Berkeley is considering suing the company responsible for the groundwater contamination that has delayed the opening of the Harrison Skateboard Park and has cost the city more than $250,000 to clean up. 

“We are seriously looking into the matter, but have not decided what action to take,” said City Attorney Michael Woo. 

Construction was halted in November 2000, when groundwater tested at the site was found to contain the carcinogen chromium 6, an odorless chemical used to make paint pigments. 

Western Roto Engravers Color Tech, two blocks from the park on Sixth Street, admits that created the contamination. But the company says that better communication between city officials and the original contractor, Morris Construction, could have prevented the contamination from affecting the skateboard park.  

Bill Mackay, general manager of Western Roto, said the city knew chromium 6 was in the groundwater. The city should have told Morris Construction so that during construction the company could have kept chromium 6 from spreading to the park, he said.  

“It was pretty dumb to be digging there,” Mackay said. 

City officials disagreed. 

An earlier environmental study of the neighborhood around Fifth and Harrison streets showed chromium 6 in groundwater near the park but not under it, said Hazardous Materials Supervisor Nabil Al-Hadithy. So, they went ahead with construction of the park, Al-Hadithy said.  

When contractors hit groundwater, they had to pump the water to continue digging. The pumping acted as a suction, and pulled nearby contaminated water toward the skateboard park. 

Local water officials, too, blamed the city for the skate park contamination. 

Will Bruhns, senior engineer at the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board, said the city failed to petition the water board for the permit that is required to pump groundwater, and it did not seek the board’s advice before pumping. 

“It seems there was miscommunication within the city in which city officials overseeing the chromium 6 cleanup didn’t tell park officials about the contamination,” he said. 

Had the water board been notified of the pumping, Bruhns said, they could have suggested ways to prevent contamination. 

Because skate parks are built like deep bowls, city officials originally wanted the park built below groundwater level so that police passing by could see what was happening at the park. However, after the contamination was found, the city redesigned the park to stand higher, above the groundwater. 

According to a city parks department report, the city spent about $265,000 to clean up the chromium 6. The city first used tanks to haul away the contaminated water. Then it used filters. 

Because of the contamination, the skate park’s cost went up about $280,000. It was first budgeted at $380,000 but will cost $660,000 upon completion. The park is slated to open next month. 

City attorneys would not comment further about the potential suit. 

Contact reporter at  

matt@berkeleydailyplanet.net

To the Editors: 

Does the city of Berkeley have a pedestrian safety problem? 

There seems to be some confusion about what our recent report “Pedestrian Safety in California” (co-released with the Surface Transportation Policy Project [STPP] on Aug. 13) means for the city of Berkeley. 

To be clear about the facts: The city of Berkeley has the second highest pedestrian incident rate (106 injuries/104,600 population) of any city in California. 

Berkeley also has the highest rate of people walking in the state of California. In fact, according to the census, about 14 percent of Berkeley residents walk to work. This blows away San Francisco's 9 percent. 

What these two figures add up to in our report is a positive assessment of Berkeley's pedestrian environment relative to other cities in car-centric California. 

On the other hand, if you think that Berkeley has “fixed” the pedestrian problem just because it is a step ahead of sprawling cities like Vallejo and Los Angeles – think again. 

What the 14 member groups of California Walks! know is that the benefits of a “walkable community” extend far beyond a reduction in injuries. Children, seniors, people with disabilities, and businesses all benefit from a city that is organized around people walking rather than cars speeding. 

The message from our 14 grassroots member groups across the state to the city of Berkeley is, “You go girl!” Please keep on leading by investing in a livable, walkable city that the rest of the state can continue to look to as a model. 

Zachary Wald 

California Walks!

Photographer Andy Stewart first fell in love with photography at Berkeley High School in the 1960s then went on to further study the art at the UC Berkeley Extension program. This month his work graduates from the cafes of the East Bay to his first major solo show, “Ballroom,” at Scott Nichols Gallery in downtown San Francisco.  

Stewart has been a professional photographer for 10 years. If you’re a denizen of the Berkeley cafe and pub scene, you’ve probably seen his work on the walls of the Lanesplitter, Nabalom Cafe, Berkeley Espresso Cafe, Brewed Awakenings, The Albatross or Au Coquelet.  

This show is in a more formal gallery setting, and the subject matter is nothing if not formal. Stewart made contact with the Gaskell Ballroom Society through friends at the Renaissance Fair, where he has been taking pictures for more than 20 years. “I like to photograph people who are dressed up and having a good time. They’re more open to it,” he says. “I just love all the costumes and the motion. It’s like flying.” 

“Ballroom” comprises 19 black-and-white photographs, the result of seven years’ observation of the bimonthly Gaskell Balls at the Scottish Rites Temple on Lake Merritt. Stewart captures both the warmth and the motion of the dancers, setting his work apart from more traditional, stylized dance photographs.  

“I’m trying to capture a sense of the motion,” says the photographer. “I’m also trying to capture the light that’s there rather and a sense of an ambient atmosphere. You shoot more subtly without a flash. You blend in.” 

To blend in further, Stewart dresses in a tie and tails, as do many of the Gaskell Ball attendees. His equipment also helps him remain unobtrusive. Stewart uses a quiet, small Leica M-6 camera. He says the results are images of the dancers interacting in a more natural way than if they were posing for the camera. 

“People are more open to being themselves, rather than putting on their masks for the camera. The M6 is my favorite camera because it’s quiet and I can hand-hold it to slower shutter speeds. It’s inconspicuous, and has one of the best lenses [for a 35 millimeter camera].” 

The result of his work is scenes frozen in time. “I think the series has a timeless quality,” says Stewart. “I think color might date it more. I like the look of the black and white better, anyway. It leaves more to the imagination, and in so doing, draws people in. It has a little bit more of a nostalgic or romantic feel to it.”  

Heather Snider of the Nichols Gallery goes further, saying Stewart’s show sends a message to a disconnected world. “It shows a faith in human interaction,” she says. “Old and young people are coming together to do this thing in a formalized way. It’s romantic in the sense that it has this sort of love–just the gestures of people holding each other.” 

“There’s a lot of coming together, you feel like there’s a gravitation, people pulling together or moving forward together,” says Snider. “They must do this because it’s nice to touch each other.” 

It’s through these images of humanity’s oldest courting ritual that Stewart captures the need for human contact, which he offsets with constant motion: a shoeless dancer’s foot beneath a flowing formal gown, a young raven-haired couple juxtaposed with a pair of white heads; the touch of a hand on the shoulder or the small of the back; two pairs of eyes radiating warmth at each other, locked together as if no one else in the world can see. Whether taken yesterday or 100 years ago, Andrew Stewart’s images speak to the desire to reach out and touch–and to dance.

Friday, August 16 

Champion, Stay Gold, Terror & Circle Takes the Square 

8 p.m. 

924 Gillman St. 

525-9926 

$5 

Extreme Elvis & Sons of Emperor Norton  

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-1424 

$6 

Farallon Brass Ensemble Concert 

8 p.m. 

Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St. Berkeley 

Performance by Farallon Brass Ensemble highlighting their brass camp for young musicians. 

559-6910 

$10 general, $5 students/seniors 

Girls in Ties, 151 Cameo Dr., and Robert and Karen 

7 to 11 p.m. 

Café Eclectica, 1309 Solano Ave. 

527-2344 

$4 

Duck Baker & Jamie Findlay 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Native Elements with Buffalo Soldier 

Joined by special guest Humble Soul 

9:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$11 door/ Free for 12 and under 

The Transparent Tape Music Festival 2 

8:30 p.m., Through Aug. 18 

Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 

415-614-2434 or tapecenter@sfSound.org or http://sfSound.org/tape.html 

$7 one night/ $15 festival pass 

Saturday, August 17 

Benumb, Reagan SS, Bumbklaat & Faces of Death 

8 p.m. 

924 Gillman St. 

525-9926 

$5 

Composer Portraits with Sarah Cahill and Gabriela Frank 

Berkeley Arts Festival 

8 p.m. 

Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St. 

665-9099 

$10 

The Edios 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Faye Carol 

Black Repertory Group Benefit 

8 p.m. and 10 p.m. 

Black Repertory Group, 3201 Adeline St. 

849-9940 

$10 general, $15 students and seniors 

Near East, Far West 

9 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Traditional music from Armenia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece and the Middle East. 7:30 dance lesson with Lise Liepman. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$12 door/ Free for 12 and under 

Oakland Faders Collective 

7 to 11 p.m. 

Café Eclectica, 1309 Solano Ave. 

527-2344 

$5 

Rita Sahal plus Siskana Chowdhury 

7 p.m.  

St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 

(415) 454-6264 

$15 to $20 

The Warlocks & Belle da Gama 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-1424 

$8  

Sunday, August 18 

Ericka Luckett 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Israeli Fold Dance 

1:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$5/ Free for 12 and under 

Time in Malta, Panic, The Dream is Dead, Find Him & Kill Him 

5 p.m. 

924 Gillman St. 

525-9926 

$5 

Monday, August 19 

Northern California Songwriters Association Open Mic 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$4 at door 

Tuesday, August 20 

Baby Gramps 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Hawaiian Festival 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. Berkeley 

Featuring Kumo, Kalua, Lutgarda Eckell and her Polynesian dancers - Viola, Cora, Kumo, Kalua, Virginia, Iris, John. 

644-6107 

Free 

Hot Town Jubilee 

8:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$8/ Free for 12 and under 

Wednesday, August 21 

Kepa Junkera 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Steve Riley and the Maou Playboys 

9 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

8:30 p.m. dance lesson with Diana Castillo. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$14 door/ Free for 12 and under 

Tangria Jazz Trio 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

This week’s nightly music feature. 

849-ANNA 

$4 

Thursday, August 22 

Anton Barbeau, The Bellyachers & Darling Clementines 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-1424 

$5  

Freight and Salvage Fiddle Summit 

Featuring Alasdair, Fraser, Ellika Frisell, Darol Anger and Mike Marshall 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Lost Weekend 

Harbor Lights and  

Cowboy Blues Tour 

9 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$10 door/ Free for 12 and under 

San Francisco Chamber Orchestra 

7:30 p.m. 

The Crowden School, 1475 Rose St. 

Mozart, Vivaldi and “Summertime” by violinists Karla Donehew and Jeremy Cohen. 

(415) 255-9440 0r www.sfchamberorchestra.org 

$20 suggested donation 

Friday, August 23 

Irate, For the Crown, Beneath the Ashes & Pain of Sleep 

8 p.m. 

924 Gillman St. 

525-9926 

$5 

Deke Dickerson and the ecco-fonics & Calamity and Main 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-1424 

$7 

Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums with Ms. Carmen Getit 

9:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

8 p.m. dance lesson 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$12 door/ Free for 12 and under 

Peppino D’Agostino 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Friday, August 23 

The Damnations & Loretta Lynch  

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-1424 

$7 

Saturday, August 24 

Anthony Brown Ensemble  

Doors open 7:30 p.m. Show 8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library 2090 Kittredge at Shattuck 

Free Jazz Concert explores inspiration of Ralph Ellison. 

981-6100 

Free 

California Brazil All-star Band 

Brazil Camp Benefit 

9 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$10 door/ Free for 12 and under 

John McCormick 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

New Millennium Strings, conducted by Laurien Jones 

8 p.m. 

A concert featuring The Hebrides, Op. 26 (Fingal’s Cave) by Mendelssohn; Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Violin, Op. 64, E minor, Loretta Taylor, soloist; Debussy’s Afternoon of a Faun; and Children’s Corner Suite by Debussy. 

526-3331 

$10 general admission, $7 students and seniors, under 12 free 

Phantom Limbs, Dead and  

Gone & Pitch Black 

8 p.m. 

924 Gillman St. 

525-9926 

$5 

Sunday, August 25 

Dan & Dale Zola Present The Great Night of Rumi 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

Celebrating Persian poet Jelaluddin Rumi with spoken word, music and dance. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Benefit for the Neibyl Proctor Library 

Featuring Red Dust 

3 to 5 p.m. 

6501 Telegraph Ave. 

Benefit for a progressive research center for teachers, students and activists. 

595-7417 

$5 to $10, sliding scale 

Tuesday, August 27 

Zydeco Flames 

8:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

8 p.m. dance lesson with Patti Whitehurst. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$8 door/ Free for 12 and under 

Wednesday, August 28 

Barry Flanagan & Makana 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Jimmy Ryan Jazz Quartet 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Bistro, 1801 University Avenue 

This week’s nightly music feature. 

849-ANNA 

Thursday, August 29 

The KGB, Solemite & The Penomenauts 

8 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$7 door/ Free for 12 and under 

The Unreal Band 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-1424 

$5 

Friday, August 30 

Capoeira Mandinga 

8 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$10 door/ Free for 12 and under 

Gipsy Kings 

8 p.m. 

Greek Theatre, UC Berkeley 

642-9988 

$32.50 to $70 

The Lab Rats, Damage Done, The First Step & Diehard Youth 

8 p.m. 

924 Gillman St. 

525-9926 

$5 

The Pre-teens, Hansi & Flair 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-1424 

$5 

Saturday, August 31 

Blue on Breen, Ian Butler & Green Man Gruvin’ 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-1424 

$5 

Plan 9, Wormwood, Hit Me Back & Dystrophy 

8 p.m. 

924 Gillman St. 

525-9926 

$5 

"First Anniversary Group Show"  

Reception, 5 to 8 p.m.  

Through Aug. 17  

13 local artists display work ranging from sculpture to mixed media. 

Ardency Gallery, Aki Lot, Eighth Street 

836-0831 

"Before and After"  

Reception 4 to 6 p.m.  

Through Sept. 19  

Albany Community Center and Library Galley 1249 Marin Ave. 

Jim Hair's photographs of the San Diego Hells Angels motorcycle chapter from the 1970s.  

Lorenzo Alexander never left Berkeley, but he went from one of the best football teams in Northern California to one of the worst in the nation in less than a year. The short trip from St. Mary’s College High to Cal took Alexander from the CIF playoffs to a 1-10 season that couldn’t end soon enough for players, coaches and everyone involved with the Golden Bear program. 

Alexander is back with the Bears this season, and he’s in a battle for playing time with three other defensive tackles. Senior Daniel Nwangwu is almost assured of a starting spot thanks to seniority and some hard work this summer, so Alexander is likely fighting junior Josh Beckham and sophomore Tom Sverchek for the other tackle spot. 

Alexander, the youngest of the four, is being patient for now, playing his hardest in practice with the second team after losing 15 pounds this summer. But the 6-foot-3, 280-pounder is confident he’ll get his time to shine. 

“This is just a starting point for me,” said Alexander, who recorded 24 tackles and a sack last season while playing in all 11 games, including five starts. “Eventually I’ll be on the first team. I feel like we’re all equally as good, so it’s about who’s playing the best right now.” 

The prize of Cal’s 2001 recruiting class, Alexander’s strengths out of high school were his quickness and agility. The last year’s coaching staff encouraged him to bulk up in order to clog running lanes, but new defensive line coach Ken Delgado prefers smaller, more agile tackles who can make plays rather than stand still, so Alexander worked all summer to get back down to his high-school playing weight. 

“A lot of coaches get caught up in how big a guy is. But I’m not a coach who’s seduced by size,” Delgado said. “I don’t have positions for guys who can only cover two gaps. You have to be able to strike blockers, make plays and rush the passer.” 

That description fits Alexander well. He spent most of his high school career rushing the passer from all over the defensive line, and he is remarkably nimble for such a big man. Alexander played a key role on St. Mary’s state champion basketball team during his senior year, and he also possesses the hand-fighting skills necessary to succeed in the trenches. 

The tough two-practices-per-day fall schedule hasn’t worn down Alexander this season, thanks to the fact that he spent his summer working out twice a day, once at Cal and once with a personal trainer in Alameda. That hard work helped prepare him for the faster practices of the new coaching staff, with each practice broken down into 24 five-minute periods. 

“The new practice schedule is a big difference. Last year there was a lot of dragging around the field, and now it’s always up-tempo. We get a lot more done in less time,” Alexander said. “The team is a lot more enthused to work.” 

The increased stamina will benefit whoever wins starting jobs on the defensive line, as Delgado likes to play his starters as much as possible. Not only does that keep his best players on the field, he said, but it makes the competition for starting jobs that much more intense. 

“We’re not solid on our starters for the first game yet, but we’re definitely going to name two main starters (at defensive tackle),” Delgado said. “We have to place a high value on starting jobs. The last thing we want is an easy rotation, where everyone knows they’re going to play. Everyone can’t be happy. They have to want to fight for playing time.” 

While Delgado is a commanding presence, he also keeps things loose in practice with games and competitions among his charges. After playing for taskmasters like St. Mary’s line coach Steve Moore and Cal’s Bill Dutton, Alexander said Delgado’s coaching style is a nice change of pace. 

“I love (Delgado),” he said. “He’s just as intense as the other coaches, but he also leaves time for fun and games. He keeps things more loose, and that makes practice more fun.” 

Notes: Receiver Chad Heydorff’s Cal career is officially over, as the senior will not play this season due to a leg injury. It’s the same injury that has nagged at Heydorff for the past three seasons after he transferred to Cal from Glendale CC... Offensive linemen Scott Tercero and Andrew Cameron both practiced for the first time this fall on Thursday. Both are recovering from shoulder injuries... Receiver LaShaun Ward returned to practice Thursday morning, but re-aggravated his hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated... Tight end Terrence Dotsy sprained his knee and will be out 3-6 weeks... Receiver Michael Sparks left the team, saying he no longer enjoyed the game... Backup center Nolan Bluntzer suffered a shoulder injury on Tuesday and x-rays taken Wednesday showed no damage. Bluntzer was scheduled to have an MRI done on the shoulder on Thursday evening. 

In a surprising development Robert McKnight, an African American studies teacher at Berkeley High School, did not file papers to run for the Board of Education by the city’s Wednesday deadline. 

A new candidate, emergency room physician Lance Montauk, was among those who did meet the deadline this week, rounding out a field of seven who will vie for three slots on the five-member board in November. 

The final slate of candidates includes incumbents Shirley Issel and Terry Doran, parent activists Derick Miller, Cynthia Papermaster and Nancy Riddle, recent Berkeley High School graduate Sean Dugar, and Montauk. 

Incumbent Ted Schultz, who would be the third incumbent running this year, announced several months ago that he will retire at the end of his term. 

McKnight could not be reached for comment Thursday, but other candidates expressed surprise and regret that he will not run for office. 

“I feel it’s a shame,” said Papermaster. “He looked very promising in terms of providing some diversity on the board.” 

The board is currently composed of four white members and one Latino, Vice President Joaquin Rivera. 

Dugar, the recent graduate, said he was upset that McKnight had bowed out. But he said McKnight’s departure may provide his candidacy with a boost, since it leaves him as the sole African-American contender. 

“Berkeley is not an all-white district,” Dugar said. “Berkeley needs to represent its people.” 

But some say that one minority candidate is not enough. Earlier this year, a diverse group of reform-minded parents convened under the auspices of City Councilmember Linda Maio, in part to produce a slate of minority candidates who would join Dugar and McKnight in running for the board. 

The group, which does not have a name, was unable to produce any candidates. 

“It is a disappointment,” said Michael Miller, a school activist who took part in the group. “I can’t see that [the group of candidates who filed this week] will give the district what it needs.” 

McKnight’s departure may also have an impact on the candidacy of Derick Miller, president of the PTA Council. Miller and McKnight had discussed running for the board as a team. 

Miller could not be reached before the Daily Planet’s deadline. 

Montauk said his chief focus as a board member would be improving the public school system to attract Berkeley families who have chosen private schools instead. 

“Berkeley is, in my point of view, failing in that area,” said Montauk, who estimates that 20 to 25 percent of Berkeley’s school age children go to private school. 

Montauk sent his two children to private school up through eighth grade, racking up bills in excess of $100,000, before enrolling them in Berkeley High School, he said. Both children have graduated from Berkeley High. 

Issel, the current school board president, welcomed Montauk’s push. 

“I think it’s a very valuable goal – we need some understanding about why parents choose to put their children in the private schools,” she said. 

But Riddle raised some concerns about focusing too much on private school families. 

“Our schools should be excellent for all children,” she said. “I’m not sure we should be doing special things for one group of kids to attend.” 

Montauk has also voiced strong opposition to ballot Measure 3, which if approved would increase school board members’ salaries from $875 per month to $1,500 per month, effective in December. 

“It’s like rewarding Enron and WorldCom executives... before their companies go belly-up,” he said, referring to the school district’s estimated $2 million 2002-2003 deficit. 

School board member John Selawsky, the leading supporter of Measure 3, has argued that a raise is long overdue and that members could divert their salary increases to pay for board staff. The board currently has no staff to conduct research. 

With the race officially underway, there is a new focus on the fundraising game. 

As of June 30, the last filing date for campaign contributions, Doran led the pack with $1,500, including $500 total from mayoral candidate Tom Bates and his wife Loni Hancock, who is expected to win election as Berkeley’s representative in the state Assembly. 

Issel was a close second with $1,248 in contributions. Nancy Riddle had $885. 

Contact reporter at  

Scharfenberg@berkeleydailyplanet.net

To the Editor: 

Our company is located near the developing skateboard park and we have watched it develop over the past two years. The article you printed characterized the surrounding community as anxious that “an influx of young skaters” could have negative consequences. That is not our feeling at all. We have watched the creation of a beautiful soccer field at the same site, and now look forward to the opening of the park. I am proud that the city has invested in our youth by building this new playground. There are so few outdoor recreational opportunities for kids of varying ages. Don't people realize that access to parks, playgrounds, schoolyards, and the like can reduce vandalism? While we expect the noise level to rise, and that we may have to deal with a rowdy teenager or two, the day-to-day experience of working in this neighborhood should be more interesting with our a bird's-eye view of the stunts and acrobatics of these urban pioneers.  

Just hope we don't have to witness too many scrubs and wipe-outs. Go boarders, go. 

Jannie Dresser 

Wilderness Press 

Berkeley

NEW YORK – Baseball’s labor talks hit a snag when negotiators delved deeper into the key economic issues, leaving the union’s executive board on track to set a strike date Friday. 

Rob Manfred, the owners’ top labor lawyer, has repeatedly expressed optimism, but even he admitted little headway was made at the bargaining table Wednesday. 

“Occasionally in this process, you have bumps in the road. Today probably would be a bump in the road,” he said. 

When it met Monday in Chicago, the union’s executive board deferred a decision on a strike date, preferring not to add pressure to talks when they were at a delicate stage. 

The board is to hold a telephone call Friday, and without progress probably would set a strike date, most likely Aug. 30, according to a person familiar with the players’ deliberations who spoke on the condition he not be identified. 

“I think Friday is a big day,” Seattle pitcher Paul Abbott said. “Setting a date would spark some negotiating.” 

Union officials did not comment after the day’s second bargaining session. Players and owners moved only slightly on the key issues, according to several people on both sides of the talks. 

The sides met Thursday morning, then broke for internal discussions. It was unclear if they would meet again later in the day. 

Management’s proposal for a luxury tax on the payrolls of high-spending teams, as expected, is a divisive issue, one that could cause baseball’s ninth work stoppage since 1972. 

Owners have proposed a 50 percent tax that would start with teams over $100 million, including 40-man rosters and benefits, with the full rate phased for the very highest spenders. 

The union has discussed a tax that would start with teams over about $140 million — only the New York Yankees project to be above that next year — with a much lower tax rate. 

Management wants the tax to restrain spending and salaries, while the union maintains a tax must be looked at in conjunction with revenue-sharing, both part of a system to transfer money from high-revenue teams to low-revenue teams. 

“I don’t believe that difference is an impediment to an agreement at this point,” Manfred said. 

But the difference in numbers is. Players fear that a large increase among the teams in the amount of shared locally generated revenue, when combined with a stiff luxury tax, would drain so much money from the high-revenue teams that it would cause a significant drop in salaries. 

“Negotiations are never easy. You work every day to make steady progress,” said Boston’s Tony Clark, the AL player representative. “I’m cautiously optimistic. It’s touch and go.” 

Manfred said the sides moved closer on drug testing Wednesday. While the union has proposed mandatory random resting for steroids only, owners also want testing for nutritional supplements like the testosterone-booster androstenedione and for “recreational” drugs such as cocaine. 

The sides, who spent part of Wednesday discussing licensing rules, also have unresolved differences on changes owners want in the amateur draft and salary arbitration, plus management’s desire for a $45 million minimum payroll — a figure only Montreal and Tampa Bay were below this year. 

“They have been opposed philosophically to the minimum club payroll and have maintained that position,” Manfred said. 

On Tuesday, Manfred had said he thought an agreement was possible “in the next several days.” 

“My overall view has not changed,” he said Wednesday, “despite that I recognize that today was somewhat of a bump in the road.” 

Fehr has refused to gauge the daily mood of the talks. 

“I know Rob is out there preaching whatever he preaches,” Fehr said Wednesday. “When I have something to say, everyone will know.”

State regulators, who earlier this month rejected Berkeley’s affordable housing plan – a verdict that could cost the city valuable state funds, received encouragement from an unlikely source: Berkeley residents. 

State officials this week released 24 letters and e-mails they received while reviewing the city’s plans. More than half were criticism from Berkeley. 

Correspondences of 13 residents and local developer Patrick Kennedy, of Panoramic Interests, offered a wide range of opinions, but they all shared the conclusion that the housing plan should be rejected. 

The plan, also called the housing element, sets forth the city’s housing policy. Berkeley was required to draft a new housing element that shows it will have 1,269 units of state-mandated affordable housing in the pipeline by 2007. City Council endorsed the housing element last December. The state rejected it Aug. 1. 

Most of the letters focused on a dispute between planning commissioners and city planners regarding the element’s appendix, which gives background on the plan. The critics sided with planning commissioners who said city planners made late revisions to the appendix without going through proper channels. 

An e-mail signed by planning commissioners Zelda Bronstein, Gene Poschman and Rob Wrenn cautioned the state that city planners added substantial language to the appendix without City Council approval. After that, the plan no longer complied with the city’s General Plan as state law requires, commissioners said. 

Other residents were more forceful with criticism. 

“City staff knowingly submitted their own work product to the state of California, knowing that it had not been reviewed elected officials... ,” wrote Berkeley resident Michael Katz. “By doing so, staff members intentionally evaded the public review process required by the state and by our city.”  

Only the developer Kennedy argued that the housing element should be rejected because of content, saying that development restrictions in the document were too strict. 

Kennedy urged the state to strike down city regulations that allow legally zoned developments to be rejected because of neighborhood objections or to preserve historical structures. 

State regulators appeared to side with Kennedy. They rejected Berkeley’s housing element, asking the city to reduce its constraints to development. 

State officials would not say whether the letters affected their decision, only that they read and considered all of the letters. 

The housing element is scheduled to be reconsidered by city staff and be presented to the planning commission in September. 

Contact reporter at  

matt@berkeleydailyplanet.net 

To the Editor: 

On Aug. 13 Manuela Albuquerque, Berkeley's city attorney issued an opinion on ex parte contacts and campaigning. The opinion attempts to explain the interaction of the council rule against ex parte contacts with the rule that candidates for public office are allowed to speak freely on issues of public interest. She suggests various options for resolving the tension between them. Unfortunately, her opinion is so poorly researched and written that it has caused some people to question what they may say at a public election forum, and thereby violates their First Amendment rights. Also, her opinion may have caused, or enabled some candidates not to disclose their position on fundamental political issues in the upcoming election.  

In her opinion, the city attorney cites City of Fairfield vs. Superior Court as showing that a community has a right to discuss issues of community concern – including development projects currently in process and then goes on to try to limit this. But the California Supreme Court actually went much further and stated that a council member has an “obligation to discuss issues of vital concern with his constituents and to state his views on matters of public importance” (City of Fairfield v. Superior Court [1975] 14 Cal.3d 768, 780). Given this stronger position, the city attorney's argument is pathetic. If they have an obligation, we certainly have a right.  

Albuquerque’s opinion also fails to mention the state attorney general's opinion 94-1003. The conclusion here is that “A city council member who signed a petition opposing a land use project is not disqualified from participation in the council proceeding during which the application for a conditional use permit for the project is considered.” One would think that if one could sign a petition opposing a project without violating due process, that one could simply listen to people and even state their current opinion. 

The City Council's rule on ex parte contact is founded on a confused idea of what it is to take evidence in a quasi-judicial matter. The rule serves the interests of “out of scale” developers by limiting the public’s access to their representative. It provides a shield for spineless candidates and councilmembers to hide behind and to pro-big-box-development candidates and councilmembers to hide their bias from the electorate. In a city known throughout the world as the birthplace of the free speech movement, it is ironic that the ex parte contact rule still exists – and that Albuquerque is still our city attorney. 

Tim Hansen,  

Berkeley

A 29-year old employee of the Hotel Durant was stabbed repeatedly with a butcher’s knife in the hotel parking lot Wednesday by a co-worker who had an unrequited attraction to the victim, according to the Berkeley Police Department. 

Sara Rodriquez suffered multiple stab wounds to her shoulders, back and neck at the hands of her attacker, but was fit to leave the hospital Thursday. 

Police allege that the suspect, Benito Meza-Ortega, 26, from Oakland, confronted the victim about 4:50 p.m. in the parking lot at 2600 Durant St., and without warning began stabbing her in the head and upper body. 

A hotel employee tried to stop the attack but was also assaulted by the suspect.  

With the suspect’s attention diverted, the victim tried to retreat to her car, but the suspect stopped her and continued his assault, police said. 

Police were called to the hotel at 4:53 p.m. When they arrived three minutes later the suspect had already fled. 

In a slightly different report of what happened, the hotel’s general manager, Jay Slattery, said Rodriguez was already in her car with her window down when she was attacked. 

Ryan Brown, the hotel assistant manager, saw the assault and pulled Ortega away from the car, Slattery said. Ortega was able to break free from Brown, then stabbed Rodriguez again before Brown forced Ortega to flee on foot. 

“Ryan pulled the assailant away from Sara and saved her life,” Slattery said. 

Berkeley and Oakland police pursued Ortega for hours after the attack, Berkeley police said. At about 6:30 p.m. Ortega was spotted near his Oakland home at 47th and Dover streets, but he eluded capture, police said. 

Rodriguez was taken to Highland Hospital. 

Slattery said Rodriguez, an assistant housekeeper, and Ortega, a dishwasher, were not friends. He described Ortega as “quiet” and said that Ortega had another dishwashing job at a nearby restaurant. Ortega was not working at the hotel on the day of the attack. 

Police describe Ortega as a Latino male, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, 140 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. Police believe he may be fleeing to relatives in Mexico. 

Contact reporter at  

matt@berkeleydailyplanet.net

A string of five armed robberies of pedestrians early Wednesday morning – three that happened between midnight and 12:30 a.m. – could be related, police said. 

The robberies, which occurred in central, south and west Berkeley, involved three males ranging in age from 16 to 25, according to the Berkeley Police Department. 

The first robbery occurred at about 12:05 a.m. near the main library on Kitteredge Street. Two suspects, one who was armed with a handgun, robbed two people of cash and personal items. A third suspect reportedly waited in a getaway car described as a 1980’s Toyota Celica or Corolla. 

Then, at about 12:20 a.m., three suspects approached a man in front of his apartment at the 1500 block of Oxford Street. Two suspects punched the man, and the three forced themselves into his apartment, which they ransacked before leaving with cash and personnel items. No vehicle was seen. 

A third incident occurred at about 12:30 a.m. when two suspects robbed a couple leaving an ATM machine at University and San Pablo avenues. The couple reported seeing a third suspect waiting in a mid-size silver sedan. 

At about 5 a.m. a lone female was robbed at gunpoint near Shattuck and Oregon streets. The suspect allegedly got out of the rear passenger seat of a tan sports utility vehicle. 

Approximately 25 minutes later, two suspects, one who was armed with a handgun, robbed a 19-year-old male. The suspects took his wallet and fled in a dark color sports utility vehicle driven by a third suspect. 

Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to call police at 981-5724 or 981-5900. 

SAN RAFAEL — Signs are posted at four popular Marin County swimming holes, warning bathers to stay on dry land because of contaminated water. 

Testing by county health officials showed the water has been unfit to swim in since early last month because of high amounts of coliform bacteria. 

The signs are posted at Millerton Point in Marshall, Green Bridge in Point Reyes Station, Chicken Ranch Beach in Inverness and Samuel Taylor State Park. 

A sample taken June 19 at Chicken Ranch Beach contained twice the allowable level of the bacteria. 

The most recent samples were collected Aug. 6. They indicated all four locations still have higher-than-legal bacteria levels. 

A high coliform count often indicates fecal contamination. 

“We haven’t reached any conclusions as to where the contamination could be coming from,” said Phil Smith, chief of the county’s Environmental Health Services.

OAKLAND – While Berkeley leaders are pushing for a new tax to fund pedestrian safety measures this November, Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, D-Oakland, announced Wednesday the kick-off of an effort in neighboring Oakland to make streets safer for pedestrians. 

Forty pedestrians have been fatally injured by cars since 1996 in Oakland. In Berkeley, two fatalities have resulted this year from vehicles striking people.  

Chan’s announcement comes a day after a Washington D.C.-based pedestrian group, the Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) released a report that lauded Oakland, along with San Jose and San Francisco, for their efforts to make streets safer for pedestrians. 

The STPP report ranked Oakland 29th out of the 58 most pedestrian- endangering California cities with more than 100,000 residents. To the surprise and reprehension of many, the report ranked Berkeley as the second safest California city with more than 100,000 residents, after Irvine.  

Chan said her pedestrian campaign is meant to complement the program started by county Supervisor Nate Miley when he was an Oakland councilmember. The program includes community education, street improvements and support from city officials and residents. 

The five-year report found on average some 600 pedestrians and more than 100 bicyclists are killed on California streets and roads each year. These fatalities account for one out of every four traffic-related deaths each year, the report said. 

The report also suggests that pedestrian deaths in the state are on the rise, jumping 5 percent from 2000 to 2001, from 689 to 721 deaths.  

Curbing those numbers is the focus of the pedestrian safety education campaign, which will urge motorists to acknowledge posted speed limits and includes a “Walk a Child to School Day” in Oakland on Oct. 2.  

The information will be presented by Chan, who will to tour Oakland in a van to provide safety information in English, Spanish and Chinese. 

Chan has already launched a similar effort in the city of Alameda, and plans to extend the services to Piedmont later this month. 

“We hope to reduce the accident rate, raise awareness and get people involved in pedestrian safety,” said Chan, who is co-author with state Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, of Senate bill 1555, which would dedicate some $3.25 million for pedestrian and bicycle safety programs. 

The pro-pedestrian nonprofit's report lists Vallejo as the most dangerous city for pedestrians. But according to Chan, despite Oakland's standing as the 29th most dangerous city for pedestrians, there are still significant problems to address, primarily with getting the message out to the elderly and minorities. 

According to Chan, the Alameda Congestion Management Agency has found that 25 percent of pedestrians hit by cars are seniors, even though people older than 65 make up little more than 10 percent of the population. 

-Compiled with staff and wire reports 

UNION CITY – When a class of third-graders asked state Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, to make a law to ban homework, she said no.  

But she said yes when a high school class asked her to help topple a ban against cell phones at school, which will happen if Gov. Gray Davis signs a new bill recently approved by the Senate.  

The Senate voted unanimously on Wednesday to repeal a ban against “signaling devices,” a law passed 14 years ago to prevent drug deals on school grounds. 

Don Montoya, the principal of James Logan High School in Union City, approached the schools' student body after he decided that students should be able to have cell phones for their personal safety. 

“He had been thinking about it ever since September 11,” explained Christine Start, the school body president who spearheaded the legislation along with two other students. “And we thought, ‘why can't we use cell phones?’ It makes our lives so much safer and easier. So we decided to do something about it.” 

Start and other students then invited Figueroa to class and asked her to work to get rid of the ban against cell phones and pagers. “I thought at first just tell Senator Figueroa and she'll do the rest,” explained Start. “But she said OK, now get to work.” 

From that moment on, the senior years of Start and the two other student body leaders –Monica Esqueda and Juan Pagan – became much busier as the trio headed to Sacramento repeatedly to work on the legislation. 

“They did a wonderful job,” Figueroa said today. “They met with lobbyists, they testified on the bill, the got other school districts involved, they negotiated the bill and got a great deal of media attention.” 

Figueroa said that the bill did not have any opposition because it allows each school district to decide for itself whether or not to allow students to have cell phones.  

“School teachers are quite supportive,” she said, explaining that most kids carried phones anyway while school administrators looked the other way. “The world has really changed and we need to give young people as many opportunities as possible to act responsibly.”

SACRAMENTO — Two California state senators filed a formal complaint against the New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers on Thursday, saying the two groups are stalling arbitration claims of California investors. 

Sens. John Burton and Martha Escutia said in a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt that the NYSE and NASD have delayed those proceedings as retaliation for California’s tougher ethics standards for arbitrators. 

The NYSE and the NASD have refused to proceed with new arbitration cases of investor claims in California since July 1, when the new ethics policies were enacted, said Burton, D-San Francisco, and Escutia, D-Commerce. 

The lawmakers said the delay was an “illegal and a misguided retaliatory action against the California Judicial Council’s new arbitrator ethics standards requiring disclosures of conflicts of interest.” 

Brokerage contracts generally require that investor complaints be handled through arbitration, and the NASD, which regulates brokerage firms, handles roughly 90 percent of cases that go through that process, said NASD spokesman Mike Shokouhi. The NYSE also handles arbitration cases. 

The NASD “appreciates Sen. Escutia’s concerns and will continue to talk with her, as we have done in the past,” said spokeswoman Nancy Condon. 

Both groups sued the California Judicial Council over its new ethics standards, saying the new standards shouldn’t apply in securities disputes.

SAN FRANCISCO — A former Genentech Inc. computer programmer agreed to pay $76,000 to settle charges she profited from inside information about a pivotal drug experiment, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday. 

News of the failed experiment sent the shares of a Genentech partner company plummeting, which allowed Lei Wang, 32, to reap an illegal windfall, the SEC said. 

The case is the latest scandal to hit the sagging biotechnology sector that allegedly involves an insider using the unpublished results of a clinical trial to profit on the stock market.

NEW YORK — The bonds of jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co. plummeted more than 20 points into distressed territory Thursday following a downgrade of the San Francisco company’s debt into highly speculative territory. 

Levi Strauss, a privately held company in San Francisco that makes Levi’s jeans and Dockers pants, suffered a two-notch cut to its senior unsecured debt late Wednesday by Moody’s Investors Service, to Caa1 from B2. 

The company’s 11.625 percent notes of 2008 opened on a price basis Thursday down more than 20 points, trading as low as 67 cents on the dollar, from a close of around 91 cents. They have since recovered a bit to trade at 72 cents. 

Moody’s cited concern about the effect of the weak economy and global competition on the company’s cash generation, as well as “significant upcoming cash outlays” from plant closures and systems improvements related to the ongoing turnaround effort.

When we were younger, we took it for granted that if one lived in an apartment, condo, town house or duplex — any multifamily dwelling, for that matter — sharing secrets with your neighbor was the norm. We later discovered that sound can be substantially deadened between homes — without spending a fortune. 

We once built an apartment on the top floor of a seven-story mini-skyscraper in San Francisco. We built it inside an existing metal-walled structure. The air-conditioning system for the entire building was enormous. When it ran it was incredibly noisy. We couldn’t figure out how a home could be built within 40 feet of such a large and noisy machine without it having major noise problems. 

We met with an acoustical engineer who suggested that we cover the interior surface of the party wall with three layers of 5/8-inch wallboard. He told us to use R-30 fiberglass batt insulation in the stud cavities. We could not believe that three layers of wallboard and a layer of R-30 insulation would effectively quiet the roar of the massive air conditioner. 

It took about nine months to complete the construction. Much to our surprise, the noise outside stayed there once the sound wall was complete. 

Granted, there were no windows or doors in the sound wall; there were only the studs, R-30 fiberglass insulation and the three layers of wallboard on the inside surface — and the texture and paint. 

One could go outside and hear the roar of the equipment, and then go inside and hear no trace of it. We couldn’t believe our ears. We then were convinced that multiple layers of wallboard and a layer of R-30 insulation could do the job. And, we discovered that killing noise doesn’t have to be costly. Wallboard is rather inexpensive, as is fiberglass insulation. 

In homes where families live on opposite sides of a common wall, it is best for the studs on one side to be separate from the studs on the other side. We think that two separate walls work best. One wall for one side; one wall for the other. This way when someone pounds on his wall, the vibration isn’t transferred to the other side. Also, wallboard should not be applied between the common walls. The layer of wallboard can defeat the sound-deadening properties of the insulation layers in each of the walls. Remember the configuration: three layers of 5/8-inch wallboard, a stud wall filled with fiberglass insulation, a space between, another stud wall filled with fiberglass insulation and three more layers of 5/8-inch wallboard. 

We think that the building code ought to be up scaled to include a full separation between multiple dwellings and that the party walls should each have several layers of wallboard within each dwelling. Wall cavities should be filled with as much fiberglass batt insulation as will fit without compression to add more sound-deadening quality. No portion of the wall cavities should be without insulation. 

You can’t do all of these fancy framing things unless you’re building from scratch. But if you have room, you can build a wall inside your place holding it a few inches away from the existing one and adding as many layers of wallboard and-or soundboard as you can afford. Also, you can simply add wallboard to an existing wall. If the studs in the wall travel all the way to the other side, some sound might come through even with several layers of wallboard. 

There are some types of soundboard that come with fabric or wallpaper applied to one surface. Screwing soundboard to a wall is easy, but be sure to properly extend the electrical boxes. 

If you live in a rental with noisy neighbors and the landlord doesn’t care, consider moving. Your landlord might not want to spend the money it takes to silence the noisemakers, but you might have grounds to cancel your lease if his inaction is causing you to lose sleep. 

We recently returned from a visit to the research and development labs of Johns Manville in Denver. Their acoustic testing facility is one of the best in the country. If you want more information on sound control, check out their Web site at www.jm.com/sound. 

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark publication of Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man.” With its jazzy rhythms and unadulterated views of racism, the 581-page opus won the 1953 National Book Award, and today it continues to challenge readers to enter the dark corners of the American psyche.  

“It’s an odyssey that deals with just about every possible horror that can result from racism,” said Berkeley resident Bonnie Hughes. “It never lets up. Just when you think you’ve come out into the light, it’s back in again.” 

This month, Berkeley is sponsoring a citywide reading of Ellison’s “Invisible Man.” The “Invisible Man” Project, a collaboration of the Berkeley Arts Festival and the Berkeley Public Library, began with free distribution of 500 copies of the book in July, and continues through August with a series of public discussions. 

The idea is to connect an urban populace through literature, says Pat Mullan of the Berkeley Public Library. 

“We’ve tried to encourage people to talk about the book if they see each other with it,” Mullan said. “I’ve heard that it’s [already] been happening on the buses and other places.” 

The first official discussion of “Invisible Man is tonight, in the recently-renovated Central Library’s Community Room. Coming Aug. 22 will be a screening of local filmmaker Avon Kirkland’s documentary “Ralph Ellison, an American Journey.” 

In addition to being a writer, Ellison was a jazz trumpeter trained at the Tuskegee Institute. On Aug. 24, the influence of music on his writing will be discussed by UC Berkeley Visiting Professor Anthony Brown. Brown’s sextet will follow his lecture with a concert that is designed to focus on Ellison’s musical inspiration, including Thelonius Monk. 

Mullan said the idea for Berkeley’s community reading and ensuing activities came from Seattle. 

The program “If All of Seattle Read the Same Book” began in 1998 with Russell Banks's “The Sweet Hereafter” and has become an annual event. Other cities quickly caught the vibe. Chicago gave out more than 2,000 copies of Harper Lee’s classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” last fall, and Los Angeles is reading “Fahrenheit 451” this year. 

Elision, who died in 1994, did not complete another work of fiction beyond “Invisible Man” in his lifetime. Subsequent to his death, a book called “Juneteenth” was culled from a work in progress, but gathered more attention for the way it was put together than for its content. 

“Invisible Man” is a difficult read, Mullan says, but worth the effort. 

“The imagery is very intense, and the fact that it’s this kind of epic journey, rather than [following] the arc or story line of a regular novel makes it a little more challenging,” he said. 

In addition to the free books contributed by Friends of the Library – which were snatched up the first day they were given out – the project is being promoted by lapel pins which match the maroon color of the paperback. Local booksellers such as Cody’s are giving out the pins and offering a discount on the book. 

The following are activities scheduled this week: 

“Focus on Invisible Man: A Community Literary Discussion,” 7 p.m. Thursday. Community Room, Berkeley Public Library.  

Video screening: “Ralph Ellison: An American Journey” Commentary by filmmaker Avon Kirkland, 7 p.m. Aug. 22, Community Room, Berkeley Public Library.  

“Reading Between the Notes: Ralph Ellison’s Writings,” talk by Anthony Brown, 2 p.m. Aug. 24, Community Room, Berkeley Public Library.  

Anthony Brown Ensemble Jazz concert tribute to Ralph Ellison, 8 p.m. Aug. 24, Reading Room, Berkeley Public Library. 

To the Editor:  

On Aug.11, 100 people took two or three minutes out of their enjoyment of the Berkeley Arts Festival to write postcards to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer telling them that they as voters did not support President Bush's proposed war with Iraq. The cards were supplied by Berkeley Women For Peace. The 100 cards were collected for mailing in one hour. 

Everyone who has the right to vote has the responsibility to make their opinions known to their representatives in Congress, where the question of war or peace must be decided. 

Sylvia Levy  

Berkeley

Theater 

Sometimes all the elements of stagecraft—direction, acting and design—come together to create a show that’s seamlessly right, and that’s what’s happening now with Cal Shakespeare’s production of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” at the Bruns outdoor theater in the Orinda hills. 

It’s an enchanting production. 

You can stumble out of a play trying to figure out what went wrong, but as you float out of this one, you just want to credit everyone who blended the elements so well. First prize has to go to director Jonathan Moscone, whose firm but light touch works magic on Chekhov’s delicate tragicomedy. Choosing Tom Stoppard’s recent sturdy adaptation, in which characters often quote Shakespeare, Moscone does Prospero-like work. Most of “The Seagull’s” characters whine, fuss and fail, but the play is never a pain because Moscone brings out its lovely, bittersweet flavor. Failure and loss are mingled with wisdom and become gently, exquisitely moving. 

Chekhov called “The Seagull,” a comedy in four acts, but it’s a comedy in the sense that Dante’s Commedia is one: an examination of people as fallible fools rather than heroes or buffoons, though unlike Dante, who could be vindictive, Chekhov is infinitely forgiving. 

“The Seagull” plays out (no surprise) on a country estate far from Moscow, where a disparate band—old and young, aristocrat and servant, writer and doctor—reveal their souls in a fugue of longing and disillusion. The members of this band are the actress, Irina Arkadina, who has come with her writer-lover, Trigorin, to her brother’s estate. Here her son, Konstantin, is about to put on a play he wrote that is starring a local girl, Nina. There are servants: the estate manager Shamraev, his wife Polina, and his daughter Masha. Two local people, Dorn, a doctor, and Medvedenko, a schoolteacher, drop by. 

Unrequited love drifts on the summer air like pollen. Polina loves Dorn. Medvedenko loves Masha, but she loves Konstantin, who loves Nina who loves Trigorin. Irina loves (or at least needs) Trigorin, who can’t resist Nina. 

Though it’s a preposterous tangle, our laughter is tempered by sympathy. After all, who of us would be out of place in a Chekhov play? 

Regret compounds the unhappiness: the elderly brother, Sorin, wanted to be a writer, and Tirgorin, who is a writer, regrets how the profession obsesses him. Meanwhile the young are busy manufacturing future regrets: a loveless marriage, a mistaken career, while talk of art fills the air. Must old theatrical styles make way for new? In one exquisitely funny moment Irina cries out during her son’s muddled play, “Am I the only one who isn’t getting this?” Who hasn’t said or thought the same? 

The pleasures of the production are many, beginning with John Coyne’s Chagallesque set of pink-tinted boards, punctuated by spindly trees and enhanced by a lovely golden moon hauled up by ropes. Katherine Roth provides handsome Edwardian suits, gowns and hats, while Christopher Akerlind nicely lights summer days and autumn evenings, and Cliff Carruthers adds thumping music or delicate sound. 

Fitting the choral nature of the play, the cast does splendid ensemble work. Kandis Chapell is imperious, self-centered Irina. Charles Dean is comically crusty Sorin. Sean Dugan reveals the torment in young Konstantin, who loves and longs intensely. Susannah Schulman brings a rich eagerness to Nina, crying, “I’m drawn here, like a seagull drawn to the lake!” Dan Hiatt has a pleasing ease as Dorn. James Carpenter is a tense, uneasy Trigorin. Emily Ackerman is hilarious as practical but melodramatic Masha (“I’m in mourning for my life,” she moans.) Brian Keith Russell is a warmly blustering Shamraev, and Sam Misner creates the self-effacing Medvenko. 

“What could be more weary than the sweet weariness of life in the country?” Dorn asks. What could be sweeter than an evening of near-perfect theater in midsummer? 

Cal Shakespeare provides the latter with its poignant production of “The Seagull.”

Thursday, August 15 

Colcannon 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Dean Santomieri: Multimedia Works 

Berkeley Arts Festival 

8 p.m. 

Wells Fargo Annex, 2801 Center St. 

Multi-media works “The Boy Beneath the Sea” and “A Book Bound in Red Buckram...” presented by composer, monologist, and video artist Santomieri. 

665-9496 

$10 

Rroland, Attaboy and Burke & Vacuum Tree Head 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-1424 

$5 

Friday, August 16 

Champion, Stay Gold, Terror & Circle Takes the Square 

8 p.m. 

924 Gillman St. 

525-9926 

$5 

Extreme Elvis & Sons of Emperor Norton  

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-1424 

$6 

Farallon Brass Ensemble Concert 

8 p.m. 

Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St. Berkeley 

Performance by Farallon Brass Ensemble highlighting their brass camp for young musicians. 

559-6910 

$10 general, $5 students/seniors 

Girls in Ties, 151 Cameo Dr., and Robert and Karen 

7 to 11 p.m. 

Café Eclectica, 1309 Solano Ave. 

527-2344 

$4 

Duck Baker & Jamie Findlay 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Native Elements with Buffalo Soldier 

Joined by special guest Humble Soul 

9:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$11 door/ Free for 12 and under 

The Transparent Tape Music Festival 2 

Through Aug.18, 8:30 p.m. 

Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 

415-614-2434 or tapecenter@sfSound.org or http://sfSound.org/tape.html 

$7 one night/ $15 festival pass 

Saturday, August 17 

Benumb, Reagan SS, Bumbklaat & Faces of Death 

8 p.m. 

924 Gillman St. 

525-9926 

$5 

Composer Portraits with Sarah Cahill and Gabriela Frank 

Berkeley Arts Festival 

8 p.m. 

Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St. 

665-9099 

$10 

The Edios 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Faye Carol 

Black Repertory Group Benefit 

8 p.m. and 10 p.m. 

Black Repertory Group, 3201 Adeline St. 

849-9940 

$10 general, $15 students and seniors 

Near East, Far West 

9 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Traditional music from Armenia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece and the Middle East. 7:30 dance lesson with Lise Liepman. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$12 door/ Free for 12 and under 

Oakland Faders Collective 

7 to 11 p.m. 

Café Eclectica, 1309 Solano Ave. 

527-2344 

$5 

The Warlocks & Belle da Gama 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-1424 

$8  

Sunday, August 18 

Ericka Luckett 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Israeli Fold Dance 

1:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$5/ Free for 12 and under 

Time in Malta, Panic, The Dream is Dead, Find Him & Kill Him 

5 p.m. 

924 Gillman St. 

525-9926 

$5 

Monday, August 19 

Northern California Songwriters Association Open Mic 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$4 at door 

"First Anniversary Group Show"  

Reception, 5 to 8 p.m.  

Through Aug. 17  

13 local artists display work ranging from sculpture to mixed media. 

Ardency Gallery, Aki Lot, Eighth Street 

836-0831 

Freedom! Now! 

Berkeley Arts Festival Gallery & Headquarters 2055 Center St. 

Reception 6 to 8 p.m. 

Through Aug. 25, Tues. - Sun., noon to 5 p.m. 

Commemorates the work of those who struggled for justice and freedom from government/state repression. 

841-2793 

First Year Anniversary Group Exhibition 

Through Aug. 17 

Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland 

New works from various artists. 

836-0831 

"New Work: Part 2, The 2001 Kala Fellowship Exhibition"  

Through Sept. 7, Tues.-Fri. Noon to 5:30 p.m., Sat. 12:00-4:30 p.m. 

Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 

Featuring 8 Kala Fellowship winners, printmaking 

549-2977  

“If These Walls Could Talk” 

Through Sept. 8 

Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California Campus (just below Grizzly Peak Blvd.) 

See how various civilizations built all kinds of structures from mud huts to giant skyscrapers at this building exhibit. 

642-5132 

Admission: $8 for adults; $6 for youth 5-18, seniors and disabled; $4 for children 3-4; Free for children under 3, LHS Members and full-time Berkeley students. 

"Poems Form/From the Six Directions" 

Through Sept. 15 

Pusod: Center for culture, Ecology & Bayan, 1808 Fifth St. 

A visual poetry exhibition and presentation of a wedding happening, a Filipino tradition. Poetry workshops presented by Eileen Tabios on Aug. 14, 21 and 28 7 to 9 p.m. 

883-1808 

Friday, August 16 

“Pericles, Prince of Tyre” 

8:00 p.m. 

Wells Fargo Annex, 2081 Center St. 

This romance follows Prince Pericles, hunted for a crime he did not commit, on an epic voyage around the Mediterranean. Presented by Woman’s Will, the Bay Area’s all-female Shakespeare Company. 

665-9496 

Free 

Saturday, August 17 

Mock City Council 

Berkeley Arts Festival  

7 p.m. 

Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way or Channel 25 

Comic rendition of a Berkeley City Council meeting presented by George Coates Productions. 

665-9099 

$10 

Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida 

Through Sept. 1, Sat. and Sun. at 5 p.m..  

John Hinkel Park, off The Arlington at Southampton Road in North Berkeley  

704-8210 for reservations or www.shotgunplayers.org  

Pay what you can 

Wednesday, August 14 

Café Poetry and open mic hosted by Kira Allen  

7:30 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave.  

849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

$2 

Open Mic hosted by Clair Lewis 

8:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-1424 

Poetry Diversified 

First and third Tuesdays,  

7:30 to 9 p.m. 

World Ground Cafe,  

3726 Mac Arthur Blvd., Oakland 

Open mic and featured readers 

Wednesday, August 14 

Premiere of “MMI” by John Sanborn 

Berkeley Arts Festival 

8 p.m. 

Wells Fargo Annex, 2081 Center St., Berkeley 

Event also features a piano concert featuring Sarah Cahill performing recent works and some composed specifically for her. 

665-9496 

Thursday, August 22 

Film: "Ralph Ellison: An American Journey" 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch, 2090 Kittredge St. 

Documentary about the great American author, Ralph Ellison. 

981-6205 

Free 

Truth: Exposing Israeli Apartheid  

7:30 p.m. 

La Pena, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Premiere of documentary by local filmmaker Wendy Campbell. 

655-5889 

$20 donations  

Thursday, August 15

Power for the People 

7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave.  

A forum on public power, solar power and community control of energy. Speakers include Paul Fenn, Director of Local Power and publisher of American Local Power News and energy economist Eugene Coyle. 

548-2220 x233 

$5 to $15, sliding scale 

Tapping into the Hidden Job Market:  

Networking & Informational Interviewing 

Noon to 1 p.m. 

YWCA Turning Point Career Center, 2600 Bancroft Way 

Cal Martin will speak on networking and informational interviewing.  

848-6370 

$3 at door 

Unique Presentation Styles 

Noon to 1 p.m. 

State Health Toastmasters Club, 2151 Berkeley Way 

Learn to use the unique attributes of your personality to improve your public speaking skills. Visitors must preregister. 

595-1594 

Free 

Friday, August 16

Deasophy: Wisdom of the Goddess 

7:30 p.m. 

Redwood Gardens Community Room, 2951 Derby St., Berkeley 

Max Dashu presents a slide show on Goddess cosmologies and female creators from a global perspective. 

654-9298 or maxdashu@LMI.net 

$7-15 donations 

Free Theater for Children 

7:30 p.m. 

Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. 

Stage Door Conservatory presents Wise men of Chelm, based on Jewish Folk Tales. Adapted by Sandra Fenichel Asher. 

527-5939 

Berkeley Women in Black 

Noon to 1 p.m. 

Telegraph and Bancroft 

Standing in solidarity with Israeli and Palestinian women to urge an end to the occupation and the violence. 

548-6310, wibberkeley.org 

Saturday, August 17

Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Associations (BANA) Meeting 

9:l5 a.m. to ll a.m. 

Live Oak Park, Fireside Room, l30l Shattuck Ave. 

Citywide meeting concerning local issues. All are welcome. 

849-46l9 or mtbrcb@pacbell.net 

Cajun & More Festival 

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Civic Center Park, Center St. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

4 live bands, crafts fair, outdoor dance floor, micro-brewery beer, Cajun food and free Cajun dance lessons. 

548-3333 

Admission is free 

Tour for Blind, Low-Vision Library Patrons 

10:30 a.m. to noon 

Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch 

3rd Floor Meeting Rm, 2090 Kittredge St. 

Tour of the new central branch for blind and low-vision patrons. 

981-6121 

Free 

Author Reading and Signing:  

Haunani-Kay Trask 

3 p.m.  

Eastwind Books, 2066 University Ave., Berkeley 

Meet Hawaiian author Haunani-Kay Trask. 

548-2350 

Free 

Cajun & More 

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Four Live Bands, crafts fair, Cajun food, dance lessons, micro-brewery beer & dance floor.  

548-3333 

Free 

Sunday, August 18

Bike Tours of Historic Oakland 

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California, 10th St. entrance, at Fallon 

Leisurely paced 5 1/2 mile bike tour about Oakland's history and architecture, led by docents. 

238-3514 

Free: Reservations Required 

Jewish Genealogy Educational Meeting 

1 p.m. 

Learn about research resources available from the S.F. Bay Area Jewish Genealogy Society. Open to all. 

Berkeley-Richmond JCC, 1414 Walnut St. 

For info visit www.jewishgen.org/sfbajgs 

Free 

Top of the Bay Family Days 

1 to 3 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science, Centennial Drive, above UC campus 

Enjoy an afternoon outdoor concert in our family picnic area as well as art and science activities and hands-on exhibits inside LHS. 

643-5961 

$8 adults 

Thursday, August 22

Free Meanoma Update 

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Summit North Pavilion, Cafeteria Annex B & C, 350 Hawthorne Ave., Oakland 

Information on melanoma skin cancer, detection and treatment. 

869-6737 

Free 

Friday, August 23

Teen Playreaders present Bizarre Shorts 

(through August 24) 7 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library - North Branch 

1170 The Alameda 

Playreaders present 20 short, bizarre plays, contemporary and classic. 

981-6250 

Free 

Saturday, August 24

UC Berkeley Circle K Garage Sale 

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Berkeley ACE Hardware parking lot, 2145 University Ave. 

Garage sale fundraiser held by UC Berkeley, non-profit community service organization to raise money for pediatric trauma patients.  

(858) 335-9021 

Fuel Cell Car Experiments 

1 to 3 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California Campus (Just below Grizzly Peak Blvd.) 

Observe a miniature car operating on solar energy and water, and help conduct physics experiments to learn more about this environmentally friendly new technology. For ages 12 and up. 

642-5132 

Admission: $8 for adults; $6 for youth; $4 for children 3-4: Free for children under 3 

Vegan Food Party 

11:30 a.m. 

Lake Anza in Tilden Park 

Social, food party event presented by Contra Costa Vegetarians and SFBAVeg. 

dhermit4424@yahoo.com 

Free with Vegan dish 

Sunday, August 25

Destination Telegraph 

Noon to 5 p.m. 

Durant Ave., between Telegraph Ave. and Bowditch Ave. 

Live music, beer and wine garden, street artists, community booths, art and prizes. 

649-9500 or www.telegraphyberkeley.org for information, booth space or to volunteer 

Tuesday, August 27

A House of Straw: A Natural Building Odyssey Slideshow 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo 

Carolyn Roberts presents slides and talks about her experiences building her straw bale house. 

548-2220 Ext.. 233 

Free 

Thursday, August 29

2nd Annual LGBT Elders Conference 

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

First Unitarian Church, 685 14th St. Oakland 

Workshops and conference for LGBT elders to learn about senior services.  

705-8918 

$20 registration, no one denied for lack of funds 

Saturday, August 31

Berkeley Youth Orchestra Auditions (Wind, Brass, Percussion) 

All day 

Laney College Music Dept., Fallon St., Oakland 

Berkeley Youth Orchestra will audition musicians aged 10-15 for the 2002-2003 season. 

For an application or more information call Penny Boys at 540-0812 or e-mail her at philiph@seismo.berkeley.edu 

Three seniors are competing for final
spot alongside Klotsche and Nixon 

Four players. One starting job. The math isn’t hard to do. 

With two of Cal’s starting linebacker spots occupied by seniors John Klotsche and Matt Nixon, four special teams standouts are spending the fall battling for the last spot. Three of them are seniors, looking for a chance to shine in their final season in Berkeley. 

The leader for the position appears to be Paul Ugenti. A senior who has played mostly special teams for the last two seasons, Ugenti had a strong spring and has taken most of the reps with the first squad so far this fall. A highly-touted recruit at safety in 1998, Ugenti put on weight this summer to help him in run support, while his agility allows him to cover receivers out of the backfield as well as tight ends. 

Defensive leader Nnamdi Asomugha, who will play a hybrid linebacker/safety spot this season, said Ugenti has been a solid contributor who is ready to step up. 

“Paul has played as hard as he can for three years, and he’s earned everyone’s respect,” Asomugha said. “It’s not surprising to anyone that he’s stepped up his game.” 

But Ugenti has two classmates breathing down his neck. Calvin Hosey is the biggest of the candidates at 6-foot-4, 235 pounds and has the speed to rush the passer. Hosey is a vocal presence on the practice field but must prove to be a consistent player to earn more playing time. 

Marcus Daniels is more suited to an inside position, but with Klotsche returning as the leading tackler on the team, Daniels will likely have to play on the outside to see much time. Daniels is very athletic and has shown good hitting ability in practice, but he may be best suited for another year of backup duty while contributing on special teams. Yet Daniels has made an impression during the fall, showing good instincts in pass coverage that could make him valuable playing next to the hole-plugging Klotsche. 

The wild card in the competition is sophomore Wendell Hunter. Hunter’s high-energy style lets him flow from sideline to sideline, and he is probably the best coverage linebacker on the team. He may have to wait his turn with five seniors on the depth chart, but he could crack the rotation with a good fall. 

Nixon is the big-play guy of the group, which should keep him in the lineup on the weak side. While a bit undersized at 220 pounds, he has good instincts for the ball and has made 22 tackles for loss in the last two years while contributing on special teams, including a blocked field goal in last season’s Big Game. 

Klotsche, secure in his middle spot, said each player can bring different things to the field. 

“All of the seniors know what they’re doing out there, it’s just a matter of figuring out who’s best for each situation,” Klotsche said. “Some guys are better at covering, some are better at blitzing. We just need to make plays, it doesn’t matter who makes them.”

The city is prepared to take control of a student boarding house owned by a landlord notorious for substandard housing. 

Reza Valiyee, who has been charged several times for not maintaining his numerous Berkeley properties, has until Aug. 30 to remove illegal bedrooms at 2455 Prospect St. built more than 20 years ago, City Attorney Zach Cowen said. 

If Valiyee fails to comply with the Superior Court order to remove the rooms, the city will return to court to seek a “receiver,” which empowers the city to take over management of the building. The city could then use rents or other building assets such as a mortgage to pay for court-mandated adjustments. 

“It’s a pretty extreme remedy for a building that isn’t hazardous,” Cowen said. But Valiyee’s long history of stalling on city-mandated repair work has forced the city’s heavy hand, he said. 

Valiyee says that he has not complied with the court order because the city was late in presenting him with plans on how to bring the building into compliance with zoning law. 

“It took the city three years to come up with a plan that I could have done in two months,” Valiyee said. “The whole idea is to put me out of business.” 

The city and Valiyee have fought over the Prospect Street property for years. 

In 1994 the city sued Valiyee to force him to remove bedrooms officials say he built without a zoning permit. After Valiyee failed to comply with several court orders, a judge, in 1998, issued an injunction empowering the city to design a renovation plan that Valiyee would be required to implement. 

Valiyee now says that he wants to implement the plan, but hopes to combine it with a beautification project that would entail the creation of larger third-floor bedrooms and a new roof. 

City officials say the beautification project is just another in a series of stall tactics by the landlord. The beautification work requires Zoning Adjustment Board approval, but Cowan said Valiyee has yet to present a plan to the commission. 

“He’s been jerking the city around for years,” said Mark Rhoades, the city’s planning manager.  

Valiyee, however, says he has been a decent landlord and has accommodated his tenants’ needs. He said that when he bought the building in 1970, he reduced occupancy from 78 to 50 and seismically retrofitted it. 

The number of illegal bedrooms in the house is still unclear, with the resident manager and Valiyee providing conflicting numbers on how many total bedrooms are there. Valiyee said there are 50, but his property manager said there are 45. 

The illegal bedrooms, which provided additional rental income during the recent housing shortage, may not even work to Valiyee’s advantage this year. Boarding houses such Valiyee’s tend to fill up when there are few available rentals, but in the current market, students opt for apartments over boarding houses. The resident manager said that the basement rooms are currently vacant and that only18 rooms had been rented. 

This is not the first time Valiyee has been in trouble with the city. 

Last week the Rent Stabilization Board upheld a decision requiring Valiyee to pay 13 former tenants at his 2412 Piedmont Ave. boarding house between $894 and $3,284 in rent reductions. The tenants filed a grievance charging that toilets and sinks were left clogged, showers were not cleaned, the refrigerator did not work, and rodents ran throughout the house.  

“I have seen residential hotels in the Tenderloin better than that building,” said Rent Board Commissioner, Paul Hogarth, who helped the residents file their grievances.

To the Editor: 

I strongly oppose “bailing out” AC Transit. Booting out the entire antiquated system would give Berkeley a chance to install a true public transport service. 

Take the bus 51 for example. This dirty crowded bus meanders from Berkeley's Marina to Jack London Square. Thirty years ago this might have been a reasonable route. Now, with traffic quadrupled, it has no hope of keeping to a schedule. 

Better, in my view, would be a Berkeley city circular shuttle along the east-west corridors (Cedar, University, Ashby Avenues etc.) which would pick up intercity buses routed along the north-south corridors. 

I will gloss over the horror stories we all share – the driver who fails to see people waiting at designated stops, the driver who writes in his journal while letting go of the steering wheel, the driver who refuses to give a transfer when one gets on the wrong bus by mistake – because these are human errors of judgement. It is when one walks home along a bus route, and no bus appears in either direction during the 45 minutes it takes, that one realizes that there is something fundamentally wrong.  

The fundamental problem with AC Transit is its poor structure, and no amount of money will correct this. We have proof of this. A few years ago AC Transit received a grant of several million dollars from the federal government to install equipment which, I was told by an AC executive, would “tell us where the buses are.” This sounds to me like a colossal waster of our money. 

Let us get rid of this shambling behemoth and install something worthy of Berkeley – friendly, clean, small shuttle buses, efficiently run, cheap and environmentally excellent. 

Shirley Barker  

Berkeley

OAKLAND – Billy Koch needed just 12 pitches to redeem himself after a shaky outing. 

Koch pitched a perfect ninth inning to reach 30 saves for the fourth straight season as the Oakland Athletics defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 Wednesday. 

Eric Chavez hit a three-run homer, and Jermaine Dye also drove in a run for the A’s, who have won two straight after losing their last five to the Blue Jays. The A’s have won 10 of 15 overall. 

Shannon Stewart homered for the Blue Jays, who have lost six of eight. 

Koch, whom the A’s acquired from Toronto during the offseason, walked the first two batters he faced and allowed a run on Tuesday before nailing down his 29th save. 

“Any 1-2-3 outing feels great,” Koch said. “Pitching effectively, that’s the biggest thing. It was great to do that and not have Art (A’s manager Howe) have to pull his hair out. I never set a number on how many saves I want to get because that feels like a limitation. I just want to do my job.” 

Said Howe: “That was vintage Billy Koch. He went right after them.” 

Tim Hudson (9-9) won his second straight decision and evened his record for the first time since he was 3-3 on May 4. He gave up two runs – one earned – and seven hits in 7 1-3 innings. 

“Hudson’s movement today was outstanding,” Blue Jays manager Carlos Tosca said. “You have to be patient against a pitcher like that and try to take him deep in the count. He kept his pitches down and got the double plays when he needed.” 

While Hudson has a .690 career winning percentage in the major leagues, he hadn’t won consecutive decisions since June 30 and July 12. 

“It seems like, still, when I make mistakes they hit them,” Hudson said. “It also seems like I’m not making as many mistakes and when I got into those situations, I was able to get the groundballs.” 

Pete Walker (5-3) allowed four runs, four hits and four walks in six innings but didn’t give up a hit after Miguel Tejada’s single in the third. Walker retired 12 of his final 14 batters. 

“I just keep throwing too many pitches,” Walker said. “When I find my stuff it’s always too late. Chavez won the game for them in the first inning.” 

Chavez had a tiebreaking two-run single in the seventh inning of Oakland’s 5-4 win Tuesday, then hit his 26th homer of the season in the first inning following Scott Hatteberg’s single and Tejada’s walk. 

“You just have to adjust to what the pitcher is doing,” Chavez said. “It just feels comfortable right now knowing I can take the pitch the other way.” 

Dye’s groundout scored Hatteberg in the third for a 4-0 lead. 

Stewart homered leading off the sixth, and Josh Phelps had an RBI grounder later in the inning. 

Terrence Long saved a run with a diving catch on Tom Wilson’s soft liner to short left-center in the seventh inning. DeWayne Wise, who had doubled and gone to third on a groundout, said he wasn’t sure if he left early and went back to the base. 

Notes: Toronto SS Chris Woodward missed his second straight game after sustaining a bone bruise when he was hit by a pitch Monday. ... Dye stole his first base of the season. He had nine steals last year with the A’s and Royals. ... Blue Jays OF Jose Cruz Jr. missed the series because of a sprained left ankle, and will be reevaluated on Thursday. ... A’s LHP Ted Lilly, on the DL with an inflamed left shoulder, began throwing lightly Monday in preparation for a September return. ... Hudson is 6-1 with a 2.64 ERA in nine career starts against the Blue Jays. ... Toronto 3B Eric Hinske is four doubles shy of the team rookie record of 31 set by Shawn Green in 1995.

New Department of Conservation maps show that a significant portion of Alameda County could experience landslides and unstable ground conditions during a major earthquake. 

The California Department of Conservation released six Seismic Hazard Zone maps, which show that areas of Berkeley, Oakland, Hayward, Alameda, San Leandro, Emeryville and Albany could be affected by landslides and liquefaction during an earthquake of 6.0 or greater magnitude. 

Liquefaction is a term used to describe areas of water-saturated sandy soil that may become unstable during earthquakes, leading to cracks in the ground and damage to buildings and structures, underground pipes and utilities. 

Similar maps were released two years ago for the cities of Oakland and Piedmont. The new maps incorporate new information obtained through computer models and geologic explorations that included hundreds of borings performed by engineers. 

The maps, which become official after a six-month review period – are used by city planners, developers and those who sell property and housing. 

According to the Department of Conservation, the local building department must require developers to conduct geologic studies before any construction can take place on a property that is located in one of these “zones of required investigation.” 

Also, those who sell property or real estate in these areas must inform their potential clients about the designation, much in the way that sellers in designated flood and wildfire zones must inform their customers about those designations. 

Developers wishing to build in these areas must also turn in construction plans that show how they will address the problems, leading to better earthquake protection and less cost, since it generally costs more to seismically retrofit an existing building than it does to build in safety features at the design stages. 

Each of the maps covers some 60 square miles. Black and white copies of the preliminary maps can be obtained by calling BPS Reprographic Services in San Francisco at (415) 495-8700. Color copies of the official maps will be available through the California Geological Survey by calling (415) 904-7707. 

The maps can also be viewed online at http://gmw.consrv.ca.gov/shmp.

To the Editor: 

The United Seniors, the Gray Panthers, and the Bus Riders Union are very concerned with AC Transit's proposed fare increase and proposed parcel tax. These groups, and their staff, worked very hard to assure passage of Measure B and were assured that AC's major revenue problems would be solved. Now AC is again asking for more money. 

Why is it that it is always the riders who are required to meet the need for more revenue whether in the form of increased fares, reduced service or a parcel tax? If we are all – drivers, management, riders – one family, as the late general manager Sharon Banks used to say, why should not the other two members of the AC family also share the pain? 

What about eliminating travel costs of board members and employees? In these days of the Internet and faxes, telephone and television conferencing, it seems a large waste of money to send directors and employees zipping around the country and the world. How many millions would that save? 

What about reducing wages and salaries to meet this crisis? Public sector jobs are a lot more desirable, these days, than those in the private sector. Let's all share the pain. Furthermore, the union pension fund is non-contributory. How many more millions would it save if union members had to contribute some of their own money to this fund?  

We of the United Seniors, Gray Panthers, and Bus Riders Union would like to see AC Transit get serious about saving money, starting with the ways we suggest in this letter, rather than always sticking it to the riders, particularly seniors and the disabled. 

A final point. Instead of eliminating lines, why not increase their headways, rather than cut them out altogether? 

Charlie Betcher 

President, United Seniors 

Founder, Bus Riders Union 

Co-Convener, Gray Panthers

“When I’m in the air on a clear day, I don’t want it to end. When I’m on the ground I can’t wait to be back up in the sky,” wrote Barbara Cushman Rowell for her forthcoming memoir, “Flying South: A Pilot’s Inner Journey,” from Berkeley-based Ten Speed Press. “The cascading sensations of feeling vulnerable and exhilarated at the same time are much like falling in love.” 

Today, those words might serve as a sad and ironic epitaph for Rowell, a pilot, photographer and long-time Berkeley resident who died with her husband Galen Rowell, a world-famous nature photographer, in a plane crash early Sunday morning outside Bishop, California. 

“The fact that she died in a plane crash is a bittersweet ending,” said Kirsty Melville, publisher at Ten Speed. “It’s very sad that she’s not able to see the publication of the book.” 

Rowell, 54, was born in Hawaii to Lucille and Irving Cushman while her father was stationed at Pearl Harbor with the Navy. At the age of 5, her family was transferred to Texas for a brief stay before settling in California. 

A UC Davis graduate, she met her future husband in 1981 while working at The North Face clothing company as director of public relations. The two married within months and settled in Galen’s native Berkeley. 

Rowell soon became president of the couple’s Emeryville studio and press, Mountain Light Photography. A year and a half ago, the pair moved to Bishop in the eastern Sierra Nevada, bringing Mountain Light with them. 

Last weekend, the couple flew into Oakland after a three-week circumnavigation of the Bering Sea and chartered a twin-propeller plane to Bishop. 

The plane crashed two miles south of the Bishop airport at 1:24 a.m. during the approach, killing the Galens, pilot Tom Reid, 46, and Carol MacAfee, 38, of Bishop. 

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident, but findings will not be available for months.  

Rowell’s memoir, due for release in October, chronicles a three-month airplane journey that Rowell took in her Cessna 206 single-engine plane from Oakland through Latin America and back in late 1990 and early 1991. 

The book includes her own photos and several by her husband, who accompanied her for portions of the trip. 

In her memoir, Rowell wrote that she took the trip because she loved flying, and more importantly, because she wanted to do something independent of her famous husband. 

“I did take personal pride in watching Galen’s career skyrocket,” she wrote. “We complemented each other in business: his writing and photography paid our bills, and my organizational skills and vision took us to higher levels. 

“Still, it was a rude awakening when a man at a party given in Galen’s honor cornered me and asked, ‘How does it feel to be living in someone’s shadow’,” she wrote. 

Rowell noted that the flight offered an opportunity to step out of that shadow. 

“I wanted to know what it felt like to be on my own expedition and in control of my own destiny,” she wrote. “I wanted to wake up in the morning challenged to my core.” 

Challenged she was. During the 58-leg trip, which took her through Mexico, Peru and Argentina among other countries, Rowell suffered serious dental damage after a white water rafting accident, eventually requiring six surgeries, and faced continual sexism as men doubted her ability to fly. 

But she emerged with a new confidence in herself. 

“It was sort of a metamorphosis for her personally,” said Lyla Wolden, Mountain Light gallery manager and a close friend. “She lived in the shadow of her husband for years and this helped her define herself.” 

Melville of Ten Speed said “Flying South” gives powerful voice to Rowell’s metamorphosis, and after receiving approval from her family, the company will proceed with publication of the book. 

Melville said that decision dovetails with Rowell’s own wishes. In a recent conversation, Melville said, Rowell asked, “If I die in a plane crash, you will publish it, won’t you?”  

Slowest police pursuit ever 

BETHLEHEM, Pa.— It wasn’t your typical stolen vehicle — and it definitely wasn’t a textbook police pursuit. 

An officer on his way to work at 6:30 a.m. Monday was startled to see a 30-year-old man cruising down the shoulder of the street on a child’s Fisher Price Power Wheels car. 

The 180-pound rider was about 10 times the recommended age for the battery-operated car, which nonetheless held up under his weight, plugging along at 3 mph, police said. 

Police eventually stopped the man after perhaps the slowest chase on record. 

The officer sounded his car horn and showed his badge to the driver, who ignored him. So the officer got out on foot and walked up to the culprit. 

Police said the driver smelled of alcohol and stumbled as he tried to get up. He told police he was going to his uncle’s home, but didn’t say why he was using a toy to get there. 

The officer took the man to police headquarters and released him after he sobered up, police said. A woman who called police to report that her son’s toy car had been stolen opted not to press charges, but police charged the man with public drunkenness. 

No more bad vibes, OK dude? 

TELLURIDE, Colo. — A Town Council known for nasty squabbling called in a shaman to rid its meeting hall of bad vibes. 

Christopher Beaver conducted a “smudging ceremony” in the Telluride Town Council chambers earlier this summer after he declared the basement room full of negative energy. 

Members of the council say they’ve been in agreement more lately, but they’re reluctant to attribute that to the ceremony, which included burning imported menthol. But they say it opened their minds. 

“I’m not saying there is a connection,” said Mayor John Steel, a 67-year-old, cowboy-hat-wearing attorney. “What it really did maybe was to focus people’s minds on trying to seek higher ground.”

UC Berkeley’s student-run newspaper, which was recently faced with the threat of eviction, will retain its campus office. However, the Daily Californian may be forced to cede some of its space to other student groups. 

The university’s Store Operations Board, composed of students and administrators, voted unanimously Tuesday evening to authorize a renewal of the Daily Californian’s lease, ensuring that the paper will keep its sixth-floor office in Eshleman Hall on Bancroft Way. 

Newspaper officials cheered the move, arguing that a termination of the lease and a move off campus would have harmed the Daily California’s ability to recruit and retain student employees. The paper has 150 people on staff, almost all of them students. 

The Daily Californian, which operates independently of the university, first encountered lease troubles this spring when then-student body President Wally Adeyemo, who served on the Store Operations Board, suggested replacing the newspaper with a public service center on the sixth floor. 

Newspaper officials suggested that Adeyemo, who frequently clashed with the Daily Californian, made the recommendation for political reasons. Adeyemo said he simply wanted to provide space for campus groups that needed it. 

The board voted on May 14 to table Adeyemo’s proposal and order a study of office space in the seven-story Eshleman Hall. 

The board voted Tuesday night to renew the lease, but said the Daily Californian must be willing to make concessions. Citing the space study, which revealed that 142 student groups applied for about 70 slots in Eshleman this year, the board directed its lease negotiators to pursue a reduction in the Daily Californian’s square footage, freeing up room for other student groups. 

The board also recommended that the lease include a provision for more advertising space in the Daily Californian for the student government – the Associated Students of the University of California – and other campus groups. 

Under the terms of its current lease, which expired July 31 and is operating on a month-to-month basis, the newspaper pays part of its rent through advertising credits for student groups. The board has recommended an increase in the number of credits. 

Daily Californian Editor-in-Chief Rong-Gong Lin, II said he is looking forward to a “good compromise” in lease negotiations, but has “concerns” about the possible reduction in space and increase in advertising credits. 

Lin’s manager of classified advertising Corinne Chen gave voice to those concerns at the board meeting, arguing that an increase in advertising and a corresponding reduction in page space for articles would damage the integrity of the newspaper. 

She also said a reduction in office space is untenable because employees already share desks. 

“To reduce our space... would be nothing less than punishing us for providing the largest free speech forum on campus,” Chen said. 

But several board members said the Daily Californian does not merit an entire floor to itself, arguing that the paper must yield space to other student groups. 

“Who are you to weigh one service over another?” asked Han Hong, a board member and ASUC executive vice president. 

The newspaper’s rent will be a key element in the upcoming lease negotiations. The Daily Californian currently pays $7,428 per month, or $1.80 per square foot. The newspaper says the local real estate market has softened significantly since it signed the current lease three years ago and it is asking for a return to 1999 rates of $1.41 per square foot, or $5,770 per month. 

To support its claim that the rental market has softened, the Daily Californian presented the operations board with rental rates for five area properties, ranging from $1.15 to $1.55 per square foot. 

But Thomas Cordi, director of the ASUC Auxiliary, which manages Eshleman Hall, said he had “serious questions” about the Daily Californian’s figures. 

Cordi said several of the properties cited by the newspaper are not suitable office space, arguing that the rates for similar, appropriate space in the city range from $1.80 to $2.35 per square foot. 

Newspaper officials say they need the rent reduction because a nationwide slump in newspaper advertising sales, brought on by the economic downturn, has damaged the Daily Californian’s bottom line. 

General Manager Hubert Brucker said sales from national advertisers have declined 40 percent since the downturn and that local sales have also slumped.  

The virus is not known to exist in California 

The city of Berkeley is taking part in a statewide effort to monitor for the potentially fatal West Nile Virus, and the city manager’s office pledged Wednesday to keep residents informed. 

At present, the virus does not exist in California and has only been detected east of the Rocky Mountains. However, the California Department of Health Services says the virus, which lives in the tissue of birds and can be spread to humans through mosquitos, could reach the west coast within the next few years. 

The virus can induce fever-like symptoms in humans and be fatal to those with weak immune systems. In 2001, 66 cases of West Nile Virus were detected in the eastern United States. 

State officials are looking for the virus by asking residents who find dead birds to call so that they can dispatch safety teams to test for virus. The telephone number for reporting dead birds is 1-877-WNV-BIRD or 1-877-968-2477. 

In the meantime, officials are advising residents to take precautions. 

John Rusmisel, district manager of the Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District, emphasized the need for people to keep swimming pools and fish ponds clean because they can be breeding grounds for mosquitoes. 

“Residential areas produce as much mosquitoes as marshland,” he said.

SAN FRANCISCO — Just outside San Francisco Bay, about 17 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge, teams of divers are braving frigid, murky water to pump thick oil from a ship that sank nearly 50 years ago. 

Each pair of divers spends nearly a month in a pressurized environment — either 175 feet below the icy Pacific or in a special chamber aboard a barge that floats in the blustery wind above the sunken SS Jacob Luckenbach. 

The divers, and about 40 people who have lived on the barge since May, so far have pumped about 12,000 gallons of oil from the ship. It has stores of about 132,000 gallons. 

Each day, one diver stays inside the dive tank and keeps watch while the other, attached to a 100-foot cable, wades through the swift currents in the Gulf of the Farallones to try to drain oil from the ship. 

When they’re finished, the divers are put in a pressurized tank on the barge where they live for the 28 days they’re on the job. It’s known as “saturation diving.” 

The ship is too deep for the divers to descend on a regular dive. Humans can dive to about 130 feet, and they must be brought back to the surface slowly to avoid the painful — and potentially fatal — condition known as “the bends,” which happens when nitrogen forms bubbles in the divers’ bodily tissues. 

To avoid the bends, the divers breathe a combination of helium and oxygen while in the water and in their living quarters. They remain under pressure the entire time. 

After 28 days, a new team is sent in. The cleanup of the ship could take until the end of summer.

Shark sighting prompts
closing of Stinson Beach 

STINSON BEACH – A shark sighting at Stinson Beach means no swimming or surfing at the popular Marin County spot through the weekend. 

The National Park Service closed the waters off the beach Tuesday after a shark was spotted patrolling offshore. 

A group of youths told lifeguards they saw the shark about 100 yards offshore, according to park service spokesman Rich Weideman. 

On May 31, a surfer was attacked by a shark. He survived, but needed 100 stitches to close his wounds and spent a week in a hospital. 

County to get $1.6 million for
solar energy at Santa Rita jail 

DUBLIN – Alameda County officials will gather at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin Wednesday to receive a $1.6 million check from PG&E, a result of the county's investment in solar energy. 

The check is a rebate under the state's Self-Generation Incentive Program, in which the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. gives money back to those who build sources of renewable energy to help underwrite the installation. 

The $1.6 million rebate for Alameda County is the largest that the utility has given out. 

The solar panel on the roof of the jail, installed by Berkeley's PowerLight Corp., is believed to be the largest rooftop harvester of solar power in the United States and the fourth-largest solar installation in the world. 

Spreading out three acres and composed of some 9,000 photovoltaic tiles, the solar energy unit can produce 1.18 megawatts of electricity – or enough to power 1,100 homes. 

Wyoming man with loaded gun
arrested at San Jose airport 

SAN JOSE — A Wyoming man arrested after airport security screeners discovered a loaded semi-automatic handgun in his carryon luggage was being held in Santa Clara County jail. 

William Simmons, 57, was arrested around 2:45 Tuesday afternoon at Mineta San Jose International Airport after a screener found the gun in his luggage and notified police, said Officer Joseph Deras, a spokesman with the San Jose Police Department. 

Simmons was being held on charges of possessing a concealed loaded firearm, Deras said. Simmons was uncooperative with police and had to be forcibly arrested, he said. Simmons was taken to a nearby hospital after complaining he was hyperventilating. He was examined and released, Deras said. 

ANGELS CAMP — An animal rights group has declared the famed Calaveras County Jumping Frog Jubilee and similar contests around the country cruel and inhumane, saying frogs should not be taken from their native habitat for human entertainment. 

Members of the Animal Protection Institute, an 80,000-member animal rights group based in Sacramento, are encouraging other outraged frog lovers to write letters to the directors of the annual event in California’s gold country that features the acrobatics of frogs memorialized in Mark Twain’s classic 1865 short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” 

Animal rights advocate Larisa Bryski says she remembers jumping frogs herself when she made a bid for Miss Calaveras County in 1988. Now, she’d prefer that humans stop jostling the amphibians in the hot summer sun altogether, saying constant handling of the frog’s permeable skin makes it easy for disease and infection to take hold. 

Longtime Calaveras County Fair manager Buck King said he’s not swayed. He said the frogs are treated with respect and noted all are returned to their shady homes in ponds and streams. 

“We are very conscious of how frogs are treated. If any frogs are mistreated, we deal with the person,” King said.

SANTA ANA — Lawmakers called for repairs to California’s sweeping school performance system after a newspaper reported it was so flawed that one in five students aren’t tested and millions of dollars were awarded based on unreliable scores. 

“We need to look immediately at these injustices,” said state Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove. 

State Sen. Dede Alpert, the San Diego Democrat whose bill created the system, has asked the experts who created the process to fix it, the Orange County Register reported Wednesday. 

The Academic Performance Index, or API, has an average error rate of 20 percent that was not publicly announced until July, although the program was passed by the Legislature in 1999, the newspaper said in a series of articles. 

The state’s 7,300 public schools are judged by the results, which are used to dole out cash awards that can help a financially strapped school stock its library, playground or science lab. 

But the statistical scheme penalizes schools with multiple ethnic groups even when they show more academic improvement than all-white campuses, the paper said. 

The API was the centerpiece of Gov. Gray Davis’ efforts to improve California’s struggling schools. It was designed to measure academic performance and school growth with an academic scale that awards 200 to 1,000 points per school.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Federal Transit Administration's top official was in San Francisco on Wednesday to welcome about 100 transportation and security officials to a two-day forum on terrorism response coordination. 

FTA Administrator Jennifer Dorn traveled from San Jose, where a similar forum was conducted Monday and Tuesday for South Bay transportation officials. Wednesday's stop is the fifth of a 17-city tour in which FTA officials create a networking event for regional transportation officials and provide intelligence. 

A flurry of transportation and safety meetings occurred around the country following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks but Dorn said these current forums are going to be of more use because a coordinated effort was made to study the entire nation and then disperse that information locally. In addition, she said U.S. officials have talked to counterparts in other countries such as Israel to learn how they deal with terrorism. 

One of the key aspects of the federal effort is a comprehensive study of the country's top 37 transportation systems, including BART, AC Transit and Muni. Dorn said analysts scrutinized each system's security plan and developed recommendations that will be shared at the forums. 

Assistant Alameda County Sheriff Robert Maginnis said he is confident that the Bay Area is ready for anything, especially after developing a security plan for the 2012 Olympic host city bid that is under way. 

“In order to qualify, you have to have yourself together,” Maginnis said. 

Dorn acknowledged that the Bay Area is recognized as a leader because of its experience with earthquakes but said that is only one of an unknown number of potential scenarios. Terrorism can take many forms, she said, and what works for earthquakes might not be directly relevant to other, manmade disasters. 

“The plans have to be dynamic,” Dorn said. 

San Francisco Deputy Police Chief Richard Bruce, who is the head of the Special Operations and Security Detail, is in charge of a Police Department unit that responds to terrorist threats. Bruce was appointed to the position Aug. 5 but he said it took only four days for him to realize he needed some help coordinating a real-life response. 

Bruce was referring to a tip received Friday that terrorists were rumored to have been plotting to take a military airplane and attempt to crash it into the Golden Gate Bridge. The threat, which was deemed not credible, triggered a security alert through the weekend and caused Bruce to realize the importance of forums like the one Wednesday so local, state and federal officials can prepare for the next unexpected problem. “It's a dilemma we're going to face every day,” Bruce said.

Suit says U.S. Justice Dept.
official hid information 

SAN FRANCISCO — A public interest group on Wednesday filed a lawsuit alleging U.S. Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson engaged in some of the financial chicanery that he has vowed to punish in President Bush’s crusade against corporate crime. 

The civil complaint, filed by Judicial Watch Inc. in San Francisco federal court, focuses on Thompson’s role as a director at credit card issuer Providian Financial Corp. from 1997 until his May 2001 confirmation as the second-in-command at the U.S. Justice Department. 

Thompson assumed a higher public profile last month when he was appointed as the head of a “financial SWAT team” created to weed out corporate corruption and help restore confidence in the scandal-ridden stock market. 

The new role has focused attention on Thompson’s tenure as chairman of Providian’s audit committee, a part of corporate boards that is supposed to ensure companies issue accurate financial statements. 

The lawsuit alleges Thompson ignored his watchdog duties and helped Providian conceal deepening financial troubles that crippled the company and wiped out $15 billion in shareholder wealth during 2001. 

The Justice Department described the allegations against Thompson as “frivolous,” and noted that his record as a Providian director had been fully disclosed to the U.S. Senate before his unanimous confirmation. 

Thompson’s “actions have been entirely professional and proper at all times and in all respects,” Justice Department spokeswoman Barbara Comstock said. 

San Francisco-based Providian brushed off the suit’s allegations as irrelevant because the company is being run by a new management team. 

Besides Thompson, the lawsuit names four other former Providian executives and directors — Shailesh Mehta, David Alvarez, James Rowe and David Grissom. 

“On the face of it, (Judicial Watch) appears to be using Providian to make a political point,” said Providian spokeswoman Laurel Munson. 

The company previously has been hit with several other shareholder lawsuits alleging management covered up its problems during 2001. 

Providian’s shares plunged from a 2001 high of $60.91 to as low as $2.01 after management revealed the breadth of its problems last October. Providian’s shares rose 21 cents to close at $4.90 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. 

Before Providian’s stock began to plummet, Thompson sold his 89,651 shares during July 2001. Thompson hasn’t publicly disclosed how much he made from those sales. 

Providian’s stock price ranged from $46.13 to $59.95 during July 2001. Based on that range, Thompson’s stock sales generated somewhere between $4.1 million and $5.4 million. 

The suit alleges Thompson made the sales because he knew Providian’s stock would plunge once management laid out the company’s financial problems. The Justice Department says Thompson ordered his broker to sell his Providian stock to avoid possible conflicts of interest. 

“The timing of the sale was related to his confirmation (as deputy attorney general), not any other factor,” Comstock said. 

Judicial Watch’s allegations are the latest shot aimed at the past business conduct of Bush and his administration. 

In lawsuits filed by Judicial Watch and other critics, Vice President Dick Cheney has been accused of helping Halliburton overstate its revenues while he was chief executive officer of the oil services company. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Halliburton’s accounting practices during Cheney’s tenure as CEO. 

President Bush also has come under scrutiny for stock sales that he made while he was a director for Harken Energy Corp. 

Judicial Watch said its suit against Thompson illuminates the conflicts facing the Bush administration as it promises to crack down on corporate crime, said Larry Klayman, the Dallas-based group’s chairman. 

“The culture in Washington is to look the other way,” Klayman said. “It is always the high and mighty and powerful in Washington that goes free.” 

Judicial Watch is suing on behalf of Texas resident Robert Lake, who bought 132.9 shares of Providian stock through a retirement account. Lake is seeking $75,000 in damages. 

Although Providian’s stock crashed after Thompson’s departure from the board, Judicial Watch alleges he conspired to help keep the company’s troubles under wraps until he and other insiders could sell their stock. 

Now, the suit alleges, Thompson is blocking an investigation into Providian’s troubles — a charge Comstock called “completely baseless.” 

A year late and $280,000 over budget, the city plans to debut it’s 18,000 square-foot Harrison Skateboard Park – the biggest in the Bay Area – in west Berkeley next month. 

While skateboarders eagerly await the park’s completion, local businesses are concerned about the influx of young skaters. They fear that a crowded park, located in the industrial neighborhood at Fifth and Harrison streets, could lead to vandalism. 

“You should see the rave parties they have here [now],” said one local worker. 

But city officials say these concerns are being addressed. 

“We’re going to have someone there [supervising] two hours in the morning and a couple of hours in the afternoon, and then from 6:30 until closing at 9:30,” said Ed Murphy, project manager for the city’s parks and waterfront department. 

Murphy added that when there was no scheduled supervision, maintenance workers would patrol the park, and that after closing, the police department would make sure the park wasn’t used. The city is also constructing a 6-foot fence around the park to help enforce closing hours. 

The park will be open 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.  

There will also be safety regulations at the new park regarding the use of helmets and pads. 

But some skaters say added precautions are unnecessary. 

“If you put skaters in a cage and have cops roll by to tag them for safety violations, it’s lame,” said Kevin Thatcher, a staffer at the skater magazine THRASHER. “The design could be great [but] they could screw [the new park] up by over-regulating it.” 

Skate parks develop a community etiquette, skaters say, that allows skaters to regulate their own activities without outside supervision. 

“You can’t pay some nanny to run around and tell people what to do, said Jake Phelps, editor of THRASHER. 

The park will be the largest in the Bay Area and will feature two 8-foot bowls and 5-foot high ledges, rails and rolls. 

Phelps was impressed by the park’s design. “Some people have skated it already and say it’s pretty good.” 

With only a few concrete cracks to fill and a fence to build, Mark Mennucci, the skate park’s project manager, said the park should open sometime in September. 

The park was originally scheduled to open last summer. However, construction was halted in November 2000 when the contractor, Morris Construction, hit ground water contaminated with the carcinogen chromium 6. The city spent about $265,000 to clean up the contamination, and built a gravel base below the concrete bowls to prevent further contamination. 

“There’s no way waste is going to come up [now],” said Murphy. 

The project was initially budgeted for $380,000. However, most of that money was used to treat the contaminated water. In 2001, the city allocated another $400,000 to complete the project with new contractor, Altman Engineers. Murphy estimated total project costs at $660,000. 

Phelps expects a lot of skaters for the park’s opening months, but Thatcher says crowds tend to thin out after the first year.  

“Skate parks are never going to be the end all and be all,” he said. “There is too much free asphalt. Kids are still going to go to Pier 7 [in San Francisco]” 

When the park is ready for skaters, city officials are planning a low-key party. 

“There will be a little celebration,” said Lisa Caronna, waterfront and parks director. “Some private companies wanted to do promotions right away, but we want to get a feel for how to run it and make sure that it services the neighborhood.” 

To the Editor: 

With ruthless efficiency, the city's landscape crew recently eliminated the plant Madia sativa thriving in the median strip in front of our home. 

Commonly known as “coast tarweed.” Madia sativa is no weed. As you must know, it's one of our indigenous specimens and host to a variety of native insects. In ancient summers, long before the city of Berkeley existed, Madia sativa covered this area. 

Though it's certainly not a rare plant, I don't know where there's another patch on nearby public land. This year's crop was particularly abundant. I'm sorry to see it go. It might have flowered for another month or so, had it not been prematurely weed-whacked. 

We've lived at our current address for the past 14 years. In our view, this little patch of tarweed – this connection with pre-historic Berkeley – is one thing that makes our block special. We particularly enjoy introducing the plant to neighbors, many of whom know little about local ecology. 

Jim Sharp  

Berkeley

Wednesday, August 14 

Holistic Exercises Sharing Circle  

3:30 to 6:30 p.m.  

wrpclub@aol.com or 595-5541 for information 

Holistic Practitioners, Teachers, Students & Anyone who knows Holistic exercises take turns leading the group through an afternoon of exercises. 

$20 for six-month membership 

Thursday, August 15 

Power for the People 

7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave.  

A forum on public power, solar power and community control of energy. Speakers include Paul Fenn, Director of Local Power and publisher of American Local Power News and energy economist Eugene Coyle. 

548-2220 x233 

$5 to $15, sliding scale 

Tapping into the Hidden Job Market:  

Networking & Informational Interviewing 

Noon to 1 p.m. 

YWCA Turning Point Career Center, 2600 Bancroft Way 

Cal Martin will speak on networking and informational interviewing.  

848-6370 

$3 at door 

Unique Presentation Styles 

Noon to 1 p.m. 

State Health Toastmasters Club, 2151 Berkeley Way 

Learn to use the unique attributes of your personality to improve your public speaking skills. Visitors must preregister. 

595-1594 

Free 

Friday, August 16 

Deasophy: Wisdom of the Goddess 

7:30 p.m. 

Redwood Gardens Community Room, 2951 Derby St., Berkeley 

Max Dashu presents a slide show on Goddess cosmologies and female creators from a global perspective. 

654-9298 or maxdashu@LMI.net 

$7-15 donations 

Free Theater for Children 

7:30 p.m. 

Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. 

Stage Door Conservatory presents Wise men of Chelm, based on Jewish Folk Tales. Adapted by Sandra Fenichel Asher. 

527-5939 

Berkeley Women in Black 

Noon to 1 p.m. 

Telegraph and Bancroft 

Standing in solidarity with Israeli and Palestinian women to urge an end to the occupation and the violence. 

548-6310, wibberkeley.org 

Saturday, August 17 

Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Associations (BANA) Meeting 

9:l5 a.m. to ll a.m. 

Live Oak Park, Fireside Room, l30l Shattuck Ave. 

Citywide meeting concerning local issues. All are welcome. 

849-46l9 or mtbrcb@pacbell.net 

Cajun & More Festival 

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Civic Center Park, Center St. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

4 live bands, crafts fair, outdoor dance floor, micro-brewery beer, Cajun food and free Cajun dance lessons. 

548-3333 

Admission is free 

Tour for Blind, Low-Vision Library Patrons 

10:30 a.m. to noon 

Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch 

3rd Floor Meeting Rm, 2090 Kittredge St. 

Tour of the new central branch for blind and low-vision patrons. 

981-6121 

Free 

Author Reading and Signing:  

Haunani-Kay Trask 

3 p.m.  

Eastwind Books, 2066 University Ave., Berkeley 

Meet Hawaiian author Haunani-Kay Trask. 

548-2350 

Free 

Cajun & More 

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Four Live Bands, crafts fair, Cajun food, dance lessons, micro-brewery beer & dance floor.  

548-3333 

Free 

Sunday, August 18 

Bike Tours of Historic Oakland 

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California, 10th St. entrance, at Fallon 

Leisurely paced 5 1/2 mile bike tour about Oakland's history and architecture, led by docents. 

238-3514 

Free: Reservations Required 

Jewish Genealogy Educational Meeting 

1 p.m. 

Learn about research resources available from the S.F. Bay Area Jewish Genealogy Society. Open to all. 

Berkeley-Richmond JCC, 1414 Walnut St. 

For info visit www.jewishgen.org/sfbajgs 

Free 

Top of the Bay Family Days 

1 to 3 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science, Centennial Drive, above UC campus 

Enjoy an afternoon outdoor concert in our family picnic area as well as art and science activities and hands-on exhibits inside LHS. 

643-5961 

$8 adults 

Thursday, August 22 

Free Meanoma Update 

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Summit North Pavilion, Cafeteria Annex B & C, 350 Hawthorne Ave., Oakland 

Information on melanoma skin cancer, detection and treatment. 

869-6737 

Free 

Friday, August 23 

Teen Playreaders present Bizarre Shorts 

(through August 24) 7 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library - North Branch 

1170 The Alameda 

Playreaders present 20 short, bizarre plays, contemporary and classic. 

981-6250 

Free 

Saturday, August 24 

UC Berkeley Circle K Garage Sale 

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Berkeley ACE Hardware parking lot, 2145 University Ave. 

Garage sale fundraiser held by UC Berkeley, non-profit community service organization to raise money for pediatric trauma patients.  

(858) 335-9021 

Fuel Cell Car Experiments 

1 to 3 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California Campus (Just below Grizzly Peak Blvd.) 

Observe a miniature car operating on solar energy and water, and help conduct physics experiments to learn more about this environmentally friendly new technology. For ages 12 and up. 

642-5132 

Admission: $8 for adults; $6 for youth; $4 for children 3-4: Free for children under 3 

Vegan Food Party 

11:30 a.m. 

Lake Anza in Tilden Park 

Social, food party event presented by Contra Costa Vegetarians and SFBAVeg. 

dhermit4424@yahoo.com 

Free with Vegan dish 

Sunday, August 25 

Destination Telegraph 

Noon to 5 p.m. 

Durant Ave., between Telegraph Ave. and Bowditch Ave. 

Live music, beer and wine garden, street artists, community booths, art and prizes. 

649-9500 or www.telegraphyberkeley.org for information, booth space or to volunteer 

Tuesday, August 27 

A House of Straw: A Natural Building Odyssey Slideshow 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo 

Carolyn Roberts presents slides and talks about her experiences building her straw bale house. 

548-2220 Ext.. 233 

Free 

Thursday, August 29 

2nd Annual LGBT Elders Conference 

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

First Unitarian Church, 685 14th St. Oakland 

Workshops and conference for LGBT elders to learn about senior services.  

705-8918 

$20 registration, no one denied for lack of funds 

Saturday, August 31 

Berkeley Youth Orchestra Auditions (Wind, Brass, Percussion) 

All day 

Laney College Music Dept., Fallon St., Oakland 

Berkeley Youth Orchestra will audition musicians aged 10-15 for the 2002-2003 season. 

For an application or more information call Penny Boys at 540-0812 or e-mail her at philiph@seismo.berkeley.edu 

Monday, September 2 

National Organization for Women  

Oakland/East Bay Chapter  

6:30 PM.  

Mama Bears Bookstore and Coffeehouse, 6536 Telegraph Avenue  

Chapter’s monthly meeting. Speaker: Multicultural historian, Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum, received 

the prestigious Valitutti Award for non fiction.  

549-2970 

Free 

Sunday, September 8 

Lifelong Medical Care First Annual 5K Fun Run/Walk Fundraiser 

9 a.m. to noon 

West Berkeley 

Individual and team participation, a health fair, food, prizes, live music, free insurance eligibility screening - fun for all ages. 

704-6010 

In the high-flying Pac-10, one of the most important things a team needs for success is a pair of good cornerbacks, sometimes even three or four. But thanks to some classroom troubles, the Cal Bears find themselves facing a season with just two experienced cornerbacks. 

Senior Ray Carmel and redshirt freshman Will Scott were both ruled academically ineligible earlier this week, bringing to three the number of cornerbacks the Bears have lost since last season due to grades. Atari Callen transferred to Idaho State earlier this summer after he was ruled ineligible. 

It’s not as if the players lost are slouches, either. Carmel and Callen came out of spring practice as the starters, while Scott’s athleticism probably would have found him some playing time this season. 

“Coming out of spring, (Carmel and Callen) were our top two guys, no question,” Cal defensive secondary coach J.D. Williams said. “It’s unfortunate that we had to lose them that way.” 

The mass exodus leaves senior Jemeel Powell and junior James Bethea as the only cornerbacks on the Cal roster with significant experience. Powell had an outstanding sophomore year before injuries held him back last season, but the speed and confidence that made him a good player seem to be lacking. Bethea started eight games last season, but that’s damning praise as the Bears were among the worst defensive teams in the nation. Bethea was burned deep repeatedly early in the season and played tentatively the rest of the way, going the entire year without an interception. 

With Bethea and Powell the likely starters, at least to start the season, several unknowns will get a shot at important roles. Redshirt freshman Harrison Smith has moved over from safety, as has senior Jeremy Drake. Harrison, a Skyline High (Oakland) graduate, is more known for his hitting than his coverage, and Drake has struggled to crack the starting lineup since coming in from Mt. San Antonio Junior College in 2000. Neither has elite speed, something the outstanding receivers in the conference would likely exploit at every opportunity. 

There are also three true freshmen who could break into the lineup with a good showing in the next few weeks. Wale Forrester, Donnie McCleskey and Tim Mixon all have good speed, and Mixon in particular has looked impressive in full-contact drills. But asking a true freshman to absorb a full college playbook in a few weeks is a bit too much, so don’t expect to see any of them in the opener against Baylor on Aug. 31. 

“(The freshmen) are a little overwhelmed by the playbook, and that’s to be expected,” Williams said. “We have to be able to run all of our plays, and if they can’t do that, they won’t play until they can.” 

Occasional help could come from a familiar source. Senior LaShaun Ward converted from cornerback to wide receiver midway through last season, and head coach Jeff Tedford said he might call on Ward for spot duty in nickel and dime situations. 

Notes: Sophomore wideout Chase Lyman underwent surgery on Tuesday for a broken pinkie on his right hand, suffered at the team’s first official practice on Saturday. The injury will take at least two weeks to heal, but a hamstring injury suffered at the same practice could hold him back even longer. Tedford said he thinks Lyman could be ready for the Bears’ first game. “Chase knows the offense, and I’m confident he’ll be able to jump right back into the thick of things,” Tedford said... Senior guard Scott Tercero has been held out of practice this week due to a shoulder injury, but is expected to be ready for the opener... Offensive lineman Jon Geisel suffered a hamstring injury during Tuesday’s afternoon practice. The severity of the injury was unknown... JC transfer receiver Jonathan Makonnen went through his first full-contact practice on Tuesday after breaking a finger a week ago... Tight end Terrence Dotsy lost 40 pounds this summer, and now weighs in at about 260 pounds.

Former Alameda County Board of Education member Jerome Wiggins said he will file suit next week against County Superintendent Sheila Jordan, her husband Larry Cooperman and her campaign committee, alleging slander. 

Wiggins, who represented Berkeley and the surrounding areas before losing a re-election bid in March, charges that Jordan and Cooperman made “racially tinged” accusations that he is violent and falsely asserted that he was arrested for an alleged November 1988 assault. 

Wiggins, who is black, said it is too early to determine how much money he will seek in damages. 

Jordan said she has never mentioned Wiggins’s race, or used a photograph of the former board member, when accusing him of violent behavior and intimidation tactics. 

She said that by raising the charge Wiggins has created the link between blacks and violence. 

“He’s the one who makes it racially-tinged,” she said. “I find that totally offensive that somehow being a bully is associated with being African-American.” 

Jordan and Wiggins are bitter enemies. The pair engaged in a high-profile budget battle last year that was often personal, and this year, Jordan contributed $10,000 to the campaign of Jacki Fox Ruby, who ousted Wiggins in March. 

In the closing days of the campaign, Jordan sent out campaign literature accusing Wiggins of threatening the superintendent, fellow board members and Ruby supporters. 

The campaign piece quoted several Wiggins e-mails, including one that accused a fellow board member of “unethical, racist and despicable” behavior. The campaign literature also quoted a statement Wiggins allegedly made to another county staff member threatening to bring a baseball bat and destroy county computers during an appointment with Jordan. 

Wiggins said he never threatened Jordan in the phone call and was simply making an animated point about the computer system. 

In July 2001, Cooperman wrote an Oakland Tribune column stating that Wiggins had “a previous arrest for politically motivated violence” in November 1988. Cooperman asserted that Wiggins, then a member of the AC Transit board, was arrested for an alleged assault on a pair of opposition campaign workers. 

But Wiggins was never arrested for the scuffle, according to the Berkeley Police Department. 

“They never went and checked the public record to verify the (arrest) allegation and that’s slander,” Wiggins said. 

Jordan acknowledged that Cooperman made a mistake, but said he was simply relying on what was reported in an erroneous article that appeared in the UC Berkeley student newspaper. 

Jordan said Cooperman has not repeated the accusation since learning that Wiggins was not, in fact, arrested. 

But Wiggins noted that Jordan included a clipping of the newspaper’s headline, which read “Candidate held after early morning scuffle,” in the campaign piece she sent out this year. 

Wiggins said Jordan, knowing he was not arrested, improperly implied that he was. 

Jordan said she has tried to put the ongoing feud with Wiggins behind her. But if Wiggins files suit, the superintendent said, she may bring up several “counter-charges.” Jordan declined to elaborate on what those charges might be, but suggested that they could prove harmful.  

“Jerome really needs to think about jeopardizing himself and his family further,” she said. 

Wiggins dismissed Jordan’s warning, arguing that any counter-charges would be rooted in hearsay. 

“This isn’t about violent behavior,” he said. “You went and told people that I’d been arrested. ... All the rest is innuendo.” 

Wiggins’s attorney Steve Anthony, with Oakland law firm Anthony and Carlson, declined to comment on the specifics of the suit until he files the claim next week. 

To the Editor: 

Why is it that businesses are allowed to sell coffee and food without being required to provide toilets? Why is it that public bathrooms in Berkeley parks are not equipped with sinks or toilet paper? I made Berkeley my home three years ago, and for the most part I love living here. But I am so completely horrified at how difficult and unsanitary it is to use the bathroom in Berkeley. 

There is no reason why any business in Berkeley should be allowed to sell coffee or food without providing clean bathroom facilities. This is basic zoning 101. There is a direct correlation between drinking coffee and needing to use the bathroom. Businesses should be forced to deal with people’s need to use the bathroom if they are to sell any sort of food, including prepackaged drinks. Most other civilized cities have such requirements. 

Berkeley park bathrooms are in desperate need of maintenance. Why is it that toilets are provided without sinks to wash your hands or toilet paper? This is disgusting. Are we really in such dire financial shape that we cannot afford to clean up our own waste in a sanitary manner? There are Thirds World countries that deal with their own waste better then we do. I’ve seen overflowing portable toilets in Berkeley Parks that made me want to vomit. It's very sad that a city so world renowned for it's revolutionary ideas is so far behind the rest of the world in our cleanliness. 

Zach Tomcich 

Berkeley 

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – Cal junior Natalie Coughlin broke the world record in the 100-meter backstroke at the U.S. National Championships and became the first woman to swim the race in under one minute. Her record time of 59.58 broke China’s Cihong He’s 1994 mark of 1:00.16.  

“This is very exciting. It’s a huge barrier in the sport of swimming and for it to be an American to break the world record is awesome,” said Cal head swimming coach Teri McKeever. “She definitely delivered when she needed to.”  

The championships, which take place from August 12-17, is used as a consideration for team selection to such events as the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships, 2003 World Championships and 2003 World University and Pan American Games.  

Coughlin has now set three world records to go along with her 24 American records. In her brief career, she is a two-time NCAA Swimmer of the Year, has won six individual NCAA titles and was named the recipient of the 2001-02 Honda Sport Award Winner for swimming April 3. She also was a finalist for the AAU James E. Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete earlier this year and recently was one of five nominees for an ESPY award as Best Female Collegiate Athlete.  

In Monday’s opening events, Coughlin edged out 10-time Olympic medalist Jenny Thompson in the 100 fly and also placed in the 400-meter free relay, along with Danielle Becks, Staciana Stitts and Haley Cope, as the team finished fourth with a time of 3:48.79.

Despite two fatalities this year resulting from vehicles striking people, a report released Tuesday by Washington D.C.-based Surface Transportation Policy Project says Berkeley is the second safest pedestrian city in California. 

The report surveyed the state’s 58 largest cities with populations greater than 100,000 and found that only Irvine presents less of a vehicle threat than Berkeley. Nearby Richmond, Vallejo and San Jose ranked among California’s ten most dangerous for pedestrians. 

“Berkeley has a fairly high [pedestrian-vehicle] incident rate per capita, but only because there are so many people walking,” explained Kristi Kimabll, northern California Campaign Director of STPP. “People walking are less likely to get hit in Berkeley than in other cities.” 

Nearly 15 percent of Berkeley commuters walk to work, more than any other California city with at least 100,000 residents, according to 2000 census data.  

San Francisco was second to Berkeley with 9.4 percent of its commuters traveling by foot. 

Tuesday’s safety report comes just weeks after Berkeley leaders wrote a pedestrian safety tax measure for the November ballot. The proposed measure would raise property tax by 1.3 cents per square foot to fund the development of lighted crosswalks, pedestrian-activated traffic signals, traffic circles and other safety features. 

Supporters of the pedestrian tax measure say Tuesday’s report does not lessen the need for more pedestrian safety features in Berkeley. Some even questioned the report’s findings. 

“What this report tells us is that we do need to pursue safety measures,” said Wendy Alfsen, coordinator of pedestrian group Walk and Roll Berkeley. 

Alfsen said that the STPP report inappropriately factored the number of people who walk into the safety ratings, whereas the quantity of incidents should have been weighed more heavily. 

“In terms of absolute numbers, we’re very high,” said Alfsen. 

The report indicates that Berkeley is second only to San Francisco in the number of pedestrian-vehicle incidents per capita. 

The report calculations are based on 2001 data from the California Highway Patrol. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington, an advocate of the pedestrian safety tax, agreed that the report needs to be reviewed more carefully before conclusions can be drawn. 

“Numbers can be shifted into different verdicts,” he said. 

Opponents of the city’s proposed safety tax are certain to use the report to bolster their argument against the measure. 

“I don’t know that we need this tax because I don’t think it will help,” said Berkeley Resident Art Goldberg, who signed ballot arguments against the proposed tax. “And if Berkeley is really the second safest city, that would prove we don’t need it.”

To the Editor: 

Most of you reading this doubtless consider the San Francisco Bay Area a beautiful place to live. And yet all of us who drive are helping to despoil it. Smog lays like a pall over the whole area and spreads the length of the Great Central Valley, a globally significant source of food. Pollution and ozone were so extreme here on Friday the elderly and children were advised to stay indoors. 

We may think there's nothing we can do, but if each of us will abstain from driving even for just one day a week and commit to walking, biking, or using BART and buses, it will make a difference. 

We need to lobby our municipal and regional governments and especially CalTrans to commit more funds to public transportation and less to planning for ever more cars. The Bay Area Air Quality board must do more than levy small fines on the oil refineries that flout pollution regulations. 

We can do this, and we can teach our children why it is essential for their future that we convert to non-polluting modes of transportation and require Bay Area industries to clean up their smokestacks. 

Will you make one day a car-free day next week? And the next? You can do it. 

Charlene M. Woodcock 

Berkeley

OAKLAND – Chris Mullin, a five-time All-Star and the Golden State Warriors’ fourth-leading career scorer, rejoined the Warriors as a special assistant Tuesday. 

Mullin, who played 13 of his 16 NBA seasons with Golden State, will work in player development and evaluation while also playing a role in the team’s business operations, chief operating officer Robert Rowell said. 

He will not take a supervisory role above general manager Garry St. Jean. 

Mullin, the seventh overall draft pick in 1985, played his first 12 seasons with Golden State, averaging a career-high 26.5 points during the 1988-89 season. He was a star on the Warriors’ playoff teams in the early 1990s before the franchise began its current string of eight consecutive losing seasons.

UC Berkeley visiting professor Pedro Sanchez, the recently-announced winner of the prestigious World Food Prize, said his interest in agriculture and hunger issues began on his family’s farm in Cuba, where his father ran a soil business. 

“In a way, agriculture is in my blood,” said Sanchez, 61, in a statement. “My father’s love for the soil played a large role in my decision to devote my efforts to solving the world’s food problems.” 

Sanchez, who came to the United States in 1958 to study at Cornell University, has spent the last three decades using natural products, instead of synthetic fertilizers, to revitalize infertile soil and increase crop yields for hundreds of thousands of small farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America. 

“He is transforming the lives of African farmers who can now feed their families and become self-sufficient because of the programs he developed,” said Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, in a statement. “His work perfectly embodies the spirit of the World Food Prize.” 

Quinn announced that Sanchez won the award Sunday at the International Horticultural Congress in Toronto. 

Sanchez will receive the $250,000 prize during an Oct. 24 ceremony in Des Moines, Iowa, where the foundation is based. The prize was established in 1986 by Norman Borlaug, winner of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in world agriculture. 

Sanchez, who chairs the United Nations Task Force on Hunger, said he feels an urgency in his work. 

“I’m impatient to get hunger over with,” he said. “There’s no room for complacency when you see kids who are malnourished and, as a result, are more susceptible to diseases.” 

Before coming to UC Berkeley in January, Sanchez spent 10 years as director general of the International Centre for Research in agroforestry, based in Kenya, now known as the World Agroforestry Centre. 

There he spearheaded efforts to use natural resources like rock phosphates, rather than costly fertilizers, to increase crop yields for African farmers two to four times, according to the foundation. 

Prior to his work at the agroforestry center, Sanchez was an assistant professor of soil science at North Carolina State University and worked to turn 75 million acres of acidic soil into productive farmland. 

“It was a paradigm shift in how people viewed tropical soils,” said David Zilberman, co-director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Sustainable Resource Development. “A region that had previously been dismissed as farmable land has since become a new breadbasket for Brazil.” 

During his time at North Carolina State, Sanchez was also able to shine a spotlight on the destructive effects of using bulldozers to clear land in the Amazon basin. 

His research eventually contributed to policy changes on land clearing in Peru, Brazil and Indonesia. 

“What’s unique about Pedro is that he is more than just a great scientist,” said Zilberman. “He is skilled in developing policy and building an institutional framework that takes the research into the real world.” 

To the Editor: 

The Planet sent a misleading message to the public by putting three recent articles on the top of the front page under the headlines “More payroll problems in school district,” “Payroll problems continue to plague school district” and “Personnel matter may have cost district its payroll precision” and by relying for its criticisms on a disgruntled former district employee who departed “under mysterious circumstances.” 

The district just completed the first issuance of payroll and vendor checks using a software program widely used by other districts and a computer system operated by the Pleasanton Unified School District. This reorganization of the districts financial information and data processing system is critical to remedying what for years has been a highly unreliable payroll system and antiquated financial reporting system. The district is moving forward to making available reliable financial and personnel information to district management and the school board.  

In a first round of any data conversion “glitches” will happen. That the new system ignored a zero at the beginning of a bank account number is hardly surprising and is easily remedied. So is a one-time miscalculation of payroll withholding taxes. This is not, as the former employee would have it, a “big mess.” The big mess was in the old system for which the former employee was responsible. It is incredible to suggest, as one article did, that the former data processing manager's employment ended because he was doing “too successful” a job. 

School Board President Shirley Issle is right when she says that the public needs to give the district time to iron out the minor problems with the new system – but not quite as much time as the six months she suggests. The district's financial crisis does not permit six months of patience. If this system is not operating smoothly in three months, we may well have a new “big mess.” 

Don Read 

Berkeley

ALBANY – Elvis might have left the building for good 25 years ago this week, but the “King” is helping two Albany police officers convey a message of traffic safety to teens throughout the state. 

Elvis impersonator Lt. Bill Palmini of the Albany Police Department and his guitar-playing colleague, Sgt. Art Clemons, have traveled throughout California as the band Elvis & the Lawmen, using the late rock-n-roller's songs to promote driving safety to teens. 

The band's new CD is called “One Way Ride,”and features 14 Elvis hits picked to convey a traffic safety message. 

The recording also includes the national anthem – which is also an Elvis impersonation. 

The band, which is a project funded by a grant of the California Office of Traffic Safety, has performed at more than 500 school assemblies.

Unaccounted funds will cut $2.8 million budget deficit 

The Berkeley Unified School District has revised its projected 2002-2003 budget deficit, slashing the figure from $2.8 million to $2 million after discovering that it had underestimated state funding for next year by some $900,000. 

District officials cheered the revision. But some worried that the Alameda County Office of Education, which has jurisdiction over Berkeley Unified, still might reject the district’s budget because, even with the $900,000 improvement, it includes a $2 million shortfall.  

“If they follow the technical letter of the law, they probably shouldn’t approve it,” said the district’s Associate Superintendent of Business and Operations Jerry Kurr.  

County Superintendent Sheila Jordan said her office has not received all the documents it needs to fully evaluate the district’s budget, but suggested that Berkeley Unified faces an uphill battle in winning approval. 

“There’s a good chance [the budget] won’t be passed,” she said. “But it’s certainly not impossible.” 

Jordan, who is scheduled to make a ruling on the budget in the coming weeks, said the county might approve the document with a lengthy list of conditions attached. Otherwise, it goes back to the drawing board. 

Board of Education President Shirley Issel said she is hopeful that the county will sign off on the district budget. 

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” she said. 

Jordan said the county will have a better sense for the true state of the district’s budget, and its prospects for approval, by the end of next week when all the budget documents are in hand. 

Jordan expressed mild frustration that the district hadn’t already provided the county with “multi-year projections,” documents which assess the longer-term budget outlook. 

“It’s not good,” she said. “We’re all operating on deadlines.” 

The Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team, a state agency that has been advising the district on its budget since last year, is working on the projections and are expected to complete them this week, district officials said. 

The $900,000 accounting mistake was discovered in recent weeks while compiling the final 2002-2003 budget, endorsed by the school board June 26. 

The oversight, labeled a “significant error” in a memo from Kurr to the board last week, was the result of a miscalculation of the district’s expected “revenue limit,” or level of state funding for next year. 

Kurr said he is reasonably certain the district will receive the $900,000 included in its latest budget estimate, but noted that the money will not be secure until the state passes a 2002-2003 budget. 

The state legislature is more than a month late in meeting its constitutional deadline for passing a budget, with the state Assembly unable to muster the two-thirds vote it needs to pass a $100 billion spending plan. 

With a $2 million deficit, the district should be able to pay all its bills next year, district officials say, but it will not meet a state requirement for a reserve amounting to 3 percent of its total budget. 

A proper reserve for Berkeley Unified would be about $2.7 million next year, according to Kurr. 

Issel said she was pleased with the $900,000 correction. 

“That’s $900,000 less in cuts that we’re looking at,” she said, adding that she hopes more corrections are on the way. “I’d like to see (the deficit) keep coming down like a bad fever that’s breaking.” 

To the Editor: 

It accomplishes little for opponents and supporters of the height initiative to point at each others’ houses or living arrangements and call it intelligent debate. I live on a “transit corridor” where there is no efficient transit and gridlock is a fact of life. The planning department seems oblivious to overcrowding’s effect on parks, parking, pedestrian and bike safety, and general livability. I despair imagining my neighborhood's future with or without the height initiative, which I believe doesn't go far enough. 

I hope the voters of Berkeley will pass the height initiative to send a message to the bureaucrats who are poised to exacerbate an already unlivable situation. Affordable housing? The working poor can’t afford these chicken coop units in the first place. Maybe someday we’ll get some honest solutions to our urban difficulties, but don't kid the voters that the current situation is other than a developers’ feast. 

Carol Denney  

Berkeley

Tuesday, August 13

Tomato Tasting 

2 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Derby Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way  

Sample 35 different Tomato varieties. 

548-3333 

Free 

Berkeley Camera Club Weekly Meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share slides, prints with other photographers. 

(510) 525-3565 

Free 

Nuclear War: Then and Now, Part II 

The Decision to Drop the Bomb on Hiroshima 

7 p.m. 

Friends' Meeting House, 2151 Vine St. 

Screening of two network documentaries on the subject. 

705-7314 or BerkMM@Earthlink.net 

Free 

Wednesday, August 14

Holistic Exercises Sharing Circle  

3:30 to 6:30 p.m.  

wrpclub@aol.com or 595-5541 for information 

Holistic Practitioners, Teachers, Students & Anyone who knows Holistic exercises take turns leading the group through an afternoon of exercises. 

$20 for six-month membership 

Thursday, August 15

Power for the People 

7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave.  

A forum on public power, solar power and community control of energy. Speakers include Paul Fenn, Director of Local Power and publisher of American Local Power News and energy economist Eugene Coyle. 

548-2220 x233 

$5 to $15, sliding scale 

Tapping into the Hidden Job Market:  

Networking & Informational Interviewing 

Noon to 1 p.m. 

YWCA Turning Point Career Center, 2600 Bancroft Way 

Cal Martin will speak on networking and informational interviewing.  

848-6370 

$3 at door 

Unique Presentation Styles 

Noon to 1 p.m. 

State Health Toastmasters Club, 2151 Berkeley Way 

Learn to use the unique attributes of your personality to improve your public speaking skills. Visitors must preregister. 

595-1594 

Free 

Friday, August 16

Deasophy: Wisdom of the Goddess 

7:30 p.m. 

Redwood Gardens Community Room, 2951 Derby St., Berkeley 

Max Dashu presents a slide show on Goddess cosmologies and female creators from a global perspective. 

654-9298 or maxdashu@LMI.net 

$7-15 donations 

Free Theater for Children 

7:30 p.m. 

Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. 

Stage Door Conservatory presents Wise men of Chelm, based on Jewish Folk Tales. Adapted by Sandra Fenichel Asher. 

527-5939 

Berkeley Women in Black 

Noon to 1 p.m. 

Telegraph and Bancroft 

Standing in solidarity with Israeli and Palestinian women to urge an end to the occupation and the violence. 

548-6310, wibberkeley.org 

Saturday, August 17

Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Associations (BANA) Meeting 

9:l5 a.m. to ll a.m. 

Live Oak Park, Fireside Room, l30l Shattuck Ave. 

Citywide meeting concerning local issues. All are welcome. 

849-46l9 or mtbrcb@pacbell.net 

Cajun & More Festival 

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Civic Center Park, Center St. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

4 live bands, crafts fair, outdoor dance floor, micro-brewery beer, Cajun food and free Cajun dance lessons. 

548-3333 

Admission is free 

Tour for Blind, Low-Vision Library Patrons 

10:30 a.m. to noon 

Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch 

3rd Floor Meeting Rm, 2090 Kittredge St. 

Tour of the new central branch for blind and low-vision patrons. 

981-6121 

Free 

Author Reading and Signing:  

Haunani-Kay Trask 

3 p.m.  

Eastwind Books, 2066 University Ave., Berkeley 

Meet Hawaiian author Haunani-Kay Trask. 

548-2350 

Free 

Cajun & More 

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Four Live Bands, crafts fair, Cajun food, dance lessons, micro-brewery beer & dance floor.  

548-3333 

Free 

Sunday, August 18

Bike Tours of Historic Oakland 

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California, 10th St. entrance, at Fallon 

Leisurely paced 5 1/2 mile bike tour about Oakland's history and architecture, led by docents. 

238-3514 

Free: Reservations Required 

Jewish Genealogy Educational Meeting 

1 p.m. 

Learn about research resources available from the S.F. Bay Area Jewish Genealogy Society. Open to all. 

Berkeley-Richmond JCC, 1414 Walnut St. 

For info visit www.jewishgen.org/sfbajgs 

Free 

Top of the Bay Family Days 

1 to 3 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science, Centennial Drive, above UC campus 

Enjoy an afternoon outdoor concert in our family picnic area as well as art and science activities and hands-on exhibits inside LHS. 

643-5961 

$8 adults 

Thursday, August 22

Free Meanoma Update 

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Summit North Pavilion, Cafeteria Annex B & C, 350 Hawthorne Ave., Oakland 

Information on melanoma skin cancer, detection and treatment. 

869-6737 

Free 

Friday, August 23

Teen Playreaders present Bizarre Shorts 

(through August 24) 7 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library - North Branch 

1170 The Alameda 

Playreaders present 20 short, bizarre plays, contemporary and classic. 

981-6250 

Free 

Saturday, August 24

UC Berkeley Circle K Garage Sale 

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Berkeley ACE Hardware parking lot, 2145 University Ave. 

Garage sale fundraiser held by UC Berkeley, non-profit community service organization to raise money for pediatric trauma patients.  

(858) 335-9021 

Fuel Cell Car Experiments 

1 to 3 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California Campus (Just below Grizzly Peak Blvd.) 

Observe a miniature car operating on solar energy and water, and help conduct physics experiments to learn more about this environmentally friendly new technology. For ages 12 and up. 

642-5132 

Admission: $8 for adults; $6 for youth; $4 for children 3-4: Free for children under 3 

Vegan Food Party 

11:30 a.m. 

Lake Anza in Tilden Park 

Social, food party event presented by Contra Costa Vegetarians and SFBAVeg. 

dhermit4424@yahoo.com 

Free with Vegan dish 

Sunday, August 25

Destination Telegraph 

Noon to 5 p.m. 

Durant Ave., between Telegraph Ave. and Bowditch Ave. 

Live music, beer and wine garden, street artists, community booths, art and prizes. 

649-9500 or www.telegraphyberkeley.org for information, booth space or to volunteer 

Tuesday, August 27

A House of Straw: A Natural Building Odyssey Slideshow 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo 

Carolyn Roberts presents slides and talks about her experiences building her straw bale house. 

548-2220 Ext.. 233 

Free 

Thursday, August 29

2nd Annual LGBT Elders Conference 

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

First Unitarian Church, 685 14th St. Oakland 

Workshops and conference for LGBT elders to learn about senior services.  

705-8918 

$20 registration, no one denied for lack of funds 

Saturday, August 31

Berkeley Youth Orchestra Auditions (Wind, Brass, Percussion) 

All day 

Laney College Music Dept., Fallon St., Oakland 

Berkeley Youth Orchestra will audition musicians aged 10-15 for the 2002-2003 season. 

For an application or more information call Penny Boys at 540-0812 or e-mail her at philiph@seismo.berkeley.edu 

Monday, September 2

National Organization for Women  

Oakland/East Bay Chapter  

6:30 PM.  

Mama Bears Bookstore and Coffeehouse, 6536 Telegraph Avenue  

Chapter’s monthly meeting. Speaker: Multicultural historian, Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum, received 

the prestigious Valitutti Award for non fiction.  

549-2970 

Free 

Sunday, September 8

Lifelong Medical Care First Annual 5K Fun Run/Walk Fundraiser 

9 a.m. to noon 

West Berkeley 

Individual and team participation, a health fair, food, prizes, live music, free insurance eligibility screening - fun for all ages. 

704-6010 

28th Annual Solano Avenue Stroll 

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Solano Avenue 

A mile-long block part featuring “Journey of a Thousand Cranes’ Parade” at 11 a.m.  

527-5358 or www.salonstroll.org 

Free 

Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Sunday, September 15

Heritage Day 

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

4th and University Ave. 

International BBQ and beer festival 

Free 

Bike Tours of Historic Oakland 

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California, 10th St. entrance, at Fallon 

Leisurely paced 5 1/2 mile bike tour about Oakland's history and architecture, led by docents. 

238-3514 

Free: Reservations Required 

Saturday, September 21

BREAD and Roses Garden Party 

1 to 5 p.m. 

Peralta Community Garden, Berkeley 

Hopkins & Peralta, Wheelchair accessible  

BREAD's birthday party - five years of dismantling corporate rule through local 

currency. 

644-0376 

$12 in advance, $15 door, low-income rate $10 

Coastal Cleanup Day 

10 a.m. 

Work at the outflow of Strawberry Creek to clean up the San Francisco Bay coastline. 

info@strawberrycreek.org or 848-4008 

Free 

Saturday, October 12

Indigenous People's Day Pow Wow, Indian Market & Fall Fruit Tasting 

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Tuesday, October 15

Fall Fruit Tasting 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

2 to 7 p.m. 

Derby Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way  

Free 

Sunday, October 20

Bike Tours of Historic Oakland 

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California, 10th St. entrance, at Fallon 

Leisurely paced 5 1/2 mile bike tour about Oakland's history and architecture, led by docents. 

238-3514 

Free: Reservations Required 

Players are relieved the
deadline has been put off 

CHICAGO — Baseball players backed off setting a strike date Monday, saying they were hopeful recent progress in bargaining talks could lead to an agreement by the end of the week. 

“We feel like there’s a window of opportunity to get something done in the next several days and we’re willing to explore that,” Atlanta’s Tom Glavine said following a 3 1/2-hour meeting of the union’s executive board. 

Glavine, a senior member of the board, said players were prepared to give the negotiating process “every chance to succeed.” Talks were to continue Tuesday in New York, and the board scheduled a telephone conference call Friday to review developments. 

“There has been progress on a number of issues over the last several days,” union head Donald Fehr said. “It would be very nice if that progress continued and we reached a deal in short order. That’s the goal.” 

By delaying setting a deadline, the union increases pressure on the owners without the threat of an imminent walkout. 

“You establish a date when you believe it is essential to reach an agreement, bearing in mind that a strike is the last thing the players want. And we are not at that point yet,” Fehr said. 

Rob Manfred, the owners’ top labor lawyer, called the decision “a positive step.” 

“We look forward to getting back to the bargaining table, and hope we can reach a negotiated agreement without any need for the interruption of the season,” he said. “Both parties feel pressure to reach an agreement because of the enormity of the harm that would be caused by a strike.” 

A strike date seemed inevitable once the executive board scheduled a meeting. Making it seem even more ominous was that exactly eight years ago, baseball ground to a halt on this date, laid low by labor issues that eventually cost fans 921 games and a World Series. The 1994 strike lasted 232 days and was the longest stoppage in the history of U.S. major sports. 

Eighteen teams were off Monday, and about 50 players attended the meeting, with more listening in on a telephone conference call. Fehr said players didn’t want to have a public confrontation so close to the anniversary of last year’s terrorist attacks. 

“Sure it’s a factor,” he said. “Players understand Sept. 11. Half were on road when it hit.” 

Both sides pointed out how they had moved closer to an agreement since the talks began in January. 

Last week, they agreed on a $100,000 raise in the minimum salary to $300,000 and to mandatory random testing for steroids. But they are still apart on the key issues of increased revenue sharing among the 30 teams and management’s desire for a luxury tax on high-payroll clubs. 

“I think both parties have shown flexibility in an attempt to get to a common ground with respect to those core economic issues,” Manfred said. 

Fehr spoke with commissioner Bud Selig before the meeting, but declined to reveal details of the conversation. “We talked about the overall situation in bargaining, the hopes we had as to what might transpire in the next few days,” Fehr said. 

At ballparks, players were relieved a deadline had been put off. 

“Everybody is a winner if we can get through this thing without setting a strike date,” Colorado’s Larry Walker said. 

“If they come to the table and give us what we’re looking for, there won’t be a strike,” Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa said. 

In Crawford, Texas, White House deputy press secretary Scott McClellan said a strike “would be a terrible thing to have happen.” President Bush, the former owner of the Texas Rangers, has “not been involved in any way,” McClellan said. 

“But it is clear,” he added, “that a strike would be unfortunate and terrible for baseball fans across America, and the president is an avid baseball fan.” 

The luxury tax appears to be the most difficult issue, with Fehr describing it “as a big hurdle.” While there was a luxury tax in place in 1997, 1998 and 1999, owners viewed it as largely ineffective. The key to finding a deal may be finding a tax level that can satisfy management’s desire to restrain salaries while not slowing them so much that players would strike over the issue. 

Owners made a new luxury tax proposal Sunday but Manfred declined to discuss it. He said that session “kind of got things back on track a little bit.” 

“It is possible to get an agreement in the very near future,” Manfred said, without giving a specific time period. 

Finding a way to slow salaries has been a perennial management goal, but players would like to keep things the way they are. Since 1976, the last season before free agency, the average salary has jumped from $51,500 to $2.38 million, a 46-fold increase. 

Baseball has had eight work stoppages in since 1972. Players don’t want to finish the season without a contract, which expired Nov. 6, fearful owners will lock them out or change works rules. The union’s preference has been to control the timing of a confrontation, preferring late in the season, when more money is at stake for owners. 

Rental statistics released last week document what property owners and apartment seekers already know: Berkeley rents are down. Apartment vacancies are up. 

The report released by Cal Rentals, a university-run student rental service, shows that prices have fallen steadily since they peaked last summer. 

In July, a studio apartment cost $870 a month, $114 less than last year and $59 more since June, the second largest monthly drop in four years.  

A one-bedroom in July rented for $1,202 a month, just $9 less than in June, but $173 less than a year ago. Two-bedroom apartments experienced the biggest decline. Last month a two-bedroom rented for $1,598 a month, $58 less than in June and $224 less than July 2001. 

This year is on its way to becoming the first since the advent of Berkeley’s rent control in 1998 that rent prices might be lower than the previous year’s. In late 1998, rents jumped 30 percent and continued to climb for the next three years, according to the Cal Rentals report. 

And while prices are now dropping, said Robert Englund of the Berkeley Property Owners Association, apartment vacancies are increasing. Since July, “for rent” signs have multiplied. 

The reason for the changes after the three years during which renters flooded Berkeley is that many fled the city as the economy moved into recession. From July 2001 to November 2001, average rents dropped $131 for studios, $143 for one-bedrooms and $167 for two-bedrooms. 

Renters are pocketing the savings but landlords are paying the price. 

After a brief upswing earlier this summer, property owners expect another difficult fall. “This is the period of the highest demand, but their are still a lot of vacancies,” Englund said. 

Landlords who bought their property during the boom are hurting the most.  

“There are some owners who are struggling to make mortgages due to vacancies and lower rents,” said Englund. 

Al Fatake, of K and S Realty, cited one Berkeley client who purchased an eight-unit building in early 2001 in which three of the apartments were empty. Today the bedrooms are still empty.  

“They bought it when they thought the market was right, and tried to rent them for $1800,” Fatake said. The owners reduced the asking price but have not found any takers. 

Fatake said that the average turnaround time for a vacated rental averages 30 to 60 days. During the boom it was two weeks, he said. 

Among the surprising benefactors of the slump: Berkeley students who live in dormitories. For the second time since the 1995-1996 school year, the university is reporting that it has open dorm beds. According to Michelle Kniffin of the university’s housing department, 52 spaces were available last week. 

In recent years, freshman who could not find dormrooms were said to have slept in cars or on friends’ couches for months. 

“The last two years were really horrendous,” Kniffin said. “It’s nice to be able to say ‘Yes, I have housing available for you.’ “

To the Editor: 

I am writing to voice my strong objection to the closing of Willard and West Campus pools. 

In addition to supporting the south and west Berkeley communities, which always seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to city services, I believe that closing these two pools will do irreparable damage to the health and welfare of the whole city. 

Let me list a few reasons. During the months of November through April, when the proposed closure is scheduled, King pool would not be available during school hours. That means that workers and residents who presently swim during the lunch hour at West Campus would have no place to swim; this applies also to the many seniors who attend water aerobic classes after the lunch hour at West Campus. And where would the students from Willard swim during the day? 

King pool, which is already overcrowded during the after-work swim times, from 5:15 to 7:30 p.m., and on the weekends, would be inundated with the overflow from the West Campus and Willard pools. With so many more people crowding the lanes, the city would have to hire more life guards (an additional cost), preferably ones more vigilant than the present well-intentioned teenage guards. They are often distracted by homework, socializing, and daydreaming rather than keeping their eyes on the pool for potentially dangerous situations, especially when newcomers swim in the wrong lanes. 

At King there are problems that would be exacerbated by additional swimmers. For example, swimmers often have to wait at King while children are lined up to purchase sugar-packed sweets on sale in the lobby. Staff at King is often not able to keep soap dispensers filled. Staff leaves the floors sopping wet after washing them down, a hazardous situation.  

I could go on and on. My point is this: King pool is overcrowded now; more swimmers would make a very tight situation much worse. Also to think of the high school pool as a reasonable substitute is a gross misrepresentation since that pool has limited hours, is indoors, and is heated like a steam bath. Would you be adding hours and staff there? Then where is the saving? 

Closing West Campus and Willard pools is a poor judgment call. If someone is injured or drowns and the city is sued, the $75,000 you hope to save will seem like chicken feed. I urge you to cancel any consideration of this idea. 

Estelle Jelinek 

Berkeley 

NAPA — Trace Armstrong has never been one to sit still. 

When he’s not pushing himself through a rigorous workout routine, the veteran Oakland defensive end is working the phone lines at a breakneck pace to keep tabs on the NFL’s 1,600 players. As president of the NFL Players’ Association, there’s little time for Armstrong to rest. 

That’s why Armstrong is desperate to get back out on the football field. Sidelined for nearly all of 2001 with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon that prematurely ended his first season with the Raiders, Armstrong — who led the AFC with 16.5 sacks for Miami in 2000 — lasted just three games last season and made just 1/2-sack before getting injured Sept. 30 against Seattle. 

Armstrong seems close to being fully recovered from the injury, but the Raiders nevertheless are taking a cautious approach with the 36-year-old defender. They’ve limited his work in contact drills during training camp, and they held him out of the preseason opener in Dallas because the game was on artificial turf. 

“I’ve had injuries before, and probably my biggest fault was not listening to the doctors and trainers,” Armstrong said Monday as the Raiders held their first full day of workouts since the Dallas trip. “I made up my mind when this happened that I was going to be a good listener. I’m really relying on (the Raiders’ training staff). I’m trying not to be bullheaded.” 

Oakland coach Bill Callahan has limited Armstrong to a handful of repetitions with the starting defense when the team scrimmages in full pads, hoping to avoid any possibility of aggravating the injury. Armstrong has been pushing his coach to increase his work in training camp, and Callahan might allow Armstrong to play this week in Tennessee. 

“It’s still possible,” Callahan said.  

In the meantime, Armstrong has stayed busy, studying film and attending team meetings. He’s also keeping an eye the potential labor strike in major league baseball, though it’s highly unlikely it would have any effect on the NFLPA. 

“We watch it but I’ve got 1,600 active guys and 10,000 retired guys (in the NFLPA),” Armstrong said. “That’s enough for me to worry about.”

Unemployment is high. Stock markets are slumping. Economic uncertainty is spreading. But the story of home sales is mostly upbeat. 

Alameda County home sales in June were up 2.6 percent over the same period last year, based on statistics compiled by DataQuick Information Services, a real-estate monitoring service. The average selling price also increased 2.6 percent, according to DataQuick. 

“We think this is really a good time to put a home on the market,” said Ira Serkes, a 25-year veteran broker at RE/MAX Bay Area in Berkeley. Although year-to-date volume of home sales in Berkeley was down between 3 percent and 4 percent, total dollar sales from January to early August nearly matched sales in all of 2001, Serkes said. 

The number of homes sold had been dropping for three years, Serkes said, mostly because competitive bidding had driven prices. This year, even if transactions through December remain flat, the activity so far signals a stabilizing trend. 

As of mid-July, since Jan. 1, 259 homes in Berkeley changed hands. At $579,000, the average price of a Berkeley home keeps edging upward. 

Despite higher prices Jeanine Weller, a broker with Pacific Union Real Estate in Oakland, has seen more volatility in Berkeley's housing market in recent months. Some properties get few bids and some stay on the market longer than they would have in the past.  

Why some homes are receiving fewer bids is not apparent, Weller said. 

“It doesn't seem to be price-related,” Weller said. “Sellers are still expecting top-dollar, and they're still getting it consistently enough.”  

She added that she would have expected more activity given the current low interest rates. 

Serkes, author of “How to Buy a House in California,” says different kinds of buyers and sellers are now entering the market. A couple of years ago, amid the dot-com boom, the market was flooded with buyers relocating from other areas, many from outside the state.  

The torrid market left little room for local residents who wanted to upgrade to a larger house. Some homeowners, Serkes said, were hesitant to sell for fear of not being able to find another house once theirs was sold. 

With less migration to the area, Serkes believes the market is showing the more stable patterns of established residents buying locally. 

July and August are traditionally sleepy months for home sales, and brokers say fall holds the key as to whether the market will continue its stable course. Brokers normally look forward to the seasonal upturn after Labor Day, when buyers and sellers return to the market. September and October typically account for a large share of the year's sales. 

To the Editor: 

The Daily Planet recently did an article on the bond ballot measure to retrofit old City Hall. I was quoted in the article as saying that the number of seats in the council chambers would be reduced to 80 seats from the current 110 seats and Councilmember Miriam Hawley was quoted saying that seating in the chambers would not be reduced.  

Apparently Ms. Hawley failed to read the consultants’ report which said that seating in the council chambers would be reduced to at least 80 seats.  

If the dais is made wheelchair accessible, another 10 seats could be lost and if all four aisles are made accessible to people in wheelchairs needing to pass each other coming and going, at least 10 to 15 more chairs would have to be removed, which will reduce seating to less than 60. If more than four wheelchair users want to sit in the room then more chairs have to be removed. 

For many years, the disabled have struggled with the cramped, unsafe corridor and council chambers, trying to make do. It is regrettable (with the notable exception of Councilmember Kriss Worthington) that council members would not spend even one minute trying to understand what “fully accessible” would actually mean to the council chambers. 

Yet, they are asking the community to invest over $21 million (after just spending at least $45 million to retrofit 2180 Milvia City Hall) and still not have a fully accessible and large enough public meeting space. The most important asset of the building is the public meeting space it provides. (The relocation of 45 employees to another retrofitted building can be dealt with in a much less expensive way.)  

There is a proposed separate room for overflow attendees. They will be relegated to watching the public proceedings on a TV screen, the same as if they had just stayed home and watched it there. Separate but not equal. This proposal does not encourage public participation, it discourages it. People come to the council meeting to be part of the live-action, to see all the council members interacting with each other and have interactions with other members of the public. The new proposal will also cost extra staff time to monitor the overcrowding of the council chambers and to shuffle people between two rooms, resulting in conflicts and temper flares. Over flow crowds will still have to be locked out of the building. 

This community values public participation. We deserve better than what we’re going to get with this expensive proposal. The bond and interest will incur a $47 million debt–almost a million dollars per employee. Let's prepare a more cost effective plan to preserve this beautiful old building and return during a healthier economy with a plan increasing democratic participation by providing a larger meeting space with full disabled access. Let's do it the right way at the right time, not the wrong way–right now. 

Dona Spring,  

Berkeley City Councilmember

The Board of Education voted unanimously last week to join a group of 90 California school districts in purchasing a new property insurance package. 

Officials say the move will save the cash-strapped school district almost $300,000, reducing the district’s annual premium from an estimated $687,000 to $396,000. 

The shift in plans will also allow the district to reduce its deductible from $100,000 per incident to $25,000. The district currently faces a high deductible because of a rash of property damage in recent years, including the April 2000 burning of Berkeley High School’s “B Building.” 

The 90 school districts have pooled their resources through an organization called the Alliance of Schools for Cooperative Insurance Programs. 

ASCIP has been in existence since 1980 and allows grade schools, high schools and community colleges to pool their resources and spread risk across the group. 

“Their willingness to accept us indicates their confidence in our administration and our ability to manage risk properly,” said school board President Shirley Issel. “It’s very heartening.”

UC Berkeley union members will receive university-funded transportation subsidies, one month after the university officially offered the benefit. 

Since July clerical workers have been uncertain whether they were eligible for the $4 subsidy because contract negotiations were still going on. Despite the negotiations, the university has agreed to square away transportation benefits. 

The clerical workers are still negotiating a pay increase and parking issues. 

The transit bonus is offered by New Directions, a UC Berkeley office that promotes environmentally-friendly commuting. On July 1, New Directions increased its monthly public transportation subsidy from $6 to $10 and lowered its car pool parking rates. 

Union officials maintained that the New Directions program was independent of the bargaining process and should have been available to employees of bargaining unions. 

On July 29, the university agreed, but the transportation office failed to recognize the decision. 

“When I went to ask July 30 to get a transit subsidy, I was horrified to be told because I was a member in a union, I didn’t qualify for the reduced new rates,” CUE member Jude Bell said in a statement. 

CUE officials said they received conflicting information from university officials for more than a month. And at one point, the union members were not only denied the July bonus, but weren’t allowed benefits they had previously been offered by New Directions, according to Nora Foster co-chair of the CUE affiliated Improve Transit Parking Committee. 

But now, Harrington says the transit office is offering union members their old transit benefits as well as the July bonus. 

Resolution of the transit bonus, though, does little to bridge the gaps between CUE and the university on other parking issues.  

Union officials have proposed providing members with a free AC Transit pass, currently available to students, and basing parking fees on income. 

“It’s absurd that someone making $130,000 is paying the same for parking as someone making $30,000,” said Sasson. 

In June, CUE approved a strike if matters are not settled, and along with university lecturers represented by the United Federation of Teachers, may announce a strike date for the beginning of the fall semester on Aug. 21.

Today’s Highlight: 

On Aug. 12, 1972, the last American combat ground troops left Vietnam. 

On this date: 

In 1851, Isaac Singer was granted a patent on his sewing machine. 

In 1867, President Andrew Johnson sparked a move to impeach him as he defied Congress by suspending Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. 

In 1898, the peace protocol ending the Spanish-American War was signed. 

In 1898, Hawaii was formally annexed to the United States. 

In 1944, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., eldest son of Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, was killed with his co-pilot when their explosives-laden Navy plane blew up over England. 

In 1953, the Soviet Union conducted a secret test of its first hydrogen bomb. 

In 1960, the first balloon satellite — the Echo One — was launched by the United States from Cape Canaveral. 

In 1962, one day after launching Andrian Nikolayev into orbit, the Soviet Union also sent up cosmonaut Pavel Popovich; both men landed safely on Aug. 15. 

In 1977, the space shuttle Enterprise passed its first solo flight test by taking off atop a Boeing 747, separating, then touching down in California’s Mojave Desert. 

In 1985, the world’s worst single-aircraft disaster occurred as a crippled Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 on a domestic flight crashed into a mountain, killing 520 people. 

Ten years ago: After 14 months of negotiations, the United States, Mexico and Canada announced in Washington that they had concluded the North American Free Trade Agreement, to create the world’s largest trading bloc.  

Five years ago: Steel workers approved a contract ending a 10-month strike against Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. A flash flood in Arizona’s Lower Antelope Canyon claimed the lives of 11 hikers. 

One year ago: A suicide bomber blew himself up on the patio of a restaurant near the northern Israeli coastal town of Haifa, killing himself and wounding 21 people. 

Today’s Birthdays: Singer-musician Buck Owens is 73. Actor George Hamilton is 63.  

A bank teller was injured Monday during an armed robbery of the Cooperative Center Federal Credit Union at 2001 Ashby Ave., the Berkeley Police Department reported. 

According to police, two males entered the credit union at 10:30 a.m. One of the men, carrying a rifle, robbed the two tellers on duty and hit one in the back of the head with his gun. 

The second man held a duffle bag into which the men stuffed money before fleeing by foot in an unknown direction, police said.  

The injured teller was taken to Alta Bates Hospital. As of press time, police did not know the extent of the tellers’s injuries or how much money was stolen from the credit union. 

SAN LEANDRO – Police reported today that a man's hand was blown off and his body was lacerated with shrapnel on Sunday night after a bomb he was apparently trying to build exploded in his face. 

The man, identified by authorities as Robert Chandler, 34, was making the bomb out of fuses, gun powder and a CO2 cartridge like those used in B.B. guns. Police do not yet know what he planned to do with the explosive device. 

“He's saying that he found the cartridges and was trying to dismantle the device but the evidence we found at the scene is contrary to what he says,” Lt. Steve Pricco said, alluding to additional bomb supplies -- including four empty cartridges, explosive powder and fuses -- that police later found. 

“We have no indication that he was going to use this for a specific target,” said Pricco, though police found camping equipment in his car. “We are kind of theorizing that he was going camping and he was making these things ... for kicks.” 

Police were first alerted to the incident at an apartment building at 77 Estabrook St. in San Leandro after neighbors reported hearing a gun shot around 11:20 p.m. on Sunday.

Police identify
fatal shooting victim 

OAKLAND – Police today identified the man shot Sunday in the 9600 block of Edes Avenue in Oakland as either Lawrence Baldridge or Keith Jamerson. 

An Oakland homicide detective was not sure why this man had two names. "Perhaps he had an alias or had changed his identity,'' the detective suggested. 

It was the 70th homicide in Oakland so far this year. 

The man was shot numerous times around 2:30 p.m. Sunday and was pronounced dead at Highland Hospital Police are currently looking for the man's killer, described as a black male, 32 to 35 years of age with a muscular build and balding.  

Park reports two drowning
deaths in less than a week  

PLEASANTON – East Bay Parks officials are "continuing business as usual but with heightened awareness'' after the second drowning death in less than a week, according to the park's aquatics manager Don McCormick. 

“We're satisfied with our program and are not making changes at this point,” McCormick said Monday, noting that the recent heat wave has drawn more people than usual to the parks' swimming areas. 

Two fishermen in float tubes discovered a man's body floating in the waters at Shadow Cliffs Regional Park in Pleasanton Monday night at 8:45. 

The coroner is still trying to determine whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the drowning of the man, who had light brown hair and blue eyes, was between 25 and 40.years old and nearly 6 feet tall. 

His body had been floating in the water for a day or two, according to park officials. Last Tuesday, an 8-year-old boy was found floating unconscious in 4 feet of water at the Cull Canyon Reservoir. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. 

The Shadow Cliffs drowning Monday brings the death toll in the park's lakes to four this year, above the historical average of between two to three deaths a year since the 1960s. 

Larry Moss, the park's risk manager, pointed out that the park is not required by state law to even post lifeguards at lakes. "We do that as a public service,'' Moss said, adding that park lifeguards have successfully rescued 300 people this year from park lakes, where the water is often murky. 

The most common drowning victims, Moss said, are adults that have been drinking alcohol or children that do not swim well. 

“We wish we could prevent these drownings,” Moss said. “Everybody here takes it personally.” 

Anyone with information on the Shadow Cliffs drowning victim is asked to call Park Sgt. Jon King, 881-1833. 

UC professor wins
World Food Prize 

A Cuban farmer’s son was named winner Sunday of the 2002 World Food Prize for helping to transform depleted tropical soil into productive agricultural land. 

Pedro Sanchez, a visiting professor of tropical resources at the University of California, Berkeley, will receive $250,000 in recognition of his work that includes finding ways to neutralize acidity in Brazilian soil and to improve nitrogen flow in blighted farmland in Africa. 

Sanchez, 62, is the former director general of the International Center for Research in Agroforestry in Nairobi, Kenya. 

He left Cuba during Fidel Castro’s revolution, earning a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. 

The award was announced at the International Horticultural Congress in Toronto, Canada, by Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the Des Moines-based World Food Prize Foundation. 

The plan is to restore the creek and to encourage
the government to make more restoration efforts 

RICHMOND – Fifty volunteers slogged through the calf-deep mud of Richmond's Baxter Creek last weekend, where they yanked out a leafy vine called water parsley, picked up soda cans and other rubbish, and hauled it all away in buckets. 

“People got more than their hands dirty,” said Eric Wesselman, regional director of the Sierra Club, which organized the creek cleanup. “One guy even got mud in his ears.'” 

The Sierra Club organized the event to help restore the creek but also to pressure the government to do more to restore Bay Area ecosystems. 

Wesselman said CalFed, the joint state and federal government program dedicated to managing water needs in the Bay Area, is underfunded and allows bay restoration to take a backseat to the water needs of corporate farms and growing South California cities. 

“Our concern is that CalFed does not have the resources they need to carry out their mission right now,” Wesselman said, noting that CalFed needs over $10 billion to implement the first stage of a plan adopted two years ago. “We can do our part with Baxter Creek but this is a big job and it will take a big program like CalFed to really save the bay.” 

Volunteers Monday yanked out the water parsley because it is an invasive species, and its leafy vines had spread out over the creek, slowing the flow and increasing its temperature. 

Ecosystem changes like this, Wesselman says, have caused the red-legged frog to disappear, though a new frog has come along that seems to enjoy the warmer waters of Baxter Creek. 

Nearly half of the fresh water that used to flow into the San Francisco Bay is presently being diverted to farms and cities, which in turn has caused the winter run of Chinook salmon to drop 90 percent since the 1970s, according to the Sierra Club. 

“We're hoping to engage Sierra Club members in hands-on restoration work,” Wesselman said, “but also to pressure CalFed to find the money to restore the Bay.”

OAKLAND – U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer Monday toured the Port of Oakland where port officials and representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard briefed her on security efforts being taken to protect the facility against terrorism. 

Boxer, who is charged with reconciling port security bills in the House and the Senate, told port officials during the brief tour that added security must be top priority and vowed to help get as much money as possible to ensure that it happens. 

The current bills being considered – Senate Bill 1214 and House Bill 3983 – would bring about $650 million a year for port security measures that include added U.S. Coast Guard personnel and explosives detection technology. 

Boxer said the best approach to combat terrorist strikes is to enhance security at all possible fronts, including airports, ports, rail systems, power plants and water plants. 

“We have to stay ahead of the terrorists,” the senator said. “We have to do all of it right and there's no question that port security is crucial.” 

Part of the problem, Boxer suggested, was to make the number of cargo containers that have to be inspected smaller by relying on so-called “trusted vendors'' and by working with other countries to have them inspect the cargo before it reaches American shores. 

Currently, only a small percentage of the thousands of cargo containers that are brought in each day are checked.  

“We need to make sure before cargo comes in that we've inspected it, that we know it's safe,” Boxer said. “It's going to be very labor intensive to do that.” 

Boxer said she also supports the concept behind the trusted vendor to be used at the nation's airports through a trusted traveler program in which – after providing their personal information – frequent travelers would get identification cards that allow them to go past security checkpoints. 

Speaking about the impending deadline for airports to meet federal airport standards for baggage screening, Boxer said she is opposed to putting off the Jan. 1 deadline even though only the Los Angeles International Airport has indicated that it could meet the deadline. 

“We really can't put off dates,” Boxer said, adding that she is frustrated by the slow-moving process of making bomb-detection technology easier to get. 

“We got special guided smart bombs that go into caves, burrow down and find a bad guy and we can't check the luggage for bombs that is lying at our feet,” Boxer said.

SACRAMENTO — The state Senate, in a fiery two-hour debate that stirred old passions about rolling blackouts and price manipulation by now-bankrupt energy traders, confirmed the nomination Monday of 76-year-old S. David Freeman as the state’s top energy chief. 

Freeman, a blunt-talking 40-year public power veteran and choice of Gov. Gray Davis to steer billions of dollars toward building new state power plants, prevailed over Republican opposition in a 25-13 vote. 

Republicans painted Freeman as incompetent, unqualified and unworthy of the $220,008-a-year job he has held since last August. But a Democratic majority, even while acknowledging discomfort with Freeman’s track record during last year’s energy crisis, backed Davis’ nominee to chair the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority. 

Freeman’s responsibilities include issuing up to $4 billion in bonds to buy, build or lease power plants, and another $1 billion to spur energy conservation. 

Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Daly City, called it her toughest choice on a gubernatorial nominee in a decade, saying, “I’m going to lay this one on the governor. He wants David Freeman. I’m going to give him Mr. Freeman.” 

Speier and other Democrats joined Republicans questioning Freeman’s role as head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, when it joined Texas-based Enron and other power generators charging California high prices for electricity.

SAN JOSE — A psychologist who administered an inkblot test to accused Yosemite killer Cary Stayner testified Monday the former park handyman often lives in a fantasy world and gave psychotic responses to the test. 

Defense witness Myla Young testified in Santa Clara County Superior Court that the results of Stayner’s Rorschach test reveal he spends more time than average people indulging a fantasy world and he would not be able to distinguish fantasy from reality at times. 

Stayner also dwells on minute details rather than looking at a picture or situation overall, Young testified. 

“He can’t see that there’s a forest out there,” she said. “All he can see is that there are individual trees.” 

Stayner’s lawyers are trying to convince a jury he was insane when he killed Carol Sund, 42, her daughter Juli, 15, and Argentinean teenage family friend Silvina Pelosso, 16, in 1999. 

Stayner has already pleaded guilty to beheading Yosemite guide Joie Armstrong and is serving a life sentence in federal prison. He could get the death penalty if convicted on the state murder charges in this case, which was moved to San Jose because of extensive publicity in California’s Central Valley. 

In one inkblot, Stayner saw a demon and cowboys. Young said neither answer was a psychotic response, but the demon was not a “popular” response given by most respondents. 

WASHINGTON — American Indian businessmen from 16 states have created a nationwide chamber of commerce promoting economic development among the historically disadvantaged group. 

“We want to empower the Native American and Alaska Native,” Michael Harwell, spokesman for the new U.S. American Indian Chamber of Commerce, said Monday. “We want to be a force and we want to level the playing field for this group.” 

The number of businesses owned by American Indians grew by 84 percent and increased their revenues by 179 percent from 1992 to 1997, the most recent figures available from the Commerce Department, but fewer than 1 percent of businesses nationwide were owned by Indians. 

Business development in Indian Country is generally hampered by a lack of investment capital and inadequate training and education, especially in terms of technology. 

The Commerce Department is assisting in the creation of the new chamber of commerce. It provided start-up money for the organization and plans to offer technical and financial assistance to Indian businesses and including chamber representatives on international trade missions, said Selma Sierra, an adviser in the department’s Minority Business Development Agency. 

The hope is to reproduce the successes of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce is modeled after the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which Sierra said has become a powerful advocate for Hispanic-owned businesses. 

Other minority groups in the country also have a national chamber of commerce. 

“We feel this is an opportunity to participate and to give back to the culture,” said Harwell, a member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe. He owns a public relations firm in Dallas and is president of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Texas. 

In 1997, there were 197,300 Indian-owned businesses employing 298,700 people and generating $34.3 billion in revenues, according to the Commerce Department. 

California has the most Indian-owned businesses with 26,600. Alaska had the highest concentration with 11 percent of businesses owned by its native population. Oklahoma and New Mexico each exceeded 5 percent. 

The group met in Albuquerque, N.M., Monday and will announce its formation Tuesday evening. The initial planning meeting, which included representatives from 10 state Indian chambers of commerce, was held in May. Since then, six new states have joined.

CEO says government likely to reject
United’s $1.8 billion loan guarantee 

CHICAGO — The stocks of major airlines fell sharply Monday and there was growing concern that United Airlines, the nation’s second-largest carrier, could follow US Airways into bankruptcy. 

Shares of United parent UAL Corp., which have already had lost more than half their value since the start of July, sank another 27 percent to close at $3.80 on the New York Stock Exchange. They traded at $35 a year ago. 

United has more than $2 billion in cash reserves, more aircraft than US Airways and a superior route system. But high costs, daily losses exceeding $1 million and lingering fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks threaten the same fate for United as its smaller rival if its recovery plan doesn’t take off soon. 

Without significant changes, analysts said, United could file for bankruptcy by the end of the year. Like US Airways, the majority employee-owned airline would likely continue to operate while reorganizing its operations. 

United’s labor costs are among the industry’s highest and the carrier wants to roll back some of the hefty raises it negotiated recently. 

“The way things are going, particularly with the unions, I think United is decidedly on the way toward Chapter 11,” said veteran industry observer David Field, Americas editor for Airline Business magazine. 

United officials have declined to discuss the prospects of a Chapter 11 filing. But interim CEO Jack Creighton told United employees Sunday that the government appears likely to reject the company’s application for a $1.8 billion loan guarantee, which it considers key to its ability to compete in a struggling market.

LOS ANGELES — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has been hit so hard by stock market losses and the prospect of settling sexual abuse claims that it plans to cut its budgets for ministry and education by as much as 30 percent and leave some jobs unfilled. 

“We’re in 2 1/2 years of not just zero return but minus return,” Cardinal Roger M. Mahony told the Los Angeles Times. “We not only didn’t get a dollar, we lost huge amounts of money. So while we did have a reserve fund to get through one or two rainy years, I’m very alarmed.” 

Archdiocesan spokesman Tod Tamberg said the nation’s largest archdiocese still does not have a budget and has not reported unspecified losses from the stock market. 

He said he does not know if there will be layoffs, though personnel costs have been contained through attrition. 

Meanwhile, the archdiocese is expected to subsidize its new $200-million Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels and conference center for several years to meet operational costs, the Times reported. The cathedral will be dedicated Sept. 2, but the extent and cost of celebrations will be scaled back with only soft drinks, not lunch, served at the ceremony. 

“We have so many of our people out of work,” Mahony said. “The cathedral’s got to be a spiritual center primarily. So we have to cut back on expenses on the operations, expenses on the staff, to meet the times.” 

Mahony said endowments that support scholarships for Catholic elementary and high school students and for St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, as well as archdiocesan operational costs, have been particularly hard hit by the stock market’s decline. 

The archdiocese’s financial records are not open to the public because it is a nonprofit religious institution. 

In the past, the archdiocese’s annual operating budget has been about $500 million, according to past statements by church officials. The archdiocese has about 300 employees, according to a Dun & Bradstreet report. 

Tamberg could not determine how much money the archdiocese has lost in the stock market. 

In comparison, the Diocese of Orange, which has a budget roughly one-tenth the size of Los Angeles’, reported that its investment income for the fiscal year ended July 30, 2001, fell $20 million from the previous year. 

So far, the Los Angeles archdiocese’s payments to sexual abuse victims have totaled about $3.5 million, most of it covered by insurance, Tamberg said. 

That amount does not include any future settlements or lawsuits, including a class-action lawsuit filed last month on behalf of 50 alleged victims against the archdiocese. 

Charles Schwab announces
plans for more major layoffs 

SAN FRANCISCO — Slumping stock broker Charles Schwab Corp. on Monday said it will resort to more mass layoffs after concluding the dismal market conditions are unlikely to improve this year. 

The San Francisco-based company will start the purge by closing an Austin, Texas call center and pruning jobs from other call centers in Denver, Indianapolis, Phoenix and Orlando, Fla. 

The Austin office closure will jettison 300 workers and the cuts in the call centers outside Texas will eliminate another 75 jobs, the company said. 

Even more firings will occur after management spends the next one to two months mapping out ways to lower its operating expenses by $200 million annually. 

Besides saving money by shrinking its payroll, Schwab said it will probably spend less on advertising and other discretionary items. 

The cost-cutting steps disclosed Monday will save the company about $26 million annually. Schwab will absorb a $36 million charge against its third-quarter earnings to cover severance pay and the costs for closing offices. 

Freedom Communications
agrees not to sell 

IRVINE — The family that owns Freedom Communications Inc., a nationwide media firm that includes The Orange County Register, reached a tentative agreement Sunday not to sell the company. 

Instead, family members will explore ways to transfer “significant ownership” from the older to the younger generation, said Kirk Hardie, head of the Hoiles Family Council. 

“This is something that intrigued everybody enough to go forward researching it,” Hardie said. 

Details of the proposed stock transfers were to be worked out. The plan will be considered by company board members at a meeting Tuesday, Hardie said. 

Forty-three adult descendants of company founder R.C. Hoiles met at a Costa Mesa hotel over the weekend to discuss options for unhappy shareholders who have complained about their inability to cash out their holdings. 

Selling the company was a possibility favored by some, including board member Tim Hoiles, the founder’s grandson. Independent analysts pegged the company’s value at $1.5 billion to $2 billion. 

Tim Hoiles’ attorney, San Francisco antitrust lawyer Joseph M. Alioto, said Sunday night that Hoiles consented to trying the new plan after members of the fourth generation promised they would try to buy him out. 

Hoiles owns 8.6 percent of the company and contends mismanagement has driven down his shares. He had threatened to sue family members. 

Hoiles agreed not to file suit pending implementation of the new approach, Alioto said. 

But the attorney emphasized that if the new plan did not come together quickly, selling the company was still an option. 

“If this does not make it, the next in line is the sale of the company,” Alioto said. 

Hardie previously said the family was divided over whether to sell. Some favored it, others were opposed, and a larger group was taking a wait-and-see approach before the weekend meeting. 

“The company is not for sale,” Board Chairman R. David Threshie, who is married to R.C. Hoiles’ granddaughter, said in a company statement. “We have agreed to explore ways to transfer significant ownership to the younger generation.” 

Freedom is the nation’s fourth largest family owned newspaper chain, according to newspaper analyst John Morton. It ranks behind Advance Publications Inc. (Newhouse), Hearst Corp. and Cox Newspapers Inc. 

“The family shareholders are in agreement that this is an equitable and fair solution to move us forward,” Rick Oncken, chairman of the Family Liquidity Committee, said in the statement. 

R.C. Hoiles, who bought the Santa Ana Register in 1935, used his newspaper to promulgate his libertarian political philosophy in Orange County. 

Today, The Register has won three Pulitzer Prizes and has a circulation of 315,000. The paper is flagship of a group that includes The Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the Tribune papers in suburban Phoenix, among 28 daily newspapers, 37 weeklies and eight television stations. 

Irvine, Calif.-based Freedom is the 12th largest newspaper group in circulation, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. 

As a private company, Freedom doesn’t publicly report full financial information. 

SEATTLE — When scientists figured out that sea water drowned groves of tall trees up and down the coast of Washington state the same year a tsunami hit Japan, they theorized that a massive earthquake in the Pacific most likely triggered both events. 

Based on Japanese records, scientists were able to pinpoint a date — Jan. 26, 1700 — and estimate that the rupture of a long stretch of sea floor had caused a magnitude 9 quake, which would be the largest known temblor ever to strike what is now the contiguous United States. 

But Ruth Ludwin, a University of Washington geophysics professor, wanted more. There appeared to be no accounts of cataclysmic earth-shaking in the stories and legends of the only North Americans who would have been here to witness the quake — Indians. 

“When you talk about a very large earthquake in 1700, for that to be really convincing to me, I really need to have evidence from people who were there,” Ludwin said. “I was looking for a more comprehensive story.” 

Ludwin began to search obscure volumes of tribal folklore, where she found that, for centuries, Indians from British Columbia’s Vancouver Island to the coast of Northern California had been telling strikingly similar tales of mudslides, of plains that suddenly became oceans and other stories that strongly suggest tribes bore witness to tsunamis like the one in 1700. 

Many of the legends involve a mythic battle between a thunderbird and a whale. 

One tale told by generations of Hoh Indians from the Forks area of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula contains what Ludwin considers the clearest description of a concurrent earthquake and tsunami yet discovered in tribal legend. 

As the story goes, Ludwin wrote in a research paper, “There was a great storm and hail and flashes of lightning in the darkened, blackened sky and a great and crashing ’thunder-noise’ everywhere. ... There were also a great shaking, jumping and trembling of the earth beneath and a rolling up of the great waters.” 

The Makah Indians, whose reservation at Neah Bay sits at the northwest tip of Washington state, also have a version — one that ends with a thunderbird delivering a whale inland to the mouth of a river, giving the giant beast to a tribe that had been starving one winter thousands of years ago. 

Although it’s unclear exactly how long the story has been told, it formed the basis of the tribe’s centuries-old whale hunt and could be linked to one of the seven “megathrust” quakes scientists believe have occurred over the past 3,500 years. 

“I think it’s really interesting that our cultural knowledge can help unravel some of these scientific mysteries,” said Janine Bowechop, director of the Makah Museum. “I feel good that we can share information and then really have a better understanding for both worlds.” 

Many legends contain no time elements. Others that were never written down have been lost entirely, so Ludwin’s work can seem like trying to solve a puzzle with most of the pieces missing. But she insists it’s worth it. 

“The work that I’ve done is not extremely important from a scientific point of view, but it’s important from the point of view of understanding and believing,” Ludwin said. “It’s another piece of the puzzle.” 

The megathrust quake believed to have occurred in 1700 ruptured the Cascadia subduction zone, where two of the tectonic plates that form the Earth’s crust — the Juan de Fuca and the North America plates — overlap. From its northern end, off the western coast of Vancouver Island, the subduction zone stretches about 600 miles south to Cape Mendocino in Northern California, then runs into the San Andreas fault. 

It was the Japanese who first theorized that an enormous earthquake in the Pacific caused what they called their “orphan tsunami,” so named because there was no local temblor that accompanied the torrent of 6-foot-high waves that crashed along 500 miles of coastline. 

When they learned that groves of red cedars and Sitka spruces along Washington’s coast had dropped several feet, drowning in saltwater sometime in the late 1600s or early 1700s, they theorized that one huge quake must have been responsible for both the Japanese tsunami and this state’s “ghost forests.” 

Radiocarbon dating of spruce stumps narrowed the timeline of the tree drownings to somewhere between 1680 and 1720, said Brian Atwater, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist in Seattle. 

That was too large a window, so scientists went back to one of the estuaries where roots of red cedars had survived and could be dated by the rings in the roots. 

At that grove, near the Copalis River in Grays Harbor County, tree-ring dating showed the red cedars died sometime between August 1699 and May 1700. 

“If we had found that those red cedars died in 1697 or 1703, we would say, ’Well, we’re not sure your tsunami came from our earthquake,’ ” Atwater said. “We knew there was an earthquake or a series of earthquakes. The question was how big and exactly when.” 

Although the geological evidence of the 1700 megathrust seemed solid, there were still some skeptics before Ludwin started finding Indian tales that supported the science. 

Tribal folklore, Atwater said, “is important, because people understandably want human evidence as well as physical evidence.”

There were only 208 condors in the
wild and captivity as of Aug. 1. 

TIJUANA, Mexico — Biologists ferried three California condors to Mexico on Monday, flying the birds by plane on the first leg of a journey to a remote mountain site where a small colony of the endangered giant birds. will be released this fall. 

The birds arrived in Tijuana aboard a private plane from Burbank, Calif., said Bruce Palmer, California condor recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Three more condors were to have followed on a second flight during the afternoon, but hours of paperwork delays led biologists to postpone shipping them to Mexico until Wednesday.  

From Tijuana, the three birds were to continue on by plane and truck to a remote and rugged site in the Sierra de San Pedro Martir on the northern end of the Baja California peninsula. 

When the other three birds join them, the six will remain in a mountaintop pen for several weeks. 

Once acclimated, five of the condors, all juveniles, will be released to fly over what was once the southernmost extension of a range that stretched from Mexico to Canada. Condors have been absent from Mexico for at least 50 years. 

“To have a place that is reasonably isolated and protected from people, this is important for the birds to develop,” Palmer said. 

All six birds were hatched and raised in captivity; the adult female, however, spent two years flying wild before biologists opted to recapture her because she was straying too close to power lines, which have killed other condors. 

In the 1980s biologists began an aggressive program to capture the last of the free-flying condors and breed them in captivity. From a low of 22 birds, there were 208 condors in the wild and captivity as of Aug. 1. 

As the population grew, biologists began returning the birds to the wild in 1992, releasing them in California and Arizona. The Mexico release will mark the international expansion of program. Eventually, another 20 or so condors could be released at the site in Baja California. 

The goal of the $40 million recovery program is to establish two wild populations and one captive population of condors, each with 150 birds, including a minimum of 15 breeding pairs apiece. Since condors range so far, biologists will consider the Mexican colony part of the California population, with which it is expected to mix. 

WACO, Texas — President Bush, trying to calm a jittery stock market and show he’s attacking the nation’s economic problems, is seeking advice from an assemblage ranging from blue-collar workers to blue-chip CEOs. 

A welder, a truck driver and other wage earners were set to join Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and leading Cabinet members at an invitation-only economic forum Tuesday at Baylor University law school. 

But the leading participants in “The President’s Economic Forum” represented a short cross-section of the cream of America’s corporate boardrooms, including the CEOs of International Paper, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the New York Stock Exchange, American Express, Home Depot, Caterpillar, Intel Corp., the National Association of Manufacturing, Folgers Coffee, eBay, Verizon Communications, National Semiconductor and Yahoo Inc. 

Democrats dismissed the forum as a public relations ploy and a nod to corporate donors to GOP coffers. Many economists were skeptical it would do much to restore consumer confidence. 

“I think it’s pretty much a complete waste of time. I think the president’s time would be better spent just being on vacation,” said Bruce Bartlett, a conservative economic adviser to the first President Bush. 

College presidents, economists, labor officials, farmers, health and education professionals, and technology experts also were invited. The roster included more than 240 participants. 

“This is a listening and teaching session for the president,” White House chief of staff Andrew Card said. 

Bush also planned to use the platform offered by the forum to announce he would not release $5.1 billion officially earmarked for combatting terrorism — some of which Congress earmarked for purposes unrelated to homeland security. Some administration officials said Bush was blocking the money as a signal to Congress to rein in spending. 

Administration officials hastened to rebut complaints that vocal critics of the administration’s economic policies were excluded from the forum, as were members of Congress. 

“The president believes that the best solutions are found outside Washington, and that’s why he wants to hear directly from working Americans and small investors, who are the backbone of our economy,” deputy White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. 

“I see this as an opportunity to have a concentrated engagement with 200-250 people whose opinion I respect,” Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. 

With control of both houses of Congress at stake in November’s midterm elections, Democrats have been quick to attack the forum. 

Democratic Party chief Terry McAuliffe cited an “administration adrift” and sought to revive criticism Democrat Bill Clinton leveled against Bush’s father in 1992 that he was out of touch with economic concerns of ordinary Americans. 

Bush was set to spend more than four hours at the Baylor conference, located less than an hour’s drive from his 1,600 acre ranch near Crawford in central Texas. 

The president was attending four of the eight sessions, including panels on corporate responsibility; economic recovery and job creation; health care security; and small investors and retirement security. 

Cheney was covering the others: small business and smarter regulation; education and workers; technology and innovation; and trade. 

The forum coincided with a meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers in Washington and came a day before the chief executives of publicly traded companies must certify to the Securities and Exchange Commission the accuracy of their financial statements. 

Some analysts saw the timing as an effort by the White House to get out in front of any negative developments on the corporate accountability front that could further roil the markets. 

Few analysts expected much from the forum. But some suggested it could do no harm — and did show the president involved in the economic-policy process. 

Others suggested it served the White House’s purpose of showing the president involved in the economic-policy process. 

“There’s no down side to that,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for the Economy.com consulting service. 

Business groups applauded the gathering. 

“It’s a great platform for me on behalf of the business community to speak candidly about what we have to do to strengthen the economy,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue said. 

LOS ANGELES— Months after his kidnapping and murder in Pakistan, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was finally buried in his home town and remembered as an inspiration to people across the world. 

“Danny will continue to inspire his family and the millions of friends and strangers who were touched by his life and death,” Pearl’s family said in a prepared statement. 

Pearl, 38, was killed in January in Pakistan while working on a story about links between Islamic extremists and Richard C. Reid, who allegedly tried to ignite explosives hidden in his shoe during an international flight. 

Pearl’s body, in an oak casket covered with red flowers, was returned to the United States on Thursday. 

The service Sunday was held at an undisclosed location in Encino, an area of Los Angeles where Pearl’s family lives. 

During the ceremony, Pearl’s father, Judea, chanted the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer of mourning. 

Mitchell Newman, one of Pearl’s friends, played a selection from Bach on the violin, and Rabbi Harold Schulweiss reflected on the significance of Pearl’s life and work. 

The family asked that anyone interested in offering memorials to Pearl initiate or support musical events in their communities on Oct. 10, Pearl’s birthday. Pearl played the violin. 

“He will always be remembered for his pursuit of truth and dialogue, his respect for people of all backgrounds, and his love of music, humor and friendship,” the family said. 

In February, a videotape given to American diplomats confirmed that Pearl was dead. A body found in May in a shallow grave in Karachi was later identified as Pearl’s through DNA. 

Last month, four men, including British-born militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, were convicted of the kidnapping and slaying. Saeed was sentenced to death by hanging and the others received life sentences. All have filed appeals, and seven others are being sought in the case. 

A collection of Pearl’s stories, “At Home in the World,” was published last month. 

His family has also formed The Daniel Pearl Foundation to promote cross-cultural understanding through journalism, music and innovative communication. 

——— 

On the Web: 

http://www.danielpearl.org 

The 5th annual Berkeley Arts Festival kicked off Saturday afternoon with a bang, rattle, “squonk” and “blat.” Shattuck Avenue became a corridor of noise with musicians on every downtown street corner. With crowds promenading past groups of political petitioners, bullhorns of street poets and open-jam musicians, the day was typical Berkeley turned up a notch or two. 

Center Street was closed to traffic, allowing pedestrians to wander from the Farmers’ Market at Martin Luther King Jr. Way to Oxford Street and the UC Berkeley campus. The festival’s main stage featured the City Council Singers and hip-hop artist Azeem attracting a few dozen listeners. 

Professional “tinkerer” Fran Holland had a difficult time attracting people with his “buffoons” – noise-making horn-like instruments, made from plastic straws and movie posters. He also had trouble giving away the instruments from his assigned post in front of the Bank of America parking lot. 

So he wisely moved to the corner of Center and Shattuck where interested pedestrians were more plentiful. 

“There’s more action down here,” said Holland, as he blew two horns eliciting a noise that a potential customer compared to a passing truck. 

Holland contributed to the overall din of the street. From the apex of the Shattuck triangle, visitors could hear saxophone and drums on the northwest corner, a melodic solo sax on the northeast corner, Holland’s “passing truck” from the southeast, blues by a duo on a steel guitar and wash-bucket bass from the southwest and amplified poets by the taxi stop. 

Political activists were also present, affirming the theme of this year’s festival, “art and politics.” Covering the red-brick sidewalk near the BART station entrance were the Green Party, the Socialist Party, the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Berkeley Organization for Animal Advocacy and Jonathon Keats, who petitioned to turn a law of philosophy into a city ordinance. 

The conceptual artist and absurdist, dressed in a three-piece suit on a 90 degree day, is proposing the principle of non-contradiction, which says that every entity must be equal to itself. Or, put simply, A=A. Although a fundamental law of philosophical logic, it has never been introduced into a civic legal code. Most passers-by ignored the petition, some were confused by its premise, and a few were indignant to its uselessness. 

But some were game for the idea. Keats managed to collect 65 signatures by the end of the day. However, 24 were not county residents and one was a Mayor Shirley Dean forgery, which left only 42 legitimate signatures. Keats is planning to bring his petition to the next Berkeley City Council meeting in September. 

The Berkeley Arts Festival continued Sunday with a marathon piano recital at the Wells Fargo Annex building on Center Street. The five-hour recital performed by local pianists was a musical memorial to Robert Helps, the composer and UC Berkeley professor who passed away last year. Works by Helps and some of his known favorites, including Ravel, Chopin, Schubert and Debussy, were performed on a hand-made Fazioli grand piano donated by Piedmont Pianos for the duration of the festival. 

Pianist Jerry Kuderna prefaced his performance Sunday afternoon with an announcement that he had never played a Fazioli until a week prior and pondered if the acoustics of the square room with high ceilings would do the justice to the piano’s tone. Kuderna was a student of Helps and played two of his mentor’s pieces Sunday. 

Music performances at the Wells Fargo Annex at 2081 Center Street will continue during the Berkeley Arts Festival, on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. Schedules of these and all festival events can be found at www.berkeleyartsfestival.com.

To the Editor: 

This November, AC Transit will have a new parcel tax on the ballot. Bus fares are going up too. Increased bus fares could be a great source of revenue, especially if the down economy encouraged more transit use. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case. People are spending less, but this does not affect transportation choices very much. Even in this down economy, too many people are still choosing to drive, rather than ride a bus. The personal car, once purchased, is not perceived as an expense – but bus fare sure is. 

AC Transit’s new parcel tax may not pass. Property owners make up most of the drivers filling our streets with vehicles three-quarters empty. Nothing effective is being done to change their habits, to turn more of them into bus riders, more inclined toward the new tax. 

If the parcel tax does not pass, and the weak economy continues to hold down Measure B sales tax revenue, we are going to lose a major part of our bus service. I think it comes down to “use it or lose it”. 

Steve Geller 

Berkeley

NEW YORK – The New York Yankees needed a jump start. Once again, Alfonso Soriano provided the spark. 

Soriano homered and scored three times as the Yankees roughed up Mark Mulder and beat the Oakland Athletics 8-5 Sunday to avert a three-game sweep. 

“He does a lot of things,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “He certainly did a nice job today.” 

Soriano’s leadoff single started a three-run first as the Yankees broke their 17-inning scoreless streak. He doubled with two outs to key a two-run second. 

“I think my job is get to get on base, not to hit home runs,” Soriano said. 

Maybe, but he hit his 29th homer in the sixth as the Yankees tagged Mulder (13-7) for a season-high eight runs. 

“The Soriano homer, I thought it was a pretty good pitch,” Mulder said. “That was the only pitch all day where I made the pitch I wanted and they hit it. He just got to it.” 

Jason Giambi drove in three runs against his former team, helping the AL East leaders maintain a four-game advantage over Boston and avoid their first three-game losing streak since May 22-24. 

Mike Mussina (14-6) continued to struggle, yet wound up with the win. In his last three starts, he’s given up 16 runs and 36 hits in only 16 innings. 

“I’ve got a lot to improve on,” he said. “I’m working hard at it and the guys have been out there supporting me offensively quite a bit.” 

Terrence Long homered and made another excellent catch in center field for the Athletics. But he also grounded into two rally-killing double plays. 

The Yankees finished 5-4 this year against the wild card-contending Athletics. New York chased the A’s from the playoffs in the last two seasons. 

Behind Mulder, the Athletics hoped to finish off their first three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium since July 1994. 

Instead, Soriano, Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams opened up with singles for a run, and Giambi followed with a bad-hop grounder over second baseman Mark Ellis in short right field for a two-run single. 

Mulder recovered to strike out the next four batters, but Williams and Giambi hit RBI singles in the second. 

Jeter, who began the day in a 2-for-19 skid, added an RBI single in the fourth for a 6-3 lead. 

“Well, they finally got some knocks out of the top of the order,” A’s manager Art Howe said. “The first two games, we were able to keep those guys off base.” 

Shane Spencer homered on Mulder’s first pitch in the sixth, and Soriano connected one out later. Soriano is one home run shy of becoming the first second baseman with 30 homers and 30 steals in a season. 

Jermaine Dye hit an RBI single, and Long followed with his ninth homer to make it 3-all in the second. Scott Hatteberg singled home a run in the sixth, Mussina’s last inning. 

Long robbed Ron Coomer of extra bases with a running catch in the third, grabbing the ball right before he slammed his head into the padded wall. Long stayed down on the ground for a minute or so, got a nice ovation from the crowd of 54,703 and left in the seventh inning. 

Long bruised his right elbow and was listed as day to day. 

Oakland’s Miguel Tejada hit a run-scoring single in the ninth for his 98th RBI. 

Notes: Yankees C Jorge Posada got the day off to rest a sore knee. He caught all 16 innings of Friday night’s 3-2 loss. ... Tejada angrily flung his bat after being hit in the left elbow by Steve Karsay’s pitch in the seventh. Tejada and the Yankees have had problems in the past. ... Soriano needs one more homer to tie the team record for a second baseman, set by Joe Gordon in 1940. ... Rondell White went 0-for-17 on the Yankees’ six-game homestand, hitting the ball out of the infield only twice. ... Raul Mondesi struck out in all four at-bats for New York..

The blue line laid on the streets of downtown Berkeley last week is not graffiti. It’s the markings of a city-sanctioned campaign. 

Winding down the middle of Center Street, between Oxford Street and Shattuck Avenue, a plastic blue strip traces the underground route of Strawberry Creek, a waterway which many would like to see unearthed and flowing above ground. 

Volunteers from several environmental groups, including Friends of Strawberry Creek and Eco City Builders, laid the line Thursday to draw attention to their restoration plans, known as the Strawberry Creek daylighting project. 

One plan for “daylighting” the creek calls for the leveling of an entire city block in order to expose a section of the subterranean waterway. 

The creek, which originates above ground in the Berkeley hills and flows west across the UC Berkeley campus, was engineered to flow underground to permit the development of west and central Berkeley. 

The most ambitious proposal includes a hotel, conference center and courtyard surrounding the restored creek at Oxford and Center streets. 

A more moderate plan calls for only the removal of pavement, along a portion of Center Street, to expose the creek for public enjoyment. 

Supporters of the creek project say educational, commercial and environmental benefits of the free-flowing waterway would be significant. 

“The creek is a critical piece of the natural history of Berkeley,” said Richard Register, president of Eco City Builders. “It's the most concentrated place of biodiversity in the city.” 

Unearthing the stream will improve the natural habitat for birds, mammals, fish and reptiles dependent on the creek, restorationists say. 

Others tout the restoration as a way to attract people to downtown businesses. 

A long-term vision proposes “daylighting” the stream along its entire underground route from downtown Berkeley to the bay, said Councilmember Donna Spring. 

“I think once the public sees how nice one stretch of creek is, they would support opening up more. We could do this block by block. It doesn't have to be all at once,” Spring said. 

Supporters of the daylighting project hope the symbolic blue line painted last week will prompt the city to take the next step in the creek’s restoration – conducting a financial feasibility study. 

City officials, however, say the feasibility study cannot be rushed because of the project’s numerous economic and transit implications. Construction on Center Street could slow business for downtown restaurants and shops as well as force AC Transit to re-route buses. 

Creek supporters have already secured $80,000 of the estimated $250,000 study from the Coastal Conservancy, a state environmental agency. The study will consider residents’ interest in the project as well as the cost of necessary land acquisitions, construction and traffic alterations. 

City officials say these factors will vary depending on what “daylighting” site is ultimately selected. Currently, Center Street seems to be the most popular option because of its width. 

“This is a block by block decision. For some blocks this [construction] could cost $2 million, others $4 million. There's a wide range,” said Rene Cardinaux, director of the city’s public works. 

City officials say much of the construction cost will be recovered by increased business in the downtown. An above-ground stream would attract patrons to the area, they say. 

“[The project] is not something that will happen this year or next year,” said Arrietta Chakos, chief of staff for the city manager’s office.

To the Editor: 

One who lives in a glass house should not throw stones. Howie Muir, co-author and champion of the Berkeley height initiative lives in one of the “big bulkies” he reviles. Not in an absolute sense, but in a relative sense. His place rises a full story and a pitched roof above the one-story houses that constitute probably 95 percent of his neighborhood.  

But Muir is not all misrepresentation. All one-story buildings block each others views of the bay, as would all two-story buildings in a neighborhood of two-story buildings or all uniform height buildings in any neighborhood. When Muir points out that a wall of four-story buildings along San Pablo would block his view – a view he has only from his rooftop anyway – I agree. This is one of the reasons some people favor “centers-oriented” development over corridors, and why, to get enough housing in the city to make any real difference, some of us support somewhat taller buildings in downtown. Centers around the Ashby BART Station and the west Berkeley center around University Avenue, from San Pablo to the Southern Pacific train stop. Such centers make transit work much better and get people out of their cars. The best city arrangement would be mainly “centers-oriented” development with corridors emphasized within the centers having even greater density. The corridors should not connect continuously from center to center. We should be able to see around the centers and the centers themselves should be interesting architecture with roof and terrace planting to make them appear something like natural hills. Also, “centers-oriented” development leaves room for restoration of waterways and other natural features whereas corridors of medium density, say four stories, create a much more expensive barrier to remove one day when we recognize the value of opening creeks and retaining views from higher places. This sounds a little complex, but it uses the best of both “corridors-oriented” and “centers-oriented” development. 

If you think it’s worthwhile to consider such things and try innovative approaches to solving today’s housing and environmental problems, you better vote against the Berkeley height initiative in November. 

Richard Register 

Berkeley

NEW YORK – All the drama in baseball this season hasn’t been confined to the field. 

Some of the toughest pitches are being hurled across Manhattan conference rooms, where owners are demanding economic changes that could spark the game’s ninth work stoppage since 1972. 

And it could come to this: No World Series for the second time in nine years. 

Players are likely to set a strike date when their executive board meets Monday, possibly leading to a walkout in late August or early September. The key stumbling block appears to be management’s demand to slow escalating player salaries — a luxury tax on teams with high payrolls. 

“Eventually, it all has to be tied together,” said Atlanta pitcher Tom Glavine, the National League player representative. “There’s caution on our side because obviously the big issues — revenue sharing and luxury tax — are out there. Those can set the negotiations in motion quickly in one direction or the other.” 

Finding a way to slow salaries has been a perennial management goal long before Bud Selig became commissioner in 1998. Players, however, would like keep things the way they are. Since 1976, the last season before free agency, the average salary has jumped from $51,500 to $2.38 million, a 46-fold increase. 

Selig said it has reached the point where only the richest teams can compete. He thinks revenue-sharing — taking from the biggest clubs and giving to the smaller ones, like his family-owned Milwaukee Brewers — is the only way to restore competitive balance. 

“The system is so, in my judgment, badly flawed, it’s going to take a myriad of solutions,” Selig said earlier this month. 

One owner who sticks up for big-market clubs is George Steinbrenner, whose New York Yankees’ payroll is $135 million. He doesn’t think they should have to subsidize smaller teams. 

Steinbrenner also thinks profit-sharing should be used to raise payrolls, not help teams rack up profits. But he’s not certain how much his opinion counts these days. 

“Bud Selig and I have been friends for a long time. I’m not sure how much he relies on me anymore,” Steinbrenner said in an interview published Sunday in The New York Times. “I don’t know. He kind of has his allies, and most of them are small-market guys.”

Berkeley streets, considered some of the most dangerous in the state for pedestrians and bicyclists, may get safety improvements if voters agree to a new tax in November. 

Last month, the City Council approved a ballot measure to ask voters to approve a special tax expected to raise approximately $10 million over 10 years. Property taxes would increase by 1.3 cents per square foot. According to the city’s financial analysis, the annual cost for the average 1,900 square-foot homeowner would be $24.70 a year. 

In order for the new tax to become law, two-thirds of city voters must vote yes for the measure. 

Traffic improvements to increase pedestrian and bicycle safety would include pedestrian activated traffic signals, lighted pedestrian crosswalks and traffic circles. 

Opponents of the tax say that property taxes are already too high and that bicyclists and pedestrians are injured because they do “crazy stuff.” They should pay more attention to traffic, opponents say. 

According to the 2000 Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Task Force Report, Berkeley has the highest rate of pedestrian and bicycle accidents of 45 cities of similar size in the state. 

And according to the traffic division of the city’s public works department, which maintains traffic injury statistics, one pedestrian and one bicyclist have been killed by automobiles so far this year. 

District 2 Councilmember Dona Spring said pedestrian safety measures are long overdue. The city’s most dangerous intersection according to the BAPST report are at University and Shattuck avenues, within Spring’s council district. 

“We have 20 percent more cars on the streets than 20 years ago and people don’t feel safe,” she said. “If we are going to ask people to leave their cars at home and bicycle or walk to work, we have to make the streets safe for them.” 

She added that the new tax is necessary because there isn’t enough money in the public works department budget to make necessary safety improvements. 

“The public works budget is overwhelmed with fixing streets, sidewalks and maintaining the existing traffic safety systems,” Spring said. “This extra tax is only for 10 years and will give us a real shot in the arm.” 

But former chair of the city’s Budget Commission Art Goldberg helped write arguments against the measure. He said the tax is poorly thought out and unnecessary. He said there is no solid calculation of how much money the tax will raise and no clear statement about where the money is going.  

In addition, Goldberg said the real problem is not traffic management but pedestrians and bicyclists who dart out into traffic and aggressively assert their right of way.  

“I see them do crazy stuff everyday,” he said. “Pedestrians in this city assert their right of way in crosswalks all the time. They should realize they are at a disadvantage to a car.”  

Bicycle Friendly Berkeley President Dave Campbell disagreed.  

“The way to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety is to slow cars down,” he said. “It would be very bad public policy for a city the size of Berkeley, with such a high ratio of people who bike and walk, to put automobiles first.” 

Spring added that motorists are the problem and that Berkeley’s quality of life is rapidly diminishing as more cars and fewer pedestrians fill the streets.  

“All of the people I talk to say they want more pedestrian safety,” she said. “There is a constant stress always having to watch for cars.”

To the Editor : 

A letter by Ms. Nicoloff attempts to get people to believe that her height initiative will protect neighborhoods. Her ordinance would not do that. It would, in reality, deprive Berkeley neighborhoods of the people who have made Berkeley a thriving city. It would prevent long-term residents from moving from homes that have become too large for one or two individuals due to changes which have taken place in their lives, and because they are now in need of public transit. The kind of apartments on transit corridors that are needed could not be built under Ms. Nicoloff's initiative.  

She continues her letter by attempting to malign several organizations and councilmembers. This tactic won’t get Berkeley the rental units it needs to house Berkeley's retired adults. Voting against the height initiative will show support for Berkeley. 

Lenora Young  

Berkeley

MARTINEZ – Two prominent East Bay lawmakers say they support a “regime change” in Iraq, but they emphasize that Congress should be consulted in advance. 

U.S. Reps. George Miller, D-Martinez, and Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, were among at least eight Bay Area lawmakers who signed a letter on July 26 cautioning President George W. Bush to obtain congressional authorization before any such effort. 

A replacement for the government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, whom the Iraqi legislature declared “president for life” in 1990, would be “good for all the parties concerned,” Miller said. 

“The question of how you achieve that change, however, remains an open question,” Miller cautioned. “It is clear to me that whatever action the United States takes must be within the rule of law.” 

Tauscher spokesperson April Boyd says Tauscher agrees that members of Congress should be consulted before military action. 

Tauscher herself has no knowledge of military plans being made by the Bush administration. 

But Bush has made no secret of his desire to remove Hussein. In June he was reported to have ordered the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to begin a comprehensive secret effort to overthrow the Iraqi government. In a June 1 commencement speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., Bush said the United States should be ready to take “preemptive action” against regimes considered to be a threat.  

“If we wait for the threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long,” Bush told the cadets. 

U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Atherton, emphasized the need for evidence before military action. She also considered whether instigating an armed conflict might cause the very thing that it was intended to prevent. 

“The president has made his support clear for a regime change, but has yet to give the American people or Congress evidence that our country is immediately threatened by Iraq,” said Eshoo. “There must be a full and clear debate regarding any proposed regime change including the question, would military action precipitate the use of biological weapons, and how would an attack affect regional stability.” 

U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, said that because Iraq has not complied with its pledge to permit full access to its facilities by United Nations inspectors, U.S. officials are now in the precarious situation of not knowing exactly what kind of weapons Iraq has. 

“I believe it would be in the best interest of the U.S., our allies and the world if an Iraqi regime complied fully with the U.N. inspectors and proved that programs to build weapons of mass destruction are non-existent,” Honda said. “Saddam Hussein has not shown an interest in accomplishing this mission.” 

Honda added that officials within the Bush Administration disagree as to what kind of weapons the Iraqis have. 

Honda said another important consideration in deciding whether to conduct a military action against Iraq would be support from the international community, a concern also cited by U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma. 

“The U.S. must not engage Iraq militarily unless there is direct evidence of Iraq's involvement in terrorist activities,” she said. “Anything less could destroy the international coalition to fight terrorism and could significantly damage U.S. relations with countries in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia,” Woolsey continued. “Any action we take militarily should be done with the support of the international community.”

FBI reports bridge terrorist threat 

SAN FRANCISCO — Various state and federal law enforcement officials increased patrols on and around the Golden Gate Bridge on Sunday after bridge district officials learned of a potential terrorist threat 11 months after attacks on New York and Washington. 

The bridge was placed on a “superheightned” state of alert after information was shared through an interagency coalition Friday, said Mary Currie, spokeswoman for the Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District. 

The California Highway Patrol, FBI, U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies “all aggressively are doing exactly what needs to be done to protect and keep the Golden Gate Bridge secure,” Currie said. 

She would not elaborate on the details of the threat or specify the information’s source. However, the bridge district board’s president, Harold C. Brown, told the Contra Costa Times the FBI was gauging the credibility of a threat that terrorists planned to crash an aircraft into the span. 

Video footage, shared by Spanish authorities and thought to be the work of al-Qaida, included shots of the bridge’s suspension anchors and also featured other American landmarks, including Disneyland, Chicago’s Sears Tower and New York’s Statue of Liberty believed to be terrorist targets. 

One more Oakland homicide 

OAKLAND – The Oakland Police Department reports that it is investigating a homicide that occurred a 2:26 p.m. Sunday at the 9600 block of Edes Avenue. 

A police spokesman said a male victim was shot numerous times before being taken to Highland Hospital where he later died.

SAN FRANCISCO – The assets of file-sharing service Napster Inc. went up for auction Friday with an asking price of $25 million and a deadline only eight business days away. 

Trenwith Securities, a Costa Mesa-based securities firm, was hired by Napster’s creditors to help generate interest between now and the Aug. 21 bid deadline. Trenwith has been pitching to everyone from venture capitalists, music retailers and media firms to major record labels that drove Napster into bankruptcy this year. 

But those interested will have to outbid German publishing giant Bertelsmann, which has promised to bid an additional $9 million at the auction to be held Aug. 27, bringing the total value of its bid to more than $100 million. Bertelsmann advanced Napster, which boasted some 60 million users at its zenith, more than $85 million in loans and is funding the Redwood City, Calif.-based firm’s operations during its bankruptcy reorganization. 

The creditors committee named by the bankruptcy judge, however, is hoping it can do better with Trenwith’s help. 

The committee, which includes the law firm of former Napster lawyer David Boies and some music and software companies, thinks the judge might not count most of Bertelsmann’s initial $85 million, in which case the winning bidder could put up as little as $25 million.

Maria Magana has an old, yellowing photograph of her shop, Pepitos Deli, taken before a 1999 facelift. Four years ago, her storefront was in as bad a shape as the photo. 

Today, however, peeling paint, old window panes and an ugly metal door at the San Pablo Avenue deli have given way to fresh coats of green, purple and yellow, a craftsman wood door and an ornate new sign. 

Why the change? A city of Berkeley facade grant. 

The four-year old program has given money to about 130 small business owners to improve the look of their storefronts and add safety features to their businesses. 

“This is a useful tool to help blighted property,” said Ted Burton of the city’s Office of Economic Development.  

The program targets property owners in certain parts of the city, including downtown, University Avenue and south and west Berkeley. The owners usually receive about $3,500. The grant money mostly goes toward new signs, awnings, paint, windows, doors and outside lighting. 

“The program helps us to convince owners to clean up their storefronts and make the neighborhood safer and look better,” said Burton. 

The program’s most noticeable impact has been on San Pablo Avenue, between University and Ashby avenues, where 52 businesses have received city grants. 

“We work with San Pablo merchants and residents to identify neighborhood clusters so we can revitalize an entire area,” said Burton 

Local merchants acknowledge the improvement. 

“I think the neighborhood looks really nice,” said Pete Raxakoul, owner of Country Cheese at San Pablo Avenue and Addison Street. “There’s a lot more people walking around now. It’s a lot less scary with the new lights.” 

Raxakoul said he was approached last year by the Office of Economic Development about participating in the program. 

“I wasn’t planning on doing any work, but if someone offers it for free, it’s always nice.”  

With free money comes certain restrictions. 

Magana said her initial plan for Pepitos Deli had a more “Hispanic” theme, but city officials rejected the design on grounds that it would reduce the property’s resale value. 

Still, she is happy with the end result. “The city was very helpful and the sign looks great,” she said. 

However, some owners aren’t happy with their refurbished storefronts. 

Deloris Handel, the new owner of Lucky Dog Pet Shop at 2154 San Pablo Ave., thinks the sign and paint that the city and former owner chose for her shop doesn’t grab people’s attention. 

“Aesthetically it’s a great sign, but as far as attracting business, it doesn’t work,” she said. She would have preferred neon. 

Construction on the Country Cheese storefront begins in two weeks. However, this may be one of the final facelifts for of the year. 

The program, which has given out an estimated $240,000 over the last four years, was not funded this year due to budget cuts. All current projects are being funded with money from the previous year’s budget. 

Burton said he is hopeful that funding will be restored, and that Telegraph Avenue merchants have expressed interest in the program. 

“There is definitely more to be done,” he said.  

I support Doug Fielding's enthusiasm for creating more playing fields in Berkeley, and I don't even object to his support for the existing playing field at Harrison Park (Gabe Catalfo Field) which is an area with poor air quality. But I do object to Mr. Fielding's attempt to ignore and/or distort the facts about the city of Berkeley's current air study at the park. 

Mr. Fielding asserts that the city's air study is flawed “according to the person overseeing the issue of particulate matter (PM) at the state EPA.” Who is the person? What is the flaw? Does Mr. Fielding know that this project was reviewed by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District as well as the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and that these agencies consult with Berkeley staff on a regular basis? Mr. Fielding may be ready to conclude that the location of the air monitor explains the poor air quality readings at Harrison Field; I’ll bet parents of children with asthma aren't willing to be so cavalier.  

Mr. Fielding refers to a “long term study of 3,500 children in the Los Angeles basin that found no correlation between particulate matter and increased respiratory distress among athletes versus non-athletes.” Mr. Fielding misinterprets this study which was reported in The Lancet in February 2002 and titled “Asthma in exercising children exposed to ozone: a cohort study.” The study investigated the link between exposure to air pollution– ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter (PM) – during exercise or time spent outdoors and the development (new diagnoses) of asthma. And actually, on the basis of their data, the study’s authors concluded that “air pollution and outdoor exercise could contribute to the development of asthma in children.” (That's not an attack of asthma; that's a new diagnosis of asthma.) 

The scientists who study air pollution and health take this PM stuff seriously and so should the rest of us, even Mr. Fielding. 

Sara MacKusick 

Chair of the Community  

Environmental Advisory  

Commission

Scattered around west Berkeley is an unusual building system which consists of pre-cast concrete wall panels with translucent glass blocks set into the concrete in a pattern that created a lattice-work of diamond-shaped openings in a grid-pattern. They are referred to as “concrete grid forms.” 

This building system appears to have been developed around 1938 by George A. Scott at his 3075 Telegraph Avenue shop. His company was called the Concrete Grid Form Company and his office, constructed with grid forms of course, is still standing at 3075 Telegraph. Architects Walter Steilberg and Bernard Maybeck were enlisted by Scott as consulting designers. About the same time, Fred Stadelhofer of Berkeley Pump developed a variation on the form with cement contractor E. H. Buel. 

Scott's method of constructing the forms had the concrete poured into an egg-crate like mold with the glass blocks installed later. Buell's method had the concrete poured directly around the glass blocks.  

A wall of these pre-cast panels was exhibited as a garden wall at the 1938 Treasure Island Exposition, and the system was featured in an article in the September 1940 issue of Architect and Engineer. Walls of these concrete grid forms provide light with privacy and an interesting decorative pattern. The translucent glass block is associated with the Art Deco Style and is again being used today. 

Concrete grid-form buildings can be seen at various locations around Berkeley. There are several concrete-grid form buildings built by the Berkeley Pump Company between 1945-1955 by E.H. Buel in the 2200 block of Fifth Street, the 2300 block of Fourth Street, at 816 and 830 Bancroft Way, and 721 Channing Way. On the north side of the 700 block of Bancroft is an impressive block-long wall of these grid forms. Berkeley Pump was a large manufacturing business in Berkeley which made pumps for a variety of uses but its manufacturing plant was a collection of buildings scattered across several blocks. The buildings have been mostly converted to offices and some retail uses.  

The best place to view these concrete grid forms is at 1001 University Avenue. The former Mobilized Women of Berkeley building (1938, attributed to Bernard Maybeck) is now part of Amsterdam Art and the large auditorium is open as part of their retail business. Other grid-form buildings are located at 3075 Telegraph Avenue (1938), 805 Camellia (1946), 746 Folger (1951), the bathrooms at Kleeberger Field on the university campus; 1025 Carleton Street; 1800 Dwight Way; and 1865 University Avenue.  

Susan Cerny is author of Berkeley Landmarks and writes this in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.  

“The closer you get the funnier we seem,” urged the guy on the portable stage tucked into the northeast corner of Willard Park. He beckoned the crowd nearer, smiling. It scooted up with tarps and blankets and coolers so late arrivals could fit in. A bluegrass band enlivened the mellow afternoon air while someone passed out “No War” bumper stickers and vendors sold cookies and drinks. 

It was time for political satire, and where better for political satire than a grassy sward in Berkeley? 

The occasion was one of San Francisco Mime Troupe’s free shows that crop up all over the Bay Area this time of year. In the words of one of its collective, Amos Glick: “We’ve been doing political theater for over 40 years for anyone who will listen.” 

Plenty were listening at Willard Park last Sunday. The name of the troupe’s latest jibe at politics-as-usual is “Mr. Smith Goes to Obscuristan,” based on the Frank Capra film, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” in which a naïve, goodhearted Jefferson Smith played by James Stewart joins congress only to discover that (gasp!) politics is corrupt. 

The movie is almost as naïve as Smith, but it provides a useful springboard for the Mime Troupe’s sendup, in which naïve, goodhearted New York firefighter Jefferson Smith is co-opted by the state department to observe the presidential elections in the mythical but emblematic middle eastern country of Obscuristan. No surprise that the United States just wants to use Smith. Obscuristan’s shoo-in candidate is in its pocket, and though it claims that the country is so worthless that it is “forced to import sand,” when it turns out to have oil the state department only shrugs. 

“Who knew?” a spokeswoman coos, batting her eyes. 

“Mr. Smith Goes to Obscuristan,” generates laughs and has a few good lines. For example, when a repressor groans, “Have you seen what happens when you give free speech to well-fed children? It isn’t pretty.” But its satire of U.S. foreign policy and the Bush administration is neither inventive nor biting. More akin to “Saturday Night Live” than to Bertolt Brecht or Dario Fo, it features a Dick Cheney who once worked for “Scandalburton,” and a President Bush who chokes on pretzels, cannot pronounce new words, and fusses, “This peace process is taking longer than a colonoscopy.” The Obscuristan candidate Automaht Regurgitov, declares, “If you know which way the wind blows, you know which way to bend,” and his upstart opposition aspirant is named Ralif Nadir. The news media gets ambushed too. CNN becomes SNN, the Selective News Network, which insists that its on-site reporter remember “nothing but puff pieces.” 

Written by Josh Kornbluth, Gene Sullivan and the Mime Troupe, and directed by Sullivan and Keiko Shimato, “Obscuristan” takes easy shots at sitting-duck targets but is likable. And though its cast members have variable talents, they all go at the material with infectious good humor. 

Oddly, the greatest irony of this particular performance may have occurred on its fringes, where demonstrators waved placards accusing the Mime Troupe of being “Racist and Orientalist.” Protesters protesting protesters? Its most unsettling moment may have come from the audience. When an Obscuristan patriot cried to the United States, “Everybody hates you,” several people cheered, while I flinched at those cheers. Has national self-loathing gone so far?  

Friday, August 9 

3Canal 

The Cut & Clear Crew with DJ Engine Room 

9:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$12 in advance, $15 door/ Free for 12 and younger 

Henri-Pierre Koubaka 

8:00 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Left Hand Smoke, Schfvilkus 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-2082 

$7 door 

Marvin Sease plus Beverly Watson 

1st show 7 p.m., 2nd show 10 p.m. 

Rountree’s Rhythm & Blues, 2618 San Pablo Ave. 

663-0440 

$40 in advance 

Rebel Music 

8 p.m.. 

La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave.  

A Collective of artists and musicians from the Bay. Hiphop, reggae, dance hall and spoken word. 

849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

$10 

Saturday, August 10 

Afromuzika 

9 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$12 door/ Free for 12 and under 

De Rompe y Raja & Lucho Cabrera 

8 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave.  

Afro-Peruvian singer Lucho Cabrera from Ica, Peru, performs for the first time at La Peña with De Rompe y Raja. 

849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

$13 in advance, $15 at door 

Mark Growden’s Electric Pinata, Beth Custer Ensemble 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

841-2082 

$7 door 

Tony MacMahon, Jody Stecher & Eric Thompson 

8:00 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Marvin Sease plus Beverly Watson 

1st show 7 p.m., 2nd show 10 p.m. 

Rountree’s Rhythm & Blues, 2618 San Pablo Ave. 

663-0440 

$40 in advance 

Berkeley Arts Festival Opening Day 

10-ring Cultural Circus 

Noon to 6 p.m. 

Main stage on Center St. near the City Garage between Shattuck and Milvia 

The 5th annual Berkeley Arts City Wide Celebration of Art and Politics opens with this event. Music, poetry, speakers, storytelling and more. 

665-9496 

Free 

University of California, Berkeley Summer Symphony 

8 p.m. 

Hertz Hall on the U.C. Campus located near the intersection of Bancroft and College. 

Performing Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in d-minor with soloist Mei-Fang Lin and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in c-minor. 

642-4864 

Free 

Sunday, August 11 

Jim Hurst & Missy Raines 

8:00 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Prezidenz Brown with DJ Jah Wizer 

9:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$11 door 

Robert Helps Memorial Marathon Concert 

Berkeley Arts Festival 

11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Wells Fargo Annex, 2081 Center St. 

A dozen of the best pianists of the Bay join in a marathon tribute to Robert Helps, who died last year. 

665-9099 

$10 

Virginia Mayhew 

4:30 p.m.  

Berkeley Jazz School, 2087 Addison St. 

New York-based saxophonist-featuring Ingrid Jensen, Harvie Swartz-Allison Miller. 

845-5373 for reservations  

swing@jazzschool.com or www.jazzschool.com 

$6 to $12 

Tuesday, August 13 

Tom Rigney and Flambeau 

8:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$8 door/ Free for 12 and under 

Wednesday, August 14 

Phil Marsh 

8:00 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Roadoilers with the Bluegrass  

Intentions 

8:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$10/ Free for 12 and under 

Thursday, August 15 

Colcannon 

8:00 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Dean Santomieri: Multimedia Works 

Berkeley Arts Festival 

8 p.m. 

Wells Fargo Annex, 2801 Center St. 

Multi-media works “The Boy Beneath the Sea” and “A Book Bound in Red Buckram...” presented by composer, monologist, and video artist Santomieri. 

665-9496 

$10 

Friday, August 16 

Farallon Brass Ensemble Concert 

8 p.m. 

Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St. Berkeley 

Performance by Farallon Brass Ensemble highlighting their brass camp for young musicians. 

$10 general, $5 students/seniors 

Girls in Ties, 151 Cameo Dr., and Robert and Karen 

7 p.m. to 11 p.m. 

Café Eclectica, 1309 Solano Ave. 

527-2344 

$4 

Duck Baker & Jamie Findlay 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Native Elements with Buffalo Soldier 

Joined by special guest Humble Soul 

9:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$11 door/ Free for 12 and under 

Saturday, August 17 

Composer Portraits with Sarah Cahill and Gabriela Frank 

Berkeley Arts Festival 

8 p.m. 

Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St. 

665-9099 

$10 

The Edios 

8:00 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

548-1761 or www.freightandsalvage.com 

$15.50 in advance, $16.50 at door 

Freedom! Now! 

Berkeley Arts Festival Gallery & Headquarters 2055 Center St. 

Reception 6 to 8 p.m. 

Through Aug. 25, Tues. - Sun., noon to 5 p.m. 

Commemorates the work of those who struggled for justice and freedom from government/state repression. 

841-2793 

First Year Anniversary Group Exhibition 

Through Aug. 17 

Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland 

New works from various artists. 

836-0831 

Images of Love and Courtship 

Through Sept. 15 

Gathering Tribes, 1573 Solano Ave. 

Ledger paintings by Michael Horse. 

528-9038 

Free 

The Creation of People’s Park 

Through Aug. 31, Mon. - Thurs., 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fri. 9 to 5 p.m.; Sat. 1 to 5 p.m. Sun. 3 to 7 p.m. 

The Free Movement Speech Cafe, UC Berkeley campus 

A photo exhibition, with curator Harold Adler. 

hjadler@yahoo.com 

Free 

"New Visions: Introductions '02"  

Works from emerging Californian artists 

Through Aug. 10 

Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., Oakland 

763-4361 

Free 

"New Work: Part 2, The 2001 Kala Fellowship Exhibition"  

Through Sept. 7, Tues.-Fri. Noon to 5:30 p.m., Sat. 12:00-4:30 p.m. 

Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 

Featuring 8 Kala Fellowship winners, printmaking 

549-2977  

“If These Walls Could Talk” 

Through Sept. 8 

Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California Campus (just below Grizzly Peak Blvd.) 

See how various civilizations built all kinds of structures from mud huts to giant skyscrapers at this building exhibit. 

642-5132 

Admission: $8 for adults; $6 for youth 5-18, seniors and disabled; $4 for children 3-4; Free for children under 3, LHS Members and fulltime Berkeley students. 

“Virtually Real Oakland - The Magic, The Diversity and the Potholes” 

Through Sept. 21, Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. 

Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St., Berkeley 

Exhibit by Ken Burson; digitally enhanced photos of Oakland. 

644-1400 

Free 

Friday, August 9 

Once Upon a Mattress 

7:30 p.m. [5 p.m. Sat. & Sun. Aug. 10 and 11] 

Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave.  

A hilarious retelling of "The Princess and the Pea," presented by Stage Door Conservatory, by students grades 5 through 9. 

527-5939 

$8 to $12 

Friday, August 16 

“Pericles, Prince of Tyre” 

8:00 p.m. 

Wells Fargo Annex, 2081 Center St. 

This romance follows Prince Pericles, hunted for a crime he did not commit, on an epic voyage around the Mediterranean. Presented by Woman’s Will, the Bay Area’s all-female Shakespeare Company. 

665-9496 

Free 

Saturday, August 10 

"Poetry in the Plaza" honors June Jordan 

Berkeley Arts Festival 

2:30 p.m. 

Central Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 

Readings from poets Marvin K. White, Sharon Doubiago, Lucha Corpi, Chinaka Hodge and others. 

981-6233 

Free 

Wednesday, August 14 

Café Poetry and open mic hosted by Kira Allen  

7:30 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave.  

849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

$2 

Saturday, August 24 

Rhythm & Muse 

6:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 

Poetry reading and open mike featuring Zigi Lowenburg & Raymond “Nat” Turner. 

527-9753 

Free admission 

Wednesday, August 14 

Premiere of “MMI” by John Sanborn 

Berkeley Arts Festival 

8 p.m. 

Wells Fargo Annex, 2081 Center St., Berkeley 

Event also features a piano concert featuring Sarah Cahill performing recent works and some composed specifically for her. 

665-9496 

Thursday, August 22 

Film: "Ralph Ellison: An American Journey" 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch, 2090 Kittredge St. 

Berkeley filmmaker Avon Kirkland's stirring documentary about the great American author, Ralph Ellison. 

981-6205 

Free 

Truth: Exposing Israeli Apartheid  

7:30 p.m. 

La Pena, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Premiere of documentary by local filmmaker Wendy Campbell. 

655-5889 

$20 donations

Friday, August 9 

Community Skin Cancer Screening Clinic 

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Markstein Cancer Education Center, Summit Campus, 2450 Ashby Avenue 

Skin cancer screenings offered to people with limited or no health insurance. By Appointment only. 

For more information or to make an appointment call 869-8833 

Saturday, August 10 

Avotcja's Birthday Bash 

7:30 p.m. 

Mama Bear's Books, 6536 Telegraph Avenue 

Poetry, music and dance in celebration of poet Avotcja Jiltonilro's 61st birthday. Reservations are suggested. 

428-9684 

$10 donation 

B-TV Bowl-a-thon 

11 a.m. 

Albany Bowl, 540 San Pablo Ave. 

2nd annual Bowl-a-thon to raise proceeds for educational and government programs and a needed facility and equipment upgrade. 

848-2288 ext.. 11 

Free 

Berkeley NAACP  

General Membership Meeting 

1:00 p.m. 

Church by the Side of the Road, 2108 Russell Street 

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the largest, oldest, and most effective civil rights organization in the country. Monthly meetings are held every 2nd Saturday.  

510-435-3101 

Free 

Ironing 

6 p.m. 

UC Berkeley Entrance on Telegraph 

Street performance art presented by NO WAY. 

237-9507 

Free 

Poetry in the Plaza 

2:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch, 2090 Kittredge 

Quarter hour readings by well-known poets, dedicated to June Jordan. 

981-6100 

Free 

Tomato Tasting 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Tasting and cooking demonstrations.  

548-3333 

Free 

Tea Bag Folding 

2 to 4 p.m.  

Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany 

Drop-in crafts program for ages 5 to adult.  

526-3720 Ext.. 19. 

Free 

Tree Stories 

2 to 4 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo, Berkeley 

Come join us as author Warren David Jacobs reads from his book "Tree Stories." 

548-2220 x233 

Free 

Sunday, August 11 

Ashkenaz Board Meeting 

7:30 to 9:30 p.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

The public is welcome and can make open comments from 7:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Meeting will be conducted in the back studio. 

525-5024 or www.ashkenaz.com 

$12 door/ Free for 12 and under 

Free Radio Berkeley Benefit 

7 to 10 p.m. 

Benefit for new Free Radio Berkeley home. Speakers include Berkeley City Council member Kriss Worthington, Andrea Buffa of Media Alliance and Pierre Labossiere of the Haiti Support Group.  

533-0401, www.freeradio.org  

$15 to $25, sliding scale  

Kiwanis Club of Berkeley:  

A Classic Taste of Italy 

4 to 7 p.m. 

St. Mary Magdeline Church, Fellowship Hall. Berryman St. Berkeley 

Spaghetti dinner and auction to raise money for children's programs. 

527-3249 

Kids $5, Adults $15 

“Into the Arms of Strangers:  

Stories of the Kindertransport” 

2 p.m. 

Berkeley-Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St., Berkeley 

Screening of Oscar-winning documentary about child holocaust survivors who were sent, without their parents, out of Austria, Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia to Great Britain. 

848-0237 

$2 suggested donation 

West Berkeley Arts Festival 

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

4th and University Ave. 

Explore the many resident artists located in Berkeley. 

Free. 

Monday, August 12 

The First East Bay Senior Games 

10:30 a.m. clinic, 12:30 p.m. tee-off (approximate times) 

Mira Vista Golf and Country Club 

7901 Cutting Blvd. El Cerrito 

A golfing event for the 50+ crowd, in association with the California and National Senior Games Association. 

891-8033 

Varying entry fees. 

Tuesday, August 13 

Tomato Tasting 

2 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Derby Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way  

Sample 35 different Tomato varieties. 

548-3333 

Free 

Berkeley Camera Club Weekly Meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share slides, prints with other photographers. 

(510) 525-3565 

Free 

Nuclear War: Then and Now, Part II 

The Decision to Drop the Bomb on Hiroshima 

7 p.m. 

Friends' Meeting House, 2151 Vine St. 

Screening of two network documentaries on the subject. 

705-7314 or BerkMM@Earthlink.net 

Free 

Wednesday, August 14 

Holistic Exercises Sharing Circle  

3:30 to 6:30 p.m.  

wrpclub@aol.com or 595-5541 for information 

Holistic Practitioners, Teachers, Students & Anyone who knows Holistic exercises take turns leading the group through an afternoon of exercises. 

$20 for six-month membership 

Thursday, August 15 

Power for the People 

7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave.  

A forum on public power, solar power and community control of energy. Speakers include Paul Fenn, Director of Local Power and publisher of American Local Power News and energy economist Eugene Coyle. 

548-2220 x233 

$5 to $15, sliding scale 

Tapping into the Hidden Job Market:  

Networking & Informational Interviewing 

Noon to 1 p.m. 

YWCA Turning Point Career Center, 2600 Bancroft Way 

Cal Martin will speak on networking and informational interviewing.  

848-6370 

$3 at door 

Unique Presentation Styles 

Noon to 1 p.m. 

State Health Toastmasters Club, 2151 Berkeley Way 

Learn to use the unique attributes of your personality to improve your public speaking skills. Visitors must preregister. 

595-1594 

Free 

Friday, August 16 

Deasophy: Wisdom of the Goddess 

7:30 p.m. 

Redwood Gardens Community Room, 2951 Derby St., Berkeley 

Max Dashu presents a slide show on Goddess cosmologies and female creators from a global perspective. 

654-9298 or maxdashu@LMI.net 

$7-15 donations 

Free Theater for Children 

7:30 p.m. 

Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. 

Stage Door Conservatory presents Wise men of Chelm, based on Jewish Folk Tales. Adapted by Sandra Fenichel Asher. 

527-5939 

Free 

Berkeley Women in Black 

Noon to 1 p.m. 

Telegraph and Bancroft 

Standing in solidarity with Israeli and Palestinian women to urge an end to the occupation and the violence. 

548-6310, wibberkeley.org 

Saturday, August 17 

Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Associations (BANA) Meeting 

9:l5 a.m. to ll a.m. 

Live Oak Park, Fireside Room, l30l Shattuck Ave. 

Citywide meeting concerning local issues. All are welcome. 

849-46l9 or mtbrcb@pacbell.net 

Cajun & More Festival 

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Civic Center Park, Center St. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

4 live bands, crafts fair, outdoor dance floor, micro-brewery beer, Cajun food and free Cajun dance lessons. 

548-3333 

Admission is free 

Tour for Blind, Low-Vision Library Patrons 

10:30 a.m. to noon 

Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch 

3rd Floor Meeting Rm, 2090 Kittredge St. 

Tour of the new central branch for blind and low-vision patrons. 

981-6121 

Free 

Author Reading and Signing:  

Haunani-Kay Trask 

3 p.m.  

Eastwind Books, 2066 University Ave., Berkeley 

Meet Hawaiian author Haunani-Kay Trask. 

548-2350 

Free 

Cajun & More 

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Four Live Bands, crafts fair, Cajun food, dance lessons, micro-brewery beer & dance floor.  

548-3333 

Free 

Sunday, August 18 

Bike Tours of Historic Oakland 

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California, 10th St. entrance, at Fallon 

Leisurely paced 5 1/2 mile bike tour about Oakland's history and architecture, led by docents. 

238-3514 

Free: Reservations Required 

Jewish Genealogy Educational Meeting 

1 p.m. 

Learn about research resources available from the S.F. Bay Area Jewish Genealogy Society. Open to all. 

Berkeley-Richmond JCC, 1414 Walnut St. 

For info visit www.jewishgen.org/sfbajgs 

Free 

Top of the Bay Family Days 

1 to 3 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science, Centennial Drive, above UC campus 

Enjoy an afternoon outdoor concert in our family picnic area as well as art and science activities and hands-on exhibits inside LHS. 

643-5961 

$8 adults 

Thursday, August 22 

Free Meanoma Update 

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Summit North Pavilion, Cafeteria Annex B & C, 350 Hawthorne Ave., Oakland 

Information on melanoma skin cancer, detection and treatment. 

869-6737 

Free 

Friday, August 23 

Teen Playreaders present Bizarre Shorts 

(through August 24) 7 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library - North Branch 

1170 The Alameda 

Playreaders present 20 short, bizarre plays, contemporary and classic. 

981-6250 

Free 

Saturday, August 24 

UC Berkeley Circle K Garage Sale 

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Berkeley ACE Hardware parking lot, 2145 University Ave. 

Garage sale fundraiser held by UC Berkeley, non-profit community service organization to raise money for pediatric trauma patients.  

(858) 335-9021 

Fuel Cell Car Experiments 

1 to 3 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California Campus (Just below Grizzly Peak Blvd.) 

Observe a miniature car operating on solar energy and water, and help conduct physics experiments to learn more about this environmentally friendly new technology. For ages 12 and up. 

642-5132 

Admission: $8 for adults; $6 for youth; $4 for children 3-4: Free for children under 3 

Vegan Food Party 

11:30 a.m. 

Lake Anza in Tilden Park 

Social, food party event presented by Contra Costa Vegetarians and SFBAVeg. 

dhermit4424@yahoo.com 

Free with Vegan dish 

Sunday, August 25 

Destination Telegraph 

Noon to 5 p.m. 

Durant Ave., between Telegraph Ave. and Bowditch Ave. 

Live music, beer and wine garden, street artists, community booths, art and prizes. 

649-9500 or www.telegraphyberkeley.org for information, booth space or to volunteer 

Tuesday, August 27 

A House of Straw: A Natural Building Odyssey Slideshow 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo 

Carolyn Roberts presents slides and talks about her experiences building her straw bale house. 

548-2220 Ext.. 233 

Free 

Thursday, August 29 

2nd Annual LGBT Elders Conference 

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

First Unitarian Church, 685 14th St. Oakland 

Workshops and conference for LGBT elders to learn about senior services.  

705-8918 

$20 registration, no one denied for lack of funds 

Saturday, August 31 

Berkeley Youth Orchestra Auditions (Wind, Brass, Percussion) 

All day 

Laney College Music Dept., Fallon St., Oakland 

Berkeley Youth Orchestra will audition musicians aged 10-15 for the 2002-2003 season. 

For an application or more information call Penny Boys at 540-0812 or e-mail her at philiph@seismo.berkeley.edu 

Monday, September 2 

National Organization for Women Oakland/East Bay Chapter  

6:30 PM.  

Mama Bears Bookstore and Coffeehouse, 6536 Telegraph Avenue  

Chapter’s monthly meeting. Speaker: Multicultural historian, Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum, received 

the prestigious Valitutti Award for non fiction.  

549-2970 

Free 

Sunday, September 8 

Lifelong Medical Care First Annual 5K Fun Run/Walk Fundraiser 

9 a.m. to noon 

West Berkeley 

Individual and team participation, a health fair, food, prizes, live music, free insurance eligibility screening - fun for all ages. 

704-6010 

28th Annual Solano Avenue Stroll 

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Solano Avenue 

A mile-long block part featuring “Journey of a Thousand Cranes’ Parade” at 11 a.m.  

527-5358 or www.salonstroll.org 

Free 

Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Sunday, September 15 

Heritage Day 

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

4th and University Ave. 

International BBQ and beer festival 

Free 

Bike Tours of Historic Oakland 

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California, 10th St. entrance, at Fallon 

Leisurely paced 5 1/2 mile bike tour about Oakland's history and architecture, led by docents. 

238-3514 

Free: Reservations Required 

Saturday, September 21 

BREAD and Roses Garden Party 

1 to 5 p.m. 

Peralta Community Garden, Berkeley 

Hopkins & Peralta, Wheelchair accessible  

BREAD's birthday party - five years of dismantling corporate rule through local 

currency. 

644-0376 

$12 in advance, $15 door, low-income rate $10 

Coastal Cleanup Day 

10 a.m. 

Work at the outflow of Strawberry Creek to clean up the San Francisco Bay coastline. 

info@strawberrycreek.org or 848-4008 

Free 

Saturday, October 12 

Indigenous People's Day Pow Wow, Indian Market & Fall Fruit Tasting 

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Tuesday, October 15 

Fall Fruit Tasting 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

2 to 7 p.m. 

Derby Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way  

Free 

Sunday, October 20 

Bike Tours of Historic Oakland 

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California, 10th St. entrance, at Fallon 

Leisurely paced 5 1/2 mile bike tour about Oakland's history and architecture, led by docents. 

238-3514 

Free: Reservations Required 

Saturday, October 26 

Pumpkin Carving & Costume Making 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Sunday, October 27 

Spirit Day 

11 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

4th and University 

Construct altars in a day of reflection. 

Free 

Saturday December 7, 14, 21 

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Saturday December 14 

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Saturday, December 21 

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

If the Cal football team is going to have any success this season, the Bears will have to lean on the strong right arm of quarterback Kyle Boller. But to do that, they’ll have to keep him upright. 

The Bears gave up 32 sacks to opponents last season as Boller was battered mercilessly. He missed two games in the middle of the season with a back injury, then came back and suffered seven sacks in each of the next two games. By the end of the season, Boller was wearing ice packs all over his body following games. 

Boller put on 25 pounds of muscle this summer, bulking up for his final season in Berkeley. But even all that extra padding won’t help if his linemen don’t keep the pass-rushers out of his face more often this season. 

Heading the effort to keep Boller healthy is offensive line coach Jim Michalczik. One of the first hires made by new head coach Jeff Tedford, Michalczik has a lot of candidates for starting spots and less than a month to sort them out. 

“We’ve got some serious battles to sort out over the next few weeks,” Michalczik said Friday. “Whoever can get the job done best is who will be out there.” 

The left side of the line is pretty well set, with tackle Mark Wilson and guard Scott Tercero moving over from the right side, where they started next to each other for most of the past two seasons. Tercero is a senior who has started since his freshman year, although knee injuries have nagged him for the last two years. Wilson, a junior, has started every game for the last two seasons but must fill the extra-large shoes of departed tackle Langston Walker, a second-round NFL draft pick. 

Tercero said while the switch to the other side of the ball has taken work, the familiarity with playing next to Wilson has speeded the process. 

“I’m real comfortable with Mark after working with him for two years,” Tercero said. “I usually know what he’s thinking and how he’s going to react to certain situations.” 

“There are battles going on at every position, and there aren’t any positions that are absolutely locked up,” Michalczik said. “But those two guys on the left side are going to be real hard to displace.” 

The picture is far less clear in the other three spots. Ryan Jones, Jon Geisel and Chris Murphy enter fall practice with the lead on starting spots at center, right guard and right tackle, respectively, but each has someone behind them pushing for playing time. The evaluation period will likely last until the final week before the Aug. 31 opener against Baylor, and Michalczik will work his players as hard as he can to find out who’s the best. 

While Michalczik concentrates on teaching blocking fundamentals, Tedford will design blocking schemes to maximize Boller’s protection. As offensive coordinator at Oregon last season, Tedford oversaw an offense that gave up a Pac-10 low 11 sacks all season. He said he will move the pocket around, rolling Boller out in both directions, as well as varying the depth of Boller’s drop on passing plays. 

The players know they can count on a fair shake from Michalczik, who said he came in to the job with “no expectations. I wanted to be sure not to be biased when I came in.” For a player like Murphy, who came to Cal three years ago as a walk-on, a new coaching staff means a new start. 

“(Michalczik) definitely came in here with a clean slate. He treats everyone the same and doesn’t play favorites,” said Murphy, who has been a backup the past two seasons. “It’s a long road when you come in as a walk-on, like no one wants to give you a chance. But he doesn’t care about that stuff.” 

One thing none of the candidates are lacking is desire. Almost to a man, they have put on weight this summer thanks to new workouts designed by strength and conditioning coach John Krasinski. Tercero gained 15 pounds and now weighs 295, and similar results can be seen throughout the squad. 

“I wish I had taken pictures of the players when I got here, because it’s amazing how much their bodies have changed,” Michalczik said. “They’re not as flabby and they’re all bigger. It can only help to have that extra muscle.”

The race for five City Council seats is on.  

Eleven hopefuls made their intentions official by submitting nomination papers to the city clerk before 5 p.m. Friday. The five jobs up for grabs are the mayor’s and council seats in the 1st, 4th, 7th and 8th districts. 

“We’re out of the gate,” said former state Assemblymember and mayoral candidate Tom Bates who has filed papers for various political offices 11 times before. “I’ve been campaigning for weeks, but now it feels official.” 

Mayor Shirley Dean, who will be running for re-election against Bates, filed papers two hours before the deadline. “I was overwhelmed by people who offered to sign my nomination papers and it took some time to choose. I wish all of them could sign,” she said. 

Candidates are required to submit nomination papers signed by at least 20 registered Berkeley voters and no more than 30. The signatures are considered important by candidates because they provide a strong indication of community support. 

A third mayoral candidate John Boushell filed nomination papers on Aug. 1. Little is known about Boushell, and he could not be reached by telephone Friday.  

Candidates for the 8th District, which is expected to be a tough race, have until Wednesday to file papers because the seat they are vying for will be vacated by Councilmember Polly Armstrong, a three-time incumbent. The city’s policy is to give candidates extra time to file when an incumbent is not running. 

Despite the extended filing time, two candidates, Planning Commissioner Gordon Wozniak and Peace and Justice Commissioner Anne Wagley, have already filed. At least two others, Zoning Adjustments Boardmember Andy Katz and Green Party member Carlos Estrada, are expected to file on Wednesday. 

Berkeley Housing Commissioner Jay Vega also announced her intention to run for the 8th District seat, but she has not yet pulled nomination papers and could not be reached Friday. 

Wozniak, who filed on Friday, said he’s ready to start the campaign. “Why wait?” he said. “There are a lot of other things to be working on so let’s begin the campaign.” 

Councilmember Dona Spring will be defending her 4th District seat from three challengers, Former Rent Board Member Robert Migdal, David Freeman, a veteran of several city commissions and Citizens Environmental Advisory Commissioner LA Wood.Councilmemeber Linda Maio has only one challenger in the 1st District, Rhiannon, who like Madonna has only one name.  

Rhiannon is a neighborhood activist who serves on the West Berkeley Redevelopment Project Area Commission. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington also has only one challenger in the 7th District, Peace and Justice Commissioner Micki Weinberg, an 18-year-old UC student. “I feel every Cal student has the responsibility to participate in local government to make Berkeley the best it can possibly be,” he said.  

Weinberg said he will campaign on issues such as crime, safety and affordable housing.  

Worthington kept his filing day tradition and signed in at the city clerk’s office just five minutes before the deadline. Worthington is seeking his third term as a councilmember.  

“The first time I filed, I was collecting signatures on nomination papers up to the last minute,” he said. “Since then it’s become a tradition to file at 4:55.” 

Currently the nine-member council is sharply divided between the moderate and progressive factions. The progressives hold a slim majority, 5 to 4. With five seats up for grabs, including the mayor’s seat, the power struggle could go either way. 

Most concede that the candidates are not in the race for the money. 

The mayor receives $3,127 a month and the councilmembers receive $1,975 each month. According to the city’s web site there are no medical benefits or vacation pay.  

“Why would people spend $55,000 (the average cost of a council campaign) to win a seat that pays only $22,000?” Worthington said. “In Berkeley we get a lot of candidates who run because they are passionate about their ideas.” 

There are also five seats on the Rent Stabilization Board and three seats on the School Board. The filing deadline for most of these seats has been extended until Wednesday.

To the Editor: 

I am writing to you regarding a proposed new ordinance to prohibit parking on all marina streets 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. 

I believe this is not only a bad law, but also that the marina staff, specifically Cliff Marchett, the Marina manager, tried to sneak it in the back door because he feared it would be widely opposed by the public and Waterfront Commission. 

Normally, ordinances which primarily affect the marina are brought before the Waterfront Commission for public comment and the commission’s recommendations before being sent to the City Council for vote. 

This proposal was routed through the traffic department, directly to the council, without notice to the Commission, or the public, in a month when the commission was on recess, apparently in the hope council would pass the law before anyone had heard of it, and before any opposition could be organized. 

Marchetti’s motive for doing this was apparently to avoid the opposition the law will bring, because it will require installing dozens of signs, cluttering up the landscape on every street in the marina. Rather than following the normal “public participation” process, and taking a chance the public would resist the “visual clutter”, he snuck into the council agenda with the help of some other bureaucrats in traffic. 

I urge the council and public to reject unnecessary law, and unfair ploys, by city bureaucrats, and above all, reject uglification of our beautiful waterfront, and vote no on this ordinance. 

Steve White 

Berkeley 

The Associated Press 

NEW YORK — Could Oscar be coming to New York? 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a group of New York leaders have been talking about moving part of next year’s Academy Awards show to New York City to help the city recover from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

The group of New Yorkers — including Gov. George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Miramax Films Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein — asked the academy to consider bringing at least a portion of the March 23 event to New York. 

The academy is seriously considering the idea as a one-time nod to New York, academy President Frank Pierson told The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times for Friday’s editions. 

He said an early proposal from Weinstein to move the entire show to New York was “out of the question” because the show is a Hollywood staple and because of the academy’s contractual obligations. 

But “New York will be a huge presence in next year’s show,” he said. “America wouldn’t be America without New York and the movie business wouldn’t be the movie business without New York. Just like the movies, it’s part of our culture and our lives.” 

He said any decisions would have to come after a producer is selected for next year’s show, most likely by next month. 

Still to be determined are which segments of the show might be shifted. Events could be held at Radio City Music Hall or at Madison Square Garden, The New York Times reported. 

The events could bring millions of dollars to the city, where tourist-driven industries are trying to recover from the attacks’ impact. 

The Oscars ceremony returned to Hollywood last year for the first time since 1960, to its new home at the Kodak Theatre. For years the event was held at the Shrine Auditorium and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles. 

First a fare hike. Then a parcel tax. 

That’s the plan of AC Transit officials who are struggling with a projected $30 million budget shortfall and are entertaining service cuts that could affect the agency’s more than 235,000 bus riders. 

Thursday night, the transit board voted to put a five-year parcel tax on the November ballot, asking homeowners from Richmond to Hayward to cough up $24 annually for the struggling bus agency. 

While the parcel tax alone won’t bridge next year’s projected budget gap, board members say the revenues will help minimize service cuts, particularly in the northern part of Alameda County. 

AC Transit’s tax measure will come alongside three citywide measures asking Berkeley voters for more taxes. The city measures, which include funding for pedestrian safety, a new animal shelter and seismic retrofits at old City Hall cumulatively will cost the average homeowner about $72 a year, according to the city manager’s office. 

Thursday’s action on the AC Transit tax measure follows a decision this spring to raise fares for bus rides from $1.35 to $1.50. The new fares are slated to take effect Sept. 1. 

AC Transit board members blame a weak economy for their recent cash problems. 

“The economy, being stalled as it is, has caused sales tax revenues to be lower than what was projected a year or two ago,” said spokesperson Mike Mills.  

Much of the agency’s funding comes from Measure B, which was passed in 2000 and implemented a half-cent sales tax to help fund countywide transportation projects. It has not provided the anticipated revenues, Mills said. 

Steve Geller, member of the Bus Riders Union and Berkeley Ecological and Safety Transportation Coalition, says that this year is a bad time to ask voters to pay more taxes, but that the tax is necessary. 

“I’m unhappy that they did this, but I guess they had no choice,” he said. 

AC Transit officials cited a survey by consultant Bregman & Associates Thursday that said voter approval of the parcel tax was likely.

Thank you Berkeley for listening to all the people and caring for our children, our disabled and the elderly. 

All your services for us senior citizens keep us able to contribute to family rather than becoming old and grumpy. Your recent citywide debris pick up also was beautifully done. Berkeley speaks in many different languages: silent vigils for Hiroshima. Once a year, the flag of Tibet flutters in the wind and our hearts remember all the sufferings of people around the world. 

Kiyo Eshima 

Berkeley

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office reports that two suspects in a police chase Friday morning that ended in an officer shooting a man at San Francisco International Airport are in custody on suspicion of attempted murder and attempted murder of a peace officer. 

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Bronwyn Hogan said the two men have been identified as Lamar Edwin Hood, 20, and Nathan Cooper, 21, of Oakland.  

Hogan said Hood, who was a passenger in the suspect vehicle, is believed to be a resident of either San Bruno or South San Francisco. 

One suspect was hit by a bullet fired by a San Francisco police officer, but Hogan was not certain which suspect.  

The chase began when an officer attempted to stop Cooper and Hood in the Westborough area for a minor traffic violation around 8 a.m. 

When the car did not stop, police pursued it onto southbound Interstate Highway 280 and to the airport, but apparently lost sight of the vehicle in the longterm parking lot near the United Airlines maintenance facility. 

San Francisco Police Sgt. Larry Ratti said airport bureau officers then responded to a call for assistance. 

He reportedly saw the suspect vehicle drive out of the parking lot at high speed, jump across a traffic island and head straight toward him, Ratti said. The officer pulled out his gun and fired. 

“He fired in defense of his life,” Ratti said. 

According to Hogan, the suspects then continued driving directly toward a United Airlines security guard at the scene, before they hit a traffic island and flipped over. The car landed on its roof near the longterm parking lot entrance. One suspect, who was injured in the incident, was able to climb out and flee into the nearby maintenance facility building, where he was caught and arrested, while the other was detained in the vehicle. 

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office is conducting a criminal investigation into the incident while the San Francisco Police Department is investigating the officer's use of his weapon. 

To the Editor: 

It is important that we be aware of the impact of the Navy's Low Frequency Sonar technology that was just approved by the Bush Administration. All marine life depends upon hearing for survival; this is why all sea creatures have extremely sensitive hearing. There are already many technologies using the oceans as a medium of communication. Whales and dolphins especially are becoming more confused, losing their families (“schools”) and their bearings. The recent massive strandings of whales may be a response to the sounds, including medium-range sonar already in use by the U.S. Navy, that are making it impossible for whales to function in the ocean. Acoustical damage, plus severe pollution, plus renewed whaling adds up to too much damage. The whales need our help now. 

We have a spiritual obligation to these magnificent intelligent beings who have been on this planet for over 40 millions years. It is both immoral and totally unethical to threaten the lives and habitats of these awesome beings. 

Sophia Roberts 

Carmel Valley

LOS ANGELES — California’s jobless rate dipped to 6.3 percent in July, down from a revised 6.5 percent a month earlier, as the state added 7,500 payroll jobs, officials said Friday. 

Most of the growth came from the government sector, which showed a net gain of 24,000 positions on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the state’s Employment Development Department. 

The wholesale and retail trade sectors also added to their ranks, offsetting thousands of job losses in the manufacturing, services and construction industries. 

Economists were lukewarm about the decrease. 

“The economy is flat, it’s mirroring the national trend,” said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. “For the (San Francisco) Bay area, it’s good the economy has stopped falling. For the rest of the state, it means we’re still waiting for a recovery.” 

The number of people unemployed in California decreased by 46,000 to 1.1 million, but the state jobless rate remained higher than the national figure. U.S. unemployment was unchanged at 5.9 percent in July. 

In July 2001, California’s unemployment rate was 5.3 percent. 

“The (monthly) decrease in the unemployment rate appears to reflect consumer confidence in the economy,” said Jeanne Cain, vice president of government relations for the California Chamber of Commerce, citing the additional 6,000 jobs in wholesale and retail trade. 

“But in terms of more significant growth, we are concerned about upcoming legislation,” she said. 

Legislative efforts to pass bills increasing payroll taxes and giving Indian communities veto power over some infrastructure projects could jeopardize the economy’s ability to rebound, she said. 

In addition, a projected $10 billion state deficit for budget year 2003-2004 could mean fewer government jobs, she said. 

Many of the 24,000 new public sector jobs reported in July were teaching positions. But experts anticipate job growth in public education will plateau or even decline in the coming months, as school budgets feel the pinch of the state budget shortfall. 

With the state employing about one of every seven California workers, the budget deficit is a “big deal” for the job market, Levy said. 

AC Transit is consolidating its bus stops at the downtown Berkeley BART station on Sunday. 

Eastbound stops on Center Street, at Shattuck, and northbound bus stops on Shattuck at Addison Street will be discontinued. The stops for northbound trips via local Lines 8, 15, 64, 65, 67 and transbay Line F will be grouped on Shattuck between Center and Addison streets. Northbound trips on Lines 7, 9, 43, 51, 604 and 605 will be grouped on Shattuck between Allston Way and Center Street. 

Southbound bus trips on Lines 7, 40/40L, 43, 51/51A, 65, 604, 605 and transbay Line F will connect at downtown Berkeley transfer center. The transfer center will include stops northbound and southbound grouped on Shattuck Avenue between Center Street and Allston Way. 

Also on Sunday, a new terminal will be introduced for Line 15 bus trips that begin or end in downtown Berkeley. Line 15's new Berkeley terminus will be in the UC Crescent (above Oxford Street between University Avenue and Center Street).

Today’s Highlight in History: 

Aug. 15, 1945, was proclaimed “V-J Day” by the Allies, a day after Japan agreed to surrender unconditionally. 

On this date: 

In 1769, Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica. 

In 1944, during World War II, Allied forces landed in southern France. 

In 1947, India became independent after some 200 years of British rule. 

In 1948, the Republic of Korea was proclaimed. 

In 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened in upstate New York. 

In 1971, President Nixon announced a 90-day freeze on wages, prices and rents. 

In 1998, 29 people were killed by a car bomb in Omagh, Northern Ireland; a splinter group calling itself the Real IRA claimed responsibility. 

Ten years ago: While Republicans were gathering in Houston for their national convention, President Bush was spending a weekend at Camp David, his renomination secure. 

Five years ago: The government expanded its recall of ground beef sold under the Hudson brand name to 1.2 million pounds because of new evidence of possible contamination by E. coli bacteria. The Justice Department decided against prosecuting senior FBI officials in connection with an alleged cover-up that followed the deadly 1992 Ruby Ridge siege in Idaho. 

One year ago: A Texas appeals court halted the execution of Napoleon Beazley just hours before he was scheduled to die for a murder he had committed as a teenager. He was executed in May. The Air Force gave the go-ahead to build its new F-22 fighter, but said it would build fewer planes for more money than it had once planned. Astronomers announced the discovery of the first solar system outside our own. 

Today’s Birthdays: Cooking expert Julia Child is 90. Attorney and civil rights activist Vernon Jordan is 67. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is 64. Musician Pete York (Spencer Davis Group) is 60. Author-journalist Linda Ellerbee is 58. Princess Anne is 52. Actor Ben Affleck is 30.  

Four cloned calves genetically engineered with human DNA and currently grazing in Iowa could hold the key to creating herds of identical cows that produce medicines in their milk and blood. 

“Cows are ideal factories,” said James Robl, president of Hematech LLC, which hopes to profit from drug-producing bovines. “Cows are big and have a lot of blood and produce a lot of milk.” 

Hematech of Sioux Falls, S.D., and its partner on the project, Kirin Brewing Co., aim to harvest groups of disease-fighting human proteins — called “immunoglobulins” — in cows. The protein groups are produced daily when the body comes under attack from foreign agents, and they’re typically tailor-made to attack each invader. 

The immunoglobulins hold great promise as medicines to treat a whole range of invaders from anthrax to earache-causing viruses in infants. Doctors already use them to treat such maladies as tetanus, rabies and even some cases of infertility. 

Problem is, these proteins can’t be grown in labs and factories and are available only from humans donors, limiting their supply. 

In many cases, it’s impossible to even get specific disease-fighters from human donors. For instance, the only way to obtain anthrax-fighting immunoglobulins is to infect people and provoke an immune response. 

Hematech hopes to solve this problem by producing the proteins through purposely infected cows. 

Other scientists have already spliced human genes into animals in the burgeoning field of molecular pharming. But those efforts have been limited to splicing a single human gene to produce a single protein to fight a specific disease. 

Nothing in this name 

EL PASO, Texas — A police officer’s name nearly cost her her job. 

The problem was the way El Paso officer Christine Lynn O’Kane’s name appeared on her identification tag and e-mails: C. O’KANE. 

“When you put it together, it spells ’cocaine,”’ said police spokesman Al Velarde. 

O’Kane resigned from the El Paso Police Department on April 6, 2000, to take care of her ailing mother, the El Paso Times reported. She had a good service record, and her work file included a recommendation that she be reinstated if she reapplied in the future. 

But when O’Kane reapplied with the department months later, she found it no longer supported her reinstatement. 

Police management cited the “inappropriate” use of her name as the basis for their denial. 

O’Kane had been using “C. O’Kane” in e-mails including a goodbye message to co-workers she sent in April 2000. 

“In reading the (e-mail) header, it is clear that the intention was to refer to the drug cocaine,” states an April 2, 2001, e-mail from Assistant Police Chief Richard Wiles to the department’s personnel director. 

O’Kane appealed her case to the Civil Service Commission on May 24, 2001, and the commission supported her position. 

Convenient but limited 

CHARLESTON, S.C. — You’ve heard of dialing for dollars. Well, fans of the minor league Charleston RiverDogs can now dial for dogs. And fries. And beer. 

Under a new system the team is trying for the rest of the season, spectators can stay in their seats and order food and drink on their cell phones. 

Developed by a Canadian company, CellBucks allows fans to have concessions delivered right to their seats. Minor league teams in Buffalo, N.Y., and Bowie, Md., are also trying out the system. 

About 30 fans gave the system a try when it was first used Wednesday night. But some struck out because they hadn’t registered a credit card number and electronic-mail address first, Sharrer said. 

Phone orders are limited to a special 10-item menu of meals, including beer, for up to four people. Prices range from $6 to $26.50, including tax and tip. 

LOS ANGELES – California’s jobless rate dipped to 6.3 percent in July, down from a revised 6.5 percent a month earlier, as the state added 7,500 payroll jobs, officials said Friday. 

Most of the growth came from the government sector, which showed a net gain of 24,000 positions on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the state’s Employment Development Department. 

The wholesale and retail trade sectors also added to their ranks, offsetting thousands of job losses in the manufacturing, services and construction industries. 

Economists were lukewarm about the decrease. 

“The economy is flat, it’s mirroring the national trend,” said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. “For the (San Francisco) Bay area, it’s good the economy has stopped falling. For the rest of the state, it means we’re still waiting for a recovery.” 

The number of people unemployed in California decreased by 46,000 to 1.1 million, but the state jobless rate remained higher than the national figure. U.S. unemployment was unchanged at 5.9 percent in July. 

“The (monthly) decrease in the unemployment rate appears to reflect consumer confidence in the economy,” said Jeanne Cain, vice president of government relations for the California Chamber of Commerce, citing the additional 6,000 jobs in wholesale and retail trade. 

“But in terms of more significant growth, we are concerned about upcoming legislation,” she said. 

Legislative efforts to pass bills increasing payroll taxes and giving Indian communities veto power over some infrastructure projects could jeopardize the economy’s ability to rebound, she said. 

In addition, a projected $10 billion state deficit for budget year 2003-2004 could mean fewer government jobs, she said. 

Many of the 24,000 new public sector jobs reported in July were teaching positions. But experts anticipate job growth in public education will plateau or even decline in the coming months, as school budgets feel the pinch of the state budget shortfall. 

With the state employing about one of every seven California workers, the budget deficit is a “big deal” for the job market, Levy said.

SONICblue chief ousted after  

challenging insider loans 

SAN JOSE — A tech company executive who demanded that his board members repay their sweetheart loans early or resign was himself fired after he went public with his ultimatum. 

SONICblue Inc. chief executive and chairman Ken Potashner said he was ousted Thursday after describing his boardroom confrontation to a newspaper. 

His immediate replacement, interim CEO L. Gregory Ballard, denied Friday that the loan dispute was behind the ouster but said the board would re-evaluate the loans now that investors are scrutinizing accounting at many companies. 

Loans to the SONICblue board members totaling more than $500,000 were not illegal when they were issued in June 2000, and the board later voted to not hold the directors personally liable if they default. 

Nor were such loans uncommon — server maker Sun Microsystems Inc. disclosed Friday it loaned $6.4 million to six executives and board members in 2001 and this year, of which $5.4 million was outstanding. 

Shipping lines want mediation  

in stalled talks with dockworkers 

LOS ANGELES — Negotiators for shipping lines that use West Coast ports called Friday for a third-party mediator to help restart stalled contract talks with dockworkers. 

The Pacific Maritime Association said mediation is the only solution unless the International Longshore and Warehouse Union presents a “serious” offer when both sides return to the table on Tuesday. 

The union’s contract expired July 1. The two sides have agreed to rolling 24-hour extensions through Tuesday. 

Joseph Miniace, president of the PMA, said mediation is essential to move talks along. During the past 10 weeks, the parties have met 28 times for a total of nearly 54 hours, he said. 

“How can you expect to get anything done like that?” he said. 

A spokesman for the ILWU called the mediation proposal a public relations ploy, saying negotiations have been ineffective because they have been undermined by government support of the PMA.