Flags in Berkeley? 

You bet. But they’re not red, white ‘n blue. 

City officials hope the luminous orange squares appended to three-foot sticks will stop the local terrorists – drivers who speed through crosswalks occupied by pedestrians. 

Councilmember Polly Armstrong showed off the first flagged intersection Wednesday to a gaggle of appreciative neighbors and members of the press at Russell Street and Claremont Avenue.  

Here’s how it works: There’s a bin with about 10 flags stationed at each of the four corners of an intersection. A pedestrian picks up a flag from one bin, holds it high while crossing the street and deposits it into the bin on the other side of the street. 

“I’m thrilled,” Armstrong said of the project, an emulation of one in Salt Lake City where, she added, pedestrian accidents decreased by 15 percent after the flags were introduced. 

Reducing auto vs. pedestrian accidents in Berkeley is high on the list of city priorities.  

“Berkeley has more than two times the rate of pedestrian injuries and more than four times the rate of bicycle injuries compared with the state of California,” according to the city’s Public Health Department. 

Will the cars stop when pedestrians wave the flag? Armstrong advised pedestrians to continue their hypervigilance.  

One Daily Planet reporter grabbed a flag and started to cross Russell, but was stopped by a driver turning right through three-quarters of the crosswalk she had stepped into. The driver stopped and looked directly at the reporter, who was shaking the flag at him. With half-a-dozen TV cameras aimed his way, the driver backed out of the crosswalk, permitting the reporter to cross the street. 

Other drivers were seen darting through the crosswalks paying little attention to the persons with flags at the crossings. Most, however, stopped and allowed the people to cross. 

“We’ll give it a try,” Armstrong said. The cost is only about $500 per intersection. “We’re working with UC Berkeley to evaluate (the project),” she said. 

It is assumed that at first flags will be stolen, but people will soon tire of that, she said. Nearby neighbors will have extra flags and take responsibility for replacing missing ones.  

Why start out at this intersection?  

It’s not a high-accident corner, Armstrong said. But drivers come from the university with the aim of getting home quickly and don’t watch for pedestrians. The intersection has “been a worry, primarily in the evening,” she said. 

In the next several weeks, the city will add flags to three other intersections: College Avenue between Russell and Ashby Avenue, Shattuck and Hearst avenues (where a young woman was killed crossing the street last year) and University and McGee avenues. And within the next several months the city will add University and Shattuck avenues, the most dangerous intersection in the city and Shattuck between Cedar and Vine streets, said Reh-lin Chen, acting supervisor of traffic engineering. 

Thursday, Dec. 13

Berkeley High School Band  

and Orchestra’s Winter  

Concert 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Community Theater 

Allston and MLK Jr. Way 

$4 gen., $1 students. 528-2098. 

Discussion on Mumia Abu  

Jamal 

7:30 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Bob Mandel and Sara Fuchs discuss the implications of Sept. 11 on the Mumia Abu Jamal case. $3. 653-7882 

The Challenges of Indonesia 

2 - 3 p.m. 

2223 Fulton Ave. 

6th Floor Conference Room 

Journalist, poet and former Editor of Tempo Magazine, Goenawan Mohamad. 642-3609. 

People's Park Community Advisory Board 

7:30 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Unit 1 Residence Hall Recreation Room 

2650 Durant Ave. 

Monthly meeting, community invited. The PP CAB reviews and makes recommendations on park policies, programs, and improvements. 642-7860, http://communityrelations.berkeley.edu. 

Snowcamping Class 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Chuck Collingwood and Martin Thomas present a slide lecture on the essentials for surviving overnight in the snow and discuss the basics for safe and enjoyable ski or snowshoe travel. 527-4140 

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Claremont Branch Library 

2940 Benvenue Ave. 

Monthly meeting that features people telling stories about the ways they have changed their lives by finding ways to work less, consume less. 549-3509, www.seedsofsimplicity.org. 

Gaia Building Open House  

Benefit 

4 - 8 p.m. 

The Gaia Building, 7th Floor 

2116 Allston Way 

The Gaia Building, a residential housing project, celebrates its opening with an open house to benefit the Berkeley Emergency Food and Housing Project. $10, sliding scale. 883-1000, panoramicinterests.com. 

Community Health  

Commission 

6:45 - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

The commission agenda includes increased funding for Public Health Infrastructure. 644-6109, phd@ci.berkeley.ca.us. 

Housing Advisory Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Discussion and final action of $1.4 million proposal by Affordable Housing Associates for new construction of 38 rental units for seniors at 2517 Sacramento St., Outback Senior Homes.  

Friday, Dec. 14

Partial-Solar Eclipse Viewing 

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Dr., just above UC Berkeley Campus 

Telescopes and specially designed sun-spotters will be set up for safe viewing of the partial eclipse. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Community Hanukkah  

Candle Lighting and Men's Club Latka Bake 

6 p.m.  

Congregation Beth El 

2301 Vine St. 

6 p.m., Pot luck dinner with latkas; 7 p.m., community Hanukkah candle lighting; 7:30 p.m., Shabbat/Hanukkah Service, dreidel contest after services. 848-3988. 

Berkeley High School Jazz Lab Band 

7:30 p.m. 

Little Theatre 

1920 Allston Way 

First concert of the year. $8 for adults and $5 for seniors, BHS staff, and students. marylgear@ yahoo.com. 

Still Stronger Women 

1:15 - 3:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Literature, arts, women writers' short stories. Free. 232-1351. 

Berkeley PC User Group 

7 p.m. 

Vista College, Room 303 

2020 Milvia St. 

Monthly meeting features Jan Fagerholm discussing Linux. 527-2177, meldancing@aol.com 

Saturday, Dec. 15

Calendar Sale Fundraiser for  

Berkeley High School’s 

Communications and Art  

School 

9 - 11 a.m. 

2310 Valley St. 

A variety of calendars to raise funds for video equipment for CAS. 843-2780, lorberlin@aol.com. 

Berkeley Alliance of  

Neighborhood Associations 

9:30 a.m. 

Fire Side Room, Live Oak Park 

Shattuck Avenue & Berryman St. 

A network for and by local people to inform and support a positive future for all neighborhoods. 845-7967, anicoloff@aol.com 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market  

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, JR. Civic Center Park 

Fair will include organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages, and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

Santa’s Solstice Bazaar 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Metaversal Lightcraft 

1708 University Ave. 

Come shop while kids visit with Santa for free. Fine arts, crafts, 

clothing and gift booths in a magical and colorful scene. 644-2032, www.lightcraft.org. 

Don’t abandon what makes U.S. truly best 

Editor: 

I’m writing this letter out of concern for statements and policies espoused by Attorney General Ashcroft. I’m quite sure this e-mail will never be seen by him, but out of respect and love for my country, I must make the effort. 

I suppose my biggest question is why he feels it necessary to begin laying the groundwork for a wholesale abandonment of what makes my country the best in the world. I was outraged to hear that he has vilified my fellow Americans who are standing up for their Constitution. In fact, I don’t believe I go too far in suggesting he may be on the same path of recklessly endangering the national security of the United States as have former presidents Reagan and Bush. 

I grew up at a time when these presidents were doing everything in their power to endanger the safety and security of American citizens, both domestically and abroad, and I’m deeply concerned that Mr. Ashcroft’s policies are opening the floodgates on further abuses of basic human rights, not to mention rights guaranteed as inviolate by the U.S. Constitution. I sincerely hope he is called to answer before the courts for his violation of Constitutional rights of persons already illegally detained. 

I am heartened in knowing that a substantial number of influential persons have already spoken out against his draconian, unAmerican and illegal policies, and I hope that reason will prevail in the long run. I understand the Executive Branch’s knee-jerk reaction to the unprecedented horrors of September 11, but it in no way excuses either Bush’s or Ashcroft’s violation of American civil rights. While the outrageous conduct and executive orders issued by both men may seem reasonable to some in light of the recent events, what safeguards have we, as Americans, that these policies will be dismantled or at the very least, not abused in the coming months, once the initial shock has waned? 

While I don’t fall within the category of those currently targeted for abuse by the Justice Department, I almost wish I was, as it would be easier to bring the light of public scrutiny on the criminal actions of Bush and Ashcroft.  

I do hope these men are called to answer for their violations of fundamental Amercian civil rights. I certainly understand the need to prepare for and prevent further acts of terror, but I would hope that would apply to domestic attacks as well as foreign. At this time, I am almost ashamed to be American, as everything I’ve lived for, and my brother died for (in Desert Shield) has been made a mockery of by President Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft.  

Gordon Romei 

Oakland 

Keep Santa Fe right of way open space 

Editor: 

Santa Fe Right of Way is protected open space, according to Berkeley Partners for Parks and a 1995 memo by Deputy City Attorney Zach Cowan. Contrary to Councilmember Linda Maio’s and Deputy City Attorney Zach Cowan’s statements to the Berkeley Daily Planet (12/7/01 p.7), the Public Parks and Open Space Preservation Ordinance (“Measure L” at http://www.bpfp.org/parkdocuments/measurel.htm) applies to informal open space, including the north of University Avenue portion of the Santa Fe Right of Way. 

In fact a 1995 internal city memo by Zach Cowan states: “A straightforward interpretation of ‘public open space’ includes park land and other vacant open space which is, or can be, used for recreational or open space purposes.” He concludes the discussion of Measure L by stating “…we conclude…that possibly excepting the area used for parking, the West Street section is subject to Measure L.” 

BPFP points out in a 12/4/01 letter to City Council that in addition to Measure L, there are other legal and practical challenges that make affordable housing on most of the right of way infeasible. 

BPFP Board Member Stephen Swanson said “Building housing on the northern portion of the Santa Fe Right of Way is neither practical nor legal. Councilmember Maio’s amendment to the Draft General Plan to make open space and affordable housing equal priorities on the Santa Fe Right of Way would sink plans for a bicycle/pedestrian greenway by stalemating the process, and would do nothing for affordable housing. 

John Steere, another boardmember, adds that the “original intent of the city’s acquisition of the Santa Fe Right of Way was for open space. This is demonstrated by the parks already created on it such as Strawberry Creek Park and Cedar Rose. Putting housing on an equal footing with open space would violate this intent and demonstrate that the city is unwilling or unable to sustain its sense of priorities for this public space that has been sorely neglected for over two decades.”  

Stephen Swanson and John Thelen Steere 

Berkeley Partners for Parks board members 

Residence for elders needs heat 

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

Since the mayor doesn’t understand what it is to be old or poor, she and Section 8 director and Berkeley Housing Director Stephen Barton should spend tonight (30 -40 degrees reported) in the slum apartments known as the Harriet Tubman House. The furnace hasn’t worked for 16 years of 27 years it’s been there. Why hasn’t the city told these people not to pay rent and buy an oven for $125 just plug it in or take $100 from rent and buy heaters? Why hasn’t Section 8 kept rent and gotten new ovens for each apartment and two safe space heaters? or fixed furnaces with rent money? 

If the city doesn’t correct this problem soon, I will demand the fire chief shut the place down. If not I will ask the Alameda County Fire Chief and state fire marshall to shut it down on Dec 17. 

Mayor you’re wrong. The old folks can’t wait till next year. They might freeze to death or get sick and die or burn to death.  

Leslie S Sullivan 

Berkeley 

Terror common to Israel and U.S. 

Editor: 

Israel and the United States share many things, besides being pluralistic democracies. Unfortunately, terror is the common denominator. The American people stood shocked on Sept. 11th, although this was just a taste of what Israelis have been living through for the past 54 years. When bombs go off in pizzerias, discotheques or pedestrian malls, there are no explanations. What justification is there for a young man who builds a bomb, straps it to his body, adds nails and bolts to increase the deadly potential and walks into an area crowded with youngsters to detonate his bomb?? The US failed where Israel has succeeded. Despite the fear, Israelis continue with their lives. They still go downtown to meet friends, eat pizza and dance. Staying home is giving in to terror. We can’t let the terrorist dictate our lives. Israel has been offering peace to the Palestinian people, who have not been preparing themselves for peace with their neighbors. Instead, they have resorted to terror, just as Mohammed Atta and his colleagues did. 

Devora Liss 

Berkeley resident 

Ecocity plan not progressive or environmentalist 

Editor: 

What about the Gaia building enhances the environment? Perhaps the decorative roof top gardens. Definitely not the cold, damp windy experience walking in front of the building. This is the same wonderful experience one has standing in front of the Wells Fargo tower or the Power Bar building. A downtown dotted with such high-rises could only be labeled Gotham City most environmentally unfriendly? Akin to walking on Montgomery, Sansome or Battery streets in San Francisco. Yet this is the Ecocity Amendment vision for Berkeley. Appropriate for moles and cars not walking humans who prosper in sunshine and light.  

The Gaia has no setbacks, no street trees, and the required open space is all up on the roof, or the inner courtyard accessible to a mere few. Where are the roof photovoltaic cells to make the building energy independent? There are no visible signs of "green" in this building and yet Ecocity builders claims this as a product of their redesign specifications. 

Does thwarting the will of the populace define progressive? Ecocity builders repeatedly submitted its amendments to the Draft General Plan. There were 52 meetings over three years. The citizenry, Planning Commission and city staff worked very hard to find consensus from all the divergent views Berkeley represents. The finished product was created slowly and deliberately. Probably no one, likes everything in the final draft but that is what consensus is all about, compromise. The planning commission and staff realized the majority of the respondents just did not endorse the Ecocity Amendments and were summarily excluded from the final draft of the General Plan. 

Regarding housing, the draft calls for our Association of Bay Area Government mandated fair share of 169 new housing units per year. That is more than Berkeley’s increased population in the last decade. In addition, we are committed to 320 low-income units per year or 6,400 in the next 20 years.  

I am sure Ecocity builders are aware of Patrick Kennedy’s attempts to excise the 10 to 20 percent affordable units required of all new buildings in Berkeley presently. Whose deeds don’t match their words? It doesn’t sound like Ecocity’s commitment to affordable housing is very strong at all.  

All the neighborhood activists accept the General Plan’s increased housing requirements. We ask that new housing be contextually sensitive in-fill. 

I wish these folks nostalgic for high-rises would return to their East Coast roots and stop trying to make Berkeley over into a major metropolis. We are a tiny city, geographically just four by four miles and population just a little over 100,000. Instead of comparing us to Paris, New York, Boston, whatever how about Santa Barbara or Santa Monica, Siena instead of Roma, Kyoto instead of Tokyo, Cairns instead of Sydney.  

Norine M. Smith 

Berkeley

Music 

924 Gilman Dec. 14: Hot Water Music, American Steel, F-Minus, Trial By Fire; Dec. 15: Strung Out, Limp, The Frisk, The Deadlines, The Creeps; Dec. 16: 5 p.m., Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Downway, Audio Crush; Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic, Breaker Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Dec. 13: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 15: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; Dec. 18: Panacea; Dec. 19: Whiskey Brothers; Dec. 20: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 27: Keni “El Lebrijano”; All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

Anna’s Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 13: Rev. Rabia, The Blueswoman; Dec. 14: Anna and Mark Little on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 15: Jazz Singers Vicki Burns and Felice York; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 16: The Jazz Fourtet; Dec. 17: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 18: Tangria Jazz Trio; Dec. 19: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 20: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Dec. 21: Anna and Percy Scott on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 22: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 23: Jazz Singer Ed Reed; All music starts 8 p.m. unless noted. 1801 University Ave., 849-2662. 

Ashkenaz Dec. 13: 10 p.m., Grateful Dead DJ Nite, $5; Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Musicians for Medical Marijuana benefit featuring: Fact Or Fiction and Greggs Eggs, $15; Dec. 15: 9 p.m., California Cajun Orchestra, $15; Dec. 16: 2 - 5:30 p.m., Alexandria Parafina and The Near Eastern Dance Company belly dance, $ 7; Dec. 16: 7 p.m., Afghan Women’s Benefit Dance, $8 - $15; Dec. 18: 8 p.m., Tom Rigney & Flambeau, $8; Dec. 19: 8 p.m., The Earls, $10; Dec. 20: 8 p.m., Darol Anger, Scott Nygaard and the Improbables, $8; Dec. 21: 8 p.m., “Celebrating the Life of David Nadel,” Aux Cajunals, Nigerian Bros., Tropical Vibrations, $8; Dec. 22: 9:30 p.m., Sensa Samba, $11; 1317 San Pablo Ave., 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.  

Club JJang-Ga Dec.14: Venus Bleeding, Hot Box, Angry Amputees, Eric Core; Dec.15: Bad Karma, Motiv, Inhalent, Sick Machine, Un Id; Dec. 22: Heaven & Hell, Blue Period; Dec. 29: Deducted Value, 3rd Rail, Noiz, Un Sed; 400 29th Ave., Oakland, (925) 833-7820, savageproductionssl@ yahoo.com. 

Cal Performances Jan. 20: 3 p.m., Midori and Robert McDonald. $28 -$48. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph. 642-9988 

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Dec. 16: 3-8 p.m., Beverly Stovall Benefit, Jimmy McCracklin, JJ Malone, Jimi Mamou, Johnny Talbott. $10. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight & Salvage Coffee House Dec. 13: Kevin Burke; Dec. 14: Dale Miller; Dec. 15: Robin Flower & Libby McLaren; Jan. 6: Allette Brooks. All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Dec. 23: 7:30 p.m., an evening of Irish music and dance with Todd Denman and friends. $10, $5 children; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, Program of classical favorites of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra; Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, sizzling program of classical party music; Jan. 12: 8:p.m., “Club Dance,” Teens come together to express their individual personalities and gifts as dancers. $10, Students and Seniors $6, Children ages 5 and under $6. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Dec. 13: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 14: Broun Fellini’s; Dec. 15: Norah Jones and Jim Campilongo; Dec. 19: Spectraphonic; Dec. 20: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 21: Crater; Dec. 22: Post Junk Trio; Dec. 27: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 28: Ben Krames & Candlelight Dub; Dec. 29: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Kirk Tamura Trio; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Holly Near, $15-$17; Dec. 16: 5 p.m, Flamenca Community Juerga, Free; Dec. 16: 7 p.m, Modupue & UpSurge, $8; Dec. 23: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568, www.lapena.org 

“Music on Telegraph” 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. 

Rose Street House Dec. 14 & 15: 7:30 p.m., Benefit Concert and Birthday Party, Shelly Doty and grassroots community of women singers and song writers; Dec. 25: 3 p.m., Annual “Dykelah Escape-from-you-know-what-day Musical Extravaganza!”; Jan.17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@ yahoo.com. 

TUVA Space Dec. 16: 8 p.m., A concert of new compositions for string trio by young composers from Berkeley High School. $0 to $20. 3192 Adeline, td@pixar.com. 

Yoshi’s Jazz House Dec. 11 - 16: David Sánchez Quartet; Dec. 17: Tribute to Cal Tjader featuring Spectrum; Dec.18 - 23: Charlie Hunter; Dec. 26 - 31: New Year’s Fiesta, The Afro-Cuban Jazz Masters; Jan. 2 - 6: Charles Lloyd; All shows at 8 p.m., and 10 p.m., unless noted. 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakland. Check for prices and Sunday Matinees, 238-9200, www.yoshis.com. 

“WAVE,” Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble Dec.14: 7:30 p.m., concert of Christmas music. $10, Students $5. Calvary Presbyterian Church, 1940 Virginia St., 848-9132. 

Bella Musica Chorus and Orchestra Dec. 15: 8 p.m.; Dec. 16: 4 p.m., Fall 2001 Concert, $15; St. Joseph-the Worker Church, 1640 Addison, 525-5393, www.bellamusica.org. 

“The Christmas Revels” Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Dec. 15: 1 & 5 p.m., Dec. 16: 1 & 5 p.m., celtic music, dance and storry telling. $15-$30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 893-9853 www.calrevels.org.  

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Dec. 18: 8 p.m., under the direction of Maestro Kent Nagano, plus the world premiere of Ichiro Nodaira’s “Kodama” written for and featuring Mari and Momo Kodama. $21 - $45; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 841-2800, jeaston@berkeleysymphony.org. 

“Dotha’s Juke Joint: Everett and Jones Barbeque” Dec.21: 8 & 10p.m., Faye Carol and her Off the Hook Blues Band, $15; Jack London Square, 126 Broadway at Second St., reservations, 663-7668.  

The Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir’s 5th Annual Christmas Concert Dec. 22: 7 p.m., “The Reason Why We Sing”; The Regents Theater, Holy Names College, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, 839-4361, www.oigc.org. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley Dec. 15: 2 p.m., “All-Brahms piano recital,” Yu-Ting Chen performs. Free; Jan. 6: 3 p.m., Stephen Genz in his West Coast debut; 2345 Channing Way, 527-8175, www.geocities.com/ mostlybrahms. 

Theater 

“Macbeth” Dec.13: 1p.m; Dec.14: 8p.m., Drama class of Arrowsmith Academy presents Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” Durham Studio Theatre, UC Berkeley Campus, 540-0440. 

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Dec. 14: 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 15: 7:30 p.m.California Shakespeare Festival Student Company, presents a comedy with romance. Free. Rehearsal Hall, 701 Heintz St. 548-3422 X114. sunny@calshakes.org. 

“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 

“Black Nativity” Through Dec. 16th: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2:30 p.m. 8 p.m., Sun. 5:30 p.m.; The birth of Jesus unfolds in this drama written by Langston Hughes. Directed and produced by Betty Gadling. $15 adults, $8 seniors and students, $5 children over 5. Allen Temple Baptist Church, 8501 International Blvd., Oakland 569-9418 www.allen-temple.org 

“The Christmas Revels” Through Dec. 16: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. - Sun. 1 p.m., 5 p.m.; A cast of adults and children present a celebration of the winter solstice that combines dance, drama, ritual, and song. $15 - $30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 510-893-9853 www.calrevels.org  

“Much Ado About Nothing” 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 

“Every Inch a King” Jan. 11 through Feb. 9: Thur. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m.; Three sisters have to make a decision as their father approaches death in this comedy presented by the Central Works Theater Ensemble. $8 - $18. LeValls Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. 558-1381 

“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 

Film 

Pacific Film Archive Jan. 3: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Unfinished Song; Jan. 4: 7 p.m., 9:15 p.m., Going By; Jan. 5: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Under the Moonlight; Jan. 6: 1p.m., 3 p.m., Paper Airplanes, 5:30 Shrapnels in Peace; Jan.10: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., ABC Africa; Jan.11: 7:30 p.m., The Girl at the Monceau Bakery and Suzanne’s Career, 9:05 p.m. The Sign of the Lion with Place de l’Etoile; Jan. 12: 7p.m., La Collectionneuse, 8:50 p.m., My Night at Maud’s; Jan.13: 1p.m., 3p.m., Os 

Exhibits  

“Berkeley Creations” Dec. 15: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., A group exhibit. Artist-at-Play Studio and Gallery, 1649 Hopkins St., 528-0494. 

“The Paintings of Bethany Anne Ayers and Sculpture of Alexander Cheves” 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 

“Veiled and Revealed” Through Dec. 23: Human beings, costumed in native dress are captured by visual artists in a seven-person exhibit. Sat. Dec. 8, 15, and 23, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. Simultaneously showing at ART-A-FACT, 1109 Addison St., and Metaversal Lightcraft, 1708 University Ave. 848-1985 

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” Dec. 19 through Jan. 8: An exhibit featuring Kathleen Flannigan’s drawing and furniture - boxes, tables, and mirrors, all embellished with images of the beauty and innocence of the natural world. Addison Street Windows, 2018 Addison St. 

“Carving, Canvas, Color: Art of Julio Garcia and Wilbert Griffith” Through Jan.12: Brightly colored wooden figures and colorfully detailed paintings. Gallery is open by appointment and chance, most weekdays 10:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.; The Ames Gallery, 2661 Cedar St., 845-4949, amesgal@home.com 

“Matrix 195” 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 

Ardency Gallery, Mark J. Leavitt, “Analogous Biology: Balance and Use,” Dec. 20 through Jan. 19; Tue. - Sat., 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., 709 Broadway, Oakland. 836-0831, www.artolio.com. 

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 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” Dec. 19 through Feb. 2: An exhibition of painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography and more by Bay Area and  

regional artists. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., www.proartsgallery.org. 

Traywick Gallery: “New Work by Dennis Begg and Steve Briscoe” Jan. 5 through Feb. 9: Dennis Begg’s sculpture explores memory as the building block of consciousness, learning and experience. Steve Brisco’s paintings on paper address issues of identity through evocative combinations of text and imagery. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., 1316 10th St. 527-1214 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” 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 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” Dec. 12 through Mar. 10: A selection of photographs and memorabilia presenting a different perspective on Adam’s career as one of the leading figures in American photography. Wed, Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $4- $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Migrations: Photographs by Sebastiao Salgado” Jan. 16 through Mar. 24: Over 300 black-and-white photographs of immigrants and refugees taken by the Brazilian photographer. Wed. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. $4 - $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.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, www.atelier9.com. 

Readings 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Jan. 8: Theodore Hamm discusses “Rebel and a Cause: Caryl Chessman and the Politics of the Death Penalty”; Jan. 10: Joan Frank reads from her new book, “Boys Keep Being Born”; Jan. 11: Christopher Hitchens, “Letters to a Youn Contrarian”; Jan. 14: Pamela Logan talks about “Tibetan Rescue: A Woman’s Quest to Save the Fabulous Art Treasures of Pewar Monastery”; All events are free and start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852. 

Coffee With A Beat - Word Beat reading series Dec. 15: Norm Milstein, Barbara Minton; Dec. 22: Debra Grace Khattab, Jesy Goldhammer; Dec. 29: Steve Arntson, Michelle Erickson, Clare Lewis; All readings are free and begin at 7 p.m., 458 Perkins, Oakland, 526-5985, www.angelfire.com/poetry/wordbeat. 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore Dec. 11: 7:30 p.m., Lisa Bach, editor of “Her Fork in the Road”, a collection of stories blending food and travel, and a panel of contributors to the anthology, present an evening of readings and discussions. Free. 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

“Rhythm & Muse Open Mic” Dec. 15: 7 p.m., Featuring poets Lara Dale and Mary-Marcia Casoly. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 527-9753 

Shambhala Booksellers Dec. 16: 7 p.m., Eli Jaxon-Bear reads from his new book, “The Enneagram of Liberation: from fixation to freedom.” 2482 Telegraph Ave., 848-8443.  

“World Ground Poetry” Dec.19: 7-9 p.m., Featuring Abdul Kenyatta & Paradise Freejahlove Supreme; World Ground Cafe, 3726 Mac Arthur Blvd., 482-2933, www.worldgrounds.com. 

Tours 

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

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 

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. 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 “Kwanzaa Community Celebration” Dec. 30: 12-4 p.m.,Nia Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that honors black family history; 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 Dec. 26: 1 p.m., Professor Smart’s Fun with Physics Show; Dec. 27: 1 p.m., Slapstick with Derique; Dec. 28: 1 p.m., Rhythmix; Dec. 29: 1 p.m., Magic with Jay Alexander; Dec. 30: 1 p.m., Music and Storytelling with Dennis Hysom; Dec. 31: 1 p.m., New Year’s Eve Party, special daytime holiday party for kids; Dec. 26 through 31: Free Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb; Through Jan. 26: Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters; “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; Open daily, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley, 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org. 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.

Hoping to wash away the painful memories of the recently completed 1-10 disaster of a season, Cal introduced a new head football coach on Wednesday morning. University of Oregon offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeff Tedford will be the man to replace Tom Holmoe on the Cal sideline, agreeing to a reported five-year contract late Tuesday night. 

Tedford comes with an impressive offensive resume, having orchestrated an explosive attack at Fresno State from 1992-98 before moving to Oregon and helping the Ducks reach national prominence.  

The 40-year-old Tedford started his coaching career with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League in 1989, and has helped develop outstanding college quarterbacks such as Trent Dilfer, David Carr, Akili Smith and Joey Harrington. 

Cal athletic director Steve Gladstone chose Tedford among three other final candidates: former Cal and Arizona State head coach Bruce Snyder, South Carolina defensive coordinator Charlie Strong and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, a Cal graduate. 

“This hire represents the culmination of an extensive and thorough search, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the result,” Gladstone said. “I have enormous confidence in Jeff.” 

Tedford will remain in his position with the third-ranked Ducks through their Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl date with Colorado, but will also begin meeting with Cal players and coaches immediately, as well as coordinating recruiting efforts for his new school. 

“I don’t sleep much,” Tedford said at Wednesday’s press conference at Memorial Stadium. “I spend a lot of late nights up working.” 

Tedford, who has never been a head coach at any level, will try to avoid the pitfalls that Holmoe fell into in his own first head coaching job. Holmoe, who finished with the second-lowest winning percentage over more than one season in Cal history, often said he was overwhelmed by the demands of dealing with alumni and peripheral factors involved in running the program. 

“I haven’t heard a lot of horror stories, but I realize there are problems in any job,” Tedford said. “But I’m sure all the problems are rectifiable.” 

Perhaps the biggest off-field issue for the program is sub-par facilities, such as the antiquated weight room and rickety Memorial Stadium. The fund-raising for upgrades has been slow in developing, and Cal has perhaps the worst facilities in the Pac-10. Oregon, for example, spent $28 million on new athletic facilities in the last nine years, including a new indoor practice facility, and is currently in the midst of an $80 million expansion for Autzen Stadium. 

“When you look at the arms race going on around the country, and especially in the Pac-10, it is critical to have the facilities that recruits want to see,” Tedford said. “(Recruits) are impressionable, and they’re impressed by those things. But it’s an ongoing process that, from what I understand by talking to the administration, will be in the works.” 

Tedford said he has contacted several candidates about working on his staff, meaning most of the current staff will be let go. One exception could be running backs coach Ron Gould, whom Tedford singled out as a coach he would like to keep. But for the financially-strapped Cal athletic department, a fresh start will mean buying out the contracts of offensive coordinator Al Borges, hired just a year ago, and defensive coordinator Lyle Setencich, each of who make nearly $200,000 per year. 

Two candidates mentioned for Borges’ job are Boise State offensive coordinator Chris Petersen and Virginia offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave.  

Both have coached with Tedford before and are possible candidates to replace him at Oregon.  

Tedford intends to model his role after that of Mike Bellotti, head coach of Oregon, taking an overseer position and leaving game-planning and play-calling to his offensive coordinator. But he said he will “do fundamental work with the quarterbacks every day.” 

One of Tedford’s first challenges will be to work with senior-to-be Kyle Boller, the Bears’ starting quarterback for the past three seasons. Boller, who turned down Tedford and Oregon to come to Cal, has never lived up to the hype he received as one of the nation’s top recruits in 1998. 

“Kyle has tremendous ability and potential,” Tedford said. “He has all the attributes he needs to be a great quarterback.” 

Tedford is considered an excellent recruiter, and he emphasized a plan to “saturate the Bay Area” in getting talent. But with most of the top players having verbally committed to schools and the uncertainty surrounding the Cal coaching staff, it will likely be a tough sell for next year’s class. Most of the current staff is on the road visiting recruits, but most of them are likely lame-duck coaches, not usually an effective recruiting tool. Tedford said he would put serious effort into filling some holes with junior college players. 

A front-runner for the San Diego State head job this offseason, since filled by junior-college coach Tom Craft, Tedford removed himself for consideration for the Aztecs when he learned of Gladstone’s interest in him. Tedford has been patient in his quest for a head coach position, turning down the opportunity to be a candidate at Fresno State when Jim Sweeney resigned after the 1996 season even though Sweeney publicly campaigned for Tedford to be his successor. 

“I was not ready, honestly, in my heart and soul that I wasn’t ready to be a head coach back then,” Tedford said. “It wouldn’t have been fair for me to apply for the job knowing I wasn’t ready.” 

But the past five years, watching Fresno State head coach Pat Hill remake the team with his vision and watching Bellotti turn the Ducks into a national power, have given him the confidence to take over a Pac-10 team. 

“I feel like I’ve made myself eligible to be a head coach,” he said. “I’ve worked under a lot of great coaches in some great programs.” 

“It’s a new day.” 

That is the mantra at Willard Middle School, where a new principal, Michele Patterson, has helped to galvanize an institution roiled by a high-profile assault and inner turmoil last year. 

“Michele has really brought the community together and the staff together,” said Mark Coplan, parent of a sixth grader at Willard. “She’s tremendous.” 

Last year, discipline problems, a sexual assault on a 12-year-old student and widespread discontent with Willard’s administration left a once-strong school in poor shape. 

“When I got here, the teachers were very frustrated with what they called a lack of leadership, and student discipline was not what it should be,” Patterson said. “Parents did not think their kids were safe here, and there was a lot of fingerpointing about who was to blame.” 

Patterson began with a two-day faculty retreat in August at a Sonoma County ranch.  

“There was a lot of laughing, a lot of talking, and a lot of tears,” she said of the retreat, “and we’ve been working ever since.” 

Vana Jones, an eighth-grade science teacher at Willard, said the retreat was a turning point.  

“We saw that we had a leader who could provide direction,” Jones said, and now, “the sense that we have a united staff is very strong.” 

When school began, Patterson and her leadership team made safety their top priority. The administration beefed up the adult presence on the playground, cut off access to secluded balconies, which had once been open to students during lunch and implemented a conflict resolution program to prevent student disputes from escalating. 

Students say they notice the difference. “I think this year there’s a lot more teachers around,” said Jonathan Jardim, an eighth-grader at Willard. 

“It’s a lot safer,” added Andy Spellman, another eighth grader. 

Still, administrators have encountered a few obstacles along the way. Funding and personnel issues led to the closure of Willard’s in-house suspension program earlier this year, Patterson said, cutting down on the number of discipline options available at the school.  

Compliance on new safety and discipline initiatives has also been an issue. “Anytime you change policies, you also have to change habits,” said Greg John, Willard’s new vice principal, “and the teachers have picked up some bad habits.” For instance, he said, a few teachers still leave students unattended in the classroom for short periods of time.  

But the school has made significant progress. John said he used to deal with 12-16 discipline cases per day, but the numbers have decreased. 

“Now we’ve gotten to the place where we can shift and begin to look at instruction,” he said. 

One of Patterson’s top instruction priorities is the school-wide implementation of a “coring” system, already in place in the sixth grade. 

Under “coring,” a school is divided not into academic departments, like math or history, but into small “families.” A set group of teachers, one drawn from each of the major disciplines, works with a set group of students. That way, a math and history teacher in the same “family” can collaborate on how to best educate their students. 

Jones, the eighth grade science teacher, said she worked in a pilot coring program several years ago, before it fizzled under the previous administration. “Some of the best years I had were those years,” she said. “I’m looking forward to it being reinstated.” 

Patterson said she hopes to put coring in place at the seventh and eighth grade levels next year, but noted that some teachers are already meeting with each other, and coordinating, on their own time. 

“Teachers have really been going above and beyond,” Patterson said. “That’s the best thing that can happen to a principal.” 

The missing link, at this point, has been parent participation. Patterson said that only five parents have been heavily involved at Willard this year. 

“We were under the impression that we could get parents out to help turn around the school,” the principal said. “It’s moving forward, but it’s moving slowly.” 

Marcia Masse, mother of a seventh grader at Willard who volunteers frequently at the school says she is disappointed with the lack of parental involvement. 

“There’s this culture that says you don’t need volunteers at junior high,” Masse said, “but these kids are itching for validation.” 

Masse said the school needs to offer busy parents very specific tasks and time slots to encourage participation. But she also said that Patterson’s energy will ultimately woo the community. 

“She’s present, she’s on the campus, she’s visible...she’s raring to go,” Masse said. “I think she is an amazing person.”  

When Cal chancellor Robert Berdahl made crew rowing coach Steve Gladstone his surprise pick as athletic director earlier this year, he knew he was hiring an unusual candidate, one who would do things a bit differently than your average administrator. The hiring process for Cal’s new head football coach, Jeff Tedford, shows just how independent Gladstone is. 

Gladstone made it clear at Wednesday’s press conference that Tedford is, above all else, his choice for the job. Although Gladstone was assisted by a search committee that included rugby coach Jack Clark and other Cal administrators, that committee was in an advisory position only. 

“The decision was made by me in consultation with a lot of people,” Gladstone said. “But it was ultimately my decision.” 

As is customary these days, a small group of Cal players got to meet with the final candidates for the job, but Gladstone seemingly didn’t put much stock in their input. Several players said they supported South Carolina defensive coordinator Charlie Strong for the job, although they didn’t know anything about Tedford and had open minds towards the new coach. 

“I’d never heard of (Tedford) before yesterday,” freshman tailback Terrell Williams said Wednesday. “But I’ll go meet him right now and see what’s up.” 

Junior linebacker Paul Ugenti spoke with Tedford and liked what he heard. 

“I really enjoyed talking to him,” Ugenti said. “He had some good ideas about how to bring us back together as a team. There were some divisions that developed during the season.” 

But although the players know who the head coach will be next season, there’s still a lot to be decided. Tedford is likely to hire an almost entirely new staff of coaches, but first he has to finish his season with Oregon, who play Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. 

“It’s a relief to have a head coach, but it’s still hanging over our heads that we don’t have a defensive coordinator,” Ugenti said. “(Tedford) still has to finish his job at Oregon before he can concentrate on us. It’s hard to know what’s going on.”

After a yearlong moratorium, the City Council adopted “workable” amendments to Berkeley’s Zoning Ordinance, which will govern the placement of cell phone antennae around town. 

After listening to presentations from a citizens group, telecommunications attorneys and a planning commissioner, the council approved a compromise recommendation, which primarily consisted of the staff’s proposed ordinance with three Planning Commission amendments and one from the citizens group. 

The ordinance was approved by a 6-1-1 vote, with Councilmember Kriss Worthington voting in opposition and Councilmember Betty Olds abstaining. Councilmember Margaret Breland did not attend the meeting due to an illness. 

Unless the proposed site is in a nonresidential district and has existing wireless antennae, the ordinance will compel telecommunications companies to go through a lengthy regulatory process, which will include demonstrating that a proposed site is necessary to area coverage, compliance with a variety of design standards and application review by the Zoning Adjustments Board. 

The council rejected a citizens’ amendment that would have established a 150-foot buffer zone around schools, day care centers and residences. 

Last December the council adopted a 45-day moratorium on new antenna applications after a group of Solano Avenue neighbors, concerned about health risks from radio frequency waves that wireless antennae emit, protested a Zoning Adjustments Board decision to allow Nextel Communications to install a wireless telecommunications antenna on the roof of the Oaks Theater at 1875 Solano Ave. The council twice extended the moratorium. 

Councilmembers, commissioners and city staff said cobbling the ordinance together was a complex project because of scrutiny by telecommunication lawyers who were threatening lawsuits if the new ordinance violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Federal law prohibits local governments from regulating the antennae based on potential environmental or health hazards. 

In addition the council was under time pressure because the moratorium is scheduled to expire this month and the council is restricted from further extensions.  

“I think we did the best we could do with the deadline,” Mayor Shirley Dean said. “And we still have the option of making more amendments in the future.” 

It remains to be seen whether the council was successful in choosing a compromise ordinance that will satisfy both the citizens group which doesn’t want the antennae near schools or residential neighborhoods and the telecommunication companies which have sent a parade of lawyers to City Council and Planning Commission meetings protesting a restrictive ordinance. 

Worthington said he voted against the ordinance because he was unconvinced that it would preclude litigation under the Telecommunications Act. 

“Unfortunately I think it conflicts with federal law,” he said. “While I don’t agree with the law, I think working to change it is better than working against it.” 

Olds said she abstained because she had not had sufficient time to examine the material that was submitted to council by the Planning and Development Department, the Planning Commission and a lawyer representing the citizens group. 

Nextel attorney Nick Selby said the ordinance was extremely complex and would make the application process very complex and time consuming. But he added the ordinance could possibly be “workable.” 

“The proof will be in the pudding,” he said. “If the city implements the new ordinance in an overly restrictive manner so new cell sites can’t be added or modifications can’t be made to an existing site, there still could be a violation of the Telecommunications Act.” 

Dean also took a wait-and-see attitude. “We’re plowing new ground here so we’ll have to see what happens,” she said.  

Of the 14 amendments recommended by the citizens group, only one was adopted by the council. The amendment called for unannounced antenna spot checks by a qualified engineer every two years at the expense of the telecommunication company. The spot check would verify if the equipment was working correctly and the level of radio frequency radiation was at or below FCC standards.  

Erica Etelson, an attorney who is a member of the citizens group, said that she was disappointed the council did not consider more of the group’s proposed amendments. 

“I’m terribly disappointed, we had so many amendments that the City Council rejected without much discussion at all,” she said. 

Planning Commissioner Gordon Wozniack said the Planning Commission put a great deal of time into their recommendation. He added that the commissioners, which are usually at odds with one another, were able to reach unanimous agreement on their recommendation during a Nov. 19 meeting. 

Wozniack said telecommunications representatives provided the commission with information that indicated there would not be that many antennae applications in coming years. 

“I think it’s wrong to imply that Berkeley will end up with thousands of antenna sites,” he said. “In reality it’s probably more like 50.” 

Currently there are 25 wireless communication antennae in Berkeley.

Cal’s Joe Shipp put on a spectacular shooting display on Tuesday night, making a school record nine 3-pointers and scoring a career-high 31 points in leading the Bears to a 97-75 win over Fresno State. 

Fresno State head coach Jerry Tarkanian couldn’t believe his eyes when Shipp made all six of his treys in the first half, then his next two in the second half before finally missing one to break the streak. 

“We just studied the stat sheets, and we thought (Cal’s) one weakness was not being a good outside shooting team,” said Tarkanian, who is in his 36th year of coaching college basketball. “(Shipp) just shot the lights out. Whenever he made another one, I figured he’d get cold eventually, but he kept making them.” 

Shipp did eventually cool off, air-balling two of his next three long-range attempts before banking his final one in, but by then the Bears were too far ahead for the Bulldogs to do anything. Shipp hit three 3-pointers during a 28-5 run for Cal in the first half that left them with a 52-32 lead at halftime, and Tark’s team never got back in the game. 

Shipp’s bombs included three from beyond NBA range, but he was quick to recognize his teammates for getting him the ball in good position to shoot. Guards Shantay Legans and Dennis Gates combined for 17 assists and were perfectly willing to give the ball up to the white-hot Shipp. 

“My teammates were looking for me and set me up with some nice passes,” Shipp said. “Shantay was pushing the ball well, bringing up the tempo of the game. I was feeling good, so I just let it go.” 

Legans, who also scored 12 points, had to shake off an early case of stomach trouble. During a timeout early in the opening period, the junior point guard hurdled the Cal bench and threw up into a courtside garbage can. But he came back strong, hitting two 3-pointers of his own during the Bears’ run. 

“I think I just got something bad at the training table,” Legans said. “It was just in and out of me. It didn’t really affect my play.” 

Fresno State struggled to score with star Melvin Ely benched due to possible NCAA rules violations, and leading scorer Chris Jefferies didn’t help by starting slowly, scoring just 3 points in the first half. Though he finished with 21 points, Jefferies clearly missed having the low-post presence of Ely to take some pressure off of him. 

“Melvin’s our star, so it’s hard to play without him,” said Bulldog center Hiram Fuller, who scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. “He just takes up so much space and draws so much attention.” 

But Ely likely couldn’t have stopped the Bears’ outside shooting. Wingman Brian Wethers took over where Shipp left off, hitting 3-of-3 from behind the arc in the second half and scoring 14 points. Freshman forward Jamal Sampson also scored 15 points for the Bears.

Four years in the making, the Southside Plan came one step closer to completion on Wednesday, as a new draft was released to the public and members of the Planning Commission. 

The new draft, which calls for high-rise, dense housing along Bancroft Way and other blocks near the UC Berkeley campus, was written by members of the commission and incorporates the work of a series of community focus groups held during the first half of this year. 

The plan’s first draft, completed in January 2000, was written by professional planners employed by the city and UC Berkeley. 

In addition to housing and other land-use questions, the Southside Plan addresses transportation, economic development, community character and public safety in the area bounded by Bancroft and Dwight ways and Prospect and Fulton streets. It includes several blocks of Telegraph Avenue. 

Members of the Planning Commission had hoped to circulate the new draft at their Wednesday meeting, but that meeting was canceled. 

Planning Commission Chair Rob Wrenn said the new draft balanced the concerns of long-term neighborhood residents and university students. 

Students, he said, wanted more housing in the Southside area, while neighborhood groups feared intense development would worsen the area’s traffic and parking problems. 

“What we’ve worked out is a plan that encourages development, but encourages it in areas close to the campus and transit corridors,” he said. 

The new draft calls for three housing “sub-areas.” The six blocks closest to campus would be designated as a “residential mixed use” district, in which large housing developments, as well as new offices, hotels, religious facilities and many other services would be allowed. 

A larger, “high density” district, intended to encourage more housing, would be located directly south of the residential mixed-use district. 

The rest of the residential areas in the neighborhood would be designated “medium density,” a designation already used in many parts of the city. 

The entire Southside area west of College Avenue – aside from the commercial district along Telegraph and Durant avenues – is currently designated for high-density development. 

Wrenn said that the intent of the proposed zoning changes was to “step down” from dense housing and high buildings in the center of the district into the low-density neighborhoods surrounding the Southside area. 

The new draft of the plan may chill relations between the city and UC Berkeley. The city and university had worked together on the plan’s first draft. Thomas Lollini, the university’s planning director, wrote a letter to the Planning Commission contesting certain land-use elements in the new draft of the plan.  

In the letter, Lollini protested the fact that several university properties east of Telegraph Avenue are included in the high density zone, which prohibits office development, rather than in the residential mixed-use zone. 

“The university considers this zoning map to have been drawn with the intent of forcing the university to develop several of its sites for residential use only, while non-university owners... in similar settings are allowed much greater development flexibility,” Lollini wrote. 

Wrenn denied the charge, saying that the subcommittee of the Planning Commission responsible for writing the most recent draft had done a painstaking analysis of each block in the neighborhood.  

The subcommittee’s proposed zoning map takes into account the current character of each of these blocks, Wrenn said. 

“They seem to think that there’s some sort of attempt to zone UC properties differently than non-UC properties, but that’s not our intent,” Wrenn said. 

The transportation element of the plan has yet to be finalized. During the upcoming months, the Planning Commission will have to come to agreement about whether to convert Bancroft Way and Durant Avenue into two-way streets. They will also consider the idea of closing Telegraph Avenue to automobile traffic. 

One of the reasons for the long process is that amendments to the city zoning ordinance related to the plan are being written simultaneously. Usually, zoning amendments are written and implemented after a plan has been adopted.  

In the case of the West Berkeley Plan, for example, several years passed between the adoption of the plan and its implementation in the zoning code. 

The Planning Commission has made completion of the plan its top priority over the coming months, and Wrenn said Wednesday that he hopes to hand a final draft to the city council by July. The final version of the plan will be incorporated into the city’s General Plan.

As the City Council meeting closed in on midnight and two councilmembers had already gone home, the council voted to supply workers who answer the city’s general information phones with material about the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors. 

The idea is to have information available, so staff can refer anyone who calls asking about how to avoid military combat. 

The measure had been scheduled for an earlier vote as part of the consent calendar, where items are passed without debate. But it was postponed for more discussion after Councilmember Betty Olds said she wanted to see the item amended to include giving staff information about military recruitment for people who called wanting to enlist. 

Amending the recommendation is the “democratic thing to do,” Olds said, arguing that the city had already received too much media attention from a council-approved resolution calling for a speedy end to the bombing of Afghanistan.  

Councilmembers and city officials received thousands of phone calls, e-mails and letters both protesting and supporting the decision. 

Olds’ amendment was rejected. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington stated his opposition to Olds’ amendment, then agreed to include it as long as the original recommendation and the amendment were voted on separately. 

“I first want to remind the council of the military’s discriminatory polices, policies that have caused many colleges and high schools to not invite them to recruit on their campuses,” Worthington said, referring to military discrimination against gays and lesbians. 

The council then voted on the original amendment, adopted by a 5-1 vote, with Olds voting in opposition. Councilmembers Polly Armstrong and Maudelle Shriek had already left the meeting and Councilmember Margaret Breland was absent due to illness.  

The council failed to approve Olds’ military recruiter amendment by a vote of 3-3, with Worthington and councilmembers Dona Spring and Linda Maio voting in opposition. Motions require five votes for approval. 

The proposal came from the city’s Peace and Justice Commission, which adopted a resolution earlier this month praising Berkeley’s “unique and honored tradition of promoting alternative social values and viewpoints including nonviolence and pacifism.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Wednesday’s Planning Commission meeting had to be canceled because of an administrative error by city staff. 

Planning and Development Director Carol Barrett said that a member of the department forgot to post a notice of the meeting at the information kiosk outside Old City Hall. 

In addition, the meeting agenda was not given to the City Clerk’s Office, and was therefore not posted on the city’s Web site. 

The error was noticed by Berkeley citizen Howie Muir, who wrote an e-mail to Barrett asking for information about the meeting, noting that the agenda had not been posted on the Web site. Muir sent copies of his letter to Mayor Shirley Dean and City Manager Weldon Rucker. 

Muir later said he was merely seeking information about an item on the agenda, and did not intend to “torpedo” the meeting. 

“I certainly did not seek for the meeting to be canceled, but my question may have unintentionally led to the discovery of the problem,” he said. 

The Brown Act, which regulates public accessibility to city government, mandates that the agendas of all meetings be posted in a public place 72 hours beforehand. 

“I’m truly sorry for this inconvenience to people, but I couldn’t know that a person didn’t do (their) job,” said Barrett. 

Advance Planning Manager Karen Haney-Owens, the normal liaison between the Planning Commission and the planning staff, recently took an indefinite leave of absence from the department. 

In addition to debuting the latest Southside Plan draft, the Planning Commission had been scheduled to discuss city regulations for awarding developers concessions for providing affordable housing and applications for the city’s Housing Trust Fund.

Longtime Berkeley Police Department employee Desmond Griffen died Tuesday as a result of a brain aneurysm suffered Saturday. He was 46 years old. 

Mr. Griffen was hired in 1983 as a Police Service Assistant and worked as an Identification Technician and, for the last several years, as a jailer. 

There will be a service Dec. 15 at 11 a.m. at Fouche-Hudson Funeral Home, 3665 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. 

Mr. Griffen will be buried in his native New York.

RICHMOND — A reinforced apartment building shook, rattled, but did not fall as engineers put it to the earthquake test Wednesday. 

The experiment, conducted at a University of California, Berkeley, field station, subjected the three-story building to the same kind of forces as those experienced in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Berkeley officials said it was the largest test of its kind to date. 

The goal was to see how well a retrofitted steel frame would protect a building with the tuck-under, ground-level parking typical of many complexes. That kind of structure is weaker because of the openings where cars are parked. 

In the Northridge quake, 16 people died in one building that had tuck-under parking. In all, the 6.7 earthquake caused more than 70 deaths and about $15.3 billion in insured losses. 

Test results will be used to evaluate building ordinances and develop improved standards. 

“This is not an academic exercise,” said Rich Eisner, who is with the state Office of Emergency Services and was among those watching the test. 

The building tested was an experimental model built in the style of a 1960s complex, complete with boxy shape and stucco finish. 

It was mounted on a huge “shake table” – a thick slab of concrete – which moves to simulate the rolling and shaking of the earthquake. 

The tests sounded like the real thing, producing thunderous rumblings and rattling the small windows. 

But the quivering produced little damage. 

Engineers were also testing a new strategy of using tiny, wireless remote sensors to give feedback on structural integrity. 

The experiment is part of a $6.9 million wood frame project funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency through the California emergency services office. 

The Consortium of Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering (CUREE) manages the project under subcontract to the California Institute of Technology. 

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On the Net: consortium site, http://www.curee.org UC Berkeley site, http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/ 7/8mosalam/wood—project.html. 

SAN ANSELMO — Even in a community where personal growth is prized above all and wealthy ex-hippies groom their children to be independent thinkers, the spiritual journey of John Walker Lindh is a shocker. 

Much of the nation seems outraged that a 20-year-old American was captured fighting for the Taliban. Many see him as a traitor deserving of the death penalty, especially after it turned out that he had been carrying an AK-47 and calling himself a holy warrior, even after U.S. troops were on the ground in Afghanistan. 

“He gave us up, he gave up on his country,” said Don Jackson, a butcher at the gourmet Wild Oats Market in San Anselmo who thinks Lindh deserves permanent exile. “I think the young man’s pretty much doomed. There’s no way his parents could save him from this.” 

But mercy seems to be the message among many in Marin, a politically liberal county where chain stores, neckties and nonorganic coffee are shunned, and people who aren’t fortunate enough to telecommute disappear into million-dollar homes with priceless views after battling the Golden Gate Bridge traffic from San Francisco each evening. 

“I don’t think it’s a big deal for young people to have weird ideas,” said Nahshon Nahumi, who repairs backyard hot tubs in the hills above Lindh’s mother’s house. “My concern is more for his well-being, to help him recover.” 

An intelligent but introverted teen-ager who wore full-length robes in high school and asked his family to call him “Suleyman,” Lindh had an intense interest in Islam that was encouraged by his Buddhist mother and Irish Catholic father. 

They paid for his trip to Yemen to study the Quran, worried privately when he spoke of searching for a “pure Islamic state,” then lost track of him altogether after he left a religious school in Pakistan to become a “foreign Taliban,” fighting against the northern alliance in Afghanistan. 

Now a “battlefield detainee” being held in a shipping container surrounded by barbed wire at a U.S. military camp in Afghanistan, Lindh apparently has been more forthcoming to American authorities than he was in a videotaped encounter with CIA paramilitary officer Johnny “Mike” Spann, who was killed in a prison uprising moments after trying to get Lindh to talk. 

Attorney General John Ashcroft hasn’t said what legal actions the government will take against Lindh, and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld declined comment when asked if he’s a traitor. 

His parents, Marilyn Walker, who has worked as a nurse, and Frank Lindh, a corporate lawyer, separated several years ago. They released a statement Wednesday through the office of their attorney, James Brosnahan. 

“We love John. He’s our son and like any parents, we’re going to support him through this,” the statement said. “We’re asking that people withhold judgment until we know what the facts are.” 

But emotions are high among the many people following his story. In response to a question on the San Francisco Chronicle’s Web site, 60 percent of the 2,038 people volunteering opinions said he should be executed. 

“Neither his American citizenship nor his small legion of U.S. sympathizers can bail him out of this predicament,” the Chronicle wrote in an editorial last week that called Lindh “the enemy.” 

Just how helpful he is to U.S. forces should determine what happens to him, said Chip Gow, an investment manager from Kentfield. Like many Marin County residents, Gow objected to the idea that the community’s values necessarily led to Lindh’s predicament. 

“It’s nonsense that the attitudes prevalent here give rise to Taliban warriors,” said Gow, adding that he wants his 5-year-old son to grow up to be open-minded. “I strongly believe in this sort of citizen-of-the-world notion.” 

Such notions were fostered at Tamiscal High School, where Lindh graduated early from an independent studies program that involved very little class time. The school was lampooned as a “rotting, stinking left-wing” place by syndicated radio host Michael Savage in San Francisco, who thinks Lindh should be tried in Afghanistan and either executed or jailed for life. 

“There’s a mentality of subversion in Marin that the children are generally raised with,” Savage complained Wednesday. “Here’s an extreme example of what can happen with this loose, permissive upbringing.” 

But principal Marcie Miller said the highly competitive school remains proud of Lindh as well as its other students, who tend to be highly motivated, self-directed critical thinkers. 

Lindh was drawn to Islam as early as 14 years old. In Internet chat-group messages signed by him in 1995, he was quoting Malcom X and ranting about hip-hop lyrics. Gradually, his messages about buying and selling music and computer equipment evolved into questions about Islam. 

By May 1997, Lindh was asking “internet Muslims” whether Islam forbids any images of living things. Several months later, he was berating Zionists and signing his posts “Salaam, Prof. J.” 

Shortly thereafter, he began attending prayers at the nearby Islamic Center of Mill Valley, one of the few white people at the mosque, according to a friend and fellow worshipper, Abdulla Nana, who knew him as “Suleyman.” 

“He was a sincere person, an intelligent person, a quiet person,” said Nana, 23, an Indian-American Muslim raised in Marin County. “It sounded like he had already chosen Islam before, but he came to the mosque to formally proclaim himself as a Muslim.” 

The mosque was not a place for political discussions, said Nana, who shied away from questions about the morality of Lindh’s involvement with the Taliban. 

“As a friend and as a person who cares for Suleyman, I hope he can come back to his friends and family. Whether he has done something wrong is not for me to say,” Nana said. “Really, God determines. God will judge a person’s actions in the hereafter.”

SAN FRANCISCO — The state Supreme Court decided unanimously Wednesday to keep a serial rapist locked up at a state mental hospital until at least February while it considers his case. 

Patrick Ghilotti had been scheduled for release nearly two weeks ago, but the state filed an emergency petition asking the Supreme Court to intervene. The court granted that request, ordering an expedited hearing Feb. 6 in Sacramento. 

Ghilotti, 45, has been confined at Atascadero State Hospital for four years under a state law that allows sexually violent offenders to be committed for treatment after completing their prison sentences. 

Ghilotti, who has spent nearly half his life locked up, has been convicted of raping four Marin County women and has admitted to raping at least six others. 

“We are very disappointed that the court has asked for additional briefings on a point of law that seems so clear,” said Ghilotti’s lawyer, Frank Cox. 

Marin County Superior Court Judge John S. Graham ruled Nov. 30 that Ghilotti should be released the following day, when his latest two-year commitment expired. He said he could find no legal reason to keep him hospitalized. 

Instead, state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, at the urging of Gov. Gray Davis, filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court asking it to block Ghilotti’s release, saying he remained a danger to the public. 

“The governor is gratified that the California Supreme Court is hearing this case,” said Davis spokeswoman Hillary McLean. “We hope that the Supreme Court will agree with us and with the Department of Mental Health when making a decision that could have grave implications for public safety that all relevant information regarding Mr. Ghilotti should be considered.” 

Ghilotti would have been released Wednesday if the seven-member high court had refused to consider his case. He could not be reached by telephone for comment. 

Ghilotti had been slated to become California’s first sex predator released under a 1996 law that has sent hundreds of the state’s worst rapists and child molesters to a mental hospital for treatment, a practice upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Two independent evaluators must certify the offender is mentally ill, a danger to society and likely to reoffend in order to commit him as a sexually violent predator. Once certified, the offender can be recommitted every two years. 

In Ghilotti’s case, three Mental Health Department-approved psychologists have said the twice-convicted rapist no longer meets sexually violent predator criteria. 

But the state said the opinions of other department officials also should be considered. In Ghilotti’s case, both the department and hospital directors agree he remains a public safety threat. 

The justices said they want to review whether someone can be recommitted without two evaluations. 

“The statute is clear, previous court decisions are clear. No person can be committed to a sexually violent predator program without two independent forensic examiners agreeing,” Cox said. “In Mr. Ghilotti’s case, three independent forensic examiners agree he no longer fits the criteria.” 

SAN FRANCISCO — California’s largest utility wants to investigate and settle claims from its creditors who are owed less than $100,000 without review by a bankruptcy court or other creditors. 

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. also has asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali for permission to object to claims it believes are duplicated, already satisfied or otherwise resolved. 

Ron Low, a PG&E spokesman, said Wednesday the utility has found billions of dollars of claims filed against it that are unsubstantiated or duplicated. Though about $44 billion in claims were filed against it, PG&E believes it owes roughly $13 billion to its creditors, Low said. 

Roughly 80 percent of the 12,800 claims filed against PG&E are for amounts less than or near $100,000. Starting the settlement of these claims could help the utility emerge from bankruptcy more quickly, Low said. 

PG&E is asking Montali’s permission to resolve several types of claims without having to seek review and approval afterward from either the official committee of creditors or Montali himself. 

The utility also wants to bypass review of settlements it reaches with some larger creditors who claim they are owed more than $100,000, but less than $5 million 

PG&E would pay any settlements reached after its plan of reorganization goes into effect, Low said. Claims not settled between the parties would be resolved in court. 

Low said the creditors committee agrees with the proposals. A representative of that committee did not immediately return calls seeking comment Wednesday. 

PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection April 6 after a rate freeze prevented it from passing along soaring energy costs to its customers, pushing the utility into debt. 

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On the Net: 

Pacific Gas and Electric Co.: http://www.pge.com 

SACRAMENTO — Bryan Woodbury may have a solution for motorists who are tired of urban gridlock: A car that can zip through traffic like a motorcycle and squeeze into the smallest parking spaces. 

Woodbury’s 38-inch-wide Tango was among dozens of electric and low-emission vehicles on display Wednesday, about a year before state regulations will put thousands of such cars and light trucks on the California market. 

“California is pushing this whole thing,” said Shane Thompson, sales representative for Inmetco, a battery recycling company. “It’s the reason these car companies are coming out with these things.” 

Thompson and Woodbury were exhibitors at an Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas conference that gave big and small manufacturers the chance to show off an array of electric, hybrid and futuristic fuel-cell vehicles, ranging from bicycles to buses. 

Alan Lloyd, chairman of the state Air Resources Board, said the display “demonstrates that when the industry is challenged they do a wonderful job of stepping forward.” 

Regulations adopted by the ARB will require that an increasing percentage of new cars and light trucks sold in California must be zero-emission or extremely low-polluting vehicles, beginning with 2003 models. 

The mandate starts at 10 percent and increases to 16 percent by 2018, although manufacturers have several ways they can initially reduce the requirement, including putting the cars on the market early. 

Small manufacturers like Woodbury’s company aren’t covered by the mandate, but they can benefit by selling credits for complying with the requirements to bigger car companies. 

Major automakers fought the requirements for years and succeeded in convincing the ARB to water down — but not abandon — the regulations. 

One company, General Motors, is still fighting the regulations in court, although it was among the conference’s exhibitors. 

But another major automaker, Toyota, announced Wednesday that it would get a jump on the regulations and begin selling or leasing its RAV4-EV, a battery-powered sports utility vehicle, to California motorists starting in February. The RAV4-EV has been available only as a corporate fleet vehicle. 

Woodbury, who runs Commuter Cars Corp., a small Spokane, Wash., company with his father, plans to start producing the battery-powered Tangos in June. 

The narrow car can comfortably carry two people, one behind the other, and can go from zero to 60 mph in four seconds, he said. 

“It looks tiny and cramped but you have the same interior space (per passenger) as a normal car.” 

Initially prices will range from $40,000 to $75,000 but mass production would drop the cost to the $12,000-to-$17,000 range, depending on how many are made, Woodbury said. 

He figures the Tango will attract customers who are “sick and tired of getting stuck in traffic every day but want an exciting car. ... It’s not another golf cart.” 

LOS ANGELES — Soto Elementary School’s next-door neighbor is a spaghetti network of concrete connecting four of Los Angeles’ busiest freeways. 

Dust and fumes from the rumbling interchange — and from the big rigs using the predominantly Latino school’s Boyle Heights neighborhood as a short cut — are among many signs around California that the state’s air quality is full of inequality. 

Activists have long complained that low-income and minority communities bear a disproportionately large share of the pollution burden. Now their calls for “environmental justice” could be heeded as never before. 

The state Air Resources Board — the most influential state-level, air-quality agency in the country — is set to vote Thursday on a policy that would require it to fully consider how every decision it makes affects low-income and minority neighborhoods. 

The board, which regulates emissions of everything from gasoline to adhesives, also would conduct monitoring and research to better define how communities are sickened by multiple sources of pollution. 

“This goes a long way toward leading the way for other California agencies, and hopefully other states,” said Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, D-Los Angeles, who co-wrote legislation calling on state agencies to put environmental justice policies in place. 

Margarita Sanchez, a community activist who lives across the street from Soto Elementary School and the freeways, said she hopes the rules will give the concerns of poor communities more credence. 

Just after classes let out at the school, scores of children play ball on a concrete playground as freeway traffic buzzes by and tractor trailers cough up soot on surface streets. 

It takes about 10 minutes for a visitor to feel his chest tightening and head aching from the pollution. Sanchez, the mother of two grade-schoolers, said ailments from asthma to bloody noses are common among neighborhood children. 

After two years of lobbying by residents, school and transportation officials have agreed to build sound walls and limit truck traffic on some surface streets, but Sanchez said more work is needed on both fronts. 

“We’re getting some fruits out of the struggle, but it never should have been that hard,” Sanchez said. 

Alan C. Lloyd, chairman of the Air Resources Board, said that although the state has made strides in reducing pollutants such as those that produce ozone, poor communities haven’t seen enough of the benefits. 

“California (air quality) is much better than it used to be, but when you get down to ground level it’s not that evenly distributed,” said ARB spokesman Jerry Martin. “All Californians have the right to clean air, regardless of whether they live in Beverly Hills or next to a landfill.” 

Environmentalists and public health advocates applaud the proposed policy, but about 20 groups are calling on the board to amend it to assure funding for environmental justice work. They also want 12-month deadlines for producing guidelines on how local governments and air districts should consider low-income communities in making decisions on land use and complaint resolution, and evaluating neighborhood pollution problems. 

“Our fear is that if the ARB does not allocate resources, this could just become another paper policy that does not materialize into action,” said Bahram Fazeli, staff researcher for Communities for a Better Environment, a Huntington Park-based group. 

Air board decisions on how much industrial facilities and motor vehicles can pollute have a great effect on low-income communities. But the board has little direct involvement in one of the highest-profile environmental justice issues — placing and permitting polluters such as power plants in low-income areas. 

But Lloyd said the policy will require the agency to provide more research and advice to the local governments and air districts that do make those decisions. 

How the air board will pay for additional work focused on low-income and minority communities is unclear. With the state facing a projected $12.4 billion deficit this budget year and next, a big jump in air quality funding is unlikely. 

“There’s room to do some internal shifting,” said Firebaugh, who has written legislation that would have allowed automakers to escape some impending obligations to produce electric vehicles in exchange for spending money to improve air quality in low-income communities. 

Firebaugh supports work to advance zero-emission vehicles, which air regulators say will be necessary as California’s population growth continues. 

“But on the front end, it’s a costly endeavor with limited payoff,” especially for low-income communities, where residents can’t afford electric cars, he said. 

PALO ALTO — Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon said Wednesday that big school districts like the one in Los Angeles should be broken up, and he suggested offering some form of vouchers to students at underperforming schools. 

In a lunchtime speech to 60 technology executives in a Chinese restaurant in Palo Alto, Simon also said he would require as many schools as possible to provide child care and after-hours programs, “so we can begin to end the era of the latchkey child.” 

Citing the poor physical condition of California schools and their low rankings on standardized tests, Simon said that if “privatizing” schools is not possible, “then let us certainly privatize their thinking.” 

That means fixing dilapidated schools quickly, working more closely with parents and breaking large districts into smaller units, he said. 

“Big school districts, big school campuses and big school bureaucracies, more often than not, fail,” he said, citing the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest, as an example. “Kids need individual attention and custom-tailored solutions.” 

Simon said he would give administrators, teachers and parents a range of choices for how to improve bad schools. 

Those options, Simon said, should include sending in a “red team” of state experts; providing what he called “opportunity scholarships” to students; approving new charter schools or bringing in a private company to run the schools in question. 

When questioned by reporters after the speech, Simon declined to specify what he meant by “opportunity scholarships,” although many voucher supporters use the two terms interchangeably. 

Simon said he supports some aspects of school voucher programs, but he added that he respected California voters’ overwhelming opposition to a voucher proposition in 2000. 

Schools should be required to provide morning and afternoon programs to teach music, art and other skills, Simon said, but he declined to suggest how the state could pay for such programs. His press secretary, Bob Taylor, acknowledged that finding money for them would be difficult. 

Simon, a Los Angeles businessman and former federal prosecutor, is seeking the GOP nomination for governor March 5 against former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and California Secretary of State Bill Jones. The winner will face Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in November. 

In earlier speeches, Simon has called for trimming state spending and cutting certain taxes. 

Simon’s father, William Simon, was treasury secretary under Presidents Nixon and Ford. 

Taylor said Simon will largely fund his campaign himself but will also seek outside donations. When asked if there was a limit to how much Simon would spend, Taylor replied, “Not really.” Simon’s recently filed financial disclosure forms show his fortune is worth at least $22 million and probably much higher, given the forms’ vague disclosure requirements. 

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On the Net: 

Candidates’ Web sites: 

http://www.simonforgovernor.com 

http://www.billjones.org 

http://www.draftriordan.org 

SACRAMENTO — The number of anti-Arab hate crimes in California has dropped to about one a day from the nearly 10 a day reported immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the state attorney general said Tuesday. 

Incidents reported by six major law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose and Sacramento dropped from 182 in September to 60 in October and 17 in November. 

An additional 10 police agencies added to the survey reported 11 crimes in October and four in November. 

Attorney General Bill Lockyer called the decline “encouraging,” but said even the smaller numbers show police and community groups need to continue their efforts to protect innocent people who appear to be of Middle Eastern descent. 

The six major jurisdictions initially reported 236 crimes targeting Arab-Americans, Muslims, Afghan-Americans, Sikhs, Asians and others mistaken for Arabs or Muslims between Sept. 11 and the end of September – more than 12 a day. 

However, those initial figures were reduced once police sorted out actual crimes from other incidents that didn’t rise to that level, said Lockyer spokeswoman Sandra Michioku. 

Also Tuesday, Lockyer announced the creation of a California Community Relations Service to help mediate resolutions to community conflicts relating to race, color or national origin. 

Michioku said the service may help resolve anti-Arab conflicts in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

The service will help at the request of local governments or community leaders, or when there is evidence of community unrest. The California service is patterned on a similar federal version created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Immigration authorities arrested 10 people in the San Diego area Wednesday in a first-of-its-kind crackdown on Middle Eastern students suspected of violating the terms of their visas by not being in school. 

None of those arrested is suspected of involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks, authorities said. 

Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, said about 50 people were being sought in San Diego area. 

The crackdown is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, Mack said. It is part of the agency’s attempt to better track foreign students after it was revealed that one of the Sept. 11 terrorists, Saudi native Hani Hanjour, had entered the country as a student. 

Authorities began compiling a database of the nearly 600,000 foreign students at U.S. colleges and universities after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. But that effort languished amid opposition from school officials who believed it would hurt recruitment and be seen as intrusive. 

In recent weeks, INS officials in San Diego discussed the issue with representatives of about 35 schools, including the University of California at San Diego. They checked the records of students from certain nations under government scrutiny. 

Agents sought Wednesday to interview San Diego-area students born in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Pakistan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Yemen. About 90 percent of the students listed in INS records as being at local education institutions were enrolled. About 50 were not. 

Agents began the crackdown at 5 a.m., visiting more than a dozen homes in San Diego County. Mack said they arrested 10 men and women, including the brother of one student. 

Muslim leaders condemned the roundup as discriminatory. 

“This type of activity, people defaulting on their visas, is not particular to the Arab community,” said Mohammed Nasser, the director of the San Diego chapter of the Muslim-American Society. “Many, many people come here from across the world looking for opportunity.” 

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis ordered five state agencies to increase their terrorism preparedness Wednesday at the recommendation of his terrorism task force. 

He plans to outline the measures to national Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge during a meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C., where he will seek federal aid for California’s safety measures. 

“This is an act of war. I think he’s going to be pretty aggressive in seeking reimbursement,” said George Vinson, Davis’ special security adviser. 

“It’s going to be extremely high,” Vinson said, with the California Highway Patrol alone spending as much as $1 million a day above its normal budget during periods of high alert. 

At the same time, Davis plans to discuss California’s new “staged alert system” that ranks warnings of terrorist threats based on credibility and helps determine when threats should be made public. 

Federal authorities could use the warning system as a model to help them determine whether to make public unsubstantiated rumors or reports, Vinson said. 

Davis said the increases in planning and training he ordered from state agencies Wednesday are “designed to make our prevention and response efforts more efficient and effective.” 

He told the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to provide counterterrorism training to police, fire and other emergency workers, as well as doctors, hospitals and public health officials. 

He ordered the Health and Human Services Agency to plan for long-term crisis counseling for terrorism victims and their families, and to make available mental health, alcohol and drug and other social services. 

The same two agencies were directed to develop a registry of medical, public health and scientific experts who could provide information on infectious diseases, biological hazards, poisons and radiation dangers to state and local health officials. 

The highway patrol will work with private businesses and consultants, as well the Environmental Protection Agency and health agency, to develop better security at potential targets like nuclear and hazardous waste facilities. 

And the Department of Information Technology was ordered to review the state’s vulnerability to cyberterrorism annually. 

The recommendations came from the State Strategic Committee on Terrorism Davis established two months ago, a month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The committee is made up of more than 150 local, state and federal law enforcement, fire, health and other officials. 

LOS ANGELES — The chairman of the Jewish Defense League was charged Wednesday with plotting to blow up a Los Angeles-area mosque and the office of an Arab-American congressman. 

Irv Rubin, 56, and a member of the militant group, Earl Krugel, 59, both of Los Angeles, were arrested late Tuesday after five pounds of explosive powder — the last component of the bomb — were delivered to Krugel’s home by a federal informant who was a longtime JDL member, authorities said at a news conference. 

Other bomb components and weapons were seized at Krugel’s home, U.S. Attorney John S. Gordon said at a news conference. 

“Last night’s arrests confirm that we meant what we said: if you cross the line from lawfully expressing your political or religious belief to committing violent acts ... then you will likely end up facing federal prosecution,” Gordon said. 

Rubin and Krugel were due in court Wednesday to face charges of conspiracy to destroy a building by means of an explosive, which carries a maximum five-year sentence, and possession of a destructive device related to a crime of violence, which carries a 30-year mandatory sentence. 

Rubin’s wife, Shelley, said authorities are “going on a witch hunt against Jews to show that they’re even-handed towards Muslims.” 

“I’m in agony for my husband. He’s been incarcerated for something he hasn’t done,” she said from the doorway of her Monrovia home. 

“Irv Rubin never had anything to do with explosives,” said Rubin’s attorney, Peter Morris. “It seems to us that, given the timing ... the government’s action is part of an overreaction to the Sept. 11 events.” 

In a series of meetings in October, Rubin and Krugel allegedly schemed to bomb the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City and the San Clemente office of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. 

During one secretly audiotaped meeting, Krugel allegedly said Arabs “need a wakeup call” and the JDL needed to do something to one of their “filthy” mosques, the affidavit said. 

The original target was to be the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles but it was changed last weekend, the document said. 

Tajuddin Shuaib, director of the King Fahd Mosque, said he was astonished. No threats were received, he said, to the estimated 1,000 people who have used the mosque to pray during the Ramadan season. 

“I can’t understand why people would do such a thing. We are not against Jews. We are not against anybody. We are like any church or synagogue or temple,” Shuaib said. 

“This is shocking news to receive. All agree this was an unusual act by a small band” of individuals, Issa, who represents San Diego County, told a news conference in Washington. 

With several Jewish lawmakers standing alongside him, Issa said: “Perhaps in another country, we would be adversaries. We’re not going to be divided by ethnic backgrounds.” 

Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., said he was “proud to stand shoulder to shoulder” with Issa “to condemn this outrageous act of domestic terrorism.” 

The case was broken when an informant who claimed to have committed crimes for the JDL, including planting a bomb at a mosque, contacted an FBI agent on Oct. 18, according to an affidavit. Details were not revealed. 

The confidential source said JDL members learned how to build a napalm bomb with Styrofoam, gasoline and an oxygen-breathing apparatus. The person also was directed to gather information on Islamic religious institutions in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. 

The JDL supplied the informant with a camera to photograph potential targets and Krugel developed the film, the affidavit alleged. The informant conducted research on the Internet and provided Krugel with directions and backgrounds on potential targets. 

At an Oct. 19 meeting, the informant was instructed to place a bomb at the King Fahd Mosque, the affidavit said. 

Rubin and Krugel allegedly considered other targets, including a bar and a tattoo parlor they believed were owned by Nazis. 

“Rubin stated that it was his desire to blow up an entire building but that the JDL did not have the technology to accomplish such a bombing,” the affidavit said. “Rubin also said that the JDL should not go after a human target because they still had not heard the end of the Alex Odeh incident.” 

Odeh, regional director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, was killed by a bomb at his Santa Ana office in 1985. 

The JDL was suspected but no arrests were made. The FBI investigation remains open and there is a $1 million reward for information leading to conviction. 

Aslam Abdullah, editor of Minaret, a Muslim magazine that shares offices with the MPAC, called the plot an attack on democracy. 

“Terrorism is not the monopoly of any religion,” he said. “This is an attack on pluralism ... we should fight it together.” 

The JDL opposes what it considers threats to the Jewish people, whether from Arabs, evangelizing Christians or pro-peace Jews. It claims about 13,000 members but some experts estimate there are only a few dozen active members. 

“They’re extremists. They really have been marginalized. None of the credible (Jewish) groups would have anything to do with these people,” said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. 

Originally formed by Meir Kahane to mount armed response to anti-Semitic acts in New York City, it gained notoriety when its members were linked to bombings, most of them aimed at Soviet targets in retaliation for the way that country treated its Jewish population. 

——— 

On the Web: 

Jewish Defense League: http://www.jdl.org/ 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Fewer people than expected have signed up for the state’s medical-marijuana program. 

About 100 people applied to use the drug for medical purposes in the registry’s first six months. Officials had predicted 600 to 800 people would apply in the first year. 

The voter-approved measure took effect June 1 and allows patients who register with the state Department of Public Health and Environment to have a maximum of 2 ounces of marijuana, or six plants. 

Registry administrator Gail Kelsey said a similar registry in Oregon attracted more patients after the first six months as people became more familiar and comfortable with program. 

In Colorado, the medical condition most commonly reported by applicants has been severe pain. About 70 percent of applicants have been male. So far, three people were denied because their applications were incomplete, Kelsey said. 

Twenty-four counties are represented on the confidential registry, she said. 

Physician certification has come from 76 doctors. 

The medical-marijuana law is opposed by Gov. Bill Owens and Attorney General Ken Salazar. They have urged federal prosecutors to pursue anyone who sells, distributes or grows marijuana, even if they qualify for medical use under the state program. 

SAN FRANCISCO — California power regulators are allowing the nation’s largest natural gas utility to sell customers space on its intrastate pipelines, mimicking a system already in place on pipelines that carry natural gas into the state. 

Industry officials say the change will stabilize rates and boost efficiency. 

But critics fear it will allow fewer companies to control most of the pipeline space — and that energy prices could increase if demand leaps because of chilly weather, or if gas-fired power plants need to churn out more electricity. 

The state Public Utilities Commission voted 3-2 on Tuesday to approve the proposal, which allows Southern California Gas Co. to sell space on its “backbone” transmission pipelines. 

These pipelines carry natural gas flowing into California to a smaller distribution system that then transports it to homes, businesses, factories and power plants. 

Under the order, power sellers and SoCal Gas customers will bid to buy pipeline space, with preference to those who hope to reserve that space for the longest time. 

Customers also will be able to trade that space and any space they’ve reserved in which to store extra gas. This enables them to accumulate more than the 30 percent of pipeline space allowed to them under the PUC order. 

Denise King, a SoCal Gas spokeswoman, said residential and small business customers will not see their 2002 bills rise because the utility has reserved enough space for the gas they will use. 

The new system will allow customers to better control the point from which their gas arrives, and help them save money by selling or trading away space they don’t need, she said. 

But critics worry that customers could end up paying high prices to ship gas through the Southern California pipelines — just as happened last winter on interstate lines bringing gas to the area. 

The two PUC commissioners who opposed the plan argued that opening up the pipeline could lead to one company taking too much control. 

They said the large amount of interstate pipeline space owned by El Paso Corp. this year and last pushed California natural gas prices through the roof.  

Residents paid $6.6 billion for natural gas in 1999, $12.3 billion last year and had paid $7.9 billion through March 2001, according to a state Assembly report. 

“It just opens up one more avenue where people can try to buy up a large percentage of pipeline space, except this time on the intrastate portion rather than the interstate portion,” said Marcel Hawiger, an analyst with The Utility Reform Network, a San Francisco-based consumer advocacy group that opposes the plan. 

While the order will not affect residential and small business customers of SoCal Gas directly in 2002, it eventually could translate into higher electricity costs because many power plants are fueled by natural gas, Hawiger said. Any cost increases likely would be passed along to consumers. 

Carl Wood, a PUC commissioner, said he opposed the order because it was based on information gathered before natural gas prices soared last winter. 

“I don’t think this is the time to be radically remaking the structure of natural gas regulation without understanding the world of 2002. This is not the world of 1998,” Wood said. 

Commissioner Richard Bilas praised the order, and said it should make gas operations in Southern California more efficient since customers only will pay for services they actually use. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.socalgas.com 

http://www.cpuc.ca.gov 

http://www.turn.org 

SAN FRANCISCO — State regulators say that Pacific Bell takes too long to repair telephone lines, and are threatening to fine the telecommunications company $600,000 per month unless it improves. 

The state Public Utilities Commission also ruled Tuesday that Pac Bell must remind customers calling for repairs that they can ask for a four-hour window for a repair visit, rather than potentially waiting an entire day for a technician. 

The average number of hours Pac Bell customers had to wait to have a dial tone restored rose by 45 percent between 1996 and 2000, the PUC found. 

The commission ruled that violates the state Public Utilities Code and a PUC order that requires Pac Bell to maintain or improve customer service over the five years following its merger with San Antonio-based SBC Communications, Inc. 

The PUC ordered Pac Bell to repair phone lines within 29 hours from when a customer first reports trouble, or within 39 hours for a repeat problem. The PUC vowed to fine the company $300,000 each month it exceeds one of the standards, or double if it exceeds both. 

The Office of Ratepayer Advocates, the consumer advocacy arm of the PUC, brought the complaints against Pac Bell. 

Pac Bell Spokesman John Britton said the company has been well within the new targets in recent months, and that the company’s numbers can jump in any particular year if telephone lines are downed by bad weather or fire. 

Britton said Pac Bell already tells customers about the four-hour appointment window through bill inserts and telephone directories.

SAN JOSE — Chip equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. said Wednesday it will cut 1,700 positions, or 10 percent of its work force, in response to the downturn in the semiconductor industry. 

The global cuts are the latest move by Applied to save money as demand for its equipment has diminished. The company previously reduced salaries, restricted hiring and ordered mandatory days off. 

“Unfortunately, the continuing downturn requires us to make some tough decisions to align our operations with current levels of demand for semiconductor equipment,” said James Morgan, Applied’s chief executive. 

Employees will be notified starting Thursday. About 450 positions in the Silicon Valley and 600 jobs in the Austin, Texas, area will be affected. 

Santa Clara-based Applied will post a restructuring charge for its first fiscal quarter, which ends Jan. 27. 

Applied shares closed up 93 cents to $44.87 in Tuesday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. After hours, they fell 42 cents. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Applied Materials: http://www.amat.com 

SAN JOSE — SONICblue Inc. said it filed a patent infringement suit against rival TiVo Inc. on Wednesday, bringing to court their fight for licensing claims of digital video recorder technologies. 

DVRs, which record television shows on a hard drive and can pause live programming, promised to revolutionize the way people watch TV when first introduced in 1999. Though consumers have been slow to adopt the new technology, analysts still predict it will take off one day. 

Both Silicon Valley-based companies won patents this year for various fundamental DVR technologies. SONICblue filed suit in federal court in San Jose after it said licensing talks with TiVo failed. 

“TiVo basically has three choices — partner with us, license our (intellectual property), or get sued by us,” said Ken Potashner, SONICblue’s chief executive and chairman. 

TiVo officials denied the two companies have engaged in licensing discussions and responded: “We are disappointed that SONICblue is opting to use litigation to build visibility for its company, as opposed to constructively working with others in the industry to build its business. We intend to take appropriate and rational legal steps to protect our technology.” 

SONICblue, meanwhile, claims its products do not infringe on TiVo’s patents. 

SONICblue also faces a suit by major U.S. television networks and their parent companies, which claim the new ReplayTV 4000 DVR violates their copyrights because the device allows users to e-mail recorded programs to each other. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.sonicblue.com 

http://www.tivo.com 

Demonstration urges state to better staff-to-patient ratios 

A registered nurse at Alta Bates/Summit Medical Center, Emmet Curry says he sometimes fears for the safety of his patients when staffing is low. 

Curry joined colleagues from the California Nurses Association Tuesday outside Alta Bates on Ashby Avenue – and others at 100 hospitals around the state – to educate the public on what CNA says is a need for higher staff-to-patient ratios. 

The CNA already received a part of what it wanted: AB 394.  

Approved by the legislature and signed by the governor more than a year ago, the law calls for fixed staff-to-patient ratios – but those numbers have yet to be decided. 

By Jan. 1, the state will publish proposed ratios. A series of public hearings will follow during a span of 45 days and then the final ratios will be written into law. 

The mandatory ratios will be a first for this country, said Liz Jacobs, a registered nurse and communications specialist for the CNA.  

Jacobs said inadequate staffing and subsequent overwork are some of the main causes for nurses to leave the profession. 

Alta Bates spokesperson Carolyn Kemp argued that the staffing should be based on the need of the “acuity of the patient,” rather than fixed by category (critical care, burn, operating room). 

Jacobs pointed out that today’s patients are all in need of more care than in the past because they are sicker. In the past, when patients were not removed early from hospitals by insurance companies, there was a period of time when nursing levels could safely decrease, she said. But now, she said, everyone in the hospital needs a more intense level of care. 

Kemp argued that the low level of staffing is a function of a scarcity of nurses.  

“No matter what the ratios (in the law) are, we can’t do it,” Kemp said. “There is a nursing shortage.” 

But Jacobs pointed to “stressful conditions” as the underlying reason for the shortage. 

“Sometimes you’re by yourself,” said RN Curry, “Patients are all in bed, they have to have baths, you have to feed them and turn them every two hours.”  

Then there’s charting each patient and “carrying out the doctors’ orders.” 

Three of Curry’s colleagues, also Alta Bates’ nurses, stood around him outside the hospital and chimed in.  

“I didn’t take lunch today,” said Robert Abelon.  

Cindy Kleinsasser did: “I sit and eat and chart,” she said of her lunch breaks.  

“That’s what I do,” agreed Maryanne Sanchez.  

Curry said the nurses are lucky if they get away from the nurses station at all.  

“They call us (when we are) in the bathroom,” Sanchez added. 

But the push for a higher staff-to-patient ratio is not only to reduce the nurses’ stress, it’s for patients, says CNA President Kay McVay, also a registered nurse.  

When you’re sick and in bed “you’re there at the mercy of anything going on,” she said, explaining why the nurses’ goal for the day was to educate the public about the situation. 

Nurse Robert Abelon said he no longer has the time to educate patients about their illness and home care before they leave. This, combined with too-short hospital stays, means a patient ends up coming back to the hospital more frequently. 

Kemp said the CNA’s argument that the staffing ratios are unsafe is “absolutely untrue. The hospital does not want to do anything unsafe for its patients,” she said. 

Moreover, she contended that the CNA was acting prematurely.  

“The wisest thing is to wait and see what (the rules) propose. No one knows what they will be.”

Wednesday, Dec. 12

Hawaiian Festival 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Dancers, music and refreshments. 644-6343 

Lecture Series on Women  

Medieval Mystics 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

All Souls Parish 

2220 Cedar St. 

Three Women Mystics: An Advent Lecture Series. Exploration of their spiritual quests designed to offer a new sense of spiritual possibilities in modern times. Free. Supervised childcare will be provided. 848-1755. 

Near Death Experience  

Support Group 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Church 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

International Association of Near-Death Studies offers an open, sharing, and supportive environment for the exploration of Near Death Experiences. 

Commission on Aging  

1:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Proposal for COA co-sponsorship of conference on future special transportation of seniors and people with disabilities with the City of Oakland, the Paratransit Advisory and Planning Committee PAPCO, the Commission on Disabilities and possibly the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority (ACTIA). 

Thursday, Dec. 13

Berkeley High School Band  

and Orchestra’s Winter  

Concert 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Community Theater 

Allston and MLK Jr. Way 

$4 gen., $1 students. 528-2098. 

Discussion on Mumia Abu  

Jamal 

7:30 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Bob Mandel and Sara Fuchs discuss the implications of Sept. 11 on the Mumia Abu Jamal case. $3. 653-7882 

The Challenges of Indonesia 

2 - 3 p.m. 

2223 Fulton Ave. 

6th Floor Conference Room 

Journalist, poet and former Editor of Tempo Magazine, Goenawan Mohamad. 642-3609. 

People’s Park Community Advisory Board 

7:30 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

Unit 1 Residence Hall Recreation Room 

2650 Durant Avenue 

Monthly meeting, community invited. The PP CAB reviews and makes recommendations on park policies, programs, and improvements. 642-7860, http://communityrelations.berkeley.edu. 

Snowcamping Class 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Chuck Collingwood and Martin Thomas present a slide lecture on the essentials for surviving overnight in the snow and discuss the basics for safe and enjoyable ski or snowshoe travel. 527-4140 

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Claremont Branch Library 

2940 Benvenue Ave. 

Monthly meeting that features people telling stories about the ways they have changed their lives by finding ways to work less, consume less. 549-3509, www.seedsofsimplicity.org. 

Gaia Building Open House  

Benefit 

4 - 8 p.m. 

The Gaia Building, 7th Floor 

2116 Allston Way 

The Gaia Building, a residential housing project, celebrates its opening with an open house to benefit the Berkeley Emergency Food and Housing Project. $10, sliding scale. 883-1000, panoramicinterests.com. 

Community Health  

Commission 

6:45 - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

The commission agenda includes increased funding for Public Health Infrastructure. 644-6109, phd@ci.berkeley.ca.us. 

Housing Advisory Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Discussion and final action of $1.4 million proposal by Affordable Housing Associates for new construction of 38 rental units for seniors at 2517 Sacramento St., Outback Senior Homes.  

Friday, Dec. 14

Partial-Solar Eclipse Viewing 

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Dr., just above UC Berkeley Campus 

Telescopes and specially designed sun-spotters will be set up for safe viewing of the partial eclipse. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Community Hanukkah Candle Lighting and Men’s Club Latka Bake 

6 p.m.  

Congregation Beth El 

2301 Vine St. 

6 p.m., Pot luck dinner with latkas; 7 p.m., community Hanukkah candle lighting; 7:30 p.m., Shabbat/Hanukkah Service, dreidel contest after services. 848-3988. 

Berkeley High School Jazz Lab Band 

7:30 p.m. 

Little Theatre 

1920 Allston Way 

First concert of the year. $8 for adults and $5 for seniors, BHS staff, and students. marylgear@ yahoo.com. 

Still Stronger Women 

1:15 - 3:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Literature, arts, women writers’ short stories. Free. 232-1351. 

Saturday, Dec. 15

Calendar Sale Fundraiser for  

Berkeley High School’s 

Communications and Art  

School 

9 - 11 a.m. 

2310 Valley St. 

A variety of calendars to raise funds for video equipment for CAS. 843-2780, lorberlin@aol.com. 

Berkeley Alliance of  

Neighborhood Associations 

9:30 a.m. 

Fire Side Room, Live Oak Park 

Shattuck Ave. & Berryman St. 

A network for and by local people to inform and support a positive future for all neighborhoods. 845-7967, anicoloff@aol.com 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market  

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, JR. Civic Center Park 

Fair will include organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages, and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

Santa's Solstice Bazaar 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Metaversal Lightcraft 

1708 University Ave. 

Come shop while kids visit with Santa for free. Fine arts, crafts, 

clothing and gift booths in a magical and colorful scene. 644-2032, www.lightcraft.org. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday  

Open Studios 

A Self-Guided Tour 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Various locations 

100 artists and craftspeople open their studios to the public. For a map and locations, www.berkeleyartisans.com, or 845-2612. 

Concert for the September  

11th Fund 

7:30 p.m. 

Congregation Beth El 

2301 Vine St. 

An evening of music, joy and community spirit. Adama band, with Achi Ben Shalom. All proceeds support the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. $18. 848-3988. 

18th Annual Telegraph Avenue  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Cookie Decorating at the Albany Library 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Albany Library 

1247 Marin Ave. 

Decorate a cookie dove. The finished doves will be donated to a local agency that provides food for the homeless. Free and open to all ages. Light refreshments will be served. 526-3720 x19. 

Borneo Holiday Craft Sale  

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Café de la Paz  

1600 Shattuck Ave. 

The Borneo Project’s second annual holdiday craft sale includes artists from around the world. Handmade rattan baskets, mats, beadwork, carved shields, artifacts and weavings. 547-4258, borneo@earthisland.org. 

Crone Moon Ceremony 

7:30 - 9:30 p.m. 

Epworth Church 

1953 Hopkins 

Women of all ages gather in circle to release the past. $10. 874-4935, www.eco-crones.org. 

Sunday, Dec. 16

Community Chanukah of  

Reconciliation  

5 - 6:30 p.m. 

2215 Prince St. 

Bring your menorah--Everyone welcome. 486-2744, bayareawomeninblack@earthlink.net. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

“Foundations: A Course in  

Theology” 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley 

2345 Channing Way 

Taught by Jennifer DeWeerth, Assistant Dean and Registrar at Pacific School of Religion. 849-8239, www.psr.edu. 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday  

Open Studios 

A Self-Guided Tour 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Various locations 

100 artists & craftspeople open their studios to the public. For a map and locations, www.berkeleyartisans.com, or 845-2612. 

18th Annual Telegraph Avenue 

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Sabrina Keys remembered receiving her first three form letters from college basketball programs when she was in the eighth grade. Her first hand-written letter came as the Berkeley High basketball standout started her sophomore season. Since then it’s been a steady stream of letters, visits to college campuses and, as Keys estimated, conversations with more than 50 schools.  

“I can’t even tell you where that first letter was from,” said Keys, who last month committed to Purdue for the 2002-03 season. “They all send so much information.” 

With college plans now finalized, the ’Jackets’ 6-foot-1 senior forward can devote her full attention to leading one of Northern California’s top girls’ basketball teams, which has competed in the state championship game the last two seasons. Berkeley lost to Narbonne High 48-45 in last year’s final – the second straight year the Harbor City-based Gauchos defeated the ’Jackets in the title game at ARCO Arena in Sacramento. 

“We basically won that game,” Keys said, referring to last year’s contest. “But with 18 seconds left and the game tied, the referee called a cheap offensive foul. It was like the game was stripped from us.” 

Listening to Keys talk, it’s obvious that the disappointing loss is still fresh in the team’s collective mind, possibly providing an extra bit of motivation to help Berkeley clear that final hurdle this season.  

“We’re going to take it this year,” she said emphatically.  

As the tallest player on the ’Jackets’ team last season, Keys retained her familiar position in the post and helped the ’Jackets compile a 27-6 record by averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds per game. This season, however, Berkeley welcomed 6-foot-3 freshman Devanei Hampton to bump and bang inside.  

“I’ve been helping her out on defense,” Keys said. “She reminds me of myself a lot, but taller. She’s very aggressive and is playing really well.” 

Keys moved to the power forward spot to make room for Hampton and can now utilize her dribbling ability and drive to the basket or pop a shot from the outside. 

While Hampton gives Berkeley added height, the ’Jackets also need to fill the hole left by Robin Roberson, last year’s leading scorer who graduated and now plays for the Arizona Wildcats. As a senior, Keys will be counted on to keep the team dominant. 

“Fundamentally (Keys’) game is very sound,” said Berkeley coach Gene Nakamura. “She’s also a warrior. She’ll go out and battle and isn’t afraid to get physical.” 

Keys’ ultimate plan is to have her game mimic that of her favorite player: Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal.  

“I love how aggressive and how powerful he is,” Keys said, who like Shaq, dons jersey No. 34. “If I was dunking I would do it like him. He’s just so big and unstoppable. I plan on being like that one day – unstoppable.” 

Keys traced her aggressive roots on the court to the fourth grade. Without a girls’ basketball team, the elementary school boys’ coach recruited her to play on his team. At the time Keys was the tallest girl at her school, but she still gave up some height to a handful of her new teammates. 

“I played on the all-boys team in the fourth and fifth grades,” Keys said. “I think that’s what got me so aggressive. I was out there yelling and playing like a boy.”  

While merely a sixth-grader, Keys played on a summer travel team made up of high school sophomores and juniors. 

“I was horrible when I played on that team,” Keys said. “My parents used to come to games and wonder what I was doing. I was really bad, but I got better because I played (with older players).” 

Indeed, she got much better. Heavily recruited by schools in the Pac-10, Big-10 and several other conferences, Keys found she could write her own collegiate ticket. 

“I had offers to go just about anywhere,” Keys said. “I knew that I didn’t want to play in the Pac-10. That’s just not my style of ball.” 

The Pac-10, she said, characteristically showcases athletic guards rather than power forwards and centers. As such, Keys said that the conference tends to “call every little foul” and doesn’t let the bigger bodies play their game.  

“I want to bang inside,” she said. 

So the San Francisco native signed with Big 10 powerhouse Purdue, not only because the school suited her style of play, but also because Keys admired the coaching staff.  

“They were the only ones I could communicate with as if they were friends,” she said. “I wanted to go somewhere that made me feel like it was a home.” 

A successful basketball program didn’t hurt either. Purdue, which won the national title in 1999, finished last season with a 31-7 record before losing to Notre Dame, 68-66, in the final. The Boilermakers are ranked No. 7 this season. 

“I think I would have chosen them because of their coaches even if they weren’t champions,” Keys said. “I’m not saying I would have gone there if they were horrible, but probably if they were just an OK team.”  

Nakamura, who has coached Keys since her freshman year, described his star forward as an “all-around player” who has worked hard on improving her offense this season. 

“She’s always been a great post defender,” he said, “but now she’s increased her shooting range and is driving to the basket better. She’s a very versatile player.” 

And as for overall talent? 

“She’s right up there,” Nakamura said. “I’ve had a lot of good post players, but Sabrina is as tough as anyone and plays as hard as anyone. She’s just a joy to coach.”

ditor: 

The Lawrence Berkeley Lab has been stating to the public, the Berkeley City Council, and the media that the National Tritium Labeling Facility has been shut down as of December 6, 2001. It is my understanding that the Lawrence Berkeley Lab has been actively seeking a new life under the Department of Energy without notifying the public, the City Council or the Community Environmental Advisory Commission. I understand that the Lawrence Berkeley Lab has filed lengthy documents with another agency to be permitted to treat and dispose of mixed waste generated by activities at the National Tritium Facility. We do not want tritium contaminated materials burned or otherwise treated in this community. 

This seems to be the usual deceptive, destructive, manipulative, macho cowboy way the Lawrence Berkeley Lab has operated in the past, with the collusion of the University of California. 

From a recent article on the Tritium Labeling Facility closure in “Science” journal (v. 294, Nov. 2, 2001, p. 977-8), it is clear that Elmer Grossman, the Chair of the CEAC, is now representing himself as the spokesman for the Lawrence Berkeley Lab and the University of California. His statements do not represent the viewpoint of the Berkeley City Council which twice voted to close the facility, nor of the CEAC where it was never discussed nor a vote taken on what statements Grossman should be making as chair. Why is he making statements to the media which support LBNL actions which endanger public health? After all, he is a medical doctor. At the last CEAC meeting on Nov. 1, his designated replacement, Mr. Simon MD, told me that tritium is not a dangerous substance and that there was too much concern about it.  

It is obvious that both Grossman and Simon, as members of the medical profession, should be telling people the truth. It is simple to open a physics or chemistry handbook and understand the danger to living systems that radioactive hydrogen poses.  

In addition, in documents filed with the city clerk, Mr. Robert Clear does not state his employer nor job description, but gives a Lawrence Berkeley National Lab phone number as his work number. If Mr. Clear is an employee of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab this information should be added to his CEAC paperwork and he should not be voting on the CEAC on issues concerning the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. 

It is obvious that the CEAC has been infiltrated by the Lawrence Berkeley Lab, and that the statements of Grossman and documents secretly filed to extend the life of the Tritium Labeling Facility have compromised the effectiveness of the CEAC and exposed the collusion of the University of California in proposed activities which will endanger public health. 

The public citizens, Berkeley City Council, the Community Environmental Advisory Commission, and the media deserve some answers with regard to implementation of your three- phase closure plan. 

Leuren Moret 

Berkeley 

924 Gilman Dec. 14: Hot Water Music, American Steel, F-Minus, Trial By Fire; Dec. 15: Strung Out, Limp, The Frisk, The Deadlines, The Creeps; Dec. 16: 5 p.m., Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Downway, Audio Crush; Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic, Breaker Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Dec. 13: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 15: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; Dec. 18: Panacea; Dec. 19: Whiskey Brothers; Dec. 20: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 27: Keni “El Lebrijano”; All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

Anna’s Dec. 10: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 11: Singers’ Open Mike #2; Dec. 12: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 13: Rev. Rabia, The Blueswoman; Dec. 14: Anna and Mark Little on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 15: Jazz Singers Vicki Burns and Felice York; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 16: The Jazz Fourtet; Dec. 17: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 18: Tangria Jazz Trio; Dec. 19: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 20: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Dec. 21: Anna and Percy Scott on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 22: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 23: Jazz Singer Ed Reed; All music starts 8 p.m. unless noted. 1801 University Ave., 849-2662. 

Ashkenaz Dec. 12: 9 p.m., Mz. Dee & Blues Alley, $8; Dec. 13: 10 p.m., Grateful Dead DJ Nite, $5; Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Musicians for Medical Marijuana benefit featuring: Fact Or Fiction and Greggs Eggs, $15; Dec. 15: 9 p.m., California Cajun Orchestra, $15; Dec. 16: 2 - 5:30 p.m., Alexandria Parafina and The Near Eastern Dance Company belly dance, $ 7; Dec. 16: 7 p.m., Afghan Women’s Benefit Dance, $8 - $15; 1317 San Pablo Ave., 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.  

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Dec. 16: 3-8 p.m., Beverly Stovall Benefit, Jimmy McCracklin, JJ Malone, Jimi Mamou, Johnny Talbott. $10. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight & Salvage Coffee House Dec. 12: Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart; Dec. 13: Kevin Burke; Dec. 14: Dale Miller; Dec. 15: Robin Flower & Libby McLaren; Jan. 6: Allette Brooks. All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Dec. 23: 7:30 p.m., an evening of Irish music and dance with Todd Denman and friends. $10, $5 children; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, Program of classical favorites of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra; Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, sizzling program of classical party music; Jan. 12: 8:p.m., “Club Dance,” Teens come together to express their individual personalities and gifts as dancers. $10, Students and Seniors $6, Children ages 5 and under $6. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Dec. 12: Mushroom; Dec. 13: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 14: Broun Fellini’s; Dec. 15: Norah Jones and Jim Campilongo; Dec. 19: Spectraphonic; Dec. 20: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 21: Crater; Dec. 22: Post Junk Trio; Dec. 27: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 28: Ben Krames & Candlelight Dub; Dec. 29: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Kirk Tamura Trio; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Holly Near, $15-$17; Dec. 16: 5 p.m, Flamenca Community Juerga, Free; Dec. 16: 7 p.m, Modupue & UpSurge, $8; Dec. 23: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568, www.lapena.org 

“Music on Telegraph” 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. 

Rose Street House Dec. 14 & 15: 7:30 p.m., Benefit Concert and Birthday Party, Shelly Doty and grassroots community of women singers and song writers; Dec. 25: 3 p.m., Annual “Dykelah Escape-from-you-know-what-day Musical Extravaganza!”; Jan.17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

TUVA Space Dec. 16: 8 p.m., A concert of new compositions for string trio by young composers from Berkeley High School. $0 to $20. 3192 Adeline, td@pixar.com. 

“WAVE,” Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble Dec.14: 7:30 p.m., concert of Christmas music. $10, Students $5. Calvary Presbyterian Church, 1940 Virginia St., 848-9132. 

Bella Musica Chorus and Orchestra Dec. 15: 8 p.m.; Dec. 16: 4 p.m., Fall 2001 Concert, $15; St. Joseph-the Worker Church, 1640 Addison, 525-5393, www.bellamusica.org. 

“The Christmas Revels” Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Dec. 15: 1 & 5 p.m., Dec. 16: 1 & 5 p.m., celtic music, dance and storry telling. $15-$30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 893-9853 www.calrevels.org.  

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Dec. 18: 8 p.m., under the direction of Maestro Kent Nagano, plus the world premiere of Ichiro Nodaira’s “Kodama” written for and featuring Mari and Momo Kodama. $21 - $45. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 841-2800, jeaston@berkeleysymphony.org. 

The Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir’s 5th Annual Christmas Concert Dec. 22: 7 p.m., “The Reason Why We Sing” The Regents Theater, Holy Names College, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, 839-4361, www.oigc.org. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley Dec. 15: 2 p.m., “All-Brahms piano recital,” Yu-Ting Chen performs. Free; Jan. 6: 3 p.m., Stephen Genz in his West Coast debut; 2345 Channing Way, 527-8175, www.geocities.com/ mostlybrahms. 

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Dec. 14: 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 15: 7:30 p.m.; California Shakespeare Festival Student Company, presents a comedy with romance. Free. Rehearsal Hall, 701 Heintz St. 548-3422 X114. sunny@calshakes.org. 

“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 

“Black Nativity” Through Dec. 16th: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2:30 p.m., 8 p.m., Sun. 5:30 p.m.; The birth of Jesus unfolds in this drama written by Langston Hughes. Directed and produced by Betty Gadling. $15 adults, $8 seniors and students, $5 children over 5. Allen Temple Baptist Church, 8501 International Blvd., Oakland 569-9418 www.allen-temple.org 

“The Christmas Revels” Through Dec. 16: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. - Sun. 1 p.m., 5 p.m. ; A cast of adults and children present a celebration of the winter solstice that combines dance, drama, ritual, and song. $15 - $30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 510-893-9853 www.calrevels.org  

“Much Ado About Nothing” 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 

“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 

“Berkeley Creations” Dec. 15: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., A group exhibit. Artist-at-Play Studio and Gallery, 1649 Hopkins St., 528-0494. 

“The Paintings of Bethany Anne Ayers and Sculpture of Alexander Cheves” 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 

“Veiled and Revealed” Through Dec. 23: Human beings, costumed in native dress are captured by visual artists in a seven-person exhibit. Sat. Dec. 8, 15, and 23, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. Simultaneously showing at ART-A-FACT, 1109 Addison St., and Metaversal Lightcraft, 1708 University Ave. 848-1985 

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” Dec. 19 through Jan. 8: An exhibit featuring Kathleen Flannigan’s drawing and furniture - boxes, tables, and mirrors, all embellished with images of the beauty and innocence of the natural world. Addison Street Windows, 2018 Addison St. 

“Matrix 195” 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 

Ardency Gallery, Mark J. Leavitt, “Analogous Biology: Balance and Use,” Dec. 20 through Jan. 19; Tue. - Sat., 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., 709 Broadway, Oakland. 836-0831, www.artolio.com. 

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 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” Dec. 19 through Feb. 2: An exhibition of painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography and more by Bay Area and  

regional artists. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., www.proartsgallery.org. 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” 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 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” Dec. 12 through Mar. 10: A selection of photographs and memorabilia presenting a different perspective on Adam’s career as one of the leading figures in American photography. Wed, Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $4- $6. University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.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. Jan. 8: Theodore Hamm discusses “Rebel and a Cause: Caryl Chessman and the Politics of the Death Penalty”; Jan. 10: Joan Frank reads from her new book, “Boys Keep Being Born”; Jan. 11: Christopher Hitchens, “Letters to a Youn Contrarian”; Jan. 14: Pamela Logan talks about “Tibetan Rescue: A Woman’s Quest to Save the Fabulous Art Treasures of Pewar Monastery”; All events are free and start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852. 

Coffee With A Beat - Word Beat reading series Dec. 15: Norm Milstein, Barbara Minton; Dec. 22: Debra Grace Khattab, Jesy Goldhammer; Dec. 29: Steve Arntson, Michelle Erickson, Clare Lewis; All readings are free and begin at 7 p.m., 458 Perkins, Oakland, 526-5985, www.angelfire.com/poetry/wordbeat. 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore Dec. 11: 7:30 p.m., Lisa Bach, editor of “Her Fork in the Road”, a collection of stories blending food and travel, and a panel of contributors to the anthology, present an evening of readings and discussions. Free. 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

“Rhythm & Muse Open Mic” Dec. 15: 7 p.m., Featuring poets Lara Dale and Mary-Marcia Casoly. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 527-9753 

Shambhala Booksellers Dec. 16: 7 p.m., Eli Jaxon-Bear reads from his new book, “The Enneagram of Liberation: from fixation to freedom.” 2482 Telegraph Ave., 848-8443.  

“World Ground Poetry” Dec.19: 7-9 p.m., Featuring Abdul Kenyatta & Paradise Freejahlove Supreme; World Ground Cafe, 3726 Mac Arthur Blvd., 482-2933, www.worldgrounds.com. 

Tours 

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

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 

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. 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 “Kwanzaa Community Celebration” Dec. 30: 12-4 p.m.,Nia Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that honors black family history; 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 Dec. 26: 1 p.m., Professor Smart’s Fun with Physics Show; Dec. 27: 1 p.m., Slapstick with Derique; Dec. 28: 1 p.m., Rhythmix; Dec. 29: 1 p.m., Magic with Jay Alexander; Dec. 30: 1 p.m., Music and Storytelling with Dennis Hysom; Dec. 31: 1 p.m., New Year’s Eve Party, special daytime holiday party for kids; Dec. 26 through 31: Free Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb; Through Jan. 26: Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters; “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; Open daily, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley, 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org. 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 Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the mayor and Berkeley City Council: 

Berkeley Design Advocates recently sent you copies of a report with recommendations for the proposed new General Plan and the Housing Element. BDA is a public service organization of design and planning professionals, affordable housing, environmental and neighborhood advocates, architectural historians, construction and development business persons and others interested in good design and the future environmental quality of life in Berkeley. Our report is based upon our study of the Draft General Plan. It recognizes the critical need for effective housing policies in Berkeley. As you make your decisions on changes and additions to the Plan, we urge you to strengthen the final document to achieve a Plan that reflects Berkeley’s commitment to progressive change. This letter summarizes the key points in our report and emphasizes the areas where the plan needs further improvement. 

The Draft Plan is a conservative document, focused on maintaining the status quo. It needs a larger vision of Berkeley’s role in meeting the needs of local and regional population growth, including policies and actions that will add housing and enable more people to enjoy living and working in Berkeley.  

1. Add policies supporting more housing for all income groups. Clear policies are required to support, permit and encourage higher levels of housing development for all income groups in Berkeley to preserve regional agriculture and open space and to reduce commuting distances, traffic congestion and pollution. 

2. Identify the need for new moderate and middle income housing and add policies and action programs to achieve this. 

Berkeley is a job-rich city with an increasing imbalance of housing to jobs. Berkeley must address this problem within Berkeley. The plan needs new policies, specific goals and action steps that support new construction to meet the housing needs of moderate and middle income people, such as teachers, firepersons, librarians, city and university staff. 

Actions to encourage the private sector to build middle income housing should include: higher density zoning and specific zoning standards, through-block zones along commercial corridors, minimum height requirements and required mixed uses with housing downtown and on major thoroughfares, use of public land for high density projects.  

3. Emphasize acquisition of existing housing to achieve low income housing goals 

The goal for 6,400 units of housing for low and very low income people is a major improvement over the earlier drafts. The plan and implementation strategies should support non-profit acquisition and management of existing housing as the most effective way to achieve this goal.  

4. Support new development in selected areas Plan policies should support significant change and higher densities in areas of the city that will be improved by new development. The action program should direct the Planning Commission to identify and rezone specific areas where the scale and context are ready for change; where existing heights and densities are inadequate to attract development, or remain untapped; where the population density is too low to support desirable improvements to public transit systems, where active street life and desirable local serving businesses, successful ground level office and retailing spaces are lacking. 

Michael O’Leary, Chair 

Berkeley Design Advocates 

OAKLAND – The Alameda County Board of Supervisors relied on faulty data earlier this year when it voted to build a 420-bed juvenile hall in Dublin, according to a new report by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, an Oakland-based nonprofit with a national reputation on juvenile justice issues. 

Community activists opposed to the project, which is currently in the planning stages, praised the nonprofit’s report Tuesday at a press conference in Oakland.  

“The numbers are not right, according to the top experts in the country,” said Van Jones, director of Books Not Bars, a San Francisco-based advocacy group, “and it’s time to shut (the project) down.” 

The NCCD report alleges that a 1998 study, prepared for the county by Rosser International of Atlanta, Ga., erred when it projected growth in youth detention rates. The inflated figures, the report contends, provided false justification for the large number of beds in the proposed facility. 

The current juvenile hall, an aging 299-bed facility in San Leandro, holds young people younger than age 18 awaiting trial. In many cases, the detention center also holds young people who have already been through trial and are waiting for placement in a group home or other program. 

Rosser officials would not comment on the council’s report. But Supervisor Gail Steele, who voted for the new juvenile hall, dismissed the group’s criticism. Steele said the 1998 Rosser study, and a 1991 report before it, may have projected slightly inflated detention rates. But, she said, the errors are not significant enough to justify a wholesale re-evaluation of the supervisors’ decision. 

“I do not think the studies are fundamentally flawed,” Steele said, predicting that the construction of the new $117 million detention hall, part of a larger $176 million Dublin complex approved by the Board of Supervisors, will go ahead as planned.  

The county is currently preparing an Environmental Impact Report for the complex. The county is scheduled to complete construction in September 2005. 

Activists have argued that the proposed juvenile hall is much too large for the area, saying it would rival the 498-bed facility in Chicago’s Cook County, which contains 5 million citizens, compared to Alameda County’s 1.4 million. 

They have also argued that the hall would be too remote from urban areas, making it difficult for parents to travel to the facility. 

Rachel Jackson, state field director for Books Not Bars, said the county should build a smaller hall, with about 250 beds, in Oakland.  

Jackson also said the county should focus on expediting young people through the justice system, and developing alternatives to detention to cut down on any overcrowding at the juvenile hall. 

“The county is choosing to invest in incarceration,” said Jackson, “and detention is actually harmful. It’s harmful to the youth themselves, and it’s harmful to public safety.” Jackson said exposure to criminals only encourages unlawful behavior. 

Supervisor Keith Carson, who represents Berkeley, also called for a full examination of alternatives to incarceration. 

“Today, across the country, there are a number of programs in place that would be better than the first step being juvenile hall,” Carson said. “We need to do an assessment of all the alternatives out there.” 

But Steele said it is unrealistic to expect a significant investment in alternatives, given that youth programs have never received heavy funding.  

“I have spent a lifetime trying to create programs to keep kids out of the hall,” said Steele. “The funding for intervention programs is like a twinkle in the eye. It has never been there.” 

Steele said the projected budget deficit will only make it more difficult to put preventative programs in place. She said the county should, instead, focus on building a new facility while it has the opportunity. 

“I choose not to give up on our kids,” Carson responded, when told of Steele’s remarks. But, he said he was not optimistic about the Board of Supervisors reversing course on the new juvenile hall. 

Editor: 

Regarding the Dec. 7 article “Protesters Say Hemp is Food Not Drugs.” The banning of hemp food products without involvement from legislators or voters is entirely unfair, and not becoming a government claiming to support “due process” and “checks and balances.”  

Will the DEA actually pay any attention to the strong protests of those who make a living off the hemp food industry, or those that consume the products? I doubt it. 

Adam Wiggins 

Director, Neoteric 

Pasadena 

Six housing projects for low-income and disabled people will vie for city funding at a special meeting of the Housing Advisory Commission Thursday night. 

The city has $1.9 million in its Housing Trust Fund this year. The six requests for HTF money amount to $4.75 million, making the decision on how the funds will be awarded particularly difficult.  

“This is one of those times when we have a number of good proposals, and would need more money than we have to move ahead with all of them,” said Steve Barton, the city’s director of housing. 

The projects will also be heard at tonight’s Planning Commission meeting. The commission will assess whether any of the proposed projects are likely to run into problems during their permitting and building phases. 

Three of those projects are asking for more than $1 million, meaning that only one of them will be funded. 

Two of the large projects are for new senior housing.  

Affordable Housing Associates is asking for $1.4 million to build “Outback Senior Homes,” a 38-unit development planned for 2517 Sacramento St. It includes 26 low-income apartments for senior citizens. 

“We feel our project is the most competitive of the three projects, because it’s the most ready to go,” said AHA’s Kevin Zwick, Outback’s project manager. 

Zwick said that the development had already applied for a use permit, and is scheduled to be heard at the Zoning Adjustments Board and the Design Review Committee. 

He added that AHA had gone through several rounds of design, and had answered neighbors’ original criticisms of the project. 

“This project significantly reduces the height of the building, the density of the project and traffic concerns in neighborhood,” Zwick said. 

AHA is promising to repay the loan within 15 years. HTF loans are usually open-ended, as the city only asks grantees for a percentage of profits, if there are any. 

Jubilee Restoration and Resources for Community Development are seeking $1.25 million to build “Jubilee Senior Homes,” a 27-unit senior housing complex at 2575 San Pablo Ave. 

“We’re confident that our project serves the community,” said Jubilee’s Todd Harvey. “It’s well-designed, and it’s on a major transit corridor, which serves the needs of the elderly.” 

Harvey said that minority residents would likely benefit from the project, as there are many low-income, minority senior citizens already living in the west Berkeley neighborhood.  

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency is asking for $1.35 million to build seven new multifamily units and various health and culture facilities at Ursula Sherman Village, 711 Harrison St. 

The units are targeted to low-income adults and families and homeless people. 

BOSS is also asking for $186,000 to rehabilitate McKinley House, a transitional home for women with children, many of whom are fleeing an abusive spouse. 

Two other projects are seeking small grants to help them complete work on projects currently in development.  

The group “Berkeley Youth Living with Disabilities” is seeking $65,000 to repay a loan incurred during construction of a 6-bedroom facility for severely disabled children. 

Adeline Street Apartments is asking for $332,000 to complete work on its project, which is targeted for physically disabled people and AIDS patients. 

The HAC recommendations will be forwarded to the City Council, which is expected to vote on the matter early next year. 

The Housing Advisory Commission will meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. The Planning Commission will meet at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave., tonight at 7:00 p.m.

Editor: 

Kudos to Berkeley’s Students for Sensible Drug Policy activists for protesting the Drug Enforcement Administration’s ban on hemp products, products that are incapable of getting anyone high. The DEA’s marijuana jihad seems even more absurd when placed in a historical context. Prior to the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 few Americans had heard of marijuana, despite widespread cultivation of its non-intoxicating cousin, industrial hemp.  

The first marijuana laws were a racist reaction to Mexican immigration during the early 1900’s, passed in large part due to newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst’s sensationalist yellow journalism. Incredibly violent acts were allegedly committed by minorities under marijuana’s influence. White Americans did not even begin to smoke marijuana until a soon-to-be entrenched government bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda.  

These days marijuana is confused with 60’s counterculture. This intergenerational culture war does far more harm than marijuana. Illegal marijuana provides the black market contacts that introduce consumers to hard drugs like meth. This “gateway” is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. As long as marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized crime, consumers will continue to be exposed to sellers of hard drugs. Taxing and regulating the sale of marijuana to adults is a cost-effective alternative to the $50 billion war on some drugs.  

At present the drug war is causing tremendous societal harm, while failing miserably at preventing use. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. In terms of addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn’t fight crime, it fuels crime. Students who want to make a difference should contact Students for Sensible Drug Policy at http://www.ssdp.org. 

Robert Sharpe, M.P.A. 

Program Officer 

The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation 

Washington, DC  

Josh Daniels selected as head resident at Wesleyan University  

Josh Daniels, a junior at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., has been selected to be the head resident of The Butterfield, a Residence Hall for the 2001-2002 academic year.  

Daniels, a graduate of Berkeley High School, is the son of Joan Daniels and is a resident of Berkeley, according to a Wesleyan press release. 

The head residents are experienced, student residential staff, who are specifically trained to deal effectively with issues of student life and residence-hall administration. Each head resident, who supervises a staff of resident advisers, is responsible for the quality of life in the assigned residential area in which they reside. If a resident experiences a problem requiring more skilled intervention, the HR will provide the necessary assistance.  

Wesleyan enrolls approximately 2,700 undergraduates, who pursue a curriculum in the liberal arts and sciences. Approximately 150 graduate students are enrolled in masters and doctoral programs in sciences, mathematics and ethnomusicology. 

Nicholas Yim studies down under 

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Nicholas Yim, son of Darrell and Linda Yim of Berkeley, spent the fall of 2001 studying at the James Cook University in Australia as part of the Middlebury College Study Abroad program. Yim is a member of the Middlebury class of 2003. 

During each school year, more than half of the college’s junior class participates in study abroad – it is anticipated that nearly 350 Middlebury students will travel to 40 countries and enter 90 different programs and universities this year. 

Middlebury encourages students to take part in the study abroad program during their junior year, and the college’s off-campus study office helps them to enroll in schools around the globe for one or two semesters.  

Students gain academic credit for successfully completed coursework in the program. They bring back an enhanced international perspective before they graduate with the rest of their classmates upon completion of their remaining senior year, according to a Middlebury press statement.  

To be eligible for the study abroad program, students must maintain an overall grade average of B- or better, as well as an average of B or better in the major, proficiency at the advanced level in the language of the country, and a strong academic rationale for studying abroad.

Conscientious objectors will have to wait a while to pass on their information via city wires after the City Council delayed its decision Tuesday on whether or not Berkeley will lend a hand to the group’s cause. 

The original proposal called for workers who answer the city’s general information phones to be supplied with material about the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors. 

The idea, proposed by the city’s Peace and Justice Commission, was to have information available for people who might call asking about how to avoid military combat. 

The commission adopted a resolution earlier this month noting Berkeley’s “unique and honored tradition of promoting alternative social values and viewpoints including nonviolence and pacifism.” 

“During this time of military action, especially, we felt it was important that young people, who are of an age to consider enrolling in the military, have the full range of information available to them,” said Commissioner Steve Freedkin. 

Freedkin said he doesn’t know of any instances where someone has called the city to ask about avoiding the military, but it would be good for city staff to be prepared. 

The item was to have been decided on the “consent calendar,” where issues are agreed upon without discussion. But councilmembers who are part of the moderate faction questioned the item.  

“There’s no draft, so there’s no point in being a conscientious objector,” said Councilmember Polly Armstrong. 

Councilmember Betty Olds, also a moderate, offered a compromise: Refer people to armed forces recruiting numbers if they want to sign up, she said. 

Instead, the council decided to pull the item from the consent calendar and have a more thorough discussion on it at a later meeting.

SACRAMENTO — California had the largest Death Row population of any state, but just nine executions since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday. 

“Our attorneys are frustrated by the pace. Victims throughout the state are incredibly frustrated by the pace,” said Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for state Attorney General Bill Lockyer. “There’s no reason for these cases to take 20 years.” 

However, he and death penalty opponents said the pace reflects a deliberate approach that has helped protect California from the sort of highly publicized convictions of innocents that prompted Illinois to declare a moratorium and raised fairness questions in Texas. 

“It’s a little bloodthirsty, it seems to me, to suggest that we’re killing people too slowly,” said actor Mike Farrell, president of Death Penalty Focus. 

He and other opponents questioned the racial fairness of the death penalty in California and across the nation, along with other regional inequities. 

In California, 349 of those awaiting execution were white and 215 black at the end of 2000. Twelve women and 114 Hispanics were on Death Row (the two sets of numbers overlap). 

California has the most inmates awaiting execution — 586 at the end of 2000 — mainly because of its massive population, said Frank Zimring, a University of California, Berkeley, law professor who has studied California prisons for more than 20 years. 

The state had eight executions from 1977 through 2000, the period covered by the Justice Department report, and added a ninth this year with the execution of Robert Lee Massie. 

California’s pace of executions is “quite typical of northern industrial states with big Death Rows,” Zimring said. “Obviously governments and judges are more ambivalent about executions in northern industrial states than they are in the South. ... It’s a startling difference.” 

Also slowing down executions in California are a higher concentration of federal judges reluctant to support the death penalty, said Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, who thinks judges are too cautious. 

Death penalty appellate attorney Aundre Herron countered that federal judges in particular serve as a vital check on overzealous prosecutors. 

“Once these cases are really closely looked at, they don’t pass constitutional muster,” said Herron, who sits on the boards of Death Penalty Focus and the American Civil Liberties Union. 

California’s high Death Row population comes, in part, because of hard-line lawmakers and prosecutors, she said. “Almost every murder is death-eligible in this state,” and most prosecutors are reluctant not to seek executions when they can.

SACRAMENTO — California will face a growing shortage of qualified teachers in this decade as older instructors retire in record numbers and schools hire more teachers without preliminary credentials, a study says. 

“Many states face shortages of skilled teachers, but none at the scale of California,” says a report released Wednesday by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning. 

The nonprofit organization said the state will need to make “significant improvements” in teacher pay and working conditions to eliminate the shortage. 

Kerry Mazzoni, Gov. Gray Davis’ education secretary, called the study a “good report,” but said it didn’t reflect recent state efforts to attract, train and retain teachers. 

The state’s optimistic its programs will help fix some of the problems in the report, she said, mentioning a $200 million plan that could be used to help attract veteran teachers to low-performing schools. 

Last year, 14 percent of the state’s 301,000 public school teachers didn’t have the preliminary teaching credential the state has traditionally said is the minimum requirement to manage a classroom. 

The number of teachers without preliminary credentials is projected to reach 21 percent — about 65,000 out of 309,000 instructors — by 2009 as experienced teachers retire or leave the profession, the study said. 

Forty percent of the state’s current teachers are at least 50 years old and are approaching retirement age. 

California schools have had to depend on some instructors with emergency teaching permits for a number of years, but their use started increasing sharply after 1995, when the state ordered class sizes cut from 30-plus to 20 in the four lowest grades. 

The traditional route for most people interested in becoming teachers has been to pass college or university courses and get on-the-job training as a student teacher before taking over a classroom. 

Now, however, most new California teachers start work before finishing classes or student teaching, the report said. 

As earlier reports have said, those underprepared teachers land most often in schools serving low-income neighborhoods, and the problem is getting worse, the study said. 

In nearly half of California schools fewer than 5 percent of the teachers are not fully credentialed and almost a third have no underprepared instructors, according to the report. 

But in a quarter of the public schools — mostly schools in urban areas — more than 20 percent of teachers are not fully credentialed. 

“When the data are examined by poverty or race or academic achievement, it is starkly apparent that students who are poor, black or Hispanic or who are in low-performing schools have those teachers who are the least prepared by far,” the study said. 

The report also found that: 

— Support programs available for beginning teachers vary and are often lacking in schools with large numbers of underprepared teachers. 

— The state has one of the most comprehensive programs to help new teachers move into the profession, but many underprepared teachers are not eligible for the program. 

— Only about one in five teachers say the ongoing training they receive after they start their careers has increased their effectiveness a lot. 

— Less than a quarter of teachers say their ongoing training has adequate follow-up. 

Besides calling for long-range improvements in teacher salaries and working conditions in general, the report recommends the state provide additional financial incentives to bring veteran teachers to low-performing schools. 

“The most important thing for the state to do this (coming) year is to really zero in on these low-performing schools,” said Harvey Hunt, the center’s co-director. 

The report also recommends eliminating emergency credentials for underprepared teachers by 2006 and making other improvements in teacher training and continuing education programs. 

Mazzoni predicted the state will phase out emergency credentials and instead require new instructors without credentials to take part in intern programs. But she said it would be risky to set a firm cutoff date. 

Hunt agreed that the Legislature and Davis have “already taken some pretty significant steps to address” problems cited by the report. 

“The teacher preparation programs have been expanded and standards have been increased,” he said. ”(They’ve) expanded preparation options and dramatically expanded what we call induction — the shepherding of new teachers into the profession the first couple of years.” 

He said those improvements were taken into account in making the study’s projections. But he added, “Some of these programs are so new that their impact can’t be identified.” 

Funding for the study was provided by California State University and a number of private foundations. 

———— 

On the Net: Read the report at www.cftl.org 

Presidio Trust director resigns 

SAN FRANCISCO — The executive director of the Presidio Trust has resigned amid allegations of financial mismanagement of efforts to convert the former Army post into a self-sustaining national park. 

James Meadows’ decision to leave after four years on the job was announced Monday by the trust’s board of directors, which voted unanimously to accept the resignation. 

Board chairman Toby Rosenblatt said the move was made after months of behind-the-scenes discussions between Meadows and the board. It came after published reports of a variety of troubles involving Meadows, including huge cost overruns on Presidio projects. 

The Presidio Trust is a private organization authorized by an act of Congress in 1996 and is empowered to make the Presidio into a financially self-sustaining venture. 

Recycling rate up across the bay 

SAN FRANCISCO — San Franciscans are recycling at increasingly higher rates thanks to new programs that recycle everything from pizza boxes to demolition debris. 

City officials announced Tuesday that 46 percent of the city’s trash was recycled last year, up from 42 percent in 1999. 

Last year, San Francisco generated more than 1.6 million tons of trash. Of that, nearly 873,000 tons were sent to landfills and an estimated 748,000 tons were recycled. 

Of the 1.35 million tons of garbage generated in 1999, 568,000 tons were recycled. This year’s figures will not be reported until late next year. 

Officials attributed the jump to new programs for homes and businesses that are turning food waste from coffee filters to turkey bones into compost and finding new uses for construction debris from wood to wallboard. 

American Eagle opens Oakland-L.A. route 

OAKLAND — American Airlines, which dropped service between Oakland and Los Angeles after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said Monday its affiliate will add flights between those cities. 

American Eagle will launch jet service between Oakland and Los Angeles international airports Feb. 5 with six daily roundtrips. Also, it is adding service from Los Angeles to Phoenix and Albuquerque, N.M., in February and from Los Angeles to Sacramento and Phoenix to San Jose in March. 

After the Sept. 11 attacks, most airlines cut jobs and flights. American Airlines ended its four daily roundtrips between Oakland and Los Angeles. Rival United Airlines shut down United Shuttle and cut regional flights. United now flies five daily roundtrips between Oakland and Los Angeles. 

SAN FRANCISCO — The Bar Association of San Francisco announced Tuesday the establishment of a three-year law school scholarship at Golden Gate University to be awarded to an Afghan woman. 

“Through the tragic events of Sept. 11, the world has come to know the abuses inflicted by a succession of governments in Afghanistan on its own people, particularly its women,” said bar president Angela Bradstreet. “This scholarship is one step toward correcting these injustices.” 

The Legal Advancement of Afghan Women Scholarship is intended to serve as a model for other law schools and bar associations throughout the United States. 

Applications for the scholarship, which will be supervised by a joint selection committee from BASF and Golden Gate University, are currently available to interested students through BASF. The committee then will oversee the application and selection process, with the goal of choosing the scholarship winner by the end of the first quarter of 2002. 

Preliminary steps have already been taken to identify potential candidates for the scholarship, which is open to female Afghan students from around the world.

SAN FRANCISCO — A serial rapist locked up at a state mental hospital nearly two weeks after a judge said he had no legal grounds to keep him in custody may be released Wednesday if the state Supreme Court refuses to hear the case. 

Patrick Ghilotti, 45, has been confined at Atascadero State Hospital for four years under a state law that allows sexually violent offenders to be committed for treatment after completing their prison sentences. 

Ghilotti, who has spent nearly half his life locked up, has been convicted of raping four Marin County women and has admitted to raping at least six others. 

Marin County Superior Court Judge John S. Graham ruled Nov. 30 that Ghilotti should be released the following day, when his latest two-year commitment expired. 

Instead, state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, at the urging of Gov. Gray Davis, filed an emergency petition with the high court asking it to block Ghilotti’s release, saying he remained a danger to the public. 

Chief Justice Ronald M. George said Tuesday the high court will “likely take action” Wednesday. 

Ghilotti had been slated to become California’s first sex predator released under a 1996 law under which hundreds of the state’s worst rapists and child molesters are sent to a mental hospital for treatment, a practice upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Two independent evaluators must certify the offender is mentally ill, a danger to society and likely to reoffend in order to commit him as a sexually violent predator. Once certified, the offender can be recommitted every two years. 

In Ghilotti’s case, three Mental Health Department psychologists have said the twice-convicted rapist no longer meets sexually violent predator criteria. 

His lawyer, Frank Cox, said there’s no legal reason to keep Ghilotti locked up. 

“I think the law is so black and white, so unequivocal, so clear,” Cox said Tuesday, adding his client is preparing to leave Atascadero. “This is a no-brainer.” 

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers and state officials proposed a spate of new laws Tuesday to counter terrorism, including new wiretap rules and the death penalty for terror attacks. 

A 17-point Assembly Republican plan would stiffen sentences for terror activities, including adding terrorism to the list of special circumstances for which the death penalty could be imposed. 

It also offers more tools for investigators, such as easing wiretap laws that Democratic Attorney General Bill Lockyer said were written before the days when criminals could swap cell phones at a moment’s notice. 

“It’s just logistically impossible” to get a new court-approved wiretap order each time a criminal switches phones, Lockyer told a joint legislative terrorism hearing Tuesday, the same day Republican lawmakers offered their plan. 

The law should be adapted to specify the individual and whatever phones she or he uses, Lockyer said. Republicans additionally propose to expand that to include e-mail and Internet communications, and to bar Internet providers from informing customers they’re under investigation. 

The proposals mirror the federal anti-terrorism law signed by President Bush last month. 

Lockyer said the state may also need a better definition of terrorism crimes. 

“What terrorists do is break other laws, so we get them one way or another,” Lockyer said. However, a better definition could help with investigations where other laws have not yet been broken, he said. 

Though Lockyer said most terror incidents would be handled by federal investigators, Assembly Republicans proposed to beef up penalties under state law. 

Those include up to 25 years in prison for spreading biological agents, and from 10 to 25 years for harboring or concealing a terrorist; committing or inciting terrorism, or conspiring to commit terrorism; laundering money for terrorists; or soliciting money or volunteers for terrorist organizations. 

Terrorist threats or hoaxes could bring a prison sentence of up to six years, a $250,000 fine and restitution. 

The GOP proposes to also remove the time limit on prosecuting terrorism, and require convicted terrorists to give DNA samples to be matched against a state database that might link them to other major crimes. It also attempts to make it tougher for suspected terrorists to get fake drivers’ licenses or permission to transport hazardous materials. 

The Republican plan will be considered among other proposals being developed by Democratic Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg’s terrorism task force when it meets to develop recommendations Dec. 19, said Hertzberg spokesman Luke Breit. 

“We’ll be taking anything that has to do with terrorism very seriously,” Breit said. The minority GOP proposals have no chance of passing without Democratic support. 

Lockyer and Dallas Jones, who heads the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said next year’s state budget should include money to beef up local health departments’ preparedness. More money also is needed to train and equip local emergency and law enforcement departments, Jones said. 

The committee’s chair, Assemblyman Herb Wesson, D-Culver City, who is set to become Assembly speaker next year, predicted it will cost California “billions of dollars” to beef up its emergency response. He promised trying to get much of that money from the federal government “will be one of my highest priorities” as speaker. 

Meanwhile, Gov. Gray Davis’ state committee on terrorism is expected to make about 100 recommendations to the governor this week. Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio said some of the recommendations may be made public. 

——— 

On the Net: http://republican.assembly.ca.gov 

PICO RIVERA — Visitors to Lyon Christmas Tree Farm come with saws in hand during the holiday season, looking for the perfect tree among rows of molded pines and cypresses growing under massive electric towers. 

“The smell just makes it Christmas,” said Berta Henning, 55, whose family has been cutting fresh trees for about 30 years. “We just got to have that Christmas smell.” 

But time is running out for this cut-your-own-tree operation, where 6,500 trees are grown in the narrow public utility plot between a housing track and a creek in this suburb 12 miles east of Los Angeles. 

For nearly 40 years, urban Christmas tree farms flourished in the open spaces under California power lines. Over the last decade, they have been forced out of cities or out of business because of rising rents and aggressive redevelopment. 

“It’s a tradition that’s going away,” Lyon farm owner Bud Lyon said. 

“It’s economics,” he said. 

Lyon has rented power line properties from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison. “When we first started leasing, we got our land and we kept the weeds down for them.” 

But real estate prices caught up with growers in the 1990s. As the state’s population increased, development encroached and rents skyrocketed. 

“You couldn’t grow enough trees to make a decent profit off it,” said Sam Minturn, executive director of the California Christmas Tree Association. 

Home grown Christmas tree farms in the state gross about $140 million per year — a pittance compared to producers like Oregon, which supplies more than a quarter of the trees sold nationwide, Minturn said. 

Tree farming under power lines started in the 1960s, when enterprising growers searching for cheap land close to customers found an ideal landlord in the local power companies. 

During the 1970s and 80s, more than half of Southern California’s tree farms were located under power lines. Lyon may have one of the last ones in the state now, Minturn said. 

When Lyon started in 1966, he leased 5 acres from the DWP for $50 an acre a year. Now the land rents for about $1,200 an acre a year and could nearly triple to $3,500 by 2004. 

For utilities, higher rents meant getting fair market value for land they once gave away at bargain prices. 

“They’ve been underpaying for a long, long time,” said Craig Luna, a DWP real estate manager. “We’re not interested in making a killing. We’re trying to get them to pay fair rent. ... There’s just not a lot of empty land laying around.” 

Some Edison land once used for trees has been converted to more lucrative public storage. 

“What we’re doing is no different from the general real estate market,” spokesman Steve Conroy said. “In essence, we’re utilizing the property in a way that lowers our operating costs, which benefits our customers.” 

Only three more growing seasons remain for Lyon, 65, who has decided to retire when his lease expires in 2004. 

If he accepted the terms of DWP’s proposed lease, his rent would equal nearly a third of his $60,000 in annual sales. 

“When those trees go into the ground, that’s it,” he said, pointing to several cartons of unplanted saplings. 

When Lyon retires, Henning’s search for that fresh pine scent will become more time-consuming. 

“I guess you can drive out to the country for the trees,” she said. 

MOUNTAIN VIEW — That epicenter of holiday shopping, the enclosed suburban mall that came to symbolize 1980s culture, is becoming a powerful engine for redeveloping California. Malls where millions of teen-agers had their first kiss and suburban families roamed the food courts are being razed and reborn as entirely new visions for life, work and shopping, architects say. 

Stepping in where several malls have died, Californians are pioneering an old-fashioned return to downtown and Main Street, blending offices and restaurants with homes above stores. 

Unlike the origin of shopping malls, which wooed stores out of downtown cores in the 1960s and 1970s, their renovations a generation later are considered urban infill projects. 

“It’s ironic. When we built them they were on the edges, and now they’re in the center of our towns,” says Joe Scanga, principal at Calthorpe Associates, a Berkeley-based architecture firm. 

In Mountain View, Scanga’s firm designed an 18-acre residential neighborhood known as The Crossings on the site of a Silicon Valley favorite: the Old Mill Mall. In the 1970s shoppers strolled among indoor trees, creeks and waterfalls. 

Now Jim Li shops the site with real estate agent Lucy Wu — for a home among 397 townhouses, apartments and houses built on foundations of the crushed mall. 

“It’s incredible what they did with a little bit of land here,” says Crossings resident Carolyn Herrick. 

Herrick, a three-year resident of the neighborhood, with its front porch steps, narrow streets and designs that harken back to small towns before World War II, calls the atmosphere “Mary Poppins-like.” 

Likewise, in downtown Pasadena, developers are building nearly 400 rentals above stores at the just-opened Paseo Colorado, a glitzy three-block successor to a failed downtown mall. 

“These studios in Pasadena are going for $1,500 to $2,000 a month,” says Steven Bodzin, communications director for the San Francisco-based Congress for the New Urbanism. “They’re getting lines out the door for people who want this.” 

Bodzin, representing an organization that advocates more growth in existing cities and less at suburban edges, says, “It’s clear this is a lot more of a success than what was there before.” 

In San Jose, the dead Town and Country Mall is being razed and resurrected as an upscale downtown-style vision called Santana Row. Builders are promising 1,300 apartments and a hotel among its lushly landscaped plazas, stores and restaurants. 

It opens next August. 

In their time, enclosed malls were “slick engines for consumption, and people were blissed out with this kind of thing,” says Los Angeles architect Jon Jerde. 

Jerde, who designed San Diego’s downtown Horton Plaza and Universal City Walk in Los Angeles, says malls kept out the rain and bugs, and were “the place where one man could own it all.” 

Near the nation’s first mall, the 1956-era Southdale Mall in Edina, Minn., Jerde designed the cathedral of mall culture, the Mall of America. 

Now, he says, more people want something old that’s new again: Main Street environments and downtown-like experiences. In his hometown of Long Beach, Jerde designed CityPlace, an urban mix of houses and stores now under construction to replace dying indoor Long Beach Plaza. 

Although California has the most examples of these mall conversions, dead malls are being reborn across the nation. In Colorado, New York, Tennessee and Florida, local governments are kicking in hundreds of millions of dollars to help developers make a renaissance of their dying retail environments. 

Collectively, sites renamed CityCenter and BelMar, New Roc City and Mizner Park house millions of square feet of stores and office space and thousands of apartments. In suburban Denver, a city hall moved into a vacated department store. 

“They have a lot in common in how they’re redeveloping,” Bodzin says. “They’ve all moved away from relying on large individual anchors to having more smaller shops. And most have residential components.” 

Dead malls, surrounded by acres of parking designed for the weeks just before Christmas, make ideal redevelopment sites, authorities say. 

“It’s a huge national opportunity,” says Bodzin. 

In 1999, Bodzin’s Congress for the New Urbanism commissioned a study by Price, WaterhouseCoopers that estimated 7 percent of America’s 2,800 malls are dead or languishing. It said 12 percent more are headed that way. 

While most malls remain strong retail performers, and new malls keep opening, analysts say the less fortunate ones are undermined by a new constellation of trends: people with less money moving in nearby, competition from new giant, open-air regional shopping centers and people with less time to shop. 

“People don’t shop at small stores anymore, and that’s what malls are comprised of. Everybody’s moving to a larger format,” says Peter Blackbird, 21, an amateur student of malls from Queensbury, N.Y. 

Blackbird has visited dying suburban malls throughout the northeastern United States. 

“Some of my fondest memories were in the hometown mall,” he says. Now he maintains a Web site of mall pictures and anecdotes called Deadmalls.com. 

In California, while superstar renovations get most of the attention, other malls are also quietly finding new lives. 

The San Fernando Valley’s Sherman Oaks Galleria, famous as the setting for the 1982 movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” has become an office center. Mountain View’s Mayfield Mall, famed during its 1972 opening for being a carpeted mall, is a campus for Hewlett-Packard Corp. 

Likewise, Marysville’s Peach Tree Mall, flooded in 1986 and never reopened, is a complex for Yuba County government offices. In Fresno’s Manchester Center, Caltrans, call centers and a community college branch are nestled among stores. 

“We built too many of them too fast,” says Calthorpe Associates’ Scanga. “In the 1980s there was a boom to have them. We should have had two when two were popular and we had 20.” 

———— 

On the Net: 

Dead malls: http://www.deadmalls.com. 

Paseo Colorado: http://www.paseocolorado.com 

Santana Row: http://www.santanarow.com. 

Southdale Mall: http://www.southdale.com. 

HOUSTON — The head of Compaq Computer Corp. told employees that the company is exploring the company’s future prospects should its $24 billion merger with Hewlett-Packard Co. fall through. 

Last weekend Michael D. Capellas, chief executive of Compaq, e-mailed a memo to employees explaining that the Houston-based computer maker must “maintain a pragmatic view of our business and a clear focus on the future” given opposition by the Hewlett and Packard families to the merger. 

Capellas said in the memo that Compaq would focus on large corporate customers with packages of software, hardware and related services “whether we are part of the new HP or a stand-alone company.” 

He also reiterated his support of the merger. 

“Although we are disappointed, we continue to believe that the merger is in the best interests of shareholders, employees, customers and partners,” Capellas wrote. 

The Hewlett and Packard families, which control 18 percent of HP stock, have both said they oppose the deal. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which holds 10.4 percent of HP shares, said Friday its interests would be better served without the deal. 

HP and Compaq say they will continue to talk up the benefits of the deal in hopes of ultimately winning shareholder support. If either company were to pull out of the deal, it would owe the other $675 million. 

Analysts have said for the deal to win approval at this point, two-thirds of HP’s institutional investors would have to vote yes. 

HP shares were down 99 cents, or 4 percent to $22.01 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange, where Compaq shares were off 21 cents, or 2 percent to $9.49. 

SAN JOSE — Internet search engine Google Inc. announced Tuesday that it now offers direct access to more than 3 billion Web documents, including newsgroup postings back to 1981. 

The company’s index, searchable at www.google.com, previously linked to about 2.5 billion documents. Its archive of Usenet postings had gone back about six years. 

“This announcement is an important step in Google’s ongoing effort to provide search services that are fast, easy to use and that help people find the information they need,” said Larry Page, Google’s co-founder. 

Unlike other search engines, queries on Google return results beyond standard Web pages.  

In addition to newsgroup postings, the engine finds images, Microsoft Office files, images and documents in PDF format. 

The Usenet archive, available in Google Groups, now contains 700 million messages in 35,000 categories. Usenet is an Internet-based bulletin board that predates the World Wide Web. 

“The Google Groups Usenet archive reveals a detailed view into two decades of history – that’s 10 years’ worth of content that existed before the birth of the Web,” said Sergey Brin, another Google founder. 

Google also deployed a feature that pulls up headlines relevant to a search from various newspapers and news agencies. 

Since it started in 1998, Google has developed one of the world’s most popular search engines, using a method that sifts through Web pages to list results based on the relevancy to the search request. 

——— 

On the Net: 

www.google.com 

SAN FRANCISCO — Excite@Home received court approval Tuesday to continue high-speed Internet service for about 2.1 million subscribers through February under a series of deals that will generate $355 million for the bankrupt company while preserving the right to sue its cable partners for alleged abuses. 

The agreements approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Carlson ensure that customers who buy the Excite@Home service through six cable companies will retain their high-speed connections until they are switched to other networks. 

Excite@Home subscribers who received the service through AT&T haven’t been as fortunate. 

Redwood City-based Excite@Home unplugged the AT&T customers earlier this month after AT&T refused to negotiate new terms for continuing the service. 

AT&T says it has switched its all 850,000 @Home customers to its own cable network, but many customers have complained about connection problems and sluggish downloading speeds. 

The agreements approved Tuesday cover the customers of these six cable companies: Cox Communications, Comcast, Rogers Cable Inc., Insight Communications, MediaCom Broadband and Mid Continent Communications. 

Excite@Home’s bondholders threatened to block the deals last week, but dropped their opposition Tuesday after receiving assurances the new contracts protect what might be the company’s most valuable remaining asset — the right to seek damages against the cable companies. 

The company’s management, bondholders and unsecured creditors allege that Excite@Home’s demise stemmed from alleged abuses of power among cable giants AT&T, Cox and Comcast, which all held Excite@Home stock and board seats.  

The cable companies blame ExciteAtHome’s failure on bad management and adverse market conditions. 

An in-depth analysis of the potential damages hasn’t been done yet, but the creditors believe “a lot of money” lost in ExciteAtHome’s bankruptcy may be recovered in lawsuits, said William Weintraub, an attorney for bondholders owed $750 million. 

ExciteAtHome also is considering lawsuits against the cable companies, said company attorney Suzzane Uhland. 

The new agreements prevent ExciteAtHome and its creditors from suing Cox and Comcast for saddling the company with unprofitable contracts and building their own high-speed cable networks at the same time they continued to use the ExciteAtHome service. 

ExciteAtHome and the creditors retain their right to sue for a wide variety of alleged abuses dating back to the company’s formation in the mid-1990s. 

Because it didn’t sign the new contracts, AT&T remains open to all legal claims by ExciteAtHome and its creditors. The company’s shareholders also have threatened a major lawsuit against AT&T, which owned most of ExciteAtHome’s voting stock and controlled the company’s board until October. 

The six cable companies that signed the new contracts agreed to waive their right to sue ExciteAtHome for alleged violations of the earlier agreements. ExciteAtHome had estimated it might be liable for damages ranging between $290 million and $500 million if the cable companies sued. 

Tuesday’s court approval clears the way for ExciteAtHome to begin winding down its operations. As part of the process, ExciteAtHome has indicated it will start trimming its remaining work force of about 1,300 employees. 

Management is trying to cuts cost so it can hold on to most of the $355 million due under the new agreements. After expenses, ExciteAtHome hopes to net at least $205 million from the contracts. 

When ExciteAtHome filed for bankruptcy in September, AT&T agreed to buy its high-speed network for $307 million. Bondholders protested the deal, claiming AT&T engineered the bankruptcy in an attempt to buy the cable network at a deep discount, resulting in a showdown that produced the new contracts and prompting AT&T to withdraw its offer. 

——— 

On The Net: 

http://www.excite.com 

SANTA ANA — The fight between Playboy pinup Anna Nicole Smith and her stepson over the fortune left by her late husband went to federal court Tuesday with lawyers arguing over whether the Texas oilman intended to leave her an inheritance worth $474 million. 

In his opening statement, attorney Phil Boesch, who represents Smith, said J. Howard Marshall had always intended that the former stripper and Playmate of the Year get a share of his inheritance. 

But his son, E. Pierce Marshall, used every means to block it, Boesch argued. 

There was “a declaration of war” that included commandeering his father’s stock in a petroleum company to keep Smith from gaining control of it, Boesch said. 

Smith met Howard Marshall at a strip club where she was working as a lap dancer. They married at a drive-in chapel in Houston in 1994, when she was 26 and he was 89. 

The current hearing is the latest round in a long-running legal battle in which Smith has tried to claim the huge inheritance from Howard Marshall, who died in 1995. 

Pierce Marshall, 63, is appealing a previous California bankruptcy court’s decision to award Smith $474 million from the estate. 

At Tuesday’s hearing before U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter, Boesch said he will present a memo to Pierce Marshall from a lawyer in which a plan is allegedly laid out to seize control of Howard Marshall’s assets before his death in order to leave “less for mischief and less for ’Miss Cleavage.”’ 

Boesch said Smith, whose real name is Vickie Lynn Marshall, did not take advantage of the aging tycoon and even refused his initial marriage proposals to pursue her career. 

“She’s not taking the money and running,” Boesch said. “The fabricated gold digger ...doesn’t exist.” 

Smith sat quietly in the courtroom dressed in a camel knit sweater and pants, occasionally dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. Pierce Marshall sat grimly across the aisle. 

His lawyers.argued that his father intentionally left Smith out of a living trust established to oversee his estate because he feared she was unable to handle money and would be easily fleeced. 

By doling out more than $6 million in jewelry, real estate and clothing to Smith, Howard Marshall intended that she would become financially independent while he taught her sound financial practices, lawyer Rusty Hardin said. 

But later, Marshall commented to a friend: ’“That girl’s unteachable,”’ Hardin said. 

Hardin said Smith had gone through all the gifts by the time she filed for bankruptcy in 1996. 

Both sides, however, agreed that Smith had played an important role in reinvigorating the tycoon who had lapsed into despondency after the 1991 death of his second wife. 

“We have never contended that (Marshall) didn’t care for Vickie Marshall,” Hardin said. 

Hardin also defended his client. 

“Pierce Marshall is not the evil brother in the attic,” Hardin said. “He’s a guy who did his father’s bidding all his life...J. Howard was in charge to the end.” 

Judge Carter decided in August that Smith must testify before he can decide on whether the previous ruling granting her $474 million will be reinstated. 

Carter also said he will need to hear testimony from Pierce Marshall. 

Smith filed for bankruptcy in 1996 in Los Angeles, where she moved after her marriage. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Samuel Bufford awarded her the $474 million last December after sanctioning Pierce Marshall for failing to produce materials requested by the court and interfering with Smith’s expectation of a “gift” from her husband’s estate. 

After a contentious trial, a probate court in Texas ruled in May that the 1993 Playboy Playmate of the Year had no claim to the estate. 

Carter then threw out the original ruling in California that awarded the $474 million to Smith, pending his own review. 

The judge said testimony from Smith, Marshall and others is necessary because the claims and counterclaims between the two are too “wildly at odds” for him to rule based on court transcripts alone.

WASHINGTON — Wild horses put up for adoption by the Bureau of Land Management continue to be slaughtered, in some cases within weeks of the owner gaining title of the animal, according to the latest BLM records. 

The quick turnaround has critics questioning how aggressively BLM is enforcing a rule requiring adopters to swear that they don’t plan to sell the horse to slaughter. 

“Not only is BLM not actually prosecuting people, but they’re not even doing the investigation to try to figure it out and it seems like they don’t want to know,” said Howard Crystal, an attorney for the Fund for Animals, whose lawsuit led to the no-slaughter clause. 

Forty wild horses adopted out by BLM were sent to slaughter houses in the six-month period covered by the records, four of them within four weeks of the owner receiving title to the horse.  

Two others were slaughtered within two months of being titled. 

Owners must raise the horse for a year before receiving title. BLM spokeswoman Celia Boddington said, in that year, the bureau does everything possible to ensure horses don’t go to slaughter. Once the horse is titled it is the owner’s personal property, and it can be sold to a new owner who can sell the animal to a slaughterhouse without violating the law. 

As a result, more than 600 horses gathered in BLM roundups across the West have ended up being killed since 1998. 

In the latest BLM records, covering Aug. 28, 2000, to Feb. 26, 2001, three of the four horse owners whose horses were slaughtered within a month of being titled had sold the horse to a third party. The fourth owner could not be reached. 

Two horses titled Nov. 17, 2000, to Jimmy Williams of Washington, Iowa, were slaughtered 20 days later, according to BLM logs. 

“I just sold them to somebody. I didn’t have any idea where they’d end up,” said Williams. He said he was not contacted by the BLM. 

However, the quick turnaround from adoption to slaughter seems to be less frequent than it once was. 

In the most recent six-month period, six horses went to slaughter within three months of being titled, a rate of one per month. By contrast, a BLM report covering March 1998 to September 1999 showed 186 horses were slaughtered within three months of being titled, a rate of nearly 10 per month. 

Crystal suggests the problem may be worse than it seems. Because of an oversight, BLM did not give the Fund for Animals records for late 1999 and early 2000. The records should be completed by next week. 

Last week, the Fund For Animals asked a federal judge to block BLM’s plans to round up 21,000 of the estimated 48,000 horses roaming Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming over five years. 

“Those horses need homes so BLM is under increased pressure to adopt out and title horses,” said Crystal. That could result with more horses going to slaughter houses, he said. 

The group also argues that thinning the horse population so much could leave herds cut off from one another and ravaged by inbreeding, threatening their survival. 

In the year ending Sept. 30, the BLM had adopted out 7,630 wild horses. Since the adoption program began in 1973, 186,000 horses have been placed. 

WASHINGTON — The government is spending $7 billion to decontaminate a former nuclear weapons plant in Colorado and turn it into a wildlife refuge. But critics said Tuesday that the cleanup will still leave the soil too polluted. 

Legislation before Congress would officially designate the Rocky Flats site, 15 miles northwest of Denver, a wildlife refuge after cleanup is completed. 

Rocky Flats is contaminated with tons of plutonium and other radioactive materials, in buildings and in the soil, after years of weapons work. The Energy Department and its civilian contractor will decide early next year how clean the site should become. 

A report by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research contends that the residual contamination levels being considered by the government are 40 times greater than what would be allowed if the land is used for something other than a wildlife refuge. 

“We have no control over what will happen at Rocky Flats in the future,” said LeRoy Moore, a member of a citizens’ group in Boulder, Colo., that is monitoring the cleanup. About 2.5 million people live within 50 miles of the facility. 

While the site stretches across more than 6,000 acres, less than 200 acres are contaminated. While much of the soil will be trucked away, acres will remain contaminated. 

The report by IEER, a research group long involved in nuclear watchdog activities, contends that designating the area a wildlife refuge will allow the cleanup to be less stringent. 

“We don’t oppose the designation of this site as a wildlife refuge as a short-term way to keep the public off the site,” said Arjun Mahkijani, a nuclear physicist who heads the institute in Takoma Park, Md. But he said cleanup standards should take into account other likely uses of the land, including farming or residential development, where people are more likely to become exposed. 

Plutonium and other radioisotopes that will be left over in the soil would be expected to remain dangerous for thousands of years, he said. After the cleanup, the report said, the soil should be left with no more than 10 pico-curies of radioactivity per gram of soil, far cleaner than what the Energy Department has been considering. 

Jeremy Karpatkin, a spokesman for the Energy Department’s Rocky Flats project office, said no decision has been made on the level of residual contamination. Meeting the level sought by Makhijani, though, “would involve spending hundreds of millions of dollars unnecessarily for very little risk reduction to the public,” he said, even taking into account various uses for the land. 

Preliminary analysis from the department concludes that soil contamination could be as high as 490 pico-curies. It could still fall within acceptable risk levels of no more than one additional cancer per 10,000 individuals if the land becomes a wildlife refuge. 

The maximum contamination allowed would fall to 173 pico-curies if the land became “rural residential,” according to the DOE analysis cited by Rocky Flats officials. 

Whatever the final standard, “We will provide a safe and effective cleanup of Rocky Flats,” said Karpatkin. The government already has spent nearly $3 billion on the cleanup, and will spend another $4 billion over the next five years, he said. 

Makhijani said the use of wildlife designations is a way to cut cleanup costs at Rocky Flats and, possibly, at other contaminated weapons sites in South Carolina, Tennessee, Idaho and Washington state. 

“This is a foot in the door for relaxation of cleanup standards,” he said. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Institute for Energy and Environmental Research: http://www.ieer.org 

Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site: http://www.rfets.gov/ 

TUCSON, Ariz. — U.S. Customs Service special agents Tuesday found a sophisticated drug tunnel running directly under the border between a wash in Mexico and a Nogales home facing the international fence. 

Smugglers are believed to have moved 956 pounds of cocaine and 839 pounds of marijuana — estimated to be worth about $21 million — through the 85-foot dirt tunnel since late summer, when they began using it, said Vince Iglio, Customs acting special agent in charge. 

All those drugs were seized at other sites, and two people were arrested Nov. 28 in possession of the cocaine, Iglio said. 

“We believe that the tunnel was under construction for many months,” he said. “We had information that the actual smuggling started 2 1/2 to three months ago, and we surveilled it the whole time and we’re satisfied that we seized everything that came through.” 

The rectangular-shaped tunnel, shored up throughout with lumber like a mine, was “one of the most complicated we’ve seen in that the type of construction was complex,” Iglio said. 

The 4-foot high tunnel was strung with electricity and some tracks had been laid inside, suggesting that its operators planned to move drugs through on a dolly. 

A mud-encrusted mechanic’s dolly, with a long rope attached, was found stored in the bedroom where a 30-foot vertical shaft leading to the tunnel emerged in a corner of the room, under wooden flooring and carpeting. A wide variety of lumber, from plywood to 2-by-16 beams, also was found in the house. 

The tunnel ran 40-some feet, under the house and street on the U.S. side to the 10-foot steel-mat fence that separates the two countries, and a similar distance on the Mexican side. 

The owner of the Nogales home does not reside there and is not believed to be implicated, while the occupant has not been found, Iglio said. Investigation will continue of others who were identified during the surveillance, he added. 

On the Mexican side, the tunnel opening was cut out of the side of a concrete wash, with the hole replaced by a steel utility plate about 18 inches by 18 inches, resealed with cement each time the smugglers used it to bring in a load “and make it look like it was never touched,” Iglio said. 

The care taken to disguise the entrance suggests that the smugglers were intent on keeping it from both Mexican officials and smuggling competitors, Iglio said. 

He said the tunnel’s sophistication is a sign of the creativity, lengths and expense that smugglers will go to, but it also shows that “we are forcing them to use extreme measures to smuggle narcotics into the United States. 

” 

Iglio compared the new tunnel in quality of construction to an elaborate, concrete-lined, electrified 300-foot tunnel found in May 1990. That tunnel ran about 30 feet underground across the Mexican border between a home in Agua Prieta, Mexico, and a warehouse in Douglas with secret entrances on both sides, including a hydraulic lift. 

“It’s more similar to that tunnel than to any of the others (in Nogales), and a true tunnel,” Iglio said. 

The tunnel was the eighth discovered in Nogales since 1995 but the first in the border city to run directly beneath the international boundary. 

All the others previously found in Nogales have led into sewer lines feeding into the Nogales Wash, a concrete-lined storm drainage canal system that flows north from Mexico beneath the international border into Nogales. 

Though Customs’ highest priority is protecting the border from terrorist activities, the agency has “reprioritized our resources to address those persons who may wrongly believe that this time may be an opportune time to smuggle narcotics into the United States,” Iglio said. 

The city of Nogales plans to excavate and seal the tunnel, he said. 

Several dozen student and community activists converged on the UC Berkeley campus and the surrounding area Monday to call for an end to U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and to advocate for the protection of human rights at home and abroad. 

Protesters made use of fliers, paper airplanes and “guerrilla theater” to demand that the United States stop the bombing overseas and halt efforts to interrogate young men of Middle-Eastern descent living in this country. 

Activists, who engaged in a variety of actions scattered across the campus, were met with a mixed response. Some students supported their efforts, others opposed them, and most said they were too busy preparing for finals this week to pay much attention.  

“We’re so bogged down with studying,” said sophomore Michelle Marrow. “We don’t have the time to look at politics.” 

The protests went smoothly, for the most part, but activists negotiated with campus police for an hour in the morning to set up a mock refugee camp in front of Moffitt Undergraduate Library. The camp highlighted the conditions faced by Afghan civilians who have fled their homes since the war broke out. 

UC Berkeley Police Capt. Bill Cooper said the police did not want protesters to block access to the library, particularly in the midst of finals week. He said officers worked with protesters to set up their camp at a reasonable distance from the building’s entrance.  

“It was largely to strike a balance between free speech and trying to maintain an educational environment,” Cooper said, describing the aims of the university police. 

But protesters said they never intended to disrupt the flow of traffic and accused police of threatening arrest and targeting activists for their views. 

“The sheer intimidation and use of police powers has a chilling effect on student speech,” said Snehal Shingavi, a graduate student at UC Berkeley, and member of the Berkeley Stop the War Coalition, which organized the day of protest. 

Cooper said the antiwar sentiment of the protest had nothing to do with police involvement. 

Dr. Ameena Ahmed of the California Department of Public Health, who took part in the refugee camp protest, said the U.S. bombing campaign is exacerbating a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.  

Ahmed said displaced Afghans, who already totaled close to 5 million before the war, according to the UN High Commission on Refugees, are dying from starvation and curable diseases. 

Ahmed cited UNICEF statistics demonstrating that one in four Afghan children die before age 5 from preventable diseases. 

Protesters were also active in front of the Hearst Memorial Gymnasium, where they charged the American military with terrorism, and called on the university to shut down its ROTC program. 

Another group of activists dropped yellow fliers, folded into paper airplanes, from the top of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Union onto Sproul Plaza. The fliers cited news articles focusing on the similar, yellow coloration of U.S. bombs and food packets. The quoted segments discussed the death of young children who could not delineate between food packets and unexploded bombs. 

Another group of students performed a skit at six local cafes, including the Free Speech Movement Cafe and Bear’s Lair on the university campus. The sketch protested the U.S. Justice Department’s request that some 5,000 Middle Eastern men with expired visas grant interviews with government authorities, and provide any information they might have on the Sep. 11 terrorist attacks. 

“I see this as basically racial profiling,” said Annie Klein, a junior at UC Berkeley who took part in the skit. “People are being singled out for their racial background and ethnicity.” 

Some students appreciated the protesters’ efforts. “I don’t care how much of it’s distorted, it’s just important that someone cares,” said Philipp Blume, a graduate student. “Any alternative to what we hear on television is welcome.” 

Others were less supportive. Andy Barkett, a senior at UC Berkeley, said he had not seen any of Monday’s protest activity, but was annoyed by previous anti-war activism on campus. 

“They were missing the point,” Barkett said. “Everyone thinks war is bad. I think war is bad. But I thought they were being much too critical of a very measured, reasonable approach that the government is taking.” 

Monday’s protests came on the 53rd anniversary of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and were part of a series of anti-war actions taken by activists at dozens of west coast colleges yesterday, according to Berkeley protesters.  

Tuesday, Dec. 11

The search for a Nonviolent  

Future 

3:30 - 5 p.m. 

Graduate Theological University 

2400 Ridge Rd. 

Hewlett Library, Dinner Board Rm. 

Discussion with Micheael Nagler, author of “Is There No Other Way.” Free. 649-2560 .  

The Bombings in Indonesia,  

1998-2001 

3:30 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

220 Stephens Hall, Geballe Room 

Exclusive of Aceh, Malukus, and West Papua. With Father Sandyawan Sumardi. Free. 642-3609. 

Our School: Information Night for Prospective Parents 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Our School 

St. John’s Community Center, Room 203 

2727 College Ave. 

Opportunity for parents to learn about Our School, grades K-5, and its unique approach to education. 704-0701, www.ourschoolsite.ws. 

The Spirit of Christmas Class 

7 - 9 p.m. 

1250 Addison St. 

Studio 103 

Explore the metaphysics of the Christmas Story. 540-8844, patricia@newthoughtunity.org. 

Feldenkrais Chair Class for  

Seniors 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com 

Heading Off The Holiday  

Blues 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Discussion with Elizabeth Forrest. 644-6343 

Feldenkrais Floor Class for  

Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com. 

Holiday Mixer 

5:30 - 7 p.m. 

Filippo’s Pasteria 

1499 Solano Ave. 

The Solano Avenue Association invites you.  

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 525-3565. 

Wednesday, Dec. 12

Hawaiian Festival 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Dancers, music and refreshments. 644-6343 

Lecture Series on Women  

Medieval Mystics 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

All Souls Parish 

2220 Cedar St. 

Three Women Mystics: An Advent Lecture Series. Exploration of their spiritual quests designed to offer a new sense of spiritual possibilities in modern times. Free. Supervised childcare will be provided. 848-1755. 

Near Death Experience  

Support Group 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Church 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

International Association of Near-Death Studies offers an open, sharing, and supportive environment for the exploration of Near Death Experiences. 

Thursday, Dec. 13 

Berkeley High School Band  

and Orchestra’s Winter  

Concert 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Community Theater 

Allston and MLK Jr. Way 

$4 gen., $1 students. 528-2098. 

Discussion on Mumia Abu  

Jamal 

7:30 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Bob Mandel and Sara Fuchs discuss the implications of Sept. 11 on the Mumia Abu Jamal case. $3. 653-7882 

The Challenges of Indonesia 

2 - 3 p.m. 

2223 Fulton Ave. 

6th Floor Conference Room 

Journalist, poet and former Editor of Tempo Magazine, Goenawan Mohamad. 642-3609. 

Snowcamping Class 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Chuck Collingwood and Martin Thomas present a slide lecture on the essentials for surviving overnight in the snow and discuss the basics for safe and enjoyable ski or snowshoe travel. 527-4140 

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Claremont Branch Library 

2940 Benvenue Ave. 

Monthly meeting that features people telling stories about the ways they have changed their lives by finding ways to work less, consume less, rush less and have more time to build community with friends and family, as well as live more lightly upon the planet. 549-3509, www.seedsofsimplicity.org. 

Technology Faire 

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Laney College 

900 Fallon St., Oakland 

Laney College, in conjunction with several major Bay Area computer and software vendors, hosts its first-ever Technology Faire. The Faire will feature demonstrations, displays, and hands-on microsessions that will give attendees a chance to try out a wide array of cutting-edge technologies. The Laney College Journalism and Media Communications Departments will give presentations about their programs, and a complimentary buffet lunch will be served. 464-3552, www.peralta.cc.ca.us. 

Gaia Building Open House  

Benefit 

4 - 8 p.m. 

The Gaia Building, 7th Floor 

2116 Allston Way 

The Gaia Building, an innovative residential housing project, celebrates its opening with an open house to benefit the Berkeley Emergency Food and Housing Project. $10, sliding scale. 883-1000, panoramicinterests.com. 

Community Health  

Commission 

6:45 - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

New Business Action: Increased funding for Public Health Infrastructure. 644-6109, phd@ci.berkeley.ca.us. 

Friday, Dec. 14

Dunsmuir Historic Estate  

Holiday Season 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland 

Volunteers have transformed the 50-acre estate and the 1899 mansion into a holiday event. 925-275-9595, www.dunsmuir.org. 

Partial-Solar Eclipse Viewing 

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Dr., just above UC Berkeley Campus 

Telescopes and specially designed sun-spotters will be set up for safe viewing of the partial eclipse. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Hanukah Gala Celebration: Community Hanukkah Candle Lighting and Men’s Club Latka Bake 

6 p.m.  

Congregation Beth El 

2301 Vine St. 

6 p.m., Pot Luck Dinner and the Best Latkas on earth. 7 p.m., Community Hanukah Candle lighting-Bring your own Menorah. 7:30 p.m., Shabbat/Hanukah Service with Jr. Choir. Folk Dancing with Allen King and Dreidel contest with Cantor Brian Reich after services. 848-3988.  

An International Christmas 

8 p.m. 

Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension 

4700 Lincoln Ave., Oakland 

A concert featuring children’s voices, hand bells, carols, hymns, Messiah excepts, and children’s book-singing. Free. 531-3400 

Berkeley High School Jazz Lab Band 

7:30 p.m. 

Little Theatre 

1920 Allston Way 

First concert of the year. The Lab Band students are excited to share their accomplishments. $8 for adults and $5 for seniors, BHS staff, and  

students. marylgear@yahoo.com. 

Still Stronger Women 

1:15 - 3:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Literature, Arts, Women writers’ short stories. Free. 232-1351. 

Saturday, Dec. 15

Calendar Sale Fundraiser for  

Berkeley High School’s 

Communications and Art  

School 

9 - 11 a.m. 

2310 Valley St. 

A huge variety of calendars to raise funds for video equipment for CAS. 843-2780, lorberlin@aol.com. 

Berkeley Alliance of  

Neighborhood Associations (BANA) 

9:30 a.m. 

Fire Side Room, Live Oak Park 

Shattuck avenue & Berryman street 

A network for and by local people to inform and support a positive future for all neighborhoods. 845-7967, anicoloff@aol.com 

Dunsmuir Historic Estate  

Holiday Season 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland 

Volunteers have transformed the 50-acre estate and the 1899 mansion into a holiday event. 925-275-9595, www.dunsmuir.org. 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market  

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, JR. Civic Center Park 

Fair will include organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

Santa's Solstice Bazaar 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Metaversal Lightcraft 

1708 University Ave. 

Come shop while kids visit with Santa for free. Fine arts, crafts, 

clothing and gift booths in a magical and colorful scene. 644-2032, www.lightcraft.org. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday  

Open Studios 

A Self-Guided Tour 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Various locations 

100 artists & craftspeople open their studios to the public. For a map and locations, www.berkeleyartisans.com, or 845-2612. 

Concert for the September  

11th Fund 

7:30 p.m. 

Congregation Beth El 

2301 Vine St. 

An evening of music, joy and community spirit. Adama band, with Achi Ben Shalom. All proceeds support the victims of the September 11th attacks. $18. 848-3988. 

18th AnnualTelegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Visitors to the cultural heart of Berkeley this month will enjoy an eclectic mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations and an abundance of good cheer. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Cookie Decorating at the Albany Library 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Albany Library 

1247 Marin Ave. 

Decorate a cookie dove. The finished doves will be donated to a local agency that provides food for the homeless. Free and open to all ages. Light refreshments will be served. 526-3720 x19. 

Borneo Holiday Craft Sale  

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Café de la Paz  

1600 Shattuck Ave. 

Join the Borneo Project and artists from around the world for the second annual holiday craft sale. Beautiful, handmade items from indigenous artisans in Sarawak, Malaysia – rattan baskets, mats, beadwork, carved shields, artifacts and weavings. Stop by the café for special holiday tapas, hot mulled sangria and one-of-a-kind gifts that support community efforts halt the destruction of Borneo's dwindling rainforests. 547-4258, borneo@earthisland.org. 

Sunday, Dec. 16

Community Hanukkah of  

Reconciliation  

5 - 6:30 p.m. 

2215 Prince St. 

Bring your menorah--Everyone welcome. 486-2744, bayareawomeninblack@earthlink.net. 

Editor: 

Next month - on 17 January 2002 - the University of California Regents are expected to certify the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Northeast Quadrant Science and Safety Projects, arguably the largest construction initiative ever attempted by UC Berkeley. That meeting takes place in Los Angeles. 

You may already know that: (1) NEQSS is truly colossal in scale. Its seven project elements will add some 360,000 gross square feet (over eight acres!) of space to Central Campus and environs. (2) NEQSS has received very little public scrutiny. Verbal public comments (at the scoping session on 26 February 2001 and the Draft EIR Hearing on 9 July 2001) total less than two hours. (3) During construction, NEQSS projects will adversely impact pedestrian and traffic safety along many Berkeley corridors. The Draft EIR mentions a worst-case scenario of 45 construction-related trucks per hour. (4) Following construction, NEQSS projects will exacerbate congestion on campus and nearby. In addition to 544 new jobs in the Northeast Quadrant, 895 staff and faculty members will shift into NEQSS buildings from elsewhere on campus. An estimated 234 more households will be competing for scarce housing. (5) NEQSS projects, especially the Stanley Hall Replacement Building, will bring additional hazardous and radioactive materials into an area adjacent to the Hayward Fault. (6) NEQSS planning resembles a runaway train which is racing ahead caboose first. It also lacks several critical “railcars” – a transportation plan for the area, input from UCB’s New Century Plan, a Long Range Development Plan Update which considers “Tidal Wave II” enrollments, and cumulative impacts as noted in Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s 2002 Long Range Development Plan EIR.  

The Berkeley City Council has scheduled a closed session to consider whether to initiate litigation challenging the anticipated approval by the UC Regents of NEQSS and the accompanying Amendment to the 1990 Long Range Development Plan. The meeting will be held on today at 4:30 p.m. on the sixth floor of the Civic Center Building at 2180 Milvia.  

The Brown Act requires that the meeting be preceded by a ten-minute period for public comments. Later, at its 7 p.m. regular meeting in the Council Chambers, the City Council will consider whether to ask that Chancellor Berdahl, Vice Chancellor Denton, and the UC Regents redraft and recirculate the NEQSS EIR. As usual, 30 minutes will be allotted for the Comments from the Public lottery, probably beginning by 7:30 p.m.  

Jim Sharp 

Berkeley

Music 

924 Gilman Dec. 14: Hot Water Music, American Steel, F-Minus, Trial By Fire; Dec. 15: Strung Out, Limp, The Frisk, The Deadlines, The Creeps; Dec. 16: 5 p.m., Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Downway, Audio Crush; Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic, Breaker Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Dec. 11: Mad & Eddic Duran Jazz Duo; Dec. 13: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 15: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; Dec. 18: Panacea; Dec. 19: Whiskey Brothers; Dec. 20: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 27: Keni “El Lebrijano”; All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

Anna’s Dec. 11: Singers’ Open Mike #2; Dec. 12: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 13: Rev. Rabia, The Blueswoman; Dec. 14: Anna and Mark Little on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 15: Jazz Singers Vicki Burns and Felice York; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 16: The Jazz Fourtet; Dec. 17: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 18: Tangria Jazz Trio; Dec. 19: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 20: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Dec. 21: Anna and Percy Scott on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 22: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 23: Jazz Singer Ed Reed; All music starts 8 p.m. unless noted. 1801 University Ave., 849-2662. 

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Dec. 16: 3-8 p.m., Beverly Stovall Benefit, Jimmy McCracklin, JJ Malone, Jimi Mamou, Johnny Talbott. $10. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight & Salvage Coffee House Dec. 12: Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart; Dec. 13: Kevin Burke; Dec. 14: Dale Miller; Dec. 15: Robin Flower & Libby McLaren; Jan. 6: Allette Brooks. All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Dec. 23: 7:30 p.m., an evening of Irish music and dance with Todd Denman and friends. $10, $5 children; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, Program of classical favorites of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra; Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, sizzling program of classical party music; Jan. 12: 8:p.m., “Club Dance,” Teens come together to express their individual personalities and gifts as dancers. $10, Students and Seniors $6, Children ages 5 and under $6. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Dec. 12: Mushroom; Dec. 13: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 14: Broun Fellini’s; Dec. 15: Norah Jones and Jim Campilongo; Dec. 19: Spectraphonic; Dec. 20: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 21: Crater; Dec. 22: Post Junk Trio; Dec. 27: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 29: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Kirk Tamura Trio; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Holly Near, $15-$17; Dec. 16: 5 p.m, Flamenca Community Juerga, Free; Dec. 16: 7 p.m, Modupue & UpSurge, $8; Dec. 23: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568, www.lapena.org 

“Music on Telegraph” 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. 

Rose Street House Dec. 14 & 15: 7:30 p.m., Benefit Concert and Birthday Party, Shelly Doty and grassroots community of women singers and song writers; Dec. 25: 3 p.m., Annual “Dykelah Escape-from-you-know-what-day Musical Extravaganza!”; Jan.17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

TUVA Space Dec. 16: 8 p.m., A concert of new compositions for string trio by young composers from Berkeley High School. $0 to $20. 3192 Adeline, td@pixar.com. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley Dec. 15: 2 p.m., “All-Brahms piano recital,” Yu-Ting Chen performs. Free; Jan. 6: 3 p.m., Stephen Genz in his West Coast debut; 2345 Channing Way, 527-8175, www.geocities.com/ mostlybrahms. 

“The Christmas Revels” Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Dec. 15: 1 & 5 p.m., Dec. 16: 1 & 5 p.m., celtic music, dance and storry telling. $15-$30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 893-9853 www.calrevels.org.  

“WAVE,” Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble Dec.14: 7:30 p.m., concert of Christmas music. $10, Students $5. Calvary Presbyterian Church, 1940 Virginia St., 848-9132. 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Dec. 18: 8 p.m., under the direction of Maestro Kent Nagano, plus the world premiere of Ichiro Nodaira’s “Kodama” written for and featuring Mari and Momo Kodama. $21 - $45. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 841-2800, jeaston@berkeleysymphony.org. 

The Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir’s 5th Annual Christmas Concert Dec. 22: 7 p.m., “The Reason Why We Sing” The Regents Theater, Holy Names College, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, 839-4361, www.oigc.org. 

Theater 

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Dec. 14: 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 15: 7:30 p.m.; California Shakespeare Festival Student Company, presents a comedy with romance. Free. Rehearsal Hall, 701 Heintz St. 548-3422 X114. sunny@calshakes.org. 

“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 

“Black Nativity” Through Dec. 16th: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2:30 p.m., 8 p.m., Sun. 5:30 p.m.; The birth of Jesus unfolds in this drama written by Langston Hughes. Directed and produced by Betty Gadling. $15 adults, $8 seniors and students, $5 children over 5. Allen Temple Baptist Church, 8501 International Blvd., Oakland 569-9418 www.allen-temple.org 

“The Christmas Revels” Through Dec. 16: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. - Sun. 1 p.m., 5 p.m. ; A cast of adults and children present a celebration of the winter solstice that combines dance, drama, ritual, and song. $15 - $30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 510-893-9853 www.calrevels.org  

“Much Ado About Nothing” 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 

“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 

Exhibits 

“Berkeley Creations” Dec. 15: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., A group exhibit. Artist-at-Play Studio and Gallery, 1649 Hopkins St., 528-0494. 

“The Paintings of Bethany Anne Ayers and Sculpture of Alexander Cheves” 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 

“Veiled and Revealed” Through Dec. 23: Human beings, costumed in native dress are captured by visual artists in a seven-person exhibit. Sat. Dec. 8, 15, and 23, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. Simultaneously showing at ART-A-FACT, 1109 Addison St., and Metaversal Lightcraft, 1708 University Ave. 848-1985 

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” Dec. 19 through Jan. 8: An exhibit featuring Kathleen Flannigan’s drawing and furniture - boxes, tables, and mirrors, all embellished with images of the beauty and innocence of the natural world. Addison Street Windows, 2018 Addison St. 

“Matrix 195” 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 

Ardency Gallery, Mark J. Leavitt, “Analogous Biology: Balance and Use,” Dec. 20 through Jan. 19; Tue. - Sat., 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., 709 Broadway, Oakland. 836-0831, www.artolio.com. 

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 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” Dec. 19 through Feb. 2: An exhibition of painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography and more by Bay Area and  

regional artists. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., www.proartsgallery.org. 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” 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 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” Dec. 12 through Mar. 10: A selection of photographs and memorabilia presenting a different perspective on Adam’s career as one of the leading figures in American photography. Wed, Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $4- $6. University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.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 

“ Oakland Museum of California, 10th & Oak Streets. 238-3402 

Readings 

Coffee With A Beat - Word Beat reading series Dec. 15: Norm Milstein, Barbara Minton; Dec. 22: Debra Grace Khattab, Jesy Goldhammer; Dec. 29: Steve Arntson, Michelle Erickson, Clare Lewis; All readings are free and begin at 7 p.m., 458 Perkins, Oakland, 526-5985, www.angelfire.com/poetry/wordbeat. 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore Dec. 11: 7:30 p.m., Lisa Bach, editor of “Her Fork in the Road”, a collection of stories blending food and travel, and a panel of contributors to the anthology, present an evening of readings and discussions. Free. 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

“Rhythm & Muse Open Mic” Dec. 15: 7 p.m., Featuring poets Lara Dale and Mary-Marcia Casoly. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 527-9753 

“World Ground Poetry” Dec.19: 7-9 p.m., Featuring Abdul Kenyatta & Paradise Freejahlove Supreme; World Ground Cafe, 3726 Mac Arthur Blvd., 482-2933, www.worldgrounds.com/events.html 

. 

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; $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 “Kwanzaa Community Celebration” Dec. 30: 12-4 p.m.,Nia Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that honors black family history; 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 Dec. 26: 1 p.m., Professor Smart’s Fun with Physics Show; Dec. 27: 1 p.m., Slapstick with Derique; Dec. 28: 1 p.m., Rhythmix; Dec. 29: 1 p.m., Magic with Jay Alexander; Dec. 30: 1 p.m., Music and Storytelling with Dennis Hysom; Dec. 31: 1 p.m., New Year’s Eve Party, special daytime holiday party for kids; Dec. 26 through 31: Free Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb; Through Jan. 26: Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters; “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; Open daily, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley, 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org. 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 City Council will have to step gingerly through a thicket of potential lawsuits tonight as it considers regulating the location of wireless communication antennae, which make cell phone use possible. 

“This is a very thorny issue because everybody wants to use a cell phone but nobody wants an antenna in their neighborhood,” said Mayor Shirley Dean. “Whatever action we take on this it’s going to be a really, really interesting maneuver.” 

The council will choose among three proposals to amend the city’s Zoning Ordinance. The proposals seek to regulate the placement of wireless antennae throughout the city.  

One recommendation comes from Planning and Development staff, another is from the Planning Commission and a third was written by a group of residents. 

The council adopted a 45-day urgency moratorium on new antennae last December, pending revision of the city’s Zoning Ordinance, a provision which regulates the type of activities allowed in certain parts of the city.  

The moratorium was extended for six months in January and for another five after it expired in June.  

No further extensions are allowed on the moratorium, and if the council does not approve a recommendation, the previous zoning ordinance, which allowed placement of antennae in neighborhoods, will prevail as of Jan. 1,the council will have to adopt one of the recommendations by the end of the year or the previous zoning ordinance, which allowed placement of antennae in neighborhoods, will prevail as of Jan. 1, according to a Planning Department report.  

The residents who banded together to fight the placement of the antennae in residential neighborhoods, near schools and day care centers, say the equipment emits harmful radioactive radio frequencies. 

Telecommunications companies such as Nextel and Sprint Wireless Communications have sent a steady stream of attorneys to City Council and Planning Commission meetings to argue that an amended ordinance that is too restrictive will violate the Telecommunications Act of 1996 thereby making the city vulnerable to lawsuits. 

In addition telecommunications companies have hired a variety of specialists who claim the wireless emissions are thousands of times below federal limits and are not at all harmful.  

According to Dean, the attorneys representing the telecommunication companies have said the only recommendation that they will accept is the one from the Department of Planning and Development, which is the least restrictive. 

“They have said that if the City Council approves any other amendment besides the staff amendment, they will sue,” Dean said. 

The major difference between the Planning Commission and planning department recommendations is that the telecommunications companies have to verify to the Zoning Adjustment Board that selected antennae sites, citywide, are critical to providing cell phone reception in targeted areas, according to Vivian Kahn, a city planning consultant. 

Kahn says in her report that if telecommunications companies want to place the antennae in industrial neighborhoods in west Berkeley, they should not have to go through the ZAB; as long as they are not visible, they should be approved by planning department staff without the ZAB’s oversight. 

Planning Commissioner Gene Poschman called the proposal “unfair.” 

“This is a matter of equal treatment,” Poschman said. “We can’t just say to the telecommunications companies ‘hey put anything you want in west Berkeley’ like it’s a dumping ground. We have to treat each of the city’s neighborhoods with respect.” 

The citizens group’s proposal is the most restrictive. Among other restrictions, it calls for a 200-foot buffer between any antennae location and schools, day care centers and residences. 

Attorney Erica Etelson, who is a member of the citizens group, said a buffer zone around schools and homes is not unprecedented.  

“The city of Pleasanton requires a 300-foot buffer between schools, senior centers and parks,” she said. “And the city of Barrington, Mass. requires a 1,500-foot buffer around schools and 750 feet around residences.” 

But a telecommunications attorney, who did not want to be identified, said if the City Council approved the citizens’ amendment there would surely be a lawsuit.  

“If you map that plan out, there is not one place in Berkeley where an antenna could be placed, which would absolutely be a violation of the Telecommunications Act,” the attorney said. 

The council will consult with the city attorney during an executive session meeting prior to considering the various recommendations.

Editor: 

One good way to think about the Arab-Israeli crisis is to examine what would likely happen if Israel met certain requests to immediately pull out of the Palestinian territories. Recently, hours after Israeli troops pulled out of the West Bank city of Jenin, a Palestinian gunman opened fire at a crowded Israeli bus station right outside Jenin, killing three. Palestinian terror has raged against Israel long before the occupation in 1967 and anyone who expects a surge of good will from terrorists in response to an Israeli evacuation needs a good reality check. Some anti-Israel advocates proclaim that Israel’s military actions are equivalent to the very Arab terrorism performed against it.  

Sorry to raise the truth, but vehement and arbitrary murder is grossly more heinous and cowardly than that which tries to use restraint, and when Palestinians celebrate in the street for every savage murder of Israelis, it is not the same thing. Amnesty International reports the miserable conditions in the territories but does not report that Palestinian police use Israeli supplied weapons to commit terrorism, that civilians and kids act as round the clock militants, and that terrorists and martyrs are the idolized heroes to much, but not all, of the population. 

I would rather not believe these unbelievable circumstances if it wasn’t for the irrefutable proof everywhere. To be sure, you can go to the Hamas website and click the red button labeled ‘Glory Corner’ to receive an extensive listing of Israeli death by terrorism from 1988-1994 which should now include blowing up of 28 Israelis. Then you can ponder how after Israel assassinated the Hamas militant, Mahmoud Abu Hanoud on Nov. 23, 50,000 Palestinians gathered at his funeral to mourn his death and pledge revenge against Israel. Abu Hanoud, who coordinated many suicide bombings which murdered scores of Israelis including 19 teenagers at a nightclub in July and 15 friends and family at a pizza parlor in August, was among the men released by Yasser Arafat this May after he rejected the biggest peace plan ever proposed to him. 

The UC berkeley group Students for Justice in Palestine, despite the apparent complexities of ending the occupation, have openly adopted a campaign that succeeds at nothing but defamation. At the group’s recent protest, they defined themselves and their intentions to disgrace Israel, incite hate, emulate hypocrisy, and hinder peace. Statement and signs such as ‘stop Israeli genocide’, ‘ethnic cleansing’, and ‘terrorism’ are not just clearly inaccurate but also emit a cruel insensitivity to the ethnic group they accuse. To wrongly equate Israel to the exact forms of oppression that Jews have systematically suffered from is to completely diminish its history and abuse its name.  

More Jewish people were ‘cleansed’ off the Earth in the Nazi Holocaust alone than there are Jews in Israel today and to equate them with Nazis is something shallow and demented. I don’t intend to convince SJP and Stop the War Coalition advocates because it is not my aim to run around in circles with people who reject the legitimacy of the state of Israel and the roots and aspirations of Zionism. Their efforts to rationalize terrorism, to refuse recognition of Palestinian and Arab faults, to claim that they fight against oppression while ignoring many Middle Eastern countries that breed terrorism and oppress their own people suggests to me that they are not interested in dialogue and that they live in some alternate universe. 

Anat Resnick 

Oakland 

Following are some local-serving community agencies that can use financial and/or volunteer help. The Daily Planet is listing these nonprofits as a public service and does not have first-hand knowledge of the work of most of the agencies. 

Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society 

2700 Ninth St., Berkeley, CA 94710-2606 

845-7735 x11 

Shelters and places adoptable animals in loving homes. Seeks financial donations and volunteers. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-1347069 

Berkeley Neighborhood Computers 

PO Box 2435 Berkeley, 94702 

845-1226 

Refurbishes computers for low-income families, schools. Seeks financial donations, volunteers (but not computers now). 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-3218936 

Berkeley Public Education Foundation & Berkeley School Volunteers 

1835 Allston Way, Berkeley 94703 

644-6244 

Supports Berkeley public schools with grants to teachers. Seeks community volunteers, financial donations. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-2918219 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 

2322 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704 

841-2800 

Directed by Kent Nagano, brings classical music to residents, elementary schools. Seeks financial support, volunteers. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 23-7219508  

Berkeley Youth Alternatives 

1255 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94702 

845-9010; www.byaonline.org 

BYA serves Berkeley and Bay Area children, youth and families. Seeks financial donations, tutors, mentors. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-1711728. 

Housing Rights, Inc. 

2718 Telegraph Ave. #100, Berkeley. (Mailing address: P.O. Box 12895, Berkeley, 94712) 

548-8776 

Provides housing counseling, tenant organizing support to low and very low income individuals. Seeks financial donations, volunteers. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-3-6-4129 

Malcolm X Elementary School Garden 

1731 Prince St. 

Berkeley, CA 94703 

524-2916 

Donate funds, volunteer for garden teaching science, math, nutrition, ecology to students kindergarten through fifth grade. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-3145183 

Northern California Land Trust 

3126 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, 94705 

548-7878 

Creates affordable homeownership through cooperatives and condominiums for low-income households. Seeks financial donations, volunteers. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 23-7380534 

Resources for Community Development 

2131 University Ave., Suite 224, Berkeley, 94704 

841-4410; fax 548-3502 

Renovates, builds affordable housing for individuals with the fewest options. Seeks financial donations.  

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-2952466 

Stiles Hall 

2400 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, 94704 

841-6010 

Helps inner-city youth stay in school; promotes lasting interracial understanding among future leaders.  

Nonprofit tax ID: 941156636. 

The Berkeley Chess School 

P.O. Box 136, Berkeley, CA 94701 

843-0150; www.berkeleychessschool.org. 

We are accepting donations which will go towards bringing chess to low-income area schools.  

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-3225242 

Women’s Daytime Drop-In Center 

2218 Alston Way, Berkeley 94702 

548-2884 

Provides meals, support, and referrals for homeless women and children. Seeks volunteers and financial donations.  

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-3123986 

Among the issues the City Council will consider tonight are councilmembers’ recommendations for amendments to three elements of the Draft General Plan.  

The council agreed last Tuesday to approve the Housing, Land Use and Transportation elements by Dec. 18 and consider the six remaining elements early next year. 

In order to meet the deadline, each councilmember agreed to submit recommendations for changes to the three elements by last Friday. Those recommendations will be discussed tonight, and then the council will begin a final round of voting to amend the draft plan. 

Once approved, the revised General Plan will guide the city’s Zoning Ordinance and public policy on a variety of issues including development, environmental management and open space. 

Expansion of winter shelter 

The Housing Department is requesting the City Council approve $36,000 to increase the number of beds at the Joint Winter Shelter at the Oakland Army Base. There are currently 100 beds at the shelter, split 50-50 for Berkeley and Oakland use. If approved, the extra funding will add 25 beds for Berkeley’s homeless.  

The increased funding is a response to the Berkeley Homeless Union’s request to use the former jail at 2171 McKinley Ave. as a temporary shelter. A Housing Department report suggests it would be more practical to increase the capacity of the winter shelter because it is already in use and includes showers, individual case workers and two meals a day.  

Extension of police substation lease 

The council will likely approve the extension of the Traffic Bureau Substation lease at 3140 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The substation has been operating at the location for 10 years. The police department is asking the council for $262,000 to extend the lease through April. 

According to a police department report, the Traffic Bureau is outgrowing the substation and is looking for a new location in south Berkeley. 

Creek Czar 

The council will consider a recommendation from Mayor Shirley Dean and Councilmember Linda Maio seeking funds for the city to hire a creeks and watershed coordinator. The coordinator duties would include pursuing grants for creek restoration and the forming of a creeks Task Force that will make recommendations on creek daylighting efforts, creek maintenance and other watershed issues. 

The recommendation calls for $85,000 in the short term. 

Regulating other worlds 

The Mayor has asked the council to approve a study of regulating the psychic and extrasensory consulting business in Berkeley. According to the Mayor’s report, her office has been “contacted” by longtime practitioner of psychic consulting who is concerned that “unscrupulous persons” who falsely claim psychic abilities are establishing extrasensory consulting businesses in Berkeley.  

According to the recommendation businesses that falsely claim psychic abilities often prey on “elderly, sick, lonely and disabled persons.” 

The recommendation suggests such business be required to have a Berkeley Business License and their proprietors be subjected to criminal background checks.  

Closed session council meeting 

A special City Council meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m. during which council will discuss the appointment of an assistant city manager for transportation. Little is known about the candidate other than he is a British citizen and was most recently held a high position in Toronto’s Transportation Planning Department. 

The council will also conduct labor negotiations with Unit A Fire Management employees as well as conference with the city attorney on matters related to existing litigation and anticipated litigation on the university’s Northeast Quadrant Science and Safety Project and the 1990 Long Range development plan. 

The meeting will be held in the Sixth Floor Conference Room at 2180 Milvia Street. 

Berkeley Redevelopment Agency 

The Berkeley Redevelopment Agency, which consists of Mayor Shirley Dean, Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek and the seven City Councilmembers, will hold special meeting at 6:30 p.m. prior to the City Council’s regular meeting.  

The agency will discuss a loan to the City Retiree Medical Trust Fund in the amount of $600,000 to renovate the Savo Island Redevelopment project, which contains 57 units of housing located in three square blocks near the downtown area. 

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 

Editor: 

I am writing to express my support for the work of the Coalition for Small Schools. Although my older daughter is a ninth grader in Common Ground (which she chose because of her interest in ecology), I had not formed an opinion on the question of transforming Berkeley High as a whole into small schools until I watched the School Board meeting last night on BTV.  

The presentation of the Coalition impressed me as thoughtful, well-researched, and persuasive. I was dismayed that some members of the board seemed to dismiss the presentation as an expression of “passion” to be weighed against other expressions of passion. I trust that the small schools proposal will be judged on its merits and weighed against other researched and reasoned proposals, if there are any, for achieving equity and excellence at Berkeley High.  

Although small schools will not in and of themselves solve the myriad problems of Berkeley High, this movement seems to me to offer our best hope for systemic change that will allow us to move in the direction of providing an excellent education for all of our children.  

In my experience of living 18 years in Berkeley, half of them as the mother of children in BUSD schools, such a collaborative effort of parents and teachers reaching across differences of race, socio-economic status, and educational advantage is unique. I would be proud to be part of such a movement, and I tremble to think what will happen if the dream of transformation is deferred yet again. 

For what it is worth, I have seen the view from the front of the bus. I am white, highly-educated, and middle-class.  

My children are high achievers and have benefited from the ability of my husband and me to act as effective advocates for their educational needs. They will probably be fine, academically at least, even if BUSD misses this chance to make our schools into places where all children can get a good education. But Berkeley will not be fine.  

It will not be the kind of place where my children will want to settle and send their children to school. 

Carol S. Lashof 

Berkeley 

Editor: 

The Bush administration’s grab for unchecked executive power is threatening to turn our nation into a police state. It began with the nonsensical notion that suspicion of terrorism (a charge that requires no proof) is sufficient to secretly and without due process detain and try non-citizen legal residents of the United States. That’s not just illogical, unfair, and un-American – it’s an incredibly bad idea.  

Do we want to sink to the moral level of the non-democratic governments that we routinely criticize for abuse of human rights?  

Do we want to be subject to capricious detention and secret trial when we travel abroad? 

The silence of the American public suggests that many have tacitly agreed to trade the basic rights of non-citizens for an illusion of security. But given our history of home-grown terrorism – e.g., Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski – can we be sure that all the recent tragedies, particularly the anthrax attacks, are the work of foreigners? 

Since Attorney General John Ashcroft has stopped just short of charging his critics in the U.S. Senate with sedition, Congress now more than ever needs our support to do the right thing.  

The world and history will judge us for our efforts to preserve American ideals of justice and fair play in these difficult times. 

Ronnen Levinson 

Berkeley 

A magnitude 2.6 “micro earthquake” that apparently did little more than rattle a few Berkeley windows at 2:54 a.m. Monday was preceded by two even smaller quakes, one measuring a magnitude of .9 at 2:44 a.m. and another measuring 2.3 at 2:42 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park. 

The epicenter lay on the Hayward fault, three miles east-southeast of the city’s center and thought to be four miles deep. 

Hal Macbeth, USGS duty seismologist, said there are at least 10 Northern California quakes every day rated at magnitudes of less than 3.  

People generally do not know about them, he said. The three quakes are “pretty normal activity,” he added, noting they were unrelated to a larger-magnitude 3.6 quake reported in The Geysers, about 27 miles north of Santa Rosa. 

City spokesperson Stephanie Lopez said no damage was reported in Berkeley as a result of the quake. 

OAKLAND — Video games offer little racial and gender diversity, and most contain some level of violence, even those developed for the youngest gamers, a children’s research group said Monday. 

Children Now said it studied the top 10 best-selling games for a variety of game systems, including Sony PlayStation and PlayStation 2, Nintendo’s Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, along with games made for computers. 

Based on those games, the report said nearly all the game heroes are white males, with women representing just 16 percent of human characters. 

It said women generally were portrayed as bystanders or secondary characters. Eighty-six percent of black women were portrayed as victims of violence and there were no Hispanic female characters, it said. 

The study also said that 89 percent of games contained some violent content, half of which resulted in damage to game characters. 

And Children Now said 79 percent of games rated E, for ages six and up, contained violence. 

The study said few of the games studied had features that appealed to girls, such as controllable female characters, the ability to create something and cooperative play. 

“Research shows that girls prefer different video game features than boys,” said Katharine E. Heintz-Knowles, a former professor of communications studies at the University of Washington at Seattle who conducted the study for Children Now. 

“Being comfortable with and enjoying video games and computers may help girls develop an interest in careers in technology, a field in which women are significantly underrepresented.” 

The organization suggested that parents do more than simply read the rating when selecting games for children. Instead, Children Now suggested parents should read the box description of the game, rent games before buying them and talk to other parents about suitable games. 

Children Now is an independent, nonpartisan research and action organization. 

——— 

On The Net: 

www.childrennow.org 

SOUTHERN AFGHAN-ISTAN — An American who fought with the Taliban was gaunt and dehydrated but in good condition Sunday as he recovered from a gunshot wound to his leg, a Marines spokesman said at the southern Afghan base where the man is being held. 

John Walker, 20, of Fairfax, Calif., was found holed up with Taliban fighters after northern alliance forces quelled a bloody prison uprising near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif. U.S. authorities took control of him and flew him to the base. 

Capt. Stewart Upton described Walker’s condition as good and said he is being given intravenous fluids. Citing the Geneva Conventions, Upton said Walker is not allowed to talk to reporters or photographers, but is allowed visits by the international Red Cross. 

Walker’s presence has angered many Marines, and senior commanders say privately they will be pleased if his stay is short. 

“Anyone who would work with the Taliban are horrible people,” said Sgt. Erik Knox, 37, of Chicago. 

A senior military legal adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Marine commanders want Walker off the base as soon as possible and are just waiting for Washington to decide what to do with him. 

Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday that Walker has been providing useful information. He said no final decision has been made on what to do with him. 

“He’s been pretty close to the action, and he has provided from the Afghan perspective some useful information,” Myers said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I think the evidence is pretty strong that he was right in the middle of it.” 

Vice President Dick Cheney, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said: “Somebody will have to make a decision whether he needs to be brought to trial, what the charge might be.” 

The Defense Department has classified his status as a “battlefield detainee.” 

In San Francisco, James Brosnahan, a lawyer for Walker’s parents, declined comment. 

Marines also worked Sunday to build a detention center for prisoners of war just outside the walls of their desert camp. Marines spokesman Capt. David Romley said the camp will house any battlefield detainees or prisoners of war — or even civilians — that U.S. military officials want to hold in Afghanistan. 

Any other detainees would have the same rights as Walker, Romley said. 

At the site where the detention center was being built, a watch tower overlooks a pen with a nine-foot wall of earth. Barbed wire lies on the ground, presumably to string around the perimeter. 

The Justice Department has said Americans who have fought for the Taliban or al-Qaida could face treason, murder, conspiracy or other charges. 

Walker’s parents have described him as an introvert and pacifist who converted to Islam when he was 16. He studied in Yemen and Pakistan, but his parents lost contact with him about six months ago. 

Through their attorney, Frank Lindh and Marilyn Walker, said Friday they are “desperately worried” about their son. 

They also said the government had not given them any word about his their son’s condition or whereabouts. 

Meanwhile, the Marines continued to dig fighting holes around their base, which they man 24 hours a day despite temperatures that drop below freezing at night. 

“My mother is very proud of what I’m doing, but also scared to death,” said Lance Cpl. Phillip Constantine, 20, of New Baeden, Ill. “So far it’s going very smooth.” 

Lance Cpl. Carlos Romero, 23, of Long Beach., missed the birth of his daughter two months ago. But he said it was for a good cause. 

“For us, when they say go, we go,” he said. “We always expect to be in the thick of things.”

Just as Americans opened their wallets for Sept. 11 victims, charity officials say some are now giving to help civilian Afghans who have been uprooted by the war on the Taliban. 

Precisely how much money is being donated is virtually impossible to say, though it’s likely in the tens of millions. Dozens of charities operate overseas and are aiding the Afghans, but many donors give to those humanitarian groups without specifying where the money should go. 

Some personal checks, however, come with the note “for Afghanistan,” or in response to directed appeals or news reports. 

In perhaps the best-publicized Afghan charity drive, children nationwide have donated $1.5 million in response to President Bush’s request that they each give a dollar for Afghan youngsters. 

Young people also collected about $4 million in the 51st annual trick-or-treat Halloween drive for UNICEF. The money was earmarked for Afghanistan, where the effects of drought and civil war were felt for years before this latest crisis. 

But not everyone agrees the Afghans deserve help. 

“We did get two or three hate calls, from people who said ’Why are you taking food out of the mouths of firefighters’ children?”’ said Jeff Meer, executive director of USA for UNHCR (the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees). 

Still, an appeal from the group has raised about $1.6 million in donations so far, a response Meer rates “very strong.” 

“The only other circumstance when we raised money faster for a refugee crisis was for Kosovo,” he said. In that case, Meer’s group raised more than $3 million to help the hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians fleeing a Serb terror campaign. 

Millions of Afghanistan’s roughly 25 million people have fled from their homes. The United Nations estimates 3.5 million now live in refugee camps in Pakistan and Iran, and up to 200,000 in Tajikistan, Meer said. In addition, an estimated 1.5 million Afghans have been displaced but remain in their ravaged country. 

With winter coming, agencies say they need money for emergency basics like tents, plastic ground covers, blankets, jackets, stoves for heating and cooking, kitchen tools, medicine and food. 

Janet Harris, at the International Rescue Committee in New York, said she felt relieved when President Bush assured the world that the United States was waging war on terrorists and those who harbor them, not the Afghan people. 

She also knows the impact when the news media focus on Afghans’ plight. 

“I can tell by ... what’s on the front page, what our checks the next day will be,” Harris said. “Those are the days someone may not write on their check ’Only in Afghanistan,’ (but) I know why they’re doing it.” 

The IRC hopes to raise $17.8 million to provide Afghans with necessities for immediate and long-term survival, from soap and sox, to seeds, wells and water tanks. 

Harris says that giving to her agency is up compared with last year. In October-November 2000, the IRC raised $2.5 million, she said. The same two months this year brought about $6.5 million — including $2 million from a single donor. 

While the total Afghan donations come nowhere close to the $1.4 billion the Chronicle of Philanthropy estimates have gone to Sept. 11 causes, many Americans seem to be remembering Afghans — at least to some degree — when they give. 

For instance, workers at the And 1 basketball shoe and apparel company in Paoli, Pa., organized a fund-raising effort for attacks victims that netted $300,000, much more than expected. An employee committee sent some money to attacks victims, some to local charities, and about $50,000 to Afghans in need. 

Jay Gilbert, co-founder and chief executive officer of And 1, said workers wanted “to make sure people there knew we cared, not only about our own, but about them.” 

———— 

On the Net: 

USA for UNHCR: http://www.unrefugees.org 

International Rescue Committee: http://www.theirc.org 

SAN JOSE — Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp. both fell Monday, their first day of trading after HP’s largest shareholder said it would vote against the proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of Compaq. 

HP and Compaq have vowed to press ahead with the deal despite the opposition of Hewlett and Packard family interests with 18 percent of HP stock. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which holds 10.4 percent of HP shares, said Friday its interests would be better served without the deal. 

The foundation’s president and chief executive, former Los Angeles Times publisher Richard T. Schlosberg III, said Monday the charitable organization would not play an active role in opposing the Compaq acquisition. 

In contrast, HP board member Walter B. Hewlett is preparing for a proxy fight over the deal, filing several critical reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Schlosberg said the 12 trustees on the Packard Foundation’s board were unanimous in opposing the merger, after a “deliberative and careful process.” 

Three daughters of HP co-founder David Packard and two of their husbands are on the board, as are Schlosberg, former HP chief executive Lew Platt and former HP chief operating officer Dean Morton. Packard’s only son, David W. Packard, had already come out against the merger. 

HP shares fell 52 cents, or 2 percent, to $23.00 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange, where Compaq shares were off $1.62, or 14 percent, to $9.70. 

HP and Compaq say they will continue to talk up the benefits of the deal in hopes of ultimately winning shareholder support. If either company were to back out, it would owe the other $675 million. 

HP spokeswoman Rebeca Robboy played down the importance of the families’ opposition. She said investors are likely to look at the transaction differently than the Packards’ charitable foundation did. 

“They have to take a conservative, short-term approach, and we understand and respect their requirements, but a high-tech company competing in a rapidly changing environment has different requirements,” she said. 

Joel Wagonfeld of Banc of America Securities determined that for the deal to win approval now, two-thirds of HP’s institutional investors would have to vote yes, a prospect he considers unlikely. 

“Although we believe the merger could have been a viable long-term option at one point, we think both companies should now focus on mending customer relationships rather than risking further damage by fighting this uphill battle,” Wagonfeld wrote in a research note. 

Perhaps the most influential undecided constituency left is Institutional Shareholder Services, a Maryland-based advisory firm that in some cases casts votes for shareholders. For example, Barclays Global Investors, which owns more than 3 percent of HP’s stock, is deferring to ISS because Barclays’ chief executive, Patricia Dunn, is on HP’s board. 

The ISS report is not expected until late January at the earliest, because its analysts will wait for HP and Compaq to file their final proxy statement and set a date for a shareholder vote. 

ISS also has not yet met with HP management or opponents such as Walter Hewlett, said Ram Kumar, the ISS assistant director for U.S. research. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.hp.com 

http://www.compaq.com 

SAN FRANCISCO — Calpine Corp.’s shares plunged 17 percent Monday amid investor fears the rapidly expanding power generator is headed down the same perilous path that ruined one of its biggest business partners, bankrupt Enron Corp. 

The fallout from Enron’s stunning collapse last month has hurt the stocks of most major power wholesalers, reflecting worries that its collapse will ripple through the entire power industry. 

Calpine had been a focal point of Wall Street’s concerns because the San Jose-based company collected $1.3 billion — 23 percent of its total revenue — from Enron through the first nine months of the year. 

But the fears took on a new dimension over the weekend with the publication of a New York Times article that asserted Calpine’s financial statements have become as befuddling as Enron. 

The comparison unnerved investors because Calpine — like Enron in its heyday — has put together a run of robust earnings that made it one Wall Street’s hottest stocks earlier this year as the company pursued its goal of becoming the nation’s largest power producer. 

While pointing out the differences between the two companies, the New York Times wrote, “Calpine is looking more like Enron by the day.” 

Calpine on Monday labeled the Times article “inaccurate and misleading,” but the company’s reassurance didn’t soothe investors still licking their wounds from the Enron debacle that wiped out nearly $70 billion in shareholder wealth. 

Calpine’s shares fell $3.58, or 17 percent, to $17.79 Monday during trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock peaked at $58.04 in March when electricity prices in California and the rest of the nation were still rising. 

The steep decline in energy prices over the summer didn’t put a serious dent in Calpine’s growth in the third quarter, though. The company earned $320.8 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, more than doubling its profit from the prior year. 

Calpine’s energy trading division has helped the company shore up its earnings even as it receives less money for the electricity generated at the roughly 50 power plants that it runs around the country. 

Because a trading arm depends on complex financial contracts known as derivatives, the earnings from the operations are notoriously difficult to decipher, acknowledged industry analyst Ronald Barone of UBS Warburg. 

But that complexity doesn’t mean Calpine is engaging in the same type of dubious accounting that contributed to Enron’s demise, Barone said. 

One of the biggest differences between Calpine and Enron is the basic structure of the two businesses. 

Calpine is “asset heavy” with about 80 percent of its earnings coming from its power plants, Barone said. Enron, in contrast, is “asset light” with three-fourths of its earnings coming from byzantine energy trading and investment partnerships, Barone estimated. 

Calpine shares at least one trait with Enron: the company is unlikely to meet the earnings goals recently laid out by management. Calpine promised Wall Street annual earnings increases of 30 percent, but Barone and other analysts believe the company’s profit will grow at about half that rate. 

——— 

On The Net: 

http://www.calpine.com 

SAN JOSE — JDS Uniphase Corp., a leading maker of optical networking components, reaffirmed its gloomy second-quarter sales outlook Monday and predicted more bad news to come. 

As the company said in October, sales for the three months ending Dec. 29 are expected to be 10 percent to 15 percent below the $329 million reported in its fiscal first quarter. 

Analysts were expecting second quarter sales of $286.4 million, or a 12.9 percent drop from the first quarter numbers, according to a survey by Thomson Financial/First Call. 

Last year, JDSU reported second-quarter revenues of $925 million. 

The company also said it expects to bottom out in the third quarter with sales up to 15 percent below the second quarter. It predicts a modest initial recovery. 

JDS Uniphase, which is based in San Jose and Ottawa, was hit hard by the economic downturn as demand for communications equipment withered. It was at the time expanding through acquisitions. 

In the past fiscal year, which ended June 30, the company lost more than $55 billion, mostly the result of writedowns related to companies it acquired. It’s believed to be the largest annual loss ever in U.S. corporate history. 

The company also sliced its work force to about 13,000, down from 29,000 earlier this year. 

Shares of JDS Uniphase closed down 58 cents, or more than 5.5 percent, to $9.95 in Monday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. 

——— 

On the Net: 

JDS Uniphase: http://www.jdsu.com 

PASADENA — A flood of legal briefs to the nation’s largest federal appeals court predicts the trashing of some deeply held American ideals no matter the case’s outcome. 

Balancing the right to an abortion against free speech, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is reconsidering its March ruling backing a Web site where abortion providers appear to be targeted for death and torment. 

A decision supporting free speech in the closely watched case, being heard by 11 of the circuit’s judges on Tuesday in Pasadena could tread on the rights of doctors and those seeking abortions, and foster a climate of violence targeting abortion providers, some say. 

Others fear the outcome could dramatically curtail constitutionally protected rights of speech — even for those merely gathering and disseminating public information. 

In March, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit threw out a $109 million verdict against some anti-abortion activists, ruling that the First Amendment protects a Web site that publishes personal information about abortion doctors in a section it calls the “Nuremberg Files.” 

The defendants see themselves as political protesters collecting data on doctors in hopes of one day putting them on trial just as Nazi war criminals were at Nuremberg. 

But a federal judge and a Portland, Ore., jury found in 1999 that the Web site and some Most Wanted-style posters the activists created were “true threats to kill” because the abortion doctors were being tormented and three of them murdered. Once killed, their names appear crossed off on the Web site. 

Despite the gloom-and-doom predictions, the controversial speech that has caused abortion providers to use disguises, bodyguards and bulletproof vests most likely will continue unabated no matter what the appellate court rules. 

Neal Horsley, the Carrollton, Ga., man who runs the “Nuremberg Files,” said he will keep publishing personal dossiers about abortion doctors and information about their “crimes against humanity.” 

“This court case won’t shut me up,” Horsley said. “They can do whatever they want. I ain’t going to stop.” 

The only way of stopping him, he said, is arresting him. Authorities have not brought a case against him, although the FBI has warned abortion doctors that their names appear on the Web site. 

Dozens of Internet service providers have dropped his site, but he has constantly shifted to new providers, some of them overseas and immune from a potential order from a U.S. judge to shut down. 

The Web site is closely watched by anti-abortion activists — including FBI fugitive Clayton Lee Waagner, who came to Horsley’s house on Nov. 23. Waagner said he was going to kill dozens of abortion doctors and that he was responsible for recently sending hundreds of anthrax threats to medical clinics. 

“I think he came to me because I could get the word out,” said Horsley, who tipped off the FBI to the visit. Waagner was arrested last week in Cincinnati. 

Ironically, Horsley isn’t even named in the lawsuit. The defendants are a dozen individuals and anti-abortion groups who allegedly gave Horsley the personal information about abortion providers that appears online. 

An Oregon chapter of Planned Parenthood and a number of abortion doctors sued under a 1994 federal law that makes it illegal to incite violence against abortion doctors.  

Only as the case was headed for trial in 1999 did the doctors figure out Horsley was running the Web site. Adding him to the lawsuit would have caused substantial delays, attorneys close to the case said. 

On the Web site, Internet surfers can click an icon “to see the list of baby butcherers and a few of the people who have been killed.” The site notes whether the doctors are “working” “wounded” or a “fatality.” 

The name of Eleanor Smeal, the president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, which counsels independent abortion clinics, appears on the site under “a list of miscellaneous spouses & other blood flunkies.” 

“They’re trying to intimidate pro-choice leaders,” Smeal said. 

In siding with the anti-abortionists, the three-judge appellate panel ruled in March that they could be held liable for monetary damages only if their material authorized or directly threatened violence. 

“If defendants threatened to commit violent acts, by working alone or with others, then their (works) could properly support the verdict,” Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski wrote. “But if their (works) merely encouraged unrelated terrorists, then their words are protected by the First Amendment.” 

Don Treshman, a defendant in the case from Baltimore who said he has been arrested 200 times for blockading abortion clinics, applauded the original ruling. 

“We now retain the free speech right to call abortion what it is: cold-blooded murder of a baby in the womb,” he said. 

Treshman and the others argued that their Most Wanted posters and Web site dossiers are protected speech because they merely list doctors and clinics — and are not a threat. 

Susan Popik, a San Francisco lawyer who filed a brief on behalf of more than a dozen abortion and woman’s groups, said the judges may view things differently after Sept. 11. 

“I do think people right now are more sensitive to threatening conduct and perhaps at some deep unconscious level the court will view this kind of conduct more seriously,” Popik said 

The trial judge, U.S. District Judge Robert Jones, had instructed the jury to consider the history of violence in the anti-abortion movement, including the slayings of three doctors after their names appeared on the lists. 

One was Dr. Barnett Slepian, who was killed by a sniper in 1998 at his home near Buffalo, N.Y. Slepian’s name was crossed out on the Web site later that same day. 

Doctors on the list testified that they lived in constant fear and instructed their children to crouch in the bathtub if they heard gunfire. 

After the jury’s verdict in 1999, Judge Jones called the Web site and the wanted posters “blatant and illegal communication of true threats to kill.” 

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., who sponsored a bill that Congress approved in 1994 prohibiting violence or threats of violence at abortion clinics, said if the 9th Circuit’s decision overturning Jones stands, “we will see a renewed effort to intimidate, threaten and harm women and doctors in an effort to shut down clinics.” 

They include Michael Bray of Bowie, Md., author of a book that justifies killing doctors to stop abortions. Bray went to prison from 1985 to 1989 for his role in arson attacks and bombings of seven clinics. Another is Cathy Ramey of Portland, an editor at Life Advocate magazine and author of “In Defense of Others,” which defends people who refuse to condemn the killing of abortion providers. 

The case is Planned Parenthood v. American Coalition of Life Activists, 99-35405. 

OSLO, Norway — Saying “humanity is indivisible,” U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for global cooperation in fighting poverty, ignorance and disease as he and the United Nations accepted the centennial Nobel Peace Prize on Monday. 

Annan said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States showed that the world is divided less by borders than by the gap between the fortunate and the dispossessed. He said the cost of ignoring human dignity, fundamental freedoms, security, food and education was steep. 

“Today, no walls can separate humanitarian or human rights crises in one part of the world from national security crises in another,” he said. “What begins with the failure to uphold the dignity of one life, all too often ends with a calamity for entire nations.” 

The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee presented the $950,000 prize, which includes diplomas and gold medals, to Annan and the president of the U.N. General Assembly, South Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo, representing the world body. 

Annan has given “the U.N. an external prestige and an internal morale” hardly before seen since the world body’s founding in 1945, chairman Gunnar Berge said. 

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the first prize, more than 20 peace laureates from previous years, including East Timorese freedom fighter Jose Ramos-Horta and South Africa’s Desmond Tutu, joined them on the stage for the 90-minute ceremony at Oslo City Hall, amid tight security. 

Norway’s royal family and other dignitaries also attended, and a torchlight parade and a banquet were planned in the evening. 

A week of centennial festivities, including a three-day symposium attended by the Dalai Lama and 27 other peace laureates, was to culminate Tuesday with a concert by Paul McCartney and other stars. 

Annan looked back on the last century, which suffered two World Wars and brutal civil conflicts, and said it was important to confront new security threats that “make no distinction between races, nations or regions.” 

“We have entered the third millennium through a gate of fire,” he said. “If today, after the horror of 11 September, we see better, and we see further — we will realize that humanity is indivisible. 

Quoting from the Quran, Confucius and the Bible, Annan said all major faiths recognize the values of tolerance. 

Annan outlined three priorities for the United Nations as eradicating poverty, preventing conflict and promoting democracy. “We must focus, as never before, on improving the conditions of individual men and women,” he said. 

Annan, a 63-year-old Ghanaian, and the United Nations will share the prize equally for their efforts to achieve peace and security in the world, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in announcing the award on Oct. 12. 

The awards in literature, medicine, physics, chemistry and economics were to be presented later Monday in Stockholm, Sweden, where some 160 laureates from those categories were gathered. 

About 3,000 Norwegian schoolchildren greeted Annan before the ceremony began. Annan, on a stage with Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, lit a peace torch. 

Annan became secretary-general of the 189-member United Nations in 1997 and has won high marks for focusing the global spotlight on poverty, human rights abuses, conflicts in Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East, and the AIDS epidemic. 

He also has faced criticism for trying to negotiate with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and for standing by as U.N. peacekeepers were kidnapped in Sierra Leone. 

Annan joined the United Nations in 1962 as an administrator with the World Health Organization in Geneva. He was the first leader to be elected from the ranks of U.N. staff and was unanimously reappointed to a second-five year term in June, six months before his first term expires on Dec. 31. 

At least 13 U.N. agencies and people connected to the world body have won the prize before, but it had never gone to the organization itself. In 1961, U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold was awarded the prize posthumously after his death in a plane crash on a peace mission to Congo. 

The Nobel Prizes are always presented on Dec. 10, marking the date their benefactor, Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, died in 1896. 

Last year’s peace prize went to South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Nobel site, http://www.nobel.no 

U.N. site, http://www.un.org 

On a chilly December evening, Manuel Oliver, 68, his small frame encased in layers of warm clothing, turns the dials of his small electric stove to “high” and waits anxiously for the burners to glow a warm red. 

Finally the burners begin to heat. Oliver can tell because one of the burners begins to smoke as a remnant from a recently cooked meal burns off. Oliver’s small studio in the Harriet Tubman House, a low-income seniors residence, fills with smoke as he rubs his hands together over the burner. 

“The oven doesn’t work but if the burners are on full they heat the place up a little,” said Oliver. 

Heat is important for Oliver because he suffers from bronchitis.  

“When it gets too cold, I have to go to the hospital,” he said. 

Oliver and 20 other seniors, many with serious medical conditions, held a press conference Friday to demand the owners of the 92-unit Harriet Tubman House repair an inadequate heating system they say is threatening their health and well-being. The press conference, during which the seniors waived placards and wore Christmas hats, was attended by several state housing advocates and Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who organized the event. 

Monday, Dec. 10

Strains, Sprains, and Joint 

Injuries 

10:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Discussion with Dr. Loron McGillis. 644-6343 

Tuesday, Dec. 11

The search for a Nonviolent  

Future 

3:30 - 5 p.m. 

Graduate Theological University 

2400 Ridge Rd. 

Hewlett Library, Dinner Board Rm. 

Discussion with Micheael Nagler, author of “Is There No Other Way.” Free. 649-2560 .  

The Bombings in Indonesia,  

1998-2001 

3:30 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

220 Stephens Hall, Geballe Room 

Exclusive of Aceh, Malukus, and West Papua. With Father Sandyawan Sumardi. Free. 642-3609. 

The Spirit of Christmas Class 

7 - 9 p.m. 

1250 Addison  

Studio 103 

Explore the metaphysics of the Christmas Story. 540-8844, patricia@newthoughtunity.org. 

Feldenkrais Chair Class for  

Seniors 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com 

Heading Off The Holiday  

Blues 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Discussion with Elizabeth Forrest. 644-6343 

Feldenkrais Floor Class for  

Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com. 

Holiday Mixer 

5:30 - 7 p.m. 

Filippo’s Pasteria 

1499 Solano Ave. 

The Solano Avenue Association invites you.  

Wednesday, Dec. 12

Hawaiian Festival 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Dancers, music and refreshments. 644-6343 

Lecture Series on Women  

Medieval Mystics 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

All Souls Parish 

2220 Cedar St. 

Three Women Mystics: An Advent Lecture Series. Exploration of their spiritual quests designed to offer a new sense of spiritual possibilities in modern times. Free. Supervised childcare will be provided. 848-1755. 

Near Death Experience  

Support Group 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Church 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

International Association of Near-Death Studies offers an open, sharing, and supportive environment for the exploration of Near Death Experiences. 

Thursday, Dec. 13

Berkeley High School Band  

and Orchestra’s Winter  

Concert 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Community Theater 

Allston and MLK Jr. Way 

$4 gen., $1 students. 528-2098. 

Discussion on Mumia Abu  

Jamal 

7:30 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Bob Mandel and Sara Fuchs discuss the implications of Sept. 11 on the Mumia Abu Jamal case. $3. 653-7882 

The Challenges of Indonesia 

2 - 3 p.m. 

2223 Fulton Ave. 

6th Floor Conference Room 

Journalist, poet and former Editor of Tempo Magazine, Goenawan Mohamad. 642-3609. 

Snowcamping Class 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Chuck Collingwood and Martin Thomas present a slide lecture on the essentials for surviving overnight in the snow and discuss the basics for safe and enjoyable ski or snowshoe travel. 527-4140 

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Claremont Branch Library 

2940 Benvenue Ave. 

Monthly meeting that features people telling stories about the ways they have changed their lives by finding ways to work less, consume less, 

rush less, and have more time to build community with friends and family, as well as live more lightly upon the planet. 549-3509, www.seedsofsimplicity.org. 

Gaia Building Open House  

Benefit 

4 - 8 p.m. 

The Gaia Building, 7th Floor 

2116 Allston Way 

The Gaia Building, an innovative residential housing project, celebrates its opening with an open house to benefit the Berkeley Emergency Food and Housing Project. $10, sliding scale. 883-1000, panoramicinterests.com. 

Community Health  

Commission 

6:45 - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

New Business Action: Increased funding for Public Health Infrastructure. 644-6109, phd@ci.berkeley.ca.us. 

Friday, Dec. 14

Dunsmuir Historic Estate  

Holiday Season 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland 

Volunteers have transformed the 50-acre estate and the 1899 mansion into a holiday event. 925-275-9595, www.dunsmuir.org. 

Partial-Solar Eclipse Viewing 

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Dr., just above UC Berkeley Campus 

Telescopes and specially designed sun-spotters will be set up for safe viewing of the partial eclipse. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

An International Christmas 

8 p.m. 

Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension 

4700 Lincoln Ave., Oakland 

A concert featuring children’s voices, hand bells, carols, hymns, Messiah excepts, and children’s book-singing. Free. 531-3400 

Saturday, Dec. 15

Calendar Sale Fundraiser for  

Berkeley High School’s 

Communications and Art  

School 

9 - 11 a.m. 

2310 Valley St. 

A huge variety of calendars to raise funds for video equipment for CAS. 843-2780, lorberlin@aol.com. 

Dunsmuir Historic Estate  

Holiday Season 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland 

Volunteers have transformed the 50-acre estate and the 1899 mansion into a holiday event. 925-275-9595, www.dunsmuir.org.

Editor: 

I am writing to join European and Middle Eastern leaders in their opposition to any future U.S. military action against Iraq. 

President Bush has intimated that he will “punish” Iraq for rejecting calls for international weapons inspection — and off cials within the administration are known to be urging strikes against Iraq. 

Yet military action against Iraq will almost certainly backfire: as recent history tragically unde scores, there is no such thing as a ‘surgical air strike’ against select enemies. Innocent civilians are inevitably killed — by the hundreds. If we bomb Iraq, we will certainly horrify and alienate U.S. allies in the Middle East at a time when we need their cooperation more than ever.  

And of course we can all too easily imagine what the long term consequences of such attacks might be in the hearts and minds of our enemies. 

The war on terrorism will not be won by the continued bombing of destitute populations by a wealthy, powerful U.S. A number of World Trade Center victims — understanding all too well the human cost of “collateral damage” — have begun to articulate this fact in an urgent call for the cessation of violence; one wishes Bush and his advisers would stop and listen. 

Sheila S. Newbery 

Berkeley 

924 Gilman Dec. 14: Hot Water Music, American Steel, F-Minus, Trial By Fire; Dec. 15: Strung Out, Limp, The Frisk, The Deadlines, The Creeps; Dec. 16: 5 p.m., Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Downway, Audio Crush; Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic, Breaker Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Dec. 11: Mad & Eddic Duran Jazz Duo; Dec. 13: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 15: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; Dec. 18: Panacea; Dec. 19: Whiskey Brothers; Dec. 20: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 27: Keni “El Lebrijano”; All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

Anna’s Dec. 10: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 11: Singers’ Open Mike #2; Dec. 12: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 13: Rev. Rabia, The Blueswoman; Dec. 14: Anna and Mark Little on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 15: Jazz Singers Vicki Burns and Felice York; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 16: The Jazz Fourtet; Dec. 17: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 18: Tangria Jazz Trio; Dec. 19: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 20: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Dec. 21: Anna and Percy Scott on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 22: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 23: Jazz Singer Ed Reed; All music starts 8 p.m. unless noted. 1801 University Ave., 849-2662. 

Cal Performances Dec. 19: Berkeley Symphony, $21 - $45; 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; Dec. 16: 3-8 p.m., Beverly Stovall Benefit, Jimmy McCracklin, JJ Malone, Jimi Mamou, Johnny Talbott. $10. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight & Salvage Coffee House Dec. 10: John Wesley Harding, David Lewis & Sheila Nichols; Dec. 12: Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart; Dec. 13: Kevin Burke; Dec. 14: Dale Miller; Dec. 15: Robin Flower & Libby McLaren; Jan. 6: Allette Brooks. All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Dec. 23: 7:30 p.m., an evening of Irish music and dance with Todd Denman and friends. $10, $5 children; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, Program of classical favorites of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra; Jan. 12: 8:p.m., “Club Dance,” Teens come together to express their individual personalities and gifts as dancers. $10, Students and Seniors $6, Children ages 5 and under $6. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Dec. 12: Mushroom; Dec. 13: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 14: Broun Fellini’s; Dec. 15: Norah Jones and Jim Campilongo; Dec. 19: Spectraphonic; Dec. 20: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 21: Crater; Dec. 22: Post Junk Trio; Dec. 27: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 29: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Kirk Tamura Trio; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Holly Near, $15-$17; Dec. 16: 5 p.m, Flamenca Community Juerga, Free; Dec. 16: 7 p.m, Modupue & UpSurge, $8; Dec. 23: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568, www.lapena.org 

“Music on Telegraph” 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. 

Rose Street House Dec. 14 & 15: 7:30 p.m., Benefit Concert and Birthday Party, Shelly Doty and grassroots community of women singers and song writers; Dec. 25: 3 p.m., Annual “Dykelah Escape-from-you-know-what-day Musical Extravaganza!”; Jan.17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley Dec. 15: 2 p.m., “All-Brahms piano recital,” Yu-Ting Chen performs. Free; Jan. 6: 3 p.m., Stephen Genz in his West Coast debut; 2345 Channing Way, 527-8175, www.geocities.com/mostlybrahms.  

“The Christmas Revels” Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Dec. 15: 1 & 5 p.m., Dec. 16: 1 & 5 p.m., celtic music, dance and storry telling. $15-$30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 893-9853 www.calrevels.org.  

“WAVE,” Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble Dec.14: 7:30 p.m., concert of Christmas music. $10, Students $5. Calvary Presbyterian Church, 1940 Virginia St., 848-9132. 

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Dec. 14: 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 15: 7:30 p.m.; California Shakespeare Festival Student Company, presents a comedy with romance. Free. Rehearsal Hall, 701 Heintz St. 548-3422 X114. sunny@calshakes.org. 

“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 

“Black Nativity” Through Dec. 16th: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2:30 p.m., 8 p.m., Sun. 5:30 p.m.; The birth of Jesus unfolds in this drama written by Langston Hughes. Directed and produced by Betty Gadling. $15 adults, $8 seniors and students, $5 children over 5. Allen Temple Baptist Church, 8501 International Blvd., Oakland 569-9418 www.allen-temple.org

Cal loses third straight as St. Mary’s takes over in game’s final minutes 

The California women’s basketball team battled hard but lost to Bay Area rival St. Mary’s, 53-50, Saturday night at Haas Pavilion.  

The Golden Bears’ record falls to 4-3 with their third straight loss, while the Gaels record improves to 4-3.  

Freshman point guard Kristin Iwanaga had given the Bears an eight-point lead when she hit a three-point shot to make the score 45-37 with 6:40 remaining. But a 16-5 run clinched the game for St. Mary’s.  

Cal last led at 50-48. But point guard Corrie Mizusawa gave the Gaels the lead for good with a 3-pointer from the right baseline, to make the score 51-50 with 1:25 left. Cal had a chance to tie the game with 0.4 seconds left. Coach Caren Horstmeyer called a timeout and inserted 3-point specialist Janet Franey. But the Bears could not cleanly handle the inbounds pass and did not get a shot off as time expired.  

“Their experience took over down the stretch,” Horstmeyer said of the Gaels. “Corrie Mizusawa hit a big shot. She hadn’t really hit anything all day.” 

Cal guard LaTasha O’Keith, who hit 3-for-3 from 3-point land and 2-for-2 from the free throw line, scored a career-high 15 points in the loss. Freshman forward Leigh Gregory added 13 points for the Bears.  

Cal held Jerkisha Dosty, the WCC’s third-leading scorer at 15.8 points per game, to just 8 points. But her twin sister, Jermisha Dosty, led the visitors with 14.  

Mizusawa finished with 7 points and a game-high 9 assists but also had a game-high 7 turnovers. Forward Amber White tied her career high with 6 assists.  

St. Mary’s became the first opponent this season to outrebound Cal, at 46-35. Jermisha Dosty led the Gaels with 9 boards. Ami Forney paced the Bears with 10 rebounds.  

“Every game we played, we’ve out-rebounded our opponents, and they out-rebounded us by 11. That was a big, big, big factor in the game,” Horstmeyer said. “We average 28 free throws in the game. By taking only nine, that shows we weren’t aggressive. We needed to be more aggressive from an offensive perspective.”  

In the first half, both teams struggled to score in stretches and the game stood tied at 11-11 with 9:25 to play. The Gaels then went on a 13-3 run to grab their biggest lead of the game at 24-14.  

Cal chipped in to Saint Mary’s 27-19 halftime lead by utilizing a full-court press through most of the second half. The Bears took the lead for the first time at 37-36 on a Gregory basket with 11:41 left in the game and led for the next nine minutes.  

“We need to find some offense,” said Horstmeyer. “Our defense is keeping people under 55 points per game. Defensively, we’re playing extremely well. We need to find some ways to put points on the board. We were able to pressure Saint Mary’s in the full-court. That brought us back into the game. The problem was the last five or six minutes we struggled to score, so that we couldn’t press.”  

The Bears now take a break for finals. They next play on Dec. 21 in the Pac-10 opener at Arizona followed by a Dec. 23 game at Arizona State. Cal returns to Haas Pavilion for a Dec. 28 game with USC.

OAKLAND – “It’s nice to be home,” said 9th District Rep. Barbara Lee, as she entered a town hall meeting to a standing ovation. 

Around 300 Lee constituents showed up for the Congresswoman’s meeting Saturday morning. While many came to talk about specific pieces of legislation, the majority simply wanted to show their support for Lee’s contrary position on the war in Afghanistan and related matters. 

The theme of the meeting, which was held at the Ronald Dellums Federal Building in Oakland, was security and safety in the wake of Sept. 11. Many representatives from local city and county governments – as well as the state Office of Emergency Services and the FBI – were on hand to discuss the East Bay’s level of preparedness for terrorist attacks and natural disasters. 

Lee said that the local governments in her district have been exemplary in their response to the crisis. 

“I am very proud and pleased about the way our county has come together,” she said. “[Local agencies] have been

Editor: 

As we all know from recent extensive press coverage, thousands of Americans have been tragically killed over the past few months by cars. Therefore, if you should happen to see a car while strolling through downtown Berkeley, it is important during this time of crisis to adhere to the following special safety guidelines: 

•If the car is moving, do not approach it. Cars sometimes change direction suddenly for no apparent reason, striking nearby people or other objects. Run quickly into a building or other recessed area which is too small for the car to enter. When the car is no longer in view, proceed to your destination with caution. 

•If the car is not moving, quickly surround the car with dumpsters and other heavy objects to prevent it from escaping. Place large signs in the area saying “Warning: Car in Vicinity. Keep Away.” 

•In addition to your eyes, keep your nose and ears open. Moving cars can readily be detected by the distinctive odors and odd noises that they produce. 

•Especially avoid dented cars, “sports” cars, and all those overly tall station wagons. 

•Try to “breathe around” the carbon monoxide. 

•As soon as possible, notify the local quality of life authorities for permanent removal of the car. 

While some may consider the above guidelines to be overly cautious or restrictive, our future depends on your compliance and cooperation. Thank you. 

Ken Cheetham 

Berkeley

Construction of the new “Milvia buildings” on the Berkeley High School campus is running two months behind schedule, school officials said, pushing back the expected completion date to June 2003. 

Meanwhile, community activists are asking for development of a campus master plan and a greater voice in deciding the fate of open space adjacent to the construction site. The space became available this summer when the Berkeley Board of Education asked Arntz Builders, contractor for the Milvia project, to tear down the high school’s B Building damaged in a fire last year. 

Lew Jones, manager of facilities planning for the school district, said the delays resulted from the unexpected discovery of several underground obstacles to construction at the site, which once housed a PG&E facility, and more recently featured a school cafeteria and heating plant.  

The obstacles, Jones said, were an old PG&E storage tank, the foundations of school district and PG&E buildings, and an old PG&E switch, or “distribution point.” 

Jones, and project manager Bob Arntz of Arntz Builders, said the delays are normal for a project of this size.  

Bruce Wicinas, father of two students at BHS, and a member of the Citizens’ Construction Advisory Committee, agreed.  

“Based on where the delay came from, that’s actually not bad,” Wicinas said, referring to the two-month hold-up. “There’s no reason to believe the rest of the project will be like this.” 

Jones said the delays have not led to any significant changes to the project’s $36 million budget, although the district has dipped into some of its contingency funds, built into the budget, since construction began in February. 

When the two buildings are complete, the northern facility will include a student

Editor: 

Thank you for such an illuminating article on the Planning Department. A good start to examining how Berkeley municipal government works — or doesn’t. A serious difficulty with hiring and retaining employees? I think Mr. Rhoades may raise an important point: just how competitive is the employment package offered by the city? To the extent that there is a serious discrepancy with surrounding jurisdictions, that could contribute significantly to a morale problem. 

One might also ask how the numbers employed in Berkeley’s planning department compare with those in other, similarly sized jurisdictions. 

Yet, I think Mr. Rhoades put his finger on the pulse of a far more subtle and crucial problem, and perhaps wisely left the reader to judge: the complexity of Berkeley’s codes. In my 18-month experience with navigating the city’s processes and ordinances, they are unnecessarily complex, procedurally opaque, provide for poor internal flow between responsible boards, commissions, and offices, and impose remarkable barriers to meaningful citizen in-put.  

If I were to offer a single suggestion to begin to repair the planning department’s problems, it would be to establish a commitment to consistency between plans and ordinances. Then use this commitment to reduce the remarkably high degree of discretion in Berkeley’s ordinances and procedures. Discretion, verging on the arbitrary, pervades every turning in the planning department to the point that there are few rules and no basis on which either a citizen or a developer (let alone staff) can base a reasonable expectation. No wonder the poor developers go nuts trying to propose a project in Berkeley! No one can tell them what they are actually allowed to build because so much of it is subject to discretionary decision by a host of bodies. Worse, the poor citizen can never get a straight answer about the maximum appropriate dimensions to a proposed project, for the same reason — exacerbated by that fact that the developer winds up shooting for maximum envelope (or beyond) in the hopes of being left with something adequately feasible. The present framework sets developers and concerned citizens on a collision course. Most of the zoning districts have maximum heights that aren’t maximums, but may be exceeded by use permits, and further exceeded with variances. Only five of the eighteen zoning districts with a residential component actually have an established maximum residential density, the rest are either limitless or to be determined, project-by-project, on the basis of “surrogate factors” that are nowhere defined. 

Historic failure to establish a municipal vision with goals clearly supported by a community consensus is one reason for this problem. Ignoring the plans that have been developed by broad-based community effort is another reason. The University Avenue Strategic Plan languishes unimplemented five years after its adoption. The West Berkeley Plan was poorly implemented with respect to development on San Pablo Avenue. The present General Plan appears headed for piece-meal destruction after nearly three years of broad-based development with wide public in-put. Yet, even when the General Plan, in whatever form, is adopted, the absence of the city’s commitment to consistency between its plans and ordinances (a privilege of being a Charter City), means that it has no obligation to implement the promises to which it pledges itself when adopting a plan. Berkeley could correct this by imposing that obligation upon itself.  

Establishing a commitment to consistency, to implementing that which it adopts as its guidance, would begin to introduce a discipline and symmetry that would reduce the alleged need for so much low-level discretion — a discretion unavoidable in the absence of clear directive, policy, or a Plan that is honored. 

Juggling all that discretion requires time: time to gather information, analyze, consider, and recommend. That creates a burden of work from which planning cannot otherwise escape and, with an increasing work load, cannot adequately perform. It places staffers in a position demanding a degree of even-handed integrity that not a few of Berkeley’s citizens have come to wonder might be over-taxed. That citizen commissions and boards play a role in the exercise of discretion offers no real solution. The individuals that compose them may or may not demonstrate sensitivity to the complexity of the issues, substantive knowledge of them, or appreciation for due public process. They are given minimal orientation and, in many instances, even less support by an over-worked staff. But faithful stewardship is hobbled by the inconsistency and complexity of the city’s practices. Berkeley’s ordinances are needlessly complex. Commitment to consistency of ordinances with plans would begin the process of whittling away arbitrary and inconsistent decision-making processes, stream-lining procedure, and clarifying the rules of the game. And through it all, we might re-establish the professional pride of the planning department and the public’s confidence in the work it performs. 

Howie Muir 

Berkeley

SAN FRANCISCO – Family and friends gathered Sunday in the Santa Cruz mountains to remember 7-year-old Xiana Fairchild, abducted on her way to school two years ago. 

The private prayer service was held in Los Gatos near the site where construction workers found pieces of a human skull in January. DNA tests confirmed the remains belonged to Xiana, deflating the hopes of hundreds of people who had searched for her around the former Navy town of Vallejo, about 35 miles northeast of San Francisco. 

The killer still has not been arrested, and police have no suspects. 

But those who loved Xiana are using her name to do good. A toy drive was held Sunday to benefit needy children. A candlelight vigil was also planned and attendees were to retrace Xiana’s last known steps. 

“She’s just constantly on my mind,” said Stephanie Kahalekulu, Xiana’s great-aunt who raised the girl from infancy. “I think there’s still a bit of disbelief.” 

The need to find her niece’s killer was so keen, Kahalekulu sold her belongings and moved her family from Colorado to California last summer to help in the search. 

Vallejo too continues to remember Xiana. 

“As you know, it ended badly, and that was certainly unfortunate,” said Mark Mazzaferro, the city’s spokesman. But “a lot of people learned that number one, Vallejo cares, because this community really came together and worked hard to find this little girl.” 

Children’s books and a corner of the kids’ area at a city library bear Xiana’s name. Volunteers assist other area families looking for their missing children. 

“It’s knowledge you never, ever want to have,” Kahalekulu said. “But then when you find a family, you see a family, their child disappears, they have no clue, no clue what to do and that’s exactly where you were two years ago and you can’t just sit there knowing what you know.” 

The giggling, gap-toothed Xiana lives on in the videotapes her great-aunt watches over and over. 

Strangers still approach Kahalekulu in supermarket parking lots to tell her they’re sorry for her family’s loss. 

“Wherever I go,” she said, “somebody will come up and they’re still saying, ’I’m really sorry about what happened, and we’re still praying for justice for her.”’ 

Xiana’s mother and her boyfriend, Antoinette Robinson and Robert Turnbough, also have drawn police scrutiny, though no charges have been filed and both deny involvement. 

Xiana disappeared six months after Robinson reclaimed her in June 1999, against the wishes of other relatives. Turnbough initially told police he’d dropped Xiana off at the bus stop that day, then later said she left the house by herself. 

Curtis Dean Anderson, who is serving a 251-year prison sentence for kidnapping and sexually assaulting another young Vallejo girl, is under a “cloud of suspicion,” said Sgt. Mark Eastus of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department. But Anderson’s past declarations that he killed Xiana have been unproven.

SAN FRANCISCO – A fund-raiser Saturday collected about $5,000 to pay off the Bay Area’s famous Doggie Diner statue’s restoration. 

The dachshund head was repaired this summer by the Department of Public Works after high winds last April ripped the 500 pound dog head off its pole, sending it into the street. 

The restoration cost a total of $25,000, and the city of San Francisco paid for $15,000 of it. 

The fiberglass dachshund sustained damage to its nose and mouth. 

The last of the 30 Doggie Diner restaurants, once landmarks in the San Francisco Bay area, closed in 1986. In all, 12 heads — including the one on Sloat — are known to remain, said John Law of Emeryville, who owns three. 

LIVERMORE – Friday night Eric Leroy Miller heard two thumps on his front door and when he opened it, he found a newborn baby lying on his doorstep. 

Miller, a chemist and a bachelor, took the baby girl inside his upscale apartment and called police. 

Police say the infant was just hours old when she was left wrapped in blankets on the doorstep. 

Police went door-to-door to see if anyone had any information that might help them locate the baby’s mother, but their efforts were fruitless. 

The baby was taken to a hospital and later released to child welfare authorities. She will be placed in foster care. 

A new law in California allows mothers to leave unwanted babies at hospitals without facing punishment. But abandoning a child elsewhere is a crime punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 and a year in jail. 

SAN JOSE – An officer shot a naked man wielding a steak knife in an apartment Saturday morning. 

The 59-year-old man was taken to the hospital after being shot twice and is expected to survive. 

Police arrived at the scene after receiving a call that a man was yelling from an upstairs apartment. Police say after another resident accompanied the officer upstairs and unlocked the door, the nude man grabbed the knife and began moving toward the officer. 

Police say the officer ordered the man to drop the knife and when he didn’t, the officer fired three times. Two bullets hit the man in the torso. 

Neither the officer nor the man were identified. 

SAN JOSE – Former San Jose Mercury News publisher Jay Harris has been named chairman of the San Jose Symphony’s new executive committee. 

Harris will head a seven-person group that will try to relaunch the insolvent symphony next year.  

A $2.5 million deficit prompted the organization to dissolve its full board and shut down regular business operations in mid-October. 

The group held its first meeting Friday, after which Harris announced there no longer is a target date to restart the symphony. 

OAKLAND – Opponents of an Oakland medical waste incinerator are rejoicing after its new owner said the facility will be shut down. 

The High Street incinerator has been the only one in California that burns large amounts of medical waste. Its shutdown ends a long dispute with critics who say it was spewing toxic substances into the air, a claim the company that ran it denies. 

Now it’s closing, because Integrated Environmental Systems was bought by an Illinois firm. The new owners say they will shutter the plant Sunday and burn the medical waste elsewhere. 

While neighbors cheered the news, incinerator workers were not as happy. Seventy full-time employees were laid off Friday. 

RICHMOND – Residents of a quiet Richmond neighborhood say they don’t want a Starbucks within their borders, and are steeling themselves for a fight against the chain. 

There are no chain stores in the Point Richmond commercial district, and residents say they don’t want the coffee brewer to become the first. 

Starbucks wants to move in, though, and plans to do so in cooperation with a development firm run by former basketball great Magic Johnson. 

The company says having a Starbucks would improve business for everyone in the area. 

Starbucks already has signed a lease for a storefront. The issue will come up at a neighborhood council meeting after Christmas. 

WALNUT CREEK – The Animal Rescue Foundation has lost one $1 million grant and gained another. 

Baseball manager Tony La Russa and his wife Elaine founded ARF 10 years ago to rescue abandoned cats and dogs and find new homes for them. 

The Walnut Creek-based group lost the first grant because its board of directors had not raised as much matching money as a Southern California investment banker had wanted, but told him it had. 

But an anonymous benefactor stepped forward Friday and agreed to provide a $1 million matching grant with fewer strings attached. 

ARF leaders have launched a fund-raising campaign to build a nearly $16.8 million facility near their current campus. There, they hope to provide a spot with spay and neuter programs, dog training classes, emergency veterinary assistance and more room to house homeless animals.

FILLMORE – An Italian dinner house is doing brisk business on the showroom floor at William L. Morris Chevrolet, where car shoppers are tempted with chicken parmigiana as they kick the tires of new cars. 

Squinting in candlelight to examine window sticker prices, guests find gleaming chrome is a dazzling appetizer. 

“What a great idea! This is so cute,” Judy Watkins, 53, an Italian chef who lives in Cathedral City and recently visited Chef Franco’s. 

The idea of a showroom/Italian restaurant combination was hatched by 71-year-old dealership owner Chappy Morris Sr., who now regrets naming it Chef Franco’s. 

“I should have called it The Dealership,” Morris said. 

The chicken parmigiana is $7.95 and nothing on the menu costs more than $15.95 – that’s the fully loaded veal parmigiana. And, of course, there’s bow-tie pasta. 

It’s the ultimate Italo-automotive dining experience. Prospective buyers can open the door of a $25,000 Monte Carlo and be treated to the comingled fragrance of leather and garlic. 

At 5 p.m. daily, the showroom lights are dimmed and piano music kicks through speakers as guests are ushered to tables covered with red-checkered cloths and flickering candles. Chef Franco Onorato also does his thing, chatting up the chardonnay and marinara. 

“In Southern California, it’s a natural. People here love their cars,” Onorato said of the food-and-auto marriage. 

Morris and Onorato believe the showroom/restaurant combo is unique. 

“I don’t know of any other, do you?” Morris said. “People are buying cars while they’re eating.” 

When the downtown dealership was wrecked in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Morris drew up plans for a grand new facility a block away on Highway 126 and included a full professional kitchen. 

The idea was to serve breakfast and lunch while customers waited for car servicing – Mr. Goodlunch was the working name. 

Enter Onorato. He was left jobless with the closing of Santa Paula’s Glen Tavern Inn and showed up at Morris’ doorstep proposing a nighttime Italian bistro. 

“This guy shows up,” Morris recalled. “He was from Italy and he bought his first car in America from us. He wanted to open a restaurant here and I said I’d hire him. I thought I could turn him into a car salesman.” 

“I said, ‘Now Franco, I don’t have a dining room,”’ Morris said. “We put some tables on the showroom floor. I apologized to people and they said, ‘What for? We like looking at the cars.”’ 

The result was unexpected. People come from as far away as Huntington Beach. 

“The thing that is funny about it is the food is very good,” Morris said.

SAN FRANCISCO – ExciteAtHome made plenty of dumb decisions on its way to the dot-com graveyard, but what ultimately killed the company may have been its greatest accomplishment – the high-speed cable network that provided fast Internet connections to more than 4 million North American customers. 

The service’s explosive growth, marked by a 12-fold increase in subscribers since 1999, proved that providing high-speed Internet connections to people’s homes could be a viable business. 

As the service gained more popularity, the cable giants that helped launch ExciteAtHome in 1996 and continued to sign up most of the subscribers began to see the potential value of running their own independent networks. 

“Cable companies are notoriously conservative, risk-averse companies, so they decided to create this separate company that would take all the risks,” said Mark Kersey, a broadband analyst for ARS Inc., a research firm in La Jolla, Calif. 

“Once they saw that this could really work, they decided that they probably really didn’t need ExciteAtHome any more.” 

The cable companies say ExciteAtHome’s financial collapse gave them little choice but to build their own networks to protect their customers and the franchises they had built during the last five years. 

ExciteAtHome’s three biggest cable partners – AT&T, Cox Communications and Comcast – accounted for 2.2 million of the service’s 4.16 million subscribers as of Sept. 30. Nearly 90 percent, or 3.69 million customers, had cable modems in their homes. ExciteAtHome accounted for about 40 percent of all households and businesses with broadband, “always on” Internet access. 

AT&T already has switched most of its 850,000 AtHome subscribers to its own high-speed cable network. Cox and Comcast plan to switch most of their customers to other networks by Feb. 28, when ExciteAtHome plans to shut down permanently. 

Many ExciteAtHome investors, including both bondholders and shareholders, are convinced that the company’s cable partners conspired to drive the business into bankruptcy so they could get out of restrictive contracts and build their own independent networks more quickly. 

AT&T, which owned 23 percent of ExciteAtHome and controlled its board until October, is central to these conspiracy theories. 

“If ExciteAtHome hadn’t been run by a board that wanted it to go out of business, the company would still be alive today. AT&T completely violated its fiduciary duty,” said Bob Garrity, an ExciteAtHome shareholder and one of the company’s first employees. 

AT&T regards these allegations “absolutely baseless,” said AT&T spokeswoman June Rochford. She declined further comment, citing threatened lawsuits against AT&T by both ExciteAtHome bondholders and shareholders embittered by the billions that they stand to lose in ExciteAtHome’s bankruptcy. 

AT&T’s defenders argue that it also had an incentive to keep ExciteAtHome alive. AT&T invested about $4 billion in ExciteAtHome, including $2.8 billion in stock paid to Cox and Comcast early this year to cement its controlling position. 

That leverage also put AT&T in a position to drive ExciteAtHome out of business if it desired, bondholders and shareholders argue. 

Under this theory, ExciteAtHome’s death spiral accelerated in September 2000 when George Bell announced his decision to step down as chief executive. 

Bell remained as a lame-duck leader until April, when ExciteAtHome hired Patti Hart – an executive AT&T helped recruit. Bell now runs a college savings plan called Upromise, whose partners include AT&T. 

“There was a long stretch where the board was basically running the company,” said Frank Thomas, a Heathrow, Fla. money manager on the executive committee of a shareholder group planning to sue AT&T. 

Even AT&T critics acknowledge ExciteAtHome probably would not have been in such bad shape if not for the $6.7 billion merger that melded the cable network with the Web portal, Excite.com. 

The 1999 marriage, which AT&T fiercely opposed, increased AtHome’s exposure to online advertising – a market that has been slumping badly for more than a year. 

As the Internet economy unraveled, ExciteAtHome’s losses piled up – $8.9 billion since the start of 2000. 

The hemorrhaging made it difficult for ExciteAtHome to raise more cash from anyone other than its cable partners. 

Yet even as ExciteAtHome suffered financially, it added 486,000 new subscribers in the three months leading up to ExciteAtHome’s bankruptcy at the end of September – a 13.2 percent increase that fell slightly below the industrywide average increase of 14.2 percent, according to ARS. 

Meantime, the cable companies kept the bulk of the $40 to $50 monthly subscriptions paid by most AtHome customers. ExciteAtHome – which got just $12 a month per subscriber – was losing as much as $6 million per week under this arrangement. 

The success of the cable network also pressured regional phone companies to ramp up their own high-speed Internet services through digital subscriber lines, or DSLs – which in turn worsened ExciteAtHome’s financial misery. 

To lure customers, the phone companies slashed DSL prices or offered free service for a few months, prompting similar offers from the cable companies. And when the cable companies waived fees, ExciteAtHome didn’t get paid either, exacerbating the company’s financial crisis. 

Meanwhile, technological advances and a glut of cheap parts assured the cable companies that they could build their own networks for much less than the billions ExciteAtHome had spent on its own. 

AT&T declined to divulge how much it spent on its network. The company had hoped to buy the AtHome cable network for $307 million before withdrawing its offer last week. Cox estimates that it will spend $100 million to $150 million on its network. 

If not for AtHome’s inroads, many industry experts believe high-speed access still wouldn’t be possible for the roughly 10 million households and businesses that use cable modems, DSLs and wireless connections to get online. 

“They were the catalyst for broadband in homes,” said Jack Harrington, a former AT&T executive who is now a venture capitalist at Advanced Technology Partners in Palo Alto. “Five years from now, when cable modems are in 20 million homes, people can look back and thank ExciteAtHome.”

LOS ANGELES – Criticism is mounting among school officials over a new test designed to track students who are not fluent in English – one-fifth of the state’s public school population. 

Officials say the California English Language Development Test is poorly designed and too time-consuming to score. 

“It is a well-intentioned test that is just so cumbersome and expensive as to be ridiculous,” said Wayne Johnson, president of the California Teachers Association, who last month wrote a letter to the State Board of Education calling for the program to be revised. 

In addition to its use in tracking students who lack English fluency, the test is administered to new students from homes where the primary language spoken is not English. About 2 million students in the state took the test this year. 

The results will be used in tracking and placing students and determining certain kinds of funding. 

The test’s critics cite problems ranging from awkward instructions and layout to the length of time it takes for the tests to be scored. 

For the oral section of the test, the exam booklet opens with one page facing the student and the other the tester. As the student listens to a recording and answers questions on one side, the tester marks the answers on the adjacent page. 

The unusual design distracts and intimidates students, said people who have administered the tests. 

And although the tests were given between May 14 and Oct. 31, districts have yet to receive any scores back from the state. 

Paul Warren, the state’s deputy superintendent of accountability, said the bulk of the tests reached the state closer to Oct. 31, creating a backlog. 

But even districts that finished their tests early have not received results, making it difficult for them to place students and apply for funds that depend on test results. 

CTB/McGraw-Hill, the publisher of the test, said all the scores will be ready on or before Feb. 28 – more than halfway through the school year – but could not say how much of the work had been completed so far. 

Districts had the option of scoring the tests themselves, but many said they did not have the resources to do so. 

Critics point out that the state spent more than $15 million on the test this year, not including include the estimated $20 to $30 per test spent by the districts. They say schools shouldn’t have to expend even more resources to get timely scores. 

“We rushed and we spent a lot of money,” said Darci Knight, language acquisition coordinator for the Pleasant Valley School District in Camarillo, which administered 600 tests by June. “And, of course, we got no results.” 

One problem with scoring is that, unlike most standardized tests, the test does not come with a separate answer sheet. 

Even the legislator who sponsored the bill requiring the statewide English testing says she’s grown concerned. 

The level of “dissatisfaction with the CELDT is troubling, to say the least,” state Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Whittier, said in an October letter to California Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin. “In fact, I am gravely concerned that the problems they raise and the resulting aversion for the test – if not addressed swiftly and fully – will undermine the success” of the exam. 

State education officials say they are studying ways to improve the test, including having the districts produce the official scores so they don’t have to wait for final results from the publisher. 

“We always have bumps and scrapes through the first administration of a test,” Warren said, “and this is one.”

SANTA CRUZ – A homeless encampment known as Camp Paradise, which fought off city officials’ requests to leave over the past year, finally cleared out after a rainstorm caused the San Lorenzo River to spill into their Eden. 

Four inches of rain fell last week, causing the river to rise and sweep Camp Paradise away. But its residents promise to rebuild. 

“We’re going to set up Camp Paradise 2,” said camp founder Larry Templeton, 41. “We don’t know exactly where, but it’s going to be right here in Santa Cruz. It’ll work just like the first one, but we ain’t going to be close to the river this time.” 

The residents of Camp Paradise – whose numbers fluctuated from 20 to 50 adults and children – managed a community kitchen, an office, a koi pond, a bicycle repair shop, a generator for power, a garden and dozens of tents for sleeping. 

But the idea of allowing the homeless to camp in the city’s parks and greenbelt areas doesn’t go over well with everyone. 

Critics say marijuana was freely used and even grown at the camp. And when the floodwaters receded this past week, city crews were forced to cart away tons of sodden debris, amounting to about 80 cubic yards of waste. Santa Cruz officials also provided $6,000 in motel vouchers to camp members after the flood came. 

Homeless advocates say Camp Paradise was a well-managed, clean-and-sober refuge for former addicts. They say campers cleaned accumulated garbage from the riverbank and kept the area tidy. 

In June, city official gave campers a month to move along. But that deadline, and others that followed, passed with no consequences. Police ticketed campers, only to see some citations dismissed in court, and penalties waived on four of the citations that were upheld. 

Some city officials agreed that Camp Paradise received special treatment, but they chalked it up to the fact that the camp was well-managed. 

Council members are now considering changes to Santa Cruz’s homeless services, including setting up a homeless campground in one of the city’s greenbelt areas or on land selected for a new city park. 

Critics warn, however, that previous attempts to create legal camping for the homeless in Santa Cruz, including a tent city and car-camping zones, have failed. 

“The minute you allow people to squat on public land, it’s a free-for-all, it’s a nightmare,” said Deputy Police Chief Jeff Locke.

Silicon Valley pioneer’s organization makes one of biggest donations in history 

SAN JOSE – In one of the largest gifts ever to an environmental group, a foundation set up by Silicon Valley pioneer Gordon Moore has pledged $261 million over 10 years to Conservation International. 

The grants, announced Sunday, will help researchers identify and protect biodiversity hot spots — areas that cover 1.4 percent of the Earth but are home to more than 60 percent of its terrestrial species. 

Moore, who co-founded Intel Corp. in 1968, said his interest in the environment stems from the changes he noticed while returning to favorite vacation spots in Mexico over the years. 

“Places like Cabo San Lucas have become high-rise hotels and golf courses — not at all like it used to be,” he told The Associated Press. “Just seeing how fast the changes were got me interested in the problem.” 

The grants mark the second major gift from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in just over a month. In late October, the foundation announced a 10-year, $600 million donation to the California Institute of Technology. 

The gift to Washington-based Conservation International will help fund a global initiative based on the theory that conservationists can be most effective by targeting imperiled areas of the greatest biodiversity. 

The money will help the group, which was founded in 1987, set up field stations in several at-risk areas, said Peter Seligmann, Conservation International’s chief executive. 

The grants also will help forge alliances with other conservation groups and fund emergency actions. Seligmann hopes to use the money to leverage a total of $6 billion from private and public sources. 

“We have always played a defensive game in conservation,” he said. “We’ve always been in just little battles. Now we think we’ve got enough resources to fight a war.” 

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation also has given sizable gifts to protect the environment. They include a $50 million grant in 2000 to the Peninsula Open Space Trust to protect the San Mateo coast and a total of $180 million to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute from 1992-1998. The William Penn Foundation gave a $26.6 million grant to the Fairmount Park Commission in Philadelphia in 1996 for restoration of city parks and to expand environmental education and stewardship opportunities, according to the Foundation Center, a New York-based nonprofit. 

Moore, who serves as chairman Conservation International’s board of executives, said he was drawn to the group because of its systematic, scientific approach to conservation. 

“I find this very attractive rather than a completely emotional one,” Moore said. “You want to find out what’s there before you decide where you want to focus your effort.” 

In 1998, he and his wife contributed $35 million to set up Conservation International’s Center for Applied Biodiversity Science in Washington. 

The success of the latest grants will be measured by conservation outcomes, such as the number of extinctions prevented and habitats saved, Seligmann said. 

One of the biggest challenges will be persuading local politicians and business leaders of the importance of saving their ecological treasures and the money they can generate through tourism and research among others. 

“Those revenues continue forever as opposed to the 10 years it takes to log a place entirely,” Seligmann said. 

Moore served as chief executive of Intel from 1979 until 1987 and retired from its board in May. He is best known for “Moore’s Law,” his 1965 prediction on the future performance and pricing of semiconductors. 

He and his wife created the foundation in November 2000, funding it with half their Intel holdings. 

“I’ve got more than I need,” he said. “My family won’t starve to death and the government wants a very good portion if you do it that way.”

When architect Kava Massih took his drawings for a new downtown hotel to the Zoning Adjustments Board a few months ago, the board he encountered was quite different than the board he expected. 

Faces he had never seen before peered back at him from across the divide. Old, familiar faces were missing. 

Massih was surprised when some of the strangers began criticizing the design of his project, though it had already passed through the Design Review Committee with flying colors. 

When the ZAB concluded its review by giving Massih the thumbs-down on his motel, he was more than a little peeved, especially since the massive Library Gardens project received near-universal approbation that same night. 

“This motel is like an idiotic little zit compared to that,” he said at the time. 

Massih’s strange experience was perhaps the result to the little-understood but, in Berkeley, near-universal practice of substitute commissioners. 

If a regular member of the ZAB, or any other city commission, cannot make a regular meeting, he or she may request a “temporary leave of absence,” which may last for only one day. City councilmembers then appoint another citizen to temporarily take the regular commissioner’s spot. 

Massih went back to the drawing board and redesigned the hotel. He brought the project back to the ZAB on a night that two regular members – who, he had reason to suspect, would favor the project – were present. The project passed with little controversy. 

Yesterday, Massih shrugged off the episode, saying that sometimes it just comes down to luck. He said, in his experience, the practice is fairly unique to Berkeley and had its drawbacks. 

“The substitutes usually don’t know as much as the permanent members,” he said.  

“They’re not always the best person you want to comment on your project, because they’re not as informed. They don’t know the code as well. They become much more emotional.” 

However, Massih said, even a substitute is better than an empty chair. 

“You just want everyone there, so you have the best chances of getting the votes you need,” he said. 

Patrick Kennedy, a local developer, explained. 

“Substitutes are better than no-shows, because if you don’t have a quorum on the board, you can’t get anything done,” he said. 

Kennedy added that the quantity of time Berkeley demands of its commissioners probably means that they earn an occasional break. 

“Regular commissioners should be knighted, or something, for the amount of time they give,” he said. 

Carrie Olson, a member of both the Design Review Committee and the Landmarks Preservation Commission, has substituted for others and has had someone sit in for her. Currently, she is taking Gene Poschman’s place on the Planning Commission while he convalesces from a recent hip operation. 

“It serves the public better to have nine votes,” she said. “Developers want there to be enough board members there to vote on their project.” 

Olson said she always has confidence in the people who may take her position for a night. 

“I never discuss ahead of time what they’re going to hear, and they don’t always vote the way I’d vote,” she said. “But it’s important for the applicant that there’s someone there.” 

Olson noted that substitute commissioners must be familiar with the matters they will hear. If one has had a public hearing, the substitute must have atttended it or listened to a recoreded version. 

Like regular commissioners, substitutes must swear their allegiance to Constitutions of the United States and California, and defend them against all enemies. 

Saturday, Dec. 8

31st annual KPFA Community  

Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

The Concourse 

8th & Brannan streets 

Juried craftsmakers and artists show best work. $7, Benefits KPFA Free Speech Radio: 848-6767x60 www.kpfa.org 

Permaculture Class 

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Ecology Center 

2530 San Pablo Ave. 

Introductory course: fundamentals for creating sustainable human environments. $15 non-members, $10 members. 548-2220 x233 

Telegraph Area Association  

2-4 p.m. 

Blackberry Ginger Cafe 

2520 Durant Ave. 

Open house honors founding members. Refreshments; music by the Rhythm Kitchen band. Free. 649-9500 

Women of Color Resource  

Center Presents Film  

from South Africa 

2:30 p.m. reception 

3:30 p.m. showing 

Health Education Center 

400 Hawthorne St., Oakland 

“Shouting Silent” by Xoliswa Sithole explores the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic as seen through the eyes of the filmmaker, an adult who lost her mother to HIV/AIDS in 1996. Panel discussion. $5 -$10, 848-9272, www.coloredgirls.org. 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market  

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, Jr.. Civic Center Park 

Includes organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages, and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

Santa's Solstice Bazaar 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Metaversal Lightcraft 

1708 University Ave. 

Fine arts, crafts, clothing and gift booths. 644-2032, www.lightcraft.org. 

Fourth Annual Wine Tasting 

Noon-3 p.m. 

Rosenblum Cellars 

2900 Main St., Alameda 

Tasting, buffet, live music, wine auction, winery tour. Proceeds benefit Berkeley Youth Alternatives programs. $25-$30. 845-9010. kevin@byaonline.org 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday  

Open Studios 

Self-Guided Tour 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

100 artists and craftspeople open studios to the public. For a map and locations: 845-2612 

www.berkeleyartisans.com. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers -- jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

Magic School Bus Video  

Festival 

10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Ms. Frizzle takes her skeptical class from outer space to inside a dog’s noise in seven different video adventures. Free popcorn and free magic school bus gift. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Book Release Party 

2 - 4 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park 

A celebration of the publication of “The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s”. 525-9552 www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Calendar Sale Fundraiser for  

Berkeley High School’s 

Communications and Art School 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

2310 Valley St. 

A variety of calendars to raise funds for video equipment for CAS 843-2780, lorberlin@aol.com. 

Sunday, Dec. 9

GAIA Reborn Holiday Craft &  

Gift Show  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

The Gaia Building Rooftop Panoramic Room 

2116 Allston Way 

Inaugural event for GAIA's future cultural center. 848-4242 

Chanukah Celebration 

2:30 - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Music, craft-making, and food. Bring an unwrapped toy or book for donation. 848-0237 x110 

Holiday Choral Concert 

7 p.m. 

Lake Merritt United Methodist Church 

1330 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland 

The Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus $12 - $15, 239-2239 x2576 www.oebgmc.org 

Colin Hampton Memorial  

Concert 

4 p.m. 

The Crowden School 

1475 Rose St. 

A Chamber Music concert showcasing young string players from the Bay Area. $10, free for cellists and anyone under 18. 559-6910 

Buddy Club Children Show 

1 - 2 p.m. 

The Berkeley JCC Theater 

1414 Walnut St. 

Mr. Horsefeathers, a mime, juggler, and musician, will put on a fast-paced physical comedy with magical effects and impressive juggling. $7, 236-SHOW, www.TheBuddyClub.com 

31st annual KPFA  

Community Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

The Concourse 

8th & Brannan Streets 

220 juried craftsmakers & artists show their best work in a mellow ambiance offering natural foods from many cultures, world music & dance performances & wise speakers. $7, Benefits KPFA Free Speech Radio. 848.6767 x609 www.kpfa.org 

EdgeWork Books Launch  

Celebration 

3 - 9 p.m. 

Montclair Women's Club 

1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland 

A new women's press will hold its launch celebration. Meet the authors and hear them read from their newest work. Free. 339-1832, www.edgeworkbooks.com. 

Dunsmuir Historic Estate  

Holiday Season 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland 

Volunteers have transformed the 50-acre estate and the 1899 mansion into a holiday event. 925-275-9595, www.dunsmuir.org. 

Ying Ying Fry, young author  

of Kids Like Me In China 

3 p.m. 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley 

2066 University Ave. 

Meet eight-year-old Ying Ying Fry who wrote Kids Like Me In China, a children's book about her return trip back as an adopted orphan to her hometown in China. 548-2350 

Berkeley Community Chorus  

and Orchestra Concert 

3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana, btw. Channing and Durant 

Franz Schubert, Mass in A-flat major, with solo voices; Handel, Messiah Hallelujah Chorus. Free. 964-0665. www.bcco.org. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers -- jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

"Foundations: A Course in  

Theology"  

First Congregational Church of Berkeley 

2345 Channing Way 

Taught by Jennifer DeWeerth, Assistant Dean and Registrar at Pacific School of Religion. 849-8239, www.psr.edu. 

Buzzy Linhart Butterfly Peace  

Party 

6 p.m. 

The Black Box Gallery 

1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland 

The Peace Party concept honors the love, healing, learning, action, and intergenerational community that arise through gatherings to promote artistic expression with compassionate intent. 451-1932, blackboxoakland.com. 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday  

Open Studios: A Self-Guided  

Tour 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Various locations 

100 artists & craftspeople open their studios to the public. For a map and locations, www.berkeleyartisans.com, or 845-2612. 

Baroque Concert 

7 p.m. 

Church of Saint Mary Magdalen 

2005 Berryman 

Local baroque musicians present Baroque Etcetera, a performance that includes Charpentier Noels and Corelli Christmas Concerto. 525-0152  

La Celebracion de la Virgen  

de Guadalupe 

6 - 8 p.m. 

San Franciscan School of Theology 

1712 Euclid Ave. 

Non-eucharistic liturgy followed by a reception with festive food. RSVP Angela Munoz by 12/6: 848-5232 x15, www.gtu.edu. 

Monday, Dec. 10

Strains, Sprains, and Joint Injuries 

10:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Discussion with Dr. Loron McGillis. 644-6343 

Tuesday, Dec. 11

The search for a Nonviolent Future 

3:30 - 5 p.m. 

Graduate Theological University 

2400 Ridge Rd. 

Hewlett Library, Dinner Board Rm. 

Discussion with Micheael Nagler, author of “Is There No Other Way.” Free. 649-2560 .  

The Bombings in Indonesia, 1998-2001 

3:30 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

220 Stephens Hall, Geballe Room 

Exclusive of Aceh, Malukus, and West Papua. With Father Sandyawan Sumardi. Free. 642-3609. 

The Spirit of Christmas Class 

7 - 9 p.m. 

1250 Addison  

Studio 103 

Explore the metaphysics of the Christmas Story. 540-8844, patricia@newthoughtunity.org. 

Feldenkrais Chair Class for Seniors 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com 

Heading Off The Holiday Blues 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Discussion with Elizabeth Forrest. 644-6343 

Feldenkrais Floor Class for Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com. 

Holiday Mixer 

5:30 - 7 p.m. 

Filippo’s Pasteria 

1499 Solano Ave. 

The Solano Avenue Association invites you.  

Wednesday, Dec. 12

Hawaiian Festival 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Dancers, music and refreshments. 644-6343 

Lecture Series on Women Medieval Mystics 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

All Souls Parish 

2220 Cedar St. 

Three Women Mystics: An Advent Lecture Series. Exploration of their spiritual quests designed to offer a new sense of spiritual possibilities in modern times. Free. Supervised childcare will be provided. 848-1755. 

Near Death Experience Support Group 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Church 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

International Association of Near-Death Studies offers an open, sharing, and supportive environment for the exploration of Near Death Experiences. 

Thursday, Dec. 13

Berkeley High School Band and Orchestra’s 

Winter Concert 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Community Theater 

Allston and MLK Jr. Way 

$4 gen., $1 students. 528-2098. 

Discussion on Mumia Abu Jamal 

7:30 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Bob Mandel and Sara Fuchs discuss the implications of Sept. 11 on the Mumia Abu Jamal case. $3. 653-7882 

The Challenges of Indonesia 

2 - 3 p.m. 

2223 Fulton Ave. 

6th Floor Conference Room 

Journalist, poet and former Editor of Tempo Magazine, Goenawan Mohamad. 642-3609. 

Snowcamping Class 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Chuck Collingwood and Martin Thomas present a slide lecture on the essentials for surviving overnight in the snow and discuss the basics for safe and enjoyable ski or snowshoe travel. 527-4140 

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Claremont Branch Library 

2940 Benvenue Ave. 

Monthly meeting that features people telling stories about the ways they have changed their lives by finding ways to work less, consume less, 

rush less, and have more time to build community with friends and family, as well as live more lightly upon the planet. 549-3509, www.seedsofsimplicity.org. 

Gaia Building Open House Benefit 

4 - 8 p.m. 

The Gaia Building, 7th Floor 

2116 Allston Way 

The Gaia Building, an innovative residential housing project, celebrates its opening with an open house to benefit the Berkeley Emergency Food and Housing Project. $10, sliding scale. 883-1000, panoramicinterests.com. 

Community Health Commission 

6:45 - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

New Business Action: Increased funding for Public Health Infrastructure. 644-6109, phd@ci.berkeley.ca.us. 

Friday, Dec. 14

Dunsmuir Historic Estate Holiday Season 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland 

Volunteers have transformed the 50-acre estate and the 1899 mansion into a holiday event. 925-275-9595, www.dunsmuir.org. 

Partial-Solar Eclipse Viewing 

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Dr., just above UC Berkeley Campus 

Telescopes and specially designed sun-spotters will be set up for safe viewing of the partial eclipse. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

An International Christmas 

8 p.m. 

Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension 

4700 Lincoln Ave., Oakland 

A concert featuring children’s voices, hand bells, carols, hymns, Messiah excepts, and children’s book-singing. Free. 531-3400 

Saturday, Dec. 15

Calendar Sale Fundraiser for  

Berkeley High School’s 

Communications and Art School 

9 - 11 a.m. 

2310 Valley St. 

A huge variety of calendars to raise funds for video equipment for CAS. 843-2780, lorberlin@aol.com. 

Dunsmuir Historic Estate Holiday Season 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland 

Volunteers have transformed the 50-acre estate and the 1899 mansion into a holiday event. 925-275-9595, www.dunsmuir.org. 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, JR. Civic Center Park 

Fair will include organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages, and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

Santa's Solstice Bazaar 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Metaversal Lightcraft 

1708 University Ave. 

Come shop while kids visit with Santa for free. Fine arts, crafts, 

clothing and gift booths in a magical and colorful scene. 644-2032, www.lightcraft.org. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers -- jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios 

A Self-Guided Tour 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Various locations 

100 artists & craftspeople open their studios to the public. For a map and locations, www.berkeleyartisans.com, or 845-2612. 

Concert for the September 11th Fund 

7:30 p.m. 

Congregation Beth El 

2301 Vine St. 

An evening of music, joy and community spirit. Adama band, with Achi Ben Shalom. All proceeds support the victims of the September 11th attacks. $18. 848-3988. 

Sunday, Dec. 16

Community Chanukah of Reconciliation  

5 - 6:30 p.m. 

2215 Prince St. 

Bring your menorah--Everyone welcome. 486-2744, bayareawomeninblack@earthlink.net. 

Dunsmuir Historic Estate Holiday Season 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland 

Volunteers have transformed the 50-acre estate and the 1899 mansion into a holiday event. 925-275-9595, www.dunsmuir.org. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers -- jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

"Foundations: A Course in Theology"  

First Congregational Church of Berkeley 

2345 Channing Way 

Taught by Jennifer DeWeerth, Assistant Dean and Registrar at Pacific School of Religion. 849-8239, www.psr.edu. 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios 

A Self-Guided Tour 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Various locations 

100 artists & craftspeople open their studios to the public. For a map and locations, www.berkeleyartisans.com, or 845-2612. 

Monday, Dec. 17

PG&E Care Program 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Applications and answers provided. 644-6343 

Segmented Stereotypes: Race, Gender  

and Public Opposition to Welfare 

noon 

UC Berkeley 

119 Moses (Harris Room) 

Race, Immigration and American Politics Speaker Series - Martin Gilens. Brown bag. Free. 642-4608, www.igs.berkeley.edu 

Tuesday, Dec. 18

The Spirit of Christmas Class 

7 - 9 p.m. 

1250 Addison  

Studio 103 

Explore the metaphysics of the Christmas Story. 540-8844, patricia@newthoughtunity.org. 

Feldenkrais Chair Class for Seniors 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com. 

Feldenkrais Floor Class for Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com. 

Wednesday, Dec. 19

Feldenkrais Classes for Seniors 

10:30 and 11:45 a.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com 

Lecture Series on Women Medieval Mystics 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

All Souls Parish 

2220 Cedar St. 

Three Women Mystics: An Advent Lecture Series. Exploration of their spiritual quests designed to offer a new sense of spiritual possibilities in modern times. Free. Supervised childcare will be provided. 848-1755. 

Saturday, Dec. 22

Santa's Solstice Bazaar 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Metaversal Lightcraft 

1708 University Ave. 

Come shop while kids visit with Santa for free. Fine arts, crafts, 

clothing and gift booths in a magical and colorful scene. 644-2032, www.lightcraft.org. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers -- jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, JR. Civic Center Park 

Fair will include organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages, and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

Magic School Bus Video Festival 

10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Ms. Frizzle takes her skeptical class from outer space to inside a dog’s noise in seven different video adventures. Free popcorn and free magic school bus gift. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Sunday, Dec. 23

A Service of Lessons and Carols 

4 p.m. 

St. Augustine Church 

400 Alcatraz 

The St. Augustine Choir fill an afternoon with carols. 653-8631. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers -- jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

Monday, Dec. 24

Midnight Mass 

11:45 p.m. 

St. Augustine Church 

400 Alcatraz 

Prelude music begins at 11:15 p.m., mass begins at 11:30 p.m. 653-8631 

Tuesday, Dec. 25

Guided Tours of Jewish Art and History 

12 - 4 p.m. 

Judah L. Magnes Museum 

2911 Russell St. 

The tours will present over 250 objects from the Museum’s permanent collections on display in the major exhibition “Telling Time: To Everything There is a Season.” 549-6950 www.magnesmuseum.org 

Puppets and Puppet Making 

1 p.m. and 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

141 Walnut St. 

Jennifer Levine presents “Princess Moxie Rules!” a 30 minute puppet show followed by a puppet-making project.  

Wednesday, Dec. 26

Professor Smart’s Fun with Physics Show 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Professor Smart shrinks his head, has toilet paper flying, juggles and has the audience’s hair standing on end all the while demonstrating the principles of physics. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Thursday, Dec. 27

Slapstick with Derique 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Ham Bone body drumming, physical comedy, and circus arts are sure to stimulate your “funny bone” as New Vaudeville artist Derique lets you into his hip style of circus arts. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Friday, Dec. 28

World Rhythms 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Japanese taiko, African marimba and djembe, Middle Eastern dumbek, Afro-Cuban chekere, and conga drums celebrate musical traditions from around the world. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Saturday, Dec. 29

Magic Show 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Jay Alexander performs his magical mixture of comedy and illusion with special effects that will entertain visitors of all ages. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Sunday, Dec. 30

Music and Storytelling 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Familiar nursery rhymes and fairy tales come to life in musical stories by children’s performer Dennis Hysom. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Monday, Dec. 31

New Year’s Eve Party 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

A daytime holiday party for kids featuring lots of hands-on activities. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

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 

The house in the 1992 photograph was built around 1876 for Joseph Clapp, a farmer who arrived in Berkeley in the mid-1870s from Norwood, Mass.  

According to the 1878 Thompson and West Historic Atlas, Clapp and his wife, Mary, owned about 15 acres bordered by what is now Berkeley Way and Delaware Street, Shattuck Avenue and Milvia Street. When the Berkeley branch line of the Southern Pacific Railroad was extended to Vine Street in 1878, Joseph Clapp was among the many farmers who subdivided their land into building lots.  

In 1880 Clapp opened a real estate office on the corner of Milvia Street and Hearst Avenue. 

The Joseph Clapp Cottage is popularly known as Morning Glory House because it was once covered with morning glory vines. It is one of the few surviving Gothic Revival Victorians in Berkeley and is clad in vertical board-and-batten siding and features steeply-pitched intersecting gabled roofs. Its style is similar to those popularized by the book “The Architecture of Country Houses” by Andrew Jackson Downing in 1850. It was designated a City of Berkeley Landmark in 1977. 

The Sanborn Map of 1894 shows the footprints of buildings that were standing at that time in Joseph Clapp’s subdivision, and today 11 houses are still standing there.  

While the Clapp cottage remains the only house on its block, there is a row of eight, pre-1894 houses on the north side of the 2000 block of Hearst Avenue in close-to-original condition. Behind 2034 Hearst there is the recently discovered base of a windmill tower, bringing the number of known windmill structure remnants in Berkeley to five.  

Susan Cerny is author of “Berkeley Landmarks” and writes Berkeley Observed in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association. 

The Daily Planet received a copy of these comments read to the Board of Education at a recent meeting: 

Good evening, My name is Yolanda Huang and I am the chair of the statutory committee formed by Measure BB to provide citizen oversight and planning, aptly named the Citizens Advisory Committee.  

I am here to tonight, because I am confused, and I hope that the board will educate me.  

Two years ago, with funding from BSEP, this board hired ABM Consultants to review the district’s maintenance department and provide recommendations. Those recommendations were formulated into a business plan, which this board declined to follow. We were told, the new Superintendent has a better plan. 

And so I’m confused because at the Dec. 5 board meeting, this board approved hiring ABM to manage the maintenance department and provide consultant upon request.  

I like ABM. ABM is one of the best firms in the area. Their review was thorough. I liked their recommendations and thought them sound. But, you didn’t like their recommendations. I’m confused as to why you are hiring them to run the maintenance department, at a hefty fee of $10,000 per month.  

I’m also confused as to this better plan being implemented. When we proposed the business plan adopted by this board in May and later rejected, we used solid, qualified consultants (primarily ABM), and industry standards. In this better plan, I don’t know what the standards are being applied. I’ve been told that Paramount Unified, our new Superintendent’s former school district has great maintenance, and I’ve requested three times in the past – and this is the fourth time I’m requesting information on Paramount’s staffing levels, square footage, organizational chart. It’s wonderful that Paramount had clean schools, mowed lawns and clipped hedges. But so does Oakland. Why aren’t we adopting Oakland’s system? What are the standards by which decisions are being based? Please enlighten me. I’m not an expert on maintenance. I’m just a householder. I know that I maintain a household with a mowed lawn, trimmed bushes, and a well maintained building. My bathroom does not smell. My kitchen is tidy. As a householder, I know that it is worker bees that do the maintaining.  

This last week, the drain in the boys bathroom at Willard, had been plugged and the bathroom could not be properly cleaned. The wretched smell of the bathroom was seeping into the hallway, and disturbing the students in the classroom next door. So, Willard, hired a non-district worker bee, a plumber, who unstopped the drain and the bathroom was finally cleaned.  

One week last month, I walked into the principal’s office at Willard. Curiously, one wall was painted yellow. 

The next week, I walked in again, and a second wall had been painted yellow. I was told, this is a work in progress. Apparently, Willard’s principal, a single mother, with a third grader at Emerson, had been using what little spare time she had, to come in on weekends to paint her walls.  

With these torrential rains, the old leak in the principal’s office also came back. And to preserve the décor of her room, the principal at Willard has brought in plants instead of buckets, and rotates them, so that all plants can all be equally watered.  

I’m sure I speak for many people, who would be happy to retire from maintenance if only Berkeley Unified had some more worker bees. Could you please tell us, when we will get worker bees?  

Yolanda Huang,  

Chair Maintenance Oversight & Planning Committee

The town of Berkeley’s got quite a rep. In “The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s,” produced by the Berkeley Arts Center, a brilliant and brilliantly disturbing collection of photographs and essays by mostly local writers and photographers document the many movements for social justice that coalesced and grew strong in Berkeley and elsewhere in California.  

The list of organizations that arose here during the unique social unrest, energy, and excitement of the 1960s and 1970s reads like a Who’s Who for the New Left. The amazing synergy of time and place proved fertile for the Free Speech Movement, the Black Panther Party, the struggle for Native American Rights, Civil Rights, Gay Rights, Homeless Rights, Farm Worker Rights, Disability Rights, the Women’s Movement, the Environmental movement, Vietnam War protests and many more movements devoted to social justice. 

“The Whole World’s Watching” is an important book. Without it, one might not realize how much our individual expectations and cultural values have changed as a result of the events and participants in the struggles during those two decades. For example, prior to 1970, women’s issues were routinely trivialized or ignored by the press and by radio stations, such as KPFA. One might not even believe that before this time, racist slurs (such as “the communistic little kike”) were routinely delivered in speeches on the floor of the House of Representatives. (That particular slur was delivered during the Holocaust, in 1944, courtesy of Rep. John Rankin of Mississippi.) 

Probing and informative essays illuminate exactly how various institutional practices have been changed. Ruth Rosen’s “The Feminist Revolution in the Bay Area,” for example, points out how activists altered legally and socially accepted practices, such as employers routinely paying women less than men for the same work, banks routinely denying women loans, etc. Before 1970 it was widely accepted that no woman was considered competent to anchor the news, work in the police force, sit on the Supreme Court, etc. Each of these essays showcases how a movement subtly or violently took action to promote the ideals of mutual co-existence and increased tolerance and support for those who had been previously victimized. 

The photojournalism in this book is just as informative and moving as are the essays. Helen Nestor shows the power of the UC Berkeley institution in her off-center, wide-angle view of Sproul Hall. Included in this book are arresting glimpses of angst and passion and rage and joy such as Stephen Shames photo of a protestor throwing tear gas back at police, and Jeffrey Blankfort’s "We Want Justice." Michelle Vignes’ "At the Induction Center" is like a shaken fist. Equally moving are Cathy Cade’s "TWA Stewardesses on Strike" (cable car drivers, who were in the same union, joined them on the picket line), and her "Bunnies in front of the Playboy Club in San Francisco." Richard Misrach’s "3 Girls and "Nacio Jan Brown’s "High school Students" left me breathless.  

The fifty richly evocative duotone photos in The Whole World’s Watching are incredibly powerful, rich, and sensually luscious. 

One gets a feel for the feverish intellectual and spiritual questing of the cultural revolutionaries whose efforts led to the America we know today. The emotional intensity of the various opposing forces is, for example, illuminated clearly in a poster which showcases the words of William Mandell, said when addressing the House Un-American Activities Committee in San Francisco in 1960: "If you think for one minute I am going to cooperate with this collection of Judases, of men who sit here in violation of the Constitution, if you think I will cooperate with you in any way, you are insane."  

While The Whole World’s Watching documents demonstrations from decades back, the passions brought forth in this period are timeless. Working toward manifesting the utopian ideals of social justice and mutual respect is incredibly difficult…. and not just in Berkeley.  

924 Gilman Dec. 8: Scurvy Dogs, Nigel Peppercock, Shut The Fuck Up, Offering To The Sun, Voetsek; Dec. 9: Poison The Well, Unearth, Sworn Enemy, Spark Lights The Friction; Dec. 14: Hot Water Music, American Steel, F-Minus, Trial By Fire; Dec. 15: Strung Out, Limp, The Frisk, The Deadlines, The Creeps; Dec. 16: 5 p.m., Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Downway, Audio Crush; Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic, Breaker Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Dec. 11: Mad & Eddic Duran Jazz Duo; Dec. 13: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 15: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; Dec. 18: Panacea; Dec. 19: Whiskey Brothers; Dec. 20: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 27: Keni “El Lebrijano”; All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

ACME Observatory Contemporary Performance Series Dec. 9: 8 p.m., The Toids; $0 - $20, TUVA Space, 3192 Adeline. 649-8744, http://sfsound.org /acme.html. 

Anna’s Dec. 8: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory, Bill Bell at the piano; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 9: Choro Time; Dec. 10: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 11: Singers’ Open Mike #2; Dec. 12: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 13: Rev. Rabia, The Blueswoman; Dec. 14: Anna and Mark Little on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 15: Jazz Singers Vicki Burns and Felice York; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 16: The Jazz Fourtet; Dec. 17: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 18: Tangria Jazz Trio; Dec. 19: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 20: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Dec. 21: Anna and Percy Scott on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 22: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 23: Jazz Singer Ed Reed; All music starts 8 p.m. unless noted. 1801 University Ave., 849-2662. 

Cal Performances Dec. 19: Berkeley Symphony, $21 - $45; 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; Dec. 16: 3-8 p.m., Beverly Stovall Benefit, Jimmy McCracklin, JJ Malone, Jimi Mamou, Johnny Talbott. $10. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight & Salvage Coffee House Dec 8: Rebecca Riots; Dec. 9: Patrick Landeza; Dec. 10: John Wesley Harding, David Lewis & Sheila Nichols; Dec. 12: Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart; Dec. 13: Kevin Burke; Dec. 14: Dale Miller; Dec. 15: Robin Flower & Libby McLaren; Jan. 6: Allette Brooks. All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Jazzschool/La Note Dec. 9: 4:30 p.m., Rhiannon with Bowl Full of Sound, $6 - $12, reservations recommended. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 www.jazzschool.com 

Julia Morgan Theatre Dec. 23: 7:30 p.m., an evening of Irish music and dance with Todd Denman and friends. $10, $5 children; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, Program of classical favorites of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra; Jan. 12: 8:p.m., “Club Dance,” Teens come together to express their individual personalities and gifts as dancers. $10, Students and Seniors $6, Children ages 5 and under $6. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Dec. 8: Harvey Wainapel Quartet; Dec. 12: Mushroom; Dec. 13: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 14: Broun Fellini’s; Dec. 15: Norah Jones and Jim Campilongo; Dec. 19: Spectraphonic; Dec. 20: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 21: Crater; Dec. 22: Post Junk Trio; Dec. 27: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 29: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Kirk Tamura Trio; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Dec. 8: 9:30 p.m., Dr. Loco’s Rocking Jalapeño Band, $10; Dec. 9: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; Dec. 9: 7:30 p.m., Trio Altamira Reunion Concert, $12-$14; Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Holly Near, $15-$17; Dec. 16: 5 p.m, Flamenca Community Juerga, Free; Dec. 16: 7 p.m, Modupue & UpSurge, $8; Dec. 23: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568, www.lapena.org 

“Music on Telegraph” 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. 

Rose Street House Dec. 14 & 15: 7:30 p.m., Benefit Concert and Birthday Party, Shelly Doty and grassroots community of women singers and song writers; Dec. 25: 3 p.m., Annual “Dykelah Escape-from-you-know-what-day Musical Extravaganza!”; Jan.17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley Dec. 15: 2 p.m., “All-Brahms piano recital,” Yu-Ting Chen performs. Free; Jan. 6: 3 p.m., Stephen Genz in his West Coast debut; 2345 Channing Way, 527-8175, www.geocities.com/ mostlybrahms.  

“The Christmas Revels” Dec. 8: 1 & 5 p.m., Dec. 9: 1 & 5 p.m., Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Dec. 15: 1 & 5 p.m., Dec. 16: 1 & 5 p.m., celtic music, dance and storry telling. $15-$30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 893-9853 www.calrevels.org.  

“Guitar, Woodwinds, Drums” Dec. 8: 8 p.m., The Bill Horvitz Band, Ben Goldberg’s What Music. Tuva Space, 3192 Adeline St. 

“WAVE,” Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble, Dec.14: 7:30 p.m., concert of Christmas music. $10, Students $5. Calvary Presbyterian Church, 1940 Virginia St., 848-9132. 

Theater 

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Dec. 14: 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 15: 7:30 p.m.; California Shakespeare Festival Student Company, presents a comedy with romance. Free. Rehearsal Hall, 701 Heintz St. 548-3422 X114. sunny@calshakes.org. 

“Seventy Scenes of Halloween” Dec. 7: 8 p.m.; Dec. 8: 8 p.m., 10:30 p.m.; Dec. 9: 7 p.m.; BareStage Productions, UC Berkeley’s original student theater company, presents a macbre farce written by Jeffrey M. Jones and directed by Desdemona Chiang. $8. UC Berkeley, Choral Rehearsal Hall. 682-3880, barestage@ucchoral.berkeley.edu. 

“The Last Smoker in Berkeley” Dec. 7 through Dec. 9: 8 p.m.; A comic tale of an addict making her last stand against nicotine and her neighbors. Written and performed by Sara DeWitt. $10. Speakeasy Teatre, 2016 7th St. 

Berkeley City Ballet Presents 28th Annual “Nutcracker” Dec. 8 & Dec. 9: 2 p.m.; A full-length production of the holiday classic with a cast of over 50 dancers. $18; $14 children under 12. Berkeley Community Theater, 1930 Allston Way, 841-8921, www.ticketweb.com.  

“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 

“Black Nativity” Dec. 7 through Dec. 16th: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2:30 p.m., 8 p.m., Sun. 5:30 p.m.; The birth of Jesus unfolds in this drama written by Langston Hughes. Directed and produced by Betty Gadling. $15 adults, $8 seniors and students, $5 children over 5. Allen Temple Baptist Church, 8501 International Blvd., Oakland 569-9418 www.allen-temple.org 

“The Christmas Revels” Dec. 7 through Dec. 16: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. - Sun. 1 p.m., 5 p.m. ; A cast of adults and children present a celebration of the winter solstice that combines dance, drama, ritual, and song. $15 - $30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 510-893-9853 www.calrevels.org  

“Much Ado About Nothing” 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 

“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 

Films 

Pacific Film Archive Theater Dec. 6: 7 p.m., Bizarre, Bizarre; 8:50 p.m., The Green Man; Dec. 7: 7 p.m., Smiles of a Summer Night; 9:05 p.m., Cluny Brown; Bancroft Way, 642-1124 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Shouting Silent” Dec. 8: 2:30 p.m. reception, 3:30 p.m. film showing. The film by Xoliswa Sithole explores the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic as seen through the eyes of the filmmaker, an adult orphan who lost her mother to HIV/AIDS in 1996. Health Education Center, 400 Hawthorne St., Oakland 

Exhibits  

“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 

“Berkeley Creations” Dec. 8 & Dec. 15: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., A group exhibit. Artist-at-Play Studio and Gallery, 1649 Hopkins St., 528-0494. 

“The Paintings of Bethany Anne Ayers and Sculpture of Alexander Cheves” 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 

“Veiled and Revealed” Through Dec. 23: Human beings, costumed in native dress are captured by visual artists in a seven-person exhibit. Sat. Dec. 8, 15, and 23, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. Simultaneously showing at ART-A-FACT, 1109 Addison St., and Metaversal Lightcraft, 1708 University Ave. 848-1985 

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” Dec. 19 through Jan. 8: An exhibit featuring Kathleen Flannigan’s drawing and furniture - boxes, tables, and mirrors, all embellished with images of the beauty and innocence of the natural world. Addison Street Windows, 2018 Addison St. 

“Matrix 195” 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 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” Dec. 19 through Feb. 2: An exhibition of painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography and more by Bay Area and  

regional artists. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., www.proartsgallery.org. 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” 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 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” Dec. 12 through Mar. 10: A selection of photographs and memorabilia presenting a different perspective on Adam’s career as one of the leading figures in American photography. Wed, Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $4- $6. University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.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 

Coffee With A Beat - Word Beat reading series Dec. 8: Jeanne Powell, Kelly Kraatz; Dec. 15: Norm Milstein, Barbara Minton; Dec. 22: Debra Grace Khattab, Jesy Goldhammer; Dec. 29: Steve Arntson, Michelle Erickson, Clare Lewis; All readings are free and begin at 7 p.m., 458 Perkins, Oakland, 526-5985, www.angelfire.com/poetry/wordbeat. 

The Humanist Fellowship Hall Dec. 5: 7 p.m., “Our Wings Are Pregnant Seesaws” a play by H. D. Moe. A reading performance by the theatre workshop. 390 27th St., Oakland, 528-8713 

Easy Going Travel Shop & BookstoreDec. 11: 7:30 p.m., Lisa Bach, editor of “Her Fork in the Road”, a collection of stories blending food and travel, and a panel of contributors to the anthology, present an evening of readings and discussions. Free. 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

“Rhythm & Muse Open Mic” Dec. 15: 7 p.m., Featuring poets Lara Dale and Mary-Marcia Casoly. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 527-9753 

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; $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 Dec. 8 & 9: 32nd Annual Bay Area Fungus Fair, the world of the mushroom will be explored in exhibits, lectures, slide shows, cooking demos, etc.. 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 Through Jan. 26: Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters; “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.

Moore’s 23 leads Panthers to second win over BHS this week 

Hooking up for the second time this week, the Berkeley and St. Mary’s boys’ basketball teams produced a sequel that looked strikingly similar to the original. Berkeley held a slim lead at halftime, but the more experienced Panthers went on a second-half run to beat the young ’Jackets, 66-59. 

Friday’s game, held in the consolation bracket of the Chris Vonture Spartan Classic at De La Salle in Concord, left both teams feeling unsatisfied. St. Mary’s didn’t play very well in victory, while the ’Jackets showed little improvement over Thursday’s ugly loss to St. Joseph. 

“We’re just not playing very well right now,” St. Mary’s head coach Jose Caraballo said. “We’re not doing the things we normally do.” 

One bright spot for the Panthers was senior Chase Moore, who scored a game-high 23 points after struggling offensively on Thursday. Moore came out fast, scoring 11 in the first quarter, then hit several big shots down the stretch when Berkeley got close in the final period. 

“I just tried to step it up today and score a little more,” Moore said. “With (point guard) DeShawn (Freeman) out, we need someone to score some points.” 

“That’s how Chase is supposed to play,” Caraballo said. “He’s not doing anything unusual for him.” 

Freeman’s absence, which will last until next month, is clearly wearing on senior guard John Sharper, who has taken over the point. Sharper hasn’t had a good offensive effort in the Panthers’ first three games, and was shut out in the first half of Friday’s game before scoring 12 points in the second. But center Simon Knight came through against Berkeley, scoring 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. Knight was awful from the line, however, making just 2-of-9 free-throws. Sharper contributed in other ways, tallying 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists. 

Berkeley had their own offensive struggles to worry about. For the third game in a row, the ’Jackets looked disjointed on the offensive end, committing unforced turnovers and taking foolish shots. They shot just 37 percent from the field and were just 14-of-25 from the free-throw line. But head coach Mike Gragnani didn’t blame his players for the team’s struggles. 

“I think what’s happening right now is my own fault,” Gragani said. “I have to do a better job in practice explaining the situations where we’re having turnovers.” 

Typical of the ’Jackets was guard Dontae Hall. The 5-foot-10 junior hit his first three shots in the first quarter to give Berkeley a 10-6 lead. But Hall would miss his next nine shots as St. Mary’s went ahead, and he finished with 12 points. Hall also managed to grab 7 rebounds despite being the shortest player on the court, but was unable to convert several offensive boards into scores. 

Guard Lee Franklin helped Berkeley get the lead back in the second quarter, scoring two quick baskets to give them a 20-19 edge, and Daryl Perkins hit a 3-pointer late in the period to keep a 30-28 lead into halftime. But the ’Jackets went ice-cold in the second half, scoring just 5 points through the next 10 minutes, missing three wide-open layups during that time. Sharper gave St. Mary’s the lead back with a 3-pointer to start the second half, and the Panthers never looked back. 

Although the ’Jackets were down just 42-35 at the end of the third quarter, a 12-point St. Mary’s run quickly put the game out of reach as the Panthers took a 52-35 lead. Sharper, struggling with his normally dependable outside shot, started driving to the hoop, and converted 6 free throws in the final period on his way to 12 points. In fact, four of the St. Mary’s starters (Moore, Knight, Sharper and guard Terrence Boyd) combined to score all but 5 of the team’s points. Caraballo was unhappy with the play of his reserves, who allowed Berkeley to cut the St. Mary’s lead to 9 points with two minutes left in the game, forcing him to put his starters back in to insure the victory. 

“I wasn’t happy that Berkeley came back when I put the subs in,” Caraballo said. “There can’t be a letdown when we go to our bench.” 

St. Mary’s will face the winner of the Serra-Jesse Bethel matchup today at 4 p.m. for the consolation championship, while Berkeley will face the loser at 2:15 p.m.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has charged the owner of Jetco Motors, which burned down 17 months ago, with eight felonies related to the transportation and disposal of hazardous debris. 

Frank Ghayaz, also known as Faranarz Tabatabaighahyaz, was arrested Aug. 9 after a hired hauling company was observed dumping fire-damaged toxic waste at the West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill in Richmond. 

One day after his arrest, Ghayaz was released on $40,000 bail.  

The District Attorney filed the eight felony counts on Nov. 16. Ghayaz is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 18. 

Ghayaz did not return phone calls to the Planet on Friday, but his attorney, William Cole of the Oakland law offices Krech and Cole, said Ghayaz will plead not guilty on all eight counts. 

Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Michael O’Connor said Ghayaz, if convicted, could face up to three years in prison and a $100,000 fine for each count. 

Jetco Transmission, located at 2120 Fifth St., was destroyed by at five-alarm fire in May 2000. Shortly after the fire, the city’s Toxic Waste Division determined the fire-damaged debris, which included car batteries and engine parts, contained hazardous materials.  

Ghayaz also owns the Jetco Motors Garage at 2120 Fifth St. 

According to Toxics Management Supervisor Nabil Al-Hadithy, Ghayaz was told the debris would have to be disposed of according to state environmental law, which Al-Hadithy said is “very expensive.” 

“Hazardous waste is regulated from ‘cradle to grave,’” he said. “Every aspect of waste is documented, regulated and accounted for so it doesn’t end up causing damage to the environment.” 

Despite a quarantine on the burned-out transmission shop, inspectors from the Consumer and Environmental Protection Division of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office witnessed a hauling company, allegedly hired by Ghayaz, transport the hazardous debris to the West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill, according to O’Connor. 

O’Connor said there was no health risk to the neighbors of the transmission shop because the debris had been properly contained and enclosed. But the landfill, which is located next to the San Francisco Bay, is not licensed to handle hazardous materials. 

“Disposing of the materials at the landfill meant that the toxic metals would eventually work their way into the Bay where it would (present) a hazard to aquatic life,” O’Connor said.

Editor: 

Thank you for Tuesday’s “Berkeley Lite”. I appreciate news presented with a sense of humor – what a gift to be informed and to be able to smile simultaneously. You are going to spoil me; for future articles I will demand more humor so that I can belly laugh while learning. 

But back to the serious matter of the difficulty of buying underwear in Berkeley. I hate it when our city officials, in this case the mayor, bashes Berkeley for being Berkeley. It seems to me that Berkeley residents, and for that matter, people from Walnut Creek, as well as all over the world, come to Berkeley for many reasons. They come for the university and its faculty and students, for the eccentricities of our political culture, for Chez Panisse, for Cody’s, Black Oaks and for all the other wonderful stores and artists scattered over various parts of Berkeley. Another, tiny, Berkeley gem, the Juice Bar Collective is where I recently hosted two women parliamentarians from Japan who came to Berkeley and Oakland expressly to personally thank Representative Barbara Lee and the Berkeley City Council members (Breland, Miao, Shirek, Spring, and Worthington) who introduced and voted for the “anti-war measure.” We thought that we would splurge, but it was Saturday lunch and Venezia and Chez Panisse Upstairs were closed. So the four of us bought lunch at the Juice Bar Collective and ate our shepherd’s pie and other goodies on the sidewalk outside of the Juice Bar. My guests were ecstatic with the quality of the food and the utter simplicity and folksiness and I was thrilled by my cleverness at bringing them there. 

And oh yes, for appetizers we started with just-out-of-the-oven breads, and olives at the Cheese Board Collective, another Berkeley treasure. Our international visitors stayed at the Shattuck Hotel (for three nights) and bought gifts (underwear?) at Ross’ across from their hotel, then to Walgreens for multiple vitamins to bring back to Tokyo. They were charmed and delighted by Berkeley and it was fun for me to see the virtues (retail and conscience) of Berkeley through their eyes. I don’t believe that a trip to Walnut Creek would have left (yes) the experience, left an impression of a community, that had creative people doing Nobel quality work as well as having bakers producing bread that is better than Paris’. They want to come back. And some of us, would like to have them come back, not only for what they will spend in Berkeley but for their company.  

Ying Lee 

Berkeley

LONDON — George Harrison’s 1971 hit, “My Sweet Lord,” is reportedly going to be rereleased as a tribute to the former Beatle, who died last week. 

The British news agency Press Association on Friday quoted an unidentified source at EMI Records as saying the company plans to reissue the track and donate the proceeds to an undetermined charity. 

No date has been set for the release, Press Association said. Representatives from EMI did not return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment. 

“My Sweet Lord” was the first No. 1 song for any of the Beatles following their breakup. The song, from Harrison’s biggest album, “All Things Must Pass,” was one of the most successful releases of his career. 

It includes references to the Hare Krishna faith and a section of their mantra. Harrison was a devotee of Hare Krishna for much of his life. 

The hit later drew Harrison into a lawsuit, which he lost, by the copyright owner of “He’s So Fine,” a track by the Chiffons. 

Harrison died Nov. 29 at the age 58 from cancer.

Leaks and floods result in a wave of questioning

A series of leaks and floods at several district schools in recent weeks have raised concerns about the quality of recent school construction, and put maintenance issues back on the map. 

“Our schools are flooding, our schools are in trouble,” said Beebo Turman, a member of the citizens’ Maintenance Planning and Oversight Committee, at Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting. 

Turman and other parents on the committee, which is composed of citizens and district staff, are asking school officials to hold architects and contractors accountable for any design or building errors, and to rapidly hire more maintenance staff. 

Lew Jones, the district’s manager of facilities planning, says he has contacted architects and contractors where appropriate, and is pushing to hire qualified maintenance staff, including a new maintenance director, as soon as possible. He said state law and bureaucratic processes necessarily create lengthy hiring procedures, and new staff will probably not be in place for several months.  

The most significant flooding, according to committee members and school officials, has occurred at Berkeley High School, the Longfellow Arts & Technology Magnet Middle School, Malcolm X Arts & Academic Magnet School and a daycare facility on the LeConte School campus. 

Smaller leakages have spouted at several other schools, according to Jones, including Thousand Oaks and Rosa Parks, where mold has developed in a conference room.  

Jones said he has called contractors, who did recent work on the two buildings, to seek remedies. 

Jones has also asked ELS Architects of Berkeley, who worked on the recent renovation of Longfellow, to look into design flaws that may be leading to flooding in a basement room at the school. 

ELS did not return Daily Planet calls for comment. 

School principals say they have been pleased with the district’s day-to-day response to flooding issues.  

“I think the response time is adequate,” said Lawrence Lee, executive vice principal at Berkeley High School, which has experienced flooding in its G Building during the recent heavy rains. 

However, Lee said the district has not been so quick to deal with several lingering maintenance issues at BHS, including backed-up drains, roofing problems and faulty lighting on the outside of buildings. 

Activists say that a lack of adequate staffing and management are responsible for the backlog of maintenance problems. “There’s nobody taking care of business now,” said Yolanda Huang, a Berkeley High parent who has served on the maintenance committee. 

Jones readily acknowledges the short staffing, and says the district will be hiring about 15 new employees in the next six months, some sooner than others. But, he says the existing maintenance crews have worked hard under difficult conditions. “Our staff has been short-staffed for some time,” Jones said, “and they have really been out there busting their tails.” 

Jones also acknowledges that the recent departure of Gene LeFevre, the district’s former maintenance director, has left a leadership vacuum. But, he points to a school board vote on Wednesday, approving a $10,000 per month contract with ABM Engineering of Oakland, to last no more than five months, that will provide a temporary manager until a new one is found.  

Maintenance committee members said they were generally happy with the ABM contract, but objected to the district’s failure to include them in the hiring decision. 

They also criticized the district’s larger plan to hire permanent new staff. Superintendent Michele Lawrence initiated the scheme in the fall, and won school board approval in October, overriding some elements of a maintenance committee-endorsed plan the board passed in May. 

The new plan calls for the hiring of “maintenance engineers,” who are skilled in at least two trades, rather than workers who have expertise in one particular area, such as plumbing or electrical work. 

Stephanie Allan, who serves on the maintenance committee, and works for a local union of stationary engineers – similar to “maintenance engineers” – said the plan is unrealistic. She said multi-talented workers are difficult to come by, and command higher salaries than those being offered by the district.  

Allan added that it would take years to train the district’s current employees and raise them to the level of maintenance engineers. 

“It’s like, I’m in Kansas and I want to get to Oz,” said Huang, echoing Allan’s argument that the plan is unrealistic, “but how am I going to get there?” 

Jones noted that the district has recently raised the pay it will offer maintenance engineers by about 10 percent, but said he cannot be sure about the types of applicants the system will attract. 

“We believe we should be able to get people on board, but until we advertise, we can’t be sure,” he said. “We’ll have to do a good job of recruitment.” 

Editor: 

Well what do you know, the indomitable “American Way” which we are defending in blazing glory across the globe, has forced the American Medical Association to consider paying “dying, would-be donors and their families for vital organs.” Isn’t this a bit of an ethical oxymoron? Here we are, blowing a country to smithereens to dislodge a despotic enemy. Kidneys, hearts, lungs…you name it are being splattered all over Afghanistan to protect our “liberty,” yet we can’t seem to invoke that ‘liberty’ to come together as a country and provide our own population of 78,000 seriously ill residents with transplants that could save their lives.  

Is this what our freedom is all about? Apparently, it is. While 15 people die daily waiting for transplants, most of us ignore this need, as we do much of the more unpleasant realities that taint the ever more fragile American Dream. Meanwhile, 2001 has set new records for Suv’s…both in size and sales. Idiotic “reality shows” dominate commercial television. The disparity between rich and poor goes on, unabated. Do we really have to “buy” everything to prove our allegiance to the principles of freedom, including organs that have no use whatsoever to anyone but to sanctify our indifference to others? 

Marc Winokur 

Oakland

Lennon’s b-day today

NEW YORK — Many of the flowers placed at Central Park’s Strawberry Fields after George Harrison’s death are still there, but Beatles fans are preparing to mourn again, this time for the 21st anniversary of John Lennon’s death this Saturday night. 

And with the planned Lennon vigil comes the annual fight between organizers and the city over whether the memorial can continue past the 1 a.m. curfew that has been imposed for the past eight years. 

“Since Sept. 11, we have seen a new side of (Mayor Rudolph Giuliani), who has shown a lot of compassion,” Tom Leighton, co-founder of the Memorial Committee, said Wednesday. “We are just hoping that perhaps he can extend this compassion to fans of John Lennon and rock and roll fans in general and allow us to extend the vigil this year past 1 a.m.” 

Giuliani’s press office did not immediately return a call for comment. But in previous years, the mayor said public safety concerns and the costs of extra security were reasons for not extending the curfew. The park generally is closed from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. 

Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, however, said that the curfew decision is his, not Giuliani’s, and that fans are just blaming the mayor to get media attention. 

“This is simply a stunt,” Stern said. 

Lennon was shot dead by a deranged fan in front of his Central Park West home on Dec. 8, 1980. Harrison died Nov. 29 following a bout with cancer. 

Artists lined up for next year’s show

LOS ANGELES — Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz and Brooks & Dunn are among the performers lined up for next year’s American Music Awards. 

The 29th annual awards show is scheduled to air on ABC on Jan. 9. The host has not yet been announced. 

Also scheduled to perform are Cher, Toby Keith, Shaggy and Yolanda Adams. 

Presenters include rappers Master P., Ja Rule and Ludacris; singers LeAnn Rimes and India.Arie; and actors Chris Klein and Frankie Muniz. 

Twenty-one awards, voted on by the public, will be given out in music categories including pop, rock, alternative, gospel and country. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.americanmusicawards.com. 

Editor: 

The Downtown Berkeley Association (DBA) supports a balanced approach to public transit and parking. 

For the business community, the Transportation Element is one of the most significant elements of the General Plan. Access to the district by customers, visitors, and workers is critical for business vitality, and the ability to attract and retain employees.  

Unfortunately, the Transportation Element as it is now written is not balanced. While we applaud language to increase the use of public transit, we cannot support a moratorium on the consideration of any new parking. Past studies in 1990 and 2000 have already shown that the Downtown needs at least 540-915 new parking spaces.  

The DBA respectfully requests that the City Council recognize that some people need to drive. The health, vitality, and future of the downtown arts, civic, and business communities require that the city understand that the automobile is part of the equation. It cannot be ignored or wished away. It would be permanently damaging to the long-term well being of the many popular downtown destinations if the existing parking supply were reduced; rather it is likely that new parking must be created as many of the arts and cultural activities take place after dark when public transit is infrequent and unappealing to many people.  

We hope that the adopted General Plan policies include a commitment to maintain the existing parking supply in the downtown at current levels so that there is no net loss of parking; a pledge to conduct an immediate study of visitor and shopper parking needs and supply, and act on the findings and recommendations of that parking study; and remove the language in Policy T-35 that prohibits the city from spending any city funds on efforts to increase the number of parking spaces in the Downtown for the next two years.  

Deborah Badhia 

executive director, Downtown Berkeley Association

EAST PALO ALTO — A SamTrans bus driver was still missing early Friday after finishing his route two days earlier and failing to return with the bus. 

The driver, whose name was not released, was last seen Wednesday after dropping off passengers in East Palo Alto. 

Late Thursday the bus was discovered abandoned in San Francisco. 

The small, 14-person coach serves the Redi-Wheels program for disabled passengers. The driver was due to return the bus to San Carlos after his shift. 

Despite the mystery, San Carlos police Cmdr. Rich Cinfio says his department has found no evidence of foul play. 

The victim was walking near the corner of Durant Avenue and Milvia Street at about 4:20 p.m. when he was approached by two men who demanded his wallet. The victim complied, but asked the suspects to keep his cash and return the billfold. The suspects did so, then fled on foot. 

The suspects are described as African-American males between the ages of 18 and 20. One suspect was around 6 feet, 2 inches tall, of thin build, wearing a white and red jacket. 

The other suspect had two blue letter “X”s etched into his front teeth. He is described as being 5 feet,10 inches tall and about 150 pounds. He was wearing a black fleece jacket and black jeans. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the BPD Robbery Detail at 981-5742. 

On Tuesday, Pinky, a 3-month-old beagle puppy was stolen from his home on the 3100 block of Ellis Street on Tuesday between 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. 

When Pinky’s owner arrived at the home, he noticed that a locked gate had been opened. At first, the victim saw nothing amiss, but later discovered Pinky was gone. 

In the other case, Miles, a tan boxer with white paws, was taken from his home on the 2700 block of Acton Street between the hours of 12:15 p.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday.  

When the dog’s owner arrived at home on Wednesday, he discovered that Miles’ kennel, which was locked, was broken into and the dog missing. 

Miles is two years old, and was wearing a black leather collar. 

The two robberies occurred within a mile of each other, in roughly the same neighborhood. 

The first case was logged as a petty theft; the second, grand theft. 

The California Penal Code states that the theft of a dog is only considered “grand theft” if the dog is worth more than $400. 

The theft of a horse, mare, gelding, mule, jack, jenny, sheep, lamb, hog, sow, boar, gilt, barrow, pig, bovine animal or “caprine animal” (goat) is automatically considered grand theft, regardless of the animal’s dollar value. 

The code does not specify the regulations for the theft of a cat, but does note that the theft of any goods worth more than $400 is considered grand theft. 

Grand theft is punishable by incarceration for up to a year in a state penitentiary, while the maximum punishment for petty theft is a fine of up to $1,000 and six months in the county jail. 

Anyone with information about the theft of either of the dogs is asked to call the BPD Robbery Detail at 981-5742. 

The Peace and Justice Commission will ask the council to approve a plan to make the phone number and Web site address of the organization available to staff members answering city phone lines. 

Berkeley’s Mayor Shirley Dean says she has no problem with the proposal, as long as the informational task does not cross the line to advocacy. 

Steve Freedkin, a member of the Peace and Justice Commission, says the proposal comes from a need for balance in light of strong military messages getting to the public through national advertising campaign. 

“During this time of military action, especially, we felt it was important that young people, who are of an age to consider enrolling in the military, have the full range of information available to them,” Freedkin said. 

Boat captain Phil Battaglia delivered 1,800 pounds of Dungeness crab Thursday to Alber Seafoods at Pier 45. 

The crab fisherman striked for three weeks, holding out for more $2.25 per pound before settling on $1.88 per pound. 

Crab supplies had dwindled as the anglers stayed ashore. 

Marketers predict crab prices for consumers will drop to about $3.99 per pound. 

Police are searching for a 43-year-old Hilo man in the stabbing of a Mark Dehl on Thursday. 

Dehl, 51, was reported in serious but stable condition at Hilo Medical Center with wounds in his upper chest and abdomen. 

Police were looking for Randy Galima, who lives in the building that houses the Shooters Bar and Grill where the stabbing occurred. 

Galima and Dehl reportedly got into a fight at the bar at about 9:30 p.m. 

Galima was involved in an eight-hour stand-off with police last March during which he held a seven-month-old baby girl as a hostage, threatening to kill her with a knife. 

He was charged with kidnapping, resisting arrest and seven counts of terroristic threatening in that incident. 

SAN JOSE — For years, anonymous e-mail has been a choice tool for whistle-blowers, human rights activists and undercover sources looking to protect themselves while imparting vital information. 

Anonymous online communication could just as easily be used by terrorists to plot attacks or send threats. 

Yet little has changed since Sept. 11 for users and operators of Internet-based anonymous e-mail servers, which launder messages by deleting identifying information, rendering them virtually untraceable. 

Now there are indications the servers have increased in number. 

While no evidence has been released linking such services to any criminal or terrorist conspiracy, experts fear governments could crack down on anonymous remailers — or at least subject them to greater scrutiny. 

Law enforcement generally despises technology that leaves such cold trails, said Mark Rasch, former head of the Department of Justice’s computer crimes unit and current vice president of cyberlaw at Predictive Systems. 

So far, U.S. and European authorities battling terrorism and cybercrime have apparently focused their surveillance elsewhere. The FBI declined to comment on what strategy, if any, it has for dealing with remailers. 

“There’s a lot more concern about border security and banking records,” said Mike Godwin, a policy fellow at the Center for Democracy and Technology. 

That’s just fine with the people who operate remailers. They don’t do it for money, but rather share a common ideal of protecting online privacy. 

Len Sassaman, an e-mail security consultant who runs a remailer as a hobby, thinks any attempts to crack down would lead to more cropping up around the world. 

In fact, the number of remailers overall doubled to about 50 after the passage of security laws as media reports raised awareness of threats to privacy, he said. 

“More people are interested in taking steps to protect that,” said Sassaman, who once had his e-mail published online after someone hacked into his Internet service provider. 

Some degree of e-mail anonymity can be achieved using a Microsoft Hotmail or Yahoo Mail account with a pseudonym. Encryption hides a message’s contents but not it’s origin or destination. 

That’s why people seeking nearly airtight anonymity like to send encrypted messages via remailers. 

Anonymous remailers today tend to work in teams, with a single message automatically passing through several. That reflects lessons learned in the case of Julf Hensingius. 

In 1993, the Finn developed an anonymous e-mail system that stripped off the identification of an e-mail’s sender before forwarding it to the addressee. 

Anon.penet.fi was especially popular among devotees of Usenet newsgroups, text-based bulletin boards that preceded the World Wide Web. 

A major flaw was revealed in 1995, however, when the Church of Scientology learned of a user who used Anon.penet.fi to post internal church documents — and contacted police. 

Because the single remailer relied on a database to match the sender’s Internet address with the message, the courts simply ordered Hensingius to reveal the identity of the sender. He shut down the service in 1996. 

“That prompted a bunch of programmers to rethink how they wanted to do remailers,” said Sassaman. 

Now, messages are bounced from machine to machine. In order to find the original sender, authorities would have to work through an entire chain of remailers, many likely located in different countries. 

But the development did not stop there. 

Programmer Lance Cottrell created the Mixmaster system to further confuse the trail by programming random delays from machine to machine. That makes it impossible to watch the system in order to identify a sender by monitoring when messages arrive and leave. 

Moreover, messages are encrypted multiple times, each wrapped inside the other like a matryoshka, or nested Russian doll. The whole message is then broken into packets of equal size. Logs are not kept. 

It leaves virtually no trail to follow for authorities. 

“Normally, they’re going to subpoena the last remailer in the chain. That’s the only one they can see,” said Cottrell, now chief executive of Anonymizer.com. “There’s just no path to work backward to the original sender.” 

Such complexity does not come easy. Software, downloaded for free, must be used by both the receiver and the sender so the messages are encrypted before being sent. 

And if one computer in the chain goes down, messages just disappear. 

Attempts to commercialize remailer technology have not been successful. In October, the easiest to use, Zero-Knowledge Systems’ Freedom Network, was shut down, due to lack of demand. 

Law enforcers have at least one way of unmasking users of anonymous remailers, said Richard Smith, formerly chief technology officer at the Privacy Foundation. 

Authorities could ask an Internet provider to list users who have sent data to an anonymous remailer. Then, using the FBI’s “Magic Lantern” or other intrusive eavesdropping programs, officials could secretly record a user’s every keystroke. 

“As they’re typing in their secret messages, they get reported before they get encrypted,” Smith said. “That’s the weakness of any encryption system — when the message is being typed or being read.

SACRAMENTO — Labor unions and an attorneys’ group are pushing an initiative that would raise benefits for California workers who suffer job-related injuries. 

The measure, intended for the November 2002 ballot, would raise benefits to the national average for workers injured after Jan. 1, 2003, and adjust benefits each year after that for the cost of living. 

Maximum temporary disability benefits, for example, would jump initially from $490 to $651 a week. 

Supporters say that California now ranks 49th out of 50 states in the amount of benefits paid to most injured workers. 

“Many workers are living in poverty because they have not had a benefit increase in over 10 years,” said Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation. “They deserve a raise.” 

For the last three years, Gov. Gray Davis has vetoed bills that would have raised injured workers’ benefits, saying they didn’t include enough cost-saving changes in the workers’ compensation system. 

Davis said recently that he hoped to work out a compromise he could sign next year. His press secretary, Steve Maviglio, said Davis hopes “to sign into law added benefits as a result of negotiations that we hope will resume in the next legislative session.” 

But critics said they can’t wait for the governor, normally an ally of labor. 

“After this third veto we can only conclude that the administration lacks either the political will or the political competence to solve this issue,” said Daniel Curtin, director of the California Conference of Carpenters. 

Proponents of the initiative need to collect signatures of at least 419,260 registered voters to put the measure on the ballot. 

The proposal is sponsored by Gnesa Duncan, whose husband was seriously injured in a Tosco refinery fire in 1999. 

Besides the labor federation and the carpenters’ union, the measure’s supporters include the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, United Farm Workers and the California Applicants Attorneys Association, whose members represent injured workers. 

LOS ANGELES — “Are you (Osama) bin Laden?” 

Two men accused Surinder Singh Sidhu of being the hated al-Qaida leader before beating him with metal poles. 

Sidhu, 47, was preparing to close his Northridge liquor store late Monday night when they entered. He said he tried to explain that he was a Sikh and had no association the accused terrorist. But for six minutes, they continued their assault. 

“All the time, they kept hitting me on my head,” he said Friday at a news conference. 

The Los Angeles Police are calling the assault a hate crime, one of more than 100 logged since Sept. 11. Hundreds more that have been reported nationwide — most targeting Arab-Americans, Muslims, Afghan-Americans, Sikhs, Asians and others mistaken for Arabs or Muslims. 

“It was obvious that they were attacking him not because they wanted anything from him but because of what he looked like,” Devonshire Division Capt. Joe Curreri said. 

“They obviously had hate in their minds when they walked into the store. They obviously had hate in their minds before they walked into the store because they had metal pipes with them.” 

Sidhu, who wears a turban and has a long peppered beard — customary of Sikh dress — managed to get away after pushing a shelf over on top of his attackers, causing them to fall on the floor, drop their weapons and run. No arrests have been made. 

He was hospitalized for several hours with head injuries. 

Kirtan-Singh Khalsa, spokesman for the Khalsa Council, an international council for Sikh affairs, said the crime was regrettable but not surprising, noting attacks had increased since Sept. 11. More than 200 have been reported nationwide, he said. 

“We’re deeply concerned by this event. But we are not shocked,” Khalsa said. “Sikhs are accustomed to ridicule because of the wearing of turbans.” 

Ironically, he said Sidhu’s injuries could have been more serious if it weren’t for the head garment. 

Khalsa called the two suspects “knuckleheads” who were unable to deal with their own anger. But he encouraged people of all races to stick together while dealing with this national tragedy. 

“These attacks that we’ve experienced collectively, we must respond to collectively,” he said. 

On Friday, Sidhu was wearing a turban made with American flag fabric which he says he has been wearing since Sept. 11 as a symbol of his love for the country. Although he is hurt by the incident, he said he is not bitter. 

“I feel bad but not angry,” he said. “Most of the people are nice. It’s never happened before. We just have to educate the people on who we are.” 

According to Khalsa, there are approximately 23 million Sikhs worldwide, 500,000 in the United States and 125,000 in California. They have been farming in the state for more than 100 years. 

MODESTO — Rep. Gary Condit, dogged by scandal since the May disappearance of a Washington, D.C., intern, said Friday he will seek re-election to Congress. 

Condit kept his plans silent until 4:15 p.m. Friday, when he arrived at the Stanislaus County courthouse to file papers for re-election. Friday was the deadline for congressional candidates to enter the 2002 campaign. 

“It was a very difficult decision for me,” Condit said. “It took some time to think about and I’ve represented the (Central) valley for a long time and I’ve done a good job for the people of the valley.” 

Looking weary but flashing his trademark smile, Condit arrived with his son Chad and daughter Cadee to run the toughest race of his congressional career, which started in 1989.  

He starts with a Democratic primary race against his longtime protege, Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza of Atwater, a former Condit aide who once hired Chad Condit as his legislative chief of staff. 

“I expected him to try and run for re-election,” Cardoza said. “He probably sees this as one way he can redeem himself some way.” 

Once virtually unbeatable, Condit’s hold was shaken in May, when Modesto resident Chandra Levy, an intern for the Bureau of Prisons in Washington, went missing. As the weeks passed, questions mounted about their relationship and Condit became a staple of supermarket tabloids and cable TV talk shows. 

Eventually Condit, 53 and married, acknowledged a romantic relationship with Levy, according to a police source. But he kept silent publicly for more than three months, finally giving a series of poorly received print and broadcast interviews in which he said he had “very close” relations with Levy but denied any involvement in her disappearance. 

Chandra Levy’s mother, Susan, and brother, Adam, said they had no comment on Condit’s decision Friday. 

During the summer, Condit’s negative reviews led his son to say his father shouldn’t run again, a position he reversed Friday. 

“He should run,” Chad Condit said. “He’s right to run.” 

Condit immediately faced questions about Levy Friday, which he deflected, saying the media would have to decide if his campaign would focus on the issues. 

“You guys will have to decide if you’re going to be fair to me or not and whether that’s your main issue,” Condit said. “I’m going to dwell on my record and what I’ve done for the valley and what I’m going to do for the future.” 

If early reactions to his decision are a gauge, that future may end in March. 

“I think it’s a good time for him to back out,” said Susan Davis, a Democrat from Turlock who’s voted for Condit often but won’t this time. 

Condit should have been more candid about Levy, said Republican Modesto Councilman Armour Smith, a former supporter who said he won’t vote for him again. “He made us all wait. We’re still waiting. Is he ever going to come clean?” 

The politician whose career first started with election in 1972 to the Ceres city council, gave little indication of his future until earlier this week, when he sent a letter to his constituents. 

The letter praised President Bush’s war on terrorism, reminded them of his role on the House Intelligence Committee and informed them of his meetings with local security officials to discuss terrorism concerns. 

That was another part of the unusual air of mystery that surrounded Condit’s intentions, with congressional colleagues saying he had not shared his plans with them. 

The once popular Condit has been ostracized by his own party. Prominent Democrats, including California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres, are backing Cardoza. 

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Friday it will remain neutral in the primary race. 

“Hold on to your hat,” said state Sen. Dick Monteith of Modesto, an erstwhile Condit ally who is seeking the Republican nomination for the seat. 

It will be apparent quickly whether the race between Condit and Cardoza veers from the issues to Levy, Monteith said. On Friday, Condit said it was anyone’s right to run for office and that he and Cardoza are friendly. 

Cardoza disputed that Friday. 

“There’s no question there’s tension between us,” Cardoza said. “You know, any time you have someone who is being challenged, they take offense to that. But no one gives us divine right to the seats we hold as elected officials. If he’s upset with me for running, that’s the way it goes.” 

Those tensions, said California Republican Party spokesman Rob Stutzman, mean “a rather brutal primary between the two of them.” 

Still, Stutzman said, the district is so Democratic that it would take a brutal campaign for the Republicans to win the seat. 

Condit, who had more than $315,000 in his campaign treasury at the end of the last reporting period in June, has not raised any money since then, Cadee Condit said. Cardoza is considered one of the Legislature’s most successful fund-raisers. 

Condit submitted 1,500 voter signatures with his campaign papers to accompany the 1,939 valid signatures he submitted earlier. 

A candidate must have 3,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot or pay a filing fee. Condit will pay the fee if he doesn’t have enough valid signatures. 

Adding to Condit’s woes, California Democrats dramatically reconfigured his district in agriculture-rich central California as part of the once-a-decade redrawing of electoral boundaries that follows the Census. 

———— 

Associated Press Writers Mark Sherman in Washington and Don Thompson and Jim Wasserman in Sacramento contributed to this report. 

LONG BEACH — State Fish and Game commissioners on Friday rejected a request by environmentalists and biologists to make the California tiger salamander an endangered species candidate, saying they needed more information. 

The Center for Biological Diversity, which had petitioned to list the species, said it would sue to get the commission to follow the recommendation of state Department of Fish and Game staff to list the species. 

“The commission ignored expert biologists, scientists for Fish and Game and lawyers for Fish and Game, and instead relied on a scientist-for-hire, who doesn’t study the species, and a lawyer misstating the legal standard,” said Brendan Cummings of the center. 

The salamander’s Santa Barbara County population is a federally endangered species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that extending the listing to its entire range to be “warranted, but precluded” because other species have a higher priority. 

Candidacy would have set up a 12-month process to determine whether to permanently list the salamander, which is found in California’s San Francisco Bay area, Central Valley and along the central coast. 

Fish and Game staff recommended the candidate listing, saying development has greatly encroached the salamander’s habitat. 

The grasslands that might support salamanders have shrunk from 9 million acres historically to about 3.7 million acres, said Sandra Morey, chief of Fish and Game’s habitat conservation branch. 

The California Farm Bureau Federation, the Wine Institute and other wine grape groups opposed the designation because even as a candidate the species would have been protected as if it were an endangered species. 

Grape growers fear the designation could prevent vineyard development. Developers also have expressed concerns that it could inhibit home building. 

Commissioners Mike Crisman and Michael Flores voted to reject the petition while Commissioner Sam Schuchat voted to accept. 

Neither Fish and Game staff, nor the three university biologists who supported the listing, could offer more precise population estimated for the species that Crisman and Flores said they needed. 

“I’d like to see what numbers are out there,” said Flores, who added that he thought environmentalists failed to make the case that the salamander’s habitat was in peril. 

“It looked to me like there was quite a bit out there,” he said. 

Wine Institute lawyer Robert Uram said environmentalists failed to meet the standard justifying a listing. 

“Unless the petition has information on population, in my view, it is simply not lawful,” he said. 

Actor Martin Sheen and four others guilty 

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge on Friday convicted five anti-missile protesters of trespassing at Vandenberg Air Force Base during an October 2000 demonstration protesting the militarization of space. 

The convictions were the last in a series of nine non-jury trials that began in federal court Thursday with Bruce Gagnon, the demonstration’s coordinator. He was convicted and sentenced to two years probation and a $1,000 fine. 

Seven protesters were convicted and two acquitted. Charges against five people were dismissed before the trials began and two entered guilty pleas. 

The demonstration was part of an international day of protest organized by Gainesville, Florida-based Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear in Space. 

Film and television star Martin Sheen, who was among those taking part, pleaded guilty in June. Four others pleaded guilty earlier this week. 

Sheen and the others were arrested as they tried to deliver a letter to Vandenberg’s commander explaining their opposition to space-based weapons. 

“While they have a constitutional right to voice their opinions, what they don’t understand is that the military is there to protect those rights and they continued to defy, in the face of authority, the law,” Capt. Michael T. Christy, special assistant U.S. attorney, said outside of court. 

Those convicted were upbeat as they left court, saying they planned to appeal. 

“The important thing is the struggle against ’Star Wars,”’ said Bill Simpich, who represented himself and his fellow defendants. “Vandenberg Air Force Base, like other government institutions, are engaged in trying to squelch legal, nonviolent protest.” 

Simpich was convicted and sentenced to one year probation and a $200 fine. 

Vandenberg, located on the central California coast, is the site of intercontinental ballistic missile tests and also the launch site for several missiles that have been used as targets in testing the so-called Star Wars missile defense system. 

SACRAMENTO — Rep. Gary Condit ended months of speculation over his political future Friday by declaring he will seek re-election, while his son abandoned his plans to jump into politics. 

Friday was the final day for California congressional, statewide and legislative candidates to decide whether they want their names on the March 5 ballot. 

The most closely watched races involved the father-son duo, and the answers came Friday afternoon when Democrat Gary Condit declared his candidacy for re-election and the younger Condit abandoned his bid for the state Senate. 

Secretary of State Bill Jones also ended guessing Friday by formally declaring his candidacy for governor. Jones filed the necessary papers in Fresno, his hometown, after speculation that money shortages would cause him to drop out. 

Jones will face Los Angeles businessman Bill Simon and former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan in the Republican primary. The winner will take on Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in November. 

Meanwhile, primary battles took shape in two newly created California congressional seats, which were formed when the Legislature and governor redrew the state’s districts this summer. 

The new districts and major candidates include: 

— The newly created, Republican-friendly 21st Congressional District in Tulare and Fresno counties: A Republican primary battle among Assemblyman Mike Briggs, former Fresno mayor Jim Patterson and Devin Nunes, a Tulare County dairy farmer. 

— The 39th Congressional District in southeast Los Angeles County: Linda Sanchez, a Democrat and sister of Orange County Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez, and Assemblywoman Sally Havice, D-Cerritos, will face off. 

In other congressional news, former state Assemblywoman Audie Bock, a Democrat and former Green Party member, announced Friday that she will not challenge Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland for the 9th Congressional District seat in 2002. In October, Bock said she would challenge Lee, the only member of Congress to oppose a resolution that granted President Bush authority to use force against terrorists. 

Bock said she now will back the campaign of Kevin Greene, a local Democratic activist. 

The candidates for other statewide races include: 

— State Sen. Republican Bruce McPherson is the key Republican vying to challenge Democrat Cruz Bustamante for lieutenant governor. McPherson’s 27-year-old son, Hunter, was fatally shot two blocks from his San Francisco home during a Nov. 17 robbery attempt. 

— Secretary of state is an open seat. Former Secretary of State March Fong Eu, a Democrat who held the position for nearly two decades before term limits, wants to reclaim the job. Also running are Michela Alioto, the 1998 Democratic nominee for the post, and Assemblyman Kevin Shelley, a San Francisco Democrat. Former Assemblyman Keith Olberg, a Republican from Victorville, is considered the strongest GOP primary contender. 

— The race for controller will include state Sen. Tom McClintock, a Northridge Republican, and Board of Equalization member Dean Andal, a Republican of Stockton. 

Democrats Steve Westly, a former Silicon Valley executive with eBay Inc. and a newcomer to politics, and Board of Equalization member Johan Klehs also are running. 

— Democratic Treasurer Phil Angelides will be challenged by Phillip Conlon, a Republican and former member of the Public Utilities Commission appointed by former Gov. Pete Wilson. 

— State Senator Dick Ackerman, R-Fullerton, is the only Republican who will challenge Democratic Attorney General Bill Lockyer. 

— There will be a three-way Democratic primary for the open seat of insurance commissioner. Assemblyman Tom Calderon of Montebello; former state insurance commissioner John Garamendi of Walnut Grove; and former state assemblyman Tom Umberg of Orange County, all Democrats, all are running. 

Republicans Wes Bannister, of Orange County, and Gary Mendoza, of Los Angeles, also are facing off for the seat. 

LOS ANGELES — Two Pakistani men picked up for questioning following the Sept. 11 attacks were charged Friday by federal prosecutors with falsely representing their legal status a day after an immigration judge granted them permission to leave the country. 

The two men — Salman Hyder and Ahmed Atta — appeared in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to answer charges they lied about their legal status on employment forms, said attorney Carrye Washington. The charges were unsealed in court and the hearing was continued until Tuesday. 

The court appearance came a day after federal officials removed the two men from a federal detention center in Lancaster without the knowledge of their attorney. 

“They took them last night. They are facing some type of federal charges. They haven’t told us anything,” she told The Associated Press. 

A third man, Soloman Hamid Khan, appeared with the two in court. Khan, who also faces charges of lying about his legal status, was reported to be a friend of Hyder and Atta, said attorney Guillermo Suarez, who is working with Washington on the case. 

Washington and Suarez said they learned about Friday’s hearing after listening to a radio report about the case, she said. 

The actions were an “ambush,” Washington said, adding that federal officials knew they were taking her clients while they were in court negotiating an agreement for the two to leave. 

An immigration judge granted voluntary departure Thursday to the two men rather then have them face a deportation hearing. However, during the hearing, the Immigration and Naturalization Service reserved the right to appeal the ruling. 

“The government is alleging that there is more here than meets the eye,” Suarez said. 

Telephone calls to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles were not immediately returned. 

Atta and Hyder, both 19, have been questioned at least five times by the FBI since they were picked up in October at their Fountain Valley apartment. Washington said the two were only charged with minor visa violations. 

Investigators appeared to focus on Atta, a Pakistani born in Saudi Arabia, who left the United States on Sept. 6 to renew his Saudi Arabian visa and passport, Washington said. He returned Sept. 18.  

Hyder said he has only been questioned about Atta’s whereabouts. 

The FBI last questioned the two on Oct. 25. 

Hyder and Atta had been held at the Mira Loma Detention Center in Lancaster since Oct. 8 until they were moved to a Los Angeles detention center, said Washington, an attorney with the National Immigration Project. 

The two men were detained by FBI and immigration officials after authorities received an anonymous tip accusing Atta of involvement with al-Qaida, the terrorist network considered responsible for the attacks. 

The men admit violating the student visas that allowed them to study computer information systems at Irvine Valley College. People with student visas must maintain full-time enrollment and are not allowed to accept off-campus employment without written permission from the INS. 

Both believe an angry neighbor called the tip in to authorities. 

SAN FRANCISCO — The parents of the California man found holed up with Taliban troops in Afghanistan said Friday that, nearly a week after his capture, the U.S. government has not given them any word about his condition or whereabouts. 

Through their attorney, Frank Lindh and Marilyn Walker said they are “desperately worried” about 20-year-old John Phillip Walker Lindh, who gave his name as Abdul Hamid after being taken into custody by U.S. forces following a bloody prison uprising in Mazar-e-Sharif. 

The attorney for the parents, James Brosnahan, told The Associated Press on Friday he had sent a fax to the Department of Defense requesting to know Walker’s whereabouts. Brosnahan said he also spoke to someone at the State Department in charge of determining the location of American detainees abroad. 

Neither agency would confirm Walker’s location, Brosnahan said. 

“Thus far, John’s parents have received no official word as to John’s physical health, mental state or even his whereabouts,” Brosnahan said in a written statement. “They are anxious to know how John is doing. We have renewed our previous request to the government to know what John’s condition is and to visit him without delay.” 

Federal officials first said they were not sure if Walker was an American, and have limited their comments as to whether he should be prosecuted or let free. 

“We appreciate the fact that the government is being deliberate and several high officials have said that they do not know enough about the situation yet, but the parents really want to see their son,” Brosnahan said. 

Walker’s parents have described him as an introvert and a pacifist who converted to Islam when he was 16 and living in Fairfax, Calif. He studied Arabic in Yemen and the Koran in Pakistan before going incommunicado about six months ago, his parents have said. 

Meanwhile, a videotape has surfaced that apparently shows a CIA officer interrogating Walker shortly before the agent was killed in the prison uprising. 

Johnny “Mike” Spann questioned Walker on Nov. 25 in the northern Afghanistan fortress of Kala Jangi, according to a Newsweek magazine report. 

Newsweek said the videotape showed Spann and another CIA agent, known only as Dave, talking with Walker. The magazine said the videotape indicated Dave spoke menacingly to Walker while Spann tried to break his resistance by explaining that the terror attacks on the United States on Sept. 11 had also taken the lives of many Muslims. 

“They (the hijackers) killed other Muslims. There were several hundred other Muslims killed in the bombing. Are you going to talk to us?” Spann asked. 

Walker did not respond. 

Shortly after the interrogation, other prisoners emerged from parts of the fortress and launched the uprising in which Spann was killed. 

RENO, Nev. — FBI agents and Reno police arrested a California man and a 16-year-old youth Friday wanted as suspects in the robbery and murder last week of the owner of a 99-cent store in Rubidoux, Calif. 

Anthony Eugene Brown, 28, Riverside, Calif., and the 16-year-old male from Lancaster, Calif., were arrested without incident about 12:30 p.m. Friday at a hotel near Reno’s downtown casino district, Reno Deputy Police Chief Jim Weston said. 

They were booked into the Washoe County Jail and were being held on no-bail warrants charging them with murder. 

The FBI notified Reno police earlier Friday that the two suspects wanted for a robbery murder in Riverside County, Calif., were believed to be in the Reno area. Reno officers spotted the suspects’ vehicle parked at the Horseshoe Hotel, Weston said. 

They are wanted in the death of Jamaloddin Douroudi, 46, Rubidoux, Calif. He was found dead at his store Nov. 29. He was handcuffed, shot and stabbed to death after his store was robbed of $20,000, Riverside County sheriff’s officials said. 

Authorities in Riverside earlier identified Brown as a suspect. 

His mother, Joyce Belvin, 52, told The (Riverside) Press-Enterprise last week that her son was innocent. 

“I’ve spoken with Anthony and he tells me he didn’t do it,” she told the newspaper. “I have to believe in my heart he’s innocent.”

LAS VEGAS — University of Nevada regents on Friday voted to raise grade point requirements for entrance to the state’s two universities. 

Current eighth-graders will be the first Nevada students required to meet an increased standard of 2.75 in 2006. The current grade point requirement is 2.5. 

In 2010, the required high school GPA could increase to 3.0 if university system studies show the 2.75 requirement didn’t discourage Nevadans and a diverse group of high school graduates from attending UNLV or the University of Nevada, Reno. 

Regent Tom Kirkpatrick opposed the increase, saying Nevada taxpayers favor more open admission policies and aren’t interested in creating what he called elite research universities. 

The proposal before regents was a scaled-back plan that originally called for a 2.75 high school GPA requirement for fall 2003 and a 3.0 requirement for fall 2005. 

Also Friday, the regents agreed to continue their discussion on raising student fees. They will meet again Jan. 16 during a special meeting in Las Vegas. 

UNR President John Lilley recommended the higher student fees to cover loans for UNR’s controversial Fire Science Academy near Carlin. 

Lilley proposed using fees now allocated to a new library project plus an emergency surcharge fee of $2 per credit-hour in the 2003 fiscal year to help the academy. 

He also asked regents to retain $2 in 2004 and $3 in 2005 from regular per student fees to assist the academy, designed to train professional firefighters. 

Revenue from the fee increases would be used to redeem $31 million in revenue bonds for the academy’s purchase and to cover academy deficits and start-up costs through an $8.5 million bank loan. 

But Lilley said the 2003 Legislature will be asked to help with the debt service — nearly $2.8 million a year — and if lawmakers come through, UNR would stop collecting credit-hour fees dedicated to the academy. 

A complex settlement of lawsuits between UNR and other parties will allow the academy to reopen in May. The loan payoff was agreed to as part of the settlement. 

On Thursday, regents voted to give UNLV President Carol Harter a raise from $186,924 to $201,000 — a boost of 7.5 percent. 

The $14,000 in cost-of-living and merit increases puts Harter’s annual salary slightly above that of Lilley, who makes $199,000 a year. 

The board also approved raises for three other campus presidents in the University and Community College System of Nevada: Rita Huneycutt, Truckee Meadows Community College, from $137,101 to $145,767; Carol Lucey, Western Nevada Community College, from $130,000 to $139,360, and Stephen Wells of the Desert Research Institute, from $172,000 to $183,040 a year. 

Richard Moore, founding president of the proposed Nevada State College at Henderson, got a $7,000 cost-of-living increase to boost his annual salary to $182,000. 

Ron Remington, president of the Community College of Southern Nevada, didn’t get an increase because his salary increased substantially when he left his presidency at Elko’s Great Basin College earlier this year for the $160,000-a-year southern Nevada post. 

Regents also approved a $25 million revenue bond issue to help start a new dental school at UNLV. The money will be used to buy three buildings, totaling 187,000 square feet, that will house the dental school and two biotechnical research facilities. 

UNLV officials said they will repay the bonds over 30 years with revenue from Medicaid customers, capital improvement funding and student fees. 

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — With the nation in the throes of another war started by a sneak attack, Americans marked Friday’s 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor with appeals to their countrymen to fight terrorism with the same valor shown by the World War II generation. 

“As we come this time, we are at war again, our homeland attacked,” Adm. Vern Clark, chief of naval operations, said at a ceremony for Pearl Harbor survivors at the site of the sunken USS Arizona. “It’s our turn. It is time for us to rededicate our lives to the cause of freedom.” 

Ceremonies honoring the thousands killed on Dec. 7, 1941, stretched from Hawaii to New York, just a few miles from the smoking rubble of the World Trade Center. 

Veterans paraded in New Orleans, paused for a playing of taps in St. Louis and recalled the grim details with high school students in Sun City, Fla. Japanese-Americans folded more than 2,000 paper cranes in San Francisco to symbolize solidarity with Muslim-Americans who may be persecuted because of the nation’s fledgling war on terrorism. 

President Bush called for resolve in the new war. 

“Just as we were 60 years ago in a time of war, this great nation will be patient, will be determined and we will be relentless in the pursuit of freedom,” Bush said in Norfolk, Va., from the flight deck of the USS Enterprise, which helped launch the first strikes against Afghanistan in October. 

The observances carried special meaning this year because of the Sept. 11 attacks that killed even more Americans in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, than died at Pearl Harbor. The death toll at Pearl Harbor was 2,390, nearly all of them members of the military. The Sept. 11 toll stands at around 3,500. 

“The World Trade Center and the Pentagon are our modern-day Pearl Harbor,” said Capt. Leroy Gilbert, chaplain of the Coast Guard. 

Many of the Pearl Harbor veterans are in their 80s, and some of those who gathered in Hawaii said they believed this will be the last time they see the battle site or each other. 

“This is special because so many of our people are aging so fast,” said Ralph Lindenmeyer, 81, of San Diego, who was at nearby Ford Island during the attack that plunged the United States into World War II. “Tears come to my eyes when I think about all the fires, deaths and the destruction on a Sunday morning when we were getting ready for church.” 

At the memorial, a line of sailors in dress whites greeted each of 21 USS Arizona survivors with a white-glove salute. 

With a blast from the horn of a passing Navy destroyer and a missing-man flyover by F-15s, the ceremonies began at 7:55 a.m., the same minute the first Japanese bombs began falling. 

From wreaths for the five service branches and various veterans groups, sailors pulled flowers, and representatives tossed them into the water over the sunken Arizona, where more than 900 men are entombed. 

Repeatedly, Dec. 7 and Sept. 11 were tied together. About 600 New Yorkers — police, firefighters and their families — were in Honolulu for the anniversary as guests of the state and local businesses. 

Joseph Pfeifer, a battalion chief with the New York Fire Department, told those gathered at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific that he was struck by the symbolism of New Yorkers tossing flowers into the water touched by oil still leaking from the USS Arizona. 

“The oil and the flowers came in contact,” he said. “Symbolically, the two events came together.” 

In Fredericksburg, Texas, former President Bush, a Navy pilot during World War II, told veterans that they serve as an inspiration for America as the nation leads a global war against terrorism. 

“Winning this latest war will not be easy, but here we reflect on the ordinary faces of men and women who stepped from anonymity to immortality,” he said. “Today, as 60 years ago, we are equal to the tasks before us.” 

At the USS Intrepid in New York City, Pearl Harbor veteran Julius Plaat, 82, said the attacks on the trade center and the Pentagon underscored the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association motto — “Remember Pearl Harbor, keep America alert.” 

“We were warned before Sept. 11,” he said. “The terrorists put a bomb in a vehicle and blew up that area down by the World Trade Center eight years ago. Was that enough warning?” 

——— 

On the Net: 

USS Arizona Memorial: http://www.nps.gov/usar 

SPOKANE, Wash. — The nation’s mining industry can expect a more favorable working climate, Bush administration officials told a receptive audience at the Northwest Mining Association’s annual convention Friday. 

After eight years of what was seen as hostility toward their industry from the Clinton administration, delegates to the trade association are feeling a definite thaw in relations, NWMA executive Laura Skaer said. 

“It’s so refreshing to invite people from the administration and have them come” to the annual sessions, Skaer said. 

Each of the three Bush administration officials attending Friday’s session on legislation and regulatory affairs pledged to work closely with industry to soften disputed regulations approved in the closing days of the previous administration. 

But many of the environmental rules will stay, they said. 

The Agriculture Department, for example, wants to reinvigorate mineral exploration on national forests while promoting enlightened environmental stewardship, said Mark Rey, undersecretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment. 

The department wants to identify deposits of strategic and economic importance on national forests, Rey said — but miners must do their “best work” or face government litigation. 

Fred Ferguson, an associate solicitor with the Department of the Interior, said Interior Secretary Gale Norton thinks it is time to reform the nation’s mining laws. 

In a recent letter to Congress, Norton urged lawmakers to make updating of the Mining Law of 1872 a priority in the next session. 

Norton called for permanent authorization of the $100 mining claim fee, revision of the patenting system for mining claims, authorization of civil administrative penalties, authorization of a production payment system and expansion of the states’ role in managing the mining program, Ferguson said. 

“She sees it as a historic opportunity to resolve long-standing issues,” she said. 

Ferguson’s boss, Solicitor William G. Meyers, had been scheduled to attend, but was helping prepare Norton’s defense for a contempt-of-court trial that begins Monday over mismanagement of the nation’s Indian trust funds. 

Regulations that have made mineral exploration difficult on public lands are being reviewed under a Bush administration, Ferguson said. 

The so-called 3809 regulations modifying the Surface Mining Law already have been adjusted to address concerns of the mining industry, Ferguson said. 

But regulations to ensure protection of the environment were maintained. 

“Secretary Norton believes the reclamation of mined lands must be paid for by mine operators, not by the taxpayers,” Ferguson said. 

She said disputed regulations on bonding remain in place, but other liability provisions were removed. 

David Lauriski, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health, said some of the safest mines in the world are found in the United States, but called for a “national stand down” by mining companies to review their safety practices. 

There have been 29 fatalities in U.S mines so far this year, compared to 46 last year. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Northwest Mining Association: http://www.nwma.org 

Bureau of Land Management: http://www.blm.gov 

National Mining Association: http://www.nma.org 

Mineral Policy Center: http://www.mineralpolicy.org 

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — With no clear signals whether the Bush administration would make it easier to build ski areas on federal land, Jeld-Wen Inc. has formally given up its $4 million effort to develop Pelican Butte ski resort on the Winema National Forest. 

The forest published notice in the Federal Register last week of Jeld-Wen’s decision not to renew its application for a special use permit for the $37 million project outside Klamath Falls. 

Jeld-Wen is a leading manufacturer of doors and windows and a major resort developer through its Eagle Crest Inc. subsidiary. 

Chances for Pelican Butte appeared dim last January after President Clinton prohibited development on millions of acres of national forests. Plans for the project included nine lifts and 54 ski runs. 

When President Bush took over the White House and began looking at ways to change Clinton’s roadless policy, the ski resort appeared to have a chance. 

But “it really never happened,” said Kurt Schmidt, environmental coordinator on the project for Jeld-Wen. “Time drug on. ... We just said we had no other options than to withdraw our application.” 

Opponents, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, had argued that the ski area threatened springs and creeks flowing into the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge on Upper Klamath Lake, as well as birds and fish protected by the Endangered Species Act. Northern spotted owls and bald eagles nest in the area and shortnosed suckers and Lost River suckers live in the lake. 

The project also faced difficulties under the Northwest Forest Plan, developed to protect fish and wildlife on national forests in Oregon and Washington. 

The ski industry has been flat nationwide, and Roseburg Forest Products is developing its own $35 million golf and ski resort midway between Redding, Calif., and Reno, Nev.  

That project faces fewer hurdles because it on private land, and is closer to the lucrative San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles markets. 

WASHINGTON — The Senate could consider a proposal from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., as early as next week to provide $175 million in aid for the drought-stricken Klamath region. 

The measure is part of a Democratic amendment package to the $170 billion farm bill, Wyden’s office said Friday. 

The funding would be doled out over four years starting after October 2002. Specifically, $30 million will go to the region’s four tribes — the Klamath, Yurok, Hoopa and Karuk. 

Wyden’s legislation would also establish an interagency task force, headed by the Agriculture Department, to specify how the funding is used and to create a draft five-year plan about how to fix the region’s water issues. 

Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and other parties have not signed off on Wyden’s proposal yet. Smith’s spokesman Chris Matthews said the Oregon and California senators’ offices are still working with the stakeholders to come up with a provision “that is acceptable to everyone.” 

Six or seven years out of every decade, the Klamath Basin on the California-Oregon border doesn’t have enough water for its wildlife, farmers and ranchers. 

The region’s interest groups, as well as lawmakers and government agencies, have been grappling for solutions after this year’s particularly dry summer heated tensions in the region. 

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., wants to have the farm bill ready for President Bush’s signature by year’s end, but prospects are dimming that lawmakers can work out their differences on a variety of issues. The Senate started debate on the bill Wednesday and put off votes until next week. 

The Republican-controlled House passed a different version of the farm bill earlier this fall. 

For Klamath, “Senator Wyden sees this as one of the last trains leaving the station,” his spokeswoman Lisa Wade Raasch said. 

GOSHEN, Ind. — The suicidal factory worker who gunned down a co-worker and wounded six others was involved in a “love triangle” at work, co-workers and police said Friday. 

Robert Wissman, 36, was having a problem with a male employee over a female co-worker, Police Chief Terry Schollian said. Neither employee was among those wounded, but police refused to release other details. 

After telling his boss he had not slept in three days, Wissman was asked to leave the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory Thursday. He came back twice, the second time with a gun. 

Wissman fired 16 rounds, wounding other employees and killing manager Greg Oswald before taking his own life, police said. 

Workers described a scene of horror, saying Wissman fired haphazardly and did not aim at co-workers standing just a few feet away. 

“It was just chaos — people screaming and running, shots being fired,” Rutledge said. 

Misty Rushing said she sought cover under a desk in a small office when the shooting began. 

“I just saw him standing there with a shotgun, and I hit the floor,” she told The Indianapolis Star. “You couldn’t hear anyone screaming. He was just firing. He was just loading and unloading, loading and unloading.” 

Nu-Wood production manager Ed Rutledge said Wissman was involved in a “love triangle” and had been “acting funny” in the week before the shootings. 

“I could see it in his eyes. There was something going on in his head,” said Rutledge, 41. 

Wissman was a registered gun dealer who ran a business from his home, though he mostly focused on gun repairs, said Chris Sadowski of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Columbus, Ohio. 

“He was a very low volume dealer. He sold very few weapons during the course of his business,” Sadowski said. Wissman filed for bankruptcy protection in 1998, according to court records. 

Oswald had three children and a stepson. His former wife, Missy Oswald, told The Goshen News that Oswald was a “great father.” 

“He was always there for his children,” she said. 

Lyn Brubaker, 31, who used to live above Wissman, said he was kind and talked frequently to her husband. She said he kept a large boa constrictor in his closet and lived with his mother. 

He was also interested in hunting, fishing and guns. 

“He didn’t seem obsessed about it,” Brubaker said. 

Elkhart County Sheriff’s Capt. Julie Dijkstra said Wissman had apparently just been fired or was about to be fired before he left the simulated-wood products factory. He was found dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound with a shotgun under his body. 

Of the wounded, a 27-year-old man was listed in critical condition Friday and a 52-year-old man was in serious condition. Two others remained hospitalized. 

Authorities were investigating reports that managers had warned employees to be on the lookout for Wissman. Sheriff’s deputies said they could not confirm whether managers may also have warned authorities. 

Michael Cardoza, who wore a patch over his left eye where he had been shot, said management and police should have reacted differently. 

“My feeling is if they got threatened, they should have shut down,” he said. 

——— 

On the Net: http://www.nu-wood.com 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Eighteen more people have been indicted on conspiracy charges in the $20 million scam of McDonald’s promotional games bringing the total to 51, the U.S. attorney’s office said Friday. 

Many of the indictments are for the theft and distribution of high-value game pieces from Monopoly, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and other games. 

“It’s not over yet, either,” said Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office. 

The 18 suspects are accused of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. 

Prosecutors allege that as far back as the late 1980s, Jerome Jacobson, director of security for Simon Marketing Inc., embezzled more than $20 million worth of high-value winning McDonald’s game pieces from his employer. 

The indictment also alleges he then distributed the winning game pieces to individuals who personally redeemed the game or recruited others to redeem the pieces for prizes, some valued at as much as $1 million.

LOS ANGELES — Once a model of good management, the LA Dodgers lost more money than any other team in Major League Baseball last season, according to financial information released by team owners. 

Much of the league’s financial data is hidden by a confidentiality agreement among the owners. But new numbers released by owners Thursday indicate the Dodgers lost $68.9 million on revenue of $143.6 million during the 2001 season. 

If the figure is accurate, it amounts to 20 percent of the league’s total 2001 losses of $344.7 million, and represents more money than the total payrolls of 14 of the other 29 teams. 

Representatives of the Dodgers directed calls to Bob Starkey, an outside financial consultant, who did not immediately return calls. 

The news of the overall major league losses caused owners to call once again for a cap on players’ salaries, even as it was reported that the New York Yankees were offering free agent Jason Giambi a seven-year deal for about $120 million. 

However, Steve Fehr, a players union representative, said the financial data released was incomplete and open to interpretation. 

During Congressional hearings Thursday examining Major League Baseball’s antitrust exemption, some members of the House Judiciary Committee expressed frustration at the incomplete financial picture given by the owners, which didn’t include such information as their own salaries and fees. 

What is clear from the numbers is that the Dodgers lost more money than any other team, despite drawing 3 million fans, and that the team spent $4 of every $5 it made on player salaries. 

Since News Corp. purchased the team in 1998, the Dodgers have improved revenue dramatically, to a reported $143 million this year — eighth best in the league. 

But payroll expenses have risen even more. 

At $116 million, the Dodger’s payroll is second only to the $118 million spent by the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. 

“When a team spends that amount of money, you’d expect them to benefit from going to the playoffs,” said Jeffrey Phillips, a sports specialist and senior vice president at the investment banking firm Houlihan, Lokey, Howard and Zukin. 

The World Series generated a total of $29 million to be split by the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks this year.  

That’s money the Dodgers never got close to, Phillips said. 

The Dodgers also generated broadcast rights worth only $27.3 million. While larger than that produced by most other teams, the amount falls short of the Yankees’ $56.8 million and the $31 million of the Chicago White Sox. 

David Carter, principal of the Sports Business Group, a marketing and consulting firm in Los Angeles, said the Dodgers’ high payroll includes millions of dollars of deferred salaries. 

Players who have retired, or have been injured or cut, are still drawing salaries even though they no longer play for the team. The situation hurts the team’s ability to put more talent on the field, he said. 

The Dodgers are also hamstrung by the second oldest stadium in the National League, which doesn’t allow the same revenue generating opportunities as newer ones with state-of-the-art luxury boxes, Carter said. 

In addition, the Dodger brand has been hurt by Fox’s purchase of the team from Peter O’Malley. Many fans balked at a media corporation buying the family owned team. 

“The overall reverence of the team is no longer as strong,” Carter said. 

ATLANTA — EarthLink Inc. said Friday it has agreed to buy the assets of bankrupt OmniSky Corp. for $5 million, making the wireless services provider the latest to fold under the pressure of heavy debt and a scant customer base. 

The deal calls for EarthLink to purchase the San Francisco-based OmniSky’s 32,000 subscriber accounts, its application platform and other infrastructure needed to continue OmniSky’s existing service. 

The purchase is subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco, where OmniSky plans to file for Chapter 11 protection next week. OmniSky, which began seeking a buyer in October, still could be sold to a higher bidder. 

OmniSky’s demise is the latest in a string of wireless providers that have flopped financially. 

On Thursday, Westboro, Mass.-based Arch Wireless filed for bankruptcy protection, hampered by $2 billion in debt. 

The same day, New York-based YadaYada Inc. announced that it had ended service. YadaYada was launched in October 2000, backed by several prominent investors including former General Electric chief executive Jack Welch and former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp. 

The OmniSky deal will help Atlanta-based EarthLink expand its offerings for non-PC Internet customers, said Lance Weatherby, executive vice president of the company’s “EarthLink Everywhere” initiative. 

“I look at their company and I say, ‘Wow, they’ve got a great product,”’ Weatherby said. “They have a bit of a scale problem. They didn’t get big enough, fast enough to turn a profit. And at EarthLink, we have scale.” 

EarthLink has about 4.8 million subscribers. 

The company believes wireless access will represent about $100 million in annual revenue by 2003, Weatherby said, declining to disclose how many new subscribers EarthLink plans to have next year. The OmniSky service will be marketed as EarthLink. 

OmniSky lost $33.9 million on revenue of $5.4 million in the second quarter, and asked the Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to delay its third-quarter report pending its reorganization. The company laid off 100 employees in October. 

Shares of EarthLink fell 85 cents to close at $13.80 in trading Friday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.earthlink.net 

http://www.omnisky.com 

SAN FRANCISCO — The Packard family’s charitable foundation plans to vote its 10.4 percent stake in Hewlett-Packard Co. against the $25 billion acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp., a severe blow for the deal and HP leader Carly Fiorina. 

The decision means that Hewlett and Packard family interests with about 18 percent of HP shares are lined up against the deal, which will require the majority of votes cast to win approval. More importantly, analysts believe many shareholders on the fence will be heavily influenced by the Hewlett and Packard families. 

“I don’t know how they dig out from underneath this,” said analyst Rob Enderle of the Giga Information Group. “I think for all practical purposes, the merger is dead.” 

Foundation chairman Susan Packard Orr, a daughter of HP co-founder David Packard, said in a statement Friday that “after thorough study and analysis the board has preliminarily decided, on balance, that the best interests of the foundation would be better served by Hewlett-Packard not proceeding with the proposed transaction.” 

The foundation is the single largest HP shareholder. 

HP spokeswoman Rebeca Robboy said the company was disappointed but still firmly committed to the deal. She said HP would keep stressing the deal’s potential benefits to the public in hopes of persuading the Hewlett and Packard heirs to change their minds. 

“We continue to believe that this merger is the one best way to deliver the earnings growth our shareowners expect and our employees deserve,” she said. 

The news pleased HP investors. HP shares rose 19 cents to $23.52 on the New York Stock Exchange before the announcement, and added $1.63 to reach $25.15 in after-hours trading. Compaq gained 21 cents to $11.32 in regular trading, then dropped $1.31 to $10.01 after hours. 

The $6.4 billion Packard Foundation, based in the suburb of Los Altos, has the vast majority of its holdings in HP stock. Its trustees include three daughters of HP co-founder David Packard, plus former HP chief executive Lew Platt and former chief operating officer Dean Morton. 

The foundation does not include Packard’s only son, David W. Packard, who had already announced his opposition to the deal along with HP board member and heir Walter B. Hewlett last month. Hewlett has been gearing up for a proxy fight over the merger by filing several critical reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Walter Hewlett said Friday he has been meeting with other HP shareholders and has found “sizable and widespread opposition to this transaction.” 

“All signals have been negative for this transaction,” he said in a statement. 

Fiorina met with the Packard Foundation’s board this week to lobby for the support of the trustees, who also sought counsel from outside advisers. 

Palo Alto-based HP and Houston-based Compaq believe they could form a behemoth to rival IBM, with increased ability to define high-tech industry standards. Executives say Compaq would double HP’s services business, add heft to its lineup of computer servers and improve the cost structure of its struggling personal-computer division. 

Critics say Compaq, which is losing money, would too strongly dilute HP’s profitable printing business and increase its exposure to low-margin personal computers and high-tech support. Even some analysts and investors who see merits to the deal believe the complex integration of Compaq and HP is too risky to attempt. 

Other opponents have accused Fiorina of losing sight of the company’s core principles, the fabled “HP Way.” David Packard in particular has said he was distressed by management’s plans to cut 15,000 jobs after the deal closes. 

“This clearly sets the tone for some fairly bitter battling,” said Martin Reynolds, a research fellow at Gartner Dataquest. “It puts the HP board on the spot in investing in a campaign (for votes). It’s going to be tough to convince people.” 

Earlier Friday, the HP executive overseeing the complex combination said HP can affirm its traditional principles and improve its future prospects with the deal. 

Webb McKinney, a 32-year HP veteran, said the HP Way has always held that change is essential for the company, and he added that debate over it is nothing new. When HP stopped providing free doughnuts for employees in the 1980s, many people complained it was the end of the HP Way, he said. 

“There are a lot of misrepresentations about Carly and the HP Way,” McKinney said in an interview. “A lot of people come to HP on a quest for finding out what the HP Way is, like there’s a tablet somewhere. The corporate objectives change every few years. It’s always been an evolution. ... We will continue to change with or without the merger.” 

He declined to speculate how HP would be affected if the Compaq deal were to fall through, saying management expects shareholder approval despite opposition from the heirs. 

Although HP and Compaq must continue to operate as competitors and separate organizations until the deal gets shareholder and regulatory approval, McKinney and Compaq’s chief financial officer, Jeff Clarke, speak daily and meet regularly to plan the integration. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Companies: 

http://www.hp.com 

http://www.compaq.com 

Packard Foundation: 

http://www.packard.org

SACRAMENTO — The state has paid the first installment on the $955 million it owes the managers of California’s power grid for electricity bought between Jan. 17 and July 31. 

The Independent System Operator received a $404 million payment Thursday that covers power bought by the ISO for the state Department of Water Resources in February, said Stephanie McCorkle, an ISO spokeswoman. 

Since January, the water department has bought electricity for the customers of three California utilities. High prices plunged Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. into financial trouble. 

The water department bought some of its electricity through the ISO, and billions of dollars more directly from power sellers and generators. It has not been reimbursed for most of those purchases. 

“Now that cash is flowing,” power companies that sell to California have growing confidence they will be paid, McCorkle said Friday.

The ‘check engine’ light  

actually means something 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

I have a 1996 Oldsmobile 88 with 66,000 miles on it. At about 50,000 miles, the "check engine" light came on and stayed on until I took it to the dealer. $58 later, they told me the problem was a loose gas cap. They turned out the light, but it came on again about 5,000 miles later. Not wanting to be their cash cow, I ignored it, and it went out on its own a week or two later. Last week, it came on again for a few days and then went off. I hate to make these $58 trips, but am I damaging anything by ignoring this “on and off” problem? – Morry 

RAY: Well, you might be damaging the environment, Morry, if not your car. 

TOM: The "check engine" light comes on when one of the car's electronic sensors detects a problem. And most of the sensors are related to the car's pollution-control system. 

RAY: There are a few “check engine” problems that could cause expensive damage if you don't fix them, but many are non-emergency items and can be taken care of at your earliest convenience. 

TOM: For $58, your mechanic “scanned” your car (read the stored trouble codes in the computer) and found that the pressure sensor in the gas tank was indicating low pressure. The reason this is a problem is because it indicates that gasoline vapors are escaping. And a loose gas cap could cause that. 

RAY: Needless to say, seeping gasoline vapors are bad for the environment -- and bad for anybody who happens to be lighting up a Tiparillo near the back end of your car. 

TOM: So here's what I'd do next, Morry. I'd take another shot at the gas cap. Maybe it's loose because it has a bad seal. So get a new one. It costs $10 if you buy one. Less if you steal one. And it's worth a try. 

RAY: If the light continues to come on, then you need to scrape up another 58 bucks and have your car scanned again. The "check engine" light could be coming on for a completely different reason this time. And you won't know that unless you plug it into the computer and scan it. 

TOM: If it's still pointing to a pressure problem in the gas tank, then it's probably a leak in your evaporative emissions system. And your mechanic will have to address that. Good luck, Morry.  

Terminal help 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

In the 1950s and '60s, I spent a fair amount of time in Ford V-8s with my friend Herb Johnson. When one of these Fords wouldn't start because of a low battery combined with a Minnesota winter morning, Herb would fetch a 50-cent piece from his pocket, reach under the dash and touch it across two terminals on something. This would cause the engine to start. Which terminals were involved? Why did this work? I always wondered, but I had too much pride to ask. I secretly hoped that he thought I knew how to do the same thing. -- John 

TOM: You know, every woman reading this column today is shaking her head right now in sad recognition. You've been wondering for 50 years because you were too damn proud to ask. 

RAY: So let this be a lesson to the young men in our audience today. Never keep quiet in the face of unknown phenomena. Show some courage. If you see something you don't understand, don't keep quiet. Immediately accuse your friend of ruining the thing. That way, he'll be forced to explain to you what he's doing, while you maintain your all-important male dignity. 

TOM: I don't think old Herb was doing much of anything, John. He was basically hot-wiring the car. In the '50s and into the early '60s, most ignition switches were on the dashboard. If you reached behind the dash, you could touch the exposed wires of the ignition switch. And if you knew what you were doing, you could identify the solenoid wire and the hot wire, and could bridge them to engage the starter. You'd still need the key in the "run" position for the car to actually start, but I assume Herb had the key. 

RAY: Why he reached behind the lock and jumped the wires instead of turning the key to the "crank" position, I don't know. It doesn't make any sense to me, and I can't think of any advantage it offers. 

TOM: Maybe his key would get stuck in the cold weather and wouldn't turn to the crank position? 

RAY: Maybe this gimmick was an old myth his father had passed down to him, and he was too proud to ask his father why he did it? 

TOM: Or maybe he just wanted to impress his friend, who he knew would be too cool to ask what the hell he was doing? 

RAY: If that was his goal, it worked, John. Ask next time, will you?  

*** 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

We recently bought a used 1997 Toyota Avalon, which we love, but we are concerned about one minor problem. When you first start the car and for about the first five minutes of driving, the turn signal will not work at all. After that, it works perfectly. I can replace the flasher relay myself if that is all it needs, but I don't want to spend $45 on the part to find out that it isn't the problem. I also don't want to pay my dealer $50 to tell me it's my flasher relay. Since sticking my arm out the window won't sit well with my wife in January, could you tell me if you've run across this problem before? -- Ray 

TOM: Yes. And it's usually the flasher relay. 

RAY: I'd take the chance and buy one, Ray. It should solve the problem. By the way, that'll be $80. You did read the fine print at the bottom of our column, didn't you?  

***

The City Council decided Tuesday to approve three sections of the Draft General Plan by Dec. 18. 

Despite the protests from some councilmembers, who said there was not enough time to properly consider more than two elements of the nine-element document, the council voted 5-4 to approve three before the end of the year. 

Moderates on the council – Mayor Shirley Dean and councilmembers Polly Armstrong, Betty Olds and Miriam Hawley – proposed a recommendation that originated with the planning department staff calling for limiting the discussion this year to the housing and land use sections of the plan, which will guide Berkeley’s development for the next 20 years.  

But after listening to numerous comments from the public and hearing two planning commissioners ask for speedy approval of the draft plan, progressive councilmembers prevailed and added the transportation element to the list.  

The council is required by the state to approve only the housing element by the end of the year. 

In addition, the council unanimously approved four amendments to the draft housing section of the plan. They included some alterations to the language of a policy to urge the University of California Regents to build more student housing and a policy to review annually the rate of new housing developed in Berkeley. 

Councilmembers also agreed they would submit other proposed amendments to the plan in writing by noon today. They will be considered at next Tuesday’s council meeting. 

Explaining why she wanted to include the transportation element discussion with housing and land use, Councilmember Linda Maio argued that the policies of the three sections are closely linked. Approving those parts of the plan together means the document will more likely remain internally consistent, she said.  

However, Senior Planner Andrew Thomas had some concerns about the council amending various elements of the draft plan. During a presentation prior to the vote Thomas warned that amending individual sections of a draft plan could unintentionally create competing policies, which would render the document illegal by state standards. 

Among the proposed amendments is one by Maio to amend the housing element in a way that would put affordable housing and open space on an equal footing as preferred uses for the Santa Fe Right of Way. Formerly accommodating railroad tracks, the Santa Fe Right of Way is a narrow undeveloped strip that stretches 14 blocks across west Berkeley from Russell Street to Virginia Street. 

Dean said she has “serious concerns” about the amendment, noting that the draft plan makes no mention of the Public Parks and Open Space Preservation Ordinance, also known as Measure L, approved by voters in 1986. The ordinance doesn’t allow development on designated open space without voter approval.  

“There is no mention of Measure L in the draft plan and that really dismays me,” Dean said.  

But Maio said Dean is either shrewdly misrepresenting Measure L or misunderstands it. 

“That’s either a red herring or there’s no basis for it,” Maio said. “We shouldn’t be pitting affordable housing advocates against open space advocates. A real leader would be forming a coalition to put affordable housing, bicycle paths and urban gardens in the Santa Fe.” 

Maio added that there’s no need for housing advocates and open space advocates to disagree about because much of the narrowly shaped property doesn’t lend itself to affordable housing development.  

Deputy City Attorney Zach Cowan said Measure L would not address development on the right-of-way because the council never designated the city-owned land as open space. 

During the discussion on whether to include the transportation element in the approval process this year, former AC Transit board member Miriam Hawley, argued that several issues in the transportation element needed further discussion, such as the controversial two-year moratorium on parking studies downtown, the use of out-of-date bus ridership statistics and a poor explanation of a proposed shuttle system. 

“There’s a lot in here that the council still needs to talk about,” she said. “I would feel more comfortable if we didn’t rush on this, especially given the controversy over the parking moratorium.” 

During the City Council’s public hearing on the draft plan, more than 50 people, mostly downtown business owners and people who work in the downtown area, called the moratorium, designed to promote public transportation, unfair and imprudent. 

Dean said the approval process was being rushed. “I don’t understand why we have to be jammed on the transportation element,” she said. “The Planning Commission has had the plan for three years and we’ve had it for only three months.” 

Some of the other issues the council is expected to consider next Tuesday are the inclusion of the city’s 1997 Transit First Policy into the draft plan, height limits along transit corridors and affordable housing density bonuses. 

Thomas said the council shouldn’t worry too much if each of the draft plan’s 600 policies are not reviewed before the document is approved.  

“The beauty of this document is that it’s designed for flexibility,” he said. “There’s a built-in annual review and the council can make multiple amendments up to four times a year.” 

Friday, Dec. 7

PEN Oakland & Literature  

Without Borders Present  

“War & Peace” 

5:30 - 8 p.m. 

Pro Arts 

461 9th St., Oakland 

Issues of War and Peace through poetry, and prose from Bay Area authors. 525-3948, kimmac@pacbell.net. 

Lunchtime Lecture 

12 p.m. 

City Commons Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

UC Berkeley Professor Hatem Bazian discusses U.S. relations in the Middle East. $1 admission with coffee, $11 - $12.25 admission with lunch. 

Dunsmuir Historic Estate  

Holiday Season 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

2960 Peralta Oaks Ct., Oakland 

Volunteers have transformed the 50-acre estate and the 1899 mansion into a holiday event. 925-275-9595, www.dunsmuir.org. 

Burning out in the melting  

pot: Asian/American youth  

facing the golden dilemma 

12:15 - 1:30 p.m. 

PANA Institute Office 

Pacific School of Religion 

Holbrook 210 

1798 Scenic Ave. 

Prof. Martin Verhoeven, of the Institute for World Religions, will lead the discussion. Informal brown bag lunch. 849-8244, www.psr.edu. 

Civil Liberties Talk 

7 p.m. 

AK Press 

674-A 23rd St., Oakland 

A radical reading of civil liberties. Author Christian Parenti and filmmaker Jose Palafox speak about dissent, blowback, security, surveilance and policing. 208-1700, molly@akpress.org. 

Silent Auction to Break the 

Silence: Through the Eyes of  

the Judged 

6 - 10 p.m. 

Downtown Oakland YWCA 

1515 Webster St. 

A benefit for the Prison Activist Resource Center featuring speakers, music, food. $10-40, no one turned away for lack of funds. 893-4648 x108 

Saturday, Dec. 8

31st annual KPFA Community  

Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

The Concourse 

8th & Brannan streets 

220 juried craftsmakers & artists show their best work in a mellow ambiance offering natural foods from many cultures, world music & dance performances & wise speakers. $7, Benefits KPFA Free Speech Radio. 848.6767 x609 www.kpfa.org 

Permaculture Class 

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Ecology Center 

2530 San Pablo Ave. 

An extensive introductory course in the fundamentals for creating sustainable human environments. $15 non-members, $10 members. 548-2220 x233 

Telegraph Area Association  

Special Day 

2-4 p.m. 

Blackberry Ginger Cafe 

2520 Durant Ave. 

Open house. Mayor Shirley Dean and Councilmember Kriss Worthington will proclaim December 8 a day to honor founding members of the Association Board. Refreshments; music by the Rhythm Kitchen band. Free. 649-9500 

Women of Color Resource  

Center Presents A New Film  

from South Africa 

2:30 p.m. reception 

3:30 p.m. showing 

Health Education Center 

400 Hawthorne St., Oakland 

“Shouting Silent” by Xoliswa Sithole explores the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic as seen through the eyes of the filmmaker, an adult who lost her mother to HIV/AIDS in 1996. The film will be followed by a panel discussion. $5 -$10, 848-9272, www.coloredgirls.org. 

Kids Toys Event 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

This Little Piggy 

1840 Fourth St. 

Family activities in the store: interactive play for boys and girls using new Woodkins paper dolls, snowflake making, and piggy cookies. Free. 981-1411. 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market  

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, JR. Civic Center Park 

Fair will include organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages, and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

– Compiled by Guy Poole 

In Thursday’s Daily Planet, the letter “Amendment would create open space” was mistakenly attributed to Peter Lydon. In fact, the letter was written by David Eifler. Lydon’s letter follows. 

It’s Nutcracker season – that time of year when the classically timeless story is performed throughout in the Bay Area in many different forms. It doesn’t matter that it’s Russian in origin, or that companies have taken creative liberties with the setting, period or choreography since the San Francisco Ballet introduced this work to Americans years ago. Everyone loves the Nutcracker story. 

It’s sort of like Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. Families love the Stahlbaum family, the kids: Fritz, Louise, Marie and the other characters. “It’s a holiday story, with a lot of fantasy, colors, and music,” said Denise Brown, a fourth-grade teacher at LeConte Elementary School. 

“People might not want to go the movies, they might want something special, so it provides that extra fun experience,” says Elizabeth Godfrey, the artistic director at the Berkeley City Ballet. 

Even with all the various versions of the Nutcracker ballet, people often attend more than one performance. 

There is the Dance-a-long Nutcracker, Dance Brigade’s Revolutionary Nutcracker Sweetie, Mark Morris’ “The Hard Nut,” Oakland Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and the Berkeley Ballet Theatre, which produces a more contemporary performance. 

Berkeley City Ballet has a much larger production of the Nutcracker than the Berkeley Ballet Theatre, however, BBT is housed at the Julia Morgan Theatre so it has a longer run than BCB, which doesn’t have a large theatre space at their studios at 1800 Dwight Way. This 28-year-old company was honored last month by the city. In fact, November was Berkeley Ballet Company month. 

BCB’s Nutcracker performs Saturday, Dec. 8 and Sunday, Dec. 9. Both performances are at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Community Theatre on the Berkeley High campus (510) 841-8913, or www.berkeleycityballet.org. The company then moves on to Ohlone College in Fremont the following week, Dec. 15-16, for four shows, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. each day.  

The sixth season of Mark Morris Dance Group’s “The Hard Nut” also opens this weekend, and continues through next week. Bells will ring and holiday magic will fill the air at Zellerbach Hall on Friday, Dec. 7 until Sunday, Dec.16.  

Morris’ work always has a certain lyricism and playfulness inherent in every gesture, turn, leap and bow no matter what the theme. Dance is married to music, and a happy couple they are no matter the occasion, no matter how wicked the evil Rat Queen who has disfigured the young Princess Pirlipat, just one of the many stories within the E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouseking.” 

Cal Performances director, Robert Cole, conducts members of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and the UC Berkeley Women’s Chorale in Tchaikovsky’s complete Nutcracker ballet score. Tickets are $28.00, $38.00 

and $52.00.  

Morris said that the music is the genesis behind everything he does. “Music is 

what I like the best,” he said. “And because of that, I make up dances. 

I probably wouldn’t do it otherwise. Every dance I do is because of a piece of 

music I love and I decide it would make a good dance.” 

What do you like most about the Hard Nut, and Berkeley audiences? 

“The party is great and the dancing is looking great this year. I like the 

Flower number (a waltz) and the Snow number (dancing snowflakes.) It’s a big 

project to put together. A lot of people are involved -- 35 dancers, (plus) 

musicians and stage crew. It’s pretty frenzied but we did it very smoothly at 

the rehearsal, but it’s kind of exhausting. We do it each year (because) it 

seems to be a lot of people’s favorite work. I like the scale of it, and 

it’s very lively.” 

Productions like Morris’ Hard Nut and the BCB Nutcracker production bring 

people of all ages and backgrounds together to share a great theatrical experience. 

What’s unique about BCB is the fact that many Berkeley Public School students 

and alumni dance each year, like Denise Brown’s daughter Sarah Real (12) and 

Associate Artistic Director, Andrea Gaudet, a Berkeley High School alumnus.  

“Because we come here (a lot) our audiences are very much aware of 

what’s going on,” Morris says. “The more people know the more they 

can get out of it, so it’s a relationship that has been built up over the 

years. And it’s also a big mix of people you know. Which is wonderful – 

we a lot of kids who come, and then there’s a school here, music types and San 

Franciscans. It’s kind of great.” 

When asked why he thought the Nutcracker was such a perennial favorite Morris 

admitted that he wasn’t sure, especially since overseas, ‘Nutcracker 

fever” is nothing compared to the US, however, he admitted that the 

Nutcracker’s a ritual that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere too soon, 

even if the Hard Nut will take a short hiatus next year. 

“My show isn’t exclusively for kids at all, but it’s a good way to 

get young people to start watching the theatre, because it’s fun, it’s 

good and you know what’s going to happen.” 

Morris says that he grew up listening to music, dancing and singing and that he 

believes that all “kids dance,” but that “he continued because 

early on he knew that was what he wanted to do, that he enjoyed watching dance to 

live music.”  

He says that initially when he first conceived the Hard Nut, he choreographed with 

specific company members in mind, however that has changed over the past 12 years of 

this production, however, “a few people are in the same parts they were back 

then. 

Morris keeps his vision fresh he says by remaining interested. “I love what I 

do, and if I didn’t love to do it. I wish I would be smart enough to quit. 

I’m not exhausted of this at all, new projects, listening to music and 

traveling, performing. It’s a great job.”  

Nutcracker magic’s in the air this weekend, so why not sprinkle a little on? 

924 Gilman Dec. 7: Har Mar Superstar, The Pattern, The Blast Rocks, Your Enemies’ Friends, Hate Mail Express; Dec. 8: Scurvy Dogs, Nigel Peppercock, Shut The Fuck Up, Offering To The Sun, Voetsek; Dec. 9: Poison The Well, Unearth, Sworn Enemy, Spark Lights The Friction; Dec. 14: Hot Water Music, American Steel, F-Minus, Trial By Fire; Dec. 15: Strung Out, Limp, The Frisk, The Deadlines, The Creeps; Dec. 16: 5 p.m., Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Downway, Audio Crush; Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic, Breaker Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Dec. 11: Mad & Eddic Duran Jazz Duo; Dec. 13: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 15: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; Dec. 18: Panacea; Dec. 19: Whiskey Brothers; Dec. 20: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 27: Keni “El Lebrijano”; All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

ACME Observatory Contemporary Performance Series Dec. 9: 8 p.m., The Toids; $0 - $20, TUVA Space, 3192 Adeline. 649-8744, http://sfsound.org/acme. html. 

Anna’s Dec. 7: Anna and Ellen Hoffman on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 8: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory, Bill Bell at the piano; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 9: Choro Time; Dec. 10: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 11: Singers’ Open Mike #2; Dec. 12: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 13: Rev. Rabia, The Blueswoman; Dec. 14: Anna and Mark Little on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 15: Jazz Singers Vicki Burns and Felice York; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 16: The Jazz Fourtet; Dec. 17: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 18: Tangria Jazz Trio; Dec. 19: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 20: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Dec. 21: Anna and Percy Scott on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 22: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 23: Jazz Singer Ed Reed; All music starts 8 p.m. unless noted. 1801 University Ave., 849-2662. 

Cal Performances Dec. 19: Berkeley Symphony, $21 - $45; 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; Dec. 16: 3-8 p.m., Beverly Stovall Benefit, Jimmy McCracklin, JJ Malone, Jimi Mamou, Johnny Talbott. $10. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight & Salvage Coffee House Dec. 6: Ray Bonneville; Dec. 7 & 8: Rebecca Riots; Dec. 9: Patrick Landeza; Dec. 10: John Wesley Harding, David Lewis & Sheila Nichols; Dec. 12: Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart; Dec. 13: Kevin Burke; Dec. 14: Dale Miller; Dec. 15: Robin Flower & Libby McLaren; Jan. 6: Allette Brooks. All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Jazzschool/La Note Dec. 9: 4:30 p.m., Rhiannon with Bowl Full of Sound, $6 - $12, reservations recommended. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 www.jazzschool.com 

Julia Morgan Theatre Dec. 23: 7:30 p.m., an evening of Irish music and dance with Todd Denman and friends. $10, $5 children; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, Program of classical favorites of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra; Jan. 12: 8:p.m., “Club Dance,” Teens come together to express their individual personalities and gifts as dancers. $10, Students and Seniors $6, Children ages 5 and under $6. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Dec. 6: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 7: AVI Bortnick Group; Dec. 8: Harvey Wainapel Quartet; Dec. 12: Mushroom; Dec. 13: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 14: Broun Fellini’s; Dec. 15: Norah Jones and Jim Campilongo; Dec. 19: Spectraphonic; Dec. 20: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 21: Crater; Dec. 22: Post Junk Trio; Dec. 27: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 29: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Kirk Tamura Trio; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Dec. 7: 8:30 p.m., John Calloway & Diaspora, $12; Dec. 8: 9:30 p.m., Dr. Loco’s Rocking Jalapeño Band, $10; Dec. 9: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; Dec. 9: 7:30 p.m., Trio Altamira Reunion Concert, $12-$14; Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Holly Near, $15-$17; Dec. 16: 5 p.m, Flamenca Community Juerga, Free; Dec. 16: 7 p.m, Modupue & UpSurge, $8; Dec. 23: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568, www.lapena.org 

“Music on Telegraph” 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. 

Rose Street House Dec. 14 & 15: 7:30 p.m., Benefit Concert and Birthday Party, Shelly Doty and grassroots community of women singers and song writers; Dec. 25: 3 p.m., Annual “Dykelah Escape-from-you-know-what-day Musical Extravaganza!”; Jan.17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley Dec. 15: 2 p.m., “All-Brahms piano recital,” Yu-Ting Chen performs. Free; Jan. 6: 3 p.m., Stephen Genz in his West Coast debut; 2345 Channing Way, 527-8175, www.geocities.com/mostlybrahms.  

“The Christmas Revels” Dec. 7: 8 p.m., Dec. 8: 1 & 5 p.m., Dec. 9: 1 & 5 p.m., Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Dec. 15: 1 & 5 p.m., Dec. 16: 1 & 5 p.m., celtic music, dance and storry telling. $15-$30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 893-9853 www.calrevels.org.  

“Guitar, Woodwinds, Drums” Dec. 8: 8 p.m., The Bill Horvitz Band, Ben Goldberg’s What Music. Tuva Space, 3192 Adeline St. 

“WAVE,” Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble, Dec.14: 7:30 p.m., concert of Christmas music. $10, Students $5. Calvary Presbyterian Church, 1940 Virginia St., 848-9132. 

Theater 

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Dec. 14: 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 15: 7:30 p.m.; California Shakespeare Festival Student Company, presents a comedy with romance. Free. Rehearsal Hall, 701 Heintz St. 548-3422 X114. sunny@calshakes.org. 

“Seventy Scenes of Halloween” Dec. 7: 8 p.m.; Dec. 8: 8 p.m., 10:30 p.m.; Dec. 9: 7 p.m.; BareStage Productions, UC Berkeley’s original student theater company, presents a macbre farce written by Jeffrey M. Jones and directed by Desdemona Chiang. $8. UC Berkeley, Choral Rehearsal Hall. 682-3880, barestage@ucchoral.berkeley.edu. 

“The Last Smoker in Berkeley” Dec. 7 through Dec. 9: 8 p.m.; A comic tale of an addict making her last stand against nicotine and her neighbors. Written and performed by Sara DeWitt. $10. Speakeasy Teatre, 2016 7th St. 

Berkeley City Ballet Presents 28th Annual “Nutcracker” Dec. 8 & Dec. 9: 2 p.m.; A full-length production of the holiday classic with a cast of over 50 dancers. $18; $14 children under 12. Berkeley Community Theater, 1930 Allston Way, 841-8921, www.ticketweb.com.  

“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 

“Black Nativity” Dec. 7 through Dec. 16th: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2:30 p.m., 8 p.m., Sun. 5:30 p.m.; The birth of Jesus unfolds in this drama written by Langston Hughes. Directed and produced by Betty Gadling. $15 adults, $8 seniors and students, $5 children over 5. Allen Temple Baptist Church, 8501 International Blvd., Oakland 569-9418 www.allen-temple.org 

“The Christmas Revels” Dec. 7 through Dec. 16: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. - Sun. 1 p.m., 5 p.m. ; A cast of adults and children present a celebration of the winter solstice that combines dance, drama, ritual, and song. $15 - $30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 510-893-9853 www.calrevels.org  

“Much Ado About Nothing” 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 

“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 

Films 

Pacific Film Archive Theater Dec. 6: 7 p.m., Bizarre, Bizarre; 8:50 p.m., The Green Man; Dec. 7: 7 p.m., Smiles of a Summer Night; 9:05 p.m., Cluny Brown; Bancroft Way, 642-1124 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Shouting Silent” Dec. 8: 2:30 p.m. reception, 3:30 p.m. film showing. The film by Xoliswa Sithole explores the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic as seen through the eyes of the filmmaker, an adult orphan who lost her mother to HIV/AIDS in 1996. Health Education Center, 400 Hawthorne St., Oakland 

Exhibits  

“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 

“Berkeley Creations” Dec. 8 & Dec. 15: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., A group exhibit. Artist-at-Play Studio and Gallery, 1649 Hopkins St., 528-0494. 

“The Paintings of Bethany Anne Ayers and Sculpture of Alexander Cheves” 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 

“Veiled and Revealed” Through Dec. 23: Human beings, costumed in native dress are captured by visual artists in a seven-person exhibit. Sat. Dec. 8, 15, and 23, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. Simultaneously showing at ART-A-FACT, 1109 Addison St., and Metaversal Lightcraft, 1708 University Ave. 848-1985 

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” Dec. 19 through Jan. 8: An exhibit featuring Kathleen Flannigan’s drawing and furniture - boxes, tables, and mirrors, all embellished with images of the beauty and innocence of the natural world. Addison Street Windows, 2018 Addison St. 

“Matrix 195” 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 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” Dec. 19 through Feb. 2: An exhibition of painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography and more by Bay Area and  

regional artists. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., www.proartsgallery.org. 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” 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 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” Dec. 12 through Mar. 10: A selection of photographs and memorabilia presenting a different perspective on Adam’s career as one of the leading figures in American photography. Wed, Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $4- $6. University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.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 

Coffee With A Beat - Word Beat reading series Dec. 8: Jeanne Powell, Kelly Kraatz; Dec. 15: Norm Milstein, Barbara Minton; Dec. 22: Debra Grace Khattab, Jesy Goldhammer; Dec. 29: Steve Arntson, Michelle Erickson, Clare Lewis; All readings are free and begin at 7 p.m., 458 Perkins, Oakland, 526-5985, www.angelfire.com/poetry/wordbeat. 

The Humanist Fellowship Hall Dec. 5: 7 p.m., “Our Wings Are Pregnant Seesaws” a play by H. D. Moe. A reading performance by the theatre workshop. 390 27th St., Oakland, 528-8713 

Easy Going Travel Shop & BookstoreDec. 11: 7:30 p.m., Lisa Bach, editor of “Her Fork in the Road”, a collection of stories blending food and travel, and a panel of contributors to the anthology, present an evening of readings and discussions. Free. 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

“Rhythm & Muse Open Mic” Dec. 15: 7 p.m., Featuring poets Lara Dale and Mary-Marcia Casoly. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 527-9753 

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; $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 Dec. 8 & 9: 32nd Annual Bay Area Fungus Fair, the world of the mushroom will be explored in exhibits, lectures, slide shows, cooking demos, etc.. 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 Through Jan. 26: Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters; “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.

Panthers lose to Oakland in final seconds

The St. Mary’s Panthers might have forgotten what it’s like to lose. Wednesday night, they were given a painful reminder. 

Oakland High’s Martel Israel hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in regulation to give the Wildcats a 6-58 lead, and St. Mary’s guard John Sharper missed a last-second drive as the Panthers lost in the first round of the Chris Vonture Spartan Classic at De La Salle in Concord. The loss broke St. Mary’s 19-game winning streak, the start of which led into the school’s first state championship last season. 

The Panthers have looked sluggish in their first two games this season without point guard DeShawn Freeman, who is out until January with a stress fracture in his leg. Freeman’s absence has forced shooting guard John Sharper into a playmaker’s role, and he has struggled to find his shot, making just 4-of-16 against the Wildcats after a 6-for-19 effort in the opener. 

“John won’t admit it, but playing the point has been hard on him,” St. Mary’s head coach Jose Caraballo said after Wednesday’s game. “He has to have time to get used to it, and he’s not there yet.” 

Sharper said that while he has had a slow start, he thinks he can handle the new role. 

“I’ve just got to keep my composure,” said Sharper, who forced up some ill-advised shots on Wednesday. “There are no excuses. I’m just off my game right now.” 

Sharing in Sharper’s misery was senior forward Chase Moore. Moore scored a team-high 13 points against Oakland, but also had several turnovers and missed opportunities. 

One senior who didn’t struggle was guard Tim Fanning. The baby-faced Fanning scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, and provided a spark off the bench. 

“I count on one bench guy to come up big every game,” Caraballo said. “Tim played great tonight, but he was about the only one.” 

Oakland answered St. Mary’s depth with great performances from point guard Ayinde Ubaka and center Isaiah Buckley. The duo combined to score 38 points, and Ubaka ran the St. Mary’s guards ragged with his slick ball-handling. The junior had six assists and could have had more if his teammates hadn’t blown several easy shots. Buckley dominated the boards, pulling down 13 rebounds and missing just three shots all night. 

“(Oakland) just played harder than us,” Caraballo said. “They got every loose ball, they dominated us on the glass. They just wanted it more than us.” 

The teams were even through three quarters, and Fanning hit a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to put his team up 49-47. But Buckley came right back with a monster dunk form an Ubaka feed, and neither team could take a lead of more than two points. Buckley made a free throw with a minute left for a 57-56 advantage, but St. Mary’s center Simon Knight found teammate Spartacus Rodriguez for an open layup that set up Israel’s heroics. 

St. Mary’s faces Berkeley in the second round today at 3:30 p.m. It will be the second time the teams have faced off this week, with the Panthers winning the first game on Tuesday, 58-49. 

’Jackets can’t find offense against Pilots

In a game full of miscues, Berkeley High made a few more than its opponent on Wednesday, falling to St. Joseph, 52-45, in the first round of the Chris Vonture Spartan Classic at De La Salle in Concord. 

Berkeley looked like the young team it is, committing numerous unforced turnovers and getting no consistent production on offense. They were beaten by a Pilot team that didn’t play very well, but whose eight returning players stayed calm enough to survive a second-half run by the ’Jackets. 

Down for almost all of the first half, Berkeley tied the game at 34-34 during the third quarter on the strength of three straight baskets by guard Garland Albert, but could never get a lead. The ’Jackets could muster just two free throws for the first seven minutes of the final quarter, dooming them to the loser’s bracket of the tournament. 

“We just didn’t come out with enough intensity today,” Berkeley head coach Mike Gragnani said. “That cost us the game, not the turnovers.” 

Forward Damien Burns led Berkeley with 12 points and 8 rebounds, but Berkeley shot just 34 percent from the field. Burns has been Berkeley’s lone offensive threat in the first two games, using his long frame and athleticism to grab offensive rebounds and score on the inside. 

“Damien is a tremendous basketball talent,” Gragnani said of the senior, who didn’t play his first three years at Berkeley due to personal issues. “He’s doing and saying all the right things right now.” 

They started the game by making just 1-of-14 in the first quarter as St. Joseph ran out to a 12-3 lead, but Burns led them back with a tough basket inside, followed by a breakaway dunk, to tie the score at 14-14. But whenever Berkeley seemed to have the momentum in its favor, a bad pass or poor shot selection would swing it right back over to the Pilots. 

St. Joseph got 10 points apiece from guard Eric Wright and forward Cameron Quick, with no other Pilot scoring more than 4 points. But that was all they would need against the flailing ’Jackets, as Gragnani’s team was unable to get an offensive flow going for more than two or three possessions. Berkeley’s three sophomores, Khion Tate, Shawn Burl and Rodney Jones, combined for just 8 points despite ample playing time, and looked uncomfortable stepping up to take shots. 

“Our young guys are taking some knocks right now, and it’s going to take a while to get them up to speed,” Gragnani said. 

That could be said of nearly all the Berkeley players. With just three players returning from last year’s squad, Gragnani has to build from scratch, teaching his basic principles from the ground up. 

“We’re a better team than we were when we started the season,” he said. “When January comes around, this team is going to look very different.” 

Berkeley will face crosstown rival St. Mary’s in the second round today at 3:30 p.m. It will be the second meeting between the teams this week, with St. Mary’s winning the first game on Tuesday, 58-49.

Developers of the largest downtown housing project in recent memory have challenged a city law requiring new developments to include affordable housing. 

Library Gardens L.P., developers of the 176-unit Library Gardens project at 2020 Kittredge St., has appealed its own use permit – which the Zoning Adjustments Board awarded the company in October – to the City Council.  

The group, headed by local developer TransAction Companies, is asking the council to strike out those sections of its use permit, which, according to the city’s inclusionary housing policy, require 20 percent of the units in the project to be rented at below-market rates. 

Lawyers for Library Gardens charge that the Costa-Hawkins Act, a measure passed by the California legislature in 1995, which placed strict limits on local rent control laws, also invalidates the inclusionary housing policy. 

The council will probably hear the appeal in January. If, as expected, the council denies the appeal, a lawsuit testing the legality of the city’s law could follow. 

Local lawmakers said on Thursday that they were mystified by the developer’s appeal. The project had won widespread approval from councilmembers, the ZAB and local citizens. 

“This really creates bad faith with the community,” said Councilmember Dona Spring. “To try to sneak out of the affordable housing requirements, it really puts TransAction in a bad light.” 

Spring added that she doubted the appeal would pass muster at the City Council level. 

“The council will be much tougher on this than ZAB was,” she said. 

ZAB member Dave Blake said it appears that Library Gardens intends to take the challenge to the judicial system. 

“Maybe this is some sort of stunt, but my impression that he thinks that he’s going to win this in the courts,” he said. “He certainly won’t win at the council level.” 

Mark Rhoades, current planning manager, said Friday that a legal challenge would only delay Library Gardens’ construction. 

He said that the city would withhold a building permit for Library Gardens if there were a dispute over the conditions of the project’s use permit. Building permits – which allow a builder to begin the physical construction on a project – are usually issued as a matter of course after the ZAB has approved a project. 

The laws implemented by the Costa-Hawkins Act state that “(n)notwithstanding any other provision of law, an owner of a residential real property may establish the initial and subsequent rental rates” for any unit built after Feb. 1, 1995. 

The city’s inclusionary housing requirements mandate below-market rates for 20 percent of the units in new multi-family developments. 

While the two laws would appear to be in conflict, there are no legal precedents that state directly that the state law invalidates inclusionary housing policies. 

Linda Wheaton, a housing policy specialist with the California State Office of Housing and Community Development, said on Thursday that to her knowledge, no challenge of city inclusionary requirements had been successfully challenged on the basis of Costa-Hawkins.  

A developer did challenged the city of Santa Monica’s requirements a few years ago, she said, but the case was settled out of court. 

Tad Read, Santa Monica’s housing director, said on Thursday that the suit against his city’s inclusionary requirements did mention Costa-Hawkins, but was primarily focused on the housing element of the city’s general plan. 

As part of the settlement, Read said, the city re-wrote its housing element and loosened its inclusionary housing requirements. The Costa-Hawkins challenge was dropped. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington declined to comment on the case on Thursday, but said that other local developers have previously raised the issue of the potential incompatibility between the local and state laws. 

He said that several months ago, developer Patrick Kennedy had written to the City Council to make the same point. 

Kennedy could not be reached for comment. 

John DeClercq, senior vice president of TransAction Companies, said that he could not comment on the appeal while it was pending. 

“It’s before the City Council, and we’ll see what they want to do,” he said. 

Fred Lupke, a private citizen, has also appealed the Library Gardens project on the grounds that the project’s number of potential occupants had been understated and that the potential impact of the project on the Central Library, which sits next door to the Library Gardens site, had not been researched.

Editor: 

Berkeley’s updated General Plan, now before the City Council, bars the construction of downtown buildings taller than seven stories. That is a mistake that the council should reverse. 

The anti-height stipulation reflects the activism of a small coterie of preservation-minded citizens who follow matters before the Planning Commission very closely. The implication is that they represent the majority of the voters, but the electorate as a whole has thought very little about downtown density.  

Like the Bay Area as a whole, Berkeley suffers from a severe housing shortage. But with a thriving university and a downtown in better shape than in years, we are ready to make our downtown a major new apartment-based residential community as it continues to serve its present commercial and cultural functions. The district should be conceived on a generous scale, a carefully and integrally thought out mixed-use settlement, with innovations centered on distinguished architecture and a substantial amount of high quality apartment housing within walking distance of the University and the BART station. A more populated and increasingly auto-free downtown will protect traditional neighborhoods from growth pressures, while it gives them a more complete and livelier center for services and shopping, notably including the maturing Arts Center. It can ease prices by enlarging the housing supply substantially, including moderate income housing. 

If buildings can rise toward the height of the Wells Fargo building, there will be better latitude for design and much more space for street-level open greenness, as proposed by Richard Register. 

The nostalgic activists have missed the damage that regional sprawl out across the Carquinez Bridge and the Altamont Pass has done to the Bay Area, multiplying cars and gridlock throughout our region, including here at home. The “preservers” do not see that their politics rule out living near work and study for hundreds of people, and have helped drive up the price of housing to indefensible levels, making us a gentrified and “exclusive” place, to our embarrassment. That may benefit existing landlords, but is it fundamentally fair to people with a legitimate need to live here?  

Many of the current NIMBYs came to town years ago as graduate students and post-docs. They certainly would have felt ill-treated if, for lack of housing, they had had to put a young spouse and small children in Pinole and buy a wreck of a car to commute to campus or lab. The watchdogs of low height limits are also preventing more senior Berkleyans from moving to a comfortable and accessible apartment in a European style, reducing driving and management demands, while maintaining their social networks by living at the center of their lifelong community.  

The “preservers” are right that central Berkeley should not be developed helter skelter, but holding down building heights is a blunt instrument approach. Instead, Berkeley should have a hard look at its downtown, and think about doing some serious planning. The city should draw up a “specific plan,” a detailed framework within which developers will work.  

Such a plan is a big effort, but among other uses, it would provide a meaningful setting for individual proposals, such as the parking study moratorium or the Mayor’s call for parking under Martin Luther King Park, now very awkward to deal with adequately, in large part because they are taken up piecemeal and in isolation. 

The Gaia Building, and Allston Oak Court give an idea of the civilized possibilities of living downtown. Future structures could make owned apartments available as well as rentals, and be more elegant than Gaia, which becomes externally bulky because it encloses an internal courtyard. New buildings could easily absorb the existing residents of downtown, plus lots of older Berkeleyans looking for a less hassled and car-dependent way of living, in addition to handling the huge backlog of housing-seekers.  

Rather than just clamping a low ceiling on downtown, let’s think some bigger thoughts about bigger opportunities.  

Peter Lydon 

Berkeley

Ousseynou Kouyate sings quietly to himself, waiting for his performance to start. The venue is Keur Samba, a West African restaurant on Telegraph Avenue. Kouyate is part of tonight’s attraction, Djialy Kunda Kouyate – a Wolof (Senegalese) band recently brought in by owner Jegan Loum to play at the restaurant every Friday and Saturday night.  

Sitting at a table a few feet from Kouyate, it suddenly occurs to me that not one, but two identical voices seem to resonate from his singing lips. Immediately I’m sorting through layers of sound amidst the restaurant’s din: Is Kouyate singing with the stereo? Or lip-synching? Then out of the corner of my eye, all becomes clear.  

Ousseynou Kouyate is a twin.  

From the back of the restaurant, Assane Kouyate had joined his brother’s song. He now makes his way up the aisle to the stage.  

Though identical, the twins are distinguished by their traditional Senegalese outfits: Assane’s is a regal, pale blue; Ousseynou wears a patterned orange shirt and matching hat. They are joined by a woman with a harp-like instrument – the 21-stringed kora – and a young man with an intricately decorated djembe drum. Percussionist Nbongo Mbaye comes in as they begin playing. His tiny tama – or talking drum – powerfully thumps and rumbles under his arm. 

With the kora holding a steady melody, the two drums interweave and take turns accenting the movements of the Kouyates, who twirl like mirroring kaleidoscope images. Balaphonist Karamba Diabate joins the group, reinforcing the kora’s melody while percussively pushing the tempo. The twins’ rich voices soar, interchangeably singing high and low parts, backup and lead. With flurries of dance and drum, the song climaxes and stops on the dime of a single beat. 

One of the musicians yells out the Wolof exclamation “Wow-wow!” meaning, emphatically, “Yes!”  

In addition to providing live music, Keur Samba greets its guests with smiles, and the smell of curry and fried plantains. African beverages include: bissap (a mild, wine-colored juice), tamarind, ginger juice, and African beer and wine. Many dishes are curries prepared with lamb, chicken, or fish. For vegetarians only a few options exist, and, in the African tradition, few uncooked vegetables. Yet the dishes are still well rounded, balancing rich sauces with fluffy rice, potatoes, and sweet combinations of cabbage, raisins, eggplant, and onions.  

Since Keur Samba began hosting live shows several weeks ago, audiences have embraced the Kouyates and Djially Kunda Kouyate.  

The Kouyate twins moved to the Bay Area in 1998 after touring with the National Ballet of Senegal for six years. Their last name is one of the traditional family names of the West African musicians/storytellers/historians known as griots. Though they are of the Wolof ethnic group, born and raised in Dakar, the twins trace their roots to Mali, where Balla Fasseke Kouyate, who they identify as the first griot, served the legendary King Sundiata in the 13th century Mali Empire.  

Today, even in a big city like Dakar, the role of the griot is very much the same as it was 800 years ago: to “make the party happen. Without a griot, your party is going to be very quiet,” says Assane. Griots also memorize vast quantities of information, including history, family heritage, and the deeds of ancestors, and relay them in the form of stories, songs, and plays. Assane explains that if someone forgets who his/her grandparents were, it is the twins’ job to remind them.  

“We make people happy in their hearts,” he says, “because we remind them very deeply of who they are.”  

Wow. Wow.  

Djialy Kunda Kouyate performs at Fridays and Saturdays at Keur Samba, 4905 Telegraph in Oakland from 8-10 p.m.. Call 654-2730.  

Joe Shipp scored a career-high 24 points and led California to a 88-63 victory over Saint Louis on Thursday night. 

In the first meeting between the two teams at Cal in 30 years, Shipp led four players in double figures as Solomon Hughes added 16 points, Brian Wethers scored 13 and Jamal Sampson scored 10. 

“Joe Shipp, more than just with his scoring, did a great job on defense,” Cal head coach Ben Braun said. “He showed you what he can do in those in between ranges.”  

Ben Braun won his 100th game as coach at Cal and the Bears won their 15th straight home game vs. a nonconference opponent. Cal (5-1) made 16 of its first 22 shots to start the second half en route to its most lopsided win of the season. 

Jason Edwin scored 14 and Marque Perry added 12 for the Billikens (2-5), who lost their third straight game. They hadn’t lost by more than five in any game this season. 

The Bears closed the half with a 10-2 run, seven scored by Shipp, to take a 36-33 halftime lead. The Billikens had up to a six-point lead behind Edwin, who made 4-of-5 3-point attempts in scoring 14 first-half points. 

Cal broke the game open with a 20-5 run in the middle of the third quarter to go up 67-42. Shipp made 9 of 14 from the field and Hughes was 8-for-10 as the Bears shot a season-best .525 percent. Their previous high point total was 71. 

The Bears were coming off a 79-59 defeat at South Florida, their worst loss to a team outside the Pac-10 since dropping a 88-66 decision to Saint Louis on Nov. 29, 2000. The Billikens were coming off a 69-67 loss to second-ranked Missouri on Monday. 

Braun became the fourth coach to win 100 games at Cal. The others were Nibs Price, Pete Newell and Lou Campanelli. Braun, who took over in 1999, is 100-62 at Cal. 

“I’m proud of that. It means I’ve been staying around long enough,” Braun said. “More than wins, my goal has been to make my teams winners, and we did that tonight. We gave a committed effort. I really feel good about that with this team.”

A few olive branches, and a lot of angry words were the offerings at a contentious Board of Education meeting Wednesday night, which featured a couple of overtures for collaboration and several sharp exchanges between board members and leaders of the small schools movement, or Coalition for Excellence and Equity in the Schools. 

“The situation in our schools is not right,” said Katrina Scott George, a coalition leader and parent of a 10th grader at Berkeley High School. “It’s time for us to hold you, our board members, accountable.” 

Coalition leaders, including school board member Terry Doran, want to break BHS up into a series of small, autonomous schools. They have asked the board to approve a small schools policy they prepared by early next year and implement the model in the fall of 2003.  

Coalition members argue that small schools would work to narrow the “achievement gap” between white and minority students, and improve teacher accountability. 

The remaining four school board members have embraced a more gradual approach.  

They want to maintain the structure of the larger, comprehensive high school, while allowing for the incremental addition of “schools within a school,” similar to the several mini-schools currently at BHS. They say this approach would maintain the strengths of the comprehensive school system now in place.  

Shirley Issel, the new board president, said the coalition overstepped its bounds by presenting its small schools policy. 

“You’re asking us to forfeit our policy-making responsibilities,” Issel said. “I don’t know how I’m going to explain to the public how your group made this policy, but we’re to be held responsible for it.” 

“It would seem to me that if you don’t agree with us, you would take it up with the voters,” she continued. 

“You are an extension of us,” responded Michael Miller, a parent and member of the coalition. “We elected you. You bring our needs, our desires to this forum.” 

Later in the evening, Doran and Ted Schultz of the school board said it was reasonable for the coalition to present a policy to the board.  

But several members of the board, and Superintendent Michele Lawrence, said they were concerned about the coalition’s call for a rapid move to a small schools model. 

Lawrence said she could not embrace the coalition’s proposal until she’d traveled to other districts making use of the small schools policy, and studied their finances, program quality, degree of parental involvement, and other qualities. 

“I will, in fact, be there to help move this thing forward,” Lawrence said. “But you’ve got to give me more time, that’s all I ask.” 

Doran asked Lawrence to suggest how much time she might need, but the superintendent said it would be difficult to predict until she was in the thick of the research.  

“I don’t want to make a promise I can’t keep,” she said. 

Lawrence added that she has several other priorities, like maintenance, the budget and special education programs, that require her immediate attention and cannot be ignored.  

Schultz recommended the formation of a working committee, including coalition leaders and members of the board, that would visit other small schools, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and hammer out a compromise. 

But Scott George rejected the idea of a working committee unless it had a definite timeline for producing results. “This is not acceptable,” she said, arguing that BHS students need reform immediately.  

“Children are going to jail now,” she said. “I know who got shot and who got suspended and who got pregnant. I cannot wait.” 

Kalima Rose, another coalition leader, said on Thursday that, earlier in the week, the superintendent offered small schools proponents the opportunity to take part in a working group like the one proposed by Schultz. 

“We said that we’d be perfectly happy to take part,” she said, “but it must have a commitment to a timeline and outcomes.” Otherwise, Rose said, the district could simply drag out the committee work, using it at as a tool to defer the implementation of small schools. 

Joaquin Rivera, new board vice president, said any committee must also include community members who are opposed to small schools.  

A small group of small schools opponents were in attendance at the meeting and voiced their concerns. Marcy Wong, a parent of a child in the school system raised fears that children would be “indoctrinated” in small, politically-focused schools, while Victoria Bonnell, a parent and sociology professor at UC Berkeley argued that large schools work better for some kids. 

Earlier in the evening, Bradley Johnson, president of the high school’s sophomore class, presented the results of a survey of 967 BHS students. 

Johnson said the survey was distributed in history classes, and found that 55 percent of the students “think that small schools are better in providing education than large schools,” while 86 percent “feel that there is more one on one contact with teachers in small schools.” 

The teacher’s union will be polling teachers next week. The poll will follow weeks of in-depth teacher interviews and focus groups conducted by the coalition.  

Editor: 

I am one of the subscribers to high-speed cable Internet service who found himself with a new e-mail address this weekend: nobody@home. Early Saturday morning, AT&T pulled the plug on @Home, leaving many Bay Area subscribers without access to the web or their e-mail. On Tuesday, an automated phone call from AT&T told me the new network was ready for me to log back on.  

I am back on-line now after being off for three days. AT&T has promised to credit customers with two days of service for each day they were down. That’s nice, but what about all that e-mail directed to our accounts with @Home. Our new domain is attbi.com. What will happen to all those messages sent to us through @Home? How will the rest of the world be able to reach us, especially those nice folks who want to tell how to get a free college degree on-line, access to Natural Viagra, or sure-fire ways to increase the size of a certain part of our anatomy? Not many of us are going to miss those or other spam messages that seem to love @Home subscribers, but I know people who have been using @Home as their primary e-mail address. Letters from friends and family members are also lost, and senders need to be informed of the domain change. How will AT&T compensate us for that loss? 

With such turmoil in the Internet provider business, it is no wonder that web-based e-mail has become so popular. Yes, it is great for those who have no personal access to the Internet, but can log on at public terminal such as at the library. It is also a form of insurance for people with Internet accounts who are not sure if their provider will be in business tomorrow. It is common for small Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to be bought by larger ones. 

An example is Berkeley’s LanMinds. Their service was gobbled up several times before being gobbled up by the giant EarthLink. LanMinds was able to pull itself Jonah-style from this whale, but the Lanminds domain is still in the EarthLink belly. Subscribers’ new e-mail address is @lmi.net. That is a minor nuisance to the subscribers receiving bills from EarthLink for service that they did not want and did not order. 

We could also give in and just sign up with the Internet giants such as EarthLink, AOL, or Microsoft. Tell that to the people who prefer having the personal service a small ISP like LanMinds is able to provide. In the meantime, the Information Super Highway continues to be a rocky road. 

Berkeley

Wednesday evening, the Board of Education unanimously named Shirley Issel its new president. Issel moved up from the post of vice president, replacing outgoing chief Terry Doran. The board named Joaquin Rivera its new vice president. 

The selection was based on the board’s traditional method of allotting leadership slots based on the vote totals members received during the two previous elections of the general public, according to board member Ted Schultz. 

Issel said she would seek to keep the board focused on the major priorities it has set forth for the superintendent: the improvement of the district’s data collection system, the implementation of a maintenance plan, improved evaluation of district employees, and leadership and accreditation at the high school. 

Editor: 

I’ve been re-reading John F. Kennedy’s book, Profiles In Courage, and in the first paragraph he wrote: “This is a book about the most admirable of human virtues – courage. ‘Grace under pressure,’ Ernest Hemingway defined it. And these are the stories of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which they endured them – the risks to their careers, the unpopularity of their courses, the defamation of their characters, and sometimes, but sadly only sometimes, the vindication of their reputations and their principles.” 

It may be – years from now, when tempers have cooled and fears have subsided – that Berkeley will appear in history as the single voice of conscience in a wounded and angry nation. 

It may be – years from now, when prolonged conflict has sapped our strength and optimism as a country – that the United States neglected wisdom in its haste for vengeance. 

No one knows what the future will bring, and so I am writing now to say that I admire the courage and compassion you showed in your resolution to stop the bombing of Afghanistan. 

Chris Oei  

San Francisco 

As a public service, the Berkeley Daily Planet will list BERKELEY-BASED nonprofit agencies soliciting donations and/or volunteers. Please use the following format and e-mail by today to news@berkeleydailyplanet.net.  

(Name) Jane’s Nonprofit 

(address) 2333 Nonprofit Way, Berkeley, CA 9444444 

(phone) 111-1111 

(description - 15 words maximum) Jane’s Nonprofit remodels old houses for affordable housing. Needs cash donations and volunteers. 

(nonprofit number) xxii332

MARIPOSA — Prosecutors want the triple-murder trial of Yosemite killer Cary Stayner held in Sacramento because it is convenient for witnesses and family members of the victims and defendant. 

Judge Thomas Hastings ordered the trial moved out of Mariposa Superior Court after a defense lawyer argued that extensive news coverage would make it impossible to find impartial jurors. Prosecutors did not object. 

Hastings will hold a Dec. 17 hearing to decide whether the case should be held in Los Angeles, Sacramento or Santa Clara, where he lives. 

Assistant District Attorney Kim Fletcher said in papers filed Monday that the state capital was closer to Mariposa County and it was where the FBI has kept most of the evidence against Stayner. 

Defense lawyer Marcia Morrissey of Santa Monica said she wants the trial held in Los Angeles. 

“They really don’t address, I think, the crucial issue, which is the ability to get a jury that hasn’t been saturated with the case,” Morrissey said. “In Los Angeles, the case hasn’t gotten near the attention.” 

Fletcher argued that Los Angeles court officials only want to be considered as a last option and suggested Sacramento instead. 

Stayner, 40, faces a Feb. 25 trial on charges that he killed three tourists staying at the rustic Yosemite National Park lodge where he worked as a handyman. 

Carole Sund, 42, her daughter, Juli, 15, and friend Silvina Pelosso, 16, vanished in February 1999. Their bodies were found weeks later. 

Stayner admitted to the killings in a tape recorded confession that was played at an earlier hearing. 

Stayner is serving a federal life sentence for the July 1999 murder of Joie Armstrong, who led children on nature hikes in the park. 

He faces the death penalty if convicted in the tourist case. 

D.A.’s employee pleads innocent to assault charge 

SAN RAFAEL — A San Francisco prosecutor pleaded innocent Thursday to a charge of assault with a deadly weapon and attempting to make a criminal threat in connection with a Nov. 9 fight outside his San Rafael home and another incident last year. 

Floyd Andrews has worked in the San Francisco district attorney’s office since 1983, specializing in fraud cases. He is accused of stabbing Martin Stanley, 37, of Fairfax, with a 3-inch pocket knife. Prosecutors also allege he tried to threaten another man last year. 

Andrews discovered Stanley urinating against the garage of the Andrews home in San Rafael and knifed Stanley to defend himself, said Andrews’ attorney, Kenneth Quigley. 

Marin prosecutors, however, concluded that Andrews should be charged with assault with a deadly weapon with the intent of inflicting great bodily harm. 

Andrews has not been at work since the incident. His bail was increased from $25,000 to $120,000 and has been jailed until he could raise the additional money. Quigley said he expected his client to bail out sometime Thursday night. 

Boat accident  

survivor says he tried to save lives 

OAKLEY — The lone survivor of boating accident that killed two Oakley teen-agers said Thursday he did everything he could to save their lives but the boys died in his arms. 

Kent Osborn, the father of Mark Osborn, 17, who perished along with Mike Vain, 15, had shoved off at dawn Sunday in their 15-foot aluminum boat on a duck hunting expedition. But within 15 minutes, high winds and choppy waves flooded the boat and all three were dumped into the frigid water near Big Break Marina. 

Kent Osborn said as the boat sank, the two boys donned life jackets and they all used duck decoys for buoyancy while trying to swim to shore. The two boys succumbed while Kent Osborn, 39, survived about 8 1/2 hours in the cold water, which rescue officers said was in the low 50s. 

Kent Osborn defended his decision to forge ahead with the hunting trip in bad weather. 

“We’ve been waiting since the start of duck season for this,” Kent Osborn told the Contra Costa Times. “This is when duck hunters go out. You go out during the biggest storms you can find.” 

Mistake of  

prosecuting  

educator? 

SANTA JOSE — Santa Clara County District Attorney George Kennedy said he “made a mistake” in prosecuting a Los Gatos educator for failing to report child abuse. 

Kennedy had charged Hillbrook School head Sarah Bayne for failing to report child abuse, a crime rarely prosecuted. The case was later dismissed but cost the Los Gatos private school and its insurance company more than $200,000 and threatened to destroy Bayne’s career 

“I wish I hadn’t filed it,” Kennedy told the San Jose Mercury News. 

Bayne told the Mercury News that Kennedy’s statement was little comfort. “They caused an unbelievable amount of pain and suffering,” she said. 

Prosecutors charged that in 1998 Bayne did not alert authorities when a teacher at the school told her that a third-grader had a red mark on his cheek. Bayne said she checked on the child and said she saw no mark. 

The children of three Santa Clara County prosecutors attended Hillbrook School at the time some accused Kennedy of having a conflict of interest in pursuing the case, a charge he denied. 

SACRAMENTO — For weeks, Secretary of State Bill Jones’ struggle to raise large amounts of money has led to speculation he’ll drop out of the Republican race for governor. 

But with a Friday deadline approaching to stay in the race, and questions lingering about his financial wherewithal to afford a statewide campaign, Jones’ aides insist he’s in the race to stay. 

“Those who believe that Secretary of State Jones will not get into the race are the same ones wishing that the volcano spewing ash is not going to explode, meaning it’s just wishful thinking,” said Sean Walsh, Jones’ deputy campaign manager. 

Jones is one of three Republicans vying for the GOP nomination in the March 5 primary. The winner will take on Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in November. 

Friday is the deadline to officially declare candidacy for the March ballot. 

Although he’s the only Republican holding statewide office, Jones has not attracted the financial support believed essential to running in California. 

Jones also angered some national Republicans when he jumped ship from then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush’s campaign to that of Sen. John McCain of Arizona for the 2000 presidential primary in California. 

“If he can’t at this point have built up a pretty good campaign kitty, that suggests that his own party elite ... don’t give him much of a chance,” said Gary Jacobson, a political science professor at the University of California, San Diego. 

Jones has raised about $2 million this year, including more than $500,000 in loans from corporations and individuals, according to campaign finance records. 

That compares to more than $4 million raised so far by former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan — who only has been collecting donations since July and who has millions in personal wealth to pour into his campaign. 

Bill Simon, a businessman from Los Angeles, has raised more than $3.8 million. And Simon, a wealthy businessman also considered able to finance his own campaign, already has lent $300,000 and contributed $286,331 out of his own pocket to his campaign. 

Davis has $31 million in his campaign account. 

Even some of Jones’ financial backers and longtime friends fear he lacks the cash to mount a serious challenge. 

“Looking at Jones’ prospects at this point, this late, that’s not a very encouraging sight,” said David Provost, a political science professor at California State University, Fresno, and a friend of Jones. 

William Lyles, a Fresno businessman who lent the Jones campaign $100,000 in September, says Jones’ “only handicap is that he’s doesn’t come from one of the big population areas.” 

Lyles exemplifies Jones’ backbone of financial supporters. They are longtime friends who are influential in the Central Valley and agriculture communities and who feel shunned by politicians they see as focused on Los Angeles and the Bay area. 

Jones’ aides believe that support, along with similar feelings among other key voters, will be enough. They say they will rely on appealing to conservative, faithful voters in smaller areas where advertising is cheaper. 

“We will have enough money to get our message out to the Republican primary voter who will show up at the ballot box,” Walsh said. 

They also hope an anti-Los Angeles sentiment in other parts of the state will help. 

“Twenty million and 30 million of television buys cannot erase perceptions that have already been formed about bringing ’big-city Los Angeles’ to small cities throughout the state,” Walsh said. 

Indeed, strategists said, winning support in the fast-growing Central Valley is key to winning elections in California. But that alone may not be not enough. 

“You have to have enough money to get your message across,” Provost said. “These days television is the best way to do that and that means you’ve got to spend an awful lot of money.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Jones’ official campaign Web site is http://www.billjones.org. Campaign finance reports can be found at http://www.ss.ca.gov 

SAN FRANCISCO — Hundreds of Mexican nationals have been lining up around the block outside their consulate to get identification cards after the city became the first in the nation to officially accept the consular IDs as legal documents. 

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors passed the resolution unanimously last month, and Mayor Willie Brown signed it Tuesday, prompting an immediate and enthusiastic response among Mexican immigrants. Each day since, they’ve lined up by the hundreds to get documented. 

The cards — which have a photograph, legal address, birthplace and signature — won’t help immigrants with the federal or state governments, but inside the city of San Francisco, they promise to make life easier in a number of ways. 

The plan was sponsored by Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, a former public defender who saw a need for some type of ID card for non-citizens. He said police were picking up immigrants on minor offenses and sometimes holding them for days simply because they lacked proper identification. 

The card also reduces the hassle and expense of wiring money to family members in other countries. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank accepts it, allowing non-citizens to set up bank accounts and distribute ATM cards to family members who can withdraw funds in Mexico without paying high fees. 

But it won’t help immigrants who aren’t complying with Immigration and Naturalization Service rules, agency spokeswoman Sharon Rummery said. 

“All the matricula consular does is identify you of a citizen of Mexico. That’s all you can expect from it,” she said. “If you’re out of status and you get that you’re still out of status.” 

Mexican consulates in the U.S. have been issuing consular IDs for some 20 years. Whether to recognize these cards has been a decision made locally by police in cities across the United States. San Francisco is the first to make such recognition a matter of city law, said Consul General Georgina Lagos, Mexico’s top representative in Northern California. 

“The consular ID does not have any intrinsic benefit per se; the benefit it has is the recognition or validity authorities will give to it,” said Lagos, who worked for months to develop a screening process, including fingerprints, and a tough-to-fake card that satisfies San Francisco police. 

Other countries’ consulates in San Francisco have shown interest in the cards, and Lagos said she’s working with other cities and counties in Northern California to expand the idea. 

“Before there was only an informal agreement between the consulate and the police or sheriff’s department. Now it no longer will be left at the authorities’ discretion,” said Lagos. 

Many of the immigrants in line Tuesday were confused about just what they would be able to do with the cards. Many, like Sotero Rosas, mistakenly thought it would help otherwise undocumented immigrants get California drivers’ licenses or car insurance. 

“I am not really aware of the benefits but if they are saying it will be good I have nothing to lose,” said Rosas, who came to the San Francisco Bay area from Veracruz, Mexico, two years ago, and was wearing a neck collar after a car accident. 

Francisco Herrera, also from Veracruz, brought his wife and two children to the consulate for the same reasons. A construction worker who has lived in the Bay Area for six years, he said neither he nor his wife have proper U.S. documentation. 

Sandoval said it’s important for users to understand the card is only valid in San Francisco and is not a substitute for a driver’s license or a passport necessary to fly or cross borders. 

Some advocates of limiting immigration have expressed concern that San Francisco’s new policy will encourage illegal immigration. Rick Oltman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform told the San Francisco Chronicle that police should arrest its bearers as illegal immigrants. 

But San Francisco police say they have no duty to enforce federal laws, and Lagos said it’s simply the consulate’s duty to protect its nationals, regardless of their legal status in the United States. 

Furthermore, the card has more security measures — and is more useful — than other forms of ID, she said. It not only helps illegal immigrants, but also people with valid visas. 

“This is the credential the U.S. State Department gave me,” said Lagos showing her diplomatic credential “As you can see it does not have a digital photo, it is too big to fit in my wallet, it is easy to forge and banks don’t accept it.” 

Sandoval hopes San Francisco will serve as a model for other cities and possibly to Gov. Gray Davis whom he hopes will drop the proof of citizenship requirement necessary to get a California driver’s license. 

“We’re looking at broader issues like NAFTA and the integration of two societies,” Sandoval said. “In Europe, it would not make sense if a Spaniard went to France and the French would not accept his ID card.” 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday convicted the first of 10 defendants facing trials on charges of trespassing at Vandenberg Air Force Base during an October 2000 protest against militarization of space. 

Bruce Gagnon, a protest coordinator, was sentenced to two years of probation, fined $1,000 and ordered to pay a $10 fee. 

“This court takes the Constitution of this country very seriously,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Johnson said. “The viability and effectiveness of civil disobedience does not provide justification for breaking the law.” 

The series of non-jury trials for 10 defendants began after another defendant pleaded guilty and charges against five others were dismissed by the judge at the request of Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon McCaslin, who cited “evidentiary” reasons. 

Four other defendants pleaded guilty earlier this week. “West Wing” star Martin Sheen, who also took part in the demonstration, entered a guilty plea in June and was placed on three years’ probation and fined $500. 

Sheen and the others were arrested as they tried to deliver a letter to Vandenberg’s commander explaining their opposition to space-based weapons. 

The central coast base tests intercontinental ballistic missiles and has been the launch site for missiles used as targets in tests of a missile defense system. 

Before entering court, the activists told a news conference that a looming arms race in space justified their action during an Oct. 7, 2000, international day of protest organized by Gainesville, Fla.-based Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear in Space. 

“Our feeling is that there must be an international debate to protect the heavens,” Gagnon said. “Star Wars will not only create a deadly new arms race in space but paying for it will drain the national treasury and require devastating cuts in education and health care.” 

The trials were expected to conclude on Monday. The trespassing charges carry a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine. 

Ruth Thomas Holbrook, a student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, was fined $100, sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay a $10 fee after pleading guilty Thursday.

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — Kunio Iwashita, a Zero fighter pilot during World War II, says it was only on Sept. 11 — six decades after the attack on Pearl Harbor — that he realized how Americans must have felt back then. 

“I was very impressed with all the flags on buildings and cars, with the patriotism Americans showed after Sept. 11,” said Iwashita, who was visiting relatives in Boston that day. “I realized what a big, strong country America is. I had no idea about that” in 1941. 

Iwashita, who heads a group of Japanese World War II fighter pilots and himself flew against Americans in the Pacific, was among veterans from both sides gathered for Friday’s 60th anniversary of the most infamous sneak attack of the 20th century. 

This year, the gathering takes place in the shadow of another war, triggered by a surprise attack that has been likened to Pearl Harbor. 

At a Pearl Harbor event on Wednesday, fellow veterans applauded as Iwashita embraced one of his former enemies, Jim Daniels, 86, of Kailua, Hawaii. They all shook hands and stood at attention as a bugler played taps at the close of a three-day seminar on war issues. 

Dozens of survivors will gather Friday for a Navy service aboard the USS Arizona Memorial, held each year at 7:50 a.m., the time the Dec. 7, 1941, attack began. Later in the morning, about 3,000 people — including an estimated 800 Pearl Harbor survivors — will attend a service at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. 

President Bush will mark the anniversary across the country with a speech aboard an aircraft carrier in Norfolk, Va. 

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,390 Americans and plunged the United States into World War II. 

On that day of infamy, Douglas G. Phillips, 84, watched from the USS Ramsay on Dec. 7 as the torpedoed USS Utah capsized and sank. 

“The whole world changed for us,” said Phillips, who is from Easton, Md. 

The world changed again for Americans after terrorists attacked New York and Washington on Sept. 11. And among this week’s visitors to Pearl Harbor were people connected to that 21st-century day of infamy. 

Emergency workers from New York, here as guests of the state and merchants, met Pearl Harbor survivors at a reception on Monday. 

“To me, it was like a dream come true,” said firefighter Bruce Vannosdall, 46, whose squadron lost six members at the World Trade Center and whose father fought in World War II. “It’s a total honor.” 

This anniversary is probably the last that will be attended by a large number of survivors, said Harry Butowsky, a historian for the National Park Service in Washington. 

“They just took life and they lived it to its fullest,” Butowsky said. “They had terrible memories, but they got over it. They didn’t live their lives with hate.” 

Even today, Hank Freitas, who was on the USS Tangier, a seaplane tender tied up next to the USS Utah, gets emotional being near the scene of the attack. 

“I cry,” said Freitas, 80, of Walnut Creek, Calif. “I was out at Pearl Harbor yesterday and I cried from the time I got there to the time I left.”

FRAZIER PARK — Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser dreamed of serving in the Special Forces. Long before he shipped out to Afghanistan, one friend said it seemed as if he “wanted to save the Middle East.” 

The 28-year-old Green Beret was one of three soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a bomb missed its Taliban target and landed about 100 yards from them. Twenty others were wounded in the worst “friendly fire” accident of the war. 

Prosser’s father, also named Brian, said Thursday his son “was a hero in our house and I hope he is in yours too.” 

He did not criticize the military for the death of his son, who he said received the Bronze Star on Thursday. 

“Fire is fire. It doesn’t matter how it happens,” said Prosser, a paraplegic who uses a motorized wheelchair. “He was the kind of guy that believed in what they’re doing over there and what we’re going to continue to do, and he would have been upset if he was anywhere but where he was.” 

Friends who knew Prosser when he starred on the high school football team and worked at the local lumber store shared their memories of Prosser. 

“When he went into the Army that was his dream, to become an Army Ranger,” recalled Glenn Wilson, a former football buddy. 

Prosser also had a fascination with the Middle East. 

Family friend Dennis Penna often talked with Prosser about his tour of duty as a U.S. military adviser in Iran in the 1970s. 

“When he found out I served in Iran, (that’s) all he wanted to talk about,” Penna said. “It seemed like he wanted to save the Middle East.” 

Prosser grew up in Frazier Park, a tiny, bucolic mountain town about 50 miles north of Los Angeles with an old-fashioned main street that still appears anchored in the 1950s. His death left the town devastated but at the same time proud to have known him. 

Albert Allen, his football coach at Maricopa High School, recalled Prosser as a tough competitor who separated his shoulder several times while playing linebacker. Prosser would trot over to the sideline where his father — an assistant coach — would put his shoulder back in place. 

Prosser was captain of the team. After school, he worked at Alpine Lumber. 

“He was quite a character,” said Jean Miller, the store manager. “He had a sense of humor.” 

Jessica Quintana, 27, recalled riding the bus to high school with Prosser. 

“He used to hang out with all the jocks in the back,” she said. “They would raise a lot of hell for the bus driver, stuff like flicking pennies from the back to the front and making noise the bus driver couldn’t find.” 

Cheri Sutherland often drove the bus. 

“I would have to stop and scold him, and he would just take it,” she said. “He knew he would do it again, but it was never vindictive.” 

One of four brothers, Prosser joined the Army soon after graduating from high school. 

Jarudd Prosser said the family knew the risks involved, adding that as soon he learned his brother was shipping out for Afghanistan he made it a point to tell him how he felt about him. 

“In a war, people die,” he said. “It puts a lot of things in perspective. It really makes me think when you care about someone, you have to tell them that. When I heard he was going overseas, I left nothing unsaid.” 

Prosser’s wife Shawna, who lives in Clarksville, Tenn., said she was proud of her husband. 

“Although I am deeply saddened and will always miss him, I find some comfort knowing that he died doing what he loved — being part of the Special Forces,” she said at Fort Campbell, Ky., where her husband was stationed. 

Funeral plans were not yet completed. But the family reportedly hopes to bring Prosser’s body back to Frazier Park for a service before having him interred in Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, D.C. 

The other soldiers killed Wednesday were identified as Master Sgt. Jefferson Donald Davis, 39, of Watauga, Tenn., and Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory, 32, of Cheshire, Mass. 

All were members of the Army’s 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, stationed at Fort Campbell. 

Gov. Gray Davis issued a statement Wednesday night praising each of them. 

“These men served their country valiantly,” he said. “They made the supreme sacrifice for our freedoms.” 

HENDERSON, Nev. — When the Bingo Palace opened off the Las Vegas Strip in 1977, the casino industry didn’t give it much of a chance. But building away from the action led Station Casinos into a lucrative new market — neighborhood casinos. 

“At the time everyone thought he was crazy for building off the Strip,” said President Lorenzo Fertitta, son of Station’s founder Frank Fertitta Jr. 

Two years after it opened, the Bingo Palace became Palace Station, attracting local gamblers who didn’t want to fight the crowds on Las Vegas Boulevard. 

Station Casinos Inc. had found its niche by offering bingo, buffets and later bowling. 

“We, in a sense, created the locals market,” Fertitta said. 

Today, the Las Vegas-based company has grown into a locals gambling empire as it prepares to open its ninth hotel-casino in the area. 

Though Green Valley Ranch Station in nearby suburban Henderson is decidedly more upscale than its counterparts, company officials balk at calling the resort and spa a departure. 

Instead, they insist the $300 million property that will feature a Rande Gerber nightclub, a European day spa, a three-acre vineyard and well-known restaurants — Il Fornaio, BullShrimp and Border Grille — is a natural evolution. 

“We want to mix a lot of different groups of people,” Fertitta said. “If a guy in shorts and a T-shirt is sitting at a blackjack table with a guy in a suit, then we’ve accomplished our goal.” 

Despite its fancy trappings, Green Valley Ranch will adhere to the same formula that has made Station Casinos nearly a $1 billion a year operation — providing easy access and value through food, entertainment and loose slots. 

“All this has to be put in a box that’s easy to get to,” Fertitta said. “You need to be located by an interstate or a busy intersection and have ample parking.” 

Las Vegas Strip resorts have to build hotel rooms, but Station only has to build parking garages, Fertitta said, simplifying the formula for success. Station casinos also feature movie theaters, fast-food courts and even baby-sitting services to attract residents. 

Company officials predict that 80 percent of the new resort’s business will come from local residents, but they hope to attract the other 20 percent from the Strip because of Green Valley Ranch’s access to Interstate 215 and its airport proximity. 

“Some people don’t want to stay in a big hotel with thousands of rooms,” Fertitta said. “They want to hang out where the locals do.” 

Some industry experts believe Station Casinos is taking a risk and point to the recent failure of the bankrupt Las Vegas Regent, an upscale hotel-casino 10 miles from the Strip that hoped to attract affluent visitors as well as locals to its westside restaurants and casino. 

Others believe that the management team’s experience will pay off. 

“It’s going to be interesting,” said Jason Ader, a gambling industry analyst for Bear Stearns Co. in New York. “I think if anyone can pull it off, it will be them. Station Casinos are really best at understanding local Las Vegas and customers that make up that market.” 

Ader said he thinks Green Valley Ranch will succeed because it’s easy to get to and easy to navigate once inside. 

“And it’s beautiful,” he said. “It’s the nicest product I’ve seen in the local market.” 

The Nevada Gaming Commission last month unanimously approved the Henderson resort, clearing the way for its Dec. 18 opening. 

“I think it’s a magnificent edifice and it’s an ideal location,” said Nevada Gaming Commissioner Augie Gurrola. 

The Station resort is only the second new hotel-casino scheduled to open this year in the Las Vegas valley, and both additions are in contrast with the huge hotels that have transformed the Strip in recent years. 

While the newest Strip megaresorts boast thousands of rooms, Green Valley Ranch will have 201 rooms and the off-Strip Palms hotel-casino has 455 rooms. 

The Palms, a small percentage of which also is owned by Stations and the Greenspuns, opened in November across from the Rio hotel-casino. 

Station owns 50 percent of Green Valley Ranch and will manage it; the Greenspun family, owners of the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, owns the other half. 

Station now accounts for about 7 percent of Nevada’s gross gaming revenues, and less than 9 percent of Clark County’s. Once Green Valley Ranch opens, Station expects its Nevada share to rise by less than 1 percent, and its Clark County share to rise by 2 percent. 

The company reported net revenues of $991.7 million for fiscal 2000, and employs 11,000 workers. 

“When we opened Boulder Station in 1994, Wall Street didn’t even blink,” said Glenn Christenson, Station’s chief financial officer. 

In addition to Palace Station, the company owns and operates Boulder Station, Texas Station, Sunset Station and Santa Fe Station as well as the Fiesta, the Reserve and Wild Wild West hotel-casinos and has a 50 percent interest in Barleys Casino and Brewery in Henderson. 

It sold its Missouri riverboat casinos in Kansas City and St. Charles to Ameristar Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas for $475 million earlier this year. 

Station prides itself on being the only Las Vegas casino corporation that didn’t lay off workers following the tourism slowdown after Sept. 11, Christenson said. 

Many of the company’s customers are employed in the gambling industry, however, so the estimated 15,000 layoffs on the Strip had a ripple effect. 

But Christenson remains optimistic. 

“As Strip occupancy and visitor volumes increase, so will rehiring (by Strip casinos),” he said. “Many of those (rehired employees) will be Station customers.” 

Ader said Station Casinos is well positioned for a Las Vegas recovery, which he predicts will come mid-2002. 

“We are still long-term believers in the Station story, especially given the favorable long-term supply/demand dynamics in the market,” Ader wrote. “We would recommend shares of Station for investors with a longer-term investment horizon.” 

——— 

On the Net: http://www.stationcasinos.com/ 

SEATTLE — For most of his adult life, Gary Leon Ridgway walked a tightrope. 

He did all the normal things: held a steady job, got married and had a son. But for almost two decades, police viewed Gary Ridgway as a top suspect in the Green River serial killings. 

And he knew it. 

He was arrested in a 1982 prostitution sting. A year later, he was seen driving off with Marie Malvar, whose remains still have not been found. 

By 1987, 42 women were reported dead or missing, and investigators had questioned Ridgway at least six times. But Ridgway had passed a polygraph test, and even after tailing him and searching his home and his trucks, investigators could find no physical evidence linking him to the crimes. 

And so, at least nominally, Ridgway remained a free man. 

That changed last Friday. New DNA technology succeeded where old DNA tests failed, and authorities arrested the Auburn man, now 52, as he left his job at Kenworth Truck Co. in Renton. 

He was charged with aggravated murder Wednesday in the deaths of Marcia Chapman, Cynthia Hinds, Opal Mills and Carol Christensen — bodies No. 3, 4, 5 and 7 on a tentative list of 49 Green River victims found in western Washington and Oregon from 1982 to 1984. 

And suddenly, the mostly dormant investigation into nation’s worst unsolved serial killings case has new life. Detectives from San Diego, where Ridgway was stationed briefly while in the Navy, to British Columbia are taking another look as scores of unsolved killings of prostitutes, runaways and drug-addicts. 

“I’m hoping we can get to the point where he might be forced to ... sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk with us,” said King County Sheriff Dave Reichert. “That’s our next prayer.” 

Authorities believe there may be a lot to tell, but they say they won’t let him plead guilty in return for assurances his life will be spared. That could reduce the likelihood he would confess to other killings. 

But King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng stands by that decision. Plea-bargaining with the death penalty, he says, might lead to a greater injustice: People convicted of one murder might be put to death simply because they have nothing else to confess to. 

Besides the four women he is charged with killing, Ridgway was seen with other victims shortly before they disappeared. Some prostitutes identified him as a suspect. 

At least two women, a prostitute and an ex-wife, reported he choked them. Some of the Green River victims were strangled; in as many as 35 cases, the cause of death could not be determined because the bodies were decomposed. 

Ridgway voluntarily spoke with investigators. He told them he had an addiction to prostitutes, and said he had relations with or recognized photos of many Green River victims. But that’s as far as he went. 

And so, nothing happened. Police tailed him for a few weeks in October 1986, but saw him do nothing more incriminating than cruise the seedy stretches of Pacific Highway South and Rainier Avenue South, from where many victims vanished. 

They searched his house in 1987, but found no conclusive evidence. Ridgway had replaced the carpets a few months before. 

It was then that authorities made Ridgway chew on a piece of gauze, providing saliva that later linked his DNA to three victims. 

And, as time wore on, money ran out, eventually leaving just one investigator on the case. 

Some criminologists say it’s highly unlikely that, if Ridgway is the Green River Killer, he simply stopped killing. 

“These people could change locations or, if they’re sophisticated enough, even change their M.O. to a point that further homicides might not be connected, but they’re not going to just stop,” said former FBI criminologist Robert K. Ressler. 

That has investigators wondering about dozens of other unsolved murders in western Washington and 48 women who have disappeared since 1983 from Vancouver, a 140-mile drive from Seattle. 

Meanwhile, investigators are looking closer at Ridgway’s habits over the years — beyond the superficial picture of a husband, homeowner and conscientious employee. 

Prostitutes, girlfriends and an ex-wife told detectives he liked to have sex outdoors, sometimes along the banks of the Green River or in other areas where bodies were later found.  

One girlfriend said that on Christmas Eve 1981, a distraught Ridgway told her he had almost killed a woman; their conversation was interrupted, and he never mentioned it again. 

“In many ways the work of this case, which began over 19 years ago, has only just begun,” Maleng said. 

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Supreme Court refused Thursday to reinstate a money-laundering case against Las Vegas golf course developer and professional gambler Billy Walters and three other men. 

The high court rejected arguments by the state attorney general’s office that Clark County District Judge Mark Gibbons erred in tossing out a grand jury indictment in the case last year. It was the third such indictment to be rejected. 

In addition to Walters, the Supreme Court decision favors his security chief Jimmie Hanley, his computer chief Daniel Pray, and John Tognino of New York. 

Justices said the state’s evidence showed that Walters’ business had “considerable contact with an alleged bookmaker in New York,” and he and the other three men frequently transferred large sums in casino accounts. 

“While such circumstantial evidence allows an inference of money-laundering in connection with illegal gambling, the state’s evidence ... is marginal,” the court said. 

The Supreme Court also criticized prosecutors for introducing prejudicial testimony about organized crime activity in New York. 

Justices said prosecutors told grand jurors that the four men were only charged with money-laundering, but “did nothing to curtail the flood of immaterial testimony concerning organized crime families.” 

The unanimous decision upholds the lower court’s ruling that prosecutors erred in letting New York City Police Detective Edward Galanek give grand jurors a rambling tutorial on organized crime operations in that city. 

The judge said there was no allegation that the Walters defendants were associated with organized crime, and it’s possible the testimony inflamed the grand jury that subsequently returned the indictment. 

Richard Wright, attorney for the four men, said prosecutors “totally ignored” Nevada law on grand jury proceedings — laws that provide much better protections for defendants than federal law. 

Prosecutors contended the men were involved in a conspiracy with out-of-state bookmakers to place illegal bets and then transport the winnings back to Nevada. 

The attorney general said that Walters had a Las Vegas phone-room operation that made up to 12,000 calls a month out of state to illegal bookies. Investigators believed Walters had Hanley handle the cash sent back to Nevada on winning bets, and had Pray maintain the betting records.

LAS VEGAS — Fifty years after Frank Sinatra’s debut at the Desert Inn resort, the Chairman of the Board will be honored with his own day. 

Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman announced Thursday that Sinatra’s birthday on Dec. 12 will be “Sinatra Day” in Nevada in recognition of the icon’s influence in shaping Las Vegas’ image. Sinatra would have been 86. 

“If anyone deserves his own day in Las Vegas, it’s Frank Sinatra, who epitomized all the best of Las Vegas style and cool,” Goodman said at a news conference. 

A new slot machine also was introduced by International Game Technology, “Sinatra Slots.” The dollar machine pays a progressive jackpot of up to $500,000 and features sound bites of Sinatra singing some of his hits, including “Fly Me to the Moon” and “My Kind of Town.” 

MGM Grand hotel-casino, one of the places the slot machine will debut, and IGT are sponsoring a free concert Dec. 11 starring Frank Sinatra Jr. 

“Sinatra Day” will be recognized by Las Vegas Strip hotel-casinos, which will display “Happy Birthday Frank” on their marquees, while the Bellagio fountains and the Fremont Street Experience will play musical tributes. 

As part of the tribute, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is releasing a CD that features the never-before-released song, “It’s Time for You.” 

The song was used with permission of the Frank Sinatra Foundation in a series of TV ads launched by the authority after Sept. 11 to promote the city. 

“To do the ’It’s Time for You’ campaign was a big decision. ... Do you move on from those images and start promoting Las Vegas?” said Tina Sinatra, Sinatra’s oldest daughter. 

“I wanted to make him part of this healing process,” she said through tears. “He was a man that when times were tough, went to work.” 

TUCSON, Ariz. — With a landmark court victory in hand, a Southwest environmental group wants to raise $1 million so it can kick cattle off tens of thousands of acres of Arizona and New Mexico. 

On Nov. 21, the Santa Fe-based group Forest Guardians won a case before Arizona’s Supreme Court that upended a decades-old policy of giving ranchers a monopoly on 8.3 million acres of state school trust land. 

The court said people with no intention of raising livestock could still bid on the 10-year grazing leases, which cover about 10 percent of the state. 

An Arizona Daily Star review of State Land Department records has found that 497 grazing leases in Pima County covering 205,068 acres will expire in 2002. 

Environmentalists say the decision will let them rest land that has been overgrazed to resemble “moonscapes” and end a subsidy for “cowboy socialists” that shortchanges the state’s public school system. 

But the ruling outraged many local ranchers. They fear it could kill their businesses and promote housing development on ranches that have hosted livestock since Arizona’s territorial days and grazing by other animals for eons longer. 

For the King family, the ruling means land they’ve ranched for four generations, since 1895, is up for grabs. 

In Altar Valley, 35 miles southwest of Tucson, the Kings run cattle on about 50,000 acres, most of it school trust land. 

“I don’t believe I’ve abused this land, be it state land or our own private land. We care for it just the same,” Pat King said. “We’ve done lots of conservation work and we’re very proud of it.” 

Jim Chilton, another Altar Valley rancher, said opening up grazing leases to the free market could create confusion and “pit neighbor against neighbor” since state lands are often interspersed with private property in a checkerboard pattern. 

Of the 1.6 million acres of grazed land in Pima County, 51 percent is state trust, 27 percent is federal and 12 percent is private property, according to county figures. 

Many ranchers say the new rules are akin to turning owner-occupied homes into rental units with high turnover — the short-term tenants won’t be good stewards of the land. 

But grazing opponents counter that cattle pollute water sources, introduce exotic species and destroy habitat for endangered wildlife. Forest Guardians’ Web site calls livestock grazing “by far the single most destructive activity on Southwestern public lands.” 

Ranchers respond that well-managed grazing actually improves range conditions. 

“These plants have evolved over the last 100,000 or 200,000 years with grazing,” Chilton said. “We have all kinds of evidence that horses, camel, bison, mammoth and other grazing animals have been on the land for eons.” 

For decades, ranchers have had a lock on the grazing leases, paying an average of 25 cents per acre annually, according to State Land Department officials. 

But in recent years, environmental groups tried bidding on those leases, sometimes offering five times as much money as ranchers did. Until last month’s Supreme Court decision, those bids were rejected out of hand. 

Although the State Land Department still has some leeway in determining who is the “best” bidder, environmentalists say it will now have to prove why livestock is better for the land than a period of nongrazing. 

John Horning, conservation director for Forest Guardians, said his group is creating a list of targets by overlaying biological diversity data on top of maps that show which grazing leases are expiring. 

“We’re looking at the 10 to 15 sites that are the ecological crown jewels of state trust lands,” said Horning. 

In the arid Southwest, that usually means areas with water. 

If Forest Guardians raises $1 million, it could control 50,000 to 100,000 acres in Arizona and New Mexico, Horning said.

JUNEAU, Alaska — A Juneau man who was mauled by a grizzly bear Wednesday was reported in satisfactory condition after surgery at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. 

Kenneth Horton, 52, was deer hunting on Admiralty Island, about 15 miles northwest of Juneau, when the attack occurred. Alaska State Troopers say Horton told them the entire incident lasted about three seconds. 

“He was walking along and was suddenly within 10 feet of a sow and a cub.  

They made eye contact and she was on him — boom — like that. One bite to the head, one bite to the shoulder and she was gone,” trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson said. 

The bear left deep lacerations and broke bones on the left side of Horton’s face, Wilkinson said. 

Coast Guard officials said they received a cell phone call from Horton at about 1:40 p.m. Horton told them he had been attacked by a bear and was suffering from severe head, face and shoulder wounds. 

The Coast Guard and troopers dispatched boats to the area, but before they arrived, Horton was rescued by a flightseeing helicopter operated by Coastal Helicopters. The helicopter was passing overhead just after the incident occurred, Wilkinson said. 

Horton was treated at Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, then flown to Seattle. 

“He’s an extremely lucky individual to have received help as fast as he did. He was hurt pretty bad,” Wilkinson said. 

SAN JOSE — Computer server maker Sun Microsystems Inc. said Thursday it is on track to meet sales targets this quarter but stopped short of giving specific guidance to Wall Street. 

Executives at the Palo Alto-based company said they still expect Sun to return to profitability in the quarter that ends in June. Orders in this second fiscal quarter, which ends Dec. 31, have been within forecasts, chief financial officer Mike Lehman said. 

“We feel in good shape to go hit our internal expectations,” Lehman said. 

Analysts are expecting Sun to lose 4 cents per share this quarter, excluding one-time events, on $3.1 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Financial/First Call. Sun amassed $5.1 billion in revenue in the comparable quarter last year. 

Sun’s comments figured to be examined closely because investors have been looking for any signs that the worst of the recent downturn could be over for the technology industry. 

Sun shares fell 42 cents, nearly 3 percent, to $14.15 on the Nasdaq Stock Market before the quarterly outlook was released. The stock was down to $14.11 in after-hours trading. 

Sun’s president and chief operating officer, Ed Zander, acknowledged demand is lower than it could be because of “gray market” equipment being sold off by defunct technology companies. 

But he said Sun is benefiting somewhat from the uncertainty surrounding the planned merger of rivals Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp. 

“Our company is lot stronger than it was in December 2000,” Zander said. “I couldn’t ask for a better lineup in products.”

SAN JOSE — In another sign the semiconductor industry may be recovering, Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices said Thursday their fourth-quarter revenues are expected to exceed earlier forecasts. 

Santa Clara-based Intel said revenue for the three months ending Dec. 29 will be between $6.7 billion and $6.9 billion, compared with the previous range of between $6.2 billion and $6.8 billion. 

Sunnyvale-based AMD also said sales would be up 10 percent or better compared with the third-quarter’s $765.9 million. The company earlier said it expected flat to single-digit growth. 

Both companies cited strength in microprocessors, the brains of all power computers. No per-share earnings estimates were released. 

In the third quarter, Intel reported revenue of $6.5 billion, down 25 percent from $8.7 billion in the same period a year ago. AMD’s revenue fell nearly 37 percent from a year ago. 

Intel earned $106 million, or 2 cents a share, in the third quarter, compared with $2.51 billion, or 41 cents a share, in the same time last year. Analysts are expecting profits of 10 cents a share in the fourth quarter, according to a survey by Thomson Financial/First Call. 

AMD, on the other hand, lost $186.9 million in the third quarter, or 54 cents a share, compared with a profit of $408.6 million, or $1.18 per share in the same period a year ago. For the current quarter, analysts expect a profit of 5 cents a share. 

Both companies have been fierce rivals and engaged in a price war over the summer to bolster market share. 

Intel also has accelerated the launch of its flagship Pentium 4 and the phasing out of the Pentium III on desktops, while AMD during the quarter rolled out the Athlon XP processors. 

AMD’s new processor does not run as fast as the Pentium but it costs less and in some cases offers better performance. In its statement, AMD said it expects to break its unit-sales record. 

“We think they’re seeing very good sales because of the price-performance advantage,” said Eric Rothdeutch, an analyst at Robertson Stephens. 

Rothdeutsch added he does not believe the stronger sales translate into strength for the personal computer market overall. 

“We are still expecting worldwide PC sales to be down 8 percent year to year,” he said. 

During earlier conference calls, the companies said uncertainty following the Sept. 11 attacks would mute any seasonal bump in sales. It now appears the industry was not as hard hit as had been expected. 

Shares of Intel fell 45 cents to $34.16 in Thursday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. In after hours trading, they gained 74 cents. 

AMD shares closed up a penny to $16.25 on the New York Stock Exchange and gained another $1.25 in after-hours trading.

SAN FRANCISCO — Once-hip retailer Gap Inc. remained an unfashionable place to shop in November, with comparable store sales plunging 25 percent from the same time last year — the steepest drop yet during the clothier’s 19-month slide. 

The miserable start to the holiday shopping season prompted Gap to warn that its fourth-quarter loss will be “considerably worse” than its third-quarter loss of $48 million, or 6 cents per share, excluding tax charges. 

Wall Street had expected Gap to earn 8 cents per share in its final fiscal quarter, based on the consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call. 

The Gap’s deepening troubles could be good news for consumers, though. 

The Gap will slash prices to clear its shelves of unsold merchandise during the next two months, management said in a conference call Thursday. The biggest sales will probably occur at the company’s Old Navy chain, where comparable store sales during November fell by more than 30 percent. 

Though the Gap’s fortunes have been fading since its comparable store sales began falling in May 2000, Thursday’s news stunned some analysts. 

“These number mean the Gap has become a market share donor to other stores in the mall,” analyst Richard Jaffe of UBS Warburg. “I have never seen anything this bad in the 10 years that I have been following retailing.” 

Investors reacted surprisingly well to Gap’s continued sales losses. The company’s shares surged 62 cents to close at $14.20 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. This year, the stock is down by 44 percent. 

Thursday’s stock market gains reflect a belief that Gap’s management will correct its mistakes of the past two years and replenish stores with clothes that have more mass market appeal, analysts said. 

The turnaround will likely require the Gap to close stores during the next year and shrink the size of other locations, particularly at Old Navy, said analyst Jennifer Black of Wells Fargo Van Kaspar. 

“We believe the company has begun to do a lot of soul searching and may finally be ready to take this big step,” Black wrote in a note to clients Thursday. 

To lower its expenses, earlier this year the San Francisco-based company fired hundreds of administrative workers, marking the first layoffs in its history. 

The Gap’s troubles began when management strayed from its traditional selection of stylish, casual clothes and emphasized edgier clothes with teen appeal. Besides alienating many of the Gap’s older customers, the change made the company more susceptible to fickle fashion tastes. 

Because the Gap makes most of its clothes offshore, the company usually can’t change its fashion mix for at least six months, while smaller specialty merchants such as Wet Seal can shift gears in less than two months, said analyst Elizabeth Pierce of Wedbush Morgan Securities. 

Despite the Gap’s troubles, analysts believe the retailer can recapture the magic that once made it a trendsetter and made its stock a Wall Street darling during the last half of the 1990s. 

“There is still tremendous equity in the Gap brand,” Pierce said. “Consumers are still coming into the stores to look. They just need to get back to the essence of Gap.”

LOS ANGELES — Driven by low mortgage rates, the number of California households able to afford their own home grew to 34 percent in October, according to an industry study released Thursday. 

The 3 percent increase from the same period a year ago represents the biggest jump in more than a year in the Housing Affordability Index, released monthly by the California Association of Realtors. 

Even though more than one-third of California households can now afford to own a home, that’s still far below the national average of 59 percent. 

The biggest factor in the affordability increase has been the Federal Reserve’s ongoing interest rate cuts, which have pushed down mortgage rates. 

“Mortgage interest rates fell more than one percentage point in October compared to a year ago, which has helped offset an 8.5 percent increase in the median price of a single-family home in California,” Robert Bailey, president of CAR, said in a statement. 

The results from CAR reflect a wide range of California home prices region to region. 

San Francisco remained the most expense county in the state, where a family needed a minimum income of $130,375 in October to afford the median priced home of $515,060. Just 16 percent of households could afford to buy a house, although that number represents an improvement over last year, when only 11 percent of the population could buy. 

The most affordable area in the state in October was Kern County, where 62 percent of households could afford their own home. The median home price was $105,789. 

The greatest year-to-year regional improvement in October was in Santa Clara County, the heart of Silicon Valley, where affordability climbed 12 percentage points to 30 percent, as the median home price fell to $481,000 amid the tech downturn from $527,220 a year earlier.

NEW YORK — Hearst Corp. chief executive and president Frank A. Bennack Jr. will retire at the end of next May. Chief operating officer Victor F. Ganzi, 54, was tapped to replace him. 

Bennack, 68, has been with Hearst for more than 40 years, serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the corporation, and vice president and general manager of the Hearst Newspaper Group, before taking over as chief executive in January 1979. 

The company announced the change Wednesday. 

Bennack said he was confident he had picked a successor who “will take the company to greater heights.” 

“While deciding on a personal change of this magnitude leaves me with decidedly mixed emotions after 23 years as a chief executive, I could not be more enthusiastic about the future prospects for the company under Vic Ganzi’s leadership,” Bennack said. 

Since Bennack took over, Hearst has increased revenues sevenfold, acquiring 10 newspapers — including the Houston Chronicle and the San Francisco Chronicle — two trade publishing companies and five television stations, among other properties. Bennack was also instrumental in launching Hearst-Argyle Television Inc., one of the nation’s largest non-network owned television station groups of which Hearst is a majority shareholder. 

Bennack will remain active with the company, assuming the positions of chairman of the executive committee and vice chairman of the company’s board of directors. 

Bennack, a native of San Antonio, serves a director on the board of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., American Home Products Corp. and Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. 

Ganzi joined Hearst in 1990 as general counsel and vice president and has also served as chief financial and legal officer. Prior to Hearst, Ganzi was the managing partner at Rogers & Wells — now Clifford Chance Rogers & Wells — one of the world’s largest law firms. 

The privately held Hearst, which employs about 20,000 people in 100 countries, owns 12 daily newspapers and also has interests in television, cable and radio.  

Its large magazine division publishes titles such as Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.hearst.com 

HARRISBURG, Pa. — About 800 former customers of an electricity supplier that served Pennsylvanians over the Internet before going out of business will receive refunds, the state’s consumer advocate said Thursday. 

The company, Utility.com, will refund approximately $50,000 to the former customers, said Irwin Popowsky, the consumer advocate. 

Other refunds totaling about $70,000 were sent to nearly 1,000 former customers in May. 

The Emeryville, Calif.-based company was licensed to provide electric generation services in Pennsylvania, but informed its 30,000 customers in the state that it was going out of business in March. 

Popowsky filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission seeking the refunds, noting that many former customers had overpaid for services. 

Customers qualifying for refunds include those who had signed up for “budget billing” programs with the online supplier, and had equal amounts of money deducted directly from bank accounts or credit cards each month. 

Utility.com customers were notified by e-mail that the company would no longer provide service, in part because of rising costs for wholesale electricity. 

Pennsylvania customers located in the PPL Corp., GPU Energy, Duquesne Light Co. and Allegheny Power service territories were automatically returned to their local utility, unless they selected another power company under the state’s electric choice program. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate: http://www.oca.state.pa.us 

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Biotechnology company Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. is acquiring South San Francisco, Calif.-based COR Therapeutics Inc. for $2 billion in stock, the company announced Thursday. 

Millennium’s takeover of COR Therapeutics, which specializes in cardiovascular drugs, is the company’s fourth in five years. The deal gives Millennium the heart drug Integrilin, the leading anti-platelet drug, which prevents platelets from blocking arteries. 

The Cambridge-based Millennium said it will pay $35 a share for COR, a 77 percent premium of the stock’s closing price Wednesday. 

COR shares jumped $9.85, or 49 percent, to $29.39 in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market Thursday. Millennium shares were down $4.67, or 13 percent, at $30.78. 

The acquisition of COR, which has about 320 employees, creates a 1,800- employee company with a research and development staff of 1,200. 

Millennium chief executive officer Mark Levin said size is important in the biopharmaceutical industry, where it costs about $800 million to bring a drug to market, according to recent studies. 

“It’s not big to be big,” Levin said. “It’s big to be better.” 

Millennium’s specialty is genomics, which involves the use of genes and proteins in drug development. Its focus is drugs for cancer, obesity and inflammation. 

“We’ve been looking at each other across the ballroom and we finally started to dance, and then got married,” said COR CEO Vaughn Kailian. 

Kailian said Millennium’s genomics research, specialized medicine and oncology drugs would complement COR’s activities. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.mlnm.com/ 

http://www.corr.com/ 

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The teen-ager accused of plotting a Columbine-style massacre at his school returned to his mother’s home Thursday, prompting a student protest and concern among his neighbors. 

About 75 students walked out of New Bedford High School in anger after a judge allowed 17-year-old Eric McKeehan to go home while awaiting trial. He must wear an electronic monitoring device. 

“It seems a little mind-boggling,” said John Socorro, 57, a neighbor. “I feel unsafe around a young crazy kid like that.” 

Headmaster Joseph Oliver said the students who left school would be disciplined, though he planned to meet with them to discuss their concerns. McKeehan has been ordered to have no contact with witnesses in the case, and to stay away from the high school. 

Police have charged four other teen-agers with plotting to shoot students and faculty at the school. 

McKeehan has pleaded innocent to conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of ammunition. His attorney says the teens never seriously considered putting the plot into action. 

SHAFTER — Seven people were killed when a minivan collided with an Amtrak train on Wednesday near Bakersfield, authorities said. 

Two people were ejected from the minivan and five others were found dead inside the vehicle, which was pushed about a half-mile down the tracks, said Officer Greg Williams, a California Highway Patrol spokesman. 

The victims’ names were not immediately released. 

Amtrak 714 en route from Oakland to Bakersfield collided with the Ford Aerostar around 4 p.m., said Vernae Graham, an Amtrak spokeswoman. 

The collision, which took place on a section of railroad with only one set of tracks, delayed two other Amtrak trains. They were being held Wednesday night at a site near the crash while authorities investigated the crash. 

Officials said they hoped to have the rail line reopened by Thursday morning. 

The cause of the collision was under investigation, but authorities said the warning lights and bells were working at the crossing. 

“We don’t know if the driver tried to beat the train or flat didn’t see it,” Williams said. 

None of the 70 passengers and crew members on the train were injured. 

The train was traveling about 79 mph at the time of the collision near Highway 43 in Shafter, a small town about 16 miles northwest of Bakersfield. 

The passengers remained on the train immediately after the crash and were later taken by bus to Bakersfield. 

A woman thwarted an armed, would-be robber simply by walking away from him Monday evening, according to Lt. Cynthia Harris of the Berkeley Police Department. 

The victim said she was walking home around 10:30 p.m. She was approached by a man near the corner of Fifth and Addison streets. The man pointed a handgun at the woman and said: “I need more money.” The woman said she had no money and kept walking. The man did not follow her. 

The victim later said the suspect appeared to be intoxicated. 

The suspect is described as an olive-skinned male, possibly of Latino or East Indian descent. He is around 5 feet, 9 inches tall and of heavy build. He was wearing a gray, hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. 

The California Attorney General’s Office recommends victims of robberies to always comply with a criminal’s demands. 

Another attempted robbery occurred early Saturday morning, according to Harris. 

Shortly after midnight, a man walked into the Valero gas station at 1894 University Ave. The man pointed a large-caliber handgun at the clerk and told him to hand over all the money in the cash register. 

The clerk told the suspect that he did not have the key to the register, whereupon the suspect fled the scene. 

The suspect is described as an African-American male between 25 and 30 years old, standing 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall and of stocky build. He was wearing a dark jacket, dark pants and a dark beanie cap.

SAN FRANCISCO — Several weeks after the November election, the Coast Guard fished eight ballot-box lids out of San Francisco Bay and 240 uncounted ballots were found stuck in voting machines — the latest embarrassments in the city’s sorry electoral history. 

San Francisco has had persistent vote-counting problems and has gone through five election directors in the past six years. And the most recent foul-ups have left politicians and citizens angry and demanding reform. 

“This election department and the people in charge of it are making San Francisco the biggest laughingstock this side of Florida,” said Aaron Peskin, a member of the city Board of Supervisors. “Heads should roll!” 

City officials hope to avoid more trouble in Tuesday’s runoff for city attorney — a relatively simple vote to count, since there are only two candidates. Still, state fraud investigators will be watching closely. 

But longer-term change may be on the way: In a little-noticed measure on November’s ballot, voters overwhelmingly approved creation of a seven-member commission to run the elections department and to hire a director. 

The most controversial question voters faced on Nov. 6 was a measure to seize Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s power lines and provide power directly to the public. It led on Election Day, but lost after all the absentee ballots were counted five days after the polls closed. 

Three weeks later — a few days after the lids were found floating in the bay — PG&E’s lead narrowed again, to just 515 votes, after the uncounted ballots were discovered stuck in machines. 

Elections Director Tammy Haygood finally certified the election last week — the day after 400 blank ballots were discovered at a former poll worker’s house in yet another embarrassing episode. 

Confidence in the results had not been high from the start. On Election Night, some 5,500 absentee ballots were secretly moved to a loosely guarded room in an auditorium. Haygood said she had them moved because of anthrax fears. 

It was the absentee ballots that ultimately swung the vote in the favor of PG&E, whose parent company spent more than $1 million against the public power initiative. 

An investigation by Secretary of State Bill Jones found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the moving of the absentee ballots. Still, city supervisors continue to question the string of events. 

“It’s destroying voter confidence. I don’t know if it can destroy it anymore,” said Supervisor Tony Hall, who went through a runoff and three recounts before winning his seat last year. “It’s the machine. The political machine that’s been running this town for years.” 

In 1995, thousands of people received the wrong absentee ballots and may have voted incorrectly. In other elections, vote-counters had to dry wet ballots in a microwave, and the city was sued for not printing candidates’ names on the ballots in Chinese. 

Haygood, who was hired despite having no previous election experience, said that the floating lids blew off a city pier in a stiff wind and that no ballots went with them. Haygood also said there was no tampering with the absentee ballots she moved on Election Night, but critics say they cannot be sure. 

“There were no guards, only a private rent-a-guard at the door,” said Richard Shadoian, a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Elections. “We were not allowed to stay as long as we wanted to. We were told that, ‘Willie ordered it moved’ and we were rushed out of there.” 

Haygood has denied any conspiracy and said Mayor Willie Brown wasn’t told of her plans to move the ballots. 

Brown has sought to distance himself from the controversy, saying: “I’m not in charge of the election. I’m not sure there’s a lack of voter confidence as much as a lack of confidence in the press.” 

But last year he did reappoint City Administrator Bill Lee, who oversees the elections department and has hired the past five elections directors. Lee has been unapologetic in his few public comments since the election. He is considered an unmovable force because of his strong ties to the city’s politically powerful Chinese-American community. 

The move to create a seven-member commission on elections could cut short the tenure of Haygood, who said she had no idea people would pay so much attention to the elections. 

“If the day I was appointed I would have known the scrutiny the department was under,” she said, ” I would have done things differently.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

San Francisco Department of Elections: http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/election 

SAN JOSE – For years, anonymous e-mail has been a choice tool for whistle-blowers, human rights activists and undercover sources looking to protect themselves while imparting vital information. 

Anonymous online communication could just as easily be used by terrorists to plot attacks or send threats. 

Yet little has changed since Sept. 11 for users and operators of Internet-based anonymous e-mail servers, which launder messages by deleting identifying information, rendering them virtually untraceable. 

Now there are indications the servers have increased in number. 

While no evidence has been released linking such services to any criminal or terrorist conspiracy, experts fear governments could crack down on anonymous remailers — or at least subject them to greater scrutiny. 

Law enforcement generally despises technology that leaves such cold trails, said Mark Rasch, former head of the Department of Justice’s computer crimes unit and current vice president of cyberlaw at Predictive Systems. 

So far, U.S. and European authorities battling terrorism and cybercrime have apparently focused their surveillance elsewhere. The FBI declined to comment on what strategy, if any, it has for dealing with remailers. 

“There’s a lot more concern about border security and banking records,” said Mike Godwin, a policy fellow at the Center for Democracy and Technology. 

That’s just fine with the people who operate remailers. They don’t do it for money, but rather share a common ideal of protecting online privacy. 

Len Sassaman, an e-mail security consultant who runs a remailer as a hobby, thinks any attempts to crack down would lead to more cropping up around the world. 

In fact, the number of remailers overall doubled to about 50 after the passage of security laws as media reports raised awareness of threats to privacy, he said. 

“More people are interested in taking steps to protect that,” said Sassaman, who once had his e-mail published online after someone hacked into his Internet service provider. 

Some degree of e-mail anonymity can be achieved using a Microsoft Hotmail or Yahoo Mail account with a pseudonym. Encryption hides a message’s contents but not it’s origin or destination. 

That’s why people seeking nearly airtight anonymity like to send encrypted messages via remailers. 

Anonymous remailers today tend to work in teams, with a single message automatically passing through several. That reflects lessons learned in the case of Julf Hensingius. 

In 1993, the Finn developed an anonymous e-mail system that stripped off the identification of an e-mail’s sender before forwarding it to the addressee. 

Anon.penet.fi was especially popular among devotees of Usenet newsgroups, text-based bulletin boards that preceded the World Wide Web. 

A major flaw was revealed in 1995, however, when the Church of Scientology learned of a user who used Anon.penet.fi to post internal church documents — and contacted police. 

Because the single remailer relied on a database to match the sender’s Internet address with the message, the courts simply ordered Hensingius to reveal the identity of the sender. He shut down the service in 1996. 

“That prompted a bunch of programmers to rethink how they wanted to do remailers,” said Sassaman. 

Now, messages are bounced from machine to machine. In order to find the original sender, authorities would have to work through an entire chain of remailers, many likely located in different countries. 

But the development did not stop there. 

Programmer Lance Cottrell created the Mixmaster system to further confuse the trail by programming random delays from machine to machine. That makes it impossible to watch the system in order to identify a sender by monitoring when messages arrive and leave. 

Moreover, messages are encrypted multiple times, each wrapped inside the other like a matryoshka, or nested Russian doll. The whole message is then broken into packets of equal size. Logs are not kept. 

It leaves virtually no trail to follow for authorities. 

“Normally, they’re going to subpoena the last remailer in the chain. That’s the only one they can see,” said Cottrell, now chief executive of Anonymizer.com. “There’s just no path to work backward to the original sender.” 

Such complexity does not come easy. Software, downloaded for free, must be used by both the receiver and the sender so the messages are encrypted before being sent. 

And if one computer in the chain goes down, messages just disappear. 

Attempts to commercialize remailer technology have not been successful. In October, the easiest to use, Zero-Knowledge Systems’ Freedom Network, was shut down, due to lack of demand. 

Law enforcers have at least one way of unmasking users of anonymous remailers, said Richard Smith, formerly chief technology officer at the Privacy Foundation. 

Authorities could ask an Internet provider to list users who have sent data to an anonymous remailer. Then, using the FBI’s “Magic Lantern” or other intrusive eavesdropping programs, officials could secretly record a user’s every keystroke. 

“As they’re typing in their secret messages, they get reported before they get encrypted,” Smith said. “That’s the weakness of any encryption system — when the message is being typed or being read.”

SAN DIEGO — An executive with an investment fund accused of bilking investors has agreed to forfeit nearly $47 million in cash and assets in an agreement with regulators. 

James L. Hillman reached the tentative agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of civil proceedings against PinnFund USA, officials said Thursday. 

“Basically, we get everything except some very limited stuff,” said Charles La Bella, a former federal prosecutor appointed by the court to recover PinnFund assets. “It’s a very good deal for us. The bottom line is it provides money more quickly for investors.” 

The settlement, which still must be approved by SEC officials in Washington D.C. and a federal judge in San Diego, is the largest to date against Pinnfund, the Carlsbad-based company accused of bilking 160 investors out of $330 million, according to the SEC. 

Hillman, who was president of the fund and its second-highest ranking executive, is cooperating with a separate criminal investigation into PinnFund and its chief executive officer, Michael Fanghella, said Hillman’s lawyer, Pamela Naughton. 

Hillman agreed to turn over $15 million to $17 million in cash and to liquidate private investments valued at $8 million to $10 million. He will also turn over as much as $20 million in federal tax refunds he is seeking for taxes paid on commissions from PinnFund. 

In exchange, he will retain his home in Oakland, his retirement account, a 1993 Ford Explorer and a 1996 Volvo sedan. 

PinnFund allegedly promised investors 17 percent returns from investments it said would be used to fund mortgage loans for borrowers with poor credit. The SEC claims the money was never loaned, but used to fund Fanghella’s lavish lifestyle, which included the purchase of a $1 million yacht, luxury cars, and expensive gifts for his ex-girlfriend, a former porn star. 

Union proposes to transform the old Hall of Justice into temporary shelter

---

Kalief Lahutt, generally a resident of People’s Park, was walking through a storm a couple of weeks ago looking for a place to sleep when he passed the old, empty Hall of Justice building.  

Perfect for a homeless shelter, safer than the streets, he thought.  

“Where’s the key?” 

The coordinating director of the Berkeley Homeless Union, a loose organization of homeless people living in the city, Lahutt presented a proposal to the City Council last week to transform the building – to be demolished next summer – into a shelter where 100 people could lay down their sleeping bags at night during the chilly winter months, December through April.  

The council was impressed enough to ask its staff to write a feasibility study for the council to review on Dec. 11.  

According to Councilmember Kriss Worthington, the council could find the funding. But a key question must be answered first: Is it legal? 

“The biggest upside is that there would be lots of extra space to get people in from the cold, which is a high priority in the wintertime,” Worthington said. “But before we spend time moving money around, we need to make sure it’s legal.” 

Worthington said the city attorney is currently considering zoning issues for the shelter. The city attorney’s office declined to comment. 

Others, however, said problems with the building’s physical condition will keep the project from working out.  

Stephen Barton, director of the housing department, said his “current tentative view of the matter” is that the jail cannot safely become a shelter. He said during the last year – since the opening of the new Public Safety Building – the city left the building vacant and stopped maintaining it.  

“It would take a significant amount of time and money to get into good shape. And it would require a tremendous amount of staff,” Barton said.  

A jail, he said, is simply not set up to be a homeless shelter.  

“A jail can only meet fire and building code safety standards because it’s fully staffed all the time,” Barton said.  

He said large, open rooms work much better as shelter space than jail cells, which each hold a dozen people in separate units. Barton said the city currently provides about 25 percent of all shelter beds available in Alameda County. And instead of the city adding more space, he said he would like to see other nearby towns offer temporary shelter. 

Lahutt said the shelter will work fine without much money. His proposal calls for a full-time staff of three to be supplemented by volunteers. 

Lahutt said he thinks the staff will work unpaid. Though his proposal asks for a payroll of about $30,000, “if there’s no money available, the Berkeley Homeless Union will do it for free,” he said. 

The union wants the operation to be run by homeless people and to acquire donated food: dinners from Food Not Bombs and breakfasts from The Dorothy Day Center, Lahutt said. 

The shelter could not last any longer than through April because the city plans to demolish the building this summer and create a parking lot for city employees in its place.  

Worthington said this makes the project more attractive.  

“If you were proposing to open something permanent, people in the area would probably protest, but if it’s temporary, fewer people would be likely to protest.”

FREEHOLD, N.J. — History teacher Barbara Guenther hasn’t missed a day of class in 37 years. Now, she is spending her days in a 9-by-9 jail cell, locked up along with scores of other striking teachers in a bitter lesson in civil disobedience. 

Among them is Arline Corbett, 57, a veteran teacher who jokingly says she is so law-abiding she still has the “do not remove under penalty of law” tags on her old mattresses. 

Then there is physical education teacher Steve Antonucci, who was the toast of the town last weekend after coaching the Middletown Township High School South Tigers to a state football championship. 

Two days later, he was in jail, eating bologna sandwiches and standing for twice-a-day head counts with alleged killers, carjackers and petty crooks. 

“This is the reward I get,” the 30-year-old coach told a judge before being led away in handcuffs like all the others. 

By the end of the day Thursday, 228 striking teachers in well-to-do Middletown Township had been jailed this week for violating a back-to-work order. They are the first New Jersey teachers to be locked up in 23 years, and some 500 more could follow. 

It is the biggest mass jailing of striking teachers since 1978, when 265 were locked up for 18 days in Bridgeport, Conn., according to National Education Association spokeswoman Darryl Figueroa. 

It is so busy at the courthouse that hearings have been assigned to three judges. 

The teachers, who make an average of $56,000 annually, are fighting a move to increase their health care premiums by up to $600 per person, per year. Currently, they pay $250. 

None of the district’s 10,500 students has been in class since Nov. 28 and the two sides remain far apart. The Board of Education received a death threat this week in a message left by a caller. 

“It’s become a war,” Schools Superintendent Jack DeTalvo said. 

The teachers have been called before judges in alphabetical order — how else? — starting with the As on Monday, the Bs on Tuesday and moving into the Os, Ps, Qs and Rs by Thursday. 

Many have made impassioned, Patrick Henry-like speeches about willingness to suffer the consequences of their defiance, their love of the job, and their contempt for Board of Education leaders. 

“I try to teach my students this country is fair and just,” Guenther, 57, told Superior Court Judge Ira Kreizman this week, her voice breaking. “In this process, the law is not fair and just. Sometimes, good people have to stand up to fight an unjust law, and that’s what I’m doing.” 

Judge Clarkson Fisher Jr., who imposed the back-to-work order, said he decided on the one-week jail terms because he was concerned fines would not get teachers back to work. 

“You are holding the keys to the jail,” Fisher told one group of strikers. “Any time you want to come out, let me know and you are out.” 

Eight of those who were jailed were released on Thursday after pleading hardship and agreeing to return to work. 

At least three teachers Thursday resigned or retired rather than be sent to jail. High school literature teacher Jennifer Laughlin announced to the judge that she was resigning after five years. 

“I’m totally disheartened by the treatment by the board of education and the lack of support for teachers in our community,” Laughlin said after she left the courtroom. 

Dozens of others have avoided jail altogether by citing family responsibilities or medical problems — high blood pressure, single parenthood, an elderly parent in need of care. Fisher has been lenient but not always patient. 

Special education teacher Kate Cosgrove told Fisher in a long monologue how she bought classroom equipment with her own money, and never complained or filed a worker’s compensation claim. She was excused after telling the judge she had two young children to care for. 

As she walked out of the courtroom, Fisher said: “It’s a good thing there wasn’t a back door at the Alamo.” 

Others have gone proudly, holding handcuffed wrists up in the air as they were escorted to sheriff’s department vans for the half-mile trip to the jail. 

Middletown Township, a bedroom community of 66,000 people about 45 miles from New York City, was one of New Jersey’s hardest-hit towns in the World Trade Center attacks. Three dozen Middletown residents were among the victims Sept. 11. 

Add in the worsening economy and fallout from layoffs at nearby Lucent Technologies, and there appears to be little sympathy for what some residents consider money-hungry teachers. 

“With everything that is going on in this world due to the tragic attacks of Sept. 11, can’t anybody sit down and be thankful for what they have?” one resident wrote in an e-mail to the Board of Education.