congress; Oct 14: Open Stage; Oct 16: Danubias; Oct 17: Cajun Cayotesl Oct 18: Greatful Dean DJ Night; Oct 19: Swing Session 1317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 www.ashkenaz.com 

Blakes Oct. 12: !Tang, Roux, $6; Oct. 13: Ten Ton Chicken, Blue Tulip, $5; Oct. 14: Ted Ekman Solo & Band, $5; Oct. 15: The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Oct. 16: Black Dog Band featuring Peanut McDaniels, $4; Oct. 17: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2; Oct. 18: Ascension, $5; Oct. 19: King Harvest, Sfunk, $5; Oct. 20: Psychokinetics, $5; Oct. 22: The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Oct. 23: Felice, $3; Oct. 24: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2; Oct. 25: Psychotica, $5; Oct. 26: Planting Seeds, $6; Oct. 27: Felonious, $6; Oct. 29: The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Oct. 31: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2; All shows 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave. 848-0886 

Cal Performances Oct. 12 - 14: Fri. and Sat., 8:00 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Ballet Nacional De Cuba, $24 - $46; Oct. 17 and 18: 8 p.m. Cesaria Evora, $24 - $36; Oct. 19: 8 p.m. Karnak, $18 - $30. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph, 642-0212, tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Sept. 3: 2 - 8 p.m. Big West Coast Harmonica Bash, afternoon benefit for Red Archibald. $10 donation; Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Jupiter Oct. 12: Japonize Elephants; Oct. 13: J Dogs; All music starts at 8:00 p.m. 2181 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625 www.jupiterbeer.com  

Live Oak Concerts Oct. 14: A Harvest of Song, an evening of premiers of works, $8-10. Both shows start at 7:30 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St.  

Rebecca Riots Oct. 12: 7:30 p.m. $20-23. Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Club, 1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. 339-1832 

Synchronicity Oct. 14: 2 p.m. Piano and percussion duo fuses classical and jazz music into a visual experience. $10 adult, $5 child. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org 

Shafqat Ali Khan Oct. 20: 8 p.m. Concert of classical Ragaa, Sufi, Urdu, Persian Ghazel, and other popular musical styles from India. $20 general admission, $15 students. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org 

“Murder Dressed in Satin” by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. 239-2252 www.acteva.com/go/havefun 

“Swanwhite” Through Oct. 21: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. A new translation of the Swedish Play that asks the question what good is romantic love, directed by Tom Clyde. $20, Sundays are “Pay What You Can”. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305, www.virtuous.com 

“Orestes” Through Oct. 21: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. An adaptation of the classical play by Euripides that incorporates passages inspired or taken from various 20th century texts. Written by Charles Mee, Directed by Christopher Herold. $6-12. Zellerbach Playhouse on the UC Berkeley campus 642-8268 

“Approach” Through Oct. 27: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m. An examination of the search for intimacy as our most precious form of survival. Written by Susan Wiegand, Directed by Katie Bales Frassinelli. $15 general admission, $10 students and seniors. Eighth Street Studio Theatre, 2525 8th St. 655-0813 www.shotgunplayers.org 

“36 Views” Through Oct. 28: Tues. 8 p.m., Wed. 7 p.m., Thu. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Thu., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Sat., Sun. 2 p.m., 8 p.m. Written by Naomi Lizuka, D$10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Faye Sings Lady Day” Oct. 13: 8 p.m. & 10 p.m., Benefit concert for the Black Repertory Group in Berkeley. $10 - $15. Black Repertory Group, 3201 Adeline St. 849-9940  

“Lisa Picard is Famous” Oct. 12-19: Mocumentary chronicles New York actress who hopes to get more than a fleeting taste of fame when a racy cereal commercial brings her unexpected national notoriety. Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Ave. 843-3456 

“Loaded Visions” Oct. 17: 8 p.m. Experimental short films by Antero Alli (Eight Videopoems and “Lilly in Limbo,” $5 - $10 sliding scale. La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 464-4640 www.verticalpool.com 

Pacific Film Archive Theater Oct. 12: 7 p.m., Hiroshima mon amour; 9 p.m., India Song; Oct. 13: 3:30 p.m., Films of Fritz Lang: Discussions with Anton Kaes; 7 p.m., The Nibelungen: Siegfried’s Death; Oct. 14: 3:30 p.m., L’Atalante; 5:30 p.m., The Nibelungen: Kriemhild’s Revenge; Oct. 15: 7 p.m., Genesis; Oct. 16: 7:30 p.m., La Région centrale; Oct. 17: 7:30 p.m., Video in the Villages and Amazonian Trilogy; 2575 Bancroft Way, 642-1124 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Exhibits 

“Inside Editions” through Oct. 12: Nine printmakers exhibit their work. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tue. - Fri. Free. Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 kala@kala.org 

“Census 2000: Asian Pacific Islander Americans” through Oct. 13; Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Asian Pacific Islander American artists in roughly the demographic proportions indicated by the recent census. Free. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9470  

“MWP Perspectives” Jon Orvik: One artist’s journey. Through Oct. 27 Tues. - Fri. 12 - 5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 12 - 4 p.m. Solo artist exhibiting his journey through metal, wood and paint. Adapt Gallery and Design, 2834 College Ave. 649-8501 www.adaptgallery.com  

“Cut Plates and Bowls” Annabeth Rosen, “Just Jars” Sandy Simon, Oct. 13 through Nov. 3; Saturdays 10 - 5 or by appointment. Trax Ceramic Gallery, 1306 3rd St. 526-0279. cone5@aol.com 

“50 Years of Photography in Japan 1951 - 2001” Through Nov. 5: An exhibition from The Yomiuri Shimbun, the world’s largest daily newspaper with a national morning circulation of 10,300,000. Photographs of work, love, community, culture and disasters of Japan as seen by Japanese news photographers. Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, Hearst and Euclid. Free. 642-3383 

“Jesus, This is Your Life - Stories and Pictures by Kids” Through Nov. 16: California children, ages four through twelve, from diverse backgrounds present original artwork, accompanied by a story written by the artist. “Cleve Gray, Holocaust Drawings” Oct. 15 through Jan. 25: 21 works on paper inviting the viewer to consider the atrocity of the Holocaust in ways unattainable through words or text. Mon. - Thur. 8:30 a.m. -10 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541. 

“Changing the World, Building New Lives: 1970s photographs of Lesbians, Feminists, Union Women, Disability Activists and their Supporters” Through Nov. 17: An exhibit of black and white photographs by Oakland photographer Cathy Cade, who captured the interrelationships of the different struggles for justice and social change. Gallery Hours, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. Free. 644-1400 cathycade@mindspring.com 

“The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s” Through Dec. 16: A documentary photo exhibition which examines the rich history of the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free. 644-6893 

“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 Botticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours. Atelier 9 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

Readings 

Boadecia’s Books Oct. 12: Susan Gaines reads from her novel “Carbon Dream”; Oct. 18: Patricia Nell Warren reads from her novel “The Wild Man”, Oct. 22: J.M. Redmann reads from “Death By the Riverside”; All events start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise. All events are free. 398 Colusa Ave. 559-9184 www.bookpride.com 

Cody’s on 4th Street Oct 12: Cody’s For Kids- Rosemary Wells and Bunny Party; Harruet Lerber surveys “The Dance of Connection: How to Talk to Someone When You’re Mad, Hurt, Scared, Frustrated, Insulted Betrayed or Desperate; Michael Chabon talks about The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay; Studs Terkel reads from “Will the Circle be Unbroken? Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and hunger for Faith; Oct 18: Tamora Pierce talks about “Protector of the Small”; 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Oct 12: Elizabeth Royte examines “The Tapir’s Morning Bath: Solving the Mysteries of the Tropical Rainforest”; Oct 15: Amir Aczel poses The Riddle of the Compass: The Invention That Changed the World; Oct 16: Kip Fulbeck talks about “Paper Bullets”; Oct 18: Suzanne Antoneta & micah Perks talk about “Body Toxic: An Environmental Memoir” and “Pagan Time: An American Childhood; All shows at 7:30 p.m.; 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

Coffee Mill Poetry Series Oct. 16: 7 - 9 p.m. Steve Arntsen and Kathleen Dunbar followed by open mike reading. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland 465-3935 ksdgk@earthlink.net 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Oct. 13: Leonard Chang reads from “Over the Shoulder”; Oct. 20: Miriam Ching Louie reads from “Sweatshop Warriors: Immigrant Women Workers Take on the Global Factory”; 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

Susan Griffin Oct. 12: 7 - 10 p.m. Presents slide show and discusses her latest book “The Book of Courtesans: A Catalogue of Their Virtues”. $10 refundable with book purchase. Gaia Arts and Cultural Center, 2116 Allston Way 848-4242  

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 foot 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. It will reopen in early 2002.  

University of California Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive has reopened after its summerlong seismic retrofit. “Martin Puryear: Sculpture of the 1990s” through Jan. 13; “The Dream of the Audience: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951 - 1982)” through Dec. 16; “Face of Buddha: Sculpture from India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia” ongoing rotation through 2003; “Matrix 194: Jessica Bronson, Heaps, layers, and curls” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; “Matrix 192: Ceal Floyer 37’4”” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., PFA Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way; Museum Galleries 2626 Bancroft Way; 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Lawrence Hall of Science “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. 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. 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  

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

Coming off of their toughest league match of the season, the Berkeley Yellowjackets resumed their demolishing of the ACCAL with a 15-6, 15-12, 15-3 win over El Cerrito. 

After winning a tense, five-game match against Encinal on Tuesday, Thursday’s game was a reminder of just how dominant the ’Jackets can be. They completely dominated the net, even when star middle blocker Desiree Guilliard-Young was in the back row. Opposite hitter Amalia Jarvis led the team with six kills, Guilliard-Young had five kills and fellow middle blocker Vanessa Williams had three to go with two blocks and three aces. 

A pleasant surprise for the ’Jackets (6-0 ACCAL) was the play of backup setter Emily Friedman. The senior had been lobbying for more playing time at other positions, and Berkeley head coach Justin Caraway finally gave in and let her play defensive specialist on Thursday against the Gauchos (4-2 ACCAL). Friedman answered the call with 10 digs and eight assists, splitting time between the two positions. 

“Emily did a really good job of stepping into a new position,” Caraway said. “She showed she can play in different spots.” 

Berkeley came roaring out of the gate for the first game, recording nine kills, nine digs and three aces to take a quick lead. They also dominated the third and final game of the match, with Guilliard-Young making three kills. 

The only rough patch the ’Jackets went through was in the second game, but Caraway refused to blame Tuesday’s drama for the bad game. 

“If we were going to have a letdown today, it should have come right away in the first game out,” Caraway said. “We just didn’t pass very well, and our mental focus was non-existent.” 

Caraway can afford to be hyper-critical of his team given their dominance of the ACCAL. In fact, he is almost forced to focus on the bad stretches rather than the good, since Encinal is the only league team to take a game from Caraway’s squad this season. Unless Encinal can manage to win the rematch later this year, the ’Jackets will almost surely have their second straight undefeated ACCAL season. 

“We’re focusing on having Encinal at home and getting ready for the Northgate/Acalanes tournament in a couple of weeks,” said Caraway, who has scheduled several tough tournaments for his team to compensate for the lack of competition in league play. 

The ’Jackets next face an away match at De Anza on Tuesday.

Berkeley High School Principal Frank Lynch will leave Berkeley to become superintendent of the Del Norte County Unified School District, perhaps as soon as Nov. 1. 

In a phone interview at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Barbara Williams, executive secretary to the Del Norte County board, said the school board vote in Lynch’s favor was unanimous. Williams added that a Nov. 1 start date was possible, but unconfirmed.  

Lynch was in Crescent City on Thursday to attend the board meeting. Earlier in the day, Berkeley Superintendent Michele Lawrence described his departure as “pretty firm.” 

“Certainly he will be missed,” Lawrence said. “I think in his time he helped heal the school, and helped begin its recovery, and I’m much appreciative of that.” 

School Board President Terry Doran said the board and the superintendent had been preparing for the possibility of Lynch’s departure since he announced he had applied for another job in August. 

“We feel we’re prepared to have an administrative structure at the school that will allow the school to function well and complete the WASC process,” Doran said, referring to the accreditation board, which will re-evaluate Berkeley High next fall.  

Lynch began work at the district on Aug. 8, 2000.

Editor: 

In 1950 a transfixed nation watched Senator Joseph McCarthy wave a list of “known Communists and their sympathizers.” The list was never divulged publicly, though those at political or social odds with the Senator were successively fingered, and their lives ruined, as so too were many of their acquaintances. 

Today we're offered a list headed by Osama Bin Laden, a man declaring hatred of our country's policies and encouraging the use of deplorable tactics against us. His admitted role in training the killers of eighteen U.S. servicemen in Somalia makes him a convenient and deserving target of our wrath. Of concern in charging him in the latest attacks, however, is that we're shown evidence only that Bin Laden applauded them, and, may have met a couple of the terrorists. Our government's claim that we have stronger, unrevealed, evidence against him doesn't hold water. Were the security of either an informant or our technology actually the issue, our search for Bin Laden would have been both short and successful. 

The reality is, that, had we actual proof of Bin Laden's complicity, short of being plastered across every newspaper in minute detail, it would be conveyed to the leaders of the world to gain the unanimous, unconditional, support that hasn't materialized. 

Has Bin Laden committed acts that warrant his punishment? Assuredly. Was he in contact with, and encouraging, the terrorists? Possibly. Did he actually orchestrate the attacks on September 11? Doubtful. I fear his name appears on a list we've seen before. 

Chris Rasmussen 

Berkeley

Officials from Berkeley High and De Anza High have agreed that the school’s football teams will make up their cancelled game if the North Coast Section pushes back the beginning of the playoffs. 

Friday’s game was cancelled when no officials showed up for the 7 p.m. varsity kickoff. According to a source close to the situation, Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League officials botched the scheduling of officials. 

The NCS playoffs are scheduled to begin on Nov. 16. The Fremont Athletic League has already requested that the playoffs be moved back due to the cancellation of games after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The FAL cancelled all games that weekend, although most other games in Northern California went ahead as planned. Berkeley High, for instance, played James Logan High on Sept. 14. 

In a meeting earlier this week, ACCAL officials decided to throw their support behind the FAL’s plan in order to allow the Berkeley-De Anza game to be played. 

If the NCS does decide to move the playoffs back at its next meeting on Oct. 19, the Berkeley-De Anza game would be played on Nov. 16. 

Moving the playoffs back would also mean moving the date of the championship games from Nov. 30 or Dec. 1 to Dec. 7 or 8. That would take football, a fall sport, even further into the winter sports schedule, a serious inconvenience for student-athletes who play both football and a winter sport. 

“I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” Bissell said Wednesday. “No determination has been made what will happen if the game isn’t made up, and unless the NCS pushes the playoffs back, I don’t see how that will happen.”

West Berkeley artists and artisans who fear the effects of office development in their neighborhood took a stand at the regular meeting of the Planning Commission on Wednesday. 

The commission spent nearly all of the meeting listening to residents speak about a proposed year-long moratorium on new office space in the mixed-use/light industrial zone of West Berkeley. 

Wednesday night marked the second time in the last year the Planning Commission has considered the moratorium. The commission passed the moratorium earlier in the year, but the City Council later directed it to reconsider the issue in light of the fact that the public had not been properly notified of the proposal. 

Unlike the public hearings on the moratorium held in January, the majority of the speakers were artists and representatives of west Berkeley art co-operatives. Art and artisanal studios are considered “light industry” in the West Berkeley Plan, and they are accorded special protections. 

Many artists who spoke Wednesday night said that the conversion of former industrial or artisanal buildings into offices was putting pressure on their landlords to raise rents, brought too much traffic into the neighborhood and generally destroyed the character of the community. 

Thirty-one people spoke at the public hearing Wednesday night; around two-thirds of them said they favored the moratorium. 

Sharon Siskin, a visual artist and a member of the Nexus art co-operative, set the tone for the evening when she told the commission that office development in the neighborhood is squeezing out the art community. 

“Development is rampant and impinging rapidly on our spaces at Nexus,” she said.  

“These spaces, like all the others being built in our neighborhood are most likely going to result in more commercial office spaces, more traffic and parking problems, more pollution and more restrictions on available work space for artists and craftspeople.”  

“It seems to me that without careful scrutiny of future building projects, and care for saving the spaces that already exist, that the arts – a precious resource that Berkeley can not afford to loose – will be forever lost in Berkeley.” 

Claire Cotts, a painter who has a studio in the Durkee Building at 800 Heinz St., said that between traffic problems and the increasing rents that artists must pay to compete with office space, many young people are giving up on Berkeley entirely. 

“Most artists just graduating from school are having to find places farther away, in Rodeo or somewhere,” she said. 

Peter Dayton, another Nexus artist, said that “You could turn Berkeley into Palo Alto if you want, but I think that would be a disaster.” 

A few people spoke in favor of the moratorium from the traditional manufacturing perspective. Susan Libby, the founder of Libby Labs, said that Berkeley often functioned as an “incubator space” for young industrial or technological businesses. She thought that if office development in the West Berkeley area were to continue, industry would continue to feel rent pressure and may be compelled to relocate. 

Most of the jobs at her laboratory, she said, are blue-collar jobs that pay living wages.  

“If you really want these kind of jobs in Berkeley, you need to have space for them,” she said. 

Rhiannon, the president of the Oceanview Tenants’ Association and a member of the West Berkeley Project Area Commission, said that manufacturing should be a city-wide priority. 

“Manufacturing is the only real provider of good, well-paying jobs for unskilled workers,” she said. 

Several opponents of the moratorium, among them Miriam Ng, a member of the board of directors of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, said that the recent economic downturn obviated the need for a moratorium.  

“The rules for conversion are so stringent that we should be giving a medal to people who want to convert,” she said. “You’re sending a message that you don’t want business here. When the economy changes, no one will want to come here.” 

One of the principal reasons for the proposed moratorium was a recent plan for a 500,000 square foot office building that would have been built at the 15-acre American Soils site near Aquatic Park. Charles Jones, owner of the American Soils site, said at the meeting that that deal was dead, and that he had no plans to sell his property, but that he opposed the moratorium nevertheless. 

However, he proposed a few “loopholes” that could be included in the moratorium if it does pass. He said that there should be an exemption for existing businesses that wish to expand their office space “so they don’t move away to Richmond,” and another exemption for solar-powered businesses. 

“Since the federal government will support tobacco growers but not solar businesses, we should start at the local level,” he said. 

The Planning Commission will likely vote on the proposal at its Nov. 14 meeting.

Editor: 

Now more than ever it is critically important to address our energy and climate problems. There can be no better way to honor the dead and injured of 9/11 than to act to reduce what is arguably the biggest driving force behind our foreign relations policies that have led so much of the world to hate us: our addiction to oil. 

It is a multiple win. We can reduce global tensions at the same time that we improve our economy and save ourselves from far greater death tolls from pollution and climate change simply by taking aggressive action to improve our energy efficiency and increase our use of renewable energy sources. 

Let’s make sure that energy and climate change issues are not pushed aside in the war against terrorism. Instead they should be an important part of our response. This is something we can act on independently as a nation – with actions like increased fuel efficiency and appliance standards, renewable energy portfolio standards and incentive programs – and internationally with the rest of the world – by rejoining the Kyoto process to make global climate change agreements that will work.  

Urge your congressional representatives to get the clean sustainable energy agenda back on track in Congress and the President to rejoin the world community on climate change. Let us do it in the honor of those who died on 9/11 and those whose lives are daily threatened both by oil politic related violence and by the environmentally damaging effects of our energy use. 

Tom Lent 

Berkeley

John H. Mitchell, who taught in the Oakland public schools for 34 years, is one of California’s luckier retired teachers: the longtime Berkeley resident doesn’t have to sell his house and move somewhere cheap. 

“We owe $520, and it will be paid off in August,” said Mitchell, president of the East Bay chapter of the California Retired Teachers Association. 

Others have not been so lucky, especially in the Bay Area. Stories abound of retirees receiving less than $1,000 a month because inflation has diminished retirement pensions that were low to begin with, compared to those of teachers retiring now. 

“The teachers, they lived here and taught here for 20 or 30 years, they want to stay here,” said Mitchell. A folk-singer on the side, he played with Pete Seeger at the 1963 U.C. Folk Festival and now entertains at assisted living facilities for the elderly. 

Last month, a bill intended to help the most elderly of the state’s retired teachers – some 16,000, according to the CRTA – passed both the state assembly and senate with overwhelming support. 

“It would help mostly those teachers over 80 years old,” said Mitchell, who is 77. 

“Typically these are not only the oldest teachers,” said Ed Ely, spokesperson for the CRTA, “but they’re the poorest, because they retired when teachers’ salaries and pension benefits were substantially lower than they are today.” 

The pension adjustments, called “purchase power protection” in official jargon, are drawn from a state fund reserved specifically for this purpose. The $800 million Supplemental Benefit Maintenance Account draws on federal land sales and, Ely said, could fund AB135’s provisions for 30 years. 

Sponsored by assemblymember Sally Halvice of Los Angeles County and co-sponsored by Berkeley Assemblymember Dion Aroner, the bill would guarantee that retirees receive 80 percent of the value of their benefit at the time of retirement, rather than the current 75 percent. 

“It means somebody who retired earlier is going to get more tacked onto their retirement,” Mitchell said. 

Still, AB135, now sits on Gov. Gray Davis’ desk – a potential victim of statewide belt-tightening amidst lowered economic prospects, as well as labor politics. “One of the bill’s problems is that the PERS (Public Employees Retirement System) will want the same thing,” Mitchell said. 

The governor has until Monday to act, and it will become law if he neither signs it nor vetoes it. 

Teachers who retired before 1985 were largely passed over last year when a projected $12 billion surplus in the state teachers’ pension fund set off a round of new laws to increase retirement benefits.  

For the first time, because of the changes, teachers who served more than 25 years have their pensions computed based on the teaching year in which they received their highest pay. (Pensions were previously calculated based on the average of the highest three years in a row.) Service in summer school and some extracurricular teaching also became eligible for credit toward pensions. 

Teachers who stayed in the classroom the longest are now awarded flat bonuses of $200 a month for 30 years, $300 a month for 31 years, and $400 a month for 32 years or more. Another law provides an “ad-hoc” increase of 1 to 6 percent to retirement benefits, depending on length of career. 

Ely said that as a result of these changes, “a teacher now probably has a 30-40 percent better retirement than a teacher who retired 20 years ago or more.” 

Mitchell and other long-time retirees did benefit from one of last year’s laws: Medicare payments, previously $300 per person covered, are now taken care of by the state. 

“I figure I paid $10,000 or $20,000 dollars for medical insurance before they did this,” Mitchell said.  

The long-term goal of the CRTA, Ely said, is to push the purchasing power protection up to 100 percent of a retiree’s highest annual salary. 

Mike Steinman, a spokesperson for Assemblywoman Sally Havice, said he had no indication of where the governor stood on the bill. It has support from both main teachers’ unions, seniors’ organizations, the Association of California School Administrators, and the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges, he said. 

“This is really just a very incremental leap, but it helps,” said Steinman. “It will make a difference in the long run to those who have more than earned this.”

Editor:  

The recent news story that a top bin Laden aide toured California was both shocking and depressing. It seems that our absurd “bring ‘em on in” immigration policy and our very lax airport and airline security has led directly to the Islamic terrorist bombings of the World Trade Center in New York City. Under the guise of ever-more “diversity” and “multiculturalism” we have allowed hundreds if not thousands of Islamic fundamentalist terrorists into our country. Our border controls have been a bad joke: terrorists and their sympathizers come and go willy-nilly. These terrorists must think that we are the world’s biggest saps.  

Our traditional so-called “melting pot” of immigrants has turned into a festering cauldron filled with a hate-America brew. If it is too politically incorrect to only stop immigration by Arabs and other Muslims, then we should simply stop all foreign immigration until we can root out all the present generation of immigrant-terrorists. 275,000,000 Americans should be enough to program our computers and leaf-blow our gardens.  

The next act of Islamic terrorism may not just take out a few skyscraper buildings and kill several thousand people: it may be to detonate a small nuclear weapon smuggled in and use it to destroy a whole American city, kill many thousands of people and render a large area as a radioactive wasteland. Let’s slam the immigrant door shut now before we suffer a horrific disaster on the level of the nuclear reactor meltdown at Chernobyl in the Ukraine. 

James K. Sayre, Oakland

On George A. Akerlof’s first day as an assistant professor at UC Berkeley 35 years ago, a colleague asked him to name 10 economic ideas he was interested in pursuing.  

On Wednesday of this week, Akerlof’s ninth idea earned him academia’s highest accolade – the Nobel Prize.  

Like many great ideas, Akerlof’s ground-breaking economic theory, which was based on the used-car market, was formulated over a working lunch in a Berkeley restaurant. 

Recalling that lunch on Wednesday night as colleagues from all over the campus gathered to toast him at the Lawrence Hall of Science, Akerlof still seemed stunned at winning the award. 

With what colleagues described as characteristic modesty, he attributed his success in large part to the nurturing and open-minded environment at the Berkeley campus. 

“I owe everything to Berkeley,” Akerlof said. “It has been an excellent community which encourages creativity.” 

He said the economics department is a haven for innovative thinking. 

“It’s a friendly, collegial place, which values quality over quantity,” he said. 

Akerlof, 61, was named the 2001 co-winner of the Nobel prize in economic sciences on Wednesday in recognition of his watershed work called “The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism.” 

His paper, which was published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, August 1970, showed how ill-informed buyers could undermine prices in the used-car market because they were suspicious that every car they looked at was a “lemon.”  

Sellers react by taking their quality cars off the market, because wary buyers aren’t willing to pay what the car is worth, and the quality of the market drops until it totally breaks down. 

His essay ran counter to conventional economic wisdom. It laid the foundation for a general theory of how people with differing amounts of information affect a wide range of markets. 

“His research was a big break from traditional economic theory with far-reaching implications in such diverse areas as health insurance, financial markets and the labor market” said David Romer, an economics professor at UC Berkeley. 

Professor Eugene Smolensky said this year’s award, along with the one Ackerlof’s colleague Daniel McFadden won last year for work on the development of statistical tools that measure individual decision-making, was recognition for an important new direction in economic thinking. 

“Their work is rooted in markets as they actually operate rather than in some idealized notion of how they operate,” said Smolensky, an economist and former dean of UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.  

“That notion was good enough when economists were asking if capitalism was better than socialism. Now that we are more interested in predictions about real world behavior, Ackerlof and McFadden have given us the theory and the tools to understand it.” 

Gia Calvillo, a doctoral student who worked under Akerlof during her first year, said her now-famous professor is a wonderful, creative and open minded person. 

“The first semester (for a graduate student) is brutal,” she said. “If it wasn’t for him I might have quit.” 

Despite the worldwide acclaim surrounding his Nobel Prize, Akerlof has remained modest about his achievements. 

The day he won the prize, he went to teach his afternoon seminar at the Department of Economics as usual. A French scholar made a presentation about income inequality in the United States, and professor Akerlof sat among the students and took part in the back and forth as they debated the idea. 

Today, when Akerlof meets with a fresh batch of graduate students for the first time, he remembers how he got his start at Berkeley. 

He always asks them to think of 10 ideas that they want to investigate. 

“He has always devoted his energy to teaching students how to be creative and think outside of the box,” Calvillo said.

Take a walk around downtown at lunchtime and you’ll see many of Berkeley High School’s 3,400 or so students. 

But when it’s time to be back in class, not all of them will be at their desks. 

It’s only seven weeks since school began and already 250 students have been singled out at the high school for poor attendance. Some have already racked up 30 or 40 absences. 

Without divulging more comprehensive figures, school officials acknowledge that truancy has been a problem for years. They have begun implementing a new policy to address it. Components include “downtown sweeps” and a formal “Check and Connect” program to recruit parents and other students to keep truants in school. 

But the new policy is up against a student culture in which almost everyone cuts class to some degree, and where skipping, students say, is incredibly easy to do.  

“A lot of times people cut because they’re not doing anything in class that day, or they have a substitute and there’s absolutely no reason to go,” said senior Sam Black, who has skipped occasionally. Others skip more frequently “because they’re not doing well in the class and their way of dealing with that is, ‘if I don’t go I don’t have to deal with the class.’” 

“It’s like a snowball,” Black said. “Once they start skipping then there’s no reason for them to go to class anymore.” 

“It’s so easy,” said senior Anna Sorenson, who, when she occasionally wanders the halls, is rarely asked why. “You can just say you’re late for class.” 

“It’s even easier to walk right off campus because there’s this big hole,” said senior Sarah Goodin, referring to a passage way beside the Berkeley Community Theater on Allston Way. Just a short walk east are tempting fast-food restaurants, movie theaters and CD and clothing stores. 

The school plans to work with Berkeley Police, UC Berkeley police and downtown’s Berkeley Guides to do “post-lunchtime sweeps” of the downtown area. They can check IDs of anyone under 18 and return them to school, though without using the “paddy wagon” tactics that landed an official apology from Berkeley Police in January 2000. 

“We’re trying to train kids that they’ve got that time (away) and then to come back,” said Vice Principal Lawrence Lee. 

But the sweeps policy does not appear to be in effect. “There are no sweeps,” wrote Board of Education Vice President Shirley Issel in an e-mail Friday, “and I see few kids wearing (mandatory) ID tags = no enforcement. The truancy policy is in process and the lack of enforcement is very disappointing to me.” 

Issel said she’s not holding out much hope for Check and Connect, either. That program, however, appears to be having at least some small success. 

Earl Bill is the new program’s coordinator. He ran the school’s on-campus suspension program for the past 10 years, and now holds court in room H-105 of the cavernous H building, where his desk has neither a computer nor a phone. 

Check and Connect was conceived around the idea that its coordinator would have access to a computer database of student attendance records. With the click of a mouse he would be able to print out a daily record of who’s cutting class. The records are on a nearby computer, but there isn’t a printer connected to it. 

“I have around 250 names,” Bill said, “but without access to a printer I can’t (print out) the student’s schedule.” 

So, he does it the old-fashioned way. He’s gone to teachers and guidance counselors to ask them to report to him on a daily basis, who is not coming to class, and he also hears from security staff.  

On a first violation – for missing at least three classes – a student is sent to Bill and told that by law he has to be in school – that his attendance is being watched and that his parent can be fined or jailed if he continues to skip class. A letter also goes home to his parent or guardian. Bill’s new job started Sept. 5; 150 letters went out two weeks later. 

By the time a second violation occurs – for three more absences – the student must carry a card that has to be initialed by every teacher of every class on his schedule that week. Bill has the teachers’ own initials on file to detect forgeries. A second, different letter goes home. 

On the third strike, the parent is brought before Bill, the parent resource coordinator and the vice principal. By this time the student has bucked both the attendance checks and his contract to go to class. The parent learns that, unless there are outside problems warranting intervention by a health professional, the school district’s child welfare services will intervene and can notify the district attorney for prosecution. 

“After that many chances the kid can’t say that, ‘Nobody gave me a chance, nobody told me about this,’” Bill said. 

Check and Connect appears to be working. Hard numbers are making an impression with students. “They say, ‘I haven’t missed that many classes,’” Bill said. “I say, ‘Are you counting?’” End-of-the-week attendance is up, and Bill sees students in classrooms more and in hallways less. 

Word is getting around, both at home and at school. “You don’t have to do a lot of work,” Bill said. “You just send out about 10 letters and parents start talking.” Their children, he suspects, mention the letters nervously to their friends, too. 

Still, it’s an uphill battle. Students flat-out tell Bill they’re used to walking off campus whenever they want to. “I have 12th graders now who are very critical because they’re cutting every day,” Bill said. “And they think they’re going to graduate.” 

A printer and a phone, Bill said, would help. 

“If they know that things are not working, it doesn’t take them long to say, ‘Hey, something has broken,’” Bill said. “If they think it’s broken, they’re going to continue to do it.”

Millie Ketcheshawno, a Native American filmmaker who died last year, will be remembered during the 10th annual Indigenous Peoples Day Pow Wow and Indian Market to be held Saturday at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park. 

Ketcheshawno, who participated in the Indian occupation of Alcatraz Island during the 1970s, worked with the National Park Service to create the “We Hold The Rock” exhibit and video that are shown each day at the park, said Craig Glassner, a park ranger with the Golden Gate National Recreation area on Alcatraz.  

The occupation by Indians of All Tribes, which began on Nov. 20, 1969, was the most significant event in Alcatraz’s history and was pivotal to the creation of self-determination, the policy that recognizes tribal autonomy and self-rule, said Glassner, who will present a letter of appreciation to Ketcheshawno’s family for her contribution to the exhibit. The occupation ended in 1971 when federal officials removed participants from the island, Glassner said. 

“I want to recognize Millie not just for the work she did historically for native peoples but for assisting us in making sure that the story would be told to us, our children and our children’s children,” Glassner said. 

The free event, sponsored by the city of Berkeley and the Indigenous Peoples Day Committee, celebrates native culture through food, dance, ceremony and art. It will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.  

A grand entry ceremony will introduce elders and dancers in traditional regalia. Native groups represented will include Seminole, Kiowa, Miwok, Lacota, Black Feet and Comanche, said Shar Suke, a Pow Wow coordinator and Oneida/Cherokee. She expects about 1,000 people to attend. 

“The grand entry will get the Pow Wow off to a good start,” she said, noting that people should pay attention to the Master of Ceremonies, who will announce when it is appropriate to take photographs. 

Dancers, drummers and singers from across the Bay Area will perform, as well as some from Arizona, Oklahoma and Maryland, Suke said.  

The original goal of the event was to educate the public about native issues and culture, Suke said. A table will display information about Native American issues, such as land disputes. Native Americans can also learn about health services that address diabetes risk, substance abuse and safe sex, she said. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Park is located between Center Street and Allston Way, and one block west of the Berkeley BART station. Parking is limited and attendees are encouraged to bring their own seating. All drums are invited.

Marcelle Ching’s fourth and fifth graders were forming a line according to birthdays, from January to December. One student wanted to place a reporter in the lineup. 

“When is your happy birthday?” he asked in heavily accented English. 

This was an exercise in counting and repeating months of the year in English, something Ms. Ching’s students were practicing for only the third time since their classes at Malcolm X Magnet School started a week earlier. They are students of a Newcomer class, part of a year-long pilot program in English-immersion. It is for immigrant students in the Berkeley Unified School District who speak little to no English. 

“They are all very active learners,” said Ching of her 18 students. About two-thirds are Spanish-speaking, while others come from Germany, Bulgaria, Yemen, Korea and Brazil.  

The teachers and administrators hope that this new program will be a more effective way to teach the district’s new immigrant students. Prior to this, most newcomers were placed in classes with native English-speaking classmates and a teacher with Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) certification.  

SDAIE-certified teachers are trained to make the regular curriculum accessible to English learners by using special teaching methods and strategies. The English learners were also pulled out of class twice a week for 45-minute lessons with an itinerant English Language Development (ELD) instructor.  

The newly-arrived Spanish-speaking students were often enrolled in Spanish-English dual-immersion programs – a program where the students begin speaking mostly Spanish in kindergarten and over five years speak and learn mostly in English. Many students entered the program at higher grade levels, where more advanced English is used. Some of these students, according to Newcomer instructor Kathleen King, would just sit through the English instruction and wait for the Spanish sections.  

“There’s not a lot of ELD taught in bilingual classes,” said King, who has also worked as a dual-immersion teacher. 

Plans to introduce a Newcomer program, which is a recommendation in the district’s Bilingual Master Plan, had been discussed for years in the instructional services department of the school district. However, it was not until this summer that concrete action was taken. Two classes at the Malcolm X school site were approved, one for second-third graders and one for fourth-fifth graders. Participation in the program is an option for all immigrant students regardless of where they live, and children who live outside the Malcolm X zone receive transportation. 

According to State and Federal Projects Manager Carla Basom, who took over the Newcomer Program in late July shortly after she joined the staff, the decision to pilot the program was partly financial, as it is more cost efficient to pay two Newcomer teachers rather than four itinerant ELD teachers. It will also provide immigrant students with stronger English skills than the pull-out method, which she acknowledged as the “least effective” way to teach ELD.  

Spanish-speaking students still have a choice between the Newcomer program and the dual-immersion program, where, because part of the instruction is in their native language, they will learn subject content more efficiently.  

“Obviously (in the Newcomer classes) they don’t have the vocabulary for a lot of the concepts, so you spend a lot of time teaching the vocabulary in English,” said Basom. Which program they choose depends on many factors, including how quickly the child can learn English and the child’s native language literacy. 

The district hopes that giving students this choice will provide programs that work for all immigrant students. “We’re trying to deliver the best instruction program to kids that we can,” said Basom. 

After a week and a half of classes, the students in Ms. Ching’s class were already showing signs of progress. “This is only the third time we’ve gone over the months of the year, and they’ve grasped it really quickly,” she remarked after the students successfully organized themselves by birthday.  

An important part of the class work for the day was learning how to follow directions: draw a circle, underline, make an X. “I’m acclimating the students to follow the directions they’re going to see in their workbooks,” explained Ching. The curriculum of the Newcomer classes is meant to gear students toward fitting into regular classrooms with a SDAIE-certified instructor. 

In the transitional Newcomer program, students should be prepared to join an SDAIE class by the end of one year. ELD instructors will return a student sooner if the student tests proficient and is deemed ready. A study of newcomer programs by Monica Friedlander of the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education at George Washington University, says students should stay in the program no longer than one year “in order to minimize the period of isolation from a mainstream program.” 

Newcomer students at Malcolm X are encouraged to interact with students from the other classes, and the ELD instructors coordinate activities with teachers of mainstream classes. “I want them to get a sense that they’re part of a greater group of kids,” said King, who teaches the second and third grade Newcomers. This interaction also gives them a chance to practice their new English with native peers.  

The district is also preparing the mainstream teachers for the Newcomer students. Using funds from a Title VII grant, the district will employ trainers to give  

these teachers SDAIE training on methods for teaching classes of mixed native and non-native English speakers. This involves modifying speech, using visuals and other media, and putting lessons into a context that is understandable for the non-native students.  

“It’s hard teaching in California nowadays,” said Basom. Under California law, all teachers must be certified to teach English learners by the year 2005. Basom said that being able to effectively teach English learners is “very complex and really requires ongoing training.”  

ELD instructors hope that the SDAIE training will help mainstream teachers deal with the problems of their immigrant students, which in the past were often left for the itinerant teachers to handle. King acknowledged the trouble with teaching a group of students with varying levels of English. “It’s very difficult to address all the students’ needs well.” 

Approximately four out of 10 people who took advantage of National Depression Screening Day in Berkeley Thursday showed indications of post-traumatic stress disorder. Counselors say the high rate may be a result of anxiety about the Sept. 11 attacks and the possibility of others. 

The screening in Berkeley was part of an 11-year-old nationwide effort in which psychologists and therapists give free anonymous counseling at more than 4,500 sites. The event coincided this year with the one month anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America. 

In consideration of those attacks, the screening added eight questions to assess post-traumatic stress. One, for example, asked “In the past week, to what extent have you lost enjoyment for things, kept your distance from people, or found it difficult to experience feelings?”  

“In the wake of the events that happened on September 11th, we felt the need to address people’s emotional responses,” said Katherine Cruise, communications manager for the Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization Screening for Mental Health, Inc.  

Nationwide, more people were expected to attend the annual screening because of the events of the past month. “I think it’s had a huge impact on people,” said Cruise. Although many of those who lost friends and family or who witnessed the tragedy and its aftermath will be encouraged to seek counseling, Cruise said that those who were not directly affected are also at risk for depression.  

“For the rest of us who are all across the country, watching these indelible images over and over again on TV, watching those images can cause nightmares, insomnia or anxiety.” She added that uncertainty about what is coming next can also contribute to these symptoms.  

Some 30 counselors worked in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to assess the approximately 100 people looking for help. The majority of clients were students. Each person filled out a set of questionnaires designed to reveal signs of clinical depression or any related mental illness. In a 20 minute meeting, counselors then advised these individuals whether they should seek help and referred them to other services. 

“We’re giving them resources and letting them know what’s out there,” said Oakland psychologist and screening organizer Lesley Parke.  

UC Health Services counselor Susan Bell said that since the September attacks that office has seen an increase in students suffering from anxiety. In some cases the events of Sept. 11 exacerbated existing symptoms. Although more students have sought counseling, she wasn’t sure what had caused the increase. “The numbers are higher this year, but we don’t know if that is directly related to the attacks,” she said. 

However, Parke said that the attacks did trigger a doubling in the number of students who wanted to volunteer at the event.UC Berkeley has been a screening site for the event for the last five years, sponsored by the Alameda County Psychological Association, University Health Services, the Association of Psychology Undergraduates and the Students for Mental Health Awareness. 

According to the National Institute for Mental Health, every year approximately 18.8 million Americans, or about 9.5 percent of the population age 18 and older, suffer from a depressive disorder. The symptoms include the following: feelings of sadness, hopelessness or worthlessness, difficulty concentrating, constant fatigue, unexplained aches and pains, and thoughts of death or suicide. People who are aware of these symptoms in themselves or in their friends or family are encouraged to call the Alameda County Mental Health and Substance Abuse Access Program at 1-800-491-9099.

SAN FRANCISCO — Extending San Francisco International Airport’s runways by filling in part of the bay could be consistent with smart growth depending on the increase in air travel during the next few decades. 

But a panel of airport land use and growth experts said Thursday that has become harder to predict after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the resulting drop in air travel. 

The idea of filling in between 500 and 800 acres of the bay has drawn criticism from neighbors, environmentalists and even windsurfers who say it will hurt the life and tides of San Francisco Bay. 

Proponents of the plan say it’s consistent with smart growth – which calls for growing in and around urban centers instead of sprawling – because it would use existing transportation infrastructure.  

Also, it would stall the need to build another airport on the fringes of the Bay Area. 

But opponents say filling in the bay would further harm an already damaged resource and would cause an imbalance of housing and jobs on the San Francisco peninsula because a larger airport would bring more workers who would need more housing in an already crowded area. 

Opponents also said the plan would only alleviate airport capacity problems for about 10 years. They point out planning has been done up to 2020, but it probably would take a decade to get approval and build any project. 

Officials have proposed the expansion because the airport is plagued by delays, especially during foggy weather.  

The airport has two sets of runways that intersect and are only 750 feet apart, making it difficult or impossible for planes to land simultaneously in bad weather. 

The Federal Aviation Administration requires runways to be 4,300 feet apart for simultaneous landings in bad weather. 

The plans would reconfigure the runways, increasing the distance between them, at an estimated cost of $2 billion to $3.5 billion. 

But some opponents think it’s premature to build runways into the bay. 

“I don’t think smart growth can coincide with building them now, before we know if the other (no-build) alternatives can work,” said panelist Stuart Cohen, chairman of the Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition. 

The plans are far from being finalized. The airport is a little more than halfway through the environmental studies for the plans and is considering other options that don’t include building into the bay. 

After the environmental reviews, the plans will be open for public comment, followed by the necessary approval from 30 state and federal regulatory agencies. 

Some of the no-build options include doing nothing, using technological advances to help manage operations and managing demand, such as with pricing regulations and other incentives. 

Passenger volume at the airport has dropped since last month’s terrorist attacks, but airport officials believe the volume will increase by the time the runway project is ready for construction. 

But it’s still hard to know how much that increase will be, said panelist Geoffrey Gosling, a professor in the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. 

“The implications of recent events are not yet clear,” he said. “However, I think it would be very surprising if the forces that have caused air travel to grow in the past couple of years suddenly come to an end.” 

Typically, about 105,000 passengers pass through the San Francisco airport every day, but in the week following the attacks, that number dropped by 40 percent to 50 percent. 

A month later, the airport has about 25 percent fewer passengers than normal. 

A plan completed late last year by a regional air transportation committee concludes that, in the next 20 years, there will be a 60 percent increase in air operations in the region, where there are three major airports. And at San Francisco International, another 63,000 people per day are expected by 2020. 

“The thing we have to keep in mind is air travel is going to return,” said airport spokesman Ron Wilson. “It’s going to take a while, and we have to look long range and plan for the future.” 

SACRAMENTO — Citing a slowing economy and fiscal fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Gov. Gray Davis on Thursday ordered state agency heads to prepare to cut their budgets by 15 percent next fiscal year. 

Only public safety and firefighting departments would be spared from cuts. 

“There is no question that our economy is now experiencing the full impact of the national economic slowdown,” Davis said. 

He ordered state agencies to submit budget cut proposals to his office by Oct. 22, and said he will convene a special meeting of his cabinet the following day to discuss the proposals. 

The state is facing its bleakest fiscal picture and deepest budget cuts since the recession of the early 1990s left California with a $14 billion budget hole. 

“We’re under no illusions, it’s going to be very painful and there are going to be some very difficult choices,” said Sandy Harrison, a spokesman for Davis’ Department of Finance. 

Davis will consider each department’s proposal on a case-by-case basis when crafting his budget plan for the 2002-03 fiscal year, Harrison said. Davis will release his budget plan in January. The state’s fiscal year begins July 1. State officials were stunned Thursday by the announcement, and some said 15 percent cuts could mean staff layoffs and reduced services. 

“It’s very depressing, and if we in fact have to accommodate a 15 percent cut in our budget, it’ll be devastating to the program,” said Peter Douglas, executive director of the California Coastal Commission. 

Doug Stone, spokesman for the California Department of Education, said, “Fifteen percent isn’t just a matter of further belt tightening, it goes to hitting the bone.” 

Roy Stearns, a deputy director in the state parks department, agreed, saying that 15 percent “is a sizable amount, and we’ll have to look at it very closely.” 

But Stearns and Douglas acknowledged that cuts will be unavoidable in the current fiscal crisis. 

“I also understand the sad condition of the economy and the country right now, and if the cuts are necessary then we all have to do our part,” Douglas said. 

Assemblyman Tony Cardenas, an Arleta Democrat who chairs a special budget committee, said his panel will hold hearings in November to address the cuts. 

California is not alone in its budget troubles. 

Several states, including Florida, Nebraska and Connecticut, are calling or considering special legislative sessions to deal with steep revenue losses in the current and coming fiscal years. 

“This year has been unlike any other year, except for perhaps the ’90-’91 recession,” said Arturo Perez, a budget analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures. 

Davis has said he may ask the California Legislature to convene a special session, and he is planning a summit with business and labor leaders to discuss the effects of the Sept. 11 attacks on California’s economy. 

He said the terrorist strikes likely will damage an already-slow economy that was particularly hard-hit by the recent implosion of the high-technology industry. 

Davis previously had asked departments to prepare for budget cuts of up to 10 percent. He also vetoed several dozen bills this week he said would have increased state spending. 

The state’s budget contains a $2.6 billion reserve, the largest in two decades, but the sagging economy is projected to cut state revenues by far more. Revenues were down by more than $1.1 billion in the first three months of the fiscal year. 

Now, the attacks have “injected even more uncertainty into our economy and we must prepare for greater revenue reductions as a result,” Davis said in his memo to the cabinet. 

In addition, Davis is struggling to find a way to repay the more than $6 billion the state spent this year to buy electricity on behalf of three cash-strapped utilities. The state Public Utilities Commission last week derailed his proposal to repay the state’s general fund with long-term borrowing. 

——— 

On the Net: This year’s budget can be found at http://www.dof.ca.gov 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A few weeks ago, online access to federal criminal filings suddenly stopped. Though court records remain publicly available on paper at courthouses, they were deemed too public when it came to the Internet. 

The U.S. Judicial Conference’s decision drew criticism from First Amendment advocates. Yet it is only the latest manifestation of a privacy-vs.-access debate becoming more common as government agencies – the keepers of public information – confront Internet age challenges. 

The conference, a 27-judge panel that sets policy for federal courts, cited privacy and safety concerns in cutting off Internet access to the criminal records. 

“A lot of court records have unevaluated, raw stuff,” said Robert Ellis Smith, publisher of the Privacy Journal newsletter in Providence, R.I. “I think it is very dangerous to put that kind of information on the Web.” 

Smith maintains that Internet records are palpably different from written records because they “are available anonymously ... to people who have to show very little need to know beyond idle curiosity.” 

But Charles Davis, who heads the Freedom of Information Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said the new policy reflects an unfounded fear that “electronic information is more dangerous than paper information.” 

Before the Internet, public records often gathered dust – and people who really wanted to review them had to travel to a reading room and show their faces to a clerk. That system tended to favor the rich and well-connected over the poor. 

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, some government agencies have pulled potentially sensitive information from the Web. 

The Environmental Protection Agency, for one, no longer offers detailed reports on chemical plants on its Web site for fear terrorists could use them to plot attacks. Anyone wanting a report must visit a government reading room and offer identification. 

The appearance online of other public records has already stirred considerable controversy. 

In New York City, a nonprofit group posted voter registration records on a Web site, allowing anyone offering a last name and a birth date to retrieve voters’ home addresses and political affiliations. 

Even though the information has long been available on paper, the group decided to block access to the records after complaints from city residents. 

And in another case involving the courts, the Judicial Conference initially denied crime news site APBnews.com the ability to post financial disclosure reports on about 1,600 federal judges. 

The conference said posting such records created security risks even though the courts routinely gave copies to anyone who requested them – after first notifying the judge involved. The conference later agreed to permit posting. 

In deciding to bar federal criminal filings from online posting, U.S. District Judge Charles H. Haden II, a member of the Judicial Conference, cited reports that prison inmates had  

used them to identify other prisoners who had cooperated  

with prosecutors. 

“It has resulted in some instances in beatings or worse within the prison system,” he said, declining to provide specifics. Computers are frequently available in prison libraries. 

Haden said his Charleston-based judicial district had already concluded that some material, such as pre-sentencing reports, contains many private details that ought not be available electronically. 

But he said other districts had not considered the issue. 

“That’s why the conference’s criminal law committee wants to study this further, to come up with appropriate protocols,” Haden said. 

Haden believes the Judicial Conference ultimately will decide to make criminal court records available on the Internet, with a few deletions for privacy concerns. A review is expected within two years. 

In the meantime, the conference voted to permit electronic access to civil and bankruptcy court records, with some deletions, such as Social Security cases. 

Online court records have been available for as many as 13 federal district courts in 10 states through a service called PACER. The criminal filings were quickly dropped after the decision. 

Paul McMasters, First Amendment ombudsman of The Freedom Forum in Arlington, Va., said the importance of absolute public access to criminal court records should trump any other concerns. 

“Freedom of speech is meaningless unless we have the maximum amount of information from our government,” he said. “That’s what makes ordinary citizens partners with their elected leaders. That’s access.” 

McMasters said if privacy concerns can be addressed with civil records, “you can do the same thing with criminal court records.” 

——— 

On the Net: http://www.uscourts.gov 

The anthrax that killed a Florida man was not stolen from a Department of Energy laboratory. It most certainly was not manufactured from scratch by terrorists. 

And now some scientists are saying it may not even have any connection to Iowa, as earlier reported. 

As misinformation and theories abound about the origin of the anthrax found in the offices of a Boca Raton, Fla., supermarket tabloid, scientists are using new methods to compare the genetic fingerprint of the anthrax spores to known strains of the bacteria. 

Microbiologist Paul Keim of Northern Arizona University has created a genetic profile of the anthrax discovered there and is now comparing it to other strains, said Martin Hugh-Jones, a close colleague of Keim and a professor of epidemiology at Louisiana State University. 

Using genetic fingerprinting, “you can pinpoint a strain of anthrax to its geographic origin or perhaps even to its laboratory origin,” said Scott Layne, a professor of epidemiology at the University of California at Los Angeles. 

So far Keim has declined to talk about his work, citing national security concerns. 

“I’ve seen many reports in the media saying that we’re involved in this investigation but I will assure that there’s been no confirmation of that from anyone at this university,” Keim said during a briefing at the school’s Flagstaff, Ariz., campus Thursday. “It would be irresponsible for me to confirm that type of situation given that there’s an ongoing criminal investigation.” 

But Hugh-Jones said that if the bacteria used in Florida belonged to any well-known strain, Keim would have identified it right away. 

“From all the fancy footwork, it’s clear that they didn’t get an exact match,” Hugh-Jones said. 

He and other experts declined to speculate how long it could take to identify the Florida strain that killed Robert Stevens, a photo editor for The Sun. Anthrax spores were also found on Stevens’ computer keyboard, and two of his co-workers were found to have inhaled some of the spores. They are being treated with antibiotics. 

The FBI is investigating how and why the anthrax got into the newspaper offices, but they said they could not tie it to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. 

Earlier this week a federal official who asked not to be identified told The Associated Press that the Florida anthrax was similar to a strain collected in Iowa during the 1950s. That led to speculation that the attackers could have used the “Ames strain,” an especially virulent form of anthrax taken from a sick animal at Iowa State University about that time. There were even erroneous reports that it might have been stolen from an Iowa laboratory. 

But the FBI put those stories to rest on Thursday. 

“At this time there is no information concerning any link to Iowa,” said Larry Holmquist, an FBI spokesman in Omaha, Neb. 

Vito Del Vecchio, a bacteriologist at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, said Thursday that federal authorities have asked him to apply a second DNA fingerprinting method to the Florida samples, an indication that their identity probably has not yet been pinpointed. 

Keim and Hugh-Jones have been working for about eight years to create DNA fingerprints of as many anthrax strains as they can. So far, they have succeeded with more than 400 strains, a fraction of the many hundreds that are thought to exist. 

In May 2000, the researchers published an anthrax family tree in the Journal of Bacteriology that showed the genetic relationships of 89 strains. Hugh-Jones said that tree could be enormously valuable in narrowing down potential sources of the anthrax. 

“Even if it’s not exact,” Hugh-Jones said, “we can say, ’OK, if it’s between this and that, this is where we’ll find it.’ ” 

Even a decade ago it would have been very difficult to identify an anthrax strain with such precision. But DNA fingerprinting gives such a distinctive result that it amounts to a smoking gun. 

“I think it would be very dangerous for anybody to be found with this,” Hugh-Jones said. “They’d have an awful lot of explaining to do.” 

WASHINGTON — In a stark warning, the FBI said Thursday it has received information there may be additional terrorist attacks inside the United States or abroad in the next several days. 

The bureau said its information does not identify specific targets, but it has asked local police to be on the highest alert and for all Americans to be wary of suspicious activity. 

“Certain information, while not specific as to target, gives the government the reason to believe that there may be additional terrorist attacks within the United States and against U.S. interests overseas over the next several days,” the FBI said in its warning. 

“The FBI has again alerted all local law enforcement to be on the highest alert and we call on all people to immediately notify the FBI and local law enforcement of any unusual or suspicious activity,” it said. 

President Bush said he had personally reviewed the intelligence that prompted the FBI alert. 

The intelligence represented “a general threat on America,” he said at a news conference Thursday night. 

In a taped interview for ABC’s “Nightline,” Attorney General John Ashcroft said, “I think the next several days are obviously important partially because of the environment in which we find ourselves in the initial response period” in Afghanistan.” 

Justice Department spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said the department had received new intelligence within the past few days about a potential attack and decided to alert the public as well as law enforcement agencies. 

“We realize the importance of the public accurately understanding the kinds of alerts we are sending out to law enforcement,” said Tucker. 

She said since Sept. 11 the FBI has sent law enforcement agencies five or six alerts. One that urged extra security and vigilance over crop-dusting operations was eventually made public. 

Ashcroft has also warned Americans about possible attacks in retaliation for the U.S.-led bombing campaign in Afghanistan. 

“We asked everyone to be on the highest alert and we’re asking everyone to do that again,” said Tucker. She added, in words similar to Ashcroft’s this week, “Americans should go on with their lives, there’s no reason people should live in panic.” 

It was the FBI’s second request this week that law enforcement move to its highest state of alert. The first was on Sunday. 

Thursday’s statement was the first to suggest attacks might occur within several days. 

Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller have said they intend to alert Americans to any credible threats about future terrorist plans. 

In recent days, the FBI has asked supervisors of water supplies, nuclear and electric power plant operators, owners of crop dusters and drivers of hazardous waste trucks among others to increase security to ward off attacks. 

“We are working to do everything possible and we would enlist the help of citizens in that,” Ashcroft said earlier Thursday, before the FBI warning was issued.

The Associated Press 

KABUL, Afghanistan — The first daylight raid on the Afghan capital in the 5-day-old U.S.-led air campaign sent shoppers scattering in panic Thursday, jumping on donkey carts and bicycles to flee heavy explosions. In the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, a hit on a munitions dump set off a series of deafening blasts – and an exodus of civilians toward the Pakistani border. 

U.S. planes returned to the skies over Kabul late Thursday, and a huge fireball lit up the sky over the eastern part of the city in the direction of a training base of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network. 

Huge detonations accompanied by a howling wind could also be heard Thursday evening from the Afghan side of the border in the Pakistani frontier town of Chaman, about 70 miles south of Kandahar. 

One month after the terror attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Pakistani officials acknowledged for the first time that U.S. planes and personnel were on the ground as part of the American-led campaign against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden and that the United States had been granted use of two key bases. 

But the air campaign is so controversial in Muslim Pakistan that the government publicly denied there were any American military personnel in the country. Pakistani officials who confirmed the American presence were careful not to categorize them as military personnel. 

Pakistan stressed that its territory would not be a staging ground for military strikes against neighboring Afghanistan. Assistance to the United States has stirred up an angry backlash against Gen. Pervez Musharraf from militant Muslim parties. More than 15 U.S. military aircraft, including C-130 transport planes, arrived over the past two days at a Pakistani base at Jacobabad, 300 miles northeast of the port city of Karachi and about 150 miles from the Afghan border, said Pakistani officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.  

The Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, said of the arrival of U.S. personnel, “When the Americans enter Afghanistan, here will start the real war – not now.” 

In London, the head of the British armed forces, Adm. Sir Michael Boyce, said U.S.-led military action in Afghanistan could last into next summer, unless the country’s ruling Islamic militia surrenders bin Laden. 

“It could be a very short haul ... (or) we must expect to go through the winter and into next summer at the very least,” Boyce said. 

The Taliban claimed at least 115 people had been killed in overnight strikes late Wednesday and early Thursday, including 100 in a village near Jalalabad and 15 who died when a missile hit a mosque in that northeastern city. 

No independent confirmation of the Taliban claims was possible. 

The southern Afghan city of Kandahar, home base and birthplace of the Taliban, has been hammered repeatedly in the U.S. raids, and it took another pounding Thursday. Warplanes again targeted a compound near the airport where bin Laden followers had lived. 

Also hit was a munitions dump outside a Taliban base, causing huge explosions that sent many Kandahar residents fleeing. “People ran without looking back,” said Abdul Gharrar, arriving at Pakistan’s Chaman border crossing hours later. 

“I had just finished with my prayers when I heard loud explosions and the ground moved beneath our feet,” said another refugee, Nematullah Ahmed, who runs a shop with his father. “When we ran out there were planes overhead dropping bombs. There was dust and smoke everywhere. Everyone was scared and running in the streets — my father put us in a taxi and we left.” 

The border remains closed to refugees, but many slip through on side roads or mountain tracks. 

After four nights of bombing, people in Kabul had become accustomed to raids beginning after dark. Thursday’s daylight strike came at 5:30 p.m., the skies were clear and cloudless, and many people were out shopping for their evening meal. 

Once the attack began, panicked civilians fled by any means of transport they could find — jumping into donkey-drawn carts, flagging down bicyclists to hop on the back, clambering into hand-drawn wagons used to haul goods. 

About four hours later, U.S. planes struck again. A fireball was seen from the direction of Rishkore, an al-Qaida training base near Kabul. The camp has been empty for months, but buildings, training facilities and offices remain. 

Detonations were also heard east of Kabul near a military academy and artillery batteries targeted the previous night. 

Only a day after the U.N. World Food Program announced it was resuming road shipments of aid into Afghanistan, it hit a roadblock — in the form of the Taliban. A convoy of relief supplies from Pakistan to the western Afghan city Herat, near the Iranian border, was stopped by Taliban demanding a large “road tax.” 

“We refused,” spokesman Francesco Luna said. The standoff remained unresolved late Thursday. 

In Afghanistan’s north, the alliance of opposition forces claimed Thursday they had taken the key central province of Gur after heavy fighting with Taliban forces during the night. Spokesman Mohammed Abil said fighting continued into the morning in several areas. 

The claim could not be independently verified. Gur borders four provinces that the opposition considers crucial to efforts to unseat the Taliban. 

In other developments: 

— British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Thursday that Britain and the United States agree there are no immediate plans for a wider war outside of Afghanistan. 

— An Air Force sergeant, Evander Earl Andrews, was killed in a heavy equipment accident in Qatar, becoming the first U.S. death in Operation Enduring Freedom, military officials said. 

— Afghanistan’s former king, Mohammad Zaher Shah, is working to hold a gathering of tribal leaders, or loya jirga, to select a new head of state in Kabul if a cease-fire is reached, a senior aide, Yusuf Nuristani, said. 

— Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, in an interview with a Saudi magazine to be published Friday, said the war with America will not end with his death. “My death will not end the war. The (Afghan) tribes along with the Taliban are ready for war ... and they agreed to that,” Omar was quoted as saying. 

— The FBI said it has received information there may be additional terrorist attacks inside the United States or abroad in the next several days but has no specifics on targets. 

— At a Pentagon service marking the one-month anniversary of its targeting by terrorists, President Bush said those who helped sponsor the attack will have “no place to run or hide or rest.” 

— The head of U.S. immigration said 13 of the hijackers entered the country legally but officials can find no records of six others, leaving their identities in doubt. 

——— 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Kathy Gannon contributed to this dispatch from Islamabad, Pakistan. 

NEW YORK — City officials rejected a $10 million relief check from a Saudi prince Thursday after he suggested U.S. policies in the Middle East were partly to blame for the World Trade Center attacks. 

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, in a statement released by his publicist during his visit to Ground Zero, said: “At times like this one, we must address some of the issues that led to such a criminal attack. I believe the government of the United States of America should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause.” The comments drew a rebuke from Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, followed by an announcement that the check was rejected. 

“We are not going to accept the check – period,” Sunny Mindel, the mayor’s communications director, told The Associated Press after The AP asked her office about the prince’s statement. 

Giuliani, at a City Hall news conference, said such remarks “were part of the problem” behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. “There is no moral equivalent for this attack,” the mayor said. “The people who did it lost any right to ask for justification when they slaughtered 5,000, 6,000 innocent people. ... Not only are those statements wrong, they’re part of the problem.” The prince, an outspoken member of the Saudi royal family, is a major investor in American companies. After his tour of the Trade Center ruins, the prince initially called the attack “a tremendous crime.” 

“It’s just unbelievable,” he said. “We are here to tell America and to tell New York that Saudi Arabia is with the United States wholeheartedly.” 

But in the statement, the prince said the U.S. government should “adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause.” 

He added: “Our Palestinian brethren continue to be slaughtered at the hands of Israelis while the world turns the other cheek. ... Arabs believe that if the U.S. government wanted, it could play a pivotal role in pushing Israel to sign and fully implement a comprehensive peace treaty.” 

Alwaleed is chairman of Kingdom Holding Co. and was No. 6 on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s richest men for 2001. 

The prince presented an envelope to Giuliani during his visit to the disaster siste. At about that time, the publicist handed the three-page statement to journalists. In his spoken comments to reporters, the prince did not criticize U.S. policies, saying instead, “I came here to show my allegiance to New York.” 

Alwaleed said prime terrorism suspect Osama bin Laden, a Saudi, does not represent Islam’s Wahabi sect, the strict interpretation founded in Saudi Arabia. 

“This guy does not belong to Wahabis,” he said. “He does not belong to Islam or any religion in the whole world.” 

BOSTON — His gray hair pulled back in a ponytail, a 52-year-old pacifist clutched an anti-war sign in a city square this week, again mobilized to decry an American war. 

But this time, it was different: Americans are scared as never before. 

“As for convincing people, you may have to go a little bit further, because there has been an attack on this country,” said the protester, Bill Leary, a Vietnam veteran converted to the peace movement 30 years ago. 

Around the country, peace activists are again scrawling slogans and taking to the streets, this time to protest the U.S. attacks in Afghanistan. But they are striking a gentler, less confrontational tone than in the past, searching for tactics better adapted to the political terrain transformed by the Sept. 11 attacks on the American homeland. They have been avoiding civil disobedience and other confrontation. 

“It’s a different situation, and it creates a special challenge for the peace movement,” said Howard Zinn, the American historian and anti-war activist. “The peace movement finds itself with a message of peace in a situation where people’s emotions have been aroused ... in a way they have never been aroused before.” 

Shaped by Vietnam and last mobilized en masse in 1991 during the Persian Gulf War, the modern peace movement has never confronted such an atmosphere of intense patriotism steeped in fears for safety at home. Even at the height of the nuclear arms race with the Soviets, the domestic threat – however frightening – was still only potential. 

“We have a tough sell this time,” said Ofer Levy, a 35-year-old doctor wearing a peace symbol on his jacket during the Boston demonstration. “People who disagree with us say, ‘We just had 6,000 casualties on our own soil. What do you mean, peace?”’ 

Anti-war protesters, who have been gearing up since the first U.S. threats of retaliation, have mounted demonstrations in Boston, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco and elsewhere this week. Within hours of the first attacks in Afghanistan, more than 1,000 protesters converged on a New York City park less than two miles from the World Trade Center. 

On Tuesday, at the Boston protest, organizers had hoped for up to 1,000. Instead, barely 100 came. They somberly lit candles, hoisted anti-war signs, listened to an Arabic prayer chant and some words of inspiration, and left. 

Most rush-hour pedestrians breezed by, declining protest leaflets. But a jogger, clearly upset by talk of peace, waved his arm, uttered an obscenity, shouted “Death to them all!” and sprinted away. 

Nearby, Patrick Faherty, a 15-year-old Boston student, watched with two friends at a distance. “They want peace? They don’t want to go to war? I hate that. Thousands of people are killed. I would actually want to go to war,” he said. “I get too mad to talk about it,” he said. He too stomped away. 

Kevin Martin, director of Washington-based Peace Action, said some activists have been subjected to hate mail and even death threats. 

“It’s understandable that out of people’s fear and anger of the Sept. 11 attacks that they would support a war,” he said. “I do think we need to be sensitive to people’s ... questions about personal security, which they really haven’t had since World War II.” 

Even some lifelong protest veterans feel torn. Charles Deemer, a writer who teaches at Portland State University, in Oregon, quit the movement. 

“When a nation is under attack, the first decision must be whether to surrender or to fight,” he wrote in an open letter to a local newspaper. “I believe there is no middle ground here: you either fight or you don’t fight, and doing nothing amounts to surrender.” 

Wishing his old comrades well, he advised them to work out new strategies. For starters, he suggested marchers carry American flags to make their cultural allegiance clear. 

Many activists are putting aside old anti-war mantras like “give peace a chance,” which risks sounding naive or irrelevant in a country that feels itself under attack. Their new rallying cry is “No More Victims!” In the post-Sept. 11 world, they hope to find heightened compassion for civilian bystanders anywhere. 

“If the killing of the people in the World Trade Center was wrong, then why kill more people?” asked Michael Borkson, a Boston protester with a guitar slung over his shoulder. 

Activists are for the first time coordinating a mass mobilization on the Internet. A unified message is emerging: The attacks of Sept. 11 were criminal acts of mass murder, and the attackers should be pursued by diplomatic and legal means. War will make domestic terrorism more likely, destabilize countries like Pakistan, and make the world more dangerous in the end. 

The peace movement is also declaring a common cause with Islamic and Arab rights advocates. Peace activists are demanding stronger protection for civil liberties, defending the rights of Arab-Americans, and even teaching followers the rudiments of Islam. 

They hope to turn up anti-war pressure in coming days, especially if the fighting drags on or turns bloodier. But Joseph Gerson, an activist at the American Friends Service Committee, said, “If we suffer another serious attack right here in the United States, that’s going to come as a blow” to the anti-war movement, too. 

Q: Recently my daughter visited – with her puppy, who promptly gnawed off an area around the corner of two wooden windowsills in the bedroom. How can I repair these without replacing the whole sill? They are wood with a stain finish. Thanks! 

A: If you haven’t already learned your lesson, a growing puppy will chew on anything in sight. They especially like doors, carpets and the legs of fine furniture. 

Sometimes the easiest and most cost-effective means of repair is to remove the existing damaged material and replace it with new material. This is usually the case if the damage is extensive and the material in question can be easily replaced. Removing a wood windowsill can be a major undertaking, so we suggest that you try rebuilding it with an epoxy or two-part wood filler. 

The fact that the windowsill is stained rather than painted makes the repair task a touch more challenging, but not something that can’t be accomplished with a bit of patience. Start by removing any loose material, using a file and sandpaper. The surface must be clean, dry and free of grease and oil. Use a small drill bit (3/32 or so) to drill multiple holes in the face of the damaged windowsill. The holes will help the wood filler bond to the wood. 

Mix the two parts (filler and hardener) per the directions, and immediately apply the paste to the repair area using a putty knife. Apply more material than is needed and use the putty knife to tool the material to match the profile of the windowsill. You’ll need to work quickly since the filler will only be workable for about 10 minutes. 

After about 20 minutes to 30 minutes the repair will be sufficiently hard for you to be able to finish shaping the profile using a sharp modeling knife, plane, file and sandpaper. Since epoxy wood fillers can’t be stained, we suggest that you use paint to “faux finish” the repaired area to blend in with the existing stain. 

Now you have a better idea of what to do if your daughter’s puppy tries to make a meal out of another part of your house. 

For more home improvement tips and information, visit our Web site at www.onthehouse.com. 

James and Morris Carey are feature writers for The Associated Press

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — V.S. Naipaul, a writer of aching humor and grim reality, won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for his “incorruptible scrutiny” of postcolonial society and his critical assessments of Muslim fundamentalism. 

Naipaul, 69, a British novelist and essayist born in Trinidad to parents of Indian descent, started with the West Indian island as his first subject. He extended his writings to include India, Africa, “America from south to north,” England and the Islamic communities of Asia. 

The Nobel Literature Prize, first awarded to French author Sully Prudhomme in 1901, is worth $943,000 in this centennial year. 

“I am utterly delighted. This is an unexpected accolade,” Naipaul said in a statement issued by publishing agency Colman Getty. “It is a great tribute to both England, my home, and to India, home of my ancestors.” 

The 215-year-old Swedish Academy singled out his 1987 autobiographical novel, “The Enigma of Arrival,” saying the author created an “unrelenting image of the placid collapse of the old colonial ruling culture and the demise of European neighborhoods.” 

Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul left Trinidad at the age of 18, when he traveled to England to study at Oxford. Naipaul, whose other famous books include “A House for Mr. Biswas” and “A Bend in the River,” writes in English. 

The prize committee also pointed to his travel books and documentary works in which he criticizes Muslim fundamentalism in Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan in “Among the Believers” (1981) and “Beyond Belief” (1998). 

Academy head Horace Engdahl conceded this year’s choice might be seen as political in the wake of terror attacks in the United States and the American retaliation. “The present situation perhaps will make room for a more muted reaction,” he said. “I don’t think we will have violent protests from the Islamic countries and if they take the care to read his travel books from that part of the world they will realize that his view of Islam is a lot more nuanced.” 

“What he’s really attacking in Islam is a particular trait that it has in common with all cultures that conquerors bring along, that it tends to obliterate the preceding culture,” he said. At a reading in London last week, Naipaul condemned what he called the “calamitous effect” of Islam and compared it to colonialism. 

“To be converted you have to destroy your past, destroy your history. You have to stamp on it, you have to say ‘My ancestral culture does not exist, it doesn’t matter,”’ he said. Naipaul has the reputation of being a tough-minded, misanthropic man who does not engage in such literary rituals as publishing parties and flattering blurbs for his peers. In “Sir Vidia’s Shadow,” a highly unflattering book published in 1998, former friend Paul Theroux wrote that “he elevated crankishness as the proof of his artistic temperament.” 

In recent remarks, Naipaul mocked E.M. Forster, author of “A Passage to India” and other novels. “He just knew the court and a few middle-class Indians and a few garden boys whom he wished to seduce,” Naipaul said in an interview with the Literary Review. He also took on James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” saying that “Joyce was going blind and I can’t understand the work of a blind writer.” 

In fiction and nonfiction, Naipaul has described the upheaval of newly independent nations and the people who live with one foot in the remnants of their ancient culture and one in the culture of their colonial masters. 

“The history I carried with me, together with the self-awareness that had come with my education and ambition, had sent me into the world with a sense of glory dead,” Naipaul wrote in “The Enigma of Arrival.” 

Martin Amis, the British novelist and critic, said he was delighted by Naipaul’s win.  

“His level of perception is of the highest, and his prose has become the perfect instrument for realizing those perceptions on the page,” Amis sai. 

d, adding that Naipaul’s travel writing “is perhaps the most important body of work of its kind in the second half of the century.” 

The academy cited Naipaul for “having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories.” 

Last year’s winner was little-known exiled Chinese novelist and playwright Gao Xingjian, a French citizen. His award was denounced by the Chinese government as political. Italy’s Dario Fo and Germany’s Guenter Grass are other recent winners with strong political views. 

The 18 lifetime members of the academy make the selection in deep secrecy at one of their weekly Thursday meetings and nominees are not publicly revealed for 50 years. 

Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite, offered only vague guidance about the prizes in his will, saying only the award should go to those who “shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind” and “who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction.” The awards always are handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896. 

The Nobels started Monday with the naming of medicine prize winners, followed by the physics award on Tuesday and chemistry and economics on Wednesday. 

The peace prize is to be announced on Friday in Oslo, Norway. 

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea lacks food, electricity and other basic necessities, but the impoverished country has no shortage of propaganda-inspired heroes, from a mother of eight to a pneumatic hammer that was honored for its role in a rail project. 

The honor is not just reserved for the usual suspects, such as top officials or brave soldiers slain in battle. The North’s totalitarian regime has given the title of hero to a woman who gave birth to eight children, a woman who donated 500 pigs to military units over 20 years and soldiers who supposedly jumped into a fire to save a portrait of the nation’s late founder, Kim Il Sung. 

Kim is, of course, North Korea’s hero of heroes. Many people, including soldiers and high-ranking officials, marked the 56th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party on Wednesday by laying flowers before the Pyongyang palace that houses Kim’s embalmed body. 

Last week, the country named a 15-ton pneumatic hammer as a national hero for “producing many parts necessary for railway transportation and the industrialization of the country,” according to state-run media. 

With its economy in shambles, North Korea needs morale-boosters. It launched a “learn-from-heroes” campaign in 1979, naming buildings after heroes and exhorting the hungry public to remain loyal to the communist regime. 

“With little to offer, it uses the hero’s award as a propaganda tool,” said Hong Song-kuk, an analyst at South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles policy toward the North. 

Kim’s son and successor, Kim Jong Il, often gives job promotions, new apartments, televisions or other rewards to proclaimed heroes. 

The industrial hammer is not the nation’s first inanimate hero. Last year, North Korea awarded a hero’s title to a gingko tree. During the 1950-1953 Korean War, a U.S. plane crashed into the tree while trying to destroy a North Korean military vehicle underneath it, according to the North’s media. 

The United States fought on the South’s side during the Korean War and 37,000 American soldiers are stationed in South Korea to guard against the North. 

Since it was founded in 1948, North Korea has doled out so many hero’s titles that South Korean officials gave up keeping records. 

To encourage population growth, North Korea once described women who had many children as “Heroes of Labor.” 

It is unclear whether the North, which needs outside aid to feed its 22 million people, is still encouraging women to have more children. 

Female marathoner Jong Song Ok became a “Hero of the Republic” – the highest honor North Korea can give a citizen – after she won a gold medal at the World Championships in Spain in 1999. 

Jong, who was awarded a posh apartment and a Mercedes Benz along with her hero’s title, was quoted as saying that she ran “picturing Kim Jong Il in her mind.”

NEW YORK — Boosted by some healthier-than-expected earnings reports, Wall Street surged higher Thursday, carrying the Dow Jones industrials and other market indexes to levels last seen before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

The Dow’s close left it just 195 points below its close of Sept. 10; the blue chips have now recovered 85 percent of the 1,369 points they lost after the attacks. The Nasdaq composite and Standard & Poor’s 500 indexes finished just above their closes of a month ago. 

Analysts again cautioned that the advance, which followed another spurt higher Wednesday, should not be read as a fundamental market recovery or a sign that investors are no longer worried about fallout from the terrorist attacks or U.S. retaliation. 

“The passage of time has healed some of the wounds ... and investors are feeling a little better,” said Matt Brown, head of equity management at Wilmington Trust. “This is a rebound, though. 

“I think the market is still going to be pretty reactive to both good and bad news. If there were further developments domestically on the terrorism front, that would be very negative for the market.” 

On Sept. 10, the last day of trading before the attacks, the Dow closed at 9,605.51, while the S&P 500 was at 1,092.54. The Nasdaq closed that day at 1,695.38. 

After the market closed, the FBI issued a blunt warning “that there may be additional terrorist attacks” over the next several days. Analysts have cautioned that another attack on U.S. soil could set the market back again. 

But Thursday, the one-month anniversary of the attacks, investors seemed determined to buy. Stocks soared for most of the session. Although the gains faded briefly late in the afternoon on profit-taking, the market ultimately snapped back. 

Better-than-expected earnings news from Genentech and ETrade cheered investors who have been bracing themselves for dismal results as U.S. companies issue their third-quarter reports this month. 

Investors bid biotech company Genentech up $3.50 to $44.30 after the company exceeded third-quarter expectations. E-broker ETrade also turned in a better performance than Wall Street had anticipated, sending its stock up $1.19 to $7.85. 

General Electric gained $1.03 to $38.94 on third-quarter results that met expectations. And Yahoo gained $1.57 to $12.50 after meeting analysts’ third-quarter projections but slightly reducing its forecast for the current quarter. 

“The fact that a company like GE was able to meet toned-down expectations is again the lack of a negative being a positive for the market,” said Charles G. Crane, strategist at Victory SBSF Capital Management. “The sense I have is that we could retest the September lows before the end of the year or we could do it within the next four or five trading sessions. We really don’t know.” 

Tech stocks were broadly higher, translating into a nearly 11 percent gain on the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which rose 46.01 to 474.60. Strong performance by the sector is considered a sign that an economic recovery could be beginning, but there have been false starts before and stock prices in the sector have fallen considerably. Ciena rose $2.76 to $15.24. 

Cisco rose $1.31 to $16.46, above the level where it traded before the Sept. 11 attacks. 

Pharmaceutical stocks, in turn, fell as investors cashed in gains from a sector that has done well recently when Wall Street searched for less risky investments. Johnson & Johnson dropped $1.10 to $54.94. 

Investors appeared unfazed by data showing unemployment remains a problem for the economy. 

The Labor Department reported that for the week ending Oct. 6, new jobless claims fell by a seasonally adjusted 67,000 to 468,000, a level suggesting a very weak job market. The more stable four-week moving average rose last week to 463,000, the highest level since Dec. 14, 1991, when the country was in its last recession. 

The worst September retail sales in two decades also failed to stop the broader market’s advance, chiefly because the disappointing results weren’t surprising given consumers’ anxieties after the Sept. 11 attacks. Gap rose 15 cents to $13.73, despite reporting a 17 percent drop in sales at stores open at least a year.. 

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 3.8 percent. In Europe, Germany’s DAX index gained 2.3 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 advanced 0.2 percent, and France’s CAC-40 climbed 0.3 percent

SEAL BEACH — The Boeing Co. will stake near-term growth on its space, communications and missile operations instead of commercial aircraft, which has long been the core of the company, Boeing executives said Thursday. 

The commercial aircraft industry, dominated by Boeing, has traditionally counted on annual growth rates of 4 percent to 6 percent in air travel. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, aviation officials anticipate a 20 percent drop in air travel. 

As much as $35 billion of Boeing’s annual $57 billion in revenue comes from its commercial aircraft business, with the balance coming from its rocket, satellite, missile and military aircraft businesses. 

Over the next three to five years, Boeing Vice Chairman Harry Stonecipher said, the percent of revenue from commercial aircraft will shrink to less than 50 percent. 

“You are going to see a switch – where commercial aircraft will still be very large, but the others will see growth,” Stonecipher said. 

Boeing, which moved its headquarters this summer from Seattle to Chicago, is aggressively trying to prove to investors that it is more than a commercial aircraft company. 

As commercial aircraft business stays soft, the company is likely to focus more on its plants in Southern California, the base of its space and communications units, which employ 43,000 workers. The company also builds its 717 airliners and C-17 military transport planes in Southern California. 

Stonecipher and Jim Albaugh, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Space & Communications in Seal Beach, met with reporters to update them on the company. 

Boeing has already announced plans to lay off as many as 30,000 of its employees. Stonecipher said he did not expect that number to change. None of the Southern California workers are included in the layoff plan. 

The near term will be decisive for Boeing. Its next-generation rocket, the Delta 4, slated for launch in April 2002, and the Pentagon will announce Oct. 26 who will build the Joint Strike Fighter, either Boeing or Lockheed Martin Corp. 

The deal to build as many as 6,000 of the next-generation warplanes could be worth well in excess of $200 billion. Versions of the aircraft, based on a common design, will serve the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marines as well as Britain’s Royal Navy. 

The all-or-nothing contract will not harm Boeing’s bottom line if Lockheed is selected. 

“Win or lose, it won’t have a big impact in the near term. It will have an emotional impact. It will have a stock impact,” Stonecipher said. 

Boeing said it will press ahead with development of the Sonic Cruiser, a 200- to 300-passenger airliner that would fly just under the speed of sound at altitudes some 10,000 feet higher than current airliners typically fly. The jet is slated to fly around 2007. 

It is an answer to Airbus Industrie’s A380, a superjumbo jet that will seat 555 passengers and is to go into service in 2006. 

“It’s going ahead as planned,” Stonecipher said. 

The company expects to see growth in its work on building a national ballistic missile defense program as well as commercial satellite, missile and air traffic management businesses. 

The company is also involved in retrofitting or boosting security equipment for existing airliners, but that work is not expected to have a major impact on revenues. 

Plans to introduce broadband, Web and e-mail access for passengers on commercial carriers are expected to be delayed. 

LOS ANGELES — An attorney told a jury Thursday that biotech giant Genentech Inc. tried to avoid paying more than $400 million in royalties to City of Hope Medical Center involving drugs developed by the hospital over the past 25 years. 

The claim by attorney Morgan Chu came during closing arguments in the lawsuit filed by City of Hope in Los Angeles Superior Court. 

Chu compared the situation to a marriage gone awry in describing what he called “a string of broken promises” by Genentech involving a contract with the medical facility. 

“City of Hope fully performed,” Chu said. “They did the research and they transferred all the patent rights to Genentech.” 

Genentech has denied shortchanging City of Hope. Lawyers for the firm, which posted sales of $1.7 billion last year, will present closing arguments after Chu. The case is expected to go to the jury by early next week. 

At the heart of the $400 million legal dispute is a contract signed before anyone knew billions would be made selling bioengineered drugs. 

The 1976 agreement between South San Francisco-based Genentech and the City of Hope in Duarte provided that Genentech would fund research that eventually produced drugs used in the production of human insulin and growth hormones. 

In return, Genentech would own whatever patents would be issued and would pay the hospital a 2 percent royalty on the sales of certain drugs resulting from the research. 

Chu has contended the biotech firm concealed 27 licenses with drug companies to avoid paying $340 million in royalties. 

The hospital claims it is now owed more than $400 million, including interest charges. 

The case is indicative of growing pains within the biotech field. In the past, researchers got much of their funding from the government.  

But now that their research is seeing new uses in the growing biotech industry, they are finding themselves embroiled in more and more lawsuits over patents and royalties. 

As the billions of dollars in profits continue to grow in the industry, so will the number of lawsuits,  

City of Hope attorney Glenn Krinsky has said in an interview. 

“As the biotech industry has matured and become more of a significant impact on the national and global economy, naturally where the money is is often where the disputes are,” he said. 

A key dispute in the case is whether DNA actually made in City of Hope laboratories must be used in the creation of drugs in order to trigger royalty payments to the hospital. 

City of Hope has argued that Genentech is profiting from patents based on its discoveries and must pay royalties anytime Genentech licenses the patents to a drug company. 

Genentech countered that City of Hope was an independent contractor hired to produce strands of DNA as well as research.  

Therefore, royalties are only due on drugs made possible by the patents and the DNA produced by City of Hope, lawyers claim.

ZURICH, Switzerland — Swissair has been granted protection from creditors in the United States and Canada, allowing it to obtain fuel for its North Atlantic flights, the airline said Thursday. 

Switzerland’s largest bank, meanwhile, said it had been contacted about Swissair by the U.S.-based buyout firm Texas Pacific Group. 

“We are mulling over how to answer,” said Larissa Alghisi, spokeswoman for UBS AG. 

The decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in North America followed a similar move within Switzerland. Under Chapter 11, a company can continue to operate its business free of creditor claims while it develops a financial reorganization plan. 

The airline was forced to ground its jets for two days last week as it didn’t have enough money for fuel and landing fees. The plunge in air traffic after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States made it impossible for the airline to stay intact, having lost $1.8 billion last year because of a disastrous expansion policy. 

The airline announced a new, reduced timetable valid through Oct. 27, when its regional subsidiary Crossair takes over in a shake-up organized by Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse. 

It envisages 165 flights per day – including the Geneva to New York connection, compared to 302 previously. 

UBS said Wednesday that the $832 million that it had jointly offered with Credit Suisse Group would need to be increased if the airline is to be saved. 

The German financial news agency VWD said that Texas Pacific planned to offer $7 billion for the Swissair Group. Swissair and Texas Pacific declined to comment on the report. 

Alghisi declined to go into detail about Texas Pacific’s approach to UBS. 

Texas Pacific, which has a reputation for tightening financial controls and turning around troubled companies, manages a series of private equity funds with over $7 billion in committed capital. 

Texas Pacific has yet to contact the estate administrator, which oversees Swissair’s legal proceedings on creditor protection and has to approve decisions about the group’s assets, a spokesman said. 

MURMANSK, Russia— The docking of the gutted wreck of the Kursk nuclear submarine was postponed until next week because of the need to more thoroughly prepare for the delicate process, the Russian navy said Thursday. 

The preparations for the docking began as scheduled Thursday when Dutch and Russian experts began attaching the two huge pontoons needed to hoist the submarine into dry dock at a ship-repair plant in Roslyakovo, near Murmansk. However, the docking, which had previously been set for Saturday afternoon, was put off until an unspecified day next week, said Northern Fleet spokesman Capt. Vladimir Navrotsky. 

He said the decision to put off the docking was made on the request of Dutch engineers who said they wanted to make additional calculations and checks to ensure that the bulky combination of barge, submarine and pontoons enters the dock without a hitch. 

“Because of the unique character and complexity of the docking, we agreed to perform it next week,” Navrotsky said. “There must be no rush.” 

Earlier this week, the carcass of the Kursk was raised from the Barents Sea floor by the Dutch Mammoet-Smit International consortium. The unprecedented salvage operation took place more than a year after the submarine sank, killing all its crew of 118. 

Clamped beneath the Giant 4 barge, which lifted it from the seabed on 26 steel cables, the wreck arrived in the waters of the Roslyakovo ship repair plant late Wednesday. 

For about eight hours until early Thursday, officials performed a series of complex checks to ensure that the Kursk’s twin 190-megawatt nuclear reactors were not leaking radiation. 

“The checks have confirmed that the radiation situation remained normal,” Navrotsky said. 

Officials have said the reactors were safely shut down when the disaster occurred. But the risk of a potential radiation leak in the rich fishing grounds of the Barents Sea was a key reason cited by the Russian government for the costly, precarious operation to lift the Kursk. 

Concern about a possible radiation leak prompted Roslyakovo officials to work out contingency evacuation plans and boost stocks of iodine. 

Officials will keep constant watch over the radiation levels on Kursk, using a stream of information from gauges installed on its hull and other measuring devices on ships around the submarine and on shore. A screen erected on a Roslyakovo street constantly displays radiation levels to assuage local residents’ fears. 

Once the Kursk is put in dry dock, officials will remove the remains of the crew. Navrotsky said officials only expect to find 30 or 40 bodies, because the others were likely pulverized by the powerful explosions that sank the submarine during naval exercises Aug. 12, 2000.

JERUSALEM — A Palestinian militant from the Hamas group blew himself up while trying to plant a bomb along a road used frequently by Israelis in the West Bank, Israel said Thursday. Hamas said he died under “heroic” circumstances. 

Though casualties have been low on both sides of the Mideast conflict in recent days, Israel says the Palestinians have failed to arrest militants and meet other commitments under a truce reached three weeks ago. 

Israel has been “compelled to deal with Palestinian terrorism directly and use all means at its disposal in order to foil planned attacks,” a government statement said. In the latest incident, the dismembered body of 22-year-old Hamas activist Hani Rawajbeh was found early Thursday near a road used by Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers. A soldier was slightly wounded Wednesday in a bomb explosion on the road. 

Hamas said in a statement that Rawajbeh died while carrying out a “heroic operation,” but did not give details. Hamas has planted numerous roadside bombs in the past year of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, and a number of Hamas activists have been killed by explosives that went off prematurely. 

Israel, meanwhile, cut the list of Palestinian militants it has demanded the Palestinians arrest from 108 to just four “of the highest priority.” 

An Israeli statement said the Palestinians had arrested only two of the four. However, one of those Israel said was still at large, Atef Abbayat, has been in Palestinian police custody in Bethlehem, according to Palestinian security officials. 

In violence Thursday, two Palestinians were wounded, one seriously, when their car was fired on in the West Bank. Palestinians said Israelis fired on the car, according to Army Radio. The military said it was checking the report. Both Palestinian and Israeli vehicles have been hit by gunfire in the area in recent months. 

In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian police released dozens of protesters detained this week during a violent anti-U.S. rally, Hamas said. 

Two people were killed and dozens were hurt during the confrontation Monday, when Palestinian police exchanged gunfire with protesters from the Islamic University in Gaza City, many of them Hamas supporters who denounced the U.S. bombing campaign in Afghanistan and expressed support for suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden. It was the worst internal Palestinian fighting in years. 

Islamic University student council member Imad al-Faid said those responsible for the gunfire should be put on trial. “We have a legitimate right to demonstrate and to express our view in support of our Muslim brothers suffering from American aggression,” said al-Faid, 21, a Hamas member. “We are suffering from the same aggression,” he said. 

Monday’s confrontation increased tensions between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, led by Yasser Arafat. The Palestinian leader says he is committed to a Sept. 26 cease-fire reached with Israel, though Hamas and other militant Palestinian groups have refused to honor the truce. 

Speaking Thursday on a visit to Greece, Arafat said, “We will not allow any extremist groups to break up national unity.” 

He also accused Israel of the “worst kind of terrorism” in its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 

According to a poll published Thursday, 57 percent of Palestinians oppose the truce deal, while 39 percent support it. 

In addition, almost 90 percent of Palestinians oppose U.S. airstrikes against Afghanistan, while 26 percent believe last month’s terror attacks on the United States were consistent with Islamic law, the poll found. 

The survey was conducted by the West Bank’s Bir Zeit University, which said it was the first poll in the Arab world gauging public opinion in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. 

The survey, which polled 1,200 Palestinians and had a margin of error of 3 percent, was conducted before U.S. attacks on Afghanistan began Sunday. 

Economist George Akerlof took used cars and came up with a new model demonstrating how buyers and sellers interact, becoming one of three Californians to win a Nobel Prize Wednesday. 

Akerlof shared the prize with Michael Spence of Stanford University and Joseph E. Stiglitz at Columbia University. The third California winner, K. Barry Sharpless of the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, shared the chemistry prize. 

Akerlof was cited for his work analyzing the market for used cars. He determined that the problem was asymmetric information – sellers knew more about the cars than buyers, who worried they were getting stuck with a “lemon.” The result was that the market price tended to be set at “lemon” levels, ultimately driving sellers of good cars out of the market. 

“This prize is not a prize for me. It’s a prize for the economics profession,” said Akerlof, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. 

His research has since been broadened into other areas, such as health insurance, where the opposite situation exists – buyers have more information than sellers about their health, forcing rates up. 

The economics winners laid the foundation in the 1970s for a general theory about how players with differing amounts of information affect financial markets. 

Their contributions “form the core of modern information economics,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a written announcement. 

Sharpless, 60, won half of the chemistry prize for research that opened up a new pathway to create medicines, including some that help treat Parkinson’s disease. The other half of the award was shared by William S. Knowles of St. Louis and Ryoji Noyori of Nagoya University in Japan. 

The discovery came when Sharpless and Noyori found that by using a chemical made of tartaric acid and titanium they could isolate one-half of a molecule. 

“It was a eureka moment,” he said. 

At a news conference, Akerlof said he was “totally thrilled,” but still a little stunned by the honor. He began his remarks by thanking his wife, Janet Yellen, sitting in the front row of the audience, who has been “wonderful ever since the very first day I met her.” 

Yellen is also a UC Berkeley professor, and was on President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers. 

Akerlof, 61, was the second consecutive Berkeley winner of the economics Nobel, known formally as the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economic Sciences. Last year, Berkeley professor Daniel McFadden shared the prize. 

“This is becoming a habit,” Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl said. 

In keeping with tradition, Akerlof will get a reserved parking spot, a coveted honor on the crowded Cal campus. 

Akerlof said when he first got the phone call saying he’d won, “I didn’t know if it was a joke or not.” 

Spence was on vacation in Hawaii when he received the news. 

“It’s very exciting. I think all of us in the academic world do what we do for the fun of it,” he said. “It’s really wonderful to have the work recognized.” 

The three economics winners, who share a $943,000 prize, all know each other and kept in close contact while they were working, Spence, 58, said. 

“We were all working on different facets of the same problem, but we talked to each other all the time. Academics do that,” he said. “I was very excited about the work they were doing.” 

Sharpless and his family celebrated with morning champagne at their home overlooking the Pacific Ocean. 

“It feels very good,” he said. “It’s been a lot of years since the discovery was made — Jan. 18, 1980. To be honest, for the last 20 years, I’ve been teased by my colleagues” about when the work might be recognized. 

Berkeley has had 18 Nobel Prize winners and Stanford has had 21. 

The Nobel Prizes for physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace were established in the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite, and were first awarded in 1901. The economics prize was established by the Central Bank of Sweden in 1968 as a memorial to Nobel. 

The prizes are always presented to the winners on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896. To mark the 100th anniversary of the prizes, all living laureates have been invited to the ceremonies this year, with some 150 expected in Stockholm and 30 in Oslo. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Nobel site: http://www.nobel.se 

Akerlof’s home page: http://emlab.berkeley.edu/users/akerlof/ 

Spence home page: http://gobi.stanford.edu/facultybios/bio.asp?ID156 

Noyori: http://www-noyori.os.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp 

Sharpless: www.scripps.edu/chem/sharpless/kbs.html 

Thursday, Oct. 11

Community Health  

Commission Meeting 

6:45 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis Street 

Commissioners will brainstorm to determine major issues of concern regarding Alta Bates. 644-6109 

Resident Advisory  

Board Meeting 

4 p.m. - 6 p.m. 

East Bay Community Law Center 

3122 Shattuck Ave 

Review Discussion and Possible Action on Draft Agency Annual Plan Update and thirty minutes of public comment. There will be refreshments. 

Free Depression Screenings 

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

University Health Services, Tano Center 

2222 Bancroft Way 

Screenings will include a written self-test followed by an interview with a counselor. Referals for follow-up evaluation and treatment will be provided. 

Commonwealth Club:  

John Dean, Former Counsel  

to President Nixon 

5:30 p.m. 

Radisson Hotel 

200 Marina Blvd. 

Author of The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment that Redefined the Supreme Court. Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist presided over the impeachment trial of Clinton and spearheaded the decision to shut down the Florida recount of the 2000 Election. $5 Students, $20 non-members.  

Paradise Restored? California After the Boom 

6 p.m. 

UC Berkeley Faculty Club 

Peter Schrag, long-time columnist for the Sacramento Bee, will discuss his research on California’s economic boom and its consequences. $35  

540-5678 www.berkeleyfacultyclub.com  

Berkeley Democratic Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

941 The Alameda 

UC Berkeley Professor of Political Science Bruce Cain will speak on the future of the Democratic Party after September 11th. The topic: A New Political Landscape: The Response to Terrorism and the Future of the Democratic Party. 843-3214 

Copwatch: Forum  

on Civil Liberties 

7 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

145 Dwinelle Hall 

Due to September 11, our civil liberties are being challenged in Congress. Come find out what you can do. 548-0425 www.berkeleycopwatch.org 

Friday, Oct. 12

Will Star Wars Make Us Safe 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Redwood Gardens 

2951 Derby St. 

Panel of speakers will discuss President Bush’s proposed Missile Defense Program. The public is invited to contribute to this discussion. Sponsored by Women for Peace. 849-3020  

Saturday, Oct. 13

Shelter Operations 

9 a.m. - noon 

Office of Emergency Services 

997 Cedar St. 

Free classes in Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). 981-5605 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Farmers’ Market  

Fall Fruit Tasting 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

Center St and Martin Luther King Way 

Free samples the whole range of fall fruit. There will be a wide variety of apples, pears and persimmons at a central location for taste-testing. 

548-3333 

Pow Wow and Indian Market 

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Civic Center Park 

Enjoy Native American foods, dancing and arts & crafts in Berkeley’s tenth annual Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration, this year honoring Mille Ketchesawno. 

595-5520 

Optics Fair 

noon - 4 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Explore the world of the unseen at the first-ever LHS Optics Fair featuring a variety of microscopes, binoculars, and hand lenses to try out and compare. Parents, teachers and children age 6 and up. 642-5132 

Sunday, Oct. 16 

Donna Lerew’s  

70th Birthday Concert 

8 p.m. 

Unitarian Universalist Church  

One Lawson Rd., Kensington 

The distinguished Bay Area violinist celebrates her 70th birthday with a retrospective concert featuring Musica Viva String Quartet and Rose Trio. $10.  

Free parking. 525-0302 

Monday, Oct. 15

Rite of Christian Initiation  

for Adults Inquiry Program 

7:30 p.m. 

St. Mary Magdalen Parish 

2005 Berryman St. 

A program to learn everything you wanted to know about the Catholic Church but never had the chance to ask.  

526-4811 

Emergency Preparedness  

Workshop 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave 

Anna Swardenski speaks to help seniors and people with disabilities be more prepared in case of an emergency. 

Franciscanism,  

Understanding the Vision 

1 - 2 p.m. 

Franciscan School of Theology 

1712 Euclid Ave. 

Graduate Theological Union presents seminar exploring the lives, times and writings of and about Francis and Clare of Assisi. 848-5232 

Tuesday, Oct. 16

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 548-3333 

There is a certain madness that strikes the human species from time to time, and its presence has been strongly evident since Sept. 11. 

It is a delusion born out of a combination of two fixed ideas: One, a dream of a perfect, pure society – usually a return to an imagined golden age of the past. Two, a conviction that a specific group of “others” stands in the way of achieving that ideal. Out of this, a simple and powerful fantasy is constructed: the drama of the final solution. Eliminate the group that stands in the way, and the pure land will be attained. 

Adolf Hitler, not so long ago, persuaded a civilized, modern country to follow him in acting out that kind of a political fantasy. That time the dream was the creation of a pure and powerful Aryan nation, rooted in the eternal verities of blood and soil. Those standing in the way were of course the Jews and other minorities, such as Gypsies and homosexuals. We know what form the final solution took, and how much death and destruction and suffering resulted as the drama played itself out. 

This time Americans witnessed another kind of massacre, in the flames, dust and death in New York City. The players were different, the actions and the results were different, but the underlying psychological dynamic was strikingly similar. This time the fantasized pure society is an uncorrupted Islam, of a sort that has never existed in reality – untainted by secularism, deviance, inner dissent or foreign influence. 

The obstacle in the way of its achievement is America and, to a lesser extent, Israel. 

That kind of madness has spurred countless religious wars, but it can as easily fuel a more secular fantasy of “ethnic cleansing,” as happened recently in Serbia. It has a powerful appeal to human minds – especially in turbulent and confusing times – because it is clear and simple. It resolves our uncertainties and tells us what must be done. 

And at this point we should ask ourselves if we are immune to it. It would be easy to believe that we are. After all, America was instrumental in ending the Nazi nightmare, took on ethnic cleansing in Serbia and is now doing battle against the pure-land fantasies of Osama bin Laden. So it might seem to follow that we are the good guys – and the sane guys – ever on guard against such political pathologies. But it’s not that simple. 

In the current time of drawing together against such malevolence, we walk always on the edge of becoming its mirror image. We are tempted by the fantasy of a pure America, a safe and secure homeland that existed once and can be brought into being again, providing the evil Others can be eliminated. Listen to the lyrics of “America the Beautiful,” the song that seems to have caught the spirit of the times. The words are lovely and moving, but they also invite us to fantasize an America that never was – a land of gleaming alabaster cities, undimmed by human tears. A pure land that we might find again if only we could stamp out the Other: eliminate bin Laden, Al Qaida, all terrorism everywhere. 

But of course we can’t do that, any more than the terrorists can achieve their angry dream – and for the same reason: The world has not gotten kinder or wiser, but it has gotten smaller, and we are all stuck with one another – fundamentalist and secularist, East and West, North and South, rich and poor. 

For the first time in human history, we all live in the whole world. It may be a world full of hate, but it is more connected now than it has ever been, and it will be more connected next year than it is today. It is wrapped together by communications systems, economic activities, political relations, personal ties, and – although this seems to have slipped the media’s mind for the past few weeks – problems without 

boundaries such as AIDS and the threat of climate change. 

This confusing, mobile and hyperlinked world allows many different ways for people to live, but it has no space for pure lands. 

And there are many ways we can deal with the problems it presents – but we can expect no final solutions. 

PNS associate editor Walter Truett Anderson is the author of “The Future of the Self” (Tarcher Putnam, 1997) and “Evolution Isn’t What It Used To Be” (W.H. Freeman 1996).

924 Gilman Street Oct 12: One Line Drawing, Funeral Dinner, Diefenbaker, Till 7 Years Pass Over Him; Oct 13: Dead and Gone, Cattle Decapitation, Vulgar Pigeons, Wormwood, Antagony; Most shows are $5 and start at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted.  

Ashkenaz Oct 11: Grateful Dead DJ Night; Oct 12: Sambo NGO; Oct 13: Clinton Fearon, Dub Congress; Oct 14: Open Stage; Oct 16: Danubias; Oct 17: Cajun Cayotesl Oct 18: Greatful Dean DJ Night; Oct 19: Swing Session 1317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 www.ashkenaz.com 

Cal Performances Oct. 12 - 14: Fri. and Sat., 8:00 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Ballet Nacional De Cuba, $24 - $46; Oct. 17 and 18: 8 p.m. Cesaria Evora, $24 - $36; Oct. 19: 8 p.m. Karnak, $18 - $30. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph, 642-0212, tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Sept. 3: 2 - 8 p.m. Big West Coast Harmonica Bash, afternoon benefit for Red Archibald. $10 donation; Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Jupiter Oct. 11: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu, and Add1; Oct. 12: Japonize Elephants; Oct. 13: J Dogs; All music starts at 8:00 p.m. 2181 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625 www.jupiterbeer.com  

Live Oak Concerts Oct. 14: A Harvest of Song, an evening of premiers of works, $8-10. Both shows start at 7:30 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St.  

Rebecca Riots Oct. 12: 7:30 p.m. $20-23. Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Club, 1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. 339-1832 

Synchronicity Oct. 14: 2 p.m. Piano and percussion duo fuses classical and jazz music into a visual experience. $10 adult, $5 child. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org 

Shafqat Ali Khan Oct. 20: 8 p.m. Concert of classical Ragaa, Sufi, Urdu, Persian Ghazel, and other popular musical styles from India. $20 general admission, $15 students. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org 

“Murder Dressed in Satin” by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. 239-2252 www.acteva.com/go/havefun 

“Swanwhite” Through Oct. 21: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. A new translation of the Swedish Play that asks the question what good is romantic love, directed by Tom Clyde. $20, Sundays are “Pay What You Can”. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305, www.virtuous.com 

“Orestes” Through Oct. 21: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. An adaptation of the classical play by Euripides that incorporates passages inspired or taken from various 20th century texts. Written by Charles Mee, Directed by Christopher Herold. $6-12. Zellerbach Playhouse on the UC Berkeley campus 642-8268 

“Approach” Through Oct. 27: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m. An examination of the search for intimacy as our most precious form of survival. Written by Susan Wiegand, Directed by Katie Bales Frassinelli. $15 general admission, $10 students and seniors. Eighth Street Studio Theatre, 2525 8th St. 655-0813 www.shotgunplayers.org 

“36 Views” Through Oct. 28: Tues. 8 p.m., Wed. 7 p.m., Thu. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Thu., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Sat., Sun. 2 p.m., 8 p.m. Written by Naomi Lizuka, Directed by Mark Wing-Davey. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Faye Sings Lady Day” Oct. 13: 8 p.m. & 10 p.m., Benefit concert for the Black Repertory Group in Berkeley. $10 - $15. Black Repertory Group, 3201 Adeline St. 849-9940  

“Lisa Picard is Famous” Oct. 12-19: Mocumentary chronicles New York actress who hopes to get more than a fleeting taste of fame when a racy cereal commercial brings her unexpected national notoriety. Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Ave. 843-3456 

“Inside Editions” through Oct. 12: Nine printmakers exhibit their work. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tue. - Fri. Free. Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 kala@kala.org 

“Census 2000: Asian Pacific Islander Americans” through Oct. 13; Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Asian Pacific Islander American artists in roughly the demographic proportions indicated by the recent census. Free. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9470  

“MWP Perspectives” Jon Orvik: One artist’s journey. Through Oct. 27 Tues. - Fri. 12 - 5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 12 - 4 p.m. Solo artist exhibiting his journey through metal, wood and paint. Adapt Gallery and Design, 2834 College Ave. 649-8501 www.adaptgallery.com  

“50 Years of Photography in Japan 1951 - 2001” Through Nov. 5: An exhibition from The Yomiuri Shimbun, the world’s largest daily newspaper with a national morning circulation of 10,300,000. Photographs of work, love, community, culture and disasters of Japan as seen by Japanese news photographers. Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, Hearst and Euclid. Free. 642-3383 

“Jesus, This is Your Life - Stories and Pictures by Kids” Through Nov. 16: California children, ages four through twelve, from diverse backgrounds present original artwork, accompanied by a story written by the artist. “Cleve Gray, Holocaust Drawings” Oct. 15 through Jan. 25: 21 works on paper inviting the viewer to consider the atrocity of the Holocaust in ways unattainable through words or text. Mon. - Thur. 8:30 a.m. -10 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541. 

“Changing the World, Building New Lives: 1970s photographs of Lesbians, Feminists, Union Women, Disability Activists and their Supporters” Through Nov. 17: An exhibit of black and white photographs by Oakland photographer Cathy Cade, who captured the interrelationships of the different struggles for justice and social change. Gallery Hours, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. Free. 644-1400 cathycade@mindspring.com 

“The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s” Through Dec. 16: A documentary photo exhibition which examines the rich history of the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free. 644-6893 

“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 Botticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours. Atelier 9 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

Boadecia’s Books Oct. 12: Susan Gaines reads from her novel “Carbon Dream”; Oct. 18: Patricia Nell Warren reads from her novel “The Wild Man”, Oct. 22: J.M. Redmann reads from “Death By the Riverside”; All events start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise. All events are free. 398 Colusa Ave. 559-9184 www.bookpride.com 

Cody’s on 4th Street Oct 12: Cody’s For Kids- Rosemary Wells and Bunny Party; Harruet Lerber surveys “The Dance of Connection: How to Talk to Someone When You’re Mad, Hurt, Scared, Frustrated, Insulted Betrayed or Desperate; Michael Chabon talks about The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay; Studs Terkel reads from “Will the Circle be Unbroken? Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and hunger for Faith; Oct 18: Tamora Pierce talks about “Protector of the Small”; 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Oct 12: Elizabeth Royte examines “The Tapir’s Morning Bath: Solving the Mysteries of the Tropical Rainforest”; Oct 15: Amir Aczel poses The Riddle of the Compass: The Invention That Changed the World; Oct 16: Kip Fulbeck talks about “Paper Bullets”; Oct 18: Suzanne Antoneta & micah Perks talk about “Body Toxic: An Environmental Memoir” and “Pagan Time: An American Childhood; All shows at 7:30 p.m.; 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

Coffee Mill Poetry Series Oct. 16: 7 - 9 p.m. Steve Arntsen and Kathleen Dunbar followed by open mike reading. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland 465-3935 ksdgk@earthlink.net 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Oct. 13: Leonard Chang reads from “Over the Shoulder”; Oct. 20: Miriam Ching Louie reads from “Sweatshop Warriors: Immigrant Women Workers Take on the Global Factory”; 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

Susan Griffin Oct. 12: 7 - 10 p.m. Presents slide show and discusses her latest book “The Book of Courtesans: A Catalogue of Their Virtues”. $10 refundable with book purchase. Gaia Arts and Cultural Center, 2116 Allston Way 848-4242  

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  

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. 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. It will reopen in early 2002.  

University of California Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive has reopened after its summerlong seismic retrofit. “Martin Puryear: Sculpture of the 1990s” through Jan. 13; “The Dream of the Audience: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951 - 1982)” through Dec. 16; “Face of Buddha: Sculpture from India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia” ongoing rotation through 2003; “Matrix 194: Jessica Bronson, Heaps, layers, and curls” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; “Matrix 192: Ceal Floyer 37’4”” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., PFA Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way; Museum Galleries 2626 Bancroft Way; 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Lawrence Hall of Science “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. 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. 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  

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

At a Tuesday evening question-and-answer session on the Common Ground school’s ill-fated Yosemite trip of last week, parents, teachers and students of the program soundly rejected blame and finger-pointing as responses to the alleged misbehavior that cut short a planned two-day series of classes out in nature. 

Instead, while admitting responsibility for overstepping “common sense,” by taking too large a group and making other misjudgments, the school’s leaders sought to emphasize the lessons learned and set the record straight on the misadventure’s root causes. 

“My biggest disappointment is in the press,” said Dana Richards, the teacher who co-leads the small “school” within Berkeley High School, criticizing what he termed a “culture of negativism and hype.” 

“The whole thing kind of fell apart from the get-go with Curry Village’s incompetence,” said Tammy Harkins, the school’s other co-leader, referring to the large tent city where the students stayed. 

The Common Ground leaders cut their planned two-day trip short on Oct. 1, after concluding that the group was too large to manage in a setting that did not lend itself to keeping proper track of students. Between 9 and 10 p.m. that night, Curry Village staff received numerous complaints from other guests, which a spokesperson for the park’s concession company said included vandalism, rock-throwing, shoplifting, noisiness and rowdiness. 

“I apologize to you as parents who care so much about the security and safety of your students,” Richards said Tuesday. “I can also honestly say that nothing happened at Yosemite that doesn’t happen every day at Berkeley High.” 

A spokesperson for Yosemite Concession Services, which runs Curry Village, said last week that “about 30” of the  

students had behaved inappropriately, out of a group of 330. 

Richards and Harkins distributed a letter explaining the events at last Thursday’s Back-to-School night, and said an unexpected change in the check-in time from last year’s smaller, smoother Common Ground trip had forced the sudden rearrangement of the students’ afternoon itineraries that Sunday. This and several other inconveniences caused by the Curry Village organization, they wrote, led to an after-dark check-in at tents scattered throughout the village, after which the complaints came in. 

Among the lessons Richards and others cited for future trips were to keep the student-teacher ratio at a maximum of 8-to-1, to work harder on identifying students’ interests to better place them in their activities, to include parents more fully in the planning, and to choose a more appropriate destination. 

Harkins also added that it had been a mistake to wait until 12:30 p.m. on the Monday to contact the high school administrators about the decision, made more than 12 hours earlier, to bring the students home a day early. Above all, the trip leaders said, they would not attempt to take such a large group on an overnight trip again. 

A discussion on marijuana use took up a long period of the meeting. Harkins said it had been “widespread,” and that trip leaders had considered turning the buses around on the way up after faculty on one bus saw smoke being blown from the back of another. Maliyah Coye, a junior who had been on the trip, suggested a double standard was at play. 

“I don’t know why it’s such a big deal, people smoking weed in Common Ground,” because “people smoke weed all the time” on the Berkeley High grounds, she said. 

A parent then rose and expressed concern that his ninth-grade daughter be given a clear signal that drug use was not tolerated. 

“I have not heard a defined drug policy,” the parent said. “Forget about Berkeley High, what about Common Ground?” 

The trip leaders said that drug use was not tolerated and that they were waiting for the facts to emerge more fully before considering any disciplinary action. 

“There will be consequences,” said Harkins. 

Principal Frank Lynch, who attended the meeting, said any response to misbehavior was “going to come up from Common Ground and their discussions.” 

“Since they were up there and we weren’t, they’re going to tell us what needs to be done,” Lynch said. 

Board of Education Vice President Shirley Issel, who also attended Tuesday’s meeting, said the board and the administration needed to help the small schools with policies on discipline, field trips and the like. 

“Some teachers feel they can’t turn to the administration because they feel it is either too overwhelmed or doesn’t have the capacity to meet their needs, so they try to do it themselves,” Issel said. “But as we can see, it really can’t work.” 

Two parents suggested the trip might have been scheduled for the end of the year rather than the beginning, in order to exclude those who had not “earned” participation with their behavior. But Coye disagreed.  

“As a community, as Common Ground, as parents we need to get together to help those students,” she said. Later in the meeting, the audience applauded when she added: “I think it’s good that this came out early in year. These people are students, and their problems are everyone’s problems.” 

Lynch also praised the small school for its attempt to bring everyone to Yosemite. “Their whole intent, because Common Ground is a small learning community, was to be able to give the opportunity to all students instead of singling out who could go and who could not go,” he said. “So their heart was in the right place.” 

Several students and parents also said the students had a good experience at Yosemite on the abbreviated second day. 

“We basically did everything we set out to do,” said Wendy Ellen, a world dance teacher. 

“I enjoyed myself highly,” said Michael Cochran, Ellen’s son, a student on the trip.  

Another teacher, Ellen Bracken, said “a lot of growth” came out of Tuesday’s forum. “Instead of some teachers saying, let’s get this person and kick them out, they were looking for some more long-term solutions.” 

At the end of the meeting, a parent congratulated Richards, saying, “Thanks for not making our kids into snitches.”

Editor, 

John McDougal(Forum Oct. 8) mis-stated purpose of Representative Barbara Lee’s vote. What she was voting against was giving up the responsibility of Congress to decide issues of war and peace. 

It was irresponsible of Congress to give the Chief Executive a blank check, unlimited ability to do whatever he saw fit, both abroad and at home, to wage war on amorphous “terrorists.” Representative Lee knew this, even apparently John McDougal does not. 

Which answers his last question whether Representative Lee would have voted differently for a different Chief Exec. No, her vote would be the same, were the Exec Gore, God, or John McDougal. 

Adam David Miller 

Berkeley 

When Bette’s Oceanview Diner considered opening a “Bette’s To Go” branch in the sleepy neighborhood of Northbrae, many people who live in the community rose up against the plan.  

They wrote impassioned e-mails to the city’s planning staff, and attended the Sept. 13 meeting of the Zoning Adjustments Board to denounce the proposal. 

The majority of the opposition feared that because Bette’s would sell pastries in addition to meals, the popular Fourth Street diner would overwhelm the Hopkins Street Bakery, a local favorite.  

“It makes no sense to allow a proprietor (whose only motive is sheer profit) to potentially displace a much-loved established,” business wrote neighbor Katie Wenc. 

“It would be a terrible loss to the community if (Hopkins Street Bakery) were forced out of business,” said David Tepper. “Let (Bette’s) stay where they are – on Fourth Street – and leave this area free of them.” 

Bette Kroening, the owner of Bette’s Oceanview Diner, eventually withdrew her application to the Zoning Adjustments Board. In an interview Wednesday, she said that “it was a painful process,” and that she did not want to cause division in a neighborhood that she loved. 

Now, with the Bette’s project dead, it appears that a different establishment will go into the vacant storefront Kroening had wanted. 

Another bakery. 

On Tuesday, Jeff Dodge of La Farine, an upscale bakery on College Avenue in Oakland, filled out papers with the Planning Department on the site formerly occupied by Made to Order, a small takeout grocery. 

La Farine, which has been at its College Avenue site in Oakland for 25 years, will sell not only pastries, but tarts, cakes, cookies and specialty breads – an offering very similar to that of the Hopkins Street Bakery.  

City planning officials said that because La Farine’s scope of operations are similar to Made to Order’s, their application is “by right” – it does not require any additional approval by planning staff or the ZAB. However, the ZAB may choose to hold hearings on La Farine’s proposal to expand the site’s hours of operation.  

Made to Order’s permit allowed it to operate from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; La Farine would like to be open between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday. 

ZAB member Mike Issel said that the he was struck by the irony of the situation. Issel said that too often, neighbors and ZAB members try to engage in “zoning by intimidation.” 

“I hope that citizens in the future, will take a more practical approach to answering their fears,” he said. “We often see problems like those raised at the hearing on Bette’s, and they can often be worked out through dialogue between the parties.” 

Reza Jahansouz, owner of the Hopkins Street Bakery, had harsh words for his probable new neighbor. 

“I’m going to put them out of business,” he said. “Our customers are very loyal, and if I have to lose money for a while I will. I know their bakery – they’re not as good as we are.” 

Kim Criswell, a Northbrae resident, said that she wrote the city planning staff an e-mail in support of the Hopkins Street Bakery when she saw a sign in its window asking customers to aid it in its battle against Bette’s. Criswell said that while she loved both the bakery and Bette’s Oceanview Diner and didn’t want to take sides in the matter, she was concerned about the threat to an established business. 

Now, she said, she was saddened to hear about La Farine’s designs on the sight. 

“It seems to me to make more sense to locate a new store in a neighborhood that needs it, rather than right next to an existing establishment,” she said. 

Jeff Dodge of La Farine could not be reached for comment. 

When Bette’s Oceanview Diner considered opening a “Bette’s To Go” branch in the sleepy neighborhood of Northbrae, many people who live in the community rose up against the plan.  

They wrote impassioned e-mails to the city’s planning staff, and attended the Sept. 13 meeting of the Zoning Adjustments Board to denounce the proposal. 

The majority of the opposition feared that because Bette’s would sell pastries in addition to meals, the popular Fourth Street diner would overwhelm the Hopkins Street Bakery, a local favorite.  

“It makes no sense to allow a proprietor (whose only motive is sheer profit) to potentially displace a much-loved established,” business wrote neighbor Katie Wenc. 

“It would be a terrible loss to the community if (Hopkins Street Bakery) were forced out of business,” said David Tepper. “Let (Bette’s) stay where they are – on Fourth Street – and leave this area free of them.” 

Bette Kroening, the owner of Bette’s Oceanview Diner, eventually withdrew her application to the Zoning Adjustments Board. In an interview Wednesday, she said that “it was a painful process,” and that she did not want to cause division in a neighborhood that she loved. 

Now, with the Bette’s project dead, it appears that a different establishment will go into the vacant storefront Kroening had wanted. 

Another bakery. 

On Tuesday, Jeff Dodge of La Farine, an upscale bakery on College Avenue in Oakland, filled out papers with the Planning Department on the site formerly occupied by Made to Order, a small takeout grocery. 

La Farine, which has been at its College Avenue site in Oakland for 25 years, will sell not only pastries, but tarts, cakes, cookies and specialty breads – an offering very similar to that of the Hopkins Street Bakery.  

City planning officials said that because La Farine’s scope of operations are similar to Made to Order’s, their application is “by right” – it does not require any additional approval by planning staff or the ZAB. However, the ZAB may choose to hold hearings on La Farine’s proposal to expand the site’s hours of operation.  

Made to Order’s permit allowed it to operate from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; La Farine would like to be open between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday. 

ZAB member Mike Issel said that the he was struck by the irony of the situation. Issel said that too often, neighbors and ZAB members try to engage in “zoning by intimidation.” 

“I hope that citizens in the future, will take a more practical approach to answering their fears,” he said. “We often see problems like those raised at the hearing on Bette’s, and they can often be worked out through dialogue between the parties.” 

Reza Jahansouz, owner of the Hopkins Street Bakery, had harsh words for his probable new neighbor. 

“I’m going to put them out of business,” he said. “Our customers are very loyal, and if I have to lose money for a while I will. I know their bakery – they’re not as good as we are.” 

Kim Criswell, a Northbrae resident, said that she wrote the city planning staff an e-mail in support of the Hopkins Street Bakery when she saw a sign in its window asking customers to aid it in its battle against Bette’s. Criswell said that while she loved both the bakery and Bette’s Oceanview Diner and didn’t want to take sides in the matter, she was concerned about the threat to an established business. 

Now, she said, she was saddened to hear about La Farine’s designs on the sight. 

“It seems to me to make more sense to locate a new store in a neighborhood that needs it, rather than right next to an existing establishment,” she said. 

Jeff Dodge of La Farine could not be reached for comment.

Editor: 

The claim that “Gridlock is here to stay” is erroneous. The ‘solutions’ to traffic congestion exist and lack the will to implement them within Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The reason that the MTC’s Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) is now aimed more toward transit is that the RTP had formerly been badly out of balance favoring highways and BART, with little attention to many of the basic traffic problems. But in the last regular three-year Recertification Process, mandated by the Federal government to assure that the limited funds are being placed the right places, the MTC tried to hold the public comment session secret.  

The word got out and a mass of well-informed persons showed up and spoke their minds. The resulting instructions to the MTC were to provide better access to a more representative section of transportation users. That’s why this RTP gives transit more now than before, with even BART’s design problems getting the needed serious attention to prevent misapplication of funds. 

The ‘solution’ to congestion lies in a freeway bus rapid transit system, which does not need expensive new right of way (which BART needs) and is based on a well-functioning, integrated, area-wide bus network, which should have existed before BART was ever built, and on the most heavily-traveled bus routes. 

A system of comfortable, frequent buses that is within walking distance of nearly all residences and destinations, with one overall electronic ticket system, with convenient transfers that provide nearly direct service would wipe out traffic congestion. (A bus transfer facility should be built at the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza.) 

For instance, before BART, AC Transit was carrying 58 percent of the persons crossing the Bay Bridge during morning peak hours, with 300 buses per hour that used only 1/6th of a lane which normally carries 1,800 vehicles per hour.  

Those buses were 12 seconds apart, far safer than automobiles which travel about two seconds apart. 

Ridesharing has much more potential than is now being realized for persons who work regular hours and commute long distances.  

The way to determine the persons who are making the same long trips could be based on a survey and continually-updated reporting system maintained by the Postal System, which could keep track of the major trips taken by each household and could keep people in touch with each other from the changes of address forms routinely filed when people move. 

Car pools and van pools should be integrated with each other and then with the bus network, so that buses could eventually provide service to the persons making the most trips to any one destination. 

These are persons who are now sitting in congested traffic, wasting their depreciated time, breathing polluted air, who have the notion that more highways would solve their commute problems. 

About 20 percent of the commuters work regular hours, most of whom could be candidates for transit service.  

But somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of all the people, the elderly, the children, the handicapped, the poor, and non-drivers are transit dependent. 

The HOV diamond lanes should be primarily for buses, with a lane each for local and express buses.  

There should be feeder buses and bus pickup sites at each freeway interchange (as there are on 101 in Marin). Autos in the other lanes would have free flowing traffic. Trucks would have some restrictions, put into effect with their willing cooperation. 

All of the above ways to make the existing system work better, without major new investments are known as Transportation Systems Management (TSM). TSM includes flexible hours, staggered working hours, four-day weeks with staggered weekends, telecommuting and much more. 

One thing the highways do need is to require the contractors to guarantee their work so that the highways last much longer, as they do in France. 

Charles L. Smith 

Berkeley 

The Domestic Violence Oversight Committee credited a 17 percent decline in domestic violence with a partnership between the police department and a victims’ advocacy organization. 

Committee members, from the Family Violence Law Center, Berkeley Police Department and the city’s Health and Human Services Department, presented their report to the City Council Tuesday. 

According to the report, the number of incidences of domestic violence in Berkeley declined from 446 cases reported in 1997 to 374 cases reported in 2000. Committee members pointed to the joint efforts of the police department and the Family Violence Law Center. 

“The benefit to the victims is that they are presented with a variety of choices,” said Melinda Shrock, a victim advocate with the Family Violence Law Center. “They are given options of law enforcement, community services, children's’ counseling and in some cases emergency financial assistance.” 

The Berkeley Domestic Violence Prevention Program was formulated as a result of the city’s 1996 Report on Domestic Violence by a city task force consisting of Mayor Shirley Dean and councilmembers Dona Spring, Polly Armstrong and then-councilmember Mary Wainwright. The task force was assisted by City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque and Police Chief Dash Butler. 

Shrock said a key feature of the program is intensive police training that gives officers a variety of tools to use when responding to domestic violence calls. She said one of the most effective tools is the Emergency Protective Order. 

The EPO is a five-day restraining order that officers can put into effect by contacting an on-call judge who is available 24 hours a day.  

When the program began in 1997, the Berkeley Police Department issued EPOs in 22 percent of domestic violence calls. During 2000, they issued EPOs in 69 percent of calls.  

“The EPO is one of the most important tools the police have,” Shrock said. “It’s easy to obtain and it gives everybody a chance to cool down.” 

Shrock said domestic violence victims will often refuse to press charges against their batterers even though they may still be in physical danger. Officers are trained to use their own judgment by examining domestic violence scenes for probable cause to make arrests or enact an EPO.  

She said officers will look for injuries, make note of the condition of furniture and check for a history of domestic violence. 

“One of the first things they will look at is the telephone,” Shrock said. “The telephone is often the point where the batterer loses control because the victim is reaching out for help,” she said. “If the phone cord is pulled out of the wall or is damaged in some way it’s a serious indication of trouble.” 

In addition to taking action at the scene of a crime, officers also refer the victim to a domestic violence prevention team that consists of a police officer and a victim advocate who can offer follow-up assistance. Follow-up assistance can include a variety of counseling programs, help with petitions for long-term restraining orders or safe housing. 

“Berkeley has really been a leader in the Bay Area with this program,” Dean said. “The 1996 study we put together led to a federal grant and now the program has shown some results.” 

Dean added that the program’s success is in large part due to Chief Butler’s responsiveness to the issue. 

And Butler complimented Berkeley police officers for their execution of the program, noting that follow-up assistance is an important new feature to police protocol.  

“Treating a domestic violence call as a beginning rather than an end is critical to helping victims take the first step out of a bad situation.” he said. “Anything you can do to reduce domestic violence means that everybody in the community is better served.”

SACRAMENTO — State officials summoned two commissions Wednesday to review California’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks. 

Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg promised “a top to bottom review” of state laws and security measures by his new Task Force on the Impact of Terrorism on California, which had its first meeting Wednesday. 

And Gov. Gray Davis issued an executive order to his existing State Strategic Committee on Terrorism, asking the committee to make recommendations to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks. 

“Our number one priority, bar none, is to keep Californians safe from further terrorist activities,” Davis said. 

He ordered the committee to examine potential threats involving the transportation and storage of hazardous materials, the agriculture industry, the state’s transportation systems, its medical facilities and its computer networks. 

Davis also ordered the creation of a subcommittee on the Protection of Public Health to look at the public health system’s preparedness for biological and chemical threats. 

The subcommittee will include representatives from the University of California, medical and health care associations, public health organizations, law enforcement, and state agencies and departments. 

Davis also directed the state agencies to provide education materials on the state’s preparedness to the public. 

Both the legislative and executive committees are to examine the potential for a terror attack in California, and the state’s readiness to prevent it and respond should one occur. 

Hertzberg said the goal of his talk force is “to make sure California is as safe as it is possible to be in a free and open society.” 

The bipartisan committee almost immediately went into a secret session to hear from the heads of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, California Highway Patrol, California National Guard, California Department of Justice, and FBI, as well as the Sacramento police chief and county sheriff. 

Twenty assemblymembers from 10 committees were required to sign nondisclosure statements before the closed-door briefing. 

On Monday, the task force meets in Los Angeles for a public session on the impact of the terrorist assaults on California’s economy. The daylong session is scheduled to feature Los Angeles’ police chief and sheriff, as well as panels of economists. 

Meanwhile, two Assembly members were in Washington, D.C., Wednesday and Thursday to coordinate California’s efforts with congressional and Bush administration proposals to beef up security. 

That includes reviewing possible protections that can be installed at the state Capitol, where temporary security precautions have been in place since the Sept. 11 East Coast attacks. 

Californians can make suggestions to the Assembly task force by calling: 1-800-977-SAFE. 

On the Net: 

Read about the Assembly task force at www.californiasafe.ca.gov.

SACRAMENTO —Downtown areas will be preferred sites for state office buildings across California under an executive “smart growth” order signed Wednesday by Gov. Gray Davis. 

The action inserts one of the state’s biggest real estate players into local campaigns to revive and preserve the state’s urban cores. 

The governor said Wednesday that consolidating far-flung leases into downtown office locations cut costs, make it easier for people to find state offices and reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. 

The act is modeled on a similar order used by the federal government’s General Services Administration. Cities frequently cite the order to keep government buildings downtown or keep them from leaving. 

“It formalizes something we started doing some time ago,” said state Department of General Services spokesman Rob Deignan. 

Davis signed the order after vetoing for the second straight year a similar, but less flexible bill passed by the Legislature.  

Davis called its goals laudable, but said rigid standards could have unintended consequences, invite lawsuits and jeopardize real estate negotiations. 

Andrea Jackson, aide to the bill’s author, Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said, “It doesn’t matter if it’s done via the Legislature or executive order. Whatever leads to better use of state buildings in urban cores, that’s what we’re after.” 

The State of California owns 40 offices statewide containing about 12 million square feet of space, Deignan said. The state also has 2,100 leases for 16 million square feet. 

Davis’ order is not mandatory, but aims to ensure that state architecture and siting decisions are environment-friendly, convenient to transit and affordable housing. Plans also are expected to explore a mix of uses in the same building and be consistent with local government initiatives to promote smart growth. 

WASHINGTON — California Rep. Nancy Pelosi won the race Wednesday for the No. 2 House Democratic leader and will become the top-ranking woman ever in Congress. Her election sparked debate over whether she will help or hinder her party. 

Pelosi, a liberal eight-term veteran from San Francisco, outpolled rival Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland by 118-95 in a closed-door, secret ballot vote. She will take the post of Democratic whip on Jan. 15 when Rep. David Bonior steps down from that job and concentrates on running for governor of Michigan. 

Both candidates claimed to be best positioned to lead their party back to the House majority it last held in 1994. Pelosi, 61, said she sought no votes on the basis of her gender, but clearly many of her colleagues felt it was time for a woman to enter the leadership circle. 

“This is difficult turf to win on for anyone, but for a woman breaking ground here it was a tough battle,” Pelosi said after the vote. “We made history. Now we have to make progress.” 

Pelosi’s triumph brought praise from groups that traditionally support Democrats. 

“We don’t get to break a glass ceiling in Congress very often,” said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women. 

Supporters said Pelosi presents Democrats with an appealing package. 

Her base is in one of the country’s more affluent areas, and supporters praised Pelosi’s abilities as a fund raiser. Aides said she has raised $1.6 million for Democratic candidates this year. 

She also is being counted on to enhance the party’s ability to attract women. 

“Most campaigns run on the energy of women,” said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who helped run Pelosi’s leadership campaign. “This is a major, major step for the future of this party.” 

Other lawmakers from both parties wondered whether Pelosi could overcome the label of being a San Francisco liberal. 

“It makes me feel good as a liberal,” said Rep. James Moran, D-Va., who supported Hoyer. “But I’m not sure it does a lot for our future.” 

“She’s very appealing to the liberal base of her party,” said Ed Gillespie, a Republican consultant who once worked in the House. “But her liberal votes are not likely to be very appealing to the vast majority of the public.” 

Pelosi dismisses such arguments, saying of the San Francisco liberal tag: “When people pose that, they’re thinking in old ways.” 

In private, several Democrats said they worried that Pelosi would push House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., into a more confrontational stance with President Bush and congressional Republicans. The two parties have struggled lately to present a united front following last month’s terrorists attacks. 

These Democrats said Pelosi’s supporters cast her as the voice of Democrats upset with Gephardt for cooperating too much. They cite Gephardt’s agreement to exclude aid for workers from a bill that provided $15 billion for the troubled airline industry. 

Pelosi denied making Gephardt’s work with Republicans an issue and said he has “earned the respect and confidence of the country.” Gephardt took no public position in the contest. 

Even so, she told reporters that Democrats must not completely drop their differences with Bush and Republicans on the economy and other issues. 

“Where we can find common ground, we must find it and embrace it. But we must stand our ground” when we disagree, she said. 

Aides said Pelosi’s winning coalition consisted of overwhelming support from the House Democrats’ 32 Californians, 44 women, 38 blacks and 18 Hispanics, as well as the backing of other Western lawmakers and liberals. 

She also won enough votes from Democratic centrists and conservatives to outflank Hoyer, an 11-term lawmaker from just outside Washington with a slightly more moderate voting record than Pelosi. 

Because of the importance of Californians to Pelosi, her victory was seen as a bow to that state’s power in Congress and in national politics for Democrats. 

California’s 52 House seats – 53 in January 2003 to conform with the new census – make it by far the largest delegation in the House. Also, the state has become crucial to any Democratic presidential candidate’s chances of winning a general election. 

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices used the case of a kitchen worker, fired after a seizure on the job, to argue with each other Wednesday about the government’s role in combating discrimination when workers sign away their right to sue. 

Lawyers for Waffle House Inc. and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission didn’t do much of the talking during an hourlong oral argument.  

Instead, justices who are typically ideological opposites argued among themselves over the ramifications of letting the EEOC do for an employee what  

the employee could or would not do for himself. The case involves the intersection of arbitration agreements, an increasingly common condition of employment, and the traditional role of the EEOC in rooting out workplace discrimination. 

The agency takes a small number of cases to federal court, where it tries to make an example of discriminators by winning money or other damages.  

The government maintains it has a duty to do that even if an alleged victim is among the 10 percent of American workers covered by binding arbitration agreements. 

Waffle House, backed by business groups, counters that a binding arbitration agreement should be just that. 

Eric Scott Baker agreed to arbitration when he applied for a job in Columbia, S.C., but he went to the EEOC when he was fired in 1994.  

The agency sued in federal court for an alleged violation of the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act. 

Ignoring the particulars of Baker’s case, Justice Antonin Scalia prodded the government lawyer to explain what would happen if an employee already had gone through arbitration and settled a discrimination complaint. 

Would the EEOC still have power to come in and essentially force a do-over in federal court?  

Yes, Deputy Solicitor General Paul Clement managed to reply after  

several interruptions, but that is not the situation here. 

“Wow,” Scalia said under his breath. 

Scalia was in the conservative five-member majority when the court ruled in March that employers can force workers to take job-related disputes to arbitration rather than to court. 

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who wrote the majority decision in that earlier case, continued posing what-ifs to Clement.  

The government lawyer repeatedly tried to return to Baker’s situation, but an unusually curt Kennedy cut him off. 

“We’re asking what the logical consequence of your proposition is,” Kennedy said. “That’s why we’re asking about a harder case.” 

In March, the court found no broad exception to a federal law governing arbitration agreements. The court could use the Baker case to go a step further by ruling that the same Federal Arbitration Act precludes this kind of suit by the EEOC. 

Critics of arbitration clauses say workers often don’t read the legal fine print and don’t realize what rights they are signing away. 

Business groups generally champion arbitration as a cheaper, fairer alternative to the courtroom. Both sides make arguments to an outside arbitrator, whose decision is supposed to be final. 

When it was Waffle House lawyer David Gordon’s turn at the podium, a relative liberal on the court had hypothetical questions of his own. 

What if a wronged employee was too lazy, or cowed, or indifferent, to press a discrimination claim, Justice Stephen Breyer asked. Wouldn’t the EEOC be free to sue anyway, if winning the case would serve the public interest? And what would it matter, then, if the uncooperative employee had earlier agreed to arbitration? 

Scalia swooped in to answer that it did matter. 

Justice Clarence Thomas was head of the EEOC during the Reagan administration and thus has the court’s most direct experience with this kind of case. He followed his custom of saying nothing during the argument session. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Supreme Court site: http://www.supremecourtus.gov 

For the appeals court ruling in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Waffle House: http://www.uscourts.gov/links.html and click on 4th Circuit. 

SKOPJE, Macedonia — A Western envoy in Macedonia raised doubts Wednesday about a government-declared amnesty for ethnic Albanian rebels, saying it was not in line with a Western-brokered peace accord. 

Macedonia’s president, Boris Trajkovski, and his cabinet on Tuesday pardoned all ethnic Albanian rebels who battled government troops earlier this year but later surrendered their weapons to NATO. 

But Trajkovski said the amnesty did not apply to those who might have committed war crimes during the six months of clashes. 

The Western envoy, speaking strictly on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that the declaration’s wording showed “considerable difference” from that agreed on under the Western-brokered deal. 

“An acceptable amnesty is critical to the peace process,” the envoy said. “And the one we saw yesterday is subject to broad legal interpretation.” 

Trajkovski stressed that the amnesty will also not apply to those who committed criminal acts during fighting in five specific villages. 

This phrase – “criminal acts” in five villages – is particularly misleading, because it could be broadly interpreted, the envoy said. 

The comments came after other Western diplomats here initially welcomed the declaration as part of the fragile peace process meant to upgrade minority rights of the ethnic Albanians who make up a third of Macedonia’s population of 2 million. 

The amnesty – endorsed by most members of Macedonia’s multiethnic government – was the first sign of progress in weeks toward implementing the peace deal to end six months of fighting. 

Ethnic Albanian officials have also objected to the declaration, demanding stronger, legislative guarantees that the recently disarmed militants would not be prosecuted. 

Justice Minister Idzet Memeti, an ethnic Albanian, said that only a special law passed in parliament could guarantee the former rebels freedom from prosecution. 

In persisting tensions, an explosion early Wednesday damaged a Macedonian-owned cafe in Prilep, 50 miles southwest of capital Skopje, injuring no one. 

The new, German-led NATO force numbering 1,000 troops in Macedonia saw action Wednesday when its de-mining team destroyed an arms cache in the village of Otlja, 10 miles northeast of Skopje. 

About 2 1/2 tons of ammunition, explosives and anti-tank mines were destroyed, said Col. Peer Schwan, chief of the mission code-named Amber Fox. 

The Macedonian parliament has still not passed 15 crucial constitutional amendments to upgrade ethnic Albanian rights – a key part of the accord. Ethnic Albanian deputies accuse Macedonian lawmakers of attempting to undermine the deal’s intention to put ethnic groups on an equal footing.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Americans William S. Knowles and K. Barry Sharpless won the Nobel Prize in chemistry with Ryoji Noyori of Japan on Wednesday for molecular research used in making medicines. 

Knowles, 84, of St. Louis, Mo. and Noyori, 63, of Nagoya University in Japan shared half of the $943,000 award. Sharpless, 60, of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., won the other half. 

Their research deals with the fact that many molecules appear in two forms that are mirror images of each other, just like the left and right hands. 

Cells generally respond to only one of these forms, while the other form might be harmful. Drugs often use such mirror-image molecules and the difference between the two forms can be a matter of life and death. 

The research has led to ways of making only the proper form of these mirror-image molecules.  

The technology has led to methods of creating medicines like antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and heart medications, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in its citation. 

The economics prize was to be announced later Wednesday. 

The science prizes have been awarded on the same day for decades, but the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences decided to break with tradition after deciding the chemistry prize was often forgotten in the excitement of the earlier physics announcement. 

The coveted prizes were established in the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite and were first awarded in 1901. 

Nobel gave little guidance other than to say the chemistry prize should go to those who “shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind” and “shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement.” 

The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was established separately in 1968 by the Swedish central bank, but it is grouped with the other awards. 

The physics award went Tuesday to Americans Eric A. Cornell, 39, of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado; Carl E. Wieman, 50, of the University of Colorado; and German scientist Wolfgang Ketterle, 43, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

They were cited for creating a new state of matter called the Bose-Einstein condensate that could lead to ways to make ever tinier electronic circuits and more precise measurements. 

Scientists say the condensates and atom lasers could lead to smaller and faster electronic circuits laid down by tiny beams of atoms. 

The Nobels, which celebrate their centennial this year, started Monday with the naming of physiology or medicine prize winners American researcher Leland H. Hartwell and Britons Tim Hunt and Paul Nurse for work on cell development that could lead to new cancer treatments. 

The literature prize will be announced on Thursday and the peace prize on Friday in Oslo, Norway. 

The prizes are always presented to the winners on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896. 

To mark the 100th anniversary of the prizes, all living laureates have been invited to the ceremonies this year, with some 150 expected in Stockholm and 30 in Oslo. 

Last year’s chemistry prize went to Alan J. Heeger and Alan G. MacDiarmid of the United States and Hideki Shirakawa of Japan for the discovery that plastic conducts electricity and for the development of conductive polymers. 

The economics prize was won by Americans James J. Heckman and Daniel L. McFadden for their work in developing theories to help analyze labor data and how people make work and travel decisions. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Nobel site, http://www.nobel.se 

How timely the award of the Nobel prize in economics for research on how information and the lack of it can affect markets. In stocks, for example, the lack is almost unprecedented. 

“We have focused our eyes and ears on the opinions offered by some of the sharpest financial and economic minds in the world,” says Gerald Perritt, himself one of the sharper analytical minds in the business. 

“However,” he concludes, “we know that none of these people actually know what the future will behold.” The bare truth, he says, “is that there is no precedent for what happened Tuesday, September 11, 2001.” 

Ultimately, says Jim Griffin, economist with Aeltus Investment Management, “it gets back to faith after all, even for hardheaded analysts.” Sept. 11, he adds, “was and is a challenge to that faith.” 

That faith is based in the historical record showing the U.S. stock market always rises from the worst of times, often reaching a joyous peak that elicits comments about it being the best of times. 

The “best of times” for most of today’s investors are of recent, painful memory, having occurred just a couple or so years ago, and faith is being tested as it never has since World War II. 

But for those of great faith, rays of hope can be spotted in a flood of investment commentary, most of which typically and adroitly avoids taking an unequivocal stand, one from which there is no retreat. 

Robert Morrow, a Bradenton, Fla. private forecaster who works mainly by institutional clients, and whose views have sometimes been uncannily correct, states boldly that the Standard & Poor’s 500 index will double by midyear 2002. Such a rare, clear stand can break a forecaster. 

While urging caution, and as usual limiting himself to facts, Perritt, editor and publisher of “Gerald Perritt’s Mutual Fund Letter,” does take special note that investors have about $2 trillion “sitting” in cash. 

“During times of financial turmoil,” he says, “it pays to sit on your hands.” But as the economy begins to improve, which many economists expect will be next year, he expects much of that money will return to stocks. 

Meanwhile, writing in “The Babson Staff Letter,” analyst Lance James refers to the recent return to leadership of small-cap stocks as “heartening and justified” in spite of the so many doubts overhanging the market. 

The resurrection of smaller stocks has tended to be overlooked amid the collapse of so many larger issues, but it is measurably real and likely to continue. That’s the history of so-called small-caps: When they start moving up, they continue rising for a run of several years. 

Small-caps did well from 1979 through 1983, and for more than three years beginning in 1991. But by the turn of the century, James states, the small-caps suffered from an unprecedented bias for larger stocks. 

Then, as the overall market began its plunge, the smaller companies began their ascension, an event unsighted by many smaller investors still licking their wounds and, importantly, lacking investment information. 

These companies, explains James, are “less adept at providing information to investors.” You may have to do your own research. But it is this very lack of information that makes that homework pay off – and big. 

Larger investors, and the institutions that provide them with information, generally concentrate their efforts on large-capitalization companies on which there is already a glut of information. 

Moreover, institutional investors deal in investment sums too large to be accommodated by the smaller companies. 

Still, small companies often grow, and information about them spreads, and then the big investors move in. 

In short, the lack of information, especially today, can give small investors in small-cap stocks an advantage over the big guys. 

John Cunniff is a business analyst for The Associated Press

SAN JOSE — Yahoo! Inc. met Wall Street expectations for its third-quarter earnings Wednesday and only slightly reduced its targets for the current quarter, leading investors to send its shares up more than 3 percent in after-hours trading. 

However, Yahoo’s chairman and chief executive, Terry Semel, said the company is examining its 44 business units for a realignment that might lead to further job cuts. In April, Yahoo imposed the first layoffs in its six-year history, cutting 420 jobs – 12 percent of its work force. 

The earnings report was being studied closely because it was one of the first from a major Internet company since last month’s terrorist attacks. Online advertising already has been slumping for nearly a year and is expected to get even worse along with the overall economy. 

In the three-month period ending Sept. 30, Yahoo had its fourth straight quarterly net loss: $24.1 million, or 4 cents a share, on revenue of $166.1 million. In the same period last year, Yahoo showed a net profit of $47.7 million, or 8 cents per share, on revenue of $295.5 million. 

Excluding investment losses and other one-time events, Yahoo said it would have earned $8.4 million, or 1 cent per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call were expecting to see 1 cent per share and $170 million in revenue. 

Shares of Yahoo, which gained 77 cents, or 8 percent, to $10.93 in regular trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, rose another 37 cents to $11.30 in extended trading following the release of the report. 

Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., said it expects to see between $160 million and $180 million in revenue in the current quarter and break even or earn up to 1 cent per share, excluding charges.  

Analysts were expecting $190.8 million in revenue and earnings of 1 cent per share. 

The reduction in the revenue estimate includes between $5 million and $15 million in sales expected to be postponed or lost because of last month’s attacks, said Susan Decker, the chief financial officer. 

“This economic climate is unprecedented,” Semel said on a conference call with financial analysts. “If we found it hard to read the economic picture even before this, now the picture is even more obscured.” 

Executives said they had filled key management holes, and touted the company’s healthy balance sheet, with $1.7 billion in cash. Yahoo said it now has 210 million registered users, 80 million of whom actually logged on to the site in September. 

With consumers so far cool to Yahoo’s new subscription-based offerings, Semel said Yahoo would soon roll out packages with several services bundled together, for better value. Yahoo hopes premium services can help continue to reduce the company’s reliance on advertising, which makes up about 80 percent of revenue. 

Semel said details of the company’s restructuring, and resulting job cuts, would be announced at the company’s meeting with analysts Nov. 15. 

“I think we’ll be tighter, leaner, easier to run,” he said in an interview. “We’ll all see where we’re going much more readily.” 

Like most businesses, Internet companies had a rough time after the Sept. 11 attacks. Yahoo was one of several popular sites that pulled some advertising. 

Nielsen/NetRatings said U.S. Internet usage dropped in September. Fewer people went online, and those who did spent an average of 17 hours surfing the Web, down from more than 18 hours in August. 

“It’s a tough backdrop for the best of companies,” said American Express analyst John Faig, who believes Yahoo stock remains too expensive despite its long slide. “There clearly have been better times in history to reboot your business.” 

In the first nine months of 2001, Yahoo lost $84.1 million, or 15 cents per share, on revenue of $528.5 million. In the first three quarters of last year, Yahoo earned $168.6 million, or 27 cents per share, on revenue of $799.3 million. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.yahoo.com 

Officials from Berkeley High and De Anza High will meet today to sort out the ramifications of Friday’s cancelled football game between the two schools. 

Friday’s game was cancelled when no officials showed up for the 7 p.m. varsity kickoff. According to a source close to the situation, Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League officials botched the scheduling of officials. De Anza then compounded the problem by not checking with the league before the game, as is customary. 

One possible outcome is for the game to be made up on Nov. 16. But in order for that to happen, the North Coast Section first round of playoffs, scheduled for that weekend, must be postponed. The Fremont Athletic League has already requested that the playoffs be moved back due to the cancellation of games after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The FAL cancelled all games that weekend, although most other games in Northern California went ahead as planned. Berkeley High, for instance, played James Logan High on Sept. 14. 

“(The request) does create some challenges trying to re-schedule the whole playoffs,” NCS commissioner Tom Ehrhorn said. “All of that stuff the board has to consider. Our job is to make it work no matter what.” 

Moving the playoffs back would also mean moving the date of the championship games from Nov. 30 or Dec. 1 to Dec. 7 or 8. That would take football, a fall sport, even further into the winter sports schedule, a serious inconvenience for student-athletes who play both football and a winter sport. 

Berkeley High does have its league bye week coming up on Oct. 19, but head coach Matt Bissell scheduled a non-league matchup with Emery for that day before the season started. In addition, De Anza already has a league game scheduled for that day. Berkeley’s last regular season game is against Pinole Valley on Nov. 8, leaving no open date before the NCS playoffs are scheduled to begin. 

“I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” Bissell said Wednesday. “No determination has been made what will happen if the game isn’t made up, and unless the NCS pushes the playoffs back, I don’t see how that will happen.” 

If the game isn’t made up, it is possible the game will be ruled a forfeit in Berkeley’s favor, since De Anza was the home team and didn’t check with the league about officials. But that would be punishing De Anza for what is essentially a league office mistake.

Cal is 0-4 and are ranked 113th out of 116 Division IA teams for scoring defense. Oregon is 5-0 and are ninth in scoring offense. But if you listen to the teams’ head coaches, they make it sound as if the Ducks have been lucky, and the Bears simply the victims of plenty of bad breaks. 

“Watching Cal, they’re the best 0-4 team I’ve seen,” Oregon’s Mike Bellotti said this week. “Cal is a quality team that hasn’t gotten any breaks yet. If they do, watch out.” 

Cal head man Tom Holmoe looks at his team’s -13 turnover ratio, dead last in the Pac-10, compared to Oregon’s +11, best in the conference, and he sees opportunities slipping through his players’ fingers. 

“We haven’t gotten the breaks,” Holmoe said. “The ball’s been on the ground, but we haven’t recovered it.” 

Holmoe isn’t blind to the fact that his team has been plain sloppy with the ball, however. Eleven fumbles in four games isn’t just unlucky, it’s a lack of concentration and commitment to holding on to the ball. When a team like the Ducks has coughed it up just twice in five games, it’s obvious that something has to change. 

“I don’t know if there’s a curse or a snakebite or what. Every game, we just don’t get the breaks,” Cal wide receiver Charon Arnold said. “But you don’t want to think about not fumbling, because you don’t want to get thoughts like that in your head.” 

The Bears need to get something in their heads, and it would help if it involved taking the ball away from the opposition. They have forced just one turnover this season, an interception by cornerback LeShaun Ward against Washington State. 

Perhaps Holmoe’s players can pick up some tips while watching game films of Oregon’s 63-28 pounding of Arizona last week. The Ducks proved to be masterful at converting turnovers into easy points, turning all five Arizona mistakes into touchdowns. 

While the Cal offense has improved under new coordinator Al Borges, averaging 382 yards per game (up from 317 ypg last season), it hasn’t turned into points or wins yet. That could be because the Bears have started just two drives on their opponent’s half of the field, while allowing opponents to start on the easy side of midfield 13 times. 

“When you can get a short field, that usually translates into points,” Holmoe said. “We just haven’t been able to get turnovers.”

SAN FRANCISCO – Barry Bonds hit it and Alex Popov may have caught it, but Patrick Hayashi emerged from a scrum of Giants fans to become the happy owner of the ball the San Francisco slugger smacked Sunday for his 73rd homer.  

Hayashi was grinning at the time, but he’s tight-lipped now about what he’ll do with the ball, valued at perhaps $1 million.  

“I am just savoring the moment,” Hayashi, 36, said in an e-mail that has served as his only public comment.  

Instead, Popov’s doing the talking. Television footage shows that Popov, a health-food restaurateur from Berkeley, gloved the ball but was mobbed by a crush of clawing fans. Someone ripped the ball from his mitt and it ended up in Hayashi’s hands.  

Now the catcher on the fly is brandishing a videotape and a lawyer, saying that if Hayashi doesn’t give back the ball he will seek criminal charges.  

Giants officials aren’t swayed.  

“Once Major League Baseball identifies the individual with possession of the ball, that’s the end of that,” said Jorge Costa, Giants senior vice president of ballpark operations.

Berkeley police are reporting several cases where phony $100 bills were passed. 

On Monday, a young man – “probably a juvenile” – went into Mail Boxes, etc. at 2342 Shattuck Ave., and asked the clerk to change a $100 bill, said Capt. Bobby Miller of the Berkeley police. When the clerk turned him down, he went outside and approached a man, about to enter the business, asking him for change. The man, a UC Berkeley professor, obliged. But when he went into the store to spend his new bill, the clerk, who had seen the transaction outside, notified police who confirmed that the bill was phony. The professor was not charged. 

Police think that on Monday someone may have tried to pay for a $30 pasta at Pasta Shop Fine Foods, 1786 Fourth St., with a counterfeit $100. The suspect first tried to pay for the pasta with an old-looking $100 bill, which the clerk said looked phony and would not accept. Then the suspect pulled out a second $100 bill which, again, appeared counterfeit to the clerk. The customer finally pulled out a $100 bill, which was verified as real, paid for the pasta and left. 

Police are also looking into another incident on Monday at Longs Drugs, at 1451 Shattuck Ave., where someone may have attempted to pay for goods with a phony $100. And they are investigating an incident on Sunday at Carniera Don Jose, 2056 San Pablo Ave., where police said a suspect paid for three packs of tortillas with a counterfeit $100 bill. 

••• 

On Oct. 5, a man was shot twice, once in the left leg and once in the right calf, at San Pablo Avenue and Channing Way. “The victim said he doesn’t know who shot him,” and could not give police a description, Miller said. 

Berkeley High School held its breath Tuesday over the prospect of losing its latest principal – after only 13 months on the job. 

The school newspaper, the Berkeley High Jacket, broke the story Tuesday that Frank Lynch is one of two finalists for the superintendent’s job in the Del Norte County Unified School District, at the state’s northwestern tip. 

“I really hate it if he’s going to leave,” said Cassandra Powell, an administrative clerk who works just outside Lynch’s office. “He’s the only principal I’ve seen who really cares about the students and lets them know he cares about them.” 

Lynch’s door was open as usual Tuesday afternoon, and he told the Daily Planet a consultant for the Del Norte district had sought him out a month and a half ago and that he had applied as a career move. 

“I love it here, it’s just that (Del Norte) is not only a school district, it’s a county district,” he said. “The professional opportunity is the only reason I applied there.” 

Lynch said he would take the new job if offered it, but that he would also not mind staying if he was turned down. 

“I can’t lose,” he said. “This is a great school, with great kids.” 

Alan J. Newell, Del Norte’s interim superintendent, confirmed that Lynch was among two finalists, but said the school board would not make its decision before a Thursday evening meeting.  

“I would contemplate that the result would be known on Thursday evening,” Newell said. 

Lynch started work on Aug. 8, 2000. He took over from Teresa Saunders, who served for two years. Before that, Lawrence Lee, currently the executive vice principal, served as interim principal for three years. 

“It’s probably one of the hardest jobs in the city of Berkeley,” Lee said, “in that no matter what you do, you’re always going to be disagreed with by somebody.” 

Lee said nobody on the administrative staff wanted to be the new principal, but the board would probably have to depend on the other top administrators to fill in during the search for a replacement. 

“Only if they ask me to do so will I consider it, but I’m not throwing my hat into the ring,” Lee said. “Most of us in the administrative team are old hands at Berkeley. If we are pressed into service in that capacity that’s fine, but I don’t think anybody’s throwing hats into the ring as a career choice.” 

“Obviously we’d have to do an extensive principal search” if Lynch left, said Board of Education Director John Selawsky, “and I think we’d have to take our time on that.” 

“In general, he’s been a great communicator and he has the support of the parents, staff, and kids. The kids all respect him which is important. If we lose him, it’ll be a loss.” 

At lunchtime Tuesday, some students joked laconically that the school’s buildings would all come crashing down without Lynch at the helm. Others were more earnest. 

“I think I’ll be really sad because he really cares about us,” said senior Natasha Mark. “If Lynch leaves not only will Berkeley High School fall apart, but the whole school will be sad.” 

“I think it’s going to make things more confusing,” said junior Greg Halabey.

Wednesday, Oct. 10 

PRC Meeting 

The meeting of the Police Review Commission scheduled for Oct. 10 has been canceled. Regular PRC meetings will resume on Oct. 24. 

Fear and Stress Workshop 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave 

Betty Goren will speak about how to control your fear, anxiety and stress. 

Amendment to Zoning  

Ordinance Meeting 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

The Planning Commission will consider an amendment to the zoning ordinance to prohibit the conversions of existing building space from any other use to office use and the development of new office uses of 5000 square feet or more in the mixed use-light industrial zoning district. 

Toddler Storytime 

7 p.m. 

West Berkeley Library 

1125 University Ave. 

For families with children three years or younger, a program to expose the youngest readers to multicultural stories, songs and finger plays. 

Every Wednesday through Nov. 28. 

Prose Writers’ Workshop 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center Library 

1414 Walnut St.  

From op-ed to fiction, memoir to the feature article - a community 

writers' group to support and encourage a community of interests. Workshop format. Free. 524-3034 

Thursday, Oct. 11 

Community Health  

Commission Meeting 

6:45 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis Street 

Commissioners will brainstorm to determine major issues of concern regarding Alta Bates. 644-6109 

Resident Advisory  

Board Meeting 

4 p.m. - 6 p.m. 

East Bay Community Law Center 

3122 Shattuck Ave 

Review Discussion and Possible Action on Draft Agency Annual Plan Update and thirty minutes of public comment. There will be refreshments. 

Free Depression Screenings 

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

University Health Services, Tano Center 

2222 Bancroft Way 

Screenings will include a written self-test followed by an interview with a counselor. Referals for follow-up evaluation and treatment will be provided. 

Commonwealth Club: John Dean, Former Counsel  

to President Nixon 

5:30 p.m. 

Radisson Hotel 

200 Marina Blvd. 

Author, The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment that Redefined the Supreme Court. Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist presided over the impeachment trial of Clinton and spearheaded the decision to shut down the Florida recount of the 2000 Election. $5 Students, $20 non-members.  

Friday, Oct. 12 

Will Star Wars Make Us Safe 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Redwood Gardens 

2951 Derby St. 

Panel of speakers will discuss President Bush’s proposed Missile Defense Program. The public is invited to contribute to this discussion. Sponsored by Women for Peace. 849-3020  

Saturday, Oct. 13 

Shelter Operations 

9 a.m. - noon 

Office of Emergency Services 

997 Cedar St. 

Free classes in Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). 981-5605 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Farmers’ Market Fall Fruit  

Tasting 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

Center St and Martin Luther King Way 

Free samples the whole range of fall fruit. There will be a wide variety of apples, pears and persimmons at a central location for taste-testing. 548-3333 

Pow Wow and Indian Market 

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Civic Center Park 

Enjoy Native American foods, dancing and arts & crafts in Berkeley’s tenth annual Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration, this year honoring Mille Ketchesawno. 595-5520 

Optics Fair 

noon - 4 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Explore the world of the unseen at the first-ever LHS Optics Fair featuring a variety of microscopes, binoculars, and hand lenses to try out and compare. Parents, teachers and children age 6 and up. 642-5132 

Monday, Oct. 15 

Rite of Christian Initiation  

for Adults Inquiry Program 

7:30 p.m. 

St. Mary Magdalen Parish 

2005 Berryman St. 

A program to learn everything you wanted to know about the Catholic Church but never had the chance to ask. 526-4811 

Emergency Preparedness  

Workshop 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave 

Anna Swardenski speaks to help seniors and people with disabilities be more prepared in case of an emergency. 

Franciscanism, Understanding the Vision 

1 - 2 p.m. 

Franciscan School of Theology 

1712 Euclid Ave. 

Graduate Theological Union presents seminar exploring the lives, times and writings of and about Francis and Clare of Assisi. 848-5232 

Tuesday, Oct. 16 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

— compiled by Guy Poole 

By Walter Geist 

We are approaching the 10th anniversary of the devastating Oakland-Berkeley hills firestorm. It is appropriate to remind the citizens of Berkeley of the danger posed by another firestorm and the promised protection implied with the passage of Measure G. 

On July 21, 1992, Michael Brown, city manager, presented for council action the "Fire Protection Bond Measure.” The recommendations submitted to the full Berkeley City Council were based upon the findings of a council committee that included current Mayor Shirley Dean, who was at that time a council member. The recommendations included a proposed new fire station that “…could be built on property owned by the East Bay Regional Park District located at Grizzly Peak, Centennial and Golf Course Road. This would provide for a quick emergency response into the Wild land/Urban intermix areas of Berkeley, Oakland, (UC Berkeley) property, and EBRPD.” The proposed new station would provide for, among other facilities, “Storage for 9-10 emergency vehicles…offices for Fire Prevention Inspectors…staging area for Mutual Aid resources and a helicopter landing site.”  

The Fire Protection Bond Measure was approved by the full City Council and was submitted to the voters on Nov. 3, 1992 in the form of Measure G. 

The text of Measure G: “Shall the City of Berkeley incur general obligation bonded indebtedness of $55,000,000 principal to increase the level of fire protection by constructing a jointly funded, multi-jurisdictional fire station, seismically retrofitting city buildings which house public safety personnel and equipment, replacing water mains throughout Berkeley, seismically retrofitting other City buildings if feasible and paying bond issuance costs?” 

The ballot argument in favor of Measure G started off as follows:“Just imagine how Berkeley would look today if the wind had shifted. Last year the Oakland/Berkeley hills were laid to waste by a devastating firestorm. Over 3,000 homes were lost in Oakland and 69 were lost in Berkeley. 

Those numbers could have easily been reversed if the wind had shifted toward the north.” 

Measure G passed overwhelmingly. 

While both the wording of Measure G and the initial argument in favor of it seem to stress the importance of the new fire station, less than 4 percent of the $55 million was allocated for the new fire station in the proposed Fire Protection Bond Measure approved by City Council. Over 70 percent of the funds were allocated to the repair and replacement of water mains, which, while necessary, isn’t as easy to sell to the voters as an increased level of fire protection in light of the Oakland-Berkeley Hills firestorm. 

Now, the current administration proposes to use the Measure G funding to replace the existing hills Fire Station No.7 with a new station to be located approximately three blocks from the existing station. The location of the replacement station was allegedly determined based upon response times to the perimeters of the area currently serviced by the old station and not response times to potential wild land fires. The new station will be staffed with the same 3-person crew. The location of the new fire station, its staffing and size are designed to deal with the same threats as the existing station. This solution does not adequately address the very real danger of wild land/urban intermixed fires and does not provide a material increase in the level of fire protection.  

One would like to assume that the council committee’s recommendations in 1992 were based upon a need and not a whim. The purpose, location and magnitude of the station as recommended by the council committee in 1992 and as described above clearly were intended to address the potential danger of another Oakland-Berkeley Hills firestorm. 

At a public meeting on Sept. 19, Fire Chief Reginald Garcia characterized the magnitude of the fire station as recommended by the council committee in 1992 as a “pipe dream.” This may or may not be an accurate characterization; however the citizens of Berkeley voted funding for Measure G to the tune of $55 million or approximately $500 for every man, woman and child in the city of Berkeley, largely on the basis of a need for wild land fire protection. That’s what we voted for and that’s what we want. Anything less is totally unacceptable. 

Walter Geist 

Berkeley 

924 Gilman Street Oct 12: One Line Drawing, Funeral Dinner, Diefenbaker, Till 7 Years Pass Over Him; Oct 13: Dead and Gone, Cattle Decapitation, Vulgar Pigeons, Wormwood, Antagony; Most shows are $5 and start at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted.  

Ashkenaz Oct 10: Billy Dunn & Bluesway; Oct 11: Grateful Dead DJ Night; Oct 12: Sambo NGO; Oct 13: Clinton Fearon, Dub Congress; Oct 14: Open Stage; Oct 16: Danubias; Oct 17: Cajun Cayotesl Oct 18: Greatful Dean DJ Night; Oct 19: Swing Session 1317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 www.ashkenaz.com 

Cal Performances Oct. 12 - 14: Fri. and Sat., 8:00 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Ballet Nacional De Cuba, $24 - $46; Oct. 17 and 18: 8 p.m. Cesaria Evora, $24 - $36; Oct. 19: 8 p.m. Karnak, $18 - $30. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph, 642-0212, tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Sept. 3: 2 - 8 p.m. Big West Coast Harmonica Bash, afternoon benefit for Red Archibald. $10 donation; Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Jupiter Oct. 10: Cannonball with DJ Aspect; Oct. 11: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu, and Add1; Oct. 12: Japonize Elephants; Oct. 13: J Dogs; All music starts at 8:00 p.m. 2181 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625 www.jupiterbeer.com  

Live Oak Concerts Oct. 14: A Harvest of Song, an evening of premiers of works, $8-10. Both shows start at 7:30 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St.  

Rebecca Riots Oct. 12: 7:30 p.m. $20-23. Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Club, 1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. 339-1832 

Synchronicity Oct. 14: 2 p.m. Piano and percussion duo fuses classical and jazz music into a visual experience. $10 adult, $5 child. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org 

Shafqat Ali Khan Oct. 20: 8 p.m. Concert of classical Ragaa, Sufi, Urdu, Persian Ghazel, and other popular musical styles from India. $20 general admission, $15 students. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org 

“Murder Dressed in Satin” by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. 239-2252 www.acteva.com/go/havefun 

“Swanwhite” Through Oct. 21: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. A new translation of the Swedish Play that asks the question what good is romantic love, directed by Tom Clyde. $20, Sundays are “Pay What You Can”. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305, www.virtuous.com 

“Orestes” Through Oct. 21: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. An adaptation of the classical play by Euripides that incorporates passages inspired or taken from various 20th century texts. $6-12. Zellerbach Playhouse on the UC Berkeley campus 642-8268 

“Approach” Through Oct. 27: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m. An examination of the search for intimacy as our most precious form of survival. Written by Susan Wiegand, Directed by Katie Bales Frassinelli. $15 general admission, $10 students and seniors. Eighth Street Studio Theatre, 2525 8th St. 655-0813 www.shotgunplayers.org 

“36 Views” Through Oct. 28: Tues. 8 p.m., Wed. 7 p.m., Thu. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Thu., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Sat., Sun. 2 p.m., 8 p.m. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Lisa Picard is Famous” Oct. 12-19: Mocumentary chronicles New York actress who hopes to get more than a fleeting taste of fame when a racy cereal commercial brings her unexpected national notoriety. Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Ave. 843-3456 

“Inside Editions” through Oct. 12: Nine printmakers exhibit their work. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tue. - Fri. Free. Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 kala@kala.org 

“Census 2000: Asian Pacific Islander Americans” through Oct. 13; Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Asian Pacific Islander American artists in roughly the demographic proportions indicated by the recent census. Free. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9470  

“MWP Perspectives” Jon Orvik: One artist’s journey. Through Oct. 27 Tues. - Fri. 12 - 5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 12 - 4 p.m. Solo artist exhibiting his journey through metal, wood and paint. Adapt Gallery and Design, 2834 College Ave. 649-8501 www.adaptgallery.com  

“50 Years of Photography in Japan 1951 - 2001” Through Nov. 5: An exhibition from The Yomiuri Shimbun, the world’s largest daily newspaper with a national morning circulation of 10,300,000. Photographs of work, love, community, culture and disasters of Japan as seen by Japanese news photographers. Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, Hearst and Euclid. Free. 642-3383 

“Jesus, This is Your Life - Stories and Pictures by Kids” Through Nov. 16: California children, ages four through twelve, from diverse backgrounds present original artwork, accompanied by a story written by the artist. Mon. - Thur. 8:30 a.m. -10 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541. 

“Changing the World, Building New Lives: 1970s photographs of Lesbians, Feminists, Union Women, Disability Activists and their Supporters” Through Nov. 17: An exhibit of black and white photographs by Oakland photographer Cathy Cade, who captured the interrelationships of the different struggles for justice and social change. Gallery Hours, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. Free. 644-1400 cathycade@mindspring.com 

“The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s” Through Dec. 16: A documentary photo exhibition which examines the rich history of the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free. 644-6893 

“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 Botticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours. Atelier 9 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

Boadecia’s Books Oct. 12: Susan Gaines reads from her novel “Carbon Dream”; Oct. 18: Patricia Nell Warren reads from her novel “The Wild Man”, All events start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise. All events are free. 398 Colusa Ave. 559-9184 www.bookpride.com 

Cody’s on 4th Street Oct 12: Cody’s For Kids- Rosemary Wells and Bunny Party; Harruet Lerber surveys “The Dance of Connection: How to Talk to Someone When You’re Mad, Hurt, Scared, Frustrated, Insulted Betrayed or Desperate; Michael Chabon talks about The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay; Studs Terkel reads from “Will the Circle be Unbroken? Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and hunger for Faith; 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Oct 12: Elizabeth Royte examines “The Tapir’s Morning Bath: Solving the Mysteries of the Tropical Rainforest”; Oct 15: Amir Aczel poses The Riddle of the Compass: The Invention That Changed the World; Oct 16: Kip Fulbeck talks about “Paper Bullets”; Oct 18: Suzanne Antoneta & micah Perks talk about “Body Toxic: An Environmental Memoir” and “Pagan Time: An American Childhood; All shows at 7:30 p.m.; 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

Coffee Mill Poetry Series Oct. 16: 7 - 9 p.m. Steve Arntsen and Kathleen Dunbar followed by open mike reading. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland 465-3935 ksdgk@earthlink.net 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Oct. 13: Leonard Chang reads from “Over the Shoulder”; Oct. 20: Miriam Ching Louie reads from “Sweatshop Warriors: Immigrant Women Workers Take on the Global Factory”; 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

Susan Griffin Oct. 12: 7 - 10 p.m. Presents slide show and discusses her latest book “The Book of Courtesans: A Catalogue of Their Virtues”. $10 refundable with book purchase. Gaia Arts and Cultural Center, 2116 Allston Way 848-4242  

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 foot 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. It will reopen in early 2002.  

University of California Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive has reopened after its summerlong seismic retrofit. “Martin Puryear: Sculpture of the 1990s” through Jan. 13; “The Dream of the Audience: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951 - 1982)” through Dec. 16; “Face of Buddha: Sculpture from India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia” ongoing rotation through 2003; “Matrix 194: Jessica Bronson, Heaps, layers, and curls” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; “Matrix 192: Ceal Floyer 37’4”” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., PFA Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way; Museum Galleries 2626 Bancroft Way; 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Lawrence Hall of Science “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. 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. 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  

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

Neighbors of a proposed fire station in the north Berkeley hills are charging that the city is inappropriately using money earmarked to build the station for a multi-jurisdictional wildfire “command center.” 

They say the city should not use bond revenues from 1992’s Measure G – which called for a “jointly funded, multi-jurisdictional fire station” to battle wildfires in the hills – to replace the aged Fire Station No. 7 at 2931 Shasta Rd. 

The city, led by Councilmember Betty Olds, has long been planning to move Station No. 7 from its current location up the hill to the corner of Shasta and Park Hill roads. 

The group bristled at recent reports in the press, and comments from city officials, that their true motive is to stop construction of the new fire station, which will be located closer to many of their homes. 

“That is flatly not true,” said Russ Henke, one of the people still fighting for a larger, joint command station.  

Henke’s neighbor, Louise Larson, added that the group “will not fight a new fire station – not at all. We just want the station that was promised to us.” 

Measure G, approved by 78 percent of Berkeley citizens, was put on the ballot after the devastating Oakland-Berkeley hills fire in 1991. Its intent was to prevent similar catastrophes by building a command center staffed by many agencies, including the Berkeley Fire Department, the Oakland Fire Department and the firefighting forces of the East Bay Regional Parks District. 

But after years of study, Berkeley and Oakland could not agree on the location of the center. Eventually, Oakland, which had passed its own version of Berkeley’s Measure G, pulled out of the project and built its own station near Claremont Canyon. 

Now, with the new Station 7 proposal, Berkeley wishes to do the same. According to Olds, the new station – which would be built with Measure G money – would include facilities for the parks district firefighters, and would be ready to fight wildfires. 

“Measure G’s intent was to build a multi-jurisdictional station, and we have fulfilled that by bringing in the Parks District,” she said. 

“It’s a front-line defense. We have a wildfire truck that’s going to be stored there. In the summer, during the critical times, there will be three Park District personnel stationed there.” 

In an interview Tuesday, Peter Cukor, a resident in Olds’ hills district, disagreed with the council member’s assessment of the proposed station. He said that several factors, including the lack of facilities for firefighting helicopters, would make a real response to a 1991-style fire from the new station inadequate. 

“This location clearly could not support what Measure G intended to do,” he said. “For instance, given the terrain up here, a helicopter is an essential element of fighting this kind of fire. This plan doesn’t give us one.” 

“Our concern is that the city of Berkeley made a promise to us – to protect us from wildfires – and they haven’t fulfilled it.” 

To assure that the new station is in compliance with Measure G, the city, after the approval of the City Council, will seek a “validation action” in the Alameda County Superior Court. Olds said that the action – asking the judge to say it is OK for Measure G monies to be spent on the project – would make impossible any potential lawsuit against the city that might seek to deny Measure G funds for the fire station. 

Assistant Fire Chief Dave Orth said Tuesday that the battle plan for large hills fires has evolved considerably since Measure G passed, and that the department was happy with the plans for the new station. 

Currently, said Orth, the hills in Alameda and Contra Costa counties are served by a number of Mutual Response Areas, in which several jurisdictions may respond quickly to reports of fire. 

“After the fire, one of the early concepts was to put more forces up here so we can respond quickly,” he said. “We still have that powerful force, but it’s responding from a lot of different areas.” 

“These things didn’t exist at the time the joint station was being discussed.” 

Orth said that fire bombers can reach the East Bay from San Jose and Santa Rosa in 20 minutes, if they are needed.  

Olds said that given Oakland and Berkeley’s competing interests in finding a site, the joint-command station was a “pipe dream,” and in any event has proved unnecessary. 

“Remember, this was right after the fire,” she said. “We overreacted, like people do after the emergency.” 

The draft Environmental Impact Report for the proposed station is scheduled to be presented at the October 25 meeting of the Zoning Adjustments Board, after which the public will be invited to comment on it. The City Council will make a decision on whether to seek a “validation action” after the final Environmental Impact Report for the station is approved. 

Americans can’t sit still in face of terror 

Editor: 

In your (10/8) story “Bombing strikes home” you quoted Mecca Hassas as saying “Just imagine sitting in front of the TV and seeing your country bombed.” 

While I hate to be the one to have to point out the obvious – just what is it that she thinks went on in this country on Sept. 11, 2001?  

I woke up and watched on live television as terrorists, previously harbored in her home country, crashed hijacked jet-liners into the twin towers targeting approximately 50,000 civilians and killing approximately 6,000 in an act of pure hatred.  

I can appreciate her, and the other anti-war marchers’ distaste for war and the bombing in Afghanistan. I hate the idea that it’s being done. Still – I don’t think that America should have to sit still and not seek justice on behalf of the people who lost their lives that Tuesday morning. It is the government’s job to ensure the safety of its citizens, and if that means that a terrorist organization in Afghanistan has to be dismantled this way then in my estimation, it has to be done. I pray it will be done with minimal loss of human life.  

Y. Marchante  

Albany 

Youth need a voice 

Editor, 

The anti-war protest that took place on Oct. 8 in front of Sproul Plaza was a perfect example of how youth in America are not being heard. Many individuals, mostly UC Berkeley students, gathered around Sproul Plaza in a sense of unity to stand up against the government as the president sent in troops to bomb Afghanistan. The community of Berkeley does not agree with the government’s method of dealing with the September 11 event and I, as a representative of the youth population, certainly do not agree with the booming attacks. 

As I took a look around me, faces of concern, anger, and disappointment were everywhere, as the government today has stood as low as the terrorists themselves. There must be an easier way for us to voice our opinions and stand up for our rights other then presenting ourselves once again as the stereotypical youthful radicals. There are many organizations within and around the notorious UC Berkeley campus that would certainly help the students and youth today to voice their thoughts and concerns. 

One of which is called Youth Vote as it is the largest California based youth coalition ever created and are spread out across the nation as well. The purpose of the California Youth Vote coalition is to bring in more political awareness to students and politicians; in essence creating a communication bridge between the two diverse groups of individuals. Youth Vote is working extremely hard to make the voices of youth stand out and presenting debates and Q&A sessions with our senators and governor. As a member of this exceptionally well organized assembly, I can say that I am proud of what the organization has done for us UC Berkeley students.  

Joe Yang 

Berkeley 

Bombing better than sanctions 

Editor: 

In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, and a coalition of western nations put together a war to eject them and restore peace in the region. The first part of the war went quickly, with fewer deaths than predicted on both sides. A large part of the public didn’t support an invasion of Iraq, however, and the coalition shied away from removing the Iraqi government from power. Unfortunately, evidence uncovered by the United Nations proved that Iraq had chemical weapons, and that their project to create nuclear weapons was close to success. This was a promise of future disaster that could not be ignored. Faced with an intransigent Iraqi government, and with little support for additional military action, economic sanctions were put in place to prevent an Iraqi military buildup. These have only been partially effective, and have resulted in hardship and death for the civilian population. 

Can we learn from this history? Would the people of Iraq have been better off if the military action had continued and their government replaced? Military action in Afghanistan by a western coalition has started, with the goal of removing terrorist organizations. Demonstrations in Berkeley and elsewhere have also started, with the goal of stopping the war. Have we really thought that through? 

The war is certain to cause civilian death and injury. But, if it stops, what is the alternative? It is clear that the west cannot go back to ignoring the risk of terrorism, and that something will be done. Without military action and the replacement of the Taliban government, what is the alternative? Economic sanctions would be ruinous; without the hundreds of millions of dollars of aid from the United States and other countries, a huge number of Afghani people would starve.  

But the west clearly can’t continue that aid while the terrorists and supporting government remains.So progressives must face hard questions: What will happen if we stop the war? Are we willing to be responsible for the costs? Or would a western military victory actually be a good thing? 

Bob Jacobsen 

Berkeley 

Friday, the Arts Access Network held a preview exhibition of a festival set for next year that will present work by disabled artists as well as offer opportunities for the disabled to be creative. 

Held on the sixth floor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Building, the exhibition featured the paintings, crafts and poetry of 12 disabled artists including Carla Toth, Philip Martin Chavez and Mark Hendrix. The show was a preview of the Arts Access Festival, which will take place in October 2002. 

The goal of the festival is to increase opportunities for creativity in the disabled community, which has traditionally been denied access to galleries, studios and stages, organizers say. 

“We believe everyone, no matter their abilities, should (have the opportunity of) participating, creating and enjoying art,” said Curtis Billue, co-chair of AAN. “The right to communicate thoughts and feelings and dreams to another person is a right like no other.” 

Arts Access Network, formed last year, is a nonprofit collective of 14 organizations from four Bay Area counties. Participating organizations include the Center for Independent Living, Center for Accessible Technology and the city’s Civic Arts Division. The AAN currently publishes a quarterly newsletter that provides information about accessible art exhibitions, workshops and classes. 

The organization’s mission is to promote arts participation, representation, and integration by people of all abilities. 

AAN co-founder Elias Katz, president of the National Institute of Art and Disabilities in Richmond, said disabled people often experience limited access to not only the enjoyment of art but creating it as well. 

“We want disabled people to have access to the creative arts wherever possible and we don’t just mean ramps and sign language, but the ability to be creative as well.” 

Director of Integrated Arts Dmitri Belser said the problem of inaccessibility to art programs usually begins in school.  

“Traditionally people with disabilities haven’t had access to the arts because most schools don’t make arts classes accessible for those kids, because art is viewed as unimportant,” he said. 

Belser said the booths planned for next year’s festival, will exhibit a variety of art forms, including painting, clay work and textile printing. Creating art will be on the agenda, with a host of adaptive tools available, so those with creative impulses can try them out. 

Artist Mark Hendrix, who presented his graphic arts work at the preview exhibition, said it’s important for disabled artists to stay current on technological advances that help the creative process. 

Hendrix said many artists have interns or helpers carry out most of the actual work and that disabled artists should not rule out having other people or technology help them as well. 

“A lot of people, when they look a piece of art, think that it was created by a lone person but that perception often isn’t justified,” he said. “Anyone who wants to can be creative with the help of tools.” 

Hendrix said another artist who showed at the exhibit, Philip Martin Chavez, presented paintings that were executed entirely with the use of voice-activated software. 

AAN Festival organizers are currently signing up businesses, organizations and artists that are interested in sponsoring booths at next year’s event. For more information about receiving the AAN newsletter or participating in the festival, call 841-1466 or visit http://www.icomm.ca/iarts.

A City Council super-majority refused to hear a motion Tuesday that would have placed the city on record, asking their representatives in Congress to “cease the bombing of Afghanistan (and) seek a legal, nonmilitary resolution” to the conflict there. It also called for the council meeting to be “closed in memory of the innocent civilians in Afghanistan being harmed and made refugees due to the bombing.” 

In reaction to the military action that began Sunday, Councilmember Dona Spring tried to place the resolution on the agenda as an “emergency item.” Such items require six votes to pass. Spring had only the five “progressive” votes on the council that included Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek, and councilmembers Margaret Breland, Linda Maio, Dona Spring and Kriss Worthington. 

The resolution will be before the council next week, when a simple majority will be required to pass it. 

••• 

California Peace Action, based in Berkeley and Los Angeles, issued a statement Monday condemning the United States’ air strikes on Afghanistan. 

The group said its members are praying for the safety of members of the American military and for the people of Afghanistan.  

They are calling on the president to cease military action and not to launch a ground war, which, they said, could lead to international involvement. 

“The goal of the attacks of Sept. 11 was to provoke a U.S. military reaction that could polarize the Islamic world,” said the group’s executive director, Peter Ferenbach. 

“U.S. military action carries with it the very real possibility of launching a civil war in Pakistan, a nuclear armed nation,” Ferenbach added. 

While decrying the Sept. 11 attack as a “crime against humanity,” the group says that continued military strikes would risk the lives of American soldiers and Afghans. The group wants the United Nations Security Council to establish an international tribunal, and have the United States submit its evidence against terrorist suspects. 

••• 

The Downtown Berkeley Association celebrated the success of the first annual Guinness and Oyster Festival at Beckett’s Irish Pub in downtown Berkeley on Tuesday. Volunteers, business and civic leaders, including Mayor Shirley Dean, came to celebrate in a post-production party, according to a DBA press statement. 

DBA President Rauly Butler presented a $3,000 check to the Red Cross and a $3,000 check to Mayor Dean for the New York Fallen Firefighters Fund. The festival raised a total of $12,800 for the New York relief efforts. 

On Sept. 22, over 12,000 people came to downtown Berkeley to enjoy the festival, according to the DBA. This first time event raised close to $30,000 which will be reinvested downtown. 

—Daily Planet staff, Bay City News

As more than 400 anti-war protesters faced off with a smaller group of war-supporters on UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza Monday, the professors and students who study peace and conflict at the university were divided about which group to join. 

Professor Jerry Sanders, whose peace and conflicts studies class met just as the protest began, canceled class. Instead, he asked his students to attend the protest and form their own opinions about the validity of either of the two sides. 

August Hoppler, a first year student in the class, knew which side she would stand with. “America deserved the attack” of Sept. 11, she said, a sentiment echoed by some of the anti-war protesters. “We’re blind to what is going on in the world.”  

As for a response to the attacks, Hoppler feared that a military retaliation would lead to a widening of the war. “I see that as useless,” she said. In her view, America’s response should be increased safeguards at home, not retaliation abroad. 

Daniel Durazno, another first year student in the class, was less certain. Military action is sometimes necessary, he said carefully, but not the bombing of civilians. “Until (Sunday), I was proud of how (the United States) had reacted.” Now he’s not so sure. 

A different kind of uncertainty was felt by some professors. 

“Is this war?” asked Beth Simmons, an associate professor in the political science department at UC Berkeley. Simmons felt more comfortable calling it a “defensive war,” and suggested that different moral standards may apply to a war fought in self defense.  

As for the protesters’ demand to stop the bombing, she said that much of it was “naïve.”  

Sanders also found fault with some of the protesters’ claims. He called their description of the war as racist a “misnomer.” “Just because they happen to be Arab doesn’t make it a racist war,” Sanders said. In response to protesters’ characterization of the war as rich against the poor, he pointed out that Usama bin Ladin came from a wealthy, elite background. “We like to think about things like commandments and absolutes, but the truth is there is a gray area,” Sanders said.  

One of those gray areas was whether the bombings were in violation of international law. 

According to Sanders, the United States is within its legal rights to attack if it does so in a “proportional manner.” Purposefully targeting civilians would be clearly illegal, he said, yet the incidental killings of civilians does not necessarily violate the law.  

With little or no firm information about the effect the on-going bombings, Sanders said on Monday he believes it’s too early for both the protesters and those in favor of attacks to pass judgment.

SACRAMENTO — A teacher who burned a flag in front of his sixth-graders and referred to the nation as “United Snakes” in what he called an example of “revolutionary teaching” could lose his job. 

The classroom incident, which occurred a week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has infuriated school district officials and parents, who said Tuesday that he should be fired. 

“He shouldn’t even be working in the school district if he’s going to be thinking like that,” says Myeshia Dunson. “That scares the kids. It’s not good.” 

Second-year teacher Kory Grant Clift, 25, described by some parents as an excellent teacher who showed poor judgment, has apologized for the Sept. 18 incident in which he partially burned an American flag in front of 30 students. 

Clift allegedly set fire to a corner of the flag and said, “I can’t burn it all, because that’s illegal.” He also told his students, “Babylon is burning,” according to officials at Del Paso Heights Elementary School District. 

Carl Mack, the district’s superintendent, announced Tuesday that he has notified Clift that he had come to a decision about his career status that will take effect in 30 days, and that Clift can appeal to the school board. 

Clift’s future remained shrouded Tuesday as the school district and its attorneys declined further comment, citing “confidentiality.” The California Teachers Association provided him with an attorney, Carolyn Langenkamp, who also declined comment. 

This is the second time this year Clift has been on administrative leave with pay. Last spring, he was placed on leave for placing a child in a closet for disciplinary reasons, district officials said. 

Clift did not return messages left at his home Tuesday. In a statement released by a friend, he said he was sorry about the negative attention the flag-burning brought to his school district. He also said it remains his goal to teach. 

The U.S. Supreme Court often has ruled that flag burning is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. 

But many parents believe he should lose his job for making such a statement in a classroom at North Avenue Elementary School. 

“If he really did that on purpose, then what is right needs to be done,” said Jimmy Yang. 

The teacher is also on probation for a 1998 run-in with a Sacramento police officer. Court records show he pleaded no contest in April 1999 to a misdemeanor count of using threats and violence to deter a policeman from performing his duties. He received 240 days of community service and three years of probation. 

He is a 2000 graduate of California Sate University, Sacramento, but has no teaching credential, according to the California Commission on Teaching Credentialing.

The Associated Press 

SACRAMENTO — For the third year in a row, Gov. Gray Davis has vetoed a bill that would have required employers to tell employees in writing if they monitor their workers’ e-mails. 

The Democratic governor on Tuesday also turned down several bills he said the state couldn’t afford in the face of a potential multibillion dollar budget shortfall. 

But he signed dozens of other measures, including a bill that authorizes an income tax credit for individuals and small businesses that buy and install solar or wind-powered generators. 

Davis said the e-mail bill would have placed “unnecessary and complicating obligations on employers” and could have led to lawsuits by employees alleging that the notice was never provided. 

Employers have the right to monitor office e-mails since they could be held liable for illegal conduct by their workers, and employees “in today’s wired economy” know that e-mails can be monitored, Davis said. 

But the bill’s author, Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey, said Davis had missed “the larger point of a person’s right to, and expectation of, privacy.” 

“Just because employers own the computers and pay for the Internet access doesn’t mean they have the right to spy on their workers any more than owning the telephone and paying the phone bill allows them to monitor or record their workers’ personal phone conversations without telling them,” she said. 

A written notice to each employee would discourage them from using computer e-mail for personal reasons, Bowen said. 

The senator rejected amendments proposed by Davis, which a Bowen aide said would have required employers only to post a monitoring notice in the employee break room. 

Davis also vetoed bills that would have: 

• Provided grants to public libraries for after-school youth programs. 

• Authorized scholarships and grants for students who agreed to practice in the fields of geriatrics or gerontology for three years after graduation. 

• Provided additional funds to help school districts in colder areas of the state pay for snow removal. 

— Required the Department of Education to publish a report on the Internet each year revealing the distribution of uncredentialed teachers in California schools. 

In each case, Davis cited the cost of the bill, the slowing economy and a $1.1 billion revenue shortfall through the first three months of this fiscal year. 

The alternative energy bill, by Senate Minority Leader Jim Brulte, R-Rancho Cucamonga, will allow individuals and small businesses to take a state income tax credit to cover part of the cost of buying a photovoltaic or wind-driven power system with a generating capacity of up to 200 kilowatts. 

The credit will be equal to 15 percent of the purchase price or $4.50 per rated watt of the generator, whichever is less, for the 2001 to 2003 tax years and half that amount for the 2004 and 2005 tax years. It will expire on Jan. 1, 2006. 

Brulte said the measure will help ease future energy shortages. 

OAKLAND – The political tug-of-war over the size of a juvenile detention facility in Alameda County shifted Tuesday once again in favor of those who advocate the construction of a larger facility in Dublin. 

Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker moved the board reconsider a vote she placed last month, which moved the county away from plans to build a 450-bed facility in Dublin. 

Members of a coalition that includes the youth advocacy group Books Not Bars, the Friends of Dublin and the Vote Health group advocating in behalf of renovating the Fairmont Hospital, praised Lai-Bitker’s swing vote at the time. 

But their support quickly dissipated Tuesday morning, as they heard Lai-Bitker change her vote and then introduce a proposal to raise the number of beds up to 420. 

Lai-Bitker’s proposal directs staff to plan the juvenile facility keeping a 420-bed capacity in mind.  

However, the proposal also calls for a contingency structure, which could provide for an additional 30 beds. 

Lai-Bitker said such a capacity would allow the county to meet its juvenile detention needs not only for the immediate future, but also in the long run. 

“We will only open (the juvenile hall) with the beds we need in 2005. I hope we can open it with less than 420,” Lai Bitker said. “The (420-bed capacity) may well be meeting our needs in the next quarter century.” 

Lai-Bitker’s proposal passed 3-2, with supervisors Nate Miley and Keith Carson, who represents Berkeley and parts of Oakland, opposing it. Supervisors Scott Haggerty and Gail Steele voted to approve the proposal.  

Lai-Bitker also challenged and defeated a study she helped approve last week, which directs staff to look at building two facilities, one in Dublin and another in the current location. 

Opponents of the Dublin site say that it puts juvenile offenders too far away from their families, in essence cutting them off from their society. 

Another concern of those who oppose a larger facility say that the size of the facility would dictate the way the county deals with issues of youth discipline. A larger building, they say, would lead to higher detention rates. 

Opposing the 420-bed facility, Miley said he couldn’t support it because he is not convinced that the county is committed to lowering the number of juveniles that it puts away. 

“I just don’t feel that the county has a policy that is directed toward detention alternatives,” Miley said.

SAN DIEGO — A school board president who sent an e-mail suggesting two colleagues be shot for prolonging meetings with debate stepped down from the presidency but rejected demands that she resign from the board. 

Sue Braun announced her decision as she made a public apology Tuesday at a meeting of the San Diego Unified School District. Braun said she was stepping down as president “in the best interests of the district and the students we serve.” 

Her decision did not satisfy the two members who she said should be shot after a contentious board meeting that lasted nearly eight hours. 

At Tuesday’s meeting, which lasted five hours, the two sought to have the board adopt a resolution calling on her to resign but it failed on a 2-2 vote, with Braun abstaining. “Mrs. Braun’s apology is accepted. Her excuses are not,” board member Frances O’Neill Zimmerman said.  

In her e-mail sent last month, Braun expressed frustration about Zimmerman and fellow board member John de Beck. The note, sent to several district officials but not the two board members, asked for suggestions for avoiding delays at future meetings. 

“The only other idea I have is to shoot the both of them,” Braun wrote, according to a copy of the e-mail provided by the district. 

“I was thinking of a way to get them both with one bullet, but now think they are each too heavy for that to work.” 

Criticism of the message comes amid heightened concern about school violence following two shootings at San Diego-area campuses this year. 

With prayers and flickering candles, to the sound of bagpipes and police sirens and patriotic hymns, Americans by the millions will break from their routines Thursday to mark the passage of one month since the Sept. 11 terror attacks. 

Houses of worship will hold special services, including extra hours for confession at Roman Catholic churches. Thousands of restaurants will donate a share of the day’s profits to aid families of the victims. Many communities will observe moments of silence or conduct candlelight vigils. 

“It’s hard not to do something,” said Chuck Ruoff, deputy mayor of Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J., where an evening vigil is planned. 

“We’re still in a semi-depression state. It will take a long time to get over this.” 

In Columbus, Ohio, police officers not handling calls will park their cruisers and simultaneously run their sirens and lights for one minute in honor of firefighters and police officers killed in New York. Church and school bells will ring in unison in San Luis Obispo, Calif. 

At the urging of the Alliance of North American Pipe Band Associations, bagpipers across the United States, and as far away as New Zealand, will play in memory of the victims. 

Bert Heyvaert, a piper from Belgium, said he would play at the American memorial in Ypres, site of a devastating battle in World War I. 

“My respects to the (New York) rescue workers and all those who have not given up hope in their wounded city,” he wrote in a message to the pipers’ association. “I’ll be proud to honor all of you.” 

At the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, charities and child-advocacy groups are sponsoring a concert and rally to honor the attacks’ victims and proclaim support for the world’s children. Ambassadors from dozens of countries have been invited; more than 1,000 children are expected to participate. 

Colleges and universities will mark the day with services at their chapels, and symposiums on issues raised by the attacks. 

At the University of Washington, all classes will be suspended for what’s being called a Day of Reflection. It will include lectures, workshops and performances. 

Poetry readings and music are planned at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore as part of an event promoting tolerance toward Arabs and Muslims.  

“We want to help people bridge their divides,” said Laurie Bezold, one of the organizers. 

Catholic Bishop Michael Saltarelli of Wilmington, Del., is helping churches in his diocese prepare for a day of prayer and remembrance. 

“All of us, deep down inside, have that need to be a part of some kind of peacemaking effort,” Saltarelli said Tuesday. “People need to feel at peace with God, their neighbors and themselves.” 

The National Restaurant Association said nearly 7,000 establishments will join in Thursday’s Dine for America campaign, pledging to donate profits to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. 

“It gives us a way to put our money where our mouth is,” said Jim DeSimone, a spokesman for Darden Restaurants, whose holdings include Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurants. 

At Marti’s Place, a steak-and-seafood restaurant along the Kankakee River in Hebron, Ind., the staff is bracing for a busy evening. 

“We’re just wondering if we’re going to have enough food for the Saturday and Sunday crowd,” said owner Ron Klauer. “We might have to serve hot dogs and potato chips on those days.” 

Some places are earmarking donations to the Windows of Hope fund for the families of restaurant workers killed in the World Trade Center. Unlike New York police and firefighters, many restaurant workers had no employer-provided pensions or insurance. 

In Sacramento, Calif., officials chose to hold observances Tuesday, marking four weeks since the attacks. Police vehicles and fire trucks from across California paraded through downtown to the state Capitol while a flag-waving crowd looked on. 

“We are in a war and we are all sticking together,” said Vinny Olson, a Vietnam veteran and state employee, as he watched the procession. 

——— 

On the Net: 

National Restaurant Association: http://www.restaurant.org 

Bagpiper memorial: http://www.anapba.org/memorial.htm 

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Embarrassed by anti-U.S. protests, Yasser Arafat’s government took two unprecedented steps Tuesday: it closed Gaza City’s universities to silence Islamic militants and barred foreign reporters from the Gaza Strip to prevent coverage of the events. 

The clampdown by the Palestinian Authority came a day after the deadliest internal Palestinian fighting in years, triggered by the militants’ show of support for Osama bin Laden. Two civilians were killed and dozens of police and protesters hurt in a clash with guns, stones, clubs and tear gas. 

Meanwhile Tuesday, Nabil Shaath, cabinet minister for international cooperation, sought to distance the Palestinian cause from remarks by bin Laden that were broadcast Sunday, saying “Palestinians are not prepared to be responsible for whoever says that for security to be achieved for the Palestinian people, one must strike not only America but everyone living there.” 

Referring to bin Laden, the Palestinian minister said, “If he thinks that he serves the Palestinian cause this way, then let him be responsible for his remarks. We will not be.” 

Shaath, in Doha for an Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting that starts Wednesday, said Palestinians did not reject bin Laden’s linking of American security to Palestinian security. 

Palestinians do reject their cause being used as justification for the killing of innocent people in the United States, however, he said. 

“We do not want to be an excuse for anyone,” he said. “Our cause is just and we want to achieve it justly. Because the Israelis are the terrorists.” 

The fighting pitted the Palestinian Authority against its longtime rival, the Islamic militant group Hamas, which has been behind the rallies in support of bin Laden following the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States. 

Arafat is trying to persuade Hamas to abide by a Sept. 26 truce with Israel, and could be using the clampdown to force it into compliance. 

In recent weeks, Arafat had shied away from open confrontation with Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group, even though both had defied his orders to stop attacks on Israelis. 

Palestinian analyst Ghassan Khatib said it was easier for Arafat to crack down on the militants over the pro-bin Laden rallies than over the cease-fire, which is largely unpopular. 

Many Palestinians are dismayed by bin Laden’s attempt in a televised address this week to create a link between the Palestinian cause and his war against the United States. 

“The statement that represents average Palestinians and their feelings about bin Laden’s speech is to respond: ‘Leave us alone,”’ Khatib said. 

The response was vastly different a decade ago, just before the outbreak of the Gulf War, when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein presented himself as the Palestinians’ savior, mainly in hopes of fracturing an international coalition against him. 

At the time, Arafat embraced Saddam and Palestinians cheered Iraq’s promises to drive Israel out of the Middle East. 

Palestinian officials later acknowledged it was a mistake. It led to the uprooting of tens of thousands of Palestinians from Gulf states, including Kuwait. 

In the current crisis, Arafat has been careful to show support for the United States from the start, including Washington’s efforts to arrange an Israeli-Palestinian truce that would make it easier for Arab and Islamic states to support a military strike against terrorism suspects. 

Israel has accused Arafat of doing too little to curb the militants, and violence has persisted, with 35 Palestinians and seven Israelis killed in fighting in the past two weeks. 

But Israeli officials say there has been a shift in recent days, with the Palestinian Authority issuing public exhortations to honor the cease-fire. 

Islamic militant leaders also said Monday they were summoned by the Palestinian Authority and warned there would be a tough response if they went on attacking Israelis. 

Three suspected Islamic militants were arrested in the West Bank over the weekend — but Israel insists that the Palestinians arrest 108 suspects, and has handed over a list of names. 

“We will have to see if this will be a sustained effort,” said Raanan Gissin, adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. 

Tuesday marked the first time since the formation of the Palestinian Authority in 1994 that Gaza City’s Islamic University and Al Azhar University were ordered closed. 

The order was issued Monday by Palestinian police chief Ghazi Jabali, although on Tuesday, administrators of both universities ran newspaper ads suggesting it was they, not Arafat’s government, who decided on the closure. The schools are to stay closed through the week. 

The Palestinian government also barred nearly a dozen foreign reporters, including two for The Associated Press, from the Gaza Strip. 

A Palestinian official at the Israel-Gaza border cited security reasons. He would not give his name. 

An AP photographer was barred from entering the Palestinian-controlled area around the West Bank city of Nablus, where about 1,500 students marched to protest against the shooting of the Gaza students and the U.S. air strikes in Afghanistan. 

No Palestinian Authority official was willing to comment on the restrictions. Arafat’s security forces have repeatedly tried to prevent reporting on pro-bin Laden marches. 

On Monday, journalists were chased away from the Hamas rally in Gaza City. In the West Bank town of Ramallah, a BBC radio correspondent collecting reaction to the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan had her tape confiscated. 

WASHINGTON — The United States hit Afghanistan with a third day of airstrikes, crushing Taliban air defenses, radars and airports to the extent that American warplanes can fly virtually unchallenged night and day, the Pentagon said Tuesday. “The skies are now free,” President Bush said. 

The administration pushed for the surrender of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network and the ouster of the Taliban regime that shelters him. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged Afghan dissidents to “heave the Al-Qaida and the Taliban leadership ... out of the country.” 

On Wednesday morning, jets dropped three bombs near the airport in the southern city of Kandahar in the second straight morning of daylight raids, Taliban sources said. 

Bin Laden’s spokesman called for a holy war against U.S. interests and praised the hijackers who flew jetliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11. “The storm of airplanes will not stop,” Sulaiman Abu Ghaith said. 

In a home-front scolding, Bush accused Congress of leaking information about the global investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. 

“You have a responsibility, and some members did not accept that responsibility,” Bush said. He warned lawmakers not to talk about troop deployments, either. 

In the skies over Afghanistan, U.S. bombs streaked day and night toward sites connected with the ruling Taliban. Sources inside the Taliban said bombs struck around Kandahar, the militia’s headquarters, and the northwest city of Herat. Anti-aircraft fire and the roar of jets rattled the capital, Kabul. 

Four security workers for a United Nations-affiliated mine-clearing operation were killed during Monday night’s strikes. Rumsfeld said it wasn’t clear whether U.S. bombs or Taliban anti-aircraft fire killed the men. 

In an appeal to the United States, U.N. spokeswoman Stephanie Bunker said: “People need to distinguish between combatants and those innocent civilians who do not bear arms.” 

Bush was unapologetic. “There is one way to shorten the campaign in Afghanistan and that is for Osama bin Laden and his leadership to be turned over so he can be brought to justice,” he said. 

Four weeks after terrorist attacks killed more than 5,000 and staggered the U.S. economy, Americans were still on edge. 

The FBI pressed its anthrax investigation in Florida, convinced that foul play rather than environmental sources infected one man and exposed a co-worker. 

Bush called the death an isolated incident. “We’re on high alert on the governmental level, but the American people should go about their business,” he said. 

Rumsfeld declined to identify the targets of Tuesday’s assaults, but said meager Taliban defenses were in shambles. Bush called the mission a success so far. 

“We believe we are now able to carry out strikes more or less around the clock as we wish,” Rumsfeld said at the Pentagon. 

Rumsfeld said, however, some risk remains to coalition pilots from helicopters, a small number of fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles. 

Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers opened their news conference with before-and-after pictures of Taliban targets. Each grainy aerial shot of a terrorist camp or military site was followed by second — the target now cratered or smoke-streaked. 

The home of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, about nine miles outside Kandahar, was struck for the third time, Taliban sources said. 

There was a dwindling number of targets left to strike in the Taliban’s paltry military or bin Laden’s network, a fact that increased speculation about Bush’s next move. Rumsfeld said Bush has not ruled out the use of ground forces; Bush would not would not say whether he was considering them. 

U.S. officials said the administration will aid the various anti-Taliban militias, broadly suggesting opposition forces could get American air cover. Special forces, already at work in Afghanistan, could be used to support opposition forces, the officials said. 

As if to underscore that strategy, fighting between the anti-Taliban northern alliance and regime forces intensified on the third day of U.S.-led strikes. The clashes occurred along the Pyandzh River separating Tajikistan from Afghanistan. 

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who lent his forces in Sunday’s initial raids, said, “We are obviously closer to achieving our objectives.” 

In Pakistan, Afghanistan’s neighbor and a fragile player in Bush’s coalition, the government tightened security in the capital and arrested three Muslim clerics who organized anti-American demonstrations. Four people, including a 13-year-old boy, died in new violence. 

On the death of the U.N.-affiliated workers, Rumsfeld said America regretted the loss of lives, but he did not apologize. 

“If there were an easy way to root terrorist networks out of countries that harbor them, it would be a blessing, but there is not,” he said. 

“It’s just one of those things that happens” in war, said Sen. John Warner of Virginia, top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

The Taliban claim dozens of civilians have been killed in U.S.-led raids. Bush ordered the strikes after repeated warnings to turn over terrorists including bin Laden, suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks. 

Bush was asked if he wanted bin Laden dead or alive, a phrase he has used in the past. He smiled and said, “I want there to be justice.” 

In other action: 

—Bush named two new staff members to his gathering anti-terrorism team, former Gen. Wayne A. Downing as deputy national security adviser on terrorism, and Richard Clarke as chief of cyberspace security. 

—Bush formally notified Congress of the military action Tuesday and said he couldn’t predict “the scope and duration of the deployment.” There are 30,000 U.S. troops in the region. 

—The government released new rules to quickly strengthen cockpit doors. Four planes were hijacked in the Sept. 11 attacks. 

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Three U.S.-based scientists shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for creating a new state of matter: an ultra-cold gas that could aid in developing smaller and faster electronics. 

The award went to Americans Eric A. Cornell, 39, of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo. and Carl E. Wieman, 50, of the University of Colorado along with German scientist Wolfgang Ketterle, 43, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Their creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate in 1995 could lead to ways to make ever tinier electronic circuits. The new technology could eventually be used to draw computer circuits by depositing a stream of atoms on a circuit board. 

Other potential applications include extremely accurate clocks and distance-measuring devices. The technology could also be used in quantum computers, which are expected to be much faster than today’s computers. 

“Revolutionary applications ... appear to be just round the corner,” according to the citation by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 

Cornell and Wieman also work at JILA, a research institute in Boulder formerly known as the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics. Ketterle worked independently of them in Germany before coming to MIT in 1990. The three will share a $943,000 prize. Wieman said he learned about the win from his brother, who read about it on the Internet and called him at 4 a.m. 

“I discovered that I’m not nearly as excited about winning the prize as I was about seeing the Bose-Einstein condensate for the first time,” he said. “In seeing how I reacted, the discovery was just more significant.” 

Ketterle was greeted with hugs from students when he arrived at the MIT physics department Tuesday morning with his two sons, Jonas, 15, and Holger, 9. 

“The biggest reward is to make discoveries, the thrill of seeing new glimpses of nature. Of course, it’s nice to be recognized,” Ketterle said. 

The term Bose-Einstein refers to Indian physicist S.N. Bose and Albert Einstein. As early as 1924, Bose did statistical research on light particles called photons and sent his work to Einstein, who extended the theory to other particles. 

Einstein predicted that when particles slow down and approach each other, they produce a new state of matter. Other states of matter include solids, liquids and gases. 

The academy noted that more than 20 groups are conducting experiments with Bose-Einstein condensates but add that the laureates “have maintained their lead and many interesting new results have been presented.” 

Erling Norrby, head of the academy, noted it took 70 years to turn the Bose-Einstein concept into a reality. 

“A lot have tried before that but it took a number of technical developments to track atoms,” Norrby said. “The time was mature.” 

Keith Burnett, a physics professor at Oxford University, said the achievement took “an enormous amount of courage (and) hard work.” Burnett recalled that at a meeting of scientists in 1993 “there were many people who thought it was just impossible.” 

This year’s Nobel awards started Monday with the naming of three physiology or medicine prize winners. American researcher Leland H. Hartwell and Britons Tim Hunt and Paul Nurse were cited for work on cell development that could lead to new cancer treatments. 

The chemistry and economics prizes will be awarded Wednesday and the literature prize on Thursday. On Friday, the winner of the peace prize will be announced in Oslo, Norway. 

Last year, the physics prize was awarded for research that led to the pocket calculator, microchips and satellite communications. 

The prizes always are presented to the winners on Dec. 10. To mark the 100th anniversary of the prizes, all living laureates have been invited to the ceremonies this year, with some 150 expected in Stockholm and 30 in Oslo. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Nobel site, http://www.nobel.se 

SAN FRANCISCO — California’s largest utility is finding that the state Public Utilities Commission remains among the tallest of obstacles standing between it and a speedy resolution of its bankruptcy woes. 

Lawyers for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. met in court Tuesday with a federal bankruptcy judge, state representatives and lawyers representing thousands of creditors to craft a timeline of the process by which the utility could emerge from bankruptcy and pay its debts. 

During the nearly three-hour meeting, critics of PG&E’s bankruptcy plan repeatedly asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali to delay allowing the utility to file a disclosure statement — an explanation of how it plans to pay debts and restructure its company — until it is clear whether the utility must wait for state approval before moving forward. 

Organizations such as The Utility Reform Network, the PUC and the city and county of San Francisco told Montali that, without more time, parties would file objections to a case that could be overhauled if Montali allows the state to have a say in PG&E’s reorganization. 

“People are being asked to review very quickly something that would be a dramatic change,” said Steve Johnson, an attorney with the office of the U.S. Trustee, which oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases. 

“I don’t want to waste people’s time sending out a disclosure statement on a plan that is not lawful.” 

PG&E released its reorganization plan nearly three weeks ago, calling for the utility to break itself up and transfer its hydroelectric dams, nuclear power plants and natural gas pipelines to a federally regulated subsidiary. 

Critics say the utility is trying to remove much of the company from state regulation, allowing it to charge more for electricity it now sells at low prices. 

PG&E says moving its assets to PG&E Corp., its parent company, will allow it to issue bonds and raise $13.2 billion in cash and loans – enough money to pay every creditor. 

PG&E attorney Jim Lopes said the utility does not need PUC approval of its plan. He told Montali that speed is key to making the utility healthy, and said the court shouldn’t wait for a resolution with the PUC before having parties begin filing possible objections. 

“They only way we’re going to know what they are is to have people file pleadings,” Lopes said. 

In June, Montali refused to overrule a PUC decision ordering PG&E to make accounting changes the utility said prevented it from collecting the full cost of power from customers, which would have helped it avoid its debt. PG&E filed for federal bankruptcy protection April 6. 

On Tuesday, Montali refrained from saying whether he would overrule the PUC and other state officials who say PG&E’s plan violates a recent state law that prohibits utilities from selling their power plants. 

Without Montali’s approval to preempt state law, PG&E’s proceedings could stall as it wrangles with the state for the right to rearrange its holdings, forcing diverse creditors such as the state of California, banks, power sellers, restaurants and tree trimmers to wait still longer before their bills are paid. 

The utility now plans to issue a disclosure statement in late December, which will explain the reorganization plan as it then stands and how it will affect parties involved. Creditors then will vote on the plan. 

Montali also gave PG&E his blessing to sell a power plant in Kern County to a company that can take over operations and resume sending 180 megawatts of electricity to the state’s power grid. 

Gov. Gray Davis publicly approved the sale earlier this summer, calling for all available power plants to pump out electricity and help the state avoid rolling blackouts. The PUC objected, and PG&E now must work with the PUC before the deal can go through. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Federal bankruptcy court: http://www.canb.uscourts.gov 

PG&E: http://www.pge.com 

Public Utilities Commission: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov 

WASHINGTON — A 2001 Pontiac Aztek got four of five stars in the government’s rating of rollover risk, the best score given yet to a sport utility vehicle. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released the last of its ratings for the 2001 model year and the first for 2002 on Tuesday. 

The ratings are based on an arithmetic formula using the vehicle’s center of gravity and width. The more stars, the lower the rollover risk. SUVs and pickup trucks are more top-heavy and thus more likely to get low marks than a car or van. 

Real world accident statistics also show pickups and SUVs are more likely to roll over. More than 60 percent of fatalities in SUVs and more than  

40 percent of deaths in pickups happen in rollovers. By comparison, 22 percent of car deaths involve rollovers. 

Until the Aztek 4X4 earned four stars, no SUV had gotten more than three. The Aztek 4X2 got a three-star rating earlier this year. 

Most of the other SUV ratings released Tuesday were three stars, including the 2001 Subaru Forester 4X4 and 2002 models of the Ford Explorer 4X4, Chevrolet Trailblazer 4X2 and 4X4, GMC Envoy 4X2 and 4X4, Mercury Mountaineer 4X4 and Oldsmobile Bravada 4X2 and 4X4. 

Two stars went to the 2001 Nissan Xterra 4X2 and 2002 models of the Explorer 4X2, Mountaineer 4X2 and Jeep Liberty 4X2 and 4X4. 

The Dodge Dakota extended cab 4X4 pickup got three stars, as did the GMC Safari 4X2 van. 

The 2002 models will be the last rated by the mathematical formula. Under a new law, NHTSA must begin conducting rollover driving tests for the 2003 model year. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov 

http://www.pontiac.com/aztek 

HOUSTON — Texaco Inc. is selling its interests in two gas stations and refinery joint ventures to Shell Oil Co. and another partner for about $2.1 billion, paving the way for completion of Texaco’s $38.6 billion sale to Chevron Corp. 

Under the deals disclosed Tuesday, Shell and Saudi Refining Inc. are buying the Texaco stake in the joint ventures and would assume responsibility for about $1.7 billion in debt and other liabilities. 

The deals would give Houston-based Shell sole ownership of Equilon Enterprises LLC, which operates about 4,500 Shell stations and 4,500 Texaco stations, primarily in the western United States. 

Equilon, formed in 1998, also operates four refineries, a lubricants business and a pipeline and terminal network. 

The other divestiture would give Shell and Saudi Refining Inc., a subsidiary of Aramco Services Co., equal interest in Motiva Enterprises LLC. 

Motiva, likewise formed in 1998, operates mostly in the east and includes nearly 4,800 Shell stations and about 8,200 Texaco stations, four refineries and a network of terminals. 

The Federal Trade Commission required the sale of Texaco’s stakes in the joint ventures as a condition of its recent approval of the Chevron-Texaco merger pact, which was announced a year ago. 

San Francisco-based Chevron and White Plains, N.Y.-based Texaco completed their merger Tuesday after both companies’ shareholders approved the deal. The new company will be known as ChevronTexaco Corp. 

ChevronTexaco is the second largest U.S. based energy company behind Exxon Mobil Corp. and the fifth largest in the world, with some 25,000 retail outlets on six continents, revenues of nearly $117 billion and gas and oil reserves totaling more than 11 billion barrels. 

Chevron shares rose $1.94 to close at $90.89 on the New York Stock Exchange, where shares of Texaco rose $1.42 to close at $69.75. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Chevron site: http://www.chevron.com 

Shell site: http://www.shellus.com 

WASHINGTON — Microsoft Corp. lost a longshot appeal to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, and all sides said they will focus on settling the government’s long-running antitrust case against the software company. 

The court opted to stay out of the case for now, ending Microsoft’s hopes for a fresh start as it tries to avoid penalties for anti-competitive behavior. That leaves the case in the hands of a federal judge who has told the company and the government to settle out of court. 

“It’s back to settlement,” said Robert E. Litan, a former Justice Department antitrust chief. “This was Microsoft’s long ball that didn’t get completed.” 

Microsoft had asked the high court to hear its complaint that the original federal judge who handled the 78-day Microsoft antitrust trial was biased and all of his findings should be thrown out. 

A federal appeals court upbraided U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson earlier this year, threw out his order that Microsoft be broken into two companies and removed him from the case. But the appeals court agreed with Jackson that Microsoft had broken antitrust law, and should be punished. 

The federal appeals court handed the case over to one of Jackson’s colleagues, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, to set that punishment. She may yet do so, but has made clear she wants the two sides to save her the trouble. 

Last month, Kollar-Kotelly set a deadline of Friday to appoint a mediator if the two sides don’t make progress. 

Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said the company is disappointed but not surprised by the high court’s action. 

“We’ll continue to move forward with the case on the district court level, and we’ll comply with the court order to work with the government to settle this case,” he said. 

The Justice Department released a brief statement: “We’re pleased with the court’s decision. We’ll continue our progress in the district court.” 

The department and 18 states sued Microsoft in 1998, alleging the Windows software maker wielded its dominance in the market to stifle competition and harm consumers. 

“We are not surprised the Supreme Court did not take up the matter, because the decision by the D.C. Court of Appeals was unanimous and very well-reasoned,” said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a leader of the state coalition. 

The Supreme Court did not comment in rejecting Microsoft’s appeal, and the court’s action does not indicate how the justices view the merits of the Microsoft case.  

The court could referee part of the antitrust case if settlement talks fail. 

The Supreme Court’s action came a couple of weeks before the company plans to release the newest version of Windows, called Windows XP. Critics say the product raises the same antitrust issues Jackson found compelling in ruling against the company. 

The Supreme Court had not been expected to take the case at this point, mostly because the matter is still in flux in lower courts. The high court typically likes to wait until it has a clear legal field before stepping into a case. 

So long as the possibility of winning a further delay existed, Microsoft had less incentive to bargain, Litan and other antitrust experts said. 

Windows XP, and the extent to which the Justice Department may try to win changes to it, will probably be the centerpiece of the settlement talks, antitrust lawyers said. 

In its Supreme Court appeal, Microsoft argued that Jackson’s comments to reporters about the case were an ethical breach that tainted his rulings against the company. 

Microsoft said Jackson should have been disqualified from the case when he gave his first interview. If that had happened, Jackson’s entire final verdict would have been thrown out. 

The federal appeals court dismissed that argument in June, and Microsoft appealed to the Supreme Court. 

This is the second time the justices have turned away the antitrust case. After the company appealed Jackson’s ruling last year, the court rejected the Justice Department’s request to take over. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov 

Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com 

WASHINGTON — Less than 6 percent of the 2002 model cars and trucks arriving in showrooms get better than 30 miles per gallon, and new cars on average get slightly less gas mileage than the 2001 models. 

America’s love affair with gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and pickups again held down the overall numbers for the 865 cars, trucks and vans listed in the annual fuel economy statistics released Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Just 48 models, led by two hybrid gas- and electric-powered vehicles, get 30 mpg or better in combined city and highway driving. More than a third – 330 models – get less than 20 mpg. The majority – 487 models – get between 20 and 30 mpg. 

Overall, new passenger vehicles average about 21 mpg. Last year’s weighted average, based on sales for all new passenger cars and trucks, was 20.4 mpg – a 21-year low. 

While touting the need for fuel-efficient vehicles to decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil, two top Bush administration officials were reluctant Tuesday to embrace changing government standards to require that vehicles go farther on a gallon of gas. They said safety must be paramount in any such decision. 

Average fuel economy for the 491 cars is 23.9 mpg, a slight decrease from 24.2 mpg in 2001. That compares with 17.9 mpg for 374 models or variations of SUVs, vans and pickup trucks, a modest increase from 17.3 in 2001. 

The hybrids, the two-seat Honda Insight coupe and five-seat Toyota Prius sedan, topped the list of fuel misers for the third straight year, at 64 mpg and 48 mpg, respectively. They are followed by four Volkswagen diesel cars, the Honda Civic HX and Toyota Echo, all 37 mpg or better. By class, the best achievers are compact cars at 25.8 mpg, followed by small station wagons and subcompact cars at almost 25 mpg and midsize station wagons at 23.7 mpg. Cargo and passenger vans and standard-size four-wheel drive pickup trucks are the fuel spendthrifts at 16 mpg. 

Among midsize cars, the Mazda 626 and Honda Accord reported the best combined city-highway mileage of 28 mpg. The worst in that category is the luxury Bentley Arnage, at 13 mpg. Most cars in the category are in the low- to mid-20s mpg. 

Three similar minivans from General Motors – the Chevrolet Ventura, Oldsmobile Silhouette and Pontiac Montana – again have the best mileage, 22 mpg combined, in the passenger van category. The Kia Sedona has the worst at 17 mpg. 

King-size SUVs such as the Cadillac Escalade, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator account for 13 of the 35 vehicles on the list with the worst gas mileage, all 14 mpg or less combined. 

The luxury sport import Lamborghini L-147 Murcielago is the biggest guzzler, at 10 mpg, followed by the Ferrari 360 Modena/Spider, at 12 mpg. 

EPA Administrator Christie Whitman said more fuel-efficient vehicles could save owners more than $1,500 a year.  

An increase of just 3 mpg industrywide could reduce carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming by 140 million metric tons, EPA said. 

But the agency reported last week that the fuel economy of new passenger vehicles is as poor as it’s been in the past 20 years because automakers are trading mileage gains for larger, more powerful vehicles. 

In August, the House rejected by a 269-160 vote a proposal to make SUVs attain the same fleet average of 27.5 mpg that the government requires of automobiles.  

Both the fleet auto standard and requirement that SUVs, vans and light pickups have a fleet average of 20.7 mpg have been unchanged since 1975. 

The Bush administration has taken no position on whether fuel efficiency standards should be changed. 

“We’re seeing now a voluntary stepping up of car manufacturers to increase the gas mileage and fuel efficiency of vehicles,” Whitman said Tuesday. She said the 2002 models strike a balance by incorporating new technologies that “do not compromise safety at all” through reductions in size and weight. 

“Conserving fuel by driving a more fuel-efficient vehicle is one way for all of us to help cut oil consumption,” said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. “Energy efficiency is a security issue just as much as it’s an issue of conservation.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

U.S. Department of Energy: http://www.fueleconomy.gov 

Berkeley High football coaches call him “Mr. Everything.” It’s hard to argue with them. 

In a single game against El Cerrito earlier this season, Nick Schooler, 17, ran the ball at fullback, defended the pass at strong safety and even punted after the ’Jackets’ starting kicker left the game with an arm injury. 

And if it weren’t for Raymond Pinkston transferring to Berkeley High from Detroit earlier this year, Schooler might be taking snaps at quarterback as well. 

“Every year I start as a potential quarterback,” Schooler said. “I show up every day during the summer and pick up on the offense pretty well.” 

He’s never been Berkeley’s primary passer in an actual game, but did play quarterback in a scrimmage earlier this season, so it could be Schooler’s next position.  

But then again, any position could be Schooler’s next position. 

“He knows his position and everybody else’s,” said Matt Bissell, Berkeley head coach. “He picks up stuff much quicker than other players and seems to always know what he’s doing.” 

Schooler’s intelligence and instinct allow him to read defenses and see plays happen before the opposing team even runs them. “He’s sort of a coach on the field,” Bissell added. 

This year Schooler learned an entirely new offense under first-year coordinator Clarence Johnson just in time to switch to the other side of the ball after the ’Jackets’ starting strong safety, sophomore Chris Watson, became sidelined with a shoulder injury. 

“A lot of guys just know what they’re supposed to do out there,” Johnson said. “But he sees the whole picture and plays extremely smart football.” 

In Berkeley’s first four games of the season Schooler split time at fullback with Roger Mason and Aaron Boatright. He also filled in for two injured ’Jackets, Watson on defense and Jason Goodwin as punter. 

“In emergencies we’ll put him in at receiver,” Johnson said. “I’m sure we could put him on the line if we needed to.” 

Although he’s only 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, Schooler would likely get the call if a hole on the line needed to be filled. He played inside linebacker on the junior varsity squad as a sophomore and an outside linebacker on the varsity team last year. 

It’s now clear how versatile Schooler is on the football field, but that’s only the half of it. 

In the spring, Schooler picks up a lacrosse stick and plays – you guessed it – both offense and defense as a midfielder for a Berkeley High team that’s missed the playoffs by just a single game each of the last two seasons.  

Lacrosse, which he started playing in the sixth grade, is Schooler’s first choice of sports to play. When asked about the similarities between football and lacrosse, he noted that they’re both full contact and as an aside said, “Jim Brown’s second-best sport was football. He played lacrosse first.” 

At the collegiate level, big-time lacrosse is mainly an East Coast sport. Schooler’s interested in staying in California and possibly playing for a Division I school such as UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego or Stanford, which all field club teams. Williams College, a Division III school in Massachusetts, has recruited Schooler for its team. 

As for football, Schooler’s family was instrumental in making him a two-sport athlete. His father played in high school and Schooler’s brother, Ben, played inside linebacker at Berkeley and was named all-league twice.  

“He’s got me beat at football,” Schooler said of his older brother. “But I’m working on the lacrosse part and I pretty much have him beat there.” 

Off the field, Schooler maintains a 4.0 grade point average while taking such classes as advanced placement statistics.  

“I just put everything else aside during the week,” he said. “It’s just football and school.”  

In the precious free time that Schooler does manage to find, he turns to photography, a hobby that began while he was a freshman. As an amateur photographer, he enjoys taking pictures of people and his chocolate Labrador, Hershey. 

Back to the football field, Bissell said that a couple games were lost last year because athletes were overexerted. For that reason – and the fact that Berkeley fielded a larger team this year – just a handful of ’Jackets will see playing time on both sides of the ball.  

Schooler, however, will continue to play more than one position because he’s well conditioned, Bissell said. In addition, the Berkeley coaches are quick to recognize just how important a smart player can be to the success of an entire team. 

Still, even for a player as athletically sound as Schooler, he admitted that Berkeley’s 32-29 league-opening win over El Cerrito took a lot out of him. He ran for 25 yards on the ground, caught a touchdown pass with under a minute left in the first half, recorded his first career interception as a defensive back, and pinned the Gauchos deep in their own territory with a key fourth-quarter punt. 

“It was kind of tiring,” Schooler said. “I was sore for the first time after a game.”

Aurora Levins Morales’ cousin died in the World Trade Center attacks, but the poet told a crowd of about 500 people outside the downtown BART station late Monday afternoon that she refused to vent her rage on the Afghani people. 

“I can’t (ask for the lives) of those who are being bombed now,” she said, before reading parts of a poem she had written after the WTC attacks. 

The “BART alert” – the downtown BART has become a gathering place of sorts for activists over the years – was the second anti-war rally of the day in Berkeley. An earlier one had been held on campus. 

A sea of signs calling for “peace” and saying “war is not the answer” served as a backdrop for speakers who climbed up onto the bed of a blue pick-up truck that had been moved onto the plaza. The crowd heard 90-year-old Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek say: “War has never solved anything; we must negotiate at the table.”  

Middle East Children’s Alliance Director Barbara Lubin told the crowd she mourned the lives of those lost at the World Trade Center. “It was horrible,” she said underscoring, however, that to understand the whole picture, “You have to look at the politics in our country.”  

And KPFA-radio activist Jay Imani said: “I don’t stand with people who kill innocent people anywhere in the world. We oppose terrorism and rely on the strength of the people to set us free.” 

In one tense moment, about half-way through the short list of speakers, singers and poets, a man forced his way onto the pick up bed and demanded to speak. “I want my free speech rights,” he called out into the crowd. He was quickly surrounded by a group who convinced him to come down. One of those who surrounded him later said the man appeared sincere – he was an ardent person who passionately believed that war was right and wanted to have a turn to speak to the crowd. 

Other pro-war advocates were not apparent in the crowd, that began chanting while the interloper was debating those surrounding him – “One, two, three, four, we don’t want your racist war.” 

Once the last of the speakers had climbed down from the flat-bed stage, a large portion of the crowd filed behind a banner reading “Stop Bombing Afghanistan Now!” and began marching down Shattuck Avenue toward University Avenue with Berkeley police on motorcycles and bikes leading the way and directing traffic. 

With drums pounding and American flags with peace symbols instead of stars waving, it was more like a parade than a march. The demonstrators waited obediently at University until the light turned green, then proceeded to march west. The procession stretched for more than a block. 

Driving her electric wheelchair out in front of the banner, Berkeley City Councilmember Dona Spring said the march reminded her of a similar one in 1989. It was when then-mayor Loni Hancock led a march to the freeway in protest of the Gulf War, she said. 

“It’s not often we have the numbers to march down University,” Spring said, adding “It happens every decade at least.” 

People hanging out of their windows cheered the crowd on, commuters stuck in traffic because of the march honked in approval and wait-staff from Cafe Venezia came out of the restaurant to yell encouragement to the marchers. 

Then, as the demonstrators closed in on the University overpass, the three or four people at the helm consolidated everyone and made sure that the people holding the banner were out in front, “to look strong and united,” one of them said. 

There didn’t seem to be a plan, with Lubin asking someone, “Are we going take the freeway?” 

Nearly 30 Berkeley Police in riot helmets with batons in hand were there to prevent the procession from doing just that. The officers lined up and blocked off University in both directions as the marchers came close to the overpass, at the Sixth Street intersection.  

Several police cars, lights flashing, came up over the overpass and closed it off behind the police. For 10 tense minutes, police and protesters stood across the white lines of the crosswalk from each other. There were chants of “Whose street? Our street!” and police yelling forcefully for the demonstrators to step back. But with several people urging restraint on both sides, the crowd turned around and headed peacefully back up University without any arrests or clashes with police.  

Asked if she was afraid of the march turning violent, demonstrator Adrianne Aron of Berkeley laughed and remarked, “No, I was more afraid that as lemmings we were about to march into the Bay.” 

Forest Schmidt, an organizer of the event and a member of the International Action Center said he didn’t think there was ever a risk of violence. 

“I don’t think people were up to breaking through a police barrier.” 

The procession continued back up University, with chants of “FBI CIA Terrorists Made in the USA” to the BART station where it all began mare than two hours earlier. The dissipating crowd took over the intersection at Center Street and Shattuck for twenty minutes as those with bullhorns encouraged people to attend more protests in the days ahead.

Tuesday, Oct. 9

Fighting for human rights  

in Haiti 

12:30 p.m. 

Boalt Hall, room 13 

UC Berkeley Campus 

Brian Concannon, Jr. has been helping the Office of International Lawyers in its aim of prosecuting human rights violators from Haiti’s 1991-1994 dictatorship. He will discuss Haiti’s experience in coming to terms with its brutal past. 

Volunteer Training 

4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. 

1835 Allston Way 

Training Workshop for volunteers interested in helping in Berkeley public school classrooms and after school programs. 644-8833 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips. 531-8664 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday.  

655-8863 

Town Hall Meeting 

4 - 6 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

The Affordable Housing Advocacy Project presents a discussion on the Berkeley Housing Authority Howmeownership Program. 548-5803 

Wednesday, Oct. 10

PRC Meeting 

The meeting of the Police Review Commission scheduled for Oct. 10 has been canceled. Regular PRC meetings will resume on Oct. 24. 

Fear and Stress Workshop 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave 

Betty Goren will speak about how to control your fear, anxiety and stress. 

Amendment to Zoning  

Ordinance Meeting 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

The Planning Commission will consider an amendment to the zoning ordinance to prohibit the conversions of existing building space from any other use to office use and the development of new office uses of 5000 square feet or more in the mixed use-light industrial zoning district. 

Toddler Storytime 

7 p.m. 

West Berkeley Library 

1125 University Ave. 

For families with children three years or younger, a program to expose the youngest readers to multicultural stories, songs and finger plays. 

Every Wednesday through Nov. 28. 

Prose Writers’ Workshop 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center Library 

1414 Walnut St.  

From op-ed to fiction, memoir to the feature article - a community 

writers' group to support and encourage a community of interests. Workshop format. Free. 524-3034 

Thursday, Oct. 11

Community Health  

Commission Meeting 

6:45 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis Street 

Commissioners will brainstorm to determine major issues of concern regarding Alta Bates. 644-6109 

Resident Advisory Board Meeting 

4 p.m. - 6 p.m. 

East Bay Community Law Center 

3122 Shattuck Ave 

Review Discussion and Possible Action on Draft Agency Annual Plan Update and thirty minutes of public comment. There will be refreshments. 

Free Depression Screenings 

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

University Health Services, Tano Center 

2222 Bancroft Way 

Screenings will include a written self-test followed by an interview with a counselor. Referrals for follow-up evaluation and treatment will be provided 

Saturday, Oct. 13

Shelter Operations 

9 a.m. - noon 

Office of Emergency Services 

997 Cedar St. 

Free classes in Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). 981-5605 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Farmers’ Market Fall Fruit  

Tasting 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

Center St and Martin Luther King Way 

Free samples the whole range of fall fruit. There will be a wide variety of apples, pears and persimmons at a central location for taste-testing. 

548-3333 

Pow Wow and Indian Market 

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Civic Center Park 

Enjoy Native American foods, dancing and arts & crafts in Berkeley’s tenth annual Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration, this year honoring Mille Ketchesawno. 

595-5520 

Rep. Lee says minimize deaths  

In response to the U.S. led military strikes on Afghanistan, Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statement: 

I pray for the safety and the well-being of the brave men and women in our armed forces who find themselves in harm’s way. 

We can only hope that the loss of life of innocent men, women and children in Afghanistan is minimized as much as possible and that the military action will not reach widespread proportions. 

We will have to fully assess the implications and impact of these efforts in the coming days, weeks and months of this conflict.

School Superintendent Michele Lawrence told parents and community advocates of Latino students that she opposes the breakup of Berkeley High School into small schools within the 3,400-student school. 

“I’m a little hesitant to open another system when I see this one so in need of repair,” Lawrence said to the group of about 80 people who gathered at Rosa Parks Elementary School on Sunday for a forum organized by local Latino organizations. Lawrence also cited possible budget cuts as one of the reasons she hesitated to begin the process of rearranging the high school. 

The superintendent, herself a Latina, met informally with leaders of a number of Latino organizations before the larger meeting to discuss some of the most pressing concerns for Latino parents, particularly the high drop out rates and lack of preparation for college.  

Mercedes Sanders, a guidance counselor at Berkeley Alternative High School and member of Chicanos/Latinos for Academic and Social Success, said the forum was intended to inform parents about Lawrence’s vision for the Berkeley schools.  

“The large high school is our concern,” Sanders said. “Students are getting lost because they don’t feel comfortable, they’re alienated and they choose to leave.”  

Lawrence said that although smaller schools create a more intimate atmosphere for students, they do not guarantee quality teaching.  

“Unless you look and make certain that we have effective teachers who are well-trained and delivering good information, whether it’s big or small it has to be effective teaching,” she said.  

Lawrence said the focus should be on the California High School Exit Exam, which students from the class of 2004 will be required to pass in order to receive a high school diploma. The legislature approved a bill last month that would allow the State Board of Education to postpone that date, and the bill is awaiting the governor's signature.  

The superintendent said she is opposed to giving out different types of diplomas to different students, something that has been suggested by some educators as a way of providing challenging requirements to students with different abilities.  

“I think that’s going to be bad for minority children,” she said. “I think what we really have to do is make certain that we have Saturday programs, after school programs and summer school to make certain that these students are staying on track.”  

One parent expressed concern that minority students in the district are being neglected. Her daughter, a freshman at Berkeley High School who is in the Spanish for native speakers’ class, said students in the class had been without textbooks since the first day of school. Lawrence said that she would follow the issue up on Monday. 

Lawrence said she is particularly concerned about school attendance, noting that Berkeley High does not do a good job alerting parents about student attendance because of its inefficient system. Nonetheless, she told parents it is up to them to make sure their children are at school and that they should call the attendance office at least once a month to check on their child’s attendance.  

“Don’t let your child fall through the cracks while we’re fixing the system,” she said.  

Lawrence told the groups that she and the board had set five goals for the school district: security and safety of students, communication, accountability, school maintenance and understanding of the school district budget.  

Lawrence said she is investing lots of time in reviewing the budget because the majority goes to pay personnel.  

“You must know where those people work, who they are and what they get paid,” she said. “We’re very sloppy; records have just not been kept up.”  

The superintendent said budget cuts are likely in December. “It’s not awful but it is serious and we’ll be (spending) time on the budget,” she said.  

Lawrence said she hopes that once the five goals she has set have been accomplished, the district will be able to look at more specific problems.  

“We can’t get diverted from the five things,” she said. “We must build upon those five things so that all the children in this school district can achieve much better than they are now. And I think we can do this together.”

2000 Common Ground trip got A+  

Editor: 

It's too bad your reporter, and vicariously your readership, wasn't present at last year's Common Ground field trip to Yosemite. Here's some of what I observed as my two students with developmental disabilities fully participated with their peers: young people exploring the flora and fauna of the Valley floor while recording observations intermittently in their field notes; urban youth taking formidable hikes in challenging weather to the various heights of the Valley and returning with an appropriate sense of awe of their surroundings and their own achievements; midnight photography classes; students awaking me at 5 am for the chance to go out and view by telescope the now visible planets just before a glorious sunrise; in short, a shared sense of exploration, discovery, and community. Such experiences direct further student engagement at BHS and in the local community throughout the school year.  

This is the essence of Common Ground, which merits further exploration, and appreciation, in your pages. 

Bill Joyce 

Berkeley

One day after Afghanistan became the first military theater of the Bush Administration’s “war on terrorism,” hundreds of UC Berkeley students took to Sproul Plaza to denounce the American and British bombing campaign, while a few dozen dissenters held  

lags, chanted support for the men in uniform and sang the national anthem. 

An unidentified person vandalized the Berkeley College Republicans’ megaphone. “That is not an action we support at all,” said Jose Palafox, a member of the Berkeley Stop the War Coalition, which sponsored the rally.  

The megaphone’s demise left war opponents with the majority of the crowd and the only functioning loudspeakers. 

More than one speaker pointed out that the reverse situation prevails in the rest of the country. 

“We do not live in a climate where it is easy to oppose this war,” said Snehal Shinyavi, a student and the main spokesman of the Berkeley Stop the War Committee. “Even the Democrats don’t do it... (the media) are pumping up as much hysteria as they can.” 

Anti-war speakers described U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere, stretching back decades, as comparable in criminality and violence to the Sept. 11 attacks. They criticized not only the present bombing campaign – which most termed racist and akin to state-sponsored terrorism – but also the new political climate within the United States. 

“Bush is telling us that criticism of government policy is tantamount to terrorism,” said Ameena Ahmed, a recent graduate who spoke for Students for Justice in Palestine. Drawing a parallel between the conservatism of the U.S. administration and of the Muslim fundamentalist Taliban, which rules Afghanistan, she added, “The choice we make is to refuse to be caught in the crossfire between right wing and right wing.” 

Eventually, some 500 to 600 people packed the plaza, according to U.C. Police Lieutenant Adan Tejada. Anti-war cheers grew impassioned as the large group advocating support for the military campaign advanced as far up the Sproul Hall steps as police would allow and competed with chants of “U.S.A.” and “Support Our Troops.” Green armbands, Palestinian checkered kefirs, and tie-dyes competed for attention with flag-emblazoned shirts and bandannas. 

“I think a vast amount of the student body is siding with President Bush and the United States,” said Trevor Buckingham, a senior in electrical engineering and computer science. He held a sign that said, “Terrorize Terrorism.” 

“We believe our country is a peaceful country and we’re going to stand by it,” said Robb McFadden, the Berkeley College Republicans president. 

As the gathering stretched past 1 p.m. with no signs of flagging, students faced off in heated arguments. A half-dozen university police kept watch over people in heated discussions, poking their fingers in the air.  

“Someone comes up and punches you, then sticks a knife in you – wouldn’t you defend yourself?” said a young male student in the pro-war camp. “Yes,” an older man responded, “and that’s why this country spends billions every year on intelligence services.” 

Over at the microphone, Karen Folger Jacobs, a visiting lecturer in the African American Studies department, directly addressed the nucleus of flags amidst the sea of peace signs.  

“I support America and I think we should feed people,” she said. “I support the troops – let’s have them all give out food. Let’s feed the people of Afghanistan.” 

After her speech, she looked over at the counter-demonstration and said, “It doesn’t look that big and it looks from here like it’s all white men.” 

Over at the counter-demonstration, Soodtida Tangpraphaphorn, a molecular biology senior holding a small flag, said such an assumption was “the most racist thing I ever heard. And they’re the ones throwing around the race card.” 

Tony Banks, a sophomore in the pro-military camp, described himself as a “Christian male” with white, African-American, and Native American blood but no particular political orientation. 

“No country is perfect and there are things in the U.S. I disagree with, but now is not the time for that because there was a strike against our country and we need to unite as a people and do what we need to do,” he said. 

Most of the rally’s speakers, however, drew explicit links between the new “war against terrorism” and anti-immigrant sentiment. “Not one of those terrorists was an immigrant,” said Carlo Petroni of the Movement for the Rights of Immigrants. “They were issued visas by the consulates in their countries. Why don’t the media tell us the truth?” 

Hoku Jeffrey, a senior in ethnic studies and a member of the Campus Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary, said he hoped the revulsion at the disregard for human life represented by the Sept. 11 attacks would be “translated into anti-war and anti-racist sentiment.” 

As the rally ended, the debates at the Sproul steps grew into a cacophony of voices, with only shreds of arguments audible above the din. 

“What if they do it again?” 

“What evidence do you have?” 

“You cannot have a war without casualties...”

Article didn’t tell whole story 

Editor:  

Your paper has lost complete credibility with me over the article you printed about the Berkeley High School Yosemite trip. Your standards for journalism obviously are of the poorest quality. The article was purely gossip and shows no effort whatsoever to research the facts. Following that article I will no longer read your paper as a source of credible news.  

What is worse, as yellow journalism always does, you have given a misdeserved negative impression of the school, its students and the highly dedicated, hard working and incredibly effective people who are diligently and impressively educating our students.As someone who works in education as well as a mother of one of the students, I wonder where are articles which point to what is being done well by underpaid and dedicated professional educators.  

If there was one program which deserved positive press, it is the Common Grounds program and instead you printed gossip and misimpressions about their work. It is a credit once again to these teachers that they have taken the experience and made it a positive learning for our students at this critical and vulnerable time in their life, just as they are launched into adulthood.  

I as a parent, will also impart to my son a valuable lesson I learned from my Junior year English teacher: always look at the source of your news. Are they credible? A lesson I have taken with me ever since with much gratitude.  

October 7 we began a war, I for one look for many sources of information and do not buy at face value any of it. So I listen to it all and decide for myself. If nothing else I thank you for the timely piece that allows me to impart that lesson to my son who was on the field trip, who handled himself with honor and can compare his own experience with what you wrote.  

Suzanne Dove  

Berkeley 

The City Council will consider taking advantage of a new state law that allows sharing information between the Franchise Tax Board and city to make sure that local businesses are paying their full share of taxes.  

Current state law allows only limited exchange of information between state and municipal tax collectors.  

Proposed legislation, AB63, would open up the lines of communication. The law was approved by the state Senate on Sept. 13 and is awaiting the governor’s signature.  

According to the recommendation, submitted by Mayor Shirley Dean, there are businesses that avoid paying city taxes by failing to file tax returns with the city auditor or underreporting their earnings. By sharing information with the Franchise Tax Board, the city would be able to crosscheck state records for accurate and consistent tax filings.  

Crime rates 

In light of an annual FBI report and Census 2000 information that Berkeley (including the university campus) has the second highest number of crimes per person committed in the state, the council will consider asking the city manager to prepare a detailed crime report that includes the UC Berkeley campus.  

The FBI Crime Index reported that there were 7,731 crimes committed in Berkeley during 2000, equal to 70 crimes per 1,000 people. The only other city with a higher number of crimes per person is Fresno, which experienced 76 crimes per 1,000 people. The crimes include murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft and arson for California cities with populations of 100,000 or greater. 

When UC Berkeley is taken out of the mix, the city’s crime rate drops from the previous year. In 1999 there were three murders, the same as 2000 and the numbers of robbery, larceny and theft all declined. But the occurrences of aggravated assaults more than tripled from 416 in 1999 to 1,364 in 2000, according to statistics included in a report from the mayor’s office. (The report does not indicate the mayor’s source.) 

To get a larger picture of the scope of Berkeley crime and possible solutions, the council will consider asking for a report that includes detailed information about crime on the UC campus. 

Flagpoles 

The council will consider a recommendation by the mayor that flagpoles be installed in front of the Public Safety and Civic Center buildings.  

Dean’s office was inundated with angry telephone calls from around the county two weeks ago when talk show host G. Gordon Liddy falsely accused the mayor on his nationally syndicated radio program of temporarily removing American flags from the city’s fire trucks. Liddy also broadcast Dean’s office telephone number. 

“In conjunction with recent events, many constituents have inquired about the absence of flagpoles outside the Civic Center and Public Safety Building.” Dean’s recommendation reads. “These items were omitted from the construction budgets during the recent renovations in an effort to hold down costs. I think it would be appropriate to reconsider this decision.” 

Earthquake repairs evaluated  

The City Manager’s Office has concluded an investigation of homeowner allegations of substandard, state subsidized repair work in the wake of the Loma Prieta Earthquake. 

The report found that the majority of work was up to industry standard, although there was some shoddy work done. 

After the quake on Oct. 17, 1989, the California Natural Disaster Assistance Program distributed $87 million in quake damaged regions to homeowners who needed low-interest loans for quake damage.  

CNDAP issued 53 loans to Berkeley homeowners for a total of $3.3 million at an interest rate of 3 percent. The city administered the loans and hired contractors to complete the repair work, most of which was carried out in the mid-1990s.  

But in Oct. 1999, after a group of 15 homeowners complained to the City Council that much of the work was faulty and caused either more damage or the need for additional repair work, the council asked the city manager to investigate.  

The city hired the George Hills Company, an independent insurance adjuster to investigate the claims.  

Homeowner complaints included unfinished work, leaky roofs and substandard patching and painting. 

According to the George Hills Company report, which was completed in July, many of the complaints were unfounded. 

“Without question the majority of approved/funded repairs were completed to the satisfaction of homeowners and appeared to reflect quality to the industry standard,” the report read.  

“This investigation also revealed some legitimate complaints and problems among a minority of the homes viewed.” 

The city manager’s report pointed out that homeowners have missed the six-month time limit for filing lawsuits but added “Any decision to compensate or rectify problems would be the policy decision made by the Berkeley City Council.” 

Other matters 

• The council is expected to approve the Downtown Berkeley Business Improvement’s 2002 annual report and announce its intention to levy renewed assessment for the district to pay for streetscape improvements and downtown business promotion. 

• The council is expected to authorize the city manager to participate in a working group of county law enforcement agencies to discuss the feasibility of building a crime laboratory. The group will discuss the location of the proposed laboratory, funding sources and what to look for in a laboratory director. 

• The Family Violence Law Center and the Berkeley Police Department will submit a report to council detailing trends in domestic violence.  

• The council is expected to direct the Public Works Department to make a serious effort to clean dead leaves and other debris form the city’s catch basins.  

The recommendation, from Councilmember Polly Armstrong, says that early action could prevent problems. 

“If the Public Works Department could take on a proactive role here, and clean out these catch basins before the rains arrive in November, storm runoff could run through the city’s gutters and our streets would be flood free,” the report reads. 

Executive session 

The City Council will hold a closed session meeting at 2180 Milvia St. in the Sixth Floor Conference Room at 5:30 p.m. to discuss 66 public and general liability issues. There will be 10 minutes allotted for public comment prior to the closed session.

Setbacks are not necessary 

Editor: 

I was amazed to hear that a member of the Zoning Board want the proposed hotel on Milvia and Bancroft to be set back from the sidewalk, making it impossible to include retail. 

The best way to create interesting, pedestrian-friendly streets is by building retail right at the sidewalk. Berkeley has actually required developers to do this in some places -- an example is Cafe Expresso at Shattuck and Hearst -- and it has made the street much more inviting. It is the storefronts facing the sidewalk that make traditional shopping streets, such as College Ave., so inviting. 

The rule that requires this developer to get a use permit to build to the sidewalk is a relic of 1950s suburban design. Many cities now have zoning codes that require developers to build to the sidewalk in downtowns and on commercial corridors. New Urbanist planners, such as Andres Duany and Victor Dover, made these codes popular, and now they are spreading widely. 

Berkeley should catch up by changing its zoning laws so developers in downtown and on major commercial corridors must build to the sidewalk unless they show they have a special reason for needing a setback. I hope this hotel is approved without a setback and with retail facing the sidewalk. It is badly needed to enliven a bleak and dull part of downtown. 

Charles Siegel 

Berkeley

After last week’s stormy session where the council narrowly approved, in concept, the city’s controversial new council districts, the City Council will have its first reading of the ordinance that sets the districts at tonight’s meeting.  

The moderate faction on the council was outraged last Tuesday when progressives approved new council districts that moderates say was fashioned behind closed doors and is a poorly disguised attempt to unseat moderate Councilmember Polly Armstrong by loading her district with students. 

The progressives approved the proposed new district boundaries by a 5-4 vote. 

The progressives deny that there was a hidden agenda in the proposed plan and said it was the one that most closely adhered to City Charter requirements. 

A large part of the problem was a blunder by census takers who apparently undercounted thousands of people in districts 7 and 8. 

According to the city clerk, census takers missed nearly 4,500 people. Despite the undercount, which called for drastic boundary shifts, the city is bound by the charter to approve new districts with equal populations by Dec. 31. 

The new district boundaries, drafted by residents David Blake and Michael O’Malley, closely resembles the geographical shape of the old districts but shifts large numbers of people into new districts citywide.  

Boundary changes 

District 1, northwest Berkeley, Councilmember Linda Maio 

According to a city report on the redistricting, 1,064 people are moved out of District 1. The district does pick up a significant number of residents and business where the new boundary is moved one block west from University Avenue to Addison Street between 2nd and 10th streets. District 1 also loses several blocks along its eastern border. 

District 2, southwest Berkeley,  

Coucilmember  

Margaret Breland 

Loses 1,337 people in boundary shifts mostly where District 1 moves south one block from University Avenue. District 1 also loses blocks on eastern boundary where the line moves west from Sacramento Street to Edwards Street between Dwight and Bancroft way. 

District 3, south central Berkeley, Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek 

Loses 1,265 residents mostly on its eastern boundary where the new line is moved west one block from Ellsworth Street to Fulton Street between Derby and Dwight streets. But District 3 gains residents by moving west from California Street one block to Sacramento Street between Ashby and Parker streets. 

District 4, central Berkeley, Councilmember Dona Spring 

Loses 2,132 people mostly along northern border by moving one block south from Vine Street to Cedar Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Shattuck Avenue.  

It picks up several blocks along the western boundary where the line is shifted from Sacramento Street one block west to Edwards Street between Dwight and Bancroft ways. 

District 5, north central Berkeley,  

Councilmember Miriam Hawley 

Loses 1,195 people mostly along its eastern border where the boundary line is shifted one block west from Spruce Street to Oxford Street and from Craigmont Avenue to Santa Barbara Street. 

District 6, northeast Berkeley,  

Councilmember Betty Olds 

Loses 1,194 people by shifting primarily along its southern border where both districts 7 and 8 now jump the UC Berkeley campus past Hearst Avenue to Le Conte Avenue.  

District 6 picks up a long stretch of blocks along its western border where the boundary moves one block west from Spruce Street to Oxford Street. 

District 7, south-of-campus, mostly student area,  

Councilmember Kriss Worthington 

Picks up several blocks by moving west from Ellsworth Street one block to Fulton Street between Haste and Derby streets. 

And loses several blocks along its northeastern border where it moves one block west from College Avenue to Bowditch  

Street between Dwight and  

Bancroft ways. 

District 8, southeast Berkeley, Councilmember Polly Armstrong 

Because District 8 had to gain the most residents, it also lost the fewest, 156.  

The district picked up the most new residents by moving its northwestern boundary line west form College Avenue one block to Benvenue Street between Derby and Stuart streets and two blocks from College Avenue to Hillegass and Bowditch streets between Derby Street and Bancroft Way.

AIDS needs funds 

Editor: 

With no champion of global AIDS in their midst, Senate Democrats are set to deflate the Global AIDS Fund during budget deliberations in the next two weeks. Present Senate recommendations are less than the paltry $200 million sum proposed by George Bush. This should be a matter of great concern to everyone on the planet. 

Every day 10,000 people, mostly African, die of AIDS. There are 16,000 new HIV infections daily. This is a global cataclysm on the scale of the Holocaust, major plagues, and world wars. With the death toll approaching 23 million, Africa is facing it's own Hiroshima on a weekly basis. 

As a solution U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and scientific experts have called for a $9.2 billion annual Global Health Fund to seriously treat AIDS, malaria and TB. To date only $1.6 billion is pledged. Ironically $1.6 billion is Africa's debt service to developing countries in seven weeks. The rock group U2, a major champion of the "drop the debt" movement, has organized a global AIDS fundraiser CD due out this fall. 

According to Annan the US contribution to the Fund should be $2-3 billion as we account for 30 percent of the global economy. George Bush dismayed everyone, including Colin Powell, when he set the bar low at a $200 million donation, 67 cents per American. Norway pledged $25 per person, Sweden, $7 per person. Nigeria pledged $1 million, a significant amount from a country which can afford to treat only 15,000 of over 2 million infected by purchasing bulk generics from India. 

Senate Democrats pledged $50 to $100 million for next year. The bipartisan House leadership of Barbara Lee and Jim Leach is asking for up to $750 million. Full $2 billion funding has been endorsed by the National Council of Churches, the AFL-CIO, Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders. 

What is to be done? Call Senators Boxer, Feinstein, and Speaker Tom Daschle at 202-224-3121. Say you want them to champion a $2 billion donation to the Global AIDS Fund. Also tell them you want the Fund to buy generic drugs at the lowest world price. This will treat four to 40 times more people than would buying at US pharmaceutical market prices. 

Sign Oxfam's on line petition: www.oxfam.org.uk/health, which calls on the World Trade Organization to recognize that public health emergencies take precedence over patent rights. Fifty one developing countries plus Norway have endorsed this idea. The United States and Switzerland are actively proposing support for pharmaceutical manufacturers' patent rights and obscene profit margins. For 20 years the pharmaceutical industry has been the most profitable industry in the world according to Fortune Magazine. 

Your Senators need to know how you want tax dollars spent. Every $300 to purchase generic AIDS, malaria and TB treatments will alleviate the suffering of one person and hold out hope to millions. 

John Iverson 

San Leandro

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis is expanding California’s efforts to battle the threat of bio-terrorism as fears of deadly germs rise across the nation. 

Davis said Monday he will call on scientists from the University of California, other universities and the private sector to advise him on the state’s preparedness for a potential attack using biological or chemical weapons. 

“We are just preparing for the worst but hoping for the best,” Davis said during a series of interviews with broadcast media across the state. 

The announcement comes as fears of a bio-terrorist attack are surging following the death last week of a Florida man from Anthrax disease and the discovery of spores of the potentially deadly bacterium in one of his co-workers. 

Davis said a task force has been preparing for potential bio-terrorism attacks for two years in California. Since Sept. 11, state officials have held seminars to train medical personnel to spot and treat Anthrax and other diseases and are testing California’s water system daily. 

The California Highway Patrol also has stepped up patrols across the state from aqueducts and bridges to amusement parks and nuclear power plants, Davis said. 

“We are moving on all fronts to envision any contingency and to prepare for it,” he said. 

Davis said he will “assemble the best scientists we have” to analyze what more should be done. 

California has been mentioned as a likely target for further terrorist strikes, and Davis said Attorney General John Ashcroft warned him that Hollywood film studios could be at risk. 

Still, Davis said authorities have found no credible threats to California so far, and he urged the state’s residents to “summon up the personal courage” to go about their lives without fear. 

“We just have to live our lives, otherwise the terrorists win,” Davis said. 

WASHINGTON — There were problems with address lists and some people were counted without proof they were there, but last year’s national census was “well executed in many respects,” the National Research Council said Monday. 

Several innovations proved successes in the count, including paid advertising, aggressive recruitment of enumerators for follow-up operations, data operations and the redesigned questionnaire, according to the Council’s report. 

The Council is a division of the National Academy of Sciences, an independent organization chartered by Congress to provide scientific guidance to the government. 

Post-census studies indicate that fewer people were missed in 2000 than a decade earlier, reducing the undercount from about 4 million in 1990 to 3.3 million last year, the study said. 

This reduction was particularly true for groups that have been harder to count in the past, including children, minorities and people who rent their homes, the Council said. 

However, the study said a large part of the reduction in people missed resulted from what the statisticians call imputation — listing of people in the census even though they did not return a form and could not be reached for follow-up. 

Census 2000 included 5.8 million people who were imputed, the report said, up from 1.8 million in 1990. 

In many cases, information on the number and characteristics of a family can be obtained from neighbors. 

However, the Council also found “a much more problematic group,” of some 1.2 million people in last year’s census “who were imputed into the census when there was no information about the size of the household or, in some instances, whether it was occupied.” 

People who were imputed into the census were disproportionately likely to be minorities, renters and children, the panel noted. 

The panel urged the Census Bureau to investigate the factors leading to this type of imputation. 

The study also found fault with the effort to develop a master address file. While the concept was good, it said there were problems in execution that may have led to duplicate or erroneous counting. 

An initial study of the returns found some 6 million people who may have been duplicated.  

After study, 3.6 million of them were deleted and 2.4 million were reinstated in the count. 

On the positive side, the mail response rate in 2000 was the same as in 1990, hailed as a success in light of the declines of recent years. 

Census officials had launched their first paid advertising campaign in hopes of stemming the declines in mail returns and the report found that effort to be one of the count’s success stories. 

The redesigned form and a new mailing strategy also encouraged response, the study said. 

It also praised the use of improved technology for collecting data from the census forms and contracting out for data services. 

——— 

On the Net: 

National Academy of Sciences: http://www.nationalacademies.org 

Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov 

BOCA RATON, Fla. — The FBI on Monday took over the investigation into the anthrax death of a Florida man after the germ was found in the nose of a co-worker and on a computer keyboard in their office. Hundreds of people who worked near the men lined up to get medical tests. 

Attorney General John Ashcroft said the case could become “a clear criminal investigation.” 

“We don’t have enough information to know whether this could be related to terrorism or not,” he said during a news conference in Washington. 

The FBI sealed off the Boca Raton building housing several supermarket tabloids, including The Sun, where both men worked. Agents donned protective gear before going inside. 

How the bacterial spores got into the newspaper’s office remained under investigation. Federal investigators handling the cases have eliminated the obvious environmental sources of anthrax, said Barbara Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. 

Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., said CDC officials told him that “human intervention” was the likely cause of contamination. 

Health officials insisted there was no public health threat, but there was unease among some of the 500 people waiting for antibiotics and anthrax tests at the Palm Beach County health agency Monday. 

“I feel nervous. I’m worried for everybody,” said David Hayes, an editor for the Star tabloid who works in the building. Test results are expected to take days or weeks in some cases. 

Anthrax cannot be spread from person to person, but all 300 people who work in the building – and anyone who spent more than an hour inside since Aug. 1 – were advised to visit health officials. 

Antibiotics can treat anthrax, though the form that killed Sun photography editor Bob Stevens is particularly lethal. Stevens, 63, died Friday of inhalation anthrax, the first such fatality in the United States since 1976. 

The anthrax exposure case reported Monday involved a mailroom employee identified by co-workers as 73-year-old Ernesto Blanco.  

Health officials said he had anthrax bacteria in his nasal passages, but he has not been diagnosed with the disease. 

Blanco was tested for anthrax because he happened to be in a hospital for what co-workers said was an unrelated heart problem. 

He was in stable condition at a Miami-area hospital, authorities said. Relatively large anthrax spores that lodge in the upper respiratory tract are less dangerous than smaller spores that get into the lungs. 

Reynolds said authorities may never know whether he actually had anthrax because antibiotics may have killed it before it was detected. 

Anthrax can be contracted from farm animals or soil, but the bacterium is not normally found among the wildlife or livestock in Florida. Stevens was described as an avid outdoorsman and gardener. 

“When you have two cases in the same building and a positive sample from the environment in that building and no wool sorters or animal hides in that building, it lowers the likelihood of it coming from the environment,” Reynolds said, reading a statement from CDC Director Jeffrey Koplan. 

State epidemiologist Dr. Steven Wiersma said tests will help determine whether the anthrax found in the second victim was natural or genetically engineered. Health officials have said the bacteria in Stevens’ blood responded to antibiotics, indicating that it was natural. 

He and other health officials said there was no reason for alarm. 

“The risk is low,” said Dr. John Agwunobi, Florida secretary of health. He said the sample of anthrax that was found in the building was taken from Stevens’ computer. 

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have raised fears of bioterrorism across the country, and focused particular concern on the origin of the anthrax here. 

Stevens lived about a mile from an air strip where flight school owner Marian Smith said suspected hijacker Mohamed Atta rented planes. Several suspected hijackers also visited a crop-dusting business in Belle Glade, 40 miles from Stevens’ home in Lantana. 

David Pecker, chief executive of the tabloids’ publisher, American Media, said he did not believe the company was being targeted by terrorists because of how the papers have covered the attacks and suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. 

Newsweek magazine reported on its Web site Monday that the office received a “weird love letter to Jennifer Lopez” a week before the Sept. 11 attacks. Inside was what was described as a “soapy, powdery substance” and a Star of David charm. The letter was handled by both Stevens and Blanco, according to unidentified workers cited by Newsweek. 

Bennet Bolton, a senior reporter for The National Enquirer, told The Associated Press on Monday about a “cryptic” e-mail sent to the staff in late August or early September by an intern who worked in the newsroom this summer. 

“It intrigued us that he left such a cryptic farewell,” Bolton said. “It was rather neutral and then he said, ’I left you a surprise for you to remember me by. Ha ha, just kidding.”’ 

He said federal investigators were told about the e-mail. The FBI did not return several phone calls seeking comment about it. 

Only 18 cases of inhalation anthrax were reported in the United States during the 20th century, the most recent in 1976 in California. Without treatment, 90 percent of victims die within days. More common is a less serious form of anthrax contracted through the skin. 

Federal officials are sending Florida 100 cases of antibiotics to back up the local supply. The antibiotics came from a federal stockpile that holds enough to treat 2 million cases of anthrax. 

An injectable anthrax vaccine has been around since the 1970s, but it limited to military use. It is reportedly not in production. 

——— 

On the Net: 

CDC: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/Agent/Anthrax/Anthrax.asp 

BERLIN — European nations threw their support behind U.S.-British attacks on Osama bin Laden and the Afghan rulers who protect him, but the military strikes sparked protests and sharp criticism across the Muslim world. 

In the Gaza Strip, anti-American demonstrations ended with a gunbattle between Palestinian police and student protesters that left two Palestinian bystanders dead. 

Thousands of Taliban supporters in Pakistan burned buildings, including a U.N. office, battled police and demanded holy war against America. One person was killed and 26 were hurt in the city of Quetta, a doctor said. 

In Europe, NATO and the European Union underlined their support for the military effort. 

“There is no lack of enthusiasm for this campaign,” NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson said. The alliance agreed to send five early-warning planes and crews to the United States to free up U.S. surveillance aircraft for use against bin Laden’s network. 

Across Europe, anti-war demonstrators gathered for mostly small marches that ended without violence. 

Outside the U.S. embassy in Athens, Greece, protesters burned U.S. and European Union flags and chanted “American murderers of the peoples” and “Bush you are the terrorist.” 

A small group of anarchists chanted slogans in favor of the terrorist attacks in the United States. 

In Brussels, about 300 protesters waved red flags and what appeared to be out-of-date Gulf War posters proclaiming “No war for oil” outside the U.S. Embassy. About 250 people gathered for a peaceful protest in the German city of Hamburg. 

In Istanbul, Turkey – NATO’s only Muslim member – a small leftist party held an anti-U.S. protest while about 400 Muslim worshippers chanted anti-American slogans at the end of afternoon prayers. 

The U.S. European Command, based in Stuttgart, Germany, said it was stepping up security at all its installations to the second-highest alert level, known as Charlie. 

The European Union’s foreign ministers said in a statement that bin Laden, the chief suspect behind the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, his al-Qaida movement and the Taliban regime that sheltered him “are now facing the consequences of their action.” 

Meeting in Luxembourg, they appealed to the United Nations to install a broad-based government in Kabul. Italy and Spain expressed their readiness for an increased military role, joining France and Germany. 

Canada announced it was contributing six navy ships, six transport and surveillance aircraft and a special forces unit to the U.S.-led military campaign. 

Across the Middle East, many accused the United States of applying a double standard by seeking to punish those responsible for terror strikes on U.S. soil while ignoring Israeli actions against Palestinians. 

Jordan, a moderate voice in the region, said in a statement that it “supports the international efforts to combat terrorism.” However, it added, the world needs to deal with “the primary reasons which are causing frustration in our region and this means a just solution to the Palestinian problem.” 

King Abdullah and visiting Syrian President Bashar Assad stressed that “Arabs and their causes should not be held responsible for the terrorist attacks in the United States.” 

The attacks drew criticism in Iran, Sudan, Lebanon and Malaysia, among other countries, and protests in Muslim nations from Egypt to Indonesia. 

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asserted America’s “real objective ... was domination and expansionism.” 

Sudan condemned “this war on Afghan land,” and its students took to the streets in Khartoum, shouting, “Long live bin Laden!” and “Down with America!” 

In Gaza City, two Palestinians, aged 13 and 21, were killed and 45 injured after Palestinian police opened fire on Islamic University students protesting the strikes. It was the worst internal fighting in several years. 

Hundreds of people protested outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta on Monday amid new threats against Westerners living in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation. 

In rallies in Dhaka, Bangladesh, people shouted anti-America slogans and burned effigies of President Bush. There were no reports of violence and the demonstrators dispersed peacefully. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strikes on Afghanistan were justified, asserting the terrorists “did not expect such a unity of humanity before the common enemy.” 

Communist Cuba said the military action was “a cure worse than the disease.” 

The Communist Party daily Granma said the military operations would make terrorism “much more complicated and difficult to eradicate.” 

JERUSALEM — Islamic militant leaders said Monday they were summoned by the Palestinian Authority over the weekend and warned there would be a tough response if they did not stop attacks on Israelis. 

The Islamic Jihad group said it would defy the orders, while the larger Hamas faction suggested it would abide by a truce with Israel, at least temporarily. 

In the latest attack, a 17-year-old Islamic Jihad supporter blew himself up Sunday near an Israeli car, killing himself and the Israeli driver. The assailant was the 100th suicide bomber sent to attack Israeli targets since 1993, Israel said. 

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has been trying to enforce a Sept. 26 cease-fire with Israel, but has been unable to stop attacks on Israelis. 

Arafat also faced with the worst internal Palestinian fighting in years Monday when protesters opposed to U.S. airstrikes on Afghanistan waged a gunbattle with police at the Islamic University in Gaza City. Two bystanders were killed and 50 people injured. 

Israel has accused Arafat of doing very little to rein in militants, despite his promises. Three suspected Islamic militants were arrested in the West Bank over the weekend, but Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said he expected more. Israel insists that the Palestinians arrest 108 suspected militants, and has handed over a list of names. 

“I have confirmation of a very small number of arrests, certainly not the long list of 108 ... not even 10,” Ben-Eliezer told Israel radio Monday. 

In weekend meetings, Islamic militant leaders were told by Palestinian security forces that “the cease-fire this time is very serious,” said Abdel Halim Izzedine, the Islamic Jihad leader in the West Bank town of Jenin.  

Izzedine said Islamic Jihad representatives told security officials they would not honor the truce. 

Hamas suggested it would not challenge the Palestinian Authority openly. 

“One of the important things ... is to maintain national unity,” said Taysir Imran, a Hamas leader in the West Bank town of Nablus. “I think that a cease-fire is like a cloud and it will soon pass.” 

In response to Sunday’s suicide bombing, Palestinian police arrested two Islamic Jihad supporters, Izzedine said. 

Israeli security sources said that since 1993, 100 suicide bombers have been sent to attack Israeli targets — 66 by Hamas and 34 by Islamic Jihad. Seventy-five assailants were killed during their mission, while 25 were intercepted, the Haaretz daily said. 

In the Gaza Strip, three Palestinian militants were shot and killed by Israeli troops on Monday as they tried to lay an explosive near the Karni crossing, the Israeli army said. Palestinian security did not immediately comment on the incident, which took place in an Israeli-controlled area. 

Earlier, a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli fire near an Israeli army post in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian police said. Palestinian officials said they were contacted by the Israeli army and asked to pick up the body. The army had no immediate response. 

In Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, a flashpoint throughout the year of fighting, Israeli troops fired from heavy machine guns mounted on tanks, Palestinian witnesses said. The Israeli army said it fired from machine guns not mounted on tanks in response to Palestinian fire at its forces. It was not immediately clear if there were injuries. 

Also in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli motorist was seriously wounded in a roadside shooting attack, the army said. 

NEW YORK — The stock market greeted news of U.S. military attacks on the Taliban in Afghanistan quietly Monday, with prices falling moderately as investors tried to discern what the action would mean for the country and the economy. 

While tech shares eked out a tiny gain, investors mostly locked in profits from last week’s rally. 

The market was worried that the United States will suffer more terrorism as American and British forces conducted a second day of missile attacks in Afghanistan, retaliating for the Sept. 11 terrorist assaults in New York and Washington. Investors are also concerned about how long and how much the weakened economy will suffer following the attacks. 

Monday’s mild pullback was expected given the political uncertainty and last week’s rally, which was spurred by the Federal Reserve’s ninth interest rate cut of the year and a push by President Bush for an economic stimulus package worth $60 billion. 

“The market is attempting to stabilize,” said Alan Ackerman, executive vice president of Fahnestock & Co. 

Analysts were encouraged by the Nasdaq’s narrow gain and that blue chip selling wasn’t greater. 

“Markets have historically recovered from catastrophes with a decent relief rally. It appears we are in one of those right now,” Ackerman said. 

Still, Monday’s session was fairly lackluster as the market flipped between minor gains and losses. Trading volume was lighter than normal, which could be attributed partly to traders’ caution, as well as the Columbus Day federal holiday. There also were no major third-quarter earnings reports due to be released. 

“This is a combination of things. There is some concern on the part of some investors about the retaliation. There is also some ordinary profit taking from the extraordinary strong run,” said Bill Barker, investment strategy consultant for Dain Rauscher in Dallas, who also noted the holiday. 

“Actually, the market is holding better than you might expect given those things,” Barker said. 

Losses centered on companies whose business prospects remain poor.  

The nation’s three big automakers fell on a report in the Financial Times that Ford Motor, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler are slashing production by a further 196,000 vehicles before the end of the year. Ford fell 38 cents to $17.29, General Motors lost 71 cents to close at $41.65, and DaimlerChrysler slipped 25 cents to $33.87. 

But stocks fell across sectors, indicating investors’ unwillingness to bet on the success of any business. Banker J.P. Morgan Chase fell 97 cents to $32.44, while Wal-Mart declined $1.29 to $51.11.  

Fast-food chain Wendy’s stumbled 66 cents to $26.54 after issuing a third-quarter profit warning. 

The tech sector fared a little better, posting narrow gains and losses for the most part. Dell Computer rose 56 cents to $23.12 and Cisco Sytems inched up 11 cents to $15.05. Both companies contributed to last week’s rally by affirming their earnings forecasts. 

But Nextel Communications fell 80 cents to $7.94 after Merrill Lynch reduced its rating on the wireless networker’s stock. 

Analysts expect the market to fluctuate in a narrow range throughout the week as investors continue to trade carefully during the U.S. military action. 

“My feeling is, if there are no significant casualties on the U.S. side and the strikes continue with no difficulties, the market will be quite and stable with more of a wait-and-see attitude,” Barker said. 

Declining issues outnumbered advancers more than 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 1.17 billion shares, well below the 1.57 billion shares traded Friday. 

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the performance of smaller company stocks, fell 2.79 to 412.18. 

Overseas markets were narrowly mixed Monday. Germany’s DAX index inched up 0.2 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 slipped 0.1 percent, and France’s CAC-40 advanced 0.2 percent. 

Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday. 

STAMFORD, Conn. — A federal court has reinstated a suit by Xerox Corp. charging that Palm Inc. infringed its patent in the development of the handwriting recognition system for the Palm handheld computer. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., on Friday reversed a lower court dismissal of the case, representatives of both companies said Monday. The litigation now returns to federal court in Rochester, N.Y., where it had been dismissed. 

“It’s a huge victory for Xerox,” said Bill McKee, a company spokesman. “The U.S. Court of Appeals agrees there is enough evidence to proceed in a litigation that there is a patent infringement.” 

The suit alleges that Palm’s Graffiti handwriting recognition software infringes a Xerox U.S. patent relating to computerized interpretation of handwriting. In June 2000, the district court issued an order dismissing Xerox’s claims. 

Palm Inc., based in Santa Clara, Calif., confirmed that the court reversed the lower court dismissal, but said the court also rejected a motion for summary judgment brought by Xerox. Xerox said the court did not rule on the summary judgment request. 

Federal courts were closed Monday for the Columbus Day holiday. 

“Palm continues to believe that the Graffiti software does not infringe the patent and that Palm has other defenses supporting its stance,” said Carl Yankowski, Palm’s chief executive officer. “Palm intends to continue to vigorously defend itself.” 

Xerox contends that its scientists invented the “Unistroke” software that recognizes one-stroke motions as characters. Xerox went to court in April 1997, four months after receiving a patent for handwriting recognition. 

The technology in dispute allows users to make simple, one-time strokes to enter letters and numbers in Palm computers. If successful in court, Xerox could force Palm and other companies to pay a license fee for each of the handheld organizers sold. 

Xerox has moved aggressively to defend against what it sees as technology pilfered from its labs, especially after letting go of inventions such as the computer mouse and laser printer. 

Xerox stock closed Monday on the New York Stock Exchange at $7.62, up 26 cents. Palm stock closed on the Nasdaq Stock Market at $1.49, down 6 cents. 

On the Net: 

http://www.palm.com 

http://www.xerox.com

SAN JOSE — Intel Corp.’s chief executive urged chip-makers Monday to continue innovating and competing despite the sour economy and pressure to fall back on industrywide standards. 

Being fast and first are still the best ways to drive technology forward, Intel chief Craig Barrett told the International Symposium on Semiconductor Manufacturing. 

“The concept of an industrywide technology standard I think is crazy,” he said.  

“It will stifle innovation. We need competition to move forward. You don’t get competition via committee.”  

This year, Intel is spending $7.5 billion on capital expenditures and about $4 billion on research and development.  

Barrett has repeatedly said companies such as Intel cannot save their way out of a recession. 

“Technology continues to move forward,” he said. “If you stand still from a technology standpoint, it’s like trying to sell brown bananas.” 

Barrett declined to comment on Intel’s current financials in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Several rivals, including Sun Microsystems Inc. and Advanced Micro Devices, have issued warnings. 

Intel is scheduled to post its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 16. 

——— 

On the Net 

Intel Corp.: http://www.intel.com 

Mecca Hassas of Oakland, 20, woke up Sunday morning to the news of the military strikes against Afghanistan, her homeland.  

“Just imagine sitting in front of the TV and seeing your country bombed,” she told the hundreds of people who came to downtown San Francisco Sunday to protest the military action. 

Hassas said that several of her family members were stuck in Jalalabad, one of the cities targeted by the bombing, and that she feared for their safety. 

The demonstration at Powell and Market streets was a peaceful event attended by 450 people, according to San Francisco Police Sgt. Kurt Brunneman. Protest organizers placed attendance at closer to 1,000 people. 

Standing on milk crates, Richard Becker of the International Action Center, one of the organizers of the event, criticized the air strikes and the humanitarian aid that the U.S. government is also dropping on Afghanistan. “They say they are going to drop food, but pallets of food are nothing more than bombs, when they’re dropped from 15,000 feet,” he said. 

Malalai Arsalai, 22, Afghani-American student, told demonstrators that despite the fact that United States officials have said that this is not a war against

Editor: 

The tragedy that hit us on September 11 was clearly a devastating blow on the nation as a whole. The economy, the culture, and even the lives of people have been destroyed, but the thing is to look away from the negative and focus in on the positive of the whole situation. This positive is the WORLD UNITING! 

People, especially the youth of America (18-24 years), have come together to donate blood, volunteer their time, and even protest war. These issues, such as war, affect our lives. We, as the youth of America need a voice and the Youth Vote Coalition of California will give us that voice we so desperately need. They help inform the youth about issues that coincide with their lives and they demand politicians to begin to pay attention to youth issues. The exclusion of the youth of America is a dangerous trend that will definitely hurt the nation in the long run. Democracy is diminishing without the voices of the youth and with the aid of the Youth Vote Coalition of California, the youth can get their ideas heard and issues solved. Thank you to “Youth Vote” for their everlasting efforts to help the future of America. 

Sumant Chakravart

924 Gilman Street Oct 12: One Line Drawing, Funeral Dinner, Diefenbaker, Till 7 Years Pass Over Him; Oct 13: Dead and Gone, Cattle Decapitation, Vulgar Pigeons, Wormwood, Antagony; Most shows are $5 and start at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted.  

Anna’s Oct. 8: Renegade Sidemen, Calvin Keyes; Oct. 9: Open Mic; All shows begin at 8 p.m. 1801 University Ave. 849-ANNA www.annasbistro.com 

Ashenaz Oct 10: Billy Dunn & Bluesway; Oct 11: Greatful Dead DJ Night; Oct 12: Sambo NGO; Oct 13: Clinton Fearon, Dub Congress; Oct 14: Open Stage; Oct 16: Danubias; Oct 17: Cajun Cayotesl Oct 18: Greatful Dean DJ Night; Oct 19: Swing Session 1317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 www.ashkenaz.com 

Cal Performances Oct. 12 - 14: Fri. and Sat., 8:00 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Ballet Nacional De Cuba, $24 - $46; Oct. 17 and 18: 8 p.m. Cesaria Evora, $24 - $36; Oct. 19: 8 p.m. Karnak, $18 - $30. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph, 642-0212, tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Sept. 3: 2 - 8 p.m. Big West Coast Harmonica Bash, afternoon benefit for Red Archibald. $10 donation; Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight & Salvage Oct 8: All Nation Singers, Walter Ogi Johnson, Thunder; All shows start at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.com 

Jupiter Oct. 9: Hydeus Kiatta Trio; Oct. 10: Cannonball with DJ Aspect; Oct. 11: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu, and Add1; Oct. 12: Japonize Elephants; Oct. 13: J Dogs; All music starts at 8:00 p.m. 2181 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625 www.jupiterbeer.com  

Live Oak Concerts Oct. 14: A Harvest of Song, an evening of premiers of works, $8-10. Both shows start at 7:30 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St.  

Rebecca Riots Oct. 12: 7:30 p.m. $20-23. Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Club, 1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. 339-1832 

Synchronicity Oct. 14: 2 p.m. Piano and percussion duo fuses classical and jazz music into a visual experience. $10 adult, $5 child. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org 

Shafqat Ali Khan Oct. 20: 8 p.m. Concert of classical Ragaa, Sufi, Urdu, Persian Ghazel, and other popular musical styles from India. $20 general admission, $15 students. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org 

“Murder Dressed in Satin” by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. 239-2252 www.acteva.com/go/havefun 

“Swanwhite” Through Oct. 21: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. A new translation of the Swedish Play that asks the question what good is romantic love, directed by Tom Clyde. $20, Sundays are “Pay What You Can”. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305, www.virtuous.com 

“Orestes” Through Oct. 21: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. An adaptation of the classical play by Euripides that incorporates passages inspired or taken from various 20th century texts. Written by Charles Mee, Directed by Christopher Herold. $6-12. Zellerbach Playhouse on the UC Berkeley campus 642-8268 

“Approach” Through Oct. 27: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m. An examination of the search for intimacy as our most precious form of survival. Written by Susan Wiegand, Directed by Katie Bales Frassinelli. $15 general admission, $10 students and seniors. Eighth Street Studio Theatre, 2525 8th St. 655-0813 www.shotgunplayers.org 

“36 Views” Through Oct. 28: Tues. 8 p.m., Wed. 7 p.m., Thu. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Thu., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Sat., Sun. 2 p.m., 8 p.m. Written by Naomi Lizuka, Directed by Mark Wing-Davey. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Lisa Picard is Famous” Oct. 12-19: Mocumentary chronicles New York actress who hopes to get more than a fleeting taste of fame when a racy cereal commercial brings her unexpected national notoriety. Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Ave. 843-3456 

“Inside Editions” through Oct. 12: Nine printmakers exhibit their work. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tue. - Fri. Free. Kala Art Insitute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 kala@kala.org 

“Census 2000: Asian Pacific Islander Americans” through Oct. 13; Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Asian Pacific Islander American artists in roughly the demographic proportions indicated by the recent census. Free. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9470  

“MWP Perspectives” Jon Orvik: One artist’s journey. Through Oct. 27 Tues. - Fri. 12 - 5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 12 - 4 p.m. Solo artist exhibiting his journey through metal, wood and paint. Adapt Gallery and Design, 2834 College Ave. 649-8501 www.adaptgallery.com  

“50 Years of Photography in Japan 1951 - 2001” Through Nov. 5: An exhibition from The Yomiuri Shimbun, the world’s largest daily newspaper with a national morning circulation of 10,300,000. Opening Reception Sept. 5: 6 - 8 p.m. open to the public; Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, Hearst and Euclid. Free. 642-3383 

“Jesus, This is Your Life - Stories and Pictures by Kids” Through Nov. 16: California children, ages four through twelve, from diverse backgrounds present original artwork, accompanied by a story written by the artist. Mon. - Thur. 8:30 a.m. -10 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541. 

“Changing the World, Building New Lives: 1970s photographs of Lesbians, Feminists, Union Women, Disability Activists and their Supporters” Through Nov. 17: An exhibit of black and white photographs by Oakland photographer Cathy Cade, who captured the interrelationships of the different struggles for justice and social change. Opening reception Sept. 15, 5 - 8 p.m. Gallery Hours, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. Free. 644-1400 cathycade@mindspring.com 

“The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s” Through Dec. 16: A documentary photo exhibition which examines the rich history of the social movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free. 644-6893 

“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 Botticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours. Atelier 9 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

Boadecia’s Books Oct. 12: Susan Gaines reads from her novel “Carbon Dream”; Oct. 18: Patricia Nell Warren reads from her novel “The Wild Man” ; All events start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise. All events are free. 398 Colusa Ave. 559-9184 www.bookpride.com 

Cody’s on 4th Street Oct 12: Cody’s For Kids- Rosemary Wells and Bunny Party; Harruet Lerber surveys “The Dance of Connection: how to Talk to Someone When You’re Mad, Hurt, Scard, Frustrated, Insulted Betrayed or Desperate”; Michael Chabon talks about The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 

Mike Munoz is fast becoming an impact player for the Cal men’s soccer team. The freshman leads the team with six assists on the season, and on Sunday he scored a spectacular overtime goal, giving the Bears a 1-0 overtime win over Santa Clara. 

Munoz had just come on the field as a substitute in the 103rd minute of the game. One quick throw-in and pass from teammate Troy Roberts later, he was the hero. Taking the ball at the left corner of the Santa Clara box, he lofted a left-footed shot over Bronco goalkeeper Brenton Junge and into the upper right corner of the goal. Munoz stood stunned for a moment, then joined his teammates in a wild celebration. 

“That’s the biggest goal I’ve ever scored,” a grinning Munoz said after the clamor had died down. “Coach (Kevin) Grimes told me when he put me in to score a goal for him, and I did.” 

Grimes, along with every other spectator in at Edwards Stadium, was duly impressed by the strike. 

“That was just a world-class goal,” Grimes said. “That was one of the top five goals I’ve ever seen in college soccer, and probably the best in overtime.” 

The goal gave the Bears their fifth win in their last six games, with the only blemish in the run a 1-1 tie with Fresno State. It also gave them a huge push heading into their first Pac-10 matchup of the season, as they head to UCLA on Friday. 

“We’ve been building momentum for the last 2-3 weeks, and our confidence level is really high right now,” Grimes said. “We look at each game as a learning process, and we’re growing up fast.” 

Sunday’s win was especially sweet for the veteran Bears who were present at a 5-0 shellacking by the Broncos last season in Santa Clara. Munoz, who is one of seven freshmen receiving significant playing time this year, said the upperclassmen made it clear that this was a big game. 

“They told us about last year, and that made us young guys want it more,” Munoz said. “We have both youth and experience on the team, and that combination is unstoppable right now.”

The City Council will hear an information report tomorrow from the city manager about what the Community Environmental Advisory Board calls selective enforcement of the city’s environmental laws. 

In light of what appears to be favorable treatment of city departments and large and influential businesses over smaller businesses, the CEAC has asked City Manager Weldon Rucker to establish a clear enforcement policy that would ensure equal enforcement of code violations.  

The city manager’s Chief of Staff Arrietta Chakos said that the commission and City Manager’s Office are “of one mind” on the issue. She also said that a policy is currently in the works to spell out enforcement policies as well as include an educational element that will hopefully help all city businesses and agencies avoid unnecessary enforcement. 

In 1997, Alameda County gave Berkeley enforcement authority to implement the California Health and Safety Code. Those code enforcement is carried out the Toxics Management Division of the Planning and Development Department. 

In an October report, the CEAC said that some agencies and large businesses have been given excessive amounts of time to correct environmental code violations, while smaller businesses have been taken to court. 

According to the report, the Department of Public Works and the Berkeley Unified School District have flouted repeated requests to comply with environmental regulations without any consequence. In addition, CEAC Commissioner LA Wood said in a letter to the Alameda County District Attorney that businesses like Bayer and the Berkeley Repertory Theater have also avoided regulation compliance while smaller businesses like Jettco, a transmission repair shop in west Berkeley, was prosecuted by the district attorney’s office.  

“The city’s Public Works Corporation Yard has been violating storm water runoff regulations since 1995 and was only issued a Notice of Violation in May,” Wood said. “That was after years of ignoring notices of corrective action.” 

Chakos agreed it is critical city agencies follow the same policies that it expects city businesses to follow.  

“We want our own public works staff to make sure that we live by the same standards we enforce,” she said.  

Editor:  

Here’s another viewpoint on Barbara Lee’s vote against use of force. It did not require much, if any, political courage. The last election she carried the district by about 80 percent of the votes cast for representative in her district in Alameda County. She could lose 25 points from that total, and still win reelection easily. Secondly, the vote was not a close party line vote in which she defied the discipline of party whips. Lastly, she probably calculated that public response would turn out much as it has, with even those who disagreed with her conclusion on the issue praising her independence. The unfortunate result has been to shift the focus of local debate to herself from the more important question of mobilizing to respond to the outrages in New York and Washington, and preventing future attacks. If Al Gore occupied the White House, he would have asked Congress to approve the identical, or a very similar, measure. Would Barbara Lee have embarrassed a Democratic president by voting against the resolution?  

John McDougall  

Berkeley

SAN FRANCISCO - Sixth-ranked California surrendered a 3-1 second half lead in a 3-3 double overtime tie against unranked San Francisco Sunday afternoon at Negoesco Stadium.  

“We’re not getting a sustained effort for the entire time,” said Cal coach Kevin Boyd. “We gave up sloppy, ugly goals. That’s effort. We’re just not getting continuous efforts from all of the players out there.”  

It was a difficult weekend for the Bears (8-2-1). Friday, Cal lost to No. 21 Saint Mary’s in overtime, 1-0.  

“It was a bad weekend,” Boyd added. “Friday was a little bit unlucky because we played well enough to win, but we didn’t. There’s something to be said for that. We’re not finishing. We’re letting teams in. Today’s the same thing. We played well enough to win without a doubt. But why don’t we?”  

All-American forward Laura Schott gave the Bears a 1-0 lead with a goal in the fifth minute. Midfielder Brittany Kirk directed a free kick to the far post, which Schott headed in for her 10th goal of the season.  

USF forward Meghan Daly evened the score at 1-1 in the 30th minute when she knocked in a ball that squirted free on a long free kick by the Dons.  

Schott sent the Bears into the locker room with a 2-1 advantage by converting on a penalty kick in the 33rd minute. The penalty kick was awarded when Cal midfielder Kim Yokers was fouled near the right baseline of the penalty area.  

The second half began with an early Cal goal. Yokers received a long pass from forward Krysti Whalen and proceeded to notch her third goal and 10th and 11th points of the year.  

Dons midfielder Stacey Caro then scored two unanswered goals in the 56th and 72nd minutes against a tentative Cal defense to send the game to overtime.  

Each team had one great chance to win the game in the first overtime period. Cal goalkeeper Mallory Moser’s clearance went off Bear defender Lucy Brining’s head towards the Cal net. But, defender Kim Stocklmeir was there to make a game-saving clearance.  

Later in the first overtime, Yokers had a one-on-one opportunity with USF goalkeeper Jennifer Orantes. Instead of taking the shot herself, Yokers slotted the ball to forward Kyla Sabo on the far post, but Sabo’s shot went off the post.

The city’s Planning Commission will again open hearings Wednesday on a controversial plan to temporarily halt the conversion of industrial space to office space in parts of west Berkeley. 

Earlier this year, the commission had recommended that the City Council approve a one-year moratorium on office conversions in area zoned for mixed-use/light-industrial purposes in the West Berkeley Plan. But after city planners said that they had not properly notified the public about the commission’s meetings on the topic, the City Council, on June 12, told the Planning Commission to start the process over. 

At least one major office conversion in the MU-LI zone is currently in the works. Publishers Group West, at 1700 Fourth St., wants to take over space now used by its neighbor, clothing manufacturer Tom Tom. 

The West Berkeley Plan, which was instituted in 1993, is designed to preserve manufacturing in the city. In an interview last week, Planning Commissioner Zelda Bronstein said that the moratorium is necessary if the intentions of the plan are to be fulfilled 

“The word diversity still means something in Berkeley — that includes diversity in the economic sense, and in the social sense,” she said. “We want to provide good, well-paying blue collar jobs.” 

But the rules of development in the MU-LI zone, which are at the heart of the current moratorium debate, do include certain provisions for industrial space to offices. Over 160,000 square feet in buildings zoned MU-LI were converted to offices between 1997 and 2000. 

Bronstein laid much of the blame for the current weakness

Editor: 

Pam Reynolds’ excellent front-page article in the Friday, October 5 Planet, “Town prepares to battle university over growth plans,” errs in two important details about the construction planned for UC Berkeley's Northeast Quadrant (NEQSS). 

Her claim that “the construction, planned for 2002 to 2005, would add 244,000 square feet and 400 new employees to the area” significantly understates the numbers proposed. 

In fact, the NEQSS Draft EIR (pages 2-25, 2-28 & 3.4-19), gives considerably higher numbers: approximately 360,000 square feet (i.e., 8-9 acres) and 544 new employees (by headcount).  

Moreover, the NEQSS projects are expected to draw some 895 existing employees from elsewhere on the UC Berkeley campus. What the Draft EIR doesn’t discuss is the “backfill” of additional employees who will eventually occupy those 895 newly empty spaces. 

Daniella Thompson 

Berkeley  

Cal men’s water polo team, currently ranked fifth in the country, chalked up it’s fifth win of the season and second in conference play today, soundly defeating tenth-ranked Pacific, in Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley.  

Joe Kaiser and Mike West each scored two goals to lead the Bears (5-1, 2-1 MPSF), who never trailed after scoring the first goal less than two minutes into the game. Six other Cal players put up points against Pacific to ensure Cal’s second win over Pacific this season. The Bears’ goalie rotation of Tim Kates and Russell Bernstien went largely untested by the opposition, notching a mere three saves between them.  

While the Bears’ goalies were left alone, Eric Bahneman, the Tigers’ net-minder, faced 20 shots on the day, saving ten. Nic Hepner and Chris Nowak scored two each of Pacific in the losing effort.  

Cal’s next action comes at the NorCal Tournament, which will be played next weekend at Stanford.

Denisee Chabarria, 16, sat at home on a blue couch late last month with her 1-year-old son Randy in her lap, and tried to explain to him that they would be going to school together.  

“I don’t think he understands yet,” she said.  

Chabarria is one of 18 teenage mothers who returned to Berkeley High School this fall and dropped their babies off at the Vera Casey Center, the free childcare center nearby. While Randy is watched, Chabarria, who puts math at the top of her favorite subjects, is finishing school.  

Last year, 23 teenagers from Berkeley become mothers. Only 15 of them joined the Vera Casey Center.  

Although Chabarria is a mother, she’s also 16 and like other students, Chabarria, spent the days before school preparing her school bag, filling it with a new notebook, organizer, calculator and a funny, duck shaped pen.  

“I am excited to go back,” she laughed, unconcerned that her life in the studio apartment near the Ashby BART station is very different from other Berkeley High students.  

Chabarria became a mother when she was still a sophomore and she now lives with her boyfriend — Randy’s father, 29-year-old Ricardo. 

“I didn’t think twice when I found out I was pregnant,” she said. “I decided I want to keep my baby.”  

Ricardo accepted her decision, but her parents felt that their daughter, who excelled in math, was too young to become a mother.  

“My mom was mad,” she said. “We arrived from Mexico only four years ago and I did so well at school. She said, ‘now you are going to know what it is like to be responsible for someone else.’”  

She has, but she also stayed at school. When she was pregnant, she studied at home with the help of her math teacher and returned to school when Randy was eight months old.  

The Vera M. Casey Center, which enabled Chabarria to return to school, was established in 1972 as part of the school age parent infant development program. Last year, the center, which generally has 25 to 34 babies (not all of them teen's babies), joined the Cal Safe program, a state wide program.  

Cal Safe is designed to increase the availability of support services necessary for students who are pregnant or who already have children. Its programs aim to improve academic achievement and parenting skills and to provide a quality child care/development program for their children.  

“It appears there is an increase of teenage pregnancies this year but the mothers are at least older students,” said Greba Jackson, director of the center for the last 20 years.  

Jackson expects at least eight new teenage mothers in her program during the next few months.  

Dr. Jose Ducos, the epidemiologist with the Berkeley Public Health Department said the number of teenage mothers has actually dropped since 1990 when 58 Berkeley teenagers become mothers. The numbers include young women 19 and under, some of which have already left high school.  

Getting school work done and taking care of Randy are only part of the challenges Chabrria and her boyfriend face. The young couple pays $950 a month in rent and lives on what is left from the $1,400 Ricardo earns at a car wash in Oakland.  

“It is hard,” said Ricardo. “But we are doing fine.”  

At 7 a.m. on the first day of school, Chabarria, dressed in a violet outfit, and her son – in matching shirt and pants – were ready to go. Almost. Chabarria tried to give him a last minute bottle, but the boy refused. 

“I think he understands now,” Chabarria said.  

Half an hour later, Denisse’s mom, Leticia Chabarria, 34, picked mother and son up for a special, first-day-of school ride. The next day, Denisse will have to take the bus.  

When they arrived at Berkeley High, at least 10 other young mothers were there and the good-byes between child and mother were as full of tears and angst as they might be anywhere.  

But 10 minutes later, Chabarria and the other young moms joined the lines outside of Berkeley High gymnasium to get their schedules. And a few days later, both mothers and babies would be used to the new arrangement.  

“I felt so strange leaving my baby over there,” said Linda Elizabeth Gutierrez, a 17-year-old junior. “I am so used to having her with me all day long.”  

Between classes, Gutierrez returned to the center to hug her 6-month-old daughter.  

School does not scare Chabarria, who said that she got As in math and geometry last year, but she is concerned about getting her homework done.  

“Randy is already walking,” she said.  

While Jackson understands these fears, she’s not worried.  

“Those mothers are very dedicated to their studies,” she said. “I am sure they will finish high school.”  

“Not all the teenage mothers in Berkeley use this opportunity,” said Gutierrez. “It is sad, that other young mothers just stay at home and feel like their life is over. They should bring their kids to the center as well and finish high school.”  

Jackson said that the program is open to anyone 18 and under, even non-residents.  

The Vera Casey Center can be reached at 644-6954; “Nurse of the Day” — a free health information service is available at 644-6500.  

Editor: 

I was very glad to read of Councilmember Dona Spring’s commitment to affordable housing (in your article Oct. 5: “Plan calls for more housing....”) when she said, “It is my highest priority to provide affordable housing to people who are really struggling to get by.” I hope school teachers are included in the plan to build “deeply affordable housing,” as I am really struggling to get by as a teacher in Berkeley. Your article says that developers are encouraged to“set aside 20 per cent of their units to those who earn 80 percent of area’s average income.” 

Could you please specify what exactly is the “area’s average income?” 

What year and by whom was that calculated? The annual income figure that I have heard quoted in the past was not one that has been adjusted to accomodate the severe discrepancy between the going rate for decent,affordable housing, and the reality of an average net monthly income. 

Since I moved here three years ago, my rent on my apartment I recently had to vacate increased to $1,600 month, which was 60 percent of my net salary. The increase in rent from when I arrived was 140 percent, while my salary increased by only 11percent. 

Most landlords require that one’s rent should be one-third of one's net income. That would mean my rent should be $900/month. It takes only a glance at rental ads to see that that is way below the current market rate. Add to that expenses for children, student loans, and if there is only one wage-earner in a family, etc., and one quickly joins the ever growing pool of full time working people who are “really struggling to get by.” 

A realistic way to figure rental affordability, needs, etc., is to chart net monthly income and divide by three. It would be interesting to see how many full-time workers in a variety of Berkeley occupations, in addition to schoolteachers, fall into the need for affordable housing, who are currently shut out from assistance because of an unrealistically low income requirement, and a very expensive, inadequate housing supply. 

Anyone who has come to live and work in Berkeley since the end of rent control finds themselves in an economic situation where a disproportionate amount of one's salary is going towards rent. I have had to abandon my hope of ever being a house owner as a teacher, or even a house renter in Berkeley. 

I hope that Councilmember Spring, and the whole Berkeley City Council, will continue to work to provide affordable housing for all the workers in Berkeley who find themselves in need, and re-examine mathematically what is considered “low-income.” 

Susan Graubard Archuletta 

Berkeley

The Associated Press 

FREMONT — Residents of the nation’s largest Afghan community reacted to news of the bombings with a blend of joy and apprehension — Osama bin Laden is hated here, but many Afghan immigrants fear relatives in their homeland will suffer during the conflict to come. 

News of the bombings circulated quickly in “Little Kabul,” a strip of markets and restaurants that is the heart of Fremont’s Afghan community. It is named after the Afghan capital that was the first target of Sunday’s bombings by U.S. and British forces. 

“My reactions are good and bad,” said Homayoun Khamosh, owner of the Pamir Food Mart. “The good thing is I am happy they have started. And the bad thing is I don’t want civilians dead for nothing.”

SAN FRANCISCO – The $36,500 that John Reese earns annually checking and stocking groceries at an Albertson’s supermarket in San Jose makes him one of the best-paid retail clerks in the country. 

But Reese and thousands of other Northern California grocery store workers making similar money also live in one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets. 

“It’s so bad that some of my co-workers have used food stamps when they come through the checkout line,” said Reese, 35, who has worked at Albertson’s the past five years. “We don’t want to be greedy. We just want a chance to live the American dream.” 

Boise, Idaho-based Albertson’s Inc. and Pleasanton-based Safeway Inc. run Northern California’s two largest grocery chains. The companies say they can’t afford to pay store workers much more because they have to remain competitive with discount chains such as Costco, Wal-Mart and Target that are expanding their grocery businesses. 

The conflicting financial pressures facing the supermarket chains and their store employees could culminate in a strike as early as Monday. That’s when the labor unions representing 27,000 employees working in 294 Safeway and Albertson’s stores will announce the results of a vote on the “last, best” contract proposal from the grocers. 

The chains say they pay their San Francisco Bay area store workers an average of $15.50 per hour. That is 52 percent more than the average wage of $10.18 per hour paid to retail clerks in the region, according to 1999 estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

“We have to take into account what our competitors pay,” said Safeway spokeswoman Debra Lambert. “We don’t want to expand that gap any more.” 

The companies are offering most workers a $1.50 per hour increase over three years. That translates into a 10 percent raise, based on the average wage of $15.50 per hour. The lowest-paid workers now start at $7.75 per hour while the top-paid workers, including Reese, receive $17.58 per hour. 

Seeking a raise of $2.40 per hour over three years, labor leaders recommend that workers reject the proposal. Management, meanwhile, is conducting interviews with potential replacement workers to ensure the stores will remain open if there is a strike. 

In complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board and federal court, labor leaders and supermarket management have accused each other of unfair tactics during the voting process. 

A strike would be the first by Northern California grocery store workers since a nine-day walkout in 1995. A year ago, a 47-day strike at a Safeway’s Northern California grocery distribution center cost the company about $66 million in profits. 

The San Francisco Bay area’s astronomical housing prices are the main sticking point in the current dispute. Despite a deep slump in the technology industry, the area’s cost of living preoccupies almost everyone who didn’t cash in on the dot-com boom of the late 1990s. 

“The cost of living and doing business in the Bay Area is becoming a real competitive disadvantage,” said Tapan Munroe, chief economist for Applied Development Economics in Berkeley. 

Since the Northern California workers signed their last contract in 1997, the cost of a mid-priced home in the Bay Area has increased 66 percent to $476,000, according to the California Association of Realtors. During the same period, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment climbed 53 percent to $1,449 per month, according to RealFacts, a Novato research firm. 

In a report released this month, the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimated that a full-time worker needs to make $33.60 per hour — nearly $70,000 annually — to afford the rent on a two-bedroom apartment in the San Francisco metropolitan area. The supermarket chains say their offers already factor in Northern California’s housing costs. That’s why Safeway’s Northern California workers make about 5 percent more than their Southern California counterparts and as much as 50 percent more than the workers at some of the chain’s other stores, Lambert said. Safeway operates 1,759 stores in 20 states and the District of Columbia. 

Earlier this year, store workers in Sacramento accepted a nearly identical offer now on the table in the San Francisco Bay area. A one-bedroom apartment in Sacramento — roughly 90 miles from San Francisco — rents for an average of $707 per month, a 34 percent increase from 1997, according to RealFacts. 

Labor leaders argue that the supermarket chains are making more than enough money to help San Francisco Bay area workers defray the region’s high costs. 

Through the first nine months of its current fiscal year, Safeway made $900 million, a 14 percent increase from the same time last year. Excluding one-time charges and expenses related to its $9.1 billion takeover of American Stores in 1999, Albertson’s posted a $370 million profit during the first half of its fiscal year ended Aug. 2 — a 15 percent decrease from last year.

About 150 people attended the Vista Community College Teach In on Friday that provided alternative perspectives of the events of Sept. 11 as well as better understanding of potential impacts of any future U.S. military actions. 

“As an education community we need to respond to the events of Sept. 11 by providing information that will allow people to think critically and to start dialogue where people with different perspectives can be heard,” said Joan Berezin, a Vista history instructor who was an organizer of the event. “Most importantly we need to take a stand against racism and intolerance and do what we can to build a hate-free community.” 

Vista, which is one of four community colleges in the Peralta Community College District, began organizing the event, entitled Teach In, Speak Out, three days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The Teach In was open to the public but was primarily attended by Vista students. 

An impressive list of 21 speakers – including Vista instructors, civil rights attorneys, journalists and authors – were scheduled to speak at the Teach In which began at 2 p.m. and was scheduled to end at 10 p.m. Food Not Bombs provided participants with a free dinner. 

Speakers covered a wide range of issues related to the attacks, including how civil liberties might be affected, the threat to immigrants’ rights and a historical perspective of Afghanistan and its ruling government, the Taliban. 

History and political science teacher Michael Mills said it’s important for people to attempt to understand the mindset of Middle Eastern countries and their relationship with the United States. He said Americans should try to understand why some Arab nations are reluctant to support the United States as it prepares to take military action against Osama bin Laden and possibly the Taliban. 

“We often think that as Americans our needs or interests are paramount,” Mills said. “We tend to discount that these countries have needs as well.” 

Mills added that the relationship between Arab states and the United States has often been characterized by tension because of different perspectives of history. 

Philosophy and Religion Instructor Kyle Dupen explained to a standing-room-only crowd the origins, tenets and practices of the Islam faith. Much of his talk was geared toward dispelling myths and misunderstandings about the widely practiced religion. 

“Many people believe that Muslim is synonymous with Arab,” he said. “The origins of Islam come from the Arabic culture but in fact, it is practiced by millions of people, many who are not Arabic.” 

Dennis Bernstein, journalist and host of the KPFA program Flashpoints, was scheduled to discuss how the media is demonizing South East Asians and the poor media coverage of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan. 

“I will also be talking about the question that mainstream media refuses to ask, which is ‘why did this happen?’” he said Friday morning before his talk at the Teach In. “People should pursue alternative sources of information so they have the broadest perspective possible.” 

Bernstein said some good alternative publications are The Progressive, The Nation and In These Times. He added that if readers prefer mainstream news sources such as the New York Times, they should also read the London Independent to add a European perspective. 

Among handouts given to participants was a list of standards to non-credible information sources on the Web. The handout advised Web surfers to pay attention to the background of Web authors, to make sure the site contained contact information such as an e-mail or regular mail addresses or phone numbers. In addition any organizations connected to Web stories should be credible. 

Vista student Erin Palmquist, said the most important thing that people could take away from the Teach In will be tolerance. 

“The main thing that should be accomplished today is a hate-free environment at Vista College,” she said.

Saturday, Oct. 6

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a nonprofit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, gives free rides on a first come, first served basis 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 years old and must be accompanied by an adult. Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Fire Suppression 

9 a.m. - noon 

Office of Emergency Services 

997 Cedar St. 

Free classes in Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). 981-5605 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Poetry Reading 

3 - 5 p.m. 

South Branch Berkeley Public Library 

1901 Russell St. 

Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading. 527-9905 

Sunday, Oct. 7

Animal Blessings 

10 a.m. 

All Souls Episcopal Parish 

2220 Cedar St. 

Celebration of the Feast of St. Francis allows pets to gather in the courtyard. Following the service, the public is invited for refreshments and a children’s zoo with a pony, chickens, rabbits and ferrets in the courtyard. 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Avenue, between Third and Fourth Streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce and specialty foods. 654-6346 

Forum for Latino Community with Superintendent 

4 - 6 p.m. 

Rosa Parks Elementary 

920 Allston Way 

A chance for the Latino community to meet the new superintendent of schools. 524-7300 

Monday, Oct. 8

Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults Inquiry Program 

7:30 p.m. 

St. Mary Magdalen Parish 

2005 Berryman St. 

A program to learn everything you wanted to know about the Catholic Church but never had the chance to ask. 526-4811 

Franciscanism, Understanding the Vision 

1 - 2 p.m. 

Franciscan School of Theology 

1712 Euclid Ave. 

Graduate Theological Union presents seminar exploring the lives, times and writings of and about Francis and Clare of Assisi.  

848-5232 

Tuesday, Oct. 9

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

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

531-8664 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday.  

655-8863 

Town Hall Meeting 

4 - 6 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

The Affordable Housing Advocacy Project presents a discussion on the Berkeley Housing Authority Howmeownership Program.  

548-5803 

Wednesday, Oct. 10

PRC Meeting 

The meeting of the Police Review Commission scheduled for Oct. 10 has been canceled. Regular PRC meetings will resume on Oct. 24. 

Amendment to Zoning  

Ordinance Meeting 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

The Planning Commission will consider an amendment to the zoning ordinance to prohibit the conversions of existing building space from any other use to office use and the development of new office uses of 5000 square feet or more in the mixed use-light industrial zoning district. 

Toddler Storytime 

7 p.m. 

West Berkeley Library 

1125 University Ave. 

For families with children three years or younger, a program to expose the youngest readers to multicultural stories, songs and finger plays. Every Wednesday through Nov. 28. 

Prose Writers’ Workshop 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center Library 

1414 Walnut St.  

From op-ed to fiction, memoir to the feature article - a community 

writers' group to support and encourage a community of interests. Workshop format. Free.  

524-3034 

Thursday, Oct. 11

Community Health Commission Meeting 

6:45 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Commissioners will brainstorm to determine major issues of concern regarding Alta Bates. 644-6109 

Between 1895 and 1915 Berkeley established itself as a city with a distinctive architectural character. As Mission Revival is to Santa Barbara, and Pueblo Style is to Santa Fe, in the early decades of the 20th century, unpainted wood shingles were identified with Berkeley.  

The use of unpainted wood shingles as exterior siding was Berkeley’s most popular means of expressing the philosophy of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. Although other exterior siding materials were also used, they were used less frequently. A simple design, which blended with nature was advocated by the Hillside Club and became so popular that Berkeley became known as a city of brown-shingled buildings.  

The Hillside Club was the principle force in spreading the philosophy of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Berkeley. It was formed in 1898 by the wives of architects Bernard Maybeck, Almeric Coxhead and John Galen Howard, developer Frank M. Wilson, photographer Oscar Maurer and Charles Keeler to “encourage artistic homes built of materials complementing the natural beauty of the Berkeley Hills.” In 1902 the men were invited to join the club to lend political clout to the woman’s cause. Charles Keeler, a naturalist, writer and poet, became its spokesman, advocating an artistic and spiritual life-style lived in a “simple home” which he described in his book The Simple Home, published in 1904.  

The large three-story brown shingle home at 1820 Scenic Ave. was built for the university’s eighth president Benjamin Ide Wheeler in 1900 and designed by Edgar A. Mathews. University benefactor Phoebe Apperson Hearst built her home and a reception hall next door; all three houses survived the 1923 fire and are still standing.  

When Wheeler moved into the new president’s house on campus in 1911, he sold the house to Edgar Bradley, who hired Lewis Hobart (architect of the Steinhardt Aquarium and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco) to remodel the structure.  

The house has grand proportions with a hipped-roof dormer in the center, classic details, and an elegant portico. The garden, also designed by Hobart, was behind the brick wall to the south; it is now a school playground, but still has a woodsy garden-like atmosphere. The tall old palm trees that line Scenic Avenue in front of the house can be seen from many locations in Berkeley.  

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

Editor: 

Regarding: “Hospital chief: Alta Bates not a public service” Oct. 1. 

Overall and in conclusion what health care needs in the East Bay, specifically at both Alta Bates and Summit Medical Centers, is not Corporate Warren Kirk…but Star Ship Captain James T. Kirk - a man who will boldly go where no corporate person will ever go: seeking out new perspectives and new ways of speaking, and exploring strange new ways of financial thinking, by cutting out excessive executive pay and management performance bonuses from the top on down to service-line and department managers, then analyzing the financial bottom line. 

Rob Valentine 

Berkeley

Three thousand miles away from the smoldering ruins that were once the World Trade Center, and the talk of war and terrorism in Washington, DC, Bay Area poet, Ishmael Reed, reminded a rapt Berkeley audience on Thursday that even in a time of crisis, it is OK to laugh at political absurdity.  

Reed, this month’s featured poet at UC Berkeley’s lunchtime poetry series, read to the standing-room only crowd from his most recent collection, The Reed Reader, and shared an as yet unpublished piece, “America Unite,” written in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.  

The poem lampooned media pundits, politicians, capitalists and flag waving, describing New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani as the “king of racial profilers” and poking fun at the constant renaming of the U.S. plan for military retaliation.  

“I thought it was an amazing poem,” said Zack Rogow, who organizes the monthly poetry series. “It’s a very tough thing to say at this time because there’s a lot of pressure to just kind of fall into line with what’s happening politically. I think that was a very brave and thoughtful poem.”  

Reed, who lives in Oakland and has taught in the English department at UC Berkeley for 20 years, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and raised in Buffalo, New York. He has written novels, poetry, essays, plays and songs and is well-known for his commentary on racial politics in America. 

After the reading, as Reed sat in a blue armchair next to the podium, he explained that he wrote “America Unite” to add a black voice to the discourse that has followed the terrorist attacks, something he said has been missing. 

“The images we see of African Americans are nurturing, hugging people and singing. We’re sort of like the station break stuff after the serious conversation of the wealthy white men who got us into this situation in the first place.”  

The poetry reading delighted long-time fan Suzanne Morse, a visiting UC faculty member from Bal Harbor, Maine. “I’ve heard of him for years and years,” said Morse. “What I am impressed by is his ability to walk into any situation and be very frank to whoever is there and not just taking one position or side.”  

Reed’s other poems addressed the black experience in America, including one about an aging couple in his Oakland neighborhood who could not afford proper medical care, and another about the closing of bank branches that serve black neighborhoods. He said that government moves to tighten security and expand surveillance in the wake of the terrorist attacks may be the first inkling most Americans have of what it is like to be black in the United States.  

“(Blacks) have a different point of view,” said Reed. “Somebody from the Chicago Tribune called me up and asked me if I thought there would be a tightening on civil liberties. I said, well, you know, we’ve been living in a police state for 300 years, it’s nothing new for us, so get used to it.” 

Three thousand miles away from the smoldering ruins that were once the World Trade Center, and the talk of war and terrorism in Washington, DC, Bay Area poet, Ishmael Reed, reminded a rapt Berkeley audience on Thursday that even in a time of crisis, it is OK to laugh at political absurdity.  

Reed, this month’s featured poet at UC Berkeley’s lunchtime poetry series, read to the standing-room only crowd from his most recent collection, The Reed Reader, and shared an as yet unpublished piece, “America Unite,” written in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.  

The poem lampooned media pundits, politicians, capitalists and flag waving, describing New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani as the “king of racial profilers” and poking fun at the constant renaming of the U.S. plan for military retaliation.  

“I thought it was an amazing poem,” said Zack Rogow, who organizes the monthly poetry series. “It’s a very tough thing to say at this time because there’s a lot of pressure to just kind of fall into line with what’s happening politically. I think that was a very brave and thoughtful poem.”  

Reed, who lives in Oakland and has taught in the English department at UC Berkeley for 20 years, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and raised in Buffalo, New York. He has written novels, poetry, essays, plays and songs and is well-known for his commentary on racial politics in America. 

After the reading, as Reed sat in a blue armchair next to the podium, he explained that he wrote “America Unite” to add a black voice to the discourse that has followed the terrorist attacks, something he said has been missing. 

“The images we see of African Americans are nurturing, hugging people and singing. We’re sort of like the station break stuff after the serious conversation of the wealthy white men who got us into this situation in the first place.”  

The poetry reading delighted long-time fan Suzanne Morse, a visiting UC faculty member from Bal Harbor, Maine. “I’ve heard of him for years and years,” said Morse. “What I am impressed by is his ability to walk into any situation and be very frank to whoever is there and not just taking one position or side.”  

Reed’s other poems addressed the black experience in America, including one about an aging couple in his Oakland neighborhood who could not afford proper medical care, and another about the closing of bank branches that serve black neighborhoods. He said that government moves to tighten security and expand surveillance in the wake of the terrorist attacks may be the first inkling most Americans have of what it is like to be black in the United States.  

“(Blacks) have a different point of view,” said Reed. “Somebody from the Chicago Tribune called me up and asked me if I thought there would be a tightening on civil liberties. I said, well, you know, we’ve been living in a police state for 300 years, it’s nothing new for us, so get used to it.” 

924 Gilman Street Oct 6: Tight Brothers from Way Back When, Smash Your Face, Cherry Valence, Bare Bones; Oct 12: One Line Drawing, Funeral Dinner, Diefenbaker, Till 7 Years Pass Over Him; Oct 13: Dead and Gone, Cattle Decapitation, Vulgar Pigeons, Wormwood, Antagony; Most shows are $5 and start at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 

Anna’s Oct. 6: Ed Reed, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet; Oct. 7: Danubius; Oct. 8: Renegade Sidemen, Calvin Keyes; Oct. 9: Open Mic; All shows begin at 8 p.m. 1801 University Ave. 849-ANNA www.annasbistro.com 

Ashkenaz Oct. 6: 9 p.m. Tom Rigney and Flambeau, $11; Oct. 7: 7 p.m. Singer/Songwriter Showcase, $6-8; Oct 10: Billy Dunn & Bluesway; Oct 11: Greaful Dead DJ Night; Oct 12: Sambo NGO; Oct 13: Clinton Fearon, Dub Congress; Oct 14: Open Stage; Oct 16: Danubias; Oct 17: Cajun Cayotes; Oct 18: Greatful Dean DJ Night; Oct 19: Swing Session 1317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 www.ashkenaz.com 

Café de la Paz Poetry Nitro, performance showcase with open mike. All shows free, 7 - 10 p.m. 

Cal Performances Oct. 12 - 14: Fri. and Sat., 8:00 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Ballet Nacional De Cuba, $24 - $46; Oct. 17 and 18: 8 p.m. Cesaria Evora, $24 - $36; Oct. 19: 8 p.m. Karnak, $18 - $30. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph, 642-0212, tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Eli’s Mile High Club every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight & Salvage Oct 6: The Limeliters; Oct 7: Eddie From Ohio; Oct 8: All Nation Singers, Walter Ogi Johnson, Thunder; All shows start at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.com 

Jupiter Oct. 6: Crowsong; Oct. 9: Hydeus Kiatta Trio; Oct. 10: Cannonball with DJ Aspect; Oct. 11: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu, and Add1; Oct. 12: Japonize Elephants; Oct. 13: J Dogs; All music starts at 8:00 p.m. 2181 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625 www.jupiterbeer.com  

La Peña Cultural Center Oct 6: 10:30 a.m. Gary Lapow, $4 Adults, $3 Children; Oct 13: 10:30 a.m. Derique- the high tech clown, $4 Adults, $3 Children; 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 www.lapena.org 

Live Oak Concerts Oct. 7: Tom Rose and Miles Graber; Oct. 14: A Harvest of Song, an evening of premiers of works, $8-10. Both shows start at 7:30 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St.  

“The Complete Shostakovich String Quartets--Part One” Oct. 20: 10 a.m. Quartets V & VI. Performed by the prize-winning Alexander String Quartet with Robert Greenberg, $ 30. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave.  

845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org. 

Laszlo Varga & Friends Oct. 7: 4 p.m. Solo cello and chamber music. $10 general admission. Free under 18 and cellists. The Crowden School, 1475 Rose St., 559-6910 

Rebecca Riots Oct. 12: 7:30 p.m. $20-$23. Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Club, 1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. 339-1832 

Synchronicity Oct. 14: 2 p.m. Piano and percussion duo fuses classical and jazz music into a visual experience. $10 adult, $5 child. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org 

Shafqat Ali Khan Oct. 20: 8 p.m. Concert of classical Ragaa, Sufi, Urdu, Persian Ghazel, and other popular musical styles from India. $20 general admission, $15 students. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org 

“Murder Dressed in Satin” by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. 239-2252 www.acteva.com/go/havefun 

“Twelfth Night” through Oct. 7, Tue. - Thurs. 7:30 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m. California Shakespeare Festival presents William Shakespeare’s comic tale of romance, loneliness, love and glory. Directed by Jonathan Moscone. $12 - $41. Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, Highway 24, Gateway Exit, one mile east of the Caldecott Tunnel. 548-9666 www.calshakes.org 

“Swanwhite” through Oct. 21: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. A new translation of the Swedish Play that asks the question what good is romantic love, directed by Tom Clyde. $20, Sundays are “Pay What You Can.” Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305, www.virtuous.com 

“Orestes” through Oct. 21: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. An adaptation of the classical play by Euripides that incorporates passages inspired or taken from various 20th century texts. Written by Charles Mee, directed by Christopher Herold. $6-$12. Zellerbach Playhouse on the UC Berkeley campus, 642-8268. 

“Approach” through Oct. 27: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m. An examination of the search for intimacy as our most precious form of survival. Written by Susan Wiegand, directed by Katie Bales Frassinelli. $15 general admission, $10 students and seniors. Eighth Street Studio Theatre, 2525 8th St. 655-0813 www.shotgunplayers.org 

“36 Views” through Oct. 28: Tues. 8 p.m., Wed. 7 p.m., Thu. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Thu., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Sat., Sun. 2 p.m., 8 p.m. Written by Naomi Lizuka, directed by Mark Wing-Davey. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. 647-2949  

www.berkeleyrep.org 

Fine Arts Cinema through Oct. 9 “Battleship Potemkin,” directed by Sergei Eisenstein; 2451 Shattuck Ave 848-1143 

“Lisa Picard is Famous” Oct. 12-19: Mockumentary chronicles New York actress who hopes to get more than a fleeting taste of fame when a racy cereal commercial brings her unexpected national notoriety. Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Ave. 843-3456 

“Inside Editions” through Oct. 12: Nine printmakers exhibit their work. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tue. - Fri. Free. Kala Art Insitute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 kala@kala.org 

“Census 2000: Asian Pacific Islander Americans” through Oct. 13; Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Asian Pacific Islander American artists in roughly the demographic proportions indicated by the recent census. Free. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9470  

“MWP Perspectives” Jon Orvik: One artist’s journey. Through Oct. 27 Tues. - Fri. 12 - 5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 12 - 4 p.m. Solo artist exhibiting his journey through metal, wood and paint. Adapt Gallery and Design, 2834 College Ave. 649-8501  

www.adaptgallery.com  

“50 Years of Photography in Japan 1951 - 2001” through Nov. 5: An exhibition from The Yomiuri Shimbun, the world’s largest daily newspaper with a national morning circulation of 10,300,000. Photographs of work, love, community, culture and disasters of Japan as seen by Japanese news photographers. Opening Reception Sept. 5: 6 - 8 p.m. open to the public; Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, Hearst and Euclid. Free. 642-3383 

“Jesus, This is Your Life - Stories and Pictures by Kids” Through Nov. 16: California children, ages four through twelve, from diverse backgrounds present original artwork, accompanied by a story written by the artist. Mon. - Thur. 8:30 a.m. -10 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541. 

“Changing the World, Building New Lives: 1970s photographs of Lesbians, Feminists, Union Women, Disability Activists and their Supporters” Sept. 15 through Nov. 17: An exhibit of black and white photographs by Oakland photographer Cathy Cade, who captured the interrelationships of the different struggles for justice and social change. Opening reception Sept. 15, 5 - 8 p.m. Gallery Hours, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. Free. 644-1400 cathycade@mindspring.com 

“The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s” Sept. 16 through Dec. 16: A documentary photo exhibition which examines the rich history of the social movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free. 644-6893 

“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 Botticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours. Atelier 9 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

Readings 

Boadecia’s Books Sept. 21: Deborah Kesten, “The Healing Secrets of Food;” Sept. 22: A special All Poetry Dyke Open Myke, to participate call 655-1015 or feroniawolf@yahoo.com; Sept 28: The Return of Gaymes Night; Sept 29: Ellen Samuels and other contributors to “Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian & Transgender Parents”; Oct. 5: Mark Pritchard reads from “How I Adore You”; Oct 6: Terry Ryan reads from “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 words or Less”; Oct. 12: Susan Gaines reads from her novel “Carbon Dream”; Oct. 18: Patricia Nell Warren reads from her novel “The Wild Man”, Oct. 22: J.M. Redmann reads from “Death By the Riverside”; All events start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise. All events are free. 398 Colusa Ave. 559-9184 www.bookpride.com 

Cody’s on 4th Street Sept. 20: 7 p.m. Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef, “The Naked Chef Takes Off”; Sept. 22: 10:30 a.m. Cody’s for Kids, Walter the Giant Storyteller; Sept. 25: 7 p.m. Nancy London has been cancelled; Oct 5: 7 p.m. Glen Davis Gold reads from “Carter Beats the Devil”; Oct 12: Cody’s For Kids- Rosemary Wells and Bunny Party; Harruet Lerber surveys “The Dance of Connection: how to Talk to Someone When You’re Mad, Hurt, Scard, Frustrated, Insulted Betrayed or Desperate; Michael Chabon talks about The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay; Studs Terkel reads from “Will the Circle be Unbroken? Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and hunger for Faith; Oct 18: Tamora Pierce talks about “Protector of the Small”; 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Sept. 17: Aldo Alvarez describes “Interesting Monsters”; Sept. 18: Clarence Walker discusses “We Can’t Go Home Again: An Argument About Afrocentrism; Sept. 19: Douglas Coupland reads “All Families Are Psychotic”; Sept. 24: Theodore Roszak discusses “Longevity Revolution: As Boomers Become Elders”; Sept. 25: Ken Croswell discusses “The Universe At Midnight: New Discoveries Illuminate the Hidden Cosmos” with a slide show presentation; Sept. 27: Bill Ayers talks about “Fugitive Days”; Oct 1: Urdsula K. Le guin reads from “The Other Wind”; Oct 2: Jonathan Franzen reads from “The Corrections”; Oct 4: Eric Seaborg looks at “Adventures in the Atomic Age: From Watts to Washington”; Oct 5: Victor Villasenor reads from “Thirteen Senses”; Oct 9: Christine Finn describes “Artifacts: An Archaeologis’s Year in Silicon Valley”; Oct 12: Elizabeth Royte examines “The Tapir’s Morning Bath: Solving the Mysteries of the Tropical Rainforest”; Oct 15: Amir Aczel poses The Riddle of the Compass: The Invention That Changed the World; Oct 16: Kip Fulbeck talks about “Paper Bullets”; Oct 18: Suzanne Antoneta & micah Perks talk about “Body Toxic: An Environmental Memoir” and “Pagan Time: An American Childhood; All shows at 7:30 p.m.; 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

Cody’s Other Venues - Sept. 20: 7:30 p.m. Cody’s presents an evening with Margaret Atwood in conversation with professor Robert Alter. $12. First Congregational Church 2345 Channing Way; Sept. 28: 7:30 p.m. Cody’s presents a Community Forum on Race and the Achievement Gap at Berkeley High School. Little Theater, Berkeley High School; Oct 7: 7 p.m. Coleman Barks- The Soul of Rumi First Congregational Church of Berkeley 2345 Dana 

Coffee Mill Poetry Series Oct. 16: 7 - 9 p.m. Steve Arntsen and Kathleen Dunbar followed by open mike reading. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland 465-3935 ksdgk@earthlink.net 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Sept. 29: 7 p.m. Kip Fulbeck reads from his first novel, “Paper Bullets”; Oct. 13: Leonard Chang reads from “Over the Shoulder”; Oct. 20: Miriam Ching Louie reads from “Sweatshop Warriors: Immigrant Women Workers Take on the Global Factory”; 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore Sept. 20: 7:30 p.m. Antarctica & The Nature of Penguins, An evening with Jonathan Chester; Oct 2: 7:30 p.m. “Dancing with the Witchdoctor: One Woman’s Adventure in Africa” by Kelly James. 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

Lunch Poems reading Series Oct 4: 12:10 p.m. Ishmael Reed; Morrison Libary in Doe Library at UC Berkeley. Free 642-0137 http://www.berkeley.edu/calendar/events/poems/ 

Spasso Sept. 10: Sharron Jones-Reid, Fruit of the Spirit poets, acoustic musicians, comedians, rappers, performance artists, writers. All welcome. 6021 College Ave. Free admission. 

Michael Parentini Oct 4: 7:30 p.m. Discusses and signs copies of his latest book “To Kill a Nation” at Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library 6501 Telegraph Ave 595-7417 

Oct 10: 7:30 p.m. Lucille Bellucci, authorof “The Year of the Rat” visits Barnes & Noble Booksellers. 2352 Shattuck Ave 

Susan Griffin Oct. 12: 7 - 10 p.m. Presents slide show and discusses her latest book “The Book of Courtesans: A Catalogue of Their Virtues”. $10 refundable with book purchase. Gaia Arts and Cultural Center, 2116 Allston Way 848-4242  

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 foot 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. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until Oct. 1 : “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 Avenue. 643-7648 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

University of California Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive has reopened after its summer-long seismic retrofit. “Martin Puryear: Sculpture of the 1990s” through Jan. 13; “The Dream of the Audience: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951 - 1982)” through Dec. 16; “Face of Buddha: Sculpture from India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia” ongoing rotation through 2003; “Matrix 194: Jessica Bronson, Heaps, layers, and curls” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; “Matrix 192: Ceal Floyer 37’4”” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., PFA Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way; Museum Galleries 2626 Bancroft Way; 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Lawrence Hall of Science “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. 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  

Oakland Museum of California “Half Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks,” through Sept. 23; Wednesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday, noon - 5 p.m., Closed Monday and Tuesday. $6 general; $4 youths (6-17), seniors and students with ID. Free for museum members and children 5 and under. Free admission the second Sunday of the month. 10th & Oak streets, Oakland. 238-2200 www.museum.org 

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

Cal women’s soccer head coach Kevin Boyd wants his team to be the best in the country. But on Friday afternoon, they weren’t even the best in the county. 

No. 21 St. Mary’s of Moraga came into Edwards Stadium with an upset on their minds, and that’s just what they got when Gael forward Jennifer Barbera scored a goal in the first minute of sudden-death overtime to win the game, 1-0. 

“This is a huge win for us,” St. Mary’s head coach Paul Ratcliffe said. “We’re so close, we have a natural rivalry, and we’re just trying to catch up with them and stay close.” 

The game’s only goal came when St. Mary’s forward Lucianna Crenshaw slid the ball across to Barbera at the top of the box. Barbera lofted her shot over Cal goalkeeper Mallory Moser and off of the inside of the left post. 

The sixth-ranked Bears (8-2) lost despite a scintillating second-half stretch of play during which they had a penalty shot and three breakaways. Cal striker Laura Schott kicked off the run with a beautiful through ball for midfielder Kim Yokers, but St. Mary’s goalkeeper Ruth Montgomery came off of her line and blocked Yokers’ shot with her trailing leg.  

After two nice counter-attacks by the Gaels (9-0-1), Yokers returned the favor, putting Schott through one-on-one with Montgomery. Schott pushed the ball past the sliding keeper at the top of the box, and Montgomery took the All-America junior down for a penalty kick. But Schott, who scored on a PK a week ago against Fresno State, only put the ball two yards to Montgomery’s left, and the keeper deflected the ball outside the post. 

Minutes later, freshman sensation Kacy Hornor slid the ball across the box for midfielder Brittany Kirk, but Kirk put her one-time shot wide of the goal. Kirk then put Hornor through right down the middle, but Montgomery again came up huge, coming off her line hard and blocking Hornor’s shot. 

“We should’ve put the game away right there in the second half,” Cal head coach Kevin Boyd said. “The keeper made some good saves, but when you’ve got a one-on-one you have to put it away.” 

The Bears were never able to get into their usual style of possessing the ball in back and building an attack, instead resorting to hitting ball after ball up long up the middle. St. Mary’s midfielder Katie Sticinski dominated the middle, distributing the ball and bottling up Cal’s Brittany Kirk, one of the key play-makers for the Bears. Up front, freshman Katie Frattone and sophomore Lucianne Crenshaw made things hard on the Cal defenders, refusing to back off and let the Bears play the ball to each other with ease. 

“(St. Mary’s) played very hard today, maybe harder than us,” Boyd said. “This was certainly a chance for them to prove they should be getting recognition.”

The owners of the Berkeley Motel, who wish to replace their small building with a three-story hotel, received rough treatment at the hands of the Zoning Adjustments Board Thursday night. 

Sudha Patel, who has owned the little motel at 2001 Bancroft Way for over 20 years, has submitted plans to demolish the motel, which was built in 1925, and construct a 30-unit hotel with retail space on the side of the building that fronts Milvia Street. 

The city’s Design Review Committee had approved architect Kava Massih’s drawings for the proposed new building on Sept. 20. Nevertheless, the ZAB, on which two interim members sat Thursday evening, called several aspects of the design “inadequate,” and sent the plan back to the DRC for the third time. 

The motel is located across the street from Berkeley High School, and is at the southwest corner of the giant “Library Gardens” project, which appears to be headed for easy approval at the ZAB’s next meeting on Oct. 11. 

Paul Schwartz, a Berkeley attorney whom Mayor Shirley Dean has appointed to the ZAB on a temporary basis, while board member Rosemarie Pietras is on leave, called the proposed motel “ugly.” 

“Berkeley deserves better,” he said. 

Patel and Massih had asked the ZAB for a permit to place the new building right up against the sidewalk, with no “setback” from pedestrian traffic as is often required in residential areas. Many ZAB members voiced their concern about the effect on pedestrians of a building not set back on that corner. 

Schwartz said that his principal concern was that the building was too “massive.” He said he would have preferred to see fewer than 30 units in the new building, which he and other members said should be set back from the sidewalk. 

The board said that if it were forced to vote on the project during that night’s meeting, it would most likely be denied and Patel would have to appeal the decision to the City Council. However, the board gave her the option of waiving her rights under the Permit Streamlining Act – which requires city planning agencies to approve or deny projects within six months after their applications are completed – so that the DRC could look at the project again. Patel’s architect chose to waive his PSA rights. 

In an interview on Friday, Massih said that the setback requirement was inappropriate for an urban area. 

“Where are we – In Irvine, or in Berkeley?” he asked. “This is a totally suburban move.” 

“With these setbacks, the commercial space we worked so hard to provide for the neighborhood is going to have to be sacrificed.” 

The site of the motel itself is in a zone that permits building with no setback requirement, but because it is bordered on two sides by neighborhoods zoned residential it required a no-setback permit from the ZAB. 

David Blake, who is a member of both the ZAB and the DRC but was absent from Thursday’s ZAB meeting, was surprised by the decision. 

“It’s unusual not to grant a use permit for no setback, particularly with Library Gardens going up next door,” he said. “But DRC will have to look at it to see if this project can be effectively built without a setback.” 

Blake said that while the DRC was not completely enthusiastic about the proposed motel, it did think that it would pass muster at the ZAB. 

“I don’t think that Design Review loved the way it looked, but considering the limitation of their budget, we thought it was acceptable,” he said. 

Schwartz said on Friday that he did want to see a new building at that site, given that “the current building is a bit of an eyesore,” but that the prominence of the site called for caution. 

“It’s a very sensitive site, in my mind, being right across from the high school on a prominent corner,” he said. 

“I really appreciate the fact that the applicants are trying to improve the corner. I would just like it to be a bit more aesthetically pleasing than the current design.” 

Massih said that in light of his recent experiences, the Permit Streamlining Act seems somewhat irrelevant – and he thought the city suffers. 

“The planning department had set up these deadlines, just so that things don’t get dragged on so long,” he said. “What’s the point of that, if you can threaten me with killing the project or taking it before the council?” 

“Every time the process gets dragged on, it costs the project something. The cost ends up coming out of the product – the building. By dragging it out, you end up getting cheaper buildings – and I don’t think that that’s what the city really wants.”

Editor: 

In regard to the tragic events of September 11, I would like to take this opportunity to point out a very positive outcome. All across the country, young people have been coming together to aid the relief effort in a huge way. By donating blood, money and food to victims on the east coast, young people are showing that we are not an apathetic generation. College students are voicing their opinions about war with a loud voice as well. Demonstrations and vigils on many campuses have proven that young people do indeed care about critical issues such as national safety, U.S. foreign policy and most importantly peace. 

Many youth organizations are helping to facilitate and amplify the perspective of young people. One organization that should be commended in particular is the California Youth Vote coalition, which is pushing for politicians to include the voices of 18-24 years old in a way like never before. Youth Vote is asking that next year’s Governors race include youth debates in which young people can have the opportunity to address politicians and make them hear our concerns. 

Currently, politicians are doing a great job of excluding the voices of young people with regards to the terrorist attacks. We, as the leaders of tomorrow and the citizens that will have to endure the consequences of what politicians decide, must be allowed to be a part of the debate. 

Sarah Joye 

Berkele

MacFarland runs for 235 yards in Spartans’ victory 

Despite an inspired effort and some big plays, the depleted St. Mary’s High football team couldn’t quite finish a fourth-quarter comeback on Friday night, falling to Pinole Valley 35-27. 

The Panthers (1-4) overcame a 14-0 deficit to tie the score at 14-14 at halftime, but Pinole Valley (4-1) rode the back of running back D’Andre MacFarland a 35-14 second half lead. The senior ran for 164 of his 235 total yards in the second half to go with three touchdowns. 

St. Mary’s got big days from tailback/defensive back Trestin George, who ran for 140 yards and made several big defensive plays, and quarterback Steve Murphy, who threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Murphy’s second touchdown pass, a nine-yard strike to Chase Moore, brought the Panthers within eight points with just 2:20 left in the game, but the Spartans recovered Jack Beran’s onside kick and MacFarland picked up a first down to run out the clock. 

“I’m real proud of all my guys,” St. Mary’s head coach Jay Lawson said. “We played well all the way through the end. No one gave up, and we kept coming back.” 

Pinole Valley is the favorite to win the Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League, and many expected them to run all over the Panthers after scoring 78 points in their last two games. Throw in the fact that St. Mary’s had four starters out due to injuries, and it looked like the setup for a rout. But even when MacFarland’s final touchdown, a three-yard run, gave the Spartans a 35-14 lead with 10 minutes left in the game, the Panthers kept on hitting. George carried the load on the ensuing drive, taking a screen pass 25 yards to the Pinole Valley 32-yard line. A Spartan personal foul put the ball at the 17, and George broke through the left side of the line and took it to the house on the next play. The drive took less than a minute off the clock, and the Panthers had found inspiration. 

“Coming into this game, everyone outside of St. Mary’s was waiting for us to get our butts kicked,” Lawson said. “But we always believed we could play with them.” 

Although the next St. Mary’s drive stalled at the Pinole Valley 40, the Panthers got the ball right back when MacFarland coughed it up on the next play. St. Mary’s caught a break when Pinole’s Anthony Jones dropped an easy interception, and they made the Spartans pay. Murphy hit Ryan Coogler on an inside screen for 17 yards, and the officials tacked on 12 more yards for a roughing the passer penalty. That set up the final touchdown pass to Moore, but the Panthers couldn’t stop MacFarland and get the ball back. 

“They rallied and hung tough,” Pinole Valley head coach Jim Erickson said of the Panthers. “We made some stupid plays to help them out, and they made some nice plays.” 

The Panthers should get most of their injured players back next week, with the exception of linebacker Omarr Flood, who is out for 5-6 weeks with a separated shoulder. With a full complement of players and the experience earned during a tough non-league schedule, the St. Mary’s players are confident they can run the table in the Bay Shore Athletic League. 

“I think we’re extremely ready,” George said. “We’ve been growing up a lot. You have to crawl before you can walk, and we’re ready to start walking.” 

Murphy set a season-high for passing yards, and spread the ball around nicely, hitting five different receivers. The Panthers were led by Coogler’s 75 yards, including a 54-yard gain on a wide receiver screen in the first half that led to a 3-yard touchdown run by Murphy for the Panthers’ first score. 

Tight end Moore had two touchdown catches, including a spectacular 17-yarder in the first half that tied the score at 14-14. Murphy rolled right, then threw a screen back to the left to Moore, but tossed the ball high. Moore made a leaping, one-handed grab, then shook off two defenders on his way to the end zone, scoring with just 18.7 seconds on the clock. 

Murphy, who is playing quarterback for the first time this season, thinks the improvement in the passing game the Panthers have shown the last two weeks will carry into the league season. 

“I’m finally getting used to playing a new spot after five games,” he said. “We’re going 5-0 from here out. We’re not losing no more games.” 

The Spartans’ second touchdown came under questionable circumstances. They drove the ball down to the St. Mary’s 6, and on the next play quarterback Adrian Smith rolled out to his left. It looked as if Smith would take the ball in himself, but he changed his mind and tossed a pass to Erwin Hoskin in the end zone despite being well past the line of scrimmage. But none of the officials seemed to notice, nor did the St. Mary’s coaching staff, and the play stood, giving the Spartans a 14-0 lead.

A proposal by District Superintendent Michele Lawrence to put her stamp on the Berkeley Unified School District’s maintenance procedures has sparked concerns that last November’s Measure BB funds, earmarked for maintenance, could be diverted to uses not approved by voters. 

Measure BB, approved in the last elections, will funnel almost $4 million in city taxes annually to the school district over 12 years. Its wording specifies that the money is for maintenance, a budget category that has often borne the brunt of revenue shortfalls. 

“That is the only reason people voted for this,” said Yolanda Huang, chair of the Maintenance Oversight and Planning Committee, which the text of Measure BB designates as its official public watchdog. “Because the history is, whenever there was a shortfall, they cut maintenance to patch another fiscal hole.” 

The district’s financial consultant announced this week that state budget constraints and anticipated shortfalls in this year’s problem-plagued budget may indeed necessitate belt-tightening by the end of the year. The maintenance budget, however, is now almost entirely funded by Measure BB funds – $3,849,000, plus $168,000 from a food service concession and the rental of the Hillside School. 

Last May, in the wake of Measure BB, the school board approved a maintenance plan that had been two years in the making, with input from two consultant firms that cost the district $70,000. 

At Wednesday’s school board meeting, Lawrence, who took office this summer, formally announced that she had put that plan’s implementation on hold to explore making several changes. 

“It may well appear that it is hubris on the part of a new superintendent” to alter the maintenance procedures, she said, “but I am concerned about the pieces that I believe the board is holding me accountable for.” 

“The superintendent had no input into the plan that the committee put together because she wasn’t here, yet she’s going to be held accountable for the results of the plan,” said board president Terry Doran. “So I think it’s perfectly legitimate for her to review the plan, and where she feels there are ways to improve it, that’s her responsibility to make those suggestions.” 

However, current and past leaders of the oversight committee strongly protested to the board against delaying implementation of the current plan, warning that further delays endangered public trust and safety. 

“They gave us this money, and if the high school looks the same next June as it does now, we’re going to have a problem,” said Stephanie Allen, former chair of the committee and now its secretary. 

Lawrence’s proposal calls for a “more comprehensive long-term strategic plan” that can “serve as a service delivery model for the various aspects of facilities, which are not just limited to maintenance.” It would enlarge the administrative boundaries of the plan to include “construction, community use, rental agreements, and ancillary educational programs.” Plant security, waste disposal, and disaster readiness “need also be considered” in the maintenance plan, the proposal said. 

“That isn’t what we promised the voters, and that isn’t what the measure says,” Allen said. “I’m hoping the board is going to exercise its fiduciary responsibility to prevent that from happening.” 

The proposal further calls for changing the supervisory model, currently based on a single custodial inspector, because “individuals accountable for tasks must be empowered to supervise employees assigned to their site or department.” 

“That red flags it for me immediately, because that means that she’s then going to ding BB to pay for principal salaries,” Huang said. 

Superintendent Lawrence did not return calls – made over two days – for comment. Gene Le Fevre, the district’s maintenance director, told the Daily Planet that Lawrence had forbidden him to speak to the press and that she was the sole spokesperson for the district. 

Board of Education President Terry Doran, however, expressed confidence in Lawrence’s proposal, which will come back to the board for further discussion next month.  

“I think these are legitimate concerns of any oversight committee, that the funds are legally spent,” Doran said. “They’re my concerns as well. I’m not concerned that the superintendent is suggesting that in her plan.” 

Aside from the issue of proper use of BB funds, the committee members also said the imposition of a new plan would delay vital maintenance. Huang said the interruption of lengthy hiring processes could set back the district’s maintenance activities several months. At the board meeting, she said that only three additional workers had so far been hired to fulfill Measure BB’s call for a doubling of the maintenance staff to 46.7 full-time positions. 

“The way the Berkeley school system works – which (Lawrence) can’t change with the twinkle of a wand – it’s going to be March at best before she can bring anybody on board to start working,” Huang said. She noted that the more maintenance is deferred, the costlier it gets. “We cannot spend another $20,000 to fix dry rot this year,” she said. 

Doran, like Lawrence, framed the proposal as a long-term strategy. “The benefit of this further review will outweigh any further delays and in the long run put us in a better place,” he said. 

Lawrence’s proposal also calls for streamlining the maintenance department by seeking workers with broader skill areas rather than “trade specialists.” (Allen, the former committee chair, told the board that the district was not able to pay enough to attract such people.) 

The superintendent would also change work schedules so that maintenance would no longer be limited to classroom hours and eliminate time-consuming multiple work orders on single projects like installing a new door.

Editor: 

I still can’t believe what I witnessed at the City Council meeting last night. After months of public input, countless hours of work by city staff and numerous pledges to consider all of the redistricting plans based on specific guidelines laid out in the City’s Charter, five members of the council: Linda Maio, Kriss Worthington, Dona Spring, Maudelle Shirek and Margaret Breland, pushed through a redistricting plan that they admitted had been put together behind closed doors and had been released to the other council members only minutes before they were expected to vote on it. Even worse, whereas all of the other plans had careful, exhaustive review from city staff to best inform the council and the public, this new “Amended Blake-O’Malley” plan was presented to the rest of the council only in the form of a map and was not presented at all to the public. Maudelle Shirek’s motion to approve the plan included only census block numbers. There was no mention of street names and without a map, I’m not sure how the public was supposed to understand the changes or make any comment on them, but then again, I have a feeling that was exactly the point. 

As someone who has diligently followed the public discussion on redistricting for weeks, I find it hard to describe the anger and betrayal that I feel. The Council majority talks about Sunshine Ordinances and open government, but when the chips are down, they don’t give a damn about public input. We are clearly under the regime of a political machine in Berkeley and I just hope this process opens the eyes of voters throughout the city. Maybe those five members will be more interested in the public’s input on Election Day. 

Susan Levine 

Berkeley

SAN FRANCISCO - Junior midfielder Patrick Fisher kicked a rebound of a shot by teammate Carl Acosta seven minutes into the second half to lift California (5-3-1) to a 2-1 nonconference victory over San Francisco Friday night at Negoesco Stadium.  

The Dons (5-3-1) took an early lead when Gabe Sturm scored his second goal of the season off a passing combination by Raji Ananda and Chris Roden.  

Although the Bears were unable create many scoring chances, they were able to score off their first shot of the game. Cal’s Angel Quintero tried to cross the ball into the box, but after it was blocked he struck a wild shot off a loose ball that found the net at 12:29.  

The Bears got the winning goal after USF keeper Conor McNulty made a save at the top of the box only to see Fisher alone with the loose ball at the near post. He just kicked it in to give Cal their fifth win of the season.  

“Carl Acosta hit a pretty decent shot and it deflected off the goalie and it was just an opportunistic shot,” explained Fisher, who notched his second goal of the season. “I was just in the right place at the right time. Credit goes to the build up of the play and Carl for getting the shot off.”  

USF appeared to get the tying goal late in the game, but Josh Hansen’s shot failed to cross the line after hitting the crossbar.  

Cal extended its five-game unbeaten streak with Friday’s win.  

“I think it was one of our better performance of the year for a full 90 minutes,” said coach Kevin Grimes. “Our players played well on both sides of the ball against a very good USF team on the road.”  

After struggling at the outset of the 2001 one campaign, the Bears are starting to gel just in time for conference play.  

“There was definitely a different attitude after the game,” said Fisher. “A confidence that will carry us into the next game. It was a big momentum builder for Sunday and also showed the country that we’re for real.”  

The Bears play host to Santa Clara on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Edwards Stadium.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Oil continued to spew like a geyser from the trans-Alaska oil pipeline for a second day Friday, the result of a bullet hole shot in the line. 

Crews were working on a plan to plug the hole and were cleaning up the estimated 280,000 gallons of oil that had spilled by Friday evening, but the work was proceeding slowly due to explosive vapors at the site, said Brad Hahn of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. 

“You have to try to suppress the vapors with the fire suppression foam and you have to use large fans to blow the explosive vapors away from the work area,” Hahn said. 

Oil under high pressure was sprayed through a small hole onto about two acres of trees, brush and tundra. Regulators said there was no evidence that any wildlife has been oiled by the spill. 

The shooting occurred Thursday afternoon about 75 miles north of Fairbanks. The pipeline was quickly shut down, but oil remained under high pressure in the section of the line that was pierced by the bullet. 

The suspect, Daniel Carson Lewis, 37, was arraigned Friday in Fairbanks Superior Court and was being held on $1.5 million bail. 

According to charging documents, Lewis, who has an extensive criminal background, had been drinking before shooting the pipeline with a .338-caliber rifle. He is charged with driving while intoxicated, weapons misconduct, felony assault and criminal mischief. 

When the bullet penetrated the pipe, Lewis fled on an all-terrain vehicle, according to charging documents. His brother, Randolph Lewis, remained at the scene and explained to pipeline security officers what had happened. 

Randolph Lewis told investigators his brother had threatened him with the gun. But Daniel Lewis told Alaska State Troopers he was asleep at his home at the time of the shooting and had not been with his brother. 

Gov. Tony Knowles called the incident “a hare-brained act of violence.” 

Knowles said state officials would be taking another look at security along the 800-mile pipeline. Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which operates the line, had beefed up security in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

“Clearly the fact that one person with a rifle can do this much damage is a point of concern in terms of vulnerability,” Knowles said. 

About 420 miles of the pipeline is above ground and runs through remote wilderness. The rest is underground. 

Alyeska officials were considering using a crane to install a hydraulic clamp over the line to cover the hole. But the flammable vapors in the area made the operation dangerous. 

“There’s concern about the safety of the workers there. It is a very delicate operation with large machinery in a volatile environment,” Woolston said. 

On Friday, company officials said they hoped to have the operation completed by evening. But, by late afternoon, that timetable had been scrapped and it was not known when the operation would take place, Woolston said. 

Workers had built a series of dikes to contain the spilled oil and keep it away from the Tolovana River, about a mile away. More than 15,000 gallons had been collected by vacuum trucks and was being stored in tanks near the site, Woolston said. About 420,000 gallons of oil remained in the section of line that was leaking. 

“Cleanup crews are now, at this point, keeping up with the spill rate, so the damage to the environment is limited to what’s been done,” Woolston said Friday evening. 

Woolston said it was not known when the line would be restarted. 

The pipeline has been dented by bullets in the past, but Thursday’s incident marked the first time a bullet had ever pierced the line. The 48-inch pipe is protected by an outer layer of galvanized steel and nearly four inches of insulation. The steel wall of the pipe is about a half-inch thick. 

An act of sabotage on the pipeline in 1978 resulted in a spill of 670,000 gallons of oil. A hole was blasted in the line with explosives at Steel Creek, near Fairbanks. No one was ever arrested in that attack. 

The University of California women’s volleyball team won its first Pac-10 match of the season, defeating visiting Oregon, 3-0 (30-23, 30-23, 32-30), Friday evening at Haas Pavilion.  

The Bears (5-5, 1-3) were led by sophomore Gabrielle Abernathy’s 12 kills, senior setter/outside hitter Candace McNamee’s eight kills and seven kills apiece from Reena Pardiwala, Leah Young, Camilla Leffall and newcomer Mia Jerkov. Jerkov, a standout player from Croatia, played her first match for the Bears after playing for the Croatian National Team for most of the fall. She also finished with seven digs and one block solo after coming in the match midway through game two.  

Leffall, a freshman middle blocker for the Bears, had an impressive .538 hitting percentage for the match (seven kills, no errors, 13 attempts). Oregon (8-7, 0-6) was led by junior Stephanie Martin’s 11 kills.  

Cal now has a five-match winning streak over the Ducks.  

The Bears controlled the first two games, but had to battle in game three. Oregon came back from a 26-17 deficit to tie the game at 28-28. The contest went back and forth from that point, with Cal finally prevailing when the Ducks Katie O’Neil had a service error and Leffall and McNamee finished the match with block assists.  

The Bears will next host Oregon State on Saturday and No. 7 ranked Arizona on Monday, with both matches beginning at 7 p.m. at Haas Pavilion.

DETROIT — A judge refused Friday to force a Ford Motor Co. employee to hand over confidential human resources documents the automaker says he stole. 

In March, a letter was written on behalf of John Kovacs by his attorney to Ford chairman William Clay Ford Jr. asking him to discontinue what he called the company’s policy of using race and gender in employment decisions. 

Attached were several confidential documents that included minutes of human resources committee meetings and other sensitive information regarding specific employees. 

The letter and attachments were later made part of the public court record in a lawsuit filed by Kovacs against Ford for suspending him with pay shortly after the letter was sent. Excerpts from some of the documents appeared in news stories. 

Kovacs was later transferred to work in the company’s library. 

Ford attorney Thomas Kienbaum accused Kovacs of stealing the documents and Fett with publicizing them to the media and on a Web site. 

Fett said the company wants to keep the documents secret for other reasons. 

“The documents are very embarrassing,” he said. “They show they have quotas and show they have a policy of not promoting white males.” 

Wayne County Circuit Judge William Giovan refused to order Kovacs to surrender the documents, saying he doesn’t yet know enough about the case. He said he may change his mind after another hearing. 

Ford faces at least two class-action suits and several other individual suits from current and former managers. They claim the company’s evaluation system favored younger, so-called “diversity” candidates. 

In July, Ford said it would change its evaluation system. 

The Berkeley High football team was supposed to play a game at De Anza on Friday night, but the officials never showed up, forcing the teams to cancel the game. 

“I don’t know what happened. I’m not sure who’s at fault,” Berkeley head coach Matt Bissell said. “There were just no refs there.” 

Bissell said no one is quite sure what will happen to the game. The Yellowjackets have no open dates on their schedule until the end of the regular season, and playoffs start the next week. Berkeley does have one non-league game left on its schedule, an Oct. 19 date with Emery. 

“I don’t think there’s much of a protocol for this. Nobody really knows where to go from here,” he said. “Legally, you can’t play more than one game a week.” 

“It’s unfortunate for the kids, because you only get 10 games, and this was one of them.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stevie Wonder’s ex-girlfriend has filed a $30 million palimony lawsuit accusing the singer of giving her a sexually transmitted disease. 

Angela McAfee says she discovered last year that she had contracted genital herpes from Wonder, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Superior Court. She also accused Wonder of breaching his promise to provide her with lifetime financial support even if their relationship ended. 

Wonder’s attorney, Laura Wasser, said the action is without merit. 

“The only breach that has been made is one of Stevie’s trust in someone he had heretofore called a friend,” Wasser said. 

The attorney also suggested in a statement that McAfee may have contracted the venereal disease from someone else. 

“Since he does not have herpes, one can only wonder where she contracted the disease,” Wasser said. 

McAfee’s lawyer, Edi M.O. Faal, declined to discuss the lawsuit. 

The action claims Wonder, whose real name is Stevland Morris, sought a relationship with McAfee for more than a decade, persuading her to quit working as a wardrobe consultant in August 1996 and move into his estate. 

The couple verbally agreed five years ago that he would be the sole income earner and she would remain at home, the lawsuit said, adding they lived together until February. 

During that time, McAfee said, she helped the 51-year-old blind singer with medical and personal problems, including redesigning his home with Braille inscriptions. 

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Only 44 percent of doctors’ groups met state solvency standards in the first three months of this year, an indication that many are struggling financially. 

“Some are doing well and some are not, but now we have a clear picture,” said Daniel Zingale, head of the state Department of Managed Health Care. 

“There’s clearly a serious problem of too large of a percentage not meeting the criteria.” 

The standards include whether the group’s working capital exceeds its claims, tangible assets top liabilities, the group tracks unpaid claims and whether claims are paid on time. 

Dr. Jack Lewin, chief executive of the California Medical Association, which represents about half of California’s physicians, said the groups’ financial problems are mainly caused by “woefully underfunded contracts with for-profit, investor-owned health plans.” 

Zingale said most of the problems are caused by “reimbursement problems or mismanagement or a combination of both” but that the amount of reimbursement was sometimes the cause. 

He said the department is bringing HMOs and doctors’ groups together to try to resolve the problems and is beginning to develop more formal plans to fix problems. 

The more than 200 doctors’ groups provide medical care under contracts with HMOs. 

“Some of them are loose networks of doctors,” Zingale said. “Some of them are actual medical group establishments that own a building and operate as an independent entity but act as a subcontractor for HMOs.” 

The California Nurses Association and consumer groups supported release of the information but many doctors’ groups objected, saying it was old and could be misinterpreted by patients. 

“We were extremely close to meeting the working capital standard in the first quarter and, as of today, we meet the standard,” said Gloria Austin, chief executive officer of Brown & Toland, San Francisco’s largest doctors’ group. 

Meanwhile, more than 13,500 seniors in three San Francisco area counties — Contra Costa, Alameda and Solano — are facing their own health care financing problems. They’re losing their HMO coverage. 

The announcement by PacificCare Health Systems that it would discontinue the coverage by the end of the year mirrors a national trend that insurers say has been created by rising medical costs and declining federal Medicare reimbursements. 

Blue Cross also sent out notices to about 150 people in the three counties terminating their coverage. 

The HMO plans are popular among seniors because they often include prescription drug coverage and other benefits not available through Medicare. 

The PacificCare and Blue Cross announcements mean that seniors will have to rely on Medicare or try to find another HMO that may charge more and provide fewer benefits. 

“Generally, once there’s less competition, the ones that are left do raise rates,” said Earl Lui, senior attorney for Consumers Union. “HMOs are finding that this line of business is less profitable than they thought.” 

LOS ANGELES — Southern California Edison said Friday it hopes to pay all its creditors by February after a federal judge approved a settlement agreement designed to keep the state’s second-largest utility out of bankruptcy. 

Consumer groups were quick to criticize the agreement between Edison and the California Public Utilities Commission, which forces customers to continue paying higher rates imposed last May for at least two more years. 

The deal also would require Edison shareholders to forego $1.2 billion worth of dividends over three years. 

At a court hearing, U.S. District Judge Ronald S.W. Lew said the agreement was “fair, adequate and reasonable to the parties, the shareholders and to the public and is not a bailout by any means.” 

Lew rejected arguments by a consumer’s group and Los Angeles County, which had asked for more time to comment on the proposed settlement. Edison and the PUC announced the agreement Tuesday, just one week before the Legislature was set to convene a third special session to consider an Edison rescue plan. 

Michael Strumwasser, an attorney for The Utilities Reform Network, a San Francisco-based consumer advocacy group, said the organization would appeal what he called “this incredible incursion of federal jurisdiction on state regulation.” 

The agreement, which was secretly negotiated between lawyers for the utility and the PUC, settles a lawsuit filed by Edison last fall. It’s designed to let Edison pay off an estimated $3.3 billion of its more than $6 billion debt. Edison will use its available cash and the canceled dividend payments for the next three years to satisfy the remainder of its debt. 

Edison said Friday it believes it will accumulate enough cash and gain financing by the middle of the first fiscal quarter of 2002 to pay its debt to banks, bondholders and power generators. 

“We’re looking for a big bang in terms of paying everybody in the first quarter,” Ted Craver, Edison’s chief financial officer, said in the 71st conference call with creditors since the state began paying for power in January. “I don’t think it will take that long to work through the remaining issues.” 

Some of the remaining issues include how and when power generators will be paid. 

Smaller power generators said Friday Edison has pledged to honor an earlier agreement to pay them 5.37 cents per kilowatt hour for the next five years. 

“Edison has every intention of honoring the deal and the other fundamental aspects of the agreement,” said Jan Smutny-Jones, executive director of the Independent Energy Producers. 

Smutny-Jones said he was called Thursday by Edison chief executive officer Stephen Frank and other company officials who pledged to work with generators to develop a repayment plan. 

Larger power generators said they are still waiting to hear details from Edison. 

“We’re disappointed in this rush to judgment when this complex secret agreement was made public only a few days ago,” said Patrick Dorinson, spokesman for Mirant Corp., one of two major generators who objected to the settlement because it didn’t specify how and when they would be paid. Edison owes Mirant about $110 million, Dorinson said. 

“Edison’s actions will have to speak louder than their words,” Dorinson said. 

Michael Florio of TURN vowed to fight the court ruling. 

“This is not just a bad decision by the PUC, this is gross incompetence and dereliction of duty,” he said. 

The deal was negotiated over 10 days to keep the Rosemead-based utility from following Pacific Gas and Electric, the state’s largest utility, into bankruptcy. 

PG&E and Edison blame their financial woes on California’s 1996 deregulation law that prevented them from passing on skyrocketing wholesale power costs to ratepayers. The state stepped in, buying billions of dollars in power for the credit-starved utilities. 

Earlier this year, the PUC approved a $5 billion electricity rate hike, the biggest in California history. Regulators then boosted rates by as much as 80 percent for residential customers who use the most power. 

Gary Cohen, a lawyer for the PUC, said the ruling was fair to ratepayers and should allow Edison to pay its debt by the end of 2003. 

The ruling also allows the commission to retain authority over Edison in contrast to a reorganization proposed by PG&E to cope with its financial troubles, he said. 

“What we’re doing is trying to get SoCal Edison financially healthy so it can resume purchasing power for its customers and we can get the state out of the power-buying business,” Cohen said. 

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Friday she is prepared to drop her call for a six-month suspension of foreign student visas after worried education officials promised to do a better job of working with immigration authorities. 

In a letter to Feinstein on behalf of 18 organizations representing colleges, universities and educators of foreign students, David Ward, president of the American Council on Education, pledged that schools would provide the Immigration and Naturalization Service with more information about their foreign students and act quickly to tell INS when a student who is expected does not enroll. 

One of the hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks apparently entered the country under the pretext of taking English language classes at a school in Oakland. He never showed up at the school. 

“The actions we propose will result in a much higher level of security,” wrote Ward, whose council includes most major U.S. colleges. “By adopting such steps, we believe it will be unnecessary to pursue more far-reaching actions.” 

Representatives of public and private California universities delivered a similar message in a meeting with Feinstein on Tuesday, said Chris Harrington, a spokesman for the University of California’s Washington office. 

Feinstein said she is willing to put the educators’ promise to the test. “If we can get cooperation from schools with regard to student visa reporting requirements, the moratorium will not be necessary,” she said in a statement. 

Feinstein will hold a hearing on student and other visa issues on Thursday in her Technology, Terrorism and Government Information subcommittee, spokesman Howard Gantman said. 

The proposal to bar temporarily new foreign students from the United States drew protests from college officials, international student and educator groups and directors of intensive English programs. The latter said their industry would be crippled by the moratorium. 

But Feinstein said INS needed time to implement a tracking system to curb what she said were widespread abuses in student visas. 

After the first World Trade Center bombing, in 1993, Congress ordered the INS to create a system to track the 514,000 foreign students in this country. When in use nationwide — expected by 2003 — it will give law enforcement officials electronic access to information about students’ names, universities, dates of attendance and academic majors. 

Educational groups have toned down or dropped their criticism of the program — particularly civil liberties and academic freedom questions — since the attacks. Feinstein is calling for $32.3 million to fund the program and eliminate educators’ concern that foreign students would be charged a $95 fee.

OAKLAND — Two former vault manager for Loomis, Fargo & Co. pleaded innocent Friday in U.S. District Court to charges they stole $12.7 million. 

Bryan D. Rosenquist, 39, and Michelle E. Serrao, 41, both of Vacaville, were indicted Thursday on federal charges of embezzlement and conspiracy to embezzle during the time they worked at a company vault facility in Richmond. 

The FBI said Rosenquist worked as the vault manager and Serrao worked as the vault cash manager supervisor. 

Prosecutors say that from September of last year to this August they took $12.7 million from Bank of America. Only $2 million of the missing money has been accounted for, according to prosecutors. 

The FBI said they also discovered a joint checking account opened at the Federal Credit Union in Vacaville on Dec. 1998. According to bank records obtained by the FBI, more than $2.3 million was deposited into the account between January 2000 and September this year. 

*** 

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants have installed 24 defibrillators to treat sudden cardiac arrest at Pacific Bell Park. 

Defibrillators provide an electrical charge to the heart, which stops pumping blood during cardiac arrest. If they are used within four to six minutes of the onset of cardiac arrest, they are 75 percent successful, said Abbie Yant, director of the park’s health services. 

The defibrillators were provided by Philips Medical Systems and paid for by the Giants Community Fund, said Mario Alioto, the team’s vice president for corporate marketing. 

No one has suffered sudden cardiac arrest at Pac Bell since it opened last season, Yant said. 

Catholic Healthcare West has trained 100 Giants employees, ushers and event staff in how to use the defibrillators, which are spread out in dugouts, locker rooms and throughout the 40,000-seat stadium. Anytime a device is used, it will automatically call the ballpark’s 911 system to summon authorities to the scene. 

The Giants’ program is modeled after one established in Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway international airports, which have achieved a 68 percent survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest. 

*** 

SACRAMENTO — Governor Gray Davis signed a bill Thursday that could save plans to build a $300 million dollar cruise ship terminal in San Francisco. 

The bill exempts the terminal from some waterfront development restrictions, and allows approval of offices, shops and restaurants that would otherwise be prohibited. 

Officials with the Port of San Francisco and the San Francisco Cruise Terminal had said development would have been stalled without such provisions. 

State Lands Commission and Bay Conservation and Development Commission regulate waterfront development. The agencies had questioned the legality of building such a terminal. 

The terminal is planned for Piers 30 and 32. 

*** 

MARTINEZ — PacifiCare Health Systems announced Tuesday it will drop more than 10,000 seniors in Contra Costa County from their Medicare HMOs by the end of the year. 

Along with more than half its Contra Costa membership, PacificCare will also drop 3,500 enrollees in Alameda and Solano counties. 

Blue Cross also sent out notices to about 150 people in the three counties that it was dropping their memberships. 

The dwindling number of choices available in the East Bay to Medicare recipients mirrors a national trend brought on, insurers say, by a climate of rising medical costs and declining federal reimbursements. 

Nationwide, 58 Medicare health plans will drop or cut services in January, affecting roughly 560,000 people. 

Last year, about 934,000 people were dropped from their Medicare health plans, according to the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

The Medicare health plans have been increasingly popular with seniors because unlike the traditional Medicare insurance plan, HMOs often include prescription drug coverage and other benefits to members. 

Seniors can enroll in the few remaining plans, but face rising co-payments and reduced benefit packages. 

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A structural engineer examining the twisted bones of the World Trade Center said Friday he has tentatively concluded the towers collapsed because of intense fires fanned by jet fuel. 

The interior steel remained supportive after the crash, only buckling when the fire exceeded 1,000 degrees, Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl said. 

“The impact did nothing,” Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl said, pointing to a massive interior column from the south tower that he believes remained standing even after three-quarters of it was sliced away by a jet part. 

He expects that research will examine whether a tougher skin for future skyscrapers might be useful in deterring similar assaults. A steel-concrete composite exterior, for example, might crumple a plane and keep more fuel outside, he suggested. 

“This building could not fight. It was just innocently standing there and somebody shot it,” said Astaneh-Asl, a professor of structural engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Pieces of one of the planes — the largest the size of a business envelope — were found imbedded in steel facade columns of one tower on the opposite side from where they entered, Astaneh-Asl said. 

“The airplane did not do much damage,” he said, showing bolts and fasteners that suggest to him the towers were well designed and well constructed. 

Once beams supporting the floors began to buckle in the fire, the floors pancaked and that brought the towers down, he said. 

Astanah-Asl, under a grant from the National Science Foundation, plans to build a computer model of the towers from data gleaned in the mounds of steel at ground zero and at a massive scrap yard in New Jersey. 

The computer model will examine if the buckling could have been prevented and whether additional fireproofing would withstand even a fully fueled airliner, he said. The steel had protection for about three hours of an office fire, he said. 

“All scenarios will be looked at,” Astaneh-Asl said. 

Workers at the Hugo Neu Schnitzer East yard in Jersey City, just a mile across the Hudson River from the Trade Center, saw the towers fall. 

They have now been trained to alert Astanah-Asl to possible clues as they labor around the clock with torches and heavy machinery, cutting into steel panels up to 6 inches thick. 

Eventually, nearly all of the estimated 310,000 tons of Trade Center steel will be diced and sent to mills, where it will be melted and forged again, Hugo Neu general manager Robert A. Kelman said. 

The south tower interior column with a chunk missing was probably hit by the jet’s nose or an engine, and was between floors 47 and 78, he said, adding that the location will eventually be pinpointed. 

The hollow rectangular column has four sides (16 and 32 inches wide), composed of steel 1.5 inches thick. Analysis of the sheared face would help determine how fast the jet was traveling at that time, Astaneh-Asl said. 

Astaneh-Asl, 53, led a team that studied damage to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge after the 1989 Bay Area earthquake, and has investigated methods to make buildings bomb resistant. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Dozens of armed California National Guard troops were deployed Friday at Los Angeles and San Francisco international airports to strengthen security and reassure travelers returning to the skies in the aftermath of last month’s terrorist attacks. 

Soldiers in battle dress fatigues and carrying M-16 rifles took posts in the early morning at San Francisco International Airport and at midday at Los Angeles International Airport, some standing behind baggage screeners, others watching passengers go through checkpoints. 

“I think it’s wonderful they are here,” said traveler Bonnie Rader of Huntington Beach. “It should have been done a while ago.” 

But others thought the show of force was too much. 

“I’m not sure it will do a lot for national security,” said Craig Guenther, who flew from Orange County to San Francisco for a one-day business trip on Friday. “It gives people a sense of well being and safety, even if it’s a false one. 

“This is something you usually see in a third-world country. It’s a shame it’s come to that.” 

Army Sgt. Joe Barker said in San Francisco that the national guardsmen will patrol the airports and supervise X-ray machine checkpoints leading to the gates, but will not search bags unless something is awry. 

The initial deployment to the state’s two largest airports will expand to nine other airports within a week and to 30 airports by Oct. 19, Gov. Gray Davis told a press conference at Los Angeles International. 

The Guard members are “experienced, seasoned professionals who know how to keep the peace and provide peace of mind to the traveling public,” Davis said. 

“It’s good to have them here,” said Los Angeles Airport Police Chief Bernard Wilson. 

Most airline passengers echoed that view. 

“I truly believe they could have prevented the attacks. Maybe they would have scared them off,” said Karrie Miller, 22, as she headed from Los Angeles to Sacramento. 

The Guard members, trained by the Federal Aviation Administration in terminal screening procedures and conflict resolution, will support civil authorities, said Lt. Col. Charles “Terry” Knight. 

The troops will act as “another set of eyes ... real, trained soldiers that are going to be functional,” he said. 

The governor and other officials emphasized that the National Guard was joining a multilayer security team and is not taking over airport protection. 

“They are not here to replace anyone,” Davis said. “They’re to provide an additional layer of security, to be there in case something goes wrong, and to be a deterrence to anyone who might want to do something wrong.” 

The governor acknowledged the disruption of lives caused by the Guard call-up. 

“I’m very proud of these men and women because they’ve put their lives on hold to perform this mission. Many people left young children at home,” he said. 

Seventy-eight Guard members were deployed to Los Angeles International. In San Francisco, about 20 guardsmen will be on duty at any given time. 

Sgt. Edward Morris, a full-time guardsman from El Centro, said he received notice Monday, arrived in Los Angeles the next day and trained until 9 p.m. Thursday. 

“Being a single parent it’s tough to be here, but it’s my job. I signed a contract and this is what it means,” said Morris, who left his teen-age daughter and son with a friend. “I’ll be here as long as I’m needed.” 

Sgt. Javier Zamora, 34, a full-time guardsman who normally works as an aircraft refueler, had to leave his wife and three children in Hemet for the Los Angeles deployment. 

“This is a new thing for us,” Zamora said. “We’re providing a service. Giving the public a sense of security. I’m here and I’m glad I’m here.” 

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada’s new medical marijuana law took effect on Monday — and since then the state has received only one completed application. 

Officials are blaming the mail system for the sluggish start. 

Cecile Crofoot, administrator of the program for the state Department of Agriculture, said the lone applicant has submitted all paperwork, including a doctor’s recommendation and a fingerprint card from a police agency. 

If the individual, who wasn’t identified, clears a background check, Crofoot will send the applicant the documents that go the state Department of Motor Vehicles, which will issue a card authorizing marijuana use. 

The agriculture department began sending out applications on Sept. 24. Crofoot said they were processed through the state mail system and were handled as third-class mail. 

Crofoot said she got several calls from individuals who hadn’t received their applications, so she’s resending the applications by first-class mail. 

Nevada’s medical marijuana program enables people with chronic and debilitating diseases, such as AIDS and glaucoma, to use pot for pain relief. 

SAN JOSE — An attack helicopter used during the Gulf War is up for sale on eBay, with bids starting at $800,000. 

The Bell Cobra helicopter was used by the U.S. Army and comes equipped with a 20-mm cannon and two rocket pods, according to the seller. No munitions are included, and the armament is said to be non-functional. 

Ebay spokesman Kevin Pursglove says sale of the helicopter, once capable of delivering a deadly payload, does not violate company policy since the rocket launchers and cannons have been deacitivated. 

“These things get bought and sold quite regularly,” Pursglove said. 

Refrigerators that diagnose their own ills and microwaves that download recipes and cooking instructions from the Internet? Ready or not, here they come. 

Features that have been talked of or shown in prototype for years are now on their way to retail stores, with introductions set for the end of 2001 and the beginning of 2002. 

Manufacturers in the vanguard are betting that a significant segment of the public will pay extra for an appliance that can access the Internet, offering opportunities for remote diagnostics, access to food facts and recipes, ability to exchange e-mails and digital photos — all while the user is eating breakfast or cooking dinner. 

Consumers could gain convenience and in some cases dollar savings from Internet features. “For example, a dishwasher could negotiate with the power company on its own without the homeowner having to get involved to run the machine when rates are lowest — maybe at 3 a.m.,” says Joseph McGuire, American Home Appliance Manufacturers Association (AHAM) president. 

With remote diagnostics, a dealer or manufacturer could tap into the appliance and do some troubleshooting so that the repair person arrives with the right part. 

Thanks to the barcode reader that will be incorporated into some refrigerators, reminders that foods are outdated, automatic shopping lists and computerized ordering of foods may also be possible. 

Samsung, LG Electronics and Whirlpool Corp. are among companies readying Internet-enabled kitchen appliances for introduction by the end of this year or in the first quarter of next year. 

Samsung, for example, will market a microwave oven with a removable cartridge that accesses the Internet at a home computer and then goes back to the microwave with up to 15 recipes at a time (scrolling will be required to read the complete recipe) along with step-by-step cooking instructions. 

Samsung looks to introduce the microwave in the last quarter of 2001. Pricing is not set, but the model should be only a little more expensive than a comparable model without the cartridge, a spokesman says. 

Both LG Electronics, a leading Korean company, and Whirlpool Corp. will introduce Internet-ready refrigerators in the United States in 2002. They will not require any special hookups beyond a phone modem and a standard electric plug. 

A version of LG’s refrigerator already sells for about $10,000 in Korea. The fridge has its own touch screen and electronic pen for messages and reminders as well as a videophone and digital camera. It can be used to surf and shop the Internet, download recipes, watch TV, listen to music, and more. 

The company also is working on Internet-ready microwave ovens, air conditioners and washing machines, but sees the refrigerator as key. “In the future, everything in the house will be tied together through the refrigerator, since it’s the only appliance on 24 hours a day,” says Sonny Marak, vice president of sales for home appliances at LG Electronics USA. 

Whirlpool’s refrigerator will have a built-in bar code reader to keep track of foods that pass their expiration date. Moving beyond individual appliances, in 2002 Whirlpool also will introduce to builders only a package of Internet-ready appliances with broadband connections, either through high speed DSL telephone lines or cable wiring. The package includes a refrigerator, dishwasher, cooktop and microwave oven. 

“A suite of products would allow a higher level of home management control and broadband gives far more access to multimedia files and quick downloading,” says Tom Kline, a Whirlpool spokesman. “Consumers could gain access to a live video demonstration of the very meal they are trying to prepare.” 

The reason for restricting its suite of products to builders is that only houses already outfitted with high speed lines will be suitable to make use of the appliances. Getting broadband connections into the kitchen as a retrofit is too costly and difficult, according to Kline. Costs have not yet been set for the new products. 

Of course, for different appliances to work together they need to communicate. AHAM has set up a committee of 20 interested companies to develop standards for interconnectivity. The goal is to set a standard by the end of 2001. 

Meanwhile, a number of products already available communicate in new ways, thanks to computerized intelligence. As an example, Whirlpool’s Calypso washing machine doesn’t require the user to indicate the size of the wash load. The machine knows how much water to provide based on a sensor that “knows” how much laundry is in the tub. A companion dryer measures moisture in clothing and turns itself off when the sensor “realizes” the clothes are dry, which might save as much as 20 minutes of drying time. 

A central air conditioner by Carrier makes use of multiple sensors that control the output of cooling to a number of different areas of the home depending on what the actual temperature is in that particular area. This is an improvement on the typical central system with one sensor at a single location. 

An electric control system marketed by Cutler-Hammer includes a smart circuit board and special light switches. These are used together to program house lights to variable levels. The system also protects appliances against power surges and lightning strikes and monitors how much electric power various appliances are using. 

While the bells and whistles of Internet connection and other so-called smart appliances may initially attract consumers, what is perhaps more important is that these are early examples in a new way of thinking about the home as a total internal and external communications system. 

In this new world of total connectivity, appliances will be part of a home network that includes a home computer, television and telephone as well as indoor and outdoor lighting, home security, and heating and air conditioning systems. 

It could become commonplace to control many home functions by telephone or computer screen, turning them on and off via remote control commands. 

Whether the world of total connectivity will appeal to consumers is not entirely clear. “Intel’s research indicates retirees with time on their hands are getting hooked on connectivity of all kinds. The key is to make connectivity extremely user-friendly,” says Larry Wethje, vice president of technical services, AHAM. 

“Energy management already interests consumers, but remote control features may need more education” says AHAM’s McGuire. 

ALBUQUERQUE — Documents unsealed in the Wen Ho Lee case reveal that his plea bargain with the government last year nearly fell apart when his lawyers disclosed he actually copied more tapes than prosecutors had believed. 

But the initial documents among those sought by the San Francisco-based Chinese for Affirmative Action contained nothing to show that Lee, 61, a Taiwanese-born naturalized citizen who worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory for 20 years, was a victim of ethnic profiling or selective prosecution. 

The government has denied it engaged in racial profiling and agreed to the release of the censored documents. 

Much of the material Lee’s lawyers had hoped to obtain about alleged profiling and selective prosecution was never delivered to the court after the plea deal was reached in September 2000. 

Attorney Roger Myers, who represents Chinese for Affirmative Action, said earlier this week he still hopes to retrieve those documents through the Freedom of Information Act. 

Six of the 20 documents unsealed by U.S. District Judge James Parker on Tuesday were made public Thursday. Parker kept two of the requested 22 documents secret, one because of national security concerns and the other at the request of Lee’s lawyers. 

A security review of the remaining documents was completed Friday, said Patricia Chavez, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Albuquerque. It was not immediately clear when those papers would be available, she said. 

Lee, who had been charged with 59 counts of breaching national security, pleaded guilty to one count in September 2000, admitting using an unsecured computer to download a defense document. The government dropped the other counts and he was freed after nine months in solitary confinement. 

According to the unsealed documents, lawyers from both sides began talking about a plea deal, believing Lee made seven tapes containing sensitive information on U.S. nuclear research at the northern New Mexico weapons lab. 

However, about an hour before the deal was to go before Judge Parker on Sept. 11, 2000, Lee’s lawyers told the government he made up to seven copies of the seven tapes. 

U.S. Attorney Norman Bay said in an affidavit he was shocked when he learned a half hour before the hearing on the plea deal that up to 14 tapes existed. 

“I was dumbfounded, then outraged,” he said in the affidavit. 

Government prosecutors called the disclosure “a bombshell” and asked Parker to scrap the deal, although they already had signed it. 

The government said Lee’s last-minute revelation of extra tapes undermined the entire plea deal and indicated he may be withholding other information from his attorneys, the court documents said. 

The government said it was difficult to believe Lee and his lawyers never discussed whether the tapes had been copied “more than nine months after Lee had been placed in solitary confinement because of concern about his ability to communicate information about the missing tapes.” 

Lee’s attorneys said the plea agreement never referred to copies of tapes, which was why the issue did not come up earlier, the court documents said. 

Once they found out about the copies, Lee’s attorneys drafted a declaration from Lee that said he had destroyed the extra copies at the same time he had destroyed the original seven tapes, the court documents said. 

Lee’s attorneys said in the documents that the prosecution obtained assurances all the classified tapes had been destroyed and had not been passed to anyone. 

“It would be grossly unfair ... to permit the prosecution to keep the benefit of its bargain but to deny Dr. Lee the benefit of his,” the documents said. 

A few days later, both sides agreed to a second deal and Lee was freed. He agreed to make himself available to FBI questioning for a year so the government could find out exactly what happened to the missing tapes. The one-year period ended last month. 

Lee said he threw the tapes into a Dumpster at the weapons laboratory. The FBI dug up sections of a nearby landfill that received lab trash around the dates Lee said he disposed of the tapes, but found nothing. 

Also released was a Sept. 3, 1999, letter to defense attorneys from the Justice Department, which said Lee had copied classified and unclassified information onto tapes. 

The government wanted to know why the tapes were made and who had access to them. The government said the kind of tapes Lee downloaded the information onto were outmoded and slower than accessing material directly from his computer, raising questions about why Lee wanted portable copies. 

“We know that the tapes were of no practical use to Dr. Lee in his day-to-day work,” the letter said. 

Defense attorneys have said the tapes were part of Lee’s routine work at the lab. 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

I'm planning to take a trip. The only thing holding me back is that I can't get a straight answer about how much weight my car can handle while towing. Please help me find out if I will be having the time of my life, or if I will be rolling backward down the Cascade mountains!  

I own a 1991 Volvo 240. I am interested in a trailer that will weigh 3,000 pounds by the time my gear is included. The owner's manual says the car can tow 3,300 pounds, yet the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating on the side of the car door says it can handle 4,030. Does this mean I can only handle 700 pounds more than the trailer, or is the tow weight different from the GVWR? Is towing a trailer on the Volvo asking for trouble or just lots of fun? -- Jocelyn 

TOM: Well, I think this is a pretty lousy idea, Jocelyn, but let's start by sorting out the terms. 

RAY: The towing capacity and the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating are two different things. The GVWR is the total amount of weight you can rest on those tires, including the weight of the car itself, your passengers, their cargo and the tongue weight of the trailer. 

TOM: The tongue weight of the trailer is the vertical weight with which the trailer pushes down on your rear bumper or towing hitch. 

RAY: So, since this car itself weighs about 3,000 pounds and your GVWR is about 4,000 pounds, you can, for example, carry two mothers-in-law. Or one mother in law, 400 pounds of her luggage and a trailer with a 100-pound tongue weight for the rest of her stuff. 

TOM: Then there's towing capacity. Towing capacity is how much the car can safely PULL without either croaking the engine, frying the brakes, getting pushed off the road or pulling the chassis off the frame. 

RAY: So you still need several pieces of key information, Jocelyn. You need to know the tongue weight of the trailer. And then you'd need to be sure that the tongue weight plus any passengers and cargo you're planning to carry IN the Volvo don't push you over your GVWR. 

TOM: And then, finally, you need to call your Volvo dealer and ask how much it will cost to rebuild your transmission ... and get towed in from the Cascade mountains. And make sure you have that much room on your credit card. 

RAY: The Volvo can, theoretically, tow 3,300 pounds. But if you're towing almost that much up and down mountains, you're really taking a serious risk. Not only are you risking the key components of your car -- the engine, transmission and brakes -- but you're also risking your life. I'm assuming you're not a trailer-towing expert. And to start with a trailer that's pushing the very limits of your car's ability on, of all things, mountain roads, is kind of foolish. Don't you think, Jocelyn? 

TOM: So I'd recommend that you throw a tent and a camping stove in the back of your Volvo and rough it. But if you absolutely must do this, look into renting a tow vehicle (a truck or SUV) with a much higher towing capacity. And get some instruction and some practice in before you hit the mountains, OK, Jocelyn?  

*** 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

A friend of mine has a boyfriend who is very knowledgeable about cars (apparently, he was an auto mechanic at one time). He told her that, as much as possible, she should avoid using Reverse. According to my friend, her boyfriend says that using Reverse is very hard on the transmission. So whenever I ride in my friend's car, she always searches for a "pull through" parking space, or she will back into a space to avoid having to use Reverse when the transmission is "cold." I was visiting my own family recently, and I told them about my newfound knowledge. Of course, they pooh-poohed this notion and suggested I write to you guys. So can I use Reverse, safe in the knowledge that I'm not harming my car? -- Ann 

RAY: Power to the people, sister! Use R! 

TOM: I guess the key word in your letter is "apparently." As in "apparently, he was an auto mechanic at one time." And if he was, wacko theories like this are probably what got him drummed out of the business. 

RAY: He's nuts, Ann. The transmission couldn't care less whether it's in Drive or Reverse. And your poor friend is wasting precious hours of her time on Earth searching for unnecessarily divine parking spaces. And I don't even want to know how much she spent on her circular driveway. 

TOM: Of course, what CAN hurt the transmission is shifting directions while the car is still moving. So if you're still rolling forward when you shift into Reverse (or vice versa), then you can do damage. But other than that one situation, Reverse is a perfectly useful and productive gear. So tell your friend to stop this wanton discrimination. It's blatant "gearism," plain and simple. And we won't stand for it in this day and age. 

RAY: We're here! Drive Rear! Get used to it!  

SACRAMENTO — State departments were paring down budgets. Dot-coms were doling out pink slips. And a statewide power crisis left consumers nervous about spending their extra cash. 

Then came Sept. 11. 

The aftermath of the terrorist attacks have further cut into the faltering California economy and forced already-strapped state departments to plan for the toughest times in years. 

“Clearly, a wide variety of state programs are going to be at risk for significant cutbacks next year,” said Brad Williams, senior economist for the California legislative analyst’s office. 

States across the nation are re-examining their budgets because of an already-weak economy compounded by the terrorist strikes. 

But in California, a complex convergence of events — from financing the power crisis to the fallout from the attacks — has put the state in its most fragile fiscal position since the recession of the early 1990s, officials agree. 

Before the strikes, state revenues already were sagging below forecasts by hundreds of millions of dollars. At the end of July, Gov. Gray Davis’ Department of Finance braced department heads to prepare for up to 10 percent budget reductions across the board. 

The collapse of the high-tech industry was damaging the fiscal stability of California, which enjoyed massive infusions of income tax and capital gains revenues during the technology boom of the past four years. 

Even before the attacks, economists say, California was on the brink of a recession. 

Now, budget watchers are trying to determine what the attacks will do to the state’s economy. 

“It’s too soon to really know, but we can be certain that it won’t be positive,” said Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project. 

Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, has created a task force to examine the toll on the state economy. 

Assemblyman Tony Cardenas, an Arleta Democrat who chairs a special budget committee, said he will call legislative budget hearings before the session begins in January. 

Davis said he will hold an economic summit with business and labor leaders to discuss a possible economic stimulus package for the state. Davis already has been urging residents to start flying again and he has set aside $5 million for radio, television and newspaper ads to encourage Californians to travel throughout the state. 

And the governor has vetoed several bills in the past two weeks because they would increase spending. 

California’s economy depends largely on taxes of sales, income and corporate profits — all of which have plunged from post-attacks decreased travel, tourism and airline industry layoffs. 

Also, the attacks could spell trouble for two major California industries: agriculture and entertainment. 

Hollywood studios have stepped up security amid fears they could be targeted. Crop dusters were grounded for two days after warnings that some of the suspected terrorists may have inquired about the agriculture airplanes. 

Plus, law enforcement and other state agencies will spend more to increase security at state buildings, power plants, water projects and landmarks. 

Beyond the attacks, an impasse over repaying the money the state spent for electricity this year led officials to predict dire budget consequences. 

California spent $6.1 billion from its general fund to buy power on behalf of three cash-strapped utilities, which must be repaid by June 2002, the end of the current fiscal year, or the money will have to be cut from the budget. 

Friday, a major credit rating agency said it may downgrade the state’s bond rating for the second time this year because of the uncertainty surrounding the bond deal. 

Even if the energy costs are repaid, the $2.6 billion reserve in the $103 billion 2001-02 budget will likely disappear in a few months. 

Already the first three months of the fiscal year, July through September, showed revenues $1 billion below forecasts, according to the legislative analyst’s office. 

That will mean cuts of some kind, either hiring freezes, spending reductions, borrowing or possibly higher taxes. 

“These are big numbers and you don’t fix problems like this by trimming,” said Sen. Steve Peace, an El Cajon Democrat and chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. 

But Department of Finance Chief Economist Ted Gibson said he and others are hopeful the problem will not drag into the long-term. 

He doubts the state’s economic fortunes will plunge to the depths of the early-1990s recession, partly because of an ironic twist to the tragedies. 

The response could help boost some key sectors in the state, from defense contractors to biotech firms aiding in new efforts to prevent bio-terrorism. 

But a major economic question remains. What if California is hit by a terrorist attack? 

Davis — who said authorities have warned him the state could be a target — has launched a statewide anti-terrorism effort including a database for information on threats and suspected terrorists. 

A strike here could cripple the already-uncertain economy, state Controller Kathleen Connell said. 

“All bets are off if we have a terrorist act that impacts California directly,” Connell said. “Then our best economic projections are going to be voided.” 

SAN JOSE — Network computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. plans to cut 3,900 jobs and said Friday its quarterly losses will be wider than expected in part because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

Semiconductor manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which announced 2,300 layoffs and plant closings last week, also warned of wider losses in the quarter ended Sept. 30. 

Despite marginally positive news from other high-tech companies earlier this week, analysts say Friday’s announcements show not everyone in the tech sector has hit bottom. 

Last month’s attacks further weakened demand for high-tech equipment, and the effects of diminished customer spending and confidence will ripple through tech companies for months to come. 

“It’s pretty bad in the near term,” said Daniel Kunstler, a J.P. Morgan analyst who covers Sun. “Nobody’s spending any money, and Sept. 11 is a further inhibitor of money being spent.” 

Sun, which until Friday had kept its ranks intact during the economic slump, will cut 9 percent of its work force. The layoffs will not affect sales or research, said Scott McNealy, Sun’s chief executive. 

The company also said revenue in its fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 30 was in the range of $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call were expecting revenue of $3.3 billion. 

Sun said its loss for the quarter was in the range of 5 cents to 7 cents per share. Analysts were expecting a loss of 4 cents a share. 

A large percentage of Sun’s business takes place in the final month of any quarter. Before the Sept. 11 attack, Sun had warned that it would lose money because of soft demand for its products in Japan and Europe. 

“Our business nearly ground to a halt in the two weeks following that tragic day,” said Michael Lehman, Sun’s chief financial officer. 

In addition to the job cuts, Sun said it will consolidate excess facilities and take a charge of about $500 million in the second quarter. 

Both Sun and IBM Corp. recently launched high-end servers that could help spur recovery once companies start buying again, analysts said. Sun expects to return to profitability in the June quarter. 

Sun, which designs its own chips and software for its computers, was a Wall Street darling during the Internet boom. But its stock has lost about two-thirds of its value over the last year as dot-coms and other companies stopped buying equipment. 

On Friday, shares of Sun were lower before gaining 27 cents to $9.56 in late-afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. 

Meanwhile, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said its losses for the quarter ended Sept. 30 will range between $90 million and $110 million, or 26 cents to 31 cents per share. Analysts were expecting a loss of 12 cents per share, excluding one-time charges. 

Third-quarter sales totaled $766 million, a 22 percent dropoff from the previous quarter. 

AMD lays much of the blame on its battle with Intel, which has been slashing processor prices to attract customers. 

AMD Chairman Jerry Sanders claimed that Intel’s “aggressive pricing and large, cash-backed marketing program” is part of an effort to overcome “performance deficiencies” of its Pentium 4 chip. 

Industry analysts said Intel is using its financial muscle and cost savings in its chip production to steal market share from AMD. 

AMD also is a major player in the flash memory chips that are used in wireless phones, a segment where sales also are slowing. 

“AMD is getting hit with a doubly whammy,” said analyst Tim Mahon of Credit Suisse First Boston. “And there is no catalyst out there where you can see these conditions changing for the next three to six months.” 

AMD’s stock fell 15 cents to $8.85 during trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. 

The past weeks have carried a mixed bag for tech companies. Big names such as Dell Computer and Cisco Systems affirmed their outlooks. Others such as Gateway, Compaq and JDS Uniphase have warned. 

Eric Rothdeutsch, an analyst at Robertson Stephens, said he does not expect a big rally for the tech industry any time soon. 

“I don’t think the fundamentals of the technology companies are such that the market is going to take off from here,” he said. “I think it’s still going to be very choppy, with lots of volatility.” 

Riders at BART’s three Berkeley stations had mixed reactions Thursday to the system’s new efforts to strengthen security.  

One wanted bag checks, others feared for their civil liberties more than an attack against BART and still others said it was impossible to make BART terrorist-proof. 

“Bombs are tiny now,” said UC Berkeley senior Jaya Owens.  

“Someone could come in with a backpack or a purse, and if they’re willing to die they can blow up the train. The police can’t do anything.” 

Nevertheless, BART officials tried by locking bathrooms, removing trash cans from subway platforms and switching elevator call buttons to station-agent control. The effort began Tuesday after U.S. planes bombed Afghanistan. Soon after the Sept. 11 attacks, BART increased police patrols through overtime. 

“We’re only doing this in response to the national alert,” said BART Public Affairs Director Mike Healy. “BART is not under any threat.” 

However, a patrol officer at the downtown Berkeley station said passengers call in every day with reports of suspicious bags and parcels, and that bomb threats have become “pretty routine” – as frequent as twice a day. 

BART police are concentrated at the West Oakland and Embarcadero stations to more thoroughly inspect entrances to the Transbay tube. The actual access doors to the tunnel are now staffed 24 hours a day, the officer said. 

Marc Janowitz, waiting in the downtown Berkeley station, sees more police as a potential threat to civil liberties. He expressed concern about BART police weapons being accidentally or inappropriately used in the event of “something going wrong,” and about “profiling of various kinds.” 

“I don’t have confidence that they are trained to adequately respond, or appropriately respond, or safely respond to an emergency that they might be called to,” Janowitz said. He added that he did not feel “that worried about being attacked in the current climate.” 

Michael Mitchell, waiting in the downtown Berkeley station, said he’d like to see more security. “There’s no one here to check if you even left a bag,” Mitchell said. “I don’t mind the inconvenience. Just make sure I’m riding safely.” 

But another man, traveling to Pleasanton with his infant daughter, said he was not at all nervous riding BART. He said he didn’t think the system would be a strategic target for terrorists.  

Other BART passengers said they don’t let themselves think about the possibility of being attacked. 

“I just won’t let myself become afraid,” said April Hamilton, who rides BART to her two part-time jobs every day and said she was more concerned about “regular, everyday street crime.”  

“Maybe it’s fatalism, but if a person is determined enough and they’re willing to take their own life, they can circumvent” any security measure, Hamilton said. 

“It can come from anything,” Owens said. “It can even come from someone getting a gun and shooting everyone around. So what is security now?”

LOS ANGELES — Airports around the country are halting or revamping billions of dollars worth of expansion plans because of fewer fliers and greater security concerns after the Sept. 11 hijacker attacks. 

From Boston to San Francisco, airports are delaying building runways and terminals or are reconsidering planned additions as passengers remain jittery about flying and airlines keep planes grounded. 

At Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport, work has stopped on most of the airport’s $1.2 billion expansion, including preliminary work on a $650 million terminal to replace two existing ones. 

“The demand is just not there as it was before Sept. 11,” airport spokeswoman Suzanne Luber said. 

Since last month’s terrorist attacks, passenger volume is down 20 to 30 percent. Airlines have cut their capacity by 20 percent, laid off more than 90,000 employees and warned of multibillion-dollar losses well into 2002. Congress last month approved a $15 billion relief package, including $5 billion in cash and $10 billion in loan guarantees for the companies. 

Even before the attacks, air traffic was flat and revenue per passenger down 10 percent, said aviation industry consultant Michael Boyd. 

He forecast that 230 million fewer passengers will fly in the next five years than would have otherwise because of the attacks, and that demand will not fully recover until 2005 or 2006. 

Airports that have curtailed or are reconsidering expansion plans since Sept. 11 include: 

• Los Angeles International Airport, which scaled back its expansion plans to emphasize security over capacity. A revised plan would increase the airport’s capacity to 78 million passengers per year by 2015, instead of the 89 million previously envisioned. 

• San Francisco International Airport, which has halted plans to renovate a domestic terminal and build a new airport hotel but remains determined to change its status as the nation’s most delay-plagued airport by expanding its runways. Officials assume passenger traffic will return to pre-attack levels by the time the runway project is ready for construction. 

• Logan International Airport in Boston, where two of the airplanes hijacked on Sept. 11 originated, where officials will meet this week to decide whether to proceed with the final phases of a 10-year, $4 billion renovation, including the addition of a new runway. 

Airports and airlines also face the costs of increased security. Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn has suggested adding a building east of the airport itself to screen passengers and luggage. Passengers would use public transportation to proceed to gates. 

In Phoenix, officials had been considering fingerprint or eye scan systems to screen airport and airline employees who have access to secure areas. They say they now are looking at it more seriously. Halting expansion plans may mean having to look for new, harder-to-find financing later. And some airports, seeing a need for expansion even with the drop in traffic, are pushing ahead. 

“We’re still extremely optimistic about the future,” said Ken Capps, spokesman for Texas’ Dallas-Fort Worth airport, which broke ground Sunday on a $2.6 billion expansion that includes a new international terminal and an automated people-mover system. 

“We think it’s a little bit like the stock market. It’s up and down and a little bit uncertain right now, but in the long term, we’re bullish,” he said. 

Two weeks after the terrorist attacks, officials in Michigan’s Wayne County voted to issue $900 million in bonds to add 25 gates to Northwest Airlines’ new terminal and renovate two existing terminals at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. 

At Atlanta’s airport, the nation’s busiest, officials are still planning to build a $1.3 billion fifth runway despite renewed criticism over the cost and concerns about declining air traffic. 

And in St. Louis, the first phase of a $1.4 billion expansion plan, including construction of a 9,000-foot runway, will continue even though the airport has lost about $112,000 a day in passenger fees, parking receipts and concession income since Sept. 11. 

“All the money is in place and all the reasons that existed for the expansion still exist, and it’s important for us to continue forward,” said Michael Donatt, a spokesman for Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. 

Opponents of the Lambert expansion are urging a second look. 

“The reductions we are seeing in the number of passengers is not a short-term event,” Airport Commissioner John Krekeler said. “It’s not something that’s just a blip on the screen. I think it’s going to have a long-term effect.” 

A large Texas energy company did not illegally drive up the price of natural gas in California during the height of the state’s energy crisis last year, a federal regulatory judge ruled Tuesday. 

However, El Paso Corp. of Houston, through two subsidiaries, violated federal rules governing the award of natural gas contracts, according to Curtis L. Wagner, chief administrative law judge of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

Wagner’s eagerly awaited ruling disappointed the California Public Utilities Commission and two investor-owned utilities that had complained that El Paso’s actions created an artificial shortage of natural gas, sending prices to unprecedented levels in California last year and early this year. 

Gas prices in Southern California plummeted after the El Paso contract expired at the end of May.  

But Wagner attributed the earlier higher prices to increased demand and an actual shortage of gas. 

“We see the two issues as interrelated,” said Harvey Morris, a lawyer for the PUC.  

“We thought the record was clear that there was an abuse of the standards and the exercise of market power.” 

Morris said the PUC probably would appeal to FERC, which can accept or reject the judge’s decision. 

Kevin Lipson, a lawyer for Southern California Edison, said his client planned to appeal. Officials with Pacific Gas and Electric, the other utility involved in the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

El Paso welcomed the ruling by Wagner concerning price manipulation. 

“We’re gratified by the judge’s...finding that El Paso was not the cause of high gas prices in California,” said Norma Dunn, El Paso’s vice president for communications. “That’s been our position from day one.” 

In March 2000, El Paso Natural Gas Co., a pipeline company regulated by FERC, signed a contract with El Paso Merchant Energy, an energy marketing company, that gave Merchant the right to ship 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day through a pipeline from Texas to Southern California. 

That amount constituted nearly 20 percent of the state’s supply. 

The allegations against El Paso focused on two points — that the pipeline subsidiary unfairly favored the marketing subsidiary in the award of the contract, and that El Paso then withheld natural gas to drive up prices. 

Wagner dismissed the allegation that El Paso had illegally manipulated prices. However, he upheld the complaint about the subsidiaries. Dunn said the firm will appeal the aspect of the ruling. 

The PUC along with Edison and PG&E have claimed that El Paso’s actions added $3.7 billion to gas prices because other sellers of natural gas also benefitted. 

California wants FERC to order El Paso to refund at least $200 million, roughly equivalent to El Paso’s profits from the contract. 

—— 

On the Net: 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: http://www.ferc.fed.us/ 

El Paso Corp.: http://www.epenergy.com/ 

As lazy autumn days fade into chilly winter nights, one can almost hear the clicking of thermostats around the Bay. Last winter’s dearth of electricity and skyrocketing gas prices sent many consumers into shock when they opened their utility bills to find that their bills may have doubled, or even tripled. 

With winter coming, there is a temptation to use a seemingly cheaper source of heat that many homes have available – the fireplace. 

Burning wood may appear cheaper at first glance – wood can be gathered from a variety of sources, and provides a great deal of radiant heat for an evening.  

But there are a number of other costs associated with burning wood you may not know about. 

The process of combustion requires air. The air used by wood burning in a fireplace comes from inside your home – air that has already been heated, also known as “conditioned” air.  

The fire in a fireplace gives off radiant heat, so objects near the flames grow warm.  

Unfortunately, most of the energy in the form of heat goes straight up the chimney, taking with it heat from the rest of the house. This creates uncomfortable drafts from cracks around windows, under doors and even from electrical outlets. 

Once drafts start cooling down the rest of the house, the furnace’s thermostat will kick in to compensate.  

The net effect of using a fireplace is a loss for the user, as more fuel is used to warm the rest of the house. But there is greater environmental cost to burning wood for home heat. 

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (www.BAAQMD.gov) provides information on air quality in the Bay Area. According to their research, wintertime air pollution consists of carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter. Primary sources are, “…automobile exhaust, wood stoves and conventional fireplaces.  

Fine particulate matter can be suspended in the air for weeks at a time, and if inhaled can become embedded in lung tissue causing decreased breathing function as well as other systemic impairment over time.”  

The particulates and CO are most concentrated, and therefore most dangerous in early morning and late evening, when the region’s foggy climate often experiences a marine inversion, which keeps the pollutants concentrated near  

the ground.  

These are winter commute hours, and early evening is the most tempting time for lighting a fire in winter. 

So, how can you heat your home and still be both economical and environmentally responsible? Start with getting rid of places where drafts can occur – heat losses from infiltration are the easiest to fix, with weather-stripping under doors, at outlets, and around windows.  

Insulate your roof, walls, and crawlspaces. According to studies done by the U.S. Department of the Interior, “Each year the amount of energy lost through uninsulated homes in the United States is equivalent to the amount of fuel delivered through the Alaskan Pipeline.”  

That’s heat bought and paid for, lost to the atmosphere. 

Where possible replace any dry-rotted double hung single pane windows with insulated double pane windows, preferably wooden ones, which have a higher insulating value than vinyl or metal frames.  

Metal windows conduct heat out of your house in winter, and into your house in the summer, so they are not good for a lot of reasons.  

Rebates are available for high-performance windows. These steps will cut down on drafts and make your home more comfortable. 

Evaluate your heating system.  

Replace filters, insulated ductwork, and repair leaks.  

Insulate your hot water heater, and pipes, including the first five feet of the cold water pipe. The more insulation your home has, the less fuel you will use. Turn your thermostat down to 68 degrees Fahrenheit.  

These small steps will save considerable energy. 

And don’t forget to close the fireplace damper, or better still, permanently block the flue to stop the cold and drafts from coming in through the chimney. 

For personal comfort, wear layers of clothes, and maybe even use a hot water bottle for pre-warming the bed or those cold feet.  

Water has 3,000 times the heat-holding capacity as air. Visit the city’s Energy Office Web site at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ENERGY for more hints on energy conservation.  

Alice La Pierre is an energy analyst for the city. Her column appears on the first and third Tuesday of the month as a public service.

WASHINGTON – American and British forces unleashed a punishing air attack Sunday against military targets and Osama bin Laden’s training camps inside Afghanistan, striking at terrorists blamed for the attacks that murdered thousands in New York and Washington. 

“We will not waver, we will not tire,” said President Bush, speaking from the White House as Tomahawk cruise missiles and bombs found targets halfway around the globe. “We will not falter and we will not fail.” 

Under a campaign dubbed “Enduring Freedom,” the assault was accompanied by airdrops of thousands of vitamin-enriched food rations for needy civilians — and by a ground-based attack by Afghan opposition forces against the ruling Taliban. 

In a chilling threat, bin Laden vowed defiantly that Americans “will never dream of security or see it before we live it and see it in Palestine, and not before the infidels’ armies leave the land of Muhammad.” He spoke in a videotaped statement prepared before the attacks, but both he and the leader of the Taliban ruling council of Afghanistan were reported to have survived the initial action. 

In a fresh reminder of the potential for renewed terrorist attacks, the FBI said it was urging law enforcement agencies nationwide to “be at the highest level of vigilance and be prepared to respond to any act of terrorism or violence.” 

Bush ordered the strike on Saturday, less than four weeks after terrorists flew two hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center twin towers and a third into the Pentagon. A fourth plane crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside after an apparent struggle between passengers and terrorists on board. 

Besides the Sept. 11 death toll — estimated at more than 5,000 — the attacks dealt a shuddering blow to Americans’ feeling of security, and propelled an already weakened economy toward recession. 

“I know many Americans feel fear today,” Bush said in his nationally televised announcement from the White House Treaty Room. Signs of heightened security concerns were evident, as officials took Vice President Dick Cheney from his residence to an undisclosed secure location, security was stepped up around the Capitol and government nuclear weapons labs were put on higher alert. The FBI said it was acting on the basis of “the possibility of additional terrorist activity occurring somewhere in the world.” 

Within hours of the attacks, Bush drew public support from foreign leaders around the world, as well as from congressional leaders and the American public. 

A crowd of 64,000 cheered the president’s words at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, where the beginning of a professional football game was delayed so the fans could view Bush’s appearance on the big screen scoreboard. Chants of “USA, USA” filled another stadium, this one in Atlanta. 

The initial strike involved 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles, launched from American and British ships. Gen. Richard Myers said 15 bombers and 25 strike aircraft, both sea and land-based, also were involved. The assault came at 12:30 p.m. EDT — nighttime in Afghanistan. 

Myers, sworn into office as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff less than a week ago, said the attacks included B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers as well as ships and submarines that have been deployed in the region in the days since Sept. 11. 

The B-52s dropped at least dozens of 500-pound gravity bombs on al-Qaida terrorist training camps in eastern Afghanistan, one official said. 

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said the strikes were designed to eliminate the Taliban’s air defenses and destroy their military aircraft. Afghanistan’s rulers are known to have a small inventory of surface-to-air missiles as well as shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. 

Afghan sources in Pakistan said the attack had damaged the Taliban military headquarters and destroyed a radar installation and control tower at the airport in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. Smoke could be seen billowing from the high-walled compound of Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban leader, these sources added. 

One Pentagon official said that while highly visible attacks were being carried out, other operations would not be seen publicly. 

Roughly an hour after the first volley of cruise missiles, Taliban forces came under attack from the northern alliance, Afghan opposition forces who fired multiple-rocket launchers from an air base about 25 miles north of Kabul. 

A spokesman at the Afghan Embassy in Tajikistan, a nation that does not recognize the Taliban as rulers of Afghanistan, said that the opposition could make an attempt to enter Kabul, the capital. Asked when, he said perhaps in days or a week. 

Bush spoke less than an hour after the first explosion could be heard in Kabul, followed by the sounds of anti-aircraft fire. Power went off throughout the city almost immediately after the first of five thunderous blasts. 

The president said the military strike would be accompanied by the delivery of food, medicine and other supplies needed to sustain the people of Afghanistan. Pentagon officials said the yellow plastic packets are about the size and weight of a hardcover book. They have a picture of a smiling person eating from a pouch and a stencil of an American flag. “This food is a gift from the United States of America,” says the inscription, in English. 

Bush said the military effort was only part of a campaign against terrorism, “another front in a war that has already been joined through diplomacy, intelligence, the freezing of financial assets and arrests of known terrorists by law enforcement agents in 38 countries.” 

“We did not ask for this mission, but we will fulfill it,” he said. 

The administration has labored to build an international coalition of support for its offensive, and Bush declared, “We are supported by the collective will of the world.” He said Canada, Australia, Germany and France have “pledged forces as the operation unfolds,” and numerous other countries have granted air transit or landing rights. Still more nations are providing intelligence, he said. 

To help sustain the coalition, officials said Bush was sending Secretary of State Colin Powell to Pakistan and India in the next few days. Pakistan has emerged as a key ally in the war on terrorism. India, in turn, has expressed concern lest the United States begin to favor Pakistan in a long-term struggle over the disputed territory of Kashmir. 

British Prime Minister Tony Blair offered strong support in a speech to his own nation. He said of the Taliban, “They were given the choice of siding with justice or siding with terror. They chose to side with terror.” 

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder also expressed his support, and the Russian foreign ministry said all means must be used to fight terrorism. Russian President Vladimir Putin has become an important supporter of the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism, opening Russia’s airspace to U.S. deliveries of humanitarian aid and encouraging former Soviet republics in Central Asia to lend their backing. 

Administration officials said that Bush had telephoned Putin, and that Bush, Cheney and Powell had placed calls to more than a dozen foreign leaders in all. 

Congressional leaders, told in advance of the strike, issued a joint statement of support. “We stand united with the president and with our troops, and will continue to work together to do what is necessary to bring justice to these terrorists and those who harbor them,” said the statement by House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Senate Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt and Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott. 

At the White House, spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush was receiving regular updates about the military operation, and shuttling between the White House residence and the Oval Office. 

As the hour for the missile strikes approached, Fleischer said Bush had remarked, “I gave them fair warning and they chose not to heed it.”

On Tuesday, at about 12:30 p.m., a Shattuck Avenue bank was robbed, according to police.  

A man about 25 years of age, walked up to a teller at Citibank, 2323 Shattuck Ave., and allegedly gave her a note that instructed her to give him the money in her drawer or he would shoot her. He had one hand in his waist band, implying that he had a gun, Sgt. Kay Lantow said. 

After giving him the cash, the suspect grabbed the note and left the bank. He was last seen on Durant Avenue getting into an older, red Japanese vehicle, possible a Toyota, which may have been driven by a female. 

*** 

A man was arrested on Wednesday after pulling a knife on a clerk at an Adeline Avenue burrito shop, Lantow said. 

A man ordered a burrito at the Las Palmas Taqueria at around 6 p.m. When the clerk told him that his order was ready, and that it would cost $4.25, the man pulled everything out of his pockets and placed them on the counter, police said. Included in his possessions were a Swiss Army knife and only $2. 

According to the victim, the man picked up the knife, opened it, and began stroking its blade. He shouted at the clerk, “Give me my burrito!” The husband of the clerk called 911, at which point the suspect left the establishment without his dinner, police said. 

When police arrived on the scene, the suspect was still loitering in the area. One officer moved up behind him, and because of the reported weapon, took him to the ground. Police later found illegal drugs and paraphernalia. They transported the man to the county jail.