In keeping with its namesake, Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park is a monument to hope, to the future. Most days, its most notable feature is the Peace Wall, with its hand-drawn tiles made by children around the world, each wishing for the end of war. 

So passers-by on Thursday may have been somewhat jarred by the sight of 1,200 tombstones lined up in cemetery rows on the west side of the park. 

But really, there was no contradiction. Each of the tombstones stood in for one of 1,200 Americans who die each day from tobacco-related illnesses, and they were placed in the park with the hope that number will someday shrink to zero. 

Thursday marked the 25th anniversary of the Great American Smokeout. The all-day event at the park was both a celebration of that program’s success and a reminder – directed mostly at Berkeley High School students – that smoking still kills. 

The city, along with BHS students, the Associated Students of the University of California and Alameda County agencies, put together the display, and invited a special guest speaker – Debi Austin, a laryngectomy patient whose striking anti-smoking public service announcements have been playing on California television stations. 

Apart from Austin, several speakers perhaps less familiar to teenagers – including their superintendent, Michelle Lawrence, Mayor Shirley Dean and city Public Health Director Poki Namkung – were on hand to make sure the message hit home.  

Namkung, who has spent much of her time lately preparing for the possibility of biological warfare, noted that a far more deadly agent was being sold every day in stores around Berkeley. 

“I find it truly ironic that in this age of bioterrorism, when four people have died from anthrax, 1,200 people die every day from tobacco-related diseases,” she said. 

Namkung also praised the city’s recent efforts to develop guidelines for smoke shops and other vendors of tobacco. The City Council is working on legislation that would prevent shops whose major product is tobacco from locating near schools or city parks, and to develop licensing guidelines for all tobacco vendors in the city. 

“Berkeley is being bashed for a lot of its stands, but this stand is truly extraordinary,” she said. 

Dean said that she was a smoker in college, but after quitting for one day – which is what the Great American Smokeout asks of people – she was able to kick the habit entirely. 

“What Sept. 11 really showed us is how precious life really is,” she said. “In that vein, we need to do more to stop the tobacco industry. It’s no secret that they’re targeting young people.” 

Dean said that she was encouraged by the number of BHS students in attendance, and she asked them to take the day’s message to heart. 

“Enjoy the speakers, enjoy this day and most of all, enjoy your good, tobacco-free health,” she said. 

Anti-tobacco activities continued throughout the day. Several organizations, including the Lawrence Hall of Science, the American Cancer Society and KMEL Radio, provided information, interactive exhibits and party music. 

Austin, whose courageous PSA shows her puffing on a cigarette through a quarter-sized hole in her throat, met with students to talk about her experiences with larynx cancer. 

She said that because she has suffered from the effects of smoking, and because her injuries are so dramatic, teenagers listen to her. 

“You can’t tell someone not to smoke, because that’s the fastest way to get them to do it,” she said. “I just want them to see the other side of the glossy ads.” 

Austin said that after she had her operation, she was approached by lawyers who asked her if she wanted to file suit against tobacco companies. She decided against it, she said, because she didn’t want to spend all that time in a courtroom. 

“It’s a hell of a lot more fun being out here,” she said. “One person will walk away from this event and, because of it, won’t smoke. That’ll be worth a hell of a lot more than any lawsuit.” 

Austin, who was finally able to quit smoking a couple of years ago, said that she was very impressed by the turnout. 

“Not one of these kids has to be here,” she said. “That, more than anything, is awesome.”

Friday, Nov. 16

City Commons Club  

Luncheon 

12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

Weldon Rucker, City Manager of City of Berkeley, presents “Managing a City Like Berkeley.” $1 admission,  

11:45 a.m. lunch, $12.25. 848-3533 

The U.S. and Mexico: Redefining the Relationship 

4 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

141 McCone Hall 

“Security in the Americas: A New Era” with Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, National Security Advisor and Commissioner of Law and Order to President Vicente Fox Quesada. 642-2088 www.clas.berkeley.edu/ clas  

Crosspulse Farewell Concert  

& CD Release Party 

8 p.m. 

Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Center 

1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland 

Crosspulse, a percussion ensemble dedicated to the creation and performance of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural music, dance, film and educational projects, marks its cessation as an on-going touring group. $25-30, children half-price. 559-9797 www.crosspulse.com 

American Political History Seminar 

noon 

UC Berkeley 

119 Moses Hall 

Robert Kagan, UCB Department of Political Science and Law, will talk about his book, “Adversarial Legalism.” 642-4608 www.igs.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley High School Jazz  

Ensemble Concert 

7:30 p.m. 

Florence Schwimley Little Theatre 

1920 Allston Way  

The Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble and combos will give their first concert of the year. $8. 548-8026 www.bhs.berkeley. k12.ca.us/artsperforming/jazz 

Flute Concert 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, South Branch 

1901 Russell St. 

Mary Youngblood will perform a free solo concert. 644-6860 

Feminist Ijtihad: On Re-interpreting Islamic Gender Rights 

1 - 3 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Moses Hall, Rm. 223 

The Human Rights Center and the Institute of International Studies presents a lecture by M. Siraj Sait, University of East London: Emerging feminist interpretations challenge the selective constructions of Islamic gender rights. 642-0965, rshig@uclink.berkeley.edu. 

Music/Experimental/Improvised 

8 p.m. 

TUVA Space 

3192 Adeline  

ACME Observatory Contemporary Performance Series presents, from the Pacific Northwest, the Griffin-Burns-Dionyso Trio. $0 to $20. td@pixar.com. 

Saturday, Nov. 17

National Children’s Book  

Week 

3 p.m. 

South Branch Public Library 

1901 Russell St.  

Theatre company “Word for Word” in a children’s performance of two stories: “The Elephant’s Child” by Rudyard Kipling and “Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti” by Gerald McDermott. Geared for children 4 years and up. Free. 649-3943 www.infopeople.org/bpl. 

Celebrate Music on Telegraph 

2 - 4 p.m.  

Greg’s Pizza 

2311 Telegraph Ave. 

Shoppers and visitors to the cultural heart and soul of Berkeley will be treated to the joyful sound of music throughout the holiday season. Christy Dana Quartet performs, sponsored by the Telegraph Area Association. 486-2366 

Elementary School Panel 

11 a.m.- 2 p.m. 

Epworth United Methodist Church 

1953 Hopkins St. 

Neighborhood Parents Networks sponsors a panel discussion and fair for Berkeley public elementary schools to offer information for parents entering their children in the public school system. $5 members, $10 non-members. 527-6667 www.parentsnet.org 

Berkeley Free Folk Festival 

11 a.m. - 1 a.m. 

Ashkenaz 

1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Day one of the festival focuses on acoustic roots music, with concerts, workshops, a children’s program, and a Saturday night dance with three bands. 

Petite Pooches Playgroup 

2 - 4 p.m. 

Terrace Park 

Terrace Ct., off Neilson St. 

Owners with small dogs. Every Saturday. Rain cancels. 524-2459 

Sunday, Nov. 18

Celebrate Music on Telegraph 

2 - 4 p.m. 

Raleigh’s 

2438 Telegraph Ave. 

Shoppers and visitors to the cultural heart and soul of Berkeley will be treated to the joyful sound of music throughout the holiday season. Mitch Marcus Trio performs, sponsored by the Telegraph Area Association. 486-2366 

The Young People’s Chamber Orchestra 

4 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church 

2727 College Ave. 

20th Annual Fall Concert. All-strings orchestra consisting of girls and boys between the ages of 8 and 14. $5 gen., $1 students.  

Ecology Center Booksigning and Slideshow 

4-6 p.m. 

Ecology Center 

2530 San Pablo Ave. 

Michael Branch will read from “John Muir’s Last Journey: South to the Amazon and East to Africa”, and Bonnie Gisel will read from “Kindred and Related Spirits”. Free. 548-2220 x223.  

Berkeley Free Folk Festival 

3 - 11 p.m. 

Freight and Salvage 

1111 Addison St. 

Day two of the festival features contemporary folk music, with singer-songwriters and original string music. 

– Compiled by Guy Poole 

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the Berkeley Common (sic) Council: 

The Berkeley Common Council’s proclamation against America’s self-defense is offensive. The United States was attacked without provocation and more than 4,500 innocent people were killed. Our nation needs to stop the murderers who desire to kill innocent people.  

Until Berkeley supports its fellow-Americans - the victims of this attack - I will not buy anything from a Berkeley business. I am encouraging my family, friends and business partners to boycott your city as well.  

The Common Council should at least apologize for their insensitivity to the victims.  

Shawn P. O’Donnell  

Pewaukee, Wisconsin  

The above statements are pulled from a recent conversation with teacher and poet Grace Morizawa at her home in Berkeley. 

With a bachelor’s degree in English from Pacific University and a master’s with emphasis in Poetry from San Francisco State, she became a teacher, and has taught in the Oakland Unified School District for 20 years. 

Why? She laughed. “I wanted to work in a variety of spaces. I disliked the idea of sitting in the same spot all the time. In a classroom you get to move around. 

“The truth is, I wanted to be a part of children’s learning. There’s a richness of life.” 

“The people of Oakland remind me of Los Angeles when I was a child”  

Morizawa was born in L.A. and lived there until her father’s death when she was 7. Her mother took her to live with her grandparents in eastern Oregon, where Japanese had established a community outside the Western Exclusion Zone for people of Japanese ancestry during World War II. 

“I didn’t go to the camps but my parents had gone so we heard a lot about them. There were several of them not far from where we lived. People talked.” 

Her mother was raised near Yakima, Wash., where she witnessed the terror directed by whites against Filipinos in the 1930s. They had been brought in to work on the farms and in the apple orchards.  

“Our family hid one of the men. Only men were allowed to come. There were some Japanese as dark as the Filipinos.” Descendants of farm workers are running some of the towns up there now, she added. 

Morizawa so loved growing up in the high desert that she now writes many poems about her life there. 

“People think there’s nothing in the desert, but when you look at it closely, it is vibrant, all this life is present. There is the valley sagebrush, tumbleweed. The growth along the ditch banks (irrigation canals) before people began to weed them. The dramatic weather, thunderstorms. The high desert air frames everything so you can see it clearly. The moon is so big.” 

Morizawa has established herself as an outstanding teacher. One measure of this is her selection as a 1988 Summer Invited Fellow in the Bay Area Writing Project. BAWP was founded more than 25 years ago at UC Berkeley by writing teachers of writing, on the premise that they knew more than scholars or administrators about teaching writing. BAWP has now expanded to sites in every state. 

Its Invited Summer Fellows are successful teachers recommended by their peers. As a Fellow BAWPer (1978, 1994), I was interested in her BAWP experience. 

“Yes, like with you, it was a defining experience for me. BAWP, where writing is an integral part of teaching, helped me integrate my teaching and writing communities. Before BAWP my teaching and writing communities were separate.  

“In BAWP I found a community of teachers who were also writers. 

“As a teacher, you can never know enough – you’re studying how people learn, how they think – that’s interesting. I feel privileged. Kids share precious moments with you. I see how much their parents care for them. 

“Writing is power. Literacy. I want my student writers to connect with this power as  

early as possible. Young children work so hard. If they’re on to something in a story they’re writing, they’ll take it out during recess to work on." 

And your own writing? "I feel myself less a poet than a teacher, but I’ve  

worked at it(becoming a poet) for a long time." 

Though she may be reluctant to claim herself a poet, she has had some  

of her poems published. "A friend sent out some of my work for me, and it got published. I  

do have a lot of work. My best time to write is 3 a. m. And I am planning a collection." 

On loan to the National Center on Education and the Economy, Morizawa has  

for the last two years been working on curriculum development. She is currently writing a curriculum for teaching memoir writing to 3rd graders. 

The memoir? "I want them to reflect on the important moments in their lives." 

Her last school in Oakland was Melrose Elementary. She’ll return to the District next year. 

In closing, I asked her again about her own writing. 

"My father was a composer. I can barely carry a tune so I write poetry in his  

honor."  

Adam David Miller 

November 5, 2001 

Judith, 

Please find a place for the Oakland poem, as a good sample of her work. You should also have photos. If not, or those you have are inadequate, she has some others. 

Hope you are surviving the madness. 

One love, 

Adm 

Oakland Streets 

It’s what you choose to see. 

It’s the corner of International Blvd. 

and 23rd. 

The sun slants at 4 p.m. spreading glazed 

light magnifying stillness 

topping the storefront churches. 

No artist’s palette can capture  

how Hallelujah echoes, 

how the waves of light pour from the bay across the streets, 

rooftops, yards, 

even to the lemon 

trees. 

It’s a light that pierces  

so softly you never have to blink. 

You focus recognizing 

every store name, check cashing sign 

sale poster, every black-tipped sparrow, 

wild mustard plant, or daffodil, 

every person you pass even the homeless 

you want not to know 

It makes you remember  

how it feels to look at your lover’s face. 

how the space between you  

is a light  

that spans without a bridge. 

Grace Morizawa 

10/30/01 

924 Gilman St. Nov. 16: Pitch Black, The Blottos, Miracle Chosuke, 240; Nov. 17: Carry On, All Bets Off, Limp Wrist, Labrats, Thought Riot; Nov. 18: 5 p.m., Mad Caddies, Monkey, Fabulous Disaster, Over It; Nov. 23: The Stitches, Starvations, Neon King Kong, Kill Devil Hills, Problem; Nov. 24: Tilt, Missing Link, Cry Baby Cry; Nov. 30: Shitlist, Atrocious Madness, Fuerza X, Catheter, S Bitch, Delta Force; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Nov. 21: Whiskey Brothers (Old Time & Bluegrass); Nov. 22: Keni “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Nov. 24: Tipsy House Irish Band. All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

Anna’s Nov. 16: Anna & Hyler T. Jones, 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Nov. 17: Vicki Burns & Felice York, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet; Nov. 18: Christy Dana Jazz Quintet; Nov. 19: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Nov. 20: Jimmy Ryan Jazz Quartet; Nov. 21: Bob Shoen Jazz Quintet; Nov. 23: Sally Hanna-Rhine and David Tapham; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Nov. 24: Carl Garrett Jazz Quartet; Nov. 25: Acoustic Soul; Nov. 26: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Nov. 27: Jason Martineau and David Sayen; Nov. 28: Bob Shoen Jazz Quintet; Nov. 29: Ed Reed and Alex Markels Jazz Group; Nov. 30: Ann sings jazz standards; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; All shows 8 p.m. unless noted. Free. 1901 University Ave., 849-2662 

Ashkenaz Nov. 16: 9 p.m., Amandla Poets O-Maya, $10 - $20; Nov. 17: 11 a.m. - 1 a.m., Berkeley Free Folk Fesitval; Nov. 18: 8 p.m., Zydeco Flames, $8; Nov. 19: 6:30 p.m., Vista College; Nov. 20: 8 p.m., Tamazgha, $8; Nov. 21: 8 p.m., Tom Rigney & Flambeau, $8; Nov. 22: 6 - 9 p.m., Annual Food Not Bombs Thanksgiving Feast, Free; 10 p.m., Dead DJ Nite, $5; Nov. 23: 9 p.m., Ras Michael and Sons of Negus with DJ Tony Moses, $10; Nov. 24: 9:30 p.m., Lavay Smith And Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, $11; Nov. 25: 9 p.m., The King of Calypso Mighty Sparrow, $15; Nov. 26: 6:30 p.m., Vista College; Nov. 27: 8 p.m., Creole Belles, $8; Nov. 28: 8 p.m., Bluegrass Intentions, Stairwell Sisters, Clogging with Evie Ladin, $10; Nov. 29: 10 p.m., Grateful Dead DJ Nite, $5; Nov. 30: 9:30 p.m., Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums w/ Ms. Carmen Getit; 1317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 www.ashkenaz.com 

Blake’s Nov. 16: First Circle, Stonecutters, $5; Nov. 17: Slaptones, TBA; Nov. 18: The GTF, TBA; Nov. 19: All Star Jam Featuring The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Nov. 20: Mr. Q, View From Here, $3; Nov. 21: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2; Nov. 22: Ascension, $5; Nov. 23: Solemite, TBA, $5; Nov. 24: Dank Man Shank, Locale AM, $5; Nov. 25: Out of The Ashes, Wonderland Ave., $3; Nov. 26: All Star Jam Featuring The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Nov. 27: PC Munoz and the Amen Corner, Froggy, $3; Nov. 28: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2; Nov. 29: Ascension, $5; Nov. 30: Felonious, TBA, $6; All shows 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave. 848-0886 

Cal Performances Nov. 29: Les Arts Florissants, $24 - $46; 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 Coffee House Nov. 15: David Mallett; Nov. 16: Jez Lowe and James Keelaghan; Nov. 17: Roy Rogers and Norton Buffalo; Nov. 18: 4 p.m., Berkeley Free Folk Festival: Noe Venable, Dawn McCarthy, John McCormick, Tret Fure, Sylvia Herold, 8 p.m., the Bill Evans band, Evie Ladin and Keith Terry, John Reischman and the Jaybirds; Nov. 21: Raun Fables and Noe Venable; Nov. 23 & 24: Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum and Todd Sickafoose; Nov. 25: Sylvia Herold; Nov. 26: Ellen Robinson; Nov. 28: Wake the Dead; Nov. 29: Judith Kate Friedman and Deborah Pardes; Nov. 30: Odile Lavault and Baguette Quartette; Dec. 1: Geoff Muldaur w/ Fritz Richmond; Dec. 2: Kaila Flexer’s Fieldharmonik; Dec. 5: Avalon Blues: Peter Case, Dave Alvin and Bill Morrissey; Dec. 6: Ray Bonneville; Dec. 7 & 8: Rebecca Riots; All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

iMusicast Nov. 16: 6:30 p.m., L3 (Live, Loud and Local) featuring: Big In Japan, The Locals, Jimmy 2 Times, Serial Carpens, Street To Nowhere. All Ages $9. Nov. 30: 6 - 11 p.m., Applesaucer, The Plus Ones, Cutlass Supreme, Salem Lights, Short Wave Rocket, One Step Shift; 5429 Telegraph Ave. 601-1024, www.imusicast.com. 

Jupiter Nov. 16: 5 Point Plan; Nov. 17: Corner Pocket; Nov. 21: Starchild; All shows 8 p.m. and free. 2821 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625/ www.jupiter.com 

MusicSources Nov. 18 Harpsichordist Gilbert Martinez. Both shows 5 p.m. $15-18. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

“Music on Telegraph” Nov. 17: Christy Dana Quartet, Greg’s Pizza, 2311 Telegraph Ave.; Nov. 18: Mitch Marcus Trio, Raleigh’s, 2438 Telegraph Ave.; Joe Chellman Quartet, The Village, 2556 Telegraph Ave.; Nov. 25: Downtown Uproar, Greg’s Pizza, 2311 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 1: Scrambled Samba Trio, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 2: Paul and Jill Janoff, Musical Offering, 2430 Bancroft; Dec. 8: Jonah Minton Quartet, Julie’s Healthy Cafe, 2562 Bancroft; Dec. 9: Hebro, Blakes, 2367 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 15: Thelonious On The Move, Bison Brewing, 2598 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 16: Howard Kadis, Musical Offering Cafe, 2430 Bancroft; Dec. 22: Kaz Sasaki Duo, Blackberry Ginger, 2520 Durant; Dec. 23: Almadecor, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; All shows 2 - 4 p.m., Free. 

“Berkeley Repertory Theatre Presents Anthony Rapp and His Band” Nov. 13: 8 p.m. Anthony Rapp, currently starring in Berkeley Rep’s “Nocturne,” performs with his three-piece band. $12 - $25. Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., 647-2949 

“Musicians for Medical Marijuana” Nov. 16: 7 :30 p.m., Dark Star Orchestra, The Flying Other Brothers, MCed by Mountain Girl, doctors and lawyers on hand for consultation. $20. Sweet’s Ballroom, 1988 Broadway, Oakland, 869-5391 www.m4mmj.org. 

“Oakland Symphony Chorus and the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra” presents a joint concert. Nov. 17: 8 p.m.; Nov. 18: 4 p.m.; $15. First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. 465-4199 www.oakland-sym-chorus.org 

“Mozart and Mozart of the North” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Hausmusik presents early classical quartets by Mozart , Johann Fuchs, and Bernhard Crusell, the “Mozart of the North”. $15-18. St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany, 527-9029 

“The Fuck the War Ball” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Bay Area’s most outrageous bands will perform in benefit for Love Underground Vision Radio. $5. Burnt Ramen, 111 Espee Ave., Richmond, 526-7858, fmoore@eroplay.com 

Theater 

“Tomas Carrasco of Chicano Secret Service” Nov. 15: 4 p.m. Performance by member of L.A.-based sketch comedy troupe that uses humor to tackle hot-button racial and political issues. Free. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

“La Guerra D’Amore” Nov. 16-17: 8 p.m. Choreographer Joachim Schlomer and period music specialist Rene Jacobs collaborate to present dancers and vocalists expressing stories about the “war of love” in a contemporary Venetian square. $34 - $52. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 642-9988 

“Works in the Works 2001” Through Nov. 18: 7:30. East Bay performance series presents a different program each evening. $8. Eighth Street Studio, 2525 Eighth St., 644-1788 

“Nicholas Nickleby” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. The Young Actors Workshop presents a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby. $10 adults, $8 students and seniors. Performing Arts Center of Contra Costa College, corner of El Portal Dr. and Castro St., San Pablo 235-7800 ext. 4274 

“Lost Cause” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Three space travelers stranded on a forgotten colony, find themselves in the middle of a bloody civil war, and have to decide between what’s right, what’s possible, and what will save their lives. Written by Jefferson Area, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7-12. La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid Ave. 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

“Travesties” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., and Thurs., Nov. 15, 8 p.m. A witty fantasy about James Joyce meeting Lenin in Zurich during World War I. Written by Tom Stoppard, Directed by Mikel Clifford. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck. 528-5620 

Cal Performances Nov. 16 - 17: 8 p.m., “La Guerra d’Amore,” director and choreographer, René Jacobs, conductor, Ensemble Concerto Vocale. Modern dance and early music from German choreographer Joachim Schlömer, $34 - $52; Nov. 30 - Dec. 2: Fri. - Sat.8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m., The Suzuki Company presents a staged interpretation of the Greek classic, “Dionysus”, $30 - $46; UC Berkeley, Zellerbach Hall. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“The Conduct of Life” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. A cautionary tale of unchecked political power gone awry with devastating human consequences. Written by Maria Irene Fornes. $12 general admission, $8 faculty & staff, $6 students. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

“Macbeth” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. Presented by the Albany High School Theater Ensemble. $7 adults, $5 students and seniors. Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd. 559-6550 x4125 theaterensemble@hotmail.com 

“Odyssey” Nov. 16: 7 p.m., Nov. 17: 2 p.m., 7 p.m., Nov. 18: 2 p.m., The Splash Circus presents this outer space circus adventure with juggling scientists, acrobatic aliens, aerial acts, tumbling, masked Commedia characters, contortion, pyramids and dance. Youth performers between the ages of 10 - 14. $13, $6.50 for kids under 14. The Alice Arts Center, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. 655-1265 x202, www.splashcircus.com. 

“Uncle Vanya” Nov. 23 through Nov. 29: Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. Nov. 25, 7 p.m. Subterranean Shakespeare’s production of Jean-Claude van Italie’s humorous translation of Anton Chekhov’s romantic masterpiece. Directed by Diane Jackson. Benefits the Forests Forever Foundation. $8-$14. La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid 

“Goddesses” Nov. 30 through Dec. 1: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 7 p.m. A sensuous and humorous drama concerning one mortal woman’s struggle to control the six extraordinary goddesses in her psyche. Written by Dorotea Reyna. $10. Mils College, Lisser Hall, 5900 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland 883-0536, rlcouture@earthlink.net 

“Saint Joan” Through Dec. 2: Wed. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., 7 p.m. George Bernard Shaw’s epic of a young girl determined to drive the English out of France with only her faith to support her. Directed by Barbara Oliver. $26-35. Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St. 843-4822 www.auroratheatre.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 

“Brave Brood” Through Dec. 16 Robert O’Hara directs Robert O’Hara’s searing tale of money, desperation, and the fight for survival. $20. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305 www.transparenttheater.org 

“Much Ado About Nothing” Nov. 20 through Jan. 8: Check theater for specific dates and times. Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy chronicles a handful of soldiers returning from a winning battle to be greeted by a gaggle of giddy maidens. Directed by Brian Kulick. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

Films 

Pacific Film Archive Theater Nov. 16: 7:30 p.m., Autumn Almanac; Nov. 17 & 18: 1 p.m., Satantango; Nov. 21: 7 :30 p.m., Macbeth; Nov. 30: 7:30 p.m., Werckmeister Harmonies; 2575 Bancroft Way, 642-1124 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Exhibits  

“Art Benefit for the Gabriel Sussman Rodriguez Education Fund” Through Nov. 16: Over 60 artists have donated work for this tribute to the memory of Wendy Sussman, a painter and professor of art practice at UC Berkeley, and contribute to the education of her son. Sun. - Fri. 1 - 6 p.m. Worth Ryder Gallery, Kroeber hall, UC Berkeley 415-665-6131 

“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 

“In Through the Outdoors” Through Nov. 24: Featuring seven artists who work in photography and related media including sculpture and video, this exhibit addresses the shift in values and contemporary concerns about the natural world that surrounds us. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery, 1316 Tenth St. www.traywick.com 

“2001 James D. Phelan Art Awards in Printmaking” Honorees: Bridget Henry, David Kelso, and Margaret Van Patten. Through Nov. 30 Tues. - Fri. noon - 5 p.m., other times by appointment. Kala Art Institue, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 www.kala.org 

“Furniture Art” Through Dec. 7: An exhibit of metal and wood furniture that revisits furniture not only as art but as craft. 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. The Current Gallery at the Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.org 

“The Paintings of Bethany Anne Ayers and Sculpture of Alexander Cheves” Nov. 15 through Dec. 15: Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ardency Gallery, 709 roadway, Oakland. 836-0831 gallery709@aol.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 

“Matrix 195” Nov. 18 through Jan. 13: German artist, Thomas Scheibitz’s, first solo museum exhibition in the United States showcases semi-abstract representations of everyday objects and landscapes. Wed., Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $3-$6. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

GTU Exhibit: “Holocaust Series” by Cleve Gray Through Jan. 25: Comprised of 21 works on paper that constitute “a catharsis... for all of humanity.” Mon. - Thurs. 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. noon - 7 p.m.; Free. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, Graduate Theological Union, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541 www.gtu.edu 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” Nov. 15 through Feb. 15: 18 homeless and formerly homeless elders reveal how they learned and applied wisdom that is timeless. Mon. - Fri. and Sundays 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Reception and presentation by the elders Thurs. Nov. 15, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Free. St. Mary’s Center, 635 22nd St., Oakland, 893-4723 x222 

“The Art History Museum of Berkeley” 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. 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

Readings 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Nov. 12: 7:30 p.m. Rabih Alameddine reads from “I, The Divine”; Nov. 13: 7:30 p.m. John Barth reads from “Coming Soon!!!”, Nov. 18: Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux from the Poetry Society of America read,$5; Nov. 28: 7:30 p.m. David Meltzer and contributors read from his newly revised and re-released collection of interviews with Bay Area Beat Poets; 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore Nov. 14: Gregory Crouch talks about “Enduring Patagonia.” All shows 7:30 p.m.; 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Nov. 17: 7 p.m. Graham Hutchings discusses his newly released book “Modern China: A Guide to a Century of Change”; Nov. 18: 4 p.m. Noel Alumit, M.G. Sorongon, and Marianne Villanueva read from their contributions to the anthology “Tilting the Continent: Southeast Asian American Literature”; 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

“Berkeley’s World” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Staged reading of a new play about five Berkeley emigres who form a career support group through an ad placed in the East Bay Express but find they can’t stand each other. Written by Andrea Mock. Free. Speakeasy Theatre, 2016 7th St. 841-9441 

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 Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., 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; Nov. 3: Tales from the Enchanted Forest, 11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.; Nov. 9: Living with the Earth; Nov. 17: Recycle that Stuff; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. Mon. and Wed., 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tues. and Fri., 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thur., 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

Oakland Museum of California Through Nov. 25: Pasajes y Encuentros: Ofrendas for the Days of the Dead, highlights three thematic “passageways” that connect the dead with the living: tradition, humor and spirit; Through Jan. 13: Grand Lyricist: The Art of Elmer Bischoff, featuring paintings and works on paper that trace the evolution of Bischoff’s career. $6 adults, $4 seniors and students, free for children under 5. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m., 10th St., Oakland, 888-625-6873/ www.museumca.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. Mon. through Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat. and Sun., 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.

Berkeley to face nemesis O’Dowd for NCS championship Saturday 

Two games into their North Coast Section semi-final against Castro Valley on Thursday, the Berkeley High Yellowjackets looked dead in the water. They had lost the opening games in lackluster fashion, looking slow and tentative. Considering the ’Jackets had broken through to win their first NCS game in four years on Tuesday, they couldn’t have been blamed for packing it up and calling it a season. 

But instead of being satisfied with one NCS win, they roared back to make it two, with the final looming on Saturday. With each of the last three games a battle to the end, Berkeley pulled out a marathon win, 7-15, 9-15, 15-12, 15-13, 16-14 in two hours and forty-five minutes. 

The win tested Berkeley’s resolve more than any other match this season. After blowing through the ACCAL undefeated for the second year in a row, Berkeley head coach Justin Caraway wasn’t sure his players had it in them to come back in such a dramatic fashion. 

“Truthfully? No,” Caraway said when asked if he thought his team would come back from a two-game deficit. “I thought you could stick a fork in us, because we were done.” 

Coming up huge for Berkeley was outside hitter Vanessa Williams. The junior, playing on an injured ankle, led the team with 19 kills, including five in the final rally-scoring game and the final point of the match. Usually a complementary hitter to 6-foot-5 middle blocker Desiree Guilliard-Young, Williams took 42 swings at the ball, more than Guilliard-Young or any other player on the court on Thursday. 

“Vanessa was just huge in the last game,” Berkeley head coach Justin Caraway said. “She’s streaky, and she just has to settle down and play point by point.” 

Guilliard-Young had 14 kills in the match to go with 8 blocks, and outside hitter Amalia Jarvis had 11 kills and 10 digs. Setter Danielle Larue, playing with her right thumb heavily taped due to injury, had 42 assists and 10 digs. The Berkeley offense, designed to go through Guilliard-Young as often as possible, showed unusual versatility against the Trojans. 

Castro Valley, on the other hand, was forced to constantly funnel the ball to senior Alexis Kollias, and Kollias seemed to tire in the final game. Despite finishing with a game-high 22 kills (nearly half her team’s total), Kollias was called for two critical infractions in the last four points of the match. First, with the score tied at 13-13, she brushed the net on a spike, giving Berkeley the point. After the Trojans tied the score again at 14-14, Kollias was called for a double-hit on a pass, and Berkeley had a 15-14 lead. Williams finished the match with a spike right down the middle of the Castro Valley defense, and Berkeley was through to the final. 

Both coaches were unhappy with the officiating in the match, but the questionable calls seemed to even out in the end. 

“The refereeing was very inconsistent, and I think that hurt us more as the younger team,” said Castro Valley coach Shari Cabral. “He made calls periodically that killed the momentum, and it was hard for us to get it back.” 

Caraway agreed that the officiating was inconsistent, going so far as to file a protest during the third game. 

“The referee affected the outcome of the match much more than he should have,” Caraway said. “We got some calls that helped us out, but so did (Castro Valley).” 

The ’Jackets’ opponent in that final will be top-seeded Bishop O’Dowd, which defeated Deer Valley in the other semi-final. The match will be at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Berkeley High. 

The Dragons have been a thorn in Berkeley’s side for the last two seasons, knocking the ’Jackets out in the first round of the playoffs last year and beating them soundly this season. In fact, Berkeley hasn’t beaten O’Dowd since Caraway became the coach five years ago. 

“We have some kind of mental block when it comes to O’Dowd, but hopefully it’s something we can work through,” Caraway said. “We just have to settle down and understand that we can play with the top teams in the region and come away winners.” 

Guilliard-Young, for one, is confident that O’Dowd’s winning streak over the ’Jackets can end on Saturday. 

“We know exactly what to expect from them,” she said. “If we can beat Castro Valley, we can beat O’Dowd.” 

Better get wishing – if Jiminy Cricket was right, there’s no way your wishes won’t come true this weekend. Astronomers predict this year’s Leonid meteor shower will be the best in 30 years. 

From 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. Sunday, viewers will see between 1,000 and 4,000 meteors an hour, qualifying this as a meteor storm, not a shower. That could be as many as a meteor every second during the peak hour.  

The next storm won’t happen until 2099. 

The Leonid shower occurs annually, but this year’s is predicted to be the best shower since 1966, when observers saw more than 100,000 meteors in an hour. The forecast for next year says it will be obscured by a full moon. 

Meteors, or shooting stars, are bright flashes that appear when dust particles or small rocks collide with Earth’s atmosphere. The Leonid shower happens when Earth passes through the stream of dust and debris left by comet Tempel-Tuttle in its 33-year orbit. As it nears the sun, the comet’s frozen surface heats up and ejects some of the dust and gas it is made of. The larger dust particles, from about one millimeter wide to pebble-sized, form a cloud of debris that orbits the sun strung out in a dust trail behind the comet. Tempel-Tuttle last  

came around in 1998. 

Ryan Diduck, director of Astronomy at the Chabot Space and Science Center, admitted that he has never seen a meteor shower with more than 100 meteors an hour, though he has been watching the stars since childhood. 

Aside from the wishing, meteor showers are known as nature’s fireworks and never fail to elicit oohs and ahhs. A meteor shower is special “because it makes people aware of the fact that we don't live in a static solar system,” Diduck said. “When they see a shooting star, it gets people thinking that the sky isn’t the same old sky all the time. Stuff happens out there.” 

His favorite meteor shower has always been the reliable Persieds in August, which consistently produces 50 to 100 meteors per hour. 

“But,” he said, “to see a storm this year will automatically make this my favorite shower.” 

Carter Roberts, president of the Eastbay Astronomical Society, an organization of amateur astronomers, remembers the Leonids of 1998 as the best meteor shower he ever saw. He traveled to China just to observe it, and was treated to a spectacular display in return for sitting out in below freezing weather. 

Meteor predicting used to be more like fortune telling than science, but computer models and more data have made vast improvements. Forecasts for the 1998, 1999 and 2000 showers accurately predicted the time of the peak and number of meteors. So, expect this year’s predictions to be right on the money. 

No special equipment is needed to see shooting stars. “The human eye is the best tool for observing a meteor shower,” said Diduck. “Take a lawn chair, take warm clothes, and just look up!” 

You’ll have a better chance of seeing a lot of meteors if you also get some place as dark and clear as possible, and turn out all white lights so your eyes can adapt to the darkness. Though the shooting stars appear to come from the constellation Leo, don’t look there. Meteors will streak all over the sky. 

“It’s something definitely worth seeing,” said Toshi Komatsu, assistant planetarium director at the Lawrence Hall of Science. “To see all these brilliant lights streaking across the sky, that’s an awesome thing. They’re little bits of the creation of our solar system.” 

The Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland will rope off its staff parking lot from 10 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Sunday for meteor viewing, and have astronomers roaming the crowd to answer questions. The Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley will also have their lights off and staff available during the shower, after their normal Saturday night stargazing ends 10 p.m. Call the CSSC at 336-7373 or LHS at 642-5132. 

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the City Council: 

For many years I lived in many places in Berkeley while getting three degrees at the big university. I am still a Berkeleyan in thought and spirit, though I now live two blocks over the line into Oakland. 

So I want to say a big THANK YOU for the council’s courageous vote for “bringing the bombing (in Afghanistan) to a conclusion as soon as possible.” 

Of course the right wing is vilifying Berkeley even more than usual - what did you expect? 

To help counteract the ridiculous boycott, from now on I will do all my shopping in Berkeley, and encourage my friends to do likewise. 

This too shall pass. 

Keep up the good work. 

Helene Knox 

Oakland 

Eastern Washington shocks No. 10 St. Joseph’s in BCA Classic opener 

Four players scored in double figures, led by 15 points from junior forward Joe Shipp, as Cal opened the 2001-02 basketball season with a 70-58 victory over Princeton in the first round of the BCA Classic Thursday night in Haas Pavilion.  

The Bears advance to play Eastern Washington, an upset winner over No. 10 Saint Joseph’s, for the championship Friday at 8:30 p.m. St. Joe’s meets Princeton in the consolation game at 6 p.m.  

Cal and Princeton battled back and forth early in the game. With the Tigers ahead 11-10, the Bears scored eight consecutive points to open a 17-11 advantage. The lead ballooned to 32-16 at the 6:05 mark and Cal entered the locker room up 44-28 on Shantay Legans’ 35-foot shot at the buzzer.  

In the second half, Cal pushed its lead to 20 points at 51-31 and kept the margin above 15 points until the closing minutes. The Bears’ largest lead was 64-41 with 6:48 left.  

Cal remained patient with Princeton’s famously deliberate style and capitalized on strong shooting, especially from the outside. The Bears made 7-of-13 shots from three-point range in the first half and shot 51.9 from the field for the game.  

“I don’t think that the average fan knows how much preparation went into this game,” Cal head coach Ben Braun said. “Princeton is a very smart team. You’ll see that team when a lot of basketball games this year.” 

In addition to Shipp, who also had four rebounds and four assists, Ryan Forehan-Kelly and Dennis Gates came off the bench for 11 points apiece and freshman Jamal Sampson finished with 10 points and five rebounds in his Cal debut.  

“Both Dennis Gates and Ryan Forehan-Kelly are playing as well as anybody right now,” Braun said. “If we can continue to get that kind of play off the bench, we’ll be doing pretty good.”  

Konrod Wysocki paced Princeton with 17 points.  

In the first game of the tournament, Eastern Washington edged St. Joe’s, 68-67. St. Joe’s had a chance to send the game into overtime, but Delonte West missed the second of two free throws with three seconds remaining.

Free AC Transit bus passes for students from low-income families may become a reality next year, but only if the Bay Area’s regional transit board votes next month to subsidize a program that will benefit Alameda and Contra Costa counties. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which represents all nine Bay Area counties, will decide Dec. 19 whether to make bus ridership free for the approximately 30,000 students who participate in free or reduced-cost lunch programs in the two counties. 

Other students would see their bus-pass costs reduced from $27 to $8 per month. 

“The pilot is proposed just in these two counties, but it has implications for all nine,” said Lara Bice, legislative aide to Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson. 

But, she said, she could not predict the MTC’s vote. 

The Berkeley School Board unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday endorsing the pilot program, but only after the board’s vice president, Shirley Issel, introduced two additional clauses stating that funds should not come from AC Transits’ operating budget. 

“We want the transit authority to stay solvent and maintain service,” Issel said Thursday. The MTC, she said, has a plan to fund the program with other revenue sources “so that service won’t be affected.” 

Carson joined forces with State Assemblymember Dion Aroner and Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia to propose the pilot program, the only one of its kind currently up for consideration as part of the MTC’s $81.4 billion December appropriation vote. 

The $12 million cost, Bice said, represents “Less than one hair off their whole head.” 

If approved, she said, students would begin riding free next fall.  

Board director John Selawsky, who is crafting an overall transportation policy for the school district, said the program could make bus travel free for as many as 2,000 students in Berkeley alone and add millions of dollars to the combined budgets of the East Bay’s school districts. . 

“If even a small percentage of those students are missing school because of transportation costs, it adds up over that wide a region,” he said. “How that impacts Berkeley, I haven’t got an analysis.” 

Half-price BART tickets have already been available to Berkeley High School students and teachers for several months, Selawsky said. 

“It’s not very well publicized yet,” he said. 

For now, however, the cheapest option for students at any school to ride AC Transit buses is a monthly pass that costs $27 up front – too steep for many families. 

“It has been shown that students from families of low and moderate incomes who rely on public transit often do not have adequate money for fares at certain periods each month, and thus miss school entirely because of lack of ability to pay bus fare," the board’s resolution noted. 

At the board meeting, student director Sarena Chandler expressed concern at language elsewhere in the resolution that called for a “$95 per year bus pass” for those students not receiving free or reduced lunch. 

“They’re easy to lose,” she said, and “students can profit from them.”  

Bice said that this and other concerns had been taken into consideration. Monthly credit-card billing to parents was one possibility for those students who still had to pay, she said, and rather than getting transferable bus passes, students in the free or reduced lunch program would line up on the first day of school and receive stickers on their regular identification cards. 

In order to reduce the stigma that some might attach to publicly receiving the need-based transit privilege, Bice said, those students “would have their names written in black ink, others in blue ink, something that only the person at the (registration) station would know.” 

Selawsky said he plans to unveil a district-wide transit policy in “about three months or so,” calling for increased use of mass transit, safer dropoff points for the schools where necessary, and “reduced or free BART passes for staff.” 

Parking, he said, is another big concern – especially what to do when construction ends at Berkeley High School and its tennis courts revert from parking back to their original purpose. 

In the bigger picture, the MTC’s vote comes at a time when the region’s public-transit agencies are under growing legal pressure to increase ridership. Though the Bay Area’s population has grown about 30 percent in the last five years, said Selawsky, AC Transit ridership is down and BART ridership has only held steady. 

“A judge in a recent court case ruled (the transit agencies) haven’t made a sincere attempt to increase ridership and they are under a court decree right now to increase it, no “ifs, ands, or buts,” Selawsky said. 

“Specifically with student bus passes, this has been a need for years and years,” Selawsky said. “It seems kind of obvious that kids should have access to transportation to and from school at either very minimal cost or no cost, because that should not be a deterrent to getting to school.” 

Editor, 

President Bush, in asking for the power to establish military courts to try terrorism suspects, is rapidly laying the groundwork for martial law in America – for the suspension of the very rights that make our flag worth defending. Do we trust the people now in control of our government to properly discriminate between real terrorists and those who are, instead, honorable citizens with contrary opinions to express non-violently? The people who now protect us from airborne nail clippers and tweezers will soon be protecting us from members of the Green and Reform parties – then our neighbors and then members of our own families. If this comment seems like a rash overreaction, note that 91 year-old cross-country walker Doris “Granny D” Haddock, who dared suggest that campaign finance reform is needed to clean up the corruption of Congress, is now singled out for hand searches and frisking at every airport. Once it begins, it moves quickly. Surely our freedoms, and the civil rights that guarantee our freedoms, are more endangered by extremists in government than extremists who are, after all, only trying to kill us. 

Dennis Burke 

Phoenix, Arizona

California women’s basketball head coach Caren Horstmeyer announced Thursday the signing of one of the top junior college post players in the country and two outstanding prep athletes. Timea Ivanyi, Renee Wright and Sarah Pool have all signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball at Cal beginning with the 2002-03 season.  

“We’re pleased with this class in terms of their overall level of play and the immediate impact they’re all expected to have,” said Horstmeyer. “We set a solid foundation with last year’s recruiting class and have continued to build on our future with this year’s class.”  

Ivanyi, a 6-foot-4 center from Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Mo., chose Cal over Duke, Florida State, Southwest Missouri State and Syracuse. As a freshman at Jefferson, Ivanyi helped lead her team to sixth in the country at the junior college nationals with a 33-3 record. A native of Szeged, Hungary, Ivanyi averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds per game as a freshman and earned all-conference and all-region honors. The 23-year old comes to Cal with two years of eligibility.  

“Timea is one of the top five junior college posts in the nation,” said Horstmeyer. “She brings size, competitiveness and the best hands of any post I’ve ever had.”  

A 5-10 forward from Center High School in Analope, Wright is listed as one of the top 40 wings in the nation by Mike White’s Scouting Report. Wright holds her school’s season and career records for points and rebounds.  

As a junior, she led Center to the section championship, averaging 20 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. For her efforts, she was named all-state for Division III, league MVP and first team All-Metro by the Sacramento Bee.  

Wright, who was nominated to compete in this year’s first girls’ McDonalds All-America Game, is recovering from an ACL tear and is expected to rejoin her team by the end of December. She also considered attending Colorado State.  

“Renee will be one of the best rebounding small forwards I’ve ever had,” said Horstmeyer.  

Pool, a 5-8 point guard, has helped lead Crater High School in Central Point, Ore., to a combined 49-6 record and the state championship game the last two seasons. She is listed as a Street and Smith’s preseason All-American. As a junior, Pool averaged 15 points, 9 assists and 3 rebounds per game, earning first team all-conference, honorable mention all-state and second team all-tournament at the state championship. Pool chose Cal over Oregon and Oregon State.

The Planning Commission took action on two controversial city issues during its meeting Wednesday night. 

The commission devised new rules for wireless telecommunications antennae and approved a one-year moratorium on office development in the West Berkeley mixed-use/light industrial district. 

In addition, the commission adopted a new timetable for the Southside Plan. 

The commission largely rejected a wireless telecommunications proposal written by concerned citizens. The citizen’s ordinance would have banned new antennae within a 200-foot radius of residential districts. 

Instead, it unanimously approved an ordinance drafted by city staff and heavily revised by Commissioner Gene Poschman. 

Under Poschman’s proposal, most new antennae would have to be approved by the Zoning Adjustments Board. Wireless services providers would have to demonstrate to the ZAB that the proposed antenna is necessary to provide service in an area, and that denying it would be a violation of federal law. 

On Friday, commission chair Rob Wrenn said the Poschman compromise, while not ideal, was in the spirit typical of Berkeley procedure. 

“There’s two ways you can do these kinds of things,” he said. “You can institute really tight rules, or you can make people jump through hoops to convince you on a case-by-case basis.” 

The latter – a method Wrenn called “flexible, but with scrutiny” – allowed for more citizen input on particular projects, he said. 

The commission also rejected city staff’s suggestion that antennae be allowed, under certain circumstances, to exceed the maximum height limit allowed in zoning districts.  

Like all Planning Commission actions, the proposal is only a recommendation to the City Council, which may further refine it or reject it altogether when it hears the matter in the upcoming weeks. 

The other big item on the commission’s calendar – the moratorium on offices in the West Berkeley MU-LI district – passed by a vote of 5-3. 

The commission received a study from a MU-LI subcommittee, composed of Commissioners Poschman, Zelda Bronstein, John Curl and Betty Hicks. The subcommitee’s report recommended that the commission approve the moratorium in substantially the same form as the commission’s January resolution on the matter. 

After reviewing the commssion’s first attempt to pass the moratorium, the City Council asked it to hold further public hearings and consider an exemption for spaces of under 5,000 square feet. 

The subcommittee report, which was adopted by the full commission on Wednesday, did not allow for such an exemption. The report stated that the commission had heard from many artists and artisans – categories that are classified as “light industrial” under the West Berkeley Plan – who said that they could use spaces under 5,000 square feet even if traditional industry could not. 

The new moratorium would, however, allow light industrial businesses to convert some of their space to offices if the offices are designed to support the manufacturing component of the business. 

Commissioners Hicks, Gordon Wozniak and David Tabb voted against the moratorium. Commissioner Susan Wengraf was absent at Wednesday’s meeting. 

The only other topic heard at Wednesday’s meeting was a status report on the Southside Plan, which the commission and planning staff have been working on for the last three and a half years. 

The commission unanimously adopted a proposal by chair Rob Wrenn that would define the Southside Plan as the commission’s top priority for the first half of 2002.  

Wrenn handed out a timetable that he hoped would serve as a guideline for the commission’s work on the plan. The timetable, which called for public release of the latest draft of the plan by the end of this month and completion of the plan by the end of June 2002, was also adopted. 

Several speakers during the public comment period urged the commission to complete work on the plan, push city staff to release its latest draft to the public and resist efforts by the University of California to unduly influence the plan’s direction. 

“I have never in my long political life participated in a process that was so fair and so open,” said Becky O’Malley. “Please finish the Southside Plan as we, the citizens, started it.”

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the City Council: 

I’m writing to defend the mayor’s right to say anything she wants, even on her city-sponsored web page. I firmly believe that anyone who wants to make herself look silly should be allowed to do so, even at public expense if necessary. I do agree that the mayor’s letter on the Web (saying, a la Chicken Little, that the sky is falling because the council majority expressed reservations about U.S. foreign policy) is silly. It looks particularly silly now that the Contra Costa Times has released its poll proving that the majority of Berkeley residents support the council majority on the issue – no surprise to me there, though it’s obviously a surprise to the Mayor. 

But I think that the best remedy for speech we don’t like is more speech. Period. With that in mind, I would like to offer people who disagree with the mayor the opportunity to put their opinions on the web too, not at public expense, but at my expense, on the Berkeley Free Press web page: berkeleyfreepress.com. I’ll try to put up any letters which are e-mailed to me, within the limits of my technical ability, time constraints and available memory on my server. Perhaps the City Council, as a quid pro quo for the city’s provision of free Web space to the mayor, could simply ask city staff to provide a link to the Berkeley Free Press site on the city’s site. 

Becky O’Malley 

Berkele

SAN FRANCISCO — The budget outlook for the University of California is bleak, with cuts likely this year and next that may force officials to cap enrollment and increase student fees. 

Regents approved a 2002-3 state-funded operating budget of $3.65 billion Thursday, an 8.7 percent increase from last year, on the understanding that they could get less when Gov. Gray Davis brings out his proposed state budget in January. 

Davis already has proposed $86 million in cuts for the current fiscal year at UC. 

UC officials have identified a number of areas for making cuts, including: 

• Capping student enrollment growth. 

• Raising student fees. 

• Limiting faculty and staff raises. 

• Cutting programs that have had substantial increases. 

Most of those measures would prove controversial. 

UC historically has promised to find a place on one of its eight undergraduate campuses for all students who meet minimum eligibility requirements. Funding for an additional 7,100 students is needed to keep that promise in 2002, UC officials say. 

Student fees, meanwhile, have been level for the past seven years after jumping sharply during the recession-plagued early ’90s. After California’s economy picked up, the state began funding yearly increases. The increase for next year, on annual fees of about $3,800, would be between 8 percent and 10 percent. 

Regents also are proposing increasing nonresident tuition by 4 percent. 

Regents also approved raises of about 2 percent for about 145 senior managers, the same increase as previously given staff. The board also approved potential salary increases of up to 25 percent for some top managers, but put those raises on hold “considering economic conditions and budgetary constraints.” 

UC officials had defended the big raises as necessary to attract and keep top talent.

Editor: 

Once again, Berkeley, California is paving the way for other communities. Berkeley led the way for students’ rights movements and anti-Vietnam demonstrations in the 1960s, and has recently taken another courageous step. One of the hardest things to do when a nation is caught up in a wave of nationalism is to step back from the situation and publicly voice dissent. Such dissent is rarely popular, and the person uttering it is more likely than not to be dubbed an America-hater, an agitator, or some other word for a person who speaks critically of government policy. 

The current action against the people of Afghanistan is not right. Civilians are being killed, a humanitarian disaster is looming, and the United States is once again trying its hand at nation-building. Military action is not the way to root out terrorism.  

Terror is the weapon of desperate people. Those with any political voice do not resort to it, and conditions of abject poverty, chronic unemployment, and structural violence lead individuals to support it. To stop terrorism, we must address the issues of injustice and inequality that form the foundation of terrorism. The current campaign only exacerbates those conditions. 

The City Council of Berkeley took a brave step when it passed a resolution against the military action in Afghanistan. I sincerely hope that those who condemn the council out of hand will step back from the patriotic furor and consider the importance of this resolution. 

Elizabeth Jordan 

Flint, Michigan

Editor: 

Our community and our nation need access to dialogue and free speech now more than ever. The Pentagon has bought exclusive rights to satellite photos of Afghanistan to keep them from being broadcast. Domestic civil rights are under attack and even lawyer/client confidentiality has been eliminated. The mainstream media has openly declared its willingness to censor any information that contradicts the Bush administration’s line and Dan Rather has announced on the air that he takes his orders from George Bush. 

In the Bay Area we are fortunate to have an alternative source of information on KPFA 94.1 FM. But KPFA and the entire Pacifica network are also under attack by a hostile, corporatist board that is now unable to pay the station’s bills. Telephone, utility and other bills go unpaid by Pacifica (which holds all the purse strings) while high priced lawyers and security guards have drained the foundation of $2 million in the past two years. 

As members of a community that prizes free speech, we need to keep KPFA on the air by paying its bills without providing funding to the corporate controlled Pacifica Foundation. We strongly urge all people who rely on KPFA for news and information to support a listener-controlled station and Pacifica network by writing a check to “Friends of Free Speech Radio,” 925 Parker St., Berkeley, CA 94710. We can’t afford not to. 

David Eifler and Pat Martin 

Berkeley

Now that the recently-approved redistricting plan has apparently been thwarted, the bitterly divided City Council will have to pick up the pieces and start the process again.  

If the bickering and backbiting that dominated a discussion about redistricting during last Tuesday’s council meeting is any indication, the process, which begins Nov. 27, will be contentious. 

The newly-formed Citizens for Fair Representation collected more than 8,000 signatures to challenge the controversial plan – approved by council on Oct. 16 – mainly because the plan included a population imbalance in District 8.  

The newly-drawn District 8 has 4,500 more residents than the city’s seven other districts, which have an average of 12,800 residents. CFR members have charged that the imbalance violates the democratic tenet “one person, one vote.” 

Assuming 4,000 of the signatures on the petitions are validated, the council will have two choices. It can allow the issue to go before the voters in March or it can repeal the approved redistricting plan and start over.  

Several councilmembers have already indicated they would prefer starting over because of the estimated $100,000 it would cost to put a measure on the ballot. 

One possible redistricting plan councilmembers have discussed is a city staff proposal known as Scenario 5, favored by moderates. Another possibility is a proposal by Councilmember Kriss Worthington, which would alter the existing plan by adding a population differential of 5 percent into each district. 

“I think that what we need to do is lay out the criteria for a plan that will be acceptable and fair,” Mayor Shirley Dean said at Tuesday’s meeting. “But clearly ‘one-person, one-vote’ will have to be central to any plan we adopt.” 

While drawing district lines, the council is tightly bound by the City Charter. According to the city attorney, each of the city’s eight districts must have as close to 12,800 people as possible. Using the city attorney’s recommended 1 percent deviation, each district should have a difference in population of no more than 128 residents. The charter also requires that district lines not be significantly changed. 

Making matters worse, the council will also have to use faulty census bureau numbers, even though it is known there was an undercount of 4,500 people in districts 7 and 8. The city attorney said the Census Bureau has so far refused to correct its mistake and will probably never do so. 

One bit of good news is that the council will not be racing to approve a new redistricting plan by Dec. 31. City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque said if the approved plan is repealed, the deadline could be pushed back to April 1. 

The moderates say they favor staff’s Scenario 5 because it takes some of the extra people in district 8 and puts them in District 7, which is represented by Councilmember Kriss Worthington. 

Progressives have said the plan is a problem because it alters the shapes of districts 7 and 8, which they claim violates the charter requirement that districts stay as close to its original 1986 shape. 

“I’d like to see a plan like Scenario 5 that distributes the population more equitably, including the undercount,” Councilmember Miriam Hawley said. “If we have to spread the undercount into three or four districts, that’s fine as long as it’s equal as possible.” 

Councilmember Dona Spring said Scenario 5 does not go far enough to spread out the undercount. 

“All the staff plan does to deal with the undercount is spread it out a little into District 7,” Spring said. “I think we have to keep our options open and try to come up with a creative solution that will fairly distribute the undercount to other districts.” 

Worthington has proposed a plan that would increase the allowable population discrepancy to 640 people, instead of the current charter restriction of 128, in each district. He said by so doing the undercount would be distributed among all eight districts. 

“I believe that would do minimal damage to the concept of “one person, one vote” and it’s the only proposal I’ve heard of that spreads the undercount throughout the entire city.” 

But at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Albuquerque said the proposal would likely be illegal because the City Charter calls for district population counts that are “as equal as possible,” and that a 1 percent deviation has been most commonly used in redistricting since Baker vs. Carr, a 1962 landmark Supreme Court case over apportionment of congressional districts.  

Worthington said that UC Berkeley “redistricting guru” Bruce Cain was convinced that a 5-percent population discrepancy would be legal and has asked to meet with Albuquerque.  

“We have looked at all the Supreme Court redistricting cases,” Albuquerque said. “But if Mr. Cain has one we missed, we would be glad to hear about it.” 

Whatever plan the council adopts it will have to take into consideration the concerns of the CFR, which has vowed to circulate another petition if the council does not significantly change the approved plan.

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the City Council: 

I am appreciative of the City Council’s rejection of the bombing of Afghanistan. Please do not let Mayor Dean force a retraction. Please recognize that the long term gains for Berkeley (international respect, unforseen financial gains, political prestige, civic pride, the ability to look in the mirror with dignity) may balance out the short term losses. 

Joel Hamburger, 

Oakland 

WASHINGTON — The Navy has dropped plans to use an old military base between Big Sur and the Hearst Castle as a practice range for 3,000 bombing missions a year. 

Rep. Sam Farr, D-Salinas, said the Navy decided that it would not save much money in reduced fuel costs, a major reason for considering Ft. Hunter Liggett, 40 miles south of Big Sur, as a bombing range. 

“It’s a great victory,” Farr said Thursday, after getting word from Duncan Holaday, the Navy’s deputy assistant secretary for installations. 

Lt. Pauline Storum, a Navy spokeswoman, confirmed the decision. 

“The Navy has determined that there is no present need to expand our current use of the ranges at Ft. Hunter Liggett,” Storum said. Navy fighter jets currently make 200 to 300 training runs a year at the base, she said. 

The Navy had proposed a tenfold increase in bombing missions at the base, a 165,000-acre expanse amid the state’s most remote and rugged coastal landscapes that newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst sold to the Army in 1940. 

F/A-18 fighter jets from Lemoore Naval Air Station in the San Joaquin Valley and aircraft carriers off the California coast were to have swooped down on the oak woodlands and rolling hills, aiming 25-pound dummy bombs at a 500-foot bull’s-eye painted on the ground. 

The fort is only 76 miles west of Lemoore. Planes currently fly 227 miles to Fallon, Nev., and 159 miles to Superior Valley near Barstow, Calif. The Navy was expecting $3 million a year in reduced fuel costs. 

“But they decided they would just spend more time over the target so they’d burn the same amount of fuel,” Farr said. 

Area residents protested the plans for the bombing range, complaining about the expected noise and the potential damage to tourism on the rustic coast. 

Members of the Salinan Nation Indian tribe said that the area should be left alone because it is where their ancestors first lived. A group of 22 Benedictine monks said they did not want their silence disturbed at the nearby New Camaldoli Hermitage. And the National Park Service said endangered plants and animals, such as condors, must be protected. 

Some residents also worried about the accuracy of the bombs, saying some would inevitably miss the target, possibly straying into their back yards. 

The base was decommissioned in 1995. It is now used mainly as a training site.

Editor:  

The current course of U.S. actions will only perpetuate the endless cycle of violence and cannot lead to a world at peace. It is unconscionable for our national leaders to ignore the urgent pleas of international relief agencies who call for a halt 

in bombing so that humanitarian aid can be distributed to the 7 million Afghan refugees at risk of dying from starvation and exposure to bitter winter cold. How can our government expect us to look the other way while such a catastrophe occurs? And how can our government devalue the sensibilities of 1.2 billion Muslims the world over by planning to drop bombs during the Holy month of Ramadan? These actions are ill-advised and will likely result in a legacy of shame. I applaud the great courage of our Representative, Barbara Lee, who called for restraint and reason during this critical time in history, and I commend the Berkeley City Council for passing a pro-peace resolution that was motivated by a sense of compassion and responsibility for the innocent victims of war.  

Diana Perry  

Berkeley

The day before a citizen’s group submitted a petition with more than 8,000 signatures challenging a recently-approved redistricting plan, the City Council began considering options to prevent U.S. Census Bureau blunders from throwing a highly political process into chaos. 

The city is required by the City Charter to redraw district lines every 10 years to assure that each of the city’s eight districts are as equal in population as possible. The redistricting process was complicated further by an inaccurate census count of 4,500 residents mostly in districts 7 and 8.  

Despite factual evidence of the undercount, the council is bound by the City Charter to use census figures when drawing new district lines, even if they are incorrect. 

Apparently the problem won’t be that east to fix. 

A recommendation by Mayor Shirley Dean, designed to prevent census screw ups from aggravating already contentious Berkeley politics, failed to be approved during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The recommendation lost by a 5-4 vote with the council’s progressive majority prevailing over the council moderates. 

Instead the council adopted a subsequent motion by Councilmember Dona Spring that called for the issue to be further studied and discussed after the first of the year. 

The recommendation was for an amendment to the City Charter that would have pushed back the city’s redistricting deadline by two years, allowing time for the census bureau to correct its mistakes. As an additional backup, in case the Census Bureau was unwilling to correct its mistake, the amendment would have given the city manager authority to verify disputed population counts. 

But City Manager Weldon Rucker made it clear that he did not think it was a good idea to involve his office in such a political issue.  

“I would not want to go into the realm of a population count,” Rucker said. “I understand the logic of the proposal but it would create a dicey situation that would make it very difficult for staff to remain objective, impartial and unbiased.” 

Dean agreed to drop the portion of her recommendation authorizing the city manager to correct faulty population counts. But it was clear she was upset.  

“I thought the city manager and his staff could handle it,” Dean said on Thursday. “But if he doesn’t think he can that’s fine, we’ll find some other way to solve the problem.” 

Dean went on to say that unless something is done undercounts will keep occurring.  

Spring said there were too many questions about Dean’s recommendation to go ahead and put it on the March ballot. She said it made more sense to take additional time to remedy the problem.  

“There are council elections in 2002 that might have to use the old district boundaries and then another round of council elections in 2006, (where people would) vote according to new district lines.” Spring said. “We need to know exactly what that would mean to those voters.”

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to Reid Edwards, chair of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce: 

Several articles in the local papers raise the specter of an economic boycott against our lovely city by those who think that Berkeley is wrong to express concern about this war. I am appalled but not surprised that some of our country’s population would find anything offensive about the mild resolution the Council passed last week. I am also concerned about their economic boycott threats.  

Apparently, the concepts of freedom of thought or of a healthy national debate don’t count for much with some people. It is unfair and small minded of these people to make such threats, and surely they are mostly idle ones. I urge you, when the press calls, and when anxious merchant and manufacturing members call, do what you can do to defuse the issue. Ask if they have read the resolution, and ask what part of the statement they disagree with. If they have not read it, send it to them and ask them to call back after they have considered it. Then, stand by the Council on this one. Rest assured that I won’t ask you to do that in every matter they take up. 

I live in Berkeley, shop in Berkeley, and am proud of my City Council for passing the resolution. Incidentally, I am also a combat Vietnam war veteran, and do not think kindly of people who sell or accept the idea of war lightly. And I believe that simply pausing to ask the question about whether our nation’s current foreign policy trajectory is the right one should be the immediate response of all our people. Unfortunately, at this stage of the conflict anyone who sticks their head up to speak draws fire.  

Six months from now, the city’s resolution may have been simply a matter of premature morality. 

Paul Cox, C. E.  

Berkeley

Nadia El-Guendy faces an anguishing choice: If she doesn’t return to Egypt next month, she may not see her 75-year-old father again. But if she leaves the country, she fears she might not be allowed to return and finish her Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Kentucky. 

To go home or stay? 

As winter break nears, it is a calculation of deep concern to hundreds of thousands of foreign students from Boston to Berkeley. 

With the Bush administration announcing stricter scrutiny of foreigners, especially those from Muslim nations, students who have come to this country legally fear the wrong answer could change their lives. 

Some have canceled tickets home or decided to spend the holidays in America. Others plan to carry sheafs of extra documents to ply on immigration agents. 

El-Guendy, 32, has not yet decided. Her answer lies with a friend who in December will try to go to Cairo and return to the United States. If he can secure a visa without too much hassle, she will try to do the same. 

“I’m supposed to graduate in spring, and I don’t want to risk it,” says El-Guendy. “I heard rumors that they are not giving any more visas, but I think they are not true. Nothing is confirmed.” 

There were 565,000 foreign students at 4,000 American colleges and universities in 1998, the most recent data available, according to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. While not all foreign students go home during breaks, many want to travel — whether to care for a stricken parent, reconnect with their roots, or present an academic paper overseas. 

At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., a weekly newsletter updates students on the latest travel information and tells them how to prepare. Among the advice: bring extra documents such as the latest copy of their transcript, financial documentation showing they can support themselves, their original immigration papers, and even registrar’s receipts showing they are full-time students who’ve paid their bills on time. 

“They ask, ’Will I be able to come back?”’ said Jane Havis, director of RPI’s international student services office. “I tell them, ’As of today there should be no problems, but all hell could break loose.’ We’re dealing with the unknown.” 

Some students will return home no matter what. But many of Northeastern University’s 2,700 foreign students are opting to remain near the Boston campus, says Scott Quint, director of the university’s international student office. 

Travel plans often must be made months in advance. But this year, the clamor for tighter immigration controls following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has made purchasing tickets unusually tough. Lawmakers have seized on the fact that one of the suspected hijackers, Saudi Arabian Hani Hanjour, entered the country on a student visa. 

“We welcome the process that encourages people to come to our country to visit, to study or to work,” President Bush said last month. “What we don’t welcome are people who come to hurt the American people, and so therefore, we’re going to be very diligent with our visas.” 

Last week, the State Department announced that U.S. embassies will slow the visa process for young men from more than 20 Muslim nations so it can search for evidence of terrorist activities. Egypt was among those countries. 

The wait could add about three weeks to visa approvals and further discourage students from countries where interactions with government bureaucrats often are difficult. 

That fact alone convinced Fahd Awad, a junior at Northeastern, not to return to his native Yemen next month. Winter break is just two weeks, and he can’t afford to miss class. 

“I have friends who traveled and when they tried to come back after the incidents that happened Sept. 11 they were delayed,” he said. “I know that stuff’s going to happen to me as well. I am from Yemen.” 

International students keenly are following news reports that federal agents have compiled a list of 5,000 male foreigners, mostly from Middle Eastern countries, and are tracking them down for questioning. They are well aware that more than 200 universities have provided records on their Middle Eastern students to law enforcement. 

To travel or not is the question burning up e-mail exchanges among members of the Egyptian Students Association in North America, whose members have heard conflicting advice from their universities. 

“One office is saying, ’OK everything is fine, you can go,”’ says Gehad Sadiek, a physics Ph.D. candidate at Purdue University who served as the group’s president. “Other offices are more frank and say ’We don’t really know.”’ 

Students from non-Muslim countries also are pausing before making winter break plans. 

In mid-October, Soledad Bos bought a $1,300 ticket to return to Argentina after spending this fall studying public policy at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Two days later, like thousands of her peers, Bos received an e-mail from the university urging international students not to fly home. It cited a proposal by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that would have suspended all new student visas for six months. 

Despite pressure from her parents, Bos resolved not to go. 

“I was very scared,” she said. “After all the effort I made to come here, I wasn’t going to jeopardize the possibility of being here to end my master’s studies.” 

Since then, Feinstein’s proposal withered away and Bos decided to keep her ticket, containing her fears about being grilled by federal officials. 

“I’m prepared to answer any other questions that they ask,” she said. “And I think they should do that.” 

——— 

Associated Press Writer JoAnn Loviglio contributed to this report from Philadelphia. 

——— 

On the Net: 

INS: http://www.ins.gov 

RPI travel tips: http://www.rpi.edu/safecampus/questions.htmlAnchor-For-47383 

Editor: 

Bush gave a rousing speech, calling for all of us to volunteer and give our time and money to help strengthen our country against terrorism. It really had me going, until he wrapped his fervor around the so-called economic stimulus bill he’s trying to shove through Congress. What’s this? We are supposed to sacrifice while big corporations and very wealthy individuals get the alternative minimum tax removed? Under this scheme, Bush’s biggest campaign contributors would would pay no taxes. They would even get refunds from past years’ taxes while we are volunteering, sacrificing, and carrying the load. Cynical, Mr. President. Very cynical. It plants doubt into all the good words he had spoken. 

Bruce Joff 

Piedmont

If you have a fireplace mantel, you have the ideal spot to showcase trimmings for the year-end holidays. You also have a firebox below to add holiday glow and sparkle with a crackling fire or with the gentle twinkle of candles. 

The fireplace can be a focus spot for natural greenery to enhance other decorations that are special each year. If you use fresh flowers in your mix, use slim plastic tubes from a florist to hold the stems in water. 

Look to your own yard for natural touches, too, such as leaves, berries, pods and pine cones. For continuity, repeat the colors and textures on the mantel elsewhere in the room. 

Don’t be shy about bucking tradition. Instead of evergreen, how about fashioning a swag of eucalyptus? Work with the style that works best with your home’s design. Extend the life of fresh greens by daily misting with a spray bottle. 

If traditional red and green for Christmas doesn’t work in your room, eliminate one color. Perhaps another tone, such as burgundy, will work better. Or, just work with green. There are no steadfast rules. 

If you have a mantel with an Early American surround, play up the classic spirit. For a Williamsburg-style look, choose greenery, pineapples — the symbol of hospitality — and swags of dried apple slices and strings of cranberries. 

One word of warning: When you decorate the mantel, never have decorations below the upper surface of the mantelpiece. This is especially important when garlands or Christmas stockings hang from the mantel. Do not light a fire in the fireplace during that time. 

Yet another way to add natural glow to a firebox is with a grouping of chunky candles. Shops and catalogs offer iron or other metal candle racks or “trees” available for holding six to 12 pillar candles in staggered rows for making a sparkling statement. Again, do not light the candles if your mantel display includes materials or stockings hanging down. 

Make your own rack by resting each candle on a heatproof base of metal or glass to catch the drippings. Avoid placing candles directly on the hearth. Vary the height of the candles by propping the candle with its accompanying dish on inverted clay flower pots of varying heights. 

These tips will help keep the candle display safe: Limit the number of candles. Open the flue if your fireplace is operable, and leave the glass doors open. Otherwise, move candles toward the front of the firebox. Put a decorative metal screen or tall andirons in front of the candles. Be sure the room is adequately ventilated; candles take a surprising amount of oxygen. Keep a fire extinguisher on hand. Never leave burning candles unattended. 

“Better Homes and Gardens Fireplace Decorating and Planning Ideas” (Meredith Books, $19.95 soft cover). 

Editor; 

Enough is Enough! I am a 35 year resident of Berkeley who is tired of the outside press for knocking my lovely city and its patriotic traditions. There’s more patriotic action here than Superman could find in all of the whole country. 

Berkeley is special. It initiated Earth Day, a whole lot of Ecological innovations, and is the cradle to most of the Progressive movements in the country- for women, the Disabled, Peace and Justice. We are known as compassionate, educated citizens who agree to non-violent dissent. 

A statesman once said that it is not only our right, but our duty to dissent from something that is unwise or unjust. I agree that Barbara Lee and the City Council are well are of this, and acted accordingly. 

As an educator I have been sworn to “Uphold the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” What do I do NOW? 

I am not only against any boycott, but I choose to spend 90 percent of my income after rent and bills in Berkeley. It won’t get me any awards from the mayor and her friends, but it’s honest, hard earned, every cent. 

Take THAT you Berkeley bashers! 

Edith Monk Hallberk  

Berkeley 

It was in the 2000 big-screen blockbuster “Charlie’s Angels” that one angel, Alex, played by Lucy Liu, displayed her lack of baking skills. To woo her boyfriend, Alex whipped up blueberry muffins. The baked goods turned out to be better weapons than enticers. One of the angels hurled one across a room, only to have it lodge in a hollow-core door. The other angels appropriately dubbed Alex’s quick breads “Chinese Fighting Muffins.” 

Muffins aside, if the doors in your home are hollow and you have kids, chances are you’ve had to, or someday will have to, repair a hole in a door. Besides its unsightly appearance, such a hole can be embarrassing. 

Most post-World War II homes have hollow-core doors. The core of the door usually consists of pieces of cardboard crisscrossed on end for rigidity and modest acoustic value. The door is then finished on both sides with a one-eighth-inch layer of veneer plywood or hardboard. 

The method used to repair a hole in a hollow-core door depends upon whether the door is painted or stained. Patching a painted door is easier because the paint does a better job of concealing the repair. That doesn’t mean, however, that patching a stained door is impossible. And although a replacement hollow-core door isn’t particularly expensive, replacing one (mortising for hinges and drilling holes for the hardware) can be complicated. 

Thus, before tossing the damaged door, try repairing it first. 

Begin by removing as much of the damaged material as possible. Use a utility knife with a sharp blade to trim the edge of the hole. Next, loop a cord through a piece of wire screen that is slightly larger that the size of the hole. Push the screen into the hole and use the cord to pull the screen flush to the inside of the door. Holding the cord taut, use a putty knife to apply a quick-drying patching compound to the surface of the screen. Trowel the material to just below the finished surface of the door. Tie the cord to a small wooden dowel or to a pencil that is long enough to bridge the patch. This will prevent the wire screen from moving. 

Once the patching compound has dried, cut the cord and remove the dowel. Apply a coat of spackling compound over the base repair, allow it to dry, and then sand. Since spackling compound tends to shrink, a second coat usually is required. Sand the second coat smooth, spot-prime the area and paint the entire door. 

Our second repair technique uses expandable foam in a can in place of the wire screening. Start by removing the damage, as described earlier. Shoot some minimum-expanding foam into the hole. Use enough to fill the hole, but don’t overdo it. Be prepared for some of the foam to ooze out. When the foam hardens, carefully use a sharp razor blade to trim away the excess so that the foam is slightly below the surface of the door. Finish the job by applying a coat or two of spackling compound over the foam. Sand, prime and paint. 

Both of these repair methods can be used to repair a wood-veneer door that is stained — with one exception. Instead of priming the patch and painting the entire door, spot-prime the patch with a primer tinted to match the stain color. Use a small artist’s brush to “faux finish” the patch to match the grain and stain of the existing finish. Also, wood filler can be used in place of spackling compound when patching a wood-veneer door. Wood filler, however, won’t take stain exactly like the wood around it. 

If a door is badly damaged or you aren’t happy with your repair, apply a new veneer to the door. This is called “re-skinning” the door. Simply pop the door off the hinges and lay it on a couple of saw horses in your garage or workshop. Remove the hardware and hinges, rough-sand the damaged face, and apply contact cement to both the face of the door and the back side of the veneer. Allow the contact cement to become tacky and then place the veneer over the door. Cover the surface with some heavy books to allow the adhesive to set up, then trim the excess with a utility knife or pin router. Sand the edge smooth and stain to match the rest of the door. 

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

Readers can mail questions to: On the House, APNewsFeatures, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020, or e-mail Careybro@onthehouse.com. To receive a copy of On the House booklets on plumbing, painting, heating/cooling or decks/patios, send a check or money order payable to The Associated Press for $6.95 per booklet and mail to: On the House, PO Box 1562, New York, NY 10016-1562, or through these online sites: www.onthehouse.com or apbookstore.com.

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the City Council: 

Thank you for taking the courageous stance of opposing the current war the US is engaged in. This is why I am proud to be a Berkeley citizen. I know you’ve faced passionate opposition and I hope this reaction has no serious deleterious effects on our city. I support you. 

Kathleen Roberts 

Berkeley 

For gardeners, Thanksgiving is a special holiday, a time to celebrate the harvest and put it on the table, just as the Pilgrims did hundreds of years ago. Most gardeners today grow some form of the traditional fare of corn, beans, or squash. But do you know anyone who grows cranberries? 

Even in areas of the country where cranberries are native, they’re found only in specialized habitats, where the soil is very acidic and boggy. If you did not want to recreate these conditions, you could still grow cranberries — by growing one of the many other plants that share this name, even if they are not the real Thanksgiving cranberry. 

Easiest to grow would be highbush cranberry, similar to the Thanksgiving cranberry only in that both plants bear tart, red berries. Our Thanksgiving cranberry is a low, sprawling, evergreen shrub. Highbush cranberry is a deciduous shrub that grows 10 feet high and requires no special soil conditions. 

You can appreciate highbush cranberry well before Thanksgiving arrives and long after it passes. In spring, the plant is awash with clusters of white flowers, which are transformed by late summer into drooping clusters of bright, red berries. In autumn, leaves of this plant turn fiery shades of yellow and red. 

Once the seeds are removed, the berries cook into a glistening red jelly. Two cautions are worth mentioning, though. First, do not be put off by the awful smell of cooking highbush cranberries. The finished jelly should not retain any of that aroma. (And the aroma is not found in berries harvested fully plump.) Second, do not confuse highbush cranberry with its look-alike, European cranberrybush. Fruits of the latter species taste horrible. 

If you want to grow something botanically closer to the true Thanksgiving cranberry, consider lingonberry, also known as mountain cranberry, cowberry, or foxberry. Fruits of this creeping, evergreen shrub are similar to those of the Thanksgiving cranberry, but a bit sweeter. Lingonberry, native to the northern rim of the Old World and Asia, is enjoyed with sauteed reindeer in Finland, eaten raw in Korea, and made into wine and pickles in Japan. To give lingonberry plants the cool summer weather they enjoy, plant them on a northern slope or in part shade. They need an acidic soil that is rich in humus, but a bog is not necessary. 

Lingonberry’s compact stems, densely clothed in what resemble miniature holly leaves, provide a perfect backdrop for the bright, red berries.

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter written to Councilmember Dona Spring: 

Thank you for your courage. personally, I’d rather be in the l percent in peace, than a party to a war on innocents in Afghanistan such as is being waged in the name of those dead in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. I am in solidarity with the city of Berkeley and also the parents of Greg Rodriguez who died at the world trade center, and wrote a letter to the president against military retaliation, saying, ‘not in our son’s name.’ 

Thank you. 

Dorinda Guadalupe Moreno,  

Concord 

SUNNYVALE — Yahoo! Inc. will cut 400 jobs, more than 12 percent of its work force, as it reorganizes in search of “sustainable, profitable growth,” the Internet company told analysts Thursday. 

The company is condensing 44 business units into six to create a more manageable structure that will help reduce Yahoo’s reliance on advertising and generate new paid services, chairman and CEO Terry Semel said. 

“There’s nothing wrong with advertising revenue,” Semel said on a stage in Yahoo’s new gray-and-purple headquarters complex. “We believe in it. But you will see this is going to be a much more diversified company.” 

Yahoo shares were down 41 cents, nearly 3 percent, to $14.80 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. 

Yahoo imposed the first layoffs in its six-year history in April, cutting 420 jobs — 12 percent of its work force. 

This second round is necessary not only to cut costs, but to put resources where they will need to be for the company’s next stage of growth, said president and chief operating officer Jeff Mallett. 

Although 400 employees will be cut from Yahoo’s 3,256-member work force, about 100 will be added in new positions created by the restructuring — for a net loss of around 300. 

Analysts were eager to hear details of Yahoo’s plans because the company has reported four straight money-losing quarters and consumers have been lukewarm to its new subscription-based offerings. 

Semel, a Hollywood veteran hired in April to transform Yahoo, was equally excited to explain his strategy in depth. 

“I kind of see it as our coming-out party,” he said. 

Advertising amounted to 90 percent of Yahoo’s $1.1 billion in revenue last year, which proved problematic in the dot-com bust and the economic slowdown. 

Semel said Yahoo will reduce that rate to 76 percent by the end of this year, and he set a goal of making advertising about 50 percent of sales in 2004. 

The company will offer more packages of services to consumers and businesses and try to make its search engine into a profit producer by letting advertisers pay to have certain keywords bring up links to their sites. The company also will seek more fees from shopping, auctions and Internet access services around the world. 

Yahoo moved toward some of those goals this week by announcing a partnership with Overture Inc. to offer paid listings on its search pages and a deal with SBC Communications Inc. to provide co-branded high-speed Internet access over digital subscriber lines. 

Yahoo counts 218 million registered users — 80 million of whom are considered active users. Semel wants at least 10 million of them to have a “direct billing relationship” with Yahoo, making the company more of a “principal” service provider and not just a distribution “agent.” 

Still, Yahoo was careful to remind analysts it is not neglecting advertising, trumpeting its Internet marketing services and its improved relationships with ad agencies that were put off by what they perceived as Yahoo’s arrogance during the dot-com heyday. 

Analyst John Corcoran of CIBC World Markets said Yahoo’s new management better understands the company’s challenges. 

“It’s no longer a 21-year-old who had been pumping gas and now he’s at a dot-com,” he said. “There’s some gray hair coming in on the sales side.” 

Steve Weinstein of Pacific Crest Securities said Yahoo’s diversified strategy makes good sense — now Yahoo has to execute on it in what remains a difficult economic environment. Weinstein said he does not expect Semel to make any revolutionary changes any time soon. 

“Terry’s a real builder. He’s not going to make rash or silly decisions,” Weinstein said. “It’s going to take a while.” 

Yahoo was expected later in the meeting to update its financial guidance for the current quarter and beyond. Analysts were expecting earnings of 1 cent per share this quarter, excluding one-time events, on revenue of $168.9 million, according to Thomson Financial/First Call. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.yahoo.com 

Editor: 

Mim Hawley’s letter describing the gerrymandered redistricting effort are truly disturbing, but there are other aspects that should be addressed as well. 

For starters, the document is not very clear; the new districts are not described by actual geographic boundaries - instead they are defined via a list of meaningless voting block numbers. This is a deceitful and undemocratic act meant to confuse rather than to enlighten. 

One of these blocks includes the area in which the US Census missed over 4,400 students. Thus the redistricting plan increases the population of District 8 from 12,800 to 17,000. I would call this stealth gerrymandering of the basest sort. 

The Council majority which passed this redistricting plan, claims that this proposal is about balance because now District 8 is 50 percent students - up from 39 percent. If the council majority is genuinely interested in balance, perhaps boundaries should be redrawn to reflect an equal representation of students in each of the eight districts. 

The redistricting is not about balance but pure political power as was revealed at a recent council meeting where Linda Maio admitted that all of this was only about saving Councilmember Worthington’s seat. 

The truth is that in one stroke the Council Majority sought to disenfranchise students by making it more difficult for them to run a student challenger in the undisputed student district (Mr. Worthington’s), and to undermine Polly Armstrong’s district by disenfranchising voters in District 8 where now their votes count for two-thirds of a vote. 

As Mim Hawley mentioned, there is currently a grass roots effort underway to collect signatures to rescind this deceitful and politically motivated action. 

In the end it will be the democratic process - not the political machine - which will have the last word. 

Robert Cabrera 

Berkeley 

Berkeley Property Owners Association president 

editor’s note: the petition effort has ended and appears success

SAN FRANCISCO — Crippled credit card issuer Providian Financial Corp. endured another Wall Street beating Thursday as investors expressed disappointment with the company’s turnaround efforts and news that its loan losses continued to rise in October. 

Shares in the San Francisco-based company fell 81 cents, or 22 percent, to close at $2.87 on the New York Stock Exchange. The plunge reversed a recent rally from the battered stock’s low of $2 reached last week. The stock peaked at $66.72 last year. 

The latest sell-off reflected a reaction to several announcements that the company made after the stock market closed Wednesday, as well as a Thursday disclosure that the rate of losses in its $32 billion portfolio rose from 10.33 percent in the third quarter to 12.06 percent as of Oct. 31. 

“Obviously, we haven’t seen the bottom with this company yet. It just keeps getting uglier,” said industry analyst Jennifer Scutti of CIBC World Markets. Scutti is worried the company’s loan losses will rise to 14 percent or 15 percent of the portfolio during the next few months. 

Providian officials had been hoping the market would cheer Wednesday’s announcement of $900 million in new financing. Providian’s investment bankers — Salomon Smith Barney and Goldman, Sachs & Co. — are raising the money by selling notes secured by some of the company’s credit card loans. 

But that piece of good news wasn’t enough to ease concerns about a possible crackdown by federal regulators worried about the mounting loan losses at the nation’s fifth-largest issuer of Visa credit cards and Mastercards. 

As of Sept. 30, Providian remained “well capitalized” under the key categories measured by regulators. Nevertheless, regulatory restrictions remain “a threat,” said industry analyst Matthew Park of Thom Wiesel Partners, until the company’s loan losses taper off. 

Regulators are bound to keep a close eye on Providian, Park said, because it held $15.9 billion in government-insured deposits as of Sept. 30. 

Providian depends on the deposits to fund its credit card loans, but the recent revelations about its financial woes are making it more difficult for the company to attract money.  

Depositors pulled $59.1 million from Providian’s bank in October. 

Providian also aggravated some investors Wednesday by backing off management projections of fourth-quarter earnings between 10 cents and 15 cents per share. The company also withdrew its pledge to turn a profit next year. Providian provided the earnings reassurance less than a month ago. 

“This is a company that has fooled us time and time again,” Scutti said. “No one is going to believe what they say anymore.” 

As part of its rebuilding efforts, Providian is searching for a new CEO to replace is longtime leader, Shailesh Mehta. The company hopes to hire the replacement before the end of the year. 

To offset some of its losses, Providian is slashing expenses by closing a Nevada office next month and laying off 700 employees, or 5 percent of its work force. The company also suspended its quarterly dividend of 3 cents per share. Combined, these measures, outlined as part of Wednesday’s announcements, will save Providian $54 million annually. 

Providian also plans to sell $3 billion of high-risk loans that contributed to the company’s miseries.The company will likely have to sell the problem loans at a sharp discount, Park said, a move that threatens to further weaken its balance sheet. 

——— 

On The Net: 

http://www.providian.com 

Editor: 

I appreciate that Mayor Shirley Dean is trying to get people to shop in Berkeley through a special holiday incentive program. To me it seems more than a little ironic, however, that the message seems to be “Buy in Berkeley for the holidays.” Instead, it should be “Buy in Berkeley as much as you can all year round.” 

For many years, and long before the mayor developed a special incentive program, I have had a firm policy of making as many purchases as I can in Berkeley in order to keep my sales tax dollars here at home. That includes groceries, clothing, entertainment, and every other form of spending over which I have some control. 

It’s not just loyalty to Berkeley that makes me shop here. Nothing turns me off more than suburban malls (and I include car-choked Emeryville in that category). In contrast, here in Berkeley we have walkable shopping and attractive, interesting commercial neighborhoods. Unlike suburban malls, those neighborhoods didn’t come from a giant cookie cutter. 

Furthermore, although my primary means of transportation is a bicycle (I’m 61), occasionally my wife and I drive in Berkeley to shop or to attend plays, movies, and concerts. When we do, we never – I repeat, never – have a problem parking. A lot of the people who want more and more parking downtown seem to be thinking that if they just yell loudly enough they’ll be able to turn Berkeley into a sprawling suburb. I hope the City Council has the guts to hold the line and maintain the qualities that make Berkeley such a wonderful and unique place. 

Hank Resnik 

Berkeley 

SAN JOSE — Not many high-tech companies talk openly about the proposed Microsoft antitrust settlement. Even fewer criticize the deal in public, despite private misgivings. 

They still, after all, must work with the world’s largest software maker, which controls the operating systems of more than 90 percent of desktop computers and can play a big role in the fate of their businesses. 

The exceptions are the usual suspects — mainly those companies that possess enough clout, money and muscle to risk a run-in with the software giant. 

The most outspoken critics include database powerhouse Oracle Corp. and Unix server king Sun Microsystems Inc. Both dominate their core markets despite Microsoft’s efforts. 

Larry Ellison, Oracle’s billionaire chief executive, told a crowd at the Comdex computer show in Las Vegas this week that the settlement is “a complete victory for Microsoft, a complete defeat for the government. I give Microsoft credit for keeping a straight face.” 

Sun’s chief, Scott McNealy, also expressed outrage that the Department of Justice — after winning the case — seemed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. 

It’s not just provisions riddled with loopholes or toothless enforcement. The deal indicates an unwillingness of the government to police antitrust crimes, critics say. 

“The only thing I can conclude is either the Justice Department didn’t know what it was doing or they did know and just decided to give up,” said Michael Morris, Sun’s vice president and general counsel. 

Microsoft declined to answer specific questions about the deal, but co-founder Bill Gates has said the company will accept its strictures. 

Most companies that must work with or compete against the software giant either refused to elaborate beyond short written statements, or remained silent altogether. 

Real Networks, which makes streaming media software, declined to comment beyond a short statement, which called the settlement a reward not a remedy. Ditto for AOL Time Warner, Palm and Novell. Others, including software-maker Adobe Inc., computer-maker Apple Computer Inc. and chipmaker Intel Corp. refused to make any statements at all. 

Major PC manufacturers also were silent. 

Only a handful of other high-tech companies would answer discuss specific reasons for their opposition to the settlement. 

Opera Software ASA had little to lose. 

The Norway-based company long ago gave up on persuading PC makers to install its critically acclaimed Web browser on new PCs. Microsoft’s exclusive deals had already shut it out of the market. 

Opera might benefit from the settlement under some provisions that allow computer makers to install non-Microsoft “middleware” such as Web browsers. But only the links to Microsoft software could be removed, not the programs themselves. That means Microsoft could set itself up as the default system despite any agreements with PC and software makers. 

“We’re not being extremely hopeful that this is going to open up a lot of doors in the PC marketplace,” said Jon S. von Tetzchner, Opera’s chief executive. 

At any rate, the same PC makers that won’t comment on the settlement probably aren’t interested in raising the ire of Microsoft, even if retribution is barred in the settlement. 

“There are loopholes,” von Tetzchner said. “And there’s the practice of life. All of those companies will think twice before upsetting Microsoft.” 

The entire debate over what Microsoft can do and cannot do appears to be rendered moot: Under the settlement, Microsoft can define what comprises the Windows operating system “in its sole discretion.” 

Companies also might be reluctant to talk because the deal allows Microsoft to keep from its competitors the critical details about how programs and operating systems can function best in a Windows environment. 

Software programs are intricate tapestries. To function smoothly when running on top of an operating system like Windows, the stitches that link an application with the operating system must be snug and seamless. 

Competitors complain that because Microsoft was not compelled to immediately reveal to them how to make those stitches, it will continue to dominate in such areas as word processing, spreadsheets and e-mail. 

“This settlement does not remedy the monopoly. It legitimizes it,” said Michael Tiemann, chief technical officer at Red Hat Inc., a distributor of a variant of Linux, a competing operating system whose basic code is open and public. 

Microsoft has a history of undermining software projects backed by consortia of major tech companies that aim to create applications that work well with a variety of operating systems, potentially threatening the Windows monopoly. 

The company infuriated promoters of Java when it created Microsoft-specific versions of the programming language in the late 1990s. This year, Microsoft changed and patented a protocol used by Samba, open-source software that lets a Linux machine share files or manage print jobs like a Windows server. 

“The whole concept of a free market is to allow fair and open competition and to permit customers to make choices,” Tiemann said. 

Drew Spencer, chief technology officer of Linux distributor Caldera, worries that Microsoft won’t release enough information to allow alternative platforms to participate in upcoming Web services. 

Steven McGeady, a former Intel Corp. vice president who made headlines during the antitrust trial for testifying against Microsoft, said the deal only reinforces his own, post-Intel business strategy. 

“I still think that competing with Microsoft head-on is a bad business practice,” he said. “And it would be a bad business practice regardless of any of the potential remedies.” 

——— 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Matthew Fordahl, based in San Jose, covers technology for The Associated Press. 

SAN JOSE — Test-and-measurement equipment maker Agilent Technologies Inc. will cut another 4,000 jobs despite meeting Wall Street’s expectations in its fiscal fourth quarter. 

The reductions are in addition to the 4,000 announced in August and are part of a continuing effort to cut costs amid the economic slump. The combined total represents 19 percent of the company’s work force. 

“These latest cost-cutting actions ... are intended to return Agilent to profitability sometime during our third fiscal quarter of 2002,” Ned Barnholt, Agilent’s chief executive, said Thursday. 

For the three months ended Oct. 31, Agilent earned $197 million, or 43 cents a share, compared with $305 million, or 66 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. 

The net earnings were boosted by a $1.1 billion pretax gain from the sale of Agilent’s health care business to Philips. 

Excluding one-time items, the company lost $275 million, or 60 cents a share, compared with a profit of $328 million, or 71 cents a share in the same period last year. 

Analysts were expecting a loss of 60 cents a share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial/First Call. 

Fourth-quarter revenues were down 47 percent, to $1.6 billion. In the same time last year, the company posted sales of $3 billion. 

The company, which was spun off from Hewlett-Packard Co. in 1999, released its results after the markets closed. 

For the year, Agilent earned $174 million, or 38 cents per share, compared with $757 million, or $1.68 per share last year. Fiscal 2001 revenue was $6.4 billion, compared with $10.6 billion last year. 

Agilent shares fell 28 cents, to $25.03, in Thursday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. They were unchanged after hours. 

REDWOOD CITY — Troubled Internet music company Liquid Audio will lay off 15 percent of its work force, the second round of deep staff cuts announced by the company this year. 

News of the cuts came during a week when the Redwood City-based company reported a net loss for the third quarter of $6.1 million, or $0.27 per share, compared with a net loss of $8.9 million, or $0.40 per share, for the same quarter in 2000. 

In May, Liquid Audio laid off about 40 percent of its workers and consolidated facilities. The company offers secure online music distribution services. The May reductions cut the company’s staff of about 200 by 79. This week’s cutbacks will eliminate an additional 18 positions, leaving the company with 104 employees. 

Earlier this month, the company’s board of directors rejected a buyout offer from Steel Partners and BCG Strategic Investors. Those investment firms made a $3 per share offer in a letter to Liquid Audio’s board of directors. 

The board decided the offer was below the company’s cash value. Liquid Audio confirms it has since received two complaints that were filed by stockholders in connection with the rejection of the Steel Partners offer. 

“The company has reviewed the complaints and believes that each of them is without merit and plans to defend them vigorously,” Liquid Audio said in a statement. 

Shares of Liquid Audio fell 9 cents to close at $2.49 Thursday on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. 

SAN JOSE — The Santa Clara Valley Water District is slated to receive $46.8 million in federal money for projects to control flooding and protect wildlife and habitat, the district announced Wednesday. 

Projects funded from the 2002 to 2003 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act include $8 million for completion of the $226.8 million Guadalupe River flood protection and environmental restoration project.  

The river runs through the heart of San Jose and caused millions of dollars in damage to homes and roads when it flooded in 1995. 

Thirty million dollars is being allocated for the California Federal Bay-Delta Program, or CalFed, a group of federal, state and local agencies that are currently planning the restoration of ecological health and the improvement of water management for the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin rivers delta. Of that money, $100,000 is reserved for the water district to study improving federal imported water operations. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Santa Clara Valley Water District: http://www.heynoah.com 

SALT LAKE CITY — Networking software company Novell said Thursday it will cut 1,400 jobs — about 19 percent of its work force — in an effort to save money in a weak market. 

The company expects the cuts to be completed by April 2002. 

The cuts came a day after Geneva Steel announced it would temporarily shut down its Utah County plant and lay off about 950 of the company’s 1,200 workers. 

Gov. Mike Leavitt said Thursday the Novell announcement further worsened the state’s slumping economy. The state budget deficit is likely to exceed the $177 million shortfall announced previously. 

Novell didn’t specify which positions would be eliminated. There are about 2,000 Novell employees in Utah. The company also has a presence in the San Jose and San Francisco areas of Northern California. 

“It’s a global action. We’re not cutting out any particular group,” Novell spokesman Bruce Lowry said. The blow may be lighter in Utah.  

Lowry said 6 percent of Novell employees in the state likely will lose their jobs. 

When it’s all done, Novell expects to have 6,000 employees worldwide and save $200 million annually with the cutbacks. 

One analyst said Novell, facing stiff competition from companies such as IBM and Sun Microsystems, hasn’t done a good enough job of marketing its products. 

“I thought (Novell) had a leg up on its competition a year, 18 months ago,” said Drake Johnstone, technology analyst with Davenport and Company. That’s not the case anymore, he said. 

Novell will release its fourth-quarter earnings Nov. 29. Based on preliminary numbers, the company expects revenue of $306 million and earnings of 1 cent per share. The quarter ended Oct. 31. 

Novell says it’s dealing with an overall decline in the information technology market, and in particular an oversupply of IT consulting services. 

“It’s a tough market. We’re not the only ones who’ve been forced to do this,” Lowry said. 

Johnstone agreed that many companies are cutting back their spending on software, making business tough for Novell and other technology companies. 

Novell also is in the process of folding Cambridge Technology Partners, a consulting firm, into its operation. It bought Cambridge in July for $214 million. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Novell site: http://www.novell.com 

A UC Berkeley student organization protested labor violations Thursday by staging a baseball game at Sather Gate: “The Workers” vs. “The Bosses.” Their goal was to raise awareness of workers’ rights 

“The point of the game was to show people that bosses don’t always play by the rules,” said Tarak Shah, a senior who helped coordinate what he called street theater. 

Shah, a member of Students Organizing for Justice in the Americas, said his group intended the mock game to draw attention to the ongoing labor strikes at the New Era Cap Company, which manufactures hats for Major League Baseball and dozens of universities, including UC Berkeley.  

In July, more than 230 workers at New Era’s Derby, N.Y., factory went on strike in response to a wage cut. A report released by the workers’ union, Communications Workers of America, said the company cut sick leave and slashed wages by 30 to 50 percent.  

Many workers got injured on the job as well, according to a preliminary investigation by the Worker Rights Consortium based in Washington, D.C. The consortium is a nonprofit organization that enforces manufacturing codes of conduct for factories producing collegiate apparel. It found that sewing injuries at the Derby plant exceeded the industry average, and a staggering 45 percent of the workers suffered from work-related musculo-skeletal disorders. 

Shah visited the factory in March 2000 as part of a student delegation. He said he interviewed close to 40 workers and was shocked by their stories. 

“One woman told me that she had to wear bandages around her wrists when she slept to keep her from moving them,” he said. “She couldn’t write with a pencil or carry coffee because it hurt too much.” 

Shah said he is outraged that the company makes baseball caps for UC Berkeley.  

“Our university has always had a commitment to stand up for people,” he said. “How can we allow this to happen to people making clothes for us? We have a responsibility to stand up for their rights.” 

UC Berkeley currently has a code of conduct for its clothing vendors. Last year, it became a member of Worker Rights Consortium, the organization that monitors labor practices and investigated New Era.  

However, the university’s membership in the consortium expires this academic year.  

Shah said Students Organizing for Justice in the Americas is concerned the university will consider joining a different monitoring organization, Fair Labor Association. Shah said the school should not become a member of Fair Labor because companies that Fair Labor regulates also serve on its board. 

UC Senior Vice President of Business and Finance Joseph Mullinix who oversees the university’s membership in Worker Rights was not available for comment on Thursday. But university spokesperson Chuck McFadden said the school welcomes students’ concerns about labor codes. 

“Workers’ rights are fundamental to human rights,” said junior Jon Rodney. “If people can’t hold a coffee cup or feed their family, that’s a problem we should all be aware of.”

LOS ANGELES — Saying she “cannot plead guilty when I am not,” 1970s radical Sara Jane Olson renounced her plea agreement stemming from charges of attempting to blow up police cars in a Symbionese Liberation Army conspiracy to murder officers. 

In court documents unsealed Wednesday, Olson asked to withdraw her plea in the 26-year-old case and stand trial. A hearing on the request was scheduled for Nov. 28. 

“After deeper reflection, I realize I cannot plead guilty when I am not,” the former fugitive said in her request, filed under seal the day before. 

Olson, 54, said she was taking the coward’s way out in pleading guilty to two counts in exchange for having three others dropped because she feared she couldn’t receive a fair trial after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

“I understand, given the uncertainty of any jury verdict in any trial that I may be found guilty,” she said. 

Legal experts disagreed Wednesday over whether Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler should honor the request. 

“If you admit your guilt and are advised of the consequences, it really doesn’t matter if you believe in your heart you are innocent,” said Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson. 

University of Southern California professor Erwin Chemerinsky said the Olson case should go to trial. 

“Here’s someone who has protested her innocence,” he said. “It’s within the judge’s discretion and I think the judge should allow her to withdraw her plea.” 

For Olson, he said, “It may be a bad strategic choice, but if she says she’s innocent, let the system prove her guilt.” 

Olson is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 7 under law as it existed in 1976 when she was charged. She would face 20 years to life in prison, with possibility of parole in 5 1/4 years. If tried and convicted on all counts, she would face life with possibility of parole in seven years. 

The attempted bombings occurred in 1975, following a fiery shootout in 1974 that left six members of the radical SLA dead. Pipe bombs were placed under officers’ cars outside a police station and a Hollywood restaurant. Neither detonated. 

Olson, who then was named Kathleen Soliah, was indicted in 1976 on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of possessing destructive devices and two counts of attempting to explode destructive devices with intent to murder. 

Her request Tuesday is the latest in a series of bizarre twists the case has taken since Olson was found living as a fugitive in a quiet Minnesota suburb in 1999. 

She entered the guilty plea Oct. 31, but then immediately proclaimed her innocence outside court. When called before Fidler Nov. 6 and asked to explain herself, she reaffirmed the plea. 

“I want to make it clear, your honor, I did not make that bomb. I did not possess that bomb. I did not plant that bomb. But under the concept of aiding and abetting I do plead guilty,” she told Fidler. 

District attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said prosecutors believe there are insufficient grounds for withdrawing the plea. 

“It’s a good plea,” Gibbons said. “She agreed to it three times — once in writing and twice in open court — after receiving extensive advice from a battery of lawyers and from Judge Fidler.” 

Citizens for Fair Representation held a press conference on the steps of the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Wednesday to announce the newly formed group had collected more than 8,000 signatures during a petition drive to challenge a redistricting plan, which the City Council approved last month. 

Following the press conference, CFR volunteers filed into the building to hand the petitions over to City Clerk Sherry Kelly, who said she will have a preliminary verification of the signatures in time for the City Council’s Nov. 27 meeting, during which the council will decide a course of action. 

If a few more than half the signatures are verified as registered Berkeley voters, the council will have two choices: put the approved redistricting plan on the March 5 ballot or repeal it and select a new one.  

Several councilmembers, of the moderate and progressive factions, have said it would be preferable to repeal the plan because of the $100,000 to $125,000 in Alameda County fees to put the issue on the ballot. 

About 50 supporters attended the press conference, including Mayor Shirley Dean and moderate councilmembers Polly Armstrong, Betty Olds and Miriam Hawley. Standing amid placards that read: “Play it Fair,” “We won’t be ignored” and “This time do it right,” CFR Chair David Tabb pointed to four white cardboard boxes filled with petitions and announced a political revival. 

“This means a renewed vision of Berkeley, which will once again be a progressive beacon of the West rather than a reactionary ghost of a disenchanted past,” he said. 

Tabb’s comments were well received by supporters who cheered and applauded. 

Progressive Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who also attended the press conference, said he was concerned about the new “vision” for Berkeley. 

“Unless I missed something, I didn’t notice anything that was visionary or progressive in their rhetoric,” Worthington said. “I only saw one African-American, no Latinos, no Asians and very few tenants among their supporters.” 

Instead, Worthington said he noticed many property owners, including Robert Cabrera, the president of the Berkeley Properties Owners Association and Jim Smith, former president of the Black Property Owners Association. 

The CFR was formed after a controversial redistricting plan was initially approved by the City Council’s progressive, five-member faction on Oct. 2. Moderates charged that the plan took advantage of a Census Bureau undercount of 4,500 people, mostly students in districts 7 and 8, to weaken Councilmember Armstrong in District 8 while strengthening Councilmember Worthington in District 7. 

The controversial plan 

The redistricting plan, authored by residents Michael O’Malley and David Blake, put the majority of the undercounted residents in District 8, which according to the faulty census numbers, has 12,800 residents like the other seven district, but in real numbers has over 17,000 residents. 

In addition they accused progressives of making last minute changes to the plan the day before it was voted on, which did not allow the entire council an opportunity to review the modified version. Moderates also charge that the changes were made during a “backroom” meeting between three progressive councilmembers and plan author David Blake. 

Progressives have dismissed the accusations of a backroom meeting and argue that the changes that were made to the plan were minor. 

Progressives also insist the approved plan best fits the City Charter that requires the districts be adjusted every 10 years to reflect population changes – according to the census numbers whether they are incorrect or not – and that the districts lines be changed as little as possible. 

Petition drive 

CFR quickly organized 100 volunteers shortly after the redistricting plan received final council approval on Oct. 16. They announced the drive a short time later and were able to collect nearly twice the required number of signatures in fewer than four weeks. 

The volunteers, which included Dean, Armstrong, Olds and Hawley, collected signatures at locations all over town including supermarkets, the farmers’ markets and at playgrounds.  

During the press conference Armstrong thanked the volunteers for their efforts. “It feels so good to be part of a bunch of people who have the spirit to work weekends to try and make this city sane again.” 

Dean offered her appreciation to an unexpected group. “I want to thank the council majority,” she said. “We were just drifting along, we were cohesive, we weren’t organized and now we are.” 

Dean went on to say that the CFR volunteers insured that a fair redistricting plan would be approved because “you cannot deny 8,000 signatures.” 

What now 

If the council repeals the approved redistricting plan, it will have to reexamine the six plans that were originally submitted for consideration. Moderate councilmembers said they would prefer a plan similar to one drawn by city staff known as Scenario 5. This plan would distribute some of the undercount into District 7, which moderate councilmembers say is more fair.  

Progressives have said they would like to further examine a Worthington proposal that would distribute the undercount throughout the entire city by allowing a population discrepancy of 640 people in each district instead of the 128, which the City Attorney has said is the legal margin according to the City Charter. 

On Friday the Daily Planet will take a closer look a some of the redistricting options the council considered at its meeting Tuesday night.

Thursday, Nov. 15

Berkeley Center for  

Globalization and Information  

Technology 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

Inderpal Grewal, SFSU, “Transnational America: Identity, Citizenship and Diasporas in Late-Twentieth Century USA.” 642-4608 

Flu Shots 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m.  

West Berkeley Senior Center 

1900 Sixth St. 

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or more and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

UK Seminar 

5 p.m. 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall 

John Brewer, University of Chicago, “New Ways in History, or, Talking about my Generation: History and Modernity in the 1960s.” 642-4608 

Latin Dance Class 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Salsa, Cha-cha, Merengue... $10, No partner necessary. All ages and levels welcome. 508-4616 

Storytelling Workshop for  

Senior Adults 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

27th and Harrison St., Oakland 

Storyteller, Steven Henegar, leads the workshop. 444-4755 

Falun Gong Introduction  

Workshop  

7 - 9 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Dwinelle 83 

Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese mind and body meditation/exercise system. Free. xrzhang@lbl.gov 

Marijuana: What D.A.R.E.  

Didn't Tell You  

6 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Valley Life Sciences Building, Rm. 2050 

David Presti, Jeff Jones, Chris Conrad, and others will address the science of marijuana, medical marijuana, industrial hemp, and marijuana law. Sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy. sswerdlow@hotmail.com.  

Friday, Nov. 16

City Commons Club  

Luncheon 

12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

Weldon Rucker, City Manager of City of Berkeley, presents “Managing a City Like Berkeley.” $1 admission,  

11:45 a.m. lunch, $12.25. 848-3533 

The U.S. and Mexico: Redefining the Relationship 

4 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

141 McCone Hall 

“Security in the Americas: A New Era” with Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, National Security Advisor and Commissioner of Law and Order to President Vicente Fox Quesada. 642-2088 www.clas.berkeley.edu/ clas  

Crosspulse Farewell Concert  

& CD Release Party 

8 p.m. 

Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Center 

1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland 

Crosspulse, a percussion ensemble dedicated to the creation and performance of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural music, dance, film and educational projects, marks its cessation as an on-going touring group. $25-30, children half-price. 559-9797 www.crosspulse.com 

American Political History Seminar 

noon 

UC Berkeley 

119 Moses Hall 

Robert Kagan, UCB Department of Political Science and Law, will talk about his book, “Adversarial Legalism.” 642-4608 www.igs. berkeley.edu 

Berkeley High School Jazz  

Ensemble Concert 

7:30 p.m. 

Florence Schwimley Little Theatre 

1920 Allston Way  

The Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble and combos will give its first concert of the year. $8. 548-8026 www.bhs.berkeley. k12.ca.us/artsperforming/jazz 

Flute Concert 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, South Branch 

1901 Russell St. 

Mary Youngblood will perform a free solo concert. 644-6860 

– Compiled by Guy Poole 

The Daily Planet received a copy of the following letter addressed to the mayor and City Council: 

I write to offer my gratitude and support for your stance against the killing of innocent people as a response to Sept. 11. On National Public Radio about a week after the attacks, I heard a man (a former FBI agent, I think) say, we don’t really know who did this, but we have to respond. “I’m sure the world will forgive us if we kill the wrong people” because everyone understands how terrible this tragedy is. I was horrified by this man’s calm, confident assurance that murdering innocent people was totally acceptable because of the degree of our injury.  

What kind of insanity is that? For this and other reasons, I’m grateful that you have taken a fair and reasonable stance in your resolution. I take comfort from the pocket of sanity you represent in a country which seems to have gone completely mad. I’m shocked that you have been bombarded with hate calls. I’m sure history will be on your side, however. When we are able to stand back from these events and recognize how distorted, cruel, pointless, and out of date the U.S. military response has been, your resolution will prove you to have been among the few not caught up the fear and hate-frenzy misnamed “patriotism.” How can the most powerful country in the world see the killing of innocent people in a poverty stricken country as an action full of valor? The world is much too small for the kind of vicious, blind, national “patriotism” we are currently suffering. We need a real patriotic sense to be directed toward the whole planet and the peace and safety of all its citizens.  

Rose NajiaSan 

San Rafael 

924 Gilman St. Nov. 16: Pitch Black, The Blottos, Miracle Chosuke, 240; Nov. 17: Carry On, All Bets Off, Limp Wrist, Labrats, Thought Riot; Nov. 18: 5 p.m., Mad Caddies, Monkey, Fabulous Disaster, Over It; Nov. 23: The Stitches, Starvations, Neon King Kong, Kill Devil Hills, Problem; Nov. 24: Tilt, Missing Link, Cry Baby Cry; Nov. 30: Shitlist, Atrocious Madness, Fuerza X, Catheter, S Bitch, Delta Force; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Nov. 15: Keni “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Nov. 21: Whiskey Brothers (Old Time & Bluegrass); Nov. 22: Keni “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Nov. 24: Tipsy House Irish Band. All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

Anna’s Nov. 15: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Nov. 16: Anna & Hyler T. Jones, 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Nov. 17: Vicki Burns & Felice York, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet; Nov. 18: Christy Dana Jazz Quintet; Nov. 19: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Nov. 20: Jimmy Ryan Jazz Quartet; Nov. 21: Bob Shoen Jazz Quintet; Nov. 23: Sally Hanna-Rhine and David Tapham; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Nov. 24: Carl Garrett Jazz Quartet; Nov. 25: Acoustic Soul; Nov. 26: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Nov. 27: Jason Martineau and David Sayen; Nov. 28: Bob Shoen Jazz Quintet; Nov. 29: Ed Reed and Alex Markels Jazz Group; Nov. 30: Ann sings jazz standards; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; All shows 8 p.m. unless noted. Free. 1901 University Ave., 849-2662 

Ashkenaz Nov. 15: 10 p.m., Grateful Dead DJ Nite, $5; Nov. 16: 9 p.m., Amandla Poets O-Maya, $10 - $20; Nov. 17: 11 a.m. - 1 a.m., Berkeley Free Folk Fesitval; Nov. 18: 8 p.m., Zydeco Flames, $8; Nov. 19: 6:30 p.m., Vista College; Nov. 20: 8 p.m., Tamazgha, $8; Nov. 21: 8 p.m., Tom Rigney & Flambeau, $8; Nov. 22: 6 - 9 p.m., Annual Food Not Bombs Thanksgiving Feast, Free; 10 p.m., Dead DJ Nite, $5; Nov. 23: 9 p.m., Ras Michael and Sons of Negus with DJ Tony Moses, $10; Nov. 24: 9:30 p.m., Lavay Smith And Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, $11; Nov. 25: 9 p.m., The King of Calypso Mighty Sparrow, $15; Nov. 26: 6:30 p.m., Vista College; Nov. 27: 8 p.m., Creole Belles, $8; Nov. 28: 8 p.m., Bluegrass Intentions, Stairwell Sisters, Clogging with Evie Ladin, $10; Nov. 29: 10 p.m., Grateful Dead DJ Nite, $5; Nov. 30: 9:30 p.m., Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums w/ Ms. Carmen Getit; 1317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 www.ashkenaz. com 

Blake’s Nov. 15: Ascension, $5; Nov. 16: First Circle, Stonecutters, $5; Nov. 17: Slaptones, TBA; Nov. 18: The GTF, TBA; Nov. 19: All Star Jam Featuring The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Nov. 20: Mr. Q, View From Here, $3; Nov. 21: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2; Nov. 22: Ascension, $5; Nov. 23: Solemite, TBA, $5; Nov. 24: Dank Man Shank, Locale AM, $5; Nov. 25: Out of The Ashes, Wonderland Ave., $3; Nov. 26: All Star Jam Featuring The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Nov. 27: PC Munoz and the Amen Corner, Froggy, $3; Nov. 28: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2; Nov. 29: Ascension, $5; Nov. 30: Felonious, TBA, $6; All shows 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave. 848-0886 

Cal Performances Nov. 29: Les Arts Florissants, $24 - $46; 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 Coffee House Nov. 15: David Mallett; Nov. 16: Jez Lowe and James Keelaghan; Nov. 17: Roy Rogers and Norton Buffalo; Nov. 18: 4 p.m., Berkeley Free Folk Festival: Noe Venable, Dawn McCarthy, John McCormick, Tret Fure, Sylvia Herold, 8 p.m., the Bill Evans band, Evie Ladin and Keith Terry, John Reischman and the Jaybirds; Nov. 21: Raun Fables and Noe Venable; Nov. 23 & 24: Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum and Todd Sickafoose; Nov. 25: Sylvia Herold; Nov. 26: Ellen Robinson; Nov. 28: Wake the Dead; Nov. 29: Judith Kate Friedman and Deborah Pardes; Nov. 30: Odile Lavault and Baguette Quartette; Dec. 1: Geoff Muldaur w/ Fritz Richmond; Dec. 2: Kaila Flexer’s Fieldharmonik; Dec. 5: Avalon Blues: Peter Case, Dave Alvin and Bill Morrissey; Dec. 6: Ray Bonneville; Dec. 7 & 8: Rebecca Riots; All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

iMusicast Nov. 16: 6:30 p.m., L3 (Live, Loud and Local) featuring: Big In Japan, The Locals, Jimmy 2 Times, Serial Carpens, Street To Nowhere. All Ages $9. Nov. 30: 6 - 11 p.m., Applesaucer, The Plus Ones, Cutlass Supreme, Salem Lights, Short Wave Rocket, One Step Shift; 5429 Telegraph Ave. 601-1024, www.imusicast.com. 

Jupiter Nov. 15: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 16: 5 Point Plan; Nov. 17: Corner Pocket; Nov. 21: Starchild; All shows 8 p.m. and free. 2821 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625 www.jupiter.com 

MusicSources Nov. 18 Harpsichordist Gilbert Martinez. Both shows 5 p.m. $15-18. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

“Music on Telegraph” Nov. 17: Christy Dana Quartet, Greg’s Pizza, 2311 Telegraph Ave.; Nov. 18: Mitch Marcus Trio, Raleigh’s, 2438 Telegraph Ave.; Joe Chellman Quartet, The Village, 2556 Telegraph Ave.; Nov. 25: Downtown Uproar, Greg’s Pizza, 2311 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 1: Scrambled Samba Trio, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 2: Paul and Jill Janoff, Musical Offering, 2430 Bancroft; Dec. 8: Jonah Minton Quartet, Julie’s Healthy Cafe, 2562 Bancroft; Dec. 9: Hebro, Blakes, 2367 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 15: Thelonious On The Move, Bison Brewing, 2598 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 16: Howard Kadis, Musical Offering Cafe, 2430 Bancroft; Dec. 22: Kaz Sasaki Duo, Blackberry Ginger, 2520 Durant; Dec. 23: Almadecor, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; All shows 2 - 4 p.m., Free. 

“Musicians for Medical Marijuana” Nov. 16: 7 :30 p.m., Dark Star Orchestra, The Flying Other Brothers, MCed by Mountain Girl, doctors and lawyers on hand for consultation. $20. Sweet’s Ballroom, 1988 Broadway, Oakland, 869-5391 www.m4mmj.org. 

“Oakland Symphony Chorus and the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra” presents a joint concert. Nov. 17: 8 p.m.; Nov. 18: 4 p.m.; $15. First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. 465-4199 www.oakland-sym-chorus.org 

“Mozart and Mozart of the North” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Hausmusik presents early classical quartets by Mozart , Johann Fuchs, and Bernhard Crusell, the “Mozart of the North”. $15-18. St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany, 527-9029 

“The Fuck the War Ball” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Bay Area’s most outrageous bands will perform in benefit for Love Underground Vision Radio. $5. Burnt Ramen, 111 Espee Ave., Richmond, 526-7858, fmoore@eroplay.com 

“Tomas Carrasco of Chicano Secret Service” Nov. 15: 4 p.m. Performance by member of L.A.-based sketch comedy troupe that uses humor to tackle hot-button racial and political issues. Free. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

“La Guerra D’Amore” Nov. 16-17: 8 p.m. Choreographer Joachim Schlomer and period music specialist Rene Jacobs collaborate to present dancers and vocalists expressing stories about the “war of love” in a contemporary Venetian square. $34 - $52. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 642-9988 

“Works in the Works 2001” Through Nov. 18: 7:30. East Bay performance series presents a different program each evening. $8. Eighth Street Studio, 2525 Eighth St., 644-1788 

“Nicholas Nickleby” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. The Young Actors Workshop presents a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby. $10 adults, $8 students and seniors. Performing Arts Center of Contra Costa College, corner of El Portal Dr. and Castro St., San Pablo 235-7800 ext. 4274 

“Lost Cause” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Three space travelers stranded on a forgotten colony, find themselves in the middle of a bloody civil war, and have to decide between what’s right, what’s possible, and what will save their lives. Written by Jefferson Area, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7-12. La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid Ave. 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

“Travesties” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., and Thurs., Nov. 15, 8 p.m. A witty fantasy about James Joyce meeting Lenin in Zurich during World War I. Written by Tom Stoppard, Directed by Mikel Clifford. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck. 528-5620 

Cal Performances Nov. 16 - 17: 8 p.m., “La Guerra d’Amore,” director and choreographer, René Jacobs, conductor, Ensemble Concerto Vocale. Modern dance and early music from German choreographer Joachim Schlömer, $34 - $52; Nov. 30 - Dec. 2: Fri. - Sat.8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m., The Suzuki Company presents a staged interpretation of the Greek classic, “Dionysus”, $30 - $46; UC Berkeley, Zellerbach Hall. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“The Conduct of Life” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. A cautionary tale of unchecked political power gone awry with devastating human consequences. Written by Maria Irene Fornes. $12 general admission, $8 faculty & staff, $6 students. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

“Macbeth” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. Presented by the Albany High School Theater Ensemble. $7 adults, $5 students and seniors. Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd. 559-6550 x4125 theaterensemble@hotmail.com 

“Odyssey” Nov. 16: 7 p.m., Nov. 17: 2 p.m., 7 p.m., Nov. 18: 2 p.m., The Splash Circus presents this outer space circus adventure with juggling scientists, acrobatic aliens, aerial acts, tumbling, masked Commedia characters, contortion, pyramids and dance. Youth performers between the ages of 10 - 14. $13, $6.50 for kids under 14. The Alice Arts Center, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. 655-1265 x202, www.splashcircus.com. 

“Uncle Vanya” Nov. 23 through Nov. 29: Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. Nov. 25, 7 p.m. Subterranean Shakespeare’s production of Jean-Claude van Italie’s humorous translation of Anton Chekhov’s romantic masterpiece. Directed by Diane Jackson. Benefits the Forests Forever Foundation. $8-$14. La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid 

“Goddesses” Nov. 30 through Dec. 1: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 7 p.m. A sensuous and humorous drama concerning one mortal woman’s struggle to control the six extraordinary goddesses in her psyche. Written by Dorotea Reyna. $10. Mils College, Lisser Hall, 5900 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland 883-0536, rlcouture@earthlink.net 

“Saint Joan” Through Dec. 2: Wed. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., 7 p.m. George Bernard Shaw’s epic of a young girl determined to drive the English out of France with only her faith to support her. Directed by Barbara Oliver. $26-35. Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St. 843-4822 www.auroratheatre.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 

“Brave Brood” Through Dec. 16 Robert O’Hara directs Robert O’Hara’s searing tale of money, desperation, and the fight for survival. $20. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305 www.transparenttheater.org 

“Much Ado About Nothing” Nov. 20 through Jan. 8: Check theater for specific dates and times. Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy chronicles a handful of soldiers returning from a winning battle to be greeted by a gaggle of giddy maidens. Directed by Brian Kulick. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

Films 

Pacific Film Archive Theater Nov. 16: 7:30 p.m., Autumn Almanac; Nov. 17 & 18: 1 p.m., Satantango; Nov. 21: 7 :30 p.m., Macbeth; Nov. 30: 7:30 p.m., Werckmeister Harmonies; 2575 Bancroft Way, 642-1124 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Exhibits  

“Art Benefit for the Gabriel Sussman Rodriguez Education Fund” Through Nov. 16: Over 60 artists have donated work for this tribute to the memory of Wendy Sussman, a painter and professor of art practice at UC Berkeley, and contribute to the education of her son. Sun. - Fri. 1 - 6 p.m. Worth Ryder Gallery, Kroeber hall, UC Berkeley 415-665-6131 

“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 

“In Through the Outdoors” Through Nov. 24: Featuring seven artists who work in photography and related media including sculpture and video, this exhibit addresses the shift in values and contemporary concerns about the natural world that surrounds us. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery, 1316 Tenth St. www.traywick.com 

“2001 James D. Phelan Art Awards in Printmaking” Honorees: Bridget Henry, David Kelso, and Margaret Van Patten. Through Nov. 30 Tues. - Fri. noon - 5 p.m., other times by appointment. Kala Art Institue, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 www.kala.org 

“Furniture Art” Through Dec. 7: An exhibit of metal and wood furniture that revisits furniture not only as art but as craft. 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. The Current Gallery at the Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.org 

“The Paintings of Bethany Anne Ayers and Sculpture of Alexander Cheves” Nov. 15 through Dec. 15: Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ardency Gallery, 709 roadway, Oakland. 836-0831 gallery709@aol.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 

“Matrix 195” Nov. 18 through Jan. 13: German artist, Thomas Scheibitz’s, first solo museum exhibition in the United States showcases semi-abstract representations of everyday objects and landscapes. Wed., Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $3-$6. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

GTU Exhibit: “Holocaust Series” by Cleve Gray Through Jan. 25: Comprised of 21 works on paper that constitute “a catharsis... for all of humanity.” Mon. - Thurs. 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. noon - 7 p.m.; Free. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, Graduate Theological Union, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541 www.gtu.edu 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” Nov. 15 through Feb. 15: 18 homeless and formerly homeless elders reveal how they learned and applied wisdom that is timeless. Mon. - Fri. and Sundays 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Reception and presentation by the elders Thurs. Nov. 15, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Free. St. Mary’s Center, 635 22nd St., Oakland, 893-4723 x222 

“The Art History Museum of Berkeley” 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. 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

Readings 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Nov. 12: 7:30 p.m. Rabih Alameddine reads from “I, The Divine”; Nov. 13: 7:30 p.m. John Barth reads from “Coming Soon!!!”, Nov. 18: Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux from the Poetry Society of America read,$5; Nov. 28: 7:30 p.m. David Meltzer and contributors read from his newly revised and re-released collection of interviews with Bay Area Beat Poets; 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore Nov. 14: Gregory Crouch talks about “Enduring Patagonia.” All shows 7:30 p.m.; 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Nov. 17: 7 p.m. Graham Hutchings discusses his newly released book “Modern China: A Guide to a Century of Change”; Nov. 18: 4 p.m. Noel Alumit, M.G. Sorongon, and Marianne Villanueva read from their contributions to the anthology “Tilting the Continent: Southeast Asian American Literature”; 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

“Berkeley’s World” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Staged reading of a new play about five Berkeley emigres who form a career support group through an ad placed in the East Bay Express but find they can’t stand each other. Written by Andrea Mock. Free. Speakeasy Theatre, 2016 7th St. 841-9441 

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 Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., 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; Nov. 3: Tales from the Enchanted Forest, 11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.; Nov. 9: Living with the Earth; Nov. 17: Recycle that Stuff; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. Mon. and Wed., 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tues. and Fri., 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thur., 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

Oakland Museum of California Through Nov. 25: Pasajes y Encuentros: Ofrendas for the Days of the Dead, highlights three thematic “passageways” that connect the dead with the living: tradition, humor and spirit; Through Jan. 13: Grand Lyricist: The Art of Elmer Bischoff, featuring paintings and works on paper that trace the evolution of Bischoff’s career. $6 adults, $4 seniors and students, free for children under 5. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m., 10th St., Oakland, 888-625-6873/ www.museumca.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. Mon. through Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat. and Sun., 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.

The Berkeley High girls’ volleyball team survived a minor scare Tuesday night, coming back from a first-game loss to beat Antioch in the first round of the North Coast Section playoffs in Berkeley. 

The third-seeded ’Jackets recovered from their lackluster start in time to take the next three games behind the hitting of middle blocker Desiree Guilliard-Young and outside hitter Amalia Jarvis. Young finished with 11 kills and six blocks, while Jarvis racked up 12 kills to go with seven aces on her jump serve. 

The win was Berkeley’s first NCS victory for the current squad, as the ’Jackets fell in the first round in each of the past three seasons. 

Antioch had two factors in their favor: solid serving and middle blocker Jamie Houle, who played the 6-foot-5 Guilliard-Young very well. Houle had 11 kills and four blocks, including three on Guilliard-Young, and also pitched in with three of the Panthers’ 16 aces. Berkeley head coach Justin Caraway installed a new service defense for the playoffs, using two players instead of the usual three to pass, and the ’Jackets looked shaky. 

“The new pattern was marginally successful,” Caraway said. “We knew coming in (Antioch) was a strong serving team, but we came out with a win.” 

The first game was a nightmare for the ’Jackets as they never had a lead and fell behind while allowing five aces, and an old nemesis reared its ugly head as the ’Jackets committed five service errors in the game. Houle finished the game with two aces and a kill at 15-4. Berkeley looked tentative and couldn’t get anything going up front when Guilliard-Young rotated into the backline. 

“It was looking a little scary there in the first game,” Caraway said. “Maybe it was nerves, or the pressure, but we made a ton of service errors. We’d work hard to get the ball back and then give it away.” 

But Caraway’s team regrouped, making just four more service errors in the next three games. Junior Nadia Qabazard nailed two aces early to put the ’Jackets ahead 4-0, and Guilliard-Young slowed down Houle with two blocks in the middle. The Panthers came back to tie the game at 5-5, then again at 9-9, but Jarvis’ jump serve pulled Berkeley through with four aces in the last six points to win 15-9. 

The ’Jackets rolled in the third game, scoring six points on Antioch hitting errors and getting three more aces from Jarvis. 

“We served ‘em off the court in the third game,” Caraway said. 

Antioch had a ray of hope when the Panthers got out to a 5-3 lead in the fourth and final game, but two Guilliard-Young blocks tied the score, and Qabazard threw in two more aces to give the ’Jackets a 10-5 lead. Two aces from Antioch’s Nicole Baptista pulled her team to within 12-8, but Berkeley simply powered its way to the victory, getting a block from sophomore Shirley Dai and a Jarvis kill to end the game. 

Berkeley will face second-seeded Castro Valley, which beat James Logan in the first round, on Thursday at 7 p.m. for a spot in the final. The match will be at Berkeley High, as Castro Valley’s gymnasium doesn’t meet the NCS standards for hosting a playoff match.  

The ’Jackets lost to Castro Valley in three games at a tournament earlier this year.

Thursday, Nov. 15

Berkeley Center for  

Globalization and Information  

Technology 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

Inderpal Grewal, SFSU, “Transnational America: Identity, Citizenship and Diasporas in Late-Twentieth Century USA.” 642-4608 

Flu Shots 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m.  

West Berkeley Senior Center 

1900 Sixth St. 

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or more and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

UK Seminar 

5 p.m. 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall 

John Brewer, University of Chicago, “New Ways in History, or, Talking about my Generation: History and Modernity in the 1960s.” 642-4608 

Latin Dance Class 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Salsa, Cha-cha, Merengue... $10, No partner necessary. All ages and levels welcome. 508-4616 

Storytelling Workshop for  

Senior Adults 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

27th and Harrison St., Oakland 

Storyteller, Steven Henegar, leads the workshop. 444-4755 

Falun Gong Introduction  

Workshop  

7 - 9 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Dwinelle 83 

Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese mind and body meditation/exercise system. Free. xrzhang@lbl.gov 

Marijuana: What D.A.R.E.  

Didn't Tell You  

6 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Valley Life Sciences Building, Rm. 2050 

David Presti, Jeff Jones, Chris Conrad, and others will address the science of marijuana, medical marijuana, industrial hemp, and marijuana law. Sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy. sswerdlow@hotmail.com.  

Friday, Nov. 16

City Commons Club  

Luncheon 

12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

Weldon Rucker, City Manager of City of Berkeley, presents “Managing a City Like Berkeley.” $1 admission,  

11:45 a.m. lunch, $12.25. 848-3533 

The U.S. and Mexico: Redefining the Relationship 

4 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

141 McCone Hall 

“Security in the Americas: A New Era” with Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, National Security Advisor and Commissioner of Law and Order to President Vicente Fox Quesada. 642-2088 www.clas.berkeley.edu/ clas  

Crosspulse Farewell Concert  

& CD Release Party 

8 p.m. 

Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Center 

1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland 

Crosspulse, a percussion ensemble dedicated to the creation and performance of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural music, dance, film and educational projects, marks its cessation as an on-going touring group. $25-30, children half-price. 559-9797 www.crosspulse.com 

American Political History Seminar 

noon 

UC Berkeley 

119 Moses Hall 

Robert Kagan, UCB Department of Political Science and Law, will talk about his book, “Adversarial Legalism.” 642-4608 www.igs. berkeley.edu 

Berkeley High School Jazz  

Ensemble Concert 

7:30 p.m. 

Florence Schwimley Little Theatre 

1920 Allston Way  

The Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble and combos will give its first concert of the year. $8. 548-8026 www.bhs.berkeley. k12.ca.us/artsperforming/jazz 

Flute Concert 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, South Branch 

1901 Russell St. 

Mary Youngblood will perform a free solo concert. 644-6860 

– Compiled by Guy Poole 

Thursday, Nov. 15

Berkeley Center for  

Globalization and Information  

Technology 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

Inderpal Grewal, SFSU, “Transnational America: Identity, Citizenship and Diasporas in Late-Twentieth Century USA.” 642-4608 

Flu Shots 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m.  

West Berkeley Senior Center 

1900 Sixth St. 

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or more and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

UK Seminar 

5 p.m. 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall 

John Brewer, University of Chicago, “New Ways in History, or, Talking about my Generation: History and Modernity in the 1960s.” 642-4608 

Latin Dance Class 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Salsa, Cha-cha, Merengue... $10, No partner necessary. All ages and levels welcome. 508-4616 

Storytelling Workshop for  

Senior Adults 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

27th and Harrison St., Oakland 

Storyteller, Steven Henegar, leads the workshop. 444-4755 

Falun Gong Introduction  

Workshop  

7 - 9 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Dwinelle 83 

Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese mind and body meditation/exercise system. Free. xrzhang@lbl.gov 

Marijuana: What D.A.R.E.  

Didn't Tell You  

6 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Valley Life Sciences Building, Rm. 2050 

David Presti, Jeff Jones, Chris Conrad, and others will address the science of marijuana, medical marijuana, industrial hemp, and marijuana law. Sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy. sswerdlow@hotmail.com.  

Friday, Nov. 16

City Commons Club  

Luncheon 

12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

Weldon Rucker, City Manager of City of Berkeley, presents “Managing a City Like Berkeley.” $1 admission,  

11:45 a.m. lunch, $12.25. 848-3533 

The U.S. and Mexico: Redefining the Relationship 

4 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

141 McCone Hall 

“Security in the Americas: A New Era” with Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, National Security Advisor and Commissioner of Law and Order to President Vicente Fox Quesada. 642-2088 www.clas.berkeley.edu/ clas  

Crosspulse Farewell Concert  

& CD Release Party 

8 p.m. 

Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Center 

1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland 

Crosspulse, a percussion ensemble dedicated to the creation and performance of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural music, dance, film and educational projects, marks its cessation as an on-going touring group. $25-30, children half-price. 559-9797 www.crosspulse.com 

American Political History Seminar 

noon 

UC Berkeley 

119 Moses Hall 

Robert Kagan, UCB Department of Political Science and Law, will talk about his book, “Adversarial Legalism.” 642-4608 www.igs. berkeley.edu 

Berkeley High School Jazz  

Ensemble Concert 

7:30 p.m. 

Florence Schwimley Little Theatre 

1920 Allston Way  

The Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble and combos will give its first concert of the year. $8. 548-8026 www.bhs.berkeley. k12.ca.us/artsperforming/jazz 

Flute Concert 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, South Branch 

1901 Russell St. 

Mary Youngblood will perform a free solo concert. 644-6860 

– Compiled by Guy Poole 

A union representing clerical workers and librarians at UC Berkeley issued a strong condemnation of the university’s transportation policies on Wednesday. 

At a rally held above the jam-packed Dwinelle parking lot, the Coalition of University Employees (CUE) spoke, sang and gathered signatures on a petition calling for a “sustainable comprehensive transportation program” for university workers. 

Norah Foster, a university librarian and CUE member, said the university charges its employees $71 per month for parking – “the highest (rate) of any university in the country.” 

Even then, she said, the lots are oversubscribed, and employees have trouble finding parking spaces. 

Foster said scarce parking, and few other options, amounted to a transportation crisis for university employees. 

“UC is notorious for ignoring the needs of employees,” she said. “One of our needs, obviously, is to get to work every day. One would think that would be an issue.” 

CUE – which has received letters of endorsement from other campus unions – calls for free mass transit passes for employees, satellite parking and a “sliding scale” for on-campus parking fees. 

Foster said that the money the university earns from parking would be more than enough to subsidize such a program. She handed out a balance sheet for the university’s parking program. The sheet states that the campus made a profit of over $2.5 million on parking receipts in the fiscal year ending in July 2000.  

Councilmember Kriss Worthington spoke in favor of the union’s demands, and said that the university should follow in the city’s footsteps. 

“I’ve been working for two and a half years to provide free bus passes to city employees,” he said. “I’m pleased to announce that on Dec. 5, every city employee will receive a free bus pass.” 

Worthington said that the program will cost the city only $90,000 per year, and that the university could easily afford something similar for its employees. 

“One of the easiest and most painless solutions for the university is to provide free AC Transit passes for every UC employee,” Worthington said. “If UC can achieve that simple step, the city and the university could go to BART next year and work out a deal for both of us.” 

Worthington noted that such a program would do much to solve the city’s current parking crisis. 

“In the jurisdictions that have given free mass transit passes to city employees, parking in downtown areas has decreased between 7 and 21 percent,” he said. 

“Even a 7 percent reduction in parking in downtown Berkeley would alleviate many of the problems we see here.” 

Howard Chong, a student activist – better known as “the tent guy” for sleeping out in a tent to protest the university building a parking lot rather than housing in a large parcel south of campus – said that students and staff were both “shut out of the system.” 

“(In this petition) is a list of valid grievances that directly affect your lives,” he said. “But I see it more as the first step in getting users of transportation services involved in the decision-making process.” 

John Zupan, a member of another union, University Professional and Technical Employees, affirmed that his union supports CUE’s parking plan, and said that free transportation options would be an easy way of answering other employee grievances. 

“For most of the UC staff, $71 is something on the order of 2 or 3 percent of their incomes,” he said. “Free transportation would be a perfect way to effectively raise salaries on the UC campus without going to the governor or to the legislature or anything like that.” 

Foster said that CUE has gathered 1,500 signatures in support of its demands, and hopes to gather another 1,500 before presenting the petition to the university administration. 

Nadesan Permaul is the director of transportation at the university and says his department would be solidly behind a pass system, such as the students have, “if staff is prepared to pay.” 

At present, all students pay $18 per semester for the “class pass” and some of them sign up and use the unlimited bus service. Permaul warns that AC Transit is asking the students to vote on whether to continue the system, in which case the fees will be doubled. The system for staff would only work only if the entire staff paid the fees, Permaul said. 

While CUE is asking for lower parking fees, the city is asking for them to be raised, to pressure people to get out of their cars. The university charges more for more convenient parking and less for more distant parking, he said. If more parking is built, the university will have to raise rates even more to pay for it, he said. 

As for satellite parking, “It was tried in the 1980s and failed dismally,” he said. The problem is that it is not efficient. The only way it could become efficient would be to put bus-only lanes on major thoroughfares. This has been suggested in the city’s Transportation Management Demand Study and may be implemented. “We’re certainly open to it,” he said. 

Judith Scherr of the Daily Planet staff contributed to this story.

Editor:  

Over the last two months, I’ve been watching a lot of news, and I’m left stupefied. The people who report the news are either wonderful actors, or they actually believe that the war in Afghanistan can end the threat of terror. This must be either inconceivable gullibility, or cynical deception. Terrorists are not confined to Afghanistan, and they don’t have to sit around waiting for Osama bin Laden to send them instructions in order to act, therefore, what are we doing in Afghanistan? We are spending millions of dollars a day, and we tax-payers are going to pay the bills, so what exactly are we trying to accomplish with this expensive destruction? The most disturbing element, to me, is that the intelligentsia seems to be helping to create the delusion that we can stop terrorism by killing a man in an Afghan cave and deposing the Taliban. Can the great journalists of our country really be so naive? I don’t think so. It’s time to muster our outrage against this insanity now before we’ve bombed or starved millions of extremely poor people to death. 

Lance Caselman 

Crocket

Richard Midgley and David Paris, both seniors at 2001 state runner-up Modesto Christian High School, have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball at Cal, head coach Ben Braun announced Wednesday. 

Midgley, a 6-foot-1 point guard, and Paris, a 6-foot-8, 260-pound power forward, are both rated among the Top 100 prospects in the country by several recruiting services. 

Paris is the son of former San Francisco 49ers lineman Bubba Paris. As a junior last year, he averaged 16 points and 15 rebounds per game. Paris is rated the No. 2 power forward on the West Coast by PacWestHoops.com and the No. 22 power forward in the country by ESPN.com. He selected Cal after also considering Ohio State, Michigan and Texas-El Paso.  

Midgley, who averaged 19 points and 5 assists as a junior last year, earned No. 93 national rankings from both CNNSI.com and The Sporting News. PacWestHoops.com called him “one of the best point guards on the West Coast.” 

Originally from London, Midgley moved to Modesto before the start of his sophomore year. He chose Cal after also getting interest from Georgia Tech, UCLA, Kentucky and Utah. 

Last year, Paris and Midgley helped Modesto Christian to a 34-4 overall record. They reached the state championship game before falling to Santa Ana’s Mater Dei, led by current Cal freshman forward Jamal Sampson, 57-54. 

The Bears received an oral commitment from Alabama prep star Kennedy Winston earlier this month, but Winston is rumored to be re-thinking the decision. He has not sent a letter of intent. 

Wednesday was the first day that recruits can sign National Letters of Intent. The fall signing period lasts through Nov. 21.

For nine years Ameena Jandali, 41, of El Cerrito has been going out into the community, mostly to high schools, to educate Americans on the basics of Islam.  

After Sept. 11 her task has become easier in some ways and harder in others. 

“We’ve been trying to teach people about Ramadan for years and Mr. Bush did it for us in one month,” said Jandali, who spoke to a group of mostly retired citizens at a Berkeley City Club luncheon last Friday. 

The challenge for anyone like Jandali is that many Americans view Muslim women as oppressed and living like second-class citizens. And the images that people see in the media do little to inform people otherwise.  

“Second only to terrorists is the question of women in Islam as one of the most misunderstood aspects of Islam,” said Jandali. 

In Jandali’s world, women are not oppressed by men. They are equals excelling as doctors, engineers and scientists. They have a separate identity and control any money they might earn.  

“Most of my friends are in the sciences. Women often put their careers on hold when children are young, although some continue to work because of economics,” said Jandali. 

Jandali sees herself as a moderate and acknowledges that there would be some who would condemn her for standing up in front of a group and talking. From her perspective, it is not the Koran that has created the current climate for women, but cultural and political developments. 

“In the last 20th century with the fall of Muslim rulers…the older generations wholeheartedly rejected traditions but the youth are doing the opposite,” said Jandali.  

It is the reaction to the economic and social problems, and the export of western culture that breeds radicalism and a reaction to the west said Jandali.  

She says she experienced the schism when she married her husband, a practicing Muslim from Syria. Initially her mother-in-law was very upset when her son chose a woman who covered herself.  

“She had spent her whole life uncovering,” said Jandali.  

But since their marriage, her mother-in-law has returned to wearing the veil. 

Ironically, it is this same issue that is so controversial among other Americans, even some in her audience at the Berkeley City Club.  

“Why would a woman conceal her body regardless,” commented Dennis Kuby, 68, a Berkeley resident who was in attendance. “Women are worse than second-class citizens.” 

Kuby, a Unitarian Minister by profession, has traveled to Turkey and Bahrain and called himself a long-time feminist. 

Doris Balfour, 73, of Berkeley said she continues to believe some of what she’s read and heard in the media. “I haven’t met too many Muslim people,” said Balfour, “and I think it’s not as rosy as she presents it in the Middle East.” 

Even if questions remained in the audience members minds, many agreed that the talk had been educational given their limited knowledge and access to information about Muslim women. 

“I think she was attempting to describe Islam as she believes it is identified as a religion,” said Linda Gustafson, of Berkeley, “She viewed the practices as cultural in nature and the press doesn’t differentiate what is culturally inappropriate as identified by the religion.” 

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the mayor and City Council: 

I am writing to express my full support and gratitude for the courageous vote of the Berkeley City Council to voice opposition to this “war” that is being manufactured for the American public. I will do everything I can to shop in Berkeley and support the city in any way possible. Opposition to the overwhelming majority opinion at this point in our “democracy,” is becoming more and more difficult and that means it is all the more important that the minority voice be expressed and heard. 

My understanding and love of our Constitution is that it was written to protect the minority in the population. That is why we are NOT a democracy, but a republic. If it were the rule of the majority, it would be mob rule and that is not rule at all, just who can sway opinion at the moment. Which is exactly what appears to be happening right now. Big business has control of the media, the politicians (see the current “tax cut” bill that is passing through the U.S. Congress, e.g.), and public opinion.  

Thank you for voicing my position. This “war” is wrong and is being created for the wrong reasons. Lives are being lost and more will be lost in this attempt to create totalitarian support for any government decision. That is fascism and that is very frightening. 

Forty years ago, an uncle of mine told me that fascism would come to the United States only from the inside. I fear that it has arrived. 

Pamela Miller  

El Cerrito 

Two Berkeley High seniors signed official letters of intent on Wednesday. 

Basketball player Sabrina Keys officially committed to Purdue University in Indiana, while volleyball star Desiree Guilliard-Young signed with Baylor University in Texas. Wednesday was the first day high school players could sign letters of intent. 

Keys, a 6-foot-2 center, committed to the Boilermakers earlier this year. Keys will be the a key for the ’Jackets as they attempt to return to the state championship game this season for the third time in the last four years. 

Guilliard-Young follows in her coach’s footsteps to Baylor. Berkeley head coach Justin Caraway played for the Bears in college. The 6-foot-5 middle blocker spent the past summer playing for the U.S. Under-18 National Team.

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the mayor and City Council: 

Thanks for your courageous stand against continued bombing in Afghanistan. There are more of us in the US public than are generally reported who support efforts to slow the military response of our national leaders. 

John Erhart 

Mariposa County

SAN FRANCISCO — The Green Party, hoping to continue its growth in California, announced its candidates for the state’s two highest offices Wednesday and said it supports a move toward instant runoff elections. 

Peter Camejo, a former presidential candidate, will be the party’s candidate for governor in 2002. Donna Warren is the candidate for lieutenant governor. 

Camejo, who ran for the presidency in 1976, emphasizes prudent investing and points to the state’s energy crisis as an example of bad investments that he said he would avoid. 

Camejo founded and runs Progressive Asset Management, Inc., which promotes socially responsible investments, and helped set up the Eco-Logical trust for Merrill Lynch. 

Camejo also said he would push for runoff elections to prevent the possibility of election troubles that Florida faced during the 2000 presidential election. 

Warren has run for Congress as a Green Party member and has been working to get the Three Strikes law to apply only to violent crimes. She’s also the lead plaintiff in a suit against the CIA, accusing it of letting drugs into the country. Warren’s son was addicted to crack. 

Both candidates emphasized the Green Party’s work in local elections. 

In the past few weeks, 50 Green Party candidates have been elected to local positions nationwide, said campaign strategist Rebecca Kaplan. 

Much of the party’s support comes not just from Green Party members but from crossover voters — those registered as Democrats or Republicans who vote for Green Party candidates. 

Such crossover support in the 2000 presidential election drew criticism, especially from the Democratic Party. Many Democrats accuse Green Party candidate Ralph Nader of siphoning votes from Democratic candidate Al Gore. 

That’s why the Green Party is pushing for instant runoff elections, Kaplan said. 

The instant runoff would let people rank their top two candidates. If no candidate received a majority, then those people who didn’t list those candidates as their first choice would have their second choices counted, in an automatic runoff including the two candidates who got the most votes overall. 

San Francisco has an instant runoff proposal on the ballot in March, and New Mexico and Alaska also are considering such a plan, Kaplan said. 

The party is growing by 4.6 percent a year in California, party officials said, and now it numbers around 150,000 members.  

By contrast, about 7 million voters are registered Democrats in the state, and about 5.4 million voters are registered Republicans. 

Yokers, Moser second teamers 

Cal junior forward Laura Schott was named to the first team All-Pac-10 soccer team for the second consecutive season Tuesday afternoon. Sophomore midfielder Kim Yokers and freshman goalkeeper Mallory Moser earned second team recognition.  

Schott led the Pac-10 in points (33) and goals (15) for the second-straight season. The Wilsonville, Ore., product posted a team-best four game-winning goals, as well.  

A 2000 first team All-American, Schott has been nominated for the Hermann Trophy and Missouri Athletic Club Award, which are each given each season to the nation’s top men’s and women’s collegiate soccer players. She currently ranks second in Cal history for points (110) and goals (49) and is on pace to break current U.S. national team member Joy (Blefield) Fawcett’s school records for points (133) and goals (55).  

Yokers, who earned her first selection to the All-Pac-10 team, emerged in 2001 as one of the best central midfielders in the country. She finished third on the team with 12 points after posting eight points as a freshman. The Seattle native was second on the Bears with six assists and tied for fifth in the Pac-10 in that category.  

Moser, who hails from Mill Valley, showed this season that she has the potential to be one of the best goalkeepers in Cal history. She had a 0.98 goals-against-average and recorded five shutouts.  

Junior midfielder Brittany Kirk also was honored for the Bears, receiving honorable mention All-Pac-10 recognition for the second straight season.  

Cal takes a 12-6-2 overall record into its first round NCAA Tournament game with Saint Mary’s Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Stanford’s Maloney Field.

Editor: 

The “newly formed” group attempting to nullify the majority-approved district boundaries is being dishonest at best (Daily Planet, Nov. 10). It should be obvious to anyone with one eye open, that this is nothing more than a last ditch effort to save Polly Armstrong’s council seat. It is common knowledge that if the students are allowed to vote, they’ll vote against her in droves. The real question is why are her views so dangerously out of touch with the youth of Berkeley?  

Michael Bauce 

Berkeley

SAN FRANCISCO — Almost half the families visiting Bay Area emergency food services have one or more people working, according to study on hunger released Wednesday. 

The national study, “Hunger in America 2001,” shows continuing need in the world’s richest country. 

More than 25 percent of the people getting food from Bay Area emergency food services have at least some college education, according to the study commissioned by America’s Second Harvest. 

America’s Second Harvest is a network of about 80 percent of the nation’s food banks. The food banks collect donations from farmers, the food industry and others, and distribute the food to community organizations, soup kitchens, day care centers and local food pantries run by churches and other groups. 

While changes in the welfare law and a growing economy meant more people were working, the Bay Area’s high cost of living still left many low-paid workers on the edge of poverty. 

Paul Ash, executive director of the San Francisco Food Bank said state officials recognize the problem but what they need to do is makes it easier for working people to get food stamps.

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter read to the City Council at a Nov. 6 Public Hearing on the General Plan: 

I am speaking tonight in favor of the height limit provisions, incorporated in the Initiative Ordinance presented to the City Council last week. 

Firstly, it urges a more stringent review process for development on hill sites. 

Secondly, it modifies projects that totally disregard the existing context or scale in cohesive neighborhoods in our built- up city. 

Thirdly, it reduces heights where a state density bonus would exceed the standard for height, approved in the area plans, by allowing additional floors. In addition, it would give greater protection to abutting residences for light and air circulation, and would slow parking and traffic overflow problems generated by commercial disticts. 

A great many zoning districts in the Height Limit Ordinance were left unchanged because up to the present, they have been respected and enjoyed for their human scale. For one example, the Neighborhood Commercial areas of College and Solano Avenues. (Even these areas are targeted for intense development by the Eco-City promoters.)  

Other zoning districts on commercial traffic corridors have many building sites that have been held off the real estate market for years, awaiting the most lucrative time for development. That moment may well have been missed given the current economic downturn. In addition, new statistics show more people are leaving California each month than are entering, suggesting that the population increases projected by ABAG are exaggerated and will benefit only their collaborators. However, the usefulness of these projections becomes quickly apparent when “healthy” corporations often suddenly dismiss thousands of devoted workers. Even Berkeley of all places, now has a sizeable inventory of vacant rental units. Our alternative proposal on page one, suggests that civic attention should be attending to numerous infrastructure deficiencies, such as power and water sources and to improved public transit service. 

A great percentage of Berkeley’s housing stock is appropriately scaled for a city perched on a known seismic fault. One of the goals of the Height Limit Initiative, therefore, is to redirect the General Plan Draft by encouraging the development of alternative plans in which existing height limits are selectively reduced. High rise buildings are not needed to improve the city’s prestige. 

Martha Nicoloff 

Berkeley

This tribute to and obituary of Ted Rosenkrantz was  

written by Berkeley resident Mark Coplan,  

president of In Dulci Jubilo 

Though many of us in the community know who Ted Rosenkranz was, others don’t realize that, with no children of his own, Rosenkranz created In Dulci Jubilo, Inc. to fulfill a life-long dream of helping to inspire our kids.  

He died at 80 of cancer on Friday afternoon.  

In addition to giving more than 23 full years of his life, Ted didn’t do anything part time – he gave more than $500,000 of his own money to the organization.  

He would have no extras for himself, but would write a personal check for $500 to a teacher without blinking an eye. Especially if it was for a garden or a spelling bee.  

And his neighbors will tell you he was truly a legend in his garden, but even some of them didn’t know of his generosity to Berkeley schools and the city’s children. He always insisted that he take no personal credit.  

For all of these years, when I.D.J. sponsored an event, Ted was the quiet guy in the back passing out refreshments.  

During the past two months, as he waited to pass, I had many wonderful opportunities to spend time with Ted. We spoke of many things, like when he was a student at Willard Jr. High, what it was like to be the second family to build a house on Fulton Street and the early days of I.D.J. 

Thursday morning he told me that the time had come and he was waiting to die. He told me that his only regret was that he had not been able do enough to inspire and excite kids. I laughed and reminded him of all that he had accomplished for Berkeley kids. And I assured him that In Dulci Jubilo would continue to make dreams in the classrooms come true, inspiring both teachers and students for the next 23 years.  

After staying low key for so many years, Ted finally settled back and enjoyed the spotlight. He was deeply touched when Mayor Shirley Dean came to his bedside and presented him with a proclamation declaring Ted Rosenkranz Day in the City of Berkeley. He watched Berkeley Community TV from his bed when the School Board proclaimed Ted Rosenkranz Day in the schools. And when the Daily Planet ran a full page article honoring him (2/10/2001), he had the most beautiful, shy smile as I read it to him. Someone brought him a stack of copies and he passed them out to visitors for days. It was beautifully written, and it was a fitting eulogy to one of Berkeley’s greatest sons.  

Ted left knowing that he had made a difference. 

A memorial will be held during the first week of December and will be announced in the pages of the Daily Planet.

SAN FRANCISCO — A University of California regents committee voted Wednesday to start looking at prospective students as more than the sum of their grades and transcripts, taking into account what kind of personal struggles they went through to arrive at those numbers. 

The 13-2 vote by the committee of the university’s governing board of regents sends the issue to the full board Thursday, where it is expected to be approved. 

The policy, known as “comprehensive review,” involves looking at grades and test scores plus such things as whether a student overcame poverty or has special talents or did well in a bad school. It has been criticized as a covert way of reviving race-based admissions, banned by state law, although supporters maintain it is race-neutral, looking at how all students, not just poor students, met challenges. 

Regents added an amendment to the policy saying it would not be used to inject race into the admissions process. 

Comprehensive review already is being used to admit some students to UC’s eight undergraduate campuses. But the campuses presently are restricted to admitting at least 50 percent of their students on the basis of 10 academic criteria. 

Comprehensive review adds four supplemental criteria to that equation, including such things as whether the student pushed himself or overcame adversity. 

Proponents say the switch, already approved by UC faculty, sends a message to California high school students that they can get into UC if they make the most of their opportunities. 

“I have always felt that there has to be a better way than just looking at numbers,” said Regent Sherry Lansing. 

State schools superintendent Delaine Eastin, who is also a regent, said the change helps rectify inequities in California’s public schools. 

Without comprehensive review, UC could lose some potentially great students, Eastin said. 

“We’ll miss Abe Lincoln if we’re not careful. We’ll certainly bypass Oprah and we’ll miss Whoopi Goldberg and we won’t bring Einstein or Edison forward,” she said. All those people, she said, “came from dysfunctional families or had serious learning disabilities.” 

Critics say they’re concerned the plan would make the admissions process a little less fair. 

“We’re rushing this through in order to have it in place by next year and I think that is ill-advised,” said Regent Ward Connerly, although he did vote for the switch after the amendment to keep it race-neutral was added. “I think it’s going to subject this university to an untold amount of disrespect, litigation and questions about the credibility of the process.” 

Comprehensive review would not change the statewide pool of students deemed eligible for entry to one of UC’s eight undergraduate campuses. That is determined by meeting grade and test minimums or by graduating in the top 4 percent of one’s high school class. 

However, it could change enrollment, especially at the top campuses of Berkeley and UCLA, because campuses would be using comprehensive review when they selected students from the pool of eligible students. 

The 50 percent minimum was adopted at the same time UC dropped race from admissions in 1995. Previously, campuses had to admit at least 40 percent of students on academics alone. 

Regents rescinded the 1995 vote in May. The vote was largely symbolic because of a 1996 law dismantling most state affirmative action programs, but did bring the academic minimum up for debate. 

After race-blind admissions went into effect, enrollment of blacks and Hispanics tumbled. The figures have rebounded since then, but there has been a reshuffling, with more blacks and Hispanics going to lesser-known campuses such as UC-Riverside and fewer going to Berkeley and UCLA. 

UC officials say the new policy isn’t backdoor affirmative action because race is taken off applications before they are reviewed and the overall pool of applicants remains unchanged. They say they do not expect the ethnic composition of freshmen classes at any of the campuses to change substantially. 

Berkeley officials reviewed 1,000 admissions from this fall and found that all but 4 percent would have been admitted under comprehensive review. The losers under comprehensive review tended to be students who had good grades but hadn’t done much outside the classroom.

BAKERSFIELD — Cutting down their options, California’s high-speed rail planners discarded dozens of potential route alignments and stations Wednesday and ruled out magnetic levitation trains in favor of slower, more conventional alternatives. 

But the planners, members of the California High-Speed Rail Authority board, delayed until January a decision on mountainous routes between San Jose and Merced and Bakersfield and Sylmar until they get more information about the feasibility of tunneling. 

Board members are also scheduled to weed out potential routes and stations between Sacramento and Bakersfield and the Los Angeles airport and Union Station when they meet in January. 

On Wednesday, the nine-member panel agreed to discontinue evaluations of 23 possible alignments and 24 potential station sites in the Bay Area and between Los Angeles and San Diego. 

They kept alive 16 potential alignments and 59 station locations in those two areas of the state. 

The action was like the first cut made by an athletic team to drop unlikely prospects from its roster. It clears the way for more detailed studies needed before state officials can decide whether to build the 700-mile system, which would link California’s major cities with trains running at top speeds of more than 200 mph. 

Mehdi Morshed, the board’s executive director, said the cuts were a normal part of the planning process and were not dictated by the state’s bleak revenue picture. 

“If we had all the money in the world we would be doing exactly the same thing,” he said. 

Lawmakers gave the board $5 million last year to begin the nearly three years of environmental and engineering reviews. But faced with a state budget shortfall that could hit $14 billion, the Legislature approved only $1 million this year, enough to keep the board’s small staff in place. 

Since then the board has gotten $519,000 in unused transportation bond funds and hopes to get $4.5 million from the federal government to keep at least a slimmed down planning effort on track. 

In making Wednesday’s cuts, the board accepted most of a staff report that cited cost, construction difficulties, environmental damage, impact on residential areas, limited right of way and longer travel time among reasons for dropping route alignments and stations from further consideration. 

The board also discarded the idea of using futuristic magnetic levitation trains, saying they couldn’t share track with conventional trains and that adopting them for the California system would bar high-speed rail service into San Francisco. 

Magnetic levitation, or maglev, technology uses powerful magnets to hold trains off the track and propel them at speeds of up to 343 mph. 

There are no maglev trains in commercial use now, although China plans to have a 20-mile maglev line in place by 2003 to carry passengers to the Shanghai airport. 

Instead of maglev, the board decided to focus on using conventional high-speed trains that run on electricity or diesel and can share track with slower trains in heavily urban areas. 

The board also: 

— Said that sharing track with the slower Caltrain commuter trains was the only “realistic alternative” for high-speed rail between San Francisco and San Jose, although that strategy would reduce high-speed traffic on the San Francisco Peninsula. The commuter trains would move onto sidings to let the high-speed trains pass. 

— Decided that only diesel-powered high-speed trains should be used between San Diego and Irvine, saying coastal communities don’t like the “visual impacts” of the overhead wires required for faster electric trains. 

Electric trains can run at maximum speeds of more than 200 mph. The top speed for their diesel counterparts is 150 mph. 

• SAN FRANCISCO TO SAN JOSE — The board said using the existing Caltrain corridor and sharing track with the slower commuter trains was the only “realistic alternative” even though that approach would reduce the number of daily high-speed trains between the two cities. The board dropped the idea of creating a separate high-speed line in the Caltrain corridor or creating a high-speed line that would follow Highway 101. 

• OAKLAND TO SAN JOSE — The board kept two potential routes for more study. One would follow the Union Pacific’s Hayward line and then use an aerial structure in the Interstate 880 median. The other would follow a series of UP lines. 

• SYLMAR TO LOS ANGELES — One route kept for more study would generally follow the Metrolink-Union Pacific corridor to Union Station or a new station close by. The other would veer off that corridor at Burbank and follow Interstate 5 before going through a tunnel under Elysian Park to the Union Station area. 

• LOS ANGELES TO MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE — One possible alignment would follow the Union Pacific corridor to Colton, then turn south along the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe corridor before following Interstate 215 to the base. The other would follow a different Union Pacific corridor through South El Monte before picking up the Colton corridor near the City of Industry. 

• MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE TO MIRA LOMA — The board selected a “minimizing tunnels” option that would go through Murrieta, Temecula and Escondido along Interstate 15. 

• MIRA LOMA TO SAN DIEGO — There are still four potential routes under study. One would follow Interstate 15, then turn west along Miramar Road to the Los Angeles-San Diego rail corridor and then to south along the corridor or another route to the Sante Fe depot. Another would follow Interstate 15, State Highway 163 and then tunnel under Balboa Park to the Santa Fe depot. A third would cut from Interstate 15 through Carroll Canyon to the Los Angeles-San Diego rail corridor and then turn south. The fourth would follow Interstate 15 and stop at Qualcomm Stadium. 

• LOS ANGELES TO ANAHEIM — The board settled on two possible routes: Following the Los Angeles-San Diego rail corridor with a stop in Fullerton or a Union Pacific branch line, 

• ANAHEIM TO SAN DIEGO — The route would follow the Los Angeles-San Diego rail line, but only slower diesel-powered trains with a top speed of 150 mph would be used south of Irvine because the coastal communities consider the wires needed for electric trains unsightly.  

The board is scheduled to consider routes between San Jose and Merced, Sacramento and Bakersfield, and Bakersfield and Sylmar when it meets in January.

LOS ALTOS — A Los Altos investment banker was aboard American Airlines Flight 587, which crashed into a residential New York City neighborhood Monday, destroying homes and killing all 260 passengers and crew. 

Family and friends are mourning the death of Kathleen Williams, 54, who had taken the Dominican Republic-bound flight to bring equipment to a new medical facility there. 

Cousin Christine England said Williams often worked in Latin America trying to improve the lives of impoverished people. England said Williams was planning to travel to Guatemala when she learned funding had been approved for the Dominican project, prompting her to shift her destination. 

“She told her very best friend on Sunday that this was the happiest time of her life, to be able to go and just affect the lives of so many people,” England said. “She drew people in, she made people feel included, and welcome, and loved, and she will be very missed.” 

Friends called Williams a passionate and dedicated person who was quick to help people down on their luck. Williams raised thousands of dollars with her church congregation to send as flood relief for victims of Hurricane Mitch, and volunteered at her church. 

“She made a difference in our life here in this church,” said friend Lynne McCoy. 

Williams often took her goodwill efforts abroad. She spoke French, Spanish and Portuguese and helped establish Bank of America branches in Latin America. 

“She was true blue,” said her mother, Beverly Tucker. “She was more than a daughter. She was incredible.” 

Williams also was involved in her own community and served as president of the board of trustees at Palo Alto’s Castilleja School, where her 16-year-old daughter, Emily, attends. 

Williams also is survived by her husband, Keith, and three brothers. 

WASHINGTON — The first in a new class of therapy for rheumatoid arthritis won federal approval Wednesday, although studies show Kineret promises just modest effectiveness. 

The Food and Drug Administration said the new drug should be reserved for arthritis patients who have failed today’s best treatments. 

Still, many doctors eagerly were awaiting Amgen Inc.’s drug because there are few options for the more than 2 million sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis. 

This is not the common arthritis associated with the wear and tear of aging. With rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system goes awry and attacks patients’ joints, causing swelling and stiffness as rogue immune cells eat away cartilage and eventually erode bone. It mostly strikes women, usually between ages 25 and 50, and can disable them within 10 years. 

Kineret, known chemically as anakinra, works differently from other treatments, blocking a protein called interleukin-1 that is one cause of the joint swelling. 

Studies show that after six months of treatment, about 38 percent of Kineret patients suffered less swelling and pain, compared with 22 percent who got a dummy shot. 

In contrast, about two-thirds of patients improve with the competing drugs Enbrel and Remicade, which block a different inflammatory immune protein, called tumor necrosis factor or TNF, said the FDA’s Dr. Karen Weiss. 

Prescription-only Kineret will be on pharmacy shelves within two weeks, and will cost about $11,088 a year, said Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen. That is slightly lower than its anti-TNF competitors, which cost around $12,000 a year. 

Kineret’s main side effect is irritation at the injection site. Because it suppresses the immune system, it also causes a small risk of serious infection — 2 percent of Kineret patients versus less than 1 percent of placebo patients. 

Patients should stop taking Kineret if they develop an infection, but can resume the treatment once the infection clears, Amgen said. 

The anti-TNF drugs also cause the infection risk, so patients should not use Kineret together with either Enbrel or Remicade, Weiss said. 

One small study suggested that such combination therapy left 7 percent of patients with a serious infection, and occasionally caused a severe drop in infection-fighting white blood cells.

SAN ANTONIO — SBC Communications Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. unveiled a marketing alliance Wednesday to provide high-speed Internet service and other Web-based products in the 13 states served by SBC. 

The service, to be known as SBC Yahoo, is scheduled to launch in mid-2002. 

The partnership bodes the eventual demise of the Prodigy brand. Earlier this month SBC paid $465 million for all shares of Prodigy, an Internet dial-up service and Web portal with 3.6 million customers nationwide. 

“We believe Yahoo is a stronger brand name,” said James Kahan, SBC’s senior executive vice president for corporate development. 

Employees at Prodigy, based in Austin were told of the SBC-Yahoo alliance at a staff meeting earlier in the day, said SBC spokesman Larry Solomon. 

SBC’s dial-up customers acquired in the Prodigy deal are expected to be switched over to the SBC Yahoo portal by the end of 2002, and then the Prodigy name will be eliminated, he said. 

Solomon said the move will lead to job cuts among both current SBC and Prodigy workers, though he said the extent was still yet to be determined. 

The venture signals Yahoo’s choice of DSL over cable modem as a Internet broadband solution. SBC, with 1.2 million customers, is the nation’s largest DSL Internet provider. 

SBC Yahoo will offer premium services, among them more Internet content and online video capabilities, the companies said. 

SBC and Yahoo officials said they will share revenue from the co-branded service.  

Yahoo, for example, will receive a portion of Internet subscriber fees paid to SBC, while SBC will get a cut of Yahoo’s advertising and e-commerce revenue. 

Shares of SBC were rose 4 cents to $37.44 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while shares of Yahoo were up $1.24 to $15.21 in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.sbc.com 

http://www.yahoo.com 

SAN JOSE — Hewlett-Packard Co. shares rose 9 percent Wednesday after the high-tech giant’s fourth-quarter earnings beat analyst estimates, possibly strengthening the company’s hand as it tries to win support for its $23.7 billion acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp. 

In the three months ending Oct. 31, HP earned $97 million, or 5 cents per share, down 89 percent from its profit of $922 million, or 47 cents per share, in the same period last year. 

Revenue fell to $10.9 billion in the quarter from $13.3 billion a year ago, but that was up from the third quarter’s $10.3 billion. 

Excluding one-time gains and losses, HP reported earnings of $361 million, or 19 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call were expecting earnings excluding one-time events of 8 cents per share, on revenue of $9.9 billion. 

Several analysts said the results were excellent, considering the bad economy.  

Jay P. Stevens of the Buckingham Research Group said the report gives the company momentum in its bid to attract support for the Compaq deal. 

The deal has come under increasing fire, notably from sons of HP’s founders, including Walter B. Hewlett, an HP board member who has hired a proxy solicitation company that can help him fight the deal. 

HP’s largest shareholder, the Packard family’s charitable foundation, is undecided about how to vote its 10.4 percent stake. 

The earnings report did not change the opinion of David Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors, which has large stakes in HP and Compaq and opposes the acquisition. Katz believes the potential benefits of the deal are outweighed by the risk that the integration will be rocky. 

He said Wednesday’s report likely would solidify chairwoman and chief executive Carly Fiorina’s support from the board and some shareholders, “because she is progressing in a difficult environment.” 

“But the flip side is that it also illustrates Hewlett would do pretty well on its own and doesn’t need the significant cloud in its future,” he said. 

HP said it had relatively good results in its services and printing businesses, though the computing side remains unprofitable. Sales all but recovered within a few weeks of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, though chief financial officer Robert Wayman said “big-ticket items are still a bit soft.” 

Fiorina said the company aggressively lowered inventory and expenses to deal with the economic slowdown, and was so pleased with its performance in the tough environment that it awarded nearly all employees a bonus of two days’ pay. 

“This past year has been a challenging one in a multiyear reinvention effort,” Fiorina said in a conference call with analysts. “While we’ve made solid progress on many fronts in an extraordinarily difficult environment, we know there is more work to do.” 

The results were announced before the stock market opened. HP shares rose $1.85 to $22.08 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock, which closed at $23.21 on Aug. 31, the last day of trading before the Compaq deal was announced, had fallen as low as $12.50 since then. 

Compaq shares were up 14 percent, or $1.20 a share, at $10.00 on the NYSE. 

Reaffirming her support for the Compaq deal, Fiorina said it would greatly improve HP’s product lineup for business customers, create new services opportunities and lower the company’s costs in key areas. 

“We don’t have the luxury of an incremental approach,” she said. “We need to take a bold step.” 

Wayman, who is also an HP board member, acknowledged in an interview that Compaq’s disappointing recent results have made reaction to the deal more negative than management had expected. Compaq lost $499 million and had a 33 percent drop in revenue in its quarter that ended Sept. 30. 

But Wayman said he sees signs Compaq’s business improved in October. He reiterated his belief the deal can immediately add to HP’s bottom line, especially by eliminating redundant costs. 

Palo Alto-based HP took a restructuring charge of $282 million in the quarter to account for 6,000 job cuts announced in July. About 4,100 of those employees have already left the company. 

HP did not provide specific guidance for fiscal 2002, saying the company is not counting on an economic recovery. In the current quarter, revenue is expected to drop slightly from the fourth quarter, and margins are expected to be about flat because of an “intensely competitive environment,” Fiorina said. 

For all of fiscal 2001, HP showed net income of $408 million, or 21 cents per share, on revenue of $45.2 billion. The net income figure was $272 million lower than it would have been had HP not restated its first three quarters’ results to reflect a change in accounting procedures. 

Those yearly marks all were off fiscal 2000’s results of $3.7 billion in net income, $1.80 a share, on revenue of $48.8 billion. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.hp.com 

People listen as a woman sings of loneliness on the steps of Old City Hall Tuesday night during a candlelight vigil in memory of the homeless who have died this year.  

“This community gathering is celebrating Berkeley’s response to the homeless, but there is more to be done. There’s always more to be done,” said boona cheema, executive director of Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency, which, along with Food First and Food Not Bombs, sponsored the gathering .

Wednesday, Nov. 14

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 

Flu Shots 

12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St.  

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or more and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

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. 

Movie Presentation 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

The movie, “If These Walls Could Talk” will be shown. 644-6107 

Near-Death Experience  

Support/Information-Sharing  

Group 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Church 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

The new East Bay chapter of IANDS (International Association of Near-Death Studies) will be provide an open, sharing, compassionate and supportive environment for the exploration of NDEs, the dying process, the meaning of life and human consciousness. 428-2442 www.iands.org. 

Haiti: Ten Years After the Coup 

7 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Film: LaFanmi Selavi (The Family is Life) by Lee Flynn and Caitlin Manning. A documentary showing Haiti and its people living in a culture of resistance, dignity, and hope-– a perspective rarely explored by the media. Sponsored by Jericho Amnesty Movement. $5 (no one turned away for lack of funds). 483-7481 

Second Wednesdays Poetry  

Writing Workshop 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Albany Library 

1247 Marin Ave. 

Second Wednesdays is a monthly Poetry Writing Workshop, led by Alison Seevak. Free and open to all ages. 526-3720 x19 

Planning Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Wireless Telecommunications Facilities: Continued Planning Commission discussion of and action on proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendments to add Chapter 23C.17 and new definitions to Subsection 23F regarding the siting, installation, and operation of wireless telecommunications antennas and related facilities for personal wireless services. The new regulations shall apply to wireless telecommunications facilities on property other than the public right of way.  

Thursday, Nov. 15

Berkeley Center for  

Globalization and Information  

Technology 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

Inderpal Grewal, SFSU, “Transnational America: Identity, Citizenship and Diasporas in Late-Twentienth Century USA.” 642-4608 

Flu Shots 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m.  

West Berkeley Senior Center 

1900 Sixth St. 

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or more and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

UK Seminar 

5 p.m. 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall 

John Brewer, University of Chicago, “New Ways in History, or, Talking about my Generation: History and Modernity in the 1960s.” 642-4608 

Latin Dance Class 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Salsa, Cha-cha, Merengue... $10, No partner necessary. All ages and levels welcome. 508-4616 

Storytelling Workshop for  

Senior Adults 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

27th and Harrison St., Oakland 

Storyteller, Steven Henegar, leads the workshop. 444-4755 

Falun Gong Introduction  

Workshop  

7 - 9 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Dwinelle 83 

Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese mind and body meditation/exercise system. Free. xrzhang@lbl.gov 

Editor, 

I’ve been following the exchange about downtown parking, and found Planning Commission chair Rob Wrenn’s letter (typically for him) clear, logical and comprehensive. And I love Bonnie Hughes’ sane-and-zany points, including the irony of all the serious treadmillers who probably drive a mile or less to get to the gym. 

With Jenny Wenk and everyone else that thinks of more parking as a solution and driving as a necessity for most folks, I want to share some of my own personal transportation experiences. I consider living in Berkeley (in my case, not in the hills) a privilege for many reasons, but among them is the fact that I’ve been able to explore and in some small ways innovate in finding practical ways to run my life while minimizing car use. (It is so frustrating and expensive to drive in urban areas, and so little fun!) 

I am one of those people who needs to watch my weight and can’t ever manage to find a separate, “dedicated time” for Exercise (capital “E” intentional.) It’s just part of my nature to look for “twofers”: e.g., using my body while getting to work, shopping, running errands, etc. 

I used to bike to work, and I still have my bicycle set up with both a center rear basket and side panniers for packages of various sorts. But the trip wasn’t long enough (about a mile each way) to get much exercise riding, so I began walking. I hated dealing with a heavy backpack, so I got one of those four-wheeled foldable shopping carts, and after struggling with wasteful and leaking plastic trash bags in the rain, learned of a booth at the Ashby Flea Market that has, for about four dollars, a great zip-top heavy gauge woven plastic bag that makes a perfect insert and even has handles for easy liftout at home. I call the whole rig my “Lincoln Town Car”, which always getsa few laughs. 

But the main thing is that the walking is so relaxing and refreshing! I can listen to tapes or my radio – or not, watch the progress of roses throughout a year...I still love to do longer errands by bike (sometimes Kaiser, Emeryville Marketplace, etc.) and use BART to A’s games and to San Francisco for some classes I take. I do own a car, and use it when necessary, but most of the time my basic motto is “ABC”: Anything But the Car. 

For the record, I am 59. Granted, no children for me to ferry about these days. But I do feel that by the time I get into Ms. Wenk’s theoretically “car dependent” demographic, I’ll still be in plenty good enough shape to go on enjoying life more because I’m driving less. 

Donna Mickleson 

Berkeley 

It’s been said that 1,000 years from now the most enduring American contributions to the world will be the Constitution, baseball and jazz. We might like to think of that as our legacy, but the most visible icons of America will probably be the curvy script of Coca-Cola and the rounded ears of Mickey Mouse. 

However, the logo of the Walt Disney company fares in the coming era, its origins are being complicated by a documentary film screening at the Fine Arts Cinema in Berkeley. “The Hand Behind The Mouse: The Story of Ub Iwerks” attempts to set the corporate history straight regarding the little guy with the squeaky voice. 

Ub Iwerks met Walt Disney when both were low-level draftsmen in Kansas City. Together they embarked on a creative business partnership creating short animated commercials and announcements for a local movie theater. The film traces a period of failed business dealings before Iwerks and Disney sat down together to brainstorm a new cartoon character, which would eventually become Mickey.  

The name Ub Iwerks may sound strange to most people. For one thing, it’s a Dutch-German name whose grunting vowels don’t have the sparkly lilt of “Walt Disney.” More significantly, Ub Iwerks has been all but erased from popular history of American culture. This is the man whose influence reached to include Chuck Jones and Carl Stalling, who achieved animation immortality with Bugs Bunny. 

“The Hand Behind The Mouse” was created in 1998 by Iwerks’ granddaughter, Leslie, who will make an appearance at the Fine Arts Cinema on Sunday, Nov. 18th to speak with the audience. Although just an infant when Ub passed away, through research and interviews Iwerks put together a thumbnail sketch of her grandfather.  

“From what I gathered by looking at all his artwork page and page, and cell by cell, what I do know of him is that he was a very quiet man,” said Iwerks by telephone from Los Angeles. “But he had a dry wit about I him, and a quiet humor. And a wacky humor. If you think about it, Iwerks spelled backwards is ‘screwy.’” 

The story she tells, however, is not the discovery of her grandfather – not a “personal documentary” of the kind which has gained artistic cache in recent years due to Marlon Riggs’ inferior imitators. She doesn’t need that. The repercussions of global popular culture and the implication of corporations controlling their own history have automatically raised this film’s ante. 

Iwerks said she had been wanting to tell the real story of her grandfather and his place in the pantheon of popular animation since she was a girl. The added bonus is that in doing so, it also lends a peek into the operation and motivation of the Disney company. To viewers with only a passing interest in animation history, the indirect portrayal of a business giant is the more interesting subplot. 

This December marks Walt Disney’s 100th birthday and the Walt Disney Company is aggressively advertising its year-long “100 Years of Magic” celebrations by digging up old archival footage of Walt on radio and television, and presenting Disney’s seemingly phenomenal – and prolific – artistry and engineering. The phrase oft repeated in this campaign comes from one of Disney’s early television appearances: “We must never forget, it all started with a mouse.”  

As a corporate slogan, it’s great. But all the publicity material coming from the Walt Disney Company make no mention of Iwerks, the man who developed the look of Mickey (then named Mortimer and thankfully changed later). Mickey’s first cartoon was called “Plane Crazy” and Iwerks, in a superhuman bout of frenetic drawing, drew all of the thousands of cells needed to make that three-minute short in a manner of a few weeks. 

The Walt Disney Company not only uses Mickey as its familiar corporate logo, but for years it projected Disney as its frontman. Disney was a recognizable presence on the company’s weekly television show to introduce programs and new company projects. It’s corporate identity was as much about Disney warm familiarity as Mickey’s round ears. 

In the popular imagination, the company was associated with Walt Disney, and it would be naïve to assume that was a happy accident. The price paid for identifying a huge company’s projects as a single man is that the artists and engineers who upheld the company’s vision – people like Iwerks – got brushed under the rug. 

Perhaps the greatest irony of this film is the very first image you see during the opening credits. The Walt Disney Company funded this film, and Roy Disney,Jr., Disney’s nephew and a vice president of the company, appears in the film remembering Iwerks and his contributions to Disney the man and Walt Disney the company.  

Iwerks said he shied away from speaking directly about the origins of Mickey. 

“Never did he (Roy Disney, Jr.) specify or give a point of view on how Mickey was created,” she said, “but certainly indirectly supported my viewpoint in funding the movie and never saying anything different.” 

To lob criticism at the stranglehold which the Walt Disney Company has on the imaginations of young children is like throwing dirt clods at the side of a barn; their cultural misdemeanors are many: Celebration, U.S.A., “Pocahontas,” the revitalization of Gilbert Godfried’s career. But “The Hand Behind The Mouse” presents the qualities that made Walt Disney a likeable friend, a successful businessman and a good guy to work for.  

“I call this the Walt and Ub story, because they were two sides of the same passion,” and each inspired the other, said Iwerks.  

As an employee of Disney, Ub Iwerks developed multi-plane animation cameras, an animation Xerox process which virtually eliminated hand-inking cells, the wetgate printer which removed scratches from film footage, perfected a process to bring live-action and animation together and a list as long as his arm of other innovations.  

“That was one thing Ub really liked and respected about Walt, was that he didn’t have a budget to do what he needed to do,” said Iwerks. “He would have an idea, share it with Walt, and Walt would say: ‘Great, can we adapt it or can we use it on this film or this attraction?’ So they would immediately go and create a prototype of something that would save the company thousands and thousands of dollars.” 

If Ub Iwerks gave Disney the things he needed to make his company succeed, Walt in turn gave Iwerks an open playing field and nearly limitless facilities to make whatever his mind could fancy, which sounds like an engineer’s dream job. 

924 Gilman St. Nov. 16: Pitch Black, The Blottos, Miracle Chosuke, 240; Nov. 17: Carry On, All Bets Off, Limp Wrist, Labrats, Thought Riot; Nov. 18: 5 p.m., Mad Caddies, Monkey, Fabulous Disaster, Over It; Nov. 23: The Stitches, Starvations, Neon King Kong, Kill Devil Hills, Problem; Nov. 24: Tilt, Missing Link, Cry Baby Cry; Nov. 30: Shitlist, Atrocious Madness, Fuerza X, Catheter, S Bitch, Delta Force; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Nov. 15: Keni “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Nov. 21: Whiskey Brothers (Old Time & Bluegrass); Nov. 22: Keni “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Nov. 24: Tipsy House Irish Band. All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

Anna’s Nov. 14: Bob Shoen Jazz Quintet; Nov. 15: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Nov. 16: Anna & Hyler T. Jones, 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Nov. 17: Vicki Burns & Felice York, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet; All shows 8 p.m. unless noted. Free. 1901 University Ave., 849-2662 

Blake’s Nov. 14: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2, Hebro, free. All shows 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave. 848-0886 

Cal Performances Nov. 29: Les Arts Florissants, $24 - $46; 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 

Jupiter Nov. 14: Wayside; Nov. 15: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 16: 5 Point Plan; Nov. 17: Corner Pocket; Nov. 21: Starchild; All shows 8 p.m. and free. 2821 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625/ www.jupiter. com 

MusicSources Nov. 18 Harpsichordist Gilbert Martinez. Both shows 5 p.m. $15-18. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

“Music on Telegraph” Nov. 17: Christy Dana Quartet, Greg’s Pizza, 2311 Telegraph Ave.; Nov. 18: Mitch Marcus Trio, Raleigh’s, 2438 Telegraph Ave.; Joe Chellman Quartet, The Village, 2556 Telegraph Ave.; Nov. 25: Downtown Uproar, Greg’s Pizza, 2311 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 1: Scrambled Samba Trio, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 2: Paul and Jill Janoff, Musical Offering, 2430 Bancroft; Dec. 8: Jonah Minton Quartet, Julie’s Healthy Cafe, 2562 Bancroft; Dec. 9: Hebro, Blakes, 2367 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 15: Thelonious On The Move, Bison Brewing, 2598 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 16: Howard Kadis, Musical Offering Cafe, 2430 Bancroft; Dec. 22: Kaz Sasaki Duo, Blackberry Ginger, 2520 Durant; Dec. 23: Almadecor, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; All shows 2 - 4 p.m., Free. 

“Berkeley Repertory Theatre Presents Anthony Rapp and His Band” Nov. 13: 8 p.m. Anthony Rapp, currently starring in Berkeley Rep’s “Nocturne,” performs with his three-piece band. $12 - $25. Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., 647-2949 

“Musicians for Medical Marijuana” Nov. 16: 7 :30 p.m., Dark Star Orchestra, The Flying Other Brothers, MCed by Mountain Girl, doctors and lawyers on hand for consultation. $20. Sweet’s Ballroom, 1988 Broadway, Oakland, 869-5391 www.m4mmj.org. 

“Oakland Symphony Chorus and the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra” presents a joint concert. Nov. 17: 8 p.m.; Nov. 18: 4 p.m.; $15. First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. 465-4199 www.oakland-sym-chorus.org 

“Mozart and Mozart of the North” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Hausmusik presents early classical quartets by Mozart , Johann Fuchs, and Bernhard Crusell, the “Mozart of the North”. $15-18. St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany, 527-9029 

“The Fuck the War Ball” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Bay Area’s most outrageous bands will perform in benefit for Love Underground Vision Radio. $5. Burnt Ramen, 111 Espee Ave., Richmond, 526-7858, fmoore@eroplay.com 

Theater 

“Tomas Carrasco of Chicano Secret Service” Nov. 15: 4 p.m. Performance by member of L.A.-based sketch comedy troupe that uses humor to tackle hot-button racial and political issues. Free. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

“La Guerra D’Amore” Nov. 16-17: 8 p.m. Choreographer Joachim Schlomer and period music specialist Rene Jacobs collaborate to present dancers and vocalists expressing stories about the “war of love” in a contemporary Venetian square. $34 - $52. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 642-9988 

“Works in the Works 2001” Through Nov. 18: 7:30. East Bay performance series presents a different program each evening. $8. Eighth Street Studio, 2525 Eighth St., 644-1788 

“Nicholas Nickleby” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. The Young Actors Workshop presents a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby. $10 adults, $8 students and seniors. Performing Arts Center of Contra Costa College, corner of El Portal Dr. and Castro St., San Pablo 235-7800 ext. 4274 

“Lost Cause” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Three space travelers stranded on a forgotten colony, find themselves in the middle of a bloody civil war, and have to decide between what’s right, what’s possible, and what will save their lives. Written by Jefferson Area, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7-12. La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid Ave. 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

“Travesties” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., and Thurs., Nov. 15, 8 p.m. A witty fantasy about James Joyce meeting Lenin in Zurich during World War I. Written by Tom Stoppard, Directed by Mikel Clifford. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck. 528-5620 

Cal Performances Nov. 16 - 17: 8 p.m., “La Guerra d’Amore,” director and choreographer, René Jacobs, conductor, Ensemble Concerto Vocale. Modern dance and early music from German choreographer Joachim Schlömer, $34 - $52; Nov. 30 - Dec. 2: Fri. - Sat.8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m., The Suzuki Company presents a staged interpretation of the Greek classic, “Dionysus”, $30 - $46; UC Berkeley, Zellerbach Hall. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“The Conduct of Life” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. A cautionary tale of unchecked political power gone awry with devastating human consequences. Written by Maria Irene Fornes. $12 general admission, $8 faculty & staff, $6 students. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

“Macbeth” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. Presented by the Albany High School Theater Ensemble. $7 adults, $5 students and seniors. Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd. 559-6550 x4125 theaterensemble@hotmail.com 

“Odyssey” Nov. 16: 7 p.m., Nov. 17: 2 p.m., 7 p.m., Nov. 18: 2 p.m., The Splash Circus presents this outer space circus adventure with juggling scientists, acrobatic aliens, aerial acts, tumbling, masked Commedia characters, contortion, pyramids and dance. Youth performers between the ages of 10 - 14. $13, $6.50 for kids under 14. The Alice Arts Center, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. 655-1265 x202, www.splashcircus.com. 

“Goddesses” Nov. 30 through Dec. 1: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 7 p.m. A sensuous and humorous drama concerning one mortal woman’s struggle to control the six extraordinary goddesses in her psyche. Written by Dorotea Reyna. $10. Mils College, Lisser Hall, 5900 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland 883-0536, rlcouture@earthlink.net 

“Saint Joan” Through Dec. 2: Wed. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., 7 p.m. George Bernard Shaw’s epic of a young girl determined to drive the English out of France with only her faith to support her. Directed by Barbara Oliver. $26-35. Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St. 843-4822 www.auroratheatre.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 

“Brave Brood” Through Dec. 16 Robert O’Hara directs Robert O’Hara’s searing tale of money, desperation, and the fight for survival. $20. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305 www.transparenttheater.org 

“Much Ado About Nothing” Nov. 20 through Jan. 8: Check theater for specific dates and times. Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy chronicles a handful of soldiers returning from a winning battle to be greeted by a gaggle of giddy maidens. Directed by Brian Kulick. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

Films 

Pacific Film Archive Theater Nov. 16: 7:30 p.m., Autumn Almanac; Nov. 17 & 18: 1 p.m., Satantango; Nov. 21: 7 :30 p.m., Macbeth; Nov. 30: 7:30 p.m., Werckmeister Harmonies; 2575 Bancroft Way, 642-1124 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Exhibits  

“Art Benefit for the Gabriel Sussman Rodriguez Education Fund” Through Nov. 16: Over 60 artists have donated work for this tribute to the memory of Wendy Sussman, a painter and professor of art practice at UC Berkeley, and contribute to the education of her son. Sun. - Fri. 1 - 6 p.m. Worth Ryder Gallery, Kroeber hall, UC Berkeley 415-665-6131 

“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 

“In Through the Outdoors” Through Nov. 24: Featuring seven artists who work in photography and related media including sculpture and video, this exhibit addresses the shift in values and contemporary concerns about the natural world that surrounds us. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery, 1316 Tenth St. www.traywick.com 

“2001 James D. Phelan Art Awards in Printmaking” Honorees: Bridget Henry, David Kelso, and Margaret Van Patten. Through Nov. 30 Tues. - Fri. noon - 5 p.m., other times by appointment. Kala Art Institue, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 www.kala.org 

“Furniture Art” Through Dec. 7: An exhibit of metal and wood furniture that revisits furniture not only as art but as craft. 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. The Current Gallery at the Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.org 

“The Paintings of Bethany Anne Ayers and Sculpture of Alexander Cheves” Nov. 15 through Dec. 15: Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ardency Gallery, 709 roadway, Oakland. 836-0831 gallery709@aol.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 

“Matrix 195” Nov. 18 through Jan. 13: German artist, Thomas Scheibitz’s, first solo museum exhibition in the United States showcases semi-abstract representations of everyday objects and landscapes. Wed., Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $3-$6. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

GTU Exhibit: “Holocaust Series” by Cleve Gray Through Jan. 25: Comprised of 21 works on paper that constitute “a catharsis... for all of humanity.” Mon. - Thurs. 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. noon - 7 p.m.; Free. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, Graduate Theological Union, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541 www.gtu.edu 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” Nov. 15 through Feb. 15: 18 homeless and formerly homeless elders reveal how they learned and applied wisdom that is timeless. Mon. - Fri. and Sundays 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Reception and presentation by the elders Thurs. Nov. 15, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Free. St. Mary’s Center, 635 22nd St., Oakland, 893-4723 x222 

“The Art History Museum of Berkeley” 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. 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

Readings 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Nov. 12: 7:30 p.m. Rabih Alameddine reads from “I, The Divine”; Nov. 13: 7:30 p.m. John Barth reads from “Coming Soon!!!”, Nov. 18: Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux from the Poetry Society of America read,$5; Nov. 28: 7:30 p.m. David Meltzer and contributors read from his newly revised and re-released collection of interviews with Bay Area Beat Poets; 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore Nov. 14: Gregory Crouch talks about “Enduring Patagonia.” All shows 7:30 p.m.; 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Nov. 17: 7 p.m. Graham Hutchings discusses his newly released book “Modern China: A Guide to a Century of Change”; Nov. 18: 4 p.m. Noel Alumit, M.G. Sorongon, and Marianne Villanueva read from their contributions to the anthology “Tilting the Continent: Southeast Asian American Literature”; 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

“Berkeley’s World” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Staged reading of a new play about five Berkeley emigres who form a career support group through an ad placed in the East Bay Express but find they can’t stand each other. Written by Andrea Mock. Free. Speakeasy Theatre, 2016 7th St. 841-9441 

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 Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., 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; Nov. 3: Tales from the Enchanted Forest, 11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.; Nov. 9: Living with the Earth; Nov. 17: Recycle that Stuff; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. Mon. and Wed., 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tues. and Fri., 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thur., 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

Oakland Museum of California Through Nov. 25: Pasajes y Encuentros: Ofrendas for the Days of the Dead, highlights three thematic “passageways” that connect the dead with the living: tradition, humor and spirit; Through Jan. 13: Grand Lyricist: The Art of Elmer Bischoff, featuring paintings and works on paper that trace the evolution of Bischoff’s career. $6 adults, $4 seniors and students, free for children under 5. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m., 10th St., Oakland, 888-625-6873/ www.museumca.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. Mon. through Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat. and Sun., 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.

After taking a year off from volleyball, Emily Friedman approached Berkeley High coach Justin Caraway this summer and asked him if she could play for the team again for her senior season. 

In his mind it wasn’t a question of if she could play, but rather when she could start. 

“I told her right then that she’d be a starter,” he said. “She’s an incredible athlete who is physically very gifted.” 

Friedman, who began playing volleyball in the seventh grade, played for Caraway’s team during her freshman and sophomore seasons but sat out last year to focus on her sport of choice – softball. 

The dedication paid off and Friedman landed a scholarship to play second base for the University of Wisconsin, Madison softball team. 

“I knew when I was 8 years old that’s what I wanted to do,” she said of her upcoming collegiate career on the softball diamond.  

Recruited by Pac-10 and Ivy League schools, Friedman chose the Big 10’s Wisconsin primarily because she “fell in love with the coaching staff,” especially sixth season head coach Karen Gallagher.  

“Everyone I’ve talked to has just said awesome things about her,” Friedman said. “She really knows what she’s doing, was a great player herself and seems like she’d be a good friend.” 

To prepare for next season, Friedman’s currently working on strength conditioning and improving her hitting. She’s lifting weights and spending three days a week with a hitting coach – that’s after practicing two hours a day with her volleyball team. 

“Infielders are a dime a dozen,” she said, “but if you can hit you can play.” 

Shortly before her freshman season at Berkeley, Friedman severely injured her left knee while playing volleyball on her Golden Bear club team. It was that injury that put in focus exactly what she wanted to accomplish and what she needed to do to reach that goal. 

“I missed a whole season of softball,” Friedman said. “I never realized what I took for granted. It took me nine months to get back.” 

Friedman said she’s a competitive person by nature and that she’s now back to full strength this season, even going so far as to say that her injured knee is stronger than her healthy one, and she can focus on the volleyball playoffs. 

“Her desire to win is as strong as any athlete I’ve coached,” Caraway said. “Had she decided to stick with volleyball, I’m sure she’d be going to college on a full volleyball scholarship.” 

Indeed, for an athlete who lists volleyball a distant second on her athletic resume, Friedman’s no stranger to success on the court. As a senior on a Berkeley team that went undefeated in league for the second consecutive year, she recorded 146 digs and blasted 32 aces in 265 service attempts while committing just seven errors, the fewest on the team. She even added 128 assists despite switching from setter to defensive specialist after the third game of the season. 

“All around she’s the most consistent,” Caraway said. “She just doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.” 

In an effort to make her more of an offensive threat, Caraway said that he’s working with Friedman on a jump serve for the playoffs. 

Friedman recognizes that a key component to being a good athlete is exhibiting confidence in competition. She’s set goals for herself that demonstrate her will to win, but takes a tempered approach to thinking past her collegiate career. 

“I’m not leaving Madison until I’m an All-American, I can tell you that,” she said. “That’s my next goal, then after those four years we’ll see.” 

Already she’s prepared for the dramatic differences between softball at the high school and collegiate level. Friedman, who’s not playing softball for Berkeley High this season, plays for a competitive club team in San Jose. It’s nothing like what she’s expecting next fall. 

“High school softball is very, very different,” she said. “In terms of competition, how things are run and in college the sport is year-round. You lift weights, practice every day and live with your team.” 

In the classroom anatomy and biology are two of Friedman’s favorite classes and she’s planning to start on her pre-med requirements next fall at Wisconsin, but added that her major “will probably change a few times.” 

Meanwhile, back to the matter at hand. After a disappointing first-round lost in the North Coast Section playoffs last season, the ’Jackets faced off against Antioch on Tuesday and won 3-1 to advance to the semi-final round on Thursday. 

“We’re definitely a team that could win NCS this year,” Friedman said. “But on any given day anyone who comes out strong and with the most energy could win.” 

In getting to this point Berkeley, in particular, worked on its ball control this season and greatly improved its passing, a direct result of adding Friedman to the ’Jackets’ lineup. 

“Emily’s the best passer on our team, the best defender and she wants to be good at whatever she does,” Caraway said.

In an attempt to kick-start the holiday shopping season, Mayor Shirley Dean, along with representatives from the Chamber of Commerce announced the Shop Berkeley $2,000 Sweepstakes Tuesday. 

During the press conference held in front of Bill’s Trading Post on College Avenue, both Dean and Chamber of Commerce President Reid Edwards denied that the sweepstakes was designed to offset a potential downturn in business related to a controversial council resolution calling for a quick end to the bombing of Afghanistan. 

“We would be doing this regardless of the resolution,” Dean said to television, radio and newspaper reporters. “Berkeley has gone through a renaissance and there are hundreds of friendly shops and restaurants that reflect the unique character of Berkeley.” 

The controversial resolution received national attention and spurred thousands of people to send e-mails and letters, many of which threatened an economic boycott of Berkeley businesses. According to Edwards the existence of a boycott has been only anecdotal. The city’s manager of economic development did not immediately return calls to discuss the possible boycott. 

In fact, progressive Councilmember Dona Spring, who originally authored the controversial Afghanistan resolution, said Berkeley shops might be experiencing a slew of business. 

“We’ve received lots of post cards and e-mails from people saying they will make a point of shopping in Berkeley,” she said. “There are many people in the Bay Area who want a peaceful resolution to the war and are glad to see at least one local government express concern about the use of weapons of mass destruction.” 

Dean, along with three other moderate councilmembers, did not vote for the resolution, which was narrowly approved on Oct. 16 by the council’s progressive majority. 

Shoppers interested in participating in the sweepstakes can do so by spending more than $100 at any one of the 200 participating stores or restaurants. Winners will be drawn from the names of participants on Jan. 10. The first prize is $1,000 and there are two secondary prizes of $500. The sweepstakes begins Monday and will continue through Dec. 30. Dean credited her chief of staff, Jennifer Drapeau, for the sweepstakes idea. 

Since the threat of a boycott, both moderate and progressive councilmembers have eagerly shown support for Berkeley businesses. On Tuesday’s City Council agenda, there were two pro-business recommendations authored by progressive councilmembers. 

One recommendation, authored by councilmembers Linda Maio and Spring, calls for a grant of $25,000 for a citywide holiday advertising campaign, free parking on Saturdays and an additional $25,000 for citywide advertising in the spring. 

In addition Maio has submitted a recommendation that the city’s main Web page add a link to a list of Berkeley businesses that do commerce on the Internet “because supporters (of the resolution) from across the country have asked how they can help patronize Berkeley businesses,” she said. 

The recommendation went on to request that Dean remove any mention of a boycott from her Web site and that she “emphasize the strength and uniqueness of Berkeley’s businesses, which continue to enjoy a strong regional draw.” 

Janet Dunlap, the manager of Bill’s Trading Post, said she hopes the sweepstakes will reverse the indicators of a downturn in the economy.  

“I hope it perks things up around here,” she said. “There’s actually parking spaces outside and that’s a bad sign.”

The Daily Planet received a copy of the following letter addressed to the members of the City Council: 

Thank you so much for your courageous vote in taking a stand to end the bombing in Afghanistan as soon as possible. 

It is a serious mistake to argue against a stand of conscience based on economic considerations. Berkeley’s economy will do better in the long run, by doing what is right, and you have done that. 

I am proud to be a member of Berkeley’s business community. (family practice physician in Berkeley since 1979.) 

I am also proud of Berkeley’s history of thoughtful progressive stands, from Ron Dellums in the 60’s and beyond, to the present. 

Thank you, Berkeley! You make me proud! 

Frank H. Lucido MD 

Berkeley 

Member, Steering Committee, San Francisco Physicians for Social Responsibility

The Planning Commission will make recommendations on two long-standing, controversial city issues tonight – rules for new cellular phone antennae and a moratorium on the conversion of factory space into offices in parts of West Berkeley. 

Both matters have come before the commission and City Council but have not been resolved for almost one year. 

The commission will meet at 7 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. The public hearings on these issues have been closed, but interested parties may address the commission during its regular public comment period. 

If approved at the Planning Commission level, both items will be sent to the City Council.  

The commission will also receive a status report on the Southside Plan, which has been in development for more than three years. The University of California has expressed disapproval over changes to the draft Southside plan, which were added as a result of citizen comment.  

Antennae 

The commission is set to adopt guidelines to regulate applications for new base antennae for cell phone and other wireless communications services.  

Two different drafts of a possible new regulations have been circulated, one prepared by city staff and the other by citizens. 

The citizens’ version is much more restrictive: It wouldn’t allow new antennae near residences or schools, imposes penalties for antenna radiation in excess of the federal limit and demand that antennae be no higher than the maximum building height in each district. 

The authors of the citizens’ proposal admit that under their ordinance, “every provider may not be able to provide coverage to every square inch of the city,” but say that their version is more sensitive to the concerns of residents. 

The commission will likely approve some compromise between the two versions. 

The issue came to light last year, when the Zoning Adjustments Board denied an appeal by neighbors of the Solano Theater. They had sought to overturn an administrative permit given to Nextel Communications, a cell-phone and wireless services provider, to install an antenna on the theater. 

The neighbors, who feared that radiation from the antenna might be dangerous, then appealed to the City Council in December.  

The council responded by instituting a 45-day ban on new cell phone antennae while regulations could be developed. The ban was extended for six months in January and for another five in July.  

Federal law states that cities may only regulate new antennae based on aesthetic grounds, not for fear of possible adverse public health effects. 

MU-LI moratorium 

A subcommittee of the commission formed to study a moratorium on office conversions in the West Berkeley mixed-use/light industrial district has presented its report to the commission. 

The subcommittee recommends that the commission approve the moratorium, which it says will give city officials time to study the effects of office development in the area.  

The district, which comprises between one-third and one-half of Berkeley west of San Pablo Avenue, was designated in the West Berkeley Plan as being an area for light industry and artists.  

During the last year, residents have complained that an influx of office space in the area is causing rents to increase, bringing in undue amounts of traffic and, because of conversions, reducing the city’s stock of building space that can be used by artists and light industry. 

The subcommittee’s position is different than that of city staffers, who, in their report, advise the commission not to approve the moratorium. The staff report holds that there is no “quantifiable information” that shows that office development in the district has negatively impacted the area. 

The moratorium, as it is currently written, would only apply to conversions of 5,000 square feet or greater, and would remain in effect for one year. 

The commission passed a version of the moratorium in January, but the City Council sent the issue back to the commission after the City Attorney’s Office said that the community had not been properly notified about the issue.

Following is a copy of a letter originally sent to Councilmember Dona Spring: 

I did not get a chance to attend last month’s council meeting. I am very happy that you introduced the resolution and even more so that it passed. I have seen the City Council go back and forth over the years as to whether Berkeley should take a stand on foreign policy issues or focus solely on sewers and roads. Perhaps other cities have the luxury of basking in their parochialism; Berkeley is not so free, and to some extent it is the duty of this city – among all cities – to stand up and speak out on issues of great concern to the world and the nation.  

Moreover, all of us living in the city pay taxes to the federal government, have a stake in the world condition, (may wish to be free from retaliation for our national government’s acts), and many here will even be called to war or have their sons or brothers called to war. It is most definitely a local concern of Berkeley’s, and if Berkeley, of all places, does not speak out, does not refute the virtually 100 percent support the media polls say are in favor of bombing sovereign nations, then who will? Berkeley is also one of the few places in the country with such diversity, such a mixed population which includes Indians, Pakistanis, Afghans, Iranians, etc., muslims and arabs of every description, not to mention all of the people from the other 87-or-so nationalities, that we should (and generally do) have a better understanding of what it means to live around people unlike ourselves, and how alike we all really are, ultimately. It is amazing how quickly most (now proven by polls) Americans are willing to suspend other people’s civil rights, to bomb and kill innocent people who happen to live behind the wrong borders; most Americans seem to really and truly place a lesser value on the lives of foreigners or nonChristians or dark-skinned people than the value they place on lives of American citizens.  

We cannot allow Berkeley to sit silently while this kind of hatred and insanity goes on. Therefore, I applaud your efforts to bring this before the city’s agenda and to ask Berkeley to take the only acceptable position. You succeeded in even gaining only abstentions from your opponents, I understand – which really demonstrates that there is only one right, just answer in the debate. 

There is much more one could say, much more we will all have to keep saying, for as long as it takes, in as many venues as we can be heard in. 

John M. Hartenstein, Esq. 

Berkeley

To those who knew her, the name Alice Sachs Hamburg is synonymous with both peace and activism. 

The 95-year-old activist who raised three children, fought against above-ground nuclear testing, racism, the Vietnam War and more recently went to battle for the survival of KPFA radio, died Monday morning in her Berkeley home. 

“She was always an inspiration,” said fellow activist Eleanor Salkind, “Everyone looked up to her.” 

Alice Sachs was born Nov. 25, 1905 to Russian immigrant parents in Wilton Coal Mining Company Hospital in North Dakota. 

She describes her childhood home in “Grass Roots: from Prairie to Politics,” – a Creative Arts Book Company autobiography to be released in about two weeks: “The wind, rain and snow blew in, but it was a shelter. The eerie howl of the coyote disturbed our nights. My mother, new to the prairie, was terrified.” 

Life was hard. The soil her father farmed, while working in the mines, was rocky and barren. But she recalled the good times when people in the community would gather to work together at harvest time. 

“Kinship in this pioneer village transcended culture or religion. People from different parts of the world were brought together in this tiny place, united by common hardships,” she wrote. 

Hamburg’s young life was spent in a number of cities and towns, as her father tried his hand at various jobs, including plumbing and the dry goods business, but it seemed to Hamburg that his heart was always in farming. 

The moves led her Jewish family to towns that had never before met Jews and to experience some anti-Semitism in the form of teasing. 

While going to school, Alice began her work life at the age of 12. She was a live-in helper for one family, and cleaned house for another. 

By the time she was in high school, Alice’s family had moved to Aberdeen, South Dekota, where she worked part time in her father’s store, which had “new technology” – a telephone. 

In 1924 the family headed west to California and settled in Fresno, where she met her husband-to-be and got an early taste of what she would experience later as McCarthyism. Several women from the synagogue the family belonged to approached Alice’s mother and said: “You have a nice daughter and we understand she’s seeing Sam Hamburg. Be careful, he’s a Communist.” 

A few years later, when she was a student at UCLA, and had not yet married Sam, Alice took a class from an “inspiring” economics professor. She was disturbed when his contract was not renewed because of suspected “left-wing” leanings. 

In 1926 Alice married Sam Hamburg and lived for a while on a ranch in the San Joaquin Valley – first in a tent, then in a cookhouse. She soon moved on her own to Berkeley to continue her education, commuting by train to the ranch on holidays. 

After graduating with honors in economics, Hamburg went back to the ranch and taught migrant laborer children, then went on, for a time, to other teaching positions. 

“I lost my teaching job in 1932 because the trustees believed that married women should be supported by their husbands,” she writes. She adds that she “may have been a bit too outspoken in some of the discussion groups held outside of class, in which taboo topics such as birth control were brought up.” 

With twin girls about nine years old and a boy in kindergarten, Alice moved back to Berkeley, where, except for a stint in San Francisco, she would live out the rest of her long life. She took her activism to the local PTA, which took up the issue of integration. Berkeley hired its first black teacher in 1943 and instituted voluntary bussing in 1945. 

“By the late 40s, the country is in the grips of anti-Communist fervor,” Hamburg writes. In 1949, the California legislature passed the law that would make all state employees sign a loyalty oath and Hamburg helped found the Citizens’ Committee Against the Loyalty Oath. 

These meetings were also cited in an FBI report, which Hamburg quotes in her book: “In the 1940s she had been among sponsors of receptions held in honor of Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Robeson and other well-known communists.” 

Hamburg got in trouble another time for supporting Robeson. At the height of his fame, the Berkeley Board of Education refused to let him perform in the newly-completed Community Theater, but because of a protest which Hamburg and others led, the concert went ahead as planned. 

In 1950, Hamburg joined the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, in which she would be active the rest of her life. 

On Sept. 11, 1951, she received a subpoena to appear before the State Un-American Activities Committee and was questioned about her activities around her support for Robeson and the Hollywood Ten. She responded to the committee, calling their questioning “a flagrant violation of the democratic principles which are the very foundation of our great American heritage.” 

Following her appearance before the committee, Hamburg was asked to resign from the Garfield PTA. She refused. 

Hamburg was both a mom and a political activist, said one of Alice’s daughters, Tanya Goldsmith, in a telephone interview Tuesday. “It was a precursor to feminism – she did both,” said Goldsmith, who lives in Berkeley. “She did not stay at home and make brownies.” 

Much of Hamburg’s political activity was generated through WILPF, and later, Women Strike for Peace, a sister organization. Hamburg protested against atmospheric nuclear testing; she protested at Berkeley’s Public Health Department against the growing levels of Strontium 90 in the local dairy supply; she rallied against the growing dependence of the California economy on war-related industry. Later Hamburg marched against the Vietnam War and helped the anti-war effort add civil rights to its agenda. 

Her friend and fellow activist, Margot Smith, calls Hamburg a role model. “All of us elders look to her and say we’d like to be like her at her age.” 

Among the most important things she would do – and continued to do up until about a year ago – was to write “Alice Hamburg’s review of legislation.” She would collect various opinions on candidates and ballot measures, condense the issues and give the opinion of various groups on each item. 

Another Berkeley activist, Eleanor Salkind said Hamburg talked about the large bag Hamburg always carried with her, containing notices of meetings and community events “so we knew what was going on.” 

“She was always an inspiration,” Salkind said. 

Hamburg’s efforts never seemed to flag. “She never took a nap, a vacation. She used every waking moment and never lost her grasp on what was important to her,” said her daughter Tanya Goldsmith. 

That spirit continued unabated. She was working to endow the Ron Dellums chair at UC Berkeley’s Peace and Conflict Department. She even went with her friend, Madeline Duckles, to a forum last week at the university on the state of nuclear weapons after Sept. 11. “At the very end, she was interested in everything going on,” Duckles said. 

The situation at KPFA radio and the community’s attempts to democratize Pacifica radio were among her activities until her last days. 

“In my fifty years of involvement with the station, I have seen turmoil unleashed time and again. Free speech is still under siege,” she wrote. “What is happening in Berkeley and the Bay Area gives some reassurance that democracy is not dead. Power is still in the hands of the people.” 

Note from the reporter: On Nov. 6, Alice Hamburg wrote me a note that I saw only on Tuesday. In part, it said: “Dear Judith Scherr, I hope you have had time to read my autobiography. Finally, Creative Arts tells me the book will be out in about one week.” In fact, I had held on to the book - “Grass roots from prairie to politics” for months, only reading it this past week, when I took a few days off from the Planet. This obituary is based mostly on that book. Sorry I took so long, Alice. Judith Scherr 

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the mayor and City Council: 

The Student International Forum and the Columbus Campaign for Arms Control (of Columbus, Ohio) wish to thank you for the resolution to ask your representatives “to help break the cycle of violence, bringing the bombing to a conclusion as soon as possible, avoiding actions that can endanger the lives of innocent people in Afghanistan, and minimizing the risk to American military personnel...to devote our government’s best efforts in collaboration with governments throughout the world, to addressing and overcoming those conditions such as poverty, malnutrition, disease, oppression, and subjugation that tend to drive some people to acts of terrorism;” and to “engage in a national campaign to lessen our dependence on oil from the Middle East and to commit to a nationwide conversion to renewable energy sources such as solar and fuel cells, within five years” (as described in the summary of the Berkeley City Council meeting, 16 October 2001, at

We hope you will stand firm and overcome such ill-tempered and ill-informed calls for boycotts of Berkeley as reported by BBC (at

We urge all lovers of freedom, all defenders of human rights, as individuals and organizations to visit the beautiful city of Berkeley; hold conventions in Berkeley; support Berkeley businesses; and bring much-needed tax dollars to Berkeley so you may continue your good work. 

Yoshie Furuhashi 

Ohio State University 

Columbus, Ohio

A man told police he was the victim of hate speech on Friday, according to Lt. Cynthia Harris of the Berkeley Police Department.  

The man, who called the police Saturday morning, said he had told his neighbors that he was prepared to report their incessant arguing and noisy behavior to the building manager. The neighbors then got angry at the man and allegedly made disparaging comments about his sexual orientation.  

Harris said the man wanted to make sure the comments were on record in case any further trouble developed. 

A man was arrested after allegedly stealing money from an unattended parking lot cash box early Sunday morning, according to Harris. 

Around 12:55 a.m., the BPD received a call from an anonymous tipster, saying that a man was prying open the self-pay box at Ampco Parking, 2020 Center St.  

The responding officer saw a suspicious man, who fled the scene when the officer attempted to question him. The suspect was apprehended along with an undisclosed amount of cash and taken into custody.  

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

I read about your recently passed resolutions originally in a slanted piece from the AP. I wanted to write to let all of you, both to the five with the courage to publicly stand up for decency, and to the others who abstained, that there are plenty of people around the world who stand with you, against the forces that perpetuate violence in the name of profit, or whatever bogus nationalism that profit hides behind. I can’t speak for everyone, but for myself I wish to thank you for your courage in taking a currently unfashionable stand. 

I have many fond memories of your city from my visits there, and wish to assure you that, despite any short-term financial setbacks that your actions may cause, that doing the right thing for humanity will make much more of an impression than worrying about keeping your mouths shut for the sake of the almighty dollar. 

Dean Zorn 

Woodbury 

OAKLAND — A proposed University of California admissions policy aims to look at prospective students as more than the sum of their transcript and test scores. 

Under the new policy, known as “comprehensive review,” students would not be judged on academics alone, but would be viewed in terms of academics plus supplemental factors such as overcoming hardship. 

UC already uses comprehensive review for some students, but campuses are required to admit at least 50 percent of students solely on academic criteria. The change would eliminate that requirement. 

Doing that would send “a strong message to K-12 schools and students that the university is looking for students who have achieved at high levels and have challenged themselves to the greatest extent possible,” UC officials say in an information packet sent to the governing board of regents. 

UC’s faculty members have approved comprehensive review admissions. A regents committee will vote on the change Wednesday. If approved, it would go to the full board on Thursday. 

Critics say they’re concerned the plan would make the admissions process a little less fair. 

“If parents and their kids cannot reliably predict their chances of admissions based on certain objective academic factors, then they will believe that it’s all a crapshoot,” said Kevin Nguyen, executive director of the American Civil Rights Institute. 

The institute was founded by Ward Connerly, the UC regent who led the move to drop the nine-campus system’s old affirmative action programs. 

Regents were skeptical when the change was first presented in October, but some indicated they could be persuaded to vote for it. 

Comprehensive review would not change the statewide pool of students deemed eligible for entry to one of UC’s eight undergraduate campuses. That is determined by meeting grade and test minimums, or by graduating in the top 4 percent of one’s high school class. 

The new rules would give campuses more leeway in selecting from the pool, which could change who gets into highly competitive Berkeley. 

Even there, the impact might not be great. 

Berkeley officials reviewed 1,000 admissions from this fall and found that all but 4 percent would have been admitted under comprehensive review. The losers under comprehensive review tended to be students who had good grades but hadn’t done much outside the classroom. 

The 50 percent minimum was adopted at the same time UC dropped race from admissions in 1995. (Previously, campuses had to admit at least 40 percent of students on academics alone.) Regents rescinded the 1995 vote in May. The vote was largely symbolic because of a 1996 law dismantling most state affirmative action programs, but did bring the academic minimum up for debate. 

Some have criticized comprehensive review as a covert way of reviving affirmative action without mentioning race. 

After race-blind admissions went into effect, enrollment of blacks and Hispanics tumbled. The figures have rebounded since then, but there has been a reshuffling, with more blacks and Hispanics going to lesser-known campuses such as UC-Riverside and fewer going to Berkeley and UCLA. 

UC officials say the new policy isn’t backdoor affirmative action because race is taken off applications before they are reviewed and the overall pool of applicants remains unchanged. They do not expect the ethnic composition of freshmen classes at any of the campuses to change substantially. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.ucop.edu/news/expanding/comprev.pdf 

Sierra Club gives S.F. air a C-minus 

SAN FRANCISCO — A Sierra Club report gives San Francisco a C- for its efforts to clean the air with public transit. 

The “Clearing the Air with Transit Spending: Sierra Club Grades America’s Fifty Largest Cities” report gives New York the highest grade for investing more money on providing people with transportation alternatives than on new roads. It flunked Oklahoma for having a high amount of smog from cars and trucks per person and spending just $5.80 on public transportation for every $100 it spends on highway and road construction. 

San Francisco received a C for the amount of smog from cars and trucks per person, and got a D for the amount spent on public transit versus highways per person. In San Francisco, 65 pounds of smog from cars and trucks is created per person per year and 46.9 percent of smog is from cars and trucks. To address this, in California, only $56 is spent per resident on public transit for every $100 spent on highways. 

Police get huge raise 

OAKLAND — Police voted Monday to accept a five-year contract with the city that makes them among the best-compensated public safety officers in the state. 

Highlights of the contract, which expires June 30, 2006, include a 27 percent pay hike over five years, new benefits such as differential pay for certain shifts, an enhanced retirement package and premium pay for bilingual officers and evidence technicians. 

Officer Bob Valladon, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association, called the contract the best in 30 years. 

He said one reason for the overwhelming approval by the OPOA membership was the security the contract provides. 

“Now everybody can see for the next five years what they will be receiving and make plans, like buying a house,” he said 

Valladon praised the city for its good faith and efforts during bargaining. The first meetings began in the spring, and a tentative agreement was reached last month. 

The Oakland City Council is expected to ratify the agreement in early December.

SANTA ANA — A judge’s ruling on the application of Proposition 13 could cost cities and counties millions of dollars and mean lower property taxes for thousands of homeowners. 

The ruling issued earlier this month said the method used by tax assessors to determine how some properties are taxed violates state law. 

Proposition 13 limits the amount of property taxes that local governments can collect. Passed by voters in 1978, the initiative protects property from an annual assessment increase of more than 2 percent until it changes hands, 

Local governments argue that the provision doesn’t apply when property values remain flat or drop during a recession then surge as real estate values rebound. In those cases, counties routinely hike the taxable property value beyond 2 percent. 

Judge John M. Watson ruled that the Orange County assessor violated Proposition 13 by increasing the taxable value of a home in Seal Beach by 4 percent in one year. 

Robert Pool bought the house for $330,000 in November 1995. The home’s taxable value was flat for two years but the assessor raised the price more than $13,000 in 1998, saying the jump was justified. 

County attorneys argued that the assessment was legal because it made up for years in which the property value did not increase. The county maintains it was merely recapturing the full tax value of the property, charging 2 percent for each of the years the property values did not rise. 

Watson said in his Nov. 2 ruling that the recapturing method is unconstitutional.  

He said the measure was clear that taxable values cannot rise more than 2 percent a year, no matter how much the property value rebounds. 

Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said Watson’s ruling is the first time the issue has been tested in court. 

“This has profound implications for property tax policy and Proposition 13, specifically,” Coupal said. 

Watson still must rule on a motion to broaden the complaint to class-action status, which could apply to other cases statewide. 

BOMBAY BEACH — A series of minor earthquakes rattled the Salton Sea area Tuesday but apparently caused no injuries or damage. 

Four quakes measuring magnitude-3.0 or greater and centered three miles southeast of Bombay Beach, struck within a three-hour period, according to reports from the U.S. Geological Survey and California Institute of Technology. 

Bombay Beach is a small town on the sparsely populated east shore of the Salton Sea. The San Andreas Fault stretches along the area where the temblors occurred. 

A magnitude-3.0 quake hit at 8:03 a.m., followed five minutes later by one of magnitude-3.2. The largest, a magnitude-3.4, struck at 8:45 a.m. and a 3.1-magnitude temblor followed at 10:57 a.m. 

A dozen other smaller temblors struck the same area Tuesday morning. The seismic activity began at 5:43 a.m. with a magnitude-1.7 quake. 

A dispatcher with the Imperial County Sheriff’s Department said there had been no reports of damage or injuries. 

SANTA ANA — A sanity hearing for mass killer Edward Charles Allaway began Tuesday before an Orange County judge who will decide whether Allaway is fit to be released from a state mental hospital. 

Allaway has been held at state institutions for nearly 25 years since being found innocent by reason of insanity in a July 1976 shooting rampage that left seven people dead and two others injured at California State University, Fullerton. 

“We’ve all heard the expression ’safe and sane,’ and Mr. Allaway is every bit of that,” John Bovee, his lawyer, said in his opening statement. 

In 1977, a judge found Allaway innocent by reason of insanity — under a diminished capacity defense — after a jury was unable to reach a verdict. 

Although California no longer allows the diminished capacity defense, Allaway remains entitled to a sanity hearing that is now typically reserved for those found legally insane. 

Psychiatrists have differed on Allaway’s mental state. He has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. However, state psychologists now believe he suffered from a form of schizophrenia that went into remission shortly after he was remanded to a state hospital. 

Allaway, 63, was a campus janitor when he took a .22-caliber rifle into the library and shot to death two custodians, a photographer, retired professor, library assistant, graphic artist and audio technician. Two other people were wounded. 

He told authorities he killed his co-workers because they teased him about his belief that pornographic movies were being made on campus. Some, he said, joked that the movies might even have starred his wife. 

Allaway, who is expected to testify during the three-week hearing, has petitioned for release four times previously. Judges rejected three of those petitions and Allaway withdrew the other one. 

During his opening statement, Bovee told Superior Court Judge Frank F. Fasel that Allaway has willingly participated in treatment and has not needed to take medication since his incarceration in 1977. 

Deputy District Attorney Dan Wagner reserved the right to make his statement later in the hearing. 

Bovee argued that Allaway has been locked away more for political reasons than because of his mental health. In 1992, the state health department fought moving Allaway from a maximum security state hospital to another state hospital. 

Mark Mills, a psychiatrist who evaluated Allaway in 1993 at the request of the state, testified that Allaway had shown no signs of delusions since he was first remanded to a state hospital. 

“By the time I saw him in 1993, I was very comfortable ... that he was not delusional,” Mills said. 

He also told the court that Allaway suffered at least one other delusional episode in the early 1970s, which included a belief that his then wife was having sex with men at the auto plant where he worked. 

Allaway signed himself into a psychiatry ward at his wife’s urging but refused to take medication, Mills said. 

After his release, he moved to California and divorced his wife. He later remarried. 

“The good news is he was able to kind of regroup ... The bad news is well before July 1976, he ’s having little breakthroughs of delusional behavior,” Mills said. 

The psychiatrist recommended that if Allaway is released, he should be placed in a supervised and structured environment, such as a halfway house with 24-hour psychiatric care available. 

The testimony of Mills did little to comfort the half-dozen family members of Allaway’s victims who attended the hearing. 

“It’s always difficult to hear a doctor talk about what a wonderful person that man is,” said Patricia Almazon, whose father was among those killed. 

Paul Paulsen, whose sister was killed, said he was watching the trial with “fear that Allaway could be back on the street.” 

“It’s fear not just for me but for the community he ends up in,” he said. “How can you guarantee he’ll never do it again?” 

A look at key events leading to Edward Charles Allaway’s sanity  

hearing, which began Tuesday: 

—July 12, 1976: Allaway, then 37, walks into the library at California State University, Fullerton, and kills seven people. 

—Sept. 9, 1977: A jury is unable to reach a verdict. The defense agrees to allow the judge to decide the case. 

—Nov. 16, 1977: A judge finds Allaway innocent by reason of insanity and remands him to a state mental hospital. 

—June 12, 1993: A judge rejects Allaway’s second petition for freedom. The first petition for conditional release was never filed with the court because it was not supported by the state hospital. 

—November 1997: Patton State Hospital staff members recommend Allaway be transferred to a halfway house. Allaway files a petition with the court seeking release and then withdraws it. 

—February 2001: Allaway again applies for conditional release. 

—August 2001: Orange County Superior Court Judge Frank F. Fasel sets a date for Allaway’s sanity hearing. 

WASHINGTON — Ronald Reagan’s childhood home would become a federal historic site under a bill passed by the House on Tuesday. 

The Dixon, Ill., house where the former president lived in the early 1920s is owned by the private Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home Foundation. The bill, which passed by voice vote, authorizes the Interior Department to acquire the site from the foundation, which would continue managing and operating it. 

Supporters say the legislation will protect the legacy of America’s 40th president. 

“Establishing the boyhood home as a national historic site will ensure long-term preservation ... and its eligibility for funding from the National Park Service,” said Rep. George Radanovich, R-Calif. 

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., sponsor of the bill, has fought attempts by lawmakers, the Bush administration and the National Park Service to delay action on the legislation until an Interior Department study is completed. In October, a House committee rejected an amendment that would have required the study. 

Rep. Joel Hefley, sponsor of the failed amendment, criticized the bill for designating the site “as a national park unit without study by the park service or indeed any real idea of what the park service’s role in this will be or how they will manage it.” 

“Make no mistake, this bill is before you in this form today only because the Speaker wants it,” Hefley, R-Colo., said from the House floor. 

Reagan lived in the home, which is in Hastert’s district, for three years between the ages of 9 and 12. 

SAN JOSE — Spending on information technology in the United States is expected to rise just 1.5 percent in 2002, a relatively small increase that nonetheless offers some hope for the troubled high-tech sector, according to a new survey. 

The report released Tuesday by the Gartner Inc. research firm and the SoundView Technology Group Inc. investment bank was based on interviews with 1,000 corporate technology buyers and high-tech vendors at a recent symposium. 

The survey found corporate technology spending will likely end up rising 2.5 percent this year over 2000 — well off the original 8 percent increase the companies were expecting in January. 

Fifty-nine percent of the survey respondents said they spent less on technology than their budgets allowed, leaving room for more potential spending next year. 

“I think there’s a huge glimmer of hope for the tech sector,” said Al Case, a Gartner senior vice president. 

The survey found that the sectors most likely to attract next year’s technology spending are security, data storage, Web-based applications and services and handheld computers. 

Nationwide, capital expenditures on technology total about $500 billion a year, Case said. 

Soundview Technology’s chief executive, Mark Loehr, said the expectation of even a slight rise in tech spending in this poor economic environment “supports our conviction that the bottom has been reached.”

Deal made as life support for bankrupt company 

SAN JOSE — Troubled high-speed Internet provider Covad Communications Inc. signed a $150 million loan and marketing agreement Tuesday with one-time rival SBC Communications Inc. 

The deal is expected to provide enough money to keep the company alive until it starts generating positive cash flow, now expected by the second half of 2003. 

Covad, which provides digital subscriber line services over phone circuits to 346,000 subscribers in 50 markets, filed for bankruptcy protection in August and struck a deal with bondholders to erase $1.4 billion of debt. 

After Tuesday’s announcement, shares of Santa Clara-based Covad jumped 29 cents, or more than 30 percent, to $1.15 on the OTC Bulletin Board. The company was delisted in July from the Nasdaq Stock Market. 

Shares of SBC fell 54 cents to close at $37.40 in trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. 

“This infusion of capital will be one of the final steps in our plan toward financial stability for Covad,” said Charles Hoffman, Covad’s chief executive. 

The deal replaces a $600 million, six-year agreement reached with San Antonio-based SBC in September 2000. It does not increase SBC’s ownership in Covad, which is now about 5 percent. 

Under the new deal, SBC will make a one-time, $75 million prepayment secured by Covad assets. SBC can use the money toward the purchase of Covad services over 10 years. 

SBC also will make a $50 million, four-year loan also secured by Covad’s assets. Interest payments will be deferred for two years. 

The deal also requires SBC to pay a $10 million restructuring fee and the elimination of a $15 million marketing fee owed by Covad under the previous agreement. 

Covad said it expects to move out of bankruptcy later this year.

LAS VEGAS — Oracle Corp.’s chief executive said the database software giant likely will fall short of Wall Street’s earnings estimates for its fiscal second quarter. 

Larry Ellison told reporters late Monday at the Comdex trade show that the tough economic environment following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks probably will mean Oracle will miss analysts’ earnings expectations of 11 cents per share for the three months ended in November, as compiled by Thomson Financial/First Call. 

Ellison said he now expects earnings of 9 cents or 10 cents per share. 

Shares of Oracle fell 88 cents, or nearly 6 percent, to close at $14.52 in trading Tuesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The City Council will discuss possible strategies tonight in case a citizen’s group collects enough signatures to challenge the city’s recently-approved redistricting plan. 

The council will have various options, if the newly formed Citizens for Fair Representation gathers the 4,000 valid signatures necessary to place the controversial Blake-O’Malley redistricting plan on the March ballot. 

One choice will avoid a ballot referendum by a council repeal of the plan, which it narrowly approved on Oct. 16. If the council chooses to repeal, the entire redistricting process – which bitterly divided the council – will begin anew. The process, which would begin on Nov. 27, would have to be completed by the council’s last meeting of the year on Dec. 18 to comply with a City Charter deadline of Dec. 31. 

The other choice, which is apparently even less appealing, and more expensive, would be to put the plan before the voters on March 5.  

Several councilmembers said on Monday they would prefer repealing the plan because of the $60,000 to $100,000 price tag of putting the referendum on the ballot. (The cost would be elevated because the city would have to produce its own ballot. At this time, other jurisdictions, but not Berkeley, will be preparing ballots – complete with sample ballots and ballot statements – for the March vote.) 

“The fact is we’ve got to clear up this mess,” said Mayor Shirley Dean, a member of the minority “moderate” council faction. “When we went to the district system in 1986, no one anticipated this problem.” 

This “problem” is a Census Bureau undercount of about 4,500 people, mostly students living in districts 7 and 8. Because the City Charter requires district lines to be redrawn according to the decennial census – whether it’s flawed or not – all of the proposals the council considered had a flawed count of people living in districts 7 and 8.  

According to a report by the city attorney, the Census Bureau has not yet corrected its blunder and has only indicated the city “may receive ‘draft’ numbers” from the bureau by the end of the year.  

The census undercount resulted in a plan, approved by the council’s progressive majority faction, that put nearly 17,000 real people in moderate Councilmember Polly Armstrong’s District 8, while the other seven districts have closer to 13,000 residents. Progressive councilmembers said the approved plan adhered most faithfully to the City Charter, which requires that all districts be changed as little as possible during the redistricting process. 

Soon after the plan was approved, the Citizens for Fair Representation formed to challenge the approved plan, which they said was little more than a power grab by the council progressives. Last week the CFR announced that it had 6,000 signatures, well above the 4,000 required, to place the plan on the ballot. The deadline for submitting the signed petition to the city clerk is Wednesday. 

If the signatures are verified, the council will decide on Nov. 27 whether to rescind the current plan and adopt a new one. A second plan adopted by council would also be subject to referendum, in which case the former district boundaries, established in 1991, would be used for election purposes, according to a background report by the city attorney. 

Mayor Shirley Dean said she favored yet another option – putting an amendment on the March 5 ballot that would extend the redistricting deadline by two years thereby allowing time for inaccurate census numbers to be corrected. 

“We can’t simply ignore this problem and hope it will go away,” she said. “We have to get to a place where we can deal with accurate numbers when we redraw council lines even if it takes a ballot amendment.” 

Progressive Councilmember Dona Spring disagreed saying the council would be better off repealing the Blake-O’Malley plan and working around the inaccurate census data to create another redistricting plan. 

It would be costly to put anything on the ballot, Spring said. “Why not come up with a plan that resolves some of the difficulties posed by the census undercount.” 

Progressive Councilmember Kriss Worthington proposed reworking the Blake-O’Malley plan by including a 5 percent “fudge factor” in each district’s population count.  

According to guidelines prepared by the city attorney, the population count in each district should be within 1 percent of the others. Worthington said if the 1-percent allowable difference was increased to 5 percent, the undercount in districts 7 and 8 could be “fairly and equally spread” among all of the districts instead of just two. 

“All of the other proposals put 90 percent of the undercount into districts 7 and 8,” he said. “The 5 percent allowable difference is the only proposal I’ve heard of that spreads the undercount throughout the city.” 

Moderate Councilmember Betty Olds said the council should be cautious in selecting a new plan. “The council needs to be careful about which plan it chooses,” she said. “If the progressives just tweak the current plan a little bit, the 6,000 people who signed that petition are not going to be happy.” 

Tuesday, Nov. 13

Flu Shots 

10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 

St. John’s Senior Center 

2727 College Ave. 

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or more and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

Muhammad Nazar on Aceh 

10 a.m. - noon 

UC Berkeley 

2223 Fulton St. 

6th Floor Conference Room 

Political activist Muhammad Nazar was taken into police custody in November 2000 after leading a peaceful demonstration of more than 1 million people in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Amnesty International recognized Nazar as a prisoner of conscience. He was released in October and is currently on his first US speaking tour. Free. 642-3609 

Special Seminar 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

H. Peter Oberlander, University of British Columbia and Citizenship Court Judge for British Columbia and the Yukon Territory, “After Sept. 11: a North-American Perimeter for Travel and Immigration?”  

642-4608 

Palestine and the Peace  

Empowerment Process 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Ecology Center 

2530 San Pablo Ave. 

World Wall for Peace Founder Carolyna Marks uses slides to help tell the story of her three-week trip throughout the Palestinian territory in July 2001. $10 donation. 548-2220 x233 

Experimental Mid-life  

Workshop 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Miriam Chaya presents the first of three workshops rooted in modern psychology and Jewish traditional sources designed to provide participants with the skills and tools necessary to meet the challenges they will face in the second half of their lives. $35, $25 members. 848-0237 ext. 127 

The Hormones in Health and  

in Disease 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

George Sayers, a retired professor, will lead a discussion. 644-6107 

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 

Wednesday, Nov. 14

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 

Flu Shots 

12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St.  

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or more and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

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. 

Movie Presentation 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

The movie, “If These Walls Could Talk” will be shown. 644-6107 

– Compiled by Guy Poole 

Near-Death Experience  

Support/Information-Sharing  

Group 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Church 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

The new East Bay chapter of IANDS (International Association of Near-Death Studies) will be provide an open, sharing, compassionate and supportive environment for the exploration of NDEs, the dying process, the meaning of life and human consciousness. 428-2442 www.iands.org. 

Second Wednesdays Poetry  

Writing Workshop 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Albany Library 

1247 Marin Ave. 

Second Wednesdays is a monthly Poetry Writing Workshop, led by Alison Seevak. Free and open to all ages. 526-3720 x19 

The recent letters in the Berkeley Daily Planet by Councilmember Hawley and her Planning Commissioner David Tabb were filled with distortions regarding redistricting plan adopted by the City Council majority. The right wing opponents of the plan seem to think that the more they distribute disinformation about the plan, the more people will begin to believe these untruths. They’re attacking the process (which they have misconstrued) because they wanted a different outcome. 

The fact is, there were extensive opportunities for public input on the approved Council majority plan as well as the plan that the council minority submitted. There were two public hearings and there were three votes on the plan over a period of a month. At the end of the second public hearing on redistricting, three council members proposed a small, fully described amendment to one of the proposals for redistricting. The city staff was then directed by a majority on the council to draft this preferred plan as an ordinance for a vote the following week. Then, when all the information was available to all the members of the public and Council, this ordinance was voted on for the first time and the following week once again for the second reading. After the preferred plan was specified, the public then had an additional two weeks to give input either in writing, telephone or at the public comment section of the Council.  

The truth is: there was no backroom deal! 

The approved the redistricting plan sought to create a balance of student and neighborhood communities of interest in both District 7 and District 8. The real problem is that there are a greater number of the undercounts in District 8, primarily because of the census undercount in student areas. Due to the undercount, District 8 had to have an additional 2000 people added to it. The Council majority has made a commitment to recalculate the districts as soon as an updated census count has been made available. 

After seeing repeated distortions and mischaracterizations of the approved redistricting plan that conservative council members were passing out at a supermarket frequented by my constituents, I began passing out fliers to members of the public to give them the other side of the arguments on the matter. Mr. Tabb, Ms. Hawley and so-called “Citizens for Fair Representation” did not want members of the public to have the other side of the story. When Mr. Tabb complained to me I told him that we all had a right to be distributing information. Later, I witnessed Ms. Hawley verbally accost volunteers who were distributing literature, telling them to go home and screaming false accusations about the adopted plan. Apparently they think that they have the right to approach members of the public with information but that those of us on the other side don’t have the same right. Talk about running roughshod over the grassroots democratic process!  

Mr.Tabb’s accusations about the Afghan resolution are equally inaccurate. The item was introduced a week in advance on the council agenda and included an endorsement of the letter presented by Vice Mayor Shirek to the Congressional Black Caucus. The revised item that was distributed at the council meeting when the resolution was passed took several of the most important points from the letter (that was included in the original agenda item) and put them directly in the recommendation. The item also contained background statements from three council members; any councilmember could have submitted background statements. The letter had been available for a week and the public made written and oral comments during that period before the vote. Moreover, Mr. Tabb has never complained about the mayor’s much more frequent last-minute amendments. 

The right wing of the Council has every right to referendum the adopted redistricting plan. But is democracy and civil discourse in our community really served by their continued false allegations and distortions? 

Dona Spring is a Berkeley councilmember. 

924 Gilman St. Nov. 16: Pitch Black, The Blottos, Miracle Chosuke, 240; Nov. 17: Carry On, All Bets Off, Limp Wrist, Labrats, Thought Riot; Nov. 18: 5 p.m., Mad Caddies, Monkey, Fabulous Disaster, Over It; Nov. 23: The Stitches, Starvations, Neon King Kong, Kill Devil Hills, Problem; Nov. 24: Tilt, Missing Link, Cry Baby Cry; Nov. 30: Shitlist, Atrocious Madness, Fuerza X, Catheter, S Bitch, Delta Force; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Nov. 13: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; Nov. 15: Keni “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Nov. 21: Whiskey Brothers (Old Time & Bluegrass); Nov. 22: Keni “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Nov. 24: Tipsy House Irish Band. All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

Anna’s Nov. 13: Singers’ Open Mic #2; Nov. 14: Bob Shoen Jazz Quintet; Nov. 15: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Nov. 16: Anna & Hyler T. Jones, 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Nov. 17: Vicki Burns & Felice York, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet; All shows 8 p.m. unless noted. Free. 1901 University Ave., 849-2662 

Blake’s Nov. 13: The Photon Band, Ian Moore, $4; Nov. 14: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2, Hebro, free. All shows 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave. 848-0886 

Cal Performances Nov. 29: Les Arts Florissants, $24 - $46; 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 

Jupiter Nov. 14: Wayside; Nov. 15: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 16: 5 Point Plan; Nov. 17: Corner Pocket; Nov. 21: Starchild; All shows 8 p.m. and free. 2821 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625/ www.jupiter.com 

MusicSources Nov. 18 Harpsichordist Gilbert Martinez. Both shows 5 p.m. $15-18. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

“Music on Telegraph” Nov. 17: Christy Dana Quartet, Greg’s Pizza, 2311 Telegraph Ave.; Nov. 18: Mitch Marcus Trio, Raleigh’s, 2438 Telegraph Ave.; Joe Chellman Quartet, The Village, 2556 Telegraph Ave.; Nov. 25: Downtown Uproar, Greg’s Pizza, 2311 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 1: Scrambled Samba Trio, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 2: Paul and Jill Janoff, Musical Offering, 2430 Bancroft; Dec. 8: Jonah Minton Quartet, Julie’s Healthy Cafe, 2562 Bancroft; Dec. 9: Hebro, Blakes, 2367 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 15: Thelonious On The Move, Bison Brewing, 2598 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 16: Howard Kadis, Musical Offering Cafe, 2430 Bancroft; Dec. 22: Kaz Sasaki Duo, Blackberry Ginger, 2520 Durant; Dec. 23: Almadecor, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; All shows 2 - 4 p.m., Free. 

“Berkeley Repertory Theatre Presents Anthony Rapp and His Band” Nov. 13: 8 p.m. Anthony Rapp, currently starring in Berkeley Rep’s “Nocturne,” performs with his three-piece band. $12 - $25. Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., 647-2949 

“Musicians for Medical Marijuana” Nov. 16: 7 :30 p.m., Dark Star Orchestra, The Flying Other Brothers, MCed by Mountain Girl, doctors and lawyers on hand for consultation. $20. Sweet’s Ballroom, 1988 Broadway, Oakland, 869-5391 www.m4mmj.org. 

“Oakland Symphony Chorus and the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra” presents a joint concert. Nov. 17: 8 p.m.; Nov. 18: 4 p.m.; $15. First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. 465-4199 www.oakland-sym-chorus.org 

“Mozart and Mozart of the North” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Hausmusik presents early classical quartets by Mozart , Johann Fuchs, and Bernhard Crusell, the “Mozart of the North”. $15-18. St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany, 527-9029 

“The Fuck the War Ball” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Bay Area’s most outrageous bands will perform in benefit for Love Underground Vision Radio. $5. Burnt Ramen, 111 Espee Ave., Richmond, 526-7858, fmoore@eroplay.com 

“Tomas Carrasco of Chicano Secret Service” Nov. 15: 4 p.m. Performance by member of L.A.-based sketch comedy troupe that uses humor to tackle hot-button racial and political issues. Free. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

“La Guerra D’Amore” Nov. 16-17: 8 p.m. Choreographer Joachim Schlomer and period music specialist Rene Jacobs collaborate to present dancers and vocalists expressing stories about the “war of love” in a contemporary Venetian square. $34 - $52. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 642-9988 

“Works in the Works 2001” Through Nov. 18: 7:30. East Bay performance series presents a different program each evening. $8. Eighth Street Studio, 2525 Eighth St., 644-1788 

“Nicholas Nickleby” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. The Young Actors Workshop presents a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby. $10 adults, $8 students and seniors. Performing Arts Center of Contra Costa College, corner of El Portal Dr. and Castro St., San Pablo 235-7800 ext. 4274 

“Lost Cause” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Three space travelers stranded on a forgotten colony, find themselves in the middle of a bloody civil war, and have to decide between what’s right, what’s possible, and what will save their lives. Written by Jefferson Area, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7-12. La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid Ave. 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

“Travesties” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., and Thurs., Nov. 15, 8 p.m. A witty fantasy about James Joyce meeting Lenin in Zurich during World War I. Written by Tom Stoppard, Directed by Mikel Clifford. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck. 528-5620 

Cal Performances Nov. 16 - 17: 8 p.m., “La Guerra d’Amore,” director and choreographer, René Jacobs, conductor, Ensemble Concerto Vocale. Modern dance and early music from German choreographer Joachim Schlömer, $34 - $52; Nov. 30 - Dec. 2: Fri. - Sat.8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m., The Suzuki Company presents a staged interpretation of the Greek classic, “Dionysus”, $30 - $46; UC Berkeley, Zellerbach Hall. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“The Conduct of Life” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. A cautionary tale of unchecked political power gone awry with devastating human consequences. Written by Maria Irene Fornes. $12 general admission, $8 faculty & staff, $6 students. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

“Macbeth” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. Presented by the Albany High School Theater Ensemble. $7 adults, $5 students and seniors. Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd. 559-6550 x4125 theaterensemble@hotmail.com 

“Odyssey” Nov. 16: 7 p.m., Nov. 17: 2 p.m., 7 p.m., Nov. 18: 2 p.m., The Splash Circus presents this outer space circus adventure with juggling scientists, acrobatic aliens, aerial acts, tumbling, masked Commedia characters, contortion, pyramids and dance. Youth performers between the ages of 10 - 14. $13, $6.50 for kids under 14. The Alice Arts Center, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. 655-1265 x202, www.splashcircus.com. 

“Goddesses” Nov. 30 through Dec. 1: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 7 p.m. A sensuous and humorous drama concerning one mortal woman’s struggle to control the six extraordinary goddesses in her psyche. Written by Dorotea Reyna. $10. Mils College, Lisser Hall, 5900 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland 883-0536, rlcouture@earthlink.net 

“Saint Joan” Through Dec. 2: Wed. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., 7 p.m. George Bernard Shaw’s epic of a young girl determined to drive the English out of France with only her faith to support her. Directed by Barbara Oliver. $26-35. Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St. 843-4822 www.auroratheatre.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 

“Brave Brood” Through Dec. 16 Robert O’Hara directs Robert O’Hara’s searing tale of money, desperation, and the fight for survival. $20. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305 www.transparenttheater.org 

“Much Ado About Nothing” Nov. 20 through Jan. 8: Check theater for specific dates and times. Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy chronicles a handful of soldiers returning from a winning battle to be greeted by a gaggle of giddy maidens. Directed by Brian Kulick. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

Films 

Pacific Film Archive Theater Nov. 16: 7:30 p.m., Autumn Almanac; Nov. 17 & 18: 1 p.m., Satantango; Nov. 21: 7 :30 p.m., Macbeth; Nov. 30: 7:30 p.m., Werckmeister Harmonies; 2575 Bancroft Way, 642-1124 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Exhibits  

“Art Benefit for the Gabriel Sussman Rodriguez Education Fund” Through Nov. 16: Over 60 artists have donated work for this tribute to the memory of Wendy Sussman, a painter and professor of art practice at UC Berkeley, and contribute to the education of her son. Sun. - Fri. 1 - 6 p.m. Worth Ryder Gallery, Kroeber hall, UC Berkeley 415-665-6131 

“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 

“In Through the Outdoors” Through Nov. 24: Featuring seven artists who work in photography and related media including sculpture and video, this exhibit addresses the shift in values and contemporary concerns about the natural world that surrounds us. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery, 1316 Tenth St. www.traywick.com 

“2001 James D. Phelan Art Awards in Printmaking” Honorees: Bridget Henry, David Kelso, and Margaret Van Patten. Through Nov. 30 Tues. - Fri. noon - 5 p.m., other times by appointment. Kala Art Institue, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 www.kala.org 

“Furniture Art” Through Dec. 7: An exhibit of metal and wood furniture that revisits furniture not only as art but as craft. 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. The Current Gallery at the Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.org 

“The Paintings of Bethany Anne Ayers and Sculpture of Alexander Cheves” Nov. 15 through Dec. 15: Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ardency Gallery, 709 roadway, Oakland. 836-0831 gallery709@aol.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 

“Matrix 195” Nov. 18 through Jan. 13: German artist, Thomas Scheibitz’s, first solo museum exhibition in the United States showcases semi-abstract representations of everyday objects and landscapes. Wed., Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $3-$6. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

GTU Exhibit: “Holocaust Series” by Cleve Gray Through Jan. 25: Comprised of 21 works on paper that constitute “a catharsis... for all of humanity.” Mon. - Thurs. 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. noon - 7 p.m.; Free. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, Graduate Theological Union, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541 www.gtu.edu 

“The Art History Museum of Berkeley” 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. 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

Readings 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Nov. 12: 7:30 p.m. Rabih Alameddine reads from “I, The Divine”; Nov. 13: 7:30 p.m. John Barth reads from “Coming Soon!!!”, Nov. 18: Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux from the Poetry Society of America read,$5; Nov. 28: 7:30 p.m. David Meltzer and contributors read from his newly revised and re-released collection of interviews with Bay Area Beat Poets; 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore Nov. 14: Gregory Crouch talks about “Enduring Patagonia.” All shows 7:30 p.m.; 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Nov. 17: 7 p.m. Graham Hutchings discusses his newly released book “Modern China: A Guide to a Century of Change”; Nov. 18: 4 p.m. Noel Alumit, M.G. Sorongon, and Marianne Villanueva read from their contributions to the anthology “Tilting the Continent: Southeast Asian American Literature”; 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

“Berkeley’s World” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Staged reading of a new play about five Berkeley emigres who form a career support group through an ad placed in the East Bay Express but find they can’t stand each other. Written by Andrea Mock. Free. Speakeasy Theatre, 2016 7th St. 841-9441 

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 Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., 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; Nov. 3: Tales from the Enchanted Forest, 11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.; Nov. 9: Living with the Earth; Nov. 17: Recycle that Stuff; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. Mon. and Wed., 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tues. and Fri., 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thur., 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

Oakland Museum of California Through Nov. 25: Pasajes y Encuentros: Ofrendas for the Days of the Dead, highlights three thematic “passageways” that connect the dead with the living: tradition, humor and spirit; Through Jan. 13: Grand Lyricist: The Art of Elmer Bischoff, featuring paintings and works on paper that trace the evolution of Bischoff’s career. $6 adults, $4 seniors and students, free for children under 5. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m., 10th St., Oakland, 888-625-6873/ www.museumca.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. Mon. through Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat. and Sun., 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.

There’s hunger in Berkeley. 

It’s not like the TV images of stunted, starving children with bloated bellies and red-cast hair in third-world countries.  

It’s less dramatic – in fact, “invisible” – says Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland-based Food First Institute for Food and Development Policy. 

When a person making minimum wage, or living on a $630 welfare grant gets to the last week of the month, having paid the PG&E bill and a hefty Berkeley rent, there may be no money left for food for the family.  

“The last week of the month gets tough,” says boona cheema, executive director of Berkeley’s Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency, which, along with Food First, is kicking off National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, by staging a community gathering in front of Old City Hall this evening. 

The event, 5 - 10 p.m., at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, will feature speeches – both thanking the City Council for its work and asking for more – as well as music and food. 

Homelessness is another concern that the gathering will address. “There’s been five years since additional shelter beds have been added,” said cheema, noting in an interview on Monday, that rain was coming down steadily. “We’re always calling for more shelter beds.” 

But the real answer is not in shelter space. “In the long term, we need to build more housing for the very poor,” she said. 

Not enough is known about hunger in Berkeley, cheema said, citing Food First statistics that say hunger has risen 50 percent since 1985 and that 36 million people in the nation suffer from hunger daily. 

One statistic that stands out, however, is that the free food pantry has only enough groceries for about 30 percent of the people who want them. 

Children of school age, get a balanced lunch, but cheema says the city should extend a free meals program to children too young to be in school. 

Mittal says the solution is not complicated. Government policies “should respect the right to food.” 

It is as basic as making sure people earn a living wage, so they don’t have to make a choice between having a roof over their heads and buying food, she said. 

“Change has to happen in our own backyard.”

Editor: 

With all the attention the recent Berkeley City Council vote on the U.S. military action in Afghanistan received, one would think that it is radical and unpatriotic. In fact, the language of the passed resolution states (in part) to “ask our representatives to help break the cycle of violence, bringing the bombing to a conclusion as soon as possible, avoiding actions that can endanger the lives of innocent people in Afghanistan, and minimizing the risk to American military personnel...”. 

This is very simply a statement of reason and a call for a measured and reasonable response to the atrocities of September 11. I am puzzled why it did not get the support of the entire Council. I for one can't fathom how creating an atmosphere of violence and hate will secure the safety and peace of this country's or any country's citizens, nor how massive bombing raids in Afghanistan will do anything but create more potential terrorists and reduce yet another world region's infrastructure to rubble. Berkeley has once again been accused of a knee-jerk, anti-war reaction. The real knee-jerk reaction is our own government's use of bombing as a means to secure peace and justice. 

I support the vote of the Berkeley City Council and applaud those Councilmembers who displayed the courage to pass it. 

John Selawsky 

Director, Berkeley School Board 

At tonight’s meeting, the City Council will consider a series of measures suggested by Mayor Shirley Dean to better prepare the city to respond to acts of terrorism. The measures come out of a recent meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors, which Dean attended along with representatives from the City Manager’s Office and the police, fire and health departments. 

One measure asks the Disaster Council and the Fire Safety Commission to review and update the City of Berkeley Disaster Preparedness Plan so it includes responding to acts of terrorism. The recommendation suggests procedures reflect the fact that the police, fire and health departments will be the first responders to local acts of terrorism.  

The recommendation also suggests preparedness measures include a regional multi-agency coordination that incorporates other Alameda County cities as well as the East Bay Municipal Utility District, BART and AC Transit. The recommendation asks the city manager to explore training programs through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Justice because, according to a background report, there "is little or no money" available to fund preparedness measures. 

Mayoral expression repression 

Councilmember Linda Maio has put a recommendation on the agenda that would formally ask the Mayor Shirley Dean to remove any mention of the so-called Berkeley boycott that has been threatened by people around the country after the City Council approved a recommendation calling for a end to the bombing in Afghanistan “as soon as possible.” 

The recommendation sparked a national controversy and many people who sent e-mails and letters to councilmembers threatened to boycott Berkeley businesses. 

Maio’s recommendation asks “the mayor to remove any mention of a boycott from her Web site, and that in future press interviews she emphasize the strength and uniqueness of Berkeley’s businesses.” 

Flamingo hotel homeless program 

The City Council will consider a recommendation to approve $100,000 for emergency housing for the seriously mentally disabled homeless at the Flamingo Hotel on University Avenue. The item had appeared on the council’s Oct. 30 agenda but was pulled by Councilmember Linda Maio, who represents District 1, where the Flamingo is located. Maio said she wanted to learn more about the program before voting on the funding issue. Several neighbors of the Flamingo expressed concern about crime related to the program during a public hearing on the Draft General Plan at last week’s City Council meeting. The program has been in operation at the Flamingo since March but the City Charter requires the council to approve the program because costs have exceeded $25,000. Funding for the program would come from a State Department of Mental Health grant that was awarded to the city last year. If approved, the program will continue at the Flamingo until June, 30, 2002. The Mental Health Division’s Mobile Crisis Team had used the Flamingo Hotel for temporary respite housing for the last several years.  

New deal for the Berkeley Police Department 

After 38 negotiating sessions over the last year, the Berkeley Police Association, has hammered out a new Memorandum of Understanding that will increase police officer compensation by $30 million over the next six years.  

The council will likely approve the new contract, which will be in effect until June, 2007. One new feature of the union agreement is the 3 percent at 50 retirement program, which will allow officers to collect 3 percent of their annual compensation for every year they have been employed by a police department once they reach the age of 50.  

Because there is concern that a large percentage of officers over 50 might take advantage of the retirement benefit, the plan won’t go into effect until June, 2002, while the rest of the Memorandum of Understanding will be retroactive to July 8, 2001. The delay of the 3 percent at 50 plan will allow the city to retain experienced officers while recruiting and training new officers, according to a Human Resources background report. The other significant change in the agreement is that it will now take police officers less time to reach the top of the pay scale. Now instead of 12 years to reach top salary, officers will receive top pay after six years regardless of rank. 

Downsizing the Shellmound 

The council will adopt a writ of mandate issued by the Alameda County Superior Court that will remove four properties from the West Berkeley Shellmound, a city landmark that encompasses three square blocks at the end of University Avenue. 

The owners of the properties located at 1916, 1920 and 1930 Second Street and 620 Hearst Ave. challenged the Feb. 20 landmarking because they claimed there was no evidence to support the decision. The remaining properties included in the landmark designation will remain in tact. 

Other matters: 

• The council will adopt the first reading on an ordinance that will restrict the areas of town that stores selling tobacco can operate. 

• The council will accept a county grant of $350,000 allowing the One Stop Career Center to continuing operating until June, 2002. For more information call 981-5100. 

• The council will also likely approve a recommendation from the Transportation Commission that would allow the Department of Public Works to set up temporary traffic calming devices while neighborhood groups wait for permanently installed measures such as curb bulbouts. 

The City Council meeting will be held tonight at 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. The meeting will also be broadcast live on the KPFA Radio, 89.3 and Cable B-TV, Channel 25 

The Daily Planet received this copy of a letter to the mayor and City Council: 

I applaud your courageous, public stand against the bombing campaign in Afghanistan. I am grateful that some persons, some body politic, have the courage and moral fiber to say “NO” to this madness. We cannot become the evil we wish to destroy. It makes us less than we can be. 

I work in Oakland at Holy Names High School and live in San Francisco. I want my students to know that our elected officials CAN speak out on significant issues. To say “it makes no difference” is to underestimate the power of conscience. Thank you for exercising your civic responsibilities and giving public witness to truth, as inconvenient or unpopular as that may be. 

Sister Karen Conover, BVM 

San Francisco 

SAN FRANCISCO — Despite light Veterans’ Day traffic, the season’s first major storm caused transportation nightmares Monday across the San Francisco Bay area. 

Water pooled on Highway 101 south of San Francisco, and several accidents caused severe backups on that major artery during the morning commute. Flooding on a platform forced trains to bypass a downtown San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit station. 

Incoming and outgoing flights at San Francisco International Airport experienced delays of up to a half-hour Monday morning due to the rain, airport spokesman Ron Wilson said. 

By 4 p.m., 2.09 inches of rain had fallen in San Francisco on Monday alone, according to Bob Benjamin of the National Weather Service. 

“That’s a lot of rain,” he said. 

In some Northern California areas, at times rain fell at a rate of 2 inches per hour. 

A winter storm warning was in effect through midnight above 7,000 feet in the Lake Tahoe area. 

The California Highway Patrol recorded dozens of incidents across the Bay Area, including collisions, flooding and mudslides. 

The storm was expected to taper off by the evening and clear fully by midday Tuesday, Benjamin said. Another storm is expected by week’s end.

Editor: 

When the U.S. Census figures came out it was obvious that it was going to have a substantial impact on Berkeley’s election districts. This is because a vast number of students simply were not counted as they had been 10 years before. During the redistricting process the city clerk and staff did an excellent job keeping us informed of both the process and the various proposals on the city Web site. Because of staff’s excellent use of the internet, it is hard to imagine a more transparent redistricting process.  

Here is how it went: the city clerk made available packets of information (both printed and on the internet) and the city staff prepared a sample redistricting plan. The information was made available to anyone who wanted to submit a plan. Four plans were submitted and by early September they and the staff plan were made available on the city’s Web site. As requested by the council, a sixth plan was added by staff. On Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 the City Council held public hearings. According to the city’s Web site, “At the end of the public hearing on Oct. 2, 2001 the City Council may adopt or modify and then adopt any proposal.” (http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/redistricting/07packet/exl_process.htm) This is exactly what they did. According to the record, on Oct. 2, it was “moved, seconded, carried (Shirek/Breland; Noes - Armstrong, Hawley, Olds, Dean) a substitute motion to approve a redistricting plan, Scenario 2, as presented by Blake and O'Malley, with amendments to specific tracts and blocks made by Vice Mayor Shirek and to direct the city clerk to prepare the redistricting ordinance for council adoption at the meeting of Oct. 9, 2001.” The first reading was passed on the 9th, and the second on the 16th. Throughout the process I felt city staff did an excellent job keeping everyone informed. Regardless of what one thinks of the outcome, it was a fair process.  

During the week between the first and second vote, a referendum petition by opponents of the redistricting ordinance was pre-approved by the city clerk to challenge the redistricting plan.  

People have a right to circulate a referendum and I support that. I was at the Star Market Oct. 21 and asked if I wanted to sign the petition. I asked the gentleman about it and he proceeded to tell me a how the Brown Act was violated and nobody had a chance to see it before it was passed. I got upset with him but realize that he was not well informed and was probably just repeating something he was told. I sent an e-mail around describing the false statements and asking about the petition. I got a reply back from the city attorney that said, “Some of the opponents of the redistricting ordinance have argued that the ordinance which the council adopted was illegal. I do not believe that expressing this opinion in the course of circulating the referendum petition would render the gathering of the signatures illegal.” I agree. It would be a nightmare to make sure that everyone who signed a petition wasn't lied to. Best not to open that can of worms.  

Council member Hawley, in her opinion piece to the Nov. 7 Daily Planet tries to paint the approved redistricting plan as a completely new one. Is she implying that the council cannot make any changes to the plans submitted? Clearly they can and clearly she is wrong. Is this just more false information to get signatures? I think so. What should we do when someone tells lies to get signatures? Spread the truth. People might still want to sign the petition, but then it will be for the right reasons-they simply didn’t like the approved redistricting plan. 

Tim Hansen 

District 8, Berkeley

SAN LEANDRO – San Leandro officials have shut down a Kmart store after a large portion of the roof collapsed early Monday morning. 

According to Battalion Chief Steve Brown of the Alameda County Fire Department, no serious injuries resulted from the collapse, which left the hole about the size of a house – or roughly 100 feet by 100 feet – on the roof of the store, located at 205 Floresta Blvd. 

Brown said there were five to six customers inside the store and 20 employees when the incident happened at about 8 a.m. Of those people, one seemed overwhelmed by the occurrence and was evaluated and released by paramedics at the scene, Brown said. 

The fire department responded to the scene at 8:12 a.m. with three engines, one truck and a battalion chief. It was soon joined by an ambulance, police officers and three building inspectors from the city of San Leandro, Brown said. 

Brown said the fire department was on scene for about two hours, helping store managers determine a plan of action. Meanwhile, as dictated by standard procedure, the store had its electricity and gas shut off. 

Brown said he does not know how long the closure will remain in effect.  

He said that although it was raining at the time of the collapse, there still has not been an official cause of the collapse has not been determined. 

That, Brown said, has to be determined by structural engineers, who along with city engineers, will have to see if the store will be reopened. 

Brown said that the store stands alone and there was no impact to other buildings in the area.

NEW YORK — Robert Treuhaft, an attorney prominent in San Francisco leftist circles and the region’s civil rights movement since the 1940s, died Sunday after a brief illness. He was 89. 

Along with his wife, muckraking journalist Jessica “Decca” Mitford, Treuhaft was a fixture among the Bay Area’s left-leaning political set, and their home became an international political and literary outpost. 

Treuhaft defended blacks beaten up by police in Oakland after World War II and supported the Black Panther Party and the draft-resisting Oakland Seven during the Vietnam War. He also helped develop Mitford’s 1963 expose of the funeral industry, “The American Way of Death.” 

Treuhaft was known for a rollicking wit and bohemian sensibility. 

The couple met in Washington, D.C., where Treuhaft was a lawyer working on the staff of a government agency that handled price control and rationing. They moved to Oakland in 1943. 

Treuhaft was born in New York City and died there, at the home of his daughter, Constancia Romilly, with family by his side. He had recently moved to New York, leaving the Oakland home he shared with Mitford from 1960 until her death in 1996. 

Family members did not immediately disclose the cause of death. He will be eulogized at a memorial to be held in the Bay Area early next year.

SAN FRANCISCO — All trucks heading to the Golden Gate Bridge were stopped and inspected Sunday in a security move requested by Gov. Gray Davis’ anti-terrorism advisers. 

The inspections stopped Monday at 4 a.m. 

Dwight “Spike” Helmick, commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, said there was no specific threat to the bridge that prompted the extra security. 

The decision was approved and set up quickly to take truck drivers by surprise. Officers checked drivers’ licenses, log books and inspected the trucks for hazardous materials or anything else suspicious. 

OAKLAND — The death of the Oakland Zoo’s latest baby elephant hit its mother, and the elephant manager, hard. Now, after weeks of deliberation, the zoo has decided to continue its elephant breeding program. 

Dohani was believed to have been accidentally gored by its mother, Lisa, when it was 10 days old. Dohani died Sept. 9. 

Dohani was a hope for the elephant world and would have helped validate the zoo’s policy of not disciplining the elephants with electric prods or bull hooks. And it would have restored the social structure seen in matriarchal wild elephant societies. 

Colleen Kinzley, zoo curator and elephant manager, wrestled with whether to scrap the breeding program. But after consulting with an elephant researcher, Cynthia Moss, Kinzley decided to press on with the program. 

She even has been inquiring about artificial insemination and has been contacting zoos as far away as Europe to add to the exhibit. 

MENLO PARK — Gays, lesbians and bisexuals feel more accepted by society today than a few years ago, but about the same percentage say they have experienced discrimination because of their sexual orientation. 

Nearly three-quarters of the respondents to a national survey released Tuesday said they have been victims of verbal abuse, while about one-third said they have encountered physical abuse. 

Telephone interviews with 405 randomly selected self-identified lesbians, gays and bisexuals were conducted in 15 major U.S. cities last November by the Kaiser Family Foundation. A second telephone survey with 2,283 adults was conducted to gather the general public’s feelings about gay and lesbian issues. 

Seventy-six percent of lesbians, gays and bisexuals reported they feel more accepted, as compared to a few years ago. But 74 percent say they’ve experienced prejudice and discrimination. 

Lesbians were more likely to experience discrimination — 85 percent — than gay men (76 percent) or bisexuals (60 percent). 

Seventy-four percent of lesbians, gays and bisexuals reported encountering verbal abuse, while 32 percent said they experienced physical abuse against themselves or their property because of their sexual orientation. 

Ninety percent of the lesbians, gays and bisexuals interviewed believe the government is not doing enough to protect them from discrimination, while 64 percent said more prejudice was directed toward them than blacks. 

In the general population survey, 62 percent reported they have a friend or acquaintance who is gay. That compares to 55 percent three years ago, and 24 percent in 1983. 

Sixty-four percent of the general population surveyed said they think there is more acceptance of homosexuals today than a few years ago, and 29 percent said that acceptance is good for the country. Forty-four percent said it didn’t matter either way and 23 percent said it was bad for the country. 

The margin of error for the general public survey was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, and it was plus or minus 5.9 percent for the gay, lesbian and bisexual survey.

SACRAMENTO — For all of California’s congested humanity, its residents still prefer, even more than most Americans, a house and back yard in the suburbs. 

More than half its city dwellers also yearn for small-town life. 

While 71 percent of people nationally prefer the traditional single-family home, 84 percent of Californians consider it the ideal, says a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California. And 65 percent of Californians already live in one compared to 60 percent nationally. 

The overwhelming preference for a single-family home came as a dramatic surprise to researchers who called it a “recipe for sprawl.” 

“The combination of the types of housing and communities that most people want is very much in line with the type of suburbanization we’ve seen for the last 50 years,” said PPIC pollster Mark Baldassare. 

But real estate agents said it’s no shock to them. 

“No, not at all,” said Linda Pennington of Garland Realty in suburban Corona, Calif., where the population tripled in 10 years. “They like the single-story ranch-style house.” 

The survey, the first major statewide look at housing, growth and development issues, shows that two-thirds of the state’s residents would not choose to live in multistory, multifamily housing, even if it means they can walk to shops, school and mass transit. Central Valley residents, accustomed to homes on larger lots, preferred it least. 

The results, from 20-minute conversations last month with 2,002 Californians, also reveals that higher-density, transit-oriented aspects of “smart growth” have yet to catch on with the masses. 

“The preference for a single-family home is so strong, and the desire to live in smaller communities is so strong that it’s fairly hard for those promoting more compact development to appeal to a large and broad audience of Californians,” said Baldassare. 

Indeed, despite millions of dollars spent by foundations and activists to promote fewer cars, higher buildings and a more urban lifestyle, only 34 percent of Californians are familiar with the term “smart growth.” 

Likewise, only 38 percent know about the term “sprawl.” 

“Many of these terms that are used with regularity by the planners and policy makers, like smart growth and sprawl are not even on the radar screen,” Baldassare said. 

The fewest number of people recognizing the word “sprawl” — 29 percent — was in metropolitan Los Angeles, which spreads 16 million people across 35,000 square miles in five counties and 177 cities. 

The poll interviewed 2,002 adult California residents in English or Spanish from Oct. 22 to Oct. 31. The margin of error for survey was plus or minus 2 percentage points. The PPIC is a private, nonprofit research organization based in San Francisco. 

Commissioning the survey are the James Irvine, William and Flora Hewlett and David and Lucille Packard foundations. All sponsor smart growth tactics with money from companies that spawned much of California’s suburban growth. Representatives of all three are meeting Tuesday to discuss the results. 

The Hewlett Foundation gave $70 million in 1995 to create the PPIC. 

On the Net:www.ppic.org

News of an airplane crash jangled the nerves of travelers in California, many already on edge since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. 

More than 255 people were killed Monday when an American Airlines jetliner en route to the Dominican Republic broke apart and crashed after takeoff from New York’s Kennedy Airport. 

Federal investigators do not believe the crash was the work of terrorists, but that did little to calm nerves. 

Daniel Rothmuller, 58, was waiting at Los Angeles International Airport for an American Airlines flight to New York when he heard about the crash. 

“First of all, I was horrified that there was an airplane crash,” he said. “Then I thought, oh my God, it’s another terrorist attack.” 

American Airlines flight attendant Sherri Grossman of Princeton, N.J., was returning home with her husband and three children after a Disneyland trip. She was so shaken after Sept. 11, she took a leave of absence and still hasn’t decided if she will return to work in December. 

She lost friends on Sept. 11 and Monday, she said. “I knew the captain on the plane that went down,” said Grossman, who has been a flight attendant for 23 years. 

In the minutes following the crash, law enforcement and airport officials stepped up security efforts throughout the state. 

An undetermined number of flights from California airports to New York airports were delayed by a ground-stop order issued at 6:30 a.m., said LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles. 

The planes returned to the air nearly four hours later when the group-stop was lifted, she said. 

Travel agents said they braced for calls from nervous travelers, but did not receive many. 

“One of my agents had someone who had to go to New York today or tomorrow cancel,” said Jerry Greenberg, owner of Baldwin Travel Bureau in Los Angeles. “But we’ve had a few bookings, too. People are nervous to begin with and this doesn’t help.” 

At Seaside Travel House Inc. in Long Beach, owner Ada Brown said it was “strangely quiet.” 

“Sometimes when that happens, it’s because people are waiting to see what happens,” she said. 

After hearing more news about the crash, Rothmuller, of Los Angeles, said he felt better, “if you can feel better about that sort of thing.” 

He and others resigned themselves to continue flying despite their concerns. 

“I’m scared to fly because we don’t know what happened and in light of what happened before, it’s scary to go before you have all the facts. But I’m going to go because I have to go for work,” Camille Tragos said at Los Angeles International Airport. 

“If God wants me to make it home, then I’ll make it home, and if he wants to take me, he’s gonna take me,” said Margie Schnitzer, a New Jersey legal secretary whose morning flight to New York was canceled 

Nervousness extended beyond airports. Along San Francisco’s famed Market Street, tourists slowly digested news of the crash but pushed on with their plans. 

“I think you’re always going to have plane accidents, and whether it’s related to Sept. 11 or not, I’m not going to alter my plans. I’m just a bit weary,” said Brian Kilham, who was visiting from Nottingham, England. 

“It doesn’t worry me one bit. These things happen, don’t they? You could die in a car accident,” said Michael Thompson, a tourist from Newcastle, England. He’s been visiting San Francisco for the past couple of days. He planned a trip to Las Vegas later in the week and didn’t plan to change it. 

Ricky Dong of Los Angeles was visiting friends in San Francisco. Fear will not disrupt his immediate or holiday plans, he said. “I’ve made traveling plans over the Thanksgiving holidays. I’m not going to change those because of the accident.” 

Joe Santulli, 36, of Pompton Lake, N.J., said despite the crash and the prior terror attacks, he will continue to fly out of necessity. 

“You stop flying, you stop living your life,” he said. 

Santulli, who was in Los Angeles on business, knows first hand about the death and destruction of terrorist attacks. His sister-in-law, Catherine A. Nardella, was killed in the World Trade Center. 

“It was difficult,” he said of getting over his sister-in-law’s death. “And once we get some closure, this happens.” 

——— 

Associated Press reporters Gary Gentile, Ritu Bhatnagar and Raul Mora contributed to this report. 

HOUSTON — Executives of Dynegy Inc. and Enron Corp. believe their plan to merge the nation’s two dominant energy marketing companies will overcome federal antitrust scrutiny, leading to a completed deal by next summer. 

“We really are confident that up and down the line we will be able to convince (federal regulators) this is in the best interest of the energy industry and the two companies,” said Chuck Watson, chairman and chief executive officer of Dynegy. 

Investors pleased with the deal to bail out the once mighty but now troubled Enron sent the shares of both companies soaring Monday — in midday trading Enron shares were up 10.5 percent, and Dynegy shares rose 12 percent. 

Steve Bergstrom, Dynegy’s president, said the closest regulatory scrutiny would come from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but that he expected all antitrust hurdles would be cleared within the next six to nine months. 

The deal, worth at least $9 billion, was announced Friday. Dynegy also will assume $13 billion of Enron debt. 

Enron became a takeover target after its stock plunged about 80 percent in recent weeks because of concerns that the nation’s top buyer and seller of natural gas wasn’t revealing serious financial problems to shareholders. 

Dynegy officials pledged Monday that they won’t tolerate the sort of financial practices that prompted Enron to acknowledge last week that it overstated earnings by about 20 percent since 1997 and kept more than half a billion dollars in debt off the company’s books. 

Those financial practices included business partnerships now under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

“Dynegy will manage the new company in the way we’ve managed the old company. We will substantially simplify the balance sheet,” said Rob Doty, Dynegy’s chief financial officer. 

After the merger is completed, the Enron name will disappear. Watson will serve as chairman and chief executive of the combined company. Dynegy’s stockholders will own about 64 percent of the new company and Enron’s stockholders will hold the rest. 

Enron’s stock price began to free fall after Enron announced a $618 million third quarter loss on Oct. 16 and disclosed a $1.2 billion reduction in shareholder equity related to the partnerships. That was followed by news of the SEC investigation. 

Enron responded by firing its chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow, who ran the partnerships, and scrambled to get cash and increase credit lines to regain investor confidence. Investors didn’t respond and dumped Enron shares, sending its stock plummeting. 

The deal to merge the companies was announced after the stock markets closed on Friday, and investors reacted positively to the news Monday. 

In midday trading, Dynegy shares rose $4.63 to $43.39 on the New York Stock Exchange. Enron shares were up 91 cents to $9.54 on the NYSE — but still much lower than the 52-week high of $84.87. 

Consumer mega-spending of the ‘90s is on the backlash 

NEW YORK — Seldom has there been such a seismic change in American spending habits. 

In the 1990s, consumers borrowed on every asset they owned so they could spend on whatever was on sale at Home Depot or WalMart. It may be no exaggeration to say they sought ways to spend. Shopping was a sport. 

In pursuing their goals, consumers ignored warnings that zero savings couldn’t be long maintained, that they endangered their retirements, that they were inviting inflation. Life was to be lived, damn the cost. 

Now, with some spectacularly low prices and interest rates dangled before their eyes, an economically unhealthy portion of the public is nodding rather than springing to action, and deflation is a possibility. 

Deflation? After all these years of worrying about prices running amok because of strong demand, sellers are now contending with a situation in which prices conceivably could spiral down because of low demand. 

The possibility of this happening might not be great, but the word has at least been showing up in the commentaries regularly offered by securities analysts, corporate economists and some academicians. 

Several factors helped change the consumer mind, but they all added up to doubts rather than certainty about the future. 

The wealth effect, the sense of being rich, sprang an air leak when stocks fell. The technology bust seemed to spring out of the box. Social Security worries reinforced fears. Job losses undermined dreams. Then terrorists confirmed growing doubts about an inevitably good future. 

The effort to restore at least some of that old confidence is now a battleground in itself, an economic war involving America’s most powerful fiscal and monetary institutions. 

To entice consumers and businesses into greater activity, the Federal Reserve, having lowered interest rates 10 times this year, is prepared to go lower. And Washington is preparing massive tax and spending programs. 

For its part, elements in the private sector are doing things almost unimagined a decade ago, such as halving prices, offering interest-free borrowing and offering a variety of money-back guarantees. 

At least superficially, some areas of the economy are doing fairly well as a result. Car sales have surprised, and housing sales have defied dire predictions. But hotels, travel and entertainment are hurting. 

The intensity of the selling effort has seldom been greater or more apparent, to which any Sunday TV football fan can testify after enduring more car ads in three hours than pass and runnings plays on the field. 

Nevertheless, the economy probably in recession now, shrinking in size, which leaves success to be measured in terms of how shallow and short the recession ends up being, and how healthy is the recovery. 

Even in recovery, which the great majority of economic minds believe is coming, there’s danger. Suppose the White House and Congress and the Fed and the private sector overshoot the mark, rousing up too much demand? 

What then? Then inflation would be the worry. 

REDWOOD CITY — Excite AtHome has agreed to sell parts of the Excite.com Internet portal to InfoSpace Inc. for $10 million, a deal that will require the approval of a bankruptcy court. 

InfoSpace, a Bellevue, Wash.-based provider of online directories and other Internet services, wants to acquire the Excite.com domain name, trademarks and user traffic. 

Excite’s equipment and employees would not be part of the proposed sale, which was announced late Friday. ExciteAtHome also would still own the broadband-specific portal it offers to its cable-modem subscribers. 

ExciteAtHome was formed in 1999 when cable-access provider At Home Corp. bought the Excite portal for $6.7 billion. The company fairly quickly sputtered, and now a bankruptcy court is to consider whether ExciteAtHome can be sold to its largest shareholder, AT&T Corp., for $307 million. 

A group of ExciteAtHome’s bondholders are opposed to the deal, saying the price is far too low. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.excitehome.net 

http://www.infospace.com 

NEW YORK — Janet Barasso ran blindly through thick, black smoke with her two sons Monday and feared the worst after an American Airlines jetliner crashed just a block from her home. 

“I thought we were being bombed, because I didn’t see the plane,” said Barasso, weeping and wearing a surgical mask after she and her sons, ages 10 and 16, reached safety. 

The beachfront Queens neighborhood of Rockaway Beach was plunged into chaos after the jet carrying 260 people crashed shortly after taking off from nearby Kennedy Airport. 

There were no known survivors. Authorities also said several people on the ground were missing, providing fresh grief for a New York neighborhood that lost dozens of its own in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center, 15 miles away. 

Investigators said there was no immediate evidence of sabotage on Flight 587, which was on its way to the Dominican Republic. Police and federal agents went door to door, asking residents what they heard and saw and poked through yards looking for pieces of the plane. 

Some witnesses said they heard an explosion and saw one of the jet’s two engines fall off before the crash. 

Kevin McKeon had just hugged his 5-year-old daughter, Shannon, and was leaving the kitchen when a piece of engine 20 feet wide and 10 feet long plunged through the room. 

“The next thing we knew, the walls were blowing off,” he said. The impact tossed him and his daughter into the back yard and his wife into the living room. 

A wing section ended up in the basement while the engine piece ripped through the back of his three-story house and into the garage, which caught fire. The family survived, McKeon with charred dollars in his wallet. 

The Rockaway Beach neighborhood is on a peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and Jamaica Bay, which separates it from the airport. The crash snapped many people out of their holiday routine. 

Retired firefighter Tom Lynch said he was walking on the beach when he saw an orange explosion on the plane, just before it plummeted into the middle-class neighborhood. 

Two neighborhood schools — empty because of the Veterans Day observance — were turned into triage centers and Beach Street became a morgue. Firefighter Joe O’Brien said Monsignor Martin Geraghty walked up and down the street, blessing more than a dozen bodies that had been pulled from the wreckage. 

It was unclear how many buildings caught fire after the crash; one witness said the fuselage may have damaged a dozen homes.  

Some residents spilled into the streets with fire extinguishers to battle the fires, and others grabbed garden hoses. 

Displaced families were sent to an area hotel. 

“People should remain calm,” said Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, handling another crisis in his stricken city. “We’re just being tested one more time and we’re going to pass this test, too.” 

Residents were doing laundry, watching television and walking dogs on the beach when they saw the plane fall from the sky. 

Gardener Carmine Castellano was driving his truck toward a Texaco gas station when one of the plane’s engines landed a few feet in front of him. A block away, he saw flames from the fuselage rising 200 feet into the air. 

“I heard a loud crash and I thought it was a car accident, but it was too loud,” Castellano said. 

Off-duty firefighter Vincent Plover said about a dozen homes were on fire when he arrived around 9:45 a.m. Later, bleary eyed, he helped pick up small pieces of wreckage near the charred wall of a two-story home. 

“There wasn’t much left of the plane,” Plover said. 

Construction worker Antonio Villela was digging a hole with some co-workers a few blocks away when he heard an explosion. 

“I saw flames come out from behind the plane,” he said. “A whole wing with the engine fell off.” 

The plane nose-dived and crashed, sending flames and smoke pouring into the sky. 

Dolores Ravanno said she saw construction workers screaming as they ran down the street to help. Other people hugged in the street. 

“The black smoke just rushed down the block and all over,” said Eileen Dolan, who was walking her dog when the jet hit. “I panicked” — and ran home to get her children. 

Said Gina Ramos, who lives two houses away from the crash: “After Sept. 11, you don’t know what to think. I thought it was bombs.” 

Human sprit prevails at BOSS graduation  

Last Friday 81 people who have turned their lives around with the help of Building Opportunities of Self Sufficiency donned traditional caps and gowns for the eighth annual graduation ceremony at St. John’s Presbyterian Church. 

BOSS Director boona cheema officiated the ceremony and Mayor Shirley Dean handed out diplomas to the graduates who have successfully completed one of a variety of BOSS adult education programs including basic education, culinary arts and computers skills.  

Family and friends of the graduates filled the elegant church hall to capacity. Many cheered and applauded as Dean handed each graduate a diploma. 

“This is wonderful,” Dean said. “Completing these courses is not an easy thing and it’s good to see the human spirit prevail.” 

BOSS’s programs are designed for low-income and homeless people who are trying to find their way into the work force. The courses are taught at a variety of sites in Oakland and Berkeley. 

According to the BOSS Web site, there are four strategies the organization is applying to end homelessness and poverty. They are: Community building, housing, support services and economic development. Adult education is one of the services in the economic development component of the plan. 

Dr. John Randal attended the ceremony to see Raschelle Kessler graduate. Six months ago Randal hired Kessler to work in his office at the nonprofit World of Work in Oakland. Kessler, who completed BOSS clerical courses, is now Randal’s executive administrative assistant. 

“BOSS is offering these people survival skills that most of us take for granted,” Randal said. “They are receiving the physical, mental and spiritual skills needed to overcome hardship.” 

Ray Jackson, 44, graduated Berkeley High School in 1975. He went on to college and studied psychology before he developed a drinking problem. He was able to stop drinking in 1993 only to relapse five years later. 

“It was April, 1998,” he said. “Thought I could have a drink and it turned out I couldn’t.” 

Once Jackson stopped drinking again, he had been out of the job market some time and needed to refresh his computer skills. A friend told him about BOSS’s Adult Education Program and Jackson was soon enrolled. 

Jackson was trained in a variety of software programs including Power Point, Access and Microsoft Windows. With some assistance from BOSS, Jackson found a job with Nurse Finders in San Francisco seven months ago. Jackson is now a manager and is responsible for placing nurses with hospitals throughout the Bay Area. 

“I found BOSS and they put me back on my feet again,” Jackson said. “Now I have a job and a job with a future.” 

Jackson said he plans to enroll at Cal State Hayward in January to get a degree in Human Resources.

Monday, Nov. 12

Muhammad Nazar on Aceh 

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

1552 Sacramento St. 

Political activist Muhammad Nazar was taken into police custody in November, 2000 after leading a peaceful demonstration of over one million people in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Amnesty International recognized Nazar as a prisoner of conscience. He was released in October and is currently on his first US speaking tour. Free. 527-6162 jagdes@igc.org 

Tuesday, Nov. 13

Flu Shots 

10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 

St. John’s Senior Center 

2727 College Ave. 

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or over and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

Muhammad Nazar on Aceh 

10 a.m. - noon 

UC Berkeley 

2223 Fulton St. 

6th Floor Conference Rm. 

Political activist Muhammad Nazar was taken into police custody in November, 2000 after leading a peaceful demonstration of over one million people in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Amnesty International recognized Nazar as a prisoner of conscience. He was released in October and is currently on his first US speaking tour. Free. 642-3609 

Special Seminar 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

H. Peter Oberlander, University of British Columbia and Citizenship Court Judge for British Columbia and the Yukon Territory, “After Sept. 11th: a North-American Perimeter for Travel and Immigration?” 642-4608 

Palestine and the Peace  

Empowerment Process 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Ecology Center 

2530 San Pablo Ave. 

World Wall for Peace Founder Carolyna Marks uses slides to help tell the story of her three-week trip throughout the Palestinian territory in July, 2001. $10 donation. 548-2220 x233 

Experimental Mid-life  

Workshop 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Street 

Miriam Chaya presents the first of three workshops rooted in modern psychology and Jewish traditional sources designed to provide participants with the skills and tools necessary to meet the challenges they will face in the second half of their lives. $35, $25 members. 848-0237 ext. 127 

The Hormones in Health and  

in Disease 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

George Sayers, a retired professor, will lead a discussion. 644-6107 

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 

Wednesday, Nov. 14

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 

Flu Shots 

12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St.  

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or over and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

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. 

Movie Presentation 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

The movie, “If These Walls Could Talk” will be shown. 644-6107 

Near-Death Experience  

Support/Information-Sharing  

Group 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Church 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

The new East Bay chapter of IANDS (International Association of Near-Death Studies) will be provide an open, sharing, compassionate and supportive environment for the exploration of NDEs, the dying process, the meaning of life and human consciousness. 428-2442 www.iands.org. 

Second Wednesdays Poetry  

Writing Workshop 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Albany Library 

1247 Marin Ave. 

Second Wednesdays is a monthly Poetry Writing Workshop, led by Alison Seevak. Free and open to all ages. 526-3720 x19 

Thursday, Nov. 15

Berkeley Center for  

Globalization and Information  

Technology 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

Inderpal Grewal, SFSU, “Transnational America: Identity, Citizenship and Diasporas in Late-Twentienth Century USA.” 642-4608 

Flu Shots 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m.  

West Berkeley Senior Center 

1900 Sixth St. 

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or over and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

UK Seminar 

5 p.m. 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall 

John Brewer, University of Chicago, “New Ways in History, or, Talking about my Generation: History and Modernity in the 1960s.” 642-4608 

Latin Dance Class 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Salsa, Cha-cha, Merengue... $10, No partner necessary. All ages and levels welcome. 508-4616 

Storytelling Workshop for  

Senior Adults 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

27th and Harrison St., Oakland 

Storyteller, Steven Henegar, leads the workshop. 444-4755 

Falun Gong Introduction  

Workshop  

7 - 9 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Dwinelle 83 

Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese mind and body meditation/exercise system. Free. xrzhang@lbl.gov 

Friday, Nov. 16

City Commons Club  

Luncheon 

12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

Weldon Rucker, City Manager of City of Berkeley, presents “Managing a City Like Berkeley.” $1 admission,  

11:45 a.m. lunch, $12.25. 848-3533 

Crosspulse Farewell Concert  

& CD Release Party 

8 p.m. 

Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Center 

1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland 

Crosspulse, a percussion ensemble dedicated to the creation and performance of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural music, dance, film and educational projects, marks its cessation as an on-going touring group. $25-30, children half-price. 559-9797 www.crosspulse.com 

Berkeley High School Jazz  

Ensemble Concert 

7:30 p.m. 

Florence Schwimley Little Theatre 

1920 Allston Way 

Presenting a varied repertoire of jazz. $8 548-8026 www.bhs.berkeley.k12.ca.us/artsperforming/jazz 

Flute Concert 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, South Branch 

1901 Russell St. 

Mary Youngblood will perform a free solo concert. 644-6860 

Saturday, Nov. 17

National Children’s Book  

Week 

3 p.m. 

South Branch Public Library 

1901 Russell St.  

Theatre company “Word for Word” in a children’s performance of two stories: “The Elephant’s Child” by Rudyard Kipling and “Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti” by Gerald McDermott. Geared for children 4 years and up. Free. 649-3943 www.infopeople.org/bpl. 

Celebrate Music on Telegraph 

2 - 4 p.m.  

Greg’s Pizza 

2311 Telegraph 

Shoppers and visitors to the cultural heart and soul of Berkeley will be treated to the joyful sound of music throughout the holiday season. Christy Dana Quartet performs, sponsored by the Telegraph Area Association. 486-2366 

Compiled by Guy Poole

The Berkeley Daily Planet received this letter addressed to Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean and the City Council: 

I have been following, with interest, the story of the anti-war resolution. 

I understand that not everyone agrees with it and that the city is getting some flack in that regard. Above all else we must remember that this is America and as Americans we are guaranteed the right to express our opinions. I applaud the council's vote for peace just as I applauded Barbara Lee’s lone dissenting vote in regards to the War Powers issue. In a time like this, more so than at any other, any American with a differing opinion on a very important issue has the moral obligation to speak their mind. I may not, and frequently do not, agree with all my fellow Americans have to say but I will, indeed, defend their right to say it. THAT is what America is all about! 

Rory Duncan 

Oakland

924 Gilman St. Nov. 16: Pitch Black, The Blottos, Miracle Chosuke, 240; Nov. 17: Carry On, All Bets Off, Limp Wrist, Labrats, Thought Riot; Nov. 18: 5 p.m., Mad Caddies, Monkey, Fabulous Disaster, Over It; Nov. 23: The Stitches, Starvations, Neon King Kong, Kill Devil Hills, Problem; Nov. 24: Tilt, Missing Link, Cry Baby Cry; Nov. 30: Shitlist, Atrocious Madness, Fuerza X, Catheter, S Bitch, Delta Force; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Nov. 13: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; Nov. 15: Keni “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Nov. 21: Whiskey Brothers (Old Time & Bluegrass); Nov. 22: Keni “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Nov. 24: Tipsy House Irish Band. All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

Anna’s Nov. 12: Renegade Sidemen with Calvin Keys; Nov. 13: Singers’ Open Mic #2; Nov. 14: Bob Shoen Jazz Quintet; Nov. 15: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Nov. 16: Anna & Hyler T. Jones, 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Nov. 17: Vicki Burns & Felice York, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet; All shows 8 p.m. unless noted. Free. 1901 University Ave., 849-2662 

Blake’s Nov. 12: All Star Jam Featuring The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Nov. 13: The Photon Band, Ian Moore, $4; Nov. 14: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2, Hebro, free. All shows 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave. 848-0886 

Cal Performances Nov. 29: Les Arts Florissants, $24 - $46; 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 

Jupiter Nov. 14: Wayside; Nov. 15: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 16: 5 Point Plan; Nov. 17: Corner Pocket; Nov. 21: Starchild; All shows 8 p.m. and free. 2821 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625/ www.jupiter.com 

MusicSources Nov. 18 Harpsichordist Gilbert Martinez. Both shows 5 p.m. $15-18. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

“Berkeley Repertory Theatre Presents Anthony Rapp and His Band” Nov. 13: 8 p.m. Anthony Rapp, currently starring in Berkeley Rep’s “Nocturne,” performs with his three-piece band. $12 - $25. Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., 647-2949 

“Oakland Symphony Chorus and the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra” presents a joint concert. Nov. 17: 8 p.m.; Nov. 18: 4 p.m.; $15. First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. 465-4199 www.oakland-sym-chorus.org 

“Mozart and Mozart of the North” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Hausmusik presents early classical quartets by Mozart , Johann Fuchs, and Bernhard Crusell, the “Mozart of the North”. $15-18. St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany, 527-9029 

“The Fuck the War Ball” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Bay Area’s most outrageous bands will perform in benefit for Love Underground Vision Radio. $5. Burnt Ramen, 111 Espee Ave., Richmond, 526-7858, fmoore@eroplay.com 

“Tomas Carrasco of Chicano Secret Service” Nov. 15: 4 p.m. Performance by member of L.A.-based sketch comedy troupe that uses humor to tackle hot-button racial and political issues. Free. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

“La Guerra D’Amore” Nov. 16-17: 8 p.m. Choreographer Joachim Schlomer and period music specialist Rene Jacobs collaborate to present dancers and vocalists expressing stories about the “war of love” in a contemporary Venetian square. $34 - $52. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 642-9988 

“Works in the Works 2001” Through Nov. 18: 7:30. East Bay performance series presents a different program each evening. $8. Eighth Street Studio, 2525 Eighth St., 644-1788 

“Nicholas Nickleby” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. The Young Actors Workshop presents a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby. $10 adults, $8 students and seniors. Performing Arts Center of Contra Costa College, corner of El Portal Dr. and Castro St., San Pablo 235-7800 ext. 4274 

“Lost Cause” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Three space travelers stranded on a forgotten colony, find themselves in the middle of a bloody civil war, and have to decide between what’s right, what’s possible, and what will save their lives. Written by Jefferson Area, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7-12. La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid Ave. 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

“Travesties” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., and Thurs., Nov. 15, 8 p.m. A witty fantasy about James Joyce meeting Lenin in Zurich during World War I. Written by Tom Stoppard, Directed by Mikel Clifford. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck. 528-5620 

Cal Performances Nov. 16 - 17: 8 p.m., “La Guerra d’Amore,” director and choreographer, René Jacobs, conductor, Ensemble Concerto Vocale. Modern dance and early music from German choreographer Joachim Schlömer, $34 - $52; Nov. 30 - Dec. 2: Fri. - Sat.8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m., The Suzuki Company presents a staged interpretation of the Greek classic, “Dionysus”, $30 - $46; UC Berkeley, Zellerbach Hall. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“The Conduct of Life” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. A cautionary tale of unchecked political power gone awry with devastating human consequences. Written by Maria Irene Fornes. $12 general admission, $8 faculty & staff, $6 students. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

“Macbeth” Through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. Presented by the Albany High School Theater Ensemble. $7 adults, $5 students and seniors. Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd. 559-6550 x4125 theaterensemble@hotmail.com 

“Goddesses” Nov. 30 through Dec. 1: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 7 p.m. A sensuous and humorous drama concerning one mortal woman’s struggle to control the six extraordinary goddesses in her psyche. Written by Dorotea Reyna. $10. Mils College, Lisser Hall, 5900 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland 883-0536, rlcouture@earthlink.net 

“Saint Joan” Through Dec. 2: Wed. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., 7 p.m. George Bernard Shaw’s epic of a young girl determined to drive the English out of France with only her faith to support her. Directed by Barbara Oliver. $26-35. Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St. 843-4822 www.auroratheatre.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 

Cal still winless heading into Big Game 

Cal head football coach finally came the realization on Saturday that hit most observers weeks ago. 

“We’re just not very good, and that’s a big understatement,” Holmoe said of his team after a 55-14 beating courtesy of the USC Trojans, Cal’s school-record 12th loss in a row dating back to last season. 

The Bears (0-9 overall, 0-7 Pac-10) failed in every facet of the game on Saturday, gaining a season-low 223 yards and committing four turnovers on offense while conceding 448 yards on defense. The all-around struggle has become a theme for Cal this season, and Holmoe admitted he didn’t know what it would take to fix the myriad of problems the team faces every week. 

“I don’t have the answers, and that’s why I won’t be the coach here next year,” said Holmoe, who announced his resignation the previous Sunday. 

Cal’s season was summed up nicely on the Trojans’ final score of the game. Eric Holtfreter, the third quarterback to take the field for the Bears, was hit from the blindside by USC lineman Kenechi Udeze and fumbled the ball. Running back Michael Sparks, a walk-on freshman who was fifth on the depth chart to start the year, didn’t see the ball go by him and stood with his back to the play as John Cousins picked up the ball and ran 89 yards for a touchdown with just 22 seconds left in the game. 

Other lowlights included starting quarterback Kyle Boller throwing an interception that Troy Polamalu returned 53 yards for a score and a USC fake field goal that turned into another touchdown. Holmoe said that the Trojan trickery, called by head coach Pete Carroll with the score already 28-7 in the third quarter, was simply a friendly gesture. 

“It’s like two brothers playing chess,” said Holmoe, who coached with Carroll for the San Francisco 49ers in 1995. “I was hot, but if I had the chance to do the same thing, I would. I still love him to death.” 

Carroll’s team managed to beat up the Bears on the ground despite the absence of starting tailback Saleem McCullough due to injury. The Trojans (5-5, 4-3) dug deep into their bench to find freshman Chris Howard, who had just 11 carries coming into the game. Howard responded by scoring on his first two carries, first on a pitchout to the right for 25 yards to tie the score at 7-7, then on a pitchout to the left for 15 yards that made the score 28-7 just before halftime. 

Meanwhile, after a promising opening drive that ended in a Boller 5-yard touchdown run, the Bears went 3-and-out twice. Boller then threw a pass that was deflected by linebacker Mike Pollard and picked out of the air by DeShaun Hill. They wouldn’t reach the USC side of the field again until freshman Reggie Robertson replaced Boller after the starter suffered a jaw injury. Robertson led the team to a touchdown, hitting wide receiver Charon Arnold with an 8-yard scoring pass, but by then the game was already out of hand. 

“We got off to a good start, but we had a couple drives where we didn’t execute, and then things just started happening to us,” receiver LaShaun Ward said. 

Those “things” have been happening to the Bears all season, starting with their first loss to Illinois and continuing through every excruciating week, and the players are finally starting to sound fed up with the futility. 

“This season’s been really hard, really frustrating,” Boller said. “There’s no reason we can’t be in these games.” 

“This has been the most frustrating, hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” senior linebacker Scott Fujita said. “We’ve tried new things every week, but we can’t even get our basic stuff right.” 

Next up is the Big Game, and it could get ugly for the Bears against Stanford’s offensive juggernaut, which averages nearly 40 points per game, as USC was scoring just 23 points per game before Saturday. It’s often said that Cal fans don’t care if the Bears win another game all year if they just beat the hated Cardinal. 

“I guess we get to test out that scenario,” Holmoe said with a rueful smile. 

Hundreds of college students from all over the west gathered in Berkeley this weekend for the California Schools Against War conference. The conference combined informational talks with meetings focused on strategies for organizing students against the U.S.-led bombing of Afghanistan.  

“The attacks on Sept. 11 have nothing to do with the bombing in Afghanistan,” said Brenda-n Behan.  

Behan, a student at Claremont McKenna College in southern California, traveled north to the conference to exchange ideas with other students and to challenge his assumptions about the war in Afghanistan.  

“The movement has to show people the way in which U.S. foreign policy has led us to the situation we’re in now,” said Behan. 

The Berkeley Stop the War Coalition organized the conference. Similar conferences were planned in Chicago, New York and Boston. Conference organizers said that 550 students from 60 different colleges in the West had registered for the conference. They believed that between 700 and 800 people actually attended some part of the two-day conference. 

The Berkeley Daily Planet received this letter addressed to Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean: 

Although I live in Mill Valley and I am not one of your constituents, I feel the need to write in support of Dona Spring. I have never been more disappointed in a local elected official as I am with you. Your reaction and stance regarding Spring’s resolution is something I would expect from a Republican or a big business corrupted Democrat, nor from someone with your reputed foresight and intelligence. 

Spring’s resolution is a call to end the destruction and assault against a group of people that live in abject poverty and have suffered years of civil war and Soviet occupation. Simply, the resolution requests the end of misguided and sadistic violence as soon as possible. 

Politically should be ashamed of yourself, pandering to right-wing war mongers and flag wearing reactionaries calling for blood. When President Bush announces the need for low-yield tactical nukes, will you support him and his genocide? Berkeley is the one place where I expected a reasoned response to the tragedy. 

Instead its mayor is preoccupied with threatened economic boycotts while the Afghan people are exterminated. 

You are complicit in Bush’s maniacle destruction. 

As far as I am concerned you have committed political suicide. History will not look favorably on you. 

As for the supposed boycotts, it is unlikely that the type of person who threatens boycott would not have patronized a Berkeley business to begin with; rather they are in the Central Valley attending John Birch Society meetings. 

I understand the need to protect business interests. 

Also I understand the importance of being politically astute and as far as I am concerned you have failed miserably. 

In response to threatened boycotts, I vow to patronize Berkeley business instead of local Mill Valley businesses up through the Christmas season. I will make every attempt to purchase goods at Berkeley shops and I will make a point of telling the staff and management of every store my reasons for doing so. 

You have no political or moral spine. You should be recalled. My deepest sympathies to your political career. 

Robert Young 

Mill Valley 

With a NCAA playoff berth possibly on the line, All-American Laura Schott scored a golden goal in the 118th minute to lift No. 17 California to a 1-0 victory over USC in the final regular season game Sunday afternoon at Edwards Stadium.  

Cal improved to 12-6-2 overall and 4-4-1 in the Pac-10, while USC fell to 10-6-2 and 5-3-1 in the Pac-10.  

Last weekend, Schott also tallied the golden goal in Cal’s 2-1 road victory against Arizona. Sunday’s goal was Schott’s fourth game winner of the season and her 15th goal overall. Entering the weekend, the Hermann Trophy and M.A.C. finalist led the Pac-10 in scoring with 31 points and now has 33 (15 goals, 3 assists).  

“This one was a little bit more special because we’ve been having a hard time coming together as a team lately,” said Schott. “To have a win like that in an overtime situation with a golden goal, it’s awesome for our team, and hopefully we can carry that momentum into the playoffs.”  

The game was a back-and-forth affair with Cal dominating the first half and holding a 10-4 shot advantage. The Trojans had the upper-hand in the second half in shots, 6-3.  

The momentum shifted back in Cal’s favor in time for overtime when Megan Kakadelas was whistled for a red card when she elbowed Cal defender Lucy Brining in the head in the 81st minute.  

The Bears held an 8-2 shot advantage in overtime and came close to scoring on several chances before Schott sealed the victory for Cal at 117:25. The goal developed when midfielder Jennifer Medina found defender Kassie Doubrava on the right flank. Doubrava passed the ball to a streaking Schott on the right side, and Schott chested the ball down and scored to the far post. 

“Every coach is going to say this,” said Cal coach Kevin Boyd. “I wasn’t focusing on the win. I was focusing on the effort we were giving. I was really unhappy Friday (in a 2-0 loss to UCLA) with our effort. We talked a lot about that yesterday and this morning. What I wanted to see was 100 percent effort from all of our players, and I thought we got that today.  

“Regardless of the outcome, I thought USC and us were in (the playoffs). Both of us were pretty aware of our injuries and were subbing quite a bit. I subbed more than I usually do because I didn’t want an injury.”  

The 64-team NCAA Tournament field will be announced today at noon. Cal is looking for its 10th bid in school history and fourth straight berth.

Boy Scout’s anti-gay stance blamed 

An Alameda County judge sided with Berkeley that the city has the right to charge the Sea Scout organization for docking its boats at the marina, after the group’s admission it does not allow openly gay members. 

The city stopped offering free berths in 1998 after the Sea Scouts, and the parent organization Boy Scouts of America, refused to budge on their anti-gay policies. The Sea Scouts sued in 1999 alleging a violation of the group’s rights of free speech and association. 

Alameda County Superior Court Judge James Richman ruled Friday that “public entities may condition public subsidies ... upon the recipient’s compliance with state and local laws that prohibit discriminatory membership policies.” 

Berkeley had provided free berthing to the Sea Scouts program since 1945. The Sea Scouts found their yearly renewal stymied inn 1998 after the Boy Scouts of America’s Mount Diablo Silverado Council denied a scoutmaster position to a man because he was gay. 

About 15 Sea Scouts were named as plaintiffs in the suit filed in 1999 against the city, seeking a return of the free berths for the group’s two sailboats and about $1.5 million in damages. 

But the city of Berkeley, long a climate for tolerance and inclusion at all levels involving public funds, held fast that it didn’t need to give away pricey waterfront berths to the organization that discriminates. 

“It seems like a no-brainer, you would think, that if you are going to get our money, there are strings,” said Deputy City Attorney Laura McKinney. “We don’t have a right to keep them out of there; we just have a right to refuse a public subsidy to them if they do not adhere to our requirements regarding nondiscriminating member policies.” 

The Sea Scouts issue was the center of heated public debate since 1998. Crowds overflowed at Berkeley city council meetings on the issue, which sharply divided supervisors. 

The Sea Scouts argued to the city council that they did not inquire about the sexual preferences of its members, but it someone was openly homosexual they would not meet membership requirements. 

Sea Scout officials were not available for comment after Richman’s ruling was released. The group has 60 days to appeal. 

The Berkeley Daily Planet received this letter addressed to the Berkeley City Council: 

Thank you for standing up for your beliefs in promoting the cause of justice and peace among nations in this world.  

I understand you have passed a resolution calling for a “conclusion” to the bombing of Afghanistan. While we all deplore the tragic events of Sept. 11, no amount of bombing can be justified as a response to this horrific event.  

Silence during this bombing campaign is testament to consent. I, for one, disagree with the current U.S. administration’s approach and appreciate your willingness to address this issue in the face of opposition. It is a sign of hope in this period of historical darkness. 

Phil Dutton 

Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY  

No. 3 Stanford scored midway through the first half and never looked back as it shutout out rival California, 2-0, in front of 1105 spectators at Edwards Stadium Sunday afternoon.  

The Cardinal (14-1-1 overall, 4-1-1 Pac-10) took the second game of the two-game season set on the strength of Lee Morrision’s fourth goal of the year in the 26th minute.  

The Golden Bears had plenty of opportunities, particularly in the first half, but couldn’t capitalize. Cal (9-8-1, 2-4-0) outshot Stanford, 5-1, in the opening period. Senior forward Austin Ripmaster had a clear shot on net, but failed to convert as he shot right at Cardinal keeper Andrew Terris.  

Sophomore midfielder Omar Gusmao, who replaced a suspended Mike Munoz in the starting lineup, let go of a blast from atop the box, but barely missed the goal.  

Stanford scored the insurance goal in the 67th minute and sat on the lead for the rest of the contest to tally its 14th win of the season. Johanes Maliza scored the second goal after a series of headers in the box as Derek Shanahan assisted him for his sixth goal of the season.  

Cal freshman standout Mike Munoz missed the game to serve a suspension after drawing a red card in last week’s game versus UCLA.  

“We definitely missed Michael today, but I don’t think that’s the reason why we lost,” said coach Kevin Grimes. “You can never put it on the shoulders of one man. We definitely missed his presence out there, but Omar (Gusmao) did a very good job as his replacement.”  

Stanford has taken the last five matches from the Golden Bears dating back to 1999. In their last meeting, the Card blanked Cal, 4-0, at Stanford.  

Stanford was outshot 10-8 for the game, but capitalized on the chances that came its way.  

“You have to give Stanford credit,” said Grimes. “They get one or two chances and they put them away. You can’t discount their efforts in the attack. They’re dangerous and that’s why Stanford’s ranked where they are.”  

Cal concludes the regular season with a swing through the Pacific Northwest as they visit Oregon State and Washington. The Bears travel to Corvallis to face the Beavers on Friday at 1 p.m. and head up to Seattle Sunday to take on the 10th-ranked Huskies, also at 1 p.m.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Ken Kesey, who railed against authority in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and orchestrated an LSD-fueled bus ride that helped immortalize the psychedelic 1960s, died Saturday two weeks after cancer surgery to remove 40 percent of his liver. He was 66. 

After studying writing at Stanford University, Kesey gained fame in 1962 with “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” followed quickly with “Sometimes a Great Notion” in 1964, then went 28 years before publishing his third major novel. 

In 1964, he rode cross-country in an old school bus named Furthur driven by Neal Cassady, hero of Jack Kerouac’s beat generation classic, “On The Road.” The passengers called themselves the Merry Pranksters and sought enlightenment through the psychedelic drug LSD. The odyssey is documented in Tom Wolfe’s 1968 account, “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.” 

“Sometimes a Great Notion,” widely considered Kesey’s best book, was made into a movie starring Henry Fonda and Paul Newman. 

But “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” became much more widely known because of a movie that Kesey hated. It tells the story of R.P. McMurphy, who feigned insanity to get off a prison farm. 

The 1974 movie swept the Academy Awards for best picture, best director, best actor and best actress, but Kesey sued the producers because it took the viewpoint away from the character of the schizophrenic Indian, Chief Bromden. 

Kesey continued to write short autobiographical fiction, magazine articles and children’s books, but didn’t produce another major novel until “Sailor Song” in 1992, his long-awaited Alaska book, which he described as a story of “love at the end of the world.”

The Berkeley Daily Planet received this letter addressed to the Berkeley City Council: 

I thank Berkeley for recognizing that the bombing of Afghanistan is wrong. 

I write as a New Yorker, an Arab-American and as someone who believes that the United States needs to seriously reconsider their strategy in this “war.” 

War will not end terrorism, but will continue generations of hatred that will only serve to propagate further acts of hatred. While we heal gradually from our loss of 6,000 lives, we must appreciate that retaliation will not mend our hearts nor will it render justice. Those that are our enemies will not be contained by country lines – they will only be contained by the deflation of their gripes. We need to listen and we need to act proactively. 

Securing a future free of terrorist attacks with every missle we drop is a delusion. 

I realize that you do will have critics, so it is all the more reason for you to know that your resolution is widely supported. So let me thank Berkeley for speaking up for what many of us feel and for what is dangerously difficult to say as debate on this issue is fading. 

Johanna Habib  

San Carlos

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Syracuse scored an overtime goal, topping No. 17 California, 2-1, to advance to the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon at Artificial Turf Facility on the University of Maryland campus.  

Syracuse’s Kristen Aronowicz scored the game-winning goal one-minute into overtime as she put in a rebound for the Orangewomen’s 16th win of the season.  

In the first half, junior Lisa D’Anjou scored her ninth goal of the season at 23:33 to give the Golden Bears the 1-0 lead. Audrey Latsko made a save and attempted to feed a Syracuse player when Cal collapsed on the Orangewomen keeper, forcing a turnover that led to D’Anjou’s goal.  

Syracuse (16-3) drew six penalty corners in the first half, but was denied a score as Bear keeper Emily Rowlen made three saves, while the Cal defense snuffed out the reminder of the Orangewomen attempts.  

The game went end-to-end for most of the game until three minutes remained in the contest when Meredith Gettel scored on a breakaway. The freshman forward slipped through the backfield and dribbled around a diving Rowlen to put home the equalizer at 3:28.  

“A player at the top of the circle took a shot, and I stopped the first one and then I must have just cleared it to another (Syracuse) player who put it in,” said Rowlen, describing the game-winning goal.  

The Bears suffered their first defeat of the season in overtime after recording a 4-0 mark during the regular season. SU outshot Cal, 5-2, in overtime and 17-10 for the game. Sophomore Nora Feddersen led the Bears in shots with four attempts.  

Rowlen logged 76 minutes and made seven saves in the losing effort.  

Cal concluded the season with a 14-5 mark, the second-best tally in school history, and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1994. The Bears clinched the NorPac Conference Championship with a 2-0 win over Stanford on Nov. 3, advancing to the play-in game. They defeated Quinnipiac, 5-1, in Berkeley to setup up Cal’s first round matchup with the Orangewomen.  

Syracuse ended Cal’s eight-game winning streak that dated back to the Bears’ overtime victory vs. No. 9 Ohio State, Oct. 13. Kent State handed Cal its last loss, Oct. 11, 3-1.  

Five seniors played their last game for Cal on Saturday. Forwards Elizabeth Harkins and Amber Stockstill, midfielder Amber Olsen, and backs Sara Hunt and Erin Robinson closed out their career against the Orangewomen.  

They came from all over Alameda County. Some stood at attention in their service uniforms, caps adorned with patches and gold cording, while others sat at attention in their motorized wheelchairs.  

They stood straight and tall, only slightly different from their youth, wrinkles and white hair a testament to their lives after service for their country. Others, who died in the line of duty, were not there in body, but perhaps in spirit.  

Under a dark morning sky, the county of Alameda honored all veterans who served at the 48th annual Veterans Day ceremony at Alameda Veterans Memorial Park on Sunday.  

Mark Raymond Chandler, chair of the Alameda County Veterans Affairs Commission, welcomed the small crowd of approximately 200 veterans and their families and friends. Speakers included state Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, D-Oakland, local and state officials as well as active duty military. 

“Our most precious resource is our seniors … and in our hearts we will say, ‘God bless America,’” said Chandler as he read from an article on patriotism. 

Amidst a huge flag flying in the rain-kissed breeze, an assortment of California’s veterans gathered to pay tribute to those who had served and returned, as well as those who had fallen during their years of service to the United States in World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam, Panama and Persian Gulf wars.  

The theme this year was veteran women in the military, and Connie Guaraglia was one of the women honored.  

“I am a woman marine,” Guaraglia said.  

Her vest was adorned with patches and buttons which reflected her dedication to the United States military. For 12 years, Guaraglia was president of the Associated Chapter of Women Marines for the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area. Guaraglia had three brothers to serve in the military, and offered young women deciding to go into the marines a bit of advice if.  

“It would be the best thing she did. Marines stick together, they’re a community. We call each other sister Marine and brother Marine. It is a good choice, and you’ll never be alone,” she said. 

Also recognized were “Gold Star Mothers,” a group of women who lost family members in the war. As a sign of respect of the loved ones lost, silence followed their introduction as the women stood. 

Many of the speakers said the national anthem took on a special meaning following the Sept. 11 events in New York and Washington D.C., and the sight of venerable veterans saluting the flag as the color guard posted the colors brought some audience members to tears. 

While most of the veterans in attendance were seniors, there were Vietnam veterans there, to pay their respects and to “give back,” said Kenneth Stevens, who works with homeless veterans with the Homeless Vet Emergency Housing Facility in Menlo Park.  

Stevens did two tours in Vietnam and said he got caught up in a turbulent period after he returned stateside. He now has 11 months of sobriety. 

“I feel like I’ve come too far to go back now,” he said as he described how he helps other veterans. 

These days he is working with homeless veterans and said he wants to help others. 

Vice Admiral Ernest Riutta, commander of the Pacific Area 11th Coast Guard District, reminded the audience that Americans are “those who enjoy the blessings of freedom,” but that freedom came with a price. He also praised those currently serving their country, including his two sons who are pilots in active duty.  

The ceremony included essays by local high school students and Agatha De La Cruz, a sophomore at UC Berkeley, who has been recognized for her academic achievements and volunteerism by veterans groups.  

Native American dancers from the Miami, Mohawk, and Payute nations danced ceremonial dances and sang memorial songs for those who have given their lives in battle, the latest song was written during Desert Storm.  

Josef Perdiguerra, a member of the dance group, said that Native Americans had sometimes fought against the flag, but now there are Native Americans in the military ranks who now fight for freedom under the same flag. 

Several of the speakers used the phrase “ultimate sacrifice” in their speeches when describing Americans who have died either in combat or while on active duty.

Editor: 

I wish to express my support for the city of Berkeley’s resolution calling for an expedient end to the bombing of Afghanistan. While it was impossible for them to predict the magnitude of the negative response and publicity they have received, I admire their courage to speak out, and to say something reasonable in the face of so much blind acceptance. While many have promised an economic boycott against Berkeley, I have been proud to spend my time and money there while visiting during the last two weeks. 

I hope that Berkeley does not back down under pressure. The inability of some people to think critically about the war or the purpose of the resolution should not be a deterrent to Berkeley’s voice of reason. 

Christian Guenther 

Sacramento 

SACRAMENTO – California counties got a windfall that will total more than $10 billion over 25 years with the 1998 settlement of a multistate lawsuit against the tobacco industry. 

But counties aren’t spending the money on smoking cessation and anti-tobacco campaigns. Instead, financially strapped counties are using it for various projects, including an animal shelter, road repairs, debt repayment or just to prop up general funds. 

Of the $1.2 billion doled out to local governments so far, only 18 percent has been invested in health programs. Less than 6 percent has gone to prevent smoking, according to figures calculated by the Tobacco Industry Monitoring Project, a state-supported program based at the University of Southern California. 

The 58 counties and three cities each receive an annual payment based on population and tobacco sales, as part of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with major tobacco manufacturers. 

But not enough of that money is going “to adequately fight the tobacco industry’s campaign to recruit new smokers,” said Paul Knepprath, vice president of government relations for the American Lung Association of California. 

California expects to receive about $21.4 billion over 25 years from the 1998 multistate settlement with tobacco companies. Half of that will go to the state’s 58 counties and the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose. 

For fiscal year 2001-2002, California will receive about $475 million, with an equal amount going to the counties. The state is investing $401 million in health and anti-tobacco programs, and putting the balance into the general fund. 

The Lung Association and the Tobacco Industry Monitoring Project have tracked where local governments are spending their funds. No state or federal agency keeps that data. 

County spending is “all over the map, which is what you would expect from counties that have been strapped for cash for years,” Knepprath said. 

Some counties, such as Merced, have are considering selling future payments for a lump sum, trading a fluctuating revenue stream for a secure amount of cash. Merced plans to use its estimated $26 million to build an animal shelter and a new juvenile hall. 

Deputy County Administrator James Brown said Merced has delayed those two projects for years and the tobacco money means they can actually start building. 

Tight budget years recently means “local governments just haven’t been able to keep up on capital projects,” he said. 

Lake County supervisors have dedicated $400,000 of their expected payment of about $600,000 to bring a sewage treatment plant up to compliance with state health codes, said county administrative officer Kelly Cox. 

“We really have to do those upgrades,” Cox said. “It could be a huge health issue otherwise.” 

Lake County will spend the remaining money on a home-health care program for seniors. 

The American Lung Association opposed the settlement when it was being negotiated, Knepprath said, because it didn’t have any guarantees the money would go to smoking prevention or treatment for tobacco-related illnesses. 

In the settlement’s fine print, Knepprath said, it was clear “it was a pot of money going to every state,” which didn’t follow the settlement’s intent. 

The 46 participating attorneys general said in the settlement’s preamble that they sued to obtain money to pay for states’ health care and anti-smoking programs. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that states dedicate a good portion of the funds, which will total $202 billion over the life of the payments, for anti-tobacco programs. The recommendation varies by state, according to population, but is about 20 percent. 

A study released earlier this year by the National Conference of State Legislatures found that states were only spending 5 percent of the money on those programs. 

When they negotiated the settlement, the attorneys general were told by other state officials that it wasn’t up to “the AGs to appropriate the money,” said Christine Gregoire, Washington state’s attorney general and one of the chief negotiators. 

The final settlement may not spell out how to spend the money, but “it’s restitution in a lawsuit for damages, and if you understand that concept, you know that all the money needs to go to health restitution and tobacco control.” 

Not so, said Tulare County administrative officer Janet Hogan. Tulare sold their payments for an upfront sum of $45 million, which will be spent on capital projects. 

The settlement intended for each county to decide how to spend the money, Hogan said, and Tulare County has already spent enough on tobacco education. 

State officials are blowing a great chance to improve health care, Gregoire said, “simply because governors and AGs didn’t stand up and do the right thing with the money.” 

Of the California counties, Los Angeles County will get the most money, which the attorney general estimates will be about a total of $2.6 billion. The county has earmarked all money to go to anti-smoking programs for the entire 25 years. 

In Ventura and Orange counties, voters determined how the funds would be directed. Ventura voters overwhelmingly rejected a private hospital’s plan to use the money for private hospitals, and county supervisors voted to spend the money on health programs. In Orange County, voters approved a similar plan, although county officials haven’t determined how the money will be split. 

Santa Clara County and the city of San Jose are using large portions to pay for insurance for all children in the county. 

In Contra Costa County, all of this year’s expected payment of $10.8 million will go to health care, because county supervisors decided early to spend all the money on health services, said Julie Freestone, director of the county’s tobacco control project. 

But none of the money was earmarked for smoking prevention or cessation programs, she said. 

Knepprath said that tug-of-war, even between health issues, is happening in all counties and across the nation and further pulls support from anti-smoking campaigns. 

“Even the money spent on health, spent on kids with asthma, doesn’t prevent people from smoking and doesn’t help people quit smoking,” Knepprath said. “There is so much evidence that prevention programs save the state money in the long run, but often times these decisions aren’t made on long-term strategies, but short term crises.”

SAN FRANCISCO – A newspaper reported Sunday that San Francisco school officials misspent tens of millions during the past 13 years, leaving many schools to wallow in decrepit and unsafe conditions. 

A San Francisco Chronicle investigation found that the district raised $337 million for facility renovations from four voter-approved bond and tax measures. But as much as $68 million of that has instead been funneled toward nonteaching salaries. 

Nearly all the money is now gone and the promised improvements were left unfinished or were never started. 

During a six-month investigation, the newspaper uncovered records showing that the San Francisco Unified School District used as much as $100 million to support a sprawling bureaucracy. The money also went to finance projects that ran far over budget and were not revealed to voters. 

Delaine Eastin, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, called the Chronicle’s findings “a grave injustice against the children of San Francisco.” 

The newspaper traced the beginnings of the mismanagement to former schools Superintendent Ramon Cortines, who persuaded voters to pass the first of the four ballot measures in 1988. He pushed another measure through in 1990, riding on safety concerns following the Loma Prieta earthquake, which had hit six months earlier. 

Under former Superintendent Bill Rojas, the mismanagement grew more widespread with bond measures passed in 1994 and 1997. 

Evidence of the mismanaged funds came out recently, with the appointment of the new superintendent, Arlene Ackerman, in May 2000. Auditors hired by Ackerman have found the district’s Facilities Management Department, which oversees school repair and construction, in utter disarray. 

“Decisions were made that were clearly outside of what voters had approved,” Ackerman said. 

Proposition A, for example, called for asbestos abatement, replacement of wiring and lighting, and general repair of ventilation systems. But a budget memo from June 1988 outlined using $553,000 of the first $4.2 million to pay for nonteaching salaries. 

By the end of the year, the district had created 11 new administrative, engineering and architecture positions. And district payroll expenses eventually consumed $1 out of every $5 raised through tax and bond funds. 

Following the passing, and subsequent mismanagement of funds arising out of Proposition B, there was a snowballing of projects the district could not afford. 

Members of the Board of Education say they were never told about the deficits. 

“I get really upset when I visit schools and see the condition they’re in,” Ackerman said. “You can’t expect children to learn at optimum levels ... in an environment where paint peels from the walls, restrooms don’t work, faucets don’t have water. It’s unacceptable.”

LOS ANGELES – An American flag carried in honor of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks arrived here Sunday, concluding a 3,872-mile cross-country trip that symbolically completed the journey of the four California-bound jetliners destroyed by terrorists. 

“This is the symbolic arrival of Flight 11,” said Edward Herrera of Bakersfield, whose sister-in-law Betty Ong was a flight attendant on the plane. “It’s a spiritual arrival of those people here in Los Angeles.” 

Herrera was among those finishing the journey Sunday afternoon, walking the final mile through light mist to Dockweiler State Beach adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport exactly two months after the attacks. 

The participants bore aloft an American flag that was recently returned from Iraq, where a pilot with an Air National Guard fighter wing carried it in the cockpit of his F-16. Their journey culminated in an oceanside ceremony where flags from all 50 states were also displayed. 

An estimated 4,000 runners participated in the journey that began a month ago in Boston, taking turns carrying the flag around the clock through New York, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix before arriving in Los Angeles. 

Many of the runners were employees of American and United Airlines, or friends and relatives of crew members who died in the attacks. They traced the routes of two of the hijacked jets, American Flight 11 and United Flight 175, which took off from Boston’s Logan International Airport bound for Los Angeles before they were flown into the World Trade Center. 

The run was meant to show resolve and support for victims and relatives, and to raise money for attack-related charities. 

“This is not a memorial service. This is a message to the country that we have been challenged but we will persevere,” said Todd Wissing, a first officer with American Airlines who helped organize the run and who carried the flag 140 miles during its voyage west. 

Kay Collman of Yorkville, Ill., was also among the runners. Her son Jeff Collman was a flight attendant on Flight 11. 

“This is a final tribute to them. It just feels wonderful to be walking this mile in tribute to him,” Collman said as she walked the final yards to the beach.

BEVERLY HILLS – Top Hollywood executives and a senior White House official met behind closed doors Sunday to discuss the entertainment industry’s role in the war on terrorism, emerging with warm mutual praise but few specifics. 

Participants said they talked generally about Hollywood helping to produce public service announcements for domestic and international consumption, and about studios providing first-run movies to entertain troops in the field. 

They emphasized there was no discussion of altering either the content of movies or television shows to respond to world events. 

“Content was off the table,” Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, told a press conference at the Peninsula Hotel. “Directors, writers, producers, studios will determine the kind of pictures they choose to make and the compelling stories they want to tell.” 

Valenti said the gathering was “a seamless web of unity,” and Karl Rove, a senior adviser to President Bush, described it as “a wonderful conversation.” 

“It’s clear that the leaders of the industry have ideas about how they want to contribute to the war effort, and we certainly want to encourage that,” Rove said. “These people, like every other American, feel strongly about the events of September 11 and the need to see this war through to its victorious conclusion.” 

Present at the meeting were the chiefs of Hollywood’s biggest studios and television networks and the heads of its major unions, including Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone and Melissa Gilbert, president-elect of the Screen Actors Guild. 

Rove said he discussed seven broad themes with the participants, including: the need to encourage volunteerism; to offer support for American troops and their families and that the administration’s war was against terrorism, not Islam. 

Rove said he did not request that Hollywood produce government propaganda. 

“The world is full of people who are discerning and we need to recognize that concrete information told with honesty, specificity and integrity is important to the ultimate success of this conflict.” 

Valenti said that Hollywood’s major studios could have a role in producing public service announcements that could air both at home and abroad to further America’s supposed image as a caring country. 

“We can try to tell people how America has been the most generous country in the world, we have fed and clothed and sheltered millions of people without asking anything in return. We can also make it clear to the millions of Muslims in the world that this is not an attack on Muslims. This is an attack on people who murder innocent people.” 

Robert Iger, president of The Walt Disney Co., said executives did not feel uncomfortable with any of the suggestions made by Rove. 

“It’s not about content, it’s not about propaganda, it’s not about censorship, it’s not about telling our news division what they should or should not cover,” Iger said. “It’s about how we can step up and help an effort that in the end is the patriotic thing for us to do.” 

Disney owns the ABC Television network. 

Participants said their conversation was an early step toward determining Hollywood’s role in the war effort. Executives said they would meet among themselves to discuss more specific proposals. No further meeting with administration officials has been planned. 

“I think there will be a lot more work tomorrow than there was today in terms of specifics,” said Bryce Zabel, chairman of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. “The Hollywood community is as patriotic as other Americans and wants to help get America’s message out there.” 

Entertainment officials met several weeks ago with lower-level government officials to brainstorm ideas, which included producing documentaries on the anthrax threat and fostering better understanding of the United States overseas. 

The meeting Sunday, by contrast, was called directly by Rove, a key administration figure.

SAN FRANCISCO – California’s jobless rate rose from 5.4 percent to 5.7 percent last month, tracking a jump in the national unemployment rate as companies cut production and fired workers in response to the lagging economy. 

Nearly 1 million Californians are looking for work and haven’t found a job, according to figures released Friday by the state Employment Development Department. The data were the first to report state employment levels since the Sept. 11 attacks. 

The 5.7 unemployment rate was the highest since December 1998 and continued a trend that began in February, when unemployment bottomed out at 4.5 percent. 

But economists said the numbers were better than expected. 

Last week, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the nation’s unemployment rate soared from 4.9 percent in September to 5.4 percent in October, and that 415,000 non-farm payroll jobs were eliminated nationwide. Friday’s state report put non-farm payroll job losses at 4,300. 

“The downturn in California is just remarkably mild compared to what the U.S. statistics showed,” said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, a Palo Alto research firm. “It’s better than expected, given everything that’s happening in the nation.” 

It also appears to be the reverse of what happened during the recession of the early 1990s, when California moped in the economic doldrums while the nation snapped back. 

Not all is well across the state, though. 

Unemployment in the San Francisco Bay area, staggered by the summer’s layoff binge at high-tech firms, was up notably. 

For the first time since 1988, San Francisco’s 6 percent unemployment rate was higher than that of Los Angeles County, which currently stands at 5.9 percent, according to Ted Gibson, chief economist for the state Department of Finance. 

In Santa Clara County, the heart of Silicon Valley, unemployment rose to 6.4 percent — nearly five times its historic low of 1.3 percent, recorded in December. 

Technology layoffs drove the jobless rate over the summer. 

While cuts at major high-tech firms appear to have stabilized, these latest unemployment data suggest technology-related manufacturing and service sectors are still losing jobs, according to Mary Daly, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. 

Other sectors suffered as the economic ripples from the terrorist attacks worked through the service and transportation sectors. 

Tourism sectors were significantly hit. Even taking into account the slowdown after the summer travel season, the state lost 4,400 jobs in the hotel and amusement and recreation industries. Likewise, air transportation employment fell by 4,300 jobs — a loss more rapid than the overall economy. 

In a twist, the restaurant industry added 4,600 jobs over the month, Gibson noted, saying that could be a statistical blip due to the difficulty in tracking employment at thousands of small eateries. 

Other hard-hit sectors included electronic equipment and apparel. 

“We were experiencing a downturn before Sept. 11,” said Ilse Metchek, executive director of the California Fashion Association. “Now ... the retailers of America have taken it upon themselves to cancel (current) orders and downsize spring orders.” 

Short-term predictions indicate garment manufacturing will continue to suffer, forcing more layoffs and causing 10 percent to 15 percent of contractors in Los Angeles County — the hub of the statewide industry — to go out of business. 

The outlook for manufacturing mirrors that of apparel. 

Firms that make metal products for new airplanes are struggling as the demand for planes drops after the Sept. 11 attacks, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. 

“Until you come up with real good airport security and airplane security ... people aren’t going to want to jump on a plane,” he said. 

The start of the school year saved the numbers from being worse. 

State and local education systems added 65,100 jobs, the department reported. Sectors including finance, real estate, insurance and the government also added jobs. 

In all, 996,000 Californians were unemployed as of mid-October. That was up 48,000 over mid-September and 161,000 from last October, when the state’s jobless rate was 4.9 percent. 

Economists have predicted the state’s jobless rate will continue to climb and company payrolls will continue to be trimmed.

Investment will keep company, $65 million in debt, afloat 

AN FRANCISCO – Embattled e-mail provider Critical Path Inc. announced a $95 million investment Friday that management said will keep the company afloat until it becomes profitable. 

The investment, made by a group led by General Atlantic Partners, consists of a $30 million cash infusion and the retirement of $65 million in debt.  

The deal gives Critical Path more than $90 million in cash assets and reduces its outstanding debt to $37 million, down from $300 million six months ago. 

The investors will receive convertible preferred stock and warrants to purchase 2.5 million shares of Critical Path’s common stock. The company didn’t disclose the conversion price of the investment. 

Critical Path Interim CEO William McGlashan Jr. said the investment completes a reorganization launched earlier this year after the San Francisco-based company acknowledged that some of its former employees had fabricated sales last year. 

The accounting scandal devastated the company’s once high-flying stock and raised questions about whether the business would survive the crisis. 

Critical Path’s shares surged 99 cents, or 88 percent, on Friday’s news to close at $2.12 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. The stock peaked at $134.88 in 1999. 

As part of its overhaul, Critical Path has laid off more than 400 workers to pare its expenses by $70 million annually. McGlashan said running the business now requires about $30 million quarterly, slightly more than the company’s projected quarterly revenue of about $27 million. The company lost $346.4 million on revenue of $93.4 million through the first nine months of the year. 

“Cash is not an issue for us anymore,” McGlashan said. 

Backed by the new investment, Critical Path is hoping to attract more corporate customers previously uncertain about the company’s chances for survival. 

Critical Path also is trying to move past the accounting scandal. On Thursday, the company agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle 55 shareholder suits alleging misconduct in the accounting scandal. Critical Path also will issue warrants for 850,000 shares of its common stock priced at $10 per share. 

The company’s accounting imbroglio remains under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Critical Path is cooperating with the inquiry.

When Napoleon died in captivity, one of his prison guards, a man who had fought against the French at Waterloo, attempted to come to terms with his feelings through verse: 

Oft have I gazed on this wondrous man, 

But aye with strange emo- tions, undefined, 

Akin to fearful dread and wonderment, 

As if oppress'd by some mysterious power. 

When, on Friday, developer Patrick Kennedy heard that Gene Poschman had retired from the Zoning Adjustments Board, his reaction was considerably more prosaic. 

“Ding dong, the wicked witch is dead!” he said. 

Kennedy quickly followed this instant assessment with praise, saying that Poschman “knows the code better than anyone in the city – including the staff and myself.”  

But throughout his conversation with the Planet, Kennedy couldn’t refrain from recalculating the time it would take his current projects to be built. 

Considering that Poschman had opposed 9 of Kennedy’s projects in the last 10 years, often forcing the builder to go to the city council to have ZAB decisions overturned, Kennedy’s glee was understandable. 

But all Poschman’s supporters would agree that it was high praise for one of Berkeley’s most dedicated civic servants whose 14-year stint on the ZAB ended Thursday night.  

Poschman told ZAB attendees that he would soon be undergoing surgery to replace a hip, and that he would be unable to give the amount of time he had previously given to the board. 

“My operation is not life-threatening, but if I try to postpone it to attend more ZAB meetings, it would be,” he said. “My wife has threatened me, close friends have threatened me...” 

Kennedy’s acknowledgment of Poschman’s mastery of the city regulations is universally shared by everyone who follows local planning and development issues. Local builders have a whole stock of jokes, traded and shared with each other, that are designed to take some of the sting from Poschman’s legendary interrogations. 

Kennedy, the most high-profile Berkeley developer, keeps up-to-date spreadsheets that track Poschman’s voting record on major residential projects. 

But membership on the ZAB, as Poschman understands it, requires more than an intimate understanding of the law. The ZAB is where the lofty abstractions of the city’s building codes meet the nitty-gritty details of actual city projects, and Poschman devoted many hours each week to visiting the sites of proposed developments, to observe them first-hand. 

“He was just excellent with site visits,” said fellow ZAB member Deborah Matthews. “The information he would bring back was always different from what the rest of us would see.”  

An outspoken educator 

Before joining the ZAB in 1987, Poschman was first a legislative aid to legendary Sacramento powerhouse Jess Unruh and later the chair of the political science department at CSU-Hayward. 

Elihu Harris, the former state assemblyman and mayor of Oakland, said on Friday that when he was a student at Hayward he “majored in political science and minored in Poschman.” 

“Gene Poschman was without a doubt my favorite professor throughout my college years,” he said. “He was a major catalyst in my desire to enter public service.” 

“He was witty and sarcastic, and provoked exciting questions about politics. He made the subject come alive in many ways that other professors didn’t, and don’t.” 

Harris recalled one typical example of the Poschman pedagogical style that occurred after he had taken one of Poschman’s two-quarter courses. In the first quarter, Harris said, he got an A. In the second semester, he got a B and went to the professor’s office to talk about it. 

“Poschman said, ‘You’d better graduate soon, Harris – you’re getting dumber every quarter,’” Harris recalled. 

James Nichols, a former colleague at Hayward, said on Friday that Poschman’s influence is still felt on campus. 

“It’s hard to do justice to Gene, but he was a truly outstanding faculty member,” he said. “He was very dynamic politician who played a very active role in campus politics, and always kept the administration on its mark.” 

Nichols added that Poschman had a similar impact on his students. 

“He was wonderful for the very good students,” he said. “The less good ones had a harder time keeping up with him. But he was always very gentle.” 

Nichols said that he attended Poschman’s wedding to Ann Mester. Rose Bird, the future Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, presided. 

“It was the only time I’ve seen him at a loss for words,” he said. 

An impromptu party 

With ZAB chair Carolyn Weinberger absent, Poschman ran the meeting Thursday night. Seeing a number of familiar faces in the audience before the public comment period, including his wife and a number of personal friends, he reluctantly opened the proceedings to  

“This is my last meeting, and lots of people are here to make sure that I leave,” he said.  

Zelda Bronstein, a member of the Planning Commission, said that she first met Poschman in 1973, when he hired her to teach an American Government course. 

Many years later, she said, when Councilmember Linda Maio asked Bronstein to serve on the Planning Commission, she agreed with the condition that Poschman serve as her mentor. 

“I want to congratulate Gene for many years of exceptional service to the community,” she said. “I thank him not only for his knowledge and his patience, but his good humor which has leavened many an otherwise somber, sober and otherwise distressing public meeting.” 

Nancy Carleton, a former ZAB chair, remembered the time she and Poschman snuck up to the top of a neighboring building to check the progress on Kennedy’s Gaia building. 

“But the thing that I miss most about being chair was telling Gene to be quiet,” she said.  

“Gene, we love you, we’ll miss you, and we know that you’ll continue to be active in Berkeley, doing good things.” 

Another former ZAB chair, Kevin Powell, praised Poschman’s commitment to his work. 

“Gene reflects the best there is in Berkeley,” he said. “Everyone that came before this board got a very fair, very sincere and very wise treatment, and that’s a legacy that I hope will continue.” 

Shortly after the public comment period was over, ZAB member David Blake uncorked a bottle of wine and the ten-minute break the board usually takes stretched into 20, as friends and well-wishers turned Old City Hall into a place for an impromptu party. 

But before that could happen, the board needed to discuss upcoming changes to the city’s zoning ordinance. After 45 minutes of discussion, a new ZAB member suggested that perhaps the board should hold a special meeting on the subject. 

Poschman gently squashed the idea. 

“There is a special place in hell reserved for people who propose special meetings,” he said.

The area immediately north of the University campus, bounded by Hearst Avenue on the south, Cedar Street on the north, Spruce Street on the west, and Highland Place on the east was subdivided in the late 1880s by a man named Daley, who called his subdivision Daley's Scenic Park.  

Frank M. Wilson purchased the subdivision in the 1890s built his large shingled home on one of the most prominent lots. It is his house in the background of the post card pictured here. It was located at the top of Scenic Avenue where the Graduate Theological Union Library now stands. 

In1904 the neighborhood was described by the San Francisco Chronicle: "Wander if you will on the Berkeley slopes north of the University of California campus to have your faith in human kind renewed. Wander up Ridge Road until you come to the shingle and clinker brick houses set in the midst of gardens, a lesson in peaceful, harmonious, artistic and natural living, an architectural picture rarely attained, [and where] 90% of the houses are built in brown shingle."  

A rustic natural style was advocated by the neighborhood Hillside Club as a means of retaining the natural beauty of the hills. Some of the houses noted in the 1904 article were Ernest Coxhead's Beta Theta Pi House (1893), now the School of Public Policy, at Hearst and Le Roy, and Bernard Maybeck's first commission in Berkeley, for Charles Keeler, on Highland Place (1895).  

It was not until around 1909 that the streets were paved in Daley Scenic Park and the paving of the streets also included a comprehensive plan for sidewalks, divided streets, retaining walls, paths, staircases and the planting of bushes and flowers. To soften the rigidity of the grid pattern some property owners donated land for rounded corners.  

The double-curving staircase featured on the post card was removed in the 1960s, but other staircases still exist in the area. The largest and most complex are the steps and divided road at La Loma, Virginia, and La Vereda streets. Other portions of this project include the divided roadway on Le Conte between La Loma and Le Roy, the divided curved roadway and steps on La Loma at Hilgard, the Le Roy Steps, the divided roadway on Hearst Avenue between Scenic and Euclid, and the retaining wall and stairs on Arch Street at the crest of the hill. They are made of thickly textured gray concrete wall surfaces capped with smooth concrete of the same natural gray color. The simplicity of the walls and balustrades is consistent with the ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement and the Hillside Club.  

Susan Cerny is author of “Berkeley Landmarks” and writes this in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.

There has been a lot said recently about free speech in the United States, yet here in Berkeley – birthplace of the free speech movement in the 1960s – the radical left is using their slim majority on the Berkeley City Council to silence their critics and suppress the will of the majority of the people in Berkeley. It is time for progressives to speak out about what really has been happening in Berkeley.  

Recent controversies about the resolution passed by the Berkeley City Council opposing efforts of the United States in Afghanistan has obscured much more insidious and serious activity by the very same council members who passed that resolution – activities that have included back-room deal making on council business and the intimidation of Berkeley residents who are exercising their democratic right to oppose this radical majority. 

First, the anti-U.S. resolution proposed by Councilmember Dona Spring – ill-timed and ill-worded – was written in secret by three members of the council, proposed at a council meeting without any prior notice to colleagues on the council or the public, and passed on a purely ideological vote with complete disregard to input from council colleagues or the public. Politics as usual for the radical left on the Berkeley City Council. 

Then, having essentially gotten away with that, the same group met behind closed doors – in possible criminal violation of the open-meeting Brown Act – and drafted an ill-conceived and poorly written resolution gerrymandering new council districts in Berkeley. This “oligarchy on the left” then passed this resolution, once again, on a purely ideological vote with complete disregard to input from council colleagues or the public directly affected by the new districts. 

Berkeley residents who have had enough of this unfair representation formed a group, Citizens for Fair Representation, to fight this unscrupulous politicking of the radical left, and began a petition drive to ask the council to reconsider their politically-motivated vote on redistricting that created unbalanced council districts – with 17,000 people in one and 12,875 in all the others – in a blatant power grab designed to create a super majority for the radicals on the Berkeley City Council. 

But, legislative back-room dealing apparently isn’t enough for the radical left in Berkeley. Members of the Berkeley council majority – specifically councilmembers Dona Spring and Kris Worthington – have resorted to intimidation and harassment to try and prevent Berkeley residents from challenging their misdeeds. 

Twice this past weekend, and again on Monday, these councilmembers and their political cronies disrupted the efforts of volunteer signature gatherers working on a referendum to repeal their unfair redistricting ordinance. This is simply outrageous. At a time when all across the nation people are talking about how to be sure all voices on the political spectrum are allowed to participate in public discourse, the far left in Berkeley is seeking to silence what we know to be a majority of the residents. 

A referendum is one of the very few ways citizens can directly challenge improper actions taken by elected officials. It is very hard work to collect signatures, yet over 100 volunteers have joined Citizens for Fair Representation collecting signatures every weekend throughout the city. Berkeley voters are eager to register their disgust with the back-room deals that have come to plague municipal politics, and the fact that the petition process is succeeding has councilmembers Spring, Worthington and their cohorts running scared. 

The radicals in Berkeley say free speech is essential, yet they violate it to suit their ends. They say fair representation is important, yet they disregard it. What are they afraid of, the will of the people? They have set a bad example. When the eyes of the country are on Berkeley about a vote the radical majority claims was about free speech, perhaps they should consider practicing what they preach. 

David Tabb is a Political Science Professor at San Francisco State University, Chair of Citizens for Fair Representation, and a Berkeley resident. 

“The Man Who Wasn’t There,” the latest movie from the consistently inventive Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, takes place in 1949 Santa Rosa and was filmed in the California towns of Orange and Pasadena.  

Stylistically combining the vernacular humor of Ring Lardner with the hardboiled crime dramas of James M. Cain, this film goes so deep into the American vein, its real location, however, is Anywhere, U.S.A. When a story begins in a small-town barber’s chair and ends in an electric chair, could it be set anyplace else? 

Film noir lovers will be well pleased by the plot’s twists and turns, its meticulous attention to the vagaries of infidelity, blackmail, and murder. But I’m not much of a noir fan, and to paraphrase a character in the film, recounting the plot will just make your head hurt.  

There are two things that set this movie apart and make it unique in American cinema. One is the creation of its central character, the barber Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton).  

A pained, laconic man, Crane is perhaps the most passive, nonviolent criminal in cinema history. He isn’t motivated by lust or greed. He even finds it difficult to cut hair and throw it away like common dirt, appreciative as he is that the stuff grows out of us and is part of us. Crane floats through the world ghostlike, a sexless nonentity, yet he has a rich interior life filled with reflection and rumination, which eloquently pours out of him and into the film’s narration, if not his fellow characters’ ears.  

The other element that makes “The Man Who Wasn’t There” a singular creation is the film’s elegiac tone. This mood of a loving lamentation does not come from Mr. Crane – he has no point of view – it belongs, rather, to the filmmakers. They tug at your heart not because they want you to experience the tragedy of loss, but because they want you to accept loss and recognize its beauty. The Coen brothers are moving in the realm of poetry in this regard.  

Watching this film, I thought less about comparisons to “Double Indemnity” and more about the way Thom Gunn versified AIDS or the way Donald Hall rendered divorce and cancer. The Coen brothers make their poetry with a soundtrack of Beethoven sonatas and an exquisite black and white cinematography that turns stark for interiors and creamy for exteriors. 

Thornton’s career hits a high-water mark with his performance. It’s no small task to make riveting a man with no pulse, especially when the character is in almost every frame, but Thornton does so with astonishing success. Some of the advance praise for “The Man Who Wasn’t There” has compared his work here to that of the great Montgomery Clift, and indeed Thornton’s haunted expressions do sometimes evoke the master’s, especially regarding “A Place in the Sun.” At the risk of sounding flip, however, I was also reminded of late-period Rory Calhoun, around the time of “Mulefeathers” and “Motel Hell.” 

Thornton’s towering performance stands tall due to the equally astonishing performances of his supporting cast. Frances McDormand (collaborating with her director husband, Joel Coen, for the first time since “Fargo”) plays Crane’s cheating spouse, Doris. Hardly a villain, Doris is by and large the placid type, and she and Ed make a good couple. But unlike Ed, Doris gets power surges that cause her to drink and grab life by the balls. One minute she’s as stone-faced as her husband and the two looking like matching gargoyles, but then on an impulse, her eyes spin and her face breaks out in a big twitch. She needs adventure. She loves her husband, but she lusts for life. 

McDormand is an abundantly talented actor and she makes her character so hard and funny, so soft and sad, you can see why Ed doesn’t hate her even though she’s a cheat. Other notable performances are turned in by the brutish James Gandolfini, as Big Dave, Doris’s lover; by Jon Polito, as Creighton Tolliver, the “pansy” grifter who inadvertently sets the plot in motion; and by Scarlett Johansson in the role of Birdy Abundas, the teenage pianist whose youth and music represent the barber’s last hope at stopping life from going down the drain.  

It’s interesting to note that “The Man Who Wasn’t There” began its release on All Souls’ Day, the second of the Mexican Days of the Dead. Could a movie that accepts and even celebrates loss have a better launch date than a holiday that does the same?

924 Gilman St. Nov. 10: Sunday’s Best, Mock Orange, Elizabeth Elmore, Fighting Jacks, Benton Falls; Nov. 16: Pitch Black, The Blottos, Miracle Chosuke, 240; Nov. 17: Carry On, All Bets Off, Limp Wrist, Labrats, Thought Riot; Nov. 18: 5 p.m., Mad Caddies, Monkey, Fabulous Disaster, Over It; Nov. 23: The Stitches, Starvations, Neon King Kong, Kill Devil Hills, Problem; Nov. 24: Tilt, Missing Link, Cry Baby Cry; Nov. 30: Shitlist, Atrocious Madness, Fuerza X, Catheter, S Bitch, Delta Force; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Nov. 13: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; Nov. 15: Keni “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Nov. 21: Whiskey Brothers (Old Time & Bluegrass); Nov. 22: Keni “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Nov. 24: Tipsy House Irish Band. All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

Anna’s Nov. 10: Robin Gregory and Si Perkoff, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet; Nov. 11: Choro Time; Nov. 12: Renegade Sidemen with Calvin Keys; Nov. 13: Singers’ Open Mic #2; Nov. 14: Bob Shoen Jazz Quintet; Nov. 15: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Nov. 16: Anna & Hyler T. Jones, 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Nov. 17: Vicki Burns & Felice York, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet; All shows 8 p.m. unless noted. Free. 1901 University Ave., 849-2662 

Blake’s Nov. 10: Kofy Brown, J. Dogs, $7; Nov.11: Psychotica, $5; Nov. 12: All Star Jam Featuring The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Nov. 13: The Photon Band, Ian Moore, $4; Nov. 14: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2, Hebro, free. All shows 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave. 848-0886 

Freight & Salvage Nov 10: Barry & Alice Olivier $16.50 - $17.50; Nov. 11: Austin Lounge Lizards $16.50 - $17.50. All Shows 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jupiter Nov. 10: Post Junk Trio; Nov. 14: Wayside; Nov. 15: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 16: 5 Point Plan; Nov. 17: Corner Pocket; Nov. 21: Starchild; All shows 8 p.m. and free. 2821 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625/ www.jupiter.com 

MusicSources Nov. 18 Harpsichordist Gilbert Martinez. Both shows 5 p.m. $15-18. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

Rose Street House of Music Nov. 8: 7:30 p.m., Jenny Bird and Melissa Crabtree, $5 - $20. 594.4000 x.687 www.rosestreetmusic.com 

“Philharmonia Baroque” Nov. 10: 8 p.m.; Nov. 11: 7:30 p.m., “Optimism and Sacrifice”; $34-$50. First Congregational Church, Dana St. and Durant Ave. 415-392-4400 www.philharmonia.org 

“Berkeley Repertory Theatre Presents Anthony Rapp and His Band” Nov. 13: 8 p.m. Anthony Rapp, currently starring in Berkeley Rep’s “Nocturne,” performs with his three-piece band. $12 - $25. Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., 647-2949 

“Oakland Symphony Chorus and the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra”, presents a joint concert. Nov. 17: 8 p.m.; Nov. 18: 4 p.m.; $15. First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. 465-4199 www.oakland-sym-chorus.org 

“Mozart and Mozart of the North” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Hausmusik presents early classical quartets by Mozart , Johann Fuchs, and Bernhard Crusell, the “Mozart of the North”. $15-18. St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany, 527-9029 

“The Fuck the War Ball” Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Bay Area’s most outrageous bands will perform in benefit for Love Underground Vision Radio. $5. Burnt Ramen, 111 Espee Ave., Richmond, 526-7858, fmoore@eroplay.com 

Theater 

“me/you...us/them” Nov. 8 through Nov. 10: Thur - Sat 8 p.m., matinee on Sat. 2:30 p.m. Three one-acts that look at interpersonal, as well as societal relationships from the perspective of the disabled. $10 - $25. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

“Nocturne” Through Nov. 11: Tues./Thurs./Sat. 8 p.m., Weds. & Sun. 7 p.m., matinee on Thurs./Sat./Sun. 2 p.m. Mark Brokaw directs Anthony Rapp in One-Man Show. Written by Adam Rapp. $38 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Tomas Carrasco of Chicano Secret Service” Nov. 15: 4 p.m. Performance by member of L.A.-based sketch comedy troupe that uses humor to tackle hot-button racial and political issues. Free. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

“La Guerra D’Amore” Nov. 16 through Nov. 17: 8 p.m. Choreographer Joachim Schlomer and period music specialist Rene Jacobs collaborate to present dancers and vocalists expressing stories about the “war of love” in a contemporary Venetian square. $34 - $52. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 642-9988 

“Works in the Works 2001” Through Nov. 18: 7:30. East Bay performance series presents a different program each evening. Nov. 3: Stefanie Renard and Britta Randlev; St. Mary’s College Dance Company; Marin Academy. Nov. 4: Stefanie Renard and Britta Randlev; Somi Hongo; Dana Lee Lawton; Seely Quest; Cristina Riberio; Nadia Adame of AXIS Dance Company. $8. Eighth Street Studio, 2525 Eighth St., 644-1788 

“Nicholas Nickleby” Nov. 9 through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. The Young Actors Workshop presents a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby. $10 adults, $8 students and seniors. Performing Arts Center of Contra Costa College, corner of El Portal Dr. and Castro St., San Pablo 235-7800 ext. 4274 

“Lost Cause” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Three space travelers stranded on a forgotten colony, find themselves in the middle of a bloody civil war, and have to decide between what’s right, what’s possible, and what will save their lives. Written by Jefferson Area, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7-12. La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid Ave. 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

“Travesties” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., and Thurs., Nov. 15, 8 p.m. A witty fantasy about James Joyce meeting Lenin in Zurich during World War I. Written by Tom Stoppard, Directed by Mikel Clifford. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck. 528-5620 

Cal Performances Nov. 7: 8 p.m., “Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance,” more than 30 singers, dancers, and musicians present a musical synthesis of the authentic Roma styles. $18 - $30; Nov. 8: 11 a.m., SchoolTime Performance, “Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance,” $3 per student or chaperone, in advance only; Nov. 8: 8 p.m., “Orquesta Aragón,” $18 - $30; Nov. 11: 3 p.m., Recital - Angelika Kirschschlager, Bo Skovhus, and Donald Runnicles. “Wolf/ Die Italienisches Liederbuch,” $45; Nov. 16 - 17: 8 p.m., “La Guerra d’Amore,” director and choreographer, René Jacobs, conductor, Ensemble Concerto Vocale. Modern dance and early music from German choreographer Joachim Schlömer, $34 - $52; Nov. 30 - Dec. 2: Fri. - Sat.8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m., The Suzuki Company presents a staged interpretation of the Greek classic, “Dionysus”, $30 - $46; UC Berkeley, Zellerbach Hall. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“The Conduct of Life” Nov. 9 through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. A cautionary tale of unchecked political power gone awry with devastating human consequences. Written by Maria Irene Fornes. $12 general admission, $8 faculty & staff, $6 students. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

“Macbeth” Nov. 9 through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. Presented by the Albany High School Theater Ensemble. $7 adults, $5 students and seniors. Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd. 559-6550 x4125 theaterensemble@hotmail.com 

“Goddesses” Nov. 30 through Dec. 1: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 7 p.m. A sensuous and humorous drama concerning one mortal woman’s struggle to control the six extraordinary goddesses in her psyche. Written by Dorotea Reyna. $10. Mils College, Lisser Hall, 5900 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland 883-0536, rlcouture@earthlink.net 

“Saint Joan” Through Dec. 2: Wed. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., 7 p.m. George Bernard Shaw’s epic of a young girl determined to drive the English out of France with only her faith to support her. Directed by Barbara Oliver. $26-35. Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St. 843-4822 www.auroratheatre.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 

“Brave Brood” Nov. 8 - Dec. 16 Robert O’Hara directs Robert O’Hara’s searing tale of money, desperation, and the fight for survival. $20. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305 www.transparenttheater.org 

“Much Ado About Nothing” Nov. 20 through Jan. 8: Check theater for specific dates and times. Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy chronicles a handful of soldiers returning from a winning battle to be greeted by a gaggle of giddy maidens. Directed by Brian Kulick. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

Films 

Pacific Film Archive Theater Nov. 5: 7 p.m., Profit and Nothing But!; Nov. 6: 7:30 p.m., Dog Star Man; Nov. 7: 7 :30 p.m., Animal Attraction; Nov. 7 p.m., Exilée, Museum Theater; Nov. 9: 7:30 p.m., Friends in High Places; 9:15 p.m., Soldiers in the Army of God; Nov. 10: 7 p.m., Prefab People; 9 p.m., The Outsider; Nov. 11: 3:30 p.m., Born at Home and The Team on B-6; 5:40 p.m., The Creators of Shopping Worlds; Nov. 16: 7:30 p.m., Autumn Almanac; Nov. 17 & 18: 1 p.m., Satantango; Nov. 21: 7 :30 p.m., Macbeth; Nov. 30: 7:30 p.m., Werckmeister Harmonies; 2575 Bancroft Way, 642-1124 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“La Lesbian Film Festival” Nov. 9 - 11. La Peña Cultural Center presents La Lesbian at La Peña: A Lesbian Performance and Film Series. $8 Fine Arts Cinema 2451 Shattuck 654-6346 www.lapena.org 

Exhibits  

“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 

“Architects of the Information Age” Through Nov. 10: A solo exhibit showcasing the works of Ezra Li Eismont. Works included in the exhibition are mixed media paintings on panel and assemblage works on paper and canvas. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland 836-0831 

“Art Benefit for the Gabriel Sussman Rodriguez Education Fund” Nov. 11 - Nov. 16: Over 60 artists have donated work for this tribute to the memory of Wendy Sussman, a painter and professor of art practice at UC Berkeley, and contribute to the education of her son. Sun. - Fri. 1 - 6 p.m. Worth Ryder Gallery, Kroeber hall, UC Berkeley 415-665-6131 

“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 

“In Through the Outdoors” Through Nov. 24: Featuring seven artists who work in photography and related media including sculpture and video, this exhibit addresses the shift in values and contemporary concerns about the natural world that surrounds us. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery, 1316 Tenth St. www.traywick.com 

“2001 James D. Phelan Art Awards in Printmaking” Honorees: Bridget Henry, David Kelso, and Margaret Van Patten. Through Nov. 30 Tues. - Fri. noon - 5 p.m., other times by appointment. Kala Art Institue, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 www.kala.org 

“Furniture Art” Through Dec. 7: An exhibit of metal and wood furniture that revisits furniture not only as art but as craft. 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. The Current Gallery at the Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.org 

“The Paintings of Bethany Anne Ayers and Sculpture of Alexander Cheves” Nov. 15 through Dec. 15: Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ardency Gallery, 709 roadway, Oakland. 836-0831 gallery709@aol.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 

“Matrix 195” Nov. 18 through Jan. 13: German artist, Thomas Scheibitz’s, first solo museum exhibition in the United States showcases semi-abstract representations of everyday objects and landscapes. Wed., Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $3-$6. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

GTU Exhibit: “Holocaust Series” by Cleve Gray Through Jan. 25: Comprised of 21 works on paper that constitute “a catharsis... for all of humanity.” Mon. - Thurs. 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. noon - 7 p.m.; Free. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, Graduate Theological Union, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541 www.gtu.edu 

“The Art History Museum of Berkeley” 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. 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

Readings 

Boadecia’s Books Nov. 9: Lauren Dockett will read from her latest book, “The Deepest Blue: How Women Face and Overcome Depression.”; 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 Telegraph Ave. Nov. 7: 5:30 p.m. Rimpoche Nawang Gehlek talks about “Good Life, Good Death: Tibetan Wisdom on Reincarnation”, 7:30 p.m. Rea Armantrout & Brenda Hillman read their poetry, $2; Nov. 8 7:30 p.m. Jonathan Lethem and Carter Scholz present “Kafka Americana”; Nov. 9: 7:30 p.m. Sue Hubbell thinks about “Shrinking the Cat: Genetic Engineering Before We Knew About Genes”; Nov. 11: 7:30 p.m. Mary Leader, Alice Jones & Susan Kolodny read their poetry, $2; Nov. 12: 7:30 p.m. Rabih Alameddine reads from “I, The Divine”; Nov. 13: 7:30 p.m. John Barth reads from “Coming Soon!!!”, Nov. 18: Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux from the Poetry Society of America read,$5; Nov. 28: 7:30 p.m. David Meltzer and contributors read from his newly revised and re-released collection of interviews with Bay Area Beat Poets; 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore Nov. 7: Jill Fredston reads from “Rowing to Latitude: Journeys Along the Arctic’s Edge”; Nov. 8: Harry Pariser discusses “Explore Costa Rica”; Nov. 14: Gregory Crouch talks about “Enduring Patagonia.” All shows 7:30 p.m.; 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Nov. 10: 4 p.m. Ruthanne Lum McCunn reads from her novel “Moon Pearl”; Nov. 17: 7 p.m. Graham Hutchings discusses his newly released book “Modern China: A Guide to a Century of Change”;Nov. 18: 4 p.m. Noel Alumit, M.G. Sorongon, and Marianne Villanueva read from their contributions to the anthology “Tilting the Continent: Southeast Asian American Literature”; 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

UC Berkeley Nov. 8: 7 p.m., Reading and book signing with Osha Gray Davidson, author of “Fire In The Turtle House: The Green Sea Turtle and the Fate of the Ocean.” Mulford Bldg., Rm. 132. 848-0110 www.publicaffairsbooks.com/books/fire.html 

“Rhythm and Muse” Nov. 10: 6:30 p.m. This event is supported by Poet’s and Writers, Inc. through a grant it has received from The James Irvine Foundation. Open mic evening open to all writers and performers. Features poet/musician Avotcja. Free. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893 

“Berkeley’s World” Nov. 10 & 17: 8 p.m. Staged reading of a new play about five Berkeley emigres who form a career support group through an ad placed in the East Bay Express but find they can’t stand each other. Written by Andrea Mock. Free. Speakeasy Theatre, 2016 7th St. 841-9441 

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 Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., 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; Nov. 3: Tales from the Enchanted Forest, 11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.; Nov. 9: Living with the Earth; Nov. 17: Recycle that Stuff; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. Mon. and Wed., 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tues. and Fri., 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thur., 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

Oakland Museum of California Through Nov. 25: Pasajes y Encuentros: Ofrendas for the Days of the Dead, highlights three thematic “passageways” that connect the dead with the living: tradition, humor and spirit. $6 adults, $4 seniors and students, free for children under 5. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m., 10th St., Oakland, 888-625-6873/ www.museumca.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. Mon. through Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat. and Sun., 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.

The St. Mary’s football team used and inspired defensive effort and a superlative effort from quarterback Steve Murphy to take down Piedmont, 20-15, on Friday night, winning the BSAL title an an automatic berth in the North Coast Section playoffs. 

The Panthers held Piedmont to just 259 total yards and picked off UCLA-bound quarterback Drew Olsen three times, and Murphy provided just enough offense to lead the team to a win. The senior threw for 132 yards and a touchdown and ran for a team-high 78 yards and another score. With starting tailback Trestin George limited by a strained hamstring suffered in last week’s win over St. Patrick’s, Murphy was the focus of the offense. 

“Steve made great decisions today, and he was outstanding running the ball,” said St. Mary’s head coach Jay Lawson, who changed his team’s game plan to put the ball in Murphy’s hands more. 

Murphy avoided errors, with a Julian Taylor fumble the only St. Mary’s turnover. Olsen, on the other hand, was without his top receiver and running back, and the senior appeared to be trying to win the game by himself at times. In addition to the three picks, he overthrew several receivers and suffered several drops, three by tight end Peter Boyle. 

Boyle first drop set the tone for the entire game. After the Highlanders stopped the opening St. Mary’s drive at their own 10, Olsen’s first pass deflected off of Boyle’s hands right to St. Mary’s linebacker Fred Hives, who took the ball in for a score and a quick 8-0 St. Mary’s lead after a two-point conversion. Olsen was just 4-of-12 for 35 yards in the first half, with the Panthers taking a 14-2 lead into the locker room. 

St. Mary’s next score was all Murphy. First he threw a perfect fade pass to wide receiver Courtney Brown for a 28-yard gain, then picked up 27 yards on a keeper, thanks in part to a crushing block by George. After George was stuffed twice at the goal line, Murphy took another keeper around the left end, reaching the ball over the goal line by inches for a 14-0 lead. 

“I knew it was on my shoulders this week with Trestin hurting,” Murphy said. “The coaches told me all week that I had to lead the team.” 

Piedmont’s only first-half points came courtesy of an intentional safety by Murphy. Backed up to their own 4 by an Olsen 50-yard punt with less than three minutes left in the half, Lawson ordered Murphy to run out the back of the end zone. Lawson said the decision was a combination of a shaky punting game and his stout defense. 

“The way our defense was playing, I wanted to make them earn their points,” Lawson said. 

The strategy looked brilliant when replacement kicker Omarr Flood booted the ensuing free kick over the heads of the return men, putting the ball on the Highlander 21. Three plays later, Olsen threw the ball right between the numbers of St. Mary’s linebacker Taylor to kill the drive. 

The Panthers extended their lead to 20-2 when Murphy threw a jump ball up for Chase Moore. Piedmont cornerback Mike Kim went up with Moore for the ball and tipped it, but Moore used his size advantage to stay upright and catch the rebound. 

Olsen marched his team down the field on the next drive, connecting on all four passes in the series and making an impressive throw across his body to Boyle for a 13-yard score to pull within 20-9. It looked as if he would repeat the performance on the next drive, getting the Highlanders to the St. Mary’s 18, but he overthrew a receiver and the ball floated into the hands of St. Mary’s linebacker Chris White in the end zone to kill the drive. 

“Our offense was just stuttering today,” Olsen said. “Anytime I throw three picks, it’s going to be hard for us to win.” 

The next St. Mary’s drive died when Murphy had to leave the game with an injured wrist, and Olsen hit a quick strike with a 62-yards touchdown pass to Pat Castles, who inexplicably was able to get behind the Panther defense. But Hives recovered the onside kick, then busted out for a 22-yard gain. The Panthers were hit with a delay of game penalty with 27 seconds left to put them in a 4th-and-7, but Lawson crossed up the defense and called a long pass for Brown, who hauled the ball in at the 1, and Murphy kneeled on the next play to run out the clock. 

The Panthers now await their NCS matchup, to be determined at a seeding meeting on Sunday. St. Mary’s cannot host a playoff game at their field due to not meeting the minimum crowd capacity.

Saturday, Nov. 10 

Celebrate Music on Telegraph 

2 - 4 p.m.  

Sather Gate Mall 

Shoppers and visitors to the cultural heart and soul of Berkeley will be treated to the joyful sound of music throughout the holiday season. Joe Chellman Quartet performs, sponsored by the Telegraph Area Association. 486-2366 

Gaia Yoga Forum 

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Ecology Center 

2530 San Pablo Ave. 

A forum for those interested in the practice of Gaia Yoga. $10 members, $15 non-members. 548-2220 x233 

Chaparral House Discovers  

Artist in Residence 

2 p.m. - 4 p.m. 

Chaparral House  

1309 Allston Way 

Reception and exhibit of works by artist and resident Helen F. McCulloch. 848-8774 

Sunday, Nov. 11 

Celebrate Music on Telegraph 

2 - 4 p.m.  

Blackberry Ginger 

2520 Durant Ave. 

Shoppers and visitors to the cultural heart and soul of Berkeley will be treated to the joyful sound of music throughout the holiday season. Aaron Greenblatt Duo performs, sponsored by the Telegraph Area Association. 486-2366 

Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto  

Celebrates Veteran’s Day 

11 a.m. - 11 p.m. 

Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto 

1919 Fourth St.  

Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto celebrates by offering veterans a complimentary entree with each entree purchased. Please bring your discharge papers. 845-7771 

Family Concert 

4 p.m. 

Malcolm X School 

1731 Prince St. 

The Community Women’s Orchestra presents orchestral music based on folk tunes. $5. 653-1616  

The Cornelius Cardew Choir 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

1275 Walnut St. 

Directed by Tom Bickley and presented by The Berkeley Arts Center and ACME Observatory Contemporary Performance Series. The Choir will be performing paragraph 7 of The Great Learning (1969) by Cornelius Cardew and Sonic Choreographies (2001) by Kathy Kennedy. $10. 

Racism, Hate Crimes, and Stereotypes in Our Back Yard 

11:15 a.m. 

Fellowship of Humanity 

411 28th St., Oakland 

Presented by Sonya Kaleel. 451-5818 HumanistHall@yahoo.com 

United Genders of the Universe 

7 p.m. 

Pacific Center 

2712 Telegraph Ave. 

An all ages genderqueer group for anyone who views gender as having more than 2 options. 548-8283  

Multimodal Adventure in Ecuador 

7:30 p.m. 

Long Haul/Infoshop 

3124 Shattuck Ave. 

Bicycle activist Jason Meggs gives a presentation of his recent 

multimodal adventures in Ecuador, including trepidations in oil country, riding on tops of buses, and car-free islands. Spoken with video and other media. Vegan dinner only $3-5 donation. 540-0751 

Monday, Nov. 12 

Muhammad Nazar on Aceh 

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

1552 Sacramento St. 

Political activist Muhammad Nazar was taken into police custody in November, 2000 after leading a peaceful demonstration of over one million people in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Amnesty International recognized Nazar as a prisoner of conscience. He was released in October and is currently on his first US speaking tour. Free. 527-6162 jagdes@igc.org 

Tuesday, Nov. 13 

Flu Shots 

10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 

St. John’s Senior Center 

2727 College Ave. 

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or over and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

Muhammad Nazar on Aceh 

10 a.m. - noon 

UC Berkeley 

2223 Fulton St. 

6th Floor Conference Rm. 

Political activist Muhammad Nazar was taken into police custody in November, 2000 after leading a peaceful demonstration of over one million people in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Amnesty International recognized Nazar as a prisoner of conscience. He was released in October and is currently on his first US speaking tour. Free. 642-3609 

Special Seminar 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

H. Peter Oberlander, University of British Columbia and Citizenship Court Judge for British Columbia and the Yukon Territory, “After Sept. 11th: a North-American Perimeter for Travel and Immigration?” 642-4608 

– Compiled by Guy Poole 

Palestine and the Peace Empowerment Process 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Ecology Center 

2530 San Pablo Ave. 

World Wall for Peace Founder Carolyna Marks uses slides to help tell the story of her three-week trip throughout the Palestinian territory in July, 2001. $10 donation. 548-2220 x233 

Experimental Mid-life Workshop 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Street 

Miriam Chaya presents the first of three workshops rooted in modern psychology and Jewish traditional sources designed to provide participants with the skills and tools necessary to meet the challenges they will face in the second half of their lives. $35, $25 members. 848-0237 ext. 127 

The Hormones in Health and in Disease 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

George Sayers, a retired professor, will lead a discussion. 644-6107 

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 

Wednesday, Nov. 14 

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 

Flu Shots 

12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St.  

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or over and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

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. 

Movie Presentation 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

The movie, “If These Walls Could Talk” will be shown. 644-6107 

Near-Death Experience Support/Information-Sharing Group 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Church 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

The new East Bay chapter of IANDS (International Association of Near-Death Studies) will be provide an open, sharing, compassionate and supportive environment for the exploration of NDEs, the dying process, the meaning of life and human consciousness. 428-2442 www.iands.org. 

Second Wednesdays Poetry Writing Workshop 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Albany Library 

1247 Marin Ave. 

Second Wednesdays is a monthly Poetry Writing Workshop, led by Alison Seevak. Free and open to all ages. 526-3720 x19 

Thursday, Nov. 15 

Berkeley Center for Globalization and  

Information Technology 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

Inderpal Grewal, SFSU, “Transnational America: Identity, Citizenship and Diasporas in Late-Twentienth Century USA.” 642-4608 

Flu Shots 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m.  

West Berkeley Senior Center 

1900 Sixth St. 

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or over and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

UK Seminar 

5 p.m. 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall 

John Brewer, University of Chicago, “New Ways in History, or, Talking about my Generation: History and Modernity in the 1960s.” 642-4608 

Latin Dance Class 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Salsa, Cha-cha, Merengue... $10, No partner necessary. All ages and levels welcome. 508-4616 

Storytelling Workshop for Senior Adults 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

27th and Harrison St., Oakland 

Storyteller, Steven Henegar, leads the workshop. 444-4755 

Falun Gong Introduction Workshop  

7 - 9 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Dwinelle 83 

Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese mind and body meditation/exercise system. Free. xrzhang@lbl.gov 

Friday, Nov. 16 

City Commons Club Luncheon 

12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

Weldon Rucker, City Manager of City of Berkeley, presents “Managing a City Like Berkeley.” $1 admission,  

11:45 a.m. lunch, $12.25. 848-3533 

Crosspulse Farewell Concert & CD Release Party 

8 p.m. 

Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Center 

1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland 

Crosspulse, a percussion ensemble dedicated to the creation and performance of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural music, dance, film and educational projects, marks its cessation as an on-going touring group. $25-30, children half-price. 559-9797 www.crosspulse.com 

Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble Concert 

7:30 p.m. 

Florence Schwimley Little Theatre 

1920 Allston Way 

Presenting a varied repertoire of jazz. $8 548-8026 www.bhs.berkeley.k12.ca.us/artsperforming/jazz 

Flute Concert 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, South Branch 

1901 Russell St. 

Mary Youngblood will perform a free solo concert. 644-6860 

Saturday, Nov. 17 

National Children’s Book Week 

3 p.m. 

South Branch Public Library 

1901 Russell St.  

Theatre company “Word for Word” in a children’s performance of two stories: “The Elephant’s Child” by Rudyard Kipling and “Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti” by Gerald McDermott. Geared for children 4 years and up. Free. 649-3943 www.infopeople.org/bpl. 

Celebrate Music on Telegraph 

2 - 4 p.m.  

Greg’s Pizza 

2311 Telegraph 

Shoppers and visitors to the cultural heart and soul of Berkeley will be treated to the joyful sound of music throughout the holiday season. Christy Dana Quartet performs, sponsored by the Telegraph Area Association. 486-2366 

Elementary School Panel 

11 a.m.- 2 p.m. 

Epworth United Methodist Church 

1953 Hopkins St. 

Neighborhood Parents Networks sponsors a panel discussion and fair for Berkeley public elementary schools to offer information for parents entering their children in the public school system. $5 members, $10 non-members. 527-6667 www.parentsnet.org 

Berkeley Free Folk Festival 

11 a.m. - 1 a.m. 

Ashkenaz 

1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Day one of the festival focuses on acoustic roots music, with concerts, workshops, a children’s program, and a Saturday night dance with three bands. 

Sunday, Nov. 18 

Celebrate Music on Telegraph 

2 - 4 p.m. 

Raleigh’s 

2438 Telegraph 

Shoppers and visitors to the cultural heart and soul of Berkeley will be treated to the joyful sound of music throughout the holiday season. Mitch Marcus Trio performs, sponsored by the Telegraph Area Association. 486-2366 

Berkeley Free Folk Festival 

3 - 11 p.m. 

Freight and Salvage 

1111 Addison St. 

Day two of the festival features contemporary folk music, with singer-songwriters and original string music. 

Buddy Club Children’s Show 

1 - 2 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Comedy and magic with The Flying Calamari Brothers. $7, $6 BRJCC members. 236-7469 

Broadway Meets the Blues 

5 p.m. 

St. Jerome’s Church 

308 Carmel Ave., El Cerrito 

A free concert by the Berkeley Broadway Singers. 525-7815 

United Genders of the Universe 

7 p.m. 

Pacific Center 

2712 Telegraph Ave. 

An all ages genderqueer group for anyone who views gender as having more than 2 options. 548-8283  

Mosque Open House 

1 p.m., 3 p.m. 

Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California 

1433 Madison St., Oakland 

All are welcome to Open House. 832-7600, www.iccnc.org 

Monday, Nov. 19 

Flu Shots 

9 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 1 p.m - 2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

The City of Berkeley Health Department will administer flu shots to individuals 60 years old or over and to those with specific chronic diseases. $2 donation. 644-6500 

Tuesday, Nov. 20 

Breakfast with Rev. Sirirat Pusurinkham 

7:30 - 9 a.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church 

2727 College Ave. 

Pastor of the Church of Christ in Thailand, a leader in the struggle for economic justice for indigenous minorities, campaigner against international child prostitution. Free. Food service begins at 7:15 a.m. 845-6830 

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 

Experimental Mid-life Workshop 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Street 

Miriam Chaya presents the second of three workshops rooted in modern psychology and Jewish traditional sources designed to provide participants with the skills and tools necessary to meet the challenges they will face in the second half of their lives. $35, $25 members. 848-0237 ext. 127 

Holiday Crime Prevention 

11:15 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

Members of the Berkeley Police Department will discuss prevention methods . 644-6107 

Holistic Health 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

Elizabeth Forrest discusses Creative Aging in the first of two Holiday Holistic Health talks. 644-6107 

Fibromyalgia Support Group 

12 - 2 p.m. 

Alta Bates Medical Center 

2001 Dwight Way 

Monica Nowakowski lectures on holiday stress reduction. 601-0550. 

Wednesday, Nov. 21 

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 

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. 

Stories of Your Amazing Body 

2 p.m. - 3 p.m. 

Hall of Health 

2230 Shattuck Ave.  

For children aged three to ten years old, escape to the magical realm of health, fun, and excitement of this ongoing storytelling series. 549-1564  

Thursday, Nov. 22 

Latin Dance Class 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Salsa, Cha-cha, Merengue... $10, No partner necessary. All ages and levels welcome. 508-4616 

Friday, Nov. 23 

Kwanzaa Gift Show 

12 - 8 p.m. 

Oakland Marriott Hotel 

1001 Broadway, Oakland 

Three-day cultural gift show offers goods and services as well as retail seminars, business workshops, job recruitment, product samples, business opportunities, and entertainment. 

Saturday, Nov. 24 

Celebrate Music on Telegraph 

2 - 4 p.m. 

The Village 

2556 Telegraph 

Shoppers and visitors to the cultural heart and soul of Berkeley will be treated to the joyful sound of music throughout the holiday season. Joe Chellman Quartet performs, sponsored by the Telegraph Area Association. 486-2366 

Open Center 

10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

The Center is open for exercise and lunch. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” will be shown at 1 p.m. 644-6107 

Teddy Bear Festival 

1 p.m., 3 p.m. 

Pacific Film Archive Theater 

2575 Bancroft Way 

Children get to march their teddy bears through the theater, and then watch animated teddy bear films. $3.50. 642-1412 

Sunday, Nov. 25 

Celebrate Music on Telegraph 

2 - 4 p.m.  

Greg’s Pizza 

2311 Telegraph 

Shoppers and visitors to the cultural heart and soul of Berkeley will be treated to the joyful sound of music throughout the holiday season. Downtown Uproar performs, sponsored by the Telegraph Area Association. 486-2366 

United Genders of the Universe 

7 p.m. 

Pacific Center 

2712 Telegraph Ave. 

An all ages genderqueer group for anyone who views gender as having more than 2 options. 548-8283  

Teddy Bear Festival 

1 p.m., 3 p.m. 

Pacific Film Archive Theater 

2575 Bancroft Way 

Children get to march their teddy bears through the theater, and then watch animated teddy bear films. $3.50. 642-1412 

Monday, Nov. 26 

Quilt Show 

7:30 p.m. 

First Unitarian Church 

1 Lawson Rd., Kensington 

East Bay Heritage Quilters present their work, including art quilts, traditional bed quilts, wall hangings, group quilts, and clothing. $3 non-members. 834-3706 

Tuesday, Nov. 27 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Experimental Mid-life Workshop 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Street 

Miriam Chaya presents the third of three workshops rooted in modern psychology and Jewish traditional sources designed to provide participants with the skills and tools necessary to meet the challenges they will face in the second half of their lives. $35, $25 members. 848-0237 ext. 127 

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 

Holistic Health 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

Elizabeth Forrest discusses Creative Aging in the second of two Holiday Holistic Health talks. 644-6107 

Wednesday, 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 

American Disability Act 

1:00 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

Ken Steiner and Jessica Soske from Legal Assistance for Seniors will lead a discussion. 644-6107 

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. The last Storytime in the series.  

Stories of Your Amazing Body 

2 p.m. - 3 p.m. 

Hall of Health 

2230 Shattuck Ave.  

For children aged three to ten years old, escape to the magical realm of health, fun, and excitement of this ongoing storytelling series. 549-1564  

Thursday, Nov. 29 

Latin Dance Class 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Salsa, Cha-cha, Merengue... $10, No partner necessary. All ages and levels welcome. 508-4616 

Winter Backcountry Travel: Safety and Survival Tips 

7 p.m. 

REI 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Leader of the National Ski Patrol’s Northern California search and rescue team, Mike Kelly, shares his expertise on how to plan a safe adventure in the snow. Free. 527-4140 

Discussion for Women 

1:00 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

Katheryn Gardella, RN., discuss Mobility Issues and Felling Good in this part of a series of discussions for women. 644-6107 

Friday, Nov. 30 

City Commons Club Luncheon 

12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

Nat Goldhaber, entrepreneur, presents “Running for Vice-President in a Spiritual Age.” $1 admission; 11:45 a.m. lunch, $12.25. 848-3533 

Saturday, Dec. 1  

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a nonprofit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give 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  

Sunday, Dec. 2 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a nonprofit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give 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  

Friday, Dec. 7 

Friday, Dec. 21 

ONGOING EVENTS 

Sundays 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave., between 3rd and 4th Streets  

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

654-6346  

Mondays 

Tuesdays 

Easy Tilden Trails (?) 

9:30 a.m. 

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

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

215-7672; members.home.co 

m/teachme99/tilden/index.html 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

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

531-8664 

Wednesdays  

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 

Thursdays 

Free Anonymous HIV Testing (?) (?) 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available.  

Call 642-7202  

Fridays 

Saturdays 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Poets Juan Sequeira and Wanna Thibideux Wright 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a nonprofit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give 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 five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org August 4 & 5, September 1 & 2, October 6 & 7, November 3 & 4, and December 1&2 

Say standardized testing is devisive 

OAKLAND — Public school teachers and union representatives from around the Bay Area spoke out Thursday against standardized testing and cash incentives they termed “divisive” and a growing obstacle to their educational mission. 

“We need more than just a gimmick when it comes to teacher accountability,” said Barry Fike, president of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers. 

At a news conference at the Elihu Harris State Office Building, teachers lined up to toss fake money into a trash bag, symbolizing their decision to refuse or donate the cash rewards they have received because their schools exceeded the state’s Academic Performance Index. 

The members of the Oakland Educational Association together have refused $3,500, and Reva Kidd, a teacher at Berkeley’s Cragmont Elementary, said she had been offered $10,000. 

“I couldn’t believe it because we struggle so much to get adequate compensation,” she said. 

Margot Pepper, a third-grade Spanish-language immersion teacher at Rosa Parks Elementary School in Berkeley, said she had been offered $500. 

“I turned down the money because I feel the test is not a measure of achievement,” she said, but rather, “a measure of socioeconomic level.” 

As an example, Pepper said she had an “extremely bright” Latino student who was fluent in English but “bombed” the Stanford Achievement Test-9, the current centerpiece of the state’s testing program. 

Meanwhile, she said, a Caucasian child at risk of failing out of class “was the highest scorer.” 

About a dozen other speakers lambasted the SAT-9 at the press conference and at a subsequent panel discussion hosted by the California Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education, or CalCARE. Fadeeluh Muhyee, a senior at Oakland High School, said by awarding bonuses based on SAT-9 test scores, the state was funneling cash to the schools that need it the least. 

“That’s the way this is set up: So rich schools can get richer and poor schools can get poorer.” 

“Teachers don’t want this kind of blood money,” said state Assemblywoman Dion Aroner, D-Berkeley. Aroner was also a panel member. “They want salary increases.” 

The state board of education voted to make SAT-9 the primary public-school evaluation test in November 1997. Two years later, the state government passed the Public Schools Accountability Act, which provided cash rewards for school districts that exceeded a state-defined Academic Performance Index. 

Les Axelrod, a research and evaluation consultant with the state education department’s standards and assessment division, said that SAT-9 “certainly isn’t aligned to the state standards we’ve adopted” under API. 

Developed by Harcourt Educational Measurement, Inc., the SAT-9 is based on a broad national standard so that it can be used anywhere in the country. 

In the language of the testing world, it is “norm referenced:” Students are measured against a statistical nationwide average, rather than scored on their own achievement level. 

Rick Rubino, principal of Madison Elementary in San Leandro and a panelist, was among those at Thursday’s forum who said part of the problem with the SAT-9 is that half those who take it inevitably score below average. 

“I think my head will explode if I hear one more teacher say: ‘We have to close the achievement gap,’” Rubino said. “You’re never going to close the achievement gap using SAT-9, because half will always fail.” 

The Public Schools Accountability Act called for broader performance measures for schools than simply the SAT-9, including attendance, Axelrod said. As part of this broadening, yet another standardized test is being rolled out: The California Achievement Standards test, whose language component is already being administered simultaneously with the SAT-9.  

In 2003, the state board is due to for a complete revamp of the Standardized Testing and Reporting program, Axelrod said. 

“This coming year is going to be last year of the STAR program as we know it.” 

In the meantime, however, teachers around the state have begun to speak out against the trend toward cash rewards for raising student test scores — a policy that both presidential candidates last year advocated as a means toward teacher accountability. 

“No matter where I go, this issue is on the front page, all over California,” Aroner said at the press conference. 

Pepper, the Washington Elementary teacher, said the SAT-9’s inequality along lines of income and race was bound to lead to lawsuits against school districts. Inequality was not the only problem the cited Thursday evening, however. 

Kidd, the Cragmont teacher, said the award money was “divisive among teachers,” and several complained that requirements to remove all educational materials from their walls before testing week disrupted their jobs. 

“My position as a teacher is very compromised by the process,” said Kidd. 

Rubino and several others said they were not against student assessment tests in general — just the SAT-9. 

“People like it because it’s easy,” he said. “They don’t have to get down in the trenches and do an authentic assessment.” 

The use of the SAT-9 and the national push for cash incentives results from “the perception that teachers have a ‘cush’ situation,” said Fike, of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers. 

“So what do we get? Methodology designed by people by and large far from the classroom.” 

“If the public thinks the system is broken,” Rubino said, “then we have to fix the system and the perception.”

The Berkeley Daily Planet received this letter addressed to the Berkeley City Council: 

Thank you for passing the resolution calling for an end to our government’s current bombing campaign in Afghanistan. This resolution is yet another reason why I am proud to call Berkeley home! I agree that our government's bombing campaign in Afghanistan is wrong. My first thought after hearing that the resolution passed was that Berkeley is once again brave to express its views. Then I was saddened to think that expressing an opinion today in this country could be considered brave, and not simply a normal aspect of a democracy. It is as if we have become a Communist country, where we as citizens must either adhere to the party line and "watch what we say," or else! Thanks again! 

Lee Schurin 

Berkeley

The Cal women’s soccer team continued its free-fall on Friday, losing 2-0 to UCLA. The loss, which dropped Cal to 3-4-1 in the Pac-10, puts the Bears on the verge of missing the NCAA Tournament. 

The Bears played Friday’s game with two defensive starters on the bench due to injury, with another starter joining them in the second half. The Bears had just 16 players available for the match. 

Head coach Kevin Boyd was forced to play Brittany Kirk, his best midfield playmaker, as a sweeper. As a result, the Bears couldn’t get anything going offensively, managing just three shots to UCLA’s 17, none by leading Pac-10 scorer Laura Schott. 

“Brittany did the best she could at sweeper, but she’s the only player who could possess the ball consistently today,” Boyd said. “We’re really struggling with our depth right now.” 

The Bruins upped their conference record to 7-1, tied for first place, thanks to two first-half goals. Midfielder Mary-Frances Monroe kicked off the scoring with a 25-yard bomb over Cal goalkeeper Mallory Moser’s head in the 29th minute, and leading scorer Stephanie Rigamat slammed home a rebound from a Sarah-Gayle Swanson shot five minutes later. 

Cal finishes the regular season against USC on Sunday, and it looks as if the Bears must win that game to have a shot at the playoffs. The Trojans will be tough, however, owning a 5-2 Pac-10 record going into Friday’s game against Stanford.

Claims to have collected 4,000 signatures for a March ballot challenge 

A newly formed organization committed to rescinding the city’s recently adjusted council districts is claiming that it has collected enough signatures to put the controversial redistricting on the March ballot. 

The Citizens for Fair Representation announced less than a month ago that it would collect over 4,000 signatures necessary to challenge the redistricting plan, which was approved on Oct. 2, by putting it before the voters in March. According to a spokesman for the group, the organization has collected at least 4,000 signatures and intends to collect extra signatures by the city’s deadline of next Thursday. 

The CFR say they launched the petition drive to recind the resdstricting plan becuase they claim it was fashioned by progressives to weaken moderate Councilmember Polly Armstrong in District 8 and strengthen Councilmember Kriss Worthington in District 7.  

Progressives deny the accusations of a polictical power grab and say their plan is the most legal of the proposed plans. 

“We’re well over the 4,000 requirement and pushing towards a cushion of any challenges of the signatures, Adam Sonenshein, Campaign manager for CFR. “I think we’ll come in with 6,000 at least.” 

Once the petitions are submitted, the city clerk will verify the signatures and the petition to rescind the new redistricting plan would be put on the ballot for voter approval. If the plan is voted out, the council will begin the redistricting process all over again. 

The controversial redistricting plan was drafted by Berkeley residents Michael O’Malley and David Blake, a former aide to progressive Councilmember Linda Maio. Progressives approved the plan, from a field of six others, because it best fit City Charter requirements. 

Moderates claimed that the plan was fashioned during a secret meeting, which as many as four councilmembers may have attended the day before the vote. In addition they claimed that the Blake-O’Malley plan took advantage of a census blunder that undercounted nearly 4,500 people, mostly students in districts 7 and 8. 

Because the charter requires the district lines be drawn according to the census – whether it has a colossal error or not – the approved district lines resulted in a population imbalance in District 8.  

So, according to the census, each new district has close to 12,800 people. But according to the 1990 Census, there are 17,000 people in District 8 and close to 12,800 in each of the other eight districts. The extra residents is District 8 consist of many of the students who were undercounted in the census. 

“If it’s true that they have gathered enough signatures, that’s wonderful,” said moderate Mayor Shirley Dean. “I don’t relish starting the redistricting process all over again but anything is better than what we have now.” 

Progressives argue that the approved plan was the most legal of the six proposals and that moderate accusations of back room deals were sour grapes at not getting their preferred plan approved.  

Blake argued that the petition drive is an attempt by moderates to avoid having a large population of students in District 8, which represented by moderate Councilmember Polly Armstrong. 

“The moderates obviously don’t want students in [Armstrong’s] district because they don’t vote for her and they don’t vote for her in droves.” Blake said.

Editor: 

From Tuesday morning’s Associated Press article about the Nicaraguan election we read: 

“During the campaign, the United States warned of dire consequences if Ortega were to win, invited Bolanos to hand out donated U.S. food and pressured a third candidate to leave the race.”  

This is how the US supports free democracy around the world? 

Tom Lent 

Berkeley 

Editor: 

As a Berkeley resident for 15 years and a business owner, I thank the Berkeley City Council for its majority stand to encourage the ceasing of the bombing. Given how misguided these attacks are, it’s unbelievable others have not spoken out. This courage to “speak truth to power” is the reason I am proud to live here. 

Any threatened loss of business over this very well-considered stance should be exposed – who are these people so we can stop doing business with them? 

Rose Anne Raphael 

Berkeley 

SAN FRANCISCO — Measure I, which would have created an independent municipal utility district similar to one in Sacramento, was defeated Friday, and the other public power initiative, Proposition F, appeared headed for defeat with only a few thousand votes to count. 

Measure I trailed by 5,092 votes with all precincts reporting, and all absentee ballots counted. Proposition F trailed by 1,114 votes. There were about 3,000 provisional ballots left to count Friday afternoon. Provisional ballots let people cast votes even if their registration is in question, and the votes are counted if they voters are later proven eligible. 

The parent company of bankrupt Pacific Gas and Electric Co. spent more than $1 million trying to defeat Proposition F, which would expand the city’s public utilities commission into a department of water and power similar to Los Angeles DWP. 

Board of Supervisors President Tom Ammiano and both campaigns were searching for answers as to why some absentee ballots remained unguarded by law enforcement on Election Night, and why elections officials still had not finished counting. 

“I don’t know why they can’t just count them in overtime and get this over with, because there’s such an emotional and political investment,” Ammiano said. 

City Attorney Louise Renne asked Secretary of State Bill Jones to investigate the way the ballots were handled.  

Jones’ office already is conducting a six-month investigation into charges the city’s Department of Elections mishandled ballots in the November 2000 election. 

At stake is the opportunity to create a municipal power agency that would buy PG&E’s transmission lines and power plants necessary for providing San Francisco with electricity, and to take over the utility’s 360,000 customers on its hometown turf. 

Both measures would have issued millions of dollars of bonds to buy any electricity they can’t generate, pay workers, buy the infrastructure and pay the cost of the expected legal battle with PG&E. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.pge.com 

http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/elections 

Editor: 

I heartily applaud your resolution on Afghanistan. It takes great courage to stand up for your convictions in the face of such opposition. You make me proud to live in Berkeley. 

Nancy Holland 

Berkeley 

More than 300 people brought their flags, banners and life-size puppets to San Francisco's Justin Herman Plaza today to demonstrate against the Qatar World Trade Organization meeting. 

Protest organizers said the San Francisco demonstration was just one of an unknown number of others simultaneously occurring in at least 36 countries around the world.  

Protesters marched to an police barricade at the headquarters of the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. 

For more than an hour, the demonstrators shouted insults at PG&E officials and employees who brought their lunches outside to watch the action from behind the barricades.

Imagine that a nuclear warhead was sent to this country in a container on a ship to be blown up by terrorists. That’s the scenario Scott Sagan, a Stanford University professor, painted for an audience on Thursday. 

“We don’t inspect those containers on a regular basis,” he said. “We don’t inspect the cargo holds of planes we think are coming from friendly countries either.” 

In short, Sagan said the possibility of a nuclear threat was very good. 

Sagan was part of a group of panelists that came to UC Berkeley’s law school to discuss the threat of nuclear weapons from terrorists and the world’s ability to deal with the problem.  

The forum was originally organized last summer. Panelists were asked to address President George W. Bush’s nuclear policy. Yet, Sept. 11 and recent threats from Osama bin Laden prompted the evening’s discussion to shift to problems with nuclear stockpiles. 

Before Sept. 11, Sagan said that some experts doubted that terrorists were interested in getting their hands on weapons of mass destruction. 

“No one doubts that now,” he said. 

The countries the United States may need to put a magnifying glass on are countries close to Afghanistan like China, India, Pakistan and Russia. All are known to have developed nuclear weapons.  

If bin Laden wanted a stockpile of nuclear weapons to raid, he would have more than enough to choose from, several panelists said. 

Shibley Telhami, an expert on the Middle East, said that foreign facilities are extremely vulnerable to an attack or a security breach. 

“Most of them are very old and they need modernization,” he said. 

No one mentioned exact figures on what the total costs may be to secure foreign facilities or paying to inspect and secure vulnerable ports of entry in this country. 

Sagan said that the amount was probably an inordinately large amount. 

“Who will pay for all of that? You and I will. Don’t expect a refund any time soon,” he said. 

However, several experts said that choices may have to be made to safeguard nuclear stockpiles now at risk. 

Neyan Chanda, an expert on Far East countries, said facilities in Pakistan are very vulnerable. 

He said that personnel in these facilities who may be sympathetic to bin Laden or the Taliban may give them over to Afghanistan. 

He also said the current Pakistani administration could be overthrown. He indicated that a new government with ties to the Taliban and bin Laden will make it easy for extremists to acquire the country’s nuclear weapons. 

“It’s something that’s keeping a lot of people sleepless at night,” he said. 

Chanda said that no system existed to check the loyalty of staff members in Pakistan. He also said that the weapons had no special locking mechanisms that would allow only authorized personnel to handle them. 

“In this context, it becomes quite clear that the possibilities are quite horrendous to consider,” he said. 

However, Chanda said the United States’s hands are virtually tied. While Pakistan publicly accepted a U.S. offer to help secure its nuclear weapons, Chanda said he doubted the Pakistani government would allow the United States full access to its facilities and personnel.  

"They don’t have faith that the U.S. can keep their stockpile safe," said Chanda. 

Concern over United States presence in China may also be keeping the largest superpower in that part of the world from accepting help from its rival in the west.  

"It might reveal a sign of weakness," said Susan Shirk, a UC San Diego professor and former cabinet official for President Bill Clinton. 

Chinese officials have refused to discuss security measures for their weapons, she said. 

But still, she said China is a country that has had its own problems with terrorism from separatists and should be engaged in a dialogue for international openness and cooperation. 

"We need a dialogue with China on our missile defense program, so that we can both consider safety issues," she said. 

China objected to Bush’s national missile defense program, she said, but unless it is brought to the table it will continue to be secretive of its present arsenal and will likely expand it. 

"If we build a national missile defense program, China will expand. That will be the price we’ll have to pay," she said. "But, if we share information with the Chinese, we’ll have less friction with them." 

Other panelists also expressed the fear that isolationism could cripple U.S. goals. 

David Caron, a UC Berkeley law professor, said that so far the U.S. fight against terrorism is a unilateral one. Unless the United States begins engaging other countries and involves the United Nations in its fight against terrorism, it has little chance of winning. 

"The situation now is that the U.S. is selectively involving the U.N. That only works when the goals are temporary," he said. 

Administrators up to 25 percent; staff and faculty less than 2 percent increase 

OAKLAND — The University of California is considering boosting some top administrators’ pay by as much as 25 percent, although most faculty and staff members would get raises of less than 2 percent. 

The proposals, to be considered by the UC Board of Regents next Thursday, come amid warnings that the budget outlook for the nine-campus system is bleak. 

The president of UC, campus chancellors and most UC system administrators would get 2 percent raises under the proposal. 

But some senior managers would get more. UC Berkeley’s executive vice chancellor, Paul Gray, who received a merit pay increase in October that took him from $218,400 to $222,800, is set to get another boost to $260,000, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday. 

By contrast, Gov. Gray Davis makes $165,000 a year. 

Executive vice chancellors at other campuses are scheduled to get raises from 20 percent to nearly 26 percent. 

UC officials say the higher salaries are necessary to attract and keep top talent. 

Preserving that kind of leadership “especially during these extremely challenging economic times, is critical to maintaining UC’s competitiveness and institutional quality,” said UC spokesman Paul Schwartz. 

But UC Santa Barbara chemistry professor Richard Watts said that the same argument could be made for faculty. 

“I have no doubt that many people in these positions are worthy, but I feel there is a disparity between the way they are being handled and the way the faculty are being handled,” said Watts, who will get a 0.5 percent raise. 

UC’s tenure-track professors earn an average of $91,934. One-third are scheduled to get 2 percent raises; the rest will get the 0.5 percent cost-of-living raise.  

UC also is considering putting up to 3 percent of professors’ salaries into their retirement plan funds. 

UC clerical workers make an average of $33,921.  

Their proposed raise is 1 percent.

SAN FRANCISCO — O.J. Simpson’s mother, Eunice Simpson, was found dead in her home of natural causes Friday morning, the medical examiner’s office said. She was 80. 

Simpson, a longtime resident of the city’s Bayview District, was discovered dead at about 8 a.m., according to Richard Vetterli, a spokesman for the medical examiner. 

The home was purchased by O.J. Simpson, a native San Franciscan who gained fame as a pro football player and broadcaster and later was acquitted in 1995 in the killing of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. 

Eunice Simpson, a former nurse’s aide at San Francisco General Hospital, raised O.J. and her three other children in the city’s Potrero Hill housing projects, a cluster of apartments that overlook the old shipyards on San Francisco Bay. 

She was divorced from O.J. Simpson’s father, Jimmy Lee Simpson, who died in 1986. 

In recent years, Eunice Simpson was plagued by arthritis and had joint replacement surgery, making it difficult for her to walk. She appeared at her son’s murder trial in a wheelchair, and used a cane when called to testify for the defense. 

O.J. Simpson bought the house for his mother in the 1970s when he was playing for the San Francisco 49ers. 

She nearly lost the home this year. But a Southern California attorney who sought the sale of the home to satisfy a legal debt owed by the former football star canceled an auction planned for January, allowing the woman to stay in the house. 

O.J. Simpson, a Heisman Trophy winner and Hall of Famer, reportedly owed Orange County attorney Marjorie Fuller $148,300. Fuller represented Simpson’s two children in the custody battle that followed his acquittal on murder charges. 

What a great time of year to be outdoors! Cool weather is enjoyable as long as you can warm up by moving around. A good way to fan that internal fire is to dig holes. 

Dig holes in which to plant trees and shrubs now. This time of year the soil is usually crumbly and moist. Plants set in the ground now will be in place and ready to grow next year when warm breezes melt away winter. 

No need to break your back digging holes. Ignore the old gardening maxim that it’s better to plant a $5 tree in a $50 hole than vice versa. Make your planting hole just deep enough so that the ground line on the plant will be the same as it was when the plant was in the nursery or its pot. 

And no need to concoct fancy additives to mix with the soil in the planting hole. Fluff up the soil with peat moss, compost, or perlite, and the roots will have little incentive to leave the hole. Eventually they will wrap around, perhaps strangle, each other. 

Also avoid putting fertilizer into any planting hole. Most feeder roots are in the top layer of soil, so sprinkle fertilizer on the soil surface and let rain leach it down to the feeder roots. 

Lime or phosphorous fertilizers move very slowly down through the soil, so if your soil needs either of these materials, mix them into the planting hole. Farther out, just spread these materials on top of the soil. By the time roots reach out that far, the lime or phosphorous will have worked its way down. 

One situation that does call for digging a $50 hole, as well as mixing in special additives, is when you’re planting a tree or a shrub that needs a special soil. Rhododendron, blueberry, and azalea, for example, thrive best in soils that are very acidic and high in humus. At another extreme are cacti, requiring slightly alkaline soils that are sandy and low in humus. 

Some trees and shrubs transplant better in the spring, but even in such cases it pays to dig planting holes now. Take the soil out of the hole, put it back in, then put on a cover of hay or leaves to protect the surface and mark the site. Come spring, pull back the covering and you will be able to pop a plant into its prepared hole in less than five minutes.

Rain or shine, it’s hard to get seeds to germinate this time of year because the summer sun quickly dries the soil. And there are plenty of seeds still to sow, including biennial and perennial flowers, and fall vegetables. 

A few tricks ensure good and rapid seed germination. Start out by weeding. Get down on your knees and use your hands to pull out every weed, roots and all. Deep-rooted weeds might need coaxing out with a trowel. But do not rototill or turn over the soil with a shovel because you will break apart the capillary connections within the soil. These connections are especially important now for moving water up, down and sideways to newly planted seeds. 

Also try to soak seeds in water for four to eight hours before you plant them. After soaking, strain the seeds and surface-dry them with a paper towel to make handling easier. Now sow, making your planting holes slightly deeper than recommended to make use of moister soil deeper down. 

Another trick allows better seed germination whether you soak the seeds or not before planting. After sprinkling seeds at the recommended rate within the furrow, do not cover them with soil. Fill your watering can and pour water directly into the furrow. Keep doing this until you have gently but thoroughly wet the soil just beneath the seeds. Now fill in the furrow with soil, and tamp it gently with the back of a garden rake. 

Every couple of days after sowing, if the weather is dry, sprinkle the soil surface with more water. This will not wet the soil deeper than a fraction of an inch, but evaporation will help dissipate some of the sun’s heat. The water deeper down, cozied up against the seeds, will not evaporate. Don’t water too much, however. You don’t want to make conditions conducive to damping-off disease, which rots seedlings right at the ground line. 

Try these tricks this summer, even with beet seeds, which are notorious for erratic germination, or carrot seeds, which are notorious for slow germination. You will be amazed at how soon you see the maroon leaves of beet seedlings elbowing their way up through the soil and the grass-green carrot sprouts forming dainty lines up and down the beds.

Veterans Day expected to bring in large crowds, despite economy 

MUIR WOODS NATIONAL MONUMENT — The National Park Service says it’s ready for a surge of visitors this holiday weekend after offering free admission to promote “unity, hope and healing.” 

“This is not about money,” Park Service spokesman David Barna said Friday. “It’s not significant enough compared to the significance of helping this country heal. We all have families. We’re all in this together. We’re not counting dollars this weekend.” 

The parks’ already overburdened resources have been stretched even further since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Hundreds of federal rangers have been reassigned to security details, and many state parks have been even harder pressed as local law enforcement chases down anthrax scares. 

But the suspension of entrance fees during the Nov. 10-12 Veterans Day weekend — announced by Interior Secretary Gale Norton as a way of encouraging travel — should provide an economic boost, especially to businesses in and around parks. 

State parks in California and at least 25 other states also waived admission fees, and are bracing for crowds. 

“There are certain parks where people will flock to if the fees are dropped,” said Roy Stearns, the state’s deputy parks director, citing Mount Tamalpais and coastal parks along San Francisco Bay. 

Not all parks have seen higher attendance since Sept. 11. Tourism has been hurt at places like the Grand Canyon and the Muir Woods, which depend to a large extent on air travel and foreign visitors. Fully 78 percent of the 1.8 million people a year who visit the redwood cathedrals in a hidden valley just 45 minutes north of San Francisco are visiting from outside the Bay Area, and 22 percent are foreign tourists, the park said. 

John and Betty Parker of Concord brought their nieces, who are visiting from Canton, Ohio, to the park on Friday. The family stopped to chat on a paved path underneath the towering giants. 

With many tourists suffering from post-attack jitters, Parker said all the popular spots have seemed less busy than usual. 

“We walked across the Golden Gate Bridge on Wednesday and no one was there,” he said. “This is a perfect time for people to get out.” 

B.J. Ray, his wife, Rainey, and their two friends decided to take advantage of low airfares and celebrate their wedding anniversaries with a trip to San Francisco. 

“There’s definitely been a mentality that we’re not going to live in fear,” Ray said, adding that they paid $178 roundtrip from Dallas. 

In general, parks near big cities have experienced an average 15 percent increase, Barna said. 

At Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, about two hours southwest of Washington, attendance jumped 39 percent in September alone. Attendance at Yosemite National Park, near the California-Nevada border, went up about 10 percent, Barna said. 

“People are going back to the parks to get away from the news,” Barna said. “They are those special places we set aside for solace for reflection.” 

National parks expect to break even this weekend, reasoning that the money visitors don’t spend on entrance fees likely will be spent at concession stands, gift shops and visitor’s centers. 

California’s parks will lose less than $100,000 in revenue, Stearns said. 

“When you think of the honor we can pay to veterans, I think that far outweighs the money loss,” Stearns said. “We may take a little hit, but I think the communities around those parks will feel the benefits.” 

About a third of the nation’s parks charge admission fees, adding up to $145 million a year. Since 1996, that money has gone directly back into the park system for much-needed maintenance and repairs, Barna said. 

There currently is a $4.9 billion maintenance backlog, which President Bush has proposed to eliminate in five years with additional funding. 

Annually, the service spends $2.5 billion on 385 parks, which, last year, saw 287 million visitors. 

Since Sept. 11, about 200 park employees have been reassigned to homeland security. Park rangers are patrolling dams in the West, parks near the Canadian and Mexican borders and major monuments in the Washington D.C. area. A handful also are getting sky marshal training, Barna said. 

The service’s 200 seasonal law enforcement employees, who work primarily during the summer, have been asked back to the parks to help compensate for the loss.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — The discovery of the mummified body of a 94-year-old woman inside a chest in a shed near the Oregon border has resulted in murder charges against a man who lived at the woman’s home. 

The body of Alice Beck was located by Modoc County sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday. 

Sam Brown, 68, who shared a home with Beck at Willow Ranch, north of Alturas, Calif., told police that she died in December 1999 of natural causes. After her death he allegedly placed the body, which was in the fetal position, in the chest. 

Brown was charged Thursday with second-degree murder, elder abuse and grand theft for cashing Beck’s Social Security checks. 

An autopsy was planned next week. Because of the deteriorated state of the body it is uncertain what determinations can be made. 

One of Beck’s neighbors called police on Tuesday, saying she had not seen the woman for more than a year. When a deputy questioned Brown that night, he said that Beck was out of the area. 

Brown telephoned the sheriff’s office Wednesday and asked that they return to his residence. He led them to Beck’s body. 

Willow Ranch is a mostly abandoned former lumber mill community 34 miles north of Alturas off Highway 395 with only scattered residences. The elementary school, store and post office have long been closed.

SAN FRANCISCO — When Houston-based Dynegy Inc. announced Friday that it had bought Enron, its larger rival for $7.8 billion shares of stock, some energy traders predicted fluctuating power prices in the coming months throughout the West as the market settles into a new hierarchy with one fewer provider. 

“The fragility of the system is such that a small perturbation can turn everything upside down very easily,” said Gary Ackerman, executive director of the Western Power Trading Forum, of which Enron is a member. “A week ago I don’t think many people would have even contemplated this.” 

The loss of Houston-based Enron will “make prices more jumpy and more uncertain and it’s going to take the market some time to calm down,” Ackerman said. Should the Northwest have a chilly winter, prices could spike with fewer sellers in the market, he said. 

And that in turn could affect California’s pocketbook, though the state buys a negligible amount of electricity from Enron, said Oscar Hidalgo, spokesman for the state Department of Water Resources, which buys electricity for the customers of two financially ailing utilities. Hidalgo said the state had a long-term contract with Enron earlier this year though the marketer opted out of it after a month. 

“They have indicated to us that we were somewhat of a credit risk for them, like many generators at the time,” Hidalgo said. 

Earlier this year, Enron attempted to cancel its contract as electricity and natural gas provider to California’s two public university systems, which spent more than $170 million combined last year on the fuels. It was unclear Friday what would happen to those contracts. 

Enron’s reach in California goes beyond keeping the lights on. 

The state’s retirement pension fund owns 3 million shares of Enron stock — about 1 percent of its total investments — said CalPERS spokeswoman Pat Macht. The CalPERS board will meet next week to discuss the situation, she said. 

“I can only say at this point that we were as surprised and shocked as the rest of the world was about what has been going on there and we’re assessing our options,” Macht said. 

Enron Corp.’s outspoken support for deregulation of the country’s electricity markets sparked resentment in California as rolling blackouts swept through earlier this year, although the energy marketer is not one of California’s largest power providers. 

Some felt the financial downfall of the nation’s top buyer and seller of natural gas and major electricity seller was justified. 

“The principles of karma seem to be working here,” said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of the Santa Monica, Calif.-based consumer advocacy group the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. “Here Enron was one of the chief proponents of deregulation and took advantage of it and benefitted enormously and now is reaping the consequences.” 

Earlier this year, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer subpoenaed Enron’s electricity trading records as he sought to prove the state was the victim of price gouging which led officials to spend more than $9 billion buying electricity for the customers of two financially troubled utilities. Enron repeatedly denied all accusations of market manipulation. 

Enron, the nation’s top buyer and seller of natural gas and the top wholesale marketer in the United States, had become one of the nation’s 10 largest companies, recording revenue of $100.8 billion in 2000. 

Six years after a heart transplant saved her life, Kelly Perkins braved cold, thin air to scale 19,340-foot-high Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. 

The achievement was the latest in a series of treks by the 40-year-old California woman to summits around the world to prove that transplant recipients can live a full life — and then some, in Kelly’s case. 

Kelly’s doctors at the UCLA Medical Center say she’s the first heart transplant recipient they’re aware of to scale Kilimanjaro. The Golden, Colo.-based American Alpine Club said its records indicate the same. 

Accompanied most of the way by her husband, Craig, Kelly made it to Kilimanjaro’s highest point, Uhuru Peak, on Oct. 21, after a winding, seven-day ascent that covered about 45 miles. 

“It was pretty brutal,” she said in a telephone interview after returning to her Laguna Niguel home this week. “The winds were so fierce that once I was actually knocked to the ground.” 

The wind chill at the top plunged to minus-20 degrees, by her guides’ estimates, but despite the extreme conditions she found the experience incredible. 

“So many times, I would tell Craig to pinch me because I couldn’t believe this dream was becoming a reality,” she said. 

“I don’t like to say this is all about me, because I had such amazing support. Sometimes people are afraid to rely on others for support — but everyone wins if you work together, if you work as a team,” she said. 

As her husband sees it, when Kelly pushes the envelope she expands boundaries for others. 

“It doesn’t mean everyone is going to climb Kilimanjaro. But maybe this will provide a sense of additional freedom for other transplant recipients or people with chronic illnesses or other obstacles in their lives,” he said. 

“Maybe someone who thinks they can only walk one block might walk two blocks.” 

Despite training, Kelly had to fight severe nausea and change her medication and diet in mid-hike to keep going. She had to borrow a spare jacket from filmmaker-climber Michael Brown, who filmed the journey for Picture Plant Entertainment, to stay warm enough to make the final push to the top. 

Brown also filmed blind climber Erik Weihenmayer’s ascent last May of 29,035-foot Mount Everest, in Nepal. That made Weihenmayer the first blind person to successfully climb the world’s tallest mountain. 

Craig, exhausted from hiking just ahead of Kelly to keep the winds from constantly buffeting her 5-foot-3, 105-pound body, had to stop at about 19,000 feet and turn back. 

Among the eight climbers who reached the summit was Kelly’s longtime friend, Susan Kjesbo, who also joined the couple in a successful 1997 hike up 14,495-foot Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the United States outside Alaska. They also scaled Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest peak at 12,388 feet, in 1998. 

Kelly, a real estate appraiser, was dying from a virus that attacked her heart when she received her transplant. The donor was a 40-year-old woman killed when thrown from a horse. 

She began her post-transplant climbs in 1996, 10 months after her surgery, by reaching the top of 8,842-foot Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. 

Kelly was cleared by her doctors for the Kilimanjaro ascent and had medical help with a helicopter on standby, but didn’t have a doctor on the last leg of the climb. Now her doctors, Hillel Laks and Jon Kobashigawa of the UCLA Medical Center, “are bouncing off the walls,” she said. “This is huge for them.” 

“This is a monumental accomplishment, and it will spread the word of donor awareness around the world,” Dr. Kobashigawa said. “To the best of my knowledge, she’s the first transplant recipient to climb Mount Kilimanjaro — or Whitney, Fugi and Half Dome, for that matter.” 

Kobashigawa said Kelly has proven that with exercise, people with donor hearts “can develop extraordinary capacity. This will help other transplant patients. She’s an inspiration and a role model for them.” 

Because its nerves were severed for her transplant, Kelly’s heart does not “know” immediately when to start beating faster to match the exertion of her body. Adrenaline kicks in after a few minutes, but until then she must endure an oppressive feeling of fatigue. 

She picked Kilimanjaro because the first heart transplant in the world was done in South Africa in 1967 by Dr. Christiaan Barnard, and paid tribute to him in a small ceremony atop the mountain. Barnard, who knew of the planned ascent, died a month before the climb. 

“I felt it was appropriate to do a tribute to him as he represented a real milestone in medical history,” she said. 

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Perkinses talked about postponing their climb. But Kelly said she opted to move ahead, thinking how “a wonderful person gave me a second chance to live life to its fullest.” 

So what’s next? 

“We don’t even want to go there yet,” said Kelly. “I’m still remembering how cold it was on Kilimanjaro.” 

If there is another mountain, it wouldn’t necessarily be a higher one such as Mount Everest, her husband added. 

“All the mountains we’ve climbed have been symbolic. They have helped us carry the story of Kelly’s recovery and promote organ donation,” he said. 

“So if you hear of another mountain with some other meaning that helps our goal, let us know.” 

SANTA MONICA — California may target the tailpipe in a bid to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases scientists believe are behind global warming. 

While the United States has pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol to limit or reduce global emissions of the gases, chiefly carbon dioxide, a small group of California lawmakers wants the state to adopt a similar policy of its own. 

“Someone has to pick up the ball,” said Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Woodland Hills. 

Instead of targeting billowing smokestacks, the legislative effort focuses on the state’s love affair with the car. 

In California, an estimated two-thirds of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere comes from the exhaust pipes of the 26 million vehicles that travel its roads. Nationwide, less than one-third of total carbon dioxide emissions come from vehicles, with industry and power generation making up most of the balance. 

A bill, authored by Pavley, would require by 2005 that the state adopt laws that result in “the maximum feasible reduction” in carbon dioxide emissions from the state’s cars and trucks. 

Burning a gallon of gasoline produces about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. Cutting total emissions, therefore, works only by driving less or more efficiently or using alternate fuels, such as natural gas. 

Russell Long, executive director of the environmental organization Bluewater Network and the bill’s sponsor, said automobile manufacturers could meet the bill’s requirements by upping the gas mileage of new cars, selling fewer gas-guzzling SUVs and promoting public transit programs. 

Automakers oppose the bill, AB 1058. 

“The command-and-control approach ... would be pre-empted by federal law, would saddle Californians with higher costs without providing them any benefit, and ignores other more effective and equitable approaches to this issue,” Phillip Isenberg and Steven Douglas, of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, wrote Pavley April 9 in stating the industry group’s opposition. 

Since the Industrial Revolution, the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has steadily risen. The gas, which acts as a blanket to trap heat that would otherwise be radiated to space, has led to what scientists say is a slow rise in average temperatures across the Earth. 

Over the next century, global temperatures could rise as much as 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit over 1990 levels, according to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 

Such changes would wreak havoc on California, said scientists in testimony given Friday at an Assembly hearing in Santa Monica on climate change and policy planning.  

Everything from the state’s water supply to its susceptibility to devastating wildfires to its native animal species would be affected. 

“Everything we do is threatened by the specter of climate change,” said Peter Miller, senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. 

Curbing California’s CO2 emissions would have little material affect globally, however. The state accounts for about 2 percent of total emissions worldwide. 

But lawmakers said the bill, if signed into law, could prompt other states to enact similar legislation. 

“If we’re not doing it at a national level, we can at the state level begin providing steps to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Assemblyman Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach. 

SACRAMENTO — Disabled students will not be able to use calculators, audiotapes and other aids when taking the state’s new high school exit exam under new rules the state Board of Education approved. 

Passing the exam will be required to earn a diploma, beginning with the class of 2004. 

Federal law allows students with learning disabilities or impairments to use special accommodations to keep up with unimpaired classmates. 

Students can work under an individualized education plan that details what help is allowed, including extra time on tests. 

Board members voted Thursday to disallow some of the accommodations for the state’s exit exam. Other accommodations are still allowed, including special furniture or lighting, or large print or Braille versions of texts. 

The exclusions were limited to calculators on the math portion of the test and audio presentations for the English portion, said Phil Garcia, board spokesman. 

The nonprofit Disability Rights Advocates in Oakland sued the state Department of Education in federal court in May on behalf of disabled students who say the exam will disproportionately deny them diplomas. 

The state board asked for a simplified version of a new waiver system to consider at next month’s meeting. 

In California, 600,000 students are enrolled in special education. 

LOS ANGELES — The new Harry Potter movie heading to theaters next week has enflamed a small legion of conservative Christian critics who claim the boy wizard is a tool leading children to witchcraft and sin. 

But as anticipation grows for “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” other Christians insist the stories are harmless fantasies about magic and morals. 

“I’m so tired of people saying he’s evil,” says Connie Neal, a Christian author who has investigated the Potter claims. “They’re choosing to interpret the books in a very selective way.” 

Neal — a mother of three and author of “What’s a Christian to do with Harry Potter?” — characterized herself as a “discreet fan.” 

Yet other authors maintain reservations about the mysticism of Harry’s world, in which magical people predict the future, change shapes and communicate with ghosts. 

“Although the story is fictional, Harry Potter has real-world occult parallels,” said Richard Abanes, author of “Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace Behind the Magick.” 

“The books present astrology, numerology mediumship, crystal gazing,” he said. “Kids are enthralled with it. And kids like to copy.” 

Abanes embarked on an eight-city tour to promote his book before the Nov. 16 U.S. release of the Potter film, which stars newcomer Daniel Radcliffe as the boy who learns on his 11th birthday he has magical powers. 

“There’s a real religious concern,” observes Jana Riess of Publishers Weekly, who moderated an Abanes-Neal debate at a July convention of Christian retailers. “Evangelical Christians believe that witchcraft is real.” 

But, she said, witchcraft in the Potter novels “is not a worldview in the way evangelicals would think of it.” She likens the fuss to parallel complaints when “The Wizard of Oz” was published a century ago. 

Scottish author J.K. Rowling calls the accusations “absurd,” saying Harry Potter’s world is entirely imaginary. 

“I have met thousands of children now, and not even one time has a child come up to me and said, ’Ms. Rowling, I’m so glad I’ve read these books because now I want to be a witch,”’ the author has said. 

Though more than 50 million copies are in print worldwide, there has been no evidence of widespread conversions to paganism or witchcraft. 

Andy Norfolk of the London-based Pagan Federation, said the youth-aimed Potter books have created no serious interest in his movement because the don’t appeal to older people seeking spiritual options who “see them as rather uncool.” 

Enemies of Pottermania abound, nonetheless. 

The Potter books top the banned book listing for 2000, compiled by the American Library Association. 

Some have called for the books to be banned from public school libraries, claiming stories about witches and wizards violate church-state separation. Others have staged book burnings or circulated phony reports that claim the novels inspired thousands of children to join satanic cults. 

A Kansas library recently canceled a reading of the books due to complaints about magical content. Some children in Jacksonville, Fla., must now present parental permission slips to read the books at school libraries. 

“Satan is up to his old tricks again and the main focus is the children of the world,” wrote Jon Watkins, a Baptist activist. “The whole purpose of these (Potter) books is to desensitize readers and introduce them to the occult.” 

On the Web page of self-described Christian occult investigator David Bay, a drawing shows a boy reading a Potter book while sitting on the lap of a grotesque demon that gorily pierces his skull. 

“Harry Potter conditions children to think of witchcraft as harmless and even fun. That way, when the real antichrist arrives on the scene, they will be preconditioned to accept him,” Bay said. 

Bay and Watkins also denounce Roman Catholicism, Mormonism and much of secular life as nests of evil conspiracies — views outside the beliefs of most Christians. 

Neal fears churchgoing parents will prejudge the books without reading them. She thinks most children won’t be harmed so long as parents help them understand the difference between fantasy and reality. 

Christians “should use the help of God and our own common sense to do our best to be light in the world, not a laughing stock,” she says.

SAN FRANCISCO — California’s jobless rate rose from 5.4 percent to 5.7 percent last month, tracking a jump in the national unemployment rate as companies cut production and fired workers in response to the lagging economy. 

Nearly 1 million Californians are looking for work and haven’t found a job, according to figures released Friday by the state Employment Development Department. The data were the first to report state employment levels since the Sept. 11 attacks. 

The 5.7 unemployment rate was the highest since December 1998 and continued a trend that began in February, when unemployment bottomed out at 4.5 percent. 

But economists said the numbers were better than expected. 

Last week, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the nation’s unemployment rate soared from 4.9 percent in September to 5.4 percent in October, and that 415,000 non-farm payroll jobs were eliminated nationwide. Friday’s state report put non-farm payroll job losses at 4,300. 

“The downturn in California is just remarkably mild compared to what the U.S. statistics showed,” said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, a Palo Alto research firm. “It’s better than expected, given everything that’s happening in the nation.” 

It also appears to be the reverse of what happened during the recession of the early 1990s, when California moped in the economic doldrums while the nation snapped back. 

Not all is well across the state, though. 

Unemployment in the San Francisco Bay area, staggered by the summer’s layoff binge at high-tech firms, was up notably. 

For the first time since 1988, San Francisco’s 6 percent unemployment rate was higher than that of Los Angeles County, which stood at 5.9 percent, according to Ted Gibson, chief economist for the state Department of Finance. 

In Santa Clara County, the heart of Silicon Valley, unemployment rose to 6.4 percent — more than four times its historic low of 1.3 percent, recorded in December. 

Technology layoffs drove the jobless rate over the summer. 

While cuts at major high-tech firms appear to have stabilized, these latest unemployment data suggest technology-related manufacturing and service sectors are still losing jobs, according to Mary Daly, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. 

Other sectors suffered as the economic ripples from the terrorist attacks worked through the service and transportation sectors. 

Tourism sectors were significantly hit. Even taking into account the slowdown after the summer travel season, the state lost 4,400 jobs in the hotel and amusement and recreation industries. Likewise, air transportation employment fell by 4,300 jobs — a loss more rapid than the overall economy. 

In a twist, the restaurant industry added 4,600 jobs over the month, Gibson noted, saying that could be a statistical blip due to the difficulty in tracking employment at thousands of small eateries. 

Other hard-hit sectors included electronic equipment and apparel. 

The start of the school year saved the numbers from being worse. 

State and local education systems added 65,100 jobs, the department reported. Sectors including finance, real estate, insurance and the government also added jobs. 

In all, 996,000 Californians were unemployed as of mid-October. That was up 48,000 over mid-September and 161,000 from last October, when the state’s jobless rate was 4.9 percent. 

Economists have predicted the jobless rate will continue to climb and payrolls will continue to be trimmed.

East Bay advertising agencies are beginning to feel the belt-tightening as clients cut their budgets to save a little money for what is becoming more of an uncertain economic future every day. 

“This is going to be a super tough one,” said K.C. Jones, executive director of AdMark, the East Bay Advertising Club. He said the recession has been forming since the start of this year and was exacerbated by the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. 

Gary Albright, owner of Design for Advertising, Inc. in Lafayette, said his firm felt the economic downturn as early as last fall.  

“That’s really when I started to notice fewer and fewer calls,” he said. 

Albright said his clients are mostly small- and medium-sized businesses, where the advertising budget is the first thing to go during spending cuts. 

“We seem to get pretty direct feedback from the ups and downs in the economy,” said Albright.  

According to AdAge magazine’s Coen Report spending totals for 2000, advertising is a $243 billion business in the United States. An estimated $12.2 billion of that is located in the Bay Area.  

Magnus Nagase, of Montclair-based Nagase Advertising Inc., said he noticed business thinning out about four months ago. Many of his clients, including high-tech firms and government agencies, already warned him that project spending is going to drop next year. 

“I think everyone’s watching their dollars more than before,” said Nagase. 

Some companies were doomed long before September. Clear Ink, a Walnut Creek-based agency, was at the top of its game last year with 150 employees and a large, mostly high-tech clientele. However, following the dot-com implosion, the agency found itself with a lot of unpaid bills. 

A phone call to Clear Ink on Friday yielded this response from the secretary: “Actually, we’re going out of business today, so you’ll have to call someone else.”  

Laurie Beasley, owner of Beasley Direct Marketing, Inc. in Morgan Hill, also deals with high-tech clients, but she said that the dot-com bust did not affect her as strongly.  

“I did have a lot of dot-com clients, but I never counted on them for 100 percent of our revenue,” she said.  

However, her major clients are software and hardware firms, and revenues for her 10-employee agency have decreased from 30 percent to 50 percent since June. 

Jones warned it could take until sometime next year for the economy to recover. He added that Sept. 11 and its aftermath are “really going to slow the comeback.”  

The recession comes on the tail of extreme surplus.  

“Year 2000 was probably one of the biggest years in the history of advertising,” said Jones.  

But just one decade ago, the advertising industry was suffering intensely as a result of the economic slowdown that hit the country at the beginning of the ’90s. 

“Oh my God, yes,” said Dennis Green, of Lazzari & Green in Alameda, when asked if his firm was affected by that recession. At the time he was working primarily with real estate firms.  

“Some clients cut back pretty severely,” he said, noting that it took four to five years for things to return to normal. 

Albright said it also took his firm several years to recover from the early ’90s recession, forcing him to cut his small staff of seven in half. During the following years, he has gradually dismissed his entire staff, now running the firm by himself. He has no plans to begin hiring anytime soon.  

“I’m just going to continue working in low-overhead mode,” he said. 

How severely some advertising agencies are affected by a recession depends much on which industries they are representing at the time. J. Stokes and Associates in Walnut Creek works mostly with food and automotive services.  

“Those tend to be things that people still need,” said owner Jim Stokes. “We’ve had a record -year in income.” 

Stokes said most businesses are still unable to make long-term decisions based on the market, but the ones who choose to be proactive may end up making a tidy profit. 

“Traditional thinkers will probably cut their advertising, which means there’s an opportunity for a competitor to increase their activity to gain market share,” said Stokes. “Buying a market share can be a very expensive thing, but during a recession the price of media tends to drop.”  

When the economy finally turns around, said Stokes, these businesses will end up “ahead of the game.” 

However, making the decision to spend a lot on advertising in a recession is risky, and most companies are too nervous to take the chance.  

Pete Halberstadt, part-owner of Alameda-based West Advertising, said none of his clients have cut their budgets yet, but he wouldn’t be surprised to see it happen.  

“We’ve sensed it, everybody’s nerves are a little jangled,” said Halberstadt. “I think the mood is such that we’re all bracing ourselves.” 

Murky as the economic future may be, Jones said he expects consumer confidence to return soon, and companies should be prepared for this. He cited an advertisement from the media magazine AdAge Global, which read, “Why advertise in 2001? 2002.” 

“That hits the nail on the head,” said Jones.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Ken Kesey, the acid-dropping Merry Prankster who wrote the 1960s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” lay in critical condition Friday after cancer surgery on his liver. 

Kesey, 66, was operated on two weeks ago because of tumor on his liver, said his friend Ken Babbs. He said doctors had removed 40 percent of Kesey’s liver, and there were no signs of cancer elsewhere in his body. 

“He’s holding his own, but it looks like it will be a long, hard struggle,” Babbs said. 

Kesey was at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene. 

Kesey burst onto the literary scene with “Cuckoo’s Nest” in 1962, which he wrote from his experiences working at a veterans hospital. 

During the same period, Kesey volunteered for testing on LSD. After writing his second novel, “Sometimes a Great Notion,” he bought an old school bus dubbed Furthur. 

With Neal Cassady, hero of Jack Kerouac’s Beat Generation novel “On the Road,” at the wheel and pitchers of LSD-laced Kool-Aid in the cooler, Kesey and a band of friends who called themselves the Merry Pranksters took a trip across America to the New York World’s Fair. 

The bus ride was immortalized in Tom Wolfe’s 1968 book “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.” 

Kesey published his third major novel, “Sailor Song” in 1992. He said he lost interest in the novel as an art form after discovering the magic of the bus. 

The movie version of “Cuckoo’s Nest” swept the 1974 Oscars for best picture, best director, best actor and best actress. But Kesey, who has never seen the film, sued the producers because it took the viewpoint away from the character of the schizophrenic Indian, Chief Bromden. 

Kesey, who was diagnosed with diabetes in 1992 and suffered a stroke in 1997, set down roots in Pleasant Hill in the mid-’60s, after serving four months in jail for a marijuana bust in California. 

His rambling red barn-house has become a landmark of the psychedelic era, drawing strangers in tie-dyed clothing, seeking enlightenment.

It’s been 40 years since they fought segregation in the Deep South 

JACKSON, Miss. — In the summer of 1961, blacks and whites embarked together on buses to search for “White Only” and “Colored Only” businesses whose segregationist rules they would proudly disobey. 

Led largely by students from Northern colleges, the Freedom Riders were ridiculed, arrested and sometimes beaten. But their campaign brought national attention to segregation, and hundreds joined them. 

On Friday, the Freedom Riders gathered in Jackson, one of dozens of cities they helped transform. 

“It was something I felt I had to do because my very person-hood, my very salvation, was tied up not only with African-Americans being oppressed, but also with white people,” said the Rev. John R. Washington, a 61-year-old former Freedom Rider. “The biggest challenge in this nation was that black and white come together.” 

Washington, of Claremont, Calif., returned to Mississippi’s capital for the first time in four decades. Jackson, the state’s largest city with a population of about 185,000, now has a black mayor and a majority-black City Council. Its once all-white police force is fully integrated, as are its public schools. 

“I hoped and I knew that there would be some progress,” Washington said. “There is a sense it has exceeded my expectations.” 

The Rev. Ed King, a faculty member at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, said the reunion is a rare opportunity for the Freedom Riders to see the progress they’ve helped achieve. 

“Nobody ever expects to live to see as much change as we have seen,” he said. “This ought to give hope today to those who are desperate that the things they do can make a difference.” 

Jackson native Fred Clark, 58, a middle school teacher, remembers being arrested when he and a group of neighborhood youngsters tried to enter a white waiting room in a segregated bus station. 

“I was so scared,” he said. “We were standing there shaking.” 

Clark hoped the reunion will give black children a sense of those who fought for their freedom. 

“They need to know where they came from so they can know where they are going,” he said. 

Gov. Ronnie Musgrove marked the reunion by declaring Saturday “Freedom Riders Day.” 

“We salute the heroic efforts in 1961 of the Freedom Riders, and their role as an inspiration to others to follow on the long, often perilous road to end segregation,” his declaration said. 

While in Jackson, the group is documenting their experiences for an oral history project. They talked of their days behind bars at the Parchman state prison in the Delta, where they slept on musty mattresses in reeking cells. 

“If you weren’t scared, you were crazy,” said 70-year-old former Freedom Rider Marv Davidoff, who teaches at St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minn. 

His most vivid memory of Parchman, he said, wasn’t the angry whites or crowded cells. It was the freedom songs that moved him to tears on his first night in the prison. 

“It was a moment of blessed human solidarity,” he said. “It’s a gift that we gave to each other.” 

——— 

On the Net: http://www.freedomridersfoundation.org 

LOS ANGELES — Brimming with a renewed sense of patriotism and respect for the military, Americans across the country are turning out this holiday to honor veterans and remember the heroes from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

Many say they are attending Veterans Day celebrations with a new kind of pride and veterans say they are enjoying more respect. Speakers are drawing special attention to Americans fighting in Afghanistan and the firefighters and police officers who died in the World Trade Center. 

“I think it’s a different response and more respect for veterans because of what happened September the 11th,” Councilman Nate Holden said after attending a ceremony at the Veterans Affairs hospital in West Los Angeles. “The average person, including the veterans, is becoming more appreciative.” 

At a song-filled ceremony Friday in Hollywood Hills, firefighters and police officers sat prominently on the stage next to a plaque memorializing the Sept. 11 attacks. 

Barbara Alderson Raga brought her 12-year-old daughter, Suzie, to the ceremony at Forest Lawn Memorial Park for the first time. 

“I think certainly in the context of what’s going on in the world, this is of great interest,” Raga said as she gazed up at World War II fighter planes in the Condor Squadron flying over. 

In O’Fallon, Mo., as many as 1,500 people are expected Sunday for the dedication of a new veterans’ memorial that consists of a “platoon” of bronze boots. 

Veterans said they weren’t anticipating so many participants before Sept. 11. 

Sheldon Hartsfield, president of the Mid Rivers chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, said he is greeted warmly when he’s out in public these days, and is thanked more strongly for his service when he appears on behalf of veterans’ groups. 

Wallace Levin, chairman of San Francisco’s Veterans Day parade, said he expected this year’s event to one of the biggest ever. 

“I think that Veterans Day has never been as important as it is this year,” he said. “I just hope it helps the morale of our troops and our people. The front lines this time are not just in Afghanistan, they are in New York and Washington. The war is in America.”

LONG BEACH — Although the nation’s largest public university system is turning out a record number of new teachers, a quarter of them don’t believe they are well enough prepared to teach math and English in kindergarten through eighth grade. 

But about 80 percent of their principals said the graduates were prepared to teach the state’s standard curriculum, according to a survey presented to the California State University Board of Trustees on Wednesday. 

“To us, the overall news is positive,” David S. Spence, executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer, told CSU trustees. 

Many new graduates feel “a little bit inadequate when they are first starting out. It’s natural,” he said. 

The survey randomly sampled 1,400 new teachers and 1,200 principals and is believed to be the first time CSU has evaluated its teacher training by questioning graduates and their bosses. 

Chancellor Charles B. Reed said it will be conducted annually. 

“We’ll do it again next year and the next year and then we’ll have something more to work with,” he said after the meeting. “Right now, the good news is I think our programs are doing really well. The bad news is we can do better.” 

The report comes after a state commission found that some CSU teacher training programs were lacking, and Gov. Gray Davis warned that training must improve. 

The 23-campus CSU system educates 60 percent of kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers in California. It graduated a record 10,500 teachers after the 1999-2000 academic year. 

The state is estimated to need 250,000 new teachers over the next 10 years to meet classroom demands. 

There are now more than 284,000 full- and part-time public school teachers statewide. About 30,000 are in classrooms on emergency credentials. 

The survey also found: 

—19 of every 20 alumni of the CSU program were working as teachers one year after graduating. 

—67 percent of new teachers said they felt adequately prepared to teach remedial reading skills in grades 9 through 12, and 76 percent of principals felt the new teachers were well-prepared.

Editor: 

This is in response to those who have chosen to boycott purchasing products in the city of Berkeley because of its recent “vote” against the bombing in Afghanistan. 

• I assume you are in favor of the bombing and thus feel we are fighting for the freedom’s that the U.S. offers. Is not the freedom to have differing opinions, whether it be religious or political, one of the most basic, fundamental rights this country stands for? How contradictory to punish those who choose to exercise this right! 

• I am sure Berkeley wants the terrorists to be caught and thwarted as much as any of us. But there is more than one way to skin a cat. 

Why not listen to other opinions? Maybe there is another way to accomplish our common goal without killing thousands of innocent people, those who are as much victims of the Taliban as are we. If you do not agree with this viewpoint, at least you have listened respectfully, not lashed out in anger. 

I have been outraged that people like the Klu Klux Klan are allowed to demonstrate, but realize that this is part of having a true democracy.  

You cannot say that you are fighting for the freedoms this country provides us and then turn around and punish those who are exercising those freedoms. 

Think about it. 

Congratulations to the City Council of Berkeley for expressing their true opinions in spite of so much outside pressure! I will do my best to spend as much money as possible in Berkeley.  

Linda Calbreath 

Chico

Editor: 

The University Village gardeners and their many supporters were pleasantly surprised to learn that the university will spare its three-acre organic community garden and wildlife habitat (“UC Berkeley unveils its latest plans for complex near Albany’s Gill Tract,” 11/9/01) from the developer’s bulldozer.  

While it would be invigorating to believe that the gardeners’ protests were solely responsible for the university’s change of heart, it is likely that economic considerations for both the university and Albany were also important factors in the reversal. 

Nevertheless, the lesson to be learned here by those who question the university’s efforts to expand within the tightly inhabited Berkeley-Albany region is not to be cowed into submission by thinking that the university always get what it wants. It’s an assumption made by far too many that limits or prevents the discussion and development of alternative solutions to university expansion plans. 

In the case of the original University Village master plan, the gardeners’ protests helped to defeat a proposal that would have had significant negative impacts for Albany, the children who play ball on the sports fields, the gardeners and their families, and all the rest of us who are dismayed to see our open spaces rapidly disappearing. Let’s all keep an eye on the new plan to make certain that the university doesn’t make the same mistakes again and to applaud them when they don’t. 

Tom Kelly 

Berkeley

SAN FRANCISCO — Bay Area gasoline prices have plunged to their lowest levels since February 2000 because of the stumbling economy and the recent terrorist attacks, a recent report shows. 

The average price for a gallon of regular self-serve unleaded gas in the Bay Area is $1.66, down 13 cents from the past month, according to a monthly report by the California State Automobile Association. 

The decline is even larger when compared to record-high prices this summer. In June, Bay Area gas averaged $2.04 per gallon, a 38-cent difference. 

Currently, gas prices in San Francisco average $1.78, down 13 cents from October. In Oakland, prices average $1.70, down 14 cents from last month. Suburban areas are a little cheaper, with gas in Concord averaging $1.54, down 15 cents. Tracy has some of the cheapest gas prices at $1.43, down 17 cents. 

Bronwyn Hogan, CSAA spokeswoman said gas prices might increase during the next few weeks because of a surge in travel during Thanksgiving week. 

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the mayor and City Council: 

I am writing to congratulate you on the courageous stand Berkeley took to ask for a quick end to the bombing of Afghanistan. I wish I could have afforded to buy in Berkeley when I bought my home in Fairfield last year. Your stance makes me wish so even more. 

Likewise, even though she is not my representative, I wish I could have been in Oakland to the rally to support and thank Barbara Lee for her courageous stand in Congress. 

In this time of clamping down on freedom of expression in the name of patriotism, I am grateful for oasis of people standing up for what they believe. I am sorry to read that people who would deny us that freedom of expression are reacting to try to economically impact the city of Berkeley. I for one will try to spend money on entertainment, shopping and on eating out in Berkeley when I come to the East Bay. 

Thank you for your vote!! 

Judith Kahle 

Fairfield

LIVERMORE — Many people associate the Altamont Pass with bumper-to-bumper traffic, but a few folks have had more soothing experiences on the range separating the Bay Area and the Central Valley. 

They have spent hours gawking at ground squirrels and odd-shaped boulders, not at brake lights and jack-knifed big rigs. They have listened to screeching hawks, not screeching tires. 

Rich with wildlife and local lore, Brushy Peak is a 2,000-acre preserve a few miles north of Interstate 580. The Livermore Area Recreation and Park District leads hikes to the 1,702-foot summit. 

While the surrounding hills are dotted with power-generating wind turbines, one peak is covered with a full head of oak and buckeye trees. Tall grass and colorful wildflowers bend in persistent winds. 

“The distinction of the colors on the hill are just phenomenal,” said Dave VanWinder of Walnut Creek. “The green of the trees with the yellows on the oak and the grass — it’s like wow!” 

VanWinder recently went on one of the organized hikes, which are offered twice a month. The hike takes about four hours and includes moderately challenging climbs. But the adventure begins way before that. 

Hikers meet a park district ranger at 9 a.m., usually on a Saturday, at Robert Livermore Park. From there, they are driven deep into the Altamont and over private property. 

Cows thinking it’s feeding time usually step up to the van, while cottontail rabbits scamper around large sandstone formations that resemble something out of a Salvador Dali painting. 

Over time, those boulders — sacred to the American Indians who once lived in the area — were hollowed out by water and wind. What’s left are shallow “caves” where life literally begins and ends. 

Each spring, swallows and other birds build nests in the crevices. But one cave, sealed with concrete, serves as a tomb for onetime landowner John Elliott. 

The boulders also earned the name “post office rock” because travelers used to write letters to the next party passing through, roll them up and plug them into the porous rock. 

There’s even a rock cave that some say served as a lookout for the legendary Joaquin Murieta, the Mexican bandit with a Robin Hood reputation. 

But one tale does hold water: The boulders were a backdrop for outdoor parties in the 1960s, where hippies danced under the stars and tried to connect with the cosmos. 

The Livermore Heritage Guild has newspaper clippings and pictures of these parties, including the annual gatherings of the Brushy Peak Bohemian Club. 

But over the past two decades, things have slowed considerably. Property owners shut their gates on the hippies, and since then, the flora and fauna have flourished. 

A delicate and isolated ecosystem, Brushy Peak is home to the federally protected red-legged frog, kit fox, Alameda whipsnake and, in seasonal waterways, tiger salamanders and fairy shrimp. 

The Livermore park district owns 507 acres of Brushy Peak, namely the summit and eastern slope. The East Bay Regional Park District purchased the surrounding 1,100 acres for $3.4 million. 

And unlike other property owners in the rapidly developing Tri-Valley area who hold out for home builders, the ranchers around Brushy Peak readily sold their land to the park district at about $3,000 an acre. 

“The issue is, it’s right in the heart of a growth area,” said Bob Doyle, assistant general manager for the park district’s land-acquisition department. “What we’ve tried to do is build from Brushy Peak out, to create a buffer zone... It’s just a beautiful area.” 

Last year, the East Bay park district asked nearby residents for suggestions on public uses. A preliminary plan outlines access from Laughlin Road from the south, with picnic areas and hiking trails on the western slope. 

The district has yet to identify funds to open and maintain the park. And for now, the only public access to Brushy Peak is through the Livermore park district hikes. 

They begin at an elevation of 925 feet and ascend 777 more feet. The hike is 4 miles round-trip, and it takes about two hours to reach the top. 

Rangers recommend hikers wear sturdy boots and pack sunblock, water, a windbreaker and binoculars. Hikers should also pack a lunch; there is picnicking at the summit among corroded markers left by geological surveyors years ago. 

On a clear day, the windswept ridges boast views out to the Sierra Nevada range. But for now, the adventurous still need to make reservations. 

————— 

If You Go ... 

GETTING THERE: Robert Livermore Park, where hikes begin, can be reached by taking the Portola Avenue offramp from Interstate 580 and going south to L Street. Turn right on L, which becomes Arroyo Road. Follow Arroyo to park entrance. 

GENERAL INFORMATION: (925) 373-5700. 

TICKET INFORMATION: Call (925) 373-5700 for availability. Reservations are required. Cost for Livermore residents is $15 and for non-residents $18. Hiking groups are limited to 10 people at a time. only take 10 hikers at a time. 

ON THE NET: The Livermore Area Recreation and Park District: www.larpd.dst.ca.us 

SAN FRANCISCO — The United Nations Environment Program has awarded Huey D. Johnson the Sasakawa Environment Prize for 40 years of environmental work. 

Johnson, 62, will receive the $200,000 prize in New York next week. 

Johnson founded and is president of the Resource Renewal Institute, a San Francisco group that promotes development conserving natural resources. 

He served as state Secretary for Resources between 1978 and 1982, and is a co-founder and former president of the Trust for Public Land, a nationwide group that has conserved more than 1.3 million acres across the country.  

He also is the former western regional director of the Nature Conservancy.

Editor: 

Thank you for taking this courageous stand. Perhaps this is the beginning of some sanity in our country. It what seems to be a country gone mad with its desire to punish Afganistan, civilians as usual are put in harms way. I don't want the blood of 7 million displaced Afghan people to be on our hands and it looks like that is what will happen if things continue as they are. 

Stephen Sacks 

Fresno 

UC Berkeley Graduate 1974 

Public power measures still in doubt 

SAN FRANCISCO – About 600 ballots kept San Francisco’s elections officials from announcing final results Sunday for an election that’s stretched on for more than four days now and held the future of the city’s public power measure in the balance. 

The 600 ballots – which will determine the fate of public power Measure F – are re-makes, or ballots a scanner wasn’t able to read. Elections officials must examine each ballot separately, correct any problems and rerun the ballots through the machine. 

“There is nothing unusual about this process,” said Tammy Haygood, director of the San Francisco Department of Elections. “We have ballots not automatically read all the time in all counties. What makes this particular is that we’re in a very tight race in San Francisco, and they could make the difference.” 

The much-awaited results for Measure F and Proposition I were supposed to be announced Sunday night, but some lost faith in the Department of Elections’ promise of results. 

“I’m losing patience,” said Board of Supervisors President Tom Ammiano. “I’ve gone from being somewhat resigned to being irritable. We may get these results tonight, as they say, or it may be tomorrow morning – there’s no knowing.” 

High emotions have dominated the election after Haygood took all of the absentee ballots received in the mail on Election Day to a site away from City Hall. Haygood has defended her decision, saying it was done to prevent any anthrax scares or hoaxes. 

But Ammiano said the lack of communication within the elections department raises questions about the security, and therefore accuracy, surrounding those ballots. 

In an election rife with confusion, Measure F faces an especially close battle. Sunday afternoon results showed 64,002 votes in favor of the measure, and 64,388 against it. 

Ross Mirkarimi, the campaign manager for both measures, said that he was heartened by the results. 

“We’re inching closer,” he said. “We’re less than 386 votes away.” 

If the measures don’t pass, Mirkarimi said his camp would pursue every legal option possible, including a full re-count, to challenge the results. 

Frank Gallagher, a spokesman for the Coalition for Affordable Public Services, said his group, which opposes the two measures, wouldn’t pursue a re-count once the final results are released. 

“You have to look at how big the margin is,” he said. “Re-counting is not going to move a lot of votes.” 

The tally indicates that Proposition I may be back to the drawing board, with 64,216 votes against it and 59,874 in favor of it. 

Proposition I would have created an independent municipal utility district similar to one in Sacramento. Measure F would expand the city’s public utilities commission into a department of water and power, allowing an elected board to buy Pacific Gas and Electric Co. infrastructure to serve the city. 

Both measures, seen as a threat to PG&E’s dominance in the San Francisco power business, were fiercely criticized by PG&E and its corporate allies, such as AT&T and Pacific Telesis. Together, they spent more than $2 million on opposition campaigns, and PG&E promised legal action if the proposals won. 

“We don’t know the outcome yet, but the fact that there is no mandate – no landslide in favor of this – means that voters are unwilling to take such a drastic measure,” said PG&E spokesman Jonathan Franks. “The Pacific Gas and Electric Company didn’t create the energy crisis and drastic and costly measures such as F and I aren’t going to solve it.”

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge ruled Friday that the Bay Area’s transportation authority must increase use of public transit throughout the region. 

U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson ruled the Metropolitan Transportation Commission must increase Bay Area public transit use by 15 percent above 1983 levels. 

The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by community and environmental groups in February. The groups claimed that the commission and public transportation operators, such as San Francisco’s Muni and AC Transit, were out of compliance with a transportation control measure. 

Public transportation levels now are about what they were in 1983, although the population in the area has increased, said Deborah Reames, an attorney with Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, who handled the case. 

Transportation numbers were not immediately available, and often they are controversial because they usually are based on an estimate, said Randy Rentschler, spokesman for the commission.  

No date has been set for the commission to achieve compliance. 

The commission wants to increase ridership on public transportation, but getting people out of their cars is difficult, Rentschler said. 

“We share the goals of increased ridership and more transit opportunities for everybody, (but) we don’t have a command and control economy,” he said. “People wake up every morning and choose if they want to drive their cars, ride their bikes or take public transportation.” 

The ruling is expected to help reduce pollution in the Bay Area. Cars and trucks contribute about 50 percent of the air pollution in the region, Reames said. 

“It’s not a huge amount compared to the total amount of reduction we need in the Bay Area,” she said. “The most critical thing about this is the court has made it crystal clear that the transportation control measure requires MTC and the operators to achieve the level and maintain it.”